Sheng Tang: What is Liu Jianjun going to do today?

Chapter 120 The Finally Arrival of the Divine Capital Angel

Liu Jianjun plunged headfirst into the piles of cotton again.

Liu Rengui sent a registrar in charge of money and grain, nominally responsible for distributing the Prince of Pei's annual expenses, but in reality, he was assisting Liu Jianjun in coordinating the cotton seeds.

I learned from that clerk that Liu Rengui was also working diligently on cotton matters.

As for Aisha's cotton spinning wheel, Liu Rengui took it and worked overtime overnight to make it. According to Liu Jianjun, the production of Aisha's spinning wheel was not complicated. It only required a slight modification to the existing spinning wheel and was not a big project.

After the cotton harvest, Liu Jianjun ordered the Kunlun slaves to continue digging the irrigation canal.

In Liu Jianjun's words, the canal is not wide enough. It should not only irrigate the cotton fields, but also ensure the water supply for the entire garden of the Prince of Pei's Mansion, and even provide a source of drinking water for areas such as Dunhuafang and Xiuzhengfang. In short, it should create a landscape of "rivers and plains side by side, streams crisscrossing".

This is truly a massive undertaking. Li Xian felt that relying solely on these Kunlun slaves to dig would probably take forever.

But Liu Jianjun wasn't in a hurry, saying there would always be an opportunity for large-scale excavation.

Li Xian was no longer worried about this.

Now Li Xian is only worried about when the angel from Luoyang will arrive.

According to Liu Jianjun, his mother would only send him to Luoyang for a period of time, and once she was certain that the Yangzhou rebellion had nothing to do with him, she would let him return.

But Li Xian was still a little worried.

The main problem is that Liu Jianjun described his mother as too terrifying—meticulous, ruthless, and decisive… she was practically a sophisticated power machine.

And the Empress Dowager's behavior has indeed gradually confirmed these descriptions.

……

Liu Jianjun has finished picking all the cotton seeds, but there is still no news from Luoyang.

Even Liu Jianjun doubted that he had guessed wrong.

Li Xian breathed a sigh of relief. It would be better if his mother didn't let him go to Luoyang. After all, even with Liu Jianjun by his side, he would still feel a lot of pressure from his mother.

The atmosphere inside the Prince of Pei's residence gradually relaxed.

Liu Jianjun no longer held a high degree of vigilance about the matter, and simply told Li Xian, "If the angel from Luoyang arrives, you should go and greet him yourself. I'm busy."

He's not busy at all!

He spends all his time in that courtyard with that Hu woman, Aisha!
Li Xian thought Liu Jianjun's aesthetic sense was really strange.

Aisha, that Hu girl, although she had a unique beauty that seemed to come from a foreign land, her chestnut hair always gave Li Xian a sense of unhealthiness, not to mention her thin figure.

Li Xian believed that a true beauty must be like an embroiderer—plump, with fair skin, and healthy, black, beautiful, and straight hair.

Otherwise, she'd look like a young, inexperienced girl.

But like Li Xian, Liu Jianjun also scoffed at Li Xian's aesthetic sense, except when Li Xian praised the embroiderer.

"I guess my sister-in-law is the only thing we have in common in terms of aesthetics. She is the kind of beauty that can be appreciated from ancient times to the present, from all over the world."

Li Xian was very pleased with himself.

……

As the autumn weather gradually turned cooler, Liu Jianjun used the cotton he had collected to make a mattress and laid it under the bed. It was both warm and soft. He also made a quilt, which was just as warm as animal hide.

Liu Jianjun also gave Li Xian the same bed, and Li Xian thought it was indeed magical.

September 15th. As always, Liu Jianjun was frolicking with the Hu girl in the courtyard, using the excuse of spinning the remaining cotton into cotton cloth. In reality, this matter had already been taken care of by people sent by Liu Rengui. Liu Rengui planned to turn the cotton harvested by the Prince's Mansion into cotton cloth to test the "market reaction".

Therefore, Liu Jianjun's actions reveal his true intentions.

Li Xian, on the other hand, was thinking of going out to Shengpingfang to buy some flatbread.

The embroiderer was already more than a month pregnant. Although Liu Jianjun, who was acting as a doctor, said that it would be good for pregnant women to walk around, Li Xian was still worried and only let the embroiderer relax in the palace.

But the embroiderer mentioned the sesame cakes from Shengpingfang this morning, so Li Xian decided to go out and buy them for her.

Li Xian prepared a vegetarian food box and lined it with a thick layer of cotton cloth. He also prepared another piece of cotton cloth of the same thickness to cover the box when he returned. The cotton cloth had excellent heat retention properties, and Li Xian wanted to keep the flatbread looking as fresh as possible.

But as soon as Li Xian stepped out, he saw a procession of carriages slowly coming to a stop on the main street in front of the Prince's Mansion.

The carriage was not of high standard, merely the style of an ordinary official's carriage, a small car with a blue canopy, and only four knights guarding it.

However, when the first knight dismounted and revealed his waist badge, the guards standing in front of the palace gates immediately tensed up and became solemn.

That waist tag is the standard style used in the palace.

Li Xian's heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively gripped the vegetarian box in his hand.

coming!

The envoy from Luoyang finally arrived.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and turned his gaze to the silent, blue-curtained carriage. The curtain was gently lifted by a pale hand, and a slender figure gracefully leaned out.

When Li Xian saw the person's face clearly, he was instantly stunned.

It was not the haughty eunuch or the powerful imperial guards general one might imagine, but a slender young woman dressed in a light blue palace gown.

Shangguan Wan'er!

Li Xian never expected that the angel sent by his mother would be her.

Li Xian felt much relieved.

However, considering that there were other people accompanying Shangguan Wan'er, Li Xian did not show any unusual expression. He simply maintained the demeanor of a prince and waited in place.

Shangguan Wan'er steadied herself, her gaze calmly sweeping over the crowd in front of the Prince of Pei's residence, finally settling on Li Xian in front of the gate. She gracefully bowed and said, "This servant, Shangguan Wan'er, has come to pay my respects to His Highness Prince Pei on the orders of the Empress Dowager."

Li Xian showed no sign of distress, only a perfectly timed hint of surprise. He then stepped forward and offered a helping hand, saying, "So it is Consort Shangguan. Please rise. I am deeply sorry to have troubled you. May I ask what instructions Your Majesty has?"

He stepped aside to make way, saying, "Please come into my residence for a chat, my lady."

Shangguan Wan'er straightened up and smiled, "Your Highness is too kind. Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is very concerned about Your Highness. She was also pleased to hear that the Princess Consort of Pei is pregnant. She specially ordered me to come and visit her, and also invited Your Highness to go to Luoyang, the capital, to enjoy family time."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it reached Li Xian's ears clearly.

As expected, he was summoned to Luoyang.

"Your Majesty's concern is deeply appreciated," Li Xian replied respectfully, leading Shangguan Wan'er into the residence. "You must be tired from your journey, please come inside and rest for a while, and have a cup of tea."

Since Shangguan Wan'er was coming to Chang'an, she was bound to see Liu Jianjun, so Li Xian didn't plan to receive her in the main hall of the Prince's Mansion, but instead led her to Liu Jianjun's courtyard.

Then, Li Xian suddenly paused.

Oh no, Liu Jianjun is probably having an affair with Aisha right now!
……

(End of this chapter)