Chapter 8

Furong Garden inner courtyard.

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

The people who came were the top courtesan of Pingkang Ward, Liu Ruyan, and the maid Yu'er.

At this time, both of them were already Su Liang's maids.

"Young Master, you're finally back!"

"I've been worried to death these past few days."

Ruyan hurried forward to help take off Su Liang's armor.

"Young Master, go bathe first; the hot water is already prepared."

"Good, good, good, I've been tired for several days, I really need a good wash!"

Su Liang looked at Ruyan's graceful figure and couldn't help but smile.

Then he picked up the shy Ruyan and walked toward the bedroom.

One hour later.

At this moment, Ruyan's cheeks were already flushed, and she was dripping with sweat.

"Young Master is now a noble Imperial Son-in-Law and the Prince of Chu of the Great Tang."

"Will Young Master still treat me the same as before?"

Ruyan asked while leaning in Su Liang's arms.

"Naturally, you are all my women, Su Liang's women, there is no distinction between high and low."

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

Su Liang stroked Ruyan's hair.

Hearing her Young Master say this.

Ruyan cried with joy, her flushed cheeks full of tears.

Her slender fingers held Su Liang tightly, and her forehead was pressed against Su Liang's chest.

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

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

Then Su Liang leaned over, his breath hot.

"Young Master, I can't take it anymore, why not let Yu'er come in?"

Ruyan was already panting, her beautiful eyes staring straight at Su Liang as she asked.

"How about together?"

Su Liang's mouth curled up slightly, and he couldn't help but ask.

Ruyan's face turned red instantly, and she nodded slightly.

A moment later, Yu'er walked in slowly, feeling very 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 a nation, beautiful wives and concubines, and a romantic life.

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

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

Tomorrow it's time to go out and take a look.

It just so happens that I have an appointment with Li Er tomorrow.

The next morning.

Su Liang rubbed his sleepy eyes and stretched lazily.

Sleeping together last night was really a bit tiring.

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

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

Ruyan giggled, just like usual.

"Ruyan, I'm going out today to handle some things. His Majesty is coming over today, so you guys prepare dinner."

"There's one more thing, you have the servants handle it; send someone to Jiangning to find a person named Uncle Fu and bring their whole family to Changan."

Su Liang looked at Ruyan and ordered.

"Young Master has been away from home for five years now; I don't know if they are still in Jiangning."

Ruyan frowned slightly and couldn't help but ask.

"It doesn't matter."

"They should still be in Jiangning now; you send someone, and you'll know after asking around a bit."

Su Liang said in a firm tone.

Changan City East Market.

In front of a restaurant called Zui Xian Lou.

Su Liang stood proudly, looking heroic and spirited.

This restaurant was an industry under Su Liang's name.

The restaurant was three stories high.

The first floor was a lobby, which could hold twenty eight-immortal tables.

The second floor was private rooms, eight private rooms, with a nine-grid layout, and the stairs were in the middle.

The third floor was an office space, serving as the base for Su Liang's future firm.

At this moment.

Cheng Chumo and Qin Huaiyu had also noticed Su Liang.

Then the two 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 going according to Brother Su's plan."

Cheng Chumo chuckled and then said.

"The wine brewed in the winery is ready; I tasted it two days ago, good wine!"

"The restaurant has also been renovated; it's all modified according to Brother Su's drawings!"

"We've already bought 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 I'll treat you two to Pingkang Ward, and bring two jars of good wine!"

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

A moment later.

In Pingkang Ward, the three sat on the ground.

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

At this moment, Cheng Chumo was surrounded by beauties, while Qin Huaiyu was more low-key, with only one fairy accompanying him for drinks.

Although the two were playboys, they treated Su Liang sincerely.

They even took care of everything Su Liang ordered.

It was time to promote them properly.

After thinking for a while, Su Liang looked at the two and asked.

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

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

They didn't know what was going on; what did their Brother Su mean by this 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 after you've thought about it."

"Today you guys relax properly, all expenses are on me."

"I have an appointment with Li Er today, we'll have barbecue in Furong Garden tonight, you guys go over later, I'll go back first to see how they are preparing."

Then, before the two could react, Su Liang left Pingkang Ward on his own.

One hour later.

Su Liang finally returned to Furong Garden after wandering around.

As soon as he entered the inner courtyard of Furong Garden.

Ruyan walked up to greet him.

She sniffed Su Liang.

Then she muttered.

"You went to Pingkang Ward again."

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

Su Liang said nonchalantly. Then he lay on the rocking chair.

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

"Did you find a little fairy? I'll know once I check."

Ruyan squatted down.

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

Su Liang refused immediately.

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

Ruyan didn't say a word, 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 ready?"

"In another hour, Li Er and the others will be here."

Su Liang asked.

Ruyan giggled: "In this world today, I'm afraid only Young Master dares to call His Majesty like that."

"The dinner is already prepared, all according to what Young Master said."

One hour later.

Emperor Li Er brought Empress Zhangsun, Princess Changle, Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and Cheng Yaojin to the inner courtyard of Furong Garden.

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

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

Su Liang said nonchalantly: "There is no hot pot today, Your Majesty didn't come here today for hot pot, did you?"

"Let's go, let's go to the lakeside, today I'll let you taste barbecue, we'll eat and chat."

A moment later, everyone arrived at the lakeside.

Ruyan also had people bring a barbecue grill.

Everyone was confused when they saw the barbecue grill; they had naturally never seen such a thing.

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

As Yu'er kept putting red-hot charcoal into the barbecue grill.

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

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

In addition, Su Liang also 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 mutton skewer in one hand and took the fresh garlic peeled by Ruyan in the other.

He took a bite of mutton and a bite of garlic.

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

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

After Li Er finished eating, he laughed heartily: "Delicious, this way of eating is very tasty."

Everyone also said it was delicious, and one by one they were drinking big bowls of wine and eating big chunks of meat.

Su Liang saw that everyone was having a good time, so he turned to Ruyan and said: "Ruyan, Yu'er, you guys sit down and eat together, let the servants go down, they don't need to help here."

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

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

"Virtuous son-in-law, where is the big gift you want to give me? Take it out and let me see."

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

"Destroy the noble families!"

Everyone was shocked when they heard this, and the skewers in their hands had already fallen to the ground without them knowing.

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

Nowadays, the noble families mainly include the Guanlong aristocrats, the Shandong noble clans, and the Jiangnan noble clans. Above these, the most powerful are the "Five Surnames and Seven Clans." The royal family wants to marry into these families to stabilize imperial power. The Five Surnames and Seven Clans are the Longxi Li family, the Zhao Junli family, the Boling Cui family, the Qinghe Cui family, the Fan Yanglu family, the Xingyang Zheng family, and the Taiyuan Wang family. Among them, the Cui family and the Li family have two families each, so there are five surnames.

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

Xue Yuanchao, a prime minister during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, once sighed: "I am untalented, but I have surpassed others in wealth and status. However, I have three regrets in my life: first, I failed to pass the imperial examination; second, I did not marry a woman from the five surnames; third, I cannot compile the national history."

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

"I can!"

Su Liang said in a firm tone.

"What do the noble families have in their hands? Can't we just take it? What's so difficult? What the noble families have is nothing more than prominent status and abundant financial resources. How could Your Majesty not know where it comes from? These noble families rely on their advantages to provide their descendants with more opportunities for promotion and better educational conditions, making them win at the starting line from birth."

"You want me to greatly expand the imperial examination, but even so, how many children from poor families can afford to read? 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: "I can make everyone in the world have books to read, does Your Majesty believe it or not?"

"I believe it!"

Li Er blurted out.

Seeing Li Er trust him so much, Su Liang continued: "I invented a papermaking method, using moso bamboo to make paper. The paper produced is not only white and smooth but also better for writing, which can reduce costs by half. In addition, I also invented movable type printing, using movable wood-carved characters, metal or clay blocks, to replace traditional 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 now, and every citizen of our Great Tang will be able to read."

Then Su Liang turned to Ruyan and said: "Ruyan, go to the study and take the papermaking and movable type printing methods I prepared for His Majesty and bring them to His Majesty."

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