Volume 1 Princess Taiping Grows Up Chapter 72: Shangsi Festival
Seeing his expression, Wu Zetian, who was sitting at the table, couldn't help but laugh. She licked her teeth and said, "Don't pretend you can't hear me, my young slave. This matter has a huge impact."
"How big is it?" Li Zhi finally opened his eyes and asked with a smile, "Do they still dare to rebel?"
"How could these people not know what Zhinu is thinking?" Wu Zetian asked back, "Recently, many people have come to me and advised me to let Chen'er study the Shangshu and other classics. In normal times, when have these people ever cared about the princess's studies?"
"snort!"
Li Zhi snorted coldly: "The more this happens, the more I cannot let them have their way. I want them to know who controls the world today!"
Wu Zetian looked a little worried: "If Zhinu insists on reforming, don't be impatient, otherwise it may shake the foundation of the country!"
"I know." Li Zhi smiled, "I am not in a hurry for this matter."
They both knew very well that Li Yuechen's way of making money by opening a store was definitely not as simple as it seemed!
In the eyes of those aristocratic families, this matter means that the royal family is going to make money themselves, which is equivalent to dividing the cake.
Once the royal family enters the business world, their already small market share will become even smaller.
If it happened under normal circumstances, it would be fine. If these noble families united, they would naturally find a way to use legitimate means to exclude them.
But the emperor was lucky. He had a daughter who was born smart and created new things, thus forming a monopoly!
This is very troublesome. She is a princess. Once she has a monopoly on the product, we will have no capital to compete with her!
For these big families, they must do their best to stop it.
Li Zhi and Wu Zetian have !
Li Yuechen's growth process gave the two of them huge surprises.
Not only is he filial, kind-hearted and harmonious, but most importantly, he is naturally intelligent and comes up with one new thing after another, and none of them can be imitated by others.
This also made Li Zhi and Wu Zetian surprised and see hope of consolidating imperial power!
The carefree Li Yuechen could not think so deeply. She had no idea at this moment that she was already standing at the center of the game between the two sides!
Now she just wants to be a good little cotton-padded jacket for herself. As long as her parents are happy, she will be happy.
As for whether her workshop would be attacked... she was not too worried. Did they really think that the army was just there to do nothing?
…
After dinner, Li Yuechen played hopscotch with Shangguan Wan'er in Linbo Pavilion.
In the past in rural areas, games such as hopscotch and skipping rubber rope were played by both men and women, so naturally he would play them.
Shangguan Wan'er liked these new things she created very much and had a lot of fun playing with them.
Soon, the two sisters joined in and had a great time under the bright moonlight and lanterns.
Li Yuechen, who had just finished dancing, was about to take the yogurt handed to her by Xiaohe when she found Fulai coming over quietly.
Li Yuechen knew from his expression that he had something to say, so he waved his hand and moved a little to the side.
"Your Highness, someone contacted Wang Xiang today and wanted to buy goods and ship them to Chang'an, Yangzhou, etc..."
"This...I'm afraid the current production volume is very low?" Li Yuechen narrowed his eyes and thought about it.
Fu Lai nodded: "Currently, the daily output in the workshop is only 200 yuan. If we want to sell goods in other Chang'an or other prefectures and counties, we need to expand production."
"Hmm..." Li Yuechen raised his hand to support his chin and thought for a while, "How much money do we have now? Is it enough to buy some more people back?"
"If you take out all the money you've earned these days, it'll be enough!" Fu Lai replied.
"Then go ahead." Li Yuechen waved his hand, "Also go to the Craftsman's Office to get some equipment and molds, and buy some people back. Let the old ones train the new ones to expand production!"
Fu Lai bowed and saluted: "Yes!"
Seeing Fulai turning around to leave, he said, "It's night time now, have a good rest. You can go again tomorrow! Don't tire yourself out."
"This..." Fulai turned around and nodded with a touched look on his face, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness!"
Li Yuechen smiled and waved her hand to let him leave, and continued to play with Shangguan Wan'er and her two sisters.
Under the azure starry sky, two older girls and two younger girls were playing happily in the yard.
Among them, the little girl wearing a bright red men's suit and a ponytail on her head was particularly agile...
…
Three days passed in a blink of an eye. After Li Yuechen took them to practice in the morning, he ran to the court to listen to the news.
Li Yuechen, who was hiding behind the screen as usual, just wanted to listen to the news, but she didn't expect that she would also be the one to eat the news.
When the court meeting was almost over, a minister who usually had little presence suddenly stepped out.
"Your Majesty, Princess Taiping is obviously uneducated and is engaged in business... I think Your Majesty should order the princess to study the Shangshu and other classics to cultivate her character, then..."
Li Yuechen, who was behind the screen, opened her eyes wide instantly. What the hell? Did I provoke you?
But before he could finish his words, Li Zhi raised his hand to interrupt him: "I already know what you said. This is a misunderstanding. The store was not opened by Taiping, but by Fulai's nephew."
"Can……"
"As an emperor, I should strictly discipline my servants. But I can't be equally strict with their family members... Let's not discuss this matter any further!"
At this point, Li Zhi waved his hand and stood up: "If you have nothing else to say, then leave the court!"
Wu Zetian behind the pearl curtain also stood up and left with him.
"His Majesty……"
"Retreat - to the court -" Zhang Chengxin's sharp voice echoed in the tall and spacious hall, suppressing all discordant voices.
Seeing that the emperor had decided to save his daughter, the ministers also realized that the emperor had made up his mind and stopped trying to persuade him.
After saying "Farewell, Your Majesty" in unison, they turned around and walked out.
Outside the court, several ministers from major families looked at each other and nodded.
It seems that some unconventional means must be used!
…
On the other side, Li Yuechen, who was behind the screen, jumped high on the spot and pounced on Li Zhi after he came over.
"Ouch!" Li Zhi staggered and almost fell down, but he still held his daughter tightly and did not let her fall.
"This damn girl, you are so reckless!" Wu Zetian scolded her directly, "If you make your brother fall, do you know how serious the crime will be?"
As he spoke, he raised his hand as if to hit.
Then Li Zhi immediately stopped him and said, "I'm fine, right?"
But he still took out a hand and touched Li Yuechen's head: "Chen'er has grown up a lot now, you can't do this in the future. My old bones really need to fall, and I can't stand it."
"Okay!" Li Yuechen agreed and stuck out his tongue, "It's just that I felt that the grandfather in the court just now was extremely majestic, and the child couldn't help himself!"
"Why?" Li Zhi asked with a smile.
Li Yuechen put a hand on his shoulder: "I have read the Shangshu. If I bring it up now, you will definitely scold me for being a hen crowing at dawn..."
Hearing her words, Li Zhi turned his head and looked at Wu Zetian, then smiled and said, "Chen'er is so smart!"
Li Yuechen looked proud: "That's right! How could a child who is so smart not know what it means?"
Wu Zetian beside him raised her eyebrows: "Then Chen'er, tell me why he mocked you?"
Li Yuechen was angry: "He must think that the child can make money to help his parents, but he can't make money, so he has no face!"
Hearing the child's angry words, Wu Zetian was stunned for a moment, then she covered her mouth and chuckled.
Li Zhi also smiled and touched her head: "Well, that makes sense!"
Feeling that Li Zhi's arm seemed to be trembling, Li Yuechen said, "Grandpa, please put me down. I will walk between you and me."
"Okay." Li Zhi seemed to feel that his daughter brought it up out of giving him face, and he smiled even more happily.
Besides being happy, I even felt a little touched. It turns out that the daughter really cares about her father. Those sons never pay attention to these little details...
Li Yuechen was between the two of them, holding their hands and skipping all the way back to Renshou Hall.
Afterwards, the three of them didn't talk about this matter anymore, as if they had reached a tacit understanding.
Since the emperor and empress had this attitude, Li Yuechen knew that he could do whatever he wanted from now on. These two people would definitely support him strongly and would not put the pressure of the court on him.
In this case, Li Yuechen decided to work hard to make money, let Li Zhi see the power of monopoly business, and try to squeeze out the cake of these big families.
There is no way, who let Li Yuechen be born in the royal family? As a princess, of course she has to seek benefits for her family.
…
In the blink of an eye, it is the first day of March, and in two days it will be the Shangsi Festival.
In the Tang Dynasty, this was a festival for outings and outings. People would go to the river to wash their hands on this day, with the intention of removing dirt and bad luck.
Li Yuechen also planned to take advantage of this day to go outside the city and have a barbecue or something.
But you can't just run out of the city to play. You still have to say hello to Li Zhi and Wu Zetian.
Running all the way to Renshou Hall, Li Yuechen greeted Zhang Chengxin at the door and ran straight in.
"Grandpa and Mom, the Shangsi Festival is coming in two days, and I want to go on an outing outside the city!"
"Yes. Go ahead." Li Zhi nodded, "Remember to bring more guards!"
Li Yuechen placed her little head on his arm, blinked her big eyes and said, "My child wants grandpa and mom to go together."
Of course she knew that it was impossible for these two people to go, but whether to go or not was one thing, and whether to say it or not was another.
At least the attitude must be in place, which is what a qualified little cotton-padded jacket should do.
As expected, Li Zhi just smiled and said, "Forget it. Mei Niang and I are busy, so I won't go."
"If grandpa and mom don't go, it will be a lot less fun." Li Yuechen rubbed her face on Li Zhi's arm twice.
You know what, the high-end silk the emperor wears feels different.
"It's okay, Chen'er, just come back and tell me what you have done." Li Zhi smiled.
"All right……"
Li Yuechen looked a little disappointed: "I just feel that my parents are always thinking about national affairs, so they should think about me once in a while."
After reviewing a memorial, Wu Zetian turned her head and smiled: "It's a good thing that Chen'er has such an idea, and it deserves praise. But you should also know that some things are more important than your own enjoyment and preferences!"
"Yes, I will remember my mother's teachings!"
Wu Zetian picked up the teacup beside her and took a sip: "On the Shangsi Festival, if you plan to go out of town to play , why not ask Hong'er and the others to come with you."
"That's exactly what I meant!" Li Yuechen brought the cooked tea over and added it to her.
After playing with his parents for a while, Li Yuechen turned around and left.
On the day of Shangsi Festival, after practicing yoga in the morning, everyone prepared to set off.
Fulai loaded a carriage with the barbecue grill, ingredients, etc.
Because there were many people today, they specially found a larger carriage. Li Yuechen, her two sisters, and Shangguan Wan'er could all sit in it.
Fulai and Xiaohe can also sit at the door and it doesn't seem crowded at all.
The carriage had just driven out of the imperial city when the carriage of Li Hong and others also arrived.
Those responsible for protection today include the gate guards and the people led by the East Palace Siyu. All of them are fully armed, and there are nearly two hundred people in total!
After greeting each other, the group set off in a mighty manner.
Many people are leaving the city today, and the rich and powerful usually ride in luxurious carriages or ride horses themselves.
The slightly inferior ones basically also have a carriage moving slowly, surrounded by some servants and so on.
As long as the family conditions are not too bad, they will even go out to play by themselves.
The carriage convoy, surrounded by fully armed soldiers, walked in the center of the street in an extremely arrogant manner, and the surrounding pedestrians and carriages all gave way.
It was obvious that a prince or princess was traveling. In this era, no one dared to act arrogantly in front of such a convoy.
Through the constantly shaking curtains, the people in the carriage could vaguely see some of the scenes outside.
"It's so lively." Princess Xuancheng said, "I wonder how many people are leaving the city today."
"If you are interested, why not try to calculate it?" Princess Yi Yang said with a smile.
Princess Xuancheng shook her head: "Forget it, it's too troublesome..."
Li Yuechen looked at her two sisters and smiled. Suddenly, she saw a few people on the right riding on horseback and walking slowly towards the outside of the city.
It was Liu Huang and his friends. Judging from the expressions on their faces, Li Yuechen was 80% sure that they were discussing the girls they saw along the way.
Thinking of this, she suddenly stood up, opened the curtains and called out, "Liu Huang!"
"Hmm?" Liu Huang turned his head on horseback and raised his hand to salute: "Hello..."
“Forget it!” Li Yuechen waved his hand. “Come and play with me later, I’ll treat you to barbecue!”
"Yes!" Liu Huang agreed.
Li Yuechen lowered the curtain and continued to sit down.
Shangguan Wan'er was puzzled: "Why did His Highness invite him to eat barbecue?"
"Strictly speaking, I should call him 'Senior Brother'!" Li Yuechen smiled.
"I see." Shangguan Wan'er nodded to show that she understood.
After leaving the city, the team headed west in a mighty procession and stopped at a place with nice scenery.
Fulai and his men started to fiddle with the barbecue grill, ingredients and other things. After getting off the car, Li Yuechen and others went to the canal to wash their hands according to custom.
Li Yuechen didn't know that a few hundred meters north of where they were was the location of Luoyang Station more than a thousand years later.
