Teasing the First Dragon at the Start

As the first princess of the Great Xia Dynasty, she is so narrow-minded and intolerant. As her younger sister, I feel helpless. Can't she be more understanding and tolerant of me?

What does it mean to have a magnanimous heart?

Chapter 383 They're up to no good.

As everyone took their seats, it was soon the turn of the last envoy.

This is a woman dressed in a light blue gauze dress. Her face is covered by a thin veil, making it impossible to see her full features. Only her delicate willow-leaf eyebrows and a pair of clear eyes that look like blue gemstones can be seen.

She also wore a blue silk scarf on her head, and her exotic attire immediately attracted the attention of many officials in the hall.

The woman stepped forward slowly, placed one hand on her chest in a gesture of respect, and said, "Envoy of Parthia, Yena greets the wise and intelligent Princess."

Her manners were very elegant, which was quite striking.

Hu Yi's heterochromatic eyes darted around, as if he had thought of something, and he couldn't help but ask with some curiosity, "Anxi, that name sounds familiar. Wait, could you perhaps be from the former Macedonian Empire?"

She had heard some stories about Alexander's eastern expedition from her husband.

This man named Alexander, who had some of the flair of Xiang Yu, defeated the once-powerful Persians in less than a few years and replaced them.

This made her curious about this country called Macedonia.

Yena shook her head slightly and replied, "The Macedonian Empire established by Alexander disintegrated a hundred years ago. The country that has now unified this Persian land is called Parthia."

"Really? That's a real shame." Hu Yi sighed in disappointment upon hearing this.

After all, she had always been curious about whether the Macedonian army, which her husband had once described as powerful, was stronger than the mighty army of the Great Xia.

It's worth noting that at its peak, Macedonia's influence was comparable to that of the Western Regions, and even today, some small states in the Western Regions still wear Macedonian clothing.

Hearing that Macedonia no longer exists evokes a sense of emptiness, a feeling of having no rivals to be found anywhere in the world, which inevitably brings a sense of regret.

Yena said respectfully, "Your Highness, this is our letter of state from Parthia. It was written by the monarch himself. We hope Your Highness will take a look."

Hu Yu nodded slightly and said, "The envoy has come from afar; you must be tired."

With a smile, Yena handed the official credentials she was holding to the official who had come over.

Hu Yu remained calm, and every move he made exuded the demeanor of a great nation, causing Fu Su and the civil and military officials below to secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

After all, in their minds, this Prince Hu was somewhat too inexperienced. They thought he would be a little awkward when facing foreign envoys for the first time, but he turned out to be quite capable and did not lose the demeanor of a great nation.

As the saying goes, "One who stays near vermilion gets stained red, and one who stays near ink gets stained black." It seems that by following Bai Su, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, every day, he has learned quite a bit.

Hu Yi glanced at the official document presented by the official, her delicate eyebrows slightly raised.

The message in this letter was quite simple: they wanted to do business directly with the Central Plains.

Parthia were nomadic and made their living by trading. They followed merchants from the Western Regions, carrying goods from the Central Plains to various places for trade.

Tea, porcelain, and silk gradually spread to Parthia and the Roman area, causing a craze in the region. Countless nobles took pride in wearing silk, using porcelain, and drinking tea.

It can be said that as long as the goods are transported there, one can easily earn tens or even hundreds of times the profit.

This bolt of silk could be exchanged for an equivalent amount of gold and hundreds of slaves. Even at such a high price, demand still couldn't meet supply.

Upon learning from passing caravans that these goods came from a mysterious Eastern power, they dispatched an envoy who traveled thousands of miles to trade directly with the Central Plains.

Hu Yu was naturally very happy to receive money from foreign countries that came to her door, but the arrogant tone in Anxi's letter made her feel a little uncomfortable.

Parthia actually wanted to be on equal footing with Great Xia, and even said it wanted to establish a brotherly relationship with Great Xia, with Parthia as the elder brother and Great Xia as the younger brother, the two countries being as close as brothers and interacting with each other.

elder brother?

Pah! You dare to say that?

How dare a mere foreign nation be so arrogant in front of my Great Xia?

Is it that my Great Xia Dynasty is too weak to wield its sword, or has your peace been lost?

If it weren't for the great distance and the lack of a map to Parthia, she would have made Parthia see for themselves why Great Xia was called the Land of Tigers and Wolves.

After pondering for a long time, Hu Yi put down the letter of state in his hand and said indifferently, "I have read the contents of the letter of state. Please forgive me for not being able to grant this request for trade."

Yena was taken aback and couldn't help but ask, "Why?"

Hu Yi frowned slightly, looked directly at her, and said coldly, "How can a fierce tiger sit with a jackal?"

Yena was taken aback for a moment, then immediately understood.

Hu Yi was dissatisfied with the wording in their official letter, but thinking about it, it's understandable.

Now, all nations are paying tribute. Envoys from the Western Regions, the grasslands, Liaodong, and other places are flocking to Xianyang, all watching closely to see how their leader will react.

If, in front of his followers, the leader appears too weak in the presence of foreign envoys, how can he expect to gain their respect?

Although her main purpose for this trip was to open up trade and seek long-term and stable purchases of goods from the Central Plains, everything else was negotiable.

However, Parthia was a powerful region, known locally as the King of Kings. It was unacceptable for them to be looked down upon like this; they had to regain their lost face.

After pondering for a while, she seemed to have thought of something, and cupped her hands, saying, "Your Majesty, the Central Plains is prosperous and powerful. My Parthia has come here today for diplomatic purposes, and has brought some rare treasures to present as tribute. These items are currently outside the main hall. Please allow me to bring them in."

Hu Yi had no idea what she was up to. After pondering for a while, he nodded slightly.

Yena smiled meaningfully, then instructed her attendant, "Go and bring up what we have prepared."

The attendant bowed and withdrew.

Before long, the civil and military officials of the court saw a small cage covered with red cloth being carried in by attendants.

Yena smiled and bowed to Hu Yu, saying, "Your Highness, this is the gift I present to you."

Having said that, she grabbed a corner of the red cloth and suddenly lifted it up.

meow~

A strange cry came from behind.

The cage sat quietly on the ground, inside which were several strange-looking beasts.

It resembles a tiger, but is much smaller, covered in fur, with a large round face and big, round eyes. It is constantly licking its little paws, looking very cute.

The people inside the hall looked at each other, a sense of curiosity rising within them. What was this thing? They had never seen anything like it before.

Looking at the adorable little creature, Hu Yu blinked his dark eyes and asked with some curiosity, "You're very kind, envoy, but may I ask what this strange beast is called?"

She didn't know much about this, and since she usually stayed in Xianyang and rarely went out, she had absolutely no clue about these strange beasts.

The strange beast in the cage, with its round eyes, sat in one corner of the cage, curiously observing the main hall, looking quite peculiar.

Yena smiled and said, "This strange beast was captured by our delegation along the way. It is extremely precious. Our Anxi is small and sparsely populated, so we really don't recognize what this thing is."

“Our lord has often heard from passing caravans that the Great Xia is a vast and resource-rich land, full of outstanding people and spirits. Surely there must be extraordinary people who can recognize this creature. Therefore, I wish to offer this strange beast in its entirety.”

"I have long admired the culture of the Great Xia. I hope that the talented people of the Great Xia can enlighten me and tell me what this thing is called, so that we can broaden our horizons. We are a small country with few people and limited knowledge. I hope Your Highness will forgive my ignorance."

As soon as she finished speaking, the hall fell silent.

The court officials present all frowned. As seasoned veterans, they could easily see through the Parthian envoy's meaning; she was trying to flatter him to his detriment.

First, they lifted the Great Xia Dynasty high and blew it into the sky.

If no one can answer this question later, the higher they were praised before, the harder they will fall.

In particular, Hu Yi just said that Parthia was not qualified to be on par with Great Xia, and this Parthian envoy also claimed to be from a small country with few people, and even pretended to admire the great Central Plains.

If Da Xia couldn't answer in front of his underlings, the situation would be awkward.

Hu Yu raised her delicate eyebrows slightly, her gaze fixed on the smiling Parthian envoy below, and she couldn't help but think to herself.

"They've come with ill intentions."

Chapter 384 My Child and I Are Enough to Go Hungry

Hu Yu raised her delicate eyebrows slightly, and a hint of displeasure appeared on her fair face.

She thought this guy was well-behaved and knew his place after arriving in Xianyang, but she never expected that "I treated you like a son, but you wanted to tear my name off and become my brother."

She glanced at the group of officials below. These ministers were all seasoned veterans, and they naturally realized that their princess was angry.

The Parthian envoy named Yena wore a faint smile, seemingly oblivious to the oppressive atmosphere.

This caused Hu Xiu's beautiful brows to gradually furrow.

In any case, the Parthian envoy was humble and polite, and her manners were impeccable. At least on the surface, no one could find fault with her.

However, the question she raised was rather tricky.

After all, there are countless rare and exotic animals in the world, and even the most learned person in the world cannot guarantee that they can recognize all of them.

This Parthian envoy is clearly trying to cause trouble.

But even if they understood, there was nothing they could do. As the suzerain state, Great Xia couldn't afford to lose face in front of its subordinates.

After pondering for a long time, she looked at the officials below and couldn't help but ask, "Since the envoy is so eager to learn, does anyone here recognize this rare beast? If so, please step forward and introduce it to me, so that I may broaden my horizons."

The hall was silent as everyone pondered deeply, their faces showing signs of difficulty.

For a long time, no one was able to step forward and answer.

Even Fu Su, who was always praised for her erudition, couldn't help but clench her delicate hands, clearly having no clue what to do.

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the hall became strange.

Hu Yi, especially, who was sitting on the throne, looked visibly unpleasant.

She had assumed that these court officials, who were usually so learned and looked down on foreign countries, would have no problem recognizing a rare beast, but to her surprise, no one dared to step forward.

Her fair hands clenched slightly, and she subconsciously tightened her collar. This was her first time receiving foreign envoys, representing the face of the Central Plains as the suzerain state. If anything went wrong, it would be troublesome.

Hu Yu gritted her teeth and glared fiercely at the Parthian envoy. This damned foreign country, if it weren't for the distance, she would have shown her why the Great Xia was known as a nation founded on military might.

Yena glanced around, a gentle smile spreading across her pretty face, which was covered by a thin veil. She feigned surprise and asked, "Could it be... that even the Great Xia, a country renowned as a superior nation, has no one who can answer my question?"

Many of those present were high-ranking officials of the imperial court, and they had never been subjected to such ridicule before. Their faces turned red, and they clenched their fists tightly, wishing she would bleed on the spot.

Fu Suxiu frowned. She knew very well that killing this Parthian envoy was easy, but saving face for the Great Xia Dynasty was not an easy task.

After all, with so many tributary vassals watching, resorting to violence when one can't win a verbal contest would be extremely shameful.

How can we stabilize the situation?

As she pondered, an image of Bai Su, dressed in white, with her annoying, smiling face involuntarily surfaced in her mind.