Compared with the ghostly jungle that trapped them for many days, the mountains and fields on the way from Liu Shenghan's hut to the capital of Xiangji Kingdom passed by in a blink of an eye. It felt like they had not trekked for too long, and the city wall had already appeared in their field of vision.
The outline of the human body. This trace of human habitation made the three people somewhat excited. For them, the above
Being in a prosperous city-state feels like a lifetime ago. Although I encountered a village soon after landing, I have spent most of my time under Liu Shenghan's roof recently. But whether it is a settlement where monsters and humans live together, it is still a shelter built by one person.
, cannot give people a real sense of civilization like the capital of a country. What has happened here?
Perhaps because of its smaller size, the capital of this country is not as heavily guarded as its hometown, and the inspections at the city gate are much laxer. They were originally worried about whether it would be difficult for outsiders to enter the capital, but the people on duty only talked to Liu Sheng.
Han exchanged a few words with each other, then waved to let the group of people go. Once they stepped into the city gate, the bustling people's voices felt like warmth.
The waves flowed over them, with unfamiliar accents, not losing half of the friendly and inexplicable atmosphere of the city. Jun Aoyan was used to marching and fighting, and Bai Ya was also a wandering master, and he was calm and high-spirited.
It wasn't obvious. Qi Huan was noticeably more energetic. He stretched his neck and looked around until he finally stopped at the entrance of the palace.
"I have something to report to the king." Liu Shenghan said softly to the guard at the door, his tone was polite but still cold, "We have a portrait of the leader of the incense god. If you want to enshrine it, please pass it on.
"
The palace is cold and the emperor is majestic. This is the stereotype of the capital of the three people who first came here. Here, the king does not seem to be as hard to find as a grand master in his hometown. However, the relationship between people
The estrangement is the same everywhere. Those who rely on their status are often not the real high-ranking people in the temple. Instead, it is the people at the next level who are keen on pretending to be powerful and seize any opportunity to put on airs and show off.
"It's really unbearable. People like you make my eyes bulge when I see you." The guard leading the way was Matsukawa Yang. He read out his name dryly like a benefactor, and then vomited disdain. "
Everyone wants to have a relationship with Lord Xiangshen. If you want to rely on His Majesty
I have a kind heart and hope that His Majesty can recommend you. I advise you to give up the idea as soon as possible. There are thousands of people in the Xiangyin Sect, and there is no shortage of cats, dogs, fish, and shrimps. You'd better come up with something special, which can be considered as an invitation.
We people have a lot of fun after dinner."
Words like this kept coming out one after another along the way. Even though the journey was short, it was enough to make a few people tense up. They were out of patience and worried that their companions would not be able to endure it. Fortunately, everyone knew the general outline, and the palace and courtyard were not that big.
Not long after, Matsukawa Yang brought them to the entrance of the main hall, and the four of them quickly left him behind and entered the hall.
Even the guards at the door and other guards along the hall had cold faces, which made people angry. After this experience, the three first-timers were somewhat wary, fearing that the monarch was also an arrogant person. Liu Shenghan said to
They responded with reassuring smiles.
Sure enough, as soon as he stood in the main hall, the monarch on the throne took the initiative to speak, his voice was calm, less serious and oppressive, and with the characteristic generosity of a superior.
"Mrs. Liu, I haven't seen you for a while, but I'm glad you are safe. How many times have I met you since we first went back to the festival?"
Liu Shenghan bowed calmly.
"I'm sorry that I'm stupid and can't recall it for the moment."
"If you think about it, you can report it to me at any time."
"Thank you for your kindness. Today I am here to make an introduction to these friends."
"I heard something."
The king of Xiangji Kingdom turned his eyes. His middle-aged face had a unique vicissitude, but it was not old. In their hometown, almost all men and women have long hair. But in Xiangji Kingdom
, this man who is less than sixty years old has short hair and a thick and short beard. Like his hair, the stubble has a few strands of gray, which adds a hint of depth to his calm tone.
Bai Ya and the others were somewhat surprised when they heard what he said.
"The coast of the Jiutian Kingdom is not the territory of our Xiangji Kingdom. You came across the sea from the north, and it took a lot of hard work to reach this place all the way. Not to mention that you also experienced a hard battle in the territory under the jurisdiction of the Poseidon."
"you……"
"Don't be impatient." He said again, and Bai Ya keenly felt that the other person's eyes lingered on him for a while, "This place is under the protection of Lord Xiang God, and it is the territory of our Xiangji Kingdom. You and Poseidon
The grievances and grievances of believers cannot affect the attitude of Xiangji State towards you. How this country treats you depends on how you treat your own country."
He stopped talking and silently motioned for them to speak. At some point, Liu Shenghan retreated slightly and stood at the back of the four, obviously asking them to speak for themselves. Both Bai Ya and Jun Aoyan
Not one to speak softly, Qi Huan swallowed dryly and took a step forward holding the box containing the scroll.
"Well, uh... um. We have come all the way, and we are only sincere to Xiangji Kingdom and to you. Unfortunately, we encountered a shipwreck and lost all our belongings. Wan Wang wanted to express his sincerity with a small gift of a scroll."
His palms were a little sweaty, but fortunately the wooden box was not fastened tightly, and the lid was opened obediently, facing him. Amidst the faint fragrance of wood and ink, he thought to himself, what if he saw the emperor of his country?
, don’t say this box can’t be directed towards you.
Qi Huan was taken away for inspection the moment he entered the palace. As Liu Shenghan said, there were indeed two scrolls in the box. Qi Huan kept her instructions in mind and took out the outer scroll and handed it to the palace attendants to see.
Ask the other party to present it to the king.
The monarch unfolded it and scanned it for a moment, then placed it on the table. With sharp eyes, Qi Huan vaguely saw that the human figure on it seemed to lack some sense of sanctity, and was somewhat similar to the "common man" in the palace.
"I heard that when you entered the palace, I reported that the gift I wanted to give you seemed not to be this painting."
Not this painting?
Not the incense statue?
Qi Huan was excited and subconsciously glanced at Liu Shenghan. The latter remained calm and showed no mood swings such as sending the wrong painting or taking the wrong painting. Instead, Qi Huan caught a hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth, and he immediately
Pass away.
Did you see it wrong?
"Don't worry. I already know your thoughts. Since you are the guests brought by Madam Liu, why don't you tell me the reason why you came all the way from the northern continent, so that you can gain more in our Xiangji Kingdom?
convenient."
Before Qi Huan could recover, Bai Ya took the initiative to answer the question.
"We are not here for the pleasure of dogs and horses, nor for money and treasures. What we are here for is people."
"People?" The monarch looked slightly sideways, "Who are they?"
"Years ago, there were several teams that set off from the north and entered the South... Jiutian Kingdom. Then, there was no news. There were our blood relatives in the team. Our purpose of this trip was to find them and bring them home. Never thought that,
The shipwreck destroyed our helpers and supplies. Since embarking on the 9th
On the land of heaven, we have a rough understanding that the power of a few people here is only a drop in the bucket. For the gods of the Nine Heavens Kingdom, if they are not the deluded Yakshas under the God of the Sea, we would naturally be willing to treat them with respect and wholeheartedly... Xiang
Jiguo is a place of truth, right?"
Faced with the impolite temptation in the last sentence, his friends all sweated. This man could speak well and say nice things, but he often had ulterior motives and would come up with such tit-for-tat lines. The monarch
There was no change in his expression, but he nodded slightly. It couldn't be called approval, at least it didn't condemn him.
"Of course. I have said that our attitude completely depends on you. If you use troops, we will naturally fight with swords. If you treat them with courtesy, we will also treat the virtuous corporal."
"Sure, I like people like you who speak the truth. Let me speak first - it's not that I look down on the territory of Xiangji Kingdom, nor am I questioning your ability as the king of a country. It's just that we know nothing about Jiutian Kingdom, let alone
I don’t know where our loved ones have gone many years ago. Let alone us, I’m afraid you can’t find a needle in a haystack on your own. Therefore, we want to gain God’s approval and use the power of the gods to walk this way so that we can reunite with our family as soon as possible.”
The middle-aged man nodded, reached out to touch his stubble, and paused for a moment.
"Well... I appreciate your love for your family - and your courage." Then, he changed the topic, "But, if you want to talk about gods, getting recognition and help is not a trivial matter that can be decided in a single thought.
"
The monarch described it plainly, but somehow, Bai Ya smelled some meaningful traces in it.
Jun Aoyan frowned and asked from the side: "Then what do you mean..."
"This matter needs long-term consideration. Now that I have entered the palace and stayed here for one night, I will spend some time with the cabinet ministers and discuss it for a while before giving you an accurate answer. Come and take some distinguished guests to rest.
Bar!"
His voice became louder and echoed in the empty hall for a long time. A maid, two guards, and the one named Matsukawa Yang from before came to lead the way. Without letting the four of them say anything more, they were forcibly forced
He asked to go down. Speaking of this, several people were not sure, and they didn't know what the monarch meant.
They could not estimate the scale of the entire imperial city. However, it was quite a distance from the main palace to the guest room prepared for them, and several people were required to sit on an open carriage. Matsukawa Yang drove the carriage, and the maids and guards followed on horseback.
.They didn’t see many people along the way, which showed that the palace was still a little deserted. Although these roads were well built and looked good, they were relatively narrow. They were about as wide as the roads in Yue Bai Zhi Xinyue Palace. Anyway, people didn’t expect the emperor to be there.
city.
"Tsk, you're lucky." Matsukawa Yang glanced back, "Otherwise, I would have kicked you out. They even held a cabinet meeting... It's really strange."
Qi Huan smacked his lips and said, "Hey, be respectful. After all, we are also honored guests of the monarch."
"Hey. Don't put me together with the kind of people who serve food to others, you know?"
Aren't you still a bitch? Qi Huan didn't say this, for fear that he would get off his horse and take the others away, leaving them here. This Matsukawa Yang, probably has a status similar to that of the head of internal affairs, right? He couldn't be sure.
"Hey, Lao Yang. Did you know that your job and position are called eunuchs in our place?"
"Huh?" Matsukawa Yang turned his head slightly, "What does that mean?"
Others did not expect that the dignified Xiangji Kingdom had no eunuchs, and even the people in the palace did not know this. Others also looked at them curiously, waiting for an explanation. Now Qi Huan felt a little embarrassed, and looked at
Bai Ya and the others didn't want to start a fight. They scratched their heads stiffly, looking for words.
"That's... the eunuch, the eunuch among the eunuchs."
"Salted people? Isn't it salty?" asked a teenage maid.
"...It's okay, just praise him."
"That's it." A guard brother thought thoughtfully, "The names you have there are quite strange. I think His Majesty appreciates a few of you. If you stay, maybe for Mrs. Liu's sake, you will also
You can behave like a eunuch."
"No, no, no, no, no, no..." Qi Huan muttered, "I still want to get a wife."
"Can't eunuchs get married? Is it because the official is too big?" The little maid blinked, "Your place is really strict. It's better for us in Xiangji country. No one gossips about anyone who wants to fall in love with whomever they want."
Looking back, he saw that the expression management of the other people was on the verge of collapse. Even Liu Shenghan couldn't help laughing. He felt that he had suffered a dumb loss. He was dissatisfied but had no choice. This was really annoying.
"Okay, here we are."
Matsukawa Yang reined in his horse, parked the car in a wide area, and jumped off the horse.
