Chapter 1098: A Peculiar Meeting

Seeing that the meal had already been placed on the table, Ayuduo could not say what she had wanted to say; she could only hide it in her belly for now, waiting for a chance to speak later.

However, she truly had not expected that a meal could be this sumptuous; not to mention whether she had seen these dishes before, the sheer quantity alone was enough to shock her.

It was a pity, though, that she had almost no appetite now, and in the end, she only ate a little to make her stomach feel less uncomfortable. While eating, the questions from Sui and Chinv did not stop, though fortunately, unlike Baifeng's questions, they were not difficult to answer—they were just asking about things they were curious about.

After the meal, they immediately dispersed. Changle and Ayuduo returned to their courtyard, and Baifeng also requested that he bring Ayuduo to work on time tomorrow, mainly to hold discussions with the Jiuli. On the way back, Ayuduo was still asking Changle what exactly they were going to discuss. Changle said he did not know either; this was something his father and eldest brother had discussed, and he had not been there at the time, but no matter what it was, they would know tomorrow.

The courtyard remained very quiet. After returning, Changle first asked Baishao: "Have the people from the Ministry of Rites arrived? Have the Chieftain and the others eaten?"

Baishao replied softly: "Master, people from the Ministry of Rites did come to invite the Chieftain and the others to eat, but none of them wanted to go; they wanted to continue sleeping, so we did not disturb them further."

"However, we have already prepared some porridge. If they wake up tonight and want to eat, we can immediately heat it up for them."

"Alright, keep an eye on it. Wake us up on time tomorrow to wash up."

Baishao bowed respectfully and answered yes, then watched as Changle and Ayuduo entered the room.

At the cockcrow the next day, Changle and the others were woken up on time. The Chieftain and his group had not eaten for a long time and were now so hungry they were clutching their bellies. Changle had no choice but to first have the servants bring them breakfast and then arrange for them to wash up.

He and Ayuduo only ate slowly after they had finished washing up, waiting for the Chieftain and his group. Yangasha, a woman, no longer cared about her image; after all, seasickness was truly too painful. Having stayed on land properly for a day, she finally felt like she had come back to life.

On the way to see Baifeng, Changle was already preparing them: "My father mainly wants to talk to you about cooperation and trade today, but I don't know the specifics of what will be discussed. If you have the intention, you can continue talking; if not, there's no need to drag it out—it's very tiring."

Having never experienced the extremely formal negotiation scenes of Huaxia, how could they know how difficult it would be? They thought it would just be sitting by a fire, pulling a woman close, and haggling loudly.

As a result, when they arrived at the venue, they were completely bewildered. Unlike the place where they met Baifeng yesterday, today the location had changed. There were two rows of long tables with many cups already placed on them, and some people had already arrived.

The officials who had not seen Changle for a long time naturally came to greet him warmly, and Changle responded one by one, introducing the identities of both sides.

Before long, Baifeng and Yulong arrived, followed by a string of officials. The officials who had already arrived hurriedly bowed and greeted Baifeng upon seeing him.

Looking at the Chieftain and the others, Baifeng also asked very warmly: "How is it? Are you getting used to living in Huaxia? How do you feel today? Did you eat well this morning?"

The Chieftain and the others were not quite used to Baifeng's warmth, but they still hurriedly answered one by one: "Very good, very good. Slept well, ate well, and my head isn't dizzy anymore. I feel much better already."

"That's good. Then let's take our seats and start the meeting to discuss things."

The Chieftain and the others did not understand, but they still nodded repeatedly.

Baifeng sat in the main seat, with Yulong sitting beside him. The Chieftain and his group, guided by the servants at the venue, sat in their designated seats. Today, however, Changle and Ayuduo also sat on the Jiuli side. In Baifeng's words, this was to let Changle steady the mindset of the Jiuli people, as the ones sitting opposite were not Chiyou, but the Chieftain—who was much younger than him—Ayuduo, and a Leader named Qianxi.

"Alright, let's all get to know each other first. I am Baifeng, the King of Huaxia, equivalent to your Tribal Chief. We met yesterday. This is my son, Bai Yulong. The rest of these people are the main Leaders of my Huaxia; let them introduce themselves."

Subsequently, the officials present all introduced themselves one by one. The Chieftain and the others were a bit embarrassed and confused, but they feigned composure. After the Huaxia side finished introducing themselves, the Chieftain and the others did not understand the process, so Changle introduced them on their behalf.

After they had finished getting to know each other, Baifeng began the theme of today's meeting.

"Because this is the first contact and meeting between the Jiuli and our Huaxia, and this first time has caused such a big stir—the Jiuli Princess Ayuduo is to marry Changle."

"Because the wedding has not been held yet, this status of Princess Consort has not been completely finalized, but it is already set. For our Huaxia, this is a great thing."

"Likewise, as Changle's father, I naturally must show something. Changle said he used his own grain to let your team stay at the Xuanyuan Tribe. I have no objection to this; this was Changle's own idea and action, and it counts as gratitude to your Jiuli, after all, you left Ayuduo behind."

With this simple sentence from Baifeng, the Huaxia officials were shocked beyond measure. Changle had actually done this! Using his own grain to feed the Jiuli team? That team was probably not small! They never expected Changle could be so generous for a woman. Incredible, truly incredible. They had not expected it at all, but since Baifeng had no objections, they dared not speak up and could only continue listening to Baifeng speak.

"That was Changle's gesture, and I myself also need to make a gesture. According to our Huaxia customs, when marrying a woman, one must send a bride price to the woman's family—that is, grain and other things. Of course, this is not a trade, but a way to bring the relationship closer. The woman's side also needs to give a return gift, adding together what the man and woman have given, so that these two young people have the foundation to establish a new home."

"Perhaps your Jiuli does not have these concepts of bride price, family, or marriage, but since Ayuduo is marrying into Huaxia, I will still follow our Huaxia customs. Besides what Changle has given you, I will give you some more bride price to take back and hand over to your father."