The person closest to the emperor's seat was still the first-rank prime minister, Dong, whose attention was focused on the central position in front.
Eunuch Fu approached and gently called out to the Prime Minister, but there was no response. Helpless, Eunuch Fu reached out and tugged at the other man's sleeve.
Prime Minister Dong turned his head impatiently, about to reprimand someone, when he saw that it was Eunuch Fu. Then he realized that the Emperor had already arrived at the side hall and was already sitting there.
"Your Majesty asks what happened?" Eunuch Fu asked softly as before.
Instead of telling Eunuch Fu, Prime Minister Dong went to the Emperor's table and recounted what had happened.
It turned out that after entering the side hall and taking their seats, Kaiyang, at Hong Xiaoduo's suggestion, introduced the tea and pastries sent by the imperial kitchen to the delegation.
As a result, one of the envoys stood up and said that he had brought some local specialties and fruits from his country for everyone to taste. However, the other party said that Fengliang Kingdom was full of talented people, and that even young people could become translators. Did they also recognize the fruits they had brought?
All the civil and military officials present understood that this was clearly a deliberate attempt to create a difficult problem.
They had seen them up close, and none of them were familiar to them. They had initially thought that since Xiao Kaiyang spoke such a foreign language so well, he might recognize the fruits brought by the delegation, even if he only recognized one or two of them.
Upon seeing Xiao Kaiyang's reaction, it became clear that he didn't recognize the child either.
Seeing the reactions of Xiao Kaiyang and the ministers, the delegation members were certain that no one recognized the fruits and melons, and their smiles were incredibly smug.
The delegation members even got up and stepped forward, taking out a few of each kind of fruit from the box and placing them on a table.
Upon hearing this, the emperor was naturally displeased, but he turned slightly to look at the person standing next to Xiao Kaiyang, trying to see the expression on her face.
Hmm? She's smiling?
"Alright, I understand. Prime Minister Dong, please calm down and enjoy your tea." The emperor didn't know why, but seeing the smile on the girl's face made him feel inexplicably at ease.
When Dong Xiang and Fu Gonggong saw the emperor's reaction, they were momentarily stunned, thinking he would be displeased.
The two followed the emperor's gaze and saw the girl leading Xiao Kaiyang toward the table where fruits were laid out.
“Silly boy, smile. What’s the big deal? We’re not from their country, and we’ve never been there. The two countries are tens of thousands of miles apart. Even if there were caravans, the journey would be too long for the fruit to be transported here for sale. You wouldn’t see it on the streets, so it’s normal that you don’t recognize the fruits they brought.” Hong Xiaoduo was still comforting Kaiyang, who had been a little upset.
“Mother, I understand the reasoning, and I don’t feel embarrassed or ashamed. It’s just that I feel they were too rude. Grandfather said the purpose of the delegation’s visit was for various exchanges between us, so shouldn’t it have been very friendly?”
"But they act like this, as if they feel a great sense of accomplishment by making things difficult for us!" Kaiyang said in a low voice.
Upon hearing this, Hong Xiaoduo's smile deepened. She gently patted Kaiyang's little shoulder and whispered, "With me here, how could we possibly let them succeed?"
"Mother, they've only talked, they haven't laid a hand on us. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for you to take action? It would affect the peaceful relations between our two countries," Kaiyang immediately reminded her anxiously.
The foreign delegation was attacked as soon as it arrived. Even if it didn't lead to war between the two countries, it would be bad to break off relations!
"Huh? Not bad, you taught this to you by your grandfather?" Hong Xiaoduo was surprised that Kaiyang could say such a thing, but she had never told him these things.
Kaiyang nodded. It was indeed his grandfather who told him this, after learning that Hong Xiaoduo was going to take him to the palace.
Hong Xiaoduo now trusts the people of the Wei family more. Lord Wei immediately told him about this information just because she was going to bring Kaiyang to this event, without thinking that Kaiyang was too young to know anything useful.
“Your grandfather isn’t a stubborn elder. Kaiyang, you’re really lucky. From now on, whatever your grandfather teaches you, you must listen carefully, understand?” Hong Xiaoduo added.
Kaiyang nodded again, indicating that he had remembered.
Inside the side hall, Emperor Jiade, his civil and military officials, and members of the foreign delegation chatted while watching the two figures, one large and one small.
Lord Wei and his son, seeing Kaiyang's behavior just now, did not feel embarrassed or ashamed of him. They just felt sorry for the child. Why should he have to bear things that are not his age at such a young age?
Mu Rongjing sat quietly in his seat, holding his teacup and sipping the tea. He didn't pay attention to what kind of tea it was; his gaze remained fixed on the two people, one big and one small.
Hong Xiaoduo thought for a moment and then gestured to the palace maid next to her to move the table with the fruits and vegetables to the middle of the side hall.
He then glanced at the emperor, nodded to him, and then addressed the crowd loudly: "Your Majesty, esteemed officials, the delegation from the Kingdom of Poppy has brought fruit from afar for you to enjoy. I will try to identify these fruits that have traveled across the ocean."
After saying that, he reached out and picked up a fruit, held it up and showed it to both sides, and said loudly: "This fruit has a skin that looks like snake skin. Its name is snake skin fruit, also known as Salak. It has a unique appearance and the flesh inside is refreshing and juicy and rich in nutrients. In addition to eating it raw, it can also be slightly pickled with salt and then mixed with a little honey. This can be presented to His Majesty to taste."
Upon hearing this, Eunuch Fu immediately smiled and stepped forward to take it, then turned around and ordered someone to process it.
Hong Xiaoduo didn't immediately identify the next fruit. Instead, she looked at the delegation and repeated what she had just said to them in English.
Although she had just heard the interpreter from the foreign mission translate her words to them, she still wanted to say them to them herself.
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