Even Chu Lu didn't expect that Chen Yin would say such a thing.

This really frightened him, half frightened and half shocked.

There really is something wrong with the capital city. A perfectly normal child has been irritated like this after only being here for a few years. This is based on the premise that he writes letters from time to time for psychological counseling. If he is left alone, who knows what will happen.

The system highly condemns the host's behavior of covering up the fault by blaming the environment.

[Obviously this guy is too difficult to deal with? There are so many scripts in our department that have been ruined by him, but none of them are as bad as him?! ]

Chu Lu does not agree with this standard.

No matter what experiences the employees of the bureau had in their small world, they were still based on the standards of a mentally mature adult. And when the accident happened to Chen Yin, he was truly just a child.

During Chu Lu's brief exchange with the system, Chen Yin's remarks became increasingly dangerous.

"…If we start planning now…"

"When the time is right in a few years, we may change the country's name to 'Qi'..."

…

…………

Chu Lu: "..."

If the ancestor of the Chen family heard these words, he would probably be so angry at this unfilial descendant that he would come back to life.

Chen Yin clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

It was only at this time that he realized that the man's blood was still flowing in his veins.

No matter how much he learns or imitates, he will never be able to care about the world and take the people as his responsibility like his uncle does... He is willing to do all this, but everything is based on the premise that there is no conflict with his own wishes.

——He wanted this person to stay.

He hated and loathed himself for being like this, but at the same time he hoped very much that he could use this opportunity to keep his uncle here.

…

…………

A broad hand landed on top of his head, with thick calluses on it from years of holding knives.

The weight falling on my head feels familiar yet somewhat strange.

When Chen Yin saw the arc of the other person's arm raised, he finally realized that he was no longer the little child he used to be.

He has grown to be almost as tall as his uncle.

He heard the other person's voice, which was low and slightly hoarse.

"Yin'er, you have grown up."

"…understand the truth, know what is right and what is wrong, and know what can be done and what cannot be done…"

"...Qi Chao's fate has run out. It is unwise to try to change it by one's own strength..."

“…”

Chen Yin knew it, so how could he not know it?

Besides, if my uncle really wanted to restore the country, why did he wait until today...

He just couldn't accept it! Not at all!!

What if, what if my uncle would stay for this?

…

…………

"It's good that you can keep your heart to the matter of the capital."

"Like I told you before, you can hate, and you have every reason to hate, but you can't let it be everything to you."

“…”

Chen Yin squatted down little by little, trying to shrink himself to the same height as he was back then.

——It is natural for young birds to grow up and leave the nest.

But he had already fallen off a cliff once and almost got smashed to pieces...

Even though his body had grown and his feathers had grown strong, he still hesitated and clung in fear to the branch that had once saved his life, not daring to leave for even a moment.

…

…………

"Cheng Shiqing has the talent to be a general and can lead an army."

"...Although Zhang Yujiao has a straightforward personality, he is also a meticulous person. He can be a good deputy..."

"...Ruan Ju..."

“…”

After listening to the other party's explanation, Chen Yin couldn't help but squat down and grab the older man's sleeve as he did back then.

What he wanted to ask was "Can you not leave?", but his lips opened and closed several times, and what finally came out was, "Will you... come back to see me?"

"--meeting."

The beginning of a new decade.

It was the autumn harvest season. An old man working in the fields wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled contentedly at the crops in the field. The hideous scar on half of his face seemed to be hidden in the grooves and wrinkles caused by smiling - those were the marks left by the iron hooves of the barbarians back then. But there was more to it than that. If you look closely, you can see that he still has a limp when he walks, but he seems to have gotten used to it, and even his walking speed is the same as that of ordinary people.

The desolate and devastated mountains and rivers of more than 20 years ago seem like a dream yesterday. The scars are still there, but the flesh and bones beneath the skin have healed.

Perhaps it is because the suffering they have experienced is too much and too severe, and the people's tolerance for suffering has risen to an incredible threshold. As long as they have a chance to breathe, they can recover their vitality very quickly.

Moreover, this was not just a moment of respite. The new emperor moved back to the northern capital in the second year after he ascended the throne. After ten years of hard work and efforts, as indicated by the reign title "Qixin", the dynasty, which had been in decline, regained its vitality and showed signs of revival.

It was the emperor's birthday, and gifts from all over the country together with tribute from small countries were sent to the capital, which was an eye-opener for the people in the capital.

— Blood corals as tall as a person, white deer with a snow-white body without a single strand of hair, and night-shining pearls as big as a child’s fist, though I haven’t seen them with my own eyes…

If these can only satisfy the people's visual pleasure, then the rare things brought by the foreign merchants with red hair and blue eyes can be bought back for them to play with. The people living in the imperial city under the feet of the emperor still have this little spare money.

…

However, unlike the joyous and lively scene outside, the wise leader who was celebrating his birthday in the palace was not in a very good mood.

Of course, the emperor’s majesty is unpredictable, so even if he is unhappy, it will not show on his face.

However, Li Quan'er has served this man for so many years. If he doesn't even have this little bit of courtesy, how can he continue to be the chief steward peacefully?

Moreover, compared to usual days, this time his mood swings were particularly obvious.

Since receiving the letter and the birthday gift that came with it.

Li Quaner knew the meaning of sending the letter and gift in advance - the person was busy again this year and couldn't come.

He quickly reminded the younger ones below him to keep their skin tight during these months.

If one is really tactless and makes a mistake at this critical juncture, he will definitely be severely punished, not to mention "intercession".

…

The gift that came with the letter was a palm-sized pocket watch.

With the maritime trade in the past two years, there are more and more foreign gadgets in the capital, but this pocket watch is still a rare item. The one in Chen Yin's hand is so exquisite and unique.

Having said that, which of the gifts presented to the emperor is not unique?

In terms of ingenuity, value, and auspicious meaning, this pocket watch is not even on the top list. How could it be carried around by the emperor and played with from time to time...

But that's not the case. It also depends on who is giving the gift.

Seeing His Majesty staring at the pocket watch, Li Quaner hurriedly spoke with a smile -

"This thing is exquisite. I have never seen such an exquisite thing in my entire life..."

"...Look at the carvings on it. They look like the flowers in the imperial garden have come alive..."

“…”

"...Look at this inscription, it shows the noble character..."

...No matter what, just praise it.

Praise to death.

He finally concluded by pinching his throat: "…Marquis Anguo really put a lot of thought into this gift."

The young man who was sitting there snorted in an unidentifiable manner.

Li Quan'er was wondering if the praise was not enough to make people unhappy, but he heard the man continue to hum: "What's the point of wasting time on this? It's just something to coax children."

Li Quaner: I understand. You are blaming the person for not coming back.

...But you can't say this, as it would be like stirring up a hornet's nest.

He quickly forced a smile that made his face wrinkle.

"I dare to say something presumptuous, Your Majesty, please forgive me..."

"...No matter how old this child is, he is still a child in the eyes of the older generation..."

"I have an adopted son outside the palace. He has grown taller in the past few years. It seems that in the blink of an eye, he has grown much taller than me."

"…But I always remember watching him every day. When I first brought him home, he was just that small, chewing his fingers and smiling at me."

“…”

"...No matter how much older he is, in my eyes, he is still just a child..."

…

…………

Biting fingers, blowing snot bubbles, crying loudly after being beaten by friends, and coming back to find the elders...

Chen Yin was silent for a while.

He couldn't help but start to recall, had he done anything similarly stupid in front of his uncle back then?

Chen Yin: “…”

“…………”

After a while, he interrupted Li Quan'er's words with a subtle expression and said in a deep voice, "You should leave first. I will stay alone for a while."

There were too many dark histories that came to mind, and he needed some quiet time alone.

…

…………

When the hall became empty, Chen Yin stared at the pocket watch in his hand for a while, then took out a piece of bamboo from his sleeve.

——This is a photo.

Back then, Xie Gong asked him to choose his identity.

He handed the selected photo back to his uncle, but for some reason he kept the other one and has kept it with him until now.

He stroked the surface, which had become smooth due to years of friction, and felt a little dazed.

Chen Yin actually does not regret his choice back then.

Because he knew clearly that no matter how many times he had to do it again, he would never let go of his hatred and allow that man to continue to be the carefree and infatuated emperor after forcing his mother to death.

It's just that sometimes he wants to, can't help but think...

What would have happened if I had chosen another identity back then?

——They are probably now following their “father”, or living in seclusion in the countryside, or traveling around the world...

Maybe it's a life that brings a smile to one's lips just by thinking about it?

…

…………

#Time and Space Bureau#

Chu Lu had already begun to get used to this life of constantly returning to the mission world, and was a little surprised when he was suddenly told by the system that there was only one target world left.

Surprise was followed by gnashing of teeth.

After the "assessment" is over and the permissions are unlocked, the first thing to do is to locate a certain old bastard.

——It would be difficult to relieve his hatred if he didn't beat him up.

Although he had just come out of the previous world, inspired by such emotions, Chu Lu immediately lay back in the transport cabin.

But after this world number came out, he was slightly stunned.

There are trillions of small worlds under the Space-Time Bureau, and the name and number system alone is already an extremely complex system. Generally speaking, taskers will not waste their memory on this, and even the organization of task records is done in a specific way as abbreviations.

But this world is different.

Chu Lu remembered its number.

This is his world, the world he was born into.

Despite this, he has never done any missions in this world.

It shouldn't be here...

But thinking of the "promotion gift" that Chu Chenyang mentioned in the video message, Chu Lu vaguely had a little understanding -

Compared to the previous "vacation" which was obviously a torment to him, this is probably the real "gift".

He felt complicated for a moment, but...

…

…………

Chu Lu: It turns out I can’t thank you at all!

——That old bastard!!