Jiang Shouzhong smiled, gently wiped the dust off the woman's cheek, and began speaking at his own pace.
He didn't tell cold jokes; instead, he recounted amusing little stories that matched the atmosphere of ancient times, occasionally mixing in folk tales or musings about the "fantasies" of future worlds.
Toward the end, he started rambling about innovative systems, such as those involving the military, law, education, and people's livelihoods.
Xiao Lingqiu wasn't interested in so-called joke stories, but she was deeply intrigued by Jiang Shouzhong's visions of the future.
Especially those societal structures devoid of imperial power.
For someone like the Empress Dowager, who was accustomed to the primacy of monarchy, this concept was baffling.
Xiao Lingqiu initially wanted to denounce the man's absurd fantasies, but part of her secretly longed for them. In the end, she rationally responded:
