Dragon and Draco

"Another you?" Wen Yue said softly, "She wouldn't push everything onto her nephew and play the role of a knight-errant all by herself!"

"You shouldn't have kept it from me." Her shoulders trembled.

"Don't come any closer."

Just as Ch'en was about to step forward, Wen Yue stopped her in a low voice.

"You've arranged this and that, so if you're so certain you're doomed, why did you even go?!"

"I'm sorry," Wei Yenwu said without offering any explanation, simply stating, "I shouldn't have gone."

"...No, you should go." Wen Yue's hand trembled as she gently stroked Wei Yenwu's face. "Your past, your regrets, your failures, are all there."

"You should go," she repeated.

"Ahem..." Tai He couldn't stand it any longer and spoke up to remind him, "Duke Wei is merely on a diplomatic mission, it doesn't really count as... that kind of separation."

Separated by life and death, by the realms of the living and the dead.

"What if the young Emperor Fyodor goes mad!" Wen Yue only managed to utter half a sentence.

With officials from Beijing present, the former crown prince's mention of Edward, one of the royal families of the Victorian Empire, and his daughter was ultimately too abstract. Therefore, Wei Yenwu and Wen Yue's remarks were somewhat enigmatic.

They were talking about Talulah and the Black Snake one minute, and then they were talking about Saint Petersburg the next.

As a strong claimant to the throne, Wei Yenwu could indeed be used to his advantage if he were detained by Fyodor. However, detaining such a skilled individual is extremely difficult in itself.

Furthermore, evidence of the Imperial Guards' disrespect for imperial authority was handed over by Wei Yenwu, and the elaborate scheme was exposed. The young emperor was bound to devote most of his energy to the country.

To prevent himself from being stabbed through the heart by "Ursus's Blade" during the war between Ursus and Yan, the Tsar himself had to protect Wei Yenwu and do everything in his power to ensure his safe departure.

In this situation, Fyodor's attack on Wei Yenwu can only be described as "going mad."

"Won't you come a little closer?" Oute asked.

Talulah shook her head.

Oute then looked at Jie Zhen and Tai He.

On the way back to the Lungmen Guard Department, Jie Zhen and Tai He rode in the same car as Ch'en.

"I wonder what the Princess's opinion is regarding the rotation of garrisons..."

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Jie Zhen interrupted Tai He: "You're driving!"

He then laughed and said, "Tai He was promoted on his own merits; sometimes he is indeed too straightforward."

"Chen Liuhou, look at the rain these past few days!" Jie Zhen reminded him, "The humidity in Lungmen is too high. Although the veterans stationed here are still in their prime, it's really too much for them."

How exactly did Wei Yenwu manage to "leave an heir"?

"I imagine the troops from Jade Gate Garrison will arrive soon. If things go smoothly for Lord Wei at Saint Petersburg, perhaps we should send a group of veterans to Jade Gate for a vacation to get rid of the dampness!"

This is one of the promises he made!

"But I wonder which veterans the Imperial Censor wants?" Ch'en retorted.

Jie Zhen quickly dodged, declaring, "No, no, how could it be what I want?"

As the capital of a border province, Lungmen's integration of military and political power is inevitable. Conflicts and frictions along its surrounding borders are constant.

Most of the troubles facing Lungmen can be resolved by the Lungmen Guard Department. A few troubles require the use of the military—not necessarily requiring prior approval, but a report must be submitted afterward. After all, it's not something that happens every day, but rather a tenth or even a fifth of Ursus's military force decides to launch a preemptive attack on a provincial capital of Yan.

If we have to consult the Zaojing on everything like we did today, how can we even do business?

As a result, the Governor-General of Lungmen maintained long-term control over Lungmen's finances and military, which inevitably led to a significant number of the garrison soldiers developing a "deep friendship" with Wei Yenwu.

This time, however, these "good friends" are saying goodbye to Lungmen.

They were to be transferred to Jade Gate for garrison duty. Meanwhile, a considerable number of the garrison troops who came south from Jade Gate would remain in Lungmen while waiting for the change.

This is blatantly weakening the power of the Lungmen Governor while simultaneously sowing discord within Lungmen.

"The weather at Lungmen is quite similar to this place, and the soldiers are already used to it, so there's no question of taking a break," Ch'en added. "However, Jade Gate is indeed a good place."

He'd only gone halfway through giving in.

"However, if the soldiers don't coordinate well, it could jeopardize the mission. It would be best if these soldiers stayed in Lungmen; otherwise, Lungmen's strength is insufficient, and facing such a conflict, it might not be able to hold out until reinforcements arrive."

The current leader of Lungmen is still focusing on the border conflict between Wu and Yan. It seems that whoever sits in this position will say a series of things that this position likes.

"After Chenliu, I see that Lungmen has consulted the authorities this time, and Hundred Stoves's reply was quite timely!"

Tai He interrupted Jie Zhen's thoughtless words, "You can't say that!"

"Brother Jie, you need to think this through. If neither side reacts quickly enough, and Ursus seizes the opportunity, not to mention anything else, the entire Lungmen, including Lungmen City, will be completely wiped out!"

"...I was being presumptuous." Jie Zhen then said, "In any case, the special situation in Lungmen after Chenliu was caused by complex historical reasons."

This historical reason will soon become history.

Chapter 233 Dragon and Draco

Not only Lungmen, but also Rhodes Island. After all these "others" were left out, Ch'en approached Talulah.

She swept aside the files on the desk, plopped down on the desk, and said ramblingly, "We didn't dare admit it just now, afraid that Jie Zhen and the others would find another excuse, but they probably guessed something too."

A tail drooped lazily from the corner of the desk, wrapping around its owner's smooth calf. The glossy tip of the tail swayed slowly back and forth with the ankle boots, attracting considerable attention.

Deep within Talulah's heart, viscous bubbles rose: it was a gesture of "closeness." Ch'en was trying to build a good relationship with me... but was she really as close as she appeared? We had been apart for too long; intentionally displaying such intimate little gestures seemed more like a deliberate performance...

She suddenly realized: What nonsense am I thinking! Huijie isn't that kind of person!

At least... it wasn't like that before I left!

Dark thoughts disturbed Talulah's thinking.

"Fortunately, the qilin had something to do and didn't come, otherwise you probably wouldn't have been able to see Wei off... his final journey."

Ch'en changed the vocabulary halfway through.

Talulah sighed and sat down next to Ch'en.

These two sisters thus, in a physical sense, sat at the pinnacle of power within the Lungmen.

Ch'en placed her hand on Talulah's delicate hand, tracing her knuckles with her own. She carefully felt everything Talulah had experienced over the years.

Just to clarify beforehand, this is just a normal lesbian relationship in the Yan. For the people of Yan, it's still far from being considered a lesbian relationship.

"Weakening powerful princes is almost an instinct in the imperial court." Talulah withdrew her hand. "Even in Ursus, the Tsar thinks about getting rid of those troublesome princes every day."

Talulah, who has spent a significant portion of her life in Ursus so far, seems rather unaccustomed to this kind of physical contact.

Old Chen's friendliness was genuine and not an act.

She showed no resentment at Talulah's withdrawal, and even displayed an unusual ease on her face.

"The Tsars wanted to get rid of the princes, but they ended up creating an even more troublesome army group!"

"Ursus had never experienced such a large-scale rebellion before the emergence of the army group."

In fact, the Third and Fourth Army Group, which were deeply involved in the Black Snake "Chernobog Incident," were, to some extent, "escaped" from that Great Rebellion.

During the Ursus - East Country War, the army groups, harboring resentment towards the industrial aristocracy and the Tsar, began to plot a rebellion with ulterior motives.

In the summer of 1074, a conflict between a group of mutinous soldiers and nobles in Gregory Province, near Saint Petersburg, became the spark for Great Rebellion. The Sixth Army used a pretext to execute all members of the Gregory Province Council, effectively occupying Gregory and threatening Saint Petersburg.

Faced with the order from the new Tsar Fyodor, the Sixth Army rallied the Third and Eighth Armies and parts of the Fourth Army Group that were on their way to redeploy, demanding that Fyodor "cede the palace".

The civil war lasted until the summer of 1076. Afterwards, the Sixth and Eighth Armies were disbanded as the "masterminds," while the Third and Fourth Army Group were exiled to the eastern and western ends of Ursus, respectively.

This is why these two army groups are in a precarious situation within Ursus and are desperately seeking a high-stakes gamble to change the status quo.

"Let's not talk about that anymore. Whether the schemer's wild ideas can be stopped depends on his negotiations. All we can do from the rear is prepare for the worst."

When she heard "we still need to see Wei Yenwu's negotiations," Talulah's expression was extremely strange for a moment:

The most compelling evidence to Fyodor was that she fought alongside Rhodes Island.

"Indeed, let's talk about something else."

The two were sitting on the same side of the desk, so they would have to turn to the side together to face each other.

Ch'en turned to face Talulah directly. "So many years have passed, your face has hardly changed, but your demeanor is very unfamiliar."

Talulah turned her head to face Ch'en and said with difficulty, "I wasn't very old when Koschei kidnapped me. That's enough time to shape a completely different personality."

"No," Ch'en said earnestly, "You're still the same as before—upright and strong-willed."

"Hmph, I thought you were talking about yourself."

Both pairs of feet were swinging, one pair faster and the other slower.

"It's terrible, isn't it? I can't help but feel it. That kind of sinister Originium Arts..."

The vibration frequency transmitted from the desktop instantly became disordered.

"...Actually, it's alright." Talulah was unwilling to answer directly. "I've seen far more sinister spells."

"Is there any magic more bizarre than that Black Snake?"

Ch'en was a little surprised for a moment, but she still managed to steer the conversation back on track.

"In any case, everything that happened in Chernobog was not your fault."

Because of Oute's attempt to "clear the game in one life," Lungmen's direct impact on this incident was not particularly significant. In addition, given Talulah's gloomy and depressed demeanor, Ch'en adopted this assessment.

In the original timeline, Ch'en's account of Talulah, who was still dominated by the Black Snake, was completely the opposite.

"Let's talk about something else."

Talulah's boots stopped swinging.

"Huijie, you got infected too, right?"

"..." Now Ch'en truly understood what Talulah had just experienced.

"Besides me, you were another patient signed by Wei Yenwu with Rhodes Island. And you clearly weren't affected by any strange Originium Arts," Talulah stated confidently. "Their skills in this area are indeed excellent, and they've kept it a secret."

Ch'en looked up. "After Commander Wei pinned me down at this table, keeping my mouth shut became even more important than having good medical skills."

If Wei Yenwu were to forcefully spread the news that his niece, who was infected with Originium Infection, had been appointed as the acting governor... his political legacy, which was already destined to end in oblivion, would dissipate even faster in the future.