Chapter 132: Ants?

Weini ignored everyone around him; his eyes only had the Great King standing by the creek ahead. Under the gaze of all, he huffed and puffed as he rushed over, and upon reaching near the Great King he collapsed directly onto the ground, letting out a heavy sigh—finally arrived, exhausted to death, bear!

The Great King proudly walked over and rubbed its big head, saying, "Truly promising! This afternoon's hunt must also be performed well, to show them the strength of the King of You's residence!"

Weini, upon hearing that he still had to perform this afternoon?

It struggled to turn over, flipping its head out of the Great King's palm, and lay on the beach, withdrawing into itself, which caused Wei Shen to burst out laughing.

The few people over there who were setting up a tent for the Marquis of Eastern Capital finally managed to pull their gaze away from White Marsh...

Unlike Weini's sorry state, the White Marsh following behind walked over with elegant steps, and wherever it passed, people lowered their voices.

The only thought in my mind: what the heck is this? Why do I feel I should lower my head when it looks at me? Is it an illusion?

White Marsh stared at the Marquis of Eastern Capital for two glances, then shifted its gaze to glance at the few people nearby; that look was not that of an animal or a beast, but like that of a superior. Being inspected by it made people instinctively avert their eyes.

After White Marsh finished looking, it leisurely continued toward the Great King; Liang He coughed twice before regaining his voice. He whispered, "What is that? Why does it feel… sinister? And why does it still have a horn?"

The Marquis of Eastern Capital shook his head, saying, "We don't know many animals. But… it's not sinister; it's the gaze one has when looking at ants." This reminded him… of the Former Emperor he had seen as a child.

That kind of lofty attitude, glancing sideways as if looking at a little trinket. The one now seated in Perpetual Peace doesn't have such a gaze; thinking of this, he turned his eyes toward the creek where the Great King chased the bear, insisting on rubbing its head.

At such a young age, he actually lets people not see his true thoughts.

Ge Zhong snapped upon hearing it, "It would be better if it were sinister!"

The more thoughtful Wu Jian also lowered his voice, saying, "Did the King of You introduce that youth beside him as Wei Shen? Could it be from his mother's family?"

The Marquis of Eastern Capital chuckled, saying, "Otherwise? The King of You is truly interesting, and don't just look at Wide Mausoleum and Pleasant Sun currently fighting back and forth in an orderly manner; think carefully and they're not stronger than what we have before us. They already have a hundred thousand Southwest Army watching over each other. The Wei Family's troops are twice ours, and the Western Regions have been fairly honest these past two years, letting the Southwest Army have a breather, basically no longer lacking."

Ge Zhong snapped, "Facing the same strong enemy, Upper Valley Pass stockpiles fifty thousand, while the Southwest gets one hundred thousand! The old emperor is too partial to his father-in-law."

Wu Jian didn't bother arguing with him, saying it sounded like that person was still whatever sentimental sort. Upper Valley Pass used to have one hundred thousand too—this wasn't it because the former commanding general was defeated and wiped out, right? He cared more about the Marquis of Eastern Capital's evaluation of the King of You: "How's the situation in Secluded Prefecture? Does he have any hope? After all, the Wei Family is too far away; we in the Northern Border barely manage to eat, and he's still young……"

The Marquis of Eastern Capital slightly shook his head toward the Great King, saying, "Look carefully. Look carefully at his personal guard, look at the tent he uses, look at the pet he keeps—do you still think he's a child with nothing at all?"

What's there to fear from afar? In this day and age, holding troops is the true way.

No matter who wins in the future, at the very least he'll weigh his options when he wants to move against Secluded Prefecture. This is also why he lost three thousand people and yet voluntarily arranged a hunt with the King of You.

………………New chapter………………

………………New chapter………………

………………New chapter………………

As soon as the Marquis of Eastern Capital said that, everyone, while working, glanced at the King of You playing by the riverbank.

After a moment, Liang He spoke first, "That tent really looks not bad. The King of You and that Wei-surnamed youth seem to have a good relationship; it appears he's close to his maternal clan."

The Marquis of Eastern Capital snorted, "I said earlier, the Wei-surnamed wouldn't just abandon his own grandson here, leaving him isolated and helpless. Marquis Wei Ting had three sons and only one daughter; the eldest son died in battle, the youngest is still small, so that youth is likely the son of Marquis Wei Ting's heir apparent. It's perfect—if someone older disappeared from the Southwest, it would draw attention, but being this big and still without a post is just right."

"The King of You just brought him out like that? We already knew that," asked the sole honest person, Ge Zhong, his soul questioning.

"Are you going to report him?" They brought him here precisely because they're not afraid of us knowing—this isn't just a hint, no, it's a clear indication.

"……I'm just idle?"

"That's not trivial."

Ge Zhong stopped worrying about useless things, turned his head, and began drooling over their tent—such a small pack, when opened could support such a big tent; looks like it could hold quite a few people!

After drooling over the tent, he then eyed White Marsh with envy, "Tsk tsk, this kid of the King of You isn't honest either—just that white head, his appearance alone is auspicious enough, yet he hasn't offered it to his father…" They're in the relatively relaxed environment of the Northern Border; this guy's mouth has no filter. Liang He glared at him, signaling him to lower his voice so they wouldn't hear and be embarrassed.

The idle Marquis of Eastern Capital, the only one with nothing to do sitting aside, was discreetly sizing up the Eagle Riders.

He noticed something interesting: the horses of the same model as his, the Wei-surnamed attendant beside the King of You and a middle-aged person were riding them, and even the personal guard had a silly big guy riding, mixed in with some ordinary steppe horses, and everyone still seemed to be doing fine? Moreover, these people had bows and arrows on their backs, and curved blades hung at their waists?

Isn't that the weapon favored on the steppe?

Moreover, these soldiers' armor looks fairly new but lacks the sheen that new iron armor has, and wearing it doesn't feel heavy. Either these people have trained to a certain level, or this simply isn't iron armor.

He felt that his own people and horses looked more tired than the other side's—no reason the horses would also be trained?

The Great King wasn't working either, busily massaging Weini's tired fat legs; the Marquis of Eastern Capital swayed over, and the two started chatting.

Hearing that the Marquis of Eastern Capital was curious about his curved blade, the Great King summoned someone nearby, took his sidearm over, and showed it to the Marquis.

"Don't hide it, General, when I first arrived in Youzhou I encountered a slave-capturing squad heading south outside the city; they all wielded curved blades, swinging and heads rolling, which frightened me so I couldn't eat or sleep. Later I heard that on horseback a curved blade is most effortless, not catching on the bone and easy to swing. Since it's useful, we should have them too—next time we go south on the steppe we'll clash curved blades!"

The Marquis of Eastern Capital laughed at those words, "Childish! But your blade is really good…"

The Great King waved his hand dismissively, "Eh, bought at great expense. Last year's tribute wasn't paid, nor this year's; bought horses and bought blades. I have no choice—staying in the Northern Border, food and clothing may be poor, but the blade must be good. I just want to stay alive, that's all."

Smart people communicate well; hearing the strings and songs, they understand the refined meaning.

I have no interest in meddling in any internal strife; I just want to live well in Youzhou.