Liu Tan had not thought of this effect beforehand; he just wanted to support Danyang.
At that time, it was in Changan.
The wedding was held in the afternoon, and it was almost dark by the time Princess Danyang's carriage arrived at the palace.
To celebrate, the palace was surrounded by burning braziers. In the light of the flames, two crystal clear sugar sculptures reflected light of various colors, truly interpreting what it means to be dazzling and colorful.
The officials standing at the door were all dazzled by the sugar sculpture, and asked in groups what kind of stone it was made of and why it was so transparent and delicate.
Liu Tan had no intention of keeping it secret. In fact, he didn't know how to make white sugar, so he couldn't make such a sugar sculpture at all. So it didn't matter even if he told them what the raw materials were.
When the Wusun people found out that it was made of sugar, their faces were filled with disbelief.
According to reports from people Liu Tan arranged to be around, it seemed that someone even tried to secretly lick the sugar sculpture to see if it was made of sugar.
Of course, this behavior was ruthlessly stopped by the guards around him, but it was enough to make Liu Tan speechless for a long time.
Fortunately, in addition to these two huge sugar sculptures, he also prepared a pyramid-shaped sculpture made of cubes of rock sugar, which symbolizes sweetness.
But when he looked at Lie Jiaomi, he thought...it's better not to be so sweet.
When Princess Danyang's carriage arrived at the gate of the palace, everyone was looking at the gorgeous wedding car. Danyang had not shown up since she arrived in Wusun, or rather, she had hardly shown up during this journey.
Except for Junxumi and a small number of high-ranking Wusun officials, no one knew what Princess Danyang looked like.
When Junxumi tried to describe it, the poor Wusun vocabulary kept repeating the same sentence: as beautiful as a flower that has just bloomed.
With the singing of the ceremonial officer, the curtain of the wedding car was slowly opened.
Princess Danyang, dressed in a solemn black and red wedding dress and holding a round fan to cover her face, slowly got off the wedding car with the help of her maid.
At this time, everyone still had not seen Danyang's full appearance. The only thing they could see was the sticker on his forehead and his bright eyes that were gentle yet firm.
Just based on this pair of eyes, the Wusun people's impression of this Han princess has changed.
According to their rumors, most of the princesses sent to marry were sad and miserable, crying every day.
The princess did not seem to be feeling any self-pity.
Princess Danyang looked around and felt a little nervous when she saw that the people and environment around her were unfamiliar to her. The main reason was that not only were the people unfamiliar to her, but the people here also looked very strange.
But when she saw Liu Tan, her heart settled down and she took a deep breath, knowing that from today onwards, she would no longer be the spoiled Han princess and would have to do everything by herself.
Princess Danyang suppressed her uneasiness and walked towards Lie Jiaomi who was waiting there with her head held high.
When she walked to Lie Jiaomi's side, she placed her hand in Lie Jiaomi's outstretched hand and let Lie Jiaomi lead her to the main hall.
The wedding was basically over at this point. Although the highlight of the wedding only began when the bride arrived at the groom's house in the Han Dynasty, there were not so many formalities in Wusun.
If Liu Tan had not strongly requested it, there probably wouldn't even be the segment of fanning the poem. The newlyweds would just eat, drink, sing and dance with everyone.
However, even with this segment added, Liu Tan still felt very sorry that he did not see Lie Jiaomi personally come on stage to recite the poem.
There was no other way. The King of Wusun also had to save face. He didn't know Chinese at all, and it was difficult to ask such an old man to learn it. Chinese can be said to be the most difficult language to learn in the world at any time.
So in the end Junxumi had to take his place. Fortunately, although Junxumi's Chinese was not very standard, he still practiced this poem quite well.
Every time he finished reading it, he felt as if he had become a literati of the Han Dynasty.
After finishing reciting the poem "Removing the Fan", Princess Danyang slowly took off the round fan that was covering her face.
A bright and charming beautiful face came into everyone's sight.
Princess Danyang looked around with a sweet smile, lowered her head slightly to signal to everyone, and the hairpin on her head made a clear and pleasant sound.
Liu Tan even heard many surprised gasps, followed by applause from the whole room.
Lie Jiaomi's smile also changed from being formulaic at the beginning to being genuine.
Although he is in poor health and is no longer interested in women, who would dislike a beautiful wife?
Princess Danyang is not only beautiful, but also breaks everyone's stereotype. She has the luxury of the Celestial Empire, but is different from what they know. Instead, she has the cheerfulness and generosity of a grassland girl.
Liu Tan carefully observed the people around him and felt relieved at the same time, knowing that Danyang had taken a solid step. Next it depended on how she got along with Lie Jiaomi.
But to be honest, Liu Tan is not very optimistic about this.
Not only is there a big age gap between the two sides, but they also don't speak the same language. As far as he knows, Lie Jiaomi no longer has sex with women, so... if she wants to influence Lie Jiaomi and make him more tolerant of her, she needs an extremely strong heart.
After the poem about the fan, there was the wedding banquet. This banquet was probably the one where Liu Tan ate the least. He really regretted why he didn't insist on adding some Central Plains dishes to the banquet.
Of course, in order to express their sincerity, Wusun actually prepared Central Plains dishes, but how can we describe the taste?
When a cult comes, it's like all the hot pot soup bases are sweet, which makes it very difficult to adapt.
But Junxumi, in order to show his hospitality as a host, liked to get closer to him. Seeing that Liu Tan didn't eat much, Junxumi asked, "Your Highness, why don't you eat? Is the food not to your liking?"
Such a scene of national integration cannot be discussed even if it is really not palatable!
So Liu Tan had no choice but to say, "The dishes are too rich, but I usually eat less in the evening, which is better for my health."
Junxumi was stunned for a moment. His rich Chinese vocabulary had already enabled him to understand what health preservation meant.
But he didn't expect to hear this word from Liu Tan's mouth.
How old are you? Why are you still maintaining your health? Isn't it the age to eat and drink as much as you can, to eat five meals a day, and to starve to death if you skip one?
Junxumi was silent for a while before saying, "Then...should I have someone serve some light dishes to His Highness?"
Come on, all the light dishes here are greasy! Eating too much will really hurt your stomach!
At Liu Tan's age, he certainly wouldn't feel uncomfortable from eating too much meat, but his long-standing eating habits prevented him from eating too much.
In order to stop Junxumi, Liu Tan quickly said, "No need. I have a dish, not really a dish, but something new that I want to share with everyone."
Junxumi asked curiously, "What?"
Liu Tan smiled and said, "Sugar sculpture."
Junxumi's expression twisted. "The one outside?"
He now gets a headache when he hears the word "sugar sculpture". The two huge sugar sculptures placed at the gate of the palace seem to be silently mocking the Wusun people for their innocence.
Of course, this was his own idea. He also knew that this thing was precious. It first appeared at the New Year's Banquet of the Han Dynasty, so there was nothing he could say.
But... the sugar sculptures outside have been exposed to the wind, sun... and moon for a long time. Even if the Wusun people are not particular, they still have some principles. How can they be allowed to eat this?
Liu Tan quickly explained, "Of course not. Cen Zou can deal with the two statues outside in a few days. I made this specially for everyone to share."
Junxumi finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly nodded, saying, "Okay!"
Thus, the Wusun people once again saw crystal clear sugar sculptures indoors.
Compared to the slightly dim light outside, this pyramid-shaped sugar sculpture indoors looks more beautiful.
After the display, Liu Tan had the top of the pyramid given to Lie Jiaomi, and the second layer given to Princess Danyang, and then the rest began to be divided up in turn.
But he himself did not want any. When Junxumi noticed this, he asked, "Your Highness, don't you want to eat?"
Liu Tan laughed and said, "This thing was originally made by me, so I don't need it."
In fact, it is not easy to arrange the order. It is normal to give it to Lie Jiaomi first, after all, he is the king of Wusun, but... Liu Tan is a little unwilling.
The Wusun area was probably not as big as his future fiefdom - the smallest fiefdom among Liu Che's sons was larger than Wusun, and Liu Tan's fiefdom would not be smaller than that one.
So in terms of land area, Lie Jiaomi's status is not as good as his, but now the two countries are interacting, and it can't be done that way. Liu Tan simply didn't make any arrangements to avoid feeling unbalanced.
When he said that, Junxumi couldn't help but ask, "Is this... is this really candy?"
It’s not like he hasn’t eaten sweets before, but the sugar in the Western Regions is different from that in the Han Dynasty. The rock honey is the same, but it is red. How can it be so crystal clear?
Liu Tan asked with a smile, "Is it sweet?"
Junxumi licked the candy and nodded seriously: "Sweet."
Liu Tan laughed and said, "If it's sweet, it must be sugar."
Junxumi was curious but didn't dare to ask too much. When he was in Chang'an, he had been to Liu Tan's candy shop and knew that the shop was very profitable, so the people there would definitely not tell him the secret recipe.
I just don’t know... does Princess Danyang have this secret recipe?
Junxumi was very eager for this recipe, not only to make money, but also to have the upper hand over Lu Xuan in dealings with the Huns!
The Xiongnu are much richer than the Wusun, so they will definitely be interested.
After the wedding banquet that day, on the way back to the inn, Liu Tan suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.
Huo Guang, who was half a step behind him, turned to look at him and found that Liu Tan's face was rarely tired.
He heard Liu Tan whisper, "It's finally over. Well, after we help Danyang choose a site, we should leave, right?"
For some reason, Huo Guang felt heartbroken for a moment. At that moment, he subconsciously thought: He was just a fifteen-year-old child.
In fact, in the Han Dynasty, a fifteen-year-old was no longer considered a child, and in the homes of ordinary people, he was old enough to set up a household.
But even so, the two heavy burdens of escorting the bride and handling diplomacy should not be placed on a fifteen-year-old young man.
Huo Guang consoled him, "Your Highness, are you homesick? We'll be back soon."
Liu Tan thought that he could still return to the Han Dynasty, but would Danyang have another chance to see the Chang'an Palace again?
He quickly stopped thinking about this and turned to Huo Guang, "Well... I promised Lu Xuan that I would visit Xiao Wusun when I returned. Look..."
Huo Guang immediately withdrew the gentleness from his face and became expressionless.
Huo Guang thought, I shouldn’t feel sorry for him!
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