Gu Lingchen had the cook in his mansion prepare a large table of delicious dishes for Liu Sisi.
After Liu Sisi, Wang Dani, and Wang Erni finished eating, he said.
"Little Sisi, are you full? Shall I take you for a stroll around the imperial city?"
Lord Gu... no, Your Highness, there's no rush to tour the imperial city.
"I wanted to ask about the letter from the Jin-Liao Kingdom you mentioned. Why are they starting a war so early?" Liu Sisi asked Gu Lingchen.
Gu Lingchen asked Asheng and Wang Dani to step back first before speaking.
"That's not it. They just asked our country to pay tribute of 10,000 taels of gold to the Jin-Liao Kingdom, and also stated that they would send troops if we were unwilling to attack."
"Ten thousand taels of gold? Did His Majesty the Emperor agree?" Liu Sisi asked again.
"No, we found out..."
Gu Lingchen told Liu Sisi about the solution he had proposed.
"What's the bet? Do you know what it's about? Are you confident you can win?" Liu Sisi felt that even a bet wasn't guaranteed to win!
"We don't know yet. Our reply has just been sent. We'll see how the Jin-Liao Kingdom decides to gamble."
"With the current military strength of Tianlong Kingdom, it should be able to fight against Jin Liao Kingdom, but perhaps it won't be able to hold out for long." Gu Lingchen's tone was full of worry.
"What are the most advanced weapons in the Tianlong Kingdom right now?" Liu Sisi was still unaware of what weapons people used in this era.
"Bow and arrow, machete, sword, spear," Gu Lingchen replied.
That's it?
"Don't all countries use these kinds of weapons? What's wrong with that?"
In Gu Lingchen's mind, these are the most advanced technologies available now.
"Uh, no."
Using these methods wouldn't be a problem, but the situation is urgent. Without some powerful weapons, the Dragon Kingdom would be in a very passive position.
This made Liu Sisi think of China's intercontinental ballistic missiles. If China possessed just one, then the world would be secure.
But this is something we can only dream about; it simply couldn't be made in ancient times when technology was underdeveloped.
"Sisi, little sister?" Gu Lingchen noticed Liu Sisi's varied expressions—sometimes frowning, sometimes relaxing, sometimes blinking—and wondered what she was thinking.
"Oh, Your Highness, if I may ask, is the national treasury adequate? How long can it sustain us in the event of war?" Liu Sisi asked Gu Lingchen.
"I really don't know, but I can use some means to get someone to investigate."
“Ah Sheng.”
Gu Lingchen called Asheng in and whispered a few words in his ear.
Ah Sheng said yes and then withdrew.
"Hopefully the national treasury will be strong enough! Otherwise, we won't have enough money, and the army won't be strong enough. What's the point of fighting them then?" Liu Sisi thought to herself.
She pondered in her heart what weapons she should add to the army to improve its strength.
But she had absolutely no knowledge of this subject and regretted not having read any books on it in modern times.
"It seems that at this crucial moment, we can only..."
"Sister Sisi, Father is already recruiting soldiers. We will do everything we can to strengthen the Tianlong Kingdom."
"Since you've just arrived in the capital, I'll take you out to explore the city and see what you like. I'll buy it for you."
Gu Lingchen interrupted Liu Sisi's thoughts. Normally, he couldn't leave the palace at will, but today he had just received permission from Emperor Yong'an, so why not take the time to have a good time?
"Oh dear! Should I go and pay my respects to His Majesty the Emperor first?" Liu Sisi suddenly remembered that her visit was only possible with the Emperor's permission.
"No need. I have already asked my father. I can take you sightseeing in the capital for a day. You can go see my father tomorrow."
"That's good,"
"I suppose I'm just a commoner, so I'm probably insignificant. The emperor might not even remember her!"
Liu Sisi didn't know anything about the etiquette of Tianlong Kingdom, she just hoped that she wouldn't do anything wrong and displease His Majesty the Emperor.
After all, this is ancient times, where a single word from that person can cost someone their head.
"Let's go then! I also want to see what strange and unusual things the imperial city has that I've never seen before."
After saying this, the two of them, along with their maids and servants, each boarded a carriage.
The carriage headed towards the most bustling area of the imperial city.
Upon arriving at their destination, the two disembarked from the carriage and walked forward on foot.
There are some stalls selling pastries and trinkets on both sides of the street.
Gu Lingchen made Asheng buy anything that Liu Sisi had seen or touched for her. Before long, Asheng's hands were full of bags and packages.
Liu Sisi was enjoying her shopping when she turned around and saw what Asheng was holding, and she looked surprised.
"Your Highness, I'm just looking. You don't need to buy them all!"
Wang Dani and Wang Erni hid behind and chuckled.
"His Highness is so kind to our young lady."
Ah Sheng watched the two sisters laughing together.
He thought to himself, "What are you two so happy about? Can't you help me carry some? Can't you see I can barely hold any more?"
He didn't dare say it aloud, but just muttered a few complaints to himself.
After they had finished shopping outside, Gu Lingchen took Liu Sisi to a jewelry shop called Huimiaolou, intending to give her some jewelry.
"Your Highness, there's no need to buy any more. Look how much you've already bought; A-Sheng's hands are already full."
Liu Sisi, seeing Gu Lingchen channeling his ancient version of a "domineering CEO," spoke up to stop him.
"It's alright, we can have him put it back on the carriage in a bit and then we can continue taking it," Gu Lingchen replied nonchalantly.
As soon as the group entered, the manager of Huimiao Tower saw Gu Lingchen dressed in an apricot-yellow brocade robe, wearing a golden crown, with a jade belt tied around his neck, and a handsome face. He knew that Gu must be from the palace and could not be neglected.
However, since they didn't reveal their identity, there's probably no need to bow.
So he personally invited Gu Lingchen and the others to the second floor.
"Sir, the second floor is full of high-quality jewelry. Which one would you like? I'll take it over for you to see."
"Sisi, which one do you like?" Gu Lingchen asked, looking at Liu Sisi.
Looking at the dazzling array of exquisite and precious jewelry and hairpins, Liu Sisi couldn't help but sigh.
"The capital city is indeed the capital city. These pieces of jewelry would probably be hard to sell even in a month in Jinshan County."
She wanted to go up and pick out a simpler-looking style.
Then they heard a girl's voice. "Cousin, you're here too!"
Liu Sisi turned around and looked towards the source of the sound.
Then Lin Rou walked towards Gu Lingchen with two maids.
Gu Lingchen noticed Lin Rou's expression darken and asked coldly, "What are you doing here?"
"Cousin, I'm here to buy jewelry, what a coincidence!" Lin Rou tried to get closer to Gu Lingchen in a friendly manner.
Gu Lingchen quickly retreated, getting a little closer to Liu Sisi.
"How dare you! You should bow to me and address me as Your Highness the Second Prince."
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