Volume 1 Princess Taiping Grows Up Chapter 57: Soap Making Experiment
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, it felt like time went by a lot faster, and half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Li Yuechen came to the court to listen to the news as usual. There was nothing special happening recently.
In addition to the fact that the Guanzhong region was still plagued by drought, there was another thing: Prince Xu Li Yuanli had died.
Li Yuechen had no feelings at all for this uncle whom he had never met and had only heard of, so his expression remained the same as usual.
But Li Zhi, who was sitting on the dragon throne, always wanted to express his opinion, so he immediately ordered a coffin to be granted and buried in the Xian Mausoleum according to the ritual system.
Most of the time when Li Yuechen came to listen to the news, he would not leave after listening, but would wait for Li Zhi and Wu Zetian to return to court and go back with them.
It was the same today. After announcing the end of the court session, Li Zhi took a few quick steps into the corridor, squatted down, and picked her up with force.
"Oh, I've gained a lot of weight recently!" Li Zhi smiled.
Wu Zetian nodded: "Indeed, it is growing bigger day by day, visibly."
Li Yuechen chuckled: "When the child grows up, he can hug his grandfather and mother."
The family walked out of the palace smiling. It was obvious that Li Zhi didn't seem to have any impression of Li Yuanli and didn't show any sadness about his death.
After playing with the two for a while, Li Yuechen did not stay long because Wu Zetian still had to review memorials. He said goodbye and went back.
He returned to his Anfu Temple, squatted in front of the garden, grabbed a handful of soil and observed it for a while, then went to the back to wash his hands.
While washing his hands, he said to Fulai beside him: "Please help me spread the message. Find a kind of black stone in the area of Bashu and Zhaoshan. Its shape is like branches and leaves often attached to the surface of the rock..."
Fu Lai wrote it down and nodded: "Your Highness, is there any urgent need? I will send a fast horse to deliver the message immediately!"
Li Yuechen shook his head: "There is no need to waste time and money on this. At present, we don't need much. As long as you can bring one pound, you will be rewarded handsomely!"
"Yes!" Fu Lai bowed and responded.
After washing his hands, Li Yuechen patted his clothes and said, "By the way , help me find some caustic soda, lard, and salt..."
After Li Yuechen finished speaking, Fu Lai recited it silently and then immediately found someone to do it.
While Fu Lai was preparing the materials, Li Yuechen was not idle either. He took Xiao He to the craftsman supervisor and asked the craftsmen to help make molds and egg beaters.
The shape of the soap can be chosen according to the future appearance. After drawing a rough picture, the carpenter patted his chest and said it was no problem.
However, the number of molds Li Yuechen requires is not too small, and it is estimated that it will take five or six days to complete.
Li Yuechen waved her hand and said there was no rush, as long as she did her job well.
When I returned to Anfu Hall, I saw Shangguan Wan'er playing skipping rope, perhaps because she was bored .
Seeing Li Yuechen coming back, she put down the rope and trotted over: "Your Highness, would you like to play the rope together?"
"OK."
Li Yuechen had nothing to do anyway, so he planned to take her out to play.
At this time, a young eunuch came in from outside the door. After bowing, he said, "Your Highness, His Royal Highness the King of England is at Qiujing Gate. I hope Your Highness will go to see him."
"Okay, let's go!"
Li Yuechen agreed and smiled at Shangguan Wan'er: "I'll take you out to play when I come back."
As he said that, he rode his tricycle and followed the young eunuch to Qiujing Gate.
From a distance, I could see the third brother, Li Xian, standing at the door bored and kicking pebbles on the ground.
Seeing Li Yuechen coming over on a tricycle, he quickly stood on tiptoe and waved to her.
Li Yuechen pedaled a few times quickly, stopped gracefully in front of Li Xian, then got off the bike and looked down at his body with a puzzled look on his face.
He was still muttering to himself: "It seems that I have grown very fast recently. I feel like this car is almost full of space."
Li Xian didn't know what she was mumbling, and took a step forward: "Yuechen..."
"Well, what do you want to talk to me about, brother?" Li Yuechen looked up and asked.
"I'm really bored lately. Does Yuechen have anything new to play with?" Li Xian asked.
Hearing his words, Li Yuechen was a little confused: "Are you not afraid of being punished by your parents for not studying hard when you are bored?"
Li Xian immediately looked resentful: "Girl, your tone is just like my mother's! Don't make fun of me."
"Okay, okay." Li Yuechen nodded, "What kind of toy do you want, brother?"
After closing his eyes and thinking for a while, Li Xian said, "It would be best if there were more people playing together. My brother also wants to play with his family."
So, mahjong is no good then... Li Yuechen thought to himself.
After all, mahjong is a game that can only be played by four people at most. If you want to play with your family, this is not enough.
Although some places have the "fishing" method of playing mahjong, Li Yuechen himself doesn't like it.
As I said, I can’t brag about other things, but when it comes to having fun, I’m afraid no one in this era is better at it than her.
I'll let you have a good time even if it means my honor as a Red Bull-sponsored athlete!
"In that case, go call my brother and the others. I'll go back and prepare." Li Yuechen waved his hand.
"Oh? Yuechen has made preparations?" Li Xian looked curious.
He has lost interest in either cockfighting or backgammon recently and really wants to try something new.
Li Yuechen did not answer, but smiled mysteriously, rode his tricycle all the way back to Anfu Temple.
In fact, many people have not developed entertainment activities in this era.
And since you want many people to play together, some simple games can achieve the same effect.
After returning to Anfu Temple, Li Yuechen waved to Xiaohe before getting out of the car: "Go find me a longer rope."
"How long do you want it, Your Highness?"
"About three meters." Li Yuechen replied.
That’s right, although skipping rope exists in this era, there is no such thing as skipping big rope. Today we can let them have fun together.
It’s best to invite your parents to join you, as they both need some exercise occasionally.
There is no other way. Even if you are a player sponsored by Red Bull, without equipment, you can’t do anything…
Soon, Xiao He found a rope about ten meters long.
Li Yuechen placed the coiled rope on the rack under the tricycle seat, then waved to Shangguan Wan'er: "Come on, I'll take you to play skipping rope."
"Your Highness, are you going to perform some Taoist magic?" Shangguan Wan'er came over and asked.
Li Yuechen's face darkened, and he thought to himself, "Do you know that I will be fined for using puns?"
"Xiao He, ask my two sisters to come to Qiu Jing Gate to play with me later."
Then he waved his hand, asked Shangguan Wan'er to step on the shelf behind the seat, and then rode the tricycle to take her to Qiujing Gate.
When I arrived at Qiujing Gate, I saw that several brothers had also arrived at the same time.
"Look, Yuechen is coming." Li Xian pointed.
Li Hong turned his head and saw Li Yuechen riding his tricycle towards him, with Shangguan Wan'er still standing on the rack at the back.
"You actually dared to let Yuechen give you a ride. You're so brave!" Li Xian's face darkened when he saw this scene.
Shangguan Wan'er subconsciously took a step back.
"Brother, don't scold her. I brought her here." Li Yuechen waved his hand and took out a rope from under the frame.
"How do we play this together?" Li Xian asked with raised eyebrows.
"Brother, have you ever played the game of Tousuo?" Li Yuechen asked.
Li Xian nodded: "Of course, but the rope is so long, how can we play?"
Li Yuechen was too lazy to explain, and directly asked the two eunuchs next to him to come over and be responsible for shaking the rope, and then he began to explain to them.
…
In the Renshou Hall, Li Zhi was lying on a rocking chair, drinking tea and rolling the health ball in his hand.
From time to time, he would chat with Wu Zetian, who was reviewing memorials at the desk next to him, and talk about recent state affairs.
Suddenly, there were some crisp "pop, pop" sounds coming from outside.
It's like the crisp sound made by a whip hitting the ground, or the sound made by a whip made of animal skin when swung in the air.
Li Zhi frowned: "What's the commotion outside?"
Zhang Chengxin walked in and answered respectfully, "Your Majesty, it's a few princes playing at Qiujing Gate."
Wu Zetian frowned: "What a bunch of bastards! Ran to Qiujing Gate to play?"
As he spoke, he stood up and was about to go out and teach them a lesson.
Li Zhi, who was standing aside, still had a smiling expression on his face. He stood up and walked out of the Renshou Hall side by side with Wu Zetian.
When we arrived at Qiujing Gate, we saw from afar two eunuchs shaking a long rope in their hands.
His children, plus Shangguan Wan'er, were all jumping around in the middle of the swaying long rope. From time to time, some of them would run out and run in again as the rope swayed, having a lot of fun.
The "snapping" sound was caused by the rope hitting the stone floor.
Seeing the couple coming over, everyone stopped what they were doing and bowed to greet them.
Wu Zetian turned her head and looked at Li Zhi, as if asking him with her eyes whether she wanted to teach them a lesson.
However, Li Zhi obviously didn't mean that. He spun the health ball in his hand very fast, but with a smile on his face: "I find this large telescopic rope very interesting. Why not play with them?"
Wu Zetian sighed and shook her head slightly, obviously having expected this result.
Li Yuechen ran over and said, "Grandpa and Mom, let's play together. You've always been stuck in the palace, so you should warm up and get some fresh air."
"Okay, let's play over there together." Li Zhi became interested.
After listening to Li Yuechen's explanation, he handed the health ball in his hand to Zhang Chengxin, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared to rush in.
The two eunuchs in charge of shaking the rope were trembling a little, thinking that if they hit the saint with a whip, they would lose their heads.
Perhaps seeing the hesitation of the two, Li Zhi waved his hand and said arrogantly: "Don't worry, I won't punish you even if you hit me!"
After hearing Li Zhi's order, the two eunuchs began to shake the rope with confidence.
From their tense expressions, it can be seen that at this moment both of them are highly focused and very nervous.
Li Yuechen smiled and waved her hands to let them relax a little, then took Wu Zetian's hand and shook it: "How about you try it too, mother?"
"Forget it, it's not very convenient these days." Wu Zetian shook her head.
Li Yuechen curled her lips to show that she understood.
"It's you, on the other hand. You must not play in places like this next time." Wu Zetian lowered her head and taught him a lesson. "If those people in the Censorate find out, your grandfather will surely get sick from anger again."
"It's okay. If they dare to make grandpa angry, I will take a few brothers to beat up their younger generations." Li Yuechen said with a smile.
Wu Zetian pushed her head aside and scolded her with a smile: "You damn girl!"
Li Yuechen took her arm and gave her a hug with a smile.
…
The emperor played skipping rope with his sons and daughters for a while. After they worked up a sweat, Wu Zetian advised him not to move too vigorously and to take a bath quickly.
The brothers also had a lot of fun playing it. After all, it was a very new thing and they had never played it like this before.
Li Xian secretly came to Li Yuechen and said, "I never thought that a Tousuo could be played this way. Yuechen really opened my eyes."
"When did Sanlang become so literary?" Li Xian on the side smiled.
"This...I always have to..."
Li Yuechen patted his slightly protruding belly and said, "Don't worry, Third Brother has always been a great man in Yuechen's mind!"
“…”
Although the words sounded nice, Li Xian always felt that they were said purely to comfort himself.
Li Lun next to him raised his hand: "Me too!"
“Hahahaha…” Li Hong couldn’t help but burst out laughing, but because he had been in poor health since childhood, he couldn’t catch his breath, and he started coughing when he laughed.
Li Yuechen quickly ran over to help him with his back, and she almost couldn't help laughing.
In the blink of an eye, the afternoon has passed. I had a great time today.
Shangguan Wan'er was still standing behind the frame of the tricycle, and was taken back to Anfu Hall by Li Yuechen.
After getting off the car, Shangguan Wan'er walked in side by side with her. When they arrived at the entrance of the hall, she was taking off her shoes when she suddenly said, "Your Highness is really creative. I never thought that the rope could be played like this."
"There are a lot of fun things, but it's a pity that we can't play with them now." Li Yuechen shook his head with regret.
Shangguan Wan'er didn't know what she meant, and was about to ask her in detail, but saw that she had already walked in.
…
Three days later, the craftsman supervisor delivered the finished molds and egg beaters.
Li Yuechen picked it up and took a look. She felt it was very good. It was basically no different from the shape of soap in the future.
Now that we have the mold, we can start production.
Li Yuechen immediately asked Fu Lai to find a few large porcelain basins, then prepared all the materials and started the process of making soap.
The next afternoon, when Fulai entered the backyard, he saw a little eunuch stirring an egg beater made of a dozen iron wires vigorously in front of a large porcelain jar below, and two other eunuchs were holding the porcelain basin on both sides to prevent it from moving.
"Hurry up, faster!" Li Yuechen, who had a simple ponytail, kept urging from the side.
The eunuch in charge of stirring kept waving his arms, stirring the increasingly viscous liquid in the porcelain jar.
After a while he was already out of breath, and Li Yuechen immediately asked another eunuch next to him to take over.
Li Yuechen was holding a bag of salt next to him. He looked inside and took a handful and sprinkled it in.
While spreading the food, he urged the eunuch who was in charge of stirring: "Faster! Faster! Use more force!"
The urged eunuch gritted his teeth and quickly turned his arms, stirring frantically.
Seeing that this one was also starting to gasp for breath, Li Yuechen ordered the next one to take over.
As people kept stirring the pot, the liquid in the pot gradually became more and more viscous...
