Chapter 82

…

"Shishi? With the surname Li, that must be Li Shishi."

"Li Shishi?!!!"

Zhang Chun stared at the girl before her—the one who, among a sea of palace maids, still stood out as a breathtaking beauty: "Are you truly the number one courtesan in history, Li Shishi?"

Seeing that Li Shishi, at only around ten years old, already possessed a beauty and aura that overshadowed all others, Zhang Chun guessed she must be the very courtesan who had haunted Zhao Ji's dreams, causing him to neglect state affairs and even dig secret tunnels just to meet her in secret.

At that moment, Li Lin, Ye Shi Yun, Ma Xiao Jiao, and Yuan Qing Cheng also gathered around.

Yes.

They didn't understand history well.

But even if they were utterly ignorant, they must have heard of Li Shishi's name.

Yet they couldn't be certain whether this Li Shishi was the same one they knew from history.

Zhang Chun asked calmly, "Shishi, who are you?"

Li Shishi replied with composure: "I do not know, Your Majesty. Since childhood I was sold into Fan Tower. The other day, Fan Tower lured Prince Duan, triggering repeated incidents that shook the court and the realm; the late Emperor heard of it and flew into a rage, ordering the tower sealed. All of us were sentenced to the Office of Music and Dance. Later, the Ministry of Rites selected palace maids for Your Majesty, and we all applied. After layer upon layer of screening, I was fortunate enough to be chosen to serve in the palace."

"If she's the Li Shishi from Fan Tower, then it's definitely her!"

Zhang Chun beamed with delight: "The Ministry of Rites officials did well—they actually selected Li Shishi for the palace! I'll have to tell Zhao Yu and reward them handsomely!"

Although Li Lin and the other three women couldn't determine whether this Li Shishi was the same legendary courtesan they knew, they knew Zhang Chun could tell.

Seeing Zhang Chun's expression—like she'd just found a priceless treasure—they instantly realized: this delicate, otherworldly girl, barely ten years old yet already radiating a beauty that could topple nations, was none other than the famed courtesan Li Shishi of history.

The four women's eyes sparkled with astonishment and curiosity: "It really is Li Shishi! No wonder such a young girl is so captivating—this number one courtesan in history truly lives up to her name!"

Ye Shi Yun immediately pouted, shaking Zhang Chun's arm: "I regret it, Pure-sis! Can you give Shishi back to me? Fine, I'll go back to being your nominal maid."

"Get lost," Zhang Chun said, pulling Li Shishi tightly into her arms. "You've already been thrown out."

After some playful bickering, Zhang Chun, Li Lin, Ye Shi Yun, and Yuan Qing Cheng each chose four personal maids and ten laboring palace girls, following Ma Xiao Jiao's standard—each group surrounded by attendants, leaving a trail of fragrance wherever they went.

Afterwards, Pei Sui assigned living quarters to Zhang Chun and the other three women.

Here, the four women deliberately chose the corner where Ma Xiao Jiao lived—the area near Guan Jia Palace and Qin Can Palace—convenient for both their work and mutual support.

After that, the four women received all the privileges they were entitled to, living the life they had once dreamed of: food and clothing served to them without effort.

—Since Zhao Yu had not yet assigned them specific titles, Pei Sui had temporarily arranged them according to Ma Xiao Jiao's standard, and would later seek Zhao Yu and Zheng Xiansu's approval.

In short, now that they were by Zhao Yu's side, the four women had finally crossed class boundaries—from palace maids to the Emperor's women, enjoying wealth and splendor.

To celebrate, the five women had another hotpot of lamb.

During the meal, they sent their personal maids away and freely sang and danced.

After exhausting themselves, they began recalling life in their original world.

Finally, all five agreed: they could never go back—but their current life was bearable, and they could still change this world and fulfill their personal dreams and values.

Afternoon.

Ma Xiao Jiao took the four women, now full and satisfied, to her workshop: Qin Can Palace.

To their surprise, the small palace was packed from inside to outside with objects, and hundreds of people bustled about in chaotic yet orderly fashion across various zones.

Ma Xiao Jiao proudly introduced: "This is only a small part—I have many more subordinates and tools at Shen Wang Fu, and I still have to go back there occasionally."

Zhang Chun asked in disbelief: "You can leave the palace?!"

"I can, yes—but the palace rules are numerous and strict; leaving is a hassle. I must first inform Pei Sui, who coordinates with all departments to arrange guards, attendants, and carriages. And I can only go to Shen Wang Fu; even if I want to buy something on the way, I must consult the eunuchs accompanying me. It's nowhere near as simple as just asking the Emperor directly. So unless something truly urgent happens there that they can't handle, I won't go." Ma Xiao Jiao sighed helplessly.

Zhang Chun fully understood how difficult it was for imperial consorts to leave the palace—and how much harder it was for someone like Ma Xiao Jiao to leave whenever she pleased.

In this era, imperial consorts were generally forbidden from leaving the palace unless under special circumstances: attending ceremonial events, being granted rare permission to visit family, or accompanying the Emperor himself.

In any case, a consort's departure required strict adherence to ritual protocols and heavy guard detail, with rigid restrictions on timing, personnel, and conduct—all to ensure the dignity and safety of the imperial family.

For someone like Ma Xiao Jiao to leave whenever she wanted? That was unparalleled favor—unheard of in history.

Yet here she was, looking annoyed—wasting the extraordinary privilege Zhao Yu had granted her.

Zhang Chun said enviously: "Zhao Yu treats you too well."

Ma Xiao Jiao replied: "It's fine. Whatever I ask for, as long as it exists in this era, he sends people to find it for me. But that's because I treat him well too—I've devoted myself entirely to his inventions, given him children, and completely cured myself of jealousy. Now, no matter who he sleeps with, I don't care—as long as he comes when I call. Tell me, where else could he find a wife as good as me?"

Zhang Chun scoffed: "In your previous life, maybe—but in this one, it's Zhao Yu favoring you. Otherwise, how could you live so happily?"

Hearing Ma Xiao Jiao could leave the palace anytime, Li Lin's eyes lit up: "Jiao Jiao, when you go out next time, can you take us? Let us see the outside world!"

Yuan Qing Cheng immediately agreed: "Yes! Let us go too! If not for our changed bodies and ages, I'd swear I didn't cross over—I fell into some 'Truman Show' trap."

Zhang Chun and Ye Shi Yun were also deeply tempted.

But Ma Xiao Jiao shook her head: "In the past, this wouldn't have been an issue—I'd just tell the Emperor and you'd come along. But now it's complicated."

"Why's it complicated?" Li Lin asked.

"I used to travel out often, didn't I? Someone reported me to the censors. Coincidentally, the large factory I had built beside Qing Cheng's land was partially completed, so yesterday I moved everything over there. From now on, I won't leave the palace—it's just too troublesome." Ma Xiao Jiao explained.

The four women were crestfallen.

Seeing this, Ma Xiao Jiao said: "Don't be so down. If you make the Emperor happy, don't you think you'll get chances to leave too?"

The four women realized: if Ma Xiao Jiao could leave, why couldn't they? Weren't they all Zhao Yu's women?

Ma Xiao Jiao beckoned the four: "Come, I'll show you the projects my team is developing."

First, Ma Xiao Jiao led them to a massive irrigation cart and said: "This is the Emperor's favorite invention—the Mu Niu Liu Ma Irrigation Cart."

Then, lowering her voice, she told the four: "It's actually a hydraulic-linked agricultural system."

"Agriculture in this era relies on manual irrigation—inefficient, especially for southern paddy fields requiring constant water supply."

"I designed a 'foot-pedal chain-driven waterwheel' centered on water power to automatically lift water, paired with bamboo water channels to deliver it to terraced fields or dry land."

"I added a 'gear-linked rice-pounding machine'—so while irrigating, it also drives stone mortars to pound rice, achieving 'one water, two uses.'"

Then Ma Xiao Jiao revealed her proudest innovation: "I installed a wooden windmill on top. When water turns the windmill, it rotates wooden figures that strike gongs, alerting farmers to water-level changes—practical and entertaining. Isn't that brilliant?"

The four women all silently thought: "That part's clearly the most useless."

Ma Xiao Jiao continued her introduction: "According to my calculations, using the Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse irrigation carts can save at least fifty percent of the labor for irrigation, increase rice yields, and my gear transmission technology can inspire civilian mechanical improvements and advance handicraft development."

Ma Xiao Jiao then took the four women to see many other inventions—some useful, some merely for amusement, and some outright useless.

Soon after, Ma Xiao Jiao brought the four women to a loom and introduced it: "This is a treadle-powered multi-harness, multi-pedal weaving machine…"

The dominant fabrics of this era were still silk and hemp; southern regions had small amounts of cotton, but its fibers were short and difficult to spin.

Cotton (i. e., herbaceous cotton) had not yet been widely introduced into the Central Plains, but people in the northwestern regions had already begun planting it.

Zhao Yu knew of this, so he had put up a reward to have people search for herbaceous cotton.

In fact, weaving machines already existed in this era: the "traditional inclined loom" and the "brocade loom."

The former was widely used, but required two people to operate (one lifting the heddles, one throwing the shuttle), making it inefficient.

The latter was used for intricate silk weaving but relied on human memory for patterns, making operation cumbersome.

Both types of weaving machines were time-consuming and labor-intensive, and the cloth they produced was coarse.

Moreover, if Zhao Yu successfully promoted cotton cultivation, there would be a lack of efficient, compatible weaving tools.

Ma Xiao Jiao increased the number of treadles and used connecting rods to control the raising and lowering of the heddles, enabling this new weaving machine to be operated by a single person; it also employed bamboo-and-wood gear transmission to increase the speed of heddle switching.

Roughly estimated, Ma Xiao Jiao's improved weaving machine could increase efficiency two to threefold, greatly reducing labor costs and laying the foundation for a future explosion in cotton textile technology.

In addition, Ma Xiao Jiao was also developing modular spinning carts and researching water-powered twisting machines.

In short, according to Ma Xiao Jiao, if Zhao Yu could ensure large-scale cotton planting, she could provide him with technical support to bring the Northern Song a century ahead into the "cotton cloth era," transforming the people's reliance on hemp clothing.

Moreover, increased production of high-quality cloth could promote the export of silk and cotton along the Maritime Silk Road, and the court could gain new revenue through "loom taxes" or exclusive operating rights.

Crucially, this would make it easier for women to participate in textile production, lower clothing costs, enhance the common people's ability to withstand cold, and indirectly improve the population's resilience to disasters.

Of course, achieving this level would not be easy.

At present, all land is held by high officials, aristocratic families, and wealthy clans; they are eager to lease land and collect substantial rents, showing no interest in improving farming techniques. Peasants may wish to do so, but they lack the means.

This means existing land can barely support the current population—there is no surplus land available for large-scale cotton planting.

Therefore, promoting widespread cotton cultivation without land reform and improved land-use efficiency will lead to trouble.

Zhao Yu understood this clearly.

Of course, planting on a small scale would certainly be fine.

According to Zhao Yu's plan, first develop and promote these inventions—the market will eventually find its own balance.

After the four women finished touring Ma Xiao Jiao's laboratories, they finally understood what it meant when "a woman from Yan produces a leopard"—while they had struggled everywhere and accomplished nothing, Ma Xiao Jiao had already achieved so much.

This prompted the four women to reflect.

"Are we inferior to Xiao Jiao?"

"No—it's just that we never received Zhao Yu's strong support before."

"The key isn't us or Xiao Jiao—it's Zhao Yu. Without his support, we're doomed to accomplish nothing; but with Zhao Yu's backing, we too can achieve our value and dreams just like Xiao Jiao."

Beyond Ma Xiao Jiao, the four women all thought simultaneously: "We must find a way to win Zhao Yu over—make him serve us!"

…

Also in the afternoon.

Zhang Dun returned to the Chui Gong Hall and said that after thinking it over, he believed the traitorous acts of Sima Guang and others must be punished—they must be stripped of their property and their clans exterminated, otherwise the fallen soldiers on the frontlines could not be avenged. He handed Zhao Yu a list, claiming everyone on it had supported ceding the Zhao Song dynasty's territory to the Western Xia—cutting them all down blade by blade would be too lenient; merely confiscating their property and exterminating their clans was too kind.

Zhao Yu looked at the list and exclaimed: "Good heavens—there are hundreds of names here, and Su Zhe, a former chancellor of the Old Faction, is prominently listed."

Zhao Yu thought: "You're trying to wipe out all your political rivals."

Zhao Yu immediately pushed the list back without saying another word.

Zhang Dun knew Zhao Yu had not changed his mind—he was merely considering Empress Dowager Xiang, and perhaps did not wish to launch a massive purge so soon after taking power, further destabilizing his already insecure throne.

Just over an hour later, Zhang Dun returned again.

This time, the list had been reduced to one hundred names.

Zhao Yu still refused.

Zhang Dun went back and consulted with Cai Bian and others again; by nightfall, the list had been trimmed to fifty names.

Zhao Yu considered—he couldn't let Zhang Dun and his allies return empty-handed, or they'd lose motivation next time.

So Zhao Yu cross-referenced Li Yan's list of officials confirmed to be corrupt, circled nine names from Zhang Dun's list, added Sima Guang, making ten; then he personally wrote down three more names of the most corrupt officials and held them up for Zhang Dun to see.

Then Zhao Yu tossed the list into the brazier beside him…

…

(End of Chapter)