flamboyant

Kapitel 30

After I finished speaking, he blushed and looked down at the tips of his shoes, saying, "My brother is very capable, and he will definitely do better than me in the future."

I said to him meaningfully, "Even if he's not that great, he'll surpass you in the future because... his status is what it is." After saying that, I stared at Wuju, trying to guess his views on status from his expression.

“My brother is capable; I accept my defeat wholeheartedly,” Wu Ju frankly stated, without complaint. I smiled and looked away. I returned my attention to my work. He sat for a moment and left. I stared at the empty office, wondering about Wu Ju's true purpose in approaching me… “You mustn’t disappoint me!”

At the end of the month, we went to Ya Xian Lou for tea. Qian Qing gave me a string of luminous pearls, a tribute from the Huo Chi Kingdom. They were uniform in size, rich in color, and soft to the touch—truly top-quality goods. I naturally accepted them. He was in a position of inferiority, so of course he had to give me a gift.

"Ziyi, are you getting used to being in the court?" Qian Qingbing asked, trying to ease the tension.

"I'm not used to it." I called over the waiter and asked him to get me a new glass of milk. Damn, I haven't been feeling well these past few days, so I should drink less tea.

"What, is someone not cooperating with your work?" Qianqing stood by the window.

Zi Mo warmed my milk. The ladyboy was admiring himself in the mirror.

I walked into Qianqing, my clothes fluttering, exuding a dashing and debonair air: "Promote me!"

Wu Hui glared at me with his bull-like eyes: "Shameless!"

The transgender person looked at me in the mirror: "Has the promotion system in our country changed now?"

Zi Mo said, "Master, ignore him."

Qianqing laughed at me: "You're joking." I licked the dark tea in his hand and said: "You're the boss! You call the shots." Damn, his tea really is better than ours. I've long suspected why he doesn't drink the tea from the pot. He's just using connections to get the better tea. It's not fair!

"I'm not an ordinary boss." Qianqing brought the tea to my lips, but I shook my head and refused to drink it.

“Even if he’s not an ordinary boss, he’s still a boss! I don’t believe you when you tell your underlings: ‘The boss has introduced you to a distant relative, a member of the royal family, and I want to promote him. Does anyone have any objections?’”

After I finished speaking, Qianqing smiled, the transvestite put away the mirror, and Zimo led me back to my seat with a deep sense of apology.

Qianqing poured the tea in her hand back into the private pot, signaling the waiter to bring a fresh one.

Wu Hui Niu opened his eyes wide: "Can't you just not try to take shortcuts, do some real work, and get promoted based on your abilities?"

I glanced at him and said, "Do you think I'm like you? By your own ability? Don't try to fool me. People only have ability when they have status. You're the future King Shouping, you can have anything you want."

"You can't say that, being extreme isn't good." Chou Qian poured Qian Qing some fresh tea and lectured me earnestly.

"Shut up, you never say anything nice." I glared at him and Qianqing, annoyed. I only took one sip and you're giving me a new pot? You're looking down on me! "What can I do? The Ministry of Rites has nothing to do anyway." I snatched the teapot from Chouqian when he wasn't looking, and spat it out. I'll make you drink it, and you'll be miserable.

Zi Mo frantically shielded me behind him, ready to kneel at any moment. Qian Qing remained unmoved, simply beckoning to the guy carrying the towel on his shoulder.

Zi Mo, observing my expression, pulled me back.

The transvestite immediately chimed in, "If the Ministry of Rites is alright, then what's wrong with the pigs?"

"Yeah, you're always busy counting money." As soon as the words left her lips, the teacup in the transvestite's hand flew towards my head. Zi Mo blocked it with his hand, giving the transvestite a displeased look. I turned my back to Zi Mo and made a face at the transvestite: Serves you right, I couldn't hit you.

The transvestite reluctantly flicked his elegant sleeves, too lazy to pay me any attention.

Qian Qingyan said, "Isn't the Ministry of Rites busy? Let Qian go and take a look another day, and ask Minister Wang to take good care of you."

"No need, I won't do anything annoying."

"Being so picky, it would be better if you couldn't get promoted even when you're seventy or eighty. You'd really be a disgrace to your father." Wu Hui Niu retorted sharply.

I retorted defiantly, "Don't talk like that without understanding the situation. If you were invincible, sweeping across the land and conquering all directions, would I be afraid of having nothing to do?"

Wu Hui Niu Yan Shan Niu: "What does this have to do with me? Dong Qing's military strength is among the top in the four countries."

Without even looking at him, I said, "Is it one or two?"

Despite his initial arrogance being extinguished, he still stubbornly insisted, "So what if I'm second!"

"Being second doesn't make you any good!" Pshaw, in the era of cold weapons, being second just meant you were no good. What's with the arrogance?

Chouqian looked at us and said, "The Ministry of Rites can find a new way out and develop its own unique characteristics." Another one who speaks after the event, but he's still better than some stupid people. A talented person is definitely a talented person and not simple, but he's only one level above a boor.

"If productivity cannot keep up, the Ministry of Rites must not be reformed."

"Productivity?" Another ignorant bum chimed in. I patted his hair pityingly. "Hopeless. You don't even know what productivity is? It refers to the wealth you create in a day. Understand?"

Someone thought for a moment and said, "I earn an average of five taels of silver a day."

"Fool, why don't you want to spend five hundred taels of silver a day?" "Don't worry, your family is a high-income household."

"What does the Ministry of Rites have to do with productivity? Don't try to shirk your responsibilities and make excuses!" Zi Mo handed me the milk, but didn't side with me.

"How can productivity and the Ministry of Rites be unrelated! It's like the economic base and the superstructure. The economic base influences the superstructure, and excessive changes to the superstructure in today's technologically underdeveloped world can be counterproductive. Only when productivity levels improve can we adjust our mindset and educational models based on your daily needs. If the lower levels can't keep up, and the Ministry of Rites makes arbitrary changes, then wouldn't I be equivalent to..."

The five men stared at me expectantly, and I blurted out, "Incite the people to rebel."

Zi Mo immediately covered my mouth, apologizing profusely to Qian Qing. A thousand thoughts flashed in Chou Qian's eyes, but I caught none of them, because that damned Zi Mo had completely sealed my mouth and nose shut. I couldn't breathe! Murder!

Just as I was about to suffocate, the transvestite finally noticed my unusual silence. He stepped forward, pried open Zi Mo's idiotic hand, and fanned me. I gasped for breath and said to him, "Quick... I need artificial respiration."

"What artificial respiration?" The transvestite looked anxious, and Zi Mo apologized to me from the side.

The ox, true to its word, remains unyielding: "I won't die."

I looked at the transvestite: "It's just mouth-to-mouth breathing." The transvestite reacted violently, but unfortunately, instead of saving me, he wanted to hit me. He picked up a plate and smashed it over my head. I was so scared I ran behind Qianqing. The transvestite didn't dare to be too outrageous, pointing at me and cursing, acting completely unmanly.

I stuck my tongue out at him: Go ahead and curse me, it won't hurt you.

Qianqing put his arm around my waist, and I sat on his lap to thank him for saving my life.

[Main Text: Chapter Twenty-Six]