Yes, Madam Prime Minister

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Yu Daoheng laughed, "Ha, Mr. Luo's lack of response is actually a form of response, isn't it?"

The fact that he told him not to ask meant that Ronan also understood it was a problem. Since it was a problem, then the girl was indeed Zhao Yingqi.

“Haha, if you say so, then so be it,” Ronan replied with a laugh.

"The favor is still there," Yu Daoheng added.

Ronan no longer refused. "Alright, next, Fan Hong will be handed over to you. As for the person to prove Menglong's innocence, arrangements have been made. However, the person involved in the assassination of Lord Wang, unfortunately, escaped due to the locals' poor supervision. As for the other officials involved, they cannot be handed over to you because, according to their confessions, this case may have been secretly plotted by some people in India. We, the people of the Western Continent, are also victims, and we must further investigate the truth."

"Huh? An Indian?" Liu Menglong looked surprised again.

Ambrina shook her head. How could this person be so stupid? Ronan was obviously distorting the truth and making baseless accusations. Couldn't he tell?

Yu Daoheng stroked his beard, a half-smile on his face, "I believe that someone like Mr. Luo wouldn't speak recklessly."

Clearly, he understands.

At that moment, Ambrina called out, "Humbert."

Instantly, Humbert jogged over, and Ambrina added, "You'll go to Seris too. On the way, talk to them properly. You don't need to bring your own people. I'll send two ships to escort you there."

The arrangements had already been made. Ulrich and Morin would lead the team, temporarily under Humbert's command, and accompany him to Seris as escorts.

“Understood,” Humbert replied.

He would have been somewhat reluctant to go alone, but he was quite willing to go with an armed force.

Liu Menglong was shocked again. He recognized this Humbert. He was the representative of the largest and most powerful country in the West. How could he be ordered around by Ronan's wife like this?

"Does this count as an answer?" Ambrina asked Yu Daoheng.

She and Ronan both knew very well that Liu Menglong, his servant, and this Mr. Yu had been investigating and speculating about their identities these past few days. Now, Ambrina had given them an "answer," and those who understood would naturally understand.

At this point, Yu Daoheng naturally understood, "Madam truly deserves to be called the foremost female hero in the West."

Ambrina was quite pleased and felt incredibly pleased, but she still shook her head and pointed at Dinia, "I'm not, this is."

Dinia remained expressionless and silent.

Ronan smiled. "Well then, farewell. Until we meet again."

"Until we meet again," Liu Menglong and his teacher Yu Daoheng said in unison.

Afterwards, Liu Menglong and his group boarded another ship and set off for Seris, while Ronan and his group stayed behind. They naturally wanted to spend a few days in India before heading to the alternate dimension ruins in India.

Next, Ronan and his group will travel east and then north across India, their final destination being the ancient civilization that has vanished, where the alternate dimension ruins are also located. It would be too conspicuous to parade through the city with hundreds of people along the way.

The people from the other ship-owning nations are temporarily entrusted to the West India Trading Company of the Kingdom of Phos.

When Ronan and his group return, if they want to stay, they can stay; if they want to continue following Ronan and his group to Seris, they can continue.

Anyway, I won't force it.

“Let’s find a place to have a good local meal first,” Ambrina exclaimed.

Chapter 715 Printing, History, the blurriness is alright.

Ronan and his group are currently in western India, a place that has been visited countless times. Walking on the streets, they can see all sorts of strange things. Not to mention figuring out what religion the other person has, they can't even figure out who the other person is.

The reason for all of this is a long story.

In another world, printing from south of Afghanistan is a tradition that has lasted for thousands of years. But in this world, printing also happens, but not as much, and not as intensely.

Until five hundred years ago...

Five hundred years ago, a group of people who were originally nomadic tribes from the northern grasslands of China later became vassals and enforcers. During the chaos of war, they established a power base in the north, but were eventually driven out by the Han Chinese and fled back to the grasslands where their ancestors lived.

This group of people were born and raised in Han lands, learned Han language, and even their cultivation methods are Han-style. They do not consider themselves barbarians at all. On the contrary, they believe that the Central Plains people who have lost their martial virtue, the Southerners, are the barbarians.

But there's nothing we can do; their martial spirit has risen again, and in this world, whoever has the biggest fist is the civilized one, and whoever can't win is the barbarian.

The group that fled back to their ancestral lands were like experts entering a fishpond. The grassland people who only knew secondhand, low-level cultivation methods were no match for these original, Sinicized grassland people. Before long, the grasslands were conquered by this group.

Having conquered the grasslands, they had no intention of heading south. After all, the south had just been unified, their martial spirit was still strong, and they even seemed poised to continue their northern expedition. The Great Khan, their leader, decided to launch a western expedition and perform a ritual to defy fate.

This is a ritual he devised by combining secrets obtained from Han Chinese relics with his own ideas.

He has thought of and will do something that no Han Chinese had ever thought of or done before.

He is the one who truly inherited the destiny of China.

The Great Khan led his people on a westward expedition, and after entering Central Asia, he immediately launched a massive ceremony to try to give many of the steppe alliances that were on the westward expedition extraordinary talents.

However, this ritual directly or indirectly resulted in the deaths of over 100,000 people, created tens of thousands of undead monsters, and produced over 10,000 survivors who successfully obtained the talent.

Many years ago, Ussel left the Kingdom of Fass with the intention of visiting this site.

Judging by the time, he should have finished his investigation and entered Seris from the Western Regions.

The survivors of the ritual fled eastward back to the northern grasslands of Seris, where they first formed a faction and soon regained dominance over the grasslands, causing intermittent trouble for the Central Plains, just like the events of the past thousand years.

The undead monsters ravaged Central Asia, turning many parts of the region into wastelands. Just as this calamity ended, a plague swept across the western continent. Even mages had few effective treatments, and even mages below the highest rank were susceptible. However, in reality, not many people died, far fewer than the Black Death from another world.

Instead, in the aftermath of the plague, a "Golden Age of Magicians" inexplicably emerged in the West. Over several decades, many top magicians appeared on the Western Continent. Driven by their own ambitions, these magicians fought each other, resorting to any means necessary in their battles, resulting in the deaths of tens of millions of people over a century.

The entire western continent was ravaged, and the nobles were no longer nobles because they no longer had serfs under their command.

The nobles, who considered battle their calling and were generally religious, began to re-examine the world. This continued until the signing of the Oak Pact, spearheaded by Orans, more than three hundred years ago, which ushered in a new era of rediscovering civilization for the Western Continent.

Central Asia during the same period also made great progress due to this natural and man-made disaster that lasted for a century before it was completely resolved.

But India is still India.

Thus began a massive "print campaign," which further enhanced India's "cultural diversity."

The western port city where Ronan and his group were staying was a culturally diverse city with all sorts of different restaurants.

Restaurants are mainly for the urban class. In the past, there were hardly any urban residents here because the area was almost entirely a small-scale agricultural economy and also a slave society.

Did feudal nobles under a small-scale peasant economy and slavery need to eat out? Don't be ridiculous. Brahmins ate for free in temples, while Kshatriyas ate at home.

As for other people, and even those who are not human, they basically have no need for this.

It was only after Westerners set up trading posts and opened many factories here, and after many high-caste nobles followed suit, that the concept of citizens came into existence. The proportion of unpaid labor that these low-caste citizens had to provide to high-caste nobles decreased compared to the past. Some of their labor was paid, which gave them money. Some of them even did quite well and had the ability to spend. As a result, restaurants were born and continue to increase.

In the restaurant, the dishes were served quickly: large chunks of mutton soaked in a thick broth, grilled fish, beef pancakes, long-grain rice, and yogurt.

"It's pretty good, but the flavor is a bit strong. Also, the pieces of mutton are so big, can't we have a knife and fork? There's just this wooden spoon." Ambrina said after taking a bite of the mutton paste.

The use of spices in this place is truly remarkable.

Ronan scooped up a spoonful of mutton paste. "Anli, if we went to a real local restaurant, they probably wouldn't even have wooden spoons."

The shop they entered was actually run by Persians from West Asia. Falek could tell just by looking at the decorations. Of course, the Persians here had long been assimilated into Indian culture, otherwise the paste wouldn't have such authentic colors.

"There aren't even wooden spoons, how are we supposed to eat?" Ambrina asked, puzzled.

Isabel spoke up, "With their hands? Haven't you seen those dark, skinny people on the street eating with their hands from those rotten wooden plates?"

She always liked to observe the living conditions of ordinary people in a place. Wooden plates were not unusual. Many poor people in the Western Continent could only use wooden plates. Hundreds of years ago, even poorer nobles had to use wooden plates. What was unusual was that people here used their hands. Was it difficult to make a whole wooden spoon?

Ambrina didn't want to continue the topic, so she suggested, "How about we go to a local restaurant for roast chicken tonight?"

She still wanted to experience the authentic local flavors.

“Okay,” Ronan agreed.

He would never agree to this if it were India a few hundred years from now, because it would mostly be "clean and hygienic" stuff. But nowadays, everything is all-natural, and there are no dark dishes full of "industrial punk" vibes.

“I have no objection,” Dinia said. She can eat anything, as long as it tastes alright.

“However, no matter what, it’s not really authentic here. The truly authentic one is in the east, over by the Ganges.” Ronan said that the western part is not the core area of ​​India. The core area of ​​India is in the northeast, over by the Ganges.

"The fish was so-so, and the beef patty was terrible; the seasoning was too strong." Ambriina didn't rate the beef patty highly because she couldn't taste the beef.

I tried them all, and the porridge was still the best. I just don't know if the authentic porridge there will be even better when I go to the east.

Chapter 716 A vegetarian diet won't work, local specialties, an unexpected old friend

In another world during the 17th century, India was nominally unified by a Green regime, which also effectively controlled most of the northern regions. Its rulers were arguably the wealthiest people in the world at the time. In this world, things are slightly different. The high-level Green forces of Central Asia, who possessed magical abilities, were not much stronger than the natives. However, because India was inherently divided and had a mysterious caste system reinforced by religion, any invasion could easily turn into a large number of collaborators if the caste system remained unchanged. Therefore, the various princely states of India in this world were nominally subordinate to a Green regime, but the territory controlled by this Green regime was much smaller than in the other world, as much of the land was allocated to collaborators rather than to the nobles of their own tribes.

Ronan and his party obtained a number of certificates from several western lords through the directors of trading companies in other countries and officials under the governor, proving that they were foreign nobles, religious friends, licensed traders, and so on.

In addition, Ronan and his group were all fair-skinned, so their journey was basically smooth sailing, and they were even able to get a free meal at the temple.

However, I only tried it twice, and then I stopped.

The reason is simple: Brahmins are vegetarians, but most of Ronan's group love to eat meat, especially Ambrina, who is a typical carnivore and gets hungry if she doesn't have meat for a meal. On the other hand, Isabel is the most accepting of vegetarian food.

Dinia couldn't quite accept it. Despite her orphanage background, she was a good student. The orphanage had a strict hierarchy, and someone as strong as her would have meat with every meal.

Ambrina's childhood was difficult. Her mother didn't care for her, and her father neglected her. She boarded at a church school for ordinary people for a long time. She wasn't hungry, but she rarely had meat and often ate only bread and water. In contrast, Isabel, who was precocious and not fat as a child, was very beautiful from a young age and was favored by her mother. When her mother put on a show of wealth and threw parties, Isabel would at least get to eat something decent.

However, as she grew older, Ambrina preferred to enjoy life. She loved gourmet food, fine clothes, and jewelry, though not in an extravagant way. She was the type to spend happily when she had money and save when she didn't. Isabelle, on the other hand, was quite unpretentious in her lifestyle. After losing her princess status and becoming a civil servant, she lived in a small two-story detached house for over twenty years without ever expressing any dissatisfaction.

There's not much to do in central India; the natural scenery is so-so, and besides that, there are various temples.

In a semi-abandoned temple that hardly had any worshippers, Katbeller discovered a large amount of gold hidden underground, weighing several hundred kilograms, which he took without hesitation, since the Indians themselves didn't want it anyway.

Caterpillar once considered visiting all the temples in India, but Ronan stopped him. There was a temple in another world that held even more gold, and there was one in this world too, but there was no need for that, since they weren't short of money.

During their journey, Ronan and his group bought some local specialties, mainly handmade blankets and some gemstones.

Women just love these things. There's only one exception among a group of women, and that's Kate. She only loves money, and in this world, it's silver and gold.

After traversing the central region, Ronan and his party arrived at the Ganges Plain, the most fertile region in India.

It's late February now, and winter isn't over in the Northern Hemisphere yet, but the latitude of northern India is similar to that of the southernmost part of Seres. It's not exactly hot, but it's still in the twenties, and with the blazing sun, it's anything but cool.

Instead of heading to their destination, the group planned to spend ten to fifteen days sightseeing and enjoy authentic Indian cuisine.

Falek, a woman who looked very much like a high-caste woman and was actually a fake Green, quickly found a Green to be their guide.

After three days of eating and exploring, Ambrina decided to set off early for her destination.

Ambrina joked with a serious expression, "I seriously suspect that if this continues for a few more days, we'll all turn into curry-flavored creatures."

Actually, it's not just curry; there are quite a few other dishes as well. But generally speaking, most of them seem to use spices like they're free. At first, they seem pretty good, but after eating too much, the saliva in your mouth becomes sticky and bitter.

After a day of rest, Ronan and his group officially set off.

Caterpillar and the other AI robots and otherworldly beings arrived in this world more than 1,800 years ago, between the third and second centuries BC.

That period was the last glimmer of ancient India's glory. After that, the relationship between India and ancient India became complicated. To this day, it's not exactly close, but it's practically unrelated.

Two days later, Ronan and his group arrived at a Buddhist temple called Palcho Temple. Nowadays, Buddhism in India is in a very poor state, and this temple was no exception. It was small, dilapidated, and had few worshippers.

But according to Caterpillar, the entrance to another dimension is located within this temple.

However, to Ronan's utter surprise, he met someone here who he had only met once, but who had left a deep impression on him.

He was Rabelais. Even though his eyes were closed, his skin was much darker, and he had shaved his head, Ronan could still recognize him, as could Dinia.

He was once one of the three giants of the Kingdom of Fas, the first person in the history of the Western Continent to reach the seventh rank as a mutated mage of the Heavenly Oath, and also Camille's maternal grandfather. Back then, during the "White Tower Incident", Ronan and Dinia joined forces to defeat him. Afterwards, he transferred his eyes and a part of his magic to Camille, saving the blind and seriously ill Camille. Since then, he has disappeared without a trace.

As a mutated mage, the mutated magical organs are part of him. After doing that, his magical cultivation should have plummeted and be irrecoverable.

But at this moment, he gives people the feeling that he has become so powerful that he has returned to a state of simplicity.

"Past events have faded with the wind. It's been a long time, benefactors." Rabelais's eyes, though seemingly not fully recovered, still recognized Ronan and Dinia immediately.

“She’s doing well; she’s now the Secretary General of the Inner Court,” Dinia said, though Rabelais didn’t ask.

"You've really become a monk?" Ronan asked.

“Yes and no,” Rabelais replied, then turned to Dinia, “Female benefactor, your cultivation is far superior to what it was back then.”

Aside from Ronan and Dinah, no one else recognized Rabelais, having never even met him. This included Queen Ambrina of France; they weren't even born during Rabelais's active period, and by the time they became active, Rabelais, like the other two of the Big Three, had largely withdrawn from worldly affairs. As for the foreigners Faith and Falec, they knew even less. And Astrid wasn't even born when Rabelais left France.

“Who is he?” Astrid asked.

“Rabelais, one of the three giants of the former Kingdom of Phos,” Ronan answered his daughter’s question.

“He’s not…” Astrid had heard of him, but the person in front of her didn’t seem to match the rumors.

The others were also surprised to varying degrees, after all, who didn't know the person who had once stood at the top?

Chapter 717 Lay Down the Butcher's Knife, Foreign Monk, Foreign Taoist Priest

In the back row, Falek's gaze was fixed on Rabelais. Ambrina and the others had said that they were immortal, and their solid, skeletal magical bodies were created through external objects. Only one of them remained. Rabelais's magical body was similar in structure, but it was different. Ambrina and the others had transparent skeletons, while Rabelais's magical body looked like a skull engulfed in golden flames.

Did Rabelais also live forever, or did he not?

But whether he is or isn't, Falek is certain of one thing: he is at the pinnacle of magic, at the seventh rank.

Rabelais chatted with the other monks for a while, then invited Ronan and his party into the temple.

The temple's decor and furnishings were very simple, far inferior to some of the Hindu temples they had visited before. Those temples were beyond magnificent; they were simply extravagant. Here, apart from a Buddha statue, there was nothing decent, and the statue's exterior had even been scratched.