Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The first day of the New Year was also the day before Ren Baqian and the empress’s grand wedding.
The walls of the palace were decorated with aboriginal ornaments, just like the external walls of the senior officials’ residences.
The head of Teng Yue was hung on the palace wall. His head had been buried under the palace for more than a year and surprisingly had not been eaten by worms and rats. It didn’t turn into a skull and was just very dried out. His face could still be vaguely seen.
This gave Ren Baqian a clearer understanding of the body of a Spirit Wheel expert.
Of course, Teng Yue used to be the world’s fourth most powerful expert and had been an expert in spear fighting. His body was definitely much stronger than an ordinary Spirit Wheel expert’s body!
Hanging beside him was a row of skeletons that belonged to many Spirit Wheel experts from Tianjing Basin. The skeletons of the two Spirit Wheel experts who had tried to assassinate Ren Baqian were also there, and the rest belonged to some experts that were killed by the empress.
However, there was one thing that was quite different from the rest and incongruous.
It was an erhu that was eaten by the worms and chewed on by the rats!
The bow was blown by the wind against the body of the erhu and sounded like monks striking wooden fish. The surrounding objects were eerie and forbidding, so this sounded warmer in contrast.
He wondered which idiot had dug it out with the rest and hung it on the wall.
However, Ren Baqian felt the eerie aboriginal decorations were even more of an eyesore.
Of all the Chinese, English, and Mediterranean styles… the aboriginal style rendered him speechless!
The grand wedding was set for the following day!
What did they mean by hanging a bunch of skeletons and bones on the palace walls?
Ren Baqian looked at the things hanging on the walls and felt helpless. He and the empress each wore a Calabash Brothers[1.Calabash Brothers: A Chinese animation TV series produced by Shanghai Animation Film Studio] mask and went out of the palace.
Normally, fewer people would be seen in Lan City during the first day of the New Year, but because the grand wedding was being held tomorrow, there was an increase in the number of people. Furthermore, there were more goods available in Lan City after the Yun Nation was defeated. Thus, the streets were filled with big hunks and enchanting ladies.
Among them, the two people who attracted the most attention were Ren Baqian and the empress, who were wearing the Calabash Brothers masks.
These masks attracted even more attention than their original looks.
Most of the shops on either side of Jingyang Street were open. Two shopkeepers from the Yun Nation had given gifts to the empress and took back their original shops. They were arrested the next day and had to pay a sum of money to get themselves released. This straightened them out.
It seemed like the people from the Yun Nation didn’t know whether money or their lives were more important! The Yun Nation was gone, yet they still dared to sell at 10 times the price like they did before. Ren Baqian was willing to bet that these two shops wouldn’t even last for half a year.
Since few shops were taken back by their original owners, there were some shops that remained closed. The doorways of these shops became good places for the aboriginals to set up their stalls.
“Paris polyphylla![1.Paris polyphylla: Asian species of flowering plant native to China, Taiwan, the Indian Subcontinent, and Indochina]. 10 year old paris polyphylla! Good for muscle growth and staunching blood. Essential medicine for hunting or street fighting!”
This advertisement reflected the valiant spirit of the aboriginals.
“Red flower from Black Mountain! If your opponent uses paris polyphylla, you can use red flower. It’s guaranteed to heal your wounds faster than your opponent!”
In less than a minute, the two families started fighting. They advertised their medicines as they fought. After fighting for a solid five minutes, they were fine and sold half of their medicines.
“Scorpion pipes at 30 taels of silver each! Top-grade poisonous scorpion. One will lie down for seven days after a sting… and faint for half a day after one whiff…”
Well, poison was being sold on the street through use of exotic slogans.
Plus, there were many people crowding around the stalls.
“Red scorpion claws from Mount Qingquan! They are sharper than iron. The price of seven of them is equivalent to the price of one iron saber of about the same size.”
Ren Baqian glanced at the scorpion claw seller. These claws were displayed on the floor with big ones as large as a short saber and small ones like daggers. If they were really similar to iron, they should be useful for the common people.
“The city is busier than usual!” the empress said excitedly as she watched the people thronging on both sides of the street.
“Don’t be annoyed since it will become busy every day in the future!” Ren Baqian said with a smile.
With the goods and materials from the Yun Nation, the first one to prosper was Lan City.
As the capital, its population of less than 100,000, which included the farms on the outskirts, was too small.
“Why be annoyed? It will be good that way!” the empress said. Although she was wearing a mask, he could guess that she was smiling.
When the two of them arrived at the few royal shops, they saw the servants of the rich people from the Yun Nation standing outside. Inside, the shops were packed with their masters.
Whether it was glass products, mirrors, or spices, these goods were attractive to the rich people from the Yun Nation who liked to show off.
Of course, the price they paid was 10 times that of the aboriginals.
After standing outside these shops for some time, the two of them went to other places.
Ren Baqian sighed as he walked and commented, “Those people from the Yun Nation are really rich! Even after sending so many gifts, they still have money to buy things!”
The first thought that came to the empress’s mind when she heard this was to plunder them again!
Then, she realized that the Yun Nation was already part of her territory!
This made her a little regretful!
“We will get money from them when we want to build new cities!” Ren Baqian said.
Great Xia also had many rich tyrants, but there was now unrest everywhere, so they had to wait for it to settle down before seizing this wealth!
Of course, this would be done by selling them special products.
This method of snatching money was no slower than robbing with a saber.
The two of them moved around the city for half a day and somehow ended up on a very familiar street.
Compared to the buildings in other places, the buildings here were more exquisite. There weren’t any fruit trees planted in the courtyards, and they contained water fountains instead.
Although it was afternoon, a group of beautiful ladies were leaning against the windows, laughing, and playing.
Then, they heard Tong Zhenye laughing loudly and saying, “Come on! Let me touch your body to feel whether it is plump and smooth…”
“That old thing!” Ren Baqian cursed under his breath and whispered to the empress, “Your Majesty, it is Sir Tong!”
“Hmm! I’m not deaf!” the empress replied with a faint voice.
Seeing that the empress didn’t respond at all, he picked up a stone and threw it at the window where the laughter was coming from.
The cry of a girl was heard.
“Who’s the lunatic who threw the stone? Are you seeking death?” As the loud voice of Tong Zhenye rang out, his figure was already outside the window.
The only person who dared to throw stones at his window was that old fool, Qing Chuan!
“Old bastard, today I will let you…” Before Tong Zhenye landed on the ground and before he finished his sentence, he discovered a figure in front of him.
The red dress was familiar!
The style of movement was also familiar!
Even the fragrance was familiar…
Tong Zhenye was shocked and blurted out, “Your Majesty?”
Bang!
Tong Zhenye flew back faster than he came out!
Screams were heard coming from the building.
The empress fluttered down beside Ren Baqian and glanced at him.
“Cough! I just wanted to greet Sir Tong, but he was so agitated!” Ren Baqian coughed dryly and sounded surprised.
The empress glared at him, but didn’t try to guess his intentions and continued heading back.
The couple finally ended up at the base of the clock tower. It had now become surrounded by a small plaza, and many stone chairs abounded. However, they were disappointed to find that all the seats were taken because they were hoping to sit here for a while.
The lamps on the streets were being switched on, and they walked back to the palace under the streetlights.
“Well, Your Majesty, the grand wedding is tomorrow!” Ren Baqian suddenly said.
Although tomorrow was the big day, they were wandering in the city today and were surprisingly unexcited and calm.
It seemed like as long as he had this person beside him, he had everything in the world.
The rest of his feelings seemed far away from his mind!
“Hmm!” the empress responded softly.
“Aren’t you excited?” Ren Baqian laughed and bumped her with his shoulder.
“Hmmn…” the empress murmured very softly.
“This is so unlike you, Your Majesty!” Ren Baqian smiled.
“Why don’t you call me by my name? It seems like a long time…” The empress asked a question in return. This question had been on her mind for a long time, but she had never mentioned it before.
Ren Baqian thought for a while and replied sincerely, “This is what I always remember. What I have is Your Majesty, the only woman in the world for me, irreplaceable, and unmatched by anyone!”
“Is that so?” the empress asked softly. This answer was a bit unexpected. She wanted Ren Baqian to call her by her name since he was the only one who could do so now.
However, his answer wasn’t annoying.
Instead, she was delighted by it.
Ren Baqian pulled her shoulder toward him and moved his face forward…
Then…
Their lips locked together…
