Chapter 355 - 268: The Idol of Thousands of East Sea Maidens

Chapter 355: Chapter 268: The Idol of Thousands of East Sea Maidens

"Of course, I recognize you! I’ve seen your portrait." The young woman nodded repeatedly, her excitement written all over her face.

In fact, she wasn’t the only one. Nowadays, almost every young noblewoman in all of East Sea’s Kyoto had a portrait of Wu Liangchen.

Although all the high-ranking nobles, including the Monarch of the East Sea Kingdom, considered Wu Liangchen a great enemy, that didn’t stop these young women from fawning over him.

In the eyes of these young women, Wu Liangchen—who came from a humble background but had soared to the pinnacle of the martial path through his extraordinary talent—was the perfect embodiment of all their fantasies about a Prince Charming.

The various stories about Wu Liangchen’s exploits, in particular, only served to reinforce this notion.

For instance, to repay a debt of gratitude, he was willing to make enemies of an entire city’s Martial Artists. He successfully fought his way out with his sister and a female confidante, even managing to turn the tables and kill the enemies pursuing him.

And to keep a promise, he traveled thousands of miles, crossing the entire territory of Great Yan with two helpless women in tow to reach the Huangpu Guard.

Tales like these let the young women’s imaginations run wild, and they even began to picture themselves as the heroines of the stories.

This also showed that these sheltered noblewomen of East Sea’s Kyoto were, for the most part, rather naive and unworldly.

This phenomenon could also be attributed to the popular romance novels currently in vogue among all classes in the East Sea.

These novels followed a fixed formula: a noble lady falls for a boy from the lower class, and the two then bravely face all sorts of worldly hardships and obstacles for the sake of their love.

Despite the cliché plots, they were extremely popular and widely circulated, especially among these cloistered young noblewomen.

After all, despite their noble birth, the severe patriarchal nature of the East Sea Kingdom meant they had almost no contact with the outside world. They could only live in their own little bubbles, passing the time with these novels.

Because of this, they came to believe the plots of the novels were real. So when the stories of Wu Liangchen—which perfectly matched these plots—made their way back, they immediately caused a sensation.

At first, these young women were skeptical. After all, according to the preconceived notions instilled in them by their fathers and older brothers, the people of the Great Yan Kingdom were all ignorant and exceedingly ugly.

If this Wu Liangchen also turned out to be ugly, then they wouldn’t be able to fantasize about him.

These doubts didn’t vanish until Wu Liangchen’s portrait also found its way into Kyoto.

Gazing at the handsome, cold-faced young man in the portrait, these women were utterly captivated.

Some sharp-nosed booksellers saw a business opportunity in this. They immediately commissioned hack writers to churn out several romance novels featuring Wu Liangchen as the protagonist. Once released, they sold out instantly, and the booksellers raked in a fortune.

This trend even spread from the aristocracy to the common folk.

After all, didn’t the girls of common birth also dream of being a princess?

Under these circumstances, as the situation continued to escalate, Wu Liangchen had now become the number one idol in the hearts of the young women of East Sea’s Kyoto.

Of course, Wu Liangchen was completely unaware of all this.

He just found it a bit strange. Why was this woman looking at him with such... such fervor?

But Wu Liangchen couldn’t be bothered with a young girl who was still wet behind the ears. After hearing her words, he gave a slight nod and left.

Watching his back, as straight and sharp as a sword, an obsessed look appeared on Yokoyama Misaki’s face. Only a single thought echoed in her mind.

’He’s even more handsome than his portrait.’

In the East Sea Kingdom, calling a man handsome was the highest form of praise.

Yokoyama Daisuke obviously saw the infatuated expression on his daughter’s face, and his heart skipped a beat.

He had heard the recent rumors in Kyoto but had previously dismissed them as just a game bored little girls played, not taking it seriously.

But now, it seemed something was wrong.

Just as he was about to ask her about it, Yokoyama Misaki turned and ran, disappearing down the long corridor in the blink of an eye.

Yokoyama Daisuke didn’t dare leave his post, so he could only suppress his feelings and walk into the dining room.

The Yokoyama family’s dining room was very particular. The floor was covered with reed mats woven by master artisans—the best material for the traditional tatami of the East Sea Kingdom.

But now, these expensive reed mats were unceremoniously rolled to the side, replaced by high tables and round stools.

If any other nobles from the East Sea Kingdom saw this, they would surely be heartbroken and furious, considering it an act of pure barbarism.

But Wu Liangchen wasn’t about to indulge these ridiculous customs. Making him kneel on a tatami mat to eat like the people of the East Sea was absolutely out of the question.

He couldn’t even get used to the delicacies of the East Sea Kingdom.

Sashimi, sushi... they all looked good, but the taste was an entirely different story.

"Stew me some beef, and get me some rice and flatbread."

This was a meal the Wu Liangchen of the past had often dreamed of.

’Back then,’ he thought, ’being able to eat this every day would make me the happiest person in the world.’

Hearing Wu Liangchen’s order, Yokoyama Daisuke cried out silently in his heart.

’The Yokoyama family’s reputation is utterly ruined because of me.’

After all, in the eyes of the East Sea nobles who prized so-called aristocratic etiquette and were particularly fastidious about the details of dining, a meal of stewed meat, rice, and flatbread was simply unimaginable.

They mostly ate deep-sea fish; as for beef, they would only consume the most tender cuts.

But he didn’t dare let his feelings show and could only nod in agreement.

Taking advantage of the wait, Wu Liangchen sipped the ridiculously bland East Sea flower tea while organizing his plans.