Kaiping City, a strange city.

However, for the virtuous lord, all the cities of the Ming Dynasty should be unfamiliar, and she has never been here before. People did not pay much attention to the scenery of Kaiping Castle, because there was a grander scene that attracted the attention of the survivors of the mission.

Outside the city, the endless wilderness was full of tents and armies. Cities and villages dotted the land, as if they had been submerged by the army!

From time to time, the sound of firecrackers sounded on the school grounds, and the sound fluttered in the wind; There are also strings of white gunsmoke, which are particularly eye-catching. Herds of war horses are galloping, and soldiers are shouting. When people come here, the surrounding area suddenly becomes noisy and lively.

There is no wind and snow, no small bridges and flowing water, and no pavilions. Outside the castle tower on the horizon, there are soldiers and men everywhere you look!

The virtuous lord had never seen such a large army battle, but he could also see that it was impossible for an army of 100,000 to have such a lineup!

Soon there were officials and men of the Ming Dynasty to greet him, and Kang Shunchen spoke for a while in front. During this period, Kang Shunchen also said in a relatively fluent Chinese dialect: "We were attacked on the way, and our national letter was taken away by thieves. ”

After answering the questions, everything went well. The team continued in the direction of the city, and it was not long before they entered the gate of Kaiping City.

The virtuous lord couldn't help but be curious, and quietly lifted the curtain to watch the scenery in the city. At this time, I only saw a large number of low houses, mainly tiled houses on the top of the hill; Near the city gates, the streets of architecture are obviously very boring.

The group walked along the street for a long time and came to the outside of a yamen. Compared with the official office of the Xian State of the Dynasty, the gate of this yamen is a little similar, or the official office of the Xian State of the Chao Xian State originally imitated the reason for the Ming system.

They entered a courtyard near the yamen, and the accompanying Ming officers and soldiers left.

The virtuous lord was brought into the inner house, and seven or eight women, young and old, followed her and bowed to her. One of them, a young lady with a double-ring hairstyle, whispered, "Does she understand what we are saying?" ”

The virtuous lord was about to go inside, and Kang Shunchen and Park Jingwu rushed to the gatehouse.

Kang Shunchen stepped forward to greet him and said in a courtly language: "Lord Weng, this is the place where the Ministry of Rites is requisitioned. The six departments of the Ming Dynasty have pavilions in the local area; The officials of the Ming Dynasty said that we were envoys of the Xian Kingdom, so we were received by people from the Ministry of Rites. The officials here also explained that foreign officials could not enter and leave the inner house at will; The lower officials and General Park cannot easily enter and exit, and if you have something to discuss, you must come to this gatehouse to meet. ”

The virtuous man said, "I know, you can rest your breath." ”

After so long on the road, everyone finally had a place to stay. In the past two days, the clothes, seals, and other things of the virtuous lord have also been returned one after another.

Li Qi was an official of the Ming court, and he had seen the virtuous lord in the Korean state; Therefore, if the Ming monarch and ministers believed Li Qi, they could determine the identity of the virtuous lord without a seal.

She lived in this courtyard for a few days, and before the Midyear Festival, a fat round-faced eunuch came.

The white-faced eunuch, accompanied by the envoys of the Joseon State and others, visited the virtuous lord in the gatehouse of the inner house.

"Please prepare, Lord Weng, and when you are in the room today, you will go to the emperor's palace to face the saint." The eunuch commanded.

Seeing that the sun was still in the middle of the sky at this time, Xian Hui Weng couldn't help but ask in jerky Chinese: "I have learned the etiquette and answers when facing the saints. I hope my father-in-law will make it clear, what else should I prepare? ”

The eunuch frowned and said, "It doesn't matter what etiquette answers, probably don't disobey the saint!" Lord Weng took advantage of the fact that the hour was still early, and then cultivated for a while, and then bathed and dressed up better. ”

The virtuous lord's expression changed slightly, but he still nodded in agreement.

The eunuch hugged the dust and said: "Our family will say goodbye, and we will send a carriage to pick up the lord before the time." ”

As soon as the eunuch who passed the decree left, Park Jingwu became anxious: "What does the eunuch mean?" Lord Weng is my country's sect room, and now there are no canonizations and ceremonies, so they will tell you to wash and go to bed?! ”

"Park Kyung-moo!" Kang Shunchen reprimanded, "Pay attention to your polite words. ”

Pu Jingwu's face was already red, and he retorted very angrily: "The emperor of the Ming Dynasty is arrogant and rude, like a barbarian!" ”

Kang Shunchen was furious and was about to speak. The virtuous lord stopped Kang Shunchen, and sighed: "The people around here shouldn't understand the words of the court, Kang Shunchen, don't worry too much, and you don't have to quarrel anymore." ”

Kang Shunchen sighed, stared at Pu Jingwu and said, "If your disrespectful words just now were heard by the Ming Emperor, do you know how serious they are?" This is diplomatic relations, and every word and deed is related to the relationship between the two countries, who can afford this responsibility! ”

The virtuous lord looked weak and was stunned for a while.

She didn't tell Park Kyung-moo like Kang Soon-sin did, but she said something that seemed unrelated: "Everyone has their own mission, responsibility, and the favor of others, so you can't just think about your own ......"

After a pause, she continued, "I am grateful for General Park's loyalty and credit to me. But I told you a few years ago that my marriage could only be arranged by my father; I asked you a few days ago if you would be resentful......"

Park Jingwu hurriedly said: "The last general's loyalty to Lord Weng is definitely not greedy!" It's just that such a noble person as Lord Weng actually encountered such contempt in Daming, and the last general is really angry! ”

The virtuous lord shook his head and sighed faintly: "How noble? You don't know my father's situation. ”

Park Jingwu said: "That's also the Li clan!" You can't promise the Ming Emperor, but you can write to the emperor to admonish the emperor that you must first be canonized and given a proper title before it is etiquette! ”

The virtuous lord was silent.

Park Kyung-woo looked up in pain and sighed.

The virtuous Weng Lord Zhengse said: "General Park, what Kang Envoy Jun said is true, you have to listen to it, don't miss the big thing." You have always been kind to me, I have advised you, I hope you will be measured, and do not do things that are detrimental to the general situation...... Do you have no covetousness? ”

Park Jingwu was stunned for a moment, gritted his teeth and clenched his fists and said, "The last general will obey the order!" As long as the owner is well and satisfied, the end will have nothing else to ask for! ”

The virtuous lord's tone softened slightly, and he said kindly: "General Park also tried his best to protect between life and death, and I was really touched by your sincerity." General Park, please bow to me! ”

Park Jingwu hurriedly bowed back, and nodded vigorously: "Lord Weng sacrificed for the country, it is really helpless. As long as you remember the sincerity of the last general for so many years, the last general will die without regrets! ”

The virtuous lord buried his head, gently wiped away his tears, and choked up: "If there is nothing else, I will go back to the room first." ”

Park Jingwu "pounced" on his knees, raised his head and opened his mouth in pain, and finally held back a sentence: "The last general is incompetent, let the lord of Weng suffer!" ”

The virtuous lord returned to the room and let the slaves and maids boil water and wait for the bath. Then she spent a long time combing her sideburns, carefully applying makeup, choosing accessories, and donning the robes and dresses of the nobles of the Xian Kingdom (extremely similar to high-waisted hanfu).

Thinking of that big man with arms thicker than ordinary people's legs and rough speech, the virtuous lord occasionally felt that his thoughts might have been in vain. However, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, after all, is the monarch of the most powerful and vast country at this time, and the intentions of the virtuous lord do not seem to be much.

In the bronze mirror on the dresser, a beautiful and sad face was reflected, and the multicolored earrings swayed gently in the light yellow copper light, becoming more and more beautiful. She picked up the eyebrow pencil, slowly outlined her eyebrows, and couldn't help but sigh faintly.

The big man I saw in the woods a few days ago was the emperor nine times out of ten. The virtuous lord was already a little convinced in her heart, and she thought about it after she calmed down...... Saying in public that she is beautiful and asking her to spend her time competing for favor is not like what a courtier can say!

In short, the virtuous lord has seven up and eight in his heart. Not only was she very afraid of that big man, but she was also worried that after she became the concubine of the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, what would happen to that emperor! After all, as soon as she arrived in Daming, she saw your life-and-death and confusing conspiracy. At that time, she was in a foreign country, and she had a reputation and couldn't leave, what should she do?

Around the time of Shen, the car that greeted the virtuous lord arrived in the courtyard.

The virtuous lord was dressed in a luxurious costume and wore a hat that covered his face, and slowly walked out of the gatehouse of the inner house. Kang Shunchen and Park Jingwu both stood solemnly aside and bowed, and the eunuchs and soldiers who greeted her also clasped their fists and saluted. The eunuch bent down and said respectfully, "Lord Weng, please." ”

She walked to the back of the carriage with a dignified posture and turned her head to look at Park Kyung-wu again. Park Kyung-woo stood there bent over, his eyes full of pain and helplessness.

She turned, stooped and stepped into the carriage. The slave next to her immediately lowered the curtain.

The carriage drove for a short time and came to the emperor's "palace". Presumably, the palace is also a temporary requisitioned mansion, not too far from the government. The virtuous lord sat in the carriage, his eyes leveled ahead, and there was no expression on his face. She didn't have time to think too much about it now, and she was nervously preparing how to deal with the Ming Emperor decently.

Soon the carriage stopped, and the eunuch outside made a report. The virtuous lord got up, the curtain was opened, and the two maids reached out and helped her down.

"Lord Weng, please come with us." The white, fat, round-faced eunuch said.

The retinue remained where they were, leaving only the two of them to head north. They passed through a row of houses and a fence, and then entered a gatehouse with guards standing guards.

From time to time she observed her surroundings, and found that this mansion was better than many houses in the city, and that the owner was also a wealthy family.

The two walked along the corridor of the eaves for a while, and saw a man in a black robe and a sword stopping them. However, the man was very polite to the eunuch, and he also clasped his fists and saluted: "Gonggong Cao waits for a while, there are still people in the holy room." ”

"Let's wait a minute." The white fat eunuch surnamed Cao said with a smile, "The emperor has been very busy in the past two days. ”

The virtuous man said, "Thank you father-in-law for taking care of me." ”

As soon as she had said a word, she stopped speaking, and pondered as if she were distracted. The weather in early autumn was still hot, and her hands were sweaty, I don't know if it was because of the heat or panic.