The snow melted and the fog dispersed, and the temperature began to rise slightly.

According to the investigation report of the Datang "Group" in Fang Chen's mind, in the second year of Zhenguan, Datang made a series of changes under his intervention, and even set up a five-year plan for the Turks.

As the year progresses and spring comes, Li Shimin and the others must formulate another plan for the second expansion of the Tang Dynasty.

As a participant and witness of all this, Fang Chen felt a little proud.

New Year's Eve falls on two consecutive nights, and the fifth night falls on two days. The whole city of Chang'an fell into a strange "festival" atmosphere.

Since a few days ago, the atmosphere in the entire palace has undergone a huge change. There is no crying or noisy. When the maids from each palace meet, nothing but smiles can be seen on their faces.

Li Shimin went to court very early these days, and every day after returning to Kunning Palace, he would run to Fang Chen's side hall, mainly because the novel equipment attracted his attention.

"Yu'er, tonight is a banquet in the palace. Logically speaking, you have to prepare gifts. I know you don't understand, so I will ask Sancheng to go to the inner treasury with you later and pick out a suitable one."

The kings returned to the capital and gathered in Taiji Palace. All the royal family members would appear that night.

On this day in Chang'an, there was no curfew and the lights were brightly lit.

In other words, Fang Chen may have to meet dozens of uncles, hundreds of cousins, etc. on this day...

"Your Majesty, I don't have to go, right? I'm a fake and picked it up. Why am I going to join in the fun?"

"I tell you to go, so you go. Don't you want to leave the palace in a few days to see it?"

Fang Chen said excitedly: "Can I leave the palace?"

Li Shimin raised two fingers: "In Chang'an City, you can go to two places, one is Yi Guogong's Mansion, and the other is Huo Guogong's Mansion!"

Qin Qiong, Chai Shao? Why should I go to their place? Wait, Chai Shao...

"Okay, it's a deal!" Fang Chen ran over and pulled Liu Sancheng, "Uncle Liu, hurry up and take me to the inner treasury to pick some."

"Your Highness, please slow down. This old slave's body and bones cannot withstand your torture."

Liu Sancheng smiled and joked with Fang Chen, and they left together.

There was one thing Li Shimin didn't tell Fang Chen. Not everyone was qualified to prepare gifts. Those princes just came back to have a meal. Those who were on stage to give gifts were usually the emperor's favorite princes!

There are quite a few treasures in the inner treasury. Fang Chen originally planned to pick one at random, but Liu Sancheng refused.

"Your Highness, this is not in line with your status. If you want to choose, you must choose the best one!"

"Uncle Liu, why?"

Liu Sancheng didn't say anything. Isn't it just a gift for Fang Chen to feel aggrieved?

Taking things from the inner treasury and giving them to Li Shimin is just acting for others to see, isn't it?

However, there is a condition of leaving the palace as a temptation, and Fang Chen can't agree even if he doesn't agree.

There was something strange in my heart about why Li Shimin did this. It must have something to do with his mother, right? Well, we can't embarrass our mother!

"Uncle Liu, tell me, which one is the best among them?"

"Your Highness, please take a look. This is a gift sent by the envoy of Harsha Kingdom the year before last. Your Highness can choose from it."

"Harsha Country? Isn't that India?"

Fang Chen hurriedly took the gift list, almost forgetting that there were many treasures in the palace's treasury. It would be a good thing if he could find something useful.

Gold Buddha statues, ivory carvings, gold and silver utensils...

Fang Chen sighed, okay, I was overthinking it.

But this also reminded me, "Uncle Liu, are there any gifts from other countries?"

"Yes, Dongwo gave some gifts last year, but because they were not very valuable, they are still in the corner."

"Oh? Show me quickly."

It's better not to look at it. A bunch of gold and silver were crowded together, which didn't arouse Fang Chen's interest at all.

"How can people from a small country have any treasures? Your Highness, why don't you look at other things?"

"I remember, Xiaori...ahem...there seems to be a gold and silver mine in Dongbo!"

"What? What did you say, Your Highness?"

Fang Chen knelt down and picked up a piece of silver at random, "Uncle Liu, look, there are many bloody holes on it, which cannot be bitten out by teeth. In my opinion, the silver mine they newly mined has not been smelted.

, he cut it into pieces and sent them to the Tang Dynasty."

"Your Highness, what do you mean?"

"There is a treasure mountain in vain but you don't take it. What do you think, Uncle Liu?"

"I will go and report this to the Holy One now."

What kind of gift do you want? This piece of news alone is worth a thousand words. By the way, the silver content in their silver mine is really terrifying!

The Eastern Japanese have called the Celestial Kingdom their suzerainty since ancient times, and every time they came to the Tang Dynasty, they gained something. Now that Fang Chen is making such a fuss, I'm afraid Li Shimin will start talking to them next time.

"Did Yu'er really say that?"

"Your Majesty, this old slave thinks that what His Highness the Second Highness said is true!"

Li Shimin's eyes flashed with annoyance. The Eastern Japanese people he had contacted before were all pretentious, always saying that their small country was short of food and clothing, so they begged the sovereign for gifts.

Now it seems that the other party is hiding very deeply!

"Sooner or later, I will eat it all!"

Fang Chen finally picked a Buddha statue at random because his eldest grandson Wugou liked it as a gift in the evening.

The sky gradually changes from bright to dark, but everywhere in Chang'an City is full of joyful scenes. Every household puts a basin in front of the door with a fire burning inside.

"Crackling~!"

Bamboos are thrown into the fire pot one by one, burned to a certain extent and then exploded. With the sound, the festive atmosphere is much stronger. And these are the firecrackers of this era.

Fang Chen stood at the door of Kunning Palace, about to attend the palace banquet, but he felt a little more melancholy in his heart.

"A bowl of dumplings, a plate of vinegar, and the sausages prepared by my mother in advance. Now I'm afraid none of them can eat them."

Feeling a little sad in his heart, he knelt down and followed his mother's example. He partially pulled up his trouser legs to prevent them from getting on the ground and soiling his new clothes.

Then he asked the palace maid to find a very ordinary brocade hat for him, and compared it with the bronze mirror to wear it for him.

"Happy New Year, Mom!"

In the air, there seemed to be an echo of "Happy New Year, my little Chen'er!"

Smiling again, Fang Chen looked at Xuan Shi and Xuan Eleven beside him, "Let's go."

The two of them were responsible for presenting the gifts later, so they always held a covered Buddha statue in their arms.

I heard that this was left over from the Sui Dynasty, but it was just kept in the inner treasury and never taken out.

"Ding Dong~Ding Dong~" The subtle voice kept echoing, and Fang Chen thought it was an auditory hallucination at first.

But after walking for a while, Fang Chen immediately stopped.

"Xuan Shi, put it down."

"Ah? Your Highness, put down the Buddha statue?"

"Yes, put it down."

Fang Chen directly opened the red cloth, tapped it gently, and immediately came to the conclusion that this thing was actually hollow.

That’s interesting. Is it a treasure from the previous dynasty, or is it hollow?

Upon closer inspection, one can quickly see a subtle difference. The Buddha's belly has been reworked and inlaid with a layer of gold.

"Go and ask Uncle Liu to come over. I'm afraid I won't be able to deliver this thing tonight."

"Your Highness, what do you mean?"

"Go quickly!"

"yes!"

Liu Sanben was arranging seats for the banquet, but suddenly he was told that His Highness was looking for him.

"You just do what I just said, and I'll go out for a while."

After walking with a stick of incense, I came to a remote place in the back hall of Taiji Palace. "Your Highness, would you like to call me?"

Fang Chen pointed at the Buddha statue and said, "There is something in here. Haven't you checked it before?"

Liu Sancheng smiled bitterly, "My highness, now is not the time to argue about this. You are planning to give this as a gift, is it possible that you have to dismantle it?"

Liu Sancheng looked at Fang Chen and found that he was extremely serious. Liu Sancheng's eyes were full of surprise, "You don't really want to..."

Then he saw the smile on Fang Chen's lips and the Buddha statue being lifted high.

"Click~"

Throwing it out with force, the Buddha statue broke into several pieces, and there was actually a package in the inner palace.

"Oh my lord!"

Liu Sancheng was heartbroken. The gifts were gone. Wasn't this causing trouble?
To be continued...