Time Travel: I am the idle king Li Shen and Li Shimin in the Tang Dynasty

"Hahahaha, good, good, very good, you all did a good job, and I will reward you handsomely later."

Looking at the two paintings, Li Shen burst into laughter.

This is the door god he had painted.

Since the gate of Prince Ji's mansion was so large, it was painted relatively large as well.

"Not bad, not bad. Oh? By the way, how much did they ask for?"

Li Shen nodded and looked at the two door god paintings, then suddenly looked up and asked.

"My Lord, the Duke of E asked for 500 strings of cash, and the Duke of Lu asked for 1,000 strings of cash. But after I told him the Duke of E's asking price,

Duke Lu also received 500 strings of cash."

"Five hundred strings of cash?" You prodigal son, can't you see that they are blackmailing my Ji Wang Mansion?

Hearing this, Li Shen immediately became anxious. Two paintings for one thousand strings of cash, isn't this a rip-off?

It should have originally belonged to Duke Yi of Qin Qiong, but unfortunately Qin Qiong went to the border, so he could only look for Cheng Yaojin because Cheng Yaojin looked fierce.

I didn't expect that this guy would dare to ask me for money.

"Your Highness, Duke E said that if you don't give him 500 strings of cash, he won't let me paint, saying that he has spent a lot of money in the nursing home."

Shitou quickly reported back.

"What? You dare to threaten me? The money he spends in the nursing home, isn't that his retirement money?

This is really absurd. When I have time, I will punish these two evil people. They are bullying me."

Li Shen became even more furious after hearing this.

However, it was not a good idea to go to their house to settle accounts with them during the Yuanzheng period, so Li Shen could only endure it for the time being.

"Come on, hurry up and follow me."

Li Shen put aside his worries and happily led his men to stick the two door gods on the door.

Peach charms were hung on both sides of the door, and Spring Festival couplets were pasted on them.

"Your Highness, many people want your fireworks. Even the palace and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince have sent people over."

Wei Fugui came over to report to Li Shen.

Now everyone in Chang'an knows that Prince Ji has something called fireworks, which are colorful and dazzling when they are set off.

But no one knows the recipe.

Moreover, many years ago, Li Shimin had issued an edict to inform the world that alchemy was a myth and was toxic, and that it was forbidden to use anything other than herbs as medicine.

Sun Simiao also spread the word through Taoism, saying that it would kill people, and called on everyone to use only herbs to make elixirs.

Therefore, many recipes for gunpowder were abandoned, and some people made elixirs in private. Whenever there was a furnace explosion, government officials would come to deal with it quickly.

This is also to ensure the formula of gunpowder as much as possible. Although Li Shen thinks it will appear sooner or later, it would be better if it were later.

"Reject them all, saying that this item is a collection of spiritual objects from heaven and earth, absorbing the essence of the sun and the moon, and there is also some colorful auspicious cloud. Anyway, it is not for sale to the public."

Li Shen made up a few words and left the rest to the people below to carry out.

"Your Highness, what about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince..." Wei Fugui asked hesitantly.

"He's of no use. He has to keep watch in the palace tonight. He's the eldest son, how can he run away?

The fireworks for the palace have been prepared and will be delivered by the guards soon. They must not pass through anyone else's hands and must only be given to Wang De.

If the prince wants to play, let him play by himself in the palace."

The other princes did not need to keep watch at night, after all, they had already started a family, but Li Chengqian was different. He was the eldest son and would inherit the family business.

"Your Majesty, there is news from the palace that you will be invited to attend the banquet tomorrow."

At this time Wang Xuance came over to report.

"Attend the banquet? I am not an official appointed by the court. If I don't go, you can tell me that I have a stomachache tomorrow."

Li Shen shook his head.

"Xuan Ce, take a look at my two door gods. They are top-grade to ward off evil spirits and exorcise ghosts. Look at these two things. They don't look like good people."

Li Shen pointed at his masterpiece and showed it off to Wang Xuance.

Wang Xuance then noticed that there were two large paintings on the gate of Prince Ji's mansion.

There is a painting of a military general on each of them, looking ferocious and evil.

"Your Highness, this is..." Wang Xuance asked with some confusion.

"This is a door god, it is used to protect the house and ward off evil spirits. What do you think?"

"Yes, it does have that feeling. Stay away from it, strangers." Wang Xuance nodded approvingly. As long as King Ji is happy, this thing is a good thing.

That night, the entire city of Chang'an was decorated with lights and it looked like a lantern festival, colorful.

This night requires vigil, so it is destined to be a sleepless night.

The fireworks at Prince Ji's Mansion and the Imperial Palace became the most popular show for the people of Chang'an City tonight.

Li Shen was not stingy and let it rest for half an hour. His cervical spondylosis was almost cured.

Even so, the little ones in the family still felt unsatisfied.

There were also quite a few fireworks in the imperial palace, almost the same as those in Prince Ji’s mansion. Otherwise, Li Shen was afraid that his father would cause trouble again.

At night, Li Shen and his eldest son Yangyang kept watch in the hall. As for his eldest son, since he was too young, he was taken to bed by the wet nurse.

By the second half of the night, Yangyang was extremely sleepy, so Li Shen simply let him go to sleep and he kept watch alone.

Anyway, there are servants to accompany me.

When the day dawned, Li Shen was already so sleepy that he yawned repeatedly. Although he was young, sitting alone all night felt like a year.

"Your Highness, you have worked hard." Lu Dingniang came to Li Shen with a group of concubines.

"You guys got up so early, let someone prepare the meal."

Li Shen smiled.

There are a lot of things to do today. In the Tang Dynasty, there was the custom of New Year's greetings. Li Shen needed to go and pay New Year's greetings to several people, and some people also came to his palace to pay New Year's greetings.

For example, those more than a hundred playboys.

After the meal, it was time for the annual New Year greetings.

Li Shen and Lu Dingniang sat on the steps of the hall. Hundreds of people from Prince Ji's mansion, including servants from the inner and outer courtyards, bowed to the master and mistress.

Every time this part comes, Li Shen has a feeling that he is the king of the world.

Afterwards, they happily distributed rewards, which was also the custom in Prince Ji's Mansion.

"Your Highness Prince Ji, His Majesty has ordered you to attend the banquet in the palace." During this time, someone came from the palace and asked Li Shen to attend the banquet.

Li Shencai was unwilling to join in the fun:

"Go back and report that the prince has a stomachache, has caught a cold, and has a brain disease. He needs to rest and go to the palace for the banquet in the evening."

Li Shen was talking about a family dinner, but what Li Shimin asked him to attend was a banquet for officials.

A banquet is held in the Taiji Hall at noon on the New Year's Day every year.

At that time, officials from the imperial court, high-ranking officials, envoys from foreign countries, and princes and nobles will all be present.

"This... Your Highness Prince Ji, His Majesty's oral order..."

"Can't you see that I'm sick? Just reply as you're told. Are you new here? Get out of here right now."

Li Shen glared and shouted angrily. He had wanted to reward him with some money, but seeing this, he would not give him any reward.

The eunuch was frightened by Li Shen and quickly saluted and retreated.

"My dear, His Majesty asked you to go, so you should go. It only happens once a year."

Lu Dingniang persuaded.

"Don't worry, my lady. We will go to the palace to eat in the evening. We won't go during the day. There will be too many people. I don't like to show up in public."

Li Shen patted Lu Dingniang's hand.

Continue to give out rewards.

(Li Shangyin described the grand occasion of the Sui Dynasty's night watch in his poem "Sui Palace Watch": "Agarwood is boiled to make a courtyard fire, and jade liquid is used as a birthday cup. Looking at the dew plate from afar, I thought it was the moon, and hearing the crocodile drum in the distance, I was startled as if it were thunder."

Yuanzheng is the first day of the Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival. I always thought it was New Year's Eve. It turns out that New Year's Eve is called Suichu.

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