Chapter 1036: Wu Zetian summons Lin Lang to the palace for an audience

"Any old items can be exchanged for something!" Chu Yiren held a colorful glass bead in her hand and made a fortune-attracting gesture in front of the stall. "Copper basins and pottery jars, old silk clothes, even unused jade pendants and hairpins can all be exchanged for something you like!"

The crowd suddenly became agitated. Some turned around and ran home, while others began to rummage through their belongings. The noise from the scene was intertwined with the hawking sounds from the loudspeakers.

Suddenly, a crisp "ding" sound pierced through the noise.

A noble lady in a ruqun took off a jade bracelet from her wrist, handed it to Lin Lang, and said, "Peddler, take a look at my jade bracelet. What new things can I get in exchange for it at your stall?"

When Lin Lang took the jade bracelet, his fingertips touched the cool and moist texture, and he looked at it carefully through the treasure appraisal system.

The mutton-fat white jade is pure and without impurities. The bracelet is shallowly embossed with lotus patterns, and the edges of the lotus petals are faintly stained with cinnabar. It is clearly an old item that has stood for hundreds of years.

Her heartbeat suddenly quickened. Ancient jade of this level would have a starting price of at least seven figures in a modern auction house.

Lin Lang turned gently under the light, letting the flowing halo fall into the eyes of the noble lady, "Girl, your jade bracelet is transparent and lustrous. You can choose five things from my stall and take away whatever you like!" Before he finished speaking, exclamations came one after another from the crowd.

The lady was delighted after hearing this, "Okay! Then I'll exchange it!"

The old nanny following behind her was about to stop her, but the noble lady glared back at her: "Don't say anything more, these rare items on the street stall are worth exchanging even for your gold hairpins!"

The old lady quickly shut up and stepped back, not daring to say another word.

As soon as the first cross-time and space business was opened, the profit started from several million. Lin Lang happily stored the ancient jade bracelet in his personal space.

The lady squatted down in front of the stall full of dazzling items and without hesitation picked out a round portable makeup mirror with a Hello Kitty pattern on the back, and then picked up a slightly larger round plastic table mirror.

Then, Chu Yiren handed her a solar-powered rechargeable flashlight. "Look, girl. This small flashlight is exposed to the sun during the day. At night, when you flip the switch, it will emit the solar energy stored during the day to illuminate the road. You don't need to carry a lantern when walking at night anymore."

The girl shielded herself from the light with her sleeves, pressed the switch of the solar flashlight, and was immediately amazed.

"Wow... this thing actually glows!"

Chu Yiren continued to introduce: "This item is called a solar flashlight. When used for lighting at night, you can also switch between high and low beam."

The onlookers exclaimed after hearing this, and the scene was suddenly in an uproar.

The lady giggled and said, "Then I want this solar flashlight too."

Chu Yiren reminded: "This item cannot be exposed to water. It must be stored in a dry place at room temperature."

"Okay." The lady put away the solar flashlight and continued to choose on the stall. Finally, she picked out an eyebrow pencil and a bright red lipstick. She was very happy as if she had found a treasure.

Chu Yiren reminded him, "If you want anything else, just go home and get some porcelain dishes or something like that to exchange."

"Okay, I'll come back to your stall later. I'll be right there." The lady left, unable to hide her happiness.

Then, I saw the vendor selling porcelain bowls and plates across the street. He squeezed over with a pile of porcelain bowls and said, "Brother Peddler, take a look at these new porcelains fired in folk kilns. Can I trade them for something new?"

Lin Lang glanced around, and the system prompted, "The person brought a white-ground green-colored bowl from the Changsha Kiln. Although it was fired in a folk kiln, its unique underglaze coloring technique and rich decoration, coupled with its good condition as a new porcelain, would have a market value of around 2000 to 8 yuan in 10."

After hearing this, Lin Lang immediately took the stack of ten porcelain bowls and said with a smile, "Ten things. You can exchange these bowls for ten things at my stall. Take your pick."

"Okay, I fell in love with the sewing box on your stall at first sight. My wife will definitely love it!"

"And are these transparent glass cups for wine? They're so crystal clear, so rare and beautiful!"

Li Moli smiled and replied, "These glasses can be used to drink water as well as wine. They are resistant to high-temperature hot water and won't explode. As long as they are not dropped, they can be used for a lifetime."

After hearing this, the other party chuckled and said, "In addition to replacing two sewing boxes for me, pick out eight different styles of glass lamps for me. Oh, no, it should be glass cups!"

"Okay." Li Moli quickly found eight glass cups of different sizes and styles for the other party, including red wine goblets, white wine glasses, champagne glasses, beer glasses, straight-tube water glasses with handles, glass juice glasses, glass milk glasses, and glass coffee cups.

The owner of the porcelain stall exchanged for eight different cups. His eyes lit up and he felt like he had found a treasure. He immediately prepared to go to the palace to present the treasures and ask for rewards. He was really amazing.

This was the sixth year of Yonghui, the year when Wu Zhaoyi was just crowned empress by Li Zhi.

The owner of the porcelain stall wanted to present treasures under the pretext of congratulating Wu Zhao on her coronation as queen, in order to please the future Wu Zetian and receive a generous reward.

This also laid the groundwork for Lin Lang's appearance to alarm the court and the public, and for him to be summoned into the palace by Li Zhi and Empress Wu.

At noon that day, Emperor Li Zhi and Empress Wu were having lunch in the Linde Hall of the Taiji Palace.

Just as she was about to pick up a piece of crystal minced meat with her green jade chopsticks, she heard a sharp voice from outside the palace: "Your Majesty, Her Majesty! A peddler in Chang'an's West Market has brought rare glass treasures and congratulates Her Majesty on her glorious ascension to the Imperial Palace!"

Empress Wu placed the gilded spoon on the edge of the agate bowl, her eyes slightly raised. "Glass cup?" Her fingertips unconsciously stroked the phoenix-beaded armor. "Since you say it's a rare treasure, bring it up for me to see."

As the silver bells rang, four young eunuchs came in one after another, holding a vermilion lacquered and gilded tray. Eight glass cups on the tray reflected a crystal clear halo.

Li Zhi's hand, which was picking up the food, suddenly stopped. The fish fillet on the green jade chopsticks slipped back into the white jade bowl, splashing a few drops of soup. "Wow! This glass is as transparent as ice, and the light patterns flowing in it have the color of the sun and moon!"

Empress Wu picked up the champagne glass and tapped the wall of the glass with her slender fingertips. The clear sound echoed in the hall.

She held the cup towards the sunlight filtering through the window lattice, and saw that the spiral pattern on the cup cut the light into bright stars, and a smile appeared at the corner of her lips.

"This cup has a unique shape, and the rim is narrowed like a beauty holding a cherry. It is three times lighter than an ordinary jade cup when held in the palm. The glass craftsman can burn it to be as thin as a cicada's wing, yet as hard as gold and stone." Empress Wu ended the sentence with joy, and she really liked these eight glass cups of different shapes.

"Reward! A huge reward!" Empress Wu threw the wine glass back onto the tray, and the jade armor made a crisp sound when it hit the cup.

Li Zhi had already circled to the other side of the table, holding the red wine glass upside down in his palm and examining it. The hem of his dragon robe swept off a half-dish of crystal pears. "To be able to create something so transparent, could it be the secret glassmaking technique of the Western Regions?"

Empress Wu, equally curious, ordered, "Call the peddler who presented the treasure into the palace. I want to ask him where he got such a rare treasure."

"Send the person into the palace quickly, I want to see him in person!" With the order from Emperor Li Zhi, the footsteps of the guards outside the palace hurried away, startling the white pigeons under the eaves and flying towards the blue sky of Chang'an.

The peddler, led by the guards, stumbled into the palace. As soon as his knees touched the cold gold bricks, he kowtowed three times: "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to the Empress! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Empress! Long live the Empress!"

His coarse cloth shorts were soaked with cold sweat, his back was bent like a shrimp, and he didn't even dare to look up at the pearl tassels hanging in the hall.

"Look up." Empress Wu tapped the glass cup with her fingertips. The sound of the gilded armor scraping against the cup wall made the peddler shudder. "Where did you get this glass cup?"

"Yes, yes, Madam!" the peddler's teeth chattered. "It was this afternoon. I was setting up a stall on Suzaku Street selling porcelain bowls and plates. Across the street, there was a stall from another region. The items on that stall were all things we don't even see in the Great Tang."

"I saw that this glass cup was so rare and transparent, so I exchanged it for a treasure. I came here to offer it to congratulate the Empress on her glorious and illustrious status and her ascension to the Imperial Palace!"

After hearing this, Empress Wu immediately became interested in Lin Lang's stall.

Li Zhi was equally curious and asked, "What other rare items are being sold on that street stall?"

The peddler stole a glance at the dragon throne and saw Li Zhi narrow his eyes. He hurriedly lowered his head and said, "On this stall, there is a small round glass mirror. It is so bright that you can see your face clearly, and even the pores on your skin are visible."

"There's also an iron cylindrical object the stall owner calls a 'solar flashlight.' He says it absorbs energy when exposed to sunlight during the day, and at night, if you press a certain spot, it glows brightly, as bright as day, far surpassing the illumination of a lantern. It's also compact and easy to carry, making it truly a remarkable item."

"This stall has a wide variety of fine goods. In addition to glass mirrors and solar-powered flashlights, there's also rouge and powder imported from overseas. Rumor has it that a single application can create a stunning beauty, and the fragrance lingers for three days."

There are also more than ten colors of lipstick, which the stall owner calls "lipstick." All the women selling goods in the stalls wear this lipstick, and their lips are like cherries, delicate and beautiful, just like peach blossoms blooming on their faces in spring, beautiful beyond words.

Empress Wu loved beauty, and her eyes lit up when she heard this. She hurriedly asked, "What else is on this foreign stall?"

The peddler quickly replied, "We also have eyebrow pencils that are a hundred times better than charcoal pencils. They're great for drawing eyebrows and eyes! We also have tubes of eyeliner that can be used to create deep, deep eyes, adding a touch of flair."

"There's also a magical item called an eyelash curler. Press it against your eyelashes and they'll instantly curl up. After applying the curler, the vendors at the foreign stalls look like beautiful ladies from the Western Regions, their eyes sparkling with life and playfulness, truly astonishing.

Empress Wu was so moved by what she heard that she immediately said coquettishly, "Your Majesty, I want this thing too. I also want the foreign lipstick and eyebrow pencil called lipstick."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhi laughed loudly and said, "Come here, pass on my order. Immediately follow this peddler to the West Market of Chang'an, find the stall owner selling rare goods, and summon him to the palace to meet the emperor without delay. There must be no delay!"

The eunuch took the order and left in a hurry.

Empress Wu warned: "Don't forget to reward the peddler who presented the treasure."

The peddler kowtowed several times in a hurry, his voice trembling slightly with excitement: "I thank Your Majesty and the Queen for your grace!" After that, he carefully left the Linde Hall.

A group of people brought tall horses, mounted their saddles, raised a cloud of dust with their hooves, and galloped towards the outside of the palace gate.

The peddler was riding on his horse. Although he was nervous, he could not hide his excitement. He guided the imperial guards on the way to the West Market.

When they arrived at Zhuque Street in the West Market, the peddler raised his hand and pointed, saying, "General, that is the stall that specializes in selling exotic goods from foreign lands." There were still many people gathered in front of the stall, all marveling at the novel objects in panic.

The leading general dismounted, adjusted his armor, strode towards the stall, and shouted loudly: "Stall owner, accept the order!" When the people around heard it, they dispersed, revealing Lin Lang in the middle with a surprised look on his face.

The five beauties, led by Chu Yiren, looked at each other, exchanged glances, and all had expressions of astonishment on their faces.

The people around immediately knelt on the ground and lowered their heads, and the scene suddenly fell silent.

According to the Tang Code, those who received the imperial edict needed to perform the ritual of three kneelings and nine kowtows.

Lin Lang stood to receive the imperial edict, prompting the generals to angrily rebuke him: "You bold lunatic! How dare you refuse to kneel after receiving the imperial edict!"

As he spoke, the general unsheathed his sword, and the cold light pointed directly at Lin Lang's throat. "According to the Tang Dynasty Law, those who disobey the order shall be executed!"

Cold sweat broke out on Chu Yiren's palms, and the five beauties all secretly worried about Lin Lang.

Lin Lang raised his sleeves, puffed out his chest, and said proudly: "I am the emperor of a foreign land, traveling here with my wives and concubines. How can an emperor kneel before another emperor in the world?"

He deliberately dragged out the last syllable and emphasized the word "Son of Heaven", exuding a strong aura.

The general's sword stopped in mid-air.

The aura surrounding Lin Lang was different from that of a common merchant. At this moment, he looked arrogant. The five women behind him were shocked but remained calm. There was a calmness between their brows that came from being used to the ups and downs of life.

More importantly, Lin Lang's five wives and concubines were all stunning beauties with fair skin and beauty like fairies. They did not look like ordinary peddlers' wives at all, so they believed that Lin Lang was the so-called emperor of Shanghai from outside the domain.

"Your Majesty, since you are the monarch of a foreign country, you don't have to kneel."

The general sheathed his sword and solemnly read: "The Emperor's order: I have heard that a peddler is selling exotic goods from foreign lands in Chang'an's West Market. The Empress and I are delighted to see this. You are ordered to immediately accompany the messenger to the palace to see the Emperor. No delay is allowed. This is decreed!"

Lin Lang was slightly startled, then smiled calmly. He bowed slightly, placed his right hand on his left chest, and performed a rather exotic salute. He then said in a clear voice, "I have long heard of the wisdom of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty and the virtue of the Empress. I am truly honored to have received the favor of Your Majesty and the Empress. I shall obey Your Majesty's orders and follow you into the palace to see the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty."