My brother entrusted his child to me, and I livestreamed raising the baby, making the Empress cry wi

On the sky, Lin Ye carried the little bag and walked towards the escalator.

The escalator is silver-gray with transparent glass panels on both sides. Steps emerge from the ground floor and move steadily upwards, disappearing silently into the floor above at the top.

A thin yellow warning line was embedded in the ground about a step away, and it was particularly eye-catching in the light.

Lin Ye stood on the platform, holding the little boy in his arms.

Little Douzi's eyes widened in surprise as she curiously looked down at the steps beneath her feet, which carried them up inch by inch. She stretched out her tiny finger and tentatively touched the handrail beside her.

It's black and cool to the touch, but not smooth. It's a bit like sandpaper, but not as abrasive. I don't know what it's made of.

She ran her fingertips up and down a couple of times, feeling a ticklish sensation, then withdrew her hand and hid it in her sleeve.

"Godfather," she looked up at Lin Ye, her eyes sparkling with surprise, "how could this staircase move like that?"

Lin Ye smiled and lifted her up slightly: "This is called an escalator. It's a type of elevator. You don't even need to walk; just stand on it and it takes you upstairs."

Little Douzi let out an "Oh," her voice trailing off softly.

She knew about elevators; her godfather had taken her on one that opened automatically before, and it turned out this was also a type of elevator.

In the Great Flame Kingdom, in the lower right corner of the sky, the barrage of comments exploded again.

[Commoner Zhao Daniu: Did you all see that?! That staircase! That staircase moves by itself! It moves by itself! What kind of eerie thing is that?!]

[Porter Liu Dajiao: I deliver things to every household every day, climbing dozens of stairs. My knees are swollen like buns. If the stairs could move by themselves... I could make more deliveries and earn a few more copper coins...]

[Yu Ji, Ministry of Works Construction Department: My God! Those steps flip up from the bottom and then disappear again at the top! What kind of mechanism could make so many steps move at the same time, and so steadily?!]

[Wu Yong, Vice Minister of Works: Escalator... escalator... a ladder you're holding onto? No, that's not right, it moves by itself! It doesn't need anyone to walk on it, it just lifts people up! How does it do that? How is that even possible!?]

……

In front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony Square.

Shu Jingwei sat on a chair with a thick mattress, holding a hot water bottle in her arms. A charcoal brazier was burning brightly around her feet, but she still felt cold.

Her pupils contracted sharply as she watched the escalator slowly ascending in the sky.

You don't need to climb; you can go upstairs standing up.

She recalled that every time she went to court, she had to climb dozens of white marble steps from the Taihe Hall square to the hall itself.

Although someone was helping her, she felt her legs trembling with every step she climbed.

Especially in winter, the steps were covered with a thin layer of ice, making them extremely slippery. She had to hold onto the eunuch's arm tightly to keep her balance.

She nearly fell several times, frightening the courtiers behind her, who turned pale.

If only the palace had such staircases—

She no longer had to carefully and breathlessly climb the steps, and she no longer had to worry about embarrassing herself in front of the entire court!

She can stand on it, rising slowly and gracefully, making everyone look up in awe!

Her fingers gripped the armrest tightly, her knuckles turning white.

Why does Lin Ye have this while his Great Flame Kingdom doesn't?!

wrong!

She almost forgot that this was all a smokescreen by Lin Ye! There was no such thing at all!

Shu Jingwei breathed a slight sigh of relief, but then a chill rose from the bottom of her heart.

but……

If this escalator isn't just a mirage on the ceiling, if it really existed...

Where would that leave the emperor's face?!

She climbed dozens of steps, panting for breath, while those commoners, merchants, and peasants in the sky could stand comfortably and be carried upstairs?

Then who would take her, the emperor, seriously?!

No!

If it's fake, fine, but if it's real...

This must never be allowed to circulate among the common people! It must be hidden in the palace, for her exclusive use!

Shu Jingwei gritted her teeth, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in her eyes.

Shu Jingwei's fingers gripped the armrest tightly, her knuckles turning white and protruding, her voice as cold as ice: "Someone come here!"

The chief eunuch hurriedly bowed and stepped forward: "This servant is here."

"Issue my decree," she said, her voice sharp and ruthless, "order the Minister of Works to build a similar moving ladder within three days! If they fail, all officials will be fined six months' salary, and the person in charge will be punished with twenty strokes of the cane!"

The chief eunuch trembled, kowtowed in agreement, and scrambled off to deliver the imperial decree.

If the officials of the Ministry of Works were to hear this decree, they would probably collapse on the spot.

If you don't even know the principle behind this thing, how can you imitate it?

……

Drunken Immortal Pavilion, second-floor private room.

Yao Jingyuan sat by the window, holding Shu Rou in his arms.

He asked the waiter to add two more basins of charcoal before he could stop Shu Rou's crying.

A charcoal brazier burned nearby, its bright red flames licking at the charcoal, crackling and popping.

Waves of heat rushed in, making his left side burn, while the right side of his body near the window remained cool.

His eyes were fixed on the slowly rising escalator on the sky, his fingers gripping the window frame until his knuckles turned white.

A staircase that moves on its own.

He glanced down at his legs, which were still trembling slightly.

When he went upstairs just now, although he left Shu Rou with the servant behind him, he himself actually climbed more than forty steps.

When I reached the top floor, my legs were still weak, my knees ached, and my back was covered in sweat.

As the Empress's most favored person, he had to climb those long stairs every time he attended a banquet, sometimes several floors, leaving him exhausted like a dog. Where was the dignity of a nobleman?

He couldn't help but imagine what it would be like if the stairs could move on their own...

He could then stand there, impeccably dressed and composed, being escorted upstairs, while his colleagues and commoners watched him bask in glory.

Yao Jingyuan's eyes gradually turned sinister.

He was the Empress's most favored man, frequently entering and leaving the palace and the residences of powerful figures, yet he always had to climb up and down stairs, leaving him exhausted and disheveled. If he also had such an escalator, he could ascend it elegantly, attracting the envy and admiration of countless people—how glamorous that would be!

Jealousy is like a weed, growing wildly in the heart.

"Fake..." he muttered to himself, his fingers gripping the window frame so tightly that his nails almost dug into the wood, scraping off a layer of fine wood chips. "It's all fake, just a smokescreen with ropes pulling it down from below..."

He repeatedly deceived himself in his heart, as if this could suppress the envy and resentment that was about to burst out of his chest.

But his gaze remained fixed on the sky, never wavering for a moment.

……

Lin Ye didn't care whether they were envious or jealous. He carried the little bag and walked along the wide corridor on the second floor of the mall.

My wardrobe is still too spacious. I'll buy some small bags that I like first, and then have someone make them for me when I have time.

One side of the corridor is a transparent glass railing, and looking down from the second-floor railing, you can see directly to the ground floor of the atrium.

The people coming and going shrank, moving like ants on the smooth ground.

Little Douzi leaned on Lin Ye's shoulder and glanced down, startled. She hugged his neck tightly, but couldn't help peeking down again, her eyes darting around and her eyelashes fluttering.

"Godfather—" Her voice was muffled, buried in the crook of his shoulder, tinged with a mix of fear and excitement, "It's so high!"

Lin Ye smiled and patted her on the back. "Yes, because this is the second floor."

Keep going.

The corridor is lined with shops one after another.

Some storefronts are entirely made of glass, so transparent they seem nonexistent, allowing a clear view of everything inside.

Some of the storefronts are made of matte metal, with only a narrow door in the middle, making them seem mysterious as if they are hiding some kind of treasure.

Some storefronts have huge posters outside, featuring people dressed in nice clothes and smiling brightly.

Every shop was lit up with warm yellow, cool white, and pale pink lights, yet the lights didn't clash; the edges where they met were as soft as the edges of a watercolor painting.

Xiao Douzi's gaze slid from one shop to another, finding everything new and interesting.

Lin Ye lifted her up a little and turned into a passage on the left.

This passageway is narrower than the main corridor, but it's quieter.

The ground has been replaced with dark gray stone with fine white veins, like stars scattered in the night sky.

The passageway is lined with children's clothing stores on both sides.

Lin Ye slowed down, letting Xiao Douzi look at each house one by one.

The Great Flame Kingdom, beneath the heavens.

Everyone's eyes were glued to those shop windows.

[Commoner Zhao Daya: This...this is all clothing stores? So many? All next to each other? Our town only has one fabric shop, and I only buy new clothes for the New Year. This whole street is full of them?]

[Liu Xiuyuan, manager of Jinyi Pavilion: Look at the clothes in the shop window! You don't even need to touch them; just looking at them tells you they're made of fine material. That gauze skirt, that embroidery—they're even more beautiful than our shop's prized possessions!]

[Peddler Wu You: Have you noticed that the lighting in each shop is different? Some are yellow, some are white, some are pink... what kind of candlelight is this?! Aren't candlelights usually yellow?]

……

Finally, Lin Ye stopped in front of a store.

The storefront is off-white, and the lettering on the sign is light gold—simple and clean.

Hanging in the shop window was a mustard yellow fleece-lined sweatshirt with two round bear ears sewn onto the hood. Next to it was a camel-colored knitted cardigan, all fluffy and looking very warm.

The shop window glass was spotless, and the light shining down from above made the sweatshirt look incredibly soft, as if you could touch it and feel its warmth.

Xiao Douzi also saw the hoodie.

She leaned on Lin Ye's shoulder, tilted her head and looked at him for several seconds, then pointed her little finger at the shop window, turned back to look at Lin Ye, her eyes sparkling.

"Godfather, that outfit...it has bear ears!"

Lin Ye glanced at the shop window, then looked down at Xiao Douzi's expectant eyes and smiled.

"Let's go to this one. Let's go in and take a look."

He reached out and pushed open the glass door. The door was heavy, but it opened smoothly and silently.

The next instant, bright and soft lights shone from the store, and at the same time, a clear and melodious tune suddenly rang out. There were no flutes, no zithers, no drums, but the sound was clean and pleasant, slowly echoing throughout the entire space.

At this moment, both inside and outside the sky, millions of people froze in place.

Without musicians and instruments, where does the sound come from?

In everyone's mind, only one thought remained.

Just how many incredible secrets does this place hold?