Chapter 1 Zhou Rui? Rongguo Mansion? Dream of the Red Chamber! I am now a high-ranking official...

“Zhou Rui? Rongguo Mansion?” Mu Chuan repeated his father’s words.

Although it may seem absurd, this is indeed a real world, and he is a real person.

His injuries were real, the Flower Ajarn chieftain in the prison cart outside was real, the presentation of prisoners at the Meridian Gate the day after tomorrow was real, and the twenty-odd carts of spoils belonging to him in the convoy were also real.

"It's Zhou Rui, the steward of the Rongguo Mansion."

Mu Dazhuang nodded. Although he had revealed the secret he had kept hidden in his heart, his tone was not very emotional, still numb after suffering. "...I inquired for a long time and asked many people... In the end, it was Wang Gou'er who let it slip that we found out who it was. Wang Gou'er was just a small fry. He didn't know who his enemy was. Your grandfather couldn't even be reincarnated."

He spat angrily and continued, "Even when I die, I won't be able to be reincarnated!"

Mu Chuan flipped through the original owner's memories. This part of the memory was very chaotic, consisting mainly of yellow and white paper money everywhere, and the incessant crying of many people.

"Dad, tell me slowly. I only remember that it seemed like the land was taken away, Grandpa died, and Uncle's leg seemed to be broken... What else?"

Mu Chuan took the food his men brought and placed it in front of Mu Dazhuang, then poured him some wine: "Now that I'm back, let's settle our scores."

Mu Chuan's calm tone reassured Mu Dazhuang. Moreover, everyone treated him with utmost respect as they entered the military camp, and this barracks was the second largest.

—My son is now a high-ranking official.

Mu Dazhuang grunted in agreement, downed a mouthful of wine, and his expression became more lively.

“Back then, our family had just bought a cow, and your grandfather had enrolled your younger brother in school. We thought we had the means, and our descendants should be literate enough to have at least a few words. After three or five generations, who knows, we might even produce a scholar. But who knew…”

Little did they know they'd been targeted as easy prey.

Wang Gou'er, a fellow villager, was a scoundrel. Relying on his father's old connections, he secretly transferred the land to the government without informing the Mu family.

The second uncle, unable to contain his anger, went to argue his case, but was immediately beaten and had his leg broken by the yamen runners.

“Your grandfather starved to death.” Mu Dazhuang’s brows were furrowed, his face deeply lined with wrinkles. “He starved himself to death.”

“Your grandfather is dead, and there are only three men left in our family. Only one of us needs to be conscripted for corvée labor.” Mu Dazhuang sighed, glanced cautiously at his son, then looked away and said in a muffled voice, “Don’t blame your second uncle. I was the one who sent you back then.”

Following Mu Dazhuang's words, Mu Chuan flipped through the original owner's hazy memories, then heard Mu Dazhuang say, "Your second uncle broke his leg. Although your cousin is old enough, if we really make him do corvée labor, your second uncle's whole family will have no way to survive. I—"

“Father,” Mu Chuan interrupted Mu Dazhuang, “it wasn’t you, it was Wang Gou’er who said something.”

The original owner had this part in their memories, and they didn't think much of it at first. But after learning the cause and effect, Mu Chuan found this part rather strange.

"I was beaten up by the yamen runners on the way. They said you were the third son of the Mu family?" Mu Chuan said in a deep voice, "They know me. They're after me. Even if you hadn't said anything, they would have taken me away anyway."

Mu Dazhuang froze, staring blankly at his son. His eyes snapped shut, tears streaming down his face. "It wasn't me... I thought I'd killed you... I—"

Mu Dazhuang started to sob.

Mu Chuan stepped forward and patted his back hard, the heavy touch making Mu Dazhuang cry even more sadly.

After a hearty meal and some drinks, Mu Dazhuang was able to release the pent-up emotions he had suppressed for years. After a good cry, he was a little dazed.

Mu Chuan gave him a hot towel to wipe his face, then made up a bed for him and brought out a thick quilt: "If you're tired, take a nap first. When you wake up, we'll have a doctor take a look at you. The doctors in the army were originally imperial physicians, so their medical skills are quite good."

The evaluation of "passable" is not for any other reason than that this imperial physician originally treated diseases of the wealthy, but after going to the army, he treated diseases of hardship. It took him more than half a year to get over this change in thinking.

"Ten years." A mix of resentment and intense relief overwhelmed Mu Dazhuang. He grasped Mu Chuan's hand: "Your mother resents me, and your second uncle hasn't said a word to me all these years. I—"

"I understand." Mu Chuan's tone was calm, yet exceptionally trustworthy. "Since they use their power to oppress us, I am now in a position of power as well. If I oppress them, they should accept it."

Mu Dazhuang wiped away his tears, and Mu Chuan asked again, "Is the land being cultivated by the Zhou family now? Or is Wang Gou'er helping to watch over it?"

"No!" Mu Dazhuang said angrily. "The best paddy fields are abandoned and left uncultivated! That bastard from the Wang family failed to curry favor with any important person. They don't even care about this meager harvest. He deserves it!"

"I understand," Mu Chuan replied again. "I'll take care of everything."

Mu Dazhuang was under a lot of stress. Since receiving news about his son yesterday, his emotions had been fluctuating wildly. He hadn't had a proper rest for two days. Today, after seeing his son and realizing that he was doing well, he relaxed and his fatigue finally surfaced.

He yawned, then let go of her hand, calling out "Son!" several times, wanting to say something, but he had too much to say and just looked at Mu Chuan.

Mu Chuan said, "You rest first. There are soldiers watching outside. Just tell me what you need. I'm going to check on the old general. I just got back. Although I have a few men, I'm not familiar with the area. I'll have to ask him for some more."

"The Rongguo Mansion," Mu Dazhuang whispered.

"They've even lost their Duke status. Ten years ago, they only dared to bully us common folk, and they only dared to take a few hundred taels of silver. They really had a lot of ambition to be Dukes. Who wouldn't call them cowards? Since they're cowards, what's there to be afraid of?"

These words carried a hint of venting, which, while not quite in line with Mu Chuan's personality, suited Mu Dazhuang's wishes. Reassured, he nodded heavily and said, "I'll do whatever you say."

Mu Chuan sat by the bed for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and seeing that Mu Dazhuang had fallen asleep, he got up and went outside the barracks.

The men guarding the door all smiled and said, "Congratulations, General!"

"Take good care of him." Mu Chuan waved his hand. "I'm going to see the old general. My father's personality is such that he'll probably keep everything to himself. Ask him more questions."

“I know, we all come from the same background, my father was the same.”

"Just treat him like your own father and that's it."

Mu Chuan chuckled twice and headed towards the main barracks.

Thinking back on the past few years, I originally thought that the retired emperor who reigned for more than ten years was because he didn't study history well, but I didn't expect it was because of Dream of the Red Chamber.

Mu Chuan couldn't help but press his chest; he could feel the raised scar on the original owner's chest.

It was shot by an arrow, penetrating three inches into the flesh.

That's why he replaced the original owner.

However, there are some benefits to time travel, such as his health improving day by day and his strength increasing day by day.

The original owner was already tall, and at eleven or twelve years old, he was already the size of an adult. Otherwise, Wang Gou'er would not have specifically named him and bribed the yamen runners to make him perform corvée labor.

Firstly, he was good enough to impersonate an adult, and secondly, he was afraid of the original owner of this body, who was tall and imposing, retaliating.

After the transplant, in addition to becoming taller, he also gained muscle and became much stronger. His chronic diarrhea, which he had accumulated in his early years, seemed to have disappeared without a trace.

When Mu Chuan arrived at the main barracks, the guards went in to announce his arrival. The curtain was quickly lifted, and out came Li Chengwu, the grandson of General Li.

"Brother Chuan." The former playboy called out very respectfully, standing on tiptoe so that the curtain could not touch Mu Chuan at all.

"Chengwu." Mu Chuan nodded to him and strode into the inner room.

"I know. You've said it several times already." The old general's voice came from the inner room, full of vigor: "I've lived for sixty years, and the Meridian Gate has seen the presentation of prisoners of war three times. I know it better than you do."

Mu Chuan walked in with a smile, "General."

"Come sit down, Chengwu, pour some tea." General Li waved his hand impatiently while greeting Mu Chuan, snatched the ceremonial schedule from the Ministry of Rites official and placed it on the table. "Last time I presented the captives, you were still drinking milk."

The official from the Ministry of Rites turned pale and then pink, but Mu Chuan cupped his hands in greeting and pretended not to see it.

This achievement was truly remarkable, and General Li was retiring to his hometown. The officials of the Ministry of Rites had nothing to say and left with sighs and looking back every few steps.

"Thank you, General." Mu Chuan bowed deeply. "He really is my father."

General Li laughed and said, "I was just telling Chengwu that he hasn't come over for so long, which shows that this father is real."

"If it weren't for the general's help, how could things have gone so smoothly?" Mu Chuan smiled gratefully. "People used to be confused, illiterate, and couldn't distinguish east from west. They had never left home. They only knew that it was roughly near the capital, and the village's name was related to trees. The general really put in a lot of effort to find my father just by relying on the name Mu San."

General Li was also very happy. He stroked his beard with a smile and said, "You are blessed. You survived a great calamity, and good fortune is sure to follow! You have regained your senses, and your luck has come."

As they were talking, Li Chengwu came over with a teacup. The old general offered him the tea: "Let me tell you about the presentation of prisoners at the Meridian Gate. There's nothing to be nervous about. His Majesty is on the gate tower, quite far away. It's just us in that huge square, with officials from the Ministry of Rites leading the way—"

He lowered his voice and raised an eyebrow halfway through his sentence: "Even if there's a tiny mistake, it doesn't matter. His Majesty won't notice. He's not as familiar with presenting captives as I am."

Mu Chuan laughed along, "The general is right. What if the Emperor Emeritus comes to see us too?"

General Li was taken aback, frowned, and hesitated before saying, "The Emperor Emeritus is over seventy, isn't he? When presenting prisoners at the Meridian Gate, one cannot sit, but must stand. He probably doesn't have the strength for that."

After saying that, General Li saw Mu Chuan's smiling face and knew that he was joking, so his expression immediately relaxed.

"Let me tell you, it's past Mid-Autumn Festival now, the sun isn't so strong or hot anymore. Last time, when we presented the prisoners at the Meridian Gate, it was just a few days after the Dragon Boat Festival, and several young civil officials fainted from the sun. We won a battle, and they get credit just for holding a ceremony. What a bunch of cowards!"

Mu Chuan said unhurriedly, "In the past year or two, the general has been at the height of his power, and His Majesty will not punish him no matter what. We should give those civil officials a good scolding. They withhold our grain, refuse to give us more pensions, and when we don't have enough weapons, do they expect us to just rush in and die? I want to scold them too."

"You. I can scold you, but don't be the one to start it." General Li smiled, his face crinkling with wrinkles, and then asked, "Is the armored caravan ready? We'll be entering the city through Andingmen, which means we'll have to take a detour. We have to set off in the middle of the night."

"Andingmen is quite lively now." In the main hall of Grandmother Jia, Jia Baoyu said excitedly, "We'll be entering the city at 7:45 AM the day after tomorrow. Grandmother, I want to go and see it. I've never seen a triumphant return of the emperor before. I wonder if it's as lively as the opera. The martial arts actors in the opera can even do somersaults."

Looking at her beloved grandson and the room full of smiling girls, Grandmother Jia smiled warmly and said, "Why are you joining in the fun? It's so crowded."

"Exactly," Madam Wang added. "Those people are ruthless killers. They'll come back covered in the stench of blood. If they bring back anything dirty, your Lin sister might find you repulsive."

Lin Daiyu, who was called out, replied, "It's probably too late to see now. We should book a roadside tavern as soon as possible. If there are any on the second or third floor, we'll know even better."

“It’s really not good to squeeze with those people. It’s one thing if your things are stolen, but what if you get hurt in the crowd?” Madam Xing chimed in, “However, it’s definitely worth seeing when they return victorious. You’re not young anymore, you should broaden your horizons.”

These words were unpleasant to hear, and Grandmother Jia frowned. Just as she was about to speak, Jia Baoyu, having been repeatedly rejected, became displeased. He pouted and called out, "Grandmother~"

Grandmother Jia then instructed Wang Xifeng: "Ask Lian'er to think of a solution."

A note from the author:

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