Chapter 62: Queen: I’ve Been on the Throne for Many Years, but My Harem Is Empty
Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Queen: I’ve Been on the Throne for Many Years, but My Harem Is Empty
In the Council Hall, the two generals and the commanders took their leave, and soon only the Queen, Tang Wen, and Zhou Bing remained.
Once they were gone, the Queen’s dignified demeanor vanished.
She stretched languidly without a care for her image, revealing the perfect curve of her waist.
Then, the Queen turned and yelled at a maid, "I was about to die of boredom! Wine! Get me some wine! Where’s my wine?"
Zhou Bing sighed and gave Tang Wen a helpless look.
Clearly, she had seen this unrestrained side of the Queen before.
A maid handed her a metal flask, and the Queen lifted it, downing half of it. GLUG, GLUG, GLUG.
She then let out a drunken hiccup and sauntered over to the pair.
"Heh heh! Bing’Er, so this is your little lover boy. Hmm, he’s quite the looker! I hear he’s not even sixteen... heh heh heh, you little vixen, you!"
The Queen squinted, sizing up Tang Wen with a look reminiscent of an idle man on the street ogling a beautiful woman.
Tang Wen felt completely awkward. The Queen was so wild and unrestrained; it was like watching his image of a goddess shatter before his eyes.
’So that wise and dignified image from before was just an act?’
’No wonder Sister Bing always looked like she was biting her tongue whenever she mentioned the Queen.’
Zhou Bing’s cheeks flushed red. "What do you mean, ’lover boy’? There’s nothing going on between us, Her Majesty the Queen!"
"Call me Auntie."
"In any case, Auntie, please don’t spread nonsense."
’The Queen is Sister Bing’s auntie?’
Tang Wen secretly sized the two of them up. ’They’re both stunning beauties, but they don’t look alike at all.’
"Nothing going on, really?"
The Queen suddenly leaned in close, and a mixture of alcohol and perfume washed over him.
It was an indescribable temptation.
Tang Wen leaned back slightly, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
’Hey, I’m still right here!’
Zhou Bing lowered her voice. "R-Really."
’Well, at least for now,’ she added silently.
"As long as that’s true, heh heh heh." The Queen rubbed her chin with a wicked laugh. "I have been Queen for many years, yet my harem is completely empty. Today, I find this Xiaotang quite handsome..."
As she spoke, her slender fingers reached out to touch Tang Wen’s face.
Tang Wen seemed stunned, not even trying to dodge.
"Don’t!" Zhou Bing slapped her hand away and stepped between them, glaring at the Queen with her cheeks puffed out in anger.
"And why not? I work myself to the bone for this camp! It’s exhausting! Can’t I even take a male consort to toy with?" Her Majesty the Queen’s expression was theatrical, as if to say, ’If I can’t even do this, is there any justice in the world?!’
Tang Wen looked at the Queen. Her looks and figure were easily on par with Sister Bing’s, and she had the additional allure of a mature woman. ’A tiny part of him was a little more than willing.’
"He’s mine!"
Pushed to the brink by the Queen’s shameless words, Zhou Bing could no longer afford to be reserved.
"Heh heh heh, I thought you said there was ’nothing going on’? Don’t tell me you two are ’not going on’ all the way into—MMMPH!"
Zhou Bing clapped a hand over her mouth, then turned and dragged Tang Wen away.
"You ungrateful Ice Girl! Ditching your Auntie the second you get a boyfriend!"
The Queen shouted after them.
Zhou Bing pulled Tang Wen along, running straight out of the Royal Palace.
Tang Wen’s expression was complicated. Who would have thought that a queen who seemed so proper on the surface was actually a complete lunatic?
"Sister Bing, are you and the Queen related?"
The blush on Zhou Bing’s face hadn’t yet faded, and loose strands of hair fell to obscure half of her pretty face.
"When my mother was alive, they were the best of friends. The Queen’s always had this personality. She loves to drink, loves to mess around, hates hassle, and hates managing things. But as luck would have it, her Talent for Cultivation is exceptionally high."
"I see."
’Since she loves to cause trouble, the whole male consort thing must have been just a joke.’
Tang Wen felt a pang of disappointment.
’After all, what man doesn’t dream of being kept by a rich woman?’
He turned to look at Zhou Bing’s shy, bashful face, and his heart stirred. ’Well, the Ice Beauty is pretty great too!’
’What was it she said just now?’
’I’m hers?’
’Heh heh.’
His gaze drifted over her ample, curvy figure.
Tang Wen was secretly delighted. ’Well, would you look at that? My chance to be a kept man is right here.’
He quietly reached out and hooked his fingers around Zhou Bing’s slender hand.
She froze, her head snapping toward Tang Wen. Their eyes met for an instant before she whipped her head away as if she’d been shocked, her cheeks turning a deeper shade of crimson.
"U-Um, there’s... something."
"What is it?" Tang Wen squeezed her hand, kneading it gently.
"The two of us... we’re the ones with the most Talent. Before we become Awakened, we can’t... we can’t..."
As Tang Wen watched in confusion, Zhou Bing lowered her head so far it nearly touched her chest, still unable to finish her sentence.
"Does that mean we can’t... do what married couples do?"
"Mhm," she replied, her voice barely a whisper.
"Huh? What if we can never break through?" Tang Wen stopped in his tracks.
"If you can’t Awaken before you’re thirty, you never will."
Tang Wen was stunned. "But I’m... I think I’m only fifteen?"
Zhou Bing said quickly, "We’ll definitely break through."
"Yeah!" He didn’t doubt that. For the sake of his future happiness, he absolutely had to break through!
’But I’m not waiting fifteen years for it.’
"For the good of the camp’s development, let’s set a goal, Sister Bing. How about we aim to break through in a year? No, six months?"
"What?"
Zhou Bing froze for a second before his meaning dawned on her. Her cheeks burned as she snatched her hand away and ran ahead. "No way! You little hooligan!"
’Little hooligan?’ Tang Wen pouted. ’Even the lecherous old doctors at the infirmary are jealous of my outstanding talents!’
"Commander Zhou, welcome home!"
"Hahahaha!"
"Commander Tang, welcome home!"
CLANG CLANG CLANG!
Tangtang had somehow gotten her hands on a gong and was banging it at the doorway to welcome them home.
Her little face was split in a grin so wide her eyes disappeared.
Her excited cheers drew the neighbors out of their homes to see what all the commotion was about.
After Tangtang’s grand announcement, they finally learned that the courtyard belonging to the "husband-killer" was now home to two Commanders.
The "husband-killer" herself was a Commander.
Their previously disdainful looks immediately transformed into ones of congratulation.
Tangtang handed out rock candy to the children, and after the commotion died down, they finally closed the door and went inside.
The meal, of course, was already prepared.
There was wine, meat, and vegetables.
At the dinner table, Tang Wen and Zhou Bing talked about their new positions. Tangtang listened with excitement, downing two bowls of sweet potato soup, which left her little face flushed and her head feeling woozy.
But her arithmetic was as sharp as ever, and she muttered to herself, calculating "how many Silver Coins and how much Maize" they would get each month.
The next day, Zhou Bing selected thirty Hunting Camp Guards, planning to use them as the backbone for the new Outer City Hunting Battalion.
After a day of preparations, it was time for the two of them to officially assume their duties.
Early the next morning, the one-armed Commander Zhang and several of his subordinates were waiting at the gate leading from the Inner City to the Outer City to welcome them.
"Commander Zhang!"
"Commander Tang, Commander Zhou. And everyone!"
"Greetings, Commander Zhang!"
As Tang Wen and Zhou Bing led their team out, one of the men behind Commander Zhang looked puzzled at first. But when he heard Tang Wen’s name introduced, his entire body jolted.
’Isn’t that the kid who brought me the wild pheasant?’
’No, no, no, he’s Commander Tang Wen!’
Brother Li pinched himself hard. The sharp pain made him hurriedly straighten his posture and correct his mentality.
At the same time, he reminded himself, ’This is Commander Tang Wen, a high-ranking leader in the camp who could have me finished with a single word!’
Soon, Commander Zhang introduced Brother Li. He quickly took a step forward, bowing his head and clasping his fists.
"Commander Tang Wen, hello. I’m Wang Li, but you can just call me Ah Li. I’m primarily in charge of collecting rent in the Outer City. I look forward to working under your guidance!"
His tone was sincere, with a hint of trying to curry favor.
Seeing that the man had obviously recognized him, Tang Wen mused, ’He used to be Brother Li, but now he’s just Ah Li.’
He shook his head slightly and said to Commander Zhang with a smile, "Brother Li, I’ve had dealings with him before. He’s experienced and knows how to handle things. Commander Zhang, you truly have a capable team!"
After a round of pleasantries where everyone got acquainted, Tang Wen and the other two commanders led the way toward the Outer City barracks.
The Hunting Team followed close behind.
Brother Li intentionally dropped to the rear of the group, his anxious heart finally relaxing a bit.
’This Tang Wen really has a magnanimous air about him.’
’No wonder he was able to rise to such a high position.’
He shook off his complicated feelings and strode to catch up with the group.
That evening, a banquet was held in the mess hall to welcome Tang Wen, Zhou Bing, and the rest of the Hunting Battalion.
Cups were raised and toasts were made as everyone drank and enjoyed themselves.
After becoming Commanders, the two of them weren’t particularly busy.
Leaders, after all, are never busy.
The Hunting Team Members Zhou Bing brought with her were all elites.
Among the thirty, ten were captains and ten were vice-captains.
The remaining ten formed the Guard Team.
The task of forming the new squads by selecting members from the City Guards was left to the captains themselves.
Zhou Bing also pulled some strings, bringing in a group of Martial Disciples from the Inner City Martial Arts Hall to join the newly formed Tenth Hunting Battalion.
This ensured that every newly formed squad had a respectable level of combat effectiveness.
For the Martial Disciples, being able to directly join the Hunting Battalion was also a pretty good option.
Their only complaint was that because of the massive expansion, the Hunting Battalion had more than doubled in size.
As a result, the benefits for new Hunting Team Members weren’t as good as they used to be.
They had been cut by about half.
Fortunately, the Martial Disciples had no other options. They could complain all they wanted, but they still showed up.
The squads were lined up on the training field. As Tang Wen looked at their young faces, he could occasionally overhear a few of their complaints.
He suddenly had the strange feeling that he was a CEO inspecting his company. ’All that’s left is for me to give them a pep talk full of empty promises.’
Not only had the benefits been reduced, but Tang Wen also discovered while eating in the mess hall that meat was no longer freely available.
Now, each member only received half a basin of food per meal. If they wanted more, they had to pay for it themselves.
Of course, this only applied to the ordinary Hunting Team Members.
As for the Commanders, they could still get unlimited refills and eat until they were stuffed at every meal, if they so wished.
"Commander Zhang, it seems a bit early for the drought to be affecting crop yields, doesn’t it? Why have we already started rationing food?"
Commander Zhang looked at Tang Wen’s ridiculously young face and shook his head.
"You’re young. You don’t know how hard it is to get through a drought."
Tang Wen was confused.
Commander Zhang said, "Based on past experience, and on the predictions of a few dozen old farmers in the camp who’ve been tilling the land their whole lives, this drought will probably last longer than anyone thinks. After all, we’ve had several years of perfect weather. It’s about time we had a disaster!"
"’About time we had a disaster?’"
’What kind of bullshit logic is that?’
Tang Wen wanted to argue with him.
Commander Zhang just shook his head, went into his quarters, and came back with a yellowed notebook.
He took it and was surprised to discover it was made of sheepskin.
A sheepskin book this thick was a luxury item.
It seemed its maker had intended for the contents to be preserved for a long time.
"Take a look. It’s a record of the disasters." Commander Zhang walked away, teacup in hand.
Tang Wen opened it and flipped through the pages, discovering the records were kept on a yearly basis.
The first page contained the earliest entry, from 53 years ago...