Deposed? I couldn't be happier! I wouldn't even be a dog to the crown prince.

The West Market of Chang'an was a bustling hub for merchants from all over the world, making it the most prosperous trading center along the entire Silk Road.

But today, all the noise has converged in one place.

A newly opened shop.

The shop was decorated in an extremely strange way, without any carved beams or painted rafters, or a golden signboard.

Its entire facade was made from a single, enormous piece of crystal that was so transparent it seemed to be nonexistent!

Sunlight shines through this "crystal wall," refracting into a dazzling array of colors that makes people dizzy.

The signboard at the entrance bears six large characters written in a flamboyant style: "The Imperial Glass Factory of the Tang Dynasty".

"Liuli? What kind of liuli could warrant such a grand gesture?"

"My God! Is this wall... really glass? It's purer than any gemstone I've ever seen!"

"Look inside!"

The foreign merchants, like a bunch of country bumpkins who had never seen the world, crowded at the entrance, pointing and exclaiming in amazement at the furnishings inside through the huge glass window.

The interior of the shop was shockingly empty.

In the vast space, only three items were placed.

In the very center was a huge mirror, as tall as a person.

The mirror was as smooth as water, so clear that it reflected the finest pores on a person's face. A bold Persian merchant leaned closer for a look and was so terrified by his own reflection—his beard and hair were so clearly visible, as if he could almost touch it—that he fell to the ground in fright.

"A...a magic mirror! It's a magic mirror! It can capture people's souls!"

On the left-hand display stand, there was a set of crystal-clear wine utensils. The wine pot and wine glasses were all made of an unknown transparent material, shimmering and sparkling under the lights, like divine objects.

On the right-hand display stand, a string of colorful beads lay quietly on a black velvet mat.

The beads were round and smooth, with vibrant colors, and each one seemed to contain a tiny starry sky.

That's it.

There were no dazzling array of goods, nor were there any enthusiastic hawkers.

There was only one eunuch dressed in brocade robes, sitting behind the counter with his legs crossed, eating an apple in his hand, ignoring the foreign merchants who were scrambling to get in.

"Open the door! Open for business!"

"How much for this mirror? I'll offer one hundred gold coins!"

"Bullshit! You think you can buy such a divine item for a hundred gold coins? I'll offer five hundred!"

The area at the entrance was in complete chaos.

Just then, a magnificent sedan chair stopped at the entrance.

A Persian man with a high nose bridge, wearing a rolled-brimmed hat and a gorgeous silk robe, walked out surrounded by a group of guards.

"Make way! Make way! Prince Kuro has arrived!"

The crowd automatically parted to make way.

Prince Kuro was an envoy sent to the Tang Dynasty by the Persian Empire, and also a famous wealthy merchant in Persia, extremely rich.

He frowned, pushed through the crowd, and when he saw the huge dressing mirror, a greedy glint instantly flashed in his azure eyes.

"A miracle...this is simply a miracle!"

Prince Kuro rushed into the store, disregarding all princely decorum, and knelt in front of the mirror, looking at himself from left to right and touching himself repeatedly.

"It's so clear...a hundred times clearer than the brightest bronze mirror in my palace! If I were to present this to my father, he would surely marry me the most beautiful princess in all of Persia!"

He turned abruptly to the young eunuch who was still munching on an apple, and said arrogantly:

"This mirror, I, the prince, shall have it!"

"Name your price!"

The little eunuch lazily raised his eyelids and threw the apple core into the trash can.

"Excuse me, Your Highness."

"This item is a cherished possession of my Crown Prince and is not for sale."

"Not for sale?"

Prince Kuro paused for a moment, then burst into laughter, pulling a heavy bag of gold coins from his pocket and tossing it onto the counter.

"One thousand gold coins! Is that enough?"

The little eunuch shook his head.

"Five thousand!"

The little eunuch yawned.

"Ten thousand! This is my limit! Ten thousand gold coins is enough to buy a mansion in Chang'an!"

"I already said I'm not selling."

The young eunuch was getting impatient. "My lord said that these mirrors and wine sets are not for sale. They are only given to friends, not sold to... well, not sold to strangers."

库-

Prince Luo's face stiffened.

Only for friends?

Is this implying that he is not qualified to be the Crown Prince's friend?

Just when he was in a dilemma, his face flushed red.

Li Chengqian's voice drifted lazily from the second floor.

"Little Lin, you must not be rude to our distinguished guest."

When everyone looked up, they saw Li Chengqian leaning against the second-floor railing, holding a glass of wine, watching the good show below with a smile.

"Your Highness!"

Prince Kuro's eyes lit up, and he quickly bowed, "Your Highness, this divine mirror..."

"Does the prince like it?" Li Chengqian swirled the liquid in his glass.

"I love it! I love it so much!"

"It's a pity, this thing is complicated to make and has a very low success rate. I only have one of these, which I was preparing to present to my father as a birthday gift."

Li Chengqian looked "embarrassed," but then suddenly changed the subject.

"However... since the prince has come from afar, we can't let him leave empty-handed."

He pointed to the string of glass beads on the right-hand display stand and casually remarked:

"That string of beads, although it's something I made casually in my spare time and isn't worth much, is still quite pretty. If the prince likes it, he can keep it as a souvenir."

Prince Kuro's gaze fell on the string of beads.

While not as stunning as a mirror, it was indeed dazzling and extraordinary.

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Prince Kuro was overjoyed and quickly asked, "What is the value of this item?"

"I already said it was a gift..."

Li Chengqian was about to say he would give it to her, but then his eyes lit up and he changed his mind, saying, "Oh dear, look at my memory. This bead... it seems it was reserved by a Sogdian merchant yesterday."

"What?!"

Prince Kuro was getting anxious.

Just then, a Sogdian merchant, as fat as a ball, sweating profusely, squeezed through the crowd, carrying a small wooden box in his hands.

"Your Highness! Your Highness! I'm here! This is the promised cartload of gold! And that string of beads is mine!"

The fat merchant placed the wooden box on the counter and opened it.

The gleaming gold bars almost blinded everyone.

A string of beads... in exchange for a truckload of gold?!

Prince Kuro felt that his worldview had been shaken.

He stared intently at the string of beads, then glanced at the box of gold, and his breathing instantly became rapid.

This is not a worthless thing at all.

This is clearly a treasure more precious than gold!

"Wait!"

Prince Kuro suddenly stopped the little girl.

"Imperial guard," he roared, his eyes bloodshot.

"I, the prince, will take this bead!"

"I'll offer two truckloads of gold!"

The portly merchant grew impatient: "Your Highness, everything must be done in an orderly fashion!"

"Get out! You dare to steal what this prince has set his sights on?"

"I'll send three cars!"

"Five carts!"

"Ten cartloads!!!"

The entire Liulichang area instantly transformed into a frenzied auction.

Those usually shrewd merchants were now blinded by greed, fighting tooth and nail for a string of glass beads that Li Chengqian believed cost no more than ten coins.

Finally, Prince Kuro acquired this string of "divine beads" for the astronomical price of "fifteen cartloads of gold" plus "ten Persian beauties".

……

That evening, at the residence of Dai Zhou, the Minister of Revenue.

This god of wealth from the Tang Dynasty was hiding under the covers, holding a newly printed account book, counting the numbers on it over and over again by candlelight.

"On the first day of Liulichang's opening, the gross profit... was thirteen thousand taels of gold..."

"hiss--"

Dai Zhou gasped, feeling like he was about to faint from happiness.

He earned more in a day than the Ministry of Revenue collected taxes in a year!

"Your Highness... is truly a divine being..."

Dai Zhou grinned foolishly, clutching the account book tightly to his chest as if he were holding his own son.

"With this money, what's there to worry about with the Turks? His Majesty could even replace the dragon throne with a gold one!"

He was laughing in his dreams, laughing so hard that he drooled.

However, as the instigator of all this.

Li Chengqian was lying on a rocking chair in the East Palace, looking at the astonishing sales report presented by Qinglong, but he didn't even bother to lift his eyelids.

He yawned widely and tossed the report aside.

"Only this much?"

"I thought I could buy the whole of Persia."

"Sigh, making money is so easy, there's no challenge at all."

Qinglong stood to the side, his lips twitching.

Your Highness, if you say such things again, Minister Dai might be so angry that he comes back to life and then dies again.

Li Chengqian stretched and looked at the moon outside the window, suddenly feeling somewhat bored.

"We have enough money to spend, and our reputation is good enough."

"Is this the time... time to retire early?"

He stroked his chin, deep in thought about the problem.

"System, can I ask you something?"

"I'm quitting this emperor role, can I just stop doing this mission?"