"Yes, back then we had a bit of a gambling feeling. Now it seems we bet correctly," Third Master said. Thinking about that time, he felt this matter was a bit unreliable—entrusting the army to several girls to manage seemed inappropriate no matter how you looked at it. But now the facts were before their eyes—no one was more suitable than them.

In less than a year, they had reorganized the army, recruited soldiers, trained a powerful iron-blooded force, and began campaigns in all directions. At an incomprehensible speed, they expanded territory, enlarging Flowing Stone Kingdom's land several times over.

This was all accomplished in less than a year. They completed so many things—things that others might not accomplish in a lifetime.

When becoming the royal family of Flowing Stone Kingdom, Luo Yunqing had thought about future expansion, but the difference between what he imagined and reality was too great. He originally felt that after his lifetime, he could see Flowing Stone Kingdom's territory expand several times, which would already be worthy of his ancestors—a remarkable achievement.

But how could he have imagined that in just one year, these four girls—Guxing and her companions—would accomplish this? When he heard those victory reports, it felt like being in a dream. It seemed too unreal. Only after confirming several times did he know this was absolutely true.

Now in Flowing Stone Kingdom, everyone knew the Luo family was royalty, but the highest prestige belonged to the Young Miss and Nangong Suxin. Everyone knew these two female generals led troops in battle, rapidly expanding Flowing Stone Kingdom's territory—and this was just the beginning.

For commoners, although territorial matters basically had nothing to do with them, they felt a sense of honor—feeling that as their country became strong, they became strong too.

Why only the Young Miss and Nangong Suxin? Simply because not many people knew about Guxing and Third Miss Nangong. Guxing always appeared on battlefields and during training, but never showed herself in public, so naturally outsiders couldn't know of her existence.

Third Miss Nangong deliberately concealed her existence. As a strategist, what she did was plan behind the scenes. The fewer people who knew outside, the better. She also didn't like these honors—this could avoid many unnecessary troubles, with the Young Miss and her companion bearing any responsibilities.

This thinking seemed very similar to Xiaoyao's behavior. Xiaoyao always acted high-profile but kept a low personal profile. In doing things, he was never careless—if he did something, he did it perfectly. But in being a person, he appeared very low-key, so low-key that people couldn't sense his existence.

In this aspect, Third Miss Nangong was indeed very similar to Xiaoyao. She had been like this since childhood, rarely appearing before everyone.

Of course, this might also be for her safety. After all, she didn't have the formidable strength of the Young Miss and her companions, making her easily become an enemy target.

Regardless, while others might not know, Luo Yunqing and his group still knew of Third Miss Nangong's existence and knew her value might even be higher than the other three.

Perhaps Guxing and her companions could become the most legendary existences, but they ultimately relied on martial force. For a country, what they needed more was governance strategies, not military deterrence.

Of course, military deterrence was also very important—it was just relatively speaking, which was more important.

So they were whom Luo Yunqing wanted to retain. But he also knew that the reason he could keep them here wasn't because of how much power or benefits he gave them, but because of Xiaoyao.

They stayed here for Xiaoyao's sake, borrowing Flowing Stone Kingdom's power to achieve their goals. If their goals were accomplished, they would definitely leave unless Xiaoyao could speak up and make them stay.

The problem was that in his thinking, Xiaoyao was already dead and naturally couldn't speak. Moreover, he felt that after confirming Xiaoyao's death, these four girls would definitely leave directly without any attachment to this place.

They didn't care about power at all—this was both his headache and his relief.

The headache was because there was no way to retain them, while the relief was naturally being at ease that they wouldn't use this military power to do things he didn't want to see.

However, they cared greatly about Xiaoyao. Rather than giving them rewards, it would be better to treat Xiaoyao better. Like the title being given to Xiaoyao now—this would definitely make them very happy. Of course, everything had to be properly arranged. Doing it wrong might make them very unhappy.

If only Xiaoyao were still here...

"Xiaoyao is our Luo family's lucky star. He brought all this, but unfortunately..." Luo Yunqing sighed. Since Xiaoyao came here, the Luo family had undergone such changes. Although outsiders didn't know, how could he, the family head, not know?

"So we have to do something—give him a title. But we can't call it a posthumous title. Although he's not personally here, we can find someone to represent him," someone beside them said.

"I've considered this too, but who would be suitable? Yuntian is now in secluded cultivation, and finding Yun Qingyi seems problematic, plus she's not here either. Yinping would be suitable, but she probably won't come back either," Luo Yunqing said.

Yinping was with Yun Qingyi, and Yun Qingyi definitely wouldn't let Yinping return alone now. How this matter would develop was unclear to anyone.

"This actually doesn't need consideration. We should still ask General Nangong and her companions. They are Xiaoyao's intimate female friends, and Guxing was even childhood sweethearts with Xiaoyao. She should be most qualified. If we find others, they'll be unhappy," Third Master said. In the past, he would definitely have said he should do it himself, but now knowing Xiaoyao was Luo Yuntian's son and not his own, it wasn't appropriate to say anything more.

"Yes, I also think they're more suitable. As for the specific candidate, let them decide themselves. I just fear they might misunderstand something," Luo Yunqing said.

"This shouldn't happen. Talk to the strategist—she's easier to talk to," Third Master said. The strategist he mentioned was naturally Third Miss Nangong. Among the four girls, she was indeed the easiest to talk to.

However, under normal circumstances, she wouldn't say much—Nangong Suxin would speak for her. But just informing her shouldn't be a problem.

"Alright, it's decided then. I wonder when they'll return—it should be about time," Luo Yunqing asked. He knew Guxing and her companions had returned from the new frontier. He had notified them to come participate in the founding ceremony.

Originally they had refused, but later when he said there were matters concerning Xiaoyao to discuss with them, they came back.

"Well, they seem to have already returned..." Third Master said, somewhat weakly, as if this matter was a bit awkward to discuss.

"Hmm? Already returned? When did this happen?" Luo Yunqing was stunned. He didn't know about this yet. Logically, the first thing generals should do upon returning was to see him, the king. He should have been the first to know.

This was why Third Master was hesitating—he felt they should have come to see Luo Yunqing instead of going off to play...

"This was last night's matter. It's just that General Guxing went into secluded cultivation, General Nangong also said she was going into secluded cultivation, and the strategist is organizing things, arranging the next military operation. She'll come see you this afternoon," Third Master said.

"Oh, let them be then. By the way, where's Mo Yu?" Luo Yunqing didn't mind. These girls all had their own affairs. Whether they saw him wasn't really important—as long as they could do their jobs well, that would be the greatest benefit for Flowing Stone Kingdom.

Luo Yunqing's bearing was quite magnanimous. Perhaps this was because he originally wasn't someone meant to be king, or perhaps because of his warrior's heart—as long as goals could be achieved, those unnecessary rules could be waived.

When listening to Third Master, he seemed not to have mentioned Mo Yu, so he casually asked. But he quickly remembered that actually not asking might be better, because the answer would definitely make him feel powerless.

"She said she hadn't gone out to relax in a long time, so she went to relax..." Third Master thought for a moment and used "relax" to represent what the Young Miss was doing. This matter wasn't really anything, at least not for men, but for a woman it seemed a bit strange.

This matter was naturally drinking flower wine. For the Young Miss, drinking flower wine was much more important than seeing the king.

"Oh, that's fine too. Anyway, if there are any problems, talking with Military Strategist Nangong is the same," Luo Yunqing said casually. He seemed to have guessed what the Young Miss was doing and didn't want to discuss this topic further.

In the afternoon, Third Miss Nangong entered the palace to discuss matters with Luo Yunqing. Originally, Third Miss Nangong thought this was just routine business—mainly discussing future military directions, simply telling Luo Yunqing what places they planned to attack.

This matter was just notification. Now regarding military affairs, Luo Yunqing had no opinions to offer—everything was completely entrusted to them.

"Hmm? Posthumously conferring the title Prince Xiaoyao on Xiaoyao?" Third Miss Nangong was stunned, then immediately said seriously: "Don't say 'posthumously'—just confer this title on him."

"..." Luo Yunqing was speechless. He hadn't expected her to mind even this word. If he mentioned posthumous title, they would definitely oppose it.

"Yes, just confer this title on him. He has contributed much to the Luo family—this is what he deserves," Luo Yunqing said.

Currently in Flowing Stone Kingdom, only Third Master and a few others had been ennobled as princes, and these were all from Xiaoyao's parent generation. Among Xiaoyao's contemporaries, at most they were princes by birth. Being ennobled as a prince was absolutely unique.

(End of Chapter)