“These foreigners look rather dull,” said Tian Cefujin. “My husband said they are building churches all over the south to spread the word about Jesus Christ.”
“They say Jesus can save people from suffering. He’s on the same level as our Guanyin Bodhisattva, right?” said Consort Ma.
“The gods of these foreigners are definitely different from our own gods,” said Ms. Nian. “I would never believe in any God Jesus. If Guanyin Bodhisattva knew, wouldn’t she be angry?”
puff!
Lanqin almost burst out laughing. To be honest, this Nian Shi was quite witty. If she weren't the Fourth Master's concubine, or if she herself weren't the Fourth Master's concubine, she might be quite happy to associate with her.
“Look, this is a kimono from Ryukyu. It’s not as nice as our Manchu dress. It looks like you’re carrying a bundle on your back.” The Third Princess Consort suddenly became interested in the topic of foreigners being discussed by the concubines behind her and joined in.
Lanqin saw a man and a woman dressed in authentic Japanese kimonos approaching. Lanqin was stunned by the woman's beauty; she was simply breathtaking. The Third Princess Consort had clearly been lying through her teeth.
The woman in the kimono appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen years old. Her hair was styled in a large, flowing Japanese bun, similar to the hairstyles of women from the Tang Dynasty, but without the large floral decoration in the center. Instead, she wore small, tassel-like floral ornaments on either side, and two gold hairpins adorned the back. She had fair skin, short eyebrows, and cherry-like lips with only a touch of red between the upper and lower lips. Her kimono was a pale pinkish-cherry blossom color, an extremely light shade of pink. Only slightly deeper red cherry blossoms were embroidered on the collar. The collar had approximately four layers, each layer covering the woman's slender neck. The long train of the kimono trailed behind her like the tail feathers of a peacock.
Looking at the man beside her, he appeared to be only eighteen or nineteen years old. His hair looked strange, the classic Japanese man's crescent-shaped hairstyle. Lanqin thought it was even uglier than the crescent-shaped hairstyle of men from the Qing Dynasty! The man's features were indeed strong, but he was still different from the handsome men of the Qing Dynasty. Lanqin watched this beautiful couple slowly walk towards the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, and immediately felt that their attire was significantly inferior to that of the young couple. No wonder, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess were already in their thirties; how could they compare to these young people in their late teens?
"The makeup in Ryukyu looks rather strange. The women have short eyebrows and small mouths. The men have a hole dug in the middle of their hair. It's awful," said Nian, covering her face with a handkerchief.
“I also think it’s not good-looking. But the woman’s clothes are nice. Especially the color, how did you dye it?” Tian was interested in the fabric of the clothes.
“Yes, we’ve never seen such a color before,” said Consort Ma.
Lanqin suspected that the fabric of the Japanese woman's clothes was imported from the West. With modern Qing Dynasty dyeing techniques, it would be impossible to achieve such an effect. When did Japan's Meiji Restoration begin? Lanqin wondered to herself. Could it be that the Japanese dyeing techniques had surpassed those of the Qing Dynasty?
After all the guests were seated, Liang Jiugong began to read the opening remarks for the banquet on behalf of Emperor Kangxi. These remarks were mostly to welcome the guests from various countries and to talk about unity and friendship.
After the reading was finished, the eunuch serving the meal raised his high-pitched voice and announced that the meal was served. Lanqin looked at Kangxi and the four concubines sitting around him, all of them dressed in their finest attire and exuding elegance.
The Crown Prince began to toast the representatives of the various foreign delegations on behalf of Emperor Kangxi. He went to each of them, raising his glass and speaking with them. The Crown Princess followed closely behind him. The Fourth Prince remained seated at the front, only exchanging a toast with the Third Prince to his left and the Fifth Prince to his right.
After a while, the song and dance performances began. Most of the song and dance performances in the Qing Dynasty were Mongolian or Jurchen dances, which was related to their Jurchen origins and long-standing intermarriage with various Mongol tribes. Therefore, the song and dance performances in the Qing court were mostly folk dances of these two ethnic groups.
After the singing and dancing, it was natural for the representatives of the various delegations to offer toasts and conversations to the emperors and princes. They all went up to Kangxi to offer him a toast. The crown prince stood aside and drank on Kangxi's behalf.
Such palace banquets were incredibly boring for Lanqin. She could only focus her attention on the imperial food, but unfortunately it wasn't very hot and didn't taste very good.
Just as everyone was feeling listless and bored, a foreigner suddenly stood up, raised his wine glass and said to Emperor Kangxi, "Your Majesty, I have a question, I wonder if I may ask it."
His directness immediately drew everyone's attention to him.
Lanqin looked up and saw that they were Russians, also known as "Red Bears." Because they liked bears and most of them had red hair, the Qing Dynasty people called them "Red Bears."
"Grand Duke Ivan, please speak!" Kangxi nodded to the man. As introduced by the Crown Prince, this man was Mikhailovich, the eldest son of Duke Ivan II of the Russian Empire. His ability to represent Russia on this visit to the Qing court demonstrates his extraordinary status within the Tsarist royal family.
"When our Tsar sent me here, he asked me to ask His Majesty the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty whether the venison in Yaksa was still delicious?" Mikhailovich said.
Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent. The Yaksa he was referring to was the great battle fought between the Qing Dynasty and Russia in the 24th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign. In that battle, the Kangxi Emperor personally supervised the campaign and achieved a great victory, clearing out all the Russians who had been harassing the Outer Khingan Mountains to the Yaksa and Nerchinsk regions. A treaty was also signed, outlining the border situation between the two countries.
Mikhailovich's question at this moment was undoubtedly a provocation to Kangxi, meaning he was asking if he could still hold onto that land.
Is Russia about to start another border conflict with the Qing Dynasty?
Everyone would think that way, including Lanqin. She naturally knew how Kangxi felt at that moment. For the emperor of a nation to be asked such a question by the son of a foreign duke was naturally a loss of face.
Lanqin glanced at Kangxi's face and saw that he did not show any anger; instead, he always had a slight smile on his face.
Emperor Kangxi was indeed Emperor Kangxi; he never showed his emotions, and his heart was filled with ambition and wisdom.
"Grand Prince Ivan, Father Emperor told us yesterday that he wanted to go to Erkou to buy furs and then go fishing on the Lenali River! I wonder if fishing is still possible in your country at this time of year?" Fourth Prince slowly stood up, holding up the quilt in his hand, and said to the Russian.
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