Chapter 24: The Awkwardness After Swapping Bodies

A Jiao and Liu Li returned to the Jiaofang Hall from the Xuanshi Hall, and the palace maids reported that the Empress had gone to the Changle Palace and had not yet returned. A Jiao thought that today was the day of the audience, and guessed that Liu Che would not be back so quickly, so she did not take it to heart.

She took Liu Li to the study room in the Jiaofang Hall where she usually handled palace affairs, and said: "A Li, I think you need to practice your writing well. Just now, you were writing and drawing in my palm, and I couldn't even distinguish what a single character was."

Hearing what A Jiao said, Liu Li's little face collapsed instantly: "Ah? Why do I have to learn to write?" At this moment, she suddenly became a child who refused to learn.

Although she did not recognize Small Seal Script characters, she came with a translator. Currently, reading Small Seal Script and other texts was basically not a problem; there was no need to learn how to write, right?

"Of course you have to learn." A Jiao said with a serious face: "You can't write a single character now; how will you help me handle government affairs in the future?"

Liu Li was stunned: "Eh?"

A Jiao smiled and held her little hand: "In the future, when we have free time, I will teach you how to recognize and write characters. How about we try to learn ten characters every day? In this way, over time, A Li's talent will certainly not be inferior to those scholars." She paused and added: "I heard that Liu Yue could write when she was three years old; A Li cannot be outdone by her."

Liu Li was speechless for a moment.

Alright, learning to write it is; just consider it cultivating one's character.

Seeing that Liu Li had agreed, A Jiao turned and took a bamboo slip from the shelf, then slowly spread it out on the desk. Liu Li glanced at it slightly, and under the system's translation, recognized that this was some content from the "Classic of Poetry: Minor Odes."

A Jiao said: "This was gifted to me by the King of Hejian in his early years. I felt it was quite good after reading it, so I have been keeping it."

Liu Li completely unfolded this long bamboo slip and identified the characters one by one, discovering that the line "In the past when I left, the willows were swaying" that was passed down to later generations was also on it.

She let out a long sigh of relief and rubbed her hands: "Okay, let's start practicing from today."

A Jiao nodded and ordered the palace maids to bring unwritten bamboo slips, intending to teach her daughter how to write character by character.

Although Liu Li's body was that of a five-year-old child, her mind and soul were still those of an adult in her twenties, so writing was not a difficult task for her.

Moreover, this was the writing of the ancestors of Huaxia; as a descendant, the thing called Chinese characters was engraved in her soul.

After A Jiao taught Liu Li how to hold the brush and how to write hand-in-hand, Liu Li successfully wrote the two characters for "Classic of Poetry" in Small Seal Script.

She wrote them, but they were a bit ugly.

A Jiao stared at her daughter's crooked writing and burst into laughter, then said: "It seems that letting you practice calligraphy was a very correct decision."

Although she knew A Jiao's laughter was not mockery, Liu Li still couldn't help but blush. She defended herself: "It's mainly because it's my first time using a brush to write. Once I practice more, it will definitely look good. My fountain pen calligraphy is very good; I even won first place in a middle school fountain pen calligraphy competition."

Speaking of this, Liu Li suddenly became proud again.

"What kind of pen is a fountain pen?" A Jiao was curious.

Liu Li raised her little eyebrows and simply exchanged a new notebook and a fountain pen from the system mall. It just so happened that there was ink right in front of her. She filled the fountain pen with ink and then used it to write a character in Small Seal Script in the notebook.

"This is a fountain pen." Liu Li pursed her lips and said: "Mother, why don't I practice brush calligraphy in the future, and you practice fountain pen calligraphy?"

A Jiao found it interesting and nodded slightly: "Okay." She cherished the notebook and pen her daughter gave her and put them away.

Mother and daughter stayed in the study room until dinner time. Liu Li's brush calligraphy was still crooked, but it was already much better than at the beginning. A Jiao's fountain pen calligraphy progressed rapidly; from being uncomfortable at first, she was now able to write very beautifully.

Her fountain pen calligraphy, like her brush calligraphy, was very graceful.

Comparing the two, Liu Li was a bit unconvinced: "Brush calligraphy is really too hard to write, and it's written on bamboo slips; if you're not careful, it smears." No, she must change the paper-making technique in advance and let people use

paper to write as soon as possible.

Seeing her cheeks puffed up because she was unconvinced, A Jiao reached out and poked them: "Then practice diligently."

When mother and daughter left the study room together to have dinner, they realized that Liu Che, who had gone to the Changle Palace, had not yet returned.

Liu Li said: "Could it be that he was kept by Wang Taihou for dinner?"

A Jiao only said: "Probably. Let's not wait for him; let's go have dinner."

The meals in the Jiaofang Hall had changed a lot now. Under Liu Li's patient guidance and oral recipes, the palace people responsible for cooking had learned how to stir-fry, stew, braise, and other culinary skills.

For some seasonings that had not yet appeared in the Western Han, Liu Li would exchange them from the system mall in advance, then put them into a container and send them to the kitchen.

The only thing that troubled Liu Li was that the leftover plastic waste could not be disposed of. She could only apply to A Jiao for a room to pile all the cleaned plastic waste in that room.

No one was allowed to enter this room except for Liu Li herself.

Today's dinner was stewed eggs, oil-braised cabbage, and a bowl of mutton soup with steamed buns as the staple food. Liu Li first took a sip of soup to warm her stomach, then tasted the cabbage, and said with a smile: "Xi's culinary skills seem to be getting better and better."

Xi was the female official responsible for meals in the Jiaofang Hall. After this period of experimentation, the dishes she made were becoming more and more delicious.

A Jiao was in a good mood and asked the palace maids to get some fruit drinks, intending to have a shallow drink.

Compared to the warmth and harmony in the Jiaofang Hall, Liu Che, who was still in the Changle Palace, was physically and mentally exhausted and wanted to go to sleep. Yet at this moment, he still had to serve his mother dinner.

The Great Han valued filial piety, and Liu Che himself respected his mother very much, so even though his mother made things difficult for him many times today, he endured it.

The other beauties who came to pay respects had all left, and Liu Che, as the Empress, was kept behind to accompany Wang Taihou to finish dinner before he could return.

Looking at the green vegetables before him, Liu Che instantly lost his appetite.

It was mainly because during this period in the Jiaofang Hall, eating the recipes improved by Liu Li, Liu Che could no longer swallow the meals of other palaces. And the dinner in the Changle Palace was mostly vegetable-based, without oil or salt, and was truly bland and tasteless.

Wang Taihou had poor teeth and chewed slowly when eating, so Liu Che could only wait patiently for his mother to finish.

Seeing that "A Jiao" had hardly used her chopsticks to eat a single bite, Wang Taihou said sarcastically: "The meals in the Changle Palace are indeed not as good as those in the Jiaofang Hall, but it shouldn't be to the point where you can't eat a single bite, right?" She paused and added: "I heard that the kitchen in the Jiaofang Hall developed a spicy diced chicken dish, yet the Empress never thought of sending it to the Changle Palace for the elders to taste."

This was a bit of a grievance to Liu Che. After eating the spicy diced chicken that day, he immediately thought of having the kitchen make another portion and send it to the Changle Palace for his mother to taste. But Liu Li said this dish was spicy and not suitable for the elderly, so he gave up on it.

But now, if he told his mother the truth, it would probably be considered an excuse.

"Mother, you have misunderstood." Liu Che had to say: "It's just that I haven't had much appetite recently, so I didn't move my chopsticks. But since Mother mentioned it, I am a little hungry, so I will eat a little."

As he spoke, he picked up his bowl and chopsticks and brought a piece of vegetable to his lips. The unique green, astringent taste of the wild vegetables entered his nose, and Liu Che felt a churning in his stomach. He hurriedly dropped his bowl and covered his mouth and nose, dry-heaving.

What kind of vegetable was this? Was it for humans to eat?

Fuqu, who was kneeling behind him, hurriedly stepped forward to soothe his back. It took a long time for him to stop the nausea.

Because of his commotion, Wang Taihou also lost the mood to eat. She said with some disgust: "Forget it, forget it, you go back. Staying here is just an eyesore."

Liu Che's expression paused. He looked up at Wang Taihou, and finally, he was helped up by Fuqu and bowed to Wang Taihou to say goodbye.

Leaving the Changxin Hall and welcoming the evening breeze outside, looking at the setting sun, Liu Che suddenly asked Fuqu: "Has the Empress Dowager always treated me like this?"

Fuqu was a family-raised child of the Tangyi Marquis Mansion and had been serving by A Jiao's side before she married. When A Jiao became Empress, she was also promoted to Imperial Chief. Having been by the Little Sovereign's side for so many years, she witnessed A Jiao change from the arrogant and precious Tangyi Wengzhu to the Empress of the Great Han today.

The Little Sovereign of the past could travel freely between the Weiyang and Changle Palaces and could calm the anger of the Taihuang Taihou with a single word when she was in a rage. Even the current Wang Taihou had a fawning appearance when facing the Little Sovereign of the past.

But Fuqu didn't know when the Little Sovereign had changed.

There was no longer such a flamboyant and unrestrained smile on her face, but a sense of sorrow that she didn't know where it came from. Such sorrow should never have appeared on the Little Sovereign's face.

The Little Sovereign no longer quarreled with the Emperor and no longer cared which beauty the Emperor favored. If it weren't for the little Princess later, Fuqu was even a bit afraid that the Little Sovereign would not be able to think straight.

Later, the Taihuang Taihou passed away, and the Emperor stopped coming to the Jiaofang Hall completely. The Empress Dowager of the Changle Palace no longer treated the Little Sovereign as she once did. The beauties in the palace all relied on the Empress Dowager, and the Little Sovereign, as Empress, was like a figurehead.

Fuqu's voice was a bit choked: "Little Sovereign, the servant knows you are sad in your heart. If the Taihuang Taihou were still here, how could the Empress Dowager make things so difficult for you?"

The sunset glow plated his face with a layer of gold. Liu Che narrowed his eyes and paused for a long time before saying: "Let's go back."

Ever since his grandmother passed away, his mother had been making things difficult for A Jiao, but A Jiao had never made a scene in front of him; she had silently endured everything.

Was she afraid of making things difficult for him, so she had been enduring it all along? Thinking of this, a sense of tenderness inexplicably arose in Liu Che's heart. Perhaps because this was A Jiao's body, he was easily moved; he suddenly wanted to see A Jiao very much.

When the carriage arrived at the Jiaofang Hall, the sky had turned completely dark.

The palace maids helped Liu Che get off the carriage, and Liu Che asked casually: "Where is the Emperor?"

The palace maid replied: "The Emperor is having dinner, and Attendant Sang is also there."

Liu Che furrowed his brows: "Attendant Sang?" Sang Hongyang?

He said: "Take me there."

"Understood."

Liu Che followed the palace maid toward the room where they were having dinner. Just as he reached the door, he heard Sang Hongyang's voice of wonder: "This taste is so refreshing, how wonderful."

Then it was his own voice: "If Attendant Sang likes it, I will have people make more and send it to you another day." Perhaps because the person speaking was A Jiao, the voice was inexplicably gentle.

Sang Hongyang hurriedly said: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Liu Che pushed the door and entered. The conversation in the hall stopped abruptly, and everyone looked at the suddenly appearing Empress.

Sang Hongyang reacted first, stood up from the table, and bowed to Liu Che: "Greetings, Little Sovereign."

After Liu Che returned the salute slightly, he asked: "Why did Attendant Sang come to the Jiaofang Hall?" As an Attendant, Sang Hongyang could indeed enter the Weiyang Palace at will, but that did not mean he could enter the Jiaofang Hall at will.

Sang Hongyang stated the reason: "Previously in the Xuanshi Hall, the Jianling Chang Gongzhu asked me a question. I calculated the result after returning home, so I wanted to find the Princess to ask about the result."

Hearing Sang Hongyang say this, Liu Che became slightly interested: "Oh? What kind of problem actually required you to go home to calculate?" The palace people prepared a soft cushion for Liu Che beside A Jiao, and Liu Che walked over and sat down.

He glanced at the dinner in the Jiaofang Hall, looking at the cabbage glistening with oil, and suddenly had an appetite, and his stomach couldn't help but growl.

Sang Hongyang returned to his seat, eating the delicious food in front of him, and then said: "I didn't expect the Princess to be so intelligent and quick-witted, the problems she comes up with are so profound, I am ashamed of my inferiority!"

Liu Che, however, looked at the palace people to the side: "Where is my dinner?"

The palace person was stunned for a moment, stammering and not knowing how to answer.

A Jiao was puzzled: "Didn't you have dinner in the Changle Palace? I saw you hadn't returned, and it just so happened that Attendant Sang hadn't eaten, so I bestowed your dinner upon him."

Liu Che: "?"

He turned his head to look at the food on the table in front of Sang Hongyang that was almost finished, and his forehead throbbed. He had already been full of anger at his mother's side, and returning to find his dinner had been eaten by someone else, Liu Che's face turned black.

The gaze he looked at Sang Hongyang with carried a bit of unkindness.

A Jiao, sitting beside him, clearly felt the resentment emanating from him. She thought he must have been bullied in the Changle Palace. For the sake of the child in his belly, A Jiao very considerately pushed the half-eaten egg

custard in front of her to him: "It's still hot, you eat it first, and I will have the kitchen make more for you later."

Liu Che could go hungry, but the child in his belly could not.

Liu Che gave a cold huff, but did not refuse, and ate with a spoon.

Sang Hongyang had returned home earlier and posed this problem to his guests, wanting to combine everyone's wisdom to solve it. One guest even suggested going to buy chickens and rabbits to combine them slowly. Finally, through the calculation of the calculating rods, Sang Hongyang obtained the same answer as Liu Li.

He urgently wanted to know how Princess Li knew the answer in such a short time, so he rushed into the palace without stopping, wanting to ask for the reason.

Liu Li also did not expect that the young minister of the dying emperor would have such a fiery and persistent personality in pursuing the truth, so she had to explain it to him in detail, and Sang Hongyang listened with wonder.

【Sang Hongyang favorability: 20】

Sang Hongyang's favorability was also ten times the points!

Explaining a problem to him increased his favorability; Liu Li was in a pleasant mood and even wanted to give him a more difficult one.

Having obtained the answer and eaten the delicious food he had never eaten before, Sang Hongyang stood up satisfied to say goodbye, and stated: "Your Majesty, I will certainly think of a financial reform plan as soon as possible, and will not fail your high expectations."

Liu Che's eating movement paused. After Sang Hongyang left, he spoke: "Financial reform?"

A Jiao nodded: "Yes."

"Why?" Liu Che was even more curious. The national treasury of the Great Han was abundant now; why would she think of financial reform?

"Of course, to fill the national treasury." A Jiao said: "Although there is support from various commanderies and counties for this disaster relief, the expenditure of the national treasury is not small. So while there is no war now, it is better to fill the national treasury again."

Liu Che became interested after hearing this. He asked: "Do you have any good ideas?"

A Jiao did not have any good ideas, but she had heard Liu Li say before that there would be many years of war with the Xiongnu in the future, and changing the economic system of the Great Han now would be beneficial for the future. She felt it made sense, so she summoned Sang Hongyang to give her ideas.

Although she did not understand how to carry out reforms that would be best for the Great Han, there were professional people who knew how to do it. A Li said, this was called specialization.

"Imperial Father, you previously arranged for Zhang Qian to go on a diplomatic mission, and arranged for alchemists to go find the Penglai immortals, and sent people to communicate with the Southwest Yi region. Aren't these all consuming the national treasury of the Great Han?" Liu Li said: "If economic reform is not carried out, the national treasury will be empty sooner or later."

Listening to Liu Li's tone, Liu Che raised his eyebrows: "Do you know how much money is in my national treasury?"

"Who would complain about having too much money?" Liu Li said: "If the reform is successful and the national treasury revenue expands, wouldn't that be a good thing for the Great Han?"

"Why Sang Hongyang?" What Liu Che found strange was that even if there was to be financial reform, it should be the officials of the Grand Minister of Agriculture, so why did she choose Sang Hongyang?

Of course, he also knew that Sang Hongyang had extraordinary business acumen, and it was precisely because of this that Liu Che kept him at the position of Attendant and did not promote him.

Sang Hongyang once proposed to him to make the country prosperous through commerce; wasn't this just fooling around?

Liu Li: "The Goddess said that Master Sang will become a great contributor to the economic reform of the Great Han, and he will make the Great Han even stronger."

Hearing this, Liu Che's eyes brightened slightly: "Is that so?" He paused: "Then I am looking forward to Sang Hongyang's memorial." Since the Goddess said so, it must be correct.

Dinner was finished. Liu Li glanced at A Jiao and Liu Che, intending to return to her room quietly. The palace maid Qiao brought over bamboo slips: "Princess, should these bamboo slips be made into books?"

These were the bamboo pieces Liu Li used when practicing calligraphy in the afternoon. She hurriedly said: "No, no." Those characters were too ugly, so it was better not to make them into bamboo slips.

Liu Che glanced at them, took a bamboo piece from Qiao's hand to look at it, and gave a tsk: "A Li's calligraphy needs more practice."

Liu Li was speechless: "..."

Liu Che added: "I will have time to teach you another day."

Did ancient people like teaching others to write so much?

A Jiao smiled: "That would be very good." She knew that Liu Che's calligraphy was very good, and if she could get Liu Che's guidance, it could indeed help A Li improve.

The Emperor and Empress returned to the bedchamber to prepare for sleep. Having stayed in the Changle Palace for most of the day, after lying back on the bed, Liu Che only felt exhausted all over; this was a feeling he had never had before.

A Jiao said: "Women will have such reactions in the early stages of pregnancy. You endure it for a period of time, and it should be much better after two months."

"Have to wait another two months?" Liu Che's voice was a bit broken. While speaking, he had the feeling of dry-heaving again, so he hurriedly turned over and lay on the edge of the bed to dry-heave.

A Jiao lay on his side. Seeing him like this, she sat up and reached out to gently pat his back: "Are you okay? Shall I have someone get something to stimulate your appetite for you to eat?"

Liu Che waved his hand, let out a breath, and said: "I don't want to eat for now." He lay back down, his throat still feeling astringent, and asked softly: "Do all women have it like this when pregnant?" He remembered that when Wei Zifu was pregnant with A Yue, she didn't have such a big reaction.

A Jiao recalled: "I don't know about others, but when I was pregnant with A Li back then, it was about the same as you are now."

When A Jiao was pregnant back then, she was in the Ganquan Palace, not the Weiyang Palace, and Liu Che was not by her side. Her pregnancy reaction was severe; for the first few days, she was clearly very sleepy and tired, but she could not fall asleep.

It wasn't until the third month that it got better.

Liu Che heard A Jiao say this and seemed to think of what happened back then. His expression froze, but the words he wanted to say were stuck in his throat and could no longer be spoken.

He suddenly turned over and reached out to hold A Jiao, who was lying on his side, tightly.

This action made A Jiao startle, and then her whole body stiffened: "Liu, Liu Che, what are you doing?"

Liu Che thought it must be because of the pregnancy that he had become so emotional. He held her and would not let go, even rubbing against her chest: "You hold me while you sleep."

A Jiao: "?"

She was full of confusion, but looking down at the person curled up in her arms, she felt a bit funny. Finally, she helplessly reached out to pull him into her arms and patted his back slowly, a very strange feeling arising in her heart.

A faint, faint fragrance came from the person in her arms. For A Jiao, it was somewhat familiar and somewhat strange. After all, this was her own body, her own scent, but the feeling of smelling it through Liu Che's body seemed a bit different.

Especially since there seemed to be a piece of softness pressed against her arm, an inexplicable impulse and feeling slowly moved down from her lower abdomen. A Jiao's expression froze, and even the action of holding Liu Che became stiff.

She seemed to have a reaction to her own body!

A Jiao: "?"

How could this be? Why would this be? How could this be? Even if this body was a man's, her inner self was a woman.

She was a bit dazed, her mind was a blank, and she even wanted to push Liu Che in her arms away.

And Liu Che was pressed against A Jiao, so he quickly felt A Jiao's abnormality, and he also stiffened.

Liu Che gently let go of A Jiao and looked up at her from her arms: "You..."

A Jiao: "I..."

The two spoke at the same time and were speechless at the same time. Originally, they were husband and wife, and they even had children, so they had not avoided each other regarding each other's bodies. Before, when bathing, Liu Che had even touched A Jiao's body.

But this situation was indeed the first time it had happened, and A Jiao did not know how to deal with it.

She felt a little bit of shame because her body had a reaction, and finally could only ask Liu Che in a low voice: "I... what should I do?" This feeling was so strange and so uncomfortable.

Liu Che was a bit annoyed and confused. He scratched his eyebrows and gritted his teeth: "Come closer, I will use my hand to help you solve it."

A Jiao: "?"

She refused: "I don't want to."

Liu Che: "Then you continue to be uncomfortable. It should be about the same after half an hour."

A Jiao: "Does it... does it take that long?"

"Of course." Liu Che's voice was quite proud: "I know my own body best." ===== CHAPTER 25 =====