The Empress’s Gigolo

Ren Baqian and the empress left the amusement park and found an exquisite place to have a meal.

When they had just eaten halfway, they heard loud erhu music coming from audio equipment outside.

The tune was so familiar that Ren Baqian almost sang along.

“You are the one who initiated the separation if you want to separate, just separate…”(“Love Business,” a song by Chinese Internet Singer, MuRong Xiaoxiao)

Ren Baqian was shocked to hear that song playing. It was a divine song.

Ren Baqian turned around and saw a man dragging a small cart with a stereo on it. That man was holding an erhu in his hand and playing it at the entrance of the hotel.

His passion for music was instantly rekindled, and he remembered his erhu that had been thrown away.

It happened on a beautiful afternoon…

On seeing the restaurant owner going out to greet that man, Ren Baqian followed along, gave the musician 100 RMB, and said, “Lend me your erhu to play a piece. Unplug the stereo as it is too loud.”

Then, he took the erhu to one side and sat down to start tuning it.

When the public saw that man lugging the stereo set and playing the erhu at the hotel entrance, they knew what he was up to and were quite disgusted with him.

However, things changed when everyone saw a handsome, well-dressed young man tuning the instrument. Many people also saw him giving the street musician 100 RMB, and they immediately became interested.

After all, there weren’t many street performances in this city.

The empress sat by the window and looked at Ren Baqian holding the thing she saw before. She was somewhat curious as to what Ren Baqian was up to. After all, the previous man hadn’t played that badly.

After tuning, Ren Baqian began to play the erhu with a look of euphoria.

The tune of “Song Of Neuropathy” flowed melodiously from his hands.(“Song of Neuropathy” by Luo Tianyi. Luo Tianyi is a Chinese Vocaloid developed formerly by Bplats, Inc. under the Yamaha Corporation and was created in collaboration with Shanghai HENIAN Information Technology Co. Ltd. She was released for the Vocaloid 3 engine.)

The tune was very lively and although the passersby couldn’t figure what tune it was, it sounded nice and many stopped to watch.

About 10 seconds later, the tune became a little weird. Then, the style suddenly changed.

A few short passages, which sounded like an old hen or an owl laughing in their faces, emanated from his hands.

The public, who initially liked the music, were caught unaware by the change of style and were puzzled by the situation.

Then, they saw Ren Baqian’s hands dancing around, which appeared like an old hen beating its wings, giggling and clacking nonstop or better still, mocking them.

Everyone felt that they were being ridiculed.

Ridiculed by an erhu spirit.

Who says that one can’t turn bizarre even after a country’s founding? Please stand up and I guarantee you will not be beaten to death.

Everyone could hear the mocking tone in the tune.

Those who stopped and listened to Ren Baqian playing the erhu were certainly not anxious people or in a bad mood. However, their originally good mood turned sour after hearing this tune.

More than half of them raised their middle fingers and turned to leave.

Inside the restaurant, the empress covered her forehead with blue veins throbbing at her temples.

She made up her mind not to let him touch this thing ever again.

The other guests were also speechless at this time.

As soon as Ren Baqian finished playing, the boss immediately whispered to him, “Brother, please tell me if you are not satisfied with the food. It isn’t necessary to do this!”

Ren Baqian’s face turned black. “Is it really so unpleasing to the ears?”

He felt good about himself.

He already considered himself half as good as “Xiao Hu Xian.” (As mentioned in the previous chapters, Xiao Hu Xian is a user who uploads awesome erhu videos on Bilibili.)

“Forget it. Here, take it back.” Ren Baqian handed the erhu back to its owner. The man was stunned and took the erhu. He thought he was already awesome and that his rendition of that tune outside any building was sure to be eagerly rewarded with money.

He didn’t expect to meet someone who was better than him, a loftier mountain, so to speak.

He respectfully used two hands to return the 100 RMB to Ren Baqian. “Brother, I cannot keep this money even though this is my job because I know my propriety. Please tell me the name of this tune and where I can find the score.”

Ren Baqian gave a thumbs-up to the discerning musician. He whispered the name of the tune into his ears and headed back freely to the restaurant.

He left without a care in the world, without taking the clouds away from the sky.

Yet, he actually left behind a bunch of complicated gazes.

It made them really feel like bashing him with a brick.

“Your Majesty, I will buy an erhu soon!” Ren Baqian said as he sat down. He felt that his pursuit of music shouldn’t be stopped.

A man must always have dreams.

Music is my dream.

“No way!” The empress slammed the table and broke off a piece of it.

The owner came in and almost cried out when he saw the situation. Were these two here trying to create a scene?

“If you touch that thing again…” The empress hesitated and then gritted her teeth. “I will tie you up in the square to keep company with the one who was buried there the previous time!”

Ren Baqian felt his dream had come to a premature end.

Just as he stepped out of the restaurant, he received a call from his mother.

“Mother.” Ren Baqian’s face was radiant as they exchanged some words about trivial family matters. Subsequently, she whispered and asked, “Your brother is in some trouble, so can you find somebody to help him out?”

“What happened? What is the matter?” Immediately, Ren Baqian frowned.

“It’s like this: Wannian had a fight with another guy, and it wasn’t a serious matter, but the other side refused to let go. He stayed in the hospital, refused to come out, and claimed medical fees from us. That was fine with us, but they escalated the matter and involved the school, so now the school wants to discipline Wannian…”

“Two people were fighting, but why did the school only want to discipline Wannian?” Ren Baqian was a bit confused.

“The other side said some nasty words and Wannian struck first. Wannian’s nose was broken, a portion of his face was swollen, and he took it lightly. However, that little monkey devil was cunning, went directly to the hospital, and didn’t come out. The doctor said he was alright, but he complained of pain everywhere. His family looked like the cunning type, and he took the chance to stay there because we could afford to pay.

Then, that family wanted 100,000 RMB to settle in private, which your father refused because of his principles and character. This was not Wannian’s fault in the first place. After that, they went to the school to complain and because Wannian raised his fist first, the school wanted to discipline him. I was thinking since you have status now, you should probably know some people who can help you find a resolution.”

“I got it. Don’t worry, it’s nothing.” Ren Baqian comforted her, “There is no need for you to handle this problem. I will find someone to settle it and it will certainly be alright. I will call Wannian first.”

Ren Baqian hung up the phone and directly called Ren Wannian.

“Brother.” Ren Wannian sounded normal.

“What’s the matter?” Ren Baqian asked. What his mother just said wasn’t clear on certain points, so it would be clearer if the victim explained it himself.

“It’s nothing. Just a fight with someone who has a cheap mouth.” Ren Wannian was a little resentful.

“What did he say?” Ren Baqian asked curiously.

“Remember the time you uploaded photos which included sister-in-law to your Moments? It was seen by a roommate. I told others that sister-in-law was extremely pretty, but they didn’t believe me. I showed them the photo and that idiot made some offensive remarks. Then, we got into a fight after that.”

“What did he say!?” Ren asked calmly, but with a much deeper tone.

“He said you were a sugar daddy. With her looks, if she was not looking for a sugar daddy, she would not be someone who an ordinary guy could support. We argued and he said that she was my sister-in-law now, but could be anyone’s wife in future. Then, we fought.”

“Fancy fighting with someone over a small matter. Next time, inform me first. Alright, I got it. Don’t worry about the school and that family. Send me the details about which hospital that rascal is staying in and his name. I will find people to settle this properly,” Ren Baqian said softly and hung up the phone.

As for why the school did not punish that guy and deliberately punished Ren Wannian, he didn’t want to ask further.

“What’s a sugar daddy?” the empress turned around and asked.

“Don’t worry about it!” Ren Baqian shook his head. “I have to make a trip to Quancheng.”

“I’ll go with you.”