After Marrying a Vegetative Princess, I went crazy with joy! - Chapter 106

Chapter 106

The following day, inside the palace.

In the early morning, Li Er was awakened by the sounds of birds outside the window. Despite working late into the night, he felt no discontent. Instead, a rare smile graced his face.

Yesterday, Li Er went to inspect the field where potatoes and sweet potatoes were planted and noticed that the leaves of both crops had withered completely.

Remembering what Su Li had told him, he recognized this as a sign of their maturity. Li Er urgently summoned Yuan Tiangang to the palace overnight, asking for an auspicious date to be determined. Coincidentally, today was deemed a favorable day.

For the first time in his life, Li Er was this excited, causing him to stay awake half the night. After freshening up, he stepped outside and found the attendant who had been with him since childhood waiting at the door.

“Your Majesty, the Golden Guard reports that there was some unrest in the city after last night’s curfew,” the attendant whispered.

Li Er furrowed his brows and then spoke calmly, “Why?”

The attendant sighed, “Consort Su Li caused all the disturbance…”

Following this, he signaled to those behind him. Immediately, several pages holding thick sheets of paper approached.

The attendant then quietly explained the previous night’s events to Li Er.

“I’ve heard that after Consort Su Li finished reciting his final poem, he announced that he would be closing his doors to guests and would no longer be writing poetry!”

Listening to this, Li Er was momentarily shocked.

His first thought was that Changle must have deceived him when claiming her health hadn’t fully recovered!

The leaky cotton-padded jacket made Li Er feel somewhat lonely. However, he soon found himself feeling cheerful.

He had heard of Su Li’s poetic talent, especially considering the line “The belt is getting wider and never regretful.”

He wasn’t overly surprised by Su Li’s poetry skills. Yet, in his mind, he felt that Su Li’s indulgence in poetry was a diversion from more important matters. He certainly admired those with a talent for writing excellent poems. After all, regardless of how busy life gets, there should always be some leisure activities.

However, as the emperor, Li Er was always a thorough pragmatist. Even if Su Li’s skill in poetry was so exceptional that it could keep the entire Changan City awake all night, in Li Er’s perspective, it held no significance.

In Li Er’s eyes, poetry talent had no bearing on governing the country. It was worth noting that Yu Shinan’s entry into the Lingyan Pavilion was not due to his poetic prowess but rather his solid accomplishments.

During a recent conversation between Li Er and Empress Zhangsun, they discussed Su Li’s rising reputation and expressed a slight concern. He was worried that Su Li might become immersed in this fame. He had planned to stay busy for a while and then personally visit Changle Mansion to talk with him. However, it seemed that Su Li was in touch with reality.

With these thoughts, Li Er nodded contentedly.

He motioned for the page boy to present Su Li’s poems from the previous night, and Li Er casually began to peruse them.

Undoubtedly, Su Li’s poetic talent was exceptional, able to drive all the scholars in Changan into a frenzy. Li Er read at a swift pace, still savoring every line.

When he reached the final sentence, “Please ascend the Imperial Smoke Pavilion for a time, like a scholar with ten thousand vassals,” he couldn’t help but smile.

Well done, young man, so that’s the idea…

Glancing at the sky, he realized that the auspicious time calculated by Yuan Tiangang was almost upon them. Li Er tossed the poems back into the hands of the page boy.

“Compile them into a book!”

Afterward, he walked towards the Imperial Garden. Upon entering, Li Er saw Li Chengqian, dressed formally, waiting there.

At that moment, Li Chengqian, accompanied by a group of attendants, stood at the edge of the field with a solemn expression.

Behind them, an incense table had been prepared. On the incense table were offerings of sacrificial animals, pastries, fruits, and other tributes, neatly arranged on the tabletop.

Li Er nodded in satisfaction.

An old saying goes, “The great affairs of a nation lie in sacrifices and the military.”

Today was the day when the new crop was harvested. In Li Er’s mind, this was currently the most significant event!

This event was worthy of a sacrificial ceremony!

And in the entire Tang Dynasty, only Li Er and Crown Prince Li Chengqian were qualified to participate in such an event. Even Zhangsun Wu Fei could not.

Seeing Li Er’s arrival, the attendant overseeing the sacrificial ceremony said, “The auspicious time has come. Your Highness, please offer incense!”

Li Chengqian, with a solemn expression, approached the incense table, and with great respect, he lit three sticks of sandalwood incense.

He performed three bows before the statue of Divine Peasant on the incense table and inserted the incense sticks into the censer.

An attendant held the ceremonial tablet and recited the content, which praised the achievements of the Divine Peasant and expressed hopes for a prosperous Tang Dynasty with abundant harvests.

The brief sacrificial ritual concluded swiftly. Subsequently, Li Chengqian stood beside Li Er, hands respectfully by his side.

At this point, Li Chengqian was thoroughly puzzled. The matter of sweet potatoes and potatoes had been treated as top secret by Li Er. Even Li Chengqian hadn’t been informed until now.

Seven days ago, Li Chengqian had received an order from Li Er to bathe, change clothes, and observe fasting.

For the past seven days, Li Chengqian had been trying to make sense of what important event was taking place today. Li Er’s excitement and the neatly arranged rows of withered leaves made Li Chengqian even more perplexed.

Li Chengqian’s confusion was not lessened, but had grown stronger. At this point, Li Er’s eyes sparkled as he gazed at the field.

For the past several months, Li Er, an emperor, had dedicated his heart to these few acres of land, meticulously taking care of them, watering, and tending to them personally.

He had treated them like precious babies for months, all leading up to the moment they were finally ready for harvest. Even Li Er couldn’t contain his excitement.

Thinking about Su Li’s claim of a yield of a thousand catties per acre, Li Er’s excitement peaked.

Waving to the attendant beside him, Li Er smiled and said, “Let’s unearth an acre first and calculate the yield.”

Two strong young eunuchs, who had been waiting by the edge of the field, carefully stepped into the field. They had already divided their work beforehand.

Watching these eunuchs step through the field, not daring to disturb the leaves, Li Chengqian couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Father, what is this about?” Li Chengqian finally asked.

At this moment, Li Er’s emotions were a mix of nervousness and tremendous excitement.

Even someone as persistent as Li Er, who had been resolute in killing his brother and executing his siblings, was now experiencing an unusual sense of anxiety and anticipation.

At this moment, Li Er inexplicably acknowledged a certain sense of vulnerability and uncertainty in his heart. Su Li mentioned that potatoes and sweet potatoes were foreign crops. What could be done if they were planted during the Tang Dynasty and the soil wasn’t suitable?

Even if they managed to grow, they wouldn’t achieve the exaggerated yield Su Li had mentioned. What should be done then?

With these thoughts in mind, Li Er’s expression grew serious, completely ignoring Li Chengqian.