The welcome for the empress this time was much grander than the previous one.
After all, it only took slightly more than a month for them to repel Great Xia's attack. All the residents of Lan City were full of pride. This was their empress.
Therefore, when they found out that the empress had returned, they scrambled to see the empress with their own eyes.
From the city gate to Beihong District, there was a sea of people on both sides. Although it was drizzling, it couldn't stop the enthusiasm of the residents of Lan City.
"Your Majesty!"
"It's Her Majesty!"
"Your Majesty's martial arts are prosperous!"
All kinds of cheers came from the crowd on both sides.
The curtain in front of the empress's carriage was pulled open, allowing people to see the empress in red lying on her side.
Just like the first time Ren Baqian saw the empress, she was lying on her side on a thick fur without a smile. Her eyes were gently closed while Hong Luan and Qing Yuan followed behind her.
Although she wasn't sitting in a very dignified manner, this image was in line with the people's impression of the empress.
Ren Baqian obediently followed behind on his fork-horned cow, and it was inevitable that people would point at him.
Due to the existence of the radio station, the situation in the north could be transmitted to Lan City every day. Then, it was spread to the residences of the officials, and then to the ears of many commoners.
Every day, before and after tea, on the streets and in the alleys, all of Lan City was discussing the war in the north.
Many things that happened during the war were also spread.
As a result, although Ren Baqian was still a pretty boy, many people heard that he had done a lot of things during the war with Great Xia. This caused many people to look at him differently.
At least he wasn't like a fresh flower stuck in a mosaic.
He had almost improved to the point of a fresh flower stuck in cow dung.
This progress was gratifying.
Ren Baqian turned his head to the side and happened to see a few heads squeezed in front of a window.
They were all his students.
Ren Baqian smiled at them, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.
"Yagui saw us!" Those students subconsciously shrank their heads back.
"Du Laoliu, have you finished your homework?"
"What's there to be afraid of? Since Her Majesty has returned from such a great victory, she will definitely hold a banquet in the palace and have other things to deal with. Yagui definitely won't start school so soon and will have time to do it." Du Laoliu patted his chest and said in an imposing manner before turning to look at the others.
"What about you?
"I haven't done it yet …" Several students were like Du Laoliu. During the war in the north, they had been talking about the war in the tavern every day and exchanging information they had heard from their parents. How could they be in the mood to do their homework?
Du Laoliu's gaze drifted over everyone, feeling somewhat disappointed.
Although he said it straightforwardly, even if school started a few days later, he wouldn't be able to finish his homework even if he stayed at home every day.
At that time, he would probably be shot again.
Out of all the students, he had been shot the most.
Although the wounds would heal after applying the Black Mud Ointment, there were still patches of tender skin that were different from before.
Now, he didn't even dare to bare his upper body.
After taking off his clothes, his arms and shoulders were covered with finger-sized white spots. Those who didn't know better would think that he had a skin disease.
"I've done most of it," someone finally said.
Everyone's eyes were on that person.
"Brother, whether we live or die is up to you," Du Laoliu said as he hooked his arm around his brother's neck.
"A bunch of trash!" A little loli walked down from upstairs with a look of disdain.
"Have you finished your homework?" Everyone's eyes lit up.
"Hmph!" The little loli proudly raised her head and walked down the stairs, ignoring everyone's envious gazes.
After leaving the tavern, she drooped her head and went straight to the Tong residence. After returning home, she was in a mess. Then, she gritted her teeth and started to do her homework.
…
When Ren Baqian returned to Pingle Park, he immediately saw two black and white round fellows. One of them was lying on the ground while the other was stepping on it and climbing up a tree.
Almost a year had passed, and the two little fellows had grown up quite a bit.
Ren Baqian walked over, and the two little fellows looked at him.
Then, Ren Baqian dragged the panda on the bottom out, and the one on top couldn't stand anymore and immediately fell down.
Ren Baqian laughed heartily, hugged the furry panda, and rubbed his face against it. It had a familiar smell.
The other panda rolled on the ground, ran over with its mouth open, and tried to push him away. In the end, it was gently pushed by Ren Baqian, causing it to tumble and cry out in grievance.
Ren Baqian rubbed the two pandas, returned to the house, and looked around. There wasn't much dust. It seemed like someone had been cleaning the house after he left.
Then, he fell onto the bed. He was finally home and could finally sleep on the bed.
Long distance travel in this world was simply too troublesome.
When Ren Baqian was woken up, it was almost dark. He stretched and felt much more comfortable.
"Sir, Her Majesty wants you to attend the banquet in a while," Shi Hu reported.
"Everyone in the imperial court is going?"
"Yes."
Ren Baqian thought about it. It seemed like he only had his previous robe.
"Her Majesty asked someone to rush out a new robe for you. I reckon it will be delivered soon," Shi Hu said.
"Get someone to boil the water. I'll take a bath first."
After he was done bathing, the robe was delivered.
With his current official position, his robe was purple with beautiful embroidery of birds and beasts. It looked much better than his previous robe.
The last time he attended the banquet, Ren Baqian sat at the end. If not for the empress's special permission, he wouldn't have been qualified to attend.
This time, his seat was slightly higher in the middle. He sat together with Feng Hou and a few officials from the Ministry of Works.
Below him were Feng Hou from the Department of Ordnance and Ge Yihong from the Department of Agriculture and Livestock.
Above him were the six ministers, the Great Elder, and the Young Elder.
Ren Baqian received a lot of attention the moment he came in. There were also a few people who greeted him, and they were all officials from the Ministry of Works whom he had dealt with before.
As for the other ministries, the Ministry of War treated him rather kindly.
Other people didn't know what effect the things that Ren Baqian had on the front line had, but the people from the Ministry of War were very clear about it. Furthermore, his idea of a militia had satisfied the people from the Ministry of War. As a result, they showed their goodwill when they saw him.
For example, sneering at him!
If he didn't know better, he would have thought that they were going to beat him up.
"Sir Ren, you have worked hard on this trip." Just as Ren Baqian sat down, Feng Hou came in and sat beside him with a smile.
"To serve the people!" Ren Baqian was very polite.
Feng Hou, "…"
What the hell was this?
"How's the blast furnace?" Ren Baqian asked.
"It's still under construction. There's been a lot of rain these days, so the construction has slowed down quite a bit," Feng Hou said.
The rainy season came earlier in Lan City, and it had been raining continuously these days. Even the speed at which the cement was fired had been slowed down. As a result, by the time Ren Baqian returned, the progress of the blast furnace was only half done.
Now that he had achieved hydraulic hammer forging, it was much easier, and the speed at which he forged weapons was much faster.
But the blast furnaces were only half built, and now the iron was not enough to keep up.
Ren Baqian chatted with Feng Hou for a while before the six ministers came in one after another.
Following them were the Great Elder and the Second Elder.
After everyone was seated, the empress walked into the hall.
"We welcome Your Majesty and congratulate Your Majesty on your triumphant return!" Everyone stood up and bowed.
"Have a seat." The empress said faintly and sat down at the seat of honor. She then said, "Today, we're not going to talk about national affairs. We're just here to celebrate. Dance! "
As soon as the empress finished speaking, six strong men and six women entered the hall. The men were wearing leather shorts while the women were wearing tube tops and leather skirts.
As the fast-paced drums sounded, the twelve people began to dance a primitive dance in the hall. Many of their movements were similar to hunting, and their mouths were full of energy. "Ha! Ha! "Their voices were full of wildness.
Following that, the sound of an xun was heard, adding a touch of desolation to the wildness. It was as if they were in the endless wilderness.
"This is a celebratory dance. In the past, when we were in the village, we would dance this kind of dance if we hunted a lot or defeated an enemy," Feng Hou explained in a low voice. He knew that Ren Baqian didn't understand this dance.
Ren Baqian nodded. This kind of primitive dance was interesting and full of vitality.
As the dance ended, a few middle-aged women played instruments that looked like pipas.
The atmosphere in the hall immediately became cheerful.
Starting from the Great Elder, the ministers also began to toast the empress.
The hall was full of joy and harmony.
Until one hour later …
Following that, a loud shout was heard, "Ignorant Tong, what did you say? Do you want to have a taste of the sharpness of my saber? "
"Come, come, come. Today, I will teach you a lesson …" Following that, Tong Zhengye's voice was heard.
Following that, there was a series of banging sounds. Tong Zhengye and Qin Chuan directly flipped the table and jumped to the center of the hall. Tong Zhengye used [Black Tiger Steals Heart], Qin Chuan used [Monkey Steals Peach], Tong Zhengye used [Black Tiger Steals Heart], Qin Chuan used [Black Tiger Steals Heart], and I used [Black Tiger Steals Heart] three times in a row. Qin Chuan used [Fishing the Moon from the Bottom of the Sea] four times in a row … five times in a row …
There were even people at the side who were cheering loudly.
"Lord Tong's attack came at just the right time. It interrupted Lord Qin's accumulation of power and forced him to defend. Lord Qin fell into a disadvantageous position after losing one move … Lord Tong attacked again at this moment, forcing Lord Qin to retreat …" Feng Hou evaluated from the side. His voice wasn't soft either.
Ren Baqian was embarrassed. How could you see so much about Tong Zhengye's [Black Tiger Steals Heart] thirteen times in a row?
"Feng Hou, you're spouting nonsense!" Someone at the opposite table immediately shouted out.
Following that, plates and cups flew toward Feng Hou.
Ren Baqian looked at the situation and quickly crawled to the side.
He then heard a series of crashing sounds behind him.
By the time he crawled behind a pillar, Feng Hou had already started fighting with a burly man from the Ministry of War.
Then, plates and bowls started flying on both sides of the hall …
Ren Baqian stretched out his hand and caught a pork knuckle in the air. When he took a closer look, he didn't know who had taken two big bites.
After thinking for a while, he threw the pork knuckle away.
"Sir Ren, sit here." Shi Qing, who was not far away, waved at him.
Ren Baqian only took two steps before he stopped.
He saw a huge figure flying toward Shi Qing, knocking him and the table to the ground.
Tong Zhengye got up from the ground, picked Shi Qing up, and put him on the ground. He looked around, and his eyes lit up. He picked up the table that Shi Qing had knocked over and threw it at Qin Chuan.
Seeing this, Ren Baqian felt that it was better for him to stay here.
He turned to look at the empress, only to see her sitting at the seat of honor and drinking by herself as if she didn't see anything.
The people below were in such a mess, but the empress was still so calm.
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