Chapter 169: Do you want to be the emperor?
"Miss Tu wants to know something?"
Qin Lang made up his mind. No matter what the other party's background was, he couldn't be impatient. He had the patience to take things slowly.
He looked around and saw that people started to come into the hot and sour noodle shop one after another. It was lunchtime around five or six o'clock, and there were many people and the shopkeepers were waiting for the table turnover rate. If they wanted to chat about something, this would not be the right place.
He called the waiter to pay the bill, and Tu Huan said, "Let me do it."
Qin Lang didn't refuse directly, but smiled and asked her, "Which would you like to choose, the meal or the coffee, Miss Tu?"
Tu Huan was stunned, and looking at Qin Lang's generous smile, she couldn't help but laugh.
"I choose coffee."
"I knew Miss Tu was a particular person!"
Qin Lang smiled and paid the bill for two bowls of hot and sour noodles.
The two walked side by side down the stairs drinking coffee. On the way, Qin Lang casually told her some relevant information about the jade seal.
"For us Chinese, the Imperial Seal carries immense weight. It was originally crafted by our ancestor, the unrivaled emperor, after he unified the country. It's engraved with the seal characters 'Mandate from Heaven,' 'Long Live and Prosper.' It was passed down through the ages as a token of our emperor's legacy. The specifics of its material and shape are only recorded in historical texts. Over the past thousands of years, the original Imperial Seal has been lost several times during successive dynasties, and its reappearance has often been accompanied by turmoil and war. To put it simply, whoever obtains this seal will have their ancestors' graves filled with sorrow."
Tu Huan was listening attentively, but was suddenly amused by his teasing words.
“It’s really good stuff.”
Qin Lang also laughed as he walked, "Just talking about this thing, it is indeed a good thing. The value of the jade seal itself is enough for an ordinary person to live a luxurious life for eight lifetimes, not to mention the significance it carries. It is no exaggeration to say that it is priceless."
"Since ancient times, countless heroes have broken their heads over it."
Tu Huan nodded as she listened. As Qin Lang introduced the situation, she seemed to understand more and more why Xie Yuchuan was often distracted and what he asked her after he got the jade seal.
The two of them happened to bypass the descending elevator and didn't have to walk. Tu Huan asked curiously, "Boss Qin, tell me, if you were given a jade seal, how would you feel?"
After hearing this, Qin Lang imagined the scene, unable to suppress the upturned corners of his mouth, and a hint of joy appeared in his voice. He said with a smile: "Don't say it, if one day I really receive a jade seal, the ancestors of our old Qin family will kick open the coffin lids and rush up to shout to me: Good grandson Baba! Hahahahahaha."
Tu Huan thought for a moment and asked seriously, "If you really got it, would you want to be emperor?"
"Ms. Tu, be careful with your steps." Qin Lang reminded her to get off the elevator.
"Thank you very much."
"polite."
The two continued chatting, and Qin Lang followed up on Tu Huan's words, "Well, we've both overthrown the feudal monarchy. Our systems are different, and our national aspirations are also different. If the Imperial Seal were to appear now, it would most likely remain as a cultural relic in a national museum, right?"
Tu Huan nodded.
Qin Lang spoke very honestly, "In our industry, cultural relics and antiques are quite different."
"Why is it different?"
"How is it different? If we talk about this topic, it will never end. Let's take this imperial seal as an example. Suppose that the imperial seal is hidden somewhere, or in the hands of someone. The collector will definitely think that this thing is a high-value antique. Let's not talk about it publicly, but also about it behind the scenes. If the bigwigs in the neighborhood ask you if you have such a thing, would you be tempted?"
Tu Huan thought for a moment and said, "I don't know. This thing is of no use to me."
Qin Lang: “…”
He curled his fingers around the corner of his eye and said to himself, "Then Miss Tu must be the kind of person who would hand over the imperial seal to the country and receive a banner if she were to receive it."
Tu Huan also thought about it seriously and said, "I feel I should hand it over to the country."
"You see, this thing has changed from an antique to a national cultural relic. With its appearance, the history attached to the jade seal has unfolded before everyone, and its meaning has become completely different." Qin Lang smiled and opened the heavy glass door of the coffee shop for her.
Tu Huan nodded to him to express her gratitude, and the two of them entered the store one after another.
At the bar, the waiter pushed up his glasses and said gently, "Hello, what would you like to drink?"
Tu Huan looked at Qin Lang.
Qin Lang: "A cup of hot latte."
Tu Huan said to the waiter, "One hot latte and one iced Americano, thank you."
There were neither too many nor too few people in the store. The two of them found a place facing the street with comfortable lighting and sat down. Soon the waiter brought two cups of coffee. Qin Lang looked at the ice cubes in Tu Huan's cup and felt a toothache.
"Isn't it said that drinking too much cold food is not good for girls?"
Tu Huan said calmly, "Do you know why my grandmother lived to be ninety-nine?"
Qin Lang laughed out loud and raised his hand to apologize, "Sorry! Sorry! I know the joke. Sorry for meddling in my business."
Tu Huan smiled slightly and didn't take this little matter to heart.
Qin Lang took off his coat and draped it over the narration chair, then sat down, folding his long legs as usual, and leaned slightly to take a sip of hot coffee.
"Now let me answer Miss Tu's previous question. The hypothetical question you asked me was, if I were to obtain the Imperial Seal, would I want to be king?"
Tu Huan took out the straw and threw it into the cup, picked up the cup and took a sip, nodded, and waited for his answer.
Qin Lang held the hot cup in his lap, thought carefully, and said, "Discussing this matter requires reference to the historical context. It's unrealistic to discuss this issue in our current context. Just like Miss Tu, people nowadays who obtain a jade seal will either give it to the country, knowing its cultural value, or keep it for themselves. But there's a problem with collecting antiques: they either circulate or reappear with the owner's death. We modern people only consider honor and monetary value."
"Yeah." Tu Huan nodded. "What if it happened in ancient times?"
Qin Lang laughed, "If it were in ancient times, and I had obtained the Jade Seal, I might not be able to control the overwhelming desire in my heart."
Tu Huan laughed when she heard this. "Is it really that serious?"
"As for that." Qin Lang suddenly became serious, but soon he explained to her in a relaxed tone: "If you ignore the meaning of the jade seal, it is just a relatively valuable object. But once it is associated with imperial power, it has extraordinary significance."
"When our Chinese ancestors came to power, they loved to claim that it was the Mandate of Heaven. When they launched a war, they loved to have a legitimate reason. So what is this name?"
Tu Huan listened while drinking coffee.
Qin Lang said, "This name sometimes means being loyal to the emperor while receiving his salary, sometimes it means pleading for the people when they are suffering, and sometimes it means being a rebel and disobeying the emperor to share his worries... and so on. But there is one thing that doesn't need these names, and it is easy to raise this banner."
"Is it the Imperial Seal?"
"Yes, whoever gets the imperial seal will rule the world."
Tu Huan understood, pondered for a moment, and drank a few mouthfuls in succession, "Boss Qin, do you think the merit of following the dragon is great?"
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