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

"Is that Zhou Wu kid here? Haha, I'll go greet him myself."

The deep, resonant voice could only belong to Duke Lu Da of Lu.

“Squeak~~~~”

The two locked eyes, and Lu Da pulled Zhou Wu inside.

"Is this your first time visiting my residence, young man?"

"Please forgive my unwelcome visit, Duke of Lu."

"Wow, when did you develop this overly formal and pretentious habit?"

Lu Da showed a look of disgust on his face. Although Zhou Wu knew Lu Da, the two had not known each other well before, so Zhou Wu was not sure about Lu Da's personality at first. Now that Lu Da said so, Zhou Wu stopped pretending and came clean.

"Hey, this isn't my first time here, we're not that unfamiliar yet. I don't like to use fancy words in conversation."

"That's right, whatever it is, that's what makes it satisfying."

"it is good."

"Men, prepare a feast! I want to drink three hundred jars of wine with Zhou Wu."

Wait, three hundred jars of wine? Yes, three hundred jars.

I had long heard that Lu Da was the best drinker in the court, and that he loved wine so much that he would start a feast as soon as someone came to visit his residence, no matter when. This made most people in the court hesitate to come.

Today, with someone finally walking into our trap, Lu Da naturally won't let Zhou Wu off so easily.

"Duke of Lu, it's really not possible today. I have important business to discuss with you. Let's drink this wine another day."

Tomorrow is the Empress's birthday banquet, and Zhou Wu is extremely busy right now. He has no time to drink, so he can only struggle and resist desperately.

"Boy, let me tell you, no one who has come to my Duke of Lu's mansion has ever been able to walk out on their own."

Then you definitely shouldn't drink it, there's still a lot of things to do.

"Duke of Lu, please listen to my excuses and explanations... I'm currently in charge of the Empress's birthday banquet, and I really dare not drink. After the banquet, I will definitely pay you a visit and drink to my heart's content."

Upon hearing that it was about the Empress's birthday banquet, Lu Da finally put Zhou Wu down.

"You're not allowed to frame me."

"How could I dare to lie to the Duke of Lu?"

"Then why are you looking for me?"

Once he stopped drinking, Lu Da was like a deflated balloon, losing all his energy.

"That's how it is..."

Zhou Wu recounted the whole story to the Duke of Lu.

"No problem, leave it to me. After Her Majesty the Empress's birthday banquet, we'll drink until we drop."

"Then thank you very much, Duke of Lu."

"Why call me Duke of Lu? You've already sworn brotherhood with Brother Gu, so naturally you should call me brother too."

"Uh~~~"

Unexpectedly, the news still got out.

. . . . .

On the day of the Empress's birthday banquet.

Li Junren greeted the guests at the main hall entrance early in the morning and was also responsible for counting the congratulatory gifts received. He would sing some songs to liven things up later.

"Meet His Highness the Crown Prince."

"My lords, please come inside."

"I have met His Highness the Crown Prince."

"Moon Man Messenger, please come in quickly."

While Li Junren was busy outside, Zhou Wu was hiding in a corner, taking a break from his work.

Everything has been arranged, so Zhou Wu no longer needs to personally handle everything.

He casually snatched a plate of fruit from a palace maid and ate it himself. He hadn't even had time for lunch before, so he just ate a little something to tide him over.

"These grapes are really sweet. I'll ask them where they came from as tribute later."

Zhou Wu hid in a corner and watched the hall. Whenever someone arrived, a eunuch or palace maid would lead them to a table that had been arranged in advance.

Zhou Wu discovered that there were several tables occupied by female relatives, including concubines and princesses, as well as the families of some high-ranking officials.

"Your Highness, all the guests have arrived. Please take your seats."

"Okay, let's go in."

Seeing that it was getting late, the eunuch quietly reminded the crown prince after counting the number of guests.

Soon Emperor Li Tiancheng and Empress Yang Nan also entered.

"Your Majesty, the Empress has arrived."

"Welcome, Your Majesty! Welcome, Your Majesty the Empress!"

"My esteemed ministers, you may dispense with the formalities."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you, Your Majesty."

After everyone paid their respects, according to procedure, the Crown Prince, on behalf of the Empress, presented her with a congratulatory gift.

"The world rejoices at the Empress Dowager's birthday celebration. Today, ministers and envoys from various countries present gifts to celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday."

Yang Nan smiled slightly; indeed, the palace hadn't been this lively in a long time.

First, the gifts from domestic officials could no longer be directly linked to money, because as officials, it was inappropriate to give overly valuable items. So everyone used their own ingenuity. Those with good calligraphy would give a piece of auspicious calligraphy, those with good painting skills would give a painting with a good meaning, or a gift made by themselves. In short, the meaning was greater than the value.

When it came to foreign envoys, the situation was completely different; it became all about flaunting wealth and competing with each other.

"A box of black pearls is a gift from the envoy of the Moon Man Kingdom."

As the prince sang, eunuchs and palace maids displayed their treasures to the audience. One of the maids opened a jewelry box, revealing at least a dozen black pearls the size of pigeon eggs, each one priceless.

The envious glances from the crowd made the envoy from the Moon Man Kingdom proudly raise his head.

"The envoy from the Black Monkey Kingdom presented a box of gemstones as a congratulatory gift."

Inside the jewelry box, gemstones of various colors shone so brightly that it was dazzling.

"The envoy from the Dada Kingdom presented a box of agate as a gift."

"The Khmer envoy presented a jade Guanyin statue as a gift."

"The gifts from the envoy of Gao Liguo included a box of ginseng and a box of deer antlers."

"The envoy from the Kingdom of John presented a crown of pure gold and precious stones as a congratulatory gift."

The gift was very Westernized. Whether it was appropriate or not, its value was certainly not low. Envoy Gil, at this moment, shook off his gloom from the previous night and seemed to have regained his face.

"A golden scepter was presented as a gift by the envoy from Gaul."

"A gemstone necklace, a gift from the envoy of the Kingdom of Hans."

. . . . . .

The gifts from the foreign envoys completely outshone those from the emperor's subjects. The contrast was stark; the subjects' gifts could only be described as meager. Although the emperor and empress didn't seem to care, they were still somewhat embarrassed.

"Why have some people come empty-handed to Her Majesty the Empress's birthday banquet today?"

Gao Li's words attracted a lot of attention.

"Who?"

"No way, this is Her Majesty the Empress's birthday banquet, and people are just going to eat for free?"

"Who is so disrespectful, showing no regard for Her Majesty?"

Everyone was curious, and Zhou Wu was also scanning the scene, wanting to see who was so shameless.

"Grand Commander of the South China Sea, Lord Zhou, I wonder what mysterious gift you sent to Her Majesty the Empress?"

Good heavens, he's gotten himself into this mess. Zhou Wu glanced at the envoy from Gaoli Kingdom, his eyes narrowed, his face long and thin. He didn't seem to have offended this person; in fact, this was the first time he'd ever met him.

Everyone turned their attention to Zhou Wu because of the words of the envoy from Gaoli Kingdom. Some were worried, some were happy, and most were just watching the show.