Although the three little guys pretending to be servants were younger than each other, they all showed an expression of sudden enlightenment after hearing Zhang Shou's words. After all, they were all half students of Zhang Shou. Even if they might not have learned much in mathematics, they were more thoughtful than their peers in terms of miscellaneous knowledge.
At least, they know a little bit about geography. The north is cold and the south is hot. If you go from the south to the north towards Shanhaiwei, most places along the way are not frozen and you can go ashore. Why do you have to go all the way to Shanhaiwei
Sure enough, after asking this question, the Fourth Prince, who was staring at the six people, noticed that five of them still looked somewhat bewildered, but the one who had just spoken in anger moved his mouth slightly. Then, he lowered his head and whispered something in embarrassment and shame.
"I am the ship supervisor assigned by the chief envoy of the mission. Although I can barely read, I know nothing about astronomy and astrology... Therefore, I am not an experienced sailor and cannot tell north from south when I am at sea."
Faced with such an answer, the Fourth Prince almost sneered, but when Zhang Shou heard the words "ship supervisor", he smiled gently and asked everyone to sit down again. Then, he asked Xiao Huasheng to get a pot of wine and a wine glass, and he poured a glass himself, then raised the small and exquisite wine glass with a smile.
"We have traveled all the way on the sea, and on horseback in the cold weather to reach the capital. Although for various reasons we have to wait for a few days for your rear team to arrive before the Ministry of Rites can properly entertain you, I would like to thank you for your hard work. Come, everyone, drink this cup."
Seeing that Zhang Shou did not say anything else, but was very eager to urge them to drink, the six people looked at each other, and after the middle-aged man who had just spoken raised his glass and drank without thinking, the others also hurriedly drank it all.
After drinking this glass of wine, the atmosphere seemed to be much more relaxed than before. Zhang Shou then asked with a smile whether the food was to his liking, as if it was just a simple greeting. However, at this time, the middle-aged man who had just spoken coughed cautiously, revealing an embarrassed expression.
"The food in the Celestial Empire is really delicious. We almost swallowed our tongues while eating it just now. However, we really dare not eat anything we have never eaten before. Please forgive our impoliteness, sir."
Zhang Shou looked unconcerned, but pointed at the food in front of him and said with a smile: "Oh, so these are things you have never eaten before, so you dare not touch them? Including the rice and vegetables... What about these meatballs?"
“Meatballs?” The middle-aged man seemed to be slightly stunned, and then his voice became even softer. “Because they looked like meatballs and fish balls, we tried one or two. They tasted very good, but it is said that it is a rule passed down from King Taizu that many foods look bright and delicious, but are actually poisonous, so we dare not try them.”
Glancing at the Fourth Prince's grinning face, Zhang Shou knew that if he let this boy who was a little bit unable to pretend to be here any longer, he might be exposed. Therefore, he winked at Xiao Huasheng, and seeing that this usually too smart boy understood, he pulled the Fourth Prince out, leaving the usually honest Xiao Cheng behind, and then he continued to chat with others leisurely.