Li Yuanying received Emperor Li’s letter when watermelons were nearly out of season. Clutching the last of the seasonal fruit, he held half a watermelon and worked through letters from various sources with Wei Jiu.
When he saw Emperor Li’s letter filled with curses, Li Yuanying was stunned. After figuring out what happened, he pulled Wei Jiu aside and complained loudly, “Brother saw it, fine, but why does he have to scold me? I write to Lao Li and your grandfather like this all the time! What’s so strange about it?”
Li Yuanying felt wronged. He didn’t just praise his nephew, he also praised Li Dejian and Wei Jiu. They did well, why couldn’t he praise them? Even Lao Wei didn’t call him a fawning villain!
Wei Jiu said, “Next time, be more careful. Don’t get your letters mixed up again.”
Li Yuanying refused to reflect on himself, grumbling, “If he scolds me like this, I won’t write to him anymore!”
Wei Jiu knew his anger came quickly and dissipated just as fast. He had said similar things countless times, so she didn’t take it to heart and let him grumpily tuck the letter to the bottom of the pile.
True to his word, Li Yuanying didn’t write to Emperor Li for days.
Taking advantage of the agricultural slack season, Li Yuanying had already begun construction in various places. The road from the seaport to Tengzhou had taken shape and only needed to be widened and settled along the way.
After half a year of effort, the shipyard had finally produced seaworthy ships. Although there were still areas for improvement, with the system guiding and refining the process, the ships they made were more advanced than many existing ships.
Li Yuanying held high hopes for the seaport. He hadn’t stayed in the government office for a while, instead, he moved to the seaside with his people and took daily walks to inspect the progress.
Ever since the first batch of improved sea vessels were built, Li Yuanying looked at Li Dejian and the others with envy. The thought of them freely sailing the seas angered him.
As he fumed, Li Yuanying had a thought. Although his brother prohibited him from going to sea, Henan Road was far from Chang’an. It would take at least ten days for news to reach the capital. Ten days, enough for him to take a spin around the nearby seas!
Having decided to sneak out for a sea voyage, Li Yuanying started practicing swimming with Li Dejian and the others daily.
He had been practicing during the summer too, after all, it was hot and the water was cool. He was a boy, so even if he jumped into the water naked, it wouldn’t be a problem. Besides, his government office had a small lake with running water. He could swim as he pleased.
Driven by his desire to board a ship, Li Yuanying also thought about improving the food and medical care at sea. He consulted the system and Sun Simiao’s opinions and drafted a list of supplies to be replenished. He also asked the medical academy to start a first aid course, ideally with one-on-one instruction, ensuring that every member of the seafaring crew mastered first aid.
Li Yuanying was cunning. He didn’t even mention his desire to sail to Wei Jiu and Sun Simiao, everyone assumed he was preparing for Li Dejian and the others. As for Li Yuanying himself learning first aid, that wasn’t worth mentioning. He loved to join in, what was there to learn that he wouldn’t?
Therefore, until the first batch of improved sea vessels left the shipyard, no one suspected that Li Yuanying was up to something.
On the day of the sea trial, Li Dejian led the first batch of improved vessels out to sea. Their first destination was a sea island not too far from the port. Because of the sea separating it from Henan Road, the small islands appeared deserted, even lacking decent vegetation.
The fleet reached the island at noon. Li Dejian ordered the ships to stop for maintenance and inspection. The ships needed to be inspected and records kept, and only after confirming there were no issues would they proceed to the next destination. However, during the inspection, a problem arose. It wasn’t a fault in the ship’s quality, but an unexpected passenger.
Li Yuanying had been hiding on the ship, and the rocking motion had made him dizzy. He simply crawled out from his hiding place and found a spot to fall asleep. He wasn’t actually seasick, just tired from getting up too early.
The person inspecting the ship’s hold was startled by the sudden appearance of a living person. Fortunately, Li Yuanying had been hanging around them lately, so they recognized him after taking a closer look and hurried to inform Li Dejian.
Li Dejian wished it was a mistake on the part of his men, but when he arrived, he saw Li Yuanying had already woken up and was rubbing his eyes and yawning.
Li Dejian said ominously, “If something happens to you, we’ll all be done for because of you.”
Li Yuanying felt a little guilty after Li Dejian’s words, but he remained optimistic. “Nothing will happen. Look at us, so many people, such a good ship, and such excellent weapons. Even if we encounter pirates, we’ll win!” He pulled Li Dejian along, saying, “You can’t send me back. Splitting our forces is a big mistake in an uncertain situation! We should all go together, if something really happens, we can help each other.”
Li Dejian didn’t want to argue. He knew that ten of him wouldn’t be able to convince Li Yuanying.
Upon learning that the ship had docked, Li Yuanying perked up. He followed Li Dejian to inspect the island.
Stepping onto foreign soil, Li Yuanying was not afraid at all. He looked in the direction of the Tang Dynasty, but all he could see was the vast expanse of the ocean, not a trace of the Tang Dynasty in sight.
The weather was good that day, a friendly sea breeze blew towards them, making Li Yuanying feel very comfortable. He saw flocks of seabirds soaring above the sea, rising and falling with the waves, flying and landing. With great enthusiasm, he turned to Li Dejian and said, “Has your father ever been to sea? Has he seen these birds? I wonder if he can tame them!”
Li Dejian didn’t really want to engage with him.
Li Yuanying was unfazed by others’ silence. He continued to pester Li Dejian for a while, then went to chat with Du He.
If Li Dejian was simply helpless, Du He was truly scared by Li Yuanying. If Li Yuanying were to get into trouble while sailing with them, not only would Emperor Li be furious, but he couldn’t face Chengyang either.
Du He also didn’t want to talk to Li Yuanying, even his responses to Li Yuanying’s questions were listless. At lunchtime, Du He and Li Dejian discussed returning. They had sailed for half a day, which was more than enough for a sea trial. There was no need to continue the adventure with Li Yuanying.
Li Dejian agreed.
Li Yuanying, however, didn’t share their thoughts. He wasn’t happy. “Aren’t we going to Japan?” He had been involved in every step of the route planning, so he knew their destination. Li Yuanying said, “The Japanese ships are so dilapidated, yet they can still cross the sea. Our ship is so good, what are we afraid of?”
While at the Imperial Academy, Li Yuanying had met Japanese students and had heard some stories about Japan from them.
Li Dejian and Du He finally understood why Li Yuanying had actively participated in the discussion about the sea trial route. It turned out he had planned to tag along from the beginning!
Du He complained, “You should have discussed this with us first, Your Highness.”
Li Yuanying replied, “If I had discussed it with you, would you have let me come?”
Du He: “…”
No, they wouldn’t have agreed. They would have informed Wei Jiu, and even Emperor Li, and firmly prevented him from going to sea!
To be honest, Du He felt terrible when he first went to sea. He wanted to quit right away. He only gradually got used to life at sea after being encouraged by Chengyang’s gentle words. He couldn’t understand how Li Yuanying had such boundless energy and was so eager to see Japan.
Li Dejian remained silent and prepared to send Li Yuanying back directly, leaving no room for him to persuade him.
Seeing Li Dejian’s iron resolve, Li Yuanying, who had no chance to appeal, sat on a large rock on the deserted island and sighed. He first lamented that he had lost his father early, then he embellished their mother-son life in the palace, making it sound as if they were restricted and lacked freedom, even their relocation to a fief was a long and arduous process. He also said that this might be his only chance to go to sea, and it was too sad to only see such a small island.
There are people like that in the world, even if you clearly know they’re acting pitiful, you can’t bear to see their sorrowful expression. Li Dejian couldn’t bear to see Li Yuanying sitting there, his eyes turning red, and he couldn’t help but say, “Alright, we’ll continue the sea trial as planned.”
Li Yuanying immediately cheered up, his previous dejection gone. He jumped up and said, “So we’re leaving now?” To avoid Li Dejian and the others, he had hidden in the ship’s hold and hadn’t come out. Now that he had slept enough, he was eager to experience sailing on the deck, riding the wind and waves.
Li Dejian only wanted to complete the sea trial as soon as possible. He didn’t delay, blowing a horn to call everyone to gather, pack their things, and count the numbers. Soon, everyone, without exception, boarded the ship. He warned Li Yuanying, “Your Highness must stay close to me at all times.”
Li Yuanying nodded like a pestle, behaving very well.
…
Meanwhile, Huang Ying and Huang Li rushed to find Wei Jiu.
In the morning, Li Yuanying said he wanted to play a game with them, letting them solve riddles to find the clues he left behind. Whoever found them first would get a reward. Li Yuanying often had whimsical ideas and came up with new games. Huang Ying and Huang Li didn’t notice anything amiss and happily played the decryption game.
But nearing noon, Huang Ying solved the riddle and found the letter Li Yuanying had left for Wei Jiu. They were shocked to realize something was wrong. They didn’t even bother to look at the rewards Li Yuanying had prepared for them, and hurried to find Wei Jiu with the letter.
Wei Jiu hadn’t seen Li Yuanying all morning and found it strange, but she assumed he had gone to watch Li Dejian’s sea trial and didn’t think much of it. When she saw Huang Ying and Huang Li rushing towards her with a letter from Li Yuanying, her heart sank. She felt that something was amiss.
After reading the letter, Wei Jiu sighed.
Knowing Li Yuanying’s character, she didn’t expect him to change after their engagement. While he liked to cause trouble, he hadn’t done anything truly unacceptable in the past few years, so everyone had indulged his antics.
But Li Yuanying had secretly followed Li Dejian and the others to sea!
In the letter, he told her not to worry, that he was a strong swimmer and could even rescue people if something happened. He was definitely not the one needing rescue. Most importantly, she had to shield him from others, preventing them from knowing he was at sea, otherwise he would never be able to go out and play again!
Wei Jiu wanted to tell everyone immediately, ideally getting everyone to keep an eye on Li Yuanying. But she knew him well. He was naturally unrestrained and wouldn’t stand being watched everywhere. She could only tell people that he was ill and couldn’t see guests. When Wu Mei and the others came to visit, she confided in them about Li Yuanying’s sea voyage.
Di Renjie said, “He’s too reckless, at least he could have told us.” They had been very worried when they heard he was ill and couldn’t see guests. Who knew he was out playing!
Lu Zhaolin said, “General Li and the others should discover His Highness soon, right? They’ll probably bring him back before evening.”
Wu Mei calmly analyzed, “Based on His Highness’s personality, he definitely won’t want to be sent back once he’s gone.” As for persuasion, neither Li Dejian nor Du He could match Li Yuanying. If she were on the ship, she would simply give him a blow to the head, knock him unconscious, and bring him back, absolutely not giving him a chance to speak!
Wei Jiu nodded.
The best they could do now was to cover up for Li Yuanying and prevent word of his sea voyage from reaching Emperor Li’s ears. Not only would a prince leaving his fief without permission be a major crime, but Li Yuanying’s audacity in daring to join the fleet on a long voyage was enough to infuriate Emperor Li!
**Author’s Note:**
Little Prince: It’s fun to get into a little trouble, I’m free anyway!
Update! Yesterday! I walked 25,000 steps! When I returned to the hotel, I fell into a coma!
I lost a life for the full attendance bonus!
It still has one chance to revive!
Traveling is so tiring~ Especially for a directionally challenged person who doesn’t like to talk to people~ I followed the navigation blindly, took a road with many dilapidated factories and few people on my way to the Eight Great Masters Memorial Hall. Immediately, I imagined all sorts of murder cases! Then I crossed an abandoned railway, went through an underground passage, and finally reached the main road, which was under construction. I circled the construction site and finally reached the scenic spot. On the way back, I didn’t want to take that route again, but the bus stop on the other route had been demolished due to the construction of the subway… I was completely dumbfounded and looked for a temporary station… After a day of walking, I was exhausted! I went to climb the Tengwang Pavilion in the afternoon, and I sat directly in the rest room and didn’t want to move! It wasn’t until I heard the tour guide mention “Zeng Gong” and “Wang Anshi” outside that I got up from my lazy daze and took a look at the portraits on the wall!
So this morning, I cleverly deleted my travel plans and stayed in the hotel to write!
I’m still going to take the high-speed rail north in the afternoon, and I’m starting to feel sleepy.jpg
**Note:**
* “Lao Li” refers to Emperor Taizong, Li Shimin, in a casual way, kind of like calling him “Old Man Li.”
* “Fawning villain” is a more direct translation of the Chinese idiom “谄媚小人” (chǎn mèi xiǎo rén).
* The “system” is likely a reference to the novel’s plot device, which might be something like a cheat code or an external force guiding the protagonist.
* “Tengwang Pavilion” is a famous pavilion in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, known for its beautiful architecture and literary associations.
* “Eight Great Masters Memorial Hall” is a memorial hall in Nanchang dedicated to the Eight Great Masters, a group of Ming Dynasty painters.
* “Zeng Gong” and “Wang Anshi” are famous figures in Chinese history. Zeng Gong was a Song Dynasty scholar and writer, known for his literary and philosophical works. Wang Anshi was a Song Dynasty politician and reformer.
* The author is sharing their travel experience, which adds a personal touch to the story and provides context for the chapter.
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