Luthier (V)
The wedding banquet arrived as scheduled. With the help of the maid sent by King Fujue, Li Chiyin changed into Fujue's national wedding dress. Even though it was a wedding dress, it was still full of wildness.
As Chu Mo said, this wedding banquet was not held in a palace like in the Central Plains, but in order to share the joy with the people, a vast grassland was chosen and the banquet was lavishly held.
At the wedding banquet, woolen felt tents were arranged in an orderly manner, the aroma of roasted cattle and sheep filled the air, wine was poured from silver pots, singing lingered in the air, erhu music played melodiously, and dancing was graceful.
Even if the cold wind swept across the open space, it could not extinguish the blazing bonfires gathered around the people, nor could it extinguish the wild nature of this people who were born on the grasslands and lived with wolves and beasts.
The thick fur made it a little inconvenient for Li Chiyin to move. She dragged her heavy legs, followed the maid's steps, and walked stiffly to the head of the table to find her seat.
Xiao Lin and the other two, who were outsiders, also arrived at the wedding banquet as scheduled.
Xiao Lin felt very uncomfortable watching the noble Princess Kui Xi being forced to wear an ill-fitting dress, and being led by two or three maids, taking slightly clumsy steps, gradually passing through the crowd and attracting everyone's attention.
Li Chiyin looked with empty eyes at the Fujue subjects who were singing and dancing in front of her and then scattered when they saw her. The noisy sounds were audible to her, but the excitement in front of her was not hers after all.
After arriving in Fujue, Jiang Yu was assigned as a servant to do some odd jobs. As he did not speak the language, he hardly spoke a word in Fujue.
At the wedding banquet, Li Chiyin followed the maid's lead to take a seat, but was shocked by the food in front of her.
In addition to the fruit bowls on the side with some grapes and raisins, the staple food of the Fujue clan was placed in the center of the table, pieces of fresh beef and mutton that even had a hint of blood on them.
Li Chiyin was not used to eating these. As soon as she smelled the strong smell of beef and mutton in front of her, mixed with a slight fishy smell, her stomach began to churn.
Hu Yannu, who was sitting next to him, just sneered when he saw this.
Jiang Yu was responsible for pouring wine for the guests. While he was pouring wine in his hand, his eyes were always following Li Chiyin who was sitting next to Huyan Nu.
After pouring the wine row by row, he came to her side amid the noise.
Jiang Yu symbolically poured some wine into Li Chiyin's cup.
When Li Chiyin grabbed the wine cup and was about to drink, Jiang Yu stopped him and whispered, "Don't drink, it's too strong."
Li Chiyin heard Jiang Yu's instructions and slowly put down his wine glass.
Just as the base of her wine glass was about to touch the table, Hu Yannu's voice rang out in her ears again: "Princess, as the host of today's banquet, you must toast every guest! Didn't you learn etiquette before coming to Fujue?"
Li Chiyin suddenly stopped where he was.
A toast? To every guest? Was he kidding?
This is not a family dinner, the guests are all the people of Fujue!
"I am not good at drinking..."
This request was completely absurd, so Li Chiyin politely declined.
"If you can't drink, go back to your Kuixi!" Who would have thought that Huyan Nu didn't appreciate it and was flirting with the dancer next to him. As soon as Li Chiyin finished speaking, his face suddenly changed and he cursed, "For the people of Gu Fujue, not being able to hold a lot of alcohol is a pure insult!"
Hu Yannu's roar stunned a large crowd nearby, but Xiao Lin was sitting too far away to hear Hu Yannu's roar.
But since he saw everyone looking in his direction, he naturally guessed that something had gone wrong.
From then on, Xiao Lin's eyes never left Li Chiyin and Jiang Yu.
Mu You, who was beside her, glanced at the roasted lamb leg on the table. He knew he was not used to it, but he couldn't resist his hunger and swallowed it with grapes.
Xiao Lin was disturbed by the sizzling sound of him tearing the lamb leg, while at the same time he stared at Li Chiyin's every move.
She saw that after Li Chiyin and others were frozen for a moment, she suddenly moved again.
Afterwards, Jiang Yu followed her and walked to the seats of others one by one.
Li Chiyin naturally knew that Huyan Nu was making fun of her, but she would have to drink it, not to mention strong liquor, even if it was poison, just so that her people could maintain the status quo.
Jiang Yu, who was walking beside her, could do nothing but try his best to help her control her drinking.
But as a princess, she never drank a drop of alcohol in the palace. Even if she drank one glass at a time, this strong liquor would cause a strong burning sensation whenever it flowed through her throat.
Every drink was a torture for Li Chiyin.
As Li Chiyin walked past one wine table after another, her expression gradually became distorted. After just a few glasses of liquor, her face turned red. Jiang Yu felt very uncomfortable.
Gradually, her steps became unsteady, and her stomach not only felt unbearable pain, but even churning.
After drinking the wine offered to Huyan Hu, she could no longer hold it in, and immediately bent down and vomited.
Jiang Yu immediately put down the wine jug and patted Li Chiyin's back, his eyes full of heartache.
But even though Li Chiyin felt it was difficult, she wiped her mouth with her sleeve, helped Jiang Yu stand up, raised her glass and shouted, "Come on!"
Obviously, the ministers who came to the banquet were all laughing at her.
Every contemptuous look they cast was a curse on the princess from the Central Plains, and every vague whisper was a warning to her.
“Come again!”
"drink!"
"please!"
…
She walked from table to table, drank cup after cup, and vomited again and again. Li Chiyin's steps had already become disordered. She could no longer distinguish anything in front of her eyes, and everything was colorful.
Although Huyan Nu sat in the seat of honor and looked calm and relaxed while enjoying herself, she knew that drinking too much of the wine would cost her life.
Of course he wanted to force Princess Kui Xi to death, but he couldn't. He couldn't joke about the lives of the people of the whole country.
So he had to stop Li Chiyin after she filled another glass of wine.
After forcing himself to finish the last glass of wine, Li Chiyin felt completely exhausted.
She collapsed to the ground, feeling as if thousands of knives were mercilessly cutting her stomach and brain. At this moment, Li Chiyin had been torn to pieces by these cups of strong liquor.
She even hoped that she could just die here.
She was unwilling to endure such torture that destroyed her body and mind again. From her body to her dignity, she felt that everything was being trampled under the feet of Hu Yannu, leaving her alone to linger.
Li Chiyin fell down, falling straight to the ground in front of Jiang Bi, and also fell into Jiang Bi's arms in front of Xiao Lin.
Seeing this, Xiao Lin couldn't help but shudder.
Although Xiao Lin is young and has never drunk alcohol, she knows very well that drinking like this can be fatal!
A princess of a country was humiliated in public. How cruel and ruthless was Hu Yannu?
As Li Chiyin was carried away from the banquet by Jiang Yu, Xiao Lin also realized it belatedly -
Could Li Chiyin's unjust death be related to this incident? Could it be that this incident harmed her health and caused her to develop a chronic illness?
Just thinking about it, Xiao Lin couldn't help feeling fear in his heart.
But soon, she also smelled a glimmer of opportunity: If Li Chiyin was really injured by alcohol, then they might as well prescribe the right medicine and cure her disease. Although it would be difficult to cure her, it could at least delay the onset of the disease.
However, even though there is a way, how to meet Li Chiyin or Jiang Yu is still a difficult task.
Unconsciously, Xiao Lin's eyes fell on the vague edge of the grassland, while Chu Mo, who was sitting on the side, fixed his eyes on her, then took a sip without saying a word.
---
The morning after a hangover is always bleak. Li Chiyin slowly opened her eyes and found herself lying on the bed in the bedroom. A vague voice was calling her name in her ears.
After blinking hard, Li Chiyin finally saw the face of the person next to him. It was Jiang Yu. He seemed to have been guarding all night.
"Chiyin, Chiyin, how do you feel? Does your stomach still hurt?"
Li Chiyin held his forehead and shook his head, unable to speak for the time being.
"Don't force yourself. Take a good rest today." As he said that, Jiang Yu covered her with a blanket.
But Li Chiyin was different. She held Jiang Yu's hand, grabbed his neck and forced out a few words: "I want to go out for a walk..."
Even though Jiang Yu was extremely reluctant, he could not persuade Li Chiyin and had to follow her wishes and help her slowly move out of the bedroom.
Walking along the corridor of Fujue Palace, there are two guards every few steps, one on the left and one on the right.
This was in stark contrast to the situation in Kuixi. Even though there were patrolling guards in Kuixi's palace, they were not deployed so frequently.
Li Chiyin was deeply puzzled, so she grabbed a passing maid in a corner where the guards couldn't see her and wanted to ask her the reason.
"I heard that strange things have been happening in the palace recently. In order to protect the king, the third prince has arranged additional guards." This is how the maid replied to her.
But even though he knew the whole story, Li Chiyin still felt suspicious about these guards.
Fujue's territory was not large, and the gathering place of his subjects was not far from the palace.
The people of Fujue either settled here to seek the protection of the royal capital, or drove a long way here to participate in trade in order to become rich and support their families.
However, the goods here are not as dazzling as those in Kuixi. The types of goods here are simple. Looking around, they are nothing more than clothes made of animal skins, some fresh fruits and vegetables, and cattle, sheep and livestock.
While strolling around, Li Chiyin and Jiang Yu stopped in front of a clothing store.
Unlike other shops, the owner of this shop and her assistants were sewing animal skin clothes on the spot.
Out of curiosity, Li Chiyin walked in.
The sewing skills of the Fujue people are without exception quite crude. It seems that they just simply sew two pieces of fur together, not to mention needlework.
"You can sew some patterns here, it will be more lively..." Li Chiyin said suddenly as he walked to the boss's side.
The proprietress looked up and saw a face of a man with fair complexion. It was obvious that he was not from Fujue, but fortunately she was enthusiastic and smiled at Li Chiyin.
Seeing this, Li Chiyin slowly reached out her hand and motioned the proprietress to hand her the animal skin she was sewing.
The proprietress first looked up and down at the rather thin woman in front of her, hesitated for a while, and finally handed over the work in her hand.
After all, she also wanted to see what this stranger could do with this thick animal skin.
Li Chiyin took the animal skin and pinched the bone needle. This was the first time she used such a thick needle. Then she felt the thickness of the fur and fiddled with it for a few times before starting to embroider.
The difference is that the cloth used for embroidery in the palace is silk, which has a smooth texture, but the one in front of him is a large piece of animal skin, which is rough and thick. It takes a lot of effort to sew each stitch. After weighing it a few times, he felt that this dress was still a bit heavy.
While embroidering, Li Chiyin chatted with the proprietress: "Madam, do you wear these in the summer?"
"That's not the case. We wear thinner animal skins in the summer. Men go topless when it's hot, but girls don't have that convenience. They have to wear thinner clothes and fan themselves every day." The proprietress explained to Li Chiyin's question.
"Then what kind of thread do you use to sew clothes here..."
"They're all made of twisted wool, then dyed with the rare dyes those Central Plains people brought to the market."
After hearing this, Li Chiyin suddenly stopped what he was doing and muttered something to himself.
The proprietress was about to move closer to listen more carefully, but she suddenly met Li Chiyin's eyes and said, "You guys have never worn hemp clothes here, right?"
"Ma Yi? What is this?"
The proprietress asked as she brought tea to Li Chiyin. Li Chiyin smiled and nodded, took the tea and continued sewing.
"Twisting linen into thread to make clothing is lighter, more breathable than fur, and can help people survive the scorching sun."
The proprietress thought, there is such a good thing? They have never seen it before.
Although she had heard the traveling merchants who came here to trade say that the clothing making method in the Central Plains was different from that in Fujue, she was still skeptical about what Li Chiyin said.
As Li Chiyin said "OK", the lady boss and the helpers beside her came forward one after another, all of them were amazed by the pattern she embroidered.
She embroidered a wintersweet, a flower grown outside the palace in her hometown.
Fortunately, the thread was made of twisted wool, which was thick enough but not fine enough. Under her dexterous hands, the plum blossom embroidered was raised, and the stamens were deliberately pulled up to have light fluff, making it look more real and tangible.
This was the first time that the people of Fujue had seen this exquisite thing, so they naturally found it very strange.
"Does it look okay?" Li Chiyin rubbed his fingertips. He had just used some force when inserting the needle, which caused his hand to hurt a little.
"Good! It's very beautiful!" The proprietress was very happy holding the embroidery. She looked at it left and right, with a proud look on her face.
Li Chiyin had anticipated this effect a long time ago, but she did not come here to show off her embroidery skills. The purpose of this trip was much more profound.
"Boss, if you are all happy, then I will teach you this skill, okay?"
"OK!"
The proprietress agreed readily, but also met Li Chiyin's request.
At this point, Li Chiyin revealed her identity to them: "I am a princess from the Central Plains, the fifth concubine of your King Fujue. I brought some ramie seeds from the Central Plains, and I hope to promote my Kuixi weaving art here."
"I was walking down the street and noticed that your family's clothing making skills are quite good. Plus, your shop is quite large and easy to expand, so I decided to pass on this skill to you first. What do you think?"
As a princess from Kuixi, Li Chiyin's responsibility is not necessarily to marry Prince Fujue and raise children - you have to know that she is first a member of the Kuixi royal family, and then the Princess of Fujue. Therefore, her primary responsibility should be to help Emperor Kuixi stabilize the existing situation and pacify the border.
She knew very well that if she wanted to avoid war between the two countries, she must first resolve the domestic shortcomings, and Fujue's biggest shortcoming was the people's livelihood in such a harsh environment.
The proprietress was stunned and stood there motionless, and it took her a long time to come back to her senses.
"But I have my conditions. I need you to promote this skill and pass it on," Li Chiyin said as he struggled to stand up. "At the same time, I have another request, which is to take over the production of clothing for the royal family. Of course, we will also pay the deposit on time. Do you have any concerns?"
The proprietress naturally shook her head quickly.
First of all, with this embroidery skill, her products will be much more exquisite than those of other shops, and her customer base will naturally increase exponentially, and she can then reap the benefits.
Secondly, signing a contract with the royal family can help to establish a good reputation and it will be much easier to raise the price. After thinking about it, isn't it a blessing from heaven?
Upon closer inspection, this was not a losing deal for Li Chiyin.
The purpose of spreading the advanced skills of the Central Plains here was to promote national unity, and secondly, to alleviate her lingering homesickness.
"My name is Ayi Li, and I'm the owner of this clothing store. I hope you will give me your guidance in the future."
"Nice to meet you."
…
At the same time, the news of Li Chiyin and Aili signing the contract reached the ears of the second prince Huyan Xiao.
"What did you say? She signed a contract with someone without my permission?"
"Your Highness, I saw it with my own eyes..."
Hu Yanxiao's eyes suddenly became sharp.
As the prince who holds the financial power, he controls all expenditures in the royal capital. Naturally, he is unhappy about Li Chiyin's sudden extra expenses.
But he was more curious than unhappy.
Afterwards, his tense expression suddenly relaxed a lot.
He wanted to be patient and see what kind of tricks this Central Plains woman could bring to Fujue.
After all, as long as it doesn't affect the big plan he is going to set up next, it doesn't matter if she lives.
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