Chapter 1: The Miserable Transmigration

  Early morning. There is wind.

  A man in white stood with his hands behind him in the courtyard, he looked up at the sky, letting the gentle breeze blow his sleeves. The man was not very old, and his figure was straight. He stood like that without saying a word, giving people a feeling that he had a special charm.

  This feeling is very special and strange. It's as if he has been standing there since ancient times, as if between heaven and earth there were only white clouds, the earth, and himself.

  Standing with his hands behind his back was a very ordinary standing posture, but the white-clothed man's standing seemed to have some subtle differences mixed in with the ordinary. It can't be denied that the white-clothed man was a very attractive man. Of course, this so-called attractiveness had to be established on the basis of... he didn't have those panda eyes.

  "I've played with eagles all my life, only to be pecked blind by a tiny sparrow. My handsome face! My starry eyes! Heaven and earth, send down the heavenly hound to take away that damned madwoman!"

  "Jiang brothers, you've been standing there for a long time, the morning dew is heavy, are you okay standing like that?" Han Yu couldn't help but ask as he practiced his sword in the courtyard.

  "You don't understand, looking at the sky in the morning helps with blood circulation for your eyes. Look, mine is already circulating properly."

  Jiang Xia lowered his head, and Han Yu looked at him for a moment before exclaiming: "Ah, you've been beaten by someone! Who hurt you? Tell me, I'll help you take revenge."

  Jiang Xia waved his hand and sighed, "Forget it, let's spare her since she didn't gain anything good from this."

  After finishing speaking, Jiang Xia turned around and left.

  Han Yu looked at Jiang Xia's departing back and couldn't help but sigh: "Brother Jiang is great in every way, it's just that he's too kind-hearted."

  After Jiang Xia finished breakfast and carried the tray back to her room, she opened the door and saw a woman tied up on the bed with a cloth stuffed in her mouth and a turtle drawn on her face. This person was none other than Yang Jingjing.

  Yang Jingjing heard someone open the door and immediately turned around to ask for help, but as soon as she saw Jiang Xia, her hopeful gaze suddenly became fierce and cruel.

  Jiang Xia smiled and said, "I was going to kindly bring you some breakfast to eat, but looking at your current state, I'm afraid you don't want to eat anymore. Well, that's okay, then I'll feed something else instead."

  After finishing, Jiang Xia took out a pill from his bosom and walked to Yang Jing's side. He suddenly tore open the cloth in Yang Jing's mouth, and Yang Jing immediately shouted loudly: "Jiang Xia, I must kill... Cough, cough..."

  Yang Jingjing felt that Jiang Xia seemed to have thrown something into her mouth. She asked somewhat nervously, "What did you make me eat, you rascal?"

  "Hmm!" Jiang Xia's eyes were gloomy, and at this moment, he looked exactly like the psychopathic killer on TV. Lowering his voice, he said in a sinister tone: "What I gave you to eat earlier was our Jiang family's secret Corrosive Bone Dissolving Pill."

  "Rotten flesh and bone dan?" Just hearing the name, Yang Jingjing was frightened to a pale face, her beautiful eyes blinked and tears fell out, wailing: "You're giving me poison, waaah... you bad egg, hurry up and give me an antidote, give me an antidote..."

  "Cry, cry......" Jiang Xia's voice became increasingly gloomy.

  "Go ahead and cry to your heart's content, this Corrosive Bone Dissolving Pellet will start taking effect once it comes into contact with tears. First, you'll feel an unbearable itch all over your body. Then, small red spots will appear on your skin, and as the color of these spots deepens, they'll start to... Your flesh will rot, your bones will be corroded, and in 49 days, you'll dissolve into a puddle of blood water, hahahahaha..."

  "Ahh!!! I don't want to turn into blood and water, I don't want to rot to death, how disgusting! How disgusting!" Yang Jingjing shouted while no longer daring to shed tears.

  She didn't know if it was the psychological effect or the actual efficacy, but she felt her body starting to itch, and the itching sensation grew stronger. Yang Jingjing said with a sobbing tone: "I was wrong, I won't dare again, please give me an antidote."

  Jiang Xia smiled complacently and took out another pill from his bosom, tossing it into Yang Jing's mouth. "This pill will guarantee that you won't have an episode for seven days," he said. "During these seven days, if you listen to me, I'll give you the complete antidote and thoroughly eliminate the poison in your body. If you don't listen...

  "Obeying obeying, I will definitely obey." Yang Jingjing promised solemnly.

  Jiang Xia's mouth curled up with a sly smile, thinking to himself that this silly girl was quite easy to deceive. He helped Yang Jingjing untie the ropes on her body, then lifted his leg and said: "Come, give your master a massage first."

  Yang Jingjing glared at Jiang Xia with a fierce gaze, and Jiang Xia let out a nasal hum: "Hm?"

  Yang Jing immediately squatted down and started massaging Jiang Xia's legs.

  "Ah, your skills are pretty good."

  "After a while, Jiang Xia said: 'Alright, go have your breakfast and pack up, then come out with me to buy some medicine.'"

  "Buy medicine? Is it poison again?" Yang Jingjing's whole body tensed up as soon as she heard the word "medicine".

  "Get out of my sight! Look at what you've done!" Jiang Xia shouted, pointing at his own two black eyes.

  Jiang Xia originally had a pale face, and the purple-black bruise was particularly eye-catching. Even Yang Jingjing couldn't help but laugh when she saw it, apparently very satisfied with her handiwork.

  When Jiang Xia took Yang Jingjing to the street to buy medicine, Yang Yiqing, Yang Jingjing's father, happened to enter the imperial palace. Inside the imperial palace, Li Dongyang was discussing matters with Zhu Houzhao. Recently, there have been many things to attend to, and Zhu Houzhao is worried that Jiang Xia's prophecy of a locust plague will come true, while also being troubled by not having enough silver to give Yang Yiqing to repair the border defenses.

  The Great Ming Dynasty itself was taken back from the Mongols, and the Mongols never gave up on the Central Plains. So many years have passed, and the Mongols have also recovered a lot of their original energy, with growing strength. To say that Zhu Houzhao didn't understand these things, or didn't guard against them, would be absolutely deceiving people. Zhu Houzhao's martial habits are well-known in history.

  After discussing with Li Dongyang for half a day, Zhu Houzhao still couldn't find a suitable solution to the problem of the Shaanxi city defense construction funds. At this moment, Zhang Yong suddenly came into the Qianqing Palace to report: "Your Majesty, Governor Yang Yiqing of Gansu and Shaanxi has arrived, saying that he has come up with a plan for the Shaanxi city defense construction and wants to discuss it with Your Majesty."

  "Has Yang Yiqing come up with a plan?" Zhu Houzhao's eyes lit up and he immediately nodded, "Good, summon him to come in right away."

  "By order."

  Zhang Yong left the Qianqing Palace, and soon Yang Yiqing walked in. After paying respects to Zhu Houzhao, he excitedly said: "Yang Ai Qing doesn't have to be polite, just now Zhang Yong told me that you've already thought of a way to solve the problem of funding for the construction of the city defenses in Shaanxi?"

  "In response to Your Majesty's words, your humble servant has already come up with a plan, and it only requires the imperial court to allocate 300,000 taels of silver to achieve it."

  "Three hundred thousand taels of silver." Zhu Houzhao thought for a moment and nodded, "This amount of silver can still be afforded by the national treasury. Now, tell me your plan."

  "I obey your orders." Yang Yiqing began to explain his plan, and he almost verbatim repeated Jiang Xia's words to Zhu Houzhao. After listening, Zhu Houzhao nodded repeatedly and said: "This method is wonderful! I feel that it must be feasible if we do it this way. What do you think, Grand Tutor?"

  Zhu Houzhao asked Li Dongyang, and Li Dongyang also nodded: "Your humble servant also thinks it is feasible."

  "Very well, since that's the case, it's settled then. I'll issue a decree to you later, Yang Ai Qing. You must handle this matter well for me. If you succeed, I will reward you heavily."

  "Thank you, Your Majesty." Yang Yiqing said excitedly, "I will definitely do my best to get this done, even if it means risking my life."

  "Hmm." Zhu Houzhao nodded in satisfaction, a smile spreading across his face. "I don't know why, but I feel that what you just said doesn't quite sound like your own tone of voice. It's actually very similar to... someone else I have an impression of. Ah, Yang Ai Qing, how did you come up with such a clever plan in less than a day?"

  Yang Yiqing was stunned, he didn't expect Zhu Houzhao to be able to tell the difference just by tone of voice, this made Yang Yiqing dare not deceive Zhu Houzhao, deceiving the emperor is called deceiving the ruler, which can lead to beheading.

  Yang Yiqing stole a glance at Li Dongyang and, with a forced tone, said: "In response to Your Majesty's question, the method I mentioned earlier was not something I came up with myself, but rather something I learned from a wise person."

  "High person?" Zhu Houzhao suddenly felt something was off, he slightly furrowed his brow and said: "Which high person is so formidable?"

  Yang Yiqing sighed softly in his heart and said, "I heard that a few days ago, someone held a charity dinner to raise funds for disaster relief, attracting many wealthy merchants and citizens from the capital to donate generously, raising tens of thousands of taels of silver. So I went to ask this person for advice, and he is..."

  "The master of Xiangyang Manor, Jiang Xia!" Zhu Houzhao didn't wait for Yang Yiqing to finish before completing the sentence for him.

  As soon as he finished speaking, the Qianqing Palace immediately fell silent. Zhu Houzhao looked at Yang Yiqing and then at Li Dongyang. After a long silence, Zhu Houzhao finally said: "Since I was born in the imperial palace, those who followed me were either eunuchs or palace maids. After ascending to the throne, wherever I went, officials would pay homage and people would bow down. Although I possess all under heaven and have wealth from the four seas, I am actually very pitiful."

  You all have good friends of various kinds, but what about me? I don't have anyone to share my innermost thoughts with. I also want to try making some friends and see how it feels. If anyone reveals my identity and causes me to lose friends, I can guarantee that I will make sure he loses his head!

  As soon as this was said, Yang Yiqing immediately knelt on the ground and nervously said: "Your humble servant is terrified."

  Yang Yiqing knelt down, but Li Dongyang did not. He thought for a moment and looked at Zhu Houzhao, saying: "Your Majesty, you are the ruler of a country. What is a ruler? A ruler is the master of the world, with the power to make clouds and rain with a turn of his hand. To a ruler, mountains, rivers, seas, wasteland, and fertile fields are all his possessions; birds in flight, beasts on the run, scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants are all his subjects. To a ruler, there is not a single person among the millions of people in the world who can befriend him, except for his ministers. A minister is someone who cannot get close to the ruler's heart, but cannot show it either. The way of a ruler is inherently a lonely path."

  Li Dongyang's words were straightforward and simple. He said that all the land and rivers in the world belong to the emperor, and for the emperor, the people of the world can only be subjects, not friends. The emperor can be close to his ministers, but he cannot confide in them, as the path of a monarch is inherently lonely.

  After Li Dongyang finished speaking, Zhu Houzhao fell silent. He looked at Li Dongyang with a calm gaze that seemed to hide endless anger beneath the surface. After a long time, Zhu Houzhao finally spoke in a light tone: "A bunch of nonsense."

  After finishing speaking, Zhu Houzhao stood up and walked out of the Qianqing Palace.

  Yang Yiqing, who was kneeling on the ground, could only shout loudly: "Your humble servant sends off Your Majesty."

  After the emperor had gone far away, Li Dongyang sat back in his chair weakly. He muttered to himself: "Xie Gong and Liu Gong were disliked by the emperor and still resigned, now that the turbulent flow has arrived, I'm afraid it's time for me to step down too. Retiring early can still preserve one's integrity, but if it's late...".

  Li Dongyang's voice was very low, and Yang Yiqing didn't quite catch what he said. After standing up, Yang Yiqing let out a slight sigh and said: "I didn't expect that the emperor would value Jiang Xia's position so highly, to the point where he already considers him a friend."

  "It's hard to say whether it's good or bad luck." Li Dongyang sighed and asked Yang Yiqing, "Have you met that Jiang Xia? What do you think of him?"

  Yang Yiqing thought for a moment and said, "This person is good at judging the situation and is also good at debating. His thoughts are extremely clever and seem to be completely unrestrained by worldly conventions. However, one thing that can be confirmed is that this person must be someone with a kind heart and a sense of justice, which can be seen from his words."

  After finishing speaking, Yang Yiqing took out a piece of paper from his bosom and handed it over to Li Dongyang.

  Li Dongyang looked at it and his eyes became somewhat strange as he looked at Yang Yiqing: "I.O.U.?"

  Yang Yiqing's face turned red, and he coughed twice before saying: "Ah... this matter will be explained later to Your Excellency. Please take a look at his letter."

  The IOU was written by Jiang Xia, and at first Yang Yiqing didn't notice. It wasn't until he took it out to tear it up after returning home that he saw the writing on it. Yang Yiqing himself had been called a child prodigy since his youth, and at the age of 14 he participated in the imperial examination and was recommended as a Hanlin scholar. The Ming Xianzong emperor ordered the cabinet to select teachers to teach him. In the eighth year of Chenghua, he passed the jinshi examination and was appointed as a mid-ranking official in the central government.

  Yang Yiqing was also one of the top in the Ming Dynasty in terms of literary accomplishment.

  Yang Yiqing was particularly fond of calligraphy, and he had almost all copied and studied the calligraphy of the ancients. However, the characters written by Jiang Xia were something he had never seen before, and should be a style of calligraphy created by Jiang Xia himself. This style is upright and steady, with strength penetrating through the paper, revealing a strong and upright spirit everywhere.

  Those who like calligraphy all think that people are like their characters, so Yang Yiqing thinks that Jiang Xia is a good person.

  Li Dongyang, like Jiang Xia, was also a person who liked calligraphy. After seeing Jiang Xia's calligraphy, he nodded slightly and said: "If this person is truly intelligent and has a kind heart and righteous spirit, then we must cultivate him well. In the future, this person will surely bring blessings to the country and the people."

  Li Dongyang's mouth was filled with the blessings of Jiangshan and Sheji, while he walked ahead singing a little tune. Behind him, Yang Jingjing carried two large bundles of medicinal herbs, which looked quite heavy.

  Yang Jingjing glared at Jiang Xia fiercely, but in fact, Jiang Xia's heart was also filled with guilt.

  Yesterday night he almost had a intimate relationship with Yang Jingjing, spit, he basically had an intimate relationship, even the other's little white rabbit was touched by him for a long time.

  Jiang Xia Sheng feared Yang Jing would cling to him and refuse to marry anyone else.

  Fortunately, Yang Jingjing seemed to have been unaffected by those three virtues and four virtues of women's chastity, from last night to now, except for being angry with herself, she didn't mention anything about that topic, Jiang Xia let out a slight sigh of relief.

  At this time, the third son of the Marquis of Moyang's mansion, Liu Qingyun, was strolling on the street with more than a dozen servants. When he saw the pretty young woman, he would definitely whistle and flirt with her. It seems that from ancient times to the present, the behavior of rascals has not changed much.

  Suddenly, Liu Qingyun saw Yang Jingjing alone with two large bags of medicine in her hand.