Li Hong was unmoved, and continued to snatch the meat from Yi Yang's hand and said, "Hey, just let him take a few glances, it won't cost you any meat."
"No, that guy has shifty eyes and you can tell at first glance that he's not a good person." Yi Yang said angrily.
Hearing Yi Yang say this, Li Hong also began to get curious. In the Tang Dynasty palace, there were actually people who dared to stare at the Tang princess? Didn't anyone warn the princes and khans of the small countries when they came?
At this time, the Linhu Palace was already bustling with court officials drinking and greeting each other, while foreign guests were enjoying the singing and dancing, carrying wine jugs, and trying to establish relationships and get close to the officials they wanted to see.
The people in the Ministry of War were surrounded by the envoys of Silla, hoping that the Tang Dynasty would send troops to help them resist the siege of Goryeo and Baekje. Baekje and Goryeo hoped that the Tang Dynasty would send troops to help them destroy Silla.
However, all this had nothing to do with Li Hong and the others in the corner. Li Hong turned around and looked in the direction Yi Yang was looking, and saw a young man about the same age as Li Zhong, winking in his direction and teasing Yi Yang, who was looking angry next to him, behaving very arrogantly.
Li Hong frowned, knowing that this was Ashinu, the young Khan of Western Turkic Khaganate. The ceremonial officer had already announced their names when they paid homage to his father in Taiji Hall just now.
Yiyang turned her head away angrily, clutching her clothes with her hands and sulking. The only person in the palace who could stand up for her was Li Hong. Li Sujie had become timid and cowardly since her mother was moved to the deep palace. Li Xiao and Li Shangjin followed Li Hong's lead in everything. If Li Hong didn't move at this time, they dared not do anything to Ashinu.
Li Hong looked around and saw that no one was paying attention. The Western Turkic envoy seemed to be talking loudly to his father, mother, and Li Zhong, so he stood up from the mat and walked to Ashnu.
...
...
After taking a glance at Li Hong who was beside him, Ashinu ignored him, as if Li Hong was air and not worth his attention. Then he put one arm on the table even more brazenly, resting his head on the hand on the table, and looked at Yiyang, whose face was flushed with anger, even more brazenly.
"Hey, that's enough, eat your meal quickly." Li Hong said standing aside.
Ashinuxie glanced at him and continued to look at Yiyang. He didn't take the three or four-year-old child in front of him seriously at all. He thought that Yiyang would not dare to do anything out of line in the court.
Li Hong looked at Ashinu's indifferent attitude. He knew that he was ignored by the other party! How could this be? So he stopped talking and looked around again to see that no one was paying attention to them. So he raised his legs, and when Yiyang and Gao An turned their heads to look over, Li Hong's feet were imprinted on Ashinu's face.
Yi Yang and An Yang turned their heads and saw Li Hong's small feet leaving a footprint on Ashnu's face. They were frightened by Li Hong's bold action and screamed, and quickly covered their mouths with their hands, fearing that they would be discovered.
"You don't understand when I talk to you nicely, right? You have to be treated like a beast before you respond, right?" Li Hong retracted his foot and looked at Ashnu provocatively with an angry face.
"You..." Ashnu was angry. He didn't expect that a three or four-year-old child would dare to kick him in the face.
His eyes were filled with rage, and he stood up from the mat and reached out to grab the clothes on Li Hong's chest, so as to teach this Tang prince who dared to insult him a lesson.
Hua Meng appeared out of thin air, holding Ashinu's outstretched hand tightly with one hand, and said sinisterly: "Little Khan, please be mindful of your behavior at my Tang Dynasty banquet."
Ashnu and Li Hong were both startled. Neither of them noticed how this eunuch appeared in front of them. It was like a ghost that suddenly popped up.
Ashnu looked at his grabbed wrist and pulled hard a few times but failed to pull it back. His wrist felt as if it was fastened by an iron hoop. No matter how hard he tried, this man with a sinister smile on his face did not move at all, as if he was nailed there.
Li Hong smiled, raised his head and said to Ashinu calmly: "Be more careful next time, you can't look at everyone, take care of your eyes, be careful not to lose it."
Li Hong didn't know that after arriving at the Linhu Palace, Wu Mei called Hua Meng aside and gave him some specific instructions, asking him to keep an eye on the little naughty monkey and not let him cause any trouble today.
Meanwhile, the Western Turkic envoy and the Guizi envoy were clearly being encouraged by someone with ulterior motives. They were now speaking loudly to Crown Prince Li Zhong in the hall, "Your Highness, we still have to use our hands to eat meat. We cannot learn to use chopsticks like you do in the Tang Dynasty, and it is not in line with the Taoist philosophy of the Tang Dynasty. We should give up using chopsticks and eat everything with our hands like we do. This is the most noble way of eating."
Li Zhi and Wu Mei frowned as they listened. It was obvious that these envoys were deliberately making things difficult for the honest, dull, cowardly and timid prince, and wanted to make Li Zhong look bad in front of everyone.
"Chopsticks are a rule passed down by our ancestors, so we must abide by it." Li Zhong stuttered and took a long time to squeeze out a sentence.
Seeing that Li Zhong was honest and cowardly, the Western Turkic envoy picked up the wine pot and poured a glass of wine for Li Zhong, saying, "Come, I will offer a glass of wine to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Li Zhong had no choice but to pick up the cup and drink. As soon as he put down the cup, he saw the Western Turkic envoy grabbing a piece of meat on the table next to him and said, "The Tang Dynasty is a country of etiquette and civilization. It follows the way of nature. Why do we use two wooden sticks to eat? Isn't this going against human instinct, forgetting the fundamental principle of nature, and losing the proper etiquette and civilization? So, Your Highness, you should also give up using chopsticks. Using your hands is the noble way to eat."
Li Zhong didn't know what to do. He just picked up the chopsticks in his hand, but because of the messenger's words, he didn't know whether to put them down or pick them up.
"Really? Can you eat anything with your hands?" Li Hong ran to the prince's side without knowing when, and asked while lying on Li Zhong's shoulder and looking at the messenger below, with his lazy smirk on his face.
Li Zhi and Wu Mei, who had originally looked solemn, felt relieved for unknown reasons when they saw Li Hong suddenly appear. At the same time, they thought that in this way, the prince would not lose face in front of everyone.
At the same time, Wu Mei glared fiercely at Hua Meng, who was not far from Li Hong, as if to say, "Why did you let this naughty monkey out?"
"That's right. No matter what kind of food you eat, there is no more honorable thing than eating with your hands." The Western Turkic envoy boasted recklessly, and another Guizi envoy nodded in agreement.
"Okay then. Today I have prepared new meals for my father, mother and others. I'd like to trouble you to show me how to eat with your hands." Li Hong said bonelessly, hanging on Li Zhong's shoulder.
Li Zhi, Wu Mei, Li Yifu, Xu Jingzong and Zhangsun Wuji who were in the court were all shocked when they heard Li Hong's words. They all looked over here involuntarily, wondering what bad thing the King of Dai was planning.
"Haha...Okay. As long as the king has given the order, I will obey it."
"Xia Zhi, bring it up quickly when it's ready." Li Hong said to Hua Meng.
When Hua Meng heard this, he hurried to the back. After a while, Mangzhong, Xiazhi, Xiaoxue, Xiaohan and Hua Meng came in one after another, each holding a plate.
On each person's plate was a small exquisite brass hot pot, and there were several small plates and a small bowl. The small plates were filled with various raw meats, and the bowls were filled with things that looked like seasonings. Hot pot has been around for a long time, and this was the hot pot that Li Hong modified. It was easier and simpler to eat than before.
The water in the copper hot pot is bubbling at this moment, and wisps of steam are rising into the air from the copper hot pot. Now you just need to put the meat in the exquisite small plate into the hot pot and cook it for a while before eating.
Hua Meng placed a copper hot pot on the desk of Crown Prince Li Zhong, and the ones in the hands of others were given to Li Zhi, Wu Mei, Zhangsun Wuji, Zhu Suiliang and others.
Li Hong chuckled and picked up the chopsticks. Wu Mei, Li Zhi, and other court officials who were watching everything here sighed helplessly. When they saw this hot pot, they knew that the little guy was going to cheat people again. It's amazing that this little thing can think of this. What's in this little head that he can think of such a dirty trick.
Li Hong picked up the chopsticks unfamiliarly, put the meat in the small plate into the hot pot and stirred it, while saying to Li Zhi and Wu Mei: "Father, mother, I want you to taste the freshness of this meat today. It is also a good opportunity to let the distinguished foreign envoys taste it. They are meat experts and can naturally taste the quality of the meat at once."
Wu Mei hadn't figured out how to stop Li Hong from attacking the foreign envoys. But Li Zhi, who was slow to react, came up with a brilliant move for the foreign envoys and said, "That's great. It's rare that Hong'er is so thoughtful. You should try the meat."
The Western Turkic envoys, the Guizi envoys, and other envoys felt bad when they first saw the copper hot pot. Now looking at the boiling water inside, especially seeing Li Hong put the meat into the pot with chopsticks, they knew that they had been fooled by the King of Dai. When they were thinking about how to refuse, they didn't expect that the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty would be even more ruthless and even ordered them to taste it?! Suddenly, the faces of the two people became uglier than dead people's faces. They looked at each other in bewilderment, not knowing what to do for a moment.
When Li Hong heard what Li Zhi said, he laughed and almost fell off Li Zhong's shoulder. Fortunately, Li Zhong was quick-witted and caught him.
"Come on, here are some fresh seasonings. This is a royal secret recipe. You won't be able to eat such delicious hot pot anywhere else." Li Hong usually uses a spoon. He is not very good at using chopsticks, but today he has to use the chopsticks well in front of envoys from various countries.
It seemed as if even God was helping him. Li Hong miraculously put a piece of meat into the seasoning bowl for the first time. After dipping it in the seasoning a few times, he opened his little mouth and chewed the piece of meat into his stomach.
Then he looked at the two messengers with red faces and sad faces and said, "Come on, use your most honorable method to try whether our Tang Dynasty hot pot is delicious. Of course, you can also buy some of our Tang Dynasty hot pot and take it back to your country to eat."
The envoy Guizi looked at the bubbling hot water and clenched his fists tightly with his hands hanging at both sides. He originally wanted to embarrass the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, but he didn't expect to embarrass a three or four-year-old child.
Standing there with an embarrassed look on his face, not knowing what to do, the Western Turkic envoy was also embarrassed. After a few breaths of silence, he said unreasonably: "Such boiling water is of course not allowed. How can anyone put his hand into a boiling oil pan to fish something out?"
"I can." Li Hong hadn't chewed the meat in his mouth clean yet, and he said something shocking again, as if he was going to fight you to the death today.
"Uh..." The two envoys were almost choked to death by Li Hong's words.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
