"Young man, how old are you this year, are you married?" An aunt standing behind Zhao Yao saw that he was handsome, and she had a strange thought.

Although Zhao Yao was wearing coarse cloth clothes and deliberately smeared his face, his outstanding facial features, coupled with his extravagance that was difficult to hide, attracted the attention of many aunts.

"I'm seventeen years old, and I haven't gotten married yet."

When the aunt heard that she had not yet married, a fine light burst out of her eyes, and her expression became excited.

"Ouch, young man, let me tell you, my girl is as old as you, and she hasn't married yet, it's not me who blows it to you, my girl is very handsome, and she is very compatible with you......"

Before she finished speaking, she was interrupted by another aunt: "Young man, don't listen to her nonsense, her girl is not good-looking at all, dark and short, my girl is good-looking......"

"Young man, their daughters are not good-looking, but my girls are beautiful......"

Several aunts quarreled over each other, and Zhao Yao cried and laughed to persuade them.

"A few aunts, I haven't finished what I just said. Although I haven't gotten married yet, my family has arranged family affairs. ”

As soon as they heard that Zhao Yao had a family affair, although several aunts were a little disappointed, they were not angry with Zhao Yao because of this, and continued to talk to him.

The aunts learned that Zhao Yao was the descendant of the wronged criminals of the previous dynasty, and they had a better impression of him in their hearts. You must know that those who were exiled to them in the previous dynasty were all big officials in the past, and their families were particularly rich and powerful. Unfortunately, they offended the emperor, and the family was exiled to their poor place. Fortunately, God has eyes, and last year His Royal Highness the King of Han came down and gave them the status of good citizens of the descendants of these criminals. From now on, they are no longer the descendants of criminals, but the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty, who can live with their heads held high.

Zhao Yao deliberately asked these people in line what they thought of His Royal Highness the King of Han.

Hearing Zhao Yao ask this, the aunts and uncles became energetic and rushed to answer this question. They praised His Royal Highness King Han for being a good person, a living bodhisattva, and an immortal who came to save them from the heat of water life.

Rao is Zhao Yao is thick-skinned, and he is a little embarrassed to hear the uncles and aunts praise him so much.

The uncles and aunts continued to talk about what Zhao Yao did after he came to the Swamp Mansion. At first, they felt that His Royal Highness King Han was like those dog officials before, deliberately torturing their little people, but they didn't expect His Royal Highness King Han to do these things for their good.

"Ouch, before His Royal Highness the King of Han wanted to bring the water of the swamp lake to the city, we all thought that His Royal Highness the King of Han was going to spoil the lake water that we saved our lives, but I didn't expect that His Royal Highness the King of Han was to let us eat good water." "Now the water we eat every day is very clean, and it's very sweet, not bitter at all." ”

"Since drinking the water from the swamp lake, my stomach doesn't hurt as often as it used to."

"I'm not as sick as I used to be."

"We used to get sick a lot, not because it hurt here, it hurt there, it was because we drank unclean water and ate bad salt."

"Now that we're drinking clean water, eating the best salt, and eating enough food every day, I feel like I'm getting better."

"No, I feel like I'm more powerful than I used to be."

"I feel like I'm a lot younger than I used to be."

"I used to dislike His Royal Highness the King of Han asking us to pay attention to what personal hygiene was very annoying, but now I think His Royal Highness the King of Han is prescient, you see that we have no strange diseases here so far, and there is no plague like in previous years."

"I used to wash my hands the least of all, but now I wash my hands several times a day."

"These are nothing, you see how lively and prosperous our swamp mansion is now, which has not been seen before."

"I never imagined in my life that I would see so many people from other places coming to us."

"Ouch, and those Gentiles, all of them look strange and speak incomprehensibly, but they are all rich."

"Since these outsiders and gentiles came, we have made a lot of money."

"Isn't it, I set up a stall these days to sell all the inconspicuous things made at home, but I ended up selling a lot of money, more than my family has earned in decades."

"Me too, I didn't expect these outsiders and gentiles to even buy the pickles I made, and they said they were delicious."

"All the medicinal wine I brewed at home has also been sold out."

"The purse, handkerchief, and fan I embroidered were all sold out."

"The fruit I grow has also been sold for a lot of money."

Zhao Yao heard the uncles and aunts say that they had made money and their lives were better than before, so he was happy.

"I heard that His Royal Highness the King of Han held a trade conference and let outsiders and foreigners come to us, I thought that like those dog officials before, they were all here to harm us, but I didn't expect His Royal Highness to do these things to help us make money."

"Didn't Your Highness say that the trade conference is to let us live a good life, don't you see that our life has become better now."

"His Royal Highness the King of Han is the immortal who came to save the suffering, and I will support him in whatever he does in the future."

The uncles and aunts were very energetic, and they heard that other people next to them also joined in, praising Zhao Yao, His Royal Highness the King of Han. They also said they looked forward to better days in the future.

As for the words that the people praised him, Zhao Yao just listened to it, and didn't take it to heart. However, what he is most happy about is that the people have expectations for the future life.

After a while, it was Zhao Yao's turn to receive the zongzi.

The uncles and aunts urged Zhao Yao to eat zongzi quickly and see if he could eat copper coins.

Zhao Yao's luck was good, he just took a bite and ate the copper coin.

When the aunts and uncles saw that he had eaten the copper coin in the first bite, they congratulated him and said that he would have good luck this year.

Zhao Yao handed the copper coin he ate to the aunt standing behind him, saying that he would deliver this year's good fortune to her, wishing her family a prosperous life this year and good health for the family.

The aunt didn't accept it at first, saying that this good luck can't be given away, and if you give it away, there will be no good luck. Zhao Yao said that he has always been lucky, and even if he delivers this good fortune to others, his good luck will not decrease.

Seeing that Zhao Yao insisted on giving her the copper coin, the aunt had no choice but to accept it. She gave Zhao Yao the zongzi she received, but unfortunately there was nothing in the zongzi she received.

Zhao Yao will receive the foreign dignitaries who came to congratulate and give gifts in the Han Palace. At noon, the Han Palace's palace would hold a Duanyang Festival luncheon, inviting foreign royals as guests. As for the foreign merchants and the foreign merchants, they will be entertained by the Ministry of Rites.

As soon as I returned to the Han Palace, I heard Tongxi say that someone had come to the mansion to congratulate.

Zhao Yao hurriedly changed his clothes and went to the living room to meet the distinguished guests.

A few days before the festival, more than a dozen countries such as Annam, Johor and Siam sent royal representatives to the swamp province to participate in the festival and trade conferences. The kings and queens of these more than a dozen countries, as well as the crown princes, did not come, but the princes and princesses were sent.

The princes and princesses of these countries were very respectful to Zhao Yao and did not despise him in the slightest. They came very sincerely this time and brought a lot of valuable gifts to Zhao Yao.

Before they came, their father and brother repeatedly told them that they must have a good relationship with His Royal Highness the King of Han, and they must not offend His Royal Highness the King of Han. If they offend His Royal Highness the King of Han, they are the only ones who ask.

The representatives of the royal family sent this time will all speak the official dialect of the Great Zhou. This is very deliberate.

When these foreign princes and princesses saw Zhao Yao coming, they hurriedly stood up and saluted him.

Zhao Yao raised his hand and motioned for them to sit down. Then, let Tongxi bring them the fruit bowl with the characteristics of the Duanyang Festival. There are various flavors of zongzi and fruits, dried fruits, and jams unique to Lingnan in the fruit bowl.

Next, everyone sat together while drinking tea and eating snacks, chatting, chatting about some delicious and fun things in Lingnan.

After chatting for a while, Zhao Yao invited these guests to watch the play in the garden, and the songs were all related to the Duanyang Festival, and they were all unique to Lingnan, not those common plays in the capital.

The guests could understand the official dialect of Da Zhou, but they could not understand Lingnan dialect. It doesn't matter if you can't understand what you sing, as long as the tune is good.

These gentiles were curious about everything about the Great Zhou, especially the culture of the Great Zhou. They worship the culture of the Great Zhou very much, and feel that the culture of the Great Zhou is very mysterious and powerful.

Since their country was returned to the Great Zhou, there has been a craze for learning the Great Zhou in their country, learning how to dress up, eat and drink, drink tea, read and entertain and many other aspects.

Before Zhao Yao came to Marsh Mansion, didn't the officials of Marsh Mansion get several flower boats, which are very popular in countries such as Annam and Johor, the main reason is that the girl on the flower boat is from Da Zhou.

Siam and Johor are countries that like the girls of the Great Zhou the most, and they respect the readers of the Great Zhou even more.

They not only sent people to Da Zhou to study, but also sent people to Da Zhou to learn songs and dances and the like. When these people return to China after completing their studies, they will be very sought after.

These princes and princesses who came to Marsh Province to participate in the Duanyang Festival and trade conferences, they had been to the capital and listened to the opera in the capital, but the opera in the capital was different from the opera in Lingnan. Maybe it's because they can't understand the Lingnan opera, they feel that the Lingnan opera has a different flavor.

Zhao Yao accompanied these foreign dignitaries to watch the play for a while before leaving, and turned around to go to the Ministry of Rites to meet the foreign and foreign merchants.

At noon, Zhao Yao entertained foreign guests for lunch in the Han Palace. Out-of-town and Gentile merchants had lunch at the Ministry of Rites.

At lunchtime, there is naturally a singing and dancing performance. The people who performed the song and dance were all girls on the flower boat. These girls had no relatives and did not want to return to their hometown, so they stayed in the swamp house.

Zhao Yao originally planned to arrange for these girls to work and let them support themselves. Later, I thought that there would be singing and dancing performances at the Duanyang Festival and trade conferences. When he came to the swamp house, he forgot to bring singers and musicians from the capital. So, he came up with an idea to invite these girls to perform, so that they could officially become dancers and musicians in the Han Palace.

For these girls, it is the best choice to become a dancer and musician in the Han Palace. Not only do they get a monthly fee every month, but they don't have to pick up customers.

They thought that their fate would be assigned or sold, but they didn't expect His Royal Highness the King of Han to take them in. They have been sold to the swamp mansion since they were young, and they are sold to flower boats, and they can only sing songs, dance, and nothing else, except for serving people. If His Royal Highness the King of Han didn't hire them to sing and dance, they really didn't know how to survive in the swamp mansion.

In order to repay Zhao Yao's rebirth grace, these girls took out their housekeeping skills and performed desperately.

At the luncheon of the Duanyang Festival, these girls performed very well, which made the foreign guests praise.

After the luncheon, Zhao Yao led the foreign guests to the dock.

In the afternoon, there will be a dragon boat race by the pier.

Before the start of the dragon boat race, Zhao Yao led the ministers of Wuwen to worship Qu Yuan by the dock. After worshipping Qu Yuan, Zhao Yao personally sounded the drum of the dragon boat competition.

Before the Duanyang Festival, a dragon boat competition was held, and many dragon boat teams participated, and the winning ten dragon boat teams will compete today.

People from all over the swamp province came to the pier to watch the dragon boat race.

These foreign dignitaries had not seen the dragon boat race in Da Zhou, this was the first time they watched the dragon boat race, and their interest was very high.

Like the people of Marsh Province, they cheered for the teams participating in the dragon boat race. The atmosphere at the scene was very lively and hot.

Among the ten dragon boat teams, the most outstanding team is the guard team of the Han Palace, the Praetorian Guard Army of the Han Palace, and the Lingnan Battalion.

In these three teams, the Gentiles saw the strength of the Great Zhou soldiers. It's obviously a dragon boat race, but for some reason they saw murderous aura in these soldiers. These dragon boat soldiers are like a sword that has been unsheathed and has seen blood, extremely sharp and terrifying.

The Gentiles were shocked by the power emanating from the dragon boat warriors, which reminded them of how many years ago, their soldiers were defeated by the soldiers of the Great Zhou.

At that time, the soldiers who survived said that the soldiers of the Great Zhou were very strong, and they were not the opponents of the soldiers of the Great Zhou at all. Nowadays, those soldiers who were lucky enough not to die will be unconsciously frightened when they hear about the Great Zhou soldiers.

Zhao Yao saw the expression of horror and awe on the faces of the Gentiles, and was very satisfied in his heart, the initial deterrent effect had been achieved. The military parade two days later is the big show, which will make these gentiles fear the Great Zhou from the bottom of their hearts.

The team that won the first place was the Lingnan Camp Dragon Boat Team. This is a predetermined champion. It was impossible for Zhao Yao to let his guard dragon boat team or the Praetorian Guard dragon boat team win the first place, otherwise everyone would think that the Lingnan battalion was inferior to the Han King's guard team or the Praetorian Guard army.

Although the Lingnan camp has long been Zhao Yao's military camp, others don't know about it. Everyone still thought that the Lingnan camp belonged to the imperial court, so the Lingnan camp could not lose to Zhao Yao's personal guards.

After the dragon boat race, Zhao Yao continued to entertain foreign guests in the Han Palace. Out-of-town and Gentile merchants were free to roam. The soldiers of the Lingnan Battalion, who won the championship of the dragon boat race, were invited to attend a dinner at the Han Palace.

A variety of festive events are held in the castle that are open to everyone.

At the dinner in the Han Palace, Zhao Yao proposed that the soldiers of the Lingnan camp could compete with the guards brought by the foreign guests.

The foreign guests also wanted to know who was better than the soldiers of the Lingnan battalion in the competition between their guards and the soldiers of the Lingnan battalion. They originally thought that their guards were no worse than the soldiers of the Lingnan battalion, but they did not expect that their guards were crushed by the soldiers of the Lingnan battalion, and they had no power to fight back at all. After losing to the Lingnan camp generals, the foreign dignitaries proposed to compete with Zhao Yao's personal guards, but the result was still a complete defeat.

Whether it is the soldiers of the Lingnan battalion or the personal guards of His Royal Highness King Han, they can't compare. A prince's personal guards are so powerful, they don't dare to imagine how strong the Praetorian Guards in the capital will be.

Not an opponent, not an opponent at all. They were not wronged when they lost to Da Zhou.

The swamp mansion is celebrating the Duanyang Festival in a lively and lively manner, but the capital is not as lively as usual. A few days ago, smallpox appeared in the capital, so that the people did not have the heart to celebrate the Duanyang Festival. There was no Duanyang Festival in the palace.

On the day of the Duanyang Festival, the emperor did not summon the ministers to celebrate the Duanyang Festival together, and let the ministers spend it in their own homes. He went to Zhaoyang Palace and briefly celebrated the Lower Duanyang Festival with Empress Xie.

At noon, after having lunch in Zhaoyang Palace, the emperor returned to the imperial study.

"I really want to go to the Swamp Mansion to see what kind of Duanyang Festival activities are held by that stinky boy of Xiao Shi."

Sun Kui on the side said: "It must be very lively. ”

"This stinky boy said in the secret fold before, what kind of military parade is going to be held, and I don't know what it will be." The emperor was very curious about this, "He also boasted in front of me that he said that the military parade he held would make the Gentiles in Annam frightened. (End of chapter)