The Empress's Gigolo

Chapter 560: The Competition Begins

All along, the empress had never intervened in such matters as she was ignorant regarding craftsmanship and things related to it.

In her opinion, it was more than enough to have Ren Baqian there.

It was adequate for Dayao to apply the technology available from Earth.

Although the empress wished to see such a grand occasion happen soon, she knew it had to be done step by step. As a result, Ren Baqian was put in charge.

After Ren Baqian greeted the empress, he exchanged greetings with Tong Zhenye.

From the beginning to the end, Tong Zhenye only paid attention to the vapor clouds blown out by Ren Baqian.

After waiting for Ren Baqian to finish talking, Tong Zhenye snatched the vapor generating device with his hands and asked about its function. He didn’t even avoid the saliva of Ren Baqian as he took a big gulp and started to cough violently.

A lot of vapor rushed into his lungs and the impact was rather uncomfortable for Tong Zhenye, but he refused to let go as he liked to show off.

Ren Baqian was forced to release his grip. He wasn’t prepared to take it back anyway after Tong Zhenye had sucked on the mouthpiece.

On the way to court early the next morning, Tong Zhenye was waiting outside the palace as expected. He was holding the vapor generating device and effortlessly blowing out mist from it. The fog, which was generated in a short period, made it hard to see him clearly.

The day after that, early in the morning, Zhang Junzheng and Ren Baqian met outside a house in the eastern part of the city. Both were smiling because they harbored similar thoughts.

Ren Baqian and the empress had walked out of the palace together with Ren Baqian one step ahead.

A while later, the imperial chariot, accompanied by guards and attendants, arrived outside the house. Behind them were Tong Zhenye, Shi Qing, and others.

“Your humble servant is honored to meet Your Majesty.”

“Commoner Zhang Junzheng (Zhang Heqi, Zhang Heju) is honored to meet the Empress of Dayao.”

The empress glanced at Zhang Junzheng and his nephews from her carriage before nodding slightly and saying somewhat coldly, “Are the three of you from the Zhang family?”

They had given her a lavish gift last year, but she had totally forgotten all about it.

“That’s right!”

“Well, work conscientiously and when Dayao transforms, you will be of use here,” the empress said with a nod. Ever since going to Earth, she had become more and more concerned about craftsmen.

The development on Earth had proven the value of the craftsman.

“We will certainly work hard!” Zhang Junzheng replied cheerfully. It seemed like Qi Zixiao attached great importance to the Zhang family or else she wouldn’t have made such a comment given her character.

Plus, what was meant by the transformation of Dayao?

The empress simply said a few words, came down from her carriage, and was accompanied into the residence with the crowd for a quick look around. This house had originally belonged to a merchant from Great Xia, but it was unoccupied now because he had been beheaded.

This residence met the requirements of the other party. It had two courtyards, one in the east and one in the west, and everything had been cleared out. Only the empty courtyards and a few bedrooms remained.

“Since everyone has already taken a look, we can start now,” the empress said after walking around the mansion. “I will be a witness and the Minister of Works, Tong Zhenye, will also be one.”

“Alright!” Zhang Junzheng immediately said, “The technology of the Zhang family has never been disseminated to outsiders. Therefore, Minister Tong Zhenye can’t keep watching and only he alone will be allowed to come in.” (TLC. This seems contradictory)

Although he didn’t want to offend the empress, it was more important that their technology didn’t leak out.

As long as the technology was preserved, the Zhang family wouldn’t decline.

Additionally, as long as the empress wanted the products made by the Zhang family, she wouldn’t do anything to them.

“You are rather cautious. Permission granted! You can begin now. I will be back to see the results of the competition,” the empress said bluntly. She glanced at Ren Baqian and headed out without looking back.

After the departure of the empress, Ren Baqian turned to Zhang Junzheng and laughingly said, “Let’s begin now! I think you should be ready after one month of preparation.”

“Of course!” Zhang Junzheng nodded and whispered some instructions to Zhang Heqi, who then departed.

It wasn’t long before horse drawn carriages, each covered in black cloth, came from the side of the road. They went directly to the east courtyard, but only one stopped and revealed 10 jars of wine. All of them were opened for Ren Baqian to smell. Then, half of them were taken back to the courtyard.

Zhang Junzheng cupped his fist and said, “Sir Ren, the wine will be brewed for a second time. As for the other processes, I will not let Sir Ren see.”

“Do as you please,” Ren Baqian casually said.

It was obvious that those carriages were carrying things related to the three parts of the competition. In order to prevent him from stealing their secrets, they had so much security.

This Zhang Junzheng was discreet, but he was mistaken from the start.

Ren Baqian wasn’t interested in those technologies. Had anyone seen a billionaire stealing from the bowl of a beggar?

In this regard, Ren Baqian was confident that the technology from Earth was adequate.

Not only did Zhang Junzheng overestimate the importance of these technologies, he also overrated the Zhang family. He even dared to say such words in front of the empress and Tong Zhenye despite the risk of Tong Zhenye making life difficult for the Zhang family in the future.

Even with the Zhang family in such a precarious situation, he was so daring. Did he really think that Dayao couldn’t do without the Zhang family and that he could therefore act without fear?

“Sir Ren, the time limit is five days. Minister Tong, I bid you farewell.” Zhang Junzheng cupped his fists and then walked to the east courtyard, closing the door tightly.

“Hmph!” Tong Zhenye sneered. The Zhang family only respected Her Majesty! If Qin Chuan was here, he would chop their heads off.

“Sir Tong, it’s time to send the craftsmen and materials that I asked for.” Ren Baqian turned his head to Tong Zhenye, who was still standing there.

“It will be sent immediately. Sir Ren, there are only five days. The other party has obviously prepared all the tools, but Sir Ren has just started preparing. Won’t you lose?” Tong Zhenye asked.

“Sir Tong, why don’t you guess? Shall we make a bet?” Ren Baqian countered.

“Since you look very confident, I will not bet with you. Casually speaking, if Sir Ren loses, the empress will be unhappy.” Tong Zhenye tried to evade the topic. He wasn’t a fool, and more than anybody else, he knew about the various items produced by Ren Baqian.

Besides the empress and Ren Baqian, he was the one that was considered to have the most confidence in Ren Baqian.

A moment later, carriage after carriage of materials and craftsmen entered the west courtyard. Zhang Heqi looked over the top of the wall, saw Ren Baqian smiling cheerfully at him, and retracted his head.

Ren Baqian strolled into the courtyard and gathered the craftsmen. Taking out piece after piece of drawings, he started delegating tasks to them.

These drawings were sketched by professionals according to the limitations of this era and the time constraints. The production plan chosen was the best it could be at present.

That afternoon, the sounds of people working in the Zhang family courtyard stopped as thick smoke rose from the courtyard. The next day, the fragrance of wine wafted out from the courtyard, and the sound of striking iron was also heard.

At this time, however, the sounds of banging and sawing of wood were heard coming from Ren Baqian’s west courtyard because his tools were not even ready yet.

The brothers, Zhang Heqi and Zhang Heju, listened carefully to the sounds coming from the other courtyard and couldn’t help saying, “Fifth Uncle, we will win for sure!”

Both courtyards were bustling with activity, and although the east courtyard was busy, everything was orderly. The craftsmen from the Zhang family did their assigned work and didn’t interfere with each other.

On the other hand, the west courtyard was a mess. Each craftsman was trying to figure out the drawing given by Ren Baqian while they worked. Occasionally, they had to consult Ren Baqian. Meanwhile, the wasted materials were piling up almost to the top of the wall.

Even Tong Zhenye, who came over to take a look, was getting doubtful and asked, “Sir Ren, how about betting on whether you will win or lose?”

Ren Baqian’s eyes sparkled upon hearing this.