After Du Jingtong led the Tibetans to the Honglu Temple, he exchanged a few simple greetings and was about to go about his own business.
However, Lu Dongzan grabbed Du Jingtong. "Du Shaoqing, I'm curious. What's the name of that princess just now? Is she betrothed?"
"What do you ask these for?"
Du Jingtong immediately grew vigilant. Did they set their sights on the little princess just because she had embarrassed them earlier?
The little princess was only five years old, the apple of the emperor's and the empress's eyes. Even though she was a bit precocious, one shouldn't discuss her marriage!
"It's just a casual chat," Lu Dongzan said with a smile, his eyes full of calculation.
"Humph, I advise you not to entertain such useless thoughts. Although the emperor is kind - hearted and reluctant to wage war and cause the suffering of the people on the border, the soldiers of our Tang Dynasty are not made of clay for show."
Du Jingtong yanked back his sleeve that was held by Lu Dongzan and snorted.
The saying "Those not of our kind must have different hearts" was indeed true. These people had to be subdued before one could talk to them properly. Otherwise, they would always have unrealistic fantasies and try to take a piece of flesh from you.
The emperor didn't want to send troops casually, not because there were no troops available. Their Tang Dynasty was not like the Jin Dynasty under Sima Yi, a weakling that anyone could bully.
The assistant official of the Honglu Temple, wearing a gray sweater, walked in with high spirits. He bowed to Du Jingtong and said, "Du Shaoqing, the rooms for the envoys have been arranged. They can go back and rest."
Actually, those rooms were always cleaned and were clean. They just wanted Lu Dongzan and the others to wait a while longer.
"Who is this?" Lu Dongzan shifted his gaze to the assistant official of the Honglu Temple. To be precise, it was on the sweater the official was wearing.
It looked furry and warm.
The Tang Dynasty really had good things, and they were hiding them from others.
"Thank you, Assistant Official," Du Jingtong introduced.
"So that's it. He truly has an imposing manner, not like an ordinary person," Lu Dongzan said and was about to reach out and touch the sweater on Assistant Official Xie. "This clothing looks different from the ordinary ones. It's just right for winter."
"This is a sweater. It was made by our little princess. It's woven from wool but has no mutton smell. It can withstand the harsh winter cold. It's truly an excellent piece of clothing."
Assistant Official Xie immediately became proud and lifted his chin as if he had made the sweater himself.
Lu Dongzan's question seemed to trigger some switch in Assistant Official Xie, and the words to advertise for Li Jingyun just came out of his mouth.
If Li Jingyun heard these words, she would surely give him some publicity fees.
"The little princess?"
"Princess Chengyang, the one you saw in the palace just now," Du Jingtong stared at Assistant Official Xie with dead - fish eyes. If there were no outsiders, he would definitely kick Assistant Official Xie.
Why did this guy swagger around in the sweater?
Coupled with the knitting skill of the sweater, wouldn't these Tibetans be more covetous of her?
"This little princess is truly a favored daughter of heaven. She can even make clothes effortlessly. It's really admirable."
Lu Dongzan clapped his hands and laughed. Then he said, "I wonder if we could have a look at this sweater? It would be good for us to broaden our horizons."
Du Jingtong gave Assistant Official Xie a sideways glance. Assistant Official Xie also realized his mistake. He lowered his head and took out another brand - new, unworn sweater he had just bought for them to see. If they didn't let them see it, what if they inquired on their own and found the sweater shop?
What if these people said something inappropriate and offended the princess?
"Good! It's really a good thing!"
Those Tibetans kept praising.
The group went upstairs to rest, but they still couldn't forget about the sweaters, especially Lu Dongzan.
Among these envoys, he had the highest official position. More than a hundred of them were defeated by the more than twenty led by Duan Jia. They were routed and only a dozen survived. It was already very miserable. If he couldn't redeem himself, according to Songtsen Gampo's character, he would surely be punished when he returned.
But if he could bring the sweater back, Songtsen Gampo might be happy, and he might be spared from punishment.
"Shall we go to see the emperor of the Tang Dynasty again tomorrow and discuss the sweater trade with him?"
His deputy, Sangbuzha, looking at Lu Dongzan's expression, said, "And that little princess, can we..."
"Shut up!"
Lu Dongzan shouted. "Don't you see that the emperor of the Tang Dynasty dotes on his little daughter like a precious pearl? Asking to marry her is like snatching food from a tiger's mouth. An enraged Li Shimin would be much harder to deal with than he is now."
"Yes, I understand, sir. But why did you act like that just now?" Sangbuzha quickly responded and then pretended not to know and asked.
"I did it on purpose to disgust them. Who asked them to disgust us with the matter of Duan Jia? You still need to improve."
Lu Dongzan leaned back in the armchair, squinted his eyes, and closed them to rest. Although his words were scolding Sangbuzha, his expression was very relaxed and leisurely.
Sangbuzha also breathed a sigh of relief. He had been praised by Songtsen Gampo several times, both openly and secretly, for his strong ability to observe the situation. He was told that he would be sent on diplomatic missions to various countries and deal with the emperors of different countries in the future.
Since then, Lu Dongzan had borne a grudge against him and made things difficult for him every day. He could only hide his talents.
Looking at Lu Dongzan's expression, it was obvious that he was determined to get the sweater.
Downstairs, in the main hall of the Honglu Temple, Du Jingtong slapped Assistant Official Xie on the back and scolded him loudly, "I told you not to swagger around all day. Now you've caused trouble!"
"I queued up for a whole day and night to buy these two sweaters. Of course, I have to show them off. Moreover, even if I didn't wear the sweater here, so many people on the street are talking about the sweaters. They could still learn about them from the passers - by."
Assistant Official Xie took the slap solidly and didn't even dare to dodge. He lowered his head and mumbled in his own defense.
Du Jingtong was speechless. He had just said one sentence, and this guy had a whole bunch of words to refute him.
At the beginning, he transferred Assistant Official Xie to the Honglu Temple because he was eloquent and could refute those foreign envoys until they were speechless. He didn't expect that now he was using his eloquence against him.
Du Jingtong didn't say a word and just stared at him.
Seeing this, Assistant Official Xie honestly admitted his mistake. "I know I was wrong. I hope Shaoqing will forgive me."
"I'll go and see the emperor right away and tell him everything that just happened so that the emperor can be prepared."
Du Jingtong walked away with his hands behind his back. Assistant Official Xie quickly chased after him and continued to say nice things.
"Shaoqing, I'll go with you!" Assistant Official Xie said.
The emperor was indeed kind - hearted, but when it came to matters related to his children, he would definitely protect them. Maybe he would also be implicated.
Last time, the emperor argued with the teachers of Hongwen Academy, including Kong Yingda, for more than ten days because the King of Shu didn't want to go to class.
This time, the Turks had set their sights on the princess of the Tang Dynasty and specifically demanded that she be the emperor's own daughter. Before this wave had subsided, another one had risen. The Tibetans had set their sights on the little princess's sweater and might even set their sights on the little princess. No one knew how much trouble it would cause in the future.