She could only pray that he recognized the person he had firmly restrained as the chess piece and tool that was very important to him for a second before he made a mistake, and in short, not to kill her by mistake.As the name suggests, it was originally a family banquet for only the royal family.However, with the development of the dynastic system, by the time of Ramses, the people invited to the royal feast were not only limited to the royal blood, but also expanded to people with considerable status in the court, such as royal descendants, important ministers in the court, favored princesses, and so on.At the same time, the feast was not only a celebration in the evening, but also mixed with some outdoor leisure activities, and eventually evolved into a court-style entertainment celebration for the prominent people of the dynasty.For those who were invited by Pharaoh during such a celebration, the right to be present represented was a great honor.For the pharaoh who sent the invitation, at such a sensitive political moment, it was natural to be extra careful about those who chose to participate in the royal feast.Of course, with the help of Litah, the final list of attendees is very particular.The courtiers on the side of Simman, the hereditary nobility on the side of Omhond, and the neutrals represented by May and Mentus were all invited in a balanced manner; Among Ramses' concubines, Queen Nefertari and Side Chamber Camillotta were the only two invited; In addition, there were also some descendants of the royal family who played an important role in the court, such as Ramses' sister Princess Tia and her sister Princess Ivy received invitations.The festivities begin with a duck hunt in the afternoon.Duck hunting was a fine example of ancient Egyptian court entertainment, and hunting wild ducks with curved darts was a special power exercised by the privileged classes of the society, such as royalty, courtiers, and other dignitaries.Although it was very inefficient, and the people of ancient Egypt had long since invented something as a convenient thing to catch wild ducks, from the hunter's point of view, it was very fun to shoot the ducks by hand.Ancient Egyptian aristocrats can often be seen bringing their wives and daughters to the banks of the Nile, where men throw darts while wives and daughters sit in small boats made of straw and laugh at water lilies or duck carcasses.Ramses chose such a safe and relaxed event as the beginning of the celebration.For Ivy, it was exciting to be able to get out of the palace of Thebes and see this ancient aristocratic life.So she got up early in the morning, dressed neatly in the clothes of the princess instead of her usual simple and casual short clothes, obediently ate breakfast, and waited in the house for Dong to take her to the venue.But the boy came to her with an apologetic face.Today's winter is different from the past, and the handsome face adds a bit of heroism.This has a strong connection with what he wears.Usually, Dong always wears a pale linen coat, white or beige, which brings him a quiet temperament unique to civil officials.And today, perhaps because of outdoor activities, he chose a casual palace dress with a martial arts style.The white robe is trimmed with gilded trimming, and the red gold buckle is inlaid with the coat of arms of the Eye of Horus, a symbol of courage.The boy wore a golden hair ornament on his forehead, which was delicately engraved with hieroglyphs that Ivy couldn't read, and the delicate gold reflected his fair skin even more clearly."
Your Majesty says that your body may not be able to withstand the fierce sun, so please try to rest as much as possible in the afternoon, and in the evening winter will take you to the night feast."
Winter was embarrassed when he said this, and with what he knew about Princess Ivy, an event like a duck hunt was much more attractive to her than an ordinary banquet.So when Ramses gave him the order, he almost embarrassed to refute it.Sure enough, Ivy's face collapsed all at once."
So" The only thought that came into Winter's mind at that time was to get out as soon as possible, so he hurriedly saluted and said to Ivy, "Winter has retired first, and I will ask the maid to serve your daily life this afternoon" Winter got up, and was about to step back, Ivy grabbed his huge cloak violently, with a strange look on his delicate face, and a wicked smile on his pale lips."
I'm going.""
But," Dong said with a black line on his face, and instinctively complained about the hard work that had been given to him."
I'm going anyway," Ivy chuckled viciously, "you'll always need a waiter, and if you won't let me go with you, I'll run out on my own, and tell someone else that you left me there." ”"But" "Don't worry, I'll be obedient." ”Ivy made sure that in all seriousness.However, it turns out that Ivy's assurances are not of any reference value at all.In the afternoon, on the east bank of Thebes, in a corner of the Nile with lush reeds and water lilies, the most powerful people of Upper Egypt are gathering to talk and laugh for a lively duck hunt.Seaman, Omhond, and others all appeared with their sons, while on the other side, Nefertari and Camillotta were also seated separately, taking their seats on the straw boats on either side of the pharaoh's seat, ignoring each other.Before the pharaoh arrived, he gave an order to allow the ministers to start their entertainment, and Retach also sent a decree that those who had the best duck hunting skills could be richly rewarded by Pharaoh, and the young men of the court were eager to try it.At Ritach's suggestion, a duck hunt was launched.A man first comes forward to throw a dart to hunt ducks, limited to three, to see how many can be hunted, and then another man comes forward to challenge, also limited to three darts, if the number of hunts is more than the former, it becomes the next person to be challenged, otherwise, the first person who hunts more continues to accept the challenge of the next person.The Wheel Challenge will continue until the Pharaoh arrives, and the last person left is the one with the highest duck hunting skills and the most endurance.In order to save time, the waiter prepared the ducks in advance, which were caught in advance because they were worried that there would be no ducks around that day, but now they will be released one by one.Seaman and Omhond are like children, and they secretly compete in this kind of activity.Each side sent their own sons or young court officials from their henchmen to challenge.It seems that the two bigwigs are fighting openly and secretly, and the young people who throw darts are very hard, and the challenge is very exciting, causing bursts of cheers.Back and forth, both sides won and lost, and no one took advantage of anything.Winter and Ivy sit with Ivy in a small boat in the shade not far from the pharaoh's seat.In response to Dong's request to be "obedient" and "unobtrusive", Ivy returned to her best disguise technique to pretend to be a boy.This time she put back her short black hair, put on the waiter's short clothes, and hid beside Winter in the most unobtrusive way.Although it is fair-skinned, because it is by the side of Winter, even a waiter of a foreign tribe does not attract too much attention.Under the cover of the canopy, the two watched the duck hunting activities in the field with relish."
Dong, you can try it too" Ivy pouted Winter excitedly, her hands grabbing his cloak and shaking it gently.The young man smiled shyly, not disgusted by Ivy's actions, "Your Highness doesn't know anything about such things, so it's better not to be ashamed." ”Ivy's face sank and she pursed her lips, "Call me Ivy, and we'll say okay." ”"But," "you promised me," said Ivy a bit of a bummer, "and if you don't, I'll scream that you're going to compete." ”Winter hurriedly reached out to gag her mouth, and said again and again, "Yes, yes, Ivy" and then he suddenly realized that his behavior was too rude, and quickly withdrew his hand behind him, and quickly stepped aside.There was a burst of cheers in the room, and Ivy turned her head to find that it was Seaman's officials who had won another game.This time it was three wins in a row, and the old man of Seaman smiled very brightly, and his face was as red as if it was about to bloom.Although Seaman at this time was different from that in history, Ivy still had a bad impression of him.In another time and space, Seaman's youngest daughter, Camillota, was accused of marrying the Ten Princes, an old man with a strong interest in power, and in order to give his son-in-law a chance to compete for the throne, he went so far as to fornicate with the Hittites and betray Egyptian intelligence.This time, because Camillotta was directly referred to by Seti as Ramses' side chamber, the motive for Siman to become a traitor no longer exists, and he may not be a traitor, but his personality will not change, and perhaps he will become a loyal old man who is interested in power.Ivy bit her nails gently.It seems that this time and space has changed and discrept more than I imagined than I could have imagined in the history of my own history.It seems that in that illusory past, although it only appeared at intervals of a few months, its impact on history was like a pebble thrown into the surface of a tranquil lake, stirring up water ripples that expanded in all directions, changing not only the future of Ramses, but also the future and even the past of others.When she was stunned, she heard the official of Seaman on the grass boat in the field shouting very arrogantly: "How, who else dares to challenge me" Ivy looked up, this is indeed a very strong man.The dark brown skin with beads of sweat glows slightly in the sunlight, and the muscles of the limbs are very strong.He had a heroic beard, a bald head, and wore an orange military attaché dress, and was supposed to be a high-ranking general among the Pharaoh's four legions.At this time, he held a wooden curved dart in his hand and swung it arrogantly.On the other hand, the young man on the side of Omhond, who had just been defeated in the confrontation with him, had blood on his forehead, and he was very shamelessly rowed by the waiter and stepped aside.Ivy frowned slightly, obviously the wound was deliberately punched by this rough man.Ivy turned his head to look at Dong on the side, the boy seemed to see nothing, calmly poured a glass of water for Ivy, and said to her with a smile: "Your Highness Ivy, sit down and drink saliva, the weather is very hot." ”Ivy looked back again, the man's arrogant face and Seaman's smug smile seemed to overlap, perhaps because the weather was too hot, and the tendon called "reason" in Ivy's mind snapped like this.So, when the man shouted again, "Who dares to challenge", Ivy stood up suddenly.As soon as the words of "I" fell, there was silence all around.If Ivy had ever thought about it in her head, she would have thought that it was pointless for her to stand up like this.Because it is obvious that the two major groups are fighting for power, he originally ran away secretly, and he appeared as Dong's servant, so impulsiveness will only bring a lot of trouble and inconvenience to Dong.But she got up anyway.Ignoring Dong was stunned with a glass of water, looking like he was in a cold sweat.A few seconds later, led by the big man in the center, the audience erupted in laughter, and even Camillota, who was sitting on the side, laughed regardless of the image.Omhond looked at Ivy with a blue face, I don't know which green onion this is, do you still think that you are not embarrassed enough on your side, Siman said while laughing: "Young man, you are very brave, report your name." ”Ivy was stunned for a moment, glanced down at Dong, who was sitting on the side instinctively pinning her face to the side, stepped out of the shadows, jumped into the small grass boat in front of her, lowered her voice and replied, "My name is Moses." ”In a hurry, she used the name of the first foreigner that popped into her mind, Moses, the famous Israelite sage of the time of Ramses.But apparently at this time, the famous figure has not yet surfaced.Looking at the confused eyes of everyone, she smiled and picked up the bamboo pole on the boat, leaned into the bottom of the river, and gently pushed the silt, and the boat moved lightly towards the middle of the river, "Yes, I am Moses." ”The big man in the center of "Moses" let out a roaring laugh again, "Where are you from" Ivy said with a smile: "Working in Siwen, the official position is humble, and I am really embarrassed to mention it. ”She stole a glance at Ritach, but fortunately he didn't seem to pay attention to this, let alone try to expose himself, "I just want to learn the art of darts with the hero, and I hope your Excellency will give you a lesson." ”There was another burst of ridicule, "Do civil officials still dare to come up?"
Suddenly, the queen, who had been silent, stood up and said to Ivy gently, "Moses, you are still young, don't be reckless. ”Ivy glanced at Nefertari, her expression of gentle concern entirely visceral.She couldn't help but admire, and immediately bowed, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your care, Moses is not afraid." ”The officials on Seaman's side laughed.Everyone only thinks that the "Moses" played by Ivy is someone from Omhond's side, and no one thinks that an irrelevant "non-partisan" person will easily come forward at this time.The burly man tilted his head contemptuously, "Then come here, you go up first." ”Ivy rowed over, only to notice that she wasn't darts.She scratched her head a little embarrassedly, "That one doesn't have a dart." ”Omhond was finally.Ordinary nobles will have their own habitual darts, this hairy boy must have been sent by heaven to make him embarrassed, he trembled and ordered his son to hand him his darts, thinking that when he found out who this Moses was, he would definitely be sent out of the capital and not see him for the rest of his life.Ivy took the three wooden darts handed over by Omhond's son.The three darts are well-made and bear the coat of arms of the Omhond family.Ivy hurriedly thanked her, and turned to look at the big man in orange clothes beside her."
Well, you're welcome."
With the contempt and playfulness of those around her, Ivy stood up straight on the boat, grasped the bottom end of a dart, and raised her arm slightly to her side."
So, let's get started."
A smile welled up on her lips, and spinning darts was a sport she loved.Long before she left for England, she often mischievously hit fruit on trees with slalom darts with her classmates.After coming to the Modigette family, because of his hobby, his father also invited Australian slalom darts masters to his estate to teach Ivy the skills.She once tried to hit the coach's ball continuously and accurately, let alone a duck.The waiter behind the reeds heard the sound in front of him, opened the straw cage, pulled the duck out, and threw it into the sky, and the wild duck, which had finally regained its freedom, hurriedly waved its wings and flew into the air in a hurry.Ivy spun her wrist and pushed her body hard at her waist to throw the slalom dart with ease.Fast and accurate, the wooden darts pierced the air and struck the ducks, which were not yet able to fly fast, only to hear a snap, and the ducks fell in response, and fell to the side of Nefertari's boat with a thud, and made a splash.The waiter hurriedly rowed over to pick up the ducks.The duck was still alive, but the dart landed on its head, causing it to lose control and fall all at once.Not by brute force but by skill alone, Ivy took a point first.The onlookers were silent for a long time, and then a group of people led by Omhonde let out a voice of admiration one after another.Ivy turned around and looked at the big man who was stunned, picked up another dart in her hand and pointed it at him, the corners of her mouth curled in a beautiful arc, "It's your turn." ”The big man glared at Ivy, and then he raised the dart angrily, and shouted in a rough voice: "Release" Another duck was released, and the big man threw it hard, and the dart roared out, and shot down the wild duck fiercely, and the wild duck fell into the water, and the scattered feathers remained in the air, and only slowly fell to the surface of the water later.When the waiter scooped up the duckling, the poor little creature was already half-dead.The big man glared at Ivy viciously and defiantly, as if threatening her, this dart could also beat her into such a situation.Simana's group of people cheered in unison, and they called the name of the big man, and their arrogance was very arrogant.Still smiling, Ivy picked up the slalom dart and looked up to see Winter standing in a small boat not far away, looking at her worriedly.She shook her head slightly, told him with her mouth that she was in her chest, and then cleared her throat, "Two in a row." ”When the waiter heard this, he opened the straw cage, pulled out two ducks and threw them into the air.The mallards flapped their wings and flew in different directions.Ivy raised the dart, seized the critical moment of a thousandth of a second to attack decisively, the dart drew a beautiful and accurate arc in the air, only to hear two snaps, the two wild ducks actually fell one after another, and the thrown dart actually did not change the track of its movement, circled, and accurately returned to Ivy's hands.This time, all the concubines, courtiers, waiters, and maids in the audience let out exclamations regardless of whether they were enemies or enemies, and even Litahe, who had been standing on the side with disdain, couldn't help but turn his head and look at the black-haired alien boy with a thin body in the field.Ivy raised the dart, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly, and looked at the big man, "What should I do, I still have two darts." ”The big man's face suddenly turned from red to black, and then from black to red.He shouted angrily, "Two," but the barbarian was just angry, and when the two ducks flew out, he threw the darts vigorously, but because of his impetuous heart, he didn't hit any of them.At that moment, Seaman's face fell, and Ivy stood aside and looked at the big man, and said unhurriedly: "I have already won three, I'm afraid you won't be able to win, so it's better to give up." ”The big man twisted his head and ignored Ivy's proposal.Ivy reluctantly raised the dart again and said, "If you don't see the coffin, you won't cry."
So, go ahead. ”The duck flew out again, and Ivy was about to raise her hand to throw a dart, when suddenly, her feet were cold, and then a sharp pain suddenly fell on her shins, and before she could react to what was going on, the earth suddenly swirled in front of her, and her body had lost its balance, only the pain in her legs was as clear and real as the piercing pain in her legs.Her body leaned over and fell heavily towards the Nile.The last sight in front of her was the big man's smirk smile, and then the smell of earth water surrounded her from all directions, obscuring her sight and hearing.The big man actually threw a dart into Ivy's leg, and she should have taken that into account.Fortunately, for the convenience of duck hunting and the safety of the female dependents, the water level of the place chosen by the duck hunting is relatively shallow, and you can touch the bottom of the water as long as you stretch your legs slightly, so even if she has never learned to swim, Ivy who suddenly fell into the water immediately swept away her panic after her foot touched the bottom of the river, and began to secretly despise herself in her heart with a lot of self-deprecation.Judging from the scene just now, this big man is a brave and unscrupulous temperament, in other words, even harming people is the most straightforward and disregardive.If she hadn't gone up in pain, maybe the big man would have been fine if he apologized with a smile.Maybe she should go ashore from somewhere else and make a scene of disappearance, so that this big man can't get off the stage like this, anyway, the character of Moses shouldn't have appeared now, and the limelight is out, so she can exit the stage perfectly.Having made up her mind, Ivy held back her breath and sneaked towards a less crowded place.After swimming a few meters, suddenly, there was a sudden dull pain in her chest, which made her mouth open all at once, and all the air turned into several bubbles and washed up to the surface.Forget it, this body can't afford to toss.Ivy remembered this fact in a panic, and tried her best to put her foot on the bottom of the river, straightening up, trying her best to keep her head above the water.But the pain in her heart was so intense that she couldn't scream except for being exposed to fresh air.She stood in embarrassment among the reeds, watching everyone gather anxiously to the place where she had fallen into the water, but no one cared about her.It's no joke, if you keep going like this, you're going to die for the first time, and a feeling of fear engulfs you.It was a hot afternoon, but she felt cold all around her, her limbs trembled slightly uncontrollably, and her lips turned dark purple.Whoever could save her winter, Ritach, was as if she had not yet been thou, and someone grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of the water with a little roughness.Before Ivy could react to what was going on, she had already been slammed to the board, her strong knee slammed down on her chest, making her unable to move, and even more speechless, a cold heavy sword was put up on her neck without hesitation, and a pair of indifferent eyes looked at her without any emotion."
Who are you" Long dark brown hair, amber eyes, handsome and cold face, gorgeous and noble clothes.It only took a second for her to realize that the person in front of her was the young pharaoh who had arrived belatedly.She took a moment to figure out why he had put his sword around her neck, and it wasn't hard to understand: in the midst of the chaos in the audience, a foreigner-looking young man stood sneakily in the water under the cover of reeds, motionless, and anyone would have doubted it, but she really had no way to defend it.She gasped weakly and painfully, her gray eyes looking at him pleadingly.That cold look, like what she had seen when she first returned to ancient times, was a message that would kill her at any moment.In his indifferent eyes, he couldn't read the feelings that belonged to human beings, just like a cold blade on his neck, and he couldn't find any pity.If it goes on like this, she believes that he will kill herself, coldly and without hesitation.She could only pray that he recognized the person he had firmly restrained him as the very important pawn and tool for him for a second before he made the wrong move, in short, don't kill her by mistake Maybe it was her inner wail that played a role, his eyes suddenly fixed on her face, and then, with some disbelief, he removed the heavy sword around her neck and reached out to grab her hair.Ivy's head was pulled up, but within seconds, her wet wig was ripped off without warning, sending her head back onto the board.At the same time, a sharp pain in her heart caused her to breathe almost all at once.Ivy opened her eyes and looked at Ramses, who was holding her black wig and didn't say a word.She could think of how annoyed he was now, he was once again disobedient and ran out dressed like this, and was even mistaken for a spy on the exclusive owner of the monarchy, could he allow her to flout and challenge his authority again and again Very tragically closed her eyes, she took a deep breath, then opened it secretly, and whispered, "I'm sorry." ”Before he could finish speaking, his eyes suddenly darkened, and he had wrapped her head in a soft cloth towel, which was originally used to wipe the droplets of water that might have splashed during duck hunting, and gently rubbed the droplets on her face and hair.It was still a little rough, but she could feel his caution.However, because of the pain in her chest, her body was still very cold, and she couldn't stop shivering in the midsummer sun."
Mentus," Ramses' hand stopped, and he said lightly, "go over there and keep order, and bring Winter over." ”"Yes."
A young and familiar voice was the red-haired general answering.The boat shook slightly, and it felt like someone had left the straw boat.Then someone sat down beside Ivy and pulled her up with some brutality, wrapping her more tightly in a cloth towel.My body began to feel a little warm, but it wasn't because the water droplets were drying out.Maybe those arms are really warm, like a warm current gradually flowing to every corner of the body, including the aching heart.Then, slowly, she felt the pain disappear and, miraculously, her body began to heat up.She opened her eyes and looked at him holding her.He sat in the boat with his hands around her, and looked at the commotion not far away with no expression, "When you feel better, we will go back to the palace." ”"Oh" Ivy was a little depressed, if it weren't for this body, she would have just made a beautiful cameo appearance as a young Moses.But then the smug thought vanished, and she whispered to Ramses, "Don't be angry, okay, I'm just curious" He glanced at her, ignoring her apology, and said something extraneous: "Do you remember when you were younger?"
This is the first time he has taken the initiative to talk to her about something since she returned to this era.She pricked up her ears and looked intently at him.He continued: "When I was young, we went duck hunting.Father, mother, princess, brother, sister, minister, and, of course, you. ”He never told her about him, or about his body.She looked at him intently, his face was still indifferent, but his words were not as sharp as usual, like an ordinary brother, slowly telling his sister about the past.His arms were bent in a very comfortable arc, and it was very warm to lean into.It was such a blessing to be able to talk to him about some mundane topics in such a position, and Ivy shrunk her body again, resting her head in his arms, consciously or unconsciously."
You always like to hide behind Princess Idi and rarely play with us."
He didn't seem to resist Ivy's movements, but just said slowly, "Father has always been very fond of you, and I hope you can have fun at the duck hunting celebration, so he arranged for you to get on my and Brother Wang's boat, and let us take you to play and take care of you."
You were only seven or eight years old at the time, and you were so frightened that you couldn't move. ”He lowered his head and looked at Ivy who was leaning on his arms, "We think you are very afraid of water, do you remember" Afraid of water, this body is really useless, afraid of everything, afraid of water, afraid of light, afraid of strenuous exercise, and afraid of Ramses, Tixie's daughter has lived a really bad life in the past ten years.Ivy secretly despised the little princess in her heart, and looked at Ramses with a forced smile, "Then, what's going on?"
and then," he paused slightly, "and then, we played a prank and pushed you into the water."
At that time, my father was so frightened that he jumped into the water and fished you up. ”Tisi was so favored that her daughter could have the great pharaoh of Seti I go into the water to rescue you, "When you were fished up, your face was pale and your lips were bruised, just like I had seen you just now." ”His slender fingers brushed lightly over Ivy's pale face, then rested on her bloodless lips, and finally slowly moved away, "It must be painful" His expression was soft."
I've always wondered, at that time, what were you thinking about hating us or resenting us" He stared at her intently, as if he didn't want to let go of any of her expressions, and his amber eyes seemed to see through her, leaving her mind in a mess and unable to think about anything.If she could think, she would have asked herself why he had brought up these questions, why he cared about the thoughts of his sister who he so hated about something very long ago, and why he would be willing to be so tender to the woman he had wanted to kill a few days ago, but, at that moment, he looked at her so intently, his eyes confused her.I was just instinctively questioning in my heart: such eyes, concerned eyes, were they looking at her or just looking at this skin that shared the same past with him, could this time and space be so crowded that it was unlikely that the half of the shelter in his heart that she wanted would be sad for a while, and she answered him completely without thinking, and said to him perfunctorily: "Whether sad or not, it's all in the past anyway." ”She raised her eyes, her light gray eyes did not shy away from meeting him, "How can my sister resent my brother" He was stunned, and his whole face flashed several slight changes at that moment.Ivy could see very clearly, the emotions flashing in those transparent eyes, and before she could decipher them one by one, he had already returned to his original appearance.A thousandth of a second later, she felt his arms trembling slightly, as he had been holding her steadily.Although he was still sitting calmly, his expression was still indifferent, there was something that seemed to come out of his heart and faintly collide with his seemingly calm appearance, like the hot lava buried in the calm earth.He didn't look at her, just looked into the distance, but an emotion that could not be suppressed from the inside out shook his cold shell, and it was beating violently.He tried to steady his breathing, hugged Ivy a little tighter, his mind racing and not speaking for a long time."
Your Majesty."
The neat voice behind him came from Mentus and Winter.The two of them bowed respectfully, and only after receiving Ramses' permission did they lightly jump onto the boat."
What's the matter," Mentus bowed, "the officials were just betting on duck hunting, and a foreign boy named Moses showed his skills in darts, but accidentally fell into the water and was never recovered." ”Ivy shrunk her head to Ramses' side and pulled the cloth drape over her body slightly upward.Ramses looked down at her, as if he understood everything at once, and nodded to Mentus, "You and Ritach stay and arrange for the duck hunt to continue."
Winter Palm the boat, return to the palace with me. ”"Yes."
Two crisp answers, Mentus had already left the boat.Dong stood behind, gently propping the bottom of the river with a bamboo pole, and the boat slowly drifted along the same path towards the riverbank, leaving a quiet wave of water ripples gently on the river surrounded by reeds, turning into a ripple.t1706231537: