Chapter 502: Peace of Mind
This is a very special day for the Ansu people.
Day of Peace.
Every year on the 45th of the Frost Moon, festivals all over the country will start as scheduled. On this cold day, the Ansu people will take out the last food and physical strength that can be used to splurge to commemorate their ancestors and have returned. Friends and relatives in the world of the dead.
Although many contemporary people have forgotten the original meaning of this festival, hundreds of years of tradition have made the 45th Frost Moon a special date mixed with mystery, prayer, hope and commemoration. Many Ansu people firmly believe that the kingdom of the dead The door will open on this day, and souls who have passed away—whether they have gone to the temple of the god of death, the shrine of the blood god, or the realm of some other god—can be reclaimed on this day. The opportunity to return to the world, these souls will come along the road paved by the death chrysanthemum to celebrate the festival with the living, and they will also appear by the bonfire at night, in the form of amorphous smoke, fire or shadow Be with those who miss them.
Therefore, although it is a day to remember the dead, the Ansu people spend it in a celebratory way, decorating their doors with flowers, hanging grass rings on the fireplace or on the wall opposite the door, There will be big bonfires, and there will be singing and dancing around the bonfires - they celebrate this day because they believe that the souls will come home to see it on this day.
In addition to honoring the dead, Anhui has another meaning for Anzu as a northern kingdom: it means the end of most social activities.
The 45th of the Frost Moon is the last day when the constellation of the flaming fire crosses the Tiangong line. Its arrival means that winter is approaching - there are still more than ten days before winter, but the weather in the northern kingdom is too cold to continue to waste outdoors. The level of physical strength, perhaps the nobles will hold a few romantic winter feasts on snowy days, but for the commoners who are short of food, fuel, and clothing, this is their last large-scale outdoor activity of the year. Opportunity.
After some careful planning, the people gathered fuel and food together, used the form of a final celebration to invigorate their spirits, and prayed to the souls of the ancestors for good weather for the next year, and the simple people had simple thoughts: It is the privilege of the priests of fertility to pray to the three gods of fertility, and it will cost a lot of money to ask the druids for a good harvest. It is better to light a bonfire on this last festival before winter, praying for those who may have entered the kingdom of the gods. The deceased can help themselves - bless themselves with three or five catties of food in the coming year.
People celebrate the annual Anling Day with such a simple wish, and then go dormant after the end of the day, just like those ancestors who have returned to the kingdom of the dead, quietly in the next long winter. Dormant down.
In the city of Saint Sunil, the subtle fragrance of the death chrysanthemum is permeating the streets and alleys. Although the whole kingdom is still mired in the quagmire of war, the Anling Festival has come as scheduled - rather, it is precisely because of the war. The rain is pouring down,
People desperately need this festival to comfort those souls who are on their way.
White flowers have been inserted in front of every door, and straw ropes or flower vines for decoration are hung under the eaves of each house. Adults carry the collected firewood to the nearest square or open space to prepare for the evening. The bonfire was getting ready, while the carefree children shouted and yelled around the adults, consuming their physical strength and energy by fighting and making a fuss.
This kind of scene is not only unique to the civilian block, but even the magnificent Silver Fort has a similar scene.
The servants were preparing a huge bonfire in the courtyard. The knights polished their spears and swords and decorated them on the long corridor leading to the courtyard. Victoria Wilder in a white dress and a silver shawl stood. In front of the courtyard entrance, she held a white death chrysanthemum in her hand, and pinned the flower to Welsh Moen's chest earnestly.
"Your Highness, may you remember the glory of your ancestors." The duchess said in a calm and indifferent tone as she looked at the heir of the Morn bloodline in front of her.
Wales Moen looked down at the little white flower on his chest, smiled a little self-deprecatingly, and then lowered his head: "I'll keep it in mind."
Duchess Victoria looked at Welsh Moen's expressionless face, and suddenly said: "Your Highness, do you know why the patriarch of the Wilde family wears the death chrysanthemum for the heir of Moen's blood every year on Anling's Day? ?"
Wales Moen's eyes seemed to flicker, but he still said calmly: "This is because the Wilder family sheltered Moen's bloodline at the most dangerous moment of the kingdom - just like the ancestors worth remembering, this Friendship is also something to remember.”
Victoria looked into Wales' eyes, and there was no coercion in those eyes, but the Duchess's innate winter temperament would still make people feel unspeakable pressure. She didn't last for ten seconds - but the middle-aged man opposite her resisted. During the ten seconds of staring, Wales Moen didn't turn his eyes away, but confronted the Duchess candidly. watching.
Victoria seemed to show a smile. She looked back and looked at the huge pyre in the courtyard: "...I asked Prince Edmund the same question. Guess how he answered?"
"……I have no idea."
"'This is to let every descendant of Moen know that it is because of the Wilder family that they are entitled to commemorate their ancestors in this silver castle, not in the horse shed in North Mountain County', he said. The original words," Victoria said indifferently, "that was three years ago, and our great founding hero had not come out of the grave."
Wales Moen said nothing, just stood there without saying a word.
"He should also be wearing a death chrysanthemum now. In a fortress in the east of the Holy Spirit Plain, a bonfire was lit to commemorate the father who was probably killed by him. The castle accepted the flowers I put on him and honored the deceased according to my request," Victoria tilted her head slightly and said to the middle-aged crown prince, "Now this role is replaced by you, and replaced by about you."
"I don't think it's humiliating."
"Perhaps, but it doesn't matter," Victoria said indifferently, as if it really didn't matter, "your father was a good king, and frankly, I respect him—though he may not be happy to accept mine. Respect."
Wales looked at the duchess in confusion, as if he didn't understand why the ruler of the north, who had always been cold and detached and rarely talked at length, suddenly said so much to himself, while Victoria didn't care about his confusion and just continued to say wrote:
"This country has stood for hundreds of years, dozens of people have sat on that throne, but not everyone really cares about this kingdom, your father did it... Believe it or not, the Wilder family has always been sincere support him wholeheartedly."
Wales opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.
"I know what you think, although you never say it, but you also think it's a kind of hostage and control," the Duchess didn't look back at all, but seemed to have seen the subtle changes in Wales' expressions, "but we have our own Consideration—everything is for the Anzu Kingdom.
"The foggy month civil strife a hundred years ago taught us a great lesson. The civil strife was caused by the struggle for kingship, but the absurd life of the last king of the first dynasty and all kinds of chaotic politics made the situation out of control. The real reason, we've known since that day - 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 time when the king's power is out of control, so in the second dynasty, we established the system of the regent duke, and the king's power will be monitored. and control, but in turn, the king is also balancing the power of the dukes, you know that.
"No one can have absolute power in their hands, and any power must have a backup plan. These two points are the lessons the Wilder family has learned during the Fogmoon civil strife."
Wales Moen finally broke the silence: "Then have you thought about the variables of Edmund and the Duke of Eastland?"
"...People's hearts are always outside the plan," the Duchess said after two seconds of silence, "but that doesn't mean that the lessons we have learned are meaningless. In fact, Ansu can survive the chaos in the foggy moon. It does rely on the Duke Regent system. This system may need to be improved, but it is 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 you suddenly say these words to me?"
"These words, my father also said to your father before he ascended the throne," the Duchess said calmly, "I was going to say it to Edmund three years ago on Requiem."
Wales' breathing paused for a moment.
"The throne has been vacant for a long time. This country has been running for half a year without a king, but it can't go on like this forever - the nobles need an object of allegiance, the king needs a flag, and the people need to know who It's orthodox," Duchess Victoria turned around and stared into Wales' eyes again, "at first, we thought this war could be over soon, because the Wang ** had two or three times the strength of the Eastern Rebels and Supplies, but we did miscalculate, we have reached a stalemate, so we must be prepared to continue the stalemate."
Wales opened his mouth: "I..."
"Can't wait for a post-war coronation, His Royal Highness," said the Duchess, biting the word 'His Royal Highness' hard, "Edmund will soon realise that he will not be able to enter the Holy Land for the next year, too. Sunil, he will crown himself at any time, and the Duke of the Eastland will use his influence to make the nobles of the entire Eastland and the small half of the Holy Spirit Plain allegiance to the new king, and the blind commoners will soon admit it. —Therefore, you must be king before Edmund is crowned."
Wales Moen's eyes widened slightly, but after missing the throne once, he forcibly regained his composure in a short period of time. He looked at the Duchess, and said frankly: "How many people will recognize me as a king. How many nobles will be willing to serve me?"
"The Wilder family will fully support you, as will the Franklin family. We can make half of the nobles in this kingdom swear allegiance to you - at least on the surface."
Wales pondered, and after a few seconds, he spoke again: "Then have you considered the biggest variable?"
While saying this, Wales Moen raised his hand and pointed to the death chrysanthemum on his chest.
"I'm ready for the trip to the south, and I'll talk to the founding duke in person," Victoria said with a solemn expression, even if the ruler of the north, known as the Snow Queen, said this sentence He couldn't help but put on a very solemn tone, "I will do my best."
"What do you think are the odds of him supporting 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 pyre in the courtyard, at the grass rings and death chrysanthemums decorated everywhere, at the mages and ritual officials who were preparing for the ritual.
The sky has gradually dimmed, and the dim skylight means that the time to light the bonfire is approaching.
The really important part of the All Souls' Day is about to begin.
This is a day to commemorate the ancestors and pray for blessings to the ancient dead.
But the ancestor who was originally commemorated by this festival... Now he has returned to the world from the other side of the death chrysanthemum.
Victoria Wilder walked to the courtyard in silence, picked up a piece of oak branch placed on the stone table and threw it into the pyre, and then ordered the bonfire to be lit.
Looking at the flames that gradually ignited, the ruler of the north sighed.
If it really only took a stick to throw in the campfire and the ancestors would bless themselves...that would be great.