Chapter 210 Stone Country
Turks, Stone Kingdom.

The relationship between the Great Zhou and the Turks was slightly tense, but Shiguo, as the capital of the Turks, was not affected.

The city is not very big, but it is prosperous with a constant stream of merchants and travelers from all ethnic groups.

A horse team passed through the south gate and drove slowly. All the riders were wearing the clothes of Hu merchants and had white masks on their faces.

The leader was Zhao Ji. He, Li Yuanfang, together with Zhang Huan and others, surrounded Di Renjie and Ruyan.

Di Renjie observed the streets of Shiguo and praised: "What a prosperous and bustling scene! Although it is not as prosperous as the Central Plains, it is also the atmosphere of a capital city!"

Ruyan murmured softly, "I think it's not as good as Pingzhou!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Li Yuanfang, Di Renjie and others looked at each other and laughed, and the atmosphere became more relaxed.

However, after they had taken a few steps, Zhao Ji suddenly realized that someone was staring at him.

From the corner of my eye, I saw a vendor dressed in Turkic style, but he looked a little strange.

Zhao Ji was startled but remained calm on the surface. He quickly conveyed the message to Di Renjie using finger signals as agreed beforehand.

After giving the signal, Zhao Ji immediately suggested: "Sir, in my opinion, we should go directly to see Jili Khan now!"

When Di Renjie saw Zhao Ji's gesture, he immediately understood it. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Let's find a place to settle down first, change our clothes, and then go to the Yazhang and pay a visit to Jili Khan."

Zhao Ji heard this and nodded, "Your Excellency's arrangement is still appropriate. Let's find an inn first."

The group walked along the street, but Di Renjie did not stay in a big inn. Instead, he chose a small inn in a remote location.

When they arrived at the door of the inn, Li Yuanfang dismounted and shouted in Turkish: "Is anyone there?"

A boss came out and greeted with a smile: "Here you are, guest, do you want to stay at the hotel?"

Li Yuanfang nodded and continued, "How many rooms are there in your inn?"

The boss didn't answer for a moment, but looked at Zhao Ji and his group and asked tentatively: "You are not native people, right?"

After all, Zhao Ji and his men were all Han people dressed as Hu people and had their faces covered. Except for an old man and a woman, they were all strong and powerful, and they were not good people. They looked strange no matter how you looked at them.

Zhao Ji also replied in Turkish: "Why, if you are not a Turk, you can't stay in the hotel?"

The boss shook his head and said, "That's not the case, but our store doesn't dare to accept people whose origins are unknown."

Di Renjie smiled when he heard this and pulled down the white scarf covering his face: "We are Han Chinese. We came to the Turks to do some business. We are sorry to bother you for a few days. This is the deposit."

Di Pangpang had a special affinity and took out another piece of gold and put it in the boss's hand.

The boss immediately changed his expression and said enthusiastically: "Please come in! How many rooms do you want?"

"We plan to rent out your entire house so that we can have some peace and quiet." Zhao Ji suddenly said.

The boss was a little surprised when he heard this: "This, this is not easy to do..."

"Is this enough?" Zhao Ji smiled, shook another ingot of gold in front of the boss, and then threw it to the boss.

The boss quickly reached out to catch it, bit it with his teeth, and then was overjoyed: "Oh! That's enough, that's enough, please come in!"

"Since you are Han people, why don't you live in the Hanyi Hall in the west of the city instead of coming to our shop?" the boss asked enthusiastically as he led Di Renjie to the shop.

"Hanyi Hall? What is that?" Li Yuanfang couldn't help but ask.

Zhao Ji understood a little bit. It was set up by Snake Spirit. He thought it was some kind of official organization... Most underdeveloped nomadic regimes did not have anything like embassy.

Di Renjie was also a little curious after hearing his boss's story: "This is our first time here, and we are ignorant. Please enlighten us, boss."

The boss looked at Di Renjie and the others strangely and said, "Our Jili Khan and the Tang Dynasty, oh no, it's the Great Zhou Dynasty now, the Khan and a Han official are called Di... Di... Di... something..."

"Di Renjie." Fatty Di smiled slightly.

The boss nodded repeatedly: "Oh, yes! That's the name! The Khan and Di Renjie formed an alliance and treated the Han people well. His Highness Mochu followed suit and funded the construction of such a building for the Han people a year ago."

"Since then, most Han merchants who come to Shiguo have to stay there. But strangely enough, there are rumors that the two countries are going to go to war again, so most of the Han people in the museum have fled back. But there are still some people like you who are brave enough to stay there."

Di Renjie nodded slightly and praised: "I see, the boss is really knowledgeable."

Everyone including Li Yuanfang and the six major military leaders covered their mouths to hold back their laughter.

Zhao Ji shook his head secretly, thinking about something, and Ruyan felt a little uncomfortable after hearing this. The boss was very humble and immediately led everyone to the carefully selected rooms: "Take a look, these are the best rooms in the store, take a look and see if they are suitable?"

Di Renjie took a casual look and agreed without hesitation: "It's suitable, it's suitable. Boss, go ahead and do your work. We will clean up."

The boss agreed, and trotted downstairs happily.

Everyone also divided up their rooms and started to clean up.

Since Ruyan was a woman, she naturally stayed in a separate room. Zhao Ji had the opportunity to talk to Di Renjie in private while helping him clean up.

"Sir, there's something wrong with the Hanyi Hall and the Turkic Crown Prince Mochuo." Zhao Ji said in a low voice.

Di Renjie nodded heavily: "It is a bit strange. It seems that we need to make some preparations in advance."
-
Ruyan was alone in the room with the door closed, and she was changing her clothes carefully.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in the room silently.

Ruyan shuddered violently and was about to scream out in surprise, but the moment she saw that the person coming was Xiaomei, her fear turned into a cry of surprise and joy: "Xiaomei! Why are you here?!"

Although she lowered her voice deliberately, she could not hide the turmoil in her heart.

Xiaomei chuckled and responded, "As soon as you entered the city, you were under the surveillance of the snake spirit."

As soon as these words were spoken, Ruyan's expression immediately became anxious.

She quickly approached the door, listened attentively to the noise outside, then held Xiaomei's hand tightly and whispered anxiously: "Xiaomei, it's too dangerous, let's go quickly. That Zhao Ji has a dog's nose."

"His five senses are very sensitive. I was spotted even though I was watching him from dozens of feet away. If I had left a step later, I would have been unable to escape! You should leave now."

Xiaomei couldn't help but laugh when she heard Ruyan describe Zhao Ji like this.

"What are you laughing at!" Ruyan was a little anxious.

Xiaomei quickly stopped smiling and said seriously, "I have a mission for you this time."

Ruyan's expression froze immediately, and she lowered her eyebrows and asked, "What mission?"

"You know, it's the same as last time, my elder sister wants to take action against Di Renjie. But this time I will help you." Xiaomei's tone was calm and firm.

Ruyan's face looked extremely ugly, and she seemed very reluctant.

"What's wrong, Xian'er?" Xiaomei noticed Ruyan's abnormality and asked worriedly.

Ruyan shook her head gently, her eyes full of struggle and hesitation, as if she had thousands of words to say but couldn't.

Seeing this, Xiaomei seemed to be thinking about something, and a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth: "Last time in Pingzhou, I felt that something was wrong with you, Xianer, you fell in love with Li Yuanfang, right?"

This sentence exploded in Ruyan's heart like thunder. She looked up in astonishment, her eyes full of disbelief: "You, you know everything..."

Xiaomei's smile became even warmer. She took a step forward and gently held Ruyan's hand: "Xian'er, now is not the time to be indecisive or sentimental. Big sister's order has been given. You can only save him if you save yourself first!"

"I will help you." Xiaomei added softly in Ruyan's ear.

Ruyan woke up as if from a dream, a gleam of determination flashed in her eyes, and she raised her head suddenly, as if she had made some kind of decision.

"Thank you, Xiaomei..." Her voice was soft but full of gratitude.

Xiaomei looked nonchalant: "With the relationship between us, there's no need to thank me."

Ruyan and Xiaomei hugged each other. Xiaomei comforted Ruyan while rolling her eyes in a certain direction of the room.
-
After a while, everyone changed back into Han Chinese clothing and regrouped in the corridor.

Di Renjie looked at Zhao Ji and Li Yuanfang and said, "Chengyuan, Yuanfang, let's set off now to meet Jili Khan."

At this moment, Ruyan's eyes were shining with anticipation, and she mustered up the courage to ask: "Can I go with you? I want to see Jili Khan, too!"

Di Renjie smiled indulgently: "Of course."

Ruyan jumped up excitedly: "Great, let's go!"

Having said that, Ruyan ran out first.

Di Renjie and Zhao Ji smiled at each other and shook their heads to express their helplessness, while Li Yuanfang had a complicated expression, with all kinds of emotions surging in his heart that were difficult to express in words.

(End of this chapter)