My brother entrusted his child to me, and I livestreamed raising the baby, making the Empress cry wi

It had gotten dark outside the window sometime earlier.

A large cloud drifted over the palace, swallowing up the beams of light that had cut through the high windows.

The boundary between light and dark in the hall suddenly became blurred and ambiguous, and all the furnishings were shrouded in a grayish tone.

Even the two red agates on the throne armrests had lost their luster, turning from a bright blood red to a dull wine red, embedded in the shadows, coldly reflecting a faint light.

In the distance, the faint sound of the wind whistling through the palace walls could be heard, low and long, like someone letting out a breath that had been held back for a long time.

Fujiwara no Shūjin looked at Ashina and Dashiman, who were deep in thought.

The person on the throne had half-closed eyelids, his fingertips resting motionless on the armrest, sitting like a clay sculpture.

Dashi Man across from him stroked his beard again, his gaze falling on his knees, his brows sometimes furrowing and sometimes relaxing.

Fujiwara no Shūjin's lips curved slightly without him noticing.

This is why he needed to bring along the elders from Java and the Kingdom of Yali.

These two people are not simply kings of the South China Sea.

He reached out and slowly straightened his collar, then moved his fingers down, running his fingertips along the edge of his cuff.

The luxurious silk fabric rustled softly under his fingertips, a thin, short sound, like a snake gliding through withered leaves.

He then took a deep breath, his chest slightly bulging, and leaned forward an inch, just about to step forward and speak.

But then Dashi Man spoke up, his voice low and unhurried, but he effectively shut him down:

"Your Majesty, do you still remember Canaan, the person we sent to contact Shurou before?"

Fujiwara no Shujin's outstretched foot came back down.

He lowered his eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, swallowing back the words that had risen to his throat.

The composed smile still lingered at the corners of his mouth, but a chill had crept beneath it. His jaw involuntarily twitched, and the muscles in his cheekbones twitched slightly, but he suppressed it again.

Fujiwara no Shujin couldn't help but sneer inwardly. He hadn't missed the glance that Dashiman gave him before speaking; the movement was so quick that no one else would have noticed. But he saw it—

He did it on purpose!

Wow! They're already starting to ostracize people?! Are the people from the Western Regions really so petty?

Fujiwara no Shujin cursed inwardly, his hands hanging by his sides clenching tightly, leaving four shallow white marks in his palms, before he relaxed them again.

Heh, anyway, no matter what, it can't compare to his trump card. He'd like to see what this old man can come up with.

The shadows inside the hall seemed to have deepened.

The decorations that were once clearly visible were now completely swallowed up by the darkness, leaving only silent shadows.

The damp, fishy-sweet smell in the air grew stronger, as if seeping from the cracks in the floor tiles, rising layer by layer.

Upon hearing this, Ashina tried hard to recall, Canaan...

I think I vaguely remember it.

Previously, when Shu Jingwei and Wang Meng were fighting amongst themselves, he originally wanted to start by getting to Shu Rou and gradually take control of the Great Flame.

Shu Rou is young and easy to control, and her identity is undoubtedly extremely useful.

So they found someone to send to the Great Flame.

Canaan was originally a thief from the Western Regions who roamed the streets and alleys year-round. He was chosen by them because he was extremely good at hiding.

After all, it's not difficult to fool a three-year-old child, and you don't need to be very smart; the key is to be able to hide your whereabouts.

Canaan was not particularly handsome, with brown hair and brown eyes, a flat face, and pale features, unlike most people from the Western Regions who had deep-set eyebrows, bright eyes, blond hair, and blue eyes.

With a little grooming, dyeing her hair black, and changing her clothes, she wouldn't look like she was from the Western Regions at all.

Moreover, his aura is the kind that makes him stand out in a crowd. It's as if he was born to be a stealthy, insidious individual.

I just didn't expect Shu Jingwei to lose so quickly...

Wang Meng's iron cavalry entered the palace without breaking a sweat. Seeing that the situation was completely out of control, Canaan abandoned his mission and slipped out before the palace gates were completely sealed.

When Canaan returned, he was covered in dust and dirt. He knelt before him and recounted the situation in the capital of Great Flame.

Ashina vaguely remembered that when Canaan returned to report, he seemed to have mentioned something else—

When he escaped from the palace, he encountered a fellow runner. The man was dressed in the clothes of an ordinary palace servant, but his behavior was nothing like that of a palace servant, and he did not have a palace servant's badge.

The two hitched a ride for a while. The man introduced himself as He Jin, saying he was a local of Dayan and had originally gotten a job as a servant in the palace through connections, but had run away when he saw things were not going well.

Although he did look like someone from the Central Plains, Canaan still kept a watchful eye on him.

After leaving the capital, the two pretended to part ways. Canaan followed him for a while and discovered that he was heading north.

The wind outside the hall also picked up.

The wind blew in through the cracks in the high windows, carrying the cool air after the rain and the earthy smell of soil, crashing back and forth inside the hall.

The flames of the candles on the candlesticks simultaneously dimmed, and wisps of smoke rose in thin strands before dissipating into the air.

The sheepskin map on the wall was lifted by the airflow, its lower right corner fluttering against the wall.

Ashina didn't pay attention at the time, only cursing Shu Jingwei for being useless.

Wang Meng succeeded so quickly, causing his long-planned scheme to be completely ruined before it even began.

At that time, Ashina was furious and in a terrible mood. He didn't want to hear a word about those irrelevant people and things. Before Canaan could finish speaking, he waved his hand and told him to leave.

Looking back now, the further north the Great Flame went, the colder the climate and the more barren the land became. Officials or more powerful forces of the Great Flame were always located in the prosperous areas south of the capital, with very few in the north.

Therefore, He Jin was most likely a member of a tribe from the northern grasslands.

And he appeared in the palace at that time, and even rushed out of the city before Wang Meng attacked—

It's highly likely that they are people like them who have designs on the Great Flame.

And... anyone who dares to reach for the Great Flame right under Wang Meng's nose must be some small force.

If we could find out the identity of "He Jin," we could follow that lead and try to contact their tribe to discuss the possibility of cooperation.

Ashina suddenly sat up straight, slammed his hands on the armrests, and his fleshy palms made a "smack" sound as they hit the cowhide.

The clouds outside the hall finally moved away, and the beam of light cut in again, even brighter than before, slicing through the darkness of the hall with a scorching sharpness.

Golden spots of light fell on the floor tiles, with the largest beam shining directly on Ashina's throne coin.

Dust tumbled endlessly in the light, billions of tiny particles spinning and rising rapidly, like a turbulent galaxy.

He turned his head and gestured with his chin toward the two soldiers waiting inside the palace gate. The sunlight illuminated his face, revealing his eyes, making his golden-brown pupils appear almost transparent.

"Go and bring Canaan to us!"