After Zhu Zhen finished drinking the welcome wine, the old man with a big earring in his left ear and a bun as thick as a conch bun on his head respectfully invited him to enter the city.
Zhu Zhen walked side by side with the old man into the city gate and headed towards Xuanwei Mansion in the center of the city.
On the way, the old man introduced himself. His name was Longzan Anuo. He was Aicui's uncle, and he was Bimo of the Shuixi tribe. In his own words, Bimo is "the three positions of counselor, historian, and shaman combined into one, reaching the sky."
A person, a person in charge of writing and writing, a person who performs rituals and writes history.
"Awesome." Zhu Zhen gave a thumbs up and praised: "You are always knowledgeable."
Longzan Anuo was very happy and said that he taught the younger generations of the clan Chinese.
"Are their Chinese as fluent as the old gentleman?" Zhu Zhen asked with a smile.
"Alas, it's far from enough." Longzan Anuo said depressedly, "Not many people can speak Chinese well."
"It's normal." Zhu Zhen said with a smile: "We don't usually see many Han people here. There are not many opportunities to speak Chinese. Even if we learn it, we have forgotten it."
"There are still Han people coming to do business," Longzan Anuo sighed: "I told them that there will be more and more Han people here in the future, but they just don't study hard."
"How did you see the old man?" Zhu Zhen asked with interest.
"After conquering Yunnan, the imperial court will definitely restore the Ancient Tea Horse Road. Guizhou is located at the intersection of several commercial roads, so it will definitely become very lively." Longzan Anuo said, stroking his smooth chin.
Not only he was beardless, but all the barbarians were beardless.
"The old gentleman is very knowledgeable." Zhu Zhen's praise this time came from the bottom of his heart. It seems that there are knowledgeable people in every clan.
"It's a pity that they didn't listen to me." Longzan Anuo looked back at the people behind him melancholy, and chatted with them in native dialect.
Zhu Zhen wanted to chat with him more, but at this time his eyes were attracted elsewhere.
In front of the government office with the plaque "Guizhou Xuanwei Division" hanging on it, two beautiful women wearing black floor-length skirts and black scarves wrapped around their heads stood pretty.
One is tall and has an oval face, with bright and graceful features. The other is petite and has a melon-seed face, with soft and charming features. Both girls have no makeup, and both look a little haggard, but they add a bit of pitifulness to them, which makes people feel a sense of care.
Heart.
Seeing the young King of Chu looking over, the two girls were blessed, but they were doing standard Han family etiquette.
The taller one announced his family name and said: "The widow of the Xuanwei envoy from Guizhou is called Shexiang to pay her respects to His Highness."
When Zhu Zhen heard this name, his pupils couldn't help but shrink. Fortunately, he had already practiced so much that he didn't sing in front of everyone.
The other one also introduced himself: "Guizhou Xuanwei Envoy Tongzhi's widow, Mrs. Liu, pays homage to His Highness."
"It turns out they are the two madams." Zhu Zhen quickly collected himself, cupped his fists and returned the greeting: "My condolences."
"Thank you, Your Highness." The two young widows' voices were a little hoarse, and they returned the courtesy again before respectfully inviting him in.
~~
Zhu Zhen went into the mourning hall, lit incense for the two people in the coffin, and read out the emperor's imperial edict proclaiming Ai Cui as Zhongyi Bo and Song Qin as Zhongmin General. This was considered to be the completion of condolences.
After the two ladies returned the courtesy, they invited him to have tea in the main hall. Bimolongzan Anuo was accompanied by several leaders.
Zhu Zhen found that the furnishings and expenses in the Xuanwei Mansion were basically the same as those of the Han people, but this was normal. The lifestyle of the rich Han people was what all the barbarian nobles in this era aspired to.
What's more, these two ladies' Chinese is so standard, they are actually Yi people with a high level of Chinese.
The conversation naturally started with condolences. On behalf of the emperor, Zhu Zhen once again expressed his sincere greetings to the two ladies and asked them if there was anything they needed the court to do. Don't be polite.
"Uncle Zhongyi and General Zhongmin, they dedicated their lives to the cause of the unification of the Ming Dynasty. They have served the country well. My father is very heartbroken," Zhu Zhen said warmly to the two young widows:
"That is why I have specially ordered the king to come to Guizhou in person, firstly to pay tribute to the old man, and secondly to express condolences to the two ladies. I also asked the king to help you take care of the affairs of the two loyal ministers, so that they can feel at ease."
The two women looked at each other and saw a hint of joy in each other's eyes, but in front of so many people, they couldn't say anything more, so they just thanked each other profusely.
Zhu Zhen's eyes are so poisonous now, and he can immediately see the changes in the expressions of the two of them. Then look at the arrogant people next to them with their ears angled, as if they were taking a listening test, and you know that they have something to say and cannot say it in public.
Then he asked again: "Has the date of burial been decided? The king wants to send two loyal ministers on their last journey."
"Not yet." Mrs. Shexiang replied softly.
"Oh, I don't know about the funeral customs here..." Zhu Zhen asked deliberately.
"..." Everyone in the lobby looked embarrassed.
"Returning to your highness, the funeral custom in the east and west of the country is that people are cremated after three days of rest." Mrs. Liu said cheerfully.
"Three days?" Zhu Zhen said in surprise: "How many three days have these been?"
"It's been almost a month." Mu Ying also said to him seriously: "Is it because Ju Mu's funeral was particularly grand, so..."
"No, they are all the same." Ms. Liu shook her head and was about to say the reason.
But he was interrupted by a middle-aged man with a dark face and long and pointed bun on his head: "It's because this month is not suitable for burial, right, Old Bimo?"
The corner of Longzan Anuo's mouth twitched a few times, but he still nodded and said: "Ah, yes, that's right, our Luoluo people's calendar is a ghost month, so we can't bury it."
"..." Mrs. Liu bit her red lips tightly and was about to speak, but she saw Shexiang shaking her head slightly, and then she swallowed the words.
"So," seeing that Shexiang had made up his mind not to talk on this occasion, Zhu Zhen stopped teasing and asked the old Bimo directly: "Has the date of burial been decided?"
"Next month." Longzan Anuo wiped his sweat and said, "We still have to wait and see."
"Well..." Zhu Zhen exhaled a long breath and said, "Okay, I will wait until next month."
"Ah?" Most of the leaders changed their expressions. Another yellow-faced man couldn't help but said: "You want to stay for so long?"
"What, aren't you welcome?" Zhu Zhen smiled faintly. The pressure of the superior turned the yellow-faced man into a white-faced man.
"Old Bimo..." The yellow-faced man also quickly asked Longzan Anuo for help.
"Your Highness, please calm down. I just said that they can't speak Chinese well," Longzan Anuo hurriedly added: "What Amang Mukui means is that Your Highness is a busy man. How can he stay in a remote place like ours for a long time? We are too
I feel so sorry, so please come back early, Your Highness."
"Hahaha, that's it." Zhu Zhen laughed and nodded, and the yellow-faced Aman felt relieved. He only dared to smile and did not dare to speak anymore.
"You don't have to worry about me. I am entrusted with the imperial edict. I have to wait until the two loyal ministers are buried before I can go back to pay my respects." He then smiled and said, "Besides, I have brought my own dry food and I won't make you poor. Don't worry."
"If you don't know how to speak, just say less." At this time, Mrs. Shexiang scolded the leaders, then stood up and apologized to Zhu Zhen and said: "Your Highness can come all the way to Guizhou, it is our Shuidong and Shuixi.
It is the greatest honor, how can I neglect His Highness? Of course I have to kill cattle and sheep to honor the distinguished guests!"
After saying that, he waved and said: "Let's have a dinner!"
