Behind the Zhaoning Hall, under the curtain.
"Master Immortal, speak slowly, slowly..."
Li Jingyun turned over in her sleep, still half - awake. In her dream, she was listening to the system's lecture, mumbling and coquettishly asking the system to slow down.
Empress Zhangsun had just woken up. Hearing her youngest daughter's sleep - talk, she couldn't help but smile.
This child couldn't even sleep peacefully. What was she talking about?
She leaned closer to listen and found that she was calling the master immortal and saying that she couldn't understand and asking him to speak slowly.
Hongxuan had a karmic connection with immortals. She was more naughty than her elder sister, and the master immortal doted on her especially. During these years when she was recuperating from illness, she also wanted to meet that immortal. Unfortunately, she never had the chance. She only saw the memorial tablet that Hongxuan had set up for him, offered a stick of incense, and then had no further contact.
This bet with Cui Tian was, as she had expected, probably the idea of the immortal.
Were the powerful families like the Cui and Lu families so over - the - top that even the heavens couldn't bear it and had sent someone to punish them?
Li Jingyun opened her eyes and saw her mother right in front of her. She happily reached out her hands to be hugged by her mother. "Mother, just now, the master immortal told me a whole bunch of things."
"Then tell Mother, Hongxuan. How did the master immortal tell you?"
Empress Zhangsun took the handkerchief handed by the maid and gently wiped the sweat off Hongxuan's face.
"Okay." Li Jingyun agreed without a second thought. Then she saw Li Mingda sleeping soundly beside her. She put a finger in front of her lips and lowered her voice. "Mother, be quiet. Sister is still taking a nap."
"All right." Empress Zhangsun nodded with a beaming smile.
Hongxuan was considerate, generous, and gentle. She really took after her.
Li Jingyun smiled, tilted her head to recall, and then gesticulated and said, "The master immortal said that we should cut bamboo instead of wood. Bamboo is much cheaper than wood. A big bundle of bamboo is very light. I'll be able to carry it when I grow up..."
"Bamboo? What then after cutting the bamboo?"
Empress Zhangsun fanned Li Jingyun with a fan and pondered over her words.
She didn't know much about papermaking, but she knew that in recent years, the most commonly used raw material for papermaking was tree bark. Making paper with bamboo was unheard of.
Li Jingyun also took a round fan and fanned Li Mingda who was sleeping beside her. From afar, her posture and manner were exactly the same as Empress Zhangsun's.
"Then? We need to soak it in a very big pond for forty - nine days. We can't miss a single day. Then we need to crush it, wash it clean, and spread it on... Where was it? Mother, I have to ask the master immortal again."
Li Jingyun had just woken up and was still a bit dazed. Halfway through her words, she just couldn't remember what came next. She couldn't deceive her mother, so she had to call out the system and ask again.
Li Jingyun: Master Immortal? Master Immortal? Where should we spread the bamboo?
System: I'm really fed up with you. You've slept well, but I haven't even had a wink of sleep!
Li Jingyun: Master Immortal, you're magnanimous. Please help me.
System: I've already compiled the specific steps and methods into a booklet and put it in the bottom cabinet of your room. Yes, the one where you put the lotus seeds.
Li Jingyun: Thank you, Master Immortal. Hongxuan will offer you several plates of fresh fruits, dishes, and the ice cream I made myself later. You'll surely enjoy them!
System: All right, go, Pikachu.
Taking care of a child was really tiring, especially a hyperactive and naughty one.
Who on earth couldn't fall asleep at midnight sharp, which was one o'clock in the morning in later generations, and kept pestering to see something new? It had no choice but to import the previously saved videos into Li Jingyun's brain. Only after watching the "cartoons" did she finally fall asleep. The library mentioned today was what she saw last night.
"Where should we spread it?" Empress Zhangsun saw Li Jingyun in a daze for so long and playfully teased her.
Only then did Li Jingyun realize that the master immortal hadn't answered her question yet!
"Mother, Hongxuan has forgotten a bit. Tomorrow, I'll definitely remember everything!" Li Jingyun puffed out her chest. Even though she wasn't very confident, she had to pretend to know everything.
"It's okay. Take your time. There's still plenty of time."
Empress Zhangsun smiled.
A maid came in and whispered, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, the draft is about to start."
"I'll go right away." Empress Zhangsun got up. "Hongxuan, if you're sleepy, you can sleep a bit more."
"No, no. I also want to go and have a look." She didn't see Su Rui in the first half of the draft this morning. That just wouldn't do. How could she not care about the sister who got along so well with her?
"Then let's go together."
Empress Zhangsun took her youngest daughter's hand and returned to the front hall.
Seeing Empress Zhangsun coming, Wang De shouted, "The draft begins! Please let the next five maidens enter the hall!"
Li Jingyun sat beside Li Chengqian and squinted at the brightly - dressed maidens below. She didn't recognize any of them, except one who looked a bit familiar.
Another batch came in, and she still didn't recognize them.
After more than an hour like this, Li Jingyun felt bored and was about to leave. When she looked up, she saw Su Rui and Cui Tian standing together. She quickly sat back in her seat.
However, the young lady on the left looked really familiar.
Wasn't she the one who praised Cui Tian's good looks as "as graceful as a startled swan, as gentle as a swimming dragon, glorious as autumn chrysanthemums, lush as spring pines"?
"Zhang Fengya, daughter of Duke Yun, Zhang Liang, pays homage to Your Majesty, Empress, and the two Highnesses."
Zhang Fengya bowed gracefully.
Her father was also one of the twenty - four meritorious officials in the Lingyan Pavilion. Without any accident, he would also be famous in history along with the prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty.
However, when she was eight years old, her biological mother passed away. She was raised by her step - mother, Li Shi, and had a deep affection for her.
"Rise. Do you have any talents?" Li Chengqian looked at Zhang Fengya with great interest.
He had also heard the rumors about the Zhang family and was very curious.
"I can hold my liquor well. I can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk." When Zhang Fengya said this, she was full of pride.
Cui Tian glanced at her imperceptibly and secretly laughed. She was really unrefined, being raised by a step - mother. How could she even mention her alcohol tolerance? Did she really think no one knew about the dirty things in her family?
Cui Tian had heard this sentence from others. Zhang Fengya had shouted it in a restaurant, and there was another half - sentence after that, "Even dozens of men can't drink me under the table."
Her step - mother, Li Shi, was charming, unrestrained, and domineering. It was said that she had an affair with an outsider. Zhang Liang was so muddle - headed that he took that person as his adopted son. Now, it was even more convenient for Li Shi to continue her affair with that person.
If such a person was really selected, it would mean that the royal family not only had poor judgment in knowledge but also in vision.
Li Chengqian didn't ask any more questions. He directly asked Wang De to give her a palace flower. Zhang Fengya held the water - red palace flower, looking a bit unhappy but helpless. She couldn't be impolite in front of Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun, so she had to step back.
Why wasn't she selected? In terms of family background, she was the eldest legitimate daughter of a duke. Wasn't she qualified to be the Crown Princess? In terms of the ability to please men, all these maidens together couldn't compare to her. Why did the Crown Prince just ask one question and then directly reject her?
Li Jingyun was holding a cup of warm milk and drinking it. Her eyes were wandering among the people.
This sister from the Zhang family didn't seem convinced, but the Crown Princess must be the best. How could someone who only knew how to drink be suitable?
Such a simple truth, even she understood it. Didn't this sister understand it after living for more than a decade?