Rice Fragrance

In the spring of the ninth year of the Yonghui era, willow catkins were flying everywhere.

In the two acres of paddy fields that Wu Zetian had cleared by Taiye Pond, she walked barefoot in the warm mud and water, teaching the children how to plant rice seedlings.

"Hong'er, the seedlings must be straight and the roots must be firm." She held Li Hong's little hand and inserted a tender green seedling into the water.

The ten-year-old prince studied diligently, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead, determined to ensure that the spacing between each seedling was exactly the same.

Li Xian didn't care about any of that. Like a happy little mudfish, he splashed around in the field, getting his face covered in mud, and even held up his mud-covered little hands to show his father.

Li Xian, held by his wet nurse on the edge of the field, opened his big, dark eyes and babbled like the frogs in the field, waving his little hands at the lush green rice seedlings.

(Inner monologue: This is what childhood should be like!)

“Your Majesty,” Wu Meiniang turned around and smiled at Li Zhi, who was standing by the field, “Xian’er looks like she was pulled out of a mud pit.”

Li Zhi was not annoyed at all; instead, he laughed loudly.

He took off his dragon-patterned brocade boots, rolled up his bright yellow trousers, and stepped into the paddy field without hesitation.

The mud and water instantly submerged his ankles, but he didn't care and trudged to his wife's side.

"Father has turned into a mud-legged man!" Li Xian clapped and cheered, splashing even more mud.

Li Zhi bent down and scooped up his second son, wiping the mud off his face with his sleeve: "What's wrong with me tilling the land with the people?"

He then looked at Li Hong, who was diligently planting rice seedlings, and said with approval, "Hong'er is doing a great job."

(Inner monologue: I give the boss full marks for his approachable image!)

He walked to Wu Meiniang's side and naturally took the rice seedlings from her hands: "You rest, I'll take care of it."

Although his movements were clumsy, he was extremely earnest.

Wu Meiniang retreated to the edge of the field and took Li Xian from her wet nurse's arms.

Watching her husband and two sons working in the fields, a warm feeling welled up in her heart.

(Inner monologue: This is probably the simplest kind of happiness.)

The afternoon sun was warm and inviting, and Li Zhi insisted on having his meal with his wife and children in a thatched pavilion by the field.

The meal delivered by the Imperial Kitchen was simple yet exquisite. Li Xian was starving and ate the flatbread in large bites, not even bothering to wipe the sesame seeds from the corners of his mouth.

"Eat slowly," Li Zhi gently wiped the crumbs from his second son's mouth, and added a piece of roasted meat, which his eldest son loved, to his bowl. "Hong'er, you've worked hard today."

He personally ladled out a bowl of warm soup and handed it to Wu Meiniang: "Meiniang, this is your favorite water shield soup."

His gaze fell on her cheeks, slightly flushed from her work, filled with affection.

(Inner monologue: He even remembers so clearly what I like to drink...)

Wu Meiniang took the soup bowl, feeling a sweet warmth in her heart.

Li Xian, nestled in his arms, seemed to be drawn by the aroma of the food, and stretched out his little hand while babbling.

Li Zhi smiled and broke off a small piece of soft, glutinous pastry, carefully feeding it to his youngest son, watching him try his best to gnaw on it with his few remaining baby teeth.

During the autumn harvest season, golden waves rolled across the experimental fields.

Wu Meiniang sat with the children on the edge of the paddy field. Li Hong carefully recorded the yield of each row in a small notebook, Li Xian chased dragonflies by the rice paddy, and Li Xian tried to reach out and touch the heavy ears of rice.

The Minister of Agriculture excitedly rushed over to report: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! The yield of the new rice has indeed increased by 30%!"

Emperor Li Zhi was overjoyed and lifted Li Xian up, letting him sit on his shoulders: "Did you hear that, Chi Lang? This is all thanks to your mother!" He then looked at Wu Meiniang, his eyes filled with pride and admiration.

Wu Meiniang placed a golden grain of rice in Li Xian's small hand and said softly, "Remember, my love, this is more precious than any jewel."

(Inner monologue: Food is the foundation of the world.)

Li Zhi held Li Xian in one arm and naturally put his other arm around Wu Meiniang's shoulder. Looking at the bountiful fields, he sighed, "I have a virtuous wife, a wise prince, and this bountiful empire. What more could I ask for?"

As the sun set, the family slowly walked back to the palace along the ridges of the fields.

Li Zhi insisted on holding the already sleeping Li Xian, Wu Meiniang led the tired and yawning Li Xian, while Li Hong, like a little adult, followed his parents and reported on his observations of the day.

As the palace lanterns were lit, they cast long shadows of the family.

At this moment, they were not an emperor, empress, and prince; they were simply the most ordinary and happiest family in the world.

——

[Mini-drama: The Emperor Combing His Hair]

(Observations of a Palace Maid on Night Duty)

This morning, when His Majesty was combing the Empress's hair, the Third Prince crawled over and grabbed His Majesty's sash.

The Empress was about to carry the Third Prince away, but His Majesty said, "It's alright, let the Prince Chi watch over him."

Halfway through combing the hair, the Second Prince ran over with the words he had just written, asking for praise, while the Crown Prince came over with a memorial to greet him.

(His Majesty held the Third Prince in his left arm, tidied the Empress's hair with his right, and still managed to read the Crown Prince's memorials in his spare time.)

Finally, a phoenix hairpin was tucked into the Empress's black hair, while the ends of her hair were tied with a red hair tie given to her by the Second Prince.

Looking at the smile lines at the corners of His Majesty's eyes, I suddenly understood what it meant to "envy only the mandarin ducks, not the immortals".