At the beginning of September, the Wanchao meeting is coming to an end, and the projects that should be carried out are almost completed. The court meeting arranged dozens of competitive competitions such as chess, archery, singing and dandan, juju, martial arts, poetry, calligraphy, danqing, etc., and Dahan achieved outstanding results in various competitions. At present, except for the last Danqing painting, which has not yet started, the other disciplines have been completed.

Just two days before the official start of the Danqing competition, the distant and mysterious delegation of Western countries finally arrived.

The people who were sent to greet and entertain the Western mission were still Du Yun and Bai Yuexiao, the secretary of Honglu Temple, and they were really taken aback when they saw a group of Westerners with colorful hair and strange clothes for the first time. Although I have seen many Gentiles with different hair and pupils like Moon Country and Snow Country, they are very different from the Westerners in front of them. Westerners' facial contours are deep, their eyes are either turquoise or blue, and their hair is strange and curly! It's like the curly hair on the sheep!

I saw a group of foreigners with light gray, brown, golden, and even pink hair, speaking incomprehensible words into Yong'an City, and lived in Hanyue Pavilion.

After everything was sorted out, the Western mission entered the palace the next day.

Duan Yulin was also the first time to meet Westerners, and he was also very curious about them. The number of representatives of the mission who entered the palace was small, only a dozen or so, and some of them seemed to be servants.

Two brown-haired middle-aged men and a blonde young man led a group of envoys to meet the emperor, and they did not bow down, but put their left hand on their chest and hide their right hand behind their back, and then bowed at 90 degrees for three seconds, and said a string of foreign words in their mouths, and finally got up and finished saluting.

Duan Yulin was about to reprimand them for why they didn't bow down, when a Han translator in a suit stood up and explained: "Your Majesty the Celestial Empire, these are representatives of the royal family and nobles of Western countries, and in their country, such etiquette is the highest etiquette that only kings can enjoy. Then he introduced the three envoys separately: "This young guest is His Royal Highness, the most noble prince of the Western Kingdom, whose name is Haim Padraic; These two were the Earl of Morrich and the Earl of Orlandon; This time, the daughters of the two counts' families also accompanied them, and the reddish-brown haired girl was the daughter of the Count of Morris, named Dephael; The light-haired one was named Alice, the daughter of the Earl of Orlandon. The interpreter added, pointing to the two young ladies standing next to the three of them.

Duan Yulin has long been stunned by these awkward names, where can he tell who is who? Just remember that the handsome young man with blond hair and blue eyes was their prince.

"Well, well, I can't remember so many awkward names for a while. On behalf of Dahan, I would like to welcome all our distinguished guests. You translate it for them. The interpreter Liu conveyed the emperor's welcome, and the prince and the two counts bowed again in honor. Duan Yulin said again: "The Ten Thousand Dynasties Meeting is coming to an end, and you are inevitably a little too late. There's only one drawing contest left to end, do you want to participate? "Liu Zhao is correct.

"Your Majesty, we have come from across the ocean, and we have endured many hardships along the way, and the journey at sea alone has taken many months. Although I can't participate in the whole competition in North Korea this time, it is worth the trip to be able to personally appreciate the splendid rivers and mountains and customs of Dahan! As for the drawing contest, please allow us to participate! We are looking forward to the opportunity to compete with masters from all over the world. Liu translated Prince Paderick's words with respect.

"That's good! You have come from afar, it would be too wasteful to stay only for a few days and then go home, so it would be better for you to stay in Dahan for a few more days and take a good look at the great rivers and mountains of my Celestial Empire! Duan Yulin graciously retained.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, that's what we mean." The Earl of Orlandon expressed his deep gratitude.

"It's really hard for you to travel to and from the post house and the palace. Mengxin Xiaozhu happens to have a place, so I will arrange for you to stay, so that you don't have to come to tomorrow's game. Okay, it's time to kneel! Duan Yulin motioned to Liu Translate.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, I'll retire!" The envoys of the Western countries saluted and exited the main hall, and Fang Da led them to Mengxin Xiaozhu.

The day before the painting competition, the envoys of various countries in the Hanyue Pavilion and several small buildings in the imperial palace were already gearing up to face the battle. At this time, there is only one place that can match the liveliness of it, and that is the largest underground casino in Yongan City, Zuishengfang. From the name, Zuishengfang is more like a winery, but it is actually a wine business on the surface, but there is a huge wine cellar in the backyard of this winery, and this wine cellar is secretly doing gambling. It is said that the forces behind the Zuisheng Fang are not small, and they even have something to do with the legendary number one cult in the rivers and lakes - the Demon Control Sect.

Since the beginning of the Wan Dynasty Society, the business of Zuishengfang has become more and more prosperous day by day, and the wine cellar is even more overcrowded, because some people have set up a village here to open more than a dozen gambling games during the court meeting.

Last month, Xia Huaiyin passed through Zuishengfang and came in to buy two jars of wine, and happened to see a well-connected subordinate Lin Jiang, a bachelor at the Hanlin Academy, sneakily going to the backyard. At first, Xia Huaiyin didn't pay much attention to it, until Lin Jiang came to him to borrow a large amount of silver taels. He asked Lin Jiang why he used it, but Lin Jiang couldn't say it clearly, and he realized that something was wrong.

Xia Huaiyin didn't dare to report to the saint rashly, so he went to the prince to discuss the matter first, and the prince immediately summoned Lin Jiang to ask clearly. Lin Jiang was still secretive about him at first, and finally told the truth under the coercion of the prince, it turned out that he had lost all his capital and debts because he participated in the underground gambling of Zuishengfang, so he had to borrow money from his boss. And Lin Hai revealed that the biggest bookmaker this time was Wu Xiaochuan, the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, who took advantage of his position to open a gambling game to make huge profits.

Duan Yingting decided to intervene in this matter, and he first sent people to infiltrate the underground casino to find out the situation. The news came from the wire that the big dealer would come to the casino in person the day before the last gambling game, that is, the day before the painting competition, Duan Yingting was waiting for this moment, he wanted to catch all the relevant people, and he wanted to arrest him to make it irrefutable!

So that night, the Duanyingting Joint Military Department personally led the troops to surround the casino, and he brought a pair of officers and soldiers to break into the casino first, and arrested Wu Xiaochuan, who was still proud of the previous moment, on the spot. Wu Xiaochuan and others were escorted to Dali Temple to await trial, and the prince returned to the palace non-stop to report to his father. At the same time, the emperor also angrily punished Wu Xiaochuan and several related officials who used power for personal gain, and by the way, he also severely reprimanded Wu Xiaochuan's boss and mentor, Deng Qingyuan, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites. Deng Qingyuan was not only scolded to the fullest, but also punished for thinking about it, it was really disgraceful!

On the 8th day of the Lunar New Year, the Danqing Contest was held in the Ruyi Hall of the Imperial Palace, and there was no spectator during the competition due to the need for a quiet environment for painting. The judges and spectators were arranged in the nearby Kaede Garden to enjoy the autumn leaves while waiting to enjoy the masterpieces.

"This year's maple leaves are just the right amount of red, one more point is too bright, and one point less is light. What does the queen think? "Originally, the queen didn't want to attend today, but Feng Yi knew that her sister was in a bad mood recently, so she specially pulled her over.

"Really? Hongu felt that the color of this leaf was a little worse. Feng Wu wore a long skirt of the golden emperor flower Ling brocade phoenix tail to the ground, and she casually folded off a maple leaf and looked at it in front of her, and said with a slight smile.

"The queen seems to be in a good mood today?" Feng Yi rarely saw Feng Wu show a happy expression, and she didn't know how to react for a while.

"Is there one? You can't always have a cold face, won't anyone dare to come to the palace to say goodbye in the future? After thinking about this time, she was free from the daily morning and dusk meditation, but I believe that soon everything will be back on track. She got the news of Wu Xiaochuan's imprisonment and Deng Qingyuan's punishment early this morning, and she was really a little happy in her heart. She has no grievances with these two people, and naturally she will not gloat because of their suffering, and she is happy that the two people were convicted by the prince. Deng Qingyuan is narrow-minded, and he suffered such a big loss from the prince this time, he must have already held a grudge, and their beam is settled. Once Deng Qingyuan turns over, even if he does not retaliate, he will definitely put more obstacles on the crown prince in the future political journey. As long as he takes this opportunity to pull Deng Qingyuan into his camp, he will definitely become the help of King Jin in the future!

"It's best if the queen can think like this, the queen can see it, and my sister is relieved." Feng Yi was sincerely happy that her sister could relieve the knots in her heart.

Feng Wu also seemed to be moved by the sincerity of her sister, and put the red leaf hairpin on Feng Yi's hair, and praised: "What's the fun of just looking at these leaves?" In this way, the hairpin is the most pleasing to the eye in the hair of the beauty. ”

"Queen, stop making fun of the concubines." Feng Yi was a little embarrassed to be praised by her.

"This palace thought that it was monotonous that the maple garden was full of maple trees, so he specially ordered the flower room to send some carefully cultivated hibiscus and camellia flowers for everyone to enjoy, why don't we go and see it too?" Feng Wu suggested.

"It's better to be respectful than to obey." It was rare for Feng Yi to be so close to Feng Wu, and Feng Wu's performance today really flattered her.

The Feng sisters were about to go to enjoy the flowers, and Miaoqing, who had not been seen just now, ran to Feng Wu's side and whispered a few words to her. Feng Wu smiled apologetically at Feng Yi and said, "Sister go first, this palace wants to see an old man, and I will go to find my sister later." Feng Yi didn't ask too much, so she took Mu Ju over first.

As soon as Feng Wu learned about Wu Xiaochuan, he immediately sent Miaoqing out of the palace to personally pick up Miaolu, and Miaolu was waiting for her in a corner of Fengzi Garden at this time.

"The slave maid greets the queen." Miaolu is now three months pregnant, and she still can't hide her slightly bulging lower abdomen in a slightly loose dark flower filament pleated satin skirt.

"If you're pregnant, you'll be free of all these false gifts." Feng Wu took pity on Miaolu's body.

"Thank you, mother." Miaolu, who is pregnant, is more calm than before.

"Is Bai Yuexiao good to you?" Feng Wu ordered Miaoqing to add a goose feather cushion to Miaolu.

"If you go back to your mother, your husband treats her slaves very well. He is obedient to the slaves and maids, and he dare not disobey the things that the mother explains. The happiness of Miaolu's life can be seen in her expression.

"That's good. This palace invites you to come, firstly, because I have not seen you for a long time and miss you very much, and secondly, I have something to explain to you. Feng Wu was blunt.

"Why don't you just let Miaoqing tell the slave maid if she has something to do, is it because this matter is very serious?" Miao Qing informed her of any orders before, but this time I saw her in person, didn't something happen? Miao Lu was faintly worried.

"It's not serious, but it's important. And it's better not to let your husband know about this. Qing'er is about to give birth next month, and this palace wants you to go and see her for this palace, and by the way, tell King Jin to let him find a way to make friends with Deng Qingyuan. "Bai Yuexiao performed well at this Wanchao meeting, and his promotion is expected, so don't let him touch these gray areas for the time being.

"Niangniang's intentions and slaves understand, Niangniang can rest assured." Seeing that the queen also intended to protect Bai Yuexiao, Miao Lu relieved her heart and was very grateful. She and the child in her womb are inseparable from Bai Yuexiao, and she doesn't want Bai Yuexiao to have anything to do.

"Feng Yi is still waiting for the palace to enjoy the flowers together, you can go with you." Feng Wu invited Miao Lu to go with her, and Miao Lu naturally didn't dare to brush off the queen's kindness, so the three masters and servants went to find Feng Yi together.