The Empress’s Gigolo

“Her Majesty has arrived!”

In reality, even if nobody made the announcement, everyone in the hall was able to sense her presence when she arrived.

The empress walked across the hall with everyone watching her and sat down on her throne above. She then unhurriedly said, “Report your matters!”

There was complete silence in the hall for a couple of seconds after she finished. Everyone glanced at each other, but nobody spoke up.

“We shall end the court session if there’s nothing.” The empress swept her gaze across the crowd.

Tong Zhenye stepped forward and declared, “I have something to report. Rainfall has been heavy lately and dolomite mines have collapsed in many areas, killing over 70 men.”

“Captives?” The empress asked.

“Yes!” Tong Zhenye responded.

The empress felt a little baffled. Why did he bring up such matters in court? Even though Ren Baqian harped on the importance of the captives, in everyone’s minds, a couple of captives dying was as normal as the rain today.

After all, there were so many captives that it was inevitable to have some die of injury or illness every day.

“Go back and handle it yourself,” the empress replied casually.

“Is there anything else to report?” The empress glanced around once more, before saying, “If there’s nothing else, then the court session will end!”

“Your Majesty, I also have something to report.” Under the menacing glare of Tong Zhenye, Ge Yihong had no choice but to step forward.

The empress knitted her eyebrows. Nobody spoke up when she asked; people only stepped forward when she was about to end the session.

“Speak!”

“The sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and potatoes that Principal Ren supplied are all suitable for planting in Tianjing Basin. I suggest raising these crops in Tianjing Basin and replacing the current paddy fields. After all, the paddy fields have low output and rice doesn’t fetch a high value either. Most of Tianjing Basin is planting such crops at the moment. If we replace them with sweet potatoes and those other types of crops, we can increase our crop yields by fivefold!” Ge Yihong reported.

“Approved!” The empress nodded.

“Is there anybody else?” The empress glanced around once again and immediately frowned when she saw everyone looking inattentive.

Upon seeing that the empress was getting furious, Shi Qing, who was standing at the front, quickly stepped forward and cupped his hands before saying, “Your Majesty, I have something to report!”

“Speak!”

“I saw Sir Ren just now, and he has broken through to the Earth Wheel level.” Shi Qing reported.

“Indeed.” The empress suddenly had a premonition that made her feel uneasy.

“Your Majesty’s conjugal matters with Sir Ren have been delayed for a long time because Sir Ren’s cultivation level was too low and he was unable to conceive a child with you. Since he has already attained the Earth Wheel level, we should probably start planning for your marriage!” Shi Qing said unhurriedly.

The empress felt as if she had been struck by lightning and wasn’t able to move.

Even though she was already mentally prepared and she indeed fancied Ren Baqian a lot, the discussion about marriage made her feel a little startled.

I had nothing to do when I got out of bed this morning, and I casually came to attend the morning court session.

Now, however, you want to discuss marital matters with me?

I haven’t even brushed my teeth!

It was the kind of feeling where she couldn’t defend herself in time and got shot in the knee.

As she glanced across the people, everyone lifted their heads and stared at her.

The empress felt that she hadn’t been this nervous in a long time. She felt as if a lively giant elephant was jumping around in her chest!

Her body immediately blushed from her neck to her ears.

“This matter… We shall discuss it later on!” The empress forcefully repressed her thoughts and tried her best to speak slowly.

She really wasn’t ready for this.

“Is there something that Your Majesty isn’t too satisfied with Sir Ren? Do you wish to pick another husband?” A row of white teeth flashed across Shi Qing’s wrinkled face.

“It’s not that!” The empress waved her hand as her heart beat even faster.

“With your cultivation level growing with each passing day, nobody can match Your Majesty’s talent. However, it isn’t too difficult to find a man who can conceive a child with you.” Shi Qing smiled.

“However, if Sir Ren were to be your partner and you achieved another breakthrough, he might not be able to keep up with your pace. Even if he could, there is no telling how long it would take.”

“If Your Majesty doesn’t find Sir Ren inappropriate in any manner, it’s better to settle the marriage matters earlier. We, the old men, can also be at ease earlier. Once Your Majesty gives birth to a child, there won’t be anything to worry about anymore.”

Qin Chuan, Tu Wan and the others stepped forward and said, “We urge Your Majesty to make arrangements as soon as possible.”

The empress liked Ren Baqian a lot, which everyone could see. This being the case, setting the wedding date and allowing her to give birth to a child earlier would be a good thing as well.

She originally felt a little humiliated, angry, and nervous, but after seeing that everyone had chimed in, she immediately grew enraged and asked, “Are you forcing me?”

Her eyebrows lifted as she spoke, and an ominous glint permeated the whole place.

“We only wish for Your Majesty to settle your marriage matters as soon as possible so that we can put our minds at ease,” everyone responded.

The empress’s eyebrows twitched as she responded softly, “Fine. I’ll leave it to you to make the arrangements. Just report the details to me afterward.”

She then stood up and left the hall. Not long after, her entire face flushed as her head started to emit white steam that rose up to three meters high. She practically looked like a human chimney from afar.

The thought of actually marrying that man-made empress felt like her brain had overloaded and was about to shut down.

After she fled the hall, everyone looked at each other with smiles on their faces.

Even Tong Zhenye and Qin Chuan, who were always on bad terms, didn’t oppose each other.

Almost all of them had watched as the empress grew up.

Regardless of her status, matters like her marriage were very important to them as well.

“Ever since Dayao was founded, Her Majesty has been the only empress, and there truly aren’t any antecedents! Regarding the marriage arrangements, shall we follow Great Xia’s customs or the aboriginal way?” Qin Chuan had an odd look on his face.

“Naturally, the aboriginal way!” Zhuo Yan, the Minister of Justice, grinned.

Next, everyone suddenly had weird looks on their faces.

According to the aboriginal wedding customs, both parties had to ask their partner’s parents for their partner’s hand in marriage. Nobody knew where the old emperor went, and nobody had ever heard of Ren Baqian’s parents either.

The groom then had to present the prey that he had hunted, which would depend on his strength. The size of the prey would indicate how strong and honorable the groom was.

After that, a problem arose—fetching the bride!

Yes, fetching the bride!

The bride’s side had to arrange for experts to obstruct the path and let the groom fight his way through… He eventually had to defeat the bride herself…

Of course, after asking for the lady’s hand in marriage, the bride’s family would normally send some people to do the obstructing. The main idea was to display the strength of the groom. In other words, flash his muscles so that the couple wouldn’t get bullied in the future.

It would be sufficient as long as the groom displayed reasonable strength. Depending on the situation, he would usually have to exchange three to ten blows with each person.

As for the last obstacle, which was the bride, if the couple found each other congenial, she would usually go easy on him.

However, even if his opponents went easy on him, who could Ren Baqian beat with his tiny physique? He wouldn’t be able to beat anyone!

He would collapse at simply one touch of the finger!

After all, the aboriginals honor the strong, so very few women would accept a husband weaker than themselves. Even if he was weaker than her, the difference wouldn’t be that huge, and he would still be able to clear the obstructions and fetch the bride.

However, the empress had found such a weak husband, which was something extremely uncommon among the aboriginals. It would still be hard for Ren Baqian even if she went easy on him. Needless to say, when it was time to fetch the bride, there definitely would be officials from the imperial court who would obstruct Ren Baqian’s path. Hong Wu would very likely be there as well!

What next? Should Hong Wu simply fall over at the touch of Ren Baqian’s finger? Hong Wu was too strong, but Ren Baqian wouldn’t even be able to win against Tong Zhenye or the rest of them! Those officials had their reputations to uphold! They couldn’t simply act it out!

Not to mention the last round, which would be fighting the empress.

Ren Baqian wouldn’t be able to beat her even if she tied her limbs together.

If they were to follow the aboriginal way, how was he going to fetch the bride?

“Shall we follow Great Xia’s customs then?” Tu Wan suggested.

“I’m afraid that it’s inappropriate for the aboriginal empress to follow the wedding customs of Great Xia! It will become a laughing stock if news gets out!” Someone immediately rejected that suggestion.

Everyone nodded.

Great Xia’s customs were out of the question.

Even though the empress had already given the green light, the wedding arrangements had really stumped everyone.

After all, she didn’t have any antecedent for her to follow.

Ren Baqian’s physique was also too weak.

Xuan Hua, the Minister of Rites, frowned and suggested, “Why don’t we discuss this later and decide on the wedding date first.”

“Should we inform the General-in-Chief Who Supports the Nation?” someone asked. After all, Hong Wu and the empress were on great terms. Even though they weren’t related by blood, it was almost the same.

How could they not inform Hong Wu about this?

“We shall contact Hong Wu through the radio then! Everyone go back, think about how we should arrange their marriage, and see if you can come up with any good ideas!” Shi Qing said.

The empress’s marriage had immediately become everyone’s utmost priority! All other matters had been pushed unimaginably far away.