C19

It wasn't that Zhuang Li hadn't thought about it, but that she really couldn't find a way to return and spend her entire life in the West Cold just like that? Honestly speaking, she was very willing, after all these years, West Cold had long become her second home. She brought Qing You here. The warm, sunlit earth, the sweet fruits, the soft, oily rice, the roast sheep in winter, the smell of the grass, the cries of the little white dragon …

Sometimes, even if you don't do anything, you just lie in the courtyard of King Xiao's Palace. Watching the sun shining from one end of the sky to the other, they all felt incredibly happy.

As for Ge Ya and Xi Cuo. She had long since become an inseparable family member.

Their passionate, kind, and free, yet fearless lives seemed to be as indispensable as the sunlight that shone into Zhuang Li's heart.

Do you love him? Will you stay in the West Cold forever? She kept asking herself and then gave Xi Cuo a bright smile in response.

Hiding behind her veil, she kept apologizing. Under the light of the candle, Zhao Ci's face looked familiar yet foreign. It made her look even more beautiful.

Was this face still Zhao Ci? she asked herself, but no one gave her the answer.

"?"

As the treasury began to move, Zhuang Li began to arrange and purchase gold. More than six hundred white porcelain water jars were placed at the palace's exit. When the envoy entered the city, they were filled with flowers from the Western Regions.

All the curtains in the court were replaced with gold. The tablecloth had been replaced with a fire-red pomegranate line.

All the dishes were polished with blue glaze, and the wine and dining plates were made of silver.

Wine was prepared for at least sixty years, and there was a lost aroma in the corner of the palace banquet, and glazed curtains.

Zhuang Li was so busy that she wished she could have four more hands to command the workers. A maid tidying up the flowers and plants was also busy running in and out of the palace. She felt that her legs were about to break. Qing You was responsible for the thorough cleaning of the room. He also brought a bunch of maids with him from sunrise to sunset. Ge Ya, on the other hand, was busy with the imperial guards. Every now and then, they would come over to complain to Second Brother.

Although Xi Cuo also went in and out of the palace every day, he was in a hurry and didn't have time to meet Zhuang Li. Zhuang Li, on the other hand, wasn't embarrassed at all.

The preparation for the banquet proceeded in an orderly manner. At the end of the month, the first batch of emissaries from West Cold arrived: Da Wan Country.

On the day the envoy entered the city, many citizens had gathered on the street to watch the show. Their clothing and attire were different from that of the citizens of West Cold, so Xi Cuo led the way to the Western River Palace. The envoys that came to pay their respects gradually arrived, and they all stayed at the Western River Palace.

Qing You entered happily. When Zhuang Li saw her expression, she guessed that she had secretly gone to see the envoy enter the city. He didn't care about her. This little girl had grown a lot taller. At the beginning of the month, he had to make her a new set of clothes.

The West Cold and Great Wisdom Kingdom had always been on good terms, so they had prepared thick and heavy gifts. Carrying a total of eight large boxes, they all followed the envoys and placed them in the West River palace. In the evening, they arrived at the four city lords of West Cold city one after another. Zhuang Li listened to the people below reporting the number of people as she helped to draw the tick on Ge Ya's paper.

"?"

The day Ge Ya and Zhuang Li entered the palace, the king had always liked Zhuang Li, and thought that she was diligent in her work, that she was too dependable, that she could save Ge Ya too much trouble when she was together with her. When it came to the celebration of national affairs, she always had some ingenious little ideas, which made her want to come to the palace with Ge Ya.

The Great Yu State entered the great hall, took out a scripture, and began to deliver gifts. A half meter tall emerald stone, a screen inlaid with coral beads … Zhuang Li was dazzled by the treasures one by one. It was not the first time that the envoy of the Da Wan Empire had paid tribute to the Emperor in the West Cold, so they were naturally familiar with each other. After she was done, she sat down and began to chat with the King, talking about the snow lotuses the Da Wan Nation had contributed to the West Cold. That snow lotus was harvested from deep within the snow mountains in the Western Regions. It was around the size of a bowl and placed in a glass filled with ice cubes. It's not easy to get. The messenger said.

When it came to obtaining these deep mountain snow lotuses, it was all thanks to the help of West Cold, Eldest Prince. At that time, our men were trapped in the mountain of snow, and we had to look for someone to help us down the mountain. It was fortunate that we met with Eldest Prince's men and escaped with our lives.

At first, he didn't think so, but he suddenly remembered that Eldest Prince was sent to Mongolia. Why would it appear in a completely opposite direction?

Zhuang Li frowned. Either Eldest Prince didn't go to Mongolia, or someone pretended to be Eldest Prince and saved Big Wen's army. Why did he have to pretend? Without a reason, it was more likely that Eldest Prince did not go to Mongolia against the king's wishes.

Zhuang Li secretly glanced at the expression on the king's face. Indeed, the old king's expression was no longer as relaxed as it was before.

Zhuang Li quietly asked Ge Ya, "When does your brother return to West Cold?"

Ge Ya also realized what the problem was. "In the middle of next month, a few days before the banquet."

Zhuang Li secretly wondered, it seemed that this Eldest Prince was going to stir up some trouble this time.

But did he have to? He could fight well, and the throne was already his. This is what the King meant by bright and dark.

???

At the beginning of the month, more and more tribute arrived one after another. The citizens of the city had already seen enough of the swordsmanship of Ge Ya, but they found it boring, Qing You continued to run outside, she knew where she was going to see the tribute procession, she was obviously going to see Second Prince and Xi Cuo, she was also too lazy to pay attention to her, the king's birthday feast was truly going to be her and Ge Ya's. They stole free time and took the little white dragon out to the suburbs to play hares, Ge Ya's swordsmanship was excellent, Zhuang Li also learned one or two things.

Ge Ya shouted that she would send two of them over to Second Brother. Zhuang Li then began to complain that she was too tired and wanted to go back to rest. Ge Ya, on the other hand, was unrelenting. Ge Ya was unexpectedly patient and passionate about the marriage between Xi Cuo and Zhuang Li.

When they arrived at Xi Cuo's court, they found out that Xi Cuo had gone out of the city to patrol. Since he wasn't home, they had no choice but to give up. Zhuang Li secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

In the middle of the year, the envoys from the various countries had all arrived one after another. Third Prince had also rushed back from the pass, but the First Prince had refused to return until the day before the celebration. No matter what he did, the celebration would still be held.

The ceremony for West Cold was not as complicated as the grand phoenix, but it was still grand and heavy. Zhuang Li and Ge Ya sat in the dining room wearing their veils. Ge Ya had prepared a gift for the king, but it was not yet time to present it to him. The ritual officer beside her began introducing the guests to Ge Ya.

"The one dressed in green over at the banquet table is the eldest daughter of the city's mayor, Bo Li. He is already old and has been bedridden for many years, so he really can't take all the trouble on the boat. He had no son, only two daughters, the eldest of whom was capable, and the Lord of Battle had asked the king to pass on the throne to his eldest daughter. The king has.

The thin man next to him was the Prince of the Crescent Kingdom. This was not the first time he came with father to attend the banquet, and the chubby woman with a golden collar was his mother.

The young girl on the left is the Princess Qingrui of the Great Wings Country. Princess Qingrui was once engaged to Second Prince and Xi Cuo, so the reason why the Great Wai Nation brought her here to pay their respects to Second Prince is because of that. "

Ge Ya spat out the words, "What ulterior motives."

Zhuang Li also looked in that direction after listening to the officer's description. That Princess Qingliu wasn't wearing a veil. She was indeed gentle and charming, with the bearing of a princess. Zhuang Li sighed in admiration. This kind of woman would become Ge Ya's sister-in-law in the future. It seemed that Ge Ya would finally give up on her this time.

Seeing that both Zhuang Li and Ge Ya were interested in Princess Qingliu despite their different attitudes, the officer continued with his introduction …

"According to rumors, Princess Qingliu is not only beautiful, she can also sing and dance. Hu Qin is also a peerless beauty, I've heard that she has been under the tutelage of the Great Wings Nation's master teachers since she was young. This time, we have to play a song on the border just like His Majesty the King. "

The more Ge Ya listened, the more depressed she became. She pushed aside the officer to stop him from talking. She drank a mouthful of wine, grabbed a handful of pomegranate and chewed it while mumbling indistinctly, "What dance?" This princess will not allow it.

The officer had to go on to introduce

"Sitting at the very front on the right, taller than everyone else, is the 4th Prince of Mongolia. Legend has it that he is even stronger than an ox and can tear apart a patch with his bare hands. Ordinary people wouldn't be able to defeat him even if there were ten of them. He could even kill a horse with his bare hands. Impressive.

This time, the Prince of Mongolia was so infuriated that he didn't really know how to talk. This time, when he went out, he specifically asked the Prince to bring the fatty Zhi Gan along, even though the fat Zhi Gan was small and weak, his brain was very useful. They had met the Prince of Mongolia and the envoy next door several times in the West River Palace, but they were met by this fat kid.

Ge Ya cut him off and pointed to a young man outside the hall. "Who is that person?"

Zhuang Li understood immediately. Wasn't the handsome youth Ge Ya's lover? Ge Ya had seen him several times at the king's feast, but she didn't know his name.

"Princess, the people outside the hall are all city lords, or close relatives of their sons. There's no need for you to know them."

Ge Ya was immediately angered when she heard that, and her tone changed as she asked, "Who is that person?"

When the officer heard this, he quickly flipped through the book and respectfully reported the name

"Princess, that person is the youngest son of the City Lord of Lianyun, Fushu."

Ge Ya's lips curled up into a smile. She turned to Zhuang Li and whispered, "So his name is Fu Suo."

Zhuang Li sighed and mumbled to herself. I don't know what the future holds.

"?"