ATPnovel Chapter 5 Li Shimin
Chapter 5 Li Shimin
The lights in the Rikjeong Hall were still on.
Li Shimin threw the last memorial onto the desk and rubbed his throbbing temples.
It was completely dark outside the palace, and the sound of the night watchman's clapper could be heard in the distance—it was already past midnight.
He stood up and paced back and forth in the empty hall.
"Your Majesty," the eunuch Zhao De leaned halfway into the palace entrance and whispered, "Commander Chen has returned."
"Quickly, let him in, don't delay."
Commander Chen strode into the hall, his armor still damp from the night dew. He knelt on one knee and bowed his head deeply.
"Your Majesty, I have failed in my duty. Regarding Princess Sizi's disappearance today, I—"
"We'll talk about that later," Li Shimin interrupted him urgently, "I'll ask Si Ziren first, how is he? Is he alright?"
"Your Majesty, Her Highness the Princess is well and safe."
She had been taken in by the owner of a farm outside Chang'an for most of the day. When I arrived, the princess had just finished dinner, was unharmed, and seemed to be getting along very well with the farm owner.
Li Shimin's shoulders finally relaxed a bit. He leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.
"Take them in?" Not long after, he sat up straight again, tapping his fingers lightly on the table. "Tell me the details of what happened, don't miss a single thing."
Commander Chen recounted in detail the whole story of how Xiao Sizi got lost while accompanying the little princess on her spring outing—chasing butterflies and running out of the guards' sight, accidentally entering a farm, and being taken in and treated to hospitality by the farm owner.
Finally, he carefully took something out of his pocket.
A bamboo dragonfly.
Made of bamboo strips, polished very smooth, the angle of the propeller blades looks very deliberate.
Li Shimin took it, held it in his hand, and examined it twice.
"Her Highness said that the owner of that estate made this for her to play with."
Commander Chen added, "It really can fly. Princess Sizi loved it and brought it back like a treasure."
There's still one left at the farm; Her Highness said she wants to go back tomorrow.
Li Shimin remained silent. He flicked the bamboo strip with his finger, and the leaf spun slightly twice in the candlelight.
That smooth and fluid feel isn't something just anyone can achieve—it requires excellent craftsmanship, and even more so, boundless imagination.
A farmer made a toy for a little girl he didn't know.
It wasn't bought with money; it was made by hand, and it required a lot of patience.
"What's the background of this manor owner? Have you investigated it?"
"I have already investigated. The owner of the estate is named Wang Zhihuan. He is a distant relative of the Wang family in Chang'an. There are no direct ancestors in the family. He owns two hundred acres of land."
He cultivated a portion of the land himself, planting some crops that I had never seen before, as well as some very strange crops.
He rented the rest to tenants, offering them rents 20% lower than the market rate.
Therefore, the surrounding farmers all called him "Little Benevolent Wang".
"Rent 20% lower?"
"Yes. I asked five tenants, and the rent was the same for all of them."
Another tenant farmer's son had dysentery last month and was quite ill. This man treated him and cured him completely. His medical skills were excellent, and he didn't charge a penny.
The tenant farmer, Old Zhang, said that the landlord taught him how to improve the soil in the fields, saying something like, "Don't plant millet on that plot of land this year; plant the kind of rice I gave you, and the yield will double."
Li Shimin gently placed the bamboo dragonfly on his desk and remained silent for a moment.
Did he know Si Zi's true identity when he took her in?
"I don't know. Princess Sizi herself didn't say, and I've confirmed it myself. She just assumes it's an ordinary family's child who got lost."
"What did he say to Sizi? How did they get along?"
"When I arrived at the farm, I overheard him making a promise to the princess—saying, 'The bamboo dragonfly will still be here tomorrow, and so will the pot. Come tomorrow, and the pot will teach you how to rub it so it can fly as high as the jujube tree.'"
"Pot, pot."
"Yes. Her Highness is young and speaks in a somewhat childish voice, so we've always called him 'Pretty Boy'."
"Handsome guy, are you perhaps exceptionally handsome?"
"Your Majesty, that young man is indeed handsome and has an extraordinary bearing. When the princess was leaving, she even said she wanted to take the eldest princess to visit him."
"Pretty guy, take Chang Le out to play."
Li Shimin repeated the title in a low voice, and thinking of his little girl, he suddenly chuckled softly for some reason.
At this moment, two people came from behind the hall.
Empress Zhangsun wore an outer robe and looked somewhat pale, but she seemed to be in good spirits.
Li Shimin immediately stood up to help her.
"Guanyinbi, why are you out here? The imperial physician told you to rest."
"Your Majesty, I heard that Si Zi has been found."
She slowly sat down on the couch next to Li Shimin, her breathing still a little rapid, clearly from walking too fast. "How are you? Is the baby alright? Is he hurt?"
Commander Chen then briefly recounted what had happened.
When Empress Zhangsun mentioned that Sizi had rice grains stuck to the tip of his nose while eating scrambled eggs with tomatoes, she couldn't help but laugh.
As I laughed, my eyes started to well up with tears.
"This child. How could he chase a butterfly all the way outside the city?"
"The manor owner even cooked a meal for Sizi."
Empress Zhangsun looked at Li Shimin and said in a gentle tone, "Your Majesty, a complete stranger was able to cook delicious food and make toys for a lost child, and even made a pinky promise with her to meet again tomorrow."
This person must be kind-hearted; you can rest assured, such kindness cannot be faked.
"I know." Li Shimin leaned back in his chair and began to fiddle with the bamboo dragonfly again. "I'm thinking about something else."
He treats his tenants for free, teaches them how to improve the soil for free, and voluntarily lowers the rent by 20% without seeking profit—I want to know, what is his motive for doing all this?
The hall was quiet for a moment. The candlelight flickered, casting Li Shimin's face in alternating light and shadow.
At this moment, the figure that had been standing quietly behind Empress Zhangsun took a small half-step forward.
It was Princess Chang Le, Li Lizhi.
She stayed by her mother's side all night and hasn't left the Lizheng Palace since hearing the news of Sizi's disappearance.
At this moment, she slightly curtsied, her voice gentle and soft, yet her enunciation clear and steady.
"Father, why not grant Xiao Si Zi's wish and let your daughter go and see?"
Instead of guessing here, I'd rather go and see for myself and find out the truth.
Besides, I haven't left the palace in a long time, and I'd like to go out for a walk.
Li Shimin looked up at her.
Chang Le is ten years older than Si Zi, and just turned fourteen this year.
She looked very much like Empress Zhangsun, with delicate and elegant features. She spoke slowly and deliberately, but every word she uttered was to the point.
"Sizi is still young, so his words are inevitably a bit childish and may not be entirely thoughtful."
She continued calmly, "I will go and see for myself. If he is truly a capable person, it will not be too late for Father to meet him."
If he were just an ordinary farmer, there would be no need for the Emperor to personally intervene.