Chapter 218 Joy

Empress Wu was unharmed; it was Xue Yao who was hit by the arrow.

At that moment, of the three arrows that came flying through the air, the first one was blocked by Xue Yao, who reacted extremely quickly and was right in front of Emperor Wu.

Xue Yao was also a skilled fighter. He found the right angle, and although the arrow pierced his flesh, the injury was not as serious as it looked after the arrow was removed.

As for the remaining two arrows that followed, as soon as they pierced the air, Emperor Wu immediately stood up, drew his Tang sword from his waist, and swiftly swung the blade left and right, cutting off the arrows that were being shot at her head.

It cuts right at the end of the arrowhead, causing the arrow tip to strike the blade.

Emperor Wu had practiced martial arts for many years, and in a flash, he blocked the two arrows aimed at her with two strikes to the left and two to the right.

Everything happened too fast. By the time Wang Da Dang reacted, Xue Yao had already been hit by an arrow, and Emperor Wu had sheathed his sword, the tip pointing to the ground.

Xue Yao knelt down on both knees: "Your Majesty, I am guilty and beg for punishment."

Emperor Wu's face was serious, and his eyes swept across the entire audience. Those who made eye contact with him all lowered their heads.

"check."

"yes."

Xue Yao watched as Emperor Wu's eight secret guards emerged from the shadows and came to Emperor Wu's side before standing up, drawing his sword to cut off the arrow in his shoulder, and turning to walk out.

Thus, the palace banquet had to be hastily concluded.

Emperor Wu was escorted by eight secret guards, with Wang Da Dang following behind, as they left Taiji Palace and headed back to Daming Palace.

The other people in the hall, including Prince Xiang and Princess Taiping, bowed their heads and waited for Emperor Wu to leave before leaving one by one under the guidance of the palace servants.

The Minister of Rites was only able to get up from the ground with the help of a young palace maid.

His legs were weak, and he could only stand by leaning on a palace servant. He raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead and thought to himself with relief, "Thank goodness, it seems that I can save my life."

As soon as everyone stepped out of the square in front of the main hall, the stench of blood and the smell of burning tung oil hit their noses.

It was only then that people discovered that the side hall of Taiji Palace was on fire!

Watching the soldiers of the Imperial Guard orderly scooping water from the fire vat to put out the fire.

Prince Xiang first escorted Princess Taiping back to her own palace in the inner palace before returning to his own residence outside the palace.

Before leaving the palace, he saw the Imperial Guards carrying several corpses toward the prison. He guessed those must be the traitors.

In his residence, Prince Xiang downed the wine in his cup in one gulp, recalling how Emperor Wu had deftly drawn his sword to block an arrow at the palace banquet.

"She's fifty years old, yet she's still so agile. She might live for another twenty or thirty years."

...

Everything that happened in the Taiji Palace within the imperial city had nothing to do with the common people of Chang'an, and it did not affect their love for the night without curfew in the slightest.

After watching the performance, the Li family learned from the young man in the front row that there would be fireworks in the imperial city at 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM that night, so they decided to stay out a little later before going home.

Sister-in-law Li was a little worried: "Aren't you supposed to be on duty tomorrow?"

"It's alright, sister-in-law. Even if we stay out late, it's still just the time we would spend chatting together after dinner at home. It won't cause any problems."

The West Market was bustling with people today, with people speaking all sorts of dialects.

Furthermore, in the West Market, Li San Niang actually discovered a vendor selling hawthorn berries.

It was the same idea that Li San Niang had come up with with Li Kui and Wang Gui at the soup noodle shop: to wash the red berries, string them together, and learn from Xiang Gui Ji how to make candied fruit, coat them in sugar syrup, and sell them.

I went up and asked; it was three copper coins for two strings of coins, neither expensive nor cheap.

Li San Niang ordered quite a few, giving one skewer to each of them. There was one skewer left, which the vendor thoughtfully wrapped in oil paper so that she could keep it for her brother Li to try.

"Isn't this made from the big basket of fruit that Third Sister brought home?"

As soon as Sister-in-law Li received it, she recognized it as the basket of wild fruits that Li San Niang had brought home that day.

"Hehe, sister-in-law, that's right."

It is estimated that they were scattered and selling their wares in busy areas of Chang'an.

This price is lower than I expected; I wonder if we'll even make a profit.

Li Dalang chimed in, "Little aunt, you must have made a profit. Look how happy that person is."

Li San Niang turned around and saw the fruit-selling man, who was indeed grinning very happily. After all, the pocket on his chest was full of copper coins, which looked quite heavy.

"Making money is good. Otherwise, it would be a waste of so much effort if we didn't make any money."

The group strolled around the West Market for a while longer; there was just too much excitement to take it all in.

The sun was already setting.

Therefore, the group found a restaurant and put two tables together in the lobby so that all ten or so people could sit down.

Li Dalang carefully placed the honeydew melon he was carrying at his feet. He had bought it specifically at the West Market to bring home for his elder brother, Li Dalang, to eat.

"I should have brought those two small baskets from the carriage; they would have had a place to put all the things I bought."

Sister-in-law Li looked at the honeydew melon that Li Dalang had put on the ground, the several large pomegranates that Li Erlang was holding, and the string of candies that Li Sanlang was holding, and said...

"Mother, I'll just go to the carriage shop and find our carriage to drop it off in a bit. It won't take any time."

The servant came up and asked what they wanted to order. Mother Li pointed to Sister-in-law Li and said, "My daughter-in-law can decide."

The servant then turned to Sister-in-law Li and told her the names of the dishes. Sister-in-law Li asked in detail what seasonings were used before ordering a table full of dishes according to everyone's tastes.

As soon as I finished ordering, the waiter brought over tea and snacks.

“It’s barley tea.” Li San Niang knew just by smelling it, even before she had tasted it.

Mr. Li picked up his teacup, took a sip, and nodded: "The restaurant owner is very thoughtful; the tea is indeed very fragrant."

By the time everyone finished their meal, the usual curfew had passed.

As Li San Niang wiped Lu Zhu'er's hands, she looked towards the doorway and saw that there were quite a few people on the street.

Thanks to Emperor Wu's birthday today, shops and vendors in Chang'an will make a lot of money.

"I just asked the innkeeper, and he said that if you go up to the second floor here, you can also see the fireworks display in the capital."

"Father, can we still go release river lanterns? I want to go."

Xiao Silang had been thinking about the river lantern he hadn't been able to release since he fell asleep last time, and he had already mentioned it to Brother Li Er three times today.

Brother Li patted Xiao Silang's head and nodded: "Don't rush, after we've watched the fireworks, your father will take you to release river lanterns."

Not everyone watches fireworks from this restaurant, so as it approached dusk, the Li family went upstairs with the manager's permission.

There were quite a few people on the second floor as well. Looking around, there were three or five families like the Li family, with the whole family, young and old, all out.

At the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), Li San Niang, holding the dewdrop, looked towards the direction of the imperial city. With a sudden sound, the most magnificent scene under the night sky unfolded.

Of course, having seen all sorts of dazzling fireworks displays in modern times, Li San Niang didn't find the simple fireworks of only two or three colors and patterns particularly exciting.

But how could one not be happy when one's precious child is in one's arms, one's family is by one's side, and one is watching the beautiful fireworks that illuminate the sky?