Xiao Che's declaration of "retirement" was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but rather a long-planned move.
Three days after his son's wedding, a simple yet solemn abdication ceremony was held in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. The entire process was so fast that even the old ministers in the court, who were still recovering from the joy of the emperor's wedding, were somewhat caught off guard.
Their retired emperor, who had ushered in a golden age, was unprecedentedly resolute in his determination to abandon his duties.
At the grand ceremony, the new Emperor Xiao Tuan, dressed in a heavy dragon robe, looked at his smiling and relaxed father and mother below the throne, his eyes filled with reluctance and filial piety. Xiao Che, after accepting his son's final kneeling bow, didn't even wait for the official's closing salutation. He stepped forward, took Lin Wanwan's hand, and amidst the astonished gazes of the court officials, turned gracefully and walked down the steps without looking back.
That figure exuded the resolute determination of "leaving without a trace after accomplishing the deed, concealing one's merits and fame," as if staying in the palace for even a second longer was an ordeal.
Watching his father and mother's "eager" figures rushing towards freedom, Xiao Tuan felt both helpless and warm. He knew that they had left him with the heaviest burden, but also with their complete trust and the widest world.
The carriage was already waiting outside the palace gate.
As the wheels rolled away from the Forbidden City where he had lived half his life, Xiao Che took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, as if he wanted to expel all the imperial aura that had accumulated in his chest for decades.
He turned his head, looking at Lin Wanwan beside him, who also looked relaxed, and a brighter smile than ever before appeared on his lips. At that moment, his "artificial voice pack" system switched to a brand-new "pastoral poetry" mode:
"Wanwan, my 'new empire' has arrived!"
Lin Wanwan was amused by his novel way of putting it. "New Jiangshan? Where is that?"
Xiao Che looked out the window at the vast world that belonged to ordinary people, his eyes shining: "Before, my empire was in the court, in the memorials, and on the map. From now on, my empire will be in that small plot of land, between you and me every day."
These sweet words were spoken with exceptional skill, filling Lin Wanwan's heart with warmth. She knew that their real life, truly their own, had only just begun from this moment.
The royal villa on the outskirts of Beijing has been completely renovated. There is no luxury or orderliness of the palace here, only simple houses, quiet courtyards, and a vast vegetable garden behind the house waiting to be cultivated.
As soon as Xiao Che arrived at the villa, he couldn't wait to change out of the elaborate everyday clothes that symbolized his status as the retired emperor and put on a simple, coarse cloth outfit. Although the material was ordinary, it still made him look heroic and extraordinary.
He excitedly led Lin Wanwan to the vegetable garden behind the house. Looking at the soft, fertile black soil before him, he waved his hand with great pride: "Wanwan, you watch! In less than half a month, I will make this place full of the most delicious vegetables in the world!"
Lin Wanwan suppressed a laugh and nodded in agreement: "Okay, then I'll be waiting to eat."
However, no sooner had Xiao Che finished speaking than a slightly hoarse, loud voice came from outside the fence, which seemed out of place.
"Oh, Your Majesty the Emperor Emeritus, you've finally arrived?"
In the neighboring courtyard, an elderly man, also dressed in coarse cloth and short clothes but with a more robust and muscular build, was carrying a hoe and walking over with a smile. It was their neighbor, the retired general Zhang Wei.
General Zhang wiped the sweat from his brow and gestured with his chin to his lush, green vegetable patch, laden with plump cucumbers and tomatoes. It looked so appetizing that it could have been sent straight to the imperial kitchen.
He grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, and "friendly" reminded Xiao Che:
"Your Majesty, look, this old minister's land is almost ready for its second harvest. In that 'competition' between you and this old minister, I've fallen far behind!"
The smugness and boastfulness in his tone almost overflowed the fence.
Xiao Che's face instantly darkened.
He remembered. At his son's wedding banquet, in the midst of his drunken revelry, he had indeed made a bet with this old rascal to see who could grow vegetables better.
How could he, the supreme ruler and the wise founding emperor, possibly lose to a mere brute who only knows how to wield knives and spears in a small "vegetable planting" project?
That's a joke!
"Hmph!" Xiao Che snorted coldly, his fighting spirit of not admitting defeat instantly ignited.
He turned and went into the tool shed next to him, taking a brand-new hoe from the wall. He slammed the hoe down on the ground with a dull thud, his posture as precise as a general reviewing his troops on a battlefield.
Lin Wanwan's eyelids twitched as she watched. She had a very bad feeling.
Xiao Che held the hoe horizontally in front of his chest, stepped forward with his left foot, lowered his waist and stood at attention, took a deep breath, and stared wide-eyed, as if he were facing not a vegetable garden, but a vast army.
He (who had never done farm work before) applied the most standard, powerful, splitting-mountain-like moves he had learned from military books to this hoe.
"ha--!"
With a powerful shout that seemed to come from deep within his dantian, he gripped the hoe handle tightly with both hands and, with all his might, slammed it down onto the ground in front of him!
Posture, perfect!
The momentum is perfect!
Powerful, perfect!
However……
"when--!"
A crisp, piercing sound of metal colliding with stone echoed throughout the backyard.
The hoe, on which so much hope was placed, seemed to be frozen in place the moment it touched the earth. The blade became deeply... stuck in a small crevice in the rock.
Xiao Che's powerful strike not only failed to break through the ground, but was instead firmly "locked" by that unassuming stone.
The entire scene fell into an eerie silence.
Lin Wanwan: "..."
Old General Zhang next door: "..."
Xiao Che remained frozen in that "splitting Mount Hua" pose, completely immobilized. He could feel the immense recoil from the hoe handle, which made his hands go numb.
His face flushed red rapidly, visible to the naked eye.
What... what's going on?
That's not how the script was written! According to his calculations, that shovel strike should have at least sent mud flying, a truly impressive display! How could it... have been "punished" by a tiny stone?!
"puff……"
Someone couldn't help but let out a very soft laugh.
Xiao Che turned around abruptly, his sharp gaze sweeping over Lin Wanwan and Lao Zhang.
Lin Wanwan immediately covered her mouth and shook her head frantically to indicate that it wasn't her. General Zhang, on the other hand, had a serious expression, but his violently trembling beard betrayed his inner rage.
Xiao Che's face turned even redder, the redness spreading from his ears all the way to his neck. He felt that his lifelong reputation had been ruined in this moment by a single "hoe".
He just wouldn't believe it!
He gritted his teeth and strained with both hands again, trying to pull out the "traitorous" hoe.
"Rise, Your Majesty!"
He used the same strength he had when he pulled a heavy bow on the battlefield, and the muscles in his arms instantly bulged.
However, the hoe seemed to be fused to the stone, remaining completely still.
"Hey...ya!"
Xiao Che exerted all his strength, his face turning a deep purplish-red. He kicked hard with both feet, his whole body wrestling with the hoe, creating an extremely comical tug-of-war posture.
Lin Wanwan, who was standing to the side, finally couldn't hold back any longer. She leaned against the fence, laughing so hard that her whole body trembled, and tears were almost coming out of her eyes.
She had never seen Xiao Che so disheveled. The man who was the undisputed leader in the court and a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield was now being humiliated by a hoe and a stone.
The comedic effect produced by this tragic clash between the emperor's "theoretical majesty" and the "physical reality" of farm tools is practically nuclear-level.
"Your Majesty... the Emperor Emeritus... what kind of divine skill are you practicing?" General Zhang from next door finally couldn't hold back any longer and teased him while laughing.
Xiao Che could no longer hear anything at this moment; all his dignity was tied to this damned hoe.
"ah--!"
With his final roar, he finally pulled the hoe out of the crack in the rock in an almost savage manner!
However, due to excessive force, he stumbled and nearly fell to the ground.
The first battle ended in a crushing defeat.
Xiao Che stood there, gripping the hoe that seemed to be mocking him, panting heavily, his handsome face so dark it looked like ink could drip from it.
At this moment, General Zhang, with "kindness," scooped a ladle of cool well water from his own yard with a wooden ladle and handed it over, his face beaming with barely suppressed laughter, and said earnestly:
"Your Majesty, take it easy. This land doesn't recognize any 'dragon's might,' it only recognizes the sweat you shed. This is a real thing, there's no room for any fancy tricks."
Xiao Che looked at the ladle of water, then at Old Zhang's "sincere" face, and felt his imperial dignity being pressed to the ground and repeatedly rubbed against it.
His face turned completely black.
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