"Huai Dao!"
"You're finally out! I thought you were going to wander around for ages!" Cheng Huaimo's voice rang out as soon as they stepped out of Furong Garden.
"Why haven't you left yet?" Qin Mu asked curiously, looking at Cheng Huaimo's smirking face.
"Isn't it getting dark? It's the perfect time to have some fun, how can we miss it?" Cheng Huaimo said with a smile.
"Where are your sister and the others?" Qin Mu asked, craning his neck to look.
"What do you want to do?" Cheng Huaimo asked Qin Mu warily.
"I don't want to do anything, I just wonder why I'm not with you guys."
“They’ve all gone back. It’s not safe to take them out at night,” Cheng Huaimo said with a serious expression, glancing sideways at Qin Yuxin.
Judging from his appearance, and considering the presence of Yuchi Baolin, Qin Mu guessed that those guys were up to no good. Today is the Qixi Festival, and there should be many beautiful women on the streets; they probably wanted to flirt with them. Or perhaps they were going to Pingkang Lane again.
"I won't go, I need to stay with Yuxin and the others," Qin Mu said, shaking his head.
"It's alright, we're brothers, so we'll stay with you," Cheng Huaimo said with a look of disappointment on his face.
"Do as you please!"
"Brother, you're really amazing! Haha, let's see who dares to mess with us now, those who only know how to talk big!" Cheng Huaimo laughed loudly.
"How about we get the car out and ride it around?" Yu Chi Baolin suggested.
The blacksmith shop has already made ten rickshaws, ten tricycles, and two cargo tricycles. Qin Mu saw nothing unusual in them, but Yuchi Baolin was particularly fond of tricycles and was the first person besides Qin Mu to learn how to ride one.
Cheng Huaimo liked it very much. If Qin Mu hadn't kept it a secret and prevented them from showing it off, it probably would have been all over Chang'an by now.
Considering we'll be putting this out there to be seen in just a few days, and with so many people around today, it's good to use it as advertising.
Seeing that Qin Mu agreed, Yuchi Baolin and the others immediately became interested and urged Qin Mu to head towards the blacksmith shop.
Walking down the streets of Chang'an, Qin Mu realized just how much of a commotion he had caused. Seven out of ten people were discussing Tianci's matter, and some of them were describing it in great detail, as if they had witnessed it firsthand.
However, Qin Mu's name has not yet spread widely, as it has not been long and not many people know about him yet.
"Brother, you're famous now! After today, who in Chang'an won't know you?" Cheng Huaimo exclaimed.
"If love between two people lasts forever, why should they be together day and night! How well written! Su Su will definitely wait for me." Yu Chi Baolin said with his head tilted back, looking profound.
"You're just lusting after other people's bodies, but you talk like they're the ones eyeing you," Qin Mu couldn't help but retort.
"Haha! Brother, you're right, this guy is just lusting after other people's bodies!" Cheng Huaimo couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Pah! You make it sound like I'm just as despicable as you." Yu Chi Baolin rolled his eyes at the two of them.
“Someone as dashing and talented as you, brother, is exactly what those girls love. You should just give up,” Cheng Huaimo said, still laughing, pointing at Qin Mu.
"Can we stop comparing you to Brother Huaidao? If you're so capable, why don't you compare yourself to me and see who's more popular?" Yuchi Baolin said to Cheng Huaimo with disdain.
"Ahem! That's because they don't know how to appreciate it. After all, not everyone is like Second Sister." Cheng Huaimo's smile disappeared, and he coughed twice.
He was quite self-aware. Of course, he wasn't afraid of anything else, but if it came down to who was more popular, Yuchi Baolin or Pingkangfang, Yuchi Baolin would definitely win.
Mentioning his second sister, Yuchi Baolin felt an urge to smash her to death, but then he thought that the two were evenly matched and that fighting would only be a waste of energy, so he gave up and pretended not to hear it, continuing to walk forward.
Every time Yuchi Baolin mentioned his second sister, he would react in the same way. Cheng Huaimo knew this, and having won back the score, he smiled happily.
Chang'an was a large city, but its population was even larger, making it quite crowded during peak times, especially in the busiest areas. Fortunately, most people now walked, so ordinary citizens didn't venture far from home.
As soon as Yuchi Baolin and his entourage emerged from the blacksmith's shop, they attracted everyone's attention. Five metal carts appeared before the eyes of the people of Chang'an. The key point was that these carts were not pulled by horses; they were running on the road. Looking at the people sitting on them, they thought someone was pushing them from behind. They hurriedly looked behind them, only to find that there was no one behind them at all, just a few guards jogging alongside.
Besides the trained servants, only the Cheng brothers and the Yuchi brothers knew how to ride tricycles, so with Qin Mu's help, only five tricycles came out. Originally, Qin Mu intended for the Bu brothers to ride in the tricycles, but they refused and just jogged behind.
Qin Mu had his two younger sisters in one of his carriages, while Yu Chi Baolin was pulling Yu Chi Huan and Qin Huaiyu along. The other three carriages were empty. The five tricycles rattled along the road. Fortunately, Zhuque Street was paved entirely with bluestone, making it very smooth.
Even so, Qin Mu felt somewhat uncomfortable. The back seat, reinforced by leather, felt quite comfortable, but the person riding in front felt much more vibration. Moreover, because it lacked rubber tires, the tricycle was very noisy, and the bell hanging in the front was completely useless; people could hear something coming from behind from a great distance. The crowd stopped to watch.
"A mechanical cart!" a commoner exclaimed. Although there were many mechanical puppets, no one took them out to look at them casually, so it was still very difficult for ordinary people to see one.
"That's amazing! It can run without being pulled by oxen or horses!"
"It looks like those people are stomping on it!"
The crowd buzzed with discussion. Yu Chi Baolin and his companions ran ahead at breakneck speed, their excitement palpable. Every so often, they would deliberately stop, basking in the astonished gazes of the surrounding crowd. They would wait for Qin Mu to catch up, then resume running as if they were deliberately waiting for him.
Qin Mu didn't mean he didn't want to run faster; he just wasn't excited. If he didn't have to pull his sister along, he'd rather ride in a tricycle. Besides, the tricycle was bumpy; although it didn't hurt, it still made his buttocks a little uncomfortable, mainly because he was worried about crushing his testicles.
"A bunch of bumpkins, so excited about riding a tricycle!" Qin Mu scolded irritably.
"Hehe!" Qin Yuxin couldn't help but laugh out loud when she heard this, because Cheng Huaimo and the others were being too obvious.
"Princess!" Qin Mu stopped, sat in the carriage, and bowed respectfully.
It turned out that Princess Changning was smiling at him from the roadside. Princess Changning didn't say anything, but jumped onto the tricycle and sat down next to Qin Yuling.
Because this is a handmade tricycle, it is made quite large to ensure safety and sturdiness. There is no problem with three adults sitting in the back. As long as they are not too fat, Princess Changning will not feel crowded at all when she gets on the tricycle.
"You don't mind sitting down for a bit, do you?" Princess Changning asked with a sweet smile.
"You've already come up here, and you're still asking me if I mind?" Qin Mu thought to himself, then smiled and said, "It's my honor that the princess can ride in the carriage, of course I don't mind."
"My father just asked me to accompany the Empress, so I came out of the palace. When I saw this commotion, I wondered what had happened. It turns out it's you all."
"Originally, my brother wanted to take us for a walk, but Brother Yuchi and the others wanted to go out for a bike ride, so my brother went with them," Qin Yuxin added.
"This kind of attention-seeking is exactly what they like to do. How childish!"
"I think it's funny for you!" Qin Yuling said, swinging her legs and looking around.
“They’re being childish, you’re having fun, it’s different,” Princess Changning said with a smile, patting Qin Yuling’s head.
Qin Yuxin glanced at her eldest brother, who was focused on pedaling, then looked back at Princess Changning, a smile appearing on her face. She could tell that this princess, who was rumored to be very fierce, treated her eldest brother and everyone else completely differently.
"It seems like it's not bad for her to be the eldest sister-in-law. At least she doesn't look down on me and Yuling. Compared to those strangers, she should be much better off," Qin Yuxin thought to herself.
Qin Mu rode very slowly, partly so his younger sister and the others could watch the excitement, and partly so that Bu Fang and the others could catch up if they walked a little faster. Sometimes he would stop to buy some snacks from a roadside stall for the three behind him.
Qin Yuling was overjoyed. She ate more snacks today than she had in a whole year before, and her little mouth never stopped.
"Sister, you eat! Princess, you eat too!" While eating, Qin Yuling didn't forget to stuff food into the mouths of the other two.
Qin Mu had certainly bought enough for three people, but Princess Changning and Qin Yuxin were well-educated and had never eaten on the street before. They were already struggling to hold back their food, so when Qin Yuling put it to their mouths, they ate it with a mix of reluctance and acceptance.
Eating snacks seems to be one of the girls' natural instincts. Once they start, they can't stop. Even though they cover their mouths with their sleeves, they still eat happily.
Wow! Candied hawthorn berries!
Wow! A dough figurine!
Whenever cheers came from behind, Qin Mu would stop and get out of the car to buy a large amount, including Bu Fang and Bu Mang.
Seeing the envious glances around her, Princess Changning felt a sweet warmth in her heart. She rarely saw such gazes; in the past, she had only felt fear.
The unique mode of transportation surprised even the patrolling soldiers. After taking a few steps, they stepped back when they saw the person riding the bicycle.
From Zhuque Avenue all the way to the outside of the palace, Qin Mu saw that the vehicles ahead were being stopped, so he rode over as well.
Upon seeing the black-armored guards ahead, Qin Mu's eyes narrowed involuntarily. Their imposing, unyielding aura was clearly unique to the Xuanjia Army.
"You bunch of brats, you've only been gone a short while and you've already caused such a commotion!" Li Shimin's voice rang out, and he stepped out from the crowd. In just an hour, Li Shimin had changed into civilian clothes, holding a folding fan, and swaying with each step.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
"No need! I am traveling incognito," Li Shimin said, waving his hand.
Sure enough, behind him were three beautiful women dressed in casual clothes, and six children.
After circling the tricycle once, Li Shimin nodded and said, "This thing is convenient; it doesn't require horses!"
"Reporting to your Excellency, this is a newly made tricycle. It can move as long as someone pedals it," Qin Mu replied, bowing respectfully.
"Haha! You're so clever, lad! How about you show me around Chang'an today?" Li Shimin was very pleased with the address of "Master" and asked with a smile, pointing at Qin Mu with his folding fan.
"There are too many people today, so why don't you wait a moment, sir, and we'll call some more vehicles over?" Qin Mu suggested, looking at the crowd.
"Hmm! Indeed, it's quite good. Then I'll wait a moment!" Li Shimin nodded in agreement, and then he got into Qin Mu's carriage. As for Qin Yuling and the others, they had already gotten off.
Cheng Huaimo and Yuchi Baolin, with their keen senses, led people to collect the other vehicles.
"Not bad, not bad, quite comfortable! Guanyinbi, you sit down too!" Li Shimin swayed his bottom twice on the chair and patted it with his hand.
Princess Changning, who had just been fawning over Empress Zhangsun, immediately helped Empress Zhangsun over and even winked at Qin Mu.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
"No need for formalities." Empress Zhangsun glanced at Qin Mu before waving her hand with a smile.
This was the first time I had seen this famous and virtuous empress. She was indeed breathtakingly beautiful, not in a seductive or alluring way. Empress Zhangsun looked very dignified, with a gentle temperament and fair skin. If Qin Mu were to describe her, he could only say that she was flawless and extremely exquisite.
After glancing at her for only once, Qin Mu lowered his head slightly and looked to the side. After all, no man wants his woman to be watched over by others.
"Brother Bu, could you please look after Yuxin and the others while they stroll around?" Qin Mu instructed as he led his two younger sisters to the side.
"Yes!" Bu Fang and Bu Mang knew that with the emperor present, it wasn't their place to protect this place, so they clasped their hands in agreement.
"Big brother, you go ahead and get busy. Yuling and I will go shopping for a while and then head back."
"Big brother, you should go now. Ling'er will be obedient."
Qin Mu was very happy to have two obedient and sensible younger sisters. He nodded slightly and smiled, "Go ahead!" After saying that, he stuffed a handful of gold beans into Qin Yuxin's hand.
Having never received so much money before, Qin Yuxin was so moved that her nose tingled, and she quickly lowered her head to avoid being seen by Qin Mu.
After seeing his sister off, Qin Mu returned to the tricycle. As soon as he got there, his hand slipped, and he hurriedly looked up to see Li Shimin holding his folding fan.
It turned out that when he was giving his younger sister away earlier, he had taken out his folding fan out of habit and forgot to put it away, so Li Shimin snatched it away.
"I knew your folding fan was a bit strange. It turns out it's made of metal. Could it be used as a weapon?" Li Shimin asked, unfolding it and examining it.
"Your Excellency is wise; it can indeed be used as a weapon. The fan ribs are made of metal, and the fan surface is made of animal hide. It can be used for both offense and defense," Qin Mu replied.
“Good. Since it’s your weapon, take it back.” Li Shimin nodded and tossed it to Qin Mu.
"I have one more unused fan here, which I'll offer to you, sir," Qin Mu said, reluctantly taking out his last metal folding fan.
"You little rascal! Why did you bring me an ordinary weapon this afternoon! Give it to me!" Li Shimin glared and took it from Qin Mu's hand.
I opened it and saw that it was indeed the same as Qin Mu's, only a little smaller. I pouted, somewhat dissatisfied.
"What the master wants this afternoon is an elegant item that can be used to write poems and inscribe calligraphy."
"You're right." Li Shimin nodded in satisfaction, put away the ordinary folding fan, and started waving the new one.
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