Chapter 1: The Emperor and His Ministers Have Met with the Times (1)
The autumn wind blows.
"Ming Huan, does the path you have chosen now still lead to the direction you yearn for?" The old man's face was covered with deep and shallow wrinkles, which were the marks engraved by the years. He has lived for many years and has seen too many people and things. His eyes are turbid because of old age, but his vision is clear.
Shen Changqing looked at the young man in front of him with loving eyes.
The young man sat very upright, with a straight back and clear eyebrows. His gestures were indescribably free and unrestrained, which could be described as "clean as spring moon willows, and bright as morning glow".
——This is the most outstanding heir of the Shen family for several generations, Shen Che, whose name is Ming Huan.
"Child, the family should be your backing, not a burden." Shen Changqing can easily keep his emotions to himself, but he never hides his love for Shen Ming Huan, and this feeling is so strong that it seems to overflow from his eyes.
He sighed almost inaudibly: "Your father and I... don't want you to be wronged for the so-called family honor and family responsibility. If you force yourself for this, we will be very sad."
The young head of the family smiled lightly, he reached out to hold the kettle and poured tea for the old man.
The orange tea slowly poured down from the spout of the kettle.
The young man's hands were very steady, and this series of movements were smooth and flowing, only creating small ripples in the cup.
Suddenly, the kettle shook slightly, but the amplitude was very small, so except for a drop of tea that accidentally splashed out, no one noticed this abnormal stagnation.
No one knew that at this moment, this shell had quietly changed its soul.
[System 009 is dedicated to serving you! Host, let's start the mission journey! ] The system shouted excitedly.
Shen Minghuan put down the teapot slowly and gently pushed the cup to the old man opposite, without any guilt or fear because of his new arrival.
He calmly checked the plot sent to him by the system.
Yes, plot.
This world is not real, at least it is far from free.
Most of the stories that happened under this starry sky followed the pre-designed beginning, development, turning point and ending, and even the sunrise and sunset seemed extremely stereotyped.
The carefully designed story had twists and turns, ups and downs, which attracted the onlookers to applaud and cheer.
However, if the witnesses knew that their lives were just a drama with a predetermined ending, they would probably find it boring, right?
Fortunately, they didn't know.
[Luo Xiuyuan,] Shen Minghuan received the plot, flipped through the original owner's memory, and sighed: [This protagonist seems to be living a miserable life now.]
[That's why you, the host, need to take action.] The system flattered.
The current emperor is violent and tyrannical, with severe punishments and harsh laws, and his harsh politics are more ferocious than a tiger.
The aristocratic families are powerful, and the classes are exploited layer by layer. When it falls on the heads of the lowest people, it becomes a mountain.
The people of Qi Dynasty lived in dire straits, and officials without backgrounds were even more worried, fearing that they would be sentenced to death on trumped-up charges one day.
This worry is not exaggerated at all.
All dynasties were very "stingy" in sentencing the death penalty, and there would be amnesty from time to time, but the current emperor treated killing as a trivial matter like eating and drinking.
Luo Xiuyuan was the eldest prince born to the previous queen. He was made the prince as soon as he was born, and he showed extraordinary intelligence far beyond ordinary people since he was a child.
Moreover, he was kind-hearted and valued friendship and righteousness. There were countless people in the court and the country waiting for him to ascend the throne.
It can be said that the Qi Dynasty has not been rebelled yet, all because there is a crown prince who is supported by the people.
Only Luo Xiuyuan's position as the crown prince is still sitting on thin ice.
He is a king that everyone in the world wants, but he is not the heir preferred by the current emperor.
Two months ago, the emperor ordered General Zhuo Feichen of Zhenbei to lead his troops westward, and after retreating Lilan to Mangshan, he tried to expand the territory of Qi Dynasty by another 300 miles.
Lilan was originally a small country, and in recent years it has become weaker, with fewer soldiers and generals. Therefore, before General Zhuo went to war, the emperor regarded this as a battle that must be won.
But General Zhuo was defeated, and was defeated miserably at the foot of Mangshan.
Although our dynasty has not lost an inch of land, the army is no longer able to fight again in a short period of time, let alone expand the territory?
Victory and defeat are common in the military, but this statement is unreasonable for a tyrant.
The emperor was furious and announced in court that General Zhuo would be punished, and he was asked to take off his armor and wear prison clothes, and be escorted back to Beijing in a prison cart.
General Zhuo has been a soldier for half his life, and has made great achievements for the Qi Dynasty, and is known as the "God of War". This defeat was caused by reasons, and the emperor not only did not appease him, but also asked him to suffer this humiliation, which was a bit too cruel.
The whole court was angry but dared not speak, Luo Xiuyuan stepped forward.
This was the first major crisis Luo Xiuyuan encountered in the original plot. Because he pleaded for General Zhuo, he completely angered the emperor and his position as the crown prince was almost lost.
But he was the protagonist after all, and he was destined to turn danger into safety and turn disaster into blessing.
[The newly born Tiandao was too weak, and the protagonist's halo was invalid, causing the plot to deviate. The more the plot deviated, the weaker the Tiandao would be. This was a vicious cycle. ]
The system, which led the host to perform the mission for the first time, was a little nervous. [We need to get the original plot back on track so that this world can develop and mature and become a real big world.]
The tone of the system did not contain the slightest pity. It had no human emotions, so this worry was only for the fear of mission failure.
As for the future of this small world after failure? It was just a story. Heaven would just make a few more puppets.
Shen Minghuan frowned: [Xiaojiu, where is the original owner?]
He is in this shell, so where did the original Shen Minghuan go?
The system was stunned for a moment before reacting, [Oh, he is dead.]
To be precise, he never lived.
This world is certainly not completely false. The hunchbacked peddler on the roadside, the graceful little girl next door, the old man begging for a living in the dilapidated temple... These characters that have never been described in the plot, although plain and trivial, are far from being heroic legends, but their lives are completely free.
But once they come from the author's pen, even if they are just a few words, they are also characters in the play.
For example, the original owner.
[The characters in the plot are maintained by the Heavenly Dao. The Heavenly Dao in this small world is too weak to sustain the souls of so many people, so it can only give up some innocuous characters.] The system thought about it, nodded and said with certainty: [The original owner is not even a supporting role, and can barely be called a background board.]
[...Is that so?] Shen Minghuan whispered softly. The system could not analyze the emotional meaning in his words, and could only vaguely feel that he seemed to be in a bad mood at the moment.
The system cautiously: [Host?]
"Minghuan?" Shen Changqing never heard the boy's response, and couldn't help asking with some doubts.
Shen Minghuan came back to his senses from his thoughts, "Grandpa, don't worry, I always know what I'm doing."
He had a smile on his face, and he was indescribably high-spirited.
The complacency of a young man is the pride that is least annoying.
[Hiss——]
The system took a breath of cold air.
It had a hard time snatching this host from another system. It is said that this person has eyes on the top of his head, and his temper is as big as his ability. The system was worried that he would refuse to cooperate.
——As expected, this person did not cooperate much.
But why is he so obedient to the puppets in this small world! He is even willing to call me grandpa!
With this person's identity, there are many people in the world who are vying to be his grandson.
Shen Changqing was not at ease, "Minghuan, although the Shen family has been away from the court for many years, the family heritage is still there. Looking at the Qi Dynasty, no one dares to say that our family is declining. You..."
He sighed and said hesitantly: "As an elder, I just hope you can be safe and happy, do you understand?"
Shen's family has been important officials in the court for several generations, and their reputation is far-reaching, and they are deeply relied on by the emperors of the Qi Dynasty.
When Shen Minghuan was seven years old, his grandfather Shen Changqing and his father Shen Duo angered the current emperor because they advised not to engage in excessive war and should rest and recuperate. Shen Changqing was dismissed from his post, and Shen Duo was demoted to Xiqiu.
Xiqiu was bitterly cold, and the journey was exhausting. Shen Changqing was old, so he did not go, and Shen Minghuan was left in the capital.
Although the Shen family gradually faded out of the center of power, no one dared to underestimate it because of its low profile at this time.
The iron wall built by the literati's character over the years cannot be easily torn down. There are still people who trust them, wait for them, and regard the direction they point to as their lifelong pursuit.
Shen Changqing said similar words to the original owner more than once, but the original owner did not believe it very much and only regarded it as the comfort of the old man.
He had briefly witnessed the glory of the Shen family when he was young. Compared with the bustling house at that time, how can the current scene not be called "desolate"?
The original owner had great ambitions and was determined to "restore the family lintel", and no one could persuade him.
This was not a bad thing, but it was a pity that the original owner's wish was too strong, so it became an obsession.
These are not written in the plot.
The original owner in the plot only appears in the idle chats of others after dinner. In a few words, he sarcastically said, "The new head of the Shen family is blind and stupid. He chose the wrong path and ruined the reputation of the Shen family."
Everyone knows that the original owner and the prince have a very good relationship. The prince often expresses his appreciation for the original owner in front of everyone, saying, "The one who knows me is Minghuan," and "If there is only one person left in the world who can ask for my support, this person must be Shen Che."
With the integrity and kindness of the prince, he disdains to pretend and use such tricks to buy people's hearts. He is so enthusiastic, which can only show that he really trusts the original owner.
If the prince ascends the throne, no one will doubt that Shen Minghuan will become his right-hand minister, and the Shen family will regain its former glory.
However, this time when the prince lost power, the original owner gave up simply, or betrayed Luo Xiuyuan.
He turned to the Second Prince, and for a time, he became a big shot in front of the emperor with the help of the Second Prince, and almost succeeded in transferring Shen Duo back from Xiqiu.
At that time, no one thought that the Crown Prince could solve the matter smoothly.
Afterwards, the Second Prince pushed the original owner out as a scapegoat, and the Crown Prince was soft-hearted and showed mercy. In the end, the original owner was only sentenced to exile in Kush, and even other members of the Shen family were not implicated.
But Shen Changqing couldn't bear to leave the original owner, so he volunteered to go with him and died on the way.
After that, "Shen Minghuan" went offline, and it was not until the end that it was hinted that he seemed to be dead.
The existence of this background board seemed to be just to give the protagonist who was in a difficult situation a deeper blow, so that his kindness could grow sharper, and he would never trust villains again.
Oh, it can also add some highlights to the plot.
"Grandpa, you don't have to worry. I will prepare a retreat for the Shen family. No matter what the final result is, the Shen family will be fine." Shen Minghuan responded seriously, while jokingly saying in his heart: [Xiaojiu, I think it's okay not to do this task. The plot is shifted, and the prince must have lost. I'd better follow the second prince and win. ]
[! ! ! ] The system was heartbroken: [No! ]
"No." Shen Changqing's old but firm voice strangely overlapped with the shouting of the system in his mind. Shen Minghuan was stunned, but heard Shen Changqing say seriously: "Not just for the Shen family, Minghuan, you have to prepare a retreat for yourself."