Chapter Ninety-Nine: Establishing the Factory

"Cough!"

Hearing the man's answer, Li Yuechen could not help but choke on her own saliva. Although the word "cao" had not yet evolved into a verb in this era, in her opinion, this name was truly, damnably cultured!

After stating his name, Lai Cao remained looking terrified, kneeling down and kowtowing directly: "This lowly one was blind and offended Your Highness, please forgive me!"

Fulai, standing to the side, cast a sidelong glance at him and turned her head: "Your Highness, please leave such a lowly person to me; I will just find a place outside the city to bury him afterward."

Hearing that he was to be killed, Lai Cao became even more terrified, banging his head against the ground repeatedly: "I beg Your Highness to spare my life, I beg Your Highness to spare my life!"

Li Yuechen, who was squatting on the carriage frame, waved her hand gently, neither agreeing nor refusing. After all, it was just a case of "touching porcelain"—a staged accident—it wasn't enough to warrant execution.

"I ask you," Li Yuechen said, sitting on the carriage frame with one leg dangling, "are you familiar with this Eastern Capital?"

Upon hearing this question, Lai Cao knew his life was likely saved, and he nodded like a chicken pecking at rice: "Familiar, familiar..."

Li Yuechen smiled and nodded: "Good. Go and inquire about the merchants currently stocking goods in the Eastern Capital. If you handle this well, I will let today's matter slide, and I will even reward you with ten coins."

"Your Highness can rest assured, I shall go at once!" He stood up to run, but suddenly stopped, "Then... after I have found the information, how should I report it to Your Highness?"

"Three days from now, in the afternoon, I will come to this spot again. You may report it then," Li Yuechen said.

Lai Cao bowed quickly: "This lowly one obeys!" He turned to leave, but the surrounding gate guards still stared at him blankly, not opening their perimeter.

"This... Your Highness?" He looked back at Li Yuechen, fearing she might go back on her word.

Li Yuechen smiled and waved her hand slightly, and the guards finally parted to let him pass.

Lai Cao bowed hastily: "Thank you, Your Highness! This lowly one takes his leave!" He turned and hurried away.

Fulai leaned over and whispered: "Your Highness, why let him off so easily?"

Watching his retreating back, Li Yuechen suddenly recalled a line from a movie: *This kind of scumbag will be useful sooner or later.*

"These street thugs are the best informed; they have their uses!" Li Yuechen smiled. "Let's go, let's head inside."

...

Elsewhere, Lai Cao, having walked quite a distance, looked back and saw the carriage entering Jixian Ward.

Taking a deep breath, he pressed a hand to his chest, smoothing his rapidly beating heart. At the same time, he grumbled to himself: *Why on earth would a majestic princess travel in such a low-profile carriage? And to make it worse, there wasn't a single soldier in armor around! How was I supposed to know this was a royal carriage? I wouldn't dare stage a scam on them even if I had ten heads!*

After calming down, he secretly wondered whether he should take this opportunity to flee—to leave Luoyang City and never return.

But where could he run? He didn't know how to farm, and his family only had a small shop selling noodles, which his wife ran daily. If he offended a princess and ran away, not only would his entire family be implicated, but he would likely find it hard to survive as well.

The only way to stay alive now was to complete the task the princess had assigned. Perhaps this was an opportunity! Lai Cao was a gambler, adept at seizing chances. If he handled this well for the princess, he might even land a minor official position.

By then... *hehe*, he wouldn't have to worry about his family, and he might even be able to afford a few concubines.

Thinking of this, Lai Cao decided to give it his all. It was just gathering information; for him, it was simple. As he thought this, his pace became noticeably lighter.

...

The Jixian Ward soap supply was currently sufficient for the Eastern Capital, but it would certainly not be enough to sell to other cities. Fortunately, Li Yuechen had already told her father about building a production factory outside the city, and Li Zhi had agreed. It was time to begin.

After leaving Jixian Ward, Li Yuechen spoke as soon as she boarded the carriage: "In the coming days, go to the market, buy more people, and find a plot of land near the imperial guards' barracks outside the city to build a workshop."

"Yes!" Fulai replied. "Should we use the current workshop as the standard for construction?"

"Yes," Li Yuechen nodded. "The most important thing is to build the latrines properly. Otherwise, if an epidemic breaks out, it will be quite troublesome!"

"Your Highness can rest assured! This servant understands!" Fulai nodded. "Perhaps we could build a large latrine; it might even be useful for collecting fertilizer..."

Li Yuechen turned her head, her dimples flashing faintly: "Oh? You even know about that now?"

Fulai smiled sheepishly: "I learned it all from Your Highness."

This bit of flattery was well-received. Li Yuechen just smiled and said nothing more.

Upon returning to Anfu Hall, she began drafting the design for the latrines. In reality, it was just the simplest type of rural latrine from her childhood: a pit in the front, and a large collection pit in the back. As she drew, she shook her head with regret; she didn't know how to build a septic tank, otherwise, she could have purified biogas.

After finishing the drawings, she handed them to Fulai, instructing him to start construction once he had chosen a site outside the city. At the same time, the workers' dorms needed to be built, using a bunk-bed style layout.

In the future, the place outside the city would serve as a production factory, while Jixian Ward would function as a transit warehouse, allowing merchants from all over to come and stock up for distribution across the country.

Fulai agreed, took the blueprints, and left the palace. He also instructed Wang Xiang to start purchasing slaves throughout the city. Before the factory was finished, they would have a batch of slaves learning how to make soap at Jixian Ward, so they would be ready to start work as soon as the factory was built.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and Li Yuechen returned to Jixian Ward.

When she arrived at the entrance, she saw Lai Cao waiting, though he dared not get too close to the guards on duty. Seeing the carriage he recognized, he hurried over from a distance.

Li Yuechen opened the curtain and waved at him: "Come in first!"

Inside the courtyard, Li Yuechen jumped off the carriage. Fulai brought over a folding chair for her to sit. Lai Cao stood before her, nervously rubbing the sweat from his palms onto his clothes.

"Tell me, how did your inquiries go?"

"I have not failed Your Highness's request; I have found out everything," Lai Cao answered cautiously.

Li Yuechen nodded: "Fulai, take note of this, then give him ten... no, twenty coins. It might be useful later, and he can use it to buy a new set of clothes!"

"Yes!" Fulai replied.

"Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Your Highness!" Lai Cao bowed repeatedly. The money wasn't much, but his life was certainly saved. Moreover, the princess had mentioned that he might be useful later, which meant he should perform even better.

Lai Cao was a qualified gambler; he knew how to seize an opportunity. He immediately bowed and said: "If Your Highness has any tasks in the future, please feel free to command me. I am willing to go through fire and water for you!"

Li Yuechen smiled: "Oh? Have you read the *Records of the Grand Historian*?"

Lai Cao quickly shook his head: "This lowly one has never been to school. I only learned a few things from my father when I was young, just enough to barely recognize characters."

"Fine, you may go." Li Yuechen waved her hand. "If there is anything else, I will find you again."

After Fulai led him away, Li Yuechen couldn't help but feel a bit reflective. In this day and age, being able to read already put one ahead of most people; how did he end up as a street thug?

Shaking her head with a sense of regret, Li Yuechen stood up and went to check on the glass workshop. The manganese ore was currently depleted, and the new shipment had not yet arrived. However, Li Yuechen did not let them rest; instead, she had them continue practicing their glass-blowing skills using the green glass.

She wanted them to make as many items as possible, such as glass cups or other shapes, to hone their craft. Once they mastered the technique, it would reduce material waste when they eventually switched to transparent glass.

These craftsmen were not slaves, but commoners. This meant Li Yuechen not only had to provide their food and housing but also pay them wages. While she had no intention of exploiting them, she expected them to work hard for their pay—she couldn't support them for nothing, could she?

Leaving the glass workshop and passing by Wu Da's residence, she happened to see Wu Gouzi practicing martial arts in the yard. His forehead was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, and the back of his shirt was soaked; he must have been at it for quite a while.

Wu Da stepped out of the house and bowed respectfully: "Greetings, Your Highness!"

"No need for formalities!" Li Yuechen raised her hand. "Has a new teacher been found?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, yes, we have," Wu Da said, looking quite pleased. "The teacher who came this time is remarkable. He not only teaches him to read and write but also instructs him in martial arts, saying that if conditions allow in the future, he will also teach him archery..."

Li Yuechen nodded: "Good. Practicing martial arts is beneficial for the body. If he has talent, he might even be able to serve on the battlefield and make a name for himself."

Wu Da looked a bit awkward: "He is my only son, so..."

Seeing his expression, Li Yuechen understood what he meant. She nodded without a word, waved her hand, and turned to leave.

...

Fulai had finished recording the list of out-of-town merchants Lai Cao had reported. Seeing Li Yuechen emerge, he immediately joined her in the carriage to return to the palace.

"Send people to investigate those merchants and see if they have the capacity to act as agents," Li Yuechen instructed.

"Yes!"

...

A few days later, it was time for the morning court session. As usual, Li Yuechen stayed behind the screen in the corridor, leaning against the wall and quietly listening to the news.

There were no major events recently, mostly trivial matters. The only thing worth noting was that the famine in the Guanzhong region was indeed severe. The Censor Wang Shishun had submitted a memorial requesting the opening of grain stores in Jinzhou and Jiangzhou for transport to Guanzhong for disaster relief.

Li Zhi had thought about it and agreed, immediately ordering Wang Shishun to handle the matter with full authority. Since Li Yuechen's grain yield improvement experiment had been a success, next year would be a bumper year, so they could afford to release stored grain for relief.

Li Yuechen, behind the screen, breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. With this, while she couldn't guarantee that everyone in Guanzhong would survive the year, at least fewer people would starve to death.

Just as the court session was about to end and Li Yuechen was planning to leave, she suddenly heard the voice of Lu Xu.

"Your Majesty, recently, many women on the streets have removed their veils. This is truly damaging to public morals. I implore you to issue an order to stop this!"

Li Yuechen, who was about to leave, stopped and peeked half her head out from behind the screen to look at Lu Xu, who was petitioning in the court.

*You old fart! Are you sick in the head? Isn't it a good thing to see beautiful women on the street?*

Seeing her daughter's indignant expression behind the screen, Li Zhi felt like laughing, but since this was the imperial court, he cleared his throat and composed his expression.

"This... what does the Empress think?" Li Zhi asked, turning his head slightly.

"In my opinion, this is actually a good thing," Wu Zetian replied from behind the pearl curtain. "The fact that women can walk the streets alone without wearing veils, fully expressing themselves... and not having to fear being abducted—does this not prove that our Great Tang is peaceful and prosperous? May I ask which of the surrounding nations could achieve such a thing?"

Hearing her mother's words, a smile appeared on Li Yuechen's face, and she raised her hands to form a heart shape above her head.

The corners of Wu Zetian's mouth, behind the pearl curtain, curled up slightly, though she quickly regained her stern demeanor.

"Hmm!" Li Zhi nodded, showing his agreement. "That makes sense! What do you ministers think?"

Although this sounded like he was asking for opinions, the ministers, seeing his satisfied expression, knew the Emperor's stance. Thus, they all feigned ignorance and offered no comments. The faction supporting Wu Zetian cheered in unison, signaling their agreement.

Seeing this reaction, Lu Xu, though unwilling, could say no more. He sighed helplessly and returned to his position.

Li Yuechen was quite satisfied with this result. After letting out a long breath, she resumed her adorable smile. Although she knew there were many complicated reasons for this, she couldn't help but grumble inwardly: *With more and more beauties on the streets, shouldn't you be grateful for the eye candy?*

The court session ended there. Li Yuechen waited in the corridor for her parents to come out so they could return together. As soon as they entered the corridor, she ran between them, holding their hands as they walked toward Renzhou Hall.

Wu Zetian lowered her head: "Chen'er, now that you are an official in the court, try not to act like such a little girl in the future."

"Why?" Li Yuechen looked up. "In front of Mother, I am naturally a little girl!"

"That's right!" Li Zhi nodded. "Chen'er is not someone who doesn't know the gravity of the situation; surely it's fine outside. At home, she should be allowed to be a little girl!"

Li Yuechen nodded: "Father, rest assured, I will always be your little girl!"

"That won't do," Li Zhi chuckled. "Wouldn't that mean you'd never grow up?"

"Growing up is fine, I just don't want to grow up!" Li Yuechen replied.

"Why is that?"

Li Yuechen tightened her grip on their hands, slowing her pace slightly: "Because if I grow up, Father and Mother will get old. I don't want you two to keep getting older."

Hearing her words, the couple stopped in their tracks and fell into a momentary silence.

Then, Li Zhi smiled and squatted down, pinching her cheeks: "Aging and death are the natural order of the world. It is precisely because of this that the concept of legacy has its meaning, don't you think?"

"I understand the logic, it's just..." Li Yuechen lowered her head, not continuing.

Li Zhi smiled and reached out to pick her up, only to realize that she was getting too heavy to carry!