Chapter 143 - 142: Everything Before His Eyes and in His Memories Is His Majesty
Chapter 143: Chapter 142: Everything Before His Eyes and in His Memories Is His Majesty
Gu Qingjin couldn’t remember exactly which day it was.
After all, he had been reincarnated and had lived for twenty-eight years—even surpassing his age in his past life.
As time passed, his memories had been buried in the deepest layers of his soul, leaving only those from just before his death.
He might not remember the weather that day, nor the exact details of what caused a civil servant to fall into the water.
But he remembered her every word and action, as well as the expression on her face.
The civil servant didn’t know how to swim. Suddenly falling into the water sent him into a panic, leaving him flailing wildly.
Just as he was about to run out of breath, someone descended from the sky and rescued him.
A cool, faint voice rang out above his head. "Qing Jin, take him to change his clothes."
This exact sentence gave the civil servant a violent jolt. He looked up, realizing that his savior was none other than the current Divine Emperor.
Before him stood a girl not even twenty years old. She had just changed out of her red Dragon Robe into casual attire, yet her imposing aura remained undiminished.
The civil servant stared at her blankly before lowering his head in shame. His voice was as soft as a mosquito’s buzz. "W-Why did Your Majesty save me? Just this morning, I... I disrespected Your Majesty. I am truly ashamed, yet Your Majesty still..."
"Are all you scholars this full of nonsense?" Gu Qingjin only remembered her shooting the civil servant a cold glare. "Because you are a Jiuzhou person, one of Da Xuan’s people. Is that reason enough?"
The civil servant hadn’t even recovered from his shock when he heard her continue, "If it’s not enough, keep your mouth shut. I don’t want to hear your pedantic preaching; my ears are getting calluses. Also, that memorial you submitted during court today was far too convoluted. I couldn’t understand a word of it. Next time you want to curse me out, just write ’get lost.’"
Gu Qingjin also remembered that memorial. It rambled on for thousands of words, yet the entire piece was nothing but a denunciation of the Empress.
The vocabulary used was so obscure and profound that even he couldn’t understand it.
Ye Yu once said that being able to write such a massive text just to scold her was, in its own way, another kind of "deep love."
After this incident, the civil servant completely changed his view of her.
She truly was that kind of person—someone who made people willing to follow her wholeheartedly.
Learning about her from outsiders’ mouths would always be biased.
Only by truly interacting with her would one know exactly what kind of person she was.
Gu Qingjin raised a hand, gently touching the area over his heart and feeling its strong, rhythmic beating.
The Empress had been gone for four hundred years, and the Xuan Dynasty had long since fallen. The vast land named "Jiuzhou" now radiated with new vitality.
She wasn’t here, yet traces of her were everywhere.
What a brilliant phrase—’Because you are a Jiuzhou person.’
This reason was very simple, perhaps even so broad and abstract that it felt impractical. To some, it might even sound ridiculous, but it truly was enough.
Seeing the shifting expressions on Gu Qingjin’s face, the older woman asked with concern, "Young man, what’s wrong? You’ve been busy all night. Have something to eat."
Gu Qingjin took a plate of steamed buns from her hands and smiled faintly. "Thank you."
Looking at the buns, the first memory that surfaced in his mind was that Shi Yaoguang really loved eating them.
"Kids these days are truly remarkable," the woman said with immense pride. "I watched the news a while back. Didn’t the Tiangong Weapons Research Association invent some incredible new weapon? Among the researchers, there was a young lady who wasn’t even twenty-five yet!"
"Really?" someone asked in surprise.
The woman nodded. "My daughter goes to college in Mingjing, right? She even told me she wants to join the Tianxie in the future!"
"Yeah, that’s amazing," another person chimed in. "The future really relies on these young folks."
Gu Qingjin snapped out of his daze, his gaze deepening. "The Tiangong Weapons Research Association..."
It seemed it was time for him to take a trip to the Tianxie.
After confirming that Shi Changying’s body was indeed fine, Shaoyuan saw the old man out.
The old man grumbled again, "How is this little girl’s nose so sharp? What’s wrong with me eating spicy sticks? Eating spicy sticks brings me joy. It’s the only little bit of joy I have left."
"But the smell is very strong," Shaoyuan said flatly.
"Fine, fine. I know you dislike strong-smelling food," the old man retorted self-righteously. "But I was sneaking a bite! Who told you to barge in while I was eating? If you smelled it, that’s not my problem."
Too lazy to waste words with him, Shaoyuan looked up. "You can leave, but leave the medicine behind."
"What are you doing? What are you doing? That medicine is my lifeblood!" The old man clutched his medical box tightly, extremely vigilant. "I didn’t even want to expose you. The tiny injury on that little girl’s hand would’ve healed on its own if we waited any longer. Why do you need to use so much of my medicine?"
Shaoyuan smiled. "She likes pretty things. Her hands cannot be left with scars."
"Bah!" The old man flew into a rage. "Who knows if she’s the one who likes pretty things or if it’s you! You..."
He stared dumbfounded as his medical box opened silently, the medicine box floating right into Shaoyuan’s hand.
"You have no martial virtue!" the old man said blankly.
That was his lifeblood!
"Mhm." Shaoyuan tossed the medicine box in his hand a few times, seemingly finding the statement highly amusing. "What is martial virtue?"
Later generations gave him the posthumous title of "Wen," also referring to him as "Emperor Jingwen."
So, as a civil emperor, why should he care about martial virtue?
The old man was speechless.
"Alright, stop making that face," Shaoyuan said lightly. "You won’t be shorted your medicine. I just have an urgent need and don’t have time to go get new ones."
The old man instantly beamed with joy. "When? Do I go to the Xuan Sect, or will they come looking for me?"
Shaoyuan didn’t answer directly, only saying, "Go get some rest."
At eleven o’clock late that night, at the Xu Family residence.
Xu Yunfan had led a team to Shisong Village for rescue operations, and both Old Sir Xu and Old Madam Xu were deeply worried.
Things like this happened often in the past. Once, Xu Yunfan had been so critically injured that he was at death’s door, and the hospital had even issued a notice of critical condition.
Old Madam Xu always complained about why Xu Yunfan chose such a path. Wouldn’t it be better to just work comfortably at the Xu Group?
"Mom, don’t worry too much. Second Brother is a good man, so he naturally has the Heavenly Phase on his side," Xu Zhao Yu comforted her endlessly. "Didn’t Second Brother just call to say he was safe? Besides, Changying is there too. If even Changying is fine, how could anything happen to Second Brother?"
Old Madam Xu suddenly flared up with extreme anger. "What does the flood at Shisong Village have to do with her? Is she part of the rescue team? Running over there will only add to the trouble!"
"Mom, don’t be angry. Calm down." Xu Zhao Yu patted Old Madam Xu’s back. "Perhaps it’s just because Changying encountered something like this the very first time she went to visit Second Brother, so she wanted to go to the frontlines to take a look."
"Take a look?" Old Madam Xu grew even angrier. "Does she think this is children playing house? This is fighting a flood! People can die!"
Xu Zhao Yu sighed softly. "Changying is a bit willful, and she has had quite a few conflicts with Second Brother, but I never expected her to act so impulsively in a situation like this."
Old Madam Xu’s body suddenly trembled. "If anything bad happens to your Second Brother..."
"Mom, don’t overthink things. Changying is kind-hearted at her core; she definitely wouldn’t harm anyone," Xu Zhao Yu said softly. "It’s getting late. I’ll wait here, you should go to bed."
Old Madam Xu shook her head. "How could I possibly sleep? Until Yun Fan comes back, my heart won’t be at ease!"
"Then I’ll stay with you, Mom," Xu Zhao Yu comforted her once more. Her lips still held an unsuppressed smile, but as she looked up, she saw Xu Yunfan standing in the doorway.
He was staring at her unblinkingly, perfectly quiet. It was unknown how long he had been listening.