The next day, Coventry was sent by Henry IV to the docks early in the morning to deliver the invitation to the so-called Margaret Ball.

Similar invitations, Liu Chengying has received them more than once during the sea voyage for more than ten years, so she did not refuse, and simply agreed.

At 7 o'clock in the evening, he led four captains and a thousand households to the palace, and after informing the guards, he was soon taken by Coventry to the small drawing room of Henry IV.

At that time, after the collapse of the Timurid Empire, the Ming Dynasty seemed to be the number one power in the world, so Liu Chengying was not interested in the English king.

After using the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty to bow to Henry IV, he conveyed to him the goodwill of the Yongle Emperor, and presented him with a set of reckless robes and a gold seal for the king of Fanbang.

Henry IV didn't know that these were all gifts from the suzerainty of the upper state to the subject country, and he thought that it was a gift from the emperor of the Ming Kingdom, so he was excited to change into this python suit on the spot.

After changing into a python suit, he happily jumped up and down like a child, completely forgetting his noble identity.

"My dear Liu, I love this great snake of the East on my clothes so much, it is simply a perfect work of art, I don't even know how to thank Your Majesty the Great Emperor of your country. ”

Liu Chengying arched his hand to Henry IV, "My Ming Dynasty is rich all over the world, and I don't need the return of other countries, Your Majesty doesn't have to mind." ”

Henry IV secretly rejoiced that there was no need to return the gift, and there was no need to spend money.

"My dear Liu, can you tell me what you have come all the way to England for?"

"The foreign minister was sent by my Son of Heaven to go to all countries to find a man!"

Crossing the seven seas to Europa to find someone, Henry IV was a little puzzled, "What kind of person can make His Majesty the Great Emperor, who is rich in the four seas, worthy of sending such a powerful fleet to find it?"

Liu Chengying did not answer this question directly, but took out a scroll from his sleeve pocket and handed it to him, "The person on this painting is what the Son of Heaven is looking for." I promised the Son of Heaven that whoever could help me find him would receive a shipload of silk, a shipload of porcelain, and a shipload of tea. ”

Henry IV excitedly opened the scroll, read it carefully, and then handed it to Coventry on the side.

"My dear Coventry, arrange for the painter to copy this painting in a few more copies and send it to various places. At the same time, if anyone can provide clues about this person, there will be a reward of 10 pounds, and if they can find this person, they will be rewarded with 100 pounds. ”

Coventry couldn't help but curse this damn miser in his heart, but he kept a respectful tone, "Generous Your Majesty, I'll arrange it later, I think your subjects will appreciate your selflessness." ”

Henry IV nodded with satisfaction, turned to Liu Chengying and said, "Dear Liu, Margaret's ball is about to begin, and as a gentleman, it is extremely impolite to let a beautiful lady wait for a long time. ”

Liu Chengying arched her hand, "I am willing to obey His Majesty's arrangement!"

Sensing a hint of perfunctory tone in his tone, Henry IV shrugged his shoulders boredly, got up and led the group to the ballroom.

The banquet hall of the English Palace is very different from that of the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty did not have a special place for drinking and feasting, and if the emperor wanted to give a banquet, most of them would be held in the middle hall, and it was more of a ceremonial banquet.

In addition to the special banquet hall, according to the scale of the banquet and the identity of the participants, it is divided into a large comprehensive banquet hall for state banquets, a dance banquet hall for aristocratic gatherings, and a tea hall for discussing intrigues and intrigues.

Due to the strong political purpose of this time, Henry IV chose a large banquet hall to hold the ball, and invited many noble ladies and ladies to accompany him.

Liu Chengying and the others followed behind Henry IV and walked silently all the way to the door of the banquet hall. When two richly dressed squires saw their king, they immediately took the initiative to open a door with a golden carving.

Walking into the banquet hall, Liu Chengying immediately saw a beautiful girl, wearing a gorgeous floor-length dress, standing at the door with a smile to greet their arrival.

Henry IV gracefully stepped forward, took the girl's tender little hand and brought it to Liu Chengying, "Dear Liu, I have the honor to introduce to you the most beautiful flower in all of England, my lovely little angel, Princess Margaret Bolingbrook!"

Liu Chengying did not reply to Henry IV, but looked at Margaret blankly.

He never believed in ghosts and gods, and he was suddenly confused. Isn't Xi'er long gone in this world?

With a full stomach full of questions, he excitedly pushed Henry IV away, grabbed Margaret's shoulders tightly with both hands, and asked in a trembling voice, "Is that you?"

Margaret inexplicably didn't struggle, letting him clutch herself rudely, "Are you talking to me?"

Henry IV was a little overwhelmed, and for a moment forgot to blame him for his rudeness, and then asked, "Dear Liu, what's wrong with you?"

Liu Chengying sighed softly, let go of the hand holding Margaret's shoulder, and said with a sad expression, "You are not my Xi'er." ”

Henry IV and Margaret looked at Liu Chengying, whose faces were full of sorrow, and for a moment did not know what was going on, and at the same time looked at Coventry with a pleading look.

After pondering for a while, the old fox in Coventry saw some clues, and said to Liu Chengying with a pretended concern look: "Your Excellency Earl Liu, do you think that our beautiful princess, Her Royal Highness, is somewhat similar to your old friend?"

Liu Chengying has lost her previous calmness, and said without thinking: "They are very similar... It's similar, but it's different. ”

After saying this inexplicable sentence, he took out a scroll from his bosom and handed it to Margaret with some reluctance.

"It's ...... A gift for me?" due to the cultural differences between the East and the West, Margaret instinctively thought that this was a gift from Liu Chengying to herself.

So she took the scroll with a smile and slowly unfolded it in front of everyone. At the moment when the painting unfolded, she was shocked to find that the person in the painting would be "herself".

In the painting, she sees herself wearing the palace clothes of the Oriental country, happily hiding behind a rockery, sticking out her head and secretly looking at something.

Margaret stared at the "self" in the painting scroll in a frenzy, and asked Liu Chengying dumbfounded, "Is it me who is the person in this painting?"

Hearing Margaret's unexplained words, Henry IV and Coventry looked curiously at the scroll. When they saw "Margaret" in the scroll, they exclaimed, "Oh God!

Margaret directly ignored her father and Coventry, walked up to Liu Chengying excitedly, looked him in the eyes, and asked the same thing, "Is it me who is the person in the painting?"

Liu Chengying didn't answer, shook her head slightly, and muttered to herself: "The dream has been broken for twenty years, and the old willow in the deep palace does not blow the cotton; ”