Living leisurely in Tang Dynasty

Li Yuanying was furious.

He worked so hard for days trying to comfort his older brother with good intentions. He even made Sister Shu copy and write a long scroll. And all he said was that he had bad handwriting!

Li Yuanying left in anger but after running for a while he realized something was wrong. Sister Shu’s handwriting has always been superior to his, why should he be angry?! Immediately he felt much better and went to look for Wei Shu to tell her everything that had happen and that he has shared the scrolls to the Emperor.  

“Brother praised your handwriting, he says it’s better than mine! But Brother is bad at expressing himself. He obviously just wanted to compliment you but he ended up putting  me down. Bad person.”

Li Yuanying didn’t bring up the Emperor’s opinion on the scrolls and Wei Shu didn’t ask. Instead, Wei Shu tried comforting him by sharing that she’s been practicing calligraphy since much younger while he only started for a year or two.

“Besides, you also learned how to draw and read so many books. It’s already amazing that you can make such a big improvement.”

The anger of a child comes and goes quickly. Li Yuanying was delighted with the praises. He thinks that this younger sister is so much better with words, unlike his older brother!

While he was happy about being praised, he wasn’t pleased at being looked down upon. He decided to bring Wei Shu along to seek advice from Chu Suiliang the next day. It’s best to learn from him through his recent works. If it weren’t because Ouyang Xun was far away in Chang’an, Yuanying would look for him instead. This is how thick-skinned the boy is!

When Wei Zheng returned home that day, he got to know that the Emperor had delivered rewards not for him but for his granddaughter Wei Shu. He led the girl to receive the Emperor’s reward and took a look at the gifts. It comprises of the top four treasures for studying- pens, inks, papers and ink stones. All expensive ones.

Wei Ying asked curiously: “Girl, why did the Emperor reward you?”

Siblings do not hold grudge. After being played like a fool in circles by Prince Teng, Wei Ying had accepted the fact that Li Yuanying often came over to kidnap his sister. He has now learned to turn a blind eye like his  grandfather.

Wei Shu held onto the wooden box given by the Emperor and did not explain too much. She simply said that she and Yuanying copied something and dedicated it to the Emperor. His Majesty is rewarding them over that.  

“So that’s how it is.” (Wei Ying)

As Wei Shu return home everyday, she would share interesting stories with her family members. At first, Wei Ying was a little angry that Li Yuanying would come looking for his younger sister everyday. But after hearing more if these stories he has became a little envious. No wonder grandfather allows sister to follow him for playtime.  Can girls from ordinary families do so many fun things? Can the words they write be submitted to the Emperor and in turn be rewarded for it? When she comes of age for marriage in the future, these incidences will all become assets when discussing a beneficial match!

Wei Shu saw the envy and disappointment on Wei Ying’s face and knew that her daily subtle influence had paid off. She didn’t say more, but instead pack up and cherished the four treasures bestowed by His Majesty.

Wei Ying is easy to fool but  not Wei Zheng. Just as Wei Shu ran into the study to put away her reward, Wei Zheng came in and asked her for a talk.

As soon as she sat down, grandfather ask what was submitted to the Emperor.

Nowadays Wei Zheng doesn’t have any good impression about the boy.

Generally speaking, whatever that kid does surely isn’t something good.

Since it was only the two of them in the room, Wei Shu didn’t hide anything but told grandpa the whole story about how they read about <<LunHeng>> and records of comets.

Wei Zheng instantly knew what the boy was up to.

“He thinks that since he cannot go to Mount Tai, he wants to debunk all the theories at one go right?”

“His Highness thinks that you guys are bullying his elder brother together.” Of course, not being able to visit Mount Tai is among the reason. She has heard the prince mention it a few times in the past few days, saying that he will definitely bring them to Mount Tai in the future, don’t listen to people talk nonsense.

Wei Zheng did not argue with Wei Shu.

This pair of royal brothers were really becoming more tight knit as they got along.  This is a good thing that Wei Zheng is optimistic about. With Li Yuanying being an outlier among the royal family, maybe he can reduce disputes and increase warmth within the family.

However, if the Emperor gave Li Yuanying too much honor and favor in the future, he would still criticize him. Like when how Li Tai was favored by His Majesty and they had advised him against it many times. If he hadn’t, His Majesty would have went ahead and arranged for Li Tai to reside at Wude Hall!

Hearing that all Li Yuanying was copying two long scrolls and nothing else, he sent Wei Shu to go play by himself.

While Li Yuanying was busy putting together a  calligraphy practice plan, Dai Ting and Su Dalang worked together to organize a caravan that was west bound.

Yuanying asked for Dai Ting’s opinion: “Do you want to go with the group again?”

Dai Ting nodded, expressing his willingness to go.

Li Yuanying respected his wishes and handed over the leadership of the party departing from  Luoyang to Dai Ting.  They were going separately from the caravan party of Chang’an, both taking different routes into the Tibetan Empire.

“I heard that there was a civil strife in Tuyuhun last month, and a general named Xi Jun Mai  quell it. I’m worried that Honghua would be frighten by this incident, so when you pass-by please pass these stuff to her.”

Since there was a daughter his clan who was married into Tuyuhun, Li Yuanying would naturally treat Honghua as he did with Wencheng.

In response Dai Ting set off from Luoyang to Tuyuhun with a mighty party. There were nearly a hundred monks and the group with shiny bald heads attracted many attention. People were asking around only to find out that this these monks were tasked to spread religion to foreigners. As for the “goods” they were all high-quality “Thousand Gold Tea”!

Thousand Gold Hall has been doing amazing. There’s doctor Sun fronting it causing many to seek treatment from this place. When Sun Simiao followed the group to Luoyang, he not only sat with doctors to discuss medical skills but also traveled around seeing patients. He has high medical skills and a kind heart! Can the tea sold by Thousand Gold Hall be bad? I heard that even the Emperor said it was good after drinking it!

All kinds of rumors spread like wildfire and the spring tea brought in by Su Dalang quickly sold out. Dalang and Yuanying divided their shares and happily went to Chang’an to set up a house for Su Qiniang and his children. Since Dai Ting is now out, Yuanying had to pick another useful servant to follow Su Dalang back to the Capital to handle what he has promised.

As the 3 Su siblings sat and talked about this matter, Su Qiniang burst into tears not wanting to leave Wancui Mansion as she fears that Su Erniang would be left alone.

“This old lady is surrounded by people who serves her and there are many other girls left in the Mansion. How can she be lonely! More importantly, you my child who is coming of age. By then many will have bad intentions towards you. Although you were born unlucky, but you have beauty and wisdom. You definitely do not belong to this place. If you want me to be happy, you should obediently leave. Your good life in the future is the best reward for me. ” (Su Erniang)

Su Erniang doesn’t consider herself a good person. In fact she thinks that she has only done 2 good deeds in her life, one is helping Su Dalang and the other adopting Su Qiniang. Not sure if it’s just pure luck but both were the kind of people who will repay others for every drop of grace shown.

With such a capable older godbrother to rely on, Su Erniang will never let her little “sister” that she raised by herself become a plaything for rich men. As she is not very good with words, Erniang just gave Qiniang a box of treasure and warned her never to return again. Live a good life and find someone who upright and knowledgeable. A good husband who loves her. All she ask for is to hear about this good news in  the future.

Su Qiniang cried while drinking her farewell wine. She then followed after Su Dalang with the treasure box in her arms.

Li Yuanying didn’t know about the parting drama. He was however busy with his group of little carrot heads and was harassing Chu Suiliang for  days. He finally snatched all of Chu Suiliang’s good works and happily brought the little carrot heads group home to practice calligraphy!

After all, he might have read lots but he hasn’t practiced much writing. If they write ugly during the exam, won’t they be looked down upon by that old-fashioned Kong Yingda?

Practice! Must practice! Must practice well!