hsntnovel Chapter 2635 Glorious Brocade
Chapter 2635 Glorious Brocade
Upon hearing everyone's words, Li Shimin burst into laughter, elevating Li Shen to yet another level.
Li Shen glanced at his father and thought to himself, "Why are they starting to use that 'praise to kill' tactic now?"
There's a surprise coming up later, let's see what you say then.
Seeing that Li Shen remained silent and did not argue with him, Li Shimin was somewhat surprised. Shouldn't Li Shen have said a few humble words at this time?
Didn't he understand what I meant?
"Prince Ji, tell everyone, what dishes have been prepared for today?"
"How can you not play with me?" Li Shimin began to inquire.
"You'll find out when we have dinner."
"Why don't we call Mother here and let the elder sisters pay their respects first?"
Li Shen stood up and replied that these princesses had not yet paid their respects to the emperor and empress, and that they should also present their gifts.
These are all procedures.
Li Shimin glanced at Li Shen and found him somewhat strange, but still nodded. Wang De left immediately without being told what to do.
Then the people in the hall saw His Majesty staring at Prince Ji, and Prince Ji staring back at His Majesty, their eyes glued to each other, leaving everyone bewildered.
Li Shimin mainly felt that Li Shen must have some reason for staring at him like that, so he thought, "If you're staring at me, then I'll stare at you too."
The father and son just stared at each other, neither of them saying a word.
After an unknown amount of time, Wang De's voice came from outside:
"Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!"
With a long sigh, everyone stood up, including Li Shen, who withdrew his gaze.
Li Shimin revealed a victorious smile, while he remained seated as steady as Mount Tai.
Soon Empress Zhangsun entered with her concubines.
"Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress..." the crowd bowed.
"Hehe, no need for formalities. Today is a family dinner, we are all one family."
The Empress smiled slightly, appearing so graceful and noble.
She sat down next to Li Shimin, whose gaze never left Empress Zhangsun.
"This... Guanyinbi, why haven't I seen this garment before?"
Li Shimin glanced at the outer garment draped over Empress Zhangsun's body, and then at the one worn by Consort Wei. He immediately realized that it must have been a gift from his rebellious son.
"Hehe, Erlang, this was brought over by Dingniang just now."
As she spoke, she stood up to show Li Shimin that it was as thin as a cicada's wing, and when she moved, it flowed like water. Under the sunlight, it was colorful and interspersed with specks of gold.
Good stuff. That was Li Shimin's first thought, but he didn't get a share of this good stuff.
He turned to look at Li Shen.
"As long as Mother is happy, I will be content," Li Shen said.
"I like it, but I don't know what this brocade is called or where it comes from. Just now, the maid said it was made by the Prince Ji's mansion?"
Empress Zhangsun asked with a smile, "No matter how old a woman is, she is always interested in such sparkly things."
"Reporting to Mother, this brocade is named Floating Light."
"Floating Light Brocade... indeed a fitting description." Empress Zhangsun murmured. She had noticed it when she arrived; the Floating Light Brocade was even more dazzling in the sunlight.
“Mother, this is the first generation of Floating Light Brocade. It was made in a bit of a rush. I will make you a ceremonial robe with a phoenix design later, which will better highlight your nobility as the Empress.”
As Li Shen spoke, he waved to Lu Dingniang, who was not far away.
Only then did everyone notice that Lu Dingniang's delicate hairpin dress also shone brightly, though it was a purple dress and not as colorful.
But upon closer inspection, you'll see that the purple clothes are embroidered with patterns, and upon closer look, other colors can be seen underneath the purple.
Empress Zhangsun touched it with her hand; it felt the same as her own skin, soft and silky.
"Very well, then Mother will wait for my son's clothes."
Empress Zhangsun immediately smiled.
"Tenth Brother, this shimmering brocade must be quite valuable, right?" Li Chengqian asked from the side.
"Hehe, of course, you could say that every inch of brocade is worth its weight in gold. Look at the gold flecks on it, they are made of silk wrapped around gold foil paper."
Each one must be wrapped evenly; the slightest mistake will render it unusable.
Simply turning gold into gold leaf as thin as a cicada's wing is already incredibly difficult.
Li Shen chuckled, extremely pleased with himself. This was true luxury above all else. This was how money should be spent.
As expected, Li Shen's words shocked everyone. Prince Ji, that spendthrift son, was indeed extravagant and dissolute.
They went to such great lengths for a piece of clothing, even coming up with the idea of wrapping gold leaf in silk.
Does Prince Ji usually spend all his time at home thinking about how to enjoy himself?
Li Shen glanced at his father out of the corner of his eye, a cold smile playing on his lips. "Hmph, you're dumbfounded now, aren't you? We have good stuff, but we're not giving it to you."
Li Shimin stroked the shimmering brocade draped over Empress Zhangsun's body, his eyes filled with envy.
Shouldn't this be classified as a tribute? How could this rebellious son have made it?
No wonder he ignored me earlier; he was waiting here.
"Tenth brother, why don't you get one for me too?" Li Chengqian shamelessly asked.
This earned him a glare from Li Shen:
"If you're willing, since we're brothers, I can't refuse, but I'll have to pay extra."
"Add money?" Li Chengqian was taken aback.
"Of course, this shimmering brocade didn't just fall from the sky. Do you know how long it took me to make it?"
All that's been made so far is what I don't even have myself.
"Friendly price, 10,000 strings of cash per bolt."
"Ten thousand strings of cash? Why don't you just rob someone?" Li Chengqian almost cursed when he heard Li Shen say ten thousand strings of cash per bolt of cloth.
The price of tribute items would not exceed a thousand strings of cash, so even if yours is the best, it's not worth ten thousand strings of cash.
"Robbery? Brother, you're the Crown Prince! Don't you know that robbery is against the law?"
"This is a legitimate business, and I earn more than I would from robbery. Why would I bother robbing?"
Li Shen looked at Li Chengqian with disdain, which made Li Chengqian furious.
"Alright, Guanyinbi, how are the preparations going? When can we begin the banquet?"
Li Shimin sat back down and asked.
"Preparing is underway; it should be ready in about half an hour."
Empress Zhangsun replied.
Li Shen silently sat back down, but he always felt that his father's gaze was a little strange, as if he was brewing something.
Next came the New Year's greetings and kowtows. According to seniority, the princess, accompanied by her husband, began to offer New Year's greetings and gifts.
Li Shen and the others had already delivered the gifts; they were just watching from the sidelines.
Because of Li Shen's shimmering brocade, the atmosphere didn't feel as lively, even though everyone was giving pearls, jade, gold and silver jewelry.
Li Shimin remained somewhat uninterested until the end.
The others could only feel helpless; there was nothing they could do. Who in the Tang Dynasty dared to compete with Prince Ji in terms of wealth?
Just then, Consort Wei suddenly said to Li Shen:
"Shen'er, didn't you say you missed His Majesty's birthday celebration and wanted to make up for it with a gift?"
"what?"
Upon hearing this, Li Shen inwardly cried out in alarm, "Oh no, I've messed up my mother too."
(I was fortunate enough to see the shimmering brocade once; I don't know if it was real or not, but I heard it was worth hundreds of thousands.)