Quick Transmigration: Becoming the Best!

Arc 5.26 Empress of Four Kingdoms

A/N: SPONSORED CHAPTER 2/4 BY @Jade_Lily_Dragon!

Arc 5.26 Empress of Four Kingdoms

Stirring his horse to the queue, Hua Shen and Li Feifei waited for half a shichen (about one hour) before they finally reached the front of the line. They posed as "ordinary" dignitaries and merchants, hiding their status as the Hua Emperor and Empress. Hua Shen was impersonating the Second Prince of Hua, Hua Tishen, while Li Feifei was his wangfei. Truthfully, Hua Tishen was not married yet, but even if Li Feifei couldn't pass as a wangfei, she could still be a lover or a concubine.

Hua Tishen woke up the morning after their sneaky departure, realizing his trade pass had disappeared...Stuck in Hua to take care of all the business Hua Shen and Li Feifei had left behind, he had yet to realize that his reputation was being sullied by his dear little brother, the Emperor, in a foreign kingdom.

Stopped at the gates of Zhao, Hua Shen and Li Feifei had to either present a merchant token or proper identification, such as an official's jade token or a decree from rulers. Of course, as the Emperor, none of these things were hard to obtain.

Hua Shen leisurely held up the golden merchant's pass and only moved forward when the sentry guard in charge of confirming their identification was finished.

"Esteemed guests, please wait for a moment. Your guide will arrive shortly," the guard respectfully added as he gestured the two through the tall gate.

The two simply nodded and proceeded into the capital city. The guide was responsible for leading them to the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the evening, in order to receive their accommodations and entertainment. Of course, as the occasion was not normal what with Hua's still-recent change in regime, they would also be expected to discuss the future plans of the two allied kingdoms, Li and Hua, in regards to the rest of the continent.

As a traveler of many worlds, the sight that met them did not stimulate any awe from Hua Shen, but it was Li Feifei's first time seeing such a lively ancient bazaar—particularly at the coast.

The capital of Zhao was structured so that each sector of the city was layered with different elevations based on the residents' social status. At the highest elevation was the palace, from the time when the kingdom was still run by a monarchy, in which the ministers would gather every day to discuss politics.

The stratum below consisted of large manors and residences that belonged to those ministers, and following that was the layer for the wealthier merchants, then the middle and low-class merchants, and finally the common populace and commercial area. The elevation was not the only distinction between each class in the capital, as the scale and material used to build each building varied based on the wealth of their owners. Similarly, the number of slaves and servants served as another quantifier of their monetary capabilities.

The coast of the sea bordered three-fourths of the entire outline of the kingdom, with the only connecting landmass belonging to the stretch that Li Feifei and Hua Shen had come from. As they were currently situated in the lowest sector, Li Feifei had a full and humbled view of the grand capital from the bottom. Likewise, as the layer directly in contact with the sea, the crisp salty air lingered above the entire capital, strongest at their current location at the lowest residential and commercial area.

Still seated atop Hua Shen's noble black steed, Li Feifei ignored the architecture, focusing on the vast array of ships floating above the ocean waters and docked at the piers. These ships were not the ones she was used to seeing in her own world like ferries, warships, submarines, and whatnot. These were those legendary pirate-esque ships ah! Well, this was an ancient Chinese setting, after all, so it was more correct to call them Chinese Junks.