YA Ch108: The Emperor

The next day, Lu Yu walked into the company early and saw that Big Brother Hong was sitting in the lounge, looking sad as he ate a bun.

Lu Yu, like a curious crow, bent down and tilted his head closer, “What’s going on?”

Hong Wuyang sniffed, “I’m preparing my emotions.”

Lu Yu was speechless. He took a bun and stuffed it into his mouth, patting Big Brother on the shoulder, “It’s not that bad, really. You have to believe that some people, even if they die, can still come back to life—as long as we have enough money afterward. It’s called ‘pay-to-win.’”

“I haven’t paid enough? Yet I haven’t seen you agree to change A-Ying’s fate,” Big Brother didn’t seem too comforted. He finished the half-eaten bun in his hand and started talking about the balloon company’s situation. “They’re really short on money right now, barely holding on. The stuff is too expensive—each balloon pet costs hundreds of thousands. They’re only surviving because of a few rich otaku.”

Otaku and wealthy people—there were many individuals who fit either description, but the overlap was very narrow.

Moreover, there were very few AI assistants on the market that could pair with the balloon figures. The interactive role-playing app they developed wasn’t rich enough in features, and the fun was far less than Lu Yu’s own creations. They mainly did custom orders, which made it hard to scale up.

Costs weren’t easy to reduce either. The balloon figure’s skin was made of a new material that was priced by the square centimeter, and it was very expensive. A balloon figure the size of a General would have a material cost of around 100,000.

Lu Yu glanced over Hongxiao Capital’s simple investigation report and nodded, “There aren’t many people willing to buy toys that cost over a million, but if the price could be reduced to around 100,000, there should be a lot of buyers.”

On this point, Hong Wuyang had plenty of insight, “Designer toys need to drop below 100,000 to really sell like crazy.”

However, the material costs alone exceeded that. Plus, there were manufacturing, labor, and technology patent fees to consider…

Lu Yu thought for a moment and said, “As long as we don’t lose too much, it’s fine. The key is to stimulate the sales of our AI assistants through bundling. We can make our money that way instead.”

Hong Wuyang nodded in agreement. That was the benefit of investing in Shen Yu rather than directly in the balloon figure company—forming an industrial chain where the downstream lost money but the upstream profited. Overall, they’d still make a profit.

However, being raised with a financial mindset, Second Young Master Hong suggested, “If we do a pre-sale, using financial tools to take advantage of the time gap, we might even break even.”

It was like some stores offering discounts for prepaid membership cards. Sellers collect large sums of money upfront, invest or lend it to earn interest, and recover the discounted amount through that income.

The two were deep in discussion when Ming Yan came over and called them, “Finished eating? Let’s go, it’s about to start.”

Big Brother, who had been wearing a look of elite professionalism, suddenly slumped again and said to Ming Yan, “Brother Ming, can you draw me a mask? I’m afraid I won’t be able to control my expression when Zixia dies.”

Ming Yan smiled and, recalling the weather in the storyline, said, “Sure.”

The livestream began.

In the upcoming major battles, most were fought by Hua Wenyuan’s generals, with the future emperor overseeing things from the base camp. There weren’t many combat scenes involving the main character, with large portions of the story dedicated to supporting characters. Lu Yu adjusted the stream, skipping over these scenes and only showing the beautiful artwork painstakingly created by the art team, accompanied by short narrations to keep the audience informed.

With this approach, the storyline progressed much faster than originally anticipated. According to the data analysts, the fight for Xiangnan was supposed to take place on Friday, but they had already reached it.

Hua Wenyuan had also declared himself king, earning the title of *King of Jiangzhou*.

Lu Yu, sitting on his horse, leaned in and whispered to Ming Yan, who was in his arms, “At this pace, we might finish the transformation by Friday or next Monday, and our third child will be born.”

Ming Yan elbowed him, “We’re live, stop talking nonsense.”

The audience heard everything clearly.

【Oh, oh, oh, a third child, huh? Who’s giving birth?】

【It’s gotta be the Old Scoundrel, he already accepted the dowry.】

【Tsk tsk tsk, how spineless. He became a live-in son-in-law just for a gemstone.】

【Do you even know how much that gemstone is worth? If it were me, I’d change my surname for it.】

【Hahaha, Ming Taiyu married over, so do all three sons have to change their surname too?】

【Probably not, that’s pre-marital property. The fourth child born after the marriage can take the surname Ming.】

Everyone was discussing it passionately, already brainstorming names for the nonexistent fourth child. Meanwhile, the third child, not yet fully awakened, was still fighting bravely in the livestream.

Hua Wenyuan’s conquest map expanded eastward, then southward, and afterward toward the west. Most of Jiangnan and Lingnan were now under his control.

To the west lay various rebel factions and bandits, and to the north were the remnants of the imperial court and the barbarians beyond the Great Wall.

Xiangnan had previously been occupied by a rebel leader named Luo Dahu. Luo Dahu was a bandit leader who would flee whenever the situation turned unfavorable. When Hua Wenyuan’s forces approached, Luo couldn’t resist and fled immediately.

Xiangnan was where Shen Ying had served as governor in his past life. Familiar with the region, Shen Ying joined the campaign to retake it.

As the gates of the provincial capital fell with a thundering crash, Hua Wenyuan rode in and immediately frowned.

The city lay in ruins, corpses strewn everywhere, resembling a scene from hell.

Shen Ying took one look and began coughing violently, grinding his teeth, “That thief Luo!”

In his previous life, he had struggled to protect the people for seventy-two days. They hadn’t died at the hands of the barbarians, yet now they had been devastated by Luo.

Seeing him cough, Hua Wenyuan dismounted at once, tossing the reins to a guard and personally helping Shen Ying, “Why are you coughing again? This place is in chaos, go to the government office and rest.”

Shen Ying shook his head, “I’m fine.”

There was a young man by the roadside, holding a bloodstained machete, sitting on the ground in a daze. His eyes were hollow, as if his soul had been drained.

Hua Wenyuan asked him why he was sitting there.

The boy slowly came to his senses, speaking in a flat tone. He had fought against Luo’s men, exhausted himself, and now his entire family was dead. He didn’t know what to do next.

Shen Ying looked at him for a while and asked, “What’s your name?”

The boy wiped the blood from his face and said, “Li Lin.”

Shen Ying was silent for a moment before sighing, “If you’re willing, come study with me.”

The boy named Li Lin looked up blankly, not knowing how to respond.

Hua Wenyuan said nothing. After the boy was taken away to wash up, he asked, “Do you know that boy?”

Shen Ying glanced at him and softly said, “I knew him in my past life.”

This young man was a righteous, brave, and clever soul. If his family hadn’t been too poor to afford education, he had the potential to become a successful scholar.

“He saved his last handful of coarse rice for me, even though he starved to death himself. He told me, ‘My lord, you must live. If you live, the people will have hope.’” Shen Ying let out a long sigh, “Back then, he still had a living sister and a widowed mother. But now… it’s even worse than in our previous life.”

If an ordinary lord had heard these words, they would likely have been displeased. But Hua Wenyuan was clearly not an ordinary lord. Instead, he comforted his subordinate, saying, “It’s still better than the previous life. At least he’s still alive. When the Tartars took the city, there was no good fate left for his sister and mother.”

Shen Ying nodded. A moment later, he seemed to wake from a dream and lowered his head to apologize to Hua Wenyuan, but in his haste, he started coughing again.

Hua Wenyuan was very worried. Shen Ying’s health had been deteriorating, and no amount of care seemed to improve it. He had already tried to reduce Shen Ying’s workload, but this stubborn man insisted on handling everything himself.

Just as they had settled the situation in Xiangnan Prefecture, urgent news arrived.

A messenger rushed into the council hall and knelt down, shouting, “My lord, something terrible has happened. The Emperor is dead!”

Hua Wenyuan was shocked. He stood up, grabbed the messenger by the collar, and lifted him. “Who did you say is dead?”

“The Emperor, the Emperor in the capital!” the messenger repeated.

The officials in the hall showed varied expressions—most were shocked, some were delighted, and others were sorrowful. Some of the officials who had once served in the Zhou dynasty stood up and bowed toward the north.

The Emperor had been a muddle-headed ruler, easily swayed and often making foolish decisions. Sometimes he was ruthless, and other times he suddenly showed kindness. The uncles and brothers of the Shen family, who had been imprisoned, still had their heads on their shoulders because of him.

Many officials still remembered the Emperor’s kindness.

Even Shen Ying bowed his hands in respect, though he neither rejoiced nor grieved.

The Emperor had died because the Tartars had broken into the capital. General Qian had failed to defend Hancheng the previous year. Wave after wave of soldiers had been sent to fight, and three Ministers of War had been forced to their deaths, but still, they couldn’t hold the line.

Hua Wenyuan had originally sent a detachment north to cut off the Tartars’ retreat, to prevent the passes from being breached. However, a group of rebels had unexpectedly charged out from the pass, and they couldn’t stop the Tartars’ iron hooves, which led to the fall of the capital.

The Emperor had taken his own life.

Hua Wenyuan’s expression turned grim. “We cannot allow the Tartars to enter the Central Plains.”

Shen Ying bowed his head and said softly, “Your Highness plans to go in person?”

Hua Wenyuan nodded. “I understand the situation beyond the pass the best. Xie Zhongyun and the others won’t be able to drive out the Tartars in a short time.” Those people were like a flood of wild beasts—every extra day they stayed would mean another city of innocent people would die.

A sycophantic official immediately stepped forward and said, “My lord should head out quickly. Once you’ve taken the capital, you can declare yourself Emperor.”

Historically, when multiple rebel factions rose simultaneously, the one who seized the capital and obtained the imperial symbols would claim legitimacy.

Hua Wenyuan found this irritating and shouted, “Get out!”

The official was left speechless and slinked away.

Lu Yu, who had been lounging nearby cracking melon seeds, chuckled. “Do you think our Xiao Yuan is such a shallow person? What’s the rush to declare himself Emperor? He’s worried about the people, and that flatterer hit the horse’s hoof instead.”

The other officials, afraid of angering Hua Wenyuan, quickly covered their faces and retreated, leaving only Shen Ying and Hua’s family behind.

Shen Ying smiled and said, “Since Your Highness intends to go, may I accompany you? I’d like to see the moment the Tartars are driven out.”

In his previous life, the Shen family had been slaughtered by the Tartars, and Shen Ying had been forced to draw his sword and commit suicide. His hatred for the Tartars could only be relieved by personally seeing them driven out in disgrace.

Hua Wenyuan frowned, disagreeing. “The journey beyond the pass is long and arduous. I ask you to stay and guard Jiangzhou.”

As the “King of Hua” was personally heading to the front lines, someone had to watch over this vast territory. Shen Ying was undoubtedly the person Hua Wenyuan trusted most.

Shen Ying said, “My teacher will be here to ensure nothing goes wrong.”

By “teacher,” he meant Master Yao, the former Minister of Personnel in his previous life.

Master Yao had previously been exiled to Jiangnan, where Hua Wenyuan had captured him. At first, the old man had been staunchly opposed to Hua, but after observing his policies for six months, he was convinced and voluntarily stayed to work.

Recently, Shen Ying’s health had declined, and Hua Wenyuan had been exhausting the old man with work. Most of the official documents were now handled by Master Yao.

“With your current prestige, every soldier is your personal guard, and every merchant and farmer sees you as their father. All the land under heaven belongs to you. Whether or not you’re in Jiangzhou doesn’t matter,” Shen Ying subtly flattered Hua Wenyuan, hoping to cheer him up and be allowed to go along.

The Tartars were the greatest enemy at the moment. The other rebel factions were not a serious threat, as most had been crushed by Hua Wenyuan, leaving them cowering in fear. Once the Tartars were driven out and the borders secured, the whole country would be in Hua Wenyuan’s hands.

Hua Wenyuan didn’t respond directly but instead asked a strange question: “Why don’t you call me ‘my lord’ like the others?”

Shen Ying had previously called him “general,” and after he had declared himself king, Shen Ying had switched to “Your Highness.”

Shen Ying snapped open his folding fan with a flourish, covering his mouth with the fan’s surface, which was inscribed with “Niao Fei,” and laughed. “I find calling you ‘my lord’ rather odd.”

Lu Yu, leaning against the doorframe, stuck his head out and muttered under his breath, so only the soldier at the door could hear, “Oh, some people don’t think it’s odd at all. They use someone else’s aide and call him ‘my lord’ every day. ‘My lord has a call,’ ‘My lord has a message,’ ‘My lord is waking up’—”

The last bit was said in a high-pitched, sultry tone, imitating Daji’s soft voice.

The bearded Hong Wuyang covered his face. “Can we please stop bringing that up? Haven’t I already changed?”