Chapter 8 Tea snacks are so cute even when they're asleep.
In short, the first online meeting was a great success. Lin Xian praised Shi Wei, saying that she had good luck and that the first question she drew made the atmosphere much more relaxed. The subsequent questions about people's livelihood and the war were not so sharp.
Not getting scolded was the biggest victory, and their leader was very happy.
They started trying to persuade the emperor to hold the event once a month, but were ruthlessly rejected.
Lin Xian whispered to Shi Wei, "I heard that His Majesty asked for a change of menu the next day. The medical team said they needed to study it and then gave him a Yin-Yang menu, which was all green and healthy food. His Majesty rejected it, and the head of the diet team was fired. I heard that the menu they gave His Majesty was set five years ago."
So, His Majesty has been eating green, healthy, and nutritious meals for five years?
Shi Wei gave him a pitying look: "If I had to eat the same thing for five years, I would kill myself." Lin Xian nodded, and then said: "You're famous now too. Everyone knows you eat eight dishes in one meal."
Shi Wei was exasperated: "I ordered small portions! Small portions! I didn't waste any!"
Lin Xian glanced at her and smiled, "The publicity department seems to want to boost the buzz. After all, the Emperor was unusually down-to-earth yesterday. Look at the trending topics—"
Opening the Imperial News website, a page that is usually bland and full of current affairs, the top search result was "Unveiling the Emperor's Menu"—that green, healthy, and safe menu with only fifteen dishes besides vegetables.
"So, His Majesty only serves these few dishes for five years in rotation?"
"No way, I watched the live stream that day. I thought the work meals were pretty good, with things like eight-treasure duck and sour soup fish. How come this menu looks so shabby?"
"The Manra Empire in the Gourmet Desert"
The top-rated comments were clearly carefully selected.
With the deliberate guidance of the propaganda department, this matter has generated quite a bit of buzz, mainly because people didn't expect His Majesty to be so simple and unpretentious, which suddenly lowered the standard of living for the royal family.
Although Shi Wei felt that His Majesty didn't care what he ate, giving him nutritional fluids would probably be about the same—
Looking back now, the live broadcast that day was entirely a matter of going with the flow. His Majesty asked her what she wanted to eat, and no matter how she answered, she could make a fuss about it. It turns out that every step was planned out.
Who says Sklag II was cold-blooded and dictatorial? What politician doesn't put on an act?
Shi Wei pouted, annoyed. She still had to take photos of His Majesty's daily life for use by the Foreign Affairs Office and the Propaganda Department.
After His Majesty returned from the battlefield, the Director of the Foreign Affairs Office, Langdon Cage, became incredibly energetic, determined to reverse the Emperor's international image.
When the leader has a brain fart, the soldiers have to run themselves ragged.
Shi Wei is very irritable right now. Since her student days, she has always been the client's subordinate, doing mental work that combines history, culture and art—but to put it bluntly, she is still the client's grandson.
After her animated films became popular, many companies, organizations, and even government departments came to her for collaboration. However, these clients were all very difficult to please. If you asked them whether you wanted Plan A or Plan B, they would say yes or no. — What kind of plan could they possibly want?!
What's even more terrifying than revising the plan eighteen times before finally choosing the first version is the client's vague response.
Now she's facing this situation.
Asking about the shooting time—
The answer was: It depends on Your Majesty's time.
Ask if these shots are okay to film—
The answer was yes, but it had to be compliant with regulations.
Inquire whether the entry/exit application has been approved.
The answer was that the application had expired.
Finally, they found His Majesty's free time, the plan was approved, the personnel access application was approved, and even His Majesty was very cooperative. When she said this, Shi Wei was very surprised. His Majesty was actually very easy to talk to, had no airs, cooperated with the filming crew's requirements, and even asked for her opinion.
I even chatted with her about the last live-streamed exchange meeting.
His Majesty is actually quite easygoing in private.
It doesn't have that serious feel it usually has in formal occasions.
It is truly an honor to meet such a distinguished His Majesty.
However, this good mood was soon ruined by the person in charge of the palace. Shi Yi's department was the "Royal Foreign Affairs Office", which was under the government.
The royal family has dedicated personnel who also pay attention to the royal family's image in the outside world. These people belong to the royal family and their functions are lower than those of government departments—but because they are members of the royal family and have a noble status, they have more say than government departments.
The video had already been reviewed and revised at each level, but it was rejected by the person in charge at the royal family, who pointed out a bunch of problems—this was no good, that was no good.
"Why are there so many opinions?" Shi Wei was exasperated. She had revised these documents time and time again, and she had even lost all her hair. She asked Lin Xian, "What's wrong with it? It's been like this for so many years!"
If you think it's bad, you should reflect on whether you've tried to improve your aesthetic sense!
Even the boss in the office said this film was great!
Lin Xian sighed: "That's how the royal family is. I told you long ago to just submit the first draft. No matter how well you do, they'll reject it a few times."
"You submit a draft first, then pretend to shoot some additional content, and give him a passable one. He rejects it a few times, and then you submit the final version. It'll be approved... You can earn two months' salary by shooting one like this."
A seasoned veteran in the workplace begins to share his experience.
"What do we do now? I don't know how to fix it either," Shi Wei said dejectedly.
Lin Xian patted her shoulder: "Let's reshoot. Go and apply for a reshoot. If it doesn't go through, just rearrange and combine a few shots. If it goes through, just pretend to shoot something else. Just make some minor changes."
Shi frowned slightly: "But it's hard to schedule His Majesty's time again, how long would it take to get an appointment?"
Lin Xian picked up the juice on the table, took a sip, and said to her, "Xiao Weiwei, you have to remember that you are working for the government now. We are different from those capitalists in the business world who only care about results. We value compliance. As long as the process is followed correctly, we won't have to take the blame no matter what the outcome is."
Shi Wei: "..." It seems like I understand, but it also seems like I don't understand.
She glanced at the comedy movies on Lin Xian's computer and wondered if she was being manipulated by those companies. Looking at the relaxed and cheerful atmosphere in the office, she felt that her own involution was disrupting everyone's rhythm.
It seems Lin Xian said it should be finished within three months, and only half a month has passed...
If you can't change the overall environment, then just let it languish along with it.
We should all set it up together.
Feeling guilty for having destroyed another young man's ambition, Lin Xian thought, "But everyone goes through the same thing. We all go to school and work step by step. We have some ability, but not much. As long as we don't commit any crimes, we've already made contributions to the family, so we don't have much ambition."
Seeing that she looked a little listless, Lin Xian handed her the cup and encouraged her, "Keep up the good work! It's good to get to know His Majesty better. This blue pear juice is good. Pour me another cup, and you can try it too!"
Looking at his blue lips, Shi Wei thought he could cosplay as an Alati alien, and finally silently picked up her cup and poured him another one.
So she opened the folder again and applied for another photoshoot appointment. Since it would most likely be rejected anyway, she decided to go and shoot some scenes and stroll around His Majesty's garden.
Her current salary is more than double what she earned at the company, but she does far less work. She also receives various meal and housing allowances, and her workplace is on royal grounds. She has everything she could want. Lin Xian even said that in another six months she can apply for a dormitory and live in the palace.
If this is compensation for the bad luck that happened before, then it's not bad at all.
Life is a balance of loss and gain.
It feels like I suddenly have so much time, and there's nothing to do. I can't go home, and I need to apply to go out and play, which is such a hassle.
As Shi Wei rested her chin on her hand, pondering what to do with her free time these past few days, a message popped up on her personal terminal: her application had been approved.
? ? ?
She carefully reviewed the "Application for Shooting on February 25th by the Foreign Affairs Office" and was surprised to find that it had been approved. They even scheduled a date for her: Day: February 28th/29th, Time: 13:00-14:00. This is a tentative date and is subject to change. Please arrive at the White Sandalwood Palace on time.
She asked Susan next door why the system gave her two days when she only applied for one hour.
Susan shrugged: "You're really lucky. Normally, for matters that aren't A-level or higher, they would schedule you for next month. It means His Majesty is quite free lately. They gave you two days because they weren't sure which day they would be available."
"So I have to go both days?"
“Yes.” Susan nodded, and said sympathetically, “Unfortunately, His Majesty has been busy these past two days, so you’ll just have to wait in vain.”
Sigh, Shi Wei understands now; everyone must cooperate with His Majesty's schedule.
The empire revolves around the emperor.
Damn it, I shouldn't have applied.
On that day, Shi Yi set off from home—she was still renting a place to live outside. Most of her colleagues were native Beijingers who lived nearby, a small number lived in the palace dormitory, and very few of them rented a place to live outside like her.
She clocked in for work, slacked off until lunchtime, quickly ate her meal, and then took a trolleybus to the White Sandalwood Palace, where His Majesty worked. The palace was beautifully constructed, and many white sandalwood trees were planted around it, emitting the unique fragrance of the trees.
This used to be Asta's office, and there was also a mecha training ground.
Most of the palaces in the royal palace are in a retro style, with luxurious decorations, extremely intricate patterns, and a collection spanning a thousand years, showcasing royal taste.
However, the White Sand Palace has been remodeled by Asta, and its overall style is more modern. Countless metal skeletons are used to build floating staircases that appear broken but follow the laws of planetary motion, which is a very typical style of the Chaotic Starfield.
She had a pass and, being an Omega, passed the check quickly and soon arrived at her designated room.
It's strange, the last shoot was outdoors, why is it indoors this time, and this place looks like a lounge.
There is a window covering an entire wall, and an artificial sun shines warmly, filling the whole room with sunlight.
The robot brought her tea and snacks. Today was a reshoot, so she came alone, and she figured she'd be waiting for nothing anyway.
She turned on her personal computer and randomly picked an old movie to watch.
The movie was heartwarming, though I barely remembered the plot. The sun was shining warmly, and Shi Wei was dozing off while holding her personal terminal.
I thought I heard the door open, but then it went quiet again.
Shi Wei was half asleep when she seemed to smell the aroma of gin. The warmth of the sunlight seemed to have been absorbed by something, leaving only a chilling frost. She unconsciously hugged her arms tighter.
Soon the aura intensified, as if enveloping her, and the temperature slowly returned to normal.
Consciousness wandered lazily in the sunlight and this atmosphere, sometimes active, sometimes submerged.
"What kind of spices does the palace use? They smell so good," she thought drowsily.
Wait, the Imperial Palace?
She woke up with a start. Where was she?!
Shi Wei opened her eyes. The surrounding environment had not changed. It was very quiet, and the sunlight was exactly the same.
She breathed a sigh of relief and was about to pat her chest when she realized that a blanket was covering her.
? ? ?
Are the robots in the royal palace really that considerate?
"Awake?" A deep male voice sounded behind her.
A note from the author:
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Emperor: She's actually asleep. She looks so cute even when she's asleep. What should I do? I want to touch her.
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