Queen Crash Course

Queen Crash Course

The once-deserted liaison office was suddenly flooded with countless phone calls.

The liaison office had only three landlines and one operator, who was immediately overwhelmed. As soon as Lin Wen arrived, he transferred two people over to serve as temporary operators.

Yet it still did nothing to ease the rush. Most callers were asking about the Main Artery Plan, with a few additional questions thrown in; only a small number asked about the Discretionary Authority and the new commandery governor.

Lin Wen gave them a slip of paper containing standard answers. Anything not on it was to be answered with, "I don't know."

Then Lin Wen raced to the largest hotel in Huai Town and, in his capacity as commandery governor, booked every room for the next seven days.

He then raced to Huai Town's best restaurant, rented out the entire establishment in the name of the commandery governor, and told them that distinguished guests would soon arrive, ordering them to prepare a proper reception.

Since the governor's official car had only left a few days ago, the terrified hotel and restaurant owners carried out the order with meticulous care, without worrying about payment.

Only Lin Wen knew that if the plan failed, he would probably become the first high-ranking official in the world to leave an IOU.

He raced back to the Commandery Administrative Office and discovered that the commandery governor actually had an official car, parked right beside the office building. He nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

But he had no time to complain. He swallowed it back down and instructed the reception staff to wash his car clean.

He immediately went back to take a shower and changed into the commandery governor's official uniform.

What else was missing?

Lin Wen's mind whirred as he recalled how big shots had always made their entrances in his previous life.

Right—lackeys.

Lackeys were easy to find. Though he was a new official and did not yet have a dedicated secretary, as the lord of an entire commandery, gathering a crowd to fill out the scene could not have been simpler.

Lin Wen immediately turned toward the security department, but after taking two steps, he stopped again. Bringing a bunch of guards along as lackeys to a business meeting seemed a little inappropriate, didn't it?

He was not some triad boss forcing people to eat shit. He was just conducting ordinary business negotiations.

What he needed was a sharp, capable, beautiful, charming female secretary with outstanding poise—gold-rimmed glasses on her face, a women's suit jacket above, a tailored skirt below, dressed properly and carrying herself generously, documents in hand, high heels on her feet, following step by step behind the boss. Better yet, white stockings or black stockings. When the two emerged one before the other, wouldn't the aura rise instantly? Wouldn't the boss immediately look reliable?

But where was he supposed to find a female secretary of that caliber on such short notice?

Lin Wen ran through every possibility in his head and resisted using [Immortal's Guide]. His Primordial Spirit was only at 60% right now, and he still needed it for emergencies later. If it proved insufficient and forced him to use Good Karma, that would be a devastating loss.

Though this matter was important, Good Karma should still be conserved whenever possible. It was not to be used unless the moment was truly critical.

After thinking it over and over, Lin Wen could only think of that laundry woman. She was the only one who looked as though she knew even a little about dressing up.

But could this work?

Lin Wen had no confidence.

He could only give it a try first.

Back in his office, he called in the laundry woman and briefly explained what he needed.

The laundry woman's eyes immediately lit up, and she agreed again and again.

But Lin Wen was still uneasy, so he told her to change first and come back for him to see.

The laundry woman left in high spirits. Roughly ten minutes later, she returned. The moment she pushed open the door, Lin Wen saw her standing there, flushed crimson and twisting about shyly. Did she have some kind of illness?

And her clothes were far too improper. Her women's suit jacket hung crookedly, exposing even her shoulders. Did an undershirt really have such a plunging neckline? There was no tie either, and pale white flesh swayed before her chest; clearly, she was not wearing underwear. Her skirt was even more outrageous, as short as a bikini, exposing two long, pale legs bright enough to blind the eye. She was not even wearing black or white stockings.

She looked exactly like a streetwalker from the red-light district. Lin Wen wanted to tell her to get lost, but he could not bear to waste a spell finding someone else.

So he could only patiently instruct her. "You can't wear clothes like that. I'll be taking you to a business meeting later, and you'll temporarily accompany me as my female secretary, understand? Your attire needs to be formal, appropriate, and dignified."

Fang Weiwei's face reddened prettily, and her voice was as faint as a mosquito's. "But I don't know how... Could you teach me how to wear it properly?"

Lin Wen was annoyed to death. He directly found an article on dress etiquette online, changed a few words, printed it out, and tossed it to her. "Hurry up and figure it out yourself. If you still can't dress properly, don't come back."

Fang Weiwei bit her red lip, almost unable to believe her ears. But when she saw Commandery Governor Lin using an electronic computer with extreme familiarity, fear still outweighed everything else in her heart. She did not even dare feel resentment, only gathered up her clothes and hurried away.

This time, Lin Wen was truly furious. He discovered that someone was sabotaging his hired-comment posts. Besides questioning him, they were posting pictures of horribly rotten spellcasting materials, disgusting many of the people who had come for the images and driving them away.

Due to flaws in some websites, they could not distinguish between the thread starter and ordinary commenters. They thought Lin Wen was deliberately disgusting them, protesting and reporting the posts one after another. They claimed he was ruining the forum environment and called for site administrators to intervene.

As a result, his hired-comment threads on several websites were tossed into the recycle bin.

The recycle bin was a forum section with far fewer people. Lin Wen furiously battled the troublemakers online, spewing obscenities and sending regards to their ancestors, but it was useless.

Lin Wen could only change tactics and spam advertisements in replies beneath posts on major forums.

By the afternoon, people began arriving.

Huai Town's transportation was reasonably convenient. It lay at the easternmost edge of Long Mountain Commandery, close to West Hu City, practically on the fringe of the civilized world. Beyond Huai Town, one stepped straight into a backward, primitive abyss.

These people were investors from Central Province, seven of them in total. The reception staff had long since received Commandery Governor Lin's orders and warmly welcomed them.

Since they had arrived too quickly, Lin Wen could only receive them first in the commandery governor's office.

He activated the Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart again. This time, it was fresh—a brand-new eight hours.

His Primordial Spirit fell to 50%.

Lin Wen did not let his mind wander to other matters. Instead, he listened carefully to the conversation, occasionally switching off the Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart to manually guide the topic.

The discussion lasted more than an hour. After Lin Wen showed them the Discretionary Authority document and his revised Empire Main Artery Plan, the group's attitude became noticeably more respectful.

Still, neither side laid their cards on the table. They merely exchanged some information before taking their leave.

Lin Wen rubbed his brow, somewhat exhausted. He did not know whether the Empire's investment climate was unfriendly or Long Mountain Commandery's environment was poor, but these arrivals were all extremely wary. Even documents from the highest levels could not completely reassure them.

The moment he saw off this batch, another arrived. Lin Wen swiftly rose to receive them. There was no one here who could share his burden; only he, Long Mountain Commandery's star attraction, could receive the guests.

After all, only he possessed the golden-rose signboards of Imperial Hero and Imperial Discretionary Authority.

Batch after batch arrived, and Lin Wen had no choice but to speed things up so the other guests would not wait too long. It continued until nine that night.

A total of thirteen people decided to stay at the hotel Lin Wen had arranged.

The gains should be decent.

Lin Wen shut off the Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart that he had activated for the second time. Seven and a half hours remained.

His Primordial Spirit fell to 40%.

He had to get a good rest tonight.

Otherwise, Lin Wen thought, his Primordial Spirit definitely would not be enough.

Most of today's visitors had come from East Qin Province and nearby Central Province.

Tomorrow, guests from other provinces would arrive, though none from too far away. He had no ability to advertise across the entire Empire, and even if he did, he did not want to wait. At the latest, the day after tomorrow, he would begin slaughtering fat sheep.

Just as Lin Wen was about to sleep, the door suddenly opened again.

Lin Wen looked up. Wasn't that the laundry woman? He had nearly forgotten about her.

This time, her attire was finally normal: a pale blue women's suit, a white round-collared blouse, and a lovely bow tie. The colors were fresh, her makeup elegant, and the tailored cut of her clothing complemented her delicate face and pinned-up hair, making her look exceedingly dignified and poised. The gold-rimmed glasses perched on her nose added another touch of intelligence and grace.

Her skirt was of an appropriate length, perfectly displaying her flawless figure. Pale white stockings concealed the dazzling whiteness of her thighs, making her elegance restrained and seamless.

Who would have thought? This ugly duckling was quite beautiful after all—a hidden white swan.

The only thing that somewhat ruined her temperament was the fearful, forced smile on her face, the look of someone desperately trying to please him.

"Very good." Lin Wen clapped his hands. "You pass, but you're still missing one thing. That one thing is the finishing stroke that brings the dragon to life."

Fang Weiwei seemed about to speak, but Lin Wen interrupted her. "Listen to me now. Take this." He handed her the Discretionary Authority document.

The moment Fang Weiwei saw the golden dragon-patterned seal at the top, her hand nearly shook hard enough to drop the document. Fortunately, she steadied herself in time.

"Hold it properly!" Lin Wen said. "Hold it in your left hand, raise your arm, and rest the document naturally against your chest. Let your right hand hang naturally. Good, just like that."

"Straighten your waist. A woman looks ugliest when she bends and hunches over. Straighten up. I don't want to say it a third time."

"Good. Chin up, chest out, look at me. Look at me!"

"Treat me like a simp. What's a simp? It's, uh, a lapdog that circles around you... What do you mean you don't dare? If I tell you to do it, you do it."

"Good. I'm the simp now, and you're the goddess. How should a goddess treat a simp? With contempt, disregard, indifference. Look straight ahead and blur me into the background."

"Damn, this cultural gap is huge. No matter how I explain it, you don't understand. Just pretend you're Wu Zetian... You don't know Wu Zetian? Oh, right, you couldn't possibly know her. Just imagine you're an emperor, the Empire's only female emperor."

Those words had an enormous negative effect. Terror filled Fang Weiwei's eyes, and she nearly fled through the door.

Fortunately, Lin Wen grabbed her. Only then did he remember that the Empire had an emperor, and that joke could not be made carelessly.

"I was making an analogy. Do you understand what an analogy is?"

It took quite some soothing before Fang Weiwei finally calmed down.

"Then just imagine you're a queen. Just pretend—only pretend, that's all. Um... His Majesty the Emperor took a fancy to your beauty and was bewitched by your looks, so he made you a queen. Yes, so you're a queen now. Close your eyes and imagine it carefully, then open them again."

The effect of those words far exceeded Lin Wen's expectations. When Fang Weiwei opened her eyes again, that intense arrogance, that noble air which looked down upon all beneath heaven, that bearing of sole supremacy—paired with her perfect outfit—instantly crushed the entire room with her presence.

"Good!" Lin Wen praised. "That's it. Remember how you felt today. When you appear with me tomorrow and the day after, look at those developers with that gaze. Remember? Go back now. If you do well, I'll promote you to a real secretary."

Fang Weiwei returned the document to Commandery Governor Lin, and her imposing aura immediately faded. She looked dazed, as though she could not believe that had been her state just moments earlier.

Night shrouded the Commandery Administrative Office building. Only the commandery governor's office remained lit.

Fang Weiwei hesitated for two seconds, but ultimately did not say it. She had originally planned to stay tonight no matter what; even if she had to grovel, she would grovel her way into Commandery Governor Lin's bed.

But she recalled the confidence she had just felt—that intense, illusory, real, intoxicating, indescribable beauty. It seemed to have filled the emptiness in her soul, leaving her utterly unable to face her lowly self.

In the end, Fang Weiwei said nothing and walked out of the commandery governor's office.

Lin Wen, meanwhile, had long since entered the land of dreams.