The arrogance engraved in the bones of the Chu people is unmatched by other Xia states that uphold the Zhou etiquette and humility. This characteristic has been passed down to this day since the founding of Chu Wu King Xiong Tong, and has never been interrupted.
The prince looked at Li Ran up and down, his eyes full of disdain, and he did not hide it at all.
Li Ran can now be considered a famous person in the world, but even Li Ran like this is just as insignificant in his eyes.
"It's just a shameful name that is insulting to your Majesty Yin. Please forgive me, Lord Chu Lingyin."
In order to match the Chu people's arrogance, Li Ran also laughed at himself in a "sensible" way.
The prince laughed when he heard the sound and said disapprovingly:
"Did Zichan send you here?"
Li Ran immediately bowed and said without hesitation:
"Exactly."
"When Dr. Zichan learned that Lord Ling Yin was coming to our country, Zheng, he specially ordered his subordinates to come and greet Lord Ling Yin. He also asked the Lord to rest for a while outside the city, and then go into the city to welcome Princess Zheng."
Li Ran's intuition told him that there must be some other shocking conspiracy behind Feng Duan's choice to marry Wang Ziwei of Chu State, but he couldn't figure out what the secret was.
Of course, he was just doubtful now, so he could only continue to answer according to Wang Ziwei's words.
Since Wang Ziwei believes that Zichan is still in power in Zhengyi City, it means that he has a clear understanding of the previous situation. Therefore, he will not deliberately test it to avoid arousing Wang Ziwei's alert.
"Hmph! You people, Zheng, are so arrogant that you actually let my Ling Yin of Da Chu wait outside the city!"
Before the prince could say anything, the guards around him roared angrily.
Li Ran responded quickly:
"How dare you be rude when you are a lowly official? This is the courtesy of a scholar! Please don't blame me, sir."
What Li Ran called "the etiquette of being a scholar" is indeed true. According to the rules of Zhou etiquette, if an official wants to welcome a woman to the door, he must first wait outside the city gate to show his solemnity.
After everything is settled for the woman, her father will either send her off, or the man will go into town to welcome her.
But now, Li Ran can use this excuse to frustrate the Chu people. If you Chu people really want to hire someone against their will, then what's the harm in abiding by the rules? If you don't, does that mean there's something wrong with you?
Tell-tale secret?
So no matter what, the prince must not be able to besiege this city today.
After all, the Chu people brought two thousand elite warriors this time. If there is really a conspiracy, once he is allowed to enter the city, who of the two thousand or so Chu warriors can stop him?
By then, wouldn’t the people in Zheng Yi suffer a terrible disaster?!
Li Ran was filled with awe, and he stood with a bow, his tone was neither humble nor arrogant, which made the guards speechless for a moment.
Since you have come to the state of Zheng, and since you have come to my kingdom of Xia, you must abide by the etiquette of my Duke of Zhou! Even you, a Chu people as strong as a tiger, cannot break the rules just like that.
"Forget it, since the master has already spoken, how can we, the guests who come to hire us, not obey?"
"Here you go, we will be stationed outside the city to rest today."
Wang Ziwei's eyes glanced up and down Li Ran's body, a little cunning appeared in the corners of his eyes, and then he spoke.
After his words fell, more than two thousand Chu guards all sat on the ground, their movements uniform, and the scene was spectacular.
Even Li Ran couldn't help but secretly nod his head and praise Chu Wu and Zhuang's achievements when he saw them.
"Please, Lord Yin."
Then, Li Ran raised his hand again and was about to lead the prince into his manor.
That Wang Ziwei was also brave. He was not afraid of an ambush and followed Li Ran in on foot in a dignified manner.
After arriving at the manor and sitting down, Li Ran ordered his servants to serve scented tea with the prince. The prince picked it up and drank it gently, and was suddenly surprised.
"What is this? Is it so fragrant?"
"Master Hui Ling Yin, this thing is called tea, not sweet wine."
"This thing is mainly made of broken flowers and leaves, dried and stir-fried, gradually soaked in boiling water, boiling in one cup and warming in another cup, leaving the floral fragrance on the lips and teeth, and the coolness in the lungs."
"There is a poem that praises: Once you drink it, you will be drowsy, and your love will be bright and refreshing all over the world. Drink it again to clear your mind, and suddenly it will be like flying rain scattering light dust. After three drinks, you will gain enlightenment, so there is no need to work hard to get rid of worries."
With the advent of scented tea, Li Ran was able to popularize the concept of tea ceremony to China in advance.
However, there is always something wrong with picking up people's words, so Li Ran stopped here.
The Chinese tea ceremony has been passed down for thousands of years, and there are countless witty sayings about life, all of which are related to tea. If they were to be told one by one, I am afraid that this prince would be unable to sleep for three days and three nights.
"Well, it's quite new. I didn't expect that your country, Zheng, would have such wonderful things."
When Wang Ziwei heard Li Ran's recitation, the disdain in his brows softened slightly, but he unconsciously put down the tea cup in his hand.
Chu people are heroic by nature, and even when drinking wine, they drink it from jar after jar. How can they drink wine in such a mood?
Therefore, Li Ran's so-called "Tao will be achieved after three drinks, why bother to work hard to get rid of worries", I'm afraid it is of little use to them Chu people.
"Your Majesty is here and has had tea. Now you should tell me what kind of medicine you are selling in this gourd, right?"
The conversation changed and Wang Ziwei asked calmly.
He originally thought that Feng Duan had already made arrangements in Zhengyi, and Li Ran's arrival was at best a secret confrontation between Zi Chan and Feng Duan, so Li Ran had to have a purpose to intercept him halfway.
But who knew that Li Ran was deliberately stunned when he heard the sound, pretending to be puzzled and said:
"Is it because the authorities didn't make it clear?"
"Since Lord Ling Yin is marrying a bride against his will, according to Zhou etiquette, it is not appropriate for Ling Yin to enter the city at this time. This is the courtesy of the Duke of Zhou."
"When everything is ready in Dr. Boshi's house, he will come to invite Mr. Yin to the city to marry him."
"And the reason why I invited Lord Ling Yin here is because I don't want you to think that I, Mr. Zheng, are too rude and let you camp out and sleep in the open. Wouldn't this make the world a joke?"
Since this reason has been used, it must be implemented to the end.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Li Ran served as the governor of the Zhou Dynasty, so he naturally knows the so-called Zhou rites very well, and these words can be said to be watertight.
He didn't believe it. This prince Wei really dared to take action outside Zhengyi City?
Sure enough, when the prince heard the sound, he was speechless for a moment and could only sneer.
Seeing this, Li Ran quickly ordered his servants to bring him wine and food.
"Your Majesty Ling Yin has traveled thousands of miles to Zheng and is tired from all the traveling. I am here to help your Lord Yin receive the wind and wash away the dust."
Since we want to hold back Wang Ziwei, how can we avoid having food and wine?
And Wang Ziwei also knew that he could not act rashly at this time, so he immediately agreed readily.
So in the lobby, Li Ran asked the servants to fill a whole table with delicious dishes.
As a traveler from the state of Zheng, he also wanted to fulfill his duties as a landlord, so he toasted to Wang Ziwei and his accompanying guests.
It just so happened that Prince Wei was born with the best wine, otherwise how could future generations compare him to Shang King Di Xin?
When he saw the fine wine and food on the table, he had some doubts in his heart, but after toasting, he seemed to have forgotten all about it in an instant, and he had a strong feeling of "calling for the fine wine, and sharing the eternal sorrow with you."
"Come on, come on!"
"I would like to thank Lord Yin for your hard work and coming all the way!"
"Have you not seen how heroic the madman of Chu Jun is? His embroidered wine cups and swords are intertwined with his spears and halberds. When I see him today, he is truly worthy of his reputation!"
Li Ran also took the opportunity to "flatter", and his rainbow fart shots were so fresh and refined that even Wang Ziwei couldn't help but laugh "haha" and put the cup into his throat repeatedly.
But even so, Wang Ziwei's expression remained unchanged even after three bowls of delicious food. During the dinner, he was chatting and laughing with Li Ran, showing no signs of getting drunk. Naturally, there was no expectation that he would make a drunken gaffe.