Chapter 125 Chapter 125 Envoys Congratulations
Meng Nuolai stayed in Lingzhou and refused to leave. It was only after the people from Nanzhao urged her repeatedly that she reluctantly followed them back.
Now that the trade route between Nanzhao and Da'an has been repaired, the two sides are trading with each other, and many Nanzhao merchants have smelled business opportunities.
Meng Nuo returned to Nanzhao. Although he could still use the things from Da'an and read the Li County Monthly News every month, there were no book clubs in Nanzhao, no milk tea or fruit tea, and no handsome men randomly appearing on the streets.
After only a month, Monno lost his appetite.
Even watching the people of Lingzhou and Li County quarreling on the streets of Lingzhou is better than staying in the princess's mansion.
So, when she learned that Lin Si had successfully ascended the throne and changed the country's name to Da'an, Meng Nuo clamored to disguise herself as an envoy and go to Anjing.
Afraid that her father and mother would not agree, she specially thought of a set of excuses.
"Now that the new Emperor of Da'an has ascended the throne, we still don't know her attitude. I will go and test it out."
"There are envoys going to congratulate us, why do we need you to go?" The Nanzhao Emperor said helplessly.
Seeing that he couldn't win the argument, Meng Nuo started a hunger strike to protest. Not only did he go on a hunger strike, he also cried and made a fuss every day and would not give up until he went to Da'an.
The Nanzhao Emperor had no choice but to agree.
This was Meng Nuo's third visit to the Central Plains. As luck would have it, he met the envoy from Xiping as soon as he arrived in Anjing.
Nanzhao and Xiping have always been at odds with each other.
Meng Nuo, disguised as a maid among the envoys, gave the Xiping envoy a cold look and thought to herself, "What a country bumpkin entering the city."
Nanzhao's clothing is mainly decorated with silver ornaments and exquisite embroidery, and its style is more like that of the Central Plains.
This is completely different in Xiping. Their clothing and hairstyles are very unique.
In short, Meng Nuo couldn't appreciate it and just thought it was ugly, especially the hairstyle.
She didn't understand why they had to braid their hair so many times. Didn't they even look in the mirror? Did it look good?
I'm afraid I have to get up early every morning to comb this weird hairstyle.
The officials of the Ministry of Rites had finally waited for such an important event, so naturally they wanted to handle it well.
They also knew that Nanzhao and Xiping did not get along well, so they specially arranged two places for the two groups to live far away from each other.
Arriving at the assigned accommodation, Meng Nuo took the seat of honor and crossed his legs. "What bad luck! I'm entering Anjing on the same day as the envoy from Xiping."
"Princess, calm down. Xiping is just relying on their possession of the northwest pastures. Their cavalry is no match for our elephants."
"That's right. Our Nanzhao elephants are not only good for fighting, but they can also carry supplies when building trade routes. Their horses are not that useful."
This time, Meng Nuo brought along maids and guards, all of whom knew Kung Fu.
Meng Nuo stretched her body. "I'm really tired after traveling all this way. I'll take a rest first. Go find out if there's any news about Lady Shuhua."
The envoys from Xiping gathered in a room.
"Your Majesty said that we should see what kind of person this new emperor of the Central Plains is. I believe he is afraid of him."
"Why don't we change into Central Plains clothes and go out for a walk?"
"But if we change clothes, we have to change our hairstyle. I just braided my hair yesterday..."
"What can we do? Just tear it down."
"I heard that the food in the Central Plains is quite delicious. We might as well try it."
The envoys changed into Central Plains clothing. Although it still looked a bit strange, they would not attract as much attention as before when walking on the street.
Just as they took a few steps, a young man came up to them enthusiastically with a booklet in his hand.
"Are you interested in reading novels? I have a copy of "The Years I Was Long Aotian" that you can borrow. It only costs ten cents for three days." Luo Jiu enthusiastically promoted it.
Luo Jiu later learned that the person who didn't want to return the book he wrote to him was the traitor Zhuo Zhengchu.
Luo Jiu felt scared but also thought, doesn't this prove from a magical perspective that his novel is good?
This traitor couldn't put down his book after reading it, which shows that his book has a market.
Luo Jiu was born into a wealthy family and was not short of money, so he spent his own money to find a printing factory to print several copies. With these copies of Long Aotian and his own dreams in his heart, he came to Anjing.
He was determined to make his novels leave a name for himself in the future generations.
There is a lack of entertainment activities in Xiping. Even storybooks are rare. Cricket fighting is a rare thing, so how can one know about novels?
The envoys looked at each other, and one of them reached out to take out money.
"I'll rent it for three days."
Luo Jiu handed over the book neatly, and then asked the identities of several people, intending to ask them to pay a deposit as a guarantee. When he learned that they were envoys from Xiping, he suddenly panicked.
Luo Jiu hesitated: "I didn't realize you gentlemen were envoys from Xiping. This is really offensive. Let's just forget about this book."
The envoy who rented the book had already flipped through a few pages and couldn't help but be fascinated by it.
He waved his hand and said, "We clearly agreed to rent it just now, why would you go back on your word?"
Luo Jiu had no choice but to shrink his neck. "Then please pay the deposit and return the book to the bookstore across the street three days later."
The other envoys looked at the opened page curiously, and saw words about revenge and the annihilation of the entire family, and they cried out that it was bad luck.
"This is Daan's novel? How can it be so damning?"
"That's right."
The envoy who rented the book put it in his arms and said, "Your Majesty asked us to understand the customs and people of Da'an, so we naturally have to start from all aspects. It's just a book. I will read it slowly when I get back."
On the way, several people talked about the soap they used at home and couldn't help sighing.
"Where can we find such good stuff in Xiping? Even the nobles can't use such fine soap nuts for bathing."
"It even smells like fresh flowers, but I don't know how they made it."
"So this time we want to establish trade routes with Da'an. How can we leave Nanzhao behind?"
Lin Sichu had just ascended the throne, and the changes in Anjing were not yet obvious, but they were enough to amaze the envoys from Xiping.
In Xiping, cloth was difficult to obtain because textile technology was underdeveloped, and even linen was very expensive.
When the envoys saw the cotton cloth, they thought it was as expensive as silk. However, when they asked the price, they found that it was not much more expensive than linen.
The envoy was puzzled: "This cotton cloth is much better than linen in every way, so why is the price so similar?"
The shop assistant laughed and said, "This is your Majesty's good intention. If cotton cloth were also expensive, how could ordinary people afford to wear comfortable clothes?"
Several people suddenly understood.
Then he ordered several pieces of cotton cloth.
The envoys were tired from walking, so they went into a Fanlou restaurant to have dinner.
Monno happened to be having dinner here as well. When he learned that milk tea was also available here, he ordered a cup and drank it with great relish.
This is the taste she had been thinking about for a long time in Nanzhao!
The waiter in Fanlou said that the owner of this shop went to Lingzhou specifically to discuss cooperation with Huang's Teahouse. The taste is the same, but the price is a little higher.
Monno didn't care about the price at all and drank one glass and ordered another.
When he finished his meal and walked out of the box, he happened to meet the envoy from Xiping.
Monroe turned away and rolled his eyes. Why do I keep running into these country bumpkins everywhere?
On the second day, the Ministry of Rites hosted a welcoming banquet for the envoys in the imperial palace. According to Lin Si's request, the banquet did not need to be too extravagant, but only needed to have more variety.
Wang Ying listed the menu according to Lin Si's requirements.
The envoys from Xiping and Nanzhao sat on both sides, while Lin Si sat on the main seat above.
The Nanzhao envoys were the first to bow and kneel. "Nanzhao congratulates Your Majesty on your ascension to the throne. Your Majesty is virtuous and intelligent. The people of Da'an are fortunate to have such a wise ruler. May Nanzhao and Da'an coexist peacefully and share what they have."
Then he took out a wooden box with exquisite workmanship.
"This is a small gift from Nanzhao to Your Majesty. We wish Da'an prosperity."
Seeing this, the envoys from Xiping were not willing to be outdone. They also knelt down to salute, delivered speeches and presented gifts.
Lin Si asked the eunuch to accept all the gifts.
"Members, please stand."
The envoy from Xiping sat back in his seat with a groggy head. He had started reading the novel as soon as he got home yesterday, but he couldn't stop reading and didn't sleep much all night.
But he also had to be responsible for negotiating with the Emperor of Da'an about opening a trade route with Xiping.
So he pinched his arm hard.
"We have come here to discuss an important matter with Your Majesty."
Lin Si glanced at him. "What's the matter?"
"Xiping wishes to establish trade routes with Da'an. I hope Your Majesty will grant your permission."
Of course Lin Si agreed. Now the entire Central Plains is her territory. She wants to open many workshops and factories. It would be best if the goods can be exported. She also wants to sell these things overseas in a few years.
Meng Nuo's whole mind was not on the banquet. She couldn't sit at the table to eat as she was pretending to be a maid, but she looked at those exquisite dishes that she had never seen in Lingzhou but couldn't eat them herself.
Instead, it was several of his own envoys who kept eating and eating.
She was in a bad mood and could only focus her attention on the entire hall.
Okay, no pretty boys.
Even more unhappy!
After the banquet was over, the envoys from Nanzhao and Xiping prepared to leave the palace under the guidance of the eunuchs.
But the two sides have always been at odds with each other, and when they meet they are bound to use sarcasm and harsh words when speaking to each other.
The Nanzhao envoy said: "Repairing the trade route requires money and manpower. Perhaps Xiping wants Da'an to pay for it?"
The Xiping envoy angrily said, "This envoy should be careful with his words! This is a good thing that will benefit both countries. How can Xiping be so shameless?"
"This isn't just hearsay. Back when the late emperor was in power, Xiping also said the same thing. He said Nanzhao had excellent textile technology and the fabrics they wove were exquisite and beautiful. He wanted to establish a trade route with us. But in the end, they went back on their word and didn't send either money or people, so the trade route was never established."
The Xiping envoy was clearly upset. "That's because you set the price of your cloth so high! We saw cheap and comfortable cloth in Da'an yesterday. We don't want your Nanzhao cloth!"
"Yes, yes, you don't care. Don't think we don't know that there are people in Xiping who specialize in selling Nanzhao cloth!"
The two sides became more and more heated in their conversation, and even pulled each other's hair on the spot.
Both sides had guards with high martial arts skills, but when they entered the palace, the guards did not follow them in.
Meng Nuo was so angry that he wanted to laugh. This is Da'an's palace, how could they be allowed to do whatever they wanted? He was about to speak out to stop them.
The young eunuchs turned pale with fear and immediately tried to run away to report the Central Forbidden Army.
The next second, a figure flew down from the eaves and stood between the two envoys, pulling the hand of the Nanzhao envoy with one hand and blocking the head of the Xiping envoy with the other.
Zhong Diyan said coldly, "The fifth rule of the Da'an Palace security regulations is strictly against fighting. I hope the two envoys will remain calm."
"Did you hear me? I told you to calm down, you disgraceful thing!"
"You're talking nonsense! You were the first to start this. You tore this part of me bald!"
Seeing that the two men were unable to calm down, Zhong Diyan had to use his trump card.
When the Central Imperial Guards arrived at a trot, they saw the Xiping envoy and the Nanzhao envoy holding hands, and both of them looked like they were about to vomit.
Zhong Diyan stood in front of them, his handsome face expressionless.
"Since you're in Da'an, you must abide by the rules of the Da'an Palace. Anyone who fights must stand there holding hands and interlocking their fingers."
This time, Monroe laughed from the bottom of his heart.
About five minutes later, the envoys who had been fighting had completely calmed down. They disliked each other very much but did not dare to let go.
They were scared when they thought about it. They were the ones who made the mistake first. This was the imperial palace of Da'an!
Seeing this, Zhong Diyan asked them to release their hands and leave the palace.
The envoy quickly let go and looked at the other party with full disgust.
After the envoys left, the Central Guards asked in confusion, "Captain Zhong, may I ask which safety rule states that holding hands while fighting is a punishment? I didn't remember this rule when we were reciting it."
"Of course not, because I made it up."
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The author has something to say: I'm late!!! Last night there was a heavy rainstorm and the power went out while I was writing. I was so anxious that I was running around in circles at home [poor thing]
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