Chapter 23: Warm Hair from the Breeze, The Great Tang Launches Comprehensive Reform

Beyond the Sky Screen, the courts of successive dynasties once again erupted in towering waves of turmoil.

Punishment without drawing blood, invisible shackles.

The Ming Dynasty timeline.

Commerce in the Ming Dynasty began to revive, but merchants valued profit over righteousness; fraud, deception, and swindling occurred incessantly despite repeated bans.

When officials moved to arrest them, the merchants had already fled with the funds, changed their location, assumed new names and identities, and continued their scams.

Zhu Yuanzhang roared at the hundred officials: "Write it down! Write it down for us, word for word, without omitting a single character!" This book premieres exclusively on Tiantian Novel, ttkx. tw, providing you with error-free chapters and non-disordered reading experiences.

"Not killing someone is more ruthless than killing; what a fine 'System Locking,' leaving one unable to take a single step."

Zhu Yuanzhang strode back to the Dragon Throne and issued the imperial decree with swift and decisive force.

"The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Justice shall take the lead immediately."

"Establish files and records for every merchant in the Ming Dynasty who holds a license to do business."

"Issue Road Pass Iron Plates to them; whoever dares to borrow money and not repay, whoever dares to pass off inferior goods as superior."

"Once verified, carve the two characters 'Dishonest' onto the Iron Plate!"

"Notify all relay stations, ferry crossings, and city gates nationwide: anyone holding a Dishonest Iron Plate shall be forbidden from staying at inns, forbidden from boarding boats, and must pay ten times the standard toll to pass through city gates."

"Their descendants shall be barred from taking the imperial examinations for three generations!"

"We shall make those dishonest people wish for death while still alive!"

The entire court of civil and military officials felt their scalps prickle with dread.

A modern marketplace.

After Lin Xuan finished explaining these dry sociological commonplaces, he glanced out the window.

The dark clouds dispersed, and the torrential rain ceased.

Sunlight pierced through the cloud layer once more, refracting dazzling spots of light on the freshly washed road.

He picked up the shopping bag filled with clothes, reached out to pull Xiao Sizi, and said, "Enough. Why worry so much about the rules of adults when you are just a brat?"

"The rain has stopped; let's go home."

Xiao Sizi obediently allowed him to lead her, looking up at Lin Xuan's profile.

—

This youth from a later age understood medicine and could save lives; he understood machinery and could generate fire and water.

He could even reveal the ultimate secret of the world's wealth circulation in just a few words.

At her most helpless moments, it was also these broad hands that led her past those terrifying steel machines and showed her walls made of Glazed Ware.

A thread of dependence, extremely tiny yet infinitely resilient, quietly took root in the little girl's heart.

The sun set behind the western mountains, and twilight climbed up.

The two had been bustling about outside for most of the day, plus an unexpected torrential rainstorm.

Xiao Sizi had sweated, her hair strands sticking to her temples.

After changing out of her shoes, Lin Xuan patted her shoulder.

"Go to the bathroom and wash your hair; if you sleep with sweat on, your windpipe will go on strike again tomorrow."

Xiao Sizi obediently walked toward the bathroom.

Lin Xuan followed her in and adjusted the shower's water temperature.

"Lower your head, close your eyes."

Lin Xuan squeezed out a dollop of peach-scented children's shampoo and rubbed his hands to create rich foam.

Xiao Sizi obediently lowered her head and covered her eyes with both hands.

Lin Xuan's fingers wove through her long hair as he gently rubbed.

Warm water rinsed.

White foam slid down her hair strands, carrying away sweat stains and street dust.

"All done, lift your head."

Lin Xuan grabbed a large dry towel, wrapped it around her hair, and pressed down firmly to absorb the water.

The two walked out of the bathroom and arrived at the washbasin.

A huge half-length mirror was embedded above the washbasin.

Lin Xuan took a dark gray, hammer-shaped electrical appliance from the storage cabinet and plugged it into the power source.

"What is this object?"

Xiao Sizi, with a towel perched on her head, asked curiously.

"A Hair Dryer, used for drying hair."

Lin Xuan pulled the towel from her head and flicked the metal switch on the Hair Dryer's Controller.

Vroom—!!!

The motor roared.

A high-speed motor spinning at one hundred thousand revolutions per minute sliced through the air.

A powerful stream of air, carrying heat, surged forth.

Xiao Sizi was startled, her shoulders jerking back sharply.

Lin Xuan spread the five fingers of his left hand to gather her wet hair.

His right hand held the Hair Dryer, keeping the nozzle at a distance of ten centimeters from her scalp as he swept it back and forth.

The hot air penetrated her soaking wet hair strands, reaching straight to her scalp.

Under the dual assault of high temperature and strong wind, the water vapor evaporated rapidly.

There was no smoke and scorching from charcoal fires, nor the painful tugging sensation of maids wiping repeatedly with dry cloths.

This breeze was extremely uniform.

Blowing on her neck, it felt warm and cozy.

Xiao Sizi relaxed her body.

She was like a kitten greedy for the warmth of a hearth fire.

Unconsciously, she tilted her head back, leaning against Lin Xuan's abdomen.

She let those large hands wander through her hair.

Five minutes later.

Lin Xuan turned off the switch.

The sound of the motor stopped.

"Done. Look for yourself."

Lin Xuan took a wooden comb and smoothed it from the crown of her head to the tips of her hair.

Xiao Sizi opened her eyes and looked at the mirror before her.

The mirror surface was covered in a layer of white fog from the steam rising in the bathroom.

Lin Xuan reached out and wiped a clear fan-shaped area on the mirror with his palm.

Xiao Sizi stared at herself in the mirror, stunned.

Her hair was fluffy and smooth, draping over a pure cotton white short-sleeved shirt.

The hot shower had accelerated her blood circulation.

On her face, which had long been devoid of color, two healthy patches of pink showed through.

Where was the sickly princess who lay on a deathbed in Taiji Palace, ready to draw her last breath at any moment?

She looked exactly like a modern little girl carefully raised with pampering.

She turned around and grabbed the hem of Lin Xuan's clothes with both hands.

"Lin Xuan."

"Mm?" Lin Xuan pulled out the plug and looked down at her.

"You understand medicine; you can reduce fevers and stop wheezing."

"You understand mechanisms; you can create fire and water, and blow hot air." Xiao Sizi's large eyes were full of reliance, and her fingers gripped the hem of his clothes even tighter.

"As long as I am with you, I will never fall ill again, right?"

Seeing the cautious hope in her eyes, Lin Xuan's heart softened.

He squatted down to be level with her.

He reached out and flicked her nose.

"As long as you listen to the doctor and take your medicine on time, I promise you will grow up healthy and strong."

Above the Sky Screen, the heartwarming scene at the washbasin was projected onto the plaza of Taiji Palace.

Li Shimin and Zhangsun Huanghou stood side by side.

Zhangsun Huanghou covered her mouth to keep her sobbing from escaping.

Looking at her daughter in the mirror, whose complexion was now rosy, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

"Er Lang, look."

"Sizi's complexion is far better than when she was in the palace."

"That youth from the future knows how to care for people; he washed Sizi's hair and blow-dried it with gentle movements."

"The look in Sizi's eyes toward him is full of closeness."

Li Shimin's eyes reddened, and he nodded heavily.

As a father, seeing his daughter not only survive in another world but be raised so fresh and lively.

His heart finally felt at ease.

The rulers and ministers of the Great Tang had watched the Sky Screen for an entire day again today.

Ever since the Sky Screen appeared, their purpose in coming to court every day was to observe and learn.

From initial terror, to shock, and now to silence.

Modern civilization's clothing, food, housing, and transportation, medical technology, and social systems comprehensively crushed the prosperous age they had been so proud of.

Li Shimin spoke: "Gentlemen."

"These people from the future have not only saved my daughter."

"They have also given the Great Tang a lesson, a lesson named Civilization!"

"Xuanling, did you see? They use hair dryers and use constant-temperature water."

"They live the lives of ordinary commoners more comfortably than the Great Tang Imperial Family!"

Li Shimin turned to face all the soldiers and officers.

"The Great Tang boasts of being the Celestial Empire."

"But in the face of the future, the Great Tang's artifacts, agriculture, and all crafts are like childish clay sculptures, crude and unbearable!"

"I have decided to change the rules!"

"Establish the Institute of Investigation, with a rank equal to the Six Ministries."

1

"Draw the Great Tang's most top-tier craftsmen, agricultural officials, medical officials, and Doctors of Mathematics, and fill the Institute of Investigation with them all!"

"Their sole duty is to stare fixedly at the Sky Screen."

"Record, disassemble, and deduce every farming tool, every machine, every medicine, and every system that appears in the Sky Screen, exactly as they are, for me."

"Ask not about rank or status, ask not about origin."

"As long as one can comprehend even a fraction of the skills from the future, I shall grant him high office and great wealth!"

"The Great Tang must comprehensively learn from the world within the Sky Screen."

"Whatever they possess, the Great Tang shall possess in the future as well!"