409. Yao Guang Reflects the Night in Three Thousand Households, Lanterns Illuminate a Ten Thousand Li City

Before the glass storefronts on Market Street, several veteran ministers stood gathered around the counters, reluctant to move on.

The Clan Elder, who oversaw the affairs of the royal clan, drew close to a counter with trembling fingers and cautiously touched a glass ornament.

It was a magnolia half a foot tall. Its petals were as translucent as ice, with a tiny cinnabar-colored crystal set at its center. When sunlight fell upon it, it refracted into scattered flecks of light.

"Th-this glass is actually so transparent?"

His voice trembled as his gaze locked onto the ornament. "When this old man accompanied the late king on a diplomatic mission to the Chu State, I once saw a glass bi disc treasured in the Chu king's palace. It was no bigger than a palm, yet it was already the palace's greatest treasure, requiring ten guards to watch over it day and night.

"And now here... there are dozens of them on display, each more exquisite in shape than the last?"

Before he had finished speaking, a burst of children's laughter suddenly rang out nearby.

The crowd turned toward the sound and saw a child with his hair tied in twin knots clutching several Qin Banliang coins. He skipped up to the counter, stood on tiptoe, and said to the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, I want that little tiger!"

With a smile, the shopkeeper took out a glass tiger sculpture. Its entire body was crystal-clear, its eyes inlaid with black crystals, and it looked lifelike.

The child took the sculpture, happily tucked it into his clothes, and skipped away.

"Th-this large a piece of 'glass' costs only a few Qin Banliang coins?"

The Clan Elder was so shocked that his mouth would not close. He instinctively turned to Zhao Cheng, his eyes filled with disbelief.