Chapter 91: Li Chengqian

"Hehe, there's a good show to watch."

Chen Yan laughed, hugging Xiao Sizi and staring unblinking at that side.

Li Chunfeng said oddly, "Young master, if I recall correctly, you should be very close with the Crown Prince. Why does it seem to me now that you're still looking forward to the Crown Prince… what about what's next?"

He didn't finish his sentence, but Chen Yan understood his meaning.

Li Chunfeng merely thought that the Crown Prince lacked wealth, so his congratulatory gift would surely be inferior to the Prince of Yue's, and today it was destined for the Prince of Yue to steal the attention.

To tell the truth, Li Chunfeng having this thought was quite normal.

Many of those present probably thought the same.

Chen Yan smiled without speaking, offering no explanation.

What's the use of saying too much?

At this moment, seeing it with one's own eyes works better than any explanation.

After only a short while, Wushe took small steps back, followed by four eunuchs carefully carrying a half‑person‑tall square exquisite gift box.

Wushe occasionally turned his head to remind, "All of you be careful, make sure you don't drop the Crown Prince's congratulatory gift."

Wushe didn't even dare to speak too harshly, fearing he'd frighten the four eunuchs and cause any problem with the contents.

Li Chengqian looked at the box the four eunuchs had carried, puzzled, his mind full of question marks.

It's just a Night-Shining Pearl; why use such a large box to hold it?

He remembered that when he gave the Night-Shining Pearl to Wushe, it was clearly in a small box.

How did it suddenly become so big?

Below, Crown Princess Su and Li Chengqian shared the same doubt.

The couple could not figure out what was going on.

Could it be… that Wushe, while inspecting the gift, accidentally broke their gift box and replaced it with a new one?

The four eunuchs carried the large gift box to a spot below Emperor Li Shimin and his wife, set it down, then withdrew.

Li Shimin was piqued by the box, "Cheng Qian, what is this you prepared, and why is it so huge?"

"This…" Li Chengqian, bewildered, turned to look at Crown Princess Su, seeing she had a similar expression, realized it probably had nothing to do with the Crown Princess.

As he was about to force himself to answer, Wushe, positioned forward, clenched his teeth, knelt and said, "His Majesty, the Crown Prince's prepared congratulatory gift is too precious; speaking of it plainly might ruin the anticipation."

"Perhaps let this old servant open it; His Majesty and Her Majesty will see at once what the gift is."

Li Chengqian was even more bewildered, his gaze vacant as he stood in place.

What trick is Wushe pulling, why did he suddenly say such a thing?

Li Shimin stared at the kneeling Wushe, saying nothing.

Wushe had been by his side for years, always measured in speech and deeds; he never inquired about matters not his concern, nor spoke words he shouldn't.

Today, however, he was uncharacteristic.

Seeing that Li Shimin neither agreed nor refused, Wushe felt extremely uneasy.

At this moment, he somewhat regretted having agreed to help Chen Yan.

Initially, Wushe thought he could find the Crown Prince before the offering and inform him, so the offering would have no issues; thus agreeing to Chen Yan's request seemed fine.

But he hadn't expected that Li Chengqian was constantly chatting with the various princes and princesses, and having many affairs to attend to himself, he simply couldn't find a good opportunity to tell the other party.

This caused Li Chengqian to be completely unaware that his prepared gift had been swapped.

And precisely because of that, the previously fearful him was the one to step forward and ask Li Shimin to open it.

"......"

Li Shimin pondered briefly, then lightly raised his hand and said, "Then let's open it and see."

Wushe, as if granted a pardon, hurriedly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, then personally approached the gift box to open it.

His action instantly drew everyone's gaze.

No one present was a fool; they could see that earlier Li Chengqian and Li Tai's situation was off.

Moreover, when the gift was brought up, Li Chengqian's puzzled expression and Wushe's strange demeanor greatly stirred the guests' curiosity.

Zhangsun Chong leaned a bit toward Zhangsun Wuji's ear, somewhat worried, "Father, the Crown Prince's gift won't have any problems, will it?"

Zhangsun Wuji turned his head, giving his son a look, signaling him not to speak further.

Yet his own worry was no less than Zhangsun Chong's.

Earlier, the Prince of Yue almost presented his gift first, nearly preventing the Crown Prince from stepping down; if the gift encountered any further issue, the Crown Prince's face would truly be ruined.

Under the gaze of everyone—whether curious, calm, or even gloating—Wushe carefully lifted the lid off the box from above, slipped the hidden latch, and the four sides of the box fell down in an instant.

A half‑person‑tall seven‑colored glass phoenix instantly appeared before everyone!

Its phoenix body was crystal clear, sparkling under the sunlight, its wings spread as if it would take flight any moment.

The hall fell silent, even breaths seemed to pause for a moment.

"This..." someone whispered in awe, the words catching in their throat.

Li Tai's eyes were full of disbelief, muttering continuously, "How is this possible, how could this be possible?"

A glass phoenix, indeed a glass phoenix.

Glassware in the Tang Dynasty has always been revered as treasure; many wealthy merchants would spend their fortunes and still might not afford a single glass goblet.

Even top families like the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes only kept glass vessels no larger than the palm of a hand.

Yet the phoenix before them was not only astonishing in size, each feather's pattern clearly visible, every curve naturally formed, its gaze seeming alive.

Such a glass phoenix is undoubtedly the world's most supreme treasure.

After Li Shimin recovered, he sprang to his feet, seized Empress Changsun, and hurried to the glass phoenix.

The more he examined it, the more astonishment filled his eyes.

Compared with this glass phoenix, the glass items he had collected before were utterly insignificant.

"His Majesty… look there," Empress Changsun pointed to the crystal-clear pedestal of the glazed phoenix, on which eight golden characters were engraved.

"Kun Zhen carries all, a noble exemplar for the ages!"

Li Shimin let out a long sigh after reading, "Guanyin Maid, you are blessed!"

Although these eight characters sound simple, if one savors them, one will realize how lofty a praise they are for Empress Changsun.

Kun: taken from the *I Ching*, representing the earth, motherhood, and gentleness.

Zhen: steadfast and pure.

Interpretation: praising the Empress as earth that embraces all things, with virtue steadfast and unshakable.

As the saying goes, the earth is Kun; a gentleman carries all with profound virtue.

The "carries all" later metaphorically refers to the Empress's deep virtue nourishing the world.

"the Empress is beautiful and noble, a model and exemplar for the ages" means the Empress is beautiful and noble, a model and exemplar for the ages.

Combined with "millennia," it declares that Empress Changsun's virtues will be passed down for ten‑thousand generations, everlasting.

Empress Changsun's eyes reddened slightly, deeply moved, and she looked at Li Chengqian, saying, "Cheng Qian, you… you have a heart."

"Ah?"

"Do I really have a heart now?"

Li Chengqian's mind was completely overloaded.

"......"