Chapter 19: Eldest Princess

Recently, there was nothing in the court and the harem, so Liu Li prepared to put her plan to tour the Weiyang Palace on the agenda. Otherwise, staying in the Jiaofang Hall every day without any entertainment was really boring.

According to the descriptions of the palace maids, she roughly drew a map of the entire Weiyang Palace on paper with a pen and finally began to plan the travel route.

Qiao and Zhuqing looked at the Princess writing and drawing very curiously, but they couldn't understand what the symbols drawn by the Princess meant.

Of course they wouldn't understand, after all, Liu Li wrote simplified Chinese characters, while the characters in the Western Han Dynasty were small seal script. Liu Li still needed the system's translation to recognize the meaning of the small seal script.

When the little master said she wanted to write before, Zhuqing intended to grind ink for the little master, but the little master said no, and then took out a pen she had never seen before, and something called a notebook.

Through the additions of palace maid Qiao and palace maid Zhuqing, Liu Li knew the names of many palaces in the Weiyang Palace. Except for the front hall of the Weiyang Palace, which was the place where the Son of Heaven handled state affairs and could not be easily visited, other places could be visited.

The Shiqu Pavilion and Tianlu Pavilion on the north side of the palace were places where books were stored. Liu Li marked them and planned to visit these two places after visiting other places.

The west side was the government office, so it was best not to go there easily. On the south side was the royal pool and garden, where the original owner fell into the water before. Further back were the palaces where some concubines lived, and the overall layout was a rectangle.

It could be said that the layout of the Forbidden City in Beijing in the future was built with reference to the Weiyang Palace.

After drawing a rough terrain map, Liu Li thought about whether to write a travel guide. Judging from the current orientation of the Jiaofang Hall, the library further north was closer to the Jiaofang Hall.

Then she could only go east first, bypass to the royal garden on the south side, then to the government office on the west side, and finally to the library.

Liu Li was still lying there planning the route intently, not noticing Liu Che walking in from the door. The palace maids saw it and were about to salute, but were stopped by Liu Che.

Liu Che came to his daughter's side silently, stared at what she wrote, frowned and looked for a long time but didn't understand what it was, but the things she used to write attracted his attention.

Was this a pen and paper?

Perhaps Liu Che's gaze was too burning, Liu Li always felt someone was staring at her, and when she turned her head, she met Liu Che's burning gaze, and she was startled: "My mother."

Zhuqing brought a soft cushion, Liu Che sat on the cushion, his eyes fixed on the paper and pen in Liu Li's hand: "What is the thing you use to write?"

Anyway, Liu Che already believed in the existence of the "Goddess," so Liu Li didn't want to hide it from him, so she said: "This is the paper and pen bestowed by the Goddess."

She took the initiative to hand the paper and pen to Liu Che. After Liu Che took it, he carefully touched the notebook in his hand, feeling surprised.

This paper was much harder than the facial tissue he saw before, and this thing called a notebook seemed to be integrated together by sheets of paper, which was very convenient to use. Looking at this pen used for writing, it didn't need ink at all, and could write things on paper.

The immortal's things are really powerful, but I don't know how these things are made. If only the people of the entire Han Dynasty could use such paper, how good would that be?

"The Goddess gave these things to you, did she tell you how these were made?" Liu Che was reluctant to put down the notebook and pen.

Liu Li heard his words and curled her lips: "No." She paused and said: "This pen is absolutely impossible to make now, but paper... I might have a way."

The reason why the paper in the Western Han Dynasty was expensive was because its materials were rare and the output was not high, so it was very precious. But in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cai Lun improved papermaking, using tree bark and rags as raw materials, reducing the cost of paper, so that paper was widely spread among the people.

Although Liu Li didn't understand the principle of papermaking, she could provide the idea of changing raw materials, so that repeated attempts and improvements might also improve the current papermaking technique.

Hearing her daughter say this, Liu Che had an expression of having found a treasure: "Do you really have a way?"

To be safe, Liu Li said: "I'm not sure if it will succeed, Father Emperor, you must let me see the person who makes paper now."

"This is no problem." Liu Che patted the table:

"I will arrange for someone to find the person immediately."

In addition to being happy, Liu Che also had the leisure to care about the content Liu Li wrote just now, he asked: "What kind of characters are these?"

After Qin unified the characters, the characters of the various countries in the Warring States period had already declined. Liu Che stared at these square characters and really couldn't recognize what they were.

Liu Li: "Oh, these are the characters taught to me by the Goddess."

This is really a universal excuse, thank the Goddess, Amen.

Liu Che nodded thoughtfully, but recorded these characters one by one in his mind. If possible, letting the people of the Han Dynasty learn the immortal's characters would not be impossible.

The paper collected in the Xuanshi Hall was offered by a commandery governor, so finding the person who made the paper would take some effort. Liu Che ordered people to find the person who made the paper as soon as possible and bring them into the palace.

Seeing that the tenth month was coming, it would soon be the fourth year of Yuanguang. The Minister of Ceremonies reported the preparations for the temple sacrifice in the tenth month to the Son of Heaven every day.

The Minister of the Guards and the Grand Coachman also had to report to the Son of Heaven about the travel arrangements for the day of the sacrifice. In short, A Jiao was quite busy during this time.

Originally these were Liu Che's business, now they all became A Jiao's. Although A Jiao had complaints, she still went to the Xuanshi Hall to meet these ministers every day.

Liu Li followed her tour plan of the Weiyang Palace, took palace maid Qiao and Zhuqing, and her designated guard, little Huo, to visit the entire Weiyang Palace.

While watching, she didn't forget to improve the layout map of the Weiyang Palace, recording the names and geographical locations of every palace, and finally it was almost a hand-drawn map of the Weiyang Palace.

Huo Qubing was very reluctant to accompany Liu Li to visit the Weiyang Palace. He was a future Feathered Forest Guard soldier, but now he could only accompany the little princess to visit the palace. But it was his own fault, he was caught by others.

Before, he heard his mother say that the Empress had arranged for someone to kidnap his uncle, and even wanted to harm his uncle's life. So he once thought that the Empress was a bad person, and the Empress's daughter must not be a good person.

But after a few days of getting along, Huo Qubing found that Princess Li didn't seem to be a bad person, and she didn't make things difficult for him when she let him be her guard. For a time, Huo Qubing didn't know whether to believe what his mother said or his own judgment.

In a flash, the tenth month arrived, and it was the fourth year of Yuanguang.

Liu Li had been in the Han Dynasty for almost a month. Using the system she held, she was now accustomed to life in this era.

It was just that when the night was quiet, when she was lying alone in the bedroom, sleeping on that ancient bed, she felt that she was just a passerby in this era, or a witness.

Even if Chen Ajiao knew her background, there were some thoughts she couldn't tell her.

In this month, the Son of Heaven stayed in the Jiaofang Hall every day, which gave all the palace servants a feeling that the Empress had regained favor. Although the beauties in the harem had complaints in their hearts, they didn't dare to say it.

Princess Pingyang imitated her aunt, Princess Guan Tao, and often sent some beautiful girls to the palace for her brother, but they were also rejected by the Son of Heaven during this time.

The Son of Heaven's act of favoring the Empress alone made those scholars start to find ways to curry favor with the Dou Taizhu Liu Piao. Empress Dowager Wang looked for the Son of Heaven many times for this, but was rejected by A Jiao because she was very busy with state affairs.

All this continued until the middle of the tenth month, at the royal ancestor worship activity. Ancestor worship had always been a very important sacrificial activity in the Han Dynasty. According to the ancestral system, important officials and palace concubines had to participate.

This could be considered Liu Li's first participation in a sacrificial activity of significance in the Han Dynasty. As the eldest daughter born to the Empress, the clothes she wore when participating in the sacrifice were specially customized.

On the way to the sacrifice, Liu Li followed A Jiao and sat on the Imperial Chariot of the Son of Heaven, pulled by six horses, majestic.

The Emperor and Empress rode together, followed by the ministers.

The day before, A Jiao specifically told Liu Li about some rules of the sacrifice, and Liu Li remembered them one by one. For such an activity, Liu Li was also cautious, fearing that she would do something wrong and lose face for A Jiao.

Everything in the sacrifice was proceeding in an orderly manner. The Emperor and Empress were dressed in magnificent clothes, holding hands and walking up the steps step by step. The black long robes dragged on the ground, sweeping across the purple-red ground, and finally stood

on the highest temple, solemn and majestic.

Before the palace, the ministers bowed down: "Heaven bless the Han Dynasty, Long live the Emperor."

A Jiao looked at the ministers who were worshiping her under the temple, and couldn't help but tighten her palms. This was not the first time she had seen such a scene. When she was the Empress, she also accepted the worship of the ministers, but this time she felt her heart trembling.

She spoke slowly: "Everyone, rise."

So, this is what it feels like to be the Son of Heaven.

Next, the Assistant to the Minister of Ceremonies was responsible for the sacrificial process. After the last item of the process was completed, the Minister of the Imperial Clan on the side stood out and read the edict of the Son of Heaven: "My eldest daughter Li, who knows books and reason, offered strategies to save the people of the sixteen commanderies in Puyang Huzi from natural disasters, and is hereby conferred the title of Eldest Princess, bestowed with the private fief of Jianling."

As soon as the words fell, no one among the hundred officials before the temple opposed.

A Jiao was very satisfied with this result, her eyes fell far in front of the crowd, on her mother, the Dou Taizhu. This matter could be successful, naturally, it also had the credit of her mother.

A Li was her eldest daughter, and she offered strategies to save the people along the Yellow River, so she deserved this title of Eldest Princess.

The most shocked was Liu Che, who was standing on the side. He looked at A Jiao beside him in disbelief and whispered: "Why didn't you discuss this matter with me?"

Not only was she conferred the title of Eldest Princess, but she was also bestowed with a private fief!!!

A Jiao raised her eyebrows slightly and whispered: "When you wanted to confer Liu Yue as Eldest Princess, you didn't discuss it with me either."

Liu Che was shocked and angry, but he couldn't break out at this time, after all, he couldn't tear down his own stage, and finally he fainted in front of his eyes.

Watching Liu Che fall straight down, A Jiao was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly reached out to catch him.

The Assistant to the Minister of Ceremonies who presided over the sacrifice probably didn't expect the Empress to faint at the sacrifice, was stunned for a moment before reacting, and then hurriedly called someone to carry the Empress into the inner hall. **Chapter 20: The Son of Heaven is Pregnant**