Volume 1 Princess Taiping Grows Up Chapter 59: Folk Entertainment Activities
As Li Yuechen was walking back and was about to return to Anfu Hall, he suddenly remembered something.
At the beginning, our sponsor, Red Bull, had two versions.
The sponsored ones are in the long and thin blue cans, while the ones sold in China are in the short and thick yellow cans.
You can also consider this method. It is better to sell the scented soap at a higher price and sell it specifically to those wealthy and powerful families.
Then we will use soybean oil to see if we can make soap. If we can, we will try to lower the price so that most people can afford it.
But the biggest problem is... soybean oil in this era is smelly, will the soap made from it also smell bad?
But think about it carefully, for ordinary people, as long as it can be washed clean, who cares about the smell?
Thinking of this, Li Yuechen nodded and decided to do an experiment to try it out immediately.
Seeing Fu Lai coming out to greet them, Li Yuechen immediately asked him to prepare things, planning to do an experiment to try it out in two days.
Now that the experiment has been successful, we should find a way to change the size of the egg beater, otherwise it would be too troublesome to use people to stir it.
There are only a dozen soaps in this batch, but five people are responsible for mixing them. The efficiency is terribly low!
Looks like it's time to upgrade your equipment!
Then he called Xiao He and others and asked them about their experience of using the soap during this period. They all said it was very useful and they can no longer live without it.
After receiving the reply, Li Yuechen nodded. It seemed that this thing could indeed be sold at a higher price.
After all, for people from powerful families, washing the body is a very important matter, and it is acceptable to be a little more expensive.
The next day was the first day of November. After Li Yuechen finished practicing yoga in the morning, she ran to the court to listen to the news.
The recent news is basically the same, and it cannot be separated from the word drought. Although it is not as serious as in previous years, there is still a serious shortage of food in the Guanzhong region.
As I was listening here, suddenly, the sky gradually darkened.
Li Zhi, who was sitting on the dragon throne, raised his eyebrows and was about to ask what was going on when the Qianniu Guards who were guarding outside came in.
He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the sun is eclipsed by the heavenly dog!"
Li Yuechen behind the screen also looked confused. Another solar eclipse?
Although she knew that there was a chance of a solar eclipse occurring around the first day of every month, didn’t it just happen last year?
A bit too frequent, isn't it?
Just as he was thinking about it, he suddenly heard the voice of the Imperial Censor Le Yanwei: "Your Majesty, the sun is eclipsed by the heavens. It is a warning from heaven. Please issue an edict of apology as soon as possible..."
Some ministers also stood up and said in unison: "We second the motion!"
Li Zhi, who was sitting on the dragon throne, suddenly felt a surge of anger. From his point of view, he also thought that he should not be blamed for this matter.
But now so many ministers have asked him to issue an edict of repentance, as if they have already determined that this matter has something to do with him.
Inadvertently glancing behind the screen, he saw his beloved little daughter shaking her head at him frantically.
Li Zhi showed a smile, then turned his head to look at the ministers below, took a deep breath, and the health ball in his hand spun rapidly, not knowing what he was thinking.
Seeing that Li Zhi didn't say anything or urge him, Le Yanwei just stood there motionless, as if he would not move unless Li Zhi agreed.
Li Yuechen, who was in the side passage, quietly poked his head out to take a look and saw that many ministers had the same attitude.
Li Yuechen is now increasingly disgusted with this group of people. They issue edicts of remorse for every little thing that happens. If this thing is really useful, it can be used all over the world.
Li Zhi, who was sitting on the dragon throne, suddenly spoke up: "All the ministers think that I should issue an edict of blaming myself for my mistakes. Will this drought end if I issue an edict of blaming myself for my mistakes?"
The other ministers were silent, only Le Yanwei continued to insist: "As long as your Majesty issues an edict of repentance, the drought will surely..."
"Lord Le!" Li Zhi interrupted directly, "Since that's the case, how about I make a bet with you?"
Le Yanwei was stunned: "How can we bet on something that concerns the country?"
"Humph! It concerns the country?" Li Zhi snorted coldly and asked in a stern voice, "Since you know it concerns the country, why do you think the eclipse has anything to do with me? Since I ascended the throne, I have lived up to the expectations of the people of heaven and earth! Since you think it is my fault, let's make a bet!"
At this point, Li Zhi stood up, waved his hand at the ministers, and said loudly: "I can issue an edict of guilt today, but if the drought is not resolved next year, I will chop off your heads. How about it? Do you want to bet?!"
"This..." Le Yanwei was speechless for a moment.
Although as the Imperial Censor, criticizing the emperor and going against him was part of his job.
But how can you make such a bet easily? If you accept it, and the drought is not resolved next year, you will lose your head!
Today's solar eclipse did not seem to be too direct, and it did not completely block the sun. It just darkened a small half and it was over quickly.
Until the sky brightened again, the ministers below remained silent.
Seeing that they stopped talking, Li Zhi did not continue speaking. He simply waved his hand and announced the end of the court.
The quarrel in the court ended in nothing.
Li Zhi and Wu Zetian stood up and left the court side by side, leaving only Le Yanwei and others in silence.
When they reached the corridor, Li Zhi picked up his daughter and went back to Renshou Hall together.
After asking Zhang Chengxin to add water to the teapot and light the fire, he began to complain : "This is ridiculous! How can the drought be blamed on me? I wish I could kill these farm slaves now!"
Wu Zetian sat next to him and advised: "Your Majesty, please don't get angry about this. Your health is more important."
"Yeah." Li Yuechen, who was wrapped by him, also patted his chest, "It's not worth it if Grandpa gets sick because of them."
"Okay, I won't get angry!"
Li Zhi grabbed her wrist and shook it twice: "I just feel a little indignant. Why did the heaven give such a warning..."
Li Yuechen wondered whether he should give him some popular science lessons on the changing positional relationship between the sun and the moon, but the problem was that he knew nothing about astronomy, and it would be too troublesome to give him some popular science lessons.
So he asked in return: "Why must the solar eclipse be the emperor's fault? Couldn't it be that someone caused chaos in the court?"
Hearing her words, Li Zhi was suddenly stunned, then turned his head to look at Wu Zetian.
Wu Zetian didn't expect there was such an angle. After thinking about it carefully, she nodded slightly to Li Zhi.
"Hahaha... Chen'er is right!" Li Zhi suddenly laughed and grabbed her wrists and shook them gently.
…
A few days later, Li Yuechen went to the court again to listen to the news.
When the meeting was almost over, Li Zhi announced, "Last night, I dreamed of playing chess with Laojun. We talked about the dog-eating-the-sun event. Laojun said that this was a warning from heaven to me. Someone was causing trouble for the government! I have decided to order a thorough investigation of those who have taken bribes and perverted the law to restore order!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the ministers below immediately started discussing in an uproarious manner.
They felt a little confused. Since ancient times, solar eclipses have been God's warning to kings that they have made mistakes. How come it has now become the ministers' fault?
Of course, Le Yanwei and others knew what the emperor meant by this. He was not really going to investigate who was corrupt.
It was nothing more than a warning, meaning that in the future don't use such things to say that it was the emperor's fault.
In this way, not only did it dispel the claim that the solar eclipse was the emperor’s fault, but it also further consolidated the imperial power!
So high!
Not only Le Yanwei, but many senior officials including Liu Rengui secretly sighed that this tactic was simply amazing!
The expression on Li Zhi's face also looked much better. With a slightly smug smile on his face, he turned his eyes and looked behind the screen.
Just then, he saw Li Yuechen first raise her hands and give him a thumbs up, and then put her hands on her head and made a heart shape with her hands.
Li Zhi felt much more relaxed after seeing this scene, and his back, which had been a little tired from sitting, straightened up a lot.
Li Yuechen, who was behind the screen, saw that Li Zhi was happy, and she also felt much better.
After the court session, Li Zhi and Wu Meiniang walked into the corridor side by side. The smiles on their faces could no longer be hidden and were completely revealed.
Li Yuechen walked between the two of them, holding one of them in each hand, and skipped back.
At noon, Li Zhi wanted his daughter to stay for lunch.
Perhaps because a good mood can change the amount of food he eats, Li Zhi ate a lot more than usual at noon today.
After lunch, Li Yuechen didn’t want to disturb his mother from reviewing memorials, so he stood up and announced his departure.
I returned to Anfu Hall and sat at the desk, preparing to draw the design of the foot-operated stirrer.
A stirring rod itself is not very heavy, so the belt drive should be fine.
But just as he was about to start painting, Shangguan Wan'er suddenly came running over, squatted down and put her little head on the table: "Your Highness, shall we go to the tower to watch the Pohanhu Opera?"
“…”
Li Yuechen's pen stopped in mid-air, and he was a little hesitant for a moment.
To be honest, she had no interest in this kind of activity. What was there to see when a bunch of shirtless men threw cold water on each other?
If it were a change, if it was a group of bikini beauties splashing water on each other, I would definitely not miss it.
But seeing a group of grown men doing this, I suddenly lost interest.
But after thinking about it, Li Yuechen put down the brush in his hand and said, "Let's go!"
Shangguan Wan'er grew up in the deep palace and was not allowed to leave the harem without permission.
For a child of her age, she should really go out more often. It is not good to stay in the harem all the time.
Since they had decided to go, it would be pointless for just the two of them to go, so Li Yuechen asked Fu Lai to go and inform the two sisters.
Princess Yi Yang didn't care, but Princess Xuan Cheng had recently completely entered the palace of mathematics, and was solving the math problems given to her by Li Yuechen every day.
According to Li Yuechen's own estimation, he would be able to show her the mathematical scriptures left by his master after a while.
As long as she is taught the concepts of decimals and fractions, she should be able to understand most of the contents in the mathematics book.
Soon, the two sisters also came out. When they heard that Li Yuechen was going to watch the Pohanhu opera, they also became interested.
Li Yuechen could actually understand it. After all, she was different from them. After all, they were real women both in appearance and in heart, so it was normal for them to want to see men splash water on each other.
After the four of them met, they walked together towards the city wall outside the imperial city.
Pohan Huxi, the emphasis is on the last two words, Huxi, which means the games of the Hu people.
After November, they would go out on the streets shirtless every now and then and throw cold water on each other.
Firstly, it shows one's strong physical fitness and is a proof of one's bravery; secondly, it seems to have some blessing implications, as there is a saying that pouring cold water in winter can prevent one from getting sick.
After they walked out of the harem, a large group of gate guards surrounded them and trapped them.
The soldier on duty today asked, "May I ask if Your Highness is going to leave the palace? I will prepare the carriage..."
"No need." Li Yuechen smiled, "I just want to watch Po Hanhu from the tower."
“Yes!”
The soldier agreed, then waved to the other soldiers beside him, immediately changed the formation, and escorted the few people to the city wall.
After going up to the city wall, they found that they were not the only ones here, Li Xian and Li Lun were already there.
"Huh? Yuechen?" Li Xian was obviously a little curious and bowed to his two sisters at the same time.
Li Yuechen waved at them and said, "Brothers, are you also here to watch the Pohanhu show?"
"Yes, it's very interesting !" Li Xian replied, "Every time I know there's nothing to do, I'll basically come and watch it."
Li Lun next to him shook his head with a look of regret: "I would like to go down and play with you, but unfortunately..."
Hearing his words, Li Yuechen's expression became a little complicated. Do you know that it is very incongruous for you with your tiny arms and legs to stand with those big men?
Moreover, a prince actually wanted to go down and play with them. If Wu Zetian knew about this, she would probably catch him and beat him to death.
Turning around, I saw that the parade was still a little far away from the imperial city and could not be seen clearly.
Moreover, this kind of parade activities will most likely not cross the Tianjin Bridge. At most, they will turn around when they reach the shore opposite the Imperial City.
Several people stood on the city wall and looked over, and saw that the team in the distance had gradually begun to move.
At the front, a leader was wearing an exaggerated mask on his head and his clothes were torn into strips.
The one holding the bell walked in front, jumping and shaking.
Behind them were more than thirty shirtless Hu people, and next to them were many people carrying buckets and using gourd ladles to scoop out cold water and pour it on them.
While these shirtless Hu people were jumping around in the streets, they would occasionally take the bucket full of water and splash it at the crowd.
There was also a masked man next to him, walking in front of the crowd, holding a whip nearly ten feet long in his hand, constantly waving it in the air, making crisp "snapping" sounds.
Many people from Luoyang City gathered on both sides of the team, cheering along.
Such activities are rare in this era of entertainment scarcity.
As the team gradually approached the imperial city, Li Yuechen also saw that the skin of those people began to turn red after being splashed with cold water in the late autumn weather.
But her attention was certainly not on these men, but on the man waving the whip at the front of the team.
Listening to the crisp "crackling" sound of the whip hitting the air, Li Yuechen seemed to have thought of something.
Then he turned around and waved to Fulai.
"What do you want, Your Highness?"
Li Yuechen pointed at the man below and said, "Find me a whip like this one these days. I can use it!"
"Yes!" Fu Lai replied respectfully.
At the same time, I was thinking in my heart, wondering what new thing His Highness was going to study.
