Painting Doctor Jinhua

Envoy Zhou came in the name of congratulating the new emperor on his accession to the throne and attending the elegant gathering hosted by Minister Xu. Due to the huge scale of the event, Chen Xu, the emperor of the Southern Dynasty, naturally could not lose his manners. He immediately sent the Minister of the Ministry of Rites to arrange a higher-standard accommodation for the envoy and took care of all his needs.

"When the emperor of the Southern Dynasty was held hostage in my Zhou Kingdom, he was very gentle and humble. I never thought that he would be the emperor of the Chen Kingdom now!" In the embassy, ​​when the reception official of the Chen Kingdom left, Yuwen Hui couldn't help but sigh.

"Yes, who would have thought that our Zhou Kingdom had placed all its chips on Chen Chang, the son of Chen Baxian, but Chen Baxian was so hard-hearted that he would rather let his only son be held hostage in our Zhou Kingdom than agree to cede Qianzhong and Lushan County in exchange. Instead, as soon as Chen Wendi Chen Qian ascended the throne, he quickly ceded these two places in exchange for his brother, the current Emperor of Chen, to return to Chen."

"Emperor Wen of Chen loves his brother more than his country. He treated Chen Xu, who was a hostage of the Zhou Kingdom at that time, very well. Unfortunately, the emperor of Chen Kingdom is now a ruthless person. In order to ascend the throne, he not only killed Emperor Wen of Chen's only legitimate son, but also killed his most beloved minister Han Zigao. So after this man died, all the brotherhood he had in his life was nothing!"

"Third brother, this is the State of Chen. How can you discuss the affairs of another country's emperor? Be careful of ears on the other side of the wall!" The Crown Prince Yuwen Xun, who had been silent all this time, finally couldn't help but reprimand.

"Brother, you are too cowardly. The Emperor of Chen was defeated by us. Chen is only a small place. We have many talented people in Zhou. Why should we be afraid of them?"

"But don't forget, what exactly did our father ask us to do when we went to Chen State as envoys?"

Yuwen Hui sneered and changed the subject, "I heard that Lanling Prince Gao Changgong has a face as beautiful as a woman. Is he really as brave as the rumors say?"

"But no matter what, if Qi and Chen form an alliance, it will be very disadvantageous to our Zhou Kingdom!"

There was silence in the room for a moment.

Yuwen Hui suddenly whispered: "Brother, don't worry! If Gao Changgong dies in the land of Chen, the Qi-Chen alliance will naturally be dissolved!"

Before he could finish his words, he saw Gu Dushan walking towards the door of the embassy very vigilantly. Yuwen Xun, Yuwen Hui and Yuwen Zhi seemed to have heard something and followed him curiously.

Before they had walked far, they saw two young men dressed as princes coming with several guards. They were smiling and looked very friendly.

When the two noble gentlemen approached, they immediately raised their hands in greeting.

"Welcome all the Zhou envoys to the land of Chen. I am King Shixing, and this is my cousin Chen Bogu." Chen Shuling introduced.

"King Shixing? Are you Chen Shuling who was once held hostage in my Zhou Kingdom?" Yu Wenhui couldn't help but blurt out after recognizing Chen Shuling.

Chen Shuling's expression changed slightly, but he immediately smiled again and replied, "In the past in Zhou State, I would like to thank you all for your care. Otherwise, how could I be where I am today?"

Yuwen Hui realized that he had said something wrong, and hurriedly apologized with a smile: "Your Highness Prince Shixing, there is no need to be so polite. As the saying goes, God bestows great responsibilities on people. Your Highness Prince Shixing can achieve what he has today entirely because of his own talent and luck!"

After that, he asked again: "I wonder what business has come here for, Prince Shixing?"

"Oh, I am here on behalf of my elder brother Chen Shubao to invite you all to the East Palace for a banquet. My brother has prepared fine wine, delicious food, beautiful women and famous music, and invites you all to enjoy them together."

Yuwen Hui couldn't help but raise his eyebrows after hearing this, and said with a smile: "I've heard that there are many gentle beauties in the south, which are different from the bold women in my northern region. The beauties in Jiankang are very gentle and affectionate. I'd better go and see them."

Yuwen Zhi also showed great interest and said, "That's right. The gentle and graceful beauty of the southern beauties is something we all yearn for. Let's go!"

Chen Shuling smiled, bowed again, and took the lead to walk forward. However, before he had gone far, a scroll fell from his body.

When the scroll rolled to the ground, it was spread out, and the person in the painting immediately appeared in the eyes of Yuwen Hui and Yuwen Zhi who were following closely behind.

"Hey, who painted this? It's really beautiful. If there really is such a beauty in this world, wouldn't it be a blessing?"

Yuwen Hui picked up the scroll and sighed as he admired it.

"Lord Wei and Brother Yuwen, don't you know that there is such a beauty in this world? This is Han Zigao..." Chen Shuling said with a smile.

"Is this Han Zigao? He is indeed very beautiful and rare in the world. No wonder your uncle, Emperor Chen Wen, is so obsessed with him. However, it is a pity that he was sentenced to death by your father for treason, wasn't he?"

Chen Shuling smiled and said, "Han Zigao is indeed dead, but he still has bloodline in this world, and the one he left behind is a daughter."

"Is there really such a thing? Then where is she now?" Yu Wenhui asked even more excitedly.

Chen Shuling did not respond, so he asked Chen Bogu to say, "The Zhou envoys have just arrived in Jiankang, and they probably haven't heard about the interesting thing that happened in Jiankang City recently."

"Oh, I'd love to hear the details!"

Chen Bogu then vividly recounted some rumors about Xiao Jinyu in Jiankang City, especially the fact that Xiao Jinyu cured Xiao Xianzhi's leg and painted dance in the Ascott. This greatly aroused the interest of Yuwen Hui and Yuwen Zhi, who were eager to meet her immediately.

"There really is such a wonderful woman in the world. It would be a pity if I didn't meet her!"

Yuwenzhi sighed, and seemed to realize something. He looked at Chen Shuling and said, "No, this is not right. With such a wonderful woman, wouldn't King Shixing want to recruit her to his palace and use her for his own benefit? After all, she is not only a beauty, but also a miraculous doctor. She can save his life at a critical moment, right?"

"I do want to, but this woman has a strong temper. I can't just recruit her if I want."

"Oh, I understand. So His Royal Highness Prince Shixing wants to use us to take this girl into his hands, right?"

Chen Shuling was slightly embarrassed when Yuwen Zhi saw through his thoughts. Chen Bogu hurriedly smiled and continued, "What Duke Wei said is not without reason, but His Royal Highness Prince Shixing does not want to enjoy her all to himself. This woman is rare in the world. If you like her, His Royal Highness will offer her to you. However, it also depends on whether you can ask her to come out and meet her!"

Yuwen Zhi sneered: "How difficult is this? Isn't it still up to the Emperor of your Chen State to decide?"

……

Not long after, Zhou envoys Yuwen Xun, Yuwen Zhi, Dugu Shan and Yuwen Hui followed Chen Shuling and others to the East Palace of Crown Prince Chen Shubao.

Like Xiao Tong, the previous prince of Zhaoming, Chen Shubao was also a person who loved literature. He was surrounded by a group of literati such as Jiang Zong, Yao Cha, Gu Yewang, Zhu Jie, Lu Yu, Chen Shuda and others as his subordinates in the Eastern Palace. Chen Shubao often held literary events with these subordinates, and they would sing and appreciate each other's poems. The difference was that Xiao Tong advocated frugality and never played music at literary events. Once, a literati complained that the Eastern Palace had no music and was boring. Xiao Tong simply replied: "It doesn't have to be silk and bamboo. Mountains and rivers have clear sounds."

But Chen Shubao was different. Although the Eastern Palace was full of literary atmosphere, the sound of stringed and wind instruments was heard everywhere, and all kinds of songs and dances were gorgeous and endless. There were even many songs and dances that he created himself, and then he ordered the dancers to sing and dance them.

"Zhou State's Prince Yuwen has arrived—"

"Prince Lanling of Qi has arrived—"

Almost at the same time, envoys from Qi and Zhou arrived at the East Palace one after another. Especially when they heard the name of King Lanling, many maids and concubines who were dancing and playing music in the ancient Xuanpu of the East Palace couldn't help but look back.

Lanling Wang did not wear a veil today, so since he took his first step into the East Palace, he has attracted the attention of countless people around him, and there are endless sounds of envy and amazement in his ears.

"This Lanling Prince really lives up to his reputation as the most handsome man in the North. He is truly a fairy. His looks can rival the sun and the moon!"

Not only the maids and concubines in the Eastern Palace, but even Yuwen Hui and Yuwen Zhi, who happened to meet each other head-on, could not help but stare in amazement.

Yuwen Hui sighed inwardly: This Lanling King is truly stunningly beautiful, but it's a pity that he is not a citizen of the Zhou Kingdom, nor an ordinary civilian, otherwise...

Thinking of this, he shook his head with regret.

At this time, Crown Prince Chen Shubao had come in person to greet the envoy, surrounded by a group of scholars.

"It is an honor for the State of Chen that you have come from afar. I have prepared some fine wine and look forward to drinking with you and sharing the joy!"

Compared with Chen Shuling's arrogance, Prince Chen Shubao seemed much more humble, polite and decent. King Lanling and the envoys of Zhou State also returned the greetings politely and then took their seats.

Chen Shubao ordered the musicians to continue playing music, and the dancers swayed their waists and danced more passionately.

For a moment, there were cups clinking together, people wearing fragrant clothes, the aroma of rouge and wine blending together, and coupled with the lewd music of Zhengsheng, it really gave people a sense of being intoxicated and dreaming.

After three rounds of drinking, Gao Changgong seemed uncomfortable and stood up to leave. Yuwen Hui tried to stop him and said, "Prince Lanling is leaving now? He just drank the wine but didn't get to see the beauty. Isn't that a pity?"

Chen Shubao laughed and said, "Could it be that Lord Yuwen has not seen any beauties in my East Palace?"

Yu Wenhui smiled and said, "Although there are many beauties in the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace, we are used to seeing such vulgar beauties in Zhou Kingdom. I heard that there is a famous doctor in Jiankang recently. She is not only extremely beautiful, but also has the magical skill of bringing the dead back to life. Your Highness, can you invite such a beauty to the Eastern Palace to see her?"