The next day.
Guan Zhiyue walked from the house into the courtyard. The topics she had discussed with Li Qishang last night were still vivid in her mind, especially the question, "Do you want to leave the palace?"
"I dream about it all the time, but what can I do now?"
"Bilian, let's go out of the palace. I need to buy some fruit tree saplings today." Guan Zhiyue took a deep breath, adjusted her state, and began to call out to Bilian.
However, Li Qishang arrived at his elder brother's study early in the morning.
"Big brother~~ I'm here, your beloved younger brother is here!" Li Qishang hadn't even reached the door of the Imperial Study before he started calling out.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he stepped into the imperial study, he saw a woman kneeling on the ground.
"Oh, who is this? She arrived even earlier than me?" Li Qishang looked at the woman kneeling on the ground. She had exquisite makeup on her face and wore a light blue gauze dress. The two little white rabbits in her arms were squeezed so tightly that they seemed about to burst out.
Upon seeing this, Li Qishang quickly covered his eyes, muttering, "Oh my god, this is an eyesore, it's indecent!"
"Are you Consort Shen?"
"Yes, Your Highness!" Shen Na, kneeling on the ground, nodded gently in response.
Li Qiji was still staring intently at the memorial with a serious expression, not even raising his head, busy with his own work.
Shen Na, kneeling on the ground, felt her legs go numb from kneeling, and she felt like a million grass mud horses were running through her mind.
Li Qishang waved his fan, circled around Shen Na, and then squatted down an arm's length away from her, saying, "Consort Shen, what brings you here to see my brother so early in the morning?"
"And they're dressed so lightly, even though the weather is freezing!"
Upon hearing Li Qishang's words, Shen Na bit her lip, looking pitiful, and murmured with misty eyes, "Your Majesty, I also wish to use some glass to decorate the windows in the room."
Upon hearing this, Li Qishang realized that they were after the glass windows!
"Oh, I see. I see. But Consort Shen, you've come to the wrong person."
Shen Na was completely dumbfounded. Wasn't Liu Li the Emperor? Why would the Prince of Xiaoyao say such a thing? Her own father hadn't told her that.
"Ah, then?"
Li Qishang jumped up from the ground, fanned himself, and sat down in a chair with his legs crossed, looking nonchalant. He looked at Consort Shen kneeling on the ground and said with a smile, "This glasswork is my property, so if Consort Shen wants glass windows, she can wait until I open a shop in the capital before she buys them!"
Shen Na: "..."
"But, in the Empress's palace..."
Li Qishang laughed and said, "Oh, you mean my sister-in-law! Do you know where Liuli's recipe came from?"
Shen Na paused for a moment, wondering what the carefree king meant.
"I wonder what Your Highness means by this?" Shen Na asked.
Li Qishang stopped beating around the bush and said directly, "It's from Liulichang. It's a birthday gift from my sister-in-law, so it's mine. My brother also agreed to it, so Consort Shen, you've got the wrong person."
"However, it's no use if you try to find your sister-in-law and brother, because your sister-in-law also found the recipe in a rare travelogue. Later, I burned the book, so I'm the only one who knows the recipe for this glass."
"If you want this, ask your sister-in-law and brother-in-law. They don't have glass windows. If Consort Shen wants one, come and buy it from me!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Na was speechless with anger. Who knew that this was actually a birthday gift from the Empress to Prince Xiaoyao, and who knew that Prince Xiaoyao would actually figure it out?
"Alright, Consort Shen, you may step down! I am powerless to help you." Li Qiji finally raised his head and glanced at Shen Na kneeling on the ground.
Shen Na noticed that the Emperor was looking at her, and deliberately moved the two little white rabbits in her arms, trying to make them stand out more. However, Li Qiji only glanced at them indifferently and then looked away.
"Get out of here!" Li Qiji shouted again when he saw that the person was still not leaving.
When Shen Na saw that her beauty trap had failed, she was furious and had no choice but to slink away and take her leave.
****
"Your Majesty is truly blessed, Consort Shen came so early in the morning to feast your eyes!" Li Qishang said casually, fanning himself with a folding fan.
What are you doing here?
Seeing that his emperor didn't respond, Li Qishang could only change the subject and say, "Hey, this is the shop decoration design by my sister-in-law, take a look!"
"By the way, does Your Majesty own a two-story shop in the capital?"
Li Qiji took the blueprints from his younger brother and looked at them one by one, his eyes shining brightly. They were simply too dazzling.
"Was this painted by the Empress herself?"
"Yes, my sister-in-law said that if all these decorations were made of glass, they would look really beautiful."
"Furthermore, my sister-in-law suggested moving Liulichang to the Imperial Estate in the capital and rebuilding a larger glass house there, so that we can showcase the charm of our glass art to the world!"
"This is the construction commencement document for Liulichang!"
Holding the "Xiangyang Liulichang" initiation document, Li Qiji stared intently at the words "Xiangyang" (meaning "facing the sun"). Then, as if remembering something, he asked, "Xiangyang Liulichang, is this the name you chose, or your sister-in-law?"
"Of course it's the Empress Dowager. Only she could come up with such a beautiful name."
Li Qiji listened and gave a soft "hmm," then said nothing more, though his mind was racing with thoughts.
Wasn't she overjoyed to marry me back then?
Why should we yearn for the outside world now?
Hasn't he given her enough freedom?
Why?
"Brother, what are you thinking about? Why aren't you saying anything?" Li Qishang looked at the Emperor, whose hands were clenched tightly, and was somewhat puzzled.
"Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking about this startup plan. It's very good, let's write it according to this! As for the shop, I'll give you an answer about it in a couple of days!" Li Qiji said after thinking for a moment.
Li Qishang nodded, stood up from his seat, bowed and said, "In that case, thank you very much, Your Majesty. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now!"
The Emperor waved his hand and dismissed Li Qishang without even looking up. Li Qishang swaggered over, waving his fan, and led Shangyao toward the palace gates.
——
"Your Majesty, the Empress has left the palace," Ji Shang reported, bowing as he climbed down from the roof beam.
Li Qiji put down the red writing brush in his hand, looked up at Ji Shang, and pinched the space between his eyebrows. "Have you sent someone to protect you?"
"Yes, a team has been left to protect them from the shadows."
"Hmm! Do you know what the Empress did when she left the palace this time?" Li Qiji asked, as if he had thought of something.
Ji Shang said, "I heard they went to buy some fruit tree seedlings, but I dared not get too close and don't know the specifics."
"Alright! I understand. You may leave!"
After everyone had left, the emperor slumped dejectedly onto his dragon throne, lost in thought...
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