night.
Ai Cao watched as the bear took turns feeding rabbits and apples, and then looked at Chi You, who had already become familiar with the Jiang women and was eating meat and drinking wine with gusto.
She thought that her ambition to become king might be thwarted tonight because the warehouses would be emptied.
The clan chief silently walked over and sat down beside her. The current clan chief of the Jiang clan and the successor she had chosen stood side by side, silently watching the lively banquet.
"I'm a little worried," said Ai Cao.
The chieftain smiled gently. She asked, "What are you worried about?"
Ai Cao took a sip of the warm wine. Her face flushed red under the influence of the alcohol.
"I've never been a 'king' before," said Artemisia. "I don't know what it's like to be a 'king'." She added, "What if I mess it up?"
Her relatives may die in the frequent wars, and she too may die in one battle.
After all, Jiang Ai was just an ordinary person.
Her body was also made of blood and flesh; she would feel pain and bleed when cut by a knife. She had even contemplated being completely devoured and reduced to a skeleton when a wild beast bit off a piece of her flesh.
She wasn't afraid of becoming a skeleton herself, but she was afraid of what would happen to her kin.
Jiang Ai's wish was small, while Ai Cao's wish was big. But at the core of Ai Cao's big wish was still Jiang Ai's small wish.
She wanted her family to be safe.
The clan chief smiled again. She raised her hand, her palm, still carrying the aroma of cooked meat, and placed it on Jiang Ai's shoulder.
The clan chief said, "It's okay even if you mess it up." She gently patted Jiang Ai's shoulder and handed her another bowl of meat.
The clan chief said slowly, "Before I became the clan chief, I had never been a clan chief either." Seeing Jiang Ai's stunned expression, she burst into laughter, "I also grew from as small as you to this age every day!"
Ai Cao looked intently at the Jiang clan chief.
The chieftain chuckled as he picked up a thick slice of meat, tore off a juicy piece with his still-sharp teeth, and began to chew it with a smile.
Ai Cao followed her and picked up a piece of meat to chew. Her mouth was filled with the meat, and for a moment she focused only on eating it, temporarily forgetting her worries about the future.
The chieftain smiled and said, "When I became the chieftain, I was just a young woman in the tribe." She raised her hand to indicate her height, "I was probably a little shorter than you, and not as strong as you are now."
She smiled slyly: "But I still took that dagger from the previous chieftain."
"Then?"
"And then I really did become a clan chief," the clan chief said.
She swallowed the whole piece of meat, then picked up the wine bowl and took a sip to calm herself.
The chieftain said, “I have arranged for the women of the Jiang tribe to do things, and countless boys have died from their injuries. I have diligently done everything I thought the chieftain of the Jiang tribe would do—it seems that I am following in the footsteps of the previous chieftain every step of the way.”
“But even so, I am still different from the previous chieftain,” the chieftain said. “She was more…loving. She adopted many wild beast cubs, trying to make them friends of the Jiang clan.”
“But I’ll just fatten them up and then eat them.” The chieftain laughed heartily, taking the plate of meat and fruit the man offered. “But I’m still a good chieftain.”
Artemisia also thought the clan chief was a good clan chief.
Artemisia has been associated with those who became "kings." For example, the empress who rose from the dead, the pope who wielded divine power, and the crown princess who ascended the throne…
She didn't know which path she would take.
Will she become a people-friendly empress, a pope who looks down on all living beings, or... a dictatorial empress?
Artemisia stood at the crossroads of choice. She saw the faces of these "kings," but she still didn't know if she should choose the same path. Because she wouldn't be as approachable as the Empress, nor as enigmatic as the Pope…
She would not allow men to live comfortably under her rule.
Artemisia knew of many cases where men became kings—but she was not a man, and she would not follow a similar path.
If she, a woman, were to rule and enslave the women of her domain... that would be rather ridiculous.
It would be more appropriate to make men slaves.
So the mugwort just stands here, diligently preparing for its departure.
She already knew where she was going—but she didn't know how to get there.
"I've set my sights on this," Ai Cao said softly. She stared at the bright campfire surrounded by dancing and singing women. "But I don't know which way to go."
"Then let's ignore it." The clan leader laughed and stood up, pulling Jiang Ai outside the women's dance circle.
Her relatives laughed and pulled her into the circle, dancing with her.
The mugwort's body and heart warmed up together.
The clan chief said loudly, "You go first. When you reach the end, you will naturally see a new path!"
Ai Cao suddenly realized. The veil that had been covering her eyes had been roughly torn away.
She responded loudly.
She and the women laughed loudly together. Their laughter mingled with the chieftain's song and drifted far, far away.
Ai Cao wiped away the tears that had flowed into her mouth, but as she wiped away the old ones, new ones welled up.
She asked the ball of light, "Why am I crying?"
After a long silence, the ball of light said, "It's Jiang Ai crying."
Artemisia continued to laugh loudly. Her tears fell into her mouth and were dried by the blazing campfire.
She affectionately embraced her past self, accepting that version of herself who was powerless but had already done enough.
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