The four Zasak princes were not related by blood, but were enfeoffed from the four major tribes of the grassland.
By now, the old prince who was the leader has passed away, and now the head of the four Zasak princes is his son Aoqi, who is only 27 years old.
The second and third kings were Erdun and Zhuoligetu, both of whom were in their forties.
The youngest of the four princes, Qinggertai, inherited the position just two years ago and is only twenty-two years old.
When they saw the imperial carriage, several people dismounted and knelt to greet him.
"Your Majesty, long live the Emperor!"
"Please stand up, princes. After not seeing you for several years, I still feel that you are all as heroic as you were back then!" Ning Chen smiled and gave a few of them a helping hand.
"I remember that the last time the emperor came to the grassland, he had not yet been crowned. Now it seems that his demeanor is even greater than before!" Erdun said cheerfully.
Ao Qi also smiled and said, "In the past, I only hid behind my father. Today, I have a rare opportunity. I must have a drink with the emperor. I have ordered people to prepare good wine and good meat. Your Majesty, take a good rest. In the evening, we will drink to your heart's content!"
"In that case, I must savor the flavor of the grassland!"
Ning Chen reached out and patted Ao Qi's shoulder, looking quite intimate.
At this moment, two girls came out from behind, dressed in grassland costumes, one was heroic and the other looked more like a girl from the Central Plains.
The heroic girl stepped forward and saluted, "Your Majesty, your servant Dolan pays respect to the emperor. The tents are ready. I and Sister Sudiya will take you to rest."
"Thank you very much, my two princesses. Concubine Jing, please take them there." Ning Chen nodded.
Concubine Jing bowed and led the female relatives to follow the two women.
It took about an incense stick of time to walk there, and Concubine Jing found out a lot of information for everyone along the way.
This Princess Duolan is the younger sister of the eldest prince Aoqi. She is fifteen years old this year and has just reached the age of marriage. The other Princess Sudiya is the daughter of the third prince Zhuoligetu, born to a concubine.
This concubine was a woman from the Central Plains. She was in danger while traveling in the grassland and was rescued by the third prince. She then pledged her life to him and is now very favored.
When they arrived at the accommodation, the tents were prepared according to their ranks, but they were not small and were fully equipped.
The main reason was that they didn't know who was favored, so they didn't dare to neglect anyone when making arrangements.
Originally, Concubine Shu was going to come, but now that she was not here, her tent was moved to Concubine Jing. Then the others came in order. Ye Jun was promoted to Beauty first, and was ranked in front of Beauty Yi, so she used Concubine Lin's tent.
"It's actually more spacious than the one given by the emperor." Ye Jun looked around with satisfaction. It was very carefully arranged.
The tent was covered with thick wooden floors, and there was a carpet near the bed. There was a screen inside that divided the space into two parts, inside and outside.
Outside there were tables, chairs and other things, inside there were beds, wardrobes, couches and even a bath tub.
Nan Zhi called a few maids over and replaced the bedding on the bed with the ones brought from the palace, while Nanny Qin led people to sort out the jewelry and clothes.
Ye Jun was extremely sleepy. How could he sleep in the bumpy carriage? As soon as he sat down, his eyelids began to droop.
"My beauty, please eat something before going to sleep. I believe the food will be delivered soon from the kitchen. How about I go and get it?" Nan Zhi said.
"No, I'm going to sleep first. If there's anything, ask them to warm it up first. I'll eat it after I wake up. I'm really too sleepy."
Ye Jun waved his hand, took off his clothes, shoes and socks, and rolled onto the bed.
Nanny Qin thought this was not a good idea, but seeing that Nan Zhi was used to it, she didn't say anything.
Just as the two were about to leave, the person on the couch spoke again.
"Don't worry about me, just eat first. There's a banquet in the evening, and I'm afraid it won't end so early. Don't serve on an empty stomach."
“Oh, my beauty, don’t worry, I know what’s going on.” Nan Zhi responded, and then came out with Nanny Qin.
Now Qin understood. Although this master seemed to have a bad temper, he was actually very kind to the people around him. Thinking back on the whole journey, she felt that he had indeed been taken care of.
Which master would care whether his servant has eaten
When doing servant work, it is normal to be so busy that you don’t even have time to drink a sip of water the whole day.
Now that her master is thinking about her, Nanny Qin is also touched.
On the other side, Dolan, who had delivered the people, returned to his tent.
When I opened the curtain, I saw my brother sitting inside.
"I saw you today. What do you think?" Ao Qi smiled and touched his sister's head.
Duolan's almond eyes were as bright as spring water. "This emperor is good-looking. Although he is not as strong as the men on the grassland, he is not bad either. I like him."
"Oh? You've fallen in love with the emperor so quickly. What about Qinggertai?"
Ao Qi said casually, but his eagle-like eyes were fixed on the girl in front of him, and his tone was not as relaxed and casual as it seemed.
"I like them too. They are all good-looking. My brother is also good-looking!" Dolan smiled and took his brother's arm and leaned his head against him.
However, where Aoqi couldn't see, there was a hint of something strange in the girl's eyes.
"Well, since you like me, I'm relieved. Dress up nicely. At the banquet tonight, I have to let the people from the Central Plains see how beautiful my girls from the grassland are."
After patting the girl on the shoulder, Ao Qicai left the tent.
"Princess..." The maid Wulunzhu hesitated to speak.
Dolan raised his hand to silence her.
"It's not easy for my brother to be where he is today. Prince Erdun and Prince Zhuoligetu are not content with their lot. I have been pampered for so many years, it's time for me to contribute."
In fact, it is not a bad idea to marry Qinggertai, but with a marriage relationship, it is equivalent to the two youngest kings on the grassland forming an alliance, which will undoubtedly require the other two to form an alliance as well, and the conflict will then be further intensified.
Apart from cattle and horses, everything else is scarce on the grassland. Good pastures are needed to feed cattle and horses. The four princes each occupy one side, and the things they own are differentiated according to their rankings. Everyone wants to have the best.
When the founding emperor of the Southern Qi Dynasty divided the grassland into four parts, wasn't it also with the intention of making them check and balance each other? Once the grassland is unified by one person, there may be rebellion.
Now his brother is young and weak. If she can enter the palace and become the emperor's woman, it will show her loyalty. Secondly, her brother can also get the emperor's support and sit firmly on the position of the first prince.
Where there are disputes over rights, there will never be peace.
Even though the grassland is vast, the people living on the grassland may not necessarily be open-minded.
Ning Chen had already gotten a rough idea of the situation here before he came, and now he has a rough idea of it.
Aoqi wanted to give him his own sister, and he could accept it.
After all, he is young, and Zasak is a remote place, so it is naturally a good thing to have someone of his own here.
It was also seen today that although the Second Prince Erdun had ambitions, they were not very obvious. The eyes of the Third Prince Zhuoligtu revealed his desire for power.
The most honest one is probably the fourth prince, Qinggertai. It is said that he and Aoqi have been good friends since childhood and he strongly supports him in becoming the leader of the grassland.
No matter what the current situation is, we should wait until the dinner to find out the truth before taking any action.