Da Tang Si Zi: My Six Super Rich Little Nuggets!

Chapter 285 A Culinary Taste of the Tang Dynasty: A Marvelous Negotiation from the Throne to Dessert

Little Sizi's eyes sparkled as she tugged at her brother Zhinu's clothes, asking, "And then what? And then what? Tell me!"

Li Zhi gently pinched the tip of her nose and continued, "After the fall of the Chen Dynasty, Teacher Xiao moved her entire family to Guanzhong. Our master was incredibly bold; he disguised himself as a disheveled monk and secretly slipped back to Jiangnan. Unfortunately, he was caught like a chicken by the local officials as soon as he showed himself, and was tied up and sent to the capital..."

"Wow!" Little Si jumped up, the jade pendant in her hair jingling. "Others getting arrested is just bad luck, but this talented gentleman getting arrested means he's going to be used for something big? Tell me quickly, how did he end up becoming a shining, useful tool?"

Li Zhi was amused and laughed, counting on his fingers: "During the Renshou era, he became a proofreader. He became even more impressive during the Zhenguan era, acquiring titles such as compiler and scholar of the Hongwen Pavilion. At that time, Father wanted to understand the ins and outs of the rise and fall of dynasties, so he gathered together several scholars, including Wei Zheng, Yu Shinan, Chu Liang, and Xiao Deyan, and asked them to compile classics, histories, philosophical works, and collections of literature, and study the success and failure stories of emperors."

"I heard that Father was so engrossed in the books they compiled that he didn't even have time to eat!" Little Sizi imitated Emperor Taizong carrying books, shaking his head and saying, "The content is so extensive and refined, it's like all the knowledge in the world has been put into a small box!"

"Indeed!" Li Zhi smiled, his eyes crinkling. "Father said these books are 'guides to action.' When dealing with state affairs, flipping through them will give you a clear understanding. The rewards bestowed upon these gentlemen could fill the Crown Prince's treasury!"

Little Sizi's eyes widened: "Wow—that's more than the New Year's money!" Then, mysteriously, she asked, "I heard that Mr. Xiao Deyan was quite particular about his reading in his later years?"

"He's very particular!" Zhi Nu imitated the old man's manner, sitting up straight. "Every time he opens a book, he washes his hands, tidies his clothes, and sits ramrod straight. People say he takes a bath and uses incense before reading, but it's really just about cleaning himself properly; it's not as exaggerated as the rumors make it out to be!"

"Hahaha!" Little Si laughed so hard she slapped her thigh. "I thought Old Xiao was going to take a rose petal bath! Won't the master and mistress feel bad about that?"

The young servant, mimicking a woman's tone in a high-pitched voice, drew out the last syllable: "Husband, why are you so foolish?"

Then, mimicking Mr. Xiao's gesture of closing his book, he startled a sparrow under the eaves with a "snap!" "What is this compared to the teachings of the sage? It's not even worthy of this little bit of hard work!"

Sizi's round eyes shone like stars, and her chubby little hands clapped loudly: "I know! No wonder, Father..." Her words stopped abruptly, and she suddenly covered her mouth, looking left and right, her chubby face turning bright red.

A soft tinkling of jade pendants drifted from the distant corridor, and the wet nurse's voice called, "Your Highness, it's time for lunch," growing closer. Little Si Zi hurriedly tugged at the hem of her servant's robe and slipped through the moon gate. Actually, she wanted to say, "No wonder Father specifically asked him to teach Prince Jin! Such a dedicated old gentleman—his students are bound to be top-notch!"

In the Liangyi Hall during the Zhenguan era, Empress Zhangsun gently placed a teacup on the table, her delicate hand stroking the essay Li Zhi had just written: "Second Prince, do you remember Xiao Deyan, the scholar from the former Sui Dynasty who was knowledgeable in literature and education and wrote 'The Meaning of the Spring and Autumn Annals' at the age of eighteen? I would like to invite this learned scholar—forty-three years my senior—to be Third Prince's teacher..."

Li Shimin put down his vermilion brush, smiled, and pulled the Empress into his arms: "Your Highness has a discerning eye; grant the request. Tomorrow I will issue an edict appointing Xiao Deyan, the Imperial Academy Scholar and Director of the Imperial Academy, concurrently as a scholar of the Prince of Jin's residence!"

Empress Zhangsun said, "No rush, let him first support our second son—Prince Li Tai of Wei—in compiling the 'Kuodi Zhi' (Records of the Land)..."

Years later, inside the Chengqing Palace, Si Zi tiptoed and removed the jade pendant from Li Zhi's waist: "Brother Zhi Nu, do you know that last night, I overheard Father telling Xiao Shaojian, 'The true dragon lies dormant in the abyss, awaiting its time.'" He deliberately dragged out his words, "Who is the true dragon? I won't tell you yet—"