After Pu Li said this, the envoys of the other vassal states got up and rushed to the Great Zhou Royal Bank and lent 350,000 taels of silver in the name of their respective countries.

Go to the antique shop and buy the objects that they have long been interested in, and these envoys return to the inn happily.

At the same time, the French envoy Pierre, who knew the etiquette of the Great Zhou, understood that at this time, he, the French ambassador to the Great Zhou, should also give a gift that was in line with etiquette.

However, unlike those vassal states of the Great Zhou, in Europe, there are certain restrictions on the gifts that can be given by ambassadors abroad.

The price of the gift should not be too luxurious, but it should also be representative of France.

The embassy was newly built not long ago, so naturally there were no gifts that could be obtained. At the same time, with the distance between France and the Great Zhou, it will take at least half a year to go back and forth, and Pierre naturally cannot make a decision after returning the matter to the French emperor.

So, Pierre went to the Antique Street to try his luck and see if he could get some nice things.

When he saw the envoys of the Great Zhou vassal states buying antiques and jade worth at least tens of thousands of taels from antique shops, Pierre was very puzzled and said to his entourage: "Are these people crazy?" ”

In Pierre's view, the gift only needs to show the heart of his country, and it does not matter whether he is high or low. So even if it is the so-called 'Great Week', Pierre still does not understand this phenomenon very well.

The entourage shrugged their shoulders, indicating that they didn't quite understand it either.

But in the end, it was someone else's business, and Pierre was only slightly surprised and stopped paying attention.

The antique street is said to be an antique street, but it can sell some objects from Europe.

Although most of these objects are not of great value, they are novel, but they are quite popular with the noble family.

Pierre went to a shop that specialized in Western goods. Many of the objects inside were not very new to Pierre, and he chose a gold-encrusted clock among the left and right.

Clocks were already common in the Great Zhou, but this clock was good in appearance, at least among the Western pieces, and Pierre paid three hundred taels of silver to buy this clock.

Perhaps it was due to habit, since Pierre came to the Great Zhou, even if he communicated with the internal staff of the embassy, he mostly used Chinese, so when he spoke to the entourage, Pierre said in Chinese: "Do you think that if I give this clock to the Empress Dowager of the Great Zhou, the Empress Dowager will like it?" ”

Before the entourage could answer, the shopkeeper hurriedly said: "This distinguished guest, don't be joking, this clock is no longer sold in the shop!" ”

The shopkeeper is a personal essence, and after hearing that this Xiyi person wants to give the clock to the Queen Mother as a congratulatory gift, he naturally refuses to sell it.

Pierre wondered: "Shopkeeper, why don't you sell it?" ”

The shopkeeper's slanted eyes looked at Pierre and said, "You said that you speak Chinese very well as a Xiyi person, why don't you understand some customs of the Great Zhou?"

Giving people clocks and watches means sending the end, you are cursing the Queen Mother and her old man to die early. If you really give this clock to the Queen Mother's old man as a gift, I am afraid that it will anger the Queen Mother, and my small shop will also want to open! ”

"How do you still mean that?" Pierre's Chinese is good, but he still doesn't understand the homonym in Chinese.

But since the clock can't be given, what gift should be given?

For a while, Pierre didn't have any good ideas, mainly because there were too few things with Western characteristics, especially French characteristics.

The entourage came up with a good idea: "Your Excellency Pierre, I think you might as well go to the Royal Academy in Da Zhou if you wander around here for most of the day!" ”

"What are you doing at the Royal Academy?" Pierre wondered.

"Naturally, a painter was hired from inside to enter the palace to paint for the Queen Mother of the Great Zhou!" The attendant said, "What else can be more representative of France and more artistic value than oil paintings?" ”

"Why didn't I think of that?" Pierre suddenly realized, hugged his entourage again and again, and hurried to the Royal Academy.

At the Royal Academy, there are quite a few experts and scholars from France. Although most of these experts and scholars are in science and engineering, medicine, or biology, there are still a few who can paint oil paintings.

When they heard that they were going to be brought into the palace to paint the Empress Dowager of the Great Zhou, none of these people shirked and rushed to say that their paintings were the best.

After many selections, Pierre finally decided to choose the most famous Dr. Nolan as his painter.

Dr. Nolan was a biologist, and perhaps because he often made taxidermy, his painting skills were good, at least his fame was loud enough in Europe that Pierre chose him.

……

"What? You said that Pierre was going to bring a painter into the palace to paint for the Queen Mother? In the Heart Cultivation Palace, Zhang Lingyang was a little surprised when he received the news.

Xiaofuzi replied: "Long live the lord, isn't this the queen mother's sixtieth birthday soon?" Pierre didn't have the right thing to give as a gift, so he came up with such a solution. ”

"I see!" After Zhang Lingyang understood the situation, he said: "Then you can take Pierre and that Dr. Nolan to Cining Palace to meet the Queen Mother!" ”

No matter how you say it, it is also a kindness from others, and Zhang Lingyang naturally can't refuse.

At the same time, Zhang Lingyang was also thinking in his heart: "Do I also find a painter to paint a picture of me, and after thousands of years, my face can also be admired by future generations." ”

The paintings of the Great Zhou Dynasty are not concerned with the form, which is completely different from Western paintings. Therefore, if you want to paint your face realistically, you have to paint it in the West.

"However, the real dragon face is not easy for anyone to paint, you have to find a famous European painter to paint for yourself, otherwise you won't be able to paint my style!" Thinking so, Zhang Lingyang ordered a little eunuch to go to the embassy district in the eastern suburbs to see if those ambassadors from Europe could bring a famous painter from Europe.

Here, Xiao Fuzi took Pierre and Dr. Nolan to Cining Palace.

Empress Dowager Xu didn't know much about Western painting, and summoned Pierre and Dr. Nolan in novelty.

Although Dr. Nolan has been in Da Zhou for a while, he is still not very proficient in Chinese, and there is a Pierre translator throughout the whole process to let Empress Dowager Xu put on a correct posture.

At first, Empress Dowager Xu felt fresh and did as Dr. Nolan asked.

But seeing that half an hour had passed, and Dr. Nolan was still painting there, Empress Dowager Xu felt that her limbs were stiff and a little unbearable, so she got up and said, "The mourning family is a little tired, let's be here today!" ”