The people of Chang’an quickly forgot about the tragedy at Zhang Liang’s household. Even the scholars who loved idle gossip most couldn’t be bothered to mention the passing of those one hundred forty-four lives anymore. That’s just how this world works—matters unrelated to oneself are always forgotten quickly.
Zhang Liang hadn’t forgotten. He resigned from all his official positions and, together with his two sons, buried all the young and old of his family in their estate. He shut his doors and refused to see visitors, mourning his relatives. In the end, he hadn’t caught up with Yuan Gae Suwen. By the time he reached Zhuojun, Yuan Gae Suwen had already boarded a ship and set sail.
Zhang Liang went to speak with the Emperor. No one knew what they discussed, but after returning home, Zhang Liang completely disappeared from the political life of the Great Tang. Cheng Chumo said Zhang Liang had shut his doors to focus on making little people. No matter how miserable the Zhang family’s circumstances, they still had to continue the line generation after generation. These words seemed correct enough. The Zhang family brought back six daughters from minor families in one go, without hosting any banquet for guests, quietly completing the ceremonies. When producing children became the sole reason for marrying women, Yun Ye knew the Zhang family was now lying low, waiting for the day they could make a comeback.
Zhangsun now spent all his time with Old Li Gang, Yuanzhang, Yushan, and Wu She. Later, Gongshu Mu quietly joined their circle as well. All day long they wandered around the academy, and aside from occasionally visiting Master Sun, the rest of the time one could always see them riding together in ox carts.
With Wu She looking after Zhangsun, Yun Ye felt reassured, and Li Tai was also at ease. Hypatia very much wanted to curry favor with the Empress to see if there was any possibility of getting enough money from Her Majesty to buy refined gold and mithril silver. This woman’s brain had completely broken down. When experimental reactions weren’t responsive, she blamed it on poor materials. Silver worked perfectly fine for heat conduction, but she insisted on using gold, even knowing full well that silver’s effects were better than gold’s. She still stupidly insisted on using gold, as if the value of materials could somehow correlate with thermal conductivity—utterly unreasonable.
To ensure the experiment was foolproof, Li Tai had two more copper hemispheres cast. After testing them repeatedly at the academy, he finally told Yun Ye that everything was ready.
September fifth—this was the date the Emperor had newly determined. The Eastern Training Ground was packed with people. Almost all of Chang’an’s nobility had come out in force. Those with status naturally had dedicated pavilions, while those without had to freeload wherever they could. Unfortunately, the Yun family belonged to the category without status. On a day when princes and dukes were everywhere, a marquis could only serve as a background character.
Old Niu had no interest in watching scientific experiments. Apart from his interest in new crops, he thought the idea of finding several horses to pull a copper ball was the work of people with nothing better to do. His two darling grandsons had returned home—who would be interested in watching such things? The old couple playing with their grandchildren at home was ten thousand times better than running outside to bake in the sun.
So his family’s pavilion became the Yun family’s. Dan Ying and Gou Zi, who had kept postponing their wedding, had finally returned from Luoyang. The house was already built, just waiting to marry a wife.
What Gou Zi was happiest about was that Hong Guo’er no longer came to pester him. Since his return, he hadn’t seen Hong Guo’er’s chubby figure. He let out a long breath of relief. Today, Chang’an was full of noble young ladies everywhere. Gou Zi planned to see if he could find a suitable one. Dan Ying had long ago told him to get lost—if he dared disturb his time with Daya, he’d pay for it.
The daughter of Prince Lu’s family was looking at him with a pair of peach blossom eyes. Clearly not a good match. The young lady from Duke Chu’s family sat there like a living bodhisattva—marrying her home would make his mother suffer greatly. Only a fool would look for someone like that. Over there was a woman with a graceful figure who walked like a willow swaying in the wind—wait, why was she entering the Marquis’s pavilion? Oh damn, that was Chengxin.
Another beauty approached—a voluptuous woman wearing a black veil brought a group of little girls over. These could be ignored, but who was that beauty following behind the little girls?
Xinyue nudged her husband with her shoulder, tilting her chin toward Gou Zi, her eyes full of teasing intent. Yun Ye glanced at the Heavenly Demoness leading the household’s young and old ladies, then looked at the seductively figured beauty behind them. He pointed at the girl in shock and asked Xinyue, “Don’t tell me that’s…” Xinyue proudly nodded, cutting off her husband’s words. Wu She stretched his ears to eavesdrop.
Yun Ye smiled bitterly. Watching Gou Zi unconsciously drift toward the group of little girls, he began praying for poor Gou Zi, then looked at Wu She with pity. Seeking his own death—truly couldn’t blame anyone else.
They say a beauty half-concealing her face is most beautiful. The palace-dressed beauty did half-conceal her face, revealing only her rounded chin. The girl’s face still had that baby fat unique to maidens. Wu She, seeing his disciple so perceptive, was greatly pleased. Earlier, seeing Gou Zi eyeing the daughters of Prince Lu and Duke Chu, he had worried that his own status was too low and he’d be thrown out if he went to propose marriage. Now that Gou Zi was looking at a woman in their own pavilion, it meant the woman’s family status wouldn’t be too high. If she was a daughter from a marquis or earl household and not a legitimate-born daughter, his own influence would still be quite effective. Moreover, Gou Zi was handsome and talented, and he had gotten Gou Zi into the academy—anyone who wasn’t blind could see Gou Zi had a bright future. Marrying a concubine-born daughter from a noble family shouldn’t be a problem.
“Brother Gou Zi, if you go buy us dough figurines, I’ll tell you which family’s young lady that is.” Xiao Wu stretched out all ten fingers, asking for the moon. Shishi anxiously tugged at Xiao Wu, afraid she’d cause trouble.
Gou Zi ran off at lightning speed, quickly reaching outside the training ground. He threw a whole handful of copper coins at a vendor and even carried back the grass stick used for displaying the dough figurines. He stuffed it into the smiling Xiao Wu’s hands and waited to hear the news.
“Brother Gou Zi, I just know she’s a young lady from an earl’s family. She’s so beautiful and matches you perfectly.” Xiao Wu hugged the grass stick, embarrassed, while whispering to Gou Zi.
For Gou Zi, the name didn’t matter—as long as the young lady was pretty enough. An earl’s family—if Master couldn’t handle it, at worst he’d ask the Marquis. He’d get his wish somehow. If that really didn’t work, he and Dan Ying could just steal the woman and bring her back. Keep her for one night, do nothing, then send her back before dawn. That young lady—aside from himself, who else would dare want a woman whose reputation already had a stain? No matter how beautiful, wouldn’t work. Dan Ying owed him a favor, so he wouldn’t lack helpers.
The Heavenly Demoness heard bells and drums ringing together and ceremonial music playing, knowing the imperial family had arrived. Her body trembled for a moment before immediately returning to calm. Li Yuan was carried over in a sedan chair. The Heavenly Demoness looked at Li Yuan with his slack muscles and elderly, decrepit appearance and froze for a moment. She hadn’t expected that the emperor who once swallowed heaven and earth with his ambition was now barely clinging to life. Her heart instantly became peaceful. Noticing Yun Ye watching her, she waved her hand elegantly, as easily as shooing away a fly.
Yun Ye gave her a thumbs up in praise, then raised his head to watch an elder of the Li family take the stage. After the old fellow paid his respects to the Emperor and Retired Emperor, he cleared his throat and began presiding over today’s grand ceremony.
He started from the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, speaking all the way to the Great Tang’s realm. The imperial family had always produced only elites. That the common people of the world were governed by the imperial family was only natural. He emphasized how the Fourth Imperial Prince Li Tai was intelligent and studious, having glimpsed the secret treasures of heaven and earth. What he was about to demonstrate now was one of them—the secret of qi. Since ancient times, everyone had been talking about qi, but the way of qi was mysterious upon mysterious. Worldly people were blinded by material desires and couldn’t see through the fundamental source of heaven and earth. Therefore, for so many years, there had been endless disputes and arguments. Now the matter of qi could be definitively settled. If anyone harbored doubts, they could debate on the spot. Truth becomes clearer through debate. Today, Prince Wei would temporarily set aside his noble imperial status and, merely as a scholar, debate the mysteries of qi with everyone.
Yun Ye’s plan had never included this theatrical on-the-spot debate. Shocked, he looked toward Crown Prince Li Chengqian’s direction. Li Chengqian seemed to know Yun Ye was watching him and made a helpless gesture, then pointed at Li Er on the platform. Yun Ye understood—this was Li Er’s decision. Good heavens, didn’t he know how to respect other people’s labor?
Li Tai wore a blue scholar’s robe. He was getting a bit plump now, but it didn’t hinder him from displaying scholarly grace at all. Aside from the purple-gold crown on his head, he was no different from the academy students seated below the platform.
When Elder Yan Zhitui merely asked, “What is qi?”
Li Tai launched into an expansive discourse starting from the duality of heaven and earth—clear qi, turbid qi, yin and yang qi, when yang reaches its extreme yin qi flourishes, when yin reaches its extreme yang qi is born. The Li family ancestors had studied exactly these things, so Li Tai had naturally been familiar with them since childhood and naturally answered in a way that greatly satisfied Yan Zhitui.
“Yun Ye, what is Li Tai talking about? Why can’t I understand a single sentence? I know taiji is an extremely profound theoretical system, but why must atmospheric pressure be explained using simple philosophical concepts? Is this wisdom unique to Tang people?”
“Hypatia, haven’t you noticed yet? Our Great Tang’s theoretical systems are all constructed upon nature. Of course, there are other explanations, but ever since Li Qingque’s ancestors established the Daoist theoretical system, what he’s saying now is the only answer. Remember, this must also be the only correct theory. No matter what we research in the future, we must all wear such an outer robe. When conducting chemistry experiments, we cannot say this is knowledge emerging from alchemy. When conducting physics experiments, we must say we are learning the way of survival from nature. The so-called emulating nature—this is the principle.”
“If you have other views, that’s very normal. The Li family’s ancestors have already drawn a framework. What we do is continuously fill this framework with new things. Never say anything like ‘this is wrong’ or doubt the Li family ancestors, because that would be doubting the legitimacy of Li family rule. You cannot say it—if you do, you’ll be beheaded.”
“Then what do we do? I don’t understand any of these things. If I say something wrong later and get beheaded, you have to save me.”
“Stupid woman! Can’t you learn? Just treat the Li family ancestors’ things as your daily prayers. Reciting is one thing, doing is another—isn’t that enough? Why must you tell people that the Li family’s ancestors said some ambiguous empty words? Don’t want to live anymore? You must learn, starting with ‘The Way that can be told is not the eternal Way.’ This is truly good stuff. In the future, casually quoting a couple of lines from the Dao De Jing with the imperial family will make things much more convenient.”