Chapter 174 God's Amusement
Xie Ze was the emperor's study companion in his childhood. They studied and learned to read together and were like-minded partners.
However, when Xie Ze was fifteen years old, his father was imprisoned for accepting bribes. Not only was their home to be searched, but his father was also to be executed in the autumn.
Xie Ze took the account books to the emperor, who was then a prince.
Her pale hands crumpled the ledger, creating deep furrows. "Your Highness, my father was framed. This is the evidence. Please, let me see His Majesty."
The prince pulled him aside. "With these powerful families joining forces, your father is doomed. He's doomed. Why do you think you're standing here speaking? It's because I pleaded for you that you were spared. Go back now and don't come back."
Seeing that Xie Ze refused to leave, the prince had no choice but to send guards to pull him away, and then turned and left.
Xie Ze looked at his heartless back in despair, never expecting that the prince wouldn't even give him a chance.
Later, the prince took charge of the case. He personally led people to search Xie Ze's house and personally threw the execution order on the ground at the execution ground.
The prince gained prominence in front of the emperor because of this incident, and from then on, he thrived in the court and eventually became the crown prince.
Only Xie Ze, in the damp and dilapidated courtyard that no one cared about, was in a daze, like a walking corpse.
Hearing the people praising the prince, Xie Ze staggered up from the muddy ground, his fingernails digging into the ground so tightly they almost broke.
No... I refuse to accept this. Why is it that the person who framed my father is thriving while I am left to be trampled into the mud?
I do not accept this.
Xie Ze washed away the wine stains from his body, put on his scholar's robe again, and smiled gently, keeping the decadent and dark part of himself hidden deep in his heart, unknown to anyone.
He participated in the imperial examination, became the top scholar, and became an official in charge of the canal transport.
Just then, the system selected Jiang Tao as the strategist and sent her to Xie Ze's side.
He spent most of his time on the boat, and by the time Jiang Tao wanted to board, only the servant's seat was left.
Left with no other choice, she disguised herself as a man and became Xie Ze's personal servant.
As Jiang Tao ground ink for him, she gazed at the gentle and refined young man under the lamplight and thought to herself: Something's not right. How could such a gentle person be a villain who turns evil and destroys the world?
System: Don't you know the saying "the white-faced is actually the black-faced" from reading novels all the time?
Jiang Tao fell silent, but her eyes kept darting towards Xie Ze. Knowing was one thing, but seeing it with her own eyes was another.
She thought Xie Ze was a good person.
The villain rescue plan is underway.
When Jiang Tao became acquainted with him, the villain's descent into darkness index was 5%.
When Jiang Tao's true identity as a woman is revealed in front of him, the villain's "darkening index" reaches 50%.
When Jiang Tao pretends to love him, the villain's descent into darkness reaches 99%.
Wait a minute, why is it that the harder I try, the higher Xie Ze's corruption level gets?
In order to complete the mission as soon as possible and prevent this world from being destroyed, she decided to sacrifice herself to feed the demon and marry Xie Ze, so that he would no longer be able to do that head-grabbing thing.
Anyway, Jiang Tao definitely didn't... fall in love with the villain.
She had been married to Xie Ze for many years and had three children. She looked at Xie Ze's 99% blackening value.
No, it's been so long, why is my husband still thinking about taking that dog emperor's head?
When she gave birth to her third child, she suffered severe postpartum hemorrhage, and Xie Ze held her cold hand and cried.
Jiang Tao weakly looked at the gauze curtain above her head and thought to herself, "I can finally leave this world."
But she left so many things here: her husband, her eldest son, her twins, and the baby in her belly.
She... couldn't bear to part with it.
"Ding—System upgrade complete, vulnerabilities fixed, progress bar updated, current affection value—100%."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Tao was almost furious.
You stupid system, you're completely unreliable! You even mistook love points for corruption points and framed her for this!
To compensate its host, it resurrected her in... the system's space, and then, due to insufficient energy, Yitong fell into a deep sleep.
During this period, the system charges at a snail's pace.
Xie Ze did not turn to the dark side after losing his lover; instead, he chose to take good care of the four children his wife left behind.
He rose to the challenge and became the governor in charge of the Grand Canal, eliminating the powerful families that had framed his family and successfully exonerating his wrongly accused father.
No one dared to look down on him anymore; everyone had to respectfully call him Governor Xie.
At that time, the world's fortunes were subtly converging on Xie Mianmian, who was still an infant. It was too complicated, with good and bad, danger and opportunity coexisting.
Chiwen was somewhat worried. If Xie Mianmian were to die young, the world would be thrown into turmoil again, and the common people would be left without peace.
When Ya Zi found out, he came up with a bad idea, but the matter was actually very simple.
As long as they choose another woman of destiny and let them compete, the one who survives will have her destiny basically stabilized and will not threaten the safety of the small world.
Before Chiwen could speak, Yazi unleashed a spell, and the beam of light automatically reached Lin Ruoxue.
"Don't glare at me like that. I'm not messing around. She is the most ambitious woman in the Great Zhou. All I did was grant her the ability to discover the existence of the woman of destiny. The rest is up to her."
Ya Zi really loves to watch a good show; how could a five-year-old child possibly defeat a ruthless woman who has reached marriageable age?
Finally, on an ordinary afternoon in spring, Xie Mianmian drowned in the lotus pond.
But what no one expected was that the system left behind by Chaofeng—began to ring.
"The Heavenly Dao Virtue System has been bound."
"Full resentment level detected. Reversal countdown initiated—"
It seems the system has been revamped by Mofeng again.
However, looking at Xie Mianmian who had come back to life, Chiwen felt extremely satisfied.
In the days that followed, it cheered Xie Mianmian on and off, laughing and crying with the child, worrying about her and being afraid for her.
This is how parents feel, but Chiwen doesn't know it.
The wooden dragon used for sacrifices in Xiahe Village is it; the small stone carving next to the abandoned well in Fohua Temple is it; and the one that floats in the Liuhe River during the Ghost Festival, representing a deity descending to earth to save people without permission, is also it.
The system's energy was far too overwhelming for a child. After repeated use, Xie Mianmian's body could not withstand it, and her soul, protected, appeared in the system's space.
Jiang Tao had just woken up when she saw her child whom she had never met before. However, she could not stay there for long, so she could only suppress her grief and send Xie Mianmian back.
In order to maintain Jiang Tao, the former host, the system was forced to go into a deep sleep, distributing its energy evenly among the mother and daughter.
Later, as Xie Mianmian's luck became more stable, the system was finally able to do more.
For example, opening the bridge would allow Xie Ze's soul to appear in the space while he sleeps and reunite with Jiang Tao.
Unfortunately, I don't have enough permissions, and the task is still incomplete.
Therefore, for the past ten years or so, Jiang Tao has been confined to the space. Apart from her rendezvous with Xie Ze, she has spent the rest of her time watching various TV series, movies, and playing games provided by the system.
Now, the Northern Rong have been defeated, and the Great Zhou has won a complete victory, becoming the most powerful country on land.
This little world—finally, can live in peace for several hundred years.
The owl happily swam back and forth in the clouds, flicking its fish tail.
It remembered someone, and with a flick of its tail, Jiang Tao appeared smoothly on the cloud.
"Congratulations on completing your mission and successfully preventing the world from being destroyed. Now it's time to fulfill your promise and you can go back."
As soon as he finished speaking, a water mirror appeared out of thin air, showing tall buildings on the opposite side and stylish, energetic young men and women walking on the sidewalk.
Jiang Tao stared blankly at the bustling traffic ahead, which was exactly what she had longed for in the past.
She reached out a hand and gently touched the water mirror, ripples spreading from her fingertips. Her gaze held a hint of nostalgia, but she withdrew her hand the next second.
In the modern world, Jiang Tao is just an orphan who has just graduated from university; she has no home there.
She looked down at Xie Mianmian below, realizing that the child had grown so much without her noticing.
Here are her husband and children, and her best friend, the mermaid.
This is Jiang Tao's home.
"I don't want to go back, I want to stay here."
"Oh, actually you died more than ten years ago. You can stay if you want."
Chiwen scratched his head. "You will remain the way you were when you first transmigrated, but everything about you in this world will be erased. Even Xie Ze won't remember who you are. Are you still willing to do that?"
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