The welcoming of the empress this time was much more majestic than the previous time .

After all, they managed to repel Great Xia attack after just over a month this time around, and all of Lan City's commoners were very proud of this .

This was the strength of our empress .

Thus, when they knew that the empress was returning, they fell over each other in their eagerness to see the empress with their own eyes .

From the city gate to Beihong District, both sides of the street were filled with people . Even the drizzle couldn't dampen the pa.s.sion of Lan City's commoners .

"Her Majesty!"

"It's Her Majesty!"

"Long live the victors, Your Majesty!"

All sorts of cheers could be heard from the crowd .

The empress's imperial carriage drew open its front curtains, allowing the people to see her decked in red and laying on her side .

Just like how Ren Baqian saw the empress for the first time, she was lying on a thick layer of fur without much expression . Her eyes were lightly shut while both Hong Luan and Qing Yuan followed closely behind .

Even though she wasn't sitting upright with a strict posture, this image very much fulfilled the impression that the commoners had of her .

Ren Baqian was riding on a fork-horned cow and following behind her submissively . It was inevitable for the crowd to point fingers at him .

Thanks to the existence of the radio station, the daily situation of the north was able to be reported to Lan City . After that, various court officials spread the news to the official residence, which was then further transmitted to the commoners .

Everyday and everywhere, all of Lan City was discussing the battle in the north throughout the day .

Many of the things that happened during the war had also reached the ears of the civilians .

As a result, even though Ren Baqian was still the empress's gigolo, many people heard that this man had contributed quite a fair bit during this war with Great Xia . This made many people change their impressions of him .

At least it wasn't a case of a fresh flower stalk sitting atop a mosaic anymore .

It had almost advanced to the state of a fresh flower stalk sitting atop cow dung .

This improvement was worthy of celebration .

Ren Baqian turned his head to the side and coincidentally saw a few heads sticking out from an open window .

Those were his students .

Ren Baqian smiled at them, revealing a set of dense white teeth .

"Yagui spotted us!" Those students subconsciously pulled back their heads .

"Du Laoliu, have you finished your homework?"

"What is there to worry about? The empress has just returned after such a victorious battle . A banquet will definitely be thrown in the palace . In addition to the other things that he has to settle, that Yagui certainly will not resume school that soon . There'll be more than enough time to finish the homework . " Just as Du Laoliu finished speaking with such confidence and patted his own chest, he turned around and looked at the others .

"What about you guys?"

"Not yet…" A few other students were facing the same plight as Du Laoliu . During this period of war in the north, they had been at the restaurant every day talking about the war and exchanging information that they had gotten from their parents . How could they possibly be in the mood to do their homework?

Du Laoliu glanced past every single one of them and felt a little disappointed .

Although he was so confident with his words, if cla.s.ses were to resume within a few days later, he still wouldn't have enough time to finish his homework even if he were to stay home each day to do it .

When that happens, he would have no choice but to take a bullet again .

Out of all the students, he got shot the most .

Even though the wounds would recover after applying the black mud cream, there would still be patches of fresh skin on the body that were different from before .

Since then, he didn't dare to bare his upper body anymore .

Beneath his clothes, there were white spots on both his arms and shoulders that were roughly the size of a fingertip . Those who didn't know would think that he had dermatosis .

"I've completed half of it," one of the students replied .

Everyone's attention was directed over to him .

"Buddy, the lives of your elder brothers here rest in your hands . " Du Laoliu placed his arms around this student's neck .

"A bunch of useless people!" A lolita walked down the stairs with a face full of disdain .

"Have you completed it?" Everybody's eyes sparkled .

"Hmph!" The lolita pridefully held her head up high as she walked down the stairs, not bothered by the looks of envy from the rest .

After leaving the restaurant, her head immediately drooped, and she ran straight back to the Tong Residence . She became frantic the moment she reached home, gritting her teeth before rus.h.i.+ng to complete her homework .

…

When Ren Baqian returned to Pingle Park, the first thing he saw were the two round chaps, one black and one white . One of them was lying on the ground while the other one was stepping on it and climbing up a tree .

Almost a year had pa.s.sed, and those two chaps had grown quite a bit .

Ren Baqian walked over as those two chaps looked at him .

After that, Ren Baqian tugged on the panda at the bottom, causing the one on top to lose its balance and tumble down .

Ren Baqian burst into laughter, hugged the furry panda, and rubbed his face against it . It had a familiar smell .

The other panda rolled on the ground before running toward Ren Baqian with its mouth wide open and wanting to push him away . With a light touch, Ren Baqian pushed it away . It tumbled and fell, immediately letting out a cry as if it had been wronged .

Ren Baqian rubbed the bodies of the two pandas and went inside the house to have a look . There actually wasn't much dust . It seemed like there had been people cleaning the place after he left .

He then dove straight into his bed . He had finally returned home and had a bed to sleep on .

The long distance travelling in this world was simply too exhausting .

It was already dark when Ren Baqian was woken up . He stretched his body and felt much better .

"Sir, Her Majesty has asked you to join the banquet in a while," s.h.i.+ Hu reported .

"Is everyone in the imperial court attending?"

"That's right . "

Ren Baqian pondered for a bit . It seemed that he only possessed that green ceremonial robe .

"The empress has ordered someone to tailor a ceremonial robe for you . I reckon it should be here soon," s.h.i.+ Hu replied .

"Heat up the water . Let me take a bath first . "

When he was done bathing, the ceremonial robe had already been delivered .

Given his current official position, his robe was purple and had beautiful birds embroidered on it . It was much nicer than his previous green ceremonial robe .

The last time he attended a banquet, Ren Baqian sat at the furthest end of the table . If not for the empress's special invitation, he wasn't even eligible to attend that banquet given his status back then .

This time around, his seat was together with Feng Hou and a few officials from the Ministry of Works at the first half of the table .

Next to him were Feng Hou, the Overseer of Military Arms, as well as Ge Yihong, the a.s.sistant Minister of Agriculture and Livestock . In front of him were the six Ministers, Great Elder, and Junior Elder .

The moment Ren Baqian entered the banquet hall, he received a number of stares . He also received greetings from a few officials from the Ministry of Works whom he had worked with .

As for the other departments, the officials of the Ministry of War were rather friendly to him as well .

The others weren't exactly sure of how the items Ren Baqian brought out these days had impacted the war front, but the Ministry of War was crystal clear about this . Also, the idea of the militia that he had devised had made the people at the Ministry of War rather pleased . Hence, they were very friendly with Ren Baqian the moment they saw him .

For instance, they were grinning nastily at him!

Those who were unaware would think that they were planning to beat him up .

"Sir Ren, this trip has been tiresome for you . " The moment Ren Baqian took his seat, Feng Hou smiled as he sat down beside him .

"Service for the nation!" Ren Baqian replied courteously .

Feng Hou was speechless .

What is he talking about?"How is the building progress of the blast furnace?" Ren Baqian questioned him .

"Still in progress . The rain has been rather heavy these days and has slowed down the construction speed quite a bit," Feng Hou replied .

The rainy monsoon season arrived earlier in Lan City . It had been pouring these days, and even the speed of cement production had been badly affected . Thus, up until the return of Ren Baqian, the blast furnace was only half completed .

At present, the hydraulic powered forge had been completed . This was a much easier process, and the production rate of weapons had increased significantly .

On the contrary, now that the blast furnace was half completed, the supply of metal was insufficient to keep up with the building progress .

Ren Baqian and Feng Hou chatted for a bit before the six Ministers entered one after another .

Both Great Elder and Junior Elder followed behind .

After everyone was seated, the empress walked into the hall .

"We respectfully welcome Your Majesty and congratulate Your Majesty's victorious return!" Everyone stood up and bowed .

"Take your seats," the empress replied faintly before taking the seat of honor and saying, "We will not talk about politics today . Today is a celebration, so help yourselves to the drinks . Begin the performance!"

After the empress's speech ended, six strong men and six ladies walked into the hall . The men were wearing leather shorts, while the ladies wore tube tops and leather skirts .

After that, the fast beating of drums sounded . The 12 people starting performing a primitive dance in the middle of the hall . Many of the movements resembled that of hunting and were full of energy while wild in nature . They were also shouting, "He! Ha!"

Soon after, an ocarina sounded as well, which added on a swab of desolation to the wild nature, as if they were in an endless wilderness .

"This is a celebratory dance . In the strongholds back in the past, if there was a fruitful hunt or a victorious battle against enemies, such dances would be performed," Feng Hou softly explained to Ren Baqian because he knew that Ren Baqian was clueless about this .

Ren Baqian nodded . Such primitive dances were interesting and full of vitality .

After the dance ended, a few middle-aged ladies played instruments which resembled a pipa .

The mood in the hall was immediately lifted up .

Starting from Great Elder, everyone started toasting the empress .

The hall was filled with liveliness and harmony .

Up until an hour later…

All of a sudden, somebody shouted loudly, "Ignorant old man Tong, what did you say? Do you want to have a taste of how sharp my blade is?"

"Come, come, come, I shall teach you a life lesson today…" Tong Zhenye's voice resounded .

After a couple of slams, Tong Zhenye and Qin Chuan immediately lifted the table and leaped over to the center of the hall . Tong Zhenye struck with [Black Tiger Steals Heart], and Qin Chuan struck back with [Monkey Steals Peach] . This was followed by another [Black Tiger Steals Heart] from Tong Zhenye . Then, Qin Chuan attacked with his [Darkness Lifting Kick], followed by another [Black Tiger Steals Heart] . After that, Tong Zhenye attacked with [Dredging Moon from the Seabed]… and then the fourth and fifth move of the [Black Tiger Steals Heart] . There were people at the side cheering loudly for them as well .

"The strike by Sir Tong was executed at the perfect moment and disrupted Sir Qin's readiness, forcing him to defend . Due to one mistake, Sir Qin's position went leeward . Sir Tong then struck again, forcing Sir Qin to retreat…" Feng Hou a.s.sessed the fight from the side, speaking rather loudly .

Ren Baqian's face was full of expression .

From Tong Zhenye's [Black Tiger Steals Heart], there were 13 consecutive strikes .

You are actually able to read so much into it?"Feng Hou, stop spouting nonsense!" someone immediately shouted from the opposite table .

Plates and cups then went flying toward Feng Hou .

At the sight of this situation, Ren Baqian hurriedly crawled to the side .

He then heard some rustling sounds coming from behind him .

After he crawled behind a pillar to hide, Feng Hou got into a fight with a burly man from the Ministry of War .

Bowls and plates subsequently started flying across both sides of the hall .

Stretching out his arm, Ren Baqian grabbed ahold of a piece of pig trotter in midair . On closer inspection, two chunks of meat had already been bitten off .

Out of disgust, he threw that piece of pig trotter away .

"Sit here, Sir Ren . " s.h.i.+ Qing waved at him from a place nearby .

Ren Baqian stopped in his tracks after taking just two steps .

An enormous shadow flew toward s.h.i.+ Qing's direction, knocking him and the table onto the ground .

Tong Zhenye stood up, picked s.h.i.+ Qing up, and placed him on the ground . He looked around and spotted something, then picked up s.h.i.+ Qing's doc.u.ment case that had been knocked over and threw it at Qin Chuan .

Looking at the situation, Ren Baqian thought that it would be better for him to stay in his location .

He turned his head and looked at the empress, only to see her sitting in the seat of honor as if nothing was happening, filling her own gla.s.s, and drinking .

It was so chaotic below, yet the empress could still be so calm .

Ren Baqian was full of admiration for the empress .

. . . . The welcoming of the empress this time was much more majestic than the previous time . After all, they managed to repel Great Xia attack after just over a month this time around, and all of Lan Citys commoners were very proud of this . This was the strength of our empress . Thus, when they knew that the empress was returning, they fell over each other in their eagerness to see the empress with their own eyes . From the city gate to Beihong District, both sides of the street were filled with people . Even the drizzle couldnt dampen the pa.s.sion of Lan Citys commoners . Her Majesty! Its Her Majesty! Long live the victors, Your Majesty! All sorts of cheers could be heard from the crowd . The empresss imperial carriage drew open its front curtains, allowing the people to see her decked in red and laying on her side . Just like how Ren Baqian saw the empress for the first time, she was lying on a thick layer of fur without much expression . Her eyes were lightly shut while both Hong Luan and Qing Yuan followed closely behind . Even though she wasnt sitting upright with a strict posture, this image very much fulfilled the impression that the commoners had of her . Ren Baqian was riding on a fork-horned cow and following behind her submissively . It was inevitable for the crowd to point fingers at him . Thanks to the existence of the radio station, the daily situation of the north was able to be reported to Lan City . After that, various court officials spread the news to the official residence, which was then further transmitted to the commoners . Everyday and everywhere, all of Lan City was discussing the battle in the north throughout the day . Many of the things that happened during the war had also reached the ears of the civilians . As a result, even though Ren Baqian was still the empresss gigolo, many people heard that this man had contributed quite a fair bit during this war with Great Xia . This made many people change their impressions of him . At least it wasnt a case of a fresh flower stalk sitting atop a mosaic anymore . It had almost advanced to the state of a fresh flower stalk sitting atop cow dung . This improvement was worthy of celebration . Ren Baqian turned his head to the side and coincidentally saw a few heads sticking out from an open window . Those were his students . . . Ren Baqian smiled at them, revealing a set of dense white teeth . Yagui spotted us! Those students subconsciously pulled back their heads . Du Laoliu, have you finished your homework? What is there to worry about? The empress has just returned after such a victorious battle . A banquet will definitely be thrown in the palace . In addition to the other things that he has to settle, that Yagui certainly will not resume school that soon . Therell be more than enough time to finish the homework . Just as Du Laoliu finished speaking with such confidence and patted his own chest, he turned around and looked at the others . What about you guys? Not yet… A few other students were facing the same plight as Du Laoliu . During this period of war in the north, they had been at the restaurant every day talking about the war and exchanging information that they had gotten from their parents . How could they possibly be in the mood to do their homework? Du Laoliu glanced past every single one of them and felt a little disappointed . Although he was so confident with his words, if cla.s.ses were to resume within a few days later, he still wouldnt have enough time to finish his homework even if he were to stay home each day to do it . When that happens, he would have no choice but to take a bullet again . Out of all the students, he got shot the most . Even though the wounds would recover after applying the black mud cream, there would still be patches of fresh skin on the body that were different from before . Since then, he didnt dare to bare his upper body anymore . Beneath his clothes, there were white spots on both his arms and shoulders that were roughly the size of a fingertip . Those who didnt know would think that he had dermatosis . Ive completed half of it, one of the students replied . Everyones attention was directed over to him . Buddy, the lives of your elder brothers here rest in your hands . Du Laoliu placed his arms around this students neck . A bunch of useless people! A lolita walked down the stairs with a face full of disdain . Have you completed it? Everybodys eyes sparkled . Hmph! The lolita pridefully held her head up high as she walked down the stairs, not bothered by the looks of envy from the rest . After leaving the restaurant, her head immediately drooped, and she ran straight back to the Tong Residence . She became frantic the moment she reached home, gritting her teeth before rus.h.i.+ng to complete her homework . … When Ren Baqian returned to Pingle Park, the first thing he saw were the two round chaps, one black and one white . One of them was lying on the ground while the other one was stepping on it and climbing up a tree . Almost a year had pa.s.sed, and those two chaps had grown quite a bit . . . Ren Baqian walked over as those two chaps looked at him . After that, Ren Baqian tugged on the panda at the bottom, causing the one on top to lose its balance and tumble down . Ren Baqian burst into laughter, hugged the furry panda, and rubbed his face against it . It had a familiar smell . The other panda rolled on the ground before running toward Ren Baqian with its mouth wide open and wanting to push him away . With a light touch, Ren Baqian pushed it away . It tumbled and fell, immediately letting out a cry as if it had been wronged . Ren Baqian rubbed the bodies of the two pandas and went inside the house to have a look . There actually wasnt much dust . It seemed like there had been people cleaning the place after he left . He then dove straight into his bed . He had finally returned home and had a bed to sleep on . The long distance travelling in this world was simply too exhausting . It was already dark when Ren Baqian was woken up . He stretched his body and felt much better . Sir, Her Majesty has asked you to join the banquet in a while, s.h.i.+ Hu reported . Is everyone in the imperial court attending? Thats right . Ren Baqian pondered for a bit . It seemed that he only possessed that green ceremonial robe . The empress has ordered someone to tailor a ceremonial robe for you . I reckon it should be here soon, s.h.i.+ Hu replied . Heat up the water . Let me take a bath first . When he was done bathing, the ceremonial robe had already been delivered . Given his current official position, his robe was purple and had beautiful birds embroidered on it . It was much nicer than his previous green ceremonial robe . The last time he attended a banquet, Ren Baqian sat at the furthest end of the table . If not for the empresss special invitation, he wasnt even eligible to attend that banquet given his status back then . This time around, his seat was together with Feng Hou and a few officials from the Ministry of Works at the first half of the table . Next to him were Feng Hou, the Overseer of Military Arms, as well as Ge Yihong, the a.s.sistant Minister of Agriculture and Livestock . In front of him were the six Ministers, Great Elder, and Junior Elder . The moment Ren Baqian entered the banquet hall, he received a number of stares . He also received greetings from a few officials from the Ministry of Works whom he had worked with . As for the other departments, the officials of the Ministry of War were rather friendly to him as well . The others werent exactly sure of how the items Ren Baqian brought out these days had impacted the war front, but the Ministry of War was crystal clear about this . Also, the idea of the militia that he had devised had made the people at the Ministry of War rather pleased . Hence, they were very friendly with Ren Baqian the moment they saw him . For instance, they were grinning nastily at him! Those who were unaware would think that they were planning to beat him up . Sir Ren, this trip has been tiresome for you . The moment Ren Baqian took his seat, Feng Hou smiled as he sat down beside him . Service for the nation! Ren Baqian replied courteously . Feng Hou was speechless . What is he talking about?How is the building progress of the blast furnace? Ren Baqian questioned him . Still in progress . The rain has been rather heavy these days and has slowed down the construction speed quite a bit, Feng Hou replied . The rainy monsoon season arrived earlier in Lan City . It had been pouring these days, and even the speed of cement production had been badly affected . Thus, up until the return of Ren Baqian, the blast furnace was only half completed . At present, the hydraulic powered forge had been completed . This was a much easier process, and the production rate of weapons had increased significantly . On the contrary, now that the blast furnace was half completed, the supply of metal was insufficient to keep up with the building progress . Ren Baqian and Feng Hou chatted for a bit before the six Ministers entered one after another . Both Great Elder and Junior Elder followed behind . After everyone was seated, the empress walked into the hall . We respectfully welcome Your Majesty and congratulate Your Majestys victorious return! Everyone stood up and bowed . Take your seats, the empress replied faintly before taking the seat of honor and saying, We will not talk about politics today . Today is a celebration, so help yourselves to the drinks . Begin the performance! After the empresss speech ended, six strong men and six ladies walked into the hall . The men were wearing leather shorts, while the ladies wore tube tops and leather skirts . After that, the fast beating of drums sounded . The 12 people starting performing a primitive dance in the middle of the hall . Many of the movements resembled that of hunting and were full of energy while wild in nature . They were also shouting, He! Ha! Soon after, an ocarina sounded as well, which added on a swab of desolation to the wild nature, as if they were in an endless wilderness . This is a celebratory dance . In the strongholds back in the past, if there was a fruitful hunt or a victorious battle against enemies, such dances would be performed, Feng Hou softly explained to Ren Baqian because he knew that Ren Baqian was clueless about this . Ren Baqian nodded . Such primitive dances were interesting and full of vitality . After the dance ended, a few middle-aged ladies played instruments which resembled a pipa . The mood in the hall was immediately lifted up . Starting from Great Elder, everyone started toasting the empress . The hall was filled with liveliness and harmony . Up until an hour later… All of a sudden, somebody shouted loudly, Ignorant old man Tong, what did you say? Do you want to have a taste of how sharp my blade is? Come, come, come, I shall teach you a life lesson today… Tong Zhenyes voice resounded . After a couple of slams, Tong Zhenye and Qin Chuan immediately lifted the table and leaped over to the center of the hall . Tong Zhenye struck with [Black Tiger Steals Heart], and Qin Chuan struck back with [Monkey Steals Peach] . This was followed by another [Black Tiger Steals Heart] from Tong Zhenye . Then, Qin Chuan attacked with his [Darkness Lifting Kick], followed by another [Black Tiger Steals Heart] . After that, Tong Zhenye attacked with [Dredging Moon from the Seabed]… and then the fourth and fifth move of the [Black Tiger Steals Heart] . There were people at the side cheering loudly for them as well . The strike by Sir Tong was executed at the perfect moment and disrupted Sir Qins readiness, forcing him to defend . Due to one mistake, Sir Qins position went leeward . Sir Tong then struck again, forcing Sir Qin to retreat… Feng Hou a.s.sessed the fight from the side, speaking rather loudly . Ren Baqians face was full of expression . From Tong Zhenyes [Black Tiger Steals Heart], there were 13 consecutive strikes . You are actually able to read so much into it?Feng Hou, stop spouting nonsense! someone immediately shouted from the opposite table . Plates and cups then went flying toward Feng Hou . At the sight of this situation, Ren Baqian hurriedly crawled to the side . He then heard some rustling sounds coming from behind him . After he crawled behind a pillar to hide, Feng Hou got into a fight with a burly man from the Ministry of War . Bowls and plates subsequently started flying across both sides of the hall . Stretching out his arm, Ren Baqian grabbed ahold of a piece of pig trotter in midair . On closer inspection, two chunks of meat had already been bitten off . Out of disgust, he threw that piece of pig trotter away . Sit here, Sir Ren . s.h.i.+ Qing waved at him from a place nearby . Ren Baqian stopped in his tracks after taking just two steps . An enormous shadow flew toward s.h.i.+ Qings direction, knocking him and the table onto the ground . Tong Zhenye stood up, picked s.h.i.+ Qing up, and placed him on the ground . He looked around and spotted something, then picked up s.h.i.+ Qings doc.u.ment case that had been knocked over and threw it at Qin Chuan . Looking at the situation, Ren Baqian thought that it would be better for him to stay in his location . He turned his head and looked at the empress, only to see her sitting in the seat of honor as if nothing was happening, filling her own gla.s.s, and drinking . It was so chaotic below, yet the empress could still be so calm . Ren Baqian was full of admiration for the empress .