《Living leisurely in Tang Dynasty》


 Chapter 1: Li Er鈥檚 youngest brother

    Chapter 1: Li Er¡¯s youngest brother


    Summer came early on the 13<sup>th</sup> year of Zhengguan, it was already turning warm by mid-March. The imperial court is thus busy preparing to leave for Jiucheng Pce to escape the summer heat.


    Under the supervision of experts, Taiji pce was built strategically off Feng Shui principles but on low-lying grounds making it hot and humid during summer. It would be bearable for the able-bodied but for his Majesty Li Er <sup>[1]</sup> Li Er ¨C more widely known as by his birth name Li ShiMin or as Emperor Taizong of Tang. who has toiled all year long with a weaken body, summer in Taiji Pce was unbearable.


    In the 13 years that he had ruled, his Majesty asionally brings the imperial family to Jiucheng Pce to escape summer. This year¡¯s attendee includes a very special child, his youngest bother Li Yuanying.


    At the mention of Li Yuanying, many would scrunch their forehead in disapproval simply because even as a young child he truly is a troublemaker.


    Li Yuanying was born on the 4<sup>th</sup> year of Zhengguan also the 4<sup>th</sup> year Li Er ascended to the throne as Emperor.


    His Majesty is known as Li Er as he is the second child. And the way he ascended to the throne is infamously known as the XuanWu Gate incident. On a beautiful sunny morning he ambushed and killed his brothers at XuanWu Gate then requested his bloodied general YuChi JingDe to meet his father for a discussion ¡°s it has be like this, what to do?¡±. Hearing this, his father had no choice but to make him the crown prince and a few monthster stepped down to be Emperor Emeritus.


    After spending a few years cleaning up the entire court His Majesty politely invited the Emperor Emeritus who was at that time living in Taiji Pce to move to Da¡¯an Pce.


    Da¡¯an Pce was initially called Hongyi Pce and was bestowed to Li Er by the previous emperor. Life is a cycle, whatever residential you bestowed upon your son will be the same residential you will live in now.


    Since stepping down, the former emperor is no longer interested in courtly affairs but has instead fully immersed himself into worldly pleasures. Li Yuanying was thus born when the former Emperor was of the ripe age of sixty-four.


    Like most parents who favoured their youngest child, his majesty was the same. How much does he favour his son? Even when Li Yuanying pulled his beard, he would proudly brag ¡°Such an intelligent child¡±.


    Li Yuanying hence grew up spoilt. He has pretty much pulled everyone¡¯s beard from the former emperor to His Majesty Li Er to the ministers of court! Even more outrageous, he once sneakily unbuckled Li Er¡¯s golden belt resulting in it falling off with a loud bang when he arise to toast with his ministers.


    All in all, Li Yuanying was truly troublemaker all his life. Only the former emperor was biased in thinking that he was clever and adorable.


    Before his passing, the former emperor wholeheartedly entrusted his precious child to Li Er. What can his majesty do but to ept? With Li Yuanying being only five he was too young to be given a title and hence his Majesty epted him into Taiji Pce to be educated together with his own children.


    Li Er¡¯s attitude towards children was simr to how one would treat their pets, left to professional help only to be summoned for amusement when they crossed his mind. Naturally that was how Li Yuanying was also treated.


    The children¡¯s reaction towards moving to Jiucheng Pce was out of Li Er¡¯s expectation


    First Sizi excitedly approached him. ¡°Father, can we bring young uncle along?¡±


    Then ChengYang shyly approached him. ¡°Father, can we bring young uncle along?¡±


    Later, HengShan sweetly approached him. ¡°Father, can we bring young uncle along?¡±


    Followed by Li Zhi who mustered up all his courage and approached him. ¡°Father, can we bring young uncle along?¡±


    His Majesty felt that this was unusual. Given that these children are legitimate children between him and Empress Zhangsun, they were treated more favourably than other prince and princesses and would not be easily persuaded or instructed by others. Li Er decided to not react outwardly and asked Li Yuanying¡¯s name to be added to the entourage list, ready to observe this younger brother.


    As summer arrives, the imperial court packed up their bags and set off for Jiucheng Pce.


    Jiucheng Pce was built during the Sui Dynasty and was previously called Renshou Pce. His Majesty thinks that it¡¯s too wasteful to demolish it entirely and to rebuild a new summer pce hence it was simply refurbished for its intended use.


    Following behind His Majesty¡¯s carriage was a carriage filled with young children who were chatting excitedly. The leader was Li Yuanying aged nine. Blessed with outstanding features ¨C a handsome face, red lips with pearly white teeth and a pleasing voice clear as spring that always utter pleasantries from it:


    ¡°It was said that Jiucheng Pce was short of water after it was refurbished. Lord brother and sister-inw wandered around and found a ce that was abnormally humid and poked it with something resulting in spring water emerging. Lord brother was extremely pleased and asked Wei Zheng to write ¡°Jiucheng Pce Liquan Inscription¡± <sup>[2]</sup>¡°Jiucheng Pce Liquan Inscription¡± ¨C Record of the discovery of water spring at Jiucheng Pce . A famous inscription from Tang Dynasty. Will just be referring to this as ¡°the¡­ Continue reading while Ouyang Xun was asked to inscribe it.¡± (Li yuanying)


    ¡°Oh yes, I heard of this! Ouyang¡¯s handwriting is great and we usually practice his characters.¡± (Prince of Jin ¨C Li Zhi)


    Li Zhi is Li Yuanying¡¯s nephew but in reality he was 2 years older and much more matured behaving than Li Yuanying.


    Li Yuanying¡¯s ludicrous behavior left a lingering bad impression on many hence everyone had low expectations from him, so long he is able to read and recognize words, no one expected him toprehend literature or produce good calligraphy work. As for skills like riding, archery, music and chess it was left to his discretion and interest.


    In the carriage, Li Yuanying led the discussion on ytime ns. As a matter of fact, he did not simply bring up ¡°Jiucheng Pce Liquan Inscription¡± on a whim. It was because he received a new mission by the system.


    That¡¯s the reason why Li Yuanying was willing to travel away from the pce. You must empathize with me that travelling these days is a major pain. First, the roads are bad. Second, the carriage is ufortable and hurts my ass. If it¡¯s not for a mission, who is willing to travel far?


    Talking about the system or his personal mission leads us back to Li Yuanying¡¯s encounter a few years ago.


    It was a winter month with heavy snow fall. Being bored, Li Yuangying thought of a new mischievous antic, to bury an unfortunate servant deep into the snow. When others were shivering outside he burst outughing amused while enjoying the warmth andfort with a warmer indoors.


    Yuanying¡¯s mother was shocked and angry and wanted to teach him a lesson only to be rebuked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve only imposed a small punishment, see if he dares to disrespect mother anymore!¡±


    Reduced to tears his mother rebutted ¡°Son, father is gone. You cannot behave wilfully anymore.¡±


    Being young he was ignorant of what ¡°Father is gone¡± meant but seeing his mother crying sadly, he promised to not misbehave anymore. Though he still couldn¡¯t fall asleep as he was still angry about his perceived injustice.


    It was then a mysterious mission based system entered his mind: Myriad Realm Library.


    Strangely despite not learning thenguage he was able to fullyprehend them. Once figuring out what a library is he instantly lost interest. For who would be excited about books? For a long time Yuanying ignored the existence of Myriad Realm Library. It kept prompting him that he¡¯scking in levels and needed toplete missions. Who would waste such time & effort!


    Until one time, the system gave Yuanying a trial taste of a piece of chocte candy and indicated that if it¡¯s tasty he should do the task and get rewarded with a full bag of it! Under the temptation of chocte candies, Li Yuanying relented and borrowed a book from Li Zhi and worked hard to finish it.


    Even under the temptation of delicious chocte candies, Li Yuanying still dislike reading. Within the past three years he hasn¡¯t evenpleted ten books. After all he doesn¡¯tck in necessities, chocte candy loses its appeal after a few tries.


    This time the system indicated that they would reward him with a big bottle of Coke should he sessfully locate ¡°Record of the discovery of water spring at Jiucheng Pce¡±. After weighing the pros and cons Li Yuanying decided to travel to Jiucheng pce toplete his mission.


    Using a few pieces of chocte candy, he managed to convince his friends to ask His Majesty to bring him along. Next up is to locate ¡°the inscription ¡± and arge bottle of Coke is mine!


    Easy! Happy! Great!


    Being in a good mood he started telling fairy tales to his nephews and nieces. To establish his status of being the senior Li Yuanying worked hard reading ¡°The Analects¡± in exchange for ¡°Fairy Tales of Wilde¡± from the system to show off!


    ording to the system, these stories arergely unheard of in this era. They are heart-warming stories suitable for all ages and are extremely popr with theter generations. Li Yuanying was convinced and started telling stories to Princess Jinyang and the others.


    Among the many children of Emperor Li Er, Princess Jinyang (nickname Sizi) is the most favoured. Despite her young age she resembles her queen mother more and more each day. After the demise of Empress Changsun, His Majesty was in grief and often kept Sizi by his side.


    At the beginning of the journey His Majesty wanted Sizi to ride with him but Sizi refused as she wanted to listen to Li Yuanying¡¯s story making His Majesty extremely curious on what the story was about.


    The royal entourage finally arrived at Jiucheng Pce on a sunny afternoon. Thinking about his, children his majesty instructed them to be brought to him. Apart from Li Zhi the remaining 3 children were sobbing. Seeing his majesty Sizi plunged into her father¡¯s arms and burst into tears.


    His Majesty startled and angry: ¡°ZhiNu (Li Zhi)! Who bullied your sister?!¡±


    Li Zhi hesitantly said, ¡°No, Uncle told us a story.¡±


    His Majesty did not believe him and asked: ¡°What story can make everyone cry?¡±


    Sizi wiped away her tears and replied: ¡°It¡¯s the Happy Prince! The Happy Prince and Little Swallow are so pitiful! Little Swallow¡¯s friends are still far away waiting for him, but he can¡¯t go there!¡±


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü 1 Li Er ¨C more widely known as by his birth name Li ShiMin or as Emperor Taizong of Tang.


    ¡ü 2¡°Jiucheng Pce Liquan Inscription¡± ¨C Record of the discovery of water spring at Jiucheng Pce . A famous inscription from Tang Dynasty. Will just be referring to this as ¡°the inscription¡± in future chapters.

 Chapter 2

    Chapter 2


    Holding Sizi in one hand and the youngest Princess Hengshan in the other his Majesty led the entourage into Jiucheng Pce. Li Yuanying seeing that the children were following the Emperor wanted to sneak away toplete his mission but was immediately stopped by two guards. It was then Li Yuanying realized that despite his brother giving off an outwardly nonchnt vibe towards him in actual he was monitoring his every move through the guards.


    This is bullying! I ain¡¯t no troublemaker! Li Yuanying being aware that he wouldn¡¯t win in a fistfight nor was he able to sneak away gave up and followed the group.


    Along the way the Emperor listened to the ¡°Happy Prince¡± which was being retold by Sizi. The story is indeed a good one but His Majesty is no child. He realized that there are foreign ideas hidden in the story that do not belong to the children¡¯s world. Naturally he did not feel sad for a bird and a statue like Sizi.


    The Emperor has always been patient with Sizi and coaxed: ¡°In the end didn¡¯t the heavenly messenger brought them to heaven and let them live happily together?¡±


    Sizi was still miserable and hugged the Emperor ¡®s neck: ¡°But I¡¯m still sad! These bad people even threw Happy Prince into the furnace!¡±


    After sessfully pacifying the children and making them sit, the Emperor called for the perpetrator. At this very same moment Li Yuanying was wondering if he should get a servant to bring him a meal. Hearing that Li Er was summoning for him, he immediately touched his hungry stomach and ran over. As soon as he walked in, he was amazed! Sizi and the others were all looking at him!


    Li Yuanying stepped forward and bowed to His Majesty. Before the Emperor could speak, he sat down obediently and asked: ¡°Lord Brother are you not hungry? Isn¡¯t it already time to eat? You work hard every day managing the country, you shouldn¡¯t go hungry!¡±


    Li Er instantly understood the meaning behind this sentence, this kid is trying to cheat a meal. Li Yuanying was his younger brother anyway and he would not let him starve so food was to be served.


    ¡°Did you tell a story to the children on the way here¡±


    Fearfully remembering the sobbing faces of his nieces & nephew Li Yuanying was quick in thinking of a way to push the me away ¡°These stories were written by a man named Wilde and it has nothing to do with me!¡±


    Many haveined that Li Yuanying was not attentive in ss and causing a scene was his specialty. Knowing all too well the Emperor naturally knew that he could note up with such a story himself. Hearing that Li Yuanying said ¡°these stories¡± he became curious and asked ¡°Are there others? Tell us another one!¡±


    Hearing this Sizi immediately forgot all about her misery and was looking at Li Yuanying with shiny eyes pleading for him to tell another one.


    Although Li Yuanying is only nine years old he has many mischievous antics up his sleeve. Every time before he told the children a story he stalls for time. After all, ¡°Wilde¡¯s Fairy Tales¡± didn¡¯te easy to me, I had to read a full volume of ¡°the Analects of Confucius¡± in exchange! Hearing that the Emperor wanted a second story from him, Li Yuanying was unwilling and touched his belly dramatically: ¡°Lord Brother I¡¯m hungry! I can¡¯t remember anything when I¡¯m hungry!¡±


    At the same moment, Sizi¡¯s stomach grumbled as well. ¡°Father, I am hungry too.¡±


    ¡°I have called for a meal to be prepared. In the meantime, since your uncle can¡¯t remember well, why don¡¯t you tell father the story instead?¡±


    Hearing that all four children were excited and were retelling the story one after another while Li Yuanying sat obediently.


    He felt that there was nothing wrong in telling the story since they were originally written in books.


    Don¡¯t panic!


    In the beginning, missions offered by the Myriad Realm Library was not as easy as the current task. Initially he had to read and understand books to proof that he was qualified. With that Li Yuanying had to read several books throughout these past three years. Going by his motto that nothing he has put in effort should go to waste, he thuspiled his readings into simple and easily understood stories and retold them to the children. Nothing seems wrong, don¡¯t panic!


    While Li Yuanying was waiting enthusiastically for the meal, the Emperor became more and more surprised as he listened to the stories being retold.


    His Majesty has spent half his life acquiring knowledge and has read a huge array of books. Naturally he has also read most of the ssics that Li Yuanying has told. He realized that modifying such ssics into stories that are easily understood by children no more than five to six years old is no easy task.


    As the food arrives the Emperor signaled to start eating. While his Majesty ate he fell into deep thoughts and was looking at Li Yuanying. Is his younger brother deliberately hiding himself? But he quickly changed his mind, if his younger brother was indeed someone with a great mind, why would he foolishly reveal his true self to the children?


    He thought that the most likely conclusion was that since everyone had a preconceived notion that this kid is a troublemaker no one attempted to really teach him properly. Even the Emperor himself being the older brother hadn¡¯t noticed that Yuanying had such talent!


    After the children has finished eating, his Majesty requested that Li Yuanying tells another story to soothe the children¡¯s emotions. Li Yuanying felt that since he got to eat a royal meal for free it was no loss to him if he told another story.


    This story called the ¡°Little Princess¡¯s Birthday¡± is also very warm and moving. It¡¯s about a beautiful princess who is about to celebrate her birthday. In order to make the princess happy, her subjects presented a particrly ugly boy to dance for her. The princess was amused by the boy¡¯s funny dance and threw him a white rose.


    After listening to this, His Majesty nodded approvingly and thought that although the story was a little t, it was not bad. At least it taught Sizi not to judge people by their appearance. Everyone in the world has their value!


    Li Yuanying stopped for a sip of water before continuing with the story.


    The little boy had mistakenly thought that the princess liked him so he broke into the pce to express his feelings only to find a mirror on the way. The little boy was poor and had not seen a mirror. He was startled when he saw himself in the mirror: ¡°What kind of monster is this?!¡± After he confirmed that the ¡°monster¡± in the mirror was indeed himself, he was very sad. At that moment he heard the princess smiling and telling her friends: ¡°It¡¯s funny how he dances.¡±


    The little boy then realized that the princess just thought of him as nothing but a clown and died of a broken heart.


    At the end of the story the princess learning that the little boy can no longer dance to amuse her became angry and said: ¡°From now onwards, anyone who ys with me should not have a heart!¡±


    The Emperor: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    The way Li Yuanying described the little boy¡¯s determination when he broke into the pce was very realistic. The moment the little boy¡¯s dream was pierced by harsh reality was naturally very heart-breaking. After hearing the whole story Sizi, Hengshan, Chengyang cried again.


    The remaining Li Zhi sat on the side in silence fearing that his father would be furious and that his three younger sisters would have swollen eyes from crying so much. He didn¡¯t know what to do.


    Upon seeing the tense atmosphere Li Yuanying hurriedly got up and tried to escape: ¡°This was indeed a long and arduous journey. Lord brother you must be exhausted hence I will take my leave and not bother the Emperor anymore!¡±


    Seeing his three precious daughters crying tearfully, his Majesty weakly cursed: ¡°Get out!¡±


    I don¡¯t know who that Wilde is but how dare he write such stories! If this happens again even if I had to get someone to dig the ground, I will find Wilde!


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    After sessfully escaping, Li Yuanying was led back to his residence and took afortable nap. When he awoke in the evening, Li Zhi had quietly came over with his three younger sisters.


    The three young girls were all wearing clothes that are easy to move in and had their hair tied into a bun making them look like young boys. Being children they have all but forgotten about their sorrows in the afternoon. Sizi happily rushed towards Yuanying holding a map drawn by Li Zhi: ¡°Let¡¯s go orienteering, ninth brother has arranged it!¡±


    Most would find Sizi hard to understand as she is only six years old but not Li Yuanying. He understood her intentions right away!


    This activity was nned in the carriage on the way here and is called ¡°Jiucheng Pce y ns¡±. First Li Zhi will sneaked to His Majesty¡¯s study to draw a map of Jiucheng Pce and have servants bury tools at designated check points. Then they split up, reporting to check points and the first to arrive at the final destination wins!


    Li Zhi was not a bold person, it¡¯s absolutely impossible for him to sneak into the Emperor¡¯s study unnoticed. He instead chose to confessed everything to his father and asked for a map. Now that Li Zhi has drawn two maps and sent someone ahead to prepare the check points, the team can start ying immediately!


    Now herees the awkward problem all three of his sisters wants to be on Li Yuanying¡¯s team and not his.


    As soon as Sizi and Hengshan heard that they were to split into teams they immediately hold on to Li Yuangying¡¯s hand refusing to let go. Luckily Chengyang was a good natured child and saw Li Zhi all alone so she decided to join his team.


    So the team was split like this¡±


    Team ONE ¨C Li Zhi and Chengyang; eleven and nine years old.


    Team TWO -Li Yuanying, Sizi and Hengshan; nine, six and five years old.


    Li Yuanying was not dissatisfied with having two young teammates with him. Instead he felt that Li Zhi being bad at directions was at a disadvantage even with Chengyang in his team. Furthermore, his goal is not to win but to reach the location of the inscription.


    The reason why he suggested ying this game was just to get the children to be active, move their muscles and use their brains. The result was not important, what¡¯s important was to participate!


    Li Yuanying held the map, pondered then exined the route to Sizi and Hengshan. Finally, he put out his palm on top of the map.


    Sizi understood instantly and stacked her little palm on his.


    Hengshan followed suit and did the same.


    ¡°Let¡¯s Go!¡± shouted the three children.

 Chapter 3

    Chapter 3


    Li Yuanying casually stated his ytime idea yet Li Zhi took it seriously and prepared well for it. The maps that he drew himself even listed ces that they needed to check in at.


    Given the short nning time, tools for clocking in was unavable so Li Zhi simply searched for seals and asked servants to hold them at clock in points and to serve as witness.


    Li Yuanying has a knack for reading map and directions. In a blink of an eye the team reached their first check point. There they met Li Zhi¡¯s courtdy with a round pleasing face. Sizi and Hengshan both wanted to stamp using the seal so Li Yuanying teaches them rock-paper-scissors and whoever wins get to do it!


    Sizi and Hengshan quickly picked on and began to shout: ¡°Scissors, rocks, paper¨C¡°


    Sizi decided on scissors.


    Hengshan made a small fist.


    Hengshan blushed with joy: ¡°Rock triumphs over scissors, I won!¡±


    Sizi really wanted to stamp but epted that she lost and obediently watched Hengshan approach the first check point and got their map stamp with the seal.


    Taking advantage of the time when his teammates were busy, he figured out the route to the next check point.


    Although he did not particrly want to win the race but if he could he would still want to emerge as the winner.


    ¡°RUN!¡±


    At this same moment the Emperor was leading a group of officials and saw the children ying, so he watched for a while. Seeing Li Yuanying and Sizi making a fuss in the pavilion his Majesty couldn¡¯t help but sigh reminiscently: ¡°When I took Yuanying to Taiji Pce, he was only five and the Empress often tend to him personally. Growing up together with my children they often yed together¡±.


    At the mention of the Empress, Li Er¡¯s expression inevitably became sad. Since her passing there have been troubles in the pce and discord between the sons. He often thinks that if the Empress was still alive the children will definitely not do anything to make her sad.


    His Majesty obviously cherishes the memory of thete Empress and his ministers did not interrupt.


    Besides when Li Yuanying was mentioned the ministers didn¡¯t want to say anything. This kid is a bit clever but if you want him to do serious business, he will definitelye up with new tricks to sneak out and y! It¡¯s fine if he¡¯s the only mischievous one but he often involves and badly influences the other royal children. Everyone who had been requested by royal decree to teach the children would definitely have had an encounter with Yuanying¡¯s mischievous antics.


    Zhangsun Wuji who was Li Zhi¡¯s uncle often heard about Yuanying from his nieces and nephew had not experience Li Yuanying¡¯s antics first-hand hence still had a good impression of him.


    ¡°Speaking of which, it¡¯s time to bestow him with a title.¡±


    Li Yuanying was already nine and all his older brothers had been given a title since the fifth year of Zhengguan. Leaving only him who was bornte with no title and it would not be good to dy any longer. His Majesty heard Zhangsun Wuji¡¯s suggestion and nodded ¡°I really have to pick a good ce for him. He is still young so I will send someone ahead to help him build his pce. Once he¡¯s old enough in a few years he can then go to his fief.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    Li Yuanying who didn¡¯t know that he was about to be promoted to the title of WangYe <sup>[1]</sup>WangYe- refers to the emperor¡¯s brothers continue on with Sizi and Hengshan and was ahead of Li Zhi and Chengyang to the final destination.


    Chengyang who was normally mild temper still couldn¡¯t helpining: ¡± Ninth Brother went in the wrong direction when referring to the map. He almost ran into the residence of the Emperor! Fortunately, a kinddy helped us with direction else we wouldn¡¯t reach here even by nightfall!¡±


    Being a little embarrassed, Li Zhi corrected Chengyang: ¡°That¡¯s not just an elder sister that¡¯s Lord Father¡¯s Lady Wu (CaiRen) <sup>[2]</sup>Cai Ren refers to Lady of Talents which is the 6<sup>th</sup> rank of the imperial harem in Tang Dynasty¡±.


    Lady Wu was one level higher in ranking than Li Yuanying¡¯s mother ¨C Lady Liu (Bao Lin) <sup>[3]</sup>Bao Lin refers to Lady of Treasure which is the 7<sup>th</sup> rank of the imperial harem in Tang Dynasty. Li Zhi has met her before when she entered the pce two years ago. She wasn¡¯t much older than him only by three or four years. She was a beauty and was intelligent. It was said that father favours her and gave her the name ¡°Wu Mei¡±.


    Li Yuanying doesn¡¯t care one bit about his brother¡¯s concubines but was instead overjoyed that their team won. He smiled and ask Chengyang to record it. After all they still needed to tabte the final results of their little game.


    Li Zhi wasn¡¯t too affected by him losing the game but instead urged Li Yuanying and the others to admire the ¡°the Inscription¡± together.


    Li Yuanying himself has no personal interest in seeing it but he had a mission. He walked a circle around it to scan it with his naked eyes before sending the image back to the library as a record toplete his mission.


    The Myriad Realm library has a distinct advantage in which anything that has been archived in it can be called out for reference at any time. Unfortunately, that¡¯s pretty useless to Li Yuanying for who would want to reread books? As for using this as a cheat during exams? That¡¯s even more unlikely for him. Why should he cheat? If he doesn¡¯t know the answer just leave it nk, after all it¡¯s not like his tutors will reprimand him for it!


    Afterpleting his mission, Li Yuanying quickly lost interest in the inscription. Seeing that it¡¯s getting dark, they should be returning back for a snack. None of the other children apart from Li Zhi had an interest in the inscription hence they quickly followed behind Yuanying¡¯s footsteps in returning home.


    Li Yuanying wanted to write a letter to report that he¡¯s safe to his mother at night. Being a concubine to the previous emperor, it would not be appropriate for her to join the entourage to Jiucheng Pce. Sending the letter to the post department will ensure that his letter reaches his mother safely together with all the other letters intended for the pce in the Capital.


    To ensure his letter reaches his mother quickly, Yuanying tried persuading the other children to also write letters to their elder brother, first prince Li Chengqian. Sizi thinks this makes sense and started drafting her own. Despite Sizi¡¯s young age, her handwriting was much better than Yuanying¡¯s as she was personally taught by the Emperor himself.


    On the other hand, Hengshan was unable to write hers as Li Yuanying had in the past frightened her that her fingers would turn ugly if she learns how to write at a young age. She thus hasn¡¯t learned yet and was only able to plea with Sizi to include her name in her letter!


    After that all the other children went back to sleep except for Li Zhi who stayed behind to conspire with Li Yuanying. He secretly whispered to Li Yuanying: ¡°Are we really going to probe Du He tomorrow?¡± Du He is the son of Du Ruhui.


    Du Ruhui pledge his loyalty to the Emperor early in his career and wasmonly referred to as ¡°Fang Plots & Du Decides¡± with Fang Xuanling. This means that Fang Xuanling has many ideas but is fickle minded while Du Ruhui was decisive and made urate judgments with few mistakes. Therefore, His Majesty often summon both together when discussing issues. One to plot and the other for judgment,bining both swords to minimize drawbacks. These two men were the brains of Li Er and initially the former Emperor had once deliberately transferred them away to prevent them from making ns for Li Er!


    It¡¯s a pity that Du Ruhui¡¯s lived a short life and pass away in his forties. After Du Ruhui¡¯s death, His Majesty often called his name by mistake and feels sad once he remembers that he¡¯s no longer alive. Princess Chengyang was then engaged to Du Ruhui¡¯s unmarried second son, Du He.


    As Princess Chengyang is only nine it would be another six years before she marries Du He. For Chengyang¡¯s sake both Li Yuanying and Li Zhi decided to check out Du He¡¯s character. If he is not good, then they would plot to ruin the engagement ns.


    Li Zhi never thought of such ns at first, after all the decisions of his parents were final with no room for him toment. But Li Yuanying is different. He was born different and dares to think what others don¡¯t and to do what others dare not.


    Ever since Li Yuanying became aware of what marriage meant, he looked at his three precious nieces and felt dissatisfied with the guys who marry them in the future. Our precious daughters have been raised with much effort from childhood to adulthood, how dare they try to marry them with just a little dowry? After all we do notck in betrothal gift, why should the girl who marries be a part of a different family? It¡¯s unreasonable!


    If said man is a scoundrel, wouldn¡¯t it mean that the girl will be aggrieved?


    Li Yuanying gave Li Zhi a profound education on this ideology saying that he currently doesn¡¯t care much about his sisters and that shouldn¡¯t be the way! After serious reflection, Li Zhi decided to take a closer look at his prospective brother-inw Du He together with Li Yuanying. So both whispered together, discussing how to test the guy who wants to pick their precious one tomorrow.


    First, we need to test his temperament on whether he is impulsive, irritable and violent. This is very important. ording to the system, it says that there are only two frequencies of domestic violence -Zero or Endless. His niece will definitely not win in a fistfight. Then, they needed to assess the home environment on whether there are any difficult rtives to deal with. After all, Chengyang will likely spend more time with them than her husband. On this topic, Li Yuanying doesn¡¯t know much hence he¡¯s handing it over to Li Zhi.


    The two was not yet done dividing their tasks but they suddenly heard a rush of footsteps outside as if someone was surrounding their pce. Li Yuanying instructed the servant next to him: ¡°Dai Ting, go and see what¡¯s going on.¡±


    Li Zhi nced at Dai Ting¡¯s back thoughtfully and said, ¡°Young uncle, Dai Ting is really handsome.¡± Dai Ting has features that made him so beautiful that it was hard to distinguished whether he was male or female. His aura also doesn¡¯t seem to be that of a mere servant. If it weren¡¯t for the three fingers wide light red birthmark on his cheek, he might not be serving Li Yuanying.


    ¡°The appearance of a boy is not important.¡±


    Li Zhi thought about it and agreed so he didn¡¯t say more but waited for Dai Ting toe back and report on the situation outside.


    Dai Ting was quick in his task and returned quickly to report to Li Yuanying: ¡°Someone had attacked the pce at night, and his Majesty has ordered the guards to impose martialw in the whole pce.¡± So happen Prince Li Zhi was with Li Yuanying tonight so many guards were sent to protect them. Otherwise Li Yuanying would not have had such special treatment.


    Li Yuanying said curiously: ¡°Who would do such a thing and attacked Jiucheng Pce at night? Didn¡¯t they know that the Emperor brought all the elite soldiers?¡±


    ¡°I heard it was Ashina¡¯s association.¡±


    Seeing that neither Li Yuanying nor Li Zhi had heard of this group, he continued to ry the news that he managed to acquire: Ashina association is a group made up of people from Turkic ethnicity and were middle-ranking generals aftering to Tang. But they have not been promoted and maybe wanted to ¡°find another way out.¡±


    These people are of great skills and bravery. They dare to attack the Jiucheng Pce at night with a group of less than a hundred people!


    ¡°Since we have so much of rity on this incident. It should be all right?¡±


    Dai Ting nodded and replied: ¡°Yes, the guards are investigating whether there are any fish that have slipped through the.¡±


    ¡°There is a mess outside, so let me just stay the night with young uncle.¡±


    Li Yuanying had no objections, yawning he tucked himself into his thin quilt. He however made a condition clear to Li Zhi: ¡°You can squeeze in with me but you are not allowed to kick me at night!¡±


    Li Zhi retorted: ¡°I never kick people when I sleep!¡±


    The two children quickly fell asleep.


    In the middle of the night, Li Zhi in his sleep heard a thumping sound


    That was the muffled sound of him being kicked out of bed by Li Yuanying and his head hitting the floor!


    Li Zhi touched his head and sat up ring at Li Yuanying who was sleeping soundly.


    This uncle likes to kick people in his sleep but tells others not to kick him!!!


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü1WangYe- refers to the emperor¡¯s brothers¡ü2Cai Ren refers to Lady of Talents which is the 6<sup>th</sup> rank of the imperial harem in Tang Dynasty¡ü3Bao Lin refers to Lady of Treasure which is the 7<sup>th</sup> rank of the imperial harem in Tang Dynasty

 Chapter 4

    Chapter 4


    Li Yuanying slept well until dawn. When he awoke Li Zhi was staring at him with subtle grudge written all over his face. After blinking he curiously asked: ¡°Why did you wake up so early? We don¡¯t have ss today.¡±


    ¡°Young uncle, are you aware that you kick people in your sleep?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t usually sleep with people; how would I know?¡± Li Yuanying has always been an individualistic child and prefers not to sleep with others. His mother being an agreeable person is used to giving in to his wishes so she naturally allowed him to do as he desires.


    Hearing Li Yuangying¡¯s justification, Li Zhi had noment. After all, he was the one who wanted to stay over. How can he then me Li Yuanying?


    Li Zhi wasn¡¯t able to fall back to sleep after being awoken from that kick and simply sat and watched how imperious Li Yuanying would be when he wakes up. Li Zhi was surprisingly amused when Li Yuanying rolled from one end to the other end of a bed that could amodate several people within an hour. He really lives by the saying ¡°How could I allow others to sleep well on my bed. <sup>[1]</sup>Chinese Idiom which means one that would not allow things under one¡¯s power/jurisdiction to be interfered with by others¡±


    Li Yuanying realized that he might actually have kicked Li Zhi but felt no remorse.


    ¡°Then don¡¯t stay over next time.¡±


    ¡°Even if you ask me to, I would never share a bed with you again¡± said Li Zhi after experiencing yesterday¡¯s trauma.


    Being in a friendly rtionship, such trivial matters would not get in between them. They instead called in helpers to aid them with getting ready. Li Yuanying who was helped by a court looked over at Li Zhi. Upon seeing his thin and frail body he thought about Li Zhi¡¯s older brother.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t I see fourth brother yesterday?¡±


    Li Zhi¡¯s fourth brother is Prince of Wei, Li Tai who shared the same biological mother as Li Zhi.


    Among the sons and daughters of Empress Zhangsun, Li Chengqian, Li Tai, and Changle are of simr age. After a few years¡¯ gap came Li Zhi and Sizi. Most of the older children don¡¯t like ying with the younger ones. Hence on weekdays, there aren¡¯t that many opportunities for them to meet.


    However, Li Tai has been very popr in recent years because His Majesty favours him greatly.


    Under normal circumstances, a prince would be granted a fief upon bing an adult. However, exception was given to Li Tai who is currently neen. His Majesty is reluctant to see him leave and have instead specially built Wei Pce for him within the capital Chang¡¯an. The Emperor even went a step further and allowed him to open a literature museum and to recruit talents just to satisfy the prince¡¯s hobby for literary creation.


    In short His Majesty wants to see Li Tai every day. If he doesn¡¯t get to see him, he would send forth his white pheasant to deliver a note saying ¡°Father misses you¡±. Naturally, such a favoured child would be brought along to escape the summer heat.


    Unlike Li Zhi, Li Tai is chubby with a joyous figure and face. So when Li Yuanying saw Li Zhi¡¯s thin and frail body, he immediately thought of Li Tai who was the other extreme from him.


    Li Zhi who spent time with His Majesty yesterday was naturally more well informed on news in the pce. ¡°Fourth brother found an ancient book and was reading it so diligently that he neglects sleep and food. He even refuses to leave the carriage upon reaching Jiucheng Pce so Lord father allowed him to finish reading the book before getting off.¡±


    ¡°Your fourth brother really cherishes books like his own life¡±


    ¡°Fourth brother has been like that ever since he was a child.¡±


    After getting dressed, they split up. Li Zhi went to see Sizi and the other children while Li Yuanying strolled towards the polo field.


    Li Er intended to rx for two days before resuming with government affairs. This morning¡¯s itinerary is to watch noble children from the n y polo. Because of the presence of the Emperor the noble children are all gearing up to perform their very best to impress him.


    Li Yuanying wanted to take this opportunity to assess Du He. It¡¯s normal to have a little friction during a game. He intended to handle all the dirty deeds while leaving the good virtuous ones to Li Zhi. With them both working together they will definitely understand Du He¡¯s character thoroughly.


    The Emperor after having an early breakfast instructed for his horse to be brought and led the officials to the polo field to observe the excitement. Not even halfway there, someone hurriedly rush over, knelt and reported: ¡°Your Majesty, an incident urred at the polo stadium.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Sweating profusely the informer reports while trembling: ¡°It the sons of Du and Fang family, they started a fight¡±


    The officials being worried about offending either side tried to look for external help. Originally, they intended to look for Fang Xuanling but since they ran into the Emperor here they are informing him about the situation on hand instead.


    The Emperor nced at Fang Xuanling, waved his hand to signal the man to retreat and rode his horse straight towards the polo field.


    Fang Xuanling frowned when he heard ¡°Son from the Fang Family¡±. His eldest son was away for official matters and hence not here at Jiucheng pce so that leaves his younger Fang Yiai. This child is not as mature as his elder brother and can be easily provoked. Worried that Yiai will cause amotion in front of his Majesty, Fang Xuanling hurriedly mped his horse to keep up with the Emperor¡¯s pace.


    Wei Zheng and a few more officials followed a little behind with no intention of hurrying over to see themotion.


    The Emperor got down right outside of the polo field and saw that both sides were engaged in a full brawl, all manners lost with not an ounce of their usual proper upright behaviour. With sharp eyes, Li Er saw a familiar figure sitting not too far away. His younger brother Li Yuanying.


    That kid is actually sitting at a corner holding and sipping from a cup; observing the brawl with a surprised expression that said ¡°how can they not even fight properly?¡±


    The Emperor with blue veins visible on his forehead instructed for Yuanying to be brought over.


    Not noticing the Emperor¡¯s presence, Li Yuanying was astonished that Du He and Fang Yiai could not stand even a little provocation. He quietly took out his slingshot and aimed for the back of Du He¡¯s head fully intending to cause trouble as usual. At that very same moment, Fang Yiai so happen was walking past and from Du He¡¯s point of view it looked like Fang Yiai¡¯s doing.


    So the fight started.


    Li Yuanying somehow had zero awareness that he was the instigator of this gang fight. He simply felt that the two parties might have hated each other from the beginning. He poured himself a ss of Coke and sat in the Pavilion fanning himself while watching themotion.


    While Li Yuanying was watching with gusto, Li Er¡¯s man came to inform him that the Emperor requested for an audience.


    Li Yuanying turned to look and saw that the Emperor has not dismount from the horse but instead sat condescendingly watching the gang fight. Li Yuanying was shocked and immediately shouted loudly: ¡°The Emperor is here.¡±


    Hearing this, the crowd immediately disbursed quickly fearing the bad impression they would leave to the Emperor.


    After startling and dispensing all possible witnesses, then passing his Coke to Dai Ting for safekeeping, Li Yuangying finally ran over to meet the Emperor while putting on an innocent well-behaved fa?ade.


    Li Er nced at him on top of his horse coldly.


    Li Yuanying has a wealth of experience in causing trouble so he was determined not to mess up and expose himself. ¡°Lord Brother, why are you here so early? I wasn¡¯t made aware that you have had breakfast. You need to eat well in the morning, eat till you¡¯re stuffed at noon and just a little food in the evening. You can¡¯te without breakfast, it¡¯s bad to starve your body.¡±


    The Emperor seeing Li Yuanying with his calm demure attempting to chitchat finally got off his horse and asked in a direct manner: ¡°Tell me. What happened?¡±


    Li Yuanying giving his best innocent look said: ¡°I arrived and saw people fighting. At first, it was just two people then more joined. So many I was not able to tell their identities. Look at me, so small in stature. I don¡¯t want to get beaten at first sight. Of course, I wouldn¡¯t dare try to stop the fight, I could only hide away and wait for them to finish.¡±


    The Emperor intuitively felt that this has nothing to do with Li Yuanying. The group of fighting boys had already ran away and a nervous-looking minister Fang was standing next to them ready to drop to his knees and beg for mercy at a drop of a hat. He decided to divert the topic and asked Yuanying ¡°Why isn¡¯t Zhi Nu <sup>[2]</sup>Zhi Nu refers to Li Zhi here with you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Zhi Nu went to meet Sizi and the others. We were supposed to all meet at the polo stadium.¡±


    The Emperor not wanting to give Li Yuanying any opportunities to cause any trouble decided to keep him close by.


    ¡°Okay,e watch the polo match with me.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    Since the two parties broke out into a fight before the start of the match, the match will be a lively affair.


    On the other side, Li Zhi who was following the original n went to meet Du He intending to have a conversation with him. He wasn¡¯t expecting Li Yuanying to go and cause a fight between both groups thinking to himself that things are a little tricky right now.


    Fortunately, Li Zhi had a publicly known reputation of being good-tempered and passionate. It wouldn¡¯t be suspicious to others if he went to Du He and the other boys to tend to their injuries and talk to them.


    Li Zhi failed to steer the conversation towards Du He and his home situation but instead learnt that Du He and Fang Yiai was not on good terms due to them supporting different parties in politics.


    Neither of them is the eldest son of the family hence neither peerage nornd will be inherited by them. Therefore, they needed another alternative in life.


    One was close to Prince Li Chengqian and the other to Prince Li Tai. In the past, they have had conflicts because of one thing or another. Both were trying to show their capabilities and regarded each other as rivals. Meeting on such circumstances they wouldn¡¯t be able to hold back their temper and started fighting.


    Du He isn¡¯t someone who would easily disclose his real feelings to others but since the fight just happened and he was feeling horrible heined briefly to Li Zhi.


    Being very different from Li Yuanying, Li Zhi was a smart person who was also eager to learn. He has never cked in his studies and thus knows a lot more than Li Yuanying.


    Hearing Du He¡¯s vaguely bringing up that Fang Yiai is loyal to Prince Li Tai and has secretly started to oppose Prince Li Chengqian, he was shocked and thought of all the tragedies that have befallen the royal brothers fighting for power in the past.


    A very recent example would be the struggle for power between his father and then supposed hidden heir to the throne Prince Li Jiancheng in the blood-stained Xuanwu Gate incident.


    Being in a daze from his shock, Li Zhi forgot all about his promise to meet up with Yuanying to find out about Du¡¯s family affairs.


    Du He after he had finished cursing realized that he overstepped his boundaries in front of Li Zhi and had immediately gone silent. After having his wound taken care of he separated from Li Zhi and went topete on the polo field.


    Li Zhi brought the other children and headed towards the polo field to meet Li Yuanying as agreed.


    As soon as the three girls arrived, the Emperor cast Li Yuanying away.


    Li Yuanying seeing Li Zhi being a little lost leaned forward and asked in a low voice, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Did you get any information or did you screw up? I¡¯ve just dealt with Lord Brother, do not drag me into trouble again¡±


    Seeing how heartless Yuanying was, Li Zhi shook his head: ¡°All is good.¡±


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t inquire more but asked Dai Ting to pour a ss of good stuff for Li Zhi to drink.


    There¡¯s no meaning in holding onto good stuff alone, you have to share it with friends to be happy.


    Li Zhi who was still a young boy immediately cast aside his worries and curiously epted the drink from Dai Ting. Holding the curious drink, he immediately saw ice cubes floating in the jasper cup slightly concealing the brown liquid with small bubbles bubbling underneath. He felt a sense of coldness just looking at it.


    He instantly felt that all the summer heat and his depression was gone.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü1Chinese Idiom which means one that would not allow things under one¡¯s power/jurisdiction to be interfered with by others¡ü2Zhi Nu refers to Li Zhi

 Chapter 5

    Chapter 5


    What¡¯s this?


    This is the hard-earned reward for locating the inscription at Jiucheng Pce. It is said that it tasted better with ice. Li Yuanying passed the reward over to Dai Ting for preparation while he waited to taste it. Generously he replied: ¡°Coke with Ice.¡±


    Having not heard of such a beverage, Li Zhi was skeptical and asked ¡°Is this alcohol?¡± Every male drinks in Tang Dynasty but this isn¡¯t a feast. Li Zhi is having second thoughts about drinking anything with alcohol for he is afraid of messing up due to drunkenness.


    ¡°It¡¯s not.¡± Li Yuanying grab his own Coke and started drinking. He then directed his attention towards the match between Fang Yiai and Du He. This match will be exciting!


    Seeing Li Yuanying drinking, Li Zhi couldn¡¯t resist the temptation and took a sip. The ice-cold Coke entered his throat, a little icy, a little sweet with a bit of bubbles bursting in the mouth.


    ¡°Delicious!¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s not good why would I drink it?¡±


    Li Yuanying¡¯s attention was on Fang and Du on the field. ¡°Old man Fang and Old Man Du got along so well but look at the bad rtionship between the sons, such peculiarity.¡±


    This looks bad. See those ferocious looks on their faces, they are going to fight again on the polo field.


    Li Zhi¡¯s forehead twitched upon hearing Li Yuanying calling both seniors by their name directly but did not speak out to correct it. Knowing that Li Yuanying has not been afraid of heaven or earth since young no one would bother to find fault with him over trivial matters like name-calling. For it would be a waste of time and effort.


    Li Zhi also turned his eyes towards the field.


    While they were talking, Du He violently aimed his shot toward the eyes of Fang Yiai¡¯s horse.


    If Fang Yiai wasn¡¯t able to retreat in time, his horse would have gone crazy over the sharp pain in the eye.


    Li Zhi was secretly startled and couldn¡¯t help but nced at his Lord Father, only to see Li Er watching calmly without emotions on his face.


    Li Yuanying watched with excitement, emptied his ss of Coke, and turned around to ask Dai Ting for another. He saw Li Zhi looking at his father.


    ¡°Why are you watching your father instead of the game? If you want his attention why don¡¯t you go over to him. Why, are you shy?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that, I just wanted to see if father saw anything out of this.¡±


    Li Yuanying also looked to His Majesty after hearing this and wanted to see if his Majesty really is going to let go of the matter of Du He and Fang Yiai fighting. At this same moment both their eyes met.


    Li Yuanying turned away quickly and thought that this is why he doesn¡¯t like being with his brother. His second brother always looked at him with eyes that imply ¡°You went and did bad things again right?¡± Seriously where¡¯s the brotherly love.


    Yes, I have indeed gone around causing lots of trouble but his Majesty shouldn¡¯t be like this. Can¡¯t you give your brother a little bit of trust?


    On the other hand, His Majesty has heard the whole story from Fang Xuanling. Fang Xuanling first pleaded guilty saying he was not strict enough in teaching his son but also said that both sides broke into a fight for a reason. Someone shot Du He with a slingshot. Du He thought it was his son hence wanted to retaliate. However, people around were witnesses and could testify that his son absolutely didn¡¯t do it.


    Fang Xuanling was an honest person who only state facts without using anyone of wrongdoing. Nheless, his Majesty was certain the culprit was Li Yuanying.


    Such bullsh*t, only Li Yuanying will do.


    Luckily his Majesty was there watching the match so everything went smoothly. The game was more intense than usual but apart from that, no other incidents happened. Fang Yiai won by a small margin and came down from his horse to bow to his Majesty.


    The next match was for the older kids, third prince Li Ge and the rest of the participants were busy stretching before the game.


    The Emperor wasn¡¯t too concerned about this small conflict between the youths. He instead wanted to straighten out Li Yuanying and asked for him to be brought over.


    Hearing this Li Yuanying was a little nervous. He came towards his brother looking innocent ¡°Lord Brother, you called?¡±


    ¡°Tell me again how did the fight break out?¡±


    Sensing the unkind re in his Majesty¡¯s eyes and Fang Xuanling¡¯s bad mood, Li Yuanying quickly blink his eyes and said with a loud sigh: ¡°I didn¡¯t want to say this but since Lord brother is insisting I think that this incident happened all because of old man Fang.¡±


    Hearing this, Fang Xuanling was so angry that he wanted to vomit blood. This brat, I wasn¡¯t nning to find fault with you but how dare you involve me in this.


    ¡°How is this my fault?¡±


    ¡°A son¡¯s shorings are his father¡¯s fault. Nephew Fang is not young anymore like me a mere boy of eight or nine. He should know better; what¡¯s right and wrong. How can he simply hit someone? Old man Fang you are a veteran who is known to be upright, I can¡¯t believe Yiai is your son. I have heard that your wife is fierce and you fear her but you cannot not discipline your son just because of fear.¡±


    Hearing Li Yuanying going on and on disrespecting Fang Xuanling, the veins on Li Er¡¯s forehead wanted to pop.


    If you ask this brat to write an essay, he wouldn¡¯t even be able to produce a single line after the whole day. When ites to causing chaos he has such eloquences.


    Sensing that Yuanying isn¡¯t going to stop talking, he shouted ¡°Enough! Shut up!¡±


    Fang Xuanling said with a bitter smile: ¡°Your Majesty! I have failed in teaching my son.¡±


    His Majesty waved his hand at Xuanling asking him to not take this to heart. Looking at Yuanying he felt his blood pressure spike ¡°You go back and copy the book of rites from start to end. Do not leave your room if you¡¯re not done.¡±


    Seeing that Li Er had already condemned him, he had no choice but to follow the supervision guards with slumped shoulders.


    Sizi and the other children wanted to ask their father for mercy but didn¡¯t know what to say as they weren¡¯t aware of the incident.


    Li Zhi who knew everything was initially silent. Upon seeing Li Yuanying looking upset he decided to own up ¡°Lord Father, I have done wrong in this too.¡±


    Seeing Li Zhi owning up on his own ord the Emperor decided not to pursue further but instead told him to serve the same punishment as his uncle.


    Li Yuanying looked at Li Zhi like he¡¯s an idiot.


    ¡°Why are you so silly. If you do not say anything who would know?¡±


    ¡°If only you were punished, I would feel guilty.¡±


    Li Yuanying thinks that his nephew is really stupid but still quite cute. Both went towards the library to take out a volume from the book of rites. Upon seeing it, they were bbergasted. So many words, if we copy all of this our hands will fall off.


    These books are notpliled by pages but by volumes. Opening the book, they see words in small fonts crowded together. Before even starting Li Yuangying wanted to faint.


    ¡°Did Lord Brother purposely make us copy the book with the most words?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s coz he thinks we have no manners.¡±


    ¡°Not us, just me. Initially, I was the only one being punished, you came looking for hardship yourself.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up and get started, else we wouldn¡¯t be done even by tomorrow.¡±


    Li Yuanying dislikes writing but the Emperor wouldn¡¯t just let him get away with this. So he sat next to Li Zhi and started copying.


    Since I¡¯m being forced to copy this, I might as well understand it so I can get a reward from the Myriad Realm library. Upon reading he found this book impossible, it has rules for everything from daily living to marriage and funeral rites to etiquette education. If one were to live by the teaching of this book they would be exhausted.


    Luckily I¡¯m not a learned person.


    Li Yuanying was reading and copying the text attentively.


    The evening sun was already setting when His Majesty dismissed the people around him to look for the two boys. He stood outside quietly observing them for a while before entering.


    Li Zhi was the first to notice the arrival of the Emperor and wanted to get up and give his salutation but he was unable to due to the numbness in his legs from sitting too long.


    This sudden action startled Li Yuanying who was fully concentrating on his work. Lifting his head, he saw the Emperor observing them from a not too far distance. Li Yuanying firmly believed that a crying child would get candy so he quickly threw away the pen and paper in his hands andined to the Emperor.


    ¡°Lord Brother, my legs are numb. My hands are numb.¡±


    He quickly shows off the pile of handwritten notes with a pitiful face. ¡°These are my results. We have already copied so much. Can we stop now?¡±


    The Emperor nced at the thick stack of manuscripts in Li Yuanying¡¯s hand and then towards Li Zhi¡¯s stack which was not even half the thickness and went forward to check them out. Seeing Li Yuanying¡¯s work, His Majesty felt his blood pressure rise and wanted to scold someone. How can these be considered work? A few pages are tantly just gibberish and scribbles, such a waste to fine quality paper.


    Checking Li Zhi¡¯s work the Emperor looked slightly better but still turned towards Li Yuanying to scold him about causing trouble no matter day or night in whatever situation. Then, he scolded him for the way he copied the books filling them up with scribbles wasting his high-quality paper. Finally, he brought out old ounts and started counting all the past nonsense that Li Yuanying hasmitted in the past few years.


    Li Yuanying being the thick-skinned kid that he is simply nodded in agreement with Li Er.


    Feeling helpless, Li Er stopped his scolding and turned towards Li Zhi ¡°Tell me, why did you find fault with Fang and the others?¡±


    Li Zhi wanted to have an alignment with Li Yuanying instinctively looked towards him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at him. You tell me what happened.¡±


    Li Zhi couldn¡¯t help himself but confess everything honestly.


    Hearing that these two children went with the intention of helping Chengyang out by assessing her future husband, Li Er didn¡¯t know if he shouldugh or cry. However, one thing was certain. Li Yuanying really treats Chengyang and the children well and looks out for them like a real uncle.


    ¡°The future husband I chose for Chengyang was done with much consideration. You do not need to worry about it.¡±


    Seeing the children rubbing their wrists he waved his hands helplessly. ¡°It¡¯ fine, don¡¯t copy anymore. Go have a meal.¡±

 Chapter 6

    Chapter 6


    The two boys were working so diligently that everyone else has already had their meal.


    Not seeing the other children, Li Yuanying moved next to Li Zhi to have a meal together. He then quietly muttered: ¡°I think Du He is not a very reliable person.¡±


    Li Zhi took a bite off his food and hesitated for a moment before disclosing what he had heard during the day. Du He and Fang Yiai were still young but they have already pledged loyalty to Prince Li Chengqian and Prince Li Tai respectively. This made him a little sad.


    Li Yuanying took a bite out of his noodle soup while listening to Li Zhi. Noodle soup in Tang was not that different fromter generations. The noodles are pressed t and put into boiling soup to cook making it fragrant and bouncy. It¡¯s a dish that Yuanying likes a lot.


    ¡°No wonder you were acting weird today.¡±


    Without much care to the issue he nonchntly added, ¡°Even if all there is remaining is a broken hut in the family, they might still have fought over it. It¡¯s not surprising at all. After all, your father was a prime example of this.¡±


    Li Zhi was shocked to hear such a tant statement from Yuanying that he almost jump up through instinct to cover his mouth. ¡°Uncle, don¡¯t ever say this in front of others. If father hears this, he would have skinned you alive!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a fool, why would I tell this to others?¡±


    He changed his posture, sat cross-leggedfortably, and then shared his views: ¡°Even if it¡¯s handed to me on a silver tter I wouldn¡¯t take up the job. Look at how exhausted your father is, he has to discuss government affairs in court every day and sometimes starts early in the wee mornings. If he ever wants to go hunting, old man Wei chases and reprimands him. If he wants to get a new consort into the imperial harem old man Wei chases and reprimands him again. Why does everyone fight over such a tiring position?¡±


    After hearing Li Yuanying¡¯s rification Li Zhi also felt that it was a little overwhelming but still subconsciously refuted: ¡°It¡¯s not all that tiring.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to fight for it too?¡±


    Seeing Li Yuanying¡¯s expression that implies ¡°if you ever want to fight to be the ruler, let me know early so that I can get far away from you¡±, Li Zhi said firmly: ¡°Whether it¡¯s the eldest brother, third brother, or fourth brother they are much better than me! No matter seniority or ability it will still not be me, It¡¯s would never be mine to fight for?¡±


    Hearing this Li Yuanying finally managed to finish his meal and went strolling with Li Zhi in the imperial garden and diverted back to their main topic.


    Li Yuanying still thinks that Du He is not suitable for Chengyang for she is slightly introverted and pure and kind-hearted.


    Judging Du He from today¡¯s behavior he appears to have ambition beyond his age perhaps due to his father Du Ruhui passing away early making his future less promising and him being unwilling to resign to that fate. He is also impulsive and easily provoked. Even in the presence of his Majesty he was able to find an opportunity to ruthlessly get back at Fang Yiai. He¡¯s definitely not one to live his life properly in peace.


    No matter how you look at it, he¡¯s not a suitable match for Chengyang.


    Li Zhi thinks that the analysis is objective and reasonable but also knows that his father frequently thinks of thete Duke of Lai <sup>[1]</sup>Du Ruhui was posthumously made the Duke of Lai and thus is unlikely to cancel the engagement.


    Li Yuanying who has never met Du Ruhui shakes his head: ¡°Father is Father, Son is Son. They are not the same! You are your father¡¯s son but are you the same as him? Your father has fourteen sons and even more daughters.¡±


    With so many children the Emperor would not be able to prudently assess every aspect of each potential marriage candidate. The most he could do is a simple background check on each family¡¯s circumstances. Li Yuanying doesn¡¯t care about others but when ites to his beloved nieces he is resolute in assessing and refusing any unreliable candidates regardless of whether his surname was Du or Fang!


    His Majesty¡¯s favoritism towards his ministers¡¯ were reflected in the marriage of the princesses


    Princess Xiangcheng married Xiao Yu¡¯s son.


    Princess Changle married Zhangsun Wuji¡¯s son.


    Princess Yuzhang married Tang Jian¡¯s son.


    Princess Baling married Chai Shao¡¯s son.


    Princess Qinghe married Cheng Zhijie¡¯s son.


    The Emperor has so many princesses that there are more than enough of them to be married off to each and every favored n. Naturally, His Majesty would choose two of his most beloved princesses to be betrothed to the son of Fang and Du his most trusted ministers. Hence Chengyang was betrothed to Du family and Gaoyang was betrothed to Fang family.


    Princess Gaoyang who prefers a lively atmosphere was not able to join them at Jiucheng Pce. The alternating hot and cold weather and her liking for ice-cold drinks caused her to fall ill.


    Li Yuanying thinks that Gaoyang is not very reliable but with her being a little younger than Chengyang it would be unlikely that she would be married off so quickly. Let¡¯s figure out how to manage Chengyang¡¯s engagement first. After all, practice makes perfect, the next time we face the same predicament it can be solved much easier.


    Li Zhi seeing that Li Yuanying was determined to disrupt the engagement asked: ¡°So what are you going to do?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t thought about it yet, let¡¯s discuss itter.¡±


    To be honest, he doesn¡¯t yet have a clear concept of what marriage is but His Majesty¡¯s punishment today of copying the Book of Rites gave him much inspiration.


    Although the many rules described in the book made one¡¯s scalp numb they are notpletely unusable and could be taken advantage of for one¡¯s benefit.


    After the two boys separated, Li Yuanying went back to his room for a shower and started pondering about this matter. It was still early so he shouldn¡¯t go to bed yet like the usual days.


    He got someone to help him get dressed and went to the library with Dai Ting. As his Majesty is here to escape the summer heat, the library was still brightly lit even after nightfall as if it was waiting and weing the Emperor to visit at any time.


    This greatly benefitted Li Yuanying. He requested Dai Ting to wait outside and walked along the rows of bookshelves intending to find the book of Rites he had read during the day.


    Just as he followed his memory and saw the Book of Rites lying in a corner of a bookshelf, he unexpectedly saw a girl no older than fourteen or fifteen leaning against the bookshelf reading. He could only catch a glimpse of the girl¡¯s side view but saw that she has eyebrows that were set apart and a high nose, no matter how you look at her she is a beauty.


    But Li Yuanying was only nine, not yet at the age where he would be interested in women, so naturally, he didn¡¯t think much about her beauty. He walked over with big steps, picked up his book and prepared to leave.


    The sound of his footsteps startled the girl. She turned to look at him with bright eyes filled with curiosity.


    Seeing Yuanying¡¯s clothes she deduced that he should be a member of the royal family. Looking at his age and appearance she could guess Yuanying¡¯s identity.


    ¡°Your Royal Highness, you came to read a book sote?¡±


    Seeing that this girl might have guessed his identity, Yuanying looked up and assumed that she should be a low-ranking concubine. He gave her a seemingly polite (or so he thought) ¡°um¡± and left with the book of Rites.


    On his way back, Dai Ting who was waiting for him said: ¡°That was Lady Wu <sup>[2]</sup>Wu CaiRen or Lady of Talents, daughter of Wu Shiyue who was on good terms with the former Emperor.¡±


    Due to Wu Shiyue¡¯s friendship with the former Emperor and Prince of Qi he was not highly regarded by the current emperor after Xuanwu Gate incident. Lady Wu (Wu CaiRen) was selected into the harem purely based on her looks.


    Unfortunately for her around the same time Lady Xu <sup>[3]</sup>Xu CaiRen or Lady Xu of Talent also entered the imperial harem. Due to her resemnce in behavior to thete Empress Zhangsun she was preferred by the Emperor and was promoted to concubine of fourth rank ¡°JieYu¡±.


    This is probably the reason why Lady Wu is hiding in the library alone reading books.


    Li Yuanying has already grown ustomed to Dai Ting¡¯s extensive knowledge hence it is not surprising to hear him recall these things in detail. Although he was not interested in the affairs of the imperial harem, he will not prevent Dai Ting from paying attention to these things. After all, to disrupt Chengyang¡¯s marriage he needs to borrow the power of the imperial harem.


    The entire Book of Rites appeared in the archive of the Myriad Realm Library after he finished reading it. The system conducted aprehensive analysis and evaluation and finally gave it an S-rank.


    So long as the book is in the library¡¯s archive Li Yuanying can freely choose if it should be open to the public for reading. In principle, if someone were to read it, Li Yuanying would get points from this.


    He felt that no one would want to read such a book so he picked open for public viewing. He then continues to analyze it for any useful content. He was so engrossed in reading that he spent the whole night in the library. By the time he came to his senses, it was already bright and approaching dawn. Though he hasn¡¯t slept at all his spirit was good!


    He did a few stretches, freshen up, and went to meet the other children. After ying for so many days it¡¯s finally time for ss again.


    There¡¯s no need for Dai Ting to wait on him during ss so Li Yuanying asked that he inquire about the Du and Fang family. News from all aspects about them would be useful, for you never know what information can be put to good use in the future.


    Li Yuanying then strolls over to meet Li Zhi and a few others to move towards the lecture hall together. Everyone exuded a pitiful aura that says ¡°I don¡¯t want to go to school¡±.


    When the person in charge of the lecture came in, the children instantly understood the meaning of ¡°the house leaks from rain in the night, the boat camete while there was headwind¡± <sup>[4]</sup>Means unfortunate things happening one after another. This old man was scrawny looking but his eyes were sharp. It is the one and only Wei Zheng that even the Emperor doesn¡¯t want to listen to.


    His Majesty obviously felt that the children has been cking too much and wanted to give them a good beating. Hence he sent Wei Zheng over.


    Li Yuanying blended in with his friends and pretended to be well-behaved. But suddenly the system prompted him about a new task: to locate a literary article that was nearby. Simply scan it with your naked eyes and get a pack of sunflower seeds.


    The system gave a short introduction of the said article <<Ten gradual negligence in behaviors>> by Wei Zheng written close to the tenth year of the Emperor¡¯s rule. The intention of this piece was to serve as a reminder to the Emperor about ten things that can be improved on as he felt that the Emperor was gradually bing arrogant andcent.


    Li Yuanying eximed, old man Wei loves to find trouble.


    Being an emperor is so tiring!


    Li Yuanying isn¡¯t very interested in the content of the article, he cared more about the reward.


    He looked at the description of the reward and found that the sunflower seeds are very good. You can munch on them when being a spectator of any interesting event! What¡¯s more interesting is that each pack contained ten raw sunflower seeds thate with nting instructions on a card. This is to allow consumers to experience growing beautiful sunflowers themselves.


    Seeing a sunflower blossoming on disy for him, Li Yuanying¡¯s eyes lit up.


    This is fun!


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü 1Du Ruhui was posthumously made the Duke of Lai


    ¡ü 2Wu CaiRen or Lady of Talents


    ¡ü 3Xu CaiRen or Lady Xu of Talent


    ¡ü 4Means unfortunate things happening one after another

 Chapter 7

    Chapter 7


    Li Yuanying was interested in the sunflower seeds. He poked Li Zhi sitting next to him and asked to borrow his textbook in a soft voice. Being familiar with his personality, Li Zhi has already asked for a spare set to be prepared beforehand and quietly handed it over to Li Yuanying.


    The two children thought that their movements were subtle but Wei Zheng could see everything.


    Seeing that Li Yuanying don¡¯t even have his own textbook and needed to borrow it, Wei Zheng¡¯s eyebrows twitch in anger and he wanted to give him an earful. But when he thought of Li Yuanying¡¯s exhausting behavior, he decided to just save his saliva. After all, Li Yuanying has always been a troublemaker it was useless to reprimand him!


    With Wei Zheng teaching the ss, everyone was on their best behavior and no one dares look distracted.


    Li Yuanying too was well behaved. He¡¯s been holding onto the borrowed textbook and was concentrating on it. But of course, he has no intention of studying hard, all he wanted was to get close to Wei Zheng to get an opportunity to view the article


    Although Wei Zheng is not eager to meet Li Yuanying but when a student has queries and wants rification on he can¡¯t turn them away.


    Li Yuanying has already thought about it. First, ask Wei Zheng about his schoolwork then ask about <<The Book of Rites>> which he¡¯s just read. The more annoying the better, so that he gets his chance to see the article that Wei Zeng wrote.


    After making up his mind, Yuanying paid full attention to his schoolwork.


    When Wei Zheng announced the end of ss, Yuanying ran towards him to ask questions much to the surprise of his ssmates.


    Pretending to be obedient is Yuanying¡¯s specialty. Not only did he ask lots of questions he even went the extra mile and offer Wei Zheng a ss of water. Pretending with conviction to be a model student.


    Wei Zheng thought that it was truly bizarre and for a split second even wondered if croton powder was added into his drink. He answers both questions only to find Li Yuanying looking enlightened and asking about more.


    Wei Zheng was amazed. Maybe this kid is trying to turn over a new leaf and change his evil ways.


    Yuanying¡¯s acting was thorough. After getting his advice, he even respectfully sent off his teacher to the school gate. ¡°If I have other questions, can I ask you?¡±


    Wei Zheng was pleased and nodded: ¡°Of course.¡±


    Yuanying respectfully watched Wei Zheng leave before wandering back into the lecture hall.


    Seeing that he was back, Li Zhi couldn¡¯t help asking: ¡°Why are you so serious today?¡±


    Li Yuanying had a serious face: ¡°I¡¯m not young anymore, can¡¯t always be messing around. I must start gaining knowledge!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, right!¡± thought Li Zhi to himself.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    Li Zhi didn¡¯t believe it neither did Wei Zheng. He went on for his next duty feeling suspicious.


    On the way, he met Kong Yingda who is in charge of the second half of the children¡¯s lecture. Wei Zheng mentioned Li Yuanying¡¯s bizarre behavioral changes and asked that Kong Yingda pay attention to him.


    Regardless of who it is, if Li Yuanying really intends to change his ways then as educators they are ready to wholeheartedly teach him.


    Kong Yingda after hearing about it couldn¡¯t help but mutter to himself: Really? Li Yuanying has a heart for learning?


    Kong Yingda is Confucius¡¯s 32nd-generation grandson. Being a descendant from the Confucian family he has always been eager to learn and quick-witted. His talent was known throughout and some were even so envious of him that they attempted to assassinate him.


    Since his early years, Kong Yingda was one of the eighteen schrs in Prince of Qin¡¯s residence. After Li Er ascended to the throne he appointed him as the director of National Education. He was also in charge of being the editor of the education materials for the imperial examination and wrote <<Five ssics>> with his team.


    As he apanied the Emperor to Jiucheng Pce, he was requested by the Emperor to give the children a few lessons in hopes that they would one day be good vessels of the Tang Empire and benefit both the country and its people in the future.


    Before Kong Yingda could reach the inner courtyard where the lecture hall was located, he heard someone shouting ¡°Youngest Uncle, hurry up and get down. Ninth brother said that Chancellor Kong ising over!¡±


    This crisp, tender voice belongs to Princess Jinyang the Emperor¡¯s favorite child!


    When Kong Yingda heard the word ¡± Youngest Uncle¡± his eyebrows couldn¡¯t stop twitching. He stepped in with a sullen face only to see Sizi and the children gathered under an old tree with their heads looking up.


    The tree was tall with dark green branches and leaves and looks quite old.


    At the same time, Li Yuanying was about to climb to the top of the tree.


    Having no fear of death, Yuanying was standing on the slightly curved stem and was reaching out his hands towards the paper kite that was stuck.


    While Li Yuanying and Li Zhi were in ss, Sizi and the younger children were outside flying a paper kite. Suddenly a strong wind blew the kite away and it ended up stuck on a tree.


    Li Yuanying was bored and saw that Sizi and the others were looking at the paper kite on the tree with sadness and close to tears. He immediately rolled up his sleeves and climb the tree to retrieve it.


    Kong Yingda saw Li Yuanying¡¯s boots thrown under the tree while the other princes were looking out from the window watching in excitement. His long beard trembled uncontrobly and he yelled: ¡°Li Yuanying,e down immediately!¡±


    Li Yuanying was startled by him and almost fell. He quickly hugged the branch tightly then steadily removed the paper kite before climbing down calmly as agile as a monkey.


    Kong Yingda was very angry and stared at Li Yuanying who handed the paper kite to Sizi.


    The boy wasn¡¯t afraid at all and even criticized Kong Yingda: ¡°Chancellor Kong, this is not right! How can you yell so loudly when someone is at a high ce? If your child climbs onto a tree and falls to the ground because of your yelling who is going to take responsibility?¡±


    Kong Yingda snorted coldly: ¡°The children of the Kong family won¡¯t climb up a tree!¡±


    He sternly asked Sizi and the other children to y elsewhere else and ordered Yuanying to stand outside to reflect on his behavior.


    I must be stupid to believe Wei Zheng¡¯s words!


    How would this brat have even an ounce of interest in learning?


    Afterpleting a passage of ssics literature with the children in ss, Kong Yingda remembers that Yuanying was just a young child and wanted to let this incident past.


    ¡°Come back in!¡±


    No response from outside the ss¡­


    Kong Yingda¡¯s expression turned for the worst.


    A child who was by the window poked his head out and looked around: ¡°Chancellor Kong, he¡¯s no longer outside!¡±


    ¡°This child can¡¯t be taught!¡± He didn¡¯t ask anyone to look for Yuanying but instead continued with the lesson. After all, even if that kid was in ss he wouldn¡¯t pay attention. Just let him go!


    Li Yuanying was certainly not someone who would stand around obediently. He only stood at the door for a short while before seeing three small heads poking out from outside the courtyard with deep guilt on their faces.


    I can¡¯t let the three kids be sad! He slipped out immediately and happily apanied them to y with their paper kite.


    To the east of the lecture hall is a wide pasture full of grass, especially suitable for children to y.


    The boy had lots of fun and even happily had snacks with the girls before telling them that he was going back to study!


    It would be impossible to return to the lecture hall. Li Yuanying thus slipped back into his residence, took the book of Rites that he has finished reading, and went straight to look for Wei Zheng.


    Wei Zheng and the Emperor have just finished their discussion and was arranging the manuscripts they have copied.


    Seeing Li Yuanying outside, Wei Zheng frowned.


    Shouldn¡¯t this kid be in ss listening to Kong Yingda¡¯s lecture?


    Wei Zheng has a thin face with droopy lips making him look fierce and serious. He scowled and yelled, ¡°What are you doing sneakily? Come in if you have something to say!¡±


    Li Yuanying strolled in unafraid of Wei Zheng¡¯s ck face and evenined about Kong Yingda, saying that that he almost scared him off a tree and punished him to stand outside the lecture hall!


    He didn¡¯t care that Wei Zheng was quiet and proceeded with his n: ¡°I thought that I shouldn¡¯t waste a day in vain, so I read the remaining of the <<Book of Rites>>.


    When His Majesty Li Er punished Yuanying and Li Zhi, Wei Zheng was also there. Naturally, he knew of their punishment.


    ¡°Have you finished reading?¡±


    ¡°After reading it, there are some things that I don¡¯t understand.¡± Yuanying leaned close to Wei Zheng, spread out the book, and began consulting Wei Zheng on it.


    Wei Zheng has been a part of the imperial court for many years. He has met many people and experienced many things. Naturally, he has good judgment and could tell if the boy was serious or pretending.


    Since Li Yuanying wanted to learn, Wei Zheng pushed the manuscript aside and carefully answered his questions.


    Somehow Yuanying found the right person to ask about this particr topic. When ites to an in-depth understanding of this book, no one in the imperial court has more knowledge than Wei Zheng. When Wei Zheng wants to rebuke the Emperor for things he disagrees with he often uses the excuse that the Emperor¡¯s doing is not aligned with cultural eptance, thus using the <<Book of Rites>> to perfection!


    Wei Zheng solved Li Yuanying¡¯s questions artictely and the boy was enlightened.


    Originally, he thought that he understood the content of the book but after hearing Wei Zheng¡¯s in-depth exnation, he felt that he actually didn¡¯t understand anything at the start.


    More importantly, Wei Zheng was able to give him real examples using examples from themon people, matters in court, and records in historical books. Wei Zheng was able to put things into context with ease and he exined them thoroughly!


    If I am able to learn this trick, I¡¯ll be able to debate and win all arguments in the future!


    Li Yuanying immediately became energetic and listened seriously.


    One teacher and one pupil; one teaching and one learning. Soon it was time to eat!


    Yuanying still had some ideas, so he put away the book and said that he wanted to go home with Wei Zheng.


    Since the Emperor usually stays in the Jiucheng Pce for about half a year, the ministers were granted permission to bring their family along and living quarters were allocated ording to rank. Wei Zheng hence brought his wife and children.


    Hearing that Yuanying was to follow him home Wei Zheng quickly said, ¡°There is nothing good to eat in my house.¡±


    ¡°Then I will ask someone to send us some delicious food!¡± Before Wei Zheng could object, Yuanying has already ordered a servant to prepare delicious food and send it to Wei Zheng¡¯s residence.


    The boy wasn¡¯t the only one with unfinished business, Wei Zheng has also be excited about teaching him. Since he has already instructed servants to bring food over he could no longer refuse him.


    This was during the time court was dismissed hence many officials were walking around.


    Many noticed an old man and young boy were walking together and were secretly surprised: Why would that kid walk together with Wei Zheng?!


    On any given day, wouldn¡¯t this kid be hiding from Wei Zheng?!


    Is the sun rising from the west now?

 Chapter 8

    Chapter 8


    News of Li Yuanying skipping ss to look for Wei Zheng reached Li Er.


    As the Emperor was actively observing Li Yuanying, he was surprised when he heard the news that his younger brother was associated with Wei Zheng. Due to his busy schedule filled with official matters he was already exhausted. He had no energy left to spend on Li Yuanying so he decided to speak to Wei Zheng directly to see what was going on.


    Li Yuanying really doesn¡¯t care about what others think of him. He followed closely behind Wei Zheng back to his residence.


    Although lodging was prepared for those who came to Jiucheng pce together with the Emperor, daily meals were not covered. When Yuanying stepped into Wei Zheng¡¯s residence he realized that wherever Wei Zheng lived, he could make his home look shabby as if he was living in poverty.


    Wei Zheng¡¯s wife, Mrs. Pei was busy in the kitchen. Upon hearing that her husband had brought a member of the royal family home, she became dazed for a moment before appearing from behind the curtain.


    Li Yuanying was looking curiously at the furnishings around him and upon seeing Pei he immediately greeted the inly dressed woman politely without the slightest hint of his rumored preposterous behavior.


    He was so good at acting that even Wei Zheng couldn¡¯t help but look at him a more few times.


    As soon as Pei heard that the prince was going to stay for a meal she immediately added more rice into the pot that was boiling. The rice in their home was a mixture of misceneous grains and was not of the finest quality or best texture, however, it will guarantee a filled stomach.


    Seeing Yuanying looking around as if probing about something, Wei Zheng sternly said, ¡°It¡¯s still too early for dinner. If you have something to ask, ask now.¡±


    The boy immediately opened the <<Book of Rites>> and asked Wei Zheng for advice.


    Though Yuanying was young, he actually has goodprehension and is able to put what he has learned into practice. The more Wei Zheng taught him the more he thinks that if not for hiszy and mischievous personality he would have been a bright student.


    Both teacher and pupil were discussing with great concentration when suddenly movements from outside the door were heard. Yuanying looked out and saw a boy about six or seven with such beautiful features that one might mistakenly recognize him as a girl at first nce.


    Yuanying has had many ypanions but has never seen this boy before so he was curious. The boy feeling the same ran towards Wei Zheng and asked: ¡°Grandfather, who¡¯s this?¡±


    The young boy has heard all about Li Yuanying¡¯s mischievous exploits and so when he heard his name, he looked at him curiously.


    The boy snuggled next to Wei Zheng and confessed: ¡°My name is Wei Shu. I am a girl. I wear boy clothes for convenience. Don¡¯t tell anyone!¡±


    Li Yuanying couldn¡¯t believe that his initial hunch was correct. He nonchntly said: ¡°Not surprising at all, Gao Yang also likes to wear boy¡¯s clothing and she ys polo better than many boys!¡±


    If Li Yuanying is known as the little devil among the princes, then Gao Yang should be known as the troublemaker among the princesses. Li Yuanying and Gao Yang weren¡¯t on good terms when they were young. However, as the frequency of them meeting, fighting, and subsequently getting punished together increased, their rtionship miraculously improved.


    When Wei Shu saw Yuanying with a book, she sat quietly and watch them re-enter into their question-and-answer session. Upon hearing Pei calling to help serve food, she got up and went to the kitchen.


    At this very moment, Li Yuanying¡¯s retainers came bringing a generous amount of delicacies. After getting Wei Zheng¡¯s consent, the food was distributed and served to everyone.


    As Li Yuanying had paid full attention to ss today, he was exhausted. Upon smelling the delicious food, he was famished and so followed the elder to the table. It was still not yet dark after food and so he asked a few more questions before taking his leave.


    As soon as Li Yuanying left, Wei Zheng started reprimanding his granddaughter. His son and wife were working abroad making it inconvenient to bring Wei Shu along so she was left in the care of her grandparents. But this granddaughter of his isn¡¯t fond ofdylike education like needlework, she instead loves painting and calligraphy. It was fine if she loves reading and writing but unfortunately, she also has a habit of dressing up as a boy while going out. Which other family¡¯s daughter is as wild as her?


    Wei Shu obediently listened to the scolding without a word. After her grandfather was done she went behind him and started massaging his shoulders. As she is still small she didn¡¯t have strength but this rendered Wei Zheng speechless.


    ¡°His Royal Highness doesn¡¯t seem to be the same as the rumors.¡± She has heard hearsay that there resides a little devil in the pce who isn¡¯t afraid of heaven nor earth and dares to do anything. If anyone provokes him, that person is destined to live a horrible life! I¡¯ve heard that when he was only four or five, he was already extremely cruel and once almost killed a servant by ordering him to be buried under snow, not allowing him toe out!


    ¡°Nothing is different from the rumors.¡± Although Li Yuanying is showing signs of wanting to change for the better, he can¡¯t hide all the bad things he¡¯s done.


    Wei Zheng likes Yuanying¡¯s transformation but he will not let his guard down. His instinct tells him that something is weird for how can a leopard change its spots?


    Li Yuanying met up with Dai Ting on the way back and walked in front of him without speaking. Halfway through the journey, Li Yuanying smacked his forehead realizing that he¡¯s forgotten all about <<Ten gradual negligence in behaviors>> which he was supposed to bring up under the pretense of getting advice.


    How can I forget such an important thing!


    Fortunately, Wei Zheng will be there every day and will never run away so he will have many opportunities.


    After the Ashina association attacked the pce, security at Jiucheng Pce was much tighter with people guarding the door of Yuanying¡¯s room. He yawned, took a shower, and fell asleepfortably.


    The next day, after His Majesty had finished discussing official matters with his ministers, he purposely asked Wei Zheng to stay back and ask about Li Yuanying. Hearing that this younger brother was very interested in <<The Book of Rites>>, His Majesty showed Wei Zheng the short stories that he haspiled based on Yuanying¡¯s retelling.


    Wei Zheng was the first person to say good things about Li Yuanying, so His Majesty wanted to get his views on these short stories.


    Tang Empire belongs to the Li family. If a prince is talented it would be beneficial to the royal family.


    After experiencing the Xuanwu Gate incident then the passing of the former Emperor and Empress Zhangsun, Li Er started treating his younger brothers better and even gave them all titles.


    Only towards his youngest brother His Majesty has hesitation. You can¡¯t say that the kid is stupid, for he is smarter than others when ites to doing bad things; You also can¡¯t say that he¡¯s smart for he¡¯s way too bold for his own good. Most importantly, this kid grew up under his and Empress Zhangsun¡¯s care so no matter how you look at it, he is special to the Emperor.


    Li Er originally intended to give Yuanying a good estate and to let him live a good life offort. However, upon realizing that he might have extraordinary talents, Li Er felt that this was too wasteful.


    He hopes that all talented individuals are of service to him including his own brothers.


    After reading through the stories, Wei Zheng was as surprised as Li Er. If these ssics are really chosen and made abridged by Li Yuanying himself, then he definitely is a rare talent.


    His Majesty saw Wei Zheng¡¯s reaction and knew that he thinks the same so he ordered that him to teach his younger brother well if hees back and seeks his advice.


    What Wei Zheng didn¡¯t know was that Li Yuanying skipped ss again today. What¡¯s different is that instead of skipping ss to look for him, that kid instead went and created an ¡°encounter¡± with his granddaughter Wei Shu.


    With the help of the Myriad Realm Library, Li Yuanying could roughly sense where Wei Zheng¡¯s article was located. Yesterday Wei Zheng has carried it around but today he did not. Judging by its position, he should have left it at home.


    Li Yuanying is not someone who stays idle. Thinking about the rewards he soon came up with another n. Since Wei Zheng is not at home, he should get close to his granddaughter and find an opportunity to y in the study room in which he would naturally have a chance to see the article.


    He is determined about his n and so asked Li Zhi to apply for sick leave on his behalf so that he could look for Wei Shu.


    He saw her under a tree. Though she was young she seems to be very fond of books and was sitting under a tree with a book in her hand. From time to time she would even write and draw on the ground with a tree branch.


    Hesitation and Shame are two words that don¡¯t exist in Yuanying¡¯s dictionary. He ran over sat down on the ground near the tree and looked curiously at Wei Shu¡¯s writing on the ground.


    He was impressed with her handwriting. It was at the very least much better than his. While you can tell that it was written by a child, it somehow has a charm and grace to it.


    Not aware that his sudden appearance could be perceived as abrupt, hemented: ¡°Your writing is a bit like Chu Suiliang¡¯s.¡±


    Chu Suiliang was a famous court official well known for his good handwriting. He was appointed by the Emperor to record his personal notes. In short, this means he follows the Emperor around and records all his daily activities.


    Although Li Yuanying was not a learned person, he has been surrounded by famous and capable teachers since he was a child. While he might not be as good as others in other skills, his foresight was definitely not bad.


    Wei Shu seeing that Yuanying could tell who¡¯s handwriting she was mimicking felt even more convinced that he was different from the rumored little demon king. She smoothens out the words on the ground and started writing in a different style.


    The characters she wrote this time are round with exposed edges, very different from the initial ones.


    ¡°This is Ouyang Xun¡¯s handwriting!¡± the boy was taken aback as this is the first time someone could switch between writing styles so freely at such a young age.


    ¡°How old are you? Why are you so good at this?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m about to turn seven.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m about to turn seven. That means your birthday is near?¡±


    Wei Shu did not answer for birthdays were private information that was only exchanged between families when you have intentions of getting married.


    Wei Shu wouldn¡¯t answer but Li Yuanying didn¡¯t care. He instead told his own birthday: ¡°My birthday is near too; I¡¯ll be nine in two months!¡±


    He then asked why she wasn¡¯t practicing calligraphy in the study.


    ¡°It¡¯s such a hot day to be out. It¡¯s much better to be practicing in the study. Put two basins filled with ice on both sides of the bookcase. It¡¯ll be cool andfortable!¡±


    Wei Shu didn¡¯t get annoyed from hearing this and only admitted that her family was poor: ¡°Paper is expensive and ice even more. My handwriting is not that great that it must be written on paper.¡±


    Li Yuanying instantly understood and thought to himself that he¡¯s an idiot who was stating the obvious. Although they had only met twice, he knew that Wei Shu is not the kind to ept help from others for nothing. He thought for a while and said with bright eyes: ¡°If you don¡¯t mind using used paper, I have a way to help you get lots of paper!¡±


    Even though Wei Shu said that she didn¡¯t mind not practicing on paper but if given the opportunity she would definitely want to do that. She became interested and couldn¡¯t help asking: ¡°What your means?¡±


    ¡°Come with me, I¡¯ll get you paper.¡±

 Chapter 9

    Chapter 9


    Wei Shu followed Li Yuanying dubiously.


    Yuanying instructed Dai Ting to bring a gunny sack and they went together to look for Zhangsun Wuji.


    Zhangsun Wuji was busy arranging court affairs. Seeing Li Yuanying, he asked strangely: ¡°Your Royal Highness why aren¡¯t you going to the lecture hall? Why did youe to me?¡±


    Although Wei Shu was Wei Zheng¡¯s granddaughter she hasn¡¯t have many chances to meet Zhangsun Wuji. Nheless, she was an intelligent child and when she saw his purple outfit with a golden belt she instantly knew that he was of high status. She quietly waited outside not daring to make big movements or sounds.


    Li Yuanying on the other hand doesn¡¯t have to feel any nervousness.


    Zhangsun Wuji is Sizi¡¯s uncle and had a close and trusting rtionship withte Empress Zhangsun. He is currently also a trusted aide of His Majesty, making him not only a close rtive to the royal family but also one of the three highest-ranking officials. In Li Yuanying¡¯s view, since he¡¯s part of the Royal family that makes them rtives.


    ¡°I see that there are many discarded documents in each department. After they are used to convey messages these documents are then rendered useless. I want these waste papers. Can you write an official decree so that I can go around collecting them?¡±


    Zhangsun Wuji has always been kind to others. Seeing that Yuanying¡¯s request was a simple one he obliged and gave him permission in writing.


    After getting the needed permission the boy happily meet Wei Shu and they ran towards various government offices to ask for unused documents.


    Seeing that the decree was given by a top official no one would dare neglect his instructions. Li Yuanying stuffed the sack full with paper by just going to a few departments filling it to the brim and was very heavy, so the task of carrying it was handed over to others.


    ¡°How¡¯s that? With so much paper it¡¯llst you for a long time! Isn¡¯t my method great?¡±


    Wei Shu believed that only Li Yuanying can carry out such a task. With Zhangsun Wuji being among the top three highest-ranking officials around <sup>[1]</sup>Sikong: one of the Three Ducal Ministers who else would dare to ask for his favor so easily?


    Since Li Yuanying helped her get so much paper, she was naturally very grateful.


    ¡°Your Royal Highness really has a way to get things!¡±


    Li Yuanying not only seeded in getting to know a new friend but also helped her out. Being contented, he happily swaggered back home with Wei Shu. Seeing Pei, Yuanying greeted her sweetly before asking for permission to carry the sack into Wei Zheng¡¯s study.


    Pei stared disapprovingly at her granddaughter. Being more carefree in front of her grandmother Wei Shu gave a mischievous expression in return.


    The young prince gave an exnation to Pei on Wei Shu¡¯s behalf: ¡°These papers are all recycled and no longer useful. They can be used to practice calligraphy by young sister Shu.¡±


    Hearing this, Pei thought that this boy is different from her husband¡¯s description.


    Li Yuanying has often beenpared to a loose cannon and does whatever he wants. But when ites to girls he is especially caring so he unconsciously also took good care of Wei Shu.


    What a caring child! When my son or grandson was at his age, they never took care of their sisters? It would have been a blessing if they did not bully her instead!


    It¡¯s obvious that Wei Zheng loves his granddaughter as there were many books and writing equipment for her use in the study. Wei Zheng being a prominent minister was really not that poor, all necessities for his granddaughter were provided in full. It is actually Wei Shu¡¯s obsession with calligraphy that caused materials to run out making her resort to writing on the ground for practice.


    Being in Wei Zheng¡¯s study, Li Yuanying wanted toplete his task.


    ¡°I heard that your grandfather has good rtions with Chu Suiliang. There must be many manuscripts penned by him here right?¡±


    Wei Shu who was busy sorting out paper from the sack got up and took down several volumes of manuscripts from the bookshelf.


    ¡°This is a manuscript from Ouyang.¡±


    ¡°You sort out the paper first before your grandfatheres home and scolds you for the mess! I¡¯ll just look around myself. There¡¯s nothing here that is restricted right?¡±


    Wei Shu often browse books in the study as she wished and was never stopped by Wei Zheng so she permitted him to do so without much consideration.


    Li Yuanying pretended to read the manuscript of Ouyang while in actuality he was relying on instructions from the Myriad Realm Library to locate the article from his mission which was kept somewhere on the shelf.


    He happily turned on the scanning function to record the article¡¯s existence in the library.


    Halfway scanning, the curtain to the study was opened from the outside.


    It was Pei who was carrying two bowls of red bean soup.


    ¡°Your Royal Highness the weather is hot; why don¡¯t you drink some red bean soup? Although it¡¯s nothing fancy it can help relieve the heat.¡±


    Li Yuanying who was caught in the act of fumbling with someone else¡¯s things did not panic. He instead read the article leisurely before putting it back to its original position and thanked Pei for her offer.


    Pei¡¯s good impression of the boy increased.


    Li Yuanying having achieved his goal was in a good mood. He obediently sat down with Wei Shu and ate dessert.


    Pei was talented in cooking. The red bean soup she made was well cooked; the beans were soft and the soup was soaked in cold water beforehand. The dessert was served cold and made the summer heat slightly more bearable.


    Upon tasting it, he felt a slight hint of sweetness spreading in his mouth, it was delicious.


    ¡°It¡¯s so delicious!¡±


    Pei likes this child even more now.


    While Li Yuanying was having his dessert with Wei Shu he was thinking about the sunflower seeds that he would get frompleting his mission.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be nting some very unusual flowers tomorrow with Sizi and the others. Do you want to join us?¡±


    To illustrate to Wei Shu how unique this flower is, Li Yuanying pulled a piece of paper and started drawing.


    ¡°Look, if it grows well the sunflower¡¯s disc can be as big as our head. On this disc sits many seeds that are arrangedpactly together. It¡¯s edible and is super delicious when roasted!¡±


    Yuanying went on to describe the appearance of sunflowers ¨C They bloom on tall branches withrge leafy green leaves and flowers even bigger than the leaves. What¡¯s even more unique is that this flower chases after the sun. When the sun goes from east to west, the bud also turns in the same direction ensuring that it will always bloom following the sun!


    Wei Shu has never heard of such a flower and was curious so she readily epted the invitation.


    Yuanying being overjoyed said his goodbyes and return home intending to receive his reward while making ns for tomorrow.


    Seeing that the young prince didn¡¯t turn up to ask him questions and also managed to skip sses, Wei Zheng was disappointed but that¡¯s within expectation. You can¡¯t expect a kid to change suddenly. Upon returning to his residence, he found out that Yuanying had been with Wei Shu the whole time.


    ¡°His Royal Highness praised the red bean soup I made.¡±


    ¡°Why did he start hanging out with Shu¡¯er <sup>[2]</sup>Refers here to Wei Shu. ¡®Er is sometimes added behind a person¡¯s name to connote fondness usually used in close rtionships?¡±


    ¡°Probably by chance. Shu¡¯er is always running around outside, it¡¯s not surprising.¡±


    Pei also told Wei Zheng all about how the young boy helped Wei Shu get recycled paper for calligraphy practice. Instinct is telling Wei Zhen that this was no simple coincidence but was pre-nned by Li Yuanying. But what intentions does he has?


    ¡°Let me go check it out.¡± He walked into the study to see what his granddaughter was doing.


    Wei Shu got so much paper so she was engrossed in her calligraphy practice. So long she could practice she didn¡¯t feel the stuffiness in the study.


    Seeing how focus Wei Shu was the grandfather couldn¡¯t help but feel pity that she was born a girl. If only she was a boy she could have grown up bing someone and leaving a mark with her aplishments.


    Regrettably, this world is harsh on women. Even if a woman was talented she would still only be regarded as a good wife. They are never able to get the same recognition or opportunity to show their worth like men. After all, not many men were willing to lose face and acknowledge that his wife was better than him.


    Wei Zheng¡¯s heart softened. Instead of scolding her he instead carefully looked at her writings and pointed out areas for improvement. Taking the feedback Wei Shu immediately rewrote them with great improvements.


    Seeing that Wei Zheng had a soft look on his face, she took the opportunity to ask for permission to join the other children tomorrow.


    Frowning involuntarily, Wei Zheng is opposed to it but seeing his granddaughter¡¯s pitiful expression full of hope, he didn¡¯t have to heart to say NO.


    ¡°Okay go.¡±


    Princess Jinyang and the others will also be there so it should be safe. Wei Zheng suddenly became curious about the sunflower his granddaughter described and asked her to show him Li Yuanying¡¯s drawing.


    Wei Zheng has been alive for almost sixty years and he has never seen such a flower. He stroked his beard and said, ¡°It¡¯s quite unusual, go and take a look.¡±


    Although Wei Shu behaves much more maturely than her peers she was still a child and was always curious.


    ¡°It¡¯s said that if you nt this flower now, it will bloom in July and August. Will we still be here until then?


    ¡°I will stay here for half a year this time. We¡¯ll be here in July and August.¡±


    Wei Shu felt excited that she could see the sunflowers blooming. Seeing the rare sight of his granddaughter showing joy and happiness like other children, he felt he made the right decision in allowing her to join the children for ytime.


    His granddaughter has always been smarter than others and didn¡¯t like ying childish games with other children. But a child of six or seven shouldn¡¯t always be reading books.


    Before falling asleep, Wei Zheng and Pei talked about letting Wei Shu go out for ytime tomorrow.


    Pei felt reassured. It¡¯s a strange feeling but she felt that Yuanying was a good reliable child even though she¡¯s only met him twice.


    ¡°If Shu¡¯er wants to go, let her go.¡±


    Wei Shu on the other side was sleeping soundly.


    In her dreams, there were big sunflowers blooming towards the sun, golden and beautiful.


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü 1Sikong: one of the Three Ducal Ministers


    ¡ü 2Refers here to Wei Shu. ¡®Er is sometimes added behind a person¡¯s name to connote fondness usually used in close rtionships

 Chapter 10

    Chapter 10


    At night Li Yuanying met up with the group. Hearing that a new friend is joining, the three girls were excited.


    Li Zhi however was not supportive. ¡°Are you still not going to ss? Teacher is going to be furious!¡±


    Yuanying felt that Li Zhi was just being emotional because he wasn¡¯t able to join them for he had sses to attend. He tried consoling him: ¡°If you want toe just take a leave of absence. Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re already so smart; skipping one or two sses is nothing. You¡¯ll still keep up to progress!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not thinking of joining.¡± Said Li Zhi with a red face.


    Li Yuanying thought while shaking his head. This kid is so untruthful, if you want to join just say so. He doesn¡¯t buy Li Zhi¡¯s reasoning at all that teacher will be angry if he did not turn up for ss. I¡¯m not stupid.


    ¡°Anyway, help me get my leave of absence. Old man Kong will be overjoyed that I¡¯m absent¡±


    Li Zhi has no word to refute Li Yuanying. After all, it was the truth that their teacher had no reaction apart from nodding when he updated that Li Yuanying will not turn up for sses.


    In truth, Li Zhi actually thinks that Li Yuanying is smarter than himself. If only he was willing to seriously learn. Hence he¡¯s not in agreement with him always skipping ss.


    ¡°Teacher has great knowledge, don¡¯t always go against him.¡±


    Smirking, Li Yuanying flicked Li Zhi¡¯s forehead: ¡°Don¡¯t you find old man Kong¡¯s furious face amusing? Whatever it is I¡¯m not turning up!¡±


    It doesn¡¯t matter how much Li Zhi tries to convince him. He has made up his mind to skip lessons.


    The next day, Li Yuanying woke up early and went to pick up Wei Shu.


    This was coincidently the same hour that court sessions were starting so it¡¯s a busy period. Only Li Yuanying was walking in the opposite direction rousing up people¡¯s attention.


    Unfortunately for him, he bumped into Kong Yingda. Li Yuanying was so looking forward to seeing his friends that didn¡¯t pay attention to his surroundings and ran headfirst into his teacher.


    Li Yuanying greeted Kong Yingda calmly: ¡°Chancellor Kong, good morning!¡± The good-looking boy was smiling brightly with two small dimples giving off a pleasant look.


    Kong Yingda wasn¡¯t buying this and sneered: ¡°You¡¯re not sick today?¡±


    ¡°No sickness! No sickness!¡±


    Kong Yingda ignored him and continue on his journey. Reaching the lecture hall, he saw Li Zhi waiting for him anxiously.


    ¡°Uncle said he consulted a fortune teller and concluded that he shouldn¡¯t leave the house today. So he¡¯s absent again.¡± Stuttered Li Zhi nervously.


    Ahh¡­ so he¡¯s not sick today but instead has bad fortune!


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to request on his behalf anymore. Let hime or go as he wishes! What do you mean by not supposed to leave his house? Then who was that kid running around just now?!¡±


    Li Zhi quickly went back to his seat and thought that things are not good.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Having zero interest in his studies, Li Yuanying was instead busy introducing Wei Shu to his three nieces.


    Hearing that she was meeting three princesses Wei Shu was nervous. However, she has always been calmer than others and none of that nervousness could be seen on her face.


    The children were all younger than ten so they quickly became friends.


    Sizi circled around Wei Shu: ¡°You look better in this outfit than older sister Gaoyang! Although she likes skirts, she also thinks that boys¡¯ clothing makes it easier to y.¡±


    Wei Shu felt a little ufortable being surrounded by so many enthusiastic people.


    Li Yuanying took out his <<Guide to nting Sunflowers>> handbook which he hadpiled himself ording to the tutorial found in the sunflower seed package.


    When three lolis became four, Li Yuanying became even more excited and was fully enjoying the attention on him.


    ¡°I heard that sunflower originated from a faraway ce. On the maind that is separated from us by arge ocean. You might not even reach it by boat after many years.¡±


    ¡°Wow. That¡¯s far!¡± (Sizi)


    The four girls took turns reading the sunflower nting guide with Wei Shu being thest.


    Compared to the other three, Wei Shu had some experience in ting as she would normally help her grandmother grow fruits and vegetables at home. After reading the handbook she found the tutorial reliable.


    Li Yuanying led the group towards a greenhouse in Jiucheng Pce. This greenhouse supplies seasonal vegetables for the pce all year round. In winter you nt off-season vegetables inside it while on other months¡¯ nts are grown around the greenhouse.


    Seeing the group, the workers quickly rushed over while wondering why a group of little nobles suddenly came to y in such a ce.


    ¡°Anyone here that is literate?¡± (Li Yuanying)


    A worker not older than eleven or twelve came out nervously and respectfully responded: ¡°This humble one can read!¡± He looks ordinary but his eyes were hopeful showing signs that he wanted to grasp this opportunity to get recognition.


    Li Yuanying having no intentions of personally tending to crops and passed the sunflower nting guide to him: ¡°Then you can pick a good plot ofnd and be responsible for taking care of this for us.¡±


    Hearing this, the worker was overjoyed. Holding the sunflower nting guide in both hands he led the group to a suitable ce to grow sunflowers.


    The children were excited and passionate about this project. Li Yuanying was in charge of digging the pit under themand of the four girls. He then divided ten seeds into five parts, two seeds in a group, and carefully buried them onto the ground. Finally, Sizi and Wei Shu prepared signboards with names on them which are to be hung at the location so that they can observe whose nts grew better in the future!


    After finishing, Li Yuanying threw a golden bean to the worker and said ¡°Take good care of it ording to the instructions on the nting guide. You will be rewarded handsomely for your good work.¡±


    ¡°Your humble servant is called Dong Xiaoyi, I promise to take good care of your highnesses¡¯ flower.¡±


    Li Yuanying nodded and requested that he be notified when the seeds sprout. Being a people pleaser, Li Yuanying then suggested that they adjourn to the library instead.


    Li Yuanying knows how to take care of her friends¡¯ preferences, and after leaving the greenhouse, she asked Wei Shu: ¡°It¡¯s all here, why don¡¯t we take you to the library!¡±


    ¡°Can we?¡± (Wei Shu)


    ¡°Of course we can, let¡¯s go!¡± (Sizi)


    Li Yuanying¡¯s proposal was passed unanimously and Wei Shu followed them to the library.


    Wei Zheng¡¯s home mightck many things but books were not one of them. But as soon as Wei Shu arrived in the building she felt like she was living in a sea of books and her eyes sparkle brightly in excitement.


    Li Yuanying obviously had not have much interest in books but seeing Wei Shu¡¯s excitement he join in and casually pick up a book to read.


    Both Sizi and Hengshan were about the same age as Wei Shu but they had very different personalities. After a short while of reading, they got bored and started running towards Yuanying grabbing his arms.


    ¡°Young uncle, Tell me a story!¡± (Sizi)


    ¡°Yes, tell us a story please!¡± (HengShan)


    Chengyang and Wei Shu hear them and join in by putting down the book in their hands.


    Seeing four pairs of eyes looking at him he couldn¡¯t possibly let them down. After thinking for a while he decided to tell them a warm and beautiful fairy tale called <<The Nightingale and the Rose>>.


    The gist of this story is about how a nightingale sang the whole night on top of thorns from the rose bushes to aid a man in his quest to win his lover¡¯s heart. The trade-off was the nightingale¡¯s life for a single red rose. Unfortunately, it was all in vain as the rose was thrown into the gutter in the end.


    Li Yuanying had a real talent for telling stories. A storyes to life when it passes through his mouth. The girls¡¯ eyes became red midway through the story and Sizi burst into a loud scream when she heard that the rose was thrown away.


    ¡°How can this be? The rose was earned using the nightingale¡¯s life!¡±


    ¡°Why is it another sad story? I don¡¯t like uncle anymore.¡±


    Both children held onto Chenyang¡¯s hand and ran away while sobbing.


    Seeing his new friend Wei Shu with red eyes he started to wonder if <<Wilde¡¯s fairy tales>> were rmended by the system to scam him. But he actually thinks that the stories were great!


    ¡°Will you also ignore me now?¡±


    Wiping away her tears Wei Shu shook her head ¡°It was a good story.¡±


    Thinking that he found a true friend Li Yuanying happily said: ¡°Right, I think so too.¡±


    ¡°Xincheng said such a story again. Have you told simr stories before?¡±


    Li Yuanying mistakenly felt that Wei Shu wanted to hear more stories so he happily told her about <<The Happy Prince>> and <<The Little Princess¡¯s Birthday>>.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°I want to go home.¡±


    Although his friend¡¯s eyes were red her emotions were still stable so he took her. On the way, Li Yuanying asked nervously: ¡°Will you stille and see the sunflowers with us next time?¡±


    ¡°Yup.¡±


    ¡°Next time I will tell you a new story.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Li Yuanying sent Wei Shu home and left happily.


    Wei Shu ran back to her room and soon became tearful as she recalled the three stories. She isn¡¯t a sentimental person and hardly cries but the stories Li Yuanying told were so moving that she couldn¡¯t hold back her tears.


    While Wei Shu hid and cried secretly the other three were less thoughtful. They went straight to their father the Emperor toin about Li Yuanying.


    Li Er had just finished discussing official matters and was about to eat some refreshments when three of his precious baby girls ran towards him crying.


    ¡°Who bullied you?¡±


    Sizi whimpered and repeated ¡°The Nightingale and the Rose¡± to His Majesty and finally hugged him and cried: ¡°The poor Nightingale!¡±

 Chapter 11

    Chapter 11


    At longst Li Er finally manages to coax his precious daughters to eat lunch after a longining session filled with tears. But not long after, herees Kong Yingda.


    Although Kong Yingda had sullenly instructed Li Zhi not to inform him anymore about Li Yuanying¡¯s whereabouts, he still needed to give the Emperor an exnation. After all, Li Yuanying is still his Majesty¡¯s youngest brother and is directly under his care so any bad reputation reflects badly on the Emperor. More worrying is if others might have the wrong perception that this is all just an act by the Emperor about having brotherly love; for how can you raise your brother to be so immature? The teacher gave an in-depth report of Yuanying¡¯s doings; which all pointed towards a final message that he is incapable of teaching this particr Royal Prince!


    Li Er was still furious at Yuanying for making his precious daughters cry and now his teacher added fuel to that anger. He immediately instructed that his brother be brought to him.


    Li Yuanying on the other hand was wondering if he should continue consulting Wei Zheng about the <<Book of Rites>> for he felt unsatisfied that he has only heard a small section about this book. After being aplete cker for years, Yuanying is actually feeling curious about a topic for the first time making him a little lost about his behavior.


    Hearing that His Majesty was looking for him, Yuanying couldn¡¯t figure out the reason. Perhaps it¡¯s because he really has done too many bad things and he doesn¡¯t know which incident is getting him in trouble now.


    When he saw Kong Yingda he instantly understood who got him in trouble.


    Eh, isn¡¯t this just about him making excuses to skip ss? Seriously you look for the Emperor for this?!


    As long as his Majesty has not started scolding him, Yuanying wanted to pretend that nothing had happened. He obediently greeted Li Er: ¡°Lord Brother, you were looking for me?¡±


    ¡°How dare you ask me why? Where have you been these few days?¡±


    Yuanying calmly lied: ¡°I didn¡¯t go anywhere; I was reading a book seriously!¡± He then red at Kong Yingda and said in an arrogant manner: ¡°I¡¯m already familiar with everything Old man Kong is teaching so there¡¯s no point in me going to ss!¡±


    Kong Yingda heard the way he was being referred to and was so furious he almost jumped out of his chair. Even the Emperor himself has been respectful about Confucius teaching and with that everyone in court has always shown him due respect. But this kid over here that doesn¡¯t even turn up for ss is calling him old man!


    His Majesty was naturally furious too.


    ¡°I have requested for Kong to teach you and therefore he is your teacher! Have some respect and change the way you refer to him!¡±


    Li Yuanying became silent.


    ¡°You said you know everything; do you dare say that you have mastered <<The Analects>> thoroughly?¡±


    Li Yuanying feeling confident straightened his back and said ¡°Of course, I¡¯ve memorized them all!¡±


    Previously when he had to get a copy of <<Wilde¡¯s Fairy Tales>> he had to carefully read and analyze <<The Analects>> hence now he can recall everything with precision. Li Er and Kong Yingda looked at each other in disbelief. Li Er was also familiar with this piece and immediately picked out a passage to test the boy.


    Li Yuanying was born clever, such simple questions are nothing to him. He could answer everything with ease.


    Kong Yingda was shocked when he answered everything calmly.


    If he¡¯s really learned it to the extent of being able to recite from memory, there really is no need for him to sit in ss these two days.


    However, Kong Yingda being a direct descendant from the Confucian family can¡¯t let Yuanying pass so easily. He exchanged a nce with the Emperor to indicate that he will take over. None about exining or recite but he instead picked out sentences that were ambiguous and asked if they were contradictory. If so, why did Confucius say these things?


    That¡¯s such an increase in difficulty; skipping recitation and trantion and going directly into interpretation!


    The young prince was left stunned. He didn¡¯t know that the difficulty was increased, all he knows was that he couldn¡¯t answer any of them.


    Li Er snorted: ¡°Only knows what is done but not why it¡¯s done but still so proud of it!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s so great about that?! I can learn it!¡±. After saying this, Li Yuanying ran away angrily. Seeing this sight, Li Er suddenlyughed out loud.


    ¡°Do you think Yuanying is still teachable?¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    Kong Yingda also realized that Yuanying has talent. He used to find Yuanying unbearable and would not restrain him. But now that he knows that this kid is actually quite intelligent and the Emperor has intentions for him to be taught well he cannot do a sloppy job in teaching him anymore.


    Kong Yingda has many disciples and some of them are part of the teaching staff for the royal children. All he will need to do is to put in a request that they start monitoring his progress strictly.


    Once decided, Kong Yingda was very motivated and quickly held a small meeting to convey his Majesty¡¯s intentions to the team which was to catch hold of Li Yuanying. If he has eight points in intelligence, then the goal is to make him a ten through education!


    Li Yuanying not knowing that his brother and teacher were setting up ns for himy his bed irritated. He tossed and turned but couldn¡¯t fall asleep. Since it is so, why not just get up, copy Kong Yingda¡¯s question and go to Wei Zheng for advice.


    Wei Zheng was a little surprised.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you asking about <<Book of Rites>> but about <<The Analects>> instead?


    Since Yuanying made the effort to ask questions, Wei Zheng wouldn¡¯t disappoint him. Though he looks fierce, he is actually a patient person when ites to answering questions. He guided Yuanying with analyzing the context of a few sentences and then asked him to think about why they seemed contradictory yet reasonable. Instantly after listening Yuanying understood.


    ¡°When faced with different people and situations, the way to deal with things is different. You must make the best out of the situation and adapt your solutions to fit!¡±


    Wei Zheng nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s not difficult!¡±


    ¡°Of course one or two sentences will not be difficult. The difficulty is in understanding everything.¡±


    ¡°Is your knowledge on The Analects better than Old man Kong?¡±


    Wei Zheng frowned when he heard him calling his teacher old man but he still thought for a while before rmending a person to Yuanying.


    ¡°Within the imperial court, if I were to rmend someone with exceptional knowledge on this topic I think it should be Xiao Deyan. In the early years of his Majesty¡¯s rule, I was asked to lead theption of <<Writings on important governing principles>> <sup>[1]</sup>Direct trantion would be Qinshu Zhiyao which means a group of books/writings on important governing principles and my conversation with Xiao Deyan benefitted me greatly.


    Li Yuanying was neither familiar with the book nor the person so it spiked his curiosity.


    Upon rifying he found out that it was a reference book on governing principles of a country with recollections of historical memoirs and a huge word count. It was almost a hundred times longer than the book of Rites which was 5,000 words long. So scary!


    He instantly refused to read it and instead wanted to who Xiao Deyan was and where is he now.


    It¡¯s either deciding to stay ignorant or making up your mind to learn. If it¡¯s thetter, then learn from the best so that you do not be aughing stock to Li Er again. Moreover, I will not learn from Kong Yingda but instead from someone who is better than him!


    Making up his mind, he will look for Xiao Deyan who was currently helping Li Tai inpiling a book in the Literature Museum. Given that the Prince is here at Jiucheng Pce that means he should have naturally followed him along. So if I were to look for Li Tai I would surely find him, so he ran straight to Li Tai.


    When you mention Literature Museum, it is necessary to also bring up the Hongwen Museum which was set up by the current Emperor when he was still Prince of Qin. Here, he recruited 18 extremely well-learned schrs. Among them were two thinkers Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui and philosophers such as Yu Shinan and Kong Yingda creating a strong foundation for Li Er.


    Silently Li Yuanying couldn¡¯t help but mutter: Does the fourth prince wants to imitate his father?


    Fang Yiai has already fought with Du He. Looks like next up is the rivalry between the Crown Prince and the Fourth prince!


    Anyway, it has nothing to do with me. All I want is to pry Li Tai¡¯s talent and get the answers to my queries. Li Yuanying went towards Li Tai¡¯s direction with swag.


    Li Tai was studying and when he heard that Li Yuanying was here he immediately got up to greet him. Not because he was giving him preferential treatment but because he was scared that his precious books would be destroyed!


    He remembers that when Li Yuanying was a year old during his catch ceremony <sup>[2]</sup>A superstitious ceremony from the East in which a 1-year-old child would be shown a wide array of items like books, swords, money, etc. for the baby to pick something. The item he picked would¡­ Continue reading he yed around with everything and finally picked up a book. He then looked at it and quickly tore the book into shreds.


    After that when he held another book to be dedicated to the Supreme Emperor, Li Yuanying did a ridiculous thing. He tore the book into pieces in front of the Emperor and then shoved it into his mouth!


    Li Tai is really afraid of him.


    Unfortunately, Li Yuanying doesn¡¯t have any self-awareness and doesn¡¯t know that he is not well-liked. Seeing the fat and jolly Li Taiing to greet him he felt touched thinking that this nephew of his respects his elders and loves the young (In this case both elder and youngster refer to himself).


    Holding Li Tai¡¯s hand, Yuanying said in all seriousness¡± ¡°Fourth nephew, I haven¡¯t seen you in a while and you became fatter. Looks like you¡¯re getting more and more prosperous!¡±


    Li Tai¡¯s face trembled but think that it¡¯s better for him to pull his hand than to tear his books so he forced a smile.


    ¡°Youngest uncle became thinner, are you not ustomed to living in Jiucheng Pce?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯mfortable here. It¡¯s fun!¡± Li Yuanying sat down at Li Tai¡¯s invitation and frankly told his reasons for visiting. He wants to borrow Xiao Deyan for a few days.


    In Yuanying¡¯s opinion, bringing a living book around is much better than reading an actual book by yourself!


    Hearing this Li Tai¡¯s had a stiffened smile. Xiao Deyan was a teacher specifically selected by his father for him due to his knowledge and how respectable he is. What does Li Yuanying want to use his teacher for? How can you borrow a teacher like he¡¯s an object?!


    Li Tai tried refusing in a polite manner: ¡°Teacher is of old age, he wouldn¡¯t be able to help youplete tasks even if he wanted to.¡±


    Li Yuanying instantly understood what that meant. Li Tai didn¡¯t want to borrow his teacher to him!


    ¡°Then I can ask him about something?


    That¡¯s not an excessive request, though Li Tai does wonder why Li Yuanying suddenly wanted to speak to Xiao Deyan. He nodded in agreement then added, ¡°Let me take you to meet teacher.¡±


    Li Yuanying was overjoyed and followed Li Tai.


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü 1Direct trantion would be Qinshu Zhiyao which means a group of books/writings on important governing principles


    ¡ü 2A superstitious ceremony from the East in which a 1-year-old child would be shown a wide array of items like books, swords, money, etc. for the baby to pick something. The item he picked would indicate his future career path/ talents.

 Chapter 12

    Chapter 12


    Xiao Deyan has lived through three dynasties: Chen, Sui, and Tang. During the Wu De period, he was responsible for tutoring the Crown prince and now he was to teach Prince Li Tai. This shows that he was someone with immersed knowledge butpared to knowledge, his health status was even more impressive. Despite being eighty-two, he has little difficulty in riding or archery. A seriously remarkable feat for someone of advanced age.


    Li Yuanying followed Li Tai to Deyan¡¯s residence and initially thought that he would be meeting an old man who would be stuttering and trembling. But he instead met an old but energetic person with neatly groomed white hair and beard. He was somehow reminded of a deity in a painting.


    Yuanying felt that this old man was very unusual and she unconsciously concealed his usual mischievousness and followed Li Tai to greet him.


    Xiao Deyan has also heard all about the absurd things that Li Yuanying has done but having lived for a long time nothinges as a surprise to him anymore. He asked with interest: ¡°Why is your Royal Highness looking for me?¡±


    Yuanying sat down and began to talk all about Kong Yingda¡¯s bad points. Let me start by mentioning that he almost made me fall off a tree and then punished me by forbidding me from entering the lecture hall. Bottomline, I don¡¯t want to learn under Kong Yingda!


    Li Tai was stunned and didn¡¯t know how to react, all he felt was that Kong Yingda was being wronged. Why on earth did you climb on top of a tree? If you just didn¡¯t climb a tree, all the things after that would not have happened.


    But Li Yuanying doesn¡¯t agree. After all, he can never be in the wrong so if there¡¯s something amiss it must be someone else¡¯s fault. After rambling on and on badmouthing Kong Yingda, the boy then told Xiao Deyan about the questions given to him and humbly asked for guidance.


    ¡°Can you let me know how should I answer these questions?¡±


    Now it was Li Tai and Xiao Deyan¡¯s turn to be surprised. Why would Kong Yingda give such a young boy such deep questions?


    Seeing no reply Yuanying added that he has already consulted Wei Zheng. He then clearly stated what he wanted to achieve: ¡°I¡¯ve already know the answer to this particr question but if you were to change it to another section, I wouldn¡¯t be able to answer. How can I learn to answer then all?¡±


    Xiao Deyan stroked his beard and said: ¡°It¡¯s actually very difficult.¡±


    If it was in the past, Yuanying would have given up when he hears the word difficult but today he was scorned by the Emperor and Kong Yingda and was feeling very stubborn.


    ¡°I am not afraid of difficulties!¡±


    Xiao Deyan looked at Yuanying and found that the boy had firm clear eyes. It¡¯s as if he¡¯s serious about understanding the topic thoroughly. Seeing that he was about the same age as his youngest grandson, Xiao De said: ¡°Have you read the Analects?¡±


    ¡°I have it memorized!¡±


    Xiao Deyan was slightly surprised. He then nodded: ¡°Then I will list some books for you. Come and find me again after finishing them.¡±


    Li Yuanying¡¯s face looked like a bitter gourd when he heard that he needed to read a book. But when he thought about proving Li Er wrong and making him admire his talents, Li Yuanying immediately became energetic and agreed to it.


    Seeing that this child has all his expressions written on his face, Xiao Deyan was delighted and started writing the list.


    Li Yuanying felt that he is now acquainted with Xiao Deyan and immediately started behaving unruly. He curiously moved his futon closer to Xiao Deyan¡¯s side, wanting to see in advance what book had picked.


    Yuanying¡¯s probing behaving was interpreted as being childlike and Xiao Deyan felt that the child was innocent and lively so he let him be.


    In the past, Xiao Deyan has always been strict towards Li Tai so seeing Yuanying¡¯s actions, Li Tai thought that the boy would be scolded. Surprisingly the opposite happened; not only didn¡¯t his teacher get angry, he instead smiled.


    Li Tai was getting fed up while Li Yuanying happily stood next to Xiao Deyan andmented: ¡°Your handwriting is really good, so vigorous and powerful!¡± He even sighed, ¡°I also want to write like this but when I do it always looks weak and soft¡±.


    ¡°When ites to calligraphy and painting, three points depend on talent while the remaining seven depend on hard work.¡±


    However, Li Yuanying had his own set of twisted principles: ¡°You are right! But I feel that if you don¡¯t have much talent then training bes useless and a waste of time. So I rather not practice¡±.


    It¡¯s a first for Xiao Deyan in hearing that someone sozy can still be so self-righteous that he surprisingly didn¡¯t feel disgusted but instead thought it was funny.


    ¡°But then when you have learned all there is to the book, people will then ask you to write it out. But because you haven¡¯t practiced writing and write with bad hands, you give others another reason to say that you didn¡¯t learn it well.¡±


    Hearing such a perspective for the first time, Yuanying felt that what Xiao Deyan said made sense. His brother and Kong Yingda were obviously such shameless people! He hummed twice and said with dissatisfaction: ¡°I¡¯m very talented! I paint very well!¡±


    ¡°Even if you have talent, you have to show it out to others before it will get recognized.¡±


    He handed the written list of books to Yuanying.


    Li Yuanying took it with gratitude then immediately ran off. It remains a mystery whether he has actually heard Xiao Deyan¡¯s advice.


    Li Tai waited for Yuanying to disappear then said: ¡°Teacher, you seem to like young uncle very much.¡± Li Yuanying has had the guts to do anything he wants since young and has made his father the Emperor furious multiple times. Li Tai really did not expect Xiao Deyan to like him.


    ¡°My grandson is around his age, so I love it when I see him.¡±


    Xiao Deyan sat around and saw the oriental bush cherry nt <sup>[1]</sup>Chinese reading is Chan Di in the courtyard blooming silently like white snow.


    Within the <<ssic of Poetry>> lies a song about Chang Di which talks about the meaning of brotherhood. The first sentence goes like this ¡°The flower of the cherry tree, are they not gorgeously disyed? Off all the men in the world, there are none equal to brothers.¡± which can be deciphered as ¡°Look at the glorious blooming of the cherry flowers that are likened to the love and unity between brothers. Taking the whole world into consideration, no one will be as close-knitted to you as your own brother.¡±


    It¡¯s a pity that the hearts of man are easily influenced by external factors.


    Xiao Deyan closed his eyes and sighed with the gentle breeze.


    ¡­¡­¡­..


    Li Yuanying ran to the library with his book list. He has been very energetictely and doesn¡¯t feel tired running around.


    Having a notoriously bad reputation, no one dared to disturb him. He was searching for close to half a day but only found two volumes.


    He felt a little angry: Why are there so many books here!


    On normal days, Yuanying would have ordered his servants to locate things for him but since he came here with stubborn resolve he had to find them himself!


    The boy was groaning and searching around with big movements, startling the woman on the other side of the bookshelf.


    She came around to see what¡¯s themotion. It was Lady Wu (Wu CaiRen).


    Li Yuanying still remembers her. ¡°Why are you here again? Do you take this ce as your home?¡±


    ¡°If I can live here, why not?¡± she said smiling before bowing to him in respect. Seeing the booklist on Yuanying¡¯s hands she said: ¡°Your Royal Highness is looking for a book? I can help you with it.¡±


    ¡°Sure¡±


    Li Yuanying handed the book list over to Lady Wu.


    Lady Wu took a quick look to memorize the books before returning it to Yuanying. She then started walking around with great familiarity and started picking up books from different shelves.


    Although Yuanying is still a kid, he could already feel that this woman is not your usual ordinary girl. Even the way she picks books reveals a sense of tranquillity. It doesn¡¯t seem like she is staying in the library trying to create a chance encounter with the Emperor, she actually is here reading in all seriousness.


    Why does everyone love to read so much? There¡¯re so many characters, it¡¯s so tiring!


    Seeing that Lady Wu could locate the books with ease, Li Yuanying praised her: ¡°You¡¯re pretty good.¡± But afterplimenting he added, ¡°But not as good as sister Shu. She can write in two types of handwriting!¡±


    Hearing that Lady Wu didn¡¯t get angry and only asked curiously: ¡°Who¡¯s sister Shu?¡±


    ¡°Oh, she¡¯s a good friend I just met!¡±


    While talking, Lady Wu found all the books that Yuanying wanted.


    With wide eyes, he eximed: ¡°So many!¡± He sighed and took the pile of books amounting to seven or eight volumes, thanked her and left with a bitter expression.


    While returning home, Yuanying and ran into Li Zhi who just finished ss.


    ¡°What are you doing with so many books?¡± Li Zhi said in shock.


    ¡°Naturally it¡¯s for reading.¡±


    ¡°Of course I know books are for reading. I mean, why do you suddenly want to read books?¡±


    Walking together, Li Yuanying told him about Kong Yingda who went to the Emperor to file aint against him.


    ¡°Old man Kong is horrible; I want to give him a big shock!¡±


    Li Zhi went silent for a while.


    Li Yuanying then told Li Zhi about his encounters with Wei Zheng and Xiao Deyan and said confidently: ¡°When I finish reading these, I will surely be able to dumbfound him with questions!¡±


    Hearing Li Yuanying¡¯s ambitious goal Li Zhi silently felt that it was impossible but given the rare asion that he is willing to read, let¡¯s not discourage him. ¡°Let me have a copy, I want to read it too.¡±


    Yuanying readily agreed and generously shared his learning materials. Reading alone is too boring, so it¡¯s just right to loop Li Zhi in!


    Making up his mind to study hard, Yuanying no longer skips ss but instead attends with a big stack of books every day.


    After a few days of calm, Dong Xiaoyi, the servant from the greenhouse came to inform that the sunflower seeds had sprouted!


    Being overjoyed Li Yuanying enthusiastically shared the good news with Sizi and the others. Then early the next morning, he ran to Wei Zheng¡¯s residence to invite Wei Shu to join them in viewing the sunflower buds.


    Wei Shu agreed and they met up as a group.


    Although the three lolis outwardly said that they don¡¯t like young uncle anymore they still happily went to y with him the next day not remembering their crying incident anymore.


    After the group five finished viewing sunflowers, Yuanying told them all about his intentions to study hard and even told Sizi and Wei Shu who have good handwriting that he wants to do the same.


    ¡°I also want to start practicing calligraphy. How do you practice? Teach me!¡±


    ¡°Father taught me.¡±


    Wei Shu whose thoughts were clearer said: ¡°Just write the characters you like as many times as possible. Sometimes grandfather would give me feedback.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I understand. Write a lot then ask others for opinion.¡±


    Wei Shu nodded.


    ¡°Then I will start practicing first and will ask you for feedback next time. If you think it¡¯s good, we can then ask others.¡±


    Li Yuanying still had a big ego and knows that others wouldugh at him if he went to them straight so he wanted to test internally first before asking the public for opinions.


    In the following days, Yuanying would either be read books, practicing calligraphy or ying with the other children.


    However, the atmosphere in the lecture hall is slowly changing.


    Everyone used to wish that Li Yuanying did not exist as he affects the atmosphere in ss with his misbehaviors. But nowadays it¡¯s a little strange, every teacher in ss likes to ask Yuanying questions, almost as if regarding him as a candidate for immerse training.


    Of course, Li Yuanying thought otherwise. He felt that others were targeting him.


    Asking Dai Ting to find out why, he came to the conclusion that these people were all Kong Yingda¡¯s disciples!


    Seriously this is unforgivable, taking turns in trying to make him look like a fool? No way!


    Quickly Yuanying became a different kind of troublesome student: before the teacher could ask him anything, he would raise his hand to ask questions! His questions are cleverly angled and his ideas are creative; with a simple ask, he turns the whole ss upside down.


    Luckily his teachers were all well-educated or else it would be impossible for them to continue.


    Having to meet the teachers every day, Yuanying started to feel that going to school isn¡¯t that boring after all.


    He also doesn¡¯t think that he was being a jerk. He continued on exchanging knowledge with Li Zhi and practicing calligraphy with Sizi and Wei Shu. If he happens to meet Wei Zheng, he would listen to his lecture on the Book of Rites.


    After a month, Li Yuanyingpleted all the books that Xiao Deyan had given him!


    T/L note: I¡¯m sorry, I took more liberty this chapter in localizing and giving meaning to the poetry. There really isn¡¯t a word for word trantion unless I leave it all in PinYin.


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü 1Chinese reading is Chan Di

 Chapter 13

    Chapter 13


    Although Li Yuanying has been studying hard, he still continued with his shameless mischievous ways of causing trouble everywhere he goes.


    In early May when Kong Yingda was assessing Li Zhi on his studies, Li Yuanying decided to watch them while having a handful of sunflower seeds and was cracking them loudly. The loud noise got on the teacher¡¯s nerve and he confiscated them and kicked him out of the lecture hall.


    It was said that Yuanying wasn¡¯t happy about being reprimanded and yelled: ¡°In a few months, the sunflower seeds that I have nted will grow into nts!¡±


    Kong Yingda was furious andined to the Emperor.


    Due to this incident, Li Er led a group of ministers to the greenhouse to check out the ten sunflowers seeds that came to the Tang empire from across the ocean.


    Hearing that Li Yuanying found such rare crops but decided to fry them as food and only left ten seeds for nting; everyone was so furious that they almost developed liver disease!


    ording to the sunflower nting guide, these seeds not only look delicious but they also give high yield and have a short growing cycle. They also can be used to produce oil!


    Such good rare crops but eaten carelessly by this kid!


    Now the ten sunflowers are surrounded and closely guarded. Every day someone will check on them to see if they have bloomed into golden flowers and produced seeds!


    As for the source of obtaining them, Yuanying honestly confessed that someone gave it to him and he nted it since it was interesting.


    Although Yuanying couldn¡¯t make his exnation clear, Li Er helped him to tidy up the mess and came up with a sensible exnation on his behalf: Being the previous Emperor¡¯s youngest and most beloved son, his Majesty used to hold Yuanying on hisp even when meeting foreign envoys. Later when he passed away, Yuanying inherited most heirloom out of all the former Emperor¡¯s children. When he moved into Taiji Pce, his belongings came in boxes after boxes; so many that it made people dizzy! Having so much stuff Yuanying probably doesn¡¯t even know what he has so it¡¯s not umon for him to bring out rare things from time to time.


    After Li Er collected the fried sunflower seeds from Kong Yingda, he wanted to confiscate all of Yuanying¡¯s other rare items!


    For only God knows what other treasures will go to waste from his abuse?!


    Fortunately, His Majesty still wanted face and couldn¡¯t be seen as snatching his younger brother¡¯s things.


    Li Yuanying had no remorse about the disturbances he caused in the ssroom.


    Seeing that his birthday is fast approaching, Yuanying happily wrote to his mother that he has grown up much and had read many books. He proudly boasted that in the future when he and mother go to their own fief, he can start sses to educate a group of good disciples who will dominate the imperial examination. This will definitely stun the Emperor! He started painting a beautiful picture of his future to his mom, sounding like he can¡¯t wait to show his talents right away!


    This letter was written together with Sizi and the other children. Seeing that Yuanying wrote a thick stack, Sizi got curious and leaned over to see what he has written.Li Yuanying did not hide from her but instead shared his ns for the future.


    First, he wants to train a group that will y with him. These people must also be able to read, write and tell stories. He will then reward whoever tells the best story. With that, he will have endless stories!


    Then he wants a group who will collect all the delicious food in the world for him. Whoever finds the best delicacies will be rewarded. That way he will have endless good food to eat!


    If his area is far away from Chang¡¯an, he will then secretly have night curfew but this is so that the city will be as lively as daytime every night!


    Sizi listened happily and thought that Yuanying¡¯s idea was great! But she quickly realized that if Yuanying goes to his fief she wouldn¡¯t be able to follow.


    Seeing Yuanying so happy about it, the girl pouted her mouth and looked a little sad.


    After going home, Sizi talked about this to her sisters, Chengyang and Hengshan.


    ¡°Once youngest uncle goes to his ownnd, he won¡¯t be able to y with us anymore!¡± After speaking, Sizi¡¯s started tearing. Being six, she doesn¡¯t have good control over her emotions yet and couldn¡¯t helped but cry if she¡¯s sad.


    Hengshan who was younger also cried: ¡°What can we do then?¡±


    The two younger sisters looked at their older sister Chengyang tearfully. Chengyang couldn¡¯t think of any idea to make Yuanying stay.


    ¡­¡­¡­


    After Li Er and his ministers ended their discussionte in the night, he thought of his daughters and went over to check on them. Upon reaching the door he heard his three baby girls sobbing again!


    For past experience, it must have something to do with Li Yuanying. Did that kid tell them stories again?!


    Li Er pushed the door and entered.


    The three girls hearing sounds raised their heads and recognized their father.


    Sizi was the first to rush to him and held his thigh crying: ¡°Father, don¡¯t let uncle leave!¡±


    After much coaxing, Li Er finally got the gist of what happened. Seems like that kid is already nning to bring his mother to his ownnd and live an unrestricted leisure life!


    Li Er snorted coldly but deep inside he felt a littleplicated maybe due to Sizi¡¯s reaction.


    Humans are strange creatures. This is a kid that you¡¯ve always found annoying but when you think about never seeing him again, you feel reluctant for him to leave. Ironically, that kid is a hopeless and heartless brat that can¡¯t wait to get away from you. Such irony and is so irritating!


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t let him get what he wants. That kid wants to go to his fief?! Not until a few more years!¡±


    ¡°So young uncle won¡¯t leave?¡±


    His Majesty pat Sizi¡¯s head and promised: ¡°Father won¡¯t let him go.¡±


    The three girls were smiling with joy.


    The next day Sizi went to tell Yuanying about this piece of good news.


    Li Yuanying can¡¯t believe that he has been sabotaged by three little lolitas! He was so angry that he started pinching Sizi¡¯s cheek. Sizi had to bite him before he would let go.


    Although Sizi¡¯s cheeks were now red, she wasn¡¯t angry at all. Instead, she held Yuanying¡¯s hand and said: ¡°Uncle, you are not allowed to leave!¡±


    Yuanying surrenders in defeat. After all, he realizes that his brother the Emperor wouldn¡¯t have changed his mind over crying children.


    Oh well, if I can¡¯t leave now then so be it, a few years make no difference. After all, Li Er can¡¯t keep him in Chang¡¯an for the rest of his life!


    After ying with the children, he went on to visit Xiao Deyan who still looks like an old deity. Yuanying likes him very much and happily updated that he has finished all his reading.


    ¡°What am I supposed to do next?¡±


    Xiao Deyan was a little surprised. Although the books were not long and are rtively simple but to finish them all within a month is no easy feat. Especially for Li Yuanying who was still keeping up with his naughty tricks in ss and his frequent ytime with the princesses.


    The teacher then decided to ask a few questions to test if the boy understood context and meaning. Having read lotstely, Yuanying wasn¡¯t afraid and could easily deal with them so Xiao Deyan gradually increased its difficulty in which Yuanying¡¯s answering speed gradually slowed down.


    Though the questions were difficult, Yuanying felt that a whole new perspective was revealed to him. He used to read books only with the aim of memorizing and understanding but Xiao Deyan¡¯s questions showed him apletely different method of studying.


    It turns out that reading is not just reading the surface!


    By the end of the Q&A, Yuanying wasn¡¯t able to make out answers anymore but he was sincerely happy.


    ¡°You are amazing!¡±


    ¡°No, I just happened to live a dozen years longer than others.¡±


    Yuanying then listed all the parts that he didn¡¯t understand and asked for advice. Only after that did he list out various ssics he has heard from others and seek the teacher¡¯s advice on which were worth reading.


    Seeing the list, Xiao Deyan noticed a drastic improvement in Yuanying¡¯s handwriting. Now they at least look like decent writing and are no longer ghostly scribbles like the past.


    ¡°Some books are duplicates and some are not worth reading. I¡¯ve marked them for you, you can try the rest.¡±


    Li Yuanying happily thanked him, chatted for a while longer then happily left. On his way back he ran into Li Tai.


    Seeing Li Yuanyinging out from Xiao Deyan¡¯s ce, the prince¡¯s cheeks twitched again.


    ¡°Uncle went to teacher again?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I recently was rmended books by others and copied a list to ask teacher which were worth reading!¡± He then continued enviously: ¡°Nephew, you¡¯re so fortunate. If there¡¯s anything you don¡¯t understand you can consult him directly anytime.¡±


    This kid still hasn¡¯t given up on trying to steal teacher! Furthermore, Lord Father specifically picked him for me, what¡¯s up with this kid? Li Tai forced a smile: ¡°That¡¯s natural. I can¡¯t do without teacher for even a day. Evening here to Jiucheng Pce, I had to trouble him to follow along.¡±


    After separating from Li Tai, Dai Ting who was following behind Yuanying when he suddenlymented.


    ¡°I guess no one has told him before but he looks so fake when he smiles? Ahh¡­ all my nephews are really worrisome.¡±


    Dai Ting didn¡¯t show any expression.


    After returning to his residence, Yuanying was notified that he should prepare to receive his official title soon. On his ninth birthday, the Emperor will formally bestow him with the title ¡°Prince of Teng¡± and the official residence is now being built in Teng prefecture.


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t know exactly where Teng prefecture was located so he went looking for Li Zhi.


    Li Zhi was familiar with geography so when he heard Teng Prefecture he could describe where it was


    ¡°A ce in the east, in the territory of Henan Province, not far from the sea.¡±


    ¡°Then I can y at the sea!¡±


    Hearing that, Yuanying was happy but Li Zhi like the other children was upset and reluctant to see him go. Although His Majesty has announced that Li Yuanying will stay for the time being but everyone knows that one fine day in the future, perhaps in a few years¡¯ time Yuanying will still have to leave. When two people are separated by long distance, It¡¯s likely that they would never meet again.


    ¡°If everyone can be like you, there won¡¯t be so much trouble in court.¡±


    Li Yuanying raised his hand and hit Li Zhi on the back of his head. He then said while shaking his head ¡°Even if the sky were to fall, those who are tall will support it, it will never be your problem. Why are you worrying blindly here?¡±


    He then shares his new list of books from Xiao Deyan to Li Zhi and they started another round of studying.

 Chapter 14

    Chapter 14


    Since Li Yuanying grew up in Da¡¯an and Taiji Pce, formal ceremonies like des are not something foreign to him.


    He even specifically invited Wei Zheng and Xiao Deyan to attend his ceremony. Kong Yingda who he didn¡¯t invite was instead attending on the Emperor¡¯s invitation. It could be said to be a grand-scale event.


    Yuanying¡¯s only regret is that his mother isn¡¯t present and couldn¡¯t watch him receive his title in person.


    The Emperor saw that his youngest brother and Xiao Deyan were close and thinks that it¡¯s strange.


    Last year when his son Li Tai wanted topile a book called <<Comprehensive Gazetteer>> <sup>[1]</sup>in Pinyin: Kuodi Zhi which is an early Tang Dynasty survey of Tang China¡¯s geography and administrative divisions. His Majesty requested that Xiao Deyan and his men to assist the prince with the book. Isn¡¯t it more reasonable to assume that Xiao Deyan would be on Li Tai¡¯s side? Why then did Li Yuanying invite him?


    ¡°Has the kid been harassing Minister Xiao often?¡±


    Xiao Deyan is already an old man who has experienced many storms in life so he¡¯s no longer nervous in front of the Emperor. He merely smiles then nces over at Wei Zheng and said in a joking manner: ¡°It¡¯s all Wei Zheng¡¯s doing.¡±


    Wei Zheng¡¯s current post is as a chancellor and is in charge of handling edicts issued by the Emperor. If he thinks an edict is feasible, he approves and issues it under his name. Otherwise, he would respectfully pass it back to the Emperor for a second review and amendment. In short, he was someone highly regarded by the Emperor. During the 10<sup>th</sup> year of Zhengguan, he was already a minister with status second only to the three Ducal ministers and was already in charge of the Chancellery.


    After being specifically named by Xiao Deyan, Wei Zheng responded: ¡°When I waspiling <<Writings on important governing principles>>, I had deep conversations with Schr Xiao and realized that I was not as proficient as he is in the topic in Analectic hence I rmended his Highness to seek advice from him¡±.


    ¡°How is Yuanying learning?¡±


    Li Yuanying immediately looked at Xiao Deyan expectantly with bright round watery eyes that implied that today is my big day please say something nice and praise me.


    Xiao Deyan understood this and decided to amodate the child¡¯s wish.


    ¡°His Royal Highness is extremely intelligent and he is willing to work hard. With this progress, I¡¯m afraid that there will be nothing left to teach him soon.¡±


    Li Yuanying loves to hear this. If he has a tail it would be wagging proudly with a face full of pride.


    Since it¡¯s Yuanying¡¯s birthday, Li Er and Kong Yingda did not speak ill about him but merely reminded him to be more serious and stop fooling around in the future.


    After the ceremony, everyone gave him gifts including Kong Yingda who gave him a good inkstone.


    Li Yuanying happily epted them but secretly thinks that Old man Kong gave him an inkstone to subtly ridicule him for his bad handwriting.


    After a meal together, everyone departed. Yuanying then told Li Zhi about his suspicion of Kong Yingda¡¯s gift.


    ¡°But minister Wei also gave you ink ingots; why don¡¯t you think the same about his gift?¡±


    ¡°How can it be the same?!¡±


    Wei Zheng has been kind to him and he even has a wonderful granddaughter like Wei Shu. Kong Yingda doesn¡¯t have any of those! Even if he has a granddaughter no one can beat sister Shu!


    Li Zhi thinks he¡¯s talking nonsense and got tired of him so he just left.


    As soon as Li Zhi has left, Yuanying felt lonely so he went to the library. He was no longer surprised to see Consort Wu here anymore and simply asked for her help to locate books. At the same time, he didn¡¯t forget to tell her about the ink ingot and stones that he has received.


    He actually felt a little strange about his thoughts. Why did he feel that Kong Yingda was mocking him but not Wei Zheng?


    ¡°Then you should read one more book.¡±


    ¡°What book?¡±


    Consort Wu stretched out her slender arms to take a book and handed it to Yuanying.


    Yuanying open it and said in confusion: ¡°Hanzi?¡± <sup>[2]</sup>Han Feizi ¨C a collection of writing from Han Fei of Eastern Zhou


    Consort Wu nodded.


    Yuanying took it suspiciously and left with his pile of books.


    Consort Wu looked at Yuanying¡¯s back and the corners of her lips raised subconsciously.


    Everyone in this deep pce lives a life of fear and cautiousness but this child is truly fearless; living freely and with indulgences.


    She¡¯s curious to know the kind of person he would be in the future. Will his carefree and innocent ways be taken away by the cruel and ruthless pce life? Or will he be able to live a life that is different from everyone else?


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t care what consort Wu thinks about himself so he took his books, returned to his residence, and started reading <<Hanzi>>.


    The book was divided into many volumes and the one given to him was on the difficulties of persuasion; not too hard to read as there weren¡¯t a lot of words.


    At first nce, Yuanying only found the book quite interesting but when he finishes it he understood why Consort Wu gave him this book.


    There was a story within it that was rted to his doubts. The overall gist is about a family who had a broken fence and both his son and neighbor advised him to fix it quickly to prevent thieves from sneaking in and stealing his possession. The next day his house was really broken into and as a result, he praised his son¡¯s cleverness but suspected that the neighbor robbed him!


    There was also another story about how a man who was initially favored by his King. When his mother has fallen ill he secretly used his liege¡¯s horse carriage to visit her. The King was touched and admired his sense of filial piety. ¡°How filial he is, so anxious that he has forgotten the rules!¡± Another time, the same man took a bite out of a peach and found it sweet, so he gave the half-eaten peach to the king. ¡°How deep is his love for me that if he eats sweet peaches, he will share it with me!¡± However, this manter fell out of favor and the King got irritated. Both incidents became ¡°How dare he drive a carriage that can only be used by the king and how dare he gives me half-eaten peach!¡±


    This shows that the same incident can lead to very different views based on one¡¯s rtionship with the other!


    Within <<Han Zi>> was also this saying ¡°Dragons have scales and so do kings. If you want to seed, do not touch a King¡¯s scales! <sup>[3]</sup>Scales here when referred to a person would imply a person¡¯s bottom-line


    Yuanying likes this book very much and went back to the library to collect the remaining volumes.


    When he went to ss the next day, Yuanying not only changed his outfit because of his new title but went with volumes of <<Han Zi>> in hand.


    Li Zhi hadn¡¯t read this book yet and seeing that teacher isn¡¯t here yet he borrowed a volume and started reading.


    Coincidentally, Li Zhi picked the volume on <<The five vermin>> <sup>[4]</sup>Han Feizi- Wudu which talks about the five ills affecting a country. First, those who are overly devoted to learnings of Confucianism. Second, those who strategize and deceive others through words. Third, free-spirited nomads are uncontroble. Fourth, those who pledge loyalty to nobility to escape hardships and finally merchants and craftsmen.


    Han Fei also sarcastically mentioned in his works that, letting schrs use decorum and etiquette to govern a country is tantamount to a stupid farmer who stands by the wayside waiting to trap the rabbit <sup>[5]</sup>means the foolish act of waiting for harvest without toiling.


    The illustrations were so well and vividly written that Li Zhi almost felt convinced by Han Fei¡¯s teaching.


    Seeing his frined holding another volume and reading it, he couldn¡¯t help but ask: ¡°Young uncle, where did you find these books?¡±


    ¡°From the library.¡±


    Seeing Li Zhi¡¯s shocked face from reading <<Han Zi>> he took away the volume on Five vermin and handed him the volume on Eight Traitors instead.


    <<Eight Traitors>> is rtively short and discusses about treacherous people serving the king. These include but are not limited to the king¡¯s wife, his brothers, his attendants, and ministers who do things behind his back.


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t feel that he could be considered as one of those treacherous people mentioned in the book and said with relish: ¡°These books are so interesting. The author is really daring; no wonder he was killed.¡±


    Looking at the scope of this book it¡¯s as if it¡¯s implying that everyone around the King is wicked. So beware of everybody!¡±


    With such writings how could others sleep well without killing him off!


    Both boys finished both books on five vermin and eight traitors and have developed great admiration for Han Zi¡¯s guts!


    <<Eight traitors>> only mocks those who serves the King but <<Five Vermin>> talks ill about even normal citizens! It¡¯s as if the author thinks everyone are traitors and worms except for farmers who tend to crops. Whether you¡¯re a schr, a merchant or a craftsman, you are all up to no good!


    If this book was read by someone with bad mentality, he would probably think that this is a dark and depressing world!


    ¡°This person is amazing.¡± It¡¯s as if the author wanted to offend the whole world and just wouldn¡¯t stop!


    Li Zhi having a forgiving personality and dislikes evil thoughts shook his head and tried to persuade Li Yuanying to stop: ¡± Young uncle, you should really stop reading such books.¡±


    Books are easy to find, but interesting ones are hard toe by. So why would I not read them?


    ¡°No, I have to read them all.¡±


    The more he read, the more interested Yuanying was in this book. He even felt that there are many vivid examples in it which he can use as stories to tell the other children.


    For several days, Li Yuanying was absorbed in reading <<Han Zi>> until Dong Xiaoyi reported that the sunflower had buds. Hearing that he threw away his books and excitedly took Sizi and Wei Shu to see the sunflower buds.


    This time, Li Zhi has no ss to attend and can finally join the flower team!


    Perhaps the seeds were tenacious and under Dong Xiaoyi¡¯s careful tending, all ten seeds survived and sprouted into healthy sunflowers. One of them was even taller than the boy.


    The children were admiring the flowers when His Majesty arrives with his entourage to do the same.


    Seeing the children, Li Er waved his hand to exempt them from any salutations.


    Looking at the ten sunflowers in full bloom, His Majesty inevitably had to warn Yuanying again.


    ¡°In the future, if you find any rare crops that can be grown, do not fry them and eat them!¡±


    Yuanying nodded obediently.


    After that, the Emperor took the children with him. He then noticed an unfamiliar little boy among the group of children. ¡°Whose child is this?¡±


    ¡°Lord brother, do guess!¡±


    ¡°I will not.¡± Said his Majesty annoyed.


    Wei Zheng quickly stepped forward to confess: ¡°Your Majesty, this is your minister¡¯s ¡­ granddaughter.¡±


    Li Er took a closer look and saw that the child had red lips with pearl white teeth and beautiful eyebrows. He really a girl.


    Seeing Wei Shu dressed in boy¡¯s clothing, Li Er remembered Princess Gao Yang who wasn¡¯t able toe along to Jiucheng Pce and smiled: ¡°I wonder who would be more handsome when standing side by side, your granddaughter and my Gao Yang!¡±


    Wei Zheng red at Wei Shu and quickly asked the Emperor for forgiveness over hisx upbringing on his granddaughter.


    Li Er just smiled over this trivial matter. He instead asked Li Yuanying: ¡°I heard thattely you¡¯ve been engrossed in reading that you wouldn¡¯t even stop while eating. What are you reading?¡±


    Li Zhi hurriedly gave Li Yuanying a cautious stare.


    Although he doesn¡¯t have an in-depth understanding of <<Han Zi>>, Li Zhi knows that most people do not agree with his teachings. In fact, his father outright mentioned that Han Zi¡¯s teaching is not applicable for peaceful and prosperous times. Instead, Confucianism should be the governing principle instead.


    Li Yuanying obviously never thought so far and innocently answered in all honestly that he was reading <<Han Zi>>


    Li Er frowned. Isn¡¯t this kid reading about rites and analects? Why is he reading Han Zi?


    When Li Er was younger he followed Li Yuan to war. It could be said that he won over his empire on horseback. Due to his past, he decided after being the Emperor that he needed to pay more attention to enlightenment. On one hand, he asked Fang Xuanling and his men to establishws to govern the country while on the other hand he worked on rxing restrictions and tried to reduce sentences of serious crimes.


    In fact, Li Er was renowned for letting more than two hundred death row prisoners return home to celebrate the New Year and dyed their sentences to theing year. In the second year, surprisingly all two hundred prisoners returned without fail!


    He then pardoned all the condemned prisoners, expressing that since they have remorse they should be given a second chance.


    From this, it can be seen that His Majesty believes in ruling the country by virtue.


    Li Er looked at Yuanying without emotions and asked: ¡°Have you finished reading? What do you think?¡±


    T/L notes: Honestly, this chapter is extremely difficult to trante because of the many references to actual Tang Dynasty books and their interpretation. I¡¯ve actually taken quite a lot of liberty in localizing it into English. Am also leaving the actual pinyin of the raw text under footnote so that if ever anyone has a better rmendation on word choice do let me know and we can rece them.


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü 1in Pinyin: Kuodi Zhi which is an early Tang Dynasty survey of Tang China¡¯s geography and administrative divisions


    ¡ü 2Han Feizi ¨C a collection of writing from Han Fei of Eastern Zhou


    ¡ü 3Scales here when referred to a person would imply a person¡¯s bottom-line


    ¡ü 4Han Feizi- Wudu


    ¡ü 5means the foolish act of waiting for harvest without toiling

 Chapter 15

    Chapter 15


    The Emperor is of the opinion that heavyws should be used only during troubled times. Although Han Fei and Shang Yang¡¯s teaching are not wrong, they are more suited for chaotic periods where peopleck the means to sustain basic livelihood. Now days are prosperous and peaceful, there isn¡¯t a need for suchws.


    Especially given the controversy on how he rose to power, Li Er needed to work hard to portray a forgiving and virtuous personality and abstain from doing things that would make him bear more infamy. In the early years of his reign, Li Er was once furious and ordered his officials from the Dalisi Judicial Court to be dragged off and beheaded. He however regretted his actions afterward and has since then dictated that all such orders can only be executed after three reviews.


    After all, this is the first time Li Er is ying the role of an Emperor so everything is being learned from trial and error.


    The most important virtue that Li Er wants to redeem is his morality, therefore he attaches importance to Confucianism. When he handles government affairs every day, he often talks with his ministers and discusses the techniques of governing the country and about the importance ofpiling history and books. He even sent Wei Zheng, Yu Shinan, Fang Xuanling, and other well-educated schrs to be responsible for this task.


    Li Yuanying obviously didn¡¯t know about his brother¡¯s mentality thus he answered in a straightforward manner that the book was very interesting.


    As <<Han Zi>> wasn¡¯t a reading assignment from Xiao Deyan, Li Yuanying only hastily scan over the difficult parts and only focused on reading the parts that he was interested in.


    After reading dozens of volumes, Yuanying managed to sum up nearly around two hundred interesting stories from it.


    He felt that reading these books was not in vain, after all he has enough stories to keep the children entertained for a long time!


    Li Yuanying really didn¡¯t have much care about his brother¡¯s mood, he instead enthusiastically shared the story about the suspicious neighbor to him and left his honest opinion about how he felt: ¡°I was initially felt that Old man Kong meant to insult my handwriting when he gifted me an inkstone. But now that I think about it, I am at fault for gauging a gentlemen¡¯s action with a viinous heart! <sup>[1]</sup>means to unfairly gauge another¡¯s action through one¡¯s own despicable mind


    Kong Yingda was among the group of officials present and his face turned ck hearing those words. This is in reaction to Yuanying¡¯s advocacy on <<Han Zi>> and also his messy spection about his gift-giving intentions!


    Before Han Fei time, legalism was divided into three schools of thought ¨Cw, skills, and power and each was used for governing separately. However, Han Fei came and then merge all three into apatible theory on legalism thinking.


    Therefore, this school of thought is not liked by most Confucius disciples as its doctrines are like a sharp sword that destroys all as soon as it is unsheathed. And this doctrine was one that is most attractive to a ruler. For who in high position wouldn¡¯t want to own the right to life, death and power in their own hands?


    In the past, the King of Qin was sold on Han Fei¡¯s doctrine and although Han Fei has passed away he still governed his empire using this teaching.


    After seizing the throne, the Emperor ce great importance to Confucianism. Although the Imperial College has separate subjects likew studies and mathematics and so on, the imperial examinations ced heavy importance to literature and political studies. Teachings like <<Han Zi>> would only be read by those who are in charge of the judicial court and the crime department!


    I can¡¯t believe that this kid who just thought of taking his studies seriously a few days ago would be reading such books!


    Kong Yingda considering that His Majesty is present kept quiet and didn¡¯t advise Yuanying about not influencing the other children negatively. However, the Emperor would not stay still and let Yuanying disrespect his elders. Li Er raised his hand and hit Yuanying¡¯s forehead: ¡°Didn¡¯t I teach you how to address your elders? Have you forgotten?¡±


    Li Yuanying held onto his forehead and refused to repent.


    No one else present paid attention to this troublemaker, they left it up to him to decide how he wants to address others.


    Everyone was thinking that this kid would only read <<Han Zi>> as a script without understanding its meaning. How could he be capable enough to understand its deep teachings?


    Surprisingly, that kid was able to do so much to everyone¡¯s surprise.


    ¡­¡­


    Within the next two days, Yuanying finished all remaining volumes of <<Hanzi>>, and the system appeared in due course and indicated that he could archive this achievement into his personal library.


    Yuanying asked curiously: ¡°Has anyone read <<Analects>> or <<Book of Rites>>?¡±


    Silence¡­.


    ¡°Like I said, no one reads them, putting this new book into the collection is a waste of time and effort!¡¯¡¯


    Silence¡­.


    Seeing that the system was quiet, he gave up and archived <<Han Zi>> as part of his collection. The system quickly scans it and tabted the results. The book was rated as excellent inpleteness and readability and next shows him a list of rewards he Yuanying can choose from.


    The system showed rewards rted to art. Within it was three books <<Introduction to drawing 1000 examples>>, <<Beginner techniques on drawingic characters>> and <<How to draw apleteic book>>.


    Upon confirmation, the books appeared in Li Yuanying¡¯s personal library. Yuanying already had talent in painting so when he saw these art-rted books he sat around with a ss of coke and started reading them.


    Yuanying¡¯s started off with the book on introduction to drawing. It illustrated how to quickly outline various foods, characters, objects, and tools. Although the drawing tools were different (pens vs brushes), there were many paintings of items that he has never heard of. What are airnes, trains, and cars!


    Fortunately, the system was patiently exining each item to him so he could roughly make out what they were.


    One thing Yuanying was morepetent than anyone else is his ability to treat any and every incident as no big deal. For example, when he heard that airnes can fly and that trains can transport more cargo than ships, he only had a skeptical expression that says ¡°Are you for real? I think you¡¯re bullsh*tting me¡±. This prompted the system to show him the entire process of passengers boarding the ne to it taking off.


    He was happy reading about such things, he then made full use of the system to help him in recognizing these foreign objects. After familiarizing with what they are, he slyly tried to pry how they were made. However, the system was able to discern this and firmly told off Yuanying stating that he had insufficient authority and cannot inquire about such content.


    Though he couldn¡¯t pry info on creation methods, he was not discouraged. He instead started to practice the painting skills that he had just learned and managed to quickly master the skills of simple strokes. After that, he picked up twoic-rted tutorials and read them.


    As he finished the two books, a new door opened before his eyes!


    Thisic is great! With only few words but many pictures, it was suitable for the children! When his grand-nephew grows up, he can then gift it to him! Coincidently he just finished reading much so he had a variety of writing materials. He rubs his palms together getting ready to draw <<Han Zi Fables>> to coax his lovely juniors!


    Li Yuanying usually doesn¡¯t like staying in Myriad Realm Library for long but now that he has a grand n in mind, he stayed behind and started writing and drawing with n to give his friends a big surprise.


    A few dayster, Yuanying did the unexpected and seek out Kong Yingda to ask a question: ¡°Old man Kong, who is responsible for making our books?¡±


    Kong Yingda was responsible forpiling textbooks for the children so he would definitely have an answer. It was rare for Yuanying to initiate conversations with Yingda.


    ¡°What are you asking about this? Just because you read <<Han Zi>> a few days ago you think you can now create a book about it?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t I?¡± said Yuanying with a proud face.


    Yingda saw that the young boy couldn¡¯t hide his excitement and arrogance and so he wanted to see what the kid could do.


    ¡°That¡¯s easy. Just find someone to copy them for you.¡±


    Most books created during this era were copied by hand.


    ¡°No, that won¡¯t work. The book I want to create is different.¡±


    Li Yuanying recalled the books he saw in his library; they were not kept in volumes but rather conveniently kept as books where you could turn the pages one by one <sup>[2]</sup>Books in this context were created in rolls simr to scrolls so each volume was kept as different rolls whereas modern books arepiled together and were flip to read the next page! Yuanying wants to create such a book!


    Furthermore, if you were to leave the rewriting to another person, he might not be able to draw them ording to his original manuscript. Therefore, Yuanying hopes to find a way to print them directly!


    Li Yuanying internalized his thoughts and told them to Kong Yingda.


    ¡°Then the book will look like a Buddhist scripture. Books currently are all written in rolls by volume and only certain Buddhist scriptures are recorded by pages done using materials called Palm-leaf manuscripts. If you really want such a book, look for erudite schr Li Chunfeng and ask.¡±


    Li Chunfeng was originally a Taoist priest butter became an official to the imperial court. He came along to Jiucheng Pce to escape the summer heat and is usually on duty at Taichang Temple; usually responsible for picking auspicious dates. asionally when the Emperor has doubts he will summon him to check his fortune.


    He¡¯s also the one whopiled <<Mohist canon>> <sup>[3]</sup>ancient Chinese text from the Warring States period that exins the philosophy of Mohism and has created many novelty objects. If Yuanying is able to describe what he¡¯s looking for perhaps Li Chunfeng would be able to help him figure out a solution!


    Li Yuanying nodded his head while taking notes before running away leaving Kong Yingda alone.


    Kong Yingda is already familiar with Yuanying¡¯s habit of crossing the river and tearing down the bridge <sup>[4]</sup>means to discard one¡¯s helpers after they are no longer of no use so he left him be. He instead discussed with his colleagues about Yuanying¡¯s whimsical attempt to write a book.


    Someone obviously held a grudge against Yuanying so he shook his head and said: ¡°This kid doesn¡¯t know the immensity of heaven and earth <sup>[5]</sup>means to not know one¡¯s own limitations/ability. If he really writes an actual book, I will promote it on his behalf out on the street!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t speak too early, he might really be able to do it.¡± Kong Yingda who had heard from Li Er how the boy told stories to Princess Jinyang thinks that if it was a book about nothing he would seed in writing it with ease.


    If only Li Yuanying could hear Kong Yingda¡¯s words, he would be touched and might feel that his teacher is willing to be fair to him! However, it¡¯s a pity that he has already ran off to find Li Chunfeng.


    Yuanying being the youngest brother of the Emperor would not be stopped by anyone in Jiucheng Pce; it didn¡¯t take long for him to reach his destination and he found his target who was sorting documents.


    Li Chunfeng is thirty-seven and instead of wearing a Taoist gown, he wore a light blue official gown and looked very young.


    Li Yuanying thinks that this man is not as deity like as schr Xiao.


    Though he felt that Li Chunfeng was not very reliable, Yuanying still met him to exin his intentions foring. He even pulled out a piece of paper and drew a diagram of what he wanted including the book cover and the internal pageyout.


    ¡°If you want to print a book, there exist a printing method from the south of Yangtze River. If you want to connect the book by pages, you can do it with a rope.¡±


    After hearing Li Chunfeng¡¯s advise his scepticism towards him disappeared and he then actively asked him to explore further.


    Yuanying is nning to print a hundred copies and give one book to each of his friends. He even ns to give his teachers a copy. The former is to share good things with his friends and thetter is to annoy the people who looked down on him.


    A hundred books were really not that many as he¡¯s for a big family. Nephews and nieces alone already amount to more than twenty to thirty in number.


    Hearing how Yuanying ns to be so generous, Li Chunfeng reminded that it will cost him much money.


    Printing a book is not that simple, you¡¯ll need money for wood, for carving, and even more for paper and ink. If it weren¡¯t so expensive, howe most people cannot afford books?


    ¡°I have money!¡±


    Li Chunfeng remembered that Yuanying is rich in assets for it is rumoured that when the previous Emperor passed away he left most of the inheritance to him! If it hadn¡¯t been for Li Er who take Yuanying under his wings in Taiji Pce, the boy would have been torn alive by his other brothers!


    Li Chunfeng was happy to suggest new ideas to Yuanying.


    ¡°Your Royal Highness, then I shall look for experience engravers and get them to try making a few engravings. If you are satisfied, then we can start printing.¡±


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü 1means to unfairly gauge another¡¯s action through one¡¯s own despicable mind


    ¡ü 2Books in this context were created in rolls simr to scrolls so each volume was kept as different rolls whereas modern books arepiled together and were flip to read the next page


    ¡ü 3ancient Chinese text from the Warring States period that exins the philosophy of Mohism


    ¡ü 4means to discard one¡¯s helpers after they are no longer of no use


    ¡ü 5means to not know one¡¯s own limitations/ability

 Chapter 16

    Chapter 16


    After leaving Taichang Temple, Dai Ting who has been silently following at the side finally spoke up.


    ¡°Your Highness, we didn¡¯t bring so much money to Jiucheng Pce.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    Yuanying was taken aback for he has no concept about the value of money. After all, he doesn¡¯t really spend much apart from rewarding servants who run errands for him. Yuanying¡¯s mother left the responsibility of handling finances directly to Dai Ting, so he¡¯s the most familiar with their financial situation.


    ¡°No!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll borrow money then!¡± said the boy calmly


    Dai Ting became silent again. He quietly followed Yuanying who was heading towards the ce where Li Er was discussing politics. Looking at his behavior, it¡¯s obvious that the boy wanted to borrow money from the Emperor!


    Dai Ting guessed correctly, Yuanying¡¯s target is ??His Majesty Li Er. Doesn¡¯t everyone say that the richest earth in the whole world belongs to the royal family? If so, then the Emperor definitely wouldn¡¯t be short of money!


    Li Yuanying ran towards the council chamber, looked around and was preparing for an opportunity to enter and approach Li Er.


    The Emperor caught a glimpse of Li Yuanying¡¯s sneaky figure but calmly continued to discuss business with his ministers. But after seeing Yuanying going around in circles while scratching his cheeks outside, His Majesty sent someone to escort him in.


    Having been busy the whole day, Li Er was exhausted. He waved his hand to indicate to his ministers to retreat. When everyone has left Li Er asked the boy: ¡°What brings you here?¡±


    Don¡¯t underestimate his young age, this is a horrible brat who only looks for his brother, the Emperor in troubled times. If things were smooth sailing, he definitely would be hiding from him.


    Li Yuanying said shyly: ¡°Lord Brother, I want to borrow money!¡±


    ¡°Everything you eat and use in the pce is provided for, why do you need money?¡±


    Yuanying told Li Er all about his grand n of writing a book and wanting to print one hundred copies of it. He even generously thumps his chest in deration that he will surely give a copy to Li Er after it ispleted!


    His Majesty couldn¡¯t help but frown. This kid really is someone who could sell his father¡¯s property without feeling any distress. Just because he is slightly more favored by our father, he really doesn¡¯t blink an eye when he splurges!


    ¡°You write me an IOU note; I¡¯ll get someone to bring you the money.¡±


    Knowing very well that this was Li Er¡¯s personality, he only lightly hummed twice before asking the servant next to him to prepare paper and pen. Although he had never written a loan agreement, he wasn¡¯t hesitant in writing one. In fact, he even added an extra digit to the budget Li Chunfeng has prepared for him. ording to Li Yuanying¡¯s twisted logic, since it¡¯s so troublesome to borrow money, he should ask for a bigger amount so that he doesn¡¯t have to do this again.


    As a matter of fact, Li Yuanying actually has his own private vault of gold so Li Er wasn¡¯t afraid that he¡¯s unable to pay him back. He put away the IOU he received and directed his man to bring the boy to collect his loan.


    Yuanying isn¡¯t interested in moving things himself so he requested Dai Ting to get someone to move the money directly to Li Chunfeng.


    Seeing that the amount he received was ten times more than his requested budget, Li Chunfeng was rendered speechless.


    Dai Ting conveyed the little prince¡¯s message to Li Chunfeng: ¡°If you can¡¯t finish it, please just keep it aside for future use.¡±


    Li Chunfeng has a carefree personality, so seeing that the prince didn¡¯t mention anything like ¡°no misuse¡± or ¡°no personal pocketing¡± he immediately responded that his Royal Highness the Prince of Teng is such an easy person to work with, there isn¡¯t any tiring elements like guessing intentions or scheming involve.


    Since Yuanying trusted him, Li Chunfeng immediately went to work and began gathering people toplete what Yuanying has entrusted.


    While Dai Ting returned to Li Yuanying¡¯s side.


    The young prince was busy sorting out sketches he had drawn. Although he uncovered more than two hundred short stories in <<Han Zi>> not all stories are suitable for drawing otherwise the book would be too thick!


    After much consideration, Yuanying decided on typical ssics like ¡°Three¡¯s a Tiger¡±, ¡°Contradictions¡±, ¡°Suspecting Neighbours¡±, ¡°Waiting idly for Rabbits¡±, ¡°Hiding sickness in fear of treatment¡± and other such short stories <sup>[1]</sup>These are all short stories with moral values in them arranged in order of what he thinks is easiest for the children to ept.


    After finishing, Yuanying felt that he had to ask someone to write a prelude for his so that it¡¯ll look like a serious book!


    He thought about his circle of friends and felt that Wei Shu is the most suitable ¨C good handwriting, smart, and reliable! He immediately went looking for her with the manuscript in hand.


    Wei Shu was surprised when she heard his n to print a book. Although there¡¯re many books in her house, they were all hand-copied. She has never seen a book printed with engraving.


    Wei Shu took the manuscript and had a serious expression and felt a little anxious: ¡°I might not write well.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re good in this, you can definitely do it well!¡±


    Coincidentally, Wei Zheng came home and seeing that the Prince is here he was curious to know what¡¯s he doing here. The boy truthfully told him his thoughts of adding a prelude to his book.


    Hearing that Yuanying was looking for someone to write the prelude, Wei Zheng stroked his beard and said, ¡°You really wrote a book? Show me the manuscript. If I feel that it¡¯s good, I¡¯ll write it for you.¡±


    Li Yuanying blinked and firmly said no: ¡°No way, you are too old to be suitable! This is a book for children, sister Shu will write it for me!¡±


    Wei Shu was chuckling away at the side.


    This horrible brat really puts you into a love-hate rtionship with him! Wei Zheng red at him and refuted: ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t write the prelude for you but show me your work.


    Li Yuanying still refused to give in: ¡°No, it¡¯s not printed yet, so I can¡¯t show it to anyone yet!¡±


    Upon saying this he quickly ran away with Wei Shu into the study room and stretched out his little finger towards the girl.


    ¡°Pinky swear, you cannot show the manuscript to Wei.¡±


    Wei Shu did the same and then put the manuscript into a small box and express that she will write the piece as soon as possible.


    At the thought of having the opportunity to pen her writing into a book, Wei Shu was excited and happily sent Yuanying away.


    On his way home, Yuanying quietly muttered: ¡°Girl¡¯s hands are so soft, it feels different.¡±


    Dai Ting was again silent.


    Li Yuanying happily went back for dinner.


    The young boy kept this book printing incident a secret from the other children as he ns to surprise them. In the subsequent few days, he went back to his usual mischievous ways of being a pain and continuously finds fault with his teachers in ss.


    A few days have passed when Yuanying decided to check with Wei Shu on her progress. The prelude was done and even the manuscript was kept in perfect condition without any dents to its corners.


    ¡°The stories you¡¯ve painted are entertaining!¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± said Yuanying triumphantly but then thought that he should be humble and added: ¡°The stories are all from <<Han Zi>> and there¡¯re more stories that are not suitable to be drawn so I¡¯ll tell you verbally next time.¡±


    Wei Shu nodded.


    At first nce of Wei Shu¡¯s writing, Yuanying noticed elegant and beautiful handwriting, a significant improvement from herst practice. Looking at the content, he found that it was fresh, timeless and interesting to read.


    On the spot Yuanying started praising Wei Shu to the moon and back, not giving a care that she was getting embarrassed.


    While Wei Shupleted her preface, Li Chunfeng alsopleted his task. Li Yuanying inspected the results of several carvings and was satisfied with the finished products. He handed over the manuscript to Li Chunfeng and requested he print them out urgently; else if dy it would be time to return to the Capital.


    Li Chunfeng promised to finish the book as soon as possible.


    Li Yuanying likes Li Chunfeng¡¯s candid and frank personality so he decided to chat with him further. Although there¡¯s almost a twenty-year age gap between the two they quickly became acquainted. Li Chunfeng even brought Yuanying to view his restored artifacts, things that he would only read about from ancient books.


    Such as a Tilting vessel. <sup>[2]</sup>An ancient Chinese ceremonial utensil that automatically overturned and spilled its contents once it reached capacity, thus symbolizing moderation and caution.


    This artifact is recorded in <<Xunzi>> and it¡¯s rumored to be originally ced in the ancestral temple of King Lu. Li Yuanying has heard of this before and when he now sees the real thing, he couldn¡¯t resist the temptation to try it out: in the middle is a strange container that is connected by two bases. When it¡¯s empty the container will tilt to one side, but if some water is added to it the container will stop steadily in the middle; and if you fill it up to the brim, the container will tip over and all its content will be poured out!


    After Li Yuanying finished his experiment, he circled the artifact twice while thinking that the mechanism is quite strange so he grabbed hold of Li Chunfeng wanting to know all about the principle behind this.


    Li Chunfeng is a person who either speaks of nothing when he is ignorant OR won¡¯t stop speaking once he has started.


    Li Yuanying also learned from Li Chunfeng that Xunzi was the chief at Jixia Academy during the end of the Warring States Period. Simr to Kong Yingda, he was an educator with many disciples. One example is Han Fei, the author of <<Han Zi>>. Being a disciple of Xunzi he has simr views to his master like thinking that ¡°human nature is by default evil and needs education to guide them onto the correct path¡±.


    Instantly Yuanying felt that there are so many amazing people in this world. Hearing that Xunzi is so awesome he now wanted to read articles written by him.


    Thinking of the all the additional books he¡¯ll need to read if Li Chungfeng introduces him to new items, he immediately refused to see anymore and ran away!


    Deep in thoughts about why am I learning so muchtely, it¡¯s not like me at all, Yuanying unknowingly went towards Li Tai¡¯s ce. He remembered that he hadn¡¯t visited Xiao Deyan for days, and shamelessly went in to look for him.


    Upon entering, Yuanying discovered that Li Tai was also present and was talking to Xiao Deyan.


    Li Yuanying sneakily went towards them and overheard Li Tai discussing about himself and his idea of wanting to print a book rted to Hanzi and even borrowed money from the Emperor.


    Li Tai is of the opinion that Yuanying¡¯s behavior is wrong, extravagant and spreading wrong ideology.


    Wow, that¡¯s gossiping about others behind their back!


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t care about being busted for eavesdropping and rushed out angrily.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I won¡¯t return the money I borrowed from Lord Brother, why are you badmouthing me in front of teacher!¡± He didn¡¯t care that Li Tai was stunned speechless and instead went to sit next to Xiao Deyan with an attitude that is unwilling to concede. ¡°All I want to do is print a book for Sizi and the other children, how is this wasteful! If you and I both don¡¯t spend money, who¡¯s going to buys things? How will the craftsman work? Farmers needs to sell rice and vegetables to survive! Holding money in your hand will not multiply, what¡¯s the use of saving? Why can¡¯t I spend my own money?¡±


    Hearing the young boy rambling on and on angrily, Xia Deyan couldn¡¯t help but gently pat his head whileughing.


    ¡°Yes yes, you are right!¡±


    Li Tai had annoyance written all over his face. This brat, does he think this is his house? Coming and going as he like without a word to inform and even eavesdropping.


    The most annoying thing is that Xiao Deyan actually is still fond of him.


    Upon hearing Xiao Deyan¡¯s affirmation, he triumphantly smiled at Li Tai. If he had a tail it would be wagging upright proudly.


    Yuanying is not bothered about whether Li Tai hates him or not, he immediately told Xiao Deyan about his meeting with Li Chunfeng. Being the self-proimed little devil who wreaks havoc as his daily habit, he¡¯s not used to his sudden thirst for knowledge and is confused.


    ¡°Why do you think I suddenly want to read books now? There¡¯s still many things out there to y with, where do I find time to read?!¡±


    Xiao Deyan smiled upon hearing his statement and thought that the child was not a mischievous good for nothing but is someone that can be taught.


    ¡°Look at yourself, even when reading so many books, you still found time to y no? On the contrary you found more interesting and fresh things.¡±


    Yuanying was suddenly enlightened and said happily: ¡°Oh, I now understand!¡±


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t feel that he was an uninvited outsider, he caught a glimpse of Li Tai listening to their conversation and realised that he was obviously jealous that teacher likes him better. The boy suddenly got even more energetic and took out a piece of candy, unwrapped it, and handed it to Xiao Deyan.


    ¡°This candy is sweet, taste it!¡±


    Li Tai: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±


    This kid is definitely doing it on purpose!!


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü 1These are all short stories with moral values in them


    ¡ü 2An ancient Chinese ceremonial utensil that automatically overturned and spilled its contents once it reached capacity, thus symbolizing moderation and caution.

 Chapter 17

    Chapter 17


    After feeling satisfied at how he was able to annoy Li Tai, Yuanying ran off happily.


    This boy¡¯s biggest plus point is that he clearly distinguished between kindness and hatred. Whether he receives kindness or bad intentions, he will reciprocate the same.


    In the past when Empress Zhangsun visit thete Emperor in Da¡¯an pce she often sees Yuanying there and would bring him food or interesting ythings.


    To him, Empress Zhangsun is a good person.


    Therefore, he willingly spends time ying with Sizi and the other children and also gets along well with Li Zhi. He even asionally visits the East Pce to see his little grandnephew. The only exception was Li Tai who doesn¡¯t like to interact with them but instead prefers to be seen with a book pretending in front of his father Li Er. He became busier after establishing his literature museum and hardly even visits his mother Empress Zhangsun when she was ill.


    If Yuanying was in his shoes, he would have stayed by his mother¡¯s side every day. To hell with the literature museum or pce decorum. Even if he can¡¯t stay beside his mother every moment, he would still visit her daily without fail.


    At first, he couldn¡¯t understand Li Tai¡¯s behavior but now he finally found his answer. It is for the position of Emperor which now belongs to Li Er. His older brother really is a miserable person; only in his early forties but his mother is gone, his father too and so is his wife. He finally has a son that he cherishes but said son is a fatty with bad intentions. Despite the fact that his father is neither old nor senile, he has already started plotting to take over his position. Really, being the emperor is a hard job!


    Li Yuanying felt pity for his older brother but upon reaching home he enthusiastically wrote a mushy letter to his mother. The theme was ¡°Mothers are the best, children who still have their mothers are treated like treasures.¡± He also told her all about his book printing and promised that he would bring a copy home to show her!


    His letter was sent together with the letters of other children.


    While Prince Li Chengqian was done dealing with official matters, he was informed that his younger siblings had written to him again. He hastely be ustomed to receiving letters from Jiucheng Pce. He pulled out the letter at the most bottom and as expected it¡¯s from Li Yuanying who¡¯s again asking him for a favor to pass the letter to his mother, Lady Liu (Liu Baolin) <sup>[1]</sup>Lady of Treasure; 7th rank in Tang imperial harem.


    This kid is sly as usual. Afraid that his letter would get lost, he makes the other children write theirs together so that it all gets sent to the East Pce!


    Li Chengqian smiled while looking at the words written on the cover of the envelope: ¡°Young uncle has made lots of progress. Seems like there¡¯s something unusual about the Feng Shui in Jiucheng Pce, even our young uncle unexpectedly started practicing calligraphy! ¡°


    Yuanying¡¯s mother has cultivated a habit of reciting one scripture passage daily; praying that her son would be safe outside and not encounter any idents. Since her child began writing letters to her, she would read them after finishing her readings. Since a letter was delivered to her today, she happily read it after rewarding the sender.


    Lady Liu (Liu Baolin) came from a humble background and was originally illiterate. Resembling her, Li Yuanying initially had no intention of learning and was unable to recognize words as a young child! So mom thought of a way to coax him to learn; she used to pretend to wipe away tears silently whenever Li Yuanying was close enough to notice, and would tell others that she is being bullied because of her illiteracy. When her child heard this, he got angry and immediatelymit to studying with the aim to in turn teach his mother!


    When Li Yuanying puts his heart into doing something, he would definitely produce good results. He actually learnt how to read and taught his mother one character at a time. Although Lady Liu (Liu Baolin) might not have extreme fluency she is now able to read simple letters. Remembering that her son has a caring personality and like to take initiative, she can¡¯t help but miss and worry for him.


    Reading that her child has been getting guidance from Wei Zheng, Xiao Deyan and others schrs and even n to print a book, she was overjoyed. She thus ordered servants to check the treasury to calcte the inheritance left by thete Emperor for her son.


    If that¡¯s not enough, they should also be getting good ie from the fief. Lady Liu has already inquired all about theirnd prefecture of Teng; it¡¯s near theke and sea making it and with abundance of produce. Life in such a ce shouldn¡¯t be too difficult.


    Lady Liu was busy till thete afternoon; counting cash, cleaning up, doing needlework in preparation for winter.


    ¡­¡­


    In a blink of an eye, it was already the end of August, and autumn¡¯s colours are starting to gradually paint Jiucheng Pce. The golden sunflowers have passed their blooming days and all that remains are the ¡°works¡± painted by Li Yuanying. By autumn, all ten sunflowers began to bear fruit producing much seeds!


    Li Yuanying hasn¡¯t been actively doing his assignments from the systemtely, so it¡¯s been a long time since he has eaten any sunflower seeds and he was craving for it. After spending the whole morning looking for thergest and best flower disk, he took it intending to instruct someone to cook it for him.


    Although no one around him has experience in stir-frying seeds, it shouldn¡¯t be difficult to get it done. Hmmm, if you want it to have a hint of creaminess, perhaps add some goat milk?!


    Despite his great ns, the moment he turned around holding the flower, everyone nearby knelt and begged him not to do so, otherwise the Emperor will find fault and punish them.


    That¡¯s really unreasonable! This is obviously my sunflower; why can¡¯t I eat it? If the Emperor find faults with the servants and punishes them, then it¡¯s Li Er who is unreasonable, what does it have to do with me?


    Justifying to himself, Li Yuanying ignored the pleas from the men around and left with the flower in hand.


    Dong Xiaoyi was shocked pale but he continued to knelt and didn¡¯t dare to stop the royal prince from leaving.


    Upon leaving the greenhouse and waking quite a distance, Dai Ting who was silent suddenly shouted: ¡°Your Royal Highness.¡±


    Li Yuanying turned to look at him.


    Dai Ting hesitated but still ended up pleading on his knees. ¡°Dong Xiaoyies from the same hometown as me, may I humbly ask for your Highness to help him?¡±


    Dong Xiaoyi was ordered personally by Yuanying to take care of the nts and with that his presences have been made known to the Emperor. This has caused many to be jealous of him. With the young prince snatching away a sunflower so abruptly, it¡¯ll then be an opportunity for those who hate Dong Xiaoyi to use him of wrongdoing and make him suffer.


    Li Yuanying quietly knelt beside him and frowned. ¡°Aren¡¯t there still many more flower discs? Why can¡¯t I pick one?¡±


    ¡°It is negligence even if it¡¯s just one.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just say so earlier?¡±


    Dai Ting became silent.


    He is of humble status and is already overstepping his boundaries by opening his mouth. Besides, he and Dong Xiaoyi are just fellow vigers but haven¡¯t spoken much so they don¡¯t have much of a rtionship. He wouldn¡¯t have publicly made a request in front of outsiders that his master would not necessarily agree to. On one hand, it¡¯s Li Yuanying his master and on the other is just a fellow countryman. He could easily weight his best options and would never had said a word except that his conscience is aware that his master could easily change Dong Xiaoyi¡¯s fate. Self-preservation is hard enough in the pce, what more protecting others?


    Li Yuanying has long been ustomed to Dai Ting¡¯s old-fashioned but matured habit of weighing all his consequences. After a little thought he was inspired: ¡°Get up. I¡¯ll just go to my brother and tell him of my intentions. This is just petty issue, what¡¯s the hesitation about?!


    Dai Ting got up and followed his master as usual.


    Yuanying carried the flower disk and went looking for his brother intending to inform him that the sunflower seeds are ready to be harvested!


    Li Yuanying thinks that he should have a say on what to do with these nts. Since there are ten of them, he wants to keep two for himself. As for the remaining eight, he thinks that the Emperor should seek the other children¡¯s permission for it.


    Li Er made it very obvious that he wanted to forcefully keep them for himself: ¡°It¡¯s nted in my greenhouse so it belongs to me.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re gonna be so unreasonable, I will write a big notice and paste it on the city gate to talk bad about you!¡±


    Li Er is hearing threats for the first time and raised his eyebrows with interest: ¡°Ohh¡­ you have improved; you can write notices now?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I can even publish books!¡±


    Li Er is well aware that his younger brother is a shameless brat that dares to do anything. ¡°I won¡¯t ask for your two nts but Sizi & the other kids are my daughters. Why can¡¯t I have theirs?¡±


    ¡°Because they also like the flowers very much. The saying goes that a gentlemen do not forcefully convert that belongs to others as his. You are their father; how can you snatch something that your daughter likes?!¡± He continues to point out Li Er¡¯s other mistakes: ¡°Within that remaining eight, two belongs to Sister Shu and Sister Shu is not your daughter!¡±


    Li Er was taken aback, fuming in anger and unwilling to give in to this brother: ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll summon them her and ask them myself if they will give it to me!¡±


    The three princesses were quickly summoned over. Upon hearing the request, they willingly gave away their sunflowers.


    His Majesty gave Yuanying a sideways nce intending to tell him to look at others and then look at his own behaviour.


    Li Yuanying felt that Li Er was too shameless so he insisted on not giving him his two nts. He also conveniently asked that Dong Xiaoyi be assigned to him so that he can aid him in the following year in nting on a huge piece ofnd in his own fief.


    Dong Xiaoyi is just a mere servant who tend to seasonal vegetables in the greenhouse, so his Majesty gave the green light. After all, Yuanying is officially now titled as the Prince of Teng. He needs a few more talents around him.


    At this time, Wei Shu was also brought over.


    Since the summon came directly from the Emperor, Wei Shu was ordered by Pei to wear female clothing which made her look cute and lovely.


    Since this is the first time Li Yuanying is seeing Wei Shu dressed as a girl, his eyes lit up. Then once Wei Shu finished her greetings to the Emperor, he slipped over to poke her and said in a low hushed voice: ¡°Don¡¯t give it to him!¡±


    Li Er red at Li Yuanying. We are standing so close to each other; you really think people can¡¯t hear you by lowering your voice?


    Li Yuanying decided to shut up. He¡¯s finished talking anyway!


    His Majesty told the young girl all about his n of requisition of the two sunflowers.


    Wei Shu heard Li Yuanying and out of unconditional trust in her little partner, she refused the Emperor without hesitation.


    Since Li Er is aware that Wei Shu was Wei Zheng¡¯s granddaughter, he wasn¡¯t surprised in getting such a reply. He already has six which were offered by the princesses in the greenhouse, so allowing Yuanying and Wei Shu to keep another batch is a good strategy so that he can avoid putting all eggs in the same basket. His Majesty felt that his banter with Yuanying about something so trivial is all because that kid annoyed him so he quickly waved his hand to dismissed him so that he doesn¡¯t bother him anymore.


    Li Yuanying took the other children and ran away.


    Outside, Yuanying started criticizing the three girls as he thinks that it was silly of them to just give their belongings away so easily. Even if you were to give it away you should have negotiated for some benefits!


    ¡°If father wants it, we should naturally give it to him. How can we bargain with the Emperor?¡± (Princess Chengyang)


    The other two girls nodded their head in agreement.


    Li Yuanying took a long hard look at the three honest girls and wonder if he should tell them some stories with values like ¡°you should fight for things you desire and so on¡±. Being so obedient, wouldn¡¯t you be at risk of being deceived in the future?!


    ¡°Fortunately, you didn¡¯t give in else the Emperor would be more pleased! Sizi and the other two girls are too giving. If it¡¯s Gao Yang, she will definitely be sticking notices throughout the kingdom in protest!¡± (Yuanying to Wei Shu)


    Wei Shu asked curiously: ¡°What kind of notice?¡±


    Yuanying proudly said that he threatened His Majesty Li Er. He was of the opinion that his threats against him worked or else the Emperor would have snatched the sunflower te way. Such shamelessness!


    All who heard this were dumbfounded.


    This really is a bizarre trick that only Li Yuanying can pull off!


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü 1Lady of Treasure; 7th rank in Tang imperial harem

 Chapter 18

    Chapter 18


    This was a rather special day for Dong Xiaoyi.


    Early morning, the sunflowers that he was in charge of were forcefully being picked by Prince Li Yuanying. He was already in a desperate situation and then he had to endure ridicule from others. Although technically the sunflowers were nted by Yuanying himself but they came to the Emperor¡¯s attention and was specifically instructed to protect and care for them. With such decree in ce, even a Royal Prince like Li Yuanying shouldn¡¯t have dared overstep his boundaries and steal them at will.


    Dong Xiaoyi thought his life was finished.


    But in a surprising turn of events, someone came over with news that he is now to report for duty towards the Prince of Teng <sup>[1]</sup>Li Yuanying = Prince of Teng.


    Dong Xiaoyi vaguely remembered that Dai Ting a close personal to Prince Yuanying came from the same hometown as him. They entered the pce on the same year. He recalled that Dai Ting didn¡¯t care much about others and looked a little like a girl so he was always bullied. Later, Dai Ting was recruited by the Prince of Teng and since then he became a different person!


    Although Li Yuanying is known to be notorious and capricious, he¡¯s actually extremely protective of those around him. Whoever dares bully those close to him will definitely always end up with bad endings. One example was a servant who dared to belittled his mother Ladyy Liu after the death of the Supreme Emperor while new Emperor Li Er didn¡¯t care much about his younger brother. Li Yuanying retaliated by instructing that the servant be buried in snow. This is the reason why many are unwilling to provoke the young Prince for he isn¡¯t afraid of anything; not even heaven or earth. If you dare to provoke him or the people around him, he will dare to retaliate whatever the means it requires!


    Dong Xiaoyi was filled with joy and hurriedly packed his things.


    He carried all his belongings which could be managed with one hand and went to meet his new master.


    At that very moment, Yuanying was busy ying with his friends so he asked someone to check out Dong Xiaoyi on his behalf. He found that although Dong Xiaoyi has ambition he seems to still have a pure heart so he has the potential to be a useful person.


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t care much about these things, so he handed him over to Dai Ting.


    ¡°Since you are from the same hometown, you take him with you.¡±


    Dong Xiaoyi was startled and looked towards Dai Ting.


    Dai Ting as usual remained emotionless and led Dong Xiaoyi to his temporary living quarters. After settling down, he was updated about Yuanying¡¯s n for his sunflowers and was told that his job is to take care of the four sunflowers that do not belong to the Emperor.


    Now that the assets have been divided properly, they were harvested and returned to the rightful owner. Initially, Yuanying wanted to stir-fry some seeds for eating but on second thought he decided to save them for his mother instead and thus he avoided the risk of being scolded to death by his brother.


    Another reason for his rational behavior is that he received a new task which was to scan a three-dimensional image of Jiucheng Pce and save it in the archive of the Myriad Realm Library.


    This is a simple task that can bepleted with only his naked eyes. He only needs to visit a few more ces. Yuanying is already running around so he didn¡¯t mindpleting this task.


    So as usual, he brought along the few children and started running all around Jiucheng Pce visiting many interesting spots. Gradually, a 3D model of the entire Jiucheng Pce was brought to life within the Myriad Realms Library. He tried entering the mock version of Jiucheng Pce within this private library and he shockingly realized that it was as realistic and big as the real Jiucheng Pce. He could reach out his hand to touch the pirs and even climb on top of the throne of the Emperor and lie on it.


    Yuanying found this strange so he asks the system curiously: ¡°If you could already do all this, why did I have to run around scanning it?!¡± This technology that allows you to replicate anything merely from seeing it is incredible! Moreover, it can also be used to build airnes that fly in the sky!


    The system was silent for a while but finally replied: ¡°Historysts for long and is built through time. Every minor change done to a part of history causes many things to be destroyed. Therefore, many things that seemmon and aid life now may inevitably disappear in the future.¡±


    Li Yuanying couldn¡¯t understand.


    The system didn¡¯t say more.


    Yuanying pondered for a while before asking: ¡°So, you don¡¯t have Jiucheng Pce in your records?¡±


    Yes.


    ¡°There¡¯s also no <<Jiucheng Pce¡¯s Liquan Inscription>>?¡±


    Yes.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have records of <<Ten gradual negligence in behaviors>>?¡±


    Yes.


    ¡°There¡¯s no Book of Rites, The Analects of Confucius or Han Zi?¡±


    Yes.


    ¡°There¡¯s no longer any Tang Empire?¡±


    The system finally realized where the boy was going and refused to answer anymore.


    ¡°You have insufficient authority to query this question.¡±


    The system chose not to answer, but Yuanying already knew the answer.


    It seems that the Tang Empire is indeed gone.


    Yuanying felt sad. It hasn¡¯t been long since Tang Empire was established and he hasn¡¯t gone to his fiefdom to dominate thend and cause trouble, so why is it gone?


    Li Yuanying couldn¡¯t believe it: ¡°You are lying! Such a huge Jiucheng Pce, so many books, how can it disappear just like that!¡±


    The system remained silent.


    Yuanying decided to made records of Jiucheng Pce essible to the public. Originally, he has never paid much attention to this action, but today he stood there and watched lights gradually being lit up. The system has said that a light spot represents someone spending money to visit and browse an item. Almost immediately after granting ess, lights filled the entire pce. This shows that many people are eagerly waiting for Jiucheng Pce to appear.


    Yuanying became even more sorrowful. He left the Library with a heavy heart. He racked his brain and couldn¡¯t decide who to talk to about this so he ran looking for his older brother the Emperor.


    Li Er was busy reviewing his daily reports. But hearing from his vassals that Li Yuanying wants to meet him and was crying he hurriedly asked that he be let in.


    When Yuanying saw Li Er, he couldn¡¯t hold back his tears. He rushed towards the Emperor, hugged him tightly, and cried out: ¡°Lord Brother, I¡¯m sad!¡± Although the boy has always been at odds with his brother, he still felt that Li Er is the most powerful person out of everyone he knows.


    Li Er was puzzled but his heart was softened by the boy¡¯s crying. Who has the ability to make this kid feel so wronged? It¡¯s rare to see his troublemaker brother crying so much. He reluctantly asked in a gentle tone: ¡°Who dares to bully you?¡±


    Li Yuanying shook his head. No one bullied him, but he was sad.


    ¡°Lord Brother, will our great Empire disappear?¡±


    The Emperor was stunned for no one had dared ask him such a bizarre question. The current empire has only been founded for around 20 years so who would ask at this time if the Empire will disappear?¡±


    Li Er looked at Yuanying¡¯s tearful eyes, thought for a while, and sternly replied: ¡°Regardless whether it¡¯sShang, Zhou, Qin or Han dynasties, at the beginning everyone thinks that they wouldst forever. Naturally, when father established Great Tang, he thought the same too. However, while it¡¯s a difficult feat to conquer the world, it¡¯s equally hard to guard it. The only thing we can do is our best so that we don¡¯t feel ashamed in front of God or our people. As for whether we canst for generations toe, we can only depend on the future generations.¡±


    Hypothetical talk like creating an evesting dynasty for generations should only be a talking point when drunk.


    Li Yuanyingprehends every word from the Emperor seriously.


    ¡°Why did you think of this?¡±


    Yuanying repeated the system¡¯s word for word about the exnation about history and said that someone had told him this.


    The Emperor listened in silence then stroked Yuanying¡¯s head gently: ¡°Since you understand such a statement then don¡¯t mess around like a fool anymore. The vast territory of Tang stretches across the river from the north to the south making it difficult to govern. I can¡¯t govern it on my own, I need my brothers to help share the burden. The faster you are able to be a strong and capable man and take care of Teng Zhou the faster I will give you a bigger ce to take care of!¡±


    The boy immediately became happy hearing that the Emperor wanted to give him a bigger ce and left happily.


    But His Majesty was left still thinking about what the young boy had said. He sat and pondered alone then ordered his vassals to join him in his chamber.


    The Emperor went ahead to recount his conversation with Li Yuanying to his ministers who sat at the opposite end.


    Fang Xuanling said with emotion: ¡°Even a young boy of nine understands such a topic and became sad. I cannot sit around waiting for a free meal and not contribute.¡±


    Zhangsun Wuji and Wei Zheng also agreed with Fang Xuanling¡¯s words.


    The Emperor then took the opportunity to discuss government affairs.


    As for Li Yuanying, is it actually possible that such a boy would turn over a new leaf after being sad?


    As we enterte autumn, the weather gradually got colder. Li Yuanying slept well all night and woke up the next day.


    Knowing Li Yuanying and his behavior for a long time, he went to his residence early in the morning to get his friend to wake up. Today is Kong Yingda¡¯s turn to teach the ss and he would go crazy with anger again if he waste or absent from ss!


    Yuanying pulled his quilt higher stuffed himself deeper under the quilt and said muffledly: ¡°I can¡¯t and will not wake up! It¡¯s such a cold day, I don¡¯t want to go to ss!¡±


    Li Zhi: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    He can¡¯t believe that his father had used Li Yuanying to educate themst night. This boy iszier than a dog, how does he have any upright virtue that can be used as a good example?!


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    Li Yuanying ignored Li Zhi and only woke up muchter naturally. When he awoke, he realized that he has already missed his ss. This ismon practice for Li Yuanying, if it¡¯s winter, he can stay in bed all day.


    Thinking about Kong Yingda¡¯s fierce old face, Yuanying sighed for a moment. He then got up, got dressed and went to look for Kong Yingda who had just finished ss.


    The boy thought about a lot of things yesterday, he even thought of Kong Yingda. Since his teacher and brother particrly disliked <<Hanzi>>, there were very few people who knows or had studied this concept in Tang. Therefore, Yuanying wanted to talk to Kong Yingda.


    Seeing that his great student only arrived after ss had finished, the teacher wore a cken expression. Hearing that the boy wanted to consult him about something, he felt awkward but still led the child to his working desk to have a sit and discuss in detail.


    It was a rare sight for Li Yuanying was sitting upright and ask seriously: ¡°Teacher, I have a question I can¡¯t figure out.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°In Confucius¡¯s Analectic, the master once said: When I walk along with two others, they may serve me as my teachers. I will select their good qualities and follow them, understand their bad qualities and avoid them. Right?¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°That¡¯s natural, these three-year-old children can recite.¡± (Kong Yingda nodded)


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you like people reading <<Hanzi>>? Do you really think there¡¯s nothing to be learned in that book?¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°Although the evilws of Shang and Han have merits, it is not benevolent. Using it will inevitably lead to bacsh, so how can it be promoted? Seeing how it led to three generations of Qin Dynasty being destroyed, isn¡¯t that your answer?.¡± (Kong Yingda)


    Yuanying still couldn¡¯tprehend: ¡°What does the destruction of a dynasty have to do with a book?¡± He even gave a baffling example at the risk of offending his teacher ¡°IF in the future someone attributes the destruction of a nation to Confucianism, do we oust Confucianism and burn all the ssics? Is that how it should be? ¡°


    In the past, Kong Yingda would have cursed Li Yunaying out angrily about speaking nonsense but seeing how the young boy genuinely had questioning eyes he couldn¡¯t scold him. He shook his head and denied that possibility without hesitation: ¡°It will never be the case.¡±


    This is the trust and confidence the descendants of Confucianism had for the teaching of Confucianism. Kong Yingda doesn¡¯t believe that any theory can rece Confucianism. Since the Han Dynasty, who doesn¡¯t use this principle to govern the country? Although some Han dynasty ssics had mixed in foreign viewpoints that didn¡¯t belong to Confucius, but overall the principles were the same and were suitable to use on governing a country.


    Kong Yingda is proud and confident of this.


    Li Yuanying heard the definitive answer from Kong Yingda knows that he wouldn¡¯t consider otherwise so he stopped asking more and decided to meet the other children instead.


    At noon, someone sent big and sweet pears at the Emperor¡¯s instruction but unfortunately, Yuanying didn¡¯t like them. He instead instructed servants to make them into soup and sent them to Wei Zheng and the other ministers who always gave them lectures. Wei Zheng was okay with this gesture but the other teachers were suspicious and felt that the boy might have put something in it to harm them. They only partake of it after seeing Wei Zheng consume it with confidence.


    Yuanying also instructed Dai Ting to make a bowl and follow him to meet Xiao Deyan.


    These are pears bestowed by His Majesty and not everyone has a chance to eat them. Seeing the young prince simmering them all and offering it to others to drink, Xiao Deyan asked: ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that his Majesty will be angry?¡±


    ¡°The emperor doesn¡¯t even know that I don¡¯t like pears. Why should he be angry with me?¡±


    Xiao Deyan felt that Yuanying had incredibly good luck. If he hadn¡¯t been born after His Majesty seeded to the throne, Li Er wouldn¡¯t have been so generous to his brothers. It is indeed this good luck that allowed the boy to grow up without fear and be the rumored little devilish troublemaker that he is.


    Yuanying coaxed Xiao Deyan to try the stewed pears before telling him about the conversation with Kong Yingda.


    ¡°I feel that Old man Kong is inferior to his ancestors, he wouldn¡¯t even follow the words that a three-year-old can recite. Humans are not fools. Confucius said: choose the good and follow it. If it¡¯s not good, you change it. It¡¯s not like you follow everything you read blindly, why can¡¯t you read other books?¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°Not everyone is as smart as His Royal Highness.¡± (Xiao Deyan)


    Li Yuanying thought these words were very pleasant. He didn¡¯t know what humility was and happily responded ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±


    Xiao Deyan smiled.


    ¡°When I go to my fief, I will build a big academy and I will show all the books and teach all the doctrines. As long as someone is willing to learn, I will let them have the opportunity to learn!¡± He took Xiao Deyan¡¯s wrinkled hand and attempted to steal the old man away from Li Tai, ¡°Teacher, do you want to be the head of my academy in the future?¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°This won¡¯t work, I am old, young people don¡¯t like to listen to me.¡± (Xiao Deyan smiled and shook his head)


    Although Yuanying was disappointed, he was not discouraged. He still took Xiao Deyan¡¯s hand and said: ¡°Then you can lend me your students, you must have a lot of students!¡±


    Xiao Deyan saw that the boy¡¯s eyes were full of expectation and couldn¡¯t bear to disappoint him: ¡°Okay when you are about to go to your fief, I¡¯ll help ask if anyone is willing to go with you.¡±


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü 1Li Yuanying = Prince of Teng

 Chapter 19

    Chapter 19


    In a blink of an eye, it was almost time to return to the Capital and Yuanying¡¯s <<Fables of HanZi>> was printed. Before that, he had already obtained the sample book and was very satisfied with the finished product.


    Li Chunfeng was also very satisfied. After all, he was a hands-on person and the prince was very happy to spend money and let him experiment with things. Seeing a hundred copies of the book neatly arranged together, Li Chunfeng felt aplished and asked that Li Yuanying be notified.


    It¡¯s the first time Yuanying created a book and he was feeling proud. He borrowed arge number of servants to help him carry his books and that caused a long line to be formed. Since the money was borrowed from Li Er, he sent the Emperor the first copy. When he was delivering it, he saw the other ministers and passed each one a copy.


    After the delivery, Yuanying found that he was missing a dozen copies and begin pondering how can his brother trusts so many ministers and calls so many people together to discuss matters every day.


    After giving a copy to the Emperor, he distributed them to his friends. Li Zhi had long heard all about the book printing but Sizi and the others were kept in the dark. They were all surprised when they heard that Yuanying created a book and all volunteered to help deliver the book for him.


    Soon all the princes and princesses had a copy of Li Yuanying¡¯s ¡°masterpiece¡±.


    Li Yuanying then went to pass Kong Yingda and the other teachers a copy.


    Only a few copies were left!


    He realized that he has to save them for his mother in the capital so he instructed Dai Ting to put them away and not give any more away!


    When Dai Ting was about to seal the book, Yuanying remembered that he had forgotten about Wei Shu so he quickly took one and ran to Wei Zheng¡¯s house.


    Wei Shu has long been waiting for the book to finish production and seeing Li Yuanying delivering them in person, she was overjoyed. She put away the precious book and then asked about his ns on the sunflower seeds. Should she nt his shared together with hers? Although her grandfather owned a farm, he had many children so it¡¯s not private property of her parents alone. She can¡¯t only nt sunflowers and no other crops.


    Li Yuanying initially just wanted to go against Li Er and make him angry, he didn¡¯t expect it to be such heavy responsibility.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ you keep some for yourself and give me the rest. I¡¯ll ask Xiaoyi to help nt yours together. After the harvest, we will sell it for some money!¡±


    Yuanying already spent lots of money printing his book and he was now thinking about opening a big academy so he finally is thinking of ideas to make money. Since Sister Shu believes in him and is giving him her sunflower seeds he will certainly not disappoint her trust!


    Wei Shu actually wasn¡¯t convinced that seeds would fetch much gold but seeing her friend¡¯s eyes sparkling brightly she did not want to discourage his enthusiasm.


    Wei Shu asked curiously: ¡°You said that your academy allows everyone who wants to study to study, so will your academy allow girls to study?¡±


    Yuanying was taken aback, he hadn¡¯t really thought about this problem.


    Li Yuanying asked strangely: ¡°Why can¡¯t girls read or study? Sizi and the rest can all read. Sister Shu, you too and your handwriting is brilliant!¡±


    ¡°There are actually no schools around that will recruit girls.¡± Those that he counted were lucky to be from privileged backgrounds and thus took advantage to have the opportunity to be literate.


    ¡°Then the academy I will build will allow girls to study as well. When the academy opens in the future, you will be the first female student!¡±


    ¡°Okay! Then you¡¯ll have to open the academy earlier or I will be an old student!¡±


    Li Yuanying was amused by the term ¡°old student¡± and was feeling happy.


    After returning, he also talked to Li Zhi about the matter, saying that in order not to dy sister Shu¡¯s study, he had to prepare quickly and strive to open the academy as soon as he arrive at hisnd.


    Li Zhi was left speechless by this daring promation. ¡°You don¡¯t even know when you¡¯ll be allowed to move to the fief, please don¡¯t go around boldly harping about your grand n of building an academy all day!¡±


    Li Yuanying felt like he was already a serious schr so he criticized Li Zhi: ¡°Those who do not have big dreams see many small worries! I¡¯m someone who acts immediately and makes things happen; I¡¯m different from this guy here who hesitates about even taking the first step!


    Li Zhi decided to just shut up. He then remembered that when Yuanying initially wanted to print his book, many took him as a joke and was dly anticipating his failure. But as a result, his uncle actually managed to arrange things in one go and now his book is actually in existence! Although the content of the book is superficial- with many pictures and few words and can¡¯t be regarded as a masterpiece, the content is actually interesting enough that it draws in your attention like strange magic and you can¡¯t stop reading the whole thing!


    Ordinary people will never spend money on such things, but Li Yuanying is not an ordinary person! So if he really wants to spend money to set up an academy, maybe he can really do it.


    Seeing Li Zhi deep in thoughts, Yuanying decided to strike the iron when it¡¯s hot and seize the opportunity to convince him: ¡°I think you shouldn¡¯t be like your fourth brother and stay put in the capital. Why don¡¯t youe to mynd and we can have fun together? I can open an academy and you can open an academy too, then we can get our students topete and learn from each other. Wouldn¡¯t that be great fun? If you¡¯re concerned about finances, fear not! I can loan you money!¡±


    ¡°You seriously think it¡¯s so easy to run an academy? Not only do you have to be rich, you also need to have established educators. If it¡¯s so easy, why would people waste time joining you and not go elsewhere to do this?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already had an alignment with teacher, he will lend me his students! When the timees I¡¯ll just ask our teachers to avail some manpower, surely we will seed!¡± (Said Yuanying confidently)


    Li Zhi actually didn¡¯t expect Li Yuanying to resolve even this: ¡°Which teacher? Chancellor Kong?¡±


    ¡°Of course not, it¡¯s teacher Xiao.¡±


    Li Zhi is obviously aware of who Xiao Deyan is; being at an advanced age of 82 years after being capable of surviving through three dynasties! Li Zhi was a little stunned: ¡°Isn¡¯t schr Xiao helping fourth brother to work on his books? How did he be your teacher?¡±


    ¡°Seriously you¡¯re so stupid. Just look at the great teacher Confucius, when someone teaches him even one word, he calls them one-word mentor <sup>[1]</sup>one who can correct a misread or misspelled character and thus be your master. I¡¯ve consulted schr Xiao many times, no matter how you look at it he¡¯s taught me more than one word, so why can¡¯t I call him teacher? When you read books don¡¯t just read them blindly, else you wouldn¡¯t be able to put what you learned into practical use!¡±


    Li Zhi was silent.


    If the great Confucius you¡¯re using his examples like this, I think definitely want to hit you right?


    ¡­¡­¡­


    Everything has been packed and the imperial household wes ready to rush back to the capital before winter arrives. All the children were squeezed again into a carriage and Yuanying started telling his friend about the remaining <<HanZi>> stories which were not drawn in the book.


    Even though Li Yuanying only gave away less than a hundred books, it actually caused quite a stir. Firstly, everyone who got Yuanying¡¯s book was in high positions; they were all either members of the royal household or high-level ministers and they all found it interesting and got together to discuss it. As for elders like Zhangsun Wuji, although he was not very interested in children¡¯s books, they found the materials educational and decided to show them to their children at home.


    Books these days are not written with the intent of being interesting, for a person would be fortunate enough to be able to just read. No one would care if a bunch of kids find the content boring or if they understand fully the context. Therefore, Yuanying¡¯s <<Fables of Han Zi>> gained much presence among younger people and everyone was enthusiastically discussing the stories in it with ns to bring it back home to the capital to show off to those who haven¡¯t read it.


    Moreover, children who didn¡¯t have the chance to read <<Fables of Han Zi>> yet have cried and begged others to lend it to them.


    This has elevated the reputation of the newly promoted Prince of Teng in the eyes of the masses. Most used to think that this brat is only good at causing trouble and was not expecting that he would be able to pull off publishing a book by himself! Moreover, his book is interesting enough that you will keep flipping the pages again and again!


    It was already October when the group arrived back at the capital. The first person Yuanying rushed to meet is his mother who hurriedly embrace him tightly and were busy checking if he had been well-taken care of in Jiucheng Pce. After she¡¯s done, Yuanying quickly passed her his self-published book.


    Consort Liu happily took the book and read it.


    Li Yuanying was busy instructing his servants to prepare his books for distribution when he suddenly heard someone calling out ¡°Li Yuanying,e out, Li Yuanying, youe out!¡±


    Oh, isn¡¯t this Gao Yang?! He ran out quickly to take a look. Princess Gao Yang, who¡¯s in riding uniform had beads of sweat dripping from her forehead and her cheeks were flushed evidence that she just finished ying polo.


    Seeing Gao Yang¡¯s angry face, Yuanying felt helpless: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Gao Yang rushed towards him and poked the boy¡¯s chest with the handle of the whip in her hand and said angrily: ¡°How dare you ask me what¡¯s wrong?! You know very well that I was devastated about not being able to go to Jiucheng Pce because of my illness yet you still write to me all day long telling me all the fun things you were doing. Wow, so much fun! How can you be like this, I¡¯m so angry!!!¡±


    Yuanying felt that Gao Yang was being unreasonable so he retorted: ¡°I¡¯m sharing fun experiences with you, why are you mad? Shouldn¡¯t you be mad instead if I don¡¯t write to you!¡±


    Thinking back Gao Yang felt it make sense, if Yuanying didn¡¯t write to her, she would be even more unhappy!


    Seeing Gao Yang deep in thoughts, Yuanying said firmly: ¡°You girls are all the same, you can¡¯t do this, you can¡¯t do that, I don¡¯t know how to do things right anymore!¡±


    But Gao Yang still thinks Yuanying is a jerk: ¡°But still it¡¯s not right for you to show off about your happiness on eating, drinking, and having fun every day.¡±


    Li Yuanying ran back into his house and gave her a copy of his book: ¡°I drew this book, I¡¯m amazing ain¡¯t I? I¡¯m giving this to you!¡±


    ¡°You know very well that I don¡¯t like reading. Besides, books can be drawn?¡± (Gao Yang)


    ¡°Of course!¡± Yuanying flip it open to show Gao Yang the contents and she was instantly attracted to it.


    She received the book and then decided to forgive Yuanying reluctantly.


    After sending away Gao Yang, Yuanying began thinking about what to do next.


    As the newly crowned Prince of Teng, he now has authority to leave the pce with his men and can now go out to y from time to time. Having set his mind on running a big academy he will now start doing preliminary preparations as he will definitely not wait until thest minute to start scrambling.


    For example, collecting works of literature and collecting talents.


    Li Yuanying called for Dong Xiaoyi.


    Gathering his men together, Li Yuanying exins the task. Dong Xiaoyi is to lead a group to inspect every farm under his name and to find those which are suitable to be transformed into ¡°Sunflower Gardens¡±. Dai Ting is responsible for locating residences at good locations that arerge and bright. The entire mansion should be remodeled ording to his requirements. In addition, he also is to set up papermaking factories and hire talents for it. Since they might print new books in the future, it would be better to produce our own paper instead!


    After cascading down his orders, Yuanying reverted to his old ways and hid in his mansion to avoid the cold winter weather. The only difference now is that he would often ask for books to be brought to him for reading.


    While Li Yuanying was leisurely reading on his couch, His Majesty Li Er and his men got busy.


    For something is happening in Gaochang. Located in the Turpan Basin it¡¯s an important gateway to the Western Regions. Meaning everyone who conducts trade has to pass through this region.


    Being a small country with weak military force, Gaochang and other small countries nearby make the same choice: to rely on a stronger ally country as a means for survival.


    A pity that this year Gaochang decided to conspire with Western Turks and jointly invade a neighboring country. Coincidently, that neighboring state is an ally to Tang Empire so when they realise they needed help, they sent forth messengers asking for help. Due to this incident, old records of Gaochang were being scrutinized and soon the imperial court realized that they haven¡¯t paid tribute for several years.


    His Majesty Li Er decided to take a softer approach by sending diplomats for a courtesy visit before sending messengers to enquire about debts. As a result, this incident was dragged out until November.


    Gaochang made the conclusion that since Tang Empire was newly established, its power should be weaker than that of Sui <sup>[2]</sup>Sui Empire was the previous ruling empire prior to Tang taking over. Coincidently, it¡¯s winter and with Gaochang being quite a distance, Gaochang¡¯s ruler felt that Li Er wouldn¡¯t send troops for such trivial matters. At most he would send forth diplomats bringing angry messages.


    But Li Er is someone who values his reputation hence he was so angry at such usations that he couldn¡¯t sleep. It has always been a pain point for him that Tang has not kept up with the progress of Sui Dynasty. How dare a small country insult his Tang empire?!


    He confided in his close confidants to express one firm decision: Hit, hit them hard! No matter the consequences or difficulty, we have to pack a punch to Gaochang until they¡¯re finished. We must set an example to show other affiliated countries the consequences of making enemies with Tang Empire!


    Although some wanted to dissuade the Emperor, the final verdict was still to attack Gaochang with haste, best if immediately.


    Hearing that they are going to war with Gaochang, Li Yuanying decided to hold a small meeting with his friend.


    The topic of discussion was: Where is Gaochang? Is it far? is it fun? What¡¯s there to eat?


    Li Zhi took out an inurately hand-drawn map to point out the location and introduced the great things about this ce.


    Gao Yang enthusiastically added what she remembers: ¡°Gaochang used to offer grape wine to us as tribute. Sweet, not intoxicating and delicious ones.¡±


    Li Yuanying concluded that: ¡°This is a ce with wine! I wonder who the Emperor will send for this mission but if it¡¯s someone we know we can ask him to bring some back for us!¡±


    Li Zhi said angrily: ¡°Is war a joke to you? How can anyone bring you wine at a time like this?¡±


    Upon deeper thought, Yuanying realizes that Li Zhi was right, how dare he asks the army to bring him things, that¡¯s not a good idea! He thought for a while and secretly conspired with his friends: ¡°I have a grand n; do you want to join me? Just prepare some men and leave the rest to me!


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü 1one who can correct a misread or misspelled character and thus be your master


    ¡ü 2Sui Empire was the previous ruling empire prior to Tang taking over

 Chapter 20

    Chapter 20


    As soon as Yuanying spoke, the others quickly raised their hands to participate; even Li Zhi expressed his desires after a moment of hesitation. He had no choice. In the past when he decided not to join the group, Li Yuanying still got him in trouble. That was awful, so it¡¯s better to just get scolding from father together as a group.


    Getting unanimous support Yuanying was touched, he requested that the group prepare manpower and to meet him at school grounds the next day.


    After the meeting ended, Yuanying went looking for his brother. He shares that he¡¯s no longer young and is now officially a WanYe <sup>[1]</sup>Title normally bestowed to the Emperor¡¯s brother. It is not right that he doesn¡¯t have his own guards!


    Li Er reacted angrily as he was still troubled by Gaochang, ¡°You can¡¯t sit still anymore, can you? Can¡¯t wait to go y outside the pce?¡±


    Li Yuanying smiled sheepishly, acknowledging Li Er¡¯s words.


    The Emperor was busy and upset so he just instructed Li Yuanying to pick people out himself.


    Instead of leaving, Yuanying curiously asked who would be sent to war.


    The Emperor nced at him, but did not hide the truth: ¡°Should be Hou Junji.¡±


    Li Yuanying left with the Emperor¡¯s decree to look for the head of the military. He requested for a group of guards who were old, poor and unable to get married.


    The other party was startled by such a request. Normally these people are at the bottom of the pyramid, they are regarded as burdens and would only be asked to do hardbor with no promotion in sight!


    Everywhere such ¡°weak chickens¡± who were meant to be trampled exist, the military was no exception. Unfortunately, most who are elected into the military had done meritorious deeds so it¡¯s not easy to kick them out!


    Such a request is a blessing to the army so it was quickly acted upon and such burdensome people were quickly sent to Li Yuanying.


    Before the guards came, Yuanying wanted to first meet Dai Ting. Being only twelve or thirteen and a eunuch, Dai Ting had weak feminine features. But after knowing him for so many years, Yuanying knew that he was not weak at all.


    Yuanying took out a mask and asked Dai Ting to wear it. With a mask, Dai Ting with his height looks much older like sixteen or seventeen.


    ¡°I need lots of money and food to sustain mynd. Now is a good opportunity, will you help me with something?¡±


    Yuanying flipped open the hand-drawn map with two circles on it, one on Chang¡¯an and one on Gaochang.


    ¡°You will need to follow the army this far out in cold winter weather. The roads will be blocked by ice and snow; it¡¯ll be a difficult journey.¡±


    Dai Ting listened attentively.


    ¡°You¡¯ve served me and my mother wholeheartedly but what you have done, others can do too. You have been by my side since childhood and I don¡¯t want you to do things that can be easily reced by others. Coincidently, I don¡¯t like going out in winter so I¡¯m sending you out as training.¡±


    Hearing this Dai Ting knelt down on the ground, his eyes moist.


    Although he was young when he entered the pce, he clearly remembers how his biological parents sold him and how he lost his manhood.


    Since then, he can only hope to survive cowardly and no longer expects to live like aplete human.


    But at this very moment, his master wants him to be someone that is not easily receble.


    Even if the road is long and arduous, even if the road is blocked by ice and snow, he will want to give it a try!


    Dai Ting bowed before replying, ¡°This humble one is willing to go!¡±


    Li Yuanying stepped forward to help Dai Ting stand and told him the n: ¡°You are quick-witted and good at snooping for news, this time the imperial court is going to conquer Gaochang which is just a small ce and definitely no match for us. This time the Emperor is likely to send Hou Junji. I heard that Hou Junji likes to do grandiose things and indulges the soldiers. After conquering Gaochang, he¡¯ll not restrain his men. I want you to follow the army and when things are chaotic you search for treasures and bring them back. Act ording to the situation, if you happen to meet Hou Junji¡¯s men, just use mine or Zhi Nu¡¯s authority and if you meet Gaochang citizens who are unwilling toply with you, you take advantage and use Hou Junji¡¯s authority!¡±


    Li Yuanying told Dai Ting what he wanted: Number one, men who are good at nting grapes, bring them and their grape seeds. Number Two, those who brew wine, bring them and their wine from the cer. Number three, bring literate people from Gaochang together with a copy of everything that has words on them. We don¡¯t need many of each but we need all three.


    Dai Ting obeyed.


    ¡°Lord Brother is going to give me some guards. I¡®ll give them time off to meet friends and recruit a group of men for this mission. When you arrive in Gaochang, find a wife for all of them.¡±


    This minor country has thoroughly annoyed his brother and so Li Yuanying is guessing that they are about to be wiped out by Li Er¡¯s army. If that is so, all the delicious food, beautiful things and women should be brought back. In fact, if it weren¡¯t because he hasn¡¯t settled down in his ownnd, Li Yuanying would have also brought back men who would be great at working!


    Dai Ting didn¡¯t think the task was difficult, so he agreed to every single one of it.


    Li Yuanying took out a sword and passed it to Dai Ting. This sword was left to him by histe father and is a symbol of imperial power. Since this is the first time he¡¯s sending a confidant out, he wants to give Dai Ting maximum protection!


    Not long after their conversation, the selected group of army arrives. Yuanying brought Dai Ting to inspect his group of future helpers. He first weed them, and then began to shamelessly promote his n: Do you want cash bonuses? Or a wife? Follow Dai Ting to Gaochang, you¡¯ll be rewarded with everything you want! If youplete the mission, you¡¯ll be generously rewarded upon return!


    Li Yuanying¡¯s image as the little devil was already deeply rooted in the hearts of the people so everyone didn¡¯t believe him in the beginning. As a result, Yuanying had to take out a box filled with gold and promised that it will be distributed to them after thepletion of the mission!


    He further instigated by adding that Gaochang is full of beauties, who were tall, had dark eyes and high nose and master at dancing. If they went, they might return with a beautiful wife!


    The group of older single guards were brainwashed by Li Yuanying and quickly expressed their willingness to serve the little prince.


    The next day, the selected guards of all the royal children gathered together making the new guards even more excited. If Li Yuanying was the only one sending them out, they would be skeptical but seeing that even all the other princes and princesses were participating they felt assured!


    Li Yuanying publically handed over his sword to Dai Ting and demanded that everyone obey Dai Ting¡¯s orders.


    Manpower is nowplete so Yuanying sent Dai Ting and his men to prepare supplies.


    Seeing this Li Zhi finally understood what Li Yuanying was nning and he started to panic. After Yuanying finished the mobilization, he pulled him aside for a discussion: ¡°You¡¯re asking them to follow the army to Gaochang?¡±


    ¡°This is a rare opportunity, think about it, on normal days you will definitely encounter thieves when traveling on roads like this. It¡¯s extremely dangerous! It is rare to have arge army ahead of you, if not now, when?!¡±


    Li Zhi was rendered silent. Although Li Yuanying made sense, I still feel that this is not right.


    ¡°You¡¯re such a coward. No matter who father sends, they wouldn¡¯t dare touch our men!¡± (Princess Gao Yang)


    ¡°Lord Brother is obviously doing this to set an example. I think Gaochang is finished and the country destroyed. Even though it¡¯s a small country, many precious items will still inevitably be destroyed. Perhaps our doing of bringing things back is helping to preserve and save some from catastrophe.¡±


    Li Yuanying went on to tell the children about the other unfortunate things that soldiers might do when a city has fallen. Unfortunately, not all leaders impose strict military discipline to restrain their soldiers. After all, soldiers are human beings; If they are only made to fight hard and not reap any benefits, why would they listen to you? Therefore, many choose to turn a blind eye as long as the actions were not excessive.


    It is therefore an inevitable and unfortunate fact that many men would be killed, women assaulted, property robbed and things destroyed.


    Once a thousand years have passed, the people, their culture andnguage will be lost forever without a trace left!


    So, maybe by collecting these things now, we might be doing a good deed!


    Hearing Yuanying¡¯s speech the children were quite convinced by his logic. If they could preserve one or two items maybe it would be considered saving one or two beings/things from suffering.


    After the other children had left, Li Zhi stayed back alone: ¡°I still don¡¯t think it¡¯s right. If you really have sympathy for Gaochang, why don¡¯t you go to father and convince him to adopt more peaceful measures instead?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by no fighting? They promised us tribute, but they did not honor it. That¡¯s being untrustworthy. They are attacking neighboring countries who are allies; that¡¯s treacherous behavior. If Tang allows them to do as they will and not fight, who else will be willing to believe in us? Therefore, it is impossible to not fight. But we are also people of benevolence and righteousness, so even if we fight, we will still show mercy! If you have nopassion for your own kind, then you are no different from a beast.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Li Zhi started to feel that as long as words came out from Li Yuanying¡¯s mouth, he is able to twist it into something righteous.


    In December, the court finalized the candidates for the expedition against Gaochang: Hou Junji and Xue Wanjun.


    The army assembled to take an oath then set off for Gaochang in severe cold.


    Shortly after the army set off, a group of more than a hundred people followed in a hurry. The Emperor Li Er stood on the city gate to bid farewell to his men and was about to return to the pce when his hawk-like eye caught sight of a group of men following behind the army. Although this group did not walk very fast, they were dressed simrly and walked the same way. At first nce, they looked like a group of merchants, but on closer look, they actually look like well-trained soldiers with ranks.


    Li Er frowned and asked his men to find out more.


    Reports were soon received that the group is working for the Prince of Teng. The leader was Dai Ting, and the rest were his bodyguards or retired soldiers.


    His Majesty¡¯s face instantly darkened and summoned that Li Yuanying be brought over to his resident.


    Li Yuanying was hiding in his need to keep warm, hearing that he was summoned he slowly put on his clothes and left to meet the Emperor.


    ¡°Why are you asking for me on such a cold day? Coming all the way here, it¡¯ll freeze me to death!¡±


    ¡°What for? Do exin to me why you ask your men to follow behind Hou Junji?¡±


    Seeing that his n has been uncovered, Li Yuanying didn¡¯t panic but instead attempted to use the same logic that he has used to fool Li Zhi on the Emperor.


    ¡°Yeah right, I really don¡¯t think you are that kind. You wanted to take advantage to get benefits instead!¡±


    Li Yuanying looking sad: ¡°Lord Brother, how can you think so of me? Every word I said is true, I have good intentions!¡± He continued honestly, ¡°Of course, if you can make some money on the side that¡¯s an added benefit. Who would refuse money? Speaking of which, I still owe you money, if Dai Ting can help me earn money, I will pay you back immediately!¡±


    ¡°Are you still short of money?¡±


    ¡°Who would dislike too much money? I printed a hundred books previously and spent a lot. I want to open a big academy in the future. If I make enough money, I want to make books affordable for anyone who wants to read!¡±


    ¡°Do you know how many people there are in the Tang Dynasty?¡±


    Li Yuanying shook his head.


    ¡°On the basis of households, there are more than three million households and each has five to fifteen people. Do count, how many people are there? There¡¯s so many that feeding and providing basic necessities are already difficult, how much money do you think is needed so that they can all afford books?¡±


    Li Yuanying did the math in his heart; and found the number toorge that he can¡¯t quantify it.


    Li Yuanying was left speechless: ¡°So many people!¡±


    ¡°What else were you assuming?¡±


    Li Yuanying looked at his brother sympathetically. ¡°Lord Brother, you¡¯ve worked so hard to take care of so many people! That¡¯s why we need to find more smart people! For example, take farming, many people devote themselves to nting but when the weather is bad they may still fail to harvest. But if there¡¯s a smart person in the vige who is skilled in observing changes in weather, has agriculture knowledge, can strategize what to rent during a drought, and have herbs & medicine knowledge then the whole vige will never need to worry about starvation. As long as we can find and cultivate such talented people and then send them to supervise farming in various ces, we can sit back and reap the reward without having to do anything!¡±


    Li Er patiently listened to his younger brother¡¯s opinion and is starting to see progress in him from all his studying behind closed doors. However, when he heard him say ¡°Reap without doing anything¡± he got angry and knocked him on the head.


    ¡°What do you mean by to reap rewards by doing nothing? Who would say such a thing?¡±


    Yuanying covered his forehead and asked humbly: ¡°Then what should I say?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s called to rule byissez-faire¡±.


    Li Yuanying has also heard this saying, it means to rule by doing nothing or little involvement and the country will be well-governed. Li Yuanying insisted on his definition instead: ¡°Both obviously mean the same thing!¡±


    Li Er didn¡¯t want to put in any more effort to teach this shameless brother of his, so he waved his hand to drive him away. Looks like he¡¯s letting him go and will not find fault in him secretly sending people to make a fortune.


    Li Yuanying ran happily.


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü 1Title normally bestowed to the Emperor¡¯s brother

 Chapter 21

    Chapter 21


    Although it was winter, Li Yuanying still took time to leave the pce.


    Being extremely shameless, after he sent all his men to Gaochang, he conveniently told the Emperor that he had identally forgotten that he needed two men to protect himself.


    Already extremely annoyed with his younger brother, Li Er ordered two men to stay close and to never leave Yuanying¡¯s side no matter where he went.


    But is the shameless Li Yuanying the kind that will be a concern with others following him? Of course not! On the contrary, he was happy with the arrangement and led his entourage out of the pce to inspect his newnd. Dai Ting managed to make preparations before leaving for war, where he acquired a street-facing mansion in the Western market.


    The West Market was also called Liren City during the Sui Dynasty. This area is surrounded by civilian houses, so things sold here were more down-to-earth and the rent was rtively cheap. Inparison, the East Market was close to residences of dignitaries, high-end restaurants and luxury stores.


    Those who apanied Li Yuanying initially thought that he would go towards the East Market. However, he instead looked at his map and walked towards the West Market towards a shop with red silk on its signboard. There¡¯s already a person waiting outside- Dong Xiaoyi.


    Dong Xiaoyi trotted behind Li Yuanying and led him inside.


    This ce was originally a wine shop but it couldn¡¯t make ends meet and had to be sold. Coincidentally, the store next to it also went bankrupt and so the young prince brought both together and rebuild them.


    Now that the two stores have been renovated inside and out, Yuanying stepped in and saw tables neatly arranged in the hall. There were various slogans on the walls and pirs giving it a studious atmosphere.


    The boy obviously didn¡¯t understand design principles but he has a system in hand! When he requested that the system generate diagrams of Library designs existing in Tang, the system quickly arranged andbined various furnishings ideas that existed in the early Tang Dynasty. (The system even cried with joy, as Li Yuanying finally has a job for them and is using his countless rewards points within it).


    The concept of a library was just something that Yuanying learnt from the system itself. He was told that in eras where cultures were flourishing, there would be libraries for the public in bothrge and small cities.


    Anyone can freely enter and borrow books. With the gradual development of science and technology, a library will slowly be a virtual one like the Myriad Realm Library where people can learn about the world without needing to leave home!


    Yuanying felt that this was a possible solution to the problem of people not being able to afford books. Though his thoughts reach only to this level and he hasn¡¯t thought any further yet.


    This small ce is just Yuanying little attempt at creating a library within Tang Empire.


    Since many things for the building were in existence already he only needed to get the slogans written by a writer. It¡¯s a quick fix so the reading room is renovated rather quickly.


    On the contrary, the bookshelves needed longer production time and it¡¯s only been recentlypleted as he returned to the Capital.


    Looking at his rows of empty bookshelves, Yuanying decided to look for rescue soldiers.


    He went towards Kong Yingda first.


    Since returning to the Capital, Kong Yingda has been very busy working as the Imperial College Supervisor,piling learning materials for his students and he also had to go give lectures to Prince Li Chengqian. He no longer has time to bother about the rude and disrespectful Li Yuanying who talks back to him all day long.


    Seeing that Yuanying actually came looking for him, it was strange.


    ¡°Why is your Highness looking for me?¡±


    Yuanying updated that he wanted to build a library. This ce should be open to public at no charge. Whoever wants to read will be weed. He will only vacant the venue if he wants to hold private events.


    ¡°I¡¯ve set up this library in the Western City where there are more people who can¡¯t afford books. This ce is also easier to locate for people from outside the city when they visit.¡±


    Hearing the boy¡¯s arrangement, Kong Yingda was a little shocked. Studying is a difficult feat. The difficulty lies in being able to afford books and affording a good teacher. This makes it difficult for many to escape a life on the fields.


    Therefore, there lie too many difficulties ahead. Even though the imperial examination is open to all, there aren¡¯t many who would take the exam every year!


    The Emperor has been discussing with him for the longest time about the expansion of the imperial academy and has been increasing the student quota yearly for more recruits. However, it¡¯s not enough! Far from enough!


    National affairs are difficult!


    Kong Yingda stroked his beard and asked, ¡°Why is this ce called the ¡®Library¡¯?¡±


    Yuanying came prepared with prior thoughts and the answer was eloquent: ¡°The weather has been too cold recently, so all I¡¯ve done is hide at home reading. Recently, I read about <<Records of the Grand Historian>> <sup>[1]</sup>by Sima Qian records ancient China¡¯s history. In it was a story about Emperor Gaozu of Han <sup>[2]</sup>Liu Bang, First Emperor of Han Dynasty who led his people to invade XianYang. Everyone was busy robbing gold, silver, and jewels but Xiao He instead went to collect important books from Qin dynasty. Later when Emperor Gaozu established the Han Dynasty, he could easily take over from the Qin for he knows how many families there were; he knows the suffering of the people; which mountains and rivers are dangerous and where defenses were weak. The reason lies in the books collected by Xiao He! Therefore, useful books of the world should be called ¡®books¡¯, and the ce to store these are called ¡®Halls¡¯. T/L Note: This line only makes sense in Chinese, library is made up of 3 characters ¡°Picture¡± ¡°Book¡± ¡°Hall¡± so library literally is broken down into a ce to store books.


    After listening to Li Yuanying¡¯s well-founded answer, Kong Yingda asked: ¡°What do you want me to do for you?¡±


    Li Yuanying said shyly, ¡°It¡¯s just that, I currently don¡¯t have any books in my newly built library. Could you lend me some students so that they can copy some for me? Anyway, they all need to practice calligraphy, so let them copy things for me as practice!¡±


    Kong Yingda choked on Li Yuanying¡¯s words.


    If it was for other requests, he would have driven this brazen guy out in an instant. But the boy¡¯s action made him reluctant to do so. For no other sane person would not be willing to spend money and buy two sets of property to build a free library. That¡¯s a thankless and troublesome ordeal done with good intentions.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll get someone to help you with it. But you won¡¯t ask them to prepare their own equipment right?¡±


    Seeing Kong Yingda¡¯s grim expression which subtly hinted that I will kick you out if you give me any more nonsense, Li Yuanying gave up his initial n to further take advantage of these poor students.


    ¡°Then I will have the equipment delivered tomorrow¡±.


    After Yuanying finished harassing the Minister of Education (Kong Yingda), he went to harass Wei Zheng and the other ministers one after another. They all had students, subordinates, and books in their homes. As long as everyone dedicates just one book, the world would be a better ce!


    With just this one trip, almost everyone knew about his n to build a library. He even went ahead to harass Fang Xuanling asking for some criminalw books so that others can get legal knowledge. Fang Xuanling was sold by his concept of having a library and readily agreed to transcribe a book on criminalws and send them over to the young Prince.


    Gradually, the library¡¯s collection became more diverse.


    Since many schrly people frequent the shop, many became curious about this mysterious new store. The students and officials who were ordered to help out shut their mouths and carried a bitter look on their faces. For who likes doing menial tasks like copying books? After working hard for many days, they just wanted to be done with it quickly. They weren¡¯t interested in paying attention to discussions and inquiries of the people around them!


    The more no one talks about it, the people became curious. Soon spections about why there were so many books in one ce and why isn¡¯t this shop located in the East Market where people can afford to buy started.


    The number of books was not enough to meet Yuanying¡¯s requirement, so he pushed the official opening back to the year after. This shameless fellow got others working around the clock but he was idle. He stayed in the pce and read books. Once he got bored, he led two imperial guards and ran to the West Market to y.


    This time, Yuanying strolled around the West Market casually and fell in love with a big rooster that was being sold. The rooster¡¯s cockb was bright red, and its feathers were shiny, no matter how you look at it, it screams premium quality!


    Seeing the majestic rooster, Yuanying decided to name it after an aircraft called ¡°Fighting Chicken¡±


    The more Yuanying looked at his new pet, the more he felt that it has great aura. After his servants took care of it for a few days, he sent a message to Li Er asking him for a challenge to a rooster fight.


    Li Er was also a cockfighting lover, so after reading Yuanying¡¯s nonsense challenge letter, he became excited. He picked a day for the challenge.


    The two brothers each instructed the two chickens to fight each other while they cheered their pets on. When the fight was on its climax, both chickens had lost quite a bit of feathers. Then suddenly someone reminded: ¡°Your Majesty, Official Wei is here!¡±


    The Emperor¡¯s expression stiffened.


    Li Yuanying was still shouting at the fighting chicken excitement: ¡°Peck it! Good chance! Come on!¡± He only looked up when he noticed that Li Er on the opposite side was silent.


    Oh my god! It was Wei Zheng with a ck face!


    Old Wei¡¯s face is cker and fiercer than a fighting chicken!


    Without waiting for Yuanying to say hello, Wei Zheng started lecturing the Emperor about something along the line of ¡°You are the king of a country, how can you y with things and lose your mind? Do you think you are merely ying with a chicken; you are ying with the citizen¡¯s chicken!¡± Each sentence is more brutal than the previous one as it¡¯s aimed straight at a person¡¯s lungs!


    Yuanying was dumbfounded and was secretly counting how many allusions Wei Zheng could use; this was a rare on-site teaching!


    The boy was listening with gusto, but suddenly Wei Zheng turned his head towards him.


    Li Yuanying reacted alertly and swiftly: ¡°I heard your remarks, and I felt that my brother and I were too inappropriate. I¡¯ve decided to kill my fighting chicken tonight and bring it as dinner to eat with you and your family! What fun is there in cockfighting? It¡¯s more fun to eat chicken! I haven¡¯t been to your house for a long time, I really miss your family¡¯s food!¡±


    Compared to being sprayed with dog blood <sup>[3]</sup>Means to be brutally scolded, Li Yuanying would not pity a chicken!


    Sure enough, Wei Zheng choked back when he heard the statement.


    The atmosphere has been interrupted, so Wei Zheng could do nothing else but bow to the Emperor and leave: ¡°I will retire first.¡±


    After speaking, he turned around and walked away, obviously dissatisfied with the Emperor¡¯s actions.


    Li Er red at Li Yuanying. The only thing you¡¯re good at is to act innocent and obedient! Who would want to have a cockfight if it wasn¡¯t for your challenge letter?!


    Yuanying was not afraid of His Majesty¡¯s anger so he further provoked him: ¡°Lord Brother, do you want to kill your chicken as well? Otherwise, I think Old Wei will scold you when he goes to court.¡±


    His Majesty thought about Wei Zheng¡¯s character and reluctantly ordered the deed to be done.


    Yuanying leaned over and tofort his brother kindly: ¡°Brother, don¡¯t be sad. If the old don¡¯t go, the new won¡¯te. The whole world belongs to you, are you afraid that you won¡¯t find another chicken that suits your heart?¡±


    ¡°Get out. Get out of here!¡±: shouted the Emperor Li Er.


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü 1by Sima Qian records ancient China¡¯s history


    ¡ü 2Liu Bang, First Emperor of Han Dynasty


    ¡ü 3Means to be brutally scolded

 Chapter 22

    Chapter 22


    His Majesty having lost his favorite chick decided to ignored Li Yuanying and went back to work.


    The boy obviously wasn¡¯t at all sad about sacrificing the fighting chickens. Before the deed was carried out, he has already wandered towards Wei Zheng¡¯s house to tell Pei about the good news.


    In winter, food supplies are expensive. Although the Wei family doesn¡¯tck in food, they seem to be inseparable from pickles in their daily meals. Such miserable meals! Yuanying took a stroll in Wei Zheng¡¯s house and felt that sister Shu was bing thinner.


    He hurriedly told Pei that the Emperor would ughter two chickens.


    Hearing that Wei Zheng scolded His Majesty into ughtering his beloved chickens, Mrs. Pei became a little worried.


    Ever since Wei Zheng took a lead role in court and is heavily being relied on by the Emperor, Mrs. Pei has always been afraid. Afraid that one day her husband would not return.


    In his early days, Wei Zheng traveled widely and pledge loyalty to several groups of people. Before the Xuanwu Gate incident, Wei Zheng was a loyal vassal of then Crown Prince, Li JianCheng, and even persuaded him to kill Li Er, who was then Prince of Qin. After the crown prince¡¯s death, Li Er asked him directly about this incident, and Wei Zheng answered calmly: ¡°If the crown prince had listened to me earlier, he would not have such ending.¡±


    Nowadays, Wei Zheng chases after His Majesty reprimanding him, how can Mrs. Pei not be worried? If one day His Majesty stops tolerating her husband, maybe past incidents will be used as reasons against him!


    Li Yuanying being someone that takes joy in teasing the tiger¡¯s whiskers every day couldn¡¯t understand Pei¡¯s mood at all, but he instead enthusiastically discussed with her the best way to partake of poultry meat.


    Yuanying felt that if there were many people, they could hang some outside to freeze and eat it slowly. Pick a fat one for cooking soup, while the rest should be boiled in hot water and served with dipping sauces.


    Pei responded to the Prince by asking Wei Shu to go buy some ginger and green onions. It seems like the family ran out of these ingredients.


    Wei Shu took the money and was about to go out so Yuanying immediately followed suit. It was freezing outside although it wasn¡¯t snowing and the boy shivered.


    The two children talked about the library¡¯s grand opening in a year: ¡°It¡¯s in the West Market, very close by! You have toe and cheer me on!¡±


    Not needing any exnation, Wei Shu could guess the origin of the word library: ¡°The word ¡®book¡¯ came from a paragraph in the <<Records of the Grand Historian>> right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! Sister, you¡¯re so smart! Just hearing it once and you got it! Not like Old Kong, he had to ask me why it¡¯s called a library, so stupid.¡±


    Wei Shu thought that Chancellor Kong probably knew the answer but wanted to test if you knew. But seeing Yuanying happy, she didn¡¯t say much and led the way to buy groceries.


    Most of the vendors were familiar with the girl and seeing that she brought a young boy in luxurious clothes along, they became curious.


    Li Yuanying being shameless didn¡¯t hold back. He followed behind Wei Shu and started introducing himself to all the uncles and aunties along the way; reporting his name loudly and proiming that he¡¯s Wei Shu¡¯s brother. This is his first timeing here on instructions of adults at home to help his sister pick up vegetables!


    Not many people knew the name of the royal family, especially in this area where poor peasants from outside the city came to sell items they produced/harvested. Naturally, they wouldn¡¯t know that Li Yuanying is the newly crowned Prince of Teng.


    Everyone just thought that the boy was a distant rtive of the Wei family. Since the family was rich he dressed well and looked good.


    The vendors are all selling their own produce and would leave by afternoon. Hearing Yuanying¡¯s sprouting sweet words and not having arrogant rich people¡¯s aura they took a liking to him and generously gave him more items. Someone even gave him pretty flowers from the mountains!


    The money Wei Shu carried with her was not spent, but instead they returned with full reward.


    Pei thought it was Wei Shu who made Li Yuanying spend money and gave her a disapproving look.


    Wei Shu hurriedly defended herself: ¡°It was given to us for free.¡±


    Wei Shu felt depressed. Usually, when she runs errands for her grandmother she had to negotiate prices with street vendors. I went with Yuanying today and everything was free! Even a little girl who sold flowers gave him two!


    Li Yuanying is usually treated like a ghost, as soon as people see him, many turn their heads to run away. This is the first time he got to enjoy such treatment. Although the items given to him weren¡¯t anything valuable he walks back with a different feeling he had never felt before.


    Li Yuanying said in confusion: ¡°I took the first one, and the others started stuffing me with things!¡±


    He put everything down, took hold of the two flowers, and asked Wei Shu where to ce them.


    Wei Zheng didn¡¯t have vases at home so Wei Shu searched for a long time before pulling out a small vinegar jar, filling it with water, and cing the flowers in. The jar looked rough but the flowers were elegant and had a faint fragrance. The children yed with it for a while before deciding to study for a bit.


    Wei Zheng came back home to the aroma of stewed chicken soup.


    Thinking that the royal brothers went to a cockfight, Wei Zheng was still feeling angry. But when he lifted the door curtain and saw Yuanying and Wei Shu sitting opposite each other looking calm and well-behaved, he felt that this kid was still teachable. Instead, it was His Majesty Li Er who as the ruler who should be more vignt and lead by example


    Wei Shu hearing movements, raised her head and shouted, ¡°Grandfather!¡±


    Li Yuanying also put down his pen and greeted Wei Zheng obediently. In front of his friends, Yuanying still intended to give Wei Zheng respect. Not only did he not call him old Wei, he also took the initiative to ask him for opinions on his calligraphy writings.


    Wei Zheng took one look and gave an objective evaluation. In short, not enough strength, strokes were not smooth, no concrete shape. Learning bits and pieces from everywhere and everyone but not capturing the essence of their teaching


    Li Yuanying: ¡°¡­¡±


    The boy couldn¡¯t believe it and was angry: ¡°The <<Fable of Han Zi>> which I printedst time was very popr, it can¡¯t be that bad!¡±


    ¡°You yourself said that it¡¯s a book for children so it¡¯s naturally popr with children. Do you think Chancellor Kong would like it?¡± (Wei Zheng)


    ¡°That¡¯s Old Kong¡¯s own prejudice andck of taste! He never liked Han Zi¡¯s work!¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°That means your book is not good enough to change Chancellor Kong¡¯s mind about his prejudice.¡± (Wei Zheng)


    Li Yuanying picked up his handwriting and looked at it thenpared it with Wei Shu¡¯s, He finds that though Wei Shu was younger her handwriting was much better. Although he has been practicing for the past six months, he hasn¡¯t been practicing hard. In terms of diligence, he loses to anyone!


    ¡°I don¡¯t need him to like it. Kong Yingda has never liked him since the beginning!¡±


    Wei Zheng saw that the boy was upset, so he stopped with his provocation.


    Food was ready, and Mrs. Pei called them for dinner.


    When ites to food, Yuanying quickly cheered up again. He sat next to Wei Shu and started gobbling down the Emperor¡¯s favorite chicken!


    Yuanying prepares to adjourn back to the pce right before evening approaches where the Capital goes into curfew. All gates within the city close and no one is permitted to enter, leave or walk freely.


    Wei Shu mentions that there was one time when someone identally stayed in the neighborhood past curfew timing and was forced to find an inn for the night as the curfew outside the pce is very strict!


    When Yuanying returned to the pce, it was still early. He suddenly recalls the delicious chicken soup and he was inspired to write an Ode the Rooster dedicated to his brother the Emperor. The whole poem sings praise to the rooster in which it was mighty and cute when alive and delicious after death. Such a worthwhile chicken life.


    His Majesty has been working hard all day and finally was catching a breather at night. He was thinking about which concubine to visit but then someone sent word that Li Yuanying dedicated a poem to his majesty.


    Li Er was surprised and asked those on his left and right: ¡°It¡¯s the sun rising from the west? That kid can actually write poetry?¡±


    He then ordered someone to bring the poem up to him.


    After reading it, his face turned ck.


    During his youth, Li Er has lived an indulgent and uninhibited life where he fought great battles and drank great wine. He indulges in hunting and making friends and developed many interests and hobbies. However, after ascending to the throne he was severely restricted. With Wei Zheng taking the lead in reproaching him, even going hunting others dares to stop him. If he wants to do something, he must consider first the consequences it brings.


    If he had remembered that Wei Zheng was on duty, he wouldn¡¯t have gone cockfighting with Li Yuanying and caused his well-raised chicken to lose its life in vain. But Li Yuanying is heartless, after killing his chicken he had the audacity to eat it; and after eating it he then writes a poem to anger him!


    His Majesty yelled: ¡°D*mn b*stard! This b*stard!!!¡±


    Everyone left and right went silent.


    After His Majesty ranted, he felt more at ease. After some thought, he found a way to get back at Li Yuanying. He snorted coldly and instructed: ¡°Go inform the imperial kitchen, from tomorrow onwards only chicken will be served to that kid. No other dishes are allowed!¡±


    If he likes it so much, then let that b*stard eat it every day!


    Yuanying was still ignorant about his Majesty¡¯s revenge n and slept happily. The next morning, he was served chicken porridge for breakfast; at noon braised and roasted chicken and in the evening chicken soup. Although the dishes were extravagant and all cooked differently, it uses the same main ingredient! Snacks have been reced with marinated chicken wings and chicken biscuits!


    Yuanying felt that something was off so he sent word to ask about it, he then got to know that it was an order directly from the Emperor.


    In the first two days, Yuanying felt that his brother¡¯s the revenge was nothing much as the food was still delicious.


    After a few more days of continuous chicken feasts, he couldn¡¯t take it anymore. Even his mother was forbidden from cooking for him. He ran toward Wei Zheng toin that His Majesty was abusing his younger brother.


    What can a child like other than eating?! His Majesty now wants him to eat chicken feast every day. Such audacity! The more he spoke, the more wronged he felt and Yuanying started sobbing.


    Hearing this Wei Zheng was angered. How can an Emperor take such personal revenge on his younger brother over a chicken? He told the boy to return home then, rolled up his sleeves, and began writing an entire memorial wholly rebuking the Emperor!


    Recently, Li Er was in a good mood. ording to reports, Li Yuanying has eaten so much chicken that it¡¯s bing unbearable for him. Very good, this is what I want!


    His Majesty Li Er was waiting for his shameless brother toe beg him for mercy, but he instead got Wei Zheng lecturing him for an hour in court.


    His Majesty became so furious that he stormed out of court.


    The courtiers looked at each other.


    Zhangsun Wuji nced at Wei Zheng helplessly then trotted in the direction where His Majesty left.

 Chapter 23

    Chapter 23


    When Zhangsun Wuji caught up with His Majesty, he was still fuming.


    He has already killed his beloved chicken and sent it over, how dare Wei Zheng still rebuke him?! He simply taught his younger brother a lesson, why was this an issue to him? This little bugger is too good at finding faults with others!


    Seeing Zhangsun Wuji chasing after him, he eased his anger a little and invited him to sit whileining about Wei Zheng.


    After he¡¯s doneining about Wei Zheng, His Majesty continued with Li Yuanying. It was his brother who started the cockfighting. He then ate his chicken and wrote a messy poem to provoke him. Howe Wei Zheng doesn¡¯t find fault with this but instead sides with him to rebuke me?!


    ¡°Your Majesty, you are the son of Heaven.¡± Wei Zheng¡¯s point of view has always been that the Heavenly Family should be unselfish. Since you are the Son of Heaven, your words and deeds should set an example for the world, you shouldn¡¯t indulge in personal desires.


    As for Li Yuanying? He¡¯s only a vassal king and at most will rule only a thousand households. Therefore, Wei Zheng¡¯s requirements for him is naturally less.


    not to mention¡­¡­


    Zhangsun Wuji looked helpless: ¡°The Price of Teng is only how old? He¡¯s two years younger than even Zhi Nu, why is your Majesty being so calctive with him?¡±


    If it wasn¡¯t for safeguarding His Majesty¡¯s face, Zhangsun Wuji wanted to blurt this upfront: Why are both brothers so childish? Especially you, the Emperor. The boy is nine, are you nine too?!


    His Majesty finally realized that it was a bit silly topete with Li Yuanying.


    Zhangsun Wuji saw Li Er¡¯s expression softened and his mood rxed. He smiled and asked: ¡®The Prince of Teng is rude in front of your Majesty. But who¡¯s fault do you think it is?¡±


    Without the Emperor¡¯s leniency, how could Li Yuanying be used to such awless virtue?


    Hearing this the Emperor said angrily, ¡°So you mean to say that this bitter fruit is my own making?¡±


    ¡°Whether it is or not, Your Majesty knows best.¡±


    Since the Heavenly family should have no selfish feelings, it is naturally different from amon man¡¯s family. His Majesty has already killed two blood brothers then lost his father and wife. Although he wasforted by his sons and daughters, he was still lonely.


    With Li Yuanying his shameless brother around, it¡¯s always lively. Apart from the unconstrained Li Yuanying, who else dares to stroke the beard of the Emperor?


    It was his own unwillingness towards separating from his youngest brother; else he would have sent him off to hisnd.


    Thinking back at all the other vassal princes, some of them were not even a few years older than Li Yuanying and Li Er has already sent them to various ces. As for whether he is old enough to manage his fief well, it doesn¡¯t matter. The imperial court would send manpower to do the necessary on behalf.


    After His Majesty chatted with Zhangsun Wuji, his anger was gone, and remembers that he left his men waiting in court. So he got up with intention to go back to continue with the meeting.


    Wei Zheng stood upright in the forefront in court as he was one of the prominent figures.


    Li Er nced at Wei Zheng and humbly admitted his mistake then promised that he would spare nothing in raising his younger brother and will never let him suffer any more grievances.


    When the other ministers heard this, they all looked towards Wei Zheng.


    Wei Zheng¡¯s face stiffened. Since His Majesty made such a move, the whole thing is now sounding like he was deliberately backing Li Yuanying!


    It¡¯s not a good thing for ministers and vassal princes tomunicate too closely, even if thetter was still a child. Liken to a person having wet shoes when they stand near the river, when you¡¯re a person that persistently finds faults in others naturally others would eagerly be on a lookout to point out your mistakes!


    This Emperor of theirs, calctive and his heart is not super benevolent!


    Li Er seeing that Wei Zheng was rendered silent was secretly overjoyed. He chuckled for a bit before moving on to discuss other governmental affairs.


    ¡­


    Li Yuanying soon discovered that his ¡°special meals¡± has changed again.


    This time it¡¯s even more ruthless, every meal is just green vegetables!


    He hates green vegetables the most!


    Yuanying went to Li Zhi and the other children¡¯s ce hoping for a different meal, but the servants still served him the same ¡°vegetarian meal¡±. The other children gave him helpless looks.


    Li Yuanying repeated his old tricks and went to Wei Zheng to file aint, but this time Wei Zheng said that vegetables are expensive in winter and that His Majesty gave him vegetables to show his love for him, so just eat well and stop fooling around! He continued saying that many outside the pce walls can¡¯t even afford a bite of hot rice. Even a bite of chicken will make them cry with joy!


    Li Yuanying had no choice but to surrender to His Majesty; admitting his mistake and making all sorts of promises in one go.


    However, Li Er didn¡¯t intend to care about him, so he ignored him and continue doing his work.


    Li Yuanying forcibly hugs the arm of the Emperor preventing him from looking at the memorial: ¡°Brother, I¡¯m hungry and thin!¡±


    Li Er stood up and picked up Li Yuanying: ¡°You¡¯re still so heavy. What lose weight?¡±


    When Li Er spoke, Yuanying knew that his anger was gone, so he quickly continued to act obediently. He stayed by His Majesty¡¯s side the whole day, either pouring water or massaging his shoulders. He also volunteered to help grind ink, putting up an impression of being the most caring and best brother in the world!


    At the end of the day, His Majesty finally decided to show him mercy and provided him a sumptuous dinner. He also ordered the imperial kitchen to cancel his ¡°special meal¡±.


    Li Yuanying was finally full, and walked back to his residence with Dong Xiaoyi.


    As he took a walk to digest his dinner, Yuanying sighed. His weakness is too obvious; he became helpless as soon as the Emperor threatened him with FOOD. He¡¯s no choice but to surrender obediently and to admit defeat! Therefore, it¡¯s his goal to save money so that he can eat whatever he wants in the future!


    As this pair of childish brothers ended their argument, the Tang Empire ushered in the first month of Zhengguan 14<sup>th</sup>year.


    Last year, the Emperor requested to conduct a mass enrolment for the imperial academy, so this year more than 2,200 students were recruited. In addition, foreign students from around the region were also recruited bring the total number to roughly 8,000 students.


    This huge amount is satisfactory to the Emperor so he visited the site to officiate the Shi Dian ceremony to pay tribute and offer ceremonial offerings to signify the beginning of the school term.


    Li Yuanying heard about this ceremony from the system and that it¡¯s a memorable event, so why not be present and record it.


    On such a cold day, just convincing Yuanying verbally to attend such a lengthy ritual is extremely difficult so the system decided to offer him rewards. If this grand ceremony is recorded, he will be rewarded with Popcorn! Since this cold winter season is not suitable for nting ¡°corn¡±, the system rmended that he do not open its package first to prevent the seeds from being spoiled due to improper storage.


    In short, there¡¯s something new to eat!


    Li Yuanying who had just been manipted by His Majesty developed a slight obsession with food. Hearing that there will be delicious food, he got excited.


    This time when he gets his reward, he will secretly nt the peanuts without anyone knowing! Once he¡¯s grown enough, he will sell it to other to try except for his brother who will get nothing!


    Li Yuanying is also a vengeful kid!


    Relying on his firm dedication to annoy his brother, Li Yuanying runs after Kong Yingda every day, to harass him about his hunger for learning in hopes of getting a slot to participate in the uing Shi Dian ceremony. Under Li Yuanying¡¯s persistent harassment, Kong Yingda relented.


    Li Yuanying hadn¡¯t been to the Imperial College yet and had an impression that it was a ce where a bunch of people sits around pondering about things. He never had an interest in it. Buttely, he¡¯s starting to consider himself as a learned person who reads so he¡¯s starting to get a little curious about the academy.


    Unfortunately for Li Yuanying his joy onlysted a few days. His Majesty made a decree making it mandatory for all Royal princes to attend the ceremony. He wants them to feel the atmosphere of studying in the Imperial College in hopes of preparing them to be the future pirs of the Tang Empire.


    Now it¡¯s Li Zhi¡¯s turn tough at Yuanying: ¡°Young Uncle, look, you didn¡¯t need to beg Chancellor Kong, we can all go!¡±


    Li Yuanying snorted and ignored Li Zhi.


    On the day of the ceremony, Li Yuanying was woken up by Li Zhi super early in the morning. They dressed in formal wear and were led by the Crown Prince (Li Chengqian) to the Imperial College.


    Yuanying felt that the journey was boring so he mischievously ran to Li Chengqian¡¯s side to initiate conversation: ¡°Chengqian, why are there dark spots under your eyes? You didn¡¯t sleep well?¡±


    He acted like he was concern for his nephew and urged earnestly: ¡°Young people should not fool around just because they have youth on their side, you need to take care of your body!¡±


    Li Chengqian was already in a gloomy mood. When he heard Li Yuanying a kid trying to pretend to be an adult, he didn¡¯t know whether to be angry or tough.


    Li Yuanying is naughty by nature but at the same time wants face. In the past when his mom told him that several children were older than him in age but are considered nephews and nieces, Yuanying felt that he was the elder, so he pretended to be an adult and often shouted ¡°Eldest nephew¡±, ¡°Fourth nephew¡±, ¡°Eldest niece¡± imitating other adults.


    As he got older his mother was gone, Chang Le married into his uncle¡¯s n and his younger brother Li Tai is gaining more favor from his father. Gradually there were more and more ambitious people around him.


    Everything and person that has to change have changed. Only this uncle has stayed the same indulging in his own happy little world.


    Li Chengqian showed a rare smile while answering: ¡°I¡¯ll remember, thanks young uncle.¡±


    Li Yuanying was happy getting a response so he got closer and whispered: ¡°I heard that you built a big stove outside the pce that can roast a wholemb or cow! Is it true? Can you bring me along the next time you roast a whole cow?¡±


    Dai Ting was the one who told him this before going to Gaochang. During sometime endst year, His Majesty reprimanded Li Chengqian for ying outside the pce instead of focusing on his studies.


    Li Yuanying honestly didn¡¯t care about how badly Li Chengqian got punished, he only wanted to know all the fun things he did. Hearing that he built arge stove that could hang a whole animal for roasting, he¡¯s couldn¡¯t get it off his mind.


    It¡¯s a pity that every time he meets Li Chengqian, there are many annoying old-fashioned people around so Yuanying couldn¡¯t make his request to him.


    Li Chengqian revealed his true nature after listening to Yuanying. He started to miss his younger carefree days. After being reprimandedst year, he moved his secret base to a new location and has never told anyone else about it.


    After hearing Yuanying¡¯s proposal, he quietly agreed: ¡°Next time I¡¯m going, I¡¯ll get someone to let you know. Come if you are free.¡±


    Yuanying¡¯s eyes lit up and he lowered his voice: ¡°I¡¯ll be free!¡±


    With a secret appointment to roast a whole cow, Li Yuanying decided that Li Chengqian will officially rece Li Zhi as the best nephew in the world!


    The pair continue chatting while walking and unknowingly they reached the gate of the Imperial College.

 Chapter 24

    Chapter 24


    Li Yuanying raised his head and nced at the sign ¡°Imperial College¡± hanging on the door. He didn¡¯t think that it looks special. Since the Crown Prince should be ranked first and the others ranked by seniority, he should be second, so he continues walking next to Li Chengqian.


    After entering the Imperial College, Yuanying realized that Li Tai wasn¡¯t with them but was instead with the Emperor. At this exact moment, Li Tai¡¯s chubby figure was standing besidethe Emperoras if afraid that others do not yet realize that he is his father¡¯s most beloved son.


    This is in line withthe personality thatLi Taiwants to portray ¨C to be seen always learning. After all, he is known to have sucha huge liking to literature that despite Empress Zhangsun being gravely ill, his priority was still to set up a literary hall in hismansion.


    Li Yuanying sawthe smile on Li Chengqian¡¯s face disappearing graduallyand was reced by his usual gloominess.


    Yuanying remembered the ill Empress Zhangsun tellingChengqian to takecare ofhisyounger siblings. At that time, he still couldn¡¯t grasp the concept oflife and death. So when heoverheard this conversation Yuanying asked in eagerness: ¡°What about me, what about me?¡± Hearing this, Empress Zhangsunughed, and gently reply: ¡°Then I¡¯lso entrust Yuanying,the uncle, to take good care of his nephews and nieces.¡± At that time, he happily agreed.


    Looking at things now, he realized Chengqian had tremendous responsibility as the olderbrother. He has to take care of so many younger siblings. If your younger brother wants to stab youin the back, what do you do with him?


    Yuanying nudges Chengqian.


    Li Chengqian looked at himwithgloomyeyes. Heistwenty-one and so is considered an adult. When theXuanwu Gate incident took ce, he was still a young boy but that doesn¡¯t mean he has no recollection of it. To secure the Emperor¡¯s position, it was the normfor brothers to fight against each otherto death.


    Li Chengqianstared atYuanyinggloomy and Yuanying started to feel a little distressed for this eldest nephew.


    Haih¡­ being the Crown prince, he¡¯s not allowed to act like Li Tai, a spoiled brat when facing his father the Emperor. Moreover, people around are all earnestly observing him eagerly waiting to point out his mistakes.


    When the Crown Pricemits an error, it bes a hugemotion. Ministers would start writing advises. Just look at the people ced near hiseldest nephew in theEast Pce¨C Kong Yingda, Yu Zhining, ZhangXuansu. Every single one of them are stern old man who likes sprouting advises. Such a terrible thought!


    Yuanying thinks thatLi Er must be afraid of being scoldedhimself, so he sends them to the East Pce toshift theirattention towards Li Chengqian.


    Such a bad father!


    Li Yuanying reprimanded Li Er silentlyin his heart, and whispersto Chengqian: ¡°Schr Xiao, who is now editingbooks in QingQue¡¯s Mansionis very knowledgeable, have you met him?¡±


    Li Chengqian was a little perplexedwhen Yuanying suddenly mentioned Xiao Deyan:¡°I¡¯ve met hima few times.¡± The man is in his 80sand still energetic, it¡¯s a pity that he was sent by the Emperor to assist Li Tai inpiling <<Comprehensive Gazetteer>>.


    ¡°Let¡¯s visit him the next time we leave the pce. I¡¯ve always liked him. Since Qing Que calls him teacher, I initially thought that he became his teacher at the Emperor¡¯s insistence. I only found out muchter that he was tasked topile books. Seriously, howe the books that Qing Que is editing is taking such a long time? My book was printed all at once!¡±


    Li Yuanying wasn¡¯t able to poach the talented teacher so he subtly encourages Chengqian to do it. ¡°Chengqian, why don¡¯t you tell the Emperor that you also want topile books, once he¡¯s done helping Qing Que, let¡¯s invite him over!¡±


    Li Chengqian felt that the boy¡¯s idea was unrealistic so he shook his head to decline.


    ¡°What? Mepiling books?¡±


    He¡¯s limited knowledge in this area and admitted that Li Tai is much better at convincing schrs to serve his cause.


    Yuanying is aware that the book beingpiled is rted to geography, which content about topography and customs of various ces.


    I have to say that Li Tai¡¯s topic is a good one. It¡¯s practical and is easy to incorporate literary intentions. A good book in the making.


    Yuanying might not be skilled in other things but using his brain for unconventional ideas is one of his key strengths.


    ¡°He¡¯s studying geography, so you should study astronomy. Astronomy looks at changes in seasons and is useful to agriculture. Why don¡¯t you just mention that topics rted to agriculture need careful consideration based on local conditions? Let¡¯s invite everyone working on <<Comprehensive Gazetteer>> to join this project.¡±


    Li Chengqian was shocked. The others were a distance away so no one else heard their conversation but they all saw Li Chengqian suddenly came to a halt.


    Li Yuanying thought that he stopped to listen seriously to his suggestion and so he happily stated his ultimate goal: ¡°If it¡¯s like that, it would be much more convenient for me to look for Old Master Xiao when I have questions!¡±


    In Yuanying¡¯s opinion, it¡¯s too far to always have to visit Xiao Deyan in Wei Pce. It¡¯s much closer if he¡¯s in the East Pce!


    Chengqian was silent for a moment before agreeing: ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll try.¡±


    Yuanying thinks that his eldest nephew is great, a good nephew! Unlike Li Tai, who guards against him like guarding against thieves! All I want was to loan some talent from him.


    Chengqian led Yuanying and his younger siblings to meet the Emperor.


    Li Er has just settled in when he saw the group arriving. Yuanying was beside Chengqian, I wonder what he has to say to him!


    When Chengqian stepped forward to pay respect, His Majesty keenly observes his eldest son who is smart since childhood.


    Since the passing of Empress Zhangsun, this son has been a little depressed causing his studies to deteriorate. He rather prefers to leave the pce to go hunting. Even if he was punished and scolded, nothing much has change except that he looks more gloomy.


    Inparison, Li Er much prefer Li Tai who is chubby and cute and likes literature. Seeing him brings joy.


    His Majesty excused them from the ceremony and turned his eyes towards Yuanying; always having a hunch that this kid was about to cause trouble again.


    If this brat hadn¡¯t harassed Kong Yingda about attending the ceremony, he wouldn¡¯t have ordered Chengqian to bring his younger siblings along. As for who¡¯s the most troublesome in the group, it is undoubtedly Li Yuanying!


    The Emperor nced at Yuanying and warned him mercilessly: ¡°This time, not only students from Tang are participating but also students from other regions. If you dare cause trouble, don¡¯t even think about stepping out from the pce gate in the future!¡±


    Yuanying instantly felt like he was being wronged. He just wanted to do his task. His brother is already suspecting that he would cause trouble!


    Yuanying decided to ignore his brother and choose to run away to observe the 8,000 students present.


    Arriving at the ceremonial hall, Yuanying leaned on the railing and looked down. There were lots of people standing next to each other.


    It¡¯s a pity that the students are not ustomed to queuing. They¡¯re not forming a straight line.


    Sure enough, where there¡¯s people, there¡¯s bound to be chaos!


    Kong Yingda came over, frowning at themotion below.


    Yuanying caught a glimpse of Kong Yingda and ran over to him: ¡°Old Kong, I don¡¯t think the students are good, they can¡¯t even line up properly.¡±


    Kong Yingda was toozy to pay him any attention.


    Yuanying took a minute to think then requested for arge piece of paper which he then rolled into a trumpet shape. He held it and followed Kong Yingda to where the students were congregated.


    Yuanying was young, but he is courageous. He held his paper trumpet and shouted at the group: ¡°All of you! Line up ording to your ranks, don¡¯t you see Chancellor Kong is here? Don¡¯t you know who he is? Confucius¡¯s 31<sup>st</sup>descendant, the chief in charge of the Imperial College! Look at yourself, mediocre in your studies and can¡¯t even line up properly, what a shame! Look at thoseing from Baekje and Si who are much better than you. To learn new knowledge, they chose to travel through mountains and rivers to study at Tang empire!¡±


    The boy was listing their faults one by one. Seeing that the crowd was quiet, he became even more critical.


    ¡°I heard that Si is ruled by a Queen. Girl Power, much more powerful than you, able to rule a country! If you¡¯re going to continue being noisy and unable to line up, hurry up home to farm the fields and send your sisters, daughter-inw, or mothers here to study instead!¡±


    Hearing such piercing words from a child, the supervisors all blushed and consciously shut their mouths and arranged themselves ordingly.


    Yuanying was still theremanding energetically: ¡°Arrange yourself from short to tall and align with those on your front, back, left and right. Can¡¯t you even do such a simple task? Look only at the back of the person in front of you!¡±


    Around this time, the professors and teaching assistants also reacted. Seeing Kong¡¯s annoyed face they quickly went down to supervise the students ording to Yuanying¡¯s method.


    Seeing that the professors were no longer just standing around trying to use their res to organize the students, the boy gave his ¡°trumpet¡± to one of the professors and strolled back to Kong Yingda¡¯s side.


    ¡°Old Kong , your supervisors are not very good at what they do.¡±


    Kong Yingda red at him.


    Isn¡¯t this the first time we¡¯re organizing such a huge congregation? Kong Yingda thought that since our students are people with a heart for learning, they should be able to organize themselves. After all, even reckless soldiers in the army can line up orderly. Therefore, he only informed about the asion and did not instruct his men about how to organize themselves.


    All he needed to do was to be there In-person and instruct his team of professors. They should be able to quickly calm down the crowd. The kid just reacted quicker and impulsively rushed to the front and started yelling orders!


    Yuanying wasn¡¯t happy about being red at by Kong Yingda. After all, he was just being helpful.


    ¡°I¡¯m just telling the truth but you wouldn¡¯t listen!¡±


    Since he was not being appreciated, he was going to find other fun things to do. But as soon as he turned around, he was escorted away by the Emperor¡¯s men.


    Li Er was anticipating that his brother would cause chaos so he stationed men to keep watch. The veins on his forehead were ready to pop when he got the news that his youngest brother was shouting at the recruits.


    This troublemaker, you can¡¯t even lose sight of him for one second.


    Seeing his older brother¡¯s stinky face that hinted that he will be grounded, Yuanying settled down. He quietly slipped back to where Li Chengqian and Li Zhi was and asked Li Zhi if the ceremony is beginning.


    Li Zhi nodded.


    Li Yuanying stopped running and waited with the others.


    Popcorn,ing soon to my possession!


    As the auspicious time approaches, His Majesty led the group.


    The new students were all in good spirits and all look like talented men with potential. More than 2,000 men were arranged ording to their field of study ¨C mathematics,w, literature, and so on. Looks like the future of the Tang empire would be filled with talents.


    There were also another 6,000 more observing students who came from other countries. Some were here to learn basic knowledge, some for advanced studies, and they were also arranged ording to their major.


    His Majesty was in a good mood upon seeing this sight.


    This was the academy that he wanted.


    upying arge area and having lots of students!


    The bigger the better, the more the merrier!


    He wants to cultivate not only talents within hisnds but also talents from foreign countries. He wants all talents to be of use to the Tang Dynasty!

 Chapter 25

    Chapter 25


    The Emperor officiated the ceremony with a solemn expression.


    All attendees had serious expression and so Yuanying had to behave himself and follow the crowd in performing the ceremonial rituals. When the crowd worshiped he followed, when they shouted he did the same. It¡¯s an interesting sight when a big group collectively gathers together to perform a ritual. When a crowd of almost 10,000 shouts in unison, it almost seems like it can reach even the vault of heaven.


    Yuanying was just supposed to blend into the crowd as an extra but hepleted the ceremony in all seriousness. Towards the end, he couldn¡¯t take it anymore and nudges Li Zhi who was beside him.


    ¡°I¡¯m exhausted, I¡¯ll never join this again.¡±


    He¡¯s yful by nature and can¡¯t stand serious asions. He¡¯s even thought about skipping big celebrations like the New Year¡¯s festival.


    Li Zhi was already thinking that its extremely strange that Yuanying has not kicked up a fuss so upon hearing this he felt that Yuanying is finally in character.


    ¡°The holy saints are still here with us, if they hears this you have came in vain today, they will not bless you!¡±


    Yuanying felt that the statement has no logic so he retorted: ¡°Whether I learn something or otherwise, do I need to rely on blessings for that? If so I don¡¯t have to spend time reading, I can just pray towards the saints and be smart while lying down.¡±


    Li Er who was about to speak to the students, looked over at Li Yuanying and Li Zhi who were whispering away.


    Li Zhi quickly straightened his back and kept his mouth shut.


    Li Yuanying looked at His Majesty innocently hinting that I¡¯m a good boy why are you staring at me?


    His Majesty ignored him and began to deliver his New Year¡¯s speech.


    Yuanying received a prompt that his task ispleted and the corn seeds are being stored in his personal vault within the library. However, he chooses to keep his popcorn with him in his special snackpartment. While the Emperor was delivering his speech in all earnestness, Yuanying popped popcorn into his mouth. Mmmm¡­.crunchy and sweet, delicious!


    Yuanying secretly handed some to Li Zhi.


    Li Zhi being the obedient child only stared at him.


    Yuanying lowered his voice and urged: ¡°It¡¯s delicious, I promise you have not tried this before!¡±


    Li Zhi knows Yuanying well so instead of letting him continue with his persistent pestering he might as well just take it! Li Zhi took a piece and realized that he indeed hasn¡¯t seen it before. Giving out a sweet aroma it does look appetizing.


    After sharing with Li Zhi, Yunaying looked toward his eldest nephew who was standing a distance away. His fourth nephew was standing in between them. After thinking for a bit, he handed the snack bag to Li Tai.


    Li Tai red at him.


    ¡°Father is motivating the students what are you doing?! I won¡¯t make a fool of myself with you!¡±


    He saw what the two boys were doing earlier including stuffing themselves with popcorn openly.


    Yuanying nced at him strangely and added: ¡°Who wants you to fool around? It¡¯s not for you, can you help pass this to Chengqian?¡±


    Li Tai blushed and said angrily: ¡°Not helping!¡±


    Haih¡­stingy nephew! Yuanying didn¡¯t care much for he knew it¡¯s not good to make too much noise. So he instead munches away on his popcorn while listening to the Emperor going on and on with his speech.


    When the Emperor was halfway through his speech, he nced towards the princes.


    Li Chengqian¡¯s eyes were bright while he listens intently.


    The Emperor secretly nodded in approval .


    Li Tai¡¯s eyes were bright while he listens intently.


    The Emperor nodded in satisfaction.


    And then Li Yuanying ¡­


    Li Yuanying quickly stuffed all the popcorn into his mouth and put away the bag. He then blinked and looked back at Li Er with full intensity and a face that says ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything. You keep talking¡±. If not for his constant chewing, he might be able to fool the Emperor.


    The Emperor was so furious that he almost forgot his lines.


    He ended his speech with great momentum. Those who heard it sighed in admiration at the heroic and brave Emperor whose speech was so full of energy and grandeur.


    Li Yuanying instinctively knew that something is not right.


    He decided that he needed to get away right now!


    It¡¯s a pity that while virtue is one foot tall, the devil is ten feet <sup>[1]</sup>Means to meet a person who is more skilled or prepared than oneself. The Emperor has already specially instructed his guards to keep an eye on Li Yuanying and ensure he stays put.


    Yuanying had no choice but to follow the team obediently.


    Li Tai, that bad guy caught up with the Emperor to talk and he even looked back at me as he spoke.


    He instantly knew that the bad person wasining to his majesty about him!


    Sure enough, upon returning to the pce,Yuanying was immediately taken to meet the Emperor.


    Seeing that his Majesty was in a bad mood, Yuanying felt that his brother was being petty. All he did was not listen intently to his inspiring words, why do you get angry so easily!


    The boy didn¡¯t panic and instead spontaneously pulled up a cushion and sat next to His Majesty. He ns to not mention any of his actions but instead praise the Academy.


    ¡°The academy is really big, just wait till I go to mynd, I¡¯ll build a simr one!¡±


    The Emperor gave him a sideways nce and scolded: ¡°If someone like you open an academy, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯ll teach wrong knowledge to your disciples!¡±


    ¡°No way! After all, it¡¯s not me who will teach them!¡±


    Li Er wanted to give him a good scolding but when he saw him sitting down so shamelessly, he felt that scolding this kid would be in vain.


    ¡°With your childish behaviour, how can I rest assured and send you off?¡±


    ¡°I have grown up! I will be ten this year!¡±


    ¡°Do you want to leave Chang¡¯an so badly?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll one day have to leave anyway and I really want to be of help to the Emperor! But of course, I leave with a heavy heart.¡±


    He then started counting with his fingers, ¡°I¡¯m reluctant to leave behind Sizi, Chengyang, Hengshan, Gaoyang, sister Shu, Chengqian, Zhi Nu, my teachers, Old Wei¡­¡±


    Li Er listened to him call out multiple people in one breath and said with a solemn face: ¡°Okay, stop counting. I know there will be many people that you¡¯ll miss.¡±


    Only then did Yuanying realize that he left out Li Er. That shouldn¡¯t be! Forgetting about his royal brother in front of him. His Majesty would be devastated.


    Yuanying immediately tried to defuse the situation with a sincere look on his face: ¡°The one person I¡¯ll miss the most is of course my Lord Brother, the Emperor. I was only five when father passed away. It¡¯s been my brother who took care of me and taught me all the knowledge I know about life! My brother is an elder sibling and also a father figure; when I think about not being able to meet him frequently after moving away, I¡¯m deeply saddened!¡±


    Li Er snickered: ¡°If I were to ever believe your nonsense, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m just one step away from bing a useless ruler.¡±


    While Li Er had a scolding tone, he let the earlier incident about Yuanying causing him to almost forget his lines slide. He let him off to y as he wishes after giving him a few stern warnings.


    Yuanying returned to his residence and saw his mother, Lady Liu doing needlework but constantly looking outwards as if a little anxious. Lady Liu is not permitted to walk freely in the pce. Every time Yuanying went out, she would wait for him to return always with a fear that something bad would happen to him.


    Although Dong Xiaoyi spoke well, he wasn¡¯t as thorough as Dai Ting in covering things up. It¡¯s obvious that mother found out about the incident of the Emperor summoning Yuanying.


    The boy sat next to his mom and startedining: ¡°Mother, this dress is so heavy, I will never wear it again when I go to my fief!¡± Formal attire is much moreplicated to wear than regr clothes and the essories strictly follow protocol and are in ordance with one¡¯s stature. It makes Yuanying restless.


    Hearing that they would be going towards theirnd soon, Lady Liu became less worried and even smiled: ¡°What nonsense are you talking about, You will still need to don it for formal asion.¡±


    Yuanying nodded obediently: ¡°Mother should stop doing needlework. It hurts your eyes, leave it to the servants.¡±


    ¡°These are your clothes, how can I trust others with it?¡±


    Lady Liu took his hand while looking at her son¡¯s childish face then joked softly, ¡°If youe back with a wife then I¡¯ll leave it for her to take over. ¡°


    ¡°It¡¯s just clothes that I wear, what¡¯s there to worry about?¡±


    Yuanying wasn¡¯t shy about marrying a bride and told his mother his thoughts: ¡°And don¡¯t even think about making my wife do such chores. If I get married in the future and the princess doesn¡¯t like needlework, she shouldn¡¯t be forced to do it.¡±


    ¡± Ahh¡­ I didn¡¯t think hard enough. My son is the smartest, he knows how to love and dote on his wife.¡±


    Lady Liu being his mother knows exactly how to win an argument over Yuanying in ordance to his own logic. ¡°But I want and prefer to do it for you myself, so you can¡¯t stop me.¡±


    After hearing Lady Liu¡¯s thoughts the boy went to change and went back out to y with his friends.


    Watching Yuanying leave, Lady Liu picked up her half-finished work, touch it to ensure that it¡¯sfortable to wear before continuing with the needlework.


    ¡­.¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    On New Year¡¯s Day, various ceremonies and banquets are held in the pce. Yuanying was ordered to stay put and so he failed to make progress on his yet to be opened library.


    Being extremely thick-skinned, the boy has approached almost half of the ministers in court and even managed to get a copy of <<MoZi> <sup>[2]</sup>Mozi also called the Mohist canon, is an ancient Chinese text from the Warring States period that expounds the philosophy of Mohism. which was kept privately by Li Chunfeng. However, there was one person he did not approach ¨C his brother, Emperor Li Er.


    In Yuanying¡¯s opinion, Li Er was the Emperor and had nothing much to contribute to his library. And so he approached many others but skipped Li Er. As a result, the Emperor only found out about the uing opening of Yuanying¡¯s library when it was casually mentioned by Fang Xuanling.


    The others were talking to each other and found that they had all been approached by Yuanying to request for books!


    Only His Majesty Li Er was left in confusion: ¡°What library?¡±


    Zhangsun Wuji was surprised: ¡°Didn¡¯t His Highness Prince of Teng mention anything to your Majesty?¡±


    Li Er thought to himself, what bullsh*t speech by that kid about missing him and him being a brother and father figure?! Everyone knew about his ns to open a library, yet he has never mentioned anything to him!


    ¡°He really has lot of ideas!¡±


    Fang Xuanling and the ministers saw that His Majesty¡¯s face was a little dark and they all ended the topic tacitly.


    The next day, when Yuanying went to ask Wei Zheng for advice, Wei Zheng vaguely mentioned what happened at the banquet, saying that His Majesty was in a bad mood when he found out. Only then did Yuanying remember that he¡¯s never told his brother anything!


    Wei Zheng advised the boy that he should always stay vignt. While you shouldn¡¯t be plotting to harm others, you shouldn¡¯t stay ignorant about the threats from others. Although his starting point is good, some people might inevitably want to find fault with him, stirring up trouble, stealing books, or even framing him. Many troubles and incidences will arise when managing a business. Therefore if you can persuade His Majesty to write a que for the library, it¡¯ll be much easier to manage as everyone will have to help protect it!


    Yuanying had never given things such deep thoughts. He knew that Wei Zheng engages in grassroots work for many years and was experienced in such matters. His advice would hold truths in them.


    After weighing his options between getting the Emperor to write a que for him as endorsement or getting constant external trouble, Yuanying immediately ran towards his brother!


    Li Er originally didn¡¯t want to entertain his horrible heartless brother but he was being constantly harassed by him so he finally relented and agreed to write ¡°Tang Empire Library¡± for his library.


    When his brother finally gave in to him, Yuanying was extremely happy. It was a rare urrence but Yuanying didn¡¯t cross the river and demolished the bridge. He instead stayed back to massage his brother¡¯s shoulder while helping him grind ink used for writing.


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü 1Means to meet a person who is more skilled or prepared than oneself


    ¡ü 2Mozi also called the Mohist canon, is an ancient Chinese text from the Warring States period that expounds the philosophy of Mohism.

 Chapter 26

    Chapter 26


    It¡¯s early February and the ice has melted and the willows are turning green. Although it was still a bit chilly, there were already flowers being sold everywhere.


    As dawn approaches the tall and heavy city gate slowly opens apanied by the sound of drums, allowing the full brilliance of the rising sun inside the city gate.


    People began to fill the city when they saw the city squares next to JingGuang city-gate opening up. With that, its residents started venturing out in group of two and threes. The city is waking up to life slowly from it¡¯s nightly slumber.


    A small river flows through Qunxian square towards the West City. As pedestrians walk along the river bank, they¡¯ll see a smallke being formed by the river. It¡¯s exceptionally lively today near thekeside as the mysterious shop that everyone was curious about is finally opening.


    It is rumored that the shop belongs to the newly titled Prince of Teng who is the Emperor¡¯s youngest brother. He was raised by His Majesty¡¯s side since young.


    It¡¯s also rumored that people from all walks of life have came and gone to the store in the past few months. This includes students from the Imperial College, officials from the Ministry of Justice & Criminology and personal soldiers from General Li Jing¡¯s mansion and so on!


    It¡¯s rumored that there are lots of desks and bookshelves filled of books! Anyway, the people who spread these words have never seen so many books before in their life!


    It¡¯s precisely because of all these strange rumors that the crowd came to watch with excitement. Hearsay was passed from one person to ten people to a hundred others, the entire Western city was filled with people. Hawkers saw business opportunities and started crowding around to sell snacks!


    While waiting for the auspicious time to arrive, a group of people came out of this mysterious shop. Looking at their attire, they were all students of the Imperial academy.


    On normal days, these people were all gifted individuals and when they¡¯re out they¡¯ll be greeted with envy. They are now wearing red jackets outside of their usual uniforms with the word ¡°volunteer¡± written on the front and back making is very eye-catching!


    They were getting everyone¡¯s attention.


    Zhangsun Quan was among those wearing red jackets. He¡¯s a cousin of Zhangsun Wuji and Empress Zhangsun but is much younger than them and has only entered the Imperial College this year.


    Another close ally to Zhangsun Quan is Yu Shinan¡¯s youngest grandson, Yu Zhi. After Yu Shinan¡¯s death, the Yu family was no longer prominent and he wanted to use this opportunity to rebuild their n¡¯s reputation.


    These two are of the highest status among the group of library volunteers. The rest were children from less prestigious background. Distinguished children like Du He and Fang Yiai would never be willing to do such things!


    This all started with Yuanying¡¯s visit to Kong Yingda after the New Year Festival. Yuanying fully demonstrated into action the saying one never goes to the Buddhist temple for no reason. When he met Kong Yingda, he began to talking about his business aspirations.


    ording to the young boy the library is targeted towards people who cannot afford books. Therefore some of them might no be able toprehend the notices posted and the rules for entering and leaving. To counter that, he wants to borrow students from the academy and make them act as volunteers- to exin to the public what¡¯s a library, its uses and to answer questions to avoid confusion on the opening day.


    These so-called volunteers should have a heart to help the world and a desire to help the poor and the weak!


    After Yuanying buckled his high hat, he continues persuading Kong Yingda: Our students are always reading at home and have not put their knowledge into practical use, it¡¯s easy for them to turn into nerds and that¡¯s a scary conclusion! This is an opportunity for them to practice, have contact with the public and learn how to convey their thoughts in a way that is easily understood by the mass public.


    Kong Yingda thought about it and felt that the child was right. His job is to cultivate talents for the court. Shouldn¡¯t he want them to be able to apply what they¡¯ve learned and be the middleman for the court?


    And so Zhangsun Quan and others were selected as volunteers.


    Yuanying brought Sizi and Wei Shu to the library early and they were waiting for the auspicious timing to officially open the red silk covering the imperial que.


    Sizi asked nervously, ¡°Young uncle, do you really want me to unreel the red silk?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s up to you to reveal it.¡±


    This was actually the result from a game of rock-paper-scissors. It¡¯s such an important asion, if we were to directly determine the person to do the deed, it would be too boring. Yuanying chose a few people to y a few rounds of rock-paper-scissors instead. In the end, lucky Sizi won!


    Sizi blushed happily: ¡°So many people came to observe our library opening?¡±


    ¡°Yes, there will be more after the volunteers go out to preach! What, are you afraid?¡±


    ¡°No I¡¯m not!¡±


    Li Yuanying smiled.


    The boy arranged simple tasks for the volunteers to carry out.


    First, go to the each and every gate to post notices.


    Second, to read the contents to the public who had their attention drawn.


    The announcement was written by Yuanying himself. When Kong Yingda read it, he was tempted to write it on behalf but Yuangying firmly rejected the offer. Yuanying felt that themon people would not be able to understand Kong Yingda! I still wrote it better, for it is simple and easy to understand!


    All the hard-work were being carried out by others, so Yuanying strolled around the library with the children and introduced them to the area and books. With the help of his system, the ssification of books in his library was straightforward and clear. Each bookshelf specifies the books¡¯ genre making it easy to identify with jus a walk through it!


    ¡­.¡­¡­.


    On this day, His Majesty and Wei Zheng were discussing business affairs. Thinking that it¡¯s a rare asion of his useless younger brother actually doing something serious, he thinks he deserves support and so they decided to visit him.


    Others wanted to see it too and unanimously agreed with the proposal.


    The Emperor took Wei Zheng and his confidants to the Western City together.


    The two didn¡¯t need to go far to see a group of people crowded together listening to someone preaching.


    Standing next to the notice, it was a student from the Imperial College. Li Er thought he looked a little familiar but Wei Zheng recognized him instantly.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t he from the Yu family?¡±


    The group stopped to observe how he would respond to themon people.


    The kid from the Yu family is Yu Zhi. He read out the contents of the notice in all seriousness.


    ¡°There¡¯s a library located in the Western City, you can read books for free, everyone hurry up and go have a look.¡±


    The statement was so blunt and straightforward that it was rather difficult for Yu Zhi who has been reading fine literature since young to articte it.


    But when ites to being arrogant and having his own way, who canpare to Li Yuanying? If Li Yuanying wanted it written this way, they had to read it ordingly.


    Seeing that the people epted it well withoutughing, Yu Zhi wiped his sweat quietly and continue with the library¡¯s lending rules.


    Due to limited space, only those who managed to get a bamboo card can enter. There are two types: round and square.


    Round bamboo cards are avable in limited quantity and allows you to sit in the reading area. With the moremon square bamboo cards, you can look for books and read them but there aren¡¯t seats for you. However, you¡¯re more than wee to sit on the floor.


    As for borrowing books, you need to verify your identity and address. After all, it¡¯s wise to take pre-caution about dishonest people who do not return things. If you arrivete and don¡¯t secure a bamboo card, you¡¯ll have to wait for someone to return theirs before you get one.


    An old peasant quietly listens to the briefing while clenching his worn-out pole excitedly. He then spoke with a heavy ent: ¡°I have a son who has never been to school but he recognizes a few words, can he enter? ¡°


    ¡°Yes, everyone is wee.¡±


    A woman bystander saw that the volunteer had soft features so she teasingly asked: ¡°How about a girl?¡±


    ¡°Women are wee too.¡±


    There was an uproar and the crowd were all surprised.


    Yu Zhi¡¯s expression remained unchanged and he continues to answer questions.


    At first, some volunteers were also of the opinion that women shouldn¡¯t be allowed into the library. After all, this is a ce to study; what reputation will it carry if it allows women to enter and leave?


    Li Yuanying got agitated and scolded them on the spot: ¡°What do you mean bad reputation if it allows women to enter? Does it affect your reading? If you are affected, it means that your will is not firm and you should leave instead of the girl! If it doesn¡¯t affect you, who are you to disallow others from reading?¡±


    After his outburst, the boy sent away all those who raised such concerns and barred them from bing volunteers.


    The remaining ones honestly preached to the public in ordance to Yuanying¡¯s request.


    At first, the volunteers felt that it would be more appropriate to just send minor officials for this task and they shouldn¡¯t be burdened like this. But after several rounds of talk, more and more people gathered and were asking many questions, their faces thin, dirty or yellowish and their hands calloused; all speaking in different ents.


    However, their eyes lit up when they found out that the library provided recycle paper for public use as they couldn¡¯t afford it. Originally, their sons and grandsons could not afford to read books. If now such a facility exists then their sons can read ¡ªI heard that there are even books on various topics like mathematics,w, calligraphy, agriculture and so on. Even if one fails the imperial exam, you¡¯ll still learn skills and can be an ountant or a writer.


    Everyone could see the urgency and eagerness of these people.


    Looking at eyes that were getting brighter, Yu Zhi felt for the first time that the things he took for granted and was ustomed to are things that this crowd could only dream about but could never achieve. Their desires and their needs are clearlyid out before him!


    He no longer felt tired. Even though his mouth was dry, he patiently answered one question after another.


    His Majesty and his party watched on and their hearts were touched. They eximed to Zhangsun Wuji: ¡°This child is doing pretty well.¡±


    Zhangsun Wuji smiled, ¡°That¡¯s natural. The students of the Imperial College are all future pirs of the country.¡±


    They continue to walk towards the West City and upon turning onto a corner, they saw that the whole street was crowded with people!


    This library is free for all and the idea is fresh. Naturally people who hears the news flock to it.


    His Majesty and his entourage couldn¡¯t do anything due to the crowd, they could only observe themotion.


    Not long after the sharp-eye Zhangsun Wuji saw Kong Yingda squeezing out from the crowd.


    The ministers present felt that thismotion was exaggerated. It¡¯s probably caused by Li Yuanying who had assigned several groups to post notices and preach along the streets.


    However, what¡¯s irritating is that this brat who is able to create such a hugemotion didn¡¯t even think about inviting them.


    The Emperor was in disguise so Kong Yingda silently greeted his Majesty.


    Li Er smiled and joked: ¡°Teacher Kong, you¡¯re being treated as a demolished bridge after he had crossed the river.¡±


    The person who contributed the most to today¡¯s event is Kong Yingda. He requested that the volunteers copy books and then make them go around publicizing the news. But Li Yuanying within a heartbeat of not being satisfied by his volunteers instantly ¡°returned¡± them. And when the library opened, he didn¡¯t even think to invite him to the ceremony!


    Kong Yingda twitched his cheeks and replied, ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting to get an invitation.¡±


    It¡¯s good enough if the kid doesn¡¯t make him jump in anger. He¡¯ll not expect too much from him about being courteous and respecting his teachers!


    ng, ng, ng~


    The sound from the gong interrupted the conversation.


    The auspicious time is now!

 Chapter 27

    Chapter 27


    It has never once crossed Li Yuanying¡¯s mind to invite the Emperor and his ministers. After all, today isn¡¯t a holiday so they should be busy with daily governmental affairs so why would theye and join in the fun?! The oldest person in his guest list was Li Chengqian. He did this because of their promise to roast a whole cow together.


    It¡¯s a pity that all cattle are registered and ounted for in the government office and they cannot simply be ughtered casually. Doing so is considered a crime and the owner must be held ountable. But Li Chengqian told him that spring¡¯s ploughing will begin in a few days and there¡¯s always bound to be an ident with livestock. He¡¯s already requested his men to be on full alert and once they have the opportunity they can go towards the secret base to roasted a whole cow!


    Yuanying has not tasted the roast beef yet but he already thinks that Chengqian is a good nephew. He gave an invitation to him in advance to attend the opening of the library together. He also wanted to know if Chengqian has the ability to secure his leave of absence to y! The Crown Prince is here but has unfortunately lost in the game ofrock-paper-scissors and so had no part in the revealing ceremony.


    As soon as Yuanying heard the auspicious time he brought Sizi out. The crowd had filled the streets to the brim and were only being limited by the size of the street itself. Otherwise the crowd outside would be even more spectacr.


    ¡°Look, there are at least a few thousand people here right? Are you afraid? If you¡¯re afraid I can help you with the task!¡±


    Sizi¡¯s eyes were bright and her voice clear: ¡°Not afraid.¡±


    When the crowd saw that it was youngsters who came out from the building and the oldest person being only in his early twenties, they were a little dazed.


    Dong Xiaoyi is a streetsmart kid and quickly introduce the princes and princesses to the crowd. The first person was Li Chengqian, the crown prince. Although Yuanying has always insisted that he¡¯s the more senior person and always casually addresses his nephew as ¡°Chengqian¡±, he¡¯s still willing to give his nephew the limelight and help him at critical moment.


    The people were supportive. When Dong Xiaoyi mentioned about the crown prince, the people eximed in unison: ¡°His Royal Highness!¡± In such a crowded situation, it wasn¡¯t mandatory to pay the royal family personal respect but the crowd did so again and again and finally the whole street was filled with cries of ¡°His Royal Highness¡±. Those behind who couldn¡¯t see the situation became anxious due to the noise and started wondering what was happening.


    His Majesty¡¯s party waste so they couldn¡¯t squeeze in. They found a ce to drink and went up to the second floor to observe themotion from a distance.


    Dong Xiaoyi then introduced Li Yuanying, saying that he¡¯s the owner of the library and the youngest brother of the Emperor. The people started shouting ¡°Prince of Teng¡± repeatedly. Yuanying had no stage fright and so was quite proud to hear so many people shouting his title. He proudly stood upright epting the attention from the crowd.


    Behind them were several princesses and Wei Shu.


    After Dong Xiaoyi¡¯s introduction, the news that the Crown Prince officiated the opening in person spread out causing more people toe towards the Western City. Due to the massive crowd, people were unable to enter or leave and they all looked like ducks with elongated necks looking in towards themotion. The Jingzhao prefecture had already called for officers to standby along the street to maintain order as they were afraid that an ident would happen and cause them to lose their head!


    Seeing this grand scene, Yuanying looked back at his library that was created from tworge shops and felt that it was still too small. Lord Brother is right, there are tens of millions of citizens in Tang Empire which makes it difficult to even feed everyone, let alone make them all read books! He bent down to pick up Sizi: ¡°Come on, it¡¯s time for the library to open.¡±


    The group retreated to the sides to allow people view the inside of the library. Right inside the main entrance there were two desks for identity registration and further inside are rows of bookshelves. There were no additional decorations or carved textures, only the light fragrance of books and ink drifts in the air.


    Books. All books. Nothing else. But it¡¯s precisely because of this sea of books that the noisy crowd quieted down. In such a ce, everyone felt that making loud noises was a form of sphemy.


    Some of the poor students couldn¡¯t control their tears and choked in low voices from the understanding or curious stares of other onlookers.


    Dong Xiaoyi then dropped another bombshell: The que of this library is written by the Emperor himself!


    Everyone¡¯s eyes turned to the que covered by red silk.


    Sizi wasn¡¯t tall enough, so Yuanying lifted her up a little to reach the hanging red silk. She pulled forcefully and the red silk slowly fell revealing five characters ¡°Tang Empire Library¡± written by His Majesty. When the people saw the handwriting, they burst into tears and someone shouted ¡°Long live my Emperor¡± which resonated along the streets.


    Li Er stood by the window on the second floor and watch his subjects sing praises over five simple characters. He stood with his hands behind his back for a long time and sighed emotionally to Fang Xuanling beside him.


    ¡°Xuanling, I think we haven¡¯t done enough. Not good enough. Otherwise why would my subjects be so excited over a simple library.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we still working hard?¡± (Fang Xuanling )


    After hearing this his Majesty felt less guilty.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe this kid ask Sizi to uncover the red silk. He really does dote on Sizi.¡±


    Wei Zheng who knew Li Yuanying much better spected that the biggest possibility was because he lost in a game. If his granddaughter Wei Shu won, then it would be her who will reveal the red silk!


    His Majesty nced at Wei Zheng and then at Wei Shu who was standing by the corridor with Yuanying and smiled: ¡°It seems that my Sizi had better luck this timepared to your granddaughter.¡±


    All the other ministers looked towards Wei Zheng with envy for he has a granddaughter who is within Yuanying¡¯s circle of friends. Except for the prince and princesses, Wei Zheng¡¯s granddaughter was the only othermoner being introduced; just because Wei Shu and Yuanying are good friends.


    Wei Zheng was silent.


    Concurrently the first batch of bamboo cards were distributed and those with one entered the venue. Many who didn¡¯t secure one were unwilling to leave and stayed at the door hoping to wait for tokens that were being returned early. There were also a group of volunteersmanaging the borrowing of books and some who were answering questions. Arge number of people have poured in but there was order and no chaos.


    After the first wave, Yuanying and Chengqian came inside together. Many were lingering in front of bookshelves browsing books with bright eyes while others went to the reading area. Yuanying liked this atmosphere and felt that this was the kind of energy a student in Tang should have.


    Of course there were also those who were illiterate and just grabbed a bamboo card out of curiosity. They walked around and found that there were only books, so they left right away.


    No one deliberately stole the bamboo cards nor the collection of books and everything went on in an orderly manner. Given that there were volunteers in the hall, guards brought by royalty guarding the entrance and officers standing outside, no one dares to mess around.


    Yuanying estimated that after a few days, fewer people woulde here due to curiosity. Those who visit will be people who really wanted to read. Volunteer guidance is needed at first but the library should be able to spontaneously maintain order by itself. If this continues in good momentum, the library can be regarded as sessful!


    After the lively opening ceremony, Yuanying and his friends were nning to leave. However, Wei Shu wanted to stay behind and so Yuanying gave her a golden te, saying that she was a lifetime member and could visit at any time!


    Wei Shu saw the golden te and epted it. She thinks that she¡¯ll just be keeping it and will never sell it!


    Yuanying and Chengqian walked out of the library into the crowded streets. Passerby seeing them automatically made way for them to leave.


    Chengqian often gets the same reaction when he leaves the pce on weekdays; in which people will make way for him on the streets. But this time he felt that the secret gaze on him was very different from usual. Instead of sensing it as disrespectful, he felt an unspeakable enthusiasm from the public.


    Yuanying who was walking by Chengqian¡¯s side were unfazed by the gazes and didn¡¯t feel anything. He just felt that these people had vision as they insisted on waiting outside for a bamboo token! He pretended to be a schr and gave his salutation to people around him with his hands. He didn¡¯t give off any sort of arrogant air of being a little prince. Instead, he joked and smiled: ¡°Come earlier next time or else you won¡¯t be able to grab an entrance card again.¡±


    At first, everyone was in awe of these children from the royal family. Seeing Yuanying¡¯s appearance as a lovable little adult, they all rxed and agreed: ¡°I will definitely, next time I wille early!¡±


    Yuanying babbled all the way, and finally reached the intersection. Without the crowds, the street looks much brighter!


    Seeing that it was still early, Yuanying suggested to his friends that they should go for another outing! This proposal was obviously well received. unfortunately before they could set off, the people sent by the Emperor stopped them and politely invited them to a private room in a restaurant.


    Yuanying was upset but Li Er was Chengqian and the other children¡¯s father, so he had to go upstairs together.


    When he arrived at the private room, Yuanying was startled. Not only was the Emperor present but also Wei Zheng, Fang Xuanling, Kong Yingda, and Zhangsun Wuji. These bunch who had government affairs to attend to has snuck out for a drink! The younger children were intimidated by the atmosphere and quietly came forward to pay respect to the elders like obedient quails.


    But Li Yuanying is no coward and he¡¯s not afraid to speak directly to his brother.


    ¡°Brother, why are you neglecting your duties bying here to watch themotion?! The people of thisnd looks towards you for their prosperity!¡±


    The group of ministers: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..¡±


    Li Er couldn¡¯t hold back and identally raised his hand to knock his brother on the forehead.


    Li Yuanying covering his head, felt that his brother was oversensitive and can¡¯t handle the truth!


    However, since His Majesty and his ministers have all skipped work together, Yuanying had a new brilliant idea: ¡°Lord Brother, since you are already here why don¡¯t we all go out to the city to y?! It¡¯s more efficient tobine work and rest together. It¡¯s impossible to handle it if you just work and not y. Lord Brother, let me tell you, Chengqian has a good ce to go. He can roast a whole cow and a whole sheep. There¡¯s so many of us, the number is just right for this!¡±


    Everyone looked at Li Chengqian in unison.


    Li Chengqian: ¡°¡­¡­..¡±


    He should have gone and quickly cover Li Yuanying¡¯s mouth when he heard the first ¡°Chengqian¡± being uttered from it.

 Chapter 28

    Chapter 28


    His Majesty gave Li Chengqian a light nce.


    Latest year, Chengqian had just been told off by several people for being addicted to hunting and ying. Looks like he has returned to his old ways in such a short time!


    Chengqian felt His Majesty¡¯s gaze and remained silent. Although they were father and son, he couldn¡¯t be like Yuanying or Li Tai and act coquettish to score brownie points with the Emperor.


    Yuanying didn¡¯t care about the atmosphere between father and son and got closer to His Majesty and sighed: ¡°I¡¯ve wanted to go for a long time, but Chengqian said that cattle can¡¯t be ughtered at will, we¡¯ll have to see if anyone¡¯s cattle have an ident and buy it over. Chengqian and I have been waiting for days to no avail. Why is it so difficult to eat roasted beef?¡±


    ¡°One ox can save lots of manpower. If you rely on a human to dig the ground until when do you have to dig before you¡¯ll be able to nt? Stop hoping for someone¡¯s livestock to have an ident!¡±


    Yuanying has never farmed, in fact, he¡¯s never even been out of the city much. Thest time he nted something was in Jiucheng Pce for the sunflowers and he was exhausted after just digging ten holes. He understood instantly after listening toLi Er¡¯s exnation and then changed his mind enthusiastically: ¡°Then we won¡¯t eat cows, let¡¯s eat sheep! Sheep can¡¯t be used to plow thends!¡±


    His Majesty looked towards Wei Zheng and the other ministers.


    When Yuanying saw this, he immediately remembered that his brother is pitiful even though he was the Emperor. He gets judged for every little thing he does. This father and son duo (referring to Li Er & Li Chenqian) really have a difficult life.


    Yuanying immediately ran over to Kong Yingda and held his hand tightly.


    ¡°Chancellor Kong, the library opened smoothly today thanks to your hard work and efforts! To celebrate this and hope that from now on people hungry to learn will have a new ce to study, I want to invite everyone to eat a roasted wholemb tomemorate it!¡±


    He then added solemnly, ¡°We will first offer respect to the great sage Confucius, then to all the schrs before finally eating it together. I pray that more capable people with grand ideas will appear in the future! Chancellor Kong, How about this?¡±


    Seeing Li Yuanying¡¯s childish bun face with a serious expression and saying such big words, many couldn¡¯t help butugh.


    Kong Yingda didn¡¯t know if he should be angry or frustrated nor can he scold the boy. He was tempted to shake Li Yuanying¡¯s hand away!


    Zhangsun Wuji held in hisughter and persuaded the rest: ¡°If that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s go together.¡±


    Everyone looked around and agreed with Zhangsun Wuji. Since they have already skipped work and left the pce, it didn¡¯t matter that they are skipping for another half a day. This is also a good opportunity to see what ce has the Crown Prince been hiding.


    Chengqian still felt the whole incident was surreal even when he was telling people to make preparation for the roasted wholemb.


    This was his secret base, why did it suddenly get revealed to the world? And he now has to bring his father, Wei Zheng, and Kong Yingda who enjoys scolding him daily to enjoy a roastedmb meal together?


    Li Yuanying on the other hand had no guilty conscious about ratting out his nephew. Instead, he felt that it was great and lively to have so many people participating together!


    The party set off together, Yuanying got himselfa pony and rode up to Chengqian to ride together. He intended to start a discussion with his gloomy nephew: ¡°Chengqian, how do you eat a whole roastedmb? Should I cut it directly with a knife piece by piece and eat it? Maybe you should give Old Kong the sheep¡¯s hoof as a sign of respect to the teacher! If you¡¯re ashamed or embarrassed to do so, cut it and pass it to me. I¡¯ll go! Come on, I really want to see Old man Kong gnawing away at the sheep¡¯s hoof!¡±


    Chengqian looked at his heartless uncle with aplicated face. When this guy needed Kong Yingda¡¯s support he was calling him Chancellor Kong respectfully. But now that he¡¯s given in to his desire to go BBQ together, he reverts to calling him Old man Kong!


    However, Chengqian couldn¡¯t hold back hisughter when he imagine Kong Yingda chewing away on amb leg.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll cut it for you.¡±


    Yuanying rode halfway and decided that riding was too tiring, so he shamelessly went back and squeezed into the carriage together with the other children. The three little lolis were happy to see him. The children sat together and exchanged stories, they also lie by the window to look at the scenery outside. All of them were happy because of this unexpected spring outing.


    To keep this a secret from the others, Li Chengqian¡¯s secret base was located far off in a remote area. The group took nearly two hours to get there, including the time taken to prepare the carriage and horses. Servants who were sent ahead for preparation spent quite a bit to purchase the whole sheep and were rushing to prepare it. At this moment, there was enough firewood and the big stove was burning hot!


    Yuanying had never seen anyone roasting a wholemb before, so when he arrived, he jumped out of the carriage and led the children to go see the big stove.


    It¡¯s really big and really tall!


    In the eyes of the children, the stove was gigantic!


    The whole sheep is being roasted on fire with several people keeping watch. They were turning the sheep over and adding seasoning!


    The children stared at the stove for a long time until they finally had enough of it.


    Although this ce is a bit distant, it had good scenery, and the entire area was covered in greenery. They could even see a few families living by the mountains some distance away. Seeing that the meal was not ready yet, Yuanying persuaded Chengqian to check out the surrounding area hoping to get good prey, buy them and try them out!


    Chengqian ordered servants to go in ordance to Yuanying¡¯s wishes.


    A few younger children were excited and wanted to go fishing by the side of the smallke. Yuanying waspletely inexperienced in this area so he rolled his eyes to think and then took out a golden nugget and ask if any of the guards knows how to stab a fish. Whoever stabs a fish sessfully would be rewarded with a golden nugget.


    The guards ignored him.


    Li Yuanying had no choice but to run to His Majesty for a favour.


    After Li Er gave an order, the experienced guards all stood up, took hold of a few harpoons and started catching fish under the cheering watch of several children. In a short moment there were fish. The servants Li Chengqian sent out also bought back several pheasants, saying that they happen to meet a hunter who came back from the mountains and this was all his harvest.


    Yuanying pointed at the pheasant and said to Li Zhi: ¡°Look here Zhi Nu, today we are going to have wild pheasants!¡± <sup>[1]</sup>This line only makes sense in Mandarin in which the ¡°Zhi¡± character in Li Zhi¡¯s name and the ¡°Zhi¡± character for wild pheasants are the same in writing so it¡¯s likened to wordy


    Li Zhi heard him pronounced the ¡°Zhi¡± characters deliberately and blue veins popped on his forehead and he said angrily, ¡°What does it have to do with me!¡±


    Uncle and nephew exchanged a few words and the soft-tempered Li Zhi was dragged away by Li Yuanying to join in the trouble. They had to grill fish and chicken making it extremely busy.


    Unfortunately, Li Yuanying had no experience and so the fish was burnt, the chicken ck and he ended up with a ck face darkened by charcoal!


    Li Chengqian was an adult so he was forced to follow His Majesty and the ministers around and had to listen to them discuss state affairs.


    The children returned and Chengqian instantly caught sight of Li Yuanying¡¯s appalling appearance.


    But this guy doesn¡¯t know how to feel embarrassed and he couldn¡¯t be bothered about the ck patches on his face. He instead said to Li Zhi who was roasting the chicken next to him: ¡°Zhi Nu, your face is ck. Come I¡¯ll wipe it for you.¡± After speaking, he wiped Li Zhi¡¯s face with his ck dirty fingers.


    When the girls heard the conversation they looked toward Li Zhi. Initially, Li Zhi¡¯s face was alright but it was now being smeared by Li Yuanying and he¡¯s turned into someone with a messy face!


    The three little loli roared inughter.


    Unexpectedly, Li Yuanying turned towards them and said in a caring tone: ¡°Sizi, your face is dirty too, let me wipe it for you!¡±


    As soon as Sizi heard this, she stuffed the grilled fish back to the person serving her and ran away determined to not to let Li Yuanying seed in his doings.


    Li Zhi, the honest boy, finally reacted and passed his roast chicken to the others and went to theke to look at himself. He almost couldn¡¯t recognize himself!


    Li Zhi was pissed and after wiping his face with water, he went after Li Yuanying for revenge.


    The children started chasing each other around. Li Er saw this but did not stop them.


    Li Chengqian stood beside Li Er, looking at his younger siblings with envy. It was only when the food was ready that he called the children to stop making a fuss ande taste the roastedmb.


    As soon as the roastedmb came out of the stove, its fragrant barbecued smell wafted out and it smells delicious. This time, we camest minute so I couldn¡¯t pick the ingredients in advance, so it¡¯s rather smaller in size but there¡¯s also grilled chicken and fish so it was a scrumptious meal.


    The children were amazed by the golden crispy roastedmb. They¡¯ve never seen such a big one before with their own eyes! Yuanying remembers his discussion with Chengqian on the way here and got close to Chengqian to nudge him; indicating that it was time to cut themb leg!


    Seeing Li Yuanying wink at Chengqian, His Majesty knew the kid was up to no good. He then saw Chengqian stepping forward and neatly cutting off half themb leg with its hoof attached.


    Li Yuanying picked it up and trotted in front of his Majesty and then shoved it into Li Er¡¯s hands enthusiastically: ¡± Lord Brother, this is delicious, try it!¡±


    He then passed Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling and Kong Yingda the othermb leg for them to share.


    His Majestyand Zhangsun Wuji both looked at each other withmb leg in hand and were rendered speechless.


    After dividing it up, Yuanying didn¡¯t care about the others or the atmosphere, he instead got close to Chengqian and instructed him to cut here and there. He split a portion for Wei Zheng then Sizi and he finally tasted a hot piece. Well seasoned, tender on the inside, and fragrant on the outside. Delicious!


    Since everyone is well acquainted with each other, they group sat around cutting meat and drinking wine in a rxing manner.


    When Yuanying was young, he was tricked by Li Er to drink wine by having his chopsticks dipped into wine. Since that day he never liked to drink much. However, seeing His Majesty and the others drinking happily and wanting to join in the fun, he asked Li Er to pour him a ss.


    Holding the wine in his hand, Yuanying sniffed it and felt that it wouldn¡¯t taste good. He took a small sip and quickly put it down.


    ¡°This wine is not good, don¡¯t drink it! When Dai Ting and the others bring the wine back from Gaochang, we will drink that.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°Wine that is made from grapes is too sweet, how can youpare it to the great taste of strong liquor?¡± (Li Chengqian)


    The more he was being restrained in the East Pce, the more he liked eating meat and drinking alcohol. The bigger the meat the better and the stronger the wine the better. Only through hunting on horseback and eating that he can rx a little.


    Li Yuanying has never been restrained in any way like Chengqian, so he naturally couldn¡¯t understand his pain: ¡°What¡¯s so good about spirits? I feel like choking on it!¡±


    The conversation between the two led to the topic of Gaochang. The Emperor and Wei Zheng chatted about the army that left for Gaochang in winter. They had to travel long distances and through desertsnds and this required plenty of money and grain. When it came to money, the group startedining, each described an area that needed money.


    Yuanying had already crept up to Li Er¡¯s side intending to pry for info about the situation and to get a sense of where Dai Ting is. But as a result, the group disagreed about state affairs instead!


    Li Yuanying was confused at their discussion that he¡¯s starting to see gold stars in his eyes.


    Seriously frustrating!


    Can¡¯t this group of people bezy and give themselves a vacation?!


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü 1This line only makes sense in Mandarin in which the ¡°Zhi¡± character in Li Zhi¡¯s name and the ¡°Zhi¡± character for wild pheasants are the same in writing so it¡¯s likened to wordy

 Chapter 29

    Chapter 29


    As dusk approached, the army was still heading west.


    There were more than 100 people behind the army and their faces show signs of fatigue. They¡¯ve entered a small desert and if they don¡¯t follow those who know the way closely, they will be lost in the rough sand forever.


    Dai Ting is the leader of this group.


    The groupprises of brave and strong men who had been on the battlefield before. At first, they were a little contemptuous of Dai Ting and all they had were a head full of ideas about the bright future Li Yuanying had promised them: gold, property, family!


    Therefore, they only listen to Dai Ting¡¯s orders superficially as he¡¯s Li Yuanying¡¯s trusted vassal. But along the way, everyone started to admire this seemingly slender young man. Although he was young and a eunuch, he never showed signs of being tired. On this journey, one of the men who had been provoking him fell ill. Dai Ting was neither impatient nor did he abandoned him. He instead asked for medicine to cure the man¡¯s illness before rushing to catch up with Hou Junji¡¯s army.


    Currently, that beefy man who is standing next to Dai Ting was the one who was seriously ill. If anyone dares to defy Dai Ting¡¯s order he would pick a fight with them on his behalf. Dai Ting¡¯s attitude has not changed much, he still dons his mask and only speaks when he needs to arrange or divide work.


    After walking for more than two months, no one from the group has gone missing. Instead, it was the army that had people who dropped off and went missing. But then again not everyone is cut out and can adapt to such an arduous long-distance journey.


    At nightfall, the group set camps on the spot. Hou Junji and Xue Wanjun sat opposite each other and drank. Referring to the group of people following behind, Hou Junji asked curiously, ¡°I thought they would have retreated due to the difficult journey, I wasn¡¯t expecting them to be able to follow for so long. Looks like they really might follow us all the way to Gaochang.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a hundred of them so it¡¯s okay if they follow us. This means that they have faith in us, right? Otherwise, with war being extremely dangerous, who would want to take the risk?¡± (Xue Wanjun)


    ¡°That¡¯s right, let them do as they wish.¡± (Hou Junji)


    If it was just Li Yuanying¡¯s vassals Hou Junji wouldn¡¯t be bothered about them. But this group alsoprises of people sent by the Emperor¡¯s sons and daughters. So he still had to give some respect to the Emperor and had to share brief updates about the group with him.


    However, they were not too concerned.


    Xue Wanjun is right, what can a mere hundred people do?


    ¡­¡­


    Li Yuanying fell asleep. He had no interest in state affairs. After listening for a while, he fell into a deep sleep and even had the audacity to use the Emperor¡¯s legs as a pillow. When it was time to go back, he didn¡¯t want to wake up so Li Er had to carry him and threw him into the carriage.


    Li Yuanying happily slept when he was tired from ying. Li Chengqian had a much more awful night. After returning home, he was severely lectured again. His Majesty and Kong Yingda took turns scolding him to the bone, saying that he was not doing his job properly and that he wasn¡¯t working hard but is instead of wasting money building a ce to roast food. It¡¯s better if he were to just read more books!


    When Yuanying heard about the tragic experience of his eldest nephew from Li Zhi, he felt that they¡¯ve gone too far. Everyone had a share in eating, how can they wipe their mouths and bring up old faults!


    Li Yuanying slid back to his residence, prepared ink, and started drawing. His painting was titled <<The Emperor and Ministers Sitting and Eating Lamb Leg>>. He sneakily went into the Emperor¡¯s meeting hall and posted the drawing in a conspicuous ce while the guards were not paying attention.


    Ministers who were summoned to the council hall that day would pause before entering and stare nkly at the painting posted outside. What, what is this? Although the painting is not very realistic, anyone who has seen it can instantly recognize the Emperor in the center! The other ones eating with him are obviously Kong Yingda, Fang Xuanling, and Zhangsun Wuji!


    When did they eat roastedmb together and were even being painted?!


    This question hovered in everyone¡¯s heart, but no one dared to ask the subjects in the painting directly. After all, these are high-ranking people -the Emperor and his high-ranking official. How can they ask such gossip casually?


    Finally, it was the guards who were changing shifts that notice this strange painting!


    They hurriedly tore off the painting and reported the matter to His Majesty Li Er.


    Fang Xuanling and the others arrived at the council hall early morning and did not go out again, so they had no chance to see the painting. Fang Xuanling¡¯s face turned green when he took over the painting from the guards and hurriedly presented it to Li Er!


    Li Er only needs one look to know whose masterpiece it is. His face darkened and he asked that Li Yuanying be arrested in a rage.


    No wonder the ministers had weird expressions when they came in today. It was Li Yuanying¡¯s wonderful deeds again!


    Li Yuanying and the girls were looking forward to their n of starting a sunflower garden. This garden was originally to nt only sunflowers but now that they have corn and peanuts too, Li Yuanying told Dong Xiaoyi to nt them together. To be safe, he requested Dong Xiaoyi to nt them on two plots ofnd to prevent losing everything in case of a disease outbreak.


    Seeing that the Emperor had sent someone over, Yuanying knew that something has happen. He remained calm and left the nting guides to the other children. He then obediently followed the imperial guard to the meeting hall to meet Li Er.


    His Majesty becameeven more furious when he saw Yuanying¡¯s well-behaved appearance. He threw the ¡°Masterpiece¡± at him and asked, ¡°What is this?!¡±


    Yuanying calmly went to His Majesty¡¯s side and straighten the ¡°masterpiece¡± that was crumpled by His Majesty and exined sincerely: ¡°I had so much fun yesterday that I woke up thinking about eating another roastmb so I just drew it! After I was done, I remembered that you were kind to me and so I dedicated this painting to you! However, you were busy with business and I thought I shouldn¡¯t bother you so I just posted it outside thinking that you¡¯ll be able to see it when you¡¯re done!¡±


    Yuanying added triumphantly, ¡°Look, my n worked! You saw my painting!¡±


    Li Er looked at the four subjects in the painting that was portrayed eatingmb leg with no etiquette. His face twitched twice and he sneered: ¡°Just try uttering more nonsense.¡±


    Li Yuanying immediately shut up.


    ¡°Tell me, why are you painting this for?¡±


    ¡°Yesterday, yourself, Old man Kong and the others ate together with us, so why are you scolding Chengqian?¡± Li Yuanying sat down next to His Majesty to raise objections for his nephew¡¯s injustice openly. ¡°Don¡¯t do to others what you dislike! You must also hate being scolded, how can you scold Chengqian at every opportunity?!¡±


    ¡°Chengqian is the Crown prince, he needs to pay more attention to his words and actions!¡±


    ¡°But isn¡¯t there you the Emperor on top of the Crown prince?¡±


    Yuanying boldly raised his head and looked straight at Li Er: ¡°Look at yourself, you are in your prime. You don¡¯t even have white hair and so you have a long life ahead still. Why not let Chengqian enjoy and have enough fun first! Otherwise, he¡¯ll be exhausted since he¡¯s been work even as a child, how tragic!¡±


    Meeting Li Yuanying¡¯s dark eyes, the Emperor was silent. Although he¡¯s only in his forties, the world is impermanent. Who can guarantee how many years he will live? The Empress was only in her early thirties but she still passed and left her young children behind.


    Li Er spoke to Yuanying in a rare solemn, serious tone: ¡°Our Tang Empire managed to conquer our world in an instant but we cannot govern the country properly right away. I¡¯m not asking that Chengqian bury his head under books every second but he cannot be indulging in hunting all day long. This is not only neglecting his studies but also is a disappointment to citizens¡¯ expectations of having a better world. Since Chengqian is the Crown prince, he has to shoulder the responsibility of that position.¡±


    He continued in a deep voice, ¡°You only see that I have no gray hair on the surface but you don¡¯t know of the countless hidden injuries I have sustained spending half my life on the battlefield. Don¡¯t mention decades, I¡¯m afraid it will not be that many years before I follow in my father and your royal sister-inw¡¯s footsteps. If Chengqian continues being so irresponsible, how can I be at peace?¡±


    Li Yuanying was left speechless.


    He thought of the death of his father and sister-inw.


    Both fell ill and never woke up in the end.


    ¡°Can¡¯t it be cured?¡±


    ¡°It has long be a chronic illness and can no longer be cured.¡± This is also the reason why he often goes away to escape the summer heat. This Daxing Pce that was left behind by the Sui Empire is humid and hot in summer making him ill.


    Yuanying grabbed the hand of his brother and said stubbornly: ¡°Lord Brother will live and healthy life to 100 years old!¡± He gave Li Er an example, ¡°Look at old schr Xiao, he¡¯s 83 but still energetic! You will live to be a hundred years old!¡±


    ¡°If you create less ruckus, maybe I will live a longer life.¡±


    Yuanying felt uneasy after that conversation so he was unable to sleep and was left thinking deep into the night. He toss and turn and finally decided to get up, put on his clothes, and ran all the way to the East Pce.


    It was rainy in Spring. When night falls, it starts to drizzle making the whole pce wet and foggy.


    When the servants of East Pce saw Li Yuanying they hurriedly led him inside. It¡¯s obvious that Li Chengqian was being punished for it was still bright in his study. Hearing that the Prince of Teng was here, he was stunned but quickly asked that the boy be brought in.


    It was a chilly night in February. Chengqian saw that Yuanying was wearing thin clothes soaked from the rain and so he instructed that hot soup be served. After that, Chengqian asked why was he here sote.


    ¡°I can¡¯t sleep.¡±


    That¡¯s strange for Li Yuanying. He¡¯s never heard of the boy having trouble falling asleep. Like yesterday, he fell asleep directly on his brother¡¯sp and didn¡¯t even stir when they throw him into the carriage. How could a guy who sleeps so well be unable to sleep?


    ¡°Why can¡¯t you fall asleep?¡±


    Yuanying shared his conversation with the Emperor. No one would joke about life and death, especially the ruler of a country. That¡¯s why Yuanying was sad and scared.


    ¡°Is there no one in the Imperial medical team that can cure the injury of the Emperor? Such a big hospital, so many doctors, and not one powerful enough?¡±


    Although his brother was fierce, he still didn¡¯t want him to leave them.


    Li Chengqian was stunned. He then thought of his mother.


    A sudden illness stole away his mother within half a year. He¡¯s seek help from famous doctors, prayed to God, and even asked His Majesty to grant amnesty but in the end, it was to no avail. At that time he thought, what¡¯s the use of father being the Emperor and me being the Crown prince? We can¡¯t keep our mother with us!


    Now, Yuanying is saying that even father has chronic illness.


    The scenes after Empress Zhangsun fell ill reappeared in Chengqian¡¯s mind.


    Father has never told him directly. He only kept making demands and let Kong Yingda and the others constantly influence him. He never thought of the possibility before that his father in his prime might leave them at any time. Chengqian was silent for a long time before he bluntlyforted Yuanying: ¡°No, the father is healthy, the old injury is not that serious.¡±


    Yuanying was still worried: ¡°I heard from Li Chunfeng that there¡¯s a powerful doctor named Sun Simiao, who is unwilling to be an imperial doctor even on the Emperor¡¯s insistence! Do you think you can find a way to invite him back?¡±


    Li Chunfeng and Sun Simiao are both Taoist priests, but they have different goals and focus. One is engaged in fortune-telling and product development while the other is engaged in medical research. Li Yuanying went to chat with Li Chunfeng in his spare time and heard many legendary stories from him with Sun Simiao being one of them. It¡¯s just that Yuanying had no use for famous doctors at that time and so didn¡¯t care.


    Chengqian also thought that it was a solution. He nodded and agreed to Yuanying¡¯s request.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll send someone to look for him. If he doesn¡¯t want toe, I¡¯ll invite him in person!¡±


    Yuanying listened in agreement and went back to sleep happily after drinking the hot soup prepared for him.


    Since now he has ask Chengqian to look for the genius doctor, Yuanying had no more worries and slept soundly.


    It was Li Chengqian whoy down until dawn with his eyes open.

 Chapter 30

    Chapter 30


    Li Chengqian got up with panda eyes the next day looking miserable.


    Seeing him so haggard, the Crown Princess asked if everything is alright. Chengqian shook his head to indicate that all is good and went to see his son who was still sleeping. The Emperor¡¯s grandson, Li Xiang was about to turn two. He¡¯s smart and cute and Chengqian sat down beside the bed to watch him for a while before heading for the morning session in court.


    After the court session has ended, Chengqian discussed with Fang Yizhi and other ministers on where to find Sun Simiao¡¯s whereabouts.


    When Li Er first ascended to the throne, Sun Simiao was invited to Chang¡¯an. At that time, he was already in his seventies but had a youthful appearance and was in good health.


    Back then, His Majesty invited Sun Simiao to serve at the Imperial Hospital but he rejected the offer as he prefers to travel around the country serving themon people. There was also a period when many medical ssics needed to be sorted and edited and so Sun Simiao was invited to the pce again and he even brought in medical books that he hadpiled himself.


    Chengqian had confidence in this old genius doctor. He didn¡¯t mention Yuanying¡¯s words to the others but instead only said that he wanted to locate the doctor.


    The groupprises those who were firstborn in their respective family and so had lots of resources and manpower at their disposal. Sun Simiao is a famous person so there are bound to be traces of his whereabouts and it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult to find.


    Ever since his conversation with Chengqian, Yuanying would often visit his great-nephew with toys and then ask if Chengqian has found any traces of the genius doctor.


    Li Chengqian was also waiting.


    In this era, news spread slowly. Even if the person send out by Fang YiZhi has located Sun Simiao, it would still take effort and time to bring the person or news back.


    Without any news, Li Yuanying had no choice but to manage his own affairs.


    Last year, he got Dai Ting to buy him a paper workshop but since there was material shortage in Winter, he hasn¡¯t even produce half a sheet of paper.


    Moving to Spring where nts and trees were abundant, paper-making materials were moremonly found. Dong Xiaoyi reported to Yuanying that the workshop can start its operation. They were just waiting for his official direction on whether to kick off the process.


    Hearing this, Li Yuanying got excited and so he sent Dong Xiaoyi to look for Lady Wu.


    Nowadays, Li Yuanying regarded Lady Wu as his personal librarian. If there¡¯s a book he wants, he¡¯ll ask her where it is first.


    After listening to the little prince¡¯s inquiries about paper-making, Lady Wu thought and shook her head.


    ¡°This is something very few people have written specifically about. Most methods are passed down by word of mouth. The most you would find is a simple mention of its creation process, no one would have recorded the full detail of paper-making.¡±


    Seeing that Yuanying was really curious, Lady Wu shared the knowledge she knew: There¡¯s been hemp paper made from hemp, ramie, and jute nts since the Han Dynasty. Because these are the same materials used to make clothes, the cost of hemp paper is not cheap. Later there is paper made from mulberry trees and rattan called bark paper and rattan paper. I also heard that bamboo can be used to make paper in the Jiangnan region now and the quality is very good.


    If you want to improve the method of paper-making, you can start with the raw materials and see which are cheaper and easy to use.


    Lady Wu¡¯s lecture was full of reason and Li Yuanying was busy nodding his head. He then headed out of the pce and went to his workshop to repeat the same to the paper-making masters.


    Yuanying¡¯s biggest advantage is the money he has. He asked Dong Xiaoyi to show a golden ingot on the spot and said quite generously: ¡°If anyone cane up with a good way to reducecost, this is for him!¡±


    He then emphasized that the quality doesn¡¯t matter. If the paper is too soft, we¡¯ll use it to wipe our butts, and if it¡¯s too hard we¡¯ll use it to package food.


    In short, it doesn¡¯t matter how the finished product is in the early stage, we only need to first find out what is suitable!


    If using one material is not enough, thenbine a variety of them together!


    It doesn¡¯t matter if there¡¯s productionoutput in the short term, he only needs thetest, best and cheapest paper-making method!


    What he wants to achieve is not to make paper but to lower the price of paper!


    Paper craftsmen are a stable profession with proper wages. However, they¡¯ve not seen such arge amount of wealth shown in the gold ingots. You would not see this sight anywhere else for this mountain of gold was designed by Yuanying himself when he wanted to motivate ex-soldiers to travel to Gaochang. He personally drew a picture himself and got men to craft it ordingly ¨C Solid and heavy like a small golden mountain, very tempting to look at!


    Since the beginning of time, there aren¡¯t many that can resist the temptation of gold. After hearing Yuanying¡¯s promise, the craftsmen were excited and promise to do their best to find the best and most innovative way to make paper.


    Yuanying liked the atmosphere and so he started imitating the Emperor¡¯s speech pattern and started encouraging the craftsmen.


    And so he was busy with finding a way to improve the process of making paper all throughout mid-February.


    After Spring, the weather became more humid and the old wounds of the Emperor became unbearable. Doctors were rmending that he move to the hot springs in Li Mountain to recuperate for a few days.


    However, Li Er was busy receiving envoys from Tuyuhun and had to dy acting on the advice for the time being.


    This time the envoy of Tuyuhun came with the intention of weing their new royal bride. His Majesty has bestowed a daughter from one member of the royal family with the title of Princess Honghua and promised her hand in marriage to the ruler of Tuyuhun. And so the ministry of Rites and Honglu Temple have been busy with preparation.


    His Majesty personally went out to the city gate to send off Princess Honghua and asked General Zuo Xiaowei and Prince of ZhunYang to escort the Princess to Tuyuhun.


    Tuyuhun is located adjacent to Tubo and upies arge area of grasnd making it a good ce for raising horses. The previous Emperor Yang of Sui has always desired to concur thisnd and at one point he almost wiped out this entire country.


    When the Sui Dynasty fell and was in chaos and Tuyuhun regained its vitality again.


    Li Er promised Princess Honghua¡¯s hand in marriage to the king of Tuyuhun due to two reasons. One for Tuyuhun¡¯s horses and two to help the weaker nation defend against Tubo hence splitting the power between the two nations.


    Li Yuanying isn¡¯t very aware of national affairs, all he knows is that His Majesty Li Er is so busy to the point that he had no time to pay attention to him. Of course, he took this opportunity to dabble with things.


    As a result, the boy was so busy with his affairs that he neglected all his friends. One morning, Gao Yang aggressively came and block his path, not allowing him to go anywhere except to y with them.


    Li Yuanying was of course agreeable and he dly skipped sses and took Gao Yang and the others out of the pce to y.


    The four little loli were all interested in his library and so Yuanying took them for a stroll at the Western City.


    The library has been open for half a month and still had huge crowds waiting outside daily. However, things are more orderly nowpared to its opening day.


    The red jackets originally worn by students of the Imperial College are now worn by a group of poor students. They never had the opportunity to read books in the past and now this ce allows them to roam among the sea of books for free. They would never allow anyone to destroy this treasure.


    Li Yuanying revealed his identity and the volunteers eagerly led them in.


    The people inside were quietly reading. Even Gao Yang who has the most hyperactive temperament unconsciously walks softer.


    For these underprivileged students whoe early daily and wait for the library to open, every book is a priceless treasure and they eagerly read and absorb as much knowledge as they possibly can.


    Coincidentally, Wei Shu was also present in the library.


    Both groups met and four little loli became five.


    Yuanying led the five girls around various areas in the library and found out that Confucian ssics have been viewed the most while other ssics were rarely read but his <<Fables of Han Zi>> was popr. In fact, it has been flipped so many times that the pages are starting to tear. Though they will never know if this urrence is due to the author also being the library¡¯s owner and hence is given special treatment.


    Since the books are already here, it¡¯s a bit of a waste if no one reads them! Yuanying was thinking about how to make use of the less-read books in the library but Gao Yang was already tired so she pulled Yuanying¡¯s sleeve to hint to y elsewhere.


    Li Yuanying was also a child at heart so he gave in easily and brought them elsewhere for a walk.


    Previously Yuanying was younger and hadn¡¯t been conferred a title. So he wasn¡¯t allowed to leave the pce by himself and bringing the other children out would be impossible. But now with his new title, he can go wherever he likes!


    Freedom is here but he hasn¡¯t decided where to y. Yuanying decided to ask Gao Yang who usually has the most ideas: ¡°Where do you think we should go?¡±


    Gao Yang had never been out of the pce but she has often yed polo with her older brothers and heard lots of tales about the world outside the pce.


    ¡°I heard that Ping Kang alley is very fun.¡±


    Her royal brothers had privately said that Ping Kang alley was a good ce to go but every time she probe deeper or asked to go with them, they all remained mum and refused to talk further.


    Humans are like this, the more secretive others are, the more you want to know!


    The same goes for Gao Yang and she has long wanted to visit this ce.


    Yuanying had no interest in polo and was also well-known as the little devil king who had nothing inmon with the older princes so he seldom talked with them.


    Hearing the ce from Gao Yang, he thought about the map of Chang¡¯an in his head and said with confidence: ¡°I know where it is, it¡¯s nearby East City and you can reach it after passing through ZhuQue Gate.¡±


    Yuanying¡¯s personality is impulsive so he immediately brought the 5 girls along to visit Pingkang alley.


    Since the girls were still young and couldn¡¯t walk long distances, he ordered a carriage to take them directly to the entrance of Pingkang alley.


    As soon as he got off the carriage, he felt that this ce was quite different from the Western side.


    The Western part of the city was very lively with lots of human interactions and you can hear all kinds of shouts when you walk the street. However, on this side, it¡¯s probably because it houses most of the dignitaries and nobles ss, and the streets are much quieter. Walking along the road, you¡¯ll find several courtyards, all of which are part of the capital city liaison offices. Officers from other ces woulde here if they have topics to update the imperial pce.


    In addition, many officers of the capital also lived here. For example, they saw the house of Chu Suiliang¡¯s family.


    Yuanying asked Gao Yang strangely: ¡°What¡¯s so fun here? Everything here rtes to official matters and perople, just looking at it makes me bored!¡±


    ¡°But my royal Brothers said it would be fun!¡± (Gao Yang)


    ¡°Then let¡¯s take a look.¡± (Yuanying)


    Yuanying strolled for a while and found an old servant to ask where the fun was. The old servant looked at Yuanying and Gao Yang behind him curiously and said respectfully, ¡°There¡¯s only one fun ce here and that is Beili. But¡ª¡±


    Gao Yang was already impatient so she interrupted the old servant¡¯s ¡°but¡± and asked: ¡°Then tell us how to get to Beili?!¡±


    Seeing Gao Yang¡¯s domineering aura, the old servant meeklyplied and show them the the way to Beili.


    The group followed the direction pointed by the old servant.


    The old servant looked at their backs and finished the unfinished sentence to himself: ¡°But that ce is not suitable for girls! Even the young gentlemen looks too young for this¡­ ¡°

 Chapter 31

    Chapter 31


    With guidance on directions,Beili was quite easy to find. The children walked for awhile and the sight suddenly became clear.


    The fa?ade of this ce is much more refined than that of the Westerncity. The ques hanging on its gate seems to be crafted by the hands of famous artisans unlike the ones in western city which were simply done just to attract attention.


    Perhaps it¡¯s becausethose living here are prominent figures- either officials orschrs,the streets in daytime were rather quiet.


    Yuanying approached nearer and listened hard. He was able to hear faint sounds from bamboo. These songs were soft in tune,very different from the ones that the Emperor likesto listen to but simr to what Yuanying¡¯sfather is fond ofbefore his death.


    It seems like this is a ce to listen to music! Yuanyingreminiscence about this music and led Xincheng and Sizito strut together to check out thebiggest and bestshops. He wants to visit thebiggest and the best one!


    There were young girls leaning against the windows along the street. Seeing a rather young boy leading a few little girls into Beili from a distance, they becamecurious andpush open the windowswider to lean out with asmile.


    The children wereused to attracting attention sothey didn¡¯t care about the gazes. However, Wei Shu and the apanying guards feltthat something felt very off.


    Especially the apanying guardswho wereadultswith certain¡°needs.¡±Even those who have not visited red-light districts would haveheard about it. When a bunch of men gathers together they are bound to discuss such topics sometimes.


    Look at thepostureof those around, I¡¯m afraid that this ce is not for children!


    Gao Yang¡¯s bodyguards were the most often scolded. After seeing the girlsby the window, they felt badvibesandthuspushed someone to notifyGao Yang: ¡°Princess, I¡¯m afraid we shouldn¡¯t be visiting this ce.¡±


    However Gao Yang was notsomeone who listens to advice, she turned herhead towards them and askedunhappily, ¡°Why can¡¯t we go? Wefinallymanageto find this ce!¡±


    Looking at Gao Yang¡¯s darkeyes, the guards didn¡¯t know how to exinsuch a delicate topic to the royal children.


    If it was such a ce, howcan the princesses visit it? But theseyoungroyalsin front of them were oblivious. Logical, given that theeldestamong the group Prince of Teng and Princess Chengyang were only ten.


    The guard who was pushed out spoke bravely:¡°This is the ce for grown men to listen to songsand watch danceperformances, it¡¯s best if girls do not visit.¡±


    Gao Yang hated thephrase ¡°boys are okaybut not for girls¡±the most. As she lost her mother at a young age, she grew upwild in the pce. She¡¯s actually abit more naughty than most boys, orelseshe wouldn¡¯t be known to have the same bad reputation as Li Yuanying thelittle demon prince.


    ¡°What kind of music is it thatgirlscan¡¯tlisten toand what kind of dance can¡¯t a girl watch? That¡¯s illogical, so I¡¯m going!¡±


    After she¡¯s finished speaking,she waved her handsto the guardstoback away. Then quickly urge Yuanying to pick a good ce. She was going to see what was so special about the songs and dances that girls can¡¯twatch!


    Yuanying has never been afraid of causing bigmotionsbut only despised doing thesmallthings. Hearing Gao Yang, he immediately pointed towarda brightly decorated building in front of him.


    ¡°That store looksnice, big enough and stylish.let¡¯scheck it out.¡±


    Gao Yang happily agreed.


    Wei Shu and the three othersnaturally followed closely, looking at everything around them curiously. Sizi took a sniffand said toYuanying, ¡°It smells good here.¡±


    Yuanying did the same and nodded:¡°It¡¯s quite fragrant.¡±


    He didn¡¯t think that it was unusual. Whether it was Da¡¯an Pce or TaijiPce, he grew up among heapsof incenseand fragrances.


    The children approached the door of the ¡°big shop¡±and someone immediately greeted him.


    The other party was an old prostitute named Su ErNiang from WanCui Mansion. She was in her 40s and still had charm. She looked at Li Yuanying curiouslyand wondered how these little dolls who were obviously rich nobles ended up inBeili.


    Observing that the children were nobles, ErNiang cautiously asked, ¡°What isthis young gentlemanhere for?¡±


    Is he here to look for his dad?Er Niang has operated Wan Cui Mansion for many years and she has seen many absurd things including official wives bringing their children here to look for their husbands. But this time it was a boy with a few little dolls together. This was a first for her.


    Li Yuanyinghas never feltrestrainedby anything.Although he hasn¡¯t been outside much, he acted like everything was normal.


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m here to y. If you have anything interesting in this ce, please tell us.¡±


    Thinking back to when the formerEmperorwas alive, he vaguely remembered that he likesthe pipaandso the boypretended to understandeverything.


    ¡°Find a few people who can y the pipa for me and get dancerstoo.¡±


    Li Yuanying¡¯slittle pretend was on point. AlthoughBeili was ace where prostitutes gathers, the trade was very discreet. Sincemost patrons wereschrs or dignitaries, they normally behave elegantly with proper etiquette, and rarely would there be brazen behaviors seen in public.


    When Er Niangheard the boy¡¯s instructionsshe was slightly taken aback in surprise but still reached out to ept his payment and asked that thedies prepare to serve the group.


    Sometimes ignorance is bliss. It is safer that certain fine details are not asked or revealed.She epted his payment like she would with any other normal guest. After all, even ifthe identities of these children are special,theystill shouldn¡¯t put any me on WanCui mansion. This is after all just a business establishment.


    On the contrary, if they don¡¯t ept the group¡¯s payment and provide service, it mightcause trouble!


    The servers in the room curiously look at the group of children. Seeing that ErNiang hadgo instruct the girls to make preparations, they stepped forward to lead thegroup into thebest and most spacious room located on the second floor.


    The children sat downand a few young women instantly filed inthe gapsserving them delicate desserts and fruits.


    The clothes onthese women lookeddifferent from those wornin the pce. Itshows offtheir bosoms and waists and it showstheir graceful posture. Although their appearancemightnotbetop-notch, theywere young making thempleasing to look at.


    Wei Shu¡¯s heart skipped a beatas she realized that this ce is obviouslynot justfor listening to music and watching dance. This isprobably the nd of wind and moon¡± <sup>[1]</sup>used to describe entertainment joints like brothels, nightclubs, or red-light districts, etcthat are written in books!


    Although Wei Shu often wears men¡¯s clothes out, shestilldoesn¡¯t think it was appropriate for her to visit such a ce.


    She looked at Li Yuanying beside her.


    Yuanying wasn¡¯t even looking at the womenaround butwas instead looking with great interest ata bowl of green tea in front of him.


    Hethen turned and said, ¡°I drank this when I was a child, it was presented to my father by a man from the south. At that timeI ate lotsof barbecued meat and this drink aids with my digestion. Butsince lord fatherdidn¡¯t like it,no onehad prepared it eversince, I didn¡¯t expect to tasteit here!¡±


    Wei Shu: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±


    Well, itlooks like these girls dressed up beautifully for nothing.


    Li Yuanyingmentioned thiscasually but the women around them were shocked.


    WanCuiMansion has receivedmany dignitaries butroyal members were usually secretive when they visit. Furthermore, they will neverarrive with little girls in toll and then carelessly mention ¡°Royal Father¡±.


    Someone quietly left to look for Su ErNiang.


    ErNiang had been payingcloseattention tothe unusual group and when she heard of this her heart raised to her throat.


    This ce has attracted a very important and incredible group!


    Right now, she can only hope for the best and to entertainthese VVIPs and send them offsmoothly without causingany major hups!


    ¡°I¡¯ll y the Pipa for them,¡± said the girl who was listening.


    The girl¡¯s name was Su QiNiang, adopted by Er Niang sinceshe was a child.Now she¡¯s around 13 or 14 but has yed the Pipa for 8 years. She¡¯s the most known for talent inthe mansion and has made the fewest appearances. In Beili she carries the nickname Lady of ONE encounter.


    ErNiang knows all aboutQiNiang¡¯s stubborn personality and that she has never tried to win favors from the rich and powerful.Otherwise, it would have been a piece of cake for her to live in luxury if she desires it so. QiNiang¡¯s current offer is solely to help with the dilemma and to share the burden.


    ErNiang thought for a while and warned, ¡°Donot offend thenobles.¡±


    Qi Niang nodded.


    At this same moment, Yuanying was lobbying Wei Shu and the others to try the tea.


    Tea is prolific in the southbut people in the north do not drink much. Li Tangbuilt his Empire starting fromGuanlong and naturally had no habit of drinking tea.


    Sizi and the others hadnever drank it beforeand they feel that the greenish-looking liquid wouldn¡¯t be tasty.But seeing Yuanying drinkingrepeatedly, it started to look delicious and so they tried itexcitedly.


    Wei Shu tried a few sips and realized that the originally boringtasting snacks were turning out to tastejust right after consumingthem with tea. It was indeed a unique tasting experience.


    As the group wasdiscussing the wonders of this tea, QiNiang pushed the doorand enteredwithPipa in her arms.


    Yuanying looked up and saw that thegirlwas beautiful with elegant aura. She resembles what the public would call a cardamon flower girl <sup>[2]</sup>In the Tang dynasty, cardamon flowers were used to describe girls around the age of 13 or 14, originating from poet Du Mu¡¯s famous 7-word quatrain called <


    >. He didn¡¯t care much aboutthe girl still but was attractedtothe Pipa she was holding.


    This Pipa looks like a good Pipa.


    After QiNiang bowedin respect shestarted ying the pipa. The boy was even more convincedthat thePipa wasa great one, if the formerEmperorwas alive, he would like it.


    Seeing Li Yuanying stare at QiNiang, Gao Yang couldn¡¯t help but to nudge him.


    The boyreturned to his senses and shook his head to indicate thathe was fine. He hasa very good memory andwas only five when his father passed. Until today he stillremembers how the previous Emperorwould pickhim up and condone all his mischievous antics.


    Yuanyingwasn¡¯t paying attention to Qi Niang¡¯s ying but as soon as she is done he blurted out: ¡°Will you sell it?¡±


    QiNiang was left speechless by the question.


    She looked into Yuanying¡¯s clear eyes and didn¡¯t know how to respond.


    Aftershe calmed down, she realized that the boy¡¯seyeswereon the Pipa in her hand.


    He didn¡¯t want to buy her, he wanted to buy her Pipa.


    Yuanying saw QiNiang subconsciously grasped the Pipa and knew it was precious to her.


    Hethenshook his head and said, ¡°Forget it,you cankeep it.¡±


    Gao Yang was still very concerned about her friendso she approached Yuanying and asked strangely:¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know whybutas soon as I walked into Beili I started thinking about myte father. It reminds me of him, even more, when I see this Pipa. Father hasalways liked the Pipaand I thought about buying it for him. But after thinking, I think it¡¯s better to leave the Pipa to someone who can y it, after all, father can¡¯t y anymore.¡±


    After listening tohis words, the childrengathered around him tofort him:¡°Young uncle, don¡¯t be sad!¡±


    Yuanying hummed: ¡°I¡¯m not sad. People will die so why should I be sad?!¡±


    He wasjustabout to ask QiNiang to change her tune from melodioussongsto something else butinstead, they heard a loumotion outside.


    The group ced their ears to the door toeavesdrop and heard someone shouting: ¡°You say it¡¯s hard to book Qi Niang¡¯s time but it seems that you are just lookingdown on me Fang Yi¡¯ai! I¡¯ll give you one more chance, go and bringher over immediately!¡±


    Hearing the word ¡°Fang Yi¡¯ai¡±, Li Yuanying frowned and turned toward Gao Yang.


    Although the engagementwas not officiallyarranged yet, His Majesty Li Er has already agreed with Fang Xuanling to marry Gao Yang to Fang Yi¡¯ai.


    Gao Yang was also aware of this. She wasverydifferent from Cheng Yangwho is soft-spoken and gentle. She¡¯s someone with a feistypersonality.


    Hearing that Fang Yi¡¯ai was making amotionoutsideand trying to stealQiNiang who was ying for them, Gao Yang immediately got up and confronted the second son of the Fang family: ¡°Let me see, who dares to snatch someone from our side!¡±


    Fang Yi¡¯ai staredat her likehe sawa ghost.


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü 1used to describe entertainment joints like brothels, nightclubs, or red-light districts, etc


    ¡ü 2In the Tang dynasty, cardamon flowers were used to describe girls around the age of 13 or 14, originating from poet Du Mu¡¯s famous 7-word quatrain called <


    >.

 Chapter 32

    Chapter 32


    Fang Yi¡¯ai wonders if God was ying a prank on him.


    He knew that the Emperor intends for him to marry Princess Gao Yang. He also knows the other Emperor¡¯s son-inw personally and how miserable their lives were. So he intends to have fun now, lest it bes impossible in the future!


    Recently, he was obsessed with Su Qi Niang from Wan Cui mansion. He initially didn¡¯t like listening to tunes from the Pipa but he likes the ones yed by her. Unfortunately, Qi Niang is famously known as the ¡°Lady of ONE encounter¡±, not someone you can easily invite. To get to her you need to go through tests and tribtions making it extremely troublesome. And so Fang Yi¡¯ai became impatient.


    He was in the mansion casually listening to music and drinking when he heard musicing from within a private room. He found out that it was yed by Qi Niang and got angry so he decided to confront the group!


    But who did he see? Gao Yang! He may not have seen the other princesses in person but he has met Gao Yang. After all, she was the most arrogant and domineering among all the princesses. She ys polo in riding clothes all day. There¡¯s no way she will ride behind curtains carriages when she goes out.


    Seriously, what is this!


    He was dumbfounded. Isn¡¯t this Beili? Isn¡¯t this Wan Cui Mansion? Why is Princess Gao Yang here?


    Seeing her fianc¨¦ standing there dumbfounded like a log, Gao Yang raised her eyebrows and looked at the ¡± future prince consort¡± who was kicking up an aggressive fuss just a while ago.


    Fang Yi¡¯ai took a long time before finding his voice and asked Gao Yang in disbelief, ¡°Why are you here?!¡±


    Gao Yang didn¡¯t like this villian who wanted to snatch away their entertainer so she unhappily snorted: ¡°You people are so strange, it¡¯s just to listen to a little song. You can listen to it, why can¡¯t we?¡±


    Hearing that Gao Yang mention ¡°we¡±, his heart skipped a beat and he felt a chill run down his spine. He walked over to peek into the private room. In addition to Su Qi Niang, there was also Li Yuanying, Chengyang, Sizi, and Hengshan!


    His eyes darkened and he almost fainted on the spot.


    This is meeting all of His Majesty¡¯s most beloved children!


    Seeing Fang Yi¡¯ai, Yuanying invited him enthusiastically: ¡°Oh it¡¯s the beloved nephew Fang. Come, join us and listen to a song. Do youe here often? Do you know what are best tunes avable here?¡±


    Fang Yi¡¯ai knew all about Yuanying¡¯s stinky temper and hurriedly replied: ¡°No, I don¡¯te here often, today is the first time. Oh no! The second time. I just came to listen to music!¡±


    Li Yuanying said curiously, ¡°Of course, we¡¯re here to listen to music. Otherwise what else can be done here?¡±


    Fang Yi¡¯ai¡¯s back was dripping with cold sweat: ¡°You can¡¯t do anything else!¡±


    Yuanying thought he was odd. Although he didn¡¯t like this prospective nephew-inw much, he wanted to know more about him before deciding whether to mess up his marriage with Gao Yang. He considers himself a very reasonable person. After all, Fang Yi¡¯ai¡¯s father is also the prince¡¯s adviser and is trusted by His Majesty. If there is no decent reason to object, it will be difficult to call it off!


    Yuanying invited him again to join them but Fang wiped the sweat off his forehead and shook his head repeatedly to indicate that he had another appointment with someone else.


    Gao Yang couldn¡¯t understand his actions. Seeing that he didn¡¯t want to give Yuanying any face she sat next to Yuanying and said: ¡°How dare he be so arrogant!¡±


    Wei Shu said carefully: ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s not about him being arrogant but that he is afraid.¡±


    Li Yuanying and the others looked at Wei Shu.


    She then expressed her guess: this may not just be a ce to listen to music but is instead thend of wind and moon where mene to have fun.


    Yuanying suddenly had a realization: ¡°No wonder everyone has been saying that girls can¡¯t visit.¡±


    Gao Yang also reacted: ¡°That¡¯s why he ran away in fright!¡±


    Sizi and Hengshan were dumbfounded.


    Then Chengyang put forward the most important question: ¡°Young Uncle, shouldn¡¯t we leave?¡±


    If their father the Emperor found out about this outing, he will be furious!


    Yuanying said calmly: ¡°No hurry.¡±


    He still wanted to chat with the people from Wan Cui Mansion. He gave the girls a reassuring look then picked up the bowl of tea and asked: ¡°Is there anyone originally from the South here?¡±


    Qi Niang who had witnessed how this group scared away the boy just stared at them in a daze before answering respectfully: ¡°Yes, my mother is from the South.¡±


    The mother she was referring to was Su Er Niang, although Er Niang has always imed that she took Qi Niang in as a money-making tool for Wan Cui Mansion and only named her Qi Niang <sup>[1]</sup>Qi Niang directly tranted to sevendy, not actually a very proper name, she was grateful still to mother for saving her life.


    ¡°This tea is delicious, do you know where it¡¯s manufactured from? Do tell.¡±


    Qi Niang exined that Er Niang¡¯s god-brother would deliver tea from Jiangnan East Road to them every year. It¡¯s a faraway ce in the most south, called Fuzhou. The tea brewing method was also a knowledge learned from Fuzhou. If there are guests who don¡¯t like alcohol, Er Niang would serve them tea instead. It can be regarded as a special feature of Wan Cui Mansion. In the past, many have tasted it and loved it. Some even dedicated poems to it.


    ¡°I want this tea. If your mother¡¯s god-brother is delivering more tea, please send me a letter to the library in the Western city¡±


    When Qi Niang heard this, a sudden realization donned upon her. She quickly bowed: ¡°Su Qi Niang pays respects to His Royal Highness Prince of Teng.¡±


    Yuanying was left stunned for a moment but after thinking about it, he understood how she could have guessed his identity and asked curiously: ¡°Have you been to the library too?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been there, there were many music scores avable.¡± When she visits, she usually covers the top half of herself with a curtain fence <sup>[2]</sup>a type of hat found in ancient China where thin cloths surround the hat, hiding the wearer¡¯s identity. Although there were the asional prying eyes, the library was generally quiet and peaceful.


    Unlike entertainers on government payroll,mon entertainers were not officially educated in arts by professionals. Given that it¡¯s apetitive trade and they rely on the same skill sets to make a living, no one would be willing to share their collection of music scores. Most would slowly collect their knowledge and insights by figuring them out on their own. But it¡¯s different now! Music scores that they couldn¡¯t even get after spending tons of money were now generously made avable to all in the library. No one would stop her or her maidservants and no one spoke ill of each other.


    Back then, Qi Niang thought that His Royal Highness the Prince of Teng was no ordinary person. Seeing him with her own eyes, she felt that Li Yuanying was different from others. He was born into royalty but had a pure heart. Even when he¡¯s in a ce like Beili, he never had any evil intentions. The boy instead was reminiscing about the past and his loved ones.


    Qi Niang picked up her Pipa and gave it to Yuanying with both hands: ¡°Qi Niang wants to dedicate this Pipa to His Highness to repay your generosity in making music scores avable.¡±


    When Yuanying heard this, he signaled Dong Xiaoyi to take the Pipa and send it to the mausoleum as a dedication to histe father in hopes that he can y it in the afterlife.


    After they had finished chatting and were about to leave with the restless princesses, they heard hurried footsteps downstairs. Two columns of imperial guards were rushing into the mansion. The leader was Li Dejian, son of General Li Jing who was on friendly terms with Chengqian. Today Chengqian was sitting with His Majesty observing government affairs when suddenly reports came that Yuanying took the princesses towards Beili.


    Chengqian knew it was going to be bad as soon as he heard it. Seeing that the Emperor ordered his men out of the pce to detain them with a serious expression. Chengqian quickly proposed to let Li Dejian handle it so as not to have anyone identally damage the reputation of the Princesses by not knowing their ce or the seriousness of the matter. As for Li Yuanying, it¡¯s precisely because he has done too much nonsense that it no longer causes anyone to raise an eyebrow whatever his next ridiculous antic is.


    Seeing the situation, Yuanying felt that it was a good thing that someone is here to pick them up. He signals the children to go downstairs together. Seeing Yuanying with no signs of guilt and was instead cheerfully greeting him, Li Dejian didn¡¯t know what to say or do.


    The little ones need to return to the pce but Wei Shu should go home instead. Yuanying originally wanted to send Wei Shu home personally but Li Dejian firmly insisted that they all return to the pce now, not one person less. And so Yuanying orders Dong Xiaoyi to send Wei Shu home on his behalf.


    When Wei Shu ignorantly stumbled into such an establishment she panicked. But due to her calm temperament she got into the carriage and gave Yuanying a worried look. Seeing Yuanying calmly waited for her to get on her carriage without worry, she felt slightly relieved. They can¡¯t be entirely faulted for this, after all none of them knew what or where Beili was.


    Her grandfather once said that His Majesty is a reasonable person and she chooses to believe in her grandfather!


    Yuanying was also optimistic, he led the four little lolis onto the carriage to return to the pce. Li Dejian stayed for a while longer and warned Su Er Niang and those present not to reveal to anyone what has transpired today. Er Niang has managed to run the mansion safely and steadily for so many years and is naturally not stupid. She immediately responded with sincerity and fear.


    After Li Dejian escorted the children away, Er Niang turned to look at Qi Niang who was still looking at the end of the street. She patted the back of her hand and said, ¡°Don¡¯t just stand here, go in.¡±


    Qi Niang returned to her senses and told Er Niang what the prince has told her.


    ¡°If he really wants tea, then it¡¯s fine to just let him know when the timees.¡± She paused and then reminded Qi Niang, ¡°This Prince of Teng has honorable status. Today was most likely a chance encounter, it¡¯s uncertain whether he¡¯ll return here again in the future. Don¡¯t birth any unreasonable thoughts.¡± (Er Niang)


    ¡°I know.¡± (Qi Niang)


    People were all born different; some are precious since birth like stars in the sky; while others destined for hardships and poverty. She¡¯s been living her life in this unkind ce and have seen her fair shares of betrayal and abandonment. She knows better than anyone what¡¯s reality and what¡¯s fantasy.


    Just seeing such bright and happy people made her happy.


    That¡¯s all.


    ¡­.¡­¡­


    To keep the incident of the children visiting Beili top secret, their carriage rode continuously until they reached the pce, not stopping for even a single inspection. When they¡¯ve arrived, Yuanying jumped off first and helped the rest out of the carriage one by one.


    The boy asked Li Dejian strangely: ¡°How did brother find out that we were there and asked you to pick us up so quickly?¡±


    Dejian is not a talkative person, he replied sinctly: ¡°Someone reported to His Majesty.¡±


    Yuanying wonders if it¡¯s someone within the apanying guards that had gave this tipped off. Since there¡¯s no way to stop them, the only other option was to inform their guardian.


    Gao Yang said angrily, ¡°It must be that guy Fang Yi¡¯ai who rat us out!¡±


    Dejian was a little surprised.


    He didn¡¯t get the news that Fang Jun was also too.


    The future prince consort met the princess in Beili. What on earth is happening? If His Majesty finds out about this, it¡¯ll add fuel to the fire!


    Yuanying didn¡¯t think that hemitted a huge mistake. After all they just visited the ce and didn¡¯t do anything indecent! He took the girls¡¯ hands and followed Li Dejian to meet Li Er. On the way, he refuted Gao Yang¡¯s guess: ¡°Fang Jun left shortly before us, how can he get to the pce so quickly to file aint? I think you¡¯ve wronged him!¡±


    Gao Yang hummed: ¡°Just look at his face, he looks like someone that will makeints!¡±


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü1Qi Niang directly tranted to sevendy, not actually a very proper name¡ü2a type of hat found in ancient China where thin cloths surround the hat, hiding the wearer¡¯s identity.

 Chapter 33

    Chapter 33


    Li Er was in an extremely bad mood. He sat on his throne and waited for the group to return.


    Chengqian was worried about his sisters and father for he was seething with anger. He wanted to put in aforting word but didn¡¯t know where to start. This father and son duo hasn¡¯t spoken to each other for a long time.


    Chengqian didn¡¯t leave but sat quietly and waited with the Emperor. When someone updated that the group has arrived, Chengqian instantly sat up straight and looked out.


    The first person toe running in was none other than Sizi whose hand was being held by Yuanying. Sizi was the most beloved daughter of Li Er. Yuanying and her exchanged brief ns prior. As soon as she entered the room, she immediately rushed towards the Emperor¡¯s arms shouting: ¡°Father!¡±


    Followed by Gao Yang, Xincheng and Hengshan; all shouting father sweetly in unison.


    Being surrounded by all four of his precious daughters, most of Li Er¡¯s anger dissipated at once.


    Yuanying saw this change on Li Er¡¯s face and he too tried to slowly lean forward intending to test if he has a chance to sell his good boy image.


    The Emperor instantly caught a glimpse of his sneaky behaviour and the anger within him shot up again.


    ¡°You stand aside!¡±


    Li Yuanying had to obediently retreat to one side and stand still.


    Aihh¡­if Gao Yang and the others weren¡¯t here, he would have acted more shamelessly.


    With such a big incident, it¡¯s impossible for His Majesty¡¯s anger to just dissipate so easily. It was useless for the four princesses to act so coquettishly.He quickly reverted to an angry expression and asked them what had happened. His Majesty specifically ordered Li Yuanying and Gao Yang to not make anyments for these two little devils were too sneaky for their own good and he no longer believes the nonsense they spew.


    Chengyang who is known to be honest was selected as the representative to re-tell the whole incident. Hearing that the children didn¡¯t know what or where Beili was and only got curious when Gao Yang heard about it from several brothers, his Majesty¡¯s expression softened and he asked Gao Yang: ¡°Which brothers?¡±


    Gao Yang kept her mouth shut and refused to answer.


    ¡°You¡¯re quite loyal, aren¡¯t you?¡± His Majesty Li Er sneered and called his men to name all his sons who usually yed polo with the princess and to punish all of them together. Fair and just!


    Gao Yang¡¯s eyes widened. Although she didn¡¯t betray her brothers, the Emperor was still able to identify everyone.


    His Majesty motioned for Chengyang to continue.


    Hearing that Yuanying saw a Pipa and remembered histe father, Li Er nced over at him and said nothing. It was when Chengyang mentioned Fang Jun making a scene that caused the blue veins on his forehead to pound violently. This couple is really something, the girl follows her uncle to such a dodgy establishment while the other one is even more amazing and tried to sabotage others and coincidentally met his fianc¨¦e!


    Since Chengyang has already pointed out Fang Jun, Yuanying who was standing on the side couldn¡¯t help but interrupt: ¡± See brother! I told you so, you need to investigate carefully before choosing your future son-inw. Didn¡¯t you say you had deliberated on this seriously before¡­. ¡°


    The Emperor shouted: ¡°Shut up!¡±


    Li Yuanying turned back and stood with his back facing the Emperor, ignoring him.


    Chengyang might be honest, but she still knows how to cover up for Li Yuanying. She didn¡¯t mention anything about his arrangement with Su Qi Niang. She only briefly mention that Qi Niang figured out that Yuanying was the Prince of Teng and gave her pipa to him. Then Li Dejian arrived.


    Her statement which omitted certain parts did not arouse suspicion from His Majesty. Li Er looked at Yuanying who had his back facing him and did not know how to scold him to relieve his anger.


    This kid is horrible but he himself was also misled into bringing the girls to Beili. Being in such a ce, he didn¡¯t do anything ridiculous but instead thought about histe father.


    If this was someone else, Li Er would think that he¡¯s talking nonsense trying to defend himself. However, it¡¯s true that thete Emperor¡¯sst few years in Da¡¯an Pce was spent like that ¨C addicted to singing and dancing, immersed in beautiful women, and even ying the Pipa for his concubines when he was in the mood. Although Li Yuanying was very young back then, he should still have slight recollection of this in his memory. It¡¯s not impossible for him to think about histe father when he walks into a ce like Beili.


    The Emperor paused for awhile before sternly lecturing the princesses and sending them home to copy books and reflect on their mistakes as punishment.


    Sizi wanted to save Li Yuanying and said cautiously: ¡°Young Uncle¡ª¡±


    His Majesty had a grim expression indicating no more negotiation: ¡°You go back and don¡¯t run around.¡±


    As soon as the girls left, only the Emperor,Chengqian and Yuanying were left.


    Chengqian considered in his heart how to speak good for Li Yuanying.


    His Majesty nced at Chengqian then scolded Yuanying who was still facing away from them: ¡°Turn around!¡±


    Seeing that the girls were driven away by His Majesty, Yuanying decided to process Li Er¡¯s ¡°turn around¡± to be e and sit down¡±. He ran over to sit beside His Majesty. Seeing this Chengqian was speechless.


    When Li Er saw how Li Yuanying was shamelessly trying to lean toward him, he couldn¡¯t help but scold him: ¡°Can you stop for two days? Why do you cause trouble wherever you go?!¡±


    This statement sounded unreasonable to the boy.


    ¡°What cause trouble? We were just listening to music, what¡¯s wrong? Just because others might go to Beili with different intentions, those who wishes to just listen to music is not allowed to visit?


    He continued in a sneering tone: ¡°Those with impure intentions will look at everyone and think dirty. Like that second son of the Fang n; arrogant when he hasn¡¯t seen us but when you invite him to join us he was so frightened that he disappeared in the blink of an eye!¡±


    This was the reason why His Majesty wanted Li Yuanying to shut up. Everything thates out of his mouth is justified into something that seems to make sense. Thinking about the future son-inw he himself has chosen, he felt worst. Looking at Yuanying from top to bottom, left to right, all he sees is an eyesore!


    ¡°I¡¯ll be going to Li Mountain in two days. If you manage to copy the entire <<Book of Songs>> <sup>[1]</sup>Shih Jing also known as ssics of poetry, the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetryprising 305 works dating from the 11th to 7th centuries BC. in two days, I¡¯ll take you with me.¡±


    When Yuanying heard this, his face turned bitter. Although he has grown up slightly and is reading much more, he has no interest in poems. Very boring with many umon words that he can¡¯t understand, what¡¯s so good about it!


    The boy asked tentatively: ¡°Then if I don¡¯t go to Li Mountain, can I not copy it?¡±


    Li Er sneered: ¡°Okay! Don¡¯t go anywhere else from now on. Up to you if you want to copy the book.¡±


    Li Yuanying immediately shut up.


    Both Li Yuanying and Li Chengqian were then promptly kicked out by the Emperor.


    Yuanying saw that his eldest nephew was trying his best to sneak in a good word for him and so he was touched. He spoke in a soft voice and shared his experience: ¡°Chengqian, you don¡¯t have to worry! As long as you reason with the Emperor, his anger will quickly dissipate. The Emperor punishes us just to shut other people¡¯s mouths, he¡¯s not mad at us anymore.¡±


    After that, he continued on earnestly trying to get Chengqian to understand and implement the basic principle of ¡°acting weak when the enemy is strong, and acting strong when the enemy is weak¡±. Whenever His Majesty, Old man Kong or other teachers were to scold them fiercely, you must just sincerely admit your mistakes. Then, just wait for the episode to pass before continuing to do bad things after!


    Chengqian recalled the scene of Yuanying getting along with his father, he vaguely could guess why his father is so tolerant towards this uncle. Ordinary people do not have the bravery orck of shame like Li Yuanying!


    ¡°I¡¯ll remember this.¡± (Li Chengqian)


    Li Yuanying showed off a satisfied proud face like he has just taught his disciple a new trick.


    They continued on another matter: ¡°There¡¯s news about doctor Sun from Yizhi. He¡¯s at a vige not far from Li Mountain. Since my father the Emperor is visiting Li mountain in two days, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem for the old doctor to pay a visit and treat him.¡±


    Yuanying was ecstatic. ¡°Looks like the Fang n still has a rather reliable son, unlike the other one.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a just teenager. Who isn¡¯t promiscuous at that age? It¡¯s not a big deal that he¡¯s at Beili.¡± (Li Chengqian)


    Yuanying was still not satisfied as he¡¯s very concern about the well-being and happiness of his nieces.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong in going to Beili, the issue is that he didn¡¯t dare to admit it. He doesn¡¯t give off a responsible vibe. Old Fang is powerful but if his son can¡¯t stand up for himself, it doesn¡¯t matter how powerful dad is, it¡¯s useless. If you were Gao Yang, would you want such a husband!¡±


    ¡°You make much sense but the kid is only in his teens. Who¡¯s to say he wouldn¡¯t mature and be more responsible and stand up for himself in the future?¡± He patted Yuanying¡¯s shoulder and advised him not to overthink. Instead, better go and finish his homework.


    Yuanying carried a bitter look to find the book he needed. Much to his dismay, this thing has several times more words than the Book of Rites!


    Li Yuanyingined to Lady Wu who helped him locate the book:¡±Why do you think the Emperor wants me to copy this stuff? I don¡¯t want to read so many poems!¡±


    ¡°The poems in the <<Book of Songs>> were originally bads collected during the Zhou Dynasty. In it are three main genres: folk songs, court music, and songs of praises. The first onees from themon public where they sing of their thoughts and practices. The second one is court music yed by nobles during banquets or official ceremonies and the final one being music used during ceremonies at the ancestral temple. There are also some satirical chants from themon people.¡± (Lady Wu of Talents)


    She continued with a smile: ¡± His Majesty wants you to copy this, maybe because he wants you to learn more about etiquette and music.¡±


    Hearing this, Yuanying instantly understood the Emperor¡¯s intentions: ¡°Hmmph! Last time I was asked to copy the Book of Rites and this time the Book of Songs. Such a bad person! If you want to punish someone then just punish them. Don¡¯t have to also take the opportunity to take a jab at me about myck of musical knowledge!¡±


    Lady Wu chose not to respond. Not everyone can freely talk bad about the Emperor behind his back.


    In the whole world, she¡¯s only seen one guy bold enough.


    Yuanying didn¡¯t say anything else and just walked away with his thick book. As he walked home, he swore in his heart that when his corns are ready for harvest, everyone would get a packet of popcorn except the Emperor Li Er. Let¡¯s leave him out and make him jealous!


    There were more than 300 poems and the boy immersed himself in working on them for the next two days. However, he only managed toplete a small portion of his homework on the day of his departure.


    Yuanying¡¯s inner desire to y truant became strong and he went to see his brother with his partially finished work and cried: ¡°No matter how much I copy, I can¡¯t finish it!¡±


    The Emperor nced at him and said lightly: ¡°Pack up, we¡¯re going to Li mountain.¡±


    Seeing Li Yuanying¡¯s overjoyed face, he paused for a moment before slowlypleting his sentence,: ¡°After arriving at Li mountain, you continue working on it, you¡¯ll finish it one day.¡±


    Li Yuanying: ¡°¡­¡±


    He then decided to ignore His Majesty Li Er.


    The Emperor is making a trip here to try andrecuperate his sick body so he did not bring many people with him. Even the Crown prince was left behind to deal with the court affairs. Before leaving, Chengqian gave Yuanying his personal token and asked him to personally escort Sun Simiao. Since this is a matter regarding the Emperor, he wouldn¡¯t trust others to carry out the task.


    Li Yuanying is rarely entrusted with heavy responsibilities so he put away the token carefully. He also managed to hear some gossip about the Fang family from Chengqian: Fang Xuanling immediately went to ask the Emperor for forgiveness the next day. He reasoned that his second son is naughty and so had been taught a hard lesson. I heard that Fang¡¯s second son has be sick and hasn¡¯t been seen outside. Not sure if it¡¯s real illness or if he was beaten by his father. Moreover, Fang Xuanling had two wounds on his neck, looks like someone scratched at him!


    This incident of Li Yuanying¡¯s managed to make the Fang household go crazy!


    Yuanying thinks that he¡¯s innocent: ¡°I really just wanted to listen to a song, who knew he woulde make amotion and snatch people?¡±


    Chengqian didn¡¯t think the boy was wrong. After all, he didn¡¯t know about Beili before this incident. He didn¡¯t say more about the incident but only persuaded him that Gao Yang¡¯s marriage is being taken care of by the Emperor and he doesn¡¯t have to worry too much about it. The most important task at hand is to ask Doctor Sun to heal the Emperor¡¯s ailments. If he could heal all pain and old injuries on the Emperor, even better¡±


    Yuanying agreed and immediately ran away with the token of his eldest nephew.


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü1Shih Jing also known as ssics of poetry, the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetryprising 305 works dating from the 11th to 7th centuries BC.

 Chapter 34

    Chapter 34


    Limountain is located not toofar from Chang¡¯an. It didn¡¯t take long for the group to arrive at the hot spring area.


    Due to continuous conflictat the end of the Sui Dynasty and a rather emptytreasury belonging to theTang Emperor, Li Mountain Pce has not been restored on arge scale and lookedrathertatteredeven though both Li Er and the previous Emperor would often visit this area for short getaways.


    Li Yuanying was on his best behavior for it was onlytwo days agothat the Emperor was furious at him. He was well behaved all the wayand there was no trouble at all.


    His Majesty and his entourage had a mend after dark, he led a few close vassals to the hot spring.


    The spring water at Limountain isamong the best in the world. Various Imperial doctors have sworn that thenatural hot spring helps inrecuperating the body. Li Er has been in paindue to the recurrence of old injuries and finally managed to rx when he dip into the hot spring.


    Li Yuanying and Li Zhi were together.


    The night view was great and Li Yuanying felt that it was a tad bit boring tojustsoak inthe hot spring. He thenbegan tellingthe others ghost stories.


    Storytelling is Li Yuanying¡¯s specialty. He doesn¡¯t tell ghost stories from the educated ssbut instead picksstories that his followers have gathered from the general public. Inparison, these stories were more down-to-earth and closerto real life.


    As Li Zhi has known his friend for a long time, he managed toremain calm. Thesame can¡¯t be said about theother princes who were soaking together, they had no resistance to Li Yuanying¡¯s storytelling ability.Listening to him, they felt that the wind was blowingeerily. It almost felt like a hand would stretch out from within the pool to grab them or the servants might turn into monsters.


    As the stories got more terrifying,theyounger boys couldn¡¯t endure it anymore. They quickly crawled out from the hot spring crying ¡°Lord Father!¡±and ran awayto look for Li Erbutt naked.


    Yuanying has sessfully scaredaway hisgroup of friendsand was extremelyhappy. He leaned back on a rock and said to Li Zhi:¡°Without them, it¡¯s so much more spacious!¡±


    Li Zhi remainedspeechless.


    After a while, he spoke:¡°Be careful, they mightin to theEmperor.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t me me for their own timidness! Isn¡¯t there a saying: If I¡¯ve not wronged anyone in life, I wouldn¡¯t be afraid of theknock on the door in the middle of the night? Look, aren¡¯t we both not afraid?¡±


    It¡¯s not that Li Zhi wasn¡¯tafraid, he has beenfrightenedtoo many timesby Li Yuanying already and isused to it.


    Li Zhi asked curiously: ¡°Where did you find so many bizarre stories?¡±


    ¡°There is no shortage of stories in the pce. Do you know where the people that serve youe from?¡±


    Li Zhishook his head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know eitherbut Iknowtheyale from different ces. There are many legends and stories circting in each person¡¯shometown. Some are unique andsomewithsimrpatterns but all interesting. WhenI was younger I refused to sleep and so I got the people around me to tell me stories.Because I liked listening to them, my servantsgradually got reced by thosewho could tell stories.When they¡¯ve exhausted their collection,they would proactively collect new ones to stay by my side. This way, I would be exposed toall the legends and stories from the world!¡±


    Although Li Yuanying is notoriouslyknown as the little devil, those serving him live an easy and rewarding life. Many are envious of Dai Tingwho is always by the Prince¡¯s side.


    ¡°This shows that the people below follow the habit of their leader. Take PrinceChuLingwho had a slender waist,those under him had toendure hunger and were so thin that they had to lean against the wall to stand up. Or Duke Jin Wenwho lives a simple frugal life, sothose under him often wore simple clothesand lived simple lives.¡±(Li Zhi)


    Li Yuanying has no patience for serious topics like this. So he instead leaned on the stone bank and promptly doze off.


    Li Zhi was afraid that he would really fall asleep, so heshookhim: ¡°Don¡¯tfasleep. Theimperial doctor might have said that this spring water is good but it still shouldn¡¯t besoaked for too long.¡±


    Li Yuanying yawned: ¡°Alright, alright.No more soaking,let¡¯sgo back to sleep!¡± He was indeed sleepy, so he put on hisunderwear and went back to hisroom barefeet.


    Li Zhi didn¡¯t expect Li Yuanying to be so straightforward.


    He didn¡¯t feel much when Yuanying was with him but as soon asheleft, the ghost stories started shing into Li Zhi¡¯s mind. So scary!


    Li Zhi ran back to his roomand started reciting passagesfrom books he has read one after another to stop his brain from going wild.


    On the other side, Li Er was talking to Zhangsun Wujiwhen a few bare-butt sonsran towards him in fright.


    Li Er asked, only to find outthat Li Yuanying has beenacting like the littledemon again. He¡¯s too exhausted to get angry and so allowed hissons to crowd into his pool to soak together.


    After the group left, the Emperor enquire for updates from his servantsand soon learned that Li Yuanying had already gone back and wassleepingsoundly.


    Damn, this kid. After scaringothers, he¡¯s not a tad bit afraidbut is sleepingsoundly!


    .¡­¡­¡­¡­


    Early the next morning, Yuanying copied a few poems and show them to His Majesty and wanted him to feedback if his calligraphy skills had improved.


    Li Er took a quick look. Indeed the brat¡¯s writing has improved, much better than his initial horrible talisman scribbling-like writing.


    His Majesty nodded with satisfaction: ¡°It¡¯s not bad. I can see that you have worked hard.¡±


    Li Yuanying took advantage of the situation and told Li Er his negotiation with his eldest nephew: ¡°Chengqian has sent people to inquire for days and finally found the whereabouts of genius doctor Sun. He happens to be treating people nearby for the past two months.¡± He took out the token which belonged to Chengqian: ¡°Since Imperial doctors have no cure for your illnesses, Chengqian and I are thinking of asking doctor Sun to treat you!¡±


    Li Er was not surprised that his little brother would tell Li Chengqian about theirst conversation but he didn¡¯t show any change in his expression.


    His Majesty Li Er has always been satisfied with Li Chengqian as his son and as the Crown Prince. Facing his son¡¯s rebellious phase in recent years, he hasn¡¯t thought of a way to deal with it. He¡¯s the ruler of a country and the head of the Li family, it is impossible for him to always lower his stature and share too many soothing words with his children, especially not towards the crown prince.


    Seeing that Yuanying was getting close to him, Li Er had the intention of making his brother a messenger to convey some messages he wanted to tell his son.


    But Yuanying didn¡¯t know his thoughts. Seeing that Li Er was unmoved, he felt that his brother was cold-hearted and doesn¡¯t show emotions.


    Yuanying could only sigh on behalf of His Majesty: ¡°Chengqian, this child, how filial he is! Knowing that you¡¯re gued by old illnesses, he couldn¡¯t sleep at night!¡±


    His Majesty Li Er couldn¡¯t maintain his poker face when he heard the kid mention ¡°Chengqian, this child¡±. He raised his hand and knocked on Yuanying¡¯s forehead.


    Yuanying felt that he¡¯ll one day be stupid from Li Er¡¯s excessive hits on his forehead.


    The boy decided to ignore the Emperor. He took his two guards and went out to look for Li Dejian who would be apanying him for this outing.


    Li Dejian and Li Chengqian were good friends. Chengqian had asked his men to inform Dejian of Sun Simiao¡¯s whereabouts and also requested that Dejian escort Yuanying to look for the old doctor.


    Being made aware that Yuanying has gotten His Majesty¡¯s approval, Li Dejian took Yuanying out of the pce to visit Sun Simiao in a nearby vige.


    It has been more than 20 years since the Tang Empire was founded and the damages caused by the war have gradually subsided. The fields around Li Mountain Pce have returned to their former peaceful appearance, full of vitality in spring.


    Yuanying seldom walks in fields and felt everything was new which made him curious. From time to time, he would stop to observe his surroundings; from how farmers plow thend with cattle to the way dragonflies would stop on tender seedlings.


    Seeing the boy¡¯s action, Dejian chose not to rush him. He instead let the boy move at his own pace and walked slowly towards the vige.


    Before hegot close to the vige, he saw an old tree so big it¡¯ll require several people to hug it to cover its circumference. Then, he heard faint voicesing from under the tree. If you listen carefully, you can vaguely hear something along the lines of ¡°The sky is blue and the earth yellow, the universe is created from a vast chaotic state¡± a line from the literature <<Thousand Character ssic>> which started to gain fame during the previous dynasty.


    This was the same text Yuanying started with in his early schooling days. The full text consists of nearly a thousand differentmonly used characters, which help beginners to recognize characters. Various stories and moral values were also built into the texts.


    He walked over curiously and found a young boy around the same age as Li Zhi (11 or 12 years old) standing under the tree with scroll in hand teaching several children sitting neatly under the tree.


    Some sat on mats and some directly on the ground, all around the age of 10. They sat with straightened backs earnestly following in the recitation of the text.


    Yuanying thought it was rather strange, how could a teenager be a teacher?


    The teaching boy didn¡¯t notice Yuanying and his party approaching from afar. He took a piece of charcoal and wrote characters on the tree for hispanions to learn. There is a small stream nearby and after every word, the boy washes it clean with water and writes a new word.


    Yuanying watched for a while longer before he was noticed by the teenager who then folded his hands and bowed in salutation.


    ¡°What business does these esteemed guests have with our Tang vige?¡±


    The children sitting under the tree looked at Yuanying curiously and realized that his clothes were luxurious and his guards imposing.


    Yuanying followed suit and folded his hands and bowed to the teenager. He was forting in his intentions with nothing to hide: ¡°I¡¯m here to look for old doctor Sun. An elder in my family is ill and so I would like to request old doctor Sun to treat him.¡±


    ¡°You came at the right time. A few days more and doctor Sun will not be here anymore.¡±


    The teenager instructed his pupil to revise the materials he has taught and personally led the party into the vige.


    Li Yuanying was fond of this young man so he did a self-introduction: ¡°My surname is Li, and my name Yuanying. You can call me by my name. What¡¯s your name?¡±


    Li was amon surname and so the young man didn¡¯t have many thoughts about it except that Yuanying might be the son of some powerful noble family.


    The young man replied tly with no hint of being humble or arrogant: ¡°My surname is Tang, and I have a single name- Xuan. You can call me Ah Xuan.¡±


    Li Yuanying nodded and asked what he was doing just now.


    Tang Xuan exined that his family was better off than most in the vige and so he had the opportunity to go to school. He thinks that even though his friends were poor and cannot afford education, it would still be good if they can recognize a few words. Even if these people will never take part in the imperial exams, being literate would allow them to have an additional skill and hopefully, they would be able to demand more wages.


    So Tang Xuan decided to teach his fellow vigers in his spare time.


    He has already taught a good portion from <<Thousand Character ssics>> and with that he has not only taught others but also remembers them firmly himself, killing two birds with one stone.


    ¡°You are really amazing.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Tang Xuan shook his head:¡±Just doing what I can.¡±


    ¡°While this is something that everyone can do, it¡¯s not something that everyone is willing to do. You¡¯re amazing.¡±


    Tang Xuan blushed a little with such a straightforwardpliment. He smiled shyly, pointed to a humble farmhouse in front of him, and said, ¡°Old Doctor Sun lives here. Recently, he is teaching the vigers how to collect medicine.¡±


    There were many mountains and forests around and so medicinal materials were abundant. Learning about medicinal herbs is a good new knowledge for vigers and so many gather at the farmhouse daily to learn how to identify, collect and dry them. It was slightly less crowded today as Sun Simiao mentioned that the weather these past two days was cooler and he wanted to enter the mountains for collection.


    Tang Xuan then added: ¡°Yesterday doctor Sun entered the mountain. I¡¯m not sure if he has returned, if he¡¯s not back yet, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to wait.¡±


    Li Yuanying said spontaneously: ¡°I can wait.¡±


    Tang Xuan nodded and stepped forward to knock on the door.


    No answer.


    Tang Xuan turned to look at Li Yuanying.


    He wasn¡¯t disappointed but said with great interest: ¡°Since old doctor Sun has not returned, let¡¯s go back to the big tree and I¡¯ll assist you in teaching!¡± He continued boasting: ¡°I¡¯ve already finished the Analects of Confucius and the Book of Rites. Now I¡¯ve been studying the Book of Songs, so I can teach them a new poem!¡±


    Of course Li Yuanying conveniently failed to mention that <<Book of Songs>> was a punishment given to him just a few days ago by his brother the Emperor.


    Tang Xuan had long guessed that the boy was from a noble family. Seeing that Yuanying was a few years younger but had already read so much, he greatly admired him. He immediately led Yuanying back to the ce where he was teaching his fellow vigers.


    Although Li Yuanying had not taught people seriously, he has rich experience in pretending. Give him a group of young vigers who were thirsty for knowledge and he will manage to teach them very smoothly.


    And so Sun Simiao came back from the mountain with a basket filled with herbs to loud and clear chantinging from the entrance of the vige.


    ¡°Why did you say that there¡¯s nothing to wear? I will take my own cloak for you to share.The wares from the great will ¡­¡± <sup>[1]</sup>An excerpt from an ancient military song from Qin China -WuYi


    Sun Simiao stopped to look and saw a group of children sitting or standing under the big tree reciting in unison.


    Among the two standing children, one was Tang Xan whom he has known and thinks is a very good boy; the other was someone he had never seen before. He looked closely and saw that his lips were red, his teeth were white, his eyebrows were nicely shaped, someone blessed with good features and looks!


    What¡¯s even rarer is that the child was dressed in luxurious clothes and had a proud face. This is out of alignment with the rural vige setting but the boy stands in front of vige children with his hands behind his back. If not for his young age, I would have been fooled by his disposition and thought of him as a real teacher.


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü1An excerpt from an ancient military song from Qin China -WuYi

 Chapter 35

    Chapter 35


    Tang Xuan was the first one to notice Sun Simiao¡¯s return. He¡¯s been partners with Li Yuanying for half a day and really likes his new friend who is unreserved in personality. Upon seeing Sun Simiao, he requested the others leave first and led Li Yuanying to him for a conversation.


    Someone had already came looking for him a few days ago. That person requested for doctor Sun to dy his travels for the Crown Prince Li Chengqian has a favor to ask from him. The Emperor has always treated Sun Simiao with courtesy and so Chengqian naturally had to follow suit and couldn¡¯t force the doctor to stay put for too long. He told Li Yuanying to visit him immediately with a token in hand and to personally invite Sun Simiao.


    Yuanying also liked his new friend and so he didn¡¯t see a need to hide his intentions. He followed Sun Simiao into the humble farmhouse and told him his purpose for visiting.


    As soon as Sun Simiao heard Li Yuanying¡¯s name, he knew his identity. When he heard that an elder in the family is sick, he immediately thought of His Majesty Li Er who was resting in Li Mountain.


    This is a tricky situation!


    The reason why imperial physician uses gentle methods to treat nobles and royalty is that it was difficult to treat them. If the medicines didn¡¯t work, that¡¯s still fine but if they use aggressive methods and it backfires, they might lose their head.


    Li Yuanying kept looking at Sun Simiao. He has an unpredictable expression and looked like a poker face old immortal. Yuanying immediately straightened himself and bowed to Sun Simiao: ¡°Please visit my imperial brother.¡± Although the Emperor had always bullied him and loves to either make him copy books as punishment or to knock him on his forehead, he has already lost his doting father and his gentle royal sister-inw. He doesn¡¯t want to lose this bad royal brother of his.


    Sun Simiao saw that the boy¡¯s words and attitude were sincere and he didn¡¯t have the heart to refuse. He never liked being bounded by official position and didn¡¯t want to have too much involvement with the royal family. But seeing this half-baked teenager making such a heartfelt request, he didn¡¯t want to disappoint him.


    Tang Xuan who was still listening was left stunned. Since he hadn¡¯t been to too many ces and didn¡¯t have too much experience in life, he could only judge that Li Yuanying must be of extraordinary origin. He did not expect that he was royalty. A real nobleman.


    Sun Simiao stretched out his hands to help Yuanying stand and promised: ¡°I cane with you, but since the Emperor has not sent anyone to invite me previously, I¡¯m afraid I might be of little help so please don¡¯t expect too much.¡±


    When Li Yuanying heard the old doctor¡¯s agreement, he happily agreed: ¡°As long as you treat the Emperor, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be alright.¡±


    Since Sun Simiao has already agreed to his request, Yuanying became yful again: ¡± Lord Brother¡¯s old ailments have been with him for so long, he can wait a little longer! I just heard from Ah Xuan that the mushrooms in this area are delicious and fresh. Since it¡¯s coincidentally the mushroom season and if you touch the bottom of a tree, you¡¯ll find lots of big and great mushrooms! Such plump mushrooms must be delicious if used for stewing chicken. Let¡¯s try some first before returning to the pce.¡±


    Sun Simiao: ¡°¡­¡±


    Li Dejian: ¡°¡­¡±


    Li Yuanying sent a guard back to update the Emperor that he wouldn¡¯t be back for lunch. He then went to search for mushrooms with his new friend.


    While Yuanying happily followed Ah Xuan and brought back a small basket for mushrooms, Li Dejian has already pulled up his sleeves and started cooking the tender chicken. This untalkative second-generation officer was skilled.


    Yuanying leaned over to talk to him and found out that his mother has been weak since the beginning of spring and Li Dejian has been cooking easy-to-eat dishes for his mother.


    To obtain military books, Li Yuanying visited the Li¡¯s mansion a while back, and back then madam Li (Li Jing¡¯s wife) came out to see him. Although Madam Li is nearly sixty, you can still see signs that she was a great beauty when she was younger.


    The boy had heard stories about her. It is said that Mrs. Li¡¯s name is Hongfu and was a singer in someone¡¯s residence. When chaos broke out towards the end of the Sui Dynasty, she saw that Li Jing was quite heroic and started following him everywhere without hesitation. After Li Jing returned to the Tang Empire, she became Li Jing¡¯s wife.


    Hearing Li Dejian say that the gentle olddy was ill, heforted him: ¡°Once Doctor Sun has finished tending to the Emperor, do invite him to treat your mother, she will get better.¡±


    Li Dejian nodded. Others said that the Prince of Teng was a little devil but he has seen Li Yuanying from both sides and felt that the boy isn¡¯t like what the rumor makes him out to be.


    Yuanying and Ah Xuan ate the fragrant mushroom chicken stew at Sun Simiao¡¯s ce. The mushrooms were really fresh and the chicken raised by the vige tasted really good!


    Li Yuanying had a full stomach and was very satisfied. When he was about to leave, he took Tang Xuan¡¯s hand and said goodbye: ¡°If you even visit Chang¡¯an, go to the library in the western city and leave me a letter. If I can make it, I¡¯ll bring you around Chang¡¯an!¡± Although he hasn¡¯t visited all of Chang¡¯an himself, he must be bold when speaking in front of his friends. Otherwise, why would his friends want to get to know him better?!


    Tang Xuan being only a teenager quickly agreed upon hearing Li Yuanying¡¯s enthusiastic invitation. Before this, he isn¡¯t very interested in Chang¡¯an for it was just a ce that he needed to visit for the exams. Now that there¡¯s this agreement, Chang¡¯an holds a very different meaning to his heart.


    He also wanted to see the Library that the Prince mentioned.


    Tang Xuan seriously agreed: ¡°I will visit.¡±


    After a sessful future appointment with a new friend, Li Yuanying happily bid farewell and headed back to the pce with Sun Simiao.


    On this day, Li Zhi was looking for Yuanying only to find out that he¡¯s gone out after paying the Emperor a quick visit early in the morning. No idea where he went with his men. When it was time for lunch, this fellow then informed us that he had eaten outside, it was obvious that he was having fun!


    Li Zhi and the girls were feeling resentful: Why didn¡¯t you invite us along when you go out to y?


    His Majesty was not as dissatisfied as the children but he understands that deep down although Li Yuanying said his outing was to meet old doctor Sun but in actual fact he just wanted an excuse to go out and y!


    When Li Yuanying brought Sun Simiao back to the pce, the princesses rushed toward him together and started using him of not taking them out for a y trip.


    But who is Li Yuanying? He¡¯ll definitely not feel bad or repent just because the others use him. Not only did he not feel shameful for ying alone, he proudly told them that he made new friends and yed teacher with them for a long time!


    He then continued by telling them about his mushroom picking adventure in the forest. Since it was raining the past few days, the mountains were wet. Mushrooms were growing under trees and were easy to find. Since I pick them myself, they tasted especially delicious! Also, Li Dejian¡¯s skill in cooking chicken is top-notch. He plucked out all the feathers in record time. Super awesome!


    Sizi and Hengshan hearing this started pulling at Li Yuanying. ¡°I want to go too!¡±


    Yuanying shook his head: ¡°No, your father has now forbidden me from bringing you out.¡±


    Gao Yang ran toward the Emperor without hesitation. Crying that she wanted to go out with Li Yuanying and that she wanted to eat mushrooms and stewed chicken!


    The other three followed suit and started pulling and crying on His Majesty Li Er.


    Hearing all about Li Yuanying¡¯s good deeds, he got angry again. He then had to coax the four little lolis to go y by themselves and got someone to bring Li Yuanying the troublemaker over.


    As usual, Li Yuanying didn¡¯t panic when he saw Li Er¡¯s ck face. He sat down and chatted with him about his adventure, saying that he had traveled long and far to find the vige¡­and that he was tired and hungry and could no longer walk without first eating.


    Li Er sarcastically sighed: ¡°It must be really hard finding the doctor and asking for medicine. Isn¡¯t it fortunate Chengqian has already sent someone ahead to inform doctor Sun much earlier? Otherwise, he might have gone traveling around the world again, where then do we find him?!¡±


    He then sneered and expose Yuanying¡¯s nonsense: ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell Sizi and the others that the stewed chicken with fresh mushrooms outside was delicious?¡±


    Li Yuanying countered back with a usible excuse: ¡°I¡¯m an elder, how can I tell the others unhappy things? I must pick and share happy thoughts!¡±


    His Majesty didn¡¯t believe his nonsense. This kid knows that he¡¯s no longer allowed to take the princesses out and deliberately share fun and delicious experiences to make them cry.


    ¡°So did Doctor Sune back with you?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s waiting with the other imperial doctors. Just waiting for the Emperor to be free and he¡¯lle over to diagnose you.¡±


    Only after sending Li Yuanying away did the Emperor send someone to invite Sun Simiao over.


    Li Yuanying was dissatisfied with Li Er¡¯s behavior of crossing the river and demolishing the bridge. He walked away for a short distance but saw that no one was paying attention to him, so he turned back and eavesdropped at a corner.


    The guards of course noticed the sneaky behavior of His Royal Highness the Prince of Teng. It was negligence of duty thest time when the young prince posted a drawing at the entrance of the council hall. This time, they definitely cannot let Li Yuanying spy on the Emperor¡¯s private affairs. So they did not hesitate in ¡°inviting¡± him to move far away.


    Li Yuanying circled around indignantly.


    Only after about half an hour did Sun Simiaoe out from the hall.


    Li Yuanying ran up to him to enquire about the result but Sun Simiao shook his head and shared that the Emperor has requested that he remain silent. It¡¯s a serious offense to leak the affairs of the royal family, especially updates about the Emperor!


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t want to embarrass Sun Simiao and so went back to ask Li Er directly.


    His Majesty had already heard reports from the Imperial Guards that Li Yuanying had been wandering outside and was looking for an opportunity to eavesdrop on his conversation.


    Looking at his younger brother who was pulling at him for updates, his Majesty felt that the kid was both annoying and caring.


    After Sun Simiao diagnosed him, the first thing he wanted the Emperor to do was to put aside hisplicated affairs and take a good rest.


    This alone Li Ercould not do. He¡¯s in his prime and has many things to aplish, so how would he be willing to let go and recuperate?


    Since dropping everything to recuperate is out of the question, the rest of the methods are very much less effective. They will most likely treat the symptoms but not the root causes. No matter how brilliant Sun Simiao¡¯s medical skills are, it¡¯s impossible to cure him when he insists on being busy all year round!


    His Majesty will no longer tell Li Yuanying about these things. It¡¯s great that Sun Simiao can write a few pain-relieving recipes to help him get through the torment of the rpse of old injuries. Other than that, there¡¯s no need to think about anything else.


    The Emperor has already made up his mind so he said mercilessly: ¡°You¡¯ve never studied medicine before so why are you asking so much? If I tell you my problems can you cure them?¡±


    Li Yuanying was unhappy that his brother is treating him like a child. He scrunch his face unhappily and argued: ¡°I want to know!¡±


    Li Er calmly leaned on the table and nced at him: ¡°Have you finished your task of copying the Book of Songs?¡±


    Not only is His Majesty not telling him anything but he still remembers his punishment. Li Yuanying got angry: ¡°Lord Brother, you¡¯re so annoying!¡±


    After speaking, he ignored Li Er and ran away angrily.

 Chapter 36

    Chapter 36


    Li Yuanying was so thoroughly annoyed with his older brother that he identally ate too much dinner. He didn¡¯t feel like taking a dip in the hot spring and so he took the girls for a walk around the pce instead.


    When his dinner was digested, Yuanying had a new idea. Since he was going to open an academy that would teach everything, he naturally needed to offer a course on medicine.


    To teach people about medicine, you first need to have good medical books!


    If Sun Simiao could record down all his knowledge and share them with others, wouldn¡¯t that create many more genius doctors in the future?


    He requested the girls to return home to y, while he went straight to look for Sun Simiao.


    Sun Simiao often travels around the world. If I don¡¯t try to make him stay now, it¡¯ll be difficult to track him down next time!


    Since Sun Simiao is famous for being skilled, the imperial physicians did not rush to bed but instead gathered around to ask him for medical advice.


    Hearing that Li Yuanying came running, those present with Doctor Sun was astonished but quickly got up and left. All just to sessfully avoid Li Yuanying, the little devil king.


    Yuanying didn¡¯t care about what others thought of him. He sat down beside Sun Simiao and excitedly told him all about his ns to open a big academy.


    Once this kid wants to convince someone, he would spew one reason after another and can put forth long sentences in one breath: ¡°Nowadays, there aren¡¯t yet a proper collection of medical books and the number of doctors are quite limited. Lots of so-called traveling doctors are scams. Scamming someone off their money is not a big deal but human life is. First, let¡¯s not talk about wrong medication killing another person, but should there even be a slight dy in administering treatment, there will be consequences to the patient. When the academy teaches those who want to study medicine, this will create many doctors. With that, the people wouldn¡¯t have to worry about seeing a doctor!¡±


    The old doctor that Yuanying¡¯s idea was good, but difficult to achieve.


    ¡°When are you going to open this academy?¡±


    ¡°Once I return to my ownnd!¡±


    Yuanying is well aware that his answer sounded like it would take ce far into the future so he tried to convince Sun Simiao instead by telling him all about the library he has already set up, saying that he could put the books into the library first.


    He actively lobbied: ¡°Although I¡¯ve already brought in books shared by the imperial doctors and they are avable in the library, the books are too scattered. People who already know medicine need not read them and people with no knowledge will not understand them. Since you are so powerful, is there a way topile a book that teaches people how to cure diseases? If you canpile it for me, I can just recruit a few good teachers to share the knowledge. If you canpile it, I will ask Li Chunfeng to print lots of copies so that everyone has a chance to read it!¡±


    Li Yuanying kept talking and managed to persuade Sun Simiao.


    When talking, the boy kept mentioning mon people¡± and ¡°citizens¡± in a loud tone and it hit right at Sun Simiao¡¯s heart. Coincidentally, scam doctors is a major pain point for the old doctor.


    The methodical and systematic medical books that Li Yuanying kept mentioning have already been written by Sun Simiao sessively over the years. He has already named it <


    > <sup>[1]</sup>Qianjin Fang ¨C early Tangpendium of herbal medicine by Sun Simiao which means that the human life is as valuable as a thousand gold.


    In a way, the old doctor¡¯s thoughts were the same as the young prince. He has just never mentioned it to others.


    Sun Simiao pondered for a moment before promising in a warm tone: ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll stay in Chang¡¯an for a little while longer this time.¡±


    If Li Yuanying is indeed true to his words then it¡¯ll be okay to hand the book over to him afterpletion. After all, he wrote this book intending to prevent people from being cheated by quack doctors and to get timely treatment.


    The boy was happy when he heard the agreement. Thinking back about Li Er¡¯s irritating words, he moves toward Sun Simiao and raises one more request: ¡°Can you also teach me how to diagnose sickness? You know, the type where you can tell what¡¯s wrong with a person by looking at their face! Bian Que was able to do this. With just one nce at Marquis Huan of Cai, he was able to diagnose how severely sick he was. That¡¯s so amazing! ¡°


    Sun Simiao shook his head: ¡°Doctors practice four methodologiesin medicine -seeing, hearing, asking, feeling. But not many can tell a disease by just seeing alone.¡±


    Li Yuanying said disappointingly: ¡°Oh. Even you can¡¯t do it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not possible.¡± (Sun Simiao)


    Sun Simiao looked at the boy carefully and shared his basic judgment from his observation: ¡°Your Royal Highness has flushed cheeks and your eyes are bright. The color of your lips and tongue are lustrous too. All these indicate that your Highness¡¯s body is healthy. Conversely, witheredplexion, dull eyes, skin and lips, and different tongue coatings are all signs of illness. To determine the specific disease, further diagnosis is needed. For example, start from the patient¡¯s daily life and see if a root cause can be identified or check the person¡¯s pulse to see if there¡¯s an indication of organ problems.¡±


    Li Yuanying listened carefully and thought it wasn¡¯t too difficult. He requested that the old doctor teaches him pulse diagnosis.


    ¡°There are many records in medical books on this topic but to hear the differences in pulse beat is difficult due to extremely subtle changes. One must discern quietly, otherwise, just a small difference might givepleted different results.¡±


    The implied meaning of Sun Simiao¡¯s words was simple. It¡¯s impossible for a yful person like Li Yuanying to calm down enough to learn this so let¡¯s just forget about it.


    But Li Yuanying would never admit that he cannot sit still and is not conscientious. He heard Sun Simiao and thought that the method of pulse diagnosis was extremely mysterious. He then said enthusiastically: ¡°I want to learn it!¡±


    Sun Simiao couldn¡¯t refuse such a positive child, so he shared a form for him to memorize.


    Li Yuanying was never interested in memorizing things but this time he was interested in the art of diagnosing through a person¡¯s pulse. He received the book in all seriousness. Once he has sessfully learned it, he¡¯ll know everything when he touches his brother¡¯s pulse!


    Carrying the goal of wanting to scare the Emperor to death with his new ability, Yuanying didn¡¯t go to bed upon returning home. He instead read the book that the old doctor gave him.


    Compared to others, Li Yuanying had great advantage. For as long as he finishes a book, the Myriad Realm Library allows him to store it and he can reread them at any given time. And within his Library, he doesn¡¯t have to sleep. His body is fully nourished all the time, ensuring that he leaves the ce in his best condition.


    This allows Li Yuanying to have twice as much study time efficientlypared to others.


    Of course, this was of no use to Li Yuanying in the past. After all, he rarely wanted to learn anything. He doesn¡¯tck anything and only wants to have fun. It¡¯s not like there¡¯s anyone who would y with him within the Myriad Realms Library.


    This time the boy tried his best to learn the method of pulse diagnosis and the usefulness of said Library was revealed. He only needed one night to thoroughly read the medical book given by the old doctor. On top of that, he was even able to identify all the internal organs mentioned in the book with the help of the system.


    The system directly gave Li Yuanying a simtion model. He could first understand the structure of the organs and bones of the human body and then the rules of blood flow and muscle movement.


    Although the simtion model was quite creepy to look at due to its realness Yuanying was naturally a courageous person. He even curiously reached out and poked the bright red heart that beats in the chest of the model. Very interesting.


    System:¡±¡­¡­¡±


    After helping him understand the basic structure, the system allows the model to simte the pulse of variousmon diseases for Li Yuanying to practice.


    In order not to exceed the outline, the system limited the scope of the simtion to those within the content of the medical book that he has just finished reading. This was also to not incorporate diseases that were discovered inter generations.


    From the system¡¯s point of view, this learning progress is normal. After all, everyone learns this wayin the future so there shouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t think there was a problem either. After all the system could simte an actual replica of Jiucheng Pce, what is the big deal in simting a person.


    The boy yed with all the pulse conditions that he was interested in. He felt that it was very convenient to learn pulse diagnosis like this! He excitedly made a request to the system: ¡°Why don¡¯t you rece the dummy¡¯s face with that of my brother?!¡±


    The system replied in a straight-forward manner: ¡°Custom models cost 100 points.¡±


    Li Yuanying said curiously: ¡°Didn¡¯t you say I have lots of points?¡±


    The system went silent for a while and then replied ¡°Yes.¡±


    After all, it¡¯s quite rare to get a host that shows no interest in the library like Li Yuanying. He has umted so many points but has not used them.


    Yuanying happily spent 100 points to rece the dummy¡¯s face to that of Li Er. He then said to the system: ¡°I want to see what a pregnancy pulse soundslike.¡±


    System:¡±¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±


    The system silently switches the model¡¯s body topregnancy state.


    Li Yuanying took the pulse of his pregnant ¡°Brother¡± in all seriousness and finally felt that his revenge had been avenged. He then went to bed happy!


    Early the next morning, Li Yuanying ran to Sun Simiao after breakfast and told him that he has finished reading.


    Sun Simiao was secretly surprised.


    The old doctor did a short examination and found that the boy wasn¡¯t lying. He could recite the entire volume of the book! Not only did he merely recite them, but he also managed to recreate the correct posture of taking a pulse.


    What¡¯s even more surprising is that the boy was not merely pretending but has understood the content of the book by heart. He¡¯s able to exin the methods of pulse detection in a clear-cut way!


    If it weren¡¯t for Li Yuanying¡¯s naive statement yesterday about wanting to learn to diagnose diseases through sight, Sun Simiao would have been skeptical about him never learning this before.


    Since the Emperor is making a trip to Li Mountain, naturally many servants followed him here. With that, there are bound to be people who get sick or injured and need medical attention daily. Sun Simiao wanted to put Li Yuanying to the test and so let him check the patient¡¯s pulse first before he would cross-check again.


    The results were obvious: As long as it was a symptom mentioned in the book, Li Yuanying could diagnose them correctly. If it¡¯s not within the book, Li Yuanying could only vaguely guess where the illness is in the body.


    This alone was enough to shock the old doctor. Many who have studied medicine for half their lives might not necessarily be at this level!


    If Li Yuanying weren¡¯t royalty, Sun Simiao would have chosen him as a close disciple and would teach him all he knows about medical skills.


    Unfortunately, he is royalty and why would someone of such high status be willing to be a low-ranking doctor?


    Sun Simiao sighed: ¡°I¡¯ll pass you a few more books to read. After that, I¡¯ll sort outmon pulse patterns that I¡¯ve encountered before and pass you a copy for reference.¡±


    Yuanying was overjoyed to have received the doctor¡¯s affirmation. He went back and continued reading the books that Sun Simiao had picked for him.


    When Sizi and the others came intending to y, Li Yuanying immediately boasted that he now knows how to take pulse. It only took him one night to learn! Since Sun Simiao the old genius doctor says that he has learned this skill, that should mean that he¡¯s now proficient in it!


    Both Sizi and Hengshan said in shock, ¡°Young Uncle is amazing!¡±


    Chengyang nodded in agreement.


    Li Zhi and Gao Yang looked on in disbelief. They have never heard about him learning about pulse diagnosis. Could it be that the old doctor was so remarkable that he managed to teach someone in one day? Totally impossible!


    If you were to brag about other things, you might get away with it but a lie about pulse diagnosis will be easy to expose.


    Gao Yang lifted her sleeves up revealing a fair and delicate wrist. She then raised her eyebrows at Li Yuanying in disbelief: ¡°Then take my pulse, let me see if you really have skills!¡±


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü1Qianjin Fang ¨C early Tangpendium of herbal medicine by Sun Simiao

 Chapter 37

    Chapter 37


    Would Li Yuanying be cowardly? Of course not. He got Gao Yang to sit down and started lecturing her on all sorts of things like you¡¯re not sitting properly, you¡¯ve been running so the pulse will not be urate, and so on. Gao Yang sat up upright and waited for the time limit imposed before stretching out her arm again.


    After Yuanying¡¯s psychological tactics, Gao Yang¡¯s doubts disappeared by half and she waited for his diagnosis.


    Yuanying pressed on Gao Yang¡¯s pulse point and after careful observation, he concluded that her body was perfectly fine. But merely sharing his conclusion will not allow him to show off his ability, so he deliberately put on a serious face and took her pulse repeatedly.


    If Yuanying were to say that she was ill, Gao Yang wouldn¡¯t believe him. So he acted hesitant to speak and Gao Yang felt anxiousness creep into her heart. She asked uneasily: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Li Yuanying said solemnly: ¡°You have eaten too much, your wrists is too fat, so I can¡¯t tell urately!¡±


    Gao Yang: ¡°¡­¡±


    Gao Yang got up to hit Li Yuanying but the boy reacted faster and ran away! The two children chased each other around the corridor and when they could no longer run, they shook hands and made peace. The running was loud and the Emperor heard it from his office on the other side.


    ¡°That brat makes trouble wherever he goes.¡± (Li Er)


    Wei Zheng and the rest of the ministers did not answer to his statement. The boy is indeed a jerk, but why not think about who allows him to grow up that way?! When you left the pce for the hot springs, why did you bring him along with you? Doesn¡¯t this subtly imply that you enjoy his troublesome antics?


    Gao Yang¡¯s pulse was fine so Yuanying ignored her. He instead turns to the other children to practice. Li Zhi didn¡¯t have any major problems but he was a little restless, couldn¡¯t sleep well and his body was a little weak. Li Yuanying hasn¡¯t learned how to treat illness and so he told Li Zhi his conclusion and requested that he figure out the treatment himself. This is just a simple ailment, it shouldn¡¯t require medicine, just pay attention to your diet!


    Li Zhi realized that Li Yuanying said something that made sense and so he noted down his suggestion with slight suspicion.


    Li Yuanying checked Chengyang¡¯s pulse. All good.


    When it was Sizi¡¯s turn, Li Yuanying put on a stunned expression and paused for a moment to think before checking her pulse again. Seeing Sizi looking at him nervously, he said with a smile: ¡°Sizi has also gained weight recently. Uncle needs to try reading your pulse again!¡±


    Sizi was good-tempered and didn¡¯t get angry when someone called her fat. She touch her face with her hands and asked Yuanying happily: ¡°Have I really grown fat? Father said that he likes me to eat more. To grow a bit more chubby.¡±


    Only then did Yuanying realize that Sizi was rather thin. She was one year older than Hengshan but looked exactly like her sister. He carried Sizi up to gauge her weight and nodded firmly: ¡°Yes, you¡¯ve put on weight!¡±


    Sizi hugged him and smiled happily.


    He then put her down before checking her pulse seriously: ¡°Sizi is fine.¡±


    Sizi happily repeated the result: ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡±


    Finally it was Hengshan¡¯s turn. She obediently stretched out her little hand for diagnosis.


    The pulse of Hengshan is also stable, nothing unusual.


    After this activity, the children continued with a storytelling session. After that, the other children went back for lunch while Li Yuanying went to look for Sun Simiao again.


    Seeing that the young boy has returned to him yet again, Sun Simiao was worried that he would again say that he has finished reading all the books. However, seeing the boy looking a little off he asked: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Sizi was born slightly weak. She has been fine these past few years but gets sick easily in autumn. When I diagnose her just now, I found that she has a sunken pulse that is undetectable when pressed lightly. You needed to press much harder to get a reading. I¡¯m afraid that it¡¯s a sign that shouldn¡¯t be taken lightly¡±


    Seeing that the doctor was listening intently, he continued sharing his daily observations. Sizi¡¯s body is weaker than others; her digestion is not very good and she¡¯s prone to sweating in summer and coughing in autumn and winter.


    The weather has been quite erratic recently. It¡¯s still warm when I fell asleep but is freezing in the middle of the night. I¡¯m afraid Sizi might have caught a cold. Even if it¡¯s not obvious now, I think we should pay attention to it. After all, isn¡¯t prevention better than cure?!


    As Li Yuanying is only a beginner, he didn¡¯t dare to jump to a conclusion. So he has decided tofort Sizi before quietlying here to Sun Simiao for confirmation.


    Listening to Li Yuanying in all seriousness, Sun Simiao nodded: ¡°You can¡¯t tell what¡¯s going on with just the pulse. You need to also incorporate further investigation and inquiries. You should only judge after looking at all aspects.


    Although Sizi was a young child, she was still a princess from the Li family. Sun Simiao being an external doctor can¡¯t just randomly visit her for diagnosis. And if Li Yuanying were to run to His Majesty with a random and dubious pulse reading saying that ¡°I have been studying pulse reading for one day and feel that there¡¯s something wrong with Sizi so please quickly treat her¡±, I¡¯m afraid the Emperor will just kick him out!


    Sun Simiao considered the options and asked Li Yuanying to stay around. He found some patients and simultaneously treated them while teaching Yuanying how tobine all the results to draw a conclusion.


    Since this is concerning Sizi, Yuanying quickly agreed and rolled up his sleeves to act as an apprentice. He followed his teacher and learn all about the method of seeing, hearing, asking, and feeling.


    Among all the diagnostic methods, the most difficult was pulse reading. Since Li Yuanying was able to learn this easily, the rest is naturally not too difficult. What hecks is clinical practice.


    There were only so many people in this vacation pce and so the number of patients quickly dwindled. Li Yuanying waited and saw that they have no more patients and so he boldly proposed to Sun Simiao to treat themon people outside the pce instead.


    The word Free Clinic was introduced to the boy by Sun Simiao. The old doctor said that to gain exposure to unique and difficult diseases when he was a young doctor with no credibility yet, he would set up a booth on the street to offer free medical services as an opportunity to be in touch with arger number of patients.


    He imagined a lively scene. Li Yuanying likes liveliness the most and when he heard that he can y this way, he was eager to try it!


    ¡°It¡¯s gettingte today. Let¡¯s go tomorrow. If you want to start a free clinic, you¡¯ll have to prepare medicines. Some medicines may not bemonly found in ordinary medicine halls on such short notice¡± (Sun Simiao)


    Li Yuanying heard this and immediatelymitted that all expenses for any medicine will be borne by him. After all, he can¡¯t always expect the old doctor to contribute in both effort and cost.


    Thinking about his uing free clinic adventure, Li Yuanying didn¡¯t even go home for dinner. He followed Sun Simiao for staff dinner at the Imperial physician¡¯s office. Concurrently, he also got the doctors to sell him a small medicine box. He then followed Sun Simiao around packing medicines. Whatever medicine Sun Simiao took, Li Yuan took a little too, acting like a copycat.


    Sun Simiao has trained many disciples but this is the first time he has encountered such a dynamic person. Li Yuanying is literally following him around everywhere.


    As the royal family gathered to have dinner, the Emperor counted the ¡°little radish heads¡± (referring to the children) and found that one was missing. Upon probing, he found out that Li Yuanying has somehow managed to run away again to look for Sun Simiao. In addition, the kid has been acting like a copycat, following exactly what the doctor has been doing. He even decided to have dinner with him.


    Li Er thought back about what he said to his younger brother earlier about him never studying medicine before. Did his casual mention cause the boy to go and study medicine with Sun Simiao? Even if that idiot starts to learn now, how long will it take before he shows results?


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, we won¡¯t wait for him, let him do whatever he likes.¡±


    Sizi enthusiastically told her father about their afternoon activity: ¡°Young uncle is so amazing! He has learned how to read pulse!¡±


    Gao Yang hummed: ¡°Please! He¡¯s obviously pretending!¡±


    His Majesty agreed with Gao Yang. After having dinner with his family, he took his ministers to the hot spring to discuss government affairs.


    It was only after the moon has rose high up in the sky that the Emperor finally release his trusted men home for rest. He then walked back under the moonlight.


    Halfway through the journey, Li Er remembered his horrible yet caring little brother. It¡¯s a rare thing for him to volunteer to study on his own. Li Er then decided to award him with a set of colored ss cups that the boy had been eyeing for a long time.


    Actually, the cups were not a favorite of Li Er. He has just been frequently using it whenever Li Yuanying is around to make him jealous. For example, this trip to Li mountain.


    Although colored ss was expensive, it can be purchased at a high price. But this particr set has a special texture. The whole body is crystal clear making it incredibly beautiful. Li Yuanying fell in love with it at first nce but His Majesty has refused to give it to him. Because of this, his younger brother severed ties with him for days ter this feud ended because the young boy wanted to eat money cannot buy lychee sent from the South).


    Li Yuanying yed by Sun Simiao¡¯s side until the pce gate was about to be locked and came running home. Hearing that Li Er has gifted the set of colored ss cups to him, he was taken aback. He concluded that his older brother must be plotting something against him.


    What¡¯s that saying? One who offers unsolicited hospitality must be harboring evil intentions!


    He carefully opened the box containing the ss cups and found that they were indeed the exact ones that he has always wanted.


    He was a little puzzled as to why His Majesty was being so kind all of a sudden. He couldn¡¯t think of any reason even after much pondering. Since there¡¯s no conclusion, he decided to not think about it at all and just toy with his new present before reading more medical books from doctor Sun.


    Early the next morning, after breakfast, Li Yuanying ran to meet Sun Simiao in high spirits. Hearing that Sun Simiao was going to teach Li Yuanying on-site, the other imperial physicians were surprised.


    With doubts and envy, all the imperial physicians sent their apprentices to follow Sun Simiao hoping that they will learn something from him. Otherwise, it would be aplete waste to just tell the Prince of Teng!


    Sun Simiao didn¡¯t mind people helping with errands so he let them help with carrying the supplies. He sees the intentions of the imperial physicians clearly but he firmly believes that these apprentices will soon find out that Li Yuanying, who has only started two days ago, learns much faster than them!


    There were various counties with dense poptions beneath Li Mountains. This is the first time Li Yuanying is visiting and he looked around with great interest. It was only when Sun Simiao called him to enter the medicine hall that Li Yuanying obediently followed.


    Sun Simiao shared his intention of setting up a free clinic and borrowed pen and paper from the pharmacy to write ¡°free clinic for one day¡± and posted it outside. He then requested that his apprentices bang the Gong to attract attention.


    Since there aren¡¯t many lively events in this town, the people were attracted by the noise and gathered around.


    Hearing that there was an old genius doctor who was providing free medical consultation, they were suspicious. It¡¯s only when they poke their heads into the room and saw Sun Simiao with a youthful appearance, ruddyplexion, and high spirits that their doubts begin to disappear.


    Upon further probing, the crowd found out that it was Sun Simiao and were even more convinced. Some lined up on the spot and those who were not sick quickly ran back to inform those in need in their neighborhood.


    As news of Sun Simiao¡¯s free clinic spread, people whether sick or otherwise rushed to town. They either wanted to take the opportunity to cure their stubborn illness or simply to see what old doctor Sun looked like!


    Seeing thismotion, Li Yuanying¡¯s eyes widened.


    Wow, this is really fun!


    Sure enough, I came to the right ce!

 Chapter 38

    Chapter 38


    Li Yuanying¡¯s excitementsted for only a short while. Seeing that there were many haggard-looking faces in the queue and all fitting Sun Simiao¡¯s description of those with ¡°ailment in the body¡±, he followed the doctor around and worked hard.


    Doctor Sun is someone with vast experience and so he remained calm despite the long line outside. He slowly exined to the young prince all about discerning illnesses through seeing, hearing, asking, and feeling.


    Yuanying nodded. While he was treating patients with familiar symptoms, he can already draw references from previous cases and look into it like how his teacher would have done. As long as Sun Simiao has taught him once, he doesn¡¯t need him to be taught a second time.


    The apprentices apanying them were shocked. The old doctor did not deliberately slow down his pace to exin things to the young prince. He worked at his usual speed and at most would answer questions from the boy.


    After one round, Yuanying understood all about themon sickness prevalent in Spring. However, since he hasn¡¯t learned about prescribing medicine, he couldn¡¯t do that on his own.


    As for the other apprentices, they were still being restricted by what they have learned in the past and wereparing them to what Sun Simiao has been demonstrating. Still a long way to go before being able to fully digest everything!


    It was rumored that Li Yuanying was the little demon king and you should never get involved with him. But today, the apprentices felt that he was far nicer than all the other nobles and dignitaries.


    At the very least, they haven¡¯t seen any other nobleman who is willing to help Sun Simiao with such diligence. The young prince even volunteered to wipe his teacher¡¯s sweat and hand drinking water to him from time to time!


    This guy seems to have endless energy. Seeing that Sun Simiao was tired, he volunteered to check the patient¡¯s pulse on his behalf. Only when he has difficulties in diagnosing would he ask Sun Simiao to take a closer look.


    If this was a normal day, no one would believe the credibility of such a ¡°little doctor¡± but Li Yuanying was blessed with great features and looked like a child of a wealthy family. Therefore, there was a long queue waiting for the boy who was helping out Sun Simiao.


    Don¡¯t underestimate Li Yuanying as just a beginner. With this exposure, he is already able to advise others righteously. ¡°If you feel that your chest is tight and you¡¯re out of breath, don¡¯t just hide under the quilt, it¡¯s better to walk around more.¡± Others were shocked and asked how he knew.


    ¡°Look at your face, there are still red marks left behind from the mat you were sleeping on!¡±


    When others saw that the man really had red marks printed on his face, it became obvious that he got up from the bed just to join in the fun and they all startedughing.


    People here could afford to fall sick. Those who are ill would take the prescriptions given and pick up medicines from the medicine hall. Business is booming and the medicine hall shopkeeper greets the guests with a smile.


    In the afternoon, Li Yuanying decided to try the food from the surrounding vendors at random. He met many who came from the viges with rtives. It¡¯s obvious that they rushed here after being notified that the old genius doctor Sun is running a free clinic.


    Sick homeless people started arriving at noon. At first, they were quite reluctant to approach the clinic. However, when the leader tested the sentiment by walking forward and she was not driven away, they then brought their acquaintances who needed medical treatment.


    These people came to get a medical prescription. If they could afford it, they¡¯ll treat it, if it¡¯s too expensive then forget it.


    This is the first time the young prince is exposed to so many improvised people with ragged clothing. Li Mountain is not far from Chang¡¯an and it¡¯s not an exaggeration to say that it is located right at the feet of the Emperor. Why then are there so many who can¡¯t afford food or clothing or medical attention?


    While Li Yuanying had a good time in the morning, he started to feel ufortable and became much more quiet after seeing the group.


    Sun Simiao thought that the boy just thinks that the peasants, farmers, and beggars were dirty. He didn¡¯t give it much second thought, after all this is a child who grew up in heaps of gold and jade.


    ¡°You must be tired after attending to so many. Take rest, let me take over.¡± (Sun Simiao)


    The young prince had much on his mind and so he meekly obeyed. The only thing he did was ask Dong Xiaoyi to hand over some money to the medicine hall to pay for medicines for those who can¡¯t afford them.


    There were several homeless people present who were about the same age as Li Yuanying; all about ten years old. They were so unkempt ¨C barefoot, with loose hair, thin and dirty that it was hard to discern their gender.


    Yuanying thought about it and quickly ask Dong Xiaoyi to get new clothes. No need to be luxurious just ordinary ones and then also to buy some hot food. Otherwise, they¡¯ll get sick again even with medicine.


    He hasn¡¯t thought about a solution beyond such gestures. After all, he can give everyone here a good meal but he can¡¯t give sustain this if this was every other day.


    After quick arrangements, he sat back next to Sun Simiao and was staring at the dirty, ck hands that was stretched out towards them.


    Most who came here sick were not troubled by serious illnesses. It was due to dys in treatment that had weakened their bodies. If not for the ¡°charity stations¡± set up by the government around various temples that asionally feed and treat the homeless, I¡¯m afraid that many might not even survive one winter.


    When it was almost the group¡¯s turn to seek medical consultation, Dong Xiaoyi brought over the clothes ording to their sizes.


    Although it¡¯s quite impossible to tell their gender, most clothes worn by themon people were simr with not much distinction between males and females clothing. Dong Xiaoyi bought the mostmon and durable ones and gave them to the group ording to Li Yuanying¡¯s wishes.


    The group was shocked by the gesture but then quickly followed Dong Xiaoyi¡¯s instructions and thanked the young boy by kowtowing in respect.


    It¡¯s not amon practice in the pce to perform such a heavy show of respect. Li Yuanying normally does not even bow to His Majesty Li Er!


    Seeing them do this with their heads down and their voices ringing with thanks, Yuanying felt a loud knock on his heart which made his chest a little stuffy and painful.


    He didn¡¯t quite understand this feeling and so he stood up and personally helped the group up.


    He has always been articte but now he could only manage to say dryly: ¡°Your illness will get better, then life will get better.¡±


    Several thanked Li Yuanying in unison.


    After speaking, he quickly pulled them into a sitting position and asked for their arms to check their pulse one by one.


    Only after Sun Simiao was done with his patient did Li Yuanying update him about the situation. Their illnesses are not serious. But one person, in particr, has been suffering from cold for too long. Already coughing badly and her body hot. We need to get the temperature down quickly.


    Hearing this, Sun Simiao realizes that the boy was not judging these people but was quiet because he was thinking of ways to help them. He began to like Li Yuanying even more. The old doctor happily helped him to review the illnesses and prescribed them with various medical recipes.


    Yuanying saw that they obviously didn¡¯t have a roof over their head and so could not boil the medicine themself. He requested Dong Xiaoyi to discuss with the medicine hall and directed them to prepare the medicine for them to bring home.


    Since most had Spring rted illnesses, their symptoms were not too different. Yuanying left Sun Simiao¡¯s side and went to chat with the homeless and asked about their story on why they were wandering outside alone.


    The oldest in the group was actually a girl. ording to her, she is 11 but because there isn¡¯t enough food, she looked small and was about a head shorter than Yuanying.


    She told him that there was a severe drought in her hometown a few years ago. No one could afford food and had to abandon those who were too young to work. And so she was thrown out.


    The one who is now severely ill is her younger sister. Both were abandoned and didn¡¯t know their way home and so they have been begging outside for many years.


    The others all suffered simrly; some were thrown out and some had no living rtives. She saw that they were all young and na?ve. If she didn¡¯t initiate this they would all starve to death. Unfortunately, her younger sister caught a cold and everyone else is also sick.


    Most doctors disliked them because they were dirty and had no money. They wouldn¡¯t even allow them to enter. Seeing her sister¡¯s condition deteriorating by the day, the girl was getting desperate and could only cry by her side. Hearing that there¡¯s a free clinic avable, they quickly took turns carrying her and rush here.


    Listening to them, Yuanying asked for a string of copper coins and handed it to the leader.


    ¡°When you and your sister are better, go to a farm outside of Chang¡¯an called ¡°Sunflower garden¡±. Just say that you are rmended by the Prince of Teng. They will arrange work for you and if you are willing to work, you will have a ce to stay.¡±


    After hanging out frequently with Wei Shu, Yuanying became aware that the golden and silver ingots he used in the pce to reward others were rarely used outside. He also recalls a story about how immersed wealth ruined a man due to others¡¯ jealousy and so he didn¡¯t give the group much but just enough to cover the expenses to reach his sunflower garden.


    Li Mountain is not that far from Chang¡¯an. Even if they were robbed, they can still reach the ce by walking. No disaster should befall them because of the money he has given them.


    The group shed tears of joy when they heard of the boys ns in helping them to survive.


    It¡¯s not that they refuse to work, it¡¯s just that no one was willing to teach them or take them in. They kept Li Yuanying¡¯s words firmly in their hearts and knelt to pay him respect twice.


    The boy felt restless seeing their gesture. He secretly decided that no one will ever be allowed to do this to him in the future. This action is not good at all!


    Themotion of giving away gifts and the serious show of respect caught the public¡¯s attention and they all looked toward them.


    Sensing thecrowd, the apanying guards immediately guarded the prince. Their serious yet dignified uniform and shiny swords made the people terrified. The masses quickly withdrew their prying eyes.


    Seeing this, Yuanying motioned for the guards to step down. He then got up and said to the people surrounding the medicine hall: ¡°I¡¯m the Prince of Teng whose title is conferred by the Emperor himself. Mynd is in Teng province which isrge and close to water making it a ce where many can make a living. If you are homeless and want to make a living, go towards the Sunflower Garden outside of Chang¡¯an after recovering. I know many have lost their fields because of bad times. As long as you are willing to work, I will take you in, give you fields and help you build houses. You will never be left disced and homeless as you are now!¡±


    The boy¡¯s thinking pattern was: he doesn¡¯t only own a small garden, he has an entire fief so he should not worry about peopleing. Hence his exaggerated boasting and promises.


    Seeing that many were moved, Li Yuanying decided to bring forth an ugly truth: ¡°But the Sunflower Garden only epts those who are willing to work. Even in your own home, you will not feed those who do not contribute, right?¡±


    The crowd responded in unison: ¡°Of course!¡±


    No moneyes easily from the wind. So why would you feed the useless? Even if it¡¯s your own son, a mother would still scold him for being toozy.


    Although Yuanying was young, he spoke eloquently. Those around had watched him working the whole day withoutining about hardship or tiredness. Hearing him, they were even more convinced: The other princes like Prince Wei or Prince Wu have not been seen willing to work outside or giving free medical treatment. This Prince Teng is obviously different from them. We trust his words, if he says in the future you will be givend, then it is so!


    The homeless group who came to seek medical treatment became excited and started kneeling again.


    None of these people had experience in dealing with dignitaries and just recall that this was how they paid respect in the temple. Since this prince gave them food, clothes, and a way for them to live. Shouldn¡¯t he be treated the same as the Gods in the temple?


    So they all gave respect seriously. They kowtowed as if their skulls were harder than stone.


    Li Yuanying had no choice but to go over and help them up one by one. He became, even more, determine that no one should be allowed to do this to him in the future. Whoever does this will be punished severely! When they kneel like this, he has to help them up one by one, how tiring!


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: I hope everyone in the world can afford books!


    His Majesty Li Er: Good idea!


    Little Prince: I hope everyone in the world can be cured!


    His Majesty Li Er: Good idea!


    Little Prince: I hope everyone in the world will have enough to eat!


    His Majesty Li Er: Good idea!


    His Majesty Li Er: Okay, let¡¯s stop talking, I need to work overtime

 Chapter 39

    Chapter 39


    After a busy day, Li Yuanying was tired. There is only so many patients a county can offer and so after the excitement was over the group concluded their activities and left.


    The group left through the gate and there were many waiting to send them off. Dong Xiaoyi looked back after walking some distance and whispered to Li Yuanying: ¡°Your Highness, they¡¯re still watching us from outside the city gate.¡±


    Li Yuanying looked back and sure enough many were watching them leave at the city gate.


    Yuanying paused for a brief moment before retracting his gaze. He nodded and said nothing but followed Sun Simiao step by step.


    Seeing that the Prince was more silent than usual, Sun Simiao thinks that he¡¯s been reflecting on the events that have transpired.


    ¡°Your Highness, never mention that you will share yournd again in the future. You must know that there are already existing people in your fief. If you divide thend and give it to outsiders, what will the existing citizens do?¡±


    Sun Simiao¡¯s words were reasonable and should be seriously considered.


    ¡°I just think that they are homeless and a little pitiful.¡±


    ¡°There are many more pitiful people all around the world. You cannot be dividing yournds and taking care of everyone.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯ve not met the others.¡± The boy just felt that if it was something within sight and he is capable of handling it, he would help. Those that are not seen; out of sight out of mind.


    Hearing the boy¡¯s naive thoughts, the old doctor got a little concerned and so he gave him more advice.


    ¡°The only fear is that the intentions of a person is being twisted by those who hear about it.¡± What you have just said will spread from one person to ten and then to a hundred. If everyone who desires a pie of yournds approaches you for it, what will you do? Let¡¯s put aside that it¡¯s impossible to amodate everyone, even if you are generous enough to share your wealth, how will others look at you?¡±


    Yuanying had already thought about the first half of Doctor Sun¡¯s statement. When he first established his library, Wei Zheng has already warned him that not everything that is given free will be appreciated by those who receive it. Therefore it is important to also mention the ugly truth upfront; only when rules are firmly established can an establishment operate smoothly.


    Hence the boy mentioned that those who wish toe to hisnd must be willing to contribute by working. With more manpower avable, more things can be done.


    But thetter statement from the doctor bothers him. He is not fully able to grasp the meaning behind it: So what if others have an opinion about what he is doing?


    They were surrounded by imperial guards sent by the Emperor and thus Sun Simiao is not able to fully exin the meaning behind his words.


    Li Yuanying is after all just a vassal prince, although Li Er raised him himself and is fully aware of his personality, would the Crown Prince think the same? Will he instead think that Yuanying is trying to buy the hearts of the citizen? For starters, he has already established a public library and won the hearts of poor students. Now he¡¯s also taking care of the homeless. Would this be seen as deliberately making a move to win votes?


    Sun Simiao could only hint subtly: ¡°If everyone else is not doing it except you, how can this be?¡±


    The boy thought about it and nodded to indicate that he understands.


    If no one else is doing it, it¡¯ll be too eye-catching. And so he decided to convince his eldest nephew and the rest to join him! If we include them all, cumtively we would be able to amodate more people. There will be no worries about having too many people!


    With more people, the wastnd can be reimed and we will have manpower, and harvest will increase and be much easier. When this group settles in, it¡¯ll create transaction flow and the ie of the fiefs will definitely increase. It¡¯s a win-win situation!


    Li Yuanying felt that his idea is a good thing that benefited everyone and can¡¯t wait to share it with his friends. He happily returned to the Li Mountain Pce with Sun Simiao.


    At this same moment, Li Tai was talking to His Majesty and brought up the topic of Li Yuanying who has run off to y. Li Tai ran out of paper and had to send people out to get more. His men ended up watching a rather interesting and lively scene at a county town at the foot of Li Mountain.


    He started by re-telling the story about Prince Teng following Doctor Sun to set up a free clinic and then repeated what the boy mentioned to the homeless people to his royal father.


    Li Tai said with emotion: ¡°In the past, uncle has always been heartless. He used to bury people in snow just for fun. I hadn¡¯t expect that he would now love the citizens so much that he¡¯s even willing to share thend he¡¯s inherited from histe father with the people.¡±


    Li Er paused and thought about Li Yuanying¡¯s recent changes in behavior while his pen was dipped in red ink.


    Within thest 6 months, Li Yuanying first wanted to learn <<Book of Rites>> and then <<The Analects of Confucius>> which led him to build a library for the public. And now he is even promising the underprivileged about providing shelter by dividing up hisnd. If you think about it carefully, he is indeed a very different person from before.


    But the suspicion in His Majesty Li Er¡¯s heart disappeared as quickly as it arise once he thought about the connection of these things: If I hadn¡¯t punished my younger brother by making him copy <<Book of Rites>> and deliberately provoking him with Kong Yingda, Li Yuanying would not have ran to Wei Zheng and the others for advice. If Li Yuanying hadn¡¯t been motivated by them, he wouldn¡¯t have came up with the idea of creating a big academy and a library. He probably ran to Sun Simiao to study medicine because I casually belittled him about never having studied medicine.


    This kid is born smart but unfortunately has a bad temper and is wild in personality. He¡¯ll never want to do things seriously and properly. If you were to make him attend court to discuss serious issues, he will definitely startining that he rather die!


    Such azy guy. Even if he has any thoughts, he¡¯ll be toozy to put anything into action.


    Li Er said lightly: ¡°Let him be. If he wants to dividend, let him do it. When he finishes everything then he can cry about it.¡±


    Li Tai heard this and immediately put a stop to the topic. But he wonders to himself what kind of drugs has his uncle been feeding the Emperor that his loyalty is still not doubted despite the huge fanfare he has caused!


    It¡¯s a pity that Li Yuanying can squander his wealth but he can¡¯t. If he were to do the same, then what capital does he have left to fight for the throne with the Crown Prince? Doing such a stupid thing, I¡¯m sure those who are willing to support him will scatter soon. After all, who is willing to take the risk to stand with him now? Isn¡¯t that hoping to seek wealth in the face of danger?


    If he were to say to his supporters: ¡°Support me and squander your wealth by giving it away to the underprivileged and so the citizens can live and work in peace and contentment!¡± Will anyone be willing to? No one will pay attention to him!


    Even Wei Zheng, a high-ranking minister who prefers to live a frugal life went scouting for prominent families when he wanted to secure a marriage partner for his son. Justifying that a marriage between the upper ss andmoners is not possible and will bring shame to the Emperor.


    There is a clear distinction between good and bad, and between nobles andmoners!


    Li Tai apanied the Emperor for a little while more before returning home to continue talking bad about Li Yuanying to his confidants while shaking his head saying that Prince Teng is still young and na?ve. With just his little fief, how many people can he support? Don¡¯t let ite to the point that it¡¯s not even enough to support him and his mother!


    ¡­.¡­.


    Li Yuanying wasn¡¯t aware that Li Tai has told the Emperor all about his doings. After returning to the pce, he went straight looking for the Emperor.


    If based on normal reasoning, he should be angry with Li Er. And ording to his character, he shouldn¡¯t be taking the initiative to initiate a conversation with the Emperor. However, Yuanying felt that he has had his secret ¡°revenge¡±. Since he¡¯s been out running wild the whole day, he has much that he wants to share with others, he doesn¡¯t care about still being angry or otherwise.


    Li Yuanying excitedly ran to His Majesty. ¡°Lord Brother, let me tell you, today I managed to correctly diagnose two people who were pregnant! They didn¡¯t even know it themselves and only mention that they couldn¡¯t understand why they were frequently vomiting and had no appetite! As soon as I check their pulse, I was urate teacher praised me for being amazing!¡±


    Li Er couldn¡¯t process Li Yuanying¡¯s thought process and so he just assume that the ss cups he gave him has given a positive effect. He raised his eyebrows and said: ¡°Wow, you can even determine pregnancy pulse?¡±


    Li Yuanying was certain that it was impossible for Li Er to know all about his ¡°revenge¡± and secretly rejoiced in his heart: Of course, I learned it thanks to Brother Emperor!


    The boy was having fun and continued on and on about his day¡¯s adventure with great enthusiasm. At this rate, he¡¯ll never shut up until he¡¯s let everything out of his system.


    His Majesty had no choice but to stop everything and listen to him.


    When Li Yuanying started talking about the beggars, Li Er frowned.


    Li Yuanying doesn¡¯t hide things before His Majesty and asked strangely: ¡°Brother, why is it that when others kowtow to me, I feel ufortable?¡±


    Li Er paid great attention to Li Yuanying¡¯s doubtful eyes filled with curiosity.


    This child is straightforward. When he sees others with no food he wants to give them food, if they have no clothes he would want to clothe them. But the world is so big, and so many are suffering and afflicted. How can you possibly give to all?


    His Majesty said patiently: ¡°That¡¯s because to you, what you have done is nothing, but others gave you deep thanks because they perceive it as saving them from fire and water. For you, those are just words that can be easily spoken but for others, it¡¯s a life-saving affair.¡±


    Since Tang Empire is founded more than 20 years ago, weck manpower everywhere andnds were uncultivated. At the same time, many still lost theirnd due to various reasons. The Emperor can issue all kinds of decrees to help the people recuperate but he cannot stop problems from popping up. Then you also have to reward those who have made meritorious deeds, and you have to award the royal family. With this, it¡¯s natural that thends left formon people will be greatly reduced. Hence the only choices left tomoners were either to reim wastnd ording to the arrangement of the government or to be tenants of powerful families.


    His Majesty understood the limitations of these things, but he cannot offend the noble ns by overly favoring themoners. And so he could only try to open a path of advancement for themon people through the imperial examination.


    Everything can¡¯t be perfect all at once. It has to be done slowly, little by little, not too hastily.


    Li Yuanying couldn¡¯t digest his Majesty¡¯s detailed exnation to his question.


    This is too difficult for him. When he is reading a book, a sentence has one meaning. When taking a pulse, amon reading would lead to amon disease. Things are straightforward. The Emperor¡¯s way of talking in circles thoroughly confuses him.


    ¡°Lord Brother, I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯ve said. But being the Emperor is really tiring and you are really working hard.¡±


    ¡°Even if it¡¯s hard work, isn¡¯t everyone still vying for this seat?¡±


    Li Yuanying said boldly: ¡°Even if you hand it to me on a silver tter I would reject it.¡±


    He thought about his eldest nephew who was also working hard and didn¡¯t hold back his thoughts.


    ¡°Being the crown prince is also hard work. You¡¯ve arranged for Old man Kong and the other ministers to watch Chenqian at the East Pce and he gets a bloody scolding for everything he does. That¡¯s so tragic. Lord Brother, is it because you think Old man Kong and his group are more annoying than Old man Wei and so you arrange them to Chengqian¡¯s side? I also heard that Zhang Xuansu that old man didn¡¯t agree with you rebuilding Luoyang Pce and scolded you in person. You pretended to listen to him but the next day moved him to East Pce! You¡¯re cunning and sly!¡±


    Li Er couldn¡¯t hold back and knocked on Li Yuanying¡¯s forehead: ¡°Minister Zhang is a highly respected minister, keep your mouth shut!¡± Besides, what did you just call me?


    His Majesty felt that sooner orter he might identally beat this b*stard brother to death!


    Li Yuanying held onto his forehead and continued without remorse: ¡°Lord Brother, you are blinded by anger!¡±


    Li Er can¡¯t be bothered with his brother anymore.


    The topic regarding ¡°It¡¯s really hard to be an Emperor and crown prince¡± came to an end.


    Li Yuanying then told Li Er all about Sun Simiao¡¯s advice word for word and added his perfect interpretation of the statement: ¡°So I¡¯ll ask Chengqian and Zhi Nu to join in and then it wouldn¡¯t be considered as only me running the initiative. Lord brother, am I right?¡±


    His Majesty instantly understood what Sun Simiao wanted to warn the young prince.


    Seeing that Li Yuanying not only did not understand Sun Simiao¡¯s words but instead wanted to dragged his nephews into it, His Majesty held in hisughter and put on a solemn face. He nodded in agreement: ¡°Yes, let¡¯s do it like this.¡±


    These boys all born in the pce and grew up livingfortable in luxury. They have never seen much suffering in the world and so let them get out of the pce gate and see for themselves that not all of Tang Empire is as prosperous as the city of Chang¡¯an.


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: The emperor is really sly and cunning


    His Majesty Li Er: Change that statement


    Little Prince: Lord Brother is a trickster


    His Majesty Li Er: Get out, get out of here! ! ! ! !

 Chapter 40

    Chapter 40


    Yuanying has been running wild the whole day outside of the pce and only had time to y with his friends at night. Coincidentally, Sizi didn¡¯t have much of an appetite that night so he took the opportunity to check her pulse again and asked about her diet. He intends to ask Sun Simiao for guidance over this case.


    ¡°Is it serious?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing serious.¡±


    He already had some basic hypothesis on Sizi¡¯s condition. In the past whenever Sizi falls ill in autumn or winter, the royal physicians will prescribe medicine to deal with the immediate difort but has never treated the root of her illness. However, upon checking on her pulse now, it seems like she still has lingering ailments carried from the time she was a baby. It¡¯s high time she gets proper treatment and she will also need to pay more attention to her daily diet; especially avoiding food that triggers her symptoms.


    Sizi trusts Li Yuanying fully and was relieved to hear that all is good. She then pestered him to tell her a story and so Li Yuanying held a storytelling session again. During the past winter season, the boy had read lots of books and umted arge number of stories. So many that he¡¯s not afraid of running out of new materials but is more worried that they¡¯ll get sick of listening to him talk.


    After coaxing his nieces with story-time, he sent the four little lolis home to bed. When he turned his head, he realized that Li Zhi hasn¡¯t left.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to bed?¡±


    Li Zhi wasn¡¯t sleepy and ask curiously: ¡°What were you doing today? Why haven¡¯t I seen you around the whole day?¡±


    Yuanying told him all about his adventure with Sun Simiao and the free clinic. He pulled Li Zhi to sit on the couch and told him all about the beggars and refugees that he had encountered.


    Li Zhi was a little surprised. Li mountain is in prime location close by where the Emperor resides. Why were there so many people living in misfortune?


    Seeing that Li Zhi is listening to him attentively, Li Yuanying continued on by sharing the conversation he has had with his brother the Emperor.


    ¡°I told brother that I¡¯ll bring you along with me next time. Are you be unhappy with my arrangements?¡±


    Knowing that Li Zhi is fickle minded and is easily swayed by opinions, Yuanying startedying down his full analysis on the benefits of his n. If you want to manage you territory well, don¡¯t you need much manpower? Since His Majesty Li Er has given them a go ahead, they should openly start recruiting and start training before assigning workers to work in their own fief!


    Li Zhi being a little older than Li Yuanying is more exposed to things and knew that it¡¯s a taboo to recruit refugees in private.


    Since the two are good friends, Li Zhi bluntly stated down his opinion.


    ¡°If you were to recruitrge numbers of refugees, it¡¯ll make father and brother feel awkward. They would be suspicious of your intentions of hiring so many people. Secondly, you¡¯re bound to offend the aristocratic families as they would perceive this as an act of embarrassing them. Where did these refugeese from? Isn¡¯t it due to them losing theirnds and bing homeless? The aristocratic families are the ones who upy the mostnd. If you take in many refugees, they might feel that you are using these refugees to target them!


    Haring Li Zhi give such a detailed exnation, Yuanying was impressed. However, these were of no use to him and he didn¡¯t care.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense. Have you not read <<Mozi>>?¡±


    Li Zhi shook his head.


    Mostption of <<Mozi>> has been lost and only a few volumes are being preserved by the Taoist priests.


    But Li Yuanying has finished this book. He got to know from Wei Zheng that the book was about to be lost forever and only Li Chunfeng has a copy of theplete volume. And so he got interested.


    Reading the whole book was rewarding. In the very least, many of Mozi¡¯s statementsgave Li Yuanying new insights!


    Hearing that Li Zhi has not read it, he shared some statements from the author: ¡°Mozi¡¯s students once asked him, what should you do to achieve greatness? He replied, ¡®If you are capable of constructing a wall, construct it. Those who can fill it with soil, do so. And those who can measure its structure, do so. And then the wall ispleted. It is the same for righteous works. Those who are good in debating, work on persuading others. Those who are good in history, give context. Those who are good in execution, work on settling the subject objectively. And then righteous works will be aplished¡¯. This means that if you have the ability to do something, make an effort to do so. If everyone ys their part, big things can be achieved!¡±


    Li Zhi nodded.


    Although he hadn¡¯t read about the subject, he¡¯s convinced that this statement made sense.


    ¡°The author also once said that there are people in the world who wants to achieve greatness but when others volunteer to help them to improve, they get angry and offended. It¡¯s just like when you want to build a wall and someonees along to help you with it but you get angry with the help offered! Your statement about the Emperor and Chengqian having doubts in their heart do not make sense. Unless you think that they are like those ¡°people¡± who preach about achieving greatness but don¡¯t actually want to do it!¡±


    Li Zhi isn¡¯t audacious like Li Yuanying who has no filter on his mouth. Hearing his blunt statement, he could only respond meekly: ¡°I¡¯ve think too much. Father and brother are definitely not like that.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Even brother thinks my idea works! I¡¯m nning to get Chengqian on board after we return to the capital city. If you¡¯re unwilling, I won¡¯t force you.¡±


    Li Zhi didn¡¯t want to be left behind; that would mean being bored to death! He immediately said: ¡°Of course I¡¯m in, I¡¯ll do whatever you say.¡±


    Li Yuanying nodded in satisfaction.


    That¡¯s more like it, be more manly. Always hesitating all day, do it first and then think about the consequencester! If others have opinions orments, they can follow suit and do the same. No one will stop them.


    After their ¡°major discussion¡±, Yuanying push Li Zhi away and began reading books from Sun Simiao. Although he has the system¡¯s help, he still needed to work hard to be proficient enough to put the contents of the book into practice. After spending the whole night finishing up several volumes, he entered the Myriad Realm Library to memorize them one by one. After that, he stayed for practical practice in the library.


    Sun Simiao¡¯s teaching is systematic. Since Yuanying has only just begun learning how to diagnose diseases, he is not allowed to touch on pharmacology. Therefore, the medical books he is reading were all rted to diagnosis of illnesses.


    Li Yuanying practiced repeatedly for the whole night and finally managed to thoroughly grasped its contents. He then requested for the system to simte Sizi¡¯s physical condition and immediately managed to get a more thorough understanding of her situation: Sizi¡¯s heart and lungs were weaker than others and they are more prone to sickness in autumn and winter. If she were to encounter unexpected stimtion, she might be in danger of suffocation and even death. This can be caused by emotional fluctuation or it may be caused by external sources. This point wasn¡¯t being concluded by Li Yuanying himself, instead he was guided by the system. If certain parts of the body is weaker, it¡¯s natural that it¡¯ll cause problems. And problems rted to breathing can be fatal!


    The next day, he ran to Sun Simiao early in the morningto update that he has finished everything.


    Sun Simiao was mentally prepared for this and wasn¡¯t too shocked by it. He routinely quizzed the boy and felt numb in his heart: This child learns too fast. His enthusiasm puts him leagues above others. If he continues this way, he¡¯ll definitely learn anything he puts his heart to!


    After sharing his progress, the boy then updated the doctor about his hypothesis. He showed Sun Simiao the diagnosis results he has recorded. Since Sun Simiao specializes in prevention rather than curing, he firmly believes that Sun Simiao cane up with a suitable nursing n for Sizi so that she can grow up healthy.


    Sun Simiao read the boy¡¯s writing carefully and pondered.


    ¡°Although you are learning fast, you are still a beginner. I cannot just prescribe medicine based on your judgment alone. It¡¯s better to talk to the Emperor and get his permission for me to treat Princess Jinyang (Sizi) in person. After that, I will prescribe her with treatment. That would be safer.¡±


    It made sense and so Yuanying ran to His Majesty to bring up this matter up.


    Earlier he didn¡¯t ask Li Er directly because he thought that Sizi¡¯s irregr pulse was cause by recent illnesses. But now his hypothesis is that Sizi¡¯s hidden condition is much more serious and dangerous. The earlier it is treated, the more assured he¡¯ll be!


    Li Er was discussing government affairs with Wei Zheng and the others. Hearing that Li Yuanying is here, he instructed the guards to keep him waiting and to only enter after he¡¯s done discussing government affairs.


    Yuanying is worried about Sizi and so he wandered around in circles outside. Only when he saw Wei Zheng did he stopped turning in circles.


    ¡°Have you guys finished talking?¡±


    ¡°Yes, His Majesty now allows you to enter.¡±


    Li Yuanying sneered for he is very dissatisfied with his brother who kept him waiting for long.


    He meditated in his heart, ¡°This is Sizi¡¯s father, this is Sizi¡¯s father, this is Sizi¡¯s father¡± and then he calmed down a little. He then entered to discuss with Li Er about Sun Simiao¡¯s rmendation.


    Li Er was still very dubious that his brother is able to learn diagnosis so quickly.


    ¡°Is this true?¡±


    ¡°Lord Brother, what are you talking about? Even if I want to fabricate stuff, I¡¯ll do it to you, not Sizi!¡±


    His Majesty thought about how Yuanying patiently ys with his children every day, and knew that they were very close. He would not make fun of Sizi in this manner. But after hearing Yuanying¡¯s statement about him rather fabricating nonsense about the Emperor rather than the others he gave him a sideways nce and scolded: ¡°Wow, you have ability now. You even want to ridicule me?¡±


    Yuanying was never afraid of his brother and hummed: ¡°If you don¡¯t want to let me know your condition, I¡¯ll make something up and spread that as truth.¡±


    His Majesty Li Er ignored his statement but said: ¡°Since you are so convincing, I will arrange for Elder Sun to see Sizi and the other children. Not only for Sizi but also the other children to see if there¡¯s anything wrong with any of them.¡±


    If it¡¯s Sizi, Li Er is as concerned as Li Yuanying. He doesn¡¯t want Sizi to feel any different from others before a diagnosis was made.


    If Sun Simiao really concluded that there are life-threatening worries, then there is no choice. She would need to recuperate to her best abilities. If medicine is required, she will take them and if any food or drinks needs to be avoided she¡¯ll need to do so.


    Li Yuanying remembered that he still didn¡¯t know what¡¯s the matter with his brother and said eagerly: ¡°Since I have picked up a new skill, Lord Brother, let me feel your pulse, let me see what¡¯s wrong with you!¡±


    Li Er nced at him and pull his hand away to avoid Li Yuanying¡¯s grasping hand. He mercilessly rejected Li Yuanying¡¯s request: ¡°You¡¯ve only studied for a few days and dare to boast that you have mastered it.¡±


    ¡°I was the one who diagnosed Sizi¡¯s pulse!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s elder Sun who saw the situation of Sizi from a distance and told you about it. That is why you can say it so clearly. Don¡¯t take other¡¯s work as your own, are you really that shameless?!¡±


    ¡°No! Teacher has said that he can¡¯t diagnose sickness at a nce. Not everyone is the genius doctor Bian Que!¡±


    Li Er did notply with his request and continued to teased him: ¡°I heard that you recognized elder Xiao as your teacher when you were in Jiucheng Pce and now you are calling elder Sun as your teacher. How many teachers do you have?¡±


    Li Yuanying has his own set of principles: ¡°Anyone who teaches me knowledge is my teacher. All knowledge and subjects are treated the same.¡±


    Knowing that Li Er has made up his mind not to let him take his pulse, Yuanying was no longer willing to stay and chat with him, He ran away to update the children about Sun Simiao¡¯s uing visitation to meet them.


    Li Yuanying first told his nieces about how powerful and amazing Sun Simiao is and then about the many people who came to his door and beg him for help but couldn¡¯t due to time constrains. He then talked about the principles of traditional Chinese medicine and told them that although everyone seems to be healthy on the surface, the root of a disease is likely buried in the body. If you can diagnose it early and treat it, you will not have to suffer from the pain!


    After Li Yuanying¡¯spublicity, the girls readily epted that they were going to undergo a ¡°physical examination¡± by the genius doctor. When it was time to update the princes, Yuanying didn¡¯t bother to put in much effort. He only told them about the time of the appointment. If you¡¯re interestede by, if not forget about it. So that Sun Simiao will not be too tired!


    The only person who has heard both versions of his publicity was Li Zhi


    Li Zhi: ¡°¡­¡±


    Uncle¡¯s preferential treatment towards nieces is starkly obvious!


    The author has something to say:


    Little Prince: ?


    Little Prince: Why do youpare yourself to cute and adorable little lolis?

 Chapter 41

    Chapter 41


    With Sun Simiao personally attending to this, Yuanying is much relieved. The boy didn¡¯t go outside for ytime but instead practice his skills using the people around him. He practiced so much that people started avoiding him by turning in the other direction when he was in sight. At this point, Sun Simiao decided that it was time to teach him pharmacology.


    Li Er¡¯s ¡°holiday¡± was almost over. Sun Simiao has also concluded aprehensive physical examination for the princes and princesses. As a result, there were two or three of them who needed treatment and so Sizi was not singled out.


    While Si Zi was drinking her bitter medicine, the youngest, Princess Heng Shan was at the sideforting her: ¡°Sister, you¡¯ll be fine after drinking this. You¡¯ll grow chubbier and taller!¡±


    Sizi nodded earnestly.


    Given that Li Yuanying has been brainwashing her for quite a bit, Sizi fully trusted Sun Simiao and didn¡¯tin about having to take the medicine. Yuanying also rewarded her with sweet candy after she was done with the medicine.


    The candy is delicious, it melts instantly and the bitter taste from the medicine disappears! Gao Yang and the other girls watching also wanted to taste it and they pestered Yuanying to give them one too


    ¡°No! Only those who drink medicine can have it.¡±


    Li Yuanying is someone with principle. If he says he doesn¡¯t want to give in to you, he¡¯ll never give in. It¡¯s useless to try and convince him otherwise. However, he will tease you with great interest.


    Since the other grils couldn¡¯t get candy, they secretly wished they were sick too and had to drink bitter medicine.


    As for the other two nephews who needed treatment, Li Yuanying just brushed them off by saying that they were not familiar, so no sharing!


    Lately, Yuanying¡¯s perception of the Myriad Realm Library has been changing. He now feels that it was not just a useless system and so he started exploring its usage.


    After two days of serious research, he figured it out. The exchange of new items will only be made avable afterpleting a task. Things that he has previously received from thepleted mission can be obtained again through exchanging points. In this case, he doesn¡¯t need to worry anymore about having limited seeds; he can always exchange for some more and pass them to Dong Xiaoyi to experiment with!


    The candy for Sizi was obtained through the mission of the scanning Li Mountain Pce. It¡¯s said that this candy is not only delicious but also good for the body. However, it¡¯s super expensive; one piece costs 100 points.


    Li Yuanying was dubious of the candy¡¯s effect which the system bragged about. But since he doesn¡¯tck points so even if it¡¯s only a 1 in 10,000 chance that Sizi would get better he would still utilize points for it. After all, even if it doesn¡¯t have any health effect, as long as it¡¯s delicious it¡¯ll be worth it!


    After Sizi¡¯s treatment n is finalized, the group returned to Chang¡¯an at the end of February.


    Li Er is quite satisfied with Li Yuanying¡¯s performance this time. Not only did he get Sun Simiao to write medical books and study then medicine with him, the boy even managed to persuade Sun Simiao to hang around for a bit. The doctor has even agreed to follow them back to the capital together!


    At the same time in a small town at the foot of Li Mountain, a group of people in ragged clothes started packing up. They looked back at this ce that sheltered them for days and looked towards the future with bright expectations. This group of around 30prises of both gender and are of all ages. They weren¡¯t familiar with each other and cannot be considered strongborers, however, they all have the same goal in mind: Sunflower garden.


    It was almost March when the group reach Chang¡¯an. Li Yuanying immediately sent Dong Xiaoyi out of the pce to manage the farms, especially the sunflower garden.


    Yuanying had given the nting tutorials with pictures and texts on the two new crops. Dong Xiaoyi had them memorized by heart and patted his chest to promise that he would not disappoint his master¡¯s trust.


    Li Yuanying doesn¡¯tck servants and Dong Xiaoyi¡¯s departure will not draw much attention. However, several of Kong Yingda¡¯s students noticed that Li Yuanying has been carrying around medical books to ss and told him about it.


    Kong Yingda has been busy managing the Imperial academy and giving private lectures to the Crown Prince and so there isn¡¯t much chance for him to get angry at Li Yuanying.


    Hearing that the boy is now into medical books after studying Hanzi and Mozi, Kong Yingda couldn¡¯t resist blurting out to the Emperor: ¡°Although Prince Teng is smart, however with him dabbling a little in everything, he¡¯ll not aplish much. ¡°


    His Majesty is well aware of what his little brother has been up to and didn¡¯t get angry. ¡°He is born as my younger brother, so he doesn¡¯t need to sit for the imperial examinations nor does he really need to study hard, just let him do whatever he wants. If he really can¡¯t handle it, he will lose interest in a few days.¡±


    Of course, while Li Er felt that his younger brother is a rascal but when he puts his heart to learn something he shows results. Therefore he doesn¡¯t think that it¡¯s a huge problem with the kid wanting to dabble in everything. After all, if he has any energy left, he can learn whatever he likes!


    Kong Yingda observed this and realized that His Majesty Li Er is proud of his younger brother¡¯s ¡°knowledge¡± so he stopped talking.


    After all, Li Yuanying is merely Prince Teng and not the Crown Prince. The reason he made the previous statement was that he thought Li Yuanying was smart and was afraid that he¡¯ll be wasting his talent by doing a little of everything.


    Here, Kong Yingda was discussing with Li Er about Li Yuanying¡¯s studies. On the other side, Li Yuanying ran towards Sun Simiao to get his attention. He wants to learn how to identify medicinal materials and has been following behind the old doctor every day visiting various major medical halls in Chang¡¯an.


    Compared to others who finds it a challenge identify medicines, Li Yuanying finds it easy. He only needs to write down the medicinal properties and then touch them. After that the whole nt will be engraved into his mind: how tall it grows; herb or shrub; what shape are the leaves; how they bloom; what the fruit looks like.


    His system can be disyed all these infomation to him in real time to help him understand and identify.


    At first, Sun Simiao was worried that the boy would not be able to remember everything and so he only taught him a few kinds daily. Later, he found out that the kid has an extremely amazing learning ability and so he went back to his usual habits of picking medicines but just with the boy tagging along.


    In just a few days, Li Yuanying recognized all themonly used medicinal materials and no longer has hesitation about getting medicine for others!


    Li Dejian also dropped by and anxiously asked Li Yuanying for help to get Sun Simiao to see his mother.


    Li Yuanying had promised him that he would help but he soon forgot about it as he was too busy with his new studies.


    Li Yuanying quickly responded to Li Dejian¡¯s request and went to look for Sun Simiao. Afraid that the doctor would not agree, he decided to tell stories about how awesome and powerful Li Jing was.


    In his early years, Li Jing and histe father were both officials in the Sui Dynasty. Histe father made ns to be emperor by nning a coup while Li Jing pretended to be a prisoner with the intention of leaking this information back to the Capital, this almost caused his father his life before he even put his n into action! Later, thete Emperor did indeed raised an army and performed a coup but he was still not willing to execute Li Jing for he was a rare talent. Instead, he was arrange to serve at Prince Qin¡¯s pce. Since then, Li Jing has made lots of great contributions. He has fought against the Turks and Tuyuhun, so amazing! His brother even once asked Hou Junji the leader of the current expedition to Gaochang, to learn the art of war from him!


    What Li Yuanying likes the most about Li Jing is his legendary stories.


    I heard that Li Jing has many tricks up his sleeves when fighting. There was a story about how he thought about a rather deadly method to deal with his opponents. It was said that there was a kind of bird that likes to rest on thatched cottages and so he tied a string of explosive onto the birds and allowed them to fly off. This made the houses of his enemies turn into mes, damagingrge areas! This is really amazing and Li Yuanying feels that he wants to follow him to war to experience this!


    Li Yuanying bbered on in excitement to Sun Simiao who was listening attentively. He finally agreed to made a trip to Duke Wei¡¯s mansion.


    Li Yuanying no longer thinks of himself as an outsider. He discussed the timing with Li Dejian and the next day shamelessly followed Sun Simiao to the mansion.


    In recent years, Li Jing has been suffering from foot problems and rarely receives guests. He has a good rtionship with his wife and ever since she fell ill has been how apanying her while writing a military book.


    Hearing that Li Yuanying and Sun Simiao is here, Li Jing came out to greet them in person and led them inside.


    There were many rules and etiquette within the noble ss but Li Jing is rather casual about it. His mind is upied with his wife¡¯s condition and after a simple greeting, he requested Sun Simiao to visit his wife to examine her pulse.


    The madam is already 60 and this is a delicate age when people are the weakest to illnesses. Even if it¡¯s just amon cold, it¡¯ll take much longer than younger people to recover.


    The doctor took Hongfu¡¯s (Li Jing¡¯s wife) pulse and asked about her recent diet. He concluded that the situation is not ideal. After thinking, he wrote down a few suitable prescriptions and told Li Jing to ensure treatment is carried out at the right pace. You¡¯ll need to first properly condition the body and never rush it by overdosing on medicine.


    Li Jing who was sitting by his wife¡¯s side held her hand tightly. With his other hand, he gently patted the back of her hand: ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to suffer a little more and stay with me for a few more years.¡±


    Hong Fu smiled at him, even though her face was haggard and her breathing weak, her smile still shows a hint of the beauty she once was.


    Li Yuanying watched ignorantly from the side since he didn¡¯t quite understand the love and rtionship between a couple yet.


    His mother was only 20 when she gave birth to him but his father was already in his early 60s. Mother was very obedient and didn¡¯t dare say a word to father, it didn¡¯t feel like they were a real couple. Later when he witness how his older brother and sister-inw got along, he thought that an ordinary couple should live by helping and respecting each other but always with proper etiquette.


    But now seeing Li Jing and Hong Fu¡¯s rtionship, he felt that this was way better; without much formalities or etiquette, just apaniment and intimacy until old age!


    Both guests stayed to have a meal and after that they boy didn¡¯t want to leave yet. He then strolled around to see the birds and animals that Li Jing raised at home.


    Li Jing was a master in domesticating birds and beasts in his early years. Since he no longer likes going out, he has quite a lot of them at home. Seeing Li Yuanying¡¯s interest, Li Jing personally brought him around and introduced each species to him one by one.


    Strolling in the garden where the birds and beasts were kept, Li Yuanying discovered an elephant. It¡¯s rumored that someone from the south gave it to him when he was on a mission in Ling Nan region to appease the mountainous people.


    Elephants are big with ears the size of a fan and a long trunk. In some ces, elephants were trained to carry things and some were trained as an ¡°elephant army¡± to fight in wars!


    Li Yuanying imagined a thousand elephants fighting with their soldiers on their backs. He felt that the sound of their footsteps might be as loud as thunder from the sky and there would be billowing waves of dust on the ground!


    His eyes lit up and he was not afraid of the huge creature in front of him. He asked Li Jing, ¡°Can I ride the elephant?¡±


    Li Jing knew that Li Yuanying was bold but he didn¡¯t expect him to be so daring. He likes children with this personality the most. He nodded his head and summoned the servant in charge of the elephant to carefully carry Li Yuanying onto the back of it.


    Li Yuanying was excited that he sessfully climbed onto the elephant¡¯s back with the help of the servants. He was a tiny child andpared to the elephant, was not even as thick as the diameter of its leg but the child was not afraid. He told the handler to direct the elephant to walk around.


    The apanying guards saw Prince Teng sitting on an elephant and beckoned to Li Jing and Sun Simiao in panic. If Li Yuanying fell and was injured, their heads will roll!


    Li Yuanying was fearless and rode on the back of the elephant for a long time. He soon lost interest and happily followed Sun Simiao to bid goodbye to Li Jing.


    After returning to the pce, the boy went to y with his friends and again boasted about his adventure riding an elephant.


    The elephant has thick legs, big ears, a big nose, and a long trunk and its back is wide making itpletely different from a horse¡¯s back. It¡¯s very stable! He went on to tell his friends about the ¡°Elephant army¡± story he¡¯s heard about from Li Jing. Anyway, all very fun and exciting!


    Sizi and the others didn¡¯t like exciting things and so they just found it fun listening to the story. Gao Yang was different, she loves excitement and lively ytime and learned how to ride since she was a young child, and yed polo very well. All her royal brothers liked bringing her out to y.


    After listening to the story, Gao Yang wanted to visit Li Jing¡¯s mansion but the Emperor had given strict orders not to allow Li Yuanying to bring his girls out of the pce again.


    When you say No to a child, it makes them want to attempt it even more. The more Gao Yang thought about it, the more she wanted to experience riding an elephant. She found an opportunity and visited His Majesty to show her affection saying that her young uncle was going to Duke Wei¡¯s mansion to ride an elephant and she wants to do it too!


    Li Er listened to the whole story. Seriously? Not only is his b*stard brother ying with fire by indulging in such risky activity but he even instigated Gao Yang to join him!


    Their small body wouldn¡¯t even cover half the surface area that an elephant can step on!


    His Majesty immediately summoned Li Yuanying to him for a scolding. He ordered him to re-copy the <<Book of Songs>> which he had not finished from the start again. Do not even miss a single word! Gao Yang is also to carry out the same punishment with him and no one was allowed to go out until they are done. He even instructed people to observe them at all times!


    After punishing the two brats, Li Er was still angry so he asked someone to visit Li Jing and instructed that Li Yuanying is not to be allowed visitation rights to his residence ever. Just kick him out if he visits again in the future.


    Li Yuanying and Gao Yang were escorted back to carry out their punishment.


    Li Yuanying is unhappy about Gao Yang¡¯s good deeds and had a lot to say about it: ¡°Are you stupid? How can you just bluntly ask your father the Emperor something like this? to let you ride, Even if you just think with your toes you would know that he¡¯ll never allow you to do something like this, okay? And I get dragged in for nothing!¡±


    Gao Yang feel that she was being wronged: ¡°Who ask you to say it was so FUN! I didn¡¯t manage to experience the fun but now I¡¯m being punished with you. Ain¡¯t I much worse off than you?!¡±


    The two of them sighed and reluctantly sat side by side and started their punishment copying books.


    The author has something to say:


    Little Prince: Pig teammate!


    Little Gao Yang: No, I am not!

 Chapter 42

    Chapter 42


    The book is named <<Three Hundred Poems>> and so there were more than 300 pieces to copy and it was impossible to finish the task in a day or two. Besides that, Li Yuanying cannot sit still toplete his punishments in one sitting. And so both children stayed in for days toplete their punishment.


    On the day they are done, Dong Xiaoyi just happened to return to the pce and told Yuanying that many people have arrived at Sunflower Garden. Originally, we were only expecting the group we met at the town near the foot of Li Mountain but along the way, many heard the news that they can make a living under Prince Teng and tagged along. When the final group arrived, it grew to more than 300 people. That¡¯s a tenfold increase!


    These are 300 people, not 300 livestock and so it cannot be treated lightly. Dong Xiaoyi settled them down into several farms and hurriedly returned to report the matter.


    Yuanying had expected that the numbers would berge and was not surprised. In fact, he thought that 300 people was quite small and was expecting more. Since he has told the Emperor his ns, he went ahead to understand the current situation before looking for his eldest nephew to help out.


    It was the beginning of March and the flowers and trees in the East Pce were in full bloom. When Li Yuanying strolled past, the Crown Princess and their son Li Xiang was ying in the courtyard.


    Seeing Li Yuanying from a distance, the Emperor grandson¡¯s eyes lit up and he ran over with his short legs. He then called in a sweet baby voice: ¡°Yaoyao!¡±


    Given that Li Xiang is just a toddler, he doesn¡¯t understand how seniority works but since both Li Zhi and Li Yuanying are about the same age and he¡¯s been hearing him called ¡°young uncle¡±, the baby shortened it to ¡°Yaoyao¡±. All he knows is that this particr Yaoyao brings him delicious food and fun toys to y with.


    Seeing Li Xiang running towards him, Li Yuanying half squatted and opened his hands to pick up the toddler: ¡°Oh¡­ you¡¯re heavier now!¡±


    Li Xiang giggled happily.


    Li Yuanying took out a small cloth bag with popcorn to satisfy the child¡¯s cravings.


    The crown princess is well aware that Li Yuanying and her husband have a good rtionship. If he¡¯s here it means it has something to do with Chengqian and so she pointed him in a direction and mentioned that Li Chengqian was listening to Yu Zhining¡¯s lecture in the front hall.


    As soon as Li Yuanying heard it, he immediately said that he wouldn¡¯t go. He¡¯ll instead y with Li Xiang.


    Yu Zhining is on Li Yuanying¡¯s cklist. Of course, Yu Zhining thinks the same about him, both do not see eye to eye and are on horrible terms!


    A few days ago when the group came back from Li Mountain, Yu Zhining did something incredible: he wrote all his advice for the Crown Prince Li Chengqian into a thick 20-volume book and submit it directly to his Majesty Li Er!


    Full 20-volumes with advice ints) ranging from serious things like how Li Chengqian is abandoning his duties to go hunting to minor annoyance like how Li Chengqian¡¯s hair is a mess. Every minor detail is written and organized into books!


    This is terrifying. Verbal scolding is not enough? You add on by writing articles about scolding that person and after that, you sent it directly to the parent. What can the parent do in such a situation? Of course, thank the teacher for his hard work and then go home and and beat the son!


    The more Li Yuanying thought about it, the more he felt that his eldest nephew has a miserable life. That it¡¯s awful to be the Crown prince. Yuanying asked his men to pay attention to the status of the lecture hall and to alert him when Zhining leaves. For now, he¡¯ll happily y with his grand-nephew.


    After a while, updates came that the lecture was over and Li Yuanying return the sweaty and blushing toddler to his mother and ran off to look for his eldest nephew!


    Yuanying obviously wants to avoid Yu Zhining but coincidentally Yu Zhining happened to be walking on the same road.


    This old man is the type of uptight person who doesn¡¯t even allow one strand of hair to be messy. Even the wrinkles on his face are long and neat, not messy.


    As soon as Yuanying saw him, he wanted to hide. But then he realized that he hasn¡¯t done anything bad so why is he sneaking around? Thinking about it this way, the boy decided to walk past the person generously.


    Yu Zhining presented his book to the Emperor and Li Er specially appointed him to serve as the crown prince¡¯s advisor. Li Yuanying happened to remember this and swaggered up to greet him by shouting: ¡°Minister Yu have you finished your lecture with Chengqian?¡±


    Yu Zhining has heard all about Li Yuanying the infamous little demon king; especially about all his ¡°glorious deeds¡±.


    Since they met by chance, Yu Zhining stroked his beard and sighed: ¡°There¡¯s an old saying that the son of a thousand gold should sit deep inside a hall. Your Highness, you are worth more than a thousand gold, how can you do as the barbarians do and ride on the back of an elephant? What if there was an ident?¡±


    Then Yu Zhining began lecturing the boy all about his profound ideology and started telling him off due to this particr incident.


    It was all about: What if you get hurt, how would your friends and family react in sadness. They care and love you, so how can you make them worry like this?


    Then the old man dived into exnation about how this would impact society. If everyone doesn¡¯t take care of their bodies, who will cultivate the fields, forge the tools and fight the enemy? As a member of the royal family, you should lead by example and never put yourself in danger just for fun!


    Li Yuanying was dumbfounded.


    This old man is almost a hundred years old, but he¡¯s still full of energy when he speaks. He goes on and on, not needing to stop for a breather.


    Hearing till the end, Li Yuanying¡¯s scalp was already numb. He hurriedly responded: ¡°I know, I know! You must also be tired from teaching Chengqian, so please go back and rest first!¡±


    Yu Zhining nodded in satisfaction and left gracefully.


    Li Yuanying found his eldest nephew, sat down and drank all the water given to him and said to Chengqian in shock: ¡°Chengqian, you really work so hard.¡±


    Chengqian has only managed to catch up with Li Yuanying once after he returned from Li Mountain. All he knew was that Sun Simiao has treated the Emperor but his condition is kept top secret. After that, Li Yuanying went to Li Jing¡¯s house to ride an elephant and was punished for it.


    Sensing the lingering fear on his face, Chengqian asked: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Yuanying told him about his encounter with Yu Zhining and looked at him with great sympathy: ¡°I don¡¯t know how you can live like this!¡± Just one Yu Zhining is so scary, what more you have add ons of Kong Yingda and Zhang Xuansu. Just thinking about it is terrifying.


    Recently, Chengqian has been worried about the physical condition of His Majesty and has stopped messing around so much, thus his scolding went down. The worst was when it became a little unbearable when Li Er threw a 20-volume book ofints about him.


    ¡°Is the elephant in Duke Wei¡¯s house bigger than the one in the pce?¡± (Chengqian)


    There are also some rare birds and animals in the pce belonging to the Emperor. If the children wanted to observe them they are free to do so. It¡¯s just that no one is as daring as Li Yuanying to climb onto an elephant and ride it.


    As soon as this topic came up, Li Yuanying regained his energy and told Chengqian all about his adventure. He longs for adventure but could only hear about it and not experience it himself. He sighed to Chengqian: ¡°I think the south is interesting, the north too. Things in the east and west should be exciting too! It¡¯s a pity that it¡¯s too far away and I cannot go there myself!¡±


    Li Chengqian originally only thought that Yuanying¡¯s stories were vivid and interesting but hearing him, he also felt that it was a shame. He then said: ¡°That¡¯s easy! I¡¯ll find some people to escort you to ces to y next time.¡±


    Chengqian continued and also shared his past experiences. He likes to hang out with the Turks the most as he feels that they are easygoing. When you hunt with them it makes you feel like you are also raised in the grasnd. Sometimes when he feels that the East Pce is too lonely, he¡¯ll invite them over for a fun time. The bonfire would rise along with singing and dancing for as long as they wanted.


    ¡°If you are interested, I¡¯ll get someone to bring in a group of elephants. Then let¡¯s get the southerners and their elephants and the Turks on the horses to have a performance. The only roadblock is that such a big event will need to be held outside the East Pce. Let¡¯s go outside!¡± (Chengqian)


    Li Yuanying got excited and his eyes brightened: ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± (Chengqian)


    But after Chenqian finished speaking, he quickly remembered what happenedst time when Li Yuanying casually ratted him out. ¡°But be strict in keeping your mouth shut and don¡¯t let the n leak out. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t be able to attend.¡±


    Hearing this Yuanying immediately assured him: ¡°I will never tell the Emperor!¡±


    Li Chengqian then asked why is he here today.


    Yuanying told Chengqian about his n to take in refugees. He has already mentioned this to Chengqian before and the crown prince has promised to find more ces for them to settle down if the existing viges cannot aodate all of them.


    Chengqian was a little surprised to hear that there were 300 people. While 300 is not a huge number, it¡¯s enough to upy an entire vige.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect there to be so many homeless people within the Capital City.¡± (Chengqian)


    Now they have a home. I¡¯m able to amodate them into my farms.¡± (Yuanying)


    He exined the basic situation to his nephew. ¡°The young and middle-agedborers and women are versatile enough to do most jobs. I¡¯ve already instructed Dong Xiaoyi to count the numbers. But there are also those who are old and young children. These groups will not be able to do much hardbour. Since I¡¯m not short on manpower, the older ones can do lighter jobs like cooking. As for the kids, I have a new idea.¡±


    ¡°What new idea?¡± (Chengqian)


    ¡°I want to build a big academy in my fief, so don¡¯t I need lots of literate people? Even if it¡¯s just people to sort scrolls by genre, they still can¡¯t be illiterate. Half of these 300 people are under the age of ten, so they should go to school first. After one or two years of study, they should be able to recognize characters and do basic math. For those who are willing and able to continue further studies then let them do so. For those who are not able, they do still have hands and feet to work. With houses and fields provided to them, their life wouldn¡¯t be too bad.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a good idea.¡±


    But Yuanying continued shyly: ¡°But I have a huge problem, I don¡¯t know many schrs. If I were to ask them to help teach these children, I¡¯m afraid they would kick me out. I¡¯m wondering if Chengqian, the crown prince who knows many is willing to help me. If you tell them, they will definitely promise to rmend some suitable candidate who can do the job!¡± He then held Chengqian¡¯s hand tightly and said earnestly ¡°Lord Brother said that we should do this together, Chengqian, you need to put effort into this n too!¡±


    Chengqian wanted to say that ¡°I don¡¯t know many schrs either,¡± but he couldn¡¯t say such a thing to Li Yuanying who had bright eyes looking at him.


    As the crown prince, how can he be so useless that he can¡¯t even gather a few schrs?


    Chengqian nodded and epted the task entrusted to him by Li Yuanying.


    Li Yuanying was not in a hurry to leave. He was greatly inspired by Yu Zhining¡¯s speech just now and wanted to continue discussing the tactics for the recruitment of teachers.


    This recruitment speech cannot be done modestly for it will demotivate people from wanting to help the beggars and homeless people. It must be done on a grand scale, we need to fluff it up and make the speech grand and touching. First, we must say that although the great Tang Empire is strong, it¡¯s regretful that so many people still suffer. Then, we need to praise this initiative as something that will set precedence to the world. This small step is a big step for Tang Dynasty. So great that even the future descendants will remember their names!


    After Li Yuanying finished talking about his grand idea, he looked at Chengqian earnestly: ¡°Chengqian, you read more than me, so you must already be able to write great articles. Can you quickly write an article based on what I just shared? Make it so that as soon as I read it, I¡¯ll be so moved that I burst into tears and be inspired to rush to do it even without money!¡±


    Seeing his young uncle looking at him with such high expectations, how could Chengqian be honest and say that he too didn¡¯t like writing articles?


    Of course, that¡¯s not possible. Li Chengqian could only ask that ink be prepared while he writes the article under Yuanying¡¯s watchful eyes and to write it ording to the boy¡¯s wishes.


    Li Yuanying can¡¯t write the article, but he can read it. Once Chengqian wrote a paragraph, he¡¯ll read it and actively encouraged his nephew. After all, it costs no money to tter him. He kept saying ¡°Wow, this paragraph is exquisitely written.¡± ¡°Chengqian, you¡¯re really wonderful, you write very well.¡±


    Li Chengqian was silent, even though he didn¡¯t know Li Yuanying¡¯s literacy level, he still felt like he was a reincarnation of the constetion in charge of literary works! <sup>[1]</sup>in the raw it¡¯s written as w¨¦n q¨³ x¨©ng the fourth star in the big dipper known as the constetion in charge of knowledge & examinations


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü1in the raw it¡¯s written as w¨¦n q¨³ x¨©ng the fourth star in the big dipper known as the constetion in charge of knowledge & examinations

 Chapter 43

    Chapter 43


    Not sure if it¡¯s the aftereffect of being constantly ttered by Li Yuanying but when Chengqian read the article he wrote, he felt that it was well written and without the usual stagnation, unlike his past writings.


    This is a first for him to not regard writing as an annoying task. Now that he is done, he thinks back about how he felt working on it. He especially felt happy when Li Yuanying praised him.


    Young uncle said that this was the inspiration he got from Yu Zhining¡¯s lecture. He feels that this persuasion method of overwhelming someone with big principles until they be numb is a great way to persuade people. Anyone who listens would be persuaded easily! If you want to wear this tall beautiful hat <sup>[1]</sup>meaning to take on this prestigious role, you¡¯ll have to put in practical work, otherwise, thepliments received will backfire to connote the opposite meaning!


    Isn¡¯t that what Yu Zhining and the other teachers demanded from him daily? First, they say that he¡¯s the Crown Prince and then expect him to do this and that. If he didn¡¯t or couldn¡¯t do it well, he¡¯ll get a horrible scolding. And then they go to his Royal Father andin about him!


    Now that he wants to do proper business with Li Yuanying, shouldn¡¯t he just present this article that follows exactly his teacher¡¯s ideology back to them and they will have toply and rmend to him a group of schrs?


    He used to have no patience for tasks like these for he couldn¡¯t figure out how to navigate the twists and turns of working with schrs. Now that his young uncle led by example, he felt enlightened. He even felt that he has lost his usual uptight feeling about everything that used to constrict him.


    Li Chengqian packed up the manuscript, straightened his clothes, and went straight to look for Kong Yingda.


    If you were wondering who has the most disciples, it¡¯s naturally Kong Yingda. After all, he not only has many students but also manages the highly valued Imperial Academy.


    Li Chengqian told Kong Yingda all about the Emperor¡¯s instruction to settle the refugees¡¯ wellbeing together with Li Yuanying. They can amodate lodging for the group but more effort is needed to empower them to make a living and to be useful citizens for the Tang Empire. He quickly showed the article he wrote under Li Yuanying¡¯s advocacy to Kong Yinda and waited for his reply.


    Kong Yingda didn¡¯t expect the Crown Prince to take such initiative by his own efforts. Unlike Li Tai who loves literature, Li Chengqian prefers outdoor activities. It¡¯s a real challenge to get him to read and write on usual days. Unless it¡¯s absolutely necessary he would never pick up a pen and write!


    Kong Yingda feltforted. He quickly took the article and read it carefully. He found that it was well-organized with a prominent theme and reasonable sentence structure. The writing was also extremely moving. Upon reading, he also felt that there were many pitiful homeless people hidden right under the nose of the Emperor, with no one to support them which was distressing!


    What the Crown prince and Prince Teng is asking for is just to find them a few schrs who is willing to educate these underprivileged children in hopes that they could read and write and hopefully, one day be useful citizens!


    Such a deep profound love for the people of Tang. Kong Yingda¡¯s heart was moved and he immediately praised Chengqian and promised: ¡°Rest assured, Your Highness, this old minister willplete this matter as soon as possible. It will be done in a few days and the men will be there at the Sunflower Garden.¡±


    Hearing the praises and promises, Chengqian was happy and even took the rare initiative to stay back to talk to Kong Yingda before leaving.


    Although Kong Yingda is rigid and strict, he is not an unreasonable person. Seeing Chengqian¡¯s transformation is a great relief. After Li Chengqian left, Kong Yingda walked around before deciding that he needs to meet with His Majesty to share this piece of news.


    Li Er wasn¡¯t aware that Li Yuanying would really take in more than 300 people. Hearing this, he realized that his little brother really put words into action.


    But Kong Yingda has slight doubts: ¡°Prince Teng is still young. With so many refugees settling on his farm, I¡¯m afraid there will be trouble.¡±


    Put aside certain refugees joining with ulterior motives, just the cost to sustain and feed this group will be substantial! Not to mention the existing citizens making a living on these farms will have conflicts with these outsiders. No matter how well a country is governed, ¡°Uneven distribution has always been a bigger worry than scarcity¡±. Who is willing to give up their things to others? It is impossible to satisfy everyone no matter how well you distribute things!


    King Teng is only 10, how can he cope with these things?


    In the past, Kong Yingda wouldn¡¯t be bothered about how Prince Teng will manage this but now that he has dragged the Crown Prince into the picture, Kong Yinda needs to consider the bigger picture. After all Prince Teng losing his reputation is a small matter but if the Crown Prince makes a mistake, the problem will be big. If he is not careful, he may even shake the country!


    Li Er guessed what Kong Yingda was thinking and said with a smile: ¡°Yuanying is young but isn¡¯t Chengqian part of this mission? Chengqian has Elder Kong with him, even if it¡¯s 30,000 people it can be done. I entrust Chengqian to you and I want you to teach him to be a prince who can resolve problems. I believe that you, Elder Kong will not let me down.¡±


    Kong Yingda quickly understood His Majesty¡¯s hidden meaning and shows the article written by Li Chengqian to Li Er.


    Chengqian¡¯s article is not as well-written as Li Tai¡¯s, but it is more honest, has better rationality, and can be fluently read without being pretentious!


    Li Er had been on the battlefield for the initial half of his life but after he ascended to the throne, he paid special attention to literature. After reading, he was overjoyed and sent servants to bring forth great rewards to the East Pce.


    After all, Li Er¡¯s biggest challenge is to govern this country well and strategize ways to keep the Tang Empire prosperous for future generations. If the Crown prince has a change of heart and is no longer only indulging in hunting and having fun; for the Emperor, this will be the happiest thing.


    On the other side, Li Chengqian was busy ordering people to gather an ¡°elephant army¡± for Li Yuanying. He wasn¡¯t expecting to receive gifts from his father the Emperor.


    The East Pce doesn¡¯tck anything but how can it bepared to items rewarded to him by his father the Emperor? Somewere for him and some were for his son Li Xiang. Li Chengqian looks at the gifts with mixed feelings. He couldn¡¯t remember thest time his father, the Emperor had expressed satisfaction with him.


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t know about the rtionship between this father and son duo. He just heard that Chengqian requested Kong Yingda for help and he has agreed. And so he no longer worries.


    Old man Kong may be a bit annoying but he¡¯s a man of his words. He¡¯s already shown this during the opening of the library when the old teacher mobilizes his troops of schrs from the imperial academy and shared books.


    Since the matter of opening a school was settled, Li Yuanying ordered Dong Xiaoyi to return to Sunflower Garden to make preparations. We cannot allow the teachers to arrive in an area with no decent school so let¡¯s quickly pick a few ces with bright and clean windows and tidy them up to be used as a school.


    As for what should be added and changed, Dong Xiaoyi can decide himself. If he has to worry about everything, what are his men good for?


    Li Yuanying made it very clear that if Dong Xiaoyi can¡¯t do this well, he¡¯ll be reced with someone more capable.


    Xiaoyi is well aware that many in the pce want to climb up in ranks and so he didn¡¯t dare to rx. He did his best to report to Prince Teng about his proposal which he has thought about day and night. After that, he quickly left the pce to return to the garden to work.


    Since the n has beenid out properly, Yuanying stopped worrying and decided to continue studying pharmacology with Sun Simiao. He also urged Sun Simiao and Li Chunfeng to meet as they were both Taoist priests and they quickly became acquainted with each other. They then started to discuss the best way topile and design the new medical book so that it can fully express Sun Simiao¡¯s medical knowledge.


    Li Yuanying wandered around leisurely until the middle of the month. Dong Xiaoyi returned and reported that the academy has been set up and students are starting to register for sses.


    These children are all from poor backgrounds, so they didn¡¯t care about gender differences. When they heard that they could study they all actively participated.


    At first, the teachers sent by Kong Yingda has objections to the mixed sitting of gender. But theyter discovered that female students were more attentive than boys and treated teachers with diligence and respect. They were no less capable than the boys and so the teachers acquiesced to this matter and taught them all together.


    In addition, the sunflowers have also germinated. The corn and peanuts were also brought to suitable ces to be nted. A group of attentive elderly have been selected to tend to them. These elderly have worked in the fields all their lives and were able to quickly rectify any worries.


    Hearing that Dong Xiaoyi had arranged things in an orderly manner, Li Yuanying was satisfied and nodded approvingly: ¡°I¡¯ll bring along Chengqian and the others to visit in a few days to see the corn and peanuts as well as the people and children. You don¡¯t have to do any special preparation, we just want to see what the sunflower garden looks like on a normal day.¡±


    Dong Xiaoyi readily epted the order and returned to the garden.


    Li Yuanying was just about to visit Chengqian when his men came over asking him to make a trip to visit the Crown Prince.


    Li Yuanying quickly ran over. Chengqian updated that an ox in a surrounding vige has, unfortunately, broken his legs. The cattle can no longer work and his owner has reported it to the authorities. His men have already paid for the cattle and is just waiting for them to make time and have another BBQ session that Li Yuanying is so fond of!


    Since Yuanying previously wanted to y with an ¡°Elephant Army¡±, Chengqian has already found several and is secretly domesticating them. Now would be a great time to visit and see its progress.


    Li Yuanying got excited but it was a pity that only the two of them could sneak away! He originally wanted to invite Li Zhi and the other children to the Sunflower Garden. The boy leaned over and tried to persuade his eldest nephew: ¡°Let¡¯s bring Zhi Nu, Sizi, and the others! There more the merrier isn¡¯t it?!¡±


    Although Chengqian didn¡¯t feel very safe involving too many people but hearing that they can use the Sunflower garden as cover, he nodded in agreement. These are all his own brothers and sisters, it¡¯ll be more fun to y together.


    The uncle and nephew duo made ns to hide their little outing. Then Li Yuanying entrusted Li Chengqian with another important task: since we are going to visit the children at Sunflower Garden, how can the Crown Prince not speak to them?


    Li Yuanying asked Chengqian to prepare and that to encourage the children well. The Emperor Li Er is a good example to mimic, especially the way he gave his speech during the Imperial Academy open day ceremony, However, do not copy Li Er¡¯s manner of speaking too dryly with too many principles. Children do not understand and will fall asleep!


    Chengqian agreed but secretly thinks that if his father were to hear his uncle¡¯s words he would definitely be angry again.


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t think there was anything wrong with what he said, he is just honest. After discussing business with his nephew, the boy came happily and returned happily, he even hummed a little tune as he walks home.


    Back at the residence, Li Yuanying told his mom that he¡¯ll be leaving the pce in two days. Lady Liu took her son¡¯s hand and instructed: ¡°You can go out and y, but you can¡¯t climb onto the back of an elephant again.¡±


    Thest time the Emperor punished Li Yuanying, everyone found out about Prince Teng¡¯s new antics of riding an elephant at Duke Wei¡¯s mansion and Lady Liu has been left terrified these days.


    When mother spoke, Yuanying listened obediently and promised that he¡¯ll never do it again.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already rode it, so it¡¯ll be boring to ride again.¡±


    This time he just wanted to observe who is more powerful ¨C horse or elephant? He won¡¯t go into battle in person himself.


    Lady Liu wasn¡¯t aware that her son¡¯s heart has long been lost somewhere between roasted beef and the elephant and horse battle. She was relieved to hear his obedient promise and allowed Yuanying to pass a message to Wei Shu, his only friend living outside the pce. The message is that he would pick her up to visit the Sunflower Garden together.


    Wei Shu has been grounded by Wei Zheng since the absurd incident of identally visiting the red light district.


    This time, when Wei Zheng heard the invitation, he didn¡¯t agree with it. In the past, without the Beili incident he still thought that Prince Teng can be taught discipline but after he brought his precious granddaughter to Beili, he has liver pain just thinking about him.


    Whose daughter would go to that kind of ce? To add salt to the wound, Gao Yang actually met Fang Yi¡¯ai there. If this news spread out, people willugh for at least half a year!


    Unfortunately, no matter how stubborn Wei Zheng was, he still lost to his granddaughter¡¯s pleads and finally nodded to let her go.


    The author has something to say:


    Little Prince: It¡¯s impossible for me to not do anything. I will forever not be able to stay out of trouble!


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü1meaning to take on this prestigious role

 Chapter 44

    Chapter 44


    Li Yuanying notified all his friends and then remembered that he hadn¡¯t asked the Emperor for permission.


    He ran over to meet his older brother and devoted himself to him for a long time. He told Li Er all about the Sunflower Garden, saying that he wanted to invite the Crown Prince to motivate the children just like how the Emperor did during the Shi Dian ceremony at the Imperial Academy¡¯s open day.


    Li Er was already aware about updates on the garden as he was the one who gave Yuanying permission to rope in Chengqian and the other princes on this project. After enjoying Li Yuanying¡¯s favor, he decided to lift the ban on his children and allowed them to go out for a day.


    Li Yuanying then happily ran away.


    On the agreed day, the boy first counted his nephews and nieces and then went to the Wei family mansion to pick up Wei Shu. Wei Zheng has left for morning duty and so only Mrs. Pei and Wei Shu were home. He made swore to Mrs. Pei that he will bring sister Shu home safely and easily got permission to pick up his friend.


    Yuanying shared popcorn and fish skin peanuts with the other children and proudly boasted about the rarity of these: ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve never seen or tasted them before.¡±


    Since Yuanying and Chengqian didn¡¯t have much opportunity to spend time together and thest time there was popcorn involved they had ¡°obstructions¡± between them, he missed out on trying them.


    This time Chengqian finally got to try and tasted a few from the little cloth bag. It was indeed unique tasting. He was taken aback when he heard that corn is an easy crop to grow and peanuts can be nted in abundance under the soil.


    He has never seen such crops before!


    ¡°You are not allowed to mention this to your father. I want to surprise him with it!¡±


    Hearing that young uncle only reserved a small batch of seeds for nting and has already eaten the rest, Chenqian could only promise to keep the secret. Otherwise, he¡¯s pretty sure his uncle will probably be beaten up by the Emperor!


    Thest time their young uncle decided to cook sunflower seeds, father jumped in anger. Luckily a small batch was left or else father would never let this slide!


    The Sunflower garden only started nting at the beginning of spring but the pce has already carefully nted several batches in its greenhouse fearing that the seeds left would be damaged. To harvest this new crop that can produce oil and be eaten, the workers in the greenhouse were super busy!


    At this point, Chengqian could only persuade his uncle while eating popcorn: ¡°Next time, please don¡¯t turn all the seeds you find into food. I¡¯m afraid father might fall sick from always getting angry at you.¡±


    Even though he¡¯s good friends with the children, Yuanying is well aware that the existence of the Myriad Realm Library cannot be disclosed to anyone. Like Sun Simiao said if others don¡¯t have it but only you, how can this pass?


    Since he cannot exin why corn and peanuts kept turning into snacks, he certainly couldn¡¯t argue that he didn¡¯t turn them into food himself. After all, it¡¯s the system¡¯s fault for giving him snacks. The seeds were just the apanying gifts!


    Li Yuanying responded vaguely: ¡°Let¡¯s talk about itter!¡±


    Chengqian is well aware that his young uncle is not afraid of anyone nor heaven or earth and so decided to stop persuading him. The group departed on horses and carriages and quickly arrived at their destination. Thisnd was given to Yuanying when histe father was alive. He picked the best piece and circled it. This ce is surrounded by water on the front and on its backside the mountains. The whole mountain is part of the sunflower garden.


    Many people had hoped to own this ce but it was given to Li Yuanying, who was only 4 at the time! In the past few years, the farms have brought in excellent harvests thus bringing in lots of money to Prince Teng every year. Not to mention he has two other smaller farms under his name.


    Therefore, Li Yuanying has never been short on money.


    It is precisely because he¡¯s rich that he can simply ask those below him to nt new crops like peanuts, corn, and sunflowers. When the farmers first heard that they are not to grow usual crops there were manyints. Nevertheless, Dong Xiaoyi took care of it by firstforting them and then threatening them. Hence, the issue was taken care of and the farmers obediently nted whatever the prince wanted.


    Since Spring began, Dong Xiaoyi has been living on the farm and spent his days monitoring the progress of the crops. He would first patrol the sunflower garden and then the other two farms under Prince Teng. Within a month, his scrawny body has be firm from all the work.


    On this day, Dong Xiaoyi was inspecting the tender seedlings in the sunflower field and saw Li Yuanying and his party approaching from a distance. He immediately ran to greet them and brought them to tour the garden and introduced where the sunflowers, corn, and peanuts were nted.


    The seedlings are still green and tender and look the same when viewed from a distance. Only when you look closely would you spot the difference.


    Yuanying led the party around to view the crops before heading to the new school under the guidance of Dong Xiaoyi.


    Before they got close, the sound of reading could be heard from afar.


    It is now March and peach blossoms are in full bloom. When the wind moves, the soft petals flutter gently, making the whole ce look like paradise. Yuanying looked at the beautiful peach blossom tree full of pink flowers and asked Dong Xiaoyi cheerfully, ¡°Will the peach tree bear peaches? Is it big? Is it delicious?¡±


    Li Zhi was immersed in the beautiful view and the melodious sound of reading. Hearing Li Yuanying say such a thing, he didn¡¯t know how to respond.


    ¡°Young Uncle, you really know how to spoil the scenery!¡±


    Li Yuanying was not happy: ¡°What scenery? Don¡¯t you want to pick your own peaches? It¡¯s tastier when picked by oneself!¡± He also pulled Sizi and the others to support him: ¡°Sizi, don¡¯t you think I am right?¡±


    When the choice is between ninth brother or young uncle, hands down Li Yuanying is the winner. They all agreed that climbing trees and picking peaches must be fun. Although there are peach trees in the pce, they are not as big and good as the ones here. If they bear peaches, they must be big and sweet.


    Li Zhi was speechless.


    Dong Xiaoyi has served by Li Yuanying¡¯s side for a period and is already familiar with his temperament. After the two princes finished arguing, Dong Xiaoyi introduced carefully: ¡°This is thergest peach tree and it produces thergest peaches and the quality is good. Even if you simply pick any the quality is assured. However, if you are looking for the sweetest one then it¡¯s the tree behind the school but it¡¯s slightly smaller in size. Perhaps it¡¯s because of the good quality of water and soil here, the produce here is tastier than the ones sold outside!¡±


    Li Yuanying loves hearing such ttery. He immediately requested that a report be sent to him once the peaches were ripe, and he will bring his friends along to pick them.


    The group continued towards the school and the sound of reading continued on. Whenever the teacher read a sentence, a group of children will recite the same; loud and neat.


    The school was rebuilt from existing houses and there isn¡¯t one that is big enough to amodate 100 people. Hence, the students were divided into several houses ording to their age and initial test scores. Some citizens living in the surrounding area heard about a school opening and sent their school-aged children over. In total there were nearly 150 students.


    Different teachers have different teaching methods, and the progress of the children is not uniform. When they recite, it sounded more like apetition among sses and they all use their loudest voice. Yuanying is satisfied with this as he likes liveliness. The grand scene of more than a hundred childrenpeting suits his preferences!


    Dong Xiaoyi waited until the teachers finished a section before personally knocking on the iron bars. He knocked three times in ordance with the training instructions.


    ¡°Dang. Dang. Dang.¡±


    Although the teachers weren¡¯t aware that they have visitors today, they had an agreement that teachers were in-charged of education while Dong Xiaoyi handles the management of the school. In the future, these children will work under the Crown Prince and Prince Teng. They need to be taught well. We can¡¯t raise a bunch of ungrateful and disrespectful white-eyed wolves!


    As soon as the bells were sounded, the teachers got the students to exit their sses in an orderly manner and gather in an open space.


    Only then did they see Li Chengqian and his group standing not far away. Whilemoners might not recognize the crown prince, these are educators and schrs so how could they not recognize him?


    Seeing the prince observing them, the teachers quickly jumped up to make the students move more quickly. Can¡¯t afford to disappoint the crown prince!


    These children were born poor with no parental upbringing, hence they weren¡¯t aware of who the Crown Prince or Prince Teng is. But Dong Xiaoyi has been feeding them with ideology during exercise sessions every morning. Content is roughly as follow: The person currently giving you food and clothes is Prince Teng while the one giving you an education is the Crown Prince. As long as you take the opportunity to learn, more doors will open up to you in the future. For example, because Don Xiaoyi knew a few words, he has the opportunity to work by Prince Teng¡¯s side!


    For these children who have been struggling with basic necessities, it¡¯s useless to tell them about contributing to the nation, benevolence, righteousness, or morality. You have to instead give them the hard truth about why it¡¯s important to be educated so that they will be inspired to take the chance to change their future!


    Dong Xiaoyi¡¯s simple and blunt ideology is very effective. When the children heard that their benefactors is here, they quickly lined up. Even the more privileged children of existing citizens were influenced and they all raised their heads to look at the group in luxurious clothing.


    The current living members of the Li family were blessed with good looks, especially Chengqian¡¯s generation. The only one without the surname Li is Wei Shu who also looks handsome in male clothing. The eyes of the children were fixed on this group of nobles.


    Yuanying pokes Chengqian, indicating that it is time for him to speak!


    On the way here, Yuanying and Chengqian have already discussed this speech. Li Yuanying repeatedly raised various opinions and in the end even changed Chengqian¡¯s eloquence speech into in simple dailynguage.


    Although Li Chengqian has never liked literature but he still found it a challenge to speak bluntly in front of a hundred kids.


    Looking up to face multiple pairs of bright eyes filled with expectations, Chengqian feltstrange. He started reciting a simple straightforward speech to the children about his expectations.


    The children listened earnestly and pledged to do their best by studying hard and not bezy!


    Even when the group left the Sunflower Garden and headed towards their ¡°secret base¡±, Chengqian was still reminiscing about how he felt when giving that speech. He still felt lingering emotions in his heart.It¡¯s just a group of helpless children, why is he feeling like this?


    He couldn¡¯t understand.


    Since he¡¯s unable to figure it out, Chengqian just thought that he will visit again to see how the children have progressed in his next visit.


    Li Yuanying had no feelings toward the incident. He was instead telling his friends all about the secret n. Visiting Sunflower Garden is part one; now it¡¯s time for part two: eating roasted beef and watching elephants and horses fight!


    Gao Yang who thought this trip was just to visit children was originally a little disappointed. Hearing this, her eyes lit up: ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Of course, when have I lied to you!¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Sizi held Yuanying¡¯s hand worriedly ¡°Young uncle, will father get angry?¡± Thest time they identally went to Wan Cui Mansion, father threw a fit!


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, we¡¯re just going for food and to y. Nothing else! Besides, the Emperor wouldn¡¯t know if we don¡¯t tell him.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: If the emperor doesn¡¯t know, he won¡¯t be angry!


    His Majesty Li Er sneezes. Thinking about it, it must be because the younger brother is going to be a trouble-making demon again.

 Chapter 45

    Chapter 45


    Li Yuanying very convincingly said that his Majesty will be too busy with country affairs and would never know that they have detoured to a ¡°secret base¡± to y.


    The young ones blindly believed him and happily climb up the carriage.


    Maybe it¡¯s because this ¡°secret base¡± has been visited by Li Er and his ministers, it has been left alone unlike previous ¡°bases¡± which were all torn down mercilessly.


    Li Zhi thought much deeper and felt that it was a little na?ve to think that the Emperor would remain ignorant given that so many of them went out with big brother. He told Yuanying his concerns and warn him to take it easy and not go overboard.


    ¡°You¡¯re just being paranoid. What are you afraid of? Let¡¯s y first, thinkter.¡± Whatever happens, after this gets discovered, that¡¯s a problem for another time. (Gao Yang)


    This is why Gao Yang and Li Yuanying are simr in personality. The two persuaded Sizi and the others with their rich experience in getting away with mischief. When they arrived, they happily jumped out of the carriage to observe the barbeque beef.


    It was fat and juicy. When Chengqian bought it, he spent a fortune. He had to bid for it with other buyers which caused the price to hike up.


    Chengqian is very willing to spend on eating and ying. Since he promised Yuanying, he didn¡¯t hesitate to spend quite a fortune to make it happen.


    Knowing that the group was visiting, the workers in the ¡°secret base¡± have been busy preparing. This cow is much bigger than the sheep previously and the people needed to manually roast it has doubled. All were staring intently at the red-hot stove to ensure that it is roasted to perfection!


    The children watch for a while but quickly lost interest. Yuanying then pestered Chengqian about wanting to see the ¡°elephant army¡± he has recruited.


    Chengqian led them to higher ground with an excellent view. He then pped his hands gently and his men took out two gs and flung them in the wind. They then saw two groups appearing on each side of the wilderness: there were no more than ten on each side. The one on the left was riding horses while the one on the right was riding elephants!


    Before the two sides could meet, the Turks riding horses hasplete control of their horses and rode with rhythm.


    On the other side, perhaps because the elephants were extraordinarily huge, the southerners riding them look much smaller. The elephants had high trunks and were pping their huge ears, wherever they went the wild grass that had grown in abundance due to the spring rain were trampled t.


    Probably because the horses had not seen an elephant and as it approaches the horses suddenly began to disobey its rider and neighed in panic. If it weren¡¯t because the Turkic people have tame their horses well, they would have fled in such a situation!


    But the situation for the Turks is not good. They couldn¡¯t make the horses move forward even if they tried their very best!


    To be able to hunt and y with Chengqian all day long, the group couldn¡¯t train much, so they weren¡¯t very capable but only had above-average riding skills. To expect them to ride unafraid of danger and fight to the death with the opponent? That¡¯s not possible!


    As the ¡°Elephant Army¡± approaches, the horses finally broke up and rode away embarrassingly.


    There¡¯s no choice but to retreat. Otherwise, the horses will really be frightened! If the horses throw their riders off in fear, they will likely be trampled into meat paste by the elephants!


    Li Yuanying watched with great excitement and felt that the elephants were awesome. The Turks who were usually brave were running away in fear. He had a stupid desire and suddenly asked: ¡°Is an elephant easy to raise and tame?¡±


    Li Yuanying was not the only one who was moved. Chengqian requested for a fluent southerner and wanted to ask some questions.


    In the past, he loves hanging out with the Turks and felt that they lived freely. But now looking at how they were fleeing the elephant group, they have lost their former glory to the elephant rider!


    The group sat down and looked towards the nervous southerner who was summoned. He was thin and dark with obvious signs of being exposed to the sun and wind all year round.


    At the urging of Prince Teng, he began sharing about his elephant taming career. His name is Yang Ling. Since there are many elephants in his hometown, his family has been in the elephant taming business for generations. Ling even adopted a baby elephant when he was a child!


    An elephant takes much longer to conceive than a human baby and takes about ten years to be fully grown. It can be said that his elephant grew up together with him, hence he can tame and control it well.


    If the elephants weren¡¯t domesticated since young, ordinary people would have a headache if they encountered them. After all, they are big and group together. If the mountains, forests, and grasnds do not provide enough food for them, they will nibble on human crops and destroy everything!


    Li Yuanying has never been to the South so he listened with relish.


    Yang Ling continued talking about his difficulties in raising an elephant: this animal eats several hundred pounds of vegetation in a day, and after eating, it cannot fully digest its food and they are released as fecal matter. Just its feces alone may weigh hundreds of pounds, the kind that can bury people alive!


    If it wasn¡¯t for the expertise his family has gathered over the years from raising elephants, I¡¯m afraid it would be really difficult to serve such a big guy, let alone domesticate them.


    Li Yuanying¡¯s eyes widened when he heard that an elephant can produce so much dung a day. He¡¯s having a hard time imagining how much dung will he have if he were to rear a hundred elephants. He sighed to his friends: ¡°Duke Wei doesn¡¯t have it easy. I¡¯m sure he has a servant just to clean up afterelephant sh*t. Otherwise, it¡¯ll only take a few days for his mansion to be buried under elephant sh*t!¡±


    The hyperactive Gao Yang was initially eager to y with an elephant but after getting to know more about the animal, she changed her mind. After all, she doesn¡¯t want her future home to be filled with elephant dung. She¡¯s ady who loves being beautiful. Even though Yang Ling vouched that elephant dung is not smelly and can be used as fertilizers, she¡¯s still unwilling to raise an animal who can sh*t so much.


    Li Yuanying wasn¡¯t as particr as Gao Yang so he asked curiously, ¡°You brought the elephants to Chang¡¯an. Are they used to carry goods?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we were hired by businessmen to help them move goods and also as a way to attract attention. Coincidentally His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was looking for elephants to battle the Turks and so our agent rmended that we give it a try. Our elephants are docile, we have fiercer ones who were once used to defeat the Tubo army. They have not dared attack again in thest ten years!¡± (Yang Ling proudly)


    ¡°Are they really that powerful?¡± (Li Chengqian)


    Yang Ling wouldn¡¯t lie and so he told the excited group the story about the Elephant Army that he has heard about since childhood.


    The children got very excited.


    ¡°Although elephants eat a lot and sh*t a lot, if you use they correctly they are useful!¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Li Chengqian and Li Zhi both nodded.


    Wei Shu sensing Yuanying¡¯s growing interest in raising a group of elephants thought and quickly say to him: ¡°Although the elephant army is brave and scary, I still don¡¯t think that they are invincible. ¡°


    Everyone focused their eyes towards Wei Shu.


    Wei Shu was not flustered but said calmly: ¡°During the Warring States Period, a man named Tian Dan from the state of Qi invented a war tactic called ¡®Fireball Array¡¯. He collected a thousand cattle, decorated them with dragon motifs, and tied oil-soaked reeds on their tails. He lit the reeds and sent them charging into the enemy¡¯s formation. Seeing these ¡°monsters¡± rushing towards them, the enemies were frightened and fled. Hence they were suddenly defeated by the Qi people.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve read about this too, it¡¯s written in the <<Historical Records>>.¡± Yuanying was a little puzzled. ¡°But what does this have to do with the Elephant Army? Is this tactic useful to deal with the Elephant Army?¡±


    Wei Shu nodded and said eloquently: ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say that elephants are afraid of fire? If this fire formation is used, when the fire-tailed cattle rush towards them, they will scramble to avoid it. The result will be like the battle we just witness, the elephants will flee and might even trample on its rider.¡±


    Li Yuanying drew a mental picture of Wei Shu¡¯s statement and agreed that this tactic seems feasible to deal with the elephant army!


    The battlefield of war is usually not within Tang City borders but within the North and West borders where the nomadic peoples live. Livestock is not as precious there because they are raised in abundance due to the richness in food and water. In Tubo, there are many wild cattle with no owners. If someone were to drive them rushing towards our elephant army, the former advantages will turn disastrous for us!


    ¡°Sister Shu, why are you so smart?!¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°But the fireball formation is not for everyone. How can you guarantee that the bulls will run towards the enemy instead of turning around and smashing their people? When the fire is burning their tails, they wouldn¡¯t be able to judge direction anymore.¡± (Yang Ling unconvincingly)


    ¡°If there¡¯s a method to tame elephants, then there will also be a way of directing cattle.¡± (Wei Shu)


    ¡°That¡¯s reasonable. If you can make the elephant listen to you, then others will have a way of making the cow listen to them.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Yang Ling went silent for he had no refute to that statement.


    Hearing his friends debate, Chengqian was inspired. ¡°Seems like no one is invincible. You have your great strategy while I have my well-thought out tactics. It all depends on whose is better suited for the specific battle.¡±


    Chengqian used to think that riding horses are the best but seeing his Turkic friends flee in the face the ¡°Elephant Army¡±, he has started to lose some interest in this pasttime.


    Li Yuanying took the opportunity: ¡°Then we need to learn more about different tactics so that we can anticipate and have correct countermeasures. With that, we wouldn¡¯t be left in a panic.¡±


    Yuanying is a brilliant child and is already anticipating that the Emperor will find out all about today¡¯s outing. Therefore he started trying to influence Chengqian again: ¡°It¡¯s fine for us to sneak out once or twice, but it¡¯ll be eye-catching if we do it too many times. Why don¡¯t you write another article directed towards the Emperor to share this idea with him? Once his Majesty gives his permission for us to gain exposure we cane out to y with no fear!¡±


    Li Chengqian thought and felt that it was a reasonable request. There are so many guards apanying him today, it¡¯ll be difficult to hide it from the Emperor. So wouldn¡¯t it be better to just write a document and ask the Emperor¡¯s instructions?


    The roasted whole cow is not ready yet. Chengqian is worried that he will forget about this and so quickly got someone to bring him paper and ink. Under the watchful eyes of his younger siblings and uncle, he quickly started writing. Since everything just happened and is fresh in his mind, the ideas, insights, and examples all started flowing instantly. Chengqian wrote even better than the previous time with just Li Yuanying praising him.


    Since there were so many of them here today, Yuanying didn¡¯tpliment each and every paragraph. He instead picked good sentences and pulled his friends to praise him together: ¡°This sentence is so well written, I wouldn¡¯t be able to think like this!¡±


    Sizi is very supportive of this: ¡°Big brother is amazing!¡±


    Li Zhi went next: ¡°It¡¯s really good!¡±


    Chengyang and Hengshan nodded their heads.


    Although Gao Yang doesn¡¯t like literature, she still patiently stayed around to observe and from time to time would follow the trend and praise her brother. After all, young uncle mentioned that if this article was well written, their father wouldn¡¯t scold them but would praise them instead!


    However, Wei Shu who started the whole thing just stood by Li Yuanying¡¯s side watching quietly. She quietly observes how the crown prince is eloquently writing the article about Elephant and Horse War and Fireball Array under Li Yuanying¡¯s instigation.


    Li Yuanying was worried that sister Shu is feeling bored and so he quietly share the reason why he is now encouraging the Crown Prince to write.


    ¡°I learned this from Minister Yu Zhining. Although he is not as old as your grandfather, he is equally powerful when ites to scolding people. I don¡¯t think you know but he recently wrote a 20 volume book toin about Chengqian. So scary!¡±


    He then briefly told Wei Shu about his meeting with Yu Zhining and happily added: ¡°At the time, I thought, if I could follow his method and y a trick to make everything have a righteous fa?ade by involving the country and the greater good, it¡¯ll be easier to get brother¡¯s approval. And if we are lucky he might even praise us too. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t write, so I got Chengqian to do it.¡±


    Wei Shu was dumbfounded.


    If Yu Zhining knew about Li Yuanying¡¯s thoughts, he would probably want to beat him to death!


    Li Chengqian finished his article and the servants also updated him that dinner is ready. After ying for so long, Yuanying was hungry. He immediately pulled Chengqian over to start dinner. Given the Emperor is not here today, the roasted leg should be given to the winning ¡°Elephant Army¡± as tribute.


    Li Chengqian is the eldest and should shoulder the responsibility of dividing the meat. Li Yuanying led his group of small radish heads and waited aside. He then started directing Chenqian on how to divide the meat, not respecting him as the crown prince at all; making sure that everyone gets a big chunk of the vorful and mouth-watering roast beef.


    Seeing his young uncle so happily instructing him about this and that. Chengqian deliberately moves his knife in a crooked way making Yuanying¡¯s steak especially spectacr. Much bigger looking that his face and longer than his arms!


    Si Zi eximed in wonderment: ¡°Young uncle, can you eat so much?¡±


    Being a manly man, how can I say no?! ¡°Of course I can!¡±


    As a result, Li Yuanying couldn¡¯t ride his pony with Chengqian. He insteady t in the carriage rubbing his big round belly.


    I think I ate too much!


    He realized that his eldest nephew might be a little naughty!


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: The son mirrors the father (pointing andining)


    His Majesty Li Er: ? ? ?

 Chapter 46

    Chapter 46


    The more he thought about it, the more he felt that his eldest nephew has picked up some bad habits. Yuanying ran towards his older brother intending toin about him even before Li Chengqian had the opportunity to submit his article.


    His Majesty has just gotten an update about the children going to Sunflower Garden but ended up detouring elsewhere to y. He was waiting for his men to find out where they went and what kind of nuisance they have caused. But instead, he saw a certain Li Yuanying running toward him. Hearing him, it was about how Chengqian was horrible for giving him arge piece of meat, almost suffocating him with too much food!


    Li Er was amused: ¡°Wow, so obedient? Just because Chengqian cuts you a piece you eat it all up?¡±


    Li Yuanying said: ¡°It¡¯s because Sizi made ament asking if I can really eat it all? Of course I have to say YES, a manly man like me can¡¯t say he can¡¯t!¡±


    Li Er gave his brother, tiny in size a quick nce and thought ¡°even you can be considered as a manly man?¡±


    Li Yuanying hummed: ¡°Anyway, I think he has learned to be bad!¡±


    Li Er has always known that although this boy is shameless, he has a reputation to maintain in front of the other children. Li Er was secretly happy with his experience. He then calmly exposed Li Yuanying¡¯s lie: ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯ll be going to Sunflower Garden? Why were there roasted meat involved?¡±


    Li Yuanying realized his huge blunder and quickly tried to wriggle out of the situation: ¡°I suddenly remembered that I have an appointment with teacher, so I¡¯ll be leaving first!¡± Right after he finished speaking, he ran away like thunder, not even waiting for his Majesty¡¯s reply.


    Li Er let him do as he wishes, after all once his men are back they will know the full story. These are his biological children and although he didn¡¯t have much time to educate them himself, he cannot allow them to fool around and spoil the royal family¡¯s good name.


    After hearing the report, Li Er rubbed his eyebrows and waved his hand to dismiss his men. Just by hearing about roasting whole cows and elephant-horse battles, he instantly knew which b*stard came up with the idea. However, Chengqian who is much older yed a part in helping him in the n, seriously this whole bunch of naughty children!


    Fortunately, Chengqian had a sound mind and didn¡¯t allow his siblings to ride on the elephant and only allowed them to watch from a high ce. If anything were to happen to his precious girls, his Majesty will really straggle that b*stard to death!


    His fourth child is still the best! Worry-free parenting as he just likes to read books at home. When a father thinks about his son, of course, the more he thinks of him the more adorable he bes. Even if the fourth prince is chubby, the father still thinks is good fat and a sign of prosperity.


    Remembering Li Tai, his Majesty summoned for him to be brought to the pce, and father and son sat down and chatted to rx.


    Li Tai was at home debating with Xiao Deyan during a lesson but hearing that the Emperor summoned him, he bid goodbye to the teacher and entered the pce. Because of his chubbiness, Li Er had given him special permission to use a pnquin in the pce so that he didn¡¯t have to walk too many steps himself.


    On the way, Li Tai was wondering why his father had summoned him. It¡¯s a rather awkward time of the day, could it be an emergency? Regardless of the reason, Li Tai was trying very hard to recall all that he has learned recently and what to say in front of his father. This is what the Emperor likes to hear.


    As soon as Li Tai arrived, His Majesty allowed him to sit and as expected ask him about what he has been doingtely and what books he had read. Hearing Li Tai talk about literature with enthusiasm, Li Er was happy and he encouraged him before bringing up the topic of how Li Yuanying took his friends out to cause trouble and even slotted in a scolding directed toward Li Chengqian.


    ¡°Young uncle and the rest are still young. It¡¯s normal for them to want to y and have fun. It¡¯ll be even more strange if they don¡¯t do so.¡± (Li Tai)


    His Majesty nodded and after chatting with his beloved child, he gave him more treasures and then once again threw himself into the ocean of government affairs.


    Li Tai left the pce to find his confidant and ordered him to find out what the party did in the eastern suburbs today. He wanted to see if there was anything that could be used to cause a fuss.


    Although he intends to fight for the crown prince position, it was inappropriate for him to keep sending men to spy on Li Chengqian. After all, his biggest triumph card is his father¡¯s love. If he were to create a fuss before Chengqian makes a mistake, he might lose his father¡¯s favor! But if Chengqian did something wrong, then the situation would be different! Li Tai exined this to his confidants and requested that they get to work.


    Day 2 and Chengqian still had not found a chance to submit his article. Some people had already came forward to use the crown prince of neglecting his studies and indulging in pleasures.


    This is an old topic that many has brought up in the past few years, but this time the old bottle has been filled with new wine: some are using the crown prince of spending too much money senselessly, being arrogant and extravagant. Someined about how he had an ¡°Elephant-Horse battle¡± that with a little carelessness may cause innocent people to be killed or injured. Some vaguely asked ¡°Why is there a need to create an elephant army behind the Emperor¡¯s back?¡± Anyway, the whole court meeting was spent attacking Li Chengqian.


    What¡¯s deadly is that those criticizing him were not only those who opposed him but also his own teachers like minister Zhang.


    Last night when Li Er heard the updates about their mischief he weren¡¯t too rmed and just lightly scolded them. After all, these too were the things he liked when he was young. Not to mention he wouldn¡¯t only have stopped at a few elephants, he would have gotten a few tigers as well; so isn¡¯t it normal for his son to be just like him? He wasn¡¯t expecting the big hurrah in court the next morning. With such amotion, he now feels that Chengqian had done something outrageous!


    Li Er was helpless by the excitement of the courtiers and looked at Chengqian who was sitting silently. He obediently sat there and endured the scoldings. Li Er realized that the other instigator was not present. How dare the bad kid be sleeping in peace. He immediately asked that this topic be put on pause while he summons Li Yuanying so that that b*stard can also hear everyone¡¯s criticism.


    The crowd heard this and all agreed that Li Yuanying, the little demon king was capable of this nonsense and agreed with His Majesty¡¯s proposal to bring him here.


    Li Yuanying was indeed sleeping soundly. He ate too much yesterday and afterining about his misfortunes to the Emperor he came home to read tillte. Naturally, he couldn¡¯t wake up in the morning. Anyhow, he usually never wakes up early, not at least until the bright sun is high up in the skies.


    Hearing the summon, Lady Liu panicked and rushed to wake up her son. Yuanying was in a daze and was helped by mother to get dressed. He only came to his senses after washing his face. He hugged Lady Liu and asked strangely, ¡°Mother, what did you wake me up so early?¡±


    Lady Liu whispered that His Majesty had summoned him.


    ¡°Surely it wouldn¡¯t be a good thing.¡±


    Lady Liu covered his mouth: ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense, the court is full of high-ranking ministers, you have to be obedient.¡±


    Seeing his mom looking fearful, Yuanying nodded honestly.


    Li Yuanying put on formal clothing and looked like a real little prince. After turning a corner and making sure that Lady Liu was out of sight, he asked curiously: ¡°Why is the Emperor asking me to attend today¡¯s court meeting?¡± In the past when looks for his older brother and if he was busy with his ministers, Yuanying would be left hanging outside the door waiting.


    The servant escorting Yuanying is aware of his Majesty¡¯s fondness for his younger brother so he quietly told him what had happened in the meeting.


    Isn¡¯t this mass bullying? Such bad people! Although Yuanying also thinks his eldest nephew is a little naughty but for so many to bully one, this is too much! The young boy¡¯s footsteps suddenly picked up and he ran towards the meeting hall. It was so sudden that the servant chasing after him almost couldn¡¯t catch up.


    The discussion in the hall just came to an end. When they heard that the Prince of Teng is here, everyone remembered the grievances that had been put on hold and looked toward Li Yuanying.


    Li Yuanying is a frequent attendee to pce banquets and so the ministers could recognize this little demon king. Some of the older officials even had their beard pulled by him and will never forget it!


    It was a first for Yuanying to attend a court meeting. Older princes like Li Chengqian and Li Tai would often attend court to observe but given that Yuanying is young and had a bad reputation, the Emperor has never forced him to attend and instead let him do whatever he wants to have fun.


    Seeing the gazes of the ministers, Yuanying didn¡¯t panic and walked in the direction where the rising sun reflected in the hall, This caused him to be dyed golden by the morning light. He was born with lovable features and even managed to look smart and cute in a time like this. Many felt that if he was their own child they wouldn¡¯t be willing to say any heavy word to him.


    But Li Yuanying is not their grandson!


    Many rolled up their sleeves and got ready.


    Li Yuanying looked inside only to find Li Zhi sitting beside Li Chengqian as uneasy as a quail. He ran over and sat down, looking angrily at Li Er, meaning ¡°You guys can start your scolding, I¡¯ll wait and see how well you can scold.¡±


    If this weren¡¯t an official event His Majesty would have reached out and pinched his puffy cheeks.


    Since the three princes are here, the courtiers started a new round of impeachment. It was so violent that it almost felt like their mistakes weren¡¯t for roasting some meat but instead felt like they have robbed someone¡¯s mother! Li Yuanying has had prior experience with Yu Zhining and was expecting this kind of scolding but now that he¡¯s hearing so many people having a go at the three of them, his anger was rising.


    When the son spends money to buy a cow to eat, it is justifiable for the father to scold him for overspending. But how dare outsiders join in this scolding session, I didn¡¯t spend your family¡¯s money!


    Li Yuanying stood up indicating that he had something to say.


    His Majesty gave him a sideways nce, meaning, ¡°I asked you toe here to be scolded so listen obediently.¡±


    Li Yuanying ignored him and rushed to an official who was stillining about how inappropriate it was for Li Chengqian to overspend. He directly pulled the other party¡¯s sleeve and interrupted: ¡°It¡¯s now my turn to speak!¡±


    With this action, the official was so shocked that he forgot his words and blushed with anger.


    Li Er instructed: ¡°Go back and sit down!¡± He nced at Li Yuanying: ¡°If you have something to say just say it, don¡¯t move!¡±


    Everyone went quiet and looked at Li Yuanying.


    Li Yuanying felt that with his short stature he will lose momentum if he sat down and so choose to stand. He asked the officials: ¡°Do you think it¡¯s not good for Chengqian to spend a lot of money on procuring a cow?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. The treasury is empty and the people are poor. As the crown prince, His Royal Highness should lead by example!¡±


    Li Yuanying turned around and asked Chengqian, ¡°Chengqian, are you spending your own money or the state¡¯s money?¡±


    ¡°Of course my own.¡± Chengqian is not a fool, how could he use the money from the national treasury to y.


    Li Yuanying nodded and looked at the officials again: ¡°Chengqian spent his own money to buy a cow. This cow has been reported and can no longer be used for farming. This is an ordinary transaction. Is there any vition of thew?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, but as the crown prince, how can His Highness be so extravagant and wasteful?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve already eaten all the beef, how can you say we are wasteful?¡± Li Yuanying said in disbelief. ¡°If you think it¡¯s a waste of us to eat beef, then I¡¯m really surprised. If eating is a waste, what is consider not wasting? Should I starve to death by not eating or drinking ?¡±


    When the war generals heard this, some couldn¡¯t hold back theirughter.


    Everyone in court speaks formally and walks ording to the rules. This has caused much uneasiness to the war generals who much prefer being on the battlefield. However, they are not allowed to miss such sessions and so are forced to attend. With an exception for a certain few who constantly raises their fists, this is the first time someone has dared argue back at a court meeting!


    His Majesty knowing that Li Yuanying is a walking troublemaker shouted, ¡°Go back and sit down!¡±


    Li Yuanying will not.


    Li Yuanying continued: ¡°Now you must want to change your statment and say that it¡¯s not wrong to buy an animal, what¡¯s wrong is the extravagant spending, right?¡±


    No one dared answer.


    ¡°I think that when Chengqian spends money, it is an act offorting themon people!¡±


    Everyone looked at Li Yuanying with eyes that says ¡°Let¡¯s see what nonsense you can spew out¡±.


    ¡°If you are a cattle seller and someone pays a lot of money to buy your useless cow, are you happy?¡±


    The official was a gentleman and when Yuanying pressed him for an answer he could only say, ¡°Yes¡¯ I¡¯ll be happy.¡±


    ¡°He is happy because with the money, not only can he buy a new cow, he also made extra. With the new cow, thend will be better cultivated causing harvest to be more in theing year. This makes the family richer. With the extra money, he may go out to buy someone¡¯s rice, cloth, chickens, and ducks to raise. Those who sold things would have more money and can then buy something else. This way, although Chengqian only gave one family more money, it benefits thousands of families.¡±


    The more Yuanying spoke the more logical he felt he was. It¡¯s as if he was also being brainwashed by himself. He continued on and on with his back upright.


    ¡°Chengqian is the Crown Prince, if he wanted to be ¡°frugal¡± it is so easy! All he has to do is to throw his title around, who dares not to sell him? Some will even give it to him for free! Now he has managed to save but if the people below him copy him and do the same how then can themon people earn money? They will be tricked by bad guys like you! Our family¡¯s Chengqian will not do such bad things to harm the people! Our family¡¯s Chengqian is a good prince who loves his people like his own son!¡±


    There was silence in the hall.


    Sounds usible and seems to be true! This money isn¡¯t meant for saving, not only do we need to spend, we need to spendvishly. We can¡¯t let the people suffer by abusing the Crown Prince¡¯s title!


    Taking advantage of the confusion he has caused, Li Yuanying slipped back towards Chengqian quietly, he then nudge his equally confused eldest nephew and encouraged him in a soft voice: ¡°Your turn! Take out your article from yesterday! We are in the right, we can¡¯t just sit and let them scold us!¡±


    The author has something to say:


    Little Prince: My nephew loves his people like his own son!


    The eldest nephew: Uncle you¡¯re talking about me? Is that how I feel? Yes, I think so, I love my citizens like my own child!

 Chapter 47

    Chapter 47


    Chengqian was slightly younger than Yuanying when he was given the title of crown prince. He didn¡¯t understand anything, and he remained ignorant when scolded by his teachers. After his mother passed away, he became ustomed to the scolding and often thought, ¡°Come on, hurry up and finish up, then I can go out andy.¡±


    Wasn¡¯t his father the Emperor also scolded by Wei Zheng? To the point that he even stopped his favorite cockfighting?


    It was a first for Chengqian to encounter someone fighting back. Even when the Emperor was angry, the most he did was flick his sleeves and walk away.


    He hasn¡¯t met anyone like Li Yuanying, small body but a loud voice, and when his voice is overpowered pulls on people¡¯s sleeves to get attention. Moreover, when he opens his mouth it¡¯s full of convincing facies. If it weren¡¯t for his close rtionship and awareness of his uncle¡¯s nonsensical skills, he wouldn¡¯t be able to regain his calmness this quickly!


    Right now everyone is caught off guard. The tactic that they thought up is actually useful. We¡¯ll just shift our target from the Emperor to dealing with the ministers.


    Chengqian thought about how his young uncle ignored His Majesty¡¯s reprimand and stood up for him. He then shared his opinion in full before sitting back down. Chengqian was deeply moved and decided to stop pretending to be deaf as he usually would.


    ¡°Father, this son of yours has written an article that I was going to dedicate to youter. Surprisingly the whole court already knows about our outing yesterday.¡±


    The crown prince inherited much of his father¡¯s looks. It¡¯s just that he projects a gloomy character, liken to always having ayer of dark clouds on his head, and hence is a little unpleasant to look at. At this very moment, his gloomy expression is gone and he spoke in a loud voice: ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, please allow your son to read this article in the hall, and treat it as my exnation for all my doings yesterday!¡±


    Fang Xuanling and the others looked at Li Chengqian. They suddenly realized that the Crown prince has grown, he is tall and slender, with a bright face. He greatly resembles the Emperor in his youth.


    Inparison, Li Tai and Li Zhi who were sitting at the back felt slightly inferior. Like pearls and jade on the sidelines and they looked sullen.


    Li Chengqian has been the crown prince for many years. It could be said that he has earned his position by having strict training. Once the Emperor gave him approval, he started reading his article. The recent two articles he wrote gave him a sense of enlightenment and he read them smoothly.


    The main idea is very simple. At the beginning, he, Li Yuanying and Li Zhi heard that there was an elephant army in the south that could win against the Tubo army. He didn¡¯t know how practical this was and so had people set up a stimted battle to observe and confirm his hypothesis.


    After the oue, they stayed back to learn from the Southerners on how to tame elephants and how they used them for battle. This was greatly beneficial. Later, Wei Zheng¡¯s granddaughter shared her knowledge about the ¡°Fireball Array¡± battle tactic. This made him realize that real battle is always changing and there isn¡¯t just one fixed way to win!


    Therefore, we hope to bring about more contact with talents from all over the world and gather a better understanding of different battle tactics from the South and the North. This way, no matter what the situation is, you¡¯ll have a rough gauge of how to handle it and make a calcted decision! Otherwise, you¡¯ll be ignorant and no different from a blind and deaf person.


    Chengqian read his entire article and without further excuses returned to his seat.


    Although some of the content was ornamented, it¡¯s generally real experiences and thoughts from yesterday¡¯s exposure. Hence he is able to share it in aposed and frank manner.


    The hall is yet again silent.


    The article is well-written with well-thought logic and rationality. It directly links the criticized ¡°Battle of Elephants and Horses¡± incident to war and state affairs. The Elephant Army can easily push back troops on horses while the fireball array can disband the Elephant Army. This means that there is no one particr sure win tactic in war.


    Thinking about it carefully, if the Crown Prince only sits in the pce to study but does not have real exposure to the outside world, how can he make sound judgments when he encounters a real situation that needs to be solved? And although now is a peaceful time where allegiance has been forged between the Turks, Tubos, and the southern mountain barbarians, they remain a worry for the country. If the Crown Prince wishes to better understand them, it is not a bad thing. After all, it is wise to know your enemy. Then you will never be defeated.


    Fang Xuanling being the crown prince¡¯s teacher naturally agreed with him since it¡¯s reasonable: ¡°I think what the Crown Prince is saying makes sense..¡± After speaking, he nced at Wei Zheng, meaning ¡°your granddaughter is part of this ruckus, shouldn¡¯t you say something too?¡±


    In the past Wei Zheng would never get involved.


    The Emperor is in his prime and he has already arranged for Fang Xuanling to be the crown Prince¡¯s teacher. If he also supports him, His Majesty Li Er might secretly perceive it as ¡°I¡¯m not even old yet but you too already support the crown prince. Do you think I will not live long?¡±


    Although Wei Zheng is famous for being upright he is not stupid. He knows that His Majesty tolerated him because his advice was impartial and upright and because the court needed an ¡°example¡±.


    If the Emperor wants to govern his world well, he cannot act blind and deaf. Therefore, even if there is no Wei Zheng, there will still be Zhang Zheng or Li Zheng!


    Wei Zheng doesn¡¯t want to get involved, unfortunately Fang Xuanling¡¯s nce caught the Emperor¡¯s attention.


    He suddenly remembered that Chengqian mentioned Wei Zheng¡¯s granddaughter in addition to Li Yuanying and Li Zhi.


    This girl is only a little older than Sizi but is better at reading and writing than boys. It¡¯s a real pity she¡¯s a girl.


    Li Er is well aware of the personalities of his close confidants. He knows that Wei Zheng¡¯s granddaughter would not have been invited by the crown prince. It is Li Yuanying who dragged her along to y.


    If children want to y, can adults stop them? It¡¯s possible to forcefully stop them but who would be so heartless to do so?!


    Li Yuanying, this brat. Really has a good eye for picking ymates.


    His Majesty nced at Li Yuanying then turned his gaze back to Wei Zheng. He deliberately called his name: ¡°Dearest minister Wei, what do you think of this matter?¡±


    Wei Zheng had no choice. After all, his beloved granddaughter is implicated in this event and the Crown Prince also wrote a good article to defend himself. How can he still roll up his sleeves and join the rest to criticize him? His main duty is to advise the Emperor, the Prince¡¯s affairs is not his problem!


    Wei Zheng could only reply: ¡°This humble servant agrees with Fang. This matter did not result in a huge loss of money nor disturbed the citizens, what fault does the Crown Prince have?¡±


    Since both Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng agrees, Zhangsun Wuji an uncle to the royal prince cannot stay silent. He also agreed that the Crown Prince is innocent.


    In the blink of an eye, the situation waspletely reversed.


    The Crown Prince can no longer be scolded so other topics were brought up for discussion.


    Seeing that no one dared to bully his eldest nephew anymore, Li Yuanying was satisfied. He then got a little bored listening to official matters being discussed.


    With so many people discussing government affairs in earnest, it is not easy to sneak away. Since he cannot leave, he looked around and found Li Tai sitting behind him!


    Being left idle, Li Yuanying turned around and lowered his voice to talk to him: ¡°Fourth nephew, your Ping Ji (an ancient piece of furniture for people to lean on when seated on the floor) is much bigger than others, you really can grow meat!¡±


    When in court, all officials have designated ces to sit and the front rows have Ping Ji for people to lean on.


    Li Tai was so chubby that His Majesty granted him special permission to travel to court with a pnquin. This was initially the kind of treatment granted to meritorious veterans in their 60s and 70s who were about to retire. With his size being huge, normal Ping Ji is too small to fit him and so his was specially made and is a circlerger than others!


    Li Tai was busy listening to the ongoing discussion. When he suddenly heard Li Yuanying poking fun at him, he wanted to strangle him.


    Originally, Li Tai had asked his men to secretly spread Chengqian¡¯s outing to the ears of the minister with malicious intent and waited in anticipation to see the officials attack him. All of these ministers had their own motives: some supported his third brother Li Ke and some supported the fifth and sixth princes. Others wanted to seek advancement and some were like Wei Zheng hoping to gain appreciation by being upright. In short, they wouldn¡¯t stay silent.


    Surprisingly, Li Er suddenly summoned Li Yuanying and the situation changed!


    Li Tai usually puts on a smile and has a kind-faced but now his face has darkened involuntarily: ¡°The court is an official and serious ce, don¡¯t be noisy.¡±


    Is Li Yuanying the kind of person who keeps quiet when others ask him to? of course not?


    No matter what Li Tai says, the young prince can put up a challenge. He retorted: ¡°I¡¯m not noisy, my voice is soft.¡±


    Li Yuanying¡¯s seat was added inst minute and so he only sat on a cushion. He moved his seat cushion backwards in a grand manner, and ended up next to Li Tai.


    The relocation was sessful, Yuanying curiously turned his head to look at Li Tai¡¯s hand board <sup>[1]</sup>an ancient hand-held board held by ministers during an official court session. Can be used to write down notes or as a reference when sharing thetest updates to the Emperor and begun to express his thoughts: ¡°Is your hand board made of ivory? Yesterday I heard from Yang Liu that ivory was originally an elephant¡¯s tooth and they use it to protect themselves. The bigger the tusk, the more powerful it is. Unfortunately, someone found out that it is white, which made it suitable for carving into various treasures. This caused many to start exploiting the elephants. Say, Isn¡¯t it pitiful? The initial thing they use to protect themselves became the very thing that kills them!¡±


    The veins on Li Tai¡¯s forehead popped and his face was shaking a little with anger. As soon as this kid opened his mouth, he couldn¡¯t hear what Fang Xuanling and the others were discussing!


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t care if Li Tai was angry or not. He then started a new round of babbling: ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you will write down your agenda on the hand board? Why is it empty? I heard that your handwriting is beautiful, I want to see what it is like. It¡¯s a pity. Let me tell you,st time I saw Old Wei¡¯s board. There were so many words, that looks like serious preparation for court session. How can you be sozy!¡±


    Li Tai roared unbearably: ¡°Can you shut up?!¡±


    The hall was silent again.


    Li Tai is not only fat, but his voice is much louder than others. He roared unintentionally and everyone in the hall hear it and they all turned their heads to look.


    Li Yuanying shut up obediently and even felt a little wronged for he is innocent. He couldn¡¯t understand what the ministers were talking about and he didn¡¯t want to know. So can¡¯t he just talk to his nephew? His voice is soft so others would not hear him. How can his fourth nephew roar so loudly? Now everyone knows! This is too much!


    After all, Li Tai is Li Er¡¯s favorite son. So even if he showed such disrespect, the Emperor only lightly warned him and Li Yuanying and let them off, as long as they keep quiet from now on.


    Li Yuanying was still very unhappy and when Li Er turned his eyes away, heined: ¡°Didn¡¯t you say to keep it down? Why did you react so loudly? Now I¡¯m getting a scolding together with you!¡±


    Li Tai: ¡°¡­¡±


    Li Tai really wanted to strangle him.


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: It¡¯s so boring, why not get the fourth nephew into trouble!


    Fourth nephew: ? ? ? ? ?


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü1an ancient hand-held board held by ministers during an official court session. Can be used to write down notes or as a reference when sharing thetest updates to the Emperor

 Chapter 48

    Chapter 48


    The more Li Yuanying thought about it, the more he felt that he had been wronged. He was forced out of bed early in the morning and was then scolded. Fourth nephew then got him in trouble just for talking to him.


    Yuanying has never held back when he¡¯s angry and went straight to look for his older brother toin. He told His Majesty that his fourth nephew is not good, do not have family love and yelled at him so loudly in public.


    Li Er couldn¡¯t even figure out how to tell off this nasty brother of his, so he just gave him a sideways nce: ¡°If you didn¡¯t annoy him, why would he tell you to shut up?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Lord Brother, you made mee over early in the morning to be scolded. And now you won¡¯t even allow me to talk to people.¡±


    Just now Li Yuanying looked around and found that Li Tai was the most talkative. And so he talked to him. If he knew that Li Tai was so bad, he wouldn¡¯t chat with him. He would instead chat with Zhangsun Wuji next to him and maybe even look at the content of his hand board.


    Yuanying never has hesitation when speaking to his older brother and so decided to bring up old ounts: ¡°Last round during Shi Dian when heined about us sharing food, I should have figured out that he is such a person! ¡°


    Li Er hearing him speak with no fear decided to put down his pen and lean back: ¡°What did you and Qingque talk about?¡±


    Li Yuanying told His Majesty his encounter in full and added: ¡°Isn¡¯t this what Zhou Yan meant, ¡®A man¡¯s wealth bes his own ruin due to other¡¯s greed¡¯?¡±


    His Majesty said lightly, ¡°That¡¯s the truth.¡± He then looked at Li Yuanying, ¡°You have a lot of treasures and since you understand this statement, why don¡¯t you donate your treasures to the state?¡±


    Hearing this Li Yuanying instantly knew what the Emperor was aiming for so he said angrily, ¡°No wonder Qingque has bad character, like father like son!¡±


    What did you say?!


    Li Er couldn¡¯t hold back and reached out to pinch Yuanying¡¯s cheek.


    Li Yuanying pulled away in pain and didn¡¯t dare say more nonsense. He only hummed: ¡°I am not amon man, I am the younger brother of the Emperor, who dares to attack my treasure! Besides, mother told me that those treasures are to be used to find me a bride!¡± He then continue to make up nonsense about why he needed his wealth: ¡°First, my future wife needs to be given lots of betrothal gifts; then the princess is not just a decorative item, she must be treated well with a good life. At least she should be allowed to do whatever she wants. Then, I will have children, both sons and daughters. If I have a son, then that¡¯s easy. Just raise him simply and send him away to figure out his own life. If I have a daughter then it¡¯s more troublesome, I need to give her good things so that she is exposed and won¡¯t be easily deceived by others. Even if she gets deceived by a brat and wants to marry him, I need to prepare arge dowry for her. Must not let anyone look down on my daughter! When I think of this, I am very worried, my wealth is not enough!¡±


    Sounds reasonable to Li Er. This kid! He hasn¡¯t even got married and is already worried about his daughter¡¯s dowry.


    ¡°What do you mean by having a son is fine, just send him away to figure out life? If your future sons hear this, they will probably abandon you in old age.¡± (Li Er)


    Li Yuanying answered in disapproval: ¡°So what if he refuse to take care of me? Up to him, I have servants serving me, why do I need him? If he really looks for me everyday, maybe I might even think he¡¯s annoying!¡±


    As for being reduced to nothing, to the point that he can¡¯t even support himself and had to rely on his son, Li Yuanying wouldn¡¯t even entertain such thoughts. If that¡¯s the case, he rather just die!


    These are all reasonable justifications. Li Yuanying is after all royalty and had no shortage of servants. He is allowed to do as he wishes, to love his sons or daughter as he likes, no one could say anything about his decisions.


    After all, it has always been parents who practise favoritism but children do not have the chance to choose their parents!


    Li Er scolded: ¡°Your nonsensical logic are getting worst. I seriously don¡¯t know where you learn them from.¡±


    ¡°No need to learn, just use your brain to think. Just like you, Lord Brother, I think you are just raising Chengqian casually, you only tell him what to do and what not to do. He is an adult that is married and have a son!¡±


    Yuanying was quite inspired and shared his decision with Li Er, ¡°In the future when I have a son, I will follow in the Emperor¡¯s footsteps. Once he is old enough, I¡¯ll pass everything to him to figure out. Life is easy andfortable for me!¡±


    His Majesty found his brother annoying and was unwilling to listen to him anymore. He waved his hand and told him to go back to study. He had important matters to discuss with Wei Zheng and the others.


    Since Yuanying offloaded what was on his mind, he was in a good mood and happily ran off.


    His Majesty has been busy all day and it was already dusk when he finished dinner.


    He somehow remembered what Li Yuanying said earlier. Thinking about it, his brother is right. He really have been demanding more from Chengqian than caring about him.


    Even if Chengqian was the crown prince, father and son should not be so unfamiliar!


    Thinking back to when the previous Emperor first abdicated, he was so busy that he could not visit father often. But the Empress still took the children to visit histe father regardless of the weather, rain or shine.


    That evening, Li Er did not summon for his confidants to discuss work but instead walked towards the East Pce after dinner.


    It seems that something has been up in the East Pce, and dinner is only now being served.


    His Majesty told his men not to make known his presence but instead requested to be led to the dining room. Only to hear Chengqian saying to the Crown Princess, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you not to wait?¡±


    The crown princess remained silent but grandson Li Xiang replied in a sweet voice: ¡°YaoYao said that family should eat together. Have to wait even if it¡¯ste.¡± Although Li Xiang is young, his memory is good and he even managed to share a story to Chengqian. ¡°YaoYao also said that one time he forgot and went back veryte, YaoYao¡¯s mom waited so long that the food became cold. Since that day, YaoYao is never homete because mummy will be hungry.¡±


    Li Xiang copied Li Yuanying¡¯s words but Li Chengqian understood what he meant.


    This son has been ying with young uncle all the time and has grown to be street smart. This statement is obviously to let him know that if he doesn¡¯te back early, they will starve. He hopes that dad wille back on time every day like Li Yuanying.


    Chengqian¡¯s heart softened and he patted Li Xiang¡¯s head: ¡°Okay, daddy promise to nevere homete. Even if I¡¯m busy I¡¯ll ask someone to inform.¡±


    Li Xiang happily asked for a hug.


    His Majesty was watching this happy scene, but the Crown Princess noticed his arrival and motioned Chengqian to stand up to greet him.


    Only then did Li Chengqian who was holding his son on hisp see the Emperor outside looking at them.


    Li Chengqian put his son down and led the crown princess to greet the Emperor.


    Although Li Er had eaten, he still sat down for a bowl of soup. He then casually asked Li Xiang if he has started to learning how to write.


    Li Xiang was a little afraid to approach Li Er at first. After all, whenever he sees the Emperor, he always had a serious face on and often scolded his father!


    Seeing grandfather¡¯s expression today, it looks kind and Li Xiang felt that he didn¡¯t seem too fierce and so he was not afraid.


    Li Xiang ran to Li Er and sat down: ¡°I¡¯ve been studying, the teacher has taught me. Yaoyao also gave me lots of reading cards! Yaoyao said that when I can recognize all, he will send me new things again!¡±


    Li Er knew that Yuanying had a lot of novel ideas. His children like Sizi has yed with them but he didn¡¯t expect his younger brother to give some to his grandson.


    His Majesty took Li Xiang to hisp and tested him. Li Xiang responded wisely and was surprisingly smart. He was satisfied.


    Li Er was in a good mood and personally fed Li Xiang. Before leaving the East Pce, he said to Li Chengqian: ¡°Xiang¡¯er is not that young anymore, don¡¯t let him stay in the pce all day, let him out to y with the other children. Don¡¯t be estranged from your family just because of work.¡±


    It is rare for father and son to speak so calmly about family life. Although Li Chengqian don¡¯t know why Li Er suddenly came but seeing him close to his grandson, he felt happy.


    After His Majesty left, the Crown Princess happily hugged Li Xiang: ¡°Father seems to like Xiang¡¯er very much.¡±


    Li Xiang nodded in agreement.


    Li Chengqian patted his son¡¯s head and said, ¡°Xiang¡¯er is smart and cute, of course father likes him. ¡°


    ¡­.¡­..


    The East Pce finished a pleasant dinner. On Li Yuanying¡¯s side, he went on a walk with Lady Liu to digest dinner.


    Lady Liu is a cautious person and will not even walk into the forbidden garden. She only wish to wander around their home after dinner.


    When Li Yuanying came back at noon, he just said that nothing happened at court meeting and it was boring. Lady Liu believed it.


    But by evening, she heard from someone else that Li Yuanying not only refuted the courtiers but also spoke privately with Prince of Wei Li Tai and was criticized by His Majesty.


    ¡°Since when are you friends with Prince Wei again?¡±


    As soon as Yuanying heard it, he knew someone must have shared the new to mother. He disagree and immediately told Lady Liu all about Li Tai¡¯s shorings. ¡°I¡¯m not friends with him, he alwaysins to the Emperor. He suddenly yelled at me and others found out that we were talking. ¡°


    As for the matter of him frequently airing his own grievances to the Emperor, Li Yuanying certainly wouldn¡¯t tell his mom. He thinks hisints are justified. The Book of Rites clearly states that Friendship cannot always be one sided, not to reciprocate is against etiquette.


    So, if Li Taiints about him, how can he not retaliate?!


    Lady Liu knows that the Emperor favors and is very lenient towards her son. Since no one came to look for her today about his misbehavior she¡¯ll just let it go.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand issues happening outside, I just want you to go out happily ande back happily. Don¡¯t do things you¡¯re not suppose to and don¡¯t hold grudges with anyone.¡±


    Yuanying promised. Since childhood he hasn¡¯t met many who would dared make him unhappy. Whoever dares to make him unhappy, he will make the other person even more unhappy! No fear!


    Seeing that his mom still had a worried look, Yuanying quickly shared his conversation with the Emperor with her and told her that he will not spoil his son in the future.


    In the future, he will learn from His Majesty and start nurturing his son to take over work as early as possible. When his son grows up, he will immediately throw all the hard work to him. And he will bring mother and his wife to y everywhere.


    Of course, if he has a daughter, she¡¯lle along!


    Such a day! How beautiful it would be!


    After listening to Li Yuanying, Lady Liu is no longer worry about her son but instead began worrying about her poor future grandson.


    Maybe when my grandson is born, I should love him more?


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: Son, these chores will be handed over to you!


    Future Boy: ? ? ? ? ?


    Little Prince: Don¡¯t me me, I learned from your second uncle!


    His Majesty Li Er: ? ? ? ? ?

 Chapter 49

    Chapter 49


    After his epic performance in the courtroom, Li Yuanying stayed quiet for more than a month. Mainly because Sun Simiao is feeling restless being in the imperial medical hall and wants to travel the world again.


    Li Yuanying is still worried about Li Er and Sizi¡¯s condition and refuses to let Sun Simiao leave. He instructed that a medical clinic be set up near theke next to the library. The front portion of the house acts as a clinic while the back is a medical supply warehouse. This ce was specially built so that Doctor Sun can treat patients to his heart¡¯s content while he finished up on his medical book for Li Yuanying.


    Li Yuanying¡¯s study style is chaotic which is to learn a little here and there. Fortunately, he has his ¡°system¡± to help him summarize and provided him with practical exercises, making his random learning style quite effective. Sun Simiao insisted that all his apprentices start learning from elementary school and they would typically spend 8 to 10 years in training before being allowed to treat minor illnesses. In short, you can¡¯t graduate without studying for more than ten years. Even if you are brilliant enough to graduate early, no one would dare seek your medical help as they will be skeptical.


    Sun Simiao doesn¡¯t care about others but he will be strict with his own disciples. After all, medicine is a profession that takes care of life and death. This is a matter of human life. If Li Yuanying wants to use the medical books he ispiling, he will need toply with the years of training by following Doctor Sun¡¯s rules!


    Li Yuanying has no objection to this. After all, he didn¡¯t intend to seriously study. He just needed to find other young talents to study medicine on his behalf.


    With Li Yuanying¡¯s assurance, Sun Simiao settled down at the medical center. It opens for half a day to receive patients and after that, this ce is a tform for experienced doctors to discuss medical skills and exchange experiences. Only after closing would Sun Simiao calm down and work on his medical book.


    Li Yuanying was still afraid that Doctor Sun will leave and so used his library to put up notices, telling schrs that if they encounter a doctor elsewhere, they must inform him toe over for an exchange of skills. He also bragged about Sun Simiao, saying that he is a genius doctor that came down to earth, the king of medicine. Don¡¯t miss your opportunity but bring forth your medical case ande talk to doctor Sun. If you are not sure about medicinal materials, Doctor Sun will help you identify them; if you are not sure about the recipe, Doctor Sun will help you increase or decrease the dosage. As long as youe, you can always learn new skills!


    Li Yuanying had been upied with this for more than a month.


    Although it has only been open for less than three months, the library is already well known. This ce is now a must-visit for schrs from other ces, it has almost be like a pilgrimage location. With more exchanges between readers, the news gradually spreads!


    Hearing that Sun Simiao was writing a medical book and spends half his day exchanging knowledge with others, many traveling doctors flocked over. For doctors who are busy with their medical center and could not leave, he would send an apprentice to join in the fun, hoping that they can learn a skill or two.


    This newly opened medical center quickly became lively. With more crowd than the library next door.


    At the beginning of May, someone sent a letter to the library. A boat from the South is here bringing new tea. Since little Prince Teng is interested, the best tea have been reserved and is waiting for him to collect.


    Li Yuanying was a little stunned as he has forgotten all about this incident. After thinking, he remembers telling Su Qiniang of Wancui Mansion to help him with it. He visited Beili only once and was then severely punished by the Emperor. With that, he quickly threw this incident at the back of his mind and conveniently forgot about it.


    But Su Qiniang did not forget and her step-brother is proactive. If you think about it, it makes sense. There aren¡¯t many who drink tea in the North yet Chang¡¯an City is where all the richest people in Tang Empire gather. Since Su Erniang¡¯s stepbrother is in the tea business wouldn¡¯t you also scratch your head in a hurry to unlock this big market?


    Although Wancui Mansion is a ce where tea is sold, how many people actually go there with the pure intention of drinking tea? Even if they drink it, they still wouldn¡¯t perceive it as something elegant for everyday life. Otherwise, why didn¡¯t dignitaries and nobles ss drink it at home but only in a red light district? It is rare to have found someone so interested in this tea.


    They have also done background work and is well aware that Little Prince Li Yuanying is no normal Wangye (Emperor¡¯s brother). He is the most favored younger brother of His Majesty Li Er and ys with the Emperor¡¯s biological children often. The very famous library was also built by him. Even if Li Yuanying is young, getting through him and using his connection will open up the tea market to the noble ss!


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t think much, he just thought that it was rare for someone to remember what he said so casually. He casually asked his men to fix an appointment. Thest time they visited Beili, it was because they weren¡¯t sure what kind of ce it was. His Majesty knows that the incident was an honest mistake and so didn¡¯t impose a heavy penalty. However, he warned that if Yuanying goes again he will break his leg!


    It was still early so Yuanying spent a long time studying in the medical center before setting off. Su Erniang¡¯s brother arrived early and Qiniang wearing a curtain hat was sitting beside him. As soon as Yuanying arrived, the two stood up and greeted him. Qiniang also took off her curtain hat, revealing her beautiful face that has gotten even more beautiful.


    Back when thete Emperor was alive, he lived an indulgent and extravagant life and so Li Yuanying grew up among heaps of beauties. He himself is a darn good-looking kid and so he didn¡¯t pay much attention to the beautiful Su Qiniang¡¯s but curiously check out the brother. This man was in his early forties with a gentle look and typical southerner features ¨C small eyes that looked intelligent.


    This is a man with a story to tell.


    Li Yuanying liked stories so he didn¡¯t rush to talk about tea. He instead asks how Dng and Erniang met. After all, one is a tea businessman and the other ady from Beili. It¡¯s possible for them to meet for a fun time but they rarely became brothers and sisters.


    The man introduced himself. His surname is also Su and he¡¯s the eldest child. His vige has a unique way of naming children. Since he¡¯s the eldest he¡¯s called Dng (Da means eldest). Back then, he came to the capital with a caravan filled with goods from the South. Unexpectedly, his boat capsized and everyone died. He survived by luck but all his possessions were gone and he couldn¡¯t even afford to return home. Thinking about his wife and kids, Su Dng felt miserable.


    He then met Su Erniang who traveled out of the city to pay respect to her dead mother.


    Erniang heard his unfortunate story and since they share the same surname, she gave him some money saying that they might have been part of the same family tree 500 years ago. She told him to purchase some popr goods from Chang¡¯an and sell them back home. If you can make something then this journey is not in vain. Su Dng was grateful and after repeatedly refusing, he epted the money.


    Timing is everything, that same year all the goods he picked were short in supply and hemade a lot of money! He went home and told his sensible wife about this encounter. The wife then advised him that it was rare for strangers to extend a helping hand in the time of winter. You must repay the kindness that you have received.


    Soon after that, Su Dng and Su Erniang became ¡°brothers and sisters¡±. Since Erniang is also from the south, Dng would bring spring tea to the Capital city for her to soothe her homesickness.


    The idea of selling tea was Erniang¡¯s. The two have been trying to find a way to do so but have not made much sess.


    Listening to the narration, Yuanying didn¡¯t get the epic story he was hoping for but was still quite satisfied.


    ¡°This tea is good but others don¡¯t know of the benefits. They wouldn¡¯t want to drink it when it looks green like this. If you want to sell it, you need to think about what is the unique selling point. Why would others drink your tea instead of water or alcohol?¡±


    Su Dng had lost all initial hope when he saw that Prince Teng was a child. But this statement is refreshing. He then told Yuanying all about the benefits of tea: ¡°This tea refreshes the mind and relieves fatigue. If you consume too much wine and meat, you can use this to sober up and get rid of tiredness. If you drink a bowl every day, your whole body will feel much lighter.¡±


    ¡°How much tea did you bring to the Capital this time?¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°Not much, only about five hundred jin (around 250 kg).¡± (Su Dng)


    ¡°That¡¯s enough. I need to spend lots of money soon. I have two ways to cooperate. Listen and see which is better.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    When Su Dng heard this, he sat up straight and made a gesture of listening intently.


    ¡°First one, you sell me all the tea at market price, I will never let you suffer losses. The second one, I wille up with strategies to sell this tea and you sell it ording to my direction. We will then split the profit half-half.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    The first is a one-off deal based on pure buying and selling. The second method is real cooperation, he can borrow Li Yuanying¡¯s name and connections but he needs to share half the profit.


    After thinking Su Dng said: ¡°I¡¯ll choose the second one.¡± He didn¡¯t only have five hundred jin of tea. If he doesn¡¯t open up a go-to-market strategy, his tea will forever not sell well in the future.


    Li Yuanying liked the quick response and had good impression of him. He then continue exining more.


    For the next few days, Su Dng ordered people to divide the tea into grades. The best batch is reserved for Li Yuanying¡¯s consumption. The next grade is to be sold as ¡°king of all tea¡±. The remaining grades are divided by weight and wrapped into small paper packages housed in a beautiful external box.


    The packaging boxes are segregated by the tea grades. There were silver, wood, pottery and paper packaging.


    With such a subdivision, more than 400 boxes that can be sold.


    Although it took a lot of effort, Su Dng felt a sense of aplishment when he looked at the neat rows of tea. It lookspletely different from the initial two boxes he had shipped here!


    With eye-catching packaging, there must also be eye-catching sales strategy.


    Li Yuanying thought about it and remembered an uing lively event in the Capital: Dang Renhong had returned to the capital with prisoners. This man is Li Er¡¯s close confidant and friend since his youth. He was sent to the South due to war and returned with seven thousand prisoners. This is arge number of people who can greatly help in reiming wastnd or building roads and bridges. They can solve the shortage of manpower.


    His Majesty is happy and will definitely organize a feast for the ministers.


    Of course, Li Yuanying can approach the ministers one by one and pick a few influential officials to be used as live advertisements. But that¡¯s too slow. Why not justunch a big promotion at once and take advantage of this feast to directly promote his tea?!


    Li Yuanying happily admired the elegant and beautifulpackaging. With satisfaction, he took a box to Sun Simiao and invited him to taste it together.


    Since Su Dng has vouched that tea has many benefits, Yuanying needed to make good use of this info. Who better to get an endorsement from than the great Sun Simiao when ites to judging whether something is good for the body? If the old genius doctor says yes, then it must be good!


    The author has something to say:


    Little Prince: Dear, do you want to buy tea? It¡¯s super expensive, oh no, it¡¯s super good for the body!

 Chapter 50

    Chapter 50


    Sun Simiao has traveled widely so he has tasted tea from the south. It is not that unusual but he thinks that the packaging is exquisite. It looks different from the ones he has seen before.


    Taking advantage of their quiet time where the servants have retreated to boil water for tea brewing, Sun Simiao sat down and chatted with Li Yuanying.


    ¡°This is amon drink from the South but it¡¯s not popr here up North. How did youe to like it?¡±


    Yuanying talked about his first experience trying tea. Back when he was a child, someone presented it to thete Emperor. Although thete Emperor didn¡¯t like the tea, he still recalled histe father when he saw this drink. At that time, he ate too much and had to drink tea soup to digest and relieve his tiredness. He was impressed by its effect. This time, he identally encounter tea again and wanted to promote it.


    Li Yuanying calmly told Sun Simiao: ¡°To tell you the truth, thest time, I went to Beili by mistake and saw this tea and wanted to use it to make money. Not only for opening academies but also for making paper and printing books. It was expensive. I inherited treasures from myte father but it¡¯s not enough to do all these things well. After meeting you, I still want to publish the medical book you are writing to the world!¡±


    Li Yuanying earnestly talked about the difficulties: ¡°The more you want to do, the more you rte to the saying that ¡®with money, you can do a thousand things, without money you can¡¯t do anything.¡±


    Sun Simiao nodded, agreeing with the boy. Travelling for many years, he has seen many joys and sorrows, life and death. He knows of many tragedies due to the single penny ck of) that stumbles a heroic man.


    Li Yuanying looked at the doctor with bright eyes: ¡°If you can help me poprize this tea, in the future you can print as many of your medical books as you want. Our academy can then recruit more of those who want to study medicine. We can then stop quack doctors from jeopardizing people¡¯s treatment!¡±


    Sun Simiao stroked his beard, pondering before asking Yuanying how he wanted him to help.


    The young prince revealed his ns. This tea is named ¡°Thousand Gold Tea¡± and will only be sold in this Thousand Gold Hall. Sales are restricted to only the powerful and wealthy. Only this group is able to eat greasy food every day. Since they need to wake up early for court session the next day, this tea is perfect to relieve their tiredness and refresh their minds. Themon people have no need for it yet.


    When the tea market is opened up and more money is made, we will then push out tea products for themon people, so that everyone can benefit from it.


    During Sun Simiao stayed in the Capital, many powerful families visited him for medical consultations. What Li Yuanying really meant is for Doctor Sun to drink it for two days and see if this tea really works. When someonees for a consultation, just rmend the benefits to them. Also, boil and offer others this tea during meetings so that people can try it. Repeat this for a few days and it will work!


    He will then take the opportunity during his royal brother¡¯s banquet and let it slip that there are only three hundred boxes left. Anyone that wants it cane over to Thousand Gold hall to buy it!


    Hearing the full n, Sun Simiao nodded to show that he understood. He has indeed drank it and can confirm that it really helps to clear the mind and relieve fatigue. If this tea is good, mentioning it is only a simple gesture.


    While the two agreed, the tea was brewed.


    The practice of tea drinking in the Southern states is by first grinding the tea leaves into fine powder, boil water, and then adding the powder to make a bittersweet yet fragrant tea soup. If one thinks that it is too in, you can then add spices like ginger to enhance it. The tea sent by Su Dng is the best spring tea with beautiful color. Its fragrance is just right, giving a pleasing aroma when brewed.


    Both sat down and tried it and agreed that it is of the best grade. Since Sun Simiao is in agreement, Li Yuanying left two smart people behind to help the doctor to brew tea, entertain guests, and also share its benefit.


    After all, Sun Simiao is a healer. He cannot be seen hard-selling. All he needs to do is nod in agreement.


    Since Yuanying has nned out everything, he was in a good mood. He told Su Dng to send people to the South and pick multiple hills that are suitable for growing tea leaves. Snap up this opportunity early, otherwise, we will lose out.


    Everything was arranged and Sun Simiao also began serving tea to entertain guests. Li Yuanying then took a box to look for the Emperor saying that he has something good to share with him.


    Lately, Li Yuanying has been obedient and didn¡¯t cause any trouble. All he did was visit Sun Simiao daily. Li Er is starting to feel weird about this new peace. Hearing his brother say he has something good, he allowed him to drop by.


    But Li Yuanying shamelessly said that he was hungry and and wanted to eat a luxurious meal with meat and fish, without it he refuses to share what he has.


    Looks like this kid is just here to get a free meal. But Li Er does notck anything and so he instructed the Imperial Kitchen to prepare a meal.Yuanying might not have many strengths but making food look extra delicious he can do. When others see him eating with gusto, they too unconsciously eat an extra bowl.


    The same is true for His Majesty. After finishing, he realized he ate a little too much.


    ¡°I gave you food, is it time to take out your goodies?¡± (Li Er)


    Yuanying requested that a stove and tools to brew tea be brought in. He then asks his men to prepare it in front of the His Majesty. It wasn¡¯t that Li Yuanying is unwilling to brew it himself but he didn¡¯t know how to do it. Thest time he tried roasting chicken for his friends he ended up burning it into charcoal.


    While the tea was brewing, Li Yuanying started exaggerating about its benefit and how even Sun Simiao felt good after drinking it!


    He sat down beside His Majesty and said sincerely: ¡°Hearing its benefits, I thought, isn¡¯t this perfect for a busy person like you? I¡¯ve already reserved 30 boxes of the best spring tea for you. Ministers like Elder Wei, Fang, and Zhangsun are all people who work hard for the betterment of the Tang Society. Aren¡¯t we having a banquet to celebrate the return of our dear friend from war? If you drink this and think that it tastes good, why don¡¯t you give some to the ministers during the pce banquet? Anyway, I¡¯ve already reserved it and am giving it to you. Whether you drink it or give it away, it¡¯s up to you.¡±


    Li Er couldn¡¯t find fault with his statement and so asked the servant to fetch him a bowl of tea.


    Li Yuanying had his own bowl too. He sat down and drank two sips with experience. He then slyly peep at his brother to see his reaction.


    His Majesty likes it, after a few sips, the greasy taste in his mouth is gone. After a few more sips, although the initial taste was strong, it left a clear and light aftertaste, giving him a refreshed feeling.


    Replying to his younger brother who is spying at him, Li Er objectivelymented, ¡°This tea is good.¡±


    The boy was overjoyed. He then updated that he will have someone bring the tea into the pce, so that Li Er can do whatever he wants with it.


    As soon as Li Yuanying left, Li Er picked up the box of tea and found that the silver box was engraved with a story picture and a line of characters: ¡°Where can you find the best grade of tea? Thousand Gold tea found in Thousand Gold Hall!


    Li Er: ¡°¡­¡±


    The story-picture is from Zhuang Zhou meaning longevity and talent. The drawings were done elegantly and with good meaning, anyone who sees it will like it. It¡¯s just that the statement next to it is difficult to appreciate, the writing is not very good and the sentence is even more crappy!


    If Li Er still couldn¡¯t understand Yuanying¡¯s motive then he really shouldn¡¯t be the King of this country. Seriously, for the kid toe up with such a n!


    Since the brat has already left, there¡¯s no point in getting angry anymore so he put the matter aside for the time being. Later, someone updated that the tea has been sent to his warehouse. His Majesty thought about it and still decided to amodate his younger brother¡¯s wish to add it to the list of reward items.


    Although the kid is a bit of a jerk, his item is undeniably of good quality. Since Wei Zheng and the others work hard every day, it doesn¡¯t hurt to give them a box.


    Li Yuanying only sent him 30 boxes, after keeping some for the pce use, he could only reward it to 20 people. His Majesty reviewed the reward list and nodded his head.


    Such a small action actually brought about a trend of tea grabbing in Chang¡¯an City.


    When His Majesty rewards his ministers, the item given is recorded down. Although those on this reward list do notck anything but to get new special items rouses people¡¯s curiosity. Those who received tea brewed a small packet ording to the instructions on the box while those who didn¡¯t get tea scratched their cheeks and wanted to know what that thing is. Why did His Majesty only give it to certain people and not them?


    The next day, Cheng Zhijie and some others learned that certain ministers had received tea from the royal family but not them. They instantly felt that they were being sidelined!


    After the initial two months of publicity, many have already heard about the benefits of tea. If they send someone out to inquire, they will know where to buy this ¡°Thousand Gold tea¡±.


    When Cheng Zhijie found out did not hesitate to order a box from the Thousand Gold Hall. When his servants rushed over, they found that the outside of the hall had been surrounded, and when he took a closer look, most of the people inside were acquaintances.


    This! What is this situation?


    The servant asked around only to find out that the tea will be sold in the next hour and limited to only 300 boxes.


    The tea is divided into four grades: Grade 1 is limited to 20 boxes as the remaining 30 boxes have been given to important ministers by His Majesty. Grade 2 is limited to 50 boxes, quality might not be as great but is still top-quality tea. Grade 3 has 200 boxes. The quality of the tea is average but its benefits are the same.


    This year¡¯s harvest of Thousand Gold tea is limited and the next batch of autumn tea will only be delivered after winter. All are sold on a firste first serve basis! Second-ss and third-ss tea were sold first before first-ss tea. First-grade tea is scarce and is the same as those given by the Emperor. Therefore purchase is limited to ONE box and there is no price tag, whoever has the highest bid will get it!


    Hearing that, the servant sent by Cheng Zhijie¡¯s family hurriedly went back and asked if they wanted to make a bid. Cheng Zhijie¡¯s original name was Cheng Yaojin and had formal education as he was a son of a minister. Nevertheless, his temper got worst over the years and he often talk with his fists. When he heard that there were only 20 boxes and he had topete for them, he immediately shouted, ¡°Go and get it, buy it all for me. Let¡¯s see who dares to fight with me!¡±


    The servant was busy sharing these info. Looking at the time, it¡¯s almost time to start bidding. There were already people waiting from the Yuchi family, the Zhang Liang family, the Li Jing family as well as many who he couldn¡¯t recognized.


    Cheng Zhijie red at him and scolded: ¡°Then why don¡¯t you hurry up?¡±


    This reaction was not only limited to the Cheng Zhijie¡¯s house but in others too.


    Maybe many wanted the auction to begin earlier or most are self-aware that they can¡¯t outbid others, the cheaper tea was all snapped up quickly. After purchasing, these people did not leave but stayed back to watch the auction!


    Su Dng was in charged. He saw many ¡°house servants¡± who were better dressed than him and almost had weak legs. But he is well aware that this is a golden opportunity. If all goes well, his tea will be a chicken that cany golden eggs and a pound of tea can be sold for the price of gold!


    Su Dng took a deep breath and announced the start of the bidding.


    The servants began to make bids one after another¡ª


    ¡°Twenty!¡± ¡°Thirty!¡±


    ¡°Fifty!¡± ¡°Eighty!¡±


    ¡°One hundred!¡± ¡°Two hundred!¡±


    The people who were here to watch the fun were stunned. Isn¡¯t this crazy? Such a small box of tea costs three hundred?! You can buy more than 300 buckets of rice with one guan (Guan is a unit of money in the Tang Dynasty) which is enough to feed a family for a long time. Just when the people were astounded, someone quoted a higher price, two hundred!


    ¡°Four hundred!¡±


    This price has exceeded the expectations of many. Some were just observing themotion while others quietly check with their masters if they should increase their bid but no one dared to simply quote a higher price. The first box was sold at 400 Guan.


    After a good start, the rest of the tea was auctioned off in the same manner. The price went higher and higher with every box sold. Someone raised the price to 800 Guan for thest box and it was bought by a poor soul who only had money!


    After clearing the venue, Su Dng tried his best to calm down. Even without adding the profit from the Grade 2 or 3 tea, the 20 boxes of first-ss tea alone sold for more than 10,000 Guan! This amount some might not even earn in a lifetime and his Royal Highness the Prince of Teng earned it so easily! He even built up the brand name for his tea!


    If the trend of tea drinking prevails, as long as tea supply is avable, even if they can no longer fetch such price, they will have a steady stream of ie!


    If Su Dng had doubts before, he is nowpletely convinced of Yuanying¡¯s ability. Even if others now ride on the trend and sell tea from the South, when tea is mentioned, the first brand toe to mind will still be Thousand Gold Tea.


    Tea from others. Were they praised by His Majesty ? No!


    Tea from others. Were they endorsed by the genius doctor Sun Simiao to be good for the body? No!


    Su Dng¡¯s heart was burning and he hurriedly went to share the ount with Li Yuanying.


    Li Yuanying has never been short of money and so even after learning that he made lots of money, he didn¡¯t react too eagerly. He only told Su Dng to continue carrying out his ns. ¡°Remember to send another group of people back to confirm if we have procured newnd for a tea garden. Don¡¯t let others snatch it first.¡±


    Seeing Prince Teng¡¯s reaction, Su Dng quickly calmed down.


    Chang¡¯an is at the feet of the Emperor. There are powerful and rich families here who can definitely afford hundreds of thousands of dors. This is nothing to be ecstatic about. To crack this tea market is what is important.


    Su Dng responded quickly and when he left, the ecstasy and excitement before seeing Li Yuanying disappeared. He turned his head to tell Su Erniang the whole story and said that he was going back to the South to personally attend to the matter as soon as possible.


    ¡°Why so quick? Why not stay for a few more days?¡±


    Su Dng shook his head and sighed that Prince Teng is really something and is worthy of being the youngest brother of the Emperor. He dared to think about things others dare not and do things others would not dare to do! Now he couldn¡¯t wait to show off his skills with Prince Teng and didn¡¯t want to waste even a day.


    On the other side, since the branding for his tea is done, Li Yuanying became idle again. He realized that he had only been studying medicely and had not visited his other teacher Xiao Deyan for a long time. Although he didn¡¯t want to visit Li Tai¡¯s mansion, he still went with tea to visit his teacher.


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: What¡¯s so exciting about this amount of money?


    Li Zhi: I want to punch someone


    Li Chengqian: I want to punch someone


    His Majesty Li Er: I want to punch someone

 Chapter 51

    Chapter 51


    The construction of Prince Wei¡¯s mansion was personally instructed by the Emperor. With Li Tai being in his twenties, he should have left for his ownnd but Li Er refused to let him go. The Emperor even visits his residence in person from time to time.


    Li Yuanying is always running around everywhere. Except for Beili and Li Jing¡¯s residence which was banned by the Emperor, there is no ce in Chang¡¯an City that he cannot visit.


    The boy arrived at the gate of Prince Wei¡¯s mansion and politely asked for permission to visit old schr Xiao Deyan.


    Li Tai also happens to be at home working on his book <<Comprehensive Gazetteer>>. Hearing that young uncle is here, all his old and new hatred for him came rushing to his head. If he has things his way, he wants to block him from entering. But thinking further, he remembers that his uncle is shameless. If you refuse him entry, he will cause a scene at your doorstep. Then others will spread rumors about how Prince Wei refused to meet his uncle and left him at the door!


    Li Tai pinched his nose and called someone to wee Li Yuanying in. He put down the manuscript in his hand and prepared to meet young uncle. He intends to try being as polite as he could.


    However before Li Tai could greet him, the servant he sent out is already running back to him. The servant updated that as soon as the door was open, Li Yuanying ran towards old schr Xiao¡¯s ce. He knows his way so there was no need for anyone to lead the way.


    Li Tai felt irritable.


    He was able to invite Xiao Deyan to his house all thanks to the book he waspiling.


    At present <<Comprehensive Gazetteer>>has been in the works for several years and it is about time to wrap up. Unfortunately, he has not been able to influence those in his Literature Museum to fully support him. The talents in his literature hall are not as exceptional yet whenpared to the ones his father recruited for his Hongwen hall in his youth. And now this b*stard Li Yuanying wants to steal Xiao Deyan!


    Li Yuanying is well aware of how hated he is by Li Tai and so he chose not to meet him. He instead went directly to meet Xiao Deyan.


    Even though it¡¯s been quite a long since theirst meet-up, the rtionship between Li Yuanying and Xiao Deyan didn¡¯t feel unfamiliar. He sat down casually,pletely treating Xiao Deyan¡¯s ce as his own home. He also happily asked people to boil water and make tea.


    After everything was done, Yuanying diligently asked Xiao Deyan how he has been ¨C been eating well? any difficulties? does heck anything? does he want him to run errands and so on.


    ¡°Everything is fine, I don¡¯t need anything.¡±


    Li Yuanying alone is as noisy as 10 people. Seeing that Xiao Deyan doesn¡¯t need help, he told him about Sun Simiao: ¡°He is just like you. Although he is in his seventies or eighties, he still walks and he rides more steadily than many in their youth. If not for his gray hair, he doesn¡¯t look old at all.¡±


    After talking about Sun Simiao¡¯s appearance, he continued with his medical skills saying that the doctor was writing a medical book called <


    >. This book is a collection of all kinds of medical prescriptions whether traditional, proven, scientific or strange.


    It is called <


    > because one method is able to save one life and human life is more important than a thousand gold!


    ¡°This is great! Many doctors cherish their skills and most following family traditions are reluctant to pass on or share their knowledge with others. Many recipes are often wrong and mos quack doctors harm people. Having this book is a great thing for doctors and themon people.¡±


    With Xiao Deyan¡¯s affirmation, Yuanying became happy and boasted: ¡°I have made an agreement with Master Sun, when he is done I will publish it for him. Everyone who wants to read it will be able to. We want to cultivate more good doctors for the world so that people are less likely to encounter fake doctors.¡±


    Xiao Deyan nodded but reminded: ¡°I¡¯m afraid it will cost a lot of money.¡±


    Yuanying then told him about his Thousand Gold tea. The first batch is sold out and Su Dng is already rushing back to the South.


    On this trip back, Su Dng has two tasks- ONE to bring back autumn tea for selling and TWO to buy surrounding tea mountains to increase scale.


    With this tea, I¡¯m not worried about paying for book printing.


    After hearing about Yuanying¡¯s busy month of May, Xiao Deyan felt that the child was smart but also worries that he would get himself into trouble.


    Xiao Deyan paused and then gave him advice: ¡°You are making a lot of money from selling tea. You may be criticized for it so think about how to deal with it in advance.¡±


    Li Yuanying couldn¡¯t understand so he asked humbly for advice: ¡°What kind of criticism?¡±


    Xiao Deyan reminded him of the rules and regtions of society: Schrs, farmers, businessman, artisans ¨C four people four different industries. The wealthy must notpete for profit with servants.


    Xiao Deyan looked warmly at the boy: ¡°As part of the royal family, you shouldn¡¯t be in business. Although you are not doing it in person, it is still inevitable that someone will make a fuss about it.¡±


    Xiao Deyan also shared more rules that merchants have to observe. Merchants, businessmen, and their children were not allowed to participate in the imperial examinations. They also cannot choose the color of their clothes.


    Although each family more or less has its own shop and business, few of them really show it to the public. Everyone wants face and will not publicly show that they arepeting for profit withmon citizens.


    Li Yuanying became even more puzzled: ¡°Everyone is a citizen of the Tang Dynasty, why can¡¯t the children of merchants participate in the imperial examination? If there are some very smart people within this group, wouldn¡¯t it be a waste of good talents?¡±


    ¡°The ministers are the leader of the people. If you are both an official and a businessman, who should be the judge to say whether you are doing good or bad? Work should be delegated and everyone should perform their duties. This way, the world will not be in chaos.¡±


    Li Yuanying couldn¡¯t understand. One moment it¡¯s ministers, another moment it¡¯s about business. It is all beyond hisprehension. He nodded earnestly, saying that he note them down and is mentally prepared to be scolded.


    From Li Yuanying¡¯s point of view, if you were to scold me, just go ahead. After all, it¡¯s not like your scolding will cause me to lose a piece of meat, so let it be!


    Tea is ready and Li Yuanying personally prepared a bowl and gave it to Xiao Deyan.


    Xiao Deyan is well aware that Prince Teng doesn¡¯t care about his identity or etiquette and does as he wishes. Therefore he did not refuse and took a sip. It was summer and the heat is rising but after drinking, he felt a gust of wind and his body felt light.


    ¡°This tea is good, just right to drink in hot weather.¡± (Xiao Deyan)


    ¡°I kept the best ones for you. When you want to drink just get someone to cook a small packet, that will be enough for one serving!¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Xiao Deyan took the silver box and looked at the picture on it.


    ¡°The painting is good but these two sentences are written too simply. Since you are studying in the pce, have you started writing poetry?¡± (Xiao Deyan)


    ¡°Haven¡¯t been taught yet.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Everything that he thinks of, writes, and says came from his own initiative. Li Yuanying couldn¡¯t help but add: ¡°I don¡¯t think they want to teach me, it¡¯s always halfhearted and I don¡¯t have the patience to learn!¡±


    Children are much more sensitive than adults. He can distinguish between those who liked him and those who didn¡¯t. Who taught him sincerely and who dealt with him perfunctorily.


    Some time ago, the Crown prince published two good articles. When Kong Yingda investigated, the Crown Prince finally told him that it was co-written together with Li Yuanying. This is because while Yuanying proposed this and that, he doesn¡¯t know how to put it into words and hence the final person in charge of writing became the Crown prince!


    Also, thest time Li Yuanying attended court meeting he refuted the ministers until they became speechless!


    Some of Kong Yingda¡¯s disciples came to know about it and felt that it was better that this scourge couldn¡¯t write yet.


    Just look at him, justhis mouth alone can kill. If he learn how to dance and write, wouldn¡¯t all the schrs die of embarrassment?


    You don¡¯t want to teach, I don¡¯t want to teach, no one wants to teach. Hence, Li Yuanying has no chance to learn properly and could only write things like <<Hanzi¡¯s Fables>> which is at the level of telling stories to children.


    Xiao Deyan said with a light smile: ¡°If you don¡¯t learn, you won¡¯t be able to win against them. Only by learning their tricks can you win over them using their tricks.¡±


    This is reasonable and Yuanying immediately patted his chest proiming that he must study hard.


    Since he¡¯s already here, the boy requested that Xiao Deyan teach him first. To learn a few tricks to go back and bluff some people!


    Xiao Deyan did not refuse. He drank the hot tea and gave him tips for writing articles then taught him what books to read and what to pay attention to when reading.


    Li Yuanying always loved listening to Xiao Deyan. He listened intently and soon it was twilight before he knew it.


    It was only when someone came to ask if Xiao Deyan wanted to eat that Yuanying realized that it waste! After thinking, he casually asked to inform the pce that he would be staying over at Prince Wei¡¯s ce tonight. He is studying hard now and he can¡¯t wait to get a pen and ink to try writing immediately. Must not lose momentum.


    Since Li Yuanying wanted to eat and stay the night, Li Tai naturally came to know about this. He was so angry that he wanted to go over and ask someone to throw Li Yuanying out of the house.


    When Li Tai went over, both Li Yuanying and Xiao Deyan had finished dinner. The boy sat next to Xiao Deyan and was reading a sample essay that Xiao Deyan had chosen for him. One old and one young, sitting under themp and chatting. It was a harmonious sight.


    The blue veins on Li Tai¡¯s forehead popped. He stepped forward to say hello to Xiao Deyan and then turned to ask Li Yuanying how was dinner. He then continued by asking why his uncle was here but did not visit his nephew.


    ¡°I have nothing to say to you when I see you. I didn¡¯te here to look for you.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Li Tai¡¯s cheeks trembled and his chubby face which originally looked prosperous started to look a little hideous.


    He has never seen anyone like Li Yuanying. No matter the situation, normal people would say a few polite words. This guy came to his Wei Mansion and eat and live and still say ¡°I didn¡¯te to meet you¡±!


    Seeing Li Tai¡¯s facedarkened, Yuanying remembered that he was a guest. He immediately pulled Li Tai¡¯s chubby hand and said sincerely: ¡°Did I not make you angry by talking to you thest time? I¡¯m afraid that you¡¯ll be unhappy so I avoided you. If I knew that you had let go of the past, I would chat with you first!¡±


    Li Tai¡¯s face twitched again.


    How dare he mention that incident!


    Can¡¯t understand what father liked about this kid. The kid came beside him and started chatting nonsense endlessly. Even then father said: ¡°It¡¯s the first time your uncle is attending court meeting, why are you so calctive with him?¡±


    He still remembers this incident in his heart. He remembers it firmly. Who said anything about letting go of the past?!


    But since Li Yuanying had already made his statment as such, Li Tai couldn¡¯t reply ¡°No, I didn¡¯t let go of the past, I still want to strangle you¡±.


    Li Tai can only say: ¡°Young uncle, this is your first time to court, it¡¯s normal for you to not understand the rules.¡±


    Li Yuanying nodded in agreement and since he has finished greeting Li Tai in a peaceful and friendly manner, he started asking Li Tai: ¡°Do you still have anything to do with the teacher? If not, I will continue to talk with teacher, you can go back to work. Don¡¯t bother entertaining me, I¡¯ll just find a guest room when I¡¯m tired from talking with the teacher.¡±


    Li Tai: ¡°¡­¡±


    Li Tai sincerely felt that he still wanted to kill this b*stard.


    The author has something to say:


    Little Prince: Eat in your house, sleep at your house, and then still p you!


    Li Tai: _(:§Ù¡±¡Ï)_

 Chapter 52

    Chapter 52


    Li Tai left.


    Li Yuanying stayed behind to talk to Xiao Deyan. As he got tired, he shamelessly asked to be led to an empty guest room to rest.


    He slept soundly. But Lady Liu who just got to know that her son was staying over at Prince Wei¡¯s pce became restless and stayed up the whole night doing needlework.


    With every stitch, she gradually calmed down. Although her son loves to y, he has never suffered any losses since childhood. Even if he doesn¡¯t get along with Li Tai, it would be foolish of him to attack Prince Teng in his own mansion.


    Old schr Xiao is extremely knowledgeable. And since Yuanying is eager to learn, shouldn¡¯t she as the mother be supportive? After all, she can¡¯t hold back his son. After clearing her thoughts, Lady Liu put away the unfinished needlework and went to bed.


    The news of Li Yuanying staying at Prince Wei Pce came to Li Er the next morning. When Li Er was getting dressed he casually mentioned that Princess Jinyang and the others couldn¡¯t locate the boy the night before and were unhappy all night.


    His Majesty wondered: ¡°That kid really didn¡¯te backst night?¡±


    The servants replied: ¡°Before the pce gate was close, his highness send word that he wanted to learn from old schr Xiao and stayed the night at Prince Wei¡¯s Mansion.¡±


    ¡°He really is fond of Schr Xiao.¡± (Li Er)


    Xiao Deyan is a well-known schr; extremely old and has lived through many dynasties and has disciples everywhere. His knowledge is extensive and indeed a great person to learn from. If Xiao Deyan was 10 or 20 years younger, the Emperor would also want to heavily rely on him when ruling the country. Due to his old age, the schr is only tasked withpiling books and revising history.


    While the servants do not dare discuss important matters with the Emperor, they were willing to share their thoughts about Prince Teng: ¡°Old schr Xiao is kind and patient. Even Prince Teng can¡¯t kick up a fuss with him. He¡¯s so obedient in his presence. ¡°


    ¡°That kid is well behaved if he likes something. If he doesn¡¯t like something, he¡¯ll cause ruckus. Unfortunately, I have asked arranged for Schr Xiao to help Qingque with booksption. Otherwise, I would make him the brat¡¯s teacher per his wish.¡± (Li Er)


    Luckily this statement was shared by His Majesty casually and away from Li Tai¡¯s ears. Otherwise, he would want to tear Li Yuanying into pieces and then scold his father for practising favoritism. What¡¯s so great about being able to cause trouble? Just because he kicks up a fuss you give him what he wants?! That¡¯s too much


    Although Li Tai is not aware of the Emperor¡¯s thoughts, he is also not a person who repays faults with kindness. Since he was greatly offended by Li Yuanying yesterday, all the hatred, both old and new came rushing into his heart. When he woke up, he quickly arrange for his men to encourage the ministers to criticize Prince Teng.


    Using the Emperor¡¯s good name to sell his own brand of tea and at sky-high prices. This alone can draw out many criticism!


    Even the biological sons and daughters of the Emperor would not dare abuse their father¡¯s name. How dare Li Yuanying do so?


    Isn¡¯t it so fun to make money? Now let¡¯s make him vomit out all the money he has made!


    Li Yuanying stayed in Prince Wei¡¯s ce and didn¡¯t leave. In addition to learning how to write articles, he also consulted the teacher about the topic he brought up yesterday ¨C different professions by different ss. Xiao Deyan patiently enlightens the young boy about the tax system in the country. Currently, tax is collected this way ¨C each person is given a certain amount ofnd. Every year, tax is collected per head and paid by a certain amount of rice grain, silk, and 20 days ofbor.


    Looking at the current situation, such a tax is rather low and the citizens are not distressed. However, Xiao Deyan pointed out that royal rtives, dignitaries, Taoist monks, and wealthy craftsmen are all exempted from paying tax.


    Yuanying didn¡¯t quite understand his point: ¡°Is there anything wrong with this?¡± He himself is part of the royal family, of course it¡¯s good to not pay tax.


    ¡°In <<Liezi>> there¡¯s a story about an old foolish man trying to move mountains. The story revolves around Yugong who wanted to remove the mountain in front of his door so that it would be easier to travel. Others thought that it was ridiculous for how could a person move the mountain? Yugong replied: ¡®Even if I¡¯m dead I still have children; my children have grandchildren, and the grandchildren have great-grandchildren; our family tree can be endless but the mountains do not increase in size. Why then is this an impossible task?''¡± (Xian Deyan)


    Li Yuanying hadn¡¯t read this book yet, so he secretly memorized the title and decided to read itter.


    ¡°What does this have to do with taxes?¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°Think about it, how many children does the Emperor Emeritus have and how many does the current Emperor have? Will your children then get married and have offspring? Don¡¯t the court officials also have siblings or children? Will the rich not buynd or get married?¡± (Xian Deyan)


    Putting it this way, Yuanying instantly understood the statement. He alone has more than 20 brothers and countless sisters. Excluding his siblings that have passed away, there are still too many to count on ten fingers. As for nephews and nieces, there are so many of them. Thest time he printed 100 books it was not enough to share among them!


    Li Yuanying calcted in his heart and was stunned: ¡°In the future, there will be more and more people who don¡¯t have to pay tax. The current tax system is imposed on per head basis. Even if a person has several thousand acres ofnd, he will only need to pay one head of tax for himself. Like myself, I havend and I rent it out to others. Since they do not own thend, they do not need to pay tax. I am part of the royal family and also do not need to pay tax. Therefore thatnd is tax free!¡±


    Xiao Deyan is happy that the boy is so intelligent.


    ¡°That¡¯s it.¡±


    Li Yuanying is enlightened. The more he thinks about it, the more shocked he is: ¡°No wonder <<Han Zi>> write about the five vermin and eight traitors. If this goes on, the freend in Tang Empire will all be divided out.¡±


    Xiao Deyan said no more.


    Yuanying sat alone and pondered.


    No wonder such arge Tang Empire can disappear. Just the tax system alone is such aplicated subject. Although he knows about this curse, he doesn¡¯t know how to solve it.


    When people have money, you can¡¯t stop them from buyingnd. After all,nd is the foundation and a guarantee in life. Who wouldn¡¯t want to buy more? He would want more. The morend the better, best if all thend in the world is given to him! If he thinks like this, how can he ask others to think differently?


    The boy pondered for a long time but couldn¡¯te up with a solution. He humbly asked Xiao Deyan for advice.


    Xiao Deyan sighed: ¡°If I have a solution, I would put my old life on the betting table and discuss this with the Emperor. But how can there be a perfect solution in this world?¡± For example, the Han family wanted to encourage farming and did not want themon people to be businessmen so they imposed heavy taxes on the wealthy. Tang Empire is newly established and we need businessmen to invest and trade with the North and the South. Therefore, they are exempted from tax. These are all implemented by the wise ministers in court based on the current needs of the country.¡±


    ¡°The situation has already changed and the original method is no longer valid. Can¡¯t we change it?¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°If you¡¯ve worked and saved up and the imperial court suddenly changes itsws, would you be happy? It¡¯s fine if just one or two people are unhappy but if many feels the same way how can you make a change?¡± (Xian Deyan)


    Li Yuanying went silent.


    This doesn¡¯t work, that doesn¡¯t work, this is too hard! Thinking about his brother and eldest nephew, he thinks that they really do have a hard life working so hard. It¡¯s not easy being the Emperor!


    Seeing Li Yuanying¡¯s small brows furrowed tightly, Xiao Deyan reassured: ¡°You are still young, don¡¯t think too much.¡±


    Xiao Deyan sees his actions and felt that this child is different. He¡¯s already an old man and all he can do now is to nt seeds in the hearts of the young and see if these seeds take root and sprout in the future.


    Li Yuanying nodded in agreement.


    He can¡¯t think of a solution so let¡¯s stop thinking about it. When his big academy is ready in the future, he will leave this problem to his future students to figure out. These students will also have children and grandchildren, let them think for generations toe. One day we are bound to find a solution.


    Yuanying made up his mind and so stopped bothering his teacher. He went back happily and told Lady Liu that he studied the whole night but is still not tired.


    Lady Liu is d that her child is back safely. She gently told him to study hard and not to let old schr Xiao down.


    Yuanying came back with new ideas in his head but he decided to y with his friends instead. Recently he has been too busy with his businesses, one moment he was branding for the new tea, the next he was drawing and after that setting up an auction. He really did ignored his precious little nieces and now all of them turned their backs and ignored him!


    Li Yuanying sat cross-legged and sighed: ¡°It seems that none of you know how lively the tea sale was yesterday.¡±


    Gao Yang loves excitement and couldn¡¯t hold back: ¡°Why didn¡¯t you take us there?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t Changle enter the pce yesterday? You are just gonna leave Changle alone and go out to y?¡±


    Changle is his eldest niece. Yesterday, she entered the pce to visit the Emperor and her younger sisters. Li Yuanying adore this gentle and beautiful niece too and often dragged her along to y. But she married into the Zhangsun family not long after.


    Yuanying hadn¡¯t met Changle for a long time but he was too busy with the excitement of selling tea. Therefore, he took the opportunity to slip out of the pce.


    The older Chanle gets the moredisciplined she bes. Even if she¡¯s back, Yuanying couldn¡¯t take her out to y. How boring.


    Hearing young uncle mention Changle, Sizi turned around and said, ¡°You ran out to y by yourself! Sister even asked about you!¡±


    ¡°One day I¡¯ll bring you guys to Zhangsun¡¯s mansion to visit her!¡±


    The girls were happier once he promised them this. They then gathered around Yuanying for storytime on how a pound of tea sold for such outrageous price. This news has spread all over the pce!


    Yuanying told them the story and also updated them that the corn in the sunflower garden is almost edible. Let¡¯s invite Changle along to roast them. The girls then decided to be friends with Yuanying again and started pulling and shouting at young uncle to get his attention.


    At this same time, good news came back from GaoChang. This news is even more bizarre than the legendary stories outside. With Gaochang and Chang¡¯an being far away from each other, no one would expect Tang Empire to send troops over. They were still singing and dancing in early May and suddenly the Tang army was right outside their doorsteps!


    When the ruler of Gaochang heard this, he fainted on the spot and passed away that night.


    The lord of the country is gone and the newly elected ruler is not able to stabilize the situation. Hence, they quickly open their gates and surrendered!


    Therefore, Hou Junji and Xue Wanjun won the war without fighting!


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: The harvest season is here!!

 Chapter 53

    Chapter 53


    Thest time we had good news regarding war was when Dang Renhong returned triumphantly. News of Gaochang¡¯s victory can quickly and the Emperor was greatly pleased. He summoned his ministers to share this piece of good news.


    Taking over Gaochang was surprisingly easy and important due to it being an important transportation gateway. Li Er intents to upy Gaochang, change its name to Longyou path and set is as part of Anxi Grand Protectorate <sup>[1]</sup>Protectorate to Pacify the West (Anxi Protectorate) was a protectorate (640 ¨C c.? 790) established by the Tang dynasty in 640 to control the Tarim Basin. With this, the territory of Tang empire is extended greatly to the west.


    His Majesty spent the night talking about this happily with his close confidants. Right now, Hou Junji and the troops have not yet returned and so it¡¯s still not time for celebration. He also did not immediately share this news with his officials in court the next day.


    But because he was in a good mood, everything went by smoothly. Many decisions were passed with little discussion.


    The ministers could all sense the Emperor¡¯s good vibes. Usually during such moments, Wei Zheng woulde and pour cold water on the Emperor by raising issues. However, before Wei Zheng could do his ¡°job¡±, someone stole his limelight by holding out his hand board mightily high indicating that he has something to say.


    Li Tai involuntarily looked towards the person who spoke.


    Thest time he secretly spread news about the Crown Prince, many fell for his trap and stood up to criticism him. This time, he repeated his old tricks but the results weren¡¯t as good. After all, Li Yuanying is a well-known scumbag. The kind that is shameless enough to y petty tricks to get himself out from trouble. No one is willing to find trouble with him.


    After all, all Prince Teng did was sell tea using a proxy. It¡¯s nothing out of the ordinary. Among all the ministers, whose family do not have side businesses? At most, they were handled by servants or distant rtives.


    This particr person just wanted to use Li Yuanying¡¯s name to get his 15 minutes of fame.


    Whatever the superior favors, those below would try to copy. Since Li Er elected Wei Zheng as an example, he is encouraging his men to speak freely. With that, those below would rack their brains hard to express various opinions and put forth their own suggestions. Some with real skills have raised highly in position quickly; while those who are superficial can only yelp away but have no real results to show.


    This person is one of those superficial embroidered pillow. On any normal day, Li Tai would not take a second look at him but now he is looking forward to his performance. Regarding Li Yuanying¡¯s bad actions, he should be able to find fault with one severe enough to get a whole lot of scolding.


    His Majesty didn¡¯t know that this was Li Tai¡¯s private agenda and so allowed him to speak.


    With the Emperor¡¯s permission, the speaker immediately recited his essay which he had carefully concocted.


    This person has outstanding writing skills but his shorings are also obvious. One word: Long-winded! Just the beginning itself was a few hundred irrelevant passages. To add on, his tone was t and unwavering. If it weren¡¯t for the etiquette in ce, many would have fallen asleep.


    Cutting into the main topic, the man¡¯s long-winded writing became worst. He spent a long time reading thousands of words in a splendid manner, all just to express one thing. ¡°A pound of tea is sold for 800 Guan. Prince Teng is the Emperor¡¯s younger brother, how can he do such a thing?¡±


    Then, he continued on about all the bad things Li Yuanying has done in the past. Starting from when he was 5 and buried someone in snow! Luckily when he just started mentioning Zhengguan 7<sup>th</sup>year, the Emperor had enough and waved his hands to stop him. These are not just old issues, these are sh*tty old issues!


    Everyone secretly shouted ¡°Your Majesty is wise¡± in their hearts. If this person is allowed to continue, court session will never end!


    Li Yuanying is not the Crown prince. He liking money is no one¡¯s business as it does not cause harm to anyone. The Emperor also personally advertised it on his behalf, what can others say? If you really want to criticize, the Emperor needs to be med too. But this person is no Wei Zheng, so he didn¡¯t dare to target the Emperor.


    Li Tai hatred was seething in secret. How is it that only this idiot isining about Prince Teng? Looking at the way he is doing it, It¡¯s impossible for Li Yuanying to get into trouble.


    Li Tai was furious. And suddenly Li Chengqian sitting in front of him moved.


    ¡°This humble son of yours has something to report.¡±


    Li Chengqian rarely speaks at court. It¡¯s already a blessing if he is present in person and it can be considered a miracle if he took the initiative to speak. Li Er nodded happily.


    Li Chengqian took out a manuscript and asked that it be presented to the Emperor.


    His Majesty Li Er didn¡¯t understand and so he opened the manuscript. He saw that the handwriting was familiar. It is the same writing as the one that wrote ¡®Where do you find premium tea? Inside Thousand Gold hall is Thousand Gold Tea¡¯. This is obviously written by his younger brother.


    ¡°This is what Prince Teng showed me yesterday. He just learned to write articles not too long ago. After writing this,he felt unsure and so asked me to help review it. He wanted me to look at it before presenting this to the Emperor.


    Li Chengqian paused and nced at the minister that spoke: ¡°If someone hadn¡¯t impeached Prince Teng, I wouldn¡¯t have shown this to the Emperor without his consent.¡±


    Everyone was looking at each other. You look at me, I look at you. All eyes were filled with curiosity: What kind of article did the little demon king write? Something that Li Chengqian can bring to court and talk about?


    His Majesty read the slightly childish article and passed it back to Chengqian.


    ¡°Chengqian, please read it to everyone. Let everyone here hear the inner thoughts of this guys who is used of wrongdoings by everyone.¡±


    Li Chengqian retrieved the manuscript and read it aloud.


    The difference between Li Yuanying and the civil servant¡¯s article is not just one and a half star. His is not long-winded. He directly listed out the profit he received from selling tea. Just three or four hundred Jin of tea but it managed to be sold at prices equivalent to countless grains of rice. The profit exorbitant.


    Even though its arge sum of money, Yuanying disclosed it fully in the article without discount.


    He also wrote about his discussion with Xiao Deyan on taxation, stating that he is well aware that businesses in Tang Empire are exempted from tax to encourage north-south trade. However, Prince Teng believes that tea is very profitable and if no tax is imposed, citizens might stop growing crops for food and nt tea instead.


    Li Yuanying proposed that, for the long-term stability of Tang Dynasty, the tea trade should be charged withmercial tax in ordance to the Han Dynasty!


    He further proposed that in the future, existing and necessary industries should still follow the current practice. However, If there are new business, it must be determined by authorities on whether it needs to be taxed or not.


    More thoughts lingered in his mind but Yuanying didn¡¯t write it down. He only listed down what came to his mind that instant. Since Xiao Deyan said that existing things cannot be changed casually, he will target things that are new. There aren¡¯t many traders selling tea in the North and tea like Thousand Gold Tea is a brand new business, it is something that can be changed.


    As for whether others will follow the trend of selling tea or whether they would acquire tea hills and tea gardens, it¡¯ll depend on whether they are willing to pay taxes.


    Anyway, Li Yuanying is not short of money. As long as Tang Empire is stable, he can continue living leisurely as the little prince.


    He wrote this article and felt that it was pretty good. So he slipped into the East Pce to ask Chengqian to review it and let him know if anything needs to be changed.


    Chengqian was busy then and he thought that young uncle merely wrote an ordinary poem. Therefore, there was no urgency and he told him to leave it behind for his review muchter.


    In the end, when Li Chengqian finished work and read it, he couldn¡¯t sleep again. He kept thinking: uncle is only 10 and all he did was study with Xiao Deyan for a few days and follow Sun Simiao outside the pce. However, his thoughts and deeds are very different from others.


    In contrast, he as the Crown Prince has never calmed down enough to think about these issues.


    Li Chengqian came to the court today with Li Yuanying¡¯s article as he originally wanted to show it to Kong Yingda and the others. Unexpectedly, an official criticized Li Yuanying for selling tea at a high price.


    Chengqian had no second thoughts. The moment the Emperor ask the official to stop talking he immediately took out Li Yuanying¡¯s article.


    This article while written technique still quite immature, managed to once again silenced the entire court.


    It has been more than 20 years since the Tang Dynasty is established. From the initial stage of utter chaos to current peaceful times, it is achieved through the hard work of everyone.


    Currently, it is peaceful and stable times and wars are either not frequent or typically won. This should be the time to breathe a sigh of relief and rest but as old and new families create alliance through marriages and the rapid growth of more rich and powerful people, many problems are starting to sprout up.


    Although all looks harmonious and beautiful still, people with vision can always predict the future. What Xiao Deyan can predict, others can too!


    Fang Xuanling was the first to react. He praised Li Yuanying, saying that Prince Teng had audable heart and his method should be carried out.


    As soon as Fang Xuanling opened his mouth, the others followed suit.


    After the session ended, eveyone went for working lunch provided by the Pce. This bnced meal is arrange for the officials to prevent them from being hungry.


    The civil and military officials gathered together in twos and threes and begin socializing while eating.


    Li Er called for Chengqian and asked that he hand over Li Yuanying¡¯s article.


    Father and son sat on two separate side. They didn¡¯t talk about government affairs but instead chatted about Li Yuanying.


    Li Chengqian honestly confessed that he didn¡¯t know young uncle would write such an article. If he knew, he would definitely keep him to discuss it all night.


    Li Er has read the article once and then listen to its content. After reading it again carefully, he feels joy in his heart. His youngest brother has finally stopped fooling around and is even contributing ideas for the country.


    This kind of ridiculous idea, no one would dare propose. Who would be willing to take the trouble to develop a new business and then volunteer to pay taxes for it? Only Li Yuanying, who looks down on little tax money would do this!


    After showing joy, the Emperor quickly tense his face again and gave Chenqian a quick education session: ¡°You are ten years older than uncle but you have never given any useful advice to court all these years. Learn more from your uncle.¡±


    After speaking, he ordered Li Yuanying¡¯s article to be posted on the wall behind him. On this wall are articles by prominent ministers like Wei Zheng¡¯s <<Ten Thought>>.


    On normal days, Chengqian wouldn¡¯t like to hear such words but this time he didn¡¯t feel unhappy. He strolled back to the East Pce, and as soon as he entered he saw Li Yuanying ying with Li Xiang.


    Seeing Chengqian, Yuanying pulled Li Xiang¡¯s hand and walk over to meet him.


    ¡°Chengqian, have you read the article for me?¡±


    ¡°I read it but the article is gone.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Li Yuanying said unhappily: ¡°You can¡¯t throw it away just because you don¡¯t like it. If you don¡¯t like it, I¡¯ll find someone else to look at it!¡±


    Seeing that young uncle was a little angry, Chengqian pulled him into the house. He hugged his son to hisp while talking to Li Yuanying about what had happened today.


    Yuanying quickly learned that his article was discussed and the ministers did not ridicule him but praised him instead! Later, His Majesty Li Er posted it on his wall used for serious matters along with all the other important updates.


    Li Yuanying¡¯s eyes widened in surprise: ¡°Lord Brother thinks I write well?¡±


    Li Chengqian then ryed thest sentence from the Emperor: ¡°Learn more from your uncle in the future¡±.


    With this, Li Yuanying¡¯s tail just got lifted to the sky. He imitated Li Er¡¯s expression to tease Li Xiang: ¡°Did you heard it? Learn from Yaoyao.¡±


    Li Xiang was very cooperative, and immediately nodded obediently: ¡°Learn from Yaoyao!¡±


    Notes from the author:


    Eldest nephew: I don¡¯t know why but I don¡¯t envy you at all.


    Little Prince: It¡¯s because I¡¯m super cute!!!


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü1Protectorate to Pacify the West (Anxi Protectorate) was a protectorate (640 ¨C c.? 790) established by the Tang dynasty in 640 to control the Tarim Basin

 Chapter 54

    Chapter 54


    Hearing that he was praised, Yuanying couldn¡¯t sit still. He decided to look for his older brother after ying with Li Xiang for a little while longer.


    The Emperor was in the midst of discussing matters with his ministers. Hearing that his younger brother was poking his head around somewhere outside, he reluctantly asked that he be let in.


    As soon as Yuanying got permission, he ran inside happily. He didn¡¯t sit next to the Emperor like he usually would but instead went to look at the wall where his article was posted.


    Sure enough, many famous memorials were posted on it. Among them are documents from Wei Zheng, Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji.


    Yuanying scanned the wall until he finally found his article. He read his and then read the article next to it. He felt that his was not up to standard yet and had much room for improvement. But the Emperor likes it anyway and he thinks that it is good enough! If the Emperor says so, then it must be true!


    Li Yuanying triumphantly ran back to Li Er¡¯s side and sat down. He then lectured his older brother about how he should educate his son: ¡°Just now Chengqian mentioned to me that you criticized him for not doing a good enough job. You can¡¯t say that! If you praise him for a job well done then he will be more energetic the next time!¡±


    The ministers didn¡¯t know how to react to the boy¡¯s statement. While this guy is young, he talks with sense and carried an experienced aura of ¡°I¡¯m telling you honest truth because we are good friends¡±. But he doesn¡¯t think about his real age?!


    Li Er is aware of Yuanying¡¯s future ns on how he wants to raise his kids and said jokingly: ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that it¡¯s fine to raise sons casually? Why are you worrying about Chengqian again?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand! Even if you are biased, you can¡¯t show it so obviously. You have to assure him that you are doing this or that for his good. It¡¯s like telling him that you love him so much that all the great family business will be given to him in the future! If he hears this, he will be more motivated to work!¡±


    His Majesty nodded. He suddenly remembered about the tea taxes and decided to ask him about it.


    Li Yuanying looked at the people present, Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng. All of them are allies!


    So he did not hold back and told them about his conversation with Xiao Deyan.


    ¡°Teacher said that it is difficult to change existing things. Since no one has opened up the tea business yet, I can make changes to it. As for future things, I haven¡¯t been able to figure them out. Let others carry this burden in the future!¡±


    Li Yuanying has no ns to be benevolent or righteous. He just holds the principle that Tang Dynasty belongs to the Li family. If the Empire is stable, he can live his good life without restraint and do whatever he wants. The people andnd are the fundamentals of a country. Only when the people can live and work in peace and contentment, can the country prosper! Therefore, he hopes that the Tang Empire continues for a long time!


    Hearing this, His Majesty agreed that Yuanying¡¯s idea while a tad naive was much stronger than others he has received.


    Did Xiao Deyan also teach Qingque these things? This thought shed in Li Er¡¯s mind but it didn¡¯t stay for long. Seeing his brother happy, Li Er decided to not ridicule him. He insteadplimented him and ask him to go y by himself.


    Li Yuanying happily ran away.


    His Majesty Li Er and his ministers sat opposite each other. After a while, Wei Zheng spoke: ¡°It¡¯s not that no one sees this logic. Most who see it either dare not say it or don¡¯t want to say it. There are already signs of this and I¡¯m afraid it will cause a catastrophe in the future!¡±


    Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji both nodded in agreement.


    The group started a new round of discussions.


    Li Yuanying was not so troubled. He went home to let his mother know that the Emperor praised him. He then wrote the article again and ran out to present it to Xiao Deyan.


    Xiao Deyan didn¡¯t expect the boy to make such a bigmotion with his first attempt at writing. He also didn¡¯t expect Li Yuanying to directly share their conversation to the Emperor.


    Seeing Xiao Deyan showing signs of worry, Li Yuanying asked nervously: ¡°Did I do something wrong?¡±


    Xiao Deyan shook his head. ¡°There is nothing wrong. This is a straightforward matter with nothing to hide.¡±


    If it was someone else, there would be much hesitation and much worry. They will not bring up such a controversial topic to the royal family.


    Like the issue on taxing tea leaves. The people in the Capital might have seen Li Yuanying making a fortune and want to copy him. But Prince Teng the initiator of tea business and he volunteered to pay taxes and then proposed that others do the same. This will inevitably cause a group of people to retreat from this business and another group to hate him for it.


    If it was someone determined to profit from tea, why would they ask the imperial court to levy on tea?


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t know Xiao Deyan¡¯s thoughts. But since teacheraffirms his actions, he happily asked him to point out the inadequacies in his writing.


    He then went ahead and ask for a free meal before leaving in satisfaction. While he was walking, he ran into servants who were surrounding a crying toddler. The child looks to be about a year old and couldn¡¯t speak properly yet so he cried and shouted: ¡°Ball Ball, mine, the ball!¡±


    Yuanying realized that this was his other grand-nephew, Li Xin who was younger than Li Xiang. He follows after his father and was plump but he is much cuter than his dad. The child was crying loudly and looked a little pitiful. Yuanying squatted down and pinched his cheeks covered in tears.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Little round ball (Yuanying¡¯s nickname for the child) cried for a while before looking at Yunaying with his ck eyes and blinked. He didn¡¯t recognize the boy and started to tten his lips to cry again.


    ¡°I am your young grand uncle.¡±


    Little round ball couldn¡¯t understand the whole thing so he repeated only the second half: ¡°Young Uncle?¡±


    ¡°The rank is wrong. Just call me YaoYao like my other grand-nephew.¡±


    ¡°Yaoyao!¡±


    Li Yuanying answered and asked why he was crying. Little round ball choked and say that his beloved ball had fallen into a hole. The servant next to him quickly exined that Little round ball was ying with a small ball. At the nearby rockery, a small hole has formed and the ball fell in and couldn¡¯t be retrieved.


    Li Yuanying went over to observe. The opening of the hole was hidden by vegetation so it was normal that no one had noticed it.


    ¡°If it¡¯s lost, just forget about it. YaoYao will send you a new one another day!¡±


    Little round ball stubbornly choked back tears: ¡°Ball Ball!¡±


    Seeing that he was persistent, Yuanying asked someone to fetch water and pour it into the hole at once.


    Although the servants were puzzled, they obeyed and went to fetch water.


    Li Tai happened to leave his study room and saw servants carrying water to the rockery. Frowning he asked people tofind out what was going on.


    When he got to know that it was Li Yuanying¡¯s instructions, Li Tai¡¯s heart was burning full of anger. He followed behind to see what young uncle was doing in his house!


    Li Tai took a look and saw his son being very affectionate with Li Yuanying. The child was saying something iprehensible: ¡°Yao Yao! Ball Ball! Come out!¡±


    ¡°Just wait, the ball wille out soon.¡± He then exined to Little round ball patiently, ¡°The ball is light. Just like how a leaf will float on water, the ball will also float on water. Once there is more water in it, your ball will float up!¡±


    Although Little round ball didn¡¯t quite understand the logic, he was just happy to hear that his ball would float up.


    Li Tai watched the intimate interaction between his son and young uncle with a gloomy face. This guy has a thing for coaxing children. Sizi and all the other kids love him so much that they call for him every day!


    Yuanying didn¡¯t notice Li Tai¡¯s arrival. He continued to order servants to pour water into the hole. Although the hole is quite deep, it is not too big. After one round, the ball emerges. The servant guarding the hole quickly picked it up and presented it to the toddler.


    Little round ball happily took it and pulled Li Yuanying to y with him.


    ¡°I can¡¯t y anymore, I need to meet your eldest aunt. Next time I¡¯ll y with you.¡±


    He extended his pinky finger to Little round ball. ¡°Come, let¡¯s make a pinky promise.¡±


    Seeing that Little round ball didn¡¯t understand, Yuanying demonstrated using his left and right pinky fingers.


    The child immediately understood and stretched out his tiny short finger towrds Li Yuanying.


    After coaxing Little round ball, he noticed that Li Tai, the big round ball is present. Li Yuanying handed his grand-nephew over to Li Tai and said hello: ¡°Qing Que, since when were you here? Why didn¡¯t you say anything?! Here take your son back, I¡¯lle and y with him next time!¡±


    Since young uncle managed to coax his son into a happy state, Li Tai couldn¡¯t say anything bad to him. Not to mention he has a humble and polite personality to maintain to the public. All he could say was that he wees him to visit anytime.


    Yuanying said goodbye to the little round ball and travel towards Zhangsun¡¯s family mansion. He intends to invite his eldest niece Changle to visit Sunflower Garden soon.


    Changle married into the Zhangsun family at 13 years old. Now she is already 18 or 19 and dressed up as a properdy. Hearing that Li Yuanying would visit, she weed him in person.


    Changle¡¯s appearance and temperament mirrors that of Empress Zhangsun. Two years ago, His Majesty suddenly wanted to award the ns and contributing heroes withnds. This means that once a ce was given to you, the family will always own it for the generations toe.


    Zhangsun Wuji and his supporters were not in favor of such a practice. After persuading him to no avail, he requested that Changle to reason with the Emperor. After much effort, Li Er finally retracted the hereditary order.


    It can be seen from this that Changle is very simr to Empress Zhangsun.


    Since Li Yuanying didn¡¯t managed to meet herst time, this time he shamelessly made an appointment. As soon as they met, he said with sweetness: ¡°Long time no see, I miss you so much!¡±


    Changle bluntly replied: ¡°You said you missed me butst time I went to the pce, you went out to y by yourself.¡±


    With Li Yuanying, Changle did not follow formal etiquette but casually invited him to sit down.


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: Steal away your teacher. Then steal away your son!


    Fourth nephew: ? ? ? ? ?

 Chapter 55

    Chapter 55


    The two hadn¡¯t seen each other for a long time and Li Yuanying¡¯s mouth is sweet as honey. He told her all about his recent adventures and continue on saying that someone as smart as her being stuck at home all day is a waste. Go out for walks, open a school or hold a few literary conferences. Just get out and get to know more people and live a more lively life.


    ¡°After a woman is married, she should be serving her husband, parents-inw and children. Where can I find free time for excitement?¡±


    Yuanying was a little unhappy hearing this. He held Changle¡¯s hand: ¡°Your inws do notck servants and your husband is going outstation for duty again. After giving your greetings to father and mother, how else do you spend the rest of your time? Don¡¯t the housekeepers help you with the house chores? Even if you are in charged, don¡¯t you just give instructions to others? You don¡¯t need to do everything yourself.¡±


    Changle agrees that young uncle made sense and couldn¡¯t think of anything to refute.


    After marrying into the Zhangsun family, Changle¡¯s life has indeed be much more boring than when she was in the pce. The more prominent her father-inw is in the government, the more they have to act cautiously. Because of this Zhangsun Chong, her husband has been a little displease with her.


    But she is born a princess. Even if her husband is not happy he wouldn¡¯t dare outwardly show it. But once a couple is estranged, no matter how ignorant a person is, the change in chemistry will still be noticeable. Changle is anything but stupid.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about this next time.¡±


    Yuanying didn¡¯t continue to press her on the topic. He instead share that he is now familiar with Sun Simiao and has learned the art of diagnosing sickness. He urged Changle to let him try it on her. When he first entered the house, he noticed that Changle looked a little haggard and is worried that she is not living well in the Zhangsun household.


    Changle has always been gracious to this much younger uncle and stretched out her hand for him to check her pulse. No big problem with Changle now! It¡¯s just that she follows after her mother and has a weak body and needs extra care. She got married way too young and had to be a daughter-inw and a wife before she is fully grown. She must have exerted herself with worries a little too much recently causing her qi and blood pressure to be a little low.


    Li Yuanying is still a novice and wasn¡¯t sure how to take care of her. His little brows furrowed.


    Changle squeezed his cheek with a smile. She told him not to worry and if she felt unwell she would seek a doctor with no dy.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be toote by the time you ask for a doctor when you feel ill!¡±


    He took Sizi as an example and told Changle to listen. He then took the opportunity to feed her a sweet candy before telling her to visit the sunflower garden together!


    It was already the end of summer. Changle is well aware that she hadn¡¯t gone out for a long time. She nodded in response to the invitation.


    Three dayster, Li Yuanying called all his friends out to y. Naturally the few radish heads (children) from the pce needs to tag along. Recently, Li Xiang often joined the group and so he came too. Although the corn crops are of the same species, some matured sooner while otherster. They rushed over for the first batch. As soon as Dong Xiaoyi reported that there was corn to eat, he quickly arranged for appointments with his friends.


    It¡¯s the first time Li Xiang is following young uncle out of the pce. When he arrived at the sunflower garden, he was curious about everything. He walked through the golden field, looked here and there thinking that he has never seen such flowers before. The whole farm is nted with the same flowers, its really beautiful!


    Li Yuanying led the younger children to the cornfield. They were plucking things left, right and center and had a great time. Changle instead choose to talked to Wei Shu who she was not familiar with. She is curious about how this young girl met Li Yuanying and became such good friends.


    Although Wei Shu¡¯s heart has flown into the cornfield, she couldn¡¯t rudely abandon Princess Changle. She patiently answered all the questions and told her everything about her rtionship with Prince Teng.


    In the meantime, Yuanying asked someone to collect a basket filled withbthe biggest and best corn. Looking back, he realized that Changle and Wei Shu were left behind and so he immediately ask them toe over quickly.


    Wei Shu felt like she had been granted amnesty. She quickly ran over and started listening to Yuanying¡¯s introduction about corn in a serious manner.


    Rumor has it that corn, like sunflowers, originated from a faraway ce. It takes a long time to get there by a veryrge boat. There are many seeds on a single corn just like sunflowers. When nted on the ground it will create a huge patch of corn.


    Li Xiang was given a piece of raw corn and curiously pulled on the corn silk to y.


    Li Yuanying taught him: ¡°This is corn.¡±


    Li Xiang nodded: ¡°Corn!¡±


    Li Yuanying: ¡°The popcorn you atest time was made from this corn.¡±


    Li Xiang¡¯s eyes lit up: ¡°Popcorn!¡±


    Li Yuanying: ¡°I can¡¯t make popcorn today, so let¡¯s grill the corn!¡±


    He instructed Dong Xiaoyi to pack up the corn so that it¡¯s easy when they want to grill it. Also get some meat and vegetables so that the meal is not boring! The extra corn were boiled with water and he intended to give it to Sun Simiao and Xiao Deyan.


    Remembering that there was still a little round ball in Li Tai¡¯s house, Yuanying asked someone to reserve two more. Later he would make corn juice for little round ball to taste!


    Li Yuanying tried his best to make arrangement for everyone he could think of. He then happily brought the children to roast corn.


    Although everyone has eaten popcorn, its a first for them to see a corn whole. The ones that Dong Xiaoyi had picked are full and juicy; not too old and not too tender; just right!


    Someone has already prepared all the barbecue stuff and the children need not do anything. They only needed to put food onto the fire and turn it over from time to time. Li Yuanying was originally impatient with this, but the group of little radishes were in high spirits. He can¡¯t disappoint them so he rolled up his sleeves to carefully brush honey on the corn. The final result was better than thest tragic burnt chicken. Much better.


    Changle tried the roasted corn and think that it was tender, delicious and fragrant. Really tempting and delicious. What¡¯s even more precious is that this thing can be eaten in many ways ¨C roasted, baked, boiled or to make soup!


    Thinking back about Yuanying¡¯s statement about how one piece can be nted into an entire field, Changle¡¯s heart quickened.


    ¡°Young Uncle, have you told father about this corn?¡±


    If Changle didn¡¯t bring him up, Yuanying really did forget him him. Two months ago, he swore that he would show his harvest to Li Er but make it impossible for him to taste. Now that Changle brought this up, Yuanying is in a state of struggle. After all, His Majesty had praised him recently and is now in his good books. So, should I give him a piece to try?


    Li Yuanying snorted twice: ¡°Then let Sizi give him one. I won¡¯t give more!¡±


    Changle let the topic go.


    Li Yuanying brought the children around eating and drinking. He then proposed to visit the school. He asked that no special preparations be made as they would just sit in the back on a few futons and observe.


    Dong Xiaoyi arranged the matter and quickly set up an ¡°auditorium¡± for Li Yuanying and his party to observe the ss session. Maybe it¡¯s because the children are mutually influencing each other butpared to kids in normal schools, the children here are particrly motivated to learn. There are also several girls who stand out; fast learners and very active in ss.


    Overall the school seems vibrant and thriving.


    Li Yuanying was satisfied with his trip. He sent Changle, Wei Shu and Sizi back and went to look for Xiao Deyan bringing boiled boiled corn and freshly squeezed corn juice. He even brought with him a specially made ¡°straw¡± from thin bamboo branch for tasting.


    Having lived for 80 years, Xiao Deyan was not particrly greedy for food. But when Li Yuanying enthusiastically pointed the bamboo straw to his mouth, he had two sips ording to the boy¡¯s wishes and praised that it was indeed a special drink.


    ¡°If you like it, I will go back and ask someone to give you more!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m old and can¡¯t eat much. You can keep it for yourself.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t finish it. There¡¯s too much.¡±


    After Xiao Deyan, it was time to visit grand-nephew little round ball. Many servants were tending to little round ball and seeing Yuanying giving the child food from unknown sources, they became a little nervous and wanted to taste it first before allowing young master to try it.


    Following pce customs, all food served to the Emperor had to be tested in three ways. Li Yuanying is indifferent to this practice and allowed the servants to do as they wish.


    Little round ball puffed up his cheeks looking angry. ¡°Mine! Mine!¡± My corn juice, why should I let them drink it first?!


    Li Yuanying squeezed his puffy face and said: ¡°No can do. Let them taste it first. If it doesn¡¯t taste good, I can¡¯t give it to you.¡±


    If someone else were to pinch his cheeks, little round ball would definitely be angry. But when Li Yuanying did it, he was happy instead. He stretched out his chubby round hands and pressed it hard against Yuanying¡¯s cheek, wanting to pinch him back to show their closeness.


    Li Yuanying nodded: ¡°Yes, not bad! Really smart. He knows how to return favors at such a young age!¡± He moved closer to the boy so that little round ball could pinch his face.


    Little round ball was sessful. YaoYao¡¯s face is soft and warm. He was extremely happy: ¡°Return favors!¡±


    The corn juice was finally served and Yuanying held the straw next to little round ball to teach him how to use it. Its the boy¡¯s first time using a straw and when he could suck juice from it he was both shocked and excited. He continues drinking mouthful of it. It¡¯s fun and tasty!


    Li Yuanying left for home contented after ying with little round ball. Among all his juniors, little round ball is the most round and feels the best to pinch. No wonder his brother likes fourth nephew the most. It seems that round children are the cutest! If it was someone as thin as Sizi, you wouldn¡¯t bear to pinch her face!


    Li Yuanying sighed and rode back to the pce on a pony.


    At this time, His Majesty was being bombarded with corn stories from multiple sides.


    The first ones to give him corn were his children. Sizi and Li Zhi updated him that young uncle had nted corn in the sunflower garden. His Majesty didn¡¯t pay much attention at first but after seeing the crop he got interested as it looks like very good food source!


    Listening to Li Zhi, he realized that every corn on the cob can be nted and that a single corn can popte an entire field. His Majesty couldn¡¯t help but hold on to the well-cooked corn tightly.


    Such good things being roasted and boil. And eat them all?!


    Without allowing the Emperor to react, someone came to update that Zhangsun Wuji is asking for an urgent meeting.


    Once summoned in, Li Er found out that Changle was part of the group and brought back a few for her family to try. Zhangsun Wuji took a look and realized that this is precious food source. How can you cook them all?! He didn¡¯t care what the corn tasted like, he quickly brought it into the pce to meet the Emperor!


    His Majesty and Zhangsun Wuji stared at each other, both speechless. With no time to react, someone said that Wei Zheng is asking to meet the Emperor.


    Both looked at each other and could predict what the other was thinking: Wei Zheng must have brought corn too. It¡¯s harvest time and Li Yuanying would definitely invite his friend Wei Shu along.


    Wei Zheng entered and saw that His Majesty already has two trays of corn with him.


    Wei Zheng immediately understood. He handed out his corn to the group.


    Sensing that the atmosphere was not right, Sizi pulled the corner of Li Er¡¯s clothes: ¡°Father, are you unhappy? We were afraid that it would not be fresh, so we asked someone to cook it in the carriage when returning to the pce. It¡¯s cooked just right! It¡¯s delicious!¡±


    His Majesty could never get angry at his beloved Sizi, so he pretend to be happy before turning to Li Zhi.


    ¡°When was this thing nted?¡±


    ¡°It was nted around the same time as sunflowers.¡±


    ¡°These are all there is to harvest?¡±


    ¡°This is only part of it, there are still many in the field. I heard that the rest are either too old to taste good or too tender to eat.¡±


    His Majesty knew what he had to do and send his children home. Looking at the three trays of corn, His Majesty snorted coldly, ¡°Let¡¯s try it first. After tasting, Wuji go arrange for the sunflower garden to be surrounded.¡±


    Zhangsun Wuji obeyed.


    Li Er picked up a piece and tasted it twice, sweet and delicious.


    The more he thought about how good a crop these corns are, the more angry Li Er became.


    Already several months of nting and no one shared a word to him. Obviously, that b*stard Li Yuanying made them shut up. Seriously not sure what drugs Li Yuanying gave these young ones to make them so willing to listen to him. How dare they not tell me?!


    Notes from the author:


    His Majesty Li Er: You b*stard, kidnap my son!


    Fourth nephew: You b*stard, kidnap my son!


    Little Prince: Oh, me me. o(*£þ¦á£þ*)o

 Chapter 56

    Chapter 56


    The Emperor sent troops to surround Sunflower Garden but Li Yuanying was still oblivious to this. The pce gate were already closed when Zhangsun gave the order. Due to this, Dong Xiaoyi couldn¡¯t report this in time.


    The next morning, he hurriedly visited to the pce to inform Li Yuanying.


    Li Yuanying panicked and hurriedly rush over to block Li Er¡¯s path in front of the council hall. The Emperor and his ministers were walking towards the hall and they all saw Li Yuanying moving a futon and sitting in front of the entrance from a distance. Looks like the guy intends to sit there in protest until the Emperor gives him an exnation.


    Li Er was furious. He has already warned the kid to not cook precious crops like sunflowers. Fine! He did not fry them this time but instead made popcorn. After harvesting the corn, he boiled it, baked it, roasted it, and gave them away simply as gifts! The Emperor intended to show his brother some mercy as not all nts were harvested yet. Otherwise he would have punished Li Yuanying on the spot!


    This b*stard dares to block my path as an act of protest!


    Seeing that his older brother is strutting over fiercely, he knows what¡¯s about to happen. He¡¯ll get a good scolding from him. Yuanying was ufortable with this turn of events.


    Since it¡¯s already like this, its toote now to run away. He stood up and went over to grab his brother¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Lord Brother, was the corn I told Sizi to send to you delicious? In order to give you the freshest corn, I made people cook it on the carriage so that it will be just right when we arrive at the pce! If you think it¡¯s delicious, I¡¯ll ask people to send more to the pce.¡±


    The Emperor personally raised his younger brother. Once nce and Li Er can tell that these are nonsense statements that his younger brother made up on the spot. Judging from his actions, he obviously came here to fight! Looks like the people from Sunflower Garden are extremely loyal to him and managed to inform him about thetest happenings early in the morning.


    Li Er nced at Li Yuanying with a smile: ¡°It¡¯s delicious. Therefore, I¡¯m nning to take everything. Will you give it to me?¡±


    Li Yuanying remembered how he was robbed off his sunflowers thest time and his his face wrinkled into a bun. He followed Li Er to the council hall.


    ¡°There¡¯s lots of corn. Lord brother! Too much for you to finish it alone. Why don¡¯t I give you¡­. half?¡±


    Li Er gave him no room for negotiation and said rather coldly: ¡°I want it all.¡±


    ¡°The sunflower garden was given to me by ourte father. You can¡¯t rob my sunflower garden!¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you always say that ¡®everything on thisnd belongs to the king?¡¯ When you want a favour from me, you always say this to get me to help you out.¡±


    Li Yuanying wanted to bite him.


    Li Er nced at him and asked: ¡°You can also grow peanuts right? That thing is delicious and can also produce oil like sunflower seeds. It looks good.¡±


    Li Yuanying reluctantly said: ¡°The peanuts¡­ I¡¯ll give you half too!¡±


    Li Er still had a ruthless expression on: ¡°I want it all.¡±


    Li Yuanying got angry and stormed away. After returning to his residence, he angrily kicked the Chinese parasol tree in the courtyard several times.


    Lady Liu heard sounds and ran out. She saw her precious boy sitting on the ground, taking off his boots and rubbing his feet.


    Someone already had inform Lady Liu that Prince Teng was outside kicking a tree. Seeing him sulking with his bruised toes, she was both amused and distressed. Lady Liu reached out to hug him into her embrace.


    ¡°You with this thin and tender body, how can your feet be harder than the tree? If you kick so hard, who¡¯s the one who suffers?¡±


    Yuanying turned around and stretched out his arms for a hug and said angrily: ¡°I do not want to be friends with the Emperor anymore.¡± From now on, the Emperor is the worst and biggest viin in the world!


    Lady Liu cautiously probe further and found out that the Emperor had sent troops to surround the sunflower garden and intended to take over everything on it.


    ¡°You can¡¯t eat much anyway. Even if his Majesty doesn¡¯t ask for it, you should have given it to him as a tribute.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s different!¡±


    Him giving it to the Emperor voluntarily and the Emperor robbing him by force. How are they the same!


    Lady Liu couldn¡¯tfort him with words and so she rubbed the soles of his feet instead.


    ¡°Okay, never mind. But don¡¯t kick the tree again next time.¡±


    The boy¡¯s pain when away when mother coaxed him and so he nodded obediently and quickly put on his shoes.


    Yuanying had been very busytely and had rested well for a long time. Today, he decided to stay home and just read.


    Li Yuanying¡¯s anger typically doesn¡¯tst very long. He soon ran off to look for Lady Wu of Talents.


    If the Emperor doesn¡¯t summon for her then Lady Wu is quite free. Seeing Li Yuanyinging towards her, she wasn¡¯t even a little annoyed.


    ¡°What book do you want to read this time Your Highness?¡±


    ¡°There may be <<Liezi>> in the pce, I want to take a look.¡±


    Lady Wu curiously asked him why he wanted this book.


    <<Liezi>> was written during the Warring States Period and its full name is Lie Yukou and is a Taoist text


    Hearing Lady Wu¡¯s introduction, the boy felt that she has also read the book. He then told her about the conversation he had with Xiao Deyan. He was interested in stories and wanted to see what other interesting stories were in the book.


    Lady Wu was quite fascinated with Xiao Deyan¡¯s interpretation of the current taxation practise and how it¡¯s bound to cause disaster. But right after she heard the boy say he wanted to read stories. This boy is very much still a littlechild.


    ¡°There are stories in it of course, but I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be interested in most of its content.¡±


    That¡¯s not a problem. He¡¯ll just skipped the parts that he¡¯s not interested in.


    ¡°As long as there are stories!¡±


    ¡°Your Highness doesn¡¯t look very happy today. Did something happen?¡±


    Hearing this question, Li Yuanying recalled his grievances the Emperor. The Emperor had forcibly robbed him of his corn and peanuts. His anger towards Li Er was tant for all to see.


    Hearing this, Lady Wu felt that the Emperor is deliberately robbing him because he wanted to see Li Yuanying angry.


    ¡°His Majesty is probably afraid that you will eat all the corn and peanuts. Then it¡¯ll be toote to share the benefits with themon people. When he has collected enough seeds, he will naturally return the garden to you.¡±


    ¡°I will not care about him anymore!¡±


    Lady Wu stopped persuading him. She gracefully located the book he wanted instead.


    Even though Yuanying has seen her this efficient before, he still couldn¡¯t help but ask curiously: ¡°Why does it seem like you have read all the books here?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s always good to read more.¡±


    His Majesty Li Er is the Emperor of a country and is naturally very busy. Even if he visits the harem, he won¡¯t be able to stay for too long. Therefore, the concubines and wives will have to find things to upy themselves with. Some concentrate on raising children, some on cultivating more beauty while others prefer fighting with each other. Lady Wu is not very interested in these things and only wants to acquire knowledge. She looked at Li Yuanying with a smile: ¡°Your Royal Highness is free to travel and see the outside world. I can¡¯t leave the pce gate, it¡¯s not bad to gain exposure from books.¡±


    Li Yuanying took the book and held it in his arms. As he walked out, he told Lady Wu about Princess Changle. Changle obviously wouldn¡¯t listen to his advise and will not let herself livefortably and happily like Gao Yang and the others!


    Li Yuanying told Lady Wu what he thought: ¡°There are no shortages of manpower so why can¡¯t girls do whatever they want to do? When I marry my princess, I will let her do whatever she wants. ¡°


    ¡°If your Highness¡¯s words are heard by others, I¡¯m afraid many girls will want to marry you.¡±


    Li Yuanying likes to beplimented and was happy when he heard this. He didn¡¯t intend to be humble at all.


    ¡°It¡¯s useless to want to marry me. I¡¯m wont simply marry anyone.¡±


    Lady Wu asked him what does the girl he wanted to marry look like.


    Li Yuanying thought for a while: ¡°I haven¡¯t made up my mind yet.¡± He extended out his fingers and said: ¡°Only one point, she must be filial to my mother! Of course, if the princess is filial to my mother, I will also be filial to her parents. I won¡¯t let her suffer.¡±


    Lady Wu smiled and said no more. They went separate ways at the fork.


    On her way back, Lady Wu was still thinking. Li Yuanying was born as the youngest son of thete Emperor. By logic, heshould have had a hard time in this pce. However, he is born with luck on his side. His mom while low in rank is a cautious person and has done no wrong. With him having a free and open personality, those with bad intentions do not dare to touch him. This has made him gain favor with the Emperor.


    Seems like the happiest person in the pce is Prince Teng who should logically be the least happy!


    Li Yuanying was just his usual self when he asked for Lady Wu¡¯s help to find books. Lady Wu was also used to himing to her for help. Neither of them gave their actions much second thoughts.


    But others thought differently.


    His Majesty soon heard that his younger brother took out his anger on a tree and hurt his feet. He then sat on the ground rubbing it. Li Er was so overjoy hearing this that he ate an extra bowl of rice for dinner. Right after, he got someone to serve him a bowl of tea. When he received the fragrant tea, His Majesty thought of his bad younger brother again, and was happy all over.


    He decided to visit the harem at nightfall. While on his way there, someone stopped him to inform that Li Yuanying has been frequently visiting the harem to visit Lady Wu. Even if Li Yuanying was the Emperor¡¯s younger brother,it was still inappropriate for him to do so.


    Li Er nced at the whistle-blower and asked for her name. He then waved for others to take her away.


    Seeing Li Er¡¯s indifferent expression, she didn¡¯t dare to say anything else and obediently followed behind towards Lady Wu¡¯s residence.


    Lady Wu was reading a book with themp lit. <<Liezi>> was a book she hastily read a while ago. Since Yuanying brought it up, she also took a volume and read it again.


    Hearing that His Majesty is here, Lady Wu put down the book and stood up to greet him.


    His Majesty stepped inside and sat down at where Lady Wu was reading. He picked up the book and nced at it.


    Li Yuanying just mentioned to him a few days ago about a story about a foolish old man moving mountains so Li Er naturally still remembers this book. No need to ask further questions,he can confirmed that the rumor is indeed true. Li Yuanying and Lady Wu are in close contact.


    Li Er put down the book and nced at Lady Wu with an inquiring gaze.


    Lady Wu¡¯s heart skipped a beat.


    ¡°You and Yuanying often see each other?¡±


    Lady Wu was slightly surprised.


    No matter how young Li Yuanying is, he is still a prince. After a year or two, he should leave the pce to his own mansion even if he does not go to his fief. This usation is aughable one but if someone really wants to make a fuss about it, it¡¯s not impossible to build a case! Lady Wu didn¡¯t dare to hide this and exined why they met many times.


    His Majesty was still listening with a calm expression.


    Of course, Li Er do not doubt Li Yuanying. He is suspicious of Lady Wu.


    When Lady Wu first entered the harem, Li Er happened to have a fierce horse that no one could tame. He instructed that whoever tames it would be rewarded greatly.


    Back then Lady Wu stood up and said that she could do it. She will just ask for three things: an iron whip, a hammer and a dagger. First beat it with an iron whip and see if it obeys; if it refuses, beat it with a hammer; if it refuses, kill it with a dagger. This way it will never dare to disobey!


    Ady not more than 10 is able to speak in such a cruel way. It is hard for the Emperor to not suspect that she has ulterior motives for approaching Li Yuanying.


    When Lady Wu finished her exnation, Li Er said lightly: ¡°If I were to give you to Yuanying, would you be willing to go to him instead of being my Lady of Talent?¡±

 Chapter 57

    Chapter 57


    Hearing the Emperor¡¯s question, Lady Wu instantly knelt to the ground and paid him great respect. She managed to keep a calmposure even though a thinyer of cold sweat had formed on her back.


    With suitable vibrato in her voice, she calmly said: ¡°As a woman, I obey my father before marriage and after marriage I obey my husband. If your Majesty has instructions, I dare not disobey.¡±


    Li Er got up and walked away. His sleeves swept past <<Liezi>> and the book fell to the ground.


    It fell at a ce where Lady Wu could see it.


    She didn¡¯t dare to get up immediately but instead waited until there was no movement in the surroundings. She then sat on the ground weakly for a long time before she managed to pick up the fallen book in front of her.


    She looked down at the scroll in her hands.


    When the Emperor asked that bizarre question just now, Lady Wu would be lying if she weren¡¯t a little tempted. She¡¯s currently only 16 and had entered the pce harem at the young age of 13. When she was still living at home, her father didn¡¯t care much about her. It was already a rare blessing for her to be able to read and write. She shouldn¡¯t be hoping for anything more.


    At that time, she was not willing to resign to her fate. Not willing to ept that despite her being as brilliant as her half-brother, she was being treated as inferior and couldn¡¯t do the things that she wanted.


    After she was sent into the deep pce, she did try imagining the kind of person the Emperor was. She also thought about how she could work hard to win his favor, so that her two half-brothers will have no choice but to rely on her. However, it a pity because Li Er was not a person who lust over beautiful women. She was given the title ¡°Lady of Talents¡± only because her father had done useful deeds for the country in the past.


    Only those who lived deep in the pce harem would understand how lonely the days are.


    Li Yuanying¡¯s existence is ipatible with the world around him. He is like a fish that has broken into deep waters and lives freely and vividly. He can do whatever he want, and say whatever he want to. Even if it¡¯s directed towards the Emperor, he still freely cause trouble and criticize him whenever he wants.


    But after calming down a little, she realized that Li Er¡¯s statement was a trap that shouldn¡¯t be answered. The Emperor obviously came over after hearing rumors. If she had responded with joy, her fate would definitely not be the one he promised her.


    Lady Wu clenched <<Liezi>> tightly in her hands.


    Thinking carefully, Li Yuanying is not a good choice. His mom is only a lowly 7<sup>th</sup>rank Lady of Treasure. This is even lower than hers (Lady of Talent = 6<sup>th</sup>rank). Li Yuanying¡¯s only winning card was his favor from the Emperor.


    And whether this favor genuine is still difficult to determine.


    After all, Li Er had yed his brothers in the early years. It¡¯s not that far-fetched to think that he is using Li Yuanying as a tool to show his brotherly love and benevolence.


    In the end, all life and death are in the hands of the Emperor. If he wants you to be rich, you will have a glorious life. If he doesn¡¯t want to, you wouldn¡¯t even be able to see his face and will be trapped behind these high walls for the rest of your life.


    No freedom.


    And extremely hard to obtain freedom.


    Lady Wu sat in the same position and did not move for a long time.


    The candle lit quietly, causing the scroll in her hands to cast a faint shadow on the ground.


    ¡­.¡­..


    On the other side, Li Er left and went straight to Li Yuanying¡¯s residence.


    The servants all nced at each other and hurriedly followed behind him not daring to say anything.


    Li Yuanying was reading with the lights on. The book <<Liezi>> is exactly like what Lady Wu said it would be. There were many topics that he didn¡¯t think much of but still had some interesting stories. For example the story about ¡°the suspicious axe thief¡± is simr to ¡°the suspicious neighbors¡± that he had read much earlier. This story is about a man who left his axe at his work ce and could not find it when he went home. The more he looked at his neighbors, the more he is suspicious of them for stealing his axe. The next day when he found his axe at work, he thinks that his neighbors no longer looked like thieves!


    Li Yuanying was reading with relish and Lady Liu brought him mung bean soup. It was a hot day and this soup will help him read in peace.


    Yuanying took it and had a few sips before asking mummy if she has drank some.


    ¡°Of course I have.¡± (Lady Liu)


    Seeing her son reading, she decided to leave him alone. She reminded him to put on more clothes if the weather bes cold.


    Li Yuanying responded without the slightest hint of impatience.


    Just as Lady Liu was about to leave, she saw the Emperor at the door of Li Yuanying¡¯s small study room.


    She hurriedly bowed to him.


    Li Er excused her. The Emperor then lifted up his robe and sat down opposite Li Yuanying.


    Although Lady Liu was worried that Li Yuanying and the Emperor would fight, she didn¡¯t dare to disobey the king¡¯s order. She left for her own room and asked the servants to monitor the situation and alert her of every small movements.


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t know why Li Er is here, but he still remembers his grievances on the Sunflower Garden. He put down his bowl of mung bean soup and turned his back to ignore Li Er.


    Seeing that his brother is showing him the back of his head, Li Er didn¡¯t know whether he should be angry or tough. Lately Sizi and the other children have also became morewless when he confronts them. It¡¯s obvious who they learned their tricks from.


    Li Er stretched out his hand and grabbed Li Yuanying¡¯s back cor to make him turn around obediently.


    Li Yuanying couldn¡¯t breath and grew even more angry. He turned around and angrily pushed away Li Er¡¯s hands.


    ¡°I will not talk to you again! I will not look for you anymore, you are not allowed toe to me!¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°Didn¡¯t realize this earlier but seems like you have quite a feisty temper.¡± (Li Er)


    Li Yuanying ignored him.


    Li Er picked up the first volume of <<Liezi>> and said: ¡°Someone stopped me just now. They used you of often visiting Lady Wu?¡±


    When he heard this, he put aside his annoyance and looked at His Majesty strangely not understanding the statement.


    He hummed: ¡°What¡¯s so strange about this? Someone stopped you and told you this?¡±


    ¡°Do you like her very much?¡± (Li Er)


    Li Yuanying was initially nning to ignore Li Er, but seeing that his expression was not the same as usual, he replied: ¡°Of course I like her, she is amazing! I asked her back in Jiucheng Pce ¡®Why is it that when both Old man Wei and Old man Kong gave me items for studying, I felt that Wei was encouraging me while Kong wasughing at me?¡¯. She quickly found me <<Hanzi>> which helped me understand the reason through the story about the suspicious neighbour!¡±


    Li Er listened patiently without saying a word.


    Since this conversation had started, Li Yuanying¡¯s mouth couldn¡¯t be shut anymore.


    ¡°Speaking of which, I told her today that Changle¡¯s is a talented person in both literature and maths. It¡¯s such a boring life for her to just be at home serving her inws. Lord Brother, since we are talking about this now, I feel that Lady Wu being in the pce all day is a waste of her talents. There are so many women in the harem and you are always busy. You don¡¯t have time for all of them! After some time, I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t even remember what they look like. By me, you should let some of these girls leave the harem so that they are not forced into a lifetime of solitude! I heard that in the past, sister-inw allowed 3,000 pce maids to leave the pce!¡± (Li Yuanying)


    His Majesty said calmly: ¡°You seriously dare toment on everything. Now you even have opinions about the Royal harem.¡±


    Li Yuanying kept his silence. He intends to continue to ignore the Emperor.


    ¡°Since you have given your opinions, looks like I have to listen to you.¡± Li Er looked at his younger brother. ¡°How about I give you Lady Wu?¡±


    Li Yuanying was stunned and raised his head to look at Li Er.


    The Emperor¡¯s eyes were serene. Can¡¯t tell if he¡¯s happy or angry.


    Yuanying asked inexplicably: ¡°What do you want to give her to me?¡±


    He doesn¡¯tck people serving him and he¡¯s not old enough to get married. Besides, it make no sense for the younger brother to marry his older brother¡¯s concubine!


    ¡°Up to you to decide what to do with her. She will have to listen to you. How about that? Just take it as I¡¯m exchanging her for your corn and peanuts.¡± (Li Er)


    Remembering how awesome Lady Wu was, Yuanying was a little tempted but quickly hesitated after thinking deeper.


    ¡°Then Lord Brother it will be a great loss to you. She¡¯s amazing! But she might not want toe over to my side. If she¡¯s unhappy about it and is reluctant, it¡¯s better for her not toe over.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°If I instruct her to do it, she has to. Who cares if she¡¯s happy about it? Since you are asking me to let go of many from the harem, did you ask them if they are willing to leave?¡± (Li Er)


    Regardless of whether you are born into a rich family or an ordinary family, no one is able to predict if their marriage will end well. Maybe the life outside the pce is far worst than staying put!


    Initially, Empress Zhangsun had to let go of 3,000 pce maids because the Empire was just established. This decision was made to reduce expenditure of the royal household. Secondly, there was an urgent need among themon people to marry. They needed to encourage the people to popte the country to ensure sessful continuity of the Empire.


    Li Yuanying has never thought about these points.


    Thinking back about the group of refugees he met at the foot of Li Mountain, Li Yuanying calmed down.


    ¡°How is it? Have you made up your mind?¡± (Li Er)


    ¡°Can I let you know tomorrow?¡± (Li Yuanying)


    His Majesty gave him a deep look and nodded: ¡°Okay, as you like. If you don¡¯t talk about it tomorrow, your corn and peanuts will be given to me for free.¡±


    Li Yuanying got angry as soon as he heard about corn and peanuts. He got up angrily and pushed Li Er out his door rudely,


    ¡°You should leave. I¡¯m going to sleep!¡± (Li Yuanying)


    His Majestyughed loudly and showed no signs of being offended. He strode out of Li Yuanying¡¯s small study in big steps and left.


    At once, Lady Liu came over and asked why is the Emperor here.


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t say much. He just mention that brother is here to coax him and would give himpensation. Now he will talk to Li Er but with reluctance and he hasn¡¯t figured out what he wants aspensation!


    In Lady Liu¡¯s opinion, no matter how delicious the corn and peanuts are, they are nothingpared to the favor of the Emperor. It is only when the Emperor favors you that you can have a good life and bright future. Lady Liu was conflicted. On one end she was afraid that her son would offend the Emperor but on the other end she is afraid that her son would lose favor too if he is too well behave like everyone else.


    Li Yuanying hummed twice without an opinion. He only persuaded mother to go to bed.


    Early the next morning, Li Yuanying went straight to look for Lady Wu.


    She didn¡¯t sleep wellst night and looked slightly haggard.


    Seeing Li Yuanying running over in a careless manner, Lady Wu¡¯s heart skipped a beat and couldn¡¯t help thinking about the incident with the Emperor yesterday.


    When Yuanying saw her, she didn¡¯t look like her usual calm self and so asked with great concern: ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you sick? Should we call a doctor to take a look?¡±


    Seeing Li Yuanying behaving like normal, sheughed and replied: ¡°It¡¯s okay, I just didn¡¯t sleep wellst night.¡±


    She doesn¡¯t look sick so Yuanying nodded and pulled Lady Wu to sit down and talk.


    Lady Wu didn¡¯t want to have too much interaction with Yuanying but she couldn¡¯t bear to give him the cold shoulder.


    ¡°Have you finished reading Liezi?¡± (Lady Wu)


    ¡°Not yet. It¡¯s all the Emperor¡¯s fault. He suddenly came to my cest night killing my mood to read!¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Lady Wu¡¯s heart pounded like crazy.


    Li Yuanying is not someone who can hold back his tongue and have even less self-awareness of whether others are interested in his topic. He quickly told her all about what had transpired yesterday. When he brought up the topic of the whistle-blower, he still thought that it was strange and whispered to Lady Wu in puzzlement: ¡°I asked you to help me find books. Why should I tell that to the Emperor?¡±


    Hearing this, the tight strings on Lady Wu¡¯s heart suddenly loosened.


    Seems like messy things from the outside will never affect Li Yuanying¡¯s heart.


    Sheughed: ¡°Yes, no reason to tell him.¡±


    Li Yuanying was happy that he had found a true friend. He continued his story and when he saw that Lady Wu was stunned, he quickly pulled on her sleeves and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t agree to it right away. Although no matter how you look at it, it¡¯s my gain but I will still ask for your agreement before answering to the Emperor. I also told Lord Brother that if you are unhappy about it, then there¡¯s no point. ¡°


    Lady Wu stared at Li Yuanying.


    The boy¡¯s eyes were bright andpelling. Like a star in the sky.


    Li Yuanying also did not avoid her gaze. He did not promise Lady Wu anything nor did he boast about leading her to achieve great things. He only ask for her will in all seriousness: ¡°Are you willing toe to my side? If you are willing, I will inform the Emperor. If not, I won¡¯t say a word again.¡±


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: Although I don¡¯t know what she will do in the future, I still think she will be very powerful! (Work harder to recruit her!)


    Regarding whether Empress Wu bes the future ruler or not, this is not real history. The story here will not affect the real history of this female ruler. And ording to the real historical line, Lady Wu bes Emperor after outliving the current and the next Emperor. That is about 50 years in the future. Therefore, it is definitely impossible to write about it. (hey), let¡¯s just have a good time and enjoy now! You must understand that in the world view of the little prince, being an emperor is a suffering chore!

 Chapter 58

    Chapter 58


    The room became quiet with only the early morning sun quietly creeping.


    Lady Wu was quiet for a moment before saying: ¡°Last night, His Majesty came to me too.¡±


    Who did his Imperial brother look for first? Him or Lady Wu?


    ¡°Did he tell talk to you about the same topic too? Did you agree to his suggestion?¡± (Li Yuanying)


    She told him word for word her answer to the Emperor.


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t quite understand: ¡°So, did you agree or not?¡±


    ¡°I cannot agree and I cannot disagree.¡± (Lady Wu)


    She poured a ss of water with steady hands and presented it to Li Yuanying. She then shared her analysis to him.


    Her life whether to live or in death are in the hands and at the will of the Emperor. She cannot have her own thoughts. Simrly, neither can Li Yuanying.


    ¡°If you bring me over to your side, it may bring disaster to you and your mother.¡± (Lady Wu)


    Right now, nobody knows what is his true intention. Even if it¡¯s pure now, that can change in the future.


    If Li Er was not sincere but is merely setting up a test, then Li Yuanying has already made a big mistake with this trip.


    The young prince listened to the detailed analysis and then shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t understand this.¡±


    He sat up straight and shared his thoughts: ¡°Lord Brother told me with his own mouth, how can heter change his mind? If he does, I will sit outside his council hall and hold a protest sign saying that he is a liar and I will go to the streets and post notices to defame him!¡±


    Lady Wu: ¡°¡­¡±


    Li Yuanying turned the situation around and shared his thoughts: ¡°I wasn¡¯t the one who initiated it. The Emperor himself said that he wanted to exchange you for corn and peanuts. It would be unreasonable for him to be angry with me after.¡±


    He then snorted: ¡°If the Emperor doesn¡¯t like me because of this, then I don¡¯t like him too! I heard from Zhi Nu that my fief is very close to the sea and there is a bigke next to it. If it is so, I will quietly build big boats and set sail out to sea. I won¡¯te back anymore, let him miss me and live with regrets!¡±


    Lay Wu was dumbfounded.


    After a while, she smiled. ¡°You can¡¯t say this in front of your brother or he will change your fief to the west.¡±


    ¡°Then I will raise lots of camels and keep going west. I¡¯m nevering back!¡±


    ¡°Your Royal Highness is really the number one happiest person in the world.¡± (Lady Wu)


    Li Yuanying likes suchpliments and said triumphantly: ¡°That¡¯s natural, even the Emperor can¡¯t make me unhappy!¡±


    Lady Wu understood why the Emperor was so fond of his younger brother. Whoever treats him well, he does the same; whoever treats him badly, he too treats them badly. He has no ambition and only wants to live in leisure.Therefore, he doesn¡¯t bother about those who criticize him. Fame, status, and power means nothing to him, he just does whatever he wants.


    Even the king of a country; all powerful and dominating is a lonely person. This loneliness increases as his children grows. Then here¡¯s this person who doesn¡¯t care about the Emperor status nor power but just treats him as an older brother. He doesn¡¯t say anything presumptuous and doesn¡¯t want anything. He is able to live happily and freely; is able to cause all kinds of ruckus that the Lord cannot and speak nonsense that the Lord is unable to. What¡¯s not to like about him?


    If Li Er hadn¡¯t ascended to the throne, perhaps he would live the same way too.


    After Li Yuanying was done basking in his own glory, he remembered that he hadn¡¯t received a proper answer from Lady Wu.


    ¡°So are you willing to join me or not?¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Lady Wu quieted down.


    Since the Emperor already have thoughts about sending her away, even if he doesn¡¯t do it, he will no longer favor her. For a concubine who has no children, her best ending would be a lifetime of loneliness.


    She is now only sixteen.


    One side is the temporary stability in the pce and the other is the unknown future outside these walls. It¡¯s not an easy choice to pick.


    Lady Wu asked softly: ¡°If I agree, what do you want me to do?¡±


    Little Prince Teng in front of her is even younger than when she first entered the pce. She was ignorant back then, what more a young kid of merely 10?


    ¡°I thought about itst night, it¡¯s a waste to keep you serving by my side. If so, it¡¯s better for you to continue being Lady of Talents. This is what I think, if you are willing to, please help to take care of the school in Sunflower Garden. In the future, when I go to my ownnd, I will request for your help to take care of my great academy. You have read so many books, put this to good use!¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Lady Wu did not expect the small boy to have such a n.


    ¡°Most people studying abroad are men. Why would they listen to me?¡± (Lady Wu)


    ¡°You are so amazing, you¡¯ll find a way.¡± He took it for granted. ¡°If someone doesn¡¯t listen to you, just kick them out and cklist them from our academy! Besides, our academy will ept women. If men are not willing to join because of this, we¡¯ll make it a girls academy. Up to them if they refuse to join, it¡¯s their loss!¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Lady Wu listened quietly.


    Talking about his great academy n, Li Yuanying¡¯s eyes shone brightly: ¡°Let me tell you, the first student of this academy is my sister Shu. I¡¯ve made an agreement with her. Then we will mass recruit students in Teng State. We teach them everything they want to learn. We equip them so that those who want to travel to sea can do so and those that want to take the imperial examinations stand a chance. Those that want to fight in war will be great soldiers. Schrs, farmers, businessmen, Artisans. Be whatever you want. Our Academy nurture talents from all walks of life!¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Lady Wu listened to the boy happily rambling about his future ns. She decided not to remind him that Wei Shu, being a girl, would not be able to go to the fief with him. Although she had long heard that he was going to open an academy, it was all hearsay. She wasn¡¯t expecting to be able to participate in it.


    Her deepest desires in her heart that had calmed down was revived and there was an uncontroble anticipation growing wildly in her.


    Sensing the change in Lady Wu¡¯s expression, Li Yuanying decided to strike the iron when it¡¯s hot: ¡°Then do you want toe?¡±


    Lady Wu straightened up and paid him great respect. After doing so, she replied seriously: ¡°Yes, I¡¯m willing.¡±


    Li Yuanying was overjoyed, he quickly helped her to stand up.


    ¡°Then wait. I¡¯ll go and tell the Emperor!¡±


    Lady Wu stood by the door watching Li Yuanying¡¯s back which was running away with great energy. The morning sun has risen high and the bright sunlight is shining all over. Her eyes fell on the dense green nts in the courtyard and she smiled slightly at the shredding sunlight.


    If I can break free from this cage and fly freely into the sky and the sea, then even if there¡¯s danger of breaking my wings, losing my scales and falling into the sand, why not still try?!


    Li Yuanying ran to the council hall and waited for Li Er. Seeing him walking towards him, he immediately ran up to greet him diligently.


    His Majesty nced at him and led him inside.


    Li Yuanying pulled a futon and sat down.


    ¡°I went to Lady Wu and ask her about yesterday¡¯s topic. She is willing toe over to my side! We agreed yesterday. Corn and peanuts you¡¯ve already surrounded them, now quickly put down a decree to release her to me.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    His Majesty raised his eyebrows: ¡°Oh? I asked herst night and she didn¡¯t seem to be willing. Why did she suddenly say yes when you ask?¡±


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t bother filtering anything and told him all about Lady Wu¡¯s analysis.


    ¡°Lord Brother, you really do not intend to give her to me? Will you really get mad if I wanted her?¡±


    Li Er stared at him.


    No one dares to ask such a ridiculous question. Poor Lady Wu who spent so much time exining to this young prince about the severity of the situation. And then he quickly turned around and sells her out.


    ¡°If she already told you so, how dare you ask for it?¡± (Li Er)


    ¡°Why don¡¯t I dare to? You said you will give her to me!¡± He snorted and continued. ¡°I told her, if you really are such a bad person, I will secretly build a big ship and leave for the sea. And I will nevere back! If you don¡¯t want to be nice to me, I will do the same to you!¡±


    Li Er raised his hand to pinch his brother¡¯s cheeks.


    Li Yuanying got angry and pulled away with great effort. He puffed his face in warning: ¡°Don¡¯t pinch me in the face!¡±


    Li Er leaned on his ping ji and saidzily: ¡°It seems that I have to make another decree, explicitly forbidding you to build ships on your fief.¡±


    ¡°You people are really troublesome.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    His Majesty raised his eyebrows to motion him to continue sharing what was troublesome.


    ¡°If you want to give something then give it out. if not then don¡¯t mention it! Why do your mouth and heart says different things. If it¡¯s something I¡¯m unwilling to give away, I will never mention it to others!¡±


    Li Er looked at the boy and asked, ¡°You yellow-haired boy, what are you asking mydy of talent to do?¡±


    ¡°Originally, I didn¡¯t know what to do with her. When you ask yesterday, I thought about it for a night! Don¡¯t I want to open a big academy? I¡¯ll ask her to help out in the school at Sunflower garden first then I¡¯ll let her manage my big academy! At first, I ask the teacher to help me manage it, but he is unwilling to due to old age. He only promised to rmend a few students to help me out. So, I¡¯ll hand the Academy over to her!¡±


    After listening to the n, Li Er understood why Lady Wu is now willing to go with him.


    He nced at Li Yuanying, who was sitting and waiting for an urate answer.


    ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll get someone to prepare the decree.¡± (Li Er)


    Li Yuanying was delighted and went around Li Er serving him with great hospitality. He started grinding ink and massaging his shoulders then finishing up all the work left and right.


    Remembering that Li Er likes to pinch his poor cheeks, he shared that little round ball face is great for pinching too.


    ¡°Brother, let me tell you, thest time I went to Qingque¡¯s ce I met grand-nephew who looks just like his father. Round and chubby like a small ball! He¡¯s full of flesh, it¡¯s fun to pinch! If you don¡¯t believe me, you can pinch him next time!¡±


    His Majesty loves Li Tai the most and have obviously hugged his grandson. He scolded: ¡°What little round ball? Is this how you address those younger than you?¡±


    Yuanying told the story about how little round ball lost his ball: ¡°The child cried until his nose was red, when he got back his ball he startedughing again! Little round ball holding a little ball, how cute!¡±


    Li Yuanying just wanted to express one thing. Little round ball is cute and good to pinch. Let¡¯s pinch him together another day, don¡¯t pinch me again!


    Li Er is starting to get annoyed after having his brother¡¯spany for a long time. He waved his hand to interrupt his silly chatter and requested that he go y by himself. Stop bothering him from handling government affairs.


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: You adults are really troublesome (pointing andining)


    His Majesty Li Er: ¡­


    Lady Wu: ¡­

 Chapter 59

    Chapter 59


    Although Lady of Talents is not considered a high ranking concubine in the harem, it still an official title awarded by the Emperor and people of this position also serves as a female official when needed.


    When the Emperor bestowed such a person to Li Yuanying, many were bbergasted. The first person who lost sleep over this is the whistle blower followed by courtiers like Wei Zheng.


    Yes! The Emperor do greatly favors his youngest brother BUT this action of giving away his concubine on a whim is hard to stomach by straightforward people like Wei Zheng.


    In his earlier days, Li Er¡¯s actions were equally outrageous when he brought in thete Prince La¡¯s consort into his harem. This time he¡¯s not courting his younger brother¡¯s concubines but is now giving away his own. What nonsense is this? Whatever little bit of good reputation they¡¯ve worked so hard to build up will now all be wasted due to Li Er¡¯s ridiculous doings!


    The first person to roll up his sleeves to find trouble with the Emperor is Wei Zheng.


    Initially when Empress Zhangsun was gravely ill, she decided to look for her sessor herself. She looked carefully into family background, looks and worked on all the needed procedures. The new sessor was just waiting to be brought into the pce but somehow Wei Zheng discovered dirt about thisdy in which she previously had prior marriage arrangements with someone else. He immediately wrote to strongly object to this union.


    As a result, the whole incident was left hanging.


    Later when Empress Zhangsun passed, the Emperor had to choose a suitable concubine to preside over the affairs of the inner pce. However, all his courtiers were not happy about this and that andmented about this and that. As the Son of Heaven, his family affairs are state affairs. With so many eyes looking at him, how can he be allowed to make chaotic mistakes!


    Wei Zheng was so aggravated that he couldn¡¯t eat dinner. He locked himself up in his room and suffocated himself trying to look for ways to get Li Er to retrieve Lady Wu back from Li Yuanying.


    Wei Shu initially didn¡¯t know what was happening and so she carefully ced a futon next to grandfather to find out. Soon she realize that it had something to do with Li Yuanying.


    Wei Shu has seen Lady Wu a few times but she has never formally spoken to her. Hearing that this person was sent to Li Yuanying¡¯s side, she was a little curious: ¡°I wonder what kind of person she is.¡±


    Wei Zheng was a foreign minister and obviously wouldn¡¯t know what a concubine hidden in the deep pce would look like. ¡°How would I know?¡±


    Wei Shu said firmly: ¡°His Royal Highness Prince Teng will not ask for someone casually. There must be a reason for it. I¡¯ve heard His Highness mention about her before, saying that she is someone with great knowledge. Every time he wants to find a book, she can urately help him with it.¡± Wei Shu¡¯s thoughts coincided with Yuanying¡¯s: ¡°If his Majesty is giving her away so casually to Prince Teng, then he must not value her very much. If that¡¯s the case, it is better to let her go to Prince Teng. Such a person being trapped in the pce for a lifetime is a waste.¡±


    ¡°Since she has entered the pce, she should tolerate the life of loneliness. If His Majesty allows this today, I worry to know how many would follow after his example.¡± (Wei Zheng)


    Seeing that grandfather was determined, Wei Shu stopped talking. She decided to send a letter to Li Yuanying to give him a heads up, lest he gets caught off guard by her grandfather.


    From Wei Shu¡¯s point of view, since Lady Wu is not important to the Emperor but is of use to Li Yuanying, it is naturally better to go to Prince Teng¡¯s side.


    She hid under a tree and quickly wrote what she knew in the letter, not forgetting to express her support. If they want to maintain their big academy, they need powerful and knowledgeable people. Since Yuanying had praised Lady Wu for being smart, then it¡¯s a right decision to rope her into this mission.


    Without grandfather¡¯s help Wei Shu had no way of sending the letter into the pce. However, there were Prince Teng¡¯s vassals in the library. She was on friendly terms with them and so went straight to the library to ask that her letter be delivered as soon as possible. Grandfather might hand over his protest early tomorrow morning!


    The people serving Prince Teng had been doing so since he was a young child. They knew that Prince Teng had only given away one gold badge and it was to Wei Shu. They wouldn¡¯t dare to neglect her request and so quickly sent someone to the pce before the gate was locked.


    Seeing how responsive they were, Wei Shu felt relieved and walked home in the sunset. Wei Zheng has already finished his emotional exhortation done in a letter format for tomorrow¡¯s court session and was brewing tea.


    ¡°Why did you go out again?¡±


    Wei Shu of course wouldn¡¯t admit that she went out to tip off her friend. She sat and took over the job of making tea and carefully put tea powder into the boiling water.


    ¡°Grandfather, you are drinking tea given by his highness but now you want to ruin his ns!¡±


    Wei Zheng nced over and snorted.


    ¡°I have still not scolded him yet for kidnapping you out to y. This two brothers are now doing stupid things, how can I not criticize them? It will be toote when the world does it instead!¡±


    Wei Shu knew she couldn¡¯t out-speak her grandfather and so just concentrated on making tea.


    Very quickly the aroma of tea filled the room.


    Li Yuanying is quite unpredictable, sometimes heartless and sometimes caring. If he has something good, he will surely share some with peoplehe likes.


    This tea was given by Li Yuanying. Back then, Yuanying asked that it be exchanged with a few jasmine petals from her garden, saying that they bloomed well and smelled good. He wanted some for his mother.


    The next day, the boy came again with pots of flowers as apology. He said that mother scolded him for plucking the flowers. It takes great effort to grow such beautiful flowers.


    Those pots were now ced in Wei Shu¡¯s room.


    ording to Yuanying, he had secretly dug them from the forbidden garden and he had purposely chosen those that the Emperor fancies. Each flower is worth a fortune. Such flowers, Wei Shu wouldn¡¯t dare disy openly for fear of it being recognized as the Emperor¡¯s missing flowers !


    Wei Shu brewed tea with ease and poured a bowl for herself and grandfather. She held her bowl and smelled the aroma. Using this bending action as camouge, her lips secretly curved upwards showing two small dimples.


    ¡­¡­


    Since everyone outside the pce heard the news, it¡¯s impossible for the pce to fall behind.


    Lady Wu packed up the her humble belongings and moved to Li Yuanying¡¯s ce. The number of people serving Prince Teng is fixed and naturally the room vacated for Lady Wu is not as good as her original residence.


    Lady Wu can¡¯t be called by her usual title anymore and should be called ¡°Wu Mei¡± as she is now the head of female officials in Prince Teng¡¯s mansion.


    Given that the real Prince Teng¡¯s mansion is still not ready, she didn¡¯t have much to do. She is now only in charge of governing Li Yuanying¡¯s servants.


    Li Yuanying only told his mother about the news after everything is done.


    Lady Liu¡¯s heart was beating like a drum in anxiousness. That person is the Emperor¡¯s concubine, how can her son ask for her? This is not right!


    But the official decree from Li Er has already been given to Wu Mei. Lady Liu didn¡¯t have the guts to ask the Emperor to call it off so she could only ept everything ufortably. When she finally met Wu Mei and realized that she was well-mannered in words and deeds; not impatient, not timid or arrogant and capable in everything, Lady Liu felt a little more relieved.


    However, she is still slightly uneasy when facing Wu Mei in person.


    Even though Lady Liu was a woman herself, she too falls into a daze when looking at Wu Mei. She was so beautiful that sometimes people loses their senses looking at her.


    If a girl like this was born into an ordinary family, she would havemanded a crowd of admirers even before she could reach adulthood!


    Seriously, why did the Emperor bestow such a woman to her son? Is it to test him? Lady Liu was puzzled but seeing her son happy, she held back her words. Since the person is already here, she couldn¡¯t change anything. She just prayed that she survives until the day her son leave for heaven and then she will no longer have to worry about these things.


    Li Yuanying was happy. He got what he wanted and really doesn¡¯t care what his brother thinks. The brain is on his brother¡¯s head, let him think whatever he wants. After dinner he went for a walk and someone came to report that Wei Shu had sent a letter.


    Hearing this, the boy was overjoyed and couldn¡¯t wait to read it. The letter was written casually on simple paper and it didn¡¯t look like Wei Shu wrote this letter seriously. He was d that Wei Shu really understood him and thinks the same way.


    Li Yuanying took the letter and without holding back, ran to Wu Mei to show off the tacit understanding between him and his friends.


    ¡°Sister Shu said in her letter that Old man Wei will have a scolding showdown tomorrow! Why don¡¯t you leave the pce with my token in the morning for the library or Sunflower garden? Go settle down outside first and see if you can get used to the work. I¡¯ve handed over everything outside the pce to Dong Xiaoyi. Although he is smart, he is not as capable as Dai Ting. It should be better for you to take over.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Wu Mei had no reason to object and nodded in response.


    Since she had made the decision to move over to Li Yuanying¡¯s side, she will have a hard life if she ever had to return to the pce. It is best to leave early to avoid the turmoil in court.


    Wu Mei looked at Li Yuanying: ¡°Your Highness won¡¯t let them force me back, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course. As long as you want to stay with me, I won¡¯t let the Emperor go back on his promises.¡±


    He studied the Book of Rites with Wei Zheng for half a year. Although he might not be as cunning and sly as Wei Zheng, he is still confident that he can keep Wu Mei safe!


    Wu Mei trusted the boy and went back to her room to think about how to improve the library and Sunflower Garden.


    Since Prince Teng trusted her. She needs to live up to that trust.


    After Yuanying arranged everything, he read Wei Shu¡¯s letter again. The more he read it, the more he felt that this little friend was in perfect harmony with him. He didn¡¯t immediately think about how to deal with Wei Zheng but instead wrote a return letter to sister shu with great interest. He intended to send it to her early next morning.


    Anyway, if Wei Zheng wants to spray his anger, he will direct it to the Emperor first. No need to worry!


    Early the next morning, Wu Mei and the person who deliver Wei Shu¡¯s letter rushed out of the pce.


    At the same time, Wei Zheng stopped Li Er early in the morning and began his scoldings.


    There was no court session today and Li Er thought that it would be a rxing day for him. Unluckily, he got a full fledged scolding from Wei Zheng instead about this and that not being appropriate.


    Wei Zheng brought up old issues too, saying that the Emperor was careless before too for bringing in his brother¡¯s wangfei and even wanting to make her Empress. Now is a different era and our rule has been slightly effective so how could you try to ruin the royal family¡¯s reputation? Don¡¯t you think you are over-pampering Prince Teng? You are directing him onto a bad path!


    Wei Zheng grumbled all the way to the council hall. After inviting him to have a seat, he continued his rambling. Unfortunately for the Emperor he¡¯s not suppose to get angry at this little old man, so he could only endure!


    That day when Li Er asked Wu Mei about her decision, it was because he had doubts on whether she had any ulterior motives. Later, when he heard from Yuanying that she exined the whole situation to him, the Emperor felt that although this woman can scheme, she had no hidden evil intentions. So if Li Yuanying wanted her, let her leave. After all, there¡¯s no shortage of women in the Harem.


    It¡¯s just like what Wei Zheng isining about, Li Er is not very particr about these things. In thete Sui Dynasty wars were frequent and in his youth, his brothers fought to death for the throne during the Xuanwu Gate incident. Since he had experienced so much about life and death already, how can such a trivial thingpare?


    The Emperor is getting annoyed and so he retorted angrily: ¡°This is not something themon people can follow even if they wanted to. Just take your family as an example, do you have a Lady of talent who can be given away to your brother?¡±


    The Emperor¡¯s statement made Wei Zheng choke.


    His sry is not much, if it weren¡¯t for the housing subsidy given by the Emperor, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to afford a house in Chang¡¯an. His sons and daughters needed to get married and the family budget is tight. Where would he find money to bring home a concubine? Besides, he¡¯s not that kind of person. His wife has been by his side since day one, how could he do such a heartless thing?


    His Majesty managed to deal a blow to Wei Zheng and so took advantage of his victory to push the me on Li Yuanying: ¡°You don¡¯t know! Yuanying that brat is shameless. He said that if I didn¡¯t agree with him, he would secretly build ships and set sail. Go to sea and nevere back!


    When I threaten to change his fief to the West, he said: ¡®Then I¡¯ll raise a lot of camels, and keep travelling west. Nevering back¡¯!¡±


    His Majesty sighed and said in a sad and helpless tone. ¡°Dearest Minister Wei, thete emperor entrusted me with this younger brother and told me to take good care of him. Since he has demanded, should I destroy our rtionship over a meredy of talent?¡±


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: ? ? ? ? ?


    Little Prince: Shameless! ! ! ! !

 Chapter 60

    Chapter 60


    On usual days, Wei Zheng would not deliberately find fault with Li Yuanying. After all, the young prince is a known fool. But this is an unusual incident. How can the younger brother beg for his older brother¡¯s people? Fine by me that you barely respect him on daily basis but to court your brother¡¯s concubine?


    Wei Zheng angrily went looking for Li Yuanying.


    Li Er was gleaming in joy when looking at the little old man¡¯s angry. He quickly ask that tea be served. When the elder brother is in trouble, it is only right that the younger brother block the first hit!


    This tea is fragrant!


    Why didn¡¯t tea taste so good before?


    ¡­¡­


    Li Yuanying had been very busytely. After sending Wu Mei off, he quickly had breakfast before heading to ss to find trouble with his teachers. Just as he was being send off by mother, his path was blocked by Wei Zheng!


    Wei Zheng started nagging about this and that, making Li Yuanying super confused. When he heard the usations against him, he felt a little apprehensive.


    This old Wei, why isn¡¯t he scolding the Emperor? Why is he here? Li Yuanying couldn¡¯t figure it out but since Wei Shu gave him prior warning, he was prepared.


    He has already received the favor, so it¡¯s impossible not to give any back. Li Yuanying waited for Wei Zheng to finish before dragging him to the nearby pavilion to have a talk.


    While Wei Zheng did spend much time seriously teaching the boy about <<Book of Rites>>, he still disliked this troublemaker who had kidnapped his precious granddaughter to y all day long. With this incident, he is even more convinced that this brat is overly wild and had no limits.


    Li Yuanying had already thought about how to deal with him.


    ¡°I read before that divorce and separation is something that themon people practices. For example there¡¯s this poem called <


    > which talked about a man named Liu who separated and remarried on his mother¡¯s insistence.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°That was instructions from the parents.¡± (Wei Zheng)


    ¡°Although I am young, I know that marriage is an important topic. If you get along well, your family will be magnificent but if you don¡¯t, the family life is a disaster. In that poem, the couple got along really well but is forced to break up. Now this destroyed the life of four families. On the contrary, when two people cannot get along and you force them to do so, you are also destroying their life!¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Hearing a kid expressing his opinion about marriage, Wei Zheng sneered: ¡°Can the Emperor¡¯s harem be the same as ordinary people?¡±


    ¡°It is because this is the royal family that we have to lead by example. You too have daughters and granddaughters. If they are beingbullied, would you ask them to blindly tolerate it and say that life is such so live with it and hope that the man will change one day? I think a couple should bepatible. If they are not living in harmony, they should separate. No one should be a punching bag!¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°Yes, divorce is okay. If the couple wants to, just follow the official regtions and processes.¡± (Wei Zheng)


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you get it?! Do you mean that this only applies to themon people but the Emperor is not allowed to do the same?¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°There must be a valid reason before his Majesty can let his Lady of Talent leave.¡± (Wei Zheng)


    ¡°They can¡¯t get along! Isn¡¯t that a valid reason? Since meeting Mei Niang in Jiucheng Pce, I¡¯ve became aware that she¡¯s a knowledgeable person who can help me find anything and so I often seek her help. That day, someone stopped the Emperor and used us of meeting often. The Emperor then became suspicious and tried to test Mei Niang. He directly asked her if she had any objections of being given away to me.¡±


    This was new info to Wei Zheng. The Emperor had only said that Li Yuanying made a fuss to get this woman.


    He listened seriously as the boy continued.


    Yuanying sat up straight and looked at Wei Zheng fearlessly: ¡°Even though they cannot be considered a normal couple, that question from the Emperor is a punishment. What do you think? Should she say yes or no? Since it¡¯s already like this, how can she continue to live in the pce? Therefore, I ask for her toe over to my side. Mei Niang is extremely intelligent and talented. Due to my unintentional actions, she has lost all favor with the Emperor. Shouldn¡¯t I return her a good future?¡±


    Is Li Yuanying stupid?


    He is not.


    He doesn¡¯t understand a lot of things because he has never wanted to think deeper about them.


    After listening to Wu Mei¡¯s analysis, he still insisted to get her from the Emperor because this is a matter that started because of him.


    He grew up in Da¡¯an Pce. Although he cannot say that he has experienced all of life¡¯s warmth and cruelness, he understands that life in the deep pce was not easy. If you had status and power that¡¯s fine but without it even lowly servants would step on your head.


    In his early childhood when older brother and sister-inw hadn¡¯t moved him to Taiji pce, people looked for opportunities to bully his mother. After all, with the previous Emperor dead, what good is a Lady of Treasure? Although Yuanying was only five, he was raised as royalty. When he saw his mom being bullied, he got angry and instructed that the bully be buried in snow without a second thought. If his sister-inw hadn¡¯te over by chance, he would have took a life that day.


    Until today, rumors about him being a little demon king is prevalent. But he doesn¡¯t really care much about his reputation, he only wish that those around him lives good happy life. But if someone bullies those he holds dear, he will not treat them as human beings. Even if they die a hundred times, it is not enough to repay the single tear that his mom had shed.


    He clearly distinguish right from wrong. Sister-inw used to teach him patiently and really loved him. Therefore, he happily be a good brother and y with his nephews and nieces and obediently listens to her teaching. For example, ¡®A man must be responsible for the things he does!¡¯


    Since this is a ruckus he has caused, he won¡¯t let he others suffer on his behalf.


    Li Yuanying raised his head and looked straight at Wei Zheng with clear eyes: ¡°Don¡¯t you agree with what I say?¡±


    Wei Zheng was speechless.


    If Li Yuanying wants the Emperor¡¯s woman for their beauty, he would definitely criticize him to the bone. But when the boy exined it like this, he now feels that the Emperor is the one at fault.


    After all, Li Yuanying is just a child. If he has reached the age of knowing about rtionships, he should be granted the right to leave the pce for his ownnd. His Majesty knows very well that it was impossible for them to have an affair and yet he still tested his concubine. Isn¡¯t this mental abuse? Asking if she wants to leave with the younger brother. If they were an ordinary couple, the rtionship is already doom with such an usation.


    Looking at things from this angle, Li Yuanying¡¯s actions seems like the righteous and responsible move.


    ¡°You really are good with words.¡± (Wei Zheng)


    Seeing that Wei Zheng had calm down, he immediately ask why was he here scolding him instead of the Emperor. He then found out that the initial target was the Emperor but Li Er manipted and managed to fool him!


    Li Yuanying is amazed by the shamelessness of his older brother.


    How dare he?!


    This dignified king of a country, lying and deceiving people! Yes he¡¯s part of this drama and he did say stuff but he¡¯s not the instigator. When his brother say things like this, it puts him in a horrible light. Almost as if he¡¯s a pervert that had became greedy and wanted the beauties from the pce!


    Li Yuanying was furious. Sensing that Wei Zheng also thinks that the Emperor handled this badly, he quickly thought and came up with a n. The boy leaned over to hold Wei Zheng¡¯s hand.


    ¡°I think brother handle this well. He realized that he did wrong and so let Mei Niang free. You should praise the Emperor and encourage others to learn from his good quality of being willing to correct his mistakes. So that others will take the warning and learn to respect and love their wife and not listen to hearsay and speak ill of their partner.¡±


    Within the Imperial harem sits the Empress, 4 Consorts, 9 Imperial Concubines, 27 Hereditary Consorts and 81 maids-in-waiting. Lady of Talent is a rank among the 27 Hereditary Consorts and is the lowest rank in this category. Together with those ranked as Jieyu (Lady of Handsome Fairness) and Meiren (Lady of Beauty) they are in charge of rituals in the pce and receiving guests. Although different from the official wife of themon people¡¯s family, they were still official concubines of the Emperor with ranks.


    Through Li Yuanying¡¯s little trick, the incident is no longer one that spoils the family good name but became an incident that happened due to the Emperor¡¯s momentary slip of the tongue which caused him to lose a woman he loved.


    Wei Zheng could never write such a thing. This sounds like something a mboyant person would write about as ttery! Wei Zheng refused the boy¡¯s request but he did stop scolding him. He went home to ponder on how to re-write another set of criticism, this time including how the Emperor is at fault for pushing away his responsibility.


    As for Li Yuanying, Wei Zheng now thinks that this child can still be saved. His Majesty put the me on him and yet he was willing to say good words about his brother. Such a good boy!


    When the old man left, he was full of energy and ready to start writing his next set of criticism.


    After Wei Zheng left, Yuanying saw that it waste and ss should have already started. Since he¡¯ste, let¡¯s skip another day of ss. Thinking about Li Er¡¯s shameless behavior, Li Yuanying got a wicked idea. He asked his attendants to lean over and ordered him to do this and that.


    After making the arrangements, Li Yuanying wandered off to y with the other children, continuing his strike as the wildest child in the pce!


    Soon, a new story gradually emerged: <<Reckless King Loses His Beauty with One Word>>.


    The story was slightly framed, improved, and then turned into an exciting legend. The heroine is firm, intelligent, and assertive. She is strong-willed and dares to love and hate. She carries the believe that ¡°Since the hero is ruthless, I will then leave¡±. When the king regrets his action, it was toote. The heroine has left to live a free life outside the pce!


    The story did not specifically mention His Majesty Li Er or Lady Wu. However, anyone who knows about the incident of Li Er giving away Lady Wu to Prince Teng would think of the Emperor when they heard this story!


    During court session, many ministers were quietly judging the Emperor. They wanted to see if His Majesty was as ¡°depressed and haggard¡± as the story said.


    At first, Li Er didn¡¯t notice anything. After being scolded by Wei Zheng, no one forced him to take action to bring Wu Mei back and so he let go of the matter. As a result, the story spread widely. Those who serves the Emperor hesitantly mentioned it to him when dressing him in the morning.


    Only then did Li Er found out that he had be the pitiful king who was abandoned by a beauty due to his own slip of tongue!


    Even if the Emperor thinks with his toes, he knew who wrote this.


    He furiously called for Li Yuanying to be brought over.


    When Li Yuanying heard this, not only was he unafraid but he was actually quite proud. He hummed and said, ¡°What? You are allowed to push the me on my head but I¡¯m not allowed to make up a story?¡±

 Chapter 61

    Chapter 61


    News about the Emperor waking his little brother up early in the morning and chasing him for a beating spread like wildfire.


    One brother is in his forties and the other only ten. Theirte father had passed away much earlier. No matter how you look at these two, their rtionship look like a mixture of a sibling duo and a guardian + childbination. It is only natural for the elder brother to discipline the younger brother.


    But Li Yuanying will never obediently take his beating. When he sees that the situation is bad, he would run away. Seeing this, the Emperor gets even more agitated and swears that he will not stop until he hit him!


    Yuanying is still conscientious.When he saw that Li Er couldn¡¯t run anymore, he detour back and dragged Li Er indoors and started massaging his legs.


    ¡°Look at you. Your health is not very good and you are still run around!¡± (Li Yuanying)


    The Emperor is always entangled in state affairs and it is not a given that he will find time yearly for a summer retreat. This year he couldn¡¯t go to Jiucheng Pce.


    Seeing Li Yuanying sitting beside him pretending to be obedient, the thoughts of hitting him stopped. What can I do, I am the one who spoilt my little brother. I will just have to bear with him! He raised his hand and tapped Li Yuanying¡¯s head, scolding: ¡°If I do this again next time, I¡¯ll rip your skin off!¡±


    ¡°You started this me game.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Li Er was toozy to pay attention to him.


    Although this incident was detrimental to Li Er¡¯s reputation and everyone looks at the Emperor with pitiful eyes that hinted ¡°I heard that you were dumped¡±, the whole affair with Wu Mei ended well. Others will not think that the Emperor¡¯s action is absurd but instead feel that he has became more humane and is a man of his words. Once a word is spoken forth, the decision cannot be changed. Even the Emperor himself has to stick to his promises!


    Li Yuanying summoned Dong Xiaoyi to the pce and updated him to handover both the school and the library to Wu Mei to handle. He will focus onpleting the handover of corn and peanuts to the Emperor.


    Finding out that Wu Mei was the coteral of exchange for all their crops, Dong Xiaoyi felt like he was in pain. However, once Wu Mei quickly drew up the school development n and implemented it, Dong Xiaoyi understood why she was worth all the corn and peanuts. With such a talented person leading the team, the academy¡¯s first batch of students will be trained into useful talents and will help them expand quickly once they move back to their fief!


    In addition to training talents, Wu Mei also selected a group of older students and volunteers from frequent library users to help with the management and started something called ¡°Library News¡±.


    This library newspaper is modeled after the official state newspaper. It collects interesting information and stories from visitors all over the world and puts it into the library for people to read. Ordinary articles and worthless news submitted will be ced within the library while the well-written and valuable ones are carefully picked and published the next day. These are selected by people and will be posted on the bulletin board outside.


    Wu Mei felt that it¡¯s a waste to only give but not receive. She wants to use the energy of these visitors as much as possible. Since they have already invested in this project, we can¡¯t just keep giving without expectation. It¡¯s best if we can motivate people through the pride of their work to use them as news sources and as independent writers. She wants to establish the library as a holy ce for schrs! This way, as long as the library is in operation, schrs will remember all of Prince Teng¡¯s contribution!


    Of course, Wu Mei didn¡¯t tell Li Yuanying her ns directly. She¡¯s well aware that Yuanying is not interested in being appreciated. Therefore when she sold the idea to the boy, she used ¡°this way you can get lots of exciting stories every day¡±.


    Li Yuanying was super happy. He felt that it¡¯s such a good deal to exchange corn and peanuts for such an amazing person!


    In early August, Li Yuanying received his first library newspaper.


    Li Yuanying pridefully showed off the newspaper that Wu Mei had transcribed to the Emperor.


    ¡°See?! Mei Niang is amazing! I told you it¡¯s your loss!¡± (Li Yuanying)


    This is exactly what Li Yuanying wants! Stories he has never heard before as well as some good articles written by schrs!


    Yuanying sat close to Li Er and showed him the first page of his publication, the epigraph written by his eldest nephew and a few others. The first passage was from Li Chengqian to the newspaper and then followed by Li Yuanying¡¯s statement. With the endorsement of the Crown Prince, the reader¡¯s enthusiasm will definitely be high!


    Yuanying said triumphantly: ¡°How¡¯s this? Do you regret it? See how smart Mei Niang is!¡±


    Li Er reacted with a side nce.


    ¡°Even with so many around you who can tell stories, it¡¯s still not enough?¡± (Li Er)


    ¡°It¡¯s not the same! Everyone has a different story to tell. Those in the pce only talk about things inside the pce, the library is outside and people are free to travel in and out. That way I¡¯ll be expose to stories from all around the world!¡± (Li Yuanying)


    His Majesty Li Er raised his eyebrow. ¡°You do talk big.¡±


    Since Li Yuanying has finished showing off, he ran off happily.


    Just this month alone, the young prince was given two piece of good news . First, his paper workshop updated that they have sessfully mastered 3 different methods of paper making creating bamboo paper, reed paper and straw paper. They¡¯ve also experimented with other rare materials but results were not too great due to high cost or low quality. These 3 rmended materials are easy to find and avable in different seasons.


    Entering the Autumn season, various ces started harvesting. One of the craftsmen named Deng Qing, 19 just got married. His wife¡¯s family asked for his help to run errands and he obliged.


    After a busy day, Deng Qing noticed a pile of stalks with no grains lying on the ground. ording to standard practices, these straws would be burned to create fertilizers for the fields. He look at them and remembered the gold ingots shown by Prince Teng as reward.


    Let¡¯s try something!


    If you seed, you¡¯ll be rewarded with gold!


    With this inspiration, Deng Qing tried making paper with the stalks with some acquaintances.


    This resulted in a paper that is not very suitable for writing; some were too soft and some too hard. The color was not great too, there¡¯s too many patterns on it. Deng Qing tried his luck and handed his creation to Dong Xiaoyi. He weren¡¯t sure if this thing can be considered as paper and so he took it back to the pce to ask Prince Teng for instructions.


    Yuanying was satisfied with it. The softer ones could be used as tissue paper while the harder ones as wrapping paper, so long as they were not used for writing. He instructed that the creators be rewarded with gold.


    Straws were everywhere in autumn. It didn¡¯t cost much. Just one Autumn is enough to manufacture lots of straw paper. Since Yang Liu is still raising elephants in Chang¡¯an, we could use elephant dung to exchange for straw. After all Elephant dungposting is much better than burning straw as fertilizer.


    Although straw paper is not suitable for writing, its a good material for making toilet paper! No one dares to wipe their buttocks with paper right now, as they would be cursed by schrs. The rich uses silk while the poor uses bamboo chips. Li Yuanying thinks that if he can produce many of this, it will greatly benefit many buttocks.


    As for the paper for schrs, let¡¯s focus on improving bamboo paper and reed paper. Bamboo can be grown everywhere and reeds can be found everywhere. These materials are cheap! If possible, he wants to start mass production as soon as possible. This way, he can help Sun Simiao print his book!


    Since Deng Qing and others were rewarded, they started work with great energy to finalize the method for straw paper making.


    After arranging all paper making matters, he got to know that the troop to war is returning home triumphantly and the whole city was ready to wee them! This was the army led by Hou Junji and Xue Wanjun who took down Gaochang without battle. After months of walking, they are finally home and even brought back with them Gaochang¡¯s new ruler.


    Li Yuanying was very excited. Not only is Hou Junji and the army back, but Dai Ting as well! Alsoing to him is his grapes and wine!


    He ran to look for his older brother to find out the date of arrival. He then counted the days and rode out of the city on his pony to wee his travellingpanion back.


    The first thing he saw after leaving the city was the huge army led by Hou Junji and Xue Wanjun.


    Meeting Li Yuanying head on, Hou Junji and Xue Wanjun both stared at him.


    Not sure if it was an illusion but Yuanying felt that their stares were weird. It¡¯s as if saying ¡°how can there be such a shameless person like you¡±.


    He was a little puzzled but he still rode over to greet the generals and asked about Dai Ting¡¯s whereabouts.


    Hearing ¡°Dai Ting¡±, their faces became even more sour.


    Xue Wanjun said angrily, ¡°At the back, just take a look and you¡¯ll find out.¡±


    Li Yuanying happily rode across the long queue, and finally saw Dai Ting and his group behind the army.


    When he set off, Dai Ting only brought about a hundred men with him. Now taking a closer look, there seems to be nearly a thousand people. Everyone was carryingrge and small bags, and some even had carts and cars! Li Yuanying also saw hundreds of camels with heavy loads.


    Li Yuanying widened his eyes.


    So many people and so many things!


    Dai Ting also riding a horse saw Li Yuanying approaching from a distance and immediately signaled the team to stop. He went to greet the young prince. Compared to before, Dai Ting looks much older. There are a few clear scratches on his mask indicating that their trip was not all smooth sailing.


    Li Yuanying asked Dai Ting enthusiastically: ¡°Why did you bring back so many people?¡±


    Dai Ting briefly exined. To summarize, the situation was simr to what Yuanying had predicted. Hou Junji was an extravagant man. When he took down the city without any fight, his team started looting.


    But Dai Ting was picky. He waited before revealing his identity only to selected wealthy and powerful households in Gaochang. These people did not want to be rob clean by Hou Junji and so they agreed to join Dai Ting together with their family wealth and skills. Due to Dai Ting¡¯s great foresight, he easily fulfilled his mission of collecting treasures, grapes, wine, books and talented people. With this group voluntarily joining them, they managed to gain much more than Hou Junji who looted!


    Simply put, it¡¯s winning the support of the people.


    Hou Junji took the lead in looting. The people who didn¡¯t want to be harmed all defected! The group brought along by Dai Ting also took the opportunity to assure the women of peace and managed to win their hand in marriage!


    Now Li Yuanying understood why he was looked at with such eyes.


    But he couldn¡¯t careless about it.


    He looked at the group of Gaochang citizens who have lost their country and left their hometowns.


    His royal brother thinks that the four seas are still a family. No matter where someone is from, as long as they are willing to settle down and serve Tang Empire, we consider them as citizens of Tang!


    Li Yuanying and Dai Ting murmured and he learned some Gaochang dialect from Dai Ting. He then stepped forward and gave a friendly look to the group of panic-stricken and helpless visitors.


    ¡°Wee to Tang Empire, this will be your future home!¡±


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: The talents I¡¯ve picked up are all super awesome!

 Chapter 62

    Chapter 62


    Li Yuanying said and promised a lot but when facing so many people, he¡¯s not sure how to arrange them properly. For now, he could only take them to Sunflower Garden and a few nearby viges to rest. He¡¯ll have to figure out where to settle these people for long term.


    Coincidentally, all the crops were harvested and the fields were empty.


    Knowing that the troops were returning triumphantly, the weing crowd was huge. Originally they thought that the group following behind were prisoners but this group actually separated from the army outside the city and instead went towards Sunflower garden. The crowd was a little confused by this. Afterwards, many recognized Li Yuanying and murmured to themselves: Did Prince Teng also join the expedition to Gaochang?


    After watching the excitement, Yuanying returned to the pce. He decided to seek Li Zhi and the other children¡¯s opinion on how to settle all the treasures and talents. The girls were still young so they didn¡¯t understand why some people are considered as talents. Li Zhi who has been brainwashed by Li Yuanying since young had quite an opinion.


    ¡°I will be 13 after the new year. I¡¯ll either have to set up my own residence or move to my own fief. Give me some people.¡±


    Li Yuanying had no objection and gave more suggestions: ¡°I heard that Jin prefecture is suitable to grow grapes. I¡¯ll send a group who knows how to nt grapes and brew wine. If I were you, I would move to my fief earlier. Jin prefecture is not far away and can be reached by boat. When you go there, we will have an excuse to go out and y. We wille look for you!¡±


    Li Zhi didn¡¯t speak. He was reluctant to leave Chang¡¯an. He grew up in here and everyone he knows lived in Chang¡¯an.


    ¡°Even if I wanted to go, father might not allow me to leave.¡±


    Yuanying sneered: ¡°I think you don¡¯t want to leave. If you tell him your intentions in person, he will definitely let you go.¡±


    Li Er cherishes his children. When Chengqian was little, he didn¡¯t like to read. When Li Tai was an adult, he did not want to leave Chang¡¯an. The Emperor gave in to both sons. If Li Zhi learns from example and refuse to leave, the Emperor will not force him to. After all, who wouldn¡¯t want their children to be with them for a long time?


    Li Zhi¡¯s inner thoughts were revealed by Li Yuanying. His face blushed in embarrassment.


    ¡°I can¡¯t bear to part with you guys.¡±


    Li Zhi is not a person with strong opinions. Even if he wanted to leave, he finds it hard to confess.


    ¡°I think you should marry a princess with strong character, so that she can make up your mind on your behalf for everything!¡±


    Li Zhi blushed. ¡°I¡¯m only 12!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s almost it, Changle married into the Zhangsun family at 13.¡±


    Mentioning Changle, he continued.


    ¡°I got a list from Dai Ting which listed all good items for health. You bring some to Changle. I checked her pulsest time and found that she¡¯s a little weak. We need to take good care of her. Go advise her to rest and rx more. Don¡¯t always worry about her family. Health is the most important thing.¡±


    When Li Zhi heard this he became worried too and promised to visit Zhangsun¡¯s residence soon to bring good things to his sister.


    Li Yuanying also distributed some treasures to the other girls, saying that these are part of their dowry.


    Chengyang was a little embarrassed but Gao Yang pulled Li Yuanying and said, ¡°Young uncle, I don¡¯t want to marry that second son of Fang.¡±


    Thest time Gao Yang and Fang Yi¡¯ai met was at Wancui Mansion and this news got spread widely. Someone evenjoked that they were a match made in heaven. When Gao Yang heard this, she was tempted to confront and beat up that person.


    ¡°I heard that whenever Fang Yi¡¯ai is drunk, he speaks badly about me!¡±


    Li Yuanying is also aware of this but he actually sides with Yi¡¯ai.


    ¡°When did he talk bad about you? I think they are all truth. Feisty, reckless and so on, aren¡¯t these all truth?¡±


    Gao Yang was offended and so she turned away to ignore Li Yuanying.


    ¡°We are people who dare to act and so we are not afraid of criticism. Don¡¯t worry! If you really don¡¯t like him and vice versa, I¡¯ll definitely help you and mess things up!¡±


    Gao Yang felt a little sad: ¡°Aren¡¯t you leaving to you fief?¡± Once a vassal prince leaves, he can¡¯t casually return to Chang¡¯an unless summoned. Every time Li Yuanying excitedly make future ns to leave, she gets upset in private. It¡¯s like uncle doesn¡¯t really care about them! Once Li Zhi leaves and then young uncle too, no one will be left to y with them.


    Li Yuanying said in full confidence: ¡°Even if I leave to my fief, I¡¯m still capable of messing up your ns if you ask me to.¡±


    ¡°When you leave, you won¡¯t even be able to make it back in time for our marriage ceremony.¡±


    This is indeed a problem. After all, a vassal prince¡¯s destiny is such. Thend given to them is an act of grace by the Emperor and also an act of restriction.


    ¡°The date of your marriage will not be set simply. Just send me a letter and I will persuade the Emperor to allow me to send you off in person. I will help you to beat your future husband so that they will not dare to bully you ever!¡±


    Gao Yang hummed: ¡°As it is, no one dares to bully me!¡±


    The group discussed and divided up their yield yet there were leftovers. Yuanying went to look for Chengqian to discuss what to do with it.


    Back then, he was not very friendly with Chengqian yet. Therefore he was not invited as part of the group. Li Chengqian is ignorant to the fact that young uncle sent a group to follow Hou Junji.


    Chengqian found out that Yuanying made a ton of money and had to admire his boldness to even attempt such risky business for fortune! The boy told him that he couldn¡¯t amodate everyone and even boasted about Dai Ting¡¯s good eye for spotting talent.


    ¡°What¡¯s so difficult about this? Useful people are useful wherever they go, I¡¯ll help you get ces for them to live.¡±


    ¡°Once rtionships are built and the people settled, lets watch them sing and dance together! I heard that Gaochang people are very good at dancing.¡±


    Chengqian agreed.


    It was gettingte and Chengqian had to return home. He didn¡¯t manage to meet the victorious Hou Junji and didn¡¯t find out that Li Yuanying stole from the tiger¡¯s mouth and was especially hated!


    At this moment, the Emperor personally met with Hou Junji and Xue Wanjun who were enjoying their victory wee.


    How Gaochang had been seized were reported to him earlier and so he didn¡¯t dive into the details. He only asked both generals if Gaochang would be a suitable ce to locate the Anxi Protectorate office.


    The two naturally agreed. If Gaochang was turned into part of Anxi Protectorate, it would truly be part of Tang Dynasty. Everyone will then remember their achievements whenever this ce was brought up in the future!


    As they chatted, they inevitably brought up the topic about the treasure haul from this expedition. Gaochang has good wine, talented singers and dances and many good crops.


    When this was mentioned, both generals gave a weird expression.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± (Li Er)


    Hou Junji told in full what he was asked.


    In terms of fine wine, they got it. All were of good quality and has been handed over to the pce. However, the best wine in Gaochang is not in the pce but in the cer of an ancient family.


    Although the Emperor is not addicted to alcohol, he still likes drinking. ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you get it?¡±


    ¡°I did but it¡¯s toote.¡± (Hou Junji)


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s toote. Prince Teng¡¯s men emptied the wine cer.¡± ( Xue Wanjun)


    The Emperor ¡®s face twitched.


    As for singers and dancers, they brought a group back but the best ones were taken away by Dai Ting.


    They not only took good wine and beautiful women but also many kinds of grapes, wine making craftsmen and weavers. Anyway, all the top skilled craftsmen in Gaochang were deceived by them. The group brought back nearly a thousand people from Gaochang!


    The Emperor originally thought that Li Yuanying was just fooling around wanting to get some money or something. He never thought that they were so capable and even managed to be a step ahead of Hou Junji and took away all the good things!


    The Emperor wondered out loud: ¡°I remember the people sent by Yuanying were all temporarily selected from the Imperial Army. The group leader is only a teenage servant, why were they ahead of you in everything?¡±


    Dealing a blow to Prince Teng, Hou Junji felt a little more at ease. He said objectively: ¡°That boy is young but his methods are not simple. I have no idea how he won over the hearts of a hundred men. The Gaochang people are ignorant, when they heard the names of princes and princesses they are of course easy to fool.¡±


    Li Er didn¡¯t have much impression of the servants around Li Yuanying. He only remembered that he was a boy with feminine features. In terms of appearance, he was first-ss but he didn¡¯t talk much. He didn¡¯t notice any special abilities in him.


    I didn¡¯t expect that such a small servant could travel thousands of miles with the army and perfectly execute Prince Teng¡¯s orders!


    ¡°That kid knows how to choose people.¡± (Li Er)


    Since they seized an entire country, the Emperor wouldn¡¯t find fault over a few jars of wine and talents, these are all trivial matters.


    In the next few days, His Majesty was busy with discussion over the acquisition of Gaochang. Many think that Gaochang was too far away from Chang¡¯an and it would be hard to rule over it. Since we have taught them a lesson, we should continue to let Qu Zhisheng (current ruler) to manage it. There really is no need to change it to a Tang state, set up a new government and then dispatch ministers and soldiers to manage a ce so far away.


    But the Emperor insisted that Gaochang be transformed into a Western state where the Anxi Protectorate is at. Gaochang should be officially incorporated into part of Tang Empire¡¯s territory as it is an important trade route between Tang and the western regions. Only by firmly controlling it in our hands can trading be smooth where travelers and caravans will not be cut off again!


    At the Emperor¡¯s insistence, Gaochang became a Western State of Tang. Li Er was very satisfied and carefully selected a few capable men to escort Qu Zhisheng back and took the opportunity to build and take over the city!


    The Emperor felt relieved and prepared a banquet.


    It was only now that the Emperor had time to deal with his younger brother and children who were all particrly eager in sharing the spoils of war.


    Li Er asked that Li Yuanying be brought over.


    ¡°I heard from Hou Junji that you have robbed him from the best wine, singers and dancers?¡± (Li Er)


    Li Yuanying argued, ¡°How can you say I stole it? They came back with Dai Ting voluntarily!¡±


    He also bit back at Hou Junji, ¡°This old Hou brought the best and elite soldiers from Tang Empire. How can he be so shameless to use that a mere 100 men stole from him? If so, isn¡¯t he useless? Is he not a general? It seems that he won Gaochang by luck, he¡¯s far worst that Old Lee!¡±


    Li Er red at him.


    Li Yuanying knew that his older brother is a shameless person too and so he didn¡¯t insist on withholding and refusing to spit out what he had eaten. Hearing that Li Er nned a feast for the ministers, Yuanying proposed to share his wine and beauties with everyone. Let them decide if it¡¯s really better than the ones Hou Junji brought back. After all, he has already tasted the wine,and didn¡¯t like it very much. Let¡¯s just keep a few jars. If he wants more, he can always ask for more to be brewed again!


    His children has already showed off to him the list of items they acquired. Knowing that Li Yuanying didn¡¯t hoard everything by himself, he decided to turn a blind eye to the fact that Li Yuanying made a lot of money .


    Li Yuanying got the Emperor¡¯s consent for his actions. At the same time, many got to know about Hou Junji¡¯s wrongdoing in Gaochang.


    Gaochang surrendered with the city gates wide opened. But Hou Junji still led his army and wantonly looted the city. This practice of not showing benevolence and robbing the innocent didn¡¯t go well with many. Those who cannot ept it all rolled up their sleeves and wrote in their criticism!


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: You dare snitch on me? You are finished! ! !


    Prince Teng is a real person in history, he is the 22<sup>nd</sup>child and the youngest son so everyone just assumes that he was born after the former emperor abdicated. When I was picking out a character to write about I looked around and thought that this little prince was the best. He is the subject matter in <


    >. He is so rich and good with money that one time Li Zhi after bing Emperor gave him and another prince a cart of ropes for New Year. This meant that the Emperor thinks that theyck nothing and so gave them ropes to chain their money (coins in Tang dynasty had a hole in the middle, so people carried stash of money using ropes). How crazy!


    When Li Er first sent him away to Tengzhou he built his first Prince Teng Pavilion where he called friends to eat, drink and have fun every day. After Li Zhi ascended to the throne, he disliked him and demoted him to another ce. There he built another Prince Teng Pavilion. Sent him somewhere else, he rebuilt¡­(and so on) Anyway, he lived a very happy life with many children until Emperor Wu ascended to the throne!


    So now you will find that there are Prince Teng¡¯s Pavilion here, there and everywhere; not aligned with his original fiefdom! Because he builds wherever he goes, and ys wherever he goes!


    [The above is purely a summary from the author wearing rose-tinted sses]

 Chapter 63

    Chapter 63


    Hou Junji has been feeling very proud of his achievementstely and walks with a skip in his feet.


    Who else has defeat a country without a single soldier like him?


    But before the Emperor managed to organize a victory banquet, criticism letters came in like snowkes. The central topic was consistent: Old man Hou did not carry out his duty properly, if this trend picks on, it will cause disaster in the future!


    This type of criticism was still considered polite speech. Some others were more direct by swearing directly at him. It is not umon for military generals to be scolded by civil officials at court. After all, military generals are naturally at a disadvantage when ites to debating in a official setting.


    At first, Hou Junji thought that they were joking. After all, he has achieved great feat. Even if others are not asking for him to be rewarded, why would they criticize him? But when more and more people step forward, he realized they were serious.


    Hou Junji fumed with anger.


    These bird literati who has never even seize half a human brain during war, how dare they criticize him one after another. Good soldiers earn their merit by fighting. We did not loot your family or rob your daughter. Why can¡¯t we get some benefits after seizing a city? You want the cows to work, but you don¡¯t give them grass, how can that be?


    Hou Junji was filled with wicked fire but he wasn¡¯t good enough with words to counter these people.


    After the meeting, he went to look for the Emperor to air his grievances.


    Li Er was also a little persuaded by the civil servants and felt that Hou Junji was not very humane. However, he did lead the army on a long journey to fight Gaochang. Li Er remembers his merits and so he consoled him with a few words.


    Hou Junji saw that the Emperor was slightly siding with the civil servants and felt suffocated. He left the pce and he whipped a merchant who identally blocked his way to release his anger.


    The peddler was too scared to rebuke him and so he dragged his cargo basket and crawled to one side. The welts on his arms were bleeding with deep wounds.


    All themon people went silent and dare not speak. They silently watched Hou Junji leave. In the crowd was a teenager about 10 years old. His mouth was being covered by the old servant beside him. He wanted to speak but his servant did not let go until Hou Junji was far away.


    This young man is from Taiyuan. Surname Di and first name Renjie. He came to Chang¡¯an with his father to meet his grandfather who was an official in the pce. Since the weather is good, he decided to walk around the city. Coincidentally, he saw the scene of Hou Junji bullying others.


    Di Renjie was an enthusiastic young man and he wanted to stopthe beating. Fortunately, his old servant knew his temperament well and prevented him from acting. Many in Chang¡¯an are from noble and aristocratic families, how can they dare to offend those in higher ces.


    Since Hou Junji is already far away, Di Renjie naturally couldn¡¯t reprimand him. He stepped forward to help the embarrassed merchant and said: ¡°I heard that there is a medical clinic in the Western City. Let me take you there to get treated!¡±


    The merchant was grateful and followed him. When they entered the West city, everyone said that the best medical center was Thousand Gold Hall where old genius doctor Sun resides. Di Renjie went straight there and soon saw a library with many people queuing around it.


    After sending the patient into the hospital, he left with curious intentions to explore the crowded library next door. He saw a ck que with gold characters hanging in front of the library ¨C ¡°Tang Empire Library¡± was written on it.


    People around saw him looking at the que intently and immediately exined proudly: ¡°These five words are written by the Emperor himself!¡± Then they exined the rules of the library to the boy.


    Di Renjie looked at the people in queue and felt that he stood a chance so he queued up without hesitation. The queuing process was not boring as those in line told him lots of anecdotes about the library. Someone also told him about thetest newsletter and reminded him to check it out.


    Di Renjie was fascinated.


    Although Chang¡¯an is sometimes filled with bullies, it is also filled with interesting ces like this! He wished that the people inside would leave immediately, so that he could hurry in and take a look!


    From all the conversations, he learn about a person he hadn¡¯t noticed before: Prince Teng.


    The youngest brother of the current Emperor who was personally raised by him. It is said that the eldest brother is like a father figure and the Emperor has been raising his youngest brother like his own son and brings him everywhere he goes. When Prince Teng created this library, the Emperor personally inscribed this que. And on the day of the library¡¯s grand opening, several princes and princesses came to watch the ceremony!


    Some people praised Prince Teng¡¯s contribution to schrs around the world and some praised the deep brotherly love between both brothers. Of course some told of the mysterious story about ¡°The rash King who lost his lover over a slip of tongue¡± saying that today¡¯s reading club is managed by said courageous and strong-willed beauty.


    Di Renjie listened with relish and after receiving a number te, he walked in and his footsteps suddenly rxed unconsciously.


    There is nothing in this ce, only books. Shelves full of books. The library has been open for nearly a year but the quantity of books did not decrease but has increased. Books which showed signs of wear and tear are re-copied and maintained with care. Everyone who steps in consciously wants to maintain this treasured ce for readers. Under the bookshelves among the aisles, there are people holding onto books, reading like crazy.


    Di Renjie¡¯s family has never been short of reading material but he was shocked by the huge collection of books in this library. Thinking that his old servant was still in the medical hall next door, he didn¡¯t stay for long. After reading one volume he returned the number te and walked out of the library.


    The old servant was waiting for him outside.


    ¡°Young master, we have been out for a long time, let¡¯s go back.¡±


    ¡°Hold on. Let me read the library¡¯s newsletter first.¡±


    Di Renjie was already hooked. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t agree to leave just like that.


    A group of men surrounded the enthusiastic volunteer who was reading the newspaper to them. Today¡¯s volunteer is obviously a newbie as he didn¡¯t read very well and didn¡¯t manage to interpret in simpleyman terms well. However, the group asked lots of questions and eventually the volunteer warmed up and gradually became more proficient, exining the news sentence by sentence to the group.


    Di Renjie listened with relish.


    After the reading was concluded, Di Renjie dispersed with the crowd. He turned to look for his old servant but instead saw a finely dressed young man jumping out of his carriage and proceeded to ask workers from the medical hall to help him carry things down. Renjie took a closer look and realized that there were good wine, ornaments, medicinal materials, and all sorts of novelty items. The apprentices were moving one item after another, as if it was a bottomless pit. No matter how much you remove the carriage can¡¯t be emptied!


    Who else but Li Yuanying. He divided the treasures with his friends and then move on to split some to the people he holds dear outside the pce. Xiao Deyan, Little Round Ball, Sister Shu ¡­ Now it¡¯s Sun Simiao¡¯s turn.


    Doctor Sun is a very important character for Li Yuanying¡¯s future n. He naturally had to win his favour.


    Li Yuanying¡¯s method of trying to get into someone¡¯s good books is simple and crude. Just keep giving them good things!


    And so he dragged a full carriage filled with treasures to Sun Simiao. Good wine, good items and medicinal herbs specially reserved for Sun Simiao alone. Li Yuanying was just about to enter the hall when he noticed Di Renjie, who was staring at his ¡°gifts¡±, dumbfounded.


    The two were about the same age. Yuanying smiled, revealing two pleasing dimples looking very innocent. He took up the jar of wine left in the carriage and invited Di Renjie: ¡°This wine is from Gaochang, have you tried it? Would you like to try some? It¡¯s just a small cup as you can¡¯t drink too much. Master Sun said that children should not drink too much alcohol, otherwise they will not grow tall!¡±


    Di Renjie has heard about wine from Gaochang but that is a far away ce. Most of the time, this wine will only be send to the pce as tribute. He¡¯s never tasted it. Hearing the boy¡¯s invitation, Renjie was tempted.


    ¡°My surname is Di, my name Renjie, I am 10 this year. You can just call me Renjie. How about you?¡±


    When Yuanying heard that the boy was also 10, he felt they were fated.


    ¡°My surname is Li, my name Yuanying. I am ten years old. You can call me Yuanying.¡±


    When Di Renjie heard this name, he felt that it was little familiar but couldn¡¯t recall where he had heard it before.


    If he can¡¯t remember then so be it. He happily followed behind Li Yuanying.


    Yuanying greeted Sun Simiao and then introduced his new friend to the old doctor.


    Sun Simiao nodded towards Di Renjie and then said: ¡°Bring home all the valuables.¡±


    Li Yuanying retorted: ¡°I¡¯m not giving you anything valuables! None of these are as valuable as even half a bottle disyed in my room.¡±


    Precious things in the eyes of themon man is very different whenpared to the eyes of Li Yuanying!


    Sun Simiao looked at him helplessly.


    The boy quickly took out the medicinal herbs from Gaochang.


    God¡¯s creation are wonderful and bountiful. While Gaochang is hot and rainy all year round, they have some rare medicinal materials that are hard to find in the Central ins. Sun Simiao certainly liked these things. Seeing that Li Yuanying insisted on giving it to him, he did not refuse. He asked that everything be put away in the inner room.


    After putting away things, Yuanying opened up the wine that he brought over. He asked that a set of white jade cups be brought out to share the wine. This is indeed the best wine in Gaochang. A refreshing fragrant filled the air as soon as the bottle was opened. The beautiful dark red wine slowly filled the jade cup.


    Li Yuanying has learned quite a bit about wine from Gaochangtely and pretended to be a pro.


    ¡°The taste may be astringent when it¡¯s freshly poured. We will need to air it for a bit.¡±


    While waiting, the two boys decided to get to know each other better. Hearing that Di Renjie was not from Chang¡¯an, he became excited and started asking him when and why did hee here and if he encountered anything interesting on the way here.


    Since his friend is so enthusiastic, Renjie reciprocated and told him about his home state and all the exciting encounters on his journey here. He was a lively and active young man who wouldn¡¯t hesitate to stand up to injustice. Getting to know each other better, both could easily click.


    Knowing that Renjie came from Taiyuan, Yuanying couldn¡¯t help but sigh: ¡°Your hometown sounds so fun! I told Zhi Nu to go to hisnd earlier, so that I can visit Taiyuan to y!¡±


    When Renjie heard this, he suddenly remembered why Li Yuanying¡¯s name was so familiar. Most sons of thete Emperor had the character ¡°Yuan¡± in their name like Li Yuanji, Li Yuanjing, Li Yuanheng, etc. It was just a taboo for ordinary people to refer to royalty by their birth name and so not many were aware of their real names. Renjie knows this fact because his grandfather and father coincidentally mentioned this in a letter and he happened to have seen it, giving him an impression.


    It¡¯s quite obvious that Li Yuanying is the son of thete Emperor.


    Thinking back, didn¡¯t people mention that Prince Teng was studying under Sun Simiao? He just heard Li Yuanying address the Sun Simiao as ¡°teacher Sun¡±. Isn¡¯t his identity clear as day?!


    Di Renjie said in surprise, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect your Highness to be Prince Teng.¡±


    Yuanying didn¡¯t even think about concealing his identity and readily admitted to it. ¡°Yep! I just got my title from my lord brotherst year.¡±


    The wine has been sufficiently aired and was ready to be drank. Yuanying quickly nudge his new friend to try it out.


    Di Renjie was also just a young kid. Seeing that Li Yuanying didn¡¯t care much about status and ranking, he acted casually too. He took a sip of wine and tasted it carefully.


    Both boys were still young and had not reached an age where drinking is a pleasure. Yuanying tasted the wine and thought it wasn¡¯t very special, just better than the ones he has drank before. He happily retold the story to his new friend about how he got this wine. Firstly about how he ordered Dai Ting to follow the army to Gaochang. And then about how Dai Ting stole food from the tiger¡¯s mouth. There were ups and downs, thrills and dangers. Renjie¡¯s heart beat in excitement listening to him. Oh how he wished he could have experienced Gaochang in person.

 Chapter 64

    Chapter 64


    Timing was everything! Yuanying was still happy about making a new friend and then someone was send by Dai Ting to report that Tang Xuan is visiting from Li Mountains. The young prince immediately got up to greet him.


    Tang Xuan grew a little taller than when they first metst year. He also is starting to look like a handsome young man as he grows older. Yuanying quickly introduce all his friends to each other.


    Di Renjie greatly admired Tang Xuan when he heard that he taught children to read. He also felt that Prince Teng was different from other nobles; otherwise why do all the people he¡¯s friends with so awesome?


    ¡°Ah Xuan. Why are you here in Chang¡¯an?¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°My grandfather got me a spot for the imperial examination. I arrive yesterday and after a night of rest, I needed to take an assessment today. I just only found time to drop by the library to send you a letter.¡± Tang Xuan smiled shyly, ¡°I never thought that you would be here in person.¡±


    Yuanying was naturally happy that his little friend remembered him. He personally poured him a ss of wine. Being young boys, they weren¡¯t suppose to drink much so they all just tasted a small cup of it. Sun Simiao had already left for business and so this little tea room was vacated for Li Yuanying and his friends.


    Dai Ting stood at a corner brewing tea for the group.


    Returning from Gaochang, Dai Ting was still neither arrogant nor impetuous. He abide by his duty and followed by Prince Teng¡¯s side closely. Learning that his master now loves tea, he even took up the initiative to learn how to brew it. Being a man of few words, he doesn¡¯t speak if not spoken too.


    But because Yuanying told him to share about Gaochang, he picked an encounter to talk about. Although his storytelling skill was not as vivid as Li Yuanying¡¯s, but he won due to first hand experience of being there in person.


    Before long, it was almost time for dinner. The group separated reluctantly and went home. Yuanying requested that his friends share their addresses so that he could invite them to y next time.


    Di Renjie bumped into his grandfather at home and swiftly told him everything that had happened today.


    Di Xiaoxu served as a secretary general of the executive bureau and was influential enough to speak his opinion during imperial court sessions. Hearing that Hou Junji hurt innocent citizens and then all about his violent expedition in Gaochang, he was very dissatisfied. How can he take a military sry and eat military rations but say that ¡°If you want the horses to run, you need to allow them to eat grass. <sup>[1]</sup>loosely tranted as having to give ¡°favors or special benefit¡± for getting work done¡±? This is uneptable. This isn¡¯t appeasing soldiers for the Empire¡¯s good but is instead is recruiting the hearts of soldiers for a person¡¯s own benefit so that the soldiers stay loyal to the general alone and is willing to die for him!


    The Emperor has shown much grace. Even after hearing multiple criticism about Hou¡¯s bad behavior, his Majesty still deliberately sought him out for a conversation. Right after that, Hou Junji vented his anger at ordinary citizens!


    Such a narrow-minded warrior, how can he be rewarded again?


    ¡°Just continue ying as you do. Don¡¯t worry about this anymore.¡± (Di Xiaoxu)


    Di Renjie is a smart boy. By just looking at grandfather¡¯s expression, he knew that grandfather will not sit idly and let this issue pass.


    Early the next morning, Li Yuanying was thinking about Tang Xuan¡¯s entrance examination and strolled to look for Kong Yingda, who he has not seen for a long time.


    The teacher was busy reviewing students¡¯ work. Seeing Li Yuanying poking his head outside, he put down his pen and rebuked: ¡°Come in if you have something to say!¡±


    If it weren¡¯t because of his concern for his dear friend, Li Yuanying would never pay a visit to the ck face <sup>[2]</sup>bad mood Kong Yingda. Now that he has a favour to ask, Yuanying put aside his shame and sat down beside Kong Yingda.


    ¡°Are there manying for the Imperial College Examination in the past two days?¡±


    Kong Yingda nced at him: ¡°So what?¡±


    Li Yuanying told him all about meeting Tang Xuan and said that the boy is a smart with a good heart and is close to those around him. Not only does he learn well, he even helps the whole vige to do the same. If the Imperial College do not ept such a rare talent, we will definitely regret it in the future!


    This Li Yuanying is definitely here trying to help his friend get in through the back door. This idiot doesn¡¯t even bother to target the right person, don¡¯t he know that I hate these actions the most? Kong Yingda had a sour expression on his face and asked: ¡°Did he ask you toe look for me for this favour?¡±


    ¡°Of course not! I came on my own ord. He¡¯s so smart, he¡¯ll definitely pass the test!¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why are you here with me?¡±


    Li Yuanying said confidently: ¡°What if some of your subordinates are too stupid to understand his smartness and identally keep him out? If he doesn¡¯t get enrolled into college then he can¡¯t stay in Chang¡¯an to y with me. You must take him!¡±


    Oh, how daring of this kid to want to keep someone in Chang¡¯an just to apany him to y!


    Kong Yingda almost tore his long beard.


    ¡°If he¡¯s really is as smart as you say he is then he won¡¯t fail the test. Don¡¯t have crooked thoughts. You should take a good look at yourself. How long have you note for ss? You really think I wouldn¡¯t know just because no one reports it?!¡±


    Li Yuanying never afraid of being rebuked, countered: ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if I go to school or not. I will never need to take the imperial examinations. I¡¯m not literate, I can just read books by myself!¡±


    Kong Yingda stared at him.


    Li Yuanying stared back unwillingly.


    Kong Yingda knows that this is a shameless fellow and it¡¯s just a waste of time to reason with him. He waved his hands and said, ¡°Okay, Tang Xuan right? I wrote it down, hurry up and get lost, don¡¯t be a nuisance here.¡±


    Hearing Kong¡¯s reply, Li Yuanying didn¡¯t want to stay any longer and ran away immediately.


    While Li Yuanying was helping Tang Xuan, Li Er was being bombarded byints again. This time, an additional charge for Hou Junji for bullying people on the streets. As soon as he left the pce, he hit someone outside the pce gate. It¡¯s obvious that he hasn¡¯t thought of repenting but is instead angry about the Emperor and his colleagues!


    This time they came prepared and listed clearly what Hou Junji did in Gaochang and all the money he has collected. Some witnesses were also invited from Li Yuanying¡¯s Sunflower Garden, determined to suppress the evilness of Hou Junji!


    The Emperor had no choice but to issue an edict to arrest Hou Junji. His verdict will be discussed during court sessions.


    Hou Junji was at the Emperor¡¯s side since the early years. Li Er even requested that Li Jing share his knowledge of war with him. He had high hopes for Hou Junji.


    After sending away the group, Li Er rubbed his forehead thinking. He then asked that a letter be sent to a few close confidants asking them to find a way to protect Hou Junji! Along the way, he has already lost too many important people, he cannot lose his beloved general just because he was a little greedy.


    While Li Er was busy dealing with issues, Li Yuanying too didn¡¯t stay idle. He took his friends to meet the tall and beautiful Gaochang people.


    Li Yuanying counted the little radishes in the pce and then went to pick up Di Renjie and Wei Shu. Tang Xuan was still waiting for his exam results and could not join them.


    The Di family knew from Renjie that he¡¯s friends with Prince Teng. Seeing the young princeing over in person without any hint of arrogance, the family liked him very much. Yuanying pretended to be innocent and good mannered to lure Renjie out. He then asked that a pony be given to the boy.


    ¡°Can you ride a horse? The girls are in the carriage. The few of us will ride horses.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Yuanying prepared a docile red mare for Di Renjie and he stepped forward to stroke its head. The pony returned his touch gently; obviously very satisfied with his master.


    Li Yuanying knew at a nce that his little friend was in harmony with the horse. He signaled for Di to ride and the few young teenagers left the city for Sunflower Garden surrounded by guards. Li Zhi and Gao Yang also rode on horses. Gao Yang was too impatient to sit in a carriage and so she wore men¡¯s clothing and rode steadily on the road full of autumn colors.


    Sunflower Garden is in full swing with construction. The building blueprint was provided by Li Yuanying. It was drawn so very idiot-proof that even an illiterate idiot could understand it. Dong Xiaoyi found a group of men to work on the construction.


    This blueprint was provided by the system. Li Yuanying scanned the situation at Sunflower Garden into the Myriad Realm Library and the system generated a blueprint in ordance to thend. It also included things like cables for transportation, pulley lifting,dders and so on. Fresh new ideas on construction.


    Once this stockade vige is sessfully built, it is able to not only house the current visitors from Gaochang but also an additional batch of people. The outer corners could even amodate guests visiting the area.


    Originally, Dong Xiaoyi wanted to recruit people from his own vige for help during the slow months but as soon as he got the drawings, he knew it was not feasible. He had to immediately get all the help he could and start working on the project. Fortunately, to ensure that the children¡¯s education were not affected, the school¡¯s operation was kept as it is.


    As soon as Yuanying and his party arrived, Mei Niang who was now staying at the school came to greet them.


    Li Zhi had met Mei Niang before and has also heard about the legendary rumor about his father spread by Li Yuanying. He wasn¡¯t surprised to meet Wu Mei but only thought that she looked more energetic after leaving the pce. She looked exuberant and lively.


    Di Renjie on the other hand, almost forgotten how to get off the horse when he saw her. He actually clumsily slipped off his horse. He followed Yuanying¡¯s introduction: ¡°This is Mei Niang, she is in charge of the school and library. Even the newspaper is created by her.¡±


    At present, the newspaper copy delivered to Li Yuanying daily is personally copied by Mei Niang. The remaining copies are done by schrs hired by her. This way not only can she satisfy the Royal children¡¯s need for news but also help underprivileged schrs earn a fixed ie to live a better life.


    Renjie listened to all Mei Niang had done and it became clear that this girl is not only beautiful but had a brilliant mind unlike ordinary people. This was the first time he is meeting such an outstandingdy and he didn¡¯t want to be an embarrassment. He calmed himself down before introducing himself.


    Although Mei Niang had never heard of the boy before, but since Yuanying brought him here personally she responded with a smile.


    Yuanying didn¡¯t notice that his new friend was a little nervous for he doesn¡¯t understand the concept of being nervous. After introducing them, he ran off to lift the carriage¡¯s curtain to let the little lolis down one by one.


    Sizi suddenly looked around and says disappointingly, ¡°The sunflowers and corn are all gone!¡±


    Hengshan silently added: ¡°The peanuts are gone too.¡±


    Li Yuanying is now very knowledgeable about farming and so he confidently exined to the girls: ¡°We¡¯ll nt again next year. You have to let thend rest in autumn and winter, if not you won¡¯t be able to grow good things.¡±


    Yuanying held a little loli in each hand and greeted Wei Shu who was half a step behind: ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll show you the newly built vige, it¡¯s really pretty!¡±


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: It seems that I have identally done something that gave the Emperor a headache? Forget it, let him have a headache then!


    Li Er: ¡­¡­


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü1loosely tranted as having to give ¡°favors or special benefit¡± for getting work done¡ü2bad mood

 Chapter 65

    Chapter 65


    Li Yuanying who was in high spirits pulled his friends to sit around the long table and pulled out a drawing.


    What he¡¯s sharing is not the blueprint given to Dong Xiaoyi previously but a progress drawing of the ongoing construction. The construction of the vige did not use special materials but the design is delicate, built-in reliance and along the mountains. The highest peak can only be reached using an ¡°elevator¡± and the surrounding scenery can be seen from a distance. Looking down, you¡¯ll also see beautiful tree houses of different types built in a circle along the mountain and the spaces between trees being connected by cables or horizontaldders.


    What¡¯s more interesting is that there¡¯s a waterwheel turning at the side of the small river at the foot of the mountain. This waterway can then directly supply water to all nearby houses systematically; when you toggle at the outlet water flows out but if you don¡¯t the water source gets recycled back into the stream.


    These are not ideas that ordinary people cannot create, it¡¯s just that no one sane is willing to spend so much money creating these seemingly shy things. But the little prince is different. for he is after all just a kid. As soon as he saw and liked the blueprint, he insisted on recreating it like for like! Spend whatever money is required on recruitment and construction! I want to make my drawing into reality.


    ¡°Ordinary houses at the foot of the mountain will be built first so that the people from Gaochang will have a ce to settle down as soon as possible. The rest will be built slowly. I¡¯m confident we will be done in a year or so. Pick now which house you want and I will reserve them for you!¡±


    How can children not like this style of ying? Everyone was excited when they heard that they were to pick their own house and started discussing which tree house is the most unique, which has the best scenery, and who should live next to who! Li Yuanying is of course the most popr neighbor. The little lolis all pulled him to ask which house he has chosen, all wanting to be close to young uncle!


    Of course he picked thergest tree in the middle: ¡°This is mine, the biggest, the best!¡±


    No one has any opinion about Li Yuanying¡¯s shameless behavior. After all, this vige belongs to him. They are all used to ying together, so whatever belongs to Li Yuanying belongs to them too! The girls quickly snapped up all the surrounding trees before allowing the boys to choose.


    Di Renjie and Wei Shu were not people who would take advantage of others, so they did not participate. They only requested that Yuanying reserve a room for them in the future for visitations.


    Yuanying didn¡¯t object further and just set aside a nearby tree house for Di Renjie and his other friends to stay temporarily when they visit.


    With this, the whole group eagerly waited for the construction toplete. They enthusiastically discussed all the novel and ingenious designs, wishing that they could stay in their vige right now!


    Right after, Yuanying invited entertainers from Gaochang to meet his friends to discuss about the uing banquet hosted by the Emperor. These performers were initially hesitant about leaving their homnds but after listening to the little prince through Dai Ting¡¯s good words, they gradually calmed down and nodded in response to his orders.


    They also gave a local Gaochang performance to the little lolis who were watching with great anticipation. The performers had flexible bodies that swayed to the sound of music and were beautiful. They also had smooth and bright voices unique to the Gaochang region.


    Tang citizens are also skilled at dancing. Although the little lolis couldn¡¯t really understand thenguage, they couldn¡¯t sit still after watching the performance. They all got up and danced along to the rhythmic melody.


    Li Yuanying took Sizi¡¯s hand and led her in messy circles several times before swirling Xincheng and Hengshan around. He even made Wei Shu, the quietest one dance and dragged her to follow after the entertainers. This messed up the performers¡¯ momentum but the boy had no remorse over it. When he was tired, he sat down and looked at the tired little lolis on the left and right feeling very satisfied.


    When the dancers saw that the Royal children weren¡¯t arrogant they gradually rxed as well. They sat and chatted with Li Yuanying chaotically; both parties interchanging betweennguages albeit very badly.


    Sizi and Hengshan were tired from ying and couldn¡¯t understand the strangenguage so they quickly fell asleep on uncle¡¯sp.


    After the interesting conversation, Yuanying finally realized that his two nieces were fast asleep next to him. He asked the performers to disperse and started carrying both girls into the carriage with Li Zhi¡¯s help. He then asked Chengyang and Wei Shu to help take care of them as they rode back into the city.


    Di Renjie used to feel that the Royal Family is ruthless and without mercy where even brothers killed each other for power. But after seeing how the children got along today, his perception was slightly changed. Maybe even in the ruthless Royal family, there are people like Li Yuanying!


    Although Renjie is still young, he¡¯s someone upright and has a scale in his heart that measure right from wrong. This trip made him think that Li Yuanying is a friend to be kept for long.


    While the group of little radishes were having a great time, His Majesty Li Er was deeply worried about Hou Junji. After the general was imprisoned, he was full of resentment and angrily used Li Yuanying of profiting more money than him!


    However, whether it was Gaochang dignitaries who visited with their new ruler or Gaochang¡¯s citizens who came back with Dai Ting, they all insisted that Yuanying¡¯s group was the good guy. The one who robbed and hurt them was Hou Junji, all Yunaying¡¯s party did was shield and protected them from the brutal ughter. The little prince is now still working hard building a vige to help them to settle down.


    Li Er¡¯s forehead twitched in annoyance when he heard these words.


    The courtiers were still arguing. One party thinks that the army of Tang must be benevolent and righteous. They must not abuse those who surrender. If you harm them now who will peacefully surrender in the future? The opposing party thinks that it is unjust to punish a victorious hero, if so who would fight for the country next time?


    Both sides are justified and the quarreling hurts Li Er¡¯s brain. In the end, he had to make Hou Junji stay in prison for the night.


    In the evening, the girls woke up happy and full. They happily ran to father and talked about their great day. They also gave His Majesty a glimpse of the performance they watched and this made the Emperor feel better.


    Sizi naturally talked about the vige nned by Yuanying saying that they had all already selected their own tree house.


    Hearing this, Li Er wonders how much money is going to be dumped into building this.


    Thinking about how Li Yuanying got his money, Li Er¡¯s head hurts again. His brother made a fortune easily from what Hou Junji did. Poor Hou Junji is still in prison and can¡¯t get out!


    The Gaochang people who followed Li Yuanying back all said that they did so voluntary. They even praised him saying that he takes after his big brother! With such apliment, the Emperor cannot go around scolding Li Yuanying.


    After patiently listening to his girls talk about the tree house, he sent them back.


    While father and daughters were bonding, Yuanying also learned from Dai Ting that Hou Junji was being criticized to the point of being sent to prison.


    He instantly felt that maybe Wei Zheng and the others were not that bad to him. After all, although they scolded him a lot, they had never punished him so severely.


    Being idle, Yuanying took a jug of wine and ran to prison. He asked someone to open the cell door and sat opposite Hou Junji.


    ¡°Old man Hou, how on earth did you offend the other officials so badly? It looks like they now want to dug up your ancestral graves!¡± <sup>[1]</sup>means to have no mercy, topletely destroy a person


    Hou Junji got angry, turned around and ignored him.


    The boy felt that the general was being unreasonable. I¡¯m not even angry at him for using and framing me of wrongdoing but now he¡¯s ignoring me. This old man is really petty!


    ¡°As soon as I heard that you were being detained, I came to visit with wine. Why are you keeping people a thousand miles away? <sup>[2]</sup>to be arrogant and unapproachable Dai Ting informed me that you and General Xue treated them well on the journey, that¡¯s why I¡¯m here today.¡±


    Hou Junji turned his head to stare at him.


    It was still okay if no one brought the topic up, but now that it¡¯s being mentioned, Hou Junji burned with anger. It¡¯s so obvious that Li Yuanying made the most money out of this incident, how dare hee over, show off and pour cold water on him? Isn¡¯t it obviously to see how pitiful he is!


    The boy moved closer, sat down and poured a drink for Hou Junji.


    Being imprisoned for a whole day, general Hou had not eaten anything good. Upon smelling the fragrant wine, he took it wearing a solemn expression.


    Yuanying poured another cup and when Hou Junji was slightly drunk, the boy spoke: ¡°You still don¡¯t understand the Emperor, he is no longer Prince of Qin.¡±


    Hou Junji looked at the boy with sharp eyes.


    ¡°Brother¡¯s heart is with the four seas.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    He took the empty cup from Hou Junji¡¯s hand but did not pour more wine for him.


    ¡°If you wanted the treasures from Gaochang, the Emperor will never be stingy with you. But when you left for the expedition you represent the Tang Empire and you are acting upon the good name of the Emperor. If you start with this example, the rest will follow suit. Then the situation will be unmanageable.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    If these words were spoken by others, Hou Junji would never have paid it any attention. But it¡¯s different when Li Yuanying the little devil king says it. He was rather surprised that these words were uttered by the boy.


    After the initial surprise, he sat there thinking seriously about his words.


    In his early years, he followed Li Er who was still the Prince of Qin to war. During the Xuanwu Gate incident, he followed behind him and eliminated the previous Crown Prince. Regardless of whether it is public or private, Hou thinks that he is a man of merit and felt that it¡¯s no big deal to take some stuff. He had traveled hard for several months through the severe cold of winter and the scorching heat of summer. Why shouldn¡¯t he get some benefits?


    However, His Majesty Li Er is indeed not the Prince of Qin anymore.


    He is now the ruler of Tang Empire and the ¡°Khan of Heaven¡± for his people. To y the role of a righteous King, his Majesty is even willing to endure harsh criticism from others.


    Hou Junji raised his eyes to look at Li Yuanying, as if it was the first time he had known this little devil king.


    Yuanying continued: ¡°I heard that the year I was born, the Duke of Lai passed away and my elder brother was very sad. He would often call his name by mistake and then secretly wept. Later, when the Duke of Hu also passed, brother was also equally sad. Brother is a sentimental person and he is slowly losing those who lived through thick and thin with him. If you¡¯re wondering who doesn¡¯t wish this predicament upon you, it must be my brother, the Emperor. But what you are doing is pushing him into a dilemma!¡±


    Hou Junji fell silent.


    Yuanying instructed Dai Ting to leave a pen, ink and paper in front of Hou Junji.


    ¡°Leaving this to you.¡±


    After speaking, he pushed the remaining jug of wine to him.


    ¡°This is also for you. Up to you if you want to get drunk or act however you pleases.¡±


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: When I¡¯m serious, even I am afraid of myself


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü1means to have no mercy, topletely destroy a person¡ü2to be arrogant and unapproachable

 Chapter 66

    Chapter 66


    After saying what he wanted to say, Yuanying walked out and ordered the jailer to re-lock the cell door.


    He walked with Dai Ting along the long and narrow corridor of prison and saw the back a familiar figure. It looks like he was standing there thinking about something and seems to be waiting for him.


    This startled the boy and he stopped walking. The man turned around to face him with deep and dark eyes. It was none other than his brother, the Emperor.


    Li Er came to check on his old friend Hou Junji but he unexpectedly heard a familiar voiceing from inside the cell.


    His younger brother was talking to Hou Junji.


    Li Er looked at Li Yuanying steadily and like Hou Junji, felt like it was the first time meeting his youngest brother like this.


    It was already dusk and the golden sunset shone through the small window andnded on the open space between the two brothers. The atmosphere was weird and those around them stayed silent afraid of rashly breaking the silence of the moment.


    Li Yuanying only paused for a moment before running towards Li Er and grabbed his hands dragging the Emperor.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be dark, the pce gate will be locked soon. Let¡¯s go back quickly.¡±


    The Emperor came here in secret. He waved his hand to signal to his men to not disturb tehm and walked with Li Yuanying through the narrow aisle.


    Walking out of prison, they saw skies full of clouds dyed red.


    Yuanying quietly held onto Li Er¡¯s hand. Both not saying anything.


    This remained until they enter the pce gate and was walking along the long stone path. Li Er finally stopped and looked at his baby brother, who was being rather silent.


    ¡°Why were you visiting the prison?¡±


    ¡°I heard from Dai Ting that old man Hou was locked up, so I wanted to go and see. I have nothing else to do anyway.¡±


    ¡°WHAT do you mean nothing to do? Didn¡¯t teacher Kongined that you haven¡¯t attended ss for days? Or do you think you¡¯re too good for sses now?¡±


    ¡°Honestly I think I¡¯m good learning by myself. If there is anything I don¡¯t understand, I will ask the teachers for help. This way is much better than sitting in ss all day.¡±


    Li Er looked at him.


    ¡°Lord Brother, did you hear every word I said just now?.¡±


    Li Er answered lightly: ¡°I heard it all.¡±


    If it wasn¡¯t for the coincidence of visiting Hou Junji in disguise, he wouldn¡¯t have heard his little brother¡¯s words. This kid looked like a trouble-making fool, but in actuality is more crafty than he looks and does not show his little tail easily. If he weren¡¯t there today, would Hou Junji tell him these things? He will not. Even if Hou listens to the boy, he wouldn¡¯t speak well of Yuanying in front of the Emperor.


    There aren¡¯t many people like Li Yuanying, who think and wish for everyone to be well. Most people have selfish desires. With desirees stance and with stancees intention in action. In reality, there¡¯s no way to achieve perfect harmony where every party prospers.


    This is a reality that Li Er fullyprehends.


    Li Yuanying remained quiet as his brother was staring at him with gloomy eyes.


    Still holding onto his hands the boy said: ¡° Late sister-inw once told me that the Crown Prince and Prince Jin already have too many uncles. She only wants me to be Chengqian and Zhi Nu¡¯s uncle.¡±


    Looking directly at Li Er¡­


    ¡°I think ¡®Khan of Heaven¡± <sup>[1]</sup>I loosely tranted it to Khan of Heaven but in actual it¡¯s Tengri Qaghan. An official honorific to address the Chinese Emperor in the Turkic & Pamir Mountains region during the Tang period has too many younger brothers too. I should just be Li Shimin¡¯s younger brother.¡± <sup>[2]</sup>Li Shimin = Li Er¡¯s full name


    ¡°You damn kid! You¡¯re getting more and more presumptuous!¡±


    Is Li Shimin a name that he can simply call?


    After Yuanying finished speaking, he loosened his hand and said: ¡°Mother is waiting for me, I should leave now. Lord brother you walk slowly.¡±


    Finishing his statement the boy quickly ran away regardless of the Emperor¡¯s reaction in fear that his older brother will initiate a heart-to-heart conversation.


    This kind of emotional talk is so weird. Yuanying doesn¡¯t like it. If he hadn¡¯t bumped into Li Er by chance, he definitely wouldn¡¯t want to talk about it.


    Being a manly man you should just do what is right. Why should you need to tell about it to others?


    The Emperor stood still and watched Li Yuanying run away. After a while, he said to the servants lighting thenterns: ¡°This guy said very nice things but do I need it?¡±


    Looking at each other, they saw the smiles in each other¡¯s eyes and said respectfully, ¡°Your Majesty, you care.¡±


    The Emperor red at them and thenughed. All the troubles of the past two days were swept away.


    Such a small little brat who dares to proim that he doesn¡¯t want to be the younger brother of the heavenly king but just the younger brother of Li Shimin. Who gave him such courage?!


    Still, this boy has a broad heart. Hou Junji badmouth him in daytime and still he is still willing to talk to Hou Junji like that. This isn¡¯t just giving lip-service.


    During court session, everyone was surprised to find the Emperor in good mood, no longer irritable and annoyed like the previous two days. When everyone impeached Hou Junji again, he even nodded his head in agreement.


    After the criticism round was over, it was time for the defending team to take the stand. Among the representative is the deputy head of the legitive bureau Cen Wenben. He listed out all of Hou¡¯s achievements saying that while he is indeed in the wrong this time, it¡¯s not severe enough to wipe out all of his previous contributions and allow him to suffer the humiliation of prison.


    As a follow-up, Hou Junji¡¯s self refection letter was presented to court. He has reflected and admitted that his actions had a negative impact. He¡¯s hoping to be given the opportunity to make his wrongs right and continue to contribute to the greater good of Tang Empire.


    The words are all clich¨¦s but said very nicely. At least it serves as a peaceful pact after all the heated debate that has been going on for several days. In terms of merit, the general has done well. After all, warfare is bound to have many uncontroble circumstances. It¡¯s impossible to expect the Emperor to kill his beloved general over such a matter.


    Everyone looked at each other in agreement that this is a great tform to step back and exit the argument.


    Li Er ordered that Hou Junji be released immediately. This solved one of his problems.


    Whatever the circumstances, they did conquer a newnd. Although it¡¯ll be difficult to hold a big banquet to celebrate as originally nned, Li Er still summoned several close confidants to celebrate.


    Li Yuanying got an invitation too because he promised to supply good wine and entertainment. Yuanying remembered that grand-nephew Li Xiang didn¡¯t follow them out of the pce thest time and quickly ran to make arrangements with Chengqian to bring Li Xiang along for the banquet.


    Although Chengqian felt that it was inappropriate to bring his child without prior approval, he was no match for Li Xiang¡¯s stubbornness as he was holding on tightly to Li Yuanying¡¯s thigh not willing to let go.


    Seeing Li Chengqian nod, Li Yuanying picked up Li Xiang and ran out.


    Li Xiang is not afraid of being carried high andughed happily. He doesn¡¯t even miss mommy & daddy who were getting further and further away from him.


    The Crown Princess secured a jade pendant on Chengqian¡¯s waist and said: ¡°Young uncle is quite strong. It¡¯s a little difficult for me to carry Xiang Er but he lifted him easily.¡±


    ¡°Since he was a child, he liked to climb trees and jump over walls to y with slingshots. Being a wild child of course he has strength.¡±


    Wild child Li Yuanying carried Li Xiang and ran around looking for the Emperor. Li Er saw him carrying his grandson from a distance and freaked out. He quickly went over and pulled Li Xiang off Li Yuanying¡¯s shoulder.


    Since ying with Li Yuanying a lot, Li Xiang is also now not afraid of the Emperor. He sat his little butt firmly on the Emperor¡¯sp.


    Li Er gave Yuanying a sideways nce and patted Li Xiang¡¯s bottom.


    ¡°Don¡¯t y wildly with YaoYao. You¡¯ll cry if you fall.¡±


    Li Xiang boldly retorted: ¡°He won¡¯t drop me.¡±


    YaoYao will never drop me!


    With the wholehearted trust of his grand-nephew, Li Yuanying smiled smugly.


    Finally Li Chengqian reaches and they entered the banquet together.


    Civil officials present were Wei Zheng, Fang Xuanling, Zhangsun Wuji, and so on while military generals present included Yuchi Jingde, Cheng Zhijie, Li Jing, and so on. Hou Junji and Xue Wanjun who won the war were also naturally present.


    His Majesty Li Er arrived and they all stood up to pay their respect. This looks like a lively asion.


    Li Er motioned everyone to sit and signaled Yuanying and Chengqian to sit next to him. Li Yuanying¡¯s appearance at this banquet was quite sudden but he didn¡¯t feel ufortable. He even managed to coax Li Xiang over to his side and was teasing him. When someone came to pour him a drink, he handed the ss to Li Xiang and coaxed, ¡°This is delicious, if you don¡¯t believe me, try it.¡±


    Li Xiang convinced, opened his mouth and licked the wine Li Yuanying handed to him.


    As soon as his tongue touched the wine, Li Xiang¡¯s whole face wrinkled into a ball and he choked on the smell of wine. He then burst into tears.


    ¡°This is not good to drink, YaoYao is a liar!¡±


    Li Er was toasting wine with his officials when this sudden cry made the atmosphere quiet.


    Li Er turned his head and instantly knew what good deeds his younger brother has done.


    ¡°You b*stard, put that wine down!¡±


    Yuanying became even more proud: ¡°Lord Brother, you tricked me to drink wine when I was young too. This is called a gentleman¡¯s revenge is not toote even if it¡¯s ten yearster. ¡°


    Since his brother lied to him, he¡¯ll lie to his grandson. Consider this score even!


    The Emperor instructed that wine be removed from Li Yuanying¡¯s side.


    Li Xiang doesn¡¯t hold grudges like his Yao Yao. After crying for a while, he was coaxed by Li Yuanying, and was friendly with him again. He would not leave Yao Yao¡¯s side even when his grandfather or father called for him.


    Soon, adults interacted with adults while children yed with children. The atmosphere returned to its original harmony.


    When the dancers came on stage, Yuanying coaxed Li Xiang to go dance with them, saying that his aunty Sizi has also learned dancing from them. Li Xiang believed him and so the little toddler ran out and followed after the dancers. Li Er was amused by his little dance and pped his hands. He then asked Wei Zheng and the rest to join in.


    During the Sui Dynasty, dancing was the highest etiquette for courtiers toward their king. Whether it¡¯s formal or informal events like court sessions, banquets, or hunting, dancing can be involved. When the previous Emperor established the Tang Empire, he continued to adopt Sui¡¯s dancing culture. He often came on stage, yed the pipa, and danced with his ministers.


    Therefore, dancing is a basic skill needed when being an official. Since the Emperor has spoken, the officials naturally got up and move with the exotic music.


    As the banquet progresses, everyone started to rx. Li Er even came off stage to picked up Li Xiang and raised him high up to tease him. Li Xiang was not afraid andughed happily with Li Er.


    As for whether the wine Li Yuanying took away was the best or whether the beauties he took away were the most beautiful, no one cared to investigate anymore.


    Li Er brought Li Yuanying to the banquet for obvious reasons: everything this younger brother has done is known by him, the Emperor. And he, the elder brother, is taking care of this younger brother!


    The people from Gaochang followed Li Yuanying voluntarily and the things were also given to Li Yuanying voluntarily. What else more can they say? Let¡¯s just drink and dance happily!


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: There are too many younger brothers of Khan of Heaven, I will be Li Shimin¡¯s younger brother!


    His Majesty: What should I do? I¡¯m a little touched.


    Little Prince: This way, I am the most special and can do whatever I want!


    His Majesty: ? ? ? ? ?


    His Majesty: Get out!


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü1I loosely tranted it to Khan of Heaven but in actual it¡¯s Tengri Qaghan. An official honorific to address the Chinese Emperor in the Turkic & Pamir Mountains region during the Tang period¡ü2Li Shimin = Li Er¡¯s full name

 Chapter 67

    Chapter 67


    The following days, Li Yuanying was rather obedient was busy with the construction in Sunflower Garden. He would personally check on the progress from time to time and send his care and condolences to the refugees while watching how they progress on grapes nting.


    Concurrently, Tang Xuan has been sessful in enrolling into the Imperial College. Unfortunately, because of Li Yuanying¡¯s action, Kong Yingda specially ordered that Tang Xuan be given ¡°good care¡±. As a result,every time Yuanying went to y with Tang Xuan he would see his friend studying very hard.


    Li Yuanying clicked his tongue secretly: Is the Imperial College so tough?


    It¡¯s also Tang Xuan¡¯s first stint at College, so he wasn¡¯t aware what the normal study load is like. Hepleted all tasks assigned by his teachers without a word ofin about suffering or tiredness. After some time, he won the recognition of many with his intelligence and diligence!


    At the end of this year, a new friend entered the pce ¨C Princess Wencheng whom His Majesty Li Er has betrothed to Songtsen Gampo, the ruler of the Tibetan Empire.


    This marriage was arranged by the Emperor much earlier.


    Li Er has a habit promising marriage between a Tang Princess to foreign ns after winning a war and when the losing partyes to pay tribute. This helps him show off the status and power of Tang. Last year, Li Er married off Princess Honghua to Tuyuhun. This year, it is Princess Wencheng who is a distant rtive of the Royal family to the Tibetan Empire.


    Princess Wencheng being only fifteen is beautiful in appearance and graceful in behavior. All in all , she¡¯s the perfect depiction of a real princess.


    Compared with the dull Tuyuhun, the Tibetan Empire upies arger area and has more troops. This is a country that Tang has to befriend the most in the western region. Li Er personally met with Princess Wencheng and felt that his decision was correct and so he allowed her to enter the pce and live with other princesses and took care of her all needs and education.


    Hearing from Gao Yang that Wencheng will be married off to the Tibetan Empire, Li Yuanying dragged Li Zhi along to understand more about this foreign country and how far away it was.


    After researching, the boy felt that this ce is indeed very far away.


    Yuanying sighed and encouraged Gao Yang to invite Wencheng out to y. It¡¯s really dull staying home all day!


    Wen Cheng was not a boring person and so when Gao Yang invited her, she sneaked out with the rest of the children to y. Hearing that Wencheng was moving to the Tibetan Empire next month, Li Yuanying was eager to create trouble still: ¡°I¡¯ve heard from Teacher Sun that the Tibetan Empire is very different from Chang¡¯an. On the West are continuous snow-capped mountains, all tall and beautiful but it is not easy to walk on. Ordinary people wouldn¡¯t be able to endure the journey. But I¡¯m not an ordinary person, maybe I can go and check it out!¡±


    Wencheng grew up in Chang¡¯an and was already quite hesitant to leave. But hearing this, she became curious about what the snow-capped mountains looked like.


    Seeing that Wencheng¡¯s wedding was fast approaching, Li Yuanying mobilized all his friends and divided them to take up different missions to help her understand what this foreign country is like.


    The assignments were as follows: The girls were responsible to have fun with Wencheng; Li Yuanying and Li Zhi will go meet up with Lu Dongzan and his party; Dai Ting was responsible for collecting information; and Mei Niang to use the library to get more news via a special coverage from schrs about the Tibetans Empire.


    Dai Ting and Mei Niang acted quickly. Li Yuanying and Li Zhi also found a reason to visit Lu Dongzan.


    Hearing that Tang Royalty was here to meet him, Lu Dongzan quickly weed them. Lu Dongzan was a tall man and his appearance was more gentle than Li Yuanying had imagined. Tibetans has a habit of putting red paint on their faces and it was a shame as it covers his handsome appearance.


    Li Yuanying is a champion in acting friendly. Since he couldn¡¯t drink alcohol, he asked Dai Ting to bring tea and chatted with Lu Dongzan while brewing it.


    Lu Dongzan wasn¡¯t born with high status but his ability was outstanding. With his extraordinary ingenuity, he became the prime minister of the Tibetan Empire. He has visited Tang several times and gradually learned thenguage. With that, they were able tomunicate more smoothly than with those from Gaochang.


    Seeing the handsome Dai Ting sitting quietly making tea elegantly, Lu Dongzan couldn¡¯t help but ask¡±: ¡°What is this? It smells really good.¡±


    Li Yuanying started boasting about his Thousand Gold Tea, saying that it sold for 800 Guan per poundst year. This is precious tea which even money can¡¯t buy. Many aspire to have it but can¡¯t get their hands on it.


    While Li Yuanying was busy blowing his trumpet, the tea is brewed. Its aroma overflow into the room, and Lu Dongzan felt awaken. Tea is definitely a good thing for people living on grasnd. After all, they eat meat all the year round, which is difficult to digest. If they can drink a bowl of tea every day, it will definitely be much more refreshing.


    Lu Dong Zan tasted it and praised: ¡°It¡¯s really good, no wonder it¡¯s so expensive!¡±


    ¡°Not all of them are so expensive. First grade ones are expensive but second- and third grades ones are much cheaper. The lowest tier ones even ordinary people can afford!¡±


    Li Yuanying is shameless when ites to boasting.


    ¡°In the future, there will be more tea leaves avable in Tang, so that everyone will be able to drink tea.¡±


    Lu Dongzan liked grand statements and felt that this young prince is someone he liked very much.


    ¡°Then you must sell me some. I¡¯ll bring some home for my ruler to taste.¡±


    Yuanying readily agreed, saying that a batch of tea happened to be delivered to Chang¡¯an this winter. This is an unfortunate timing. If you visit earlier next time, you might be able to get the the best spring tea. Springes and all things recovers, this is the best season for tea to grow and it leaves a fragrant aftertaste in your mouth!


    Lu Dongzan was eager to get his hands on them and mentioned that he can leave two servants behind to wait for the spring tea to arrive.


    Looking at Dai Ting who was brewing tea with elegance, Lu Dongzan only had praises: ¡°Even if there¡¯s good tea you need someone skilled to brew it. Would you be willing to get someone to teach the men I leave behind?¡±


    Seeing Lu¡¯s eyes on Dai Ting, Yuanying quickly countered: ¡°That¡¯s fine but not Dai Ting.¡±


    He then introduced Dai Ting to Lu Dongzan and shared about all his aplishment during his trip to Gaochang singing his praises loudly.


    Lu Dongzan originally thought that Dai Ting was just a good looking lowly servant and was shock that he was so aplished. What shocked him even more is that such a great man is willing to stay by Yuanying¡¯s side brewing tea and serving food!


    These are serious achievements that cannot be hidden and you¡¯ll easily spot lies from truths. Prince Teng should be telling the truth?


    Are all of Tang¡¯s citizens so outstanding?


    Lu Dongzan was in shock.


    Dai Ting¡¯s expression stayed the same and he respectfully served fresh tea to everyone present.


    After that, Yuanying managed topletely control the flow of conversation and managed to uncover all he wanted to know about the Tibetan Empire. He and Li Zhi took turns asking about their customs and culture. At the end, Yuanying even secretly asked if Lu Dongzan looked like his king.


    How would Lu Dongzan dare to say yes? Of course not.


    Li Yuanying asked again: ¡°Is your king fatter or thinner than you? Taller or shorter? Does he paint his face red too?¡±


    Lu Dongzan used gestures to roughly describe Songtsen Gampo¡¯s appearance and showed the boy the King¡¯s painted portrait which was brought for marriage arrangements.


    Yuanying took a look and felt that the artist¡¯s skills was not very good. He continued asking questions and started fine-tuning base off the original painting. He finally repainted a portrait of Songtsen Gampo on the spot.


    Lu Dongzan was shocked when he saw the drawing and would never dare to underestimate the most beloved younger brother of the Tang Emperor.


    Others say that this person is the most naughty and hedonistic son of the Tang royal family. If all hedonistic children of Tang were like Li Yuanying, then the Tibetan should surrendered in self-preservation!


    Yuangying wasn¡¯t bothered about how shocked Lu Dongzan was, he just seeded in obtaining a portrait of Songtsen Gampo, found out his height, weight, and even shoe size. He also managed to secure a new sales lead for his tea which made him even happier.


    On his way back, Li Yuanying berated Li Zhi: ¡°Why did you talk so little just now? You should talk more. Wencheng is now a princess and is now counted as your elder sister. You have to do something for her!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve said everything there is to say, what else can I say?¡± He had never seen Li Yuanying so chatty, who else would dare ask others what clothes or shoe size does their ruler wear?


    Li Zhiined and felt that Li Yuanying¡¯s actions were too abrupt.


    Li Yuanying¡¯s face was serious: ¡°What abrupt? We can¡¯t let Wencheng be the one asking these questions. We as elders need to y out part¡±


    ¡°You just said that she¡¯s my elder sister. How can I be the elder now?¡±


    ¡°I asked these questions so that the embroiderydies apanying Wencheng can start preparing clothes for Songtsen Ganpo and all ording to Wencheng¡¯s liking. Think about it, she doesn¡¯t have a choice in choosing her groom, so the only thing she can do is to find a way to transform him to her liking. That way, he¡¯ll look a lot more pleasing to her eyes, right?¡±


    Li Zhi didn¡¯t expect that Li Yuanying would visit Lu Dongzan for something like this and so he was rendered speechless.


    Yuanying took the portrait and his ¡°sizes¡± to look for Wencheng and told her his thoughts.


    Wencheng was already feeling quite moody and reluctant to leave her homnd. When she saw the trouble Yuanying went to get these stuff she was rendered a little dumbfounded.


    The girls all gathered to see what Wencheng¡¯s future husband looks like.


    If it was another girl, she would have been blushing over themotion but not Wencheng. She took the portrait generously and looked at the heroic king.


    ¡°Looks like a hero.¡±


    ¡°I also think he¡¯s good.¡± He then told her about how Lu Dongzan painted his face red and continued: ¡°I think you should ask him to wash his face, it¡¯ll make him more pleasing to the eyes.¡±


    Wencheng nodded.


    A few dayster, Dai Ting collected all the information he had gotten himself and from the library about the Tibetan Empire and sent it to Li Yuanying. This is so Wencheng is aware about her future home in advance.


    In the blink of an eye, it was the first month of the 15<sup>th</sup>year of Zhengguan.


    During Lantern Festival, Yuanying brought his friends to view thenterns on disy and Wencheng was among them.


    Looking at the brightly lit Chang¡¯an City, she felt a little sad and burst into tears. After this festival she will be getting married under the escort of her father to a ce more than a thousand miles away and will never have the the chance to seenterns in Chang¡¯an again.


    Li Yuanying went silent watching Wencheng looking at thentern and weeping.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to go, I¡¯ll help you find a way out.¡±


    Wencheng wiped away her tears and gave Yuanying a hug.


    ¡°I want to go. I also want to check out the beautiful snow-capped mountains for young uncle and see if they really stay unchanging for years.¡±


    Li Yuanying felt something in his heart but couldn¡¯t make out what that feeling was.He stretched out his hands and hugged Wencheng lightly before raising his head and said seriously: ¡°If someone bullies you just send me a letter. Even if the Tibetan Empire s is far away, I will still bring a gang over and beat them up!¡±


    Wencheng smiled at Li Yuanying. Her bright eyes and smile looked brighter than thentern lights.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    She also seriously agreed to it.


    Notes from the author:


    Little prince: Songtsen Gampo?


    Little prince: Dearest nephew-inw, would you like to buy some tea? Home-grown, quality guaranteed!


    When I say previously that rtionships will be faint it doesn¡¯t mean that there will be no CP. Don¡¯t get me wrong, there will be couples but it¡¯s like they¡¯ll grow up and have kids. Generally speaking, as this is based off real historical background, I find it hard to ept familiar historical figures in same sex rtionship. This road is too difficult! No motivation to walk down such a hard path! £ß(:3¡Ï)£ß

 Chapter 68

    Chapter 68


    After the Festival, the Ministry of Rites and Prince of Jiangxia- Li Daozong escorted Wencheng to the Tibetan Empire.


    Li Yuanying rode on a horse to send Princess Wencheng off all the way till the city gates and gave her a small purse.


    Before Wencheng could ask, the boy exined: ¡°This purse contains sunflower seeds. Find a sunny ce to nt them.¡±


    Yuanying especially like sunflowers and even renamed hisnd Sunflower garden for he liked the meaning behind it very much. He took Wencheng¡¯s hand: ¡°Sunflower always faces the direction of the sun, and as long as there is sunshine, it will raise its head.¡±


    Wencheng listened, nodded and said with a smile: ¡°I¡¯ll remember this.¡±


    She got into her carriage and after sitting down, lifted the curtains to look at Yuanying who was standing beside her watching her.


    When she was much younger, Wencheng had already heard about the notorious Little demon king who no one dares offend. Hearing so much rumors about him, most children from the same n naturally stayed away.


    After knowing him in person, she realized that the rumors were not true.


    No matter how reluctant, the wedding entourage must leave on time.


    Li Yuanying waved goodbye to Wencheng.


    Wencheng kept looking out of the curtains until her friends could no longer be seen. She then withdrew her hands and tears fell like beads from a broken thread. This trip passes through high mountains and long roads and then she will no longer be able to see Chang¡¯an or the people in Chang¡¯an again.


    Lu Dongzan should be leading the entourage but seeing Li Yuanying still standing at the same spot, , he turned back to say goodbye.


    ¡°Wencheng, is going to alone, please take care of her.¡±


    ¡°Of course. I will not let a Tang Princess be ill treated, she will be well taken care off.¡± His seemingly peaceful eyes contained a smile: ¡°When your Royal Highness grows up a little more, do visit us. Come and y, we will definitely entertain your Royal Highness well.¡±


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t think much and agreed. He then officially said goodbye to the Prime minister. He stayed still until the wedding party was no longer in sight and then Li Yuanying followed Li Er back to the city.


    Li Yuanying was quiet all the way back. So quiet that Li Er felt that it rather strange. After returning to the pce, he kept him around for a private conversation.


    Yuanying have had many thoughts but mainly about the customs of marriage for royal daughters.


    Although the Royal ns is huge with many daughters, but every child is precious. Wouldn¡¯t it be distressing for the parents to have to marry them off to foreignnds? If anyone asks him to marry his future daughter far away he will never agree! Even if he loses his position as Prince Teng he will never agree to it!


    Li Yuanying expressed his sincere doubts: ¡°Since we want to build rtionships, why aren¡¯t we marrying foreign princesses into Tang but giving away our princesses? Wencheng is only 16 and although Songtsen Gampo is not old but the Tibetan Empire is so far away. What if she gets bullied? Daughters from ordinary families have her birth parents as support system but ours have no rtives outside!¡±


    ¡°Are daughters from the Li family weak?¡±


    Li Yuanying remained silent.


    Seeing that his younger brother was rather gloomy, Li Er exined the situation to him. Although Tang won the war with Tibet, it was not without sacrifices. If the Tibetan Empire was determined to retaliate, Tang will have a hard time defending. If both countries¡¯ rtionship were not eased, Tang will face attacks from both Tibet and the Turks, causing a catastrophe!


    When Li Er first seeded to the throne, the Turkic khans led 200,000 soldiers towards Tang approaching Chang¡¯an City! The situation at that time was extremely difficult and dangerous. With that, Li Er is sure that he needed to win over the support of as many foreign ns as possible to keep peace in Tang.


    Although the Eastern Turks were defeated, there¡¯s still the Western Turks threatening them. Li Er is determined that all threats needed to be diffused so that Tang could continue living in peace. As for the Tibetans, let¡¯s deal with themter.


    Li Yuanying listened quietly without interrupting, and painted the territory of Tang in his heart.


    The Anxi Protectorate establishedst year crossed in between thends of the Turks and the Tibetans and had abruptly opened a new passage between Tang and the Western regions. This passage connects Tang to the outside world; establishing trade routes. However, Anxi Protectorate is located very far away from Chang¡¯an and it is hard to sendrge troops to fortified it. This makes Tang¡¯s control over it extremely fragile. Neighbouring countries can attack at anytime and can do it easily and will destroy this route with ease.


    Therefore, it is crucial to keep Gaochang as Tang¡¯s territory and to maintain this trade route without interruption.


    What they have to do now is to fight hard, raise up strong troops and firmly control the territory of Tang while steadily solving the threats around them.


    Li Yuanying clenched his fist, which was not big and said unwillingly: ¡°Is there no other way? Must we make a girl leave her hometown and marry a foreigner?¡±


    ¡°Songtsen Gampo is only 24. Brave and good at fighting and is outstanding. I¡¯ve personally checked him out with my own eyes. To marry such a man is not a loss for Wencheng. As long as Tang is strong, no matter which country it is, no one will dare mistreat our Princesses. Isn¡¯t it better to marry the Lord of a country than to marry ordinary sons of officials? Weren¡¯t you the one who is always criticizing the fiance I¡¯ve chosen for my daughters saying that they are all no good and you disliked them?¡± (Li Er)


    ¡°But this ce is too far away!¡± Even he has not been to such a faraway ce.


    ¡°Nothing is perfect in this world. Her parents consented to it, so why are you worrying about it?¡±


    Sensing hat the Emperor is getting a little impatient, Yuanying stopped his questions and went back to ponder about this on this own. He thought all night long but couldn¡¯t crack anything. The next day, he found Di Renjie, Tang Xuan, Li Zhi, Dai Ting, Mei Niang and Wei Shu and gathered them all in a tea room at Thousand Gold Hall to discuss foreign affairs.


    The whole groupprises of teenagers and the oldest was only 16 or 17. Hearing that Li Yuanying was going to discuss foreign affairs with them, everyone sat upright, waiting for him to start.


    Li Yuanying spread out a map and told them about what the Emperor exined yesterday.


    ¡°Gaochang initially started to revolt by not paying tribute, blocking messengers and businessmen, and attacking nearby states with the Turks because Tang¡¯s capital Chang¡¯an was a far away ce. Although Gaochang is gone now, the reality has not changed. All the previous predicament will now be Anxi Protectorate¡¯s headache.¡±


    This was the first time that Di Renjie and Tang Xuan is seeing such a concise map of Tang. They quietly listen and did not voice much opinions.


    Mei Niang looked at Anxi Protectorate that was in between foreignnds and thought for a while


    ¡°The only way to counter this once and for all is to turn the countries around it into Tang¡¯s territory. Then there will be nothing to worry about.¡± (Mei Niang)


    Reasonable Statement.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that we are still too young, otherwise we can find a way to concur thends and bring it under Tang¡¯s control¡±. Di Renjie pointed toward Gaochang on the map. ¡°Just like how we made Gaochang a part of our country¡±.


    Tang Xuan being a more practical person shook his head.


    ¡°If it was really that easy, His Majesty wouldn¡¯t have to worry so much.¡±


    This most straightforward method will not work and the tea room fell silent for a while.


    Dai Ting did not participate in the discussion but was brewing tea and serving the group.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be busy, you also sit and discuss this.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°Whatever your highness¡¯smand I obey and follow.¡± (Dai Ting)


    Yuanying knew that Dai Ting has always been like this, so he stopped forcing him, took a sip of tea, and looked at Li Zhi and Wei Shu who were silent.


    Li Zhi though for a long time but still couldn¡¯te up with anything. He doesn¡¯t like to boast and hasn¡¯t thought of anything practical and so remained silent.


    Seeing Yuanying looking at her, Wei Shu took a sip of the tea and look straight at his eyes.


    ¡°Since both countries can¡¯t be brought under Tang¡¯s control now, then for the time being keep things at status quo and n slowly.¡± (Wei Shu)


    Wei Shu was the one who suggested fire ball formation during the elephant war and so Yuanying felt that her knowledge and ingenuity were different from children of her age. Therefore this time he invited her but not his other nieces.


    Hearing Wei Shu finally speak, Li Yuanying immediately sat up straight, and asked with interest. ¡°How n slowly?¡±


    ¡°It is written in <<Sun Tzi>>, know your friends and your enemy and you will never lose a battle. We are helpless now maybe because we don¡¯t know enough about these countries.¡± Wei Shu picked up the <<The Tibetan Empire Handbook>> brought back by Li Yuanying and praised it. ¡°This book is great, we got to know all the surface information avable but now we should send people out to visit these countries to learn even more.¡±


    Li Yuanying nodded, Mei Niang and the others looked at Wei Shu thinking that this young girl was unusual.


    Wei Shu continued: ¡°For example, Doctor Sun mentioned that outsiders often fall ill when they visit Tibet because they are unustomed to the soil and water. However those born and bred there do not fall ill. Why is that so? Is there something special in their diet? I heard that all things have bncing equivalent. If there is something harmful in a ce, there must be a natural enemy of this thing. Could it be that the Tibetan people have special food or medicine that prevents them from falling ill? If we unlock this then maybe our Tang army will not be ill and can advance deeper into enemy territory!¡±


    Li Yuanying¡¯s eyes lit up.


    ¡°Sister Shu, why are you so smart? Let¡¯s do what we can first to prepare so that we won¡¯t suffer if there¡¯s a war in the future!¡±


    Li Yuanying raised his tea bowl, imitating his older brother in giving a toast.


    ¡°You have given a very good suggestion that is worth drinking this bowl of tea!¡±


    Wei Shu had no choice but to pick up her bowl and gently knock onto the one he was holding.


    Li Yuanying drank all the tea in one gulp and urge the group to continue brainstorming about how to uncover more info about these neighboring countries.


    Mei Niang picked up the tea bowl: ¡°Here¡¯s a ready-made method .¡±


    Li Yuanying saw it and instantly understood. Selling tea!


    Both the Tibetans and the Turks live on grasnds and has a diet high in protein. We should sell them tea! Not just normal selling but we must sell it well, with many different patterns and in a targeted manner.


    Li Yuanying divided the tasks to his friends: ¡°We will each take a booklet and study it. Then let¡¯s write down possible methods of selling tea. Next time we gather, we share these ideas and use the best suited ones.¡±


    ¡°Mei Niang, you can find a way to get more insights into the customs of the Turks.¡±


    Mei Niang nodded.


    After discussing the initial strategy, the group went their separate ways.


    Di Renjie and Tang Xuan walked back together headed for the same direction.


    Both sighed with emotion: ¡°I used to think that I was very smart, but today I realized that I¡¯m so much worst off than the two girls.¡± Whether it was Wu Mei or Wei Shu, they were very different from ordinary girls. Whether it was knowledge or wisdom, they far exceeded people their age. Not to mention their great dexterity and agility of the mind.


    ¡°Those acknowledged by Yuanying naturally are not ordinary.¡± (Di Renjie)


    Tang Xuan nodded in agreement. He weren¡¯t offended about having to discuss things with two girls and a servant but was secretly a little proud. This means that Yuanying acknowledges something in him, that¡¯s why he was included in the group!


    Both teenagers with big ambition hasten their pace and said their goodbyes at the fork of the road. Both were impatient to get home and start analyzing how to open up the tea market for the Turks and the Tibetan. This will be the first stage of their great n to conquer both countries.


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: Threemon cobblers will win against Zhuge Liang!


    Little Prince: I have many cobblers with me. Afraid?!

 Chapter 69

    Chapter 69


    The group¡¯s next meeting was at Sunflower garden and like usual Yuanying went around picking up all his friends. This time he also invited Chengqian and his family to join them.


    It¡¯s currently winter and constructing houses were not easy in such cold weather. However to enable the refugees to settle down as soon as possible, Yuanying spent heavily to recruit workers who are willing to continue working at the foot of the mountain. He paid generously and distributed winter clothes and food. Many were willing to work in order to survive the harsh winter. By early Spring a circle of houses by the foot of the mountain were ready.


    Both local workers and Gaochang citizen were able to move into their new houses. Originally these houses were built for students and Mei Niang was nning to recruit students after the new year from nearby townships to teach them basic education. No one remained idle throughout winter and everyone¡¯s faces was filled with satisfied and expectant smiles.


    It hadn¡¯t snowed in Chang¡¯an recently and the hilltops in the distance were gradually dyed a little green. Li Yuanying wanted to invite his friends to check out the new look of Sunflower Garden.


    It¡¯s a pity that winter has just passed and the surroundings are looking a little bare and not very interesting. Yuanying could only lead the group to where the future ¡°tree house¡± will be located. Since lodging has been settled, people can now focus on bringing the rest of his ¡°blueprint¡± to life. It won¡¯t be long before they can y in this tree-house base!


    This is the reason why Yuanying invited Chengqian. He dragged Chengqian to an open space and started gesturing: ¡°Chengqian, what do you think about building a big stove here? There are many residing in Sunflower Garden now and the numbers will only increase. We can definitely finish whatever roastedmb or beef. This stove will be heavily utilize!¡±


    Chengqian has no idea how to build a stove but he still looked towards the open space and nodded: ¡°This position should be fine.¡±


    Chengqian knows his young uncle well and initiated: ¡°I¡¯ll have someonee over and help you build the stove. If you don¡¯t have enough people for roasting I¡¯ll send a few men over.¡±


    Li Yuanying who got what he wanted was happy with his eldest nephew, who was always generous.


    Important matters takes a back burner fist as Li Yuanying led Li Xiang and the children from the garden for ytime. It was only after Li Xiang blushed bright red and couldn¡¯t y anymore that young uncle allowed the little ones to snacks and rest. He then dragged Di Renjie and the others to discuss their brainstorming results.


    Yuanying help Chengqian to get up to speed about his ns because Chengqian had many Turkic friends. Although they had long surrendered, their living habits were not very different from those living on the grasnds. This was the second reason why Chengqian was invited today.


    Of course, Yuanying didn¡¯t go off bbering about invading other countries. That would be too bold and might earn himself much criticism.


    He only talked about his original intention: which was his fear about Wencheng not being able to livefortably in Tibetan Empire and had no support system. He wanted to send traders over to the western region for exchanges and interaction and to receive news about these ces.


    ¡°Are you nning to sell tea from the south to these countries?¡± (Li Chengqian)


    ¡°Yes, I have already discussed with Lu Dongzan. It shouldn¡¯t be very hard to sell if we could crack a few selling strategies. We need more trading rtionship so that thetest news can be transferred back. Wencheng is in the Tibetan Empire and Honghua is in Tuyuhun, we need to send people to both. I think we should also send people over to Turkic, so I invited you for a discussion together.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid it wont be easy. Traders are already worried about bandits within the Tang borders, what more travelling to these faraway ces?¡±(Li Chengqian)


    ¡°So letse up with a n.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Li Zhi tried his best to express his opinion and interrupted: ¡°If themission is lucrative, there will be people willing to take the risk.¡±


    Lately a subtle trend of drinking tea has started in Chang¡¯an and the surrounding areas will surely follow. With that the South is bound to make tea nting popr. Tea is not regarded as a necessity and remains an optional beverage for most people. Surely the tea market will reach a short point of over-saturation.


    The group went home and pondered about this for a few days and all came to the same conclusion: Thousand Gold Tea needs to be marketed as a premium tea in small amount and high pricing in Chang¡¯an. The remaining yield should be channeled to other countries by opening up new tea markets. In 2 or 4 years time, new yers riding on the tea trend will enter the market causing prices of tea to go down. They can then direct these tea merchants towards the Tibetan Empire and Turkic in exchange for live-stocks and precious metals.


    Two advantages for doing this. One, their personal trading team will not arouse suspicion when they mingle among normal traders. And two, tea is taxable, generating ie for the country.


    As for how to open up the tea market, the group came up with these points: First, cultivate a group of tea masters who are willing to put in handwork of learning and spreading tea culture. Di Renjie suggested to send monks as many in Tibetan Empire believes in Buddhism. Then, you must create legends and stories around tea that are easily epted by locals. This can be easily done by Li Yuanying as Dai Ting is able to secure people who can fabricate various stories. As for the pricing and logistics of exporting tea, everyone in the group shared their opinions.


    Mei Niang remained silent this time. She and Wei Shu wrote down everyone¡¯s opinions andpiled them into a feasible tea export n.


    Chengqian initially thought that young uncle was only toying with the idea. After listening to their discussion, he realized that these children were serious.


    He had conflicting thoughts about this.


    In order to get the news from the Tibetan Empire, Li Yuanying was willing to go through the trouble to pull off such an borated n. This is probably the reason why children like ying with Yuanying. While Li Yuanying loves making a scene and creating trouble, he is more serious than anyone else in protecting those dear to him.


    This n is 100% beneficial for the country as goods can be exported and sold to foreignnds in exchange for live-stocks which is highly needed in the Central ins. No one in court will be unhappy with this idea. In addition, Yuanying has previously proposed to levy a 10% tax on tea leaves. If this is executed, there is no need to worry about an empty treasury!


    Chengqian immediately share what he knew with the group and initiated that he can introduce hiswork to the group if they really wanted to sell tea this way.


    The two sides hit it off and drew up ns on the spot.


    While they were chatting lively, Li Xiang woke up from his nap, sat up and rubbed his eyes. The Crown Princess was chatting with herdies in waiting who apanied her. Li Xiang didn¡¯t see Yao Yao and was disappointed. He held onto his little boots and walked towards the princess bare footed.


    The Crown Princess noticed her child and picked him up. She held onto his bare feet and reprimanded: ¡°Why didn¡¯t you call for someone? What if you fall sick from walking barefoot in the cold.¡±


    ¡°Look for Yaoyao!¡±


    The Crown Princess couldn¡¯t help but feel a little green-eyed. While putting on Li Xiang¡¯s shoes and socks she said: ¡°If Yao Yao is around you don¡¯t want anyone else.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    After he finished speaking, he embraced mommy with his arms and raised his little hand to pat the Crown Princess¡¯s back.


    She was pleased with her child led him to Li Yuanying and the others.


    Everyone at Sunflower Garden were alliances and no one stopped the Crown Princess when she approached the group. As soon as Li Xiang heard Yuanying¡¯s voice he let go of mother¡¯s hand and reached towards the curtains.


    At the same time, the discussion ended.


    Hearing the movement of someone pulling the door curtains, Yuanying turned to look and saw little Li Xiang running over. He immediately held out his hands towards the little boy and ask if he wants tea after waking up.


    Li Xiang looked at the green tea and remembered how Li Yuanying tricked him into licking wine. He shook his head resolutely and refused to open his mouth.


    ¡°See, you tricked himst time. Now he won¡¯t eat anything you give him anymore. (Li Chengqian)


    Yuanying tried his best to coax Li Xiang. After awhile the boy swayed and finally decided to try the drink, only half trusting Li Yuanying.


    ¡°How is it? I didn¡¯t lie to you, right? It¡¯s delicious!¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Li Xiang nodded: ¡°Delicious!¡±


    On the way back, the Crown Princess hugged Li Xiang. ¡°Xiang¡¯er really likes young uncle.¡±


    Chengqian patted Li Xiang¡¯s little head and shared how young uncle nned to keep in touch with Wencheng.


    Wencheng didn¡¯t have prior contact with Yuanying and only entered the pce for a short time but he is willing to host such a big n for her! These feelings are often mutual. When others feels that Yuanying is good to them, they naturally will be good to Yuanying too.


    ¡°But can they really pull off exporting tea?¡±


    Chengqian hadn¡¯t had the chance to answer and Li Xiang beat him to it: ¡°It can be done!¡±


    Chengqian saw his little son full of confidence and wondered: ¡°How do you know they can pull it off?¡±


    Li Xiang said in a sweet voice: ¡°You Yao said that as long as you put your heart to it, you can definitely do it! There is no absolute difficulty in the world, only those who have the heart to aplish things!¡±


    Both parents realized that their son has good memory and could articte what young uncle has taught him word for word. Maybe he will be studious when he grows up?


    ¡°Xiang¡¯er is right, as long as you want to do it, you can achieve it.¡±


    Li Xiang corrected him: ¡°That¡¯s what Yaoyao said!¡±


    I said this is what Yao Yao said. Daddy is so stupid!


    Seeing that her husband was belittled by her son, the Crown Princess couldn¡¯t keep in herughter.


    Chengqian didn¡¯t find fault while his child.


    After returning to the East Pce, Chengqian summoned Fang Yizhi and the others and instructed that they provide support to Yuanying in implementing the n which has suddenly became grand. To implement the n in full, relying on Yuanying and his team is not enough. Since Chengqian had participated in today¡¯s discussion he will contribute and not sit idly and profit from it.


    The group left and started being very busy in cooperating with Li Yuanying.


    Fang Xuanling saw that his eldest son has been busy recently and asked him what he was doing.


    Since this is a proper matter, there is nothing to hide. Fang Yizhi picked his words and shared the n with his father. Since Fang Xuanling is the prince¡¯s teacher, he was proud that the Crown Prince is working hard with Prince Teng to open up a new tea trading market. He thinks that the Crown Prince is improving day by day.


    Although the n sound a bit fanciful, but it¡¯s not impossible to achieve if you put your heart to it.


    There are not many ces in the Central ins that can be used to raise live-stocks. Let¡¯s not talk about consuming meat frequently, even to rece humanbor with animalbor is a great difficult feat. Even up till today many hardbor is done through human. If we really can exchange tea with livestock, it will be great for the country.


    Fang Xuanling encouraged Fang Yizhi to continue on and the next day he shared this matter to the Emperor.


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: A very powerful person once said that we must unite all forces that can be united!

 Chapter 70

    Chapter 70


    Li Er was in a good mood. He ns to travel to Luoyang this summer to escape the heat and will be leaving the Crown Price behind to oversee the country. After sending Princess Wencheng off, he started making preparations.


    Fang Xuanling paid a visit to the Emperor and he was quickly invited in. He gave the Emperor an update about thetest ns of the Crown Prince and Li Yuanying. Li Er¡¯s first thought was ¨C this idiot is secretly up to no good again. And this time even got the Crown Prince involved!


    ¡°Xuanling, do you think they really can pull it off¡±


    Xuanling stroked his beard: ¡°It might be difficult for others but if it¡¯s with Prince Teng, I think it¡¯s possible.¡±


    Li Yuanying is mysterious. He is born with the ability to turn bad situations into good ones. Oftentimes, Xuanling thinks that the kid is going to get himself into trouble but he not only manages to always get out of sticky situations, he even creates unexpected results out of it that others cannot fathom.


    For example, bringing the princesses to thend of wind and moon (entertainment district) which no one since ancient times had done before. Not only did Yuanying do it, he somehow managed to turn the whole episode into something rted to filial piety and the only one who got into trouble was Fang¡¯s own son!


    Hearing that Xuanling agrees with the princes¡¯ action, the Emperor was quite happy.


    He nodded : ¡°If that¡¯s the case, let them continue.¡±


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t need to do much, once the n was ready, he passed it over to Dai Ting for execution. After delegating the responsibility, Yuanying started ying with his little buddies again with ease.


    It was only when he got news that the Emperor is nning a trip to Luoyang that he remembered his secret system which has remained silent for awhile.


    Feeling odd, he asked the system: ¡°This time the Emperor is going to the newly built Xiangcheng Pce to escape the summer, why aren¡¯t you sending me a task already.¡±


    The system remained quiet for a while before sharing with Yuanying the errors of thest two years. All principles and objects it has shared with Yuanying were ording to the ¡°close space-time delivery principle¡±. The problem lies with ¡°the definition of space and time¡±. One or two thousand years is a very short period to the system but for human beings, it is a long time. This gap in space and time is earth-shaking for Tang!


    The system identally delivered seeds from the far West when it weren¡¯t even discovered yet to Tang. This is equivalent to changing the history of time and space. Therefore, the data collected in this world can no longer be used as historical reference for research. Many audiences who viewed the virtual image of Jiucheng pce even questioned it¡¯s authenticity when they saw sunflowers which shouldn¡¯t exist being nted.


    The system¡¯s machine voice sounded apologetic: ¡°Sorry, this is my miss.¡±


    Yuanying wasn¡¯t bothered by what people thought, after all, they are not people he personally knew. Heforted the system: ¡°It¡¯s fine. After all, a few decades is a short time for you. Take a rest and after I died you can find someone else to bind.¡±


    The system wanted to reply that It didn¡¯t need time off but didn¡¯t say the statement out after thinking deeper about it.


    This is the first time the system is hearing such a statement. In the past, it only had a transactional rtionship with its host. The host collects data while the system repays and meets their needs. There wasn¡¯t muchmunication between them and they did not need tomunicate much. Getting along like this is unfamiliar. Seems like it may really need to rest. No more collecting data or sending tasks, just quietly watch these groups of children grow.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    The system gave an answer without referring to its database analytics for the first time.


    Yuanying felt that it¡¯s a pity that he wouldn¡¯t be any quest reward this time but he still wanted to visit Luoyang and Xiangcheng Pce.


    Now that the brothers have a much better rtionship, he didn¡¯t need to take advantage of the other children to get a favor from the Emperor.


    ¡°Lord Brother, are you going to Luoyang?¡±


    Li Er gave him a nce but ignored him.


    Li Yuanying sat down beside him and didn¡¯t leave. He started ying best helper by pouring tea, preparing ink and being busy by going back and forth. So busy that Li Er finally put down his pen to look at him.


    ¡°Lord brother, can you bring me with you when you visit Luoyang? I¡¯ve never been there and I want to see it.¡±


    Li Er said lightly: ¡°Aren¡¯t you very busy? Are you free to go?¡±


    Hearing this, Yuanying instantly knew that his older brother knows what he¡¯s been up to and looked rather unhappy. He hurriedly picked out some important points about his ¡°tea trading n¡± and updated the Emperor by whispering in his ears.


    ¡°Brother, we have a n that even Chengqian doesn¡¯t know of. If you bring me along to Luoyang, I¡¯ll tell you!¡±


    Li Er had already heard most of it from Fang Xuanling and had a general idea of the whole thing.


    Hearing this, he leaned on the table and used his hands to push away Li Yuanying who was approaching, and happily agreed: ¡°Deal. I¡¯ll bring you along. Tell me.¡±


    Yuanying told Li Er about how he wanted to conquer the Tibetans and the Turks under Tang. The boy had his own ideas: ¡°If both countries be a part of Tang, Lord brother will definitely allow all new citizens to live the same good life as the current people. This way talented people can be put to good use! Then Tang can go further West together and further North. Then, we can take a good look at the wider world.¡±


    This is the first time Li Er is hearing someone speak of the horrible act of war in such a high-sounding manner.


    However, the n sounded pretty good.


    Conquering and plundering other regions have never been a goal of the Tang. What he wanted was for the 4 seas to be treated as one. This means that Tang citizens are free to visit the world and be connected to it. As long as someone is willing to live under Tang¡¯s terms they will be epted with open arms and treated equally.


    But this is close to impossible.


    Li Er said helplessly: ¡°How many years will it take to do what you just said?¡±


    ¡°Even if you can¡¯t aplish it in your lifetime, you still need to start. Chengqian already has a son. Let¡¯s teach Xiang¡¯er early so that when we are no longer able, he can continue! I¡¯ll also have children in the future, I¡¯ll make sure to drive them all out to work hard. Anyway, every little progress counts, you can¡¯t just give up because the task is difficult!¡±


    ¡°It seems that you have arranged solid ns for your sons.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Whatever they are capable of, I¡¯ll support them.¡±


    Li Er thought of his own sons. A few of them have reached the age where they should be independent.


    ¡°I have noted down what you just said. Don¡¯te crying to me when you are reluctant to let them go.¡±


    Yuanying pounded his small chest that were not very firm and said: ¡°I will not. If you see anyone up to standard just pick them!¡±


    Li Er was amused by him and scolded him whileughing: ¡°You don¡¯t even have a wife, why are you acting so generous.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll eventually get married and have sons. BUT daughters are off-limits. You can¡¯t take advantage of my daughter and make her marry someone! Otherwise, I¡¯ll make a big ship and set sail with my princess and daughter!¡±


    Li Er told him to get out. It¡¯s annoying having this younger brother dawdling in front of his eyes.


    Yuanying sessfully got what he wanted and naturally didn¡¯t want to stay. He quickly left for ytime.


    Regarding a monk, since both the Emperor nor the Crown Prince didn¡¯t believe in Buddhism very much, Li Yuanying asked Dai Ting to inquire around and found the perfect candidate: Ouyang Xun.


    Ouyang Xun has a good hand at writing. Li Yuanying remembers sister Shu copying his handwriting and he has also personally seen his work. Ouyang Xun was already 80 years old. Influenced by his adoptive father Jiang Zhong, he believes in Buddhism and wrote religious works like <<Heart Sutra>> and so on. Due to his long life, he has many connections with other Buddhist monks in Chang¡¯an.


    Yuanying didn¡¯t have much prior contact with Ouyang Xun but for the sake of his n, paid a visit to Ouyang Xun¡¯s mansion with the best Thousand Gold tea in hand.


    The house was at a good location. Go straight out of ZhuQue gate and walk towards Tonghua Square then make a turning to reach it.


    Yuanying followed protocol and ask for someone to deliver his letter in.


    Although Ouyang Xun has no idea why Prince Teng is paying him a visit but he has an open mind after living for 80 years. He graciously invited the boy in, not expecting him to have bad intentions.


    Yuanying entered the house and realized that while it is not big, it was peaceful and elegant. Going a little further, the boy saw a thin old man writing in a room that was filled with light and pleasant aroma of ink.


    It¡¯s obviously Ouyang Xun.


    Yuanying had not much patience to begin with and started running towards the old man.


    Ouyang Xun did not stop writing.


    Yuanying paused, walked over lightly, and sat at his side, watching Ouyang Xun move his pen steadily.


    Ouyang Xun had always been thin in stature and as he aged has grown worryingly thinner. His hands looked like dead bamboo branches with no traces of blood. What¡¯s left are traces of strength and aging umted through the years.


    This hand looks like it has been holding the pen all year round.


    Yuanying sat obediently, his eyes secretly looking at what the man was copying.


    The <<Heart Sutra>>.


    Ouyang Xun finished the entire scripture before putting down his pen to look at the boy.


    ¡°Why is Your Highness here?¡±


    ¡°I came to ask for your help.¡±


    ¡°I would like to hear the details.¡±


    Yuanying personally brewed a bowl of tea for Ouyang Xun and himself and poured two bowls.


    ¡°This is tea from the south, would you like to try it?¡±


    Ouyang Xun also heard that this tea was snapped up instantly despite its high price and was curious about the taste of this tea with its faint fragrance and took a sip. The tea is the best grade and the water used to brew it is also the best water. Slight bitterness followed by a sweet aftertaste, a rather special drink.


    Yuanying took this opportunity to exin the benefits of tea. He finally brought up the main topic after that.


    ¡°Wencheng married to a farawaynd and I miss her. The Tibetan Empire is not like Chang¡¯an where products are in abundance. Tea cannot be grown in such a ce. She loves drinking tea while living here in Chang¡¯an and I¡¯m worried that she won¡¯t be able to taste it in her new home. Therefore, I want to send fresh tea every year to the city of Lhasa where they live. But the city is far away and who would be willing to travel the distance there?¡±


    ¡°I am but an old man. How can I help your Highness?¡±


    The boy quickly share of his ns to request for the help of monks to travel to Tibetan Empire to share about religion and to spread the custom of drinking tea.


    This tea is bitter first then sweet in aftertaste, very simr to the teachings of Zen Buddhism. Although Tibetan Empire also practices Buddhism but the teachings are mixed and the true scriptures are not passed on properly. Traveling thousands of miles to spread Buddhism is exactly the ascetic practice that monks shouldplete. Ouyang Xun thought about it for a while and agreed with the boy¡¯s request.


    Li Yuanying was overjoyed. He returned home and ask his men look identify stories about Buddhism that sounded convincing and reasonable forter use.


    This type of storytelling is not unfamiliar to monks in Tang and ismonly known as yman narration¡±. This is when the teachings of Buddhist scriptures are shared through popr stories so that themon people can easily rte to them. Whichever temple has the best stories often gets the most donation! Of course, sincere real monks do not care about donations but are more eager for people to understand and appreciate the meaning of these scriptures.


    Li Yuanying met with high ranking monks in Chang¡¯an under the help of Ouyang Xun along with all his pre-nned stories.


    This is the moment Yuanying¡¯s talent for eloquent storytellinges in handy. He quickly shared his legendary stories after much brainstorming and filtering. Through his spectacr storytelling skills, the origin story of tea became mysterious and beautiful.


    The sharing about how Princess Wencheng brought along an imperial Buddha statue to forge good rtions between the two countries made the monks burst into tears saying that this burdenshould not be ced solely on the shoulders of a weak youngdy. They should all go forth and contribute!


    Ouyang Xun¡¯s connections had high-spirited believers who were ever eager to contribute. Hearing the stories, monks from temples around Chang¡¯an were all inspired to take up this mission.


    While the tea trading business has not begun, a trend of eagerness to share the benefits of tea has started among Buddhist believers. Everyone wanted to taste this special drink that is bitter then sweet that the monks are talking about.


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: Master!


    Monks: ?


    Little Prince: Help me sell tea!

 Chapter 71

    Chapter 71


    On the day that the imperial entourage travelled to Luoyang, Yuanying brought along letters and was preparing to meet monks in Luoyang for a small lecture on topics rted to ¡°Tea and Zen¡±.


    When Li Er saw Yuanying running into temples all day long, he was getting worried that this younger brother now wanted to be monk. But after seeing this same brother nibbling away on a piece of meat knuckle, he put aside his worries instantly. When Li Er heard that all Thousand Gold Tea were being snapped up by Buddhist believers, he didn¡¯t know what to say or how to react.


    Looks like the kid¡¯s love for stories had some use after all as he is able to tell such engaging ones that people were left stunned momentarily! Whether the tea trading business will be expanded to the Tibetan Empire still remains unclear but within Chang¡¯an there is now a new trend of drinking tea. The connections that is built from Buddhist believers are unimaginably huge. People like Ouyang Xun has disciples, old friends and a hugework of rtionships. Once they start serving guests tea, they will bring about a trend of tea drinking like how the Emperor did when he gave it away as pce giftst year.


    Fang Xuanling rode behind the Emperor and sighed: ¡°Prince Teng¡¯s ability is really amazing.¡± Not only did he sell tea through a medical center but Doctor Sun is willing to endorse it and serve it to patients and students alike. Now that he¡¯s done messing with the clinic, he is setting his eyes on temples. Capable!


    ¡°He just moves his sly brain fast.¡± (Li Er)


    ¡®If my son has such a crooked mind, I would be very happy.¡± (Zhangsun Wuji)


    Everyone agreed.


    Li Erughed and was feeling proud.


    ¡°You are merely talking lightly about it. If he really is your son, you would definitely want to hit him every day. Besides, if the kid heard all this he will say that you are taking advantage of him!¡± (Li Er)


    Fang Xuanling¡¯s face twitched at the thought of Li Yuanying calling them old man and instantly envied Wei Zheng for having a good granddaughter. With this granddaughter, Yuanying usually shows Wei Zheng some respect!


    Li Yuanying wasn¡¯t aware that the people outside were talking about him. He satfortably in the carriage telling stories to the Sizi and the other children.


    Since talking to the system thest time, he was made aware that people have been asking for refunds due to the inuracy in his library. Yuanying waved his hands to gesture that they will refund everyone who wanted one without hesitation.


    Li Yuanying¡¯s quick response and the system¡¯s apology made many more be fans. The attention towards Li Yuanying¡¯s personal library continued to rise and the masses expressed that his style was unique within the Myriad Realm Library.


    Nowadays if someone criticize them for sharing ¡°fake¡± information, fans will defend by saying that a refund and an apology has already been made so whoever who doesn¡¯t wish to view can get lost. There is no need to target a ten year old boy and his silly nanny-like system.


    Silly nanny- like system: ¡°¡­¡±


    In the past this was an excellent system that has won 10 consecutive rounds in the Ten Thousand Worlds Library Contribution List!


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t care much. After confirming that the children were all going to Luoyang together, he excitedly asked the system to help design a new carriage. . Li Yuanying didn¡¯t care much about carriages before but since Sizi is not in good health, he wanted the girls to travelfortably.


    Li Yuanying requested for the best craftsmen from his brother and remodeled several carriages with the help of the system . The new carriage had sophisticated structure, runs smoothly, and is less prone to wear and tear. Although it is simr in size to the original carriage, the interior is much more spacious almost like a small house inside where everything can be easily found within.


    Li Yuanying was satisfied with the improvements and gave the system great praises. Since the system stopped sending him quests, they are much more willing in helping him design things. Last time, the stockade vige in Sunflower Garden was something he look forward to!


    Yuanying being happy, took the new carriage to show Li Er.


    As a result, the Emperor instructed that all carriages used for this trip be remodel simrly.


    The group stopped for a short rest at the foot of Li Mountain and Li Er took his people for a dip in the hot spring nearby.


    Remembering Li Yuanying¡¯s bad behavior of telling ghost stories thest time, Li Er ordered his younger brother to take a dip with him.


    Li Yuanying had no objection and rushed to sit in the hot spring with his bare bottom.


    ¡°Lord Brother, do you want to hear a story?¡±


    Li Er is determined not to give him a chance to be a demon: ¡°Shut up.¡±


    Yuanying swam to Li Er¡¯s side and said unhappily: ¡°What¡¯s the point of soaking if I can¡¯t speak? Thest time I told the boys stories. It¡¯s boring spending time with you. I can¡¯t even say A word?! There¡¯s an old saying that goes: ¡®To stop a person from speaking is more dangerous than blocking a river from flowing. If the river copses many things will be destroyed, same goes with people.¡¯ Therefore, water needs to flow and when people want to talk you should let them; or else the consequences will be worst that a burst riverbank!


    Li Er¡¯s forehead throbbed with blue veins.


    He said to shut up but this kid is not done yet right?


    Zhangsun Wuji was delighted when he heard the conversation and added on: ¡°His Majesty has not been sleeping well recently, let¡¯s not tell him ghost stories.¡±


    Yuanying immediately asked with concern: ¡°Brother, why are you not sleeping well? Should we call Doctor Sun to check on you?¡± Sun Simiao hasn¡¯t left town in a long time and his bones are stiff from the boredom from staying put in Chang¡¯an. He naturally joined the entourage to Luoyang.


    ¡°The weather is hot and humid, I¡¯ll feel better after a soak.¡±


    Yuanying observed his brother carefully and concluded that he looks find with no apparent signs of illness, so he felt relieved. Doctor Sun has shared before that a person¡¯s mood greatly affects the body. If you maintain good mood, you¡¯re less likely to fall ill.


    Since Li Er has no major sickness, Li Yuanying went back to his yful self again. Since he¡¯s not allowed to tell ghost stories, let¡¯s pick on the ministers present.


    ¡°I find that the people in this pool are quite symmetrical.¡±


    Li Er gave him a sideways nce. ¡°What is this symmetry stuff?¡±


    Yuanying pointed to Wei Zheng and Zhangsun Wuji: ¡°Skinny versus fat!¡±


    Wei Zheng: ¡°¡­¡±


    Zhangsun Wuji said cheerfully: ¡°Yes, Old Wei is a little too skinny.¡± As for being called fat by a child, Zhangsun didn¡¯t mind it at all.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! In my opinion, the only person thinner than him is old schr Ouyang.¡± After speaking, he pointed to Yuchigong and Kong Yingda: ¡°ck versus white!¡±


    Kong Yingda pulled off a strand of his beard.


    Yuchi smiled respectfully and didn¡¯t care that he was called dark skinned. People in the army should have darkerplexion so that they look more intimidating!


    Li Yuanying gave hisment about everyone and in the end it was only the Emperor and himself left.


    ¡°Big versus small!¡±


    Li Er nodded, indicating that it was quite reasonable.


    Yuanying thought for a while and then changed his mind.


    ¡°No, it should be an old sly fox and honest child!¡± He is young, small, and honest. He¡¯s definitely a honest child! As for his royal brother, no matter how you look at it, he is cunning in and out!


    The crowd went silent.


    Then, they saw Li Yuanying, the honest boy, running bare buttocks before the Emperor could hit him. After a while he was nowhere to be seen.


    Zhangsun Wuji and the others couldn¡¯t helpughing and persuaded: ¡°Your Majesty, calm down.¡±


    What can His Majesty Li Er do other than to calm down his anger? He can¡¯t be shameless like his brother and run around without pants on.


    That night, Li Er soon fell asleep after his soak. But suddenly he hears sound of arrows flying in the sky . He sat up abruptly and there were already noisy footsteps outside.


    Li Er got dressed while his servants when to find out what was happening. After a while, a guard reported that two soldiers apanying them found the journey hard and no longer wish to escort the group to Luoyang and so they deliberately shot arrows to cause disturbance.


    Hearing such an ironic reason, Li Er had a gloomy expression on.


    The guards are all carefully selected and their background ys the most important check. Them shooting arrows overints that the journey is hard seems ridiculous. The pce is heavily guarded, do they really think they will not be discovered? The Emperor instructed that the soldiers be taken for questioning and that security be strengthen.


    At this time, Yuanying was sitting under amp and helping Sun Simiao to proofread their medical book <<Thousand Gold Prescription>>. This book is much better than the current medical books circting outside. Yuanying was a little fascinated by it, and from time to time would ask the system things he didn¡¯t quite understand. Under the guidance of the system, Li Yuanying actually found areas that needed improvements. He took notes and was prepared to discuss them with Sun Simiao tomorrow.


    Hearing footsteps, Dai Ting standing outside, stood up vigntly. On his journey to Gaochang, he developed a habit of being alert like a soldier and he notices almost every movement.


    Dai Ting went outside to check what was happening.


    Being informed of the Emperor¡¯s instruction, he reported it to Li Yuanying truthfully.


    Yuanying put down his book and listened. He inexplicably thought that the same thing had happened in Jiucheng Pcest time. Every time hees to the same conclusion that being the Emperor is really not easy. At such a time, Yuanying wouldn¡¯t causing trouble. He put away his book and waited for Dai Ting to help him prepare for bedtime.


    Early morning next day, Yuanying got ready early and ran to Li Er for breakfast. The other children also came along. The group of little radishes didn¡¯t notice themotion the night before and slept soundly.


    Li Er clearly didn¡¯t sleep well and had dark circles under his eyes. When the group continue on their journey after dinner, Li Er didn¡¯t ride a horse but instead hop onto a spacious and improved carriage. Yuanying didn¡¯t join the children right away, but instead went to Li Er to find out more aboutst night.


    Li Er didn¡¯t shoo Li Yuanying away. The journey was long and boring. It¡¯s good to have someone to relieve his boredom. Hearing Yuanying ask aboutst night, Li Er nced at him.


    ¡°You are quite alert.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not me. I was reading when Dai Ting who was outside realized themotion.¡±


    Speaking of Dai Ting, Yuanying naturally had to boast about his achievements, saying that Dai Ting is more amazing than the general in an army.


    Li Er was open-minded and told him everything that happenedst night.


    Li Yuanying was shocked when he heard the bizarre reason. Because you don¡¯t want to travel to Luoyang you do something that is equivalent to treason?


    ¡°These two are crazy, they dare to think about things more ridiculous than me!¡±


    It¡¯s a first for Li Er to hear someoneparing themselves to traitors.


    He said lightly: ¡°Really? I see that you are quite bold in your thinking.¡±


    Li Yuanying firmly denied: ¡°No, the worst I have thought about was secretly burning down the library when my teachers forces me to read. At that time, I even found a firestarter but unfortunately before I could learn how to use it, mother discovered my antics. She didn¡¯t scold me but just sat there wiping her tears.. After that I didn¡¯t dare think about it anymore.¡±


    Li Er never expected that his collection of books would encounter such crisis and said lightly: ¡°Then I have to reward your mother on behalf of all the schrs in the world.¡±


    Yuanying realized that he had identally exposed his wrongdoings. He quickly held Li Er¡¯s hands and begged: ¡°No, you didn¡¯t hear me! If you bring this up, mother will cry again!¡±


    Li Er looked at him meaningfully: ¡°It¡¯ll depend on your performance.¡±


    Soon, everyone discovered that Prince Teng had be the best brother overnight. He followed Li Er around everyday and if there was good food, he would offer it to his Majesty first. If there was good wine and tea, he would give it to the Emperor first. The two brothers looked to be on very respectful terms.


    Everyone secretly wondered: Why did this little devil king suddenly change his personality?


    Notes from the author:


    Wei Zheng: ttery. Shameless person!


    Kong Yingda: ttery, shameless!


    Zhangsun Wuji: A ttering, shameless person!


    Little Prince: You may not believe me when I say this, but I have no choice!

 Chapter 72

    Chapter 72


    Yuanying regretted his actions. Curiosity really do kill a person. Why did he share his thoughts when his brother was in a bad mood? Great! Now that he has personally gave himself away, he will have to live within his brother¡¯s mercy.


    Although getting recognized and rewarded is a good thing, but this reason is going to scare his mom to death. Also, he is now far away from his mom. If the Emperor send people to award his mom, she¡¯ll probably be scared to death and will never sleep well again!


    Yuanying rebuke the Emperor again and again in his heart, yet he still had to show up at his brother¡¯s side like a good boy. Even Li Zhi was a little puzzled and quietly pulled him aside.


    ¡°Why are you being so attentive to father these days?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean attentive? As the younger brother, of course I need to to think about the Emperor¡¯s welfare.¡± Yuanying became more and more defensive and even chastened Li Zhi. ¡°Inparison, you as his son is pretty useless. Did you know that there was an assassination attempt on the Emperor the night we were resting at the Li Mountain Pce?¡±


    Li Zhi was exhausted that day and had fallen asleep without noticing anything. He was taken aback.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    Yuanying said earnestly: ¡°Of course, why should I lie? You really are pretty careless and don¡¯t think much about anything. Your father seems to be in a bad mood and I¡¯m trying to make him happy! Since we can¡¯t help must in important matters, why not do little things to make the Emperor happy?¡±


    Li Zhi actually believed Yuanying. He even went to the Emperor for confirmation and was remorseful that he¡¯s not a good son like young uncle who is a good younger brother. His ashamed for he is not filial enough.


    Li Er instantly knew that this son of his was badly fooled by Li Yuanying.


    But the Emperor still didn¡¯t expose Yuanying¡¯s lies but nodded his head saying that everything was true and Li Zhi was right to reflect and should learn from young uncle.


    As a result, one more attentive person appeared next to the Emperor. Soon, thanks to Li Yuanying the whole group of little radishes rush to apany Li Er; making the whole scene lively.


    When they arrived at Xiangcheng Pce, the courtiers who apanied the group congratted the Emperor.


    ¡°His Majesty has a good younger brother and a group of good children. If the royal children behaves like this, why are the children ofmon people so unfilial and disrespectful!¡±


    Li Er was pleased.


    Yuanying was also relieved. At first, he was exhausted to death but fortunately he managed to tactfully dragged Li Zhi and the others to surround the Emperor. This helped to annoy the Emperor rather quickly and he shoos them away every day!


    Xiangcheng Pce¡¯s construction was supervised by Yan Lide under the Emperor¡¯s instruction. Yan Lide is not very well-known but is a formidable architectural designer who draws good blueprints and haspleted lots of renovation within Chang¡¯an City.


    Yan Lide also has a famous younger brother named Yan Liben who was good at painting. The Emperor oftenmission him to paint down important events. An example is when Lu Dongzan came on behalf to request for Wencheng¡¯s hand in marriage. All these were recorded down by Yan Liben with a paintbrush.


    This time the owner of Xiangcheng Pce, the Emperor is visiting and so both brothers naturally came with him. The first intention was to see if His Majesty is satisfied with the pce¡¯s construction and also to see if any asions needed to be recorded (painted) down.


    Yuanying had no chance to get to know the Yan brothers. He had to y the role of a good brother along the journey and once arriving he was finally liberated. He then took the children to y wildly in Xiangcheng Pce.


    Although not many were expecting him to collect graphic materials into the Myriad Realm Library, Li Yuanying still went around scanning the pce as reference for the system. If he wants to build something in the future, he needs the system to help with drawings. After all, the system is always idle; it should study and work more for a capable person should work harder!


    Yuanying yed with the little radishes for a whole day and roughly figured out Xiangcheng Pce. The system analyzed it and concluded that this pce is not suitable for escaping summer for it is even hotter than Taiji Pce. The chosen location is also not good. Surrounded by mountains and forests, it¡¯s built to guard against wild animals but not snakes and insects.


    This ce is not suitable even formoners, what more as a summer pce.


    Yuanying didn¡¯t quite believe the system¡¯s evaluation result. ¡°The Emperor spent a fortune engaging Yan to built it. If it¡¯s that bad, shouldn¡¯t the Ministry of Household berate Yan to death?!¡±


    The system re-measured the livability index silently and concluded the same results: Not suitable for summer escape and will trigger the chronic illness of Li Er.


    Probably affected by the system¡¯s opinions but Yuanying found the room hot and stuffy at night making it ufortable to sleep. The next morning, he woke up early to find Li Zhi but was met with panda eyes.


    ¡°Did you not sleepst night?¡±


    Li Zhi nodded sullenly. ¡°I think it¡¯s hotter than our pce, notfortable at all.¡±


    Li Yuanying¡¯s sixth sense is telling him that Yan Lide will suffer soon.


    Before Li Yuanying could visit the Yan brothers to discuss anything, an ident has already happened among the concubines apanying Li Er. A little pce maid was bitten by a poisonous snake that sneaked into her master¡¯s room! Although it was just a pce maid who was bitten, she is a living person and should be treated. The concubine was frightened and sheined to the Emperor to get an imperial doctor and to change her living residence.


    Hearing that there were poisonous snakes in the pce, the apanying females were all quite frightened. The royal children also looked for young uncle asking worriedly what to do if a snake entered their room.


    Li Yuanyingforted them.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, let¡¯s visit Doctor Sun to ask for some snake repelling powder. Sprinkle a circle around the room and they wouldn¡¯t dare to enter!¡±


    The children had not heard of such powder before but they fully trusted young uncle and decided to look for Doctor Sun.


    Sun Simiao had also heard about the snake incident. However he wasn¡¯t an official member of the imperial doctors and was not involved in giving medical aid. He wasn¡¯t very sure about the whole experience.


    ¡°There are ways to drive away snakes but it¡¯s not a long term solution. It won¡¯t be easy to clean up the whole pce. If you¡¯re worried about insects or snakes approaching then carry a sachet of herbs mixture.¡±


    Yuanying then led Sizi and the others to scout for the medicinal herbs rmended by Sun Simiao.


    Chengyang contributed by sharing her stash of small purses sewed by her maid. Everyone worked together to pack the herb sachet and tied it around their waist.


    After working hard, Si Zi picked out a nice sachet and wanted to give to father. She was afraid of encountering snakes so she pulled Yuanying along.


    After finally being liberated, Li Yuanying was not very happy about visiting the Emperor but he didn¡¯t want to disappoint Si Zi so he tagged along.


    Li Er was in a bad mood.


    After the snake incident, Li Er ordered the guards to carry out aprehensive search for snakes so that no more poisonous ones will slip into the pce. The man came back with bad news. They guessed that Xiangcheng Pce was built in a snake¡¯s nest and will be impossible to prevent poisonous creatures from infesting the pce. More importantly, it was no use cleaning up the pce for snakes will enter from the surrounding areas.


    Li Er was furious and summoned Yan Lide.


    This trip to Luoyang was filled with challenges since the beginning. The Emperor thought that he could finally get rest after arriving here but such a thing had happened. It¡¯s stuffy, hot and full of snakes. Is this really a ce for humans?


    Before Yan Lide arrived, Yuanying led Sizi, Chengyang and the others over. He observed his brother from afar and concluded that the Emperor is obviously still in a bad mood. He wisely stayed back and let go of Sizi¡¯s hand so that she could deliver the herb sachet.


    Si Zi is now more articte with words and she quickly ran up and tied a sachet on father.


    ¡°This is Doctor Sun¡¯s concoction to repeal snakes. Young uncle took us to meet doctor for this. Father, you must wear this well and not let it fall off !¡±


    Speaking of snakes, Sizi is worried. Although she hasn¡¯t seen them with her own eyes, she kept imagining that these slippery things would get into her room, onto her bed and instantly felt very afraid!


    She was still worried: ¡°This pce is so big, how are we going to stop them if they climb walls or drill through holes?¡±


    Whatever facts the children could understand, His Majesty knows too. Li Erforted Sizi and hinted to Li Yuanying who was hiding and pretending to not exist to bring her out to y. Li Er then channeled is anger at Yan Lide and dismissed all his titles.


    Xiangcheng Pce is unlivable. Li Er directed the group to Luoyang City to temporarily live in Luoyang Pce that had recently been restored.


    After all the tossing, His Majesty fell ill.


    Although Yan Lide was dismissed from office, he still apanied the Emperor to Luoyang Pce. Hearing that His Majesty was ill, Yan Lide was anxious and desperately seek updates from the imperial physician. Losing his title and being dismissed is no big deal, but if anything were to happen to the Emperor, he would be a sinner for ages!

 Chapter 73

    Chapter 73


    No one dared to divulge news about the royal family. Even though Yan Liben was still hanging around the royals he couldn¡¯t get information about anything. All he could do wasfort his brother to stay calm.


    ¡°His Majesty has visited the North and fought in the South. His body is strong and will be fine. Let¡¯s just wait calmly for news.¡±


    But how can Yan Lide feel at ease? Last summer, the Emperor ordered him to visit Luoyang to supervise the construction of Xiangcheng Pce. When he arrived it was already autumn. The autumn air was crisp and the nts were in yellow hues. There were no mosquitoes, snakes or ants. Therefore, he concluded that the weather and location was great. How would he know that it changes so drastically in spring and summer? It¡¯s useless to say anything now. This is an issue he has created and will have to endure its full repercussion.


    Yan Lide sighed and silently prayed for His Majesty¡¯s health.


    Yan Liben also concluded that things are bad. Why did a summer escape turned into such a mess? It would be better to just stay in Chang¡¯an.


    The brothers were feeling helpless and Li Yuanying was no better. Initially, they weren¡¯t informed about the Emperor¡¯s illness. When news spread and they found out, they weren¡¯t allowed to visit him and could only wander around anxiously outside.


    Yuanying waited for a full day and saw physicians walking in and out of the room but no one dare to reveal anything. He grew impatient and dragged Li Zhi to a window intending to get Li Zhi to climb in to see what is happening to the Emperor.


    Li Zhi shook his head hastily. He¡¯s not going to mess around. If father doesn¡¯t want let them in, how dare they climb in through the window? Plus the guards are vignt and not blind, it¡¯s impossible to sneak in through a window unnoticed!


    ¡°If you¡¯re not climbing, I¡¯ll do it. Just look around and alert me when someone passes by.¡±


    Li Zhi was helpless at young uncle¡¯s request and stood around watching him mbered up the window. When the guards were not paying attention, he jumped into the Emperor¡¯s bedroom. It¡¯s likely because the two boys have been hanging around the whole day that no one paid them much attention. Li Yuanying managed to infiltrate smoothly!


    He slipped in and waved to Li Zhi, gesturing for him to join him.


    Li Zhi looked around and then towards young uncle who was inside the room. He then gritted his teeth and climbed in.


    The Emperor¡¯s residence wasrge and somewhat empty. The people serving him were all trembling in fear of making any mistakes. After sneaking in, Yuanying walked around calmly with his chest upright. He had a serious appearance that hinted that he had permission to be here. Naturally no one dared to stop them.


    Li Zhi unconsciously copied Li Yuanying¡¯s action. They are here to see father. What the issue?! Nothing! They should be visiting his ill father!


    The two reached Li Er¡¯s bed chamber and startled the people guarding the Emperor. Thinking deeper, Li Zhi is the Emperor¡¯s biological son and Li Yuanying his favorite younger brother. It¡¯s not weird that they are allowed in. The guards stepped back so that they boys could take a closer look at the Emperor.


    Li Zhi can¡¯t believe that they actually snuck in.


    But what¡¯s more important is father¡¯s condition. Although Li Zhi doesn¡¯t have medical knowledge, he could tell that the Emperor looks haggard and was obviously very sick.


    Li Zhi quickly looked towards young uncle.


    Yuanying was already kneeling down and took the emperor¡¯s hand from under the quilt. The Emperor has never allowed his younger brother to check his pulse and from this action alone Yuanying could already guess that he was not in good health. Seeing the Emperor¡¯s veins, Yuanying hesitated before putting three fingers on it.


    But he couldn¡¯t calm down and his fingers were trembling.


    Sun Simiao had once said that ¡°a person might have healing skills but cannot heal themself.¡± He also said that when ites to people close to you, making mistakes are not umon. The young boy brushed off those statements in the past but now he understood them.


    Just when Li Yuanying was in a mess, the system¡¯s voice suddenly rang: ¡°Do you need testing help?¡±


    Li Yuanying was overjoyed. Can this be done?


    ¡°Turn on medical channel and upload the specimen¡¯s body condition. Then you¡¯ll get a corresponding health report and rmended treatment n.¡±


    The system then added: ¡°This requires arge number of points. Looking at your current points, you will be left with only a thousand points.¡±


    All functions within the Library were obtained through points exchange. Based on experience, 1,000 points will probably give you a carriage blueprint. If I wanted to build anothermunity like sunflower garden, I¡¯ll probably need to start umting points from ground up again. However, my audiences have already question my channel¡¯s credibility. It may no longer be easy to obtain lots of points!


    After listening to the system¡¯s exnation, Yuanying chose the medical channel without hesitation.


    He then scanned and uploaded his brother¡¯s condition ording to the system¡¯s instructions.


    Soon, His Majesty¡¯s health report appeared in front of Li Yuanying in full.


    After reading it, Yuanying calmed down. Older brother was only in his forties but was seriously burnt out. No only does he not have good rest, he often think too much. Both mental and physical health are in bad shape.


    The 3D image disyed even marked the time and causes of each injury which looked shocking.


    The young boy sat on his knees before copsing into tears.


    Li Zhi wasn¡¯t aware that young uncle wasmunicating with his secret system. He could only see him weeping after checking father¡¯s pulse. He immediately became anxious.


    ¡°Young uncle, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Li Er also noticed the movements around him.


    He opened his eyes and saw a crying Li Yuanying and an anxious looking Li Zhi.


    Li Er was still weak but he sat up with great difficulty and scolded with a straight face: ¡°Who let you in?!¡±


    The people serving all fell to the ground in panic to plead guilty.


    Li Zhi was pleasantly surprised that His Majesty has woken up. Meeting father¡¯s angry eyes, he exined: ¡°We, we, we climbed in through the window. Father, we are worried!¡±


    The Emperor coughed twice and turned his head to look at Li Yuanying who was wiping away tears. Even an idiot would know that Li Yuanying instigated that they sneak in through the windows. This b*stard has been trying to check his pulse since forever and now he has seeded!


    His Majesty slowed down his tone: ¡°Okay, just go home. I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ll just need to rest for a day or two.¡±


    Li Zhi pulled young uncle but he refused to leave.


    ¡°No. I want to see the medicine the imperial doctor gave.¡±


    He didn¡¯t care that the floor was dirty and sat his buttocks firmly down stubbornly.


    ¡°I won¡¯t leave.¡±


    Li Er was really tempted to stand up and kick him.


    But he was still sick and didn¡¯t have energy left. He ordered that Li Zhi leave, leaving Li Yuanying who was sulking at his side.


    Only the two brothers were left in the room.


    Yuanying then turned his head to look at Li Er who was lying down.


    Li Er had his eyes half closed and didn¡¯t bother about his younger sibling.


    ¡°Brother, why don¡¯t you step down from being Emperor?¡±


    If he weren¡¯t the Emperor, Li Er wouldn¡¯t have to work so hard and fall sick due to frustration over this or that.


    Li Er kept his eyes closed and said tly: ¡°That statement. If it was by someone else, their head would have rolled.¡±


    ¡°I know Brother won¡¯t be angry with me, that¡¯s why I said it.¡± After further thinking, there¡¯s still some risk so Yuanying quickly tried to tter the Emperor. ¡°Brother, you have a big heart!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, you would have been dragged out and have your head chopped off long ago. No chance for you to create trouble everyday.¡±


    Li Yuanying felt his neck go cold. But since he has already said something, he doesn¡¯t want to hold it back. The boy continued to express his opinion tenaciously: ¡°There is nothing good about being the Emperor. You are so busy, sleep sote and wake up so early. Everyone with something toin aboutes to you. Floods, droughts, mystical dragons are all your responsibility. I¡¯m exhausted just thinking about it.¡±


    The Emperor stayed silent.


    ¡°My eldest, third and fourth nephew all wants to be the Emperor. Just pick one and let them do it. I think my eldest nephew is quite a good candidate and the grand-nephew is smart and cute. They are all capable. If you don¡¯t like the eldest then choose the third or the fourth. You have so many sons, just pick whichever you like.¡±


    Li Er opened his eyes and stared.


    Li Yuanying looked back at him with eyes full of hope.


    This was the best solution he cane up with.


    ¡°Chengqian and my other sons are all great. They are my pride.¡± He continued firmly: ¡°But I am only forty-three and in my prime. I still have lots to aplished. I cannot live like our father who only seek and indulges in wine and pleasure.¡±


    Li Yuanying wanted to cry again.¡±I don¡¯t understand,¡± he whimpered.


    ¡°You will understand, you are smarter than Chengqian and the others.¡±


    Li Yuanying calmed down.


    He actually understood it well.


    Not everyone wants to have fun like him. People like Li Er, Wei Zheng and Fang Xuanling are all different from him.


    They have big ambitions and set their sights on the broader horizons. They want to do things their predecessors have never done and want to bring the country to a prosperous era that their predecessors couldn¡¯t.


    He just didn¡¯t want his dear brother to lose his life trying to achieve it.


    The Emperor¡¯s father and wife are both long gone. Another person lost is one less close ally for him. Even if there will be many nephews, nieces, grandnephews, grandnieces, sons, daughters, and grandchildren in the future it will be different.


    Neither brother spoke after that.


    The imperial doctors came to deliver medicine.


    This time the Emperor fell ill suddenly and shocked all the apanying doctors. Their hands were trembling as they serve the concoction.


    Yuanying has a clear understanding of his brother¡¯s situation but he has managed to calm down. He took the medicine and tasted it. The medicinal soup has definitely been tasted and certified as non poisonous. Yuanying was just afraid that the physicians would use medicinal materials that were in conflict with His Majesty¡¯s health and might aggravate his condition.


    After all, not everyone can be asprehensive as a system¡¯s scan.


    He didn¡¯t think it was too bitter so he pouted and thought about it carefully and was able to roughly analyze the ingredients in the bowl. After concluding that the medicine was not harmful albeit also not very useful, he personally gave the medicine to the Emperor.


    Li Er don¡¯t say anything and drank it in one gulp.


    Li Yuanying quickly slipped a candy next to Li Er¡¯s lips.


    This candy was given to him by the system together with the Emperor¡¯s health report. Apparently this candy had medicinal properties and would be good for the Emperor¡¯s health.


    There¡¯s only one piece and no way for others to try it first. So Li Yuanying could only try his best to persuade the Emperor: ¡°The medicine is bitter, brother, take this piece of candy! It¡¯s sweet and neutralizes the bitter taste in your mouth!¡±


    The Emperor nced at the hesitant expressions of his servants and then at the candy. He finally opened his mouth and ate it.


    It¡¯s just a piece of candy, it¡¯s no big deal. After bing the Emperor even food sent by his sons and daughters had to be inspected multiple rounds. Being the Emperor is indeed very tiring, let¡¯s make an exception once.


    Li Yuanying was happy.


    By evening the Emperor started to feel better. He visited his children for dinner. After that, he summoned his ministers to tell them that he was in good health so everyone should be at ease.


    Now that the Emperor has recovered, we will discuss the action points on Xiangcheng Pce and Yan Lide tomorrow morning.


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: Lord Brother, if you have anything you don¡¯t want or anyone you don¡¯t want, you can give it to me! (rubbing hands)


    His Majesty Li Er: Get out!

 Chapter 74

    Chapter 74


    Yan Lide needs to take responsibility for the chaos at Xiangcheng Pce.


    But the issue is his family background.


    Yan Lide¡¯s eldest daughter is Li Tai¡¯s concubine, so he is inws with the royal family. His other daughter was married to Tang Jian¡¯s son. Tang Jian is an important official who supported the Emperor since the beginning and had a wife who is a princess from the Yuan family from the Northern Wei Dynasty. Also, another son of his married a princess from the Li family!


    To put it simply, Yan Lide is a close rtive and hees from a prominent family.


    Remembering that Yan Lide was Li Tai¡¯s father-inw, Li Er wanted to let him off easy. But it can¡¯t be helped. If he doesn¡¯t punish him, the officials will never let this slide. Plus, he¡¯s also quite angry with Yan Lide himself.


    As for Xiangcheng Pce, it can no longer be used as a summer pce. But so much money has already been spent on this property, he¡¯ll get hell from his people if he left in idle.


    Li Er summoned the ministers for a discussion.


    Since his Majesty has just recovered, Wei Zheng gave him face and it was a rare incident where Wei didn¡¯t bash the Emperor with criticism. Wei Zheng thinks that since Xiangcheng Pce is not suitable for staying, they should tear part of it down and give the remaining areas to themon people. Just act as if this pce has never been built.


    Fang Xuanling and the others have noments. After all money has already been wasted. Let¡¯s just be thankful that this pce only started construction for half a year and its scale and cost not too much. If His Majesty is extravagant, then that would be a pain in the ass!


    The discussion on Xiangcheng Pce concluded but Li Er did not give orders immediately.


    There¡¯s still work to be done to its the field now. Even if there is spare manpower, Li Er would not ask them to dismantle the Pce immediately. If he really were to tear it down immediately, Li Er felt that he would be ridiculed everywhere he goes. Who builds something and then tears it down immediately? Is the emperor a fool?


    Yuanying is aware that the Emperor is back to working hard and talking about government affairs, so he didn¡¯t want to bother him. With his letters of rmendation in hand, he worked on organizing a Zen tea party in Luoyang.


    There are many famous temples in Luoyang and the number of monks considerable. ording to Yuanying¡¯s understanding, monks and Taoist priests are in a category of profession that is exempted from paying tax. Even so, why should we just leave them alone to chant scriptures in thefort of the temple every day? Just focusing on self-cultivation cannot benefit others and cannot be regarded as performing divine intervention!


    Yuanying requested that Dai Ting bring out his formal clothes and went out in the hot summer weather to meet them at a pre-align location. Today he specially asked his helper to bring out powdery red sand and put some on his forehead. The red dot looked like a precious stone. While he obviously still look like a royal prince, his dressing made him look approachable.


    Li Zhi was shocked with young uncle¡¯s dressing.


    ¡°To meet monks, you dress like this? Aren¡¯t you hot?¡±


    Yuanying had people fanning him and sheltering him with umbres so he couldn¡¯t really feel the heat.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there a saying about Buddha relying on gold clothes while human relies on fine clothes¡¯? <sup>[1]</sup>Fine clothes make the man. I need to intimidate them in order to have a fruitful discussion. This is call learning from Buddha.¡±


    When in Chang¡¯an, he was rmended by Ouyang Xun. Therefore, he could easily fooled many. But now in Luoyang, he only have a few flimsy letters, so he needed to pay more attention to the details!


    Li Zhi was rendered speechless.


    Yuanying shooed Li Zhi away to go y with the girls while he left to the tea party. While Yuanying is not good at a lot of thing, he is quick-witted and spontaneous. He is able to talk with famous monks without revealing his secrets. He even received ament about having fate with Buddha.


    Li Yuanying disagreed in his heart. What¡¯s the use of having fate or a rtionship with Buddha? No meat, No good clothes, Can¡¯t get married and have children. But disagreement is one thing, Yuanying still actively listened to the lectures given by the monks. He even injected some of them with bits of stories about tea in a timely manner to enhance the association between religion and tea.


    After half a day, the boy managed to taste all the delicious snacks and vegetarian dishes in Luoyang. He also sessfully sold tea to major Buddhist temples. This made tea and snacks the two necessary ingredients when discussing religion moving forward.


    The monks promised that as long as tea leaves are avable they willmeet up with those in Chang¡¯an and together the monks would go deep into the Tibetan Empire to spread the teachings of Buddhism.


    With the promises shared, Yuanying returned to the pce contentedly while stroking his well-fed belly. On the way back, he chatted with Dai Ting.


    ¡°It is said that its forbidden for monks to lie, I guess they wouldn¡¯t lie to me.¡±


    ¡°If they dare to do so, there is always a way to make them regret it.¡±


    Yuanying realized that since returning from Gaochang, Dai Ting¡¯s temperament is slightly different. He¡¯s now more outspoken with his thoughts.


    Li Yuanying nodded. ¡°That¡¯s fine, if they go back on their word, I¡¯ll leave it to you to handle it.¡±


    Dai Ting nodded.


    The boy continued to rub his full belly, thinking about all the things he has learned today through conversations.


    No matter which line of work, a simple person cannot make it to the top. Even among monks, to win believers and have a great reputation is no easy feat.There were many conversations that left him with a cloud of fog but after careful thoughts, he came to realize the truths in them.


    Great people are truly amazing!


    Yuanying has always been restless. He felt that since he has learned something today he needed to look for the Emperor. He then boldly said that he would teach Li Er about Buddhism.


    Li Er couldn¡¯t get rid of him and so he could only tolerate his brother¡¯s non-stop bbering. They were all vulgar stories about how he got people to carry counterfeit goods for him; the most important thing in life is to be happy and have no troubles in life. Li Er thinks that the teachings his younger brother is trying to brainwash him with originated from ¡°Buddha Yuanying¡±.


    Although annoying, Li Er understood what his younger brother was getting at. This kid just wants him to be happy. In order for Yuanying to be at peace, Li Er responded casually.


    ¡°Since you are so free and idle, why don¡¯t you find a solution for Xiangcheng Pce? If you can fix it, I¡¯ll give the ce to you as a present.¡±


    Li Yuanying wasn¡¯t expecting such a good gift and he was left in surprise and joy.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yup, of course.¡±


    This ce is going to be dismantled anyway, if Li Yuanying can transform it properly then it wouldn¡¯t hurt to give it to him. Although this kid likes to mess around, he always produces unexpected results from his actions. Maybe he can think of a good way to remodel Xiangcheng Pce.


    ¡°Then it¡¯s settled!¡±


    As soon as he had something to do, Li Yuanying stopped bothering His Majesty. He ran back excitedly to share the great news of his newly acquired Pce.


    Sizi was not very interested and was still a little apprehensive at the mention of Xiangcheng Pce. ¡°There are poisonous snakes.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, there¡¯s always be a solution for it. It¡¯s such a huge ce, I need to think about how best to utilize it.¡±


    Gao Yang being the courageous one wasn¡¯t afraid of snakes. She even put forward a constructive suggestion: ¡°I think we should keep animals that eat snakes in the pce.¡±


    Li Yuanying nodded. ¡°It¡¯ll be good to raise some eagles and some beasts. The snakes and insects around may be due to the abundance of vegetation. We should raise 8 to 10 elephants and arge number of cattle and sheep. They will eat up all the surrounding vegetation. If the ce is naked, there wouldn¡¯t be ces for snakes to hide!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s grow more herbs or nts that repel snakes and insects. They may be useful.¡± (Cheng Yang)


    The kids sat around and brainstormed and came up with many solutions to tackle the snake and insect problem. As for the summer heat, it¡¯s not like everyone was privileged enough to move away to avoid it. As long as this ce is not used as a summer pce, it doesn¡¯t matter if its super hot in summer.


    Li Yuanying summed up everyone¡¯s opinions and concluded that the sess in transforming Xiangcheng Pce was high. However, to put it into action sessfully only time will tell.


    Yuanying dismissed the group. Early the next morning, he got up and ran to the Yan residence to visit Yan Lide who has lost his official position. If there is anyone who knows the structure of Xiangcheng Pce best, it must be Yan Lide. The boy needs his help if he wants to transform the pce.


    His system points are also almost gone. With only a thousand points left, he can¡¯t transform a big like Xiangcheng Pce!


    Yan Lide was feeling a little depressed because of his dismissal. His heart skipped a beat when he heard that Li Yuanying had came to visit.


    His first thought was: I haven¡¯t done anything to provoked this little demon king!


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü1Fine clothes make the man.

 Chapter 75

    Chapter 75


    You can¡¯t be med Yan Lide for being vignt. First off his eldest son-inw Li Tai have alwaysmented that this kid never does good, only bad. He also stated that Li Yuanying is a jerk. Hoarding his father¡¯s attention, his teacher¡¯s attention and now even his son¡¯s attention. Li Tai feels ufortable every time he hears his young son asking when will Yaoyaoe to y? Secondly, another son-inw, Tang Jiahui said the same thing. He¡¯s always been influencing the Crown prince to go out for ytime and uses ridiculous reasoning and justifications to confuse his Highness.


    Yan Lide¡¯s eldest son-inw is Prince Li Tai but his other son-inw supports the opposing Crown Prince.


    Tang Jiahui and Li Jing¡¯s son Li Dejian are both on Li Chengqian¡¯s side but both families hold grudges against the other and avoids meeting each other.


    This is an old story during an old war with the Eastern Turks. Back then, Li Jing won the upper hand during battle and the Eastern Turks were willing to negotiate a peace pact. Li Er saw that the momentum was good and so he sent Tang Jian over for peace talks. However, even before Tang Jian could warm his seat in the meeting, Li Jing felt that peace talks were meaningless and attacked.


    Li Jing had no concern for the life or death of Tang Jian. If he were to die then just treat it as a necessary sacrifice for the betterment of Great Tang. Tang Jian was lucky enough to survive and he couldn¡¯t retaliate in any way. After all, conquering a new territory is a great achievement. Tang Jian not only couldn¡¯t swear at Li Jing, he had to act like the better person by showing benevolence. What else should he do? Put the Emperor in a difficult position?


    The father¡¯s generation maintains a surface harmony but the son¡¯s generation secretly fights. Isn¡¯t it okay for the son to want to avenge their father¡¯s injustice?


    Li Yuanying and Li Dejian had some friendship and even hired a doctor for Li¡¯s mother. Tang Jiahui was pissed by this action and mention a few harsh words about Prince Teng to his father-inw.


    Therefore, in the Yan residence, Li Yuanying had 2bels. The little devil king since childhood and still a devil king when he grows up.


    While Yan wants Lide to be vignt, but the kid is already at his front door. He had no choice but to invite Prince Teng in as courtesy.


    Since this is a temporary residence, there¡¯s no special furnishings in the house. After Li Yuanying entered the room, he scanned his surrounding quietly but didn¡¯t see anything interesting. He then sat down.


    Yan Lide is only 46, not a lot older than the Emperor. His long beard on his chin is still ck and shiny. Yan took the initiative to speak. ¡°Your Highness, can I help you with anything?¡±


    Yuanying nodded hastily: ¡°Yes, yes.¡±


    He told Yan Lide that the Emperor had gifted him Xiangcheng Pce.


    ¡°I heard that you no longer need to attend official meetings, why don¡¯t you work together with me to fix Xiangcheng Pce. Otherwise, I heard that Old man Wei ns to split up the Pce and give it to themon people. What a waste!¡±


    Naturally, Yan Lide already heard about this from Yan Liben and was feeling depressed. Hearing that there was still some turning point, he suddenly regained his energy.


    Yan Lide came from a prominent family and has good education. During his tenure as a master craftsman, he has brought to life numerous masterpieces that satisfied many. His wife is also from an equally prominent family and his children are smart and obedient. It can be said that he had a smooth sailing life thus far. This sudden failure called Xiangcheng Pce naturally left a bad feeling in him.


    Yan Lide quickly instructed that tea be serve to Prince Teng and the pair had an in depth conversation.


    During their chit chat, Yuanying came to understand why Xiangcheng Pce was such a mess. Yan¡¯s privileged background allowed him to design beautiful buildings. Everyone praised him for his aesthetic taste and he started pursuing art a little too much and as a result neglected practicality.


    If a location was pre-chosen for him, he¡¯ll do a great job designing it. But if you let Yan chose his own location, he would choose the best looking one. This statement is verified by just looking around Xiangcheng Pce: lush green vegetation with mountains and river surrounding it. It¡¯s surely a beautiful ce at first nce!


    Unfortunately, the Emperor isn¡¯t an owner who will forgo practicality over beauty. Plus a poisonous snake bit a closedy-in-waiting of an apanying concubine. This made Li Er scream in anger at his inws and putt all ountability and me on him.


    And suddenly Li Yuanying benefited from this.


    ¡°I have camels from Gaochang and am worried about how to feed them. Since the grass around Xiangcheng Pce grows so well, let¡¯s keep them there. Also, Chenqian has elephants that can also be brought over. The people looking after them hails from the South and have much experiences dealing with snakes. I¡¯ll get them over to brainstorm. There will always be a way to solve this.¡±


    Yan Lide nodded, it¡¯s a feasible idea.


    ¡°When the timees, lets raise more cattle and horses. The traders going to Tibetan Empire and Turkic can all gather here. Those who travel South with elephants and those who collect cattle, horses and camels from the north and west can all gather here instead of squeezing into Chang¡¯an. Since we already have so many animals, let¡¯s add a few more like eagles that can catch snakes.¡±


    The more the boy rambles the happier he was at his ideasing to life.


    ¡°When I get home I will get people to prepare notices of employment. Those who are good with animal rearing should alle to Xiangcheng Pce. If anyone cane up with an effective breeding method, I will reward them handsomely with money. People who wants to learn can alsoe here. This way when people have spare capacity, they can raise poultry to feed their children! I¡¯ve heard rumors that many children have never tasted meat. Those who are interested do not have skills and afraid of losing money. Maybe if someone teaches them the skills needed, they will be willing to take more risk.¡±


    Yan Lide originally thought the boy just wanted to raise animals for fun, he wasn¡¯t expecting too hear such an borated n.


    Yan was also feeling a little excited. If this were toe true then not only will Xiangcheng Pce not be abandoned but it can be converted into a breeding farm that would greatly benefit the people.


    With his heart surging, Yan Lide responded quickly: ¡°Your Highness¡¯s move is noble, and Yan is willing to assist your Highness in this!¡±


    Since someone is willing to y with him, Yuanying happily took Yan Lide¡¯s hand.


    ¡°That¡¯s great! I¡¯ll write to Chenqian and ask him to lend me elephants and Yang Liu the trainer. I¡¯ll then move Dong Xiaoyi over to manage operations. When everyone is here, I will write a post and stick it all over Luoyang City. When that timees, Big Yan, you must guide Dong Xiaoyi!¡±


    Only then did Yan Lide notice that he is being called ¡°Big Yan¡± and his face twitched. It¡¯s useless now to care too much about title and name, so let¡¯s let it slide.


    ¡°If necessary, I¡¯m willing to contribute manpower and finances.¡±


    Yuanying was extremely satisfied by his trip and went over to his brother¡¯s ce to praise Yan Lide.


    Li Er wonders if Yan has bribed his younger brother with something but after probing deeper, he found out Yan volunteered to contribute money and manpower.


    ¡°You guys have ideas already?¡± (Li Er)


    Yuanying then shared his n boldly. If some are afraid of snakes, there¡¯s bound to be people who are not afraid. I once heard from Yang Liu the elephant trainer that people in the South treat snakes as a delicacy. If they catch them, it bes a meal. Stewed soup, grilled snake, all great food. Poisonous snakes are a little bit more troublesome, you just need to be careful not to get bitten.


    ¡°The group that came home with Dai Ting is good at raising camels. I n to ask them to raise camels here, this way all the long grass will be eaten up. He then boasted that he wants the whole country to be able to afford meat.


    His Majesty leaned back and started listing down things: ¡°You havemitted to feed and clothed everyone, provide books and education, provide good doctors and healthcare. How are you going to do so many thing?¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. Deal with it as ites. What¡¯s the harm if I fail? And I have Big Yan apanying me this time. He is a good man who agreed to contributebour and money.¡±


    Yuanying continued with a sigh.


    ¡°I used to think that little round ball didn¡¯t look like his father but couldn¡¯t decide who he looked like. Today, after meeting Big Yan, I realized little round ball looks just like him!¡±


    Li Er was so confused by his brother¡¯s messy nicknames that he didn¡¯t even bother to correct him. He waved his hand and said, ¡°Okay,okay. Do whatever you want but just make sure not to make Yan Lide lose all his money.¡±


    Yuanying decided not to provoke His Majesty anymore and instead announced to his friends that Xiangcheng Pce would be their new y base. Do whatever you want here! Ride elephants, camels, keep all kind of eagles, falcons and cranes for fun. The girls were still a little worried about the poisonous snakes, but Gao Yang cheered.


    ¡°Can I bring along my other friends too?¡±


    ¡°Of course, the more the merrier. I¡¯ll ask Big Yan to help with the nning. Let¡¯s raise more poultry and useful livestock and um, beautiful ones too.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    He asked Gao Yang in a hush hush manner: ¡°I heard that snake meat is delicious, will you dare try snake?¡±


    Gao Yang is the age where she can¡¯t stand provocation. When someone asks if she dares do something, her first reaction is to say yes.


    ¡°Why not?¡± (Gao Yang)


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s hire snake catchers to catch a few and try them out. Then we know for sure which snake is delicious!¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°Young uncle, GaoYang still needs to get married.¡±


    Gao Yang raised her eyebrows: ¡°So ? You can¡¯t eat snakes if you want to get married?¡±


    Li Zhi shut up. Well, she will never marry me anyway.


    Li Zhi felt a little sympathetic to his future brother-inw. What if Fang also secretly hope to not pass Li Yuanying¡¯s test.


    He said nothing more but Li Yuanying still wanted to school him. ¡°Why can¡¯t snakes be eaten? Snakes can also be used as medicine. You used to eat it as a child. I read the prescription recorded by the imperial physician and you have had medicines with snake sloughponents in it.¡±


    Relying on his few days of studying medicine with Sun Simiao, he continued to list down eloquently how snakes can be used as medicine. In addition to snake sloughs, you can use snake galldder, snake wine, snake ointment, snake meat and snake soup with snake eggs.


    The snakes were caught with great painstaking efforts and their great ancestors would not waste any part of it. They ate everything that could be eaten, and used every part possible to make medicine.


    Hearing this, Li Zhi¡¯s stomach churned and he took several sips of tea unbearably, feeling that he might have identally eaten this slippery thing that crawled everywhere before!


    Li Yuanying said contemptuously: ¡°Zero knowledge.¡±


    While Yuanying is actively lobbying for his friends to try snakes, Li Tai found out that Li Yuanying is taking over Xiangcheng Pce.


    Li Er was the one who told him. As father and son chatted happily in a harmonious atmosphere, Li Tai took the opportunity to ask about his father-inw on his wife behalf.


    This is how he found out that the Emperor is nning to give the Pce to young uncle and that his father inw was brainwashed by the boy into contributing funds to help Li Yuanying renovate the ce!


    Li Tai was fuming but he couldn¡¯t show this in front of the Emperor.


    Returning home, Li Tai said to Princess Yan: ¡°There¡¯s no need for me to mediate with the Emperor my Father, your father is capable of getting away by himself.¡±


    Hearing his tone, the princess realized that her father has got involved with Prince Teng. She wasn¡¯t sure why but she could feel her husband¡¯s hostility towards young uncle and this hostility is increasing day by day and looks to be surpassing even the Crown Prince.


    She wanted to console her husband but little round ball came running over with his beloved ball and shouted childishly, ¡°Papa, ball, y.¡±


    The princess picked him up: ¡°Papa is busy and don¡¯t have time to y. Why don¡¯t you y with the others?¡±


    Since Papa is busy, Little round ball changed his request: ¡°Yaoyao, look for him.¡±


    He remembered that Yaoyao said that he is in Luoyang too and Yaoyao promised to y with him.


    As soon as Li Tai heard Yaoyao, he became annoyed and shouted: ¡°Take him away, don¡¯t bother me.¡±


    For some reason, father favored this young uncle more and more. Now even his own son and father-inw is on good terms with him. He hated Li Yuanying!


    Knowing that Li Tai was in a bad mood, Yan hurriedly carried the child out.


    Tears welled up in little round ball¡¯s eyes and he pursed his mouth, wanting to cry.


    ¡°XinEr, don¡¯t cry. Papa is just upset today. Papa loves XinEr the most.¡±


    The child hugged mummy¡¯s neck and wept.


    ¡°Yaoyao, look for him, want him.¡±

 Chapter 76

    Chapter 76


    Princess Yan thought for a moment and realized that she had no other options but to look for young uncle with her child in her arms. As they were about to reach, Little round ball wanted to be let down: ¡°Yaoyao said be manly.¡±


    A man shouldn¡¯t be carried and can walk by himself. Little round ball struggled to get out of his mom¡¯s arms, pouted his lips and ran while carrying a ball. He then saw Yaoyao writing and drawing with the other children from a distance. Seeing this, his unhappiness came surging back and he threw away his ball to hug Yaoyao¡¯s arms.


    ¡°Yaoyao!¡± he yelled with tears welling up in his eyes.


    This was a rare sight and it made Yuanying worried. He put down his pen and hugged the child: ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Who bullied you? Tell Yaoyao, Yaoyao will help you to bully them back!¡±


    Little round ball thought for a while while tears fell down: ¡°I can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    Little round ball said softly: ¡°Papa, you can¡¯t bully him.¡±


    Although Papa is bad, but you can¡¯t bully him. Papa usually ys ball with him. He told Yuanying all that had happened with his own logic that had no rules, ¡°Papa, no ying ball, fierce to mama.¡±


    Li Yuanying had rich experience in dealing with children and so he understood immediately. This child was holding a ball and wanted to y with Li Tai but Li Tai was in a bad mood and even scolded his wife.


    If Little round ball hadn¡¯te looking for him, he would never have imagined that Li Tai, who acted dignified in public would treat his wife and son like this.


    Thinking deeper, he found out the source of his unhappiness. Li Tai probably knows that the Emperor gave Xiangcheng Pce to him for remodeling. Everything is connected together.


    Since Little round ball said that he couldn¡¯t bully Papa back, Yuanying didn¡¯t intend to make any troubles. He just got up and asked Gao Yang who couldn¡¯t sit still to y with the child.


    Seeing that he had friends, Little round ball was immediately happy and excitedly picked up his ball.


    Princess Yan sat down to speak with Chengyang and the other girls while looking at her son¡¯s happy smiling face.


    After a moment of sulking, Li Tai realised it was not good to get angry and so he went out to look for his family. When he asked, he was told that Princess Yan went out.


    Li Tai frowned.


    He really don¡¯t like Li Yuanying.


    Initially when Li Yuanying joined them at Taiji Pce, mother treated him as her own. After mother passed, the girls cling onto Yuanying allowing him opportunities to show his presence in front of father. In the beginning, father was indifferent to this kid but for some reason in thest few years, father has started to pay him more attention.This is the advantage of living in Taiji Pce!


    As he thought about this, Li Tai¡¯s liver hurts a little. Originally, father intended for him to live in Wude Hall so that he is close by making it convenient to meet daily. But due to Wei Zheng¡¯s advice, father forgo the n. Wei Zheng usually looks impartial but at a critical moment, he spoils everything!


    Remembering that his own child is suddenly so close to Li Yuanying, he felt that young uncle was born to bring him misfortune. He paused for a moment and then move towards Prince Teng¡¯s residence.


    Li Tai hadn¡¯t even approached the courtyard yet but he could already hear the happy and wantonughter of children ying. The most immature one obviously belonged to his son.


    He paused to signal to those apanying him to keep quiet and walked towards the edge to take a peek. He saw his child blindfolded, happily chasing Li Yuanying and several aunts on his short legs. Only SiZi and Princess Yan sat under the pavilion and watched.


    Luoyang is known for its flowers. The garden is full of flowers and trees that are tall and lush; casting a thick shade to shield the children from the scorching sun. Li Yuanying teased the toddler for awhile before finally allowing him to ¡°captured¡± him and praised the boy for his strength with a serious face.


    ¡°Amazing!¡± (Little round ball)


    Li Tai watched from a distance and then turned around to leave.


    On his way back, Li Tai thought about many things. He remembers ying happily with his own son but he couldn¡¯t remember if he had yed like this with his younger siblings.


    Being born into the royal family, can he really be as unrestrained and carefree as Li Yuanying? Someone who only thinks about eating and ying? It¡¯s impossible.


    He needs to n for his own future and his son¡¯s future. What future can a mere Prince have? Even if he doesn¡¯t fight for anything, his older brother will still treat him like a thorn in his flesh just because of his father preferential love for him. How dare he not fight for something?


    Moreover, he doesn¡¯t want to stay idle. Since father loves him so much, he would naturally give him whatever he wanted. As long as he waited patiently, he will definitely get his opportunity. Why shouldn¡¯t he fight for what he deserves then? Opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared!


    When mother and child returned, little round ball was already so tired that he fell asleep. The princess put down the child to meet with Li Tai who was reading for a talk.


    ¡°Prince Teng is very kind to Xin¡¯er. He really likes children.¡± Since he patiently yed with the children, they naturally liked him.


    The couple have been married for several years and have always been peaceful. Although he heard her mention Li Yuanying, Li Tai is already calm and has lost the restlessness that he had earlier. He put down his scroll to apologize: ¡°I was wrong today, things have piled up recently and I wasn¡¯t feeling my best.¡±


    Yan took the initiative to reach out and hold onto Li Tai¡¯s hand: ¡°I know, I saw my husband just now.¡±


    Li Tai was grasped by the gentle palm, and had many things he wanted to say. However, some words cannot be spoken even to those closest to you for there is really no turning back.


    Li Tai grasp the princess¡¯s hand back gently.


    ¡°If you are worried about your father, I will ask someone to invite him over tomorrow, or I can apany you to meet him.¡±


    The couple chatted for a while and the unhappiness earlier dissipated without a trace. When Little round ball woke up that night, Li Tai coaxed him and personally taught him how to read an essay. The child¡¯s earlier grievances were all forgotten and he hugged father and shouted papa, papa over and over again.


    Li Yuanying had fun in the day but sat alone under the candle light writing letters to his mother and a few others. Right now, he has many helpers inside and outside the pce, so he doesn¡¯t need to rely only on his elder nephew to send letters. This way he is able to be more casual in his letters, writing much more.


    The boy picked out happy things to update mother and then wrote a letter to Sister Shu. He recently wrote a piece of calligraphy as practice and would like her to review it. He is confident about his work and felt that he has greatly improved. He wrote this letter in anticipation of praises.


    After writing the important letters first, he sorted out the affairs of Xiangcheng Pce and wrote to his eldest nephew. He then handed the letters to Dai Ting for immediate delivery to Chang¡¯an. With Dai Ting around Li Yuanying is confident that he will carry out all tasks brilliantly.


    The next few days was spent in a furry of busy-ness. From time to time, he and Yan Lide rode to Xiangcheng Pce for further site re work for improvements. The outer court will be used as a domestication area for various birds and animals. He then requested His Majesty to enclose arge piece ofnd of Xiangcheng Pce for agricultural works. This is after all a project that benefited the country and its people !


    After listening to Li Yuanying¡¯s idea, Yan Lide is now very interested in this renovation project. This incident at Xiangcheng Pce gave him perspective of his own shorings as a master craftsman. Recognizing these shorings means finding a way to improve. Yan Lide quickly devoted himself to the transformation of Xiangcheng Pce. He worked hard with Li Yuanying to understand this piece ofnd better and to anticipate future problems that may arise.


    Although Yuanying had very little system points left, he was able to sessfully upload a 3Dyout of Xiangcheng Pce into the system. With that, he obtained a corresponding analysis report on the location and was able to have smooth conversation with Yan Lide and even managed to forge a friendly rtionship with him through themon knowledge on architectural issues.


    Initially Yan Liben thought that his brother might be depressed due to his dismissal at work and would find time to visit him to try and relieve his brother¡¯s depression. But instead, Yan Lide is bing impatient with his good gesture. When Liben stays back a little longer, Yan Lide would impatiently ask: ¡°Do you have nothing else to do? Why are you here everyday? I need to meet my little friend Yuanying.¡±


    Wow. Prince Teng is now ¡®little friend¡±.


    Liben felt a little salty about his gesture not being appreciated and so he walked away angrily!


    As usual, Yuanying looking for Lide for a chat and ran into Liben. He greeted the man courteously: ¡°Little Yan, don¡¯t you have to be on duty? Why do I often see you at home?¡±


    Yan Liben: ¡°¡­¡±


    Yan Liben didn¡¯t want to speak with him.


    The young prince ran towards Lide enthusiastically and muttered after sitting down: ¡°Big Yan, I think your brother doesn¡¯t like me. Is it because of our good rtionship that is making him jealous? You should be more caring towards him. Don¡¯t hurt the feelings between brothers because of me!¡±


    ¡°He is just idle, don¡¯t pay him attention.¡±


    Li Yuanying nodded.


    The two then went on to talk about Xiangcheng Pce in detail.


    After returning home, Yuanying looked for Li Er .


    ¡°I have such a good rtionship with Big Yan thatm Little Yan is jealous. Little Yan is not open-minded enough. You have good rtionship with so many people too, and It¡¯s not like I¡¯ll ever be jealous, right?¡±


    There¡¯s no credibility in his younger brother¡¯s words and so Li Er jokingly asked Yan Liben the next day if he was indeed jealous of Li Yuanying and Yan Lide getting along well.


    Yan Liben wished that he could confront Li Yuanying face-to-face: Who is jealous? Who would be jealous of a brat like you over such a thing? I just didn¡¯t give you a reaction once and youin to His Majesty?!


    Yan Liben went to work feeling like he was wronged. At this same instant, Dai Ting also delivered letters to its intended recipients in Chang¡¯an. The reactions of Lady Liu and Li Chengqian were quite normal, but something went wrong on Wei Shu¡¯s side.


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: Oh, everyone is jealous of me, what should I do?!

 Chapter 77

    Chapter 77


    Yuanying¡¯s letter was delivered to Wei Shu without any problem. This trip to Louyang Wei Zheng choose not to bring his wife and granddaughter along because Wei Shu¡¯s father came home together with her mother and eldest brother, Wei Ying.


    Wei Ying is much older than Wei Shu, about thirteen or fourteen. He has been apanying his parents on trips all this while and has been separated from his sister for long. Naturally, he wanted to win his younger sister¡¯s heart and hover around her everyday.


    When Dai Ting came by to deliver a letter, Wei Ying guarded Wei Shu¡¯s side vigntly. No matter how he looked at it, he thinks that the messenger had ulterior motives due to his good looks. With such charming looks, he must be an evil spirit as told in legends! Wei Ying felt that this person is here to cheat his younger sister!


    After Dai Ting left, Wei Ying pestered Wei Shu intending to read the content of the letter. Wei Shu is already annoyed by his constant pestering but since it was her elder brother she put up with his behaviour. Knowing his intentions, she became upset and kept the letter away so that Wei Ying would not read it.


    Wei Ying became impatient and went looking for father to share what he saw, saying that a very good-looking man came looking for his sister with a letter from Prince Teng. Since when did sister be acquainted with Prince Teng? The Prince Teng that is rumored to be a very troublesome little devil king? Why does sister have contact with him?


    Father is the eldest son who was bought up under strict discipline by Wei Zheng. When he heard that Wei Shu had a rtionship with Prince Teng, he immediately called her out and lecture her.


    Wei Shu chose remain silent.


    Mrs. Pei heard themotion and saw Wei Shu sitting down with red eyes, feeling extremely distressed. She felt sorry for her granddaughter and wanted to protect her.


    ¡°Who else behaves like you father and son? Don¡¯t even send us 2 letters in a year butes back home and straightaway show your attitude and prestige!¡±


    Wei shu¡¯s dad was a dutiful son and his face turned red when he heard Pei¡¯s scolding.


    ¡°Shu¡¯er is still young, I¡¯m afraid she will be tricked.¡±


    ¡°So what about tricking? At least his coaxing makes Shu¡¯er happy. Unlike you who makes her cry when you just came home.¡±


    Father couldn¡¯t refute these allegations.


    Wei Shu was protected by grandmother but she was still not happy. She wiped away her tears and hid in Wei Zheng¡¯s study reading her letter.


    What Li Yuanying share in his letter were all happy things, mainly about what he ate and did along the way. In the end he obtained Xiangcheng Pce for nothing. After the renovation waspleted, he will invite her over to y with him.


    At the end, Li Yuanying made a statement and attached his calligraphy practice for Wei Shu to evaluate.


    At the end of the sentence, he added a line of extremely small characters: It is best to praise me more, don¡¯t learn bad habits from Old man Wei.


    Wei Shu chuckled.


    She regret not being born a boy, where she can be like Li Yuanying. Go wherever she wants and associate with whomever she wants.


    Wei Shu carefully folded the letter to put it away. As she was about to pick up the calligraphy to review them she heard the door curtain rattling. She looked up to see her elder brother poking his head by the door, hesitating if he should enter.


    Wei Shu hid Yuanying¡¯s practice sheet under a book, already feeling much better than just now.


    ¡°Brother, what¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Seeing that his sister has stopped crying and didn¡¯t look angry he boldly walked in holding a big red peach.


    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have ratted you out with father just now. I went out to buy this for you as an apology.¡±


    Wei Shu is not a stingy person. Since her brother apologized she would not hold a grudge.


    ¡°His Royal Highness is not a bad guy like the rumors say he is.¡±


    Wei Shu share all about how Prince Teng started a library and took in refugees. Wei Ying was dumbfounded and felt that everything had changed in the short few years he had left Chang¡¯an.


    In order to strengthen her case that Prince Teng is not an ignorant bully, she took out the hidden manuscript and showed Wei Ying the results of Yuanying¡¯s calligraphy practice.


    Wei Shu was stunned when she saw the poem written on the first manuscript.


    <<Quiet Girl>>


    Wei Shu flipped further and found the same poem all written on different days and progressively improving.


    Apparently, Li Yuanying randomly picked a poem from the <<Book of Songs>> that he found interesting and practiced repeatedly every day. He felt that he has improved greatly and so he shared his progress with her.


    Although Wei Shu is young, she understood the meaning of this poem. It was about the love between a man and a woman: two people making an appointment to meet outside the city and although the gifts they give each other were not very valuable in the eyes of others , but to each other they felt that they have received the most beautiful gift in the world.


    Because it was a gift from the other party.


    The emotion in the poem is pure and beautiful.


    Wei Shu would not misunderstand Li Yuanying¡¯s intentions but Wei Ying was watching from the side!


    Since she has already taken the manuscript out and Wei Ying had already seen it, Wei Shu couldn¡¯t think of a way to deal with the situation.


    Wei Ying did see everything. He stared nkly at the manuscript that reads ¡°Quiet Girl and Shu¡± that was written several times. He had read this piece of work before and felt that the written statement is a word y using his sister¡¯s name. Thinking back about the meaning of this poem, Wei Ying was about to explode.


    How dare Prince Teng write such a poem to his sister so openly?


    Wei Ying snatched the manuscript from Wei Shu¡¯s hands and read it again and again. Still angry, he showed it to Father despite Wei Shu¡¯s protests.


    Wei Shu knew she couldn¡¯t stop him so she stopped chasing and sat back at her original ce lost in thought.


    Father quickly entered the room with the stack of manuscripts in hand and a serious expression.


    Wei Shu lowered her head and said nothing.


    ¡°I¡¯ve had a discussion with your mother. This time when we leave, we will bring you along. Back then you were young and weak so we had to leave you behind with your grandparents. This time youe with us.¡±


    Wei Shu only nodded her head as response.


    She knew that her free and easy days wereing to an end. Her dad wouldn¡¯t allow her to go out, let alone make friends with Li Yuanying.


    Father didn¡¯t like Li Yuanying.


    Because his behavior is very different from the norm. He lives too freely and without restrictions. It¡¯s as if he was born to be a troublemaker, things that are precious to themon people are nothing in his eyes.


    Therefore, while some people might like him, an equal amount would also hate him.


    Seeing that Wei Shu was silent, father took away Prince Teng¡¯s manuscript and left to his room to write Wei Zheng who was in Louyang a letter.


    In the next few days, Wei Shu¡¯s father got his new assignment and would be bringing his family along with him to a new ce. This same period, Dai Ting dropped by to ask if Wei Shu had any letters to reply to Prince Teng.


    Wei Shu had been sitting outside under a big tree waiting for Dai Ting. When she saw him, she pass him her letter.


    After that, she sat alone under the tree looking at the sandy ground which she once used to practice calligraphy.


    If she didn¡¯t get to know Li Yuanying, she would be very happy to be following her family and elder brother on outstation assignments. But now, everything feels different.


    Dai Ting saw that Wei Shu had a moody expression but due to his position it was inappropriate for him to probe more. Therefore he took her letter and hurried off to Luoyang.


    Li Yuanying has already identified potentialnd and recruited good talents. He was gearing up waiting for Dai Ting to bring along Dong Xiaoyi and the others to start work. Dai Ting reached him but alone.


    ¡°What about the others?¡±


    Dai Ting told Yuanying all about Wei Shu¡¯s strange behaviour. He also went around enquiring about the Wei Family and told his master all that he had found out. Wei Zheng¡¯s eldest son is back home with his wife and eldest son and now they have received a new outstation mission. Maybe Wei Shu¡¯s moodiness was because of this? It¡¯s all his own guess as he did not directly ask Wei Shu about it.


    Li Yuanying nodded and read Wei Shu¡¯s reply.


    Her reply was normal. First, she praised his handwriting and sid that it has been improving steadily then she pointed out more areas for improvements. Finally, she mentioned that she will be joining her family for outstation assignments and Yuanying should not write her anymore letters. She is also not sure if they would ever meet again in the future. She hopes he will be safe and happy.


    Yuanying was not happy reading this.


    ¡°Did you find out where sister Shu¡¯s father is going to be transferred to? When do they leave?¡±


    Dai Ting shared everything he knew.


    Without further ado, Li Yuanying ran to look for Li Er.


    ¡°Brother, I¡¯m going out¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you run around all day already?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s different this time. I may be gone for a few days.¡±


    Li Er turned to look at him and motioned him to continue.


    Yuanying didn¡¯t exin too much but just said: ¡°I¡¯m leaving. When I¡¯m back I¡¯lle by and say hi to you.¡±


    After saying that, Yuanying ran away. He went home and quickly packed then called Dai Ting and a group of guards and left. He left so quickly that no one had time to react.


    Within the next few days, it was Li Zhi, Sizi and the other children who first noticed that Li Yuanying was missing. Then Yan Lide, Yan Liben also noticed that the boy was missing.


    In the end, everyone in the court realized that Li Yuanying is not hanging around with His Majestytely.


    Everyone wondered: where did the kid go?


    Li Er instructed his men to tail behind Li Yuanying. He got news that Prince Teng rode a horse all the way west as soon as he left the city gate and stopped to stay in a small county town by evening. Early the next morning, he got up early and set off again, looking very anxious.


    Li Yuanying brought his bodyguards and the Emperor also sent his guards to follow behind him. He wasn¡¯t too worried about his younger brother¡¯s safety but was more curious on what he was doing so suddenly running away.


    Wei Zheng was also quite curious but before he could remain curious for long, a letter from his eldest son was delivered to him. The letter mentioned that they will be bringing Wei Shu along for assignments and about the incident of the poem Prince Teng wrote to her. It¡¯s fine if the brat wrote only once to her, but he instead wrote it more than ten or twenty times. What ulterior motives does he have?! He has heard that Prince Teng begged His Majesty for ady of talentst year; such a lustful and and promiscuous person at such a young age. He is really worried about his daughter associating with such a person and so he is bringing her along. He will finished up his handover procedure and leave with his child and hopes father will not be offended!


    As soon as Wei Zheng read the letter, he felt dizzy.


    Li Yuanying is not running away somewhere to y, he is chasing after his granddaughter!


    If Li Yuanying catches up to them and make a scene, how will his granddaughter marry in the future?


    Wei Zheng¡¯s face twitched and he was at a loss at what to do with the letter. He struggled for a long time and decided to be thick skin and look for the Emperor with letter in hand. He hopes that the Emperor will send man to force that b*stard Li Yuanying to retreat..


    If he didn¡¯t stop him, Li Yuanying would really dare to outrageous things!


    Li Er has been missing his good for nothing younger brother and was still deciding if he wanted to beat him after he has returned for running away so abruptly. After listening to Wei Zheng andparing his location, he realized that Wei Zheng¡¯s guess was right. Li Yuanying was chasing after his sister shu!


    His Majesty had always knew that Li Yuanying and Wei Shu were good friends as he always invited her to y. Knowing the reason why Li Yuanying ran out in a hurry, Li Er calmed down and said slowly: ¡°Children are always reluctant to part with friends. What¡¯s wrong with him chasing after her to say their goodbyes?¡±


    Wei Zheng knew instantly that His Majesty not only do not want to control his b*stard brother, he was also waiting to watch a good show. He was unable to air his grievances.


    Catching up with them to say goodbye is something normal but judging from Li Yuanying usual behaviour, does he look like someone who would do something so mild?


    Wei Zheng could only bite the bullet and beg: ¡°Your Majesty, please get someone to bring his Highness Prince Teng home.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve watched Yuanying grow up and believe that he will be sensible in his actions. Dearest Wei needn¡¯t worry too much. He wille back by himself in a few days.¡±


    Wei Zheng was rendered speechless.


    If Li Yuanying is considered a sensible person then there would be no one in the world who is not sensible!


    He will surely be back. My fear is that he returns not alone!


    Notes from the author:


    His Majesty Li Er: My younger brother is going to eat a cabbage (drinking tea) (watching the drama) [cabbage being eaten by a pig = a normal fellow (pig) chasing after a goddess (cabbage)]


    Wei Zheng: Don¡¯t stop me, I¡¯m going to scold these brothers to death! ! ! ! !


    In the previous chapters I discussed about Li Tai¡¯s character. Of course, Li Tai in real history is not like this. Every character in the novel is based on personal imagination! I remember reading some information about Li Tai doing this after Chengqian rebelled. He went to hug Li Er¡¯s leg and said: ¡°If I be the crown prince, I will kill all my sons in the future and let my brother seed me!¡± Li Er was initially moved by this and promised him the crown prince position on the spot! However, the Emperor soon realized that what he said was wrong and so he quickly reversed his decision¡­


    Li Tai: Kill all my sons and let my younger brother seed me!


    Little round ball: qaq

 Chapter 78

    Chapter 78


    Li Yuanying has never traveled far on his own.


    But hearing that Wei Shu was unhappy, he felt unhappy too. This father of the Wei family doesn¡¯t send her much letters throughout the year and he had never heard Sister Shu mention about her family before. How can they just steal her away as soon as theye back.


    All is good if sister Shu goes with them willingly but it is very obvious that she doesn¡¯t want to.


    Thinking back at her letter wheres she mentioned that they might never see each other again, Yuanying is furious and feels the need to get her back. A dear friend of Li Yuanying should never feel like they have been wronged. Not even if it¡¯s caused by her father or brother! His own brother is the Emperor but still he does whatever he wants anyway!


    Li Yuanying hurried all the way and instructed his men who are skilled at riding to move ahead to inquire if the Wei Family had passed by. Finally after two days, he found out from a station warden that Wei Shu¡¯s father had eaten something here before setting off again recently.


    Receiving news about Wei Shu, Yuanying immediately got on his horse and led his men to chase after them.


    Workers at the station all stopped working and looked curiously at the direction Li Yuanying was going away. They wondered, ¡°Who are they?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t look like a child from an ordinary family!¡± ¡± But of course! Who from an ordinary family is escorted by so many men with weapons?¡±


    The steward came out after hearing themotion and dispersed the group by waving his hands.


    ¡°What are you looking at? Are you worthy enough to be discussing about the noble ss? Be careful that the nobleman might gouge out your eyes!¡±


    Everyone disperse.


    Li Yuanying quickly caught up with the carriage of the Wei family.


    Compared with his mighty group, the Wei family¡¯s carriage looked shabby. There weren¡¯t even a single extra helper except for the driver.


    Hearing the rapid sound of horsesing from behind, the experienced driver quickly shook his hands to dodge to let the group pass. He was instead surrounded by strong horses. This made him nervous and he and his docile old horse dare not move further.


    Soon, Li Yuanying arrived on a horse that was a head shorter than the rest to the front of the carriage, staring fixedly at the closed curtain.


    Wei Shu¡¯s father sensed that something was wrong. He signaled to his wife and children to be remain calm. He then raised his hand to push back the carriage curtain. Seeing a person approaching, he was a little surprised for this young man was only about eleven or twelve but his posture and aura seemed different from an ordinary person.


    Wei Shu looked up and was stunned, thinking that she was imagining things. Upon confirming that it was indeed Li Yuanying, Wei Shu got up and moved to the front.


    ¡°Your Highness, why are you here?¡±


    When Yuanying saw Wei Shu, he suppressed his hostility and returned to his usual easy-going manner. He easily got off his horse, walked to the carriage and said, ¡°You wrote in your letter that we will never meet again. Of course I have toe.¡±


    Wei Shu had pre-conditioned herself not to be sad but when Li Yuanying said things like this her eyes suddenly became hot again. How many people in this world will chase after you just because of a sentence in your letter?


    Wei¡¯s Father was a little annoyed as the two children didn¡¯t take him seriously and talked among themselves. Looking at Li Yuanying¡¯s action of having their carriage surrounded he coldly sneered: ¡°Is Prince Teng trying to hold a court official hostage?¡±


    Only then did Li Yuanying turn his attention to Wei Shu¡¯s father.


    Wei Shu¡¯s father looked a bit like Wei Zheng. While Wei Zheng had an unreasonable and straight face, he actually knows how to adapt ording to any situation better than anyone else. While his son inherited his looks, he got nothing else and didn¡¯t understand why Wei Zheng was awarded the position Duke of Zhen.


    Li Yuanying answered strangely: ¡°I¡¯m not interested in court officials. Why should I hold court officials hostage? I¡¯m here to look for my sister Shu.¡±


    Wei Shu¡¯s dad cheeks trembled and he got so angry that he didn¡¯t know what to say.


    Wei Ying stepped forward to block Wei Shu from behind and said angrily: ¡°Sister Shu? Who is your sister? Who allowed you to be so close to her? How can a girl¡¯s nickname be called so casually by an outsider?¡±


    Yuanying answered confidently: ¡°Isn¡¯t a name given so that other¡¯s can identify a person? I still hate it that sister Shu keeps calling me Your Highness. It is better to call my name directly.¡± He snorted and raised his chin to ask ¡°And who are you? Huh? Sister Shu and I have known each other for so long and I haven¡¯t seen you, nor know of you writing letters to her. I wonder where you pop out from!¡±


    Wei Ying was so angry that he wanted to tear him alive: ¡°I am her brother!¡±


    Wei Shu¡¯s dad finally regained his voice: ¡°Since Your Highness has no intention of holding our family hostage, then let everyone disperse!¡±


    Li Yuanying decided to y rogue: ¡°That can¡¯t be done, I haven¡¯t talked to sister Shu properly yet.¡±


    ¡°What do you want to say?!¡± (Wei¡¯s father)


    Li Yuanying poked his head into the carriage. trying to look past the two men to meet Wei Shu but was blocked tightly by them. This father and son are really petty! Since Li Yuanying couldn¡¯t y his tricks, he started reasoning with Wei¡¯s father: ¡°Dare I ask Wei Changshi, who is more superior? Duke of Zhen or you, Chief Secretary?¡±


    He frowned and replied, ¡°Of course it¡¯s the Duke.¡±


    Li Yuanying asked again: ¡± Is the father superior or the son?¡±


    ¡°Of course the father.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± Without changing his expression, the boy straightened his back and looked directly at them and lied.


    ¡°The duke made mee and ask sister Shu a few questions. What happens after this is entirely up to Sister Shu. Now I have to talk to Sister Shu ording to his wishes, so hurry up and get out of the way!¡±


    Wei¡¯s father couldn¡¯t believe it: ¡°How could father ask you toe?¡±


    Li Yuanying spoke convincingly, with no hint of distraction or guilt: ¡°Why not? I studied the entire <<Book of Rites>> with him and so I¡¯m considered half a disciple. Wei Zheng is over sixty years old. If he have something to convey, why wouldn¡¯t he ask me to run the errands?¡± It¡¯s called ¡®being a useful disciple¡¯!¡± In order to prove that he had studied under Wei Zheng, he brazenly boasted: ¡°He also said that I can learn much faster than you! When you were my age you had to be taught three times before you can remember things! Don¡¯t believe me? Just pick a random passage from the <<Book of Rites>> and see if I learn better than you!¡±


    Li Yuanying acted so righteously that the children¡¯s father was fooled by him.


    If Prince Teng is really here on Wei Zheng¡¯s request then he really had no reason to stop him. After all, her grandparents have taken such good care of their daughter for so long. It was already wrong for him to take Wei Shu away despite his mother¡¯s objection. How dare he go against his father¡¯s wishes in public?


    He replied coldly: ¡°You can convey your message directly now.¡±


    Li Yuanying refused, pointing towards Wei Ying who was blocking Wei Shu.


    ¡°Your blocking sister Shu. Give way, when you talk to someone, you have to look them in the eye as a sign of respect.¡±


    Wei Ying turned around angrily, letting Yuanying look directly at Wei Shu.


    ¡°Are you willing to go with them?¡± He asked in a calm tone, ¡°If you are willing, I will send someone to prepare lots of things, the next few carriages will follow you immediately. They will follow you until your new ce and will write down the address and we can continue tomunicate like before.¡±


    Wei Shu stared fixedly at Li Yuanying¡¯s serious eyes, unable to speak for a moment.


    Li Yuanying understood.


    Wei Shu was really unwilling.


    Experiencing her father and brother¡¯s attitude just now, it is clear that they are definitely not the same type of people. Wei Shu will definitely not be happy with them.


    ¡°Then let me ask another question, are you willing to stay?¡±


    Wei Shu couldn¡¯t answer either. Her father, brother and mother were all by her side. What reason does she have to stay?


    Li Yuanying went straight on and continued: ¡°Your grandfather and grandmother are no longer young. It is inevitable that people develop problems when they get old. Your grandmother doesn¡¯t like hired help and likes to do everything by herself. But there is no one close to her as your father and uncles are all busy serving the country and your aunties are all married. It is impossible for them to be by her side always. Although you are still young, you can help run errands, cook, and call a doctor. Are you willing to work hard by staying with your grandparents to take care of them and be filial to your grandparents instead of your parents?¡±


    Wei Shu listened nkly.


    ¡°What? Are you afraid of hard work?¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°What? Of course not!¡± (Wei Shu)


    ¡°I knew you were filial, why would you be afraid of hard work?¡± Heughed and showed two dimples to Mother Wei who was looking at him, looking cute and obedient.


    ¡°Auntie , sorry for not being able to say hello to you just now.¡±


    Wei¡¯s mother felt that she had never seen a more pleasing and good-looking young man than this one.


    ¡°Shu¡¯er¡¯s grandfather really asked you toe?¡±


    ¡°Naturally. Otherwise how dare Ie and randomly stop people? Chief Secretary Wei also said that he is an imperial court official. If I, a little prince, dare to hold an imperial court official hostage, I will definitely be scolded to death by officials in court.¡±He continued to strike the iron while it was hot, ¡°The Duke doesn¡¯t have any children and grandchildren around, so it can be really lonely. Why don¡¯t we do this? You couple go for your new assignment while the two children stay back in Luoyang. They can return to Chang¡¯an together with grandfather after that¡±


    If Li Yuanying take Wei Shu away alone, her dad will naturally not agree. But if Li Yuanying made Wei Ying stay too and spin it into a story of being filial to their parents, then it will impact Wei Shu¡¯s dad who was already feeling ashamed of always being away. How could he refuse his own father¡¯s request?


    Unknowingly, Wei Shu¡¯s dad expression softened. He looked at at his wife asking her for her opinion.


    She made up her mind: ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, Ying¡¯er and Shu¡¯er should stay.¡±


    Li Yuanying added more oil to the fire: ¡°Brother Wei should stay in Chang¡¯an for it is beneficial. I have a friend named Tang Sui who is about the same age. He came to Chang¡¯an by himself and got admitted into the Imperial College. He is now among the best, working very hard!¡± Although Li Yuanying did contribute some effort (helping Tang Sui to say hello to Kong Yingda), he couldn¡¯t admit it.


    ¡°Although Brother Wei can indeed wait for title from inheritance without added effort but I think a man should learn more knowledge and skills. Don¡¯t you agree with my words?¡±


    Wei Ying blushed.


    Of course the father would agree with Li Yuanying. If he didn¡¯t agree, he wouldn¡¯t be travelling around to umte experience like he is doing now. He wants to be a useful person to the country and its people. After hearing this statement, he changed his view of Li Yuanying and nodded in agreement.


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    Yuanying also nodded straightly: ¡°Brother Wei, if you stay, you can also be admitted into the Imperial College. Those who join are the future pirs of this country and theye from all corners of the country. They have different growth processes and naturally gain different insights. Get to know a few more good friends and not only increase your knowledge but also broaden your horizons. Therefore, I think it¡¯s better for Brother Wei to stay as well. Moreover, Brother Wei should rejoice that Sister Shu is a younger sister and not a younger brother. Otherwise, she would definitely be admitted to the Imperial College, and maybe even be the best student!¡±


    Thinking that his daughter¡¯s intelligence far surpasses her peers, Wei¡¯s father agreed with him and looked at Wei Ying more severely: ¡°Take your younger sister and follow His Highness Prince Teng to meet your grandfather. Then get ready to attend the Imperial College.¡±


    Until he was packed into Prince Teng¡¯s carriage by his parents, together with his luggage and his sister, Wei Ying was still in a daze. Why did he fail to take his sister away and also paid a price himself? Why is father¡¯s attitude towards Li Yuanyingpletely different from the beginning? Why is he suddenly so fierce towards his own son?


    Li Yuanying sessfully tricked sister Shu into his own carriage and then asked that the few carriages bringing gifts to follow behind Wei family¡¯s small carriage. He held father Wei¡¯s hand eagerly and said, ¡°These are not valuable things, just some books, pens, inks, papers and inkstones. If sister Shu is in Chang¡¯an, she can go to the library to read and have no need for these. Bring these to the new ce so that local schrs to borrow and use them.¡±


    He couldn¡¯t refuse such a thing as it was beneficial to culture and education. He agreed with some shame, feeling that he had really wronged this good boy.


    Rumors are harmful!


    This child is sensible and wise. The arrogant attitude at the beginning may be due to misunderstandings between both parties!


    Li Yuanying did all the courtesy and stood there to see them off. The single carriage had turned into a small convoy. It wasn¡¯t until they have gone far enough that Li Yuanying handed over his pony and quickly got into the carriage to join the Wei siblings.


    Wei Ying said vigntly: ¡°Why did youe up?!¡±


    Li Yuanying ignoring Wei Ying¡¯s greetings,ined to Wei Shu: ¡°After riding the horse for two days, I am exhausted but luckily I caught up.¡±


    Wei Shu looked at him with bright eyes: ¡°Did grandfather really ask you toe?¡±


    She felt that this was not something her grandfather would do.


    Li Yuanying blinked, and said innocently: ¡°I think Old Wei should think the same.¡±


    Wei Ying suddenly understood that he was on a pirate ship! There was no request from his grandfather, this kid is lying to his father!


    ¡°Get someone to stop immediately, I¡¯m going to expose you!¡± (Wei Ying)


    Li Yuanying inquired about Wei Ying¡¯s wishes enthusiastically: ¡°Brother Wei, do you want to go to Luoyang sitting by yourself, or do you want someone to knock you out and travel to Luoyang lying down?¡±


    Wei Ying: ¡°¡­¡±


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: All opposition parties are paper tigers! Want to steal my little friend! ! impossible! ! ! Not even parents can do it! ! !

 Chapter 79

    Chapter 79


    Thinking that the carriage was full of Li Yuanying¡¯s men, Wei Ying moved to a corner faced the wall and pretended to be dead.


    He didn¡¯t want to talk a younger sister who was coborating with Prince Teng. He even wanted to cry a little, why did father listen to this Prince and handed them over to him!


    As he calmed down, Yuanying chatted with Wei Shu enthusiastically: ¡°Let me tell you, I thought I¡¯ll only get to see you after a month or two, and I really missed you. I never thought that such a thing would happen. Why did your parents suddenly want to take you away?¡±


    When Wei Ying heard Li Yuanying utter ¡°I miss you so much¡±, he wanted to turn around to scold him but after thinking about it, he continued to face the wall. Can¡¯t out speak him, can¡¯t out fight him by numbers, and my sister favors this guy, what can he do, he can¡¯t do anything!


    Wei Shu nced at Wei Ying and said frankly: ¡°The manuscript you send to me was taken by my brother to my father.¡±


    Li Yuanying frowned and thought about it, only to remember the poem he wrote to her.


    ¡°So what? I saw your name in this poem, so I used it to practice calligraphy.¡±


    Wei Ying couldn¡¯t take it anymore, and turned his head to interrupt: ¡°If you didn¡¯t do it on purpose, why did you write it so many times!¡±


    Li Yuanying felt that this guy was iprehensible: ¡°If you want to see improvement in your handwriting, it is easier to see it writing the same thing over and over again. Why are you so stupid? You don¡¯t feel like sister Shu¡¯s brother at all.¡±


    Wei Ying looked at the righteous Li Yuanying, and then at the frank Wei Shu, not knowing what to say. These two were really just to practicing calligraphy but he and his father thought too much?!


    Seeing that Wei Ying was speechless, Li Yuanying didn¡¯t bother talking to him anymore.


    ¡°Why would they take you away after reading the poem? I sense that you didn¡¯t want to go but they took you away by force. That¡¯s horrible.¡±


    ¡°This poem is about the rtionship between a man and woman, they misunderstood the intention.¡±


    Li Yuanying finally understood the reason. He misunderstood that someone was trying to hit on his daughter so he temporarily decided to take Wei Shu with him.


    Having said that, Li Yuanying fully understood and nodded in agreement: ¡°If this is the case, it makes sense. If someone is eyeing my daughter in the future, I will not only take her away, but also get someone to beat that guy up!¡±


    Wei Shu was amused andughed.


    Li Yuanying acted obediently and benefited: ¡°Thankfully educated people emphasize on using the mouth and not the fist. Otherwise your papa would have rush up and beat me up.¡±


    Wei Shu let Li Yuanying have his moment before asking him how he came up with the n.


    Talking about this, Yuanying wanted to school Wei Shu: ¡°Look at you. Didn¡¯t you said that your grandfather teaches you all day long? Why haven¡¯t you pick up his skills? Let me repeat again and you must listen carefully. I learn all this from your grandfather.¡±


    Wei Shu nodded.


    In the <<Book of Rites>>, all it talks about is the way to deal with different people and situations. When facing the king, you have etiquette to respect the King and when facing colleagues, there are ways to deal with colleagues. There are also skills for dealing with fathers, brothers, schrs, farmers, businessmen and so on. This covers a wide range of items, including how you carry yourself, your words and your deeds. All who have read this book will definitely learn one thing : What to say and do at the specific right asion.¡±


    Wei Shu has also read the same book but this is the first time she is hearing Li Yuanying¡¯s perspective.


    ¡°Is this what grandfather taught you?¡±


    ¡°Your grandfather didn¡¯t teach these principles specifically but he gave plenty of example. To put it bluntly, for those who value love and righteousness, you should talk about love and righteousness; those who value benevolence and morality, speak of the same topic. Those who value money, talk about money and for those who value fame and fortune, speak of the same topic. Only through this way will they listen to you. If you were to talk about money and profit with your father, he will think that you are a materialistic idiot with no honorable reputation. The same way that if you were to share about morality to the illiterate impoverished people, it would be a form of cruelty. What they need most is maybe just a mouthful of hot rice and soup.¡±


    Wei Shu nodded.


    She felt the same way while studying this book but she couldn¡¯t express it so concisely.


    ¡°So be smarter in the future. Don¡¯t get dragged away by your parents without a say. Since your father values filial piety, you rte to him with this same topic!¡± He then nced at Wei Ying. ¡°Since your papa wants his son to be a dragon <sup>[1]</sup>a useful person, you should just make a fuss about your brother¡¯s future and it will definitely work.¡±


    Wei Shu continued to nod.


    It was her first time encountering such a thing and so she panicked. If she was as ¡°experienced¡± as Yuanying, she would definitely be able to face danger without fear!


    Seeing that Wei Shu was listening carefully, Li Yuanying became more invested in this conversation.


    ¡°As for the nonsense they used you of you should counter back. For example, in Confucius¡¯s <<The Three Hundred Poems>>, its songs, luby and poems are literal and free-spirited. Everything can be expressed, whether its praises or criticism or expression of love or hatred. They are all expressed freely through the bads of that time. The Zhou Dynasty was able to do this, why can¡¯t our Tang Dynasty do the same? This is regressing back to the past! It is because others have a crooked mind that they have bad thoughts! We live with no dirt andmunicate openly, so why should we be ndered? Next time you should fight back, don¡¯t be wronged for no reason!¡±


    Wei Ying was dumbfounded.


    This kid, how can you say things like this!


    Hearing that Yuanying was filled with righteous indignation andining on behalf of his sister, Wei Ying suddenly agreed that he was a person with ¡°dirty thoughts¡± and that he really wronged his sister!


    ¡°Your Highness is right, I will definitely refute them next time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, we can¡¯t study in vain, we have to use its lessons after reading them.¡±


    Wei Shu gave a ¡°hmm¡± in agreement.


    Wei Ying became anxious: ¡°Sister, don¡¯t be badly influenced by him.¡±


    Wei Shu asked him slowly: ¡°Brother, do you think what Confucius said is wrong?¡±


    Wei Ying could not counter back. In terms of eloquence, he can¡¯tpare to Prince Teng! I really don¡¯t know why grandfather taught this kid about the <<Book of Rites>>. See what happened to him!


    Li Yuanying was satisfied with Wei Shu¡¯s active participation and gave her a ¡°teachable child¡± approval look.


    Wei Ying said indignantly: ¡°Be proud. Let¡¯s see what happens to you when we are back in Luoyang!¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I already say? Your grandfather asked me to run some errands. I was just eager to help. How will it end?¡±


    ¡°Just now you clearly said that you are not send here by grandfather!¡±


    Now Wei Shu felt that her elder brother was a little stupid. Luckily, Li Yuanying kept him here and so he can be shipped off into the Imperial College for reformation while he was still young! Otherwise, it will be over when he grows up. By then, there will be no helping him at all.


    ¡°Since it has alreadye to this, how can grandfather deny that he requested His Highness toe pick us up? As long as you don¡¯t spew nonsense, then we are following grandfather¡¯s wishes and are staying back to fulfill our parents¡¯ filial piety.¡± (Wei Shu)


    Hearing his sister, Wei Ying turned around in a daze. This time he not only faced the wall but also bumped his head against it, looking very stupid.


    At first he thought he was smart but after listening to the both of them talking one after another, he really began to feel stupid


    Wei Ying thumped against the wall.


    Seeing this, Li Yuanying asked Wei Shu with only his eyes: Has your brother been provoked to the point of insanity? At first he was just dumb but if he now bes nuts? what should we do now?


    Wei Shu gestured back with her eyes: ¡°Just let him be.¡±


    Since Wei Ying was the only one unhappy, Yuanying couldn¡¯t care less. When he rushed here, he was in such a hurry that he couldn¡¯t enjoy the view. Since this is a rare asion that he is outside alone with his friend, his yfulness is back in full force and he dragged Wei Shu along to y here and there. The journey which took 2 days became a full 5 days going back!


    Around the same time, Dai Ting returned ahead to Luoyang to let Wei Zheng know that he has somehow ¡°entrusted Li Yuanying to run errands and to pick up his grandchildren¡±.


    When Wei Zheng heard that the boy really did snatch back his granddaughter, he was so angry that his liver ached. He hated Li Yuanying for being too eloquent and his son for being so useless that even a 10 year old child could trick him into giving away his daughter ¨C along with another son!


    But since things hase to this, Wei Zheng had to y along. After all, if he doesn¡¯t, the harm is on his granddaughter¡¯s reputation.


    As for Li Yuanying¡¯s reputation? Has he ever had any? This kid ruined his own reputation without a second thought! He doesn¡¯t care about that at all!


    And this world they live in doesn¡¯t treat boys and girls equally. A girl only needed to act slightly out of the norm to get the whole world criticizing her while boys who has multiple messy affairs will only bebeled simply as ¡°extraordinary¡±.


    Therefore, not only could Wei Zheng not deny anything, he had to y along and tell all his acquaintances that this was his idea. He is reluctant to part with his grandchildren and briefly mentioned it to Prince Teng who sprung into action for him. Prince Teng is a warm-hearted, good boy!


    After Wei Zheng spread the story, he waited for one day. Two days. Three days. Four days¡­


    Just when Wei Zheng was about to erupt and wanted to bang his head against a pir in front of the Emperor as a sign of protest, Li Yuanying finally returned with the siblings after being satisfied with his ytime.


    Li Yuanying had a serious expression when he brought in the Wei siblings to Wei Zheng¡¯s side. He then held Wei Zheng¡¯s hands in front of a crowd and said solemnly: ¡°You ced so much trust in me. Fortunately, I am able to return back safely with the Wei siblings!¡±


    The veins on Wei Zheng¡¯s forehead were twitching hard but he still had to force a smile to thank the boy with restrained anger.


    ¡°Thank you so much, Your Highness! Your Highness has worked hard on this journey. Please get some rest first.¡±


    The hidden meaning of this statement was to tell Li Yuanying to buzz off quickly before he explodes in anger at just looking at him! !


    Yuanying was afraid that Wei Zheng had reached his limit and would beat him up badly. He quickly ran away to look for his older brother.


    Li Er has not been in good moodtely. This is mainly because of the messages he has been receiving from the men sent to tail his younger brother. It¡¯s all about where the little party went to eat, where they detoured to visit a waterfall at the foot of a nearby mountain or how they detoured to a surrounding hunting grounds to try exotic dishes.


    In short, while he was busy working in Luoyang, Li Yuanying took his little friends out for a good time.


    Yuanying slipped to Li Er¡¯s side and realized that the Emperor was in a stinky mood. He quickly mimicked Wei Zheng¡¯s expression where he had to smile very hard despite his seething anger.


    Hearing that Wei Zheng gritted his teeth and cooperated with Li Yuanying¡¯s big lie, the Emperor was much relieved but he still wanted to lecture his brother.


    ¡°You b*stard, how old are you now that you learned how to kidnap someone¡¯s granddaughter?¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t kidnapping! Sister Shu is obviously unwilling to go but they forced her to. They have no reason!¡±


    ¡° She¡¯s his daughter. How can you step in?¡±


    ¡°I should! I only know sister Shu but am not acquainted with her family. Of course, I will only care if sister Shu is happy.¡±


    Li Er was a little curious about how Li Yuanying managed to pull tricks to steal someone¡¯s daughter so his cold gaze and asked for the whole story in a calm tone.


    Li Yuanying told the whole story and even shared his lecture to Wei Shu.


    Li Er was silent for awhile before replying: ¡°If Dearest Minister Wei finds out that you taught his granddaughter such theories, he will definitely chase after you and give you a beating.¡±


    Yuanying still felt that he had reason. ¡°Why would Wei beat me? I learned everything from him.¡±


    If Wei Zheng hadn¡¯t taught him, how would he know things without a teacher? It was Wei Zheng who taught him!


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: You adults are really unreasonable (pointing and criticizing)


    Wei Zheng: Shameless! ! ! !


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü1a useful person

 Chapter 80

    Chapter 80


    Under the watchful eyes of his colleagues, Wei Zheng asked to be excused so that he could take his grandchildren home.


    Since Mrs. Pei didn¡¯te along, his temporary residence felt really empty as he only had a small luggage. Looking at the two quail-like children, Wei Zheng sat down and motioned for them to sit for a talk.


    Wei Shu obediently sat down.


    Wei Ying was a little afraid of grandfather so he cowardly didn¡¯t dare to speak.


    Wei Zheng took one look at his granddaughter he brought up himself and then turned to Wei Ying signalling him to exin how Li Yuanying got them back here.


    Wei Ying quietly looked at his younger sister. Seeing that she was sitting quietly pretending to be cute, he suddenly regained his spirits. He told Wei Zheng all about how Prince Teng forcefully blocked their carriage and that he was arrogant and rude. A child from the royal family who bullies others.


    Wei Shu twitched her lips but continued to stay quiet.


    Wei Zheng listened and look at his granddaughter from time to time. After Wei Ying has finished talking about Li Yuanying¡¯s horrific crimes, Wei Zheng asked: ¡°Then why did your father agree to let you twoe to Luoyang?¡±


    Wei Ying was dumbfounded.


    This¡­. Heined a little too much and now doesn¡¯t know how to tie up loose ends. If Li Yuanying was really that bad, why would father agree to let him bring his children back to Luoyang. Wouldn¡¯t that portray his father as someone stupid and easy to fool?


    Seeing that Wei Ying had nothing to say, Wei Zheng turned to Wei Shu: ¡°You tell me.¡±


    Wei Shu can¡¯t tell if grandfather was feeling with his usual straight face. If it¡¯s like this, she just had to exin everything honestly.


    After hearing the whole story, Wei Zheng sighed.


    Li Yuanying figured out his eldest son¡¯s temperament in an instant. With that, he was able to use the right medicine to deal with son and said everything that he agrees with! All this talk about taking care of his elders and sending his son to the Imperial Academy would make much sense to him no matter how you put it.


    More importantly, this damn kid dares to use his NAME to do stuff!


    His son is good at most things except having good agility in adapting. It¡¯s not that hard to understand why he was fooled by Li Yuanying.


    Wei Zheng simply waved his hands and said: ¡°You guys have been outside for many days, go clean up and rest.¡±


    Wei Ying was impatient: ¡°Grandfather, are you just going to let that arrogant guy go after he abducted my sister?¡± He didn¡¯t care that he was suppose to be afraid of Wei Zheng and grabbed onto hands sharing all about Li Yuanying¡¯s theory from <<Book of Rites>>.


    ¡°He also said that he learned everything from you. Grandfather, aren¡¯t you angry?¡±


    Angry? Of course I am ANGRY!


    Wei Zheng was so angry that his face trembled but he can¡¯t drag Li Yuanying over to settle this score.


    After all, Li Yuanying¡¯s words are not nonsense, they are taken from real life principles.


    If he, Wei Zheng, only knew how to be upright without judging the situation, and couldn¡¯t give appropriate suggestions ording to situational needs, he would have lost his heads several times even if he had ten if them! Is it easy to be an advisor? Since ancient times persuading and advising the monarch has been the worst job on earth.


    It¡¯s just that Wei Zheng would never tell this to others. Th Emperor values his ¡°straightness¡±. How can he teach others to act ¡°crooked¡±?


    Seeing his grandsonining anxiously, he instantly knew that this grandson hasn¡¯t understood a word. He is just being simple minded in thinking that since he doesn¡¯t like Li Yuanying then everything Li Yuanying said is bad.


    Wei Zheng just answered lightly: ¡°I see. You go and rest and study hard. I¡¯ll bring you to meet Kong Yingda another day. Even if you are my grandson, it is still your skills alone that will get you admitted into the Imperial College.Don¡¯t make the Wei family lose face.¡±


    Wei Ying was dumbfounded. Not only is grandfather not striking Li Yuanying for his nonsense but he is also sending him to the Imperial College per the boy¡¯s suggestion! Kong Yingda who manages the Imperial College is known to be notoriously rigid and tough. If he studies there, he will have a hard life!


    Before Wei Ying could counter with anything, Wei Zheng sent them away. He sat in his room seriously thinking if it was a mistake on his part for teaching Li Yuanying about that book.


    Fortunately, <<The Analects of Confucius>> was taught by Xiao Deyan, otherwise he might be even more angry.


    Wei Zheng sat alone and sulked while Li Yuanying sessfully passed the test of Li Er and had ran back to meet his friends.


    Li Zhi had to study during daytime so he was okay but GaoYang and Sizi were very depressed. Without Li Yuanying, no one would take them around ying!


    Yuanying has his way in keeping the little lolis happy. He bought along all the small gifts he bought on the way and distributed it to the girls one by one. After that he started sharing about all the bad things ¨C Dominant father and brother and poor sister Shu. Sharing that if he did not rush over, we will never see sister Shu again!


    After hearing this, the children were pacified and less angry. They instead wanted to know how young uncle snatched Wei Shu back from the hands of the Wei family. He shared all the ups and downs and the girls listened intensely, sometimes filled with righteous indignation and sometimes happiness over the aplishments.


    In the end, everyone felt that it was the right thing for Li Yuanying to snatch Wei Shu back. Otherwise everyone would never be able to y together again!


    Hearing the whole thing, Li Zhi just wanted to say that it was right for the Wei father and brother to be wary of Li Yuanying. Anyone who bes aware that a guy like you has eyes on his daughter will definitely be very worried!


    Of course, having years of experience in dealing with Li Yuanying taught Li Zhi that somethings should just be kept in the heart and never said out casually!


    Otherwise, Li Yuanying will teach you what it means by being toote to regret.


    After coaxing the girls, Li Yuanying returned to his happy days of being the leader of ytime. He tried twice cautiously and found that Wei Zheng didn¡¯t intend to kick him when hee looking for Wei Shu. He soon returned to his usual manner and drops by inviting Wei Shu to y like usual.


    Knowing that Wei Zheng really wanted to send Wei Ying to the Imperial College, he enthusiastically decided to help Wei Ying through the back door. He went to Kong Yingda and started praising Wei Ying.


    ¡°Brother Wei is the elder brother of sister Shu who is extremely smart. If the sister is so smart, how can her brother be stupid? You should just keep your standards high like with Tang Xuan, he will definitely do well. I think Brother Wei will definitely build his name in the Imperial College.¡±


    Kong Yingda snorted coldly: ¡°You really are shameless in speaking out¡±


    Yuanying was being quite protective of Wei Ying and said responsibly: ¡°I came here to tell you all this on my own. Old Kong! Don¡¯t think thatBrother Wei made me do it.¡±


    After speaking, he handed a long scroll to Kong Yingda.


    ¡°I tap onto old schr Xiao¡¯s past teachings and drew up a book list for Brother Wei. Can you take a look at this? If you think its okay, I¡¯ll pass this to brother Wei to follow.¡±


    Kong Yingda look at the list and found that they were all good Confucian ssics. Although there were some works of other schools mixed in, they were still among those that should be read. He handed it back to Yuanying, stroked his beard and said, ¡°Not bad, you can give it to him.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll bring this to Brother Wei right away! He is smart so you can just follow this list when you want to test him.¡±


    After speaking, Li Yuanying asked quite considerately, ¡°Do you want me to make a copy of the same list for you to keep?.¡±


    Kong Yingda nodded in agreement: ¡°Yes.¡±


    Li Yuanying left contentedly with a list of books. After walking for a while, he told Dai Ting in a smiling manner to send Kong Yingda the book list which he had much earlier made several copies. This older brother of Sister Shu, while he had a good heart, is too free. That¡¯s why he goes around nosing into his sister¡¯s business and thenining to the adults!


    So let¡¯s find a way to keep him busy!


    Right after, the boy didn¡¯t dy and hurriedly ran to give the book list to Wei Zheng for his grandson.


    Wei Zheng raised his eyebrows and looked at him.


    Li Yuanying actively lobbied to Wei Zheng: ¡°I have read all these and they are useful. Please remember to ask Brother Wei read them. Old Kong mentioned that when he test Brother Wei, he will follow ordingly to this book list. Being the grandfather, you have to urge him to study. He has to be a capable older brother so that my younger sister Shu can rely on him in the future!¡±


    Wei Zheng said helplessly: ¡°Okay, I will prepare them ording to this list.¡±


    After bullying Wei Ying, the boy took away Wei Shu who was brewing tea.


    Wei Ying has been busy studying . While he hears Li Yuanying dropping by to look for Wei Shu, he refuses to meet him. After noticing that the boy has left, he came out to ask grandfather: ¡°What is he doing here again? Did hee to look for sister again?¡±


    Wei Zheng took one look at his grandson and felt that it was not wrong for this grandson to be bullied and squashed. Li Yuanying thought that his grandson was an eyesore and so he thought of a way to get rid of him. But look at this grandson, all he could do was to avoid him!


    It seems like he should really keep his eldest grandson by his side. Otherwise when the title Duke of reaches his son and grandson, it might deteriorate from one generation to the other.


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask men to pack some books back. Make sure you read them carefully. When you¡¯re tested during the admission session, you¡¯ll be tested based on these books.¡±


    Hearing that there were more books, Wei Ying¡¯s face turned bitter.


    ¡°Why more? Didn¡¯t you say that after reading the book you gave previously, I will be done?¡±


    ¡°Before today that statement was true but not after today.¡±


    Wei Ying finally got smart: ¡°Did that guy do something just now?!¡±


    Wei Zheng scoured his face and scold: ¡°Both him and Shu¡¯er are younger than you but they have read many more books than you. You should be reflecting instead of ming others!¡±


    As soon as Wei Zheng became fierce, Wei Ying didn¡¯t dare to say anything else. He secretly groaned in his heart. If he had known this, he shouldn¡¯t have provoked Li Yuanying at all from the start. Although father was strict, he was far less scary than grandfather. Grandfather¡¯s sullen face is too scary!


    Wei Ying was like an eggnt beaten twice. He went back limply and buried himself in his studies.


    Li Yuanying had no care for Wei Ying¡¯s emotions. After getting rid of this sister-stalking monster, he was in a good mood. He gave Wei Shu a copy of list.


    ¡°See if there¡¯s any books on this list that you haven¡¯t read. When your brother goes for the assessment, you go along and provoke him at the side. Let him realized that there are people beyond people and skies beyond skies <sup>[1]</sup>meaning there¡¯s always someone better out there. Let him broaden his horizons, and not only know how to bully his sister all day.¡±


    ¡°This can¡¯t count as bullying. He was born like this.¡±


    Wei Shu wasn¡¯t very angry with Wei Ying. Firstly, they spend too little time together so the siblings are not familiar with each other. There will inevitably be times when they cannot understand each other. Secondly, Wei Ying is already being tormented to death by Li Yuanying. Even if she was angry before, she would have been satisfied long ago.


    ¡°No such thing as born like this. As long as a person is willing to change, they can definitely change.¡±


    He thought for awhile and still felt that he wasn¡¯t cruel enough to Wei Ying. He shared that he will write to Tang Xuan and Di Renjie so that they can coordinate an attack that is both internal and external. He will ask Tang Xuan to get a few ssmates toe watch from the sidelines. Di Renjie will take his admission test during this same timing.


    Halfway nning, he felt that this was fun.


    ¡°Remember to find out the date your brother will report to the Imperial College. I will bring you along and we can both try out the entrance exam together. Let¡¯s make sure he scoresst!¡±


    ¡°Are you nning to study at the Imperial College too?¡± (Wei Shu)


    ¡°Nope. I just want to try the exam. I didn¡¯t say I¡¯m going in after the exam.¡± He promised firmly. ¡°I¡¯m close to Old Kong, it is not an issue to ask him to prepare a few more test paper.¡±


    Anyway, the n is to spare no room in messing with Wei Ying, a brother who doesn¡¯t behave like a brother so that he would never have time to bother Wei Shu!


    Li Yuanying took Wei Shu to meet with his other friends and told them about his grand ¡°bad brother transformation n¡±. He then asked if they wanted to join him.


    Gao Yang didn¡¯t like reading, so she chose to abstain.


    Sizi and Hengshan found that there were too many books on the list that they hadn¡¯t read, so they chose to abstain.


    Cheng Yang has always been introverted and quiet. Li Yuanying thought that she wouldn¡¯t want to participate but Cheng Yang raised her hand: ¡°I want to go.¡±


    Li Yuanying immediately agreed: ¡°No problem!¡±


    He then asked Li Zhi, who was the only one who hadn¡¯tmented yet. ¡°How about you, will you join us?¡±


    Li Zhi had no stance, so when Li Yuanying asked him he just agreed.


    That was how the meet up for the little radishes went from ying wildly to reading together. Regardless of whether they nned to participate in Li Yuanying¡¯s n, they all studied seriously with aspirations. Since this is not the first reading for Li Yuanying, he took time to exin when any of the children couldn¡¯t understand a topic. With that, everyone was motivated to study hard.


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: I don¡¯t want to y, I just want to bring Brother Wei onto the right path! Hey, this seems to be very fun, I will call my friends too!


    Wei Ying:! ! ! ! !


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü1meaning there¡¯s always someone better out there

 Chapter 81

    Chapter 81


    Li Yuanying¡¯s bold act of gathering the study group made the Emperor notice him. Li Er approached the boy and asked what he was up to.


    Hearing brother¡¯s questioning tone, Yuanying felt wronged: ¡°Am I not allowed to study with my friends?¡±


    His Majesty looked at him suspiciously, not convinced that he was just studying.


    Yuanying then told his brother about his scheme nned for College admission day. He firmly im that sister Shu¡¯s brother is a promising talent, so he has decided to help him by making him a target. How can we get better if we do not face setbacks? He wants to bring all his friends along for the exam. Whoever that does poorly will be embarrassed. He will definitely be motivated to work hard!


    Li Er replied casually: ¡°More like you taking revenge on him for wanting to take away his sister and not allowing you to y with her.¡±


    ¡°Am I such a stingy person?¡±


    Li Er squinted his eye at him. It meant ¡°you are indeed a stingy person¡±.


    ¡°Lord Brother, do you think my strategy is not good?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a good idea.¡±


    Thinking back to two years ago where this younger brother of his was scolded by everyone for being unlearned and ipetent. Now he has the confidence and foundation topete with Wei Ying who is two years older.


    Li Er nodded : ¡°Okay, go back to studying. Don¡¯t end upst in the exam.¡±


    Seems like he got the Emperor¡¯s permission on this matter.


    What Li Yuanying does best is holding chicken feathers as arrows. Once he has gotten the Emperor¡¯s approval, he went straight to Kong Yingda to share that he will be bringing along some friend for the admission test.


    Kong Yingda was annoyed with this nonsense. The Imperial Academy is the most prestigious school in all of Tang Empire. How can he allow this kid to make a fool out of it.


    He frowned. ¡°What nonsense?!¡±


    ¡°Lord Brother agreed to it. What¡¯s wrong? You just need to prepare a few more sets of exam paper. Yuanying hummed unhappily. ¡°I¡¯m not nning to study at your college; not even if I were invited. I will open my ownrge academy in the future!¡±


    Kong Yingda was angered by the statement. ¡°You keep moring about opening an academy at such a young age. Don¡¯t mislead the others.¡±


    Li Yuanying was not a coward and retorted immediately. ¡°The academy I run will not be like yours. Won¡¯t even allow others to take an exam.¡±


    ¡°Okay! If you want to take the exam,e and take the exam. Don¡¯t end up failing to answer even the title question when the timees.¡±


    Yuanying took this opportunity and passed him the list of children nning to take the exam.


    Kong Yingda took the list and told the boy to scoot. In case he really gets beaten up.


    Li Yuanying achieved his goal and ran away happy.


    Kong Yingda was provoked and immediately asked that the book list be sent to his disciples so that that they could identify difficult topics from it. The more difficult the better. Let¡¯s show these kids who don¡¯t know the heights of heaven and earth. Let¡¯s see if they can still be so proud when they see the questions!


    After giving orders, he was still a little unhappy. He went looking for the Emperor hoping that he would discipline his children. Don¡¯t treat all ces under the sun as a ce to fool around.


    ¡°Since the Academy has its own rules, we follow those strictly.¡± (Li Er)


    Kong Yingda was startled and hesitantly asked: ¡°Your Majesty means that if they pass the exam, we invite them to study in the Imperial Academy?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s natural. Since they feel that there¡¯s nothing else to learn in the pce, let them go to the Imperial Academy to learn something. Only when they can pass all the exam will dearest minister Kong release them out. ¡°


    When studying in the Imperial Academy, all basic needs like food, clothing, housing and transportation are provided. Of course the conditions are not as good as those within the pce ground. Beautiful thoughts of having your own room and servants waiting on you will not happen.


    Last year, the Imperial Academy expanded its enrollment and recruited a group of hard to manage students. Kong Yingda was worried and so wouldin to the Emperor from time to time, saying that these people were not easy to manage and are ignoring the rules of the Academy. Some would secretly sneak home and some would bribe poorer students to take care of their daily life. If you catch them, they would all say that it¡¯s voluntary. There¡¯s no reason to punish them. After all you can¡¯t say that helping out fellow ssmates is not allowed.


    As soon as Kong Yingda heard the Emperor¡¯s statement he understood his intentions: The Emperor is cing great importance in this Academy and so it would be impossible to allow it to be a yground of the Royal children. If you were to put the Emperor¡¯s brother and son as students here and treat them equally, no one would dare make trouble. No matter how powerful your father is, can he be more powerful than the Emperor himself?


    ¡°Your Majesty is wise.¡±


    After he finished speaking, he remembered that there were three girls on the list: Wei Shu, Princess Chengyang and the former Lady of Talents Wu Mei.


    Kong Yingda asked for rification: ¡°Should Princess Chengyang and the other two be treated equally?¡±


    ¡°I remember that the princess of Si are also studying in the Imperial Academy. If they can really pass the exam, you can arrange them to be ssmates with the daughters of Si.¡±


    The Queen of Si is now in power. Those she sent to study in Tang include her cousin sister Jin Shengman. When she first registered to study at the Imperial Academy, it naturally caused some controversy. However, she was sessfully enrolled due to her knowledge and skills. She has been studying here for more than a year and is smart and eager to learn. Initially she didn¡¯t speak the Tangnguage but is now able to grasp basic Tang knowledge. Even Kong Yingda has to admit that this foreign princess is very smart.


    If the princess of Si can go to school, what reason is there for the princess of Tang not be able to?


    As for Wei Shu and Wu Mei, just treat them aspanions.


    Kong Yingda have always wanted to deal with the delinquent aristocratic children who were getting out of hand. Therefore, he didn¡¯t argue with His Majesty and epted the proposal. After all, passing the exam is a big challenge, let¡¯s discuss this only after they have sessfullypass the exam!


    Since there was an agreement between both, Kong Yingda left and changed his arrangements. Since the n is to trick Li Yuanying and Li Zhi into the academy as ¡°benchmarks for rectification¡±, the questions naturally couldn¡¯t be too difficult. It was enough to hit them with a few difficult ones but they had to pass the exam in the end.


    Since then, every time Kong Yingda saw Li Yuanyinging by to ask questions, he was very patient, as if almost treating him as his own nephew.


    Li Yuanying felt weird and murmured to Li Zhi, ¡°I think Old Kong is trying to mess with me.¡±


    Li Zhi didn¡¯t think anything was wrong: ¡°Teacher Kong has always been like this. He has always been kind to us!¡±


    ¡°To you.¡±


    Li Zhi said truthfully: ¡°If you weren¡¯t always making him angry, he wouldn¡¯t always scold you.¡±


    Sounds reasonable. Maybe Kong Yingda noticed that he is now eager to learn and so changed his attitude towards him. There¡¯s no need to make a fuss. He quickly put aside his initial suspicion and continue leading his friends for half a day of study and half a day of ytime on a daily basis. asionally he would visit Wei Ying to provoke him by saying: ¡°We have finished reading so-and-so book, what¡¯s your progress?¡± This made Wei Ying burn the midnight oil nightly, for fear that he would really be overshadowed by Li Yuanying, who he once looked down upon!


    In the blink of an eye, it was already mid-May. The Imperial astronomer observed the skies and found a star that was weak at night. This is a sign of a ¡°broom star¡± which is extremely unlucky. The Imperial astronomer thought about it and deduced that it was due tost month¡¯s decision to carry out the Feng and Shan ritual <sup>[1]</sup>an official rite offered by the Son of Heaven to pay homage to heaven and earth. at Mount Tai which was against destiny. He hopes that His Majesty Li Er will not perform the same ritual at Mount Tai next year.


    Li Yuanying never bothers attending court session and so he wasn¡¯t aware that Li Er would pay a visit to Mount Tai. Hearing that a broom star appearedst night, he regretted that he slept too soundlyand couldn¡¯t catch a glimpse of the famous fabled broom star. He announced that today¡¯s study session would be canceled and everyone is to follow him to look for Li Chunfeng to learn more about the broom star. His mainly wanted to find out what does the legendary broom star looked like.


    Li Chunfeng specializes in this area and he easily shared to the little radishes all about this unluckyet. He shared with them all past records from ancient times to present and even drew them pictures of it the way it is visible to the naked eye.


    Li Yuanying listened with great interest.


    Them, he learned all about ¡°disaster theories¡±. It is said that disasters included insects, epidemics, floods, droughts and so on while ¡°abnormalities¡± included things like sr and lunar eclipses, meteorites,ets and so on. ording to Confucianism, the urrence of such celestial phenomena or disasters is a very serious scourge. Therefore, the imperial court had to take countermeasures to avoid the citizens from panicking.


    Generally speaking, these so-called countermeasures are either for the Emperor to reflect on his doings or for the Prime Minister to resign. This time, everything is under control as there is a ready excuse to me ¨C The Emperor should not visit Mount Tai for Feng and Shan ritual.


    Li Yuanying was unhappy hearing this. He has read about such things in history books but never paid it much attention. He remembered that in history books, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty would go to Mount Tai for a visit once every 5 years since establishing the Feng and Shan ritual. In total he went there at his leisure 5 to 6 times, such freedom!


    Brother has been on the throne for 15 years and he has never been to Mount Tai! The most important thing is that he too hasn¡¯t been to Mount Tai since he was born.


    The boy was disappointed: ¡°Then it¡¯s true that we won¡¯t be able to visit Mount Tai next year?¡±


    ¡°The Imperial Astronomer¡¯s order has been put in writings and then all the other courtiers will dissuade his Majesty too.¡± (Li Chunfeng)


    Li Chunfeng exined the reasons. For more than 20 years since the founding of Tang, the citizens have been lightly taxed for them to recuperate. With that, the treasury has not been filled and is farcking from the richness of the previous Sui Dynasty. Now most wealth is at the hands of the aristocratic families and the imperial court struggles to implement much. Under such circumstances, Wei Zheng and the other ministers will not be willing to work hard to engage in rituals like Feng and Shan.


    In short, no money so no one support the Emperor in his n to visit Mount Tai.


    Li Yuanying was stunned. ¡°Seems like Lord brother is really poor.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that father is poor. It is about the Court having to do too many things.¡± (Li Zhi)


    Li Yuanying doesn¡¯t care about the court¡¯s workload, Li Yuanying only cares about whether he can visit Mount Tai.


    ¡°Wait till my tea start selling, I will then lend money to brother. Then brother can bring me to Mount Tai to y!¡±


    Li Zhi reminded him: ¡°Your fief is actually not far from Mount Tai, you can y there as many times as you like.¡±


    Yuanying recalled that Mount Tai was to the East, and his fief Tengzhou was also in the East. They are indeed not far away for each other!


    Li Yuanying said without psychological pressure: ¡°Then I won¡¯t lend him money.¡± Brother is so sly and cunning, what happens if he refuses to return my money?


    Li Zhi was speechless.


    That evening, Sizi sold Li Yuanying and Li Zhi without them knowing. She told her father the Emperor all about the astronomical knowledge she had learned from Li Chunfeng and then about the conversation between Li Yuanying and Li Zhi.


    ¡°Young Uncle originally said that he would lend you money for a trip to Mount Tai. But then brother reminded uncle that Tengzhou is very close to Mount Tai. Then uncle said no to borrowing money!¡±


    Ever since he learned about the broom star, Li Er has been in a bad mood. Anyone who brings up this matter is met with his stinky attitude. But it is different for Sizi as she is his favorite daughter. He wasn¡¯t angry but just snuck a look at Li Yuanying who was feasting on the side.


    He then raised his eyebrows and said: ¡°It¡¯s not not a gentleman thing for one to go back on his words.¡±


    Li Yuanying put down his chopsticks and retorted: ¡°I only have little money now, it is like a drop in the ocean for you. So no point lending you money for now!¡±


    He assured Li Er very responsibly. ¡°Brother, don¡¯t worry, when I go to my fief, I will build you a road from Chang¡¯an to Mount Tai and give you afortable residence along the way. I¡¯ll make sure you visit Mount Tai without spending a single penny from the treasury. Don¡¯t talk about going just once, you can go every year if that¡¯s what you want!¡±


    ¡°Okay, I will remember this. If you fail to do it then I will punish you for deceiving the Emperor and throw you to Yazhou.¡±


    Yuanying turned around to asked Li Zhi, ¡°Where is Yazhou?¡±


    Li Zhi thought for a while and replied: ¡°On the southernmost ind, facing Lingnan Road to the North across the sea and Jiaozhou to the west across the sea. Sea everywhere, far away from Chang¡¯an.¡±


    Yuanying nodded and said enthusiastically: ¡°Sounds fun. Just throw me away! Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll build boats and follow the coast to travel back here. I¡¯lle back to see you every 8 or 10 years.¡±


    Li Er scolded: ¡°Didn¡¯t you n to apany someone to take the Imperial Academy exam? Go home and study after eating.¡±


    Li Yuanying took the children and murmured to Li Zhi when they left: ¡°It¡¯s not like I initiated it. He himself wanted to throw me there and then he got angry. He really is moody. No wonder people says that to apany the King is like apanying a tiger¡¯!¡±


    Li Zhi: ¡°¡­¡±


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü1an official rite offered by the Son of Heaven to pay homage to heaven and earth.

 Chapter 82

    Chapter 82


    Two dayster, Li Yuanying weed Su Dng who was in charge of tea affairs in the South region.


    News still spread rather slowly in ancient times. The poprity of tea in the North has not reached the South yet. The only difference is that merchants from the North are now travelling South to procure tea one after another. Su Dng seized this opportunity and obeyed Li Yuanying¡¯s orders to buy all mountainousnds that could potentially produce good tea harvest on both the East and West sides of the Yangtze River.


    The spring tea harvest has been great. To facilitate easy transportation, tea were rolled into balls in addition to tea powder for better storage. Workers under Su Dng also invented a new method of roasting tea which can be used on inferior tea leaves.


    This roasting method is much more convenient than the original method as it takes less effort and is easier to preserve. What¡¯s even more surprising is that tea brewed from this roasting method is pleasant and clear, giving it a unique taste. It taste quite different from the initial batch but both versions has it¡¯s own uniqueness.


    Su Dng wrote to Yuanying about this two months ago. In return, the young prince instructed that the person who invented this be rewarded handsomely and to expedite a new batch so that they can promote it while the spring harvest is in abundance. By end May, this year¡¯s quota of ¡°Thousand Gold Tea¡± is being shipped off to Luoyang and Chang¡¯an one after another.


    Mei Niang was in charged of handling the business in Chang¡¯an. She per-arrange ns with businessmen and monks and systematically deployed men to bring tea into the Tibetan Empire and Tuyuhun along an established route.


    As for Luoyang, Li Yuanying arranged a serious meeting with Su Dng to brief him about the importance of tea trading.


    This entire year has been smooth sailing for Su Dng. It was so smooth that he could walk with his head held high, apletely different person from his previous hard days of running around selling tea.


    Hearing the young prince personally exining about the tea trade and the prospects of selling tea to various foreign tribes, Su Dng was very enthusiastic.


    ¡°I am willing to work hard for Your Highness! There are many things that your humble servant cannot do but taking good care of these tea mountains I am capable of.¡±


    Li Yuanying has already entrusted the matter to Su Dng so he naturally wouldn¡¯t treat him badly.


    ¡°If you have sons or nephews, send them to Chang¡¯an. I will find jobs for them, so that their children can participate in the imperial examination in the future.¡±


    Su Dng was overjoyed. There was a clear distinction between social ss and ranks in the Tangw. In which, children of craftsmen and merchants were not allowed to take the imperial examination or marry out of their ranks. If Prince Teng is now making an exception for him, this means that the Su family will move up the ranks and escape from the stigma of being from the merchant ss.


    Since the beginning of time, it has always been everyone¡¯s hope that their descendants are able to break the ss ceiling and excel in life.


    ¡°The tea business might be difficult in the initial phase but don¡¯t be impatient. After a year or two, you will see the benefits of this trade.¡±


    Su Dng nodded. He paused before making a request hesitantly.


    ¡°This humble servant has a god sister with a difficult situation. Qiniang is growing older and if she continues to reside in Wancui mansion, she will inevitably live the same lowly life and be trapped in this viscous cycle forever. Your Highness, you have met Qiniang. With her looks and intelligence, she would have settled down peacefully if only she was born in an ordinary family. My god-sister is always worried that the weak and meek girl will have nowhere to go if she leaves the Mansion. But now that I have the opportunity to bring my children to the capital, I would like to make her my foster daughter and get her a ce to live together. Would your Highness be willing to help Qiniang change her status?¡±


    Li Yuanying readily agreed: ¡°This is nothing difficult. I¡¯ll get someone to do this discreetly and send her to the house you bought in advance.¡±


    Su Dng thanked the Lord happily.


    Li Yuanying ran trough all items rted to the tea business and then asked Dai Ting to note down Su Qiniang¡¯s problem. He will immediately help her after returning to the Capital City.


    Back at the pce, Li Yuanying got to know from Li Zhi that the Emperor¡¯s wishes were denied by his ministers again. Wei Zheng and Chu Suiliang took turns admonishing His Majesty about not visiting Mount Tai next year. As a result the Emperor was moody and had no appetite.


    Although everyone was already anticipating that this topic will be brought up repeatedly, Li Er still had to react in anger if he needed to. Since bing Emperor, he has been diligent in ruling the country, working almost all year round with no rest. The only exception is when he travels away to avoid the summer heat. But every time Feng and Shan gets mentioned, his ministers strongly opposes it. Could it be that in their eyes, he is a weak Emperor that was not worthy of performing this ritual? Does everyone really believe that all divine punishment is directed at him?


    At first, Li Er didn¡¯t care much about this topic. But after being repeatedly harassed by Wei Zheng and Chu Suiliang, he got more and more furious to the point that he had no appetite for food.


    Li Yuanying heard about this and ran to him excitedly hoping to see how furious his brother can be. His intention to gloat was so obvious that Li Er threw an ink stone at him. He quickly ran away.


    After returning, he confirms his observation with Li Zhi: ¡°You are right, your father is indeed very angry.¡±


    ¡°And yet you still went when you know about that!¡± (Li Zhi)


    ¡°All man feels seven emotions and six desires, it is normal for the Emperor to be angry. There is no need to make a fuss over it.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that father should take care of his body and keep his anger at bay?¡± Li Zhi said dejectedly, still traumatized by the previous incident of father falling ill.


    ¡°It seems that the knowledge your teachers gave you from the <<Book of Filial Piety>> is put to good used. You are indeed quite filial.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    His Majesty once requested that Xiao Deyan teach this book to Li Zhi with much sess. However at that time, Li Yuanying only cared about ying and never bothered meeting Xiao Deyan for lessons. Yuanying pondered and then gave Li Zhi an idea.


    ¡°Since you want to help Brother, here¡¯s an idea.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°What idea?¡± (Li Zhi)


    ¡°As far as I know, this theory about disasters and abnormalities was not popr before Han Dynasty. But were natural disasters really absent before the Han Dynasty?¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Li Zhi processed those words and put forward his own: ¡°You mean we need to overthrow the validity of this theory?¡±


    Li Yuanying gave him an expression that hinted at him being a ¡°good child that can be easily taught¡±.


    ¡°Before the Han Dynasty, disasters were rarely associated with Kings and the government but they still had wise rulers who brought peace and prosperity to their people. Since the Han Dynasty, many would often interpret warnings from the skies as divine signs but that hasn¡¯t help them keep their country and legacy forever. Of course, if you want to argue that their failure was due to not taking these warnings seriously then I have no way of winning this argument. My point of view is that, these are all man-made theory and forced fed to the heavens as divine warnings. Think about it, if there is severe drought in the North but amazing harvest in the South, then is the heavens satisfied or dissatisfied? If we take the harvest from the South to help the North, then does this mean the impact is evened out? (Li Yuanying)


    Li Zhi felt that young uncle¡¯s ideas were too deviant. It haspletely overturned all his previous knowledge and values.


    ¡°Although what you said is reasonable, others will not agree with you.¡± (Li Zhi)


    ¡°If they don¡¯t agree, then we will just need to use facts and logic to convince them. Didn¡¯t Xiao Li say that he has checked all avable records about thiset? You just need to request for those articles and go through them to identify if a pattern exist in it. Let¡¯s see if in any particr year a ruler didn¡¯t do this or that and what results had been recorded. This way we can guess if thiset is indeed bad omen. Even if this is a useless task, you can still write an article and submit it to your royal father to make him happy!¡±


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: It¡¯s a close call! ! ! ! !

 Chapter 83

    Chapter 83


    Li Yuanying sessfully persuaded Li Zhi. He then dragged him along to look for Li Chunfeng to get the relevant records.


    Hearing that the young prince wanted to debate about this topic, Li Chunfeng tried persuading him with a few words, telling him to not simply spread ideas casually.


    Anyone who wants to overthrow this theory is liken to wanting to offend Confucian schrs all around the world. Since it is a fact that the monarch believes that he is ordained by the Heavens, then when his ministers want to persuade him, they can only use theory rting to destiny.


    It is actually a kind of ¡°Confucianism¡± to associate various ¡°disasters¡± with politics and religion observed by the King and court.


    Confucius knowledge and Confucius tactics only has 1 different character but the meaning behind both words were very different.


    Knowledge refers to learning the school of thought but tactics refers to using it as a strategy of sorts.


    Therefore, whoever wants to kill the theory of catastrophe, is equivalent to wanting to take away a big tool from the hands of Confucian schrs. This person will definitely be a thorn in the side of many people and may even be attacked by groups!


    Li Chunfeng had a superior above him and didn¡¯t need to take on everything by himself. He had time to study lots of misceneous things with observing astronomical phenomena being his specialty. However as he studied more in-depth about this topic, he finds more ws in previous theories.


    Whether it is the study of yin and yang or the various sayings in Confucianism, they are quite contrary to thews of various celestial phenomena he has observed.


    Li Chunfeng is a smart person who is well aware that being in his early thirties, his age is not seen as senior for his profession and his qualifications even less. If he speaks out about something rashly, he will only be attacked for being a lunatic. On the contrary, if he can subtly mix in what he has mastered into what he is learning then it bes believable for the masses and he can obtain a promotion or benefits from it.


    The thought of wanting to debunk a theorypletely in such a simple and rude way has never urred to him before.


    He thought for a moment, then rmended a book to Li Yuanying: ¡°Have you read <<Discourses Weighed in the Bnce (Lunheng)>> before, Your Highness?¡±


    Li Yuanying shook his head.


    ¡°I have the collection here. If your highness is interested, you can take it back and have a look. There may be something you need in it.¡±


    When Li Yuanying heard that he had to read another book on his own he frowned and asked, ¡°Is it interesting?¡±


    Li Chunfeng stroked his beard. ¡°It¡¯s interesting. Theories of a hundred schools of thought are in it and there are some with special insights of its own.¡±


    Li Yuanying happily carried two books. The <&ltet records>> and <<Lunheng>> and left with Li Zhi.


    ¡°Since the minister also said not to write this article, why don¡¯t we just stop?¡± (Li Zhi)


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t think much at first, but now that he has heard what Li Chunfeng has to say, he also felt that it¡¯s not a good idea to encourage Li Zhi to continue with it. Li Zhi has always been a good boy, Kong Yingda and the other ministers are always full of praises for him. It¡¯s not right to suddenly ask him to write such deviant things.


    ¡°Okay, don¡¯t write.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Li Zhi looked at the books that Li Yuanying was holding.


    ¡°Then shall we return these manuscripts?¡± (Li Zhi)


    ¡°I said that we won¡¯t write the article but I still want to learn and read this. Up to you if you want to follow me.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    After thinking, he gave Li Zhi the task of tutoring the girls today so that he can go home and read both books by himself.


    Li Zhi objected: ¡°I can¡¯t teach sister Shu.¡±


    Li Zhi realized that the pace of Li Yuanying¡¯s learning was shocking. Two years ago young uncle was just a nk te but now he has already read more books than himself. Recently, Li Yuanying invited Wei Shu over to study with them and Li Zhi suffered another blow. This little girl is not much older than Sizi but her calligraphy andprehension are way better than most people. She doesn¡¯t act like a 7 or 8 years old child at all!


    Yuanying has no care for Li Zhi¡¯s feelings and proudly said: ¡°Of course, you don¡¯t read as much as Sister Shu. How about this? You ask sister shu if she is interested to drop by my ce to read these 2 new books with me. We can divide our troops into two groups and learn from each other!¡±


    Li Zhi nodded and went to join Chengyang and the others.


    After a while, Wei Shu came over bringing along Li Zhi and Cheng Yang. The study room today has been changed to Li Yuanying¡¯s courtyard. One group studied for their exams whith the other group read aboutets and Lun Heng.


    Gao Yang was not interested, so she went to y polo with friends.


    Li Yuanying passed part of <<Lun Heng>> to Wei Shu as the work was divided into many volumes. The two quickly immersed themselves in this brand new book.


    In the next few days, Yuanying discussed and debated on the questionable content with Wei Shu. They quickly swept through all 80 volumes of it.


    This book doesn¡¯t fall under the study of Confucius or Taoism. It can only be ssified as an ¡°extraordinary book¡± as what Li Chungfeng has said it was.


    The views expressed here are even contrary to what Li Chunfeng does in his daily life. The author of this book was an Eastern Han man named Wang Chong who was an atheist.


    The author Wang Chong in his works refuted the theory of interaction between heaven and man which Confucian schrs in the Han Dynasty strongly believes in. His point of view is: If there really was something called the will of heaven, then surely it is possible to directly send those message to the wise monarch. Why didn¡¯t Heaven choose to mandate someone wise like Yao Shun to rule but instead choose ipetent and mediocre rulers and then had to repeatedly send warnings and mandates from heaven to condemn the world? Isn¡¯t this too tiring for Heaven?!


    Therefore, Wang Chong refuted strongly against such theories that were often talked about by the Eastern and Western Han Dynasties. The author believes that the treasures of heaven and earth are natural urrence and have nothing to do with the king and court. You are just seeing things by chance; the disaster visions ur and disappear by themselves and have nothing to do with anyone, merely just chance encounters.


    Regarding sr eclipse, Wang Chong wrote this: ¡°The sky changes, the eclipse of the sun and the moon, the sr eclipse at forty two months, the sr eclipse in May and June. Constant eclipses, not due to politics, ever-changing disasters are all the same, not necessarily caused by politics or religion.¡± This means that sr eclipses and lunar eclipses can be calcted, and politics or religion have nothing to do with it. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can calcte it ording to the rules I have shared and see if it is indeed true!


    After reading this passage, Yuanying lifted his spirits and asked that Chunfeng¡¯s records on sr and lunar eclipses be brought to him so that he can try match Wang Chong¡¯s algorithm.


    Unfortunately, the eclipse observed during Zhenguan period did not conform to the theory of ¡°one sr eclipse ievery forty two months¡±.


    But it doesn¡¯t matter. Li Yuanying will only single out things that agrees and make sense to him. Other conflicting views he will throw them aside and not take it seriously.


    Since he has decided not to get Li Zhi the good baby involve, he and Wei Shu work together. Wei Shu sorted out events rted to astrology and eclipses while Yuanying was tasked with identifying all past major disasters and events that happened in thest 300 years.


    After several days of hard work, they finally sorted out two long scrolls that could correspond to each other.


    Arranging them in chronological order, it became clear whether these so-called ¡°condemnation¡± is rted to a monarch¡¯s virtue. In years that the heaven had shown warnings and there were indeed times where disasters happened but not consistently. Simrly in years where there were no warnings, great disasters had also urred. There wereeven records of countries being wiped off the map without any signs.


    It¡¯s a pity that theparison scrolls came out a little toote.


    While they were busy, Li Er had already issued an edict stating that he would not go to Mount Tai next year.


    Although Yuanying regretted the news about not being able to go to Mount Tai and to conveniently visit his future fief, he still took the scrolls to Li Er.


    Having nothing crucial to handle at the moment, Li Er let the boy in. Li Yuanying excitedly ran towards him.


    ¡°Brother, Sister Shu and I havepiled two manuscripts. Let me show it to you!¡±


    Li Er nodded and ordered someone to clear the desk in front of him temporarily.


    Li Yuanying hurriedly spread out his scrolls.


    Two volumes as one and both records were tabted by year. Floods, droughts, military disasters and wars did not ovep with ¡°visions¡± such as eclipses andets.


    His Majesty did not expect Li Yuanying toe up with such a thing.


    Such clearyout, it was impossible for the Emperor not to understand such clearparison.


    Li Yuanying sat in front of Li Er and said: ¡°These celestial phenomena have nothing to do with the broom star at all. In years with these phenomena, there were also great harvests and victories and in years without them, there were also catastrophes, defeats, and even national subjugation.¡±


    He took Li Er¡¯s hand and said firmly, ¡°So, whether there is a sr eclipse, a lunar eclipse or a star, it has nothing to do with how well you, the Emperor is doing! Brother, you are a good emperor. The best one!¡±


    Li Er looked at the little boy sitting next to him and then at the two long scrolls .


    ¡°You guys, such consideration.¡±


    Yuanying saw that Li Er¡¯s eyebrows became rxed and was in a better mood. He then told him about what Li Chunfeng had shared with him.


    Li Yuanying frowned and asked: ¡°Brother, is it really that hard andplicated when dealing with Old Wei and the others?¡±


    Li Er nced at his brother, tapped the scrolls lightly and said warmly, ¡°Whether you believe these ims or not is not the most important thing.¡±


    Li Yuanying sat up straight, waiting for His Majesty to continue.


    ¡°These statements are for the people. If the people believe them then they be facts. If they don¡¯t then it¡¯s b*llshit. If we want people to trust that the Emperor has the mandate from heaven then we need to ept the rtions and theories between heaven and man.¡±


    Listening to this, Yuanying felt a little bit clear but also a little bit lost. He pondered quietly before sharing his stance.


    ¡°Brother, you feel that not all Kings is able to restrain themselves, therefore even when your men chase after you and criticize you, you do not refute them but instead follow whatever themon men believes.¡±


    This is tantamount to putting yourself in shackles to set an example for future generations. So that future kings will not shut their eyes and ears and be tyrants.


    Li Er nodded.


    Li Yuanying is an expert in finding different angles and fault. ¡°Brother, why didn¡¯t you tell me you didn¡¯t believe in these superstition? You make us work for nothing!¡±


    Li Er thinks that his younger brother is smart. But sometimes he is likable and sometimes very annoying.


    When he was young, he followed histe father in raising troops. Due to this his hands were stained with the blood of countless people. He even got the throne by stepping on his brother¡¯s corpse. If there was really fate and destiny, why did he have to fight his brother to the point of death for the throne? If he really believed in these teachings, wouldn¡¯t he have to go to hell after death?


    Therefore, he doesn¡¯t believe in God or destiny.


    He only want to live this life well, manage this chaotic dynasty well and leave a stable Tang to future generations.


    If Li Yuanying hadn¡¯t work so hard with Sister Shu topile these scrolls to console the Emperor, Li Er would not have shared these thoughts with the boy.


    Li Er looked at Li Yuanying solemnly: ¡°In the future, you should think less about these things and read more useful books. You are not the only smart person in the world. What you can think of, others can think of; what you can see, others can too.¡±


    Sensing the seriousness, Yuanying couldn¡¯t hold back. ¡°Brother, you have worked so hard.¡±


    He also seriously assured him. ¡°Brother, don¡¯t worry. When I go to mynd, I will repair the roads as soon as possible. Brother, you can visit me and often y at Mount Tai!¡±


    Li Er heard Yuanying¡¯s bold promises and couldn¡¯t take anything seriously. He leaned back leisurely and pointed at the long scrolls.


    ¡°Look at your handwriting, it¡¯s far worse than your little sister. Instead of talking big every day, why not practice your handwriting first.¡± .¡±


    Li Yuanying: ¡°¡­¡±


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: Furious.jpg

 Chapter 84

    Chapter 84


    Li Yuanying was furious.


    He worked so hard for days trying tofort his older brother with good intentions. He even made Sister Shu copy and write a long scroll. And all he said was that he had bad handwriting!


    Li Yuanying left in anger but after running for a while he realized something was wrong. Sister Shu¡¯s handwriting has always been superior to his, why should he be angry?! Immediately he felt much better and went to look for Wei Shu to tell her everything that had happen and that he has shared the scrolls to the Emperor.


    ¡°Brother praised your handwriting, he says it¡¯s better than mine! But Brother is bad at expressing himself. He obviously just wanted topliment you but he ended up putting me down. Bad person.¡±


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t bring up the Emperor¡¯s opinion on the scrolls and Wei Shu didn¡¯t ask. Instead, Wei Shu triedforting him by sharing that she¡¯s been practicing calligraphy since much younger while he only started for a year or two.


    ¡°Besides, you also learned how to draw and read so many books. It¡¯s already amazing that you can make such a big improvement.¡±


    The anger of a childes and goes quickly. Li Yuanying was delighted with the praises. He thinks that this younger sister is so much better with words, unlike his older brother!


    While he was happy about being praised, he wasn¡¯t pleased at being looked down upon. He decided to bring Wei Shu along to seek advice from Chu Suiliang the next day. It¡¯s best to learn from him through his recent works. If it weren¡¯t because Ouyang Xun was far away in Chang¡¯an, Yuanying would look for him instead. This is how thick-skinned the boy is!


    When Wei Zheng returned home that day, he got to know that the Emperor had delivered rewards not for him but for his granddaughter Wei Shu. He led the girl to receive the Emperor¡¯s reward and took a look at the gifts. Itprises of the top four treasures for studying- pens, inks, papers and ink stones. All expensive ones.


    Wei Ying asked curiously: ¡°Girl, why did the Emperor reward you?¡±


    Siblings do not hold grudge. After being yed like a fool in circles by Prince Teng, Wei Ying had epted the fact that Li Yuanying often came over to kidnap his sister. He has now learned to turn a blind eye like his grandfather.


    Wei Shu held onto the wooden box given by the Emperor and did not exin too much. She simply said that she and Yuanying copied something and dedicated it to the Emperor. His Majesty is rewarding them over that.


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± (Wei Ying)


    As Wei Shu return home everyday, she would share interesting stories with her family members. At first, Wei Ying was a little angry that Li Yuanying woulde looking for his younger sister everyday. But after hearing more if these stories he has became a little envious. No wonder grandfather allows sister to follow him for ytime. Can girls from ordinary families do so many fun things? Can the words they write be submitted to the Emperor and in turn be rewarded for it? When shees of age for marriage in the future, these incidences will all be assets when discussing a beneficial match!


    Wei Shu saw the envy and disappointment on Wei Ying¡¯s face and knew that her daily subtle influence had paid off. She didn¡¯t say more, but instead pack up and cherished the four treasures bestowed by His Majesty.


    Wei Ying is easy to fool but not Wei Zheng. Just as Wei Shu ran into the study to put away her reward, Wei Zheng came in and asked her for a talk.


    As soon as she sat down, grandfather ask what was submitted to the Emperor.


    Nowadays Wei Zheng doesn¡¯t have any good impression about the boy.


    Generally speaking, whatever that kid does surely isn¡¯t something good.


    Since it was only the two of them in the room, Wei Shu didn¡¯t hide anything but told grandpa the whole story about how they read about <<LunHeng>> and records ofets.


    Wei Zheng instantly knew what the boy was up to.


    ¡°He thinks that since he cannot go to Mount Tai, he wants to debunk all the theories at one go right?¡±


    ¡°His Highness thinks that you guys are bullying his elder brother together.¡± Of course, not being able to visit Mount Tai is among the reason. She has heard the prince mention it a few times in the past few days, saying that he will definitely bring them to Mount Tai in the future, don¡¯t listen to people talk nonsense.


    Wei Zheng did not argue with Wei Shu.


    This pair of royal brothers were really bing more tight knit as they got along. This is a good thing that Wei Zheng is optimistic about. With Li Yuanying being an outlier among the royal family, maybe he can reduce disputes and increase warmth within the family.


    However, if the Emperor gave Li Yuanying too much honor and favor in the future, he would still criticize him. Like when how Li Tai was favored by His Majesty and they had advised him against it many times. If he hadn¡¯t, His Majesty would have went ahead and arranged for Li Tai to reside at Wude Hall!


    Hearing that all Li Yuanying was copying two long scrolls and nothing else, he sent Wei Shu to go y by himself.


    While Li Yuanying was busy putting together a calligraphy practice n, Dai Ting and Su Dng worked together to organize a caravan that was west bound.


    Yuanying asked for Dai Ting¡¯s opinion: ¡°Do you want to go with the group again?¡±


    Dai Ting nodded, expressing his willingness to go.


    Li Yuanying respected his wishes and handed over the leadership of the party departing from Luoyang to Dai Ting. They were going separately from the caravan party of Chang¡¯an, both taking different routes into the Tibetan Empire.


    ¡°I heard that there was a civil strife in Tuyuhunst month, and a general named Xi Jun Mai quell it. I¡¯m worried that Honghua would be frighten by this incident, so when you pass-by please pass these stuff to her.¡±


    Since there was a daughter his n who was married into Tuyuhun, Li Yuanying would naturally treat Honghua as he did with Wencheng.


    In response Dai Ting set off from Luoyang to Tuyuhun with a mighty party. There were nearly a hundred monks and the group with shiny bald heads attracted many attention. People were asking around only to find out that this these monks were tasked to spread religion to foreigners. As for the ¡°goods¡± they were all high-quality ¡°Thousand Gold Tea¡±!


    Thousand Gold Hall has been doing amazing. There¡¯s doctor Sun fronting it causing many to seek treatment from this ce. When Sun Simiao followed the group to Luoyang, he not only sat with doctors to discuss medical skills but also traveled around seeing patients. He has high medical skills and a kind heart! Can the tea sold by Thousand Gold Hall be bad? I heard that even the Emperor said it was good after drinking it!


    All kinds of rumors spread like wildfire and the spring tea brought in by Su Dng quickly sold out. Dng and Yuanying divided their shares and happily went to Chang¡¯an to set up a house for Su Qiniang and his children. Since Dai Ting is now out, Yuanying had to pick another useful servant to follow Su Dng back to the Capital to handle what he has promised.


    As the 3 Su siblings sat and talked about this matter, Su Qiniang burst into tears not wanting to leave Wancui Mansion as she fears that Su Erniang would be left alone.


    ¡°This olddy is surrounded by people who serves her and there are many other girls left in the Mansion. How can she be lonely! More importantly, you my child who ising of age. By then many will have bad intentions towards you. Although you were born unlucky, but you have beauty and wisdom. You definitely do not belong to this ce. If you want me to be happy, you should obediently leave. Your good life in the future is the best reward for me. ¡± (Su Erniang)


    Su Erniang doesn¡¯t consider herself a good person. In fact she thinks that she has only done 2 good deeds in her life, one is helping Su Dng and the other adopting Su Qiniang. Not sure if it¡¯s just pure luck but both were the kind of people who will repay others for every drop of grace shown.


    With such a capable older godbrother to rely on, Su Erniang will never let her little ¡°sister¡± that she raised by herself be a ything for rich men. As she is not very good with words, Erniang just gave Qiniang a box of treasure and warned her never to return again. Live a good life and find someone who upright and knowledgeable. A good husband who loves her. All she ask for is to hear about this good news in the future.


    Su Qiniang cried while drinking her farewell wine. She then followed after Su Dng with the treasure box in her arms.


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t know about the parting drama. He was however busy with his group of little carrot heads and was harassing Chu Suiliang for days. He finally snatched all of Chu Suiliang¡¯s good works and happily brought the little carrot heads group home to practice calligraphy!


    After all, he might have read lots but he hasn¡¯t practiced much writing. If they write ugly during the exam, won¡¯t they be looked down upon by that old-fashioned Kong Yingda?


    Practice! Must practice! Must practice well!

 Chapter 85

    Chapter 85


    With a mission in mind, Li Yuanying had peaceful but meaningful days. Knowing all about the Emperor¡¯s scheme to trick the boys into the Imperial Academy, Kong Yinda and colleagues were all happy to help them with their study questions.


    In the blink of an eye, autumn turned to winter. Today was a day with good weather and so Li Er decided to bring the group of radish heads to Yique for a hunting trip. Yique is like the gate of Luoyang. Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty built a pce facing Yique and many started calling this ce the Gates of the Dragon.


    Since arriving at Luoyang, the Emperor continued to deal with government affairs daily and had not brought the children out to y much. Hearing that the head of the family wants to bring them on a trip, the group happily changed into hunting clothes early in the morning.


    As they were about to set off, Li Er saw Li Yuanying¡¯s eagerness to rush to the front and act wildly, tempted to find an excuse to throw the kid home and ground him.


    Yuanying followed His Majesty Li Er closely and asked specifically: ¡°Why didn¡¯t Qingque ride with us? Is it because he has became so fat that he can no longer ride a horse? Seriously I think Qingque is very different from you in this aspect. Brother, look how handsome and manly you are! You don¡¯t lose to Old Cheng and the rest when ites to riding or shooting an arrow!¡±


    ¡°Being fat means that a person is blessed.¡± (Li Er)


    Li Yuanying rode his pony and chased Li Er closely, refusing to stop: ¡°But it¡¯s not good to be too fat. Master Sun once said that people who are too fat will fall sick and when they sleep they find it harder to breathe. Moreover, you should know about the heart. You like hunting so you must have seen that when a prey is cut open, there is ayer of fat around the heart. Once a person gets fat, their fatty tissues will grow too. The heart needs to pump up and down up and down, if there¡¯s too much fat around it, the heart will get tired from jumping up and down!¡±


    ¡°Stop talking!¡±


    This damn kid gave such vivid description that the Emperor is now worried about his fourth son. Is his fourth child really too fat?


    As the group arrived at Yique, their surroundings had been cleared and the huge hunting ground was quiet. Except for the guards who arrived earlier, there was no outsider. As soon as Li Yuanying arrived, he went to pick up his little friends from the carriage and took the group to have fun everywhere.


    Li Er nced at Li Zhi who looked like he wanted to join but did not dare to. ¡°Bring someone along to follow your sisters, don¡¯t let them create any idents.¡±


    Li Zhi responded cheerfully and took the guards to join Li Yuanying and the others.


    Li Tai helped Princess Yan out of the carriage and held the chubby Little Round Ball in his arms. Little Round Ball looked left and right and soon saw Li Yuanying and his aunts ying.


    ¡°Look for Yaoyao, I want Yaoyao.¡±


    The flesh on Li Tai¡¯s face trembled as he coaxed the child: ¡°Go and pay your respects to Grandpa first, then you can join them.¡±


    Little Round Ball thought carefully and nodded in agreement.


    Li Tai felt that if this son were to share more of his liking for Li Yuanying with his father, father would favour uncle even more!


    ¡°Hello Grandpa!¡± (Little Round Ball )


    Since Li Er favors Li Tai, he automatically love this young grandchild too. He picked Little Round Ball up and felt that he had became heavier.


    ¡°Not bad, Xin Er has gained weight.¡±


    Little Round Ball was afraid of falling, so he carefully grabbed onto grandpa¡¯s clothes.


    He then asked childishly: ¡°Grandpa, I want to y with Yaoyao.¡±


    Here¡¯s another little radish who has been coaxed away by Li Yuanying!


    Li Er tightened his arms and trapped Li Xiaoyuan and teased him with a smile: ¡°What if Grandpa won¡¯t let you go?¡±


    Little Round Ball looked at the back of Li Yuanying leading the group further away and then at the arm in front of him. He pouted his lips and wanted to cry but didn¡¯t dare too. He started sniffing loudly.


    Seeing tears, His Majesty Li Erughed and let ced him down, allowing Princess Yan to bring him to y with the group.


    Li Tai is annoyed that his son didn¡¯t know who to be close with. But he was also secretly happy that the Emperor is deliberately keeping him by his side.


    Li Er favors Li Tai and was always happy to see his roundness, thinking that his son was blessed. But now that Li Tai was approaching him, he remember ¡°the heart beats very tiredly¡± that Li Yuanying spoke of. Although his child is still in good health, but if he continues to gain weight, will he be out of breath when sleeping as Li Yuanying said?


    Li Er is now concerned.


    ¡°Qingque, have you gained more weight again?¡±


    Li Tai remembers that father likes his chubbiness and proudly said: ¡°This son of you¡¯re has a big heart and a big body. There isn¡¯t much worry being by father¡¯s side so naturally I will grow fat.¡±


    Li Er liked hearing such a statement but being worried about his son¡¯s health he still cautioned: ¡°It¡¯s better to pay attention to your weight. Your young uncle just told me that being too fat is not good for the heart .¡±


    Li Tai: ¡°¡­¡±


    Damn you, Li Yuanying. Secretly applying trick behind my back!


    What¡¯s wrong with being fat? Did I provoke you by eating rice from your house?!


    Li Tai¡¯s face trembled and he responded emotionally: ¡°This son hears and obey.¡±


    Li Yuanying had no interest in hunting so the bunch of radish heads was just running around. Only when His Majesty Li Er returned and was cooking dinner did he lead his group back and sat around the Emperor to wait for food. To eat the best and freshest prey, of course you have to sit with next to imperial brother!


    Li Yuanying sat down with the youngest Little Round Ball. He felt Li Tai looking at him with a bit of anger in his eyes.


    Li Yuanying wondered. Is he angry because he kidnapped his son for ytime?


    Li Yuanying coaxed the toddler: ¡°Papa and Mama misses you. You have to go to them or they will be sad!¡±


    Hearing this, the boy felt a sense of responsibility and nodded seriously. He ran back to Li Tai with his short legs , coaxing with a childish voice, ¡°Don¡¯t be sad!¡±


    Today¡¯s capture was turned into delicious dishes one after another. Li Yuanying ate a meal and leaned over towards His Majesty wanting more.


    ¡°Lord Brother, have you found any good furs? Anyway, you have a lot of furs in your pce. Give me one if you have an extra! I want to give one to my mother, she will be happy!¡±


    Li Er gave him a look. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you hunt for one yourself?¡±


    Li Yuanying said confidently: ¡°I am still young, I can¡¯t draw a bow. Besides, you have better skills than me, so why should I do it myself?!¡±


    Li Er did a mental calction. This boy is now 11 and will be 12 soon. Such nerve to say that he can¡¯t draw a bow!


    ¡°Where were you when Zhi Nu was learning this?¡±


    ¡°I was much younger when Zhi Nu was learning how to shoot an arrow. Of course I was out ying.¡±


    The Emperor wanted to provoke him.


    ¡°When I was your age, I was already able to ride horses and draw my bow. Not cking away like someone .¡±


    The Emperor continued with a story about thete Emperor. At that time, their queen mother belonged to the Dou family. She was the jewel of the family so naturally her future husband had to be chosen from the creme of the crop. At that time, the Dou family painted two peacocks and asked all future son-inw candidates to shoot two arrows directed at the eyes of the peacocks. Many failed and only theirte father managed to do the deed and married their mother.


    ¡°If you continue being like this, you will never be able to marry a princess in the future.¡±


    Li Yuanying¡¯s perspective of things was always different.


    ¡°This peacock screen is really pitiful. It must have been ruined after being shot at with so many arrows by dozens of people.¡±


    Li Er red at him.


    Li Yuanying hummed twice and decided to ignore his brother. Wouldn¡¯t even give him a fur piece and even twisted the incident to hurt him by saying that he can¡¯t get a wife. Such a horrible man!


    In the afternoon, the group crossed a river and rested at a Buddhist temple on the opposite bank. Yuanying remembered that he has met the monk from this temple before and quietly grabbed Wei Shu to ask for her help to put a red dot on his forehead. He must not reveal his identity here!


    Wei Shu wondered, ¡°Why a red dot on your forehead?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t there many Buddha statues in the temple and they all have a red dot? Many old monks have praised me for my affinity with Buddha!¡±


    Wei Shu: ¡°¡­¡±


    Li Er walked a distance before realizing that his younger brother was gone. Looking back, he saw him holding Wei Zheng¡¯s granddaughter and muttering something, so he sent someone to call him.


    Li Yuanying happily ran back to Li Er with a brand new mole on his forehead.


    Li Er took a look and was amused. Oh he suddenly had a new mole.


    Yuanying didn¡¯t feel awkward at all, and obediently followed after the Emperor to greet the host who came out to meet them. After that, Yuanying still had to go up and talk to them about the good old days. Talking about Dai Ting, he and the apanying monks had already left Tuyuhun for the West. Although the road was difficult, no one had fallen behind. Everyone was safe and sound.


    ¡°Your apprentices are all great, the hardship of traveling far is not something everyone can bear!¡±


    ¡°Amitabha, those who leave home should practice determination and patience.¡±


    Li Tai saw that Li Yuanying was chatting with their host happily so he looked for an opportunity to intervene: ¡°Young uncle, why do you have a mole on your forehead?¡±


    Li Yuanying: ¡°¡­¡±


    Being exposed on the spot, Li Yuanying didn¡¯t blush in embarrassment but replied confidently: ¡°Because this looks beautiful!¡±


    The host was chatting happily with Prince Teng not because of his mole between his brows. Seeing Li Yuanying frankness in countering Li Tai who wanted to embarrass him in front of others, he praised Li Yuanying unhurriedly: ¡°Your Highness has a blessed disposition even without the mole.¡±


    Li Yuanying immediately raised his tail and said, ¡°I think my fourth nephew is the most blessed. Look, who among us is as prosperous as him!¡±


    Regarding the prince¡¯s figure, the host smiled and did not answer.


    Li Tai was furious but he couldn¡¯t explode on the spot. He could only silently bear with it.


    After lunch, the Emperor took the courtiers to see the Yique Grottoes. This hunting trip was mainly for this purpose.


    There are famous mountains along the coast of Yique. Since Emperor Wen of Wei, many Buddha statues carved in grottoes have been sessively selected to be enshrine. In recent years, Li Tai with the intention of helping Empress Zhangsun umte more merits and virtues, had paid a huge sum of money to invite craftsmen to prepare a Buddha statue.


    After finishing, Li Tai told the Emperor about this in tears. His words were full of nostalgia for Empress Zhangsun which aroused Li Er¡¯s own memories about her. Therefore he decided to bring the group here to see Li Tai¡¯s works of sincerity and filial piety.


    Notes from the Author:


    Little prince: Fourth nephew is really bad (pointing)


    Fourth nephew: You¡¯re the one who picked a fight behind my back first! ! ! ! !

 Chapter 86

    Chapter 86


    Li Yuanying has been obsessed with studying and practicing calligraphytely so he didn¡¯t have time to visit Yique¡¯s grottoes yet and didn¡¯t know beforehand that Li Tai had a project here. Yuanying has always been a strong believer that a person should be filial while alive, so after hearing Li Tai talk about how he wanted to umte merit for Empress Zhangsun he felt that this fat nephew is not too bad and so decided to obediently follow the team without making trouble.


    Li Yuanying was lucky enough to be born and bred in the wealth of the royal family. Therefore all he knew growing up was eating well and having fun. He has never heard or done anything serious. His biological mother, Lady Liu came from a humble background and had nothing much to teach her son. Growing up this way, he believes that even Buddha and Gods are illusory and had no control over him!


    If he was God, would he have so much time to listen to people praying about this or that? To the eyes of Gods, what difference is man from the flowers, trees, birds and animals? Since there is none, why should the Gods treat humans especially favorably?


    Therefore, Yuanying had never prayed or worshiped. He only activelymunicate with monks because he wanted to sell tea.


    Li Yuanying walked peacefully for a while and started feeling a little tired. He then abducted the younger kids and walked slower and slower. After awhile, he and his group of radish heads sat under the shade of a tree near the river and he started telling them a story about Empress Zhangsun. Among the Li siblings, Sizi and Hengshan were the youngest and had the most vague memory of thete Queen Mother. As for Little Round Ball who asionally joins them, he wasn¡¯t even born yet.


    Li Yuanying was very young back then but a year of constant interaction was enough for someone like him with excellent memory to form a deeply impression of Empress Zhangsun. She was a being that waspletely different from others in the world and Yuanying wanted to share about her life and immerse the children into her story so that they would hate themselves for not being born a few years earlier.


    Li Zhi is about the same age as Cheng Yang and Li Yuanying but his memory was not as good. Listening to Li Yuanying¡¯s narration the past became vivid in his memory. As they went to the emotional part of the story, Cheng Yang was the first to cry followed by Li Zhi who shed tears quietly. The atmosphere was infections and soon all the young children threw themselves into Li Yuanying¡¯s arms and cried together. This included Little Round Ball who cried so hard that his shoulders moved up and down. He hugged Li Yuanying and said, ¡°I want to meet her, and I want to meet her too.¡±


    Wei Shu, who was not rted to the family had red eyes after hearing the story. She secretly admired the intelligent and patientte Empress in her heart.


    No one realized that the Emperor had returned and was standing quietly not too far away and was listening to Li Yuanying¡¯s detailed recounting of Empress Zhangsun¡¯s life.


    Not too long ago the Emperor realized that all the small ones went missing. This is definitely Li Yuanying¡¯s doing and he is probably leading them wildly again. He quickly sent someone back to look for children.


    The imperial guards found them abut couldn¡¯t bear to disturb them, so they quietly went back to report to His Majesty, saying that Prince Teng was telling the others about Empress Zhangsun and even the youngest child was fascinated.


    Li Er was supposed to be leading a group of officials to admire the Buddha statue that Li Tai hadmissioned for histe mother. He felt that this son was talented and had heart, so he nned to ask Cen WenBen to write an article tomemorate this and then asked Chu Suiliang to engrave today¡¯s event onto an inscription. Hearing what his men had to say, Li Er temporarily took back his words, waved his hands and signaled everyone to listen to ¡°the story king¡± sharing about Empress Zhangsun.


    While listening, Li Er felt that Empress Zhangsun¡¯s voice and smile was right in front of his eyes. He couldn¡¯t help but feel a little sad. Nevertheless a king needs to remain emotionless in public so he showed no trace of sadness on his face. Seeing the younger kids throw themselves into Li Yuanying¡¯s arms crying, Li Er had to admit one thing about this younger brother: this kid values rtionship.


    Some incidences were already a little fuzzy in Li Er¡¯s mind but Li Yuanying remembered all big and small things deep in his heart. If he hadn¡¯t, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to tell such a vivid story about Empress Zhangsun. Even his youngest grandson who had never met her wanted to meet her.


    Li Er couldn¡¯t hold back the regret in his heart and said to Zhangsun Wuji: ¡°Wuji, I am not as good as Yuan Ying, I don¡¯t remember as clearly as the boy has.¡±


    Zhangsun Wuji was wiping away his tears when the Emperor suddenly turn around and say this. He wiped them away before pleading guilty: ¡°I have lost my manners. I also feel that I am not as good as His Highness Prince Teng.¡±


    Zhangsun Wuji was immersed in the story. He almost felt like he could meet his younger sister who was dependent on him, the younger sister who would act like a baby and y with him. He could visualize her growing up into the dignified and virtuous queen mother of Tang Empire.


    The two siblings had lost their parents when they were young. Other than their uncle Gao Shilian, the next closest rtives were each other. Now whether it¡¯s his little sister or the upright Empress who discusses pros and cons and bnce with him, both are gone!


    Seeing Zhangsun Wuji¡¯s behaviour, he realized that the story brought back memories to him too. Seeing his children and grandson crying so much, he was silent before asking Cen WenBen to record this matter down.


    WenBen had already received an oral order from the Emperor earlier to write an article for Li Tai. Now that he has heard Li Yuanying share so many things about Empress Zhangsun, he naturally intends to alter his original article.


    Hearing the Emperor¡¯s order, he epted it calmly without resistance.


    Although the other ministers felt that Yuanying was normally too noisy, at this moment they had to admit his sincerity was worthy to learn from.


    No one felt that Li Yuanying was putting up a show. After all, the group had fallen behind. If His Majesty hadn¡¯t deliberately turn back, no one would have heard anything except for the children.


    Everyone asked themselves, if they were being taken care of before the age of 5 or 6, would they remember so clearly? This boy even took his promise to thete Empress seriously where he ysed the role of the elder and takes care of his nephews and nieces, bringing them here and there for ytime.


    Seems like this kid still had a little sense of responsibility!


    Among everyone present, the only person who was not touched but was filled with anger is Li Tai.


    He worked so hard and paid so much for workers to build a Buddhist cave for histe mother. It is a rare asion for Father toe here in person and he even requested that an inscription be written for him to spread his filial name widely. BUT Li Yuanying just said a few words and now father wants it to be recorded into the inscription too!


    Why? On what basis? Why this kid?!


    Li Tai felt really wronged, he believes that Li Yuanying was sent by the Gods to mess with him. Otherwise why would this kid go against everything he does? This kid first used his mouth to persuade father about his figure and now he wants to share his credit!


    Li Tai had a thousand resentment in his heart, but he couldn¡¯t show it. He could only wipe away tears with Zhangsun Wuji.


    His tears! His tears are all real tears!


    I am so wronged that I am shedding tears!


    No matter how sad or wronged Li Tai felt, the Emperor had spoken and Cen WenBen act on it immediately. He read a sentence and Chu Suiliang wrote a sentence, both working in synergy. This gave birth to <<The inscription of the Yique Buddhist Shrine>> which was written beautifully.


    This article first mention the reason why Prince Li Tai built this Buddhist cave and praises his filial piety. Then it records the process of Prince Li Yuanying telling the royal children about Empress Zhangsun¡¯s life which made everyone cry. Li Er was very satisfied after reading it and asked Li Tai and Li Yuanying toe over and have a look.


    Li Tai secretly gritted his teeth in hatred.


    In terms of length, the section about Li Yuanying is longer than his!


    This is unreasonable!


    Li Yuanying pulled Chengyang and the others to the front and looked the work again and again. The more he looked at it, the more he felt that the handwriting was beautiful. He stupidly asked his brother eagerly: ¡°Brother, when you are finish with this inscription, can you give us the manuscript? We have been practicing calligraphytely!¡±


    Upon hearing this, the veins on Chu Suiliang¡¯s forehead twitched.


    This group of little locusts woulde to his ce every two months and sweep his ce empty. Especially this Li Yuanying. Every time he saw him he would ask: ¡°Old Chu, have you written anything nicetely? If yes, can you borrow it to us? After all it¡¯s useless for you, if you need it you can just write another copy at will!¡±


    Chu Suiliang had never seen such a brazen guy! ! !


    What do you mean by ¡°you can write another copy whenever you want?¡± Who wants to rewrite something again and again.


    Now, this guy is getting close to the Emperor with intentions to steal this piece of work. He is so shameless!


    Fortunately, the manuscript was supposed to be used to create a monument and so it belonged to the general public. Although Chu Suiliang felt that Li Yuanying was really brazen, he wasn¡¯t so furious that he would vomit blood.


    Only one person was angry enough to vomit blood.


    Li Yuanying¡¯s fourth nephew Li Tai.


    Li Tai¡¯s who was maintaining a good expression turned ck.


    Li Er didn¡¯t think that there was anything wrong with Li Yuanying¡¯s request. He knew that the boy had been leading the children to study in a peaceful mannertely. Listening to Kong Yingda and the others, even Li Zhi¡¯s academics have improved by leaps and bounds. He will have no problem being admitted into the Imperial College! With his credit for teaching his nephew and niece, Li Er felt that it would be all right to reward Li Yuanying with this manuscript.


    Li Er said to Li Tai: ¡°Once we are done, you ask someone to send this manuscript to your young Uncle.¡±


    What can Li Tai say, other than to obey his Majesty¡¯s words.


    Li Yuanying is a straightforward person, when he was talking about thete Empress Zhangsun he sounded sad but now that it¡¯s over he has returned to his his usual vigor and hyperactivity. Hearing that His Majesty promised to give him Chu Suiliang¡¯s original manuscript, he was overjoyed and felt that this trip was worthwhile. They will have new characters to practice next!


    He looked again and felt that this calligraphy piece was more beautiful than the ones before. If it looks good it means that it was written well, there is nothing wrong with it!


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t care if his fourth nephew was secretly sulking, he took the children on a trip to look at the grottoes one by one to see which one had the tallest,rgest, and most precious Buddha statues. They yed until it was dark in the evening, before Li Yuanying obediently returned with the bunch of radish heads. He then spent the night with His Majesty Li Er at the Buddhist temple.


    Notes from the author:


    Chu Suiliang: Shameless!


    Fourth nephew: Shameless!


    Little Prince: Huh? Huh?

 Chapter 87

    Chapter 87


    Li Yuanying had a good night¡¯s sleep and when he woke up it was already sunny outside. He got dressed with help of his servants and ran out to see the tall linden tree growing in his courtyard. All the leaves had fallen off, leaving only a bare trunk standing in the courtyard.


    Li Yuanying stood under it and looked around. He found a nest hidden in it but it was already in tatters and obviously had no birds.


    There were no birds in the pce. This is because a special group is tasked with driving away birds that tries to build nests within the pcepound.


    Li Yuanying hadn¡¯t seen a nest before but when he saw the round thing, he knows its a bird nest. On a whim, he rolled up his sleeves and climbed the tree to take a closer look!


    Yuanying was thest to wake up among all the small radish heads. The rest were all waiting for him to no avail and had all decided toe over to wake him up. As they arrived, Sizi immediately made a silent gesture and directing them to walk under the tree and to look up. They saw young uncle touching a round nest and casually holding it in his hands.


    Yuanying looked down and saw a circle of people under the tree! He excitedly brought the bird¡¯s nest to share this novelty with them.


    ¡°It¡¯s already winter and this nest looks pretty solid. But it¡¯s cold and the birds have all flown away. ¡°


    The group gathered around the nest and examine it. You poke and I poke, You look and I look. They all found it very strange. While they were halfway examining it, they heard a cry from outside.


    ¡°Yaoyao!¡±


    Yuanying turned to look and saw tearful Little Round Ball running towards him and threw himself into his arms and sobbing nonstop.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Who bullied you?¡± (Li YuanYing)


    ¡°Papa bad, Papa scolds me.¡± (Little Round Ball)


    Yuanying coaxed the toddler patiently and got to know the whole story from him. Little Round Ball yed with papa early in the morning, Li Tai in a bad mood scolded him and asked him to y by himself. The child felt horrible and so he ran over here.


    Yuanying nced at the servants and courtdies who remained at a distance. He did notment on Li Tai¡¯s actions but coaxed: ¡°Mama will be sad if you run out alone, did you let her know you are here?¡±


    Little Round Ball held back tears and shook his head.


    ¡°You are a man, so you can¡¯t make a girl cry. Next time you have to let Mama know first. Do you understand?¡±


    Little Round Ball thought for a while, then nodded seriously.


    Yuanying instructed the servants to inform Princess Yan that Little Round Ball was with him and then took the child to examine the bird¡¯s nest together. He then exined to the group that birds had a habit of flying south in winter.


    Even birds know how to fly to warm ces to seek shelter and to survive the cold winter. The same is for humans. Little Round Ball nestled in Yuanying¡¯s arms happily and listened to his story about migratory birds. He ns to share this with Mama when he goes backter to make her happy.


    Li Er had ordered that a vegetarian meal be prepared. He waited but didn¡¯t see anyoneing so he asked his men to look for his children. Li Yuanying had to put aside the nest and took his friends to have breakfast together with the Emperor.


    Sizi couldn¡¯t hold back and immediately shared about seeing a nest to Li Er.


    Little Round Ball nodded and gestured: ¡°It¡¯s so big!¡±


    Li Er immediately grasped the key point: ¡°Where is the bird¡¯s nest?¡±


    When Sizi heard it, she realized that they were busted and quickly covers her mouth refusing to say more.


    Although Little Round Ball didn¡¯t know how to lie, he didn¡¯t know that Li Yuanying took the nest by climbing a tree, so he shook his head too.


    Regardless Li Er can guess it urately.


    Li Yuanying is the only one who liked to do such things. No matter how tall the tree is, he will climb it and after that he would use others of scaring him under the tree!


    Li Er turned to Li Yuanying.


    Sensing trouble, Li Yuanying said in a hurry: ¡°Brother, I am full!¡±


    After speaking and before Li Er could react, the boy had already run away. He did not dare to approach the Emperor again.


    The group rested for another half a month and finally it was time to return to Chang¡¯an. When Li Yuanying came to Louyang, he came empty-handed. But now that he¡¯s returning home, he had a few carriages of stuff. Some were good calligraphy and paintings that he got from Chu Suiliang and some were gifts he had collected for rtives and friends who had to stay back in the Capital but mainly it was stuff for his mother. Well he had some stuff for his eldest nephew but much less. After all Chenqian is an adult, he is just gifting as a courtesy gesture to him!


    Since Yuanying found out the date of departure, he has been obsessed with hoarding things big and small. This one is delicious, that one is fun. Yuanying was reluctant to leave anything behind and so he brings everything home with him. He got to know that Peonies were of the best variant in Luoyang, so he brought some back to Chang¡¯an! After instructing his men to pack, he then ran over to meet Li Er.


    ¡°Brother, can I bring something back to Chang¡¯an?¡±


    ¡°Take whatever you want. Why are you asking me?¡±


    Li Yuanying ran away happily.


    On the day of departure, Li Er instantly regretted his words.


    Because his younger brother packed several carts of stuff. Along with the other children, they upied another carriage. Following behind the Emperor, it looked as if the Emperor wasn¡¯t here for a visit but to rob the people!


    But a promise is a promise. Although Li Er was tempted to hit his brother, he didn¡¯t throw away his things.


    As the Royal entourage made their journey home, they attracted lots of attention and some people started discussing about the many carts carrying Li Yuanying¡¯s things. Some were wondering if the Emperor found hidden treasures and is taking it home. One merchants wasn¡¯t satisfied with this discussion so he quickly rified: ¡°Of Course not! Those are things that Prince Teng had purchased. You guys didn¡¯t see it but he took the princesses shopping and spent generously. He event purchased some windmill from me! See see, there it is. Look at my windmills turning.¡±


    All the other merchants quickly came to their defense and took this opportunity to do self-promotion. My items are so good that even the prince and princesses praised them!


    These quick-witted shopkeepers benefited much. Although people were dubious, they still bought the inexpensive items curiously to check out if it was indeed good enough that the noblemen liked it!


    Then someone pointed at a few flower growers following behind the party and a new round of discussion started¡ª


    ¡°Isn¡¯t he from our vige? He has the best skills in our vige!¡±


    ¡°I heard that Prince Teng recruited several good gardeners back to Chang¡¯an. He even allowed them to bring their family along!¡±


    ¡°Getting a Nobleman¡¯s attention! They will be rich and powerful in the future!¡±


    ¡°I heard that His Royal Highness Prince Teng is generous in everything he does. Not only did he ask for gardeners but he also looked for people who are good at raising livestock!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that His Highness is already returning to Chang¡¯an. Otherwise I would go with him too! Look at how upright the men are walking, it¡¯s as if they are afraid that no one will recognize him!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not toote, haven¡¯t you read the notice posted in the city? Anyone with skill can visit Xiangcheng Pce to try their luck!¡±


    Although Li Yuanying was already on his way back to Chang¡¯an, discussion about him did not fade but became more heated. With the New Year approaching and families and friends meet up were more frequent.


    For the longest time, members of the Royal family were distant from themon people and they knewnothing about them. It is rare to meet such an approachable little prince so the enthusiasm to discuss about him will not fade so easily especially for those who had direct contact with him. Such an honorable incident, of course one need to brag about it for a year or two!


    Yuanying had already put all these things behind him as he now face a serious problem: ording to spy Wei Shu, Wei Ying has been studying very hardtely! This might derail their n of making him rankst in the exam!


    Li Yuanying had an unyielding drive to beat Wei Ying in the exam. How could he fail the exam?! Considering that Kong Yingda will start the exams upon them returning, Yuanying decided to have tuition session in the warm carriage with his friends!


    Although the cold wind was blowing, the sound of reading could be heard from the carriage of the group of little radish heads. asionally, Little Round Ball would join them too. It seems that the next generation Royals had very high enthusiasm for learning.


    While they group was on the way, news from Luoyang has reached Chang¡¯an. The person entrusted by the Emperor to watch over the Capital state was Chancellor Gao Shilian. He is the uncle of Empress Zhangsun and Zhangsun Wuji and an elder to Li Chengqian and the others.


    Hearing that the Emperor was in Yique to hunt and to visit the Buddhist Cave, Gao Shilian was a little worried. It is a good thing that Li Tai is filial, but if you observe his actions in thest few years it is obvious that he wishes to challenge Li Chengqian. Many courtiers have either secretly defected to one side or have made bets on them. Anyone with a discerning eye can see the signs of war starting between both brothers.


    Both children are direct descendants of Empress Zhangsun and are nephews to Gao Shilian. Does he want to watch them repeat the mistakes of their father and fight each other?


    Gao Shilian frowned as he enters the pce with news.


    Li Chengqian finds Yu Zhining and the others annoying, but he respected Gao Shilian who he calls ¡°uncle¡± in private.


    When Gao Shilian came to visit, Chengqian was ying wooden blocks with Li Xiang. This was a gift from Li Yuanying. You arrange the blocks ording to a certain distance and finally push them all down creating a domino effect.


    Li Xiang likes it very much. Every time father is free, he pulls him to y together.


    Chengqian invited Gao Shilian in. Seeing father and his son ying happily, Gao Shilian rxed and paid his respect.


    Li Xiang looked at the gray-haired man curiously and softly followed Chengqian¡¯s instructions to say hello to the old man he had never met before. He then invited him to y together. IThe child only left to look for the Crown Princess after ying two rounds. Finally Li Chengqian and Gao Shilian could talk.


    Seeing Chengqian ying with Li Xiang so patiently, Gao thought that he didn¡¯t know about the Emperor going to Yique so he told him the news.


    ¡°Young uncle sent me a letter a few days ago about this.¡±


    Thinking back about what Li Yuanying wrote in the letter, Chengqian wanted tough out loud.


    Originally, Yuanying reported that they went to Yique Buddhist Cave because Li Taimissioned a Buddha statue for theirte mother. Chenqian wonders if his brother is doing this in remembrance of histe mother or as an opportunity to spread his name. But reading what young uncle wrote next Chengqian¡¯s doubts disappeared immediately. No matter what fourth brother thinks, with Li Yuanying¡¯s disturbance he would be so angry that he will be half dead.


    So he wasn¡¯t worried and spent his days ying with his child with a set of beautiful wooden blocks that young uncle sent back with the letter.


    Li Chengqian exined: ¡°Qingque has such filial piety, the spirit of mother in heaven will be happy.¡±


    Gao Shilian saw that Chengqian¡¯s expression was carefree. He praised him for being a good big brother, overjoyed that his eldest nephew is gradually acting like the Crown Prince. Now that he saw this great nephew with a big heart, Gao Shilian stopped talking about serious topic and boasted: ¡°I think Xiang¡¯er is growing more and more into an obedient child.¡±


    Chengqian loves his son. It¡¯s rare to meet an elder who praises his son and Chengqian immediately started sharing interesting things about his son. The love for his son was overflowing in words.


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: The future belongs to the next generation!


    Little Prince: The next generation belongs to me!


    His Majesty Li Er: Get out!

 Chapter 88

    Chapter 88


    By the time the group reach Chang¡¯an it was already passed December. Chengqian led the ministers out to the city gate to wee them home. He ended up being shocked by young uncle. They had a prior agreement to meet up quietly after this as young uncle shared that he needed help to carry things. Things referred to all the presents he got for them from Louyang!


    Initially Chengqian didn¡¯t pay much attention but when he looked towards the direction that young uncle was pointing at, he was startled by the multiple carts of gifts. He nced towards father but seeing that the Emperor is silent, he ordered his men to get enough manpower to move Yuanying¡¯s things back to the pce and then to deliver them to their right recipient ording to a name list.


    After Li Yuanying met his eldest nephew, he happily went home to meet with mother.


    Lady Liu had not seen her son for more than half a year and misses him dearly. She kept pulling onto him to get a closer look and then instructed that food she had personally cooked be served to him. With her child gone, Lady Liu studied the recipes sent back by Yuanying. As these are her child¡¯s favourite food, she had a goal in mind. Now that he¡¯s back, she naturally prepared a whole table full of delicious food for him to try.


    When ites to food, Yuanying wees it. Whichever dish mother wanted him to try he dlyply and kept praising her for the taste.


    ¡°Mother, when we go to our ownnd I will get someone to open a big shop on your behalf. We will sell all the dishes that you have invented and call it Liu¡¯s recipes. When someone mention these delicious dishes in the future , they will think of you right away!¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll write down all the recipes. You find someone to open the shop.¡±


    Yuanying tasted all the dishes avable contentedly and then took another bite of the smoked egg. This dish is first simmered with Lady Liu¡¯s secret ingredients, air dried and then cut into bnced thin slices at the right timing. It has a salty fragrance and a unique taste. The boy ate several pieces before he was satisfied.


    Mother and son chatted while eating and time passed by quickly. Yuanying decided to take a nap in his room and realized that his bedding had been reced with new ones that were warm and soft. He got into bed thinking about how to torture his brother into allowing him to leave for his fief earlier. He slowly drifted into sleep soundly and had a particrly beautiful dream.


    It was approaching the year end and officials from all over the country had returned to the capital city. Princes who were sent away also obtained the Emperor¡¯s permission to return and celebrate his birthday. One such vassal prince was third Prince Li Ke. After returning, he visited his father and then his mother Consort Yang.


    Consort Yang was a princess from the previous Sui Dynasty. She was given to Li Er when he was still Prince Qin and gave birth to the third Prince Li Ke. As Li Er became the Emperor, she also entered into the imperial harem and birthed another son ¨C sixth Prince Li Yin. Even as a princess in Sui she was not given much attention. Therefore, her sons were sent out into their ownnds at an early age of 12 or 13.


    Knowing that Li Ke is back, Consort Yang was looking forward to meeting him. ording to local customs, vassal princes had to reside in a special mansion and is not allowed to stay overnight in the pce. Consort Yang felt bittersweet and held onto Li Ke¡¯s hands while chatting.


    Li Ke and Li Yin were in simr situation whereby they would be picked on if theymit the smallest mistake. He would even be scolded for something small like going for a hunt. However it was rare to meet mother and so he only talked abut happy things.


    After meeting Consort Yang, Li Ke asked for her help to send gifts to his younger brothers and sisters who he got along with. Since he is stationed far away, he cannot take care of Consort Yang. Since he is back now momentarily, he naturally brought gifts in hopes that someone would stand up for mother when the situation arises.


    Consort Yang looked at her son who thought of everything and her nose felt a little sore.


    Although Li Ke was the third prince, he was actually born in the same year as crown prince Li Chengqian and second prince Li Kuan. Li Kuan passed away early and was adopted by another son of thete Emperor. With that, Li Ke is actually next in line to the throne after Li Chengqian. If he weren¡¯t birth by a lowly princess of the previous fallen dynasty he would not have to live so humbly and under such harsh criticism. Look at the fourth and ninth prince, both were cherished by the Emperor to the point that he was reluctant to send them away.


    But that¡¯s just life. Parents can¡¯t choose their children and children can¡¯t choose their parents. Consort Yang responded in agreement to all of Li Ke¡¯s requests. While they were parting, she raised her hands to gently caress his cheek with tear stained eyes.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothingcking in the pce and the servants are attentive. Don¡¯t worry. Listen to your father and do things that make him happy.¡±


    Li Ke nodded but when he left for home alone he started thinking. If he were to follow his father¡¯s wishes then he should behave like the meaning behind the name he was given. Abide by hisduties only, don¡¯t think about more or do anything more.


    Gao Yang wasn¡¯t aware that Li Ke is back until she received his gift. She still had a little memory of this older brother as he was kind to her when she was much younger. He is quite unlike brother Chengqian who always felt distant.


    Gao Yang has been very well-behavedtely and has been bored out of her mind. Early next morning she ran out looking for young uncle. She wanted him to bring her out to meet this great older brother who remembers to bring her a gift despite them being apart for so long.


    Yuanying thought deeper and realized that since he has close to no contact with princes that has left for their own territory, he had no idea what is to be expected when he reaches his own fiefdom. In addition, he has been ying the role of the good sontely and often apanied Lady Liu. He agreed to Gao Yang¡¯s proposal immediately.


    Yuanying informed his mom and then got a group of friends together to go visit Li Ke. He mainly wanted to bring Li Zhi along because he is now 13 and is almost of age to be independent. He should get to know everything about being in their fief early.


    Since Yuanying has been brainwashing Li Zhi for a long time, he now has less resistance about leaving Chang¡¯an. Instead, he really wants to be independent and do some good for the country. He will not be a useless moth who harms the country by leeching off the wealth of the Royal family while waiting to die. He followed Yuanying out to visit Li Ke, but they bumped into other vassal princes by coincidence.


    Yuanying thought that since customs are different in different locations he wanted to know more. Therefore he eagerly sat down and chatted with them as they were all either his ¡°brothers¡± or ¡°nephews¡±. Yuanying is great at making new friends. With every mention of ¡°brother¡± or ¡°nephew¡± and even though they have never met, he managed to trick all of them with his enthusiasm and shameless attitude.


    Winter solstice has passed and the weather is getting colder. Yuanying did not choose a ce that looked elegant but was exposed to the cold. He instead choose to heat up a stove and wrapped himself in warm nkets and brewed hot tea. He steered topics towards items like if anyone had seen anything strange or what kind of special attention is needed when on foreignnds. When he encountered someone whosend is close by his fief he asked many questions. It is as if Yuanying¡¯s heart has left for his ownnd.


    Gao Yang and the rest were initially happy to listen to such stories but when they realized that young uncle is probing deep about Teng Prefecture (Yuanying¡¯s fief) they were quite unhappy.


    Gao Yang quietly asked Li Ke: ¡°Third brother, after leaving is it true that you can¡¯te back casually?¡±


    Li Ke nodded.


    Let¡¯s not talk about meeting siblings. Even if it was his mother Consort Yang, he hadn¡¯t had much chance to meet her. It will be better for Yuanying as histe father has passed away. This means that he can bring Lady Liu along and mother and child will never be separated.


    Sizi and the others sat next to Gao Yang and could hear everything clearly. They all had the same thought: once young uncle leaves they will have very little chances of meeting him again!


    After the party, they children returned to the pce. Li Yuanying returned home with lots of ¡°experiences¡± and was very excited. However he failed to notice that the little lolis were distressed.


    Back in the pce, the sisters went looking for the Emperor. They surrounded him and begged: ¡°Father, we don¡¯t want Young uncle to leave for his ownnd¡±


    Li Er hugged Sizi and asked: ¡°Why did you bring up this matter suddenly?¡±


    Sizi told him all about how Li Yuanying and Li Zhi probe the other vassal princes for advise and then grabbed onto the Emperor¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Father, I don¡¯t want to part with young uncle. Can¡¯t we keep young uncle in Chang¡¯an like fourth brother?¡±


    Li Er said with a smile: ¡°You only miss young uncle but not ninth brother?¡±


    ¡°Ninth brother too!¡± (Sizi)


    ¡°Father, please keep young uncle and ninth brother in Chang¡¯an!¡± (Gao Yang)


    Facing the wishful puppy eyes of the four little lolis the Emperor gave in. He gave them a hint in advance: ¡°At least for the next two years, they will not leave.¡±


    Sizi cheered and then kissed father on the cheek.


    ¡°Are you now learning about the kissing traditions of foreigners by going out with your young uncle?¡±


    Sizi became a bit shy but still happily boasted: ¡°Father is the best!¡±


    Li Er took a walk after dinner while listening to reports gathered from the vassal princes during the day. Being aware that Li Yuanying has been calling everyone brother and nephew and even chatted with many of them, Li Er paused and turned towards Li Yuanying¡¯s home.


    Yuanying was in his small study sorting out the ¡°experiences¡± he gathered during the day. As he was excited, he started telling those serving him about his ns and that he would assign them good jobs so that they can boast about it.


    When Li Yuanying said this, the servants apanying him naturally smiled.


    These people were able to stay with Prince Teng for long. They naturally had to be quick-witted and good at telling stories. As they were alone, they were free to give advice to Prince Teng. Everyone knows that Yuanying is generous. If you give a good suggestion, he can reward you with a gold bead casually!


    As Li Er approached, he heardughtering from the small study but couldn¡¯t hear what they were talking about.


    Laughter in the room only stopped abruptly when the guards suddenly saluted the Emperor in panic.


    This seems to be the mostmon thing to happen to Li Er after he became the Emperor. No matter how happy or how muchughter there was, as long as people heard that he wasing they would all calm down and greet him respectfully.


    Li Er approached the small study.


    Yuanying ran forward to wee him and asked in surprise, ¡°Brother, why are you here?¡±


    Before Li Er could answer, Yuanying began to express his opinion again: ¡°It¡¯s such a beautiful night, you should visit the imperial harem. You have at least a hundred concubines waiting for your love. How can you pamper them with so few visits?!¡±


    Li Er red at him.


    Li Yuanying immediately changed his tune: ¡°But it¡¯s also right that you go less. Master Sun said that too much of anything will hurt the body, especially that. He even advise me to keep my child like innocence for a few more years , otherwise it will be bad for my health!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t simply talk about everything!¡± Is the Imperial Harem something that a prince can talk about? Even with Wu Mei¡¯s incident, he hasn¡¯t learn. Is the harem something he should talk about?!


    Li Yuanying shut up obediently.


    Li Er picked up Li Yuanying¡¯s writing about his ¡°experience¡±. Upon close look, the Emperor found that it was written in an orderly manner. He finished the whole article.


    ¡°Not bad. You finish this early and send it to me before my birthday. I¡¯ll ask someone to duplicate a few more copies and share it with your brother and nephews. Even those who didn¡¯t return this time.¡±


    If it was another person they would be extremely happy to get Li Er¡¯s affirmation but not Li Yuanying.


    ¡°I worked so hard to collect and organize this. Why should I give it to you!¡±


    Li Er red at him.


    Li Yuanying is never afraid of the Emperor and so he took this as an opportunity to take advantage of him with a brave face.


    ¡°Lord Brother, I heard that there is a hill in the southern suburbs that belongs to the royal family and there are bamboos all over the mountains. Can you give me all the bamboos? I don¡¯t want the mountain, just the bamboo will do!¡±


    ¡°What do you want bamboo for?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t tell you now!¡± He then leaned close to Li Er and secretly whispered to him. ¡°If you promise to give them to me, I will give you a treasure in spring in return!¡±


    Li Er nced at Li Yuanying who was approaching him and readily agreed.


    ¡°Okay, I will give you all the bamboo.¡±


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: Brother can you give me this!


    His Majesty Li Er: Take it!


    Little Prince: I want that too!


    His Majesty Li Er: Take it!


    Little Prince: And¡ª¡ª


    His Majesty Li Er: Get out! ! !

 Chapter 89

    Chapter 89


    Since Yuanying was gifted with arge bamboo forest, he arranged for his workshop toe pick up suitable bamboos for production.


    The workshop manager is the quick-witted Deng Qing, who was the first to suggest using reeds to produce paper. Not only did he receive his reward as promised, he was even offered a job with Prince Teng.


    Upon entering winter, Deng Qing lead his workers around harvesting reeds as they were not owned by anyone and can be freely harvested. The workshop is currently short of manpower but he only needed to pay a small sum to hire outsiders to send over reeds that are as tall as poles.


    Being in the outer suburbs, people who were supposed to be cking in winter started happily collecting and sending in reeds to the paper-making workshop. In exchanged they were rewarded with money and food to have a good new year celebration with their family.


    The workshop started producing in full swing by following a fixed set of operating procedures. If there is no hup, the first batch would be ready before the Emperor¡¯s birthday and Li Yuanying would only need toe for an inspection. Even if he couldn¡¯t make it, a ready stockpile was already ready and all the Prince had to do was to offer his treasures out.


    Yuanying initially said that he would wait for spring before sharing his treasure with his older brother. However, he was already impatient and nned to send it out on Li Er¡¯s birthday!


    Hearing that Prince Teng acquired a bamboo forest that belonged to the royal household, Deng Qing was energetic.


    Bamboo were more expensive than reeds, because it grows faster and can grow all year round. They can also be nted everywhere in the mountains! Moreover, Deng Qing has made new discovery that by mixing different kinds of easy-to-find materials in different proportion, it can change the end product¡¯s color, hardness, and toughness!


    Deng Qing immediately led his men to check out the bamboo excitedly. With so many bamboos, they would no longer have to worry about limited production!


    One day before the Emperor¡¯s birthday, the workshop sent in newly made reed paper into the pce. Yuanying opened one roll and inspected it. It was not that different from the rattan paper used by court today. It looked lighter and thinner, but was more resilient and doesn¡¯t tear easily!


    Yuanying was happy. He took out his production sheet and reviewed it again and again. After confirming that the materials used was very cheap and had greatly reduced product cost, he put them into a pre-packed carton to be dedicated to Li Er as a birthday gift.


    Lady Liu was also anxious about the same topic. She came to visit Yuanying at night and asked: ¡°Have you really prepared the birthday gift properly?¡±


    ¡°Yes, all done. Lord Brother will definitely like it.¡±


    Lady Liu saw that Yuanying was full of confidence and didn¡¯t ask more questions. She instead ask that a treasure from thewarehouse be moved into Yuanying¡¯s room as a spare birthday gift.


    ¡°There can be idents in everything, you bring this along. If what you prepared is not suitable, send this up.¡±


    Li Yuanying opened the brocade box brought by mother and found a treasure that was left to him by histe father. Yuanying agreed verbally but when Lady Liu left, he hid the treasure under his pillow, and solemnly warned those around him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t take this away. This is what dad left for me. I want to keep it as a family heirloom so I can¡¯t give it out!¡±


    Naturally his menplied.


    Li Yuanying slept next to the brocade box. At night, he dreamed of histe father holding him on hisp while talking to others. The topic was boring and so his hands became restless. He then secretly reached out to pluck the Supreme Emperor¡¯s beard. Father groaned, lowered his head and stared. The boy immediatelyughed happily. Children! They like watching people¡¯s exaggerated movements and listen to exaggerated voices.


    Thete Emperor was happy seeing his soonughing heartily. Not only did he not reprimand him, he instead boasted.


    ¡°Look, such small hands but are strong enough to pull my beard!¡±


    With father¡¯s indulgence, Yuanying didn¡¯t think that his action of pulling people¡¯s beard was wrong. He also thought it was fun. He loved to pull them secretly while others were not paying attention and then he enjoys listening to them scream in pain. Even his imperial brother was not spared and has suffered this misfortune twice!


    Yuanying opened his eyes in the morning, and watched the sun shining in from outside, filling the room with clear light. He sat up in a trance, feeling like he was still in Da¡¯an Pce. When he rubbed his eyes, he knew that he was no longer a kid who could pull people¡¯s beard for fun.


    Li Yuanying sighed.


    Servants who came in to serve the little prince saw him sighing.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Your Highness?¡±


    ¡°Chinese New Year ising soon and I will be 12 years old after New Year. I can no longer be a child.¡±


    ¡°As long as your highness wants, you can always be a child.¡±


    Yuanying thought about it and sees truth in that statement. He was after all rich and a majestic prince of the Tang Dynasty. He can do whatever he likes. Besides, even if he lived to be 80 years old, mom would still treat him like a child. By then, he would definitely be an old child of 80 years old!


    He immediately became happy and picked up the brocade box he had prepared and went looking for Li Er.


    Today is Li Er¡¯s birthday and there is no court session. The nned itinerary is a banquet at noon for ministers and a family banquet in the evening. Nheless, the Emperor still got up earlier than Li Yuanying. When Yuanying arrived, Li Er had already had breakfast, and the other children had already celebrated one round of his birthday.


    Li Er was practicing calligraphy and motioned for his brother to be allowed in.


    Yuanying ran up with the brocade box in his arms. Seeing Li Er writingrge characters, he immediately leaned over to sing praises: ¡°Brother Emperor, your writing is really spirited. Just look at it. With the momentum of leaping dragons and leaping tigers, everyone will agree with me!¡±


    Li Er was used topliments and he agreed that his handwriting was pretty good. However he somehow felt that something felt wrong Li Yuanying¡¯s praises. Today is the Emperor¡¯s birthday and so he wouldn¡¯t find fault with him.


    ¡°It¡¯s still so early in the morning, why didn¡¯t you sleep inte?¡±


    ¡°Today is your birthday, of course I have to celebrate your birthday! How is it? Did Ie early enough? Am I the first?¡±


    ¡°Zhi Nu already came by.¡±


    Li Yuanying: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Sizi was here.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Chengyang hase.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Hengshan hase.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Gao Yang has also been here.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    His Majesty Li Er looked at Li Yuanying and asked slowly: ¡°So do you still think that you are the first?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s so great about waking up early?! I prepared a birthday gift for you, Brother! They definitely didn¡¯t give you a gift earlier than me!¡±


    This is true. Everyone else was going to present their gift at night and no one had gave him anything yet.


    Li Er immediately asked curiously: ¡°What birthday gift did you prepare?¡±


    Li Yuanying pushed Li Er¡¯s dried calligraphy aside and pulled his older brother to sit down. He wanted Li Er to opened the brocade box himself.


    Li Er wasn¡¯t annoyed by his actions and reached out to open the box.


    Seeing that there was something like a calligraphy or painting inside, Li Er felt that this kid was too casual by giving him his own calligraphy/painting as a birthday gift. He took out the ¡°calligraphy/painting¡± and was prepared to criticize, but found a roll of nk paper!


    Li Er looked at Yuanying, asking him to exin. Is this a mistake, or are you going spit out something like the intention is more important than the gift?


    Yuanying was in no hurry, he pulled Li Er and said: ¡°Brother, please write on it and see if this paper is useful!¡±


    Li Er couldn¡¯t figure the kid out but he still did as he was told. He got someone to spread out the paper and began writing on it.


    He wrote the four characters ¡°a gentle and pleasant breeze¡± which came from his favorite <<Orchid Pavilion Preface>>.


    After finishing, Li Er observed the paper carefully and found that although it was thinner than his usual, it did not smudge and the quality was good. It really is a pity that the Emperor uses high-quality paper all year round. So what¡¯s so good about this paper as a birthday gift.


    ¡°You really prepared such a gift for me?¡±


    ¡°Of course not!¡±


    Yuanying then took out another piece of paper and handed it to Li Er. This is the painstaking effort of Deng Qing and his men in the past two years. Yuanying had spend lots of money but as long as it is something that money can get, Yuanying will not be stingy. Anyway, even if this new method is dedicated to his brother, Deng Qing can still produce it!


    Li Er was puzzled. After taking a look at the manuscript Yuanying handed over, his eyes gradually rxed. He raised his eyebrows, turned to Yuanying and asked, ¡°Is this method really possible?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I bring you actual product?¡±


    His Majesty was overjoyed and he gave a rare praise to Li Yuanying: ¡°Okay, I like this gift very much.¡±


    Satisfied, Li Yuanying told His Majesty about everyone who was responsible for this project. Mei Niang gave the idea and Deng Qing contributed the most. In short, everyone is awesome and they all contributed to this birthday gift. Hard work!


    It was a rare urrence where the Emperor listened patiently before driving his younger brother away to y.

 Chapter 90

    Chapter 90


    The Emperor had his birthday banquet with his officials at noon. Being in a merry environment where everyone congratted him and after a few rounds of drinks, he started praising his youngest brother. He went on and on about how this younger brother has grown up and is bing more sensible. He can now live up to the promises he made to histe father upon his death bed!


    The officials all felt that this was an older brother¡¯s bias. No matter from what angle, his younger brother will not appear too horrible in his eyes. Well, that kid called Li Yuanying has indeed changed a little but it is absolutely impossible to describe him as ¡°sensible¡±.


    At the very least,tely he has developed ¡°ideas¡± from studying and often goes to the Imperial Academy to ¡°discuss¡± these topics. Having top-notch skills in nitpicking on issues, he almost caused a gang fight among the students.


    If it weren¡¯t for his popr friends at the Academy, he would have became the target of students¡¯ beatings. After all, this kid only asks tricky questions and when he stumps people, he triumphantlyughs at them. No matter how well tempered a person is, they will not be able to tolerate his behaviour. There¡¯s a rumour going on that Li Yuanying would end his statement with ¡°You guys are not smart like Brother Wei. Do you know Brother Wei? He is Wei Ying, the grandson of Imperial Duke Zheng, Wei Zheng. Although he is not a student here yet but he will soon be one!¡±


    Kong Yingda told Wei Zheng about this in private and asked him to be prepared. With Li Yuanying¡¯s provocation, his grandson would be the target even before entering the Academy! Then Kong Yingda went on tofort Wei that his grandson will not be alone. Li Yuanying will soon reap what he has sow!


    Therefore, when Wei Zheng heard the Emperor praising his younger brother, his mouth involuntarily twitched. That kid is indeed smart but is too reckless. God knows what will be of him if the Emperor continues pampering him like this! Wei Zheng is very much in favor to Li Yuanying and Li Zhi taking the entrance exam in two days. Regardless of whether he can restrain that kid, let him suffer first!


    Since the Emperor wasn¡¯t getting enthusiastic responses, he asked that his earlier calligraphy piece be brought out for everyone to review.


    Li Er is quite narcissistic and usually likes praises. When he gets excited, he will boast that ¡°Although I am the Emperor, I often take on the work of a general.¡± Of course, he would get criticism afterwards about him being greedy and fighting for credits with his courtiers.


    Everyone present could recognize the Emperor¡¯s handwriting. Because today is a day of special celebration, Wei Zheng didn¡¯t say anything to spoil the fun. Heplimented the Emperor on his good handwriting and the good meaning behind the piece. ¡°A gentle and pleasant breeze¡± means that the people can recuperate and live in peace and contentment!


    Li Er was in great mood from all the praises, however that was not his main purpose. He waited for everyone to be done before asking: ¡°What do you think of this paper?¡±


    Those present were caught off guard by this question. Paper? What¡¯s so special about it? Isn¡¯t it simr to all ordinary paper?


    Zhangsun Wuji boldly stood up.


    ¡°Forgive me for my poor eyesight but I don¡¯t see a difference. Please Your Majesty, enlighten us.¡±


    Li Er pped his hands andughed: ¡°Do you see any difference? That¡¯s right, this paper is not very different from the usual but its production cost is less than 10% of the original!¡±


    Everyone was shocked. Civil servants like Kong Yingda were excited: ¡°Your Majesty, are you serious?¡±


    Li Er said with a smile: ¡°This is my birthday present from my youngest brother. The method of making this paper has already been dedicated to me. The Ministry of Works will be sent to Prince Teng¡¯s ce for training. We must master this skill early so that students all over the world can use cheap paper!¡±


    Kong Yingda wasn¡¯t expecting this invention to be from Li Yuanying. He felt a littleplicated and even doubted his own vision.


    He has always thought that Li Yuanying was stubborn and unbearable. However with Wei Zheng and Xiao Deyan teaching him, the boy has showed a different kind of talent. He reads, write and do things with wisdom far beyond his peers. When Li Yuanying promise to ¡°Let everyone have ess to books¡± he felt that the kid was just talking big and secretly mocks him for not being afraid of being strike on the tongue. But he actually started a library and is now creating cheap paper!


    Could it be that he really did misjudged and lost out on such a good student?


    Kong Yingda thought for a second. Li Yuanying is about to enter the Academy and that would make him his student! With such an idea, he couldn¡¯t sit still. After the birthday banquet, he caught up with the Emperor to push that Li Yuanying be allowed to take exam right after new year so that he will be enrolled by spring time.


    The Emperor is now feeling more sober and could sense Kong Yingda¡¯s thoughts. He is getting impatient because Yuanying is doing so well.


    Li Er answered in an instant. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll get someone to inform the children.¡±


    Civil officers are thin-skinned. Kong Yingda¡¯s face became red when Li Er smiled at him. But when he thought that his school is about to usher in new changes, he didn¡¯t care about such a small embarrassment. He has gotten consent and asked his students to prepare a test that was neither too difficult nor too easy.


    Evening came and it was time for the royal family to gather. Everyone prepared a birthday gift for the Emperor. Although the gift was not necessarily expensive, it was picked carefully with much care.


    Li Chengqian being the crown prince, has it tricky. If he presents too much he will be criticized; if he gives too simply he will be criticized too! Therefore, he needed a gift that was satisfactory but not too outstanding. The Emperor didn¡¯t say much upon seeing it and just instructed that his gift be received with a slight nod.


    Li Tai has already heard news that his father was praising Li Yuanying¡¯s gift at noon and secretly hated him for not following the rules. Why did he send a gift ahead of schedule?Always wanting to be the one who stands out! Li Tai gritted his teeth and put away the jade carvings he had initially prepared. He then took out <<Comprehensive Gazetteer>> which he has been restoring for several years.


    He will not believe that new paper invented by mere craftsmen will be better than the book he has been refining for several year. The Emperor must like his gift more!


    After Li Ke is done, Li Tai personally went forward with many volumes of <<Comprehensive Gazetteer>> for His Majesty to read.


    The Emperor sent many talents like Xiao Deyan to Li Tai precisely for this project. Hearing that it is fully restored, the Emperor is naturally satisfied. He took a thick volume and nce through it. The book is brilliant, the records detailed and well-founded and not boring to read.


    Immediately, father became happy and boasted: ¡°As expected of my son!¡±


    Everyone knew that the battle is over. No matter how well prepared they were, this is His Majesty¡¯s favorite birthday gift. The fourth child is too cruel. He actually used something that has been several years in works as his gift to celebrate the Emperor¡¯s birthday!


    Li Chengqian looked around with no expression. He is not a likable child and it is impossible for him and father to be close like an ordinary pair of father and son.


    Doesn¡¯t matter.


    The fourth son on the other hand couldn¡¯t sit still after hearing about Li Yuanying¡¯s offering. He wanted to be the best and so he presented his winning card.


    Yuanying was standing near Chengqian. While everyone else was busy watching the deep interaction between father and son, the boy leans close to Chengqian.


    ¡°Chengqian, Have you ask for Master Xiao¡¯s help?¡±


    Hearing this, he remembers Yuanying¡¯s proposal earlier. ¡°Father has his own n for old schr Xiao, how dare we interfere.¡± If he opens his mouth now, he will be bashed by the public!


    Li Yuanying hated such cowardly behaviour. ¡°If you don¡¯t say anything, how will others know what you want?!¡±


    Really now is a situation where the nephew is not anxious but the uncle is. He quickly gave Chengqian a detailed run down on why it is beneficial to ask.


    ¡°Xiang¡¯er is now at the age where he should be studying. Let teacher Xiao teach him. No one else can teach better. Don¡¯t believe it? Just look at me. My mind was enlighten by this great teacher. Anyway, today is not the 1<sup>st</sup>or 2<sup>nd</sup>day of you getting a scolding, so why does it matter. Is dignity more important than letting Xiang¡¯er get enlighten?¡±


    As Yuanying persuade him quietly, Chengqian started buying into his idea. If he doesn¡¯t fight for things, what will his son do in the future? He is no longer single. He has a wife and a child now so he needs to do the necessary things when the situation arises.


    Li Yuanying using himself is a great example. Chengqian knew how uncle was like in the past. Those who were tortured by young uncle to the point of swearing on their death bed against ever teaching such a b*stard again were many. But after being taught by Wei Zheng and Xiao Deyan, young uncle became more sensible and read better books. He even went to the Imperial Academy to have intellect duel with with the Confucian schrs without any fear!


    Chengqian nodded in agreement:¡±I will talk to fatherter.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. As a father, you need to think about Xiang¡¯er and choose the best for him.¡±


    Chengqianplied.


    Yuanying got a knack from giving instructions to his nephew and was bing restless. He wandered around looking for a bunch of young nephews and grandnieces to y with. He then taught them how to congratte the Emperor.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to prepare any gifts. Just look at the many people ahead who is already doing that. We should practice a special birthday speech to make imperial grandfather happy.¡±


    Li Xiang responded first.


    Then little round ball quickly ran to Yuanying¡¯s side and hugged his knees to express his agreement.


    The others were a little hesitant at first but upon hearing the highest ranked cousins saying okay, they agreed bravely too.


    Yuanying took them out to hide and instructed them to rehearse.


    When they got outside, Li Yuanying counted and realized that he had quite a few grand-nephews and nieces who had just learned how to speak. He asked that they line up ording to their age and height and asked them to read a sentence each.


    We start with Li Xiang who should say ¡°live as long as the heavensts¡± followed by Little Round Ball with ¡°flood of good fortune fills the heavens¡± and then ¡°blessing as immense as the East sea¡±one after another neatly connected into a string of words.


    Yuanying squat down to share that this is called Solitaire. Since everyone is part of the royal family, we should unite as one until we be a dragon. Even if one person is missing, it iscking something. We with the surname Li have to take good care of each other.


    After that, he asked the children to practice in low voices several times and then reminded them one by one: ¡°If anyone forgets a words, the person in front should remind the one behind in a low voice. This is not cheating, this is called unity!¡±


    The kids were all 2 to 3 years old little beans who has never been entrusted with serious task before. They were all excited and happily agreed.


    After everyone is done with the gifting ceremony, Li Xiang led a bunch of tiny beans into a line in front of the Emperor and performed for him in a childish voice. Some of these children were born and raised elsewhere and had stage fright due to the crowd. Some really did forget their lyrics and had to rely on those standing nearby for help.


    Although there were some hups, the birthday performance was perfectly put together. His Majesty being middle-aged, likes having children surrounding him. Since his own children are all almost adults, of course a group of little beans will make him very happy. His Majesty hugged Li Xiang onto hisp, pulled Little round ball into his arms and recognizes each and every grandchildren one by one. He then asked Li Xiang: ¡°Who taught you?¡±


    Even if you think with your feet you would know that these children can¡¯te up with this idea themselves.


    Li Xiang and Little round ball repeated Yuanying¡¯s words to His Majesty. When ites to remembering Yao Yao¡¯s words, they are the best!


    Upon hearing this, His Majesty patted the two grandsons lovingly: ¡°Yao Yao is right, you must remember what he has taught you.¡± He then praised other grandchildren and rewarded them.


    Children were naturally happy to receive a reward and happily ran back to their parents. Parents who didn¡¯t allow their children to follow Li Yuanying were now regretful. If they had known that young uncle would give their child such a good chance to get attention, they will surely allow them to follow!


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t care about what others thought of him. When he was done ying, he sat down to eat and after eating, he took Little radishes heads and Little beans out to y wildly. He stayed until the party was over.


    Lady Liu had long been looking forward to his return. Seeing his face flushed, she reached out her hand and asked with concern: ¡°Have you been drinking?¡±


    ¡°Nope! I was just ying with Xiang¡¯er and the children.¡±


    Lady Liu initially wanted to remind Yuanying not to y too wildly for it would be bad if any of the Royal children got hurt. But knowing her son¡¯s stubborn temper, she held her tongue and only asked if he did alright during the gifting session.


    ¡°All is good. I heard from Chengqian that brother was showing off my gift to his courtiers during noon. He likes it very much!¡±


    As mother and son were talking, a reward from the Emperor came to them. Yuanying happily led Lady Liu to ept it and said to mother: ¡°Look, Brother is really satisfied, right?¡±


    He look around at all his reward. They were all things that he had expressed his liking to. Great, brother really understands him.


    Seeing that the gifts from the Emperor were extravagant enough to make others jealous and that Yuanying loves them, Lady Liu felt a sense of relief. She smiled and watched on while her son went on and on about all the treasures that he likes.


    ¡°This was something I wantedst time but brother didn¡¯t give it to me.¡±


    ¡°This I have my eyes on for a long time but didn¡¯t get.¡±


    Finally, she helps her child to put them all away, promising to keep them as family heirlooms ording to his wishes.


    After keeping everything, he murmured to Lady Liu: ¡°Just now Qingque presented <<Comprehensive Gazetteer>> to the Emperor. I wonder if this book is good to read but Teacher Xiao helped on this project so it should be good. Once brother is done reading it I will ask him to lend it to me!¡±


    Of cause Lady Liu nodded her head in agreement to Li Yuanying wanting to read. She doesn¡¯t understand many principles in life but it is always right to read and learn more.


    Notes from the author:


    His Majesty Li Er: Praise, go on praise harder. Once you¡¯re done I will tell you that you are all wrong!


    Courtiers: Shameless! ! !


    Little Prince: Brother, I heard that Qing Quepiled a book (rubbing hands)


    Fourth nephew: Get lost! go away! ! !

 Chapter 91

    Chapter 91


    As soon as the Emperor is done celebrating his birthday, someone came to inform Li Yuanying that the entrance exam will start in two days and he had toplete it before the end of the year. Once the new year starts in Spring it is time for school. This is so that students will not ck and forget all their knowledge. Hearing this, Yuanying thinks that old man Kong is quite considerate. He immediately updated his study n and notified his friends who had agreed to take up this mission.


    Wei Shu was the first to know about it as the Emperor told Wei Zheng directly to inform his grandchildren. Wei Zheng thinks that the Emperor¡¯s decision to stuff Li Yuanying into the Academy was a bit whimsical but since his grandchildren were the source of this incident and they look forward to it, he didn¡¯tment much.


    On the exam day, the children made ns to meet in front of the Academy. Di Renjie, Wu Mei, Li Zhi, Cheng Yang, Wei Shu and Wei Ying. All present! Originally, Wei Ying weren¡¯t suppose to join them but since his sister insisted on following Li Yuanying and he wanted to keep watch, he had to follow behind ¡°Li Yuanying¡¯s Party¡±.


    As soon as the gate opened they walked in. On the way in, there were many students, many who were familiar to Li Yuanying.


    Not too long ago when Li Yuanying first returned to Chang¡¯an, he came here often looking for trouble since he was bored. He purposely asked tricky questions to challenge the students. If they were unable to answer, Li Yuanying would rub it in: ¡°You don¡¯t even know this? Brother Wei is much better than you.¡±


    In short, although Wei Ying is not a student yet, he has already gained much hatred, all thanks to Li Yuanying.


    Li Yuanying greeted the students with good manners. ¡°We meet again¡±, ¡°Hey, didn¡¯t we meetst time¡± and ¡°Look, the one behind me is Brother Wei, the son of Wei¡±!


    Wei Ying originally thought that walking with Li Yuanying wouldn¡¯t be much of an issue but as he continued he had a hunch that something was wrong: Why is everyone looking at him with unfriendly eyes? Could it be that their fathers all had issues with his grandfather?


    You can¡¯t me Wei Ying for being suspicious that the root cause was his grandfather. This is already the most sinister reason he can think of. After all, Wei Zheng do criticize others quite frequently and it is not umon to meet children of those officials here. With Wei Ying¡¯s non-turning brain, it was impossible for him to rte this back to Li Yuanying who had visited the Academy several times to sow hatred on his behalf with the pretense of giving him ¡°some challenge¡± in life.


    Li Yuanying did something sinister and he was thinking that his n was brilliant. He obediently followed the guide to the exam room. It was the middle of winter and the room had no charcoal fire, so it was cold and quiet.


    Li Yuanying felt that this ce was horrible and terribly cold. He sat down ording to his number and urged the invigtor: ¡°Hurry up and give me the questions. It¡¯s too cold here, I want to leave as soon as I finish!¡±


    After speaking, Li Yuanying smiled triumphantly at Wei Ying who was sitting next to him. It meant ¡°I can leave this ce after I have crushed you . But you will live the rest of this hard life here by yourself.¡±


    Seeing Li Yuanying smile so wildly, Wei Ying was annoyed. He calmed himself down and waited sullenly for the session to begin.


    Before starting, the invigtor gave each candidate a document to sign on. On it were statements like ¡°I voluntarily participate in this exam¡± and so on. The invigtor in charged also exined politely: ¡°Because in the past some candidates were forced to take the exam by their families and caused us much trouble, we now need each candidate to sign this as consent before they can be enrolled.¡±


    Of course this were all nonsense cooked up on the spot. The Imperial Academy is a ce were many were dying to get in. There¡¯s no possibility of needing such paperwork. Whoever doesn¡¯t desire need to try! This was something discussed between Kong Yingda and the Emperor. They want to manipte Li Yuanying with this document. After all, the kid has a sense of responsibility and he must recognize a document he signed himself!


    Li Yuanying weren¡¯t aware that Kong Yingda, an old man, would dig a hole for him to jump in. He didn¡¯t take things to heart. His brother wouldn¡¯t sent him, a well known little demon king to the Academy. That¡¯s impossible! Brother really cared about developing future talents at this ce!


    Yuanying didn¡¯t look at the document carefully. He signed his name in a hurry and quickly stamp his fingerprint on it. Seeing that Li Yuanying had already signed the document, the other children naturally did not hesitate and followed readily.


    Wu Mei was the only person who read the document carefully. Sh read through it and felt that this was no simple matter. This document doesn¡¯t highlight the rules of studying in the Academy but instead on a use that binds you to the Imperial Academy.¡±


    That¡¯s unusual!


    But despite whatever doubts Wu Mei had in her heart, the test paper was quickly assigned to each of them. Since it was just an entrance exam, they were not asked to write articles. However the initial questions on ssics were already difficult and after that candidates were tested on knowing the sources and also interpretation. The difficulty level is gradually increasing.


    Cheng Yang started to frown and wrote more and more slowly. She was trying to seriously recall all the books she had readtely.


    Li Yuanying was different. Since he was the one who rmended all the bibliography he started writing non-stop and could answer the questions quickly.


    Li Zhi and Wei Ying who were sitting next to him, saw this and became nervous. Wei Ying tried his very best to not lose to Li Yuanying and answered calmly. Li Zhi who was influenced by Li Yuanying went nk. He stayed idle until Yuanying was almost done beforeing to his senses and started writing vigorously in order not to rankst!


    After Yuanying was done, he looked left and right. Everyone else still head their heads buried deep. Without a care about for others, Yuanying got up and handed in his paper. Someone then appear and brought him towards the waiting room. He was inform that Chancellor Kong would start reviewing his paper and would share his results shortly.


    Li Yuanying loves the efficiency. He was surprisingly well-behaved and waited patiently in the adjacent room. The second person to join him was Wu Mei. She was still in deep thought about the consent form they signed and told the young prince about her concerns.


    Yuanying listened and sat there frowning, thinking. Among the students here, he only knows Tang Xuan and his friend has never mention anything about signing paperwork ever. He didn¡¯t see anything wrong with his actions just now but hearing more from Wu Mei he realized that the Emperor¡¯s action of informing him about the exam timing was weird. The action was too considerate!


    Yuanying wondered: ¡°Could it be that Brother wants to send me to the Academy?¡±


    No way! Isn¡¯t he afraid that I would turn this ce upside down?


    Wu Mei did not join the young prince in specting about the Emperor¡¯s intention.


    Next came Wei Shu. Seeing Yuanying sitting and frowning, she asked: ¡°Your Highness, did you encounter any problems?¡±


    ¡°Sister Shu, you are done?¡± Yuanying invited Wei Shu to sit and told her about Wu Mei¡¯s concern.


    ¡°Do you think Brother and old man Kong is conspiring something to trick me?¡±


    Wei Shu pointed to herself and Wu Mei: ¡°What about us?¡±


    Li Yuanying thought deeper. Yes! His Majesty will not let Mei Niang and the other girls in! Even if the Emperor allowed them to, Kong Yingda would never agree!


    ¡°Then let¡¯s observe first.¡±


    He looked at the crude furnishings in the room and snorted with dissatisfaction: ¡°I don¡¯t want to stay in such a rundown, secluded ce, not even willing to burn charcoal fire for warmth!¡±

 Chapter 92

    Chapter 92


    The rest of the children answered slower but more cautiously. After all, no one wanted to best, so they were extra careful during the exam.


    It was only after Yuanying finished picking on everything bad about the academy that the 4 remaining children finished.


    Yuanying asked Chengyang with concern: ¡°How did you do?¡±


    Cheng Yang replied honestly: ¡°I couldn¡¯t answer thest two question.¡±


    Hearing this, Li Zhi thought about his own performance. Chengyang couldn¡¯t answer 2 but he had 3 questions that confuses him! He started worrying, would he best in ss? Although Li Zhi had no beef with Wei Ying, he still wanted aparison: ¡°How did you do?¡±


    Wei Ying¡¯s had a moody face and didn¡¯t really want to talk to those who were friends with Li Yuanying. However these children were royalty and is initiating conversation with him politely. If he didn¡¯t answer, this would be contrary to all that his father had taught him in the past.


    Wei Ying said angrily: ¡°Not that good.¡±


    Seeing his bad mood, Li Zhi stopped poking at his wounds. He then asked Di Renjie how he did.


    Di Renjie got Yuanying¡¯s book list early and although he had no famous teacher, his grandfather was still a court official and had no problem guiding him. He slowly but surely finished everything on the list.


    ¡°I also have 2 questions that I¡¯m not sure about.¡±


    Yuanying as usual had no empathy for feelings. He said triumphantly: ¡°I answered them all!¡±


    Li Zhi was annoyed seeing him so proud so he threw a jab: ¡°Answered everything doesn¡¯t mean that you get them all correct.¡±


    But why would the shameless Yuanying be affected with such a simple jab? He was still very proud of his feat. ¡°Anyway, I finished first.¡±


    Yuanying had already instructed for charcoal fire to be lit and that someone be brewing tea at the side. A stove, tea leaves and spring water ¨C all these were brought over by Prince Teng¡¯s men. If the concierge didn¡¯t stop him, he would even bring over a bed and a warm quilt. The group sat together drinking tea and chatting.


    Afortable tea party was held. At the same time, Kong Yingda received 7 sets of paper one after another, each with its own merits.


    The first one belongs to Li Yuanying. Kong Yingda asked a few qualified lecturers from the Academy to review the paper together. The group were not too happy about letting Li Yuanying be boastful and so paid extra care in picking out faults in his paper. Anything from when Yuanying wrote a little too wildly, to missing a brush stroke were all circled.


    While they were busy picking on thorns, someone brought charcoal fire over. Apparently Prince Teng found this ce too cold and was worried that the invigtors would be frozen and so sent over some charcoal fire and a stove to make tea!


    When Kong Yingda and the others saw this their judgment were no longer as harsh as before. There is a saying that goes ¡±the hand that grabs is soft and the mouth that eats is soft.¡± Since you are being respected, you can no longer take pain to find fault with them, otherwise you will inevitably be at fault if they find out.


    In all fairness, His Highness answered well. He has a well-thought-out n and his brushwork is chic and easy. This shows that he wrote without stopping much!


    As soon as Kong Yingda saw everyone¡¯s expressions, he knew that they all thought that he can be epted.


    Then there is the judgment of other children¡¯s papers.


    Currently there is now to keep the paper ambiguous. The usual practice is to nce at the names first before marking.


    The children finished talking about the exam and move on to discuss how they should visit the Sunflower garden in a few days.


    The construction at Sunflower garden vige has beenpleted. But Winter means that there¡¯s nothing fun to do for all the rivers were frozen. Yuanying felt that if it snows, their tree house would look quite exquisite. Let¡¯s go have a look and winter is the perfect time to eat a roasted wholemb!


    When ites to ying, Yuanying is the best. He got excited and gave all kinds of ideas. All kind of ways to have fun he can cover. All they need is good snowfall.


    The group all join in about having fun one after another. This made Wei Ying very ufortable. Which boy doesn¡¯t like to y?


    Hearing Yuanying¡¯s suggestion about everything fun, he wanted to y too. But unlike his sister he is here to study.


    I heard that the Academy is very strict. You will be covered in all basic necessities so you won¡¯t be allowed to run outside! Besides, even if the Academy lets him out, could he y together with Li Yuanying? After kidnapping his sister, absolutely irreconcble!


    Wei Ying heart waver for a short while but he soon recovered his stinky expression, looking a lot like a miniature version of Wei Zheng.


    Kong Yingda came over with the result.


    Along with two critical blows to Li Yuanying.


    The first one being: Everyone answered well and passed the examination.


    Then?


    Nothing else.


    Li Yuanying asked unwillingly: ¡°Are we not ranked?¡±


    Kong Yingda re at him.


    Although Wei Zheng had offended quite some people, it wasn¡¯t to the point where they would deliberately torture his grandson.


    This is not just joining a group of brats in pushing someone to the bottom nor is this just suffering a little setback, this act is to blow someone into the ground.


    ¡°The Academy doesn¡¯t do that.¡±


    Yuanying wasn¡¯t aware that his brother was nning to throw him into school and so he graciously persuaded Kong Yingda: ¡°Old Kong, I don¡¯t think this is good. Think about it, they are all young people with wild minds, why don¡¯t you give them some advice? Motivate and urge them to make progress. For me, I think you should give them a small test monthly and a big test every three months. Those who fail should not be allowed to go home, stay back and study more!¡±


    Kong Yingda ignored him with an expression of ¡°I¡¯ll see what other nonsense you cane up with¡±.


    Yuanying is the best when ites to wild ideas: ¡°It¡¯s not enough to just take tests. After a test, you have to post the rankings in public. In the library and the school gate so that everyone knows their position. Those whose parents are worried can also view this results. That way the parents won¡¯t be overly worried or cheated by the children. You must know that many parents nowadays are not very understanding. When their children does badly, they won¡¯t me their kids but will me the teachers for not teaching well! Give them transparency so that you will not be med.¡±


    Kong Yingda hearing so much facies had forgotten for a moment what he was going to say. He could only reprimand: ¡°Why do you say that about other people¡¯s parents?¡±


    But the other teachers present were a little moved at the boy¡¯s speech.


    Kong Yingda is the dignified minister of Education and so no one would find trouble with him. This is not the same for the other teachers in the Academy. Many here were not as high ranking as some parents and although there weren¡¯t many incidences of being me for their children¡¯s inability to be independent, they have all faced such a situation before.


    These young people are shameless. If the result from every exam is made public, then who would dare to not study hard?


    Li Yuanying opened his mouth with such a bad idea! It made Wei Ying and Di Renjie who were determined to study here jump. Although Kong Yingda reprimanded him, they all saw the desired looks in the other teachers!


    It is often said that the county magistrate is not as good as the local executioners. Kong Yingda is an important member of the imperial court so it is impossible for him to always pay personal attention to the Academy. Once Kong Yingda leaves, isn¡¯t it the local teachers who will be left in charge?! Looks like they will really have to take monthly exams and be ranked monthly!


    Kong Yingda nced at the boy who was happily bbering away and couldn¡¯t hold back at dealing him the second blow: ¡°Go back and prepare. Report to the Imperial College after New Year.¡±


    Li Yuanying was stunned.


    What?


    What is Old Man Kong talking about?


    Kong Yingda slowly picked up the document that was signed by Li Yuanying and flipped through it slowly. Only when he saw that Li yuanying couldn¡¯t take it did he continue: ¡°Although there are very few precedents for royal children or women studying here, the Emperor has gave his permission. Yes, you should report on time after the new year.¡±


    Kong Yingda raised the document in his hand: ¡°Your Highness, you personally signed this.¡±


    Li Yuanying: ¡°¡­¡±


    Of course Li Yuanying was unwilling. After saying goodbye to his little friends, he rushed back home to look for big brother.


    Well done, why did you suddenly decide to trick your younger brother? Look at me, do I look like someone who would wake up everyday to attend ss? No way! This is unreasonable!


    Li Yuanying rushed towards His Majesty to settle ounts with him.


    Li Er waited for Li Yuanying to finish speaking before sighing.


    Why is his brother, the majestic king of a country, sighing?


    Yuanying immediately put aside his anger and sat down with concern.


    ¡°Brother, what¡¯s the matter?¡±


    His Majesty sighed again. He then talked about all his difficulties in a serious manner.


    This Academy was originally a ce for him to cultivate talents for the Tang Dynasty. As for talents, of course, the more the merrier. But as a result of massive enrollment, this has caused problems. A group of troublemakers were recruited into the school.


    If it¡¯s just one or two incidences, it will be easy to deal with. However, most pupils are from prominent families that had contributed blood and sweat in building the Empire. They cannot just kick students out just for one or two behavioral problems.


    Thew is not above human feelings!


    After hearing this, Yuanying felt that it is indeed a difficult matter.


    ¡°What does this have to do with you throwing me and Zhi Nu into the Academy?¡±


    ¡°If I send my most beloved younger brother and son to College and let Chancellor Kong practise strict discipline, will others still dare to mess around? Even my younger brother and son dare not break the rules, who will dare to do so?¡±


    Li Er looked at Li Yuanying expectantly: ¡°You have always said that you wanted to open arge academy. Why don¡¯t you attend mine to experience it and see if there¡¯s anything for improvement. Just treat it as learning in advance. Besides, when ites to dealing with disobedient brats, you are the best. See how managed to motivate all your little friends to study?¡±


    As soon as Li Er praised him, Yuanying immediately raised his tail and flicked it behind his back triumphantly.


    He proudly said: ¡°You are right, I will go.¡±


    Li Yuanying was angry when he came but was very happy when he left.


    To attend school he first needed to inform mother and then discuss this with his friends. This time the Emperor had entrusted him with a heavy responsibility. Although he was sent there to study but in fact he was going there to punish dudes. He also needed to learn how Old Man Kong disciplined students so that he can learn for his own academy in the future.


    Li Yuanying is a heartless fellow. When the Emperor praised him, he fell for it. After informing Lady Liu he happily went to discuss with his friends about the n to attend school.


    Lady Liu was stunned when she heard that her child was going to school at the Imperial College. New Year celebration was no longer fun and all she wanted was to find out what is going on at the Imperial College.


    The more she listens, the more uncertain Lady Liu felt. The Academy is a good ce to study but it is strictly controlled. The school paid for basic necessities and no servants are allowed inside.


    How can this work?


    Her precious son has never even dressed himself since young, how can he have no one taking care of him? All students eat together and the food will definitely not be delicious. Her child is so picky, what should she do if he bes hungry and thin?


    Lady Liu was super worried and hated the fact that she was not at a high position enough to fight for her son. If thete Emperor was still alive, he poor son will not be tortured like this.


    Lady Liu secretly wiped her tears. She turned around and saw Li Yuanyinging back happily.


    ¡°Son, can you not study at the Imperial College?¡±


    Yuanying saw mother with red eyes and so he took her hand and they sat down: ¡°I must go, I made a promise to the Emperor. Don¡¯t worry mother, who can make me suffer?¡±


    Hearing that he had made up his mind, Lady Liu stopped persuading and hurriedly prepared his suitcase. Since he was going, he would have to bring lots of things. She could not see himcking in anything and so she cried behind Yuanying¡¯s back for a while, hoping that His Majesty would release mother and son to their fief soon.


    Notes from the Author:


    Ding! His Majesty Li Er sent you a ¡°sigh.gif¡± emoticon!


    Little Prince:?

 Chapter 93

    Chapter 93


    The news about Li Yuanying¡¯s group enrolling into the Academy spread like wildfire.


    Many were happy. After all, instead of letting the young prince run wild in the open, it is better to lock him in the Imperial Academy for strict discipline. Always running to the Emperor every day, who knows what else he wille up with?


    The happiest person was naturally Li Tai. During Chinese New Year celebration, he cheerfully congratted young uncle for his enrollment during the pce banquet.


    Yuanying himself looked happy. Finally Li Tai speaks like a human. He immediately took his hand and discussed with Li Tai: ¡°The <<Comprehensive Gazetteer>> that you edited is a great read. Brother only lent me two volumes and I¡¯m already amazed! I never thought that you could write such a good book. Are you interested to send it for printing? Then many more will be able to read it!¡±


    Li Tai didn¡¯t expect such a reply to his sarcasm. The flesh on his face trembled and he felt that this boy is someone that can even make ridicule powerless. He will never answer ording to your expectations at all!


    ¡°That¡¯s not necessary right?¡± (Li Tai)


    Li Yuanying actively lobbied: ¡°You should, you should. Paper is now cheap and I have an engraver on standby who can make books fast. I don¡¯t want your money, I just want a batch so that I can put them into the library. I want schrs to learn and understand about different customs from various ces. In the future, if they serve the country as officials and are assigned to foreign ces, they will not be caught off-guard!¡±


    Li Tai was a little moved hearing this speech. He has read Li Yuanying¡¯s <<Han Zi¡¯s Fables>> and although it was a little superficial, it was convenient to read and he could share it with his friends.


    Now that he has walked this path, why wouldn¡¯t he want to gain good reputation within the schrlymunity? Although Li Tai was moved, he still had to refuse on the surface: ¡°How dare I make young uncle spend money? Why don¡¯t you lend me manpower and I then purchase paper from you so that I can print my book and send a batch for your library?¡±


    Li Yuanying had no habit of giving away free money so he agreed.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll drop a note to Li and you can prepare your manuscript and pass it to him. Let Li cost out an estimated cost and you can pay him directly.¡±


    Li Tai nodded: ¡°I have dedicated my work to the Emperor, so I have to ask for his permission first.¡±


    What else can His Majesty say but to agree? Of course he will agree to it. He also didn¡¯t need Li Yuanying or Li Tai to finance this and went with public funding. Since paper is now cheap, this means that people can not only afford paper but get ess to books and resources which were initially scarce.


    Books were originally extremely expensive and only aristocratic families could afford them. Now with lower cost, anyone can skip a few meal and afford them! This might not be a game changer for schrs in Chang¡¯an who had ess libraries but it will be for schrs in smaller towns!


    This is why the Emperor agrees with the suggestion.


    If this printing method really works then the imperial court can produce more books in the future!


    Most schrs are from aristocratic families and this is a concern for the Emperor. The Li family was also an aristocratic family in the past and even during the previous dynasty it was families like these who held talents and military power in warring times.


    It is precisely because of this that he ordered Fang Xuanling to find a reason to get rid of many officials after seeding to the throne. At one point, his court only had 600 people left and he had to slowly replenished the numbers from talents gathered from the imperial examinations and through rmendations in hopes of diluting the almost monopoly power held by some of the aristocratic families.


    If the general public could now afford books then the threshold for reading would be greatly lowered. In time toe, many from humble families will flood into the imperial court!


    Perhaps these humble children will be the new aristocratic families in the future but before that can happen, they can be used to attack the original aristocratic family. And when this new batch gradually solidify power and be stronger, they will then be challenged by otherters. This is the only way for power to remain with the Li and Tang royal family so that it will not fall into the hands of others.


    Yuanying didn¡¯t think as much as his brother. Since brother had agreed, he took one look at Li Tai and remembered something else.


    ¡°There is another matter. Not sure if Chengqian told you yet!¡±


    Li Er looked at him and motioned for him to continue.


    ¡°Xiang¡¯er is about age. I have rmended a suitable teacher candidate to Chengqian. Has he mentioned anything to you, Lord Brother?¡±


    Not yet. Who do you think is suitable?¡±


    Li Tai had an ominous premonition.


    ¡°I¡¯m not boasting but most of the candidates who are suitable has taught us. I think the best is teacher Xiao. Although he is old, he is still in good health and is the most suitable! Look, didn¡¯t you request him to teach Zhi Nu about the <<Book of Filial Piety>>? Isn¡¯t Zhi Nu the most filial? And now look at me. I didn¡¯t like reading in the past, but after meeting teacher a few times I am now very interested in reading. Therefore, it is most suitable for teacher Xiao to teach Xiang¡¯er!¡±


    The ¡°Teacher Xiao¡± mentioned by Li Yuanying is naturally old schr Xiao Deyan.


    Li Tai always knew that Li Yuanying was interested in Xiao Deyan but he had expected him to give up long ago. But now he is using Li Xiang as a strategy to help Li Chengqian!


    Li Tai wished he could bite Li Yuanying to death.


    Yuanying noticed Li Tai¡¯s angry gaze and held out for his hand.


    ¡°Qing Que, your project is finished! You won¡¯t be reluctant to let him go right? Hey, if I were you I would be reluctant to let teacher go too. But Xin Er is still young and do not need teacher Xiao yet. Let him teach Xiang Er first. When Xin Er is older, you can send him to study together with Xiang Er. That way, they are not just cousins but ssmates. That¡¯s an addedyer of rtionship and they will gorw closer. That¡¯ll be great!¡±


    Li Er nodded in agreement as the proposal was reasonable. Since recovering from his illness, the Emperor now likes his children and grandchildren to be on friendly terms. Just like when Li Yuanying made the children celebrate Li Er¡¯s birthday together. Since everyone is from the Li Family and is united, why would there be worries about their rule not being stable?


    What more can Li Tai say. He could only agree, wishing that he could get rid of Li Yuanying¡¯s hand on the spot.


    Yuanying felt that he had aplished two good things and so he stopped talking to them. He happily took the children out to y. On the day of the Lantern Festival, the heavy snow in Chang¡¯an has stopped and the wholend was covered in white looking very beautiful.


    Li Yuanying took the children out to y at the sunflower garden and climbed onto his tall tree house. They ate delicious roastedmb and the radish heads went sliding along the cleared mountain road making lots of noise.


    Yuanying didn¡¯t rest even at night. After having dinner with mother, he slipped out of the pce with his friends. There is no curfew given that it is now the Lantern Festival and they watchednterns and guessed riddles along way; ying from the Western side of the city all the way to the East. After visiting all the lively ces, they made it home right before the pce gate was locked.


    Sizi was very sleepy but she still held onto Yuanying¡¯s hand reluctantly.


    ¡°Young uncle, you¡¯ll be away starting tomorrow. Will we not see each other for a long time?¡±


    ¡°No! I¡¯ll find a chance toe back and y with you!¡± said Yuanying confidently.


    Only after getting much assurance from young uncle did the children return home to sleep peacefully. Deep in their hearts, they were still unhappy with father for sending away young uncle to study at the Academy.


    Early the next morning, Li Zhi came over to drag Li Yuanying out of bed before he woke up. Today is the first day of school. They can¡¯t bete on the first day! Yuanying had been listening to mother¡¯s talking over and over about the Academytely and he sat sat up yawning.


    ¡°Can you dress yourself? I heard from mother that no servants are allowed in the Academy!¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Li Zhi was speechless.


    ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know how to wear clothes?¡± Although he has been served since a child, he is not so stupid that he can¡¯t even wear clothes himself!


    Li Yuanying was surprised: ¡°You actually know how to do it? I didn¡¯t know how to do it before but now I have learned about it!¡± His tone was quite proud, like he was proud of his own extraordinary intelligence.


    Li Zhi was toozy to reply so he just asked Yuanying to open the box to inspect the things Lady Liu had prepared for him.


    ¡°Uniform will be given so just bring some inner clothes. Why are you taking so many clothes, these are enough tost a whole month without repetition.¡± (Li Zhi)


    ¡°Mother said that it rains a lot in spring. If the uniform issued by the Imperial College gets wet, don¡¯t I need clothes to rece? Of course I need enough clothes tost for a whole month.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°You only wear these clothes once?¡± (Li Zhi)


    Li Yuanying looked at him with a ¡°what¡¯s wrong¡± expression. Do you have to doundry? (Li Yuanying)


    Li Zhi: ¡°¡­¡±


    Li Yuanying had made careful ns.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to waste. Everyone can wear the clothes prepared by my mother. I will wear them once and give them away. Then others can wear them themselves or give it to their younger siblings. It will never happen that no one is willing to wash the clothes that are given to them for free.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Li Zhi did the math. Even if Yuanying stayed at the Academy for a year, it would only be about 300 sets of clothes. This small amount is nothing to Li Yuanying. That being the case, Li Zhi didn¡¯t say anything. Anyway, he didn¡¯t believe that young uncle couldst for a year!


    Li Zhi stop asking about the rest of the dozens of boxes. They went to pick up Chengyang and bid farewell to His Majesty Li Er. They then reported to the Imperial Academy with a mighty box-carrying team.


    When they got there, Yuanying was dumbfounded. The ce they will be living in is too small, a dormitory shared by a dozen students in one room. There is no room for him to put his belongings.


    Li Yuanying went to meet the person in charge of housing and wanted a vacant room to put his things. But the other party ruthlessly said to return his belongings where it came from. NO special treatment.


    These are items that mother had carefully prepared for days, how can he send it back? He thought about it and asked his men to find a corner outside that could shelter from wind and rain to put his things. He will just go out to collect them if he needed something. The academy is full of promising schrs and they cannot move at will. Surely no one would steal worthless clothes and ink.


    Li Yuanying¡¯s mighty moving brigade attracted the attention of many and they all stopped to discuss about him. It was only when Li Yuanying was formally arranged into the dorm that the others realized that the little devil king will really be studying with them!


    Tang Xuan has been in the Academy for a year now and has good results and is loved by teachers. Knowing that both Li Yuanying and Di Renjie will be joining him, he was overjoyed and looked forward to their arrival. Perhaps Kong Yingda did it on purpose, but Li Zhi and the others were arranged in different dormitories and only Li Yuanying alone was arrange to where Tang Xuan was.


    When Tang Xuan got the news, he changed bed with someone so that Li Yuanying will sleep next to him. The young prince usually has his bed made for him by servants and this is the first time he is seeing an empty bed. This made him very excited. He enthusiastically declined Tang Xuan¡¯s proposal to help him. Under Tang Xuan¡¯s guidance, he began preparing his own bed for the first time in his life.


    Li Yuanying spread out the warm quilt in a dignified manner, then arranged the small pillows he brought.


    He then said to Tang Xuan proudly: ¡°Making the bed is not that difficult. You don¡¯t have to teach me next time!¡±


    Before Tang could respond, someone came in andughed at him.


    ¡°You are so proud of making the bed. People who don¡¯t know you will think that you have never done anything great!¡±


    Notes from the author:


    The little prince was triumphant: I can put on clothes now!


    Zhi Nu: ¡­

 Chapter 94

    Chapter 94


    Li Yuanying looked up and saw a young boy about the same age as Tang Xuan. He had quite good looking features but not a very friendly expression. Even after being ridiculed, Yuangying weren¡¯t annoyed, He retorted logically: ¡°Were you born knowing how to make your bed? Anyway, I can¡¯t! I just learned something I didn¡¯t know so shouldn¡¯t I be happy? You¡¯re so weird.¡±


    The young boy weren¡¯t very happy about being countered like that. He started blushing. ¡°You¡¯re the weird one!¡±


    He was about to enter the room but saw only both boys inside and turned around to rush out. It is obvious he didn¡¯t want to stay with the two of them.


    Yuanying asked Tang Xuan curiously: ¡°Who was that?¡±


    ¡°His surname is Tang, and name Guan. He¡¯s the son of Tang Jian, Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.¡±


    Tang Xuan then shared about his small grievances with Tang Guan. Initially Tang Guan was popr with the teachers but due to his own good performances the teachers started looking at him differently. Having less attention, Tang Guan wasn¡¯t very happy.


    Tang Xuan said embarrassed, ¡°Sorry I got you in trouble.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? If this is called trouble then won¡¯t I get you involve in much more trouble?¡±


    Originally he provoked the students at the Academy to cause trouble for Wei Yin. Now it seems that he has made many enemies for himself! But Yuanying wasn¡¯t worried and was actually eager.


    ¡°I know minister Tang. One of his son married a niece of mine. Therefore, his son has to call me Uncle. Next time I will make him do that!¡±


    Tang Xuan: ¡°¡­¡±


    That¡¯s not good. This will piss off the arrogant Tang Guan. He persuaded gently: ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that status don¡¯t matter when you enter the Imperial College? Let¡¯s not do that?!¡±


    Yuanying epted the suggestion: ¡°You are right. Then I will make him call me uncle the next time I meet him outside.¡±


    Li Yuanying had no chance to know about people like Tang Guan. When he was much younger, he wreck havoc within the pce ground and when he was old enough to go out, he was busy doing this and that. However, he reckoned people like this would want to either marry his nieces or had a sibling who wanted to. Therefore they are all his juniors ording to social heirachy!


    Li Yuanying felt that this logic was fine.


    After making the bed and looking around his new living quarters, Yuanying went to meet Di Renjie and the others. They followed Tang Xuan to check out the cafeteria. Out of curtesy, Yuanying even invited Wei Ying. After all, he is Wei Shu¡¯s elder brother. Seeing how lonely he was, it was pitiful!


    Wei Ying originally didn¡¯t want to join but he had bumped into walls several times already. Hearing Yuanying¡¯s nice words of invitation, he followed with ns to get familiar with the environment with the group first.


    Going here and there, it was already time for food. The students all gathered together waiting for mealtime to start. When they saw Li Yuanying and his party, many cast them unfriendly nces.


    Yuanying was curious about what the Academy ate so he took a look at the food with great interest. He found itcklustre, only two hard buns for each person, neither fragrant nor soft. The dishes were also very in and he didn¡¯t see any meat. After taking two bites, he found it difficult to eat.


    Li Zhi felt the same way but seeing others eating, he was too embarrassed to put it down and reluctantly continue to bite.


    Li Yuanying weren¡¯t about to abuse himself. He threw the steamed bun and said, ¡°This is not delicious!¡±


    ¡°We usually eat this kind of food here. If you don¡¯t eat, you will be hungry.¡± (Tang Xuan)


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t eat anyway.


    Li Yuanying has lost the initial excitement and began to wonder if he had been deceived by the Emperor. He remembered the story about Zhou Chu eliminating three evils. Did his brother get rid of him like how Zhou Chu did in the story? Brother is so insidious and cunning, it is very likely that he got thrown into this Academy cause brother found him annoying!


    Li Yuanying thought about the hard bun for a long time. The more he thought, the more he felt that His Majesty and Kong Yingda deliberately tricked him. Unreasonable! He had already mentally prepared for the food here to be bad but he wasn¡¯t expecting it to be so unptable!


    Not tasty and not edible. Can they be the same thing?


    Li Yuanying asked Tang Xuan: ¡°Where do Tang Guan and his group eat? I don¡¯t see them here.¡±


    ¡°They have already instructed their servants to deliver food to the gate. Everyday they will go and pick it up.¡±


    Yuanying nodded and ask the rest to eat first. He then rushed to the gate by himself. When he came back, he was carrying boxes of food. He left Li Zhi one box and then took the rest to look for the other children.


    Li Zhi, Wei Ying and those around looked at each other in nk dismay.


    ¡°He couldn¡¯t have went robbing others, did he?¡± (Tang Xuan)


    Li Zhi was silent.


    This is indeed something Li Yuanying would do.


    Li Yuanying has a habit of doing this. Once he reveals his identity and demands for something, no one would dare disobey him.


    As soon as Li Yuanying left, someone came looking for him angrily. When he saw the food box in Li Zhi¡¯s hand, he walked over quickly. As the person was about to raise his voice, he realized that it was Li Zhi and so he quickly suppressed the curses and abruptly changed his tone: ¡°Your Royal Highness Prince Jin, why didn¡¯t you tell us you wanted to eat? We would have ask that food be brought over to you.¡±


    This person is none other than Fang Jun who was thrown into College by his father to reform him. Fang is different from his father, he doesn¡¯t like studying and is a real brat. Hearing that Li Yuanying stole his food box, Fang rushed over wanting to settle the score but he instead saw his food box next to future ninth brother-inw, who is a legitimate son to the Emperor!


    Li Zhi being confronted by the suffering victim was embarrassed and hurriedly return the food box to Fang Jun.


    But Fang insisted that Li Zhi should keep it and not be left hungry. He has already asked someone to send him another one.


    Fang Jun added in a newin: ¡°The food at the Academy are for pigs to eat¡±


    Tang Xuan, who is eating steamed buns: ¡°¡­¡±


    Wei Ying, who is eating steamed buns: ¡°¡­¡±


    Di Renjie who is eating steamed buns: ¡°¡­¡±


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t care about the victims. He didn¡¯t know food can taste that bad before and now that he is aware, he has no shame in stealing food. After all, didn¡¯t His Majesty ask him to punish disobedient students? He is now taking care of it! How dare they secretly order packaged meals from outside. This is against the rules. Everything must be confiscated!


    Yuanying was self-righteous about his doings and brought 2 food boxes to look for the girls. However before he could reach the female dormitory, he heard shouting directed at him.


    ¡°Who are you? Why are youing here?¡±


    Li Yuanying looked up and saw a bright-looking girl about 14 or 15. She dressed differently from Tang people. Yuanying thought and remembered her: ¡°Are you that Si princess, Jin Shengman?¡±


    Jin Shengman looked at him curiously: ¡°You know me?¡±


    ¡°I already know all the girls at this Academy except for you. I have heard that in Si, the country is ruled by a female ruler. The royal children sent here to study is also a princess. I didn¡¯t expect to meet you here.¡±


    He greeted her enthusiastically: ¡°I snatched this from the gate, do you want to eat together? I don¡¯t even know what¡¯s in it, this is a great feeling!¡±


    Jin Shengman: ¡°¡­¡±


    How could this guy speak so confidently about stealing? How dare you feel that just because it¡¯s a mysterious food box it will be more refreshing and exciting to eat?!


    Although Jin Shengman felt that this guy was a troublemaker, she surprisingly didn¡¯t dislike him. She helped him to call for Wei Shu and the other girls who were packing up.


    When the girls heard that Li Yuanying stole food boxes, they were speechless too. They wondered if they should persuade him to not do this again ever.


    At Li Yuanying¡¯s invitation, Jin Shengman sat down and wiped out the two looted food boxes together.


    There were not many girls in the Academy and their residence was an independent courtyard. Other students were not allowed toe over at will and it looked much cleaner than the ce that Li Yuanying was staying at.


    After Yuanying had enough eating he discussed brought up the topic on whether they were being treated like the ¡°Zhou Chu¡±story.


    Wei Shu is of the opinion that His Majesty did not deliberately give them bad food.


    It is impossible for the Academy¡¯s meals to be as refined as the Royal pce. After all how can the government use so much tax money to feed students? Moreover, most students here are from humble background. It is already a great blessing for them to have enough to eat. Why would they have such refined taste buds? It is only because the academy now has a bunch of ¡°rich brats¡± that the canteen food look unptable.


    Chengyang agrees with this statement.


    There is really no need for father to torture them with food.


    ¡°If Your Highness really wants to stay here for the year, I¡¯m afraid this won¡¯t work.¡± (Mei Niang)


    She put forward her own suggestion: Although the meals are provided for by the Academy, Prince Teng can always suggest ways to improve the meals. If the Academy couldn¡¯t afford that much money, they could also help to subsidize it. All they needed to do was to find a reasonable justification so that Kong Yingda and the other teachers had nothing to say.


    As soon as Yuanying heard that there was a need for ¡°justification¡±, his brain immediately became active. He sat there thinking and then his eyes lit up: ¡°I have an idea!¡±


    He shares his idea to the group and then refined it again and again based on the suggestions he has received. The group worked together to jointly n how to improve the poor food quality at the Imperial College.


    As the group entered into a state of discussion, Jin Shengman who was sitting by their side was enthralled.


    Not only is Li Yuanying different from the men she has met in Tang but the three girls were also contrary to her perception of Tang women: ording to the students here, women were mostly treated as subordinates to men and the most prestigious praises given to girls were ¡°virtuous supportive partners¡±. The students even hinted that Si is out of the norm where ¡°a hen is crowing in the morning¡±. But these 3 new girls are different. Although they all had very different temperaments, they all had unique insights and are obviously far more intelligent than their peers.


    This is the demeanor that a woman ruler should have!


    Jin Shengman¡¯s eyes brightened.


    Li Yuanying, Wei Shu and the others discussed for a while before remembering that they had a new friend with them. Yuanying then actively asked Jin Shengman what she thought of the school and if she has any thoughts about reforming it.


    Although the Academy on the surface practices no special treatment based on social ranking, it was actually not implemented well. For example, rich brats like Fang has been ordering takeaway from outside and has been running around town. It was the same for Jin Shengman. She lives in a separate yard and she is allowed to bring a personal cook to serve her. She only interact with other students during lecture timing.


    I don¡¯t have any better suggestions. But if your idea is implemented I¡¯d like to join everyone for mealtime.¡± (Jin Shengman)


    ¡°If I want to do it, of course it will be done.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we forbidden from going out until rest day? I¡¯m afraid it will take awhile before we can put ns into motion. Young uncle, why don¡¯t you eat with us for the next few days?!¡± (Cheng Yang)


    ¡°It won¡¯t take that long, leave it me.¡±


    Yuanying stood up and whistled. A big white-headed bird flew down from the sky andnded on his shoulder. He touched its smooth and beautiful feathers and said happily: ¡°This is given to me by Old man Li. I have trained it so well that it can help me to deliver letters. Coincidentally Dong Xiaoyi should be done with affairs of Xiangcheng Pce.We should see a delicious meal tonight!¡±


    Old man Li naturally meant Li Jing. Li Jing loved raising all kinds of animals. When Li Yuanying asked for a bird, he gave him a clever and obedient white-headed bird.


    If he had known that this is a trap, he would not have been so stupid as to not have any preparation.


    Although he didn¡¯t bring people with him, he brought a bird!


    He briefly wrote down the n using a brush and tied the message to the bird¡¯s leg. He then send the bird off to look for Dong Xiaoyi.


    While Li Yuanying was scheming about how to have good meals everyday, the rest of the students heard news about him snatching food. When Fang Xuanling and the others returned home, it is inevitable that they will mention about Li Yuanying¡¯s despicable deeds of stealing people¡¯s food.


    Fang Jun¡¯s mother, Lu, worriedly said to Fang Xuanling: ¡°What if my son bes hungry?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because you spoilt him, look at how he has turned out?! You must have sent someone to bring him food a second time. Would he starve?¡±(Fang Xuanling)


    ¡°How can this be? If that guy wants to eat, why didn¡¯t he get his own food? Why is he stealing?!¡± (Lu)


    Seeing Lu¡¯s anger, Fang Xuanling tactfully kept quiet. Li Yuanying must not have known that the food was so unptable, otherwise he would rather die than go to school.


    From Fang Xuanling¡¯s point of view, His Majesty¡¯s act of sending Li Yuanying and Li Zhi to shake up the atmosphere ispletely wishful thinking. It¡¯ll be good enough if that kid doesn¡¯t take the lead in creating more trouble! Only Day 1 and he has already caused a ruckus by stealing food. Wouldn¡¯t it be chaos everyday from now onwards?


    Fang Xuanling reckoned that in a few days time Kong Yingda will be crying to the Emperor asking him to remove Li Yuanying! Otherwise Li Yuanying will not live up to the status of being the little demon king.


    Anyway, it¡¯s not his headache. Fang Xuanlingforted Lu wth a few words and then ran to hide in his study.


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: You grown-ups are really heartless (pointing andining.jpg)

 Chapter 95

    Chapter 95


    The Academy became lively and was filled with excitement with this new batch of freshmen after the new year. Only after everyone had settled in did Li Yuanying realize that he is the only one from his group assigned to Tang Xuan¡¯s batch while all the others joined as freshmen. Yuanying curiously asked Tang Xuan but he couldn¡¯t understand the logic behind it as well. Tang Xuan made a quick guess: ¡°Maybe Chancellor Kong knows your learning ability and thinks that you¡¯d be wasting your time joining the freshmen.¡±


    Yuanying was happy hearing this and thinks that Old Man Kong looks up to him. Even though he is now separated from Li Zhi and the others, it was no big deal and he happily followed Tang Xuan to ss.


    Li Yuanying was a transfer student and naturally didn¡¯t have a seat in the front row. Tang Xuan was worried that his friend would be lonely so he changed seats to sit next to him.


    Other students already didn¡¯t like Tang Xuan ¡°the little genius¡± who joined themte. Seeing that he is being so attentive to Li Yuanying, they secretly sneered that a vige boy is so willing to please a mere WangYe (Prince, normally a brother of the Emperor).


    Thete Emperor had 22 sons. Minus those who had passed away, there were still more than a dozen WangYe alive and they were simply sent away to their fief. Leaving aside sons from thete Emperor, even sons of the current Emperor were not that prestigious apart from the 3 direct legitimate descendants.


    Look at the 3<sup>rd</sup>prince, Li Ke, who was criticized by the Emperor for shing with a county magistrate! They will be officials in the future and there is no need to be afraid of Li Yuanying, let alone degenerate themselves to cater to his needs.


    Tang Xuan paid no attention to the mocking eyes. In his eyes, Li Yuanying was a like-minded friend, and they got along well.


    Since Yuanying had just arrived at the Academy, he should help him settle in. If he were to visit Yuanying¡¯snd in the future, the boy would do the same for him! Isn¡¯t this what friends are for?


    Li Yuanying too didn¡¯t care much about what others think. After all, he is known as the little devil king and drove away angry teachers in batches. This little hidden sarcasm is just like a drizzle of rain to him!


    Yuanying took out his new textbook : ¡°Just these Five ssics? Is it not too little?¡±


    The Five ssics refer to ¡°Poetry¡±, ¡°Book¡±, ¡°Etiquette¡±, ¡°Changes¡± and ¡°Spring and Autumn¡±.


    ¡°Poetry¡± naturally refers to the <<Book of Songs>>. Reading and writing poems is an essential skill for schrs, so this must be learned.


    ¡°Book¡± refers to <<Shangshu>>, aption of political documents handed down and all officials have to study them.


    ¡°Etiquette¡± is the <<Book of Rites>> and schrs must follow it in their words and deeds.


    ¡°Changes¡± refers to the <<Book of Change>>, it is also necessary to understand metaphysical knowledge.


    ¡°Spring and Autumn¡± is a chronological history book, written ording to spring, summer, autumn, and winter and so is called <<Spring and Autumn>>.


    Tang Xuan answered in a good-tempered manner: ¡°Five ssics is not little at all. Many are not able to master them even after a lifetime of study. Some books I had also self-studied earlier but I gather new insights after listening to teacher¡¯s exnation. Even if It¡¯s the same book, different interpretation would give you different insights.¡±


    Yuanying is a typical example of liking soft treatment and not hard rule. After listening to Tang Xuan, he sincerely waited for the teacher to start his lecture.


    The teacher in charge of Li Yuanying¡¯s ss was surname Ma and named Jiayun. He is over 60 and was a famous Confucianism schr. When this Dr. Ma heard that the little devil king will be in his ss, the rm bell immediately sounded in his head. Beforeing to ss he even tidied up his dressing twice for fear that it would be distorted by Li Yuanying¡¯s mischief.


    Dr. Ma arrived and saw Li Yuanying was sitting obediently in the back row, wearing the same uniform as others and was decent. Looking again, Tang Xuan actually moved next to him. Dr. Ma frowned.


    There is a saying that it is easy to learn bad things but difficult to learn good things. Tang Xuan had in the past stay clear of spoilt rich bratty ssmates and this was to Dr. Ma¡¯s liking. Now seeing him close to Li Yuanying, he became a little worried about this beloved apprentice. But since they were all youths, the teacher did notment much. He only paid special attention to Li Yuanying during lectures to see if he would be as disruptive as some colleagues said.


    Dr. Ma¡¯s lectures on the <<Book of Changes>> is never boring. Although he is over 60, his lectures were humorous. He used to live in seclusion in the deep mountains and the examples he gave had those undertones ¨C interesting and carried someymannguage. Although supposed to bemon terms and crass, he made them sound elegant.


    Li Yuanying¡¯s eyes lit up and felt that the Academy was not that bad. Or at least Dr. Ma was good and he liked his lectures. Not only did he actively participate during ss, he also dragged Tang Xuan along to ask Dr. Ma questions after ss.


    Dr. Ma watched his words and deeds and felt that although the young prince had the pride of the Li family, he was still a good student eager to learn. There should be no distinction between teaching and learning, their initial evaluation of Li Yuanying is biased!


    The teacher answered Yuanying¡¯s questions one by one and after returning, he raised him to Jia Gongyan, a fellow teacher who teaches the same ss saying that the young prince can be taught well.


    Assistant Professor Jia went to ss after Dr. Ma. He taught ¡°Etiquette¡± which is his specialty.


    One portion of the unified textbooks that Kong Yingda instructed to bepile was edited by Assistant Professor Jia.


    Although Li Yuanying had studied the <<Book of Rites>> with Wei Zheng, it is just as Tang Xuan said : different people have different interpretation. Teaching assistant Jia is different from Wei Zheng. Li Yuanyingpared what both teachers had taught and felt that he has indeed gained a new understanding on the book.


    While Li Yuanying was tirelessly learning new knowledge, someone went looking for Kong Yingda.


    It was Li Chengqian.


    Chengqian had no choice. Dong Xiaoyi came to East Pce looking for him with snot and tears: ¡°Our Royal Highness is going to starve to death in the Imperial Academy!¡±


    Chengqian thought to himself. Fang Yizhi also dropped by to update him that youngest uncle found the food at the Academy so bad that he refused to eat and had stolen food boxes from other students. Is his young uncle a person who can starve to death? You can starve anyone else to death but not him! But Chengqian liked him as an uncle so he kindly asked Dong Xiaoyi what message did hee to deliver.


    Dong Xiaoyi was direct. He was ordered to buy up a restaurant and asked to recruit good chefs. He is prepared to send the chefs to the Imperial College every day to deliver food. Although the dishes will not be as great as those served in the Royal Pce but at least they will be edible. Dong Xiaoyi has also thought of an exnation, let¡¯s just say that the owner is grateful to the Academy for cultivating talents for Tang and voluntarily contributes money to feed these talents. They will not ask the Academy to spend anything extra but will let everyone eat good food! They only had one request which is to let their restaurant put up a signboard saying that their dishes were exclusively served to the Imperial College!


    Dong Xiaoyi even show the Crown Prince a n that was obviously hand written by Li Yuanying. On it is a statement that all dishes served on the first hundred days should be different daily. He called it ¡°a hundred dishes tasting activity¡±. Food is the most important thing for the citizens so knowing the eating habits of themon people in different ces is something that students at the Academy should do. This is called understanding people¡¯s livelihood and sentiments!


    The entire event did not require any investment from the Academy. All they needed is for students to vote for their favourite dishes after tasting them. This is a simple task that doesn¡¯t take effort. Everyone will be willing.


    After hearing the whole n, Chengqian expression was a little numb. This young uncle of his really put in much effort to be able to eat good food every day. He wondered if uncle had nned this in advance, how did hee up with such aprehensive n in just half a day? Even he felt that not knowing the food of themon people is not caring about their livelihood!


    How can uncle be so good with words?


    What can Li Chengqian do? Of course, he could only be a good nephew and talk to Kong Yingda about this immediately.


    Kong Yingda was worried about the Academy all day; worried that Li Yuanying will cause bigmotion. Half a day has passed and no one came reporting any bad news. Kong Yingda was relieved but also inexplicably disappointed: It¡¯s quite unustomed for the little devil king not to cause some trouble!


    Before Kong Yingda could put his mind at ease, the Crown Prince came looking for him. He went on and on about ¡°a good-hearted restaurant providing free food that will not be repeated in a hundred days¡±.


    When Kong Yingda heard it, he understood. Trouble was waiting for him here.


    If the owner of a restaurant really wanted to do such ¡°benevolent act¡±, why did he need to cross Li Chengqian¡¯s path? It¡¯s impossible! Who will be willing to spend money for a hundred days just to get some votes? This is not an activity for a hundred people but two thousand people! These are just the number of core students without the administrators and staffs yet. Who would be willing to spend money for nothing?


    Even the Ministry of Households finds it painful to spend on the Academy. After all, this ce generates no ie other than to cultivate future talents for the imperial court!


    Only Li Yuanying who has plenty of money is willing to spend like this.


    Kong Yingda felt that with just a few days, the young Prince should understand that is is no easy feat to feed so many people, right?


    Kong Yingda thought and felt that it was okay to agree to it. After all he will not need to spend a single penny. He asked that the message be conveyed to the Academy. If someone wants to send money, let him give it. Let¡¯s see who will be crying in the end!


    Chengqian finished his task and send someone to inform Dong Xiaoyi. Dong Xiaoyi happily went back to inform Lady Liu that Prince Teng is getting used to his new environment except for the food there. But this problem has been solved.


    Lady Liu heard the n about acquiring a restaurant that had invited many good chefs to cook. She quickly gave him her recipes and asked Dong Xiaoyi to choose the ones preferred by Li Yuanying to be mix into his daily meals. It didn¡¯t matter how much they will spend so long Li Yuanying eats well.


    Lady Liu also do notck money. After all there is nowhere to spend money on in the Royal pce. Thinking that the weather has been very cold recently, she asks Dong Xiaoyi to donate some charcoal too. Lady Liu came up with more ideas in ordance to Li Yuanying¡¯s n: ¡°Go out and buy more charcoal and stock up. Lets just tell them that you also sell charcoal as a side business. Think about all kinds of good charcoal and send them several kinds in rotation every day. Do this until the beginning of Spring.¡±


    Dong Xiaoyi calcted and felt that their spending was too high. Fortunately, the sunflower seeds harvestedst year sold for a lot of money!


    It was Li Yuanying¡¯s idea to sell sunflower seeds. Last year, he learned about a word called ¡°raremodity¡±. Other that the Emperor who else had sunflower seeds? Doesn¡¯t this make it ¡°raremodity¡±?


    Li Yuanying instructed that the sunflower seeds not be sold in batches but in threes! Three seeds set in a beautiful package. They look elegant and beautiful. This is a unique ¡°exotic product¡± only avable in the capital.


    He got his men to ce a few blooming sunflowers as living advertisements at the door. He then send special personnel to exin about the sunflower¡¯s beauty and novelty and how they follow after the sun! These men apanied Li Yuanying all year round and are his most eloquent talents. They started spreading the ¡°sunflower spirit¡± forcefully. Many people bought some and wait for spring to nt it in order to get good fortune.


    This way, the sunflowers produced sold at prices unimaginable to many people! Can you count how many seeds the sunflower can produce? Anyway, Dong Xiaoyi couldn¡¯t figure it out! All he knew was that the women working on the surrounding farms lived a fat year by helping to pack sunflower seeds.


    The profit earned from ¡°Sunflower Spirit¡± has not even warmed up and now will be moving out!


    Dong Xiaoyi didn¡¯t know whether he should admire Li Yuanying¡¯s ability to make money or his ability to spend money.


    But now is not the time to think about nonsense. Dong Xiaoyi left the pce with the recipe book by Lady Liu and went to the restaurant to instruct that dinner be prepared ording to the number of students at the Academy.


    With such arge quantity, it is difficult for anyone to aplished the tasks except for restaurants who are used to big banquets. After a while of panic, the new cooks managed to take care of the washing and cutting of vegetables. At the instruction of the head chef, they began to prepare Li Yuanying¡¯s first dinner after arriving at the Imperial Academy.


    In the evening, the students dragged their hungry feet towards the eating ce trying to rely on their hunger to ignore the taste of food. But just after walking a short distance, they smelled tempting aroma of food.


    Who is it? Which goddamn rich brat sent delicious food to tempt them again?!


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: It is impossible not to spend money, I like spending money the most!

 Chapter 96

    Chapter 96


    Smelling good food is just one thing. Those who were supposed to go out went out, leaving behind poor students who couldn¡¯t afford food apart from those prepared by the cafeteria. They had to endure the hardships of eating 2 nd meals daily.


    But you cannot not eat because you will starve and have no energy to study. Only those who were shameless enough to mollycoddle up to rich brats were able to get some edible food. Those humble ones could only eat what is provided. Not all of them think that those who befriend the rich brats were shameless ¡°traitors¡± but they still couldn¡¯t bring themselves to do the same.


    The studentsin in their hearts about the evil guy who is tempting them with food aroma while walking. They were all stunned when they reached the cafeteria.


    The original in looking cafeteria is now neatly arranged and was decorated with many long shiny tables. Many thought they went to the wrong room. Upon inquiring, they found out that this is a new activity of the cafeteria. They were supposed to taste the food from FengThai Restaurant and vote for the best dish. This will be carried out for a hundred days to pick the best ¡°hundred recipes¡±.


    Today¡¯s menu was done in a rush, so everything was done ad hoc. Everyone please go easy on the restaurant!


    Taking another deep whiff, isn¡¯t this where the delicious food aroma wasing from? It smells so good! Why is FengThai restaurant so gracious? Just looking at this meal, 2 protein and 2 vegetable. A bnce nutritious meal! Luckily new year had just passed so even student from humble background had good meals and they did not cause chaos. Everyone obediently lined up for food.


    The cafeteria management needs to prepare food ording to the number of students as they used the best ingredients and did not want to waste. Therefore everyone who took their share had to mark their name on the attendance book. Everyone is to line up in ordance to their names. Those who can independently get food will not care about things like this as they are rich. Let them do whatever they want. If they wanted to eat in the cafeteria they have 2 choices ¨C either eat the original menu or pay up. There is no free meal.


    Hearing that they will have better food moving forward the students were overjoyed. They didn¡¯t mind waiting in line or having to vote and all happily waited for their meal.


    Some students had bigger appetite and were not full with just one serving. They asked for more in rice even if the dishes they could not get more. The caterers smiled in a friendly manner and gave him 2 ticks. With that he gets 2 portion moving forward.


    Big appetite student weren¡¯t being discriminated against but instead got special treatment. He was moved and strike up a conversation: ¡°I see that you are literate, why aren¡¯t you studying but is a chef assistant?¡±


    The youth was about 12 but had good work ethics. He smiled while answering: ¡°My master allowed me to read so that I can be of used to the country. Now that his highness wants us to serve 2,000 students, this not only allow us to be exposed to the Imperial Academy but also challenge our ability in problem solving. I did not study well that¡¯s why I¡¯m tasked with the simple task of taking names. Otherwise I would be in ounting or management. That¡¯s called getting real life experience.¡±


    This statement was overheard by those lining up and they all started talking to the boy.


    The youth then told them about his humble background, saying that just 2 years ago he was a beggar and it was all thanks to Prince Teng for taking him in and the Crown Prince for giving them good teachers for education. Their teachers were rmended by Kong Yingda himself. Therefore when they heard that the Academy had such an activity they all volunteered.


    Do not look down on a cook. This is a prestigious job for people like them. Those who did not learn well do not even get a chance to take names.


    The youths shared their story with pride and confidence. They didn¡¯t look like the former homeless beggar that they were. After finishing, they continued on with the activity of taking names.


    This conversation quickly spread among the students and most finally understood why the cafeteria had updated the menu. It is because Li Yuanying is studying here and found the food unsatisfactory and asked the Crown Prince to do something about it. They worked together, using their own money to make improvements to the Academy.


    Even if not for other things, the owners of FengThai Restaurant will do their very best to provide Li Yuanying with good food. The boy is using his own money so no one would dare say anything about it!


    Those who take from others had gentler hands. Those who ate this meal all went to talk to Li Yuanying. The tone and topics had a change of temperament. Many remembered that Prince Teng also created a library and all praises him that it was a great ce.


    Not everyone is lucky like them to be enrolled into the Imperial Academy and have ess to the private library here. For those who couldn¡¯t the public library is liken to a treasure trove!


    As the topic went on, many started to look at Li Yuanying differently from the other rich brats. Those bratsined about the food here and quickly ask their parents to send them good food. Only those who mollycoddle up to them can get some decent food. Li Yuanying is different, he found the food bad so he worked with the Crown Prince to change the menu!


    Many students did their own calction. Even though those who are foreign or had money or were friends with someone with money will not eat in the cafeteria, the remaining crowd were still about 2,000 people! How much money must he spend? No doubt he is the prince who could open up a library at thisnd of gold called Chang¡¯an!


    Many thought that Li Yuanying would go broke from this. They were happy to eat well but they couldn¡¯t pick up the bowl to eat food and then put it down to scold the mother <sup>[1]</sup>meaning to receive help from one and then to criticize the same person and be a white eyed wolf <sup>[2]</sup>an ungrateful person.


    Li Yuanying is still young and was born into a wealthy family. He had no concept of money and thinks that it¡¯s a simple task feeding the wholemunity wouldn¡¯t cost much. But how can 2,000 mouths be a small amount of money?


    As the masses had their discussion, they elected several representative to have a discussion with Li Yuanying about food.


    Li Yuanying had a happy dinner filled with both meat and vegetables, plus his favorite stewed tender chicken with taro; Fragrant and satisfying. As he saw everyone enjoying their meal, he felt good and decided to write back to his mother informing her that her chicken with taro recipe is well-loved, especially the girls who kept praising the dish. Yuanying also wrote that the teachers were great, Dr. Ma is funny, assistant teacher Jia is knowledgeable and when they teach the ss is lively and interesting and he likes it very much.


    While Yuanying was sitting on his self-made bed writing letters, the representative came over and politely greeted him, asking what was the subject of his letter.


    He didn¡¯t know why these people were here but he likes making new friends. Seeing that they didn¡¯t look like troublemakers, he invited them to sit saying that he was writing a letter to his mother to share about all the interesting things that he has encountered thus far.


    Sensing a filial child, the group were no longer hesitated and told the young boy their concerns: Simply put, they were worried that Li Yuanying would be left poor.


    ¡°No worries! My papa left me plenty of money and many properties andnds. Thesends yield me much yearly. I spend much money in the pce in the past too, how can I be eaten poor? What¡¯s the use of money if they were left idle, it will not grow on its own. Why not eat good food.¡± The boy happily shared his ideals with the group ¡°I have always wanted to try the delicacies from foreign ces, it is just that the pce restricts our interaction with the outside world. Now is a great time for me to explore new things.¡±


    At first the group was worried that the boy was young and naive and didn¡¯t understand the value of money. Now they realized that the little prince was a cub who didn¡¯t feel bad about selling his father¡¯snd. He has no qualms about spending histe father¡¯s money.


    But still the group tried to persuade the young prince to reconsider again. In fact, 1 protein and 1 vegetable dish is more than enough, there is no reason to have 2 of both.


    Li Yuanying resolutely refused to agree. When ites to his projects, he would never give in to terms easily. The n is put in motion, how can we just make changes to it! If he simply change his promises without dignity now, then no one will listen to him in the future!


    The group had no choice but to disperse.


    Li Yuanying murmured to Tang Xuan: ¡°How can 1 meat and 1 vegetable be enough to eat?¡±


    ¡°It is rare for ordinary people to have protein several times a month. 1 meat and 1 vegetable every day is already a godly meal.¡± (Tang Xuan)


    Yuanying really had not eaten dinner in an ordinary family¡¯s home. Even if it was Wei Zheng¡¯s house, he would go over for fun asionally but it was never for a serious meal. Hearing what Tang Xuan had to say, they boy asked many more things and realized how the other students were able to tolerate the bad food at school, it is because such meals were normal for them since childhood!


    Li Yuanying said suddenly: ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡±


    Tang Xuan raised another hurdle: ¡°If you were to feed the students here everyday likely the price of goods will rise in Chang¡¯an.¡±


    Li Yuanying sat cross-legged and tried reasoning: ¡° No worries! If prices of protein rise then many farmers will be willing to raise livestock and poultry. Who is not tempted to make more money? Even if those who raises chickens or ducks are reluctant to eat the meat, they can always eat its egg. Many people will now be able to afford meat. We should not worry about high prices but should worry about lowmodity cost creating scarcity. Even if no one knows how to rear farm animals, I can ask consultants to teach them from house to house!¡±


    Tang Xuan felt that it made sense.


    The two were talking excitedly and didn¡¯t realize that a group had formed around them listening to their chit chat. When Yuanying mention ¡°Send someone to teach from house to house¡± and before Tang Xuan could react to it, someone foreign asked: ¡° Do you know how to raise chickens, ducks, pigs and sheep?¡±


    Who cares whether that statement came from a stranger, Yuanying is happy just to talk.


    ¡°No idea how to do it!¡±


    ¡°Then how are you going to teach from house to house?¡± (Everyone)


    Yuanying then shared his story about how he took over Xiangcheng Pce from the Emperor. This ce will now be used as a test ground to raise livestock and we can experiment with different methods. We try all alternative methods then narrow them down to the best ones that produces the best results. After all, Yuanying had already spend big money sending talents there and were only waiting for the weather to be warmer before he kick off his project.


    After the trial ispleted, he will then be able to teach from house to house!


    Yuanying also shared more about his own experience. For example, throwing money at people to brainstorm definitely work. One of his staff, Deng Qing invented cheap paper making. Soon they will be able to see new books printed on this new paper!


    Only one thought grew in the mind of the people who heard the young prince talk. How much money did histe father left him?!


    When Tang Guan came back, he saw a group gathering around Li Yuanying. Many humble (poor) schrs who usually refuse to hang out with the rich group were sitting and chatting with Li Yuanying. The usually deserted ce was lively.


    Tang Guan quietly burned the charcoal he brought back and did a silent jab with a sullen expression: ¡°You don¡¯t need to sleep, others have to sleep. Don¡¯t make everyone suffer punishment with you.¡± When he was talking, his eyes fell on Li Yuanying and Tang Xuan, obviously aiming this statement at them.


    It was a first for Li Yuanying to sleep with so many people. True, it¡¯s not good to disturb others. He took off his robe and got into his warm nket but his mind was still very active and couldn¡¯t fall asleep. He turned to look at Tang Xuan and his friend was not asleep either. He lowered his voice and whispered: ¡°Is this Tang Guan usually so fierce?¡±


    Before Tang Xuan could respond, Tang Guan¡¯s angry voice came from the side: ¡°Talking about people behind their backs is not for a gentleman!¡±


    Li Yuanying turned his head and looked. Oh! Tang Guan¡¯s bed is actually on his left!


    Yuanying turned over and faced Tang Guan straight in the eye and asked very gentlemanly: ¡°Are you usually this fierce?¡±


    Tang Guan: ¡°¡­¡±


    Notes from the Author:


    Little Prince: Am I very gentlemanly?


    Little Tang Guan: Get out! Get out!


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü1meaning to receive help from one and then to criticize the same person¡ü2an ungrateful person

 Chapter 97

    Chapter 97


    Tang Guan didn¡¯t really want to talk to Li Yuanying but ignoring others is not in line with his usual principles. He made up an excuse saying that he was the head of this dorm and so was tasked with the responsibility of the residents¡¯ discipline. Whatever it is, chatting at night is forbidden. Yuanying saw that he brought back charcoal and nodded his head in a friendly manner: ¡°Brother, you have worked hard!¡±


    Tang Guan choked hearing the word ¡°senior brother¡±. Thinking back on the boy¡¯s age, it was really unreasonable for him to pick a fight with a junior. Tang Guan paused, turned around and silently hinted that he didn¡¯t want to continue talking.


    Yuanying looked at his back and stretched out his hands to pull his quilt as a sign of care.


    ¡°Brother, your back is showing, it¡¯s cold at night!¡±


    Tang Guan turned and stared at him.


    Yuanying saw that Tang Guan had returned to his ferocious appearance. With an innocent face, he retracted his hands under the quilt and pulled it up, revealing only a pair of dark eyes.


    Yuanying slept well. The next day he followed the Academy¡¯s schedule and attended sses first before going for breakfast.


    The academy only provided two meals a day which was foreign for Li Yuanying who eats whenever he likes. Fortunately, he ate wellst night and wasn¡¯t hungry. He followed Tang Xuan enthusiastically to experience a full day of activities after washing up.


    Kong Yingda has been very strict about assembly time and had set a ritual of someone beating the drums early in the morning to get students to gather. This practice has been in ce ever since 2 years ago where a ruckus was almost caused during an important ceremony.


    Besides warm up exercises, today morning¡¯s ss included archery. Ever since Li Yuanying boldly confessed that he didn¡¯t know how to use a bow when he apanied the Emperor to a hunting trip, his Majesty had found him a private tutor who was one of the best archers among his guards. The tutor informed the Emperor that Prince Teng is talented and could shoot well since the boy had been ying with a slingshot since he was a child. All he needed now was to personally practice. But with the new year approaching, Yuanying was busy and didn¡¯t have time to practice.


    Hearing Tang Xuan mention archery, he excitedly said: ¡°I¡¯ve learned how to do thisst year! Let¡¯s have apetition!¡±


    ¡°If you had only learned itst year then it¡¯s not fair topete.¡± (Tang Xuan)


    Yuanying felt that those with the surname ¡°Tang¡± were all serious people. He looked left and right and didn¡¯t see his group of friends.


    ¡°Why isn¡¯t Zhi Nu and the rest here?¡±


    ¡°The venue is only this big with limited bow and arrows. We have to take turns.¡±


    Yuanying understood. Tang Xuan didn¡¯t want topete with him, so he excitedly went to ask others. No matter what he does, Yuanying likes it lively. Since the people living under the same roof with him do not want topete, he went looking for Du He and the others.


    Normally Du He and his gang wouldn¡¯t bump into Li Yuanying but they happen to have the same morning ss. With a bow in hand Yuanying went asking for a duel. Du He and his gang were more than happy to reciprocate.


    As a result, Li Yuanying was quickly defeated.


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t believe in luck andpete with everyone one after another. Only after total defeat did he face reality.


    Looks like he needed to practice. Can¡¯t just stop because someone praises you saying you were talented.


    After total loss, Yuanying finally stopped provoking others. He sat on the sideline quietly observing others. He observed how others practice, how they aimed, ced their fingers, their postures and how much strength they use to shoot their arrows.


    After Tang Xuan as done, he thought his little friend would be upset about being totally defeated. He put down his bow and came over tofort him: ¡°You¡¯ve just started learning. It is normal to not be as good as others. Just practice more.¡±


    Li Yuanying nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll go practice!¡±


    Yuanying internalized the things he observed and picked up a bow that suited him. He tried a few rounds and felt significant improvements. He internalized what he learned again and ran to ask the tutors to teach him.


    Yuanying was drenched in sweat and his cheeks flushed red despite the weather being quite chilly. He had a change of clothes and then went for breakfast. If it were other students, there would be no food left but Yuanying is an exception and food will be reserved for him.


    On the menu today ¨C steamed cakes made ording to Jiangnan¡¯s method. The steamed cakes were soft and delicious with fillings inside. Everyone gets 2 pieces, delicious and filling. If that¡¯s not enough to eat, there is also porridge that is thick and fragrant to drink, no one will go hungry. There is even meat in the steamed cakes and porridge!


    Yuanying ate with his gang and since there was still some free time before the next ss, he curiously asked Li Zhi and Wei Shu what subject were taught during their morning ss. The girls didn¡¯t have any so it was free and easy for them. The freshmen group where Li Zhi is ced in had morning jog and team building. Although not overly rigorous, it was still tough for Li Zhi who had a smaller stature. He ate much steamed cakes and drank a big bowl of porridge before he was satisfied.


    Hearing this, Yuanying said regretfully: ¡°It¡¯s a pity that your fourth brother is not here. Otherwise he could run too.¡±


    Li Zhi thought about Li Tai¡¯s figure and shook his head: ¡°Young uncle, stop ridiculing fourth brother. He won¡¯t be able to move!¡±


    Yuanying replied earnestly: ¡°I¡¯m only looking out for his well-being!¡± He then told Li Zhi about his theory that obesity is bad for health. He sincerely cares for his nephews and is such a good elder!


    After gossiping, it is time for ss.


    This morning, the lecture was on <<Spring and Autumn>> by Dr. Shen Zhong. Dr. Shen is proficient in this topic and has research much into the history of various dynasties. When he lectures, he quote from many sources, going in circles and diverging into many stories before making it to the main point. Yuanying listened with glee and thinks that Old Man Kong is great, giving him sses that he likes.


    Different from the first day where everyone avoided him, Yuanying is settling in well like a fish in water. As Dr. Shen finished his lecture and left, Yuanying dragged his fellow students for a discussion and the normally quiet dining hall suddenly became lively.


    Seeing that Tang Guan had a dark expression and took up and put down his book repeatedly and was hesitant to speak, Tang Xuan hinted to Yuanying to look at him.


    Maybe he wants to participate in the discussion but is shy? These schrs from prominent families are usually thin-skinned and needed much coaxing. Such a pain to deal with! Yuanying went over to drag Tang Guan over and encouraged him enthusiastically: ¡°Brother, don¡¯t be shy. Just say what you want to say, you learned so much, you must have a lot of insights. Tell us! ¡°


    Tang Guan: ¡°¡­¡±


    Who is shy? !


    I just think you guys are really noisy!


    But with so many eyes watching, Tang Guan couldn¡¯t explode as he wishes and so he held everything in and followed Li Yuanying¡¯s wishes to join in the discussion. Doing this, Tang Guan really did gain new insights. At least he figured out things he didn¡¯t understand previously and saw things he didn¡¯t notice from other¡¯s point of view. However, he would not admit that he liked to participate in this discussion. As soon as the teacher of the next ss arrived, he was the first to return to his seat.


    In the evening, Tang Guan went to the gate to get his catered food from home and hear from Du He and his gang that Li Yuanying had arranged for catering to feed the entire canteen and every meal is prepared for students. Even breakfast had meat in it!


    They all sat on the porch to eat together. Du He sigh: ¡°He really is super rich.¡±


    Knowing that Li Yuanying was on Chengqian¡¯s side, Du He didn¡¯t have as much malice towards him as Fang Jun. Knowing that Yuanying and Tang Guan shared the same room and attended simr sses he asked: ¡°Is he getting use to life at the Academy?¡±


    ¡°Yes he is¡± (Tang Guan)


    Not only is Li Yuanying settling in well, he also quickly gathered a group of people around him. Everywhere he went, it bes lively. It is as if that boy didn¡¯t provoke students from the whole Academy previously.


    Du He didn¡¯t like how rigid Tang Guan is so he chatted with other people. Actually the bunch of rich brats were more interested in the three new girls than Li Yuanying. Among them was Du He¡¯s prospective future fiancee, Princess Cheng Yang. Therefore the others were weary of talking nonsense in front of Du He and only discuss about Li Yuanying. Anyway, they didn¡¯t believe that Li Yuanying could keep up feeding the whole school without going broke.


    After nightfall, the four girls sat around amp ying cards and talking. Cards is a popr pastime for girls and it didn¡¯t matter if you win or lose, as long as you have a reason to get together.


    All four girls were of different ages. Mei Niang is the oldest, followed by Jin Shengman, Cheng Yang and then Wei Shu. They were also of different backgrounds and social status. Cheng Yang is a princess from the royal family, Mei Niang and Wei Shu were children of court officials and Jin Shengman a foreigner who traveled here to study.


    Mei Niang started the topic. ¡°How and why did everyone join the Academy? I¡¯ll go first. I heard that the Imperial Academy is the best school in the whole of Tang and has the mostplete collection of books and the best teachers. When I heard of the chance, I grab it and came here.¡±


    Doesn¡¯t matter what future use these knowledge will bring, she simply wants to learn first.


    ¡°My thoughts exactly. When I was younger, I tend to get bullied dressing up as a girl. After I decided to dress like a boy and shouted louder than others and were fiercer than others, no one dared toe forward. Boys are stronger and I may not win in a physical fight but learning requires brains. If boys can learn it, then I can too! Not only do I want to learn, I want to learn better than others so that I won¡¯t be bullied!¡± (Wei Shu)


    Jin Shengman pped her hands and apuded: ¡°That¡¯s the reason! Her cousin sister is the Queen of Si. When she was younger and visited the Queen, she could always see the tiredness between her brows. If a men couldn¡¯t do the same task well no one would say anything but if her cousin didn¡¯t do things well, someone will say ¡°of course women can¡¯t do it right¡±. Jin Shengman exined her reasoning for studying abroad: ¡°I want to learn more from Tang and return to help my cousin manage Si. I must not let people look down on us girls.¡±


    Mei Niang had long heard that Si was a country governed by women and she was fascinated by Jin Shengman¡¯s statement: ¡°If you don¡¯t understand anything, you can always tell us and we can discuss it together.¡±


    Chengyang was the most restrained, she silently raised her hand to straighten the wick and only stopped when everyone looked at her. After being quiet, Cheng Yang finally said: ¡°I also want to be of some use.¡± In terms of likability, she is not as good as Si Zi and Heng Shan. In terms of smartness, she is not as good as elder sister Chang Le, and in terms of being lively and cute, she is not as good as Gao Yang. She didn¡¯t have as much thoughts when she took the Imperial College entrance exam, she just wanted to make herself smarter and more sensible, so that she wouldn¡¯t be a burden if something happens in the future.


    After hearing Cheng Yang¡¯s words, the three girls became silent.


    Yeah! After having said so much, all they actually wanted was to make themselves a little bit more useful.


    Wei Shu was the first toe back to her senses:¡±We are much luckier than many.¡±


    Not everyone meets such an opportunity, let alone have the chance to seize such opportunity. This world sets too many obstacles for women. Even those closest and dearest to them might not necessarily support them to do what they wanted to do.


    Therefore, they are very lucky.


    The four girls looked at each other and stopped talking about such a heavy topic. They started discussing their daytime homework instead. A foot may prove short, an inch may prove long.After discussing, what they have learned became clearer. They chatted until the candle burned out and went to sleep contentedly.


    Back in the Pce.


    The Emperor sent away his bad brother and his beloved son to the Academy. He initially thought that the stubborn rock would cause big sshes but he hadn¡¯t heard anyints from Kong Yingda all day and was disappointed. He asked the men serving him as he help the Emperor take off his outer robe: ¡°Has anything happened at the Imperial College?¡±


    ¡°Something did happen.¡± His servant understood instantly and replied respectfully. ¡°I heard FengThai Restaurant approached the College and asked that students help to try out a hundred dishes. They will prepare different dishes for a hundred days with at least two meat and two vegetables in it. The dishes sounded rich and delicious. I would want to try them too!¡±


    Now Li Er knows why Li Yuanying made no fuss. Turns out he bought a ¡°hundreds of dishes¡± with his own money and will eat good food without repetition every day!


    His Majesty still felt that it is unlike his younger brother to be so obedient so he asked persistently: ¡°Is that all?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s about it.¡± ¡°I heard from those who ran errands at the Imperial College that His Highness Prince Teng is very happy there and had many friends. They even sometimes stop the lecturers from leaving by asking lots of questions. He seems very into learning!¡±


    Li Er stopped asking andy down to sleep.


    As a result, the Emperor dreamed that his brother, Li Yuanying set the Imperial College on fire!


    Waking up and remembering his dream, Li Er felt that that was more like what his little brother would do.


    Now that the Academy was at peace, Li Er stopped asking questions and went to court as usual.


    After a few days of peace, when the court official¡¯s holiday was approaching, Li Chengqian came over and said that he needed the Emperor¡¯s opinion.


    Notes from the Author:


    His Majesty Li Er: My younger brother can¡¯t be so well-behaved!


    Little Prince:? ? ? ? ?


    Little Prince: What kind of rubbish brother is this! (pointing)

 Chapter 99

    Chapter 99


    His Majesty misses his bad brother but his bad brother didn¡¯t miss him at all. It even felt like he was reluctant to leave.


    On the evening where ¡°name money¡± was handed in, Fang Jun and his group received news that they would have to eat in the canteen from now onwards. The food is good, so why are you still troubling your family to send you food?


    Now that eating is under control, other things will naturally follow.


    Li Yuanying went to give ideas to the supervisors, saying that the teachers are already working day and night giving lectures! It¡¯s better to select a group of students to take turns and be on duty. They can report if things are out of the norm or go to bed if everything is good. This will not only allow the teachers to rest, but also train the students in management and coordination skills!


    It will be best if we could give this project a name and set up amittee. Then we should list out everything in ck and white about what each position should do and that everyone has to obey it.


    Of course, the rules can¡¯t be too autocratic otherwise there will be conflicts betweenmittee and students. It will work best by nominating a trialmittee group for a trial period and get students to choose the best performing candidates to form the officialmittee. A re-election should be held with new faces after 1 year of service.


    Li Yuanying exined his opinion with much self-awareness: ¡°Choosing the right person is the most important. Take me as an example, one look and you know that I shouldn¡¯t be part of themittee. If we were to pick we should pick someone like brother Tang, yes I¡¯m talking about senior brother Tang Guan! Brother Tang is serious and responsible, no matter what it is, he will do his best.¡±


    Li Yuanying has been very well behavedtely and so teachers like Dr. Ma were willing to listen to him.


    As Yuanying shared his idea, everyone felt that this child¡¯s mind is way too active.


    There are more than 2,000 students at the Academy and the limited staffs are finding it hard to manage everything. In the past, the teachers would also elect students to take care of various roles/ces like the canteen and the dormitories but the students were all chosen verbally without any formal guidelines.


    If the ¡°Student Committee¡± that Yuanying spoke of can be established sessfully, it would be much easier to organize various activities in the future. There would be people in charge of various tasks and we wouldn¡¯t need teachers running around with a ck face scolding people anymore. If there happened to be any ident or conflict, themittee scattered among the Academy can also deal with it in time.


    The more Dr. Ma and the teachers thought about it, the more they think that the ideas is very feasible. Right after ss they went looking for Kong Yingda to discuss about implementing the student Committee as soon as possible.


    Since Li Yuanying has just sessfully dealt with food supply, this is a good opportunity to deal with the remaining chaos in the Imperial College and set up some rules all at once!


    Kong Yingda also heard about the grand banquet incident initiated by Li Chengqian.


    It¡¯s true that wicked people will be dealt with by other wicked people. When those dudes met Li Yuanying who is also unconstrained, they would be pinched and ttened by him.


    Kong Yingda readily agreed to the proposal and asked about how is Li Yuanying behaving in the Academy.


    Everyone present has had contact with the boy and all unanimously agrees that he is very different now. Even the teachers who used to teach Royalty children in the pce agrees that he is so different now that they had to take a second look at him.


    When the topic went towards Li Zhi and the others, naturally the teachers were also full of praises. However there isn¡¯t anything overly special about them. Someone mentioned Wu Mei with regret, saying that it is a pity she is born a woman, otherwise she would have passed the exam directly.


    ¡°Her articles are optimistic and had a broad view of things.¡± (Dr. Shen)


    Li Yuanying¡¯s writing is unconstrained, daring to say and write about anything. Wu Mei¡¯s writing is simr but also very different as itcks the childishness. It¡¯s a pity she is not a man.


    Speaking of this, everyone remembered the story about ¡°the foolish King who lost his beauty because of his slip of tongue¡± and they all stopped talking.


    They weren¡¯t sure what the Emperor is thinking. Just as the rumors had stopped, he turned a blind eye and allowed his younger brother to bring this Wu Mei into the Imperial Academy!


    It is fortunate that while Li Yuanying loves to y and make trouble, his ability to make friends is top-notch. This is mainly because he doesn¡¯t care about status or gender differences when making friends. No matter who he befriend, he is open and cheerful. Therefore when he brought along girls into the Academy there weren¡¯t any rumors but a quiet change in atmosphere at the whole school.


    The first thing to be apparent are the rich trouble-making boys who gave Kong Yingda a headache had suddenly became isted and helpless.


    Among the descendants of the aristocratic family, there are people like Zhangsun Quan and Yu Zhi, who had ambition and knows their limit. These people usually won¡¯t like to y together with the other rich brats. But within the Academy is also many from poorer families who would butter up to the rich spoilt kids and so they do notck in having fun. Why would they bother hanging out with those who ignores them like putting your hot face on someone else¡¯s cold butt cheeks?


    But things are different now. Now even the poor kids are not willing to listen to the brats anymore! After all, how can anyone who has been treated like an equal friend be willing to swallow their anger and bow down to his peers? All schrs have their own pride and ego. They might not be brave enough to voice their thoughts aloud but they definitely have thoughts in their minds. Can those rich brat¡¯s social rank be as high as Prince Teng or Prince Jin? If both royal princes are willing to treat them as equal friends, why should they still put up with arrogance from others all day long? Who would want to befriend such people?


    The teachers were well aware of these things. When Li Yuanying proposed to set up amittee, they happily obliged to make it happen.


    Kong Yingda put forward his own suggestion: ¡°Don¡¯t let the person who came up with this idea be left idle. Add him to the list.¡±


    Dr. Ma and the others looked at each other with a smile: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ve already written it down.¡±


    On the second day, Dr. Ma announced the new project during assembly time. Students will be nominated to try out for a trial period and then students will vote for their president and vice president and so on after the trial period is up.


    When Li Yuanying heard his proposal, he actively raised his hand to speak: ¡°I rmend Senior Brother Tang! Senior Brother Tang is so fierce, he will control others at first sight!¡±


    Tang Guan: ¡°¡­¡±


    Tang Guan sat still at his ce, chanting hard to not pick a fight with the boy. Do not pick a fight with Li Yuanying.


    If he really wanted to care about everything Li Yuanying has done, he will vomit blood and die sooner orter!


    Dr. Ma nodded slightly to Yuanying, expressing that he got the message and to stop themotion. Don¡¯t make others lose face. Although Tang Guan has a more matured personality and doesn¡¯t like to smile, everyone has their own way of living. There is no need for everyone to live like you, all lively and outgoing. Can¡¯t others be allowed to be a bit more serious?


    During morning ss, everyone was discussing about the uing nomination. They all sat downnin twos and threes, guessing who would be nominated. Every corner someone was saying ¡°you will definitely be nominated¡± ¡°No, No! You¡¯ll be¡± and all kinds of polite speeches.


    Tang Guan, who was named publicly by Li Yuanying, sat silently eating next to Du He¡¯s gang. Their families all had to pay for ¡°name money¡± and now that the Imperial Academy¡¯s main gate is shut, they had to eat obediently in the canteen.


    Not only was it silent at Du He¡¯s side but Fang Jun also felt that something was not right. What kind ofmittee is this? Is this aimed directly at them? Thinking about all the restrictions in the future, everyone felt that the future is bleak and depressing.


    Although they will not inherit the main Dukedom title, they will still get a good job that many will be envious about by just relying on their social status. Why should they suffer this crime? !


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t care about the feelings of others. He was gearing up to try out all his ideas one by one.


    Since joining the Academy Li Yuanying had not had a bad day. He realized that there were many capable people and talented people; all who were well-informed and had different views. They share stories from their hometown with much more richness, excitement and depth than the rest. Yuanying wants to get to know and befriend the students who were older than him and so he studied with them daily, not even missing half a day.


    ¡­


    That afternoon, Kong Yingda was nning to visit Dr. Ma at the Academy to check out the progress of the studentmittee. Unexpectedly, someone came to inform him that His Majesty wanted to also visit the Academy.


    The Emperor¡¯s younger brother and children are all there so it was normal for him to want to check on them. However, today¡¯s situation is a bit special!


    Kong Yingda was afraid that there would be chaos, and so he updated the Emperor about what would happen today which was all Li Yuanying¡¯s ¡°idea¡±.


    ¡°Dr. Ma and the others think that this is feasible so I agreed to it.¡± (Kong Yingda)


    ¡°This kid might not be good in other things but ideas he has plenty. Didn¡¯t he just join the Academy a few days ago? Ideas areing out one by one!¡± (Li Er)


    One should not take Li Er¡¯s tone of disgust too seriously, for he is in fact very proud of his younger brother secretly in his heart. The Academy is a ce where many talents gathers, you don¡¯t only have those who wants to serve the government but also those who are reluctant to serve but only want to teach. Now all these lofty and arrogant schrs will have to agree that his younger brother is smart, quick-witted and right-minded!


    Kong Yingda has been serving the Emperor even before he took the throne. How can he not know his master well? While he is scolding his younger brother on his mouth, his heart is secretly proud of him. He tactfully didn¡¯t say much and led the group dressed in modest clothes towards the Academy.


    The group reached their destination but did not see anyone around. After asking around, everyone has gathered together for the studentmittee election.


    Kong Yingda kept quiet and personally led His Majesty and his party to the school grounds.


    At this same time, Dr. Ma¡¯s team had just finished exining the rules and was at a critical stage of announcing the list of nominations.


    The person in charge of reading the list was Zheng Shi. The boy with a big appetite who wanted to order more food at the cafeteria.


    Zheng Shi has a big appetite and a even louder voice. Loud and clear and a tone that is very imposing. Normally, people find him too loud and didn¡¯t like speaking to him as the noise hurts their ears.


    After Li Yuanying got to know Zheng Shi, he felt that he had talent and so ran to Dr. Ma and rmended him as the host for major events in the future.


    Zheng Shi used to have low self-esteem as he was always ridiculed for being a rice bucket (eating too much) and having an uncontroble loud voice. Taking on such an important task this time, he straightened his back and for the first time appreciated his own loud voice.


    Can others pronounce names easily for thousands of people to hear? Nope!


    But he can!


    Junior Brother Yuanying is right, this voice that his mother gave him is the best. THE best!


    Li Er who was standing on the edge of the school field could hear Zheng Shi¡¯s voice clearly. Taking a closer look, the student was tall, with good facial features, a straight back, and really good spirit.


    His Majesty boasted to Kong Yingda: ¡°The Academy really has many talents. This kid looks good.¡±


    Although Kong Yingda didn¡¯t recognize the boy, he still stroked his beard and said in agreement: ¡°Isn¡¯t appreciating all talents exactly what His Majesty wishes for?¡±


    Li Er loved hearing such things and continued listening to Zheng Shi¡¯s list in a good mood.


    Zheng Shi reached the candidate nomination for Li Yuanying¡¯s grade.


    Tang Guan and Zheng Shi were the first two nomination.


    When Li Yuanying heard Tang Guan¡¯s name he immediately congratted him happily saying ¡°I knew that Senior Brother Tang will be selected¡± and ¡°Senior Brother Tang is so good at everything, he will definitely be selected¡±. Before he could finish speaking, Zheng Shi continued and read out his and Tang Sui¡¯s names. The 4 of them were the candidates nominated for their grade.


    Li Yuanying was taken aback.


    Why was he chosen?


    Seeing Li Yuanying¡¯s shocked expression, Tang Guan felt more bnced in his heart.


    He congratted Li Yuanying with a smiling face and threw back at Li Yuanying the exact words he said to him just now.


    Li Yuanying quickly recovered from his state of shock.


    Initially he wanted to just be at the sidelines and watch how his idea would turn out. But if Dr. Ma and the other teachers nominated him, he is happy about it too. This means that they think that he will do well!


    Seeing Tang Guan congratting him with a smile on his face, Yuanying suggested sincerely in a friendly manner: ¡°Senior brother Tang, if in the future you find a girl you like, please do not smile at her like this. You already look quite fierce by default, and when you smile like this, you look really scary. It¡¯s better to just keep a straight face like you usually do. Although it¡¯s scary too but after a long time, you will get used to it!¡±


    Tang Guan: ¡°¡­¡±


    Tang Guan turned away with a ck face.


    If he ever talks to Li Yuanying again, he is a dog!


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: I don¡¯t know why, but Senior Brother Tang always looks angry. He¡¯s not happy about this, and then he¡¯s not happy about that. He¡¯s such a strange person!

 Chapter 100

    Chapter 100


    The Emperor found his younger brother and looked towards his direction.


    Seeing him talking to someone, Li Er asked Kong Yingda if he knows who that person is.


    Kong Yingda wouldn¡¯t recognize everyone at the school but he coincidentally knew this boy.


    ¡°That¡¯s Tang Guan, the son of Minister Tang.¡±


    As soon as minister Tang Shangshu was mentioned, Li Er remembered that they were inws. Not sure what Li Yuanying is saying to him but the other person turned away with a dark face. Thinking back about how irritating his younger brother is, big brother could guess how incredibly annoying he was being again.


    The Emperor decided to move on and told someone to bring Prince Teng to himter. He went with Kong Yingda to read articles written by the students to see if they could find any outstanding talents.


    Last year, the Emperor issued an imperial edict to summon talents near and far to the Capital for an exam and a few from the Academy participated in it. Kong Yingda had some candidates in mind and collected their works to present them to the Emperor. The group look through it and picked out outstanding pieces for discussion.


    When they were done, Li Yuanying was still no where in sight. Instead, he sent a message saying that Prince Teng went for dinner and will drop by after he is done eating! After all you can visit big brother anytime but food will not be delicious if it has gone cold!


    His Majesty had a sullen face and looked around. Wei Zheng and the others were sitting upright, as if they have heard everything.


    Li Er put down the article and got up.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go have dinner at the Academy too.¡±


    Kong Yingda look towards Wei Zheng but saw that he had no intentions of stopping the Emperor. They all got up and led the Emperor towards the cafeteria. Due to their humble disguise and students having only seen the Emperor from a distance, not many people recognized him.


    Instead Kong Yingda was the popr one. Students all stood up to pay their respect as the teacher passes them. Kong Yingda waved his hands to motion them to continue eating. No need for bigmotion, that¡¯s way too troublesome!


    Li Er saw Li Yuanying and his group eating happily as he walk towards them.


    Li Zhi was the first one to notice father and quickly dragged Li Yuanying up to greet him.


    Yuanying took a peek and saw his brother with a stinky face. He immediately stood up and offer up his seat to him in a weing gesture.


    ¡°Lord Brother, why are you here? Are you hungry too? Come let me bring you some food!¡±


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t allow Li Er time to process what he had said and quickly ran off, leaving the rest of his friends who were nervous at their spot. They were all thinking hard if they should stand and pay the Emperor due respect.


    Li Er waved his hands to motioned for the group to sit. There were too many eyes around and it is not good to cause amotion.


    The group quickly shifted to allow space for Kong Yingda and his group.


    Li Yuanying ran away quickly but return quickly too. While away he turned back and counted the number of people in the Emperor¡¯s party. He then quickly requested that food be brought over for everyone.


    Knowing that the Emperor is here to visit his family, the people around quickly oblige to Prince Teng¡¯s requests.


    Li Yuanying returned obediently to sit next to big brother after running errands. He introduced the dishes one by one to the Emperor. There are 2 protein dishes and 2 vegetable dishes today, although not something luxurious, it is delicious with meat cooked until tender with the freshest vegetable.


    Li Er tried the dishes. As he wasn¡¯t a picky eater, he found them quite delicious.


    As the group finished their meal, the Emperor realized that the atmosphere was tense due to them being there. He quickly led Li Yuanying away to another spot


    Li Yuanying on the left, Li Zhi on the right and a Cheng Yang following behind them.


    Yuanying felt that he was not wrong in choosing to eat first and so chased after big brother. ¡°Lord brother, what do you think about the food here? Not bad right?¡±


    Li Er gave him a nce and answered calmly: ¡°I¡¯m afraid that if I say yes, that Restaurant will highlight my statement in an advertisement saying ¡°Even the Emperor approves¡±.


    Yuanying¡¯s secret little thoughts were read by his brother but he still shamelessly brush it aside and praised his brother for his quick thinking. ¡°Brother how can your brain work so brilliantly. I didn¡¯t think about that! I¡¯ll inform Dong XiaoYiter to write this down as a testimony and publish it!¡±


    Li Er couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and hit his brother¡¯s forehead with his knuckle.


    Li Yuanying held on to his forehead and decided to ignore the Emperor.


    The Emperor decided to do the same, he turned around and ask his kids about how they were doing.


    Li Zhi was honest and mentioned that the Academy provided good lodging and meals. Although things here were not as grand as the royal pce but there were more people here so it¡¯s easier or group discussions. Overall it¡¯s not a bad experience.


    Chengyang nodded in agreement.


    Li Er asked about the topics they had studied and asked a few questions to test them and was satisfied with their answers. Seeing that it is almost dusk, he told his children that he will be returning to the pce and that they should study hard.


    Li Yuanying was waiting and anticipating for big brother¡¯s questions. He had studied so hard and read so many books here, so he is sure that he will shock him with his brilliance!


    But Li Er didn¡¯t pay him any attention and is now leaving.


    He angrily grabbed onto the Emperor¡¯s sleeves.


    Li Er red at him.


    Li Yuanying showed a face that said ¡°You haven¡¯t tested me.¡±


    The Emperor said slowly: ¡°Didn¡¯t you say brother I can meet anytime but food is not delicious if cold? Why are you now sad that I¡¯m leaving?¡±


    Only then did Li Yuanying realized that the Emperor is angry at him over something so petty. The ruler of a mighty country is so petty!


    ¡°Food is no longer delicious when cold¡± (Li Yuanying)


    The Emperor is toozy to react to his younger brother, he will really be seen as a childish ruler if he did.


    ¡°If you really did study hard, I will prepare for you to take the Jingshi test <sup>[1]</sup>highest level of the Chinese imperial examinations. How¡¯s that? Can you pass? Prince Jungshi, you will be the first one in the whole of Tang.¡±


    While there has been previous instances of Royal children studying at the Academy, none of them had taken part in the official imperial examination. After all, no matter how minor a Royal, they will still be given a piece ofnd to govern over. There is really no need to fight withmon citizens by taking part in the imperial exams. Status and prestige that a person umte over a lifetime of hard-work is already handed over to them on a silver tter since birth.


    If this was said to any other royal children, they wouldn¡¯t react. Who would want to work hard over just a measly court position? What¡¯s so good about passing the exams, only those from poor families would do something so troublesome!


    But Li Yuanying works differently. Hearing ¡°the first and only¡±, he got very excited.


    ¡°Really?!¡±


    ¡°Yes, really. If you can pass the exam¡±. (Li Er)


    ¡°What¡¯s so hard about this, I¡¯ll definitely pass!¡± (Li Yuanying, jumping around excitedly)


    Such a great older brother who is giving him such a bright mission. Yuanying happily sent his older brother to the Academy entrance.


    Passing the imperial examination is most of the student¡¯s aim when they join this school. But Yuanying initially took the entrance exam just to make trouble for Wei Ying. He then stayed because older brother needed his help to deal with brats at school. He even managed to execute a few more ideas and if the Emperor did not give him a new goal he would start making trouble all around looking for a fun time.


    Li Er left a bait and sessfully caught Li Yuanying¡¯s attention. How does this exam work? What should he prepare for? Yuanying hadn¡¯t thought about it yet. Once brother has left, he ran around looking for his teachers to discuss about this.


    Dr. Shen hearing that the young prince will attempt the exam was shocked. If he really manages to pass the Jingshi exam then he will be the first Royal to do so and the system would be disturbed. Nheless, there was now restricting him from doing so, what more can the teacher say.


    Dr Shen exined the process in simple terms: ¡°First, talents rmended by a town will gather at a county for one round of examinations. Then those who pass it will be selected and sent to a prefecture for another round of examinations. Those who pass this will be allowed toe to the Capital for the final exam in October. Generally speaking, by February of the second year, you can then take exams on Mingjing and Jingshi subjects.


    Mingjing is an exam that focuses on knowledge. This special exam tests your knowledge on literature and ssics; you need to not only memorize ssic pieces but also exin their meaning. Jingshi focuses on strategy. You get a case study on a particr national affair and you will need to share your strategy in solving the problem.


    The Academy is a little different as it has a maximum student quota. After studying for a few years here, a student can directly sit for the imperial examination. On the contrary, if you fail to meet the requirements of the Academy after five years, you¡¯ll be kicked out. If you do meet the academy¡¯s requirement but have not passed the imperial examination after nine years, you¡¯ll be dismissed too.


    Students here are normally in their golden teenage years of around 14 years old. This is the best time to seek knowledge. If they can¡¯t pass the exam even after 9 years then their remaining days will get more and more difficult.


    ¡°Jingshi is not an easy exam. You need to know how to write well and be good in literature¡± Dr. Shen exined to the boy with much patience. ¡°Your Highness, you are still young and have much more to learn therefore your writing still has a hint of naive-ness. If you really want to pass the exam, you need to read more, socialize more and gain more experience. You cannot have even a hint of procrastination. Think about it, yes you are very smart but the world is notcking of smart people. Every year those who take this exam are the cream of the crop from Tang. Even if you are supposed the smartest but the hard-work of others might still win over you¡±.


    Yuanying listened intently, indeed very reasonable.


    But he has already talked big to his brother and he will lose face if he pulls back now!


    Li Yuanying decided that he will grind through this hardship!


    He held onto Dr Shen to pester him about the type of books he should be reading and who wrote the best articles. He memorized all that he was told while simultaneously asking more questions. He will study what is needed and ask for guidance whenever he needs it.


    That evening, Tang Guan was tasked with patrolling. Yuanying couldn¡¯t fall asleep and so pestered his friends about when they would start preparing for the imperial examination.


    Tang Xuan has joined the Academy for almost 2 years and it is almost time for him to attempt this test. He should be taking the Mingjing exam because he has decided to specialize in the <<Book of Changes>> and <<Book of Rites>>.


    The rest of the boys also had their own path to follow.


    Some of them came here carrying family expectations, some came here from their town¡¯s rmendation and others with their teacher¡¯s expectation. Everyone had their own path to fulfill and a reason that they are working so hard. It is because they have such proper nning that the tough days in the Academy bes a little more bearable and they can work hard.


    Li Yuanying was touched hearing all this.


    When Tang Guan returned, most boys were already asleep except for Li Yuanying who were deep in thoughts with eyes wide opened.


    Hearing Tang Guan slipping under his nket, the boy turned around only to find his neighbour wrapped tightly under his nket.


    Yuanying reached out to pull on Tang Guan¡¯s nket.


    No reaction.


    Li Yuanying pulled again.


    Tang Guan pulled away his nket and gave him a death re.


    Yuanying said silently: ¡°Sleeping fully under the nket is not good for you.¡±


    Tang Guan ignored him.


    Yuanying then asks: ¡°Would you take the examination too?¡±


    Tang Guan ignored him.


    Yuanying started murmuring to himself: ¡° I initially never intended to take the exam but since Lord brother gave his permission, this exam should be a fun activity. It¡¯ll be really cool to be Tang Dynasty¡¯s first Prince with a Jingshi achievement.¡±


    He continued to share why he isn¡¯t able to fall asleep: ¡°But listening to all our friend, everyone had their life figured out. I think I¡¯ve been living in a blur, I want to do this and then I want to try that too. Before finishing 1 tasks I get attracted to something else again.¡±


    Borrowing the light from the moon, Tang Guan saw the uncertainty in Li Yuanying¡¯s eyes.


    In the end, Tang Guan couldn¡¯t keep his resolve to ignore the boy and replied: ¡°At your current age, you should be living like this. If you already had life all figured out at 12, what meaning does your future days hold? You should try everything, then only you would know what you like and dislike; what you¡¯re capable and not capable of. Other¡¯s might have life all figured out maybe because they have tried many things. Isn¡¯t everyone here older than you?¡±


    Yuanying instantly cheered up at this statement. This is true!


    If I had not tried, how would I know what I like and what I¡¯m capable of?


    A happy Yuanying looked at Tang Guan with shining eyes: ¡°Senior Brother, you¡¯re great. With just 1 statement I have be much clearer in my thoughts!¡±


    ¡°Shut up. And go to sleep.¡± (Tang Guan)


    Li Yuanying obediently kept his mouth shut and fell into deep slumber.


    Tang Guany on his back and look at the pitch ck ceiling.


    He couldn¡¯t fall asleep.


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: This is a familiar moment¡­.


    Eldest Nephew: Cos you did this to me in the past too?


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü1highest level of the Chinese imperial examinations

 Chapter 101

    Chapter 101


    In the days that followed, the Student Committee carried out their duties in an orderly manner.


    Li Yuanying also had the chance to meet other students.


    Besides just the 1,000 students preparing to be civil servants, the Academy also has students who were studyingw, arithmetic and calligraphy studies. These 3 majors had rtively less number of students but they were all professional studies with proper examination put in ce.


    Li Yuanying was interested in everything. After finding out the timetable of each ss he finds time to attend them. Di Renjie and the rest were influenced too. As long as they had time, they would look for extra sses to attend. Law lectures were their favorite. Here, they hear about many eye-opening stories like how a small item created a group fight in a vige and so on.


    Both Li Yuanying and Di Renjie are extremely alert. When they attend sses, they not only listen but tries to solve the questions posted by the lecturers. Originally, a topic would havested the whole session but with them around making a fuss, the topic is finished in less than a quarter of an hour.


    The Law teacher is now a little afraid of the boys and secretly urged their ss teachers to give more homework to these energetic boys, so that they wouldn¡¯t have time to attend other lectures.


    The teacher teaching them Five ssics was also helpless: ¡°I can¡¯t go any faster, otherwise other students can¡¯t keep up.¡±


    There are many students here, a teacher can¡¯t just simply change the sybus just for a selected few. Instead of letting them harm their own ssmates, we should let them go out and disturb thew school instead!


    The Law teacher is also quick-witted. If he can¡¯t get rid of them then he wille up with trouble for the boys. He went looking for the Math teacher and copied some interesting problems for Li Yuanying to solve.


    Li Yuanying had a look. Oh it¡¯s an interesting topic. While doing, he couldn¡¯t figure it out!


    He is not someone who gives up easily. If he doesn¡¯t understand something, he can always ask around. He first asked his friends and then led his group of equally clueless friends to pester the maths teacher.


    How do you count the number of chickens and rabbits by just counting its legs? Why do you put something in water to calcte its volume? What kind of cutting method is the cyclotomic method? Mathematics is really a deep and broad topic!


    Mathematics teacher: ¡°¡­¡±


    Oh, now he knows why the Law lecturer was suddenly so interested in math. It¡¯s a trap waiting for him!


    Treacherous and cunning!


    And Shameless!


    But these boys were hungry and dedicated to learn. They were all sincerely here for knowledge and a teacher cannot refuse them. They could only patiently answer Li Yuanying¡¯s questions one by one.


    In the end, it was the calligraphy teacher who gave the children a difficult handwriting practice that made them calm down.


    It is really a sweet burden to have such students!


    In February, the exams will be held. By the start of spring, many schrs would have gathered in Chang¡¯an City. Students in the Academy who weren¡¯t taking the examination were cooperative and created a good environment for those who were going for their exams.


    On the day before the beginning of the Spring Festival, Li Yuanying and his group ushered in a rare asion of rest. After being held up at school for nearly a month, the students were allowed out into the city. Everyone was in a happy mood. Li Yuanying packed up, said his goodbyes and led Li Zhi and Chenyang back to the pce.


    Li Zhi and Cheng Yang went to visit the Emperor while Li Yuanying went looking for mother. The boy had a habit of sending her a letter every few days to inform mother about all the happy things that he had encountered along the way as a form offort to Lady Liu so that she will not be too worried about him.


    Seeing her child in person, Lady Liu was nervous and checked if her child has lost weight. After making sure that Li Yuanying was not starving or being bullied, she pulled him to sit at the table to try out the dishes that she had personally cooked herself.


    After food, Li Yuanying made his mene over and share a detail report about all his pending affairs.


    Restaurant Feng Thai has been on the right track in ordance to his ns and has been recruiting good cooks. They were paid well and had a systematic division ofbor, so many were willing to change jobs ande over. They have also collected many recipes from all over the country; all collected through money and without force. All recipes were being copied and 1 copy is always sent back to the pce for Lady Liu.


    Li Yuanying needed to pick the best people and bring them over with him to hisnd in the future. Spending much now is an investment. Even if there is no return of investment, just the thought of letting mother have a chance to do whatever she likes is worth it for Li Yuanying.


    He instructed Dong Xiaoyi to look out for opportunity and to act when the time is right.


    Families who can send their children to school must also have more resources than the average people. Therefore, Eating a meal outside is definitely within their means. As long as they tie Feng Thai Restaurant and the Imperial Academy together, there will be nocking in customers! In the future when his seniors and ssmates make money, would they turn around and damage the reputation of Feng Thai Restaurant that fed them throughout their schooling days? As long as you meet a few that had pure heart, we will not lose money!


    Lately the young prince went for many math sses and his skills has improved tremendously. He mentioned to the Emperor previously that he will build him a road from the Pce to Mountain Tai and now h even has ns to build shops and business along the route. There¡¯s no need to use even a drop of the government funds! If the Restaurant business does well then there will be no worries on food sources ¨C he will open a new branches along the route and then build an inn too so that lodging is settled.


    The more the young prince thought about it, the more he is convinced that his n is a good one. He called for Dong Xiaoyi to hire people from the East region the next time he is recruiting chefs. Tell them that once they have perfected their skills they will be repatriate back to their hometown to work as head chef and to take charge of the whole Restaurant!


    With the Academy taking in and graduating many students every year, the crowd is huge. The kitchen here can be used as arge training ground to train capable chefs on fundamentals of cooking and equip them with skills to hold huge banquets and develop customized dishes.


    Dong Xiaoyi took down notes diligently and updated his boss about Dai Ting¡¯s whereabouts: ¡°Dai Ting will be back soon, maybe in 2 more days.¡±


    ¡°I wonder how are things for Weng Cheng. Did he say anything in his letter?¡± (Li Yuanying excitedly)


    Dong XiaoYi shook his head.


    Dai Ting isn¡¯t someone who is fond of writing letters. If he is met with any challenges, he would prefer solving things himself.


    Yuanying knew his man well and wasn¡¯t disappointed. Just keep him updated so that he knows when Dai Ting is back.


    After that, Prince Teng¡¯s men came one after another to update him about things that happened in and outside the pce.


    Things within the pce were peaceful, mainly because the Emperor is wise. Those who deserves praises will be praised but he will also not over-indulge anyone.


    Thedies in the harem would also not bother fighting out of jealousy. If they wanted to be jealous, they should direct it towards the ministers who were instructed to stay backte to discuss work. The Emperor spends day and night with his men working!


    Since the Emperor behave as such, things in the pce are naturally very calm. However, things were slightly different for Li Tai, this was mainly because the Emperor due to the hot and humid weather tend to fall ill. Although he miraculously recoveredst year, he is still prone to reinfection.


    Li Tai wanting to be filial went around looking for herbs and medication. The Emperor seeing his precious son looking so tired felt bad and mentioned that he should move to Wude pce. Byw, a grown son should live outside the pce with the only exception being the Crown prince!

 Chapter 102

    Chapter 102


    Of course, such a thing will never be allowedto happen. As soon as the Emperor mentioned it, Wei Zheng fought back hard. He followed the Emperor around nagging him: while you love your precious son and want him to live nearby, this puts him in a dangerous position. This Wude pce is situated West from the East Pce and was previously theresidential homefor your brother Prince HaiLing which wealso found unsuitable. Things now are different; can you keep everyone¡¯s mouth shut over this? Can you confirm that your other sons won¡¯t have an opinion over this?


    Prince Hai Ling was the forth prince Li YuanJi and was a candidate who fought over the throne. In the end he was yed along with the Crown Prince Li JianCheng during the XuanWu gate incident by the current Emperor.


    This discussion brought the XuanWu gate incident to the forefront.


    This is a topic that many will never dare bring up and only Wei Zheng would do such a thing to stop the Emperor¡¯s action.


    Naturally Li Er wouldn¡¯t feel good hearing about this incident but Wei Zheng cannot and will not have second thoughts about bringing it up. He must speak of it and stop the Emperor from sparking anything.


    The current peaceful days are built on sweat, blood and tears. Therefore, the ministers cannot keep quiet and watch brothers y each other and father and son fight each other again.


    Li Yuanying heard about this story in full and motioned for his men to leave. He sat alone looking at the candle me dancing within themp.


    This incident might havealready passed but those who had lived through it will not be at peace- Chenqian, Forth Brother, Civil servants or generals; everyone would have their own thoughts about it.


    Yuanying gotzy after thinking for abit and decided to sleep. Since the next day is a holiday, Yuanying went to the East pce to bring Li Xiang along to meet with Xiao Deyan as he wanted to know if the teacher is okay with teaching at the East Pce.


    Who wouldn¡¯t love such a caring child? Xiao Deyan smiled and replied that all is good and then asked the young prince how he was doing at the Academy.


    Yuanying spoke a ton when the teacher brought up the Academy. He praises all his teachers one after another. Last time when he had ss inside the pce, every lesson was identical and the topic dry and boring. But at the Academy, there is much freedom to speak about many things fromw to mathematics, so much fun.


    He also told the old teacher about his thoughts: ¡°My ssmates are also great. Do you know that Minister Tang¡¯s son sleeps next to me and his name is Tang Guan?At first I found him really fierce but Iter realized that he¡¯s a good person with a warm heart. No wonder Confucius always mentioned to not judge a book by its cover, you really need to go deeper than the surface!¡±


    Li Xiang sat obediently at their sides, and he asked curiously: ¡°What does it mean by not to judge a book by its cover?¡±


    The child hadjust started learning and had not learn about idioms yet.


    Besides chit chatting with Xiao Deyan, Yuanying also took the effort to take care of his young grandnephew. Some statementsthat he has utter tonight is actually directed at the toddler. Seeing that the child is now curious, Yuanying share a story behind this idiom with him: In the past Confucius epted many disciples, among them is a man called Zai Yuwho is good with words and uses them to make others happy. There was another disciple called Zi Yi who looked rugged, speak very little and didn¡¯t know how to buy people¡¯s heart with words.


    Yuanying asked Li Xiang: ¡°When I put it this way, which person do you prefer?¡±


    ¡°I prefer Zai Yu!¡± (Li Xiang)


    ¡°In the beginning, Confucius picked the same as you. However, upon knowing both better, he realized that Zai Yuhad ulterior motives and only schemes about how to do less work daily. When others were studying, he hides away to sleep and had no intention of studying hard. On the other hand, Zi Yi doesn¡¯t speak except when necessary, but he has the right attitude and values. Afterward he opened a school and passed on his knowledge to others. One time Zi Yi nned to travel and 300 of his students were willing to follow him!


    Yuanying then asked Li Xiang again: ¡°Now, which gentleman do you prefer?¡±


    Li Xiang struggled slightly before changing his mind: ¡°I prefer Zi Yi!¡±


    ¡°Confucius thought simrly, therefore he said, ¡°to judge based on words, you overlookZai Yu, to judge based on looks, you overlook Zi Yi¡±. This means that we shouldn¡¯t judge others based on 1 point only, you tend to be bias if you only look at words or looks alone.¡±


    Li Xiang nodded his head indicated that he now understands.


    ¡°Everyone canprehend such statement but not everyone is able to put it into practice.¡± Yuanying then looked towards Xiao Deyan.Seeing that the teacher did not have objections to his sharing he continued: ¡°I studied <<LunHeng>>st year and in this book it mentions about Zai Yutoo. It says that Confucius then came up with another saying for him due to hisziness ¡°Rotten wood cannot be carved, wall that is made of dung and mud cannot bestered over!¡±. This statement is quite bias for ¡°rotten wood & wall of dung and mud¡± are useless things beyond repair, a big mistake but sleeping during the day is just a small error. If you¡¯re really a benevolent teacher, how can you use such evil words to criticize a student who had only made a small mistake? ¡°


    Li Xiang had never once imagined a angry Confucius scolding someone so his eyes were wide open.


    Yuanying then continued: ¡°You think about it, If a senior you really respectedcalls you a piece of useless wood or dung mud wall, wouldn¡¯t you feel awfultoo?¡±


    The toddler grew up surrounded with praises and even if for 1 day he doesn¡¯t get affirmation he would feel bad. If he were to get pointed at in the face and called a ¡°useless wood¡± or ¡°dung mud wall¡± he woulddefinitely burst into tears over it.


    Li Xiang nodded: ¡°Yes, I feel bad.¡±


    ¡°Hence you need to take the initiative to view things or a person thoroughly. Do not depend on hearsay but listen to multiple opinions and review multiple strategies that is shared with you. When you hear much and see much you would be able to make better decisions based on your experiences.¡±


    Li Xiang noted down granduncle¡¯s advice seriously


    After his speech, Yuanying looked towards to old teacher to seek his opinion on whether he got things right


    Xiao Deyan smiled: ¡°Your Highness is correct, this rtes to the idiom¡°If you listen to both, you will be clear, if you believe partly, you will be left in the dark.¡±


    Yuanying was happy and shared more queries to the teacher seeking his guidance. The old teacher exined everything with much patience. In the end, not only did Yuanying benefitebut the young toddler learned much too.


    After this meet up, Yuanying moved on to y with Sizi and the rest. Now that Yuanying has grew much taller, he is able to now join Gao Yang and the older children in a polo match on the field! The other children were all taking a break so Yuanying dragged along his friends for a game. The weather was still rather cold, but the group of royal children were sweating much.


    Nheless things have been rather quiet in the pce. Many princes were reaching the age of 13 and had to be send away to their ownnd. Meanwhile the most troublesome one (Li Yuanying) was already shipped away to the Imperial Academy. How can the pce not be quiet? With him back, the whole pce sounded noisy and lively again, you would be able to hear children¡¯sughter and ying from a mile away.


    Li Er visited his younger brother once at the Academy. Lately he has been targeting by Wei Zheng due to Li Tai and since then the Emperor had been in a bad mood. Hearing that his younger brother is ying polo, he went to watch them from a distance.


    He saw Sizi and the girlsclenching their small fists in support ofLi Yuanying and Gao Yang while they wereying happily on the field, the Emperor suddenlythought about hiseldest and fourth son.


    Chengqian is his eldest and he loves him very much.But Chengqian must be the CrownPrince first, before being his son. To be a qualified heir,Chengqianneeds be be dealt with strictly. Qinqque on the other hand is cute and smart since young and has no throne to inherit, so what if he favors him a little more?Wei Zheng is taking this matter too seriously, things are different from the past. Whether it is Chengqian or Qingque, theybothdonot have military power, so how can there be anothercoup?


    In His Majesty¡¯s heart, he believes that his sonswould never have such thoughts.


    But seeing Li Yuanying ying happily withthegroup of radish heads, Li Ertied recalling but he can¡¯t remember if histwo older sons had yed together like thisbefore. When theywere both eight or nine,Li Er took the throne and were so busy that he hardly had time to see them. In a blink of an eye, Cheng Qian is now 23.


    What was he doing when he was 23?


    HE was leadinghistroops to cross the Yellow Riverto regainterritory onthe east of the river.


    He defeated Song Jingang, and won afierce general Yuchi Jingde.


    At the age of twenty-three or four, a person can achieve many things.


    Li Er stood outside the field and watchedbut didn¡¯t go over. He came and leftquietly without disturbing anyone.


    Yuanying didn¡¯t realize that Li Er hade. He had fun and thenwent out to pay a visit to Sun Simiao.


    Sun Simiao was treating someonewho was a bit strange. He had a ring of wool-like thin white hair on his waist and hips. Not only was the hair long, but it hurts too. Hisneighbors thought this disease was strange, so they introduced him to Sun Simiao for treatment. Since the doctor was busy¡°removing hair¡±, Li Yuanying didn¡¯t bother him. To hear all about this strange sickness from the doctor¡¯s apprentice made him curios.


    ¡°DoctorSun always encounters strange diseases!¡±


    Yuanying came by coincidenceand Sun Simiao quickly cured the patient with white hair.


    Hewent up to ask if the patient was cured and Sun Simiao shared about the symptoms and treatment methodsto him. I took out the lesion and prescribed medication for recuperation. It should be cured in a few days. Yuanying hadn¡¯t visited in a long time but hedidtaketime to read about a few medical booksatthe Academy. He thentook the opportunity to ask questions.


    After that, he said regretfully: ¡°I really hope you teach at the Academy, Teacher Sun. Then I can ask you questionsanytime!¡±


    ¡°The Imperial Academyfocuses on principles for governing a country and self-cultivation, why would people want to learn about medicine?¡±


    ¡°If a person is sick, he can¡¯t govern the country or cultivateanything,so studying medicine isimportant!¡±


    Hethen toldSun Simiao what he hadheardst night:¡°Let me tell you, isn¡¯t Xiangcheng Pce used to raise elephantsnow? I¡¯ve instructedpeople tomake changesthe surrounding area and this neededa lot of big stones, sowe went to the mountains to dig forstones. As a result, they dug up big bones in the mountainsthat lookedbigger than an elephant! I don¡¯t know what it is. It¡¯s such a big skeleton that I can¡¯t deliver it intothe city. Dong Xiaoyiis arranging for it to be transported to sunflower garden. Would you like to go and have a look? Maybe, that bone can be used as medicine?¡±


    Li Yuanying came up with this idea after studying medicine with Sun Simiao. This is because he discovered that all kinds of metal, stone and ntscan be used as medicine, the difference isthe dosage.Of course different bones have different uses! Even if unknown bones were dug up in the mountains and ground into powder, they could still be used as medicine and would fetch an expensive price!


    Sun Simiao became interested when he heard itwas bigger than an elephant. Seeing that it was still early, he left with the prince to the sunflower garden totake alook at the bones.


    The bones were embedded deep into a rock and was hard to remove so Dong Xiaoyi brought both back. The children from the surrounding viges werecurious about this big rock and often ran over to look atit. Li Yuanying was also curious to know if whatDong Xiaoyi said was true, so he led Sun Simiao to observe it with great interest.


    The old doctor was still agile depite his age and had no issue keeping up with the lively little prince. Reaching their destination, the stone was really huge and thebones embedded insidewerestrangelooking.Sun Simiao was immediately attracted. He hadpracticed medicine for many years and hada deep understanding of bones, he immediately recognized that these bones should bea vertebrae.


    The odd thing is that one boneof this thing is 3-4 feet long. Sun Simiao struggled in his heart, this pile only had a few bones but if all of it were aligned properly, this animal is ashigh as several floors! Even Sun Simiao, who was well-informed was stumped and couldn¡¯t recognize thisskeleton.


    Could it be that there really are dragons in the sky?


    Sun Simiao could only stroke his beard and sigh: ¡°It¡¯s amazing, it¡¯s amazing!¡±


    Li Yuanying asked Sun Simiao if he knew what it was.


    Sun Simiao shook his head: ¡°Ican only say that it is the vertebrae.¡±


    He gestured to Li Yuanying tolook at the bones, this should be a cervical spine.


    Li Yuanying asked enthusiastically:¡°Can that be used as medicine?¡±


    Sun Simiao touched it with his hands and found that the vertebrae had long been integratedinto the rock. It¡¯ll be hard toget it out, such askeleton is no longer a bone but a fossil!


    Sun Simiao disagrees withLi Yuanying¡¯s idea: ¡°If you don¡¯t know the nature of the medicine, how can you use it as medicine?¡±


    Hearing that it could not be used as medicine,Yuanying felt that the bones were big but useless.Such a waste to ve so big! If itwas alive, this big guy can pass as eye candy but what¡¯s so good about afew bones? What a waste of effort in bringingthem back!


    Li Yuanying was about to tell Dong Xiaoyi tothrow itback into the mountain buthissystem suddenly reminded him after a long absence: ¡°Dinosaur vertebra was found. Should wescanitinto the Myriad Realm Library?¡±


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince:?


    Little Prince: What are dinosaurs?

 Chapter 103

    Chapter 103


    The boy hasn¡¯t heard from the system for a very long time and wasn¡¯t sure how to react. Aftering back to his senses he asked the system what a dinosaur was and why has no one seen such a big thing before?


    ¡°Dinosaur also trantes to ¡°scary big lizard¡±originally from a foreignnguage. This creature used to roam the earth but has be extinct for various reasons. It is roughly estimated that the dinosaurs had been extinct for about 65 million years. These bones were once hidden inside rocks for thousands of years and is appearing by chance. It can also be called as a fossil.¡± (System)


    Simply put this huge creature no longer exist.


    Yuanying is a bit regretful, if he can tame such a big guy, it will be majestic! It hasn¡¯t crossed his mind that he might get trampled; all he really wanted to do was to climb on its back and ride it around.


    Using the system¡¯s knowledge, the boy gained a general understanding of a dinosaur¡¯s appearance. He became curious about dinosaurs who could fly, swim and run extremely fast. He quickly changed his mind and asked Dong Xiaoyi to continue searching for dinosaur fossils to see if he could piece together aplete dinosaur skeleton or maybe find a flying dinosaur.


    He also told Dong Xiaoyi firmly: ¡°This is dragon bone. You must look for it carefully!¡±


    Although Sun Simiao studied in a Taoist school, he didn¡¯t really believe in ghosts or myths. Creatures like dragons are more like an illusory. Hearing the young boy¡¯s instructions, he pondered but didn¡¯t say anything to stop him. If he says it¡¯s a dragon bone then it¡¯s a dragon bone. After all no one had seen a dragon anyway!


    Yuanying told Dong Xiaoyi to note his words then ran back towards the fossil and made a few rounds. He stretched out his hand to measure the length and thinks that it indeed is a strange creature. How can such a big guy just disappear? What a pity!


    If he can find one, he will raise it in Xiangcheng Pce.


    After that, the young prince and the doctor had a meal before returning to the pce together. Only after running around town and meeting up with everyone else did Li Yuanying visit the Emperor.


    Li Er had originally wanted to go to Mount Tai this year but he failed to do so. He had already visited Luoyang and Jiucheng Pce recently and so he decided to stay in Chang¡¯an and just bear with the hot summer. After dinner, he was informed that Li Yuanying is here and so he allowed him toe in.


    Li Yuanying ran to His Majesty and started telling him about the fossil he found. He drew a picture of therge dinosaur vertebrae for His Majesty while gesturing about it¡¯s size while talking.


    ¡°Just the neck is sooooo big and sooooo long.They are much bigger than elephants.¡±


    At the start when Li Er heard ¡°dragon¡± he thought the boy was joking yet again but hearing him going into details as if he really has seen it, his Majesty was curious.


    ¡°Is there really such a dragon bone?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Doctor Sun said that the bone looks like a piece from the cervical vertebrae. He is a master in recognizing bones.¡±


    Yunying then told His Majesty about his regrets:¡±I¡¯m not sure if this dragon can fly. If it can fly, it would be so much fun for us to ride on its back!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve seen a few bones but is already thinking too much. Maybe this belongs to ¡®Fangfeng Shi¡± <sup>[1]</sup>Fangfeng shi is a mythical giant in legends of early Chinese Dynasty that Confucius had mentioned before.¡±


    Li Er had also read books about such strange incidents where a person in the country of Wu found a pile of huge bones that were so big that a cart is needed to move it. The citizens of Wu took these bones and asked Confucius what they were and he shared that it was from a giant named Fangfeng. The King back then was Yu the Great and he instructed his men to meet at Mount Gui Ji but Fangfeng waste and was executed. This big bone belongs to him!


    Yuanying had also read the same book. He instantly knew which chapter the Emperor was talking about but still insisted to share his own opinion: ¡°This must be a dinosaur fossil, not bone of Fangfeng!¡±


    He continue with reasonable grounds, ¡°Wasn¡¯t the ruler back then all benevolent and righteous kings? Why would they kill someone for beingte? Not just execution but to disy their corpse in public? That¡¯s not benevolent or righteous, that¡¯s crazy!¡±


    The Emperor didn¡¯t want to argue further so he just asked Yuanying to get his people to find all the bones and see if they are indeed able to arrange out a dragon figure from it.


    Li Yuanying readily agreed. He then updated that Dai Ting will be home soon and added with great concern: ¡°I wonder how Wencheng is doing in her new home. And whether her new husband is treating her well. The next time I send Dai Ting out, I need to give him an assistant that is good with words. That way he can write and pass on news to us.¡±


    Since the boy often came by to grumble about this and that, the Emperor remembers Dai Ting. He was a youth with outstanding appearance and is someone with looks you won¡¯t forget after meeting him once. At first when his younger brother wanted Dai Ting to serve him, he thought his brother was just choosing based on appearance. But now it seems that this little servant is actually capable. Not only did he travel to Gaochang with the army, he even travel with his own team to Tibetan Empire and is now returning safely!


    ¡°WenCheng is a Tang princess, who would dare treat her poorly? Just go back to studying and don¡¯t worry unnecessarily.¡±


    ¡°Things I don¡¯t see I will not worry but things that I do see I will worry.¡± Speaking of this, Yuanying wasn¡¯t afraid of death and poked at Li Er¡¯s sore spot: ¡°I heard that you were scolded by Old man Wei again!¡±


    The Emperor had a sour look and he gave the boy the re that meant ¡°you can shut up now¡±.


    But Li Yuanying couldn¡¯t keep his mouth shut.


    ¡°I think Wei is right. You really love Qingque but you are not thinking for Qingque.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by I don¡¯t think for him?¡±


    ¡°When he be an adult, you were reluctant to part and kept him in Chang¡¯an. This is human nature. But if you don¡¯t let him learn to be independent, what will he do in the future?¡±


    ¡°He is a prince of the Tang Dynasty and the younger brother of Chengqian. He is a smart boy. Even if he knows nothing, who would dare neglect him.¡±


    ¡°You are wrong, think about it, you have so many sons, but you only love Qingque. Wouldn¡¯t the others have an opinion about this? You favour him now so narrow-minded people will envy him and people with ulterior motives will curry favour with him. Even if Qing Que doesn¡¯t initiate things, there will be people who will cling on to him and use his power to make a fortune.¡±


    Yuanying looked straight at His Majesty seriously: ¡°When you regret this in the future, it will be toote. By then he will already have thoughts he shouldn¡¯t have and have done things he shouldn¡¯t do. Who is going to tolerate his behaviour? No matter how good-hearted Chengqian is, there is bound to be knots in his heart! When that happens, can he still live safely as a prince?¡±


    Li Er had a sullen face.


    He was not willing to listen to such words and no one had dared say such words, including Wei Zheng who only hinted at it by using Prince Hailing as an example.


    But Yuanying didn¡¯t care about the Emperor¡¯s ck face and continued on in an orderly manner: ¡°If you really love Qing Que, let him learn how to be independent instead of always keeping him by your side and giving him whatever his heart desires. This is how you should raise pets but not kids. What more to leave him on the cusp of the storm, making him an easy target for seduction and to be hated by others. The things you are doing now, even if Cheng Qian and the others follow in your footsteps, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised ¨C¡±


    The Emperor was furious: ¡°How dare you, I think you are the one overly spoilt!¡±


    Li Yuanying sat quietly and his ck eyes met Li Er¡¯s angry eyes without blinking.


    Li Er¡¯s cheeks trembled, stopped his scolding but didn¡¯t drive Li Yuanying away.


    The brothers sat opposite each other for a long time before Yuanying spoke again: ¡°Lord Brother, if you don¡¯t want to hear such words, I won¡¯t say them in the future. ¡°Let me go to my fiefdom.¡±


    The Emperor looked at Li Yuanying who was giving him full respect kneeling on the ground.


    Most people serving him wants something ¨C be it fame, profit, power, or gloryfortheir family. When there is a want involve, it is easy to handle these people. But this piece of meatloaf in front of him doesn¡¯t need or want anything from him. So, the kid dares to do and say anything to him.


    The rage in His Majesty¡¯s heart gradually calmed down.


    Such a piece of meatloaf that can¡¯t be beaten or scolded. What can you do to him?


    If you say go away to his ownnds, he will be happy!


    Li Er scolded: ¡°Since you want to go there so much, I won¡¯t let you leave.¡±


    Li Yuanying: ¡°¡­¡±


    Such a childish older brother!


    Li Er told his younger brother to get lost and not be a bother.


    Li Tai who was supposed to leave to his own fiefdom after getting married, had been kept in the Capital until now, it is indeed a vition. There must be many who thinks the same as Li Yuanying in the government. It is just that no one dared to voice out their thoughts except for Wei Zheng whohadtried to persuade him.


    Li Er closed his eyes and the scenes before and after the Xuanwu Gate incident shed in his mind.


    Back then, it¡¯s just like what his younger brother said, even if he hadn¡¯t had intentions, those around him would have persuaded him to do it. They would have all nned and contributed all their efforts in the guise of ¡°achieving great things¡±. Once that has happened, even if there were any sense of brotherhood left between the siblings, the situation still wouldn¡¯t allow them time to hesitate. Killing his brothers and persecuting his own father, these are things he had done. If he had already done so, what¡¯s stopping his sons from doing so?


    Given he is healthy and strong now, his children wouldn¡¯t dare have ideas but what happens when he grows old and is weak? Can he still control the overall situation like he can now? Then he would have really pushed his sons into a deadlock and there would be no room for change.


    The Emperor sat and silently ponder on his sons¡¯ future.


    Thete Queen passed away rather early and left him with young children. Cheng Qian the oldest was only a teenager then. He wanted to keep all his children around for a more years.


    Now that Qingque is 22, it really is not suitable for him to continue staying Chang¡¯an. He believes that his child filial and obedient son, but he also knows that temptation is hard to withstand. He will not let spectors find a chance to instigate a fight between his sons.


    He can¡¯t put Qingque in a difficult situation just because he favours him. If the situation esctes to the point that even biological brothers can¡¯t get along, what good life will Qing Que have in the future?


    Li Er didn¡¯t think about this before, but now he made a clear decision.


    It¡¯s time for his dearest QingQue to leave the nest.


    The next day, the Emperor took out a list and said to Li Tai: ¡°Qing Que, I¡¯ve made a list of candidates for you, see if you want anyone else in it?¡±


    These candidates are men who will be following the Vassal Prince to his newnd and will assist and guide him in ruling.


    This is the Emperor¡¯s most beloved son and so all the men he has chosen for him are the best among the best, so that Li Tai can live happily.


    If it was another son, Li Er would just appoint someone.


    Li Tai couldn¡¯t react and didn¡¯t understand what His Majesty meant.


    When he came back to his senses, he realized that father was watching him and waiting for him to take the list.


    Father wants to make him a feudal lord!


    Li Tai was dumbfounded.


    Notes from the Author:


    Little Prince: Brother, someone out there is teaching Qing Que bad things!


    His Majesty Li Er: You are right. This is just like back then, I was forced to do things


    Little prince: ¡­Little Prince: Shameless! (pointing)


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü1Fangfeng shi is a mythical giant in legends of early Chinese Dynasty

 Chapter 104

    Chapter 104


    Li Tai was only in daze for a while, and then tears started falling. He was in shocked and felt wronged and cried smoothly.


    Li Tai cried bitterly and hugged the Emperor expressing his objections because he is worried: ¡°This son is not afraid to travel far away. I¡¯m only worried that once I leave now, there will be few chances to meet father again. In the future, I can only visit once a year and this child is worried about everyone here.¡±


    Seeing Li Tai crying so sadly, Li Er was touched. Such a sincere and filial child. His determination was a little shaken, but he remembered Li Yuanying¡¯s words and suppressed the wavering feeling.


    Although Li Yuanying and Li Tai are not very close, they were not enemies. His brother also often praises Little Round Ball from Li Tai¡¯s household and talks about Li Tai¡¯s health all the time with care. He knows that the Emperor favours Li Tai but he still speaks out. What is Li Yuanying hoping for? Nothing. Just out of consideration for both Li Tai and Li Chengqian, his nephews.


    Because of this, Li Yuanying¡¯s words touched the Emperor.


    His Majesty patted Li Tai on the back: ¡°You are also a father; how can you act like a child? You have to toughen up and be your child¡¯s backing. Even if you have left, you can always bring your family to visit us every year for a short stay. I¡¯ve pick the best men for you to help you manage your fief.¡±


    Li Tai could hear the firm tone in the Emperor¡¯s voice and knew that there is no room for change. Although he was horrified, he didn¡¯t dare to object outright and could only cry saying that he is worried about leaving. He cried until His Majesty had almost lost his patience before leaving to speak to his wife about this.


    After leaving the pce gate, Li Tai still couldn¡¯t understand why the Emperor suddenly made such a decision. Just a few days ago they were talking about him moving into Wude Pce so that they could meet daily. Why did he have to leave to his fiefdom now in the blink of an eye?


    Li Tai returned home with doubts and a bad mood and send for his confidantes toe and talk about this topic. The Emperor had already issue a decree, is there any more turning point? His fief is far away in Prefecture Xiang. All his ns and investments will be interrupted by the Emperor¡¯s sudden decision.


    All his confidantes were surprised too.


    Who exactly had managed to influence the Emperor? With thepletion of << Comprehensive Gazetteer>>, Li Tai¡¯s reputation has risen and he is praised as a filial son and a virtuous prince among officials and schrs. Now they actually have bullets topete with the Crown Prince but suddenly His Majesty wants Li Tai to leave?


    The instigator, Li Yuanying went home and sleptfortably after persuading the Emperor. The next day was still a holiday, so he had breakfast with Lady Liu and told her some interesting things that happened the day before but left out his conversation with the Emperor.


    Li Xiang came running over in the morning looking for Li Yuanying to y and happily shared that Papa praised him yesterday. Since everyone was busy preparing for the imperial examination, the toddler had a day off and so came expressing his determination to y as soon as possible.


    Yuanying naturally took his gang out to y. He even left the pce grounds to visit Prince Wei¡¯s home and stole Little Round Ball. The group then went to sunflower garden to look at dragons.


    Before Li Tai had figured out his problem, he heard that Prince Teng is here to pick up his son.


    Li Tai had a sh of realization.


    There are not many who can influence the Emperor and this b*stard young uncle is one of the ones who could. This guy is evil and had luck on his side. He has always avoided trouble even when others find fault with him but if he were to pit a me on another person, they would have a hard time.


    Thest time young uncle mentioned something about ¡°being fat is not good for health¡± and the Emperor advised him to eat less and walk more, so as not to gain more weight!


    With Li Yuanying away at the Academy, the pce was a peaceful ce. Now on the first day he is back the Emperor came up with such an idea. How can this have nothing to do with Li Yuanying?


    Come evening time, Li Yuanying visited Prince Wei¡¯s home again to return little round ball. Li Tai was waiting for him.


    When he was informed that young uncle has entered the mansion, Li Tai invited him for a talk in his study.


    Little round ball was a little tired after ying all day, and fell asleep on Yuanying¡¯s shoulder. Yuanying personally carried him back to his mother safely in one piece. Hearing that Li Tai is waiting for him in the study, he was quite shocked.


    Yuanying could feel that Li Tai didn¡¯t like him but since Li Tai is his brother andte sister-inw¡¯s biological son, he still cared about this fourth nephew very much. He sat down opposite Li Tai and asked in a friendly manner: ¡°Is there any tea?¡±


    Li Tai twitched his face and asked someone to boil water and make tea.


    Yuanying took the initiative to speak considerately: ¡°Qing Que, do you have something to say to me? If you have any questions, just ask. If you don¡¯t have enough money, I can lend you.¡±


    He thought about it. The only reason why Li Tai who cannot stand him is inviting him for a drink is because he wants to borrow money!


    When Li Tai heard Li Yuanying¡¯s ¡°Qing Que¡±, he became even more angry. Is his direct name something that should be uttered so casually? This is a name reserved for his parents. Li Yuanying is just a son by a lowly Lady of Treasure. If not for the fact that he was the youngest child and brought up personally by the current Emperor, isn¡¯t he nothing but just a mere little Prince of Teng?


    Moreover, father had assigned all the prefectures and counties around Xiang under his jurisdiction. Li Yuanying only had one Teng Prefecture!


    Li Tai couldn¡¯t hold back and blurted: ¡°I don¡¯t have money?¡±


    Of course, he is not poor. To support his writing career, His Majesty allowed himrge amount of money every month. As much as the Crown Prince had, he was offered the same. The Crown prince had Hongwen museum and so Prince Wei was given a literature museum too. And this hall that he had was built earlier than Hongwen museum!


    ¡°I must have mistaken. I saw your face and thought that you wanted to borrow money but is too embarrassed to ask.¡±


    If Yuanying was put in his shoes, he would disappear if he didn¡¯t like the person, why would he force himself to meet up? If he had to do so, the it is surely to ask for a favour! Yuanying felt that he is a considerate and good uncle.


    ¡°Then what do you want me to do, Qing Que? Just tell me if you face any difficulties. I won¡¯tugh at you!¡±


    Li Tai wouldn¡¯t believe this nonsense.


    If he really told him about his difficulties, this fellow would not onlyugh at him but will also publicize it for the whole world tough along! Li Yuanying has been doing this since he was a child!


    There¡¯s nothing special. It¡¯s just that there is one thing I can¡¯t figure out.¡± (Li Tai)


    Li Yuanying put on an expression of listening carefully.


    ¡°A few days ago, the Emperor said that he wanted to see me every day and asked me to move to Wude Pce. Today the Emperor told me to leave for my ownnds.¡± Li Tai observed Li Yuanying¡¯s expression while talking, ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange? How can a person change so fast?¡±


    When Yuanying heard it, he understood. His Majesty felt that his argument was justified and is sending Li Tai away.


    Li Yuanying took Li Tai¡¯s hand: ¡°What¡¯s so difficult to understand? He wants to see you every day because of the deep love between father and son. Asking you to leave to your ownnd, is the emperor doing so with a heavy heart so that you can learn to be independent and grow into a good prince who is upright and useful to the country and the people, and to be a good father to Xin Er! Brother would rather be sad and hope for a good life for you! A loving father¡¯s heart!¡±


    Li Yuanying was moved by his own words.


    ¡°Oh, putting things into perspective like this, this younger brother thinks that being a father is not easy. Children are the parents¡¯ responsibility starting from the day they are born.¡±


    Li Tai¡¯s face turned numb.


    This kid hasn¡¯t even got married but is talking about raising children. What nonsense are you talking about here?!


    Seeing that Li Tai was silent, Li Yuanying couldn¡¯t help asking: ¡°Qing Que, don¡¯t you want to go?¡±


    Even if Li Tai didn¡¯t want to, he wouldn¡¯t tell Li Yuanying. He made the same statement: ¡°Father was illst year. If I go, I won¡¯t be able to see Father every day. I¡¯m worried.¡±


    Yuanying felt that this argument did not make sense: ¡°You are not a doctor, so what if you meet the emperor every day? There are imperial doctors for treatment, servants for the pce,dies from the harem, Sizi, and Xiang¡¯er forpany. Nothing iscking without you.¡±


    Li Tai fell silent.


    ¡°If I were you, I would have begged to go. What¡¯s the use of staying in Chang¡¯an? Everything is found in Chang¡¯an and you are not needed for writing or military might. How boring! Going out will be different. Being away, you can bnce your own ie and expenses, manage your ownnds and do whatever you want. Train yourself up. Anyway, I have been persuading Zhi Nu to leave early.¡±


    Tea is ready and the maid respectfully brought them to the princes.


    Seeing that Li Tai was silent, Li Yuanying roughly understood why he wanted to talk to him.


    ¡°Some people see that you are loved by the emperor, and have move closer to you and encourage you to do this and that. Do these people value you? Not at all! Another day, if someone else is favoured, they will abandon you and go to that someone else ¡± He snorted, ¡°I won¡¯t make such ¡®friends¡¯, you can but don¡¯t be crying in the future and find no one.¡±


    Those who has status in Chang¡¯an didn¡¯t get it easily. No matter how high Li Tai¡¯s reputation is, once he loses the favour of the Emperor these people will scatter like birds and might even step on you a few times while doing so!


    In all honesty, Li Yuanying himself has random different ideas daily. He doesn¡¯t believe that the Emperor¡¯s favour will stay with the same person forever.


    Li Tai¡¯s eyes were heavy, and his expression gloomy.


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t care about Li Tai¡¯s unfriendly eyes. He drank the tea in front of him slowly, then put down the bowl: ¡°You don¡¯t have to beat around the bush. It is indeed I who persuaded the Emperor. I think it¡¯s better for you to leave.¡± He looked at Li Tai and slowly expressed his opinion: ¡°Brother must think the same too, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t let you go. He¡¯s your father and the you are the one he favours the most.¡±


    After speaking, Li Yuanying got up to leave.


    Li Tai watched him walk away, feeling angry. He raised his hand to sweep away the untouched bowl of tea.


    Bang!


    The teacup shattered.


    The faint green tea sshed all over the floor.


    Good to leave for the fiefdom? After leaving Chang¡¯an, who will still remember Prince Wei? Who would still think that he canpete with the crown prince?!


    All his hard work was in vain!


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: I don¡¯t know why, but my fourth nephew is very angry every day ~ I can¡¯t figure it out~ I can¡¯t figure it out ~

 Chapter 105

    Chapter 105


    After his 2-day vacation, Li Yuanying returned to school. Just like what he told Li Tai, he believes that the Emperor favour is not reliable, people¡¯s praises are not reliable. The only way to do well is to depend on yourself to learn more knowledge and get plenty of experience to establish yourself in this world.


    Li Yuanying happily dusted his butt and went back to school but the outside world was in a storm from his actions.


    The news about the Emperor¡¯s decision to send away Prince Wei were made known to many; some were happy and some sad. Those who were devastated were naturally Li Tai¡¯s supporters. If Li Tai leaves the Capital, will the Emperor still favours him so much? Will Li Tai still have hope in fighting for the throne with the Crown Prince?


    Many supported Li Tai because he was the Emperor¡¯s favourite son. He was awarded a literary hall at a young age, all his expenses were simr to that of a Crown Prince and a few years ago he was helping to manage the Capital city. With that, why wouldn¡¯t those who can¡¯t get favour from the Crown Prince join his team?


    Now with the Emperor¡¯s new decision, this had thrown off many people¡¯s n. Although Prince Wei had the best and biggest fiefdom among all princes and the Emperor will reserve the best men to serve him, but Perfecture Xiang is not Chang¡¯an. Once a person is far away, everything will change!


    In the past Li Tai was allowed to stay mainly because of the Emperor¡¯s love. Now that his Majesty has decided, what can we say to change his decision and keep Prince Wei in the Capital?


    There were a few intelligent supporters among Prince Wei¡¯s men. He gave Li Tai a suggestion to make his wife pregnant to dy things for a few months. Let¡¯s n again slowly!


    Li Tai bought the idea and spent many nights with her. Coincidently, the princess¡¯s period was dyed. Li Tai was overjoyed and immediately went to inform his father about this happy news but with a worrisome expression: ¡°This child came at a bad timing.¡±


    Li Er being middle aged naturally loved children. ¡°What do you mean bad timing?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t father ask us to pick a date to move out? The first few months of pregnancy is the most unstable, I wonder if this trip will hurt the baby.¡±


    Li Er was worried too. He quickly informed Li Chung Feng not to pick a date yet. After all, Li Tai had stayed around for so many months, let¡¯s postpone the n until after the baby is born!


    ¡°Although this is not your first child you still need to pay much attention.¡±


    The Emperor motioned for Li Tai to leave and not to worry about anything. He even rewarded him with many gifts.


    Li Tai happily returned home and quickly inform his wife that they will no be moving.


    Princess Yan softly touches her belly after her husband had left. She did so until Little Round Ball came looking for her with food in his hands.


    ¡°Eat! This is delicious!¡±


    Princess Yan finally came to her senses and hugged her child tightly and ate the snack he brought over.


    ¡°Indeed, it is delicious.¡±


    Little Round Ball was happy.


    Princess Yan smiled along but had a subtle worried look.


    Even though the closest person to her did not share his n fully, she could have guessed his intentions. Initially she was d to be able to leave everything behind, but her husband used their unborn child as a chess piece.


    She can only hope that all will be well.


    ¡­¡­


    Li Chung Feng was tasked with calcting a good day to send off Prince Wei but got to know the job is cancelled. He was a little troubled only to find out that the dy was due to the princess¡¯s pregnancy.


    Li Yuanying did briefly drop by to mention to him that this was his suggestion to the Emperor and requested for Li Chung Feng to choose an auspicious date, do not choose a rainy or windy day. If he did so then it would be Little Round Ball who would be suffering.


    Knowing that Prince Wei¡¯s trip is dyed, Li Chung Feng sighed.


    Prince Teng¡¯s action was for the good of the Li Family but not everyone would buy it. Now that Li Tai is staying back, it is inevitable that he would bite back. And he would bite back very hard, otherwise it would not be good enough to soothe the hardship he faced in this period.


    Such a person even a child like Li Yuanying can decipher, many would be able to do the same. It is just that most people had ulterior motives, had been observing and had been picking sides. Some were not interested to join any sides. In short, no one else would say such direct things to the Emperor.


    Li Chung Feng and Prince Teng had a 20 year age gap but had many things inmon. Hearing this news, he requested that one of his men write to Dong XiaoYi to inform Prince Teng about this news about Prince Wei dying his travel.


    Yuanying received the letter while he was having a discussion with Tang Xuan and friends. Seeing the white bird that was gifted to him by Li Jing, he moved away from his friends and sat on a big rock to read the letter. When he was done, he slowly tears the letter into pieces and fed them to the fish swimming in the pond. After he was done, he sat there quietly looking at the fish swim.


    Haih¡­ what a waste of my saliva.


    While he was deep in thoughts, he heard Tang Guan¡¯s voice: ¡°It¡¯s your turn to take up duty.¡±


    Yuanying turned around, his ssmate still had an unfriendly stern look. He jumped off from the big rock and spoke: ¡°Seriously, why did I give this idea to the teachers. Now I have to go on duty, it¡¯s so tiring!¡±


    ¡°You not only gave this idea. You also told the teachers to have a small test every month and a big one every three months. We are going to have our monthly test soon.¡±


    Yuanying insisted on keeping the fact that this action was to mess with Wei Ying a secret.


    ¡°Exams are great. Wouldn¡¯t you want to test yourself after learning so much? You need exams to analyse how much you really understand a topic! I really love exams!¡±


    Tang Guan was toozy to deal with this kid.


    Since there was someone willing to listen to him, Yuanying spoke to Tang Guan the whole way back.


    Once he met up with Tang Xuan and Di Renjie, he quickly threw Tang Guan away and happily went on duty.


    While he said that being on duty is tiring, he was excited and enthusiastic when he did it. He seriously went around learning about this and that. If he sees something he was interested in, he stayed back and asked a ton of questions and refused to leave. It was only when Tang Xuan was done and came to pull him away did the boy move on.


    When ites to Li Yuanying¡¯s attitude, many people saw it but didn¡¯t say much. After all he is just a child. No one should be expecting him to really be aw-abiding student.


    In fact, many were surprised by his good performance already!


    ¡­¡­.


    The days in the Academy was peaceful but rumours were already spreading in the outside world but these weren¡¯t bad rumours. They all centred around the good rtionship of the Crown Prince and Prince Teng; who did everything together, opening a library, helping refugees, sponsoring the Imperial Academy. Everywhere you go you¡¯re bound to see their shadows. Everyone that brings up the duo had goodments for them ¨C Benevolent and love their citizens like themselves.


    Li Yuanying¡¯s essay from his first monthly exam was leaked out into society and this got him even more praises. Many said that he was very talented and bright as if he was a bright star that came down to earth from the skies!


    Hearing all these praises made the boy feel good about himself. In the past his reputation was tied to being a demon king but now people praise him for his talent, and some even wrote poetry about him. It¡¯s truly amazing!


    Wu Mei heard about these rumours too. As night came, she sat near themp with Wei Shu discussing the things that they have heard in daytime.


    For a Vassal Prince it is not a problem to have bad reputation, just put up with a few naggings about it. But to have an incredibly good reputation is a big problem. Why should a mere vassal prince do with it?


    Wu Mei has interacted much more with the Emperor than Wei Shu and knows him better than her.


    She expressed her thoughts to Wei Shu with some anxiety: ¡°Building a library and giving shelter to refugees were done so long ago. No one brought these up in the past but now people are suddenly exaggerating. I think someone did this on purpose.¡±


    Wei Shu is Wei Zheng¡¯s granddaughter. Although grandfather gives people the feeling of being able to speak and advise, she knows that grandmother is worried about him every day. After all, the Emperor is someone who has dragged out his courtiers to be executed in a fit of anger in the past.


    Someone sitting at such a high position will always have suspicion in his heart.


    Wei Shu frowned: ¡°Is someone targeting His Highness?¡±


    Wu Mei nodded.


    Who?


    Both of them fell into deep thoughts. These are obviously overrated praises aimed not only at Li Yuanying but also at the Crown Prince! His Majesty is in his prime, if the crown prince wins the hearts of the people and gathers them together early, what will His Majesty think?


    Both girls were going to remind Yuanying about this the next day, but someone beat them to it that night itself.


    Yuanying was assigned under Tang Guan¡¯s team and were to stand guard at night at the dormitories together. The moonlight was quiet, and both boys walked together with antern. Yuanying¡¯s mouth wouldn¡¯t stop bbering about the poems written about him and proudly told Tang Guan that although these poems were not superior works, they wrote great praises which is great!


    Tang Guan¡¯s father is a senior member at court. Although he hastely been addicted to vices and had no heart to work, Tang Guan has learned lots from him since young. Seeing Li Yuanying so ck and not vignt, Tang Guan stops and looked at him seriously.


    Yuanying wondered: ¡°Why did you stop?¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t something to be happy about. Don¡¯t be toocent and be careful not to dragged his Highness the Crown Prince with you.¡±


    Why.


    Tang Guan shared his interpretation of the situation to him. There is no such thing as a father or a brother¡¯s bond after bing the king of a country; the position of crown prince is the most difficult to secure. If you¡¯re overly useless you will be scolded but if you are too outstanding, you will be feared. In conclusion being useless or outstanding will put you in a difficult situation but it is safer to be humble at the early stage. As long as you are a good son, you will survive until the time of session. If you showed too much talent too early, you might not live long!


    ¡°There is no such reason. Chengqian is the emperor¡¯s own child.¡± Said Yuanying with a gloomy expression.


    How can a father be unhappy that his son is outstanding?


    Tang Guan stopped sharing at this point.


    Li Yuanying quietly looked at the dark road ahead before catching up to Tang Guan who had already walked a distance away.


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: I can¡¯t be happy when other¡¯s praises me, that¡¯s unreasonable!

 Chapter 106

    Chapter 106


    During the night watch, Li Yuanying was quieter than usual, and Tang Guan was not used to it. He suddenly remembered Li Yuanying sitting by the pond side feeding fish with paper crumbles that day. He didn¡¯t know what was written on the shredded paper, but he knew that it was definitely not good news.


    This seemingly naive Prince Teng is actually not so naive sometimes. He can make sense of things if you break it up and exin things to him. It¡¯s just that many would often choose not to think. After all, to live with anxiety or to live care-freely the day will still pass. Who doesn¡¯t want to choose a rxed way to live?


    Tang Guan thought that Li Yuanying wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep but he fell into deep sleep after lying down without a worry.


    The next day, Yuanying woke up very early without needing Tang Xuan to wake him up. He followed his group to the school grounds to practice archery. He shot an arrow and was able to target with better uracy than when he first started and was able to draw a heavier bow.


    Li Yuanying even went to Tang Guan¡¯s side to show off, saying that he wanted topete! Tang Guan is good at everything but his skills in archery was very ordinary and was a bit behind Tang Xuan and the others.


    Tang Guan felt that this guy was really heartless, and he wasted his time cautioning him for nothing. But they were both kids and he couldn¡¯t stand the thought of backing away from a challenge. Seeing Li Yuanying¡¯s triumphant appearance, he becamepetitive and wanted topete with him in everything.


    By the end of morning ss, both were exhausted frompeting and went together to the cafeteria for breakfast.


    Tang Guan didn¡¯t specifically go looking for Du He and his group. He sat with at Yuanying¡¯s invitation and chatted with Yuanying¡¯s circle of friends.


    In terms of family background, Tang Guan is far different from the children from humble homes but his temper also do not allow him to social much with the rich brats and he usually has nothing much inmon with Du He and his friends. The only reason he hangs out with them was because their fathers are acquaintances and they were all supporting the Crown Prince.


    Even though both boys were getting closer, Du He¡¯s gang didn¡¯t say anything. After all the Crown Prince and Li Yuanying are close and so Li Yuanying is considered to be on his side!


    Du He didn¡¯t respond but Fang Jun noticed and spread this news to the outside world. While Fang Yi was always on duty by the Crown prince¡¯s side, Fang Jun is actually close to Li Tai in private. The two Fang brothers each ced bets on both sides and wouldn¡¯t let go!


    Many of Li Yuanying¡¯s actions at the Academy were leaked by Fang Jun. Ever since Li Yuanying took Gao Yang to Wancui Mansion and got him in trouble, Fang Jun didn¡¯t like Li Yuanying very much.


    Once he found out that it was Prince Teng who persuaded His Majesty to shift Li Tai away which almost ruined their n, Fang Jun took up the initiative to watch Li Yuanying¡¯s every move. After all isn¡¯t Prince Teng¡¯s reckless behaviour in the Academy because of the Emperor¡¯s backing? Let him bask in glory! The higher you climb, the harder you fall!


    Yuanying did even think that Li Tai had spies in the academy. He was invited by Wu Mei over to their yard for a chat and he unveiled even more ¡°praise¡± from Wu Mei and Wei Shu. If it wasn¡¯t for his own self-awareness and Tang Guan¡¯s wordsst night, he would definitely still be in a trance from all thepliments.


    ¡°I think Prince Wei is behind this.¡± (Wu Mei)


    Yuanying sat under the pavilion without saying a word.


    One should wonder if it¡¯s a blessing or a curse to be born into the Royal family. If they hadn¡¯t been born into the Li family, they might have worked hard all their lives and still not have the good life they had now. But being born with such privileges still made them all dissatisfied. They want this and that, how can you have the best of both world?


    ¡°People are greedy.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    His imperial brother won the world from his tragic fight with his siblings and father, he is indeed greedy. He now wants to be known for his achievements for eternity but also want to be a kind father and brother.


    Fourth nephew has his father¡¯s love and adoration, enjoying the same treatment as the Crown Prince but still wanted to go further.


    If you can get everything, who wouldn¡¯t want it?


    Li Yuanying was also greedy. He wanted his mother to live a good life, wanted to take care of his nephews and nieces ording to histe sister-inw¡¯s entrustment, and wanted to y happily. He wants this and that and that too.


    ¡°I¡¯m the same too.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Wu Mei and Wei Shu both looked at him.


    Li Yuanying put away all the information he got from Wu Mei and Wei Shu and asked: ¡°You didn¡¯t tell Cheng Yang about these things, did you?¡±


    Wu Mei shook her head.


    Although Wei Shu is younger, she can keep up better with Wu Mei so they didn¡¯t share this with Cheng Yang.


    Wu Mei had another reason why she did so. To talk about Cheng Yang¡¯s father and brother like that is to suspect her family of ill intentions in front of her. Whether it was due to emotions or logic, they shouldn¡¯t do such a thing. They waited for Cheng Yang and Jin Shengman to be busy looking for a book before meeting with the boy.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let her know.¡±


    Yuanying told both not to worry, he has his own way of solving this.


    The girls looked at each other and nodded in response.


    Although Li Yuanying loves to y and make trouble, he had a way of solving his problems. Since he is confident in resolving this, they will say no more.


    As he was about to leave, Chengyang and Jin Shengman came back with books in their hands. Yuanying happily went up to them and asked what they had borrowed.


    Cheng Yang showed him the book and asked what he was doing here.


    Yuanying and the 2 girls had discussed how to answer this smoothly: ¡°I¡¯m here to discuss a few math problems with Mei Niang. You know me, if I don¡¯t solve it now, I¡¯ll be restless.¡±


    Cheng Yang nodded.


    Yuanying said that he still had work to attend to and left after Cheng Yang went inside. He took a pen and started sorting all the writings singing his praises into a thick booklet. The white bird from Li Jing wouldn¡¯t be able to handle such a heavy book and so Li Yuanying went straight to Kong Yingda.


    Kong Yingda hadn¡¯t spoken to Prince Teng in person for a long time already. Seeing this visitor, he invited him to sit down for a drink and asked why he came over.


    Yuanying went direct to the point. He took out a neatly arranged thick booklet. At time like this he thinks it¡¯s a pity that Dai Ting is not home yet. Otherwise with Dai Ting¡¯s ability he would be able to collect even more information and the booklet will be even thicker.


    Yuanying shared his intentions openly. ¡°I want to present this to my Imperial brother. But I¡¯m a good student who can¡¯t leave the Academy as I like. Right? So, can you please pass this on my behalf to my brother, your are a Chancellor and spend much time at the Imperial Court. Help me deliver this please!¡±


    It¡¯s not a big favour to ask but he can¡¯t just randomly send things to the Emperor.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°This is a booklet that Ipiled on my own, it is filled with poems that I personally like. Lately wherever I go I hear them, as if it had spread all over Chang¡¯an overnight!¡±


    Kong Yingda had been rather busytely and had not paid attention to the rumors in town. Hearing this, he became curious. He opens the book and the first thing he realised is that the boy¡¯s handwriting had greatly improved. It is no wonder the Calligraphy lecturer all wanted to teach him.


    After he had finished the first poem, Kong Yingda had an odd expression: This poem is written very literally and is easy to be spread orally, its content are all praises for the Crown prince and Prince Teng!


    Continuing on further, the main topic remained the same. All collections talk about the goodness of the main characters as if they were gods who came to earth. With a Crown Prince like this is the country¡¯s blessing and a Prince Teng like this is the heavens taking care of Tang.


    It is also rumoured that Prince Teng had found a dragon bone which is as high as a few storeys and looks majestic. Even Dragon Bones appear in front of Prince Teng, if Prince Teng isn¡¯t a lucky star what is?


    This touches on auspicious signs from heaven.


    In normal circumstances, men would only rte auspicious signs to the Emperor alone, never about the Royal family. You found a dragon but you¡¯re not the Ruler or the Crown prince, so whatyou¡¯re your intentions?!


    Kong Yingda felt a sense of coldness and look at the boys with a strict expression.


    Li Yunaying stared back calmly.


    Judging logically, Kong Yingda never liked the little demon king in the past. All other princes were able to sit obediently in ss except for him. He gave them no peace, always climbing trees or sneaking away to y. But the boy had been rather well behaved thisst 2 years, he had done many useful things and Kong Yingda had a change of heart regarding his judgement of this child.


    Lately the boy had been quietly attending sses at the Academy, but such rumour had spread. Kong Yingda isn¡¯t going to believe no one is behind this.


    Prince Teng had indeed participated in these things, but hadn¡¯t he always kept the Emperor informed and had gotten his permission? Getting volunteers to open up a library was instructed by the Emperor himself, didn¡¯t his Majesty write the signboard himself!


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll send this up for you.¡±


    Since Li Yuanying has been sessfully admitted into the Academy, then he is a student of the Academy. Kong Yingda might not be the highest ranking official, but he will still not allow his students to be bullied! It didn¡¯t matter who was behind this, he will bring this up with the Emperor!

 Chapter 107

    Chapter 107


    Li Er had been rather freetely. There were no major wars or natural disasters. He even had the good news of getting another grandchild. He was in a very good mood.


    He hadn¡¯t gone back to the Imperial Academy to visit his younger brother as the heartless kid had overstep the line. He must had over-spoilt him, that¡¯s why he dares to say anything under the sun.


    QingQue is a good child, even if I send him away all he did was cried saying he will miss us. Does he sound like someone with ulterior motives? The only reason he is still in town is because his wife is now pregnant. He was the one who told Qing Que to stay, his child didn¡¯t suggest this.


    When Kong Yingda asked to meet the Emperor, he was with Li Tai and father and son had good chemistry.


    Hearing that Chancellor Kong is here, Li Tai took the hint and excused himself to return home to read. His Majesty nodded in agreement and invited Kong Yingda in.


    As he had just chit chat with his beloved son, the Emperor was in a fantastic mood and had a smile on his face. He invited Chancellor Kong to sit down.


    ¡°Minister Kong, what is it?¡±


    Kong Yingda sat down with a serious expression and show the Emperor a thick book.


    ¡°Your Majesty! Please look though this first.¡±


    Li Er didn¡¯t understand but he followed the instructions and red the book. His initial calm expression turned sour. Before he could finish the whole book, he threw it on the ground.


    ¡°Minister Kong, where did you get this?¡±


    ¡°Prince Teng gave it to me.¡± He continued on calmly. ¡°I told my men to find out more and got to know that these rumours had been spreading widely in Chang¡¯an. The songs are widely sung bymoners. Your humble servant thinks that this is not just a coincident. Please have this investigated further.¡±


    The Emperor had a poker face.


    He remembers that Chancellor Kong never liked Li Yuanying in the past but now that the kid had only been studying in the Academy for 2 months, his teacher is standing up for him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get people to probe further into this.¡±


    Kong Yingda left after receiving a reply from the Emperor.


    Li Er sat alone quietly and finished up the entire book. He look through it again and saw beautifully written words which was vastly different from the ugly handwriting that his brother used to have. Looks like he has improved. The image of Li Yuanying paying full respect to the Emperor shed in his mind again. Don¡¯t be fooled by the kid¡¯s yful demeanour, he actually has big attitude. If I do not give him justice, I¡¯m afraid he will run away saying he will never return again.


    Who has such big influence to make so many spread such rumors?


    Who has such ability to use the Crown Prince and Prince Teng under the watchful eyes of the Emperor?


    The answer is apparent but the Emperor refuses to think deep. He instructed his men to investigate this and put away the book.


    ¡­¡­


    The other main character, Li Chengqian had been very busytely. This is mainly because young uncle gave him a list of tasks before he left back to school. Although he didn¡¯t have to rule on behalf of the Emperor since he is not on vacation, he still had many responsibilities to deal with.


    For example, the responsibility of some camels and elephants at the XiangCheng Pce.


    Li Chengqian thought that they were just to simply rear some livestock but he realized was too naive when he visited the ce.


    Li Yuanying encircled the entire area around Xiangcheng Pce and raised all kinds of birds and animals in different enclosures. Just horses alone, he kept many species and on top of that cattle and sheep too. Because the ce is big, Yuanying allocated arge area for the horses and got in people to research how best to raise them to get the best quality of meat and poultry.


    Adding on, someone mentioned to the Prince that he was good at raising turtles and so Yuanying dug various ponds to investigate which species of turtle were the best to breed. And then another person said that its good to grow lotus root in the pond, and another said to grow mulberries beside the pond. As a result multiple ponds were dug up separately.


    Li Chengqian walked around and found 30 ponds, which all looked very spectacr. If it weren¡¯t for the abundance of water avable, these ponds alone would all drain the water in the surrounding area!


    Those following the Crown Prince to check out this new ce like Fang Yizhi were all stunned. Li Yuanying is truly loaded if he can try this and that on other¡¯s simple suggestion. Isn¡¯t he afraid of losing money?


    Chengqian stayed at Xiangcheng Pce for a few days. While it was a hot and dry area, there were many interesting things to explore. He could ride a different horse for ten days without repetition which is refreshing for him. The same concept applies to food here, after spring everything that flies or walks or swims were well bred. Harvests from the trees, mountains, and field were all sweet.


    The main mission for Chengqian this time is to open up a branch of Feng Thai Restaurant at Xiangcheng Pce.


    The breeding research done here will not show results in the next year or two. To invest big sums here over long period is not sound and so this ce should be built to generate ie and be self-sustaining. There are plenty of meat, vegetables, fruits and other local produce here. If visitors who came here for food found a horse or a bird that they like, they can then make a purchase. As long as they can attract guests, Xiangcheng Pce will be self-sustaining!


    Of course Li Chengqian isn¡¯t here to do business, the officials would stone him. He is just entrusted by his young uncle to follow up on the progress of the renovation at the Pce and he has by the way just invited the children from aristocratic families to join him here for a good time in small batches.


    Li Chengqian invited several groups of people one after another, and had a great time. The groups all had lots of fun as this pce is huge and had many fun things avable to do over a few days. Chengqian invited different people every day and those who were invited over once would be waiting to visit again when this ce is opened to public.


    Getting an invitation from the Crown Prince is a big honor. They would usually return home blowing their horns bragging about how the prince was friendly, how he talked to them, and also praised the scenery and food at Xiangcheng Pce. Feng Thai restaurant is indeed the exclusive meal provided for the Imperial College, everything is delicious.


    After Chengqian had had enough fun, he returned to Chang¡¯an.


    As soon as Chengqian left, Xiangcheng Pce became lively. It was a good weather and the ice melted, it¡¯s the perfect time for an outing. Where should you go? Let¡¯s go to Xiangcheng Pce for a fresh experience!


    Only after returning did Chengqian realized that there was rumour being spread across the Capital about him and Li Yuanying together. He was also informed that it was young uncle who proposed to the Emperor to move Li Tai away and his Majesty took his suggestions. It was only due to Princess Yan¡¯s sudden pregnancy that such a n was put on hold.


    If he found out about this earlier, he would have been quite emotional. But now that things are already like this, his heart remained calm. It¡¯s hasn¡¯t just been a day or two that father favours Li Tai.


    Chengqian didn¡¯t travel withdies in waiting and so the trip back to Chang¡¯an took less time. As soon as he returned, Chengqian visited the Emperor to update him about Xiangcheng Pce.


    With much effort from the snake catchers, all the poisonous snakes at Xiangcheng Pce were turned into soup. Even the snake eggs were roasted. The plight of the aborigines living there previously were so pitiful that it will make you shed tears! Now the ce is filled with many projects and had many activities. When Summeres, many birds returning north will visit the ce and those who are friendly to humans can be brought home as pets!


    Thest trip to Xiangcheng Pce left bad memories for the Emperor. Hearing all this, Li Er wonders if he should praise his younger brother for his quick thinking. A proper pce became a good ce to eat, drink and have fun after he took over!


    If Li Yuanying continues to operate it like this, Xiangcheng Pce might be arge amusement park near Luoyang; the kind that one can eat and y for several days at once!


    When Chengqian talked about this, his eyes were full of smiles and he was no longer his usual sullen self. Li Er saw that his eldest son¡¯s eyebrows and eyes were actually somewhat simr to histe mother¡¯s.


    Li Er also softened his tone and chatted with Chengqian for a while.


    After Chengqian had left, Li Er thought about all the things that had happenedtely.


    If no one made a fuss about Li Yuanying¡¯s action these few years, he wouldn¡¯t have noticed that Yuanying included Chengqian in everything he did: When he open a library, Chengqian was the one who officiated it¡¯s opening ceremony; when he started a newsletter he included Chengqian as one of the first feature, he took Chengqian with him to take care of refugees and also entrusted him to renovate Xiangcheng Pce.


    In the eyes of others, Li Yuanying is unnervingly standing on Chengqian¡¯s side, paving opportunities for him and gaining a good reputation for himself.


    If Chengqian seeds the throne in the future, he will be a hero!


    But really, does Li Yuanying really cares about the merits of being a hero?


    With his younger brother constantly hinting about leaving every day, His Majesty thinks the possibility is not high. The biggest possibility is that someone really dislikes him and wants to get him in trouble. Conveniently that someone also wants the Emperor to be suspicious about Chengqian.


    Who would specte like this?


    Who would want to use this method to drive a wedge between him and Chengqian?


    Who would think that the Emperor will not tolerate his son and younger brother bing famous like this?


    Li Er closed his eyes.


    Since he has instructed his men to thoroughly investigated the rumors, the answer will be known soon. Until then, he will not specte.


    After lunch, His Majesty visited the Imperial College. This time he did not bring anyone with him.


    Upon arrival, Li Er sat alone in the quiet room and asked someone to find Li Yuanying.


    Yuanying heard that His Majesty was looking for him, so he excused himself.


    The brothers haven¡¯t seen each other for days, but after meeting, they had lost the intimacy they used to have.


    Li Yuanying sat without saying a word, waiting for His Majesty to speak.


    Li Er didn¡¯t speak, he just kept observing.


    In the end, it was Yuanying who couldn¡¯t hold back: ¡°Brother, what do you want from me? If it¡¯s nothing, I¡¯m leaving, I want to read!¡±


    ¡°You have quite an attitude.¡±


    Li Yuanying firmly denied it: ¡°I don¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°No?¡± He pushed the book that was passed to him through Kong Yingda onto the table, ¡°When you were writing these down, were you also thinking that if I don¡¯t give uphold justice for you, you would just run away and nevere back?¡±


    Li Yuanying was taken aback.


    How did Brother figure this out?


    Li Er held back his expression as he didn¡¯t realize that he had guessed correctly.


    ¡°Do you think you can hide your little thoughts from me?¡±


    Yuanying remained silent.


    Li Er beckoned him to sit closer.


    Yuanying obediently sat next to His Majesty. It was fine when the Emperor didn¡¯t scold him but now that he did the boy¡¯s eyes became red and tears fell down.


    These days, he felt wronged. He felt that it would be best for everyone if his fourth nephew leaves so he persuaded the Emperor. But fourth nephew didn¡¯t want to go and he now hates him. Tang Guan and Mei Niang both said that they were both not close rtives. Half-brothers, there are more than a dozen brothers like him, he shouldn¡¯t have tried for it is useless.


    He is quite annoying and many people dislike him since young.


    But he doesn¡¯t like them either.


    But Brother is different.


    If Big Brother doesn¡¯t like him anymore, he will leave and nevere back to feel sad.


    Li Er didn¡¯t expect Yuanying to cry suddenly. He just cried but didn¡¯t say anything. Since he became Emperor, many had to care for his emotions but he rarely had to console others. He didn¡¯t have much experience, so he could only promise bluntly: ¡°You are 12 now, stop crying like a child. I will definitely give you an exnation.¡±


    Li Yuanying raised his head to look at Li Er, his eyes were red, his nose was red, his face wet. He looked embarrassed and pitiful.


    He sniffed his nose and choked: ¡°I am just a child.¡±


    Li Er looked at his brother¡¯s face stained with tears: ¡°At your age, you can almost get married. So shameless to im that you¡¯re still a child.¡±


    After crying he felt better. Yuanying wiped away his tears, took Li Er¡¯s hand and said seriously: ¡°I don¡¯t need Brother to give me any exnation, I just want Brother to tell me clearly when he doesn¡¯t want to see me anymore. Tell me. Don¡¯t assume that I am bad, don¡¯t suspect that I¡¯m going to do bad things and don¡¯t say anything. As long as Brother tells me I¡¯m not wanted, I¡¯ll go as far away as you would let me and never return.¡±


    Li Er met Li Yuanying¡¯s red eyes.


    This kid is so daring to utter such things.


    Sometimes the Emperor doesn¡¯t trust himself very much. What he likes today he might hate tomorrow. Can he never be suspicious of this younger brother and let him do whatever he wants? If one day he really do be suspicious, will he tell him the truth or cut his wings mercilessly?


    Li Er stared at Li Yuanying for a moment and finally promised: ¡°Okay, I promise you.¡±


    Just one younger brother, he can still afford to keep spoiled.


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: Sad, sad, I want hugs t^t

 Chapter 108:

    Chapter 108:


    Everyone has their own bias, who doesn¡¯t? Li Er is the same. His 2 older children he personally brought up and now that they are adults, one does all the right things and the other is rebellious. So who would he prefer? Of course the one who does things he approves off.


    Now that Li Yuanying is growing up and is actually a smart kid who does the things he put his heart to and respects his elder brother very much. He even dares to share things to him that no one else would and is willing to share his experiences sincerely. Li Er thinks that this is a good kid that he likes too.


    This incident, someone made the mistake of making it too obvious and the Emperor is no longer able to pretend to turn a blind eye to it.


    Although Li Yuanying out-rightly said that he doesn¡¯t need any exnation, the Emperor cannot just do as he wishes. This younger brother of his has been living his life wildly and is not a cry baby. No one dares to offend him or wrong this little prince anyway. Thest time Li Er has seen him crying so badly was when he snuck into his pce and saw the Emperor lying in bed sick.


    This time the child really do feel wronged.


    Li Er stayed at the Academy to console his younger brother before making a move.


    Hearing his older brother¡¯s promises, Yuanying became a happy child again. No matter how people praises him in the future, he doesn¡¯t need to worry anymore. Brother promised to make it known to him personally if he starts to doubt his loyalty. That shadow figure pulling string in the dark do not have ammunition to do so anymore!


    The Emperor¡¯s current trip to the Academy was seen by many.


    Mei Niang and the girls were the first to arrive. Seeing Yuanying¡¯s red eyes she questioned if the Emperor gave him a scolding.


    ¡°If Lord Brother doesn¡¯t scold me then I¡¯ll be worried.¡± He assured Mei Niang and Wei Shu. ¡°All is good, Lord brother will not be suspicious about me or Chengqian!¡±


    But why not? (Mei Niang)


    Yuanying shared the Emperor¡¯s promise to him to the girls.


    Mei Niang became quiet after hearing this. She didn¡¯t expect the boy to y ¡°tell me if you doubt me¡± card.


    But can the Emperor¡¯s words be trusted? She personally doubt so. But seeing the boy happy she didn¡¯t want to pour cold water on him. Perhaps people who are direct has their advantages too, that way no one would second guess their intentions since everything is said outright and there isn¡¯t much room for people to twist your words. Thinking about this on another level, those who has real skills perhaps the Emperor already has thoughts about them!


    It didn¡¯t matter how serious the outward situation is because in Li Yuanying¡¯s heart this is a settled matter. As long as his Lord brother doesn¡¯t believe the rumors, how others perceive him doesn¡¯t matter. What others think, don¡¯t bother him, let them think whatever they want!


    The Imperial Academy returned to a calm state but Chang¡¯an City had much action. It started with some aristocratic children being moved around, including Fang Jun who was moved from the Imperial Academy to the Royal Military for training. Based on hearsay, Old Man Fang had a troubled expression when he attended court sessiontely and look a few years older.


    The biggest news of all is that Prince Wei really is leaving to his ownnds.


    Most incidences are link, when a carrot is being pulled from the ground, it brings up dirt with it. Per Li Tai¡¯s preferred way of acting, he does most things in the shadows and rarely goes public. Therefore, his secret intentions to battle with the Crown Prince has been kept very much confidential.


    This round Li Tai has been so furious with Li Yuanying that he almost fainted. He has already managed to keep his footing in Chang¡¯an through his wife¡¯s pregnancy and just needed toy low for a few months. But Li Yuanying went ahead and confess to him that it was his idea to the Emperor to move Li Tai away and so he became the most hated person to Li Tai ahead of Li Chengqian.


    All these years, Li Tai has never treated Li Changqian with respect. In his eyes, Chengqian is just lucky to be born a year earlier. Comparing their education and talent, Chenqian cannotpare to himself. If youpare reputation, he is also better. If youpare father¡¯s love, he is winning too. Why is Li Chengqian the Crown Prince and not himself?


    Therefore when Li Yuanying made that suggestion to the Emperor, it severely ticked Li Tai off. How dare he? Why should Li Yuanying be able to influence father¡¯s decision? How dare he try to destroy his hard work of plotting all these years?


    This is the reason why Li Tai attacked young uncle in the shadows. He is unable to control his anger and wanted tosh back!


    The act of him spreading rumors were done in a hurry and had many shorings. If the Emperor were to investigate, he will find out the whole truth.


    The truth is one that Li Er is unwilling to ept. His beloved fourth son had secret ambitions of wanting to be the Crown Prince.


    With this, it will mean that all things that Li Tai did in the past were to aim for the position of Crown Prince. Just because Li Yuanying gave the suggestion to move Li Tai to another state, he aimed his hatred towards him and lost his patience and acted rashly giving away his ws!


    The amount of love Li Er had for Li Tai in the past is the same amount of disappointment he had in him now. His beloved QingQue is now fully grown and will never be the cute innocent child again. Yet he wanted to believe that their family rtionships will never change; in which father and son loved each other and siblings got along well, supporting each other.


    But then ¡­


    The heavenly family had no room for family love nor brotherly rtionships!


    Li Er instructed that Prince Wei will leave for his fief by mid-April while his pregnant wife and child will stay back in Chang¡¯an for the time being and travel only after the baby is born.


    Mid-April came at a blink of an eye. Li Tai was in a dazed since receiving the royal decree and stayed that way for many days. He only came to his senses a few days before his travelling date and ran into the pce to hug father¡¯s legs crying that he now knows his mistakes.


    Although Li Er patiently listen to all hisints and crying buy did not speak nicely with Li Tai like he usually would.


    ¡°You are now an adult and so will need to take on adult responsibilities.¡±


    Li Tai instantly knew that he couldn¡¯t change his fate and could only silently ept it.


    As Li Tai was about to leave, he found out that the chief secretary initially assigned to him by the Emperor had been reced by Quan Wanji. This Quan Wanji started off as an Imperial Censor and is well known for finding fault. A few years ago, he was tasked to be Prince Wu (Li Ke) chief secretary. When Li Ke went riding and identally trampled on some crops, he reported this incident without mercy. After that, Li Ke became fearful of doing everything and had to deal with such an official.


    While Quan Wanji was still the Imperial Censor, he did well too.


    For example, there was once a man named Li Hao De who spread rumour and was arrested. The officials in charged of justice Zhang YunGu initially wanted to let him off the hook by saying that he has mental issues and was having a breakdown. But Quan Wanji came forward and said that Zhang YunGu and Li Hao De¡¯s brother were friends and he was trying to protect Li Hao De.


    The Emperor became furious upon hearing this an executed Zhang YunGu. This was this incident that the Emperor regretted his actions and started a decree that execution should only be carried out on the 10 most serious and unforgivable crimes and all other sins needed to be trialed 3 times before a punishment is handed out.


    As for Quan Wanji, he naturally escape unharmed for he only spoke about truths with facts and justifications.


    From these incidents it can be concluded that Quan Wanji is not an easy person to get along with.


    Li Tai had a heavy heart but didn¡¯t dare to voice them out. Currently the Emperor is still angry and did not wish to speak to him. Even if he didn¡¯t like this Quan Wanji he had no way of getting rid of him currently.


    Quan Wanji wasn¡¯t happy with this arrangement too. He has already serve Prince Wu and now he had to serve Prince Wei; this is ateral move with no promotion. Furthermore all the bad things that Li Tai has been doing is now public knowledge. This once beloved prince by the Emperor has lost favour and Li Er do not wish to see him!


    Being in a bad mood is just a feeling, he still had to get to work. Quan Wanji made up his mind to pay close attention to Prince Wei and will not allow him to make any mistake. More than that, he needs to remove any ambition he had topete with the Crown Prince for the throne. The Emperor Li Er had already created such a history, his sons shouldn¡¯t learn to do the same.


    If Li Tai really didmit any wrongs that he is not suppose to, the first person to be found guilty would be him, the advisor to Prince Wei!


    To keep himself safe from troubles, he needs to make sure Prince Wei behaves.


    Li Chenqian being the Crown Prince had to personally send off his younger brother. Both siblings had not spoken in a long time. At the outer gate, Li Tai stood next to his carriage staring at Li Chengqian.


    Chenqian stood silently for awhile: ¡°Have a safe journey.¡±


    Li Tai had a smirk: ¡°I envy that you were born a year earlier.¡±


    Being born 1 year earlier made everything the Crown Prince do legit, which unlike him despite working hard everything amounts to nothing.


    ¡°I also envy that you were born a yearter.¡± (Li Chengqian)


    Born 1 yearte and allowed to live freely: cry whenever, y whenever. It didn¡¯t matter if it was grandfather or mother, everyone loved him. The amount of conversation father had with Li Tai in a day is more than a month that he spoke to Li Chengqian. If he was given a choice, why would he choose to be the Crown Prince? He would rather be like Li Yuanying, doing whatever he wanted and achieving whatever he puts his heart to. There is no high expectation to meet and life is easy and free.


    Li Tai did not answer to Li Chengqian¡¯s statement but climbed onto his carriage.


    The first night away from Chang¡¯an, Li Tai had a dream. He dreamed that they were still children living in the pce. The atmosphere in the pce suddenly became tense and everyone¡¯s faces were covered with tension and solemnity. Both brothers sensed that something was wrong but motherforted them saying all is okay. Go back to sleep and all would be fine when they wake up. Sure enough, when they woke up, everything has changed.


    Cousins who they often yed with all disappear.


    They found out the reason their cousins had gone missing from servants who let news identally slip.


    They were all dead.


    Papa is now King.


    Therefore, being the Crown Prince can also mean death.


    Li Tai open his eyes in shock.


    The sky has turned white.


    Its daybreak.


    It was also on this day that Li Er ordered an edict to restore thete Prince Ying as crown prince, and to make Li Yuanji Prince of Chao.

 Chapter 109:

    Chapter 109:


    Li Yuanying quickly got news about the outside world. Learning that Li Tai has left for his fiefdom, he sat quietly for a long time.


    He¡¯s not sure if it¡¯s the right thing for him to step in and meddle in this issue but he couldn¡¯t hold back and not say anything about this situation. Remembering his mother back in the pce, all the friends that he had met and all the people following under him like Dai Ting, Li Yuanying sighed. He is taking a gamble, betting that his brother¡¯s love for the stability of country is greater than his love for his beloved fourth son. Betting that his brother had some love for him. And luckily, he won this time.


    But there¡¯s just nothing to be happy about winning this bet. There isn¡¯t a happy party from this whole incident. But with the fourth prince away the uing days should be calm with not much rain and storm.


    Li Yuanying felt better and joined his friends to wait for their monthly test results.


    The Academy achieved great results this year and the teachers became more strict to ensure that next year¡¯s results will be as good so that the school¡¯s reputation will not be tarnished!


    FengThai Restaurant now uses the Imperial College as its main source of advertisement and so Li Yuanying is naturally concern about academic performances. Not only will he actively supervise his friends to rest and exercise well, he also influenced the Student Association to organize study groups. In addition to attending sses and eating every day, he gathers a group of students to engage in special discussions together.


    The Imperial College is full of youth under twenty. Being in their prime, students naturally speak freely expressing their opinions. With 2 months of constant debate and discussion, many new ideas and opinions have emerged.


    The most amazing thing about Li Yuanying is his well connected rtionships. He is friends with many students from all majors of study and pulls them together to explore difficult questions. That way troublesome problems are solved quickly bybining talents. Different ideas and thoughts blending with each other, creating a new insights for those involved.


    Wei Shu¡¯s group also joined in these discussions but they spent more time documenting down new ideas and segregating them into groups.


    The group gradually became quiterge in numbers andprises of both children of government officials and students from poorer background and the only 4 female student in the whole academy, gaining much attention.


    This group also scored well in the monthly test. The main reason being that the Emperor prefers having practical talents who can be used immediately. Those who are only book smart and have stagnant ideas must be moved to the back to make way for people with great ideas. Li Yuanying and his group happened to be like a pool of living water with extremely lively thoughts!


    But of course there were also people who has fallen behind like Li Yuanying. His ideas were too unconventional. He wrote eloquently, saying that men and women are the same, and suggested that girls should also be allowed to take part in the imperial examination; especially females who have already been educated. They should be given a chance to perform and to make full use of all outstanding talents avable.


    Yuanying was not convinced with his low grades so he went to meet Dr. Ma intending to argue his case.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my article? People like Mei Niang is super smart, shouldn¡¯t they be given equal opportunities? How many men can im to do as well as her at reading or making decisions.¡±


    ¡°They are a minority¡±


    ¡°I think smart men are a minority too. Every year if we have just 1 or 2 people as smart as Mei Niang and Wei Shu, it is already enough!¡±


    ¡°Are you sure, every year there will be 1 or 2 like that?¡±


    Li Yuanying thought hard, he has lived for 12 years and had only met a handful of smart people. Indeed there isn¡¯t many. But he still didn¡¯t want to back down: ¡°Anyway this is leaving out talents in the wild. No good! No good!¡±


    ¡°Even if I allow women to take the exams it will still be useless. Girls from poor families are illiterate. As for those from aristocratic families, why would they want to take the Imperial exams? Their dowry are at least a couple of hundred thousands and they live luxurious free lives, why would they want toe here and suffer? Even if you managed to pass the exams, you start from ground up. Promotions are not certain, is it worth it for them to give up their life of luxury and do this?¡±


    ¡°Sister Shu and the rest are willing. What¡¯s so fun about living in the same old mansion for life? The world outside is huge, don¡¯t tell me only boys are allowed to see it but not girls?¡±


    Dr Ma shook his head. ¡°It has been like this since ancient past, how can we make changes so easily?¡±


    Li Yuanying tried very hard but still couldn¡¯t win over Dr. Ma¡¯s argument. He had to just bring home his results with bad grades.


    ¡­.¡­¡­


    Just as Li Tai left Chang¡¯an, Dai Ting and his party finally returned. They brought back many livestock, spices and medicinal herbs. An impressive team catching much attention. Before they arrived, news reached Louyang and Chang¡¯an that tea was sold well and they managed to exchange many livestock. That cows looks strong and horses tall! More surprisingly, the team bought back several yaks with thick hair and majestic horns. They looked rare!


    The group departed with a hundred monks but only half the number came back. It was not due to any ident, just that they decided to stay back to give lectures and will be back on the next trip. Dai Ting came back with not only product but also news about Wencheng. He handed the items to Dong Xiaoyi and continued on to the Imperial College to deliver news to Prince Teng.


    Learning that Dai Ting is back, Yuanying took leave of absence from Kong Yingda. The journey was long and it took him half a year just to go back and forth. Dai Ting also spent time doing business and gathering information, so the separationsted nearly a year.


    Yuanying asked Dai Ting to sit down and share about his trip in detail.


    Dai Ting chooses to share the good first. When we started our journey there was a rebellion at Tuyuhun and Princess Honghua was frightened. Shequickly recovered much after receiving constion and sympathy from Chang¡¯an. After that the journey was quite smooth sailing. They did meet with a few robbers, but the group had good weapons and sufficient training. Some monks travelling with them were also skilled in martial arts so there weren¡¯t many casualties.


    After that, he shared the problems he had faced. The groupprises of those who were in good health and should befit despite the long journey. However, the further they travelled towards LuoXie City, more and morepeoplefeel ill due to not being able to limatize to the new environment. More people started having flushed face with weak bodies and shortness of breath and some even fainted. While they had a group of doctors tasked by Sun Simiao to travel with them, 2 men still almost died.


    Wei Shu had an initial hypothesis that the Tibetan Empire had antidote to cure this, and Dai Ting did his investigation. He found out that the locals often partake in a type of herb and the doctors confirmed that these medicinal herbhelpsto increase blood cirction. Bringing back these herbs to Chang¡¯an for nting would be of great use and Dai Ting collected a batch of seeds and roots and transported them back with its soil.


    Yuanying listened patiently. ¡°What about Wencheng?¡±


    Dai Ting deliberately left updates about Princess Wencheng as thest topic.


    He paused before expressing his judgment: ¡°Songtsen Gampo and Lu DongZan are both ambitious men.¡± The former seeded the throne at a young age and thetter worked his way up with hard-work. Without ambition, how can they bring peace to the different tribes in theirnd?


    Ambitious people will always leave behind a trail of their actions. Dai Ting waited several days at LuoXie City before meetingwithPrincess Wencheng. By this time, Princess Wencheng had been here for almost half a year. While she had lost some weight, she was in good spirits.


    Princess Wencheng shared that Songtsen Gampo was not a womanizer and initially did not have much interaction with her. It was only after the entourageprising of craftsman, doctors and embroiderers following the Princess showed their usefulness did the Kinge speak to her more often. The couple did not speak the samenguage and although Wencheng spent much time learning thenguage,munication was a challenge for them. She found a ce to nt the sunflower seeds that Yuanying had given her and often used that as an excuse to speak to the people serving her. Never discouraged even after making mistakes in her speech and over time she has sessfully integrated into the life there.


    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡±


    Dai Ting continued his sharing.


    Receiving a long gift list from Chang¡¯an, Princess Wencheng burst into tears. She missed her loved ones in Chang¡¯an very much and wrote a poem to express it. He brought back this poem, along with news that before Songtsan Gambo proposed to marry a Tang princess, he was already married to a Lhavi princess as a teenager and they both shared a good rtionship although there is no children yet. In addition, the ruler also had wives from various Tibetan tribes.


    Just from this perspective, you can see Songtsen Gampo¡¯s personality: He only want those who are useful, whether a Tang princess or a Lhavi princess or a woman from the various other tribes. All is to establish his absolute authority!


    Yuanying grew up in a pce with a harem and therefore had not much thoughts on this piece of information. He only cared about how Wencheng was doing.


    Yuanying raised his eyebrows, ¡°Is there anyone making things difficult for Wencheng?¡±


    ¡°No, she just misses Chang¡¯an.¡±


    Even with a group of servants with her, it was still cruel for an originally carefree daughter to have to integrate into apletely unfamiliar environment and to ept it.


    Yuanying took the poem and looked at the beautiful handwriting. By just reading, one could feel her deep loneliness and longings.


    Next, he read a letter from Wencheng. She didn¡¯t mention anything about being homesick but shared that everything was fine. No one was neglecting her and that her husband treats her respectfully. Do not worry about her well being. Among the return gifts, some were prepared for Gao Yang and the others.


    Yuanying sighed.


    It¡¯s not good when people grow up, so many unhappy things, whether it¡¯s disputes or separations, there¡¯s bound to be more.


    He put away the letter and poem: ¡°Are you going out again?¡±


    Dai Ting nodded.


    Li Yuanying thought for a while: ¡°Have you found anyone on the road who was unique?¡±


    Dai Ting gave several names.


    ¡°Next time, we can have an additional route. If there are caravans willing to go together, you can pick someone else to lead them. Just let them know what¡¯scking in Tibetan Empire, what goods to bring for trading and what to bring back. You can then lead another group yourself. As we make more trips, we will be more familiar with the geographicalndscape of that area. When the Tang Dynasty¡¯s caravans travels, it will be like traveling on their ownnds and news from LuoXie City reach us faster.¡±


    ¡°But also, don¡¯t be too brave. Give away the money if you are really in danger. Resign when you are afraid. Don¡¯t be stingy for human life is the most important.¡±


    Dai Ting nodded in agreement.


    Dong Xiaoyi was responsible for nting the medicinal herbs Dai Ting brought back and did a good job tending to them. Dai Ting also broughtback several experts from Tibetan Empire were responsible for studying these nts and how well they are growing in Chang¡¯an.


    Yuanying thought that since he has gotten permission to take a day off, he was in no hurry to return to the Imperial College. He took the gifts and sent them out ording to the gift list. Since the gifts sent by Li Yuanying were generous, the return gifts prepared were also generous and were all fine jade, spices, and wild horses.


    The Emperor also received a gift, and Yuanying personally delivered it to him. He also asked if he wanted to visit Li Jing¡¯s house to see the yaks.


    When Li Er saw Li Yuanying running over happily, he couldn¡¯t help but asked: ¡°Why am I not made aware that the Academy is on a rest day today?¡±


    ¡°I took a leave of absence. If officials could take leave, then why can¡¯t I? You have been busy for a long time and must be tired. Let¡¯s take advantage of the fact that Wei and the others are not here bothering you. Let¡¯s go see the yaks quickly!¡±


    His Majesty listened to him with much concentration.


    Li Yuanying continued in his efforts: ¡°I heard from Dai Ting that yaks are strong and fierce, with long hair. I have never seen a cow with long hair. Dai Ting only took two back to Chang¡¯an because he thinks that they can be a bit dangerous and sent them to Li¡¯s house. Li can raise anything, so raising a yak shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    His Majesty was annoyed and agreed to go.


    As soon as Li Er agreed, Li Yuanying immediately mobilized all efforts to bring the girls along. He also asked Chengqian to bring Li Xiang over.


    While passing by Prince Wei¡¯s Mansion, Li Yuanying suggested again: ¡°Let¡¯s go get little round ball too!¡±


    When Li Er saw Prince Wei¡¯s Mansion from a distance, he thought of his fourth son and became a bit gloomy. Hearing ¡°Little Round Ball¡± he lost all sadness and gave Li Yuanying a sideways nce.


    Li Yuanying of course didn¡¯t care. Seeing that His Majesty didn¡¯t say not to pick him up, he took it as a yes and ran into Prince Wei¡¯s Mansion to look for Princess Yan to beg her for her son.


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: Today I am a lively little Prince again!

 Chapter 110:

    Chapter 110:


    Prince Wei Mansion is still Prince Wei¡¯s Mansion but Li Tai is no longer in Chang¡¯an. The only one left is Princess Yan who is taking care of this ce. Princess Yan is now heavily pregnant and not bothered to do much. With many servants following Prince Wei to his fiefdom, the mansion was left empty and quiet.


    When Li Yuanying came rushing in, Little round ball was learning a poem with mother. The poem he was learning was <<Jiang Nan>>. Princess Yan¡¯s voice was melodious and gentle and she made little round ball repeat the poem after her. ¡°You can pick Lotus in Jiang Nan, Lotus leaves he tian tian¡±


    Little round ball obedienlty followed after mother and then asked: ¡°What is Tian Tian?¡±


    ¡°Tian Tian means to ovepyer afteryer. Look at the Lotus leaves, some are tall and some are shorter and they ovep each other. Tian Tian means densely ovepping.


    Little round ball nodded his head.


    Li Yuanying ran in really fast and when he was at a distance he could hear mother and child chatting. The men following him were all left out of breath and rush to inform Princess Yan that Prince Teng is here.


    Princess Yan turned and there stood Li Yuanying.


    He didn¡¯t know if the Princess would be hostile or is still okay with him. Anyway he still mentioned to her that His Majesty is waiting outside and would like to bring Little Round Ball to visit General Li Jing¡¯s mansion together. Yuanying promised Princess Yan: ¡°I promise to bring him back in one piece and not a hair will becking from his head!¡±


    Princess Yan asked Little Round Ball if he would like to go. The toddler had not seen Yao Yao for a long time and if he weren¡¯t being carried by mother he would have rushed over to Yao Yao¡¯s side. Hearing mother asking for his opinion, he happily said yes.


    Li Yuanying happily carried Little Round ball away.


    Princess Yan ask her men who took care of her child to follow along. She then sat down and touch her belly. With Li Tai gone, Prince Wei Mansion is now really quiet. The wives who used to visit are all no longer bothered to. But there¡¯s good in this ce being quiet, she now hopes for nothing but that her 2 children to grow up healthy and peaceful.


    Right outside, Li Yuanying carried Little Round Ball and got a scolding from his Majesty for carrying the toddler.


    Li Yuanying quickly push little round ball into Li Er¡¯s embrace to shut the Emperor up. Little Round Ball is now almost 3 and is chubby like a ball, he is really heavy to carry. Li Er is someone who is prideful and would definitely carry the child steadily. He put the child into the carriage where Li Xiang is seated.


    Li Jing having all kind of animals in his residence would mean that he lives further out from the main city. As officials came to inform him prior that the Emperor is paying a visit, he caged up all his animals properly and instructed his servants on the right etiquette to serve the Emperor.


    Once at Li Jing¡¯s gate, Li Yuanying went to escort each little radish head down from the carriage and led them ahead of the Emperor. Since they are out for a good time, the Emperor didn¡¯t find fault with Li Yuanying¡¯s behaviour. He turn his head and ask Chenqian ¡°Have you seen a yak?¡±


    Chenqian hardly had any chance to speak casually to the Emperor and didn¡¯t know how to react. He soon regain hisposure and shook his head. ¡°Nope, never seen one before.¡±


    Although he enjoy having fun. He had not seen this creature who live in the cold mountainous fields.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen one too. But Prince Jiang Xia told me that when he send Wencheng to be married off he saw one which had a big head and was very fierce and the meat was delicious. As they arrived, Songtsen Gampo put together a group of yaks for a battle.¡±


    While they were chatting, Li Jing and Hong Fu came out to wee the group. Li Jing¡¯s leg was not in good condition and he walked slowly. Seeing the Emperor he paid his respect.


    Li Er told them to be at ease. It was they who decided to visit without much prior notice. As the adults entered slowly, Li Yuanying had already lead his group to see the yaks. There were only 2 and one had white fur and one with ck fur. The fur grew thickly and the horns were majestic just like Dai Ting had described them.


    The bunch of children were noisily chatting away saying that the guest from the mountains were really beautiful. Yuanying waited for Li Jing and the Emperor and asked: ¡°Can we ride them? They have long fur, it¡¯ll be superfortable to sit on them!¡±


    Li Jing had went to war with the Tibetan Empire in the past and had some knowledge about them. ¡°Tubo and Tibetan people rear them and so naturally one can ride them. It¡¯s just that these 2 are newly brought over and we are not familiar with their temperament yet. For the moment, no riding to prevent any injury.¡±


    Li Yuanying was disappointed.


    ¡°So daring, you want to ride everything huh?¡± (Li Er)


    ¡°When horses are not tame they are fierce too. Once you tame them you can ride them!¡± Yuanying directed the conversation to Li Jing: ¡°When can I ride them? When that timees I¡¯lle over again!¡±


    ¡°They might not survive well here.¡±


    Li Jing exin more that these animals when taken away from their homnd might not be able to adapt and will quickly be thin and some might even die. Look at these 2, it¡¯s very obvious that they are now thinner and are not eating much.


    Otherwise, yaks have good endurance and have great strength once domesticated. Moreover, their fur is thick and can be used to make winter clothes. Even their dung is useful as fuel for burning and some even use it to build houses.


    The childreny down next to the fence looking at the 2 yaks. Perhaps affected by Li Jing¡¯s words they found them in weak spirit, as if they were missing their hometown on the teau.


    Vast grasnds, rolling snow-capped mountains, blue skies, the world seems particrly vast.


    Yuanying was done seeing the animals and turned to His Majesty: ¡°Even these yaks know that it is difficult to leave their homnd. Wencheng and the others will definitely be even more sad being so far away from Chang¡¯an.¡±


    Li Er was silent for a moment before asking his younger brother to share news about LouXie City.


    The group of little radish heads have never left Chang¡¯an. When they heard that Li Yuanying was going to talk about Tibetan Empire, they all sat around and listened with interest.


    Yuanyingpiled the news he heard from Dai Ting, and told them about the customs of Tibetan Empire and the current situation of Wencheng. It was hard for a girl withnguage barrier to try and integrate into a foreignnd. Wencheng also mention in her letter that although there were hard times, she felt encouraged when she sees the sunflowers blooming towards the sun. She will fulfill her responsibilities as a princess of Tang and told them not to worry about her.


    When Li Yuanying read the poem written by Wencheng, both Sizi and Hengshan cried. They imagine themselves having to leave for a farawaynd and would miss Chang¡¯an so much! Sizi threw himself into Li Er¡¯s arms choked with sobs: ¡°Father, please send someone to bring Sister Wencheng back. It¡¯s too far and there¡¯s no one she knows. Sister Wencheng is so lonely!¡±


    Li Er red at Li Yuanying.


    Sizi and the girls are around, why can¡¯t you talk about happy things? Why are you reading poems!


    Li Yuanying instantly kept his mouth shut.


    Li Er had no choice but to console his crying daughters: ¡°Songtsen Gampo is young and capable, he is a good son-inw. Dearest Wencheng will not have a hard life moving there.¡±


    Sizi and Hengshan both nodded in slight confusion.


    Since father says so, they will believe so.


    On their journey home, Li Yuanying thought of a new idea, he rode his horse next to the Emperor¡¯s.


    ¡°Lord Brother, I have a new idea can you listen to it?!¡±

 Chapter 111:

    Chapter 111:


    They were still travelling by horses and the Emperor didn¡¯t want to be bothered by Yuanying. Let¡¯s talk once we are in the pce. Yuanying agreed but still mumbled ¡°There¡¯s nothing much to do now anyway, why can¡¯t we talk? You only need your ears.¡±


    Chengqian listening from the side realized that he needed to learn how to be shameless. Father seems to obviously like this.


    Yuanying couldn¡¯t win against the Emperor and so he put his attention onto returning Little Round Ball home safely. He carried him into Prince Wei¡¯s Mansion. After entering, Little Round Ball who had been happily ying with Li Xiang hugged onto Li Yuanying and refused to let go, softly shouting: ¡°Yaoyao!¡±


    ¡°Hey¡± (to ask the boy what was wrong).


    ¡°Papa left without me.¡± His voice was a little sad. ¡°Does Papa like me?¡±


    He trust Yaoyao the most as Yaoyao will not lie to him.


    Yuanying gently knocked on Little Round Ball¡¯s forehead with his own. ¡°Of course, but the journey is far. Your mummy has a baby sibling in her belly and so you guys had to stay behind. Since Papa is not here you¡¯re the only boy in the family. You¡¯ll need to be the pir!¡±


    Little Round Ball ¡®s eyes lit up and he said proudly: ¡°The pir of support!¡±


    The manly Little Round Ball no longer needed Li Yuanying to hold him. He struggled to be let off to the ground and ran excitedly into the back room to mother¡¯s side. He then repeated what YaoYao said to him happily.


    After returning the child safely, he quickly caught up with the Emperor and continue back to the pce. Yuanying followed after His Majesty step by step, with a firm look of ¡°I have something to say and I must say it.¡±


    Li Er brought him and Chengqian into the meeting hall and asked him what his new idea was.


    Yuanying dragged a small mat and sat next to Li Er and shared his original n. Dai Ting has journeyed to foreignnds and have opened up a path for those who would like to visit in the future. Therefore this year, he is nning to get Dai Ting to travel back to Tibetan Empire on a different route. It will be best if he bes familiar with the whole of Tibetan Empire and knows where to engage in trading.


    ¡°That way, I can ask Dai Ting to write down his experience. Then we will know all the good ces and good food.¡±


    His Majesty and Chengqian looked at each other and nodded . ¡°Okay.¡±


    If you really could visit the whole country then we wouldn¡¯t only know where to find delicious and fun things but also be able to find out their secrets.


    ¡°In the past I thought that as long as I kept all the birds and animals at Xiangcheng Pce, people would be able to see all the rare and exotic animals at once. Today I heard from General Li say yaks are only used to living in its homnd. So I now think that not everything is able to adapt and live in Luoyang and Chang¡¯an. Therefore, we should go out more often, the further the better; especially the children of our Li family. Why should we eat, drink and have fun only at home? It¡¯s boring and of no use. Why not let them represent Tang and travel around every year.¡±


    Li Er nced at him: ¡°You want to go out and y?¡±


    Yuanying didn¡¯t fall for the trap and said with a serious face: ¡°No such thing. I just remembered what Teacher Xiao said about taxation. Think about it, so many children from the Li n, all contributing nothing to the economy. The money we need to spend to run the government is escting and thend needed to feed the Li n is also increasing. How can the normal citizens afford it? So as a descendant of the Li n, you must do your part for the country.


    Yuanying snickered. ¡°If Wencheng can move to Tibetan Empire, what¡¯s stopping the rest? So a handsome boy is no better than a girl? In my opinion, they should be sent out everywhere; to Tibetan Empire, Tuyuhun and to ces further north and south. Those that had just passed their exams and had no official posts in the government yet should be thrown into a mission group and send off into foreignnds. Just look at all the men you rely on, which of them haven¡¯t travelled to the south and north for exposure?¡±


    Li Er looked like he was deep in thoughts.


    Yuanying finished his speech in a smooth manner before sharing his ultimate goal with great enthusiasm: ¡°If you are afraid that others are not willing, then send me first and I¡¯ll create a good start!¡±


    Li Er wanted to kick him out.


    After such a big circle, all the boy wanted was to go out and y?!


    ¡°Eating, drinking and having fun at home brings no contribution but going out to do this same thing will? It will cost more money.¡± (Li Er)


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s different. Eating, drinking and having fun at home is setting a bad example. Going out to do it is showing off the power of the Tang Empire. Even if it doesn¡¯t work, You get to be the bad example for others. Isn¡¯t that good? The people from othernds will also learn to eat, drink and have fun!¡±


    Speaking of this, Yuanying wanted to tell Li Er about the story of Zhou Chu¡¯s reformation in <<ount of the Tales of the World>> <sup>[1]</sup>Shishuo Xinyu, waspiled and edited by Liu Yiqing during the Liu Song dynasty of the Northern and Southern dynasties. It is a historicalption of many Chinese schrs, musicians, and¡­ Continue reading¡±.


    Zhou Chu was deceived by the vigers to go hunting tigers and killing dragons. Everyone thought that he and the monsters were dead together, and they celebrated happily. Only then did Zhou Chu realize how others treated him, and he immediately felt like repenting. Therefore, we should drive out ¡°external harm¡± to disturb others. After the damage is done, maybe everyone will repent!


    Even if nothing works out, there is also no loss. After all, we are already feeding these people, it doesn¡¯t matter where we feed them. Those who are unwilling to fulfill their obligations will naturally receive less rewards. Don¡¯t me others, who ask you not to word hard?


    ¡°So much justification and theories but all still pointing to the fact that you want to go out and have fun. Didn¡¯t you say that you want to be a Jinshi Prince?¡± He looked at Li Yuanying, ¡°What? Think it¡¯s too hard and decided not to take the exam?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not afraid of it. Studying don¡¯t mean you have to stay indoors at home to do it. Go out and see things, walk more during the day, and read more at night, you may learn more.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    His Majesty did notment but waved his hand. ¡°Okay, I get it, go back.¡±


    Chengqian wasn¡¯t aware that the brothers had such a bet. After leaving the meeting hall, he asked: ¡°Young uncle, are you really nning to take the imperial examination?¡±


    ¡°Brother allowed me to do it. If I don¡¯t then everything will be in vain!¡±


    Chengqian nodded and said that he was optimistic that young uncle will do well. Just two years ago, Li Yuanying was considered an ignorant little devil. Now he has read much and is confident about passing the imperial examination! If he studies for 2 more years, maybe he might even win best student in the exam!


    Yuanying said humbly: ¡°I¡¯ll definitely take the exam but getting the top spot will be too difficult. If the chief examiner doesn¡¯t like my article, there¡¯s nothing I can do.¡±


    He then told Chengqian about his low grade in the monthly exam. He is also determined to convince Dr. Ma. Maybe if he travelled out, he will figure out how to convince him. He would like to travel to the Tibetan Empire to visit Wencheng and the snowy Mountains. Then he wants to visit SI with Jin Shengman. If Si had a female rule, that kids must be awesome!


    Li Yuanying happily outlined his wonderful travel n to Chengqian.


    Chengqian was pretty sure that the high-soundingmitment utteed by young uncle were all false. This guy heard that the yaks might not survive, so he wants to visit the Tibetan Empire to ride the ferocious local yaks!


    Although he didn¡¯t want to throw cold water on young uncle, Chengqian still had to share some truth: ¡°I think father may not let you go.¡±


    A child who is 13 years old, who would allow him to travel alone? Moreover this brother is raised by the Emperor personally. Even other children of the n would not be able to y outside at this age. There¡¯s a saying that those who had not grown hair on their lips are not ready to do serious work. Who would send an envoy out lead by a young kid?


    Hearing this, Yuanying lost hope and sighed. ¡°I wish I was older.¡± He touched his smooth chin, wishing that he could grow a beard like his brother the next morning.


    ¡°But when you get older, you want to be a young.¡± (Li Chengqian)


    Yuanying didn¡¯t agree with it. He felt that if he was older, he could do more. Anyway, even if he¡¯s not allowed to leave now, he will always have the opportunity to go in the future, so it¡¯s not a total loss!


    Yuanying happily parted ways with the Crown Prince and ran home to have dinner with mother.


    Lady Liu has been receiving many new recipes and updates from FengThai Restaurant and her life is now more fulfilling. As her child grows up, she is aware that he would spend less and less time by her side, so she make ns to keep busy to prevent her child from being worried about her.


    As Yuanying came by, Lady Liu happily gave him a taste of the new dishes she made while listening to him share about his interesting daily encounters.


    Mother and son were enjoying themselves . On the other side, His Majesty remembered Li Yuanying¡¯s crooked idea after having a meal.


    The n is indeed quite big. There are 20 sons of the Supreme Emperor and more than a dozen are still alive. Except for Li Yuanying, all have moved to their ownnds. He also had many sons and all the older ones have moved away, leaving behind just the younger children. In the future, the n will have many more descendants. Indeed we need to make them work.


    Originally, His Majesty nned to make them governor of differentnds in various ces. However, Wei Zheng and Zhangsun Wuji opposed to it. They do not want the local governor to be a hereditary system. After all, we don¡¯t know which of these descendants will be born stupid.


    Since they are not allowed to hold the position of governor, maybe it¡¯s a good idea to let them represent Tang as ambassadors to various countries. They are descendants of the Tang Dynasty n, and they represent the Tang royal family. Wherever they go, won¡¯t others treat them well?


    As for the danger, there will be danger, but Li Yuanying make sense. Even Wencheng can move to Tibetan Empire. What will be of the descendants of Tang if they don¡¯t even have the courage to go on missions to foreign countries?


    Envoys can be sent to various countries to stabilize diplomatic rtions every year . Who can represent the importance of the Tang Dynasty better than the descendants of the royal n?


    If we are able to gather a group of useful children, that would be the best result. A single tree does not make a forest. The more the Li family is able to produce capable talents, the more stable the Empire will be.


    Li Er made up his mind and asked for Wei Zheng and his men. It is impossible to send Li Yuanying now. When he is older and the methodology is more stable then maybe we can consider him.


    As soon as his officials arrived, the Emperor told them about Li Yuanying¡¯s harmful idea: let the n members who are best at eating, drinking and having fun go out to cause harm to others!


    Wei Zheng and others were shocked when they heard this.


    These brothers are really amazing. One is more shameless than the other, and they dare to express such ideas.


    Forget about Li Yuanying, he is a little devil to begin with. What¡¯s the matter with you, Your Majesty. The Emperor. Li Er?


    You, the majestic king of a country, do you not feel shame?


    Notes from the Author:


    His Majesty Li Er: I am just rying my brother¡¯s thoughts. What do you think of my brother¡¯s idea?


    Little Prince: Shameless brother!


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü1Shishuo Xinyu, waspiled and edited by Liu Yiqing during the Liu Song dynasty of the Northern and Southern dynasties. It is a historicalption of many Chinese schrs, musicians, and artists during the 2nd-4th centuries

 Chapter 112:

    Chapter 112:


    After he has shared his idea, Li Yuanying ran back to school and returned to his usual studious nature and led his friends to annoy the teachers every day. Lately, he has 1 more thing on his te ¨C to n a travel route to the Tibetan Empire, give each location a story, and to connect it into aplete and inspiring tale to attract people to travel.


    The boy is great at making up stories, but to make it believable, a story must be based on reality. Yuanying collected information and sorted out the story line. asionally, he would write letters to ask Prince Jiangxia and the others to ask about specific details.


    After a month, hepiled the story of <<Wencheng¡¯s marriage>>. He firstpared the various examples of Han princesses marriage to highlight the difficulties of being married and then focused on describing Wencheng¡¯s intelligence and the generosity of Tang.


    The section that talks about Tibet¡¯s culture and customs were realistic in pictures and texts as they were brought back by the group of traders who visited in person. The clothing of the Tibet people were simple mostly made of fur ¨C practical butcks in ornamental value in contrast to the clothing worn in Tang which were more exquisite. The Tibetan people also do not have a habit of cooking extensively, often eating simply without exquisite tableware. The most important of all is the fact that theyck advance medical knowledge and most still believe in ethereal witchcraft. If you get injured, you either live through it or go to a wizard for help.


    The doctors, craftsmen and artisan following Wencheng made a difference.


    Tibetan Empire also had things that were impressive and interesting. Ferocious beasts like yaks and horses, unlimited fields of green pastures, snowy mountains that do not melt. ying is Li Yuanying¡¯s forte so he picked out things that he wanted to try and brag about them. His concluding statement was: If you do not visit Tibet, you are not worthy of being a Tang citizen. If you do not ride the horses in Tibet, you are not manly.


    By the time he finished writing and drawing it was already early June. He quickly passed the manuscript to Li Chungfeng to get it printed urgently. He will then give some to his rtives and then sell the remaining to earn travelling funds.


    After he is done working hard on his interest and before he had time to go y wildly, he caught sight of an interesting article from Mei Niang.


    The author of this piece is a foreign schr named Zhang Jianzhi, 17 from Xiang Prefecture. He was visiting Chang¡¯an and was enticed so deeply by the library that he queue daily to enter it and finished reading all the monthly updates that was avable.


    After reading everything, he wanted more and so he started writing. He has long thought about what to write and so wrote quickly and smoothly. He proofread his work and then submitted it to themittee.


    Although Mei Niang is now living in the Academy, she still gets updated about the library. When she saw Zhang Jianzhi¡¯s article she was impressed and handed it over to Li Yuanying.


    The article was about ¡°blessed hands¡± and ¡°blessed feet¡±.


    At the end of the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang repeatedly conquered Goryeo and embarked on many high cost major projects. This led to heavy taxes and made the life of themon people difficult. In order to evade taxes, many would mutted their own limbs to get away from paying taxes!


    Li Yuanying had never heard of this before. Just because the citizens couldn¡¯t bear the heavy taxes, they would rather mutte their limbs and then calls them ¡°blessed hands¡± and ¡°blessed feet¡±. How terrible is the government?


    What¡¯s even more frightening is that this trend that emerged in thete Sui Dynasty is still prevalent during the founding years of the Tang Dynasty. For example, there were still people doing this in Zhang¡¯s hometown.


    Zhang Jianzhi came from a poor family but was smart. He received many rmendations and so had the opportunity to study in Chang¡¯an.


    As the young man left home, he wanted to make a name for himself. This article was the pebble he is throwing to test water.


    Now it seems that this pebble was thrown well. At least Li Yuanying thinks that the article was well written, organized and thought-provoking.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never thought that such things can happen.¡±


    He raised his hand and looked at it. ¡°Even if I had a small cut, the pain is unbearable. How could they do it?¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s not the only resort, who would make this choice? This is probably the result of harsh rules is more brutal than a tiger.¡± (Wei Shu)


    Once Confucius and his disciples were passing by Mountain Tai. They met a woman who lived in a ce where tigers roamed. After probing, they learned that three generations of the woman¡¯s family had been killed by tigers. Confucius asked why hadn¡¯t she move away but the woman replied that they were more afraid of harsh tyranny.


    And so Confuciusmented that ¡°tyranny is fiercer than a tiger.¡±


    Mei Niang had a different interpretation: ¡°Compared to the end of Sui Dynasty, the taxation system in Tang has improved much. I believe some of these men self mutte to avoid doing hardbour as they are thenbeled as ¡°handicap¡±. In the long run this practice is harmful if many adopt this andws should be put in ce to prevent it.¡±


    Di Renjie agreed with Mei Niang after reading the article. When the tax is overly high and citizens are forced to result to such measure it is pitiful but now that the tax system has improved much such actions are just harmful in every way possible.


    ¡°His Majesty should be able to share his decision¡± (Tang Xuan)


    Yuanying nodded. The newsletter might not be an official document but many officials do read it. Someone will definitely share this piece of news with the Emperor.


    But sitting back with no action is not like Li Yuanying.


    ¡°This article is well written with much thoughts, I will share it with teacher Kong so that he can enroll such a talent into the Academy. Let¡¯s be fast so that a talent will not go else where!¡±


    The boy quickly action on his thoughts.


    Coincidentally Kong Yingda was around. Seeing Li Yuanying walking towards him, he frowned and ask why he was here.


    The boy gave him a newsletter.


    He read it and was affected emotionally. He might have lived through 2 dynasties but he made a name for himself at a young age. He hasn¡¯t had much hardships and weren¡¯t very up to date to the sufferings of themon citizens.


    Finishing the article, he agreed that the author is talented. At the end of the article is written ¡°Zhang Jianzhi, 17, here to the Capital to seek knowledge¡±. He instantly understood why the young prince is here.


    ¡°So many friends and yet you still want more people to y with you?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean to y? I¡¯m doing serious matters here. When have you see me do mischievous things at the Academy?¡±


    Kong Yingda thought hard, indeed the boy has been well behaved.


    ¡°Just based on this article, he should be qualified. I¡¯ll make arrangements for his enrollment once he has arrived.¡±


    Yunaying was d and added more. ¡°I think Lord Brother had not had time to read the newsletters from the Library, why don¡¯t you show this to him and get his opinion?¡± He then shared all his friends¡¯ viewpoint to Kong Yingda, it doesn¡¯t matter if they think this practice is caused by high tax orziness, the professionals at court should debate ande to a conclusion.


    Kong Yingda agreed. Although he was in charged of education but the Emperor highly valued good governance. Since this piece is so well written, the likelihood of it being fake isn¡¯t very high. We should share it with his Majesty.


    Getting rid of Li Yuanying, Kong Yingda got ready to enter the pce.


    The Emperor was surprised with this sudden visit, it¡¯s mid day and Minister Kong shouldn¡¯t have anything to update him. He invited him in nheless as requested.


    He passed the newsletter to the Emperor for his reading.


    Li Er is aware that the library collects news and from time to time they do get good articles. But these newsletters are not an official source of news as they are written freely by the educated ss. The quality of it varies from month to month and although he gets a copy every month, he doesn¡¯t consistently read them all.


    But since Kong Yingda came with it, the Emperor read through it carefully. As he finished, he sighed. ¡°I¡¯m not doing the best that I can and that¡¯s why my citizens suffer.¡±


    Of course Kong Yingda cannot agree with that statement. He praised the Emperor and then share his students¡¯ viewpoint to his Majesty. He agrees with their thought that this practice should be banned.


    Li Er agreed. He saw the author¡¯s name on the article and made a small impression of this young fe.


    ¡°This boy writes well, you teach him well in the Academy.¡±


    Kong Yingda promised to do so and intentionally added. ¡°Prince Teng is already impatiently wanting to make friends with him and bring him around ying.¡±


    ¡°That brat is like that, he wants to be friends with everyone.¡± Bringing up his brother, the Emperor felt a sense of pride. ¡°But luckily he has good taste, all his friends are decent and there hasn¡¯t been any bad apples in his group.¡±


    What can Kong Yingda say to that statement? He can only agree with it that Prince Teng has good taste in making friends and all of them are talented.


    The Emperor was satisfied so he ask for Wei Zheng and his men to discuss on this issue of ¡°blessed hands and feet¡±. The Crown Prince was invited too.


    The group all agreed that aw should be put in ce to ban this brutal practice. The Emperor then subtly sang praise of his younger brother. This piece of information came from the library and who doesn¡¯t that ce belong to? His younger brother! Who also shared this article to Kong Yingda? His younger brother! The things they are now discussing, his younger brother also discussed with his friends, the people around his younger brother are so talented!


    The little demon king is now sparkling in goodness, it is not enough to only praise him to Kong Yingda. He must praise him publicly and get the Crown Prince to listen too so that he learns from it!


    Everyone was silent listening to the Emperor¡¯s speech.


    Zhangsun Wuji silently thought, yup! Your younger brother has such an eye in spotting talents that he even stole your Lady of talent. Continue spoiling him and one day he will have his nose high up towards the sky!


    Notes from the author:


    His Majesty Li Er: Talk bad of his brother in front, Talk good of his brother at the back.


    Little Prince: Shitty brother (pointing and scolding)

 Chapter 113:

    Chapter 113:


    Li Yuanying patiently waited for his new friend and a few dayster Zhang Jianzhi joined them at the Academy. He joined ¡°Tai Xue¡± where many low grade official¡¯s children or talented poor kids joins too.


    With Kong Yingda sharing his article to the Emperor, Zhang Jianzhi made a small impression. Whether he will make a name for himself in the future is yet to be known but at least his initial presence is made known, a step ahead of many students.


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t think so much, all he wanted was a new friend. Hearing that his new friend is here, he send someone to go pick him up.


    Meeting for the first time, the young boy looks fairly normal with ordinary feature and normal stature. Good thing the young prince will not judge a book by its cover anymore, he quickly invited him to sit down and have a discussion on his article.


    Zhang Jianzhi initially didn¡¯t understand why Prince Teng would want to meet him but soon understood. He was made aware that the Prince was royalty but he wanted to be friends with him not because of status but because Prince Teng is a friend that is worthy as he has done great things like opening a library and so on.


    Zhang Jianzhi was also an interesting fe that was very different from Li Yuanying. He spoke calmly and ate calmly, giving off a sense of slowness. But the things he spoke about and his actions were able to get one¡¯s attention and Li Yuanying often found himself hook to listening to him.


    Within just a few days, Zhang Jianzhi assimted well into the group and got along well with everyone.


    The Academy was a sea of calmness but the outside world not so much. The book about WenCheng was quickly published by Li Chunfeng and was passed to Dai Ting for distribution.


    Dai Ting followed the young prince¡¯s instructions and distributed it ording to a list he had received. He got varying reactions from different people; some empathized and agrees that marriage is indeed hard, some wanted to visit the Tibetan Empire for leisure and some thinks that foreign customs were barbaric. As the book was distributed, the advantage of it being written in a simple manner is apparent. Everyone from young to old is able to understand its content making it a hot topic for discussion.


    During this same time, Li Er picked his first Royal candidate for the first Royal envoy to the Tibetan Empire.


    Prince of Wu, Li Ke.


    Naturally the Crown Prince cannot participate in this trip. The next son in line is 3<sup>rd</sup>Prince Li Ke. The Emperor is not overly fond of this son but his conducts were satisfactory. If they wanted to send a royal out for a mission he is a good candidate . Li Ke is now 23 and is of the right age to do some travelling.


    After making up his mind, the Emperor summoned for Li Ke to return to the Capital and prepare for his trip overseas. As the tax money from tea sales is collected for the government, many officials were no longer against tea trading with foreigners. This is because not only do they collect cash, they also received livestock that helps with agriculture and military training, giving them a much needed relieve in the issue of havingbour shortage.


    To ensure long term continuity of the trading business, tea trading is now a long term n and everyone is agreeable to the Emperor sending out his son for a royal envoy to the Tibetan Empire. Not their child anyway, so what¡¯s there to disagree with?


    Before the officials could finish with their silent thoughts, the Emperor quickly read out a list that epasses of all Chang¡¯an rich children with a reputation of being spoilt brats. All of them were skilled in eating and ying and nothing else.


    The Emperor dictated that these children should be send out to foreignnds for training so that they can be useful citizens like their fathers.


    Instantly the smiles on the officials were frozen including Fang Xue Ling. The first on the list is his son Fang Jun and following that his bunch of bratty friends. Not sure whether he shouldugh or cry as Du He and his friends are also on it. All candidates on the list were well deserving to be there.


    Fang Xue Ling didn¡¯t dare to share this news but his wife still found out from her friends that their beloved son is on the list.


    She immediately started shouting at him . ¡°What use are you as a minister? Your son have to live with such difficulties! Why is it like this? Why must my Jun¡¯er travel so far? He has never left my side!¡± She started crying.


    Fang was deeply troubled by his wife¡¯s outburst but he didn¡¯t dare to react. Being a minister, his children doesn¡¯t need to do hardbour. Isn¡¯t that already a blessing? The normal citizens who wanted to escape this had to chop off their ¡°blessed hands and feet¡±. All the Emperor wants is for them to travel a little, how is this hardship?


    Initially the ministers supported the Emperor¡¯s decision to send out the Royal families as envoys, so how can they protest this initiative now just because it involves some of their children? Shameless things like this only the 2 Li brothers are capable of, they still have their pride to maintan!


    Fang Xue Lingforted his wife for hours. Both secretly cursed at the as*hole culprit who send such a list to the Emperor.


    That person is naturally Li Yuanying. To be a sessful student at the Academy he not only needs to be smart but must also be good at collecting gossip. Who is friends with who, who has beef with each other, Yuanying can easily list out everything that is happening.


    Hearing that brother is in agreement to his proposal and that Li Ke is being send out, he quickly wrote a list of candidates who can spread bad influence to others.


    He only shared an appropriate list to not be overly obvious as he wants this n to continue long term.


    After sending a name list, Yuanying sent across another letter a few dayster. The content is to rmend another list of useful people so that the whole n will not go sour. You should pick from disciples of Yu Zhi Ning, Zhang XuanSu and Kong Yingda.


    The boy mischievously shared his thoughts: This 3 person is awesome. Yu Zhi Ning was just scolding others and then he wrote a book about it, followed by multiple more volumes. Zhang XuanSu is someone who can find fault with everything. And then there¡¯s Kong Yingda. He¡¯s good with him now so he will refrain from saying anything bad . These people are all quite senior in age so they can¡¯t be travelling far but their disciples can. It would be best if they could organize mastersses in the Tibetan Empire and not return home so fast.


    Li Er almost has a stroke reading this.


    It¡¯s very obvious that his younger brother is trying to give these men a hard time. In the past these people were tasked heavily in teaching the royal children and Li Yuanying used to always challenge them.


    While Li Yuanying has obvious motive for picking these people, his reasoning were sound and the Emperor was quite convinced. When Emperor Qin Shi first unified China, the first thing he did was to make sure things were unified and executed the same way everywhere. If he could send some people to Tibetan Empire to teach them Tang¡¯s custom and knowledge then trading and travel will be free. This way wouldn¡¯t the 2 countries be somewhat identical?


    Li Er made up his mind and called for his men to share the second name list. Topletely follow Li Yuanying¡¯s rmendation is not possible but the boy indeed make sense in his suggestion. If he wanted to choose someone with good knowledge, it has to be someone on Kong Yingda¡¯s team!


    Just like that, the Royal Travelling Group, oh nope, the Royal Envoy was expanded gradually. The mix of personnel chosen became more and moreplicated but were made up of 2 conflicting units : One group is made up of n members who love to eat, drink and have fun. When ites to making trouble they are the cr¨¨me de cr¨¨me. The other group is made up of old academics with old-fashioned ideas who have spent half their lives buried in books. They follow thews and rules strictly and so are the best people to criticize others.


    Li Ke didn¡¯t know what was waiting for him. He just came back to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.


    Hearing that the Emperor wants him to visit Tibetan Empire, he was confused. Then hearing who he will have to bring along he was even more confused. What is going on?!


    On such a happy reunion day, Li Yuanying also returned to the pce. He took Li Ke¡¯s hand and expressed his jealousy and sighed: ¡°Why won¡¯t brother let me go? I really want to go too!¡±


    Li Ke didn¡¯t expect this incident to be rted to Li Yuanying, in fact it could even be said that he was the mastermind behind this. But Li Ke still respected Li Yuanying, his young uncle, mainly because he has heard many stories about the consequences of disrespecting Li Yuanying.


    Is Li Tai not favored by their Lord Father? But when both fought, father¡¯s decision was to send Li Tai away to his fiefdom. Even Princess Yan¡¯s pregnancy could not change father¡¯s mind!


    Although this young uncle was only father¡¯s half-brother, he was brought up personally by the Emperor and was a noisy child so he was naturally treated differently by the Emperor. Now it seems that those who has crossed path with uncle will end up miserable. For example, some of the teachers that had taught him were included in this ¡°Royal Mission¡± to give lectures in Tibetan Empire. They are all schrs who have immersed their heads in books for half their lives. This trip travelling so far will give them much hardship!


    Although Li Ke is going to suffer a terrible disaster, he knew it was because he was next in line in seniority so he took it on with a peaceful mind.


    ¡°Young uncle, you are still young. Father is reluctant to let you endure hardship.¡±


    ¡°How can you say it¡¯s hard work? It¡¯s so fun!¡± He excitedly introduced the tour route to Li Ke, telling him all the things he must try and all the things he must do. Come back and share with me if it was indeed fun.


    Hearing these yearning words, Li Ke understood that young uncle really just wanted to go out and y. He did not intentionally want to give people a hard time. Li Ke quickly agreed to help him try out everything and to share improvements on the travel route.


    Yuanying was happy hearing this. He went to the Emperor praising that third nephew knows him the best!


    Chenqian heard young uncle praising Li Ke and thought that his position as the best nephew is going to be reced soon . But this ¡°best¡± is nothing to fight for, after all QingQue will always be cedst!


    The Royal mission was set. Since the group intends to visit the Tibetan Empire, they had to inform its ruler Songtsen Gampo. Since a Tang Princess was married into their tribe it is only natural that the inws would want to visit. Isn¡¯t this the most natural flow of events?


    His Majesty also mentioned that he would send a group of schrs over to engage in cultural and educational exchange. Now that the price of paper has dropped, he will also sponsor books so that people will get the opportunity to study about the Four Books and Five ssics, as well as poems and songs. If your men study well, they are wee to study in Tang. We will even wee international students with the opportunity to take the imperial examination!


    Li Yuanying had the opportunity to read the letter and very satisfied with it. It was written well with both grace and intention which reflected really well on the image of Tang! Yuanying wanted to tease Li Er so he asked: ¡°Will you let me go next year?¡±


    ¡°When you have passed all your exams then you can go.¡±


    ¡°If I want to, I can pass it next year!¡±


    Li Er responded slowly: ¡°Talk to me again after you have done it.¡±


    Li Er didn¡¯t give him any chances and Li Yuanying also let it go and changed the topic. ¡°Didn¡¯t I ask for the dragon bones to be excavated earlier? It¡¯s up and I¡¯ve also got someone to arrange it nicely. It¡¯s really big! There won¡¯t be a court meeting tomorrow, do you want to visit Sunflower Garden to have a look?¡±


    Notes from the Author:


    Young Prince: Those who want to go can¡¯t go, those who don¡¯t want to go is forced to do. The world of adults is soplicated! (whining)

 Chapter 114:

    Chapter 114:


    Li Yuanying¡¯s logic is as such: since people are already making a fuss about him finding some dragon bone, he should disy this huge fossil with even greater fanfare.


    The Sunflower Garden has gradually been developed into a small town and it was able to be self-sufficient. However it would be a loss still if they do not open it up for tourism like Xiangcheng Pce. Of course, the number of visitors should be limited so that the garden is not ruined!


    Since it is going to be open to outsiders to see the ¡°Dragon Bone¡±, Yuanying naturally had to seek his brother¡¯s blessing first. Therefore he actively lobbied for the Emperor to visit it together. As long as the Emperor has seen it first, no one will dare say that it is auspicious or bad luck!


    Li Yuanying tried his best to list out why they should visit: Now it¡¯s corn season, whichever corn you want someone will grill it immediately. It¡¯s great! Peanuts are also ripe for harvesting. The freshly pulled peanuts are especially sweet when eaten raw, and also delicious when cooked!


    Li Yuanying consistently bbered into Li Er¡¯s left ear and then when he¡¯s done move on to the right ear to bber some more. In the end, he was sessful and the Emperor decided to bring his family along to see the ¡°dragon bones¡±.


    Early the next morning, Li Yuanying gathered his friends early and waited for for the Emperor before setting off together.


    Wei Zheng had somements about this.


    It¡¯s mainly because Li Yuanying is really obedient when studying at the Academy but once he is out and back at the pce he kicks up a fuss and always influences the Emperor to leave the pce for leisure.


    There are many problems when the Emperor travels. Having a dy in governmental affairs is secondary; safety is the most important thing! Many GaoChang people are now living at the Sunflower garden, who knows if any would still hold a grudge against the Tang Empire for turning GaoChang into a vassal state?


    Wei Zheng blocked the group from leaving. He started lecturing about how a King should never stand behind a dangerous wall. How could you listen to your younger brother¡¯s instigation and visit dangerous ces? If something were to happen to you, what will be of the country and who is going to be responsible for the turmoil?


    Li Er had a headache after hearing this, looks like this trip is no longer possible.


    Li Yuanying and his group of little radish heads all stood behind the Emperor whilst Wei Zheng went on and on criticizing him. Soon they realized that Wei was scolding all of them too.


    Seeing that Li Er is not supported, the n at the Sunflower Garden will then be in vain. Li Yuanying quickly rolled up his sleeves and join in.


    ¡°What you say is not right, Anxi Protectorate is already now a part of Tang Dynasty and the previous GaoChang citizens are now all Tang citizens. You don¡¯t personally know them how can you tell that they are harboring bad intentions? If thends under the mighty ruler is considered ¡°Dangerous Walls¡± then were can my dear brother go?


    Wei Zheng was dumbstruck by this statement.


    ¡°Lord Brother has been working so hard since he became the Emperor and is always thinking about how to make the country better and how to give citizens a better life. But now you are saying that it is not safe for him to travel to a ce slightly north of Chang¡¯an. Doesn¡¯t that also imply that the Emperor cannot even govern Chang¡¯an properly?¡±


    Wei Zheng didn¡¯t know how to respond. He now regret teaching this kid the <<Book of Rites>>, he taught him how to read the book and the meanings behind it. Now the disciple is killing the master!


    Seeing that Wei Zheng was so furious that his face turned green, the Emperor was secretly happy. When Wei Zheng starts his lecture he goes on and on. Li Er could only let him continue and listen attentively. He could not fight back but Li Yuanying can. As the boy is not an official, he didn¡¯t give face to Wei Zheng and was brutal in hiseback.


    Seeing that Wei Zheng was pushed into a corner and couldn¡¯t respond, the Emperorughed and graciously invited him to join them: ¡°Minister Wei, do join us for this trip.¡±


    What can Wei Zheng say? He quietly followed behind the group.


    Since Wei Zheng is now onboard, Li Yuanying openly said that he is going to pick up the Wei siblings.


    Wei Zheng agreed to it with a ck face.


    After everyone is present, the group left the city.


    Only after they have arrived at Sunflower Garden did Wei Shu ask Yuanying why grandfather was in such a bad mood.


    He told her what had happened and said that her grandfather might be in a bad mood because he lost in the verbal argument. These adults take pride too seriously and would not be happy if they failed to win. After they finished muttering, they looked towards Wei Zheng.


    Li Yuanying sessfully noticed that Wei Zheng¡¯s face was darker than before.


    Li Yuanying sighed in his heart, this old Wei is really moody!


    Li Yuanying decided to ignore the faults of adults and enthusiastically led them to see the dragon bone fossils.


    Passing through the cornfields whose leaves have begun to turn yellow and bypassing the vineyards covered with grapevines, there lies a green river. On the other side of the river, houses are built side by side with a huge waterwheel that continuously delives water to the backyards of every house.


    Within the short 1-2 years, every home in this area is oozing with the strong essence of life ¨C Corn hanging outside homes fresh from the harvesting season, some with just the seeds left and some with just the stalk left but every home look festive. From a distance, yards surrounded by fences had clothes of all sizes hanging on them to dry. Although not made of high quality silk or satin, people here were notcking in life necessities. At the very least the whole family had purchased necessary clothing for the season.


    As you get closer, you can hear clucking of chickens in the distance that are raised by the residents here. Since Li Er likes cockfighting, he really wanted to see if there was any brave and good fighting rooster that he could take home.


    It¡¯s a pity because on second thought with Wei Zheng here, no chance!


    Li Er could only ask Li Yuanying regretfully: ¡°Where is the dragon bones?¡±


    Li Yuanying pointed in the direction of the waterwheel.


    Before the fossil can be seen, a wooden model about the same height as the giant waterwheel caught everyone¡¯s eyes. The ¡°dragon¡± is several times taller than a human, with a long neck and a huge body. It is bending its head as if drinking water. Although it is only a skeleton frame, it looks decent from a first nce!


    ¡°Originally, I wanted assemble the bones ording to its original size but it¡¯s too dangerous to build it so high. So this is the maximum we can do.¡±


    For the group of little radish heads, this wooden model was already big enough. They can¡¯t fathom how much bigger the real ¡°dragon¡± was.


    Little Round Ball and Li Xiang were following Li Yuanying while their other hand were being held by an aunt. They walk towards the model with their short legs. When they arrived in front of it, everyone raised their little heads to look at the big head of the ¡°dragon¡± that is bending down.


    Little Round Ball eximed: ¡°Wow, it¡¯s so big.¡±


    Li Xiang also said: ¡°Its mouth seems like it can hold several people!¡±


    Li Yuanyingmented objectively: ¡°I can fit several of you (Li Xiang) in it, but I can¡¯t fit in several Little Round Ball .¡±


    His Majesty raised his hand from behind and whack Li Yuanying on the back of his head.


    Did Little Round Ball provoke you?Why are you always calling him round!


    Little Round Ball didn¡¯t realize that YaoYao was making fun of him and actually felt quite proud. He puffed up his chest and said, ¡°I won¡¯t fit!¡±


    Li Xiangpared their body shapes and had to nod in agreement: ¡°It really won¡¯t fit.¡±


    Li Yuanying turned his head and smiled proudly at Li Er.


    Li Er couldn¡¯t be bothered to pay him any attention.


    The real dinosaur fossils were ced in an open space not far from the wooden model. The entire skeleton took up an area of more than ten square meters after being put together. This was after Dong Xiaoyi¡¯s order to remove the corners of stones that did not have bones in it, otherwise a small mountain would have been moved here!


    Due to aging, the skeleton has lost a few pieces but fortunately these missing pieces have symmetrical pieces for replication. With that, Li Yuanying¡¯s ¡°system¡± can easilyplete them through the Myriad Realm Library.


    That¡¯s right! The system is now giving Li Yuanying a task for the first time in a long time: collect as many dinosaur bones as possible.


    After Dong Xiaoyi brought back all the fossils avable, Li Yuanying visited Sunflower garden to scan the fossil into Myriad Realm Library which triggered a steep increase in points. There isn¡¯t anything that they can do about the missing pieces as it¡¯s impossible to make them out of thin air. Also Tang Dynasty is the earliest era that the Library is currently connect to, therefore although they had a false news scandal previously, people still visited. Most who do so are professionals, so why wouldn¡¯t they be able to distinguish real or fake fossil?


    In the end, Li Yuanying sessfullypleted the task and obtained the corresponding dinosaur model drawings.


    It was precisely because of this drawing that they boy thought about attracting visitors to the Sunflower Garden to see the ¡°Dragon Bone¡±.


    Since you¡¯re already here, shouldn¡¯t you buy something too? He then ask carpenters to make small replicas of the dragon and sell them. You can now see and y with dragon bone, that¡¯s so awesome! We also have corns and peanuts and sunflower seeds and so on that can be tasted. The Emperor had already cultivated ample of seeds so Yuanying can no longer sell them in three per packet!


    Li Yuanying is confident about the Garden¡¯stest development. He led his group of little radish heads to surround the fossil and pointed out to them which was the head, which was the tail, and roughly how long and how big it was!


    The group of little radish heads screamed in excitement when they heard about it and regretted that they couldn¡¯t see the creature alive.


    His Majesty Li Er was shocked when he saw such a behemoth.


    Li Yuanying turned to speak to his older brother after awhile: ¡°Brother, why do you think such a big guy disappeared?¡±


    No one has seen such creatures, so they wouldn¡¯t know why they went extinct. But Li Er would rather die than to admit that he didn¡¯t know something. He pondered and expressed his opinion: ¡°Sometimes being big doesn¡¯t necessarily mean being powerful. For example an elephant is huge but isn¡¯t it still hunted for its ivory and had to listen to its handlers?¡±


    Yuanying nodded in agreement: ¡°Yes, they are big. If they encounter an enemy, they won¡¯t have anywhere to hide!¡±


    With an answer to his curious question, regardless of whether it¡¯s right or wrong, Yuanying stopped worrying and happily took the children around to y.


    After half a day, the ¡°ident¡± that Wei Zheng feared so much did not happen. On the way back, Yuanying came close to him: ¡°Look, nothing happened, right? The Emperor is also human, how can he be locked up in the pce all the time? If it was you, you will not be happy staying in the same ce every day. The old wise man once said that we should judge others by ourselves, their hearts by our hearts, and their emotions by our emotions!¡±


    This was said by Han Ying in the Han Dynasty.


    Wei Zheng felt that such noble words by wise schrs but when used by Li Yuanying, it felt very unpleasant.


    As soon as the Emperor left, Dong Xiaoyi started to publicize to the world that the garden will now ept reservations and wee people to hold parties here. It will be best to bring the whole family for an autumn outing. Have you seen Dragon Bone before? If you haven¡¯t thene y at Sunflower Garden! Not only can you see the unique fossil, but you take home a small dragon replica!


    The Emperor has visited this ce in person and there is absolutely no suspicion of viting the prohibition. It is suitable for all ages, young and old, and we look forward to weing you all!


    Notes from the author:


    System: You may not believe it, but this is a system article.

 Chapter 115:

    Chapter 115:


    Li Yuanying dares to publicly sell ¡°dragon bone¡± but Dong Xiaoyi don¡¯t so he only told the world that the creature is called a ¡°dinosaur¡±. It didn¡¯t matter if the fossil indeed belonged to a dragon; all it needed to do is to make people stare in awe at its bigness.


    Not long after, many came visiting after hearing news. Even if there weren¡¯t any dinosaur fossil, it would still be good to visit the town that belonged to a royalty. News spread that there were delicious food and a group of Gaochang people residing there. Since it¡¯s such a fun ce, how can it not top the list of the best ces to visit during Autumn?


    The people in-charge of the Garden quickly became busy and had to record down all the reservations and worked on limiting the numbers of visitors. If you send in your reservationte then too bad, wait in line. Humans like exciting things and when news spread that the queue for Sunflower Garden was half a month, many became curious and send in their reservation.


    After all whether you choose to buy anything or spend any money at Sunflower Garden is entirely up to your own prerogative. People can choose to not spend and just sight see, what can Li Yuanying do? Kick them out?


    Nheless, the young prince had already left and is studying peacefully. Although Zhang Jianzhi does things slowly, he receives information very on time.


    ¡°To visit your garden we don¡¯t need to spend anything, aren¡¯t you afraid that the garden will be abused by the crowd?¡±


    ¡°A ce will only deteriorate due to poverty fromck of people, if it is crowded it will not be poor. The Sunflower garden is able to attract crowd but whether it can sustain itself will depend entirely on the vigers. Moreover putting together a puzzle model is so much fun, who wouldn¡¯t like that?¡±


    And Li Yuanying was right. After visitors had seen the gigantic dinosaur fossil and then the wooden model at the riverbank, most started to think differently. How can they not bring home such a great item? I need to have the most popr item that everyone else is having!


    The replicas for sale were made with wood, so the material cost is manageable. What¡¯s even more special is that it is made up of multiple tiny pieces that are all individually carved delicately and with precision. This is a much better toy than anything else sold outside. Having this item, the whole family can sit together and assemble it. Sure, it might be time consuming but there¡¯s nothing much to do at night anyway, why not spend some time with the kids?


    The atrocious thing is that there are only 3 units for sale daily due to the high demand for experienced craftsmanship on this replica. 3 units, nothing more, nothing less!


    You can always bring the blueprint and find someone else to replicate it for you. After all we don¡¯tck in the number of people who are interested in getting their hands on one. This is the way that I want to do business, what can you do about it?


    Some indeed tried tomission counterfeit versions of the wooden puzzle. They borrowed blueprint from those who managed to buy a set and requested craftsmen outside to work on an identical copy. Only to find out that if they wanted an exact replica that is delicately done up and do not hurt a kids¡¯ fingers and when put together looks alive, the cost is sky high due to the skills required! As for counterfeit goods, after touching the genuine version, you will not settle for a fake.


    So the public had no choice but to stay in line hoping to get lucky the next time.


    Even those who do not like Li Yuanying had to be impressed with his ability to make money. A bunch of wood sold at exorbitant price and yet people are fighting to buy them. He even brought in crowds to his ordinary garden and transformed it into a popr tourist destination. A huge amount of people visiting and contributing to his economy. Even If you didn¡¯t get a wooden model, you can still buy local produce like grape wine or corn or peanuts. Everything in the garden is popr and people were willing to spend even if the prices are a little higher.


    After Li Yuanying brought life to his garden, he left it behind and move on to newer things.


    He is currently super busy.


    The reason? He told Li Er that he wanted to take the Imperial Exam in the following year. Big Brother didn¡¯t give him any chances and directly informed Kong Yingda about this news quickly.


    Kong Yingda also got to know from the Emperor that Prince Teng¡¯s rmended to send his disciples to the Tibetan Empire.


    Under normal circumstances, it was impossible for the royal n and civil servants to have a close rtionship. The royals prides themselves in being of noble birth whilst the civil servants pride themselves on being educated and looks down on the royal n members who are uneducated and likely to a be parasites to society.


    The rtionship between Kong Yingda and Li Yuanying was like that in the past. It was impossible to get along well and it would already be good if both parties do notin about each other.


    However, the Emperor¡¯s attitude towards his younger brother had changed significantly in recent years. It seems like he wants this younger brother to be useful and do practical things. Additionally, his Majesty personally asked him if this younger brother of his is still ¡°teachable¡±.


    Since his Majesty asked like this, how can Kong Yingda dare to not teach him well?


    After getting to know him better, Kong Yingda changed his mind about Li Yuanying. At the very least, he recognizes him as an official student of the Imperial College. But news are saying that this kid reported everyone who had taught him and rmended them to be sent to the Tibetan Empire on mission! Listening again, this guy also imed that he can pass the Imperial examination next year!


    In a fit of anger, Kong Yingda instructed that the boy be given extremely hard questions so that he understands that ¡°there are always people or things better than you¡±. The Imperial College exam is not that easy. Do you really think that by just reading a book for a year or two you will be smarter than everyone else in the world?


    Kong Yingda gave the order. Although Dr. Ma and others had murmurs in their hearts, they did as instructed and greatly increased the difficulty of Li Yuanying¡¯s homework.


    Kong Yingda originally thought that the boy would give up after a few days and go crying to someone. Unexpectedly, he had a stubborn temper. As he was stumped the first day, he went home and kept thinking about the problem untilte night. In the middle of the night, he suddenly jumped up: ¡°I got it figured out.¡±


    Early the next morning, Li Yuanying went to morning ss energetically. On the contrary, Tang Guan and Tang Xuan both showed up with panda eyes.


    And so a few days passed. Whenever Li Yuanying encountered a problem, Tang Guan and the rest study it enthusiastically with him. If they can¡¯t solve the problem, they would find a few more to join in. In short, Li Yuanying is absolutely not allowed to leave his problems until night time, otherwise he will ponder about it all night and no one knows till howte!


    He is energetic even without sleep but others need their sleep!


    In the end, Li Yuanying didn¡¯t even realize that Kong Yingda was making things difficult for him. He just thought that his teachers were awesome as they thought about such profound difficult questions.


    Li Yuanying is a straight forward person who live by the motto ¡°if you have something to say, you say it directly.¡± When he ran to Dr. Ma to discuss the answers, he sighed with great admiration: ¡°We all have 1 brain but why is yours so good? No matter how hard I try, I can¡¯t think of these wonderful questions!¡±


    Dr. Ma looked at the boy¡¯s shining eyes and felt that he could no longer mess with the child.


    He met with Kong Yindga and told him that not only did Li Yuanying not feel that his life was made difficult, he actually enjoyed it. If you can give him a hard time, do it yourself!


    Upon hearing this, Kong Yingda twirled two strains of his beards.


    There is no airtight wall in the world, the news about Kong Yingda making life difficult for Li Yuanying but failing quickly reached His Majesty¡¯s ears. Although it is not good to gloat over others misfortune, Li Er still ate an extra bowl of rice. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was brilliant for him to let his younger brother join the Imperial Academy. Let this bad brother be Kong Yingda¡¯s headache!


    Li Yuanying worked hard in the Imperial College until year end and made many friends. Whether they were dorm mate or otherwise, he could always strike up a conversation with others. As the New Year was approaching, it¡¯s time for a major holiday season and students left for home to celebrate the New Year.


    Li Yuanying returned to the pce and stayed there for two days. After that, he left for a trip not to y but to visit Ouyang Xun¡¯s house.


    Ouyang Xun had passed awayst year. Most of his sons had grown up and had official positions except for his youngest who was in his early teens. At present, all the men in the Ouyang family were home and they felt a little surprised that Prince Teng was visiting at the door.


    ¡°His Royal Highness Prince Teng came to meet your father earlier and they had a very pleasant conversation. He even sent a message on behalf of his Highness to invite the eminent monks in the city to gather with him.¡± (Mrs. Xu, the mistress of the house)


    Everyone knew that Li Yuanying Invited a group of monks to teach scriptures in the Tibetan Empire and to trade tea. Which one is Li Yuanying¡¯s purpose today? That¡¯s up to your imagination!


    Since the visitor is already at the door, it is only natural to invite him in. Although everyone in the Ouyang family was confused, they still went out to wee him.


    As Dai Ting was away, Li Yuanying received news much slower and didn¡¯t find out that Ouyang Xun had passed away until muchter. By the time he found out, it was already toote to pay his respects and he could only mourn from a distance. Ouyang Xun lived to be over 80 which is a long time. Therefore, his passing is considered a happy mourning period so no one really looked sad.


    Li Yuanying did note empty-handed. He brought many manuscripts written by thete Ouyang Xun. It sounds a bit weird to give someone his own father¡¯s manuscripts but he heard that the family is trying to buy back thete Ouyang¡¯s works as they wanted their youngest son to practice calligraphy. Yuanying quickly packed up the manuscripts and went visiting the Emperor and his ministers to request for another batch. He gathered threerge boxes and asked people to carry them over.


    Li Yuanying never liked to talk with empty politenesses, so he put down the big boxes and exined why he is visiting. He and Ouyang Xu had been friends and he has heard that they are recollecting thete Ouyang¡¯s works. Therefore he went around asking people for it and unknowingly he had gathered 3 big boxes. Please excuse him for this really abrupt visitation!


    After saying that, he had a cup of tea at Mrs. Xu¡¯s invitation and ran away again. It was obvious that the boy acted on impulse.


    Mrs. Xu didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. Herte husband was only a lowly ranked official and is nothingpared to people in Chang¡¯an City. Since his passing, the family has be more and more deste. At time like these, the warmth and coldness of human rtionships are particrly clear.


    Mrs. Xu stepped forward and opened one of the boxes. The contents were neatly packed without any damage. She took out one and unfolded it and then shed tears when she saw the familiar handwriting. She pulled her youngest son Ouyang Tong to her side and said, ¡°Tong¡¯er, you have to learn your father¡¯s calligraphy well.¡±


    Ouyang Tong nodded seriously.


    After Li Yuanying finished delivering the manuscript it was still early. He rode his horse for a stroll to Wei Zheng¡¯s house intending to y with his friends.


    Unexpectedly, he could smell fragrant chicken soup even before entering the courtyard. Someone is making delicious food at home and anyone else would been embarrassed to go in, but not Li Yuanying. He tied his horse and ran in happily: ¡°Sister Shu, I know this soup is made by you just from the smell of it!¡±


    As he spoke, he stepped towards the house. Before he could enter he quickly took another step back, feeling that he might have entered the wrong house. He looked outside and realized that it was Wei Zheng¡¯s house. Then he stepped into the house and was met with six pairs of eyes looking at him fiercely.


    The oldest one is Wei Zheng, the little old man is always fierce.


    The middle ones were obviously Wei Zheng¡¯s four sons. The eldest son, whom he had met, was Wei Shu¡¯s biological father. The remaining three, with decreasing age were Wei Shu¡¯s three uncles.


    The youngest one is an old acquaintance, Wei Ying.


    Wei Ying got along quite well with Li Yuanying in the Imperial College, mainly because he felt that instead of letting the young prince abduct his sister to ces where he cannot see, it is better to act together with them.


    Now that he was not in school and his grandfather, father and uncles were around, Wei Ying felt that this guy who looks for his sister every day was an as*shole. When he heard him yelling before he even entered the door that ¡°I know you made this soup as soon as I smelled it¡±, Wei Ying became even more angry!


    ¡°Why do you ruin other¡¯s reputations like this?¡± You know as soon as you smell it? Does my sister make soup for you every day? !


    All the men in the Wei family stared at Li Yuanying, their faces as stern as Wei Zheng¡¯s and they all looked very scary.


    Li Yuanying blinked and stepped back with an innocent face. After retreating to the door, he immediately rubbed oil on the soles of his feet, turned around and ran away!


    After being frightened by the Wei family, Li Yuanying lost all thoughts about ying. He felt his beating heart and went back to the pce toin to Li Er. When he caught His Majesty, he criticized Wei Zheng eloquently: ¡°Last time, I hit Old Wei with a few words and then he had been ignoring me. This time I went to his house to y, and he even called his sons. They all stared at me fiercely, it was so scary. Fortunately, I was smart and ran away fast enough, otherwise he would have asked his sons to beat me up! This old Wei is really unreasonable. He can¡¯t win a verbal fight so he ask his sons toe over. It is clear that he is bullying me for not having any sons! When I have ten or eight sons in the future, I will definitely beat him!¡±


    Notes from the Author:


    His Majesty Li Er: I always feel that this guy¡¯s words are not very credible.

 Chapter 116:

    Chapter 116:


    The Emperor had heard tons of nonsense like this before from his younger brother.


    ¡°I only remembered you saying that you will treat daughters like gems while sons will be sent out to carve a path from themselves. Why do they need to help you now?¡±


    ¡°To carve a bright future is one thing, but if the father is being bullied, the son must stand up for him. Otherwise why do we want children?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve only heard about parents standing up for their children, never the other way around.¡±


    ¡°Of course not, when I was younger I did the same for mother. Whoever wants to bully my mom I¡¯ll beat them. If I can¡¯t win in a fist fight then I¡¯ll bite them.¡± Yuanying is quite proud of his past feat. ¡°When I was younger, mother cannot read and so I taught her how. Parents are not perfect so responsible kids will help them out.¡±


    Li Er took one nce at his younger brother and then for the first time thought highly of concubine Liu of histe father. For her to be able to train such a little devil she must not be as weak as she appeared to be, she knew how to make her son study.


    Li Er told him the truth without mercy: ¡°Already so big but you need your mum to coax you to study?¡±


    Yuanying burned in anger.


    He sat beside Li Er and thought long and hard. Actually brother makes sense, when he was younger mother had to coax him to study.


    He figured it out and sighed: ¡°Brother, why do you need to tell me this, I was quite proud of my achievements!¡±


    Li Er thought in his heart, it¡¯s because I don¡¯t like you feeling good. But of course, Li Er answered differently. ¡°If I don¡¯t say anything, how would you know your mother¡¯s hard work? Even the heavens pity a parents¡¯ hard work.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±


    Yuanying was already frighten by the incident at Wei Zheng¡¯s residence and he came here toin to his older brother. Now that he has done that and the Emperor had not joined in to criticize Wei Zheng, he decided that he should go home to mother and act obedient.


    The next day when Wei Zheng went to court the Emperor brought up the incident. What did he do that frighten his younger brother so much?


    This is a rare asion where the Emperor could find fault with Wei and he was super happy questioning him.


    Hearing this, Wei Zheng¡¯s face darken.


    Yesterday, that kid ran over to his house wildly and said things that will arose scandal. How can the child¡¯s father not stare at him? How can the uncles not perceive him as just another bratty rich kid? Furthermore you have Wei Ying at the side adding oil to fire; sharing all about how Li Yuanying behaves in the Academy where he can almost walk sideways and could get anyone in trouble. Fang Jun, Du He and the rest of the spoilt brats didn¡¯t get along with him and after Autumn they were all instructed to move to the Tibetan Empire by the Emperor!


    Just listen to this, isn¡¯t this the action of awless uncontroble little demon king?


    When Wei Zheng sent his granddaughter to the Imperial Academy, it was already scandalous and his son and daughter-inw already had some opinions about it. With yesterday¡¯s episode, they have even more things to say!


    Who else would behave like Li Yuanying? If you had nothing to hide, once you are here juste in, why did you turn around and run away?


    Fine that you ran away but then you turn around and report this to the Emperor?!


    Wei Zheng answered with a hard tone: ¡°My home is humble and Prince Teng is not used to it therefore he turned around to leave. Now that I think about it, it is this humble servant¡¯s fault. I did not make preparations to know that Prince Teng wasing and to wee him in person at the door. It is all my fault!¡±


    With Wei Zheng putting things like this, the Emperor felt that his younger brother might have blew things out of proportion. He kept a poker face and consoled his minister saying that he will have a proper word with his younger brother.


    It¡¯s already year end and everyone is prioritizing ¡°peace and getting along¡± so Wei Zheng did not find much fault with the two Li brothers. As for the rubbish things that the 2 brother do, he chose to turn a blind eye to it as long as it doesn¡¯t interfere with the well-being of the country.


    Wei Zheng choose peace but it was not peaceful at the Imperial Court.


    The year end is not peaceful. It started off with an incident at Goryeo due to a powerful and influential official calledGai Shuwen. The ruler of Goryeo and his men schemed for Gai¡¯s downfall but failed. Gai Shuwen found out about the n and marched into the pce to murder the ruler of Goryeo. His actions were brutal as he chopped his victim into pieces and then appointed another person as the new ruler.


    Goryeo is a vassal state of Tang Empire and now that their ruler is killed in a brutal way, very quickly news reached the Tang Emperor asking for his help to send troops to avenge the death of thete Goryeo ruler and bring justice back to thend!


    Does Li Er want to do that? Yes because this is a vassal state where its ruler had to be acknowledge by the Tang Emperor. How can you just change ruler like that, this is disrespecting the Tang Emperor.


    But he is actually now broke and cannot afford a big war. The previous Sui dynasty had multiple times more riches than Tang and they fought themselves into extinction due to war at Goryeo! Now WenCheng had only just moved to the Tibetan Empire in the West and the peace between both regions is still shaky, it is not the right time to start a war in the East.


    The Emperor could only mention that although he would love to start a war, Goryeo is in a period of mourning and it is morally wrong to start a war.


    Li Er didn¡¯t feel good about his decision. And then something even more frustrating happened. Someone wrote in to use Dang RenHong of bribery in Guangzhou and that he should be severely punished with death.


    Dang RenHong had been on Li Er¡¯s side since he was still a prince and they shared a good rtionship. Over the years Li Er had seen all his friends die or be old and frail and he couldn¡¯t harden his heart to punish his friend with death although he rightfully deserved it based on thews of the country.


    When the Justice Department sent 5 verdict rmending the death of Dang RenHong, Li Er gathered all his men and inform them that he will personally travel South to ask the heavens for forgiveness and to let Dang RenHong off the hook for this one incident.


    The Emperor is extremely stubborn, if he¡¯s made up his mind to do something even 10 cows will not be able to stop him. The ministers close to him were not able convince the Emperor and so they made arrangements to travel South.


    Since they were not able to convince the Emperor, a number of court officials decided to block the pce entrances by kneeling in court as a sign of protest. How can they allow the Emperor to do as he wishes and to ask the heavens for forgiveness on behalf of a mere citizen?


    The officials knelt from sunrise to sunset and a few of them fainted in this process.


    Only now did the Emperor soften a little. He sighed and expressed that the trip South will be canceled, go home and rest.


    Li Yuanying was practicing calligraphy in his room and heard about thismotion with excitement. So many men kneeling together, such drama. Luckily the ministers in poor health did not join the protest otherwise there will be even more drama.


    He was excited about all the drama and ask his servants to prepare medication for people like Old Wei and Old Kong. They are normally nice to him so how can he not reciprocate in times like this?


    After that, he remembered the main culprit who caused themotion, Dang RenHong by taking a million dors as bribery. Isn¡¯t it just a million bucks? Why would he steal? Can¡¯t he just earn it? Now he¡¯s in trouble and about to lose his life!


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: Isn¡¯t it just a million bucks? Why did he resort to bribery? Don¡¯t know how to earn money, So stupid!

 Chapter 117:

    Chapter 117:


    Lady Liu was informed that Prince Teng is asking for medication and got worried that her precious son is hurt. Although Yuanying always had servants following and taking care of him, medication is still always prepared in case he needs it.


    Seeing mother with a worried expression, the boy loudly assured her that he is fine. He will even shamelessly strip to prove that there¡¯s no wound whatsoever!


    Of course mother wouldn¡¯t want that. If Yuanying says he¡¯s fine then so be it. Since the medicines were for his teachers, Lady Liu personally helped make preparations. The next morning little medicinal bottles were arranged ordingly.


    Yuanying then went visiting his teachers, with the first one being Wei Zheng.


    ¡°I heard that you knelt for the whole day, it must be hard work. Seriously how old is my brother, how can he leave for a trip on a whim!¡±


    Wei Zheng has the impression that when Yuanying was punished by the Emperor previously, it was all because of his mouth. Just look at this boy enjoying all the drama! On his lips he says that he is here to send medication but in actual fact he is here to enjoy themotion!


    Wei Zheng decided to ignore him and Li Yuanying had no choice but to forcefully stuff the medicine to him and leave to look for Kong Yingda.


    ¡°This medication really works, I¡¯ve been using this since young. Every time I had a slip or got hurt I would apply this and be fully recovered by the next morning! Here¡¯s my suggestion, since you and Dr. Ma have weak bodies, you should take better care of yourself. Don¡¯t think that kneeling 1 night is nothing, what if you really got hurt? Please take this medication home and use it! If there¡¯s such an incident again in the future, I think you should pretend to faint earlier. I heard that Duke Er fainted super fast this time!¡±


    Kong Yingda initially thought that the boy was sending medicine due to his caring-ness to his teachers but after hearing the boy bber on, he wanted to hit him instead. You are an ImperialPprince, why are you always falling down? It is all because you are a naughty mischievous boy! Moreover, what you are asking us to do is to fool the Emperor. If so wouldn¡¯t others use us of faking it?!


    Yuanying continued on his good deeds and visited Zhangsun Wuji and gave a simr rant to him saying that Old man Kong and Wei did not appreciate his kind gesture and wanted to scold him. Luckily he left quickly!


    Zhangsun Wuji had a fair and chubby stature. People says that nephew and uncle look alike, maybe Li Tai took his look after him? He took the medicine from the young prince with a smile and even asked if he had met with any difficulty in school.


    ¡°Nope, all is good and fun! The teachers are really knowledgeable and the students great too. We have almost finished learning about the Five ssics and I n to be a volunteer with my friends next year to serve themunity. If you need help on matters rted to calctions, just let us know as we are willing to do anything! To write well one cannot wait for ideas to fall from the sky, we need to go out and experience them so that our articles are written to be meaningful.¡±


    Zhangsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling are both senior leaders in court. After obtaining an okay from Zhangsun Wuiji, he continued on to deliver medicine to Fang Xuanling to show his courtesy and to ask for internship positions.


    Fang Xuanling currently hasplicated feelings about Li Yuanying. His son is now on his way to Tibet so it is impossible that he has a good impression about him. However, which father doesn¡¯t want his son to be a useful person? This time Fang Jun is going as part of the Royal envoy and will be treated well wherever he went with zero threat of danger so it is good practical training for him.


    Therefore Fang Xuanling doesn¡¯t dislikes Li Yuanying. Unlike Zhangsun Wuji who instantlyugh and answered, Fang thought for a moment before nodding. ¡°If necessary, I will discuss it with Minister Kong.¡±


    Yuanying was overjoyed and praised him for being a good person before leaving.


    While Yuanying was busy showing his hospitality to important officials, Zhangsun Wuji sat quietly with the medicine and decided to pay the Emperor a visit.


    Li Er was thinking about Dang Renhong when he was notified that he had a visitor. He thought that Zhangsun Wuji is here to persuade him some more. Although he was reluctant he still did invite him in.


    But Zhangsun Wuji came because of Li Yuanying. Originally, few took Li Yuanying seriously. After all, this boy is notorious as a little devil. If his Majesty wanted to use him as a symbol of peace and harmony within the royal family, his ministers will all just tacitly watch His Majesty indulge his younger brother.


    But the boy suddenly became enlightened in thest two years. Not only did he be diligent and studious, he also made many friends. Everyone loved the books he has written and those in the schrlymunity praised his library and cheap paper; even secretly calling it ¡°Prince Teng¡¯s paper¡±.


    The turmoil at the beginning of the year did not arise without wind. What Prince Teng has done in the past two years is worthy of vignce. If ¡°Prince Teng¡¯s Paper¡± bes moremon, schrs will all think about Prince Teng¡¯s kindness whenever they uses paper. By then it will be toote to regret!


    Even more scary is when the Emperor who publicly loved his son Li Tai chooses his younger brother over his beloved son when he had to pick sides! Not only did the Emperor take no precautions, he even ced his brother into the Imperial College, a ce tasked with identifying future talents for the country, allowing him to freely make friends!


    And now, he delivers medicine to win over courtiers.


    Putting all these incidences together, are they not worthy of attention? With Li Tai as an example, Zhangsun Wuji felt that he needed to be the viin. He sat down and ced the medicine he got on the table and told the Emperor how he got it.


    His Majesty stared at Zhangsun Wuji, waiting for him to continue.


    He hurriedly told His Majesty that Li Yuanying sent him medicine and asked for internships. Then he stopped talking.


    Li Er looked calm and did not answer.


    Zhangsun Wuji did not hold back and continued: ¡°Your Majesty, to indulge a son is to kill a son. Although His Highness Prince Teng is not your biological child, you are like a father figure to him. You cannot be too lenient on him causing him to have thoughts that he shouldn¡¯t have.¡±


    Although Chengqian is Zhangsun Wuji¡¯s nephew, Li Er is still in his prime so he couldn¡¯t side Chengqian in advance. This is also why no one pointed out the Emperor¡¯s favoritism towards Li Tai. His Majesty obviously has many more years to live, who knows if Chengqian can remain firmly as the Crown prince?


    But Li Yuanying was different as he is not the Emperor¡¯s son. Allowing him to develop power will only lead to turmoil in the Tang Empire.


    His Majesty leaned on the bench listening to Zhangsun Wuji with an unpredictable expression. His hands were already stained with his brother¡¯s blood so he naturally didn¡¯t believe in real brotherhood. As for Li Yuanying, he has his own opinions and if he was suspicious, Li Tai¡¯s action would have suffice and there is no need for anyone else to remind him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if my brother have bad intentions but I do know that my officials like Kong Yingda and the others cannot be bought over with a jar of medicine. Look, you took his medicine then came here. Are the rest of my men fools?¡±


    His Majesty requested that Zhangsun Wuji be calm. If Wei Zheng and the others were stupid enough to support that as*hole brother of his, they should just wait and see. Who knows what nonsensical stuff might happen?


    Zhangsun Wuji didn¡¯t dare to reply that before histe sister married into the Li family, he has already heard all kinds of ridiculous rumors about the second son of the Li family. Not only was he proficient in eating, drinking and having fun but he love cockfighting. How dare he say so about another person now?


    To add on, even after Li Er became the Emperor he still did many ridiculous things like marrying his brother¡¯s wife, or executing another person for winning against him in a chess match or drawing his sword in court against Wei Zheng when he couldn¡¯t win over him in an argument.


    Zhangsun Wuji understood suddenly why his Majesty likes this younger brother so much. Maybe it¡¯s because he¡¯s as ridiculous and outrageous as his older brother in his youth!


    Since the Emperor already told him to remain calm, Zhangsun Wuji could only reply that ¡°he was the viin in vain.¡±


    Li Er didn¡¯t continue on the topic but instead share the edict that he had written himself. The Emperor is adamant in saving Dang Renhong. Since he couldn¡¯t travel South, he will issue an edict saying that it¡¯s his fault for not choosing the right person for the role as long as he could spare Dang Renhong¡¯s death penalty no matter what.


    Now that Zhangsun Wuji understands the Emperor¡¯s bottom line, things are easy to handle. He immediately persuaded the others topromise on this matter. In the end, everyone took a step back; the Emperor did not travel South, the justice department no longer ask for the death of Dang Renhong, everyone celebrated the new year in peace and contentment.


    Li Yuanying doesn¡¯t know Dang Renhong personally and only heard that he was dismissed from his ranks and was demoted to just amoner. He was touched and ran to make a request to His Majesty: ¡°Brother, you are generous. If someone tells you to kill me, you have to protect me in this way too.¡±


    Li Er became angry and cursed on the spot: ¡°If you don¡¯tmit any crime, who would ask me to cut your head off?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s easy to find fault, easily I can name 8 or 10 offenses at any time! It is written that If you want to find fault with someone, there is no need to worry about making a suitable pretext. At that time, you must at least protect me and make me into amoner like Dang Renhong!¡±


    ¡°Dang Renhong has made great achievements during war and battle, what have you done?¡±


    Li Yuanying became a little worried. He sat down and pondered then sighed: ¡°I don¡¯t want to lead troops into battle. I don¡¯t know how to fight.¡±


    Li Er saw that his brother was really thinking hard about it and said happily: ¡°So you¡¯d better make up your own mind.¡±


    Yuanying felt that his brother had no brotherhood love at all. He immediately ignored him and ran away.


    His Majesty was nning to visit Lishan Pce to celebrate his birthday and included Li Yuanying as part of the group to visit the hot springs with him. Li Yuanying lost his temper and said angrily that he¡¯s not going. He will study hard and score first ce in the exam next year. He will find a way out for himself!


    Will His Majesty go down to the boy¡¯s level and argue with him? Of course!


    On the day of the trip, Li Er ask his men to forcefully drag Li Yuanying into the carriage towards Lishan Pce.


    Everyone who say themotion decided to pretend that they didn¡¯t see anything.


    Notes from the Author:


    His Majesty Li Er: Li San Sui (meaning Li who is 3 years old!)


    Little Prince: You¡¯re the Li San Sui (pointing and grumbling)

 Chapter 118:

    Chapter 118:


    Besides just visiting the hot spring, the Emperor intended to n out Li Zhi¡¯s wedding date. When ites to getting married, Li Zhi is supposed to have no say in it but His Majesty allowed him a chance to choose. Li Zhi choose the daughter from Wang family in Taiyuan as his future princess.


    Because Li Zhi was thrown into the Imperial Academy, the wedding was postponed. However, teachers had feedback that his progress is mediocre and that it was impossible for him to seed in the examination and to make a name for himself. With that, there is no longer any reason to postpone the wedding.


    When Li Yuanying heard this, he immediately forgot all his anger and went looking for brother to find out when these arrangements were made and why weren¡¯t he aware about it.


    ¡°I am Zhi Nu¡¯s uncle and I couldn¡¯t even prepare a gift for him. That¡¯s horrible!¡±


    ¡°No one will be petty and find fault with you.¡±


    Yuanying pestered the Emperor to find out who was Li Zhi¡¯s bride. Li Er was toozy to exin to him and directed him to Zhangsun Wuji.


    So the boy went to looking for Zhangsun Wuji again.


    Zhangsun heard that Yuanying was sent here by the Emperor and exined: There¡¯s the saying ¡°five surnames seven ns¡±. The five surnames are Li, Cui, Lu, Zheng, and Wang, respectively. They are Longxi Li family, Zhaojun Li family, Boling Cui family, Qinghe Cui family, Fanyang Lu family, Xingyang Zheng family and Taiyuan Wang family.


    These are famous aristocratic families and His Majesty had chosen the daughter from the Wang family of Taiyuan. She has family background and a good education. This shows how much His Majesty loves Li Zhi.


    ¡°What kind of person is she? What does she look like? Does she have a good temper? Is she tall? Is she thin or fat?¡±


    Zhangsun Wuji was speechless and shook his head: ¡°How can you inquire about these things when the youngdy is still unmarried?¡± He persuaded Yuanying to control his mouth and not bber on without considering the consequences of speaking out. How can you, an uncle ask these questions? When it¡¯s time to avoid suspicion, you should try to avoid it!


    Li Yuanying nodded obediently and went back to look for Li Zhi. He patted Li Zhi on the shoulder with great regret: ¡°I can¡¯t help you, your uncle refuses to tell me anything!¡±


    Li Zhi was also speechless.


    ¡°We will meet each other during the wedding.¡±


    He knew early on that his wedding would be arranged by the Emperor and he also knew where father would pick his future bride from. He was actually not curious at all. No matter what she looks like or what her temperament is, the matter is a foregone conclusion. Since he can¡¯t make the decision himself, Li Zhi will just wait peacefully for father¡¯s arrangements.


    Li Yuanying was bored.


    When Li Chengqian and Li Tai got married he was super young and so had no chance to get involved. Finally, it is Li Zhi¡¯s turn but he is not interested at all. Disappointing.


    Li Zhi changed the topic: ¡°I¡¯m not studying well enough. Father probably doesn¡¯t want me in the Imperial College anymore. Once I get married, I may have to move to my fiefdom.¡± His fiefdom is in Taiyuan and Princess Wang¡¯s family is also from Taiyuan. Perhaps the Emperor is nning to pack him up to join the feudal n after his marriage.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to take the Jinshi exam together?¡±


    Li Zhi shook his head: ¡°My knowledge is not good enough to be a Jinshi.¡±


    Without any disappointment, Yuanying answered enthusiastically: ¡°It¡¯ll be good for you to move to Taiyuan. When you get there, bring your princess around and pay attention to shorings in thend. Then I will talk to old man Kong and bring a group to visit Taiyuan for ytime and we can see if there¡¯s anything in Taiyuan that can be used to practice my skills! It¡¯s your territory anyway, so you can do whatever you want!¡±


    Li Zhi was a little happy hearing this feedback from Yuanying. After repeated brainwashing in the past two years, Li Zhi started to believe that it would be great to move to his fiefdom early and would pay attention to the situation in Taiyuan from time to time.


    The two boys immediately got together and discussed how to y in Taiyuan to the fullest.


    ¡°You are moving to your fiefdom. I don¡¯t know when I can I go to mine.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to take the imperial examination? You are only 13 after the New Year. How can you pass the exam so quickly?¡±


    Li Zhi quietly analyzed his father¡¯s thoughts about young uncle: ¡°I think father is reluctant to part with you. You alone can create amotion worthy of 10 people¡¯s work by yourself. Without you around it will be very lonely for father.¡±


    Li Yuanying sneered at this statement: ¡°He is willing to let go of his son, why can¡¯t he let go of me? I think the Emperor is just bad, when I said I wouldn¡¯t join this trip he insisted on asking someone to carry me into the carriage. When I said I wanted to go to mynd, he wouldn¡¯t let me go. He just doesn¡¯t want me get what I want!¡±


    Li Zhi firmly believed that his father the Emperor had his own considerations and is not as childish as Li Yuanying.


    ¡°Next time, tell father that you don¡¯t want to leave and want to stay in Chang¡¯an. Let¡¯s see if he would do the opposite.¡±


    Good idea.


    The next night, Yuanying went to the hot spring with Li Er.


    ¡°Brother, I have asked around. Prefecture Teng is far away from Chang¡¯an and I don¡¯t know anyone there. It¡¯s no fun. I want to stay in Chang¡¯an and never leave! Let me always be with you in Chang¡¯an!¡±


    Li Er was leaning his hands on the stone bank and was listening attentively to Li Yuanying. After Li Yuanying was done speaking, he nced at his expectant face.


    ¡°Okay. You live in Chang¡¯an for the rest of your life and you don¡¯t have to take a step out of Chang¡¯an. That¡¯s great, the government saves money.¡±


    Li Yuanying became anxious. Why didn¡¯t brother follow protocol? He immediately changed his words: ¡°Thinking again I think that it would be better for me to leave. This is against the rules.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, you have never followed rules anyway, what¡¯s another offense.¡±


    Li Er got more emotional as he spoke: ¡°If you leave it will be hard for me to see you again. Since you want to stay, then stay.¡±


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t want to stay in Chang¡¯an all his life. ¡°I don¡¯t want that!¡±


    Li Er nced at him and said calmly: ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you wanted to stay?¡±


    Li Yuanying angrily betrayed Li Zhi: ¡°This is Zhi Nu¡¯s bad idea. He wanted me to test out if you¡¯re just going against all my wishes! In conclusion, there¡¯s no going against and he almost lost his chance to leave Chang¡¯an.


    ¡°When have I not allowed you to do whatever you want to do?¡±


    Yuanying thought about it. Indeed his imperial brother allows him to! Shameless Li Yuanying immediately transformed into a diligent and good brother. He stayed by His Majesty¡¯s side and talked about interesting things. He wasn¡¯t embarrassed about being called out like that.


    Those who were lucky enough to bathe in the same hot spring all felt that His Highness, Prince Teng, was really shameless. Another person even if they had no shame would not be changing attitude instantly like this!


    The group were all in happy mood as they spend a few days at the hot spring. The Emperor felt that his troubles were slowly melting away. As Chinese New Year approaches, the Emperor gave out promotions and a sry increase. And Wei Zheng was appointed to be the Crown Prince¡¯s tutor.


    Yuanying heard about this on his way back to the pce. As soon as he return he went straight to console Chengqian, his poor nephew.


    Wei Zheng¡¯s fault-finding skills surpasses thebined effect of Kong Yingda, Yu Zhining, and Zhang Xuansu. Brother is really good at picking people, he sent all of the to East Pce.


    Chengqian has been in a pretty good mood recently. Although he was scolded by Zhang Xuansu and a few others, he has gotten used to the fact that he will be criticized if he wants to indulge in ytime. Chengqian objectivelymented: ¡°Master Wei is a person that father relies on. It is good that he is choose as the Crown Prince¡¯s mentor.¡±


    Li Yuanying is still convinced that being the Crown Prince is too much hard work. No visiting the hot springs, not allowed to go hunting or to escape the summer heat. He said sympathetically: ¡°If it¡¯s me, I wouldn¡¯t be able to tolerate it.¡±


    Chengqian didn¡¯t want to dwell on these disappointing things so he quickly updated that a group of new musicians were appointed at the East Pce. He invited young uncle toe listen to their singing and dancing. If they are good, he will invite friends and family over during Chinese New Year. Of course, Li Yuanying will be on the list of the attendees.


    Yuanying is not skilled in music but has no problem listening. He grew up among beauties so his ability to appreciate music cannot be bad.


    Chengqian ordered the new musicians to perform a song for Li Yuanying. Uncle and nephew sat together having tea and enjoying the performance. To be chosen as a court musician, a person¡¯s skills must be top-notched. Li Yuanying thought that the performance was good butcked excitement.


    ¡°It¡¯s not lively enough, my nephews might think it¡¯s a bit boring.¡±


    Chengqian knows Yuanying¡¯s preferences and pped signal them to change to something more lively.


    Yuanying like it as it is exciting. The music suited him so he started judging the dancers. They were all extremely beautiful but appearance and figure were not important to him. After watching for a while, he got bored and started focusing on the pipa ying.


    This musician¡¯s beauty is equal to the girls who are dancing and she is ying the pipa extremely well.


    ¡°Who¡¯s the one ying the pipa?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s Chen Xin, she specializes in ying the pipa and is also good at singing and dancing.¡±


    Chengqian initially didn¡¯t pay much attention to her but now looked over due to young uncle¡¯s remarks.


    There is no shortages of beautiful women in the East Pce. Although this Chen Xin is beautiful, she is not outstanding. Chengqian took one look but still had no impression of her.


    ¡°Young Uncle if you like her, I¡¯ll arrange for her to be assigned to you after the new year.¡±


    Yuanying originally never intended for this but now that Chenqian is offering he quickly agreed.


    ¡°I really do need a musician. If you are willing to assign her to me I will ept your good offer.¡±


    Chengqian is straightforward about who he love and hate and would share everything with those that he have fun with.


    ¡°Why would I be unwilling, all these are arrange by the ministry. Young uncle, what are you nning to do?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Feng Thai Restaurant the exclusive food provide for the Imperial Academy? If so, we need to make special programs for it. This Chen Xin ys the pipa well. I n to set some of my ssmates¡¯ poems to music, so that performances can be done at the restaurant. In the future, we will have more branches and these poems can be sung throughout the country. Definitely more people will visit the restaurant for these performances.¡±


    Which schrs wouldn¡¯t want to be famous? Reputation is an important consideration for those taking the imperial examinations and official appointments. If Yuanying can specially train a group of musician to perform these poems it will further enhance Feng Thai Restaurant¡¯s status in the minds of the educated.


    When Chengqian heard this, he couldn¡¯t help but ask: ¡°Young uncle, you thought about this beforeing here and asking for a new musician from me?¡±


    ¡°No, I thought about it on the spot when you said you wanted to assign her to me. Are you reluctant to give her to me now?¡±


    ¡°Of course not! If young uncle wants my whole team of musician I will dly assign them to you.¡±


    He continues by sighing: ¡°I just feel that your brain works like a clockwork. In the blink of an eye, you get a new idea.¡±


    Li Yuanying answered proudly: ¡°Of course, I have the best brains.¡±


    He then told Chenqian about his n to open multiple branches all the way to Mount Tai as this was the agreement he had made with the Emperor. He has to think about new tricks to make it the best restaurant in the world, so that he will gain capital!


    Chengqian thought to himself, no wonder father likes young uncle so much. He knows how to please father well.


    But everyone can talk big words and what¡¯s so hard about expressing filial piety with words? What¡¯s rare is when someone really does his best to fulfill his promise wholeheartedly. Chengqian admired Yuanying for keeping his word.


    ¡°If you are short of staff or money, let me know and I can help.¡±


    Chengqian is a really great nephew and so Yuanying praised him the next day to the Emperor saying that he is generous and was willing to provide help to his n.


    His Majesty was moved hearing this.


    But after being moved he shook his head: ¡°The expenditure of East Pce is allocated by the imperial court. If East pce uses too much money, the Ministry of Revenue will have opinions.¡± In fact, not only the Ministry of Revenue but also Wei Zheng, Zhang Xuansu, Yu Zhining and the others. They are all going to rant. It¡¯s simply not feasible to use the budget allocated to the East Pce.


    Yuanying had never intended to use his eldest nephew¡¯s resources, so he patted his chest and promised: ¡°Brother, don¡¯t worry. I already told you that I won¡¯t use any money from the government so naturally I won¡¯t ask from Chengqian.¡±

 Chapter 119:

    Chapter 119:


    The pce had a lively new year celebration. After the festivities were over Chenqian acted on his promise and got the ministry to transfer Chen Xin to work for Prince Teng.


    Chen Xin had obviously heard much about Prince Teng and she was extremely cautious. Since she is now a court musician, she needs to follow orders. On paper she is a court musician that is managed by an official department but in reality her fate is not that different from those of street performers. A few words from the Crown Prince or Prince Teng will determine the fate of her life.


    Yuanying had been ying wildly for days and had actually forgotten about her. Seeing the musician, he eximed to mother: Chenqian is a man of his words, he really act on his promises.¡±


    Hearing the way Prince Teng referred to the Crown Prince, Chen Xin maintained a poker face pretending to not hear anything.


    Yuanying requested the girl to stand up and quickly introduced her background to Lady Liu.


    When mother saw Chen Xin¡¯s beauty she was rmed, thinking that her son is picking up on thete Emperor¡¯s bad habits. Hearing the whole story, she calmed down and paid careful attention on his ns.


    ¡°I¡¯m preparing to start off with the poem about WenCheng. I¡¯ll arrange for a y to reenact WenCheng¡¯s wedding.¡±


    The script is ready and so he only needed to hire actors for the y.


    ¡°Once the customers get used to eating whilst listening to poems, I¡¯ll arrange for multiple new sets of poems every month. Oh right, mother you need to start reading poems too. In the future the dishes at the restaurant needs to have auspicious sounding names. Your dishes are really popr so the name must match its reputation!¡±


    ¡°Mother is already old and you want me to study poems?¡±


    ¡°Mother you are not even thirty, what do you mean by old? You will live a long life! You need to constantly improve. You can¡¯t give up just because it¡¯s hard! The dishes you have created are selling well, if you don¡¯t name them for me then I who is away studying hard will have to take time out to do it?!¡±


    Lady Liu couldn¡¯t win this argument and so had to agree to it.


    After convincing mother, Yuanying brief Chen Xin about his ns. He has been listening to the pipa since young and can easily gauge her skills. Although the girl is only about 15 or 16, he followed the system¡¯s rmendation and made her the music director. She will be responsible for the restaurant and all its branches music and performances.


    Running through the system, Yuanying had a clear n for Cheng Xin. He shared with her the importance of her position and painted a cherry picture: Just let me know if youck money or talented people. Doesn¡¯t matter if the talent you want is a court musician or a talentedmoner, as long as Cheng Xin wants them the young Prince will get it for her. She has no worries except to make good music and attract crowd to the restaurant. If her musicians do a good job, Yuanying will work hard to give them the opportunity to perform for the Emperor in the future.


    By that time, I¡¯m afraid all schrs will want the music team at the restaurant to sing about their poems!


    After the exnation,Cheng Xin who was calm suddenly felt passion. She gave her respect to the Prince sincerely. She has been taught to y music and to please the powerful since young but has never thought that she would be entrusted with such an important tasks, let alone have such freedom.


    If she could, she prefers to y her Pipa all day long without having to worry about pleasing others. If there reallyes a day where schrs desires their poems to beposed by her then she can die with no regrets!


    ¡°If you are willing then do your best. If you have friends to rmend just list them down and I will request for themter.¡±


    Nodding, she quickly handed over a list that included the skeleton of her entire music team. Now they just need to recruit folk performers to perform. She promised Prince Teng a lively Feng Thai Restaurant during the Lantern Festival.


    Since the Prince is handing over such a big task to her, she must show results to prevent him from being disappointed!


    While Yuanying originally found Cheng Xin beautiful, he felt that shecks vigour. It is only when she ys the pipa that she looks slightly lovely. Now seeing the brilliance in her eyes looking like she can¡¯t wait to show off her skills, Yuanying was happy.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll wait to see how you¡¯ll make Feng Thai lively.¡±


    She left with hundredfold confidence.


    Li Yuanying was satisfied with the arrangement but soon heard bad news that Wei Zheng is ill.


    Wei Zheng is 63 with a strong body but just a little skinny. It¡¯s unexpected that he is ill just as it started to snow and couldn¡¯t even get out of bed. Yuanying became anxious, wasn¡¯t he healthy? Why is he suddenly ill? First, he was worried about Wei Zheng¡¯s health and then he was afraid that Wei Shu¡¯s eyes would be swollen from crying. He immediately inform mother that he will be leaving the pce in the snow.


    The road was difficult as it was paved with snow and the horses almost slipped several times. The people apanying him were frightened and advised that they should make the trip after the snow has subsided but the young prince refused to listen and rode his horse to Wei Zheng¡¯s house.


    This time Li Yuanying sudden visit did not get much reaction. The whole Wei family was filled with sadness. Although Wei Zheng¡¯s sons are grown and considered somewhat promising, the backbone of the family is still Wei Zheng. When he fell ill, everyone panicked.


    Wei Shu has obviously cried and looked a little haggard. Seeing Yuanying covered in snow, she looked out and saw howling wind and snow. Wei Shu¡¯s voice was a little hoarse but she pulled Yuanying to sit by the stove.


    ¡°It¡¯s snowing so hard, why are you here Your Highness?¡±


    Yuanying was worried that his freezing body would make Wei Zheng sick so he didn¡¯t rush to see the patient. He looked at Wei Shu with concern. Seeing that her eyes were red, he naturally expressed his worries: ¡°I¡¯m worried about your grandfather and you. Your grandfather raised you himself so you will definitely be upset that he is sick.¡±


    The Prince then instructed his people to bring down all the precious medicinal herbs he brought over.


    ¡°People are most afraid of illness when they are old. This time if he recovers he will need to take care of his body¡±


    Humans are quite typical, they hold back tears when no oneforts them, but when someone do tears kept falling.


    When Wei Shu heard ¡°I¡¯m worried about you¡± her tears began to fall and she cried sadly.


    Wei Shu had always been strong and Yuanying had never seen her cry. Seeing this, he immediately panicked. He reached out and patted Wei Shu¡¯s back: ¡°Don¡¯t cry. Old Wei will definitely get better. Should I call the imperial doctor?¡±


    Wei Shu felt embarrassed started wiping away her tears, but more she did it the more tears fell.


    ¡°His Majesty had already asked the imperial doctors to visit. The doctors mentioned that if he can pull through then grandfather will be fine but if he cannot then he will never wake up again.¡±


    Yuanying answered firmly: ¡°He will definitely be fine!¡±


    Seeing that his body is now dry he pulled her inside to visit Wei Zheng.


    The rest of the Wei family is also away that Li Yuanying is here. Normally Wei Ying would have banter with him and snatch his sister back. But seeing Wei Shu cry uncontrobly, Wei Ying stayed silent. Sister has held back from crying in front of them and he didn¡¯t know how tofort her. It¡¯s a good thing that she has let out her feeling and not keep all her sadness in her heart.


    Although the doctors had visited, Yuanying still sat down and reached for Wei Zheng¡¯s pulse. As a person gets older, their internal organs weakens and the body repairs slower. The body is bound to have issues here or there.


    While analyzing Wei Zheng¡¯s pulse, Yuanying used his system to perform a full-body scan and found that Wei Zheng¡¯s body was far worse than Li Er¡¯s. It¡¯s a wonder how he scolds the Emperor every day under such circumstances. He really did not have things easy!


    Without second thought, Yuanying used all his points from the dinosaur fossils on Wei Zheng¡¯s treatment n and he exchanged medicine for him. When the others were not paying attention, he whispered to Wei Shu: ¡°You cover for me and I¡¯ll give him some medicine.¡±


    Wei Shu was taken aback.


    Seeing that Yuanying is serious, Wei Shu struggled internally on whether she should trust him. When ites to grandfather, Wei Shu who usually trusts the boy fully is still doubtful. But remembering that the doctors were helpless and left everything to fate, she quickly agreed to cover for him.


    The two worked together to feed Wei Zheng the medicine and stared at Wei Zheng¡¯s closed eyes. Seeing that he showed no signs of waking up, tears began to well up in Wei Shu¡¯s eyes again but she did her best to it hold back.


    Sensing that Wei Shu is about to cry, Yuanying became anxious and began to talk nonsense and threaten Wei Zheng: ¡°Old Wei, if you don¡¯t wake up, I will bring Sister Shu to the Tibetan Empire tomorrow to y and you will not be able to chase after us. Do you know how far away that is from Chang¡¯an?¡± It¡¯ll take months to get there!¡±


    Wei Shu stretched out her hand and told him to stop talking.


    But Yuanying couldn¡¯t stop talking.


    ¡°I have thought about this for a long time. I want to bring Sister Shu to climb a snow-capped mountain, a very high one. It will take us a year and a half. But then don¡¯t you whine about it¡±


    Not sure if Wei Zheng was annoyed with the boy but his eyelids actually moved. When the boy saw it, he immediately asked someone to invite Sun Simiao over. We are nearby the Thousand Gold Hall so he should be able to arrive soon!


    The others did not see the moving eyelid and they politely stepped forward to invite the young prince out for some tea and to stop disturbing the patient. If their father really did her Yuanying¡¯s bbering he would be mad at him to the point of death!


    Although Yuanying hadn¡¯t said enough, he read the air in the room and obediently left with Wei Shu to wait for Sun Simiao outside.


    Sun Simiao had actually visited earlier and shared the same diagnosis as the other doctors whereby Wei Zheng¡¯s condition is left up to fate. Hearing that Prince Teng is asking for him, he sighed but still carefully packed up and visit the Wei family home again.


    Sun Simiao arrived so quickly that the boy had only finished half a bowl of tea absentmindedly.


    Yuanying happily pulled Sun Simiao inside: ¡°Master, you¡¯re here! I just saw Old Wei¡¯s eyelids moving. Please check to see if he¡¯s waking up!¡±


    Sun Simiao nodded at the others in greeting and took Wei Zheng¡¯s pulse. Just as he got started, he found that Wei Zheng¡¯s condition had greatly improved. His blood vessels were smoother and his pulse much stronger. Sun Simiao¡¯s solemn face softened and he said: ¡°Your Highness is right, Grand Master Wei should wake up soon. All he needs to do is to take care of himself and there should be no serious illness with his body.¡±


    Li Yuanying was overjoyed.


    Wei Shu was happy but tears fell. Ever since grandfather fell ill, she had been worried every day that the pir of the Wei family would fall!


    When Yuanying saw Wei Shu crying again, he was not as helpless as before. He just felt that Wei Shu was still a girl. No matter how she didn¡¯t like to cry, she would still shed tears when sad. He thought for a while and hug her like how he would with one of his nieces:¡±Don¡¯t be sad, don¡¯t be sad, Old Wei will be fine soon! If he doesn¡¯t wake up, I will really take you to the Tibetan Empire to y!¡±


    Li Yuanying coaxed the girl with much concentration that he didn¡¯t notice Wei Ying ring at him with murderous eyes.


    After Wei Shu stopped crying, Yuanying stayed for a while. It wasn¡¯t until Wei Zheng woke up that he returned to the pce with peace of mind.


    The next day, Li Yuanying rummaged through his small warehouse again, selected the good medicinal materials that the system thought could help Wei Zheng recuperate his body, and left the pce to go to the Wei family again. Unexpectedly, it took him some time to find the medicinal materials. When he arrived at the Wei family, the Wei family already had other guests.


    The author has something to say:


    The young prince:? What guests?

 Chapter 120:

    Chapter 120:


    It was Li Er and Li Chengqian. The Emperor had to visit the Wei family personally after hearing about the tragic update that Wei Zheng¡¯s health was in tatters and up to fate to decide. Given that Wei Zheng was also the Crown Prince¡¯s teacher, Chengqian naturally had to visit. Therefore, father and son arrive at the Wei Family home early in the morning.


    Unexpectedly, they found Wei Zheng looking healthy as he drank a bowl of porridge looking normal. Does this mean the doctors gave a wrong diagnosis?


    Li Er was quite bothered but sat down. Upon further probing, he found out that a certain younger brother drop by to visit yesterday, got Doctor Sun to visit and dispense some medicine and by night the old man could get down from his sick bed. Since morning, Wei Zheng didn¡¯t want to stay in bed and walked around much before agreeing to sit down for a bowl of porridge.


    Since Wei Zheng is feeling better, the Emperor kept his words of constion.


    ¡°That brat came so fast, even earlier than me.¡±


    Hearing this Wei Zheng had a bad expression. The brat even made him angry by saying ¡°If you don¡¯t wake up I will bring your granddaughter away to y¡±. Wei Ying also shared with grandfather that when his precious granddaughter was crying, he consoled her by giving her a hug! Even though they were still kids, this is not right.


    Wei Zheng tried his best to share the story to the Emperor with a straight face.


    Li Er didn¡¯t see a problem with it and defended his younger brother. ¡°Yuanying must be worried about you and said those words to make you angry hoping to wake you up. Let¡¯s not snoop to the boy¡¯s level.¡±


    What can Wei Zheng say further but to ept with silence.


    Although Wei Zheng is now better, the Emperor still told him about a decision he made yesterday. ¡°Dear minister Wei, you just work on getting better. Once you¡¯re healthy, I will engage Princess Hengshan with your son.¡±


    Wei Zheng was left stunned.


    Wei Ying who was listening to their conversation quietly couldn¡¯t hold back and uttered: ¡°Then what about sister?!¡±


    Although Wei Ying didn¡¯t see eye to eye with Li Yuanying and thinks everything he does is not right; this is more because Yuanying was always trying to steal his sister away. In reality, Wei Ying thinks that Yuanying is great whenpared to boys his age and treats his sister well too. If not for this, he would have kicked the boy out from his house yesterday!


    Now that the Emperor wants to promise Princess Hengshan to the Wei Family, isn¡¯t that spoiling the n?


    It didn¡¯t matter who Princess Hengshan will marry but that would mean Wei Shu and Yuanying cannot be a pair anymore?!


    Wei Zheng turn to re at Wei Ying who is talking nonsense.


    Wei Ying shut his mouth but still had an unsettling look on his face.


    If Li Er couldn¡¯t see through this, it¡¯s a waste for him to be King. He looked eye to eye with Chengqian and thought back about what Wei Zheng said about his younger brother wanting to kidnap his granddaughter.


    The Emperor looked like he was in deep thoughts.


    The Tang Empire was a progressive state, it was not a big deal for unmarried people to like another. After all marriage is for a lifetime so it¡¯s good not to get married too simply. But the royal children¡¯s marriage had to be arranged by the Emperor, there is no way they will get away with marrying without his consent.


    Although Li Yuanying is not his son, he brought up that kid himself as histe father passed him the responsibility of taking care of his younger brother. Therefore, his marriage must be the Emperor¡¯s problem. Great, now this kid had gone ahead and harassed someone¡¯s granddaughter and did everything he was not supposed to and said all kinds of things he was not supposed to. Now everyone thinks there¡¯s something between the pair!


    There is nothing wrong in making Li Yuanying and Wei Zheng¡¯s granddaughter a pair, but HE must be the one who make that decision.


    The air became tense.


    Right on the dot, Li Yuanying¡¯s men came in with precious medicinal herbs.


    Yuanying was shocked when he stepped into the house, why is brother and nephew here too? Why is the atmosphere so weird!


    Thest time Yuanying ran away and Wei Zheng gave him the cold shoulder for many days. This time he knows better and stay put. He dragged a pillow and sat next to the Emperor.


    ¡°Brother, Chengqian, you¡¯re here to visit Old man Wei.¡±


    After making thatment he went closer to Wei Zheng. Seeing that he is in good shape, he happily eximed: ¡°Old man Wei you¡¯re better! I went looking in my warehouse and found many good herbs. You follow the doctors instructions and make potions to heal your body with them.¡±


    Hearing ¡°Old Man Wei¡± the Emperor¡¯s expression soften. This horrible brat is unaware about kidnapping someone¡¯s granddaughter.


    Li Er look towards Wei Ying.


    Wei Ying broke into cold sweat.


    He realized that his idental bber might have left a bad impression of his sister in the Emperor¡¯s eyes. Although Li Yuanying is a horrible brat creating all kinds of trouble, the Emperor favour him. What if in the Emperor¡¯s eyes Li Yuanying is meless and it is his sister that is trying to seduce him, then she will be finished.


    Yuanying didn¡¯t know that he is the root-cause of this tense situation. He saw Wei Ying with a white face and consoled: ¡°Brother Wei, why do you look so pale? Are you sick too? When Master Sun is hereter, I¡¯ll ask him to take a look at you too!¡±


    Wei Ying¡¯s face became red seeing Yuanying so clueless. ¡°I¡¯m not sick!¡±


    ¡°The why do you look so weird? It isn¡¯t chilly!¡±


    Yuanying look towards Li Er and Li Chengqian and realized that everyone was looking at him. He wasn¡¯t happy with this and started throwing guesses. ¡°You guys were talking bad about me behind my back? Talking behind someone¡¯s back, you guys are horrible!¡±


    Li Er answered calmly: ¡°I¡¯m promising Hengshan¡¯s hand in marriage to the Wei Family. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°No way!¡± Li Yuanying objected immediately.


    Everyone¡¯s attention was on him.


    Li Er looked at the boy without expressio.n.


    ¡°Whoever it is that you want to engage Hengshan to in the Wei family is not right. Hengshan is only 9! Sister Shu¡¯s uncles were so much older, who is suitable? Lord Brother don¡¯t simply match-make people!


    Yuanying looked towards Wei Ying, thought hard and then shook his head. ¡°Brother Wei is not suitable too. He doesn¡¯t know how to take care of others, he doesn¡¯t even know when he has offended or make others sad!¡±


    Wei Zheng¡¯s expression cken. How dare you judge someone¡¯s family so harshly? Moreover how dare you say the Emperor is randomly match-making, if this was said by someone else that person would have been punished for insulting the King!


    But Li Er had no intention of looping off his shameless brother¡¯s head. With raised eyebrows, he asked: ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    The boy blinked and asked strangely: ¡°What else?¡±


    Seeing his younger brother with a clueless and innocent expression, the Emperor replied calmly: ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll call this off.¡±


    This was met with criticism by the boy: ¡°Lord brother, how can you be like this? How can you inform old man Wei when you have not made concrete ns. He is still not fully recovered yet! What if this statement gets known by the public, it¡¯s bad for both Hengshan and Wei¡¯s reputation!¡±


    Wei Zheng decided to y mute and not join in the conversation between siblings.


    Li Er became agitated because of Li Yuanying.


    Who is the source of things not being concrete?


    ¡°Minister Wei has contributed greatly to the country. If I do not marry the Princess into the Wei Family, how about you marry sister Shu?¡±


    Li Yuanying was left speechless. Why did the ball fall into his court.


    Do you arrange marriages just because someone greatly contributed to the country? Li Yuanying thought hard¡­ indeed Fang, Du, Tang Jian and Zhangsun Wuji and so many more did get engage to princesses or have their daughters married into the royal family.


    Looks like that¡¯s how Li Er roll, if you contribute greatly you be part of the extended family.


    Yuanying had always thought that he was still young. Although he has thought about his future children, he has never imagine what his future bride will look like. Justst year he thought that Li Zhi¡¯s act of marrying the daughter of the Wang family wasme. Now that it¡¯s his turn, he didn¡¯t know how to react.


    Seeing his younger brother in a state of shock, Li Er nudge: ¡°Why? Are you unwilling?¡±


    Li Yuanying came to his senses and happily replied: ¡°Of cause I am willing but I¡¯m not sure if Sister Shu will be willing to? If she really agrees to be my Princess then I can really bring her to the Tibetan Empire for a fun trip!¡± If she really is married to him, who needs to be scared about Old man Wei or the others, they can go wherever they want! Li Yuanying excitedly asked the Emperor: ¡°So, when am I getting married to Sister Shu?¡±


    Wei Zheng face turned green.


    Seriously how shameless can this pair of sibling be?!


    The Emperor became worried that Yuanying would piss off Wei Zheng so badly that he would fall ill again quickly put up a serious expression: ¡°Shut up! Serious matters like marriage shouldn¡¯t be child¡¯s y. If all you are thinking about is ytime, who would dare marry their precious daughter to you?¡±


    Li Yuanying obediently kept quiet but he was feeling super excited. Yay, I¡¯m going to have a future princess soon. Mother would be overjoyed! He was bing restless and look around; no sight of Sister Shu.


    ¡°Brother, let me ask Sister Shu if she is willing!¡± After uttering this sentence, he did not wait for the Emperor¡¯s response but left the room for Wei Zheng¡¯s study.


    Wei Shu and Mrs Pei left the room after paying their respect to the Emperor but Wei Shu listened to their conversation from the study room.


    Hearing Wei Ying say ¡°What about my sister?¡±, Wei Shu¡¯s heart suddenly rose to her throat. Although she was still young and didn¡¯t quite understand everything, she knew that marriage was something that elders would arrange. The more prestigious a family is, the more it will be so and no one can go against the elder¡¯s wishes.


    She and Li Yuanying¡¯s friendship is pure and they have nothing to hide. But then again, who knows how the Emperor sees it?


    Hearing that Li Yuanying ising over, she became even more worried. She is anxious that Yuanying will agitate the Emperor and they will never be allowed to hang out again. It is only at this moment that she realized how much she cherish the freedom she currently has.


    Just thinking about not being able to freely do the things she like made her sad and her nose became stuffy to the point that she wasn¡¯t able to pay attention to the conversation outside.


    When Li Yuanying came looking for her, Wei Shu was facing the wall sobbing quietly. She has had too many sad incidences in the past 2 days, it¡¯s as if all her tears has been shed in this short 2 days.


    Yuanying seeing her shoulder moving got anxious and quickly asked: ¡°Sister, why are you crying again? Don¡¯t cry! Old ¡ª Your grandfather is now well, please stop crying.¡± Seeing his future princess crying, Yuanying¡¯s heart felt like it was being crushed into pieces. He quickly pat her back trying tofort her: ¡°Please stop crying. Lord brother said that if you are willing, he will make you my princess and I can take you travelling to the Tibetan Empire!¡±


    Wei Shu was surprised and the she lift her head to look at Yuanying.


    He saw that her tears had stopped and happily held her hands. ¡°Lord Brother said it with his own mouth, there¡¯s no lie to this. How about it? Are you willing? Will you be my Princess?¡±


    Wei Shu felt that this matter waspletely inconsistent to be seeking her opinion. ¡°The Emperor is outside, why are you asking for my opinion here?¡±


    ¡°Of course I need to ask you directly, if not when should I do it?¡± Yuanying then became slightly nervous: ¡°I¡¯ve agreed to it just now, Sister Shu are you not in favour to this?¡±


    Of course Wei Shu was in favour. Compared to being married off to a stranger, they know each other well and spent many happy days together. It¡¯s just that Li Yuanying does things uniquely, things that people will not think about.


    Wei Shu stopped crying but she also did not be shy like other girls would. If she is willing, she is willing, there is no need to be secretive. She look straight at Yuanying and nodded: ¡°I¡¯m in favour too.¡±


    Yuanying saw Wei Shu¡¯s shining eyes that still had residue of tears making them shine. He happily agreed: ¡°Then things are settled. I will let brother know quickly so that he can¡¯t change his mind.¡± Li Yuanying lowered his voice and spoke ill of Li Er to Wei Shu: ¡°You don¡¯t know brother well, he is the most capricious person.¡±


    The Emperor is waiting outside and Wei Shu didn¡¯t dare discuss about him. She hurriedly asked the boy to leave.


    Li Yuanying suddenly became big-headed: ¡°You also want to marry me fast, right? I¡¯ll go right away!¡±


    Without waiting for Wei Shu¡¯s reaction he ran out with his tail raised and shouted to His Majesty: ¡°Brother, Sister Shu is willing!¡±


    Thinking that he was about to have a princess, he excitedly pulled Li Er¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Brother, please arrange our marriage when we get back. Let Xiao Li choose an auspicious date, he is the best at choosing dates. But let¡¯s not be too hasty. I still have to prepare the betrothal gifts and Sister Shu needs to prepare her dowry. How about this, let¡¯s agree on the marriage first and we can choose the wedding date slowly!¡±


    Li Er and Wei Zheng¡¯s expression don¡¯t look too good.


    After the boy had finished talking, the Emperor and his minister exchanged nces and decided unanimously: Let him have his way.


    Is there anyone in this world who can control this b*stard?


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: I¡¯m going to have a princess!!!!!


    Note:The marriage of HengShan to Wei Zheng¡¯s son has reference to history. That year, Wei Zheng fell ill and His Majesty promised his daughter to the Wei family. After Wei Zheng passed away, Li Er personally wrote an inscription for him. But in the same year, Chengqian rebelled and the Emperor had a bad impression of Wei Zheng. He destroyed the inscription he had personally written and called off the wedding. It was such aplicated year!


    The little prince, this little butterfly, ps his little wings every day!

 Chapter 121:

    Chapter 121:


    Li Yuanying is someone who can create drama out of nothing. Now that there¡¯s something to work on, he made a big fuss. He quickly went home and inform mother about his future princess.


    Lady Liu is well-aware that her son¡¯s marriage will be the Emperor¡¯s decision. Hearing that her son went out for a trip and have gotten a future wife, she was surprised but then decided to probe the matter further. Yuanying told her all about how Li Er arranged his uing marriage to sister Shu. ¡°It¡¯s sister Shu, I¡¯ve told you about her many times.¡±


    Of course mother knows the girl, she is someone personally raised by minister Wei and is studying in the Imperial College. She is indeed an extraordinary girl, otherwise Li Yuanying might not like her so much.


    Within a minute, mother and son shared the same joy. ¡°Then I shall need to carefully prepare the meeting gift.¡± (Lady Liu)


    Although Li Yuanying went on ranting about preparing a betrothal gift. In fact, there were regtions in ce for betrothal gift by a prince and what etiquette to follow. His Majesty will arrange for someone to take care of it and there isn¡¯t anything that the boy needed to worry about. All he needed to do was be present on the day.


    Lady Liu wanted to prepare a meeting gift for Wei Shu.


    ¡°Sister Shu writes well. If you choose good ink and inkstone for her, she will definitely like it.¡±


    ¡°Why would someone gift ink as a meeting gift?¡± Lady Liu told Yuanying to mind his own business and not meddle in her gift to her future daughter inw.


    Li Yuanying silently uttered ¡°Get a daughter inw and forgets the son¡±. He then instructed his men to withdraw money and to pay everyone a 1 month bonus and 2 new suits to celebrate him getting a future wife. Since the prince is wealthy and generous, his men were all happy and boasted about their master¡¯s good deeds.


    In the blink of an eye, everyone knew that Li Yuanying was going to bring home a princess. Yuanying didn¡¯t stop there, he then handed out red envelopes to all his nephews and grandnephews, saying that he should share his luck to them too. Get married and have children as soon as possible to expand the Li family tree.


    Even Li Chengqian got one.


    ¡°Although you already have Xiang¡¯er, you still should have more children. More means more blessings. More means more fun!¡±


    ¡°Young uncle is right. Young uncle should hurry up too.¡± He smiled and teased: ¡°Young Uncle, do you know where childrene from?¡±


    Growing up in the pce and able to persuade His Majesty to work less, Yuanying would not be troubled by such a question. Although he didn¡¯t know the whole process but he and Sister Shu were still young so this isn¡¯t a problem to think about now. When he grows up, he will naturally know how!


    Yuanying hummed: ¡°How could I not know? I understand!¡± After saying that, he wanted to take Chengqian¡¯s pulse to see if he had overindulged in ¡°action¡±. Although he should have more children, over-indulgence is not good, as it harms the body.


    Li Yuanying said in a serious manner that he would give Chengqian some prescriptions to replenish his energy, causing Chengqian to flee in despair.


    If people were to find out that the dignified crown prince had to take nourishing medicines at such a young age, where should he hide his face?


    Will Li Yuanying let someone outrun him? Even though Li Chengqian ran away, he asked someone to pick out deer tail, tiger tail, bull tail and the likes and sent them all to East Pce. All is left to make things super obvious is to beat a gong loudly to announce that he is helping his eldest nephew strengthen his virility!


    Li Chengqian hates himself for uttering an additional sentence teasingly. Now everyone looks at him with inquiry and pity.


    The key is that no one would daree forward to offer him condolences. At least that way he can refute the rumour. What can he do? Li Chengqian could only spend more time with the crown princess, hoping to be blessed with another child to put rumors to rest.


    Li Yuanying made too much noise and His Majesty heard all about it. Hearing that Li Yuanying had caused rumors about the Crown Prince¡¯s fertility, the Emperor was speechless and immediately gave him a scolding. I know you are happy about having a future princess, but you don¡¯t have to cause so much havoc right?


    Li Yuanying was not one to be scolded obediently.


    ¡°It¡¯s Chengqian¡¯s fault. He said that I didn¡¯t know where childrene from, so I had to prove to him my knowledge.¡±


    Li Er waszy to entertain him. Pack up and go back to the Imperial College as soon as the Lantern Festival is over. Stop causing trouble.


    On the day of the Lantern Festival, Chang¡¯an City was bustling with activity. It¡¯s a rare asion where the night curfew is lifted and everyone can walk around freely. The streets were crowded. The music team at FengThai also made their debut today.


    Cheng Xin updated that the stage had been set but they didn¡¯t have enough time to practice new music so they will be using the music program from the year before, outsiders has not heard of it, so it should still be attractive. We take this chance to announce that there will be performances every month at the restaurant this year.


    Yuanying was satisfied with the arrangement. Since there were no new songs, he would not be joining. After the festival he would have to return to school and so he cherished the little time he had and invited Wei Shu out to y at night and happily ran to pick her up in the evening.


    Everyone in the Wei family had mixed feelings about Li Yuanying. In the past, they thought that he was going to kidnap Wei Shu so everyone was extremely vignt; now that Wei Shu has really been abducted by him, they don¡¯t know whether they should kick him out. This guy is so thick-skinned. No one have doubts about him climbing over the the wall to enter the house if they were to kick him out!


    Mrs. Pei had always liked Li Yuanying. Since the two got engaged, Mrs. Pei had inquired lots about Prince Teng and was always worried. In the past, she only had to worry about Wei Zheng, but now she also has to worry about Li Yuanying too.


    Li Yuanying did not feel theplex emotions of others.


    He originally wanted to bring Wei Shu out alone to have fun but Sizi and the others were eager to y too. Naturally, he couldn¡¯t leave them so when he arrived at Wei¡¯s house, he had a bunch of children with him along with friends; all ready to seenterns and the moon.


    He greeted Mrs. Pei and quickly exined the situation to Wei Shu. Although Wei Shu didn¡¯t like fun as much as Yuanying, there was no reason to leave everyone else behind so she had no objection to everyone celebrating the Lantern Festival together.


    As they were all good friends, Gao Yang and the others teased Wei Shu with a few words and then everyone started thinking about how best to y!


    Li Yuanying had no n, he led the group from street to street, from the East Market to the West Market. They walked everywhere and didn¡¯t stop all night. They even stopped by FengThai restaurant to have a look and only left after seeing more and more people gathering.


    ¡°I leave this matter to Chengxin, the one ying the pipa just now. It¡¯s an instrument I listen to since young and not many ys it well. Chengxin ys it very well and I first heard her ying at Chengqian¡¯s ce. He¡¯s such a great nephew that he assigned her to me when I asked!¡±


    Before Wei Shu could speak, Gao Yangughed.


    ¡°If brother is so great, why are you messing with him?¡± Although a normaldy would refrain from hearing such rumour but Gao Yang is not normal. She ys together with the boys and had heard all about the biggest scandal in the pce.


    ¡°I¡¯m just showing my concern for my nephew.¡±


    Wei Shu asked what they were talking about.


    Li Yuanying being shameless quickly whispered to her all that had happen in the pce.


    Wei Shu¡¯s ears became red but she held onto a neutral expression. Hearing all about the nonsensical things that uncle and nephew had done she could only reply: ¡°You guys really do share a close rtionship.¡± If it weren¡¯t for the tight kinship, they would have beaten Yuanying to death!


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    After a night of ying, Yuanying sent Little round ball home and then the girls to the pce gate. Then, he and Wei Shu walked towards the Wei Family home.


    On their way home, Li Yuanying never shut up. He went on and on about his future ns. This year he might not be able to pass the imperial examination but that¡¯s alright. Li Zhi will be moving to Taiyuan after getting married, so let¡¯s visit him for a fun time. Once he has passed his exams then let¡¯s visit WenCheng in Tibet!


    Once theye back from Tibetan Empire, he would be 14 or 15. He will then have to move to his fief and brother will have no reason to keep him anymore. By then, no one can stop them from doing whatever their hearts desires, let¡¯s build a huge academy and a big boat, let¡¯s go out to sea to y!


    But Yuanying wasn¡¯t just doing this for ytime. Since the incident of Wei Zheng falling sick, he found that his system is useful as it is good at treating illnesses. Let¡¯s collect more points so that we have points in case someone dear falls sick.


    Since scanning documents and buildings have be ¡°questionable¡±, he will scan more dinosaur fossils. Anyway, there will be specialist in this field in the future. Why not spend money to train a team to look for fossils? I might make more money by selling more dinosaur models!


    So if he were to go out travelling in the future, he will ask his team of ¡°fossil experts¡± to investigate if there are any fossils around. If there is, he will scan them. This way, you won¡¯t miss out on ying or earning points, the best of both worlds!


    Li Yuanying¡¯s little abacus was rattling in his mind when they reached Wei Shu¡¯s home. Yuanying didn¡¯t like toe and go quietly, so he openly delivered big and small gifts to the Wei Family.


    This guy doesn¡¯t regard himself as an outsider. After entering, he happily ced the ornaments into Wei Zheng¡¯s house. He ced a vase shaped like a gracefuldy in Wei Shu¡¯s corner in the study and put flowers onto it. After finishing his work, he said goodbye to Mrs. Pei and happily returned to the pce.


    Wei Shu sat in front of the flowers and then looked at thentern that Li Yuanying personally hung for her. Sheughed softly.


    At night, Wei Zheng cursed at Li Yuanying to Mrs. Pei. Not only is this guy bring his granddaughter out to y, he bought half the street back. He felt that it wouldn¡¯t be long before he, the number one admonisher of the Empire, would be the target of impeachment!


    At this moment, Wei Zheng finally realized the evil heart of His Majesty. Wei Zheng carries himself to be honest and upright in all aspects. As a result, His Majesty chose such a grandson-inw for him. Sooner orter, his reputation will bepletely ruined!


    When ites to extravagance, who canpare with Li Yuanying? Someone said that when he was at the Imperial College, he had a bunch of big boxes. He wears his clothes only once and then throws them away! In order to have good food, he even found a restaurant to feed the Imperial College hundreds of dishes. Different dishes were served for a hundred days and then his favorite food was picked and served every day.


    Not to mention his amazing ability to make trouble. He creates a big fuss no matter what he does. Forget about anything else, let¡¯s just focus on this arranged marriage. His Majesty has not even finished the basic procedures but he has already announced it to the whole world and then dragged the Crown Prince into this mess!


    The Crown prince had secretly asked Wei Zheng to control this prospective grandson-inw, and to persuade His Majesty to stop him from causing trouble every day.


    Wei Zheng felt that he would soon be sick again!


    Although Mrs. Pei heard everything, she didn¡¯t fully agree with Wei Zheng. Although she is also worried about whether Li Yuanying will cause huge disasters but isn¡¯t he doing well now?


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my grandson-inw buying you something? Who dares to say anything? Don¡¯t they also have inws? If their family is not filial, they can¡¯t see other people practice this virtue?¡±


    Wei Zheng remained silent.


    Mrs. Pei continued with praises: ¡°I think this child is blessed. Your illness was so severe and the doctors were helpless and could not revive you. This child came not long after and you got well and was able to walk right away the next day!¡±


    Wei Zheng snorted: ¡°I was so angry that I woke up.¡±


    He has many children and several grandchildren but Wei Shu is his favourite. She can do whatever she wants and he only hopes that she grows up happily. At that time, Li Yuanying wanted to kidnap her on his sickbed. How can he not be angry?


    ¡°You can hear him and be angry with you but you can¡¯t hear us crying? The child is lucky enough to wake you up!¡±


    Come on. In Mrs. Pei¡¯s eyes, that brat is faultless and a good child!


    Wei Zheng shut up for the night.


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: Of course I am the best! (Proud pose)

 Chapter 122:

    Chapter 122:


    After the celebration has ended, Yuanying had to return to school. He didn¡¯t stop his nonsense after going back to ss and asked the cafeteria to prepare wedding pastries for everyone at school; shamelessly announcing his and Wei Shu¡¯s rtionship to the whole world.


    Soon it was February and time for Li Zhi to start his marriage preparations. Li Zhi is 2 years older but only 15 years old. If they weremoners, he wouldn¡¯t be considered fully grown yet but bench-marking against his royal brothers, he is alreadyte in getting married. Li Zhi remained calm, leaving everything to his father¡¯s men to make preparations.


    Yuanying thinks that the way Li Zhi is getting married is quite confusing but to each their own and he kept his advises to himself. Not long after, the court send forth bad news: Prince of Qi, Li You has formed a team and is preparing to rebel.


    Li Er only had a few peaceful days before receiving such bad news. He was furious and immediately ordered Li Ji, the Minister of War to arrest the traitor! Li Yuanying only found out when he took a day of leave to attend Li Zhi¡¯s wedding banquet. Everyone was suppressing the matter and not many knew about this incident for the time being. It was only when the Emperor executed Prince Li You¡¯s birth mother that news spread in the pce.


    One son got married and another one rebelled. Yuanying thinks Li Er is having a hard time being a father. After the wedding banquet was over, he quietly went to His Majesty tofort him who had been stabbed by his own son.


    Li Er looked neither happy nor angry and did not chase Li Yuanying away. He asked someone to brew tea and let Li Yuanying talk.


    Yuanying naturallyforted him telling him not to be angry and to take care of his body. If a child disobeys, he will be honest after a few beatings.


    Yuanying had not met Li You and didn¡¯t know what kind of person he was so he didn¡¯tment on his rebellion. He only muttered in confusion: ¡°The imperial army is strong, it¡¯s unreasonable for him to do this. What is he after?¡±


    His Majesty didn¡¯t say anything so Yuanying kept talking.


    Yuanying got tired of speaking but the Emperor still had the same expression: ¡°Hey brother, don¡¯t be too sad. I think Chengqian and Zhi Nu are filial and third nephew too!¡±


    Li Yuanying¡¯s attentiveness greatly benefited Li Er. During this challenging period, many came to discuss punishment for the traitors involve and some came to send relevant evidence but no one came tofort him endlessly like his younger brother did. It really gave him a feeling of ¡°My son is disobedient, I¡¯m really sad.¡±


    Li Er has many children but he has only visited a few of them personally. He didn¡¯t have deep affection for Li You. Li Tai¡¯s incident reminded him that since he is the Emperor, he could not also y the role of a kind father, son, filial and a respectful brother.


    This time Li You hit nail on the coffin and the Emperor wanted to instill fear in his citizens to remind them that a coup is a serious crime. Even his own son will die if he rebels!


    His Majesty had no intention of telling Li Yuanying these ns.


    With Li Yuanying¡¯szy and indulgent character, he would never think of rebelling.


    Li Er nced at Yuanying, ¡°Okay, go back and rest.¡±


    Yuanying felt like he had wasted time talking and Li Er looked less cheerful than at the beginning. He remembered what was said in <<Han Zi>> that if a king¡¯s happiness and anger is easily known to others, the country might be destroyed. It seems that His Majesty must have secretly read the same book so no matter if he was happy or sad, he will not let others see it.


    Yuanying didn¡¯t want to stay long and ran away. After returning, he did not tell Lady Liu about his visit tofort His Majesty. Instead, he told her interesting stories about Li Zhi¡¯s wedding.


    There has been some unrest in the pce recently and Lady Liu was in a state of uneasiness. As soon as Yuanying came back, she had nothing to worry about. After mother and son shared updates since their separation, they both rested in good mood.


    Before Li Zhi¡¯s wedding has passed a full month, Li You was arrested back to Chang¡¯an. It is rumored that the rebel group he led was entirely a grassroots team. Before Li Ji could arrive in Qizhou, someone had already defected and arrested Li You. As Li Ji arrive his task was easy. He caught, arrested and executed those who rebelled. Those who had sessfully helped in this operation were reported. A rebellion with little thunder and rain came to an end.


    As Li Ji escorted Li You back to the capital, news of Prince Qi¡¯s rebellion spread like wildfire. Everything was good for him, why did he choose such a path? Look at Li Ke, he didn¡¯t rebel even when Tian¡¯er was reprimanded. You are given a rich ce like Qizhou, with mountain and sea, what are you dissatisfied about?


    Everyone had just observed the wedding of Prince Jin and now they all wanted to know how would the Emperor of Tang deal with a rebelling son. Li Er did not disappoint, all involved were beheaded including Li You¡¯s party and his uncle¡¯s family.


    Just as Spring started,the city of Chang¡¯an is stained with blood. Everyone who witnessed this felt horrified.


    As for Li You, he died a rather honorable death. He was given a cup of poisonous wine and passed away in one piece.


    Since the Emperor executed his own son, the atmosphere at court was gloomy. His Majesty still did what he had to do and fully demonstrated his ruthless side. All of a sudden, all princes both adults and minors got the news in a special newsletter so that they have a good look at the consequences of staging a rebellion.


    No matter whose blood is flowing in your body, if you dare to dream about things you shouldn¡¯t, that¡¯s the end for you!


    Li Tai who had settled in Xiangzhou for a year also received a copy of the newspaper. Simultaneously he also received news about the birth of his new son. Mother and son are safe. His Majesty sent someone to visit upon this good news. Although the letters he wrote to father did not get replies, at least the Emperor still acknowledges him and had notpletely forgotten about his son.


    As Li Tai felt happier, Quan Wanji came over with news and read to Li Tai about what happened to Li You.


    Quan Wanji¡¯s attitude was straightforward: Look at the consequences of rebellion. Not only did he not get any results but everyone close to him was ruined. If you have any intentions, just take a rest and don¡¯t seek death upon yourself!


    Li Tai¡¯splexion was green and white.


    This Quan Wanji is simply a bully!


    But Quan Wanji didn¡¯t feel that he was going too far. He had to shoulder the responsibility of Chang Shi to advise Li Tai well, lest Li Tai tried to stage a rebellion. We can¡¯t me Quan Wanji for being wary, because His Majesty originally intended for him to serve Prince Qi but was made to serve Li Tai at the veryst minute!


    Why did Li Tai leave the capital? Isn¡¯t it because of a fight with the Crown Prince?


    Therefore Quan Wanji came with newsletter in hand. He doesn¡¯t want to give up his head just for serving as the Prince¡¯s advisor!


    He gave Li Tai a good lecture and didn¡¯t care about giving him any ¡°face¡±. Once he was done, he quickly left.


    Li Tai sat idly watching the sunset. After a long time he asked for alcohol and drank lots of it. As night approaches he was drunk and feel asleep.


    Since news had travelled to Xiangzhou, news naturally would also reach the Imperial Academy. Li Yuanying was surprised, thest time he met brother he didn¡¯t mention anything about executing Li You.


    Although Li You staged a coup, he only had few soldiers so he will not be able to achieve much.


    Yuanying initially thought that the Emperor would spare Li You or at least his family¡¯s life. After all he is the Emperor¡¯s biological son. Unexpectedly, the Emperor was steadfast in getting rid of them from the root.


    The boy had trouble sleeping that night. He knows that to stay by the Emperor side is liken to staying next to a tiger. He also knows that the Royal family had no love. But brother had been really good to him these few years and tolerated much of his nonsense even when he overstep the line.


    Li Yuanying flip his body and faced the dark ceiling. He will never want to aim for the throne, for that would mean to kill your own brother or sons and things like your children¡¯s marriages are strategic chess pieces.


    But even when he will never have such intentions, will Lord Brother believe him forever? He has mother, sister Shu and many friends. He hopes that everyone lives a good long life but he didn¡¯t have any idea how to put that into action.


    Even if you are born into an ordinary family, there will be brothers fighting, sisters-inw falling out, and everything will never go as nned.


    Li Yuanying couldn¡¯t sleep so he got up walked outside and looked at the moonlight shining making the ground white with frost.


    Tang Guan and Tang Xuan both woke up. Seeing that Yuanying had note back, they sat up and looked at each other. They then walked out quietly to the left and right of Li Yuanying.


    When Li Yuanying heard the noise, he looked at them and blinked his eyes. ¡°Did I wake you up?¡±


    ¡°Not your first time, I¡¯m used to it¡± (Tang Guan)


    Yuanying felt that Tang Guan had a sharp-tongued but a soft heart. Heughed, looked at the round moon and said: ¡°The moon is really round today.¡±


    Tang Guan and Tang Xuan looked at each other again and it was Tang Xuan¡¯s turn to speak: ¡°Are you thinking about Prince Qi?¡± Everyone knew what had happened and could all guess why Li Yuanying can¡¯t fall asleep.


    Yuanying listened to the question and thought for a while.


    ¡°Yes, and no.¡±


    He retracted his gaze at the moon and expressed his thoughts: ¡°I was just thinking that I should have a hard thought about what I should and should not do in the future.¡±


    If it was just him, he can continue being the little demon king. But he was about to marry a princess, and he couldn¡¯t make his mother and her sad. He has to be a shield for them, a person who can withstand wind and rain. He can no longer mess around and make people worry like before.


    A rare asion where Li Yuanying is reflecting, both boys cheered him on.


    Receiving such support, Yuanying was happy and slept through the night.


    Tang Guan and Tang Xuan felt that Yuanying would quieten down for the next few days and slept well too. But then Li Yuanying, Wei Shu and the others came up with an internship n and submitted it to Kong Yingda. They suggest going to various county offices in the Province for internships. Anyway, there¡¯s nothing too important in the county. Let them practice so that when they really be an official in the future, they will not be totally clueless. The ministries of the Imperial court dealt with important matters, so it is not rmended for internship positions!


    This matter had been brought to Zhangsun Wuji and a few other minister¡¯s attention before. When Yuanying wrote the n, he naturally wrote their names saying that he had consulted them previously with good feedback. We strongly rmended Kong Yingda to consider this suggestion carefully.


    It¡¯s impossible that Kong Yingda didn¡¯t know about Prince Qi¡¯s rebellion. Seeing that Li Yuanying dared to show off at such a critical moment, he really wanted to open up Li Yuanying¡¯s head and see what was inside! Is this kid not afraid of trouble at all? Who gave him such courage? Haven¡¯t you seen all the n members with their tail between their legs these days?


    Kong Yingda epted the suggestion but did not make a decision.


    Seeing no progress, Yuanying visited Kong Yingda everyday and earnestly told him to submit the n to His Majesty.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you often meet the Emperor in the past? Why can¡¯t you meet him now? Does brother not want you in your official position anymore?¡± Li Yuanying actively lobbied. ¡°The more things are like this, the harder you have to work. If you hand over this note, maybe the Emperor will look at you differently again!¡±


    Kong Yingda felt that he was possessed for worrying about Li Yuanying, fearing that he would hit a critical point!


    Kong Yingda snorted coldly: ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll hand it over for you today!¡±


    Notes from the author:


    Principal Kong: This student is hopeless!

 Chapter 123:

    Chapter 123:


    Lately Li Yuanying has been having much thoughts. In the end he decided that what needs to be done still must be done. He will never plot a rebellion and will not seek for power. There¡¯s nothing to fear as all he wants is to y and eat, so who would stop him?


    Even if the Emperor doesn¡¯t trust him, as long as he do not have the intention, the worst case scenario is being locked up at his own fief. Why does he has to live with his tails between his legs now?


    Let¡¯s have a fun time first. After ying if he gets locked up he will have no regrets! Yuanying shared his thoughts to Wei Shu and Mei Niang. They both agreed that you only live once so what¡¯s good to live in fear all the time? Maybe with Prince Teng making trouble and the Emperor having lower expectation from him, they can experience more things!


    The boy finished his business case under the help of both girls and submitted it to Kong Yingda.


    Li Yuanying thinks that his idea is brilliant. If you are an official and don¡¯t even understand underlying matters, how can you make wise decisions to serve the people? These future pirs of the country should be put in positions for training!


    After messing around in the counties, Yuanying could select a group to visit Li Zhi in Taiyuan. Let¡¯s get him to arrange some positions in the upper and lower counties and then get the interns to write a report at the end of their tenure. Let¡¯s see what¡¯s the difference between the lower and upper counties. Also is there room for any improvements? Are there any local experiences that can be adopted?


    Since Kong Yingda agreed to submit the n,Yuanying was relieved and happily went back to y with his friends.


    As soon as Kong Yingda agreed, he regretted it a little. Nheless he still followed though and met with the Emperor. After all, the Imperial College is taking lead in this matter so it is appropriate for him to take the initiative.


    Things had been rather peaceful for the Emperortely as not many dares to approach him. Hearing that minister Kong is here he quickly invited him in.


    Kong Yingda didn¡¯t bother with small talk. He submitted the n as he found the rmendation good.


    His Majesty was quite reassured about Kong Yingda. He is a descendant of the Kong family with great reputation. He has pledge loyalty to the Emperor early and is the best choice to be in charge of the Imperial Academy. Hearing that he was here again for Li Yuanying, Li Er joked: ¡°Since Yuanying went to the Imperial Academy you havee to see me more often.¡±


    Kong Yingda replied sincerely: ¡°I am old and my mind is not as flexible as His Highness Prince Teng. I cannote up with these new ideas like him.¡±


    Li Er read through the n and found it thorough. Doesn¡¯t seem like it was drawn up by a guy like Li Yuanying. Looking at the handwriting, it¡¯s written by a woman. Should be either Wu Mei or Wei Shu, one of them.


    Li Er looked calm after reading and actually thinks that the only the idea from Li Yuanting was thest sentence that mentioned ¡°Zhangsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling agreed¡±.


    ¡°This is well drafted. I will ask Fang Xuanling and others to discuss this. After that just choose a time to execute this.¡±


    Kong Yingda nodded in agreement.


    Before the others arrived, His Majesty asked about the recent situation at the academy.


    There¡¯s nothing new happening. Just that Li Yuanying got into trouble by championing for women rights to take the imperial examinations. Every time he was asked to write an article, he would try different ways to talk about this topic. He didn¡¯t stop even after scoringst and insisted that he will one day convince his teachers. Some had alreadyined to Kong Yingda, saying that Yuanying¡¯s articles are getting better as he writes them. If this was not regarding the controversial topic, all his work would be rated as excellent!


    Speaking of this, Kong Yingda felt that Li Er was to me. If His Majesty had not send 3 girls to the Academy, Li Yuanying would not have such deviant ideas!


    Well now, you even promised Wei Zheng¡¯s granddaughter to Li Yuanying. He will naturally fight for her rights more actively. He told people everywhere that his family will produce the number one Jinshi Prince and Jinshi Princess in the Tang Empire, not one less!


    Kong Yingdaughed angrily when he heard these words.


    The qualifying requirements for the imperial examination is already narrow enough. Why do you, the royal family want to join in the fun?


    Kong Yingda picked out these words hinting that His Majesty should discipline his younger brother.


    Yuanying wanting to take the Jinshi exam had been agreed by the Emperor prior so he didn¡¯t think much about it. Now that he wants to empower his future wife sit or the exam too, the Emperor finds it refreshing. His Majesty brought this topic up when the ministers assembled and the part about ¡°an Imperial Princess¡± taking the exam was specially directed towards Wei Zheng!


    Whenever Wei Zheng opens his mouth, he harps about this and that not being up to standard or following protocols. He should listen to all the bber from his prospective son-inw, Li Yuanying.


    Hearing the Emperor use his granddaughter¡¯s name against him, Wei Zheng kept a straight face: ¡°There is no legal provision rted to the imperial examination that says that women are not allowed to take the examination. If they can pass the examination of the Imperial College, they can naturally take the Jinshi examination.¡± After finishing his sentence, he looked at Kong Yingda, whether a person can pass the Imperial College examination is what Kong Yingda should worry about, it has nothing to do with him as a grandfather.


    When Wei Zheng reminded him, Kong Yingda remembers this use in the rule.


    The legal provisions rted to the imperial examination only state that ¡°there must not be decedents from a family with criminal records or from the artisan or business ss¡±. Apart from that, there isn¡¯t a specific use that prevented women from taking the exams. It¡¯s just that no female has done so after so many years!


    There is nothing wrong with taking an exam. Maybe you are talented and passed it before you are old enough to get married, but what happens after you pass the exam? How will you make people follow your rule? When you travel to a backward ce, the people there might feel that having a woman to serve as an official in their town is an insult and will rebel on the spot! If you were to give them special treatment and let them serve in the capital just because they are female, how will that be possible? Thousands of schrs will be dissatisfied!


    Moreover, the country is short of people and the government encourages families to have more children. If all girls overcame difficulties, roll up their sleeves, study and be an official, who will bear children?


    If the girls had entered the Imperial Academy after going through much hardship to qualify, Kong Yingda wouldn¡¯t have to worry as there would be no chance of this happening. However these girls were put into the Academy by the Emperor himself and they are extremely talented and writes well. Should we really qualified them to take the exam?


    Kong Yingda hurriedly spoke to His Majesty: ¡°Your Majesty, this matter¡ª¡ª¡±


    Li Er was in a good mood today. Seeing Kong Yingda looking distressed, he leaned on the desk andughed: ¡°Why should Minister Kong worry? Even if we allow them to take the exam, will they be able to pass?¡±


    That¡¯s right. Although the children were quite intelligent, they were not ssified as geniuses and they allcked experience. Anyway, don¡¯t deliberately make things difficult or easy for them and just treat them as ordinary students.


    The discussion strayed off topic for a bit but returned to the main topic which was the internship n drawn up by Li Yuanying.


    Zhangsun Wuji had already acted as a bad guy once in front of His Majesty. Seeing the proposal, he no longer raised any objections.


    Fang Xuanling was a cautious person and rarely made his own decisions. He only picked out a few details that needed to be discussed. A few more people refined on the n and they all agreed to implement it. Anyway, this n is cost-effective and hassle-free, and they can send volunteers to work, what¡¯s bad about it?


    The one who needs to worry is Kong Yingda.Whether the students are willing to go will depend on how he mobilizes them. Do you really think everyone likes to mess around like Li Yuanying? Many schrs would rather immerse themselves in reading and ignore the outside world.


    Is Kong Yingda worried? Not at all. When he returned to the Imperial College, he looked for Li Yuanying to update that the matter is settled. He took out the charter drawn up by Fang Xuanling and told him to lead the initiative with the student council. If no one is willing to take up the duty then let him , the initiator, take care of everything!


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t give in and evenforted Kong Yingda: ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, it will happen. I will definitely handle the matter beautifully and I will never embarrass you!¡±


    Kong Yingda he didn¡¯t say much and just let him be.


    Li Yuanying called his friends to announce the internship n. He arranged the volunteers into teams ording to their strengths, ready to show off their talents. There were people who did not sign up for various reasons, and Yuanying did not force it. The most difficult is the beginning, once we have a head start, the rest will naturally follow.


    Li Zhi won¡¯t be able to join the internship. Soon after getting married, he was packed away to Taiyuan. Li Yuanying specially asked for absence leave to see Li Zhi off and told him to find out all the interesting ces in Taiyuan. He conveniently inserted a few people to Li Zhi¡¯s team, saying that they were ¡°fossil expert¡±.


    Li Zhi was originally a little sad and reluctant to leave Chang¡¯an but after listening to Li Yuanying¡¯s endless reminders of one, two, three, and four, the sadness turned into ashes. He said helplessly: ¡°Okay, whatever you say is what I¡¯lI will do.¡±


    The two grew up together and Yuanying was really reluctant to see Li Zhi leave. He kept promising that the next internship location would be Taiyuan, they would immediately visit afterpleting the first round of internships.


    Li Zhi nodded then turned around with his horse, looking like a grown man.


    Although Sizi and Hengshan were very reluctant to part with Li Zhi, they were consoled by the fact that Yuanying will take them to Taiyuan for a visit in the next few months. They stood and watched him leave, then followed Yuanying back to the pce obediently. Since Yuanying had been granted leave of absence, he went looking for Lady Liu and they had lunch happily and talked about their restaurant.


    Since Yuanying is studying in the Imperial Academy, he was worried that mother will be bored and so made his men send her report about FengThai restaurant daily. Lady Liu monitors the transactions, view feedback of her dishes and listens to anecdotes from the outside world. Her life was quite fulfilling.


    Yuanying learned from mother that Chengxin had been managing her music group well and had recruited lots of talents and had new tricks to be performed daily. She also brought up that Chengxin wanted to recruit a 15 or 16 year old girl who was not a musician but was interested in writing music and arranging ys. Apparently she was an acquaintance of Prince Teng and it was him who help her gain her new status.


    Lady Liu initially only wanted casual updates but her son¡¯s name was brought up and so became concerned. She was secretly worried if her son would pick up herte husband¡¯s habits? First getting himself a future wife then anotherdy which he has helped. He¡¯s only 13, what will his future be like!


    Because she had concerns in her heart, she paid close attention to her child¡¯s every reaction. Being his mother, she naturally didn¡¯t care about his scandals but they must be for the right person/cause. If he has a illegitimate family outside even before marriage, don¡¯t mention Wei family¡¯s daughter, any family¡¯s daughter will throw a tantrum and leave.


    Yuanying wasn¡¯t aware much as he left matters to his men, he will not personally handle any incidences for that might mean getting a scolding! He thought hard and quickly recalled Madam Su from the tea business. Su Dng once asked for his help to adopt a girl and help her change her status.


    ¡°Oh, I know who it is! Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll find out what¡¯s the matter.¡±


    He told mother all about the story between Su Dng and Su Er Niang and mentioned that he had met the girl once or twice and she was clever. Maybe she didn¡¯t get along with Su Dng¡¯s family or maybe she didn¡¯t just want to be an ordinary girl. If she wants to work with Chengxin in music, let¡¯s support her.


    Seeing no sense of guilt in her son, Lady Liu was at ease.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll send people to handle this, you don¡¯t need to worry.¡± (Lady Liu with a smile)


    Yuanying obediently nodded.


    The pair was still in conversation when someone came to inform that the Emperor is looking for Prince Teng.


    Notes from the author:


    His Majesty Li Er: Why are you not visiting me if you are in the pce?

 Chapter 124:

    Chapter 124:


    Yuanying felt annoyed. I have not done anything badtely, why is the Emperor looking for me?


    Although he had some thought in his heart, he still casually told Lady Liu that ¡°Brother must miss me, I¡¯ll go look for him.¡±


    Lady Liu was worried. Hearing Prince Teng make such a shameless statement the menughed. Lady Liu quickly helped him put on the right clothing to meet the Emperor.


    Once the boy arrived at the Emperor¡¯s pce, he realized that there was a familiar face: Yan Liben


    Yuanying obediently went and pay his respect and then sat down next to Li Er.


    Li Er gave him a nce and continued his conversation with Yan Liben and Chu Suiliang. Turns out the Emperor wanted to include ministers who had contributed greatly to Tang onto a mural on a pce building called Lingyan Pavilion. He has the name list ready, approved after much discussion with his cab and will make up of 24 individuals.


    Now the main task is to draw out the 24 men and this job is awarded to Yan Liben and he had to visit each person personally. Since this is an favourable opportunity, everyone was supportive of it


    Buttely there is challenges to this task. When Yan Liben visited Li Jing, a leopard pounced at him giving him trauma. Although the leopard did not attack him, Yan Liben still fell and hurt his hand. He will not be able to pick up a brush in the meantime. Li Jing stays the furthest and this is thest picture to be drawn.


    Lingyan Pavilion is still undergoing renovation so it is always possible to dy the work. However Yan Liben is a person of character, when he was working he was attacked by a leopard and so he refuses to go back to work.


    He is here today to inform the Emperor of his decision. He also casually mentioned to the Emperor that Prince Teng and Li Jing had a good rtionship so why not appoint him as the painter. Yuanying is a great painter that even his older brother Yan Lide praises.


    Yan Liben didn¡¯t say these things with good intentions but said it to push the me to Li Jing and Li Yuanying as he didn¡¯t like both. Previously when Yan Liben travelled to Louyang, Prince Teng and his brother had such a good rtionship that he felt left out. Now let them both finish this drawing!


    But the Emperor hearing someone praise his younger brother was proud and so invited Yuanying over.


    Hearing this, Yuanying put aside his initial worry. He¡¯s not being called because something bad he did got discovered. He quickly agreed to the task and requested Yan Liben to share the 23pleted drawings so that he is able to draw in simr style.


    The Emperor sense Yan Liben¡¯s hostility and so casually mentioned: ¡°Just one look and the boy will learn?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not possible. It¡¯ll definitely look different. Every individual is different so they cannot look identical. However when they are all put together they need to look uniform and not weird.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    The Emperor was also curious about the progress and so agreed to Yuanying¡¯s request and both visited the Pavilion to look at its progress. Li Yuanying couldn¡¯t recognize all 23 faces as some had already passed away before he was born.


    He observed Du Ru Hai¡¯s drawing carefully then asked: ¡°This is Du Ru Hai? It¡¯s a pity I was born toote to know him.¡±


    The Emperor looked at the drawing that look like it was alive and sigh: ¡°Yes, you were born toote.¡±


    Li Yuanying carefully studied all 23 paintings and praised Yan Liben: ¡° Xiao Yan, you¡¯re doing a great job, I don¡¯t think I can match your skills.¡±


    Yan Liben thought in his heart: how old are you? If you were to draw like me, then how will others live? But on the surface he still carried himself with humility. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, don¡¯t mention it.¡±


    Yuanying wanted to leave after this but he was stopped by the Emperor. They had some tea before Yuanying carefully probed: ¡°Lord Brother, you have something else to say to me?¡±


    ¡°The task of drawing, what do you think about it? If you cannot I¡¯ll get someone else to do it.¡¯


    ¡°It¡¯s a little hard but I wouldn¡¯t know until I try. Anyway the pavilion is still under renovation, maybe Xiao Yan¡¯s hand will heal in time. Worst case scenario, we can look for Big Yan (Yan Lide) to help out.¡±


    Although Yuanying hasn¡¯t draw much human but he had good basic fundamentals in art. When others were young they would chase after butterfly to y but he chased after them for drawing. Histe father also praised his skills and this made him work harder. Somehow he managed to built up a solid foundation in arts.


    ¡°Great, then you have a go.¡±


    Li Yuanying probe again if the Emperor had other matters with him.


    ¡°Are you that unwilling to have a cup of tea with me? When you used my name to sell tea, you weren¡¯t like this.¡±


    Hearing this, the boy happily sat next to big brother: ¡° When I sold tea it¡¯s not fully for myself. Didn¡¯t I help the court secure tea taxes? Now the Turks and the Tibetan Empire likes tea and the Tang society has also pick up this habit, don¡¯t you get much tea taxes now!¡±


    He then seeded an idea to the Emperor: ¡°I think we should secure the tea mountains in the South. Let¡¯s collect more taxes and then get people to export them. Those who didn¡¯t get our permission is not allowed to nt tea. This way we can prevent people from destroyingnd in the name of tea nting and prevent people from evading taxes!¡±


    ¡°You really do have lots of ideas¡± (Li Er)


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I love thinking about problems. Doing this has a 3<sup>rd</sup>benefit, you have created more jobs to be filled with talented people. Didn¡¯t Mao Suimentioned that as long as you give him a gunnysack he can show his strength? We need to scout for talents and give them a tform to showcase it, if they do well we reward them with better position in the government. Those that can¡¯t perform we keep them in ces that only requires mundane task that can done with your eyes closed.¡±


    ¡°This is called using people ording to their strengths.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Yes. Using people ording to their strengths. Anyway we will have more and more talented people so we need to find tasks for them. That way they will only think about how to best perform and wouldn¡¯t have time to think about irrelevant things. I learned this after establishing my paper factory and restaurant. As long as I find a right leader to guide the team, everything else falls into ce smoothly. As for those who have not much talent, they are still not useless. As long as you tell them what to do, they can still perform well.¡±


    The two brothers discussed taxes over a bowl of tea. After that Li Er sent Li Yuanying away.


    As soon as Li Yuanying left, Li Er rubbed his brows, rested on the desk for a while and asked Chu Suiliang to send a copy of their conversation to the crown prince.


    Although Li Yuanying oftenes up with wild ideas, after further consideration they are feasible ideas. With the poprity of tea rising, tax collected has indeed increased. Tang Jian, the Minister of Household Affairs is now smiling every day. He has even reduced his frequency of pretending to be sick to hide from courtly affairs.


    Since the profit of tea is huge, let¡¯s put it on the agenda to set up taxes for major tea farms. It would be best for profitable industries to be firmly controlled by the government. Maybe in a few years, the expenses needed by the military can be raised sufficiently! If it¡¯s not enough, let Li Yuanying think of other ideas, didn¡¯t he criticized Dang Renhong over being greedy for just one million yuan? He definitely is not short of money or have more ways to make money.


    Li Yuanying was walking halfway when he started sneezing. He said strangely to the servants following him: ¡°That¡¯s strange, it¡¯s not even cold. Why am I sneezing?¡±


    ¡°The future princess may be thinking of Your Highness.¡±


    Yuanying felt good but still humbly reply: ¡°¡±We haven¡¯t met each other for just half a day, how can Sister Shu miss me? It¡¯s okay if she¡¯s thinking about me, I¡¯ll meet her tomorrow. I won¡¯t let her miss me for too long!¡±


    Everyoneughed.


    Yuanying informed mother of his ns and left the pce for Li Jing¡¯s home. Yuanying left with shinning eyes and big anticipation, he cannot wait to meet the leopard that Yan Liben brought up.


    But in front of Brother he had to pretend to be serious, lest brother finds out his true motive and prevents him from visiting. After all, brother did this before and stopped him from riding elephants at Li Jing¡¯s house.


    At the same time, Hong Fu was sorting out the ceremonial robe that Li Jing hadn¡¯t worn for a long timeining about his leopard running around.


    ¡°The guardian just didn¡¯t close the cage door for a moment, who knew that it would attack Yan? (Li Jing)


    The man is already offended so Hong Fu could only sigh: ¡°Will his Majesty remove your portrait from the mural because of this?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    Although Li Jing is half-retired, he has greatly contributed to the country. The Emperor will not exclude him over such a trivial matter.


    ¡°Just not sure who¡¯s going to rece him for the task.¡±


    As the couple were talking, someone informed that Prince Teng is here and is responsible toplete his painted portrait.


    Li Jing and Hong Fu looked at each other, both a little surprised. However they both weed him because of his previous initiative of inviting Doctor Sun over when Hong Fu was seriously ill and dying.


    Knowing the boy better, Li Jing likes his attitude and wees him every time with open arms.


    Yuanying had no shame and ran in happily looking left and right but didn¡¯t see any leopard.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say there was a little leopard? Where is it? I want to see it!¡±


    Li Jing was not in a hurry too so he brought the boy to meet his little leopard


    ¡°The leopard¡¯s parents are no more. It had not even opened its eyes when it was brought here. I feed it goat milk but didn¡¯t expect it to be quite wild.¡±


    Li Yuanying was not afraid of the wild little leopard at all and eagerly wanted to touch it.


    Li Jing asked the leopard¡¯s guardian to trick it out and give it to Li Yuanying for fun.


    Yuanying sessfully touch a leopard and it was furry, he was satisfied after petting it for awhile. After that, he visited the Yaks. Li Jing¡¯s men were good at raising wildlife, the yaks were thin but well. The weather is getting warmer and the Yaks will need some fur shaving so that it can survive the hot summer well.


    Yuanying was also interested in shaving. He rushed to catch the white yak and cut off handfuls of white fur having a great time. It was only after the impatient white yak knocked him down did Li Yuanying finally go into the main topic with satisfaction.


    Li Jing had already prepared pen and ink and put on his formal ceremonial robe, looking extremely formal.


    Yuanying put forward his opinion: ¡°I think this outfit is not majestic enough. It is better to wear armor! A general wearing armor and holding a weapon! I think everyone else is wearing simr clothes and looks the same. I will give you the most eye-catching picture!¡±


    ¡°Works too.¡±


    The two discussed and finally decided on Li Jing wearing an armor and riding a horse in a heroic posture.

 Chapter 125:

    Chapter 125:


    Since he announced that he had an injury on his leg, Li Jing had not been on a horse or worn any battle armor.


    The suggestion made him excited and he immediately asked someone to get his armor.


    Li Yuanying added: ¡°Get the ones you wore when you were young!¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Since we want to show the demeanor of a hero, it is natural to show you at your best.¡±


    Seeing that Li Jing agreed to fetch the armor he wore in his youth, Yuanying asked enthusiastically about what was the most proud battle he fought, what kind of weapons and horses they were riding and whether there were any birds to help send messages.


    These things were usually taken care off by Hong fu. Hearing that they wanted an amour she was surprised. After careful questioning, she learned about Li Yuanying¡¯s n. Although she thinks such a portrait might not be allowed into Lingyan Pavilion, it was rare for Li Jing to be so excited. She personally delivered the armor in hopes of seeing Li Jing¡¯s in his battle suit.


    When Li Jing saw Hong Fuing in person, he smiled happily and ordered someone to help him put them on. He also asked Hong Fu to get his cloak. He is no longer young and had been quite sick in the past few years and riding horses seemed like a lifetime ago. He was not afraid of othersughing at him so he asked someone to help him get on the horse and he sat on it recalling to Li Yuanying: ¡°My horse back then was not this. It was red, energetic and its mane and tail swung high when it ran. I also have a hunting falcon, have you ever seen one?¡±


    ¡°Yes! They are super fierce.¡±


    Li Jingughed: ¡°Isn¡¯t it? Mine even pecked a Turks¡¯ eyes. The Turks themselves also raise falcons but there are not as good as mine!¡±


    Li Jing got excited and called to the soldiers guarding: ¡± Go get my pike!¡±


    The soldiers followed order and quickly brought a gold-painted pike. Li Jing stretched out his hand to take it, feeling that it was a little heavy but still raised it and said to Li Yuanying: ¡°Back then, I could easily wipe out a group of enemies with this. Let me go out and I can fight one against a hundred!¡±


    Yuanying was fascinated and praised: ¡°When you be a General, you can fight one against ten thousand! No, it should be one against one hundred thousand!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that exaggerated. You still have to have good soldiers. I can¡¯t be a bare general.¡±


    One elderly and one young were excitedly talking about the battlefield. Yuanying asked more with bright eyes while Li Jing recalled the past with a bright face.


    Hong Fu stood aside and listened to their conversation with great interest, her eyes became moist suddenly.


    How long has it been? Since the Battle of Tuyuhun on the 10th year of Zhenguan, her husband had not rode a horse nor has he been so high-spirited. Every day he is either writing a book behind closed doors or ying with the birds and animals raised in the house, never showing such an expression. They have been together for a long time and she knew that Li Jing was happiest on the battlefield. He was born for fighting!


    Li Yuanying and Li Jing chatted happily but he didn¡¯t draw anything.


    ¡°I have a picture in mind. I will paint it when I go back. Once the painting is done, someone will send it to you for a look. If you think it¡¯s good, send it to the pce.¡±


    Li Jing agreed to the proposal.


    After sending Li Yuanying away, Li Jing noticed Hong Fu¡¯s red eyes. Li Jing held Hong Fu¡¯s hand and asked with concern: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I saw you on a horse.¡±


    ¡°If you like it, I will get on my horse and show it to you every day.¡±


    Hong Fu threw herself into Li Jing¡¯s arms and the couple hugged each other tightly, as if they had returned to the days when they were young and frivolous.


    They can grow old in peace and watch their children and grandchildren grow up. They had to give up some stuff but such a life is already very good.


    Since he had already said his goodbyes to mother, Yuanying did not return to the pce. Instead, he went towards the Academy with the pen, ink, paper and inkstone prepared by His Majesty. He visited his teachers and asked for space as he was ordered to draw portraits of the heroes. The teachers were surprised, they have heard about the Emperor¡¯s n but his Majesty sent Yan Liben to paint and Chu Suiliang to write the inscription. They did not hear anything about Li Yuanying¡¯s involvement.


    So the boy exined that Yan Liben was traumatized by the leopard and also described what the leopard looked like and how it felt. Now, everyone knows that Li Yuanying went to Li Jing¡¯s house to y with the little leopard!


    Although they all felt that it was a bit ridiculous for the Emperor to appoint Li Yuanying to draw pictures of heroes, they were still curious about his skills so they gave him a quiet room to paint in his free time.


    Yuanying carried his supplies to the quiet room and put them away. He didn¡¯t make any progress for several days except making time during morning sses to sit and look at horses. What do their eyes looked like and their fur when the wind blew. In what direction will it fly? See how the hooves rise and fall when they run.


    After sometime, the boy had a vivid picture of horses in his mind. The horse¡¯s body is fiery red, its eyes were ck and bright and it looked very energetic! Then immediately there was another person, and that person¡¯s face gradually became young and handsome. He looked in his prime and heroic like a rare hero.


    Finally, a ferocious falcon roared down from the sky andnded on the shoulders of the unparalleled hero.


    The whole picture isplete.


    Li Yuanying spent several days thinking deep without eating or sleeping and finally started painting. He took a whole day and locked himself in a quiet room. Just when Wei Shu and others were worried that he would be hungry and hurt his body, he came out. Seeing them outside the door, Li Yuanying excitedly pulled them inside to see his masterpiece: ¡°Look, I¡¯m done with the painting!¡±


    Wei Shu followed Li Yuanying and saw a long scroll. The person in the painting was painted using Yan Liben¡¯s usual method; the skills might not be on par but the portrait was more lively.


    That¡¯s right, just by looking at it, Li Jing in the painting seems to be walking in front of you. Maybe the face and figure is not exactly like him but you can tell at a nce that it is Li Jing. He is an amazing general ¨C After seeing the painting for a while you might even develop a passion to fight with him on the battlefield!


    Wei Shu praised: ¡°Great painting.¡±


    Wu Mei continued: ¡°Yes, the painting is very good.¡± She has seen Li Jing from a distance. Back then Li Jing was already suffering from leg injury. Every time he entered the pce, he had to lean on a staff. His figure is no longer like how he looked in his youth, all brave and heroic. After seeing Li Yuanying¡¯s painting, she understood why Li Jing¡¯s wife desperately wanted to marry him. Who wouldn¡¯t feel admiration for such a heroic figure?


    Themotion attracted a few teachers like Dr. Ma. Hearing that the painting is ready, they were all curious about how thepleted piece look. Professor Shen who had met Li Jing when he was younger praised it: ¡°It¡¯s identical! It looks just like Duke Wei back in the days.¡±


    Everyone thought the painting by Li Yuanying looks like it was alive.


    He was happy to receive praises over his skills. He requested that the painting be sent to Li Jing for his review.


    When he was concentrating on his work Yuanying didn¡¯t feel hunger. Now that he is done his tummy is making weird hungry noises. The good thing is that the cafeteria is operated by the restaurant he owns. Even if it¡¯s way past meal time, there will always be abundance of food waiting for the owner. Afterpleting serious work, Yuanying had a huge appetite.


    After he is done, Tang Xuan voiced out: ¡°How can you not eat and drink, we were all worried.¡±


    ¡°When I¡¯m working on my painting I need to do it in one seating. If I stop, I might lose the inspiration.¡± He spent days on the drawing but didn¡¯t feel any tiredness but instead learned from the experience and felt that his art skills had improved.


    He happily told Wei Shu: ¡°I think I can grasp painting humans now, just that it¡¯s tiring to do so. I won¡¯t do this for others but when we get married let me paint you in your wedding gown?¡±


    Wei Shu felt that all attention is now directed at her, her ears flushed red but she happily agreed: ¡°Okay.¡±


    Yuanying sent Wei Shu back to her dorm and then fell into deep sleep to rece his stamina used for painting Li Jing.


    The boy slept happily with a full stomach but the Li Jing family stayed up the whole night. The couple hung the painting up and admired it. The horse looks exactly like Li Jing¡¯s old horse; energetic and bold, the pike was raised high as if it could break through wind; even the falcon seems like it was alive.


    Is Li Jing satisfied with the painting? How can he not be, he never imagined that the boy can paint such an urate representation of him in his youth. You must know that the boy weren¡¯t even born yet when he was in battle and serving the country.


    ¡°Can we ask someone else to draw a new portrait and sent that to the Pavilion? Let¡¯s keep this for our future generations so that they know how brave and heroic their ancestors were.¡± (Hong Fu)


    Li Jing stared at the painting for a long time before replying: ¡°Of course not, we need to send this to the Pavilion. If our descendants want to view it, let them make the trip to the Pavilion.¡±


    Hearing this, Hong Fu¡¯s eyes lit up to: ¡°Yes, let them make the trip.¡±


    The sent the painting back to the pce the next morning and Li Jing went along in person to expressed his satisfaction about Li Yuanying¡¯s work.


    The Emperor heard all about his younger brother¡¯s antics of ying with a leopard and shaving yaks. He initially thought that the brat only took painting as an excuse to visit and y at Li Jing¡¯s house. He was quite surprised to hear that Li Jing is here to praise Yuanying on his job well done.


    After confirming again and again the Li Jing is happy with the work, the Emperor went to the Pavilion to have a look for himself. Coincidentally Zhangsun Wuji and Wei Zheng was also visiting and so after sending Li Jing off, the Emperor invited them to view the portraits together.


    Quickly, everyone saw Li Yuanying¡¯s masterpiece.


    Skills wise indeed the boy was not as good as Yan Liben but all of it look like it is in harmony and painted in the same style. The biggest problem is that Li Yuanying painted Li Jing to be too heroic and alive. Putting both works together, Li Jing¡¯s portrait stands out too much making the others dull inparison!


    Why does it look like¡­. a general and a group of ordinary men.


    Fang Xueling: ¡­¡­.


    Zhangsun Wuji: ¡­¡­


    His Majesty: ¡­¡­¡­


    All 3 were rendered speechless.


    Notes from the author:


    His Majesty Li Er: Look at what ¡°good work¡± you have done!!!


    Little Prince: What nonsense, I followed after Yan Liben¡¯s style.

 Chapter 126

    Chapter 126


    Li Yuanying had a realization that their internship program was dyed by a few days because he had to work on the portrait for older brother. With that realization, he quickly packed up and led his group towards their internship destination.


    Since he is not staying in the Imperial College, Yuanying brought people to serve him in a grand manner and formed a small convoy to head to his destination: Hu County.


    Hu County is located to the west of Chang¡¯an, on the edge of flood waters. It is a ce with good economy and good natural resources. Yuanying had never been there before so he was excited. He was apanied by 4 girls and Di Renjie from the Academy.


    There¡¯s no working around this, Wu Mei and Wei Shu would definitely want to follow him and he cannot leave Chengyang behind. Jing Shenman also signed up and so Dr Ma threw them all into the same group. Initially 5 people for an internship group is sufficient but 4 girls and 1 boy looks rather imbnce and so Di Renjie was threw into the mix.


    Hu County is not far from Chang¡¯an and is at a distance simr to Li Mountain, taking half a day to get there. When the internship location was finalized, Dong Xiaoyi made preparations by securing a yard not too far from the government office. When the party arrived they moved their luggage directly there.


    Although Hu County is nearby the Capital, it was naturally not as wealthy as Chang¡¯an and the houses not as big. This is the first time Li Yuanying and his friends were living independently outside so he excitedly led Wei Shu to choose a room. Everyone unanimously left the main house to Li Yuanying and chose where they wanted to live ording to their preferences. The servants who had been waiting nearby quickly helped them move their luggage.


    After settling in, the group wanted to travel to meet the County magistrate but was instead informed that he is already here. The current magistrate Xu Jingzong was demoted into this rank and he is plotting to return to activities in the center of power.


    Being an opportunist who has beenworking for long, Xu Jingzong was well-informed and knew that Li Yuanying is not an ordinary student but the most beloved brother of the Emperor. His Majesty¡¯s favouritism towards Li Yuanying astonishes everyone and is said to even win over Prince of Wei Li Tai!


    Hearing that he wasing to Hu County for some kind of internship, Xu Jingzong had much earlier ask people to keep an eye on him and nned a timely visit. Thest thing you should care about when climbing the corporatedder is your dignity. After wasting so much time on his career, Xu Jingzong has already put his dignity aside!


    As soon as he saw Li Yuanying, Xu Jingzong squinted his eyes and greeted him with a smile: ¡°Your Highness, why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier that you wereing today? If you had told me earlier, I would have waited at the city to greet you!¡±


    Xu Jingzong¡¯s face was slightly rounded, his eyes small and smile a little cunning. Yuanying is not someone who judge based on appearance but Xu Jingzong¡¯s attentiveness made him a little wary.


    Although he was wary, he mirrored Xu Jingzong and smiled: ¡°We are here to work, Magistrate Xu does not need to be so polite.¡±


    Xu Jingzong looked at the ¡°interns¡± brought by Li Yuanying and muttered in his heart: These are either young boys or delicate littledies. What can they do? You¡¯re here for sightseeing right?


    Of course, Xu Jingzong is not stupid enough to express his inner thoughts. He said with a smile: ¡°Since we are here to work, the next step is to work together. I¡¯ve prepared a reception banquet to introduce the staffs in the county government to you.¡±


    ¡°That great.¡±


    Xu Jingzong also asked if there was anything he needed help with and whether he had enough manpower. If there was anything he wanted, just say so and he would ask someone to prepare ahead.


    ¡°I¡¯ve asked people toe over in advance to take care of everything. There¡¯s nothing missing.¡±


    Now that they have met, Xu Jingzong did not stay long and wisely left.


    Li Yuanying asked for tea and sat with his friends to talk.


    ¡°This County Magistrate Xu came just in time. He likely have been keeping an eye on this house. I don¡¯t think this Magistrate Xu is worth getting along with.¡± (Di Renjie)


    Wu Mei nodded and agreed.


    Firstly, Xu Jingzong asked people to keep an eye on when they would arrive as he obviously liked to take advantage of others; secondly, he is too attentive to Li Yuanying and only followed him around. Such a person does not look like he wants to be a good official!


    ¡°We don¡¯t want to have friendship with him, so there is no need to think about this.¡± (Li Yuanying)


    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t put things like this, after all we need to work under him so it¡¯s best we find out more about his background.¡± After Wei Shu finished speaking, she paused and added: ¡°It is said that it¡¯s better to offend a gentleman than a viin, since we feel that this person is not suitable for close friendship then these words cannot reach his ears. Be more careful when speaking.¡±


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t care: ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, will he dare to attack us? No way!¡±


    Wu Mei patiently shared her analysis to Yuanying: ¡°If we think about this from a long term perspective, in the future we will leave for the fiefdom while he will return to Chang¡¯an. One is faraway and the other is close. No one knows how situation will change so it is always right to be careful.¡±


    Wei Shu nodded, that¡¯s what she meant.


    ¡°Based on his current attitude towards uncle, the possibility of us having conflict with him should be low.¡± (Chengyang)


    This is Jin Shengman¡¯s first time travelling out of Chang¡¯an so she had no opinions. She drank hot tea and listened to the others analyzing the situation.


    They decided on an action n of getting along with the man: as long as they don¡¯t find any criminal activities, they would exist harmoniously with him. At the same time use his attentive attitude to find useful things to do .


    In the afternoon, Xu Jingzong came over again and invited them to a banquet to meet officials in the county government.


    There were many staffs and the county magistrate controls everything; all matters big and small, must pass through his hands. In total, there were nearly a hundred people all under government payroll.


    As soon as Li Yuanying arrived, everyone stood up to greet him. It didn¡¯t feel like he was here for internship but rather like he was parachuted in to take over Hu County. Having many chances to meet with people, Yuanying was a bit more approachable than other royalty. He didn¡¯t have the air of privilege and he smiled to everyone and greeted everyone being introduced to him.


    County chancellor and the chief registrar assist in clerical education work while the county lieutenant is responsible for public security. These are people that they may have to have frequent contact with in the future, so Yuanying tried recognizing everyone¡¯s faces with a good temper.


    Due to Li Yuanying¡¯s natural ability, the reception banquet quickly became lively. When the feast wasing to an end, someone from the capital on a fast horse called out. Judging by their clothes, they were pce guards.


    The imperial guard recognized Li Yuanying and said, ¡°Apologies for disturbing your Highness.¡± Then he handed him a letter from the Emperor.


    Yuanying was a little puzzled as to what kind of medicine his brother was selling in his gourd <sup>[1]</sup>what is brother¡¯s real intention. However, since brother is far away in the capital, there is no hurry to read the letter. He invited the guards to sit down and have some wine. Anyway, the pce door would be locked due to curfew and there was no use rushing. Let him read and prepare a reply to be delivered the next day.


    The guard sat down as instructed.


    Everyone saw this and felt that Yuanying was valued by the Emperor. He had just arrived in Hu County and already someone is here to deliver a letter in a hurry. It looks like an elder brother being worried.


    After the reception banquet, Yuanying declined the follow-up ¡°entertainment activities¡± arranged by Xu Jingzong and returned home with letter in hand. Others thought that His Majesty wrote the letter because he was worried about his younger brother but Li Yuanying with his rich experience that there is nothing good waiting for him in this letter!


    Sure enough, Yuanying asked someone to light amp and open the letter. The letter was full of curse words directed at him.


    Wei Shu asked Yuanying curiously: ¡°What did His Majesty write in the letter?¡±


    He snickered, passed her the letter and continued to sulk in front of themp.


    Wei Shu read the letter that was filled with angry sentences. First it pointed out his mistake of leaving without informing the Emperor. How daring, who allowed you to run away on your own? Second point, how dare he draw such a rubbish portrait of Li Jing, he drew him too young and then included animals into it. What utter nonsense? Those that don¡¯t know will think Li Jing is going hunting. There¡¯s 23 portraits for him to reference from, how can he still draw like this?


    Wei Shu finally found out that the Emperor is really good at scolding people.


    She felt bad for Li Yuanying: ¡°His Majesty is a little overboard in this.¡± She thinks that the portrait is done nicely, it¡¯s not utter rubbish like how the Emperor puts it.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to ignore him forever!¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Wei Shu gave Wu Mei a look asking for help.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t reply, aren¡¯t you giving him an upper hand to scream at you for nothing.¡± (Wu Mei)


    Yuanying thought for awhile and thinks it make sense. He asked for pen and paper, ready to write an equally nasty reply.


    Li Yuanying is angry and Li Er is also angry at Chang¡¯an. After seeing the portrait with his ministers, the Emperor didn¡¯t know whether to be angry or to praise, he also thinks that Yuanying painting was beyond his expectation. If there weren¡¯t 23 portraits prior to this, his work can be featured in the Pavilion. But the previous 23 took months toplete work!


    Li Er thought hard for a very long time and then summon for Li Yuanying to show him his great work. Didn¡¯t he first saw the 23 portraits so that he can duplicate something simr? Now things are great, it is not duplication but totally standing out, making all the other painting dull inparison. But the replied the Emperor got was that Prince Teng has left town for internship.


    How unreasonable!


    Did he allow him to leave Chang¡¯an without permission? Even if he nodded and agreed to the internship, shouldn¡¯t his younger brother visit the pce to inform about his departure date?


    Notes from the Author:


    Young Prince: What a critical moment!


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü1what is brother¡¯s real intention

 Chapter 127

    Chapter 127


    The Emperor went in circles scolding him in the letter. In order to counter him, Yuanying read it twice. The more he reads, the angrier he gets and he immediately pen a reply. First of all the internship has been decided much earlier, what¡¯s the point of saying goodbye? Am I nevering back?!


    Then he began to write about his creative concept. The main aim was tomemorate contribution of individuals to the country so how can the drawing not include the worthy acts of these individuals? How do we convince people that these individuals had done great for the development of Tang Empire? He firmly believes that he is not wrong. If you don¡¯t believe me, brother, please ask others about their opinion!


    Anyway Li Jing likes it very much!


    The Emperor was able to tantly scream at Li Yuanying in letter but Yuanying is not able to give such a blunt reply. He could only implicitly ask If ¡°Brother have not slept well recently? If you don¡¯t sleep well, your brain will be confuse, your temper bad and you will curse others. I suggest you get some good sleep. Work will never finish as therefore we must take good care of our bodies and live to be a 100 years old.


    Of course, him holding back in his reply is only Li Yuanying¡¯s own perception. When the others read his reply they felt that it was better for him to not write a replying letter.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. I¡¯m just expressing my concern for brother¡¯s health! He scolds me so much but I still care about him. This is call repaying evil with kindness!¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Since they were not able to convince Li Yuanying, his friends gave up and let him hand it over to the pce guards.


    Early next morning the guards delivered the letter urgently. The Emperor got his reply right after court session. After screaming at his younger brother via a letter yesterday, he was feeling much relieve. Hearing a reply, he immediately wanted to read it.


    After reading, his face turned ck. Did the brat just call him bad brain?


    Now that the Emperor is feeling bad, no one else should have a good day! He called on Yan Liben to visit the pavilion andment on the 24 portraits.


    Yan Liben¡¯s injury was not serious and just needed a few days of rest. Since the task was given to someone else, he happily skip his responsibility ofpleting the final portrait. Hearing that all 24 portraits arepleted but the Emperor is in a bad mood, he quickly wanted to find out what the painting looks like.


    After viewing it, Yan Liben was without words.


    If Li Yuanying gave his all and properlypleted his task, their differences in skill mastery is obvious. But his drawing was drawn to be lively, capturing all the attention.


    But then again, there¡¯s a saying that calligraphy and painting skills are God given talent. If you have 3 points in talent, you can still paint a passable work with 7 points of hard work. If you have 9 points in talent, simply flicking your brush will still give you a good piece of work.


    Yan Liben believed that his talent is not bad, otherwise His Majesty wouldn¡¯t ask him to paint all kinds of things. But Li Yuanying¡¯s ability to grasp charm is really enviable. Whether it is a person or a horse, he can find inspiration urately. If he didn¡¯t know Li Yuanying and Li Jing¡¯s age difference, Yan Liben would have thought that the boy had met the young Li Jing in person!


    Yan Liben sighed and said to the Emperor: ¡°His Royal Highness Prince Teng has captured the charm of an individual very well and his paintings are vivid. I feel ashamed. Your Majesty, please get Prince Teng to repaint the remaining 23 paintings.¡±


    Li Er wants to torment Li Yuanying but didn¡¯t he run away to Hu County? He has even found a house to settle in, isn¡¯t it obvious that he won¡¯t be staying just for a day or two. Li Chunfeng had already decided on an auspicious day to hang the portraits so how can he postpone and wait for Li Yuanying? Besides, the child has never met Du Ruhui and Yin Kaishan, how is he going to paint blindly?


    ¡°Yuanying has gone to Hu County and will not be back for another 2-3 months. It¡¯s up to you, Yan to take care of this portrait.¡±


    Although His Majesty did not specify if Yan Liben should repaint all 23 paintings or just Li Jing, he told him about Prince Teng¡¯s ¡°creative concept¡± that was written eloquently. Follow this concept and try his best to reflect why each individual were selected to Lingyan Pavilion.


    No matter how stupid Yan Liben was, he still understood that His Majesty wants him to paint ording to this ¡°creative concept¡± and was not satisfied with the existing 23 portraits. In the end, he had to draw based on Li Yuanying¡¯s portrait of a falcon and a horse!


    Yan Liben wanted to vomit blood.


    For the initial 23 portrait, he had spent many monthspleting them. Not only did he visit each person personally, he also had to listen to their stories and their family membersments. It isn¡¯t easy to paint to their satisfaction.


    Finally he got everyone satisfied. As soon as Li Yuanying¡¯s painting was hung up, everyone has a new idea! At least, His Majesty implicitly stated that Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji saw the work yesterday and felt that it needed changing as they were ufortable and unhappy with it.


    Great. The top 3 most powerful figures in Tang wants it changed, how can he go against it?


    Yan Liben retreated with a sad face.


    When Yan Liben returned, he met Yan Lide who has just returned to his duty. Seeing Yan Liben¡¯s bitter face, Yan Lide asked with concern: ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why is His Majesty looking for you?¡±


    Yan Liben¡¯s face became even more bitter, he pulled his brother to sit down and startedining. Originally he was just angry that Li Jing¡¯s leopard rush at him and so abandoned his job. Unexpectedly, Li Yuanying took over and now the Emperor and his ministers are not satisfied with the original 23 portraits!


    Yan Liben omitted the part about him deceiving Li Yuanying but Yan Lide still pick up that something was wrong: ¡°Why did His Majesty ask Prince Teng to do it?¡± He got along with Yuanying and knew about his talent in art but most people thinks he¡¯s just a yful, uneducated little prince. Not many knows about his talent in painting!


    Seeing no way to hide, Yan Liben admitted that he was the one who proposed that Li Yuanying take over.


    Hearing this, Yan Lide didn¡¯t sympathize with Yan Liben¡¯s pitiful experience butughed: ¡°Don¡¯t you deserve this?¡±


    Yan Lide advised his brother: ¡°I don¡¯t want to lecture you but you shouldn¡¯t have done this. Even if you know about Prince Teng and Duke Wei¡¯s good friendship, you cannot tell this to the Emperor. One is a vassal prince and the other a militarymander who oncemanded arge army. Luckily the Emperor did not be suspicious otherwise there will be big trouble.¡±


    Yan Liben was render speechless before he objected: ¡°Anyway, one is at odds with your son-inw, and the other with your inws. Isn¡¯t it that they get into big trouble?¡±


    Yan Liben was being tactful when he say ¡°at odds¡±. In reality, Li Yuanying and Li Tai had a big feud. He killed Li Tai¡¯s dream of bing the crown prince and he would definitely want the boy dead! Yan Lide¡¯s daughter is married to Li Tai and they have 2 kids. Isn¡¯t this big hatred?


    As for the enemies on the other side, they are Li Jing and Tang Jian. Another one of Yan Lide¡¯s daughter is married Tang Jian¡¯s son, who holds a grudge against Li Jing. To put it simply, in order to win a war against the Turks, Li Jing attacked without any care for Tang Jian who was in the Turks¡¯ territory as an envoy.


    Therefore, him tricking Li Yuanying and Li Jing is the right thing.


    Yan Lide went silent and did not mention the unbelievable fact that he and Li Yuanying were on very good terms.


    ¡°But did you manage to trick them?¡± His Majesty is not suspicious of Li Yuanying but instead want all 23 portraits to be reworked! ¡°When Prince Wei left, I saw him off. He said some things to me. I didn¡¯t believe it at the time but now I do.¡± (Yan Lide)


    Yan Liben asked curiously: ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°He said that Prince Teng is a very evil person. Anyone who wants to harm him will not only fail, but will also harm himself.¡±


    Li Tai knows this very well. Every time he goes to His Majesty toin about Li Yuanying, he end up helping Li Yuanying increase his presence and favorability. Later, he wanted to harm him but fail and was cast away to his fiefdom in embarrassment.


    Li Tai values his children so when Yan Lide came to see him off, he updated that he has asked that Yan Lide be reinstated to his original post and request that his mother-inw visit Princess Yan more often. Husband will not be around so she will need her maternal family¡¯s support.Upon leaving, Li Tai told him something well hidden in his heart, saying that Li Yuanying is evil!


    Yan Liben waspletely silent after hearing brother¡¯s message.


    Be more careful in the future and stop digging holes for yourself. This is the painful experience that Prince Wei had to learn.


    The evil Li Yuanying started his internship and because of Xu Jingzong¡¯s instructions, everyone was polite to him. It was summer, the spring plowing is done and the year-end assessment is not due yet. The county government was actually free and there weren¡¯t much work to do.


    Li Yuanying couldn¡¯t sit still and asked Xu Jingzong for something to do. Since he has been an official for many years he¡¯s quite flexible. He will not let Li Yuanying touch the registration ount but suddenly came up with a mission: Go conduct a poption survey.


    Of course, he was notfortable with Li Yuanying and his friends running around so he made a group of government officials escort them, saying that this was amon practice when conducting poption surveys. He is mainly worried that some citizens might be unreasonable and unwilling to cooperate. Seeing Yuanying listening attentively, Xu Jingzong share the task in a serious manner: ¡°First of all, we must record the ¡®five-nine¡¯. Every family who has people who reaches the age of 19, 49, 59, 79 or 89.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    You serve the military at 19 and a citizen must take time to do voluntarybor for the county yearly. If there is a war, you must be ready to be drafted at any time. After the age of 49, your physical strength declines and you can rece military service using money and silk. After 59, nothing is expected from you and you will even get a drink paid by the county at the end of each year. By the age of 79 and 89 these are elderly people. The more number of elderly people, the more prosperous a country is. Therefore, they must be given special treatment. Those serving the county government will need to pay them a visit in person to express their concern.


    Li Yuanying understood. Looks like there¡¯s much to learn. He asks if there¡¯s anything else to pay attention to. After writing them down, he patted his chest and assured: ¡°No problem, leave these to us, we will figure them all out!¡±


    ¡°No rush, just take your time. We only need to finish the written report by year end.¡±


    Yuanying was motivated. He went back and exined o the others about the mission and immediately made preparations. He went and check out previous years¡¯ report an ask those in charge about their experiences and finally worked together to make a specific action n.


    Li Yuanying was busy while Xu Jingzong¡¯s chief clerk was praising him for his cleverness: ¡°The county magistrate has brilliant ns. This way these noble people can have lots of fun.¡±


    Xu Jingzong stroked his beard and nodded. He came up with this task so that the children can go out for sightseeing, so that he didn¡¯t have to worry about them messing around in the county government office!


    Notes from the author:


    Viin of the Tang Dynasty: This guy is really evil!


    The admonisher of the Song Dynasty: That Wang Xiaoyu is really an evil thing!


    Young Prince: What? What are you guys talking about?


    ?

 Chapter 128

    Chapter 128


    Yuanying¡¯s preparations went smoothly. Justst year the Emperor issued an edict to update the household registration system and instructed the homeless to obtain citizenship before year end.


    Therefore more households were added into the registrar. Although the number was not overwhelming, it meant that the data cannot be copied from the previous years like they usually do. Yuanying exined that Xu Jingzong wants him to conduct a poption survey and wanted past examples as references. The registrar staff shared a few copies and exin to him saying that each vige has a record and the numbers can be adjusted ording to situation.


    This so-called record has each household recorded in detail, including name, age, appearance and so on. Generally speaking, a hundred households makes up one district and five miles makes up a township. When you get there, just refer to the person in charge to check his records.


    Li Yuanying nodded. He met up with his group and everyone found out more details about how to conduct a poption survey. Chengyang brought back a hand-drawn map that will guide them from vige to vige.


    After nning, Yuanying was a little puzzled: ¡°The county government¡¯s record has all the details, why did the Emperor issue an edict to make people register? Shouldn¡¯t everyone be ounted for?¡±


    ¡°This is a rich county so things are recorded more carefully. Not every ce will be as efficient. Over time the poption report might be duplicated blindly and reported without a survey done. Some people will take advantage of loopholes to ck.¡± (Wu Mei)


    Yuanying suddenly understood.


    This is a county surrounding Chang¡¯an so many eyes are watching it and things are implemented well here. In ces where the sky is high and the Emperor far away, the workers will not have such consciousness and will do whatever is convenient and beneficial to themselves!


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± Yuanying didn¡¯t care much. The next day he packed up and took his friends to the countryside for their project.


    This internship initiative is lead by him and he was motivated. When he arrived at a destination, he didn¡¯t go ying or eating but met with the person in charge to ask questions. Although there were only 100 households in one district, Yuanying spent a long time checking because he visited each and every household. They revised the handwritten records and asked about their condition. Li Yuanying also put his fast sketching skills into use and drew a simple portrait of each person.


    Many heard that a distinguished person is here to conduct census and they all came to watch out of curiosity. When it was their turn, they even warmly invited Li Yuanying in. The boy wasn¡¯t disturbed by the attention and loved the excitement and greeted everyone cheerfully.


    After checking 1 district, the record document became much thicker because pictures added. His hands were a little sore and he was invited to have a simple meal at the person in charge¡¯s house.The group spent Li Yuanying¡¯s money and brought food from various houses. The vigers were originally unwilling to ept money but was told that by doing so it harms the boy¡¯s reputation. After that, everyone was happy pocketing the money.


    As soon as Li Yuanying left in the afternoon, the vigers gathered to discussed about the young prince. Although Hu County is not big like Chang¡¯an, it is still close to the capital and have seen many noblesing and going. Some have also been lucky enough to meet other prince but none were as approachable as Li Yuanying!


    ¡°Okay, okay, go back and do your work. Are these aristocrats someone you can talk about?¡±


    After dispersing the vigers, the person in charge looked towards the direction where the group have left and thought to himself that this little prince seems a bit naive. He wonder if he would have conflict with others if he continues to be so busy.


    Yuanying didn¡¯t think so far. After just 1 district, he was exhausted. Wei Shu and Chengyang had also learned how to speed draw and suggested that they take turns to do it so that no one is overworked.


    Yuanying is not one to be stubborn. Since he is tired, he epted the offer immediately.


    He sighed: ¡°Seems like it¡¯s not easy taking care of a County. Just the household registrar is a headache.¡±


    ¡°This is already simple. If it¡¯s Taiyuan it¡¯ll be even moreplicated.¡± (Di Renjie)


    ¡°How is it troublesome?¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Di Renjie shared more with the same sentiments as Wu Mei. Thend system in many counties and townships is not as well implemented. In some ces, some will only receive 20 or 30 acres ofnd which is far lower than the approved size.


    ording to thew, a male over 18 can obtain a hectare ofnd, of which 20 acres are permanentnd that can be left to future generation. 80 acres are dividednd, which means he only had the right to cultivate but not inherit. The imperial court has dictated that thesends cannot be sold but in reality no one really stops private trade. After many years, private trading is a lucrative business especially where powerful people hoardnd piece by piece.


    After losing theirnd, the government still requires them to do unpaidbour. Those who could no longer survive will seek shelter under the wealthy and powerful families to work as servants. As long as local officials turn a blind eye to them, they can still survive!


    But this creates another problem. Officials are supposed to conduct poption study yearly and so the increase or decrease of citizens are an important indicator. Most would never want to admit to a decrease in poption under their control and so would submit inurate results by slightly changing the numbers from the previous year.


    In ces where households have decreased, officials had to find ways to fill the gap for taxes andbor. This causes them to allocate the burden of escapees to their rtives, friends and neighbors who are mutual guarantors.


    Di Renjie had encountered these problems when he followed his father to work. His father was troubled by this but he was too young to think of any good solutions.


    Li Yuanying also heard about this topic from Xiao Deyan. When Di Renjie mention that this is an issue in Taiyuan, Yuanying frowned.


    ¡°Is it already that serious?¡± Tang is a fairly young country, how can it be like that already!


    ¡°Some stateless people would have left their hometowns during the war in thete Sui Dynasty.


    Although his Majesty had order the homeless to register themselves as citizens, many have notplied to it.¡± (Wu Mei)


    Wu Mei also shared that the early days of Tang Dynasty was filled with conflict with the regions. After Li Er came to the throne, he repeatedly fought against the Turks, Tuyuhun, Gaochang and other ce. It is understandable why some would prefer to remain stateless so that they do not bear heavy duties.


    Yuanying thought about blessed hands and feet by Zhang Jianzhi and said: ¡°Therefore, the government should do things to make the citizens trust them more.¡±


    Everyone nodded in agreement.


    But agreement means nothing. They have no real power and can¡¯t do much. Yuanying was not discouraged and energetically continue collecting data and even found a family to stay with.


    Early the next morning, Yuanying woke up in high spirits and journey on to the next vige.


    News about Prince Teng seriously working on the poption survey spread to various ces.


    Xu Jingzong was a little surprised but he had just been audited a year ago so all should be well. He only asked more people to follow the group. If you work seriously, you should be bored after 2 or 3 days!


    Just when Xu Jingzong was leisurely preparing for bed with his beautiful lover, the news about a powerful noble from the Capital running errands spread like wildfire in various viges. That night, a scrawny-looking schr named Wu sat under a light. He was young, around 17 or 18 but had a dejected look as if there is nothing else in the world that is worthy to him.


    At this time, his mother entered the door and brought him big news.


    A noble person hase to the countryside. He is so noble that many county magistrates want to please him!

 Chapter 129

    Chapter 129


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t know that many eyes were watching as they traveled to various viges. News spread rapidly through traders and their route was leak from Xu Jingzong¡¯s men. As they reach a new ce, people were already ready to wee them.


    On the morning of the third day, the party set off to their next destination. Midway through the journey the crowd gradually decrease until there was no one left. Unexpectedly when they were passing through a forest, someone suddenly jumped out. The escorts apanying the group had receive Xu Jingzong¡¯s order to protect the noble guests and as soon as they heard movement, they quickly defended and shouted vigntly: ¡°Who is there?!¡±


    It was a frail-looking schr, extremely thin and his clothes were full of patches. Seeing the guard¡¯s protective posture, his hopeful eyes dimmed instantly.


    ¡°Thismoner encountered a poisonous snake, he runs a little hastily. Apologies for startling the noble man.¡± After saying this, he dejectedly turn around to leave back to his original path.


    Yuanying saw that he did not look like a viin and told the guards to step down.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say there are poisonous snakes? Why are you going back the same route? Snakes and beast are throughout the path in this forest. You look like a schr not a military man, isn¡¯t it better to take the proper path?¡± (Li Yuanying)


    Not sure which sentence touched on the schr¡¯s sadness but he sat on the ground crying, showing no elegance of an educated person.


    Yuanying was stunned and turned back asking if he said anything wrong.


    Seeing that the others didn¡¯t have a clue, Yuanying asked directly: ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Are you in trouble? A man shouldn¡¯t shed tears so easily!¡±


    The schr cried: ¡°The right path is easy to walk but not everyone can on walk it.¡±


    Di Renjie and Wu Mei looked at each other and realized that this schr was probably here to air his grievances. When he saw government servants apanying the group and that they were all teenagers and girls, he backed down.


    Looks like it¡¯s a rather serious issue. Perhaps he filed aint with the county officials but got no result!


    Di Renjie was thinking if he should hint Li Yuanying but the boy didn¡¯t look back but instead stepped forward.


    ¡°Hey, stop crying. Where do you live? Is there anything delicious and fun nearby? If your introduction is good, I will give you a reward! If you have money what can¡¯t be solved?¡±


    Although the schr was despairing, he did not dare to ignore the nobleman that even Xu Jingzong had to please.


    He has a frail and sick mother to support ¨C if not for this, he would not be alive!


    The schr cheered up and talked about the mountains and rivers around his home. As for delicious food, melons are the most delicious. Now go ask for a ripe one and you can taste them.


    Yuanying nodded and asked the schr to lead the way. He wants to try melons with his friends.


    Although the apanying officials find Wu Zhiyuan¡¯s crying senseless, they didn¡¯t take it to heart. After all, aren¡¯t all schrs strange?


    They were relieved to hear that the prince is finally looking for good food and good fun. They have been working hard for 2 days and it was tiring following them around.


    The vigers¡¯ attitude were drastically different towards the group, but this was because Li Yuanying exchange hospitality with money. In the future when they had to run errands, things will return to status quo. Let¡¯s just do as little work as possible!


    The group followed the schr home. When Yuanying saw that he had stopped crying, he started chatting with him like how he did with the locals.


    The schr¡¯s name is Wu Zhiyuan and he studied in a county school and was the hope of his family. He had an older brother, a younger sister, and a frail sick old mother. Yuanying didn¡¯t manage to get any info beyond that. The schr¡¯s vige was not far from the mountain forest and Yuanying tried identifying it on his route map but could not find it. He asked the schr what his vige is called.


    ¡°Everyone¡¯s surname is Wu, so we call it Wu Family Vige.¡±


    It¡¯s located at the northern foot of Zhongnan Mountain and you¡¯ll see lush mountain peaks not far away. It is said that those who rely on mountains and rivers can live a decent life. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have the opportunity to study in a proper school.


    Li Yuanying had not been to Zhongnan Mountain yet. Thete Emperor built Taihe Pce in Zhongnan Mountain and even came here to hunt and escape the summer heat. However, he abdicated not long after and a few yearster this pce was abolished. Therefore, the boy never had a chance to visit the splendor of Zhongnan Mountain. Seeing Wu Zhiyuan looking dejected, he asked: ¡°Can we visit Taihe Pce? I haven¡¯t been there, I want to see it.¡±


    Although Wu Zhiyuan was miserable he had read books and had had some worldly experience. He knew that a member of the noble royal family needed to be treated well so he could only reply that it was quite far but there¡¯s a way to visit it.


    ¡°That works! Let¡¯s go there after finishing a meal!¡±


    Yuanying followed him into Wu family vige and split his group into 2. He led his group to finish up their assignment while the people escorting them were asked to look for delicious melons. After all they are here on a project so they should prioritize working first.


    Yuanying is as usual generous and gave them enough money to buy multiple carts of melons. The men all hit their chests promising to bring the sweetest melon in the vige to him. Yuanying smilingly said: ¡°If it¡¯s really sweet, I will reward you.¡±


    The county escorts enthusiastically went looking for melons.


    After getting rid of the escorts, Yuanying followed Wu Zhiyuan home saying that he wanted to rest. Upon entering his house, he asked: ¡°Say it. What grievances have befallen your family?¡±


    Although Li Yuanying is no Bao Qingtian <sup>[1]</sup>A famous politician in the Song Dynasty known for his upright character and upholding justice he could see that Wu Zhiyuan cried and spoke strangely. There must be something very wrong!


    Di Renjie and Wu Mei looked at each other and agreed that Yuanying responded quickly and even knew how to avoid asking questions in front of government officials.


    Seeing this vige that did not appear on the map, they knew that Xu Jingzong had pre-nned everything to ¡°entertain¡± them well. Everywhere they went was carefully chosen and was calm and peaceful. No matter how carefully they try digging, they wouldn¡¯t find anything wrong!


    The group weren¡¯t here to find fault in the first ce so they naturally didn¡¯t think anything was fishy at first. Even if there were missing viges on the way, Xu Jingzong could just say that they were small or that he had just send people to check on them and had not updated the record. After all, they are here for only 2-3 months, how can they visit all the viges? Just pick some suitable ones and let them explore!


    Both Di Renjie and Wu Mei were proud people. From Xu Jingzong¡¯s arrangement, they sense that he was belittling them and they were not happy about it. Due to this, they did not stop Li Yuanying from asking questions.


    Wu Zhiyuan finally understood that Li Yuanying had deliberately dismissed the government officials and immediately started crying. The sobs rmed Wu¡¯s mother and she came into the room with a stick and saw a group of well dressed people in extraordinary clothes, obviously ¡°nobles¡± that were being talked about.


    When she saw that her son had brought them home, she knelt down and bowed twice to Li Yuanying.


    Wu Zhiyuan followed and did the same.


    Seeing their actions, Yuanying knew that his hunch was right. He quickly help them up and asked them to sit down and share their story. It was some timest year where Wu Zhiyuan fell in love with a girl who was a stateless servant tenant at the Yin family vige. ording to the country¡¯sw a fugitive is not allowed to marry a citizen. Her family wanted her to be a maid for the Yin family and with that she wouldn¡¯t be allowed to get married.


    Wu Zhiyuan had heard in school about the Emperor¡¯s edict for the stateless to register themselves as citizens and tried convincing the family to do so. However just as the family tried discussion this issue, others found out and on the next day a family member fell to his death while working. Just as they were burying the dead, someone broke into their house and entered the girl¡¯s room creating scandal that harms her reputation.


    The poor girl was badly critique by her newly widowed mother and she decided to take her own life.


    The family had no sons and with 1 old and 1 young gone, the mother couldn¡¯t handle reality and passed away soon after.


    Wu Zhiyuan had suggested the idea and then left for school so he only found out muchter and was badly traumatized by it. People were saying that the family of 3 had all died in shameful conditions all because they wanted to register for citizenship. Wu Zhiyuan regretted his suggestion. Hearing that his beloved died in a humiliating manner and didn¡¯t even have a tomb but was thrown into the wilderness, he became mad and went into the wilderness looking for her bones that was eaten by beasts and secretly buried her. After that day, he looked like he has lost his soul.


    Coincidentally one day the county magistrate visited his school and Wu Zhiyuan shared all about the pitiful death of his beloved¡¯s family hoping that the county magistrate would avenged them. Xu Jingzong¡¯s attitude was calm in the beginning but within a few days, Wu was expelled from school and when he returned home filled with grief, he was shocked to learn that his father and brother were washed away by tides when they were building a bridge for the county government.


    Everyone said that it was an ident, no one had expected that the water would suddenly rise so high and sweep people away in the blink of an eye! The county government close the case based on this fact. As for the youngdy¡¯s family, since they are stateless no one recorded anything about them. Which county wants to add a murder case to their record? So, if they are dead so be it, no one will care.


    idents happen all the time but why did everything happen to him at one go? Wu Zhiyuan instantly understood that not only did his beloved and her family die because of him, his father and brother also met the same fate. Maybe it was because he was a student at the county school and would bring too much attention that his life was spared.


    With no father, brother, lover and nothing. Life was hell and Wu Zhiyuan became thinner by the day. If not for the fact that he had to take care of his mother he would not have kept himself alive.


    Li Yuanying wasn¡¯t expecting such a tragic story.


    The Yin family was not on his route but when the schr mentioned Yin family in Hu County, Yuanying remembered. Didn¡¯t he just saw a picture of the 24 Heroes? Among them was someone named Yin, the Duke of Xun Guo named Yin Kaishan. Yin Kaishan had no biological son and so his sessor was his nephew Yin Yuan. Although he had not heard about Yin Yuan being particrly outstanding, he was someone that the Emperor remembers and so is somewhat favoured by the Emperor.


    Is the Yin family vige mentioned by Wu Zhiyuan rted to the Xun Guo family?


    Thinking about how Xu Jingzong treated him with such attentiveness, Yuanying knew that even if Duke Xun Guo never asked for it, Xu Jingzong would have taken the initiative to ¡°handle¡± the situation cleanly and properly.


    ¡°Do you have evidence in your hands?¡±


    Wu Zhiyuan was speechless.


    Li Yuanying understood that he didn¡¯t.


    ¡°You two, mother and son,e with me to Taihe Pce. I will ask someone to wait there. After we say goodbye, I will take you to my house to stay temporarily. I will ask someone to investigate. If it is true, and I will definitely give you justice; but if it turns out that¡¯s not the case, just live your life well, support your mother, and stop thinking about this anymore.¡±


    When people are sad, they may me unrted people. Li Yuanying feels that it is better to investigate thoroughly.


    Hearing Li Yuanying say that he will keep mother and son safe, Wu Zhiyuan¡¯s eyes ignited with hope and said hesitantly: ¡°I have a younger sister¡­¡±


    ¡°Bring her along.¡±


    Wu Zhiyuan called his sister out. She was about 13 or 14, quite smart but a little shy. After she came out, she held onto the corner of mother¡¯s clothes and timidly follow mother¡¯s instructions to say hello to Li Yuanying.


    Li Yuanying nodded and said no more. He discussed a few words with Di Renjie and the others and whistle to call his white-headed bird. He asked for paper and pen to deliver a message to Dong Xiaoyi.


    After finishing, he did not linger any longer but continued with their work.


    The county officer in-charged were informed about everything that had happened and he very cooperatively brought the group around homes securing data for the census study, He also probe about how Li Yuanying met Wu Zhiyuan.


    Yuanying shared Wu Zhiyuan¡¯s encounter with a poisonous snake and then ask the county officer why did the youth stopped studying. Did he meet any difficulty at home? It¡¯s not easy to be a schr in a rural area so he shouldn¡¯t give up just because his family is poor!


    Believing that Yuanying wasn¡¯t aware about anything, the officer just replied that Wu Zhiyuan had just lost his mother and had to observe filial piety for 3 years. He cannot study for the time being but he promised to persuade him to do so in the future.


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t seem interested in whether Wu Zhiyuan continued his study so he didn¡¯t continue the conversation. Instead, Yuanying mentioned about Wu Zhiyuan¡¯s sister: ¡°The sister is really pretty.¡±


    There was a surge of excitement in the room. Earlier, when he saw the prince travelling with 3 beautiful youngdies, he felt that the young prince was lucky. Now that he has said something like this, the county officer naturally thought that Prince Teng might have fallen in love with the young Wudy!


    Is Wu Zhiyuan¡¯s luck going to change?


    The officer found an opportunity to excuse himself and whispered a few words to a trusted nephew to quickly inform Magistrate Xu about the Prince¡¯s contact with Wu Family Vige and Wu Zhiyuan¡¯s family. If Wu Zhiyuan¡¯s luck really changes, those responsible for taking action against him will definitely suffer!


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: The world outside is so dangerous!


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü1A famous politician in the Song Dynasty known for his upright character and upholding justice

 Chapter 130

    Chapter 130


    Neither humans nor animals could outrun the bird that Li Jing gave to Li Yuanying. Dong Xiaoyi quickly got news. It was a rare chance where the young prince could leave the academy and Dong Xiaoyi followed him to Hu County. He is made responsible to set up a library and he brought along a breeding expert and a ntation expert to check what crops were suitable to be cultivated in Hu County.


    These are things that benefits the county in culture, education and agriculture so Xu Jingzongs face is filled with sparkles. He entertained Dong Xiaoyi warmly and allowed him to procure things cheaply. Just let him know what he wants and he will get people anything, fromnd to manpower.


    Dong Xiaoyi is highly regarded by Li Yuanying and is not easily coaxed by Xu Jingzong. He is usually busy with tasks and did not have much free time to participate in banquets or entertainment activities. After inspecting the library grounds, Dong Xiaoyi was taking a break and about to have a meal but he receive an urgent message.


    He jumped up and quickly read his masters instructions and got to work. He got trusted men trained by Dai Ting to spy on a few areas because everything needs solid evidence to build a case. They were to keep tabs on the government offices to see if there is any form of contact with the Yin Family Vige. Another group is to visit the Yin Family Vige to see if they house many stateless workers under them.


    Many aristocratic and wealthy families have taxpayers under them as these people are useful in running errands and providing services. These taxpayers are able to be exempted from official service as long as they have an important role in amunity. With that, many wealthy households would do so and put their names under service so that they can avoid official work.


    Since these service quotas are taken up by wealthy people who didnt want to work, there must still be people working on the fields right? And also people running errands? If a big family wants to show off its magnificence, how can they be short-staffed? Therefore these stateless unregistered hermit households must exist. Not everyone wants to be Wei Zheng who lives a frugal life despite having money!


    Although Dong Xiaoyi can already predict the results, he still did as he was told. Since he has a team of experts with him, creating a reason to visit the Yin family vige is easy. If he managed to convince them that he is one of them, he might even win their trust enough to figure out how many people actually live in the vige.


    Yuanying said in his letter to quickly carry out the tasks before the other side had a chance to connect with each other. Dong Xiaoyi cut short his break and quickly inform that he wants to visit Duke Xun Guo.


    The grandfather Yin Kaishan moved to Hu County in his early years. After the founding of Tang and his retirement, Yin Kaishan moved back to Hu County for a few years. The vige was purchased by Yin and it had fields and the best farnd in the area.


    Dong Xiaoyi was a sweet talker. Now that he had an ulterior motive, he made up stories well and made it sound like Li Yuanying was part of the team and in such good rtionship that he and the nobles in the county could almost wear the same pants.


    Hearing this, the government officials think that this was a good opportunity to please the Yin family. They led Dong Xiaoyi towards his destination.


    On the other side, Yuanying has just finished working in Wu Family Vige. He wanted to visit Taihe Pce so he did his job hastily. The apanying officials looked happy as Prince Teng is finally not serious and was going out to y.


    They also heard that Prince Teng had a crush on a youngdy and insisted that shees along to Taihe Pce! His behaviour was like someone wanting to attack another person even though they were still mourning over the passing of a family member. Even though she usually dont go out much, this time she actually wanted to follow!


    The whole group and 3 members from the Wu family left the vige but the official was not able to get a response from Xu Jingzong. He was a little anxious, hoping that Li Yuanying will leave after having fun and not fall in love with amon farmer girl and create drama!


    It was only after the group arrived at the pce did officials receive Xu Jingzongs response. There was nothing to worry about as they have Wu Zhiyuans mother and sister in custody so Wu wouldnt dare say anything. As for Prince Teng just treat him well and as they have ns for himter.


    Its a piece of cake to handle Wu Zhiyuan. He is the sole male survivor of his family and if he acted rashly who will support the family? The county official sent his nephew to wait outside Wus house and when the family members are back, to lock them inside the house. When no one is paying attention then they could deal with the family and silence them forever!


    If theres someone to me, it is on Wu Zhiyuan for stirring up a hos nest! Those tenants were living a good life under the Yin but he encourage them to obtain citizenship. Why so? None of the stateless people are literate therefore even if theres an edict from the Emperor, as long as no one reads it to them, they will farm thend for the rest of their lives. If they obtain citizenship and gets benefits from the government, then what will happen to the ownersnd? Who is going to work?


    If this is the army, Wu Zhiyuans behavior would shake the morale and cause soldiers to defect. He should die a hundred times!


    Wu Zhiyuans father and brother were the same. Not only did they not stop him, they supported his decision to marry a refugee girl. When she died in a disgraceful manner, they helped bury her and even encourage Wu Zhiyuan toint to the county magistrate. Is this whatmoners should do?


    Therefore, Wu Zhiyuans family is the culprit and deserves to die!


    Of course, its okay if they dont die but the county official did not like this family.


    And there is a reason for this dislike.


    When the Wu family gave birth to their eldest son, the county officials family also had a child but she was a daughter; when the Wu family gave birth to a second son, his family too had a second child and it was finally a boy. Too bad that boy grew up ignorant and ipetent while Wu Zhiyuan did well and was able to attend school and have a bright future!


    When it was time for a third child, both families also had them at a simr time and both were girls. However, the Wu daughter is beautiful and even the nobles stopped and ask about her! Looking at his own daughter, even he himself finds her shabby.


    In short, when theresparison someone is bound to get angry and the county officer just hates Wu Zhiyuans family. When Magistrate Xu told him to handle things he let the Wu father and brother fall into water without blinking an eye. If Magistrate Xu hadnt said that getting rid of Wu Zhiyuan too was too obvious, he would really had kill him and take his beautiful sister to warm his bed!


    Since Magistrate Xu wants to use Wus mother and daughter as hostages, what better way than to keep them in his own home? Hell get to this in a while. After all getting a concubine is not considered as viting the mourning period as concubines are no different than a livestock to the family!


    The county official had much thoughts while Li Yuanying visited the pce. Taihe pce was not big and there was nothing too special about it. The Prince only wanted to visit it because it reminded him of histe father. He pretend to separate from Wu Zhiyuan and left with his group while all 3 members of the Wu family escape through a different route and were to be protected as defendants!


    After working hard for days, Yuanying and his friends were tired and they returned to the county town to rest. When Xu Jingzong heard that they are back, he immediately send someone to probe if they have discovered anything about Wu Zhiyuans family.


    The apanying officials said that Li Yuanying had a great time today and ate melons and rewarded them with lots of money. Finally tired of ying, he returned back to the county for rest and will not work for the time being.


    Not everyone knew what happened to the Wu family. When Xu Jingzong probe like this no one recalled anything special. They only said that Wu Zhiyuan suddenly appeared and cried bitterly and said that he encountered a venomous snake.


    Xu Jingzong felt relieved hearing this. Thest time Wu Zhiyuan challenge the Yin family, his father and brother lost their lives. This time he did not dare to tell the truth. Although the county official at Wu Family Vige had been to hold members of Wu family as hostages, Xu Jingzong still felt that Li Yuanying would cause trouble if he stayed. He thought for a moment and asked someone to spread rumour in Changan that Prince Teng is now interested in a peasant girl who is mourning the death of a family member!


    You must know that Li Yuanying is Wei Zhengs future grandson-inw!


    Who is Wei Zheng? Wei Zheng is someone who dares to stand up against the Emperor! He scolded his Majesty when both brothers participated in cock fighting and after that had the Emperor get rid of his favourite rooster and send it to Wei Zheng as chicken stew!


    That is how powerful Wei Zheng is!


    Notes from the author:


    Young Prince: Critical hit! ! ! !

 Chapter 131

    Chapter 131


    That night Xu Jingzong didnt sleep well. News came back that Dong Xiaoyi visited Yin Family Vige with his men.


    Although Dong Xiaoyi gave good justification for visiting, Xu Jingzong still smell something fishy and was even more determine to get rid of Li Yuanying. The Wu family is not the only family that has lost their father in the past two years. He told his men to spread rumors by randomly picking a few viges that Prince Teng had visited. After all Prince Teng gives away money when he finds someone pitiful and is very generous!


    Xu Jingzong felt that the rumor he is spreading will turn into fact, after all isnt Li Yuanying royalty and isnt it normal for rtives of the Emperor to have some romantic stories? Im not using him of adultery. At most, people will just say that Prince Teng is not very particr about social decorum and went after ady who was in mourning. By then, his superiors will realize that letting Li Yuanying out was a mistake and recall him back early!


    Even though he had made preparations, Xu Jingzong still feel uneasy. He send people early the next morning to Yin family vige to tell them not to disclose too much infomation to Dong Xiaoyi.


    The Yin family was a little confused. Dong Xiaoyi wanted to inspect their vige and asked how many were working on theirnd. He even had an expression of everyone knows so the manager thought that Li Yuanying is here to help them make money and happily disclose their background clearly!


    Could it be that Li Yuanying is trying to investigate? Everyone should be wearing the same pants <sup>[1]</sup>standing on the same side, how can he be so shameless? !


    The steward hurriedly wrote a letter to Changan, asking for opinion.


    Yuanying found out all about Yin Family Vige because of Dong Xiaoyis great skills in trickery. He found all the hidden households and hidden fields.


    After reading the letter, Yuanying was sure that Wu Zhiyuan was telling the truth.


    If the Yin family doesnt have that many hidden households, they wouldnt be afraid when someone wanted to be a proper citizen. Although not everyone is willing to be citizen and live the hard life of paying taxes andbor, if they are persuaded collectively who is going to farm and take care of their daily life? Therefore, when peoples hearts are wavering, they will be cruel so that no one dares to mention this again!


    Unfortunately, this caused the family of the youngdy who Wu loves to be victims.


    These are dark days where registered ves can be killed or beaten as long as their masters had a justifiable reason. What more if youre a hidden household without any rights.


    Yuanying stayed quiet while looking at the records before asking for pen and paper. He wrote a letter with all the evidence and sent it to the Ministry of Household Affairs. This matter is too offensive and he cannot harm his eldest nephew or Wei Zheng. Household registration matters are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Household Affairs, so this matter should be reported to them!


    Li Yuanying believed his actions is reasonable.


    Before he could finish writing his letter, a spy came back informing that Xu Jingzong had sent someone to Yin family vige and also sent people back to Changan to spread rumour about Li Yuanying.


    Yuanying asked strangely: What rumors?


    The guard also had a strange look on his face: Something about you having a crush on a peasant girl who is still in mourning.


    Yuanying couldnt help but nce at Wei Shu sitting next to him. Sister Shu is so adorable how can he fall for anyone else!


    In the morning, the rumors had changed to something about Your Highness liking a newly widowed widow! The rumor became even more convincing, saying that the widows husband had just been buried and the soil on the grave was not even dry yet. In order to marry Prince Teng, she kept fanning the grave with a fan. When people asked her what was going on, she said that she had an agreement with her dead husband that she will wait until the soil on his grave had dried up before remarrying!


    After hearing this, Yuanying felt that the person who came up with it was quite creative. He said enthusiastically: Do you know who made this up? Did you write it down? Go find the person so that he can write stories for me!


    Wei Shu was nervous for Li Yuanying when she heard that Xu Jingzong wants to harm his reputation. Seeing Yuanying listening with great interest wanting to recruit a storyteller, she felt that her worries were in vain. She grabbed his hand wanting to pinch him but didnt feel like she could do it hard and so she lightly pinch the palm of his hand.


    Yuanying felt his hand being pinched by Wei Shu. When he lowered his head, he saw that it was true. He got interested and squeezed her palm back, causing Wei Shus ears to turn red. Only then did Li Yuanying let go with a smile and calmly ended the little interaction and continue writing his letter. He sent Dong Xiaoyi and the guard back to Changan. Lets file awsuit early!


    How thoroughly will the case be investigated is no longer his problem. After all, Yuanying is not keen to make friendswith people like Xu Jingzong. He initially just think that the man was not good looking and he tried to see his inner qualities but he uncover all these dirt within a few days.


    After Dong Xiaoyi left, Yuanying shut his door and refuse guests.


    The others were also in a bad mood as they had read through all the evidences. Everything points to the fact that Wu Zhiyuan is not lying.


    Since Dong Xiaoyi was preparing to open a library for Hu County, there were many books at their temporary residence including local newsletters about Hu County. The group would be upied even if they refuse to meet guests.


    In history books, Xiao He relied on the knowledge he got from books and helped Liu Bang to govern the Qin Dynasty. They should also read local records and not rely solely on Xu Jingzong and his mens words. If you believe everything that people tell you, youll be led by the nose and your every move controlled!


    When ites to reading, Wu Mei is simply the best. She quickly sorts the books into categories and assigned everyone to their own tasks. In the blink of an eye the group switched from not wanting to receive guests to studying behind closed doors. When Changan is ready to deal with matter, then its time to show off their skills!


    If this was in the past, Xu Jingzongs dirty tricks might have worked but not now. After the big storm that drove Li Tai to his fiefdom, no one would be stupid enough to publicize the discord between the royal family. Xu Jingzong had been spending all his time away in a county and did not have a chance to find out about how Li Tai was sent away.


    ording to Xu Jingzongs logic, isnt it normal for traders who visit Changan to pass on local gossip?


    Xu Jingzong not only told people to spread rumors, he made them stay for 2 more days to fan the mes. As a result, the rumors intensified and his people were quickly taken away to the Imperial department of Justice (Dalishi).


    Is this a ce that ordinary people can enter? It is the highest judicial authority in the country and those who enter would havemitted grave crimes. The person spreading rumour was so frightened that he confessed on the spot and used Xu Jingzong of being the mastermind. He is not the creator of the rumors but just the carrier!


    As for why Xu Jingzong did so, he didnt know. He just did what his superiors told him to and didnt as why.


    After the interrogation, the results were handed directly to His Majesty.


    His Majesty showed neither joy nor anger, no one could read the Emperors mind. He only asked who the magistrate of Hu County was.


    His men instantly understood that he wants to investigate Xu Jingzong and immediately shared his name without hesitation.


    Thorough investigation. (Li Er)


    His men epted the order and retreated, all secretly thinking about how unlucky Xu Jingzong was. This was a trick that Prince Wei had previously used that resulted in him being kick away to his fiefdom. Using this same trick will make the Emperor think about his son Prince Wei.


    Why are you so bad at scheming? You actually picked the same trick that had failed! You are not a beloved son of the Emperor! Well now, just wait for death!


    In reality not many officials have really clean records. When his Majesty added the word thorough, it means to find out everything so that Xu Jingzong can die without struggle.


    Just as the justice department officials left, Tang Jian requested a meeting with the Emperor with a serious look. Sensing that the Emperor is in a bad mood, Tang Jian looked really bitter as Li Yuanying threw him a hot potato <sup>[2]</sup>troublesome tasks. Prince Teng is Wei Zhengs future grandson-inw, so why did he look for the Ministry of Household Affairs and not him?!


    If nothing else works, cant Prince Teng reach out to the Emperor directly?


    Surely, if youre not part of a family you will not enter the same door. Prince Teng is so clever that he knew how not to get his loved ones in trouble.


    Tang Jian brought evidence about Yin familys hidden household and fields and a case personally written by Prince Teng himself.


    If this matter hadnt been sent directly into his hands, he could have turned a blind eye but Li Yuanying obviously didnt like to keep things low-key. If things got serious and the Emperor confront him, that boy might just say that he stopped him from whistle-blowing!


    In order not to get into trouble, Tang Jian made a trip personally to meet the Emperor to show him the hos nest that his brother had dug up in Hu County.


    If we were to thoroughly investigate all the hidden households, it wouldnt just be one or two families. It may even offend all wealthy families! A person like Li Yuanying who first sends spies to the door and then send evidence to the boss, is guaranteed to be cklisted by all aristocratic families!


    After reading the evidences, the Emperor still had no expression on his face. If he didnt already know about these unregistered household, he wouldnt have ordered the homeless to register citizenshipst year.


    After reading Li Yuanyings investigative report, the Emperors expression changed a little. Yuanying clearly wrote about how he met Wu Zhiyuan, how he got the whole story and how he induced all parties to take action.


    After reading, Li Er realized that the source of rumors is actually Li Yuanying himself. He deliberately praised the youngdy in front of others!


    The case is well written with clear statements and sincere emotions. If such evil things could happen at the feet of the Emperor, it is betrayal to the name of Zhenguan! <sup>[3]</sup>Zhenguan is the reign title/years under Li Ers rule


    Go get Yin Yuan toe into the pce.


    If Yin Yuan knew about this, he is to be med; if Yin Yuan did not know about it, then he failed to manage his family and should be punished. Why are all the other viges well but yours has a murder case?


    When the people sent to summon Yin Yuan arrived at the Yin family residence, he was describing histe uncle Yin Kaishans great deeds to Yan Liben. Although he has never meet his uncle in his youth, this was a treasured story by the Yin family and he shared Yin Kaishans proudest achievements to Yan Liben.


    Lately Yan Liben has been tortured by all these talk about past heroes achievements that his brain ached. He really think that he was crazy to have picked a fight with Li Yuanying.


    Both men were stunned when they heard that His Majesty has summoned for Yin Yuan. Yan Liben even suspected that the person who delivered the order had heard wrongly and is summoning for him instead! After all, Yin Yuan doesnt hold much power, so why would His Majesty want to see him?


    But Yan Liben didnt ask any question. Yin Yuan was going to the pce so he didnt want to stay any longer. Before returning to his mansion, Yan Liben heard that there were rumors about Li Yuanying being attracted to a pretty widow. The story was vivid, but he didnt know if it was true!


    Yan Liben had chills.


    Who has such short memory and dares to mess with Li Yuanying?


    Like his brother said, someone is about to be very unlucky?!


    Notes from the author:


    The young prince sneezes several times!


    What are you guys talking about behind my back! (pointing)


    <strong>References</strong>


    1standing on the same side2troublesome tasks3Zhenguan is the reign title/years under Li Ers rule

 Chapter 132

    Chapter 132


    Yin Yuan will not be taking this me alone. The Emperor has never been good-tempered so he directly threw the evidences at him. If you want to do bad things, sure, be smart and do it secretly and discreetly. Who else is involved with you?


    Yin Yuan was stunned. After reading what His Majesty threw over, his face turned pale. His first reaction was to defend himself, saying that he had no idea.


    In reality, he really didnt know anything as he didnt personally take care of the affairs in his farm. As for the undocumented household, it is nothing new and everyone turns a blind eye to it. He is an adopted heir and didnt create new tricks after inheriting his title!


    Yin Yuan never thought that the people below him wouldmit murder to prevent the stateless from gaining citizenship! Whats more unexpected is that so many at Hu County is united and uses the simplest and crudest way to put an end to this matter!


    He immediately admitted that he is guilty of not managing his household affairs well and subtly stated that the farms in Hu County were all managed by Yin Kaishans men. Therefore he didnt ask too many questions, for fear that they will think that he is using his title against them to show off. Anyway, he is weak, pitiful and helpless, and really knows nothing about it.


    His Majestys face was gloomy.


    This kingdom belongs to the Li family but his imperial decree is not being implemented. Those sitting or kneeling in front of him have their own selfish motives, what more the aristocratic families outside. In times like this the Emperor feels that he needs more talent who are not rted to the aristocratic families.


    But you cant rush things.


    Li Er listened calmly then asked Tang Jian to send men to follow Yin Yuan to deal with the matter properly. Spit out all the fields and hidden families. Punish those who needs to be punished ording to thew. If anyone opposes to it, we deal with them like criminals too.


    As for whether Yin Yuan will be punished or whether the selection of the 24 heroes will change, His Majesty didnt say anything. Li Er probably wanted to wait until everything is settled.


    Yin Yuan looked bitter and could only obediently follow Tang Jian to uncover his familys illegal activities.


    His Majesty did not hide news about this incident and news about the Yin family being interrogated quickly spread throughout Changan. Those with better information found out that this matter is rted to Li Yuanying. Less than half a month in Hu County and he uncovers an unjust case involving several lives! The main culprit was the heir of Yin Kaishan, one of the 24 heroes!


    Now everyone cant help but to think much deeper.


    Is there really a coincidence? How could Li Yuanying encounter such a big incident as soon as he visit? Was it arranged by His Majesty? Thinking deeper, why did His Majesty do this? Could it be that he is targeting the 24 heroes and wants them to confess their hidden assets?


    No wonder His Majesty sent Li Yuanying to the Imperial Academy and for internship. He was just waiting for him to strike!


    Now that they are at it, will the Emperor sent Li Yuanying to other family viges to uncover more dirt?


    Many families were discussing this behind closed doors, sharing all kinds of conspiracy theories and all thinking that they have figure the Emperors thoughts figured out. The heart of a ruler is deep and unpredictable! Knowing well that Li Yuanying is the type of guy that dares to even offend the heavens and then sending him out to cause havoc, isnt this because he is attracted by Li Yuanyings character?


    Its just that the dirty trick of sending someone to your door step to trick you can only be used once. The next time, no one will be fooled again! As for now, lets just wipe away bitter tears for Yin Yuan. Who told him to have a brainless steward and a brainless county magistrate?


    The brainless Xu Jingzong is now an ant in a hot pan. When he went to visit Li Yuanying, he was refused. And then more bad news came: the 3 Wu members were missing!


    Wu Zhiyuans family is in mourning. Generally speaking, they shouldnt go anywhere. How can they disappear into thin air? There is only one exnation: Li Yuanying knows and have sent someone to pick up Wu Zhiyuans family!


    Xu Jingzong thought with a sullen face: always failing, never seeding! He did not ask the county officer to kill Wu Zhiyuans father and brother but to just threaten them so that they wouldnt dare speak of what happened at the Yin family vige. Who would have thought that he was so cruel to make them identally fall into water? Now even more amazingly, he cant even keep tabs on an orphan and a widowed mother!


    The chief registrar asked worriedly: County Lord, what should we do?


    What can Xu Jingzong do? He is just hoping that Li Yuanying doesnt care about others and just listen to the whole incident as stories. At the same time, he also hoped that His Majesty and Wei Zheng will hear about the rumors and quickly summon him back to Changan so that he cant stay here and make trouble!


    Now Xu Jingzong regrets arranging the tour of mountains and rivers. If he made the group arrange files in the office, they might be able to do it forever!


    s its toote now and Li Yuanying may have already pushed the matter further.


    Xu Jingzong sat slumped in the county government office as if he were mourning.


    Seeing Xu Jingzongs behavior, the chief registrar retreated silently, preparing to sort out evidence of his corruption over the years to report him. Maybe this way, he can still save himself!


    Two groups arrive at Hu County to deal with the problem and they did not give the chief registrar any chance to report anything. They detained the whole office and started confiscating all files and records. The team sent by the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Justice quickly calcted all the bad debts and put all the me on Xu Jingzong.


    Theres so much usation that Xu Jingzongs head is in danger. After all, Dang Renhong merely embezzled a million dors and was ted for execution. It was only because the Emperor himself worked hard in saving him that he was spared. Xu Jingzong is not that lucky!


    After the financial were sorted out, the next portion is criminal cases. This is the Justice departments specialty. Quickly they gathered all the witnesses and physical evidence and quickly put together Xu Jingzongs most serious crime.


    Seeing that Xu Jingzong had no chance of survival, the apanying emissary sent by the Emperor went to see Li Yuanying in person to convey His Majestys decree: The Emperor wants him to take over the post of county magistrate for two or three months. Wipe your own butt clean and then the Emperor will send over capable people to take over the county affairs.


    Li Yuanying had already guessed that his older brother will not spare Xu Jingzong. He was wondering what the new person in charge will be like and whether hes someone that is easy to get along with. Suddenly the Emperor came up with such an instruction and it was unexpected but a good one. If hes now in charged that would mean that he doesnt have to listen to others and can make decisions on everything!


    Yuanying replied immediately: Just wait, I will reply to the Emperors letter right away. Send my reply back to him.


    The emissary responded with a smile.


    Li Yuanying happily told his friends about the news and began writing a letter to His Majesty. Last time, he scolded His Majesty in his letter and this time he wrote praises, saying that the Emperor is wise and powerful. You make such great decisions, no wonder you are the Emperor! Among so many brothers, the Emperor is the best! He has nothing to repay such a good brother and can only find out all the most delicious things in Hu County and bring them all back to him!


    Li Yuanying wrote nearly a thousand words sincerely and every sentence was ttery. He stuffed the letter into a bulging envelope and told the emissary: Remember to ask Lord Brother to read it. Dont just throw it away. I wrote it seriously this time!


    The emissary thought: Then in the past you just write things simply? However, he did not dare to say anything out loud. Just look at Li Yuanyings current achievements. Xu Jingzong is nothing but just a county magistrate. But take a look at the others: Prince of Wei, Li Tai of Wei is someone the Emperor visits daily, is he not favored enough. ? Against Li Yuanying, Prince Wei lost! Yin Kaishan passed away early and was still selected as one of the 24 heroes. Isnt the Yin family strong enough? Against Li Yuanying, the Yin family lost!


    You mess with anyone, but never Prince Teng!


    He could only reply obediently: I will make sure this gets delivered into the hands of his Majesty


    Li Yuanying nodded.


    After he left, Yuanying strangely told Wei Shu: Why is he so attentive to me? I dont recall seeing him much and I havent given him much reward! Based on his life experience, if you want people to work for you, you need to reward them handsomely with money. The gold beads he used to carry with him is solely for rewarding servants in the pce!


    Wei Shu also couldnt understand. Normally those who serves the Emperor are not submissive and attentive to others. If they identally leaked the Emperors words, they would lose their heads! So for the sake of their own heads, they should abide by their duties and say no more.


    Maybe he knows that His Majesty values you, so he is more attentive. (Wei Shu)


    Li Yuanying was just a little surprised. He nodded without going into details.


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: Im so cute, why cant you mess with me! ! !

 Chapter 133

    Chapter 133


    Xu Jingzong wasnt executed immediately but was escorted to Changan so nothing has ended yet.


    He started serving the Emperor when he was still a prince in Qin Pce and worked together with Wei Zheng for Li Mi back then and so they were considered as old acquaintances. His son married Yuchi Jingdes granddaughter so the two parties were somewhat rted by marriage.


    Xu Jingzong asked people to deliver letters to his acquaintances, begging for help. He did not expect the Emperor to send the ministers from Household Affairs and Justice on a joint mission to handle this case.


    At this point, Xu Jingzong isnt asking for much. He just hopes not to be executed. If he is lucky enough to meet a period of amnesty or if many persuades the Emperor on his case, he might still have a chance to survive.


    Wei Zheng thinks that Xu Jingzong was foolish.


    His ability to curry favour for the powerful would have been appreciated by the Yin family if Li Yuanying hadnt discovered it. But for him to use the same trick on Li Yuanying was foolish!


    The boycks nothing and will always have whatever he wants. His elder brother is the most powerful person in Tang and the people he mixes with are all important nobles. He doesntck money and is not old enough to be lustful over beautiful women. Although he loves eating and is yful, he gets everything with just one word so there is no need for people to tter him with favours.


    Based on Wei Zhengs judgment, children of this age wants recognition. Li Yuanying obviously wanted to do big things to impress others. If you tter him with food and fun, he might even look down on you!


    The Emperor is the most amazing. Wei Zheng felt that Li Er must have clearly figured out Li Yuanyings psychology state and deliberately sent him out to stir up trouble! Now the families of the 24 Heroes will have to disclose someof their hidden assets. Now that Xu Jingzong who served as one of the 18 schrs in Qin Pce is sent to prison, Li Yuanying has sessfully offended both nobles and schrs.


    Wei Zheng felt that if things continues, Li Yuanying will be a lonely minister just like him. Thinking deeper, is this why His Majesty proposed marriage between Li Yuanying and his granddaughter?


    The more Wei Zheng thought about it, the angrier he became. He felt heavy in his heart. However, he is in great health now and couldnt take sick leave. He could only continue finding faults and pick on the thorns he could find!


    Wei Zheng was so filled with emotions that he took every opportunity to scold the Emperor. Li Er felt that the little old man is crazy and privatelyined to Zhangsun Wuji: What do you think happened to Wei Zheng recently? Why is he so angry? Besides just ndering the Emperor, Wei Zheng also picked on the ministry of household affairs and the justice department, saying that the charges did not match to Xu Jingzong and many crimes weremitted before Xu Jingzong move to Hu County.


    Li Er is a little suspicious that Wei Zheng had lived too long that he has be foolish. Xu Jingzong spread rumors about his grandson-inw, condone and even instigate his subordinates to murder people and yet he still speak up for him?!


    Li Er was puzzled but Zhangsun Wuji was not. He thought to himself that the Emperor doesnt know the gossip spreading outside. If he did, he would understand fully. Now the wholemunity is using both brothers of working together to deceive people. After defrauding aristocratic families you target civil servants, the most cunning person in the world. And your younger brother is a walking time bomb that you have deliberately released! Wei Zheng must have thought so too, feeling that you were pushing his grandson-inw into a pit of fire!


    Who can understand the suffering of fire better than those who have stayed in the fire pit for more than ten years?


    Just look at Wei Zheng. He is greatly rewarded but do not dare to live in a good house or buy a good quilt, for fear that he would be criticized by others for not being upright and strong. Which other family lives like his?


    Zhangsun Wujis family also had to disclose an appropriate amount of hiddennd and manpower but he was the uncle of the Emperor and his son is married to a princess. Giving up some assets wouldnt hurt him so he was not too dissatisfied with Li Yuanying.


    He is thinking about whether to tell His Majesty about the gossip outside so that he would have some clue. The emissary returned from Hu County bringing a letter from Li Yuanying.


    As soon as His Majesty heard this, he put an end to the topic of What happened to Old Wei and asked for Li Yuanyings letter.


    Li Yuanying wrote this letter very sincerely, praising Li Er in every sentence and to the heavens and the earth. He kept saying that he likes the Emperor the most. Li Yuanying seems really happy!


    Li Er was in a good mood after reading the letter. Hu County was right under his nose and Li Yuanying couldnt create that much trouble no matter how much he tried. Let him do it!


    Li Er is quite confident in Li Yuanyings ability. His Sunflower Garden is now running well. At least most people in Changan have included Sunflower Garden as an option when they choose a ce for spring and autumn outings  maybe he can bring something new to Hu County.


    When Zhangsun Wuji saw that His Majesty was delighted, so he ask what was written in the letter.


    Adhering to the basic principle of I cannot be the only one to knows when my brother praises me, His Majesty graciously showed Li Yuanyings letter to him.


    Zhangsun Wuji quickly regretted it.


    He wished he could go blind! Its great to be blind, so you dont have to look at Li Yuanyings string of ttery! Do you two brothers usually write letters like this?!


    His Majesty not only read such useless nonsense but is happy. Zhangsun Wuji felt that he should let Wei Zheng take a look at this letter and to take care of his prospective grandson-inw. Im afraid that guy wont be a lonely minister, hell be more like a sycophant! Who else have ever written such a letter to the King of a country? Even brothers from ordinary families would not be so disgusting and explicit!


    Zhangsun Wuji saw that His Majesty was satisfied with the letter. After thinking, he decided to tell him about the rumors. After all, he will find out sooner orter.


    Hearing that people were saying that the Emperor is Li Yuanying as a spear, his face became slightly gloomy and half the joy he had was gone. However, after thinking, heughed again: If Yuanying knew that I am using him as a spear, he would happily ask me who to stab and he would wish that I had used him more times.


    His Royal Highness Prince Teng is still young and has a simple mind. (Zhangsun Wuji)


    What he actually meant is that when Li Yuanying gets older, he will have deeper thoughts.


    Li Er didnt say anything but ask for pen and paper to write his reply that was to be sent to Hu County immediately. After that, the Emperor changes the topic and discussed other affairs with Zhangsun Wuji.


    Over at Hu County, Li Yuanying was jumping 3 feet high in excitement and started assigning tasks to his fiends. Because everyone in the county government office was being detained for questioning, the whole office was empty.


    Li Yuanying himself acted as the county magistrate while Wei Shu and the others choose a position from posts like chief registrar, lieutenant, secretary and assistant. Since they are starting from scratch, they can now select talents from within the county to fill up the positions below.


    Li Yuanying was obviously a nepotist. Since he is now the acting county magistrate, he happily told his friends to pick a position they wanted. In his words, only if you like your job youll be happy and energetic doing it!


    Di Renjie is the only male besides Li Yuanying so he picked the position of lieutenant without hesitation. Yuanying felt regretful about this and said: I heard thatst time Sister Pingyang recruited troops here in Hu County and raise an army! If Chengyang serve as lieutenant, maybe she can raise a troop of female soldiers!


    Princess Pingyang is the younger sister of the Emperor. When there was chaos in thete Sui Dynasty, she persuaded Chai Shao, her husband to follow her father and brother to raise an army and that he didnt have to worry about her as she had ns. Her n was to return to Hu County, sell off hernds and recruit heroes to support her father and brother halfway!


    When Princess Pingyang was buried, thete Emperor ignored objections and buried his beloved daughter in a burial ceremony fit for a military general.


    It can be said that Princess Pingyang is an incredible heroine!


    Di Renjie quickly looked around, making sure that there was no one else in the room. He said angrily: Dont spew nonsense. Tang is doing well and the people live in peace and contentment. How can youpare it with thete Sui Dynasty? What recruit troops? If you want to die, others do not want to follow you!


    Li Yuanying curled his lips: Brother is not a fool. He knows I dont mean that.


    But there is only one Princess Pingyang. Chengyang is very different from thete heroine. Wu Mei may have more suitable in personality but not status. In the end, the position of lieutenant went to Di Renjie.


    Wu Mei is older and chose to be the county magistrate assistant. She was second inmand and needed to coordinate all parties. Wei Shu is chief registrar and is mainly to stay by Li Yuanyings side to discuss county affairs and provide assistance. Chengyang choose to be the secretary and will be recording and organizing documents. Jin Shengman was in charge of allocating manpower to various departments.


    Everyone has selected their positions and discussed the manpower and hiring requirements for the people under them. They wrote recruitment notices for their own department.


    Yuanying was not idle either. He walked to the county school and found a group of volunteers who would share around what jobs the government is trying to recruit talents for.


    The students had long heard that Li Yuanying wants to build a library in Hu County and were grateful. Even if they fail to pass the exam, maybe their children or grandchildren can study to their hearts content in the future. As each generation progresses, there will always opportunity to climb higher!


    So when they heard that Prince Teng wasing to school for an inspection, everyone was excited and hoped that he would arrive early.


    The officials in charge of the county school were all suspects in Wu Zhiyuans case so they were all detained. There was no one to lead and so the students waited calmly and did not dare to do anything beyond the rules.


    Their opportunity to be able to study is hard toe by. Therefore they cannot be passionate youths who lobbies for this and that!


    Li Yuanying saw the students paying their respect to him like obedient quails but they were in high spirits and their asional nces were secretly lively. Yuanying raised his hand and told the students about his purpose. We should not be pretentious but try to connect with the people and do our best to convey government orders in innguage.


    Yuanying also shared his insights: We will never finish reading books but what matters is how we convert the messages and knowledge in the books as your own. To be a person of great use you will have to be close to themon people. Think about what they want and worry about the same things they worry about. That way you wont spend your whole life just shaking your head reciting lines from scriptures!


    He also cited Confucius as an example. He was not born all knowing, the sage spent his whole life traveling and that helped him understand many truths. Nowadays, everyone just sits home studying. When will Tang produce another great person him?


    Although the students have never wanted to be the second Confucius, after Li Yuanyings encouragement, they all excitedly expressed their willingness to be volunteers!


    After bragging, Yuanying returned to the county government office in high spirits. Wu Mei came over to inform that His Majesty had deliver another message and his men was waiting in the side room.


    Notes from the author:


    His Majesty Li Er: Yes, tter me like this, keep doing it!


    Little Prince: Stop bragging, stop bragging, its tiring!


    Zhangsun Wuji: No eye see!

 Chapter 134

    Chapter 134


    Didnt I just replied to his letter? Why is there another letter?Im so busy. Just taking care of one county is such hard work, how can brother who take care of the whole country be so free? (Yuanying thought to himself)


    Although he thought so, hestillquickly invited the men in. Yuanying read through the Emperors letter and was happy. He then shared the letter with the rest of his friends.


    The servant who was tasked with sending this letter found the young prince wild. He asked others toe read the Emperors letter in broad daylight with no fear of the Emperor finding out! Of course, everyone knows about the peculiar rtionship between these brothers so the best thing to do is to pretend to be ignorant.


    The content of the letter is Li Ers warning to his younger brother about the consequences of his actions. Next time, take caution about your action. If you find something fishy, report it upwards so that the right department can action on it; do not go around snooping for evidence. Now everyone thinks that both brothers are tricking the world. The main message in the letter is  you might be shameless, but I still want dignity.


    Yuanying passed the letter around for all his friends to read while he wrote a reply to it. His initial letter has already sung so much praises that he cant think of any more now. Lets just ignore the rumors outside, if they avoid us let it be, its not like I want to be friends with them. At the end of his letter Yuanying subtly asked  Im so busy taking care of 1 county, why are you so free? Is it because you are familiar after working for so long?


    Yuanying finished up his letter and told the men to send it back to the Emperor.


    After reading the Emperors reply the group had a meeting behind closed doors. The topic centered around the Emperors words. Although they only wanted justice for Wu Zhiyuan, the consequences affected all 24 heroes and even wipeout the entire countysofficials. The posts at a county werenormally held by experience workers that is 5<sup>th</sup>rank and above through rmendation.


    The rmender will also get into trouble if the candidate is not good enough. Moreover, the imperial court is closely connected, if you punish 1 person, it will offend many. This matter looks like it had a happy ending but in reality brought much trouble to Li Yuanying and his future.


    Im not afraid. If I do not have the intention to stage a coup, what can people do? Yuanying confidently expressed his thoughts. Its not like they can hide the Emperors cape under my bed and put weapons in my warehouse and use me of rebelling. Even if they do that, my brother wouldnt believe it. Its just a waste of time!


    Wu Mei and Di Renjie looked at each other and thinkthat Li Yuanying trusthis brother way too much. Its just that both couldnt decipher the Emperors intention behind the letter. It cant be just 2 brothers talking casually?


    Yuanying had a bold guess. Will brother now follow the trend and throw me overseas? If he really does so itll be great, I can travel all around and visit many ces in Tang!


    Even if his Majesty intends to do so, you need to show results here first. (Wei Shu)


    Then lets sleepte tonight. Lets figure out what can be improved in this County. After our recruitment drive tomorrow, we can delegate out the assignments. (Li Yuanying)


    Everyone the got busy preparing as there would be a big meeting tonight to discuss improvement n for Hu County.


    While Li Yuanying and his team was busy, the Emperor received his reply. 2 letters within the same day, its a little too frequent for others but not for Li Er. After dinner, he instructed that the letter be brought to him.


    Li Yuanyings initial reply was to the Emperors expectation. Thats right, when have my little brother been afraid of gossip? He was the little demon king since young, now that he isolder the most we can do is remove little and make him a real demon king! When Li Er saw the 2<sup>nd</sup>part of the letter, he turned gloomy.


    How dare this brat find him annoying and ask if hes too free?!


    He is the ruler of a country, how can he be free? Its just that the incident in Hu County created a mess and he needed to send instructions to deal with it. How did that be too free? Li Er immediately told someone to take the letter away, such an eyesore.


    Since he was now in a bad mood, he did not visit his harem but instead summon for his ministers. He wants to have a meeting until dawn, if he doesnt then he will be the loser!


    And so, both brothers had meeting untilte at night. One takes care of a county and the other the whole country.


    Dai Tings trip to the Tibetan Empire did not follow official route but he took his group and open up a new route and visited many foreign tribes along the way. He returned to Changan with much sess. At the very least he brought back enough manpower for Hu County! He also invited back horse breeding experts who were oppressed by Lu Dongzanand willingly followedDai Ting back to Tang in hopes that the Tang Emperor will attack their enemy in the future and win back theirnds!


    Li Yuanying left the administration of the County to Wu Mei while he happily listen to Dai Tings stories. Hearing the unfortunate circumstances of these foreign tribes, he felt pity and wanted to meet them.


    As he went to where the foreign tribes were residing, he was approachable and told them not to worry about salutation. He spoke with an old man with Dai Tings help in tranting. Firstly he sympathizes with their oppression and the need to be disced at such an old age. Then he sighed about the cruelty of this world, only when you are strong would others not dare to bully you. Lastly he told them to rear horses in Tang. It doesnt matter that they have lost their grasnds, for every 10 get horses they rear for Tang, he will gift 1 horse to them. This way, their warriors will have horses to win their homnd back!


    Li Yuanying spoke with much sincerity, although Dai Tings trantion had not much emotions in it, the foreign tribe were touched to tears by his words and thank him and the Tang Empire for their help and generosity.


    After that, Yuanying spoke to Dai Ting about their harvest. Dai Ting travelled north and found a new type of gourd that is big and round. Unfortunately, it was not harvesting time and so he brought back seeds and a few nts and it seems that they have survived the journey.


    Yuanying had not tried this gourd so he asked: Is it sweet? Is it delicious?


    I heard that it is red and juicy. Once you slice it open you can eat the whole thing and is sweeter than sweet melon.


    Yuanying managed to taste sweet melon atWu family vige and it was delicious.


    We have already cultivated medicinal herbs at Sunflower Garden, we should grow these gourds at Hu County.


    Dai Ting nodded.


    Yuanying went looking for his friends to show them his new nt. None of them had seen anything like this and so everyone was excited. The nts had a long journey and looked dull but after Dong Xiaoyis care they are starting to look healthy again and its roots started growing outwards.


    Yuanying carefully inspected the nt and found some buds! This gourd is a tough one, even the long hazardous journey did not stop it from growing fruits.


    Seeing his friends fascinated by the nt, Yuanying thinks that the world is so big and exciting with many things!


    Dai Ting said that the gourd can grow to this big.


    Wei Shu and the girls did not believe him. After all, now the fruit was only as big as their tiny thumb, how can it grow so much bigger?!


    Youll find out after it is fully grown.(Li Yuanying)


    He told Dong Xiaoyi to look for a farm to grow these seedlings. If they could be sessfully nted and had good taste then they would be of great use. As for the farm lets pick somewhere between Wu family vige and Taihe Pce. Since money is never an issue, lets just buy thend. If they were able to nt delicious melons previously, our melons should be delicious too!


    As for horse raising, Yuanying wrote to the Emperor and requested to loan an empty pasture in Taihe Pce. If he manage to bred high quality horses he would gift them all to the country. If his older brother wants to go hunting, he can also help to refurbish the pce. Yuanying then focus on writing convincingly about how worn out Taihe pce is, it has not been up-kept for so long that even the tiles have been stolen. Its in such a sorry state!


    As soon as the letter reached his Majesty, he was ring at it with anger. Wei Zheng has been on his tailtely, ready to criticize him over everything. He even stopped him from building a small pavilion. How is he going to get money to fund the restoration of Taihe pce? He wrote an angry letter back, telling his younger brother to do it himself if he has that much money!


    Yuanying ponder upon the reply for a long time and finally understood that brother is consenting to his request. Thinking back, brother had only a few pces that he visit in rotation. When he got a new Xiangcheng Pce, it was built on a den of poisonous snakes and had to be abandoned. Yuanying felt that it was necessary to prepare a summer resort with fresh air and pleasant scenery for his older brother.


    Yuanying immediately wrote to request for talented people. He asked for Yan Lide to help him with the design and to advise if he can make the ce more interesting.


    Li Er was also straightforward and didnt give anything. He only requested for Yan Lide to visit Li Yuanying on his own. After all he has neither money nor manpower. If his younger brother is so capable, then let him do it as long as no one criticize them for wasting government funds!


    Notes from the author:


    The Emperor Li Er: I have no money. If you have money, you can do it!


    Little Prince: Shameless!

 Chapter 135

    Chapter 135


    As Yan Lide set out for Hu County, he wonders why the Emperor sent him out. After arriving he realized that it was Li Yuanying who asked for him. ying host, Yuanying weed him warmly and share the whole story.


    Are you really going to spend your own money to refurbish Taihe Pce? Yan Lide shared his opinion without waiting for a response. Even if Li Yuanying had money, this is too showy. Even if you pay for the renovation, there is no guarantee that the government will be willing to pay for maintenance in the future. Furthermore, you will be criticize for squandering money even when the funds came from your own pocket.


    Cant I build a ce for the Emperor to escape from the summer heat?


    You cant do it yourself, can you? You need to recruit people. Everything you do affect people and furthermore his Majesty did not order for this so you cant force people to help you. If you do so, someone will definitely say that you are wasting manpower and money!


    The twists and turns were really troublesome.


    Yuanying thought for a while and said: Anyway, just help me by proposing how best to repair the ce. I have my own thoughts for the rest. Yuanying drew a simple sketch of the Pce for Yan Lide and requested that he design a pavilion that has good view of beautiful scenery. Cost didnt matter as long as it allows for one to take in the whole view of Taihe Pce.


    Since Yan Lide is already here, he cant just turn around and leave. He rested for the night and went on an on-site inspection the next day.


    After making arrangements to get Yan Lide, Yuanying told Dai Ting to secure cattle and horses for manpower. Horses were easy to arrange as he only need to send them to the pasture of Taihe Pce and the side rooms can be used by its handlers for lodging.


    But cattle needed to be properly ced. Li Yuanying waved his hand and park them under the responsibility of the Hu County Government. He told newly recruited officials to go check out a goodnd and to understand the temperament of the cattles while rearing them. When the timees, we will can nt watermelons and grapes here to generate money for the county!


    There is no restriction when ites to reiming wastnd. As long as the county has enough manpower, you can dig up the entire ce and no one will object. However, Li Yuanying specifically warned that the mountains and forests should not be demolished casually but should be reserved for water and soil use. Only areas that could not be cultivated due to manpower limitations should be reimed.


    Residents who want to repurpose theirnd near their houses for the purpose of growing grapes are also invited to participate in this operation. As long as they prepare theirnd a day ahead, they can form a team to pick up grapes branches from Sunflower Garden. Here, grape growing experts will also exin and guide them on the nting process.


    Sunflower Garden is located not too far from Hu County and many have heard that they specializes in making wine. They were both surprised and happy when Prince Teng offered them grapes branches as these were rare and exotic fruits. Of course you can find wild grapes in the mountains but they are all small and sour. But the grapes of the Gaochang people are big and red and by just looking at it your mouth will water! It is even better if you know how to brew wine because wine made from grapes is so fragrant that just smelling it is intoxicating!


    The first decree after the change of county government quickly spread throughout Hu County: Work with government to reim wastnd and we will teach you how to grow Gaochang grapes.


    These are grapes that only the nobles could afford. Normal citizens can only look at them from a distance! Big and red, juicy and sweet! If you can nt them and its harvesting time, you will wake up to the smell of grapes every day, wouldnt your life be wonderful?


    If you have no idea how to nt them, its okay to just forget about everything. But now experts will be teaching you so how can you not take the opportunity to learn? The government will also be sending out manpower so cultivating a small piece ofnd wont take much effort!


    Within a few days, the wastnd identified were all gradually reimed and the county was in full swing. Anyone who became a naturalized citizen was givennd ording to thew and they were even helped when they needed to build houses. Everyone wanted to give face to Li Yuanying, the acting magistrate and so the naturalization of stateless households were carried out as quickly as possible.


    Originally, people who lived in seclusion had to return to their original ce of birth and be converted to citizens there to prevent overcrowding in wealthy ces, however Li Yuanying didnt pay that much attention to the details. Since people are already here, how could he let them go? We need manpower to do great things!


    Yuanying told Wu Mei to not worry too much. As long as people approach them, she would absorb them into Hu County and give themnd to make a home. What if the poption suddenly increases? Thats fine, just treat it as the birth rate shot up in our county.


    After Yuanying and Wu Mei were done discussing, they also encouraged Di Renjie to take a walk around the border to identify stateless household that were disced. If they were drove out, Hu County will take them in. Our county is big enough so we can absorb them in and give themnd.


    Li Yuanying was robbing so tantly that he quickly caught the attention of many neighbouring counties. This angered the magistrates of neighboring counties as everyone wanted more citizens. With more peoplee more taxes and more manpower to do things! But didnt the imperial court instruct that people should return to their ce of origin? Now that this matter is a hot topic, they can only act strictly ording to rules!


    Several neighboring counties became angry and jointly filed awsuit. The purpose is very simple. Does the imperial court care about this matter? If they dont, we will follow suit! If more people settle in their county, the year end report would look better!


    Wei Zheng went to court early in the morning and found people looking at him differently. With his many years of experience, he knew something will happen in court today!


    Sure enough, not long after the session began, Tang Jian reported about the happenings in the county. Tang Jian had been addicted to vicestely and have long stopped taking care of things. He is a low-key person buttely his appearance rate has increased significantly!


    Many took a second look at him.


    But Tang Jian had no choice. His contributiontely has all been Li Yuanyings fault. If he hadnt revealed the Yin familys crimes to the household department, he wouldnt have gotten involved. Now its the same. Li Yuanying has been secretly taking in stateless household and offended neighbouring counties and now people areining!


    Do you really want to be so shameless?


    Why are you so shameless?!


    Its not like you are having an emergency, so why did you interfere at the border to recruit people? !


    Tang Jian felt that his approach was super shameless and he had to help the neighbouring magistrates toin about this guys shameful behavior.


    His Majesty listened calmly and did not express any opinion on Li Yuanyings cross-border robbery and just pretended not heard it.


    As soon as Wei Zheng saw His Majestys actions he knew he wanted to brush this aside with ignorance. He quickly raised his hands indicating he has something to say.


    Seeing Wei Zhengs I have something to say action, the Emperor instantly had a headache. But since he has endured him for so many years, he cannot let his efforts go to waste.


    Li Er could only motion for Wei Zheng to speak.


    The fault of this issue do not lie with Prince Teng but your Majesty.


    Everyone was shocked. This old man wants to protect his future grandson-inw so he is picking on the Emperor?


    Wei Zheng didnt care about the opinion of others and said eloquently: If you didnt appoint him as the acting magistrate, he wont have a chance to do such things. In the past few years, we saw the results of letting Princes act as governors. It is not feasible for young people to be leaders yet. Why didnt you learn your lesson? Less than half a month and something like this is happening. Several county magistrates are already dissatisfied, how can the citizens be satisfied? If things goes on like this, there will be grievances and peoples resentment will boil. Chaos will arise even under the Emperors feet!


    Therefore, this matter is fundamentally wrong. They should not have allowed teenagers to manage the affairs of a county in the first ce! We were desperate in the beginning but now that the investigation is almost done, please send qualified people over to rece Prince Teng and his party!


    Wei Zhengs proposal was faultless and it made sense. The problem indeed lies with the Emperors decision to send his brother to Hu County. Otherwise there wouldnt have been so many problems.


    Many immediately agreed with Wei Zhengs opinion. Although the county magistrates official rank is not high, he has to take care of a county. This is an important position rted to tens of thousands of households. How can it be treated as childs y? Many started criticizing Li Yuanying saying that it is not right for him to take such a position and should be recalled quickly. ording to their opinions, it would be better for Li Yuanying to move to his fiefdom and do nothing.


    Hearing everyone criticizing his decision, Li Er became furious. He stood up and cursed: Cant I even make decision about a county?! After saying this, he walked away angrily.


    Wei Zheng stayed at his spot looking nkly. After the others dispersed, he walked out of the hall, took his meal, returned to his duty station, and ate slowly. When Li Yuanying was eating at his house, he would always talk to him, saying that he should eat slowly and chew slowly so as not to hurt his stomach and intestines and to live a long life.


    When he was around, Wei Zheng found the kid annoying. Now that hes gone, he kept thinking about his words and they suddenly became clear. He needs to eat and chew slowly to live a long life, otherwise this unruly child will be bullied by God knows who!


    While Wei Zheng ate alone, others took advantage of the collective mealtime to discuss themotion that has happened.


    After a discussion, everyone realized that they had fallen into Wei Zhengs trap. It is now the seventeenth year of Zhenguan, which means His Majesty has been on the throne for seventeen years. He is no longer the same Prince Qin who works together and eats with his subordinates. He tolerates Wei Zheng probably because he had endured him all his life and was used to it. However he will not tolerate others for provoking his authority for no reason!


    When they united to say that Li Yuanying was not worthy, they offended the Emperor!


    Everyone guessed the Emperors thoughts urately.


    Li Er stayed in the meeting hall and sulked.


    If he cannot even let his brother be an acting county magistrate, does this world truly belong to the Li family? He didnt even give him an entire state! He hasnt evenin that the ce given was too small but everyone wants him to send his younger brother away and not let him out ever again.


    Among all his brothers and sons, this is the only one living happily and mostfortable, yet they still wanted to persuade him like this! Didnt he exile enough brothers and sons for his kingdom already? To prevent Qingque and Cheng Qian from fighting, he has already sent away his beloved Qingque!


    This time, he will not give in!


    Notes from the Author:


    His Majesty Li Er: I was not a good person to the brothers and sons in the past so I will have to ovepensate my youngest brother.


    The young prince:?

 Chapter 136

    Chapter 136


    Yuanying wasnt aware that there was a huge fight in court because of him while he was busy exploring Taihe pce with Yan Lide. This pce had Zhongnan mountain at its back with a stream pouring out from the middle of the mountain. In the morning, clouds gather looking like they are shinning and in the afternoon when the sun is high, a band of misty clouds fill the mountainside. Such breathtaking scenery!


    Yan Lide is an expert in renovation so improving Taihe Pce is not a hard task. He put all his effort to fulfill Li Yuanyings wish for a tall building. It must be tall, big and must be able to capture all the beauty of Taihe pce. To fulfill all these requirements, he is restricted to only a few areas for construction.


    Yan Lide worked hard nailing down a location and then prepared a construction blueprint for the young prince.


    Seeing the blueprint, Yuanying was satisfied and then increases his demands. I want tiles with drawings, pirs with carvings. No worry about money as long as its done perfectly!


    If its like this, itll cost lots of money. Yan Lide replied with a frown.


    Just for this building. We discuss the rest another time. It wont be that much of money. Ill borrow the best craftsmen from the manpower department to guide the countys craftsmen. Since we are teaching them a useful skill, I believe they will be very keen to learn. As for the designs and drawings, Ill pass them as jobs to poor students. That way they can earn some money while studying.


    Yan Lide didnt say more since the young prince has his own ns.


    Oh, oh! I want to name this building Prince Tengs Building once it ispleted. Doesnt it sound cool?!


    Yan Lides face twitch and he is not sure if he should share his thoughts.


    As if his initial thoughts were not scary enough, Li Yuanying shares even more shocking ideas:  Im going to invite the elders from Hu County to have a meal and see if anyone is keen on having some pavilions named after their family and have it carved onto said ces. Of course if they dont name it well. I will not allow it even though they paid much money!


    Yan Lide was stunned. Who renovates pces like this?


    This boy is only nning to renovate a model building as the showroom. The rest of the pavilions will be left to others. If people are not fooled then thats fine, but for those who buys into his vision, dont they have to renovate following Prince Tengs example? If you do a poor job aspared to Prince Tengs showroom, wouldnt you be looked down upon and others would say that you are doing it halfheartedly?


    Seeing Yan Lide motionless like a rock, Yuanying asked: Whats the matter? Are my thoughts bad? He then snickered. Heh. Brother works hard everyday for the country and people are not even willing to help renovate one building? My brother worked in vain!


    Of course not. People will be more than willing to. If it is so, I will donate for the renovation of one building too.


    Yuanying instantly looked overjoyed. Oh my, how can that be? You have been running around and contributing so much already. There is no reason that you have to contribute in cash too! Big Yan, dont worry! I will create a pir at Prince Teng Pavilion and include all your deeds onto it!


    Yan Lide didnt know if he should be touched or to cry at this moment. Looks like he is going to be dragged into this forceful donation episode. All he can do now is to wait and see if Li Yuanying really have the ability to turn misfortune into opportunity andplete the project!


    Lets do this! Since it is also time for a branch of Feng Thai Restaurant to be opened at Hu County, Yuanying invited all the elders ording to custom for a meal. As the invited guests were many, the whole restaurant was filled to the brim.


    Cheng Xin came too. Since this is the grand opening of a new branch, she prepared a proper performance for it. Just as Yuanying thought one of the performers were familiar, she walked towards him and gave her respect.


    Greeting Your Highness.


    Oh, isnt this Su Qi Niang? He smiled at her and asked: So how is working at Feng Thai Restaurant. Are you happy?


    Qi Niang smiled like a spring flower: Its great. She has a proud character and once she became a free person, she wanted to take control of her own destiny. Su Da Langs family treated her well but it wasnt the life she wanted. She tried to assimte and ept the quiet life but it was not for her as she wanted so much more in life.


    Oh I heard that your highness is engaged. Congrattions!


    Thank you! Thank you! When I have my wedding ceremony Ill send you an invitation. Although it has been several months since his engagement, Yuanying still gets happy when someone brings it up.


    Su Qi Niang returned to work with Cheng Xin after sending her greetings while Yuanying also returned to his team to see if they needed help. Since this is a big gathering, there were many issues to take care of; everything from security to sitting positions. Taking the opportunity as Wu Mei and the gang was working hard, Yuanying sneaked toward Wei Shu and asked if she is tired, the list is so long are your hands tired, do you need a massage?


    Such yfulness! (Wei Shu)


    With my future wife, why should I be serious?! After saying this, he shared his encounter with Su Qi Niang with her.


    Has she be more beautiful?


    Sister Shus words sounded sour <sup>[1]</sup>hint of jealousy. He replied with a big smile: Yup, she is even more beautiful. Her eyes are ck and shiny!


    As he finished his sentence, Wei Shu pinched him softly.


    Yuanying silently hummed in joy that his sister Shu is only willing to pinch him gently!


    Im lying. I didnt pay attention to her looks. I have my future princess already, why do I care what others look like. Ive always been surrounded by beautiful people so its nothing special!


    Since Wei Shu is still a young teenager she didnt haveplicated thoughts yet. Hearing Yuanyings exnation she epted it and told herself that she shouldnt create gossip out of others. Its fine if its just a conversation between them but what if others were to hear this? It will damage adys reputation.


    Yuanying as usual didnt think that deeply. Its a shame that Sister Shu only shows slight jealousy. She should do it more often, she looks so adorable!


    After a quick chat, Yuanying dragged Wei Shu along to meet the elders.


    These are peaceful times in Tang. During such days of peace,dies from prominent families hardly joins any ublic gatherings. Seeing Prince Teng escorting ady, most elders were surprised. It is just that Li Yuanying does things so naturally that the whole of Hu County had epted that they had 4dies running important posts and quickly epted them.


    The opening performance from Cheng Xin is exciting and everyone was enchanted by it. Many shook their head ording to the rhythm and pped ording to the beats. Truly Prince Teng is extraordinary as the rumors said. Just look at the performance or the dinner party, these arent ordinary everyday things.


    Very quickly the elders got a taste of not just good music and dance but also Li Yuanyings shamelessness.


    Yuanying ensured that the crowd was in high spirits before he took the stage for a quick speech. He shared his pain about Taihe Pce; saying that it pained him to be born sote that he wasnt able to spend more time with histe father. Seeing the pce now, it is in such ruins that even the tiles have been stolen. He is not even able to spend time in Taihe Pce to reminiscence about histe father. Is this how a great county should be like? Of course not! Bad people has spoilt the reputation of Hu County!


    In order not to let others look down on our Hu County, we need to do something! Yuanying shared that he had a brilliant idea after painstakingly pondering for many days. He is prepared to repair a building in the pce and rename it Prince Teng Pavilion. After it is done, he will invite the Emperor to visit it!


    Then came the climax of his speech. Does everyone want to meet the Emperor? Do you want to leave a good impression to his Majesty? Do you want him to remember your name or your n? Now is your chance! All you have to do is donate some funds to sponsor the renovation project and have your initials carved onto your sponsored areas. Of course, naming is important. If it is bad, we reject it and if you feel forced to fund this, we reject it too.


    When the timees, we will get the Emperor Li Er to host the ceremony at Prince Teng Pavilion. Who wouldnt want such glory? Everyone wants it! Are you enticed? If yes, lets take action!


    The elders were speechless.


    But Li Yuanying had no shame too. He stood smiling on stage waiting for a reaction. At times like this the people nted into the crowd y an important part. Someone started pping and cheering and soon everyone started to follow. The atmosphere became lively and everyone praise His Highness for being wise anding up with such a great idea!


    Only Li Yuanying dares to make such promises. The Emperor is not someone that can be invited on a whim but only his youngest brother dares to boast about such things. And so, Prince Teng had open his mouth and say that this was for the sake of Hu Countys reputation and no one is being forced to pay.


    What else can the vigers say? They can only expressed that this message will be convey to people who have money.


    The boy was happy and continue to boast about how big and grand his Prince Teng Pavilion will be built. He then emphasized on the carvings designs and wall paintings. The he pointed out a few families that have agreed to this project, like the Yin family!


    Yuanying said with a smile that families like the Yin is prepared to sponsor and that he will not force others if they faced difficulties. Lets leave this opportunity to those who can afford it!


    With this, people no longer think that Li Yuanying is a young and cute Prince. What kind of prince is he? Someone asking for debts from Hell! The Yin family is really cowardly. They got exposed for their scandal and now they still responded to the culprit with a smile!


    Of course, Yuanying knows that he cant just take and not give back. Seeing the gloomy look on the elders he threw them a candy: I recently got a batch of melon seeds that is rumored to grow bigger than a human head. Big, bright red, sweet and juicy. But Im not sure if its true yet. Ill need your help to add this when you pass the message: When its time for harvesting, I will hold an appreciation party for those who has contributed. Then we can all have a taste of this melon and give them priority to the seeds for nting. They say that sacredness creates value. This melon will not be avable elsewhere in the near future so I think it can be considered as a rarity.


    When the vige elders heard this, they immediately became energetic again.


    His Royal Highness is someone understanding. If you get onto his good books, he will surely share unique treasures with you in the future. Didnt he already generously trained several groups of grape growers and taught the people of Hu County his unique grape growing secrets for free?! If they handle this well and establish a good rtionship with him, wouldnt the Prince include them in future projects?


    Lets not talk about the future too much. Just this round and big melon is a good opportunity! If only Hu County grows this and no where else, and when the young Prince shares this with the Emperor, it would be a hit and many would visit to get a taste of it!


    The most important thing is that they can meet the Emperor and try to please him!


    Thinking like that, everyone sincerely expressed that they would urge people to participate in funding the pce renovation. If there is an unscrupulous descendant who is unwilling to pay, we will whack them!


    Notes from the author:


    Young Prince:Bullseye! ! ! !


    <strong>References</strong>


    1hint of jealousy

 Chapter 137

    Chapter 137


    ording to geographical mapping, Taihe Pce cannot be counted to be within the territory of Hu County or Wannian County. It is located at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain, facing Changan from a distance andhad the advantages of facing both north and south. The distance between Hu County to Taihe Pce is about the same as from Changan City to Taihe Pce. Nheless, this does not affect Li Yuanyings n.


    Since you are already visiting, why not ride a horse around Hu County? Go pick some grapes and taste some watermelon. Wouldnt that be nice? Yuanying is full of confidence in the future development of Hu County and took Wei Shu to observe the melons with great interest. Surprisingly, his system that has seemed to have disappeared for a long time decided to pour cold water on him and alerted that the melon might not be too sweet or too red.


    He saw them and they were just a little bigger than a fist after growing a few days and felt puzzled. Isnt it supposed to be big, sweet and juicy? Why isnt it sweet or red now? The system introduced him to this melon species and said that because it was introduced from the west, it is called watermelon <sup>[1]</sup>Watermelon in Chinese literally trantes to Xi = West, Gua = Melon. Although it has already been artificially selected for generations, it is not perfect yet. For example, there is corn in this era, but the corn kernels is shriveled and small, making them no different from ordinary weeds.


    Li Yuanying asked the system what is artificial selection method.


    The mostmon artificial breeding method is to select the best seeds from each generation. If you want big grains, pick big grains. If you want juicy seeds, pick juicy seeds. If you want a red fruit, choose a red one; there is also amon grafting method, which is to pair a branch of one fruit tree to another. For example, if a fruit is delicious but is prone to disease or grows slowly, then connect it with another that is resistant to cold and disease. Muchter, another technique called cross pollination became popr creating more varieties to choose from. And muchter again, you can even modify the animals and nts ording to your own liking.


    As for the techniques to do so, the system refused to disclose them as they are technologies of the far future.


    But it was enough. Yuanying thought and copied down what the system said and asked someone to inform Dong Xiaoyi to try it out. Yuanying also haggled with the system: Didnt you say it is necessary to have a control group in any research? Get me some of those big, red watermelon seeds you mentioned, and I will nt some as reference so that we have a direction.


    The system felt that this was a reasonable request. Anyway, they have already given him corn and peanuts, whats another watermelon. Since the boy had not chosen his reward for the dinosaur fossils project, the system opened a redemption channel for him so that he can freely redeem the type of watermelon seeds he wants.


    Li Yuanying was dazzled by what he saw and was envious of the life of people in the future: They can eat in so many ways! There are watermelons with seeds, seedless, red, yellow, and so on. There are flower skin, yellow skin, and green skin. Lets now look at how to eat it. Its suitable for juicing, scooping, and freezing! There are also people who have enough time to carve flowers out of watermelons!


    Because he could only choose one, Yuanying looked around and gave up picking a seedless option. He instead chose a seeded watermelon that is juicy with thin skin. He must ensure that Dong Xiayi is able to grow and collect his own seeds, otherwise all his effort will be in vain. Having received a batch of seeds, he passed them to Dai Ting and told him to send them to Dong Xiaoyi. If the weather is not right, move them into the greenhouse. In short, he must be sessful in growing them.


    Dai Ting took a look and saw that these are also watermelon seeds but they looked slightly different. He nodded and didnt ask any more questions. All the freedom and everything that he has now is given by Li Yuanying. If Li Yuanying lives well, so will he and if Li Yuanying suffers, he will not be able to get away from it too. Therefore, he will never question him or betray him, these include receiving things of unknown origin.


    Dai Ting took the order and left. Yuanying left things as it is, after all he has done all that he could. Now he will just have to wait and see if the group is able to create something. Reality was that the bait he threw was attractive. Hu County might not be big but it has many well-off families. Within just a few days, Prince Teng reced the whole county government and exposed the Yin familys hidden assets. Many thinks that it is not going to be easy to mess with. The young prince. Who knows what he would do next, will he repeat his old tricks?


    As a result, they were going to reluctantly im a pavilion or something but when they wanted to do so they found out that all has been imed. Not by residents of Hu County but by merchants from neighbouring county. When these foreign merchants heard about this initiative, they tried asking if they could also be included. Turns out they could. The county government said that although the initiative was created to give the people of Hu County an opportunity, they will not turn down others. They gave foreigners a chance to im smaller buildings and left the big ones to the people of Hu County!


    Come on, if you dont im a big guy, wouldnt it mean that you are not sincere?!


    But the foreign merchants still gathered around the county government office and refused to leave. They all said that if Hu County residents could not afford it, they can sponsor everything as they do notck money.


    How intolerable?!


    If these foreigners really took the bug chunk, how can the Hu County elders hold their heads high in front of vigers? Also when there ispetition, they now think that this is a great project to be a part of. The servants sent to register on behalf of wealthy families hurriedly went back to ask for advice. Finally, the heads of the family came in person. This time they didnt care about the size of the building. Just grab first, otherwise they might not get anythingter!


    Li Yuanying quietly led Yan Lide to watch the scene of familiespeting and encouraged him to make a painting out of this so that big brother knows the love of Hu Countys citizens for their Emperor.


    Yan Lide firmly refused.


    Li Yuanying had no choice but to do it himself. He painted a work called <


    > and sent it to Changan along with his note which sung praised of the Hu County for the Emperor. This note is less of an official excerpt asking for instructions on renovating Taihe Pce as it is a fancy letter of praising His Majesty his diligence and utmost concern for the long-term stability of the Tang Dynasty! People are not emotionless like objects, they see how hard the Emperor works and wants to appreciate him with practical actions! In order to prove that this mission doesnt waste any resources, I hereby attached a drawing named <


    >. Look how happy the subjects are about spending their money, they all looked cheerful with no hint of being forced! If youre still not convinced, do ask Yan Lide who witnessed everything with his own eyes!


    Li Yuanying letter is not a personal one but an official court document He is now the acting magistrate of Hu County, how can he not try out this channel for submitting letters? Its impossible, you need to try everything fun at least once!


    While his official letter is still travelling o the road, news had already reached Changan. Many firmly believe that this is all Li Yuanyings deceptive speech and he is someone shameless and unreasonable. He not only forces people to give him money, but is also picky about names.


    Seriously, who is going to be willing to just give you money like that? Do money fall from the sky?


    Everyone was waiting to watch drama but news the next day was all about how Li Yuanying secretly ordered Dai Ting to collude with a group of foreign businessmen which resulted in wealthy households in Hu County being restless andpetitive. They all started fighting to donate, afraid that their opportunity will be snatched away by foreigners. This method of coercion is quite brilliant!


    People were impressed and they focused their attention on Wei Zheng. Will Wei Zheng protect his future grandson-inw this time? How is this behavior different from robbing others? Its unreasonable to ask citizens to pay for a pce refurbishment.


    Wei Zheng epted everyones gaze but remained silent. Firstly, no money from the treasury was used, next no civilians were randomly recruited, and finally no one hasined. He is not a fool, why would hee forward?


    In fact, Yuanying had share his ns much earlier to Wei Zheng about how this renovation benefits the country. After all we are making the wealthy pay and benefiting the working ss like craftsmen and artisans. Once we bring action to the county, the economy will be restarted.


    In the future, Hu County can be used as a model example for external disy. When the Tibetans and Turks visit, they will be led here to appreciate the delicious and fun things in Tang.


    Speaking of this, Li Yuanying felt quite regretful that his third nephew only visited Tibetan Empire for a few days. How can he y to his hearts content with so little time? Its a pity brother forbade him from joining, otherwise he will visit every corner of that country!


    Wei Zheng thinks that it is best to tie the boy down to a ce nearby, otherwise he might climb over the snow-capped mountains of Tubo and then y around in Lhavi <sup>[2]</sup>part of present day Nepal.


    Therefore, Wei Zheng decided to turn a blind eye to Li Yuanyings misbehavior, pretending to not see it at all.


    Wei Zheng was as immovable as a mountain and others despised him. Tsk! I knew that Old Wei is the most cunning. You only criticize those that the Emperor approves of and then you even get rewarded for doing it! If you see a thunderbolt, you stay far away and not say a word!


    Li Er also heard about Li Yuanyings instigation towards the people of Hu County. Although he felt that his method was a bit not very respectable, it is a good thing if their Summer Pce gets renovated for free?! If his brother is sessful, wouldnt Li Yuanying promise of going to Mount Tai without spending a penny from the governmente true? By then, Wei Zheng cannot object anymore!


    All parties held stood still with no action and Li Yuanyings letter was delivered to Changan on scheduled in a calm atmosphere.


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: Make trouble, make trouble!


    <strong>References</strong>


    1Watermelon in Chinese literally trantes to Xi = West, Gua = Melon2part of present day Nepal

 Chapter 138

    Chapter 138


    Li Yuanyings letter stirred up a thousand waves with just one stone.


    It didnt matter how good the painting was. Whats more important is that it featured a list of investors attached. This is equivalent to giving them airtime with the Emperor in advance. This can never happen if youre a proper but ordinary county magistrate but Li Yuanying is different because he is the Emperors favourite younger brother. Even if his spew nonsense, His Majesty will still read his letters.


    It is indeed proven that he wrote nonsense because everyone in court had already heard rumors prior to his letter reaching. All that is left in it is about how Your Majesty is so awesome. Why do the people love you so much?. ttery done naturally.


    Everyone who came pass this matter is disgusted by how shameless Li Yuanying is. Words that would make an ordinary person blush in shame the boy wrote it all in his letters. And then he even send names and excepts from the people who spew ttery about how great the Emperor is. And then to make sure the letter shows authenticity, he kept the local dialects intact to show the simple and honest tone of themon peoples praise.


    It is fine that Li Yuanying is shameless but the scary thing is that the Emperor loves it. This realization came to Zhangsun Wuji and some ministers. Not only was the Emperor loving it, his imagination went further.


    The Emperor once identally told Zhangsun: I wonder if my brother had this idea when he mention he wanted to build a route to Mount Tai.


    This really shocked him. Its alright to give Li Yuanying the benefit of doubt due to his young age and the possible assumption that he didnt know the value of money and so did not feel guilty spending other peoples money. But His Majesty is the King of a country, how can he take advantage of other? He can he ask his citizens to pay for the cost of building roads and bridges all the way to Mount Tai? How many County will need to fork out money? Not all counties are wealthy, how can you expect people to spend huge sum of money without blinking an eye?


    Seeing the w in this matter, Zhangsun Wuji quickly decided to have a word with the Emperor. He cannot risk polluting the image of a wise king that came with much hard work over money.


    Li Er didnt reply much but simply mention that he has his own thoughts about this matter.


    Zhangsun Wuji seriously thinks that the Emperors thoughts were a bluff.


    So he simply found a reason to look for Wei Zheng and conveniently told him about the Emperors scary thoughts.


    Wei Zheng slowly replied:  I have been sick since the beginning of the year.


    Arent you already better?


    Sometimes good, sometimes bad. Ites with old age, its easy to fall sick but hard to fully recover.


    Zhangsun Wuji was seething in anger silently.


    Ever since he had a new future grandson inw, the things Wei Zheng does pisses people off.


    I also had a daughter that married into Royalty, you dont see me defending them blindly like this?!


    Wei Zheng slowly walked away, leaving an angry Zhangsun Wuji alone. This is not a matter that Wei Zheng wants to get involved with. Li Yuanying is aiming at wealthy households and not ordinary citizen, it is alright in his books. Whether Li Yuanying will take a aim at people like Zhangsun is not Wei Zhengs concern.


    While all this was going on, Li Yuanying forgot about everything once he was done writing his letter. He also didnt know that his older brother has thoughts about Mount Tai because of his actions.


    Yuanying instead spend time observing the peoples customs and sentiments. After the big case at Wu Family Vige, the werent anymore scandals so he was instead invited by the enthusiastic viges to eat good food everyday until his belly is round.


    In the blink of an eye, it was summer. It was extremely hot so he moved the county office to MeiBei Lake where he works by the cooling water every day. If he was in the mood, he would get men to row him out into theke on a boat.


    The renovation work of the Taihe Pce was in full swing. Li Yuanying only recruited people to work on Prince Teng Pavilion for him. The manpower needed for the other buildings will be the responsibility of the investors. While Prince Tengs Pavilion started renovation first as it was suppose to be a show unit, it fell behind in timeline. While other pavilions were almost done, his was only built till the third floor.


    Since Prince Tengs Pavilion is notpleted yet, the other investors were naturally too embarrassed to stop work early. Therefore, workers came up with many new ideas to improve on the pavilions design to make them more distinctive and eye-catching.


    And so the craftsmen worked hard, renovating and changing, making improvements to every part meticulously making them exquisite. This was met with no objections, after all money has been spent, lets try to have the best one? Since investors had already spent big bucks, an additional day or two on manpower were no concern. More importantly they must not let others steal the limelight and make them look like they are not dedicated!


    By the end of summer, both species of watermelons are ready for harvesting. Initial type grew bigger while thetter ones were smaller. No one dared to cut it them but the growers observed the fruit carefully using Dai Tings instruction. Once they were sure it was fully ripe, the watermelon was brought to Prince Teng.


    Yuanying was happy that both melons ripen at the same time. He invited all his friends to cut them together. Officials working at the county office had spent much time with Prince Teng and were no longer afraid of this rumored little devil. They sent a representative to him with a shy face to ask: Your Highness, can we watch too?


    Why not? Join us!


    Since Li Yuanying now lives in a house by theke and works in a pavilion by theke, this is the chosen ce to also cut his melons. Government servant and normal citizens all surrounded his pavilion and stretched their necks to look inside. They want to see what the melon from the West called watermelon looks like!


    Yuanying didnt expect such a bigmotion but he was always happy to see many people. He enthusiastically shared that the melon came from the Western Regions and is juicy and cools your body down. People in the west also call it cold melon! Although its no longer super hot now, but since we have sessfully harvested this year, we can repeat the same next year. By then, everyone will be able to eat watermelon in the summer and feelfortable!


    Li Yuanying was beaming as he spoke, while the others listened with gusto. As they looked at the two big, round melons, they were drooling!


    Li Yuanying didnt hesitate and cut one of the big round watermelons under everyones attention. He applied a little more force and the melon was divided into two halves.


    Disappointingly, the melon was not very red, and there were only a few red pieces in the middle. But it was juicy and didnt look bad!


    Li Yuanying knew instantly that these were the melon seeds brought back by Dai Ting. The initial few nts he brought back didnt grow well and were gone before they managed to ripen. These wereter grown from the seeds Dai Ting brought back.Yuanying was not in a hurry to taste it and just smiled to Wei Shu and the others: This is less red, so lets call it little red.


    After naming the first one, Yuanying cut the other melon. Although the first melon was big, itcks visual impact. Everyone just thought that it was a rtivelyrge melon but they didnt feel like eating it. But this time, everyone held their breath!


    This melon is beautiful!


    The flesh is so red that people fall in love at the first sight. Red flesh, ck seed and white and green skin! Not only is the color vibrant, it looks so sweet. Dont let them flow in vain, lets give it a try!


    Even if they have never tasted it, everyone already likes it. If there is a chance in the future, they must try it!


    The only person who wasnt envious was Li Yuanying. He was satisfied and named it fully red. He cut it into pieces and distributed it to his friends. The extras were given to the government officials standing around.


    Little Red was also distributed out. To be fair, if there were noparison, the melon seeds brought back by Dai Ting tasted great. It was juicy and good for relieving summer heat.


    Yuanying instructed Dong Xiaoyi to get his nting team to hone their selective breeding skills with Little Red and to set the direction for future nting.


    Dong Xiaoyi took his order seriously.


    Yuanyings actions quickly spread throughout the county and the next day, severalrge watermelons were sent back to Changan. Although the journey was not a long one, Yuanying made sure to send the melons back with their vines intact to ensure freshness!


    While the melons were on the way to the Emperor, Yuanying kept his promise and hosted a banquet at his restaurant to entertain the wealthy households who had invested in his pce renovation project.


    Everyone had heard that the watermelons were delicious and were all looking forward to it. This is the only watermelon in the whole of Tang; or at least traveller from north and south have not heard of this watermelon. Plus Li Yuanying mentioned something about teaching them the nting technique, wouldnt that mean that Hu County is the only region to is able to master this unique business? !


    The young prince entertained his guests with performances and great food. When everyone was moving their butts from being impatient, Yuanying pped his hands. Bring in the watermelons


    A small piece for everyone


    The little ck dots on the melon are the seeds. Be careful when eating them and spit the seeds out. Bring them home and try to nt them. (Yuanying)


    Everyone was a little confused.


    The little devil prince cant be so shameless as to send them away with such a small piece of melon, can he? Although admittedly this piece of melon looks delicious but they have donated a whole building! A whole building for this piece of melon?!


    Seeing his guest all carrying a face that said: How dare you be so shameless; Yuanying smilingly added: Next summer, Ill teach everyone how to grow some.


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: Im just joking, why so serious!

 Chapter 139

    Chapter 139


    Li Yuanyings guards rode a unique carriage back to Changan. There were no passengers on it, only melons.


    When the boy mentioned that he wanted to groom melon experts, everyone thought he was just a liar who wanted to trick people into donating to his renovation project.


    Now they are hearing that Prince Teng really did grow melons and are sending some back to the Emperor with much fiasco. Zhangsun and the rest of the ministers were all curious and randomly found reasons to meet up with the Emperor; all hoping to see this unique melon which the young prince daringly proim as the only one in Tang!


    The men at Yuanying side were all trained by Dai Ting and they didnt tremble in front of prominent nobles. One representative came forward and choose a melon and presented it to the Emperor: Actually now is not the best time to eat them. We should chill it in ice water for half a day. By then the melon will be ice cold and juicy. I guarantee that whoever eats it will have an amazing experience and all summer heat will be gone!


    The representative spoke for a long time and the ministers were all getting impatient. However the Emperor did not say anything, so they could only stand still and secretly mumble: Why is the people around Li Yuanying all the same? The didnt look special in the past but now individually they are quite attention grabbing!


    As the representative finish up his introduction, he quickly cut the watermelon into halves. He then slice them further into thin pieces.


    The moment it was cut open, everyone was attracted by its bright red flesh. The slices of watermelon were so red that their eyes lit up, and even the juice dripping down looked particrly cute!


    Now thinking about how Li Yuanying had promised the people of Hu County that he will pass on the skills of growing this melon to them, the group felt a little annoyed: If they knew this was such a good melon, they should have donated too in exchange for nting knowledge!


    The guard then continued with his introduction. The ck dots are seeds. It didnt matter if you identally swallowed them but it would be best if you could spit them out for the seeds to be preserved.


    Hearing this, everyones eyes lit up. Since the seeds are easy toe by there is nothing much to regret. Growers cant just grow them but not sell, right? And its not like they can dig out all the seeds before selling them? Obviously not possible! So this watermelon is just like the sunflowers that Li Yuanying originally sold. Rare in the first year, but open for everyone the following year!


    As for how to nt them, just take your time and explore after you have seeds. There will always be a way. Let the people of Hu that donated money make money for the initial one year!


    Li Er didnt have as much thoughts as the others. He was satisfied with Li Yuanyings good understanding of harvesting good things and sending him some. He generously awarded each person a piece of watermelon and kept the rest. Later he must try the ice watermelon.


    So the two brothers shared a thin slice of watermelon with the people around them and generously allowed them to take the seeds home.


    By evening, Sizi and the other young young children had all tasted it along with a few concubines. The remaining watermelon all went into the Emperors stomach. Sweet and juicy, just right for his Majestys appetite!


    The next day, Li Er wrote to his younger brother asking for more melons. Just that few is not enough for him!


    Wei Zheng naturally also got his share of watermelon from the Emperor. He thought the melon was pretty good so he packed the seeds like the other ministers and nned to nt them.


    When he returned home, he saw his wife Pei tending to her garden. Their yard is filled with fruits and vegetables and they can basically be self-sufficient all year round.


    Pei turned around and smiled at him. Yuanying and Wei Shu had someone to deliver watermelon during the day and even wrote a booklet to teach her how to take care of it. When the delivery arrived, the men quickly helped her transnt it into the nursery with its soil attached. She had nothing to do today so she came out to look at this big, round watermelon; afraid that it would be stolen!


    Wei Zheng originally regretted not being able to bring it a piece for Pei to taste. When he saw that they had their own share, he felt happy and share to Pei all about his session sharing watermelon in the pce during the day. With such a watermelon backing him, Li Yuanying can finally justify asking people to pay for the construction of the Pce. No one will be able to find fault with him in the future!


    Pei also heard about the renovation at Taihe Pce and that many fought to donate. Didnt those people all pay voluntarily? Why are people still scolding Yuanying? Did you help Yuanying to refute them?


    How can I say anything?


    These two Royal brother are not able to get the Royal Treasury to fund their project and so turned their eyes towards the wealthy citizens. The most Wei Zheng can do is to keep one eye shut to this whole incident. If he were to defend them, hes afraid that the second half of his life will be filled with angry criticism!


    Pei casually brought this up so she did not borate further. They went into the house and she smilingly brought out watermelon from a water tank.


    Ive soak this melon in water for half a day and its now icy cold. Since the young ones are not home, lets share. Yuanying mentioned that eating the whole halve of the melon is the best.


    Wei Zheng thought about how stingy the Emperor was to give each person just a small piece and happily agreed: Great. Lets share the whole watermelon.


    The couple happily shared their halves and Wei Zheng even wrote a poem about watermelon. Finishing a whole watermelon was satisfying and filling so they walked around their yard to digest it. Finally he hypocritically reflected that everything should be done in moderation.


    Its a norm for schrs to write poem as a form for self-expression. Since it is an expression, you need an audience. Wei Zheng shared his new poem with his colleagues the next day, saying that it was his own insights gained from eating watermelons.


    When Zhangsun Wuji and others heard it, their faces turned dark.


    You have a great grandson-inw who gave you a few watermelons. Do you need to show off like this? You old Wei have you gotten so sick that are you confuse? Do you still remember that you are a upright minister?


    His Majestys expression didnt look good either. This guy actually gave double gifts, one to the pce and one to Wei Zhengs family! If you get older, will you side more towards your inws?!


    Li Yuanying sneezed and looked at the sky. It was cloudy as if its going to start raining. He asked for his things to be brought back into the official residence by theke.


    Li Yuanying led Wei Shu home along theke. Halfway, heavy rain started pouring and servants came forward with umbres. Yuanying felt that the rain wasing so freely and he didnt want to be shield from it.


    This is good rain! Werent we worried about drought previously? Now theres nothing to worry about!


    The boy had been restricted all his life and had never stood under the rain. Now that he is drenched, he happily eximed: Why not lets run home in the rain!


    Wei Shu will not deny him his fun and they happily run home hand in hand.


    The two of them still had their childish sides and no one could stop them. Anyway they are already drenched by the rain so they they casually jump into puddles sshing both of them with water.


    They ran back to the official residence satisfied. However, as soon as they return they were taken away by Di Renjie and Wu Mei separately. A hot bath and deep education to reflect on their behaviour.


    Di Renjie thinks that Li Yuanying is reliable at work and is usually not so out of control. He wanted to work by theke so everyone followed him. But today he is really messing around. I have seen people rushing to take shelter from the rain but I have never seen people rushing to get wet. What if you get a flu?


    Di Renjie began to grumble at Li Yuanying earnestly.


    Not only was Li Yuanying not afraid of Di Renjies nagging, he turned around and exposed his back. Can you rub my back? I cant reach the back!


    Di Renjie red at him. In the end, he had no choice but to rub his back while continuing to say things like, I feel sorry for you, I feel sorry for your mother, I feel sorry for your rtives and friends who care about you.


    On the other side, Wu Mei helped Wei Shu to dry her long hair while Chengyang nagged at her.


    Girls are born with cold bodies and shouldnt get wet. How can you fool around with Uncle?


    Wei Shu obediently admitted to her mistake.


    Chengyang was a little helpless. Wei Shu is being taught bad things by Li Yuanying. Young Uncle would always admit his mistakes humbly but would do whatever he wantster!


    Jin Shengman asked: How does it feel to get wet in the rain?


    Wei Shu thought for a while. Its very rxing. At that moment, she didnt have any worries. She didnt think about being unreasonable or getting sick from the cold. In fact, it has always been like this around Li Yuanying. She doesnt have to think about anything and just have fun with Li Yuanying.


    After Chengyangs nagging, Wei Shu felt that she was in the wrong but if Yuanying invites her again, she will still do the same.


    Jin Shengman smiled, walked to the other side to helpb Wei Shus long hair. She in turn persuaded Chengyang: Which children dont do nonsense, Chengyang, dont be too strict with them.


    She was about to return to Si. Her cousin, the ruler was not in good health and had no heirs to take care of her. Her family kept telling her to go back quickly and vaguely mentioned in their letter that since her cousin had no heirs, she would most likely seed the throne. In that position, one cannot have true friends, or a true husband, or even honest children, otherwise they will all be involve in the whirlpool of a power struggle.


    After arriving at Tang, Jin Shengman often hears that the Emperor is addressed as a loner. Thinking about it carefully, its so true and this is why she likes to watching people like Li Yuanying and Wei Shu have fun every day. Such memories may be the most vivid and happiest days of her life.


    Chengyang looked at Wei Shu who looked guilty and then at Wu Mei who didnt say a word and then at Jin Shengman who spoke up for Wei Shu. In the end, she could only sigh.


    Even though these two are younger than her, they were her uncle and aunt in terms of seniority!


    Fortunately, both were in great health. After taking a hot bath, drying their hair, and drinking some cold-repelling soup, they became lively and energetic again. Chengyang observed them for two days and found not even a sneeze. She was finally relieved but still instructed the servants to make sure not to let Li Yuanying cause trouble again.


    Li Yuanying happened to notice Chengyang instructing his servants and so he pulled her aside and stared at her.


    Chengyang red at him: Whats wrong? I cant give orders to the people around you?


    Yes, of course you can! You just look a bit like the mistress of the house. Is the Emperor preparing for your marriage? When ites to Chengyangs marriage, Yuanying remembered that he and Li Zhi tested Du He a few years ago and found him not very suitable. Last year he made Du He a part of the Royal group to a mission to the Tibetan Empire and he wonders if Du He has made any progress in maturing. Thinking of this, he held Chengyangs hand: You met Du He in the Imperial College. What do you think? Should we change the groom to someone else?


    You know very well that Father is making preparations already, how can we just change the groom now? Since its only the 2 of them, Chengyang wasnt embarrass to share her thoughts that she has met him a few times at the Academy and although he was a bit mboyant, he wasnt too bad. Duke Lai passed away rather early and if she didnt go ahead with this marriage she would feel guilty towards him. She didnt want to be a bad person.


    Since you are okay to marry him, then Ill prepare the dowry. (Yuanying)


    Chengyang replied a little embarrassed: These will be taken care by the Court officials and the amount is fixed. Even if His Majesty wanted to give her something more, Wei Zheng and the others would jump out and object about how it is going beyond the standard or what should you do when another princess marries? Dont set bad precedence!


    Then Ill wait until you are married before giving you more. Then these will be considered as private property!


    Whilst Li Yuanying was talking about this topic with Chengyang, Changan City was in huge trouble because of another marriage


    On this day, Gao Yang blocked Fang Juns path in public and wave her whip.


    Even if all the men in the world dies, I will not marry you!


    Notes from the author:


    Wei Zheng: My grandson-inw gave me so many melons, let me write a poem tomemorate this.


    Fang Xuanling: Shameless person!


    Zhangsun Wuji: Shameless person!


    His Majesty Li Er: Shameless person!

 Chapter 140

    Chapter 140


    Li Yuanying found out about the drama after meeting Gao Yang. The Princess ran straight for Hu County after the incident. This is an arrange marriage that no one is happy about. Gao Yang doesnt understand why she had to marry Fang Jun. Yes he has a bright future but what does that have to do with her!


    Although she had never ran away from home before, Gao Yang wasnt afraid to travel to Hu County because many of her servants followed her.


    Upon meeting young uncle, she spilled the whole story pitifully. It seems that although Fang Jun didnt manage to seduce Su Qiniang previously, he hit it off with anotherdy. Since he had to travel to the Tibetan Empire, this incident wasnt brought up but now that he is back, thedy had been writing him letters saying that she was sick. Again his soul has been seduced by her.


    When Gao Yang heard about this incident, she warned Fang Jun to not be so shameless but instead of repenting, he visited thedy more frequently. Gao Yang will not swallow this misconduct quietly and so she visited him in person to give him another warning!


    Young uncle, I will not marry him! Gao Yang was so angry that her eyes turned red.


    Seeing her with red eyes, Yuanying thinks the guy is unforgivable too. Even if you wanted to have fun, you need to find someone who is worthy. This is not about Li Yuanying looking down on women in the entertainment industry.People like Su Erniang and Su Qiniang came from simr background but he respects them fully. He looks down on women who uses trick to cling on to someone.


    Okay. Ill tell brother to cancel this marriage.


    Yuanying made some arrangement and gave Gao Yang a bowl of watermelon smoothie. He then asked her to share more about thetest happenings in Changan.


    As Yuanying wee Gao Yang, the Emperor received news that his daughter is missing.


    Hearing about the whole incident, Li Er wasnt sure if he should be angry at Gao Yang or Fang Jun. Anyway Fang Xuanling already visited to admit his guilt in not bringing up his son right causing him to create such drama.


    It is indeed dramatic and the whole town is talking about it. Some gossip that Fang Jun being the Emperors prospective son-inw ismendable for actually going to Pingkang square while others think that Gao Yang was overly aggressive and arrogant as she dared to block his path at Pingkang Square as a woman, whoever marries her is the courageous one!


    In short, everyone is watching this joke and drama of the Royal family with the Fang n. If their backgrounds were not so prominent, people might just overlook it and forget about it!


    The courageous Fang Jun was punished by his father and nowy in bed whining non-stop. When his mom Lu came by, he burst into tears.


    Mom, I dont want to marry her. Not even if I have to die!


    This is the second time her son was beaten because of Princess Gaoyang. Mrs. Lu felt extremely distressed. If this is happening before the wedding, how will they get along after getting married? She sat down andforted her son: Your father is back, mother will speak to him!


    Only then did Fang Jun stop crying.


    Others say that it is good to aspire to climb upwards but their family is notcking. Why should I marry a fierce woman? Fang Jun prefers someone who is gentle and pleasant, NOT someone like Gao Yang!


    Mother and son made a n. Fang Jun were to rest while she would wait for Fang Xuanling to return home.


    At this same time, His Majesty sent people to Hu County to pick up Gao Yang and told Li Yuanying that it was time for him toplete his task and return to the Capital as other students who left for internship are alling back to the Academy already.


    Li Yuanying didnt have any objections. He is almost done ying at Hu County anyway and had already made ns to visit Li Zhi at Taiyuan. He didnt allow the Emperors men to escort Princess Gao Yang home but instead told them to deliver a letter to the emperor. They will all return to Changan together in a few days after handing over matters at hand.


    Although Li Er was angry at Gao Yang, he agreed to Li Yuanyings terms and did not send more guards to pursue Gao Yang.


    Yuanying handed over all important matters to Wu Mei and Di Renjie while he took the princesses around for ytime. He also asked Gao Yang for her opinion on who she would rather marry if not Fang Jun. She is almost the same age as Yuanying and her older sister Changle had already been a married woman for 3 years when she was at this age. Therefore if she is unwilling to marry Fang Jun, she needs to have a back up candidate.


    Gao Yang thought for awhile and hummed: I dont want to get married!


    Why? Once youre married you can move to your own quarters, isnt that better than staying in the Pce?


    But I dont like anyone. If I dont like anyone why do I have to get married? She held onto Yuanyings hand and shake it. Young Uncle, you need to help me think of a n!


    Gao Yang made sense. Well its not that I dont have a n. You can be a monk first then I will bring you to my fiefdom. Then you can do whatever you want.


    Gao Yang rounded her eyes: You want me to be a monk?


    Not really, you can be a female Taoist priest.


    Li Yuanying has loved listening to stories since he was a child. His favorite stories are undoubtedly rted to Buddhism and Taoism.


    This is something that has happened since ancient times. For example, during the Jin Dynasty, there was ady called Nanyue who was a female Taoist priest. Ill help you find a reason to be a Nu Guan. You wont need to shave your hair or be vegetarian. Youll just need to change your clothes for a few days. When you find someone you really like in the future, it wont be toote to return to secr life and marry him. Li Yuanying was confident about this because Sun Simiao and Li Chunfeng are both Taoist priests, so it should be no problem asking them to help pull strings.


    Gao Yang was moved by Yuanyings n but when she thought of fathers temper, she was a little worried: Will Father agree?


    Whether he agrees with it or not, lets try it out first before deciding. Dont give up without trying.


    Gao Yang nodded seriously. Although she was not fully mature yet, she was sure that she did not want to marry Fang Jun.


    After understanding further, Yuanying knew what he was doing. He packed his bags and made preparations to return to the Capital. The same amount of luggage travelling here and the same amount travelling back home. He didnt take anything more except for a few newnd deeds.


    The group had not gone very far from the official residence when citizens came one after another to say goodbye. Knowing that Yuanying doesntck anything, the people didnt give him much except for a bulging rice sack from the representative.


    Yuanying had no shame of looking shabby and asked curiously: Are you guys afraid that I will be hungry?


    The representative was a well-spoken man, and immediately rified his doubts: We know Your Highness doesnt like to ept things from us, so we prepared this. This is not made by one family, but is put together by everyone here with one scoop of rice from every household. If you still want to eat rice produced in Hu County,e back anytime.


    In this way, this may be called rice from a hundred home  or even rice from a thousands home!


    This gift suited Yuanying very much. Great!


    The man added: In a few months, Chang Chu will be ready, but you havent tasted it yet!


    Chang Chu grows in the Zhongnan Mountain area. It looks ugly and hairy on the outside, but it is quite beautiful when cut into pieces. The flesh is green and the fruit tastes sour sweet. Although it is not a rare item, it wins by being fresh. (Basically its a nt mentioned in Book of Songs, uncertainly identified as caramb or star fruit (Averrhoa caramb); kiwi fruit)


    Then Ille over and taste them. If Im busy, Ill ask someone toe over and pick some back!


    Thats enough. Saying more may bring tears. Li Yuanying got on his horse, happily waved goodbye and set off for the Capital.


    Wu Mei sat inside the carriage and raised the curtains to look out. She saw the eyes of the people following their carriage even after they have travelled some distance. She lowered the curtain and said to Wei Shu and the others: Next time, I want to ride a horse too. There was no need for curtain or cover, she wanted to sit straight and receive everyones attention, just as she did in Hu County  upright and calm.


    Wei Shu was stunned for a moment but replied: Even if you wanted to ride a horse now, you can.


    Wu Mei raised the curtains again, only to see Li Yuanying still waving to the people. He felt that just waving is not enough. Seeing Di Renjie being a little dull, Yuanying nudge him to behave. Since he came in a lively manner, he should go back in a lively manner!


    Wu Mei looked at Li Yuanying, who was holding Di Renjie and waving to the people and her eyes were filled with smiles. She replied softly: Yes, we can do whatever we want.


    Although the farewell took longer than expected, the group returned to Changan as originally nned. Hu County is not a big ce, but Li Yuanying has traveled on most of it and feels at ease no matter which piece ofnd he steps on.


    Now looking at the crowded Changan City, Yuanying felt strange in his heart.


    Actually since a long time ago, he has already felt that Changan was not the ce that he will stay long. Like other brothers, he would be arranged to leave when he is 12 or 13 along with his mother to move to his fiefdom for a good life.


    However, many things have changed unconsciously.


    Li Yuanyings pause caught Di Renjies attention, and he stopped to ask: Whats wrong?


    Nothing. I just thought of something. Humans have such greed, once you know you can do one thing, you want more.


    He didnt have much confident to pull off his n for Gao Yang but he is willing to try it out. If he gave up without trying then he deserve to leave a timid boring life forever!


    Renjie help me to send Wu Mei and Man Man back to the Academy. Ill send Wei Shu and the Princesses back to the pce.


    Renjie nodded in agreement.


    The group split into 2. Very quickly they reached Wei Shus ce and Yuanying naturally ask for tea for him and his nieces and they told exciting stories to Mrs Pei before leaving.


    At this very second, Li Er has be impatient from waiting.


    Li Yuanying had already written a letter saying that he would leave today morning and will be travelling back. News about him departing and of the people sending him off and of the party reaching Changan were being updated but the group was no where to be seen. The Emperor asked for and update and was informed that: Li Yuanying went to Wei Zhengs house for tea!


    Li Er was already angry because of Gao Yangs incident. When he heard that Yuanying had returned but did not return immediately because of tea, he was furious.


    Later when he is here, do not allow him in!


    The people serving responded meekly, not daring to interrupt or annoy the furious Emperor.


    Notes from the Author:


    His Majesty Li Er: How unreasonable to go to see someone else first!


    The young prince:?

 Chapter 141

    Chapter 141


    On any normal day, Li Yuanying wouldn¡¯t visit the Emperor for nothing. After all, His Majesty is the ruler of a country and is extremely busy. He wouldn¡¯t have time to meet him for leisure.


    But things are different this time. Gao Yang ran away to Hu County and Yuanying let her stay for a few days and even promised to help sabotage her own engagement. Of course, he had to protect the princesses from the wrath of the Emperor.


    When they arrived, the guards said that His Majesty would not grant him entry.


    Li Yuanying asked in confusion: ¡°What about Gaoyang and Chengyang?¡±


    ¡°They can pass.¡±


    Yuanying watched eagerly as Gao Yang and Cheng Yang went in and looked at the strange faces of the guards. After thinking, he understood that His Majesty was angry with him. Although he didn¡¯t know why, his actions show that he¡¯s in anger. Yuanying rolled his eyes and stood obediently outside but shouted: ¡°Brother, since I¡¯m not allowed to walk in, can I climb in through the window?¡±


    At that very moment, Li Er was giving Gao Yang a death stare and wanted to make Gao Yang reflect on her actions. When Li Yuanying shouted such nonsense, he almost lost it.


    ¡°Climb all you want!¡±


    When Yuanying heard this, he was relieved. This is just false anger. He smiled smugly at the guards and quickly climbed through the window to sneak into the meeting hall in a grand manner.When Li Er saw him climbing in with much skills, his face became even darker. One look at this action reveals that this boy has been naughty and is very skilled at climbing trees and walls.


    As he got into the hall, Yuanying saw the Emperor in a bad mood and both princesses kneeling next to him not daring to speak. Yuanying ran over and kneel together with the girls and lifted his head.


    ¡°Brother, you look thinner. Have you not been eating well? Is your illness back again? Summer is harsh in the pce, so next year let¡¯s retreat to Taihe Pce! Actually, you can already visit in 2 months time. As the vigers were sending us away, they updated that the Chang Chu will be ready for harvest in August or September. Sourish and sweet, they will be tasty.¡±


    Li Er¡¯s face brightens slightly as he listens to Yuanying¡¯s concern for him and the mention of Taihe Pce. He replied calmly: ¡°If I don¡¯t visit, your ns will not work in the future.¡±


    ¡°So what if it won¡¯t work again? It¡¯s not like I will use the same trick twice. Is my brother the Emperor someone that is easily invited? I will just do this once so that the stingy cheapskates will all regret at their lost opportunity!¡±


    He continues to share his thoughts about how sacristy create value. I solemnly swear that I will not use my brother¡¯s name in vain so easily. I need to make my investors feel that their contributions were worth it and the people who didn¡¯t invest to feel deep regret for their actions!


    Li Er cannot fathom how Li Yuanying spew so much nonsense but after listening to him talk non-stop, his mood improved and he let the children sit around him.


    Li Er looked at Gao Yang.


    Seeing that his brother was obviously going to talk about Gao Yang, Yuanying strike first: ¡°Brother, I don¡¯t think Gao Yang and Fang Jun¡¯s marriage is appropriate.¡±


    His Majesty turned his head towards him.


    Li Yuanying faced the challenge heads on: ¡°I think there are four major problems.¡±


    Li Er was annoyed and scolded: ¡°Okay, tell me what are the four major problems!¡±


    Li Yuanying really started listing down the issues: ¡°First, it¡¯s not good for Gao Yang. Both parties cannot tolerate each other, they won¡¯t be happy if they get married.¡±


    His Majesty looked calm.


    ¡°Second, it¡¯s not good for Fang Jun. Look at Fang Jun¡¯s preferences in women. When thatdy say she was sick, he rushed over. He obviously like people with weak personality. If you were to engage him with someone like Gao Yang, he will hold a grudge in his heart.¡±


    Li Er said with a cold face: ¡°He dares to?¡±


    ¡°Everyone in this world has emotions and desires. Even if they dare not speak out, they can still harbour anger. Gao Yang sent people to remind him about his conduct but not only did he not listen, but he got worse. Isn¡¯t he angry in his heart?¡±


    Li Er snorted coldly.


    ¡°Thirdly, it¡¯s not good for the Fang family. If the situation is already like this before the wedding, can the Fang family be at peace? I heard the mistress of the Fang¡¯s family has a fierce personality. Didn¡¯t you want to give Old man Fang some beautiful woman but he did not dare ept? When the timees, there will be three people with strong personality in the Fang family and no one will give in. How will Old man Fang live? If you do this, you may end up bing enemies instead of rtives.¡±


    His Majesty also had a headache thinking about the fiercedy in Fang Xuanling¡¯s family.


    Mrs. Lu¡¯s is indeed someone with a strong personality. When the Emperor gifted Fang Xuanling beautiful women, she refused and Fang Xuanling had to decline. When the Emperor insisted and threaten her with death by sending her vinegar masked as poisonous wine. She drank poison with no hesitation! As a result, they had to give in to her and Fang Xuanling became more and more depressed. Look how spoiled their son has be!


    ¡°Continue.¡±


    ¡°Number four, it¡¯s bad for you, my brother.¡±


    Li Er looked directly at his younger brother.


    ¡°You are picking a match for Gao Yang because you love her and because you cherish important confidants. Regardless which side feels wrong, you will have a hard time. But Gao Yang¡¯s personality is fixed and it¡¯s not like Fang Jun can change his ways easily too. If they really get married, they are going to fight! By then, brother your situation will be simr to Fang Xueling, stuck in the middle of two parties. Although it makes us lose face for calling off an engagement but Gao Yang and Fang Jun are in no hurry to get married. Let them look for their matches and perhaps we will have 2 happy families. On the contrary, if we force them to be together and every few days they have a big fight, we will be theughingstock of Chang¡¯an and people will wait for more entertaining drama. At that time, although Old man Fang has noints initially, he will be alienated from you.¡±


    Yuanying actively lobbied, ¡°Brother, didn¡¯t you also made a u-turn about giving him beauties? Why can¡¯t we do it again?!¡±


    ¡°Zip it, how can both incidences bepared.¡±


    So daring of his younger brother to put a Princess¡¯s marriage and some mere concubines in the same sentence!


    Yuanying obediently shut up but secretly thinks that both incidences were simr. Both were caused by his older brother¡¯s silly decisions with his eyes closed.


    Li Er looked at Gao Yang and found his precious daughter adorable. Why is Fang Jun mesmerized by an entertainer and do not know how to coax his daughter? If things were like this before marriage, it will be like what Li Yuanying had said, aughingstock every 2 to 3 days for the people.


    Yuanying saw that his brother has soften up and quickly seize the opportunity to bring up the suggestion of bing a female Taoist monk. ¡°If she can¡¯t break off her engagement so simply, then let¡¯s ask Gao Yang to fake illness and let master inform that she should be a Taoist monk for a few years to recover so that we can dy the marriage. As for the Fang family, let¡¯s just tell them that it was not right to dy their lives too and so we call off the engagement. After all, you didn¡¯t write a decree on this matter officially, so how is it going back on your words!¡±


    His Majesty sneered: ¡°You are so capable, why didn¡¯t you fool me too?¡±


    ¡°You are my brother and Gao Yang¡¯s papa. Even if I fool the whole world I will not do it to you!¡±


    Li Er did notment.


    Yuanying took Li Er¡¯s hand and continued on about marriage and childbirth: ¡°I heard from Master Sun that it is not good for a woman to get married too early. It is dangerous to have children before her body is fully grown. Look at Changle and the other princesses that married early, they have to serve her parents-inw, her husband and also manage the household affairs. She has be quite weak. Thest time I check her pulse, it was really worrying. I think it¡¯s better for Gao Yang and Cheng Yang to get marriedter. They are still children, so why make them have children?¡±


    Hearing his remarks, His Majesty was furious.


    ¡°Okay, you wait 8 to 10 years before marrying your sister Shu.¡±


    Yuanying said proudly: ¡°Anyway, I take Sister Shu with me wherever I go, so why does it matter if I have to wait 8 to 10 years to get married.¡±


    His Majesty wants to throw him out!


    Yuanying moved to sit next to His Majesty to brainwash him. He was the king of a country and should not worry about such trivial matters like his children¡¯s marriages. Leave it all to young uncle and he will handle all things properly and no one can find any fault with him.


    ¡°Brother, if you don¡¯t have to be some silly Emperor, then no one will darement on your children¡¯s marriages. You can marry them off to whoever and call things off whenever. Then we won¡¯t have so many people meddling in our household affairs!


    Gao Yang and Cheng Yang broke out in cold sweat upon hearing this.


    ¡°You suggesting this is not merely for Gao Yang to break off her engagement, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°With this identity, Gao Yang can follow me out to gain experience and meet more outstanding people. Let her choose who she likes to marry!¡± Yuanying looked at big brother expectantly. ¡°If you say yes to Gao Yang moving freely, then there will be no need for Master to lie about being her a monk!¡±


    His Majesty tly refused: ¡°We can¡¯t set such precedence.¡±


    Gao Yang has a lively personality and he adores her so the Emperor is being unusually patient by listening to such ridiculous discussion. But the other princesses were all betrothed to various sons of important officials. While he is indeed dissatisfied with Fang Jun, he is fine with the other candidates. How can he allow Gao Yang to set such precedence? If other princesses were to imitate her and want choose their own husbands, wouldn¡¯t it be a mess? What happens to Gao Yang can only be an exception, not the norm!


    Li Yuanying had expected that the Emperor would refuse. He asked that he be allowed to help Gao Yang resolve this bad engagement.


    Li Er thought about it, and finally allowed Li Yuanying to give it a try.


    As soon as Li Yuanying heard what he wants, he quickly pulled the other children to escape with him.


    After being dragged away, Gao Yang couldn¡¯t believe it: ¡°Is it done? I don¡¯t have to marry the second son of Fang anymore?¡±


    Li Yuanying assured her: ¡°It will be done, leave the rest to me.¡±


    The next day, Li Yuanying went to Thousand Gold Hall to look for Sun Simiao with great fanfare and shouted: ¡°Master Sun, you must save my niece! Gao Yang is in trouble!¡±


    Hearing this, the crowd looked around curiously. Li Yuanying pretended to be unaware about the people watching and quickly escorted Sun Simiao into the carriage; leaving people with countless guesses. Some guessed that Gao Yang was so mad at Fang Jun that she died, some spected that the couple¡¯s Bazi doesn¡¯t match, others shares that Fang Jun was on the verge of death on his travel. Anyway all rumors points to the direction that this marriage was a bad match!


    Li Yuanying exined the whole story to Sun Simiao. Initially Sun Simiao was against lying but seeing the boy¡¯s hopeful expression he finally agreed. But he still warned Li Yuanying: ¡°Marriage is destined by fate. If you break this one, you may not be able to find a better one.¡±


    ¡°Even if there is nothing better, it is better than making the house a battlefield every day.¡±


    Sun Simiao stopped his advice.


    The next day Li Yuanying visited the Fang family.


    Yuanying didn¡¯t care what they think of him and was direct. The Emperor sent him here to inform of that the engagement was off. From here onwards both parties are free to marry others at will.


    Mrs Lu was still angry with her husband about this issue and the two of them argued and fought. In the end, Fang Xuanling still said that he can¡¯t bring it up with the Emperor. Hearing Prince Teng speaking about this matter, her attitude changed 180 degrees. She asked passionately if it was true.


    The two sat down to discuss further and hit it off immediately. It was decided that tomorrow Fang Xuanling would write a letter stating that his son¡¯s moral character was not good enough for the princess so they request to end the engagement. Same time, the Emperor would issue an edict stating that Gao Yang was in poor health and would need to remain as a female monk for several years. We will not dy Fang Jun¡¯s prospects further. And so both parties saves dignity and settle the matter happily!


    Notes from the Author:


    Young Prince: I don¡¯t know why the emperor is always angry! (pointing)

 Chapter 142

    Chapter 142


    Fang Xuanling only found out about Li Yuanying¡¯s visit after returning to work. He has met much hardship both at home and out of home over Fang Jun and Gao Yang¡¯s engagement and he is exhausted both physically and mentally.


    Fang Xuanling is also not someone who makes firm decisions easily. Now that Li Yuanying had conveyed His Majesty¡¯s wishes coupled with his wife constant pestering, he finally agreed to write a letter expressing his guilt and to call off the engagement.


    Things went smoothly after that, all in ordance to Yuanying¡¯s ns with no hups. It¡¯s just that Fang Xuanling looks a little down ever since the fiasco was over. It¡¯s easy to raise a kid but hard to teach him well. Fang Jun made such drama and made him lose ¡°face¡± as a father. Behind his back, perhaps many were gossiping about him!


    Although his other daughter became a princess after marrying Prince Li Yuanjia of Han and his eldest son is favoured by the Crown Prince; his second son is farcking ¨C neither good in books or martial arts. If he was able to honor his Lord, then maybe his children would all be guaranteed a life of glory and splendor. But with such drama, how will he get ahead in the future? If he has no future, whowill be willing to marry into the Fang family? If he marries someone from a low rank, he will never be able to hold his head high in the future!


    Fang Xuanling was so furious that his liver ached but this son would cry like a wolf and howl like he sees ghost if he was reprimanded and would run towards mother. He is no longer young but is spoilt rotten by his mother! Fang Xuanling had no choice. His Majesty is already taking a step back by proiming that Princess Gao Yang is no longer suitable for marriage and for both families to cancel the engagement.


    Fang Xuanling is pale with worry but Li Yuanying was happy. Since Gao Yang is to be a female taoist priest, she needs a proper venue to do so. Li Yuanying asked for such a ce nearby the pce from the Emperor and told Li Chunfeng to help clean up and make it Gao Yang¡¯s new cultivation location.


    The ce is not big but there¡¯s a high building that is reachable from climbing the pce wall to see the beautiful scenery outside.


    ording to Li Chunfeng, this ce is actually used for stargazing. Since Li Chunfeng is a Taoist priest, it is appropriate that he set up this ce. Yuanying had no worries and took his friends to celebrate Gao Yang¡¯s return to single-hood!


    Gao Yang too was happy. She brought out her fruit wine and drank to her heart¡¯s content with her friends and pushed them up to the star observation tower. They did not look at the stars, but were identifying ces that could be seen from the tower. Although a curfew was in ce, Chang¡¯an City was still brightly lit at night. Some ces they have visited and some they have not but it doesn¡¯t stop them from discussing happily.


    Yuanying and his friends ran down from the Observation Tower with cheerful footsteps. When Yuanying looked up, he saw His Majesty standing in the moonlight looking at them. God knows how long he¡¯s been here.


    Yuanying suddenly stopped and the people behind him didn¡¯t have enough time to brake and all bumped into his back. Yuanying turned around and shouted: ¡°Stop, stop, stop, we¡¯re going to fall if you bump into me again!¡± He took the bunch of small radish heads to say hello to His Majesty and invited him to barbecue with them.


    Li Er nced at Gao Yang: ¡°Aren¡¯t you a monk? Don¡¯t you have to follow rules?¡±


    Li Yuanying replied on behalf: ¡°Of course not. Master Sun and the others drink wine and eat meat too. It is natural for people to eat these. I¡¯ve read many books and neither Laozi nor Zhuangzi care about these trivial matters. The Gods in heaven wouldn¡¯t care about such things, don¡¯t we offer meat and wine as offerings to them? There is no reason why the gods can eat but not his disciples.¡±


    Yuanying thinks he made sense and continued: the livestock raised are originally raised for food. If the owner don¡¯t eat them, who else would dare to. When livestock be old, you waste resources, so you have to take advantage of them while they are young and tender. That¡¯s also the rule of the jungle, those that are slow or can¡¯t hide well are hunted while the fast and alert ones have a chance of survival.


    Therefore, whether a livestock is domestically raised or wild, eating meat is a sign of mercy and kindness!


    Li Er thinks it¡¯s utter nonsense but he did not leave immediately. He sat with his daughters around the barbecue pit and even ate food that Sizi offered him. It wasn¡¯t until the charcoal fire gradually disappeared that His Majesty ordered his men to escort this bunch of youth back to their homes and to stop making noise.


    After solving Gao Yang¡¯s problems, Yuanying quickly got busy again. They were to write their internship reports and to summarize their experience at Hu County.


    For a wealthy county like Hu that is mature and developed, there weren¡¯t many changes they could do. Yuanying asked Wu Mei to summarize two aspects ¨C


    One. They recorded down their experiences into books by volume which makes it more convenient that reading scrolls.


    During Han Dynasty, when various ces were engaged in nning, they had to use carts to deliver books. Yuanying recruited people in the county who were educated and got them to reorganize the household andnd registration. He told them to arrange the documents using temtes he created for better efficiency. He locked up all theplicated and vague records as scraps and once the Ministry of Finance approves his reports, he will discard the scraps to people who can¡¯t afford paper to practice writing!


    As for how the temte came about, it is naturally done with the help of the system. The system is really good at recording and could easily sort out data by just scanning and then instantly pinpoint the problematic areas to Li Yuanying.


    Yuanyingpared the results with thest review report prepared by the Ministry of Revenue and found that the data matches. The system even identified problems that the ministry couldn¡¯t! Yuanying calmly picked out several records and entered them and now he has a working temtes!


    This futuristic recording method is indeed clear and efficient.


    Yuanying returned with several temtes and examples and prepared to turn them in along with his internship report.


    Another aspect of the internship report is about Li Yuanying¡¯s unconstrained development methods. There are rtively few who can copy these methods, mainly because ordinary people do not have the financial resources and charisma of Li Yuanying! But both Wu Mei and Di Renjie firmly believe that these needs to be recorded. If not, who would know the hard work that they have done?! If we do something, we must make it known.


    Otherwise, the general public might think that Prince Teng made citizens to pay for the pce renovations. But the reality is that Li Yuanying has no problem paying for it himself as he makes much money from the watermelon business. Actually, Li Yuanying is the one who pays the most and suffers the most losses!


    Is it too much to ask for people to show some sincerity before he helps them to make more money? No, not at all!


    The group of six divided the work and quickly finished the internship report with references and supporting evidence. Li Yuanying returned to the Imperial College with a thick stack of manuscripts, and presented it to Kong Yingda.


    Kong Yingda is someone who worked on literary research and education all his life, he is not very proficient in governing affairs. However, after reading several volumes his eyes brightened!


    In the report it is mentioned that Li Yuanying had ordered his temtes to be engraved so that future copies can be quickly printed and bound into volumes at a very low cost. These sample booklets are created with rity and evenyman can use it and identifyproblems with it!


    This is good stuff!


    Kong Yingda has also read Li Yuanying previous 2 books and only thought that they were convenient to flip through and that was all. Not very special and even took sometime to get used to.


    Looking at the orderly records this time, Kong Yingda suddenly realized the benefits of this book: if all household andnd registration and ounts were recorded like this, it will be hard for the project team to fool the County officials.


    Kong Yingda then read the parts written by Wu Mei and Di Renjie which is mainly about what Prince Teng had done in Hu County. It listed down the things Li Yuanying did and the praises he received such as being down to earth and loving his citizens and assimting with them. They were not shy in painting all his generosity and selflessness!


    Kong Yingda¡¯s face twitched.


    Did Li Yuanying write these himself? or did he asked someone to write praises to blow his own trumpet?


    Kong Yingda pinched his nose and read on. He wanted to return the report and make Li Yuanying remove the 2<sup>nd</sup>half but when he thought carefully, everything written is not a lie. People think that Prince Teng is fooling around but the little devil seems to be doing better than many.


    In the very least not many is willing to travel from vige to vige to meet the town people and speak with them in person.


    Ever since Li Yuanying took over Hu County, he built a restaurant, a library, sent in two groups of breeding and nting experts for agriculture exploration in an attempt to develop thend and to provide for the people.


    After these are implemented, if the people don¡¯t love him, then they are selfish white-eyed wolves!


    Kong Yingda realized that the boy has potential to be a good official! But it¡¯s amazing how Li Yuanying always manage to make people think he is ipetent even though he does things that deserve praises!


    Kong Yingda pondered over the thick internship report and finally decided to submit it to Fang Xuanling. Fang Xuanling is in charge of internal affairs and he has been in a bit of troubletely. Kong Yingda thinks that Fang Xuanling should keep himself upied so that he can stop thinking about his son who is now aughingstock!


    Fang Xuanling quickly saw the ¡°internship report¡± and knew it was a new invention from Li Yuanying.


    Just thinking about Li Yuanying makes Fang Xuanling ufortable. After reading, he felt even more ufortable: Both boys were brats with horrible reputation but why did Li Yuanying suddenly became enlightened and made such rapid progress? Why is he improving but not his son?!


    Not being happy is one thing but Fang Xuanling is a professional so he studied the book written by Li Yuanying for a long time. After reading it carefully, he went looking for the Emperor.


    Li Er is in a good mood. The main reason being watermelons growing in his greenhouse, sent by Li Yuanying so that the Emperor can eat as much as he wants. Seeing Fang Xuanling, His Majesty invited him to talk as usual and did not treat him coldly despite the failed marriage engagement.


    Fang Xualing felt even worse when he saw the Emperor¡¯s graceful attitude. This drama arose from his inability to control his son! Fortunately he is here this time for work.


    Notes from the Author:


    Little Prince: Yes! I am brilliant like that!

 Chapter 143

    Chapter 143


    After submitting his internship report, Yuanying sat with his friends to discuss their experience.


    Ain¡¯t those who enroll in the Imperial Academy the best among his peers? This seemingly child¡¯s y ¡°internship¡± gave them all some enlightenment. It was not theirck of skills and capability that stopped them but rather theck of opportunity. When they first arrive at Hu County, whether people weed them with a smile or treated them coldly, they had the same attitude: the group can y whatever they wanted, but they would not be given the opportunity to get involve in the serious affairs.


    How to find work bes the first problem for these interns. Those who have connections or are from good backgrounds are fine, but those who can¡¯t speak well or are not good at finding opportunities can only watch others while they sit idly on the bench!


    Even so, the students saw lots of deceiving superiors and abusing of power. They also met ordinary people and heard many grassroots disputes that they had never heard of before. After returning to school, everyone seemed more matured. Those from poorer background were doing fine but people like Tang Guan who came from official families is seeing the real world for the first time!


    This is still a rich county nearby the capital city, what is it like further outside!


    Listening to Li Yuanying¡¯s group talk about the incidences at Hu County, the students listened with envy. Being the Emperor¡¯s younger brother, Li Yuanying was given the position of acting county magistrate!


    Zhang Jianzhi had not joined the Imperial College for long yet. When Li Yuanying and his group went out for internship, he didn¡¯t qualify to follow but he got himself a position in the Student Association. He shared some news: the Student Association haspleted the first term and the oldmittee can now opt to retire. However, the freshmen are all looking forward to their return!


    Li Yuanying, Tang Guan and Tang Xuan discussed and held a small lecture to emphasize the practicality and importance of internships to the freshmen, and strongly encouraged them to sign up.


    In fact, they didn¡¯t have to promote much. Many students saw the differences in those who went for practical training vs those who did not. The former was extremely active and can strike up conversations wherever they went. Whilst thetter found that they couldn¡¯t utter a word at all!When the results of their monthly exam were release, people were dumbfounded. It was initially spected that those who spent time away for practical training would be worse off in exams because of the wasted time but in reality they ranked among the top! Their articles were constantly picked out by teachers as model essays, saying that they were written in detail and with evidence!


    More importantly, whenever the teachers needed help, they would think of those with experience. Even when the Imperial Court needed help, they would recruit those with experience!


    Now the benefits of internship is apparent but there is no room for regret. Yuanying¡¯s request for 2<sup>nd</sup>internship at Taiyuan was rejected, as only one internship can be held within a year.


    Unknowingly, it was already Qixi Festival <sup>[1]</sup>Chinese Valentines Day and there was no night curfew that night. Yuanying and Wei Shu made arrangements to go out for a date together much earlier, but His Majesty thinks it was a good day to hang the portraits of the 24 heroes. He held a banquet at Lingyan Pavilion and everyone would go there to appreciate the portraits.


    It¡¯s rare that the teachers asked the students to solve their problem of being single and gave everyone a day off without any curfew, but this happened!


    Li Yuanying grumbled to Wei Shu: ¡°What does it have to do with me!¡±


    Wei Shu said: ¡°Didn¡¯t you paint the portrait for the Duke of Wei?¡±


    Li Yuanying nodded but still felt that it was unreasonable. The affairs of the court had nothing to do with him. He analyzed seriously: ¡°I think he is jealous of me, thinking that I can go out and y but he can¡¯t!¡±


    Wei Shu looked unconvinced.


    Yuanying whispered to her: ¡°When I was younger, father told me that brother was also very naughty. He didn¡¯t like to walk on good roads but loved to climb over windows and walls to seek excitement. He didn¡¯t like good food but loved going up mountains and down to the seas to look for exotic things. So, brother must be jealous of myfortable life and that I have such a good princess like you. He is deliberately disrupting my good life!¡±


    Wei Shu stood up for His Majesty: ¡°Didn¡¯t His Majesty arrange our marriage?¡±


    Li Yuanying thought about it, yes, for this reason he will not say bad things about his brother.


    But of course, he still stubbornly replied: ¡°He must think you are very smart and that it would be a big loss for you to marry someone else, so he arranged us.¡±


    Afterining,Yuanying said goodbye and went back to change into ceremonial clothes for the pce banquet.


    Lady Liu has been feeling uneasytely as she couldn¡¯t understand His Majesty¡¯s attitude towards Li Yuanying. She inquired about the treatment of all the other princes but none had treatment like Li Yuanying.


    Lady Liu helped her son get dressed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t utter nonsense at the banquet. Many are watching. You¡¯re not a kid anymore, so you can¡¯t be willful.¡±


    Yuanying nodded and promised to not cause trouble.


    Lingyan Pavilion was originally an inconspicuous building. After renovation, it looked quite decent but Yuanying found it a little too crowded with too many people for his liking.


    The seating for such banquets were often arranged in advance. Yuanying followed the pce servant to his seat. Looking to the side, the crown prince Li Chengqian.


    Seeing his eldest nephew, Yuanying became interested and turned to ask: ¡°Chengqian, what are you doing recently? Are you busy?¡±


    Hearing that question, Chengqian had aplicated look. Is he busy? Of course he is. And the things he is busy with had some rtions to his young uncle. The Emperor thought that Li Yuanying¡¯s temtes were pretty good and told the Crown Prince to take on the discussion with the Ministry of Revenue on whether any improvements were needed.


    His Majesty also instructed casually that if he thinks that no changes is needed then they should print a batch for the prefectures and counties so that they can submit future reports ording to this temte. By the way, the Crown Prince should also take out various records currently avable in the Ministry of Revenue for practice.


    His Majesty uttered a sentence and made Li Chengqian fall into an endless loop of tedious affairs. Although he didn¡¯t have to things himself, the final decision is on him whenever they encountered problems. After all the Emperor personally appointed him.


    Faced with Li Yuanying¡¯s question, Chengqian could only say: ¡°I¡¯m a little busy.¡±


    Li Yuanying expressed his opinion: ¡°It¡¯s good to be busy. I feel ufortable when I¡¯m idle!¡±


    It made sense to Chenqian. He has been busy but his mood is better than when he is idle. Even if some affairs are difficult, he would happily work with the people around him to find a solution.


    When Li Er came over, he saw the pair of uncle and nephew whispering. He nced at Li Yuanying but said nothing. He then gave a leadership speech at the pce banquet as usual.


    It was not Yuanying¡¯s first time attending a pce banquet and he found the inspiring words of the Emperor a bit old-fashioned. Only the praise for the 24 heroes is a little interesting. He secretly moved his seat nearer to Chengqian and continued whispering: ¡°I still think Lingyan Pavilion is too small. If there are more meritorious officials in the future, how would they fit?¡±


    Although Chengqian did not look away, his attention shifted to Li Yuanying¡¯s whisper. He sat upright and responded in a low voice: ¡°This is tomend the 24 officials for their contributions in the founding of the country. If there are more in the future, they will not be featured in Lingyan Pavilion.¡±


    When Li Yuanying heard this, he nodded. His brother understood the saying that scarcity creates value. If everyone can be featured in the future,it will not be rare!


    Li Yuanying sighed: ¡°My brother is still so cunning!¡±


    Li Chengqian: ¡°¡­¡±


    Li Chengqian did not reply because His Majesty¡¯s eyes were sweeping towards them.


    Li Yuanying was unaware and reached out to pull Chengqian.


    ¡°How long more will my brother talk? I want to eat. I didn¡¯t eat anything in the afternoon. I¡¯m so hungry.¡±


    Li Er realized that he couldn¡¯t stop his younger brother¡¯swless behaviorwith his re and lost it.


    ¡°Li Yuanying, move your seat back!¡±


    Everyone looked at Li Yuanying in unison.


    He obediently moved back to his original seat. Brother really is unpredictable; suddenly exploding and scolding people! Originally, no one noticed his whispering but now everyone is aware! This Emperor really don¡¯t give his brother and son any face!


    After screaming at his naughty brother, the Emperor¡¯s speech came to an end. He signaled everyone to use their chopsticks and then song and dance that had been prepared earlier officially began.


    Others went around toasting and cheering with one another while Li Yuanying took advantage of his young age to sit and fill his stomach.


    After eating, Yuanying discussed the performances with Chengqian saying that they were bit outdated and not as lively as in FengThai Restaurant. He also praised Chengxin saying that she is really talented and the whole music group was impressive.


    Li Chengqian had no impression of Chengxin anymore. When Li Yuanying mentioned her, he briefly remembered allocate someone to his young uncle.


    ¡°It¡¯s good if she is of help to you¡±


    Yuanying thought this nephew is really generous.


    After three rounds of wine, everyone had eaten and drank to their heart¡¯s content. The Emperor led them to the tower to see the Heroes. Yuanying was interested and even ran to Yan Liben and asked, ¡°I heard that my brother asked you to repaint. How is it? I think you painted well before!¡±


    It would have been better if Li Yuanying didn¡¯t ask. Yan Liben got angry. He has been working day and night for the past few months and his eyes were almost blinded by all the work. After handing in the portraits, he went back and warned all his sons: Don¡¯t learn to paint in the future, don¡¯t ever touch art!


    These people are real bullies, always proposing to add or change things at thest minute! Why are people like this? Is it that easy to paint a portrait?!


    Li Yuanying saw that Yan Liben looked unhappy and was ignoring him so he slipped back next to Chengqian to appreciate the new paintings. Unexpectedly, as soon as he walked back he found a familiar person standing not far away: Hou Junji.


    Hou Junji also saw Li Yuanying.


    Ever since Li Yuanying went to the prison and spoke to him thest time, Hou Junji¡¯s impression of himplicated.


    The main reason is because Li Yuanying¡¯s usual behavior and the words he spoke to him was contradicting like it was from two different people. It was hard to imagine that Li Yuanying came up with those words himself. But after careful thought, Hou Junji found it naive: Even if His Majesty had a heart of gold, what did it have to do with him? Although he was listed among the 24 heroes, he is now deprived of his military power and had been given idle jobs in recent years.


    Did he have to give up everything like Li Jing and Yuchi Jingde just as he reached middle age? Never to lead troops or to realize his ambitions again?


    Hou Junji is unwilling!


    He quickly withdrew his gaze from Li Yuanying.


    Yuanying felt his gaze strange but didn¡¯t think much. He led Chengqian to view the portraits with great interest. Going up the tower, the version repainted by Yan Liben is indeed very different from the original ones, fully reflecting the most vigorous side of each meritorious official.


    Li Yuanying ran around, looking at them one by one, and went to His Majesty: ¡°Little Yan¡¯s painting is so good, it shows that my painting skills are far behind. Why don¡¯t you ask him to repaint old Li as well?¡±


    His Majesty was toozy to give him any attention.


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t need anyone¡¯s attention anyway. He then praise Chu Suiliang next to him about his handwriting. As he spoke, he even approached him to ask if he had any unwanted manuscripts recently. Since he didn¡¯t want them, why not give them to him? He and his princess liked them so much!


    Chu Suiliang could only agree helplessly: ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯ll just ask someone to get them.¡±


    Notes from the Author:


    Little Prince: It¡¯s impossible for me to be content, I can just do this and that!


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü1Chinese Valentines Day

 Chapter 144

    Chapter 144


    After appreciating the painting, Yuanying followed Chu Suiliang to collect some manuscripts. Chu Suiliang couldn¡¯t handle the boy and had to do give him some good quality work.


    ¡°I remember you practicing Ouyang¡¯s calligraphy style earlier.¡±


    ¡°Initially yes, but when I heard that the Ouyang family wanted back theirte father¡¯s manuscripts and was willing to pay for it, I collected all I have and gave it back to them.¡±


    Chu Suiliang remembered that when Ouyang Xun¡¯s wife wanted the manuscripts back, Li Yuanying not only sent his, he also ran around looking for others with a box to collect more. This kind of shameless behavior, no one else can replicate for a hundred year!


    Unexpectedly Yuanying didn¡¯t ask for any reward but gave away everything, leaving nothing behind.


    Chu Suiliang gave him a pile of manuscripts he had sorted out.


    The boy happily carried them back to the pce, ready to share today¡¯s harvest with Wei Shu tomorrow. After running a short distance, he saw Hou Junji being supported out. He was obviously drunk and his steps were unsteady and he had to lean entirely on others while walking. The person supporting him wore the uniform of the imperial guards and looked a little familiar.


    He remembered the guard being someone from the East Pce serving his eldest nephew, named Hn Chushi. Li Dejian mentioned before that he was Hou Junji¡¯s son-inw.


    Yuanying is not acquaintance with Hn Chushi and he was holding a pile of manuscripts. He decided not to greet them but stepped aside pretending not to see him.The pair didn¡¯t see Li Yuanying.


    Hou Junji walked crookedly, muttering to Hn Chushi: ¡°I have made many contributions to the country, but now I am not evenparable to Cheng Yaojin, who is a fool. I see it. When the rabbit dies, the running dog is cooked! When the birds are gone, the good bow is hidden! Look at Zhang Liang who also made contributions, sent away to Luoyang¡­¡±


    Hn Chushi nervously covered Hou Junji¡¯s mouth. After ensuring no one heard them, he sped up his steps. Yuanying leaned against a tree, thinking about what Hou Junji had just said. On the surface, the king and his minister seemed to have reconciled, but in fact, Hou Junji is still full of dissatisfaction.


    People are greedy! After the battle of Gaochang, brother didn¡¯t give Hou Junji any good opportunities because these are peaceful times. There were not many wars to fight after all. Yuanying criticized Hou Junji but didn¡¯t take it to heart.


    Who doesn¡¯tin when drunk? Maybe Hou Junji will forget what he said when he wakes up!


    A few days after Li Yuanying happily shared Chu Suiliang¡¯s poems with Wei Shu, Dai Ting sent a letter to the Imperial College saying that he had an important matter to discuss with him.


    Yuanying borrowed Kong Yingda¡¯s room to meet Dai Ting, and asked curiously: ¡°Why did youe back suddenly? What can¡¯t be written in letter?¡±


    Dai Ting didn¡¯t stay in Hu County for long but went to Luoyang instead for work and to prepare for the next trip to the west.


    Dai Ting was the best at getting information; especially skilled seeing the big picture from the small evidences. During this period, he discovered unusual movements in Luoyang that were rted to Zhang Liang, the new governor of Luoyang.


    When things are involving the militarymander, it cannot be a small matter.


    Dai Ting told Li Yuanying his discovery: Zhang Liang looks honest and well-behaved but is in fact quite suspicious. There were many around him who were proficient in witchcraft and sorcery.


    Zhang Liang is also one of the 24 heroes and his ranks higher than Hou Junji. Both of them stood at the side of Li Er during the Xuanwu Gate Incident!


    Dai Ting noticed this when he identally discovered someone buying things that were often used to ¡°perform magic¡±. He asked people to follow up quietly and found that the governor of Luoyang purchasing these things almost every month. But he acted with caution and had not attracted any attention yet.


    Another suspicious thing is that many calls Zhang Liang ¡°father¡±. Not sure why he has such a weird habit of collecting adopted sons. Anyway, Dai Ting asked people to pay attention and there were at least a hundred and eighty of them.


    Although Dai Ting couldn¡¯t figure out his scheme but he is sure Zhang Liang is not praying for the prosperity of the country! He felt that it¡¯s a serious matter so he took all the evidences and reported back to Li Yuanying.


    After listening, Yuanying remembered Hou Junji mention Zhang Liang when he was drunk.


    Looking through the evidences, Yuanying can¡¯t figure out what Zhang Liang wanted to do.


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask for leave of absence. Come with me to the pce and talk to brother about this.¡±


    Things are simple for Li Yuanying. As long as brother is informed, the rest is no longer his problem.


    Dai Ting nodded.


    Yuanying ran to Kong Yingda to ask for leave and took Dai Ting to the pce saying that there was an important matter to report.


    When His Majesty heard that Li Yuanying had a legitimate reason to visit, he raised his eyebrows and asked that he be let in.


    Yuanying ran into the meeting hall and look left and right. When he saw no one else he sat next to His Majesty and told him about Dai Ting¡¯s discovery.


    Li Er originally listened carelessly but when Yuanying talked about sorcery, his face became serious. Since ancient times, no good thing has ever happened to those involved in the evil magic of wizards! He listened to the story, nced at Dai Ting and asked: ¡°Do you have any evidence?¡±


    Dai Ting then presented the evidences.


    After reading Dai Ting¡¯s records and evidences, Li Er closed his eyes and thought for a moment.


    ¡°It¡¯s none of your business, go back to the Imperial College and study hard.¡±


    Yuanying was cool about Li Er telling him it¡¯s none of his business. When he heard Li Er¡¯s order, he immediately took Dai Ting and run away quickly!


    This is no joke. This meritorious official doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s doing good things, it¡¯s better to no get involved!


    Li Er watched Li Yuanying run away and closed his eyes again.


    Zhang Liang and his people had followed the Emperor since the Qin Pce. Before the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Zhang Liang was used by Li Yuanji of plotting something but he withstood the torture and did not reveal the plot.


    Before Zhang Liang left for Luoyang, he told the Emperor that Hou Junji felt that he was being sidelined and asked if he wanted to rebel together.


    When Li Er heard this, he brushed it off as a private conversation with no solid evidence. Now looking at the evidences in front of him, Li Er leaned on the table with fatigue and gently rubbed his eyebrows.


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t understand Zhang Liang¡¯s action but the Emperor understood.


    He adopted many sons to umte power. He believed in evil magic and is raising sorcerers. Soon he will want to write about articles rting to destiny or prophecy.


    Zhang Liang is nning to rebel!


    Both Zhang Liang and Hou Junji are people who have followed the Emperor since his twenties. As people grow older, will their ambitions grow too? Or do they think that the Emperor is in poor health and is time for them to be the new King?


    Li Er opened his eyes, m his armrest and ordered someone to call his confidants. Investigate this matter in secret.


    After giving the order, Li Er picked up the evidence again and read them. This Dai Ting is meticulous and quick-witted. I¡¯m afraid he won¡¯t be content with his duty. Is such a person suitable to stay by Li Yuanying?


    Li Er spent more time caring for his younger brother than for his own sons. Even if it¡¯s just a pet people develop bonds with them, what more a human.


    He don¡¯t want Li Yuanying to be too involve in these troubles.


    Li Yuanying looks heartless but is in fact the most protective. If he were to make someone who has followed him for so long dissapear, the boy will kick up a big fuss to topple heavens.


    Li Er thought for a moment and gave up the fleeting thought.


    This annoying brother thinks too little, so it would be good to have someone with him who thinks more. I believe, a eunuch, can¡¯t cause much trouble.


    Notes from the author:


    Little Prince: That was a close call ! ! !

 Chapter 145

    Chapter 145


    On the way back, Dai Ting was silent as usual. Yuanying likes talking but this man who has stayed with him the longest is a man of few words. He never speaks unless necessary and he is unusually quiet now.


    ¡°Next time let¡¯s not get involve and investigate when such things arises again.¡± His Majesty doesn¡¯t seem to want them to get involve, if there¡¯s a problem let¡¯s just drop hints to remind others.


    Dai Ting nodded.


    He actually didn¡¯t intend to investigate in depth but got to know abit too much by ident. He didn¡¯t expect Zhang Liang to not cover up so he just casually investigated everything. If it wasn¡¯t for troublesome evidences in his hands, he wouldn¡¯t rush back to meet Li Yuanying. It¡¯s fine if Zhang Liang had strange hobbies; but if he really is plotting something and they did not report it, they will be punished as aplices.


    Now that Li Yuanying had handed the evidence directly to Li Er, everything should be fine.


    That being said, Dai Ting couldn¡¯t get rid of the mental picture of how the Emperor looked at him. He is of low status and was standing quietly but his natural instinct alerted him of the hidden danger.


    As he left the meeting hall, his back was covered in cold sweat.


    Dai Ting looked at Li Yuanying who is standing next to a lotus pond.


    Can Li Yuanying feel it too?Yuanying didn¡¯t think more, it¡¯s not good to have too much rity sometimes. He stood near the lotus pond and looked at the dry lotus leaves. Seeing servants passing by, he waves and calls to them excitedly: ¡°Do you know how to dig lotus roots? I want to eat them. If anyone helps me dig, I will give you a handful of golden beans!¡±


    Everyone came to the forbidden garden to appreciate the lotus flower and no one had once wanted to dig for lotus roots. When they heard Prince Teng¡¯s bold idea, everyone was surprised. The eunuchs didn¡¯t respond but two pce maids volunteered: ¡°We do this well at home!¡± The two maids looked simr, like twins, smart and cute.


    Yuanying is even more yful now: ¡°Then dig!¡±


    The two maids were not shy and jumped into the shallow pond and pulled out several lotus roots. Anyway, these were ornamental lotuses, so they were not big or fresh or sweet looking. Yuanying was disappointed but he still rewarded them as promised. He then asked where they were from and if the lotus roots in their hometown were delicious!


    The two maids came from a water town and were selected into the pce because of their clean family background. Due to their humble origins, they didn¡¯t have any chance to get much attention. Now that a Royal is asking about them, they attentively answered everything. They are from Baoying, Yang Prefecture. The lotus roots there is the most delicious, fresh and sweet when eaten raw and quality ingredient for cooking and boiling.


    Yuanying is fascinated but seeing them drenched in water, he told them to take their leave as it is not good to keep wearing wet clothes. He then took Dai Ting home to ask mother to make him some cold lotus root slices!


    Lady Liu is happy that Yuanying has return. When she saw Dai Ting carrying back some not-so-good-looking lotus roots, she asked where they were from and was amused.


    ¡°If you want to eat lotus roots, can¡¯t you just ask someone to get them? It¡¯s now the season for lotus roots, can¡¯t you can get them elsewhere?¡±


    Li Yuanying argued: ¡°I see them bloom every summer, but it¡¯s a pity I don¡¯t know what they taste like!¡±


    Lady Liu is just happy to have her child back. She didn¡¯t want to argue and just took the lotus roots for cooking.


    Li Yuanying took the lotus root, and someone started spreading news. Li Yuanying is a boy who gives away money freely. He carries a pile of gold and would give a handful to anyone who yed with him. He don¡¯t take money seriously.


    In the past, no one paid attention to his nonsense. After all, he was just a little prince with no real influence, so let him spend money however he wants to.


    But things are different now. His Majesty intend to train Yuanying well and is no longer interested in letting him be an idle prince. Therefore, he is now an easy target if he misbehaves!


    For example, when Yuanying took the lotus root, he just wanted to taste it on a whim, and gave rewards ording to customs of the pce. But when news spread, it changed: everyone is spreading that His Royal Highness Prince Teng saw a pair of pretty twins in the forbidden garden and became lustful. He forces them to jump into the lotus pond to get their clothes wet. Heughed loudly and admired the beautiful figures of the pce maids. In the end, he threw a few golden beans to insult them¡­


    You can¡¯t me people for making up stories. Li Yuanying has past bad record and his story about ¡°the foolish king who lost his beauty with words¡± is still circting in secret! He dares to even take an interest in the Emperor¡¯s concubine, what¡¯s the big deal about flirting with two pce maids?


    When he went to Hu County, he set his sights on a newly widowed woman! What? She wasn¡¯t a widow, but a peasant girl mourning her father¡¯s death? That¡¯s not that different!


    Looking back further, he also brought the princess to Pingkang square. Since these are scandals rted to the Royal family, everyone tacitly suppressed the matter, but suppressing doesn¡¯t mean it does not exist! I heard Li Yuanying also de-registered a female prostitute in Wancui Mansion and secretly kept her outside¡­


    At such a young age, his behaviour is impossible!


    Yuanying was already 13 and other princes would have already move to their vassal state by this age. What¡¯s the point of keeping Li Yuanying in the pce? It¡¯s fine if nothing happened, but what if there¡¯s scandal?!


    Immediately imperial advisors started telling His Majesty that it¡¯s not good to allow Li Yuanying toe and go freely in the pce. He should set up his own residence, and it would be even better to move him to a vassal state. If he stays, he will easily cause trouble!


    The Royal family¡¯s affair are the people¡¯s affairs. The officials all started voicing out in court, saying that Li Yuanying has bad morals and needs to be restrained.


    When His Majesty heard about Li Yuanying asking two maids to grab lotus roots in the pond, he also felt it was ridiculous. Why is this kid restless all day long?! If you want to tease young pce maids, at least choose a ce with fewer people. How dare you do it at the forbidden garden?


    Of course to Li Er it is not a big deal for his younger brother to be a little curious about women. If he likes the maids, he¡¯ll just give them to him. The Emperor listened carefully to the criticism of Li Yuanying. He is impressed that Yuanying is so young and is already flirting around with girls. He instructed for both pce maids to be sent away to serve Lady Liu.


    The Emperor¡¯s action made the people who criticize Li Yuanying faint. We know that the Emperor is not very particr with things like this but how can you be so chill about it?! If your brother falls in love with your concubine one day, will you give her away too?!


    Since Li Yuanying is away at the Academy, it was Lady Liu who had to ept the pce maids. The Emperor only instructed that they be sent to Li Yuanying¡¯s residence but had no further instructions, Lady Liu was quite disturb by this.


    After observing the girls, she found that they were quite hardworking. Lady Liu breathe a sigh of relief and made them in charge of cleaning Yuanying¡¯s room and brewing tea.


    Now everyone thinks that the Emperor¡¯s love for his younger brother is too much. Even when Prince Teng flirts with pce maids, his Majesty acknowledges his behaviour and even rewarded him.


    Zhangsun Wuji is rmed by this and had to grumble a few words at the Emperor. Ever since the incident with Li Tai, the Emperor should have known better. How can he change a target to dote on?


    No one can predict a human¡¯s heart. Maybe Li Yuanying has no evil intentions now but once he has made friends with outstanding students at the Academy, married into the Wei family, and built good rtions with Li Jing, Chu Suiliang and other officials; how can we know for sure that he will not have evil thoughts in the future?


    Putting everything aside and just focus on his loyal servant Dai Ting. He looks inconspicuous but controls thergest tea trade in the entire Tang and travels to Gaochang and Tibetan Empire frequently. If he really is nning something, it will be hard to discover it.


    Zhangsun Wuji has been the older brother-inw of the Emperor for 30 years and therefore needs to caution His Majesty about this. When I became your brother-inw, Li Yuanying is not even born yet.


    Li Er leaned on the table and listened but his expression was always indifferent; it¡¯s hard to tell if he¡¯s paying attention.


    Zhangsun Wuji finished speaking but his Majesty did not respond.


    ¡°If Your Majesty does not like to hear these words, I will not say them anymore.¡±


    Li Er suddenlyughed.


    Zhangsun Wuji looked at Li Er in confusion, not knowing why he had suddenlyughed.


    ¡°Yuanying once told me these words, even yourst sentence is the same.¡± He told Zhangsun Wuji about Li Yuanying¡¯s advice to let go of Li Tai with a calm expression. ¡°I¡¯ll handle this matter, you don¡¯t have to persuade me further.¡±


    Zhangsun Wuji was shocked.


    He only knew that Li Tai disliked and had a feud with Li Yuanying,. He did not know that Li Yuanying had talked to the Emperor about this matter when Li Tai was the most favored.


    No wonder Li Tai hates him.


    Since His Majesty had spoken, Zhangsun Wuji naturally couldn¡¯t say much. As for His Majesty saying that he know what he¡¯s doing, Zhangsun Wuji thinks it¡¯s rubbish. Li Er is even more lenient with Li Yuanying than he was to Li Tai!


    It was already Mid-Autumn Festival in a blink of an eye. The Imperial Academy closed early in the morning. Yuanying felt that he should be well behave and told someone to inform the pce that he will be homete. He took his friends out shopping and bought gifts to please his future wife¡¯s family.


    Although his future father and mother-inw were not home, Wei Zheng and his wife is there. They are the elders of the Wei family so he naturally have to actively be a good grandson-inw!


    Except for necessary contacts, the Imperial Academy was rtively private. At least the criticism of Li Yuanying did not spread here. After all, His Majesty not only kept silent, but also assigned the pce maids to Li Yuanying¡¯s side!


    Emperor Li Er has such an attitude, what else can others say? No one cares!


    So even Li Yuanying, the person involved, knows nothing about this.


    Yuanying made good calction but he didn¡¯t know his lotus root incident would cause drama. When he arrived at the Wei family home with Wei Shu, he was greeted with Wei Zheng¡¯s ck face!


    Li Yuanying took a look and thought that Old Wei looked scary. He whispered to Wei Shu: ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your grandfather? Did your brother do something bad to anger him? Your brother is really not that young anymore, why is he so ignorant!¡±


    Although the couple was whispering, they were not that soft and Wei Zheng heard their conversation.


    He was furious and red at them.


    If you want to whisper about something make sure no one hears you!


    Wei Zhu nudge Yuanying to remind him not to make grandfather angry.


    Li Yuanying ran over and sat beside Wei Zheng, asking him about his well-being: ¡°Who upset you? Tell me, I¡¯ll take people to beat him up!¡±


    Wei Zheng felt even more upset when he heard him say that. This is a guy that even the Emperor beat up. What can others do to teach him a lesson. Didn¡¯t he already married a daughter to be a princess much earlier, so why is he so forgetful that he is now sacrificing another granddaughter?


    Notes from the Author:


    Wei Zheng: You may not believe it, but you have a brother who married your wife¡¯s aunt, and you can call him uncleter!


    Little Prince:?


    Speaking about the marriage system of Tang Dynasty, I read in a book that during the Zhenguan period, if a man was 20 and a woman was 15 and not married, the government would intervene and help you find a partner. If you don¡¯t have money for betrothal gift, you can ask rtives and rich families in the vige to help you. As long as the widower is not yet 60 and the widow is not 50, you will be forced to find a partner! Everything is for the sake of having children!


    On the other hand, many at that time were looking for marriages with daughters of aristocratic families. These aristocratic families asked for very high betrothal gifts, and everyone calls it ¡°selling marriages.¡± So Emperor Li Er rebuilt the n¡¯s history, hold these old aristocratic families back and prohibit ¡°selling marriages¡±. Princess and Prince consort were also selected from meritorious officials, hoping to weaken the influence of the aristocratic families.


    But it was useless. These aristocratic families proudly called themselves ¡°forbidden marriage families¡±, and many people still flocked to them¡­

 Chapter 146

    Chapter 146


    After getting a good scolding from Wei Zheng, Yuanying found out all about his scandal. Someone criticized him in Court and older brother add oil to the me by sending the 2 pce maids towards his mother.


    Yuanying isn¡¯t happy that a me came flying towards his head out of the blue and he even got a scolding for it. He angrily asked for the name of the official who publicly criticize him and left.


    How dare he! It¡¯s bad enough that he wants to find fault with me but to do it in front of Wei Zheng is unforgivable. Sister Shu is not yet my official wife, what if grandfather suddenly calls the engagement off!


    Yuanying came and left so quickly that all that is left behind is a carriage full of gifts. Mrs Pei came out and didn¡¯t see the boy so she grumbled at her husband: ¡°It¡¯s rare that he is visiting, why didn¡¯t you invite him in for a meal.¡±


    Wei Zheng took a look at his grand-daughter who looked extremely at peace and felt that his actions were in vain. His oldest daughter is marries to Prince Huo, Li YuanGuiand the couple gets along well. However being a part of the Royal family would mean losing some freedom. At the minimum a prince is likely to have a few concubines naturally.


    Yuanying being so young and already having such a bad reputation. What¡¯s going to happen if he gets older? Wei Zheng is worried that his precious granddaughter will be bullied in the future. With her strong personality, she will never share her grievances with others.


    ¡°His scandal has spread all over Court, how dare he be so outrageous!¡±


    ¡°His Highness is not outrageous. Those who thinks of and spread such rumors is the outrageous one. If not for their bad imagination, how can they make up such stories about His Highness?¡± Wei Shu exined and defended him. Yuanying is only 13 so how can he create so much scandal. How creative people must be to weave such stories!


    Seeing Wei Shu being so confident about Li Yuanying, Wei Zheng got even more angry. This brat really is good with words, look at how he has brainwash my granddaughter?!The sweet talking boy angrily left and arrived at the home of the Imperial Censor thatined about him and started banging on his front door shouting: ¡°If you dare to make up stories,e open the door and face me!¡±


    The guards following Yuanying are well experienced in scandals like these and were all quite shameless. They all started shouting and making amotion. It is now 15 August, the mid-autumn festival, a public holiday and the streets were filled with people. Hearing 2 rows of buff men shouting, everyone surrounded them waiting for drama to unfold.


    The Imperial Censor is coincidentally at home and hearing someone shouting , he got angry. It is his daily duty to report wrongdoings to the Emperor and he has been diligently doing it and no one had banged on his door like this before!


    Servants then came reporting that a crowd had gathered around his home waiting for the drama to unfold!


    After so many days, the official had actually forgotten what his criticism of Li Yuanying was. Now that there¡¯smotion right outside his door, he suddenly remembered that this is the little devil king; the only one who dares to pull the Emperor¡¯s beard! This fe¡¯s biggest strength is not his intelligence or his endurance, but¡­¡­ it¡¯s his shamelessness!


    s the official felt a deep sense of regret.


    If he doesn¡¯t meet Prince Teng today, no one from his family will be able to leave their home. The official gritted his teeth and decided to reason with him that criticizing others is his court duties! But as soon as he opened his doors, he was surrounded and carried away.


    Li Yuanying isn¡¯t here for reason. He instead told his men to silence the official and kidnap him to a nearby shallowke. Yuanying excitedly told the official: ¡°I want to see how you look inside a pond, with you drenching wet, you should look quite handsome.¡±


    The men shook his head desperately.


    Yuanying ordered the men to be thrown into the pond without blinking. Heughed at the desperate man trying to swim and ran away before his family cane and help him.


    After having his revenge, Yuanying happily went back to Wei Zheng¡¯s ce and told them about how he carried out his revenge. Hearing this, Wei Zheng got even more furious. ¡°¡­¡­ you get out of my house!¡±


    Yuanying ran away and reflected on his way home. Sigh¡­ I have miscalcted. Wei Zheng is also someone who often criticize others, hearing the actions he would feel for the man. Old man Wei must be thinking too much, I am someone who respects my elders. The official looked young and strong so he dealt him a physical revenge. For someone old like Wei Zheng, he wouldn¡¯t dare to be so reckless¡­¡­.


    Wei Zheng weren¡¯t aware about Yuanying¡¯s care for him and deeply regretted falling sick earlier in the year. If he didn¡¯t fall sick, maybe His Majesty will not promise a marriage for his granddaughter.


    Such love from the Emperor, Wei Zheng family cannot endure!


    Is it so easy to take revenge against an Imperial Censor? If it is, then everyone who had been criticized should beat him up! If the Emperor tolerates such action then the position of an Imperial Censor will be meaningless!


    Wei Zheng guessed right. The Imperial censor went to the pce looking like a mess and requested that His Majesty severely punish Li Yuanying, awless guy.


    The censor is not really that young and he went crying in front of His Majesty. He has never suffered such injustice before. Thrown into a pond in front of a crowd. A schr can be killed but not humiliated. Throwing his pride as a schr on the ground and trampling on it is more serious than killing him!


    Hearing his younger brother kicking up a fuss as soon as he leave school made the Emperor furious. Whileforting the censor, he asked for Li Yuanying to be arrested.


    Yuanying had just returned home and before he could sit down, someone came to arrest him.


    He informed mother and left for the hall without much urging. As soon as he saw the censor ring at him, he knew that he visited the pce toin and boy did hee real quick!


    Yuanying saw Li Er looking angry and he greeted him obediently.


    His Majesty nced and asked: ¡°What did you do today?¡±


    Li Yuanying looked at the censor and confessed: ¡°I asked someone to throw him into a pond.¡±


    Li Er mmed the table and scolded: ¡°You still think you are in the right?!¡±


    ¡°Why am I not in the right?¡±


    The censor became furious and pointed out Li Yuanying¡¯s evil behavior to His Majesty. He was just doing his official duty but Li Yuanying took action against him! If Li Yuanying is not severely punished this time, no one in the court will ever dare to speak in the future. If this continues, the court will be in danger!


    Yuanying look innocently: ¡°I didn¡¯t throw you into the pool because you impeached me.¡±


    The censor pointed at him and said: ¡°Did you identally push me down?¡±


    Li Yuanying said honestly: ¡°Of course not, I specifically ordered someone to throw you in. But this has nothing to do with your impeachment against me.¡±


    The censor said angrily: ¡°Then tell me, what reason do you have to treat me like this?¡±


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s because I like you. ording to your words, I fell in love with 2 pce maids and made them jump into the pond to admire them wet. I heard about this today and found the statement refreshing so I asked someone to throw you into the water to appreciate your heroic wet figure. Why? Didn¡¯t youe up with such statement? Is the statement now wrong? Then why did you mention it in front of so many people? If it didn¡¯t make sense, why did you mention this to the Emperor? Do you know that my brother is a very busy man?¡±


    The censor pointed at Li Yuanying angrily: ¡°You-you-you¨C!¡± He said ¡°you¡± for a long time and then rolled his eyes and fainted in anger.


    After angering the censor out of his consciousness, Li Yuanying moved aside obediently so that he can be carried away.


    Li Er asked an imperial physician to check on him. He turned and sees Li Yuanying sitting there obediently waiting for him to speak.


    ¡°You dare target the Imperial censor? You are going to turn the skies upside down!¡±


    Yuanying answered in a soft voice: ¡°I think he¡¯s not a very good censor. He is not as good as I am.¡±


    His Majesty said angrily: ¡°I elected this Censor myself¡±


    ¡°There are so many civil and military officials in court, it¡¯s impossible for all of them to be chosen by you personally. Even if you really did, it doesn¡¯t matter. People make mistakes and you don¡¯t have to take things too seriously. Isn¡¯t there sayings like ¡°It¡¯s great virtue to know one¡¯s mistakes and to correct them¡¯, ¡®It¡¯s never toote to mend the fold after the sheep have been lost¡¯, it doesn¡¯t matter if you chose the wrong person, just change him.¡±


    Li Er red at him.


    Li Yuanying looked at him with an expression saying ¡°I¡¯m innocent and very obedient¡±. He whispered in a very persistent voice: ¡°It¡¯s obviously him who is unreasonable.¡±


    His Majesty felt that this kid was born to be irritating. He has never been obedient for half a day since he was a child. He must be blind for thinking that this naughty child can be of use. If he really did serve in court, wouldn¡¯t he turn things upside down?


    Yuanying sensing that the Emperor will not punish him and said boldly: ¡°If I really did something wrong, you can punish me. Like sending me away to a ce where no birdsy eggs and I will try my best to persuade the birds toy eggs.¡±


    Li Er looked at him.


    Li Yuanying didn¡¯t dare to say anything.


    Li Er said lightly: ¡°What is in Chang¡¯an that makes you want to leave like this?¡±


    Li Yuanying did not hide anything: ¡°A good man has ambitions!¡±


    ¡°Go home and write a self-reflection letter. If it¡¯s not good enough you rewrite it. You can leave the pce if I am satisfied with it.¡±


    Yuanying was nervous: ¡°What if I can¡¯t pass?¡±


    ¡°Then you cannot leave. The pce can feed you, you will stay here forever.¡±


    Li Yuanying walked away dejected.


    Li Er calmed down and sat quietly for a long time. He then picked up a secret report and started reading it.

 Chapter 147

    Chapter 147


    This secret report had just arrived. The Emperor initially didn¡¯t want to work on a public holiday, but with Li Yuanying causing so muchmotion, he decided to read it.


    The report was straightforward; all about what Zhang Liang and Hou Junji were doing.


    Zhang Liang reported Hou Junji once but he did not retaliate nor do nothing. He had spies watching Hou Junji all the time. Hou Junji was dissatisfied and attempted to contact the crown prince through his son-inw Hn Chushi. His drunken remarks had been reported to the court.


    Li Er naturally knew that Li Yuanying had heard their drunken talking and was wondering if he would tell him about it. Unexpectedly, Yuanying came by but he spoke about Zhang Liang instead.


    So this secret report that is regrly sent to the Emperor had an additional person added to it.


    Zhang Liang raised wizards and adopted sons. Not very different from what Li Yuanying had reported.


    These two are among the twenty-four meritorious officials selected by the Emperor personally. As long as they do not make the next move, he will not take action. If they really dare to make a move, let¡¯s see how many people these two can pull out!


    ¡­¡­


    At the same time, Li Yuanying returned home dejectedly, apanied by two guards sent to watch over him.This is a treatment that he had not had in a long time, and he was made to feel embarrassed and depressed. As soon as he reached home, he smelled a fragrant smelling from inside.


    Yuanying sniffed, and the depression of being grounded disappeared in an instant. He ran in happily to look for Lady Liu.


    ¡°What are we eating today? I smelled it from a distance, it smelled so good.¡±


    ¡°We are going to make crabs, so I warmed up chrysanthemum wine for you.¡±


    Lady Liu open the brewed chrysanthemum wine; a rice wine with chrysanthemums fragrant and is warm and mellow, just right for pairing with autumn crabs.


    Lady Liu cautioned: ¡°Don¡¯t eat too much, it will upset your stomach.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know.¡± He is already a big boy but Lady Liu still treats him like a child.


    Am I such a greedy person?!


    Crabs are best eaten steam and immediately. Lady Liu knew that he wasing home and so made preparations. The nanny told Li Yuanying about Lady Liu¡¯s good intentions, saying that these crabs had been delivered a long time ago, and that mother had been raising them carefully, waiting for him toe home and taste them.


    Crabs are difficult to eat. There are not many people selling them in the market and people in the pce don¡¯t like them. Fortunately, Feng Thai Restaurant had seasonal shrimps, crabs, vegetables and fruits all year round. Lady Liu asked for a batch and prepared to cook them when Li Yuanying came home.


    There¡¯s no trouble when there¡¯s food. Li Yuanying forgot all about the task given by His Majesty and watched mother make dipping sauce with great interest. It¡¯s mainly made with orange mud and ginger vinegar. Oranges were also recently in season and they looked round and yellow; very cute.


    Li Yuanying volunteered to help peel the oranges. Lady Liu instructed him to dig the flesh out and mashit with fine salt. Beyond that are things that are above Li Yuanying¡¯s capabilities, and he just sat aside and watched mother prepare the dipping sauces. Suddenly, he let out a sigh.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°I tried to convince brother to send me to my fiefdom today but he rejected it.¡±


    Yuanying thinks older brother is really weird. Those who want to stay are forced out while those who want to leave are not alllowed to.


    ¡°Zhi Nu once said that Teng Perfecture is near the sea so the crabs there must be really tasty. I wonder if oranges there are as good and as fragrant when boiled into dipping sauce!¡±


    Lady Liu dreams about leaving too and she too uttered a sigh. She knows her son¡¯s personality well. If someone were to made him ufortable, he is sure to retaliate.


    With his personality, it is dangerous to stay in Chang¡¯an. The boy is growing up and soon they cannot use his childishness as an excuse any longer.


    But if the Emperor refuses to let them leave, what can mother and son do?


    Lady Liu could only softlyfort her child: ¡°Let¡¯s not be hasty. Perhaps His Majesty will reconsider once you¡¯ve graduated from the academy.¡±


    ¡°After this break, the Imperial College will hold an exam that is simr to the autumn exam held outside. If you pass it, you can then participate in the spring exam the following year. I¡¯ll take them and if I passs them, I won¡¯t have to return to school anymore!¡±


    ¡°Are you confident?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not aiming to get the best results. I think it wouldn¡¯t be too hard to just pass.¡±


    As his marks often bounced between being the best and the worst, Yuanying gradually figured out some tricks. As long as he kept his tail <sup>[1]</sup>real intentions a secret, he could get away with it.


    This was an idea that he came up with at the spur of the moment and he hadn¡¯t discussed it with Wei Shu and the others. The main reason is actually because he had experienced enough fun in school and no longer felt a need to stay any longer. As for acing the exams, Yuanying just want to pass.


    Yuanying is confident that he could deal with them.


    After a quick discussion with Lady Liu, the pair ate freshly steamed autumn crabs together.


    The chrysanthemum wine smelled just right, and once it was poured into a cup, the aroma immediately filled the room. The crabs were plump and Yuanying peeled them himself. It was delicious when dipped into the sweet and fragrant orange sauce and tasted fresh without any hint of fishiness.


    Yuanying ate one after another with great satisfaction and then his stomach began hurt a little!


    Lady Liu was happy that her child was eating well but when she heard that he had a stomachache she hurriedly requested fpr the Imperial physician to visit.


    The back and forth of the imperial physician made amotion. The doctor on duty said helplessly: ¡°He ate too many crabs and is bloated.¡± He wanted to give Li Yuanying some medicine for digestion but when Yuanying heard that he was merely bloated, he refused them saying that medicine is poisonous inrge dosage and he would never take medicine simply!


    I have learned medicinal knowledge from Master Sun, why do I need to see a doctor? It¡¯s a waste of time!


    The imperial physician snorted coldly and widely publicized the fact that Li Yuanying ate too much.


    Since it is the Mid-Autumn Festival, Sizi and the Royal children apanied the Emperor for dinner. When they heard that Li Yuanying was too full to join theem, they immediately ran tofort uncle.


    Yuanying looked at the little girls with worried faces and immediately understood what it meant by ¡°good news don¡¯t travel but bad things travel a thousand miles¡±. Didn¡¯t he just eat a few crabs?!


    Yuanying said firmly: ¡°Uncle is fine!¡±


    After a while, Li Xiang and Little Round Ball also came. Li Xiang held his hand: ¡°Yaoyao! Grandpa said you have a stomachache. Don¡¯t eat too much next time!¡±


    Little Round Ball nodded seriously and responded: ¡°No! Yaoyao is not obedient!¡±


    Yuanying had recovered from his illness. Seeing so many gathered, he rolled his eyes and halfy on the couch, saying that he was weak and needed care. He ordered one to tell him a story, another to pour water and another for a hot towel for his forehead. He yed the doctor-patient game with great interest.


    A group of little radish heads were in high spirits. Yuanying recovered from his illness quickly and took them to visit Gaoyang to watch the moon.


    The tall star-gazing tower is a good ce to enjoy moon gazing. Yuanying took a bunch of little radishes up to the tower to look into the distance. It was already night, and a full moon rose in the sky, big and round, bright and lovely. The lights of the entire Chang¡¯an city could not suppress the brilliance of the full moon. The earth was shrouded in a gentle moonlight, which seemed quiet and beautiful.


    Li Yuanying held the shortest Little Round Ball so that he could also enjoy the moon.


    ¡°Yaoyao, the moon is so big today!¡±


    Li Yuanying nodded.


    Little Round Ball hugged Yuanying¡¯s neck and said seriously: ¡°Yaoyao, I¡¯m going to Xiang Prefecture. Papa is there and I want to go too.¡±


    His younger brother is now over a year old and can travel by carriage or boat. Today, grandfather asked if he wanted to find Papa. He couldn¡¯t bear to leave Li Xiang and Yaoyao, but he also missed Papa. He and Papa were a family, and he wanted to go to Papa.


    ¡°Well family should be together. I will visit you then.¡±


    Little Round Ball was happy and wanted to make a pinky promise.


    Yuanying had a great time with the little radishes. When it was bedtime, he remembered that he hadn¡¯t written his self-reflection piece yet. If he doesn¡¯t do it quickly, he¡¯ll be confined to the pce forever! He quickly sat up, got dressed and ran to his study for a night of study.


    When Li Yuanying made a move, the servants had to wake up. The two pce maids lit themp swiftly and asked, ¡°Is there something urgent, Your Highness?¡±


    Both pce maids looked familiar. Aren¡¯t they the ones who helped him dig lotus roots?


    ¡°Are you twins? Who is older and who¡¯s younger?¡±


    The girls were lively and quickly introduced themselves. One was called Huangying and the other Huangli; both named after birds that sings. They were identical twins but Huangying was left-handed and Huangli was not. You could identify them by looking at their dominant hand.


    The two maids chattered and talked with the excitement of several people. Yuanying thought their names were appropriate.


    ¡°I want to write something so you can take a break outside. I will call you if I need anything.¡±


    Huang Ying Huang Li made tea for him, prepared the ink, and left.


    Yuanying wrote what he thought was a perfect defense speech overnight and sent it to the Emperor. Li Er only nced at it and mercilessly sent it back.


    Yuanying felt that Li Er was deliberately making things difficult and angrily took his ¡°reflection¡± article to Wei Zheng forments and to know if the Emperor is intentionally confiding him to the pce?


    When Wei Zheng heard that Emperor Li Er made him write a self-reflecting piece, his face eased a little, and he read it.


    After reading two paragraphs, Wei Zheng threw it back and told the boy to get out.


    Yuanying left dejected, sighing that his hard worked was not epted. He did some modifications already, why is everyone kicking him out?


    Yuanying pondered but couldn¡¯t figure out the reason. He went towards Hongwen Pavilion in the East Pce to look for Xiao Deyan.


    When working on things like this, it is the most important to understand the thoughts of the person who gave the question. Yuanying couldn¡¯t figure out what kind of article the Emperor wanted. If he really did write a good article will the Imperial Censor stop hating him?


    Yuanying personally made tea for Xiao Deyan.


    The East Pce is more informed than the outside world, and Xiao Deyan had heard all about Li Yuanying¡¯s action.


    ¡°Your Highness, do you have anything to ask?¡±


    Yuanying was putting tea leaves in boiling water. When he heard the question, he paused and said sullenly, ¡°I haven¡¯t thought about what to ask yet.¡±


    In the past, he didn¡¯t want to do anything other than to eat and drink well and he lived a happy life. In the past two years, he has seen a lot, thought a lot, wanted to do a lot, and tried a lot. He felt that something was trapping him.


    That thing was invisible and shapeless, but extremely hateful, and followed him everywhere. He wanted to break free, but didn¡¯t know where to start, because he realized that even the Emperor couldn¡¯t be truly free. On the contrary, his royal brother was trapped more tightly than anyone!


    He didn¡¯t like this feeling and he didn¡¯t want to y with these people anymore. He just want to leave and be a free prince.


    But inexplicably, he felt that he might not achieve his wish even if he went to the fiefdom.


    Yuanying thought about it, but still couldn¡¯t figure it out. He drank a cup of tea with Xiao Deyan and told him about his inexplicable feeling of being trapped.


    Xiao Deyan wasn¡¯t expecting him to bring up such a topic.


    He went silent for a moment before replying: ¡°When people live in this world, they gain some and lose some. You can¡¯t have everything.¡±


    Xiao Deyan continued slowly, ¡°Not many in this world have the luxury of indulging. They were carefully taught by their parents and teachers what they should do and what they should say and what their lives should be like.¡±


    Yuanying didn¡¯t give a reply.


    When he wrote an article proposing that girls should be given the same rights to take the national exams, Dr. Ma said something about ¡°things being the way it is since ancient times.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re different. You were not restricted before so now that there are expectations, you feel it deeply.¡±


    ¡°Like the ones they put on cows?¡±


    Xiao Deyan nodded.


    ¡°Yuanying was quiet but he¡¯s slowly grasping the concept.


    He had seen people taming ox in Hu County. When they were working on the fields, people would stuff bamboo or hemp ropes into their mouths to prevent them from chewing grass. They would also have a hole in their nose and wear a nose ring. It is said that oxen are most afraid of pain on their noses. If they are disobedient, the rope will be pulled and they will work obediently and dare not disobey orders!


    It is the same for ox as for humans.


    Everyone has a rope on them. When others sees something different, they will use their values to judge te other person. They will do it until the other person obeys and then the world will be peaceful.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like it.¡±


    Xiao Deyan looked at him warmly, ¡°No one likes it.¡±


    But not many can change things.


    It is easy to change a person¡¯s mind, but difficult to change everyone¡¯s mind.


    Yuanying felt that this was really sad. ¡°Anyway, I don¡¯t like it.¡±


    No one should dare make him conform into a circle!


    Notes from the Author:


    Little Prince: Today I ponder seriously about life.


    <strong>References</strong>


    ¡ü1real intentions


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