#40 - Go kill someone
A few days later, the list of those responsible for receiving the Qi State delegation was officially released.
Xu Ming was not on the list, but Xu Pangda and the son of the Minister of Rites could bring a pageboy with them to avoid being too nervous with a familiar person around.
Taiwan Novel Network → 𝘁 𝘄 𝗸 𝗮 𝗻 . 𝗰 𝗼 𝗺
Xu Ming would go as Xu Pangda's pageboy.
And nobody cared who the pageboys Xu Pangda and the son of the Minister of Rites brought with them.
On the day the list came out, Xu Pangda and Xu Ming went to the Hanlin Academy to learn etiquette, and after learning, they would be assessed and must pass.
The Wu State was founded on martial prowess, and most of the etiquette was relatively rough and not so complicated, so Xu Ming learned it easily and passed the Hanlin Academy's assessment smoothly.
Xu Ming did not gain nothing during this period of learning etiquette.
Xu Ming gained a lot of "temperament".
Soon, more than twenty days passed.
The Qi State delegation arrived in the imperial city of the Wu State.
On the main street of the imperial city, the people of the Wu State capital were curiously looking around, wanting to see the demeanor of this thousand-year dynasty.
In a carriage in the middle of the delegation, a girl secretly lifted a corner of the curtain, and a pair of watery eyes blinked as she looked at the foreign capital.
For the girl, this was her first time abroad.
The girl found that the people of the Wu State and her own Qi State dressed almost the same.
It's just that the people of the Wu State seemed to be taller and stronger, and most of the men in the Wu State wore knives at their waists.
The girl put down the curtain and looked at her mother: "Mother, why do most of the people in the Wu State carry knives and swords?"
Madam Zhu gently rubbed her daughter's head: "Because the Wu State values martial arts, and ancestral teachings require every son in the family to practice martial arts."
"Oh." Zhu Cici nodded, "I see, this is what is said in the books, a robust folk custom."
Madam Zhu was stunned for a moment, then smiled and nodded: "You can understand it that way."
About half an hour later, the Qi State delegation gradually stopped.
The Wu State's welcoming party had already stopped at the Sifang Pavilion.
Sifang Pavilion, as the name suggests, is a place built by the Wu State to welcome guests from all directions.
In front of the Sifang Pavilion, the Wu State's welcoming party had already arrived.
Xu Ming stood in the welcoming party, looking at the Qi State's convoy.
The Qi State's convoy was neat and uniform, with a total of ten vehicles, each pulled by a Mo Qilin.
This Mo Qilin is the national treasure of the Qi State, with a black body and a Qilin-like appearance, but its combat power is completely incomparable to a real Qilin.
However, the Mo Qilin can travel thousands of miles a day without fatigue and has a docile temperament.
"Pa pa pa"
The crackling sound of firecrackers rang out in front of the Sifang Pavilion, and two rows of Bloodfloat Troupes wearing heavy armor, holding halberds, heavily struck the ground, the sound was heavy and neat, with a sense of solemnity.
The sound of firecrackers fell to the ground, and the Bloodfloat Troupes' knocking also stopped.
Xiao Mochi stepped forward and bowed to the delegation: "Everyone has come from afar, Mochi has failed to meet you in time, please forgive me."
In the Qi State convoy, everyone got out of the car one after another.
Xu Ming's sight was immediately attracted by two children.
These two children should be the well-known child prodigies of the Qi State.
One of them seemed to be about the same age as Zhou Liunian, the son of the Minister of Rites, both around thirteen or fourteen years old. His expression was arrogant, and at a young age, he revealed a kind of "relying on talent and arrogance" and "everyone except me is trash" temperament.
The other was a little girl, wearing a pink Ru skirt, with curved air bangs combed in front of her forehead, a pair of apricot eyes blinking, full of curiosity, and her oval face was very cute. Under her upturned and delicate nose, that little vermilion lip had a classical beauty.
[ ]
It was obvious at a glance that the girl was agile and intelligent.
An old man at the head stepped forward, smiled and bowed in return: "Minister Xiao, you are too polite. Your country welcomes us with such specifications, we are a little apprehensive."
"Elder Fang, please don't say that." Xiao Mochi hurriedly stepped forward and helped the old man up, "Mr. Fang's books are famous all over the world and are a model for our scholars. Multiple specifications are not excessive."
"Hahaha, Minister Xiao, you are too kind." The old man named Fang Jingchun said with a smile, Xiao Mochi's praise seemed to be very useful to him.
Xiao Mochi: "We have prepared some simple meals for everyone to welcome you and wash away the dust. Please don't dislike it."
"How dare we, how dare we." Fang Jingchun said with a smile, "It just so happens that I am also hungry."
"Please come in, everyone." Xiao Mochi opened the way.
This lunch was very ordinary.
It was nothing more than some small talk among the adults and mutual flattery.
But Xu Ming could clearly feel it.
Among the Qi State delegation, even if these people were polite on the surface, many of them carried a kind of arrogance and sense of superiority.
Xu Ming couldn't help but recall what Mr. Xiao had said to him when he was studying etiquette at the Hanlin Academy—"I see the Northern Wilderness as barbarians, and the Qi State sees me the same way."
After lunch, the Qi State delegation needed to rest, and Xu Ming naturally returned home with Xu Pangda. There would be an evening banquet tonight.
Back home, Xu Pangda was also not relaxed. If there were no accidents, there would be a literary contest tonight, and he needed to prepare in advance.
But this kind of thing is like a knowledge contest. Temporary cramming is basically useless, it's just for psychological comfort.
And just when the vast majority of people in the Wu State capital were hotly discussing the Qi State delegation, in a remote courtyard in the east of Wudu, a man was basking in the sun in the courtyard.
At the man's feet, four dogs were lying down.
The four dogs were about three feet seven inches tall, and they looked very lazy, all looking like they didn't like to move.
Just as the man was dozing off, a woman in a black robe walked directly into the courtyard without knocking on the door.
The man slowly opened his eyes: "In the Wu State, trespassing on private property is punishable by law."
The woman in the black robe glared at the man: "What, are you going to report me to the authorities?"
The man shook his head, just feeling troubled: "What's the matter?"
"What else could it be?" The woman in the black robe said angrily, "Have you found Her Royal Highness the Princess?"
"Not found." The man answered very simply, "Perhaps the princess is not in the city at all."
"Hehe." The woman in the black robe sneered a few times, "The Prime Minister said not to look for her for now, and will send someone else over."
"Then can I go back?" the man said happily, "It's not that I'm saying, I really can't get used to the food of the human race, the seasoning is too strong."
"There is something else you need to do. After you finish it, you can go back."
"What's the matter?"
"Go kill someone."
"Who, the Wu Emperor? No, I can't beat him." The man shook his head.
The woman in the black robe: "No."
"Is it Xiao Mochi? That's not easy to do either. That scholar now has luck on his side and is not low in realm. I have to plan it out, at least to lure him out of Wudu."
The woman in the black robe: "No."
"Then who is it?"
"A child."
