Chapter 117: Li Er’s Ambition

Yun Hao really wanted to turn around and leave. One didn't need to be a genius to guess what this was about. It was nothing more than the usual messy, tiresome political affairs, and he had no interest in getting entangled in them. Even if one managed to seize the highest throne in the end, it would mean shouldering the burden of the entire world. Being an emperor was like playing the stock market; it was a gamble where, by god, risks and opportunities were inextricably linked.

Besides the risk of being worked to death, one also risked becoming a chronic paranoid. Suspecting everyone and everything, day in and day out—according to incomplete historical statistics, the average age of an emperor was only thirty-nine, with a non-natural death rate as high as forty-four percent.

Fathers killed sons, and sons killed fathers. Wives finished off husbands, and daughters finished off fathers. If history followed its normal course, there were even mothers who would finish off their sons just to become empress. To spend every day looking at the world with suspicion, locking wits with a group of human monsters—good heavens! Just thinking about it was enough to make life unbearable.

Helplessly, his foot had already crossed the threshold, so Yun Hao had no choice but to brace himself and walk into the hall.

He saw Li Er sitting sullenly on a sofa gifted by the Yun family, his hands resting on his knees, looking as puffed up as a toad. Empress Zhangsun’s expression was as cold as water, and she was whispering to Li Er, trying to persuade him.

"What is bothering you, Second Master?" Being small had its advantages; even the angriest person wouldn't show a sour face to a fair-skinned, bright-eyed little handsome boy.

"Ah, Hao'er is here. Sit down! Someone, serve tea!" Li Er had started to treat Yun Hao as part of the inner circle, yet he treated him differently than other children. Otherwise, he would have picked Yun Hao up and sat him on his lap to feed him candies.

"It is all because of the fresh greens. Ever since Gao Junya returned from Huozhou, he has intercepted our Duke’s mansion’s supply of vegetables. Erlang is furious about this. Although food may seem like a trivial matter, the Duke is currently nursing an injury, and we dare not let him know. But now that there are no fresh greens on the table, how could the Duke not grow suspicious? If he were to be angered into a decline in health, what would we do?" The maid served tea, and Zhangsun sat beside Li Er, chatting with Yun Hao as if they were just discussing household matters.

Fresh greens...! So it was about this. Li Yuan was not being kind. He had filled his own pockets in Huozhou while leaving Gao Junya and Wang Wei to do the dirty, exhausting work; it was no wonder they were retaliating now that they were back.

There was an imperial villa in Jinyang, and not far to the west of it were warm springs. The one or two acres of land around these springs could grow vegetables even in the dead of winter. This was the only source of fresh greens for the hundreds of thousands of people in Jinyang during the winter.

Scarce resources were always supplied to the imperial villa first, but a villa was, after all, just a villa. The Emperor didn't live there on a daily basis, so the palace supervisor naturally had the final say. And that palace supervisor happened to be Pei Ji, Li Yuan’s good friend!

In the past, Pei Ji would arrange for the vegetables to be sent to the Tang Duke’s mansion, but the moment Gao Junya returned, he had them intercepted. He was a servant of the current Emperor, and his duties included overseeing the villa. Li Er and Li Jiancheng were furious, but there was nothing they could do. They had to find a way to hide it from Li Yuan to avoid aggravating his injuries. Now, with no greens on the table, they could no longer keep up the ruse, so how could they not be anxious?

"Oh! Is that all? That is easy to solve. I will have someone send some over every day starting tomorrow. Why should you lose sleep over such a small matter, Second Master?" Yun Hao curled his lip helplessly. It was hard to believe that the mighty Heavenly Khan could be stumped by things like spinach and cucumbers.

"Humph! There is only one acre of land in all of Jinyang that produces greens...! Wait! You, kid, can grow fresh greens in the winter?" Li Er stopped mid-sentence. He had grown accustomed to Yun Hao’s miracles, and his initial reaction was based on habit, but he corrected himself halfway through.

"Vegetables grow in summer simply because the temperature and humidity are right. That is why crops can grow around the warm springs. As long as you can create a similar environment in the dead of winter, there is nothing strange about growing some greens. You grew up in a wealthy urban household; us country folk have had farmers tinkering with this for a long time, you just didn't know about it." Not wanting to appear too monstrous, Yun Hao was very humble.

It was just winter greenhouse vegetables. Yun Hao had long since set up heated cellars on the Yun estate. The lack of glass was a big problem, but fortunately, there was silk. On warmer days, they would lift the thick straw curtains to let the vegetables see the sunlight. Yun Hao had even creatively lit a few giant tallow candles inside, though he wasn't sure if they had any effect.

Li Er’s eyes lit up instantly. Being able to grow fresh greens in winter—this wasn't just growing vegetables; it was growing money. How many nobles in Chang'an or Luoyang could eat fresh greens in the winter?

Yun Hao regretted saying it the moment the words left his mouth. Li Er snatched him up and headed out. Once outside, he shoved him into a carriage and headed straight for the Yun estate. He wanted to see with his own eyes how vegetables could be grown in the middle of winter.

The weather was fine today, with no biting wind. The windows of the greenhouse were all open, and even the silk used to block the cold had been rolled up. The various greens in the greenhouse were soaking up the essence of the sun, looking vibrant and full of life.

Li Er stood at the entrance, stunned for two seconds, before charging in like a wild boar. He rinsed a cucumber in a water vat and began chewing on it—*crunch, crunch*. Yun Hao felt a wave of nausea!

To ensure the vegetables grew better, Yun Hao had applied fertilizer. Yes, you guessed it—farm manure. There was no way to conjure up chemical fertilizers in this era. Today, the windows were open, and the cold winter air had a natural deodorizing effect. But for Li Er to just wash it like that and eat it...

"To be able to grow greens in the dead of winter—is there anything you can't do? How is that little head of yours wired?" Li Er looked at Yun Hao’s head closely, looking very much like he wanted to cut it open to study it.

"Even though I am young, I understand that there are fixed laws to everything between heaven and earth. People must breathe, eat, and drink to live. When it is cold, we wear clothes and sit by the fire; when it is hot, we naturally take off clothes to cool down. It is the same with these greens; give them warmth and sunlight, and they will naturally grow. There is nothing strange about it."

"Hmm! That is true; heaven and earth have their natural laws. Perhaps people have their own destinies, but I simply do not believe in destiny...!" Again, he stopped halfway. Li Er had great self-control. His lapse was only for a moment; he caught himself in time, looked at Yun Hao, and smiled with malicious intent.

The Li family held the title of Duke of Tang, and their official rank was Guardian of Jinyang. In terms of titles, they had reached the pinnacle of the court, and in terms of rank, they were powerful regional officials and pillars of the state. To still be dissatisfied—what they wanted was becoming increasingly clear.

"It is noon; why don't you stay and eat on the estate, Second Master? I will have them prepare a table of good food!" Yun Hao was not about to expose Li Er’s thoughts. If the great Heavenly Khan had accepted his fate, there wouldn't have been the bloody tragedy at Xuanwu Gate. Better not to discuss such issues; people died for less.

Li Er was never a man of simple kindness.

Once the meal was set, Li Er became very interested in the long, white vegetable. Li Er was not entirely ignorant of agriculture, but he was certain he had never seen this vegetable before. Seeing Yun Hao pick some up with his chopsticks, he tried it himself. It was crisp and refreshing in his mouth.

"Hao'er, what is this vegetable? Why have I never seen it before?" Li Er dug in ravenously, asking curiously while he ate.

"This is called bean sprouts, grown from soybeans."

"Soybeans...!"

"That is 'shu'! The yellow beans—if they aren't called soybeans, what should they be called? It's a mouthful!"

"Oh!" Li Er looked as if he had just had an epiphany. He also felt that the name "soybean" seemed more fitting than "shu."

After Li Er had some wine, he began to brag to Yun Hao about his great exploits in Huozhou. Damn it! You were in full armor, riding a black steed. It would have been a miracle if those rebel farmers with nothing but kitchen knives could have beaten you. Yun Hao responded perfunctorily, a smile plastered on his face. There was no helping it; he couldn't afford to offend this great lord.

"Second Master! Second Master! It is bad! The old mistress is suffering from a phlegm attack, and the Duke has ordered you and Physician Yun to return to the mansion at once!" Just as Yun Hao was feeling bored, a steward of the Li family ran in, flustered.