Chapter 68: Hanfu Grand Awards, The Provocation of a Borderline Internet Celebrity

Lin Xuan felt something bump against his chest, and he reached out to place his hand on Xiao Sizi's slender shoulder.

"Look at me."

Xiao Sizi raised her head, her eyes brimming with tears.

Lin Xuan stared into her eyes: "Listen to me, you are not trouble, nor are you a burden."

"Since I brought you back, I will absolutely not push you away."

"And I certainly won't send you to some orphanage."

Lin Xuan rubbed her hair, messing up the two topknots. First release of this book on TT Novel -> t t k s. t w, providing you with error-free chapters and non-disordered reading experience.

"You don't need to do housework. Your task is simply to eat well and grow taller."

"I will solve the household registration issue."

"I will get you a legal identity."

"With an ID card and a household register, you can walk on the streets openly and go to school just like other children." Lin Xuan made a promise.

Xiao Sizi sniffed and nodded vigorously.

After comforting Xiao Sizi, Lin Xuan stood up and walked toward the bedroom.

He locked the bedroom door from the inside.

He pulled open the drawer at the bottom of the wardrobe and moved out a cardboard box.

Inside the cardboard box lay the Metal Box that transported supplies in both directions.

Lin Xuan pushed aside the Metal Box and took a kraft paper envelope from the very bottom of the cardboard box.

The envelope was heavy.

Lin Xuan untied the winding string and poured out the contents.

Several dark gold Gold Ingots crashed onto the bedsheet, making a dull thud.

These were hard currencies transferred over from the Great Tang.

To adopt Xiao Sizi, the most difficult condition listed by the lawyer was proving that one possessed extremely strong nurturing capability.

In this society, the most direct proof of nurturing capability was assets.

Just one week before Lin Xuan fell ill.

He had already sold two of the Gold Ingots bearing the Tang Dynasty Official Kiln mark through a trusted underground antique broker.

The ancient-method gold of extremely high purity, combined with complete historical characteristics, sold for a considerable price on the black market.

Lin Xuan took out his Mobile Phone from his pocket and opened the mobile banking APP.

Facial recognition passed.

The page switched.

The column for total assets displayed a string of seven-digit balance.

The funds, channeled through the broker's clean channels, were transferred into his account in batches, capable of withstanding scrutiny of cash flow at any level.

Lin Xuan pressed the screenshot button and sent a screenshot of the asset interface via WeChat to the lawyer Liu Kai.

Soon, Liu Kai replied: "Holy crap? When did you get rich, kid?"

"With this capital as a foundation, the asset review at the Civil Affairs Bureau will absolutely get a green light!"

Lin Xuan replied: "The money is ready. Tomorrow, we start the process of publishing a notice in the newspaper to search for relatives."

"I want to solidify her identity as quickly as possible."

Weekend.

Lin Xuan tore off the last piece of medical tape from the back of his hand and threw it into the trash can.

He moved his shoulders, and his joints made two crisp cracks.

All bodily functions had fully recovered.

Xiao Sizi sat on the sofa, her two legs dangling and swinging, holding half a peeled orange in her hand.

Lin Xuan put on a black jacket: "Don't swing your legs. Finish eating and go wash your hands; today I'm taking you out for a stroll."

Xiao Sizi swallowed the orange segment, jumped off the sofa: "Where are we going?"

Lin Xuan played coy: "You'll know when we get there. This place will give you a strong sense of belonging."

Hearing this, Xiao Sizi's eyes lit up, opening wide and round: "Wow?!"

City Exhibition Center.

Outside the venue hung a red banner tens of meters long: 【Third National Style Hanfu Awards】

Inside the venue, the crowd was in an uproar.

The air conditioning was running strong, yet it still couldn't suppress the boiling heat.

Everywhere were young people holding single-lens reflex cameras and gimbals.

Men, women, old, and young, wearing long robes with wide sleeves of various styles, shuttled between the various exhibition booths.

Lin Xuan held Xiao Sizi's hand and walked along the edge of the aisle.

Xiao Sizi opened her eyes wide, her gaze darting through the crowd.

She watched a fat man in a black robe with golden dragon threads walk by, and her eyebrows slowly furrowed.

Xiao Sizi tugged on Lin Xuan's finger, pointing at a girl in the distance wearing a front-fastening waist-length skirt, "Brother Lin Xuan, her collar is sewn backwards."

"That is the Left-lapel worn only by the dead for burial."

She turned her head again, the popular category historical novel rankings update weekly, click to view ranking changes. Looking at a youth waving a folding fan: "That man's cuffs are too narrow, the fabric is rough, and he walks like a servant in the marketplace."

"But the crown on his head is of a prince's specification; it's all mixed up."

Hearing Xiao Sizi's serious commentary, Lin Xuan couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"They don't understand these things; they just want to look good."

The two followed the crowd to the core exhibition area of the venue.

The place was packed so tightly with people that not even water could seep through.

Flashlights merged into a single glare, blindingly bright.

In the center of the display stand stood a woman with a fiery figure.

Holding a selfie stick, she twisted her waist while staring at her Mobile Phone screen.

The woman wore a so-called "modified Tang outfit."

A bright red sheer veil covered the outside, while the tube top underneath was so low it could barely hold her breasts.

The fabric was thin and translucent; with her movements, the skin at the roots of her thighs appeared and disappeared.

"Family, click follow."

"Isn't Mengmeng's Great Tang Noble Consort outfit today absolutely stunning?"

The internet celebrity tossed a coquettish glance at the camera and pouted her red lips.

The flashlights around them flashed even more frequently.

Several photographers holding telephoto lenses even lay on the ground to find angles.

"Move aside! Everyone step back!"

The crowd, pressed from behind, retreated backward.

An assistant moved too quickly, his elbow jerking sharply outward.

This blow struck Xiao Sizi squarely on the shoulder.

Losing her balance, Xiao Sizi stumbled and fell backward.

Lin Xuan, quick-eyed and swift-handed, extended his arm, caught Xiao Sizi around the lower back, and held her steady.

Lin Xuan's gaze darkened as he stared the assistant down: "Watch where you're going!"

The assistant froze for a moment, then rolled his eyes: "Don't you have eyes? Why are you pushing in? Don't you know Mengmeng is live-streaming? Can you afford to compensate for the damaged equipment?"

The commotion here drew the attention of those on the display stand.

The internet celebrity named Mengmeng stopped twisting and walked over in high heels.

"How are the security guards doing their jobs?"

"Letting people wearing street-market goods into the core exhibition area? They're dragging down the whole aesthetic."

She turned to look at Lin Xuan, her tone frivolous: "Handsome guy, take your sister shopping at the mall."

"This is a high-end national style exhibition; isn't there a threshold?"

"If you can't even afford a set of Hanfu, don't crowd in front of the lens. You don't ride on hot topics like that."

Great Tang, Taiji Hall.

The ruler and ministers, who had been watching the prosperity of later generations, now sat in dead silence.

"Insolence!" Li Shimin's voice exploded in the hall. "How dare such bare-chested, immoral objects be named after the Great Tang!"

The Great Tang had an open atmosphere, but there were limits.

The Qi Xiong Ruju of noble women displayed elegance and grace, absolutely not this deliberate, brothel-like showmanship.

Inside Lizheng Hall.

Empress Zhangsun stood up abruptly, smashing the tea cup in her hand onto the blue bricks, sending shards flying.

The imperial concubines in the harem turned their heads, ashamed and indignant, unable to bear looking directly at the Sky Screen.

Empress Zhangsun's face turned iron-green: "Shameless!"

"Wrapping the scent of the brothel in our Great Tang's national title is slapping the royal family in the face!"

In the court, Wei Zheng's beard trembled with rage.

He raised his jade tablet with both hands and knelt heavily on the ground: "Your Majesty! Actors of later generations are insulting our national prestige!"

"If this continues, how will future generations view the Great Tang? How can the magnificent atmosphere of the Great Tang's golden age degenerate into such an unsightly display of flesh?"

"Where is the Minister of Rites!" Li Shimin shouted sternly.

"Your subject is here!" The Minister of Rites scrambled out of the line.

"Draft the Great Tang Imperial Costume Regulation overnight!"

"Proclaim it to the world and strictly forbid the common folk from making strange and unusual costumes."

"Whoever dares to imitate such seductive filth shown on the Sky Screen shall be flayed and conscripted into the army! I will set the record straight!"

Han Dynasty timeline.

Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, leaned on his couch and sneered: "Seeking attention. A monkey dressed in a hat."

"The merchant spirit of later generations has torn the Great Tang's face off and trampled it into the mud."