Drive to the Tang Dynasty, where supplies are refreshed daily!

We'll have to wait for him to think about the specifics of what to do.

The little princesses and their friends went out to play again. After gathering herbs in the mountains, they became even closer to the village children. So, not long after lunch, someone came to invite them to go out and play.

Xiao Ran didn't stop them, but had Li Lizhi change them into thicker clothes. He then went with Sun Simiao to sort out the medicinal herbs, and also learned how to do it himself.

During a break, Xiao Ran exhaled and looked outside.

Many more leaves have been blown off the corner of the yard, leaving bare branches standing against the leaden sky, the wind carrying the dry chill of early winter.

"Little Pouch-kun~ Little Pouch-kun~"

Upon hearing the voice, Xiao Ran knew who had come.

Sure enough, when he looked up, he saw three little figures wrapped up like little dumplings running in, the one in front being the little princess.

She wore a thick maroon cotton-padded coat, her hair was styled in two buns, and her chubby little hands held a curled locust leaf.

The two little girls, Princess Chengyang and Princess Gaoyang, were dressed in dark green and lotus root pink cotton coats with rabbit fur sewn onto the collars and cuffs, and each held a hand warmer embroidered with plum blossoms in their hands.

Third Sister Yan Yao and Di Renjie were further back, also dressed in thick clothes.

"Slow down, it's cold and the road is slippery!" Xiao Ran quickly got up to meet her and reached out to steady the little princess who was about to stumble.

The little one giggled, his warm, milky breath brushing against the back of his hand, and then reached out to jump into his arms: "Little Nang-jun~ Let's play~"

"Okay, let's play." Xiao Ran chuckled and picked up the little princess. Her cotton-padded jacket was warm and had a faint scent of lavender.

"What does Sizi want to play?" Xiao Ran asked, looking at the little princess in his arms.

The little princess waved her little hands excitedly, gesturing as if she were saying something, but Princess Chengyang explained, "The children in the village said they wanted to fly kites, and Sizi wanted to play too, so we came back."

The little princess nodded repeatedly when she heard the word "kite".

Xiao Ran certainly wouldn't refuse this small wish. He happened to have one on hand, a pattern of a little sparrow. There was only one kite, so a group of children started playing in the yard.

Xiao Ran helped them hold the kite high, and with the northwest wind of early winter, the kite swayed and flew higher and higher, like a real little sparrow floating in the clear sky.

Only when the setting sun dyed the sky orange-red and wisps of smoke rose faintly from distant chimneys did Xiao Ran lead them back.

As soon as I entered the house, a wave of warmth hit me. I was used to the temperature outside and didn't feel cold, but now that I'm inside, I can feel it.

"Seven and again~"

The little princess smelled the delicious aroma as soon as she came in and couldn't wait to eat.

On the table was a stewed chicken soup that had been simmered until tender, along with some other stir-fried dishes.

Xiao Ran served the little princess a small bowl of chicken soup with rice, removing the bones. The little princess ate it with relish, but she had a small appetite and burped after eating only half a bowl. She then leaned against Xiao Ran and rubbed her eyes.

After the meal, the servants cleared away the dishes, and the little princess and the others went to bed. Li Lizhi, Princess Yuzhang, and Zhang Erya sat around the table, chatting and laughing by the flickering candlelight.

Xiao Ran didn't participate in their conversation; she listened for a while and then went to sleep.

The next day, as soon as it was light, Xiao Ran got up, washed his face with hot water, and then exercised as usual.

However, there were a few more people in the training team today; Li Lizhi, Princess Yuzhang, and Zhang Erya all came.

Xiao Ran exclaimed in surprise, "You guys actually came!"

Li Lizhi covered her mouth and laughed, "Of course, it's all agreed, of course I'll come."

Seeing Sun Simiao's strange look, Xiao Ran realized that he had forgotten to tell Sun Simiao about this!

Fortunately, Sun Simiao didn't mind and even slowed down his movements to teach Li Lizhi and the others.

After exercising, Xiao Ran ate breakfast and then went to the glass workshop.

Just as he reached the workshop entrance, he heard Qin Huaidao's excited voice coming from inside: "Young master! You've finally arrived! The lenses are ready!"

Xiao Ran pushed open the door and was greeted by a wave of heat. Qin Huaidao, holding a wooden box, walked over quickly. "Young master, take a look at these lenses. Aren't they smoother than before? I polished them with toothpaste, and they're much better than before! I just don't know if the curvature is right."

Upon opening the wooden box, two pairs of glass lenses lay on a velvet cloth. One pair had slightly thicker edges, while the other pair had a slightly convex center. When viewed against the light, they appeared to have no impurities.

"Give it a try?" Qin Huaidao's eyes were full of anticipation.

Just then, Cheng Chumo and Li Ke arrived. As soon as Cheng Chumo entered, he exclaimed, "Young master, are those lenses alright?"

Xiao Ran scratched his head, picked up a lens and looked into the distance. It did have a magnifying effect, but a more detailed one would have to be made first. After all, how could a telescope with a lens tube be the same as a magnifying glass?

"It does seem to be useful, but we need to make the lens tube first."

Seeing that the telescope was about to be completed, everyone was very excited. Upon hearing Xiao Ran's words, Li Ke quickly asked, "How do we make the telescope tube?"

Xiao Ran said, "We can just make a wooden tube out of wood."

Cheng Chumo, who was the most impatient, immediately asked upon hearing this, "Where are we going to find a wooden tube?"

Qin Huaidao remained silent, first wrapping up the lenses before looking up.

Xiao Ran thought for a moment. This wooden tube couldn't be made casually. It had to fit the dimensions perfectly. Moreover, imitating a telescope, this wooden tube wasn't a simple tube, but two tubes embedded together, which required carpentry skills.

After thinking it over, Xiao Ran decided to ask for help.

“Let’s go find our third grandfather. He’s a carpenter and he’ll definitely have some good materials.”

They can't just use fresh wood directly; untreated wood is simply unusable.

The four of them rushed to their third grandfather's house.

"Third grandfather." Xiao Ran greeted his third grandfather.

The great-grandfather squinted his eyes. "Young master, is there anything I can help you with?"

Xiao Ran nodded. "We need some processed wood, thinner pieces, and with a curve. Do you have any, Third Grandfather?"

The great-grandfather thought for a moment and said, "The wood itself is easy to handle, but the curvature and the size of the curvature are hard to say. If we had the dimensions, it would be easier to handle."

That's true. Xiao Ran simply said, "Third Grandfather, we plan to make telescopes. You can make them according to the size of these lenses, but we'll need to make two."

Xiao Ran simply described it to his third grandfather, based on what a modern telescope looked like.

The great-grandfather clicked his tongue, "This is novel, but not difficult."

With that, the third grandfather led Xiao Ran and the others directly to the storeroom, noted down the size of the lenses, and then began to get busy.

Cheng Chumo took the initiative to assist and hand over tools, Qin Huaidao held the lens and stayed by his side, while Li Ke learned to make wooden tubes from his third grandfather.

The heat from the charcoal stove carried the aroma of sawdust. Xiao Ran squatted to the side, watching his third grandfather deftly carve out the basic shape of the wooden tube, occasionally gesturing to adjust the position of the lenses.

Making the lens tube was much simpler than making the lens itself. After only half an hour, Qin Huaidao suddenly shouted, "It's done! It's in place!" Xiao Ran quickly picked up the wooden tube and looked at the mountain outside.

At first, he only felt a blur, but when he tried to pull the inner wooden tube outward, his eyes suddenly lit up.

The pine trees and rocks several miles away were clearly visible, and even the gray sparrows perched on the branches could be seen!

"It's done!" He smiled and handed the wooden tube to Cheng Chumo. After looking at it, Cheng Chumo's eyes widened: "My God! The telescope we made can see so far! And it's so clear!" The group gathered around the telescope, passing it around to each other, all finding it amazing.

This was the first telescope in the Tang Dynasty, and it was made by them!

The thought of this instantly ignited a surge of excitement in Cheng Chumo, Qin Huaidao, and Li Ke.

Xiao Ran was also very excited, but he still managed to thank his third grandfather and then took the newly made telescope home.

He had to go back and share this good news, and also have Li Wu tell Li Shimin that the clairvoyance had been completed.

However, Xiao Ran and the others had just arrived home when they heard a familiar sound of horses' hooves.

The only person who would come to find me by carriage is Li Shimin.

Xiao Ran simply walked out the door and opened the courtyard gate. Sure enough, it was Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun who arrived. At this moment, Li Shimin was helping Empress Zhangsun get off the carriage.

"Uncle, Madam," Xiao Ran greeted them with a smile.

Li Shimin strode over, reached out and patted Xiao Ran on the shoulder, his tone full of mockery: "I heard you've been eating 'beef food'?"

Xiao Ran was flustered and furious: "Who said that! This is a rumor! Pure rumor!"

Li Shimin laughed heartily, and even Empress Zhangsun couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips into a smile.

Xiao Ran, who was being teased, looked utterly dejected. To get through this quickly, he took out the clairvoyant device he had just made.

"That's not 'cow rice,' it's toothpaste I made! See? The telescope is now complete, all thanks to the toothpaste."

Li Shimin couldn't hear anything about toothpaste; all he could hear in his mind was Xiao Ran's words, "The Thousand-Mile Eye has been completed."

"It's done so quickly?!"

Li Shimin quickly took the telescope. He saw that the two wooden sections of the telescope were joined together perfectly, the lens shone with a clear light, it felt heavy in his hand, and the tube was very smooth.

"Uncle, would you like to try it out?"

Xiao Ran was clearly asking a question he already knew the answer to; Li Shimin was already impatient.

Following Xiao Ran's instructions, he brought the small end to his eyes and casually pulled the outer wooden tube.

In an instant, Li Shimin's eyes widened and he exclaimed, "Good heavens! The distant mountains seem so close, and I can even see the feathers of the sparrows on the pine branches!"

He repeatedly pulled the telescope, looking at the river west of the village one moment and the distant county town the next, his face growing increasingly surprised. Finally, he burst into laughter, patting Xiao Ran on the shoulder and saying, "This is practically identical to the telescope you gave me before! Xiao Ran, you're amazing!"

Xiao Ran touched his nose. "It's not that I'm amazing, it's all thanks to Lao Mo and the others."

Li Shimin initially disagreed, saying, "If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have known about this clairvoyance, and we wouldn't have been able to create it."

Then, Li Shimin changed the subject and looked at Qin Huaidao, Cheng Chumo, and Li Ke.

"You are all heroes! You deserve a major commendation!"

The three were overjoyed and quickly expressed their gratitude.

Regardless of the final reward, their credit was already attributed to Li Shimin.

Xiao Ran also did not forget his third grandfather.

"Uncle, we made the lens, but the lens tube was also made with the help of our third grandfather. We can't forget him."

Since Xiao Ran had brought it up, Li Shimin certainly wouldn't pretend he hadn't heard it.

"How about we bestow upon him a plaque that reads 'Skilled Craftsman'?"

Of course, there were also some silks, gold, and silver, but none of these were as important as the plaque bestowed by the emperor.

Xiao Ran smiled and thanked him, "Then I will thank you on behalf of my third grandfather, Uncle."

Li Shimin waved his hand, "This is only right."

Empress Zhangsun was also very interested in the telescope. After Xiao Ran and the others finished speaking, she came over and looked at the telescope.

Li Shimin handed the telescope to Empress Zhangsun and gently taught her how to use it.

Empress Zhangsun took it, looked at the distant field ridge, and exclaimed in amazement, "It's really so clear!"

However, Empress Zhangsun didn't stay long before Xiao Ran and the others pulled her inside.

The group entered the house and sat down. Servants quickly brought out hot tea and snacks. Li Shimin held the little princess and teased her from time to time, making the little princess giggle.

Empress Zhangsun sat to one side, her face somewhat pale, coughing softly from time to time, her brows furrowed with weariness.

Xiao Ran noticed this and asked with some concern, "Are you feeling unwell because you stood outside for too long?"

Empress Zhangsun smiled gently, "My body is always like this."

Li Shimin, who was standing to the side, frowned and looked at Xiao Ran.

"Xiao Ran, the reason I came here this time is to let Guanyinbi recuperate here with you. What do you think?"

Originally, Empress Zhangsun's health had improved considerably. Although she was somewhat weak due to her pregnancy, the palace was not without imperial physicians and medicinal herbs. Therefore, Li Shimin took Empress Zhangsun back to the palace.

However, Empress Zhangsun became even weaker recently. Although the imperial physicians in the palace said it was normal, Li Shimin was still worried and thought it would be better to come to Kaolao Village. After all, the legendary physician Sun Simiao was there, and with him there, Li Shimin would feel much more at ease.

Xiao Ran naturally agreed wholeheartedly.

"Of course! The old man's medical skills are superb, and the lady will surely recover soon."

In fact, Xiao Ran was also a little worried about Empress Zhangsun's health. Now that Empress Zhangsun was willing to come and stay, that was the best thing. Putting aside everything else, just the fact that the little princess and the others were here would surely make Empress Zhangsun feel much better when she saw the little princess, which would be good for her health.

Empress Zhangsun, on the other hand, seemed a little embarrassed.

"Xiao Ran, thank you for your trouble."

Xiao Ran quickly shook his head, "No trouble at all, I'd be more than happy to oblige."

The happiest of all was the little princess. She understood that Empress Zhangsun was going to stay there, and immediately abandoned Li Shimin and walked towards Empress Zhangsun.

"Mother~ You want to stay here~"

Empress Zhangsun smiled gently. "Yes, is Sizi Gao happy?" (End of Chapter)