Chapter 143: Lollipops and Bicycles

In late April, the weather began to grow warmer day by day.

Inside the laboratory of the Directorate for Palace Buildings, Li Yuechen held a folding fan to cool herself while discussing the bicycle’s braking system with the craftsmen.

"You can try using leather for this clip, pulled by wire. When I squeeze the handgrip, this clip should clamp onto the tire..."

The craftsmen nodded after hearing her explanation. "A brilliant idea! In this way..."

"Alright, you may as well try it out first," Li Yuechen waved her hand. "If any issues arise, come find me."

"Understood..."

After answering a multitude of their questions and confirming there were no immediate problems, she turned and left.

Returning to the Anfuhuan Palace, she was somewhat surprised to find both Princess Yiyang and Shangguan Wan'er there. Surely today wasn't a rest day?

Seeming to notice her confusion, Shangguan Wan'er explained, "Your Highness, the news reports from other regions will not arrive until tomorrow, so there is nothing to do today."

"I see..."

Li Yuechen nodded and lay directly down on the mat, intending to rest for a while.

However, no sooner had she closed her eyes than Shangguan Wan'er crept over, obediently kneeling beside her and tilting her head to gaze at her.

Li Yuechen opened her eyes and asked, "Something the matter?"

"Your Highness, the fifth day is approaching in a few days. Would it be all right if I make some zongzi with Your Highness?"

"You go with my two elder sisters; I'm not particularly fond of eating those," Li Yuechen waved her hand.

At the same time, she thought to herself that another Dragon Boat Festival was already upon them in the blink of an eye. Time truly flew.

Come to think of it, when she first met Shangguan Wan'er, the girl had been slightly taller than her.

Yet now, she herself was already a head taller than Wan'er.

Besides... certain parts of her had also grown somewhat; recently, she would occasionally feel a swelling pain.

Xiaohe and her mother both said this was a normal phenomenon, but Shangguan Wan'er didn't seem to have started developing yet, even though she was a year older than her...

To be honest, Li Yuechen hoped hers wouldn't grow too large, because being too big might interfere with exercise.

"Your Highness doesn't like them? Why?" Shangguan Wan'er tilted her head and asked. "Now that I think about it, Your Highness seemed to eat very little of them in previous years as well..."

"Chen'er must not be very fond of sweets, I suppose?" Princess Yiyang turned her head to ask from nearby.

Li Yuechen gave a thumbs-up. "Elder Sister is right."

Actually, it wasn't that she disliked sweets; it was simply that for certain foods, she was much more accustomed to savory flavors.

Take zongzi or savory tofu pudding, for instance.

"Is that so?" Shangguan Wan'er tilted her head with a puzzled look. "Why doesn't Your Highness like sweets? Wan'er loves them very much!"

"Sweet zongzi are out of the question. If you want sweets, I'll have something else made for you in a few days," Li Yuechen waved a hand.

"Something else? What kind of thing?"

Li Yuechen rolled over onto her side, propping her head up with one hand. "You'll know when the time comes."

Although it was only late April and hawthorns were not yet in season—meaning candied haws couldn't be made—other treats were entirely possible.

Seeing her keep a mystery, Shangguan Wan'er pouted, but ultimately asked nothing more and turned back to play chess with Princess Yiyang.

...

Two days passed in the blink of an eye. Fulai entered the hall and, not seeing Li Yuechen, intercepted a passing maid surnamed Zheng and asked, "Where is Her Highness?"

"Hmm? Didn't she go to her lessons?" Zheng countered.

"There are no lessons today!" Fulai waved a hand, searched the hall in a circle, and found no trace of her.

Xiaohe was also missing, presumably having followed Her Highness goodness knows where.

Unable to find anyone, Fulai couldn't help muttering to himself, "Whatever shall I do? His Majesty has summoned Her Highness..."

Shangguan Wan'er happened to walk in at that moment. Before she could speak, she was grabbed by Fulai. "Wan'er, where is Her Highness?"

"Um..." Shangguan Wan'er thought for a moment. "It seemed she went to the Directorate of Palace Food..."

"The Directorate of Palace Food?"

Fulai muttered under his breath, then immediately turned and sprinted away, leaving a bewildered Shangguan Wan'er behind.

Hearing that Her Highness was at the Directorate of Palace Food, Fulai knew she was most likely experimenting with some delicacy once again, so without another word, he headed straight for the imperial kitchen.

After running all the way there and catching sight of that familiar bright red figure, he let out a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that she was indeed here.

Without hesitation, he hurried over. "Your Highness..."

"Don't speak, this is the crucial stage!" Li Yuechen raised a hand to cut him off.

Fulai lowered his head and saw Li Yuechen instructing the nearby imperial chefs to pour the boiled sugar syrup drop by drop into semi-circular molds.

These molds were arranged with dozens of semi-circular cavities, looking as though they were meant to form small hemispheres.

"We can't wait, Your Highness!" Fulai blurted out. "His Majesty has summoned you."

Hearing Fulai's urging, Li Yuechen nodded with a helpless expression. "Alright, I'm going!"

She then instructed the imperial chefs nearby, "Make the rest just like the last batch. By the way, bring me those ones that have already set."

"Yes!"

An imperial chef nearby acknowledged the order and immediately turned to retrieve the items.

Fulai glanced over and saw that in the molds on that side, the sugar had already solidified into hemispheres, each with a small wooden stick inserted into it.

The chef brought over five or six of them. "Your Highness, are these enough?"

"Enough!"

Li Yuechen took them, promptly picked one up to pop into her mouth, and handed another to Fulai. "Here!"

"Thank Your Highness for the reward..." Fulai accepted it with a puzzled look. "Your Highness, what is this?"

"A lollipop!" Li Yuechen explained. "Let's go, to the Ranshou Palace!"

With that, sucking on her lollipop and holding four more in her hand, she headed all the way toward the Ranshou Palace, with Fulai scurrying to keep up.

Though full of doubt, he didn't put it in his mouth right away, holding it in his hand instead.

Upon arriving at the Ranshou Palace, Li Yuechen first handed a lollipop to Zhang Chengxin, who was standing guard outside, before following him inside.

Zhang Chengxin looked at the lollipop in his hand and then cast a perplexed gaze at Fulai beside him. "What sort of thing is this?"

"Judging by Her Highness's actions, it should be some kind of edible treat," Fulai replied. After pondering for a moment, he decided to place the lollipop into his mouth anyway.

Besides, judging from Li Yuechen's actions, this thing was meant to be sucked on rather than chewed.

Zhang Chengxin, still somewhat doubtful, also placed it in his mouth.

Not long after holding it in his mouth, he felt a wave of sweetness slowly unfurl, gradually blanketing his entire oral cavity.

The two men exchanged glances, both wearing expressions resembling those of children.

...

Entering the hall, Li Yuechen sucked on her lollipop and sat down beside Emperor Gaozong. "Did Father summon me for something?"

"Well..." Emperor Gaozong twirled the health balls in his hand, preparing to speak, but paused, looking with utter bewilderment at the small wooden stick protruding from her mouth before glancing at the three lollipops pinched between her fingers. "What is this?"

Li Yuechen directly offered her hand. "Father, taste this! It's sweet!"

Emperor Gaozong did not hesitate at all, taking one directly and shoving it into his mouth. Then Li Yuechen scampered over to her mother and gave her one as well.

The imperial couple imitated her action, placing the lollipops into their mouths. Before long, Empress Wu Zetian nodded first. "Mmm, sweet and flavorful, not bad!"

"Indeed, the taste of this thing is truly novel," Emperor Gaozong also nodded in praise.

"As long as Father and Mother like it," Li Yuechen smiled. "I wonder why Father summoned me?"

Emperor Gaozong finally remembered the main matter at hand. "Ah, now that the newspaper is not under the court's jurisdiction, I recently received a classified report stating that others also intend to emulate you in running such a newspaper. What are your thoughts on this?"

"Don't worry, they won't be able to pull it off!" Li Yuechen waved her hand with a casual and carefree expression.

The imperial couple remained silent for a few seconds. Empress Wu Zetian suddenly looked up. "Are you going to explain the reason quickly, or are you waiting for us to keep asking?"

"Uh..." Li Yuechen, who had originally intended to keep them in suspense, gave an awkward chuckle and hurriedly explained. "Even if they manage to produce bamboo paper, newspapers still do not turn a profit. At present, every time I sell a copy of a newspaper, I lose twenty coins; fifty copies mean a string of cash! The aristocratic clans ultimately operate with a merchant's mindset. Even if they can afford the losses, they won't be willing to keep bleeding money like that."

"Besides, if they all want to run newspapers, the court can simply take the opportunity to regulate them and levy taxes. They certainly won't be happy about that," Li Yuechen said while licking her lollipop.

Emperor Gaozong twirled his health balls and shook his head slightly. "Chen'er, levying a commercial tax is not something I can resolve with a single word; it involves..."

"Oh, it's just a matter of a name anyway," Li Yuechen withdrew the lollipop from her hand, picked up the tea cup in front of Emperor Gaozong, and took a sip. "We don't even have to call it a commercial tax. Let's call it a Court State Secrets Tax! Yes, newspapers publish state secrets after all, so collecting a tax is only natural!"

"I think this girl is getting bolder by the day!" Empress Wu Zetian reprimanded from the side.

"Hehe, don't worry, Daughter will refill it!" Li Yuechen smiled and picked up the kettle to top off Emperor Gaozong's cup.

Emperor Gaozong didn't care much about this. Exchanging a glance with his wife, he cracked a slight smile. "This method is indeed not bad. Whether they choose to do it or not makes little difference to us."

Seeing him catch on, Li Yuechen nodded approvingly. "Father is truly clever!"

In truth, playing a competitive game against Li Yuechen was the most foolish course of action for them, because their fundamental goals were entirely different.

The aristocratic clans needed to maintain their lineages, and running shops was unavoidable; their ultimate goal was still to make money for themselves, so no matter what they did, they had to consider the cost.

Li Yuechen was different. She wasn't doing it to enrich herself, but to drive national development.

Although selling soap and glass currently brought in vast sums of money, apart from the portion reinvested into new developments, the net profits were basically distributed to her father and mother; she herself didn't actually take very much.

Their starting points were entirely different, so a direct collision between the two parties would inherently be an unfair contest.

After all, as a princess, she had very few places where she genuinely needed to spend money.

She didn't need luxurious cosmetics; while clothing and jewelry were considered precious luxury items, they were collected as taxes from various regions rather than bought with her own money.

...

Having finished discussing matters, Li Yuechen returned to the Directorate of Palace Food. By this time, the lollipops in the second batch of molds had also more or less solidified.

To be safe, however, Li Yuechen had them left out a bit longer; in any case, whatever couldn't be eaten today could be eaten tomorrow.

She then carried a tray of lollipops back to the Anfuhuan Palace. "Elder Sisters, and Wan'er, come and taste these."

"Oh? Has Chen'er made a new treat again?" Princess Xuancheng leaned over and picked one up. "How is this eaten? Do you bite it right off?"

"Just keep it in your mouth," Li Yuechen smiled.

The three of them each took one to try, and before long, all of them broke into smiles.

Shangguan Wan'er smiled the brightest, her eyes curving into crescents, making her look utterly adorable.

Then Li Yuechen waved a hand. "Go on, each of you take one."

The surrounding maids and Lady Zheng showed no hesitation either. After bowing in gratitude, they came forward one by one to pick one and savor it.

Afterward, Li Yuechen beckoned to Fulai. "Deliver some of these to my elder brothers for them to taste."

"Understood!" Fulai acknowledged.

"Your Highness, this lollipop is too delicious!" Shangguan Wan'er said with a face full of smiles. "How did Your Highness think of it?"

Li Yuechen stroked her head. "You will naturally understand in the future!"

...

This year's Dragon Boat Festival was not much different from previous ones; it was still the emperor leading the entire family up to the city walls to watch the dragon boat races.

The only difference perhaps was that this time, all the children essentially had a lollipop lodged in their mouths.

Emperor Gaozong bestowed rewards upon the winning team according to custom and then led the children back to the palace to play.

The next day, the sixth day of the fifth month, the Directorate for Palace Buildings sent someone to report that the bicycle's braking system was ready and asked her to come and inspect it.

Li Yuechen eagerly hurried over and discovered that the bicycle was largely completed.

From the frame and handlebars to the tires, all components had been manufactured according to her ideas.

The only troublesome part was the chain; in this era before the dawn of industry, this item had to be crafted entirely by hand, which was immensely troublesome.

However, today's primary purpose was to inspect the frame and braking system. Li Yuechen squatted beside the unfinished frame and examined it meticulously.

She squeezed the handlebars and looked closely; the calipers could fully clamp down on the tire.

She then had the craftsmen lift the bicycle and had someone spin the tire rapidly. Li Yuechen squeezed the brake hard, and the tire came to an instant halt.

For now, everything looked good, but as for how it would actually perform, that would depend on the actual results once the chain was finished and someone rode it.

Even so, Li Yuechen was already quite satisfied at this stage and nodded to the group of craftsmen. "Good, you've all done well. Keep up the good work!"

"Thank Your Highness for the praise, we will do our utmost to finish it!"

Li Yuechen was extremely pleased with the progress of the experiment; now she was just waiting for the final result once everything was assembled.

...

The next day happened to be a court assembly day. After having breakfast, Li Yuechen brought Shangguan Wan'er into the corridor of the Zhenguan Hall.

At the same time, a table and chairs had already been set up here, with writing brushes, ink, paper, and an inkstone neatly arranged on the table.

Li Yuechen leaned against the wall and began listening in on the day's proceedings.

Beside her, Shangguan Wan'er also took a deep breath and raised her brush to begin taking notes.

Watching her record the reports from the court with utmost concentration, her still-youthful face filled with a serious expression, Li Yuechen couldn't help wondering what kind of person Shangguan Wan'er would become in the future, feeling a sudden surge of anticipation.