Soon, the darkness dissipated, and was replaced by a touch of kindness.

"This envoy, what kind of gift do you think is enough to explain to your monarch?" The Emperor asked, his tone unhurried.

The envoy of Goryeo stood up from the chair of the prince, looked up at the emperor, and only clasped his fists, and after the salute, he leisurely turned around in front of the hall.

"In Yichen's opinion, there are more than 100 pieces of silk and more than 10 treasures." He said without hurry, "But now that the emperor is only ten silk horses, doesn't this comparison seem shabby?" ”

The rest of the envoys were speechless by his words, and looked at the Goryeo envoys standing in the hall in unison, with suspicion and disbelief in their eyes.

Before the emperor could speak, he heard a sneer, it was the eunuch in power next to the emperor.

The eunuch bent his finger and said lightly to the envoy: "How can the cloth sent by our emperor be that kind of ordinary silk, which is naturally embroidered and woven by high-grade ice silk, but it is difficult to find ice silkworms in our southern country, and it is not so generous to send them." ”

The envoys have all seen the world, and when they heard the ice silk, their faces suddenly turned pale. The value of one step woven with ice silk is enough to be worth ten pieces of silk, which shows how much it is cherished.

It's just that the cloth woven by this ice silk is rare but far from being hard to find, so it seems that it is still a little stingy.

The envoy's face gradually changed from questioning at the beginning to some reverence, and finally stayed at the level of doubt.

The emperor looked at it and said: "Naturally, my country is a big country, and there are naturally more than so many things to be sent. The rest, after the feast, was sent to be delivered in person, as atonement for sins. ”

Although the emperor spoke majestically, he did not have an innate arrogance.

The group of envoys who sat down were very indignant, but only the envoys of Goryeo before were still indignant.

Inside the gazebo, the three were still there.

Ouyang Huaiyu looked at Xia Zhiqiu in front of him with a smile, and asked softly, "What's better?" Miss Xia might as well be clear, this king's ears are not very good. ”

Xia Zhiqiu didn't have the courage to speak, she turned her head to look around, and a group of people came out at some point, looking at her expression was both contemplative and joking.

The group had all come to the banquet, dressed in fine costumes, and brought their families with them. Some women gathered together after watching this scene, pointing and talking about Xia Zhiqiu.

"Who is this girl, and she looks quite iconic?" The wife of a petty official looked at Xia Zhiqiu and couldn't help but ask the person next to her.

"Don't you even recognize this?" There was also a woman next to her, dressed more luxuriously, "The daughter of Lord Xiahou's mansion, it seems to be called Xia Zhiqiu, I seem to have seen her before, but I didn't expect a girl who looks so quiet to have such a good means behind her back." ”

"Eh, people can't be beautiful. Look at the gentle and elegant appearance of the nineteenth prince, how can she be able to climb it, a shameless woman. ”

In just a few words, Xia Zhiqiu was labeled as shameless. She looked at Ouyang Huaiyu and the boy next to her, her face turned purple.

The boy looked up at her as well, smiling ugly. She gestured with her mouth: It's me, Xia Zhixue.

Xia Zhiqiu was drained of all his strength. She looked at Xia Zhixue, and after taking a few steps back, she actually fell to the same place.

She could only hear Ouyang Huaiyu's cold voice echoing in her ears: "Let everyone laugh, I have nothing to do with Miss Xia Zhiqiu, I hope she can respect herself." ”

Ouyang Huaiyu waved his sleeves and left, not taking a cloud with him, except for a disgraced Xia Zhiqiu and a group of people talking.

Xia Zhiqiu's matter gradually spread quietly in the palace, and once became a topic of gossip after dinner. Jiuhe Library

Xia Huaiqing knew that what Xia Zhiqiu did was when he was drinking tea with a group of bureaucrats.

He suddenly heard a group of women talking about Xia Zhiqiu's name, and at first he thought that someone with eyes from a family had taken a fancy to her, until he asked the guards to come in and inquire, and he knew that something was wrong.

The version that the women heard was a false rumor, and many of the details were changed to make it more dramatic and conflicting.

Xia Huaiqing also because of this, when he saw Xia Zhiqiu following behind him at the banquet, he didn't have a good face: "When I brought you here, in order to let you give the Hou Mansion a long face, don't give me Xia Zhixue, when the time comes, her fate will be your end." ”

It was the first time Xia Zhiqiu heard Xia Huaiqing speak so heavily to himself, and the whole person was aggrieved, and there were tears rolling in his eyes.

On weekdays, Xia Huaiqing eats her very much, but now she can't arouse sympathy, looking at her expressionless: "Behave well when the time comes." ”

Xia Zhiqiu was a little crying, thinking of the mouth shape of the boy who was standing next to Ouyang Huaiyu before, and a chill rose from his back.

Xia Zhixue, is she really back?

No, how could she come back! She shouldn't be here! Now only she, Xia Zhiqiu, is the daughter of the Hou Mansion!

Xia Zhiqiu hid a trace of resentment in his heart, sat at a table behind Xia Huaiqing, and quietly looked at the empty wooden door.

"The emperor has arrived!" Outside the wooden door, the eunuch's voice turned back and forth, and the people sitting in the banquet hurriedly got up and saluted.

The emperor specially changed into a bright yellow dark pattern dragon robe, wearing a beaded chain crown, not angry and arrogant.

Behind him, there are beauties in the harem, Gege is very good-looking, and at a glance, he knows that the package is excellent.

The emperor walked past the blanket, sat on the high seat, looked at the crowd below and nodded: "You love Qing Ping." Today is the time for the envoys of the vassal states to make friends with our country, and you don't need to be restrained, just let it go. ”

"Emperor Xie!" There was a murky voice of thanks below.

This is said to be a dust-washing banquet to welcome the envoys of various vassal states, but in fact it is no different from an ordinary palace banquet.

The dancers danced in the hall, and the orchestra played music in a corner.

The envoys of the vassal states had long been not interested in these dances, and after waiting for a symbolic performance, someone got up: "Your Majesty, today is the time for friendship between the countries, why don't we have a discussion?" ”

This competition may seem like nothing else, but it is actually a good time to judge the strength of the country, and the countries that win in these competitions often have a light on their faces.

The emperor listened to the envoy's speech and bowed his head: "I don't know what you want to learn?" ”

"In Yichen's opinion, dancing and archery are good." This time it was Lord Guan of Dali Temple Shaoqing who spoke, and his relationship with Xia Huaiqing has always been good, and this time it should be a good collusion.

Dance is an art, and archery is a country's military strength. These projects are old-fashioned, but they are very meaningful.

The emperor agreed, and the contest soon began.

In the first round, archery was contested, and each vassal nation did not participate, but only a few capable players were selected from among them.

The emperor couldn't help frowning lightly when he saw that the various vassal states had already chosen people, they really came prepared.

"Go to the Nineteenth Prince and ask him to arrange the list of battles." The emperor tilted his head and said to the eunuch.