The first scene is the first meeting.
Many princes were dispatched on the day of the hostage diplomacy. Some were sent here to study, while others were disfavored by their families. Zhou Yuan was one of them. Unlike other nations, Gu Xia's culture focused on gold and rare herbs. Theirs excelled at refining incense and preparing fresh flowers and food, and every household raised wolves and snakes.
Arriving at the palace gates, Zhu Yuan was invited out of his sedan chair. The young prince exuded an air of nobility, adorned with a gold and diamond headdress, necklace, and other glittering golden ornaments. His forehead was adorned with a pattern unique to the ancient Xia royal family. He wore a veil, and the pendants on his ears were striking in the sunlight. His feet, adorned with gold ornaments, rang with each step.
As soon as he stepped out of the car, he attracted everyone's attention, like a noble elf that had fallen into the mortal world. The first impression was beauty, but the more you looked at him, the more delicate he seemed, making you want to hold him in your hands and play with him.
A pink snake about half a meter long was wrapped around his body, and it was observing the surrounding environment curiously with its tongue sticking out. A white wolfhound followed behind him. It jumped out of the sedan chair and stretched, its gray eyes extremely intimidating.
This is the sacred beast of the ancient Xia people, and every member of the royal family has one.
Qin Zheng, the youngest prince of the Qin Kingdom, had come with his brothers to the city walls to watch the hostages. With so many people coming and going, he had no idea what to see, and he was bored and sleepy. But as soon as Zhou Yuan got out of the car, Qin Zheng couldn't take his eyes off him.
Someone whistled, and Zhou Yuan looked up. Just looking at one eye made Qin Zheng's ears turn red, perhaps from the sun or something else.
"What a beautiful lady!" the eldest prince said. "They say there are many beauties in ancient Xia. Now I see it's true!"
The Third Prince responded, "Yes, yes. The ancient Xia people all had blond hair and blue eyes. Now that someone with white hair and blue eyes has appeared, there really is something else to it."
Several princes were happily teasing him on the city wall, and the white wolfhound beside them growled at them. Zhou Yuan withdrew his gaze; he was already accustomed to such situations. After checking everything was fine, the guards let him go. He gently patted the wolfhound on the head and said, "Xiaobai, let's go."
He turned back to the sedan chair, and the bearers would take him to his assigned residence. Since he had been chosen as a hostage and came to Qin, his first step was to minimize his presence, not cause trouble to the country, and stay here as peacefully and safely as possible until the day he could return to Guxia.
"Oh, our sixth brother is completely stunned." The eldest prince couldn't help but laugh at him. He was the eldest prince, but his father favored the youngest prince the most, even though he was the most knowledgeable and skilled in warfare.
Just because his mother was the most favored by the emperor, he had to tolerate some things.
"Want to go over and take a look?" the eldest prince asked, "Let's go see where this little beauty lives, just as if we were making friends."
Qin Zheng wanted to go very much. He had never seen a white wolf or a pink snake before. He was most curious about this little prince from a remote country. He was so beautiful that he looked like a fairy from heaven.
But my mother said that we should be polite to the guests. Besides, they will have to see the emperor soon, and I and my brothers will be there too. We will see them eventually, so there is no need to rush.
Qin Zheng: "Don't worry, my royal brother. We will meet at the dinner."
Zhu Yuan had come with him only a mute attendant, a child he had picked up from the slums. The attendant, mute but quick-witted, set to work as soon as they arrived. The Qin guards were curious about them, and the mute offered to help them after giving them some silver.
"Sir, it's time for you to meet the Emperor."
After bathing and changing into the clothes for the emperor, Zhu Yuan nodded and said, "Anian, take the gift."
Anian said "ah ah ah" to indicate that she understood, took out a valuable box from the table next to her and followed him.
Many protons were lingering at the entrance to the Golden Palace. As soon as I arrived, the people around me stopped talking. The wolfhounds and pink snakes were truly eye-catching.
Although these two kids look scary, they are very afraid of the new environment and only feel safe when they are with Cai Zhouyuan.
I have already decided to make myself invisible, so it seems I have to work harder in the future, Zhu Yuan thought.
One by one, the hostages entered the hall to meet the emperor, and after their meeting, the emperor arranged their seats. As luck would have it, Zhou Yuan was the last one to arrive. The emperor, already a little tired from his busy schedule, couldn't help but take a few more glances at this white-haired beauty.
He had removed most of his ornaments, and wore a veil that revealed his emerald eyes, but it still couldn't hide his innate nobility and delicateness. The wolfhound and snake around him were particularly novel.
"Your Majesty, your humble servant, Zhou Yuan, greets you." Zhou Yuan knelt and kowtowed, and the wolfhound beside him followed his lead. The pink snake was a bit stunned, and slowly dismounted from him, curling up into a ball.
"Interesting." The emperor looked at him, "Do you know that you can't bring animals into the audience?"
"I know, your servant Zhu Yuan is willing to accept the punishment." Zhu Yuan lowered his body as if sticking to the ground.
He knew the emperor meant no harm, merely a warning. The King of Guxia had no intention of offending him, but his children, his older brothers, had become increasingly unruly after being granted territory. Perhaps they had offended Qin, prompting the emperor to suppress them.
Zhou Yuan spoke slowly, "Your Majesty, please listen to my explanation. These two beasts have never left Guxia. They have been with me since they were young and have never seen so many people. They look a little scary, but they are very timid and fearful. Qin is a great country, a country with etiquette. I know this is inappropriate and violates Qin's rules. But they have been with me since I was a child, and animals have feelings. I hope Your Majesty will be lenient with them."
The emperor nodded with satisfaction. He was indeed a good talker.
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