Chapter 50: The Dragon Boat Festival, A Sudden Outbreak of Smallpox

Passing through the intersections of the various markets, Su Liang slowed down and pressed the "beep-beep-beep" horn; at this moment, many commoners on the road were already gathered to watch Su Liang's little car.

"Eh... what is this iron lump?"

"Need you ask? It must be a car, don't you see it has four wheels?"

"Hehe... this car seems to have come from the direction of the Hibiscus Garden."

But before they could say much more, Su Liang's little car had already "whooshed" away, leaving a trail of dust...

"Cough, cough..."

"Good son-in-law, let Me try it too?" Seeing Su Liang driving with such gusto, Li Er couldn't help but want to give it a try himself.

"Uh... this..." Hearing this, Su Liang couldn't help but frown and ponder.

In an instant, Su Liang agreed; after all, it was an automatic transmission, and Li Er should be able to handle it easily, so Su Liang immediately explained the accelerator, brake, and gear positions to Li Er.

"Haha... good son-in-law, is driving a car really this simple?" Li Er laughed joyfully.

"It's just this simple. Since Your Majesty is driving for the first time, just drive slowly," Su Liang advised.

"Haha... no matter, no matter. Wasn't my good son-in-law also driving for the first time?" Li Er asked in confusion.

As the words fell, Su Liang felt incredibly depressed and didn't know what to say, then Su Liang and Li Er swapped seats.

A moment later, the car began to move slowly...

The Emperor of the Great Tang acting as his own driver, sigh... why does it feel so satisfying!!

Su Liang couldn't help but exclaim.

Before long, the speed at which Li Er was driving became faster and faster, and in the blink of an eye, it had already exceeded 120 units.

"Ahhhhh... Erlang, drive slower," Empress Zhangsun exclaimed. Before this, Su Liang had only been driving at seventy or eighty units, a speed that was still acceptable, as it was comparable to the fastest speed of a horse.

"Hahaha... exhilarating!" Li Er laughed heartily.

"Guan Yinbi, rest assured, I know what I'm doing."

By contrast, Princess Changle was completely calm; when the little car was being built, Su Liang had told her that the car he built could reach a top speed of over two hundred kilometers per hour.

At the same time, little Sizi dawdled over to Su Liang's side and asked Su Liang to open the sunroof so she could stand up and look outside.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the little car stopped in front of the Vermilion Bird Gate of the Imperial City.

"Haha... the little car my good son-in-law built is truly excellent. How much time has passed, and we've already reached the Imperial City," Li Er couldn't help but exclaim, having now recovered from the joy of driving.

"Your Majesty has had your fill of fun, right?" Su Liang asked.

"Hehe... had my fill, had my fill. Alright, I won't delay you any longer; go back early and take your concubines out for a spin."

Li Er said with a smile, then returned the driver's seat of the car to Su Liang.

That afternoon, Su Liang not only took the other women for a ride in the little car to properly experience it, but also took the opportunity to teach Er Hu and all the women how to drive the little car correctly.

During this time, the Six Young Masters of Changan also heard the news and rushed over.

Facing their burning gazes, Su Liang had no choice but to accompany them so they could have a good experience.

The first year of Zhenguan, the fourth day of the fifth lunar month.

Su Liang was wrapping zongzi with the women in the Hibiscus Garden, preparing for tomorrow's Dragon Boat Festival.

Last year during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Turks moved south, and Su Liang hadn't been able to properly make geometric mooncakes; this year for the Dragon Boat Festival, he had to properly make zongzi with all sorts of fillings.

That day, Su Liang and the others wrapped zongzi in various shapes: horn-shaped, diamond-shaped, cylindrical, weight-shaped, cone-shaped, and so on, containing various fillings such as honey dates, red and green beans, pork belly, bean paste, eight-treasure, egg yolk, and more.

At the same time, Su Liang also prepared customized gifts for everyone in the Hibiscus Garden.

He personally tied colorful silk threads for the women. Tying colorful silk threads involves using five-colored threads—green, red, yellow, white, and black—to weave "longevity strands." These five colors are very significant; according to the theory of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, they represent wood, metal, fire, water, and earth, respectively. Tying them on the arm can ward off pestilence and evil, and they also serve as ornaments.

Additionally, he gave little Sizi a belly wrap; the Tang Dynasty had a custom of gifting belly wraps during the Dragon Boat Festival. Belly wraps are also called "belly covers" or "belly protectors," so this custom is also known as "gifting belly wraps." The belly wrap is made by cutting red cloth into an oval shape with embroidered patterns on it. The size of the belly wrap is just enough to protect the child's abdomen, and it has straps that can be tied around the child's neck, with straps on the left and right to bind it around the waist. Because the weather gradually becomes hot after the Dragon Boat Festival, children wearing belly wraps while sleeping at night can avoid catching a cold. People also specifically embroider patterns of toads or the "five poisons" on the belly wraps to ward off evil and drive away toxins.

At the same time, Li Er was also busy with activities related to the Dragon Boat Festival and preparing gifts for his court officials.

When it comes to enthusiasm for the Dragon Boat Festival, we certainly cannot compare to the people of the Tang Dynasty who lived over a thousand years ago; after all, people nowadays only treat festivals as holidays to go out and play.

But in the Tang Dynasty, besides eating zongzi, racing dragon boats, and hanging calamus, the Dragon Boat Festival was more of a grand feast for the whole population to revel in.

During the Tang Dynasty, the meaning of the Dragon Boat Festival as a ritual to ward off evil gradually faded, and the element of celebration increased.

In Changan, the Dragon Boat Festival was a massive party that everyone from the Emperor to the commoners participated in. Besides racing dragon boats and eating zongzi, people would also exchange various gifts, such as clothes, sachets, and ornaments... allowing more beautiful blessings to be fully expressed in the interest of daily life.

The morning of the Dragon Boat Festival.

Li Er and several ministers hurried to the Hibiscus Garden, only to find that Su Liang had not yet woken up.

They immediately went straight to the bedroom of Su Liang and Princess Changle. Today's matter was truly of great importance, and they could no longer care about etiquette; at this moment, they were all hoping that Su Liang would have a good idea.

However, to their disappointment, Su Liang was not in his bedroom at this moment.

Nowadays, Su Liang had three wives and four concubines, so how could they easily know his whereabouts? The group then managed to track down Uncle Fu and asked him to go and find Su Liang.

About a quarter of an hour later, Su Liang finished washing up and came to the main hall.

Seeing Li Er, Zhangsun Wuji, Du Ruhui, and Cheng Yaojin sitting there, Su Liang asked with reluctance: "What is the situation today? Why have you come to the Hibiscus Garden so early?"

As the words fell, Du Ruhui spoke first: "Imperial Son-in-Law, there is a sudden outbreak of smallpox in Changan City..."

"Just for this trivial matter? You came to disturb my sleep early in the morning?" Su Liang yawned and said dismissively. His heart was quite irritated at the moment; he had been busy for a whole day and night yesterday, and he was just lying comfortably in the lap of luxury this morning when he was inexplicably woken up.

It was just a small case of smallpox; if it were last year, Su Liang would have really had to put in some effort.

But now it was different; in the system's shop, the medicine to treat smallpox was quite cheap!

Seeing Su Liang's cynical attitude, Li Er was suddenly furious, pointing at Su Liang and shouting loudly: "In your eyes, smallpox is a trivial matter?"

"Yes, in my view, it is a trivial matter," Su Liang said dismissively.

"Hmph!" Li Er snorted coldly and continued: "I ask you, do you have any way to resolve this matter?"

"Hehe..." Su Liang laughed softly, then looked at Li Er and said: "Your Majesty, what do you mean by this? Does it mean that no matter what happens in the Great Tang, it all needs to be resolved by your son-in-law?"

"If it were anything else, I wouldn't want to disturb you, but now my good son-in-law is the recognized number one physician in our Great Tang, so I have no choice but to come to you," Li Er said through gritted teeth.

"Alright, alright, go find Master Physician Sun. He can resolve this matter well; don't delay my holiday," Su Liang said indifferently.

The lessons Su Liang helped Sun Simiao complete were not just the Thousand Golden Prescriptions. At the end of last year, Sun Simiao had moved into the medical academy built by Su Liang, and Su Liang had already told Sun Simiao all the cures for some diseases that were difficult to treat in ancient times.

As the words fell, Li Er, Zhangsun Wuji, and Du Ruhui were relieved to see Su Liang speaking so nonchalantly.