Chapter 386: No wonder it's you, my little research prince

After leaving the Xianlya, Chen Yan summoned Du Gou alone.

"I have a list here; please help locate the people on it. If you can't find them, deliver it to the Crown Prince and let him look for them."

Find people?

Du Gou was a bit surprised; he had thought Chen Yan called him out for some special matter, but it turned out to be just finding people.

Taking the list Chen Yan handed over with puzzlement, looking at the few names and brief notes, Du Gou promptly agreed.

"Alright, I'll go back and fetch these people for you."

"Good, thank you."

After parting with Du Gou, Chen Yan returned home.

Of course, he wasn't trying to be lazy; he had his own matters to attend to.

"Lord Bo, you called for me."

Xiao Shunzi received Chen Yan's summons and hurried over.

"Right, go back to Chang'an City right now, to the Yan family, and tell them I invited them over to discuss cooperation."

"Alright, got it, I'll go at once!" Xiao Shunzi didn't ask further; after receiving the order, he set off immediately.

Chen Yan himself went to the study.

He spent the entire morning in the study, frowning as he wrote something.

Li Lizhi had visited once, but it no longer surprised anyone; since last year Chen Yan often wrote alone in the study, and crucially wouldn't let them see, keeping everything mysterious.

Sometimes he could stay there for an entire day.

However, as noon approached, the arrival of several people forced Chen Yan to leave the study.

"Brother Chen, I've come looking for you!"

Seeing Chen Yan, Li Tai got extremely excited, sprang up and rattled off a barrage of questions, leaving Chen Yan completely bewildered.

Looking at his wife and children behind him, the groups of palace maids carrying all sorts of items, and the Princess of Chengyang winking and calling him brother-in-law, Chen Yan only felt his vision...

"Not... Prince of Yue, what are you doing?"

Chen Yan was completely numb.

Having a whole family is one thing, but why bring the Princess of Chengyang as well?

This damn mess, Empress Changsun's three biological daughters are almost all caught in his net.

Add a Prince of Yue, and the palace would only have Li Chengqian, Li Zhi, and a nursing Princess of Heng Shan Commandery left, right?

She must be going crazy?

"I'm looking for you!" the Prince of Yue said earnestly, "Brother Chen, not seeing you all day makes me feel terrible."

"So I brought my whole family; after all, you have plenty of empty rooms, assign us one, and from now on I'll stay with you."

"I...," Chen Yan almost swore, "You, damn Prince of Yue, dragging your whole family into my house—does that make sense?"

Is this damn about whether there's a room or not?

His complexion shifted rapidly, green one moment, white the next; finally he sighed softly, lowered his head to a pair of sparkling eyes, and asked, "What's up with the Princess of Chengyang?"

"Brother-in-law, I came looking for you on my own accord."

The Princess of Chengyang seemed well-behaved, but her words were rebellious: "I'm bored of the palace; Sizi said your house is fun, so I came."

Chen Yan: "......"

The Prince of Yue sneered, "Brother Chen, there's nothing I can do; she insists."

"She insists, so you should give…"

Chen Yan instinctively continued the sentence, then realized and couldn't help covering his face.

Li Tai seemed to know his actions would trouble Chen Yan, and said meekly, "The Mother Empress and Father Emperor both agreed, I can't refuse."

"Your Mother Empress... huh?" Chen Yan was startled, looked down at the Princess of Chengyang, then at the Prince of Yue, his mind unable to process.

"Your Highness and His Majesty... both agreed?"

"They agreed!" Li Tai said matter-of-factly, "Brother Chen, if you're willing to teach them such precious knowledge, why wouldn't the Mother Empress and Father Emperor consent?"

"If you agree, they even want to send Li Zhi over."

"Then never mind." Chen Yan refused without hesitation, glanced back and met the Princess of Yue's lingering gaze, looking rather awkward.

"Alright, Li Lizhi, first arrange a place for your imperial brother and sister-in-law to live; don't just stand there."

Li Lizhi, half laughing, half crying, agreed and quickly arranged lodging for the Princess of Yue and her nephew.

Li Tai kept pestering Chen Yan with question after question, but Chen Yan, lacking his usual patience today, brushed him off while scheming a chance to beat up the little chubby.

What a damn troublemaker.

The Princess of Chengyang, having gotten her wish, was overjoyed and roamed around with Sizi.

The house suddenly became much livelier.

When Chen Yan took Li Tai out to see the nearby completed base dedicated to researching various things, Li Tai was like in a dream, excited like a two-hundred‑pound fool.

Especially upon seeing the continuously refined hydraulic textile machine, the preliminary steel‑casting furnace, and the various schematics Chen Yan had drawn, Li Tai's eyes grew increasingly fervent.

He lamented bitterly, declaring that he was once immature, fighting over a damn throne, wishing he had arrived earlier, and so on.

Seeing Li Tai practically crawling onto the hydraulic textile machine, Chen Yan said helplessly, "Prince of Yue, it's getting late; let's go back for lunch."

Li Tai seemed not to hear, staring with wide eyes at the myriad components inside, muttering, "Brilliant idea—abandoning manual labor, using water power, assembling various linked parts to spin yarn; no wonder your workshop's silk production is so efficient and the silk quality so high."

"It can make every strand of yarn exactly the same size; that's impossible with manual labor."

Two dark lines appeared on Chen Yan's forehead as he grabbed the back of Li Tai's robe and hauled him back forcefully.

"Hey, hey! Brother Chen!"

"Don't—let me take one more look, just one!"

Li Tai grew frantic; his eyes never left that hydraulic textile machine.

"Enough already. With you like that, you'll probably only catch a glimpse of tomorrow." Chen Yan doesn't believe Li Tai's words at all.

People like Li Tai, once they start a research project, won't sleep or rest and won't eat or drink unless they're starving; otherwise they simply never stop.

"I......"

"What about me!" Chen Yan cut him off. "If you eat and rest properly, I'll hand this academy over to you and share any ideas with you right away."

"But if you don't eat and rest properly, humph, you should just go back to the Imperial Palace."

"I'll find someone else to run the academy."

"No, no!" Li Tai panicked instantly, repeatedly assuring and pleading, begging Chen Yan to be sure to hand the academy over to him.

"Sigh~" Chen Yan felt exhausted, "Go back. Your hot‑air balloon isn't finished yet; why overthink it?"

"As long as you agree to my terms, you'll have plenty of time to study later, so why rush now?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Li Tai quickly nodded, "Brother Chen is right, I'll follow you, follow you."

Seeing the Prince of Yue now turned into a well‑behaved child, Chen Yan's lips twitched, truly at a loss for what to say.

No wonder it's you, my little research prince.

"......"