Chapter 100: The Seeds Scattered

After considerable effort, Li Zhi finally lifted his daughter into his arms. Feeling her weight, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly—perhaps he truly was growing old. Yet the melancholy within did not show on his face; instead, he smiled gently at his daughter. “Chen’er, there’s no need to be saddened by this. The cycles of the world are always thus.”

“Your Majesty…” Wu Zetian tried to speak, but he shook his head to stop her.

Carrying his daughter, Li Zhi headed toward the Hall of Benevolent Longevity, with Wu Zetian following closely, a hint of wistfulness in her heart as well.

“Though I say this now, it’s only in recent years that I’ve come to this realization,” Li Zhi said with a smile to his daughter. “At first, I even considered taking elixirs to live forever.”

“Looking back carefully, if there truly were an elixir of immortality in this world, what meaning would it have for me? I would be forced to watch my wife, children, and even grandchildren pass away…”

A look of relief softened his face. “At least in this regard, I consider myself stronger than the late emperor!”

Leaning her head on his shoulder, Li Yuechen whispered, “To me, Grandfather has already surpassed the late emperor.”

Wu Zetian smiled softly. “In my eyes as well. The territory has expanded beyond before. Now Chen’er has increased grain production, and with so many new inventions, wealth will surely grow even more…”

Hearing his wife’s words, Li Zhi nodded in agreement. Indeed, by these measures—territory, economy, and grain production—they had surpassed the Zhenguan era.

His smile broadened. “That’s true.”

Following this line of thought, his dream of surpassing the late emperor had indeed been realized.

“In that case, I think Your Majesty should adopt a new title,” Wu Zetian suddenly suggested. “How about ‘Heavenly Emperor’?”

“Hm,” Li Zhi nodded. “Not bad. ‘Heavenly Emperor’ and ‘Heavenly Empress’—it conveniently avoids the titles of ‘late emperor’ and ‘late empress.’”

What on earth?

Li Yuechen, still in his arms, lifted her head in confusion. How did the conversation suddenly veer here? These two elders’ bouts of youthful whimsy were truly unpredictable!

Feeling Li Zhi’s arm tremble a little, Li Yuechen took the initiative to climb down.

Setting her daughter down, Li Zhi thought to himself that by next year, he might no longer be able to carry her at all.

A sudden pang of reluctance stirred within him. “Come, Chen’er, climb onto my back!”

“Child, don’t be foolish!” Wu Zetian warned. “How can you carry her on your back?”

“Why shouldn’t I carry my own daughter?” Li Zhi retorted, crouching down. “Chen’er, come here!”

The back naturally had more strength than the arms, and Li Yuechen, uncomplaining, laid herself across Li Zhi’s back.

After hoisting his daughter up, Li Zhi smiled. Not bad, still strong enough to carry her without much effort.

The three of them chatted as they made their way back to the Hall of Benevolent Longevity.

Wu Zetian resumed reviewing memorials, while Li Zhi played with their daughter for a while. After lunch, Li Yuechen finally left.

…

Though the scorching heat of June had passed, July remained sweltering.

Li Yuechen, having free time, took Shangguan Wan’er and his two elder sisters to swim in the Jiuzhou Pond.

Princess Xuan Cheng seemed gifted in this regard and had begun learning the freestyle stroke.

Princess Yi Yang and Shangguan Wan’er were different; neither appeared athletically talented, and their breaststroke was mediocre at best.

Their usual hobbies were mostly quiet pursuits like chess and painting.

To be honest, Li Yuechen quite admired their interests, but perhaps in another life.

If she perished here and somehow could travel back, she might consider learning poetry and music.

After swimming for a while, feeling somewhat tired, Li Yuechen went to the glazed pavilion onshore to rest and drink.

Just then, Fulai came running in and sat on the railing nearby, squeezing water from his hair.

Entering the pavilion, Fulai bowed. “Your Highness, the matter at the royal estate outside the city has been resolved.”

“Oh? Is it consolidated or dispersed?” Li Yuechen asked.

Some time ago, Li Zhi had promised her continued experiments on grain production at the royal farm, but she wasn’t sure if the land was contiguous.

“All together,” Fulai replied. “Also, manpower and fertilizer have been prepared.”

Li Yuechen nodded. “Good. It’s getting late today; we’ll inspect it tomorrow. You may leave now.”

“Yes!”

The next day, after lunch, Li Yuechen eagerly boarded a carriage bound for the royal farm outside the city.

The farm was quite large and not very close to Luoyang. It took nearly half an hour after leaving the city to arrive.

Upon disembarking, she found it was just a village, whose residents all worked for the royal family.

The village chief, an elderly man with white hair, stood at the entrance with villagers of all ages.

Seeing Li Yuechen, he hurried forward with a bow. “Greetings, Your Highness!”

“Please, no need for formalities,” Li Yuechen said, raising her hand. “Old sir, are there any literate people in the village?”

“Your Highness, this village has been farming for generations. None can read or write.”

Though she had expected this, Li Yuechen sighed inwardly. This posed a difficulty.

She relied on these people to carry out experimental farming, but teaching them was troublesome if they couldn’t read.

Still, there was no alternative—they would take it step by step.

She waved everyone back into the village and addressed them in the courtyard. “You should understand my purpose by now. If you have questions, feel free to ask!”

The village chief stepped forward with a bow. “May I ask, Your Highness, if the crop experiments fail, wouldn’t that mean no harvest for a whole year?”

“No need to worry,” Li Yuechen smiled. “Do you think I would let you starve? Even if the harvest fails, I guarantee you will be well-fed and clothed! Moreover, any surplus grain you usually sell in the city will still earn you wages during this time. Your livelihood is secure.”

Hearing this, the chief and villagers brightened with joy.

In the past, farming didn’t always yield surplus, but now receiving wages was far more stable.

Li Yuechen wasn’t worried they would slack off—they simply lacked the courage.

She then inspected the collected fertilizers with the chief, explaining how to mix them properly. “Besides these, you may try other methods on spare land. Should you develop new fertilizer formulas, I will reward handsomely!”

The chief and others nodded in understanding.

After detailing fertilizer ratios, she instructed them to experiment with varying planting densities under the same fertilizer to find the best method.

They were also to try different crops to determine which suited the land best.

Fortunately, though illiterate, they were experienced farmers who understood her explanations.

After confirming understanding through repetition, Li Yuechen felt relieved.

Since she was already here, she planned to explore the village a bit before leaving.

The chief had arranged for them to start trials immediately to catch any mistakes while she was present.

Walking through the village courtyard, Fulai whispered with admiration, “Today I truly opened my eyes. I never imagined farming involved so much knowledge.”

Li Yuechen shook her head. “This is just a fraction. If I understood all of it, many would be shocked this year.”

“Of course…” Fulai took it as modesty and replied casually.

Li Yuechen didn’t bother explaining further—he wouldn’t understand anyway and was left to his imagination.

At that moment, Li Yuechen glanced around and saw the village children gathering, gazing enviously at her elegant clothing.

Most of the children were as thin as sticks, their clothes old and torn in places.

The only slight advantage was the village’s proximity to a Luoshui tributary—they could bathe daily, keeping themselves relatively clean.

Seeing this, Li Yuechen felt pity. These children had little chance to improve their lives; they would remain in this small village, marry peers from neighboring villages, have children, and numb through life.

Her earlier thought resurfaced: after her mentor Li Chunfeng’s passing, she had once considered opening an orphanage or free school for poor children.

Now the idea returned, but the problem was… she lacked the funds.

Opening a school requires money—not just for a place, but for teaching tools like paper and brushes.

Paper was costly in this era, making teaching these children a high-expense endeavor.

Just as regret filled her heart, an idea struck her. She looked up and said, “Bring some charcoal sticks.”

Fulai agreed and waved to a nearby gatekeeper to fetch them.

Li Yuechen approached a clay wall outside a thatched house and ran her hand over the surface.

Though cracked in places, the wall was generally sturdy.

Fragile as it was, it could withstand the gentle sliding of charcoal—after all, writing characters didn’t require much force.

Soon, the gatekeeper returned with several burnt charcoal sticks.

Li Yuechen took one and wrote the numbers one, two, three… up to ten on the wall.

Seeing the clear characters, she smiled and beckoned about a dozen children. “Come here!”

The children hesitated, but one slightly older child stepped forward and bowed. “Your Highness, please forgive them—they are young and shy.”

“No matter,” Li Yuechen smiled and waved them over.

Children often judged kindness by appearance; seeing her friendly smile, they edged closer.

“Your Highness, this…” Fulai started to object but was cut off by a wave of her hand.

Li Yuechen pointed at the ten characters on the wall. “Repeat after me: one!”

The children were puzzled, glancing at each other, unsure what to do.

The older child gestured and bravely said, “One!”

The rest followed, chanting “One!”

Li Yuechen moved her finger to the next character. “Two!”

This time, the children caught on quickly. “Two!”

After teaching them all ten numbers, Li Yuechen smiled. “For the next few days, each of you should practice writing these ten characters on this wall with charcoal until you remember them. I will return every five days to teach you ten more characters.”

The lead child asked, “Your Highness, may I ask why? We are merely farmers, unqualified to learn writing…”

“Wrong! Not unqualified, but lacking resources!” Li Yuechen shook her head with a smile. “Because you cannot afford paper, brushes, or teachers. Today, I teach you these characters so that one day, if you succeed and contribute to the great Tang, you will live a better life.”

The children looked puzzled. “But we cannot fight in battle nor…”

“Contributing does not mean fighting or holding high office,” Li Yuechen explained. “If one day you can double grain production, that is a tremendous achievement! Any profession benefiting the Tang is a great contribution!”

The child nodded, about her age, and Li Yuechen smiled. “It’s settled, then. I’ll come back in five days to check. Be sure to remember these ten characters!”

“Yes!” the boy replied earnestly.

“What is your name?”

“My name is Zhang Laoda!”

Hearing this, Li Yuechen grinned. “Good name!”

Looking up, she saw the day waning—it was nearly time to leave.

But as she turned, many middle-aged villagers suddenly knelt, kowtowing before her.

“What are you doing?” Li Yuechen hurried forward.

A woman with reddened eyes looked up. “Thank you, Your Highness, for teaching us. This great kindness will never be forgotten!”

Others also expressed gratitude.

Li Yuechen relaxed and raised her hand. “Enough, please rise. Fulai, let’s return to the palace.”

“Yes!”

The carriage rattled away, the children’s parents continuing to bow and salute. “Farewell, Your Highness!”

Hearing this, Li Yuechen smiled.

Fulai, puzzled, asked, “Your Highness, why do this? Teaching them to recognize characters is pointless without books to read.”

Leaning back in the carriage, Li Yuechen raised an eyebrow with a smile. “Then let’s make a bet—just a coin.”

“Very well. I accept the bet!” Fulai nodded.

After all, it was just a Ka Yuan tongbao coin. Winning meant a reward from Your Highness; losing was no great loss.

Li Yuechen murmured, “These are seeds I’ve scattered here. If luck is on my side, perhaps one will someday grow into a towering tree…”