Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 184 Gongsun Da Niang's First Taste of the Sugar-Coated Bullets of Feudal Bureaucracy! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

The Kaiyuan World of the Great Tang Dynasty, inside the Yiyuan Temple.

Princess Taiping opened the refrigerator door, looked at the ice cream inside, frozen solid, and her expression was somewhat incredulous:
"The world where the immortals live is indeed extraordinary. With this item, people no longer fear the scorching heat. It is truly a blessing!"

Aunt Gongsun picked out a small pudding from the pile, held it in her hand, and said with a grin:

"Little Taiping, don't leave the refrigerator door open all the time. It's a waste of electricity if the cold air escapes. Just take whatever you want to eat. Anyway, I can bring back a bunch of food when I go back in five days."

Princess Taiping closed the refrigerator door and said:
"This item must be quite valuable, right? I've been spending the immortal's money all this time, and I still feel uneasy about it."

She thought for a moment, then went back to her courtyard to get a cloth bag, placed it on the table, and opened it. Inside were all sorts of sparkly headdresses.

Li Bai, who was drawing a talisman, recognized it at a glance as the ornament Princess Taiping wore on the day she fled to Yiyuan Temple.

"This is a complete set of Princess Zhenguo's headdress. There is only one set in the entire Tang Dynasty. Please ask Aunt to take it to Hunyuan Palace. I have already bid farewell to the past, and keeping it is of no use. It would be better to offer it to the Immortal Master as a token of my gratitude."

Aunt Gongsun licked the little pudding, looking it over from left to right, her eyes curving into crescents:

"The Taoist priest will be very happy to see this. Little Taiping, write another offering letter, presenting it to Hunyuan Palace in the name of Princess Taiping, praying for peace... Write down the names of all the jewelry. The artifacts there are particular about their provenance. With the offering letter and names, these pieces of jewelry can be matched up."

Princess Taiping nodded in agreement:
"I'll go write it right now."

She hurriedly went to Wuwu Garden, and Li Bai said to Granny Gongsun:

"Sister Gongsun, please remember to take a few little puddings to visit Xue Chongjian's family when you have time. Princess Taiping must want her grandchildren to have a taste, but she is too embarrassed to say it out loud, so she can only express her feelings in this way."

Lady Gongsun was unaware of the subtleties of high society, and only realized it after Li Bai pointed it out to her:
“Okay, okay, no problem. I have five bags of potato chips. Take them all. After all, it’s a complete set of Princess Zhenguo’s headdress. We can’t let Little Taiping suffer a loss.”

Just then, Gao Lishi strolled in from outside:

"This servant greets Fairy Pomegranate and Immortal Green Lotus!"

He greeted the two of them, then knelt on the prayer mat and earnestly kowtowed to the Tai Chi diagram in the center of the main hall. Only then did he take out a letter from his bosom and hand it to Gongsun Da Niang:
"This is a reply from your family. After much deliberation, your mother has decided to come to Chang'an."

Gongsun Da Niang took the letter and looked Gao Lishi up and down with a suspicious gaze:
"I already said I'd try to settle down in Yancheng, so why did I come to Chang'an? Lao Gao, are you up to something?"

Gao Lishi quickly begged for mercy:
“This servant would not dare. I have heard that there are rumors circulating in Yancheng that your whole family is being disturbed. Why don’t you come and settle in Chang’an? Prince Shen, Li Chengyi, has submitted a memorial stating that the Prince’s residence is too large and many places are overgrown with weeds. He has petitioned to set aside a three-courtyard house for a stranger who has nowhere to stay.”

Before Gao Lishi could finish speaking, Gongsun Da Niang knew that this was prepared for her family.

She was speechless.

"No wonder those upright people always succumb to temptation and become corrupt and degenerate. You despicable feudal bureaucrats are utterly shameless!"

However, after finishing her criticism, Aunt Gongsun wanted to see what the courtyard she had prepared for her own family looked like.

What can we, as elders, say when our grandsons are being so filial? We can only silently endure it!

Li Bai asked:

"How many people are in Gongsun's family? Next time, please ask Master to bestow some peace amulets so as not to attract petty people."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Gongsun took out her phone and wrote it down on a notepad.

There are eight people in her family: her parents, two younger brothers, and three younger sisters. Her youngest sister has just been weaned, so she can supplement her diet with formula.

Soon, Li Chengyi arrived carrying an enormous tray to deliver dinner, along with a sketch of the courtyard.

The three-courtyard complex has more than a dozen rooms and four maids. The layout is very elegant, and various flowers and plants will be planted there later.

Upon hearing this, Gongsun Da Niang said:

"Remove all the maids. I can't let my younger siblings get used to being waited on hand and foot. The Taoist priest said that people who have been poor for a long time and suddenly become rich are prone to getting arrogant. I have to keep an eye on them. If they get too cocky in the capital, they won't even know how they died."

The incident of Li Chengyi giving away a house shows that upper-class people have endless ways of corrupting someone, and all sorts of reasons, making it impossible to guard against. Therefore, it is necessary to strictly demand things of younger siblings in their daily lives.

He originally wanted his family to live as ordinary wealthy men in Yancheng, but since they insisted on coming to Chang'an, they would have to live according to the rules of Chang'an.

Li Chengyi asked:
"What about the flowers and plants?"

“I’ll remove everything. Once the yard is tidied up, I’ll bring some vegetable seeds over. With such a big yard, we can grow enough vegetables for the whole family. If there’s any left over, we can even give them to the neighbors. Flowers and plants aren’t edible, and they need to be taken care of, which is too much trouble.”

Gao Lishi and Li Chengyi exchanged a glance, then Gao Lishi asked, "Shouldn't your two younger brothers be taught by renowned scholars?"

Gongsun Da Niang shook her head:

"No need. Just come to Yiyuan Temple to study every day. I have princesses from the Tang Dynasty, future poets, and a huge amount of online courses from later generations to watch. Isn't that more promising than listening to those pedantic scholars spouting classical allusions?"

This girl has already made up her mind: to raise her younger siblings to be engineering students, diligently building the industrial foundation for the Tang Dynasty, and not getting involved in politics.

Of course, if any blind official frames my younger siblings, then their whole family should expect to feel the wrath of thunder. I, Fairy Pomegranate, have no moral baggage. If I say I'll exterminate three generations, I'll exterminate three generations. If even one is missing, I'll go to the Sanqing Palace and wail!

These words struck Li Chengyi as a strong chord:
"My daughter is of school age now, can she study with me?"

Gao Lishi wanted to say that it was against etiquette, but he held back in the end. There was a fairy and a prince, plus Princess Taiping, who was in Wuwei Garden... Forget it, why should I, a man without an heir, worry about this?

When Princess Taiping came out with the written letter of tribute, Gao Lishi had already left.

Li Chengyi arranged the food he had brought and asked his aunt for permission:

"My cousin Chongjian's youngest child is not even ten years old yet. Why don't we come here to study together?"

Princess Taiping was eager to see her grandson, but she hesitated, fearing it might cause unforeseen complications.

"If it will have a negative impact, then forget it. I am already very content that I can chant sutras here every day to pray for them."

Li Chengyi diligently served Princess Taiping a bowl of millet rice:

"There's nothing wrong with it. From now on, the entire Daozhengfang will be our own people, and no one will have anything to say about it."

While having dinner, Zhou Yi put away the offerings at Zhongtian Temple, rode his motorcycle down the mountain, and ate with Wang Shuangqing and the others.

When they arrived at the restaurant, everyone was already there. In addition to Zhao Wei, Wu Aimin, Da Tou Yang, and a few others who were accompanying the guests, there was also Zhao Dengke, the owner of the pickle factory, and Li Yongkang, the owner of the home appliance store.

Jia Ziwang brought over a box of his treasured Jiannanchun liquor, and everyone enjoyed the meal immensely in the private room.

During the meeting, Zhao Wei discussed the progress of the highway construction project:

"It was slow for a while, with no progress for days, but recently it's been making great strides, everything is going smoothly, and the large machines haven't had any problems. I feel like the highway can be completed ahead of schedule."

Zhou Yi speculated that the peace talisman, which had no taboos, had played a role. After all, the Ziwei Emperor was standing behind those mechanical devices with his hands behind his back. If anyone dared to move forward, they would be courting death.

At the same time, in the world of the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty.

Although it was getting dark, the Liangyi Hall was brightly lit. Li Shimin held a sesame-covered flatbread and, while eating it, discussed the strategy for India with Fang Xuanling and other senior officials.

Changsun Wuji had reservations about the choice of who should remain in India. He wanted his son to become the King of India, but Li Shimin dismissed him as "divinely appointed" and took him away lightly.

Fang Xuanling deftly broke open the flatbread, stuffed in a packet of spicy seaweed strips, took a big bite, and without savoring it, began to express his opinion:
"The information says that India has more advanced sugar-making technology. We should first gather some artisans and bring them here. As for the local Indians, they are said to be lazy and devout believers in gods and Buddhas. If we rashly occupy them, will they become too powerful to control?"

Expanding territory is certainly not a problem, but if the territory is inhabited by a bunch of hopeless good-for-nothings, it would be a great loss if it dragged down the entire Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin said:
"According to Meiniang, as long as Wang Xuance dares to take this step, the immortal will absorb him as a human being. At that time, with divine lightning protecting him, those Indians will definitely flock to him and worship him as a god. Establishing a kingdom will not be a problem."

Upon hearing this, Fang Xuanling agreed to the plan:
"In that case, let's talk about the subsequent governance issues. The writing system, history, culture, customs... need to be changed little by little. If necessary, we should also arrange for a few Indians to come to Chang'an to participate in the imperial examinations and promote them extensively, so as to promote the Sinicization process of the locals."

As the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, Fang Xuanling gave a detailed explanation of the procedures in just a few words, including the selection of candidates for the imperial examination and the final rankings.

Changsun Wuji said:

"Everything must be done before Wang Xuance passes away, otherwise the Indians will definitely turn against us."

Everyone talked and talked until late at night before they finally came up with a set of effective rules. The points were clearly written in a notebook, which became Wang Xuance's general guidelines for action.

Li Shimin wrote an imperial edict to Li Yibiao, the chief envoy to India, overnight, and sealed it together with his notebook in the messenger's small wooden box. Then, the relay stations in various places took turns delivering the message day and night.

Once they reach India, the entire plan will enter the execution phase.

Back in the Hall of Martial Virtue, Li Shimin did not rest. Instead, he sat at his desk, carefully counting on his fingers, and then sighed heavily.
"Even if everything goes smoothly on the road, it will be the end of the year by the time we arrive in India... It is a real pity that the vast Tang Dynasty does not have a fast way of communication."

His mutterings were overheard by Li Mingda, who had come to deliver a late-night snack. The little girl secretly made up her mind:
"Just because the Great Tang Dynasty doesn't have it doesn't mean the Immortal Master doesn't have it either. I will work hard to practice my skills in washing clothes and cooking. When I go to Hunyuan Palace, I will ask the Immortal Master to bestow upon me a communication magic weapon so that I can share my father's burdens!"

(End of this chapter)