She married a dying prince and she won three babies.

Shangguan Ziqi was arranging for his group to settle down in the inn.

Another conspiracy was also quietly underway.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the port city, on a hill outside the city, there stood a tall temple.

The high priest of the temple, Cassim, is listening to the report from his men.

"The foreigners' ships are huge, comparable to moving palaces." A spy, wrapped in black from head to toe, knelt on the ground and described.

"The cloth they brought was thinner than morning mist, and I heard it was made of silk spun by insects. The porcelain they brought was more beautiful than the most beautiful altar in our Shenduo Kingdom.

Their appearance is also very different from ours. Their women are petite and have much whiter skin than ours, and are very beautiful.

Qasim's eyes widened as he heard this. He paced slowly, his fingers stroking a snake-shaped pendant hanging on his chest.

As the high priest, he had absolute power in the city of Dorcas.

Since he came here to be the high priest, he has used local women as sacrifices every three years and has never used foreign women.

But only he knew that he had enjoyed those women privately before offering them to the gods.

At this moment, a desire that he had never felt before ignited in his heart.

Those outsiders have no roots here at all, so it would be easy to control them, right?

"Their goods were all bought by Rajiv and Ajay." The man continued to report.

Qasim listened and nodded.

Since they have already bought it, he will naturally have a share of the temple, so he doesn't have to worry about that.

"How many of them are women?"

"Five grown women and a child of a few years old. But one of the women is dressed particularly extravagantly, so she must be of noble status. Her husband must be the commander of the fleet."

"What about the other four women?" Qasim frowned and asked.

"It should be a maid."

"What gods do these foreigners worship?" Qasim thought for a moment and asked in a gloomy voice.

"From what we observed, they did not perform any sacrificial activities, and no statues of gods were seen on the boat. However, they treated their elders with great respect and seemed to attach great importance to tradition."

The spy observed for a long time.

We also saw how Shangguan Ziqi took care of Emperor Qiming and the old prince.

A cold glint flashed in Qasim's eyes. "No sacrifice? Disrespect for the gods? Such people have not been cleansed by the gods. They must be barbaric and inferior people."

He suddenly stopped and continued, "In three days there will be a grand ceremony to worship the gods, and we need four women as sacrifices.

And Agala has come to me several times to make trouble because his daughter was chosen, and I couldn't bear it.

Aren't these foreign women the very offerings bestowed upon us by the gods? They are given to the gods to be cleansed by them."

The spy looked up, his eyes filled with fear and awe. "What does the high priest mean?"

"Keep a close eye on those four foreign women and bring them to me when you get the chance. They are just handmaidens, not important people.

Remember, don't let anyone notice.

The sacrificial ceremony must be performed perfectly, as it will determine the success of the coming year."

"Yes, my lord."

"No, I have to see it myself. If those female gods don't like us, they will punish us." Qasim was a little worried again.

It wasn't about whether the gods liked her or not, he just wanted to confirm whether she was really as beautiful as the spies said.

-

Shangguan Ziqi is settled.

Along the way, Emperor Qiming also saw the differences between the Shenduo Kingdom and the Wei Dynasty.

I feel deeply moved.

"It's true that traveling thousands of miles is better than reading thousands of books. Next time, I want to bring my eldest grandson out to see the world. This world is truly vast."

"Your Majesty, did you gain a lot from this trip?" The old prince was also curious.

He also regretted not bringing his little daughter with him, and next time he wanted to bring his princess and daughter with him.

Emperor Qiming nodded. "Although Rajiv is shrewd, he is honest. He gave us the actual price for the goods we brought."

"Well, the purpose of our trip has been achieved. After the transaction, we will stay here for a while and then go back." The old prince nodded in agreement.

He suddenly thought of the few people he saw when he just got ashore, and turned to Shangguan Ziqi who had just walked over.

"Ziqi, did you notice the men in black robes on the shore when you were on the deck just now?"

Shangguan Ziqi was stunned. "Did my father see it too? I was just about to report this. Those people weren't like ordinary people. They kept staring at us, especially Chunhua and the others."

"Yes, I suspect they have ulterior motives. You must be on guard."

"Yes, son, I'll arrange it right away." Shangguan Ziqi immediately became alert.

"Chunhua, you guys, try not to act alone." Shangguan Ziqi turned around and gave special instructions.

The four girls looked at each other, feeling both nervous and excited.

They were still immersed in the novelty of exotic customs and had no idea of ​​the potential crisis.

"Your Majesty, Father, how about we go on a family tour tomorrow? Firstly, it will allow the children to see the world, and secondly, they can observe the local customs and folkways firsthand." Yu Yuanzheng suggested after they finished talking about business.

It's a rare opportunity to come to this foreign country, so of course I have to appreciate it.

Emperor Qiming stroked his beard and thought for a moment: "Alright. But we must double the protection and not be careless."

The next morning, the Shangguan family and Emperor Qiming walked out of the inn accompanied by twenty elite guards.

The guide sent by Rajiv had been waiting for a long time, ready to take them to visit the city's most prosperous market.

The market was bustling with people and various hawking sounds could be heard one after another.

The air was filled with the aroma of various spices and cooked food.

Shangguan Yajing held her mother's hand tightly, but her eyes were too busy to take in all the wonders.

"Mother, that man is eating fire!" she exclaimed, pointing at a street performer.

Yu Yuanzheng is more concerned about the lives of ordinary citizens.

Some of the women in Shenduo were veiled and moved reservedly; others were dressed in bright colors and traded openly in the market.

"Mother, why do they carry things on their heads?" Shangguan Changyu observed along the way and found that both men and women liked to carry things in this way.

"This is their custom, a habit that has been formed since ancient times." Yu Yuanzheng could not explain this problem and could only attribute it to custom.

In a spice shop, Emperor Qiming was attracted by the various exotic aromas. The owner was an old man with a wrinkled face. Seeing the distinguished guest coming, he immediately introduced the spices enthusiastically.

He took out a small piece of black resinous substance, scraped off a little powder with a knife, and motioned for Emperor Qiming to smell it.

"This is the finest agarwood!" Emperor Qiming exclaimed in amazement. "I've been in the palace for many years, and I've only seen agarwood of this quality a few times."

Seeing that the customer seemed to like it very much, the owner happily gave a thumbs up and then gestured a price with his hand.

The guide gestured carefully again, and Emperor Qiming finally understood how much it cost.

Even the old prince's eyes widened. This price was 70% cheaper than that of Wei.

Just as Emperor Qiming was about to make a purchase, the market outside suddenly became quiet.

The crowd parted, and several men in black robes slowly approached. Leading them was none other than Qasim, the serpentine pattern on his forehead gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

The guide immediately whispered a warning: "It's the high priest of the temple. Please remain quiet and don't look directly at him."

Unfortunately, Emperor Qiming didn't understand, but he saw the guide immediately bowed with a serious face, waiting for the group to pass by.

Emperor Qiming guessed that these people might be some important local figures.

Qasim walked to the spice shop, glanced at the Wei delegation, and paused slightly when he saw Yu Yuanzheng and four maids.

He walked in, picked up the piece of top-quality agarwood, and said a few words to the owner.

The owner immediately knelt down and bowed, saying with great fear and trepidation that the spice had been donated to the temple.

Cassim nodded with satisfaction, glanced at the four maids again, a barely perceptible smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and then he left with his entourage.

"The way that man looks at Chunhua and the others is very strange. It makes people feel very uncomfortable, as if being stared at by a poisonous snake." Yu Yuanzheng whispered to Shangguan Ziqi.