Qi Yuanjing looked at the envoy with a half-smile, "Since King Xianyu wants to make peace between the two countries, then we need to see whether the sincerity you brought this time is worthy of friendship."
The envoy swallowed his saliva and said nervously: "My country Xianyu is rich in resources, especially iron ore. The pig iron smelted from it is of high quality. Since both countries are sincere, my country Xianyu is willing to exchange iron ore for Qianyuan's gold-coated wine."
Qi Yuanjing saw that his goal had been achieved, but he was not in a hurry. He just said he would think about it and sent someone to send the envoy back to the Siyi Hall.
When the envoy was extremely anxious in the Siyi Hall, Qi Yuanjing summoned him to see the emperor again.
This time, Qi Yuanjing directly agreed to his request for barter, but the specific amount was left to Taifu Xie to bargain with the envoy.
Finally, after the envoys were exhausted, a ratio of ten to one was set, ten kilograms of iron ore for one kilogram of wine.
After Gu Lingze and the other three heard the news, they were happy and excited. Gu Lingze went to Heyi Tower with them to celebrate. In the end, Gu Feirui and Su Xuancheng were both drunk, laughing and making noises.
In the days that followed, everyone became busy, and finally before the New Year they worked overtime to brew all the 1,000 kilograms of wine that Xian Yuguo wanted.
They left the rest of the work to others and prepared to spend the New Year with peace of mind.
Amid many people's complaints, Heyilou decided to increase the daily limit of four kinds of wine from 5 kilograms to 10 kilograms in the days before the Chinese New Year.
But even this was far from enough, as everything was sold out in less than an hour every day.
In order to satisfy their cravings, some people go to Heyilou to eat every day. Although alcohol cannot be taken out, at least they can drink to their heart's content in the restaurant.
Years ago, several families bought a lot of things together, from rice, grain, oil, salt to cotton and cloth, and sent them all to the charity hall outside the city.
This year, the two families decided to celebrate the New Year together to save Gu Lingze and Zhao Chengmo the trouble of running back and forth.
On the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, Gu Lingze unexpectedly received New Year gifts from two families, one was County Magistrate Tan, and the other was Wang Detie.
He was so busy that he completely forgot about this matter, and had to ask someone to return the gifts to the two families after the New Year.
Zhao Chengmo returned home the day before New Year's Eve. Gu Lingze only felt that his aura became more and more fierce, but once he got close to his family, he turned back into the original Zhao Chengmo.
At noon on New Year's Eve, Xie Xiru brought his family to celebrate the New Year with them.
In the evening, the three families made dumplings and had a New Year's Eve dinner together. Gu Lingze even made some popping fireworks with gunpowder, and the three children jumped and danced with joy.
After the New Year and the beginning of spring, two major events occurred. One was that Xu Mingyan re-took the imperial examination, and the other was that Gu Xiuyi and Su Wenyu finally got married.
The two families set the wedding date on the sixth day of March, and the betrothal gifts were exchanged in February.
Ten thousand kilograms of iron ore from Xianyu Kingdom were also shipped over at the end of February. The emperor ordered Gu Feirui and Su Xuan to take charge of this matter, and the two were busy every day.
On the sixth day of March, Gu Xiuyi went to pick up the bride early in the morning. When the auspicious time came, Su Xuancheng carried Su Wenyu out on his back and personally put her on the bridal sedan.
"You must be nice to my sister." Su Xuancheng said to Gu Xiuyi with red eyes.
Gu Xiuyi nodded solemnly, "Don't worry, uncle. I, Gu Xiuyi, will treat Su Wenyu like a treasure in my life."
Gu Xiuyi rode on the horse, looking like a jade crown with a dignified bearing, followed by the wedding sedan and 81 pieces of dowry. I wonder how many noble ladies in the capital were envious of Su Wenyu's marriage.
The next morning, the newlyweds served tea. Gu Xiuyi was in high spirits while Su Wenyu blushed with embarrassment.
After Gu Tianhua and Xie Qingwan drank the tea, they said a few auspicious words wishing the two to live together forever, and then it was Gu Feirui and Gu Lingze's turn.
Su Wenyu took the gifts prepared for the two of them in advance, Gu Feirui said, "May you have a baby soon", and Gu Lingze wished them a happy marriage, and then they both accepted the gifts.
Su Wenyu was very thoughtful and even prepared gifts for Jinzi and Lingzi in advance. However, Jinzi was studying at Nanlin Academy, so she gave Lingzi's gift to her first.
On March 15th, the imperial examination was reopened, and Xu Mingyan entered the Imperial Examination Hall with the whole family watching.
Just like last time, it took another nine days. After Uncle Xu and his men brought the person back, Xu Mingyan had a good meal, took a shower, and went to bed to rest.
Three days later in the morning, Gu Lingze urged Xu Mingyan as he did last time, but this time Zhao Chengmo was not around, so he couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.
Unexpectedly, Xu Mingyan was still as leisurely as last time, and when he arrived at the entrance of the Imperial Examination Hall, there was a sea of people again.
Gu Lingze looked at the gathering crowd, took a deep breath, and just as he was about to squeeze in, a broad chest pressed against his back.
Gu Lingze knew it was Zhao Chengmo without even turning around. The other party half-hugged him like last time, pushing through the crowd and squeezing to the front.
Gu Lingze smiled as soon as he saw the top of the list, "Congratulations, Brother Xu, you are a high school member!"
In the evening, everyone gathered at Heyi Tower to celebrate, but Xie Xiru was the only one missing.
Since the Chinese New Year, Xie Xiru and Xu Mingyan have not met each other. After all, Xie Xiru is the chief examiner this time, and the two of them have to avoid suspicion.
Gu Lingze was happy and drank more wine in the evening. After the banquet, Zhao Chengmo took his hand and slowly walked back to the general's mansion.
The wind blew away a lot of the drunkenness in Gu Lingze. He turned to look at Zhao Chengmo and asked, "How many days will you stay this time?"
Zhao Chengmo lowered his eyes and said, "I'll leave tomorrow."
There was a hint of disappointment in Gu Lingze's eyes, but he still forced himself to smile.
Zhao Chengmo turned around and hugged him, "I won't leave next time I come back."
Gu Lingze raised her head and looked at him with a pair of eyes as bright as stars. "Really?"
Zhao Chengmo nodded solemnly, "Really."
Gu Lingze buried her head in his arms and rubbed it, "Then I'll wait for you to come back home."
Three days later, in the palace examination, Xu Mingyan was selected by Emperor Jing as the top scorer in the imperial examination.
He won the top three places in the imperial examination and became the most famous person at that time.
After the top scholar was paraded through the streets, Gu Lingze was summoned into the palace by the emperor before he had time to celebrate with Xu Mingyan.
As soon as Gu Lingze entered the Taichu Hall, before he had time to salute, Qi Yuanjing picked up a memorial and said, "Lingze, take a look at this."
Gu Lingze took it with some hesitation, and before he finished reading it, his brows frowned.
"What do you think?"
Gu Lingze closed the memorial and put it back on the table. After thinking for a while, he said, "I will go to Pingdong Mansion to check the situation myself."
"I will send your elder brother to lead the troops to go with you." After saying this, he asked Eunuch Gao to hand him a token.
Gu Xiuyi was newly married at that time, and Gu Lingze wanted to decline politely, but then he thought that the matter in the memorial was not something he could suppress on his own, so after thanking the emperor, he returned home without stopping.
Pingdong Prefecture is about a day's ride from the capital, so Gu Lingze decided to set off first, and Gu Xiuyi would follow with his men.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
