People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

“Your grandfather was teaching you.”

Ernst Road,

"The first thing I want to tell you is to be mindful of potential dangers. Whether your family is prosperous or not, never become complacent, or you will bring disaster upon yourself. Someone will make you lose face."

"The second question is for you: you must consider retreating. You must be sincere to a true dragon, but even a person can't go without shoes, so you should hide when necessary and leave yourself a way out."

"The third question is very simple: how to be a person. When looking at problems, see beyond the surface to the essence. Don't think people are so complicated. In the end, it all boils down to seeking fame and fortune. Only by accurately identifying other people's needs can you get their help. Only then can you truly understand and conduct yourself."

Ernst paused:

"To be honest, you shouldn't be asking me these questions. Your grandfather is very capable. If you can't figure it out, why don't you just ask him? He should be able to tell you."

Ning Ciqiu might not get an answer even if she asked others, or even the Grand Tutor. But if she sincerely asked her grandfather, he would definitely give her an explanation.

For no other reason than that he was her grandfather. Their interests were intertwined and inseparable. With Ning Ciqiu now favored by the true dragon, if that Minister Ning had such ambitions, who knows how he might have already begun to scheme.

After all, everyone can see that Ning Ciqiu is not mature enough. If that's the case, the Emperor's choice of her must be a choice for the future. And right now, the pillar that splits the Grand Tutor's faction, supports the court, and transforms the two factions into a three-way balance of power is definitely Minister Ning.

He was a man who would never allow his granddaughter and the future of his family to remain in a state of ignorance.

But Ning Ciqiu shook her head, giving Ernst a chilling answer that spoke volumes:

“It was my grandfather who sent me to ask you this.”

"After asking me three questions, he gave me two choices."

"Firstly, as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, he will be dispatched to Shangshu under the pretext of inspection and will not be allowed to return to the capital for the time being."

"Secondly, as a representative of the Great Yan, he came to Shelag to serve as the resident diplomatic ambassador."

Ernst was stunned.

The first option is easy to understand. Sending Ning Ciqiu out of Beijing is clearly a way to keep her away from the vortex.

With the dragon sending such a signal, the capital city and its surroundings are sure to be in turmoil for some time. And Ning Ciqiu, at the center of this storm, is likely to be targeted by those with ulterior motives.

Political struggles in ancient times were relatively straightforward. Attacks in the imperial court were just one tactic; assassination was another.

The reason for going to Shangshu, far from the capital, was to get rid of those people's clutches and let Ning Ciqiu gain experience outside. Once the situation stabilized, they would make further plans.

The second option, however, is more intriguing.

Ernst couldn't help but hiss.

Does this mean I'm including myself in the calculation?

This old man's determination is quite unusual. Is he planning to disobey orders?

The dragon is calling out a general, releasing a signal, but it's never explicitly stated. There are certainly many ways to interpret this.

Ernst said this was a sign of a meteoric rise to power, so Minister Ning could say, why can't this meteoric rise be the meteoric rise of Sherag?

What, is the World Summit unimportant? Since Yan Kingdom wants to integrate with the world, shouldn't it have a sufficiently influential person serve as its ambassador and be stationed at the World Summit venue, Shelag?

This person, chosen by the dragon himself, is of course Ning Ciqiu!

What? You're saying that Zhen Yilong's selection of generals doesn't mean that? The seven generals aren't the nine generals in the sixth category? First, I'm sorry, Zhen Yilong didn't say that. How did you, third, know? (Six)

Good heavens, you're trying to guess the Emperor's intentions?!

Hey, this is the genius of playing dumb.

In this way, Ning Ciqiu completely escaped the fate of "rarely ending well." As for whether the true dragon would try to retaliate, there was no need to worry too much. There were more than one Ning Ciqiu-like figure in the court; she could be replaced. There might be resentment at the disruption of her plans, but ultimately it would just be a minor setback. A little bit of whimsy from those in power would limit her official career to this level.

You can only go this far, you cannot go any further.

Ernst couldn't help but sigh again.

As expected, the people of Yan are all masters of political struggle, each one a true master of intrigue! Ning Ciqiu's grandfather truly doted on his granddaughter; otherwise, if someone valued their official position and power more than their family, they would never have given Ning Ciqiu this "second option."

He looked at Ning Ciqiu. Although he knew it wasn't appropriate, the other party had indeed schemed against him, and Ernst was indeed a little curious.

"Miss Ning, which one would you like to choose?"

Ning Ciqiu suddenly smiled and nodded mysteriously at Ernst, but did not answer.

Her grandfather did not forbid her from asking other people for answers. He also told her that if she wanted to ask, she could ask two people.

A man, Liang Xun, who rose from humble beginnings to become the Prefect of Shangshu, was a rising star in the political arena that his grandfather was also watching.

One person was Ernst, who was on this trip.

She only needed one chance to ask. Because once the delegation returned and she went back to the capital, she would no longer be able to see Ernst.

At that time, she could only accept going to the hedgehog 4-fold proxy purchase: 倃》捌2肆毶参隣伍尚蜀.

So now that she's asked, the answer is actually quite clear.

She doesn't have that much greed for power; His Majesty the Dragon has chosen the wrong person.

Of course, even though she had made her choice, things were beyond her control, and she still had to follow the Grand Commandant back to Da Yan to make a final decision.

Seeing Ning Ciqiu's mysterious smile, Ernst's lips twitched.

That's fine too. The ambassador is someone we know, which is better than having to get to know him all over again, do some background research, and rebuild trust from scratch.

As for what Zhenlong does, what does it have to do with him? He's not from Yan Kingdom, helping to accept Sui Pian is a win-win situation. What, he's busy building up his own little plot of land, why would he really want to share Zhenlong's burdens?

"Then I wish Miss Ning a safe journey."

"Mr. Ernst, take care too—"

Before the word "repeated" could even be uttered, a series of wailing cries erupted from outside Ernst's office door:

"Help! Help! Ernst, please help me! Are you inside? Please save me!"

Ernst and Ning Ciqiu exchanged a glance. Ning Ciqiu covered her mouth and chuckled, while Ernst stood up with a dark expression on his face and walked towards the door. As soon as he opened the door, Nian, who was practically leaning against it, pounced in and pinned him to the ground.

"Ernst, little Ernst, I've always treated you well, haven't I? Hurry up and help me think of a poem!"

Ernst struggled for a moment, then, finding himself unable to move, simply shifted his tail, placed it under his head, and settled down to enjoy the moment:

"poetry?"

"Yes! You mean that kind of thing, when you're drunk or something!"

Nian was so anxious that tears almost welled up in her eyes.

"Think quickly, my sister's coming! I don't want to be forced to have my hair washed inside a wine gourd!"

Chapter 611 Second Brother Sui: If I can't beat you, can't I at least verbally abuse you?

Yan, Shangshu, Three Mountains and Seventeen Peaks, the Eighteenth Peak.

He got drunk.

The behemoth's body certainly wouldn't get drunk; she was a warrior tested by alcohol, and a little fine wine was like plain water to her, having no effect whatsoever.

However, as the saying goes, "Wine doesn't intoxicate, people intoxicate themselves." The body may not be drunk, but the mind is. (33) → 5

In her dream, she soared above the skies of Shangshu, overlooking the mountains and rivers that had been moved to the mobile city below, and the incredibly three-dimensional city built upon them. Ten floors followed by another, and from the ground up, back to the ground. The porters in Shangshu, known as "bangbang," set off from the clouds in the morning and returned to rest in the clouds at the end. Amidst the swirling mist, these workers, earning their meager wages through hard labor, seemed to possess an ethereal quality.

Well, using the terminology that's recently become popular in Yan Kingdom, they are immortals, considered "body cultivators"?

However, Ling felt that even without stories or embellishments, these people were all immortals.

After all, these towering "Shangshu Cities," these pots of clear and sweet wine, and these exquisite drinking poems were not created by her, a true "fairy" or "god." They were all the result of the hard work of ordinary people.

"The Great Yan Dynasty often proclaims that human will can conquer nature. They are not wrong."

A familiar, steady male voice rang out in my dream, making it easy to guess who the person was and why they had come without even turning around.

She nodded in agreement.

"Yes, looking back hundreds of years, who could have imagined that people back then could build such a city? At that time, they were just ants crawling under [Sui], shouting and fighting."

Ants—I don't like that word, but nothing describes humans better than that.

They are the most creative race, short-lived but numerous, united, and capable of anything to survive, and have never been truly killed.

Centuries ago, ants could be crushed by a single swipe of a giant beast. Today, those same ants have built civilizations that astound even giant beasts. What if we give them another few hundred years?

The idea that "man can conquer nature" is more of a dream than a slogan.

Humanity has never given up on this dream.

Ling held his wine gourd to his lips, tilted his head back, and took a large gulp, then let out a long sigh that was hard to tell whether it was exhilaration or melancholy: 9

"what--"

She turned her head to look at her elder brother, Chongyue, who had entered her dream. Knowing his purpose, she shrugged.

"Is it my turn?"

Chongyue nodded:

“I’m a little worried about Nianmei and Ximei staying in Shelag. You know their personalities, Nianmei is so impatient and Ximei is so timid. What if they do something wrong and upset the host family? Things won’t be good.”

As he spoke, his gaze fell upon Shang Shucheng, and he clenched his fist:

"Someone needs to keep an eye on them to make people feel more at ease."

Ling smiled and raised his hand to press down on Chongyue's shoulder:

"Brother, come here, look me in the eyes when you say this."

"Do you think I'm the kind of person who can keep an eye on Nianmei and Ximei?"

"Why doesn't it look like it?"

Chongyue's eyes flickered, and his voice hesitated slightly. After a moment, under Ling's gaze, he finally sighed:

"Alright, alright, I know. It's better to give this task to Shu."

"But there's nothing I can do."

He shrugged and shook his head slightly.

"You know Shu's temper; she's not the kind of person who would leave easily."

The sixth son in the family, [Shu], is in charge of cause and effect.

The agents of the Sui Beasts all inherited a portion of the powers of the Level 3 behemoth [Sui]. Year represents form, Evening represents intent, Command represents freedom and unrestraint, and New Moon (Chongyue) represents the power to break all laws. Most of them have also found a suitable place for themselves in human society according to their own powers.

Year is the blacksmith, forging weapons and soldiers. Evening is the painter, creating ink paintings. Order is the drunkard, living a carefree life away from the world, while the beginning is the border general.

But the only exception was Shu; her job and her authority were not closely related.

—She was doing farm work.

Admittedly, power is not a limitation and will not force the agents of the Year Beast to make choices. But it's like having a genius-level mathematical ability but you still want to learn to draw. As beings who are born with knowledge to some extent, the agents of the Year Beast are very clear about their talents and are unlikely to make such an irrational choice in the eyes of the world.

But there are always exceptions. Why did Shuo become Chongyue? Wasn't it because his anthropomorphism was too high, and he began to want to break free from these worldly shackles? So he started to abandon "pure power (numerical value)" and instead sealed his "cultivation" into the sword, learning "martial arts" that focused on technique from scratch, and eventually became a grandmaster?

And Shu was an exception among exceptions. She didn't even experience Chongyue's transformation from god to human. From the very beginning, she didn't use her bug-level causal abilities, but instead chose to become a farmer.

why?

Because she was too kind and loved too much.

“I personally went to the Great Wilderness City and met with Shu.”

Chongyue said slowly, "Lulu"

“I told her about Nianmei and Ximei’s situation, and also relayed the story of Yeragand and Sami. I also told her about the fact that Sui was about to awaken in the Hundred Stove Underground.”

"Actually, she was aware of these things, at least at the age of 18."

"I invited her to Shelag. But she declined."

Even someone as composed as a mountain couldn't help but let out a long sigh at this moment, his expression becoming somewhat complicated:

She said that she and Shennong had an agreement that had not yet been fulfilled.

"What agreement?" Ling asked.

"Protect the Great Wilderness City. It is the lifeline of the Great Yan's food supply. Do not let it suffer even the slightest loss."

Chongyue answered, then added...

"I asked her, how and when can such an agreement be reached?"

She didn't answer me.

Hearing this, Ling was speechless. He could only turn his head away, sigh, and take a heavy gulp of wine.

"Wandering freely, where in this world can one find true freedom?"