Hao Lianchen could still clearly remember the days he spent as a child. Back then, the king lying in bed was just an unfavored prince. Although he was not well received in the royal court, he still had a large number of servants.

And what about myself?

He was about the same age as him, but his body was covered in scars.

He and Qingmei made a vow before the Bodhisattvas and Buddhas: "We promise that we will definitely find a way to survive for the people of the grasslands."

He succeeded; at least for now, the grasslands are much better off than they were under the Yalan royal family.

They even had the strength to attack the Great Yan.

However, I shouldn't have let that child go back then because I was constrained.

The old man with eagle eyes, dressed in a priest's robe, stood in front of the army and recited a sermon. To these people, the Grand Preceptor was their faith.

In the distance, at the joint arms camp, Da Nier has arrived with her flag.

"Didn't the Central Plains people who were with you come to help you?"

The dark-skinned girl, riding a tall horse, looked down at the imperial advisor who was surrounded by people, not expecting to meet him so soon.

"This is a matter for our grasslands and has nothing to do with others."

The imperial court is right behind these Xiongnu. As long as I defeat them, I can finally ask the question that is on my mind.

Da Nier gripped her curved sword, its sharp edge pointing at the Imperial Advisor, and said...

"Should we fight now?"

Hao Lianchen walked past the girl and looked at the group of Xiongnu behind her. These were the Second Prince's former followers. If Ruoya Lanqing was an accident, then the Second Prince was the true chosen one.

They are the chosen ones whose destiny cannot be calculated.

He possessed superhuman strength, and for this reason alone, countless grassland tribes were willing to risk their lives for him, just to protect their tribes from harm.

Add to that his numerous concubines, and this is practically a mountain that will hinder the Grand Preceptor's control over the next generation of the Yalan royal family.

But suddenly the mountain disappeared, as if it vanished without a trace.

They were insignificantly killed at the border by the murderous star before them. Perhaps the Grand Preceptor wanted to try, so he shouted to the Xiongnu behind Da Nier.

"As long as you are willing to return to the royal court, the past will be forgiven, and we can create a golden age for the grasslands together."

The indifference and silence represented the attitude of the army behind the girl, and the dark-skinned girl couldn't help but laugh when she saw this.

"Grand Preceptor, you are indeed wise to govern the grasslands with people."

"But the problem is that the people of the Central Plains understand human relationships better than you do. They not only understand human relationships, but also the timing and location of events."

“All the soldiers behind me, all the people of their tribe, are under my control. In other words, even if I don’t want to win, they have to force me to win.”

The Grand Preceptor took a deep breath; he knew all too well what these grassland tribes needed.

Planting, surviving—everything about it is enticing.

It wasn't that he didn't know how; the knowledge Honghua brought back from the capital was enough for him. However, Hao Lianchen kept these things firmly in his own hands, fearing that his followers would disobey him.

"Are you willing to teach them the method?" he asked, somewhat incredulously.

Today's meeting is a test of each other. News of the tribes that have surrendered to the Central Plains is kept secret. The grasslands are the Grand Preceptor's own territory, and it is impossible for him not to have spies in there.

There's only one reason why the message can't get out:

They found a new faith.

Ha Die held a squid pancake in her hand, her face flushed as she ate, panting heavily as if that would lessen the pain on her tongue.

"Sis, why don't you eat less? You've already eaten two, why are you still eating spicy food?" Little Stone asked, sitting next to his sister.

"It's delicious! Why not eat it? Don't be fooled by the spiciness, this stuff is addictive."

Feng Shitai's family is getting better and better. They can even eat three meals a day. All of this food was earned by the two children from Huo Xiaolong through their own hard work.

Especially Ha Die, the little girl doesn't understand what it means to be willing, nor does she use sweet words and sophistry like Sun Zixi.

Whenever Huo Xiaolong conquered a tribe and discovered that the tribe's beliefs were somewhat immoral, Ha Die would move a small stool and sit outside the fence to talk to them.

First, they fooled the child, then they fooled the child's mother. After this whole process, these Xiongnu people regarded Huo Xiaolong as a goddess, and Da Ni'er as a princess who was born to rule the Yalan Royal Court. Even the child's sister was regarded as a bodhisattva who saved people from suffering.

Although there were some mistakes in the process, the result was good.

Da Nier held the reins with both hands. When she was a child, she always looked up to the Imperial Preceptor. Now, he stood in front of her horse, and she was the one who could teach him.

"why not?"

"Why can't we give them a way to survive? You're holding everything in your own hands, Grand Preceptor. Do you lack confidence in yourself, or in the people of the grasslands?"

"It's because your Yalan family is inherently vicious!" The Grand Preceptor was a little angry, but thinking of what the girl in front of him had done when she was a child, he became even more convinced that he was right.

In modern terms, Da Ni'er's family has a bit of a hereditary mental illness, but they're not really crazy; they're just ruthless.

For example, when she was a child, Da Ni'er fed her fourth brother's attendant, who was making things difficult for her, to a mastiff. Her fourth and second brothers did even more outrageous things.

Ya Lanqing hadn't noticed anything wrong before.

But some things are just so coincidental. She was exiled to the Central Plains and learned the true meaning of the Four Books and Five Classics from Mr. Feng.

It turns out that even if you are a princess, you cannot treat human life as worthless.

It has nothing to do with identity; it's against one's nature. God gave you the right to be human, not for you to act like a beast.

The dark-skinned girl, unusually, did not refute the imperial advisor, but nodded and said to him.

"That's true."

"The people in Yalan's family aren't very bright, but I'm different. I'm very good."

Even though they're related by blood, after ten years apart, she/he still remembers that one sentence: "Ah Qing is doing well."

"So you're determined to fight?"

Da Nier nodded.

"As long as you live, the Yalan Royal Court will always be yours. Only the dead can put your mind at ease."

The Imperial Advisor suddenly understood that sentence in Honghua's letter that he had read for decades but never understood.

The people of the Central Plains are not stupid; they are quick-witted. Yet, they devised a host of rules to bind themselves and women. However, when faced with conflicts of interest and life, they often resemble wild wolves on the grasslands, united and ruthless. At that time, the so-called rules are merely masks of humanity. Once those masks and constraints are removed, their hearts are even more ruthless.

He felt that Da Ni'er was just like that now, that girl from the religious tribe who farmed and wove cloth could decide the life and death of these soldiers with just a few words.

"Don't look at me like that. I know what you're thinking," Da Ni'er said to the Grand Preceptor.

"You think I'm ruthless and unwilling to make peace with you just for my own selfish desires."

"Then, Imperial Advisor, let me ask you, why won't you make peace with me? If you die, I can march into the imperial court without lifting a single soldier. To put it bluntly, you're unwilling to do so."

"If you're unwilling to give up your power, then stop pretending. We all know each other perfectly well."

"Do the people behind me know my ambition? Do the people behind you know yours?"