Yes, Madam Prime Minister

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Chapter 592 Picnic, It's Different, I Really Don't Understand Romance

Without any fishing tools, Ronan simply controlled his flying sword to hover over the river and stab fish.

Before long, they had caught five river fish, all of them perch, but none of them were very big.

Sea bass has little fishy smell, and nowadays the water is less polluted, so these sea bass only have a slight muddy smell. After gutting them, add some red wine, salt, pepper, and onions, marinate them briefly, and then skewer them directly on sharpened twigs and grill them.

Over the years, Ronan has often cooked and has picnics several times a year. While his barbecue skills may not be the best, they are certainly not bad.

Before long, the sea bass was grilled. Ronan handed one to Zhao Yingqi, took one for himself, and started eating it right away.

After flying for most of the day, Ronan was also hungry. He devoured a fish in no time, while Zhao Yingqi had only eaten half of the one in his hand.

"How does it taste?" Ronan asked.

“Very fresh and tender,” Zhao Yingqi replied.

The other three potatoes were almost done roasting, and Ronan threw five more potatoes into the fire to roast them directly. Before he transmigrated, when he was very young, he would visit relatives in the countryside during the Spring Festival, and his relatives would roast potatoes like this with the local children.

Soon, the other three fish were ready. Ronan gave one to Zhao Yingqi and kept one in each hand, and they started eating again.

After the fish was finished, the potatoes were almost ready. Ronan used a stick to pull the potatoes out and let them cool.

Once the potatoes were no longer hot, Ronan brushed off the charred ash and removed some of the burnt skin. Then he took out a jar of slightly sweet garlic chili sauce, poured some on the potatoes, and handed it to Zhao Yingqi.

After putting down the garlic chili sauce, Ronan started making it himself.

Back when I was a kid, we could only pour a little bit of Lao Gan Ma chili sauce on it, and we couldn't pour too much, because it was something we had to steal from the kitchen.

After finishing a simple picnic, Ronan stood up. "Should we stay in the city, or just stay in the countryside?"

"In the wild?" Zhao Yingqi was somewhat surprised. Ronan had brought some things, but his bag definitely couldn't hold a tent.

“Just find a place and build one out of branches and planks. Don’t worry, I’m pretty good at it. I’ve lived in the wild like this with Dinia more than once before,” Ronan said confidently. He didn’t mention that his wilderness survival skills were taught to him by Dinia; he had never known these skills before.

Zhao Yingqi wasn't really keen on living in the wild, but when he heard about Dinia, he changed his mind. "Then let's live in the wild."

Ronan searched around for a while and quickly found a suitable large rock. He took out his sword and trimmed the rock a little. Then he cut down two trees, trimmed the branches, and placed the two trunks on the rock. Next, he cut down some more branches and laid the branches with leaves between the trunks.

Soon, a simple triangular tent with one side blocking the wind was completed. Then, Ronan got a bunch of grass and spread it on the ground inside.

The temporary wilderness shelter was thus completed; at night, all that was needed was to light a fire outside.

Zhao Yingqi watched from the sidelines. Ronan worked so efficiently, his movements like those of an old hunter, that it was hard for her to reconcile the image of that powerful, decisive man with the image of the man who commanded an entire nation.

"How about that? I'm pretty good, aren't I?" Ronan asked with a hint of pride.

"Mm." Zhao Yingqi nodded.

As night fell, the two walked around for a while, taking a stroll, and then returned to their temporary lodging when it was completely dark.

Ronan took off his shoes, stuffed his socks inside, stripped down to his underwear, crawled into his sleeping bag, covered himself with his clothes and coat, and went straight to sleep.

Zhao Yingqi only took off his ankle boots, boot trousers and coat before crawling into his sleeping bag, but he couldn't fall asleep for a long time with his eyes closed.

After a very long time, Zhao Yingqi finally fell asleep because he was so tired.

But being alone in the wild for the first time, she couldn't sleep well. She woke up very early the next morning, before dawn, and turned around to find that Ronan was gone. She panicked instantly.

Without even putting on clothes, he slipped on his boots and hurriedly ran out to find Ronan.

After looking around but not finding anyone, Zhao Yingqi burst into tears. Just as she was about to shout for help, Ronan appeared, carrying a rabbit in his hand.

"Are you alright?" Ronan asked, surprised and worried.

Zhao Yingqi was originally wearing a white shirt, a light blue wool vest, a thick, dark blue-purple double-breasted short wool coat, medium-thick matte black pantyhose underneath, a layer of black knitted calf socks on top, dark brown cropped tights, and burgundy short riding boots.

At this moment, he was only wearing a white shirt on his upper body, no pants on his lower body, only black stockings, and his boots were hastily put on, with wrinkles in the leather.

Zhao Yingqi wiped away his tears with his sleeve, shook his head violently, and then ran back.

When she came out again, Ronan had already skinned the rabbit and was sprinkling it with spices, preparing to roast it over a fire.

Ronan didn't ask what had just happened. "It's a pity we only caught this one."

After a while, the rabbit meat was roasted. Ronan tore off the two rather plump rabbit hind legs and gave them to Zhao Yingqi, then hugged the rabbit and started gnawing on it.

After breakfast and a quick wash, the two set off again.

In the afternoon, the two arrived at Breto, a port city on the west coast of the Kingdom of Fas, under the jurisdiction of the Brittany canton.

The Four Seasons Estate by the sea, where Ronan and his party stayed when they returned from the New World, had already been rented by Ronan in advance.

As dusk fell, I led Zhao Yingqi into the manor, and as we walked around the front yard, a sea of ​​roses bathed in the golden light of the setting sun came into view.

Ronan is a typical straight man; he doesn't understand romance at all. To be a bit vulgar, all he can think of is a few roses.

The roses don't bloom until April. This is a sea of ​​roses created by magic. Even if others have money, they might not be able to hire a magician to do something like this, but for Ronan, it's just a matter of a word.

In this time when winter has not yet completely departed, in this manor where the sea breeze blows, a sea of ​​roses fills Zhao Yingqi's vision and her heart.

Seeing Zhao Yingqi's stunned expression, Ronan scratched the back of his head. "To be honest, I don't have much experience either, so I can only do whatever I want."

Zhao Yingqi remained stunned, unable to recover for a long time.

"Oh, right, and this too." Ronan pulled a necklace out of his pocket.

There wasn't even a gift box; it was just stuffed into his pocket.

A large black pearl, shimmering with a bronze glow, is set in a platinum ring. Dozens of small diamonds adorn the platinum pendant, and the chain is also made of platinum.

Zhao Yingqi still didn't reply, so Luo Nan simply stuffed it into her pocket.

"I'll go make you dinner." With that, Ronan left.

By the time Zhao Yingqi came to his senses, Ronan had already disappeared.

As darkness fell, a candlelight dinner for just the two of them began.

Ronan sent over the recipes and supervised the cooking process on-site. The entire kitchen operated under his direction, preparing a Chinese meal: poached chicken, the method was fairly authentic, but unfortunately the chicken here was different, so the taste couldn't be replicated. Braised abalone—in those days, abalone in western France was practically free, you could pick it up as much as you wanted. Braised beef—Ronan's specialty, absolutely authentic. Sichuan-style steamed lamb—probably something the people of Serres at this time had never even tried. Then there were some other dishes that didn't need much mention: steamed sea bass, lobster congee, stewed pigeon, and garlic-roasted eggplant.

Chapter 593 Loss, Beachcombing, Storytelling

Although there were many dishes, the portions were not large, and Ronan and Zhao Yingqi finished just enough.

As for what's left in the pot, the kitchen staff can handle it as they see fit.

After dinner, Ronan and Zhao Yingqi went directly to the restaurant inside the manor to take a walk outside, where the manor's servants came to tidy up.

After wandering around for a while, the two returned to the manor.

Zhao Yingqi had already taken a shower when Ronan went to prepare dinner. He hadn't slept well in the wild the night before, so he went to sleep as soon as he got back.

Ronan went to take a shower.

Zhao Yingqi was a little sleepy, but she just wouldn't close her eyes. She kept staring at the closed doorway for an unknown amount of time until she finally heard footsteps. However, the footsteps went past the doorway and to the side. Then she heard the sound of the door opening and closing.

Ronan went to the next room. For a moment, she felt relieved, but also a little disappointed.

The next morning, Ronan took Zhao Yingqi shopping.

As the most important port city on the west coast, it is both a military port and a commercial port, with many factories in its hinterland. It is very prosperous, and naturally, there are many shops on the streets, so you can definitely eat your way through the city.

The scenery is also first-class, with both vast green areas and blooming flowers on land, as well as endless bays and countless sailboats in the seascape.

For lunch, the two of them didn't eat seafood again, but instead ate two large portions of meat sauce noodles to tide them over.

In the afternoon, Ronan took Zhao Yingqi to the rocky beach. It was low tide, and it was easy to find seafood under the rocks and in some puddles. Shells were easy to pick up, and abalone, oysters, and brown crabs were plentiful on the rock walls. If you moved a few rocks, you were bound to find something. If you were lucky, you could even get a blue lobster.

Like Ronan, there were many people who came here to go beachcombing. The others were all very professional, but Ronan didn't bring any tools except a bucket. He and Zhao Yingqi were just there to have fun and didn't expect to make any real gains.

At first, Zhao Yingqi just watched without much interest, and even kept being careful to avoid stepping into the puddle.

Ronan searched for a while but couldn't find anything. He shook his head in disappointment, then suddenly turned around, picked up a small seashell, and threw it into the bucket. "Just this one. It means I won't be empty-handed."

After a while, Ronan moved a rock and discovered a pair of pincers under another boulder. His eyes lit up with excitement.

He reached out and grabbed, but couldn't catch it.

Zhao Yingqi then saw Ronan take off his coat, roll up his sleeves, and half of his body lie down in the puddle. He reached one hand into a crevice and struggled for a long time, finally managing to get a bread crab out. The bread crab's large claws were clamped tightly into his hand. Ronan's clothes and pants were soaked through, and his hair was a mess. It was completely impossible to connect him with the man who had ruled a country for more than ten years. He looked like a boy, facing the sun with a clean and clear smile.

"Haha, look how big this bread crab is!" Ronan said happily to Zhao Yingqi. "Although the meat of the bread crab is not very sweet, there is a lot of meat, and it is very satisfying to eat."

After saying that, Ronan threw the bread crab into the bucket and prepared to continue.

Zhao Yingqi didn't know why, but he suddenly became interested and stopped acting like someone who was just there to look around. He started looking down and searching.

Perhaps it was a beginner's luck, but Zhao Yingqi suddenly spotted something and shouted, "Lobster! Lobster!"

Ronan, who was walking ahead, immediately turned around and asked, "Where?"

Zhao Yingqi pointed to the crack in the stone ground beneath his feet.

Ronan saw it too. Zhao Yingqi squatted down and tried to grab it. After being touched, the lobster immediately shrank back to the inside. Zhao Yingqi stood up and was about to summon her summoned creature to smash the stone in front of her and move it away when Ronan suddenly grabbed her wrist.

“Yingqi, this is so boring,” Ronan said to her.

Her plan to break a stone into pieces and then catch lobsters is no different from frying fish in a river; that's an evil practice.

Ronan added, "Try it, reach in and grab it. If you can't find it, then forget it."

Zhao Yingqi also took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, and then reached in to rummage and grab at it. After a while, Zhao Yingqi excitedly shouted, "I caught it! Damn it, it won't come out!"

"Don't use force, don't break the pliers, drag them slowly, don't be afraid of getting pinched," Ronan advised from the side.

Zhao Yingqi struggled for a long time but still couldn't get it out. Finally, disregarding his image, he lay down, stretched his arm as far as he could, and tried to grab the lobster.

With a tug, she pulled out a whole blue lobster, excitedly holding it up with both hands, "Haha, I did it, I did it!"

Ronan gave a thumbs up. "Beautiful, handsome."

After getting a bread crab and a blue lobster, the two got into the swing of things. Although their luck wasn't great after that and they didn't get any more loot, they still had a lot of fun, just like an ordinary young couple playing on the beach.

As evening fell, the water level began to rise, and Luo Nan called Zhao Yingqi to go back together.

Instead of going back to the manor, they went to a seaside villa, a property Ronan owned here. He bought it for just two gold coins, a bargain from a judicial auction. Don't ask why Ronan was able to snag such a bargain.

We ate seafood in the evening.

A large bowl of mussels and a bowl of shrimp were bought, while the blue lobster and bread crab were caught by the two of us. Served with egg-coated toast slices, a simple dinner was complete. As for the ordinary-looking shellfish, we didn't eat it; we removed the meat, dried it, and kept it as a souvenir.

After dinner, the two sat on the balcony and looked at the sea view for a while. Then they took a shower, just a quick rinse, and changed into clean clothes.

Then the two sat down in front of the fireplace, warming themselves and chatting.

Basically, Zhao Yingqi was listening to Ronan recount his adventures over the past few decades, from quelling a rebellion, leading a team to suppress counter-revolutionaries, becoming the secretary-general, meeting Dinia, getting involved in the Haidi Man incident, and then entering the Haidi Man ruins. He kept talking and talking until he finished telling the story of how he returned from the colony and helped Ambrina seize the throne without using any force. It was already past midnight.

In this process, Zhao Yingqi not only gained a deeper understanding of Ronan and some of the secrets and truths of this world, but also learned about the origins of Ronan's relationships with Dinia, King Ambrina, Elena, Alice, and Agustina.

Suddenly, Zhao Yingqi's face fell. She felt that she might not be the kind of person Ronan would like.

"What's wrong?" Ronan asked with concern.

Zhao Yingqi read aloud what was on his mind: "I'm useless, I haven't been through anything with you, and I'm not even pretty."

Ronan laughed. "Ha, whether it's useful or not, who can say for sure? As for experience, aren't we going through it together now? Beauty, that's very subjective. I think you're beautiful, very beautiful."

Zhao Yingqi suddenly looked up, "Really?"

“Absolutely true,” Ronan said, without the slightest hint of falsehood.

Chapter 594 Spy, Shameless, Tearing Apart the Rose

The next day, four days after Ronan and Zhao Yingqi left the capital, Ronan left Zhao Yingqi out of the picture and went to see someone else.

Ronan first met a man named Alger on the eve of Alger's departure from the colony. At that time, Alger was a minor official under the Wyland Trade Department, representing Wyland to discuss porcelain trade with Ronan. Alger was in his thirties at the time.

The second meeting took place when the Kingdom of Phos, taking advantage of the war between Bilia and Weyland, launched a feint attack on the Rhine region, forcing the locals to sign a coal supply agreement. After fighting a small war with various countries, they came to renegotiate the agreement. At that time, Alger had already transferred to the Weyland Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The third time was a few years ago when the Protestant alliance was formed, at which time Alger was already considered a person of some standing in the Weyland Foreign Ministry.

This is the fourth time, and Alger is now the Permanent Secretary of the Wehland Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the number two figure.

The Kingdom of Weyland and the Kingdom of Phos share almost the same system; however, Weyland is more democratic, possessing a national parliament, while the Kingdom of Phos only has a city council.

The reason for this difference is historical.

Three hundred years ago, shortly after the founding of the Golden Eagle Dynasty in the Kingdom of Phos, the mage lords voluntarily stepped down, and local governments began to employ civil officials to govern. These officials were nominally the secretaries of the lords. Over a hundred years ago, during Lawrence's reunification of the kingdom, many new nobles emerged, and he wanted to support Protestantism. However, he did not want the nobility and the church to make a comeback and control the country again. But he was short of money, so he simply granted fiefdoms and established councils at the city level, giving local minor nobles, local mages, and priests a voice in their respective areas.

He then completely civilized the central government and centralized his rule.

Welland, on the other hand, had formed a parliament decades ago because the power of the nobility was too strong and there had been several upheavals. This way, if the king caused any trouble in the future, the negative impact would be reduced.

With a parliament comes the need for civil servants. How do you manage that? Just copy them.

This is truly interesting. In Ronan's original timeline, Daiying was the origin of national civil servants, while in this world where magic exists, Daiying copied the neighboring country.

“We’re all old acquaintances, so just say what you need. No need to beat around the bush,” Ronan said directly to Alger.