"Please wait a moment, sir. Your wine and dishes will be out shortly!" The waiter cheerfully served the tea first, then hurried off to the kitchen.
Sipping his tea slowly, Shi Mingda listened to the storyteller recount tales of heroes in the chaos at the end of the previous dynasty. They were mostly fabrications. Shi Mingda had heard this story cycle before and knew that, in the end, the protagonists would enter the service of the founding emperor, help him pacify the realm, and then retire into seclusion.
"Tsk, tsk. A different broth, but the same old medicine. All the most popular stories are about the martial world during the previous dynasty's turmoil. Why does no one dare talk about the martial world today?" Shi Mingda shook his head and sighed.
Still, as a member of the Imperial City Office, he knew why no one dared, even as he lamented it.
After all, the realm was now at peace, with troops stationed throughout the land. The emperor and the high officials had all made it clear that they did not wish to see the martial world flourish. Anyone who invented a story about the present martial world risked offending someone, no matter how they told it.
Better to invent stories set in the waning years of the previous dynasty. Even if they depicted the Former Wei authorities as utterly worthless, they would not incur the displeasure of Great Zheng's officials.
After all, it was a fact that oppressive officials had driven the people to rebellion at the end of the previous dynasty. Without that backdrop, the Ji family would never have had its turn to rule the realm.
As he was thinking this, he suddenly heard several people at the neighboring table begin to argue.
Perhaps they knew a little