The Lord’s Empire

Now that Zhao Fu had spoken, no one dared to voice any objections, and everyone was obedient to Zhao Fu’s will.

Li Muqing and the other player Ministers inwardly let out sighs of relief. Luckily, Zhao Fu was not a person from a large family or an indigenous resident, or else his attitude towards this would be different.

Following this, Zhao Fu put on some simple clothes and left the palace with Li Muqing.

At the construction site of a canal, Zhao Fu watched big men covered in sweat digging the canal and moving rocks and mud. With spatial rings, the process was much easier.

After dislodging the rocks and mud, they could be put into spatial rings for easy transportation. The materials for constructing the canal were placed on the side, allowing the speed of construction to progress incredibly quickly.

With Great Qin’s current Citizenship status, Criminals could improve their status by serving Great Qin. This included participating in construction activities, which gave them points, and with enough points, they could increase their status.

The people here were all Criminals, and they wanted to earn points by building this canal. Of course, Great Qin’s government also gave an appropriate wage as well.

Suddenly, a big man carrying a large pole accidentally bumped into Zhao Fu, causing a bit of mud to fall onto Zhao Fu.

The big man’s face paled, and he immediately apologized, “I’m so sorry Young Sir, it wasn’t on purpose. I’ll immediately clean it off for you.”

“Hmph! How dare a Criminal like you touch this Young Sir’s clothes,” a foreman walked over and coldly harrumphed. Even though Zhao Fu felt that his clothes were quite plain, to others, they could still tell that he had an extraordinary aura and was definitely no ordinary person.

The big man had never thought that the foreman would come over, and his face became even paler. He wanted to explain, saying that it was by accident.

However, the foreman cut him off and said, “You know that this Young Sir is definitely part of Great Qin’s nobility. With your status as a Criminal, why are you not kneeling to apologize yet? Do you want me to make things difficult for you?”

Hearing this, the big man looked at Zhao Fu’s clothes and immediately knelt and kowtowed as he said, “I’m sorry, Young Sir. I’m truly sorry. Please forgive this lowly one.”

The foreman apologetically smiled, saying, “Young Sir, do you think you could spare him just this once? This lowly one will clean the mud off your clothes for you.”

Zhao Fu felt quite surprised; this foreman looked quite savage, but he was actually helping that big man.

“No matter, it’s not a big deal and I don’t mind much. Also, why are you so afraid?” Zhao Fu felt quite confused. This was just a small matter, but the other person was simply too afraid as if he was desperately scared of something.

The foreman did not know how to reply. From a glance, he could tell that Zhao Fu was from a rich and powerful family, and he could also tell that he was quite inexperienced and naïve, not understanding the situation in Great Qin. However, seeing that Zhao Fu’s attitude was quite good, he breathed out; it seemed like he would not make things difficult.

Standing beside Zhao Fu, Li Muqing explained, “For Criminals like him, making trouble will add to his crimes, and he might be put on the blacklist, preventing him from earning more points. That would mean he will be a Criminal for the rest of his life. That’s why he’s so afraid, especially so because you’re dressed like nobility; people like him can’t afford to offend people like you.”

The foreman smiled as he said, “This beautiful Young Miss is quite knowledgeable. Back then, it took me a lot of effort to go from a Criminal to a Citizen; if I make any trouble, all of that will be for nothing. In Great Qin, it’s like there are tags on us, and if we make any mistakes, the consequences will be severe.”

Zhao Fu nodded in understanding; back then, he had indeed ordered for them to be punished severely so that they would be afraid and obedient.

Since they had resisted so intensely back then, Zhao Fu had of course used all sorts of methods to subdue them.

The foreman then said again, “Young Sir, Young Miss, why have you come to a place like this? With your statuses, coming to a place like this will make others laugh at you.”

Zhao Fu felt quite startled and asked, “Why do you say that? What’s wrong with coming here?”

The foreman felt quite surprised and had never thought that Zhao Fu would ask such a thing. Inwardly, he felt that Zhao Fu really was an ignorant little prince who didn’t know anything. He smiled as he replied, “This is a place where Criminals are gathered; nobles like you coming here will ruin your image.”

Zhao Fu frowned and looked to Li Muqing and asked, “Why has Great Qin’s Citizenship system become so strict and severe? Those who are above will always be above, and those who are below will always be below.”

Zhao Fu had never expected this at all; this was not his goal. Zhao Fu would treat anyong who became a Citizen with kindness. Zhao Fu had just wanted to punish these Criminals before they became Citizens; as long as they were loyal to Great Qin, Zhao Fu would treat them properly.

However, the current state of Great Qin had become like this, like the outside world. Zhao Fu did not want to see Great Qin like this.

Thinking about that, Zhao Fu’s expression became quite unsightly as he said, “Can you take me to look around more? I want to understand this place more.”

The foreman felt quite surprised and smiled as he replied, “Young Sir, you’re quite interesting. Why do you want to understand Criminals?”

Zhao Fu nodded and said, “I just feel like it. Afterwards, I’ll properly reward you.”

Hearing this, the foreman agreed without thinking, “Alright then Young Sir, I’ll take you around.”

Following this, the foreman brought Zhao Fu around the construction site. Zhao Fu looked over and saw that on an empty space, there were a few children playing. They were mostly dressed in coarse cloth, and only one of them was dressed in ordinary cloth clothing.

At that moment, a woman dragged the child wearing cloth clothes away, while that child threw a tantrum, not wanting to leave.

The children wearing coarse cloth innocently looked at the scene in front of them. They could not understand why the woman was dragging that child away when they had been playing so happily before.

The woman angrily raised a hand and said, “If you keep crying, I’ll hit you. They’re the children of Criminals and are also Criminals. If you play with them, you might turn out like them in the future. Our Majesty doesn’t like those people, so do you want to be like them? Don’t you want to be a Minister in the future?”

Hearing this, the little boy stopped crying. He did not understand what a Criminal was, but he did not want to be someone who his Majesty did not like, so he could only reluctantly leave.

The children in coarse clothes had been quite happy before, but sensing the strange gazes around them, they lowered their heads and started to cry.

Zhao Fu could not help but walk over, and he handed the children a gold coin, smiling as he said, “Good kids, be strong. Go and buy some yummy food with this.”

Seeing that Zhao Fu had taken out a gold coin, the foreman could not help but conclude that Zhao Fu really was a Young Sir from a rich family. He did not know Zhao Fu’s true identity, and that to Zhao Fu, one gold coin was just like a rock on the ground.