Chapter 141: I Promise You
Translator: TYZ Editor: Book_Hoarder
"I want to go out and take a look."
Upon hearing these words, Ren Baqian's thought process was abruptly disrupted. With a rigid look on his face, he mechanically turned his head around and faced the empress.
"This big shot is indeed not satisfied by my house," Ren Baqian snarled in his heart.
"Follow me out," the empress looked at Ren Baqian and said solemnly.
"Your Majesty… we can go out and explore, but I'm afraid I can't address you as 'Your Majesty' outside. There are no emperors or empresses in our world. Even if there is one, it's not you." A look of agony appeared on Ren Baqian's face.
"I understand. But why isn't there an emperor in this world? Who governs the nation then?" The empress looked surprised.
"Our world is governed by democracy, we choose our leaders through elections," Ren Baqian gave a rough explanation. Even though he did not know much about politics, he still knew the fundamental basics.
"Alright, I get it. Follow me out to look around now," the empress replied. If someone dared to provoke her, she would slap him or her to death. The people in this world were too weak and fragile.
"Your Majesty, I'm afraid your clothes are not suitable for you to go out now," Ren Baqian said. "I will prepare some clothes for you."
"Go now," the empress waved her hand and replied.
Ren Baqian helplessly switched on his phone. When he switched it on, he saw a bunch of missed calls. All of them were from his parents.
"You are my little apple…" Ren Baqian's phone rang again. The name of the caller displayed "Dad".
Ren Baqian picked up his phone and prepared to go upstairs to answer it. If he did not pick it up now, he reckoned that his dad would fly over to his house. However, he then saw the empress looking at him with a scorching gaze. "Someone is communicating with you from a long distance, right? Is there anything that you're afraid to let me know?"
Ren Baqian did not expect the empress to remember his words so clearly and react so strongly. She had not used a smartphone before, but she knew he was going to pick up a call.
"It's a call from my parents." Ren Baqian had a bitter look on his face.
"You're not allowed to leave, sit down!" The empress stared at him.
"Dad, Mum, you better not say anything that's too much," Ren Baqian prayed in his heart as he looked at the empress. He did not know why the empress was suddenly so interested in him. She kept on staring at him.
"You're my little apple…" The ringtone terribly confounded Ren Baqian. He clenched his teeth and pressed the answer key. Immediately, a voice came through the other end of the phone, "You really have some guys now huh, how dare you hang up on me?"
"Son, are you really interested in men? Let me tell you, if you really bring a man back, I will immediately end our mother-son relationship."
Ren Baqian's parents were screaming hysterically on the other end of the phone.
With an ashen look on his face, Ren Baqian hung up the call and almost dropped the phone.
Beside him, the empress's face froze. "You cut sleeve?"
["Cut sleeve" - euphemism for homosexuality]
"Hell no!" Ren Baqian almost spat out a mouthful of blood. "You're mistaken! Your Majesty, you're definitely mistaken!"
A mysterious gust of wind suddenly blew across the room. The empress's hair began to dance wildly in the air, and the temperature of the room dropped immediately.
"Your Majesty, listen to me, this isn't true at all. In our world, I am supposed to get married and have children at my current age. My heart has already been taken by Your Majesty and there's no room for other people. Therefore, why will I want to marry other people? I'd rather be by your side and look at you every single day. This is my greatest desire. As such, upon seeing that I'm not willing to get married with anyone, my parents came up with such a baseless and ridiculous conjecture. I am also having a huge headache…"
Ren Baqian's words finally pacified the empress, who was about to flip out.
"You have been chosen by me as my king, you can tell your parents that."
"Your Majesty, my parents are ordinary and ignorant folks. They won't believe me even if I break their heads."
"I can tell them myself." The empress gave Ren Baqian a this-is-your-honor look
"Your Majesty, you must hide your identity well—you can't reveal your identity."
"Even if my identity is revealed, what can they do to me? Even though the machines in your world are very advanced, it is impossible that your most powerful weapon will be used in highly-populated areas. No government will do that," the empress replied calmly. Within a short period of time, she already understood what could be done and what could not be done.
No matter how powerful the weapons in this world are, their government wouldn't possibly take me down with everyone else, right?
When Ren Baqian saw that an atomic bomb did not scare the empress, he could only reply bitterly, "Your Majesty, you might not be scared but I am. If anything happens to me, I can't be by your side anymore. After all, you still want to come back here frequently. Furthermore, Your Majesty, you have stayed in the imperial palace for so many years, don't you want to experience the life of an ordinary person in this world?"
The empress pondered over Ren Baqian's words. She was indeed very curious about this world. Living the life of an ordinary person in this world sounded like a rather good idea to her. Furthermore, Ren Baqian was so weak and fragile. If anything happened to him, she would not be able to return to Dayao.
Also, if something happened to Ren Baqian, she would lose the thing she likes.
"Alright, I shall do as you say and live the life of an ordinary person," The empress finally agreed to Ren Baqian's suggestion.
"Your Majesty, why don't I go out and buy some clothes for you first while you wait here?" Ren Baqian tried his luck and asked.
"No, you're allowed to do that," the empress rejected Ren Baqian's suggestion.
In this unfamiliar world, other than Ren Baqian, the empress knew about nothing else. Therefore, how could she let him out of her sight? If something happened to him, how was she going to return to Dayao?
Ren Baqian scratched his head. He also felt that it wasn't right to leave the empress here alone. However, he could not bring her out to buy clothes with her current outfit. He switched on his phone and looked through his phone directory. There was only one person that he could seek help from.
When Ren Baqian saw that the empress wasn't looking at him, he walked to the kitchen and made a call.
"Are you back?" Jiang Nan's gentle and delicate voice came through the other end of the phone.
Ren Baqian suddenly felt that this was how a girl should behave. The empress was too imposing and too cold. In addition, she flipped out too easily.
"Hmm, can you help me buy a few pieces of female clothes and a few pairs of shoes? I need them urgently," Ren Baqian said softly
"..."
"Hello? Hello?"
"Are yours spoilt? Be careful next time. Since I'm free right now, I shall help you. But since when did you have a girlfriend?" Jiang Nan chuckled.
"It's not like what you think. Her height is about 1.70 meters and her weight is about 50 kilograms. A red dress would be the best, find one that has a conservative design. I also need a coat. I need shoes as well, get me one pair in sizes 36, 37, 38, and 39. I want flat-bottomed shoes." Ren Baqian understood the Chinese mindset very well. A minor issue could easily make them think the wrong way; therefore ,he did not even bother to explain to Jiang Nan.
"Do you need bras?"
Ren Baqian clenched his teeth and replied, "Yes, I need that. Her bra size is about a C cup. Buy a few more sizes."
"Ha! Do you still have any more requests?"
"That's all, do whatever you deem fit as long as the top matches the bottom. And, don't tell Chen Qing about this," Ren Baqian reminded Jiang Nan.
"It's too late, he is right beside me," Jiang Nan laughed.
"So you still don't dare to show her to us huh!" Chen Qing yelled in the background.
"Alright, send them to my doorstep. Let's not meet today, I will treat you both of you to a meal in the future," Ren Baqian spoke softly.
Jiang Nan chuckled and hung up.
"I heard a woman's voice," the empress sat on the sofa and said idly.
"I can't leave now, so I have to ask someone to buy the clothes for me," Ren Baqian told the empress.
"Ooh." The empress oohed and did not care about Ren Baqian anymore.
Actually, she could hear everything about Ren Baqian's conversation with Jiang Nan but she acted ignorant.
"Your Majesty, I have something to tell you."
"Speak!" The empress turned around and looked at Ren Baqian.
"Your Majesty, I'm afraid I have to call you by your name in this world. Or perhaps you can give yourself a nickname," Ren Baqian said.
"Alright, I allow you to call me by my name in this world," the empress replied.
"Once we are outside, whatever Qi… Your Majesty likes, you can tell me, and I will buy it for you. In this world, you need to pay money to buy stuff." Ren Baqian still did not dare speak the empress's name.
"We also need to pay money to buy stuff in Dayao, do you think I'm a three-year-old child?" the empress said annoyingly.
"I am in charge of following behind Your Majesty and paying for the stuff you want to buy," Ren Baqian immediately changed his tone.
The empress nodded her head and a smile appeared upon her face. She was very pleased with Ren Baqian's words.
"Don't be rash when you encounter anything outside, let me settle it. If someone offends you, bear in mind that he or she doesn't know your identity and don't get angry. Our world strictly forbids fighting on the streets and killing people. If anything happens, the police will investigate us and your identity will be revealed easily. Here the police is equivalent to the public order bureau in Dayao."
"I promise you." The empress nodded her head.
Upon seeing that the empress agreed to his conditions, Ren Baqian finally felt at ease. Since there was still time, he taught the empress about some general knowledge of Earth.