Sitting in the carriage with Lanling, Li Hong thought about what Cheetah said and the fragments he saw. It was no coincidence that these things appeared in Ci'en Temple.
Li Hong had a bold idea. Could it be that those imprisoned people were the craftsmen of the Tang Dynasty? And those fragments were the defective products when the craftsmen made the Linglong Tower?
"What are you thinking about, little guy?" Lan Ling looked at Li Hong holding the fragments in his hand and refused to let go. He thought that the little guy was still worried about breaking the Linglong Tower in the palace, so he stroked Li Hong's head lovingly and asked.
"I'm not thinking about anything. Is this how you and Master Weiying met, aunt?" Li Hong asked, looking up. He held the glass fragment in his hand close to one of his eyes and could vaguely see Lanling's shadow.
"Naughty." Lan Ling gently slapped Li Hong's hand on his eyes and sighed, "This was introduced by Queen Wang's brother a few years ago. Although there are dozens or even hundreds of temples and Taoist temples in Chang'an City now, the incense money is ridiculously expensive. Your aunt is not like you who knows how to make money since childhood. Although she is a princess, she still can't go to such a big temple to burn incense and pray every day. It happened that Wei Ying was giving a lecture for Queen Wang in the palace, and her brother Wang Jing introduced Wei Ying to your aunt."
"What about before that? In which temple should Wei be?" Li Hong continued to ask.
"Before, he had been in Guangming Temple. After Ci'en Temple was built, I heard that it was Queen Wang's brother and uncle who arranged for him to come to Ci'en Temple. Why are you asking these questions?" Lanling suddenly asked curiously.
"Nothing, just asking casually. I don't know who is more powerful or has deeper Buddhist knowledge between Master Weiying and Master Xuanzang." Li Hong answered casually.
"Of course Master Xuanzang is much more powerful. He went to seek Buddhist scriptures in person. Moreover, Master Xuanzang only preached to us royal family members. Even your father had to go to him twice a year. Now he is almost your father's personal master. Naturally, it is not our turn to listen to Master Xuanzang's lectures." Lanling said with a sigh.
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After watching Lan Ling's carriage slowly leave, Li Hong was still thinking about Lan Ling's words in his mind. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and said, "Grain in Ear, Awaken of Insects, hurry up and catch up with aunt's carriage. Come back after you escort her home."
As Li Hong walked towards the mansion, he continued to think about the suspicious points of Ci'en Temple. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Ci'en Temple was not as simple as it seemed.
Wei Ying, the one introduced by Queen Wang's brother Wang Jing? It seems that he, like his father and his brother, is a non-official official without a real job.
His father, Queen Wang's father, was granted the title of "Special Advancement", which was second only to the "Three Dukes" during the court meeting. He was granted the title of Duke of Wei, a second-rank civil official. As for the title of Queen Wang's brother, Li Hong did not know.
But Li Hong also knew that Queen Wang's uncle Liu Shuang was a powerful person who was currently serving as the Minister of the Secretariat.
Li Hong shook his head, trying to drive away these trivial things in his mind, or maybe he was overthinking. At that time in Chang'an City, no matter how big or small the temple was, it was not only a place for devout worship by devout men and women, but also a place for people to visit, enjoy the flowers and the moon, which was equivalent to the parks in later generations.
Similarly, some temples also served as places for the government to house the families of deposed officials. The most well-known one is probably the Ganye Temple where the Queen Mother stayed.
On the morning of the second day, Li Yifu hurried over after court, followed by six people. Judging from their expressions, the six people looked like ordinary people. They followed Li Yifu submissively and cautiously as they walked in Prince Pu's Mansion.
Li Hong had just finished his breakfast with Xia Zhi's service and yawned as he let Li Yifu in.
Li Yifu stood at the door and told six people to wait outside. From the time he found these six people until now, Li Yifu had not told them why they came here, the purpose of their coming, and who they wanted to see.
After hearing Li Yifu's greeting, the six people nodded hastily, their eyes fixed on their toes, not daring to look around casually. They had never been to such a large mansion before, and just walking made them feel like they had walked half a block.
The six people were uneasily guessing in their hearts the identity of the important person they were about to meet. Anyone who could live in such a big house in Chang'an City must be an official above the Duke level. In any case, they did not expect that the person they were about to meet would be a prince of the royal family.
"Please sit down, Mr. Yi. How is it? Have the people arrived?" Li Hong did not beat around the bush. He did not sleep well last night, and his mind was always filled with the scene in Ci'en Temple yesterday.
"King Dai, they are all here, according to your instructions. There are two glass craftsmen, two blacksmiths, and two craftsmen who make blue bricks. They are all honest and hardworking people. They have inherited the skills from their ancestors. They are also among the most skilled craftsmen in Chang'an City." After Li Yifu sat down, Xia Zhi brought him a glass of water and put it down.
Li Hong was not used to drinking the brewed tea at that time, so he only drank boiled water until now.
Li Yifu was obviously used to it and nodded slightly to Xia Zhi to express his gratitude.
"By the way, let me ask you something. Do you know Ci'en Temple?" Li Hong pounded his head in pain with his little hands. His jet-black hair draped over his shoulders and swayed casually.
"I know Ci'en Temple. It was just built a few days ago. Why does King Dai ask about this? If you want to go, I can accompany you to see it tomorrow." Li Yifu said with a thoughtful look in his eyes.
"No, I went there with Aunt Lanling yesterday. How much do you know about Ci'en Temple?" Li Hong let Xia Zhi tie his hair into a ponytail and let it hang behind his head. He was too lazy to tie his hair up.
Li Yifu pondered for a moment and said, "Well... I don't know much. It is said that this Ci'en Temple was jointly funded by Guizi and the wealthy merchants of our Tang Dynasty. As for the rest, I am not sure."
Li Hong nodded thoughtfully, and began to make up his mind. It seemed that he would not be able to sleep well if he did not find out the truth about this matter. So he planned to let Jingzhe and Liebao go to explore what secrets this Ci'en Temple had hidden.
"Okay, come on, let's go to the backyard and see if these craftsmen can make this glass." Li Hong reached his hand behind his head and touched his ponytail with satisfaction, then stood up and walked out.
Li Yifu followed closely behind him. As soon as Li Hong went out, he saw six people standing at the side of the door with their bodies bent. After taking a glance, he said, "Yifu, take them with you to take a look."
"Yes." Li Yifu waved his hand to signal the six people to follow.
Coming to the last courtyard, it was now empty. Apart from the pavilions and gardens, there was a lot of sand piled on an open space.
Everyone stopped not far from the sand pile. Li Hong looked up at the dazzling sun in the sky, and then took the piece of debris that Xia Zhi brought from Ci'en Temple yesterday.
Li Hong turned around and looked at the six people who were lowering their heads behind Li Yifu. He handed the glass fragments in his hand to the six people and asked, "Look at what this is? Does anyone know how to make it?"
The six people's eyes stayed on the glass in Li Hong's hand. One of the craftsmen pondered for a moment and said, "This little brother..."
"How dare you!" Li Yifu's scolding suddenly rang out, scaring not only the six craftsmen but also Li Hong.
"The person in front of you is my Tang Dynasty's prince Dai Wang, what little brother! Why don't you kneel down and confess your guilt!" Li Yifu realized at this moment that he had made a mistake. He should have told them clearly who he wanted to see when he came, otherwise such an embarrassing thing would not have happened.
"It's okay, it's fine." Li Hong looked at the six people kneeling timidly in front of him and said, "Get up, ignorance is not a crime. By the way, you said you knew this person?"
"This... is, please forgive me, Your Majesty, I think I have seen this thing before. It seems to be called... called..."
"Just say what your name is. Why hesitate? It doesn't matter if you say it wrong." Li Yifu urged impatiently.
"Yes, sir, this thing should be called glass, and what you hold in your hand should be just a fragment."
"Do you know how to make it this way?" Li Hong asked.
"I don't know." The other five people also shook their heads.
Li Hong nodded in understanding, turned his head to look at the pile of sand, and then said, "Well, today we will discuss how to refine this glass. Who among the six of you is the craftsman who makes blue bricks?"
"It's me." Two people stood up and said.
When Li Yifu heard this, he knew that the King of Dai was going to teach him how to find glass, so he hurriedly said, "King of Dai, I will take my leave first. I will come back after you finish teaching."
"No need. You will have to take care of this matter in the future. Let's take a look at it together. I don't know much about it. Whether I can do it or not depends on the two of them." Li Hong said nonchalantly.
Li Yifu felt relieved and happy at the same time. It seemed that there was no harm in spending more time with the King of Dai. He now regarded him as his confidant and was not shy about discussing such an important matter with him.
Li Hong ignored Li Yifu's little thoughts and watched the sunlight shining on the sand. As the angle changed, he could occasionally find bright sparkling crystals among the sand.
Then he pointed at the pile of sand and said, "Look at the sand from different angles. Can you see that sometimes there are bright and dazzling things reflected?"
Li Yifu and the other six people, including Xia Zhi, stretched their necks to stare at the pile of sand, and occasionally said, "It really is, there is really a light."
"Summer Solstice, is it similar to the bright light we saw yesterday?"
"Yes, King Dai, although it is a little smaller and difficult to catch, it is really almost the same." Xia Zhi continued to shake his head and looked at the pile of sand.
Li Hong walked to the sand pile, motioned them to follow, held up a handful of sand with his small hand, slowly loosened his fingers, watched the sand fall to the ground in a line from his fingertips, and said, "In fact, this glass is extracted from this sand, so the two of you who are going to make blue bricks, burn sand in the next few days, and see what will appear after you finish burning this pile of sand."
"This..." The two craftsmen were a little embarrassed. What could be produced by burning sand?
"Use any method you can think of to cook it. Any method is fine. We have provided you with accommodation here, two people in a room. It has been cleaned for you. Someone will deliver meals to you on time." After Li Hong finished speaking, he told Xia Zhi to help them take care of it, and then took Li Yifu and walked forward.
"Prince Dai, you are not saying that the glass is made from sand, are you?" Li Yifu's gentle and powerful smile disappeared, and his face was full of surprise and disbelief.
"Yes, this sand is an indispensable material for making glass, so you can imagine how cheap this glass is, right? But then again, it's not that easy, and it needs to be mixed with some other things. Remember not to tell anyone about this."
"Why?"
"In order to maximize profits, and because we don't have a large-scale workshop, let's wait and see the progress in the next few days. What do you think of Zhongshu Ling Liu Shuang?"
Li Yifu could not keep up with Li Hong's jumping thoughts. The previous sentence was still on the sand, and the next sentence jumped to the Minister of the Central Secretariat Liu Shuang.
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