The Empress’s Gigolo

Ren Baqian had always known that the old fox, Tong Zhenye, had a bad character, but he didn’t expect Tong Zhenye to be so bad that it was beyond his imagination.

Ren Baqian looked disgusted.

The empress also had a similar expression.

Tong Zhenye was doing such a crass act that it caused the two observers to be embarrassed.

Yet, Tong Zhenye acted as if nothing had happened.

Ren Baqian hesitated and asked carefully, “Sir Tong, what the hell are you doing?”

“The taste isn’t bad!” Tong Zhenye waved the toothpaste in his hand. “It can also produce bubbles, and I have a case of it at home!”

“I’m not talking about that. What were you doing just now?” Ren Baqian pointed.

“I went to urinate this morning when it bit me without warning!” Tong Zhenye cursed his rotten luck.

Ren Baqian took a breath. In that case, it wasn’t so bad.

On second thought, however, Ren Baqian discovered that this couldn’t be right. Tong Zhenye mentioned that it happened this morning, but the sun was currently overhead!

The people in this world didn’t have the habit of going to bed in the morning and sleeping till the afternoon. They really got up early, often just after four, cleaned up, ate a little, went to the palace and attended court at seven in the morning.

“Sir Tong, it’s noon now!” Ren Baqian pointed overhead.

“I was testing whether its teeth are harder or my ‘golden spear’ is sharper! It was a kind of competition!” Tong Zhenye said proudly.

Ren Baqian finally knew who Tong Zhenye had learned this arrogant expression from.

“Why does it take the whole morning?”

Tong Zhenye waved his hand at Ren Baqian and pulled him by the neck as he walked away.

He whispered, “Zhao Prince Consort, let me tell you, this thing looks scary with its mouth full of fangs, but not its throat. It keeps on sucking, and I guess it’s used to swallowing things whole into its stomach. It looks scary, but it feels very nice!”

Even the deities couldn’t save Tong Zhenye.

His so-called whispering was so loud that it sounded more like boasting.

He could feel the typhoon arriving as the empress landed behind him…

Ren Baqian felt the air pressure decreasing around him and instantly leaped ten meters away to distance himself from Tong Zhenye.

He was surprised that the empress didn’t explode.

She managed to restrain herself, ignored Tong Zhenye, and said calmly, “I want to go fishing!”

“I will prepare a fishing rod for you!” Ren Baqian had a premonition that something drastic was going to happen.

“That won’t be necessary.” The empress smiled at Tong Zhenye and said, “Minister of Works, I want to fish. Could I trouble you to be the bait?”

“Huh? Huh?” There were two question marks, and his tone sounded like an exclamation point.

The empress kicked him upside down with one leg, then held him by one calf and immersed half of his body in the water. Seeing that he was trying to move, she kicked him again and Tong Zhenye was immobilized.

Except for the one calf being held by the empress, his whole body was immersed in the water.

After some time, the empress jerked Tong Zhenye out of the water. He weighed 200 kilograms when he went in, but was 300 kilograms when he came out with his body full of those strange snake-like fish.

More than 2,000 kilograms of those strange fish were caught that afternoon, and one of them was six to seven meters long and thicker than a bucket. It could swallow Tong Zhenye whole, and if that were to happen, the consequence was obvious.

That night, Ren Baqian and the empress’s meal was that strange fish!

This type of fish didn’t look nice, but its flesh was delicate and it had few bones, so people praised it highly.

In particular, this strange fish had worms that looked like hair growing on its body. They imparted a great taste, like chicken essence, to the soup.

The empress and Ren Baqian cleaned their fish thoroughly and discovered that the fish cooked by Tong Zhenye tasted much better. They could smell the difference from a distance away.

Initially, they thought that the difference in taste was due to their fish being too big, but after testing, they found that the cause was due to the worms on the body of the strange fish.

Ren Baqian’s original plan was to kill as many of these strange fish as possible, but he changed his mind.

This type of fish tasted good, was nutritious, had few bones, and should be acceptable to the aboriginals who didn’t like to eat fish.

Furthermore, those worms were like premium chicken essence.

These two living things were worth breeding.

Ren Baqian’s goal wasn’t to make money, but to rely on these things to create an industry that supported the people.

Although he had the means to create many industries, this type was more suitable for the aboriginals.

Ren Baqian had always wanted to bring the mountain folks out of the Sixty Thousand Mountains, but they were different from the people who had been staying on the plains for decades. They were fiercer, violent, good hunters, and excellent fighters. If they weren’t so scattered, they could be directly utilized as elite soldiers.

They were worse off in many ways, especially their violent nature.

The citizens of Lan City were also fierce, but the aboriginals stirred up trouble easily and had the unhealthy habit of pulling out their sabers.

To put these mountain folks to good use, he had to let them get used to life on the plains, which was totally different from being fierce and violent.

In addition, aquaculture wasn’t bad as this river could easily support tens of thousands of people.

Ren Baqian recorded this down and toured this remote area with the empress for a few days. He got the people from the Ministry of Works to survey the plain between the two rivers and then went back.

As soon as he got back to the palace, a convoy of a few hundred cattle carts arrived in Lan City. The rut left by every cart was deep, and anyone could see that these carts were heavily laden with goods.

“Adviser Qing, is this Lan City? Are we coming to this place where the birds do not sh*t to look for food?” The curtain of a carriage was parted, and a man with a beard put his face in.

Qing Lian was holding a book with one hand while writing on a blackboard and answered without even raising her head, “This is Dayao, where Spirit Wheel experts are all over the place and Earth Wheel experts are abundant. A person who passes by you may be an Earth Wheel expert, and if you let them hear you, I may not be able to save you! You do not need to add to the number of envoys who have died here all these years!

“Are you exaggerating?” The big hunk gave a dry cough.

He knew that there were many aboriginal experts. He had met many aboriginal citizens who were Man Wheel experts along the way, which was frightening, but Earth Wheel experts were seldom seen.

Of course, the numbers were much higher when compared to Great Xia.

What Qing Lian had said seemed to be an exaggeration.

“Do you think this is Great Xia? Over here, you aren’t qualified to enter the imperial court if you aren’t a Spirit Wheel expert!” Qing Lian’s mouth twitched.

“You didn’t see Earth Wheel experts in the cities we have passed through because most of them are in the army plundering the Yun Nation or are looking after the prisoners of war. However, this place is the capital of Dayao! Remember to look more and say less. It doesn’t matter if you die, but if you delay this mission, I will get Kong Mingzi to bring back your spirit and torture you for 100 years!”

Upon hearing the name “Kong Mingzi,” the man’s expression changed. He put down the curtain and turned away grumbling.

“Idiot!” Qing Lian’s lips twitched.

She wasn’t worried about the other party hearing her.

General Huai Ji was really a fool.

Did Su Qing send him here to be killed by Qi Zixiao as a means of getting rid of him?

The probability was 79 percent.