r18novel Chapter 113 Friendship End
Chapter 113 Friendship End
After Li Yuanyin left, Li Yuanke carried her to the inner palace so he could take a nap.
"What are you planning to do now?"
Shen Shixi rolled her eyes at him. "What can I do? What do you think I should do?"
"You want to send him away?" Li Yuanke asked.
Shen Shixi almost jumped up. "Li Yuanke, don't make false accusations! Do you want me to die a horrible death? If he escapes, and the Empress Dowager really thinks I tricked him, how will I survive?"
"Then why did you tell him about those things outside?"
"He asked, 'Can I not tell? He is your own brother, the Empress Dowager's own son, and what am I? Can I tell him, Your Highness, please forgive me for not being able to tell you? Will you be standing here saying, "Consort Yuan, you must tell me everything you know"?
Li Yuanke sneered, clearly not believing her words, "When did you and Yuan Yin become so close?"
[What does this mean? Is this bastard doubting me? What makes him think I'd be interested in that bland, unattractive Li Yuanyin? I'm so angry!]
Li Yuanke's hand trembled, and he almost dropped her.
Thinking about it, Li Yuanyin does indeed have a bit of a pretty boy vibe.
Although they were brothers born of the same mother, Li Yuanyin looked too much like the Empress Dowager, while Li Yuanke had more of the late emperor's tough and heroic spirit. In addition, he practiced martial arts from a young age and later spent two years in the army, so he started to develop a tendency to become a bandit.
After becoming emperor, he became even more like a rogue, speaking and acting as he pleased. To put it nicely, it was called a dictatorship; to put it bluntly, it was called despotism and arbitrariness.
"Whether he and I have a good relationship or not, you were always there for us. You don't actually think we're having an affair right in front of you, do you? Li Yuanke, can't you be a little more magnanimous?"
Li Yuanke was furious. "What are you thinking? I was just asking. Wasn't your action today partly for his benefit? Are you afraid I'll treat him the way I treated Li Yuanjian?"
Shen Shixi said, "Many years ago, I told you and your grandfather that the current enfeoffment system has problems. The enfeoffment of the imperial family is not much different from that of the Han Dynasty. Although there are many restrictions on the princes, there are still hidden dangers."
The best approach is to 'grant fiefs without granting land, and bestow titles without ruling over the people,' Li Yuanke, you've taken that to heart, haven't you?"
Li Yuanke turned his face away and did not speak.
After he became emperor, he certainly did not want his brothers and uncles to occupy a large fiefdom, run amok, disrupt the country, and destroy order.
After hearing Shen Shixi's words, he kept the rule in mind and vowed to practice it for the rest of his life.
"I didn't mean anything by it. I just wanted someone to help me. Li Yuanyin happens to have both time and resources. Moreover, much of this involves core technologies, and it wouldn't be good if they were leaked. He's your brother, so he's a perfect fit. That's why we hit it off so quickly."
"I have no suspicions about you, don't overthink it." Li Yuanke changed the subject, "What kind of congratulatory gift do you plan to give me?"
"It wouldn't be good to say it now. Anyway, your birthday is coming soon, and I guarantee you'll be satisfied then." She was held in Li Yuanke's arms, her hand touching his face, tracing his eyebrows and eyes. "Li Yuanke, you are so handsome. The Creator is really biased towards you. But do you even know what you look like?"
Li Yuanke looked at his reflection in her eyes and laughed, "I don't even look in a mirror, how would I know what I look like?"
[That broken bronze mirror, no matter how shiny you polish it, can it really reflect a person clearly? Sigh, it's kind of sad, sixteen years, and I still don't know exactly what I look like, hahaha, that's hilarious!]
Li Yuanke glanced at the person in his arms, patted her, and said, "Go to sleep. What are you thinking about?"
[Li Yuanke smells so good! That bastard's physique is amazing! That waist... um, it feels so good!]
She yawned, withdrew her hand, turned over, and went to sleep.
Just as Li Yuanke was about to go to sleep, he heard her mutter something again.
[It's not that all male leads are "seven times a night" types, but seven times is way too many; most people couldn't handle that!]
Li Yuanke felt like vomiting blood. He stared at her head for a long time, and only when he saw that she was indeed sleeping soundly did he suppress the urge to knock on her.
The dog's fur stood on end; it's not easy to soothe him.
When Shen Shixi woke up, Li Yuanke was no longer in bed. Caiying came in when she heard the noise. "My lady, this servant will help you with your washing and dressing."
Clothes were sent from Zhaoyang Palace, and she changed into them. A new set of headdresses appeared on her dressing table. It was made of gold thread and pearls in the shape of begonia flowers. It was very exquisite. The begonia flowers made of pink crystals were lifelike. It was paired with a pair of bluebird hairpins. The pink pearls were shiny and lustrous, and each pearl was the same size, which was also very rare.
"Where did this come from?" Shen Shixi asked, picking up a hairpin.
"It was a gift from the lower ranks. His Majesty thought it suited you very well and allowed you to wear it when you woke up." Caiying asked, "Shall I put it in your hair?"
"Hmm, put it on. What is the Emperor doing?"
"Looking at folds in the study."
After Shen Shixi finished dressing up, she went to find Li Yuanke. She had her hair styled in a double-bun hairstyle and wore her newly acquired headdress. As soon as she entered, Li Yuanke looked over and pulled her into his arms. "Do you like it?"
Of course I like wearing new jewelry every day.
"It's alright!" She kissed Li Yuanke on the cheek. "Thank you, Your Majesty! Your Majesty, keep up the good work. I'll head back now."
"No ministers have requested an audience this afternoon, so you will stay here with me."
"No, this place is so boring, I want to go back to my Zhaoyang Palace." Shen Shixi twisted her body and disagreed.
"You can do whatever you want here. If you want to go back to Zhaoyang Palace, I'll move all the memorials there to review." Li Yuanke wouldn't let go.
This is like your best friend going to a tutoring class on the weekend and insisting that you go along and sit in on it. Isn't that infuriating?
Friends are gone!
Shen Shixi felt a little sorry for him, but then thought, well, she had things to take care of when she got back anyway.
She sat down next to Li Yuanke's imperial desk, asked for a pen and paper, wrote down a lot of material, and asked Li Fude to arrange for someone to send it to Li Yuanyin. "Tell the Prince of Changle that this concerns his future money-making business, and make sure he keeps it a secret."
Then, she asked Bai Ping to go back and get the math textbook to continue compiling.
To develop education, the problem of book resources must be solved. Woodblock printing in this era was already quite advanced, but it was mostly used for printing Buddhist scriptures and the like.
The history that was studied by later generations states that movable type printing only appeared in the Song Dynasty. Shen Shixi felt that movable type printing was already very good, and she encouraged Li Yuanke to develop movable type printing.
Li Yuanke had no idea about this, so he had two people from the Imperial Household Department brought over.
When Qiu Xingyan and Guo Youming heard that Yuan Jieyu had another ingenious idea, they almost lost their boots in the process.
Shen Shixi planned to combine movable type printing and wax printing.
The wax printing is the kind used in later modern times, ink wax printing, where words are written on wax paper and then rolled with ink to leave a mark.
Before she transmigrated here, she had seen that kind of equipment on Taobao; it was very simple.
As for wax paper, it's also easy to make.
"Besides wax paper, I also need a batch of paper that's a bit thicker and stiffer. Get it done for me as soon as possible," Shen Shixi said.
With a single word from her, a printing press was established in the palace.
Li Yuanke simply watched from the sidelines. When Qiu Xingyan and the other man looked at him for his opinion, he only said, "Do as she asks. There's no need to consult me!"
"Yes!" The two were completely relieved.
[I wonder if it will work out. If it does, I'll open a small newspaper in the capital, specializing in gossip and exposing the scandals of court officials. Hahaha, that would definitely be interesting!]
Li Yuange gave her a cold look. "You bastard, your mind is full of indecent things."
However, it did remind him that it could be used to print the imperial gazette, which would be very convenient.