Don't try to guess what a man is thinking.
Ever since the priests helped act as interpreters to facilitate the smooth connection between Changhao and the Westerners, Duanmu Yu's attitude towards the people of Linyuan became much warmer than before. After reaching a preliminary consensus with the foreigners, he abided by his promise to Xie Ci and personally led the Linyuan Army and the Western delegation back to the capital of Changhao to meet the king.
Juncheng was a long way from the capital Shengjing, so they stopped frequently along the way, staying in the best inns and restaurants, which were frequented by dignitaries and wealthy businessmen. The guests were no longer surprised by the nobles in gorgeous clothes, but when they saw the tall foreigners with blond hair and blue eyes, they could not help but stop and watch, not to mention that there were some strange people in strange costumes around the foreigners.
"So this is what foreigners look like? Their skin is so white, I wonder what kind of makeup powder they use?"
"You, a woman, only know how to judge by appearance! These foreigners are not simple. I heard that they were received by General Duanmu himself. Hey, Brother Li, do you know where those people came from?" A traveling merchant whispered to his wife, turned around and asked his friend who was drinking with him, pointing at the distance with the paper fan in his hand.
Upon hearing this, the friend surnamed Li casually glanced in the direction he pointed, and then suddenly got startled, spilling the wine in his hand all over the floor, and raised his hand to knock away the fan that the merchant was pointing at the group of people:
"You are really blind. That is the High Priest. How can you be so disrespectful? Their clothes are extraordinary. They are obviously treasures from the immortal family!"
The merchant was somewhat confused by his friend's excited behavior, but his friend sighed, motioned him to come closer, and then whispered:
"The third son of the fourth brother of my second cousin's third uncle is serving in the Poyuan Army. I heard from him that the reason why we have to negotiate with Linyuan this time is because the fragile college student priest has come to the world to quell the war and save all living beings from suffering. Linyuan has the help of the priest, so of course we have to form an alliance with them to get the priest's protection!"
"Ah? Is this really true?! Oh, please forgive me, priest, please forgive me! I didn't mean to offend you, please forgive me, priest, and bless me to make a lot of money in this business!" After hearing this, the merchant hurriedly stopped his previous careless behavior, bowed with both hands very devoutly, and saluted from a distance to the priests who were gradually going away.
The goddess in question knew nothing about this and just wanted to go to the guest room to lie down like Ge You to recover the energy lost by the carriage. But the foreigner named Locke was particularly obsessed with her for some reason. He kept coming up to her and making small talk, and she just replied incoherently.
Because Tong Zhenzhen is lazy and doesn't understand how to wear ancient costumes, she has always asked fashion trendsetter Chen Miao to be her advisor and buy modern clothes from Ma Chengyun's mall. Now that autumn has arrived and the wind is slightly chilly, she chose a white knee-length skirt with a light brown sweater on the outside, which makes her waist look thin and her legs look long, giving her a unique charm. Of course, her zombie-like walking posture makes it easy for people to ignore this.
"Oh, goddess of coal mud, cut off your golden white skirt, the scent of wine and moonlight, the heart of a mosquito warming nest, the journey of the whole field, does it make you feel like dancing? Please accept it, Brother Zhe!"
Locke finally finished his endless chatter, took out a wooden bird from under his large robe, presented it to Tong Zhenzhen like a treasure, and blinked his sapphire eyes:
"A few days ago, Duanmu Jiangjun said that he was very bored on the road, so he asked me for my uncle's chess manual. I also sent some fun ones to you. Don't worry, this is only for you, not for others!"
"Oh, it's clockwork, thank you~" Tong Zhenzhen knew at a glance that this was a clockwork toy. She twisted the mechanism casually, and the little bird twisted awkwardly in her palm. She hadn't seen this kind of retro gadget for a long time, and it was a little novel for a while. After all, she stopped playing with it after graduating from elementary school.
But is Duanmu Yu the kind of person who would ask others for things to play with when he’s bored?
She secretly noted this key information in her heart, took out the small snacks she carried in her pocket and stuffed them into Locke's pocket as a return gift. The latter was so happy to receive the gift from the goddess that he danced with joy and said that he must take it back to his hometown to worship it. After Tong Zhenzhen's repeated persuasion, he reluctantly ate it.
The two walked all the way to the door of Tong Zhenzhen's room, but found Xie Ci leaning against the door, looking like he had been waiting for a while.
"General? Why are you here? Is there something you want to talk to me about?"
Tong Zhenzhen always felt that he came to her for no good reason, but she still greeted him warmly. Unexpectedly, Xie Ci ignored her and glanced at her with a gloomy look, then fell heavily on Locke.
Locke felt uncomfortable being stared at. This guy didn't seem to like him very much, but he didn't do anything to offend anyone, did he?
He was puzzled and wanted to take Tong Zhenzhen's hand to kiss it before leaving, but Xie Ci's eyes became even more fierce, as if a entity was piercing through his chest. He was so scared that he pulled his hand back halfway and had to give up and leave.
"Bye, Locke~" Tong Zhenzhen yawned and waved, just wanting to lie down on the bed and sleep. Turning her head, she saw a big Buddha named Xie, and her face fell immediately. "Um, General, what can I do for you?"
Xie Ci became even angrier when he heard her perfunctory tone, but he didn't want to admit it. He pushed open Tong Zhenzhen's door, sat down at the table without any hesitation, and poured himself a cup of tea to cool down.
Tong Zhenzhen: What happened to my eldest daughter?
While Xie Ci had his back to her, she rolled her eyes, closed the door despite her sleepiness, walked to the table and sat down, casually placing the mechanical bird on the table.
"Why, you always call him by his first name, but you're so polite to me?"
Xie Ci spoke suddenly, and casually picked up the mechanical bird with his slender fingers to play with it, but he didn't know how to do it. He pushed the bird forward stubbornly like a naughty child.
Somehow, Tong Zhenzhen always felt that his tone was sour. After hesitating for a moment, she took the mechanical bird he had dropped and demonstrated how to wind it up:
"Yes, that's how we play it. We're used to calling each other that. Since you care, I'll just call you by your name. Thank you."
Xie Ci's whole body stiffened when he heard that, and an inexplicable joy rose in his chest. The corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise, but he turned his head away to hide it. He snorted softly, snatched the wooden bird from Tong Zhenzhen's palm, wound it up with interest and watched it jump on the table. Although he didn't say a word, Tong Zhenzhen could clearly feel that his mood had improved.
"You really like playing this, don't you? I should have asked Locke to give me one more..."
Tong Zhenzhen breathed a sigh of relief and wanted to send the man away quickly so that she could sleep in the bed with her beloved. However, something in Xie Ci's words irritated him, and his face suddenly darkened. His hand, which was originally playing with the clockwork mechanism with great interest, paused, and then he snapped his fingers without any hesitation, and the poor little bird rolled to the edge of the table.
She caught it quickly, thinking that she was doomed and would never be able to sleep again. However, Xie Ci interpreted this behavior in a different way, and the nameless anger that had just been suppressed came out again:
"Don't accept things from someone whose background you don't know! Who knows what that foreigner is up to?"
Tong Zhenzhen was confused. Who was the person who was having so much fun just now? She thought Xie Ci was worrying again, and wound up the bird to run on the table:
"Hey, you are attacking me personally! I mean well. You also want to connect Lin Yuan with the foreigners. It will be convenient for trade in the future."
This sentence hit the nail on the head. Xie Ci was choked and speechless for a rare time. He opened and closed his mouth but ultimately said nothing. All his complaints rolled around on the tip of his tongue before he swallowed them back. He then sat there sulking with a sour face, like a bad-tempered puffer fish in the river.
After the lesson just now, Tong Zhenzhen didn't dare to speak easily again, for fear of stepping on the young lady's minefield again, so she played with the clockwork toys by the side. Unexpectedly, Xie Ci saw that she was playing more enthusiastically, and the atmosphere around him became more gloomy, which made Tong Zhenzhen more and more confused about what was wrong with him.
However, Tong Zhenzhen's favor for this old-fashioned toy only lasted for a short while. She soon got bored of it and threw it aside. She immersed herself in modern electronic music again, opened the King of Glory to send a team battle request to her roommates, and prepared to enter the canyon to kill.
"Hey Xie Ci, want to play a game?" She took the initiative to speak, raising her chin provocatively to Xie Ci.
Xie Ci understood what she meant immediately. He glanced at the wooden bird she had thrown into the corner. His mood instantly brightened up. He even felt that this boring fighting game was pleasing to the eye. He condescended to nod and agree:
"Okay, just don't play for too long."
Tong Zhenzhen became alert as soon as she started playing games. Her sleepiness disappeared completely, and she even managed to chat in the group:
【Chinese-The Only True God】:
According to gossip, Duanmu Yu asked for a set of chess from a foreigner. Guess whether he gave it to someone else or kept it for himself? The betting is open here, feel free to guess~
[Chinese-How do you know I got a pentakill in the canyon]:
? You're great, Zhenzhen, you dare to play in the group during a team fight, I admire you! That old fox who asks for things from others is definitely not doing it for himself, betting 50 cents is giving it to others, to curry favor with the master above!
【Chinese-You Miaojie】:
Send to lover
【Chinese-It’s Feifei】:
I heard from other people in the Linyuan Army that Duanmu Yu has a very high status in the court. The only one who can ask him to send gifts should be the emperor, right?
【Small Teaching-Makabaka】:
I understand. The emperor is Duanmu Yu's lover.
[Academy of Fine Arts-Don't Touch My White Paint]:
Pass it on, Duanmu Yu and the emperor had an affair
【Jike-Hair Volume King】:
《Shock! The scheming general secretly hid the treasure just for the one he loved! 》
【Acknowledgement】：
? Enough, what are you talking about? ! Keep your mouth shut when you get to Shengjing, and stop saying this kind of nonsense! @All members
Xie Ci was so addicted to the pleasure of collecting heads on the cyborg that it took him a long time to notice what kind of treasonous words they were saying in the group. He immediately took action to punish them, and angrily told Tong Zhenzhen beside him:
"Especially you, keep your mouth shut! And don't act on your own like you did last time!"
"I know, I know. Besides, it was because I helped you last time that the negotiation went smoothly..." Tong Zhenzhen muttered softly, opened the instant noodles that had been soaked in hot water, blew on them carefully, took a sip, and said incoherently:
"Besides, I just think it's very suspicious that Duanmu Yu made up an excuse to ask people for things because he was bored. He doesn't look like the kind of person who values entertainment. He just said this to fool the foreigners. He must have his own little calculations!"
Seeing her eating that weird and unnutritious noodles again, Xie Ci couldn't help but sigh and fired a big wave to drive her character away:
"I can't see that you are quite worried this time?"
"Look at what you said. Haven't I done anything serious before?" Tong Zhenzhen retorted unhappily, waiting for her character to revive again. "Assuming that he really wants to use chess to please the emperor, he is such a smart man, so he must have given the emperor something he likes. Then we can make preparations early and try to establish a good relationship with him. Xiao Xie, this is the social etiquette of adults!"
Tong Zhenzhen persuaded him earnestly, pretending to be an experienced person, and took the opportunity to touch Xie Ci's head. Hmm, it was a little prickly.
Xie Ci slapped her restless hand away in embarrassment, but he didn't control the strength well, and Tong Zhenzhen's hand directly hit the fork handle in the instant noodle bucket. Through the perfect lever principle, the plastic fork with the red oil soup drew a graceful curve in the air and landed squarely on Tong Zhenzhen's sweater.
Tong Zhenzhen: Ah, the oil has seeped in.
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