"I must personally return to Wolf City to escort Lord Earl's remains…" Tang Mo waved his hand, signaling the officer who was reading the letter that it could be discarded now: "If they truly head south, then they are basically giving us a pretext to start a war."
"If that is indeed the case, this war will not end easily. I will personally lead the troops into Suthers, seize their King City, and strangle their king on his throne!" Tang Mo stood up, speaking sternly: "Send a messenger, polish my message a bit, and convey my verbal message to them."
"Yes!" A group of Northern Ridge officers stood up immediately, saluting Tang Mo as if they were paying tribute to Lord Earl.
Unknowingly, Tang Mo had become the linchpin in their hearts, the unchallenged leader among them.
"Send out invitations to the nobility in our lands and the surrounding areas, and additionally, send someone to the King City with a message, asking them to send a suitably positioned person to attend Earl Fisello's funeral."
"We have already done so, but we have yet to receive a response."
"Then send another invitation immediately post-haste in my name," Tang Mo spoke directly without a second thought: "Give one letter to the Prime Minister, and another to the Minister of Construction Baus, just like that."
"Yes, my lord." A man resembling a butler bowed slightly, taking a letter written by Tang Mo from his hand, and then turned to leave.
Mid-April in the 114th year of the Leite Kingdom, Earl Fisello's body, having passed away half a month earlier, was finally leaving Ice Crystal City, escorted by Tang Mo, to make the journey back to Wolf City.
Almost at the same moment, in the King City of the Leite Kingdom, the Prime Minister held the letter from Tang Mo, pondering in his mind who should be sent to attend Fisello's funeral.
There were actually quite a few candidates, such as the ever-kind Baus. However, they couldn't let Baus represent them in Northern Ridge again, because Baus had received another invitation.
Tang Mo wished to arrange Earl Fisello's funeral with dignity, hence he had written an invitation to Baus directly.
As a result, Baus, being both the Minister of Construction and "good friend" of Tang Mo, had no reason to refuse Tang Mo's invitation.
Therefore, the Prime Minister had to come up with another candidate, to attend Fisello's funeral without seeming out of place or causing embarrassment.
There were not a few choices, like some military generals of the Kingdom, who in fact had some minor acquaintance with Fisello.
Unfortunately, these generals had also been invited, so they could not represent the King in traveling to Northern Ridge to appease the somewhat irritable Tang Mo.
The final selection, the one determined, turned out to be the Leite Kingdom's Crown Prince, the firstborn son of His Majesty the King.
Thus, a large delegation departed from King City towards Wolf City to mourn Earl Fisello.
This delegation included 13 military leaders and high-ranking officers, the Minister of Construction and Minister of Education, along with the Crown Prince representing the royal family.
At the same time, officials from Brunas also headed to Northern Ridge, including a cohort of business representatives. Though these individuals weren't exactly nobility, they had another advantage: wealth.
Among them were Brunas's newly minted cement magnate, the salt hegemon, the cloth titan, and coal mine shareholders. They came purely out of respect for Tang Mo, bringing money to Northern Ridge.
Just the business community from Brunas alone d 2000 Gold Coins for Lord Earl's funeral, which was definitely no small sum in the context of funeral expenses.
Tang Mo had helped them make money, and in the foreseeable future, they would make even more! Just the orders Tang Mo had provided them would be enough for their fortunes to soar.
Similarly, Tang Mo also contributed 3000 Gold Coins for Earl Fisello's funeral, elevating it to an almost presumptuous level of grandeur.
In fact, were the King of Leite to die in slightly straitened circumstances, his funeral might not even be as lavish as Fisello's.
Accompanying Earl's casket back to Wolf City, Tang Mo promptly went to the doorstep of Alice. Seeing Alice's old butler standing guard there, he lowered his voice and asked: "How is she?"
"Miss is fine. Lately, she has been able to eat a little," the old butler seemed very satisfied with Tang Mo's immediate concern for Alice, his smile becoming even more genuine as he responded: "However, she remains very weak. The matter of Lord Earl has been a heavy blow to her."
"I understand. You have done very well, thank you for everything you have done for the Ronin Family!" Tang Mo nodded slightly, then walked up to the front door, glanced at the butler as if asking whether he could knock.
The elder butler made a 'please go ahead' gesture, and Tang Mo knocked on Alice's door. There was no sound from inside, and after waiting a moment, Tang Mo gently tapped the door twice more.
Finally, the door was pulled open from the inside, and Alice in a black dress, her face pale and wan, lowered her head and stepped aside to make room for Tang Mo.
Tang Mo entered the room, closed the door behind Alice, and the room instantly fell silent, with neither of them speaking right away.
Alice walked back to her bed, sat down with poise, her head lowered, not looking at Tang Mo. Tang Mo stood there awkwardly, scratching his head, unsure of what to say.
Finally, Tang Mo decided he should break the silence, so he cleared his throat and said, "At the northern border, Suthers's troops have pulled back. I don't think they'll have the courage to move south for a while."
"That's for the best," Alice said without sadness, her voice faint and ethereal, wafting through the quiet room.
"Your father... Lord Earl, I have brought him back." Tang Mo continued, "I will arrange the funeral... I will take care of the subsequent matters as well, rest assured."
"I am very relieved to leave it in your hands." Alice's voice was pitiable, and Tang Mo couldn't help but want to reach out, but his hand stopped halfway.
"This is a relic from Lord Earl." Tang Mo dropped his arm, took a ring out of his pocket, pinched it between his fingers, and handed it to Alice.
A man giving a woman a ring made Alice somewhat nervous. She dared not look up, nor did she reach out to take the ring held between Tang Mo's fingers.
The ring bore a wolf crest, the symbol of the Fisheo family. Normally, this seal would be pressed into the wax of sealed letters to ensure their confidentiality and integrity.
In a sense, the person possessing this ring could command the troops of Northern Ridge, even claiming the throne of Northern Ridge's ruler.
Especially with Tang Mo's prestige in Northern Ridge, holding this ring would almost certainly go unchallenged and uncontested.
If there were people previously reluctant to submit to Tang Mo, after he stabilized the situation in Northern Ridge, the vast majority recognized the fact that Tang Mo was a suitable leader for Northern Ridge.
Dozens of students from the Great Tang Military Academy were dispersed back to their respective units, immediately gaining control over those troops.
With control over the military, Tang Mo also effectively controlled Northern Ridge's economy. Having fully recognized this, those who originally had their own ideas or were loyal to the Ronin Family mostly accepted the reality that Tang Mo had taken charge of Northern Ridge.
Yet, in such a circumstance, Tang Mo was now handing the ring to Alice as if he were offering an engagement ring.
Tang Mo had no intention of taking over the properties of Lord Earl here, because he truly felt that Northern Ridge was not worth abandoning his beliefs and basic principles of conduct.
"Take it! It belongs to you," Tang Mo said, seeing that Alice had not moved for quite a while, carefully reminding her.
"Ah!" Alice suddenly threw herself at Tang Mo, wrapping her arms around his waist, burying her head in his abdomen, and started to cry out with all her might.
With her head buried in his clothes, Tang Mo could only hear the deep sobs of Alice. The girl clung to him, continuing to cry, and the room was filled with sounds of sniffles.
Tang Mo raised his other hand slowly, pausing just as he was about to lower it. After a few seconds' pause, he gently placed his palm on Alice's head, her beautiful hair being softer than it appeared.
"It's okay! I'm right here... It's okay..." Tang Mo said with comforting tones, at a loss for words for a moment.
The room once again fell silent, with only the muffled cries of Alice, her sobbing heart-wrenching and unrestrained.
"I miss him so much!" Alice seemed to be releasing the sorrow that had been suppressed in her heart, wiping the hot tears from her face with Tang Mo's clothes while crying out hoarsely.
In that moment, she was no longer the strong businesswoman, no longer the heir to the Ronin Family, but just a simple little girl, an ordinary little girl who had lost her parents.
"I know. We all miss him," Tang Mo consoled as he stroked Alice's hair, whispering, "But we can't live in sorrow, we have to move forward, keep moving forward..."
"Why has God done this to me?" Alice lifted her head, tears streaming down her face, making her look like a wronged little cat.
Tang Mo affectionately looked down and wiped the tears from her face, "When you're strong, together, we will seek justice from the gods."
"Okay!" Alice sobbed, biting her lip and staring at Tang Mo.
Tang Mo gazed at her face, beautiful yet filled with grief, and momentarily became infatuated.
The next second, to Tang Mo's surprise, Alice stood on her tiptoes, suddenly moved closer to Tang Mo, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed his lips.