Chapter 139: What Ought to Be Level Is Not Level

For the people of the Eastern Capital, this New Year was quite different from the usual ones.

On the first day of the first lunar month, a group of children could still be seen peddling newspapers through the major streets and alleys. Although they felt puzzled, many people still bought a copy.

The news in this issue roughly stated that the Great Tang had supported Silla for many years, yet unexpectedly, they were now tearing down the bridge after crossing it, and the Great Tang expressed its strongest condemnation of such behavior, and so on... First, Silla was thoroughly cursed and berated in the newspaper.

Some sharp-witted readers saw this news and immediately knew that a war was most likely about to break out.

When many people took advantage of the New Year holiday to visit relatives and friends around the neighborhoods, they couldn't help but pull out the newspaper to discuss the recent affairs within the imperial court.

Inside the imperial palace, things were indeed much busier than in previous years.

At the morning court session on the first day of the first lunar month, Li Yuechen put on her roller skates again to skate and dance for a while, and then went to inquire about the sales and public reception of the newspaper.

As the story of *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* unfolded, discussions about the book seemed to gradually increase within the Eastern Capital.

Wu Gouzi even cut out the story section from the back of each issue of the newspaper, collecting them piece by piece, seemingly intending to compile them into a book.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, just like last year, Li Zhi still wore casual clothes and took the children out of the palace to view the lantern festival.

Perhaps due to the increase in grain production, this year's Lantern Festival seemed even more lively than in previous years.

As the family walked down the street, if passersby happened to catch each other's eye, they would occasionally exchange greetings and wish each other peace and health for the Lantern Festival.

Facing these polite greetings, Li Zhi and his wife merely smiled and nodded in response, acting just like ordinary people.

He still held his wife's hand, walking among the crowd with their children to admire the lanterns of various shapes and designs.

And virtually everyone passing by would also try to hold the hand of their spouse walking beside them.

Some of the more shy ones would brush away the hand extended by their husbands, but most Tang women were somewhat bold and masculine; after a brief struggle, they would just let themselves be held.

Seeing this scene, Li Yuechen couldn't help but smile. Perhaps in the future, even more couples would be able to stroll hand in hand.

She only hoped that from now on, the Great Tang would grow better and better!

……

On the twenty-first day of the first lunar month, the solar term of Awakening of Insects.

The Emperor issued an imperial edict appointing Liu Rengui, Acting Minister of the Central Secretariat and Minister of Military Strategy of the Third Rank, as the Grand General of the Jilin Road Campaign, with Weiwu Commissioner Li Bi and Li Jingxing, who was already far away in the Goguryeo territory, serving as deputy generals, dispatching troops to attack Silla.

At the same time, an edict was issued stripping Kim Beobmin of his official titles and peerage, and establishing his younger brother, Kim Inmun—Grand General Supernumerary of the Right Xiaowei Guard and Duke of Linhai County—as the King of Silla, with Liu Rengui escorting him back to his country.

Liu Rengui did not delay at all. After finishing his meal at noon that very day, the grand army set out on its march.

Under her father's orders, Li Yuechen represented him by going outside the city to see him off.

Outside the city gates, Li Yuechen sat on the frame of a horse-drawn carriage, watching tens of thousands of soldiers neatly arrayed in formation.

To be honest, the armor-equipping rate of the Tang army was quite high, and most soldiers who needed to participate in combat basically wore body armor.

As for those without armor, most were logistics personnel who did not need to engage in fighting.

The soldiers helped each other put on their armor while organizing their weapons.

Since the militia soldiers mostly provided their own weapons, they did not look entirely uniform, with minor and major differences here and there.

In terms of armor, ordinary soldiers mostly wore wooden armor, the kind made of thin wooden slats tied together like bamboo mats.

The processing technique used on these wooden armor plates was unknown, but they still looked somewhat moist and gave off a faint sheen.

As for frontline officers such as vanguard commanders, most of them wore leather armor.

This leather armor was mostly made from materials like rhinoceros hide and elephant hide, pressed in multiple layers, possessing exceptional toughness.

Precisely because of its high protective capability, blunt weapons were more popular than swords and blades in this era.

Seeing that these soldiers still had the mood to playfully horse around with each other and wore accustomed expressions on their faces, Li Yuechen couldn't help but feel a deep sense of respect for them.

At the same time, she silently wished them in her heart: I hope all of you stay safe and return in triumph!

Accompanied by the sound of hoofbeats, Li Yuechen turned her head. Her master, Liu Rengui, rode over from not far away on a tall, pure black horse.

After dismounting, he saluted and said, "Thank you, Your Highness..."

"Alright, Master!" Li Yuechen interrupted him with a smile. "Let's skip the superfluous words. Your disciple only wants to say one thing: fight the battle quickly, and return soon!"

Liu Rengui smiled. "Blessed by Your Majesty and Your Highness, this battle will undoubtedly achieve victory at the very first beat of the drums!"

Li Yuechen nodded. "Wishing Master great martial fortune!"

Master and disciple exchanged a smile. Then Liu Rengui turned, mounted his horse, whirled the mount around, and galloped forward.

Regarding this campaign, Li Yuechen had not the slightest bit of worry.

At this time, it was precisely the period when the military might of the Great Tang was at its absolute peak, and her master Liu Rengui was a seasoned veteran of the battlefields. Winning this war was an absolute certainty; it was merely a question of to what degree.

Watching the army march off, Li Yuechen stood motionless beside the carriage.

It wasn't until her master Liu Rengui's figure completely vanished from sight that she turned, jumped onto the carriage, and ordered, "Return to the palace!"

Back in the imperial palace, Li Yuechen ran to the Ranshou Hall to report on her work to her father and mother, telling them that she had watched Liu Rengui lead the grand army on the expedition.

Li Zhi nodded. "Chen'er, just now Meiniang and I discussed that with the current increase in grain production, the Great Tang is marching toward an even better future, and we intend to change the era name to Shangyuan. What do you think?"

Huh? Changing the era name again?

Li Yuechen felt helpless in her heart, but her face still wore a cute smile. "Since Father and Mother have this intention, then let's change it."

Yet inwardly she thought: How on earth are your brains wired? Changing the era name is like changing clothes—is it really necessary to be this frequent?

Seeing that their daughter had no objections, Li Zhi and his wife nodded.

Thus, at the morning court session the next day, it was announced that the era name would be changed to Shangyuan, and a general amnesty would be granted to the realm.

Peeking out cautiously from behind the folding screen, Li Yuechen took a glance and indeed saw a flash of helplessness across the faces of quite a few ministers.

Even her eldest brother, Li Hong, reacted the same way. It seemed they all had a certain understanding of the eccentric, middle-school-syndrome-like behavior of this elderly imperial couple.

However, no one voiced any opposition; after all, it wasn't a major matter, merely changing an era name.

……

The newspaper on the first day of the second lunar month published the news of Liu Rengui leading troops to subjugate Silla and the change of the era name, sparking even more discussions among the populace.

Inside the Anfu Hall, when Fu Lai entered, he found Li Yuechen telling a story to her two elder sisters and Shangguan Wan'er: "Just see how Fahai soared into the sky, shouted loudly, 'Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon', and then raised the..."

Fu Lai did not interrupt. He just quietly waited at the side, listening along with them.

Seeing that the time was right, little Xiao He went to pour her a cup of yogurt, then sat down beside them to listen together.

About ten minutes later, the story concluded, and Li Yuechen picked up the yogurt and took a large gulp.

Taking advantage of the moment, Fu Lai walked over, bowed, and reported, "Your Highness, currently all the shops in both the Northern and Southern Markets have run out of stock. Your humble servant has an idea: wonder if we could, much like we did with the soap, first sell to those paper-selling shops, and then..."

After listening to his report, Li Yuechen nodded approvingly with an admiring expression. "Mm! Not bad, it seems you've learned a lot!"

"Your Highness flatters me; I learned all this from Your Highness," Fu Lai replied with a smiling bow.

Resting her chin on one hand propped on the desk, Li Yuechen smiled. "Very well, let's do it that way. But make it clear to them: this paper must be sold according to my set prices!"

"Rest assured, Your Highness, your servant understands!"

Fu Lai acknowledged the order, turned around, and immediately set off to execute it.

……

Now that the matters here were basically settled, Li Yuechen felt it was about time to consider the plan for establishing a branch factory in Chang'an.

Li Zhi and his wife currently had thoughts of returning to Chang'an, because this year's grain production was no longer a worry, so they intended to return to Chang'an by the end of the year.

To be honest, compared to Chang'an, Li Yuechen rather liked the Eastern Capital; for no other reason than the fact that stepping out of the imperial palace here brought one right to the Luo River.

Chang'an was different. If one wanted to play in the water, they had to go to the Qujiang Pond, which was still rather far from the imperial palace.

No matter what, although the Great Tang boasted two capitals, Chang'an was truly the actual national capital.

Therefore, returning was definitely going to happen, but since her businesses had all spread out here, it was impossible to uproot and move them entirely, which prompted Li Yuechen's idea of opening a branch company and building a branch factory.

Fortunately, the funds currently on hand were quite substantial, so if she truly wanted to make a move, she could start at any moment after returning to Chang'an.

It was just that she still needed to beg her father to leave a portion of the troops behind to guard the factory outside the city; otherwise, in case someone bold enough decided to go in and stir up trouble, it wouldn't be pretty.

After pondering for a while, Li Yuechen decided to go talk to her father.

……

Arriving at the Ranshou Hall, even before stepping inside, she heard the lingering, ethereal notes of a zither drifting out.

Taking off her shoes and entering the hall, she saw her mother, Wu Zetian, still sitting behind her desk reviewing state memorials, while her father, Li Zhi, wearing a very pleasant expression, sat at a desk on the other side, burning incense and playing the zither.

His attention was entirely focused on the zither music; he hadn't even noticed his daughter entering.

With his eyes closed, he carefully savored every single musical note plucked by his fingers, looking completely intoxicated by the experience.

Especially paired with the wisps of drifting blue smoke around him, if he had been wearing a Daoist robe at that moment, he would have looked even more like an immortal transcendent.

Li Yuechen raised an eyebrow and tiptoed over to her mother's side.

Without raising her head from reviewing memorials, Wu Zetian said in a low voice, "Never mind. As long as the noise isn't too loud, it won't disturb him."

"Oh..." Li Yuechen acknowledged with a nod and carefully added some tea to her mother's cup. "Why does Father have the mood to play the zither today?"

Wu Zetian thought for a moment. "Word is he wants to rewrite the musical scores to be performed at various sacrificial rituals in the future."

Li Yuechen nodded. Very well, she had to admit that apart from herself, everyone else in the entire imperial family seemed brimming with artistic talent.

Grand Emperor Gaozu's inclinations were unclear, but she had heard that Emperor Taozong could sing and dance well; her father played the zither quite well; and apart from Li Hong, all of her other elder brothers basically knew how to play the zither.

Wasn't Emperor Xuanzong of Tang also a remarkably accomplished artist?

Li Yuechen suddenly felt that whenever she had free time, she ought to study music as well; otherwise, she ran the suspicion of dragging down the imperial family's average.

Roughly half an hour later, Li Zhi finally opened his hands, gently rested them on the zither strings, took a deep breath, and slowly opened his eyes.

"Chen'er is here," Li Zhi smiled. "How is this tune of mine?"

"Far beyond just 'fine'?" Li Yuechen retorted rhetorically. "Father, you don't know—just now, there were so many birds drawn here by the sound of the zither!"

"Really?" Li Zhi asked with a pleasantly surprised expression.

Beside them, Wu Zetian drooped her eyelids. "Whether it's true or false, how could Zhinu not know? Chen'er's flattery skills are growing right along with her age!"

"Ah!"

Without a second thought, Li Yuechen hugged her mother and planted a sharp little kiss on her cheek. "From now on, child will definitely work hard to cultivate myself and strive to become a Grand Master of Flattery!"

"You wicked girl!" Wu Zetian shoved her away, raised a hand as if to strike, but was nimbly dodged by her.

"Hahahahaha..." Li Zhi threw his head back in laughter, then stroked his beard and asked, "Does Chen'er have something to discuss coming over today?"

Li Yuechen nodded, walked over to sit beside Li Zhi, and said, "It's not a major matter. Didn't Father say you plan to return to Chang'an at the end of the year? Child wanted to request leaving behind a contingent of people to watch over my production workshop outside the city; otherwise..."

Listening to her explanation, Li Zhi pondered for about a second, then nodded. "Very well, granted!"

"Father is mighty!" Li Yuechen raised both hands.

"Now that your bamboo paper has been produced, how are the sales?" Li Zhi asked.

Li Yuechen shook her head. "It hasn't officially started selling yet, but child plans to write an article in the newspaper to promote it."

"Mm, that sounds like a good idea." Li Zhi nodded, mentally marveling that the utility of this newspaper was truly even greater than he had imagined.

"And once it grows larger in the future, child can also open branch offices in other prefectures and counties, which will make information dissemination even faster!" Li Yuechen reminded him.

Li Zhi picked up his teacup and cautioned, "You must not speak of words like that outside!"

"Child knows, but they will figure it out sooner or later anyway."

"Then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!"

……

In the blink of an eye, over a month passed, and the time arrived in March.

Bamboo paper officially went on sale in the major shops of the Eastern Capital. Although the color was yellowish, due to its low price and good ink-absorbing qualities, it was exceptionally well-suited for practicing calligraphy, so sales grew steadily.

Moreover, almost at a glance at the paper quality, anyone could tell this was undoubtedly another enterprise belonging to Princess Taiping, so no one dared to go looking for trouble.

However, a few days later, quite a few literati expressed opinions in public venues stating that this kind of paper was inferior and unworthy of serving as a medium to carry written characters.

Upon receiving the report, Li Yuechen told Fu Lai to ignore them. Those people must surely be gnashing their teeth in hatred toward her right now; surely they were allowed to vent a couple of grievances?

Besides, they were merely airing opinions in public venues without explicitly naming her, Li Yuechen. If she actually took action against them, she would instead be accused of a guilty conscience and using power to oppress others.

Completely indifferent to these matters, Li Yuechen continued eating and sleeping as usual, entirely unaffected by even the slightest bit of it.

The next morning, before dawn had broken, Li Yuechen, sleeping in her bed, suddenly opened her eyes!

She carefully clenched her fists, felt the slightly elastic sensation within her hands, and then abruptly sat up and flung off the quilt.

Lowering her head to look, her brows knitted tightly together.

Rubbing her eyes to confirm she hadn't misread, she couldn't help but raise her hand and slap herself firmly on the forehead.

Oh, good grief! Aren't I supposed to be "flat-chested"? Why is this thing developing?

And I'm only nine years old!