At the Anfu Gate, they were late. Two carriages had already set off one after another. The curtain of the rear carriage was lifted from inside, and a small head popped out, curiously looking around. It happened to see the sisters Li Jingyun and Li Mingda standing behind.
Li Jingyun, of course, also saw him. "Who is this? Someone from elder sister-in-law's family?"
The guard at the gate replied, "He's the younger brother of the Crown Princess. His name is Su Gui. He said he came here specially to pick up the Crown Princess."
"I see."
Li Jingyun nodded like a little adult, though she didn't know Su Gui at all, nor had she ever heard of his name.
Just then, another carriage came. Its decoration was even more luxurious than that of the Crown Princess's carriage just now. There was a big character "Cui" hanging on it. Cui Tian walked over. Seeing the sisters Li Jingyun and Li Mingda standing at the gate, she was puzzled. What were they doing here? Surely they didn't come specifically for her?
Cui Tian bowed slightly. "Greetings to Your Highnesses."
"Rise," Li Jingyun said, then looked up at the sky.
She didn't like anyone who was unkind to her elder sister!
Cui Tian was amused by Li Jingyun's attitude. "Your Highness, if you're not confident about this bet with me, you might as well admit defeat earlier. Don't push yourself too hard."
"I'm definitely capable of it," Li Jingyun said word by word, trying to boost her own confidence.
"I wish Your Highness success," Cui Tian said on the surface, but in her heart, she was already mocking Li Jingyun for being unrealistic. How could such a thing be so easy? How could a child of just a few years old who knew nothing build a library just by saying so?
Wasn't she just being stubborn? She would cry when there was no progress after half a year.
She got into the carriage and soon disappeared on the long street.
"It's too late today. Let's go tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll accompany you to the courtyard in Wannian County that Uncle gave you," Li Mingda said as she saw Li Jingyun looking a bit off. She tugged at Li Jingyun's hand forcefully to soothe her younger sister's mood.
"Okay, elder sister!"
Early the next morning, Li Jingyun, Li Mingda, and Li Yin, who had skipped class from the Hongwen Museum, left the palace together.
After a busy day yesterday, Li Jingyun finally had a good night's sleep and was full of energy today.
When passing by the storyteller's stall in the Eastern Market, even through the carriage, they could hear the storyteller chattering away. The content was still about the Crown Prince's selection of a consort that had happened just the day before. Li Jingyun only heard one sentence, "The Cui family from Boling is a noble family. They've always been so arrogant that they don't even put the royal family in their eyes. I wonder what their fate will be." Then their carriage drove away, and the sound gradually faded.
Li Yin looked at his younger sister, who was leaning on his shoulder, playing with Ronghuadao. He wasn't sure if she had heard what the storyteller had said. He was also hesitant to ask about the newly planned library suddenly, for fear of upsetting his younger sister.
Then he noticed that his sister took out a sign and hung it on her chest. It read, "I can do it."
The handwriting was elegant, neat, and powerful. It was obviously written by their eldest brother.
"Since yesterday, everyone I've met has asked me how confident I am about building the library. Father, Mother, elder brother, Sister Gaoyang, Ninth Brother, and even the ladies in the harem have all asked. I went to ask elder brother to write this for me and hang it up," Li Jingyun complained as she poked the sign on her chest.
Li Yin nodded with a smile. Since his younger sister was so calm, it should be okay.
If she could even make cement, it should be a piece of cake to make the royal family the family with the most books in the world.
"Last night, Father, elder brother, and Fourth Brother went through the procedures of papermaking and printing together. Fourth Brother also said that when Hongxuan's papermaking technique came out, he would take out all the books in his mansion for Hongxuan to test," Li Mingda explained on behalf of her younger sister.
Li Yin really wanted to say that he would also contribute, but he really didn't like reading. He only had a few of the most common books, which were not presentable at all.
After sitting in the carriage for over an hour, they finally reached the outskirts. They found that the gate of a mansion that had been empty a few days ago was tightly closed, and the sound of reading came from inside.
How could there be a school in this desolate place?
Logically speaking, this place was far from where people lived. It would take at least two quarters of an hour to walk there, which was very inconvenient. Who would open a school here? And which family would let their children walk so far to study here?
With a look from Li Yin, the coachman immediately went to ask an old farmer carrying a hoe on the roadside. "Sir, there seem to be quite a few people in this school. What kind of school is it?"
The old farmer stood there leaning on his hoe and laughed when he heard this. "You wealthy people can't even act like you don't know. The Shuren Academy is so famous. I bet you're here to send your children to study, right? There have been several groups of people like you coming from the city these days. I understand! The one giving lectures here is the Wine-Drinking Scholar Wang Ji!"
Wang Ji had a rather rough life. He spent half of his life as an official. During the Daye period of the Sui Dynasty, he passed the imperial examination for filial piety, integrity, and honesty and entered the officialdom. Due to the continuous wars at the end of the Sui Dynasty, he quit his official position and traveled around. During the Wude period of the Tang Dynasty, he served in the Menxia Province. He drank a dou of wine every day and was thus called the Wine-Drinking Scholar.
Later, he felt that being an official was boring and too restrictive. So he simply resigned and, like his idol Tao Yuanming, retired to the mountains and opened an academy here to teach.
If the name Wang Ji is not familiar, his nephew is Wang Fuzhi, who once served as an official in Jiaozi. If this name is still not familiar, Wang Fuzhi's son is Wang Bo, the leader of the Four Talents of the Early Tang Dynasty, who wrote the "Preface to the Tengwang Pavilion".
These famous people in the Tang Dynasty were all related in some way.
"Can we go in and have a look?" Li Jingyun poked her head out of the carriage, her eyes smiling into crescents.
Seeing such a fair and lovely little girl in the carriage, the old farmer grinned from ear to ear. "Not now. You have to wait until noon for lunch to go in."
"Got it, sir!"
Li Jingyun replied cheerfully. She didn't like going to school, but she loved to wander around!
She especially wanted to meet the Wine-Drinking Scholar Wang Ji. What kind of great scholar was he?
Li Yin was also curious. Since he was called the Wine-Drinking Scholar, there should be some good wine, right? Maybe he could have a good drink today.
Li Mingda's thoughts were simpler than theirs. Today she could see how Hongxuan's cement was doing and also meet a great Confucian scholar. It was really a worthwhile trip.
After saying goodbye to the old farmer, the carriage traveled for another two quarters of an hour before arriving. The three of them walked over chatting and laughing. Master Tian, who was busy in the yard, quickly put down his work and came over. "Welcome, Your Highnesses."
"Get up. In just a few days, this place has changed so much. You've done a great job. Reward!"
At Li Jingyun's order, the coachman immediately took out a string of cash and gave it to Master Tian. It was Master Tian's young apprentice who took it and distributed it.
Don't think that a string of cash is a lot. There were twenty craftsmen here, including five apprentices. Each person could only get about fifty cash.
Visibly, the place was much cleaner and tidier. All the weeds and vines had been cleared away, and the houses had been renovated. More than a dozen people walked out one after another, smiling happily with the copper coins they had just received.