This is a very special day for the Ansu people.

The day of peace.

Every year on the 45th of Frost Month, festivals across the country will be held as scheduled. On this cold day, the Ansu people will take out the last portion of food and physical strength that can be used to squander to commemorate their ancestors and relatives and friends who have returned to the world of the dead.

Although many people in contemporary times have forgotten the original meaning of this festival, hundreds of years of tradition have made Frost Moon 45 a special date mixed with mystery, hope, hope and commemoration. Many Ansu people firmly believe that the door to the Kingdom of the Dead will be open on this day. Dead souls, whether they go to the Temple of Death, the Sacrifice Field of the Blood God, or the Kingdom of another god, can get the opportunity to return to the world on this day. These souls will come along the road paved by the Death Bible and celebrate this festival with the living. They will also appear by the bonfire at night, accompanying those who miss them in the form of indefinite smoke, fire or shadow.

Therefore, although it is a day to remember the dead, the Ansu people will spend the day in a celebratory way, they will decorate their homes with flowers, hang grass rings on the fireplace or on the walls facing the door, ignite a grand bonfire, sing and dance around the bonfires, and celebrate the day because they firmly believe that the souls will go home on this day.

In addition to commemorating the dead, Anling Day has another meaning for Ansu, the northern kingdom: it means the end of most social activities.

Frost Moon 45 is the last day for the sign of Frost Mars to cross the Heavenly Palace Line. Its arrival means that winter is approaching. At this time, there are more than ten days before the beginning of winter. However, the weather in the Northern Kingdom is so cold that it is not suitable to continue wasting physical energy outdoors. Perhaps the nobles will hold several romantic winter feasts on snowy days, but for civilians who are short of food, fuel and clothing, this is their last opportunity to engage in large-scale outdoor activities in the year.

After some careful calculations, people took out fuel and food together, inspire their spirits in the form of the last celebration, and prayed to the souls of the ancestors for good weather in the second year. The simple people had simple thoughts: praying to the three gods of fertility is the privilege of the fertility priests, and asking for a good harvest from the druids would cost a lot of money. It would be better to ignite a bonfire on the last festival before winter, hoping that those deceased who may have entered the kingdom of the gods could help themselves to bless themselves to get three or five kilograms of food in the next year.

People celebrate the annual Anling Day with such a simple wish, and then lie down after the Anling Day, just like those ancestors who have returned to the Kingdom of the Dead, quietly lie down in the long cold winter.

In the city of San Sunil, the subtle fragrance of the chrysanthemum is spreading in the streets and alleys. Although the entire kingdom is still deeply trapped in the quagmire of war, Anling Day has arrived as scheduled. It is better to say that it is precisely because the heavy rain of war is pouring down that people urgently need this festival to comfort the souls who are about to set off.

White flowers have been inserted in front of the doors of every household, and decorative straw ropes or flower vines are hung under the eaves of each house. The adults carried the collected firewood to the square or open space nearest to their homes to prepare for the bonfire at night. The carefree children yelled around the adults, consuming their physical strength and energy in a fight and quarrel.

This scene is not only unique to the civilian neighborhoods, but also has similar scenes in the magnificent Silver Fort.

The servants were preparing a huge bonfire in the courtyard. The knights polished their spears and swords and decorated them on the promenade leading to the courtyard. Victoria Wilder, wearing a white dress and silver-haired shawl, stood in front of the courtyard entrance, holding a white aphrodisiac in her hand, and carefully pinned the flower to Moon's chest in Wales.

"Your Highness, I hope you remember the glory of your ancestors." The Dukewoman looked at the heir of Moen's bloodline in front of him and said in a calm and indifferent tone.

Walesmoon looked down at the white flower on his chest, smiled slightly self-deprecatingly, and then lowered his head: "I will remember it."

The Duchess of Victoria looked at Moon, Wales, and suddenly said, "Your Highness, do you know why the patriarch of the Wilder family wears and sue the death of Moon's heir every year on Anling Day?"

Moon's eyes seemed to flash, but he still spoke calmly: "This is because the Wilder family protected Moon's bloodline at the most dangerous moment of the kingdom, just like the ancestors are worth remembering, and this friendship is worth remembering."

Victoria looked at Wales' eyes, without any pressure in that look, but the Dukewoman's innate winter temperament still makes people feel unspeakable. Under normal circumstances, the person who looked at her could not stand for ten seconds. However, the middle-aged man opposite her resisted. During the ten-second gaze, Walesmoon did not divert his gaze, but looked at the Dukewoman openly.

Victoria seemed to smile, and she retracted her gaze and looked at the huge pile of pyres that had begun to take shape in the courtyard: "...I have asked Prince Edmund the same question, guess how did he answer?"

"……I have no idea."

"'This is to let every Moen descendant know that it is because of the existence of the Wilder family that they are qualified to commemorate their ancestors in this silver fort, not in the horse shed in the North Mountain County," said Victoria in a calm tone. "That was three years ago, when our great founding hero had not yet come out of the grave."

Moon Wales said nothing, but stood there without saying a word.

"He should also wear the sacrificial chrysanthemum now. In a fortress in the eastern part of the Holy Spirit Plain, a bonfire was lit to commemorate the father who was probably killed by him. He finally accepted the flowers I put on him in the Silver Fort without humiliation, and commemorated the deceased as I asked," Victoria turned her head slightly and said to the crown prince who had already passed away. "Now this role has been replaced by you, and has been replaced by you again."

“I don’t think it’s humiliation.”

"Maybe, but that doesn't matter," Victoria's tone was calm, and it seemed to be really indifferent. "Your father is a good king. To be honest, I respect him, although he may not be happy to accept my respect."

Wales looked at the Duchess in front of him with some confusion, as if he didn't understand why the northern ruler, who had always been cold and distant and rarely talked about it, would suddenly say so much to him, but Victoria did not care about his confusion, but just continued:

"This country has been standing for hundreds of years, and dozens of people have sat on the throne, but not everyone really cares about this kingdom. Your father did it... believe it or not, the Wilder family has always been sincerely supporting him."

Wales opened his mouth, but ended up saying nothing.

"I know your thoughts, although you never say them, you also think it's a kind of hostage and control," the Dukewoman didn't look back at all, but seemed to have seen a subtle change in Wales' expression, "But we have our own considerations and everything is for the Kingdom of Ansu.

"The fog month civil unrest a hundred years ago taught us a great lesson. The civil unrest was caused by the struggle for royal power, but the absurd life and various chaos in the first dynasty during his lifetime were the real reasons for the situation to get out of control. From that day on, we realized that the throne must have a lock.

"The king is supreme, but the king cannot be out of control. For long-term stability, someone must be able to control the situation in a timely manner when the king's power is out of control. Therefore, in the Second Dynasty, we established the system of regents, and the king will be monitored and controlled, but in turn, the king is also checking and balancing the power of the dukes, you know that this is what you know.

"No one can have absolute power in his hands. Any power must have a backup plan. These two points are the lessons learned by the Wilder family during the fog moon civil unrest."

Moon Wales finally broke the silence: "Do you think of the variables between Edmund and the Duke of the East?"

"...The hearts of people are always outside the plan," said the Dukewoman after two seconds of silence. "But this does not mean that the lessons we have summarized are meaningless. In fact, Ansu can survive the turmoil in Wuyue, relying on the regent system. This system may need to be improved, but it is still far from being abandoned."

Wales fell silent. After a long silence, he raised his head and looked at the Duchess in front of him: "...Why did he suddenly say these words to me?"

"My father had said these words to your father before he ascended the throne," said the Duchess calmly. "I had originally planned to say to Edmund on the Day of Anling three years ago."

Welsh's breathing paused a little at this moment.

"The throne has been empty for a long time. This country has been operating without a king for more than half a year, but it cannot continue like this forever. The nobles need a target of allegiance. The Kingdom Army needs a flag, and the people need to know who is orthodox," the Duke of Victoria turned around and stared at Wales' eyes again. "At the beginning, we thought the war would end soon, because the Kingdom Army had two or three times the strength and supplies equivalent to the Eastern Rebels, but we did miscalculate. We were already in a stalemate, so we must be prepared to continue the stalemate."

Wales opened his mouth: "I..."

"You can't wait until you are crowned after the war, the Crown Prince," said the Duke, and took the word "Crown Prince" very seriously. "Edmund will soon realize that he cannot enter Saint Sunil in the next year, and he will crown himself at any time. The Duke of the East will use his influence to make the nobles of the entire East and half of the Holy Spirit plain loyal to the new king, and the blind civilians will soon admit this. Therefore, you must become king before Edmund is crowned."

Moon Wales' eyes widened slightly, but he had missed the throne once and forced himself to calm down in a short time. He looked at the duchess and said frankly and bluntly: "How many people will recognize me as a king? How many nobles will be willing to be loyal to me?"

"The Wilder family will fully support you, and so do the Franklin family. We can make half of the nobles of this kingdom allegiance to you at least openly."

Wales thought, and after a few seconds, he spoke again: "Then have you considered the biggest variable?"

While saying this, Walesmoon raised his hand and pointed to the anus on his chest.

"I'm ready for my trip to the south, and I'll talk to the founding duke myself," said Victoria with a solemn expression. Even the ruler of the north, known as the Snow Queen, could not help but speak in an extremely solemn tone when she said this, "I will do my best."

"How likely do you think he is to support me?"

Victoria took a deep breath: "...I just hope he doesn't object."

After this sentence, the two fell silent together.

They stared at the huge pile of firewood on the courtyard, the grass rings and dying chrysanthemums decorated everywhere, and the mages and ritual officials who were preparing for the rituals.

The sky has gradually faded, and the dim skylight means that the time for igniting the bonfire is approaching.

The real important part of Anling Day is about to begin.

This is a day to commemorate ancestors and pray for blessings to the ancient deceased.

But the ancestor who was originally commemorated on this festival... has now returned to the world from the other side where the chrysanthemums are blooming.

Victoria Wilder walked to the courtyard in silence, picked up a piece of it from the oak branches placed on the stone table and threw it into the pile, and then ordered the bonfire to be lit.

Looking at the gradually igniting flames, the northern ruler sighed.
Chapter completed!