The Martial Arts Center

Ren Baqian sat in the garden pondering for a long time. It was as if he was recalling his lost youth and the many beautiful sunsets that had gone past.

"You aren't in a good mood because you didn't out-talk them?" The empress, who rarely showed concern for him, spoke in a gentle tone. Usually, Ren Baqian would have taken advantage of this situation. However, he was preoccupied with problems and did not take notice of it.

"I'm not in a bad mood." Ren Baqian tried to collect himself and sat up straight before continuing, "Actually, they were right in some ways when they suggested the idea of letting those captives work without pay because giving them freedom should be enough."

"Oh," the empress uttered. Then, she continued to look at him as though she was trying to find out what he was really thinking.

Was he giving up this quickly? If that was the case, she would be disappointed.