Chapter 148: Chapter 144: The Du Family’s Reign, an Eternal National Policy
The Wu Kingdom was the first country Du Youqian saw when he opened his eyes after transmigrating from Earth.
At the time, he didn’t know he could reincarnate infinitely.
He thought that this life was the only one he would ever have.
So, at first, all his thoughts were on making his own life better. Slowly, he began to want a better life for those around him, for the dear common folk he saw wherever he looked.
And so, in the end, he had to find a way to make the kingdom better, to make it more like the ideal nation he envisioned: a place where the people were prosperous and had dignity, where officials were efficient and incorruptible, where morality and etiquette were deeply ingrained, where the law was strict yet left room for compassion, and where the Monarch... the Monarch just needed to be a handsome rubber stamp.
That was why, when the Qi Kingdom invaded back then, he raised an army from a desperate situation, personally braved the hail of arrows, pursued the fleeing enemy to the north, and reclaimed the entire territory.
And it was why, after seizing great power, he didn’t indulge in pleasure but instead pushed for reform, disregarding all resistance and potential political risks.
The reforms in the Wu Kingdom embodied all of his political ambitions and life ideals at the time.
As he had told Du Yuhuan, he really didn’t care that much whether the Du Family bloodline died out.
’After more than ten generations, what kind of emotional attachment could there be?’
The things he was deeply attached to, aside from his own children and the few grandchildren he had personally raised, were the Wu Kingdom itself and its people in the broadest sense.
That was why, when he emerged from Soul-shaking Mountain back then, what disappointed and chilled his heart was not that the Du Family had been purged and its clan annihilated, but that his reforms had died with him.
Then again.
’If my sons or eldest grandsons were still alive and said they wanted to be Emperor, I think I would grant their wish.’
’The Emperor of Wu? A trivial matter. I’d just have a chat with the Shengxuan Sect. Swapping out the Emperor is no big deal.’
’But Du Yuhuan says she wants to be the monarch?’
’Who the hell do you think you are? How many times have you massaged your ancestor’s shoulders or pounded his legs?’
’Have you ever secretly memorized dozens of poems and recited them for your ancestor, just to see me smile?’
’Have you ever pricked your fingers with a dozen pinholes just to personally make your ancestor a pair of shoes?’
’Have you ever gone to the trouble of learning from the cooks, sweating buckets on a hot day to prepare a table of small dishes, only to nervously ask your ancestor to try them?’
’None of that.’
’So why on earth should I help you achieve your goal?’
’Truly absurd.’
Du Youqian thought that after he had scared her so badly last time, Du Yuhuan wouldn’t dare approach and speak to him again.
So when he was playing "Xiao Hongchen" under the peach tree, even though he sensed Du Yuhuan had quietly come up behind him, he assumed she was just curious and had come to listen to the music. He didn’t think she would try to strike up a conversation.
The song ended.
Applause broke out.
"Ancestor, that’s truly a fine tune, full of a free-spirited, unrestrained, and heroic feeling. What is it called?"
Du Youqian was a little surprised. He raised an eyebrow. "Xiao Hongchen."
"Heh," Du Yuhuan let out a contented sigh. "Xiao Hongchen... How laughable the Red Dust is. If only I had a Spirit Root and could follow you, Ancestor, in Cultivation, casting aside this mortal world and all its trivial, ridiculous troubles. How wonderful that would be."
Du Youqian said faintly, "You can still come with me now. Though I can’t enable you to practice Cultivation, it would be a simple matter for me, your ancestor, to guarantee you a lifetime of peace and happiness."
"If I cannot cultivate, what would I do at an Immortal Sect? Perform Miscellaneous Tasks?" Du Yuhuan, standing behind and to his side, said calmly, "Ancestor, in that case, I would rather struggle in this laughable Red Dust than waste my life doing Miscellaneous Tasks for Immortals."
"As you wish." Du Youqian wasn’t particularly concerned about this descendant’s fate.
And he didn’t want to pretend to care.
Wearing a floor-length dress, Du Yuhuan walked step by step until she was before Du Youqian. She bowed gracefully and took several scrolls from her sleeve. "Ancestor, please look over these."
Du Youqian sneered, "Don’t tell me it’s just some sycophantic drivel someone wrote to sing praises."
Du Yuhuan insisted, "Please, Ancestor, look them over."
Du Youqian took them, flipped through them casually, and after a few glances, his gaze was captured.
"This is..." After reading a section, he looked up and glanced at Du Yuhuan.
Du Yuhuan was kneeling on the ground, a confident smile on her lips, saying nothing.
Du Youqian thought for a moment, then lowered his head and quickly began to read again.
The Divine Sense of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator was incredibly powerful. To describe it with idioms like "ten lines at a glance" or "photographic memory" would be an insult.
Soon, he had finished reading all the scrolls.
Du Youqian closed the scrolls, shut his eyes, and began to think rapidly.
To his surprise, these books weren’t filled with praises for Duke You De. Instead, they were entirely about the reforms he had initiated two hundred years ago.
There were analyses of the gains and losses of specific reform measures; considerations on how to re-implement the reforms in the Wu Kingdom’s current environment; bold critiques and proposed improvements to some of the measures; and even some new reform ideas that Du Youqian himself had never considered but found interesting upon reflection.
After a long while, Du Youqian opened his eyes. "Why are you showing me these?"
Du Yuhuan knelt there, her upper body held ramrod straight, no longer deliberately feigning the timid, cowardly appearance she had before.
Her aura was sharp and heroic, her voice as crisp as a young phoenix’s cry. "Ancestor, please help Yu Xi ascend to the throne! I will do everything in my power to assist him, to help him balance the Yin and Yang of the court and manage the affairs of the state. I will re-implement the reforms of our ancestor, Duke You De, throughout the land. This time, Duke You De’s policies will not die with the man, because as long as the Du Family sits on the throne, those measures will forever be national policy!"
Du Youqian pondered for a long time, then shook his head, said nothing, stood up, and left.
A short while later, a Flying Boat rose into the air and flew off into the distance.
"HAHAHAHA!" Du Yuhuan’s triumphant laughter echoed through Soul-shaking Mountain.
As a young woman who had been at the Ancestor’s side, she was very familiar with him.
She knew that by not objecting, the Ancestor had given his tacit approval.
And anything the Ancestor was determined to advance would definitely be carried out!
What she had to do now... was to secretly protect those talented scholars who wrote the policy proposals. In the future, to implement the reforms across the land, she would need their strategies and advice.
Also... it was time to start giving her younger brother some on-the-job training to be Emperor.
She couldn’t have the future Emperor, Du Yuxi, not even know the most basic etiquette on his coronation day, could she!
~~~~~~~~~
Du Youqian returned to the Guardian Envoy’s Mansion within the Hundred Flowers Sect’s Blessed Land and summoned Gu Xiaofang. "The Shengxuan Sect. What’s their current situation?"
Gu Xiaofang was straightforward. "I’ll go investigate right away."
"As soon as possible."
After Gu Xiaofang left, Du Youqian summoned Luo Jinyu. "You’ve spent the last six months preparing your body and mind, and you’ve reached your peak condition. In the next few days, you should take the Foundation Establishment Pill and attempt to reach Foundation Establishment. Are you confident?"
Luo Jinyu’s demeanor was now countless times more composed than it had been at the Evil Pool a few years ago.
And having experienced ups and downs, he cherished the current opportunity immensely.
He said seriously, "I wasn’t completely confident, but if you, Brother Yu, think I’m ready, then I must be ready."
That was just Luo Jinyu’s personality, so Du Youqian didn’t find it strange. He smiled. "Go on. I’ve already performed a divination. Your attempt at Foundation Establishment is certain to succeed."
In reality, of course, he hadn’t performed any divination, but Luo Jinyu just needed some psychological support.
Luo Jinyu grunted in acknowledgment. "Then I’ll go into seclusion."
Meng Xiao was also given a task. "Go south to a place called Soul-shaking Mountain. Bring a young fellow named Fang Simin here to the Garrison Office to cultivate. From now on, Fang Simin’s treatment will be according to the standard for those by my side."
Meng Xiao already understood what "the standard for those by my side" meant.
It meant there were no fixed amounts. For all kinds of Cultivation resources—Elixirs, Spirit Stones, and the like—you could take as much as you needed, granted with complete trust and freedom.
At present, there were four people by "Yu Guardian Envoy’s" side who enjoyed such treatment: Gu, Luo, Fang Hua, and Meng Xiao himself.
Now, a fifth person was about to receive this privilege.
’Speaking of which, "Yu Guardian Envoy" is truly generous.’
’For a Supreme Treasure like the Golden Willow Leaf Cool Mat, he agrees without hesitation when one of his people asks to borrow it.’
’If one of his people needs rare, special-attribute Spirit Stones or Treasures of Heaven and Earth to practice a special Secret Technique, they just have to ask, and he never refuses.’
Sometimes, Meng Xiao would even forget that he had become a slave.
Because his own cultivation resources hadn’t diminished in the slightest, and there were no reductions or inconveniences in his daily provisions.
Everything was as it had been, and perhaps even a little better.
Because before, in order to obtain the Soul-Imbued Jade, he had given away his entire fortune.
There was a period when he was so destitute that he wished he could split a single Spirit Stone in two to spend it, or dissolve an Elixir in ten times the water to take it in ten doses.
’I never expected that after becoming a slave, I would actually become well-off... ’
After Meng Xiao also left, Du Youqian thought he could finally have some peace and quiet.
Unexpectedly, Fang Hua, who was usually as quiet as a mouse, came forward cradling her sword and said in a crisp voice, "Fellow Daoist Yu, I’ve comprehended Sword Intent."
Du Youqian saw the muscles on her beautiful and lively face twitching slightly and knew that she was happy inside, wanting to laugh out loud but trying her best to hold it in.
"If you’re happy, just laugh."
"No," Fang Hua shook her head. "You comprehended Sword Intent in the Foundation Establishment Early Stage. I’m already at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage. What’s there to be happy about comprehending it now?"
Du Youqian said slowly and deliberately, "Who told you I comprehended Sword Intent in the Foundation Establishment Early Stage?"
Fang Hua’s already large eyes widened like lychees, round and watery.
She asked in shock, "Have you been hiding your cultivation level? Are you actually at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage already?"
’What kind of thinking is that? Why do I feel like I can’t follow your train of thought?’
"No, have you ever considered the possibility that I comprehended Sword Intent during the Qi Cultivation Stage?"
Fang Hua shook her head blankly. "Of course that’s impossible."
Du Youqian smiled. "But I really did comprehend it during the Qi Cultivation Stage."
Knowing he wouldn’t lie, Fang Hua slowly pouted. Her beautiful, willow-leaf brows drooped, and she no longer felt happy at all. "No fun."
Du Youqian thought for a moment. "How about this, I’ll help you rapidly strengthen your Sword Intent."
Fang Hua was taken aback. "How?"
