The Empress’s Gigolo

Li Yuanzhu looked at Ren Baqian’s back and felt a little moody.

When did she exchange flirtatious glances with him? And what did Qi Ziting mean by calling her a wretched woman?

For so many years, there were people who called her a spiritual master and a fairy, but nobody had called her a wretched woman before. This was the first time someone called her that and in front of her no less.

Was that Qi Zixiao’s brother? That general from back in the day? It wouldn’t be a problem if he was thousands of kilometers away and didn’t know that Li Yuanzhu was here. This Zhao Prince Consort…

She lightly gritted her teeth and took a deep breath before regaining her calm appearance.

Ren Baqian stomped with fury and vowed to demolish Tong Zhenye and Qin Chuan’s houses the next day. Besides them, nobody else could have done this.

He then suddenly thought of something and turned to look at Li Yuanzhu. Next, he cupped his fists and said, “My apologies, Priestess. We spoke irresponsibly!”

“It’s fine! You don’t have to be too bothered by this, Zhao Prince Consort. This is a pretty special experience!” she replied casually with a calm look on her face.

Ren Baqian laughed and apologized again before saying, “Elder brother-in-law and Protector General Xi, there will be a group of experts heading for the Sixty Thousand Mountains. If you find traces of the foreign races, don’t inadvertently alert the enemy. This is important. They should probably arrive in about five months.”

“Who are they?” Qi Ziting asked in a deep voice.

“I suppose you have heard about it. In order to fight against the foreign races, Her Majesty has taken the lead and established an organization. These experts are officials in the organization. You have probably heard of many of their names. There’s Ma Hongyu, Elder Xu Gongsou of the Moon Palm Gate, Lin Dong of the Righteous Sect, Elongating Spear Gao Yi, Gluttonous Duke Shi Hao…” Ren Baqian named a few of them.

“Oh! Those people!” Qi Ziting complained softly, “Back then, if only…”

“Forget it! A real man doesn’t boast about his past achievements!” Ren Baqian directly interrupted Qi Ziting before he could recall his glory days. “Anyway, these experts are all fighting for the human race. That’s why I thought that I should inform you first!”

“Alright, I understand.” After being interrupted, Qi Ziting replied angrily, “I won’t bother them!”

Xu Gongsou and the rest winced.

The Qi Ziting from back then was confident when he spoke, but he had gotten much weaker after he lost his legs. Who could he find fault with?

Nobody felt good about him either. His reputation in the past was very poor. There were many practitioners in the Yun Nation who died at the hands of Qi Ziting.

If it were another occasion, there was no telling if Qi Ziting might give someone trouble. Was he really regarding these experts as one of those warriors of the Yun Nation who had died at his hands?

For the sake of Qi Zixiao, they simply felt that it wasn’t appropriate to bicker with him at the moment.

However, it would be an entirely different matter if he were to find fault with any of them.

After that, Ren Baqian taught these experts how to use the radio and how to charge it.

It would take some time for anyone who had never seen this kind of technology. He spent two hours explaining just so they could understand.

Although nobody spoke up, they felt incredibly amazed.

Regardless of whether it was the radio, the streetlights, or the water tower that was being installed in Lan City, this trip to Dayao was simply eye-opening for them.

Water would be supplied by means of electric pumps from the main tower to dozens of smaller towers built within the city. From there, it would be distributed to households through pipes.

Although the project was currently only completed in Beihong District, this water supply equipment would be provided to all citizens in Lan City.

In addition, the carriages in Lan City also caught everyone’s attention. They weren’t as bumpy as horse carriages. After learning about them, they found out that the wheels of the carriages were wrapped with a layer of rubber. Shock absorbers were also installed in the interiors of these carriages.

Not to mention that the streets were also full of potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, etc. Even the poorest commoners could still fill their stomachs.

These experiences refreshed the experts’ understanding of Dayao.

Judging from the current state of Dayao, it could probably surpass Great Xia in some aspects.

These changes were all brought about by Zhao Prince Consort.

With the strength of Qi Zixiao and the aboriginals, coupled with Zhao Prince Consort’s strange things, they had to admit that the empress’s foresight was pretty good.

They wondered where she had found such a person.

…

“When are those people leaving?” the empress asked casually during dinner.

In the past, she rarely spoke during her meals. There was no telling if she was influenced by Ren Baqian, but she had developed the habit of chatting while eating.

“Do you dislike them a lot, Your Majesty?” he asked.

“Yes,” the empress replied bluntly, “but I know how to deal with them.”

“In fact, although both parties have been hostile for so many years, such feelings will ease after a period of interaction. We will see about that in the future!” She gulped down her wine.

“I bumped into Minister Tong and Minister Qin today, and they said that drinking alcohol is bad for the fetus.” Ren Baqian looked at the wine glass in her hand, then glanced back at her.

“Both of them?” The empress looked at him suspiciously.

“The baby in your belly is the future emperor of Dayao, Your Majesty. They would definitely be concerned!” Ren Baqian laughed.

“I shall speak to them tomorrow!” She squinted as a chill flashed across her eyes.

“Anyway, I believe in you, Your Majesty. Your own understanding of your body isn’t something that others will know about! They shouldn’t be making guesses about your private affairs.” Ren Baqian smiled.

“Humph!” The chill in the empress’s eyes grew even more intense. It only eased when she looked up at him and replied, “I naturally know my own body.”

He looked at the calcium milk beside her. She had recently reduced her daily alcohol intake from two bottles to one.

Ren Baqian was pretty satisfied with this result.

The next day, the experts departed with two radio sets. In case of any trouble along the way, they were accompanied by a team of winged cavalry warriors.

When Ren Baqian returned to the palace, he saw Tong Zhenye and Qin Chuan coming out with badly battered faces, and they weren’t very pleased to see him.

“What happened, Ministers?” He gave a friendly smile.

“I wonder who told Her Majesty that I discussed her private affairs. Could it be you, Zhao Prince Consort?” Tong Zhenye didn’t look too happy.

“What private matters did you two discuss? Discussions about Her Majesty concern me as well, and I have to know about them.” Ren Baqian acted as if he didn’t know what had happened.

“Humph!” Tong Zhenye groaned.

“Could the two of you have exposed each other?” Ren Baqian asked casually.

“What do you mean, Zhao Prince Consort?” Tong Zhenye immediately sprung up.

“It’s nothing—just a guess. Alternatively, could Her Majesty have found out about something that one of you had accidentally said? Still, I’m really curious. What did the two of you privately discuss?”

Tong Zhenye ignored his question and retorted, “Save the effort if you are trying to drive a wedge between our relationship!”

Ren Baqian laughed to himself. There was no need to instigate, of course. What need was there to sow discord between the two of them?

Sure enough, Qin Chuan immediately turned hostile and asked, “What relationship do I have with you? Actually, my blade wants to build a relationship with you. Why don’t the two of you get closer?”

Tong Zhenye’s face turned black as he cursed, “If it wasn’t for your brainlessness, why would I be punished by Her Majesty?”

“It’s obvious that you are doing shameful things all day long! I’m the one who gets implicated!” Qin Chuan didn’t take this lying down.

Seeing the two quarrel, Ren Baqian leaned against the palace gate, took out a bag of melon seeds, and watched the show.

Within a minute, the two progressed from squabbling to fighting.

In an instant, their silhouettes flashed across the public square in front of the palace.

Ren Baqian helped them by counting the number of tiles that they broke. He had to send the repair bills to their homes later on.

Huh? Whose bones were these that Qin Chuan jolted up from the ground?

Sigh. Erhu… Erhu… Erhu… You died a tragic death!