Adolf sat comfortably in a big chair, holding a large wine glass in his right hand.

The cup is a good one, carved and polished from snow rhino horn from the Tianjuan Ice Field. It is said to make the wine more mellow.

The wine was of course good, but Adolf had no time to drink it yet, because his eyes had long been firmly attracted by a pile of snow-white and smooth...

It was not until the music stopped and the dancers bowed and left that Adolf reluctantly withdrew his gaze. Seeing this, the middle-aged man sitting in the guest seat quickly stood up and asked with a flattering smile, "Your Highness, King Xiaoyao, are you satisfied with these girls?"

"Satisfied, of course I am." Adolf laughed, "But I am more satisfied with your performance, Gareth."

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness." The middle-aged man called Gareth showed a flash of joy on his face and thanked him softly.

"I am telling the truth. By the way, I heard that your brother came back last night?" Adolf asked, shaking the wine glass in his hand.

"Yes, Childe came back quietly last night, looking very embarrassed." Garrus replied quickly.

"Embarrassed? Oh, that's unbelievable. Duke Childe has always been domineering. What's going on?" Adolf asked with raised eyebrows.

"Two things, each of which is not insignificant." Garrus glanced left and right and lowered his voice. "The first thing is that Hatra was said to have been defeated in the war, and the second thing is that the ransom was stolen."

"Defeated? Isn't Hatra the best of your Avram family? Armenia has high walls and strong cities, and they have so many troops, how could they be defeated?" Adolf raised his eyebrows.

"The news has not been finalized, but it should be a defeat. Otherwise, the Assyrians would not have rejected it directly. And the ransom was stolen, which is also true." Garrus couldn't help but sighed, "We were discussing these things today. I am not welcome in the family and I am not qualified to participate."

"So you come to me to seek my favor, right?" Adolf asked with a smile.

Gareth nodded quickly: "Ever since I received your advice last time, Your Highness the King of Free and Easy, I have made up my mind to follow the King of Free and Easy from now on."

Adolf nodded slightly: "Okay, I like people like you. Although you are not very smart, you are obedient."

"Thank you, His Royal Highness King Xiaoyao, for the compliment." Gareth bowed again.

"You should go back first and hide it. After all, your Avram family has always regarded me as an enemy. It would be bad if someone with ulterior motives saw you. I will accept all the dancing girls you brought with me. Don't worry. From now on, you belong to me."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Gareth was overjoyed and could not help but bow again. Just as he was about to say some more words to express his loyalty, he saw a majestic man in butler's clothes hurried in. After glancing at Gareth, he whispered something in Adolf's ear.

After listening, Adolf nodded slightly, said nothing, just waved his hand and sent the man away.

Seeing this, Gareth, who was standing by, suddenly became a little nervous.

Adolf could see Gallese's uneasiness: "Don't panic, it has nothing to do with you. His Majesty sent someone to summon me to the palace to discuss matters."

Going to the palace to discuss matters? Garrus was stunned for a moment, then quickly bowed: "The King of Xiaoyao is a pillar of the country..."

"Forget it, let's not talk about these unnecessary words." Adolf smiled and waved his hand, interrupting Gareth's words.

…

After listening to the interrogation of a deputy general of the Hatra army, Wu Lai went to the place where Hatra was imprisoned to check on the poor guy. When he saw him coming, Meng Bao, who he had appointed as a guard, stood up from the door, shook his head, and licked Wu Lai's shoulder affectionately with his tongue.

"My lovely baby." Wu Lai looked aggrieved. "I just changed my clothes, and you made them so wet again."

As if he understood Wu Lai's words, Meng Bao's eyes lit up and he licked it again.

Wu Lai quickly pushed Meng Bao away, but Meng Bao would never listen to him. The man and the mastiff were still making a scene, and two medical officers had already heard the news and rushed over: "Meet the Lord."

"No need to be polite." Wu Lai smiled and waved his hand, pointing at Hartla who was covered in bandages in the room and asked, "How is he doing?"

"His injuries are serious. We cleared out the pus and blood, cut off some of the rotten flesh, and sewed up the wounds. But he is too weak, so we are not sure how many days he can hold on." said the leading medical officer.

Wu Lai frowned: "No, you must find a way to keep him alive, he is very important."

"Lord, we will do our best." The two medical officers quickly expressed their opinions.

Wu Lai nodded: "Change his dressing in time and check his temperature at any time. If he has a fever, find a way to reduce his temperature immediately, such as finding some wine to clean his skin, but remember not to let the wine touch the wound."

"Okay, we've made note of that," the two medical officers replied.

Wu Lai asked some more questions about the supply of medicinal materials and beds. As he was asking, a signalman ran over quickly, stood at attention and saluted, then reported loudly: "Report to the lord, Division Commanders Pompey, Isaac and Puteng are making a fuss and cannot be persuaded. Division Commanders Bailey, Sarres and Oddo, please go and give them a lecture."

"Making a fuss? What kind of a fuss?" Wu Lai frowned.

The signalman hesitated for a moment and replied, "Sir, the fighting has begun."

"Did they fight? Was it a group fight or a one-on-one fight? Did they use any weapons?" Wu Lai scratched his chin.

"Report, first Commander Pompey and Commander Putang were fighting alone. When I arrived, Commander Pompey had already lost. Then Commander Isaac fought alone with Commander Putang. They used fists and feet, not weapons." The signalman answered loudly.

They must be arguing about who will be the last to enter the city. Wu Lai thought about it, sighed softly, and waved his hand: "Let's go and take a look."

…

No one could have imagined that Helen would choose the back garden of the palace as the meeting place. She even arranged wine, meat, vegetables and fruits. Even her own seat was no longer high up, but she sat together with the summoned ministers.

In fact, not many people came. In addition to the free and easy king Adolf and Child, there was also the second-in-command of the Petra family, Puwa, who was in charge of Petra's treasury, and Hatra's uncle, Mantes, the current head of the Avram family, who insisted on resigning the title of king at the beginning of the establishment of Tianjuan.

In a sense, this is a gathering of the three major Tianjuan families.

After everyone was seated, the maids started to get busy, pouring wine, cutting meat, peeling melons and chopping fruits, with a faint fragrance in the air. They were very attentive in their service.

Helen raised her glass and said, "I have been feeling very sad these past two days, and you are all my friends, so I have called you all here to have a few drinks and discuss some things."

Mantes nodded and picked up the cup as well: "Your Majesty, please give me your orders. I may not be able to solve your worries, but my loyalty is known to all."

After saying that, he glanced at Adolf, and his eyes met Adolf's. Adolf's mouth curled up slightly, but he did not touch the wine glass. Instead, he bowed slightly and said, "Your Majesty, I have been feeling unwell recently. I have stopped drinking this wine according to the doctor's advice. So, I'm sorry that I can't accompany you."

Childe on the side frowned immediately and clenched his right fist. Unexpectedly, another hand reached out and gently pressed the back of his hand.

Childe glanced subconsciously and saw Pua looking at him. He was startled but forced himself to suppress his anger.

"You don't have to drink if you're not feeling well." Helen nodded. "I won't force you. Come, those who can drink, drink with me." After that, she tilted her head back and poured out the wine in the cup. Without even waiting for the maid to come over, she grabbed the wine jug and refilled the cup.

Seeing her like this, Puwa and the others also drank the wine. They did not dare to be arrogant. They grabbed the wine jug in front of them and refilled their glasses. However, Adolf seemed not to see it. He grabbed a piece of roasted lamb ribs and ate it with relish.

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After glancing at Adolf, Helen raised her glass again: "This glass is for the soldiers who died in Armenia."

"Death?! Your Majesty, could it be that Menia..." Adolf's hands trembled, and he looked at Helen in surprise.

Seeing Adolf's expression, Helen's eyes immediately flashed with doubt. After examining Adolf again, her face darkened and she nodded slowly: "I have received accurate news. Menia has fallen and the Hatra army has been defeated."

"Oh my goodness..." Adolf sighed heavily.

"Your Majesty, please give me your orders." Mantes also frowned. It was true that the defeat of Hatra was a huge loss to the Tianjuan Empire, but at most it shook the foundation of the Tianjuan Empire. It would recover after a few years of rest and recuperation. However, the blow to the Avram family was devastating. To put it mildly, the confidence of the second Tianjuan family was lost.

"It's not really an order. I guess the Assyrian army will not kill all the Hatra soldiers, so I want to rescue them as soon as possible." Helen said.

Mantes immediately stood up and saluted: "On behalf of the Avram family, I thank your Majesty for his grace."

The head of the family stood up and saluted, so Childe naturally did not dare to be negligent. He also saluted and thanked him, then glanced at Adolf.

After meeting Childe's eyes, Adolf slowly stood up, bowed and said, "Your Majesty is kind and gracious. I am willing to obey your orders."

"Good, great. What I would like to see most is that everyone can work together." Helen raised a smile...

…

In the evening, Adolf returned to his mansion.

After sitting down in the living room, Adolf took the hot towel handed to him by the housekeeper and wiped his face. After a moment of hesitation, he waved his hand and said, "Go, call the fourth and seventh brothers."

The fourth and seventh brothers Adolf mentioned were his two biological brothers. The fourth brother was named Grand and the seventh brother was named Ivan. Although Adolf had many brothers and sisters, these two were the only ones born to the same mother. Adolf had always relied on and trusted them the most, and he brought them with him when he left Tianjuan to come to Hulit to seek a job.

After a while, Grand and Ivan arrived.

After the two sat down, Ivan asked first: "Brother, how is the situation?"

Adolf laughed. "What else can we do? Just as we expected, Helen Petra wants to pull our Hitt family into her inner circle and make us follow the example of the Avram family, obey her, and serve her."

Grand thought for a moment and asked, "Brother, do you have an idea?"

"Of course, I was a little hesitant at first. Humph, this Helen Petra is too ungrateful. The Avram family is like this, and the court is like this, and they even want our Hitt family to be a foil. Then I won't be polite." Adolf smiled coldly, "Fourth and Seventh Brothers, call our people quietly."

"Okay, big brother. Everything is ready. We're just waiting for your order." Gran and Ivan looked at each other and replied with a smile.

At the same time, Mantes and Child, who had just returned to the mansion to rest, were also talking.

"Master, I still don't understand why you don't let me tell you about the three million gold coins?" Child asked.

Mantes sighed and waved his hands, "It's meaningless to say it. The one who switched the items must be that bastard Adolf. But you also said that His Majesty watched you count the items, and you can't find sufficient evidence to prove it. Besides, the current situation is not favorable to our Avram family. If we choose to break up with the Hitt family at this time, His Majesty will be in trouble. You should be able to see today that His Majesty is very thoughtful. Alas, if Your Majesty and Hatra had not been defeated by that Wuleglindo, our two major families would not need to win over the Hitt family."

"Master, we all know Adolf's character. Bringing him in is like raising a tiger to harm yourself. We should find an opportunity to remind His Majesty." Childe said worriedly.

"Do you think Her Majesty doesn't know what kind of person Adolf is? She has no choice but to do this." Mantes sighed softly and continued, "Her Majesty is young and energetic, otherwise, she wouldn't have suffered setbacks one after another. But it's okay, at least I think she is much more mature now, at least, she can swallow her anger."

"Master, are you referring to what Your Majesty said today about signing a peace agreement with Assyria?" Child asked.

Mantes waved his hand and said, "Of course it's not just this matter. The ceasefire, recuperation, and winning over Adolf are all signs of maturity. In the past few years, Your Majesty has benefited from and also been constrained by his stubbornness. It's not too late to understand now."

"Then why did Puva appear?" Childe frowned. Puva was the second-in-command of the Petra family. He had always lived a secluded life. Apart from being in charge of the treasury, he had never been heard of holding any other duties. It was quite unusual that he also appeared at the banquet today.

"That's your majesty's intention. Let's not bother guessing. The most important thing right now is the three million gold coins. Although your majesty didn't say it, you have to return the money as per the rules since your mission failed. The family will pay for you, but you have to take responsibility and learn a lesson." Mantes glanced at Childe and said, "I've also made up my mind. Regardless of whether Hatra can come back or not, I will ask your majesty for the title of the unparalleled king."

Childe was surprised, thought for a moment, and nodded slowly...