FIMA Ch61: The End

In the winter of the twenty-fourth year of Yongjia.

Emperor Yongjia fell severely ill once again. In the spring, after his health had slightly improved, he finally issued an edict to crown a Crown Prince.

In the autumn of the twenty-fifth year, Emperor Yongjia passed away.

The Fifth Prince ascended the throne as Emperor, changing the era name to Qinghe.

With a new Emperor came a new court of officials. Gu Siyuan received a promotion, rising to the position of Deputy Chief of the Dali Supreme Court.

During his time at the Dali Supreme Court, Gu Siyuan clarified punishments and exercised caution in penalties, clearing up unjust imprisonments. He compiled and authored a book titled The Manual of Case Investigations, distributing it across the country to serve as a guideline for local officials in judging cases and determining sentences.

A few years later, Gu Siyuan was promoted to the Ministry of Justice, taking charge of the nation’s judicial and penal affairs. He spearheaded the revision of The Great Zhou Code, summarizing the essence of past dynasties’ laws while adding civil law, economic law, and more. He had it posted nationwide, requiring local officials to dispatch dedicated personnel to the villages to recite and answer questions, ensuring the law reached every household and every person.

During this period, a rather pleasant surprise was that Xie Changyue, entirely self-taught, bought a basket of sweet potatoes from a Western merchant.

For this, Gu Siyuan felt deep admiration.

With a little bit of guidance from him, Xie Changyue successfully cultivated yet another crop, and was then completely stunned by the sweet potato’s yield.

This ugly little thing actually had a yield more than double that of corn!

After Xie Changyue presented this item to Emperor Qinghe, his noble title successfully upgraded from County Lord Changming to Commandery Lord Changming.

Lord Gu could happily “eat soft rice” (live off his spouse) once again. To ensure fairness and justice, he personally put in the physical effort that very night to let Xie Changyue taste his “hard food” for a long, long time.

Poor Xie Changyue—the immortal who delivered grain in the eyes of the common people—could only sob with his beautiful eyes turning red throughout the entire process, then pitifully stretch out his fair, slender arms to tightly hug the person on top of him.

Even when the next day arrived, our newly appointed Commandery Lord Changming had to be supported by servants the entire way into the palace to give thanks for the imperial decree, his legs trembling and holding his waist.

After returning to the mansion, thinking of the gazes of all those people along the way, Xie Changyue’s coquettish temper flared up. He pounced on Gu Siyuan with an angry huff, wanting to bite this dog of a man to death.

Then, he was pinned into an embrace by Gu Siyuan in a few swift moves. With a cold face and a low, deep voice, Gu Siyuan whispered a few words into his ear. Xie Changyue was once again utterly captivated by his own husband, shrinking into his arms to act spoiled with soft whimpers.

Wang Xu had known the two of them for over ten years. Facing this dog-couple who constantly flirted with each other without regard for the occasion, his reaction had gone from anger, to helplessness, to habit, and finally to simply ignoring them.

In the end, he could only secretly make a ruthless vow: as the most profound victim of this, he must record every single shameless detail of their daily lives in a dark journal, so that future generations for ten thousand years could deeply mock them.

Over the next several years, the Qinghe administration enjoyed simplified governance and clear penal codes, the officials were honest and upright, the lands within the four seas were wealthy, and the common people lived in harmony and happiness.

In the year he turned thirty-five, Gu Siyuan submitted a memorial to the throne, requesting to resign from office and return home.

Everyone inside and outside the imperial court was greatly shocked. Everyone knew how highly favored Lord Gu was in the Emperor’s heart. In a few more years, he would inevitably enter the Grand Secretariat and be appointed as Prime Minister. Not only was he the only Six-Yuan Scholar in history, but he would also become the youngest Senior Grand Secretary in history. How could he bear to interrupt his official career at this time?

Emperor Qinghe himself was even more incredibly reluctant to part with him, holding back Gu Siyuan’s resignation memorials every time without issuing a response.

It wasn’t until Gu Siyuan personally entered the palace several times and had long conversations with him that he was finally released to go home.

Gu Siyuan and Xie Changyue took Xie Er and Mu Xia back to Huangyang Village. The village’s scenery remained, but the people had changed; many acquaintances had already passed away.

Old Man Gu and the Old Madam were actually still alive, though they were like candles in the wind, in their declining years.

They also saw Gu Zhen, whom they hadn’t seen for a long time.

Gu Zhen was only a few months older than Gu Siyuan, but right now, he looked much, much older.

Back when Shen Changhuan was executed, Gu Zhen had specially rushed to the capital, bringing wine and food to see him off on his final journey.

However, that meeting was clearly very unhappy.
No one knew what Shen Changhuan had said, but since then, Gu Zhen became increasingly depressed and unable to recover.

If it weren’t for the clan elders forcefully pressuring him to teach the village children to read and write, and the pleas of his mother Li Xiangtao, Gu Zhen’s heart and soul would have probably died along with Shen Changhuan long ago.
Since then, he had simply been muddling through his days in a daze.

After returning to the village, Gu Siyuan immediately launched a major construction project, building the Yuanchang Academy by the banks of the Anding River.

On the day the academy opened, purely relying on Gu Siyuan’s reputation as a Six-Yuan Scholar and a retired secondary second-rank grand official, it instantly attracted students from several surrounding prefectures and counties to register.

However, the academy only accepted children from peasant families; it did not accept children from wealthy or aristocratic families. In addition, Gu Siyuan also supported Xie Changyue in opening a literacy class for Gers and women.

Naturally, regarding this kind of behavior, some praised it, while others muttered and cursed at it.
But would Gu Siyuan care? Naturally, he absolutely didn’t care.

At the same time, Gu Siyuan returned to his old profession from when he was an official—he began writing books and establishing volumes.

When they first heard this news, scholars all over the world were full of anticipation, making up their minds to buy and read them immediately.

However, when the books were published, looking at the titles he came up with… The 30-Day Sprint to the County Exam Secret Guide, Six Years of Academy Exams and Three Years of Prefectural Exams, Synchronized Interpretation of Provincial Exam Points, Targeted Practice for the Provincial Exam, Fifty-Eight Sets of Metropolitan Exam Papers…

This was simply a disgrace to gentility!
This was a blatant insult to the classical doctrines of their predecessors and a slight against the books of the sages; a crime deserving ten thousand deaths!

However, when the peasant students of Yuanchang Academy were each issued a set, and the pass rate for the county exam the following year hit ninety percent… although the scholars on the outside still cursed and swore, in private, almost everyone had a copy in their hands.

When it came to the subsequent prefectural and academy exams, these books continued to play a massive role.

The imperial examinations, viewed by scholars as terrifying floods and fierce beasts, and also seen as a sacred ladder to the heavens, actually had shortcuts to take!

And by this time, the curses and abuses Gu Siyuan received grew even more numerous.

Not just from scholars, but more so from those upper-class individuals.
Although the ancients often said, “In the morning, a lad in the fields; in the evening, seated in the Emperor’s hall,” the reality was that the right to study and take the imperial exams had always been concentrated in the hands of a small group of people.

Because books were too expensive, and because people hoarded their knowledge, no matter how diligent and hardworking a child from a poor family was, there were some books they had absolutely no way of obtaining, not even the qualification to look at them. How could they possibly pass the exams?

Therefore, under this massive gap between the rich and the poor, the “test-taker” was the most worthy of admiration, and exam-oriented education was simply awesome. This was the only path to narrow the gap with those aristocratic children.

Under these circumstances, more and more people became willing to read and become literate, and the wisdom of the masses grew increasingly enlightened.
Naturally, this made those so-called upper classes and elite scholars unwilling and fearful.

Everything proceeded in an orderly manner.

As more and more students walked out from Yuanchang Academy, Gu Siyuan could already be considered to have peaches and plums (students) all over the world.

While writing books, Gu Siyuan didn’t forget to dabble in various inventions and creations, comprehensively raising the living standards of the common people in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

One winter year.
A heavy snow fell again.

Xie Changyue, just like always, stood under the plum tree in the courtyard, demanding that Gu Siyuan paint a portrait of him.

When the painting was finished, it was still just as discordant—the noble, pure, and proud red plum blossoms, and the stunningly beautiful, sly little Ger.

Xie Changyue hugged the painting to his chest, his heart full of joy.
And Gu Siyuan reached out and hugged him tightly. Fortunately, he had never forgotten to exercise; even at this age, he still had the strength to hold his little husband.

Thinking this, the two slowly closed their eyes.

…

Thereafter, time flew by.

Hundreds of years passed in a flash, and the prosperous and equal 21st century arrived, where everyone possessed the right to eat their fill and receive an education.

“The thin page you flip past in your hands is their magnificently sweeping, epic life.”
In a history class at ‘B’ University, a young professor wearing glasses had a serious expression.

Hearing these words, for some reason, all the students in the classroom fell into an inexplicable sense of melancholy.

Just then, a light chuckle was heard, “However, the person we are going to talk about today definitely cannot be summed up in a single thin page. Everyone is very familiar with him, and he is a frequent guest on the trending search lists. He even once caused a minor joke.”

Saying this, the teacher picked up a piece of chalk and wrote the three large characters ‘Gu Siyuan’ on the blackboard.

Instantly, the classroom became lively.
“Ahhh, that’s great, today we’re talking about my idol!”
“Haha, so it’s our great ‘transmigrator’!”
“No wonder you mentioned a joke, I want to laugh just thinking about it now.”
“Hahaha…”

The professor stared at the students below and reminded them: “If you don’t want to make a joke of yourselves, everyone needs to read more books, lest someday you say something like, ‘What D-list celebrity is Gu Siyuan? How come he buys so many trending topics every day? Can he earn back his marketing fees?'”

“Understood!” the students replied in unison.

The professor continued the introduction: “Gu Siyuan is a famous inventor, political scientist, jurist, educator, and calligrapher in our country’s history. Everyone is naturally well-acquainted with the fact that he was the first Six-Yuan Scholar in history. As for the Manual of Case Investigations and The Great Zhou Code he presided over and formulated, I believe the law department students have an even deeper appreciation for them.”

“But what is most relished by people should be the period after he resigned from office, returned home, and founded his academy. The exam-prep books he wrote brought a massive shock to the Great Zhou Dynasty and the entire educational system of feudal society. Even today, it still influences us.”

“Not only that, the cement he created and the smoother official roads he built allowed everyone to travel ten thousand miles while reading ten thousand books; the improved looms and ‘filial son’ threshing machines gave Gers and women earning capabilities that surpassed the men in their families, greatly elevating their social status; the improved power-boats, firearms, and so on raised the Great Zhou Dynasty’s naval combat capabilities and opened the window for foreign exchange and trade…”

The professor’s voice echoed in their ears.

Right until the class dismissal bell rang, everyone was still immersed in Gu Siyuan’s magnificently sweeping, epic life.

The professor sighed, picked up his textbook, and smiled: “I don’t drag out classes. Originally, I wanted to continue telling you all about Gu Siyuan’s spouse, Xie Changyue, but unfortunately, there’s no time left.”

“Ah!” A long groan erupted in the classroom.
“Ahhh, why did class end so fast? I still wanted to listen.”
“For the first time, I don’t want class to end. I love the married couple Gu Siyuan and his husband so much; theirs is an immortal love!”
“Exactly! Xie Changyue was also so amazing. His early life was full of twists and turns, and then he met Lord Gu. The two of them were a talented man and a beautiful man, a perfect match… They grew corn and sweet potatoes, feeding an unknown number of people.”
“And in an era where men had three wives and four concubines, for the two of them to be a single couple for a lifetime, how incredibly difficult was that!”
“Right! Lord Gu spent his entire life writing books, creating, and inventing—all very serious things. His only entertainment was when he painted portraits for his spouse.”
“Hahahaha. Speaking of the paintings, I want to laugh again. Probably because he loved him too much, every time Lord Gu painted Xie Changyue so vividly, the artistic conception of the entire painting was ruined. When they were first unearthed, they were even thought to be modern forgeries…”
“Hahaha, his reputation is completely ruined! ‘Constantly Buying Trending Topics, Marketing Guru Gu Siyuan,’ ‘Loves Creating Fake Paintings Gu Siyuan’…”

…

Volume 4: Cannon Fodder in a Modern Metaphysics Novel

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