Chapter 138.2
Editor: Casey
After Shi Qing’s parents discovered that the new master of Crane City, who had once been a servant of theirs, had no intention of making trouble for their family, they breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Since Jiang Bieyu had apparently forgotten all about their Shi family after conquering the world, the two of them thought that they should take advantage of the current peace to find a daughter-in-law for their son.
Shi-furen began to ask around for families with promising girls.
Father Shi was also quietly keeping an eye out.
Their Qing-er’s bride had to be the best after all.
The family of three rarely ate together, but they did today. It wasn’t just to catch up though. The purpose of this meal was to bring up marriage with Shi Qing, who seemed too busy with his work to care about that (from their point of view).
As his father, it was not appropriate for Father Shi to talk openly about this matter. So Shi-furen took charge.
Shi-furen smiled at her son who was eating sullenly, her eyes filled with maternal affection. “Qing-er, Mother wants to discuss something with you.”
“En? What a coincidence. I also have something I want to discuss with Father and Mother.”
Shi Qing looked up and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief. Then he set his chopsticks down. “I’ll go first then.”
His father huffed and shot him a look. “Do you think your trivial affairs are more important than what your mother has to say? Listen to her first.”
Father Shi has always been like this. Although he took every opportunity to implicitly brag about his son outside, he was reluctant to praise Shi Qing to his face. In fact, he always acted like he despised his son.
Shi-furen pouted and glanced at her husband. She gently pushed him in a petulant fashion. “Qing-er is now in charge of all of our family businesses . How can his affairs be trivial?”
She then smiled at Shi Qing and said softly, “Qing-er, Mother isn’t in a hurry. You can go first.”
Shi Qing nodded. “It’s really not a big deal. I just wanted to tell you that…”
“I’m going to declare myself emperor.”
“Pfft–”
Father Shi spat out a mouthful of tea.
“Cough cough cough!!! Cough cough cough!! What did you just say?!!”
Shi-furen was also stunned. Her expression went blank. She even forgot to soothe Father Shi.
Shi Qing quickly got up to pat Father Shi on the back. “Father, you should be more careful. Why are you still as easy to rattle as a child at your age? All I said was I’m going to declare myself emperor.”
His father pointed at him with a trembling finger, unable to say anything for the longest time.
This brat was using his own words against him! This was clearly an act of revenge as he had scolded Shi Qing the same way before.
“Ex-explain yourself! This isn’t the type of thing to joke about!! Just think about our Crane City’s General Jiang! He’s known as the devil incarnate! He’s slaughtered his way to the throne in such a short time… If you declare yourself the emperor at the same time he does, aren’t you afraid he’ll kill you?!”
Shi Qing’s eyes were full of innocence. “I’m not afraid.”
“You!!! Are you trying to infuriate me to death?!”
Father Shi thought his son had lost his marbles.
Shi-furen thought her son had cracked under all the stress.
After further discussion, the couple decided to search for a doctor.
But the next person to pay them a visit wasn’t a doctor, it was Jiang Bieyu.
He came to discuss with the Shi family about the coronation ceremony for Shi Qing
Father Shi: “……”
Shi-furen: “……”
They both suspected this might be a dream.
That belief persisted until two months later when Shi Qing was really crowned emperor.
Father Shi became the father of the reigning emperor.
Lady Shi became the empress mother.
The ceremony, which was rather modest for a coronation, was held in Crane City.
It was only at this time that the people of Crane City realized that it was Shi Qing bankrolling Jiang Bieyu’s campaign for the last three years.
Similarly, the reason why Jiang Bieyu went to conquer the world was also at the behest of the Shi family little master.
The Jiang family army had thicker clothing than the other armies.
They ate food that was easy to carry and digest.
They always received their wages on time.
It turned out that it was not only because Jiang Bieyu valued his men, but it was also because of Shi Qing’s strong support.
No wonder the Shi family suddenly doubled their efforts to make money these past three years, dabbling into all sorts of businesses.
This also explained why the long-reigning patriarch, Father Shi, suddenly stepped down and handed everything over to Shi Qing.
After all, Shi Qing had a natural knack for making money. But that wasn’t the only reason. His young age meant that people would only dismiss him spending large amounts of money as the follies of youth.
No one ever thought about how effective his money would be if it was invested into an army in these chaotic times.
Additionally, the Shi family suddenly started to build a good reputation for themselves in the past three years.
The department stores, oversized markets, free schooling, helping out poor scholars, etc…
So all of those projects were started in preparation for Shi Qing’s coronation.
If you’re still having doubts, let’s review what’s happened so far. Shi Qing, who was a dandy three years ago, suddenly became the emperor. But the strangest thing was that there was little opposition (because Jiang Bieyu had ‘taken care’ of them all). In fact, many people even cheered and celebrated. They were overjoyed that someone as benevolent as Shi Qing now sat on the throne. He would definitely be able to bring peace to the land.
The Shi family really played their cards perfectly.
As soon as the news came out, the other clans figured out this chain of events.
They could not help but secretly curse Father Shi in their hearts.
“As expected of an old fox, his schemes are so meticulous!”
“What? You say Shi Qing was the one behind all this?”
“How could that be? He’s only 21 years old at most this year.”
“That sly old fox Father Shi had to be the true mastermind. The reason he made Shi Qing the head of the family three years ago must be to foster a benevolent reputation for his son.”
Oh, and the reason why Shi Qing was still unmarried at his age could also be explained.
Commoners could get married at the age of sixteen, and many had children already by the time they were 21. But Shi Qing, the only son of the Shi family who they treasured above all else, was unmarried?
How did that make sense?!
That’s right, it didn’t!
It must be part of that old man Shi’s scheme. He must’ve been waiting for Shi Qing to ascend to the throne so that he can marry women from prominent clans.
After all, the Shi family little master may not be worthy, but the emperor was another story.
Father Shi, who really didn’t do anything but think that his son was good enough for him to retire: “……”
He’s innocent, ah!!!
What did he even do??
Everything these past three years was Qing-er’s idea alone, okay?!
He stopped caring after making sure the Shi family wasn’t losing money!
As for why he didn’t notice large amounts of money being taken out of the family coffers? That’s because Shi Qing’s been making money like crazy!
As an a.n.a.logy, let’s say the Shi family has five pieces of gold. When Shi Qing earned a hundred pieces outside, he gave 70 to fund Jiang Bieyu’s army and took the rest home. Left in the dark, of course Father Shi would just praise him for earning so much gold.
It’s not like he’s omniscient or anything! How was he supposed to know if this little brat Qing-er didn’t say anything?!
There was also the matter of marriage.
Shi Qing would always refuse when asked with a different excuse each time. His mother doted on him too much, so she would weep and cry that this child was only putting the family’s businesses first every time this was brought up. On the other hand, Father Shi believed that his son was exceptional enough that age wouldn’t be a problem when finding a wife.
In the end, both of them were blindsided by their son’s coronation!
Father Shi was still feeling lightheaded even now.
He was also a bit worried. After all, although Shi Qing technically ascended the throne, it was only in name in this divided world.
Putting aside the matter of legitimacy, was someone like his son really capable of governing a country? He could manage the Shi family just fine, but him, an emperor??
Father Shi was actually pretty scared.
Would his son really squander away the sizeable territory his loyal subordinate (from his point of view) Jiang Bieyu had ama.s.sed?
But the result surprised even him…
Not only did his son become emperor, he was also a pretty good one.
He named the country Yu, which made a saying spread amongst the commoner: [a benevolent master has loyal subordinates].
After all, it was unheard of for someone to conquer the world at his master’s orders and then actually hand everything over once he succeeded. It was also unprecedented for someone to name a country after their subordinate.
After becoming the emperor of Yu, Shi Qing accomplished many things.
He sent people overseas to those western countries to learn from them. He also established a communication network and free schools in his territory. There was one for each city and no hidden fees.
But the key was that he did all this without going into the red!
Now Shi Qing’s fame among the people was rising by the day. Many people came from far and wide to live in Yu after hearing tales of his profound insight.
Plus he had a big, fierce weapon called Jiang Bieyu.
He was like a force of nature, unstoppable wherever he went.
In just five years, he delivered the other half of the country to his Qing-er’s hands.
Shi Qing was now the one and only ruler of this land.
Father Shi: “……”
The excitement was really becoming a bit much for him.
He thought that things would cool down after that. Well…
When all of his hair had turned white, his son, who had been the emperor for thirty years without appointing a crown prince or gathering a harem, suddenly announced that he was abolishing the monarchy. From now on, Yu would no longer adhere to the principles of feudalism, becoming New Yu.
Father Shi: “……”
The ministers: “……”
Your Majesty, Your Majesty!!! Do you have any idea what you’re doing?!!!
Are you trying to f.u.c.king depose yourself!
Shi Qing’s insisted on maintaining exchanges with the West over the past thirty years, so steam engines and sewing machines were now a common sight in Yu. There were rumours that prototype trains might be implemented next year.
Slavery was already abolished ten years ago. At the time, Shi Qing fought with the ministers for several months over this.
Finally, with the help of Jiang Bieyu (aka the threat of military force), the ministers relented.
Most people no longer went hungry. Although there were still areas of improvement, Yu was indeed a prosperous country.
And now their wise ruler was actually saying that the monarchy was holding Yu back from making progress.
He said that for the sake of progress, he’s decided to lead by example and abdicate. A new position called ‘president’ would lead the country from now on.
Everyone: “……”
Has His Majesty gone mad?
In the midst of all the opposition and crying, only Jiang Bieyu was always on Shi Qing’s side.
It was hard to overthrow a regime.
But it wouldn’t be a problem if that regime wants to reform itself.
So the former emperor of Yu, Shi Qing, became the president of Yu.
Jiang Bieyu was now the marshal.
The ministers were also given new positions.
The names of said positions were a bit awkward for them, but they didn’t dare to make a fuss.
Although His Majesty, oh no, the president, said that from now on, the country of Yu would follow the law and not execute people without trial…
But since the general, no! The marshal’s always adhered to the principle ‘death to anyone who messes with Shi Qing’, it was safer for them to behave themselves.
In the 20th year after the establishment of New Yu…
The first president, Shi Qing, retired.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to retire before, it was that no one dared to take his place. But now, new blood had been injected into this country. Yu was still developing in terms of technology, but a hint of modern society could already be seen.
Shi Qing was also able to comfortably enjoy toilets, bathtubs, heating, and other wonderful amenities for slacking off in retirement with his Jiang Bieyu.
No one knew for sure when the two of them pa.s.sed away. But they were certain that this legendary historical figure, the founding emperor/first president, shared a coffin with his marshal in the end.
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Shi Qing：[11111]
“This kid has offended you, Boss. Why don’t we break his fingers?”
When Shi Qing opened his eyes, he found himself leaning on the sofa. In front of him was a mousy-looking person with shifty eyes, who was clearly a bad guy, trying to suck up to him.
“There are zombies everywhere, but this kid still thinks peacetime rules apply! What a joke.”
When Shi Qing heard this, he realized this guy was his subordinate.
At once, those shifty eyes and mouse-like features seemed much more acceptable.
He was about to check his memories when he felt something brush against his hand.
He turned and immediately caught sight of a big, fluffy and fiery red tail.
It was really big.
As in almost as long as an adult’s arm span.
And the colour was actually in a gradient.
It looks great!
Shi Qing just finished praising it in his head when he suddenly felt like something was off here.
He turned some more.
Good lord.
No wonder he thought it looked good…
This was his tail!
He!
Grew!
A!
Tail!
Author’s Corner
6.9k words!
I’ll go back to correct this double chapter later, probably before two o’clock? Little angels, you can read it tomorrow if you want, oh
I managed to get this world back on track (probably?)
About the next world! It’s the one I mentioned before featuring a fierce straight male Shou. After racking my brains, I finally came up with a solution: giving little Shi Qing a tail!
Bwahahahahaha
Randomly sending out red pockets~
Don’t stay up too late everyone!
Rain
Arc 10 complete! Wow I think this may be the longest one to date. The remaining three aren’t nearly as lengthy. Anyways, next up is the fierce and (apparently) straight apocalypse boss!