The Empress’s Gigolo

The emperor of the Yun Nation was granted the title “Duke of Anle” ¹ and was the only duke in Dayao.

This was the title once held by Liu Chan. Needless to say, this was suggested by Ren Baqian.

This title explained everything, he could have a peaceful and happy life for the rest of his days.

To Chen Dongsheng, this was a good outcome. It was definitely much better than the extermination of the whole imperial family after a dynastic change.

The people of the Yun Nation had to admit that the empress was generous this time.

This also made everyone believe that the aboriginals had changed their behavior.

The turning point seemed to occur when the empress appointed her husband-to-be three years ago.

Since then, Dayao had been gradually changing.

Compared to the barbaric and ferocious aboriginals before, these changes were beneficial and made people feel at ease.

Whether they went to watch or stayed in their houses and waited, everyone was relieved when Chen Dongsheng was conferred the title of Duke of Anle.

Subsequently, it was circulated that the empress would like to meet the caravan.

It was exactly as Lin Mengsheng had said.

This was another piece of good news

Over 400 people out of four or five thousand finally went to the palace. All of them were sons of warlords, members of aristocratic families, and people like Lin Mengsheng, who were given special attention.

There was also a guy called Gao Yishan. Everyone felt strange as no one knew where he was from. After some inquiries, they learned that he came with some people from Xinyang City.

These several hundred people waited in front of the palace for the whole morning, and it was almost noon when they were brought inside.

Upon entering the hall, they saw a heroic-looking woman in a red dress sitting above them with a golden crown placed on top of the table.

Dozens of strong men and wild-looking women stood on both sides. They were looking at the crowd with scornful and intimidating looks.

The crowd began to sweat.

The dozens of people on both sides were all Spirit Wheel experts.

The imperial court of Dayao was the most powerful in terms of martial arts prowess.

If only these court officials were involved in a battle, Dayao dared to say, “One can take on 10!”

After all, other countries used knowledge and ability as benchmarks, but in the imperial court of Dayao, martial arts ability was the gold standard. Without sufficient martial arts ability, there wasn’t even a chance to speak in the imperial court.

Presenting oneself before the empress was just to express loyalty.

The empress cheerfully encouraged the people to act according to the situation. As long as they didn’t destabilize the situation in the Yun Nation, acted loyal, and followed the instructions of the imperial court, they could live peacefully.

These words were reiterated many times by Ren Baqian this morning.

The empress didn’t bother to remember these words, but her memory was much better than an ordinary person’s, so she was able to roughly remember what he said.

Following this formality, she announced, “Lin Mengsheng, come forward!”

“Your Majesty, this humble man is Lin Mengsheng. My respects to Your Majesty!” Lin Mengsheng came forward to report. Initially, he thought of saying something like “centuries of unity to the martial arts world,” but then decided that it was better not to say too much.

After all, Dayao was different from the Yun Nation. It was better to shut up lest he said the wrong thing and gave people the wrong impression.

“Oh, so you are Lin Mengsheng.” The empress scrutinized the young man who was about 30. He was fair, had a short beard, bright eyes, and was handsome.

He was considered a good looking man in the Yun Nation.

In Great Xia, he would also be considered attractive.

However, the aesthetic standards in Dayao were different. To them, he was a gigolo and skinny like a chicken.

“You are a smart guy. You have done a good job and made a big contribution. Although you think that my people are barbaric, we aboriginals also reward contributions. What reward do you want? If it’s an official position, I can give you a Rank 6 post. If you want money, I will give you 100,000 taels of silver. If you want something else, I will give it to you as long as I have it.

The empress spoke plainly.

The imperial treasury was loaded and the empress was rich enough, so giving away 100,000 taels wasn’t a problem.

Furthermore, by persuading more than 10 warlords to surrender, Lin Mengsheng deserved a big reward. In other nations, he would be knighted and given a generous reward.

However, the people from the Yun Nation were jealous when they heard this.

After joining Dayao, the major warlords were given Rank 6 posts and the minor warlords were given Rank 7 posts.

A Rank 6 post was equivalent to that of the major warlords. Was the empress offering him a city to take charge of?

100,000 taels of silver was a large sum to the aboriginals, but it was nothing to the aristocratic families, let alone the warlords.

“This lowly citizen is thankful for your kindness. I’m not keen on position or wealth—I have been offered and have rejected such official posts before. I heard that Dayao has an academy, and I wonder if I can serve in the school? With my knowledge, I can be a competent teacher there.” Lin Mengsheng sounded like a respected scholar.

“Oh? Are you referring to Black Bamboo Academy?” The empress was little surprised and raised her pitch.

“After coming to Lan City, I have heard the academy being praised many times and hope to enter it. Can I swap the reward for a teaching position at the academy? I dare not say I’m very knowledgeable, but I have studied the books of the sages for 20 years. I should be able to handle a simple teaching job. Furthermore, I have wanted to be a teacher since I was young!”

The empress knocked on the gold table in front of her and looked at Lin Mengsheng, who was standing below, as if she was trying to see into the bottom of his heart.

Lin Mengsheng looked unfazed with his eyelids slightly drooping down.

A moment later, she said with a smile, “Since you have this wish, I will grant it!”

“Thank you, Your Majesty!” Lin Mengsheng cupped his hands.

Following this, the empress turned her attention to a sagely looking old man who was about 60.

“Are you Gao Yishan? You claim to have a treasure that can control qi and fortune, which can allow my Dayao to prosper for centuries,” the empress said.

“Yes, I am.” Gao Yishan stepped forward.

Fearing that the empress couldn’t understand qi and fortune, he explained again, “This is an ancient treasure. When my ancestor obtained it, he kept it secret. I’m presenting it to Your Majesty to bless Dayao. I only hope that Your Majesty will be kind to my people in the Yun Nation.”

Gao Yishan had considered it carefully before he came.

Qi and fortune had been mentioned since ancient times. Any ruler would want to control the destiny of their country. When he asked the empress to be kind to his people, he was hoping to create a compassionate image for himself.

Whether the other party totally believed it or not, it was normally better to err on the side of caution.

“Ah, the Yun Nation is already gone, yet you are telling me about using qi and fortune to control the destiny of a country?” The empress laughed coldly. “Send him for execution.”

The guards outside were overjoyed to hear this.

They hadn’t executed anyone in a long time.

“Your Majesty, please hear me out. My ancestor didn’t give it to the royal family of the Yun Nation because their foundation wasn’t stable enough to bear it. Dayao has now conquered the Yun Nation and has two places as foundations. It needs this treasure to stabilize these foundations,” Gao Yishan protested loudly.

“The human race was persecuted, and you are telling me about qi and fortune?” The empress smirked. “Execute him.”

If this treasure was so useful, the human race wouldn’t have been reduced to 100,000 people and driven to this place.

These words could fool others and himself, but did he think that she was easy to deceive?

…

Many people from the Yun Nation heaved a sigh of relief after leaving the palace. Although the empress looked gorgeous, she was terrifying since she killed people without blinking her eyes.

Also, many people looked at Lin Mengsheng strangely as he walked out beside them.

How could someone reject a Rank 6 post and opt to be a teacher at an academy?

The principal of the academy wasn’t seen in court today. From this, it could be deduced that although he was the future husband of the empress, his position wasn’t high.

Why did Lin Mengsheng still want to jump into a pit?

A long time later, after returning home, someone suddenly figured out the reason.

“This is a good move by Lin Mengsheng!”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it. There’s only one academy in Dayao. Do you know what these students will end up as? Officials! Dayao isn’t like the Yun Nation and Great Xia, which have many academies. Since there’s only one academy in all of Dayao, those officials who graduate from it must call him teacher! His position will then naturally rise and isn’t limited to the academy!”

“Come on, I heard that only people without much talent were sent to that academy. There’s only one teacher who’s also the head of the academy. It’s just a place for hanging around.”

“I think his motive is not to be a teacher, but is instead that person at the top…” Another young guy pointed to the top of his head.

He continued, “Think about it. The principal of that academy was chosen to be her husband, and it wasn’t because of his fighting ability. 80 percent of the reason for his selection was due to his knowledge. There are barbarians all over Dayao, so if you have a little literary knowledge, you are far ahead of the rest. Even in the Yun Nation, those famous scholars are favored by women.

I heard that the principal of the academy isn’t that good looking, and it’s due to this speculated reason that he is looked upon highly. As for Lin Mengsheng, this is 80 percent of his motive. Isn’t Lin Mengsheng better looking than Ren Baqian? Have you seen Ren Baqian during these past two days? His looks aren’t amazing, and he looks like a savage! Lin Mengsheng looks like a valiant hero, and his literary knowledge is also extraordinary. If he enters Black Bamboo Academy, where will Ren Baqian stand?”

This young man was totally smiling vainly as he spoke. It was as if his words were the truth.

However, the volume of his voice was kept very low.

“There are six more days before the grand wedding!” someone reminded.

“What’s the big deal about a grand wedding? There are three palaces and six courtyards. Which one isn’t full of concubines? Although she’s a woman, she may keep another man. Will that Ren Baqian dare to interfere? Or maybe Lin Mengsheng will replace him.”

“With that guy’s charm, status, and ability, even becoming a kept man means that he isn’t living in vain!”

As the crowd speculated in private, the more they thought about it, the more likely this scenario seemed.

Otherwise, why would Lin Mengsheng want to be a teacher instead of a Rank 6 official.

If he wanted to be an official, he would most likely be sent to the Yun Nation.

He would only have this opportunity by staying in Lan City.

Plus, the easiest way to get close to the empress in Lan City, aside from being a senior court official, was to enter Black Bamboo Academy.