Chapter 225 King Qi
After the empress and her entourage retreated from the attic, they did not just wait outside. They were immediately led to another elegant room by Yu Youshu, who had been called out by Xiao Yan early on. Since the empress had just drunk alcohol, she was served sobering tea.

But the empress naturally had no intention of drinking tea at this time, nor did she need this sobering tea.

As a vassal king who had ruled Qi State for fourteen years, normally no one would dare to urge her to drink, but she was in the presence of the military, both civil and military officials, so she naturally developed a good drinking capacity, not to mention that she had already reached the pinnacle of the Great Heavenly Realm and was one of the world's top masters. Her Illusion Sound Technique was approaching minor perfection, so even wine could be refined into boiled water, let alone drunkenness.

But at the moment, facing the unaware Yu Youshu, she just drank calmly with a normal expression, and at the same time did not forget to flirt with this beauty who was also on the list. She seemed like a romantic prince who "lingered among the nine saints of Huanyinfang".

After all, the empress understood very well that compared to Xiao Yan, he seemed less willing to let the bad people around him know his identity as the prince, so she naturally would not be smart and do stupid things.

The layout of this elegant room is not as perfect as that of the attic, and it is not possible to climb up to overlook most of the city of Bianjing, but it is built next to the attic, and the view it faces is quite good.

After Yu Youshu left, she stood by the window with her hands behind her back. She could just see a boatman paddling slowly on the Bian River, which was only separated by a few alleys. There were some ladies from brothels holding umbrellas and singing some songs as the boat drifted along. Among them were the long-standing song "When Will the Bright Moon Rise?"

It was obvious that some brothel had introduced a certain courtesan. This was the current custom in Bianjing. If a new courtesan was introduced, she would always walk around Anle Pavilion, where the flow of people was the most concentrated. One reason was to attract spectators, and the other was to show off her beauty in case she was noticed by the Marquis of Guanjun and was selected as one of the rouge critics.

Although it is not easy to get the Rouge Review and it is not easy to meet the Champion Marquis, but what if?
Moreover, there was a rumor in the city that Anle Pavilion might launch a secondary list of rouge reviews, also known as a popularity list, which was only for the purpose of selecting the most popular courtesans among the dozens of brothels in the city of Bianjing. Ten people would be ranked according to their popularity and the list would last for half a month, after which the list would be changed again.

Anle Pavilion has become the weather vane of all the entertainment venues in the entire Bianjing City, including the Jiaofangsi. Any news, big or small, will be highly praised. Although the so-called popularity list is still just a rumor, all the brothels have already started to pay attention to it, and even let their precious courtesans go out to swim in the river under the scorching sun with umbrellas.

The so-called river cruise means that Anle Pavilion is right next to the Bian River, and a few streets away is the Daxiangguo Temple. It is the place with the largest flow of people, the most densely populated businesses, and the most prosperous place in Bianjing. Daily news and rumors spread the fastest, and any new things can easily spread to the whole city in a short time, and then cause people in the city to discuss for a long time.

So under such circumstances, this "river cruise" inexplicably became an unspoken custom in all brothels, and even gradually evolved into a rule that only a few specific brothels were allowed to cruise at different times to avoid vicious competition and damage the reputation of their own girls. If anyone broke the rule, the whole city would denounce him...

Therefore, this river cruise has unknowingly become a grand event. Whenever a restaurant invites a courtesan to cruise on the river, they will try to publicize it in advance. Even Anle Pavilion has quickly launched related services. As long as enough money is paid, the delivery men under their name will promote the business while delivering the food. This is very thoughtful and also a profitable business.

Naturally, this kind of thing made other restaurants jealous. Over the past year or so, they had thought about launching this trendy takeout business, but they had a huge problem.

That is, their delivery speed is difficult to reach the standard of Anle Pavilion, not to mention that Anle Pavilion has a large number of people who are responsible for a certain area, not to mention that such a large number of people can all use their legs to the extreme. The time that ordinary people need to spend on the journey, they only need half of the time. In addition, Anle Pavilion also has a 'Brother Xiaobei' who can shorten the speed to one third of ordinary people. It has almost become an interesting story.

Therefore, under such standards, if some restaurants do reluctantly launch food delivery services, they will often be disliked by customers. Not only can they not develop the business on a large scale, but even their own waiters cannot stand such torture. Not only do they have to run for their lives, but they also have to spend time looking for customers' homes, and their wages will not increase significantly, so they are naturally full of resentment.

Therefore, due to the unaffordable cost, the takeaway business in the entire city of Bianjing is still monopolized by Anle Pavilion. Other restaurants and eateries can only deliver meals to some regular customers at most, and of course they cannot get a bite of the cake from publicity and advertising.

Especially since Anle Pavilion is a wealthy and powerful company. Not to mention that the boss behind it is Champion Marquis Xiao Yan, just the five words "The Best Dish in the World" that Zhu Wen wrote at that time were enough to make everyone afraid to make any move. After all, no matter how jealous, unwilling, or resourceful they were, as long as Xiao Yan did not fall, they could only watch.

However, in recent days, this grand river cruise has attracted very little attention.

There was no other reason. After the victory ceremony a few days ago, many men in the three streets and six markets of Bianjing City, whether they were scholars or warriors, all imitated Xiao Yan's old appearance of wearing a futou and a deep and melancholy look. They also tied their belts very tightly, as if they also wanted to imitate Xiao Yan's handsome image with broad shoulders and narrow waist. Not only that, if an old friend asked them to go to a brothel, they would also wave their sleeves lightly: "The world is not settled yet, and the heroic soul of the champion marquis who brought thousands of people back to the capital has not yet rested. How can men like us seek happiness on our own?"

What's worse is that the brave men in those brothels no longer show off their wealth or pursue luxury after seeing Xiao Yan's elegance. When they talked with the young ladies, they talked about making great achievements and worrying about the country and the people. From time to time, they would lean on the railing and sigh to themselves in the wind, which indeed attracted the attention of many young ladies.

The empress was standing by the window at this time, and when she saw all these scenes, she just pondered in silence.

The influence brought by one person can be so great, and this person was able to attract most of the men in the city to change for him just by holding a victory ceremony. Although this change may only last for a few days, half a month, or a conversation, how difficult is it to achieve this in this era of cannibalistic war, when countless people are struggling between life and death every day?
In this world, at least 90% of the warriors who serve on the battlefield regard human life as worthless. They do not care about life or death, and have even reached the point of being cold-blooded, cruel, and perverted. How difficult is it to make them change, to make the world change?

In this world, it seems that there is only one way to go, only force is respected, and only one general's success is achieved at the cost of thousands of lives...

In this world, it seems that thinking about the lives of ordinary people and the souls of heroes who died in battle is going against the tide and going against the times...

But if there really is such a king who insists on doing the impossible, insists on forcibly changing the world, and insists on reviving the prosperous Tang Dynasty that has only existed through generations... then, will it be difficult?
Once this thought arose, the empress could not get rid of it.

In fact, she didn't know what kind of person Xiao Yan was, but she had a vague feeling that this young man, who was younger than her, seemed to have ambitions and aspirations that ordinary kings could never achieve.

Because she always felt that this young man seemed to have an indifference to everything that was beyond the times, or that this era was not tolerated by him...

However, even with a sharp mind like the empress, it is difficult to see clearly in this world.

Because some things are often measured in hundreds or thousands of years.

The conflict in the Central Plains lasted for more than half a century, which led to the rise of foreign races. The dynasty could only live in a corner and could not unify the country. This bloody era, which started with warriors and ended with warriors, would eventually cause billions of common people to suffer for thousands of years. They fell under the iron hoofs of foreign races, suffered from the crown of scholars and officials, and the two dragons were captured. It was a great humiliation. After Yashan, darkness once again shrouded nearly a century...

Even after the collapse of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, it seems that the only era that can be expected is the red one thousand years later...

However, the heaviness of this is not something that people living in the era can truly comprehend.

After all, in this era, the only one who has traveled back and forth across a thousand years is Xiao Yan, and he is the only one. Even the commander-in-chief of three hundred years can only predict the future generations by relying on the hexagrams, but how can he really see the future generations?

The so-called great harmony of the world is what all knowledgeable people throughout history have yearned for, but since we have not seen great harmony, how can there be true great harmony in the world?
Therefore, the empress could keenly sense Xiao Yan's indifference that was beyond the times after just a few meetings. She had a different vision and was a first-class woman in the world. Especially when she learned that Xiao Yan was the prince, she suddenly became shaken.

This Xiao Yan, seems to really want to save the people of the world from disaster?

"Nung, moon and new moon……"

On the Bian River, the beautiful singing voice became increasingly distant until it could no longer be heard. The empress fixed her eyes slightly and looked back at Ji Ruxue, who was still in deep thought.

"Xue'er, come here."

Ji Ruxue came back to her senses from a trance, looked at Miao Chengtian who had already reminded her, nodded, and moved closer: "King Qi."

"There is no one else here, so you can just call her the Empress."

"Yes." "Do you think this prince is real?"

"I thought..."

The empress frowned and interrupted, "Haven't I told you several times that from now on, you can no longer call yourself that? Since I want to become your sworn brother or sister, this is not a joke."

Ji Ruxue opened her mouth but remained silent.

The empress frowned again, but immediately noticed the girl's thoughts, so she asked calmly: "Are you discouraged by what happened today?"

Behind the two of them, the three Holy Maidens Miao Chengtian were also stunned for a moment when they heard these words, and it was obvious that they had heard the hidden meaning.

But before Ji Ruxue could respond, the empress had already stood by herself, looking at the river view with her hands behind her back and answered, "Yes, if it is true, he would be the crown prince. He is a descendant of a royal family, a descendant of a phoenix and a dragon, and truly an outstanding person of his generation. In the final analysis, it is because my country Qi has climbed up the social ladder. If you are not discouraged, then I will be discouraged too."

Ji Ruxue pondered for a moment, shook her head slightly and said, "That's not the case, slave... I just think that for him, whether he is the crown prince or not, he might not agree to your proposal..."

This time, it was the empress who was surprised: "Why?"

After saying that, she turned around and glanced at Miao Chengtian, with a hint of doubt in her eyes.

The latter knew that the empress was blaming her for the wrong information, but Miao Chengtian was also confused. She clearly saw that Xiao Yan and Ji Ruxue had an unusual relationship. With her sharp eyes, it was impossible for her to be wrong...

Fortunately, Ji Ruxue had already explained silently: "He shouldn't let himself have any clear concerns."

The empress looked down, and Miao Chengtian and others were also stunned.

But soon, they understood.

People like Xiao Yan are certainly those who have made great achievements, but the more they want to achieve something, the less they need to worry about. If the word "concern" is replaced with "weakness" and "soft spot", it will be much easier to understand.

Because the more concerns one has, the more obvious his weaknesses become. This is extremely disadvantageous for a man who wants to achieve great things. On the contrary, the empress's desire to use Ji Ruxue and Xiao Yan's marriage may turn out to be a good intention but a bad result.

Thinking of this, the empress frowned and became speechless.

What she had always worried about was that Xiao Yan looked down on Qi State, but now that he had the title of crown prince, he needed Qi State's support. A close alliance between the two should be the general trend, but she had not expected this.

But when she turned around, she saw Ji Ruxue's cold temperament and a hint of stubbornness due to her slightly pursed lips. She was really a beautiful woman. Suddenly, an idea came to her mind, and then she smiled and said, "Xue'er, do you want to be free?"

Ji Ruxue was stunned.

The empress turned around and looked at Guangmutian.

"I remembered to bring Xue'er's slave contract with me this time."

The latter nodded: "Yes, I have handed it over to Miao Chengtian."

"Miao Chengtian, give this to the prince later." The empress patted Ji Ruxue, who was still stunned, and said, "Qiguo, you are welcome to come back as a guest anytime."

Miao Chengtian reacted suddenly.

Originally according to the arrangement, this so-called slave contract was going to be handed over to Ji Ruxue to deal with herself. It didn't matter how she dealt with it. Anyway, the empress planned to adopt Ji Ruxue as her sister and then marry her to Xiao Yan through this, so she just treated it as a piece of waste paper.

But this might not work, and it might even cause Xiao Yan to be disgusted. It would be better to just "give" Ji Ruxue to him directly.

As soon as she figured out the key, Ji Ruxue was already a little at a loss.

The empress took her hand, sighed slightly, and said: "This time, I'm sorry to have wronged you. I know that you have always regarded Huanyinfang as your home, but today, Huanyinfang will only become a bondage to you. From now on, you will leave Qiguo..."

"Your servant..." Ji Ruxue couldn't help but panic.

"Just think of it as for the future of Qi." The empress let go of her hand and turned away with a hard heart.

"The opportunity has come to Qi State, and we cannot just let it go from here."

"From now on, maintaining the relationship with Xiao Yan depends on you."

…………

In Shuzhong, at the border with Raojiang, a carrier pigeon flapped its wings and landed on a wooden fence.

Then a man with a strange and ancient tattoo on the back of his hand held the letter tube at his foot.

"Hehehe..."

"Go back and ask King Kui to find a way to go to Twelve Caves and tell Li Maozhen that it was the order from the man in the Central Plains."

"Qiguo, things are going to change."

(End of this chapter)