DLWAV CH85 [Arc 5]

Ao Ruize and Qin Xiuyan spent a total of twelve years in this world.

By the third year, Elder Qin had relented.

Not because he had come around on his own, but because while Ao Ruize was researching carbon fiber production technology, he had stumbled upon a material capable of absorbing radiation, including nuclear radiation.

With that, the last trace of the government’s suspicion toward Ao Ruize was completely dispelled.

And then Elder Qin was summoned for a talk.

The middle-aged man’s choice of words was, of course, quite tactful.

But every single sentence was essentially hinting that, on account of a certain someone, Ao Ruize’s home life appeared to be rather lacking in harmony, which was seriously affecting Ao Ruize’s state of mind during experiments, and by extension, the nation’s development.

The middle-aged man was also entirely unapologetic about it, naturally.

After all, this was someone they all had to treat with utmost reverence. On what grounds did the old man have to look down on him? They were the ones who felt put out.

Elder Qin was utterly floored.

Because he had a distinguished face that tended to win over elders and middle-aged folks alike, he had been sent on exactly this type of mission more times than he could count back in his days at the National Security Bureau.

But he had never imagined that one day, he himself would be the one being summoned.

And another thing, did you lot not remember that the same-sex marriage legalization bill was something YOU suppressed? And now you have the nerve to come to ME and tell me to be more open-minded about it?

But then again, thinking about how many years had passed now, and how Qin Xiuyan and Ao Ruize’s feelings for each other remained as steady as ever. And how every gift Ao Ruize gave him each year managed to land squarely in his heart, like the premium “Galaxy” walnuts he had received for his milestone birthday last month, and the lightning-struck wood cane-sword Ao Ruize had given him for the Spring Festival the year before.

Not to mention that thanks to Ao Ruize, China had added over a dozen new titles of “world’s first” to its name, such as the world’s largest synthetic rubber producer, the world’s largest crystalline silicon producer……

As a patriotic businessman, the pride swelling in his chest was no less than the government’s own.

So what could he do?

He could only say: “Fine then.”

And then he happily tucked away the premium Galaxy walnuts he used to have to admire in secret inside his study, walked out the door, and headed off to make a few dozen rounds visiting old friends who shared his love of walnut collecting.

After that, the only thing that could pull even a fraction of Ao Ruize’s attention away from Qin Xiuyan was the news of the Xia family’s complete downfall.

After Xia Yuanzheng absconded with the family’s remaining funds, Su Yiyue had come to find Ao Ruize.

She had regrets.

But everyone could see that her regrets had nothing to do with a sudden awakening of conscience. It was simply that the Xia family had gone bankrupt, she could no longer live the life of luxury she was accustomed to, and since Ao Ruize happened to be drowning in money at this point, she had come to him.

She had apparently convinced herself that no matter what, she was still Xia Ruize’s birth mother. As long as she offered an apology, Ao Ruize might well forgive her and continue to support her the way the Xia family once had.

But Ao Ruize was no fool. He had people throw her out on the spot.

Before she could even get online to smear Ao Ruize’s name and fish for sympathy with a sob story, a passerby who happened to witness the whole scene posted the incident online, including how she had shown up to pester Ao Ruize after being cast aside by Xia Yuanzheng.

Netizens quickly recalled how she had married Xia Ruize’s father while already carrying Xia Yuanzheng’s child, and how she had later stood by with cold indifference while Xia Yuanzheng and Xia Lewen used Xia Ruize as a shield and a stepping stone. In an instant, condemnation rained down on Su Yiyue from every corner of China. People pointed fingers at her wherever she went. When her landlord found out about her past, he would rather pay the penalty for breaking the lease than keep her as a tenant.

In the end, she had no choice but to slink out of Qian City in disgrace.

Word had it that she eventually returned to her hometown, and married two more men just to survive, but both later died. One suffocated mid-beating when his breathing gave out during one of his domestic violence episodes. The other died in a car accident while taking his illegitimate child to an amusement park.

After that, no one ever saw her again.

But by then, no one cared anymore.

Twelve years later, the moment Elder Qin passed away, Ao Ruize and Qin Xiuyan began making their own preparations to leave this world.

By that time, the expanded and rebuilt Kaoshanyun Village had, just as everyone had hoped, become a moderately well-known resort destination in Geng Province. The average annual income of the villagers had officially broken through the one hundred and fifty thousand yuan mark, and they had lifted themselves out of poverty and into prosperity.

Looking back on everything he had experienced in this world, Ao Ruize felt genuinely satisfied.

Yes, the handful of grasshoppers that made up the Xia family had kept hopping around and causing trouble, which had cost him some effort to deal with. But the government’s eagerness to place him on a pedestal more than made up for it. The middle-aged man they had assigned to him took care of his daily needs so thoroughly that if a bottle of oil tipped over, he wouldn’t even need to right it himself. If the cling wrap ran out, someone would have a new roll at his door within the hour.

Thinking this, he drew his arm back from around Qin Xiuyan’s waist, closed his eyes, and left this world.

Qin Xiuyan, however, was not entirely satisfied.

So he deliberately held back for one extra moment, then tilted his head up and pressed a kiss to the corner of Ao Ruize’s mouth.

He said: “In the next world, I definitely won’t be reeled in by you so easily again.”

He still couldn’t quite believe that every time Ao Ruize showed off his pectoral muscles, he would just… immediately take the bait. It made him sound like he was particularly starved… like he only craved Ao Ruize’s body… when in truth, he adored every single thing about Ao Ruize.

But Ao Ruize remained completely unaware of this, naturally.

“Congratulations, host. Task successfully completed. You have earned one hundred and fifty points.”

“Congratulations, host. During the task period, you assisted in increasing China’s national strength by 30.57%. You have received a bonus reward of two hundred points.”

Almost simultaneously, the milk dumpling’s stiff voice rang out.

Because the milk dumpling was also done for.

But there was nothing it could do at this point except wipe away its tears and quietly add Fu Mu’s name to its little notebook.

Ao Ruize: “……”

A sudden twinge of guilt.

Not that it mattered. A gentleman’s revenge is never too late, even after ten years.

Someday, it would make this scoundrel Ao Ruize pay for everything.

So it had to work even harder on its tasks from now on.

Thinking this, the milk dumpling rallied its spirits at once.

“Beginning search for next task world.”

“Search successful.”

“Your Majesty, the rebel army has already reached the Meridian Gate.”

The moment Ao Ruize opened his eyes, he found a eunuch kneeling at his bedside, crying out in anguish.

He had barely opened his mouth to speak when a rush of cold air poured in, sending him into a violent coughing fit.

Immediately after, the memories of the original body flooded into his mind all at once.

This was an ancient world. The realm that governed the entire Central Plains continent was the Da Qian Dynasty.

The original occupant of this body was Zhou Ruize, the eighth emperor of the Da Qian Dynasty, whose reign title was Jianxing.

At that, Ao Ruize’s brow furrowed at once.

Because this Emperor Jianxing’s circumstances were remarkably similar to those of the Ming Dynasty’s Jingtai Emperor from Chinese history.

Zhou Ruize was the ninth son of Emperor Jiahe, the sixth ruler of the Da Qian Dynasty.

His mother had been nothing more than an ordinary palace maid in Emperor Jiahe’s harem. It was only because Emperor Jiahe had drunkenly favored her one night that she was elevated to a lowly consort rank and eventually gave birth to Zhou Ruize.

After Emperor Jiahe’s death, his eldest legitimate son, Zhou Ruize’s eldest brother, ascended the throne as Emperor Zhangwu.

But this Emperor Zhangwu, for all his lofty ambitions of conquest and territorial expansion, had nothing but straw between his ears.

In the fifth year of the Zhangwu reign, egged on by the Duke of Cheng’en, he mobilized an army of two hundred thousand troops, proclaimed it five hundred thousand, and over the opposition of the entire court, set out on a personal military campaign against the Western Rong in imitation of the founding emperor.

At that time, while the Western Rong were certainly aggressive and frequently raided the northern territories, their total military force numbered no more than a hundred thousand. So Emperor Zhangwu was convinced that victory was assured.

What he had not anticipated was that no sooner had his army entered the northern territories than they ran into relentless torrential rain. Unable to endure the hardship, Emperor Zhangwu ignored the objections of his generals, abandoned the supply wagons mired in the mud, and marched the army ahead to Chaoming Pass.

Then, upon the army’s arrival at Chaoming Pass, the Duke of Cheng’en’s son, Zhao Huaiyi, accidentally killed the sole son of the Chaoming Pass garrison commander during a dispute over a famous courtesan.

Emperor Zhangwu naturally favored his cousin Zhao Huaiyi, so he rewarded the garrison commander generously but declined to severely punish Zhao Huaiyi.

The garrison commander, in a fit of fury, surrendered to the Western Rong.

That very night, the Western Rong unleashed their full force of a hundred thousand troops, coordinating with the two thousand border soldiers inside Chaoming Pass to launch a combined assault that annihilated Da Qian’s army of a hundred and fifty thousand in one fell swoop. The Duke of Cheng’en and a host of other senior civil and military officials were killed, and Emperor Zhangwu was taken prisoner. Only Zhao Huaiyi and a handful of officials managed to escape.

After the Battle of Chaoming Pass, the garrison commander, knowing there was no road back for him, chose to go all in. He incited the Western Rong and, using Emperor Zhangwu as a figurehead, pushed for an invasion southward.

Emperor Zhangwu, fearing death, did not even need to be coerced by the Western Rong. He voluntarily stepped forward and demanded that Da Qian’s defending commanders open the city gates and let the Western Rong through.

Because of this, in barely more than a month, the Western Rong had advanced all the way to the walls of the capital.

When the news broke, the entire Da Qian court was thrown into upheaval.

The reigning Empress Dowager, Emperor Zhangwu’s birth mother, acted decisively. Together with the loyal officials who had remained in the capital, she declared Emperor Zhangwu the Retired Emperor and moved to enthrone a new emperor.

But enthroning a new emperor was easier said than done.

Even with Emperor Zhangwu’s eight surviving brothers to choose from.

Because at that moment, the Western Rong were already at the gates. The capital could fall at any time. For these princes, refusing the throne meant they could flee now and bide their time until the opportunity arose to declare themselves emperor independently. Accepting the throne gave them the claim of legitimacy, but also meant the Western Rong would hunt them down without end.

So the moment the imperial edict arrived, everyone else scattered without a moment’s hesitation.

Only Zhou Ruize remained. Worried that if the others fled, the people of the capital would become targets for the Western Rong’s venting, he hesitated too long and lost his chance to be the first to run.

Seeing this, the Empress Dowager personally led the entire court to his princely residence to beg Zhou Ruize to take the throne, going so far as to kneel before him.

Zhou Ruize ultimately agreed to ascend, and promised that he would not depose Emperor Zhangwu’s crown prince, who was only seven years old at the time.

A few days later, the Empress Dowager departed the capital with the crown prince and the women of the imperial harem. Zhou Ruize, hastily enthroned, stayed behind to lead the soldiers in holding off the Western Rong.

In the battles that followed, the Western Rong came close to breaching the capital on several occasions, but the relief armies from across the realm arrived just in time to drive them back.

Zhou Ruize had assumed that with the merit of having repelled the enemy, he would quickly consolidate his hold on the throne. He had even begun entertaining thoughts of keeping the imperial line in his own branch permanently.

But the Empress Dowager had other ideas.

Her own son was still alive, after all. How could she allow a son born of a lowly concubine to displace him, especially after Zhou Ruize revealed his intention to depose Emperor Zhangwu’s crown prince and install his own son in that position instead?

So on one front, she allied with Emperor Zhangwu’s old partisans and attempted to seize control of the court. On another, she worked to persuade the Western Rong to release Emperor Zhangwu.

The senior court officials also had their own reservations.

Believing that Zhou Ruize had gone back on his word, they concluded that he was no better than Emperor Zhangwu.

Meanwhile, the Western Rong, seeing that there was nothing more to be gained from keeping Emperor Zhangwu, and having no wish to see Da Qian recover its former strength under the capable and ambitious Zhou Ruize, released Emperor Zhangwu back to the capital.

Zhou Ruize could not allow this to stand. Fortunately, his standing in the military was considerable.

At his command, fifty thousand imperial guards were mobilized in their entirety. They seized the Empress Dowager and Emperor Zhangwu at once, deposed Emperor Zhangwu’s crown prince, and had all of them placed under house arrest in the Huaiyang Traveling Palace.

And this was precisely why his circumstances were said to mirror those of the Jingtai Emperor almost exactly.

Within three years, his three sons died one after another from tuberculosis.

Then he himself contracted tuberculosis. He had held on through sheer willpower for a year, but now he too was failing.

Emperor Zhangwu was on the verge of death, and he had no heir. And so the hearts of every official in the court began to stir.

Today, they had raised their troops, broken open the gates of the Huaiyang Traveling Palace, and were now moving to depose him and welcome Emperor Zhangwu back to the throne.

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