Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
At nightfall, the lights in the entire palace were splendid.
Other than the streetlamps that were shining, red lanterns were hung all over the palace and on the trees. There was no telling how long these lanterns had been lying at the bottom of the storage boxes.
Colorful silks were twined around the trees, making them look like beautiful flowers.
There was a boiling cauldron of voices inside Zichen Palace Hall. Loud laughter and shouting resounded throughout.
Inside the hall were the aboriginal officials, and outside were the people of the Yun Nation and Tianjing Basin!
Ren Baqian sat beside the empress. He grasped a piece of red silk in one hand and held his chin in the other as he watched Xuan Hua, the Minister of Rites, perform a striptease.
The empress was holding the other end of that piece of red silk.
Many burly men and beautiful women started to howl with laughter when Xuan Hua was left with a piece of cloth to cover his body!
“I didn’t know that the Minister of Rites wasn’t an ordinary person!” Ren Baqian said softly.
This was the first time he sat up top and overlooked all the civil and military officials below. To be honest, he wasn’t feeling very comfortable. After all, when one was at the top, everybody would notice his every move, and there were many small things that he couldn’t do.
At the beginning, he tried to sit still like the Buddha. As the atmosphere in the hall became more enthusiastic, Ren Baqian began to feel as if there were nails under his butt, and he almost couldn’t stay still anymore.
The empress then pinched his arm, causing him to immediately sit upright again!
“Check out my last move and all of you shall witness my ultimate treasure!” Xuan Hua was a little younger than Tong Zhenye and Qin Chuan. He had big eyes, thick eyebrows, and looked like a serious man. However, at present, his entire face was flushed. The piece of cloth that he was wearing revealed his muscles, and he was almost taking it off as well!
“F*ck! Is no one stopping him?” Ren Baqian looked extremely surprised. This guy was the Minister of Rites! He was usually a very quiet person. Had he finally revealed his true nature?
“Wonderful!” Many people cheered and applauded.
When Ren Baqian realized that nobody was stopping him, he immediately considered whether he should cover the empress’s eyes.
“Woo!” Before he could even think it through, Xuan Hua made a weird sound and threw the only piece of clothing he was wearing into the air.
Ren Baqian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when he saw the empress lowering her head to drink and conceal her expression. Meanwhile, Tu Wan and many of the female officials were applauding and whistling!
It seemed like it wasn’t the first time this had happened.
After Ren Baqian arrived in this world, he had either been bustling about or fighting wars. He hadn’t seen many banquets, but the climax had always been Tong Zhenye fighting with Qin Chuan!
This was the first time he witnessed such a grand finale!
Correction, it wasn’t a finale. After Xuan Hua got off the stage, a few officials from the Ministry of Appointments went up…
On the other side, Qin Chuan and Tong Zhenye had been feeling a little gloomy the entire day after the empress treated them unfairly. They began to flex their muscles, preparing for the finale!
“They are indeed barbarians. They truly stand up to their name!” A man laughed to himself outside Zichen Palace Hall. Some of them could see the situation inside. His voice was very low, and apart from the people around him, nobody else heard him.
“They aren’t afraid of tainting their eyes either!” one of his companions added.
Even though the Yun Nation had already fallen, most of the Yun Nation’s people still treated the aboriginals as barbarians and were feeling scornful.
Especially after seeing the situation inside the hall, they couldn’t help but ridicule.
Although they didn’t dare to let others hear it, they weren’t worried about sharing it among their companions.
At a table not far away, a man with a wide forehead and deep eye sockets turned his head and tightly gripped his chopsticks.
“Ping Tang! What happened?” Someone immediately discovered him reacting abnormally.
Most of the people who attended the event were from the Embroidered Uniform Guards. Even though their positions weren’t that high, the organizers made an exception and let them participate in the wedding feast. It was the same for those from the Yun Nation.
However, the people of the Jing Tribe weren’t as indignant as the Yun Nation’s people. On one hand, most of the Yun Nation’s experts had died, whereas those who survived were mostly members of the Embroidered Uniform Guards. On the other hand, the things that Ren Baqian promised them back then were slowly being realized. He didn’t deceive them, and this made them feel extremely grateful and willing to serve.
The Jing Tribe had been tormented for so many years in Tianjing Basin. Wasn’t it just to make it out of that place? The state of their nation didn’t really matter to them. The Hao Nation had already fallen more than 70 years ago, and nominally, they had been ruled by the aboriginals for that same period of time!
Besides, these Embroidered Uniform Guards would accumulate points whenever they accomplished a task. As long as they had accumulated enough to exchange for goods, they would be able to receive all the herbs and goods that they needed within three months.
At present, accumulating points was even more valuable to them than gold and silver!
The man known as Ping Tang groaned and repeated the words that he had just overheard.
The faces of the others immediately changed!
“Did you hear it right?”
“My ears are highly-skilled, and I can even hear the fluttering of mosquitoes and flies from 100 meters away!” Ping Tang said.
A composed old man immediately added, “Oh, these Yun Nation people are so ignorant. They actually dare to speak such nonsense at this place! Don’t voice it out first. After all, today is a big day. If something goes wrong, the officials will be mad! If that happens, we’ll be in hot soup! Let’s just follow them later, find out their identities, and report it to the officials. That will reap us some merit!”
…
“Your Majesty, the time has come.”
At this time, the entire hall was filled with crazy people dancing. At least there was a responsible official from the Ministry of Rites.
Upon hearing this, Ren Baqian and the empress stood up.
“Do as you wish!” she said faintly before leaving through the side door. Naturally, he followed her as well.
Outside the main hall, Ren Baqian called out to a bodyguard and said, “Send in the water of life that I prepared!”
“Yes!”
“Tell them that this is the blood of courage!”
“What water of life? What blood of courage?” the empress stopped in her tracks and asked. These names sounded formidable!
“Vodka with 96 percent alcohol!” Ren Baqian said openly.
If he had given it to them earlier, they might not drink it!
Now, however, it was hard to say…
Ren Baqian was already prepared from the start. He couldn’t let that old b*stard, Tong Zhenye, get away with it! However, Ren Baqian couldn’t possibly just give it to him, right? Everyone would realize that something was wrong with it, let alone Tong Zhenye, that wily old fox!
Ren Baqian might as well serve it to everyone. In any case, all of them were good-for-nothings! It wasn’t as if he was forcing them to drink it! He simply told them that it was the blood of courage!
“96 percent? I remember hearing you say that the sorghum wine I drank was 38 or 40 percent. What’s the difference?” the empress casually asked.
“It’s just slightly stronger!” Ren Baqian replied honestly.
“Do you have a motive for this?” She looked at him with bright eyes.
He understood her well and so did she!
Ren Baqian was alright normally. It was just that he would come up with defective ideas occasionally!
“You think too much, Your Majesty. It’s just a little stronger. If you normally drink a kilogram of sorghum wine, half a kilogram of this will suffice!” He was broad and level and didn’t flinch at all when he said this.
The empress stood there and pondered for a moment before immediately realizing it!
She mused aloud, “They were drinking fruit wine just now, and a kilogram of that is only equivalent to the strength of half a kilogram of sorghum wine! If they drink this vodka like how they did with the fruit wine…”
“They aren’t fools…” Ren Baqian said this, but he didn’t think that way! Especially not now, when all the officials were getting drunk!
“The words you said…” The empress shook her head and glared at him. “You are so mean!”
When Ren Baqian looked at her sweet and charming eyes, his heart immediately warmed up.
Just at that moment, the official from the Ministry of Rites urged, “Your Majesty, the time has come—we can’t delay any longer!”
According to the royal families of other nations, the emperor had his own quarters and so did the empress and the concubines.
However, the aboriginals had low sex drives. Plus, the women were fierce. Ever since the nation had been founded, nobody had married more than one wife.
As such, even the palace didn’t change.
There was still that couch, two meters long and more than three meters wide!
The surroundings were covered with red cloth and a translucent curtain.
Not far from the couch was a table. A bottle gourd was cut into two halves and emptied out. These halves were connected together by a red string.
In addition, there was also a pair of huge red candlesticks that had golden dragon and phoenix patterns.
Qing Yuan, Hong Luan, and several female officials waited for them at the side.
The entire room had an ambiguous atmosphere!
When the empress walked into her quarters, she slowed down her footsteps while her breathing grew indistinct. She seemed to be adjusting her mood!
“Nervous?” Ren Baqian turned to look at her.
“A little!” the empress replied to him honestly. It was rare for her to do this!
“Your Majesty and Zhao Prince Consort, please worship the heavens and ancestors!” intoned an official from the Ministry of Rites.
Both of them lit incense in the palace to worship the heavens and ancestors.
“Your Majesty and Zhao Prince Consort, please share the nuptial cup!”
Ren Baqian and the empress each held one half of the bottle gourd as Qing Yuan and Hong Luan poured wine into them.
Feeling extremely anxious, the empress held the bottle gourd in her hand and exchanged glances with Ren Baqian. After sharing this nuptial cup, they would officially be husband and wife!
It seemed that the simplest rite had the most significance!
She was willing to do it. Naturally, she was!
There was just some emotional stirring in her heart!
The man whom she saw along the road a few years ago was now becoming her husband.
The world was truly unpredictable!
Ren Baqian was thinking about the same thing as well. He had almost lost his head a few years ago and then he saw this heroic woman in the imperial carriage. Now, she was becoming his wife.
“Please drink up!” Seeing that they weren’t moving, the official from the Ministry of Rites urged again.
The empress placed the bottle gourd on her lips and gently closed her eyes. She lifted her head and poured the wine into her mouth.
Bitter!
Bottle gourd was originally bitter!
This represented sharing each other’s hardships!
After drinking, both of them opened their eyes and looked at each other. The empress’s eyes were soft and affectionate. When others saw this look in her eyes, they felt extremely touched.
On the other hand, Ren Baqian blinked a few times and said, “Your Majesty, let’s drink it again tomorrow. I’ll add some sugar for you!”
“Nonsense!” She smiled radiantly.
After sharing the nuptial cup, that official cupped his hands and left. Anything that was going to happen next wouldn’t require his participation.
