It doesn't matter what the lord is.

The first hot pot of this winter... to be precise, the first hot pot in this world was also well received. During the meal, Alayya took the initiative to switch seats with Fang Shisan. I helped Fang Shisan rinse the ingredients, then picked them up and dipped them in sauce and fed them to her. Fang Shisan was not a fast eater. She ate in small bites and chewed slowly. Every time I fed her a bite, I helped her wipe the sauce off the corners of her mouth.

Bai Huang complained:

"What's the point of eating like this? Isn't it better to cook it yourself?"

But in the blink of an eye, the remaining people had already lined up behind Fang Shisan.

He Yue opened the wine shop today, and everyone poured some. The cups were small, so those who knew how to drink could drink more, and those who didn't know how to drink could just have one cup.

There was a small glass of wine in front of everyone. When it was time to toast, I took the glass and said calmly without even bothering to stand up:

"This year, Yuxi City has been in great trouble for you all. In the middle of the year, Alayya and I came to Yuxi City, and at that time, everything was in ruins. At the beginning, it was all thanks to Fileta, otherwise, such a big city could not be defended by Alayya and I. Then there are Heyue and Baihuang, both of whom I met in Yunhai later. Heyue was abducted by me, and Baihuang, although she came uninvited, did a good job in various patrols in Yuxi City. I would like to commend her. Finally, there is Fang Shisan. Although there was a little friction at the beginning, we get along very well now. This year, the affairs inside Yuxi City mainly depend on Heyue, and the affairs outside the city all depend on Fang Shisan's hard work. One inside and one outside, it's not easy for everyone."

I shook the glass in my hand and continued:

"It is said that everything is difficult at the beginning, but for us, it is difficult in the middle and at the end. But this difficulty can be difficult in different ways. The rich worrying about what to eat tonight and the poor worrying about what to eat tonight are two different choices. The latter is a desperate confusion, and the former is a dazzled worry, a luxury worry, a happy worry. Yuxi City has passed the initial start-up stage, and many places are on the right track. And from the current perspective, our development speed is faster than the deterioration of the situation outside. This is fine, this is good. Don't slack off, and don't work too hard."

I raised the wine glass in my hand and said:

"Everyone is on my Lide ship, on Yuxi City's ship. As long as you stay on the ship, you are all Lide's people. I don't have much ability and I don't care about things, but if you really encounter any problems, you can come to me for consultation and I will cover for you. Since we are on the same ship, the first thing is to expand this ship and sail it to farther places; at the same time, everyone present has their own goals, and I assure you that they will all be achieved. However, it must be built on the strong foundation of Yuxi City. So next year, let's all work together."

After drinking a glass of wine, I exhaled and squinted my eyes.

Alayya doesn't have any long-term goals. She just wants to follow me and become stronger.

Fileta hopes to be recognized by humans. This issue can be small or big. Now no one in Yuxi City looks down on her. But in the long run, this involves the future relationship between humans and demons.

He Yue's dream was relatively simple, which was to take over the land of Lord Tiancheng, so that the hungry and cold people in the Tiancheng territory could have fields to farm, houses to live in, a bowl of hot rice to eat, and some thick cotton clothes to wear.

Fang Shisan said that she still owed me the position of the first deputy general of Tiance Mansion. Even if I didn't say it, she would continue to fight for it. But this is too far away. If we want to live in Tiance Mansion, we need to make the capital ours first.

I didn't ask about Shiloh's dream, but for now, as long as I spend more time with her and cook delicious food for her, she will be very happy. After the spring, I will build the fish pond I promised her, and then I can go fishing with her when I have nothing to do.

The night of laughter and joy is like the Spring Festival.

At the end, He Yue was still singing intermittently, and a few of us fell asleep in a crooked state.

After all, it's always warm here.

I always feel that it would be nice to just fall asleep like this, and if every day is filled with laughter, life will be full of fun.

In the blink of an eye, it is another cold day.

It's time to go to the capital.

12. Who knows what is going on?

King's capital.

It's snowing heavily.

At the end of the side hall corridor, in the shadows under the stone steps, three people huddled together.

Because of the light and shadow, their faces could not be seen clearly. One of them was only seen wearing a bright yellow robe, and the other two were wearing red brocade official uniform and dark black iron armor. In the corner of the quiet hall, from their attire, it could be seen that this was a royal family member, a civil official, and a military commander. The three spoke in low voices.

"Has Bai Yi left the city?"

"I left town this morning. I said I was going to take a walk outside the city."

"Let's go... Humph. It's already so late, why hasn't he come back yet? I think he must have gone to Tianyue Mountain! He didn't mention the riots of the disaster victims during the last court meeting, just to avoid alerting the enemy. This matter can't be concealed. So many disaster victims who froze to death, it's impossible for them to evaporate into thin air."

"I told you not to be greedy about the 80,000 gold coins last time, but now it's better. If that damned man in white really finds out something, the king will convict us, and no one can escape!"

"It's not easy... Hey, how many disaster victims are there in Tianyue Mountain now?"

"The death toll is at least five digits... There are as many as 300,000 homeless people, and nine out of ten houses in the cities at the foot of the mountain are empty. Last month, someone disguised himself as an ordinary citizen and came to the capital to cause trouble, intending to stop the emperor and report the crime. Fortunately, our people discovered it early."

"How's it going?"

"Beat him to death."

"That's good."

The three of them were silent for a while, and the royal family member asked:

"You two both hold high positions. It's true that Wu Mi is a white-robed minister, but he is not a noble, he is a commoner! He has been in the capital for so long, and you two can't even control him. How can I entrust important matters to you two in the future... Let me ask you, can the matter of Tianyue Mountain really be suppressed this time?"

The civil official's voice was thin and sharp, and at this moment he spoke in a humble tone like an owl in the night:

"It's difficult. His Majesty the King is on his side, and now the general of Tiance Mansion also has dealings with him. If it's an ordinary matter, it's easy to deal with it, and it can be fooled. This time, we are building a palace for His Majesty the King in Tianyue Mountain. It was His Majesty's clear order, and we can't fool him. There are so many homeless disaster victims making trouble, there will always be some stubborn people who will make things difficult for us. Those people are stubborn and we don't know when they will jump out!"

The general's voice was low, but also full of anger:

"And if those disaster victims get pushed into a corner and attack the capital, we won't have enough heads to chop off!"

The royal family member lowered his voice and asked:

"Is there no way to plug this hole?"

The civil official's voice became anxious and he shrieked:

"Repay? With what... The money has long gone into the private pockets of the officials in the court. The three of us got less than 5,000 gold coins. Without the 75,000 gold coins, how could this matter be kept secret until now? However, it has only happened in the past few days. His Majesty the King must have heard some rumors, but the New Year is approaching and the thirty-six city lords are about to arrive, so no one wants to make trouble. After the New Year, huh."

The general stamped his feet and shouted in a low voice:

"It's fine if they eat the meat and we drink the soup! But now something has happened, the meat eaters wiped their mouths and left, and asked us who drink the soup to take the blame. Is this reasonable and is there any law?"

"Reason, law?"

The civil official laughed, his tone full of regret:

"You, you, you, if you don't want your brain, just dig it out and throw it away. We embezzled the money, we gave it away, and we are the masterminds of everything. We have the account books, but does His Majesty dare to check? If he really implicates them, there will be nothing clean inside. He will use us as an example... This is called killing a chicken to scare the monkeys."

The general was about to say something, but the royal family stretched out their hand, pressed it down, and said:

"Don't be so hasty to argue... Let's think of a solution first."

The civil official whispered:

"The most urgent thing is that Bai Yi can't investigate any further. He hasn't come back yet. I can guess with my eyes closed that he plans to stay in Tianyue Mountain for a few days to search for evidence. If I remember correctly, he is usually accompanied by a servant named Xiaolu. We will send a few capable servants to disguise themselves as disaster victims and quietly..."

He made a "click" gesture and said in a low voice:

"Then we can just say it was a riot and no one will be able to find out anything. Once Bai Yi dies, those stubborn people will no longer have anyone to lead them, and this incident will not get out of hand."

The royal family turned to the general and asked:

"Are you sure?"

The general was silent for a while, then nodded and said:

"You can try. Let someone pick up the families of those servants first, and then tell them to commit suicide immediately if the matter is exposed. Otherwise, we will kill their whole family. Even if it fails, it will definitely not be traced to us."

The royal family member sighed, with a hint of viciousness in his tone:

"Send more people. Let the few assassins in the palace go with them. We must make sure that Bai Yi dies in Tianyue Mountain."

The remaining two said at the same time:

"Yes, Your Highness."

As if being stung by this title, the man trembled, slowly clenched his hands into fists, and shouted in a low voice:

"Your Highness... In these years, no one has ever treated me as Your Highness...!"

He took a deep breath and said:

"If we can't kill Bai Yi in Tianyue Mountain this time, we will have to take some other measures."

The remaining two people came closer and asked in a low voice:

“Is there any other way?”

The royal family remained silent, took out a letter from his arms and threw it to the civil official.

The civil official opened the letter, looked at the contents, and his voice suddenly became a little higher:

"This, this is-"

He took two steps back, and the letter in his hand fell to the ground. He seemed to be in a trance, muttering:

"No, no! Selling out your compatriots, what's the difference between that and being an animal? If you really do that, you and I will both be sinners for eternity!"

The general picked up the letter from the ground, glanced at it, and said nothing.

The royal family sneered and said:

"Eternal sinner? We have already been eternal sinners! Now you are a whore and want to build a memorial archway, do you think you are capable? When 300,000 people in Tianyue Mountain were homeless, did you not think that you would be cursed by thousands of people? Let me tell you, if this is done, no one will dare to say anything, and those historians will naturally whitewash us. From now on, for thousands of years, only your good name will be remembered! Now I only ask you one question, do it, or... don't do it."

The military general took a step forward and also looked at the civil official.

The civil official seemed to understand something, and pointed his trembling fingers at the military generals and the royal family, saying hatefully:

"Have you discussed this already?"

The general sneered:

"We rough people can't think so much. If we don't do it, we will die. If we do it, we may survive and enjoy endless wealth and glory. What else is there to consider?"

The civil official gasped for breath, and after a while, he said in a hoarse voice:

"I just hope that the man in white can die obediently in Tianyue Mountain. Otherwise, you and I can no longer call ourselves this king, this official, or this general. We are all just dogs crawling on the ground, wagging our tails and begging for mercy! We are all just beasts in splendid clothes."

13. A surprising but not joyful start

"Hey Alaya, even though we haven't been to the capital, I don't think we need to wear so many clothes."

"Master, it's very cold in the north. I heard it's going to snow."

"It won't be this cold even if it snows."

"But Master, I heard people say that the heavy snow in winter is like a knife, it will leave a cut on your body."

"It's not that scary..."

"Master, have you ever seen snow?"

“…I guess I have seen it before.”

"What does it look like?"

"White and soft, it falls on shoulders, hats, temples and eyebrows. The branches seem to be covered with ice crystals, and the ground seems to be covered with a cotton-padded jacket. Wherever you step, there will be a snow pit, and you will fall if you are not careful. Children will use snow to make all kinds of things, and will also grab a handful of snow and stuff it into other people's collars. Winter is very beautiful. The heavy snow flies like catkins in the wind, and falls to the ground flat and beautiful. The air is dry, and the water vapor exhaled will turn into white mist and drift away..."

"Where did you meet the young master?"

"Maybe it's in a dream... When you get to the north, you will see it."

"Then let's go, Master."

"That's why I said... change your clothes first!!"

On the street, I, who was wrapped like a dumpling, did not hesitate to complain about Alayya who took the initiative to wrap herself like a dumpling. For example, Lid only weighs 120 pounds, but he was wrapped up like 200 pounds. The key point is that the passers-by around me all looked at me with concern for mentally retarded children, which made me feel very uncomfortable.

Alaia obviously also discovered this problem. She asked me:

"It was Alaiya who was inconsiderate. Master, shall we go back and change?"

I knew that the change of clothes were in the wooden suitcase that Alaiya was dragging behind her. It would take a lot of time to go back and search for them. I estimated that He Yue and the others should have been waiting at the door, and the royal dragon riders should be here soon. It would be too late to go back and change now, so I said to Alaiya:

"That's it, let's go. Go to the east gate."

The two men hurried to the east of the city.

When we arrived at the east gate of Yuxi City, Alayya and I, two spherical objects, were naturally laughed at. Bai Huang especially smiled the brightest and called me "Big Meat Bun". But at this time, I had calmed down and just thought that this was Alayya's love for me, although this love was a little too hot. I took out a handkerchief to wipe Han, but I found that because I was wearing too many clothes, I couldn't bend my elbow and the handkerchief couldn't wipe his face at all.

I had no choice but to say to Fileta:

"Filita, help me wipe the sweat off."

Fileta wiped the sweat off my face with trembling fingers, then turned around and licked it with the tip of her tongue.

Fortunately, everyone present was already used to it. He Yue told me:

"Let's go to the capital. This time, you should keep a low profile. You have to endure some grievances now, but don't worry, we will help you get revenge for the grievances you have suffered one day. Take care of yourself and come back as soon as possible."

I nodded.

Generally, I would report what I could on the spot, and write down the ones I couldn’t report in a notebook and calculate them slowly later.

Tiara pushed Fang Shisan and said:

"It would be even better if the city lord could bring back some specialties from the capital!"

Fang Shisan laughed and said softly: