LCD The Empress’ Gigolo

Discussion in 'Latest Chapter Discussion' started by jacobpaige, Jul 3, 2018.

  1. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    Series Link: https://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-empresss-gigolo/

    C1: I get the feeling that this guy just likes killing random people for fun. The MC is far too weak to be an assassin, and his method of infiltration far too eye-catching. I can understand locking him up and questioning him, but instantly beheading him is unlikely to be a good idea for a morally upright person.

    C2: I get that she's the FL and that she'll likely be quite nice to him in the future, but he really shouldn't help her any more than absolutely necessary. Anyone that orders beheadings so casually isn't someone good, and giving such a person more power than they already have is a crime against humanity.

    C3: I wonder if he'll return after 3 days or after 10, and how many days will have passed in the other world by then. Also curious if he'll return to his cell or to the road.

    C4: He should probably start carrying a backpack with him containing useful documents and money for the two different worlds.

    But that's for the future. For the past, he should have had one containing useful documents, food and water. He didn't know if they knew he was still in the cell after all.

    C5: "It seemed that anything he had direct contact with would be teleported alongside him between the two worlds." I wonder if that includes people.

    I wonder why they didn't get him any clothes. Bringing someone in his state before the empress might well get them beheaded alongside him.

    C7: Why didn't he at least have them build some form of shade for it?

    If he takes anything he's in contact with, then why doesn't he take his bed? He's transported while sleeping three times now, and his bed has never accompanied him.

    C8: I wonder how he's planning to earn money in his original world. Disappearing for the better part of every fortnight isn't exactly conducive to earning a living. If he can convince the empress to actually pay him, he could bring back things to sell, but I don't know if she'd pay him enough since the value of just about everything (other than a human life) is higher in a feudal society than a modern one, and I doubt he could afford magical items, nor would it be safe or easy to sell them in his own world.

    I wonder if his guards will get in trouble for his injury.

    C9: He really shouldn't have driven his friend away. He could use the help in the real world, and his friend is willing and able to provide it so long as he knows the problem.

    "If you don't die today, I will treat you to drinks." Such magnanimity ;)

    C10: "I'm of higher rank, let me go first!" lol.

    At least it's not just the MC they like to try to behead on sight?

    c11: Well, looks like he has to learn how to stitch wounds in the very near future...

    I'm betting the black mud is worth more than the silver. I wonder if it's something that can be reproduced on Earth though. If not, then a single box likely isn't worth much in terms of resale value.

    C12: Still, if it can't be produced on Earth, then he can't really do much with it. It wouldn't take much for Dayao's supply to dry up if Earth were to really take an interest in it.

    He should probably also order some shelves, have new, specially shaped buckets made, and have them start gathering the raw ingredients for saltpeter.

    C13: "It was too easy to make money in this world. " I think that he's forgetting that he basically belongs to the empress. He can only make money if she's willing to let him. If she wants to, she can also just lock him in a cell and beat him every day that he doesn't solve a problem for her.

    C14: He really should have tested that at home. After all, magic might not work on Earth.

    C15: He should have swapped the cuts and taken 40 on the basis that he wouldn't be available 75% of the time and his friend's family would be doing the lion's share of the work. It would reduce the odds of resentment building up over time due to his continuous absences.

    "I can simply be the front man of this business." No he can't. He's literally not going to exist on Earth 75% of the time.

    Also, if this was his plan for the black mud cream, then why did he melt the ingots? He should have enough money on hand to last a few months if he's not an idiot with money, and the ingots will be necessary to get the black mud cream and its ingredients.

    C16: 7500 Yuan seems a bit cheap for a place like that. Are rent prices really that low in China?

    That aside, that place sounds way too big for a single bloke.

    He had a white collar job that only paid 3200 Yuan? No wonder the rent is so cheap. They underpay people so much that they can't possibly afford higher rents.

    I wonder why it still hasn't occurred to him that the black mud cream is literally magic, and therefore, one or more of its ingredients are likely also magic and thus not available (or possibly even manufactureable) on Earth.

    C17: It seems like a really bad idea to bring back cooked food. What if the wrong person finds out about it, tries it, reports it, and then he's expected to reproduce it? It's not like he knows the recipe or has the necessary spices. Heck, the base ingredients might not even exist in Dayao.

    It's really not hard to understand why people think of them as barbarians...

    C18: I thought pandas were actually quite violent?

    Since the boxes were for his job, can he get reimbursed for them? If not, then he should have bought them while he was on Earth and brought them over.

    C19: "If he brought them out on the street on Earth… he most likely wouldn't attract envious gazes, but rather cops." It's good that he knows ;)

    What container did he use for the food? There are very few available in the modern world that wouldn't attract attention in the feudal world.

    I wonder why they hadn't asked for ice for the palace before this. Honestly, I was expecting it from day one. And not just for the palace, but also for all the nobles and ranking officials.

    C20: Why did he mention the lack of spices? It was guaranteed to tick them off and was unlikely to gain him anything.

    C21: He's putting raw meat into his mouth to try it? Or is there cooked meat just lying around in spite of the fact that meal time is long since over?

    C22: The ice belongs to the empress. Is it really alright for them to sell it?

    C24: I'd been wondering when he planned to visit the medicine shop.

    I wonder what the other guy's business will be.

    C25: I wonder if I'll ever read a story where the MC invents the printing press. It's such a revolutionary invention, and very easy to make if you don't need it to be perfect. It alone can dramatically increase the speed of development of a nation. Though, adding universal education on top will make that acceleration exponential.

    C26: "Ren Baqian's disguise as pig to eat a tiger was too convincing." Yes. It even convinced Ren Baqian ;)

    C27: He should change the message on his phone to explain that he's out of the country or whatever and give a date for his return. He should also consider hiring an assistant to deal with his calls once they've figured out a recipe for that cream.

    C28: What is the penicillin in? As far as I know, it's normally sold in glass bottles that are far too high quality for a society like that. Honestly, the bottle would be worth more than the medicine. Or did he not bring a sample? If he didn't bring a sample, then why should Chen believe what he had to say about its properties?

    C29: Why use metal fan blades? Can't he use large leaves, thin wood, or a variety of other things that are cheaper than metal? Or is metal super cheap there due to all the mines? I don't remember any mention of metal mines for light weight metals though, and heavy ones wouldn't really work very well.

    C32: I wonder how long it'll take before the other countries start sending assassins to try to kill him? He's stealing their business and removing their stranglehold on Dayao after all.

    C33: I wonder if/when he'll ask about martial cultivation (or whatever they use).

    Did he get samples of the various ingredients for the cream? I don't remember it being mentioned, but without them, the recipe itself is likely worthless.

    Wasn't there a method of tanning that used urine, excrement and rotten meat? I seem to remember it had some problems (especially the smell), but the materials required for it are guaranteed to be available and I think it also made the leather waterproof.

    "It has been only a year since we last met and you have already become so fat." How is that not a rude thing to say?

    C36: I wonder how many trips he's going to take without bringing back the recipe and ingredients. He doesn't have infinite time after all, and the longer he takes, the less reliable he looks.

    How do condoms help though? It's not like they can make new ones, and he can't provide enough for the entire country for the rest of eternity.

    C37: Why are they not curious about the plastic? The condom, catheter, syringe and packaging would all be made from it, and they definitely wouldn't have seen plastic before. There's also the needle, which isn't something that any feudal blacksmith would be able to make.

    As far as I know, it's not just about using salt water. The ratio of salt to water matters too.

    C39: I wonder if the MC has considered the environmental damage from introducing so many new species of plants. Also curious if he got breeding pairs of the two animals, or just individual samples.

    C40: He should bring that tiger hide back as a rug. Well, assuming it wouldn't get him arrested anyway.

    C40: "After thinking about it, Ren Baqian felt that he should not continue to ruin the materials." lol

    I was wondering why he hadn't brought his phone or a camera yet.

    "Fight Break Spheres or Biography of Han Paopao's Immortalization." I'm guessing these are WNs?

    C42: "Seeing that the two critters" Ah, so just individual samples. Is he hoping that they already exist on Earth or something?

    C43: lol. Sun Qing's face is very thick ;)

    It's so strange to see an MC that's not an eternal virgin.

    Why has he still not learned to stitch wounds? The empress ordered him to teach the military's doctors quite a while ago now.
     
    Last edited: Jul 3, 2018
  2. Cite

    Cite 『Procrastinator』

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    How long did this take you to write?
    Just curious :hmm::hmm:
     
  3. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    Less than a day? I just write them as I read the chapters for the first time, and there aren't that many chapters for this series yet.
     
  4. Tianshen

    Tianshen Ex-Lurker

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    I wonder why the translator used 'Fight Break Spheres' and 'Biography of Han Paopao's Immortalization' instead of 'Battle Through the Heavens' and 'A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality'.

    Oh wait, both novels are on wuxiaworld LMAO
     
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  5. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    I hope he's not planning to teach them to make gunpowder. He's only got one ingredient left to find if he does.
     
  6. Wujigege

    Wujigege *Christian*SIMP*Comedian

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    I don't think that's the reason. They copied RMJI. It's available on their website with the same title
     
  7. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    C48: Honestly, I think he's better off in the beast park than as a more prominent official. Fewer people would ask questions about where he disappears to every three days.

    I wonder how he's managing to not get sick or carry plagues between the two worlds. Is he immune to disease thanks to this cheat? And does the cheat simply refuse to teleport diseases? If he ever gets sick, this is going to feel like a plot hole.

    C49: He really should find a more worthwhile way to spend his time on Earth. Even if it's just visiting friends and family or taking an online course relevant to the other world. If he just spends all of his time drinking and laying around, then it's a total waste.

    I wonder if it'll ever occur to him to check out the Peace Corps and other similar organizations to see what they normally do when trying to help out countries in a similar situation to Dayao. Granted, he can't really do things like air dropping supplies or whatever, but he might get some good ideas and practical know-how.

    Well, that wasn't a nice thing to do at all. It also wasn't a smart thing to do. If word gets back to the empress (and why wouldn't it?) then she'll start wanting weapons from him.
     
  8. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    C50: I would have thought someone would have come in for curiosity's sake and protection from the sun. Though, whether they would have bought anything is another thing altogether.

    That aside, he should just go out into the street and offer free samples. After a few dozen Dayao try it, the word will spread quickly and business will explode.
     
  9. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    I get the feeling that the person who compiled the list was very biased.
     
  10. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    The MC totally deserved that after having done it to two of his friends.

    Really? He's doubling down on bringing stun batons into that world? He doesn't really put much thought into the future, does he?
     
  11. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    So what happened to the Hao people then? Did the Dayao exterminate them? Enslave and sell them to other nations? Drive them from their borders? Or are they just not allowed in the capital?

    Also, if Hao had a source of salt, and Dayao conquered Hao, then what happened to their source of salt? Did Chen and Yun seize it while Hao was being destroyed or something?

    That aside, I wonder if the MC will come up with a way to fix the poisoned salt flat.
     
  12. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    "Furthermore, he did not identify with the Hao Nation, but instead was slightly more aligned with the aboriginals. " It feels kinda like Stockholm Syndrome...

    I wonder how many Dayao officials are literate.
     
  13. SinsI

    SinsI Well-Known Member

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    The prices are different, and not necessarily higher. Rare high quality food can definitely be much cheaper - just take a look at beluga caviar: it is $10,000 per kg nowdays - while you could easily see it being regularly eaten by peasants just a few hundreds years ago.

    Polar bear as a peace animal sounds like the other state trying to get the benefits from the peace pact - and to "legitimately" backstab them just a few months later. I'd prepare for a war ASAP - MC's miracle appearance can stall such enemy, but not prevent from going with it anyways.

    I'm at C13 now and the biggest WTF so far is the "merchants sell inferior goods at inflated prices" - which might be true but might as well be bullshit, not taking all the risks and costs into accounting (like having you arrested and beheaded by the local dictator, with all your goods confiscated).

    Why don't they become merchants themselves, if they feel like this?
     
    Last edited: Aug 27, 2018
  14. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    They're basically always prepared for war and fully expect those around them to attack.
    They likely couldn't get anyone to trade with them in a fair or honest manner if they went abroad, assuming that the other countries would even let their merchants in, which is unlikely given how much money those countries make off their own merchants. They're also just really bad at business. So, even if they were let in, they'd probably lose their shirts, or get arrested for attacking the local merchants almost immediately. Heck, with their reputations, they wouldn't even actually need to attack. Someone would definitely say they'd attacked and insist on getting all their goods as compensation.

    I can see where you're coming from, but it's been made clear that the problem isn't just the merchants, or the citizens of either nation, but also the governments of all the surrounding nations. They very much look down on the barbarians and very much enjoy exploiting them. It's hard to establish fair, honest, mutually beneficial trade in a climate like that. The only way it could be possible is if they figured out a way to stop needing the foreign trade for their survival. Once they no longer had to sell in order to live, they'd be in a much better position to keep out the shadier merchants and lift up the honest ones, foreign or domestic.

    That aside, this series has a lot of problems, particularly with strawmen (which is the source of the issues you were upset about). Personally, I dropped it the moment he started advocating for the political indoctrination of children.
     
  15. SinsI

    SinsI Well-Known Member

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    Is it written on their faces, that you shouldn't trade with them in a fair or honest manner?
    Even if it is, they can hire someone local to be their face.
    And how the hell would a lowly caretaker actually know the real state of affairs?
    I feel that bandits/tolls/transportation costs and goods expiration are far more likely reasons for the merchants' behavior.
     
    Last edited: Aug 27, 2018
  16. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    I'm basing it on the author's tone. There's a very clear "foreigners=evil, locals=simple and violent, but good" thing going on here. But, for less meta reasons: the attitudes of the merchants tend to be extremely poor and they're heavily engaged in price fixing and other anti-competitive practices which are extremely harmful to their customers/suppliers. And, iirc, they were also engaged in the sale of counterfeit goods like sawdust as food and the like. Though I don't really remember the details anymore.

    Should outside goods be cheap? Not really, but there's no need for them to be as expensive as they are. If the merchants actually competed against each other, then at least some of them would have formed positive relationships with the locals and secured safer, faster transport routes that allowed them to charge less while making more. It's why anti-competitive practices are bad for everyone.

    Should local goods be cheap? Depends on what they are, but as long as both sides feel that they got a decent deal, then it's fine. If one side feels ripped off, then that's a problem, regardless of whether or not they were actually ripped off. This basically comes down to attitude. The foreign merchants have really bad attitudes and tend to make it very clear that they are indeed ripping off the locals. Whether they actually are, or it's just a miscommunication can be debated, but the image problem can't be, nor it's extremely negative affects on locals' opinions of foreigners.

    As for the caretaker knowing everything: he doesn't. But he does know more than most as he is involved with relatively large purchases and is a part of the palace in a managerial position. He's also moderately well connected. I doubt he knows as much as the empress, but from what I can recall of the MC's conversations with her, she tends to agree with the caretaker. If she didn't, then she wouldn't be so quick to execute foreign ambassadors speaking up for their merchants.

    As for people not trading with them honestly: there are very clear physical differences between them and foreigners. So yes, it basically is written on their faces. And finding a local to be their face carries the same problems, only worse since they'd have to trust the foreigner far more than they'd have any reason to. It's not like the foreign governments would side with them if the local representative they chose decided to collude with the foreign merchants to screw the barbarian merchant over.

    Also, "goods expiration"? Since when does salt expire?
     
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  17. datraccoonboi

    datraccoonboi Well-Known Member

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    Any more spoiler???

    what happened? will this novel become a reverse harem?

    or harem
     
  18. Elementarteilchen

    Elementarteilchen Well-Known Member

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    I read a couple hundred chapters a long time ago and there wasn't even a slight indication for a harem or reverse harem. This isn't this kind of novel and has a totally different tone. Besides there are also no harem/ reverse harem tags.
     
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  19. javaniy

    javaniy Well-Known Member

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    At least until the latest translated chapter, there is no harem, MC and the Empress got married, and Empress is pregnant. Then the story focus on the fact that the human on empress world actually lived on the edge of continent because they lose war against other race (beastman, lizardman, insectman), and that the strongest human is actually not that strong if compared to other race. So MC and empress share the story to the top ten strongest human and they decided to make alliance to find way to return to the center of continent
     
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  20. animefan217

    animefan217 Well-Known Member

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    dropped by author I think
     
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