The Great Wei Music Bureau

Last time, we talked about how Li Yi hid within the delegation and used the luck of the human race to help Jing Xin break the illusion curse placed on her by the Old Man of the Moon. Now, Jing Xin can't wait to fly to Luoyang to see him. So how will the story unfold next? Let's find out together.

Since they had made the request, Lin Fan naturally had to comply. After all, according to seniority, she was his master's wife, though there were quite a few of them, making it a bit difficult to answer. In any case, ten days later, the delegation finally arrived outside the gates of Luoyang City.

Lin Fan approached the carriage and bowed, saying, "Ladies, we have arrived at the gates of Luoyang. Would you like to get out of the carriage and take a walk to see what our capital of the Great Wei is like?"

"It's just the capital, what's so different? It's just that the city walls are higher, the city walls are bigger, and there are more people!" Xiang Ying pulled back the carriage curtain, but when she saw the bustling streets and crowds on the other side of the gate, she immediately called out, "Jing Xin, Qu Xia, you two come down and take a look, it's really different from Baidi City!"

Upon hearing the commotion, Jing Xin and Qu Xia dismounted from their carriage. They then realized that Luoyang, the new capital of Northern Wei, was truly beyond description. Wide streets, rows of shops, bustling crowds, and traffic signs controlled by hourglasses—red for stop, green for go—everything was orderly. The busy people paid no attention to the delegation's carriages, glancing at them at most before continuing their journey.

Passing through the towering city gate, Lin Fan took on the role of guide, proudly stating, "Ladies, we are now traveling on Vermilion Bird Avenue, also known as Central Avenue. According to our teacher, it's a six-lane road in both directions, with the four middle lanes reserved for carriages and horses, and the two outer lanes for pedestrians. Both sides are lined with shops selling everything imaginable—if you can think of it, you can buy it here!"

Xiang Ying scoffed, "Keep bragging! I want to buy a peerless divine weapon, is it even available for sale?"

"There really is one! But it's not on this street. Weapons are strictly controlled commodities and can only be sold on Metallurgical Road, which is directly supervised by the Suspended Mirror Bureau. The peerless divine weapon you mentioned can be found there, but it's very expensive and you need a guarantor with the corresponding credit to buy it."

"Ironware is a strictly controlled commodity? Does that mean ordinary people have to find someone to vouch for them when they buy a kitchen knife?"

"Of course not. Ironware used by ordinary people, including iron farm tools, are all household hardware and can be bought on Hardware Road. There is no need for a guarantor."

"Then take me to see your peerless divine weapon!"

"When we arrive at Junzi Pavilion and meet our teacher, I'm sure he'll show the three ladies around. After all, he personally oversaw the renovation of this new capital, and no one knows this city better than him."

Just then, a group of Hu people leading a camel caravan approached and stopped inside the stop line to wait. Jing Xin immediately stepped behind Xiang Ying in surprise and said, "Why are there so many Hu people here?"

"Oh, the teacher's main means of managing the Western Regions is trade. Many Hu people travel thousands of miles to Luoyang just to earn more money."

"Can those barbarians follow the rules?"

"Initially, they were indeed quite unruly, with some even acting as bandits and robbing merchant caravans within the pass. After the imperial court dispatched troops to suppress them, their heads were sent to the various kingdoms of the Western Regions, and they were told that if they wanted to trade, they had to abide by the rules, otherwise the next time it would be the iron cavalry of our Great Wei. After killing several waves of unruly Hu people and wiping out a part of the Western Regions, no one dares to cause trouble now."

That's the Gaoche Department Store, the largest Western Regions shop in Luoyang! You can find all kinds of Western Regions goods there. Why don't the three ladies go in and have a look?

The three looked at the shop on the third floor that Lin Fan pointed to, exchanged glances, and went inside. The shop assistant was very enthusiastic when he saw the three beauties enter the shop, and introduced the products in the shop to them. The first floor had all kinds of fruits and seasonings, the second floor had furs, and the third floor had gold, silver and jade.

Xiang Ying pointed excitedly at the cumin and pepper, saying, "Look, isn't this the seasoning my husband puts on the meat when he grills it for us?!"

Qu Xia said unhappily, "What's the big fuss about! We've seen this before, don't embarrass the people of Chu!"

"Oh, so you ladies are from the State of Chu! You must come up to the third floor to have a look. Our jade artifacts at Gaoche Department Store are the best in Luoyang! Especially the gold-inlaid jade, even our Great Wei's number one scholar, Lord Li, praised it and even wrote a poem about it!"

Upon hearing this, Jing Xin became interested and asked as she went upstairs, "What poem did the talented Li write?"

"Madam, look, it's that line!" The waiter pointed to two lines of poetry hanging high in the third-floor hall: "The moon shines brightly over the vast sea, pearls weep; the sun warms the fields of Lantian, jade emits smoke."

Jing Xin smiled and asked, "Do you know the meaning of these two lines of poetry?"

The shop assistant chuckled and said, "Madam, how could I possibly understand that! But the manager told me that these two lines mean our jewelry is so good, as precious as pearls formed from the tears of mermaids, as bright as the moon over the sea, and that our jade is so good it's practically smoking!"

After hearing this, Jing Xin covered her face and laughed, "You guys can interpret these two sentences like that? Does the great scholar Li know that you've hung these two sentences here?"

"Of course I know! It was mentioned by Lord Li himself!"

"Oh? Lord Li wrote it in his own hand?"

"Of course!" The shop assistant leaned close to Jingxin and whispered, "To be honest, Madam, our Gaoche Department Store is owned by the royal family of the Gaoche Kingdom. The Gaoche King is young, and the Queen is in charge of the government! I heard that when Lord Li was traveling in the Western Regions, he had a relationship with the Gaoche Queen and almost became the Gaoche King!"

Seeing this, the shopkeeper shouted, "You little rascal, what nonsense are you spouting to the customers again! Do you believe I'll sew your mouth shut!"

The shop assistant immediately covered his mouth and whispered, "Madam, if you enjoy hearing these interesting stories about famous people, I know quite a few. If you can buy one or two pieces of jade jewelry, I can tell you about them slowly."

Seeing that the waiter was still talking nonsense, the shopkeeper immediately came up and dismissed him. Then he bowed and said, "Please forgive me, ladies. My waiter has no sense of propriety. He likes to embellish and spread rumors. Please don't take them seriously! That boy shouldn't be a waiter. He should be a storyteller in a teahouse."

Qu Xia glanced at the displayed jewelry and said disdainfully, "I think the jade here is just so-so, it doesn't deserve the two lines of poetry by the great scholar Li at all."

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "We wouldn't dare display truly good things in the open. Even if Luoyang is a safe city, we're still afraid that bad people will have their eyes on us. If you ladies really want to see some good things, you can come inside with me."

Just then, Lin Fan came upstairs, and the shopkeeper immediately stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Oh, Master Lin, you've returned from your trip. Are you looking for some jewelry for your wife? Come, come, feel free to look around and choose whatever you like. If you find something you like, just take it!"

"Manager Gao, I've come to invite the three ladies to Junzi Pavilion. Our teacher has just left the palace and is on his way to Junzi Pavilion."

Jingxin immediately said, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go to Junzige to see our husband!" After saying that, she excitedly hurried downstairs.

After everyone had gone some distance, Manager Gao grabbed the waiter's ear and said, "You little rascal, did you talk nonsense with those three ladies just now? I'll sew your mouth shut today!"

On the other side, the three ladies arrived at Junzi Pavilion by carriage with all the green lights. Li Yi was already waiting at the gate. As soon as the carriage came to a stop, Jing Xin got off immediately and threw herself into Li Yi's arms without caring about other people's eyes. Li Yi naturally gave her a kiss, a hug, and lifted her up high.

But as soon as Li Yi put Jing Xin down, she raised her hand to slap him. Fortunately, Li Yi reacted in time and stopped her hand, saying in a low voice, "There are so many people watching, at least give me some face. You can do whatever you want with me when we get home!"

"Hmph, let me go!"

Jing Xin turned around and stood next to Li Yi. At this moment, Xiang Ying and Qu Xia had already come to Li Yi, but the two seemed a little unfamiliar with each other, especially Xiang Ying, whose eyes still held a trace of hostility. After all, they had fought each other on the opposing side before.

Qu Xia looked Li Yi up and down and asked, "You were able to use a luminous pearl to break Jing Xin's curse, so why didn't you just break the curse on us as well?"

“Jingxin specializes in Confucianism and Taoism and has reached the stage of cultivating qi, making her more receptive to the power of fortune. Therefore, it’s easy to remove the curse from her, while it’s naturally more troublesome for you.” Li Yi looked at Xiang Ying and said helplessly, “It’s even more difficult for her!”

"why?"

"Because you are a martial artist of the Transcendent Realm! Martial artists are in their own world and are the least likely to be disturbed by the outside world. In addition, with your stubborn temper, it won't be resolved in a short time. Come in, I will first show you around my Gentleman's Pavilion. After we finish things here, we will go back to the manor together."

Li Yi led the three ladies into the Gentleman's Pavilion for a visit, and finally they sat down in the inner hall to enjoy tea.

"So we're staying at your house?"

"if not?"

Qu Xia asked, "Aren't you afraid that we'll fight with your two wives?"

"I sent them away."

"They've been sent away. Where were they sent?"

“I asked His Majesty for a reward, and requested a mountain by Tianchi Lake in Tianshan. Once the world is unified, I will retire gracefully, leave the hustle and bustle behind, and go to the mountain to graze my livestock.”

Upon hearing this, Xiang Ying asked warily, "Unify the world? You still want to destroy Chu?"

"The world, after a long period of division, tends to unite; after a long period of unity, tends to divide. Now, the land of Kyushu has been divided for over a hundred years. It is time for a unified dynasty to emerge."

"Then why can't you help the King of Chu accomplish his great cause?"

"King of Chu? That puppet that you three families have chosen? Don't be ridiculous. Right now, the world is divided into three, with Wei holding two of them. Why would I go to such lengths to seek something more important?"

Jing Xin asked, "Then what do you mean by saying you don't have much time left? You seem fine to me."

"I'm just saying that I don't have much time left on earth, not that I'm going to die."

"What do you mean?"

Li Yi pointed to the sky and said, "I have taken too much heavenly secrets. If I continue to stay in the mortal world, I will surely be punished by heaven. Before the heavens decide to punish me, the best way to survive is to protect myself!"

"Then helping the Northern Wei complete the unification is also seizing the secret of heaven!"

"That's right! But I must seize this secret! Because only a unified dynasty can refine enough fortune to help me extinguish the will of the Gu God. As long as the will of the Gu God remains, Heaven will continue to watch over me. How can I escape then?"

At this moment, Xiang Ying had lost her temper, because she still couldn't see Li Yi and Wei Le as the same person, and her stubbornness had flared up again. She shouted, "You can disregard the lives of the Chu army and people just to get yourself out of trouble!"

Jing Xin stepped forward to dissuade Xiang Ying, saying, "Xiang Ying, what are you saying! He's our husband!"

"Nonsense! My husband would never be so heartless as to disregard the lives of others! He's a fraud! He just wants to lure me to Northern Wei so he can use that opportunity to send troops to attack our Chu! You've all been fooled by him!"

"Xiang Ying, the world has been in chaos for too long. Only by unifying the country can the people begin to cultivate the land! Do you know the Jianghuai region? It was originally the border between Liang and Wei. A year ago, it was a fertile land with no one to cultivate it."

After the fall of Liang, the imperial court lent oxen, farming tools, and rice seeds to willing farmers who wished to cultivate the land. They only paid 30% of the land's yield annually. After five years, the oxen, tools, and land belonged to the cultivators, and the rent would be reduced to 10%. You can go and see; it has already come back to life!

"Our Chu Kingdom is different. We have no wasteland! Our people live in peace and contentment, and everything is so peaceful and harmonious. It is you who insisted on breaking this peace!"

"The crux of Chu's problem lies not in the instability of the people's hearts, but in the constraints imposed by the clans!"

Upon hearing this, the three beauties all looked at Li Yi as if he were an enemy.

Li Yi sighed and said, "I know you don't like to hear this, but it's the truth. The royal family and your three families control the vast majority of Chu's resources, and these people don't pay taxes! If it weren't for the trade in Shu brocade, tea, and other goods, Chu would definitely be in a deficit!"