Chapter 7: Nobody cares what His Majesty eats for lunch during the live broadcast.
After Shi Yi went to report, he learned what this new department did. The emperor of Manla was required to conduct one or two live video conferences with the people of the whole country every month, which was a tradition that had been passed down from the Asta period.
Asta herself is a master at manipulating public opinion. She has a large number of live stream fans and has been passionate about "media governance" from her school days to becoming a mercenary commander—using media to manipulate people's hearts and minds and gain the power of discourse.
But in reality, she had already been collaborating privately with the biggest media outlet at the time during her student years. One wanted fame and the other wanted profit, and they successfully propelled themselves onto the world stage.
Asta's success is inseparable from her achievements, but even more so from the media that has always served her.
It was probably under Asta's guidance that Sklag I was transformed from a ruthless emperor into a leader with a steadfast, reserved, and just character. The effect was very good. During the later part of his reign, he enjoyed very high public support, so later emperors followed suit.
Sklag II, often referred to as the emperor most like Sklag the Great, continued his iron-fisted style, but in recent years, due to his involvement in wars, he has drawn considerable criticism from the public.
So after discussing it with the Foreign Affairs Office, the Royal Family, with His Majesty's approval, started a monthly video conference to cultivate a positive public image and try to boost Sklag II's approval rating.
“Actually, we’ve done similar live-streamed connections before, but His Majesty is straightforward and gets annoyed by all sorts of strange questions, so the Ministry of Foreign Affairs handles them on his behalf. In recent years, His Majesty has been frequently on the battlefield, so this activity has been canceled,” said Lin Xian, Shi Wei’s new superior and head of the first technical team in the Information Department.
"This time, the boss said we have to do it seriously, to make it outstanding and unique. I'm truly impressed—before, some brain-dead saint kept chasing after the Emperor asking why we were fighting a war of national defense, saying things like, 'How can we face the fallen Allied people?'" Lin Xian rolled his eyes and said to Shi Wei, "If he used the Empire's soldiers as an excuse, His Majesty would feel a little guilty. But the Allied people—it would be better if they were all dead!"
The subordinate next to him coughed and said, "Team leader, we can't be too aggressive! If word gets out, it'll be used against us again..."
"I'm radical? My wife always thinks I'm a weakling!" Lin Xian said indignantly, then continued to Shi Wei, "You're in charge of removing comments, it's very simple!"
Shi Wei was still a little nervous: "Actually, I'm better at post-production. I get nervous if I go to the set. Can we find someone else?"
Her assigned task was to monitor the live broadcast when His Majesty was on camera and answer questions from the live chat.
Lin Xian patted her shoulder: "There's no other way, Xiao Weiwei. The location is in His Majesty's study, so not too many people can come in. Our group is newly formed, and it's all Alphas. The guards' checks are a real pain. Only Omegas won't be stripped naked for a check!"
Shi Wei sighed; she knew that the high salaries offered by the palace weren't so easy to earn.
"I don't understand. Since His Majesty and we all know we'll be scolded, why do we still hold this event?"
Lin Xian flipped through the schedule and sighed, "It's just giving the people a channel to vent. Our boss is still hoping that the Emperor can win the hearts of the people through live broadcasts. If the Foreign Affairs Office continues to do this, it will be shut down."
Since the Emperor took office, he has adopted a tough style of action, preferring to take action rather than talk, so the Foreign Affairs Office has gradually become a mere formality.
"I've seen your resume. Your background is very clean, which is why I recommended you. Cherish this opportunity." Lin Xian began to skillfully deceive Shi Wei.
“…Thank you.” Shi Wei said, feeling slightly annoyed.
Isn't it because she's powerless, weak, and an Omega, making her a perfect scapegoat?
Imperial officials are very good at making empty promises.
Before the first live stream, Shi Wei did her homework thoroughly, specifically digging up Asta's and previous emperors' live stream records.
Asta's experience is not a good reference point. He profited from both Alpha and Omega, maneuvering among various factions... well, it's simply impossible to replicate.
Then look at Scolag I. Well, he often does live streams with Asta, and Asta basically controls the flow. There's not much to learn; it's basically just showing off their love. So, it turns out that playing the true love persona is so popular with the public?
It seems there's a reason why "The Cold-Hearted Colonel Falls in Love with Me" is so popular.
However, it is common knowledge that His Majesty has a very poor relationship with his deceased wife, and he has not remarried since being widowed for more than 20 years. It is estimated that he has little interest in matters of love and sex.
This road is also ruined.
Then we'll have to take a special route!
His Majesty's grandfather succeeded in this way. It is said that the charming emperor had been a slut to countless Omegas and even Alphas, fathering countless children. In the end, a genetic mutation gave birth to the lineage of the Great Emperor.
The empire did not split during his reign, and he managed to hold out until the Great Emperor took control of the military before he died. He can be considered a remarkable figure.
But as for being charming and alluring, well, she thought of the Emperor's eyes—and shuddered.
Forget it, she shouldn't worry about it. Anyway, if the sky falls, the leaders will hold it up.
It's so nice to catch fish and paddle in the water.
Sure enough, once people give up the competition and start to slack off, their mindset becomes peaceful.
When she saw His Majesty again, she was no longer nervous and even performed a perfect curtsy.
The location was the Emperor's study. The enormous desk had been cleared out, confidential paper documents had been put away, and only some ordinary decorations remained on the desk.
"Lock up the 270-degree space, set up backup cameras on both sides, raise the main camera..." The camera crew was setting up, and His Majesty was already in place, dressed in casual clothes.
He was very handsome, with neat, short, dark blue-black hair and a cold, aloof demeanor.
The most striking feature is the eyes, which are blue, representing the pure bloodline of the royal family.
It is said that His Majesty has two sons, only one of whom has blue eyes, and they are dark blue. There was once a rumor that the two princes were not His Majesty's bloodline. After the Emperor beheaded a few of them, no one dared to say it anymore.
Shi Wei was staring blankly at the screen while tapping on it. She was in a blind spot of the camera, and all the staff were in this 90-degree blind spot. Several big shots were sitting next to His Majesty, and it looked like a tea party.
In fact, everyone was quite worried, including Shi Wei. If His Majesty were to overturn the table, she would be the first to be affected.
"Alright, start the countdown, Your Majesty. The connection will be established in ten seconds," Lin Xian said, tapping a few times on the floating screen.
The tracking camera locks on, the live stream begins... oh no, the fan meet-up starts.
To be on the safe side, an online army had been arranged in advance, but it was clear that His Majesty was still very popular, and the number of online viewers quickly reached one billion.
The host then quickly and briefly recounted the empire's recent developments, and also explained some special events related to people's livelihoods.
After the keyword blocking was upgraded, the comments section became much cleaner, and there were no more extreme remarks like "Your Majesty, I want to have your babies" or "You stupid dog."
However, there were still many people spamming the chat, and Shi Wei and the others were chatting in the group:
"Not bad, not bad, they didn't start causing trouble right away."
"Why are you still refreshing? Isn't each person only allowed to post ten messages?"
"They created a bunch of fake accounts, there's nothing we can do, we can't ban them..."
"Everyone's clamoring to ask questions in the live chat, it seems like nobody's listening to what His Majesty is saying."
Shi Wei rubbed her hands together and began to pray that nothing strange would come up.
"Okay, now it's time to draw comments. The system will automatically filter questions, so please pay attention to the comment format and content." After the host announced this, the number of comments on the screen reached a peak.
Many people are asking: "Is it a random draw or do you choose yourselves?"
They all seem to be people just looking for fun.
The off-stage host laughed and replied, "It's a manual selection process. There are people there who can pause the game, and you can be selected for any question you ask."
The camera then cut to Shi Wei, who was standing in front of the floating screen.
"Start asking questions, and pause randomly within one minute."
The number of comments surged instantly. Since His Majesty had to answer whatever the question was, everyone was very enthusiastic.
Shi Wei couldn't see the comments at all; her eyes were blurry. Everyone was looking at her, as if even the Emperor was watching her.
"I'm so nervous," she thought, taking a deep breath and pressing pause.
The first comment popped up, and the office fell silent for a moment. Shi Wei was slightly embarrassed.
"Your Majesty, what would you like to eat for lunch?"
She thought to herself, "This must be a Sino language person—a language family that evolved from Classical Chinese, and they use what they eat as a way of greeting each other."
His Majesty paused for a moment, without answering immediately.
After a long pause, he finally said, "Sorry, I don't know what I'm having for lunch today."
The emperor's advisors also fell silent. They could talk all day about state affairs, the situation, and world developments, but when asked what the emperor's lunch was, no one knew.
Shi Wei's hands were shaking. She saw the Vice Minister of Finance trying to suppress a laugh, and then the comments section was flooded with messages:
Why are all these bigwigs stammering?
"What kind of problem is this...?"
"Have the chef bring it out for everyone to see!!!"
"Bring it here! I don't want to eat, I just want to look! I want to see the banquet of seventy-two states!"
His Majesty thought for a moment and tried to answer: "My lunch is the same as everyone else's, a standard meal. My assistant prepares it for me in advance. Yesterday it was eggplant, beef, um... I forgot, anyway, it was pretty much the same."
"I don't believe it! I ate eggplant and beef yesterday too. I don't believe Your Majesty would eat that!"
"Standard meal? Doesn't that mean one person sits at a long table, surrounded by all sorts of delicious food?"
...
"There's nothing I can do if you don't believe me; I did eat a work meal." King Sklag II appeared calm. He glanced at Shi Wei, who was frowning as she studied the comments, and asked, "What was your work meal yesterday?"
"Huh?" Shi Wei was stunned for a moment. The microphone automatically flew to her side. She said blankly, "Salted egg yolk eggplant, spicy beef jerky, braised tofu with scallions, sour soup hot pot, stir-fried cabbage with vinegar, eight-treasure gourd duck, fish..."
"Stop—" Her recitation of the menu was interrupted. His Majesty frowned at her and said, "Why do I only have five dishes? Aren't all working meals the same?"
Shi Wei, who was already dumbfounded, said: "You can add it yourself."
Can the chefs in the palace compare to the automated cafeteria in a company? They prepare top-quality food entirely by hand. Although it's called a work meal, it's more like a buffet with different dishes every day, so everyone can choose what they like.
As long as you can finish it, no one cares how much you eat.
The Emperor sighed: "It must have been the medical team's request, so they only gave me five dishes, two vegetarian and three meat dishes, to ensure a balanced diet."
Even the taste is exactly the same, unchanged for more than a decade.
Shi Wei saw speechlessness in His Majesty's eyes.
The comments section was filled with laughter.
Oh no, will His Majesty cut the meal allowance?
She really likes the royal chef.
Perhaps her inner thoughts were written all over her face, for His Majesty glanced at her and said, "It's alright, what you want to eat is your business."
Bullet comments—
"Great, everyone will only have five dishes tomorrow."
"The Emperor is a bit depressed, haha, they eat better than me, hahaha..."
"Two out of the five dishes are vegetarian, which is indeed a bit simple. Is it really necessary?"
"As long as nothing goes wrong with the food, safety comes first. I bet some of the dishes that were just read out will never appear on His Majesty's menu."
"Doesn't anyone think the dishes we just ordered were delicious...?"
"To be honest, those things sound delicious. Is the young lady from the Sino language family? The taste is very similar to ours."
...
The topic has veered off course quite a bit.
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