I handed in the sand sculpture through the book system

Although that one looked at the sachet that that one brought, the lobby got a little colder for a while.But soon the elder son Gao Duo was drawn out by the attendants, and immediately diverted everyone's attention.Yuan An looked through the crowd from a distance, and immediately felt relieved—the prince behaved calmly and calmly, looked handsome between glances, and still had the usual side-hat appearance, and had not received any abuse.

He raised his glass to thank King Hengyang respectfully, but he was thinking in private, thinking that His Royal Highness King Hengyang is so friendly, why not wait for the opportunity to lobby and inquire about the conditions for the release of Prince Qi's son.

According to the practice of the Southern and Northern Dynasties in the Middle Ages, the diplomatic banquets between the two sides were not only to connect with each other, but also to compete with each other in the banquet, so as to show off the orthodoxy of the dynasty.This thing sounds extremely elegant, but if you really want to practice it, the time traveler will have a big claw - Needless to say, the other consultants, even Wang Zhiwang's consultants who have been immersed in classical culture for a long time, that is impossible The export is complete, and I will give you all the perfectly tailored poems on the spot.Of course, the consultants also considered the possibility of copying the text, but after discussions and discussions, considering the unique style of poetry in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, they had no choice but to give up.

In order to cover up this embarrassing shortcoming of her own, Mu Chen drank a few cups before refusing to feel dizzy and unwell, and wanted to go down for a short rest.Then the consultants stood up and saw them off one after another, and went up to a few guards to divert the attention of the envoys from the Northern Dynasty, telling Yuan An that his niece had been taken to the backyard, and asked him to go see her immediately. .

This set of operations cooperated smoothly, and Yuan An really didn't notice anything wrong.He groaned, got up nervously and straightened his clothes, and then followed the guards out of the hall, bypassed the path behind the hall, and walked all the way to the back garden.

Since the last hasty farewell in Jiangnan, the nephew and uncle hadn't seen each other for five or six years. Now that they met by chance, Yuan An felt a little nervous.He walked quickly all the way through the flowers and willows, and gradually recalled all the rumors he heard in the north, and felt anxious and nervous about to surge up.The guard led him to a small stone pavilion under the greenery, there was indeed a graceful figure in plain clothes standing beside the stone pavilion——

Yuan An blinked.I don't know if it's an illusion, but why does he feel that his niece doesn't look so—— Pingting?

But in a moment of astonishment, the woman in Shiting had already heard footsteps.She turned around and looked around, and immediately exclaimed softly:

"uncle!"

Yuan An's heart was full of waves, and he couldn't bear it any longer. He took two big strides and blurted out his niece's nickname:

"Li Niang, Uncle finally sees you!"

While speaking, Yuan An had already walked to the side of his niece.I don't know if it was because of the different customs in the Southern Dynasties, but his niece, who was so beautiful, wore a veil, covering her entire head and face, and only the traces of tears could be vaguely seen in the veil.Yuan An was excited, looked up and down, and sighed:

"Liniang, you have been wronged in Jiangnan for so many years, and you—"

He looked at his niece again, swallowed the word "thin" on the tip of his tongue with great difficulty, and said everything on the fly:

"—Your complexion has changed. Jiangnan is hot and humid, are you still used to it?"

Yang Chan visibly froze for a moment, and finally adjusted her tone after a while, and reluctantly answered: "...that's fine. Please trouble uncle. I'm just homesick here, but living in the harem of the Southern Dynasty, what is that? There are not many people to see..."

Listening to his niece's tone, Yuan An knew that his previous words were really self-defeating.But looking at Yang Chan's soft and plump wrists and arms, he really couldn't lie against his will.So he changed the subject and talked about news about Yang Chan's mother's family.Sure enough, Yang Chan listened attentively and was very moved, she couldn't care about being fat or thin.

·

The envoys of the Northern Dynasties communicated with their niece in the back garden, and the advisory group held an impromptu meeting in the duty room of the capital province to discuss the conclusion of the diplomatic visit.

According to the practice of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, after the envoys from other countries visited, the emperor would return property to show friendship and also to show the greatness of the dynasty.No matter how hostile the two countries are, the gift must not be weak.Mu Chen and the others didn't want to take advantage of this, they just planned to take some medicinal materials and utensils to fool them.But after Yuan An made his speech, they opened the gift box of the Northern Emperor, and they were shocked after just a short look.The inside is full of jewels and strange lights, and the box is full of dazzling gemstones and jade.

Some pieces of Hetian beautiful jade, which are white and smooth like mutton fat, are of excellent quality. Liu Heng was amazed when he saw them. He said that the source of modern Hetian jade has been exhausted, and he has not seen such a good material for a long time.

So the advisory group looked at each other, and vaguely guessed the clue - probably because the firepower was too fierce before, and the upper echelons of the Northern Dynasty were frightened and sleepy, so they gave such a generous gift to make friends... Of course, the deterrence is so effective, but they like it, but the side effects It was really unexpected - the other party gave such a heavy salute, how should I return the salute?

Even if you don't ask for comparisons, but just say that courtesy is reciprocal, such an important gift should be returned with a similar one.But after mastering Jiankang, in order to raise funds for Muchen to fill the gap, the treasury and even the palace's gold, silver and jewelry have been emptied, and all of them have been sent to modern times to be exchanged for banknotes.What's more, now that the black hole of debt is expanding, the plenary meeting has repeatedly emphasized the need to establish the awareness of living a tight life, and it is obviously inappropriate to spend a lot of money on gifts.

Of course, during the discussion, Mu Chen once had a fit of money obsession, and suggested that they could get old and shameless, or use the prepared gifts to deal with it. Anyway, now that the situation has been settled, can the Northern Dynasty turn their faces for this?

This opinion is shameless, but it sounds quite reasonable.Everyone looked at each other, Wang Zhi finally coughed lightly, and politely reminded - Bei Chao naturally didn't dare to turn his face because of this, but if the stinginess is too shocking, maybe it will be included in the history books in the future...

Mu Chen opened his mouth, thinking about the strange scene where his unintentional actions were made into a historical meme, and the society died thousands of years ago, but he still couldn't muster up the courage.

"Then...let's discuss it later."

·

Yuan An lingered in the back garden with his niece for a long time, trying his best to recall all kinds of trivial things at home, collecting and telling his niece one by one.But within a few quarters of an hour, all the materials that could be searched in his stomach were wiped out for a long time. Seeing Yang Chan's sadness and joy, his emotions gradually became uncontrollable.His heart moved, seeing no one around, he simply changed the subject and asked about his niece's daily life in the Southern Dynasty:

"Liniang, I heard news from the north that something happened in the south of the Yangtze River, and even the emperor of Jiankang Palace City was detained by the King of Hengyang. The political situation has such a big storm, so you haven't been affected, have you?"

Yang Chan hummed, then lowered her head and answered softly: "I've lived in deep space for a long time, and I don't know anything. I only vaguely heard the news... Although there was a change in the palace later, His Highness treated us well, and food and clothing were not enough. shortage."

Yuan An felt a little relieved.He paused, then reached out and took out another pouch from his long sleeve, and secretly handed it to Yang Chan under the cover of flowers and leaves.Seeing his niece stretching out her hand to refuse, he looked around and said quietly:

"Hold it! What does it look like to push and push? I also grew up in the palace, don't I know the details of the palace? Even if the King of Hengyang doesn't make things difficult for you, the servants below see that you have no support, how can they not praise you?" Step on the low one? You take these little ingots and go quietly, so that you can get something—”

Speaking of this, his mind flashed, and he immediately remembered the "Declaration of Trade Integration", which seemed to have a clear text in it, stipulating that merchants on both sides of the strait can freely exchange their property:

"—Anyway, you take it first. Uncle brought less money this time, and he will be free in the future. I will entrust a trustworthy merchant in the north to bring you clothes and medicinal materials—"

He stuffed the purse to Yang Chan, feeling very grateful in his heart, thinking that the "Declaration of Integration" was really signed!

Seeing that she couldn't refuse, Yang Chan was so anxious that the tip of her nose was sweating, and hurriedly explained: "Uncle is so hardworking, and my niece can't tell it from her mouth. There are only a thousand or ten thousand gratitude in my heart, and I will never let you down." Uncle’s kindness. ——It’s just that my niece is out of the palace now, and everything is good for food, clothing, housing, and transportation. Holding these things is really a waste! Uncle, it’s really not that I want to pay attention to politeness—”

Hearing this sentence, Yuan An couldn't help frowning slightly.He wasn't too frightened by Yang Chan leaving the palace, after all, King Hengyang saw that he had great power, so there was no need to keep the concubines from the previous dynasty, but...

"Leaving the palace?" He blurted out, "You have lived in the palace for seven or eight years, where else can you live after you leave the palace?"

Yang Chan respectfully said: "I moved out with more than a dozen repairers and groomers, and now I live at the end of Wuyi Lane..."

Niaoyi Lane is the residence of Master Wang and Xie Gaomen, so the conditions are naturally not bad.Yuan An felt a little relieved, but couldn't help but ask again:

"You live with more than a dozen concubines? Is there enough manpower? How many maids did each person bring out of the palace?"

Yang Chan was silent for a while.She had been depressed in the palace for a long time, and the palace people around her also had double-mindedness. This time, she simply dismissed them all when she went out, leaving only her closest confidantes, and the two discussed to depend on each other.

This kind of behavior obviously doesn't fit the demeanor of a famous lady, so Yang Chan is also a little embarrassed.

"Only..." she whispered, "Only one."

When Yuan An heard this, he was shocked and angry.Although he has not set foot in the harem of the Southern Dynasty, he at least knows the rules of the Northern Dynasty - even the most low-ranking lover in the palace is served by three maids!King Hengyang just came to power, so he treated the former concubines so harshly, trampled all of them to this point?

He exhaled deeply, and his voice changed:

"They don't even allow girls?"

As soon as Yang Chan heard this, she knew that her uncle had a big misunderstanding.She wanted to make an excuse, but she couldn't say it no matter what - the officials of King Hengyang never restricted the palace attendants they brought, but asked the concubines to treat them equally and pay the rent.At first, the concubines didn't take it seriously, but when they really made money on their own, they immediately realized that they had started to reduce the number...

Of course, this kind of thing sounds a bit stinky, and it doesn't quite fit the bearing of a famous lady.So Yang Chan could only remain silent in embarrassment.

But she didn't speak, and Yuan An's anger surged up.He only thought about it for a while, and felt that the grievances suffered by his niece were simply unbearable, and blood-red anger gradually appeared on his face.Yang Chan didn't look good, so she quickly spoke to persuade:

"Uncle, I didn't suffer..."

— except for acne and fat.

Yuan An's anger remained undiminished, and he didn't believe this line of defense at all: "Why do you have to hide it in front of uncle? What can such a girl do?"

Yang Chan said: "Of course it is enough—"

Yuan An immediately interrupted her: "Enough, what is enough? I won't talk about anything else, how should we solve the food? The food in the big kitchen can't be eaten, and there is no maid to manage the small kitchen. You are anorexic on weekdays, what should you do?" how?"

Yang Chan opened her mouth, and found that it was really difficult for her to explain the concept of "takeaway" to her uncle, and it was even more difficult to explain how she grew such ten catties of meat from eating takeaway...

When she was so dazed, Yuan An felt aggrieved and continued to give examples:

"It's fine to bear with the food, what about your clothes? Even if you have silk and satin material in your hands, you have to be cut into clothes to wear. In the past, it was not enough to raise a few embroiderers and weavers, but now there is only one girl." Huan, even if you are exhausted, you can’t sew a single piece of clothing! Could it be that you just go out with a quilt on?!”

Uncle's words are right. Yang Chan did bring out a lot of fabrics, but she has not had the time to cut out a single piece of clothing.Even the long dress she is wearing now is a ready-to-wear garment bought at some "shop" of His Royal Highness Hengyang. ——It's strange to say, even though the store didn't measure her size, but this dress is extremely close-fitting, and the fabric is warm, silky and light as nothing, it really tickles her heart.Although the style is a bit strange, it looks elegant and gorgeous, upright and generous.

——It's just that after she got on, the royal official in the store kept muttering strange words such as "Hanfu", "shape", and "model". After checking out, he even scanned Yang Chan with a small blackboard. .

Seeing that his niece didn't answer in a daze, Yuan An added fuel to the fire, and his tone became more severe: "You can still use old things temporarily for clothes and so on. If you have so many concubines together, if someone else cooperates with you , you don’t have many maids to discuss and help, and you can’t beat four fists with both hands. Liniang, there are no palace rules to protect you now! If any concubine comes to make trouble or even snatch things, there is only one by your side Maid, how should I deal with it?"

Speaking of him here, Yuan An couldn't help but pause, with a rather worried look on his face

Yang Chan waited for his uncle to rest for a while, and finally picked up the conversation in a hurry:

"Uncle, don't worry, our residence is patrolled and guarded every day. Besides, our concubines never interact with each other, and nothing will happen—"

Yuan An was slightly surprised when he heard this, and couldn't help asking:

"Never communicate? What do you do in your spare time?"

——He grew up in the palace, and he also knew a little about the inside story of the palace fight.The reason why concubines want to fight is because of status and power on the one hand, and loneliness in the palace on the other, so they can only pass the time by this.To put it bluntly, idleness is idleness, so why not throw some musk and red flower witchcraft puppets.If the niece never interacts with anyone, how will she pass her days?

Yang Chan didn't have time to think, and blurted out the truth:

"It's nothing, I usually ask someone to buy novels to read—"

She shrank suddenly, almost biting her own tongue.

·

Although I don't understand what a "novel" is.But Yuan An is also able to observe words and expressions.Yang Chan's expression could not be clearly seen through the veil.But after saying the word "novel", the niece froze in place, she was as stupid as she was and didn't speak again, she seemed a little lost.Yuan An thought about it over and over again, only thinking that this must be because the niece had been tortured so much, she had already been beaten down, and she was about to become a wooden person.Even if King Hengyang doesn't short her food and clothing, she can't survive this kind of life!

Yuan An's younger sister only had this bit of flesh and blood, and when he thought of his niece being tortured so miserably, he couldn't help crying in a place where no one was around.That night, Yuan An tossed and turned, feeling that her niece was treated like a criminal woman, and sooner or later she would die from exhaustion. Even if she risked offending King Nilin of Hengyang, she had to find a way to speak for Liniang.

With such a bitter heart in his heart, when Yuan An bid farewell to King Hengyang, his complexion was not very good, and he remained taciturn throughout the whole process.But when the guard brought up the gift from King Hengyang, Yuan An lost his composure after opening it for a while, and almost exclaimed!

——It turned out that the box was radiant and bright, and it turned out to be dozens of fist-sized emeralds and pigeon blood red!

Even if Yuan An came from a wealthy family, he has never seen such extravagant handwriting in decades.He stood on the spot, and just glanced around in a daze, he knew that these gemstones were clear, pure, bright in color, flawless in texture, and all of them were top-notch products that could not be found.That is—even if the treasury of the Northern Dynasties is emptied, it may not be possible to find a gemstone of such quality and size...

However, his eyes were full of treasures, and the treasures displayed in the wooden box were almost piled up like a mountain!

Yuan An opened his mouth and even forgot to say thank you.He took a step forward, wanting to take a closer look.Unexpectedly, when he lifted his foot, he stumbled and nearly fell to the ground.

Mu Chen looked at the gemstones shining brightly on it, and felt very puzzled in his heart - the consultant team was solely responsible for this, and he didn't even have time to ask.Liu Heng on the left approached quietly, leaned over his ear, and answered the question softly.

"This is a new technology in my classmate's laboratory." He whispered: "Don't worry, it's absolutely fidelity. Even a professional appraisal team has to scan the tunnel to find out the difference... My classmate even offered me a friendly price. If you buy ten catties of gems, you will get two extra catties for free!"