Everyone in the Zichen Palace opened their eyes wide and praised him.
The queen and several concubines looked at each other and nodded with smiles.
"Wonderful! Transforming decay into magic. Ruoni not only adds to her charm, she is like a fairy from the Moon Palace who has descended into the world!"
Zhu'an bowed and saluted again.
"Thank you for your compliment, Your Majesty."
After a pause, Zhu An said again.
"My niece has also prepared a congratulatory gift for the emperor's uncle. But we have to wait for a while. Your Majesty will know it during the banquet."
Yang Ke stroked his beard and laughed.
"You still keep it a secret until now? Well, I'll open my eyes and see what good stuff it is."
After Zhu'an retired, several clan members came into the palace to congratulate Yang Ke on his birthday.
After all the royal family members had entered the palace, Chang Chucai shouted in a sharp voice: "We invite the envoys of the Three Kingdoms to come to see you."
Everyone in the envoy tidied up their clothes and walked into the Zichen Hall under the leadership of their respective envoys.
Yang Ke straightened his back slightly and looked at the Three Kingdoms envoys below, who were bowing politely.
"No gift."
Meng Changxun from Shu Kingdom was the first to walk out, took out the gift list from his sleeve, and held it high above his head.
"The foreign minister would like to present to Your Majesty a congratulatory gift from the Kingdom of Shu. I wish Your Majesty a long life without borders!"
A young eunuch walked over, took the gift list, and handed it to Chang Chu. Chang Chu respectfully presented it to Yang Ke.
Yang Ke briefly looked through it and put it aside.
"Brother Meng is interested."
Meng Changxun bowed again.
Yang Ke nodded.
"When someone comes, give him a gift in return."
Chang Chu bowed and took a booklet, opened it and sang loudly.
Everyone inside and outside the hall listened carefully.
Pearls are related to dendrobium; silk is related to cars; porcelain and lacquerware are related to boxes. Gold and silver are indispensable.
Meng Changxun's fat face was almost blooming. Compared with the Shu brocade, Shu embroidery, and other specialties sent by Shu, Wei's return gift was so generous.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After Chang Chu finished reading, Meng Changxun hurriedly saluted.
When Meng Changxun returned, Li Kuang took a few steps forward and also offered congratulatory gifts.
The Later Qin Dynasty was more generous than the Shu Kingdom. Yang Ke was greatly moved by just a few extremely powerful horses. Not to mention that the Later Qin Dynasty also gave away hundreds of war horses and other things.
The rewards Hou Qin received in return were naturally quite generous.
But Li Kuang's face seemed to be unwilling, and he cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, our country of Qin is a bitter cold land, and the fine wines of Wei are quite suitable for us. I would like to exchange this gift for the fine wines of Luoshen, and I hope your majesty will allow it."
Yang Ke squinted his eyes, and the smile on his face became wider.
What Shen Xiyao said before has come true!
Sure enough, there are people who want wine instead of returning gifts, so this saves money.
Yang Ke was happy in his heart, but he pretended to ponder for a moment on his face.
"allow!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Meng Changxun also jumped out.
"Your Majesty, the foreign minister also has an unkind request."
Without waiting for a reply, Meng Changxun on the side spoke.
"The foreign minister is willing to exchange the gift from His Majesty for the brewing method of Luoshen."
Li Kuang glanced at Meng Changxun with some dissatisfaction and lowered his voice: "Prince Fu, you have a good plan."
"Hehehehe...I am doing this for your own good. It is a long way from Luojing to Jincheng, but our country of Shu is very close to you."
"snort!"
Yang Ke ignored the two men's whispers and coughed lightly.
"This recipe is a gift from Jibeihou Mansion. If Prince Fu wants it, he can go to Jibeihou."
"Uh...thank you, Your Majesty, for your advice."
Meng Changxun was a little dissatisfied, but he didn't care to show it.
When Chen Ruiyuan saw that the people from Qin and Shu were silent, he stepped out of the crowd.
"Greetings to Your Majesty."
Although Yang Ke had received Chen Ruiyuan when he first arrived in Chu State, and he had been summoned twice more after that. But now, looking at Chen Ruiyuan, Yang Ke couldn't help but think of the original Shanyang Marquis Chen Tianwu, and his eyes were still a little complicated.
"No gift."
Chen Ruiyuan lowered his eyebrows and took out the gift list from his sleeve, holding it respectfully above his head.
"Nanchu would like to offer a congratulatory gift to His Majesty, and wish His Majesty long live, long live, long live!"
Yang Keng said yes, and as usual, a young eunuch took the gift list, and Chang Chu was ready to read out the gift in return.
"slow!"
The princes and ministers of Wei Dynasty in the palace had a headache when they heard this voice.
Yang Ke suppressed his smile and shouted: "Hu Shichang, you have provoked me several times. You really think I don't dare to kill you!"
"Haha, of course Your Majesty dares to kill me. But I do have something to report."
"speak!"
Hu Shichang tilted his neck and looked at Yang Ke on the high platform in a somewhat naughty manner.
"Your Majesty, won't you open the gift list and take a look at the things we have sent? They are all good things. There is a seated mutton-fat jade Buddha statue, three feet and two inches high. The swastika on the chest of the Buddha statue and the yellow color of the golden-winged roc in the Buddha's palm are
It’s the color of jade itself, it’s exquisitely carved, and it’s priceless.”
After listening to what Hu Shichang said, Yang Ke also picked up the gift list from Chu State, opened it and looked at it, with a calm expression on his face and great surprise in his heart.
There is not only this Buddha statue on the gift list, but also a seven-foot-tall blood coral tree, twenty-four dove egg-sized walking beads, and a number of classics. Compared with these, other silks are not worth it.
Mentioned.
"How's it going? It's a surprise!"
Hu Shichang looked around the audience with a scornful smile on his lips.
Yang Ke's forehead was almost stretched with cruciate tendons.
"If I tell you that I, the Chu State, don't want to reciprocate the gift, I still don't like those things of yours, young master. I only want your Luoshen brewing method, but I don't know if your majesty will give it to you."
Hu Shichang said in a somewhat frivolous and joking tone.
Yang Ke's eyebrows rose a little, and he gritted his molar teeth and said, "I told you that it belongs to the Marquis of Jibei's Mansion, and I want to find the Marquis of Jibei."
Hu Shichang smiled nonchalantly.
"Forget it. The female officials of your Wei Dynasty are very tough, I can't afford to offend them."
The monarchs and ministers of the Wei Dynasty thought that this matter was over, and Yang Ke suppressed his anger.
Chen Ruiyuan also scolded him in a low voice.
"Hu Shichang, this is not a place for you to play around."
Hu Shichang snorted lightly and ignored Chen Ruiyuan.
"I said, there is no need to give you a gift in return. But I have a condition. Of all the gifts that the ministers of the Wei Dynasty have given you, well, let alone the ones that are worth more than mine. It is estimated that no one would dare to give you a large sum.
Property. It’s not that I look down on you. Even if you dare, I can’t give it away.
In this way, as long as the gifts are novel and something I have never seen before, you will win and I will not take any return gifts. But if you lose, I will still not take any return gifts, but you will give the capital of Jiang to me, the Kingdom of Chu."
"Crack!"
Before Yang Ke could react, King Lu took action.
"Don't even think about it!"
Hu Shichang looked along the sound and was suddenly stunned. He chuckled and pointed behind King Lu before speaking again.
"Or you can give that beauty to me."
What Hu Shichang saw was Princess Zhu'an beside King Lu.
"Ah! Who do you think you are? You have beautiful thoughts. If you don't take care of yourself, how can you care about my children?"
Hu Shichang smiled frivolously.
"It turns out you are still a princess. Forget it, a mere princess is not worthy of me, young master."
"you……"
Zhu An reached out and grabbed his furious father.
"Father, calm down. Don't fall into his tricks."
Yang Ke also offered words of comfort.
"King Lu, please be safe. I will handle this matter."
After saying that, he turned to look at Hu Shichang.
"What if I don't gamble?"
Hu Shichang spread his hands.
"Then I want to see what kind of return gift Da Wei can give us, which is worthy of our congratulatory gifts."
Hu Shichang's words are true. The return gifts given to Shu and Later Qin were far more valuable than the tribute gifts from Shu and Later Qin. As for Nan Chu, even if the gifts given back were of equal value to those sent by Nan Chu, they were at least
It is worth millions of dollars. Now that the Wei treasury is empty, it cannot afford so much money. What's more, in order to show the magnanimity of a great country, the gifts given back generally exceed the value of the gifts given.
Yang Ke squinted his eyes.
"What if I don't give it?"
Hu Shichang sneered.
"It doesn't matter! However, your Majesty's reputation will be great in the world..."
Facing Hu Shichang's pressing steps, Yang Ke frowned and gritted his teeth and said, "Okay."
"His Majesty!"
"Father!"
The princes and relatives in the palace stood up and spoke out one after another, preparing to dissuade him.
Yang Ke raised his hand to stop everyone from talking.
"I still have hundreds of civil and military officials, and I believe they will not let me down. Chang Chu, continue."
"Wait a minute."
Wang Weiren walked out.
"We, the Kingdom of Shu, should also take part in such interesting things. What do you think, Your Highness Prince Fu?"
Just as Meng Changxun was about to speak, he felt a chill on his back and the hairs all over his body stood up. Following the feeling, he looked over and saw King Lu staring at him with an angry look in his eyes. Meng Changxun shivered and retracted his head.
"We, the Kingdom of Shu, will not be involved in this matter. Everything you do has nothing to do with the Kingdom of Shu."
The second half of the sentence was addressed to Wang Weiren.
Wang Weiren sneered, dissatisfied.
"Okay, then my Wang family will offer 500,000 guan and make the same bet as Brother Hu. If you lose 500,000 guan, it belongs to you Da Wei. If you win, I don't want any territory. This princess will give it to you."
I’ll be fine.”
He said and pointed at Zhu'an.
There is no way, Princess Zhu'an was really stunning today and stole the limelight from all the female family members.
"Brother Li, don't you want to participate?"
Li Kuang stood proudly and did not accept Wang Weiren's words. Instead, he said: "This matter is empty talk. Why don't you establish a written evidence?"
"Okay! Thank you Brother Li for reminding me."
Wang Weiren clapped his hands and applauded.
Yang Ke choked out a good word through his teeth.
"Chang Chu, establish written evidence."
Chang Chu sighed secretly and went aside to write the receipt.
The atmosphere in the Zichen Palace was a bit tense. The Wei clan and the queens and concubines in the harem all glared at the Three Kingdoms envoys.
Not long after, Chang Cun came forward holding a few pieces of paper.
Yang Ke looked at it, sealed it with a few "bang bang" sounds, and threw down the desk. The little eunuch himself sent it to Hu Shichang and Wang Weiren.
After both of them had signed and everything was done, Li Kuang turned to Li Zikang and said, "This is similar to what happened at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet a few days ago."
His voice was not loud, as if Li Kuang deliberately lowered his voice, but it was still heard clearly by the people in the palace.
"Brother Li, please don't talk nonsense."
Wang Weiren was a little frightened and scolded him.
Yang Ke's expression softened a bit and he ordered: "Continue!"
Chang Chu had a look of embarrassment on his face and could only bow in apprehension.
"Xuan Prime Minister Chu Rupeng comes to see you!"