Tang Dynasty: Starting with Dimo, he was targeted by Li Shimin.

Chapter 11 The Bewildered Li Shimin

Taiji Palace, Ganlu Hall.

Li Shimin sat behind his desk, two stacks of memorials laid out in front of him—

The stack on the left is related to the drought; it's almost up to my chin.

On the right is a stack of only one thin book, which is the report about the "Magic Wonders Shop".

He has already read the report three times.

"Spirit beast... sprays water... grows to gigantic size... retrieves objects from a distance..."

He recognizes each word individually, but he can't understand them when they're put together.

A eunuch whispered a reminder: "Your Majesty, the Duke of Lu has arrived."

"Announce."

A moment later, Cheng Yaojin strode in.

Behind him was Yuchi Gong—it was unclear whether he had come on his own or had been brought there by Cheng Yaojin.

The two bowed and sat down, with Cheng Yaojin looking obedient.

This obedience made Li Shimin even more wary.

If Cheng Yaojin acts well-behaved, it's because he's holding back something big.

"Cheng Yaojin," Li Shimin picked up the report, "did you recently buy anything from a shop called 'Magic Curiosities Shop' in the West Market?"

Cheng Yaojin's expression instantly became subtle.

He secretly glanced at Yuchi Gong.

Yuchi Gong stared blankly at the ceiling.

"Your Majesty," Cheng Yaojin coughed, "I did indeed buy... uh... something."

"What is that?"

"One...one duck."

"A duck?" Li Shimin frowned. "You spent five hundred taels of silver to buy a duck?"

The hall was silent for three seconds.

"No, no, no, no, no! Your Majesty!" Cheng Yaojin hurriedly waved his hands, "This duck is no ordinary duck!"

"Its name is DuckJiJi! It's a spirit beast! It can understand human speech! And it can grow bigger! Really bigger! Bigger than a city gate!!"

Cheng Yaojin became more and more excited as he spoke, and his voice grew louder and louder.

Yuchi Gong frantically winked at him from the side—Can't you speak normally?!

But Cheng Yaojin couldn't stop himself any longer.

"Your Majesty, you don't know! That duck can grow to two zhang tall with a single flap of its head! And with one wing, it sent me flying more than ten zhang away!!"

"And there are tiny, black-headed mice! They look only the size of a palm! But the shopkeeper says they'll grow to two meters tall!"

"That shopkeeper even knows magic! Golden stars just appear out of thin air from his fingertips!!"

Li Shimin: "…………"

He glanced at Cheng Yaojin's face, which was flushed red with excitement.

He then glanced at Yuchi Gong, who was practically burying his face in the floor.

There was a long silence.

"Cheng Yaojin."

"exist!"

"Did you sneak a sip of the imperial wine from the palace again the other day?"

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty, I didn't!!"

"So you were scammed?"

Absolutely not!!

Cheng Yaojin panicked and pulled a high-grade Gulu Ball from his sleeve.

"Your Majesty, look! It's this ball! The duck is inside!"

Li Shimin looked at the purple sphere with a gold border in Cheng Yaojin's hand.

His brows furrowed even more.

What is this?

"Look carefully!"

In his excitement, Cheng Yaojin threw the Gulu Ball directly onto the floor of the main hall—

"Come out, Ducky!!"

"Buzz—!"

A beam of white light exploded in the center of the Ganlu Hall!

In the white light, a round, yellowish-green duck appeared out of thin air in the center of the main hall.

"Gah!"

Duck Gigi blinked blankly, looking around at the magnificent, golden hall.

Then its gaze fixed—

It saw the jade seal on Li Shimin's desk.

That pure white jade seal, with a warm, lustrous sheen.

Duck Gigi's eyes lit up instantly.

They shone like two small suns.

"Gagaga ...

It emitted a series of excited screams that would give Lin Luo a headache.

With its short legs kicking incredibly fast, it charged straight towards the desk—

"Stop it!!!" Cheng Yaojin's expression changed.

But it was too late.

With an agility completely disproportionate to its size, Duck Gigi leaped onto the desk.

He grabbed the Imperial Seal of the State in one lap.

Then he squatted on the desk, holding on tightly and refusing to let go.

A dreamy, extremely satisfied expression appeared on his face.

"quack……"

It gently rubbed the surface of the jade seal.

He looked as if he had found the love of his life.

(ꈍᴗꈍ)

The hall was deathly silent.

Li Shimin sat behind the desk, less than a foot away from the tip of his nose.

A yellow-green duck is affectionately embracing his Imperial Seal.

"…………"

"...Cheng Yaojin."

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty is here..." Cheng Yaojin's voice was already trembling.

"My imperial seal."

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty will now..."

Cheng Yaojin rushed forward to pull the duck,

Duck Gigi absolutely refused to let go.

The duck and the person pulled back and forth on the desk several times, scattering memorials all over the floor.

"Gagaga!! No way, no way, I just won't give it to you!!"

"Let go!! You stinky duck!! That's His Majesty's stuff!!"

Yuchi Gong finally couldn't stand it anymore and stepped forward to help.

Two dukes, each weighing over 200 pounds, were pulling a duck together.

It couldn't be pulled up.

Because Duck Gigi's claws were gripping the wooden board of the desk tightly,

That claw strength was simply outrageous.

Finally, Yuchi Gong had a flash of inspiration and took out his jade pendant from his pocket.

It waved in front of DuckGigi—

"Huh?!"

Duck Gigi's attention was instantly drawn.

It loosened its grip on the jade seal and lunged towards the closer, brighter jade pendant—

With lightning speed, Yuchi Gong raised the jade pendant high.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Cheng Yaojin grabbed Duck Jiji and stuffed him back into the ball.

"Click."

The ball fell silent.

The main hall fell silent.

Cheng Yaojin knelt on the ground, his head covered in sweat.

Yuchi Gong stood to the side, his expression clearly saying, "I don't know this person."

And Li Shimin—

Li Shimin was sitting behind his desk at this moment.

The memorials in front of him were scattered all over the floor.

The jade seal still bears traces of Duck Gigi's drool.

His entire expression,

It can only be described in four words—

Completely dumbfounded.

Σ(ОД○|||)

The silence lasted for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

In the end, it was Li Shimin who spoke first.

"...Say it again."

"Let's start from the beginning."

"Tell me slowly."

"Speak like a human being this time."

Cheng Yaojin swallowed hard, and this time he finally behaved himself.

He recounted the whole story from beginning to end—

The magical artifacts shop in the West Market is run by someone named Lin Luo.

The shop sells a kind of spirit beast called "Elf".

Each Pokémon has different attributes and abilities.

It can be obtained through a Star Mirror lottery.

I drew DuckJiJi—the duck that attacked the jade seal earlier—it has the wing attribute and can grow to gigantic size.

Yuchi Gong drew the Little Mouse Otter – a water-attribute beast that can grow to two meters tall.

The shopkeeper himself also has a spirit—a golden spirit named Dimo ​​that glows, and the shopkeeper himself also possesses a magical technique called "Star Magic".

Finally, Cheng Yaojin tentatively added:

"Furthermore... both I and Yuchi Gong believe that if we could have a large number of water spirits, perhaps... it could help alleviate the drought in Gyeonggi Province."

After saying this, Cheng Yaojin subconsciously shrank his neck.

He wasn't sure how much Li Shimin would believe.

But Li Shimin's reaction was beyond his expectations—

There was no anger, no questioning.

Because he had just witnessed a duck appear out of thin air from a ball the size of a palm.

In his Hall of Dew.

in front of him.

If this is false, then Li Shimin's eyesight throughout his life has been wasted.

"The water-type spirit you mentioned," Li Shimin's voice became steady.

"Can it create water out of thin air?"

"Your Majesty, I saw it with my own eyes!" Cheng Yaojin's spirits lifted.

"The shopkeeper's Azure Blue Bird sprayed Chen more than ten feet away with a single water cannon shot! Its power was immense!"

"If there were hundreds or thousands of such spirit beasts..."

He didn't finish speaking, but Li Shimin already understood.

Li Shimin stood up and walked to the window.

Outside the window is the skyline of Chang'an.

The drought has lasted for nearly two months, the water level of the Wei River has dropped by three feet, and the farmland outside the city is cracked like a spider web.

The civil and military officials in the imperial court devised countless methods—

Opening granaries to distribute grain, reducing or exempting taxes, praying for rain, borrowing grain from powerful families...

Every method is just a delaying tactic; none of them can fundamentally solve the problem.

And now,

Someone told him that there was a mythical beast that could create water out of thin air.

"That shopkeeper..." Li Shimin turned around, "is he reliable?"

Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Gong exchanged a glance.

Yuchi Gong stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said:

"Your Majesty, I have been in contact with this man for several days. Although he is lazy in his actions, he is not a bad person at heart."

"He knew we were dukes, yet he never tried to curry favor with us; on the contrary, he complained that we were too noisy."

"And..." Yuchi Gong paused.

"He proactively told us that one or two spirits alone could not solve the drought; a large number of water-type spirits were needed."

"He didn't boast, nor did he ask for anything."

"He even said before leaving—if we want the elves to help, His Majesty must know about this."

"Because once this matter is brought to the forefront, it's no longer just a matter involving a few people."

After listening, Li Shimin remained silent for a moment.

No boasting, no fawning, and proactive reminders of the consequences—

This doesn't seem like the behavior of a con artist.

"Take me to see it."

Li Shimin spoke calmly, but his tone left no room for negotiation.

Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Gong were both taken aback.

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty is going in person?"

"What, can't I go?"

"But...but that shop is in the West Market. If Your Majesty goes there incognito..."

"When did I say I wanted to travel incognito?"

Li Shimin picked up the jade seal on the table—it still had the drool stains of Duckling on it—

He wiped it with his sleeve and then put it back in its place.

"After the morning court session tomorrow, I will go to the West Market to check out that 'Magic Curiosities Shop'."

"You two go and inform the shopkeeper first."

"Just say—"

Li Shimin looked out the window towards Chang'an.

"Someone wants to buy an elf."

That evening.

Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Gong rode their horses back to the West Market at breakneck speed.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the Magical Artifacts Shop, Cheng Yaojin dismounted.

He kicked the door open—

"Shopkeeper!! Something terrible has happened!!"

In the backyard.

Abu was taking a nap on Dimo's back.

Upon hearing Cheng Yaojin's shout—

"Awooo!!!"

Its fur stood on end, and it leaped onto the roof beam.

Dimo quickly flew up to comfort him.

Startled, Shui Lanlan jumped out of the water tank and sprayed Cheng Yaojin's face with a mouthful of water.

The bowl in Xiao Xiao's hand fell to the ground.

"Splash—"

Lin Luo stood in the center of the backyard.

Looking at the chaotic scene before him—no, a complete mess of chickens flying, otters leaping, and Abu climbing onto the roof beams—

I took a deep breath.

Then he slowly vomited it out.

"Cheng Yaojin."

"Huh?" Cheng Yaojin looked at Lin Luo with a teary-eyed expression.

"How many times have I told you?"

"Speak in a low voice."

"...I forgot."

(#ﾟДﾟ)

……