"These are my wife and children. We met and married when we passed through the Kingdom of Jinfo on our sea voyage. They have come to Tianwu to pay homage and to acknowledge their ancestry. I hope you will forgive them if they cause us any trouble in the future."

Several officials were so shocked that they were speechless, and they barely managed to keep their mouths open.

What's going on with the Li family?

Isn't their family known for not considering social status when choosing a granddaughter-in-law?

The women I married before, although they were from scholarly or official families, were still from humble backgrounds and had nothing to do with wealth and status.

Now, how come this is so unconventional?

Not only did he bring back envoys from eight countries on his sea voyage, he also married a queen along the way!

This is the Queen, the ruler of a nation!

She actually became the granddaughter-in-law of the Li family, washing her hands and cooking!

This left everyone feeling utterly ashamed and unable to even muster any envy or jealousy; it was simply beyond their reach!

It was the Minister of Rites who, being in the know, spoke up, smiling and returning the greeting with a cupped hand, saying, "Lord Li, you are too kind. Her Majesty the Queen is an honored guest, and naturally we must treat her well. It is only right that Her Majesty wishes to return home. In the future, if Her Majesty has any further requests, or if your household needs our assistance, please do not hesitate to ask."

"Thank you very much, Your Excellency." Jiaxi said again.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Li Lao Er gestured for Jia Yin and Wan Er to step forward and take Queen Aibei and the child away first.

As for Jiaxi and Jia'an, they also had to assist in receiving envoys from seven other countries and taking over the tributes from those countries.

The Li family's carriage swiftly stepped forward, picked up the women, and quickly departed.

The people were completely bewildered until the carriage disappeared from sight, at which point they finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Did I hear that right? The Golden Buddha Queen is actually the granddaughter-in-law of the Li family!"

"You heard right, it's the Li family's granddaughter-in-law, who married the Li family's grandson who went to sea!"

"This is insane! The Li family actually married the Queen!"

"I knew the Li family was extraordinary; they always do things in ways that are hard to fathom."

"No matter how unpredictable it is, I just feel incredibly happy about this! Our Tianwu kid is amazing, he even married the Queen!"

"Yes, she is the Queen. In their country, everyone kneels before her and worships her as a goddess. But here, she is Tianwu's wife, and she is devoted to Tianwu's elders!"

"Yes, yes, that child is the crown prince of the Golden Buddha Kingdom, but he is also the great-grandson of the Li family."

"When this child ascends the throne and becomes king, does that mean that half of the Golden Buddha belongs to our Tianwu?"

"Hahaha, our Tianwu Kingdom took over half of the Golden Buddha Kingdom without losing a single soldier! What a bargain!"

Regardless of their motivations, the people at the dock were gripped by a strange excitement because of this incident.

It felt like I got a great deal...

But soon, they forgot about it.

As tribute items brought by envoys from various countries were being unloaded from the ships.

Perhaps to demonstrate the wealth of their respective countries and the sincerity of their tribute, the envoys from various countries instructed their attendants to open the chests.

Thus, all sorts of gemstones, corals, pearls, rare colored shells, and so on were displayed brightly before everyone.

That wasn't all; from a place called Yingji Kingdom, the farthest from Tianwu, they actually transported a large black musical instrument, along with more than a dozen square clocks of varying sizes, their casings inlaid with gold and gemstones, making them exquisitely beautiful and extremely luxurious.

Finally, a variety of animals appeared: an elephant with a long trunk, a giraffe with long legs and a long neck, a golden lion, and a leopard with colorful stripes...

The people of Xindu, who had lived inland for a long time, had never seen anything like this before. They were all so surprised that they gasped and forgot to discuss it.

Finally, the envoys, satisfied, followed the officials of the Court of State Ceremonial to settle in.

When they first arrived in Tianwu, they were amazed and envious of its vast territory and abundant resources.

At this moment, what they brought also aroused envy and amazement among the people of Tianwu.

This is true reciprocity!

Their trip was to pay homage to Emperor Tianwu, and they were aware that they were presenting gifts as guests, but they also did not want to be slighted or looked down upon...

Leaving aside how lively the docks were, let's just say that Jiayin and Wan'er took Aibei by carriage and headed towards the Earl's mansion.

As a queen, Aibei was naturally calm, intelligent, and had an extraordinary demeanor. However, at sea and in Quanzhou, she had heard her husband gossip countless times. In Quanzhou, her husband's family kept mentioning her sister-in-law, a princess. She was also very clear about how important this sister-in-law was.

If her husband's sister doesn't like her, her husband might not necessarily abandon her, but she will have a much harder time getting along with her in-laws in the future.

She thought for a moment, then gestured for her son to bow to his sister-in-law.

Even if she, an outsider, is not likable, the child is still a member of the Li family.

Wenwen is a bit darker than Tianwu's average child, after all, he grew up in such a hot country, but not in the kind of dark skin that Jiayin imagined, but rather a healthy wheat color.

The little child smiled shyly, but bowed earnestly and called out "Auntie" clearly, showing that she had practiced many times.

Jiayin seemed to see many years ago, and saw her fourth brother when he was a child.

At that time, her sixth and seventh brothers had not yet been recognized as part of the family, and the family was busy, so she practically grew up with her fourth and fifth brothers.

Fourth Brother is mischievous, teasing cats and dogs, tugging at geese's butts, and causing countless laughs.

On one occasion, they even forgot her on a stone slab, and she almost turned into roast meat...

But whenever there's something delicious, even a roasted bird egg, Fourth Brother will treat it like a treasure, bringing it to her and stuffing it into her mouth before running away with a grin, wiping his snotty nose...

In the blink of an eye, Fourth Brother's son has grown up so much.

"Are you called Wenwen? Can Auntie hug you?" Jiayin asked, her eyes red-rimmed, as she opened her arms.

Wenwen blushed, didn't look at her mother, and instinctively rushed into her aunt's arms.

"Auntie! Brother Xingxing said your desserts are especially delicious!" Wenwen hugged her aunt's neck and asked the question she had been wanting to ask.

Aibei sighed helplessly. After all, she was just a child. At this moment, she didn't know how to talk to her aunt properly and was even thinking about food.

Wan'er couldn't stop laughing, "Oh my, these are just like our kids, so delicious. Xingxing and the others must have been craving Auntie's pastries even back in Quanzhou. Look, Wenwen has even learned how to make them!"

Jiayin smiled and hugged her little nephew tightly, quickly promising, "Don't worry, Auntie can make any kind of dessert, you can eat as much as you want. The oven is already lit, we'll eat while watching it. As much as you want!"

Aibei secretly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling extremely fortunate. This sister-in-law was easy to get along with; in fact, she could be described as kind and warm-hearted. No wonder her husband valued her so much and always told her not to worry…

As the sun began to set, Jiaxi and Jia'an finally finished their work and returned to the Earl's mansion with their family. As soon as they entered, they were greeted by a sweet fragrance filling the courtyard.

Both of them couldn't help but smile.

Jiaxi was the first to shout, "My little sister baked a cake!"

Jia'an nodded and replied, "My sister's cooking is the best. Even the chefs at Baiyunjian and my mother couldn't make it taste like this."

Wenwen changed into a cotton outfit, grabbed two pastries, and ran out of the yard, as cheerful as a little deer.

Three snow-white foxes, each carrying a dried fish, followed along, acting as dutiful nannies.

Here's today's update. Sorry I'm late, I was out visiting relatives for the New Year!