Gazing at the figure cloaked in hemp cloth, drifting away on the distant red clouds, U Yan Lan Zhu pouted, “What nonsense! His Majesty sends so many books to the tribes every year. Look at how you stumbled through your words; I probably read more than you!” Of course, these words were unsuitable for her ‘benefactor’, so she only grumbled privately.

“Sigh!”

With another glance at the retreating figure, she dejectedly turned her horse’s head. Muttering to herself, “Originally, I thought, if you were handsome, I would ask you, ‘I have cows, sheep, horses, and pasture, would you be willing to stay?’ If you weren’t handsome, I would send you five cows… Sigh, you just left like that. In the end, were you handsome or not?” As she spoke, she lightly slapped her own mouth, “U Yan Lan Zhu, U Yan Lan Zhu, how can you be so shallow?”

Immediately, she smiled brightly again. Her cows, sheep, and pasture were all safe and sound. She didn’t need to worry about not finding a handsome man in the future. Her future, just like the sky at this moment, was bright.

Jiang Wang was completely unaware that he had narrowly avoided a “trial” based on his appearance. He galloped across the vast, boundless grassland, both he and the date-red horse brimming with happiness.

Several more days passed.

Estimating that he was nearing the Highest King’s Court, he casually found a wild horse herd and released the date-red horse. He even stealthily observed the date-red horse’s contest with the herd’s king, lending it some “small assistance,” witnessing its coronation before leisurely leaning on his staff and departing. Whether the weather was sunny, rainy, or snowy, a cheerful heart made any season a good one.

He always walked eastward. When the colorful grassland gradually reverted to green, there was a vague sense of reversing seasons. Jiang Wang then knew that the heart of the eastern grassland was fast approaching. The green sea in autumn was the land’s abundant vitality in return. The prosperity and decay of grass and trees did not apply to the greatest city on the grassland.

It was difficult to describe the feeling of seeing the Highest King’s Court for the first time. It was like walking an endless road and suddenly lifting your eyes to see a divine homeland! Stretched tent houses were like a sea of clouds, a sea of clouds that had descended upon the green sea. Sky-blue flags fluttered, eagles soared in the high sky… Gold, silver, and gems adorned this place. This was a city of gold, glorious, brilliant, its light dazzling.

The boundless grassland often evoked a feeling of loneliness, for all four directions stretched vast and wide. In such a place, people easily felt small. But upon seeing the Highest King’s Court at this moment, all loneliness dissolved. What you saw and felt was the most brilliant human world. It was undoubtedly the center of this grassland; you might even feel it was the center of the world. Jiang Wang quietly gazed at the city, imagining how it would take flight, how it would skim over the boundless grassland, illuminating the myriad li of clear sky—what a magnificent picture that would be.

Just then, a knight rode up. His eyebrows and eyes were distinct, his appearance quite imposing. He wore leather armor and a curved knife at his waist. From his attire, he was clearly a cavalryman guarding the king’s tent in the Highest King’s Court. He slowed his horse while still a distance away, so as not to startle anyone, showing good breeding. He loudly inquired, “Guest, whence do you come?” He didn’t use “from Mo Ye,” but the broader term “guest.”

People from the Middle Domain often spoke of “grassland barbarians,” and it wasn’t entirely derogatory. Grassland customs were valiant; conflict and fighting between tribes were habitual. Drawing knives at the slightest disagreement was truly commonplace. For a very long time, the knife was the greatest argument. But after Jiang Wang personally entered the grassland, all that he saw and experienced differed greatly from those stereotypical rumors. Just like that herdsman girl, clear and bright, lively and natural. And this king tent cavalryman, considered among the elite of the grassland, showed not a hint of arrogance. He even welcomed an external stranger with a smile. These small details reflected the present Shepherd Emperor’s merit in literary governance.

Jiang Wang didn’t mind being questioned. To enter the Highest King’s Court, this kind of scrutiny was naturally unavoidable. He spoke up in response, “A foreign traveler, journeying through the grassland. I wished to see the greatest city on the grassland, and to behold the Sky Mirror.”

“You made a very correct choice,” this king tent cavalryman smiled with honor, but still officially inquired, “Do you have your verify pass? Who can guarantee you locally?”

Jiang Wang was slightly stunned, “Do I still need a local person’s guarantee?”

“Verify” referred to identity documents, recording name, gender, approximate appearance features, and place of origin. “Pass” was travel proof, needing a written attestation from the official office of the place of residence. It recorded name, gender, and destination. Furthermore, passing through each important pass also required adding a seal to the document to prove that there was no clandestine entry along the way and that the trajectory of actions was always traceable. Ordinary people traveling in all directions, without a verify pass, found it difficult to move an inch.

Compared to ordinary people’s travel, extraordinary cultivators were much simpler. No matter where they went, as long as they weren’t too reckless, they were basically unobstructed. But the Highest King’s Court was different again; no one could cause trouble here. Before coming to the grassland, Jiang Wang had indeed found a way to obtain a set of identity documents, portraying himself as a Confucian scholar from the Wei country with aspirations to learn, traveling in all directions for study, appearing quite genuine. But the “local person guarantee” requirement truly stumped him.

This king tent cavalryman smiled, “Due to some well-known reasons, entering the city now is somewhat stricter.”

Jiang Wang, of course, knew the so-called “well-known reasons.” The optimism in the other party’s words was precisely the proof of this country’s power. The war from the former city was still ongoing, and the Jing country could intervene in the battlefield at any time. But a casual king tent cavalryman discussing this matter was actually as light as clouds and wind. Recalling the voice he heard on the Guan River Platform, that female emperor’s voice, high and distant like a peak in the clouds, Jiang Wang involuntarily felt a sense of reverence.

If he wanted to quietly blend into the Highest King’s Court, there were naturally other ways. No matter how strict the king tent cavalry’s checks were, such a large king city couldn’t be completely airtight. But in such a sensitive period, it would undoubtedly be inviting trouble. Jiang Wang thought for a moment and said, “Might you be able to help me contact Zhao Ru Cheng, or call Deng Qi? Just say an old friend has come to visit; he will know who it is.”

As a proud son of the Inner Mansion Realm who represented the Shepherd Country in the Yellow River Assembly, Zhao Ru Cheng’s name obviously held some weight in the Shepherd Country. This king tent cavalryman looked at him and asked, “May the guest take off their cloak?”

“It’s not very convenient,” Jiang Wang said. “Must I take it off?”

“Not necessarily. If you truly are General Zhao’s friend, you can naturally come and go unobstructed.” This king tent cavalryman joked, “I’m just curious myself. If you look fierce, I’ll keep a closer watch. If you look kind, I’ll relax a bit.”

Jiang Wang: ?

Are you grassland people really this pragmatic? No wonder Zhao Ru Cheng is doing so well here! He’s even become a general?

“Let’s still have Zhao Ru Cheng come pick me up,” Jiang Wang said.

“That’s quite a coincidence,” this king tent cavalryman laughed. “General Zhao is just at the front line from the former city. He can’t come to pick you up. Do you have anyone else who can guarantee you?”

Jiang Wang was both surprised and unhappy. The surprising part was that Zhao Ru Cheng had actually gone to the front line. That was a place where the Jing country could join the battlefield at any time, and the danger was truly unpredictable. The unhappy part was… since Zhao Ru Cheng wasn’t in the Highest King’s Court, then this fellow had wasted so many words before! This king tent cavalryman probably also sensed Jiang Wang’s mood and quickly explained, “I wasn’t teasing the guest. It’s truly that a relative of mine is a close friend of General Zhao. Hearing that you are General Zhao’s friend, my heart is very close, so I made a joke with you.”

“Is that so?” Jiang Wang asked faintly, “Who is your relative?”

This king tent cavalryman’s eyes darted around, then he laughed, “Yu Wen Duo, you might know him by his reputation? He and General Zhao are sworn brothers. As we say in the grassland, they are ‘drag cover.'”

Recalling the braided-haired Han who almost fought him on the Suanni Bridge, Jiang Wang curled his mouth under his cloak. He asked again, “Are there any people in General Zhao’s home?”

This king tent cavalryman smiled, “The cabinet down is joking. General Zhao entered the grassland alone and hasn’t married yet.”

Alone?

Jiang Wang didn’t speak, turned around, and walked away.

“Hey, guest, aren’t you entering the city?” this king tent cavalryman asked from behind.

Jiang Wang didn’t turn his head. Leaning on his staff with his right hand, he shook the book in his left hand, “Since my old friend is not in the city, I will leave the scenery of this place to appreciate another day!”

(Source: [Not provided in the prompt])