atypical prostitute

Chapter 231 All Nations Come to DPRK
All envoys have an exquisite heart with seven apertures, who are omnipotent by observing words, observing colors, and steering the rudder according to the wind.

What's more, the internal affairs of the Xie dynasty were chaotic. Who didn't know that the little emperor on the dragon chair was the puppet of the queen mother, and the power was in the hands of King Wei and General Ye.

Therefore, the dragon boat of the general manager of Yangzhou has not sailed into Chang'an City, but the gift-giving and spectators have already crowded both sides of the Qujiang River.

Li Ci and Ye Chuan stood side by side on the bow of the boat, looking into the distance, and seeing curly-haired men and women in Hu suits and narrow sleeves at the berth, he couldn't help chuckling: "It's different now, even the hidden matter of giving gifts is upright."

"In this way, the one in the palace can save some spies' expenses."

Ye Chuan said casually, now that he and Empress Dowager Pei are at odds, he doesn't bother to put on the attitude of a loyal minister and good general, it's easy to be bullied if he is misunderstood.

"You--"

Li Ci pointed jokingly, but didn't mind.

Since the Empress Dowager Pei is doomed not to tolerate them, no matter how humble and humble they are, they will not be able to please her.That being the case, simply act arrogantly and unscrupulously, at least feel happy!
"Things in the world are so unfair. When you like it, do what is right. When you don't like it, what you do is wrong! The same is true between courtiers and monarchs."

Repeating in a low voice, just as the dragon boat was docking, Li Ci walked off the dragon boat slowly with the support of her servants. Unexpectedly, as soon as the plank of the boat was lowered, envoys flocked to them, holding the gift list in their hands, with flattering smiles on their faces, vying to be the first.

Li Ci didn't pay much attention to this, let the guards leave the turbulent crowd, and boarded the carriage on his own.Thanks to Ye Chuan's thoughtfulness, even if there were envoys from the imperial city urging him to go to the palace for an audience, he waited until his wife and son got into the carriage and everything was ready, and he did not forget to carefully instruct the steward to arrange the envoys properly, and everything was settled. Only then did the edict return to life.

So on the day when the general returned, the people in the capital were fortunate enough to witness the general's majestic and ceremonial procession, and also saw dozens of horse-drawn carriages followed closely behind jade-made carriages.

……

……

The envoy's gift was naturally to curry favor with the most sought-after general, Sima, but Ye Chuan's flamboyant demeanor also aroused the astonishment of all the dignitaries in the capital.

But Li Ci didn't care. She knew that the Western Regions were a land of alienation. If they hadn't been scared by the general Ye Chuan, they wouldn't pay tribute to Xie Dynasty in a proper manner. In the final analysis, what they were afraid of Not the queen mother, not the king of Wei, but her husband.

Therefore, I decided to make a high profile, open the middle door wide, and all the envoys were registered at the gatehouse of Ye Mansion, and the long waiting queue stretched from the main hall to the entrance of the alley.

This kind of momentum is really shocking and extremely arrogant.

But so what about the slander, Li Ci sat on the bed and arrogantly listened to the steward's roll call.

"The envoys of the Anxi Kingdom enshrined the general twenty catties of uncut jade, one hundred catties of agate, ten dendrobium pearls, one hundred hundred-year-old nanmu, five catties of myrrh, and thirty singers..."

Every time they sang the same song, the attendants of the Resting Messenger would hold out the presents and show them off. After the wife nodded, they would then hand them to the servants of the Ye family.

Li Ci looked at the rough jade and agate in Anxi with great interest.

The envoys from the Western Regions were all rare and cunning, and the gift lists sent to important officials of the Xie Dynasty only included the total amount of items.For example, twenty catties of raw jade are actually twenty jade cups carved with vines, two acacia jade pots, a three-foot-high jade horse riding on auspicious clouds, and a jade pillow made of more than a hundred jade pieces. Ten catties, so the gift book says twenty catties of uncut jade.As for the one hundred catties of agate, it is the total weight of several agate statues and a five-foot-high agate ebony screen. The screen is mainly made of fiery red agate, with natural patterns of mountains and rivers and flowing water on it, which is very valuable.

If it is according to the preferences of the craftsmen of the Xie Kingdom, any comments on these items will be given cumbersome names and written in detail on the gift list.Thanks to the Anxi Kingdom's envoys being sensible, General Ye was able to openly accept the gift, but they did not dare to offend others openly, and only generally gave twenty catties of uncut jade and one hundred catties of agate.If it is spread in this way, it is not afraid that the king of Wei, who has also received the ceremony, will be unhappy.

Compared with big countries such as Anxi and Yuezhi, the gifts from small countries such as Dawan, Wusun, Qiuci, Khotan, Qule, and Cheshi are naturally much dimmer, but it is better because of their delicate thoughts and sincerity. The gift list was just as general, but it took the Ye family three or five hours to sort out everything and make a book for storage.

It just so happened that it was the first time the lights came on, and Ye Chuan returned from the palace, so the master kindly invited the guests from the Western Regions to get drunk tonight.

……

Li Ci did not attend the banquet.

She knew that a banquet full of men would inevitably be messy, and the hostess staying in the banquet hall not only made herself uncomfortable, but also made them afraid to have fun, so she found an excuse to be tired and stayed in the backyard to look through the candlelight. Booklet.

The medicine materials needed by the army were selected and sent to the camp. The singers only kept those honest ones, those who were too active or had bad intentions, and they were all treated as gifts. When the banquet and wine were warm, they were sent to the courtier's mansion as a favor.

What people don't know how to deal with is the jewels and gemstones that occupy the largest part of the gift list. The Ye Mansion has been favored for many generations, and there is no shortage of jewels.Immediately asked the steward to take out a few precious and rare things from the gift, and sent them to the palaces of the princes on a certain day. He also chose some surprising and cute little objects, and prepared to send the slaves to the princess of Anping, the Liu family, the Fu family, and the Bai family after dawn. And so on, it can be regarded as the same spirit, sharing weal and woe.

However, after being arranged in this way, seeing that there were still many inconvenient items on the roster, Li Ci finally realized the core of the problem: when all nations come to court, there are so many envoys vying to flatter them, and in the future—it will be worth it!

Power over the world, indeed sweet.

What a scene to enjoy this taste for generations!

It's no wonder that this dynasty has been suppressing the powerful and promoting the common people since Emperor Xuan.Powerful ministers, powerful families and giants are all sworn enemies of imperial power.

However, Emperor Xuan finally chose to submit, and Emperor Wu's reforms had begun to bear fruit, but he was jealous of talents and could not carry them through.

Those who are in power now—whether it is the King of Wei or the Queen Mother—are unable to suppress the powerful and nobles without shaking the court.

Therefore, the Ye family's position became even more delicate. One step further would be a powerful minister, and one step back would be ruined.

If we can make perfect use of the current situation and gradually expand the influence of the Ye family on the government, in the end——

Be Duke of Zhou!
Li Ci thought coldly, the powerful ministers seized the power of the emperor to do their own selfishness.Today's public acceptance of envoy gifts is just the first letter of war to the Queen Mother!
Realizing that the road ahead is long and dangerous for Li Ci, and looking at the gift book again, he no longer has a splitting headache. At this time, Jun Fengxi was also invited, so he pointed to the gold and jade all over the floor with a smile: "Mr. like?"

Jun Fengxi glanced at it casually, and said casually: "They are all vulgar things, but the small country doesn't have any good things at all, so it's hard for them to scrape together so much."

He said again: "You solemnly invited me over late at night, just for this?"

"Although it is a vulgar thing, it is also the best thing they found. Mr. Jun, you are an expert in the world, how can you know the suffering of the people."

Because he hated him for refusing to be his son's adoptive father, Li Ci said half complaining and half ironically, and the sour words immediately provoked Jun Fengxi to sneer.

"Indeed, if these things are in the homes of ordinary people, any one of them can make a family of four eat and drink for a lifetime. But... no matter how expensive white jade and gemstones are, they are still stones if they can't be turned into rice grains. These things cost millions. It is very luxurious, but it cannot be turned into money, rice and grain to support the people."

"I can give it—"

"Reward from the general, who dares to sell it privately and exchange it for money and rice?"

"Can--"

Suddenly discovering that Li Ci's thoughts were led into the maze by Jun Fengxi's fallacious reasoning, she decisively chose to give up. She smiled and said, "What you said is very true, it's my short-sightedness."

Jun Fengxi, who didn't expect her to be so perceptive, smiled and pretended to be arrogant: "There is nothing wrong with Madam's thinking. After all, these objects are rare and beautiful in the world. It is feasible to use them as rewards and buy people's hearts." .”

He spoke casually and casually. Li Ci knew that he hated himself for inviting him late at night for trivial things, so knowing that he was teasing him, he accepted it silently and did not complain. Instead, he took this opportunity to ask him to review the gift list for him. Those objects are re-registered according to their value, which ones can be left as rewards to the family generals, and which ones are suitable for the courtiers at the banquet welcome...

Jun Fengxi knew that what she said just now was a bit hurtful, but she didn't expect that Li Ci not only did not hold grudges, but instead took the opportunity to seek benefits for herself. She immediately had a new evaluation of this woman, and she didn't even mind her use, so she brought two stewards Strolling through the warehouse, the objects were appraised and roughly divided in a short time, and the rest of the details were naturally handed over to the stewards.

In this way, the busy work in the backyard is over, and it is already the climax of the moon. Hearing the faint sound of feasting coming from the front, and seeing that the stewards are so busy, Li Ci can't sleep on his own, so he and Junfeng Xi played chess for entertainment, while the stewards who made the books were working at their desks, and when they encountered puzzles, they could ask them on the spot, which was quite comfortable.

However, as the so-called right and wrong are human nature, when those who are playing chess and making books are enjoying themselves, an unexpected visitor ushered in the backyard.

She was a beautiful woman from the Western Regions, as bright as the moon, with pale golden hair, blue eyes, and white skin like snowflakes. She was wearing a white silk robe decorated with purple stripes, and she stood at the door naturally as if walking in a garden.

Li Ci had a little knowledge of the dress codes of the Western Regions, and knew that those who could decorate their silk robes with crimson purple were the nobles among the nobles, and most of them were related to the Pope.Although this woman acted sneakily, but she was beautiful and dressed in noble clothes, so Li Ci lost his disgust and ordered his servants to invite her in. Before he was seated, he said kindly: "The night is getting dark, the envoy is addicted to drinking on the way?"

The woman didn't reply.

Li Ci recalled that most of the members of the Western Region Mission understand Chinese, and was about to ask Jun Fengxi to translate for her, but after a brief silence, the woman looked up and said with a smile: "I didn't drink, I'm very sober."

He can speak fluent Chinese!

Because she was not dressed as a young girl, Li Ci said again: "Madam visits the inner courtyard late at night, what's your business?"

This time, the woman didn't answer immediately, she got up slowly, walked to the center of the hall, looked at Li Ci, knelt down on one knee, her head drooped, and her long hair fell like tassels.

"You... this is..."

The sudden kneeling caught Li Ci by surprise, and she was about to step forward to help her up, when Jun Fengxi, who had been concentrating on playing with the chess pieces, suddenly raised her head and interjected, "As the religious leader of the 36 countries in the Western Regions, you have always called the wind and rain, and you are unparalleled. How come? After entering Chang'an, he suddenly became humble, kneeling down at every turn?"

"The religious leaders of the 36 countries in the Western Regions!?"

Li Ci was stunned.

But the blond woman, because of Jun Fengxi's words, slowly raised her head proudly.

"The theory of reincarnation... I was skeptical at first, but after seeing you, I no longer doubt it."

(End of this chapter)