"...Mulan City is hundreds of thousands of kilometers away from here, what a pity. Mulan City is unusually cold this winter, so it's not worth going now. Let's wait until next summer. If you want to go, you can go with Hui Jie," Fan Chengcai explained, not just blindly agreeing with Quan Caiwei.
Quan Caiwei felt good about Fan Chengcai's attitude.
This equal but polite demeanor was what she admired most.
She didn't like being with people who treated her like an idol, and of course, she didn't like being with people who hated her.
So she rarely interacted with people outside her circle.
Because only within their circle was there true equality. No one had to accommodate anyone else, and no one was trying to take advantage of others or be taken advantage of.
Now, Fan Chengcai gave her almost the same feeling, making her feel relaxed and comfortable.
She thought this trip was quite nice.
Just as they were drinking tea and listening to music, Xia Chujian and her team received their second itinerary.
It was Quan Caiwei's itinerary after five o'clock.
They would go from the Mist Lost Pavilion to the nearby restaurant Yi Sha Ka for dinner.
From now on, they had to go to Yi Sha Ka Restaurant to impose a curfew.
The team members: "..."
Although they knew yesterday that this Tulip Noble Daughter would be dining at Yi Sha Ka, seeing the scale of it now, they truly believed that even if a princess came, it would probably be the same kind of spectacle.
Maybe even less.
Li Fu started the Flying Vehicle and flew towards the Yi Sha Ka's landing pad, gossiping, "Actually, the children of the Four Great Noble Families are not much worse than the Royal Family's children. And they are definitely much stronger than the Imperial Clan's children."
Xia Chujian's eyes widened as she listened.
"Fu Ye, what is the relationship between the Royal Family and the Imperial Clan? Isn't the Imperial Clan the Royal Family?" she asked curiously.
Li Fu said, "The Imperial Clan are members of the Royal Family, but they are not the Royal Family. The Royal Family specifically refers to the branch of the Imperial Clan that ascends to the throne. Those Royal Family members who do not become emperors can only become ordinary Imperial Clan members. They do not have noble titles, only Imperial Clan status, but this status is still equivalent to nobility. It's just not as good as the Four Great Noble Families."
Ping Qiong counted on her fingers and said, "So the Su Family, the Zong Family, the Quan Family, and the Li Family, these Four Great Noble Families, their titles are hereditary and irreplaceable?"
Li Fu said, "Yes, not only hereditary and irreplaceable, but also never stripped of their titles, otherwise why would they be called the Four Great Noble Families?"
"No matter what they do, they are not punished? Even if they commit treason? Or rebellion?" Xia Chujian asked curiously.
Li Fu said, "Of course they will be punished. Whoever commits a crime will be punished, and those who deserve to be killed will be killed, but it will not involve the whole family, so the titles of the Four Great Noble Families have always been stable and passed down within the family."
Xia Chujian continued to ask, "What about other Nobles?"
Li Fu said, "Other Nobles were also passed down from the founding of the country, but although their titles can be inherited, they can also be stripped, unlike the Four Great Noble Families, which are so secure. If they commit a crime, their families will be implicated."
Xia Chujian pondered, "Will there be new Nobles? Rising from commoners?"
Xia Chujian's words made Li Fu silent for a while before saying, "Of course there are, but the conditions are very harsh."
"Why?"
"Because the number of noble titles in the Beichen Empire is fixed. It was set at the beginning of the founding of the country. There are only three thousand one hundred and eighty-four in total."
"Four Dukes, which are the Four Great Noble Families."
"Thirty Marquis, sixty Earls, ninety Viscounts, and three thousand Barons."
"Except for the Four Great Noble Families, whose titles are hereditary and irreplaceable, even treason cannot strip them of their titles. Other titles, over the past ten thousand years, have had ups and downs."
"If you want to ennoble a citizen, in addition to meeting various standards, you have to wait until there is a vacancy in the title before you have a chance to be ennobled."
Xia Chujian listened with fascination and continued to ask, "Under what circumstances will a title become vacant?"
Li Fu said expressionlessly, "There are three situations in which a title will become vacant."
"First, committing one of the three major crimes will result in the emperor stripping the title. These three major crimes are rebellion, treason, and disrupting politics, of course, except for the Four Great Noble Families."
"Second, the entire family dies out, and the title is automatically reclaimed. The Four Great Noble Families are also excluded, anyway, both men and women can inherit the title."
"Third, committing a serious criminal offense, such as killing Nobles, Cabinet members, or Senate members, as well as high-ranking military personnel, in addition to the mastermind being sentenced to death, the family will also be implicated, stripped of their title, and even demoted to commoners. And even if they make meritorious contributions in the future, they will never be able to be ennobled again."
Xia Chujian's mouth twitched: "Actually, it's quite beneficial to the Nobles, right? No Noble would be full enough to commit these things, right?"
"It's hard to say, there are all kinds of birds in a big forest," Li Fu sneered.
Xia Chujian didn't care about these details, only sighing, "If that's the case, then there's still hope for commoners or civilians to be ennobled, right?"
Li Fu said, "Yes, as long as there are vacant titles, and the Beichen Empire has two conditions for ennoblement, meeting either one is sufficient."
"Oh?"
"Either have enough military merit, or be elected as a Senator."
"Then who decides?"
"Ennoblement is absolutely the Emperor's right. Neither the Senate, the Cabinet, nor the military can interfere."
Xia Chujian scoffed, "This Beichen Emperor is quite clever. Although it's a so-called constitutional monarchy, he still uses titles to firmly grasp the spines of his subjects."
Because even if a constitutional monarchy is achieved, the privileges of the Nobles are still written into the constitution.
If the Emperor has the exclusive right to ennoblement, then the Emperor still holds a significant portion of power in the regime.
It's not so easy to use a constitution to make the Emperor completely relinquish monarchical power.
Li Fu: "..."
It sounded quite plausible.
As they talked, they soon stopped at the landing pad of the Yi Sha Ka restaurant.
Xia Chujian, Li Fu, and Ping Qiong all put on those human face masks, looking completely different from their usual selves.
The three of them changed into the Quan Family Security's uniform, carried Submachine Guns, got out of the Flying Vehicle, and joined the other security personnel, starting to stand guard outside.
Inside the restaurant, the core personnel of the Quan Family Security were in charge.
Xia Chujian and Ping Qiong circled around, not finding anything suspicious, and sat side by side on the branches of a large tree in the courtyard outside the Yi Sha Ka restaurant, using binoculars to look inside the restaurant.
Xia Chujian said, "The diners inside are all disguised Quan Family Security Personnel, right?"
Ping Qiong was also using binoculars to look inside the restaurant, and upon hearing this, said, "Definitely. I saw Song Mingqian. He's eating delicious food again!"
Xia Chujian silently took out a tube of Low-Level Nutrient Solution from her pocket, and while looking at the delicacies in the binoculars, drank it all in one gulp.
They were heavily guarded for this meal, and there were no problems.
Quan Caiwei also ate very happily.
It wasn't that she hadn't eaten Unicorn Cattle from Guiyuan Star before, but this time the taste was especially different, because this time it was relatively fresh Unicorn Cattle, while what she had eaten before had been frozen for a long time and then thawed.
There was no other way, this Unicorn Cattle was a specialty of Guiyuan Star.
To transport it to Cangge Star, where the Quan Family was located, or to Beichen Star, where the Imperial City was located, it needed to be frozen first, otherwise it would spoil.
Of course, it could also be transported by interstellar spacecraft capable of space jumps, but in that case, the price of Unicorn Cattle would be so high that only a few Nobles could afford it, which was obviously not cost-effective, so no one did it.
Quan Caiwei praised it endlessly, saying, "Sure enough, the freshness of the ingredients is very important. I should come to Guiyuan Star every year to eat Unicorn Cattle."
Fan Chengcai acted nonchalantly, saying, "Actually, Unicorn Cattle isn't the most delicious specialty of our Guiyuan Star."
"Oh? I don't believe there's anything more fragrant than Unicorn Cattle." Quan Caiwei asked curiously.
Fan Chengcai said, "Have you heard of Black Truffle Wild Rhino Pig?"
"...I've heard of it, but I haven't eaten it." Quan Caiwei shrugged. "I heard it's very difficult to catch?"
"Real Black Truffle Wild Rhino Pig meat is absolutely amazing!" Fan Chengcai said animatedly, "Caiwei, you really should come again next year. I'll treat you and take you to Mulan City to eat delicious food! It's the closest to the Exotic Beast Forest."
"Exotic Beast Forest?" Quan Caiwei's eyes flickered. "I've heard many people mention it. Is it really that dangerous there?"
"Very dangerous. You could say that every year, 100,000 Bounty Hunters go to the Exotic Beast Forest, and less than 10,000 can return alive." Fan Chengcai sighed, "Every serving of Black Truffle Wild Rhino Pig meat has countless Bounty Hunters' lives trapped inside."
Quan Caiwei was slightly stunned, shook her head, and said, "In that case, I'd rather not eat it. If so many people have to risk their lives to catch it, I won't eat it no matter how delicious it is."
Fan Chengcai: "..."
He knew he had overdone it, and quickly coughed softly, looking at his older brother Fan Chengqi.
Fan Chengqi smiled and changed the subject, saying, "Chengcai just likes to exaggerate. Actually, Black Truffle Wild Rhino Pig isn't that difficult to catch. There are restaurants in Mulan City that specialize in this dish. If you have time, go take a look. If you don't have time, forget it. Food is about fate."
Quan Caiwei nodded in agreement, saying, "Fan Da Shao is right, food is indeed about fate."
She brought the topic back, "But since the Exotic Beast Forest is so dangerous, should we suggest to the Cabinet that they close the Exotic Beast Forest and stop letting Bounty Hunters make unnecessary sacrifices?"
Fan Chengcai looked disapproving and said seriously, "Caiwei, I know you mean well, but for thousands of Bounty Hunters, you are cutting off their livelihood."
Quan Caiwei was puzzled, "How am I cutting off their livelihood? Isn't it good for them to live?"
Fan Chengcai said sternly, "Caiwei, you really don't understand the lives of ordinary people at the bottom. Although going to the Exotic Beast Forest is dangerous, it is also their only chance to earn big money."
"Where can you earn money without taking risks?"
"They have families to support and want to climb up through their own efforts. If you don't let them enter the Exotic Beast Forest, you will not only cut off their livelihood, but also their path to advancement. Don't you think it's not worth the loss?"
Quan Caiwei smiled slightly and said, "I didn't think it through. Fan Er Shao is right. Come, I'll toast you."
Fan Chengcai naturally took the glass from her hand and said, "You drink juice, I'll drink wine."
With that, he poured Quan Caiwei a glass of Green Yi Fruit juice and himself a glass of red wine.
The two raised their glasses and clinked them together: "To delicious food."
The people at the table cheered, and the atmosphere was very lively.
Xia Chujian watched all this through her binoculars, feeling increasingly uneasy.
That Fan Chengcai, pretending to be a decent person, actually seemed to have made the Tulip Noble Daughter look at him in a new light.
Ping Qiong also saw everything.
She comforted Xia Chujian, "Don't be discouraged. A facade is always fake. I don't believe Fan Chengcai can keep up the act forever."
"...What if he can keep it up for six days?" Xia Chujian asked.
Ping Qiong: "..."
She didn't know how to answer, and she knew in her heart that, judging from the current situation, the possibility of Fan Chengcai keeping up the act for six days was very high.
...
This is the second update for today. Continuing to shout: Monthly tickets, monthly tickets, quickly vote for monthly tickets! Three updates tomorrow. See you at 0:05 tonight!
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