Chapter 1246: Listening at the Wall

Sure enough, when he snuck over to crouch at the base of the wall, the people inside the courtyard had already begun to speak.

"Leader, how are you living now? Is it good? Is Huaxia treating you poorly, restricting you, or bullying you?"

Chengqie showed them his clothes: "Look at you all, look at this outfit of mine, a lambskin robe." He then unfastened his robe and tugged at the lining he was wearing underneath, ignoring the crackling of static electricity: "Look at this, it's Silk. You've seen Silk, but have you ever worn Silk clothing?"

"The Xuanyuan Tribe guards Silk so tightly, treats it as so important; our Suiren Clan can only use Silk for sacrifices. Look at me now, I can just wear Silk as clothing."

Chengqie pointed to his younger brothers and sisters: "Look at them, they are all dressed just like me. The clothes were made by the people of Huaxia after measuring their bodies; they are extremely well-fitted. Can our Suiren Clan have anything like this?"

"Look at yourselves, what are you wearing?"

The Leaders tugged at their own clothes. Now that the weather was cold, they had all put on animal skin garments. After simple cutting, the various hides were sewn together using bone needles and very thick hemp rope. If the hides hadn't been thick enough and the fur long enough, the traces of the rope stitching would have been visible from several meters away. Furthermore, they were extremely ill-fitting because there was no such thing as good tailoring technology.

The clothes were basically as big as the animal skins were. The Leaders were slightly better off; if the skin wasn't enough, they could cut a bit more and sew it on. But overall, they were still loose and baggy, extremely ill-fitting, not to mention the issue of length. The style of clothing at this time was basically whatever was convenient and simple. If they hadn't just poked three holes in a hide and put it on, that was already considered quite good.

"Don't worry about whether I'm living well or not. I'm living very well. I couldn't even live this well back in the Suiren Clan. I have no worries about food or drink, and I can use the best of everything. My younger brothers and sisters are the same."

"In all of Huaxia, no one dares to bully us. But what about you? Now that they have left, tell me, what exactly did you come here for? Did my father entrust you with something, some relatively secret matter?"

Pen didn't know what to say either, because Chengqie was living so well now, so what could they do? For a moment, they couldn't even open their mouths.

"Pen! I'm asking you a question, speak up! Has cow dung clogged your throat?"

Chengqie was not polite at all, scaring all the Leaders into lowering their heads. They had caused trouble the moment they arrived, and now was exactly the time when they were in the wrong.

"Leader, this, this, it's just that the Tribal Chief said, after we arrived in Huaxia, we should come and see you, see if you are living well. If Huaxia is treating you poorly, then our joining Huaxia will have to be reconsidered."

"If you are being bullied, we might even attack Huaxia again..."

The official at the base of the wall was dumbfounded. This, how could it be like this? What was Baoxi thinking? How could Huaxia possibly treat Chengqie poorly? This was something one could figure out with their toes. Baoxi had already sent so many things, given everything that should be given, and even built him a house; how could he possibly be lacking anything for his son?

Chengqie was also confused by this question, because his father had long been clear about what Huaxia was like. It was his father who believed that once he reached Huaxia, his life would be better, and it was for his own future that he was specifically sent to Huaxia to learn. How could he suddenly feel that his life would not be good?

However, after a moment of thought, Chengqie understood what his father was thinking, so he asked: "Pen, do you not like Huaxia? Do you not want the Suiren Clan to join Huaxia?"

Pen did not hesitate at all and clearly stated: "That's right, Leader Chengqie. Our Suiren Clan is so powerful, such a large tribe, and we are the Suiren Clan after all. How can we join a tribe like Huaxia that has no ancestors? This is, this is disrespectful to our ancestors and gods!"

Chengqie asked the others: "Do you all think the same? Is that it?"

There were not many people who answered yes, which was a bit beyond Chengqie's expectations, because he thought everyone here was unwilling to join Huaxia. But since most people did not answer, it showed that they were not that resistant to this matter. Even if they were not enthusiastic, they certainly would not oppose it.

"What about those who aren't speaking? What are your thoughts? Do you want to join Huaxia, or do you not want to?"

Someone else came outside the courtyard. It was a person from the Ministry of Rites. Seeing a colleague crouching in the corner, he was very curious: "Hey, you..."

The one crouching at the base of the wall hurriedly raised a hand, made a 'shh' gesture to signal him to be quiet, and then hurriedly beckoned for him to come over.

After the newcomer crouched down, he pointed inside the courtyard with a puzzled expression. The other person didn't speak, just signaled for him to listen.

"Why is no one speaking? What, have you all eaten cow dung? Why don't you answer when I ask a question?"

Chengqie had actually heard the sound outside just now, and his younger brothers and sisters had even turned their heads, but Chengqie had roughly guessed it, so he didn't bother. It was better for the people of Huaxia to know about such things; it would be best if it could reach Baifeng's ears directly.

He himself was one hundred percent supportive of Huaxia and supported the Suiren Clan joining Huaxia. However, his clansmen did not all have a unified opinion. By lecturing them like this and telling them what they should do, he could also demonstrate his loyalty, which was even better.

The questioned Leaders found it hard to answer because they still couldn't fully determine Chengqie's position, or which side he was on. However, based on what they had encountered on the road and Leader Chengqie's attitude toward Huaxia, they felt that Chengqie was likely on Huaxia's side.

But apart from showing off his wealth, Chengqie hadn't said anything absolutely definitive. Was he willing to join or not? The probability was high that he was willing, but what if they happened to hit that small probability? If they said joining Huaxia was good, wouldn't that be slapping Chengqie in the face?

Not to mention what would happen after returning to the Suiren Clan, they probably wouldn't have a good outcome right now. How was this any different from being a traitor?

Therefore, although those die-hards were infuriating—and made Chengqie angry—there was indeed nothing wrong with them. Loving one's own tribe could never be wrong; it was just that their stance was wrong, their choice was wrong. Could he punish them for this? He couldn't; it would hurt everyone's hearts.

Baoxi also knew about this situation, and he was unwilling to hurt these people either, so he was currently just screening them. The die-hards would definitely be his powerful assistants in the future.