Author Archives: sandy

Ch 151: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

Mu Xing said softly, “That day at school, I saw a flyer with a phone number on it, so I memorized it.”

The director knew his memory was good, so she didn’t doubt it. She just asked, “And then? What did you do?”

Mu Xing repeated the whole conversation he’d had with the amusement park’s customer service.

Then he asked in a small voice, “So… does that mean everyone can go to the amusement park now?”

But the director’s face hardened. “Xingxing, what have I always taught you? Did you forget?”

Mu Xing froze.

Her tone was stern. “I know you’re very smart, that your grades are good, and you’re quick-witted. But what I fear most is you using that cleverness in the wrong way. You’re still young, and if you start using little tricks to ask people for favors, taking shortcuts, getting things you shouldn’t have without working for them… if you develop that kind of character, what will happen later? You’ll only want to take shortcuts. Xingxing, if you want to go to the amusement park, you can tell me. I’ll think of a way.”

“This time, I’ll turn it down.”

She said this while reaching for her phone.

Mu Xing quickly interrupted, “I didn’t take a shortcut, Director Mama. I picked Good Friends Park after a long time of thinking.”

The director looked at him with confusion.

Mu Xing spoke earnestly. “I did a lot of research. That amusement park has been around for years, and now it doesn’t get many visitors. During my finals I scored very high, and Teacher Liu asked if I’d like to accept an interview from a local TV station. The school will give me a scholarship, and I can also help bring in more sponsorship for our welfare home.”

“When the interview happens, I’ll help advertise Good Friends Park,” he said seriously. “Exchanging a few dozen tickets for a TV promotion—they won’t lose out.”

The director took a long time to react.

She stared at Mu Xing in shock. Read the full chapter at HololoNovels dot com. Even though she had known from the start that this child was very smart, more mature than his peers because of his family background, such a tightly reasoned plan… was this really something a child could say?

After finishing his serious words, Mu Xing began to act pitifully cute. “I’m sorry, Director Mama. I know this isn’t exactly right. But all the kids really, really want to go to the amusement park. If we bought tickets the normal way, all that money could buy lots of formula for Mumu and Yuanyuan instead.”

Mumu and Yuanyuan were the two youngest girls in the home, one just turned one, the other a year and a half, both still needing formula—a huge expense.

The director looked at this child who barely reached her waist. At this age, most children were still under their parents’ wings, happily enjoying their childhood. Yet he was already learning to use his strengths to seek benefits.

She didn’t think it was bad. She only felt heartache.

She squatted down and gently embraced him.

Mu Xing was wrapped in warmth. The director’s hug carried no expensive perfume—just the faint fragrance of laundry detergent, the safest and most comforting smell for every child.

“Xingxing, don’t say sorry. It’s Mama who should thank you.”

“If Mama were more capable, had more savings, or could secure more sponsorships, things would be easier,” she sighed softly.

Mu Xing hugged her back and emphasized seriously, “Director Mama is already very good. All the uncles and aunties at the welfare home are very good.”

When the children found out they would be going to the amusement park the afternoon after next, they were thrilled.

For the next two days they were extra well-behaved—studying diligently, eating and sleeping enthusiastically, always rushing to help with chores (though most of the time they only made more work).

Finally, the appointed day arrived.

Just before nine in the morning, a bus pulled up at the welfare home.

Two people got off: a middle-aged man in casual clothes with a square face and righteous bearing, and a young man in his early twenties.

The middle-aged man warmly stepped forward to shake the director’s hand. “Hello, hello. Are you Director Mei? I’m Lin Guodong, the manager of Good Friends Park.”

As the director exchanged greetings with him, the young man beside Lin and the bus driver opened the luggage compartment and unloaded several boxes.

Lin said, “These are some gifts from Good Friends Park for the children.”

The director was about to refuse, but Lin quickly added, “They’re not expensive things—just some clothes for the kids, books, a few cans of formula, and a couple of small toys.”

Clearly, he had made the effort to learn about the welfare home. The gifts ranged from clothes for teenagers to formula for infants.

Seeing the director’s expression soften, Lin held her hand and smiled. “I once thought of running a welfare home myself, but all kinds of things got in the way and I never managed it. After learning about Hope Welfare Home these past few days, I have to say, Director Mei, you’re truly a remarkable woman.”

The director no longer declined.

Lin laughed. “Then let’s not waste any more time. Please bring all the children out.”

The staff carried the younger ones out. A few toddlers were held in arms, standing at the entrance, gazing enviously at their older siblings.

Lin asked in surprise, “These little ones aren’t coming?”

The director smiled. “They’re too young. They’d just make trouble.”

Lin waved his hand. “No problem. I came today to invite everyone from Hope Welfare Home. The little ones have their own ways to play. The director should come too, and Master Wang as well—everyone together!”

No one knew how he even knew Master Wang’s name.

In the end, the whole orphanage was given a day off, and everyone went together in a lively group to Good Friends Amusement Park.

On the bus, Director Lin curiously asked which child had been the one to call the amusement park.

Mu Xing obediently raised his hand.

When Director Lin saw it was him, he smiled. “The moment I first saw you, I couldn’t help but take a second look. This child is really handsome. Your name is Xingxing, right?”

Mu Xing nodded.

Beside him, little Jin, who was three and a half, piped up in his milky voice: “Brother Xingxing is amazing! He’s a top student! Every time he gets full marks! He can draw, and he plays ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ for us too.”

Little Jin actually had no idea what “top student” meant, but since he often heard the older boys praise Brother Xingxing like this, he learned to say it as well.

Director Lin was astonished. “Really? Then Xingxing is truly impressive!”

But then something crossed his mind, and his smile softened a bit. Read the full chapter at HololoNovels dot com. In front of the children, he couldn’t bring himself to ask—how could such an outstanding child have become an orphan?

When they arrived at the amusement park, the orphanage staff discovered that Good Friends Amusement Park hadn’t even opened to the public that day, keeping the whole place just for them.

Director Mei felt uneasy, but Director Lin waved it off casually. “It’s fine. These days our park hardly has any visitors anyway. To be frank, we don’t really rely on it for profit. Being able to bring joy to the children from the orphanage—that’s worth far more than a few tickets.”

All of the orphanage’s staff had come, and several young employees accompanied the children, easing the shortage of hands.

Soon, the amusement park workers realized these kids were not like other children.

Normally, kids this age loved to run wild. In a place like an amusement park, they would have been like horses let out of their reins, impossible to call back.

But these children, walking together with the adults, although their eyes shone with wonder and longing, stayed obediently by their side without running off.

A young female staff member asked a middle-school–aged boy, “Little one, don’t you want to play with these rides? Why aren’t you running over?”

The boy, Cheng Sheng, shyly whispered, “Director Mama told us that everyone in the amusement park is good to us. She said when we get here, we shouldn’t run around or yell, so we don’t cause trouble for you.”

The girl’s eyes stung.

She was the customer service worker who had answered the call that day. She was supposed to be off today, but she had volunteered to come as their guide.

Smiling, she said, “You’re not troubling us at all. Today we’re here just to play with you. You don’t need to be so reserved.”

She asked Cheng Sheng, “Do you want to ride the roller coaster?”

Cheng Sheng’s eyes lit up.

After getting permission from Director Mei, the children soon split up.

The older ones who could handle more thrilling rides went off with one staff member.

The younger ones went to the merry-go-round and bumper cars.

The very little ones were carried onto the kiddie train that toured the park, with staff blowing bubbles for them to chase.

Even though Director Mei had warned them repeatedly, in the end they were children. After playing for a while, they loosened up, and the amusement park was filled with joyful laughter.

Snacks from the stalls were all free. At first no one dared take any, so the staff grabbed them and stuffed them into the children’s arms.

Lunch had also been arranged beforehand by Director Lin. At the park’s theme restaurant, each child even received a bear-shaped ice cream.

Mu Xing had only thought he’d found a chance for his friends to finally visit an amusement park. He hadn’t expected Director Lin to be so thoughtful.

Considering they were children and the park was far out, Director Lin didn’t keep them for dinner. Instead, he arranged for the bus to take them back. On the way home, each child was given a stuffed animal souvenir.

He also handed Director Mei a card and a thick envelope.

The card was a VIP pass for the amusement park. From then on, whenever they had time, she could bring the children to play.

The envelope was full of photographs—taken that day by the staff of the children.

Director Mei pulled them out one by one, not only seeing the children’s smiling faces, but also herself and Master Wang and the others.

Her eyes reddened. She carefully put the photos back, planning to post them in the classroom once they returned.

She murmured, “Director Lin is truly a good man.”

Sitting behind her, Mu Xing heard these words and nodded in deep agreement: yes, Director Lin truly was a good man.

During his interview, he would make sure to praise him.

The interview was scheduled for three days later.

But the day before, Director Mei suddenly called Mu Xing into her small office, her expression both delighted and conflicted.

Calling it an office was generous—it was just a simply furnished little room, piled with books and ledgers, where she usually managed the orphanage’s affairs.

“Xingxing, I have some good news for you.”

Mu Xing blinked his eyes at her.

Dean Mei said, “Do you remember Director Lin? From Good Friends Amusement Park? He called me today, and we spoke for a long time about you. He said he has a friend who wishes to adopt you. I wanted to ask what you think.”

❣╰(⸝⸝⸝꒳⸝⸝⸝)╯❣

Ch 150: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

How to be a teacher, Mu Xing actually didn’t know.

But he had a talent no one could match: he was born to be liked by little ones.

At two or three years old, three or four years old, that age was usually the hardest to keep focused, the most restless, but when they heard that every evening after dinner, Brother Xingxing would teach a lesson and tell them a story, all the children were well-behaved.

At dinner, they didn’t even need the aunties to watch over them. They wolfed down the food in their bowls, then were carried off to wash their hands and take their baths.

At six-thirty, everyone gathered in the little house.

Mu Xing wasn’t sure how to teach children, but after all, what children needed was simple.

Each class lasted half an hour.

With picture cards bought online, one math class taught counting, one literacy class taught recognizing characters, one English class taught basic words.

The last class, the children sat around to listen to Brother Xingxing tell a story.

The welfare home had an old piano someone had donated. It could still be played, though the sound wasn’t very accurate. Mu Xing tuned it a little himself, then before bedtime played a lullaby for the children.

By then, it was already nine o’clock.

The children were taken back to their little rooms by the aunties, falling asleep with sweet fairy tales in their dreams.

Mu Xing even seriously gave the children simple homework: collect ten different leaves, pick a flower, give it to your favorite friend, things like that.

While he was at school during the day, the children earnestly did the tasks Brother Xingxing had assigned.

At first, Mu Xing only gave basic lessons to the younger ones who hadn’t started school, but later, somehow, many of the older kids came too.

Some even brought their homework, listening to Mu Xing teach the little ones “1, 2, 3, 4” while they worked on their assignments.

The little room quickly became too small.

So the director, the aunties, and Uncle Wang the cook cleaned out a rarely used storage room, scrubbed it spotless, replaced the window glass until it shone bright, and turned it into the children’s new classroom.

The new classroom had many tables and chairs.

At the front were small tables and stools for the little ones. In the back rows were big tables, made by Uncle Wang sawing planks of wood himself, so the older children could study and do homework.

This was something Mu Xing hadn’t expected. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. Because in the welfare home, very few kids liked studying. When he asked before, many had said studying was boring, the teachers were hard to understand, and that after graduating junior high, they would just go work and make money.

Mu Xing had talked about it, but he couldn’t change their mindset.

When he asked again, they scratched their heads awkwardly: “Little Jin and the others are so young, yet they’re so serious every night. They’ll definitely be great at studying in the future. Before, none of us were good at school, and it didn’t seem like a problem. But now, we’re so much older than them—we can’t be worse than they are, right?”

“And in our dorm we talked it over too. We think it’s a good thing for the little ones to love studying. We can’t be a bad influence.”

Mu Xing hadn’t expected this surprising gain, but seeing everyone eager to learn was always a joy.

Since some of the older ones genuinely wanted to study, he spent weekends helping them catch up.

A few months later, when the semester ended, the welfare home received a huge surprise.

As expected, Mu Xing ranked first in his grade.

And more than a dozen other children from the home who went to school also showed very noticeable improvement.

Wei Wei, who lived in the same room as Mu Xing, made it into the top twenty in his class for the first time.

When he got home, he nearly ran the whole way, showing his test paper to everyone, proudly boasting: “The homeroom teacher praised me! I’ve been under him for a year and a half, and this is the first time I’ve been praised!”

For the welfare home, this was a tremendous event. All six staff members worked there out of love. Their greatest hope was that every child could grow up well and have a beautiful future.

The director, who normally counted every expense down to the penny, generously spent money to buy each child a nice notebook and pen, and even splurged on a projector for the classroom, making lessons much easier.

Uncle Wang the cook clearly dipped into his own pocket again. At dinner, every child had a big, fat, delicious chicken drumstick in their bowl!

After the final exams came what was, for the children, a long vacation.

For ordinary kids, summer break meant not only homework, but all kinds of tutoring classes, traveling with their families, trips to amusement parks, visiting relatives…

For the children of the welfare home, there was none of that.

The home didn’t have enough staff. Everyone was busy every day, with no time to take the children out.

Besides, the children didn’t really have anywhere to go.

For over thirty kids, the world they knew was mostly this welfare home on the outskirts of town, converted from a factory compound.

One day, everyone sat together in the classroom to watch an animated movie. When the main character went to an amusement park, Mu Xing clearly saw that every child, young or old, wore an expression of longing.

He thought for a while, then used the home’s only computer to look up some information.

The next day, he borrowed the director’s phone and called an amusement park.

The customer service agent on the line was surprised to hear a child’s voice: “How can I help you, little one?”

Mu Xing, without a trace of guilt, pretended to be just a kid: “I want to go to the amusement park to play.”

The customer service lady chuckled and said, “Of course, we’re open every day.”

“But I don’t have any money.”

She went quiet for a moment before replying, “You can ask your mom or dad to bring you.”

“I don’t have a mom or dad.”

The customer service agent froze.

Mu Xing went on, “But I have lots and lots of friends. Today, Director Mama took us to watch the movie ‘Little Superman,’ and in it the amusement park was so big. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. None of us have ever been to an amusement park. Today I saw a flyer with this phone number on it, so I secretly called you.”

For some reason, the customer service agent’s eyes stung. Keeping her sweet voice, she asked, “Who is Director Mama? Is this her phone?”

Mu Xing said, “She’s our Director Mama.”

“Where do you live?”

“I live at the Hope Welfare Home.”

“…”

Mu Xing hadn’t just picked a place at random.

This amusement park, called “Good Friends Park,” had been around for quite a while. Compared with the big-name chain parks that were popular now, its facilities were older and the grounds smaller, and it didn’t get many visitors anymore.

But Mu Xing had looked it up. The park had been built by the owner for his son. Back in the day it was hugely popular. Even though it had few guests now, it was still well maintained, and not a single accident had ever happened.

He thought, someone like that wouldn’t be able to refuse a child’s request.

Sure enough, before long the director called for him.

“Did you use my phone to call some amusement park?” she asked curiously. “Someone just called me and asked when we’d like to come play. They said they could even send a car to pick us up.”

❣╰(⸝⸝⸝꒳⸝⸝⸝)╯❣

Ch 149: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

By the time he finished speaking, he finally noticed the uniformed police officers who had come in together with Mu Xing.

Zhao Yuan was fierce and domineering at home, but outside he was cowardly to the extreme—even taller classmates at school could order him around at will.

Now, seeing the police, he was instantly scared stiff.

His earlier words had been unpleasant, but after all, he was still just a young child, and no one would seriously argue with him.

One officer spoke kindly. “Little one, where are your parents?”

“They went out to play cards,” Zhao Yuan stammered nervously.

Mu Xing followed up at just the right time. “Every time they get paid, they’ll go gamble for a while.”

The officers exchanged glances. One crouched down and asked, “Where do they usually go?”

Zhao Yuan, still confused, blurted out a location. Those two were often so addicted to gambling that they wouldn’t come home even at mealtimes. When he was hungry, he would have to go look for them himself.

One officer stepped outside to make a phone call.

He did it deliberately out of the child’s hearing, but Mu Xing’s senses were sharper than most people’s, so he still caught the words: the policeman was reporting gambling activity at a certain place and telling his colleagues to move in quickly.

He glanced at Zhao Yuan, his mood lifting noticeably, and for the first time since arriving in this world, he actually smiled.

That smile somehow set Zhao Yuan off again.

Toward outsiders, he was meek and submissive, but at home—especially in front of Mu Xing—he was nothing but vicious.

He shouted, “What are you laughing at? Are you mocking me? Why aren’t the dishes washed—what did you sneak out for?”

Suddenly, he realized, “Did you do something bad? Is that why you brought the police here? I’m telling you, when Dad and Mom get back, you’re dead.”

A seven- or eight-year-old child, with “dead” on his lips all the time—it was deeply unsettling to hear.

The younger officer couldn’t help but speak. “Little one, he’s your brother, you can’t be so rude.”

Zhao Yuan rolled his eyes. “My mom said he’s not my brother. He’s just freeloading off our family.”

Hearing this, the officer looked toward Mu Xing. The frail boy stood there with his head lowered, expression hidden.

He must be heartbroken.

But Mu Xing wasn’t sad at all. He simply couldn’t be bothered to look at Zhao Yuan’s stupid face.

The officers glanced around the tiny room where Mu Xing lived, snapped a few photos, and their pity for him deepened.

And for the Zhao couple, whom they hadn’t even met yet, their disgust grew stronger.

After a while, a phone rang again.

Mu Xing overheard the officer saying, “…bring the Zhao couple over first, we still have things here. Yes, to the Zhao house.”

Not long after, Zhao Pingkang and his wife were escorted back.

Both looked sullen, but seeing several officers waiting inside their home, they froze in shock.

Zhao Pingkang quickly said, “Officers, I didn’t do anything wrong! I just played a little cards, that’s all.”

The officers who had come back with them barked, “We’ll talk about your gambling later. There’s a more serious matter now.”

The Zhao couple stiffened in place.

The young officer beside Mu Xing asked, “Someone reported that you abuse children. Is this true?”

Abuse children?

The couple was stunned, their eyes immediately landing on Mu Xing standing next to the police.

They realized instantly.

Zhao Pingkang’s wife, Chen Yan, began to shriek, “This is slander! Slander! We’re so poor, and I give my whole heart to raising the kids. I go without food and clothes so both children can study. Who’s so malicious as to report me?”

Mu Xing pressed his lips together and pulled up the sleeve of his school jacket.

Children’s skin is tender, and his was fair. On his thin arm were bluish marks—some like finger bruises, others from rough collisions.

The police hadn’t noticed at first.

But once the younger officer saw, he immediately turned away, unable to bear it. He snapped angrily, “He’s just a ten-year-old child! How could you do this without feeling the least bit guilty?”

Chen Yan cursed Mu Xing silently as a bringer of bad luck.

She wailed, “This is injustice! My husband and I didn’t get much schooling, we’re uneducated, and when kids disobey and don’t study properly, we can only discipline them with the stick. In this world, is there any parent forbidden from disciplining their own children?”

She wiped at nonexistent tears. “Since family shame is already out, I’ll say it. This older boy of mine has always had sticky fingers. Just the other day, he stole five hundred yuan from his father. When we found out, we were furious and beat him. If you don’t punish this kind of behavior, how will he ever learn? Isn’t that right?”

Mu Xing was so angered by this twisting of the truth that he laughed.

He raised his head, staring straight at Chen Yan with unblinking eyes. “My grades have always been in the top ten of the school. I can even earn scholarships. Zhao Xing is always at the bottom of the class. Why is it that the one who studies hard is always beaten, while the one who refuses to study isn’t even scolded?”

“I never stole anything. Dad gambles away his pay the moment he gets it—there’s never any money left at home. Altogether, this house might not even have five hundred yuan.”

“I’ve heard it all. I’m not even your biological child.”

“If you never intended to raise me properly, then why bring me home in the first place?”

The small child questioned his foster parents with a blank expression, showing not a trace of sadness. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. But precisely because of that, the officers nearby felt an even sharper ache in their hearts.

This child was truly heartbroken.

Chen Yan still had some slyness to her. Hearing Mu Xing speak like this, how could she not guess who the police meant by “someone reported it”?

The neighbors around here had known each other for decades. Who would meddle in this?

It had to be this little ingrate’s doing.

She burst out in anger: “Well, well, your wings have grown hard, and you even dare talk back now. I picked you up from a garbage heap, raised you, fed you, clothed you, sent you to school, and what, I hit you a couple times and you call the police? Why don’t you just fly to the heavens?”

As she spoke, she reached out to hit Mu Xing, but the nearby officer was quick to block her.

“What are you doing?” the officer barked. “You’d strike him right in front of us?”

“Why can’t I hit him?” Chen Yan shrieked like a shrew. “I raised him ten years! I’m his mother! I discipline my own son and you police want to interfere? Watch me beat this little ingrate to death today!”

The officer restrained her. “Since he isn’t your biological child, we have reason to suspect there’s more to the matter back then, possibly even involving abduction. You’ll both be coming with us to the station.”

Chen Yan struggled. “What abduction? I was doing a good deed! If I hadn’t saved this brat back then, he would’ve died in the trash!”

—

Mu Xing was taken alone into a room. An officer brought him water and food, and later some medicine for his injuries.

When Mu Xing removed his clothes, the bruises all over his body made the officer grit his teeth.

After tending his wounds, he asked: “Later we’ll be taking you for a DNA test. Zhao Xing, do you want to keep living in that home?”

Mu Xing shook his head.

The officer nodded.

Everything afterward went smoothly: the test confirmed without surprise that Mu Xing had no blood relation to the Zhao family.

When pressed about the past, Chen Yan insisted she had found him near a trash heap.

Then came the investigation, the evidence.

The injuries on Mu Xing, Zhao Yuan’s words, the neighbors’ accounts, and testimony from his school all proved he had long been subjected to abuse.

When the charges were finally read to Zhao Pingkang and his wife, they at last grew fearful.

“Zhao Xing! Xingxing! Your mother and I love you, you know the house never lacked for you. Tell the police you forgive us. We’ll change, we’ll treat you better, we’re uneducated and didn’t know better. We’ll never hit you again, alright?”

“…”

Mu Xing looked at the pair coldly, not even bothering with pretense.

Seeing this, Chen Yan realized there was no hope and began cursing: “You ungrateful brat! I always knew you had no conscience! Listen, even if we go in, it’ll be at most three years. Just you wait. You dare betray us, when I get out I’ll kill you!”

“So vicious at such a young age. No wonder your parents abandoned you.”

“Bah! If it were me, I’d have strangled you at birth!”

“…”

Mu Xing turned and left.

From then on, the couple had nothing to do with him.

The police found no trace of his real parents. When they asked about his wishes, Mu Xing said directly he wanted to go to a welfare home.

Those two were nothing but lunatics. Even if the police found him a foster family, he’d worry about bringing harm to them.

He reapplied for identification and changed his name from Zhao Xing to Mu Xing.

When asked why he chose that surname, he only said he wanted nothing more to do with the Zhao family.

By the time he packed his things to move into a welfare home called “Hope,” Zhao Pingkang and his wife had already been convicted of child abuse.

Since Mu Xing had no blood relation with them and was legally severed from their household, the couple was instead charged with intentional injury and sentenced to three years in prison.

—

Life in the welfare home wasn’t easy for ordinary children.

Life was frugal, staff were few. Over thirty children lived there, the oldest fifteen, the youngest not yet speaking.

Their greatest joy was weekends, when volunteers might visit.

That meant good food, games.

But Mu Xing found this life satisfactory.

The director was a kind auntie. Though the home was poor, it was clean. The staff had been there many years despite low pay, working almost out of charity.

When the police delivered Mu Xing, it happened to be the weekend. The children weren’t in school and crowded around curiously.

The director’s eyes grew red hearing his story as she looked at the frail boy.

That night, to welcome him, the home’s cook made a huge pot of fragrant bone soup. He threw in big pork bones with meat, stewed until tender, so soft the meat slid off with a light suck, rich broth flowing warm down the throat. It was a rare feast for the children.

They were overjoyed. Because of the rare meat, they greeted Mu Xing with warmth from the start.

After a few days, Mu Xing realized the children here were taught well.

Though not rich in things, the director and staff worked hard to guide them as best they could.

Four children shared a bedroom. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. Every morning, the kids would tidy up their beds on their own, folding the quilts neatly, then take turns cleaning the room.

At mealtimes, each one held their bowl, quietly waiting for the chef to serve them food.

Some of the older children would help the little ones who couldn’t quite reach.

Most of the clothes they wore were donations from charities—very old, but always clean.

The chef was a kind middle-aged uncle, plump, always smiling, looking like a Maitreya Buddha. Mu Xing once overheard a few of the aunties whispering that this uncle put nearly his entire monthly salary into buying meat for the children.

There were more than ten little ones not yet old enough for elementary school, and of course, there was no money to send them to kindergarten.

The director had cleaned out a classroom and decorated it with bright stickers. Every week, volunteers would come to teach the little kids lessons.

But it was obviously not enough.

Mu Xing soon realized that, overall, the children in the orphanage didn’t perform very well in school.

From the children in his own room, he learned that many of them left school after middle school to go work. With poor grades, they couldn’t get into high school, and they didn’t want to keep studying.

Still, many older brothers and sisters who had left would return during the holidays.

Some brought gifts, some brought money.

But most of them were just workers at the very bottom of society. The director never accepted their money, only telling them to live their lives well, that it was enough just to come back and visit.

Although Mu Xing changed where he lived, his school didn’t change.

The homeroom teacher, having learned about his situation, applied for extra aid and tuition waivers. Since Mu Xing had always been an excellent student, the application was quickly approved.

He no longer had to pay to attend school.

The original boy already had strong grades, and after Mu Xing took over, his powerful spirit gave him an eidetic memory. The contents of textbooks were far too simple for him.

Less than a month after moving into the orphanage, the ten-school joint exam happened.

Mu Xing scored full marks across every subject, taking first place in the exams, which made his homeroom teacher—who had worried that changing environments might hurt his grades—finally breathe a sigh of relief.

He was awarded a prize of ten thousand yuan. That same day, he handed the envelope straight to the director.

The director was startled. When she heard it was scholarship money, she smiled, returned it, and told him to save it himself.

Mu Xing shook his head. “I have nowhere to spend it, and I can win more scholarships in the future.”

When the director still wanted to refuse, Mu Xing said, “If you don’t take it, I’ll throw it away. I don’t want it anyway. And don’t save it for me either. Use it to buy meat for everyone.”

As he spoke, he stared firmly into the director’s eyes.

She was unconsciously drawn in by the child’s clear black pupils. His words struck deep into her mind.

She nodded without realizing it.

Mu Xing continued, “I think, after school every day, since I don’t have much to do, I can give the children some lessons.”

The director was stunned.

Mu Xing explained, “Help them build a foundation. When they start school officially, they’ll be able to keep up better.”

He quite liked this place. The little ones were very cute.

If he had never come across it, that would have been one thing. But now that he had, he couldn’t just watch these already unfortunate children fall further behind in life simply because their basics were weak.

The director’s face lit up with joy. “That would be wonderful! With our top student Xingxing here teaching, the children will definitely do well.”

❣╰(⸝⸝⸝꒳⸝⸝⸝)╯❣

Ch 148: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

ARC 9: The Twin Cast Away for the Sake of Research

Mu Xing never expected that when his seclusion ended and he opened his eyes, he would find himself in a completely different place.

It was clearly decorated in a modern style, though the house was rather shabby.

He was sitting cross-legged in front of a makeshift “desk,” nothing more than two small stools with a wooden plank laid across them.

He had no extra chair, so he could only sit on the cold floor.

The room seemed to be a storage closet, extremely cramped. Besides a narrow 1.2-meter single bed, it only had space for this crude wooden plank desk.

There was no window, only an old yellow ceiling light casting dim light. The walls were yellowed and covered with messy scribbles and black stains.

The atmosphere was suffocating.

Before Mu Xing had time to absorb the memories, the door suddenly slammed open from outside.

A boy of about seven or eight stood at the doorway, looking down at him arrogantly. “Mom and Dad said since you didn’t get full marks on your exam this time, you’ll be punished! You’re not allowed to have lunch today!”

After saying that, the boy slammed the door shut again.

Mu Xing then heard the sound of the lock turning, the door bolted from the outside.

Utterly absurd. Mu Xing thought, what kind of parents would refuse to feed their child just because he didn’t score perfectly on a test?

What kind of strange pitiful-soul script was this?

This time, the light orb arrived early.

Very quickly, a story unfolded in Mu Xing’s mind.

There was a pair of brilliant research scientists, a husband and wife who had long worked in genetics.

One day, they clashed in opinion:

The husband believed that a person’s character and achievements were primarily dictated by genes. Whether one was clever or dull, good or bad, it was already decided at birth.

The wife, however, argued that environment mattered more. A child’s family upbringing and education were the key to shaping personality and achievement.

Their debate never ended, and neither could convince the other.

At last, the couple undertook a mad experiment.

They used their own sperm and egg to create a fertilized embryo, then found an exceptionally healthy volunteer to carry the child—resulting in a pair of identical twin boys.

They carefully selected two families to adopt these beautiful twin brothers.

The elder brother went to a well-educated household: both foster parents were university professors, childhood sweethearts with a deep, harmonious bond, and financially comfortable. Their only regret was being unable to have children, yet they remained gentle, optimistic, and content with life.

The younger brother, however, was sent to a family of gamblers. Both parents were addicted to gambling, lazy and gluttonous, unable to keep jobs for more than three months. Any money they had was inevitably squandered at the casino.

They lived in an old house in the city’s rundown district, with no plans for the future and no children yet.

The two brothers grew up in completely different cities. If nothing unusual happened, they would likely never meet in their lifetimes.

Mu Xing was this unfortunate younger brother.

He had no idea how the scientists managed to let such unfit parents adopt him, but less than two years after he arrived, the adopted mother became pregnant.

The following year, she gave birth to a boy, two years younger than Mu Xing.

Life had already been difficult for Mu Xing in that household, and with the birth of their own child, things only worsened.

Though the gambler couple restrained themselves slightly after having their own son—knowing they needed money to raise him—it was only a small improvement.

The household never had more than 5,000 yuan in savings, and what little they earned went entirely to their biological son, Zhao Yuan.

As for Mu Xing, from childhood he rarely even tasted meat.

The original body had always been clever and achieved excellent grades, yet his adopted parents never cared.

After completing compulsory middle school education, the family refused to support him further.

At fifteen, he was thrown out of the house at night.

He searched for work, but no proper employer wanted him. He could only take odd jobs, earning very little, and his adoptive family would still call from time to time to demand money.

He barely endured until adulthood. Handsome as he was, he found work as a greeter in a high-end hotel.

Then one day, by chance, his blood brother—after finishing the college entrance exam, traveling with friends—happened to stay in the very city where Mu Xing worked.

They met at the hotel entrance.

One was a guest, the other a hotel employee.

Their strikingly identical faces instantly stirred waves in both their hearts.

The younger brother had long known he was not biologically related to his adoptive parents, having been told so when he was cast out. The elder brother called his parents.

The professors came at once, met Mu Xing, and learned he was raised by adoptive parents but had no knowledge of his biological parents.

For the elder brother’s sake, they lied, claiming Mu Xing was also their biological son, lost at birth due to an accident.

Thus, Mu Xing was brought back into his brother’s home.

Yet his childhood experience left him timid and sensitive. Though his new parents treated him kindly, he never felt at ease.

In this cultured household filled with books and scholarship, the family of three had always been their own close-knit world. Much of what they discussed was entirely foreign to him.

And because of his upbringing, he found it difficult to feel any genuine attachment to so-called “family.”

After living at home for a while, he ignored the couple’s persuasion and insisted on moving out.

But after all, having met his “family” still stirred many different thoughts in his heart.

There was someone else who looked exactly like him, the same age, a top student at a prestigious university with a bright future. And he himself was nothing more than a mediocre nobody.

He began working twice as hard, earning money, lying awake at night, wrestling with himself, holding his breath in determination.

Finally, his hard work was recognized, and he was promoted.

Excitement and joy flooded his chest at that moment, and he couldn’t wait to call his “biological parents” to share the news.

He had conquered his own obsession, and he wanted to tell them: I’m not bad either. I can succeed too.

But then, everything went black.

Years of malnutrition combined with high-intensity work had long broken down his body.

He died suddenly the very night he received his promotion notice, only staying in this world for twenty-three years.

Mu Xing finished watching the entire plot and could only say one thing: never overestimate the lower limits of human nature.

He truly hadn’t expected that someone could be so cold-blooded as to use their own children in a ridiculous experiment.

Of course, perhaps in the eyes of that couple, they weren’t children at all, just a pair of “experimental control samples.”

The original boy had never noticed, but after seeing the plot, Mu Xing dug through the original’s memories and found a clue.

From as early as he could remember, several times he had seen an elegant couple.

He remembered them because they were good-looking, with a unique aura, completely unlike any neighbors he had grown up with in the old district—utterly unforgettable.

So, those researcher parents had visited him from time to time.

They had watched, with their own eyes, as he was abused, as he never had a single good day, yet remained indifferent.

Cold-blooded to this degree.

Mu Xing had always respected researchers; the field was grueling, and any small success might come only after countless failures.

But no matter what research is done, it cannot violate morality, the law, or basic humanity. That is the most fundamental principle.

All the more when the reason for their experiment was nothing more than a disagreement in opinion.

Could the different outcomes of two children really prove their respective theories?

Data from a single experimental group can never serve as evidence.

At its core, it was just two people unwilling to concede, choosing the most selfish method, arrogantly playing out a cruel game.

But their game ruined one person’s entire life.

Mu Xing rubbed his eyes.

He exhaled, just as the locked door was opened.

Zhao Yuan stood at the doorway and said, “Mom and Dad went out. I’m taking a nap. Wash the bowls on the table.”

He clearly despised this “older brother.” After speaking, he didn’t bother with another glance and turned away.

Mu Xing knew: at this point, the gambler couple hadn’t yet told Mu Xing he wasn’t their real son, but they had secretly told their own child Zhao Yuan.

So in Zhao Yuan’s heart, this person wasn’t his brother at all, but a freeloader living in his house, eating and drinking for free. Or perhaps just a little servant they kept.

Washing clothes, dishes, cleaning—these chores were always left to the original boy.

Mu Xing stepped out of the room. The living room was small and messy, piles of clutter everywhere. The dining room and living room were connected, and at this moment the table was a total mess.

He didn’t even look at it. He pushed open the front door and walked straight out.

By sheer coincidence, as soon as he walked out of the alley, he ran into some “familiar faces.”

They had just gotten out of a car, and seemed surprised to see him.

But neither moved; they simply stood there quietly watching him. Mu Xing also looked back at them.

Perhaps because he had never behaved so unusually, the two exchanged a few words, then started walking toward him.

“Child, why are you looking at us like that?” The woman’s voice was gentle, her face smiling.

Mu Xing thought: if not for the original plot, I never would have imagined she could be so cold-blooded.

He said icily, “Because you looked at me first.”

The woman blinked in surprise and replied, “I just thought you were very handsome, little one, and couldn’t help but look a few more times.”

Mu Xing smiled faintly. “You’re very beautiful too. Your child must be beautiful as well.”

The woman froze.

By the time she came back to her senses, Mu Xing had already slipped through the crowded streets, destination unknown.

She frowned. “Why do I feel like this child seems a little different than before?”

Her husband dismissed it. “What could be different? Probably just got beaten again.”

“Let’s go. Ask around the area and take some notes.”

Mu Xing crossed the street and walked into a convenience store he didn’t recognize. He asked the young shopkeeper playing games, “Big brother, can I borrow your phone to make a call?”

The man, seeing it was just a kid, casually opened the dial page and handed him the phone with a smile. “What’s wrong, little guy? Can’t find your parents?”

Mu Xing smiled back, took the phone, and dialed 110.

As soon as the call connected, he let out a loud “wah” and burst into tears.

The store owner was so startled that his hand slipped in his game and his character died, but he didn’t care anymore. He scrambled to his feet, panicking as he looked at the boy. “What’s wrong, what’s wrong?”

…

Ten minutes later, a few uniformed police officers hurried into the shop.

In Mu Xing’s hands were several lollipops the store owner had stuffed at him, and on the table sat bread, milk, and a pile of toys. The young shop owner’s eyes toward Mu Xing were full of pity.

He had heard everything just now. The child had cried loudly into the phone, saying that his parents had beaten him again and weren’t giving him food—then he had overheard that he wasn’t even their biological child.

Damn, this was abuse!

A kid this young, not even being given food—how inhuman could they be!

The police arrived and asked a few questions, all of which Mu Xing answered. He didn’t need to exaggerate in the slightest, because the life the original body had lived was miserable enough.

The more the officers listened, the darker their expressions grew. One younger officer, by the end, had his face twisted with rage and muttered a curse under his breath.

A ten-year-old child, forced to sleep in a windowless storage room, to wash the family’s clothes, to do all the housework, to help his younger brother with homework, and still often beaten and starved.

Even if he truly wasn’t their biological son, weren’t that couple far too cruel?

An older officer crouched down and coaxed Mu Xing gently. “Xingxing, eat something first. Once you’re full, Uncle will take you home.”

A trace of fear flickered across Mu Xing’s face—clearly, the word “home” filled him with terror.

The officer swore inwardly, seeing his skinny, bony wrists. He cursed the couple silently and continued coaxing, “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. Uncle will go with you. We just need to understand some things. Uncle will protect you.”

Another officer went to pay for the food Mu Xing was holding, but the shop owner quickly waved his hands. “No need, no need, I gave those to little Xingxing.”

The police still paid. They patiently waited until Mu Xing finished a bottle of milk and most of the bread before taking him toward the Zhao house.

Some neighbors saw several officers walking with the child and quickly shut their doors. Some even called Zhao Pingkang and his wife.

When Mu Xing pushed open the door, Zhao Yuan happened to be coming out of the bathroom. He spotted him and snapped viciously, “Where the hell did you go? The dishes still aren’t washed—just wait, when Dad gets back he’ll beat you to death!”

❣╰(⸝⸝⸝꒳⸝⸝⸝)╯❣

Sandy: If you enjoy this novel, check out The Malevolent Monster Just Wants To Farm [BL] from same author.

Ch 55: Opening a Survival School Before the Zombie Outbreak

After discovering that more than just Instance 004 had records, Lu Dongyu finally opened an instance she had been repeatedly challenging for several weeks, her heart full of nervous anticipation.

Instance 061.

She had never managed to clear this one. Even her best attempt had fallen just short. Her stubborn streak kicked in, and she kept retrying week after week, only for her performance to become increasingly unstable.

She had wasted so much time without clearing it that frustration and helplessness mixed together, turning it into something like a personal knot in her heart.

The worst part was that, perhaps because of its higher difficulty, there were no guides for Instance 061 on the forum. Every search result was just players like her asking how to clear it.

Who could have imagined that just as Lu Dongyu was about to give up, the principal updated the historical archive feature?

Maybe this was a turning point.

When the page finished loading, Lu Dongyu needed only one glance before her heart began pounding wildly.

There really was a record.

Seeing the name Anonymous Visitor, she took a deep breath, flexed her stiff fingers, and solemnly selected the “Companion” option under Replay.

[Loading instance…]

[Entering instance]

The blurred vision gradually sharpened, revealing a scene she had experienced more than a dozen times, one she knew intimately.

The instance timer began counting from that moment.

She did not have time to think about anything else. She immediately turned to scan her surroundings.

Companion mode should start the moment the instance begins, right? Then the principal must be—

The thought froze her in place.

She did not need to think anymore.

She had already seen her.

Under a tree not far away stood “Fu Qing.”

She was not a physical presence, only a glowing blue projection. Sunlight filtering through the treetops passed partially through her body as she raised a hand, studying her faintly luminous palm.

A breeze drifted past, and for a brief instant, time seemed to pause, pulling everything back into a distant past.

A person from another time stood before her.

As Lu Dongyu saw the principal, the principal also saw her.

Without hesitation, Fuqing strode toward her, catching Lu Dongyu completely unprepared.

“Uh—”

She grew instantly nervous.

The Fuqing inside Instance 061 looked far younger than the principal of today, only eighteen or nineteen years old, slightly thinner as well. She still had short hair, though the length and style differed slightly. Perhaps the haircutting technique had been clumsy, or perhaps she simply found it troublesome. The back of her head had been shaved flat with clippers, leaving newly grown hair that looked soft and slightly fluffy.

Beneath her uneven bangs, her eyes were clear and bright, sharply defined in black and white.

She examined Lu Dongyu with a gaze that held both caution and a trace of curiosity.

—This was the principal before reaching her “complete form.”

That was the conclusion Lu Dongyu reached.

“You…”

“Were you waiting for me?”

Lu Dongyu’s words were interrupted by Fu Qing. She froze for a moment. “How did you know?”

“You didn’t notice? There’s an exclamation mark above your head.” A big golden one. Visible from far away.

Fu Qing spoke, amused, and let out a light laugh. “Once you see something like that, it’s hard to resist coming over to talk, right?”

Lu Dongyu blanked for a moment at the smile.

The principal… smiled.

She suddenly remembered the timeline of this instance. The zombie virus had only broken out one month earlier. Nearly ninety percent of the population had already died, but shelters still gathered large numbers of survivors. When searching the streets for supplies, silhouettes could still be seen moving behind tightly shut apartment and office windows.

The city still retained traces of life. Survivors were afraid, yet overall morale remained stable. Although electricity had already failed, water systems had not completely collapsed. Essential resources were still available. Every few days, the military conducted supply drops, and daily shortwave broadcasts remained encouraging and optimistic, greatly soothing public anxiety.

People still held hope. They believed the virus would eventually be conquered and life would return to normal.

They did not yet know what the future held.

The principal did not know either.

At this time, she looked no different from an ordinary college student, unaware of the five years she would one day endure, the mounting deaths that would gradually weigh her down, turning her into someone others instinctively regarded with awe.

“…”
Lu Dongyu lowered her head and blinked quickly, hiding the sudden surge of emotion so Fuqing would not notice anything strange.

Before she could explain the exclamation mark, Fu Qing shrugged again.

“Though judging from the situation,” she said casually, “I’m actually the NPC here, aren’t I?”

She waved her hand, staring with curiosity at her digitized body.

“So, what should we do?” NPC Fu Qing asked dutifully.

The [Companion] function essentially provided the player with a teammate whose intelligence, experience, physical ability, and skill levels matched those of the original clear-run player. At the same time, it simulated that person’s way of thinking. Unlike replay mode, however, it did not simply play back a recording. The player still needed to communicate with this new companion.

Lu Dongyu suppressed the excitement that had lingered since seeing Fu Qing and said seriously, “I want to go to the Central City Hospital.”

Fu Qing’s eyebrow lifted slightly.

“Why?”

The objective of Instance 061 required players to enter the hospital pharmacy, obtain specific medical supplies such as antibiotics, alcohol, bandages, antihypertensives, and painkillers, and safely bring them out.

But Fu Qing clearly could not see any mission panel, and Lu Dongyu obviously could not explain that this was just a game. She had no choice but to improvise.

“There’s someone at home with high blood pressure who needs medication. All the nearby clinics have already been looted, so I wanted to try my luck there.”

“The Central City Hospital is the largest top-tier hospital in the city. At the beginning of the outbreak it received the most patients, so now it’s surrounded by infected people. No one really dares to go there anymore. But with that many medical supplies stored inside, they couldn’t possibly all be taken… I figured there might still be some resources left.”

Fu Qing listened quietly as she spoke.

The hospital complex, including inpatient wards, held at least several thousand infected. Lu Dongyu knew her idea sounded insane to most people. As she continued speaking, her confidence began to falter.

She looked at Fu Qing nervously.

But Fu Qing showed neither surprise nor opposition. Nor did she mock her for overestimating herself. After listening, she simply nodded calmly.

“Reasonable.”

Then she asked, “So what’s your plan?”

Lu Dongyu was so shocked she forgot she was speaking to the principal and blurted out, “You… just agreed like that?”

“Why wouldn’t I? This benefits me too.” Fu Qing looked almost pleased. “I’ve wanted to visit Central City Hospital for a while. Since you’re thinking the same thing and seem to have already considered it carefully, why not explain it and we’ll discuss it together?”

“If we succeed, we split the supplies evenly.”

Lu Dongyu: “…”

She felt slightly dazed.

She had almost forgotten. These were the principal’s memories.

The impossible objectives she once viewed as reckless fantasies were things the principal had actually attempted in reality and succeeded at on the first try.

Embarrassed, Lu Dongyu rubbed the tip of her nose, pulled out the system-provided mission map from her pocket, spread it open, and finally slipped into a focused state.

“I have a floor plan of the hospital here. The pharmacy is located here. You, uh, look…”

The two quickly formulated a strategy.

Lu Dongyu explained the same plans she had used in previous attempts, deliberately hoping the principal would help refine them. Fu Qing did not disappoint. Studying the map, she immediately pointed out several potential problems.

“According to the blueprint, this should be an automatic door. The hospital lost power long ago. If the door was open when power failed, it probably won’t block anything like you expect.”

“And if it was closed, we’ll need to avoid it while escaping, or we could get trapped.”

“…This window here, depending on the angle, could overlook this corridor. We’ll need to be careful when passing.”

“And here…”

Lu Dongyu gradually grew stunned.

Thinking back on her past failures, almost all of them matched the issues Fu Qing pointed out.

No wonder that one time, when she passed through that corridor without making a sound, zombies nearby suddenly began roaring, attracting a horde and causing instant mission failure.

The culprit had been that inconspicuous window.

And the automatic door had indeed blocked her path during one run, preventing her escape from pursuing zombies.

From a single floor plan, Fu Qing identified countless hidden dangers, eliminating numerous potential deaths before the mission even began.

…So this was what a true expert looked like?

Lu Dongyu was filled with admiration. “You’re amazing!”

“Not really. I just made a few suggestions.” Fu Qing replied sincerely. “You’re the one who came up with such a thorough plan. That’s impressive.”

Under the young principal’s approving gaze, Lu Dongyu flushed red.

She felt too embarrassed to admit that everything she knew had actually been taught by the principal and the teachers.

“We should get moving… it’ll be dark soon.” She rolled up the map.

“Mm.” Fu Qing stood.

The player spawn point for this instance was at a construction site near the hospital. The outbreak had begun recently enough that workers had fled early, meaning players did not spawn directly into zombie danger.

While planning, they had waited inside a construction tent. It had likely once served as a lunch rest area, containing a microwave, kettle, and water dispenser. The water jug, however, had long been taken, and chaotic footprints covered the ground.

As they prepared to leave, Fu Qing suddenly turned and stopped beside a long table near the corner.

Lu Dongyu looked back, confused. “What is it?”

Fu Qing bent down and picked up an empty gas canister from beneath the table, weighing it in her hand.

“There were probably several portable gas stoves here originally. Someone must have taken them while scavenging.”

If she had not noticed a faint metallic reflection in the shadows beneath the table, she might have missed it entirely.

At first glance, the microwave made it seem like workers had only reheated meals here. But in reality, the important cooking equipment had been taken, leaving behind useless electric appliances after the power outage, which had led them to misjudge the space.

“If there were gas stoves, that means people cooked here.”

At that point, Lu Dongyu finally understood.

She scanned the area. “Judging by the footprints, they left in a hurry. Two chairs are knocked over. They probably ran into another group or encountered zombies.”

“In a panic, they might not have looted thoroughly. Something useful could have been left behind.”

For example, knives essential for cooking.

“Exactly.” Fu Qing smiled faintly. “Looks like our plan to search for surgical scalpels first should change.”

Aside from the hospital map, the system provided no equipment. Every attempt, Lu Dongyu had needed to find weapons on-site.

Even after many runs, conditions varied each time. Sometimes zombies forced her to abandon planned routes, making previously memorized scalpel locations unreachable.

In high-difficulty instances, even knowing the solution did not guarantee success.

And Instance 061 had an invisible time limit. Less than two hours remained before nightfall. They needed to leave the hospital before then.

At night, the hospital became a playground for zombies. Humans could hardly survive navigating such a dark, complex structure filled with infected.

From experience, Lu Dongyu knew weapon searching had to be completed within forty minutes to leave enough time for the pharmacy objective.

She had emphasized this repeatedly while planning.

Yet—

Barely five minutes later, they found two fruit knives beneath fallen cabinets and wedged between seats.

After wiping away dust, the blades shone like new, even easier to handle than surgical scalpels.

Lu Dongyu stared blankly at the knife in her hand.

One of the mission’s biggest obstacles, finding weapons, had been solved effortlessly.

They had not even reached the hospital yet.

Her forty-minute estimate had taken only five minutes.

Why had she never noticed that gas canister before?

No… she knew the answer.

Even if she had seen it, she likely would have dismissed it as junk and walked away, never making the connection to cooking tools the way the young principal had.

Ashamed, she quietly sheathed the knife.

Nearby, Fu Qing tested the blade with her thumb, spun it lightly in her hand, and tilted her head.

“Let’s go.”

₊˚.🎧📓✩

Ch 54: Opening a Survival School Before the Zombie Outbreak

All of the teachers had experienced the apocalypse.

The instances inside the simulation chamber were very likely events that had truly happened, and some of them might even be the teachers’ own memories.

The flood of information crashed down on the students all at once, far beyond what they could emotionally bear.

The campus felt unusually quiet that day.

In classrooms, everyone listened attentively for once.

A girl stared at Bai Tang at the podium and suddenly recalled a day shortly after the semester began, when Teacher Bai had reacted abnormally strongly upon facing a simulated zombie.

Teacher Bai had frozen in fear, unable to move, yet instinctively pushed the student away, telling her to “run.”

Later, the principal had arrived in time, halted the zombie, and even issued a campus-wide notice suspending zombie rentals.

Back then, the girl had not understood the principal’s intention. She had thought the announcement was an overreaction.

Now, she finally understood.

“…”
She unconsciously bit the dry skin on her lower lip. Her note-taking slowed as she stared absentmindedly at Bai Tang’s back.

Bai Tang turned to write on the board. Her grown-out bob was tied into a small ponytail at the back. Because she was short, she had to strain onto her tiptoes to reach higher sections, leaving behind neat lines of increasingly confident handwriting.

The person who had once seemed so much like a student at the beginning of the semester had now become a proper teacher.

Teacher Bai, who froze at the sight of zombies yet still remembered to push students to safety in her fear… when she had been attacked by those wall-climbing zombies, had she been about the same age as them?

The difference was that no one had warned them about the apocalypse back then. No one had taught them how to survive.

The apocalypse destroyed their lives, took away their families, killed them… and then brought them back, placing them before these students.

Was that a gift, or a cruelty?

With what kind of feelings had the principal and teachers sorted through everything they learned from apocalypse and death in order to teach them?

Another strip of skin tore loose. Her lip split slightly, and the salty metallic taste of blood filled her mouth.

The girl quickly lowered her head to wipe away the blood, then used the motion to brush the corner of her eye with her fingertip. Gripping her pen tightly, she hurriedly scribbled several meaningless words into her notebook as if to conceal something.

Today, she had understood many things.

For example, how Teacher Hao got the scar on his face, and why he killed zombies so skillfully yet always with visible disgust.

Why Teacher Liu often mentioned a clever, gifted granddaughter who was no longer around.

Why Teacher Zhao never dared look directly at simulated zombies.

And why the teaching staff at the school seemed so oddly assembled, ranging from freshly graduated shut-ins to retirees who had been out of work for over a decade, as though the principal had hired them without any selection at all.

Because death itself was unreasonable. It fell equally upon everyone.

And perhaps the teachers rarely left Fangzhou’s campus because, in this world, they had nowhere else to go. No homes to return to.

…

After class ended, the girl remained seated for a while. Many others did the same, slumped over desks scrolling through the forum or staring blankly at the lecture slides.

If someone from another school walked in, they probably would not understand why so many people looked sorrowful while reading posts that resembled triumphant “face-slapping” stories.

Suddenly, someone in the corner shouted, breaking the lifeless silence.

“Quick, check the announcement!”

[“Simulation Combat Chamber” Fully Upgraded!]

[New Feature: Replay]

[Users may now view a historical archive of cleared instance recordings. Users may also choose to upload their own cleared runs for others to reference… ]

“Does this even count as an update?” Zhang Han lay on her dorm bed scrolling through the announcement, puzzled. “Weren’t we already able to upload gameplay recordings to the forum? This just looks like they added an internal video archive organized by instance. It’s more convenient, sure, but what’s the big deal?”

The forum had indeed always allowed recordings to be uploaded, though with restrictions. Only players who cleared an instance could view others’ recordings.

“Can you finish reading first?” Shen Qingqing shook her head, helpless at Zhang Han’s impatience. “The important part is below.”

She scrolled down herself and reread carefully.

Her intuition told her this feature was far from ordinary.

Seeing Shen Qingqing’s focused expression, Zhang Han hurried to read on.

[The “Replay” function includes two modes: “Companion” and “Experience.”]

[Selecting Companion mode will allow the simulation chamber to generate a virtual character based on the uploaded clear data, enabling the uploader to act as a team partner during the instance. Note: teammate limits vary depending on instance mode.]

[Selecting Experience mode allows the user to enter the perspective of the uploader. Control authority will be handled by the uploader’s recorded actions, granting a fully immersive experience of their playthrough.]

[Users may even perceive portions of the uploader’s intense emotions in order to better understand their decision-making logic.]

Zhang Han froze upon reading the second option.

After a moment, she did exactly what Shen Qingqing had done, scrolling back up and reading it again.

“Immersively experiencing a previous player’s perspective… does this mean what I think it means?” Zhang Han looked up.

Simply experiencing classmates’ recordings was not particularly enticing.

But at that moment, the same name appeared simultaneously in both their minds.

—Anonymous Visitor.

Less than half an hour after the announcement was released, the room housing the simulation combat chambers was already packed.

After students who had just exited confirmed that the archive for Instance 004 truly contained a recording left by Anonymous Visitor, no one was willing to leave.

Many students who had already used their instance attempts that week refused to wait until next week. They began stopping people in line outside the chamber and proposing trades on the spot.

“I’ll swap you my reservation for next week and buy you a meal. Anything under fifty, order whatever you want.”

Although reservations were required for the simulation chamber, the schedule was flexible. Students could privately exchange time slots as long as both parties agreed and submitted the change through their student watches.

But as more and more students arrived after reading the announcement, anyone holding a slot for that week instantly became highly sought after.

The offers grew increasingly outrageous.

“Whoever swaps with me, I’ll bring you meals for a week! Any boys’ dorm, delivery to your door. Girls too, I’ll bring it downstairs.”

“I’ll do two weeks! I’m in the girls’ dorm!”

“…Seriously? We’re competing now? Fine, I’ll do a month. My home’s local. On weekends I’ll bring homemade chicken soup, ribs, plus the amazing duck feet and milk tea from near my house.”

“That’s excessive! Whoever gives me their slot, I’ll handle your meals, packages, water runs, and seat-saving for the entire month…”

A girl about to enter the room was suddenly blocked by countless hands reaching toward her from all directions.

She struggled to push through. “No trades! Move aside!”

Milk tea and duck feet meant nothing. Nothing could stop her from rushing toward the principal.

Just to enter an instance one week earlier, one group desperately tried to bribe while another desperately refused. The entire scene looked surreal to anyone watching.

A boy had only come to watch the spectacle, but after being shoved back and forth, he finally snapped.

“Can you all stop competing so hard? It’s just a clear-run video, isn’t it? Now that there’s an archive, and the people who came out earlier already confirmed Anonymous Visitor’s recording is in there, why don’t we just download it and watch it on the forum? Why do we have to go into the simulation combat chamber ourselves?”

Next to him, another boy with a face full of acne scars looked at him like he was an idiot.

“Are you dumb? The point of the new feature obviously isn’t the replay. It’s the companion mode and the immersive experience. Both of those require going into the chamber yourself. What’s the use of just watching a recording?”

“Tell me, do you want to team up with the principal or not? Do you? Do you?”

He was so excited that he nearly sprayed saliva onto the other boy’s face. The boy hurriedly wiped his cheek, imagined the scene, swallowed unconsciously, and admitted honestly, “Yeah… I do.”

“Exactly.” The acne-scarred boy rolled his eyes. “And the experience mode is even more insane. You step into the principal’s first-person perspective. She ‘controls’ the actions, and you can even feel some of her emotions. How is that any different from having a top-tier player teach you step by step? If you still can’t learn with that, you might as well pack up and go home to farm.”

“?” A classmate from the farming elective was offended out of nowhere. “Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? Why are you looking down on farming as a profession?”

What did that have to do with them?

“…Sorry.” The pockmarked boy hadn’t thought of that and quickly apologized. After apologizing, he looked back at the first boy. “Now do you get why we’re fighting for it—wait, where’d he go?”

In the time it took him to apologize, the person he’d been talking to had somehow squeezed his way to the front.

The guy who had just been acting all detached and above it all now had his hand raised higher than anyone’s, bouncing up and down in the crowd.

“Look at me! I’ll wash your dirty clothes and stinky socks for a whole month! By hand! No pollution, no harmful chemicals!”

Boy: “…………Damn it!”

If he’d known, he never would have told him. Why did he have to run his mouth?

After finally breaking free from the overly enthusiastic crowd and getting into the room, Lu Dongyu’s hair was a complete mess from all the squeezing.

The offers her classmates had made were extremely tempting, but she did not regret refusing them for even a second. Staring at the neatly lined rows of capsule-style simulation pods in the room, her eyes shone.

Only an idiot would trade away the chance to enter a week early and clear an instance alongside the principal.

Lu Dongyu lay down in a pod with practiced ease. The hatch closed, and she quickly entered the main interface.

She had already played Instance 004 before. But she knew her own skill level, and had no intention of challenging the hidden boss-level mutated cat. Before playing, she had carefully studied forum guides, avoided every trap, and aimed only to clear steadily so she could add her own name beneath the principal’s record.

Now she opened the cleared instance records and found Beginner Instance 004 without difficulty. Sure enough, there was a new option at the bottom of the page that hadn’t existed before.

[Replay]

She tapped in. The first thing she saw was her own clear-run record. After the update, it did not only replay the first-person perspective. It also allowed students to review their runs from a third-person, god’s-eye view. Used properly, it could yield major benefits as well.

There was a toggle asking whether to upload the record to the public hall. It made Lu Dongyu instantly nervous. Only after confirming several times that sharing was turned off did she finally relax.

Her record was not something she could show anyone.

In the upper-right corner of the record page was a button: [Share Clear-Run Record]

Quite a few students who came to the simulation pods today had checked Instance 004. Two of them had even achieved decent results, so they chose to upload.

But Lu Dongyu ignored the other records. Her gaze locked onto the very top entry.

[Player Nickname: Anonymous Visitor]

[Clear Time: 5min 19s]

[Overall Rating: SSS]

[Visibility: Visible to All]

There it was. The principal’s record.

Lu Dongyu instinctively went to tap it, but stopped at the last second. After hesitating for a second, she decided to check other instances first.

Once she entered an instance, who knew how much time it might take? It would be better to confirm whether there were other updates, or whether any particularly strong students had uploaded records.

Returning to the instance selection page, the screen was filled with all kinds of instances, color-coded by difficulty: beginner in light green, intermediate in yellow, advanced in orange, and hell difficulty in dark red, instantly clear at a glance.

Lu Dongyu stared at the three dark red instances floating at the very top, and, almost involuntarily, reached out to tap one.

She knew perfectly well that no one had ever cleared a hell-difficulty instance, let alone uploaded a record. But… she just wanted to look. Just to see.

The page that loaded made her freeze.

On the otherwise empty screen, there was exactly one record.

And the ID on it was one she now knew all too well.

[Player Nickname: Anonymous Visitor]

[Clear Time: N/A (time tracking not implemented)]

[Overall Rating: N/A (scoring not implemented)]

[Visibility: Visible to All]

Lu Dongyu’s gaze went still, her pupils tightening slightly.

She reacted and quickly checked the other two hell instances.

Sure enough, they also had corresponding clear-run records, and the uploader was still Anonymous Visitor.

Unwilling to accept it, Lu Dongyu randomly opened more than a dozen instances in a row, and finally spotted the pattern.

Not every instance had a record uploaded by Anonymous Visitor, but the higher the difficulty, the more frequently her name appeared.

For the students, this was unquestionably great news.

The harder the instance, the more valuable a predecessor’s experience became, and this was the principal’s experience.

But… Lu Dongyu could not understand why Anonymous Visitor’s records had no clear time or rating.

Any instance played inside the simulation pods automatically came with statistics.

Unless the principal had not “played” those instances inside the simulation combat chamber at all…

Her mood slowly sank.

The answer was already obvious.

Connecting it to the forum’s theories, Lu Dongyu finally dared to be certain.

Every instance that had a clear-run record was the principal’s lived experience.

The primary purpose of opening the historical archive might be to show those experiences to the students.

Once she understood that, Lu Dongyu felt both shaken and exhilarated, yet also oddly bitter.

The principal might not teach in person, but what she was offering the students could be the most valuable thing in all of Fangzhou.

But what had it cost her to offer it?

For Lu Dongyu, simply because her own play wasn’t impressive enough, she was afraid to even upload her record publicly. Yet for the principal, what she had to share was her real memories, her emotions, and perhaps things she never wanted to face again.

Lu Dongyu thought again of Xiao Juan.

If that had truly been something the principal and Teacher Lu lived through, she could not help wondering. No one at the school had managed to save Xiao Juan so far… so had the principal done it back then?

After just one night together inside the instance, many people had grown fond of that “character” and cried at her death.

Then what about the principal and Teacher Lu, who had lived beside her and fought alongside her for months?

What had it felt like for them, losing such an important friend?

Lu Dongyu suddenly did not dare think further.

The page was still on the hell-instance clear-run record. She tapped replay.

As expected, a warning popped up.

[Warning: You have not cleared this instance and cannot use the replay function. Please return after clearing it!]

Lu Dongyu let out a small sigh, her heart heavy with wistfulness.

Who knew how long it would take her to catch up to the principal.

She really wanted… to help her as soon as possible.

₊˚.🎧📓✩

“Yes,” Jiang Ji nodded openly.

Jiang Nan patted his brother’s shoulder like a little adult, comforting him. “You’ll see him again next year.”

Jiang Ji rubbed his head and smiled again. “Right, next year.”

After twelve days of travel, they returned to their familiar home. By now, it was already November.

On the country road outside the village, the villagers saw a convoy approaching from afar, with guards accompanying it.

“Is that Jiang Ji and the others coming back?”

“What Jiang Ji? You should call him Duke!”

“Right, right, Duke! Is it them?”

The village head squinted into the distance and thought he recognized Lu Jiu at the front.

“It’s them! Everyone, come with me to welcome the Duke home!”

He shouted, tossed aside his hoe, and ran toward the road. The other villagers followed, rushing to the roadside. As the convoy drew near, they all dropped to their knees.

“Welcome home, Duke!”

Their voices rang out loudly.

Lu Jiu froze for a moment. Jiang Ji and the others, hearing the noise, leaned out to look, and when they saw the villagers kneeling in unison, they were stunned.

“Stop the carriage.”

The driver immediately pulled the reins.

Jiang Ji jumped down and ran over. “Village Head, Uncle Tugen, what are you doing? Get up, get up!”

The village head and the others stood, grinning. “You’ve become a Duke now. We can’t neglect proper etiquette. We had to kneel to welcome you.”

“No need for all this formality. Just treat me like before,” Jiang Ji said with a smile. He glanced at the fields. “I’ve been gone for over two months. How’s everything in the village? Have the sweet potatoes, corn, and potatoes been harvested?”

“They have, they have,” the village head said cheerfully. “Just like you instructed, we dried off the moisture and stored them in the cellars. The corn’s all been dried too. The rice harvest is done as well. We raised ducks in the fields, and each mu yielded over five hundred jin.”

“That’s great. Sounds like things went well,” Jiang Ji said happily. “Soon, the court will send people from other regions to purchase seeds, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn. Make sure the rice is processed with winnowing machines to remove the empty grains. Everyone should be prepared.”

“Yes, Prefect Xu already issued orders. During harvest, we cleaned out the empty grains as instructed.”

“Good. Village Head, uncles, we’ve been traveling for over ten days. We’ll head back to rest first. Another day, we’ll host tea and snacks. Come by then.”

“Alright, alright, go get some rest.”

The villagers stepped aside, smiling as they watched them return, clearly overjoyed.

Jiang Ji and the others didn’t get back into the carriage. They walked home instead.

By evening, school had let out. Read the full chapter at HololoNovels.com. Jiang Nan spotted Dazhu under the big tree and immediately ran over, shouting, “Dazhu, we’re back! We brought you something really fun, it’s called a diabolo!”

Dazhu asked excitedly, “What’s that?”

“It’s something you spin on a string and can toss into the air! Come back with us, I’ll teach you how to play.”

“Okay!” Dazhu said, then asked curiously, “Is the capital fun?”

“It is! So many people, and it’s huge. You can’t even finish exploring it in a day.”

Jiang Ji watched Jiang Nan, Jiang Bei, and Dazhu ahead, then glanced at the fields and villagers on both sides. He felt a quiet sense of emotion.

The capital was wonderful, prosperous, and convenient. But returning to this familiar land, he felt his whole body relax.

A completely different kind of peace.

When they reached home, Lu Shun and the others, having heard of their return, came out to greet them.

“Duke, you’re back.”

“Young Master, Madam, Miss, Young Masters!”

Jiang Ji smiled. “We’re back!”

They were ushered inside amid cheerful chatter.

Seeing so many people returning together, Sister Guihua laughed and hurried toward the kitchen. “I’ll go cook more food right away!”

Han Qingshan, who hadn’t seen his daughter in quite some time, had returned with Yu Yang. Seeing this, he said, “We’ll help too.”

“Good, good, put your things down and come over,” Sister Guihua replied.

Xiang’er ran into Han Qingshan’s arms. “Father! Brother Yu Yang!”

“Ah!” Han Qingshan hugged her and patted her head. “Feels like my girl has grown taller again.”

Xiang’er giggled. “Not that fast.”

Everyone laughed. Xiang’er quickly went to help Jiang Xia with her luggage. “Miss, I’ll carry this.”

Jiang Xia handed her a lighter bundle. “Then take this one.”

Everyone returned to their rooms to freshen up. Lu Jiu and Lu Wen arranged accommodations and duty rotations for the guards.

Jiang Ji went back to the east wing. Just as he set down his luggage, Lu Shun entered carrying a teapot and cups.

After pouring him tea, Lu Shun reported, “Duke, all the cotton has been harvested. About thirty percent has already been processed and stored after drying. The rice, sweet potatoes, corn, and potatoes have all been harvested as well. The sweet potatoes and potatoes are stored in the cellar, the corn is hung to dry, and the rice has been placed in storage.”

Jiang Ji drank two cups of tea. “Good. You’ve worked hard these past few months. Luckily you were here.”

Lu Shun smiled. “It wasn’t hard. I actually learned a lot.”

Jiang Ji smiled, then pulled a letter from his sleeve and handed it over. “Oh right, the regent sent you a letter.”

Lu Shun quickly took it and read it.

After he finished, Jiang Ji said, “The regent said you should come work for me from now on. Are you willing?”

Lu Shun bowed. “I am willing. I will follow the Duke’s instructions.”

Jiang Ji nodded. “Then from now on, you’ll be the steward of the Duke’s residence.”

Lu Shun looked up in surprise. “Duke, I’m only twenty-two. Aren’t you worried I’m too young?”

“Not at all. I’m only nineteen. At the very least, you know the capital better than I do, right?” Jiang Ji said.

Lu Shun’s eyes lit up. He knelt and kowtowed. “Lu Shun greets the Duke.”

“Get up,” Jiang Ji said, helping him to his feet. “While there’s still some daylight, let’s go take a look at the cotton warehouse.”

“Yes.” Lu Shun always carried the keys with him. “This way, Duke.”

“Call me young master like the others,” Jiang Ji said. “It sounds closer.”

“Alright. Inside the residence, I’ll call you young master,” Lu Shun said. “Outside, I’ll still address you as Duke.”

“Fine, suit yourself.”

Jiang Ji went with Lu Shun to inspect the cotton warehouses. Read the full chapter at HololoNovels.com. There were two, one storing raw cotton, the other storing cotton that had already been cleaned of husks and seeds.

Jiang Ji opened a few sacks to check. The quality was quite good. The processed cotton had already been sorted into three grades: high, medium, and low.

“Not bad.”

At the side, Lu Shun reported the figures, how many jin of cotton had been collected, how much money had been spent, how many workers were hired and what wages were paid. He also went over all household expenses for the past two months, how much rice had been harvested, how many jin of sweet potatoes and potatoes were stored in the cellar, and how much corn there was. Without even referring to an account book, he recited everything clearly, item by item.

Jiang Ji patted his shoulder, pleased and impressed. “You really are cut out to be a steward.”

Lu Shun smiled. “Thank you for the praise, young master.”

That night, the whole family gathered again to celebrate Jiang Ji’s return.

After dinner and a bath, Jiang Ji sat at his desk and began writing a letter to Lu Huaizhou. Using a fountain pen, he filled five full sheets of paper, detailing everything happening at home. At the end, he wrote plainly about how much he missed him, then folded the letter and placed it into an envelope, planning to have it sent from town the next day.

The following day, he retrieved the indenture contracts of Han Qingshan, Yu Yang, and Xiang’er, and brought them to the county office to complete the formalities, releasing them from servitude.

According to Yu Yang’s wishes, he was registered under Han Qingshan’s household and became his legal adopted son.

When they received their household registration documents, the three of them knelt before Jiang Ji in gratitude.

“Thank you, young master.”

Jiang Ji smiled. “Get up. You’re all free citizens now. You can stay a few more days before setting out. When the time comes, have Doctor Yang and two guards from the Lu residence accompany you to the capital. The funds for opening the shop are with the regent. Just tell him, and he’ll give them to you.”

“Yes,” Han Qingshan replied with a bow.

After settling their matters, Jiang Ji spent the next few days preparing for the opening of the textile workshop. He checked the assembled machines in the tool shed and had them moved into the factory. Read the full chapter at HololoNovels.com. He personally went to town to purchase dyes, long tables of various sizes, dye vats, bamboo poles for drying, and other necessary items. Once everything was ready, he went to the county office to complete the official registration, registering the textile workshop under Jiang Xia’s name.

He then had Lu Shun draft recruitment notices. With a decisive wave of his hand, Jiang Ji said,

“Inform the village heads in nearby areas. Our textile workshop is now hiring. Anyone interested can come apply and be interviewed.”

Ch 91: The Regent’s Farmer Husband

The two main things Jiang Ji needed to accomplish in the capital were promoting winter wheat seeds and meeting Lu Huaizhou’s parents. He had completed both, and even successfully arranged his engagement. On top of that, he had gained the title of Duke Chang. It could be said he had exceeded expectations.

His next phase was to return and establish the textile workshop. Once things stabilized there, he could move to the capital and marry Lu Huaizhou.

However, he also needed to start planning his ventures in the capital.

He found Han Qingshan and Yu Yang and discussed future plans with them.

“Uncle Han, Yu Yang, in a few days I’ll be returning with my mother and the others. In about half a year, the whole family will move to the capital. I plan to open a restaurant here, but with my current status, it’s not appropriate for me to run it personally. I also don’t feel comfortable handing it to outsiders. I need your help. Are you willing?”

Seeing the young master’s trust, Han Qingshan nodded without hesitation. “We are willing. Wherever you go, we follow.”

Yu Yang nodded as well. “Just tell us what to do, Young Master.”

“Good.” Jiang Ji had expected this. “Here’s the plan. When we go back this time, I’ll return your contracts and free you from servitude.”

Both men were stunned. Han Qingshan exchanged a glance with Yu Yang and frowned. “Young Master, you want to free us? You don’t want us anymore?”

Jiang Ji blinked. “You don’t want to be freed?”

“No servant wouldn’t want freedom,” Han Qingshan explained. “But I am willing to remain a servant for life to serve you.”

Jiang Ji smiled. “You need to be free to help me run the business.”

Han Qingshan froze. Yu Yang thought for a moment and said, “Young Master, you mean that as Duke you can’t open a business, so you’ll use my master’s name. But servants can’t run businesses, so you’re freeing us for that?”

“Exactly.” Jiang Ji nodded. “I need you to act as the restaurant owners. It will be registered under your names. Essentially, I’ll be hiring you to run it for me. In a year or two, when the variety of vegetables increases, I’ll open a hot pot restaurant and have Yu Yang manage that one.”

“Understood, Young Master,” Han Qingshan said.

Yu Yang’s eyes lit up. He hadn’t expected to be entrusted with managing a shop as well.

Jiang Ji continued, “In addition to your monthly wages, at the end of the year we’ll split the restaurant’s profits eighty-twenty. You’ll take twenty percent. How does that sound?”

Han Qingshan was stunned. “Young Master, my wages are already enough. How could I take a share of the profits?”

With Jiang Ji’s abilities, the restaurant would certainly be profitable, especially in the capital.

Jiang Ji said, “Uncle Han, this is compensation for your work. Don’t refuse. Living expenses in the capital are high, and you’ll need to save a dowry for Xiang’er too.”

Han Qingshan was deeply moved. “Young Master…”

“That’s settled,” Jiang Ji said firmly, cutting off further protest. “I don’t mistreat those who follow me. As for how you divide that twenty percent, you can decide yourselves. Yu Yang, don’t worry. You’re still young. When we open the second restaurant, you’ll receive the same share.”

Yu Yang nodded. “I understand, Young Master. I’ll continue learning from my master.”

“Mm. I’ll ask the Regent to find a reliable manager. You may not have much experience yet, so learn from him.”

“Yes.” Both nodded.

Jiang Ji added, “I’ve already asked the Regent. Once you become commoners and live in the capital for a year, you can transfer your household registration here. We’ll be moving here as well. I’ll arrange a house for you. I’ve already picked one, a two-courtyard residence just behind the Duke’s estate. You can settle there with peace of mind.”

Freed from servitude, given a home, and entrusted with a career, Han Qingshan and Yu Yang were so moved they couldn’t speak. They both stood and knelt.

Han Qingshan said gratefully, “Thank you for your great kindness, Young Master. We will never forget it and will serve you for life.”

“Get up,” Jiang Ji said, helping them up. “Let me go over what needs to be done to open the restaurant.”

They sat down again.

Jiang Ji outlined the preparations: renovation, selecting staff, training cooks, hiring workers, training servers, and so on.

“…That’s about it. Management can follow the rules of our Jiang Ji Restaurant. There will be a manager to help, but training the chefs must be done by you. You’ve done that before. Also, as owners, you’ll need to learn management and bookkeeping.”

Han Qingshan nodded. “Understood.”

“Good. This afternoon we’ll look at the house. Tomorrow, we’ll check out potential shop locations. Steward Zhong has already found a few options.”

“Yes.”

After finishing the discussion, Jiang Ji let them go.

Back in their quarters, Han Qingshan and Yu Yang were both excited.

“Master, we’re going to be free,” Yu Yang said happily.

Han Qingshan nodded, his eyes slightly moist. “The Young Master treats us too well.”

Yu Yang sighed, “The luckiest thing in our lives was probably being chosen and bought by him.”

Han Qingshan nodded. “Indeed.”

Over the next few days, Jiang Ji became busy again, inspecting houses, visiting shop locations, and checking on crops outside the city. He wanted to settle everything before returning.

Lu Huaizhou knew Jiang Ji would be leaving once these matters were arranged, so he returned early every day to spend more time with him.

At night, as they lay together, Jiang Ji hugged him and said, “Our mothers seem to have set our wedding date. Next year, the eighteenth day of the fifth month.”

“Still seven or eight months away,” Lu Huaizhou said, dissatisfied.

Hearing the hint of impatience in his tone, Jiang Ji leaned in and kissed him, soothingly saying, “It’ll pass quickly. Besides, in the first month of the year I still have to come back to distribute spring wheat seeds, and also sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn, and cotton. The north can grow those too. Once the spring wheat is rolled out, we can promote other vegetable seeds as well. And we’ll need to spread chili varieties in both places, otherwise the restaurants won’t be easy to run.”

Lu Huaizhou tightened his arms around him. “When you go back to set up the textile workshop, will you have enough time?”

“Probably,” Jiang Ji said, a little troubled. “The main issue is finding a capable and trustworthy manager who understands textiles. We’ll also need to open a fabric shop back home, so it’ll all have to be managed together.”

“Have Uncle Zhong find one for you.”

Jiang Ji’s eyes lit up. “That works. Then I won’t hold back.”

“You don’t need to be polite with me.” Lu Huaizhou pulled him closer. “I’ve already told my mother. From now on, Lu Shun will follow you.”

Jiang Ji’s eyes brightened even more. “Is that really okay? He’s the next steward they’ve carefully trained.”

“It’s fine. We can train another one in the household. Steward Fu is still young.”

“Then I’ll go thank our mother tomorrow,” Jiang Ji said with a grin. “Oh right, I heard from Uncle Zhong that the residence is training new guards?”

“Mm. The Duke’s residence can have its own guard unit. I’ll assign you one, and have Lu Jiu and Lu Wen accompany you back.”

Jiang Ji frowned. “There’s nothing particularly important on my side, and with Lu Shun helping me, let Lu Jiu and Lu Wen stay with you. You have more to handle.”

“Your safety is the most important thing,” Lu Huaizhou said.

Jiang Ji fell silent.

His heart felt full. He leaned in and kissed Lu Huaizhou, only to be pulled closer as the kiss deepened.

…

Two days later, Jiang Ji had arranged everything and it was time to depart.

At the gates of the Regent’s residence, three carriages were ready. Lu Jiu and Lu Wen stood on either side with a squad of guards. They would accompany Jiang Ji back.

Madam Lu held Zhao Ru’s hand, saying her farewells. She glanced at Jiang Xia and said, “I still think Xia’er should stay. She could live with me, and I’d take her to gatherings. In a couple of years, we could find her a good match.”

During this time, while Jiang Ji had been busy, Madam Lu often came to accompany Zhao Ru and Jiang Xia, even taking them to a few flower-viewing gatherings. She truly adored Jiang Xia, lively, clever, and straightforward, without any affectation. She almost wished she were her own daughter.

Zhao Ru smiled. “No rush. Xia’er won’t marry until she’s eighteen. There’s time.”

Madam Lu sighed. “Honestly, why would Xiao Ji make his sister wait until eighteen to marry?”

Jiang Xia walked over with a grin and looped her arm around Madam Lu’s. “Aunt, eighteen is perfect. I can spend more time with Mother and with you. Once I’m married, I won’t have this kind of freedom anymore.”

Madam Lu tapped her nose affectionately. “You, honestly.”

Nearby, Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei were each playing with a diabolo, shaking it back and forth. They had recently learned it from Lu Jiu and the others and were having great fun, even buying several to bring back for their friends.

“Why isn’t Brother out yet?” Jiang Xia peeked toward the doorway.

Zhao Ru glanced over and smiled. “They’ll be out soon.”

Inside the room, Lu Huaizhou and Jiang Ji were locked in an inseparable kiss. Facing months apart, they both seemed intent on making up for the coming absence in advance.

When they finally parted, Jiang Ji’s eyes were faintly flushed at the corners. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs after the breathless moment.

“I’ll write to you,” Jiang Ji said, cupping Lu Huaizhou’s face. “And I’ll come back in the first month.”

“Mm.” Lu Huaizhou brushed his lips lightly against his, still holding him tightly.

Jiang Ji kissed him once more, then sighed softly and forced himself to pull away. “Mother and the others must be waiting. Let’s go.”

Lu Huaizhou paused, gently touched the corner of his eye, then took his hand and led him out.

At the gates, everyone turned to look as they emerged. Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei stopped playing, knowing it was time to leave.

Lu Huaizhou said to Zhao Ru, “Aunt, take care on the journey.”

“You as well,” Zhao Ru replied, patting his arm.

He then looked at Jiang Xia, Jiang Nan, and Jiang Bei. “Be good. Study well.”

Jiang Xia nodded. Jiang Nan said, “Jiang—no, Brother Huaizhou, we’ll be back next year. Don’t miss us too much.”

Lu Huaizhou: “……”

Jiang Bei, far more reluctant to part, looked at him earnestly. To him, Lu Huaizhou, who had achieved top honors in the imperial exams and become Regent, was an idol.

“Brother Huaizhou, I’ll study hard.”

Lu Huaizhou patted his head. “Good.”

Jiang Ji stepped forward to Minister Lu and Madam Lu, bowing. “Uncle, Aunt, we’ll be heading home now. Please take care of your health. We’ll see you next year.”

Minister Lu nodded slightly. “Go on. Safe travels.”

Madam Lu held his hand and patted it. “Go on, good child. Remember to write.”

“I will.”

Jiang Ji turned back and embraced Lu Huaizhou once more. Then he helped Zhao Ru and Jiang Xia into the second carriage, while he took Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei into the first. Han Qingshan and Yu Yang boarded the last carriage.

Lu Huaizhou instructed Lu Jiu and Lu Wen, “I’m entrusting them to you. Protect them well.”

Lu Jiu and Lu Wen clasped their fists. “Yes, Your Highness.”

The convoy slowly departed from the residence. Jiang Ji and the others leaned out, waving as they left.

Lu Huaizhou watched the carriages recede into the distance, only withdrawing his gaze once they were out of sight.

Inside the carriage, Jiang Ji sat down with a faintly dejected expression.

Jiang Bei looked at him and asked, “Big Brother… do you really not want to part with Brother Huaizhou?”

Continue reading the rest of the chapter.

🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾

Ch 90: The Regent’s Farmer Husband

The carriage slowly entered the capital. Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei leaned out by the window, their little heads side by side, curiously looking around, glancing left and right as they chatted.

“Jiang Bei, look! The streets are so wide, much wider than our county.”

“Yeah, this is the capital after all. Hey, what’s that? It looks so delicious.”

“I don’t know. Let’s have brother bring us to buy it tomorrow.”

“So many people…”

On the other side, Zhao Ru and Jiang Xia had also lifted the curtain and were taking in the sights, their eyes filled with curiosity, though they weren’t leaning out like the two boys.

Jiang Ji smiled. “Today, we’ll go back and rest properly. Tomorrow, Mother and I will go to the palace to give thanks, and in the afternoon, we’ll go out and explore.”

Jiang Nan cheered, “Alright! I want to eat delicious food! I’ll try everything in the capital!”

“You’ll need a really big stomach for that,” Jiang Bei said. “The capital is huge.”

“Are you silly, Jiang Bei? It’s not like we have to eat everything in one day. Today we eat on this street, tomorrow on another. Then we’ll get through it all.”

Jiang Bei pouted. “That’ll still take a long time. Maybe we won’t even finish before we leave. And… it might not even taste as good as what Big Brother makes.”

Jiang Nan replied, “Then if it’s not good, we just have Big Brother cook, right?”

Jiang Ji tapped him on the head. “You’re very good at assigning me work. Dreaming big, aren’t you?”

Jiang Nan held his head, grinning as he flattered him, “Brother, your cooking is the best.”

At that, the whole family laughed.

It had been a long time since they shared such a lively, joyful atmosphere. Jiang Ji felt deeply content watching them.

Back home, Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei could be noisy and annoying at times, but after more than a month apart, Jiang Ji realized he had missed their chatter.

He said to Zhao Ru, “Mother, we’ll stay at the Regent’s residence first. After a couple of days, we’ll move to the Duke’s residence. After the housewarming banquet, I’d like you all to live with me at the Regent’s residence. Is that alright?”

Zhao Ru paused, glancing between the two of them. “Live at the Regent’s residence… even long-term? Would that be appropriate?”

“It will be fine,” Lu Huaizhou said. “Aunt, you’ve just arrived in the capital and aren’t familiar with it yet. The Regent’s residence has strong security and plenty of space. Living together will put both Jiang Ji and me at ease.”

Zhao Ru looked at Jiang Ji. “But later, when Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei grow up…”

“They can move back to the Duke’s residence when they’re older,” Jiang Ji said.

Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei: “…”

Jiang Nan patted Jiang Bei’s shoulder. “It’s fine, we still have more than ten years.”

Jiang Bei: “…”

Having just arrived, Zhao Ru indeed felt unfamiliar with everything. Especially with their sudden rise in status, she might have to interact with noble ladies in the capital. Having guidance from the Regent’s household would make things much easier.

“I just worry about troubling you, Jiang Yan.”

“It won’t be trouble,” Lu Huaizhou said. “It’s better for family to live together. I’m used to it as well.”

Zhao Ru then asked, “What about your parents’ side?”

Even if it wasn’t clear who was “marrying into” whose household, this was still the Regent’s residence. Zhao Ru worried his parents might have opinions about her whole family living there.

“They already know, and they think it’s a good arrangement,” Lu Huaizhou replied.

Zhao Ru glanced at Jiang Ji, who nodded. “Uncle and Aunt are very kind.”

That reassured her somewhat. “Then we’ll do as you say.”

Even though her son had been granted the title of Duke Chang, in this unfamiliar capital, their whole family was new and inexperienced. They didn’t know the customs or the people, and might unknowingly offend someone.

For now, the only person they could rely on was Lu Huaizhou.

Zhao Ru understood this clearly. Since she couldn’t help her son much yet, she would simply follow his lead.

The carriage traveled for another half hour before reaching the Regent’s residence. Eunuch Wu and the people from the Bureau of Weaving got down, paid their respects to Lu Huaizhou and Jiang Ji, then continued on toward the palace.

Zhao Ru and the others stepped down from the carriage.

The gates of the residence were imposing, flanked by two towering stone lions. The entrance was grand, with a plaque above reading “Regent’s Residence.”

Uncle Zhong stood at the entrance with the household staff to welcome them.

“So impressive,” Jiang Bei said.

Jiang Nan nodded. “It really is.”

Zhao Ru and the others were equally astonished. They had known Jiang Yan was the Regent, but seeing it in person made it real.

They had passed many grand households along the way, but none compared to this. Only now did they truly feel that Jiang Yan was indeed the Regent, a man second only to the Emperor.

Uncle Zhong stepped forward. “This old servant greets the Honored Lady, the young lady, and the two young masters.”

Lu Huaizhou introduced him. “Aunt, this is Steward Zhong. If you need anything, just tell him.”

“Alright.” Zhao Ru nodded, glancing at the staff. Most were men, with only a few servant women. She smiled at him. “We’ll be troubling you all from now on.”

Steward Zhong bowed. “It is our duty. Please rest assured.”

Entering the residence, Steward Zhong reported, “The quarters for the Honored Lady, the young lady, and the two young masters have all been arranged. Allow me to lead you there.”

Zhao Ru asked in surprise, “We’re all staying separately?”

He paused. “Not separately?”

Zhao Ru looked at Lu Huaizhou. “I’ll stay together with Xia’er, Jiang Nan, and Jiang Bei. We’re used to it. If we’re too far apart and only see each other once or twice a day, it would feel lonely. We can separate later when they’re older.”

Lu Huaizhou nodded. “As you wish, Aunt. Then you can stay in the Wutong Courtyard next to Jiang Ji and me. Would that be alright?”

“That’s fine.” Zhao Ru nodded in satisfaction. “Closer is better.”

Jiang Ji was also pleased. In large households, everyone usually had their own courtyard. Aside from formal greetings, even meals were often taken separately, which gradually distanced family relationships.

“Lu Jiu, take Uncle Han and Yu Yang to settle in,” Lu Huaizhou instructed.

“Yes, Your Highness.” Lu Jiu smiled at them. “Uncle Han, Yu Yang, come with me. Now that you’re here, we’ll be eating well.”

Han Qingshan and Yu Yang bowed to Lu Huaizhou and the others, then followed Lu Jiu toward the back courtyard.

Yu Yang laughed. “Just tell me what you want to eat, I’ll cook it for you.”

Watching them leave, Jiang Ji said to Lu Huaizhou, “How about having the cooks from the Lu Residence come over to learn from Uncle Han and the others?”

“Alright.” Lu Huaizhou nodded, then turned to Steward Zhong. “Uncle Zhong, send someone to the Lu Residence to inform them.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Steward Zhong immediately called someone over and sent him off. Not long after, two cooks from the Lu Residence arrived.

Lu Huaizhou and Jiang Ji brought Zhao Ru and the others to Wutong Courtyard. They arranged things just as they had at home. Zhao Ru and Xia’er stayed in the main room, while Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei shared the east wing.

Steward Zhong came in with two maids and two young servants. “Honored Lady, these are Chunmei and Xiahe. They joined the residence a few days ago and have already been trained. They will serve you and the young lady. These are Xiao Qi and Xiao Ba, from the original household. They will take care of the two young masters.”

Zhao Ru looked at the two young maids and the boys, nodding. “Alright, thank you for your efforts.”

After settling in and washing up, the whole family went to the dining hall for their first reunion meal in the capital.

“Oh, this braised lion’s head is quite well done,” Zhao Ru said after tasting it.

“Mm, I taught them,” Jiang Ji said with a smile.

Lunch had been prepared by the Regent’s household cooks. Jiang Ji had taught them several dishes when he had time. Of the eight dishes on the table, four were local specialties of the capital, and four were dishes Jiang Ji had taught, in case Zhao Ru and the others weren’t used to the local flavors.

“I thought so. It tastes just like yours,” Zhao Ru said with a smile.

Jiang Nan also gave his verdict, “Still not as good as what Brother makes.”

“Got it. I’ll cook something nice for you tonight,” Jiang Ji said, ruffling his hair.

Jiang Nan grinned.

Steward Zhong watched as the Regent sat at the table, a constant smile at the corner of his lips, clearly in high spirits, and couldn’t help but feel moved.

Since becoming Regent, Lu Huaizhou had been burdened with heavy responsibilities, growing increasingly reserved, rarely showing his emotions.

But ever since his return, Steward Zhong had seen a more relaxed side of him again, even smiling often, especially when he was with Jiang Ji.

He had never imagined the Regent could sit like this, at ease, sharing a meal with family.

Seeing this, Steward Zhong couldn’t help but smile, feeling deeply gratified.

After the meal, Zhao Ru and the others chatted for a while before going to rest. The long journey had left them exhausted.

When they woke, Jiang Ji personally took them on a tour of the residence.

“Wow, the Regent’s residence is huge,” Jiang Nan exclaimed, looking at the garden ahead. “We’ve walked so long, and there’s still a back garden we haven’t seen!”

Jiang Bei asked, “Big Brother, does our residence have a garden too?”

“Yes, but not as large as this one,” Jiang Ji nodded. “We have things to do tomorrow. The day after, we’ll go take a look. We need to prepare for the housewarming banquet.”

“Alright!” Jiang Nan clapped happily.

After wandering around for a while, toward evening, Minister Lu returned from duty, bringing Madam Lu and Lu Huaichuan with him.

Since Zhao Ru would be going to give thanks at court the next day, not only meeting the Emperor but also the Empress Dowager, Lu Huaizhou had specially invited Madam Lu to explain the proper etiquette. Madam Lu would also accompany Zhao Ru.

At the same time, this was also an opportunity for both families to meet over a welcoming banquet.

“Honored Lady.” Madam Lu, who herself held the rank of First-Rank Honored Madam, Lady Zhao Ru with a formal bow.

“Oh, Madam Lu, you’re too kind,” Zhao Ru said, somewhat flustered, returning the greeting. “You are Jiang—no, the Regent’s mother. Please don’t be so formal with me.”

Madam Lu took Zhao Ru’s hand and smiled warmly. “Then… in-law?”

“Yes, yes,” Zhao Ru nodded with a smile. “In-law.”

The two women laughed.

Zhao Ru called Jiang Xia, Jiang Nan, and Jiang Bei over. “Come, greet Uncle Lu, Aunt Lu, and Brother Huaichuan.”

The three bowed and said in unison, “Greetings, Uncle Lu, Aunt Lu, Brother Huaichuan.”

“This must be Xia’er,” Madam Lu said, looking at them. She took Jiang Xia’s hand and slipped a jade-green bracelet from her own wrist onto hers. “What a lovely girl. Aunt really likes you. Take this as a gift.”

Jiang Xia froze, staring at the bracelet. “Aunt, this is too valuable. I can’t accept it.”

“It’s nothing, wear it,” Madam Lu said, smiling. Jiang Xia had bright eyes and a delicate face, utterly endearing.

Jiang Xia glanced at her brother. Jiang Ji nodded. Remembering the etiquette Lu Shun had taught her, she curtsied. “Thank you, Aunt.”

Madam Lu held her hand, smiling. “I always wanted a daughter. Girls are so thoughtful. But in the end, I had another son.”

Lu Huaichuan said helplessly, “Mother, I’m still right here.”

“I wish you had been a daughter. At least you wouldn’t annoy me so much,” Madam Lu replied irritably.

Lu Huaichuan clutched his chest dramatically. “Mother, I’m heartbroken, truly heartbroken. You should comfort me…”

His exaggerated act made Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei burst into laughter.

“That’s enough, stop showing off,” Madam Lu said, half amused, half exasperated, ignoring him. She bent down and looked at the twins. “Now, which one is Jiang Nan, and which is Jiang Bei?”

Jiang Bei was about to answer when Jiang Nan quickly covered his mouth. “Aunt, you guess?”

“Oh? Let me guess,” Madam Lu said, pinching Jiang Nan’s cheek. “You’re the older brother, Jiang Nan, and this is the younger one, Jiang Bei. Am I right?”

She had already heard about the twins. The more mischievous one was Jiang Nan, while the steadier one was Jiang Bei.

Jiang Nan released Jiang Bei and said happily, “That’s right!”

Jiang Bei asked curiously, “Aunt, how did you guess correctly?”

Madam Lu tapped their noses and smiled. “You tell me.”

Jiang Nan: “…”

Jiang Bei: “…”

Seeing their blank, puzzled expressions, Madam Lu laughed happily. She took out two jade pendants from her sleeve pouch and placed one in each of their hands. “These are a matching pair. One for each of you, perfect for you to wear.”

The two boys were both adorable and clever, and Madam Lu liked them very much.

“Thank you, Aunt,” Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei said together, bowing in thanks.

Zhao Ru then presented a gift Jiang Ji had prepared and gave it to Lu Huaichuan. “I heard you’re preparing for the spring examinations. Aunt wishes you success—may your name appear on the honors list and may you take first place.”

Lu Huaichuan bowed with a smile. “Thank you, Aunt. I’ll gladly accept your blessing.”

After that, Madam Lu took Zhao Ru and Jiang Xia aside, chatting with them about life in the capital and explaining the etiquette for their audience with the Emperor the next day.

Minister Lu wanted to play a game of chess with Lu Huaizhou, but Lu Huaizhou declined.

“I need to go prepare dinner with Jiang Ji. You can have Steward Zhong play with you,” he said.

Minister Lu: “……”

Meanwhile, Lu Huaichuan took Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei to play in the courtyard.

It was the first meeting between the two families. Seeing how well everyone got along, Jiang Ji felt reassured. He went with Lu Huaizhou to the kitchen and prepared a full table of dishes.

That evening, both families sat together, chatting and laughing over a warm meal.

After dinner, Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei were taken by Xiao Qi and Xiao Ba to wash up. Jiang Ji stayed in the main hall with Zhao Ru, listening as Madam Lu explained the details of their visit to the palace the next day.

The ceremonial attire for a First-Rank Honored Lady had already arrived. After taking Zhao Ru’s measurements, the Bureau of Weaving had rushed it to the capital in time.

With Madam Lu and the maids assisting her, Zhao Ru tried on the formal robes and practiced the proper etiquette.

…

The next day, Jiang Ji, Zhao Ru, and Madam Lu entered the palace.

Jiang Ji first brought Zhao Ru to meet the Emperor and express their gratitude. The young Emperor asked a few questions, then dismissed them.

Afterward, Jiang Ji and Zhao Ru went to see the Empress Dowager, where Madam Lu was already present.

After offering thanks and chatting briefly, they all took their leave.

Only after exiting the palace gates did Zhao Ru grasp Madam Lu’s hand nervously. “I didn’t make any mistakes, did I?”

Madam Lu patted her hand reassuringly. “No, you did very well.”

Zhao Ru let out a breath. “That’s good… that’s good.”

She glanced back at the imposing palace gates, thinking she never wanted to enter again. It was too nerve-wracking, as if a single wrong word could cost her life.

In any case, they had completed the formalities without issue and returned.

Madam Lu said, “If you need any help with the Duke Chang Residence’s housewarming banquet, just let me know.”

Jiang Ji replied, “Thank you, Aunt.”

The banquet was set for three days later, and invitations had already been sent. Over the next two days, they needed to prepare the residence. Early that morning, Steward Zhong had already taken people over to begin arrangements.

He had originally suggested moving items from the Regent’s residence to decorate the place, but Jiang Ji refused.

“No need. Everyone knows my family were farmers. Filling the place with expensive decorations would be inappropriate. We only need what’s necessary for the banquet—just a few essential items. Simple is fine.”

Steward Zhong cautioned, “Duke, people in the capital tend to judge by status. If there’s too little, you might be looked down on or mocked.”

“Let them mock,” Jiang Ji said. “Reputation is earned. Even if we display expensive items, they’ll assume they came from the Regent’s residence. Wouldn’t that make it seem like I’m putting on airs?”

Steward Zhong paused, surprised by Jiang Ji’s clarity, then bowed. “This old servant understands.”

Without elaborate decorations, preparations became much simpler. They only needed to focus on the banquet itself. Jiang Ji provided the menu, Han Qingshan and Yu Yang listed the required ingredients, and Steward Zhong arranged for everything to be purchased and prepared.

That afternoon, Jiang Ji kept his promise and took Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei out to explore the capital.

The city was bustling and dazzling. The family had a wonderful time. Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei fulfilled their wish, sampling food everywhere they went, trying this and that until their little stomachs were round with fullness.

…

The next day, they visited the Duke Chang Residence together.

Though smaller than the Regent’s residence, it was still one of the finest mansions in the capital, many times larger than their home back in the countryside.

“Brother, is this really going to be our home?” Jiang Nan asked.

“Yes.”

Jiang Bei said, “Then we can bring Xiao Yi and Xiang’er and everyone else to live here too.”

Jiang Ji nodded. “Exactly. We’ll bring them all over later.”

On the day of the housewarming banquet, which Jiang Ji had deliberately chosen to fall on a rest day, they rose early. Carrying rice, flour, oil, and other essentials, they symbolically “moved in” again, reciting auspicious phrases with practiced ease.

By mid-morning, guests began to arrive one after another.

It was the first time the Duke Chang Residence officially appeared before the capital’s elite, and the first time it hosted guests.

Upon entering, the guests admired the scenery, nodding in approval.

Autumn chrysanthemums bloomed in abundance, begonias were delicate and charming, camellias vibrant, golden osmanthus fragrant. Rock formations and ponds completed the scene, with fish swimming freely.

But when they stepped into the main hall, they paused in surprise.

Aside from tables and chairs, and a few plants and flowers on the tea tables, there were no calligraphy, paintings, screens, or decorative ornaments—not even a single vase.

It was… far too simple.

Many guests glanced at Lu Huaizhou, wondering why the Regent hadn’t added more furnishings.

Lu Huaizhou and Jiang Ji stood at the front hall greeting guests. Jiang Ji cupped his hands and said, “The residence is rather simple. If anything falls short in our hospitality, I ask for your understanding.”

Seeing how composed and open Jiang Ji was, the officials all waved it off.

Soon, servants brought out tea, pastries, and fruit. The tea was a rich amber color with a deep fragrance. After taking a sip, someone exclaimed, “Excellent tea!”

Others quickly tasted it as well. One asked in surprise, “Is this pu tea?”

Jiang Ji nodded. “Yes, I purchased it from a merchant I know.”

In truth, it was modern pu’er tea he had exchanged from the system, with more refined processing and a smoother flavor than what existed in this era.

Someone remarked, “I’ve had pu tea at His Majesty’s court before, but it wasn’t as rich as this.”

Even Prime Minister Shen said, “Full-bodied and mellow, with a lingering aroma. Very good.”

Jiang Ji smiled. “I’m glad you all enjoy it.”

While the men in the front courtyard appreciated the tea, the ladies in the back courtyard were captivated by the desserts.

Mango pudding, orange pudding, caramel pudding, osmanthus sesame jelly cakes, double-skin milk, and sweet potato cakes.

All of them were unfamiliar.

“Honored Lady, what is this? It’s delicious.”

“And this one, it’s translucent. These pastries are so delicate.”

Zhao Ru smiled. “This is called pudding. Xiao Ji made it with the kitchen staff.”

The ladies were astonished. “The Duke can make desserts too?”

Zhao Ru nodded. “He can cook as well.”

One lady added, “I’ve heard the Duke even prepared meals for His Majesty, the Empress Dowager, and the Taifei. They all loved it.”

Zhao Ru nodded. “Today’s banquet was prepared by the household cooks, but they were all taught by Xiao Ji. Please enjoy the dishes later.”

Madam Lu had come early to accompany Zhao Ru in hosting. Seeing the reactions of the ladies, she felt reassured.

At the midday banquet, the guests were stunned once again.

The twelve dishes set before them were all unfamiliar, including the “new crops” Jiang Ji had introduced to court, corn, potatoes, and chili peppers.

Everything was delicious. Not only were the dishes excellent, even the rice tasted better than what they were used to.

“So this is the new rice the Duke has been promoting. It really does taste better.”

“These fresh potatoes and corn, and this chili as well. The cooking is superb. No wonder His Majesty and the Empress Dowager praised it so highly.”

“Once summer comes and the southern regions begin planting this new rice widely, we should be able to enjoy it too.”

“And the wheat as well. The Duke said it would taste better than before.”

“I’ve heard the Duke is experimenting with new vegetables outside the city. Perhaps we’ll have new vegetables even in winter.”

“Remarkable.”

The food was so good that the guests ate to their hearts’ content, still wanting more.

During the banquet, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager also sent gifts to congratulate the housewarming, adding great honor to the occasion.

Afterward, it was said that many households began trying to replicate the desserts and the chili-free dishes served at the Duke’s banquet.

Some ladies even sent visiting cards to Zhao Ru to ask for guidance, and through these exchanges, Zhao Ru grew closer to several of them.

As for whether they succeeded in recreating the dishes, Jiang Ji didn’t bother to ask. He had something more important to prepare for, the betrothal.

Three days after the banquet, the matchmaker Wu arrived at the Regent’s residence. Minister Lu, Madam Lu, Zhao Ru, Lu Huaizhou, and Jiang Ji all gathered together.

Under the matchmaker’s guidance, both families formally expressed their consent to the marriage. They exchanged betrothal gifts and birth details, which were then placed together before the ancestral altar.

Three days later, after the name inquiry period and compatibility checks were completed, the two families met again. With the matchmaker as witness, the marriage was officially arranged.

After the engagement was settled and the others departed, Lu Huaizhou and Jiang Ji returned to their courtyard.

Inside the room, Jiang Ji held Lu Huaizhou’s hand with one hand and patted his chest with the other, letting out a breath. “It’s finally settled.”

During the three days of the name inquiry, Jiang Ji had been on edge. To avoid any mishaps, he hadn’t left the house and didn’t even allow Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei to go out, leaving the two boys bored out of their minds, clinging to Lu Jiu for entertainment.

“Mm.” Lu Huaizhou tightened his grip on Jiang Ji’s hand, his gaze deep. “We’re engaged.”

“From now on, we’re officially fiancés.” Jiang Ji looked at him with a bright smile. “Hello, fiancé.”

A soft smile touched Lu Huaizhou’s lips as he leaned in and kissed him.

“Hello, fiancé.”

🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾