The Unconventional Prince

The designs for furniture that Li Zhi described were numerous, yet not a single one had ever appeared on the current market. Pei Feishu gazed at the series of drawings rendered by the foreman, his heart filled with an indescribable sense of awe. The pieces Li Zhi envisioned—tables, chairs, benches, cabinets, beds—each one upended the established habits of daily life, yet each innovation perfectly addressed the myriad inconveniences people faced.

As Pei Feishu carefully studied each blueprint, he listened intently to Li Zhi’s explanations regarding the purpose of each piece and the reasoning behind their design. Eventually, Pei Feishu became so engrossed in the discussion of craftsmanship with the foreman that he forgot entirely how young Li Zhi truly was.

It was only after a long time, when all of Li Zhi’s ideas had finally been committed to paper, that Pei Feishu let out a long breath and exclaimed, “Your Highness, you are truly gifted by the heavens to conceive so many exquisite and practical forms of furniture—these are beyond the reach of ordinary men.”

Li Zhi waved his hand at Pei Feishu’s praise and replied, “You flatter me, Lord Pei. I am merely prone to idle fancies when time weighs heavy on my hands. It is you and the craftsmen who must labor to bring these ignorant notions of mine to life.”

Hearing Li Zhi’s words, Pei Feishu felt gratified, while the foreman standing beside him was so moved he was nearly brought to tears. Never in his life had he encountered such consideration from a prince. Though they, as craftsmen, were officially in royal service, their lowly status meant they could never hope to earn the favor of the nobility. Most people took it for granted that they could command these artisans at will, never pausing to consider how burdensome it might make their already heavy workload.

Yet here was His Highness the Prince of Jin, who, at such a young age, had thought of these things at once. The foreman, overwhelmed with emotion, pounded his chest and declared, “Rest assured, Your Highness, I will lead the men to complete the furniture you require as swiftly as possible.”

Li Zhi waved this off, saying, “There is no need to hurry everything. I only wish you would expedite the set of tables and chairs I designed for my father, the Emperor.”

Hearing this, Pei Feishu added, “Your filial piety does you credit, Your Highness. We shall exhaust all our efforts to see it done.”

Having finished his business, Li Zhi made no further delay. He bowed formally to Pei Feishu and the foreman, saying, “Then I must trouble you both and all the craftsmen. I take my leave.”

Pei Feishu hastily returned his bow, while the foreman fell to his knees and knocked his head on the ground before Li Zhi. Startled, Li Zhi quickly bade Liu An, who stood by, to help the man up. “Please, Master, do not do this. Otherwise, I shall feel truly ill at ease.”

Choked with emotion, the foreman could barely speak. Even after Liu An helped him to his feet, he reddened with tears and repeatedly bowed deeply to Li Zhi. Only after much commotion did Li Zhi, somewhat disheveled, manage to take his leave from the Office of Imperial Manufactures, still marveling at how courteous Pei Feishu and the foreman had been.

At this moment, Liu An, who had observed everything in silence, suddenly spoke, “Your Highness may not know this, but since the founding of the Office of Imperial Manufactures, you are likely the first prince to ever thank them.”

At first, Li Zhi did not quite understand, but after a moment’s thought, the reason became clear. In this era, craftsmen were considered commoners—people of good standing, yet bound by hereditary profession, with little hope of advancement. Although the office’s artisans were mostly hired laborers and technically had a contractual relationship with the royal house rather than that of master and servant, the great gulf between their status and that of the imperial family meant that the latter rarely deigned to interact with them, much less express concern for their hardships.

Understanding this, Li Zhi sighed and asked Liu An, “Eunuch Liu, are there many carpenters in Chang’an?”

Liu An, unsure of Li Zhi’s intent, nonetheless replied honestly, “To my knowledge, there are quite a number.”

Li Zhi considered for a moment and said, “Could you gather some carpenters and establish a workshop?”

Startled, Liu An asked, “Your Highness wishes to go into business?”

Li Zhi nodded. “You saw today the furniture I designed; each piece brings great convenience. I want to make these available to the common people.”

Liu An hesitated. “Your designs are indeed useful, but I fear they may not be affordable for most. Even if there are those who can, they may well hire craftsmen to copy the pieces they like.”

Li Zhi smiled. “I never intended to monopolize the business. On the contrary, by letting more carpenters see these designs and replicate them, they can earn more to feed their families.”

Liu An was deeply shaken by these words. Staring at Li Zhi in astonishment, he asked, “Your Highness isn’t doing this for profit?”

Li Zhi replied, “There will certainly be some profit, but the main thing is to let more people benefit.”

Liu An said nothing more, but nodded solemnly. “I will see to it at once, Your Highness.”

Li Zhi nodded and added, “From now on, you will manage all the workshop’s income and expenses. Unless there’s something truly urgent, do not disturb my studies.”

Liu An agreed and went off to handle the matter. Watching Liu An’s departing figure, Li Zhi nodded to himself. For now, he intended to let Liu An handle affairs that were inconvenient for him to oversee personally—this would also serve as a test of his abilities.

In the days that followed, Li Zhi diligently studied reading and writing with Lady Xue, all the while excitedly awaiting the delivery of the tables and chairs he had designed for Emperor Taizong. He was certain his father would be delighted with them, for these were designs validated by countless business leaders from his previous life.

Yet, to his surprise, what seemed a straightforward matter was unexpectedly disrupted by someone else’s interference. Even more astonishing was that the troublemaker turned out to be none other than his fourth brother—the Prince of Yue, Li Tai—whom he had only recently set up.