I remembered... Ling Yun had said we should give the children more lessons. I think I'd said something like, "Let the children relax a little more. The future will be difficult, but if we don't give them time to unwind, they'll build up a lot of psychological pressure."
And Ling Yun had argued, "Yuxuan, why are you always so naive?"
I think I'd replied, "Relax, relax. I'm here, so nothing should go wrong."
Just then, Ning Jing, who was sitting beside us, suddenly asked, "Then, Yuxuan, what time do you think would be best?"
Right! That was it. I'd said, "Well... They have classes during the day, then dinner after school, and homework on top of that. I think seven to nine would be best. All right, let the adults handle this themselves. Even though I'm the Empress, I can't be bothered with every little thing. All right, let's continue the meeting. Next..."
Oh, right! I'd said exactly that. I also remembered Ning Jing writing something in her little notebook at the time.
I'd wondered what there was to write down. I never thought it would turn into this.
Good grief!
That really was... the terror of a single sentence!
Just one little sentence had twisted this whole group of children—and Ning Jing along with them—into this state. No wonder the ancients said that stopping people from speaking was more dangerous than stopping a river. They'd been absolutely right.
"You little brats. All right, I'm done talking to you. I'm going to listen to some storytelling. Bye!"
I waved and, under the children's watchful eyes, headed toward a building nearby.
There were places like teahouses all over Chang'an City, though not many people made a living doing this. People needed a little diversion in their lives, but storytellers barely made