Yes, Madam Prime Minister

Page 227

Next to Ambrina is Alice, and to Alice's right is Golan.

"Haha, third one, Alice, you're no good." Golan mocked her sister Alice after catching her third fish.

The two sisters, Alice and Grand, are the best at fishing here. Although they have completely different attitudes toward their biological father, they both inherited his love of fishing and are very skilled at it.

Alice couldn't be bothered with her younger sister.

To the right of Grand, Isabel calmly watched the lake surface, which was even calmer than her. From her hat and clothes to her fishing rod and bait, she was more professional than anyone else, and even her posture and expression had the air of an old-timer angler, but she just missed.

Ashley didn't fish; she just sat beside her.

Further to the right are Agustina and Elena. Agustina stands up on her chair and lies there motionless, like a lazy snake.

Elena was slightly better; at least she would occasionally look at him properly.

Ronan glanced at the sky and went to set up the stove. As for the ingredients, there was no need to prepare them; Ambrina would take them out in a moment.

Chapter 515 Ideals, Life, and a Little Barbecue Are the Real Deal

Ronan had already set up the stove. On the other side, Ina and Astrid were still fighting. Although Ina had started to be hit by Astrid, who was standing still, and had been injured in several places, she still showed no sign of admitting defeat.

Seeing this, Ronan walked back to the lakeside and came to Agustina and Elena.

Agustina removed her single eye mask and placed it aside, then put on a black double eye mask to shield herself from the sun. She lay naked, her long, shapely legs encased in semi-transparent, almost black, dark brown pantyhose, which shimmered with a faint golden hue under the midday sun. Her left foot was crossed over her right, her legs resting on top of each other, giving her a very relaxed appearance.

Elena lay down next to her, not fully reclining the chair. Her left leg was stretched out and dangling off the edge of the chair, while her right leg was bent at the knee, with her foot resting on the edge of the chair. This semi-reclining posture accentuated her large breasts, causing her skirt to slide down her back and reveal her entire plump thigh. These legs would be considered thick on an average woman, but on Elena, who was 175 cm tall, they were just the right amount of fleshy. Wearing pantyhose of the same thickness, Elena's black stockings were more transparent at the thighs and almost transparent at the knees, gleaming somewhat dazzlingly in the sunlight.

Ronan stepped forward, pinched Elena's chest, and then went over and pinched Agustina's leg.

"Get up, go and pull the child away, quick," Ronan said.

“Uh,” Agustina replied lazily.

"Okay," Elena replied, getting up to put on her shoes.

Elena is Ina's swordsmanship teacher, and Agustina is Astrid's godmother and magic teacher. It would be best for the two of them to stop Ina and Astrid.

After settling things off here, Ronan called Ashley and Alice over and asked them to help out.

Although we're having barbecue for lunch, we still need to skewer the food. Ronan would be too slow to skewer by himself, while Ashley and Alice, both former maids, are amateurs but still have no problem skewering.

Ashley and Alice both wore white stockings, but they were different. Ashley's stockings had a slightly glossy sheen, and her legs looked more like those of a young female dancer who hadn't completely shed her naivety—slender yet powerful. Alice, on the other hand, wore a pair of matte pinkish-white stockings, the kind that were very girlish and even somewhat delicate and cute.

However, apart from Ronan, no one thought Ashley was naive or Alice was frail. Both of them were considered female villains in the eyes of many people in the capital and even outside the capital.

Let Seris go; one is the "chief commander," and the other is the "commander-in-chief."

While skewering the food, the two discussed how to launch a joint operation to rectify the prevailing social atmosphere.

Those who know about this whole rectification thing understand.

On the other side, Gelan was fiddling with the sauce. She seemed the most unreliable, but she was actually the best cook. When she was focused on making the sauce and didn't say anything, she really looked like a good daughter in some kind of script who took care of her irresponsible father and did all the housework by herself.

But those cute, children's tights with vertical black stripes, semi-transparent black fabric, and little bows tied at the calves were really a bit...

Ambrina also came over to join in the fun. She was just a supervisor, watching and occasionally taking a bite.

Anri looked especially adorable today, wearing a white dress with puff sleeves, white stockings with small red polka dots, and red round-toed strappy princess shoes. She looked even younger and cuter than when Ronan first met her.

In comparison, Isabelle looked much more "rustic." She wore an olive green shirt with a multi-pocketed fisherman's vest over it, a fisherman's hat, shorts, black knee-high stockings, and tan high-top ankle boots.

But in Ronan's opinion, Isabelle's outfit was very modern, giving off a cool, workwear-inspired vibe.

Dinya sat next to her, dressed in a white shirt dress with purple and blue vertical stripes, a thin leather belt around her waist, flesh-colored pantyhose close to her skin tone, and white canvas shoes made by Ronan. She had a style that combined professionalism and casualness.

After exchanging a few words about work, the two started chatting casually.

Isabel tugged at her slightly slipping knee-high socks. "I thought you were getting tired of it by now. After all, you should have realized that if things continued like this, even if you reached your goal, it wouldn't be the goal you originally wanted to achieve."

She had assumed that Dinah would feel empty and bored after becoming prime minister, because she would inevitably realize that she was constantly deviating from her original intentions.

Dinia never wanted to win hegemony for the country, but rather for national prosperity and stability. And given the current trend, even if it eventually wins hegemony, prosperity is possible, but stability is unlikely.

Unlike Isabelle, she never expected stability; she wanted a new era.

Dinia just smiled. "Ronan told me a story. One day at sea, a young sailor asked the captain, 'Captain, where are we going next?' The captain replied, 'With the wind, to the next stop, to get some brandy.'"

"And then?" Isabelle followed up.

“There is no then,” Dinia replied. “Ideals are like a lighthouse that is certain and unchanging at first, but later they become the wind that is uncertain during the day. Whether the goal is the same as the initial ideal goal is no longer important. What is important is that you are still pursuing the ideal. At this point, the ideal has become a part of life, just like the somewhat nihilistic phrase ‘Next stop, have some brandy.’ That’s life.”

“Yes, that’s life.” Isabel smiled too. “I never thought that rough guy like Ronan could tell such artistic and philosophical little stories.”

“He’s an interesting person, otherwise how could you possibly like him?” Dinia asked with a smile.

Isabel grabbed a handful of grass and threw it forward. "Tch, I like him? I was coerced by that couple."

“Isa, you’re just like you were when you were little, you haven’t changed at all,” Dinia said.

"And what about you? How did you come to like this guy?" Isabel changed the subject and asked Dinia instead.

Without much thought, Dinia replied directly, "There aren't that many reasons, I just feel that it's good to be together like this."

"If you had met someone else who could help you instead of him when you went south, would things have changed?" Isabel asked again.

“No,” Dinia answered firmly. “I’m with him not because he helped me, or because we fought side by side. If I had to give a reason, I couldn’t.”

"To be honest, I don't really know how things turned out this way," Isabel added with a sigh.

Just then, Ronan's voice came over, "Girls, kids, the first round of barbecue is almost ready, come on over."

Dinia straightened the wrinkles in her stockings at her ankles, stood up, and pulled them up again to make them fit snugly against her body. "Let's go, Isa."

Isabel nodded and got up to walk towards the source of the barbecue aroma.

Suddenly, it seemed that career and love were no longer important; having some barbecue was the real priority.

Chapter 516 The Mission, History, and Distorted Time and Space

Night, near a campsite.

Ronan lay on his back on the grass, looking at the starry sky that seemed within reach. Ambrina rested her head on Ronan, her eyes closed, humming some incomprehensible melodies.

Ambrina stopped humming, opened her eyes, and asked somewhat abruptly, "Ronan, do you think we should postpone sending the delegation to Seris for now?"

“No need,” Ronan replied.

Ambrina said this because something happened three months ago. Three months ago, the navies of Villa, Weyland, and Annam joined forces to fight against the navy of Seris. The three-nation alliance won, a Pyrrhic victory, but it was worth it for Villa and Weyland because of trade.

One can imagine what Seris's attitude is towards foreigners now.

There's more to this than meets the eye. First of all, Seris is the common name used in the Western Continent. They don't call themselves Seris; they call themselves David.

Two hundred years ago, Seris was in chaos, and heroes rose up everywhere.

Ultimately, a man surnamed Zhao conquered the land and established the State of Wei.

Among them, a rebel army that failed in its struggle for the world went south and conquered a large territory. Tu Qi first submitted a petition to become the Protectorate General of Annam, while Wei Guo spent the first few decades of its history quelling rebellions in the north.

Although the Annam Protectorate was seen by Wei Guo as a regime established by bandits, it included many disillusioned scholars. These scholars were not just bookworms, but rather "scholars" and "warriors." The scholars would reason first and then draw their swords, while the warriors would draw their swords first and then reason.

In any case, the policy of Sinicization was implemented directly with the executioner's blade, which was one of the reasons why the Wei Kingdom did not interfere.

A century ago, the Annam Protectorate ceased to be a vassal state and became the Annam Kingdom, with a considerable territory roughly equivalent to southern Myanmar in Ronan's original timeline, plus Thailand and Cambodia.

Since gaining independence, Annam and Ü have been constantly at odds.

However, before Annam gained independence, Weiguo established three military prefectures in the surrounding area: Dongtianzhu Military Prefecture, whose territory extended from northern Myanmar to Bengal; Zhennan Military Prefecture, whose territory extended from southern Vietnam; and Zhenhai Military Prefecture, whose territory extended from West Malaysia.

The highest military commander of the Xingying Prefecture was the Defense Commissioner, who was one rank lower than the Jiedushi (military governor). Initially, he was just a military commander, and the position was held by members of the imperial clan on a rotating basis, changing every four years. However, a hundred years have passed, and the situation has changed. The Defense Commissioner is now actually doing the work of the Jiedushi, only overseas.

According to intelligence obtained by the Kingdom from the Welanders, in this naval battle between the Weiguo Navy and the Allied Forces of the Three Kingdoms, all three military camps are suspected of being somewhat half-hearted in their efforts.

It can be predicted that in a few decades, the defense commissioner will probably have to request the appointment of a new military governor, and then the military governor will be replaced.

This also shows that the Seris dynasty had once again entered its twilight years.

"Hmm?" Ambrina asked, puzzled.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend. We are enemies of Villa, and we are certainly not friends with the Weylanders either,” Ronan said.

If Seris were still powerful, even if the foreign barbarians hadn't offended him this time, the kingdom's delegation would have been sent back to where they came from. But now Seris is probably broke, so it's time to use a cost-saving strategy like using barbarians against barbarians.

Even if the mission is unpopular, it doesn't have to be driven away.

“Hmm.” Ambrina agreed.

"Moreover, we don't have any diplomatic requests this time. Our main purpose is to collect the historical records of Seris and, incidentally, inquire about Zhao Yingqi."

Ronan said.

The mission was sent to retrieve the history books of Seris. The Kingdom of Phos was not entirely ignorant of Seris, but it didn't have any specific understanding of it either. Ronan wanted to know the historical context of Seris in this world, and the final solution was naturally to look at the history books of Seris.

With her doubts resolved, Ambrina breathed a sigh of relief and sat up. "Ronan, go to Alice's place."

"Huh?" Ronan exclaimed in surprise.

“According to the rotation, it should be her turn,” Ambrina said.

Ronan moved closer and hugged Ambrina, whispering in her ear, "Anri, how about I lick you for a while?"

Ambrina gently pushed Ronan away, "No, it'll only make me feel worse if I get aroused and then it's not there."

"Don't you have big and small Ronans?" Ronan said with a mischievous grin.

Ambrina has a prop that's bigger than Ronan's own thing, and it even has a vibration function.

"That thing can't compare to you," Ambrina pouted. What's the point of sex if you don't have a lover? Besides, that thing is just you holding it and poking yourself; it's nothing compared to being lifted up by Ronan and thrust into him like he's being sent to heaven.

“Then let’s do it.” Ronan reached directly into Ambrina’s skirt. “Do it once, slowly, and make it longer.”

As a fifth-tier mage, he could do it more than ten times on his own, but that thing didn't have his stamina.

If he can control the pace, an hour at a time is no problem, but he usually only lasts about twenty minutes.

After a while, Ronan pulled down Ambrina's polka-dot white stockings and white panties, spread her legs apart, lifted her buttocks, and positioned her like an adult holding a child to urinate. He aimed, pushed upwards, and then let go, penetrating her completely to the root.

Ronan reached inside Ambrina's clothes and rubbed her breasts while giving her a wet kiss as she turned her head to the side.

Suddenly, Ambrina and Ronan stopped at the same time. Ambrina scolded, "These kids, they don't sleep at night." On the other side, Ina, Astrid, and Zhao Yingqi were walking over.

"Shall we go somewhere else?" Ronan said.

Ambrina cast a spell, bringing herself and Ronan into her magical space.

Soon, Ina and her two companions arrived.

"Where did Mom and Grandpa go?" Ina said through gritted teeth, sounding surprised and somewhat unhappy.

“I told you not to come. Ronan and His Majesty are having a romantic time here, and you insisted on disturbing them,” Astrid said from the side. She didn’t want to come at all; wouldn’t it have been better to sleep more? But Ina dragged her along.

"People in their fifties still talking about love?" Ina thought Astrid was talking complete nonsense.

Zhao Yingqi stood there blankly, somewhat at a loss. Ina said that she had heard from her aunt that the kingdom had received a report about Seris, but her aunt wouldn't tell her, so she decided to ask her father and mother.

Then Ina dragged her and Astrid over together.

Just then, Isabel quietly appeared behind the three of them. "What are you doing running around like this so late at night?"

Ina was startled and turned around, but Isabel immediately raised her hand to stop her from speaking. "No need to explain. I know you're here to ask about Seris on her behalf. Since you insist on knowing, then I'll tell you." As one of the de facto heads of the intelligence agency, Isabel had, of course, seen the intelligence.

“Zhao, I regret to inform you that at least three months ago, the name of the defense commissioner of the Eastern India Garrison of Seris did not match the name of your father that you mentioned. His name was Zhao Zhongwen.”

Zhao Yingqi was stunned when she heard this. After a moment, she realized that he was talking about Zhao Zhongwen. According to seniority, she should call him her great-uncle, who was also her father's ex-husband. But wasn't her great-uncle already dead?

Chapter 517 Two years later, five years later, the ancient history of Seris

Two years passed in the blink of an eye, and it was 1597. In that year, Ronan turned forty.

The delegation sent to Seris finally returned to the capital. They were warmly welcomed upon their return, and even the minor figures accompanying them became honored guests of the nobles. There was no way around it; everyone was just too curious about that Eastern country.

Ronan didn't join in the fun; he simply sent people to take away the historical records that had piled up almost halfway up the ship.

The mission members knew nothing about Seres history. As civil servants, they understood perfectly well that buying too much was not a mistake, but not buying anything would have been terrible. In any case, they bought back all the historical books they could find through translation, totaling more than five thousand volumes, and made a hefty profit in the process.

These damned civil servants are issuing fake invoices like crazy, each one costing an average of three taels of silver, while a book is only about forty or fifty pages long.

So Seres didn't have printing presses and was still relying on handwritten copies? History books aren't rare, mass-produced treasures; they couldn't possibly be that expensive.

According to a few particularly ambitious members of the mission, the average price of a book was less than one or two taels of silver.

Good grief, they doubled it!

However, Ronan did not intend to pursue the matter. After all, the government was paying for it, and the government officials had worked hard for two years. Why couldn't they earn some extra money?

In addition, they also learned about Zhao Yingqi's situation. When the delegation arrived, it was a year ago. Her great-uncle Zhao Zhongwen had returned to the capital to be punished for dereliction of duty, and her father Zhao Qixian was preparing to take up his post. At that time, "she" was only three years old, but in the kingdom, Zhao Yingqi, who came from another time and space, was already eight years old.

In other words, the Ronan from another timeline that Ronan encountered earlier was Ronan "five years later".