Film and Television: The Villain's Life Begins with Joy of Life

Chapter 98 Two Years

Emperor Qing was not a fearless monarch; on the contrary, he was more afraid of death than most people in the world.

It was this extraordinary desire to live that enabled him to persevere in a life worse than death, ultimately breaking through and rebuilding, and breaking through to become a Grandmaster.

He was afraid of death, so he remained in the deep palace for nearly twenty years, rarely stepping out of the palace grounds. Even when he did leave the palace, he was heavily guarded and the area was cleared beforehand.

He was afraid of death, so he didn't trust Ye Qingmei, Chen Pingping, Fan Jian, or anyone else.

Therefore, Ye Qingmei died on the day of childbirth, he established an intelligence system outside the Observatory, and all the Tiger Guards trained by Fan Jian died on Mount Dadong.

Apart from Zhou Cheng, no one knew that this brilliant and decisive Emperor Qing was actually a complete coward.

That Barrett bullet pierced not only his crown, but also shattered his deepest psychological defenses.

"I have lost..."

""

The moment he uttered those words, Emperor Qing's back hunched over. The emperor who had been so imposing just moments before suddenly looked like an old man on his deathbed, his energy and spirit drained away, as if he had aged twenty years in an instant. Even his once jet-black hair had turned messy and gray.

Zhou Cheng looked at this rather exaggerated change, but he didn't feel much excitement.

He knew that Emperor Qing's demeanor was half a facade.

After all, the negative reminders in his ears were still not diminishing. If he were really mentally deteriorating to this extent, his emotional state would have weakened in tandem long ago.

Zhou Cheng had to admit that his father was indeed as his name suggested, a hidden dragon who could ride the waves when things were going well and lie low and endure when things were going badly.

Emperor Qing was naturally unwilling to accept defeat, but he didn't care.

Because the system has already determined that he has won.

The moment Emperor Qing conceded defeat, a system notification sounded in his ear.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, on completing Mission Two: Defeat Emperor Qing, seize the throne of Southern Qing, and rule the world.]

[Congratulations, host, on completing all trial tasks. Would you like to exit now and return to the real world to claim your rewards?]

【whether】

Zhou Cheng chose no without hesitation.

He had been cautious and timid in this world for over a decade, and it was only with great difficulty that he was able to do as he pleased. He didn't want to return to the real world so casually before he had even had a chance to enjoy it.

He valued this extra life more than the unknown reward of completing the mission.

After all, no one knows what kind of world the next mission will be, what kind of mission it will be, or whether it will be possible to complete it.

Compared to the uncertain future, he should cherish the present moment.

"Father, please forgive my rudeness. Your injuries are quite serious. I am proficient in the Heavenly Dao Heart Sutra, which has miraculous healing effects. I am willing to lend you a hand."

As Zhou Cheng spoke, he reached out and pointed at Emperor Qing's chest.

Emperor Qing instinctively wanted to dodge, but he forced himself to endure it.

Zhou Cheng pointed two fingers at his chest.

A surge of vibrant true energy from the Heavenly Dao was continuously poured into his body.

Emperor Qing soon felt the pain in his chest subside, and a warm sensation gathered in his chest cavity.

Emperor Qing's lips twitched, and the humiliation in his eyes deepened, but he dared not show it at all.

Seeing that Emperor Qing did not resist, Zhou Cheng nodded secretly.

His use of Heavenly Dao True Qi to heal Emperor Qing's injuries was merely a facade; in reality, it was a way to limit Emperor Qing's recovery of strength.

Given Emperor Qing's temperament, as long as he can still move, he will never accept defeat and will only secretly wait for an opportunity to turn the tide.

Allowing Emperor Qing to retain the strength of a Grandmaster would be far too dangerous.

Emperor Qing himself is special; he has no ordinary meridians, and his body can automatically absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to refine his true essence. Even if he wanted to cripple Emperor Qing's martial arts, he couldn't do it.

The only way to suppress Emperor Qing's recovery is to use a different kind of true energy.

Emperor Qing did not possess the Hundred Refinements True Qi, making it impossible for a Grandmaster-level exotic True Qi to coexist within his body.

As long as the Heavenly Dao True Qi remains within his body, his domineering True Qi will be suppressed.

To restore his cultivation level, the first thing he needs to do is to remove the Heavenly Dao True Qi from his body.

But can he get rid of it?

No!

Emperor Qing knew very well that the Heavenly Dao True Qi that Zhou Cheng had transferred was a safety net to lock him down.

If the safety mechanism fails, it means he has rebellious intentions. He might not even have time to explain before he gets hit by one of those Barrett armor-piercing rounds.

He dared not gamble.

He wouldn't take the risk until he was certain he would survive.

Zhou Cheng had a complete grasp of Emperor Qing's psychology.

With his Heavenly Dao True Qi, as long as Emperor Qing doesn't actively dispel it, he can maintain it for two or three months after one session.

With the system's early warning system, he can take immediate countermeasures whenever Emperor Qing acts recklessly.

Zhou Cheng took Emperor Qing away without even saying goodbye to Fan Xian.

Fan Xian wanted to catch up and find out the truth, but he had no internal energy left and couldn't catch up.

The victor is king, the loser is villain; Emperor Qing was equally decisive. He, too, left Fan Xian, Ye Zhong, and the others without saying a single word.

He, a dignified emperor, suffered a complete and utter defeat.

He looked so disheveled that he really didn't want to be seen by anyone.

He still wanted to preserve his last shred of dignity in front of his son and his ministers.

Zhou Cheng disappeared with Emperor Qing, leaving Fan Xian completely dumbfounded.

To be honest, from the moment Zhou Cheng appeared until he disappeared, he still didn't understand what had happened.

I don't understand why the father and son suddenly turned against each other.

In the end, he naturally realized that Zhou Cheng had won, but the other party had taken Emperor Qing away. How could he, as a son and a subject, explain this when he returned to the capital?

"What, what kind of situation is this?!"

Fan Xian gritted his teeth in hatred.

His fellow villager acted without considering his feelings at all.

Many people in the ceremonial procession witnessed Zhou Cheng's confrontation with Emperor Qing, but only Fan Xian and the Ye family uncles and nephews knew Zhou Cheng's identity.

Just as Fan Xian and Ye Zhong were preoccupied with their own thoughts and could only reorganize their troops to continue their journey towards the capital, the news of everything that had happened in the capital over the past half month was finally relayed to Fan Xian by the spies of the Detective Agency, as Emperor Qing no longer deliberately blocked the news.

Looking at the densely written words on the secret letter in his hand, Fan Xian's eyelids twitched.

"Did Emperor Qing die on Mount Dadong? Did the Ye family plot a rebellion?"

"The Crown Prince's enthronement ceremony: Prince Cheng launched a palace coup to ascend the throne?"

"The Qin family of Kyoto rebelled, besieged the Imperial Palace, and Prince Cheng displayed the strength of a Grandmaster, like a god descending to earth, shaking the capital and suppressing the rebellion?"

"6

'

These messages left Fan Xian completely dumbfounded.

He never imagined that a single sacrificial ceremony at Mount Tai would lead to so many earth-shattering changes in the capital.

Only then did he understand why Emperor Qing had stayed in Luozhou for those days after descending the mountain.

Emperor Qing had planned far too much, not only the Battle of Dadongshan, but also the capital.

On Mount Dadong, Emperor Qing succeeded in eliminating the three Grandmasters in one fell swoop; however, his plans for the capital failed.

Fan Xian believed he understood why Zhou Cheng had intercepted Emperor Qing halfway.

There can be no two suns in the sky, nor two rulers in a country.

Emperor Qing had already passed away, and Zhou Cheng, as the new emperor, naturally would not allow Emperor Qing to return to the capital.

Fan Xian really didn't know how to evaluate Emperor Qing's scheming.

It can only be said that Emperor Qing had calculated everything, but he made a huge mistake with his own son, his fellow townsman.

With two days' journey still to Kyoto, Fan Xian was worrying about how to arrange their nearly 10,000-strong guard of honor when Zhou Cheng's secret decree was delivered to him through the Observation Bureau.

"Now, His Majesty is truly dead."

Looking at the secret edict written in simplified Chinese characters in his hand, Fan Xian couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Zhou Cheng's plan was to have Ye Zhong lead the state army back to Dingzhou, and to have the remaining imperial guards and ceremonial guards serve as the escort for Emperor Qing's "remains," thus confirming the news that Emperor Qing died at Dadong Mountain.

Although Emperor Qing returned and learned that there were quite a few ordinary people who had come down from Mount Dadong alive, all sorts of rumors were flying around the country and no one could tell the truth from the falsehood.

In this situation, we should naturally rely on the official announcements from Kyoto.

When Fan Xian escorted Emperor Qing's "remains" back to Kyoto, Zhou Cheng was performing a ritual to worship Heaven and Earth at a temple in Kyoto, officially ascending the throne and announcing it to the world.

After a day of elaborate and solemn procedures, at dusk, Zhou Cheng finally summoned Fan Xian to the Imperial Study.

After half a month of renovation, the palace is now basically in the shape of Zhou Cheng, and he no longer needs to receive guests in the side hall.

Stepping into the familiar Imperial Study, Fan Xian found the layout somewhat unfamiliar.

The bows, crossbows, and armor that Emperor Qing used for archery have long since disappeared, and even the elaborate screens have been almost completely removed.

If it weren't for the unchanged style of the bookshelves and desks, judging from the layout, he would have thought he had stepped into a modern-day executive's office.

Zhou Cheng sat behind the imperial desk, casually leaning back in his chair with his legs crossed.

Fan Xian had prepared to kneel down and pay his respects before entering, but upon seeing Zhou Cheng's appearance, he immediately couldn't bring himself to kneel.

"If you don't want to kneel, then don't kneel!"

As a modern soul himself, Zhou Cheng naturally didn't care about these things and casually waved his hand.

Fan Xian immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and his whole body relaxed.

"Is Emperor Qing alright?" Fan Xian asked after a moment of silence.

Zhou Cheng wasn't surprised by Fan Xian's question; after all, that was just Fan Xian's personality.

He said, "Don't worry, Father is safe and sound; he's just nominally dead. If you want to see him, you can ask me for a token and go to Taiping Villa to see him."

That's right. After Emperor Qing was taken away by Zhou Cheng, he was secretly placed in Taiping Villa, where he was guarded by the Imperial Guards he had carefully selected and Chen Pingping.

Now, Chen Pingping has naturally confirmed with Zhou Cheng that Emperor Qing is the real culprit who killed Ye Qingmei.

He originally intended to kill Emperor Qing to avenge Ye Qingmei, but after meeting Emperor Qing at Taiping Villa, he gave up the idea.

Death is too easy for Emperor Qing.

He wanted to watch with his own eyes as Emperor Qing rotted away, bit by bit, in that villa where Ye Qingmei was also buried.

One month after Zhou Cheng ascended the throne, he began to take concubines.

Instead of accepting them one by one, five were accepted at once: Sang Wen, Si Lili, Ye Ling'er, Zhan Yuanyuan, and Shen Wan'er, all of whom were granted the title of Imperial Concubine.

He did not appoint an empress.

It has not been established now, nor is it planned to be established in the future.

Although this was against etiquette, no one in the court objected, after all, in the month since his ascension to the throne, the officials had become accustomed to his willfulness.

Those who weren't used to it mostly retired and returned to their hometowns.

Their emperor's words, "If you won't do it, there are plenty of others who will," left everyone speechless.

After Zhou Cheng settled the harem, Li Yunrui gave birth.

Without any major incidents, a girl was born.

Li Yunrui was very dissatisfied, but there was nothing she could do. Zhou Cheng, on the other hand, was exceptionally fond of this eldest daughter and, according to his previous plan, named her Li Zhaoxian.

He decided to personally educate the child in the future, so that this little fairy wouldn't grow up to be as crazy as her mother.

The fact that she did not give birth to a boy was a huge blow to Li Yunrui.

In order to divert Li Yunrui's attention, he granted her the right to freely enter and leave the Imperial Study, allowing her to help with government affairs.

He already loathed these tedious official duties, and now he not only had free time, but could also use his talents to satisfy this power-hungry woman.

Sometimes, when no one was around, he would take Li Yunrui to the Taiji Hall and let her sit on the dragon throne, so that she could experience the feeling of being high above and looking down on the world.

Of course, she paid the price for all of this afterwards.

Two months after Zhou Cheng ascended the throne, news arrived from the Northern Qi.

A month before Li Yunrui gave birth, Zhan Doudou successfully gave birth to a boy.

It has to be said that Zhan Doudou was quite lucky, hitting the target on her first try and getting what she wanted.

Zhou Cheng was both happy and annoyed, because Zhan Doudou told him in the letter that their son was now called Zhan Huasheng...

Zhou Cheng didn't know if Zhan Doudou did it on purpose, but there was nothing he could do about it; he had no right to do so.

Compared to the women around him, he really cared too little about Zhan Doudou. In the past year, he had barely even sent her a letter.

In order to see his little peanut who is thousands of miles away, and to gain more time and more freedom, Zhou Cheng decided to reform the court and implement a parliamentary cabinet system.

Reforming a system is no easy task in any world or dynasty, but it was not difficult in the Qing Kingdom under Zhou Cheng's leadership.

Because Zhou Cheng's personal will alone is enough to crush everything.

Losses suffered?

disobedient?

Then go die.

With Fan Xian's assistance, the parliamentary cabinet was officially established and began operating after six months.

Zhou Cheng further freed up time. Even without him, the entire Qing Kingdom court could continue to operate for a year or two without any abnormalities, and would even handle government affairs more efficiently.

As for why it's a year and a half, rather than longer, it's because of human nature.

It's human nature to forget the lessons learned. If he's been gone for too long, some of the powerful officials in the court will inevitably have different ideas.

Therefore, he needs to show up from time to time to reprimand some, encourage others, and eliminate others.

Six months after the court reforms, Zhou Cheng secretly left the capital and went to the State of Qi.

He stayed at the Qi Kingdom's palace for a week, met Little Peanut, and planted seeds for Zhan Doudou.

He saw the crabapple blossoms.

Compared to the carefree, unambitious, and optimistic Begonia of the past, Begonia Duoduo has changed quite a bit now.

Ku He's meridians were burst by Emperor Qing's true energy at Mount Da Dong, but he did not die on the spot.

He forced himself to return to Northern Qi despite his injuries, leaving behind his last words before passing away.

The death of Kuhe was a great blow to Haitang Duoduo.

"My master told me on his deathbed that you owe me two favors!" In the Qi Kingdom's royal palace, Haitang Duoduo said this to Zhou Cheng.

Zhou Cheng thought for a moment and then nodded.

He owed Ku He two favors.

One favor he did was to meet with Ku He and persuade him to get the full support of the State of Qi for his power grab.

Another reason was that he sent a letter to Ku He, asking him to take Fan Ruoruo as his apprentice and teach her his medical skills.

Now that Kuhe is dead, he left these two most precious favors in the world to Haitang Duoduo.

"As long as it doesn't violate my principles, I will help you. Even if it means marrying you, this saint who looks more and more like a country bumpkin."

Zhou Cheng said this to Haitang Duoduo, and what he got in return was a shocking "Get out!" from the Holy Maiden of Northern Qi, plus a flying kick.

Of course, Haitang Duoduo couldn't kick it, so she used a favor to get it.

When Zhan Doudou learned that her saintess had used up a precious favor just to kick Zhou Cheng, she was speechless.

However, she couldn't say anything.

Before leaving Northern Qi, Zhou Cheng took Fan Ruoruo with him.

Fan Ruoruo hadn't had much of a good impression of Zhou Cheng in the past, but after the two returned to Qing Kingdom from Northern Qi together and spent more than half a month on the road, she was shocked to find that Zhou Cheng was completely different from what she had imagined.

When Fan Ruoruo returned to Kyoto, Fan Xian was overjoyed and couldn't help but drink quite a bit of wine at the family banquet.

His attentive care for Fan Ruoruo made Lin Wan'er, who had been married to him for a year, a little jealous.

After the family dinner, Fan Ruoruo, under the pretext of helping Fan Xian sober up, asked the tipsy Fan Xian a question, "Brother, why are you so good to me? My sister-in-law was almost jealous just now."

Fan Xian, reeking of alcohol, half-closed his eyes, completely unconcerned, and raised his hand to show two fingers: "You're my sister! My only sister in both lifetimes!"

Fan Ruoruo felt completely relieved after hearing this.

She naturally understood Fan Xian's concept of two lifetimes.

She was an exceptionally intelligent woman, and during her journey back to Beijing with Zhou Cheng, she confirmed that Zhou Cheng was incapable of lying.

After that, she learned many things beyond her imagination.

Three months after Fan Ruoruo returned to the capital, the palace issued an imperial edict, appointing Fan Ruoruo, the eldest daughter of the Fan family, as a Noble Consort.

Fan Xian stormed into the Imperial Study to confront Zhou Cheng, only to be infuriated by Zhou Cheng's comment about him being his brother-in-law.

In the end, it was Fan Ruoruo who found Fan Xian and took the initiative to explain, and only then did Fan Xian realize that it was actually Fan Ruoruo who had taken the initiative to ask for it.

Fan Xian acknowledged that Zhou Cheng was impeccable in every way, being his fellow townsman, his brother, and the emperor of Qing Kingdom.

However, Zhou Cheng's love life was too messy and casual, and he was afraid that Fan Ruoruo would be deceived and suffer losses.

After all, he knew that Zhou Cheng's women included not only the concubines in his harem, but also the one in Guangxin Palace.

He had known about Xiaoxian'er's biological father's identity from Lin Wan'er long ago, but he dared not reveal it.

Fan Xian exposed Zhou Cheng's true colors to Fan Ruoruo, but to her surprise, Fan Ruoruo still did not change her mind.

She didn't necessarily love Zhou Cheng that much. She was willing to marry Zhou Cheng for two reasons: firstly, it would benefit the Fan family and Fan Xian; secondly, Zhou Cheng was honest, treated his women well, and they had a lot in common.

Fan Ruoruo eventually became Zhou Cheng's woman, which made the relationship between Zhou Cheng and Fan Xian even more complicated.

It was so complicated that just thinking about it for a little while gave Fan Xian a headache, and he wanted to escape.

>