destiny eternal calamity

Chapter 141 Not fond of smiling

The capital of the ancient state of Kangcheng was named after the fact that it was the capital of the ancient state of Kang four thousand years ago.

A river flows through the city from east to west; it is called the River Cam.

This River Cam is the creator of the valley that Li Wei encountered during his first journey.

On the Lantern Festival, before the sun had even set, the River Cam in the western part of the city was already filled with pleasure boats.

Shops throughout the city also hung up lanterns.

It must be said that although this world is backward in terms of productivity, the prosperity of its capital city is no less than that of the major cities in Li Wei's previous life.

Of course, this was because most of the dynasty's wealth was used to support the capital.

In other places, only a few prefectures and counties in Jiangnan are relatively wealthy.

As for the sects, they are themselves large landowners, more than capable of taking care of themselves, but they cannot protect the common people.

The Lantern Festival Gala was still an hour away from starting, and at that moment Li Wei was taking Long Xiaoxiao and Aunt Ying shopping.

In Li Wei's memory, this was the first time that Aunt Ying had not concealed her presence and had accompanied him to a public area.

Since Li Wei surpassed her in strength, Xiao Shuying has focused on cultivation and no longer follows him to protect him.

However, she still wore a black veil, revealing only her eyes.

After all, as secret guards of the princess's residence, maintaining an air of mystery about their appearance is a basic requirement.

While they strolled around, Long Bilin led the elite troops of the Jade True Guard to set up defenses at the party venue.

This matter was originally entirely handled by the Dragon Guard, but since Long Yin deposed Long Ming, his thinking has changed somewhat.

Compared to Long Ming, he really didn't like Long Xiao, who was supported by the Chen family.

Previously, the main intention of raising Gu was simply to use Longxiao as a whip to lash Longming.

Now that Long Ming is no longer able to succeed to the throne, he tends to make Long Bilin his heir.

For example, tonight he delegated some of his authority to the Jade True Guard, giving Long Bilin a chance to shine and win the support of those in the court who were not part of the Prince of Jin's faction.

If he has enough supporters for Long Bilin, he can give her more real power and make her the first princess in the dynasty to participate in politics.

Long Bilin understood Long Yin's thoughts. This time, she not only brought the elites from the Jade True Guard and two Heavenly Fate cultivators to protect him, but also left only one person to guard the house.

They also invited two Void Ancestors and four Fate Cultivators from the Wang and Xiao families.

We strive to ensure that nothing goes wrong.

As for Shang Xueyan, she stayed obediently in the princess's residence to cultivate.

She knew that there would be many Void Realm cultivators present at the party tonight, and even Eternal Tribulation cultivators would be watching, so she naturally dared not follow Li Wei.

Anyway, Bai Zaizai said she wanted to join in the fun with her apprentice, so with her there, it's unlikely anything will go wrong.

Li Wei led the two women all the way to the western part of the city, to the Cam River wharf.

As dusk fell, the lanterns in front of the shops cast a warm glow on the street.

Standing above the pier and looking east, you can see some tall corner towers with huge lanterns hanging on their roofs and corners, and silk decorations around them.

Li Wei knew that those were some of the city's high-end brothels, such as the one in the clouds above the sky.

Ordinary residences and shops wouldn't be so ostentatious.

I imagine that tonight, these places will be filled with the sounds of flutes and pipes.

On the River Cam, the painted boats and barges were also lit up, and singers and dancers performed on board.

Long Xiaoxiao, innocent and carefree, clung to Li Wei's left arm, looking left and right at the grand light show.

Xiao Shuying, on the other hand, was much calmer. However, on this festive night, being able to travel with her beloved naturally brought her joy.

"Something's missing—"

Oh, and fireworks.

This world actually has gunpowder, and it's quite powerful; it can be used to split mountains and attack cities.

The Wei state's army also had cannons.

But it seems no one ever thought of using it to make fireworks.

At most, it can be made into a signal flare.

This is not surprising. People at the bottom live like pigs and dogs. How can they have the leisure to create or appreciate beauty?

Meanwhile, those at the top are all pursuing martial arts and don't think about these things.

Even Li Wei, a son of an official who couldn't cultivate before obtaining the system, was obsessed with embarking on the path of martial arts.

The books I read were all related to martial arts.

Those who despise martial arts like Old Man Zuo are truly outcasts.

"I could suggest that my princess wife open a fireworks workshop; I'll offer some ideas."

Li Wei knew that industries involving gunpowder could only be controlled by the royal family, so he needed his princess wife to step in so that gunpowder could be used to make fireworks for people to enjoy. He only needed to put forward this idea.

As for the technology, he only knew about flame tests.

He could tell the craftsmen that by mixing powders of different metals into gunpowder, they could produce different colors of light.

Gunpowder technology is very advanced in this world, and the craftsmen are very skilled. They don't need to worry about designing the explosives or fuses.

Coming to his senses, Li Wei led the two women toward the imperial city.

After all, the banquet was about to begin.

Along the way, lanterns illuminated the daytime, and naturally, there were many young men and women, coming and going in pairs.

However, Li Wei's presence with two female companions still attracted a lot of attention.

Moreover, although Xiao Shuying and Long Xiaoxiao were both wearing veils, their figures and temperament could not be concealed.

This earned Li Wei countless envious glances from other men.

Fortunately, the group's attire clearly indicated they were not from ordinary families, so few dared to come up and harass them.

Looking at the scenery and crowds on the street, Li Wei remembered that Xiao Shuying loved poetry the most, so he began to recite: "The lantern market is like stars in the rain, and the fragrant carriages crush the dark dust. Fish and dragons dance with the moon in their mouths, and the sound of flutes and drums can be heard through the curtain. The moonlight condenses in the blue sky, and the shadow of plum blossoms is close to the vermilion gate."

Why seek a fairyland? A smile fills the wine cup.

This poem uses the thirteenth rhyme scheme and is not very complicated. Given Li Wei's quick thinking at this moment, he naturally did not need to copy it down and could recite it off the cuff.

Of course, this is because he had access to a library of poetry from his previous life; otherwise, he certainly wouldn't have been able to write about the Lantern Festival so easily.

Long Xiaoxiao didn't quite understand, but she thought her brother-in-law was a real talent who casually recited a poem.

Xiao Shuying listened attentively, and when she heard the last sentence, "A smile fills the wine cup," she knew that Li Wei wanted to see her smile.

There was no immediate response.

It's no wonder Li Wei was so eager to see the beautiful women smile. Among the women close to him, Xie Youshan was the most cheerful, and Long Bilin was also generous in showing her smile.

As for Aunt Yaoyue, even if she was overjoyed inside, she would remain outwardly cold, so there was no need to pay her any attention.

Only Aunt Ying truly doesn't like to smile.

Perhaps only Senior Sister Yan can compare to her.

But Li Wei felt they weren't the same type.

Senior Sister Yan is the kind of aloof fairy, while Aunt Ying is simply someone who doesn't like to smile.

After all, Aunt Ying had been amazed by his talent and panicked about his safety before, so her personality was not aloof at all.

Seeing that Xiao Shuying didn't react, Li Wei scratched his head and pulled Long Xiaoxiao to continue walking back.

When the three returned to the capital, many ministers and nobles had already begun to enter.

Li Wei then parted ways with Long Xiaoxiao and Xiao Shuying, watching them head towards the area where the royal family members were located.

His gaze then swept around and found the Lin Yishui family.