Chapter 2.21 – The Route Of An Incapable Ruler(1)

Proofreader: Penguinstel

Big A had many things he wanted to say but held back, clearly wanting to continue persuading him. Little B sighed and said, “Mr. Xiang, we’ve already transferred 20 million to your account. 10 million is the compensation fee and the other 10 million… is the Marshal’s token of appreciation for your hard work.”

Xiang Han quickly shook his head, “There’s no need. I didn’t manage to save him, I shouldn’t take this money.”

Little B laughed, “But you still did your job and moreover, it wasn’t stated in the contract that you needed to save that person. Also, it’s our own selfish wish, but we hope that someday you would be tempted by these great compensations and suddenly change your mind.”

Xiang Han: …

“Mr. Xiang, since we are already on this topic, can I ask, why don’t you want to continue? If it’s because of my and Admiral Dean’s lies at the start, we can apologize to you.” Little B clearly had not given up.

Big A heard this and quickly said, “T-That’s right, we’re extremely sorry for keeping this matter from you. Truthfully, before you, there were many applicants that tried for this program. But to ensure the safety of the general, we were unable to disclose any information. Until now, you are the only person with the highest chance of saving him, so we would like it if you could reconsider.”

Xiang Han shook his head and said, “I’m afraid that I’ll confuse virtual reality with reality.”

After saying this, Big A and Little B looked at each other.

Big A asked, “What does that mean?”

Little B, “It should probably be that he’s afraid that after he returns to reality, he’d see the General as Lu Ze, Zhou Yue Ze, and the rest.”

After the General heard this, his heart ached and he immediately found Xiang Han alongside Big A and Little B. “So what if you like him, what are you afraid of? Our Pulan family is not that old fashioned that we only look at your lineage. If Xavier doesn’t marry you, Laozi will break his legs.”

The father that had coincidentally came to find his son just happened to be carrying a carton of nutrient packs in when he heard it and immediately roared, “What? Han Han, you’re getting married? Let me tell you, our Xiang Family doesn’t have the habit of marrying off our sons. Marry, they have to marry in!”

The Old Marshal heard this and gritted his teeth, steeling his heart, “Then we’ll let Xavier marry him. Giving his body to the person who saved his life, there’s nothing wrong with it.”

Big A and Little B nodded furiously at the side, “Right, right, right. Your words are completely logical.”

Xiang Han broke out in a sweat and quickly pushed his father into the room, “Old man, stop talking nonsense, quickly come and help me clean up the room.”

After coming back from the second world, he realised that he could no longer stand the dog shed that he used to live in before.

Father Xiang turned back and asked, “Eh, who’s that old man? He looks quite familiar…”

Xiang Han had completely disregarded the old marshal’s words, forgetting it in an instant.

But a few days later, Big A came to find him again. “Mr. Xiang, after studying a similar case that happened a hundred years ago, we found that apart from lovers, resonance can also happen between relatives and friends.”

“So to say, as long as there are feelings, a resonance can be established. It doesn’t necessarily have to be love.” Little B added.

“So, why haven’t you gone to find new people?” Xiang Han was speechless.

Big A and Little B: “…” Where could they find a new person easily? Even if they found one, they wouldn’t have a matching rate of 99.9%, ah. Such a high matching rate, if the government were to know, they would definitely matchmake them, okay?

“Let me think about it,” Xiang Han pouted and said.

After sending off the two people, Xiang Han returned to his room and lay listlessly on his bed with his eyes wide open.

Ever since he returned, he had spent everyday feeling like this. His heart felt empty and he did not know what to do.

He had gone to search up information on Xavier, and from what he knew, that person was often in military attire, his features extremely prominent. He had short hair and appeared very cold and reserved, completely unlike Lu Ze and Zhou Yue Ze.

He sighed and went into the living room to grab a tasteless nutrient pack. Father Xiang was currently watching the Star News channel and Xiang Han just happened to glance at it when his eyes widened abruptly.

The news said that the research institute had recently discovered a new type of edible plant that, once popularized, would allow billions of people to bid farewell to the disgusting nutrient solution.

Xiang Han recognised it. That was rice, ah, rice!

Father Xiang muttered, “So white, can it really be eaten?”

Xiang Han turned back and stiffly asked, “Old man, what if one day, you had the chance to save a person and also allow countless people to say goodbye to the nutrient solution, letting them eat delicious food. Will you do it?”

“How delicious?” Father Xiang’s focus was a little wrong.

Xiang Han: …

After hesitating for a few more days, Xiang Han finally decided to go back. Everything else aside, he really had enough of the dirt looking nutrient solution.

Of course, that was not the main point. The point was, he was a kind, warm-hearted and helpful person, how could he watch someone else die? How could he just watch as the federation get caught up in internal strife? How could he bear to let the children in the slums drink those nutrient solutions every day?

After mentally preparing himself, he quickly chased his old man back to his old home back on the Water Star before he headed for the Gaming Company.

Seeing him return, Big A and Little B were so excited they could not control themselves. The Marshal wanted to rush back after knowing about it but was stopped by Big A. After all, his identity was extremely sensitive, his every move was being watched.

In front of the liquid tank, Xiang Han spoke two lines. The first was, “I’m saving a life.” and the second was, “Please collect more information on that food.”

Big A and Little B: …

System was also excited to see him and happily promised, “Mr. Xiang, don’t worry, just leave it to me. I’ll definitely collect plenty of information.”

When he opened his eyes again, Xiang Han found that he was sitting high above, resting his forehead against his hand and looking at a group of long and big sleeved men.

At this time, one of them suddenly knelt down and cried out, “Your Majesty, Minister Zhao has served the emperor for three generations and is absolutely loyal, there is no way this minister’s heart has ever wavered. Your Majesty cannot listen to the rumours spread by those evil people, they’re confusing right and wrong, unable to recognise loyalty.”

Just as his words fell, all the people behind him knelt collectively with a ‘whoosh’, holding onto their plaques and beseeching, “Your Majesty, please reconsider.”

Xiang Han had not yet seen the information of this world and he was stunned, frantically searching through the memories of the original host.

En, the host was called Rong Han…Why was there the word “Han” again?

Song Han ascended the throne at a young age and entered the government at 16 years-old but had always been living under the shadow of his three great ministers. The reason had to do with his brother, Song Yu.

The year that the Emperor passed away, Song Yu was the crown prince and he should have smoothly ascended the throne. But the three ministers used the excuse of Song Yu’s greed, laziness, and ignorance to destroy him and supported the then eight-years-old Song Han to ascension.

Song Han’s mother was a coward and felt that the three ministers did not have good intentions. She believed that Song Yu was overthrown because he was too old and knowledgeable, making it difficult to control. Her son was young and thus, easier to control.

Ever since her son ascended, she often cried and tried to instil her own ideas onto him.

Under her influence, Song Han grew up fearing the three ministers. When it came to politics, he was even more vigilant, using the excuse of his young age to push away his responsibilities while simultaneously relying on them. He was afraid that if even one of them were unhappy with him, he would meet the same end.

However, fortune is as unpredictable as the weather, every day may bring fortune or calamity. There would be some times where one would have dog shit luck and Xiang Han was precisely this lucky person, and it was not just once. When he was eight, he was mysteriously supported to ascension. When he was 16, two of the ministers died, leaving only his teacher,  Zhao Bing Zhang.

Overnight, Song Han immediately became a different person and began to take charge. Taking advantage of when Zhao Bing Zhang was sick, he found an excuse and executed his entire family.

With the original host’s memories, Xiang Han immediately knew what to do. From his experience of reading novels, which ministers were not greedy for power? The Empress had not guessed wrongly, if the two other ministers had not died, Song Han would be destroyed sooner or later.

As for those crying pitifully below, was there still a need to say? They were all in the same boat!

Therefore, Xiang Han raised a hand and commanded domineeringly, “It’s been decided. End of discussion.”

The ministers instantly stopped weeping and looked at each other blankly.

Shit, this was a phrase he often used in meetings.

Xiang Han panicked but thankfully, he already had the ability to remain unfazed and quickly coughed lightly to cover up. “Zhen has already decided, you are all dismissed.”

Saying this, he waved his sleeves and left domineeringly, leaving the rest of his ministers speechless.

On the way back, the System carefully asked, [Mr. Xiang, the information had already been sent to you, why aren’t you reading it?]

[I didn’t have the time earlier on, I’m reading it now.] Xiang Han happily replied, feeling exceptionally manly just now.

The System was silent.

Returning to his bedroom, he dismissed all the eunuchs and palace maids before collapsing onto the emperor’s dragon bed. Finding a comfortable position, he slowly began to read the information.

It did not take long before his expression fell and he asked weakly, [Little Nine, why didn’t you remind me?]

System: […] How would I know that you wouldn’t read the information provided?

It turned out that Song Han and his mother Empress had gauged the heart of a gentleman with one’s own mean measure. The three ministers had been absolutely loyal and Song Yu was overthrown because of the Emperor’s will. Before his death, the Emperor found out that he had been forced to wear a green hat[1]. Song Yu was not his biological son.

Worse still, Song Yu was the protagonist of this world. After he was overthrown, he kept thinking of ways to regain the throne. The two ministers that died mysteriously were actually his doing and the original host had actually foolishly helped him, getting rid of the last Minister, Zhao Bing Zhang and even executed his nine generations.

Song Yu wanted to legitimately regain the throne. He not only lured the little Emperor onto the path taken by King Zhou[2], he also secretly helped Zhao Bing Zhang’s eldest son, Zhao Ze, to escape.

Zhao Ze had just become an adult, proficient in both the art of literature and war. He was the Champion of Chang’ an, a rare talent and moreover, he was similar to his father, Zhao Bing Zhang, both loyal to the monarch. But the little Emperor forced him into a corner, leaving him with no choice but to join Song Yu and rebel.

Ah, it wasn’t called a rebellion. It should be called, “I’m not rebelling against the king, I’m just cleaning up the people around the king.”

At this moment, the little Emperor had already decreed for Zhao Bing Zhang’s execution to be held tomorrow on the grounds of treachery. Earlier on, the court ministers had been trying to stop him and were crying. But in the end, because of the influence from the original host, he threw down the sentence, “Zhen has already decided.”

If he was not wrong, the target should be Zhao Ze. Xiang Han had an expression of helplessness. Why was the plot not progressing in the right direction?

End of Arc 2

T/n: Next arc, Xiang Han is an emperor

yall, I sped through this arc cause it was fun and easy, but the next arc is,,, gonna be- gonna be… ultra hard. Still looking for a fixed editor for this series~

Thanks for reading, the next arc will take some time to translate and now that school has started, there is no fixed schedule and it is entirely up to my workload. I will not be able to do extra chapters any longer for now but if you guys want to support me, please do so and I will also be releasing first drafts of arc 3 on patreon. Hope y’all enjoyed this arc!

Footnotes:

[1]Green hat: cuckold

[2]Di Xin gathered all his treasures around himself in the Palace, and then set fire to his palace and committed suicide. So I think Song Yu is forcing him to “suicide” unknowingly by burning his own “treasures” aka the ministers, thereby killing himself.

Chapter 2.21 – The Route Of An Incapable Ruler(1)

Proofreader: Penguinstel

Big A had many things he wanted to say but held back, clearly wanting to continue persuading him. Little B sighed and said, “Mr. Xiang, we’ve already transferred 20 million to your account. 10 million is the compensation fee and the other 10 million… is the Marshal’s token of appreciation for your hard work.”

Xiang Han quickly shook his head, “There’s no need. I didn’t manage to save him, I shouldn’t take this money.”

Little B laughed, “But you still did your job and moreover, it wasn’t stated in the contract that you needed to save that person. Also, it’s our own selfish wish, but we hope that someday you would be tempted by these great compensations and suddenly change your mind.”

Xiang Han: …

“Mr. Xiang, since we are already on this topic, can I ask, why don’t you want to continue? If it’s because of my and Admiral Dean’s lies at the start, we can apologize to you.” Little B clearly had not given up.

Big A heard this and quickly said, “T-That’s right, we’re extremely sorry for keeping this matter from you. Truthfully, before you, there were many applicants that tried for this program. But to ensure the safety of the general, we were unable to disclose any information. Until now, you are the only person with the highest chance of saving him, so we would like it if you could reconsider.”

Xiang Han shook his head and said, “I’m afraid that I’ll confuse virtual reality with reality.”

After saying this, Big A and Little B looked at each other.

Big A asked, “What does that mean?”

Little B, “It should probably be that he’s afraid that after he returns to reality, he’d see the General as Lu Ze, Zhou Yue Ze, and the rest.”

After the General heard this, his heart ached and he immediately found Xiang Han alongside Big A and Little B. “So what if you like him, what are you afraid of? Our Pulan family is not that old fashioned that we only look at your lineage. If Xavier doesn’t marry you, Laozi will break his legs.”

The father that had coincidentally came to find his son just happened to be carrying a carton of nutrient packs in when he heard it and immediately roared, “What? Han Han, you’re getting married? Let me tell you, our Xiang Family doesn’t have the habit of marrying off our sons. Marry, they have to marry in!”

The Old Marshal heard this and gritted his teeth, steeling his heart, “Then we’ll let Xavier marry him. Giving his body to the person who saved his life, there’s nothing wrong with it.”

Big A and Little B nodded furiously at the side, “Right, right, right. Your words are completely logical.”

Xiang Han broke out in a sweat and quickly pushed his father into the room, “Old man, stop talking nonsense, quickly come and help me clean up the room.”

After coming back from the second world, he realised that he could no longer stand the dog shed that he used to live in before.

Father Xiang turned back and asked, “Eh, who’s that old man? He looks quite familiar…”

Xiang Han had completely disregarded the old marshal’s words, forgetting it in an instant.

But a few days later, Big A came to find him again. “Mr. Xiang, after studying a similar case that happened a hundred years ago, we found that apart from lovers, resonance can also happen between relatives and friends.”

“So to say, as long as there are feelings, a resonance can be established. It doesn’t necessarily have to be love.” Little B added.

“So, why haven’t you gone to find new people?” Xiang Han was speechless.

Big A and Little B: “…” Where could they find a new person easily? Even if they found one, they wouldn’t have a matching rate of 99.9%, ah. Such a high matching rate, if the government were to know, they would definitely matchmake them, okay?

“Let me think about it,” Xiang Han pouted and said.

After sending off the two people, Xiang Han returned to his room and lay listlessly on his bed with his eyes wide open.

Ever since he returned, he had spent everyday feeling like this. His heart felt empty and he did not know what to do.

He had gone to search up information on Xavier, and from what he knew, that person was often in military attire, his features extremely prominent. He had short hair and appeared very cold and reserved, completely unlike Lu Ze and Zhou Yue Ze.

He sighed and went into the living room to grab a tasteless nutrient pack. Father Xiang was currently watching the Star News channel and Xiang Han just happened to glance at it when his eyes widened abruptly.

The news said that the research institute had recently discovered a new type of edible plant that, once popularized, would allow billions of people to bid farewell to the disgusting nutrient solution.

Xiang Han recognised it. That was rice, ah, rice!

Father Xiang muttered, “So white, can it really be eaten?”

Xiang Han turned back and stiffly asked, “Old man, what if one day, you had the chance to save a person and also allow countless people to say goodbye to the nutrient solution, letting them eat delicious food. Will you do it?”

“How delicious?” Father Xiang’s focus was a little wrong.

Xiang Han: …

After hesitating for a few more days, Xiang Han finally decided to go back. Everything else aside, he really had enough of the dirt looking nutrient solution.

Of course, that was not the main point. The point was, he was a kind, warm-hearted and helpful person, how could he watch someone else die? How could he just watch as the federation get caught up in internal strife? How could he bear to let the children in the slums drink those nutrient solutions every day?

After mentally preparing himself, he quickly chased his old man back to his old home back on the Water Star before he headed for the Gaming Company.

Seeing him return, Big A and Little B were so excited they could not control themselves. The Marshal wanted to rush back after knowing about it but was stopped by Big A. After all, his identity was extremely sensitive, his every move was being watched.

In front of the liquid tank, Xiang Han spoke two lines. The first was, “I’m saving a life.” and the second was, “Please collect more information on that food.”

Big A and Little B: …

System was also excited to see him and happily promised, “Mr. Xiang, don’t worry, just leave it to me. I’ll definitely collect plenty of information.”

When he opened his eyes again, Xiang Han found that he was sitting high above, resting his forehead against his hand and looking at a group of long and big sleeved men.

At this time, one of them suddenly knelt down and cried out, “Your Majesty, Minister Zhao has served the emperor for three generations and is absolutely loyal, there is no way this minister’s heart has ever wavered. Your Majesty cannot listen to the rumours spread by those evil people, they’re confusing right and wrong, unable to recognise loyalty.”

Just as his words fell, all the people behind him knelt collectively with a ‘whoosh’, holding onto their plaques and beseeching, “Your Majesty, please reconsider.”

Xiang Han had not yet seen the information of this world and he was stunned, frantically searching through the memories of the original host.

En, the host was called Rong Han…Why was there the word “Han” again?

Song Han ascended the throne at a young age and entered the government at 16 years-old but had always been living under the shadow of his three great ministers. The reason had to do with his brother, Song Yu.

The year that the Emperor passed away, Song Yu was the crown prince and he should have smoothly ascended the throne. But the three ministers used the excuse of Song Yu’s greed, laziness, and ignorance to destroy him and supported the then eight-years-old Song Han to ascension.

Song Han’s mother was a coward and felt that the three ministers did not have good intentions. She believed that Song Yu was overthrown because he was too old and knowledgeable, making it difficult to control. Her son was young and thus, easier to control.

Ever since her son ascended, she often cried and tried to instil her own ideas onto him.

Under her influence, Song Han grew up fearing the three ministers. When it came to politics, he was even more vigilant, using the excuse of his young age to push away his responsibilities while simultaneously relying on them. He was afraid that if even one of them were unhappy with him, he would meet the same end.

However, fortune is as unpredictable as the weather, every day may bring fortune or calamity. There would be some times where one would have dog shit luck and Xiang Han was precisely this lucky person, and it was not just once. When he was eight, he was mysteriously supported to ascension. When he was 16, two of the ministers died, leaving only his teacher,  Zhao Bing Zhang.

Overnight, Song Han immediately became a different person and began to take charge. Taking advantage of when Zhao Bing Zhang was sick, he found an excuse and executed his entire family.

With the original host’s memories, Xiang Han immediately knew what to do. From his experience of reading novels, which ministers were not greedy for power? The Empress had not guessed wrongly, if the two other ministers had not died, Song Han would be destroyed sooner or later.

As for those crying pitifully below, was there still a need to say? They were all in the same boat!

Therefore, Xiang Han raised a hand and commanded domineeringly, “It’s been decided. End of discussion.”

The ministers instantly stopped weeping and looked at each other blankly.

Shit, this was a phrase he often used in meetings.

Xiang Han panicked but thankfully, he already had the ability to remain unfazed and quickly coughed lightly to cover up. “Zhen has already decided, you are all dismissed.”

Saying this, he waved his sleeves and left domineeringly, leaving the rest of his ministers speechless.

On the way back, the System carefully asked, [Mr. Xiang, the information had already been sent to you, why aren’t you reading it?]

[I didn’t have the time earlier on, I’m reading it now.] Xiang Han happily replied, feeling exceptionally manly just now.

The System was silent.

Returning to his bedroom, he dismissed all the eunuchs and palace maids before collapsing onto the emperor’s dragon bed. Finding a comfortable position, he slowly began to read the information.

It did not take long before his expression fell and he asked weakly, [Little Nine, why didn’t you remind me?]

System: […] How would I know that you wouldn’t read the information provided?

It turned out that Song Han and his mother Empress had gauged the heart of a gentleman with one’s own mean measure. The three ministers had been absolutely loyal and Song Yu was overthrown because of the Emperor’s will. Before his death, the Emperor found out that he had been forced to wear a green hat[1]. Song Yu was not his biological son.

Worse still, Song Yu was the protagonist of this world. After he was overthrown, he kept thinking of ways to regain the throne. The two ministers that died mysteriously were actually his doing and the original host had actually foolishly helped him, getting rid of the last Minister, Zhao Bing Zhang and even executed his nine generations.

Song Yu wanted to legitimately regain the throne. He not only lured the little Emperor onto the path taken by King Zhou[2], he also secretly helped Zhao Bing Zhang’s eldest son, Zhao Ze, to escape.

Zhao Ze had just become an adult, proficient in both the art of literature and war. He was the Champion of Chang’ an, a rare talent and moreover, he was similar to his father, Zhao Bing Zhang, both loyal to the monarch. But the little Emperor forced him into a corner, leaving him with no choice but to join Song Yu and rebel.

Ah, it wasn’t called a rebellion. It should be called, “I’m not rebelling against the king, I’m just cleaning up the people around the king.”

At this moment, the little Emperor had already decreed for Zhao Bing Zhang’s execution to be held tomorrow on the grounds of treachery. Earlier on, the court ministers had been trying to stop him and were crying. But in the end, because of the influence from the original host, he threw down the sentence, “Zhen has already decided.”

If he was not wrong, the target should be Zhao Ze. Xiang Han had an expression of helplessness. Why was the plot not progressing in the right direction?

End of Arc 2

T/n: Next arc, Xiang Han is an emperor

yall, I sped through this arc cause it was fun and easy, but the next arc is,,, gonna be- gonna be… ultra hard. Still looking for a fixed editor for this series~Thanks for reading, the next arc will take some time to translate and now that school has started, there is no fixed schedule and it is entirely up to my workload. I will not be able to do extra chapters any longer for now but if you guys want to support me, please do so and I will also be releasing first drafts of arc 3 on patreon. Hope y’all enjoyed this arc!

Footnotes:

[1]Green hat: cuckold

[2]Di Xin gathered all his treasures around himself in the Palace, and then set fire to his palace and committed suicide. So I think Song Yu is forcing him to “suicide” unknowingly by burning his own “treasures” aka the ministers, thereby killing himself.