Chapter 828: Attending Court as a Prince Consort
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The imperial guards were at the Kismet Heaven level and could carry more than 1,000 kilograms with both hands. They were like human excavators, and the debris of the palace was quickly cleaned up.
The broken wooden pillars and the long stone blocks were lifted by two men standing on two sides and thrown to the side.
The broken tiles on top were the most troublesome as cleaning them was time-consuming.
When Ren Baqian went exuberantly to court the next morning, the debris was still not completely cleared.
Previously, he had to wait outside the palace together with the crowd before going in to attend the session.
However, this time the empress asked him as she was leaving to attend the court session, “The court session is starting soon. Where are you going?”
“Outside the palace!” Ren Baqian was still not aware of the change.
The empress put her hand under her chin and laughed. Then, she explained, “Your status is different now! You are already my prince consort. Let’s go together!”
“Is this the custom?” No one seemed to have told him anything about this matter.
Even in ancient China, the queens weren’t qualified to go to court.
Regardless, it showed that his identity was quite different.
“What I say prevails!” the empress declared. Anyway, there was no precedent, so whatever the empress said was valid!
This was the first time Ren Baqian followed behind the empress to attend court. Walking half a step behind, he observed her face from the side and found it to be full of nonchalance as was befitting of a person who could move the world.
As he walked, his mind began to wander.
Dayao had a female ruler and might have a female ruler in the future since their fertility rate was low. He better remember to leave behind a male heir to take charge. As a prince, he couldn’t interfere in the affairs of the state.
After all, not every prince consort was both literate and trained in martial arts like him while having no desire for power.
“What are you thinking?” the empress asked without turning her head.
Ren Baqian thought for a moment before saying, “We are getting married on Earth in ten days. I hope there will be no trouble!”
“You still dare to mention it! Who dare to cause trouble again?” the empress retorted coldly. A few of those rascals had messed up their wedding, and she still hadn’t settled with them yet.
Ren Baqian smiled. On Earth, he had no fears except for the empress causing trouble.
When they reached the outside of the palace hall, the place was as noisy as a market.
Asking these people to be quiet and solemn during the court session seemed almost impossible anyway!
It was considered good if they didn’t fight before the empress arrived!
An announcement was made that declared, “The empress is here!”
These people finally quieted down,
The empress paused for a moment. If they saw Ren Baqian in such a state now, she wouldn’t be able to face them.
But it wasn’t possible for him to keep avoiding others.
Forget it… She gnashed her teeth, strode into the hall while looking straight ahead, and headed for the seat at the top.
Behind the empress was the sound of people gasping in surprise!
A few days ago, Ren Baqian still looked normal, so how did he end up looking so thin after a few days?
This made many people gasp out of extreme surprise.
The empress’s eyebrows twitched a few times, but she suppressed it. Whatever the reason, Ren Baqian becoming so thin wasn’t unrelated to her.
She didn’t bother to explain!
Of course, she also wasn’t able to explain.
As Ren Baqian followed behind the empress, the people along the way looked at him strangely and were winking at each other. When he paused at his previously allocated position, he saw Great Elder Su Qing pointing at the position beside him, which was closer to the empress.
He was the person just below the empress!
Hong Wu, the General-in-Chief Who Supports the Nation, was on the opposite side, and Ren Baqian looked at him with displeasure.
In fact, he should be standing at Hong Wu’s position. Based on rank, Shi Qing was even higher ranking than Hong Wu.
However, after seeing Hong Wu’s expression, Ren Baqian decided not to go near him. Fortunately, the rules in the imperial court of Dayao weren’t tthat strict.
If the rules were strict, it wouldn’t sound like a market every day.
Ren Baqian looked at the crowd and then meditated. He looked like an old monk sitting still. He stood up for a moment and let go of other thoughts to carefully reflect on his current situation.
His body had recovered very quickly, and those vital substances only decreased a little bit after two days. The rest of them mixed with his essence qi like stardust that gradually dispersed.
These substances seemed to be of a higher quality than his body essence! Not only could they change his body, but they could gradually change into essence qi at the rate of at least 1:10.
For the entire court session that morning, Ren Baqian stood there thinking about his own body’s condition.
In the afternoon, he went back to the palace bedroom to take a look and saw that most of the debris had been cleared. He could clearly see that the tiles had sunk down more than one meter and were all broken.
After one more day, Ren Baqian felt fully recovered and wasn’t otherwise affected, except that he had lost close to 50 kilograms.
In fact, he felt even better than before!
This made Ren Baqian feel restless again.
He used to think that the pleasure of making love was just an end in itself, but with the empress… it was different in many ways! The soul and flesh blended as the essence flowed on both sides to become one. The ordinary way of making love wasn’t comparable to their experience!
It was an unforgettable experience.
However, he had to drink the benkun tonic for half a month before he recovered.
It was said that there was a guy called Li Xianyu who lived in debauchery every day with the help of this soup… He then died of exhaustion.
It couldn’t be helped as even an iron body couldn’t take it! He got this soup recipe when he was 20, and it was a miracle he could survive until 30 while living this way.
The effect was much better than taking the Six Flavors Foxglove Pill!
While Ren Baqian was preparing to recuperate in the palace for half a month, some imperial guards requested to see him.
Ren Baqian met them in an abandoned palace building. In front of the building were two giant trees that blocked most of the windows, making it cold and gloomy. The empress disliked it here, but Ren Baqian felt that it was a suitable place for the chief spy to meet his subordinates.
“Subordinates Xu Rong and Ping Tang. Our respects to Your Highness!” The two men bowed their heads as they entered the hall and hardly dared to breathe. This big hall made them feel eerie and cold. They moved forward to steal a glance and saw a man sitting high up there in the shadows.
Although the other party didn’t exert any pressure, this hall and its atmosphere made them feel wave after wave of pressure. They didn’t dare to take any risks.
Ren Baqian sat up top and looked down. He had some impression of Xu Rong, who was a qianhu of the Rearguard Commandery.
As for Ping Tang, he was a baihu*.*
He didn’t know why they urgently wanted to see him. Was there some problem?
“Tell me, what’s the problem?” Ren Baqian asked as he held a cup of tonic soup.
After Xu Rong gave Ping Tang a wink, the latter narrated the things that he had heard at the wedding banquet that day and then shut up.
Ren Baqian squinted slightly and wondered whether these people were bold or reckless.
Not only did they keep a low profile, but they also dared to talk nonsense.
“Have you verified their identities?” Ren Baqian asked.
Xu Rong said, “We have checked. One of them is Jiang Biebu, the second son of Jiang Huan, the warlord of Yongjiang City. The other is Sun Qingwen, the eldest son of Sun Shi, the warlord of Hu City.”
Next, he added, “In addition to these two, there were a dozen people who said disrespectful things about you in private.”
“Well done! Give me the name list afterward!” Ren Baqian nodded.
After all, the Rearguard Commandery weren’t the imperial guards or spies from ancient China. At present, there were only a few thousand of them and most of them were in Tianjing Basin. It was a big achievement to be able to find out what those people from the Yun Nation were saying.
“There’s one more matter which involves you and Her Majesty. Although it’s disrespectful, Your Highness has to know!” Xu Rong hesitated.
“Speak!” Ren Baqian said coldly.
“This concerns Lin Mengsheng, who has made great contributions to the Yun Nation! There are rumors… His motive is to get close to the empress! There’s no evidence, but this is what those people from the Yun Nation are saying in private. I feel that I should report this to Your Highness!” Xu Rong said with his head bowed.
He thought that this matter concerned Ren Baqian’s position and that Ren Baqian would definitely be furious!
To his surprise, Ren Baqian was calm and said, “I see. Give me the name list later and keep up your good work. I will get someone to record your contributions.”
“Yes! Thank you very much, Your Highness!”
A moment later, Ren Baqian leaned against the couch with one hand lightly pressing his temple.
Lin Mengsheng… This guy was farsighted and took the initiative to show his mind clearly!
He didn’t really know what this guy was thinking and needed to observe him further.
Ren Baqian understood the thinking of the Jing Tribe people since they were dependent on him and were naturally concerned about matters like these. However, Ren Baqian never thought that he would be threatened by anyone in this regard.
A lady like the empress would only love one person in her whole life. Once she was moved, she would never change her mind unless she was betrayed.
Furthermore, he was so “coquettish”… Rather, he was literate, trained in martial arts, and highly qualified.
He lowered his head to look at the name list. Written down were the names of the people, their origins, and what they had said.
Ren Baqian sneered. These idiots were really reckless!
He put the paper in his breast pocket, sat for a while, and then walked out of the hall. Although, the sunlight made him squint, he still preferred the warmth of the sunlight.
It felt much more comfortable!
Next time, he wouldn’t be pretentious and go to such a gloomy hall.
