Tang Dynasty: After living together with Chang Le, Li and his companion were dumbfounded.

The hall was silent for a few seconds.

Empress Zhangsun did not make a scene like Li Lizhi.

She simply sat there quietly, her gaze fixed on the clear broth in the bowl.

He remained silent for a long time.

The embroiderer seemed a little uneasy. "Your Highness? Is it not to your liking?"

Empress Zhangsun ignored her.

She looked up at Li Lizhi.

His gaze was calm, but something was churning within.

"Beautiful".

"Your subject is here."

"This is no ordinary item."

Six characters.

It was said very softly.

But it's very heavy.

Empress Zhangsun, after marrying Li Shimin...

They followed him from raising an army in Taiyuan to taking control of Chang'an, from the Qin Prince's Mansion to Xuanwu Gate, from Taiji Palace to unifying the world.

I've seen all sorts of storms and waves.

What rare treasures haven't I touched?

When she said "it's not an ordinary thing," she wasn't praising the soup for being delicious.

Rather, it's saying that the person who can make such a thing is definitely extraordinary.

This pure, exquisite sweetness was not found in the Tang Dynasty.

Empress Zhangsun dared to bet that there wasn't one like it in the entire world.

Caravans from the Western Regions, tributes from the South China Sea, and exotic treasures from Persia—

Nothing else can achieve this level of sweetness.

"Was this the work of that itinerant doctor?" Empress Zhangsun asked.

The tone was flat.

But his eyes were anything but indifferent.

Li Lizhi knew that this question was difficult to answer.

Even if she said so, Empress Zhangsun wouldn't believe her. A medicine and a bowl of sweet soup had far exceeded the scope of a "traveling doctor."

If you say no, you have to give another explanation.

But she couldn't give the real explanation.

Not at least not now.

"It was a gift from that master."

Li Lizhi changed her title from "wandering doctor" to "master".

She felt that continuing to use the previous excuses was an insult to her mother's intelligence.

When Empress Zhangsun heard the words "master", the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

No further questions were asked.

She glanced again at the rock sugar pear in the bowl.

He reached out, picked it up, and took another sip.

This time, it's no longer a superficial taste or appreciation.

Instead, he took a big, serious gulp.

She breathed a sigh of relief after swallowing it.

"It's really good."

These three words represent the highest praise Empress Zhangsun has given to food during this period.

"If Mother Empress likes it, please drink more." Li Lizhi quickly pushed the bowl closer.

Empress Zhangsun nodded and actually began to drink it spoonful by spoonful.

The embroiderer watched in stunned silence.

These days, no matter what delicacies are served, the Empress only takes a couple of bites before putting them down.

Now he's actually eating it on his own.

And they ate very attentively.

Empress Zhangsun drank most of the small bowl of rock sugar pear soup.

They even ate the pear flesh and red dates.

When she put down the bowl, a faint blush even appeared on her face.

I don't know if it was the warmth from the sweet soup or a natural bodily reaction after eating.

"Beautiful".

"Your subject is here."

Empress Zhangsun turned her head and glanced into the hall.

The embroiderer is still here.

Two young palace maids were standing in the distance.

"Embroiderer".

"This servant is here."

"Have everyone step back."

The embroiderer was taken aback.

Empress Zhangsun's gaze swept over indifferently.

"I have something to say to Lizhi."

The embroiderer quickly bowed and led the palace maids out of the Lizheng Hall.

The palace gates closed.

Only the mother and daughter remained in the vast Rikjeong Hall.

After the palace doors were closed.

Empress Zhangsun did not speak immediately.

She leaned against the soft pillows, looking calmly at Li Lizhi.

I watched it for quite a while.

Li Lizhi was getting restless watching this.

"Mother..."

"Beautiful." Empress Zhangsun's voice was not loud, but very steady. "Your Majesty does not ask who that person is."

Li Lizhi was stunned for a moment.

"You have your reasons for not wanting to talk about it," Empress Zhangsun said calmly. "But there are some things I need to make clear to you."

She pointed to the empty bowl of rock sugar pear soup on the small table.

"May I show Mother the ingredients used in this sweet soup?"

Li Lizhi hesitated for a moment.

He took the small oil paper packet out of his sleeve and handed it to Empress Zhangsun.

Empress Zhangsun took it and slowly opened it.

The snow-white sugar granules lay quietly on the parchment paper.

In the dim candlelight of the Rissei-den Hall, it reflected a faint, shimmering light.

It was like a handful of snowflakes falling into my palm.

Empress Zhangsun's fingers paused slightly.

She looked down and examined it closely.

I picked up a few grains and rubbed them between my fingertips.

The particles are uniform and extremely fine.

It wasn't ground. Ground sugar powder wouldn't be in this crystalline form.

It was made using a process she had no idea about.

Empress Zhangsun put a few candies into her mouth.

Close your eyes.

She held the few candies in her mouth, without saying a word.

She opened her eyes only after the sugar granules had completely melted on her tongue.

"Sweeter than honey."

"Purer than maltose."

"There is not a trace of off-flavor."

She listed them off one by one, as if she were checking the quality of a precious gem.

"I've seen and tasted Indian rock honey, Persian sugarcane juice, and Nanzhao brown sugar."

"Nothing can achieve this level of skill."

Empress Zhangsun refolded the oil paper package and placed it on her lap.

There was no questioning or suspicion in his gaze toward Li Lizhi.

There is only a mother's unique understanding.

"The person you met is not from the Tang Dynasty."

This is not a question.

It is a declarative sentence.

Li Lizhi's heart skipped a beat.

She opened her mouth as if to explain something, but when she met Empress Zhangsun's calm eyes, she couldn't utter any excuses.

Empress Zhangsun waved her hand.

"Don't be nervous. The Empress Dowager said she won't ask."

She paused.

"But this thing—"

She pointed to the oil paper package on her lap.

"Your mother must have a word with you."

Empress Zhangsun's tone shifted from "a mother's concern for her daughter" to another mode.

A pattern that Li Lizhi is very familiar with.

This is Empress Zhangsun in a state of mind when handling official business.

Calm, composed, and organized.

This is how it looks when he discusses important state affairs with Li Shimin.

"Lizhi, do you know what the Tang Dynasty lacks most right now?"

This question came as a bit of a surprise.

Li Lizhi thought for a moment, "Money?"

Empress Zhangsun smiled.

"Yes. It's about money."

She sighed.

"Your father was an emperor who conquered the world on horseback. He relied on iron cavalry and spears, not abacuses and silver. But the world he conquered needed to be governed, and money was needed everywhere."

"Repairing Chang'an city requires money, maintaining the army requires money, disaster relief requires money, dredging the canal requires money, and repairing the official roads requires money."

"Your father is a restless man—he just wiped out the Turks last year, and this year he's set his sights on the Tuyuhun. An army marches on its stomach, and all of this costs money."

Li Lizhi listened silently.

She had heard about these things before.

She had overheard her father and mother discussing state affairs quite often.

Unfortunately, the money isn't in the national treasury's hands.

Empress Zhangsun's tone turned slightly colder.

"Salt, iron, tea and horses are some of the most profitable businesses in the world, and seven or eight out of ten of them are controlled by the five major families and seven powerful clans."

Five surnames and seven prominent families.

The Li clan of Longxi, the Li clan of Zhaojun, the Cui clan of Boling, the Cui clan of Qinghe, the Lu clan of Fanyang, the Zheng clan of Xingyang, and the Wang clan of Taiyuan.

These seven powerful clans had a deeper foundation in the Tang Dynasty than the imperial family.

They control most of the land, population, trade routes, and resources in the world.

Li Shimin conquered the world, but he couldn't conquer the wealth of these people.