readx; Zhu Youzhen lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and took a look, but saw two groups of Portuguese soldiers lined up in front of the embassy, wearing high bearskin hats, wearing red velvet uniforms, snow-white buttons neatly fastened, black trousers and riding boots all over the body, holding up bayonet spears, and the two facial features in the front hung Western swords, all with their heads held high and their eyes not squinting, looking neat and dignified. Pen ~ Fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info [Burning ^ Text ^ Library]

At the back of the queue were two women of different races dressed in European-style court evening dresses with good manners. Completely different from the Chinese court costumes that advocate wealth and majesty, the biggest feature of the European-style evening dress is that the shoulders, chest, and arms are fully exposed, which not only leaves room for the expression of gorgeous jewelry, but also appropriately shows the hostess's slender figure and wonderful skin. Moreover, the use of inlays and embroidery at the neckline, with ornate lace, roses, bows and other decorations, naturally shows the noble elegance of the hostess.

When the evening dress is beautiful, the person is more beautiful. These two women are Princess Anna and Tyulina, and Princess Anna is wearing a bright red evening dress, with her long wavy maroon hair, big eyes and wheat-colored skin, giving people a sense of enthusiasm. Qiulina is the opposite, wearing a pure black evening dress, which further reflects her skin as smooth as snow. The Chinese people have always regarded white as beauty, but they have never seen such a fair-skinned beauty, and they are full of praise for a while, and even Halazi has flowed out.

At this time, the two beauties walked down the steps, and Anna first waved to the onlookers, and then said loudly in fluent Chinese: "Hello everyone! Today is the 29th day of the lunar month, everyone is preparing for the New Year, you must be happy, right? However, you may not know that in our Portuguese calendar, today is the 14th of February, and it is also a holiday, called 'Valentine's Day'. On this day, boys have to send flowers to the girls they like, and girls can also make small snacks and give them to their sweethearts, which is the most romantic of all festivals. ”

Everyone was amazed when they heard it, because in China in this era, unmarried young men and women are strictly forbidden to have contact, and they must follow "the orders of their parents and the words of matchmakers" when they get married, and it is impossible to fall in love freely. However, the love between men and women is human nature, and it is difficult to completely suppress no matter how strict the etiquette is, so for free love, everyone "can't do it, and the heart is true", so dramas like "The Legend of the West Chamber" that praise love will be very popular. I didn't expect that Fanbang men and women could admire each other without restraint, how could they not be envied by everyone?

"But what you may not know is that the origin of Valentine's Day is a very tragic story." Anna continued, "There was an emperor in ancient Rome because more men needed to be recruited to fight for him. And after marriage, men are not as brave as unmarried youths because they have family concerns, so the emperor issued a ban that young people are not allowed to marry.

In this case, a priest, believing that marriage was a sacrament bestowed by the Lord and should not be forbidden, secretly officiated the marriage of a young man and woman who were secretly married. When the matter was revealed, the emperor was very angry and killed the priest. The church canonized him as a martyr because he sacrificed himself to officiate at the wedding, carrying the best love for the world and the love of the Lord. Later, the day of the priest's martyrdom evolved into Valentine's Day. I am telling you this story today to tell you that happiness does not fall from the sky, you need to fight for it, even if it will be sacrificed because of it! ”

Everyone listened to it and talked about it, and Zhu Youzhen was also quite touched. At this time, Anna and Qiulina walked into the crowd together, but they were handing out small gifts to everyone. Some of them took it and put it in their mouths, first frowning and shouting, "Bitter! Bitter! But when he chewed it again, he smiled again: "It's sweet, it's sweet!" ”

"It's called chocolate," says Anna with a smile, "and it's made from cocoa beans native to the New World, supplemented with milk." It's also bitter and sweet, isn't this what love tastes like? ”

"Well said!" Zhu Youzhen couldn't help but get off the sedan chair and took the lead in applauding. Anna was overjoyed to see him, and saw that he came in Weifu, and it was inconvenient to talk outside, so she hurriedly invited Zhu Youzhen and his party to enter the embassy. The people outside didn't know that it was today, and they sighed, "How can this kid be so blessed, the foreign woman fell in love with it at a glance."

After entering the embassy, everyone saw that the ceremony was over, and Rui'er smiled and said, "Long live that in order to thank Princess Anna for her kind invitation, I have also prepared gifts for you and Qiulina." ”

As he spoke, he took out two exquisite jewelry boxes, chose one first, and handed it to Anna. Anna opened the jewelry box and immediately exclaimed in surprise: "What a beautiful pearl necklace!" ”

"This pearl is called 'East Pearl', which is produced in the river mussels in the far north, and has a round texture and crystal clarity, which is the best among pearls." Rui'er smiled and said, "This necklace Banzai originally wanted to give it to the palace, but the palace thought that Princess Anna would wear it better, so I asked Banzai to give it to the princess." ”

"Your Majesty, how can this be?" Anna's face turned red, "This is a gift from His Majesty the Emperor, how can I take away the beauty of people..."

"Don't shirk it." Rui'er smiled and put on the necklace for Anna with her own hands, and it was a perfect match, which made it even more noble. Then she handed another jewelry box to Qiu Lina, Qiu Lina opened it, but her face changed drastically, and she exclaimed, "This is not..."

"That's right, it's the diamond necklace you sold at auction." Zhu Youzhen smiled, "How can such a precious thing be sold so easily, so I managed to find it, and now it is finally returned to its original owner." But I don't think I've seen this necklace before..."

At this time, Qiulina's eyes were already full of tears, and she blushed and whispered: "At that time, I hid the necklace in my hair, but the Mongols didn't find it..."

Of course, Zhu Youzhen was inconvenient to ask about this kind of thing, so Rui'er hurriedly put on a necklace for Qiu Lina. Qiu Lina was so excited that she was speechless, but she just bowed deeply to Zhu Youzhen and Rui'er, and ran away in a hurry. Everyone knew her well, and of course they didn't blame her for her faux pas.

At this time, Chen Yuanyuan smiled and asked, "What about Sister Xiangjun?" Why don't you see her come out? ”

"Miss Li Xiangjun has prepared a very special gift for each of you!" Anna said, "Please follow me to the back exhibition hall, and you will understand at a glance." ”

The crowd followed Anna to the back in amazement, into a tall and spacious hall. The hall was surrounded by paintings, and suddenly Herzhe exclaimed excitedly, "Isn't it me who is on the painting?" ”