Chapter 107: Leisurely Moments (Bonus Chapter for Alliance Leader oO Rimuru Oo)

Underneath the starry, galaxy-strewn sky, the Renshou Hall remained brilliantly lit.

Li Zhi and Wu Zetian stood side by side at the hall entrance, gazing up at the twinkling stars with faint smiles on their faces.

Li Zhi gently rolled the health balls in his palm. After a long silence, he spoke in a soft, murmuring tone: "Even if life be as insignificant as an ant, one must harbor the ambitions of a swan! Even if fate be as fragile as paper, one should possess an unyielding heart! Well said, indeed!"

Wu Zetian, standing beside him, also wore a smile, with a hint of pride hidden in her eyes.

However, she remarked, "If you ask me, the girl is just making a fuss over nothing. To be a princess of the royal family, yet claiming life is as insignificant as an ant and fate as fragile as paper... if that is the case, then what are others to make of their own lives?"

"Hahaha..." Li Zhi burst into hearty laughter. "This shows that Chen'er understands the heavy responsibilities of being a princess; Meiniang, you should feel gratified."

Wu Zetian cast a sidelong glance at him. "If it weren't for you, Zhinu, spoiling her so much, I wouldn't need to maintain such an air of severity all the time."

"I know you worry, Meiniang, but since Chen'er is a celestial being reincarnated, we need not judge her by ordinary standards." Li Zhi took her hand, his tone gentle. "We need not interfere too much; we only need to observe carefully and provide guidance at critical moments."

Wu Zetian nodded with a smile. "Mm, I understand."

The couple then reclined on their rocking chairs, sipping tea while observing the star-filled sky.

Not far away, Zhang Chengxin kept an eye on the two while stepping aside to meet Fulai, who had trotted over. He frowned. "At such a late hour, why aren't you tending to Her Highness instead of running over here?"

"Grandpa, rest assured, Her Highness is already asleep." Fulai smiled as he pulled a package of soap from his robe—about ten bars or so.

"Half is a gift from Her Highness; the other half is a token of my filial piety to you, Grandpa." Fulai smiled as he handed over the small cloth bag.

Zhang Chengxin accepted it and nodded. "You have a thoughtful heart. Thank me on your behalf to Her Highness!"

This was a good item. When bathing, one rub left the entire body smelling fresh. While high-ranking eunuchs could afford certain medicinal herbs, they couldn't use them every day. Thus, soap was highly sought after. With these, Zhang Chengxin could use them for favors or as rewards in his daily affairs.

"Grandpa, I shall take my leave now."

"Wait." Zhang Chengxin looked left and right before asking in a low voice, "Has there been anything unusual about Her Highness's health lately?"

Fulai shook his head. "Nothing unusual."

"Keep a close watch," Zhang Chengxin whispered. "The Emperor suspects Her Highness is the White Tiger Star descended to earth, possessing the aura of a war god. You are fortunate to be serving her!"

"It is all thanks to your promotion, Grandpa," Fulai replied quickly with a smile. "But I must say, Her Highness's martial arts have truly improved lately. Every day she dances with the spear and staff with such vigor that even watching from the sidelines, one can feel the immense power..."

Zhang Chengxin nodded. "Very well, go back now, and remember to serve Her Highness well!"

"Understood!"

...

In the blink of an eye, it was the fifteenth day of the tenth month—the Xiaoyuan Festival.

On this day, Li Yuechen woke up early, finished her yoga, had breakfast, and donned her Taoist robes to chant scriptures at the Imperial City's Taoist temple.

Today, she could not be as casual as usual; she had to be solemn and serious, for not only she, but all members of the royal family were to gather to offer sacrifices to their ancestors.

This day was also a day of abstinence from slaughter; killing any animal or carrying out capital punishment was strictly forbidden.

While the royals entered the temple, the craftsmen remained outside to offer sacrifices to the Stove God, also known as Taishang Laojun.

The advantage of this event over others was that although it was a national holiday, it was not considered a major state sacrifice, so no ministers were in attendance.

The craftsmen left after offering incense and placing tributes outside the temple, while Li Yuechen did not depart until near noon.

The family shared lunch with the Emperor at Renshou Hall and then began playing games. Now, without outsiders present, the royal family was no different from any ordinary household; Li Yuechen could even pin Li Zhi to the floor in their play.

After a while, Li Yuechen brought out a sheet of paper. "Come, let us write a letter to Big Brother."

The family found the idea amusing, and Li Zhi agreed.

Li Zhi put on his monocle and picked up his brush to write, and Wu Zetian added a few lines as well. The general meaning was to encourage him to work hard in Chang'an, nothing out of the ordinary.

However, when it reached Li Yuechen, the tone shifted. While she ostensibly lamented his absence, anyone could see that between the lines, she was boasting, "We are having so much fun because you aren't here."

Consequently, the three brothers who followed shifted their tone as well, full of "Versailles-style" humblebragging—crying about how sad they were that he wasn't there, while simultaneously talking about how much fun they were having with Mom and Dad.

It was fortunate that the two older sisters finally steered the tone back to something more normal; otherwise, Li Hong might have fainted from anger upon reading it.

After the letter was finished, a fast horse was immediately dispatched to deliver it to Li Hong in Chang'an.

This group-chat style of letter-writing made everyone laugh uncontrollably as they imagined Li Hong's expression upon reading it.

They played until late afternoon before finally taking their leave of Renshou Hall.

As Li Yuechen chatted with her two sisters on the way back to Anfu Hall, Fulai suddenly trotted over. "Your Highness, someone from the Directorate of Armaments says the samples are ready."

"Let's go, let's take a look!"

Li Yuechen nodded, told her sisters to go on ahead, and followed Fulai to the Directorate of Armaments.

Once there, the director invited her inside and had the craftsmen bring out two completed Tang sabers.

Actually, they weren't fully finished; only the blades were done, and the assembly remained. However, that was easy; this time, she just wanted to see the quality of the blades.

Looking at the two gleaming blades, Li Yuechen couldn't help but nod; they looked excellent. They were quite similar to the Tang sabers she had seen online—narrow, long, and straight, with a cold glint occasionally flashing across the edges.

However, she felt they could be even better. She had once seen a type of Tang saber online where the entire blade was black, with the scabbard also primarily black, accented with gold—it looked incredibly cool. She had heard the black finish was achieved by boiling the metal in caustic soda, though she wasn't sure if that was true.

She told them to try boiling some other items in caustic soda first; if it turned them black, they should take one of the blades and try it, then compare the result.

After discussing the installation of the hilt and guard with the craftsmen, she confirmed everything was in order and took her leave.

Next, she went to the Directorate for Palace Buildings to see how her roller skates were coming along. She had left two designs—inline and quad—telling them to make whichever was easier, as she could skate on both.

Perhaps due to the craftsmen's habitual thinking, they had chosen the quad design.

They presented a wooden model. "This is the sample we have made, Your Highness, please take a look."

Li Yuechen examined it; it looked the part. If ball bearings were installed, it should reach the standard of a pair of roller skates.

The senior craftsman in front explained, "We intend to use wood for the base, and steel for the brackets and axles..."

"What about the wheels?" Li Yuechen asked.

"Replying to Your Highness, our thought is to make the wheels out of wood wrapped in leather!" the craftsman replied.

Li Yuechen nodded. "Good, there is still time. Make a sample, and I will test it. If it works, I shall reward you!"

"Understood!"

Leaving the Directorate, Li Yuechen felt a sense of satisfaction. The two gifts she had prepared were both successful; it seemed her parents would be very happy this year.

She thought it was only natural, as these things had been proven feasible through countless real-world applications in the future, saving her a great deal of research and development costs.

On her way back to Anfu Hall, she pondered that the next major tasks lay with the Ministry of Revenue. Beyond the monthly accounting, the focus should be on the grain comparison experiments at the Royal Farm and the seeds that the group sent to the south would eventually bring back.

If they could increase grain production through various experiments and reach the maximum planting density for this era, it could quickly be promoted nationwide.

Chang'an and Luoyang could serve as experimental bases, as the climate in this era was slightly warmer than in the future. She hadn't deduced this from her own perception of temperature, but from the *hu* (tablets) held by the officials! Officials above the fifth rank held tablets made of ivory.

Li Yuechen had specifically asked, and in this era, wild elephant herds still existed in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Since elephants were tropical animals, one could deduce that the climate of this era was slightly warmer than in the future.

A warm climate meant they could attempt to grow two crops of rice a year, or perhaps even three in the Lingnan region!

If that region could be well-developed in the future, the Tang Dynasty's ability to resist famine would be greatly enhanced. This was not a simple task, as the Tang Dynasty's current productivity could not keep up, and developing the south was not something that could be solved with a single word.

But considering that a Little Ice Age might arrive at an unknown time in the future, developing the south had to be included in her plans.

As she walked, she asked, "How is the construction of the factories outside the city coming along?"

"It is expected to be completed after the New Year, at which point all the slaves can move there," Fulai replied. "I asked Princess Xuancheng to help calculate, and the daily output of soap should exceed one thousand bars."

"Good!" Li Yuechen nodded. "And the glass?"

"I have already sent people to collect those black stones. Considering the need for secrecy, I also collected some other types of stones," Fulai thought for a moment. "According to news from Wang Xiang, a significant amount will be transported here after the New Year."

Hearing his report, Li Yuechen couldn't help but sigh inwardly; this was what a sensible employee was like. Everything she asked about was already clearly arranged; there was no need to worry about anything being missed. Using such an employee was truly a pleasure!

It seemed she didn't need to worry about anything before the New Year, and the accounting for the Ministry of Revenue could also be handed over to her sisters.

She could devote her full energy to nurturing the children at the Royal Farm, taking advantage of this time to give them some math lessons. She would at least help them master addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division within the hundreds, and leave the rest for later.

The next day, Li Yuechen returned to the farm, arriving just in time for Lu Zhaolin's class.

After greeting him, she decided to sit on the side and listen, curious to see how a pure ancient scholar taught.

However, Lu Zhaolin was now following Li Yuechen's teaching methods, patiently answering the children's questions until they understood.

The only difference was that he wasn't as gentle as Li Yuechen; his class was always filled with a sense of dignity. Perhaps because he was an adult, the children were slightly more reserved in his class. But fortunately, reserved as they were, they still listened attentively.

Lu Zhaolin maintained the image of a master teacher, but this image would collapse the moment he started writing.

His calligraphy skills were actually quite good, but unfortunately, these charcoal sticks were completely different from a brush. Even though he was very careful, while the characters he wrote didn't lose their structure, they also lacked any aesthetic beauty.

Li Yuechen was different; she had studied hard-pen calligraphy, and using these sticks was actually easier for her.

After finally finishing the class, Lu Zhaolin announced it was over and hurriedly ran to the river to wash his hands, which were stained black by the charcoal.

Returning, he bowed to Li Yuechen and gave a bitter smile. "Your Highness, these charcoal sticks are truly difficult to use!"

"These are extraordinary times; please bear with it," Li Yuechen smiled, asking Fulai to pour him a cup of yogurt. "When conditions improve in the future, I will replace them for you."

"But..." Lu Zhaolin was slightly worried. "Calligraphy is a craft that requires time to hone. If they only learn this in the future..."

Li Yuechen shook her head. "Put calligraphy aside for now. What I need are talents who can contribute to the development of the Tang Dynasty in the future, not calligraphy masters! Calligraphy is not something they should be concerned about right now."

"Speaking of which," Lu Zhaolin looked curious, "Your Highness's writing with these charcoal sticks is just as sharp. I have heard that you created your own font, with strokes like blades—sharp, yet elegant in its lean structure. Although I haven't seen it in person, looking at the characters written with these charcoal sticks, I can guess a thing or two."

Li Yuechen smiled. "That's about it. Even with a brush, the structure remains the same; it won't thicken."

While the children were resting, Li Yuechen chatted with him about calligraphy.

Actually, Li Yuechen believed that if one wanted to make a name for themselves in calligraphy, they had to create their own style, because art has no "number one." If you only study the calligraphy of predecessors, you can never surpass them.

To give a simple example: even if one practiced Wang Xizhi's style diligently and actually surpassed him in skill, most people would still refuse to admit it. Because the concept of "artistic conception" is very hard to explain. In their eyes, even if the structure is perfect, the artistic conception is still lacking.

Therefore, in such a situation, the best way to judge superiority is to conceal all information and have a computer scan the characters written by two people for evaluation. Only after the evaluation would they be told which one was written by Wang Xizhi.