Chapter 23
It seemed that before Yuwen Min became the tyrant he was actually quite adorable—and completely incapable of cursing anyone out.
Lu Hanzhi suddenly felt a bit guilty. Was he corrupting this little cutie by behaving like this?
But he really couldn’t hold it in. The moment the carriage stopped, he darted into his room as if fleeing for his life, threw himself onto the bed, and clutched his stomach as he burst into uncontrollable laughter.
Yuwen, why are you so cute?
Scolding himself like that—was that even allowed?
Ah Chan, who had just woken up, was also lying on the bed, resting his chin on his chubby little hands, staring at Lu Hanzhi with a curious expression.
Lu Hanzhi crawled forward and smacked a big kiss on his soft, chubby little mouth. “Lu Lingxi, do you think your father is an idiot?”
Lu Lingxi’s tiny mouth curled up, his round little eyes widened, and then he collapsed onto the bed, giggling uncontrollably.
Lu Hanzhi: …
Kid, you’re not even three months old yet. Why are you already mimicking me?
He scooped little Ah Chan up and gave his tiny bottom a light pat.
Ah Chan looked completely innocent, then casually shoved his hand into his mouth and started sucking on it.
Lu Hanzhi: …
Just then, a system notification rang in his mind: Congratulations, host, for completing this mission. You have earned five exchange points, one beginner’s treasure chest, and one loyalty point toward the monarch. Only one mission remains in this stage. Upon completion, you will receive an additional five exchange points, five loyalty points, and the ability to unlock a monarch-side quest.”
Wow, not bad! Now he could buy a pacifier for Ah Chan.
That kid kept sucking on his fingers—it was so unhygienic.
Lu Hanzhi had also noticed a pattern: every time he unlocked a new area, three missions would appear. Once all three were completed, a monarch-side quest would be triggered.
As for whether there were any other hidden quests, that depended on luck.
With nothing else to do at the moment, and now holding five exchange points, he decided not to spend them on more defensive talismans. Instead, he entered the system’s shopping interface for a little browsing session.
Lu Hanzhi had always been a homebody. As a corporate worker in his previous life, he was always keeping track of supermarket discounts and promotional sales.
Unfortunately, the system’s store never had discounts—the only way to get a discount was by finding vouchers inside treasure chests.
He wandered around the baby section for a while and spent two exchange points to buy a pacifier and a pack of small-sized diapers.
Ah Chan’s food supply was still quite sufficient. He had previously exchanged for several cans of formula, which were still stored in his inventory.
In another two months, Ah Chan would be ready to start eating soft foods.
Thinking ahead, he used another exchange point to get some rice cereal.
Then, he browsed the clothing section. Baby clothes were ridiculously expensive—far beyond his current purchasing power.
But those tiny traditional-style outfits were just too cute! And they even came with defensive abilities!
According to the description, each piece of clothing could block three physical attacks. After the third successful defense, the clothing would be damaged, but the wearer would remain unharmed.
Lu Hanzhi was very tempted. But one of those little outfits cost thirty exchange points, and he only had three.
What could he do? He had no choice but to save up honestly.
The more he browsed, the more frustrated he became. So many good things, but he couldn’t afford any of them!
He decided to accept his last remaining mission for this phase.
This mission was similar to the previous ones: he had to increase the daily GDP to one hundred taels of silver.
He opened the beginner’s treasure chest from his latest reward and found a universal exchange voucher.
This was great—it allowed him to exchange for any single item in the shop without using points!
Lu Hanzhi was thrilled. Looking at all the amazing things in the store, he knew that slowly saving up exchange points would never be enough.
But at the moment, there wasn’t anything he urgently needed, so he decided to hold onto the voucher for now, just in case.
For now, he would focus on completing missions and earning more points.
He also planned to raise Yuwen Min’s affection level. He was curious—once loyalty reached a certain level, what kind of side quests would be triggered?
According to the system, monarch-side quests awarded tons of exchange points. Damn, that was tempting!
Lu Hanzhi suddenly grinned in a rather twisted manner, then picked up little Ah Chan—who was wearing a red bellyband embroidered with the character of “blessing”—and headed to the backyard.
Earning a hundred taels of silver per day… that was seriously tough.
To complete this mission, he had to make fifteen hundred taels in half a month.
Since its grand opening, Han Ji Fragrance House had made about eight hundred taels in total, and that was only thanks to the patronage of noble ladies from various official households.
But scented soap was a small-scale business. If the profit margins were too high, the system would classify it as exploitative and exclude it from the GDP calculations.
Thinking about all these restrictions made Lu Hanzhi want to bang his head against a wall. Why was his system so useless?!
But then again, every situation had two sides. His system might be weak, but at least it didn’t force him into some kind of demonic contract.
After all, nothing in this world came for free. Su Wan’ning had gained so many benefits—there was no way she hadn’t paid a steep price in return.
At the end of the day, the most important thing was to live a happy and fulfilling life.
As long as he had Ah Chan, he was content. Ambition? That kind of thing could get a person killed.
Just as he was carrying Ah Chan into the backyard, he overheard a conversation. The big pig trotter was discussing something with the Eldest Prince.
Lu Hanzhi vaguely caught a sentence: “It’s time to return to the capital.”
He stopped in his tracks, about to knock on the door, when he heard Yuwen Min continue: “If nothing unexpected happens, Father will lift our wanted status within three days. By then, Eldest Brother, you can return to the palace openly to visit Mother Concubine.”
The Eldest Prince, when he wasn’t being stabbed with needles, always spoke with the poise of an ideal elder brother.
He hummed in acknowledgment, then added, “I may not approve of this, but you made the right choice. This isn’t about us fighting for power—this situation was forced upon us. We are the fish on the chopping block, and they hold the knife. Just… be careful. Above all else, prioritize your safety.”
Yuwen Min didn’t reply. Lu Hanzhi knew why—Yuwen Min was a natural-born risk-taker.
Yes, he was a tyrant, but on the battlefield, he was also a fearless warrior who led from the front.
They didn’t call him the Butcher for nothing. Every time he fought, it was as if he was high on something.
His heavy sword, Chen Ke, was practically a reaper’s scythe.
He harvested lives—but also threw his own onto the blade’s edge.
No one could count how many injuries Yuwen Min had suffered. According to the original novel, his body was covered in scars from swords, spears, and arrows, crisscrossing like a map of his battles.
In the end, Lu Hanzhi chose not to open the door. nstead, he went back to his room, gritted his teeth, and spent one thousand exchange points on the highest-grade defensive equipment.
Then, he spent a full eight hundred taels of silver on… a rather unimpressive sword ornament.
Since a heavy sword couldn’t be adorned with a tassel, he embedded a talisman into the jade fittings instead.
Handing Ah Chan to Ah Man, he went to the backyard and shoved a brocade box into Yuwen Min’s hands. He said lazily: “Here, a return gift for you. My mother really likes that bracelet. Thanks for such a valuable gift.”
Yuwen Min instinctively took the box and frowned as he opened it. He wanted to return it, but by the time he looked up, Lu Hanzhi was already gone.
For the first time in his life, aside from his mother and older brother, someone had given him a gift.
The craftsmanship was tacky, and the jade was of poor quality.
But for some reason, he kept it. Afterall it’s the first gift he ever received in this life.
The next day, Lu Hanzhi saw that Yuwen Min had attached the jade fittings to Chen Ke.
Lu Hanzhi was fairly satisfied—at the very least, that big pig trotter hadn’t outright refused his goodwill.
After all, this was the most expensive piece of armor in the entire armory!
It could withstand four fatal injuries, disregarding superficial wounds, and endure moderate damage over a hundred times.
The moment he laid eyes on it, he had felt it was practically tailor-made for Yuwen Min.
Besides him, who else in this world had such a talent for courting death?
However, something unexpected happened. Three days later, while Lu Hanzhi was still struggling to make headway with his mission, a eunuch suddenly arrived at his doorstep.
Judging by his rank, he appeared to be someone close to the Emperor.
The eunuch knelt at the entrance of the estate, with two horse-drawn carriages behind him.
From the look of them, they were fit for a prince.
The tenant farmers and servants in the estate all watched from a distance, not daring to approach. Even Lu Hanzhi himself hid behind the door, peeking out cautiously.
He vaguely heard the elderly eunuch kneeling on the ground, pleading, “Your Highnesses, you are putting this old servant’s life on the line! The guest official by the Third Prince’s side, Lu Yu, has personally confessed—it was indeed the Third Prince who framed the Eldest Prince and Fourth Prince. His Majesty has already revoked the warrant for your arrest and has taken the Third Prince into the Great Zhao Prison. He has sent me to escort Your Highnesses back to the capital. If you refuse to return, how am I supposed to explain this to… to Concubine Rong?”
At the mention of Concubine Rong, the Eldest Prince’s expression flickered slightly.
Seeing that the Eldest Prince was wavering, the old eunuch immediately seized the opportunity, adding, “These past days, Concubine Rong has been constantly worried about Your Highnesses, unable to eat or sleep. She has grown noticeably haggard! Even if Your Highnesses do not care for this humble servant’s lowly life, you should at least consider Concubine Rong!”
The Eldest Prince lowered his gaze in contemplation, but the Fourth Prince stepped forward, letting out a cold laugh. “Mother Concubine was placed under house arrest for over half a month without any explanation. We can’t just let this go.”
The old eunuch quickly responded, “Please rest assured, Your Highness! His Majesty has already issued a decree—Concubine Rong has been promoted to Imperial Concubine Rong! And Prince Ling’an has been elevated to Prince An*! His Majesty understands that both of you have been wronged and has personally bestowed numerous treasures and antiques upon Your Highnesses and Imperial Concubine to help ease the distress you’ve endured.”
Note: previously Yuwen Min was titled Prince Ling’an as a county prince, now he’s promoted to a first rank prince just like Eldest Prince Chu.
After all this back-and-forth, the Eldest Prince and Fourth Prince finally relented and agreed to return to the capital.
Hiding behind the doorway, Lu Hanzhi had witnessed the entire performance and was utterly amazed by the two princes’ acting skills. Hadn’t they planned to go back from the very beginning? Yet they put on this show of reluctance, as if they had suffered immense grievances.
History, indeed, was nothing more than a grand performance. At critical moments, it all came down to acting.
Using the excuse of packing their belongings, the two princes sought out Lu Hanzhi to bid farewell.
Lu Hanzhi glanced at the jade ornament on Yuwen Min’s sword hilt and forced a laugh. “Congratulations to Your Highnesses for clearing your names and returning to the capital. That sword ornament really suits your style—it looks great!”
Yuwen Min, holding his heavy sword, simply said, “Mm. Thanks.”
Lu Hanzhi grinned cheekily. “Oh, don’t be so polite. I haven’t even thanked you for the jade bracelet you gave me yet.”
The Eldest Prince, standing nearby, looked completely puzzled. “Huh? That jade piece was a gift from Hanzhi? Wait, when did you give Hanzhi a jade bracelet? Uh… could it be that you two… have mutual affections for each other?”
Lu Hanzhi: …
Yuwen Min looked equally baffled as he turned to the Eldest Prince, who chuckled and said, “Jade ornaments are tokens of affection between lovers in Great Zhao. If you truly like Hanzhi, you could just petition Father and marry him into Prince An’s residence!”
Yuwen Min turned to look at Lu Hanzhi. Lu Hanzhi thought to himself, Your little brother is nothing but a cold-blooded killing machine—what does he know about love and romance?
So he waved his hand dismissively and said, “Prince Chu, you misunderstand. We’re just—”
Before Lu Hanzhi could finish his sentence, Yuwen Min suddenly cut in, “Eldest Brother is right. I was just thinking the same.”
Lu Hanzhi: ??????
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