“Young men should guard against lust, middle-aged men should guard against anger, and old men should guard against greed. Yun Ye can indeed maintain his integrity regarding women, doesn’t regard wealth too heavily, and doesn’t seem to care about official position gains and losses. But why is he always unable to let go of fine food? Now he’s actually become extravagant to such a degree. No one is perfect—the ancients truly did not deceive me.”

“Brother Lianzhou, Wei Zheng really manages a bit too much. Yun Ye spending his own family’s wealth to enjoy fine food involves neither exploitative harm nor unlawful matters. This younger brother feels there’s nothing improper about it. Compared to predecessors who wound trees with flowers or cooked wives in giant cauldrons, it really amounts to nothing. His Yun Family is also among Chang’an’s wealthy elite. Enjoying some appetite pleasures, among young people he’s already rare. Why must he be harshly criticized?”

After Empress Zhangsun finished speaking, the assembled ministers felt at ease enjoying Lingnan’s fine fruits. No matter what she said, the significance wasn’t great. Even if what she said was reasonable, no one would chime in agreement. Agreeing with the Emperor and agreeing with the Empress were two different matters. If someone pinned the label of flattering the inner palace on you, you might as well not live this lifetime.

“In response to Your Majesty, my master sparing no expense to bring back these fruit trees from Lingnan was actually not for enjoying his own appetite. No matter what fine food my master eats, he always sighs and says the flavor is lacking by three parts, wasting the fine food. This shows my master ate even better when traveling with his grand-master. More often, my master and Master Li Tai prefer each holding a bowl of noodles, squatting in the shade like village men, eating heartily with garlic cloves, rather than enjoying exquisite tea and pastries together with Master’s wife and senior sisters.”

“When in Dengzhou, my master discovered sea cucumbers, prawns, scallops, and kelp. Now these several Dengzhou delicacies have already swept through Chang’an. At least seventy percent of Dengzhou’s tax revenue depends on these things. Being able to turn lowly objects into peerless delicacies—only my benefactor-master has this ability.”

“Bananas and lychees are common objects in Lingnan. Bananas grow in the wilderness like forests. When my master himself traveled through the jungle, he discovered a valley full of bananas. Initial calculations show an annual production of over ten million jin of bananas. The Liao people of the four villages and eight stockades, no matter how much they eat, cannot finish them. Even adding elephant herds and wild beasts eating together, the bananas that rot and fall to the ground each year are countless. This student boldly surmises that my master bringing these fruit products back is nothing more than wanting to reenact the old Dengzhou story.”

“Consider this: lychees, such fresh fruit, can only be preserved for three days. Eating them on the first day is wonderfully marvelous, eating them on the second day reduces the flavor by three parts, eating them on the third day—color, fragrance, and flavor are all gone. If you want northern people to taste the deliciousness of lychees, besides bringing the trees over, what other method could there be?”

After Di Renjie finished these words, he walked to the table’s edge and picked up the silver coin Wei Zheng had placed on the table, saying, “This silver coin in Lingnan can purchase at least ten thousand jin of bananas. Grand Master Wei ate one banana yet was willing to pay one silver coin, which has already fully demonstrated my master’s brilliance. As long as bananas are brought intact to the northern lands, they’re worth this price. As for a few banana trees, what do they amount to?”

Seeing Di Renjie pocket that silver coin with a clear conscience, Empress Zhangsun inwardly cursed—indeed birds of a feather with his master, petty-minded and vengeful. In the future, wanting to discipline this master-disciple pair would be quite difficult. Being able to forcibly connect a preference for luxurious living with the national economy and people’s livelihood—this indeed counted as a kind of ability.

Xu Jingzong stood out holding a banana and said, “Among Lingnan’s major commodity goods, one item is dried bananas. The taste is very good and has already become a top-quality item for wealthy Chang’an families to serve guests. But compared to fresh bananas, one is in the blue sky and one is on the ground. If such bananas were also sold in Chang’an, even if the price were higher, this minister would also be willing to buy some to taste the fresh flavor.”

Wei Zheng smiled bitterly. Yun Ye’s actions always wavered between right and wrong. What he did, people of insight watching would dislike, but opening up the Great Tang Code, one would discover he never violated any statute.

Since Yun Ye said the Great Tang’s meritorious nobles should learn to spend money, then an atmosphere of luxury would inevitably spread through Chang’an. He just didn’t know what method he would use this time to pry open the meritorious nobles’ tightly clutched money pouches.

Li Er very much liked Di Renjie. This young man’s appearance made him seem to see the young Yun Ye—confident, respectful, capable, knowledgeable yet low-key in doing things. Yun Ye’s disciples’ hearts inevitably wouldn’t be too broad, always having some petty household airs, but as a subject, it was sufficient. People who are perfect in every way are either sages or treacherous heroes. If one truly appeared, he himself might not dare use him.

The Great Emperor warship sailed up the Yangtze River against the current. Five massive sails caught the river wind fully, and the ship’s speed was quite fast. The Qing Que followed closely behind, but the Princess vessel dragged at the fleet’s tail, as if wanting to maintain distance from them.

Yun Ye didn’t put his thoughts on that pile of firewood called the Great Emperor warship. He now had five little gluttons who needed feeding. Children eating too many crabs wasn’t good—these were all extremely cold-natured things. Injuring their spleen and stomach would not do.

Yun Shou had just eaten a bowl-sized crab and now followed behind his father waiting to eat bamboo tube rice. Five-colored rice was poured into small bamboo tubes a fist-width thick, the stoppers plugged tight, and thrown into boiling water to cook. When the rice was done, a chopstick was inserted into the bamboo tube, then split open, and a multicolored rice stick appeared. While the rice was still hot, sugar frost was sprinkled on it, giving each of the five children one stick. Even Old Grandmother, watching her precious ones with a smile, held one stick.

Yun Shou, drooling, let it go around once—Mother, Second Mother, Third Mother, Auntie all wouldn’t eat, Sister Xiao Wu also wouldn’t eat. Seeing the sugar frost on the rice stick had already melted, he wasn’t polite and ate in big bites. Seeing her brother eat so sweetly, Yun Mu gave her rice stick, which she’d bitten twice, to her brother. Yun Shou didn’t mind and continued chewing heartily.

“The father and son pair both have good mouths. Our family’s women work hard. Their insight not matching the men is one thing, but cooking not matching the men—what kind of matter is this? Na Rimu, Lingdang, you two should learn more from now on. A dignified marquis drilling into the kitchen all day has already become Chang’an city’s great joke.”

Na Rimu, who was dealing with crabs, hummed with dissatisfaction, but Lingdang answered quite obediently. However, making a meal that satisfied Yun Ye was very difficult, because her husband said today that from now on, the family’s meals must be delicious or not eaten at all.

Having eaten their fill, Yun Ye took his five children onto the deck. Even the youngest, Yun Xiang, was already three years old and could now walk steadily on the ship. Yun Lu somehow had the smallest courage. Xinyue tied two little pigtails for the child, and wherever she went, she needed to grasp her father’s clothes corner.

The second child was destined to be forgotten, but Yun Huan didn’t mind. He was quite happy playing by himself with a turtle dragged on a string in his hand. Although what he liked most was his sister’s big dog, Wang Cai didn’t like him. Though it didn’t bite him, as long as he approached, it would knock him on his bottom—it had already happened many times.

“Father, Li Xiang’s mother and Yan Rong’s mother were both locked up. Why don’t you lock up Second Mother too? She always pinches my face and even bites!”

Yun Shou was very unaccustomed to Na Rimu’s affectionate manner. Na Rimu always wanted a boy, but had gained nothing these years, making her very dejected. Xinyue and Li Anlan each gave birth to two, and even Lingdang, who entered the household later, had one, while she herself only had Yun Mu. So she was very unwilling to accept this.

Among the several wives, Yun Ye actually cared most about Na Rimu. Not only was Na Rimu the most beautiful, but whenever he saw Na Rimu’s back, he would remember that song coming through the vast snowy grassland. Feelings that had experienced life-and-death tribulations together were naturally different. Having children wasn’t just a matter of effort—it also required seeing if Heaven would grant it.

Na Rimu now most liked the family’s three boys, especially Yun Shou. She believed chubby and sturdy was what boys should look like. Whenever she caught Yun Shou, she would habitually pinch his plump face, even gently bite Yun Shou’s cheeks affectionately for quite a while. This woman wanted a son so much she was nearly possessed.

“Son, your Second Mother isn’t biting you—she kisses you because she likes you. Xiang’er and Yan Rong’s mothers were locked up because their fathers didn’t do well. Yan Rong is your young wife, so you should take care of her more. Next time you go see Yan Rong’s mother, go openly and properly. Don’t heed those broken rules. Discarding human relationships for the sake of rules—who is this punishing?”

Seeing Yun Shou was still completely confused after saying this, he squatted down and grasped his son’s shoulders, saying, “In this world, the closest relationships are parents, wife, and children. Father believes that for these people, no matter what you do, there’s nothing wrong with it. If there are errors, they’re forgivable errors. Our family is just like this.”

“Your master also shouldn’t have taught you to abandon family and children for the sake of some great righteousness, right? Remember this, son! No matter for what reason, whatever the starting point, using family members as stakes is foolish, because if you lose, you’ll have nothing left. This risk cannot be taken, nor can it be afforded. A complete person should first have a complete family.”

“Father, what if someone wants to lock up Mother and the others?” Yun Hou raised his head, his eyes unblinking as he looked at his father. After seeing Li Xiang and Yan Rong’s circumstances, this question had troubled him for a long time.

“Then rescue them. Even if the Emperor locked them up, it won’t do. Then we’ll run far away. If the Emperor doesn’t forgive us, Father will prepare a large ship for our family. We’ll take Grandmother, Second Mother, Third Mother, younger brothers and sisters, and run far away, never to return.”

“But what about the land at home? Grandmother wants me to watch over it.”

“We won’t want it. Compared to your mother, that bit of broken land amounts to what? After we reach the sea, the entire ocean is our family’s. As for land, we can have as much as we want. We Yun Family people value people over land. We absolutely mustn’t learn from those fools in Chang’an city who cling to that bit of land and dare not let go. Today they offend one person and push someone from the family out to take the blame. Tomorrow they offend another person and push another from the family out to take the blame.”

“When time passes and there’s no one left in the family to push, what then? The family’s land will sooner or later belong to others. Our family won’t do that. If they want my family’s land without paying a sufficient price, it won’t do. This price had better be so great it far exceeds the land’s value, making them suffer losses outweighing gains. In this situation, not wanting the land is also fine. We’ll just go find new land.”