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The team traveled for another ten days and arrived at Wuhuan in mid-May.
The Wuhuan Khan entertained the envoys from the Great Chu in the banquet tent, serving them white naan, roasted whole lamb, fragrant wine and kumis, and exotic beauties in gorgeous dancing costumes with graceful figures.
Chen Jie bowed to Wuhuan Khan to show his respect and purpose, and sat down at a low table with a group of maids and subordinates.
Du Yaoyao was among these maids, wearing Hanfu and a veil on her face.
She was surprised that Chen Jie hired a Han woman halfway, and after asking for a long time, he told her that Princess Hong'e was the queen of Wuhuan Kingdom now.
It turned out that he was afraid of meeting his "rival in love" and was extremely jealous. So he hid her among the maids to conceal her from others.
Du Yaoyao stood politely behind Shen Jie, secretly looking at the two people sitting at the head.
Wuhuan Khan had white eyebrows and dark skin, and his face was covered with crisscrossing wrinkles, indicating that he was old enough to be her grandfather.
He can also be Hong'e's grandfather.
Du Yaoyao glanced at the red calyx. The princess, who was once as beautiful as a flower, had lost a lot of her vitality. Even with thick makeup, she could not hide the lethargy and fatigue in the corners of her eyes and eyebrows.
When Hong'e looked towards the sunken steps, her slanted eyes contained a sparkling light, like a withered flower receiving morning dew, and her every frown and smile was filled with joy.
Du Yaoyao couldn't describe the feeling in her heart. She seemed to have stolen something from someone else. In the original book, Hong'e and Shen Jie were a perfect match, and they were in love with each other. Now they are all married, the husbands are heartless and the wives are reluctant to marry, especially Hong'e who married a husband who is so much older than her.
She tried to bring them together, but Chen Jie was not understanding and had no intention of accepting Hong'e.
"The envoy of Great Chu has traveled a long way to Wuhuan, and the journey must be hard." Hong'e spoke, her sharp eyes like a sword, she wished she could cut open the veils of the maids to see which one was so beautiful that could attract Shen Jie's attention.
She complained, "But it would be a bit disrespectful for a maid to not show her true face when meeting the Khan."
Chen Jie smiled slightly, "But I am just an ordinary girl, helping to wash and cook a few things on the way, and I am afraid that my face has flaws and I am afraid it will scare the Khan."
He raised his sleeve and made a gesture, and a maid in green came out, took off her white veil, revealing a dark red birthmark as big as the mouth of a cup on the right cheek. Soon after, the second maid followed suit and had a hairy, bean-sized black mole on her chin.
Wuhuan Khan was used to seeing beautiful women, but when he saw two ugly maids, he immediately said, "Forget it, Queen. This is just human nature. I will not pursue it."
Hong'e glanced at the five maids. All of them were wearing loose robes, and their graceful figures were not visible. Their skin color is either yellow or black, they keep their brows down and look ordinary.
Thinking that Du Yaoyao was not among them, Hong'e felt relieved.
In fact, Du Yaoyao felt her scalp tingling when Hong'e saw her, for she was afraid that she would be recognized even if she was wearing yellow powder and drawing thick eyebrows.
Chen Jie and Yan Jin communicated with Wuhuan Khan and several princes in the local language, which Du Yaoyao could hardly understand. They were probably discussing two matters: the princess' marriage and trade in the border areas.
After the banquet, Du Yaoyao followed the maids back to the tent arranged for them by Wuhuan.
Shen Jie asked for naan, mutton and milk to make dinner for the maid, which caused several princes to tease him. Lord Shen was affectionate and considerate and gentle to the ugly woman.
A maidservant is supposed to eat the food of the lower class, so how can she eat meat and drink milk? What's more, he was born so ugly.
Chen Jie felt sorry for Du Yaoyao, as she had lost a lot of weight along the way.
He even regretted taking her on the run.
But she was so well behaved. She never complained or felt tired during the nearly one-month journey. She always helped him relieve his worries and boredom and satisfy his desires.
Chen Jie was ashamed of his selfishness.
"Yaoyao, eat something." Chen Jie scalded the greasy roasted mutton with boiling water, cut it into slices and fed her with chopsticks.
Du Yaoyao sat by the stove and ate a piece of white bread. This Wuhuan naan was not much different from the modern Xinjiang flatbread.
She chewed a piece of mutton and said, "It's a bit bland. Please add some more seasoning for me."
The roasted lamb smelled strong, so Shen Jie advised, “You have a bad stomach, so it’s better to eat something lighter.”
Du Yaoyao pouted and looked stern, "How about I feed you myself?"
He fed it himself, using his mouth. Du Yaoyao didn't want to be so annoying, so she took a big bite angrily, "Who cares about you!"
Shen Jie felt a little jealous when hearing this, and deliberately teased: “You don’t care, but someone else does.”
Du Yaoyao was furious and said angrily, "Seeing your old lover, you are tempted by lust, right?"
"What old lover..." Before Shen Jie finished his question, he heard the conversation between the gatekeeper and the Wuhuan maid outside the tent.
"My Lord, please go back."
"Our queen has been to Da Chu before, and she has some friendship with Lord Shen. Why don't you let people put some small gifts into the account when old friends meet?"
"Really rested!"
"The lights are still on..." the maid called out, "Master Shen..."
Du Yaoyao quickly glanced at Chen Jie, put down the food in her hand, pointed to the box in the corner, and mouthed, "I'll go in, and you deal with it."
Shen Jie nodded.
Two servants came into the tent. The one in front bowed and stepped forward to invite the maid behind her to come out.
The maid took off the hood of her cloak, revealing a gorgeous and charming face.
It is the red calyx.
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