The Empress’s Gigolo

“Has anyone harassed you here?” Ren Baqian asked.

The bullying of the people from the Jing Tribe was lessening in Lan City, but it still happened occasionally.

“Fortunately, we have been staying in Jing Street, which we heard that you had designated as a place for us to live. The people around us are from Tianjing Basin, so nobody disturbs us,” Zhan Caixian said.

Ren Baqian nodded. It looked like these people immediately contacted Qingyun Sword after coming here.

After all, Qingyun Sword was one of the two remaining Spirit Wheel experts from Tianjing Basin.

The other was in Tianjing Basin on garrison duty, so it was only natural to visit Qingyun Sword first when they arrived here.

Ren Baqian chatted with her for a while to find out the current situation in Tianjing Basin. Some of the information was already known from the secret reports from the protectorate, but some was only learned through her.

In general, the current situation in Tianjing Basin wasn’t too bad. At least those few forces weren’t fighting anymore, the clans had largely disappeared, and the commoners were enjoying a better life.

Seeing that it was about time, Ren Baqian arranged for someone to send her back to Jing Street.

“Uncle Zhu is nearby and will go back with me,” Zhan Caixian immediately said.

Ren Baqian reckoned that her escort wouldn’t be too far away and asked a guard to check. Sure enough, a person had been stopped downstairs, but nothing had happened and nobody had reported it.

“In that case, pay more attention to your safety,” Ren Baqian said casually. In fact, the security in Lan City wasn’t too bad even though it appeared to be barbaric to outsiders due to the fights that broke out all the time in the streets.

However, it was usually, “Who are you looking at?” and “I’m looking at you—so what?!”

These matters then followed their natural paths.

With the Jing Tribe people paving the way, there should be no problems as long as they kept a low profile.

Ren Baqian hadn’t heard of people abducting women at least.

“Master, you kicked me after seeing me just now!” Zhan Caixian complained.

Ren Baqian was annoyed that she had mentioned this again.

“I do not blame you, but can you grant me a small favor?” Zhan Caixian looked at him with blinking eyes.

“What is your request?” Ren Baqian raised his eyebrows.

“They say that you are very capable, that you built a clock tower which shows the time at any time, that the palace has become a city without night, and that you also defeated a Spirit Wheel expert. They say that your academy produces very good students as well. Can I enroll and learn from you? Of course, I also want to learn new melodies from you!”

Ren Baqian laughed. This wasn’t a problem.

He only had to restrain the brat, Tong Lan, and the second year beefcake student, Zhu Hua.

“Ask your mother first. You will need to stay here for a few years if you want to go to school.” Ren Baqian stroked her head.

“Thank you, Master!” Zhan Caixian beamed with joy.

For a moment, the restaurant became much more vibrant.

After Ren Baqian departed, a middle-aged man rushed up the stairs. He noticed the medicinal paste on Zhan Caixian’s forehead and sat down to pour himself a cup of water.

Then, he asked, “Does Principal Ren still remember you?”

Zhan Caixian gushed, “Of course! After all, I’m his only disciple!”

“This is wonderful.” The middle-aged man was pleased. The little princess of their manor was the disciple of that man, and this was beneficial to both the Golden Ring Residence and Tianjing Basin.

“I want to stay here and study under my master, but my mother must agree first. Will Mother agree?” Zhan Caixian looked at him expectantly.

“Has Principal Ren agreed?” the man asked. After confirming, he said, “Madam will probably agree, but I need to send her a letter first.”

“I was thinking the same!” Zhan Caixian smiled until her eyes were almost closed.

She knew that her master would still remember her.

To see him again was simply wonderful.

Furthermore, her master had agreed to accept her into his academy.

This meeting with her master had diluted the unhappiness she felt when she heard about his marriage to the ruler of Dayao.

This was despite the kick she received.

…

When Ren Baqian arrived at the ministry, Tong Zhengye was waiting there for him.

Ren Baqian had already sent someone earlier to inform Tong Zhengye of the delay due to visiting the restaurant.

“Sir Ren, you seldom arrive so late,” Tong Zhengye said while laughing loudly.

Ren Baqian was usually punctual, yet he was late by almost an hour this time.

“I met an old friend!” Ren Baqian laughed and didn’t feel like elaborating.

“I heard that it was a young lady!” Tong Zhengye was nosy, and his eyes were full of curiosity. “Does Her Majesty know…”

“Don’t speculate.” Ren Baqian felt like kicking him. “That young lady is my sole disciple.”

“Disciple? Aren’t all of them in the academy?” Tong Zhengye asked suspiciously. In this era, teachers lectured and all the students in the academy could be considered his disciples.

Whether it was in Great Xia, the Yun Nation, Dayao, or its ancestral country, the Hao Nation, this was the custom.

“What they learn is different!” Ren Baqian waved his hands. To stop Tong Zhenye’s meddlesome ways, Ren Baqian added, “I’m here to find out the progress made this year.”

He spent an afternoon there to understand the status of the developments.

The first priority was the road to the Yun Nation, and it was 40 percent complete, which was good news.

The completed portion was already reducing travel time between the two places.

The second priority was the introduction of high yield crops that finally ended the food crisis.

Next, they discussed the blast furnaces being built in the Yun Nation.

At this point, Tong Zhengye couldn’t control himself anymore and blurted out, “When are your students graduating? Send them here in due course and I will arrange some good positions for them.”

For the past half-year, many blast furnaces had been built near the mines of the Yun Nation and in Dayao. Ren Baqian’s students proved to be very useful. In the fields of glassware, forging, canning, soap production, and salt wells, these students were able to repair the equipment.

They could solve problems that many craftsmen couldn’t understand. The principles behind the equipment, which many craftsmen couldn’t comprehend even after a long period of research, were understood by the students after a few days of research.

There was also the train and what Tong Zhengye knew as an electricity generating plant.

He watched this batch of students every day and was prepared to show the meaning of “why the flowers are so red” to any who would try to snatch these kids away from him.

“At least one more year,” Ren Baqian said. His feelings were complex when it came to talking about this topic. It was like cheaply selling cabbages that had been grown for a long time and had still not ripened.

He was thinking of letting the first batch of students study for six years, but he couldn’t wait this long because Dayao lacked talented people.

A big place like the Yun Nation could only be managed by the people of the Yun Nation since Dayao had no qualified officials.

The Ministry of Works, Revenue, Rites, Defense, Law, and even the Commerce Department lacked officials.

Although this batch of students lacked experience, they were literate, knew mathematics and chemistry, and had gone through a period of nurturing. After working for a period of time, they would be able to form the new blood of any department.

Ren Baqian felt that the Ministry of Works was more suitable for them, but not every student liked to deal with machines every day.

At the same time, Ren Baqian had another position in mind for them that was even more suitable: becoming teachers.

This batch had more than 40 students. With each student leading a class, over 40 classes could be formed. If each class had 50 students, there would be at least 2,000 pupils.

This was a huge figure.

Furthermore, in the process of teaching, they could continue their own education.

Of course, this also depended on their intentions and ambitions.