Chapter 8: Sleeping Together Under One Quilt, Discussing Politics Among Hibiscus Flowers

The inner courtyard of Hibiscus Garden.

Su Liang had just walked into the inner courtyard when two women walked toward him.

The arrivals were none other than the Pingkang Ward’s top courtesan, Liu Ruyan, and her maid, Yu’er.

By now, both of them had become Su Liang’s handmaidens.

"Young Master, you’ve finally returned!"

"This servant has been worried to death these past few days."

Ruyan hurried forward to help remove the armor from Su Liang’s body.

"Young Master, please go bathe first; the hot water has already been prepared."

"Good, good, good. This young master has been exhausted for several days; I certainly need a good wash!"

Su Liang looked at Ruyan’s graceful and curvaceous figure and couldn't help but laugh.

He then picked up the shy Ruyan and headed toward the bedroom.

One hour later.

At this moment, Ruyan’s cheeks were already flushed, and she was drenched in fragrant sweat.

"Young Master is now an Imperial Son-in-Law and, furthermore, the Prince of Chu of the Great Tang."

"Will Young Master still treat this servant as you always have?"

Ruyan asked, snuggling into Su Liang’s embrace.

"Naturally. You are both my, Su Liang’s, women; there is no distinction between high or low status."

"That Princess Changle is understanding and surely will not treat you as a servant."

Su Liang stroked Ruyan’s beautiful hair.

Hearing their Young Master say this,

Ruyan wept with joy, her flushed cheeks covered in tears.

Her slender fingers held Su Liang tightly, and her forehead pressed firmly against his chest.

Su Liang was speechless; were the women of this Great Tang all so prone to crying?

"Alright, what is there to cry about? Young Master will give you some candy."

Su Liang then leaned in, his breath scorching.

"Young Master, this servant cannot take any more; why not let Yu’er come in?"

Ruyan was already panting, her beautiful eyes fixed on Su Liang as she asked.

"How about together?"

Su Liang’s lips curled up slightly as he couldn't help but ask.

Ruyan’s face turned bright red in an instant, and she nodded slightly.

A moment later, Yu’er walked in slowly, looking incredibly shy.

Half an hour later.

Su Liang looked at the two little beauties in his arms.

He chuckled; a real man should be like this!

Wealthy enough to rival the world, with beautiful wives and concubines, living a life of romance and style.

This was exactly what Su Liang wanted to do in this prosperous Great Tang.

At this moment, Su Liang couldn't help but think of his business.

It was time to go out and take a look tomorrow.

It just so happened that he had an appointment with Li Er tomorrow as well.

The next morning.

Su Liang rubbed his sleepy eyes and lazily stretched his body.

Sleeping together under one quilt last night was truly a bit tiring.

After getting up and washing, Ruyan had already brought over breakfast.

"Young Master, drink some mutton soup to nourish your body."

Ruyan giggled, just as she always did.

"Ruyan, I have business to handle outside today. His Majesty is coming over today, so make sure you have dinner prepared."

"There is one more thing; have the servants take care of it. Send someone to Jiangning to find a man named Uncle Fu and bring his whole family to Changancheng."

Su Liang looked at Ruyan and instructed.

"Young Master has been away from home for five years now; I wonder if they are still in Jiangning."

Ruyan’s delicate brows furrowed slightly as she couldn't help but ask.

"It doesn't matter."

"They should still be in Jiangning now. You send someone, and a little inquiry will tell you."

Su Liang said in a firm tone.

Changancheng, East Market.

In front of a restaurant named Drunken Immortal Pavilion.

Su Liang stood proudly, looking heroic and spirited.

This restaurant was an enterprise under Su Liang’s name.

The restaurant was three stories high.

The first floor was the main hall, which could easily fit twenty eight-immortal tables.

The second floor consisted of private rooms—eight of them, laid out in a nine-grid pattern, with the staircase in the very center.

The third floor was the office space, serving as the future headquarters for Su Liang’s trading firm.

At this moment.

Cheng Chumo and Qin Huaiyu had already noticed Su Liang.

The two then walked toward Su Liang with light steps.

"How have things been lately?"

Seeing the two arrive, Su Liang looked at them and asked.

"Hehe, everything is proceeding according to Brother Su’s plan."

Cheng Chumo chuckled and then said.

"The liquor brewed in the distillery is ready. I tasted it two days ago—good liquor!"

"The restaurant has also been renovated, all according to Brother Su’s blueprints!"

"We have already bought a full two million shi of grain, so we haven't bought any more."

Hearing what Cheng Chumo said, Su Liang was very satisfied.

"Good, good, good!"

"Today, this brother will treat you both to Pingkang Ward, and I'll bring along two jars of good liquor!"

Su Liang wrapped his arms around their shoulders and laughed heartily.

A moment later.

Inside Pingkang Ward, the three sat on the floor.

Su Liang looked at Cheng Chumo and Qin Huaiyu sitting opposite him.

At this moment, Cheng Chumo had a beauty in each arm, while Qin Huaiyu was more low-key, with only one fairy-like woman pouring his wine.

Although the two were playboys, they treated Su Liang with sincerity.

They were even more meticulous regarding the tasks Su Liang entrusted to them.

It was time to properly promote them.

After a moment of thought, Su Liang looked at the two and asked.

"What kind of men do you two want to be?"

Hearing what Su Liang said, Cheng Chumo and Qin Huaiyu were both completely bewildered.

They didn't know what was going on; why would their Brother Su ask such a thing out of the blue?

Before the two could speak, Su Liang continued.

"You two don't need to answer me now; it won't be too late to tell me once you've thought it over."

"Today, just relax and enjoy yourselves; this young master is paying for everything."

"I have an appointment with Li Er today to eat roasted meat in Hibiscus Garden tonight. You two come over later as well; I’m going back first to see how their preparations are coming along."

Then, without waiting for the two to react, Su Liang left Pingkang Ward on his own.

One hour later.

Su Liang finally made his way back to Hibiscus Garden.

As soon as he entered the inner courtyard of Hibiscus Garden,

Ruyan walked up to greet him.

She sniffed Su Liang’s body.

Then she muttered.

"You went to Pingkang Ward again."

"I went, but I didn't do anything."

Su Liang said nonchalantly, then lay down on the rocking chair.

Ruyan poured two cups of tea, one for Su Liang and one she set aside for herself.

"Whether I've found the little fairy or not, I'll know once I try."

Ruyan squatted down.

"What are you doing? I'm tired after a long day, don't even think about it."

Su Liang said only this, hurriedly refusing.

"No, I need to check if anything is missing."

Ruyan said nothing more, took a sip of tea to rinse her mouth, and then began to check.

Half an hour later.

Ruyan finally let go, in a great mood, nothing was missing.

"Alright, the check is done, is the dinner party ready?"

"Li Er and the others will be here in an hour."

Su Liang asked.

Ruyan giggled: "In this world today, I fear only you, Young Master, would dare to address His Majesty like that."

"The dinner party is already prepared, all according to your instructions, Young Master."

One hour later.

Emperor Li Er arrived at the inner courtyard of Furong Garden with Empress Zhangsun, Princess Changle, Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Du Ru, and Cheng Yaojin.

Su Liang was not surprised by this; these few were all Li Er's confidants, and there was nothing they couldn't know.

Li Er walked slowly to Su Liang and asked: "Good son-in-law, are the hot pot and fine wine ready?"

Su Liang said nonchalantly: "There is no hot pot today, and Your Majesty did not come today with the intention of eating hot pot."

"Come, let's go to the lakeside; today I will let you all taste barbecue, and we can chat while we eat."

A moment later, the group arrived at the lakeside.

Ruyan also had people bring over a barbecue grill.

Seeing the barbecue grill, everyone was puzzled; naturally, they had never seen such a thing.

Afterwards, everyone sat on the ground, all waiting for Su Liang's new food.

As Yu'er continuously placed glowing red charcoal into the barbecue grill.

The lamb, lamb chops, potatoes, chives, garlic, and other ingredients brought over were all skewered on bamboo sticks.

Everyone understood that the so-called barbecue meant grilling food to eat.

Additionally, Su Liang had prepared grilled fish and other snacks for everyone, and of course, there was no shortage of good wine.

At this moment, Su Liang held a grilled lamb skewer in one hand and took a fresh clove of garlic peeled by Ruyan in the other.

He took a bite of lamb, then a bite of garlic.

He then looked at everyone and said: "Everyone can try eating lamb like this; if you find it too spicy, you don't have to eat the garlic."

Seeing this, everyone followed suit, learning Su Liang's way of eating.

After finishing, Li Er laughed heartily: "Delicious, this way of eating is truly savory."

Everyone also expressed that it was delicious, each of them drinking wine and eating meat in large mouthfuls.

Seeing that everyone was eating happily, Su Liang turned to look at Ruyan and said: "Ruyan, Yu'er, you two sit down and eat with us too, and have the servants step down; they aren't needed to help here anymore."

Seeing the two were somewhat reserved, he then looked at Li Er and said: "It's fine, Your Majesty and the others are not outsiders, you two just sit down and eat, right Your Majesty?"

Li Er said with a smile: "It's fine, it's fine, we are all one family sooner or later."

"Good son-in-law, where is the grand gift you want to give Me? Bring it out for Me to see."

Seeing Li Er ask, Su Liang slowly spat out three words:

"Destroy the noble families!"

Hearing this, everyone was shocked, and the skewers in their hands fell to the ground without them realizing it.

In an instant, there was an eerie silence all around.

Currently, the noble families mainly consist of the Guanlong aristocracy, the Shandong noble clans, and the Jiangnan elite clans. Above these, the most powerful are the Five Surnames and Seven Clans; the Imperial family even wants to marry into these Five Surnames and Seven Clans to stabilize imperial power. The Five Surnames and Seven Clans are the Longxi Li clan, Zhaojun Li clan, Boling Cui clan, Qinghe Cui clan, Fanyang Lu clan, Xingyang Zheng clan, and Taiyuan Wang clan; among them, the Cui and Li clans each have two branches, hence five surnames.

Among them, the Boling Cui clan is even known as: the number one high-ranking family under heaven, the head of the northern powerful clans; during the Tang Dynasty, the Cui family produced a total of 29 prime ministers.

Xue Yuanchao, a prime minister during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, once sighed: "I am untalented, yet I have surpassed others in wealth and status, but I have three regrets in life: first, failing to pass the imperial examination; second, failing to marry a woman from the Five Surnames; and third, failing to compile the national history."

A moment later, Li Er spoke slowly: "Hehe, you have quite a big mouth, a problem that hasn't been solved for hundreds of years, and you can solve it?"

"I can!"

Su Liang said in a firm tone.

"Whatever the noble families possess, we just take it, what is so difficult about that? What the noble families have is nothing more than prominent status and abundant wealth; how could Your Majesty not know where that comes from? These noble families merely rely on their advantages to provide their descendants with more opportunities for advancement and better educational conditions, allowing them to win at the starting line from the moment they are born."

"You want Me to greatly expand the imperial examinations, but even then, how many children from humble families can afford to study, unless..."

Li Er said this, looking at Su Liang with burning eyes.

At this time, Su Liang also saw the burning gaze of Emperor Li Er, so he said: "Your subject can make it so that everyone under heaven can have books to read; does Your Majesty believe it or not?"

"I believe!"

Li Er blurted out.

Seeing Li Er's trust, Su Liang continued: "Your subject has invented a papermaking method, using moso bamboo to make paper; the paper produced is not only white and smooth, but also more conducive to writing, and can reduce costs by half. In addition, your subject has also invented movable type printing, using movable wooden, metal, or clay characters to replace traditional hand-copying. This can greatly reduce the printing cost of books; by then, the price of books will be less than one-tenth of what it is today, and every citizen of our Great Tang will be able to read."

Afterwards, Su Liang turned to look at Ruyan and said: "Ruyan, go to the study and bring the papermaking and movable type printing techniques I prepared for His Majesty."

After Ruyan brought them, Su Liang stared at Li Er and said: "Your Majesty can have the Ministry of Works slowly produce the moso bamboo paper; the movable type printing can be made by the Ministry of Works in a short time, and you will know once you try it. Can this solve the trouble of the noble families?"