Chapter 15: Competition and the Civil War Start

 

Zhuzi city, tailor shop

 

Today a young man comes into the tailor shop to buy fabric and rent a tailor room to make clothes. Although it was unusual, the shop owner didn’t care as long as the customer paid.

 

The chubby male shop owner and a few seamstresses are in a daze watching Zou Jie's fast and smooth hand movements while cutting and sewing cloth.

 

“Can you do it like that, man?”

 

The middle-aged seamstress shakes her head. "Impossible; even if we could, there would be mistakes, and we would need to redo it again.”

 

“If we hire him to enter the competition this year, can we win?” The chubby male shop owner's eyes sparkle.

 

“Yes.” The middle-aged seamstress is not lying. With the young man's skill, if he is the second beast, no one will claim to be the first.

 

Zou Jie, without stopping, makes several clothes for at home, hunting, and going out. Most people, including the shop owner, thought he didn’t have money because of his clothes.

 

Like people say, the clothes make the man. At the Bai kingdom, the brothels give him money for curing syphilis, and his last patient, Miss Qiao Fen from Hundreds of Flower Brothel, also gives him money before he leaves.

 

However, since coming to the Qin Empire, there has been no income coming in. Because of that, he decided to stop curing people for free and live in the Shunan Bamboo Forest. In the forest, there are animals and plants that he can sell.

 

A few hours later, Zou Jie looked at the clothing that he had made and nodded in satisfaction.

 

The shop owner comes forward and, after some pleasantry, talks about the tailor competition that was created by the brothels in the city. The chubby shop owner wants him to be their tailor shop representative and promises to pay Zou Jie, and the reward all belongs to him. The shop owner only wants the name to promote his shop.

 

Zou Jie agreed, and after discussing what to prepare, he would come when the competition started.

 

A few days later, at the competition venue, there were a lot of people. The sponsors of the competition, the brothel owners and courtesans, are sitting and talking.

 

The contestants are all waiting for the competition to start in front of them. There are fabrics and other materials.

 

However, among all the female seamstresses, one young man is joining the competition. The male spectators make fun of him, while the females gossip; some of them even blush.

 

The courtesans look at him with interest.

 

“He looks familiar.” Madam Lin Ru, from hundreds of flower brothels, murmured She had seen a drawing of physician Zou from her comrade in Bai Kingdom. But she is not sure because physician Zou is not a seamstress.

 

Zou Jie wears an azure robe, making him look attractive, and since he is training in martial arts and has been eating well, his body no longer looks skinny.

 

A beautiful woman walks on the high platform to make an announcement.

 

“Good morning, everyone. The tailor competition has been sponsored by the brothels in the city. The courtesans will vote for the most beautiful clothes. The winner will be rewarded with this year's champion signboard and 100 sliver tael!”

 

“Now the competition starts!”

 

The contestants begin to cut the fabric.

 

Zou Jie is not in a hurry; beside him is a human-sized object covered with cloth. When he revealed what was underneath, it was a headless and armless wooden mannequin. However, because of the mannequin's body shape, it looks like a real woman. The man is getting excited while the woman blushes. Some parents even cover their children's eyes with their hands.

 

“What is that? Its shape is like a woman's body.”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

“Do you think he sells the wooden mannequin?”

 

His friend looks at him strangely.

 

“What?”

 

Zou Jie ignored the audience's reaction and began to move his hand. The audience had never seen someone cut and sew so fast.

 

He combines martial arts and sewing knowledge. Because of that, his movement is fast.

 

The first thing he made was a long-sleeved upper garment made from silk.

 

Zou Jie, once finished, wears the green upper garment on the mannequin. After that, he made the lower garment. The other seamstress still had a long way to go.

 

“How can he do it so fast?”

 

“The clothes look beautiful.”

 

Zou Jie began to embroider flower patterns on the upper garment.

 

At the end of the competition, there are no surprises; after voting, the winner is Zou Jie.

 

The winner is invited to go to the restaurant to celebrate and receive the reward. The happiest person is the chubby male tailor shop owner.

 

Madam Lin Ru invited Zou Jie to hundreds of flower brothels after the celebration. He is surprised because Lin Ru knows Qiao Fen from the Bai kingdom. She is the last patient that he cured of syphilis before going to the Qin Empire.

 

Madam Lin Ru never thought Zou Jie was a physician. She is just asking to think it was truly him. After that, Madam Lin Ru explains and invites Zou Jie to join the demon sect.

 

Zou Jie is surprised that hundreds of flower brothels belong to the demon sect.

 

From Madam Lin Ru's explanation, the demon sect is a group of good people that have been prosecuted by the government and marital alliance. Nevertheless, Zou Jie had heard many nefarious things that the demon sect had done to innocent civilians.

 

“How about it? If you join, we will give you wealth and any woman that you want.” Madam Lin Ru said it coquettishly.

 

After contemplating, Zou Jie agreed to join the demon sect. He was curious about the demon sect martial arts, and if he refused, he had a feeling that Madam Lin Ru would kill him. Since he knows the secret that hundreds of flower brothels are related to the demon sect,

 

He also senses a group of people waiting outside the room. If his life is in danger, he can flee in the future.

 

“Can I ask for advance payment?” Zou Jie grins. Since he can’t flee, let's take advantage of the situation. He takes a glance at Madam Lin Ru's plum bosom and curvy body.

 

“Sure, how much do you want?” Madam Lin Ru has already prepared a lot of money.

 

“I want you.” Zou Jie gazes at her beautiful face.

 

Madam Lin's first reaction is shock, but she soon smiles. In the end, men are all the same; the only different physician Zou, like a mature woman. She agreed flirtatiously.

 

Both of them were passionate that night until morning. Zou Jie's body almost breaks while Madam Lin Ru is full of energy.

 

-

 

The civil war starts and corpses are scattered on the battlefield. The first prince and his allies march their army in the direction of the capital city. The defending Qin generals, who were loyal to the new Qin emperor but refused to surrender, died, and their surrendering army merged with the first prince's army.

 

The other empires and kingdoms just watch. Because they know that a lean camel is bigger than a horse. Especially for the kingdoms that were close to the Qin empire if they tried to take advantage of this situation. The Qin Empire will retaliate in the future once the civil war is over.

 

There is another shocking news: the former Qin emperor passed away after being in a coma, and the new Qin emperor wanted a ceasefire for arranging the funeral.

 

The first prince agreed, and at the same time, he moved his army closer to the capital city as an excuse to attend his father's funeral.

 

Qin Capital City, Imperial Palace

 

“Damn it, what should we do?" The Qin emperor smashes his fist on the armrest.

 

Below the dragon throne, there are many officials and generals. However, most of them are silent.

 

“Your Majesty, we can send a message to the army at the border and other cities to return to the capital city.” A newly promoted general spoke. He is from the second prince faction, and since the second prince became a Qin emperor, he and others have been promoted to high ranks of official and general.

 

“How long does it take to gather all the army?” The Qin emperor calmed down.

 

“A week, we only need to hold on until they arrive.”

 

“Does the martial alliance reply to our message?"

 

“Yes, they will not get involved with the civil war.”

 

The Qin emperor didn’t show any reaction. But inside, he is cursing the Martial Alliance. The one who exposed the appearance of the demon sect is him. It looks like he needs to ask the demon sect for help.

 

After the court ends, there are only a few people in the throne room.

 

One of them is Chancellor Li, although he manages to retain his position. However, the Qin emperor had stripped most of his power, and because of the first prince's rebellion, many of his followers fled together with the first prince.

 

“Chancellor Li, what do you think?”

 

“Your majesty. Although we can win, the casualties will be high. How about pardoning the princes and princesses' crimes?"Chancellor Li disagreed with the Qin emperor's intention to kill his sibling; until now, he was still in disbelief that the deceased former emperor would choose the second prince as the Qin emperor.

 

“Find a way to prevent my traitorous brother from entering the city with his army.” The Qin emperor didn’t want to pardon them. As long as he can wait, the final winner will be him.

 

After Chancellor Li left, Eunuch Ye was waiting for the Qin emperor's instructions.

 

“Eunuch Ye, can the demon sect do anything to help?”

 

“Don’t worry, Your Majesty, the demon sect will protect the wall from falling.”

 

“Hahaha, once the war is over, I shall reward the demon sect for your contribution.”

 

“Thank you, Your Majesty!” Eunuch Ye kneels with his head on the floor and sneers. The demon sect already knew that the Qin emperor betrayed them by sending a secret message to the Martial Alliance. When the first prince's army arrived, that was the day that the Qin emperor would die.