Shops were not allowed on the streets of Chang 'an. The imperial court had specially designated two areas for trading. These were the Eastern and Western Markets.
The Eastern Market was considered a domestic market. There were more than 220 types of goods sold there, including rare treasures from all over the world.
The Western Market was an international market, also known as the "Golden Market". There were close to a thousand shops that traded goods. It was the largest and most prosperous international market at that time.
Yongle Lane, where the Li family lived, was closer to the Eastern Market than the Western Market. They had to pass through five lanes. Fortunately, they had nothing to do. Li Zexuan led a group of people to the Western Market. At the same time, they could admire the authentic ancient architecture of the Tang Dynasty.
"Brother, Lan 'er is tired."
After walking for a short distance, Lan 'er grabbed Li Zexuan's hand and refused to move forward.
Li Zexuan, who was admiring the ancient architecture on both sides of the road, was speechless. They had only walked for a short distance, less than two miles, and this little girl was already complaining about being tired. However, he could not ignore her now. After all, she was his little sister. He should have hired a carriage in the morning.
"Lan 'er, hang on a little longer. We'll be there soon."
"No, Lan 'er really can't walk anymore."
Lan 'er said with a bitter face.
"How about this, let's walk slower. As we walk, I'll tell Lan 'er a story, okay?"
Li Zexuan slowly tempted her. He had no choice. There was no way to hire a carriage here. He could not possibly carry Lan 'er to the Western Market.
When Lan 'er heard that her brother was going to tell her a story, she immediately perked up. Her legs were no longer tired. She quickly stood up and held her brother's hand. "Okay, okay. Brother, tell me quickly."
Li Zexuan smiled faintly. He held his little sister's hand and slowly walked forward. As he walked, he recalled:
"Legend has it that a long time ago, the world was divided into the Dong Sheng Divine Continent, the Aparagodaniya Continent, the Nanbu Continent, and the Uttarakuru Continent. In the Dong Sheng Divine Continent, there was a mountain of flowers and fruits. There was a celestial stone on the mountain. One day, the celestial stone cracked and an egg rolled out of the stone. The egg turned into a stone monkey when it was exposed to the wind. The monkey's eyes shot out rays of golden light and worshipped in all directions.
The monkey could walk and run. When it was thirsty, it would drink some spring water from the mountain stream. When it was hungry, it would eat some fruits from the mountain. He had a great time playing with the animals in the mountains all day long. One day, the weather was particularly hot. In order to avoid the hot weather, the monkeys ran to the mountain stream to take a bath. When they saw the spring water flowing, they walked along the stream to find its source … "
Li Zexuan planned to tell his little sister "Journey to the West". He had watched it countless times when he was a child, and he could still remember many of the plots very clearly. Moreover, the story was very long, and he could make it a long-term serial for his little sister. This way, he wouldn't have to worry about how to coax his little sister for a long time.
Of course, he couldn't tell Lan 'er and the others everything according to the original novel. After all, it was the Tang Dynasty now, and Tang Xuanzang still existed. Li Zexuan decided to give Tang Xuanzang a new alias. He would call him Tang Yin for the time being. He also changed the name of the place.
Heh heh, I wonder what Tang Bohu would think of Journey to the West in the Great Ming Dynasty hundreds of years later. Li Zexuan thought so mischievously.
Just as he was talking about how the Great Sage Equalling Heaven wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace and was imprisoned in the Eight Trigrams Furnace by Taishang Laojun, they had arrived at the West Market.
"Alright, let's stop here for today. Let's go. Big Brother will bring you to buy sweets and watch the juggling."
Li Zexuan was prepared to experience this ancient market.
"Ah, we're here already?"
The little girl obviously hadn't heard enough and looked reluctant. Behind her, Xiao He, Xiao Xi, Ah Fu, and San Bao obviously didn't have enough and looked regretful.
"Dear friend, please wait a moment. May I ask which story you told me earlier came from? My little sister likes this story very much."
Suddenly, an eleven or twelve-year-old boy quickly walked out from behind him. Beside him was a six or seven-year-old girl. He cupped his hands and said to Li Zexuan.
In fact, Li Zexuan had already noticed that there were two people following them for a long time. After all, his Kung Fu wasn't for nothing. Since he felt that the two of them didn't have any bad intentions, he didn't bother to pay attention to them. They went their separate ways and he didn't have the right to restrict them. He just thought that they were going to the West Market like him. He didn't expect that they were following behind to eavesdrop on the story.
Li Zexuan glanced behind the boy and found that there seemed to be more than ten people disguised as pedestrians in the crowd. They seemed to be faintly protecting the boy.
"He's probably the son of an official going out to experience life."
Li Zexuan muttered in his heart. However, seeing that the boy was dressed luxuriously and had a polite attitude, and the little girl was looking at him with anticipation, Li Zexuan didn't want to be arrogant and offend them for no reason. Thus, he cupped his hands and returned the greeting.
"I'm afraid I'll disappoint you. This isn't a story sold in the market. It's just a story that I made up to coax my little sister."
"Oh."
The boy in luxurious clothes looked disappointed. In fact, he also liked this story. He was just about to ask for the name and send someone to buy a copy to read.
He cupped his hands again and said,
"Brother, you're a genius. This story can't be made up without a wild imagination. I'm Li Gaoming. This is my little sister Li Lizhi. I want to make friends with you. How should I address you?"
Li Zexuan didn't expect to meet two brainless fans of "Journey to the West" when he went out for a trip. He was helpless. Seeing that the boy didn't look like an arrogant and domineering person, he thought that he could make friends with him.
Thus, he smiled and said, "Little brother, you flatter me. It's just a story that I made up. It's not elegant. My name is Li Zexuan. I live in Changle Fang. I'll make friends with you."
This boy was the current crown prince, Li Zexuan. His courtesy name was Gaoming. As a result, he wasn't lying when he called himself Li Gaoming. However, in his previous life, Li Zexuan was an engineering student. How could he have studied the history of the Tang Dynasty so deeply? Naturally, he didn't know what Li Chengqian's courtesy name was.
The little girl was Princess Changle, Li Lizhi. She was seven years old this year. As her name suggested, she was a natural beauty. Her skin carried a sickly white color. Although she was only one year older than Lan 'er, she was much taller. Li Lizhi had suffered from Qi since she was young. This could be considered a hereditary illness in the Li Family.
Li Chengqian had seen his little sister sulking all day in the palace. As a result, he brought her to the Western Market to relax. He didn't expect to meet a boy who told such an interesting story. Just as he and his little sister were listening to the story with great interest, their blood boiling, the story suddenly stopped. Only then did Li Chengqian have the intention to chat.
After the two introduced themselves, they chatted for a while. Li Chengqian said,
"Brother Zexuan, there must be more to that story."
Li Zexuan didn't expect that the charm of Journey to the West would be so great during the Tang Dynasty.
"Of course there's more. What I told you just now was only the beginning. There's still more to come."
Li Chengqian's face was filled with joy. In the end, he was only a child of about ten years old.
He excitedly said, "Then this little brother will pay a visit another day. Brother Zexuan, you must continue to tell me the rest of the story."
Li Lizhi's face was filled with regret. Her brother, the Crown Prince, could frequently leave the palace, but as a princess, she could not disregard imperial etiquette.
Li Zexuan naturally agreed. Afterwards, he parted ways with Li Chengqian, taking his little sister to go shopping.
Seeing Li Lizhi's melancholy expression, Li Chengqian understood what was going on after thinking it over.
He then said to Li Lizhi, "Little sister, don't worry. In the future, after I finish listening to Li Zexuan's story, I will immediately return and tell it to you, okay?"
Only then did Li Lizhi's expression change from gloomy to sunny. She happily smiled at Li Chengqian.
"Mm, thank you, Crown Prince!"
… …
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