The mountain has trees, and the trees have branches. The legacy of 103 is passed down.

  Three days later, the envoy of Chanyu returned from the territory of the Left Worthy King.

  "Shanyu," he asked curiously, "what did your father say to you?"

  These years, Modun's authority has grown heavier, and he has become increasingly mysterious. Although they were once close friends in their youth, he no longer dares to address him by name.

  Modun patted the golden dagger at his waist and smiled faintly, "You'll know in two days."

  On the last day of the gathering of the Xiongnu people in Longcheng, Modu announced to everyone that he would marry Temiruo, the young daughter of the Left Worthy King, as his queen in the eighth month when the horses are fat and strong.

  The stone shatters the sky.

  Modu Chanyu was thirty-three years old this year. In the king's account, there were many women. Counting the Han princess who was granted the title of Ningyuan just half a month ago, there were seven Yanzhi with titles in total. Although some were favored and others lost power, on the surface, they had never been excluded from their seats.

  Dà Jiàn Shì was the most noble of all the Jiàn Shì, equivalent to the legitimate wife of a Han Chinese.

  For years, Xubuti Mirola was the most spoiled and favored daughter of Zuo Gu Lei Wang Sun Wuhan. Her beauty and intelligence were renowned far and wide across the grasslands beyond the Great Wall, subtly surpassing even the fame of Hu Nu's number one beauty, Cuozhe Tian Shi Ge Shan Luo. But this autumn, she had just turned fifteen, while Qi Yu Wang Zi had secretly admired Mirola for many years, an open secret.

  The herdsmen were taken aback for a moment, then cheered and shouted in excitement.

  A beauty matches a hero, which is the most reasonable thing on the Huns' grassland.

  "The Khan," he lifted up the curtain of the royal tent with one hand and asked loudly, "What does this mean?"

  "Left Commander," Modu rebuked in a stern voice, "Is this how you should behave as a subject?"

  Under Modun's momentum, few people could continue speaking, but Qiu Ai Mei was anxious and still managed to say a sentence, "I don't agree to Ati marrying you."

  Modu gave him a cold glance, "However, the King of Zuogulü has already agreed."

  You are just her brother, not her father, and you have no right to make decisions about her marriage.

  "How," he suddenly sneered. "Or is it that Left Valley's Li Wang has other intentions and does not want to be loyal to the royal court?"

  "No." He broke out in a cold sweat, kneeling on one knee, with his left hand pressed to his chest. "The Left Luoli King's department is sworn to die for the Chanyu and has no second heart, heaven and earth can testify. However, he still did not want to see his sister enter the king's account, because Jichu was a good Chanyu, the lord that the Xiongnu people were willing to be loyal to, but absolutely not a good husband in the hearts of women."

  Whether A-Ti marries into the royal tent or not, the Left Worthy King's tribe will remain loyal to the Khan. But as a brother," he bowed deeply, "I don't want to see A-Ti cry."

  Modun's expression changed slightly.

  "Has Ati ever heard of the story of Ji Luo Yan?"

  On a quiet afternoon, she led the horse to wander aimlessly on the grassland outside Longcheng. It was as if it were years ago, and she swung her feet sitting on the horse's back, just like following her brother, they could walk to the end of the grassland.

  "Oh?" She raised her head. Removing the grass stem from her mouth, she smiled and said, "That Xiongnu's number one beauty?"

  He smiled and said, "Xiao Luoyan is already old. When she was young, even the white clouds were not as light and agile as her figure, and the red peony flowers were not as beautiful as her face. That year, Chanyu had just ascended to the throne, and the Xiongnu's power was great. He sent an envoy to ask for Touman's thousand-li horse. All the ministers said, "This is a precious horse of the Xiongnu, we cannot give it to them." But Chanyu said, "Why should I begrudge a neighboring country a single horse?" and so he gave the precious horse to the Xiongnu. After a while, the Xiongnu sent another envoy to ask for Xiao Luoyan. Everyone around him was furious, saying that the Xiongnu were without virtue, and asking for Xiao Luoyan! They asked Chanyu to attack them. But Chanyu said...

  "What country, friends, is this?" repeated Timandra in a low tone.

  He took his beloved wife, the Xiongnu queen, and gave her to the Eastern Hu. The king of the Eastern Hu became increasingly arrogant. The Eastern Hu sent an envoy to the Chanyu to demand the surrender of the Juti territory. Some officials said that this was a useless land, it could be given away or not, either way is fine. The Chanyu was furious and said: "Land is the foundation of a country, how can we give it away?" He executed those who suggested giving away the land. Then he launched a surprise attack on the Eastern Hu and destroyed them.

  She looked up with a smile, revealing her shallow dimples, "'The Art of War' by Sunzi says, 'Lure them with benefits, humble them with arrogance, attack where they are unprepared, and strike when they least expect it.' It's almost like that. Brother, I am also a Xiongnu person, how could I not have heard the story of the Chanyu?"

  "Yes," he said with a faint smile. "You must have heard the story. But do you know what happened to Qiu Lian afterwards?"

  "How?"

  "After the Chanyu destroyed the Xiongnu, he took back Zhelan. We Xiongnu people are not particularly concerned with women's chastity, let alone Zhelan being so beautiful. Ten months later, Zhelan had a difficult labor and lost a lot of blood. The shaman said that she might never be able to give birth again. Zhelan cried and begged the Chanyu, saying that it was indeed his child, but in the end, he did not keep the child."

  Tiemirouna shivered.

  "So, A Ti," he smiled into the wind, tossing the package into her arms, "you go back. Don't come to Wang Ting again, and don't think about all sorts of things in your head. If you can live a peaceful life on the grasslands for the rest of your days, that's good enough."

  He slapped the horse's back with force, and the horse ran in pain on the grassland. The girl on the horseback was suddenly busy, but which of the children on the grassland wasn't grown up on horseback? He didn't need to look to know that Ati would eventually hold onto the frightened horse.

  He turned his back and walked away, seeing the towering royal tent in the distance, and the words of Modu that day seemed to echo in his ears again, "Your sister is too clever, I don't feel at ease leaving her outside. Considering your face, I don't want to kill her either. So, it's only perfect if she stays inside the royal tent."

  A faint bitter smile, I'm just a brother who loves his little sister very much.

  "Drive on, drive on." The sound of horse hooves came from behind.

  He turned around and stared at his sister who was walking back and forth in a daze, "Didn't I tell you to leave?"

  Tiemirouna glared at him, her beautiful eyes flashing with anger, furious. "I'm leaving, what are you going to do, brother?"

  "I..." He was momentarily at a loss for words.

  She smiled with her lips bitten on the horse, softly saying, "Stupid brother, even if I returned to the tribe, Father would not help me like you do, let alone..." She lowered her voice, leaving only a sigh. "How could I possibly spend my whole life in peace and quiet?"

  "Go back, brother."

  The fine horse pawed the ground with its hooves and slowly galloped back towards Longcheng.

  A group of Xiongnu people came out from the city gate of Longcheng. The leader bowed from a distance, saying: "Left Commandant, sir."

  "The Khan has ordered that if you return alone, please go to the Lou Cang to stay for a few days, and our team will immediately pursue A Ti Yan Shi. If A Ti Yan Shi returns with you," he said with a smile, "you are free to do as you wish, and Yan Shi, please follow me to see the Khan."

  "What did you say to Chanyu?"

  In the darkness, Thimiro asked incessantly around the bonfire.

  "Xiao Bai, bite him." Atti was annoyed and gave a crisp order.

  Xiaoxue Lang let out a low growl and shot forward like an arrow, baring his sharp teeth.

  "Ah." He cursed with a smile, lifting the soft skin on the back of Xiao Bai's neck. "A beast is just a beast, and you don't even think about who won you back in that horse racing game."

  Suddenly, the sound of horseshoes was heard outside the tent, and a man jumped off his horse, shouting loudly, "Ati!" His voice choked. Who could it be if not Ji Zhou?

  He fell silent, hugged Xiaobai and said, "I'll go in first."

  "Arati, you go and have a good talk with him."

  Ati emerged from the tent, wearing a white fox fur coat, and saw Jiyu leading his horse outside. He was panting heavily, with sweat dripping from his forehead and hair.

  "I came back from outside in the evening and heard that you are going to marry my father. " Ji Zhou looked at the girl in front of him with a focused gaze, his young and bright eyes full of pleading, "This isn't true, is it?"

  Ati avoided his gaze.

  "Why?" asked Ji Zhou with a sense of grievance.

  "Congee." Ati said with a sigh. "What's the point of this, I've never liked you from the start."

  "So you like my father?"

  "There isn't." Timirouna shook her head. Bitterly, she said, "I've only seen him a few times, and I've always been afraid of him. But Kuihuo, he is our Khan, for the sake of the tribe, I cannot disobey his orders."

  "Then," said Ji Zhong, a glimmer of hope rising in his heart, "I'll go back and ask Father to reconsider."

  "Stop." Ati called out to him, "Do you think the Chanyu doesn't know what's in your heart? Since he still chose to do this, then even if you went, he wouldn't change his mind."

  "Moreover, I didn't say I was unwilling."

  "Why?" Ji Zhou was both angry and puzzled, "You clearly said you didn't like him."

  The sincerity of the young man in front of her moved Timirouna.

  "But 'kay'," Thimorona said after a moment of silence, "a long time ago, I liked a boy."

  "He's great. To this day, I firmly believe that there is no better boy in the world than him. He looks good, his career may not be the best, but he can easily support a family. His temperament is gentle, taking care of his family, loving to smile and being considerate of others, cooking well and willing to wash my hands and make soup for me every day. And I believe that if we end up together, he will never betray me, and we can grow old together hand in hand. The people around us all say that if you miss out on such a good boy, you'll definitely regret it..."

  Would there be such a man on the grassland? Ji Zhong was puzzled. The men of Xiongnu were all walking like a gust of wind, they were born on horseback and died on horseback, what they revered most were brave warriors, and would never be bothered with trivial matters between men and women.

  Under the moonlight, Ati seemed to be lost in sweet memories, unable to help but smile, with an expression so sincere that it couldn't be faked. A small dimple on her right cheek was faintly visible, and a wave of despair surged up in my heart.

  She must have loved the man in her mouth very much to have such a gentle expression.

  "But," Tiamat's face suddenly turned stern, "I was with him, and yet I couldn't truly be happy."

  "So, it's just porridge," she said, "What I wanted was never emotions."

  "What do you want?"

  "I want," she said, wandering through the moonlit land, where tall grass grew between the tents, exuding a damp mist, "I want the Xiongnu people to live on this prairie for generations to come, passing it down. I want that after thousands of years, there will still be someone who can proudly say, 'I am Xiongnu,' and take pride in it. I don't want the Xiongnu to exist only as a personal heroic legend, but when the hero is gone, quickly disintegrate and gradually weaken. I don't want later generations to only be able to glimpse the Xiongnu through Han historical records, and all our glory to disappear into time."

  With a stern expression, he stuttered and said, "But we can only take care of things before birth. After a hundred years, who will be able to see?"

  Ati suddenly smiled, "Maybe." She said with a smile, "But if we don't try anything, who knows what's impossible?"

  "But I need your father's support. So, I agreed to marry him."

  "Arty," Kui Yu was like a desperate person grasping at a straw, "if you just want the position of Da Yuezhi, wait until I grow up and replace my father as the Chanyu, I can also give it to you. I can support you, do everything you want to do."

  "What a pity," Tymiriona closed her eyes, "we don't have that much time."

  "Your meaning is," for a moment, a rebellious thought flashed in his mind, but he immediately extinguished the spark. His father was an insurmountable mountain in his heart, and for so many years, like his subjects, he could only look up to him with reverence, not daring to show any disrespect.

  "How is it possible?" Timirouna lost her smile. "I hope the Xiongnu will be strong, and I don't want him to be worn out by internal strife."

  "Kui zhou." She said with a bow, "In my heart, you are still a child." Couldn't help but mock herself with a smile, "Perhaps in your father's heart, I am also just a child. We both need to grow up quickly, you need to learn from your father, and become a hero who stands tall and upright."

  "Does Ardy like heroes?"

  "Yes." She nodded her head, "I like heroes."

  He gazed at the girl in front of him, with the moon casting a soft glow on her eyebrows and eyes. So close, yet not beauty he could grasp. He wanted to cry, wanted to shout loudly, wanted to sing passionately.

  But at this moment, there was a place in his heart that was actually calm.

  That day, he returned from hunting outside the city and was shocked by the news. He felt indignant and wronged, as if the whole world had wronged him. But in Timir's gentle yet distant words, he suddenly subsided, realizing that his indignation was so small. Compared to her, all these years, he was just a child who didn't deserve a mention.

  Because the Huns are just a subplot in my design, there is less ink involved with the Huns. I originally thought that today would be able to finish it off. As a result, the word count exploded and still left a small tail. The remaining Huns affairs should not be enough for one chapter, so tomorrow can return to the story of the Great Han. Should be.

  Cough, hope this chapter won't offend some people.

  However, if you pay attention, you should be able to find that I have laid some foreshadowing about this development.

  In the previous book "Golden House", the two female leads, A Jiao and Liu Ling, had an intimate friendship. So in this book, I wanted to try a confrontational relationship. Because if only one side has the ability to cross over and get rich, I think it's unfair to the other side. Now that they're on equal footing, my blood is boiling with excitement.

  Okay, I actually just wanted to write about a confrontation between two queens of different countries.

  Let me reiterate, A-Ti is a Xiongnu person, whether in the past or future. He is also a Mongolian-blooded grassland person, a genuine nomadic people, and his heart yearns for this kind of rough and simple life of drinking heavily and eating meat, following water and grass to live. So, absolutely, it's impossible to talk about being a traitor.

  Past life and future generations? The impression she gave will probably affect her relationship with Han a bit.

  The man Ati and Jiu Zhou mentioned, can everyone guess who it is?

  Although I don't say that Pink Ticket is more, every chapter has enough three thousand words, and today's chapter is full of four thousand. In terms of word count, it should not lose to anyone.

  If there's still a pink ticket left, would you support me with one?