If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

"Master, the Crown Prince has sent someone to summon you."

"Oh, bring him in."

Zhou Wu had originally planned to stay at home for the next few days as a kind of vacation, but the next day, the Crown Prince sent someone to find him.

"Greetings, Lord Zhou."

This person was a servant in His Highness the Crown Prince's residence. Zhou Wu seemed to have seen him before and had a vague impression of him.

"No need for formalities, Your Highness. What business does Your Highness have with me?"

"Reporting to you, Your Majesty, His Majesty is hosting a banquet for foreign envoys in the palace today, and His Highness the Crown Prince has invited you to accompany him."

"tonight?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Okay, you go back first, I'll be there in a bit."

"Yes."

After the person left, Zhou Wu sighed inwardly, realizing that he probably wouldn't have any peace and quiet for the next few days.

. . . . . .

Royal Palace

A banquet held in the palace is not like a banquet held in an ordinary household. It is definitely not acceptable for people to arrive at the designated mealtime. Although it is called an evening banquet, those who attend the banquet in the afternoon must arrive in advance. Before entering the palace, they must undergo a routine body search, and the Crown Prince is no exception.

However, Zhou Wu and the Crown Prince received some special treatment, such as being able to go through a green channel without having to queue for a body search.

From the palace gate all the way to the main hall, since riding horses was not allowed, only walking was permitted. As a result, Zhou Wu saw many foreigners. In addition to the Southeast Asians and Middle Easterners commonly seen in the capital, there were even blond-haired, blue-eyed people. Zhou Wu did not know which country they were from.

"There are quite a lot of foreigners here."

Zhou Wu couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

"Our Great Dragon is vast and rich in resources, with a strong and powerful army. It is only right that all the surrounding small countries have submitted to it."

"What country are those blond foreigners from?"

In Zhou Wu's memory, although one could occasionally see blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners in the foreign markets of the capital, there were no white countries around Dalong.

"I've never seen them before. They're said to be from several countries in the west, namely the Kingdom of John, the Kingdom of Gaul, and another country called Hans."

"Are they also here to celebrate the Empress's birthday?"

"They were not on our invitation list because they are too far away. We had never even heard of these countries before. They came on their own, saying they wanted to exchange and learn from the Great Dragon. It just so happened that it coincided with the Empress's birthday."

"Oh. So you came here to learn from them."

"Stealing techniques? What do you mean?"

The prince was somewhat puzzled. Zhou Wu didn't seem to recognize the other party, but he was full of wariness and hostility towards those blond people.

"Your Highness, is our Great Dragon Empire developing better than other countries?"

"That's for sure. In terms of overall strength, I haven't heard of any neighboring countries that are stronger than us."

At this point, Crown Prince Li Junren was filled with pride. Indeed, the Great Dragon Empire's overall national strength was extremely strong. Not to mention the whole world, it was definitely number one in the region. But this refers to its overall strength.

Because some countries with uneven development, such as the Da Zi Kingdom, have strong military forces, a fact that even the Great Dragon People have to admit.

However, it was precisely because the Great Dragon Empire was so strong in its overall development that many surrounding countries, whether openly or covertly, would send people to the Great Dragon to flatter and fawn over the emperor. Once the emperor was pleased, he would wave his hand and send many foreigners to the Great Dragon every year for so-called exchanges and learning.

In Zhou Wu's eyes, these so-called exchanges and learning were nothing more than stealing knowledge. Zhou Wu was not a kind-hearted person, and he was especially wary of people of different races and foreigners.

"These people came to our Great Dragon to steal our skills. They're all ingrates. Once they've mastered the skills, the first ones they'll bite are us."

"No way?"

The Great Dragon's governing philosophy is now influenced by some Confucianism, believing in the truth, goodness, and beauty of the world. Zhou Wu is not saying that this is bad, but it is really unnecessary for foreign races. Fortunately, Zhou Wu has not yet seen any people from Fusang, otherwise they would have clashed.

The crown prince naturally had a separate room to wait in, and did not have to squeeze into a room with those foreigners. At this time, the crown prince asked about the topic from before.

"Zhou Wu, do you really hate these foreigners that much?"

"Your Highness, it's not that I hate these foreigners, it's that I hate ingrates."

When the topic turned to ingrates, Zhou Wu's face hardened, and Li Junren, who knew him well, knew that Zhou Wu was not joking.

After a long wait, the banquet finally began, and everyone started to enter. The Emperor and Empress were the last to appear, and the Crown Prince, as the representative of the organizers, entered early to greet the envoys from various countries.

"Greetings, Your Highness. May God bless you."

"Please come in."

"God bless His Highness the Crown Prince, he is truly wise and mighty."

(I know some people will nitpick about the origins of these things, and talk about the timeline and other issues. Please, everyone, just read without thinking, okay? Thank you.)

"May Allah bless you, my prince."

"May the Eternal Heaven protect you, Your Highness."

The crown prince was welcoming envoys from various countries. Zhou Wu was there to accompany the crown prince, so he couldn't sit to the side. He stood beside him and was blessed by various deities.

"These people only know how to pray to gods and Buddhas for protection, but they don't know how to make progress. No wonder their development is not good."

Zhou Wu would mutter something every time he greeted a foreign envoy, like a nagging, complaining woman. Li Junren was a little embarrassed, but luckily the foreigners didn't hear him, or perhaps they didn't understand.

Li Junren is already considering whether he should use a different person next time such an occasion occurs.

"Hey, Zhou Wu."

Zhou Wu, who was complaining, was suddenly attacked from behind. He turned around and saw that it was Princess Li Xixue.

"My goodness, please, can't you make a little noise when you walk? You're scaring me to death."

"Haha, you coward."

"cut."

"I noticed you were eating something the whole time."

"Pfft~~"

Hearing this, the Crown Prince couldn't help but burst out laughing. Xi Xue thought Zhou Wu was eating because of his chatter, which showed how frequently Zhou Wu's mouth was moving.

"What do you want to eat? I'm starving."

"Hungry? Here, have some."

Upon hearing Zhou Wu say "oh," Li Xixue pulled out a pastry from somewhere and gave it to Zhou Wu. Since they were already acquaintances, Zhou Wu didn't refuse and took a couple of bites.

"I said, little sister, isn't there one for me?"

"Ah! I'm sorry, brother, there's only one piece."

Li Xixue then realized that her older brother had been standing next to her the whole time, and her face immediately turned red.

Li Junren now realized that his younger sister was very likely in love with Zhou Wu, but Zhou Wu was already married, and a princess could not be a concubine, so there was basically no chance for the two of them.

"Hey~"

Thinking of this, Li Junren could only sigh inwardly, hoping that his sister wouldn't get too deeply involved, and that he would remind Zhou Wu at the appropriate time.

"Zhou Wu, look at those blond-haired, blue-eyed people. They look so strange, but they are so polite."

The banquet hadn't started yet, and Li Xixue didn't know anyone around her, so she stayed with the Crown Prince and Zhou Wu. However, when she saw the blond-haired, blue-eyed man, she couldn't help but take a second look out of curiosity.