Chapter 762 Worshippers
“Big Sister Xiaoyu is back!” A girl shouted loudly outside the imperial court’s tent. Her voice was filled with joy and adoration. Combing Yan Liuyuan’s hair, Tsetseg’s eyes lit up. She realized Yan Liuyuan, who was sitting before her, relaxed. His muscles were no longer as tense as before.
It seemed that in these vast grasslands, only Xiaoyu could make this young lord feel at ease.
“Go on, go and see what Big Sister Xiaoyu has brought back for y’all this time,” Yan Liuyuan said.
Tsetseg was still young, so she was also quite playful, and she rushed out of the imperial tent with a smile when she heard this.
Hundreds of warriors in the tribe had started worshipping Yan Liuyuan as a god. However, Yan Liuyuan did not keep any of these people by his side. Instead, he left them all under the command of Xiaoyu.
Although Yan Liuyuan made Xiaoyu their overall commander, he did so in order to have them protect her safety. If he lost Xiaoyu as well, there would be nothing left for him on the steppe.
This was his and Xiaoyu’s home. As long as the authority of the imperial court was stabilized, they would no longer have to bear the disdain of others.
Every time Xiaoyu returned from her outings, she would have the tribe’s warriors catch some cute little animals to bring back. On one hand, she wanted to try to rear them, and on the other hand, it was to make the tribe’s children happy.
During this period, the various tribes under the rule of the imperial court started gaining respect for Yan Liuyuan. However, everyone could not help but feel a heartfelt fondness for Xiaoyu as well. She was truly a gentle Southern woman.
As there were so many tribes under the rule of the imperial court, conflicts would arise from time to time. For example, trivial cases such as stealing of goats or cattle could easily lead to bloodshed in the grasslands.
As for Xiaoyu, who handled these matters, she was always impartial and never sided with anyone.
As time passed, Xiaoyu unexpectedly gained the love and respect of everyone. The tribespeople liked to approach her if they had any trivial matters that needed resolving.
If Yan Liuyuan asserted the authority of the imperial court through his absolute strength, then Xiaoyu was the mediator who made things work between the various tribes.
Of course, this was also because the influence of Yan Liuyuan’s imperial court was relatively stable. The other tribes did not have a godlike figure like Yan Liuyuan.
His miraculous predictions and calamities were way too divine, and the nomads happened to really believe in them. Therefore, Yan Liuyuan won over a large group of worshippers. Every morning, they would kowtow to the imperial court’s tent a 100 times before starting their day.
This way of maintaining authority seemed to be much more secure. When the tribal chiefs saw their own people worshipping Yan Liuyuan as a god, there was really nothing they could do about it. Furthermore, two of the tribal chiefs were also Yan Liuyuan’s worshippers.
Yan Liuyuan remembered that Ren Xiaosu had said that resorting to divine powers to stabilize a regime might not be the most stable method, but it would definitely be one of the fastest ways to achieve it.
While Yan Liuyuan was lost in thought, the imperial court’s tent was suddenly opened, and cold air from outside blew into his face. There was only one person in the entire tribe who dared to come in without an announcement. He looked up and said with a smile, “Big Sis, where’d you go this time?”
“I have good news to tell you. I found a new salt pool behind Mt. Gongzhuo to the northwest!” Xiaoyu smiled as she sat down next to Yan Liuyuan. “With this discovery, the problem of having enough edible salt for the entire tribe will be solved.”
Yan Liuyuan smiled and nodded. “That’s a good thing!”
However, Xiaoyu realized Yan Liuyuan did not seem to be surprised by this. She punched his shoulder. “You made a wish again, didn’t you? You should at least pretend to be happy next time. Otherwise, I won’t feel any sense of accomplishment at all.”
Yan Liuyuan cried out in pain after being hit, “That hurts! Sis, be gentler!”
Ever since Yan Liuyuan killed someone, Xiaoyu suddenly started joking around with him more often. She would even occasionally hit her little brother as an older sister would.
This left Yan Liuyuan’s worshippers at a loss. They could only respect Xiaoyu even more now.
But Yan Liuyuan knew full well that Xiaoyu was not doing this to elevate her status in the eyes of others. She just did not want him to be so depressed.
Every time he felt like he was about to slide into the abyss, Xiaoyu would hit him and pull him back from the edge of it. She was there to keep him grounded, dragging him back from the divine to his human senses. So Xiaoyu deliberately made herself appear more cheerful so she could influence Yan Liuyuan.
Yan Liuyuan was still crying out in pain. Xiaoyu rolled her eyes. “Alright, stop faking it. Let me ask you something. Why haven’t you touched Tsetseg yet?”
“Big Sis, why are you suddenly asking about this?” Yan Liuyuan replied after a moment of silence.
“That girl came running over to ask me in grief if she wasn’t pretty. I told her that it was not like that, that she’s the most beautiful girl in the imperial court, even more beautiful than Big Sister Xiaoyu,” Xiaoyu said with a smile. “Then she asked why you still haven’t touched her even though she was already living in the imperial court.”
“Big Sis, I’m still young,” Yan Liuyuan said softly
“Oh, come on.” Xiaoyu said, “A lot of people in town had already gotten married at your age, and many of them also had children as well. But I won’t poke my nose into your affairs. You can decide for yourself, lest you think I’m being naggy. If you don’t like the nomadic girls here, you should snatch one or two from the Central Plains.”
Yan Liuyuan was stunned. “Big Sis, is that how you should be talking? If I snatch a girl back, her family will be so heartbroken.” Xiaoyu gave it some thought and said, “In that case, just snatch her whole family along with her.”
As they conversed, the two of them started laughing. Actually, Yan Liuyuan knew Xiaoyu was just kidding, and Xiaoyu knew Yan Liuyuan would not do something like that.
But with just a joke, Yan Liuyuan clearly felt much happier.
Xiaoyu got down to work in the imperial tent. “I’ll pack your stuff for you. Tsetseg will take care of your daily needs on this expedition. I feel more at ease if she goes along with you. The others don’t even know what you like to eat.”
“Mhm.” Yan Liuyuan nodded. “She should also want to see what the Central Plains is like…. Sis, I might kill a lot of people when I go to the Central Plains this time. It might be much more than what I’m expecting.”
Xiaoyu stopped packing for a moment. “Then come back earlier. Big Sis will cook porridge for you when you return. Bring back some pickled vegetables from the Central Plains. After all, our porridge will go better with the pickled vegetables from there.” Xiaoyu did not answer him directly. It was as though she was deliberately avoiding the issue.
Hassan’s voice came from outside, “Master, your faceplate has been forged. Would you like to try it on?”