The Empress’s Gigolo

The backyard of the Black Bamboo Academy was busy every day. The students attended class in the morning and transformed the backyard into their workshop in the afternoon. Nonstop quarrelling and metal clanking sounds rang out.

It started with only the senior students working there. Later on, the new students were attracted and watched from the side as their seniors argued over a piece of the blueprints or had discussions with the blacksmith.

However, whenever the new students wanted to ask what this whole thing was about, the seniors would always mysteriously say, “You will know in time. It will definitely shock you!”

Qing Lian was naturally drawn over as well. She would sit by the corner every afternoon and watch as they got busy.

Even though she didn’t know what they were doing, her guts told her that they were making something interesting.

Consequently, she watched as an enormous thing gradually formed amid their bickering.

It was a metal bucket with wheels fitted underneath, something that she had never seen before.

At present, Qing Lian was sitting on the wall and watching them work. She would occasionally look down at where Ren Baqian and a young girl were sitting and facing each other.

The girl looked as if she was around 16 years old and her hair was bundled up simply. Unfortunately, it made her look as if she had a bird’s nest on top of her head.

She wore a tube top and a short skirt made out of animal hide, revealing her bronze-colored skin that was full of wild nature and health.

The girl was Zhuo Hua, and she was looking confused at the moment.

“The horse moves like this. Only the elephant can move that way!” Ren Baqian said as he moved her chess piece back to its previous position.

“But why, teacher?” At a loss, Zhuo Hua lifted her head.

“These are the rules. Everything in this world is governed by rules. Heaven and Earth have their own rules, society has its own rules, and chess has its own rules as well! Everything you do must abide by the rules as we are all a part of it. The clever way of doing things is to understand the rules before acting and then take advantage of the rules. The stupid way is to complain about wanting to defy and break the rules.

“What if I overturn this chessboard?” Zhuo Hua’s eyes gleamed when she asked, looking eager to give it a try.

“Then I will not play with you anymore! We are all playing on the chessboard. If you overturn it, how are others going to play with you? They will stay far away from you in the future!” Ren Baqian burst into laughter.

Looking pensive, Qing Lian felt that his response was a little childish.

What Ren Baqian said was correct. Everyone was governed by rules and everyone was also a part of them. They had to follow the rules, regardless of what they wanted to do.

Even though it appeared as if the rules were broken during the transition of a dynasty, it actually still followed the rules and regulations.

In the past, during every dynastic transition, the people had no way to make a living, so they had a lot of complaints. There were conflicts and wars everywhere, which eventually led to the demise of the dynasty.

These were all rules.

If you proposed a change of dynasty when the current dynasty was still flourishing, no one would support you and you were bound to fail.

Zhuo Hua curbed her temper to play chess with Ren Baqian. Whenever Ren Baqian made a move, she would follow up very hastily and move her piece.

“Chess is similar to life, you need to look ten steps ahead before making a move. Once you make a wrong move, you can’t take it back. The only difference is that you can reset a game of chess, but you can’t do the same in life—there’s no way to reset it,” Ren Baqian said after eliminating her chariot.

“Oh!” Zhuo Hua scratched her head and immediately took out his cannon.

Pfff! Sitting on the wall, Qing Lian almost laughed out loud.

“Checkmate!” Ren Baqian slapped the chessboard.

“You will definitely come across all sorts of things during your lifetime. Many times, you will be deceived by the things in front of you. You won’t be able to see the dangers behind you and will forget about your objectives. Thus, you must always remind yourself. You must keep reflecting upon yourself!” Ren Baqian threw the pieces on the board, stood up, and left.

Both Zhuo Hua and Zhuo Wei looked at Ren Baqian’s back in adoration. Even though they totally didn’t know what he was talking about, they felt that his words were very profound.

After Ren Baqian left, Zhuo Hua turned her head and asked Zhuo Wei, “Why did Teacher say all of that?”

“He probably thinks you are stupid!” Before Zhuo Wei could answer, they heard Qing Lian giggling from the top of the wall.

Zhuo Hua immediately looked up as her hands reached for the dagger at her waist.

“Look, your muscles have grown into your brain. Besides fighting, all you think about is food, right? What he meant was a request for you to use your brain more! There’s no turning back in life. By using more of your brain, you will take fewer wrong paths. Then again, I think that he was just preaching to deaf ears. You won’t remember anything he said anyway.” Qing Lian giggled as she used her finger to gently brush her lips.

As Zhuo Hua’s hand slowly left her dagger, she wasn’t angry. Instead, she lifted her head and asked, “Are scholars like Principal Ren? Does Great Xia have many such scholars?”

“Indeed, there are many scholars, but not many are like Principal Ren,” Qing Lian answered earnestly after pondering for a bit. “There are many kinds of people, and the same goes for scholars as well. Many people shamelessly seek personal gains and strive for either favor or fame. There aren’t many who are truly broad-minded.”

Up until now, Qing Lian still remembered what Ren Baqian had said to her previously, “Knowledge has no boundaries!”

It was this exact phrase that had completely reversed her impression of Ren Baqian.

“So that’s why you came here to learn?” Zhuo Hua stood up and asked.

“I would say that it is a coincidental opportunity!” Qing Lian laughed. “I originally came here for other matters, but I’m very interested in the things that are taught here.”

“Will you apply the things that you have learned here back in Great Xia and then use it to attack us?” Zhuo Hua looked at her with burning eyes. With her lips tightly pursed, she looked extremely serious and solemn. It was as if she would charge over with her dagger if Qing Lian said yes.

“No!” Qing Lian shook her head. “We only have a short 100 years in our entire lifespan, and it’s even shorter in my case. With this thought in mind, I might as well figure out how to be able to live longer.”

“In that case, I won’t beat you again in the future.” Zhuo Hua waved her hands and gave a bright smile before turning around and skipping away.

Qing Lian heaved a sigh. From the way Zhuo Hua spoke, it was as if she could defeat Qing Lian.

However, this girl was indeed unsophisticated.

Qing Lian counted the time and figured that the book probably should have arrived. She hoped that there wouldn’t be any problems popping up during this period. The feeling of owing school debts was hard to endure.

She then continued swinging her legs from the top of the wall and got lost in her thoughts before going back to the wine shop in the evening.

“Have you located the person that you’re looking for?” Ning Caichen smiled and asked after seeing her.

“I have long since stopped searching for him. Anyway, we aren’t very well acquainted.” Qing Lian put her hands behind her head and looked up at the ceiling.

“Someone came looking for you in the afternoon. I told him you weren’t around and asked him to come back at night,” Ning Caichen said.

“Oh? What kind of a person was he?” Qing Lian became more energetic after hearing this.

“He’s someone from Great Xia, and he seemed to have sustained some injuries. Will you help me peel the potatoes? I see that you carry a sword around every day, so your skills should be pretty good. You just have to help me peel the skin off these potatoes.” Ning Caichen brought over six potatoes and placed them on the table.

“Are they delicious?”

“I have asked around. These can be made into fried potato strips or mashed potatoes and can also be added to stewed meat. That’s what we are doing tonight.”

“Oh!” Qing Lian held a potato in her hand and looked at it. It was a little bigger than a fist. She then drew out the sword from her back. Light rays reflected off the blade as the skin of the potato fell off in circles.

“What great skills!” Ning Caichen giggled.

“It’s alright.” Qing Lian peeled all six potatoes and threw them to Ning Caichen before taking out and reading the dictionary that Ren Baqian gave her.

An hour later, the wine shop was filled with the dense fragrance of stewed meat. It was slightly more aromatic compared to previous times.

“Oh, you used spices, sister?”

A while later, both of them sat at the table. In front of them was a pot of meat and potato stew. There was also a plate of appetizers and a pot of fruit wine.

At that moment, Qing Lian felt that it was rather pleasant to be spending life like this. She would learn about things that were unheard of during the day and return back home to enjoy Sister Ning’s incredible cooking!