It was not yet the appointed time, but the Taiji Hall was already filled with people.
A huge screen stood behind Li Jingyun's seat. Li Yin was approaching the screen, not daring to even breathe loudly, carefully eavesdropping on what the officials were saying.
Someone patted him on the shoulder from behind. Li Yin turned around and was surprised to find it was Li Chengqian.
"Elder brother? Why are you here too?"
Taking a big step back behind the screen and lowering his voice, Li Yin dared to ask.
Li Chengqian said helplessly, "You're allowed to worry about our younger sister, but I'm not? She's so young and has to face so many officials."
"Who says it isn't? Father is really heartless. He dared to let Hongxuan take the lead in such a big occasion without even coming to take a look."
Another voice came from behind, clear and melodious but deliberately lowered.
The two brothers turned around together and saw that Princess Gaoyang had arrived.
Li Yin was shocked. "Elder brother lives in the palace and can come and go often. Weren't you busy with the Ice Tower outside? Why did you come here too?"
Princess Gaoyang was obviously dressed like an ordinary young girl outside the palace. She only had two jasper hairpins on her head and didn't even put on makeup, which was inconsistent with her usual preferences.
"The Ice Tower is nothing compared to Hongxuan. I mustn't let those old foxes bully my younger sister." Princess Gaoyang said.
She had been dealing with the trivial matters of the Ice Tower's opening the day before and went to bed a bit late, so she got up late today as a matter of course. She still remembered that Hongxuan was going to decide the location of the library today. After a hasty wash and dressing, she rushed back from outside the palace in a hurry.
Which of the officials sitting below was easy to get along with?
They were either famous generals who had risen in arms with Father or so - called pillars of the state who had assisted Grandfather and Father for two dynasties. There were even former officials from the previous dynasty. They were all old and shrewd.
"Since Gaoyang is here, why isn't Mingda?" Li Chengqian asked.
"I'm here!"
Li Mingda came out holding Empress Zhangsun's hand. The siblings quickly went to greet them. Just as they were about to speak, there was complete silence on the other side of the screen. One couldn't see what was going on through the screen, but one could guess that Li Jingyun had come.
Empress Zhangsun waved her hand, signaling them to be quiet. The whole family lay there eavesdropping.
"Greetings to Your Highness the Princess!"
"Sit down, sit down." As soon as Li Jingyun stepped into the hall with her left foot, the deafening greetings came.
Li Jingyun sat in the upper seat, propping her chin with one hand, and her eyes swept over more than a hundred officials and wealthy people.
At this time yesterday, she was still enjoying her chicken wontons and watching Father arrange the uses of the cement. Today, it was her sitting here.
She should hurry up and finish this. Just now, Sister Mingda told her that the kitchen had made Mantuo - shaped cakes, sweet snow, Han Palace chess, and scallion - vinegar chicken. She could go and eat after choosing the location of the library!
"Today, first is about the books. We'll see who can contribute the most books; second is money, third is land, and finally, the craftsmen who will contribute their efforts." Li Jingyun counted on her fingers and read point by point.
She had rehearsed this in advance, otherwise, she would have blanked out when it came to money.
After Li Jingyun finished speaking, the people below looked at each other in dismay.
They had thought that His Majesty, the Crown Prince, and others would show up for such an important matter. Who would have thought that it was really this five - year - old little princess who was in charge of the whole event!
His Majesty doted on this little daughter extremely. He even let her make decisions on such important matters.
"Your Highness, the value of books cannot be judged only by the quantity. We also need to consider whether they are damaged or missing pages, whether they are precious, and whether they are worthy of being stored in the library."
In the crowd, a middle - aged man with a big belly and a greasy face stood up. After saluting, he didn't care about Li Jingyun's expression and preached a lot on his own.
Behind the screen, Li Shimin, who had come at some unknown time, heard it clearly. He snorted and said, "This man is really bold. He even dares to lecture the princess? Such a know - it - all. If he likes to teach so much, why is he an official instead of a teacher? A man who seeks fame and reputation."
Hearing this, several people turned around and saw that Li Shimin was standing behind them.
Princess Gaoyang felt a bit guilty. She had just complained that Father was heartless for not coming to take a look, and now Father was here. She had been so engrossed in listening that she didn't even know when Father had come.
"You're here too? I knew you couldn't rest easy about Hongxuan." Empress Zhangsun said with a gentle smile on her face. She went over and took Li Shimin's hand.
"Sit down. Your body hasn't fully recovered yet."
Li Shimin led Empress Zhangsun's hand and persuaded the empress to sit down. He had already made a judgment about the man who had just spoken and even thought of his fate.
This was exactly what he had been on guard against. Some people thought they were senior and knowledgeable and didn't take the princess seriously. Unexpectedly, he really met such a person, even worse than he had expected.
"Who are you?" Li Jingyun looked at the man for a long time but couldn't remember his name or his official position.
In fact, except for a few familiar uncles who often entered the palace, she had basically never seen the others before.
"I'm Ren Cang, the left censor of the Palace Secretariat."
Ren Cang announced his name, beaming. Not everyone had the chance to lecture the princess.
"The value of books should, of course, be managed by the Imperial Library. What are you, from the Palace Secretariat, talking about?" Li Jingyun said bluntly.
She couldn't understand why this man had such a superior look on his face. His tone made people feel uncomfortable all over.
"Ren Cang knows his mistake. Please punish me, Your Highness."
Ren Cang's face turned bright red. He lowered his head deeply, always looking at the ground, wishing there was a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Was this little princess just outspoken or did she do it on purpose? She humiliated him in front of so many court officials. He thought he hadn't offended the princess.
A five - year - old child was so rude. She was really spoiled by His Majesty.
"Yes, the Imperial Library should surely do its duty and serve His Majesty and Your Highness the Princess."
Another man stood up from the crowd. It was Wei Tong, the director of the Imperial Library.
"Sit down. Now that the rules are clear, tell me about your preparations." Li Jingyun sat up straight and looked at the crowd.
She wondered if they would offer sky - high prices.
Sixth brother had told her that some of these people were very rich!
The first one to speak was the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, the Duke of Qi and the right - hand assistant of the Department of State Affairs, Chang Sun Wuji. "Your Highness, I'm willing to offer all the books in my family and take out five hundred taels of gold to help build the library. I hope the library can be built on Peiren Street in Chongrenfang."
Five hundred taels of gold! This was equivalent to three thousand taels of silver!
You should know that in the Tang Dynasty, the annual silver production was only fifteen thousand taels!
With just one word from Chang Sun Wuji, it was two - tenths of the total production.
In daily life, common people used copper coins more often. If the amount was too large, they would use gold instead of silver for payment. Large amounts of silver were used when paying taxes to the court or doing business with foreign merchants.
Behind Chang Sun Wuji, several people away, Pei Mingli was sitting upright. He was thinking that Chang Sun Wuji was really ruthless. He not only took out all the books in his family, but the five hundred taels of gold probably meant he had even emptied his family's savings.
How much could he offer? He definitely couldn't offer less money than Chang Sun Wuji. He had no problem with providing craftsmen and land, but in terms of books, as an orphan who had built his fortune from scratch, how many books could he have?
The books of those aristocratic families had been passed down from generations ago. He didn't even know where his ancestral house was. How could he compare?
This little princess had thought it through so carefully. She even thought of the books.