The empire's territory was the largest of any known country on the continent, and it took about five days to travel by horse-drawn carriage from the capital in the center to the border.
During dinner, An heard her sister say this. Subconsciously, he felt that it wasn't really that big.
But it is true that compared to other countries that can cross the border in three or four days, the empire has the largest land area.
It was now the third night after leaving the imperial capital. The eldest sister of the theater troupe was gathered around the campfire, preparing to enjoy delicious grilled fish.
After eating dry food for two days, everyone was a little greedy looking at the fragrant fish.
"But the empire only expanded to this size ten years ago." Mei Ke said, holding a glass of wine that was not much left, staring at the grilled fish, "The regent of the empire raised a large number of troops ten years ago, at a very small cost. It only annexed the surrounding small countries to make the land area the size it is today."
"I have heard such news." Jerry echoed from the side. "It seems that the annexed countries did not have many casualties and surrendered quickly after seeing the difference in strength."
"At the negotiation table, the imperial regent promised a certain degree of power and benefits to the kings, so they readily offered their countries to them." Liu Ge, who always spoke little, said.
"You seem to know very clearly?" Jerry was curious.
Liuge responded calmly: "My country is one of them."
"...Ah, this." Jerry hesitated for a moment.
Who would have thought that Liuge was a resident of one of the countries annexed by the empire?
Jerry felt that he said something he shouldn't have said.
"Hahaha, don't worry so much. Liu Ge doesn't mean to blame you." Mei Ke put her arm around Liu Ge's shoulders and patted Jerry twice generously, "Our spineless king is just like the one at Liu Ge's place. He was the one who handed over the throne first and is now comfortably serving as the local lord."
Well……
Jerry didn't know what to do anymore.
Offended two people through an unintentional act?
"Look at what you look like! In fact, it's nothing." Mei Ke picked up a skewer of grilled fish. "Although the country's name has been changed, in fact, the lives of us ordinary people have not been disrupted by this. On the contrary, our lives are better than It was much better before. I don't quite understand the rules and regulations promulgated by the regent, but at least no one in the village where I live is hungry, and the nobles don't dare to be as unscrupulous as in the past."
Jerry was relieved when he saw Liu Ge nodded. After recalling what Meiko said, I felt a bit of admiration for the missing imperial regent.
"That said, His Royal Highness the Regent is still very powerful!"
"In fact, even in the annexed countries, most ordinary people are grateful to the regent. If he hadn't disappeared quietly six years ago, maybe he would be promoted to emperor now Location." Mei Ke shook the grilled fish in her hand, "Even the people in the imperial capital have this idea, and even the royal family has no objection!"
Jerry is not from the empire, he and his sister Yinliu are from the country across the sea. Thinking that An was mistaken for the imperial regent by people from the empire and even the princess, Jerry couldn't help but look at him.
"?"
Ann ignored everything and was seasoning the grilled fish.
"Are you really not related to the regent of the empire at all?" Jerry asked unwillingly.
It would have been fine if there was only one person, but so many people treated Ann as their regent. Even when he left later, no one came out to stop him, which shows how much the people of the empire respected the regent.
To this extent, it is difficult to believe that they have admitted their mistake.
Ann glared at Jerry with dead fish eyes.
This was the first time he had been asked this question, and he was too lazy to deal with it.
"Don't tell me. If An hadn't grown up under my watch, and she wasn't the same age as the regent, maybe even my own sister would be suspicious." After Mei Ke finished speaking, she felt a little annoyed. , "Oh, it's great if you say it's true. Then I can try what it's like to be a royal!"
"Ha-ha!" An laughed mercilessly at the delusional Mei Ke.
"Hey, you brat!" Mei Ke held the half-eaten grilled fish in his hand as a stick and stood up to fight.
An's expression was calm and he quickly distanced himself from her.
Bai noticed that there was no warning, and quickly approached his An, with a somewhat unnatural look on his face.
"Sister Miku, don't do anything during meal time." Miku said with a smile.
Mei Ke raised an eyebrow.
She didn't expect Miku to protect An so openly.
In Miku's understanding, even if Miku wants to say something nice to An, he should express it in hidden words.
Miku is quite shy when it comes to Ann.
Meike, as her sister, certainly knew her feelings for An, and she also knew what An was thinking.
She had been thinking of ways to bring the two people together for a long time, but she didn't expect that Miku would give her a surprise.
When did the relationship between the two of them develop?
Mei Ke was so happy that her anger towards An dissipated a lot.
"For Miku's sake, spare your life!"
Pretending to glare at An angrily, Miku took the opportunity to sit next to Miku.
She planned to make some subtle moves.
"The brat is quite clever, but it's a pity that he has such a brain that he gets convulsions from time to time." Meiko changed her subject and looked at Miku, "You and he are riding in the same carriage. It's really hard on you. This kid didn't make you angry, right? "
An looked over warily.
He immediately noticed that there was something else in this sister's words.
Suddenly being asked about himself, Miku was stunned for a moment: "Ah, how could it be? An takes good care of me."
The weather has gradually become colder recently. When the sun is not strong, Andu gives up the place where the sun can shine to Miku. The carriage was bumpy, so An also took out the spare clothes to use as a cushion for her...
With so many details taken care of, Miku could say this without hesitation.
In fact, An is not the only one who does this. Usually during the trip, Jerry and Hairen, the men in the troupe, will take care of the girls everywhere. In other words, within the theater troupe, this is what should happen.
However, the emotional blessing made Miku speak very softly when she said that An took good care of her, and the firelight illuminated her cheeks, making her slightly red.
Everyone around the campfire noticed something strange about her.
"Oh ho ho, that's it." Miku smiled like a cat and muttered something Miku couldn't hear clearly.
Everyone in the troupe has already tacitly understood the matter of Miku and An, two peers. Therefore, no one said anything special. Only Enryu squatted next to Jerry and laughed so hard that Miku felt uncomfortable.
"What? What's wrong, everyone, why don't you say anything? Sister Meiko, what did you just say?" Miku didn't know what was going on, but she felt that the atmosphere was a little weird, which made her want to run away.
"Nothing, nothing, don't be nervous." Sister Mei Ke patted the soil and stood up, giving a thumbs up to Miku, "It's just that I'm too happy!"
"???"
Miku's face was full of questions.
Has anything happened to be happy about?
An, who knew what was going on at the side, came over in embarrassment: "Ignore them, the fish is grilled, eat it quickly."
"Ha-" Miku still couldn't let go and made a long tone. After thinking to no avail, she slowly took a bite of the fish and scanned the people with strange expressions.
Suddenly, she opened her eyes wide: "Huh? It smells so good!"
The girl exclaimed: "What kind of fish is this? It tastes great!"
Meiko, who had just eaten grilled fish, looked at Miku strangely. She thought it was nothing special. The taste is just so-so, not particularly delicious. It's just that the dry food I've been eating these past few days may have a taste bonus, but it's not that exaggerated, right?
When others heard what Miku said, they all picked up the fish they had grilled and took a bite.
Hairen carefully experienced the taste and said: "It's not a special fish, it's the most common fish in the market. We tasted it when we were in the imperial capital, and it wasn't very delicious."
"Everyone in the sea says that, so it must be right." Mei Ke spread her hands and looked at Miku.
"How is that possible!" Miku was extremely unconvinced by being questioned. She raised the fragrant grilled fish in her hand, "Come on, Sister Meiko, try it."
Meiko was confused by Miku's attitude, so she moved her half-eaten fish away and reached over.
Taking a gentle sniff, Mei Ke was slightly surprised: "It smells different from mine?"
She quickly opened her mouth and bit off a piece: "Oh! It tastes so delicious!"
Meiko looked at the grilled fish in Miku's hand in surprise, and then looked at her own.
What is this thing I baked?
She fell into self-doubt.
"Right!" Miku took back his hand proudly.
Shiro, Ruka, and Enryu all came over curiously, and Miku didn't hesitate to let them taste it one by one. Although Haiman and Jerry were equally curious, they did not step forward.
But I saw a look of surprise on the faces of several people who had eaten.
"They are all made with the same spices, and they are all fish caught in the same river." Mei Ke frowned and gestured to the grilled fish in her hand, "Why is there such a big difference in taste?"
"Is it that exaggerated?"
An was also a little curious and quickened his pace to get the remaining grilled fish.
Miku's eyes fell on An, and when he reached his palm, he couldn't help but be startled: "Eh? Is that mine?"
"Ah?" An Gang grabbed the branch with the grilled fish on it, and his hand froze for a moment, "Is this yours?"
"If I roasted that one, that means..." Miku looked at the one in his hand, "I am the one who roasted it?"
The places where the two people worked were close to each other, so it was not impossible that they took the wrong ones.
"Well……"
For a short period of time, An found that everyone's eyes were on her.
He took a bite of the grilled fish weakly: "...This is pretty good, isn't it?"
"Still pretending!" Mei Ke walked over in a few steps, "Okay, I didn't even know you were capable of this!"
She grabbed her brother's neck.
"Come, tell me sister, when did you learn it?"
"No, no."
Meiko's aura made An subconsciously afraid, but he didn't know what he was worried about.
"So you are unexpectedly talented in cooking?" Mei Ke let go and said, "Hey! If I had known that the troupe's food would be provided by you, you would still keep me busy for so long. I feel a little unhappy just thinking about it."
In the past, Mei Kelai was mainly responsible for the three meals of the theater group, except when there was no time to cook, and the meals were eaten out, and other girls came to help.
Mei Ke thought that she had been cooking for so long, but she still hadn’t mastered the art of grilling fish for the first time. It was really frustrating!
She shook her head and walked away.
Seeing that the elder sister did nothing else, An slowly breathed a sigh of relief.
Unexpectedly, Meike suddenly turned her head, and her low tone suddenly became happy and high-spirited: "It's decided, you will be the one to cook from now on, starting from this meal!"
"!!!"
The dumbfounded An was held by Mei Ke's arm:
"Come on, come on, we caught quite a lot of fish."
Except for An, whose eyes were dull, everyone else's eyes slowly lit up.
