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

Although the continuous drizzle had stopped, the thick rammed earth walls of the Western Regions royal palace were still filled with dampness, which seeped out from all sides of the walls as the midday sun shone on them.

If you look closely, you can almost see a wisp of white vapor.

In the center of the council hall, Canaan was panting heavily, his chest heaving violently, each breath accompanied by a heavy, guttural wheezing sound that seemed to come from deep within his throat.

The stuffy air in the hall rushed into his lungs, carrying the slightly bitter scent of frankincense, a hint of damp earthy smell drifting in from outside the window, and the aroma of wheat emanating from the half-cold cake in his hand.

The various smells mixed together, neither pleasant nor unpleasant, but all of them heavy and filled my chest.

Sweat rolled down his temples, flowed along the curve of his cheeks over his cheekbones, and finally lingered on the tip of his chin for a moment before dripping to the ground.

Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

Mixed with his saliva and fallen crumbs, it formed a small puddle on the gray-white stone bricks, glistening with a nauseating sheen when illuminated by the midday sun.

Canaan bent over, his hands supporting him on the ground, panting heavily for a while. His palms pressed against the stone bricks, and he could feel the cool, clear surface of the bricks.

When the painful tube in my throat finally stopped spasming, and when the black spots in my vision slowly faded away, I finally felt alive again.

But he quickly put his recent embarrassment behind him.

Just moments ago, her small eyes were brimming with tears from suffocation, but suddenly they lit up as if someone had struck a match inside them, and two bright flames suddenly leaped up in her pupils.

He slammed the remaining half-cup of water onto the ground, the ceramic cup hitting the stone bricks with a crisp "clang," splashing water everywhere.

"I remember now!" Canaan's voice pierced the air, sharp and bright.

The sound cleaved through the humid air, soaring into the sky, crashing against the dome painted with dark red totems, then bounced back, buzzing and echoing throughout the council hall.

The candles in the corners of the hall trembled in unison, and the wisps of smoke rising from the incense burners burning with frankincense were scattered by the sound waves, twisting into several chaotic curves in the air.

The wisps of smoke drifted along the murals high on the wall, blurring the patterns as if veiling them with a thin layer of gauze.

Ashina suddenly stopped in his tracks as he was about to ask someone to pour him a glass of water.

He sat up abruptly, his eyes fixed on Canaan kneeling on the ground, the golden-brown light in his pupils almost scorching in the midday sun.

"What did you remember!?"

Canaan spoke rapidly, as if afraid that the fragments he had painstakingly dug out of the ruins of memory would fall back down.

He casually stuffed the pancake into his pocket, his hand, still covered in crumbs, excitedly gesturing in the air, spittle flying excitedly from the corner of his mouth.

"I remember now! Although they said a whole bunch of things I couldn't understand or remember—there was one word that came up the most!"

Da Shiman pricked up his ears, waiting for him to continue.

"The word is 'eat, take'!" Canaan uttered the two words slowly and deliberately.

Eat, take? What is this?

Ashina frowned, his thick, dark eyebrows squeezed together, and the vertical lines between his brows deepened.

He silently repeated the two words in his mouth, pressing the tip of his tongue against the roof of his mouth, chewing them repeatedly, as if trying to savor some hidden flavor.

—Eat, take—two unremarkable syllables, put together they seem meaningless.

He could only think of "eating and taking" – describing someone who eats and then takes something else, being greedy and insatiable – but that certainly has nothing to do with the original meaning.

Ashina could only cast a questioning look at Dashiman.

Da Shiman stroked his beard, his fingertips gently caressing the graying hair, his eyes lowered in thought.

Another gust of wind blew in through the window, this time longer than before, carrying the fresh scent of damp earth and vegetation from the courtyard. The smoke from the incense burner was also bent over by the wind, drawing a long arc in the air.

Chi...na... His lips moved silently, his fingers sliding back and forth on his beard, each stroke slower than the last.

Could it be... China?

His fingers suddenly stopped, the pads of his fingers pressing against his beard without moving, and his eyelids lifted abruptly, a sudden gleam of surprise flashing in his eyes.

It's the China tribe! That's wonderful!

Dashiman had an answer. He put down his hand that was stroking his beard, folded his hands in front of him, bent slightly, and then looked up to meet Ashina's gaze again.

A lingering light still shone in his eyes as he spoke calmly. His voice was not loud, but in the quiet hall, every word was clearly uttered.

It's like throwing pebbles into a calm lake, creating ripples that spread outwards in concentric circles.

"Your Majesty, this 'taking and eating' must refer to the China tribe!"

He paused, and seeing Ashina's somewhat bewildered expression, continued to explain:

"During the Great Flame Festival, envoys from the China tribe are also invited to the capital, making the China tribe one of the top five tribes in terms of size on the grasslands!"

His speech quickened, his voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement: "That means the China tribe possesses at least ten thousand elite cavalry!"

Ashina's eyes lit up; the scale was large, and they were equally unwilling to submit to the Great Flame.

"It seems that the China tribe is entirely capable of being a cooperative partner!"

Da Shiman nodded, his jaw dropping sharply, causing his beard to tremble. His tone was steady and resolute: "Exactly!"

"Good, good, good," Ashina said three times, his voice getting louder with each slap. He slammed his hand on the armrest of the throne, his palm striking the leather bag with a crisp snap.

The shock caused the red agate on the handrail to tremble, casting a blood-red halo in the sunlight.

A halo of light swept across the edge of the handrail, casting a faint, fleeting red hue onto the floor tiles.

"Then I will immediately send an envoy to visit the China tribe to discuss our great undertaking!"

He leaned back on the throne, his back slamming heavily into the chair, and let out a long breath, a breath that surged up from deep within his chest, carrying the anxiety and exhaustion accumulated over the past few days.

Ashina felt that the tension that had been building up inside him recently finally eased a little.

Having resolved a major concern, Ashina was in high spirits. After saying this, he prepared to let everyone go down and rest, since it was already noon and everyone was a little tired from the morning's meetings.

Outside the window, the midday sun pressed down directly overhead, and the shadow of the old mulberry tree by the window was almost gone, leaving only a narrow, darker outline around its roots.

If this matter can be accomplished, then we will discuss the merits and reward accordingly!

He was practically standing up, his hand already raised, ready to wave and signal the meeting was over—

Fujiwara no Shujin suddenly stepped forward at this moment: "Your Majesty, please wait!"