The Empress’s Gigolo

When Ren Baqian arrived punctually for the palace banquet that night, many people were already there.

As usual, those who held lower positions tended to come earlier, and it was the same in this world.

“Principal Ren!” Many court officials greeted him. In the eyes of the public, he was previously regarded as someone who had struck the lottery by gaining the attention of the empress, but that wasn’t the case now.

Apart from his performance in the war with Great Xia, the instant communication enabled by radio played a very big role in this technologically backward world.

Daily and timely contacts between the imperial court and the frontiers provided a great advantage as it enabled Dayao to respond quickly and send reinforcements or allocate troops precisely.

Of course, in the eyes of the ordinary officials, the most important things were the salt farms in the mountains. In the past, when the salt supply was cut, everyone in Dayao would get anxious and rushed into battles or ambushes. The existence of the salt farms gave Dayao more flexibility in planning battle strategies.

Although they didn’t understand the concept, this didn’t mean that they didn’t understand the end result.

Therefore, Ren Baqian was considered a strange and very capable person in the minds of many officials.

He was strange in the sense of being different from the aboriginals as he was a complete weakling when it came to physical fighting.

His ability was due to his products and processes that were useful and effective.

Ren Baqian found his seat and was seated with officials from the Ministry of Works.

“How are the recently planted crops doing?” Ren Baqian asked Ge Yihong, who was seated beside him. In fact, on the way back, he had seen the sweet potato vines and pumpkins growing in areas far away from Lan City and felt they should be doing well.

“Very good, extremely good!” Ge Yihong smiled after hearing this question. Those pumpkins and sweet potatoes had been harvested twice and were being used as seed stock throughout Dayao.

These crops grew quickly, had high yields, and tasted good. Although they weren’t as easy to exchange for meat or sell in the market as compared to vegetables, their production volume was large, they filled the stomach easily, and as a result, they were easy to promote.

“Does Sir Ren have any new crops to introduce?” Ge Yihong seldom had the chance to meet Ren Baqian and only knew about his profession, so the topic immediately turned to new crops.

“I will send them to Sir Ge if there are suitable types.” Ren Baqian thought of the many crops on Earth that weren’t available here, but what was needed presently in Dayao were high yielding crops that could fill the stomach. Furthermore, they must fit in with the tropical climate of Dayao’s mountainous regions, so the choices were rather limited.

Ren Baqian was talking with Feng Hou when he heard loud crazy laughter coming from the palace gate. It sounded like the voice of that old geezer, Tong Zhenye.

This was followed by the exasperated voice of Qin Chuan, “Old fellow, if you don’t shut up, I will let you test the sharpness of my saber.”

“Hahahaha! Old ignoramus, why don’t you pull out your saber? Even if I stretch out my neck for you to cut, you wouldn’t be able to cut it!” Tong Zhenye retorted and laughed like crazy again.

Subsequently, the sound of clashing fists and legs was heard as the two fought. Many who were near the scene ran out to see the scuffle.

They were just a bunch of onlookers who had nothing better to do!

These two were Standard class, Rank 3 officials, and nobody wanted to stop them from fighting. The surrounding onlookers ate their peanuts and melon seeds while cheering them on.

Feng Hou and Ge Yihong, who were sitting beside Ren Baqian, dragged him out excitedly to watch the action.

“What’s happening?” Ren Baqian could see it from the expressions of these two and knew the problem.

Feng Hou remembered that Ren Baqian knew these people very well and asked hastily, “Is there a super expert among these abandoned people?”

“Who provoked them?” Ren Baqian was suddenly alert. There really was a super expert whose skill level was at least 30 stories high in comparison.

“Yesterday, Lian Liang wanted to deal a killing blow to them, but his weapon was smashed and he was slightly injured. Sir Qin then shouted, ‘I’ll let you see the sharpness of my saber’ to challenge that person. As a result, his weapon was also smashed and his testicles were hit…” Feng Hou laughed heartily.

Ren Baqian looked as if he had been kicked in the testicles. Qin Chuan was simply asking for trouble by banging against an iron plate—he should have found out the background of his opponent beforehand since the identity of Li Fu wasn’t a secret.

The aboriginals were simply too tyrannical.

After all, the big shots in the court were at the Cardinal Heaven level. They didn’t even consider who their opponents were, but only asked where they were.

When they reached the gate, cheering was heard coming from both sides.

Ren Baqian took a look and saw Tong Zhenye displaying his 13 continuous [Darkness Lifting Kicks], step after step, with his leg not touching the ground… It must be mentioned that Tong Zhenye used to be known for his 13 consecutive [Black Tiger Steals Heart] skillset.

Qin Chuan was jumping like a little girl with his legs pressed together in order to avoid the kicks to his crotch. He was hopping mad after receiving a few kicks.

Feng Hou asked with a smile, “Sir Ren, who was that person they met yesterday? It looks like Sir Qin is in pain.”

He was curious because Lian Liang and Qin Chuan weren’t weak, yet they were shockingly defeated with just a few moves from the other party.

“Li Fu!”

“I haven’t heard of him…” Feng Hou shook his head.

“Li Fu, the world’s number one expert!” Ren Baqian drawled. Li Fu was preoccupied with looking for the stairway to heaven and rarely appeared. Most people knew that there was a top expert in the world, but very few people knew his name. In addition, this name was very ordinary and sounded like the name of a remote villager. Thus, those who heard it were unlikely to remember it.

“Huh?” Feng Hou was shocked and turned his head.

Why was Li Fu here?

Those who were nearby and could hear well were also shocked.

“He isn’t from Tianjing Basin. I met him along the way, and he’s staying in Lan City for a while to settle some matters. Do not provoke him unnecessarily.”

“Huh?” Feng Hou continued to look frightened.

“Anyway, that’s it.” Ren Baqian gestured with his hands. After fighting for half a day, Qin Chuan was at a big disadvantage because his legs were pressed together to avoid the kicks. His eyes were smoldering with fury.

On the other hand, Tong Zhenye was laughing nonstop because it was rare to be in such an advantageous position.

The two only stopped fighting when Elder Shi Qing came.

The evening banquet started with the arrival of the empress.

This banquet was slightly different from previous events. In the middle of the program, there was a dance performed by more than ten young ladies from Tianjing Basin. This was similar to the dancing that Ren Baqian saw at the Golden Ring Residence. These beautiful ladies were specially selected, and although they weren’t celestial beauties, they were rather charming.

It was the debut performance of the people from Tianjing Basin.

The next day, Ren Baqian heard the news that Tong Zhenye had gone to challenge Li Fu, got his weapon smashed, and had his testicles kicked…

Ren Baqian was stunned to hear the news as he had already revealed Li Fu’s identity, so Feng Hou must have told him. Did he still go to take revenge for Qin Chuan? Did these two have some kind of gay relationship?

Feng Hou was the next to have his balls kicked by Li Fu. This was followed by Shu Shijia of the Ministry of Justice, Bai Shiying from the Public Order Bureau, and Tie Yan from the Department of Inspection.

Ren Baqian was downright confused until he finally realized that these people just wanted to find out for themselves the level of the world’s number one expert.

Anyway, Li Fu was never heavy handed.

To these boors, there was little difference between the attractiveness of the world’s number one expert and the most beautiful lady in the world.

After more than a dozen challenges, Li Fu also earned himself the title of “testicle kicking maniac.”

“Those inside, come out and try the sharpness of my saber!”

Ren Baqian heard the harsh voice of Qin Chuan when he was at the corner of Jing Street.

He saw Qin Chuan carrying a steel saber of unknown origin and making a din outside the courtyard of Li Fu.

Within minutes, Li Fu angrily came out of his courtyard, smashed the steel saber with a touch of his baton, gave Qin Chuan’s testicles a kick, and subsequently went back without saying a word.

After a while, a satisfied Qin Chuan, supported by his attendants, muttered as he walked, “Today, he took one more step, and it seems like I have made great progress…”