The sun was scorching like fire, and the chirping of cicadas was already ringing in the house.
"Sir, the bait you asked for."
The maid dressed in green clothes walked up to Xu Fenglei carrying a bowl of something that looked like sand, and said with a smile,
"It's been all morning, and you're still in the Air Force?"
Although she didn't know how the word 'air force' came about, she always heard Xu Fenglei say it and understood the meaning of these two words——
Diabolo basket, no fish.
"Isn't it normal for the Air Force? I didn't make a nest yesterday."
Xu Fenglei held the fishing rod, rolled his eyes and said,
"Give me the bait, and you can get me some earthworms. The bait must be alive and kicking, so that you can attract big fish!"
"Go quickly!"
Qing Maid pursed her lips.
"Would you like to put some more fish in the pond?"
she snickered.
"Go, go, go! It's so annoying!"
Xu Fenglei became a little angry and shouted,
"If you keep making noise, I'll beat you up!"
"Sir, please calm down. I'll leave this servant! Giggling..." The young maid hurriedly saluted, then ran away giggling.
Xu Fenglei glared.
This girl is getting more and more unruly!
Wow.
At this moment, a ripple appeared on the water surface, causing him to instantly draw his attention back and hold the fishing rod.
Da da.
There was a sound of light footsteps, and someone said:
"gentlemen……"
"Shh-" Xu Fenglei lowered his voice.
There was no sound around.
Uh-huh!
He pulled hard, and a herring came out of the water. Xu Fenglei flicked it, and the herring landed on the grass, its mouth opening and closing as it jumped.
"Sir, the fish is on!"
"It's bass!"
Xu Fenglei immediately beamed.
"Okay, okay! Hahaha..."
He said proudly,
"What am I talking about? Fishing is not that difficult, as long as you work hard and grind the iron pestle into a needle!"
"Xiao Zi, put the fish away quickly, we'll have it for lunch later!"
The purple maid nodded obediently, put the bass into the fish basket, and then took a bottle of grape wine from behind and offered it to her.
"Sir, the chilled grape wine was taken out from the cellar just now, and it's still cold."
She said,
"Try it, this is the first bottle this year."
boom!
The cork was opened, and a refreshing and sweet smell penetrated into Xu Fenglei's nose.
"Xiao Zi still loves people."
Xu Fenglei chuckled and drank a whole bottle.
The sweet and cold grape wine entered the throat, reached straight to the chest and abdomen, and spread to the limbs and bones.
Meimei let out a burp, which made her whole body feel refreshed and relieved from the heat.
"comfortable……"
"Sir, would you like another bottle?" Zi Maid raised her head and asked.
"No need, too much is not enough."
Xu Fenglei waved his hand and said,
"Although the grape wine is good, it will become boring if you drink too much."
Zi Maid nodded and put the empty bottle away.
"Sir, have you heard? The Japanese princess spent a lot of money in Chang'an to ask for a book."
She tilted her head.
Xu Fenglei raised his eyebrows.
"What's so strange about spending so much money to get a book? It's not like spending a lot of money to get a son."
He joked,
"Japan is a small and barren country with no civilization. It is normal that they want to buy books in the Tang Dynasty to increase their wisdom and culture."
But speaking of it, with Haogong Qianhe's beauty, if she really spends a lot of money to beg for a son in Chang'an, the scene will definitely be extremely hot, right?
cough.
"Oh, that's it... I saw that many people sold their books to her in exchange for gold! The Japanese princess is so rich, she exchanged boxes of gold for books!"
Zi Maid was stunned, and then asked,
"Do you have any unused books that I can help you sell? They charge a high price!"
Xu Fenglei thought for a moment.
"Do we have books at home?" he asked.
I have never been a person who likes reading!
"Yes! Don't you know?"
Zi Maid said with a strange look on her face,
"There are many books in your study, which existed when His Majesty gave the house to you. They are of various categories."
"It's just that you haven't read it yet. Is the book new?"
Xu Fenglei: "..."
"Ahem...really?"
He touched his nose and said cheerfully,
"Those books are useless to me, so what do I do with them?"
"Just now that I have the opportunity, you can help me sell them all! The money from the sale can be used to subsidize the expenses of the house! But remember... we won't sell them cheaply. After all, these are also books circulated by Xu Guogong's house. That's It has added value!”
"Sell it to me at a higher price!"
"Yes, sir." Zi Mai happily accepted the order and turned to leave.
Xu Fenglei glanced at the bass in the fish basket that was no longer jumping around as if resigned to its fate. The corners of his mouth slightly raised, he pinched a scented bait again and threw the fishing rod into the lake.
But at this time, Zi Maid left and returned again.
"gentlemen."
She looked a little surprised.
"Anything else?"
Xu Fenglei held the fishing rod, closed his eyes and spoke calmly.
In his words, this is called integrating the fishing tackle into one, which can greatly increase the chance of catching fish.
"Then Princess of Japan, she..."
Zi Maid said,
"She came to visit you, just outside the house, and she brought a lot of gifts."
Uh-huh.
Xu Fenglei opened his eyes.
"It's pretty fast."
He smiled and said,
"Okay, let her come in and bring her here."
"Also, go and get some cooking utensils. Get all the tools I use for picnics. Also, prepare some mustard sauce and orange jam."
"I will treat the Japanese princess to dinner later, as a courtesy to the landlord."
"Yes." Zi Maid responded and left.
Xu Fenglei closed his eyes again and became one with the fishing rod.
…
Outside the Duke of Xu's mansion.
Haomiya Qianhe stood in front of the door. Behind her was Inugami Mikazuki and several followers.
On the carriage, gifts tied with ribbons were piled up, which showed that the Japanese princess came with generous gifts.
As the saying goes, it's not strange to be polite to many people, so the concierge was naturally more polite to this foreign princess.
"Please wait a moment, Miss Zi has already gone to report to the master, and the news will be sent soon."
Haomiya Qianhe nodded.
"Good work."
She asked with a warm smile,
"May I ask this brother, who is the 'Purple Girl' you are talking about? Is she the wife of Duke Xu Guogong?"
"Ah... If you don't dare to take it seriously, how dare you let the princess call the younger one your eldest brother?" The porter's heart skipped a beat, and he waved his hands and said, "It's a shame that the younger one is the younger brother."
Haogong Qianhe smiled slightly, but did not speak, just stared at him.
The concierge Lao Zhang's heart was suddenly filled with warmth, warmer than the sun.
This Japanese princess really respects him!
Naturally, he was already very fond of Haomiya Chizuru. Without further ado, he explained to Haomiya Chizuru in detail:
"Of course this purple girl is not the master's wife, but a maid in the house, but they are different from ordinary maids."
"The seven of them were given to me by His Majesty before he ascended the throne to take care of his daily life. I am very good to them. It can be said that I am enviable."
"Later, when His Majesty ascended the throne, the master granted the title of Duke Xu and gave him a mansion. Naturally, these seven girls also came to the Duke's mansion and became the seven girls in charge. The new arrivals in the mansion also called them aunt."
Haogong Qianhe was slightly startled when he heard this.
"Is that so?"
She was surprised and said,
"Xu Guogong doesn't have a wife?"
The concierge Lao Zhang nodded.
"Yes, everyone knows that I don't take a wife."
He responded,
"He said that he would convert to Taoism in the future."
Haomiya Qianhe glanced at Inugami Mikazuki next to her, and some thoughts came to her mind.
While they were chatting, Zi Maid had already crossed the threshold and walked out of the house.
"Is this the Japanese princess?"
She looked at Haogong Qianhe's eyes and saluted with a smile,
"You are so beautiful!"
"Haogong Qianhe, I have seen Miss Zi." Haogong Qianhe was polite and returned the courtesy.
"Hey... I don't dare, the princess is too polite. I am just a slave in the house. Princess Qianhe only needs to call me Xiaozi."
The purple maid continued,
"Sir, please come with me."
Haomiya Chizuru nodded and winked at Inugami Mikazuki.
Inugami Sanri understood this and immediately started unloading the goods with his entourage.
The stacked gifts were unloaded in front of the house, forming a small mountain.
"Wow...Princess Qianzhe, isn't your gift too heavy?"
Zi Maid said in shock,
"No one has ever come to visit and give so many gifts. Even if you are hired, you won't need so many..."
With this pile of gifts, if you didn’t know better, you would really think that the man was giving the woman a betrothal gift!
"A small courtesy is not respectful."
Haogong Qianhe pursed her lips and smiled,
"The Tang Dynasty is a country of etiquette, and Qianhe's heart yearns for it, so he must do his best in etiquette."
"Miss Zi, can they go into the mansion with me, carry the gifts in, and pay homage to Duke Xu?"
Zi Maid hesitated for a moment and shook her head.
"Sir, only Princess Qianhe is invited to enter the house. No one else is allowed in."
With a trace of apology on her face, she said,
"I'm sorry... I will arrange for people to move these gifts into the house. They will never be missed. Please rest assured, Princess Qianhe!"
When Quan Shang San Ri Shu heard this, he couldn't help but frown.
After spending so much money to give gifts, you won’t even be allowed in?
what does it mean?
"Okay, I'm done."
However, Chizuru Hiromiya still had a smile on her face, turned to look at Inugami Mikazuru, stretched out her hand and said,
"Inugami-kun, give me the national treasure."
"Princess Qianhe... I'm worried if you go in alone." Inugami Mijishu looked troubled.
When Zi Maid heard this, she was immediately unhappy.
"Why are you worried about this? Our Duke Xu's Mansion is the safest place in Chang'an. I don't know how many princes, princesses, and dignitaries have come here. Even His Majesty doesn't bring any guards to visit frequently."
She hummed softly,
"Don't think too much."
Quan Shang San Ri Shu's face froze.
"Miss Zi is right, Inugami-kun is worrying too much."
Haomiya Qianhe stretched out her hand again, this time her tone was not as gentle as before, with a hint of command in her gentleness.
"Give me the national treasure."
Quan Shang San Ri Shu did not dare to press any further, so he took off the long tube from behind and offered it to him respectfully with both hands.
"This is?"
Zi Maid said doubtfully,
"No suspicious objects are allowed to enter the Duke's mansion."
Could it be a sword here?
"Miss Zi, you are worrying too much. Here is a copybook, which is a rare treasure."
Haomiya Chizuru carried the long bamboo tube on her back and explained with a smile,
"The bamboo tube is used as protection to prevent the paper from being eaten by insects."
"Please lead the way."
Zi Maid nodded slightly and then dispelled her doubts.
"Old Zhang, ask a few servants to collect the gifts."
She gave an order and then invited,
"Princess Qianzuru, please come with me."
Haogong Qianhe followed happily, leaving only Quan Shang Sanri and his entourage waiting outside the mansion.
"After all, I am also the official envoy of Japan. He gave me so many gifts, but he turned me away. It's really... Baga!"
Inugami Mijishu watched several servants carry the gifts while he was having fun. He cursed under his breath, then immediately closed his mouth and looked around carefully.
…
Zi Maid walked briskly through the house.
Haomiya Qianhe looked at the scenery in the mansion and the servants and maids taking care of the flowers and plants around her, and her eyes couldn't help but show surprise.
"Is this the Duke's residence?"
She couldn't help but ask,
"So big? So... luxurious?"
At this moment, she couldn't think of any other words to describe it, the only word that came to her mind was luxury!
"yes."
Zi Mai looked like it was natural and said,
"My husband is the founding hero of the country, so the place he lives in is naturally larger. What you see is the front yard, and there are several floors inside!"
"The place I want to take you to now is the back garden, where Mr. is fishing."
Haomiya Chihe's eyes widened.
"And a garden? A lake?"
She was shocked and said,
"This is simply...even more luxurious than our Japanese palace."
Her name is 'Haomiya Chizuru', which means that the palace she lives in is 'Haomiya'.
Although it's called a palace, it's actually just a larger, clean house. There's no way it can compare with Duke Xu's mansion!
However, the only consolation is that she has many servants, barely comparable to Xu Fenglei.
"That's natural. Japan is a small country. How can you compare with our Tang Dynasty?"
Zi Maid blurted out a little proudly, but she immediately noticed the inaccuracy in her words and hurriedly made up for it,
"Uh... I'm just talking nonsense. Don't take Princess Qianhe seriously. Japan must have its own special features."
Haomiya Qianhe shook her head.
"This is not nonsense, this is fact."
She smiled bitterly and said,
"The material resources of the Tang Dynasty are by no means comparable to those of Japan. Even the princes of the Tang Dynasty live better than the princes of Japan."
"It's so enviable..."
At this moment, Haogong Qianhe couldn't help but have an idea -
I am a princess, and my living environment is not as good as that of a maid in the Duke's palace!
"Then Princess Qianhe can stay in Chang'an for a while and experience more of the customs and customs of our Tang Dynasty..."
Zi Mai smiled and said,
"With your status, you will definitely receive the best hospitality."
Haomiya Qianhe pursed her lips.
And the best treat?
When I first arrived in Chang'an, I was forced to kneel down to your husband and had my credentials torn up in front of him.
It's more of a humiliation.
"Miss Zi, I take the liberty to ask..."
She suddenly said,
"What kind of person is your husband?"
"I'm so curious and really want to know more about his life."
Zi Maid was slightly startled.
"My husband..."
She whispered for a while and said seriously,
"He is a wonderful man, a great man."
"In my heart, he is the most powerful person and the greatest hero in the world!"
(End of chapter)
