I was a god in the 18th century

In the room, Owen and Xia Qingdai had a heated discussion on how to persuade Emperor Qianlong to open more ports for trade. They even compared Dagu Port and Dinghai Port carefully, and finally chose the latter as the breakthrough point.

Currently, the Qing Dynasty only has one foreign trade port, Guangzhou, and Owen’s goal is to open a second one.

It’s a pity that imagination is so rich and reality is so skinny.

Qianlong's policy of closing the country to the outside world was unwavering, and it was useless no matter how much foreigners talked.

Macartney's request for trade with colonial intentions was rejected, and Owen's proposal for win-win trade was not allowed.

In fact, Owen met Qianlong more often than Macartney and others. There was no other reason, he was handsome, could speak Chinese, and was likable.

When Qianlong looked through the gifts from England, if he came across something he was not sure how to use, such as a telescope, he would ask Owen to explain it to him. Occasionally, when he was in the mood, he would talk to Owen and ask him about European customs and folkways.

Owen also told Qianlong everything he knew and generously introduced various Western technologies to him. However, as he thought, Qianlong had no intention of changing the current agricultural status of the Qing Dynasty.

As for the trade matters that Owen wanted to do, nothing was agreed upon.

Fortunately, Irving was mentally prepared for failure and was not too depressed.

Compared with Owen, Macartney and others had even less chance. Even on the day of celebrating Qianlong’s birthday, they did not see Qianlong himself, but were only shocked by the grand ceremony and music for the whole day.

Later, Macartney lamented that, looking at all the ceremonies of worship throughout history, it was hard to compare it with the Chinese subjects worshipping their emperor.

Xia Qingdai took some time out from her busy schedule and attended a state banquet in an invisible state, which helped her gain a lot of experience.

After this, Macartney proposed to visit the garden again. Last time, he only visited the east side of Wanshu Garden, so this time he could visit the west garden.

The accompanying officials were still Heshen, Fu Chang'an, Fu Kang'an and others.

The purpose of visiting the garden was nothing more than to stroll and eat. Macartney wanted to take the opportunity to discuss trade with Heshen, but he didn't find the opportunity. Every time he brought it up, the other party would quietly change the subject.

However, the group did not gain nothing. After finishing their meal, the eunuchs carried in many wooden boxes filled with silk, porcelain and other items.

He Shen told them that these were gifts from the Emperor to the British envoys. Owen also received a generous share, which he gave to Xia Qingdai.

After the garden party, the British delegation had another opportunity to meet Qianlong. It was the second day of the celebration. There was a drama performance in the palace to celebrate the birthday, and the British were invited to watch it.

To be honest, when Xia Qingdai saw the singing and dancing in the palace, the horrific remains of babies on the streets of the capital always popped up in her mind.

The contrast of this picture is too strong. People who are sentimental are not suitable to stay in this environment.

Only the imperial treasure that Owen received again could soothe Xia Qingdai's emotions.

After celebrating the birthday, watching the ceremonies, bestowing treasures and returning to the capital, the Qing court began to order the British delegation to expel them.

But Macartney had failed to accomplish any of the six important tasks he was supposed to do on this mission, so how could he be willing to return?
He even fell ill because of it.

But even though he was sick, the Qing court did not intend to let him stay to recover before leaving. Instead, they used this opportunity to persuade him to leave as soon as possible. They said that the summer was over and the capital was getting colder and colder. He would not be able to adapt to the climate and would have a hard time recovering from his illness. It would be better for him to return home as soon as possible.

After the delegation returned to the capital, Xia Qingdai no longer cared about what they were doing every day.

Instead of taking this time to watch from the sidelines, she might as well take Owen to meet her new adopted lover Wen Renyi!
The place where the two met was a land temple with few worshippers that was personally chosen by Xia Qingdai.

As the British deputy envoy, Owen was not allowed to go out and meet ordinary people in the Qing Dynasty. But he had Xia Qingdai by his side, so how could the guards of the Lilliputian Kingdom stop her?
Putting Owen in the palm of your hand, except for the Forbidden City where Qianlong stayed, there are no other places that are forbidden to go.

There are many eyes during the day, but when it gets dark, for Owen, the sky is high and the birds fly freely, and the sea is wide and the fish jump freely.

When he saw Wen Renyi, Owen was shocked because he immediately recognized him as the assassin who killed the Qing officials on the ship that day. Even though he was masked at the time, his sharp eyes like a blade left a deep impression on Owen and he was determined not to be wrong.

Even though he recognized the other person, Owen did not ask him questions rashly, as it was a taboo to talk about deep things with someone you just met.

On the contrary, Wen Renyi had no impression of Owen at all. Like Xia Qingdai, he was blind to Western faces and everyone looked the same. Besides, the assassination attempt was so tense that day that he had no time to pay attention to the appearance of a foreigner.

Although he didn't know Owen, Wen Renyi was naturally suspicious. Therefore, even though the Westerner in front of him was accompanied by a goddess, he never let down his guard against him, let alone tell him everything he knew.

Xia Qingdai thought that the two villains would hit it off and appreciate each other since they had her as a common friend, and then they would discuss enthusiastically how to divide the world.

It turned out that she was overthinking. Not only did the two sides not cooperate, but there was also an obvious gap. Xia Qingdai tried hard to get everyone to let down their guard and cooperate for a win-win situation, but the effect was minimal.

The two men did not discuss any substantive topics at all. One refused to mention rebellion, and the other refused to mention the election. They were all perfunctory and polite, and there was even a hint of hostility between them.

"Forget it, let's end our meeting here today. We can talk about it again when there's a chance." Xia Qingdai stood up and took Owen away.

Since they don't cooperate, let them be. Some things cannot be forced.

Wen Renyi looked at Xia Qingdai's back as she disappeared into the night, his eyes deep. A moment later, Owen took off from his sight and soon disappeared into the clouds, turning into a black dot that could no longer be seen clearly.

He knew that it was the ancestor god casting a spell, and for some reason he suddenly felt sour in his heart.

It turned out that he was not the only one that the Ancestor God was willing to meet. He had thought that he was special, but today it seemed that the red-haired man was more favored by the Ancestor God than him.

The ancestor god hadn't cast a spell to take him flying yet. The only time he flew, he used a flying artifact that looked like a carriage, which was naturally inferior to directly riding on the clouds.

At the same time, Owen, who was standing on Xia Qingdai's palm and flying in the wind, was not very proud.

Until now, he was the only one who knew the goddess' secret, and he was the only one who could take the goddess to various places, but today everything has changed.

It was originally just a vague guess, but now it has been confirmed that the goddess does have another place to stay similar to his Fucui Villa.

This inevitably made Owen feel depressed, and he flew back to the embassy in silence. (End of this chapter)