When it was almost night time, Ren Baqian was summoned to the palace. Once he entered the palace, he saw the empress dressed in red muslin standing in front of a table. On top of the table was a painting.
"Greetings, Your Majesty," Ren Baqian greeted.
The empress turned around and sized up Ren Baqian. Then, she nodded her head and said, "I haven't seen you for a few days. You look more like you now."
"Since I am working for Her Majesty, I have to look presentable. Otherwise, I will embarrass Her Majesty," Ren Baqian said.
"Well said and well done," the empress praised.
"As long as Your Majesty doesn't blame me for acting rashly."
"If you were afraid, you would have come to beg for forgiveness long ago." The empress curled her lips.
"These days, I have been wholeheartedly thinking about completing the task Your Majesty has given me, how could I care about anything else? Even if Your Majesty really wants to blame me, I have to settle the matter first, "Ren Baqian quickly said.
Once again, the empress shifted her gaze from the painting to Ren Baqian. "If you are telling the truth, I will be very happy."
"Of course it's the truth. I don't dare to hide anything from His Majesty. I will speak my mind."
The empress was noncommittal. She would be a fool if she believed everything that Ren Baqian said.
Ren Baqian was naturally aware of this. However, no matter how many times he tried to flatter someone, flattering them more and showing his loyalty would always bring him a lot of benefits. It was just a few words, nothing more.
He felt that if he had been as smart and quick-witted as he was now, he wouldn't have been so miserable.
The empress turned around and returned to her couch. She stretched out her palm, and Hong Luan immediately poured a cup of wine and placed it in her hand.
This wasn't the first time Ren Baqian had seen such a scene. He had always been curious about how Qing Yuan and Hong Luan knew when the empress wanted something.
Furthermore, looking at the empress's expression, their every move was exactly what she wanted.
It can't be a roundworm in my stomach, right?
However, this ability was what he was striving for.
"Although no one has reported you these two days, they will probably come when the time comes. What do you think I should do? Although you did a good job, they were all gifts for me. If I let them go out with a bellyful of complaints, it would be inexcusable.
But we don't want to punish you. After all, you're working for us, and what you're doing is to our liking.
Tell me, what should I do? “
When Ren Baqian heard what the empress said, his mind spun. There seemed to be only one path in front of him: Admit your guilt and accept the punishment.
Even though the empress wouldn't really punish him and was just saying it to test his thoughts, Ren Baqian knew that the empress wouldn't punish him. If she were to be punished, the empress would lose face. He worked for her, but in the end, he had to take the blame. When had the emperor of Dayao ever done such a thing?
Dayao had always given people the impression of being rude and overbearing.
He had never cared about what others thought.
Ren Baqian raised his head and said to the empress, "With Your Majesty's dignity, why would you care about the opinions of others, let alone those thieves and rascals? Will His Majesty give them an explanation? "
After hearing Ren Baqian's reply, the empress revealed a smile on her face. Soon after, she burst into unbridled laughter. Her red lips were on fire. At this moment, the feeling that the empress gave him was like a ball of flame, unbridled and flamboyant.
"Hong Luan, give Storyteller Ren a glass of wine." Ren Baqian gulped down the wine in her cup and laughed heartily.
Ren Baqian took the wine cup. Just by smelling it, he knew that it was strong wine. He raised the cup with both hands and said, "Thank you for the wine, Your Majesty."
After finishing his sentence, he drank the wine in one gulp. A scorching heat flowed into his stomach.
"Well said. Why would I care about the opinions of others when I do things?" The empress praised.
"Your Majesty is well-versed in both literature and martial arts. No matter what you do, you have your own limits. Naturally, you don't need to care about what others think or say." Ren Baqian knew that his words had touched the empress's heart. He immediately struck while the iron was hot.
After the empress laughed out loud, she raised another cup of wine and poured it into her mouth.
"There are four more days before the Great Hunt. Inform them that they can bring along a follower. Report the name list in two days. "
Ren Baqian was slightly stunned. Great Hunt? He had never heard of this before.
"When the time comes, you have to perform well and don't embarrass me."
"Alright, you can leave now."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Ren Baqian pondered as he left the palace.
What was going on with this Great Hunt? Furthermore, Her Majesty wanted him to participate. It seemed like he had to find someone to ask.
After returning to the beast park, Ren Baqian immediately went to look for Caretaker Shi. He saw Caretaker Shi holding a stone padlock at the entrance of the house and moving it up and down.
No wonder Caretaker Shi had muscles all over his body. Ren Baqian usually did not pay attention to them. Caretaker Shi was also training his muscles every day.
Sure enough, muscles were trained, not nurtured.
When Caretaker Shi saw Ren Baqian, he threw the stone padlock to the side and laughed, "I'm getting old, but I'm not as strong as before. If it was ten years ago, I wouldn't even need to exert any strength to do this. "
At this moment, Caretaker Shi was sweating profusely and panting a little.
Sometimes, when Ren Baqian looked at these aboriginals, he felt that it was time for him to train. However, after thinking about it, even if he became a muscle maniac, he wouldn't be able to withstand a slap.
If there was an opportunity, it would be better to get some martial arts manuals from this world.
At least he wouldn't be too weak to fight a chicken.
"How's the matter with the air cooler?" Ren Baqian asked.
"We have produced thirty air coolers in the past few days and sold more than twenty of them. The remaining ones will probably be sold tomorrow." Caretaker Shi was excited when he mentioned this.
Ren Baqian nodded his head. He estimated that it was about time. A total of more than forty air coolers had been sold. There should be imitations soon.
However, with so many young masters coming over recently, if they knew about this air cooler, they would not be stingy to buy one. It should be able to sell for a while.
This air cooler should be able to earn at least a thousand taels of silver.
"Caretaker Shi, I have something to ask. What's the Great Hunt?" Ren Baqian changed the topic to the autumn hunt.
"It's almost time." Caretaker Shi immediately replied after hearing Ren Baqian's question.
"It's a custom. Every year on this day, people would carry a bow and knife and go hunting in the mountains. The more prey they have, the better their lives will be in the coming year. Furthermore, if they manage to hunt prey like the sharp-toothed tiger, they will be favored by the ladies back in the stronghold. "
"It's also held in Lan City?"
"It's mainly held in the stronghold. However, Her Majesty will hold it once every year. The children of various influential families will participate in it to display their individual strength. Some who have grudges will also compete with each other during this time. "
"In previous years' Great Hunt, did those who came to celebrate Her Majesty's birthday also participate?"
"Of course. The youngsters of the aboriginals are not as weak as them. We have to make them understand this point," Caretaker Shi replied as a matter of course.
Ren Baqian was enlightened. It turned out that the purpose of displaying one's strength was to let other nations see how brave the youngsters of Dayao were. This way, they would naturally feel a sense of fear in their hearts. When they returned and told others, their reputation would naturally spread.
Soon after, Ren Baqian's face turned green.
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