Saving the foolish general, she accidentally becomes his favorite.

The king of the grasslands stared at the second prince with a meaningful look in his eyes.

All of this happened so suddenly; he wasn't without his doubts...

However, the Fengshen Festival was of great importance, and he couldn't bear to doubt his own son, who had put the cart before the horse and was even willing to exploit the very foundation of the grassland tribe...

Finally, the grassland king decided to personally inspect the animal cage containing the prey, just as his subordinate arrived to report:

“Your Majesty, I have checked and all the markings are correct, the counts are the same, and no one has seen any wolf cubs. I have gathered all the people responsible for the verification, and Your Majesty can interrogate them personally.”

The grassland king grunted in response, showing no intention of interrogating him.

Having committed such a grave mistake, it's not easy to find witnesses.

The eldest prince stood in front of the cage, awaiting his father's orders. From the moment the incident occurred, he knew he wouldn't be able to find out the truth. After all, he knew exactly how many wolves he had captured, and the person behind the scenes would certainly not let anyone easily spot the extra wolf cubs that appeared out of nowhere.

The eldest prince faced the king of the grasslands and said in a deep voice, "That wolf cub must have been hunted this morning and brought here before the sacrifice."

That's why the incident happened right after the people had gathered. The sacrificial ceremony was grand, and since it was on one side of the Tianlu River, the escape routes were restricted. The congested scene made it difficult to evacuate in time, which could easily lead to greater casualties.

The more casualties there are, the greater the guilt he bears as the "instigator".

Unfortunately, it all came down to one wrong move...

At this time, Erdemutu, the second-in-command of the tribe in charge of logistics and the younger brother of the grassland king, also came to report to the grassland king:

"Brother, those wolves headed northeast. My men followed and saw them heading towards the snow mountain. Animals from the snow mountain don't leave easily. Someone must have deliberately captured the wolf cub to lure a pack of wolves and disrupt the Fengshen sacrificial ceremony!"

"As long as we find out who went to the snow mountain, we'll definitely find some clues..."

The second prince said, "Uncle, this wolf cub appeared in the eldest brother's cage. You are in charge of the tribe's logistics, and you are responsible for the preparation of supplies and personnel for this Fengshen Festival. Now that something has happened, shouldn't we first investigate the eldest brother's whereabouts and the movement of the prey?"

"Do you know how many people have been suffering in pain during the time you've wasted?"

After hearing this, Uncle Wang glanced at the expression on the face of the Grassland King, hesitated, and finally looked at the Second Prince and the Eldest Prince before sighing:

“I believe the eldest prince did not do the wolf cub incident. After it happened, I immediately summoned the witch doctor and asked the shepherdess to take care of the wounded.”

“Wolf packs are extremely united. If you just abduct a wolf cub, they will attack as a group. If the wolf cub you take back is not long to live, they will probably come back and take revenge. That’s why I sent people to follow the wolf pack.”

Grassland tribes have abundant prey, and naturally, many wolf packs as well. However, different wolf packs are divided into different classes, and weaker groups may occasionally send out brave warriors to venture out and establish their reputation. Although the wolves they hunt may be old, weak, sick, or disabled, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Having the courage to confront wild beasts is a natural symbol of courage.

Therefore, for young people in grassland tribes who want to make a name for themselves, jackals, tigers, and leopards can be seen as stepping stones to success.

However, when faced with a truly powerful individual, no one dares to provoke them easily.

This is the law of the jungle in nature.

The warning passed down through generations of grassland tribes is that the wolves beyond the snow-capped mountains are the fiercest. Living in the harsh land, they are tempered in body and mind to be more courageous than ordinary livestock. Therefore, both hunters and warriors tacitly agree not to provoke any creature in the snow-capped mountains, not even the king of the grasslands.

The arrival of wolves from the snow-capped mountains dealt a heavy blow to the grassland tribes, but their formidable strength also made it difficult for the grassland king to muster the troops to annihilate them.

Uncle Wang looked around at the mess; there was no trace of the sacredness and solemnity of the sacrificial ceremony. He sighed.

“Brother, I was in charge of preparing all the supplies for this festival. Now that the culprit has been found in this tragedy, it’s inevitable. I’m willing to accept punishment for failing to protect the people, but the Fengshen Festival is of utmost importance…”

Erdemutu looked at the King of the Steppe:

"Brother, should we continue with the rest of the rituals?"

The grassland king took a deep breath. From the moment the incident occurred, he had been thinking about how to handle the situation that was about to unfold:

"Mutu, your inadequate supervision this time has given others an opportunity to take advantage of the situation, which is very disappointing to me."

As soon as the King of the Grasslands finished speaking, the uncle's expression immediately fell, overwhelmed by guilt. He lowered his head, intending to accept his elder brother's scolding, but then he heard:

"As for punishment, the people are frightened and their hearts are unsettled. I need you to do a good job of appeasing them afterwards. Can you do that?"

Mutu looked up in surprise, then pursed his lips. He knew his elder brother didn't want to hurt his pride. Mutu nodded, "Don't worry, elder brother, I will do my best!"

The grassland king looked at the distant snow-capped mountains, then at the scattered people who were gradually walking back. What was once a lively celebration had ended in ruins.

"This year's Fengshen Festival... will be kept simple. Just complete the remaining procedures and offer the offerings again..."

The second prince was furious that the grassland king neither pursued his elder brother's hunting of wolf cubs nor mentioned his uncle's dereliction of duty, but he suppressed his anger and gritted his teeth, saying:

"Father, regardless of whether my elder brother personally hunted the wolf cubs and caused the trouble, this whole affair started because of him. Are we just going to let it go like this?"

The grassland king remained silent. His old leg injury had just healed, and he feared that punishing him would be too much for his body to handle.

Mutu comforted him, saying, "Second Prince, please calm down. This wolf cub wasn't found during the inspection by several people, which means it was put into the cage by someone with ulterior motives at the last minute... The First Prince has been a top rider, archer, and hunter since childhood, so he couldn't possibly be unaware of the consequences of hunting wolf cubs. Therefore, it couldn't be him."

Seeing this, the second prince questioned, "If it were an ordinary matter, it would be fine, but this is the Fengshen Festival. Furthermore, those people checking are all under your jurisdiction, Uncle. If Uncle and eldest brother colluded, wouldn't they be able to complete this matter without anyone noticing and remain uninvolved?"

The second prince looked at the silent king of the grasslands and pressed his advantage: "Father, this is no small matter..."

The grassland king looked at the second prince, his expression growing increasingly hostile.

When the second prince called out his name, Wang Shumutu could no longer remain calm and cried out in distress:

Second Prince, don't talk nonsense! The reason why the eldest brother didn't pursue the matter with the eldest prince is because—"

"That's because I was right next to the boss when he went hunting."

The grassland king looked at the second prince and said in a deep voice, word by word.

Upon hearing this, the second prince was stunned for a long time, seemingly unable to react.

"..."

Wang Shumutu continued, "Second Prince, I didn't want to say this, but you've pressed me so hard that I have no choice but to speak out..."

"When the eldest prince went hunting, my elder brother and I happened to be there, so we knew perfectly well that he didn't go to the snow mountain, let alone hunt any wolf cubs!"

“But you…” Wang Shumutu looked at the second prince, “I’ve seen you sneaking out of your tent in the middle of the night several times…”

"Could you explain to the King why you have acted so many times late at night? What were your intentions?!"

what?

The second prince was utterly shocked!

Father actually accompanied my elder brother on the hunt! How can he still trust my elder brother so much?

Even if the older brother was once a cripple, and has only shown a slight improvement, are you so eager to promote him?

Even when hunting, he summons his uncle to witness his prowess. Is this paving the way for his elder brother?

envy……

I'm so jealous...

The rampant resentment, like vines, tightly coiled around his heart, constricting and suffocating him. The second prince felt as if a thousand ants were tearing at his heart...

Before he could recover, Wang Shumutu's voice rang out again:

"Second Prince, you still haven't explained yourself clearly. You go out every night in the middle of the night..."

"What exactly are they going to do?!"