Chapter 306 Extra Chapter: The Subjects' Sequel (Part 2) ^...
Wen Zhongnan
This rebirth is a life to put an end to regrets.
In his past life, Wen Zhongnan loved being a chivalrous knight-errant who stood up for the weak and helped the weak. From a young age, he was fascinated by martial arts, and even though his whole family were civil officials who forced him to study and take exams, Wen Zhongnan rebelled and refused, always causing chaos.
Even when he grew older, he already knew that there was no martial arts world, no chivalrous heroes, only poor people and injustices in this world...
Wen Zhongnan's original intention remained unchanged. Only his thinking changed slightly: there are no true heroes in this world, isn't he himself? There are no martial arts or martial worlds in this world, but that doesn't stop the martial arts he has painstakingly honed from being mere fancy moves!
All youthful spirit begins with the upheaval of the land. Wen Zhongnan puts down his cherished folding fan, picks up his sword, and heads to the frontier.
He became a renowned young general.
He would take time out of his busy schedule to write letters to His Majesty, his pen pal, from inside his tent.
At that time, Wen Zhongnan firmly believed that while he was fighting on the frontier, he could focus on governing the country without worry. He believed that as long as they, as ruler and minister, worked together and trusted each other, their bond would remain unbreakable, protecting the nation and ensuring its stability…
However, the unexpected happened so quickly.
Why did Wuyou die of illness?
When Wen Zhongnan learned the news, it was too late. As a general, he couldn't even get to the bottom of the reason for the emperor's death, because that would be too inappropriate.
What followed was a relentless, agonizing nightmare.
It wasn't until his death that the usually composed and elegant Wen Zhongnan couldn't help but choke up for a moment.
Throughout his life, he was unable to protect the innocent people from being slaughtered, nor could he safeguard His Majesty's safety.
...He has let Dading down!
Therefore, after realizing that he had been reborn, Wen Zhongnan did not hesitate to travel south and go to Liuzhou to recommend himself, thus bringing forward the time when he met Wuyou.
He squatted by the compost pit and saw the future king, still a calm and innocent-looking boy, walking towards him from afar, looking at him with a puzzled expression.
Wen Zhongnan's once-quiet heart began to pound again. He casually flashed a happy smile and said:
"Your Highness, just call me Wen Er."
...
Everything in this life is different. Wen Zhongnan realizes that there are many people who have had similar extraordinary experiences as him who are helping Wuyou move forward.
For the sake of peace and stability, Wen Zhongnan once again joined the army without hesitation.
He had thought that the best outcome would be that he and Wuyou had avoided the deadly situation of their previous life and that Dading had been saved.
But Wen Zhongnan never imagined that he would one day take off his armor and pick up his folding fan again.
"Don't you like to travel around and right wrongs?" Wuyou asked him that day. "Go do what you like."
After that day, the world lost a famous young general in the army and gained a lively and loyal young master named Wen Er Gongzi who mingled among the common people.
Everyone knows that this Second Young Master Wen is unpredictable, loves to travel around, and has made friends all over the world, as well as enemies all over the world.
Many people hate him for ruining things, but they can't beat him, and those who can are afraid of the emperor who is protecting him.
Wen Zhongnan lived his life in such a carefree and unrestrained way.
He is free.
Hu Hong
Hu Hong was a poor farm boy from Liuzhou, a child who toiled in the fields for a living.
Being able to study and learn to read at Liuzhou University was the beginning of his changing destiny.
Hu Hong never felt inferior about his identity.
While other students ate delicious meals served in restaurants, he ate dry, hard flatbread. While other students were chauffeured around after school, he had to walk for hours. While he couldn't join in any of the other students' conversations, they meant no harm and tried to accept Hu Hong, but Hu Hong just couldn't keep up.
Hu Hong didn't care. He studied hard, passed the county examination, and made a preliminary change in his family's social standing, which made his mother very proud.
Liuzhou is changing rapidly, and every household is living a better life because of Prince Rui. The future looks bright and promising.
He also had two close friends—Qi Zhong and Zhang Ji. Although they came from different backgrounds, it didn't stop them from getting together in a rather haphazard way.
Everything is already perfect.
Hu Hong is content with the status quo; what else could he possibly be dissatisfied with?
But Hu Hong did not expect that everything would change so suddenly and so unpredictably.
It seemed like all of a sudden, his friend Zhang Ji and his classmate Huang were going to take the imperial examinations. Passing them would be like leaping over the dragon gate, a path to officialdom, and they would never stay in this place again. Another friend, Qi Zhong, was also moving his entire family back to the capital with Prince Rui, a long and arduous journey. Without a stroke of luck, they feared they would never see each other again in their lives…
Everyone else was moving forward, but it seemed like he was the only one left behind.
Whose fault is this? It's no one's fault.
But he was left behind.
He had nowhere to confide his frustration, but Hu Hong's foundation was weak. Unlike others, he simply couldn't pass the prefectural examination in just a few years, go to the capital, let alone meet the emperor.
That was a scene that Hu Hong never dared to imagine.
...Until His Majesty's message arrived, it turned out that he was the "Qi Zhong" from back then, and that he was Hu Hong's friend.
Hu Hong hadn't slept soundly for almost half a month, and when he sat up in the middle of the night, he felt so dazed that he wanted to pinch himself a couple of times.
Is it true or not?
Huh? He was friends with His Majesty the current emperor??
However, this truth transformed Hu Hong's long-standing sense of loss into motivation.
He recalled Qi's words before he left: "Brother Hu, if you ever pass the imperial examination and get into the capital, let's drink together again."
Hu Hong has a new obsession.
No matter how many years he takes the exam... he wants to fulfill this promise.
Hu Hong took the exam year after year, until he reached the age of thirty and then forty.
His natural talent was limited, and he was able to pass the exams for most of his life thanks to the financial support he received from Liuzhou Academy. No one dared to object to his behavior in person, as everyone knew that the steward left behind by the emperor during his time as a prince would take care of the Hu family every now and then.
Hu Hong still failed to pass the imperial examination in the capital by relying on the Four Books and Five Classics.
But he took a different approach.
His geography has always been outstanding. Over the years, he has accumulated a wealth of knowledge and has developed profound insights into mountains, rivers, maps, and astronomical principles. He became the top geography scholar in the special imperial examination newly added by His Majesty and was selected to write the "Determined Book" in the Hanlin Academy.
This top scholar title is not unusual, because there are several other specialized examinations added later, such as "Chemistry Top Scholar" and "Physics Top Scholar," with several people sharing the title.
Scholars still mostly took pride in those who passed the orthodox imperial examinations, and subtly marginalized these newcomers.
But Hu Hong didn't care about any of that. He was nervously and excitedly taken to the capital and finally saw that familiar yet unfamiliar face.
"We're all getting old," His Majesty said with a smile, afraid that he might feel awkward. "Brother Hu, do you still remember when we used to fly kites and ride bicycles together?"
"I remember, of course I remember."
Hu Hong agreed, drinking one glass of wine after another, his gloom dissipating.
He realized that he wasn't actually that excited to see Brother Qi; he was just trapped in the "day when everyone abandoned him," trapped in this knot in his heart, unable to get out of it for the rest of his life.
He held onto that anger for half his life.
But now, Hu Hong's life has not been in vain.
"--Ha ha!"
Hu Hong laughed twice, then became completely drunk and lost consciousness.
...
Qi Chengming, who was preparing to have a heart-to-heart talk with his old friend, was stunned for a moment, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
【Mu Jie】
Mu Jie has a scathing statement that he has never mentioned to anyone.
—He has been dissatisfied with Emperor Taiyuan for a long time!
At the moment of his rebirth, he did not have many opinions about the Second Prince. He was only worried that the other party was physically weak, which made Mu Jie want to rely on his memories to see if he could support the other prince so as to change the tragic state of the country after decades of Da Ding.
but.
The eldest prince is a hypocrite, cowardly and irresponsible. The third prince is cunning and manipulative. The sixth prince is honest and kind but mediocre. The seventh prince is quite intelligent but lacks responsibility and is ruthless…
well.
After much deliberation, they could only choose one from the Second Prince and the Sixth Prince to take charge; the others were all unsuitable. But even setting aside whether these princes had a chance, based on their memories from their previous life, none of them could compare to the Second Prince's unparalleled talent.
After that, Mu Jie gave up all such ideas and began to do his best to secretly help the Second Prince develop.
The renowned physician Bian was on good terms with his family and was persuaded to go there. His youngest son, who was originally supposed to return to the capital to join the cabinet, was also transferred there by him.
He devoted himself wholeheartedly to serving His Majesty in the capital, doing everything he could to ensure His Majesty would have no worries upon his return.
Seeing that His Majesty had ascended the throne and was now in good health, no longer as frail as in his previous life, and having married and had children, he was relieved of all his worries.
Grand Scholar Mu is already very old. He feels that he has made it this far without any regrets and can now live a contented life, waiting only to close his eyes in retirement.
But, on his deathbed, he had to say one thing—he had long harbored resentment towards Emperor Taiyuan!
In his previous life, he thought he and His Majesty were a perfect match, and that the reason for this was simply that His Majesty was physically weak.
After making amends for everything in this life, Grand Scholar Mu wished he could hold his nose and turn back time—
That's not how it works!
The longer they spent together, the more new things he had never seen before were developed in this life, and the more Mu Jie realized that Emperor Taiyuan was actually a naive, obsessive, and impatient person who acted rashly without regard for reality.
In his past life, His Majesty clearly didn't put his full effort into establishing the nation!
Even so, the courtiers of the previous life couldn't keep up with His Majesty's pace. Fortunately, in this life, they all have the foundation and the ability to learn, so they stumble along to follow His Majesty and see the new changes over the years.
Mu Jie felt tormented and pleasured at the same time as she thought about this.
'Your Majesty... your pretense is becoming increasingly convincing; you've deceived this old minister for so long!'
[Song Dynasty]
Song Gu had served two emperors, and for him, there was nothing that was not perfect.
In his previous life, he was the person closest to the emperor's heart, but he only got a little closer. He had no idea what the new emperor was thinking.
In this life, he tried his best to keep the new emperor in every way, filled with anxiety and fear. Unbeknownst to him, the new emperor became more and more relaxed in front of him.
"Let's eat alone!"
When they were in Liuzhou, Xinjun mysteriously dragged him to eat "instant noodles" and drink "cola".
"Try this, is it delicious?"
That was a "Kende Chicken Family Bucket"—Song Gu had never eaten such delicious fried chicken before; he almost swallowed his tongue.
There was also the "Spicy Beef Tallow Hot Pot," which gave Song Gu a glimpse into the new emperor's thoughts...
The new emperor, could he possibly really like eating beef?
From hot pot with butter to braised beef to beef jerky, everything was "conjured" by Xin Jun, but he always kept it a secret. He never had the kitchen make it, and even when he occasionally ate beef that had died unexpectedly, he remained calm and didn't reveal anything.
Song Gu had some ideas, but since they were still lying low in Liuzhou and couldn't make any big moves, he held back for now.
Later, the new ruler became increasingly outrageous, bringing him enormous iron objects to hide, devices that could make whistling noises and communicate across vast distances, and even conjuring up food and supplies out of thin air… Once it happened, it happened again, and each time he was only given one sentence:
"You decide what to do with it."
Song Gu had no choice but to comply, racking his brains to cover up for the new emperor.
When His Majesty ascended the throne, the eunuch Fu Man, who loved to watch the drama unfold, had nowhere to go and was sent to the countryside to find out newsworthy events, big and small, that could be published in the newspapers. The other eunuchs in the imperial court also lost their dignity and were not favored by the new emperor. When they grew old, they could only leave the palace in desolation, and their lives were very difficult.
Song Gu knew his opportunity had come, so he went and quietly gave them some instructions.
From then on, the elderly eunuchs who were retiring began to raise beef cattle in their respective residences and estates. Reliable young eunuchs selected by Song Gu recognized the old eunuchs as their godfathers, took care of them in their old age and their deaths, supervised the progress of their cattle raising, and then quietly sent the beef cattle into the palace every now and then... to satisfy the new emperor's little whims.
Then, the new emperor—no, he's no longer new, he should be called Your Majesty—after all, His Majesty had aged, and suddenly gave Song Gu the greatest shock of all—
“There’s something I’ve never understood, and now that my time is almost up, I’d like to satisfy my curiosity no matter what—only you can help me.” The emperor, with his temples streaked with gray, patted his shoulder with unwavering conviction, his eyes full of trust.
"What is Your Majesty going to do?" Song Gu had a bad feeling.
"I won't make things difficult for you. You just keep an eye on things from the side and record all my reactions. As long as I don't give the order, don't interfere no matter how dangerous it is." Qi Chengming patted the imperial edict that he had written and folded beside him. "If anything happens... I will try my best not to implicate you."
He used the word "朕" (zhen, meaning "I" or "the emperor") repeatedly in this passage, emphasizing it, which left Song Gu speechless.
Then, the emperor, whose power and influence were immense, raised a dagger that could cut hair as thin as mud and plunged it into his own heart.
Song Gu: "...!!!!"
The old Song emperor, Song Gudu, crawled on his knees, his hands trembling so much he didn't know how to move him. He almost burst into tears on the spot: "Your Majesty?! Why are you doing this?!"
"Stop talking nonsense and write it down quickly."
Song Gu could only watch with tears in his eyes and trepidation as His Majesty went through all sorts of ordeals, from minor injuries to serious ones. But no matter what he did, even with the dagger piercing his heart, His Majesty seemed to feel nothing. Blood had soaked through his outer robes, yet he remained radiant, muttering something thoughtfully:
"So there really is a blood lock..."
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty?"
The scene was so terrifying and inhuman that Song Gujian would have fainted if he hadn't been so strong.
But this shocking scene completely confirmed Song Gu's earlier speculation...
Your Majesty, he still cannot remain in this world.
Song Gu called out cautiously, but His Majesty still ignored him, only saying things that Song Gu couldn't quite understand: "...No wonder I sometimes felt when I was injured and sometimes I didn't. Hmm, so the health bar is an active skill, and I have to figure it out myself. Except for the passive skill that locks one point of health, oh my, it's quite dangerous..."
He stopped talking at this point.
It wasn't because Song Gu interrupted, but because His Majesty hurriedly started stuffing pills into his mouth, as if he had completely figured something out.
"Your Majesty...?" Song Gu stared expectantly the whole time, his years of composure and steadiness completely gone, his voice trembling as he spoke, "Shall I help you... pull the dagger out?"
"Pull it up, pull it up." His Majesty's tone regained its calmness, even a little weary, as if he were giving instructions on what to eat today.
Only Song Gu, swallowing his anger and working anxiously in the main hall for most of the day, managed to clean up the mess for His Majesty and cover it up completely.
His Majesty……
Why is it that the older I get, the more troublesome I become?
He furtively tucked the blood-stained clothes into his chest and smuggled them out, then had to get up in the middle of the night to wash them by himself.
Under the same moonlight in the same courtyard in his previous life, Song Gu, while washing himself, found a strange kind of joy in his bitterness and laughed.
That's enough.
Compared to the previous emperor's appearance, he still prefers the lively emperor he has now.
...
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Author's Note: The side story of the subjects is now complete.
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