On the way to escape famine, my parents divorced

(Thanks to Baron Wu for casting 3 monthly votes.)
On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, light snow began to fall over Jian'an City.

Inside the largest room on the third floor of the Mirage Pavilion, the "Sea and Sky Pavilion," the charcoal fire was burning bright red. The person inside, wearing a thick outer garment, would start sweating after sitting for a while.

Li Shiyue, dressed in a festive red, narrow-sleeved, round-necked robe, sat regally in the main seat.

Today, she specially chose this new dress that Li Wangchun had just made for her, just in order to leave a "good" impression on everyone who came to the banquet.

Well, actually, it was Li Wangchun who told her that since the New Year was coming soon, she should dress more festively.

Li Wangchun always wanted to dress her daughter up nicely, unless it was an occasion where she had to wear official or military uniforms.

Moreover, since Li Shiyue returned from the Turks, didn't she deliberately leave a scar on the corner of her eye?
Li Wangchun was quite concerned about this.

When they were in Lijiatun, Jinzhou, Li Wangchun asked Jin Daping several times if he could get some scar-removing ointment to help Li Shiyue get some.

After arriving in Jian'an, besides taking good care of Li Qiutian, Li Wangchun also frequently visited pharmacies while out shopping, all in order to find good medicine to remove Li Shiyue's scars.

Of course, Li Shiyue left the scar on purpose.

If she wants to get rid of her scars, she can connect with her friends in the system via voice chat. Whether it's Bai Zixuan from the cultivation world, Zhang Lanlan from the futuristic technology world, or Nangong Wuyou from the ancient world, they can all find good medicine for scar removal.

However, Li Shiyue genuinely felt that the scar at the corner of her eye added a touch of sharpness to her face, which was exactly what she wanted.

Therefore, no matter how much Li Wangchun caused trouble, Li Shiyue remained unmoved.

But she didn't say anything else, just that Li Wangchun was happy.

At this moment, Li Shiyue, dressed in a red robe with a long sword still hanging at her waist, sat in the main seat. Her fingertips tapped lightly on the table. She was waiting for those who had accepted the invitation.

It's almost dusk.

The sky was already getting dark, and the servant of the Mirage Pavilion went inside and lit the deep-sea fish oil lamps that glowed with a blue light.

"Governor Cai Hua has arrived!"

Cai Hua, with a cold face, entered the gate of the Mirage Boat one after the other with Song Fang. Song Fang was carrying a wooden box of medium size, and it was unknown what gift was inside.

Yes, it's a gift.

When Li Shiyue invited people to a banquet, how could anyone who had received the invitations dare to arrive without bringing gifts?
After Cai Hua entered the door, a short while later, Jian'an Prefect Feng Gui, Jian'an Sima Du Hui, and Jian'an Chief Secretary Wan Kai also arrived at the entrance of the Mirage Boat.

It was as if someone had been watching the gate of this mirage boat all along.

Upon seeing that several important officials from Jian'an City had entered the gate, four military advisors, including Chang Hai, also disembarked from their carriages and entered the gate of the Mirage Pavilion, each carrying gifts.

When the salt merchant Li Yu saw Chang Hai and the others enter the gate from his carriage outside, he quickly lowered the curtain and urged his eldest son to help him out of the carriage.

"Hurry up, your dad wants to be the first merchant to come knocking!"

Li Yu and Li Dalang entered the Mirage Pavilion with generous gifts, and there were at least five servants carrying the gift boxes!
Once Li Yu and Li Dalang had entered, the other eleven prominent families in Jian'an City who had received Li Shiyue's invitation all rushed out from various places outside the Mirage Pavilion to vie for entry.

Grain merchant Zhou Deyong was the second big spender to enter. Before he even went inside, he watched Li Yu's back as he walked upstairs and thought to himself, "Old Li, that cunning fellow, beat me to it again!"

"Damn it, that old man is so cunning!"

Following the servant, Li Yu arrived at the entrance of Haitian Pavilion. The first thing he saw upon entering was Li Shiyue, who was sitting in the main seat, wearing a silver crown, her hair tied up, and dressed in a red robe.

After only a cautious glance, Li Yu quickly bowed and greeted Li Shiyue, saying, "Li Yu greets General Li!"

Of course, Li Shiyue had already thoroughly investigated the intelligence gathered by Sun Xiaoliu, and knew exactly what the twelve major merchants who would be present today were, covering more than a dozen trades such as grain merchants, salt merchants, cloth merchants, medicine merchants, tea merchants, and wine merchants in Jian'an Prefecture.

So, she greeted Li Yu, who was bowing to her, with a slight smile, and said to him, "Li Dajia, please take a seat."

Li Yu raised her head, her face filled with surprise, and bowed to Li Shiyue again before leading Li Dalang to find a seat at another round table below the one where Li Shiyue was sitting. Chang Hai, who was sitting at the same table as Li Shiyue, or rather, at the very end below Li Shiyue, felt his back was soaked with sweat.

He couldn't tell whether he was sweating from the heat or from feeling cold due to anxiety.

Chang Hai lowered his head and carefully wiped away the fine beads of sweat that had seeped from his forehead.

Then he stole a glance at the woman in the main seat. Her cold and stern face, with a red dot between her eyebrows and a scar at the corner of her eye, showed no emotion, yet it sent chills down one's spine.

Li Shiyue put down her teacup. Of course, she had already seen Chang Hai's appearance and noticed that he was secretly watching her.

So she decided to tease her.

She looked at Chang Hai and asked jokingly, "Is General Chang still recovering from a serious illness and his body is still weak?"

Chang Hai's heart skipped a beat. He forced himself to look up at Li Shiyue, who was staring at him. His chest was pounding rapidly.

However, he managed to regain his composure. He quickly bowed to Li Shiyue and said, "General, you are very kind. I am much better now!"

It's just that I wore too many layers today, that's why.

At this point, Chang Hai raised his hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Hehe," Li Shiyue nodded with a smile, saying, "Oh, I see."

Turning her head, Li Shiyue said to Chen Yong beside her, "Chen Yong, open the window. Didn't you hear General Chang say that it's too hot in this room?"

"Yes, General."

Chen Yong agreed to Li Shiyue's request and went over to open both closed windows.

In an instant, the salty sea breeze blowing from the other side of the ocean rushed into the house.

The cold wind made Chang Hai feel cold, but his heart felt ice-cold.

He knew that his excuse of illness a few days ago to skip the banquet that Li Shiyue had requested had truly displeased Li Shiyue!
But nowadays, Li Shiyue is the one who calls the shots in Jian'an City, so no matter what, Chang Hai has to endure it!

Chang Hai lowered his head, concealing the frustration in his eyes.

But everyone sitting at the same table with Chang Hai—from Garrison Commander Cai Hua to Jian'an Prefect Feng Gui, along with the other three military advisors, including Military Advisor Zhou, who was on good terms with Chang Hai—all glared at him.

These people were probably cursing Chang Hai in their hearts for being so tactless as to provoke Li Shiyue.

They were all forced to suffer in this freezing winter, sitting in this house with the doors and windows wide open, exposed to the biting sea wind!

In just that, not long at all, within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, everyone present will inevitably catch a cold!

Chang Hai naturally felt the stares of everyone, but what could he say at this moment?
What else could he possibly say?
There was nothing he could do.

So he could only lower his head and pretend he didn't see those looks.

At the hour of You (5-7 PM), everyone had arrived.

Li Shiyue looked at Sun Xiaoliu as he walked into the room and said, "Serve the food!"

Seeing that the show of force had been enough, Li Shiyue nodded to Chen Yong, who then went to the window and closed both windows tightly.

Once the windows were closed, the temperature inside the room rose in no time, and the guests no longer needed to shiver.

Once all the dishes were served, Li Shiyue raised her glass and stood up.

As soon as she moved, everyone at both tables in the room stood up. (End of Chapter)