Wealth and glory seek stability

Xuanwu Imperial Capital.

Jian Xi had never seen such a scene before.

As soon as they entered the imperial capital, the temperature dropped sharply and everyone in the group changed into fur cloaks they had bought on the road.

At noon, the sun was still shining brightly, and a rare warmth could be felt in the places illuminated by the sun. However, such warmth could not melt the snow all over the ground in the imperial capital.

The people here seem to have long adapted to living in the ice and snow. The dazzling array of shops built in ice houses, with shop signs in different colors, brings a lot of color to this world of ice and snow.

Exquisite ice sculptures can be seen everywhere in the imperial capital. The most surprising thing is that there are actually flowers growing in the ice.

Inside the transparent ice, the roots of the plants slowly stretch out, and the bright and delicate flowers bloom on the branches.

Jian Xi couldn't take her eyes away from it as soon as she saw it. In her impression, this was something that went against common sense, and she couldn't find an explanation for it even with the only biological knowledge left in her mind.

Zhang Xuanyu stepped aside, threw a piece of silver to the stall owner, and picked up one of the large and bright blue flowers. The layers of petals looked a bit like a crabapple flower.

He broke the flowers at the roots with great skill. Jian Xi, who was standing nearby, could hear a crisp crunching sound, just like the sound of ice breaking.

Zhang Xuanyu gently pinned the blue flower on Lan Qi's head and said with a gentle smile, "This is Bingling Flower, which is only found in Bingcheng. It is cultivated with water from the Holy Mountain.

This flower blooms on the ice and won't wither even after being picked for half a month. Xuanwu women like to buy it for decoration. This blue color suits you very well."

Lan Qi was a little embarrassed, her face slightly red, and she timidly said thank you, "Thank you, husband."

Along the way, Jian Xi has seen that although Zhang Xuanyu looks big and strong, he is actually a warm-hearted man and is extremely good to Lan Qi.

Such a lasting friendship can melt even a piece of ice.

Jian Xi had asked about this a long time ago. In the five dynasties, silver and gold were both accepted universally. Fortunately, she had been careful and brought a lot of gold with her, so she would not be short of money if she wanted to buy anything now.

If you have money in your pocket, you won’t be worried.

She would never ask for money. Zhang Cen'er looked generous, but there was a price to pay for taking her things.

Before coming to the imperial capital, she asked Mo Chuan to take out a few gold bars, cut them into small pieces of one or two taels each, and exchange them for a lot of silver.

At this moment, everyone's pockets are bulging.

Mo Chuan never went hungry while following Jian Xi, and had meat for every meal.

He has already claimed to be Jian Xi's number one lackey.

Jian Xi's appearance has always been coveted, and all the flies that stuck to him along the way were defeated by Mo Chuan, and he also gained a lot of dark for this.

Mo Chuan tied all the Daks together with a rope and carried them on his shoulders, which always attracted a lot of attention.

Jian Xi asked Lingbao and Baizhi to pick a flower each. Jian Xi did not guide them in making their choices, but left it entirely to their own wishes.

Children should always be given some space to make independent choices, so that they will gradually think more independently when encountering problems.

Lingbao picked a small yellow flower, which looked very much like the wild chrysanthemums found on the roadside.

Baizhi picked a tender sprout that looked like a herb.

Zhang Cen'er was well aware of the situation and searched around the stall, "Brother Wu, you didn't sell these lanterns when I left, but they are still here when I came back."

Wu Zhan shrugged helplessly, "The imperial capital is covered with ice and snow all year round, so it is bright both morning and night. Although this fluorescent flower can also emit light at night, it is useless to most people."

Zhang Cen'er nodded when she saw this, and picked out the flowers she liked from the stall, not forgetting to turn around and smile at Jian Xi:

"Jian Xi, you can also pick some. The flowers cultivated by Brother Wu have the longest flowering period in the entire imperial capital, and the colors are also beautiful."

Jian Xi nodded.

Lingbao pointed at the lantern flower and said, "Wow! Isn't it just like a firefly? Its belly will glow at night."

Wu Zhan tilted his head and said, "Fireflies? Are they insects that can glow? I've never seen one." Then he smiled and shook his head, obviously not believing it and thinking that the child was just lying to him.

Jian Xi was somewhat touched. If Wu Zhan hadn't said that this flower could glow, she wouldn't have believed that there were glowing flowers in the world.

Bai Zhi tugged at Jian Xi's sleeve and pointed at the tattoo on Wu Zhan's wrist. Jian Xi thought Bai Zhi was curious, so she squatted down to listen to what she said. Bai Zhi lowered her voice so that only the two of them could hear:

“Sister, he is a wizard. Only wizards can cultivate medicinal herbs and elixirs. The Yang grass in my hand is a medicinal herb.”

Hearing this, Jian Xi's pupils dilated slightly. The wizard clan was the most mysterious race in the Xuanwu Dynasty.

The wizard clan is not allowed to participate in the fight for the throne, but they are obliged to assist the next new emperor.

All the patriarchs of the wizard clan would serve as the high priests of the royal court and hold a noble position.

Thinking of this, Jian Xi glanced at Wu Zhan casually.

She had a tiger skin half draped over her body, and her hair was braided into strands at the back of her head, decorated with unknown beads and animal feathers.

The most eye-catching thing is the two smears of blue-green paint on his face, which makes him look very wild and resemble a wizard.

She found that the people of the Xuanwu Dynasty were indeed not particular about details, especially some capable people, who liked to set up those ordinary small stalls the most.

She also asked Zhang Cen'er why he didn't go to some shops that looked ornately decorated to buy things.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Cen'er just said casually, "Those places are just fancy stalls to deceive you outsiders. The real good things are in these ordinary stalls. People with skills only focus on studying their skills, so they don't have time for those fancy things."

The same thing happened to Grandma Qi whom I met before. She has traveled to other countries and combined the strengths of many schools. The clothes she makes are very spiritual, but the prices are very affordable.

According to Zhang Cener, Granny Qi had also embroidered imperial robes for Empress Xuanwu, but because she was old and frail, she was granted the grace of the empress to return to her hometown, Wenshan grassland, to retire.

When Jian Xi heard Wu Zhan talking about the characteristics of the fluorescent flower, her eyes remained on the fluorescent flower.

Wu Zhan thought Jian Xi was interested, "Girl, take a look."

Jian Xi smiled in return and picked up a white flower. Mrs. Gao had just passed away, so as a daughter-in-law, she still had to observe mourning.

Counting the days, the baby in her belly is almost three months old.

Originally, it only took a month to travel from Wenshan Grassland to the imperial capital.

Perhaps Zhang Cen'er and Zhang Xuanyu had stayed in the royal court for too long. They were even more playful than Jian Xi and the other guests.

It took nearly two months of stopping and starting to reach the imperial capital.

During this period, Jian Xi kindly reminded Zhang Cen'er to show favor among some tribes. Jian Xi also used what she had learned from the agricultural books she had read in the Xuanyuan Dynasty to help many tribes solve some irrigation and grain planting problems.

At this time, the news that Zhang Cen'er, the sixth princess of Xuanwu, was returning to the royal court spread like wildfire, and Zhang Cen'er also gained the favor of many tribes.

What followed was a report that the Xuanyuan Dynasty was in chaos and about to split apart.