Fan Xian looked at her, unable to utter a single word. He finally began to understand a principle of the world: perhaps everything was predestined. The events of the past were all interconnected. Duo Duo's background seemed bizarre, but upon reflection, it was merely a thought that Master Ku He had idly entertained decades ago. However, that one thought had drifted into the future, landing before him, on this prairie before him.

There was no need to consider why Haitang was able to convince the northern tribes' people that she was a princess, no need to consider how she had accomplished this two years ago. Since Master Ku He had thrown out this variable before his death, he had naturally prepared for it long ago – Ku He had deceived his elder brother, leaving behind a bloodline of the Khalkha royal court. How could he not have left behind some tokens or other things?

The key was...

"Your parents...?" Fan Xian looked at Haitang's rarely seen bewildered face and asked softly.

Haitang remained still, hugging her knees, but she felt the man's affection. He didn't ask about the matters on the prairie, didn't press her, but thought of what she cared about most at the first moment.

"They passed away when I was very young." The girl's face under the hat looked a little desolate.

Fan Xian didn't continue to ask about this question. As for Haitang's parents, how that last pair of Khalkha nobles had left this world, whether Ku He had secretly made a move, it no longer mattered. Presumably, Haitang wouldn't want to associate her teacher with that kind of role, but she must have some guesses in her heart.

"Master told me these words before his death and let me choose what I should do." Haitang looked at the ducks on the lake, her brows gradually furrowing together. For some reason, those ducks no longer played in the twilight, but fearfully hid in the sparse weeds by the lake.

"Your choice was to follow his advice, return to the tribe, and then come to the prairie." Fan Xian thought with his head lowered. Song Zhi was the royal surname of Khalkha, but this tribe had been slaughtered by Marshal Zhan Qingfeng decades ago, so no one in the world thought that the name Song Zhi Xian Ling had anything to do with the Hu people. A trace of pity flashed in his eyes as he looked at Haitang and said, "If you want to avenge your mother's clan, you should also take revenge on Northern Qi. Why target our Great Qing?"

"Revenge? I rarely think about these things from decades ago." Haitang smoothed the strands of hair that peeked out from under her hat and glanced at Fan Xian. She said softly, "Just like you, we all know that hatred is often something that can't be washed away. I just went to see how the people who share my roots are living... Anzhi, the Hu people are actually people too. They also have the right to survive. On this southward migration of thousands of miles, I don't know how many people died along the way. The women and children in the tribe, shouldn't they live on?"

"As for Great Qi..." She lowered her head and smiled self-deprecatingly, "Although Master revealed my background, he gave me the Heavenly One Dao. I am still the Holy Maiden of Great Qi. If I really wanted to harm Great Qi, why would I have to run to the prairie?"

"I just want these people in the tribes to have a stable country to live in." Haitang stared into Fan Xian's eyes. "So I want to help Subida unify the prairie, end the endless infighting within the prairie, and bring peace to this prairie."

"Peace?" Fan Xian's voice suddenly turned cold. "The unification and peace of the prairie will inevitably lead to a full-scale war with Great Qing in the future. Is this the future you desire?"

"I will restrain Subida." Haitang lowered her head.

"Naive." Fan Xian said softly, the tone in his words very much like the ridicule Li Hongcheng had used to rebuke him in Dingzhou City. "The ambition of a monarch can never be restrained by you or me."

"Then what do you say I should do? Should I just watch as the Qing army gradually invades westward, eventually occupying the entire Great Prairie and slaughtering the Hu people?" Haitang's brows furrowed together. "Everyone has the right to survive. Do you still think that the lives of the Hu people and the Central Plains people are different in value?"

"The value is naturally different. The life of someone close to me is naturally precious." Fan Xian did not back down and said, "You only think about how the Hu people can survive. Have you ever thought about the soldiers and civilians of my Qing Kingdom on the Western Liang Road? On the way west, I don't know how many houses I saw burned and women and children killed."

"If this is the peace you want, then I will destroy it all." Fan Xian narrowed his eyes and stared at Haitang's face. "This is a hatred that has been built up over thousands of years. Our generation has no way to eliminate it... You stand on the position of the prairie royal court, so you naturally hope that Qing Kingdom will retreat, but I stand on the position of Qing Kingdom, so I naturally hope that the prairie will continue to be in chaos."

Haitang stood up and looked at Fan Xian with a slight raise of her head. "You have been on the prairie for more than ten days. You must have found out some things. Then why don't you go back and wait for me here?"

"I want to confirm the role you are playing." Fan Xian's face was a little pale. "Perhaps you haven't even thought about it yourself, but you still see yourself as a citizen of Northern Qi and don't see yourself as a princess of Khalkha at all. Beautifully put, you are looking for a space for survival for the prairie, but in reality... it is for the rear security of Northern Qi, to hold back the steps of my emperor father."

Without waiting for Haitang to speak, Fan Xian raised his eyebrows and stopped her from speaking. "This is a subconscious behavior... Speaking of this, I have to admire Master Ku He."

He looked at Haitang with pity. "You are the Holy Maiden, you are the most outstanding figure in the Heavenly One Dao since Ku He, but your life, like mine, seems to be controlled by a figure high above. Every step of your choice is within his calculations. Whether it is active or passive, Ku He is using you to preserve his Great Qi Dynasty."

Ku He had raised Haitang for nearly twenty years and knew his female disciple too well. He had already calculated clearly Haitang's decision after knowing her background. He knew that no matter how Haitang chose her path, she would follow his arrangement and give Qing Kingdom a painful blow.

Haitang's face became more and more desolate. Assisting Shanyu Subida on the prairie for the past two years had really exhausted her too much. Today, on the lakeside, Fan Xian directly exposed the thoughts hidden under her fur robe, the thoughts that she herself was avoiding, making her realize...

"We are not saints. We simply cannot put the people of the world in an equal position. If you say I am insidious, then you are actually selfish." Fan Xian said with a slight mockery, "You use the lives of the Western Hu people to delay the pace of my Great Qing's iron cavalry, which is beneficial to Northern Qi, but have you ever thought about... do these people on the prairie really need a powerful royal court, need to march eastward?"

"Ku He is really powerful." Fan Xian closed his eyes and said slowly, "Although he was ultimately defeated by His Majesty, even after his death, he has brought so much trouble to my Great Qing... I have to say, the Zhan brothers are really the most outstanding figures in the world."

Emperor Qing had fought in the north and south all his life and rarely suffered a defeat. The only complete defeat was when he was miserably defeated by Marshal Zhan Qingfeng of the Great Wei Dynasty.

Unexpectedly, decades after Zhan Qingfeng's death, Ku He, before his death, buried a landmine on the west side of Qing Kingdom.

"You know I'm not that kind of person." Haitang didn't get angry and stood quietly beside Fan Xian. "It's just that among many choices, I chose the best path for the prairie and for Great Qi."

Of course, Fan Xian knew that Haitang was not that kind of person, but he deliberately wanted to anger her. At this time, his eyes gradually turned cold. "Then what about me?"

Haitang turned her head and glanced at him. "You said before that we are not saints and cannot consider all the people in the world in an equal position. Now that your Southern Qing is pointing its sword at the world, and Northern Qi and Dongyi are both in turmoil... If you expect me to consider the interests of Southern Qing, isn't that a bit absurd?"

"Absurd?" Fan Xian stared into Haitang's eyes, as if wanting to see the deepest part of the girl's heart. He said quietly, "A few years ago, in the restaurant in Shangjing City, I, as the director of the Southern Qing Overwatch Council, reached that agreement with you. Isn't that also absurd?"

He laughed self-deprecatingly. "That's right, I am originally a noble of Southern Qing, but I have to raise my face and let you slap me. Clearly, my Great Qing's iron cavalry is about to sweep the world, but I have to reach some agreement with the Holy Maiden of a foreign country... Peace? Damn peace, it's indeed absurd. My existence in this world is originally a very absurd thing."

Farming, drinking, and chatting determined the next twenty years. Recalling the past, the two of them strolled arm in arm in Shangjing City, got drunk together in the restaurant, and talked under the melon racks in the garden. In a place where no one knew, the two most outstanding young people of Northern Qi and Southern Qing set a goal that seemed childish to the world but was exceptionally pure and beautiful to them – a world without war.

This childish agreement seemed to be within reach and could become a reality at any time because of the two people participating in this agreement. These two young people had great influence in their respective countries. If the situation did not change and the older generation gradually retired, the future of the country would originally be in the hands of these two young people.

But now, several years have passed in a blink of an eye, and the general trend of the world has already undergone drastic changes due to the outbreak of the Great East Mountain incident. The world is changing, and people are changing. Twenty years is far from over, and Fan Xian and Haitang seem to be unable to farm, drink, and chat anymore.

"I am not reconciled." Fan Xian's face was pale, but his eyes were getting brighter and brighter. "I have been away from Danzhou for five years. In these five years, no one knows what I want to do, only you know... You know how much risk I took for this agreement, how much I suffered, and how much I helped your Northern Qi."

He stared into Haitang's eyes and said in a hoarse voice, "You know all of this clearly. I took the risk of being accused of being a traitor after thousands of years, what was it for... But you ran away silently, came to the prairie, and started stabbing me in the back."

"I am not reconciled." Fan Xian's eyes gradually turned cold.

Haitang looked at Fan Xian's face and listened to his quiet words. For some reason, her heart felt like it had been stabbed with a knife, causing a sharp pain that made her cheeks turn pale.

"I didn't expect this matter... to involve you." Haitang stared at him blankly, feeling like the man's pain was falling on her. "I don't know where those knives came from either. After knowing about this, I went to Qingzhou City, but one was stolen."

Although Fan Xian had already guessed that the expert with such high rank who had sneaked into Qingzhou to help him destroy the evidence was Haitang, hearing her admit it herself at this time made him feel slightly better, but his face was still very ugly. He said, "You are still hiding something from me... The appearance of these knives was very strange."

He grabbed Haitang's collar and said through gritted teeth, "Your connection with the little emperor of Northern Qi has never been broken... This is clearly him plotting against me. What do you still want to cover up for him?"

Haitang placed her hand on his hand, not using any force, and looked at his eyes with pity and apology. She said, "I really didn't know about this matter. I don't know what went wrong in Shangjing City, why His Majesty would do such a stupid thing."

It was indeed stupid. Fan Xian was the biggest help that Northern Qi had in Qing Kingdom. Although after the Great East Mountain incident, Fan Xian had gradually severed his relationship with Northern Qi, if the emperor of Northern Qi really wanted to have a future, it would be very difficult without Fan Xian's help.

Fan Xian was very clear about what the little emperor of Northern Qi was thinking.

He approached Haitang's slightly red face and said softly in her ear, "Not stupid at all, he wants to force me to rebel? There's no possibility... Two years ago in Kyoto, he wanted to kill me with the help of the Eldest Princess to support the eldest son to take the throne. I haven't settled this score with him yet... How could I rebel?"

His words carried a hint of mockery, but Haitang's heart turned cold. This was the first time she knew that the Northern Qi had a shadow in the Kyoto Incident in Qing Kingdom two years ago. Thinking about it this way, the context of this matter became very clear. The little emperor of Northern Qi knew that Fan Xian was a very vengeful person and certainly didn't dare to continue placing his hopes on him. In addition, Haitang had been on the prairie for the past two years and could not act as a bridge between the emperor of Northern Qi and Fan Xian. The two sides were gradually drifting apart. For the sake of Northern Qi's security, the emperor of Northern Qi would inevitably choose to break the relationship between Fan Xian and Emperor Qing.

"His Majesty has no choice." At this time, the posture between Haitang and Fan Xian was very ambiguous, but the words they were saying were so shocking. She said quietly, "In the past two years, you have helped Emperor Qing to rectify the officialdom, govern the people's livelihood, and manage the internal treasury. A great war is about to break out. How dare he trust you?"

"I don't care whether he trusts me or not, I don't even need your trust now." Fan Xian shook his head, his cheek rubbing against Haitang's slightly cool face. He took a deep breath and said, "You give the little emperor of Northern Qi a message, just say that I, Fan Xian, will repay him for the two great gifts he gave me with an unforgettable lesson."

Haitang's body trembled, and she looked at Fan Xian in surprise, wondering what he would do. In this world, besides the Grandmasters, probably only Fan Xian dared to be so arrogant as to say that he would teach a king a lesson.

"Don't forget, you are a citizen of Qing Kingdom, you are the son of Emperor Qing." Haitang said with a sigh, "Who would believe that you would consider the problem from the position of Northern Qi or Dongyi? It's normal that His Majesty doesn't trust you."

"I consider the problem from the position of Qing Kingdom, and I don't want the citizens of Qing Kingdom to fall into endless war and bloodshed."

……

……

"You definitely won't tell me what you have arranged on the prairie." Haitang put her hands naturally through Fan Xian's armpits and said, "But I will try my best to stop you."

"Besides my emperor father, no one in this world can stop me now, and neither can you." Fan Xian took off her hat and touched her hair.

Fan Xian hugged Haitang tightly, but his eyes gradually calmed down. He held her in his arms, squinting his eyes and looking at the sky. An eagle was flying in the twilight. Those ducks in the lake were scared by this eagle and hid in the weeds.

In fact, Haitang also noticed the eagle and knew why Fan Xian was hugging herself like this. She sighed in her heart, knowing that she and His Majesty were really sorry for the young man who was hugging her. Her mind was filled with extremely complicated emotions, so she didn't expose Fan Xian's little thoughts.

"Stay with me for three days." Fan Xian said in her ear.

……

……

About ten miles away from this lake, hundreds of Western Hu cavalry were guarding their king, the master of this prairie. Shanyu Subida coldly looked into the distance, at the traces of the eagle flying in the sky.

Song Zhi Xian Ling had left, and Shanyu was worried that she would not return, so he brought the cavalry to follow her. For some reason, Shanyu had this kind of worry in his heart, as if someone was about to take away the most important woman in his life.

This woman was not beautiful, not even as beautiful as the beauties contributed by the tribes, but Shanyu regarded her as more important than anyone else because this woman had brought him the loyalty of more than ten thousand cavalry, brought him some state governance strategies that he had never thought of, and brought new atmosphere to the prairie. More importantly... this woman brought Shanyu peace, rare peace.

Whenever he was with this Khalkha princess, Shanyu Subida felt that it was the happiest moment in his life, even if they were just sitting face to face, looking at each other, he was extremely happy.

He knew that she was the Holy Maiden of Northern Qi, the closed-door disciple of the Grandmaster Ku He, the mysterious messenger of the Eternal Heaven on earth, but he also knew that Song Zhi Xian Ling was a Hu person, his own tribe.

If he could sweep across the world in the future and attack the prairie, if she could sit beside him next to the horses, this world would be much more beautiful.

The eagle gradually landed, and Shanyu Subida's eyes narrowed, shining with a frightening light like an eagle.

That girl went after a man. Who was that man?

The eagle couldn't report to Shanyu that the man was abominably flirting with your treasure, so Shanyu could still maintain his current calm. In other words, Fan Xian's deliberate behavior did not have the effect he imagined.

"Rush over and kill him." The Chief Clan Head looked at Shanyu's cloudy face and said loudly, "Kill him!"

Subida did not respond. When Song Zhi Xian Ling left, she said that she would come back, so she would definitely come back. He respected this woman with a bizarre background. Although he didn't mind using swords to declare his power, he was unwilling to use this method to obtain a woman's heart.

"Follow them, don't disturb them." Shanyu Subida closed his eyes and said gently, but his words hid a chilling coldness.

There were many royal court experts around Shanyu. If these hundreds of riders rushed over at this time, even if Fan Xian had great abilities, he would probably find it difficult to escape death on this vast prairie. But he was very curious about who the person who could move Song Zhi Xian Ling so much was. Could it be the Southern Qing gigolo who was rumored a few years ago?

The prairie master's hand holding the reins was getting tighter and tighter, but his expression was still calm. He was destined to become the master of the world, so he certainly wouldn't be disturbed by a powerful minister of Southern Qing, but he wouldn't let that young man come to the prairie and be able to go back alive.

The eagle sent a message that the Western Hu cavalry near the royal court began to mobilize. As long as Song Zhi Xian Ling and the young man separated, they would start attacking.

However, this following lasted for three days.

……

……

During the three days, Fan Xian and Haitang strolled on the prairie. They bought two good horses from a tribe and galloped to their heart's content. They also went to a lake to catch two nets of small silver fish and grilled them to eat. On the last night, they stayed in a larger tribe, sitting around the campfire, eating beef and mutton with those Hu people, and drinking shochu.

Haitang knew what these three days meant. After three days, perhaps the two of them would have to break away from the current complicated relationship and become sworn enemies, so these three days needed to be cherished.

Fan Xian also knew what these three days meant. Haitang's identity as a princess did not resound throughout the prairie, but she could take him to move around on this prairie at will. She wanted to use this vivid fact to tell him that the Hu people and the Central Plains people could coexist peacefully, and the Hu people were not born barbaric and murderous.

Because of guilt, Haitang accompanied Fan Xian for three days, without asking a word, but she didn't expect Fan Xian's true purpose at all.

The firelight illuminated the faces of the two, red and bright, like two children playing mischievously in winter. Haitang handed two things to Fan Xian and said, "For your children."

Fan Xian took them over and found that it was a string of ruby beads and a small saber that Hu children liked to play with, very cute.

"The beads are for Little Hua, the saber is for Liangzi?" He raised his eyebrows and said, "Little Hua probably likes it, Liangzi is too young, I'm afraid he won't like it... But... thank you, you're thoughtful."

"Master once said that it is difficult for Fan's wife to have children, and now that Fan Liang is born, it can be regarded as fulfilling one of her wishes." Haitang smiled lightly and said, "Presumably you spent a lot of effort."

Three months ago, Lin Wan'er, who had been pregnant for ten months, finally gave birth to a baby boy. Before the palace could randomly name him, Fan Xian rushed to take the name Fan Liang and added him to the family tree. This matter angered Emperor Qing, but fortunately, Fan Xian left the emperor the power to name the child, so he managed to get away with it.

Listening to Haitang's words, Fan Xian smiled wryly. In the past two years, besides helping His Majesty deal with state affairs, most of his energy was spent on treating Wan'er's illness. In order to have children, Wan'er had really paid a lot, and he had also suffered a lot to develop the medicine. Fortunately, Teacher Fei Jie's pre-determined path was correct, and he successfully allowed Wan'er to become pregnant.

"Why did you name him Fan Liang?" Haitang asked curiously. She knew that after tonight with this young man, she would probably never see him again, so she asked questions non-stop, wanting to know how the other party was living in the past two years, and what the people around him were like.

"Xian qi nai liang mu." Fan Xian said with a smile, "Very interesting, isn't it?" (A virtuous wife is a good mother.)

The tribesmen in the tribe gradually fell asleep, leaving only Fan Xian and Haitang by the campfire. The two seemed to sense something, and neither of them felt sleepy, quietly waiting for the arrival of dawn.

"It's almost dawn." Haitang leaned on Fan Xian's shoulder and said quietly. At the moment of parting, this woman finally revealed the emotions that a girl should have.

After a moment of silence, Fan Xian suddenly said, "After dawn, as soon as you leave, that affectionate Shanyu will tear me to pieces."

After three days, with the cultivation levels of the two of them, they naturally knew that not far behind them, the master of the prairie was forcibly suppressing his anger, waiting to give Fan Xian the most fatal blow.

Haitang closed her eyes and said lazily, "Don't worry about these things, I'll take care of it."

"I'm a man, I'm not used to letting women take care of things." Fan Xian laughed. The firelight illuminated his smile, making it look particularly kind and confident. "You are very strong, and that Shanyu is also very strong, but I will prove that I am stronger than you."

Haitang sat up straight and looked at him quietly, wondering what he wanted to say.

Fan Xian looked at her calmly and said, "I have never liked the story of lovers separated by tribes in novels. Duoduo, you have been planning on the prairie for two years, and I have been preparing for four months. I will completely defeat you and cut off all the thoughts left behind by Ku He. I like the peace on the prairie, but for the peace of the Qing Kingdom's people, for my peace, and for the Shanyu's unease, I must destroy all of this."

"I kept you for three days, just to keep you for a lifetime."

The young man from Qing Kingdom stood up, looked at the dark prairie before dawn, and said softly.

……

……

(The Mid-Autumn Festival is here, I wish you all a happy holiday, happy vacation, I don't want mooncakes, I want monthly tickets... Hehe.)