Chapter 10: Gift (Part 2)
Ji Linyou, who was standing next to him, saw others giving out gifts one after another, and the county lady praised and liked them all. He could not help but take out a scroll that had been hidden in the water pavilion and handed it to Qiandeng.
"Princess, come and see my gift. You will definitely like it!"
He shook the thing open, and it turned out to be a huge piece of brocade. When he slowly unfolded it, everyone was stunned for a moment.
This was a finely woven brocade flag with a black background and gold edges. It had a blue dragon flying above and a white tiger walking below. In the middle was embroidered a huge word "white". It was the flag of the Prince of Changhua's camp.
Qiandeng raised his hand to touch the eye-catching white words on the black background, his hands trembling slightly uncontrollably: "What is this...?"
"This is the royal flag newly woven by the wives and daughters of the soldiers at the border. They were entrusted to my father and grandfather to deliver to the county lord." Ji Linyou pointed to the piping of the flag, and Qiandeng saw that the golden piping was embroidered with clusters of blue and purple flowers, which were reflected around the royal flag.
"This is the Malan flower from the Northwest grasslands. Every spring, in the vast desert, the Malan flowers bloom, like a blue felt carpet stretching all the way to the horizon." Ji Linyou's gaze shifted from the flowers to Qiandeng's face, and he spoke solemnly, "County Lady, we are the first group of orphans and widows allowed to receive the remains of our loved ones. We are grateful for what you have fought for for women all over the world, so we have worked hard through the night to express our gratitude for your kindness."
"No, actually I didn't do anything... What I can do to help is also very little." Qiandeng held up the royal flag and buried his face in the word "white". He took a deep breath and let the flag of his father and grandfather absorb the warmth that seeped out of his eyes.
After a long moment, she raised her head and forced a smile towards Ji Linyou and everyone else who were looking at her with concern. She solemnly rolled up the royal flag and said, "I will treasure this generous gift and keep it forever."
After Qiandeng carefully put away all the gifts, Cui Fufeng finally took out a book from his sleeve and handed it to her.
"This is a book I recently compiled, which I am about to send to various places for publication. I hope the county lady will review it."
Hearing that the birthday gift he gave Qian Deng was a book he had compiled, Xue Xiyang smiled and said in a long voice, "As expected of Cui Shaoqing, he has already written a book at such a young age."
"Wow, no wonder the teacher has always been proud of having taught Cui Shaoqing!" Shang Luo quickly leaned over to take a look and read the words on the book cover, "Changhua Wulue?"
He scratched his head and asked Cui Fufeng, "What is this? Is it the Legend of Swordsman?"
Qiandeng immediately understood the book's significance. Carefully opening the cover, she saw Cui Fufeng's compilation of a general plan. It described the book as summarizing the achievements of Prince Changhua over his many years of military campaigns. He maintained strict military discipline and was a skilled ruler of his subordinates. Especially during the An Lushan Rebellion, he achieved numerous unexpected victories and turned the tide, making him one of the most important figures in the restoration of the country. Consequently, the imperial court compiled his broad strategies and policies over the years, and published the detailed decisions of each battle, providing mutual evidence to promote the lifelong achievements of Prince Changhua and his son, ensuring their immortality.
Qian Deng silently held the book against his chest and asked softly, "Was this published under the leadership of the imperial court? I don't even know when it started."
Cui Fufeng said, "Three years ago, your father and grandfather perished in the Daming Palace. Your Majesty lamented the loss of loyal ministers and wise generals. Therefore, I offered to compile the Changhua Military Strategy to serve as a model for the prince and his son. For over three years, I have been collecting historical data from various departments, striving to complete it. Now, I have finally compiled it into a book. This first printed volume is now handed over to the county lady."
Qiandeng knew in her heart that after the "Changhua Wulue" was published by the court, the achievements of her father and grandfather would be passed down through the ages. She had always been thinking about the glory of the Bai family, and now it could finally be continued.
She bowed deeply to Cui Fufeng, and Cui Fufeng bowed in return. Neither of them said anything, but the meaning was fully expressed in their silence.
Everyone passed the copy of "Changhua Wulue" around, reminiscing and reminiscing. Only Mingjiu, completely unaware of its meaning, asked, "Isn't today the County Lady's birthday? Why do all the gifts you gave her make her unhappy? I'm different. Watch me!"
As he said this, he raised his hands and clapped his hands twice.
The two Uighur guards who had been waiting outside the pavilion immediately came up with a slaughtered fat sheep, placed the slaughtered sheep and the rack by the pavilion, and then retreated.
"Come, come, I will personally hunt the yellow sheep today and roast a perfect Uighur roast sheep for the county lady!" Mingjiu said proudly.
"It's authentic!" Shangluo corrected.
When everyone saw him trying to roast the sheep right there, they hurriedly stopped him, saying, "This is such a beautiful place, and it's a wooden pavilion. If you're not careful, it could catch fire. You can't roast it here."
Xue Xiyang, who often feasted at Qujiang Lake, pointed him in the right direction: "There's an open space over there at the river bend. It's all sand and will definitely not ignite the surrounding vegetation. Prince, you can go there and roast a lamb for the county lady."
A group of people came to the river bend and helped the eagle dig a hole in the sand and set up the rack. The eagle then smeared spices on the sheep and started a fire to grill them.
Who would have thought that the damp spring firewood would soon burst into smoke and flames? Everyone hurriedly retreated: "Prince, you roast it yourself, we can't help you!"
Everyone returned to the waterside pavilion and sat around it, sipping fruit and watching the jugglers arranged by the Jintang perform one act after another. Just when the tea had become tasteless, a burst of fragrance filled the air, and a crowing eagle appeared majestically carrying a roasted lamb.
"It's the County Lady's birthday, so of course we have to eat big chunks of meat, drink big bowls of wine, and celebrate heartily! Take away all the tea and snacks these widows are serving!"
"What do you mean by widow? It's just dull!"
Shangluo corrected him as usual and went forward to help him put the fat roasted lamb on the table.
Although all the elegance and artistic conception were gone, everyone was indeed salivating at the sight of the sizzling and fragrant mutton.
Mingjiu took out his dagger, cleaned it, and dried it. He then cut a piece of lamb hind leg meat, placed it on a banana leaf, and handed it to Qiandeng: "Here, let the county lady have a taste first."
Qiandeng took it, hesitated for a moment, but did not put it into his mouth.
Mingjiu asked, "Why, the county lady doesn't like it?"
Before she could answer, Ling Tianshui put down the Changhua Wulue he was reading, picked up the roasted lamb, and asked, looking at Mingjiu, "I remember that the Huihe people have a custom. At the engagement ceremony, the man must bring a roasted lamb, and the woman cuts off the leg and eats a bite. Then the marriage is considered established."
When they heard that he had set a trap and wanted to trick Qiandeng, who was ignorant of the customs of the Uighurs, into falling into the trap, all the young men looked at Mingjiu with contempt.
"You're overthinking it, you really are..." Ming Jiu was a little scared of Ling Tianshui when he saw his secret thoughts exposed, but he didn't dare to force Qian Deng, so he could only smile awkwardly, "Today is a birthday celebration, what's wrong with giving the first bite to the county lady? County lady, just eat it without worry..."
"Come on, let me eat the lamb leg. There's so much meat that the county lady can't digest it." Ji Linyou swallowed the lamb leg in one gulp and asked Ling Tianshui, who was carrying the roasted lamb, "Cousin, can you give the county lady a good piece?"
Ling Tianshui grew up in the northwest, so he was naturally good at this. He took the dagger from Ming Jiu's hand and quickly cut the roasted lamb into ten equal parts. He handed one of the lamb chops to Qian Deng and then stabbed the dagger into the lamb leg: "Take whichever you like."
"Hey, I think the others are similar, but~" Jintang said, picking up the sheep's head and placing it in front of the eagle, "We can't do this. The prince must chew it."
Everyone burst into laughter. Mingjiu, with a sour face, tore off a piece of sheep's face and asked Jintang, "Isn't it said that your family is the richest in Chang'an? Why didn't you send a gift?"
Jintang looked at the sky and saw that it was getting dark. He smiled and said, "Why rush? It's not time yet. It won't be too late to talk about it after the sheep are eaten."
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