Chapter Fifty-Six: The Investment Bank Frenzy

Li Yueshen approached Wu Zetian with a cup of sanle brew in her hands, looking sweet and well-mannered. “Daughter offers Mother a toast.”

Wu Zetian turned her head, lightly clinking her cup with Li Yueshen’s. “Why doesn’t my child join in the dancing?”

“Father has Brother to keep him company. If Mother were left here all alone, wouldn’t that be much too lonely?” With that, Li Yueshen sat down beside her.

Wu Zetian smiled, reached out to embrace her shoulders, and patted her gently. “You’re so thoughtful, my child.”

Then, glancing about, she leaned in and lowered her voice, asking, “Tell me, who do you love more—Father or Mother?”

Li Yueshen mimicked her furtive glance, then whispered, “Of course, I love Mother more!”

“You little clever fox!” Wu Zetian laughed and tapped her lightly on the forehead.

The warm scene allowed Li Yueshen to release a quiet sigh of relief. Clearly, she’d guessed right—Wu Zetian only put on a stern façade in front of Li Zhi. When mother and daughter were alone, she was just as doting as ever.

Perhaps it was because of her elder sister, who died young, that Li Yueshen always sensed the future Empress held a special fondness for her.

Seizing the moment, she threw herself into her mother’s arms, asking to be held. Wu Zetian laughed affectionately, hugging her close and rocking her gently, just as she had soothed her to sleep in childhood.

Li Zhi, surrounded by ministers and dancing at the center of the festivities, had become the king of tonight’s revels. His face, flushed with wine, shone with a bold and cheerful smile as he shared in the joy of a flourishing age.

Yet, even then, he still found time to glance over at his wife and daughter. Seeing them huddled together, whispering secrets, the Emperor’s smile seemed even brighter.

...

Days slipped by, the weather turning colder, and their clothing grew heavier. The wind had picked up lately, and Fulai reminded Xiao He to be sure the princess was well covered at night so she wouldn’t catch a chill.

Inside her room, Li Yueshen read and wrote alongside her two elder sisters and Shangguan Wan’er, critiquing each other's work.

Princess Yiyang was curious. “How is it that you recite the Nine-Nine Song so fluently?”

Li Yueshen thought to herself that, a thousand years later, any elementary student could best them in this. “You may not know, Sister, but arithmetic is actually quite interesting,” she replied with a smile.

Shangguan Wan’er nodded. “Her Highness once said that mathematics is the art of deciphering the laws of heaven and earth.”

Princess Xuanchen looked skeptical, but said nothing, dismissing it as childish banter.

Princess Yiyang shook her head. “I still don’t understand—what use is arithmetic? Even commoners never need it for something like buying vegetables.”

Li Yueshen nodded. “Maybe not for buying vegetables, but you do need it when cutting them!”

The others looked puzzled. How could arithmetic possibly be useful when cutting vegetables?

Of course, they couldn’t know that what Li Yueshen meant by “cutting vegetables” was not what they imagined.

The next day, feeling a bit bored, Li Yueshen decided to visit her shop. According to Fulai, production of various canned goods was in full swing, and fresh fruit peels arrived daily. It seemed everything was running smoothly.

She boarded her carriage, flanked by plainclothes guards from the Janitorate, and arrived at her shop in the southern market.

After stepping out, one of the guards went ahead to open the door.

Inside, Wang Xiang, who was sitting at the counter, waved a hand dismissively. “We’re not open yet—try somewhere else.”

The guard ignored him, surveying the room before turning back and gesturing for Li Yueshen and Fulai to enter.

Wang Xiang, seeing someone disregard his words, was about to protest when he recognized his uncle entering, followed by a little girl in a bright red silk dress.

The child was strikingly pretty, her large black eyes darting around, her cheeks still round with baby fat. Her jet-black hair was simply tied in a high ponytail with a red ribbon. Though barely waist-high to Fulai, she radiated an air of nobility beyond ordinary folk.

Wang Xiang immediately guessed her identity and hurried out from behind the counter to pay his respects. But before he could approach, he was blocked by a plainclothes guard whose hand rested on the hilt of his sword.

Startled, Wang Xiang stopped in his tracks and bowed respectfully. “Greetings, Your Highness!”

“At ease,” Li Yueshen said, lifting a hand. “Where are the canned goods being made?”

“In reply, Your Highness, they’re upstairs!” Wang Xiang answered with utmost respect.

Li Yueshen nodded and made her way to the second floor, followed closely by her guards.

Upstairs, a group of workers efficiently peeled fruit, washed it, soaked it in syrup, filled the cans, and then heated them...

Seeing a band of burly, sword-bearing men escorting a little girl upstairs, the workers stared in astonishment.

Fulai quickly directed Wang Xiang to get the workers back to their tasks. Wang Xiang stepped forward and bellowed, “What are you all looking at? Get back to work! Did I tell you to stop?”

The workers stepped back and promptly resumed their duties.

Li Yueshen paused, raising an eyebrow, her expression as if she’d just swallowed a fly.

Fulai, who had cared for her since childhood and knew her well, immediately lowered his voice. “Is something amiss, Your Highness?”

She shot him a glance. “Don’t you find this chaos disturbing?”

Fulai was confused, trying to grasp her meaning.

With a sigh, Li Yueshen said, “Here’s what you do: assign each person a task—one peels, another washes, and so on…”

Under her instructions, everyone began working in assembly-line fashion.

Once the workflow was organized, both Fulai and Wang Xiang’s eyes lit up. Compared to the former chaos, the difference was remarkable—not only did it look better, but production efficiency obviously improved.

Li Yueshen found a chair, sat down, and nodded in satisfaction. This was much more pleasing.

After watching for a while, she decided to head back.

Wang Xiang wanted to see her out, but Li Yueshen waved him off. “No need, just carry on with your work.”

He obeyed and did not follow them outside.

As they boarded the carriage, Li Yueshen suddenly asked, “Where do all these workers come from?”

“Rest assured, Your Highness, they were all purchased. Absolute secrecy is ensured!” Fulai replied.

Li Yueshen was silent for a moment, then nodded. “Feed them well, so they have strength to work.”

“Of course!” Fulai grinned. “Your Highness is merciful!”

She shook her head slightly. What troubled her wasn’t secrecy—after all, if someone were determined, they could figure out the process themselves.

It was the system of buying and selling people that she found hard to accept, coming from a modern, civilized world.

But for now, it was not something she could overturn with a word. The feudal order existed for its own reasons. Even as a princess, she couldn’t just change it at will.

All she could do was try to improve their condition a little. She couldn’t pay them wages, but at least she could ensure they were well fed.

As the carriage swayed along toward the palace, it suddenly slowed to a halt.

“Is it another street brawl?” Li Yueshen called out.

The guard driving the carriage drew near the curtain and lowered his voice. “Your Highness, someone is delivering a ‘visiting scroll.’”

“Delivering a visiting scroll here?” Li Yueshen chuckled.

In this era, the imperial examinations were not anonymous—the examiners could see the names on every paper. So, many scholars would often deliver their poems or essays to the mansions of likely examiners to make an impression, a practice called ‘delivering a visiting scroll.’

The point was to get their names remembered, in hopes of a higher score later.

Perhaps, seeing the carriage’s understated yet luxurious build and the sword-bearing guards, the scholar mistook her for some high official.

Li Yueshen laughed inwardly—unfortunately, she wasn’t an examiner, so this was pointless.

Still, she said, “Bring it in.”

“That is not advisable,” Fulai interjected. “Let this gentleman hold onto it, and once we return to the palace, it can be given to Your Highness.”

She nodded, knowing he was worried about poison or some other risk.

The guard agreed, and the carriage continued on its way.

Soon, they arrived back at the palace.

Li Yueshen hopped out, and Fulai took the scroll from the guard, following her back to Anfu Hall.

Once inside, she finally accepted the little scroll from Fulai.

Today, both her sisters and Shangguan Wan’er were present. Sitting at her desk, Li Yueshen waved them over. “Someone delivered a visiting scroll to me today—come and take a look.”

“Hm?” Princess Xuanchen was puzzled. “Why would anyone give you a visiting scroll?”

“They must have mistaken me for some high official,” Li Yueshen replied, spreading the scroll open on the desk.

Several small heads clustered together to read it.

It wasn’t long—seven or eight poems and an essay.

Truth be told, Li Yueshen couldn’t make heads or tails of it; poetry had never been her strong suit.

She checked the signature—no name she recognized from her textbooks.

Losing interest, she let her sisters and Shangguan Wan’er read through it.

“I think this person is quite talented!” Princess Xuanchen remarked.

Princess Yiyang agreed. “The language is ornate but not overwrought—these are truly fine poems.”

Only Shangguan Wan’er remained silent, continuing to read.

Curious, Li Yueshen asked, “Wan’er, what do you think?”

“Well…” Wan’er glanced at the two princesses.

“It’s fine, speak freely,” Princess Xuanchen encouraged with a smile.

Wan’er nodded, a bit embarrassed. “I think… the writing is rather ordinary.”

Li Yueshen, having spent much time with her, understood: when Wan’er said “rather ordinary,” she really meant “unremarkable.”

No wonder she herself couldn’t understand any of it.

The two princesses were surprised by this assessment, but then smiled, inwardly agreeing. Despite her youth, Wan’er’s own writing was impressive enough to make them envious.

Li Yueshen was unsurprised—after all, this was the future prime minister, a born scholar.

“By the way, the provincial scholars should be arriving in the capital soon,” Wan’er commented.

Provincial scholars, having passed local exams, would come to the central ministries and the Imperial Academy, joining students from the national academies to take the metropolitan examination. Those from the provinces were called “tribute scholars,” while those from the Imperial Academy were “students.”

It occurred to Li Yueshen that the Japanese word for “student” is written with the same characters—perhaps it was borrowed from here?

Seeing Wan’er’s eyes shine, Li Yueshen smiled. “What’s this? Do you want to try your hand at the exams?”

Wan’er shook her head. “How could I take the imperial exams? But… if I had the chance, I’d like to compete with them.”

As she spoke, a special gleam lit her dark eyes.

Li Yueshen recognized that look—she had seen it in her own eyes, each time she challenged herself to reach new heights.

It was the light of someone eager to challenge the sky, the mountains, the earth, or the strong.

With that, Li Yueshen stood, reached out, and gently ruffled Wan’er’s hair from above. “Who knows? Perhaps, one day, that chance will come.”

Her words went unnoticed by Wan’er and the two princesses, who thought she was just teasing.

Wan’er, too, seemed to take it lightly, smiling up at Li Yueshen in acknowledgment.

Li Yueshen didn’t bother to explain further, instead waving her hand. “How about hot pot for dinner tonight?”

“Great!” Princess Xuanchen clapped her hands in delight. “It’ll be lively with everyone together.”

Princess Yiyang had no objection, and Wan’er, of course, was more than happy—another chance to dine beside Li Yueshen.

Wan’er’s status had risen from servant to companion. Li Yueshen had her sit at the same table, and no one could object.

Li Yueshen asked Fulai and Xiao He to prepare the copper pot, while she herself wondered if it was time to fashion an iron wok and try some stir-frying.

After all, while the idea existed in this era, it hadn’t taken shape; most dishes were still boiled, steamed, pan-fried, or roasted.

With stir-frying, their cuisine could become far more varied.