Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
“In the future, I want my son to also go to an academy to study so he too can be educated. Maybe he’ll be able to become a Civil Official and serve Great Qin.”
The boy felt quite dissatisfied after being smacked on the head, and he pouted as he ate his kebab skewer and said angrily, “Dad, I don’t want to be a Civil Official! I want to be a General! I want to be like Commander Bai Qi and help His Majesty conquer more land. I want to create a bigger empire for His Majesty!”
The man smiled, ruffled the boy’s hair, and said, “That’s fine too. As long as you’re serving His Majesty as an official, dad will support you no matter what you do.”
The little boy felt quite pleased and looked up before saying, “Of course! The fortune teller said that my fate star is the Army Destroyer Star. In the future, I’ll definitely become a general for Great Qin. When His Majesty sees me, he’ll definitely be very happy and might even take me as an adopted son!”
The middle-aged man could not help but laugh and say, “First, don’t take that fortune teller too seriously; second, His Majesty is surrounded by talents. Even if you become a General, His Majesty won’t be too impressed by you unless you perform extraordinarily.
“Also, you want to be His Majesty’s adopted son? If you can even meet His Majesty, that would be incredibly lucky of you.”
The boy puffed out his cheeks and said angrily, “Hmph! Just you wait and see! In the future, His Majesty will definitely make me a General, and I’ll make countless contributions. I’ll ask His Majesty for treasures and beauties; you just wait until then.”
The man loudly laughed, saying, “Alright, alright, I’ll be waiting then!”
Zhao Fu stood there, looking at the father and son, feeling quite awkward. After all, he was the person they were referring to.
At that moment, the man looked back at Zhao Fu and felt that he was quite a kind person, so he said passionately, “Sir, your kebab skewer is going to get cold. This meat is our specialty, Tiger Cow meat; it won’t taste good once it gets cold.”
Hearing this, Zhao Fu did not have Li Muqing feed him anymore, and he ate the kebab skewer himself. He took a few large bites and found that it was incredibly delicious, and the meat was quite chewy.
Li Muqing stood by the side with a smile on her face; this was why she had brought Zhao Fu out.
Within the palace, Zhao Fu was high and mighty and sat in the seat of power. People took care of everything for him, and if he lived such an isolated life, his attitude to the common people would change, and the distance between them would grow further and further apart.
This was especially so for the matter about Zhao Fu creating a Devil World. He was already quite interested and was thinking about using bloody and cruel methods to create a large number of Devils.
Li Muqing felt that it would be good for Zhao Fu to become closer with the common people. Only then would the commoners be able to live happily, and Great Qin would be a place of joy instead of hell.
“Big sister, you’re so pretty!” the boy laughed, cutting off her thoughts.
Li Muqing looked at the boy and pinched his cute cheeks. After exchanging a few more words, the boy and his father left.
“Sir, let’s keep having a look around! We only just entered Shenwu City; there are definitely more interesting things inside,” Li Muqing said as she smiled.
Hearing this, Zhao Fu nodded. Following this, the three of them saw a place surrounded by a large crowd. Zhao Fu felt quite curious and led them over. It was a martial competition for marriage, which was quite interesting.
However, the person looking for a spouse was not a beautiful young man but a handsome and delicate-looking young man. He was dressed in green clothes and held a bamboo flute. He looked quite good, and there would most likely be women interested in him.
Zhao Fu felt quite surprised that there would be a martial competition for marriage held by a man. As such, he could not help but ask, “Men can hold martial competitions for marriage too?”
Before Li Muqing could reply, a young man wearing robes and holding a foldable fan turned over to look at Zhao Fu with a trace of condescension, saying, “Boy, you’re from the countryside, right? Your thinking is much too old-fashioned.”
A trace of coldness flashed in Ge Nia’s eyes; someone had dared to speak to His Majesty like this. However, because Zhao Fu did not seem to intend to attack, he did not do anything.
Zhao Fu felt quite startled; since when had his thinking become old-fashioned? Didn’t he sit at the center of Great Qin’s politics and authority?
“Ahem, that’s right, I’m from the countryside. There are many things I don’t understand, so please don’t take offense.” Zhao Fu cleared his throat and gave a slight smile as he cupped his hands.
Seeing how courteous Zhao Fu was, the young man’s attitude became better, and he responded in kind, saying, “My name’s Xiao Yuanchu, a scholar from Nanhu Academy.”
“Brother Xiao, do you see this kind of thing often?” Zhao Fu asked.
Xiao Yuanchu lightly nodded and said, “This sort of thing is quite common now. There are all sorts of progressive ideologies, and it can be said that the scene of the Hundred Schools of Thought in Contention has once again unfolded. Our Majesty is the one who has been pushing all of this.
“As long as it does not harm the nation or the people, everyone should maintain objective and rational views towards different cultures and ideologies, and we should not denigrate or disparage them. That’s the law of Great Qin; light offenses warrant an apology, while heavy offences warrant beating with a plank.
“As such, all sorts of ideologies have surfaced. Some people supported feminism and called for equality between men and women, and Our Majesty approved of that. As such, thinking has become quite progressive.
“Now, women are not as weak as they were before, requiring the protection of men. There are many women filled with indomitable spirits, and those women can chase after the men they want using their own methods.
“On the other hand, we men have started doing things that only women did, such as holding martial competitions for marriage. As long as it does not go against Great Qin’s laws, it’s fine.”
After hearing this explanation, Zhao Fu could not help but lightly laugh; the outside world was indeed different from what he had imagined. Things were not as simple as he had thought, and they were instead quite complicated.
He looked over at the arena and saw that two women had gone up and were competing with various techniques. In the end, a woman in red won, and she walked over to the young man and lifted up his chin, loudly laughing as she said, “You belong to me now!”
Zhao Fu was not quite used to this and he could not help but say, “Are women all so domineering now?”
Xiao Yuanchu flicked open his fan and laughed as he said, “I already said that you’re too old-fashioned. Looks like Great Qin’s culture still has not spread far enough. Tell me about the countryside you come from.
“Later, I’ll help you write a letter to the feudal office; those county officials must be quite useless; they’ve really let down Our Majesty.”
Zhao Fu felt quite awkward and said, “It’s just a small place; it’s not worth mentioning. Also, why do you say my thinking is too old-fashioned?”
