Chapter 62 — TVF Chapter 62

The Table-Flipping Old Father (2)

The system immediately went to negotiate. Not long after, it returned with the client’s conditions.
“More money is fine, but Zhou-ge, you have to guarantee the cultivation of a native enlightened ruler. A qualified restorer of the realm or an outstanding guardian ruler will both do. If you can cultivate two generations—father and son—the client is willing to throw in even more.”

If the resources Qin Jingzhou needed to survive tribulation and ascend were quantified as a progress bar, then the rewards from his previous missions had pushed it to around 3%.

This client’s rewards could advance it by another 8%. Although ascension was still very far away, just going from single digits to double digits was enough to deeply move Qin Jingzhou.

From the bottom of his heart, he said, “Mm. I’m full of motivation now!”

Sensing the host’s good mood, the system was equally delighted. Brother Zhou wasn’t the type who liked preaching—when raising kids, he usually taught by example rather than words. This time, agreeing to seriously educate descendants… was really because the client was paying far too much.

Unaware of his system’s little thoughts, Qin Jingzhou slipped into his new “vest” with practiced ease. After feeling it out for a moment, he calmed down somewhat.

Once he understood the situation of this body, Qin Jingzhou couldn’t help but laugh. “Why did Si Chenghui bother doing all that? The original host had at most three to five years left to live.”

Putting itself in Si Chenghui’s shoes and pondering it, the system replied, “He probably hated the original host’s drag-down family to the extreme and couldn’t tolerate them for even one more day… In that regard, he and Princess Anyang were of one mind.”

Qin Jingzhou carefully sensed the environment of this world and found that the opening was far more miserable than the last one. Last time, even though he started as a corpse, he had to admit that the ‘quality’ of that corpse was quite good—most importantly, the previous world had spiritual energy.

In this world, the spiritual energy density could basically be treated as nonexistent.

As for internal energy, a bit could still be cultivated. Qin Jingzhou estimated that if he recuperated properly, his combat strength would be about on par with his first mission world. Flying through the air and burrowing into the earth like ultimate martial-arts masters in wuxia novels was out of the question.

The original host was lying alone in a carriage loaded with many crates. He slowly sat up and pressed a hand against his injured leg, which had fractured and never been properly set. “If I break it again and reset it, there’s still hope.”

Charging into a battle for the throne with a limp was absolutely not an option.

Qin Jingzhou found a cultivation method and began meditating right there in the carriage.

More than an hour later, the carriage came to a stop.

The driver opened the carriage door, and the original host’s two sons crowded over. “Father, let your sons help you down.”

The original host’s full name was Si Jingzhou. As a carpenter whose craftsmanship was famous far and wide in his hometown, he himself was literate.

Because his sons needed to learn the craft, they were also taught to read, and his daughter had been clever since childhood, always hovering around her father and brothers. Over time, she too learned a hundred or so characters.

Being literate, good-looking, and from a craftsman’s family, Third Miss Si already had quite decent prospects back home.

But precisely because she was literate, she had strong opinions of her own. She begged her father not to marry into a family chosen by Old Madam Si, instead marrying her childhood sweetheart who had returned home after being discharged from the army. The original host’s son-in-law’s parents had passed away early, and after being injured he was left with a slight disability, but it didn’t affect his daily life.

However, now the entire Si family was heading to the capital to enjoy prosperity, so the daughter and son-in-law were not in the convoy. They were staying in a village at the foot of the mountain.

Qin Jingzhou had the two men support him from either side as he got down. Unhurried, he walked into the inn by the side of the official road—several merchant caravans’ wagons were parked in the front courtyard.

This inn was directly across from the relay station, and not far from either side of the official road were several villages with cooking smoke curling upward.

He trusted that no matter how arrogant and domineering Princess Anyang was, she wouldn’t have her household guards act recklessly on a busy official road full of people and loose tongues.

Up on the second floor of the inn, just as they were about to enter their guest room, the original host’s third brother’s wife—Si Chenghui’s biological mother—happened to step out of another room.

She rolled her eyes, let out a cold snort, theatrically flicked her handkerchief, then turned and went downstairs with her equally arrogant daughter-in-law.

Watching the mother- and daughter-in-law pair leave, a fleeting worry flashed across the faces of the original host’s two sons, Eldest Lang and Second Lang.

Qin Jingzhou didn’t miss that change in expression. The surprise had come too suddenly—remarkably, all three children were rare cases of being “clear-headed.” Considering that the three of them were barely better than illiterates, this showed they were all promising material.

The chances of perfectly completing the client’s mission just got higher.

Entering the guest room, the eldest daughter-in-law—who had already tidied it up—called out first, “Father.” She exchanged a look with her husband, then lowered her voice. “Father, Grandpa and Grandma said you should rest and don’t need to go pay respects.”

Unlike the three sons, who hadn’t had formal schooling but were still somewhat literate, Old Master Si and Old Madam Si were genuine illiterates.

Ever since Si Chenghui passed the xiucai exam, the old couple had started putting on airs, as if the fact that the eldest son earned money to support the entire family and fund Si Chenghui’s studies had all been a figment of the eldest son’s imagination.

Qin Jingzhou smiled and shook his head, letting his two sons help him sit down.

Seeing that their father wasn’t angry, Second Lang cautiously said, “If Grandpa and Grandma weren’t backing them, Third Uncle and Third Aunt wouldn’t dare to—”

Qin Jingzhou waved his hand. “Your Third Uncle is the one most like your grandparents. They think they’ve spent more than enough years reading my face. This time, going to the capital, they’re benefiting greatly from your Brother Hui. From now on, we’ll have to live by your Brother Hui’s favor.”

The two sons already had knots in their hearts. Hearing their father say this only made them more solemn. They hadn’t forgotten how Brother Hui had ‘repaid’ their father before he suddenly buckled down to study.

The eldest daughter-in-law still held onto a sliver of hope, however small. “Brother Hui is a scholar. He cares most about his reputation…”

“He naturally has to care about his reputation. That’s why all the outrageous things he did in his early years are ready-made leverage whenever they’re brought up. A peck of rice is kindness; a bushel of rice is enmity—nothing illustrates that better.” Qin Jingzhou said calmly. “We’re not going to the capital. Without this bunch dragging us down, where couldn’t our family live a good life?”

His tone didn’t fluctuate at all, but the two sons and one daughter-in-law found the more they thought about it, the more something felt off. By the time the second daughter-in-law knocked with steaming hot food, cold sweat had already soaked their clothes.

Seeing that his sons and daughters-in-law were all obedient, Qin Jingzhou was very satisfied.

The family of five ate a meal together, each harboring their own thoughts. Qin Jingzhou told his sons and daughters-in-law to return to their rooms and think things through carefully. He himself needed to figure out what excuse to use next to avoid going to the capital.

They would rest at the inn for half a day, then travel another full day along the busy official road to reach the prefectural city fifty li away, stay for a day or two, and then traverse a stretch of mountain road.

In the plot, the Si family had died on that very mountain road.

After the original host’s daughter and son-in-law learned the news, they hurried over to handle funeral matters, only to meet the same fate on that mountain road. In the end, only Si Chenghui and his chongxi-married biological sister remained of the Si family.

That was why Qin Jingzhou completely ignored the provocations from Si Chenghui’s mother and the cold treatment from Old Master and Old Madam Si.

He didn’t bother arguing with muddle-headed people who were about to die.

Of course, once they reached the prefectural city, he would offer a reminder. But he estimated that Old Madam Si and the others wouldn’t listen. They’d probably even decide he was narrow-minded and harboring malicious intent.

In any case, the prefectural city wasn’t a place to stay long—after all, he was going to… seize the world.

Leaning against the pillow, he flipped through the original host’s memories. Oh—the original host’s hometown was backed by mountains, a continuous range rich in resources and easy to defend. Even better, to the south of the mountains lay the territory of Prince Haicheng. In this country named Qi, powerful princes were mostly titled after their fiefs. The mentioned Prince Haicheng held Haicheng Prefecture, which accounted for two-thirds of the territory.

Prince Haicheng was about the same age as the emperor, but was the emperor’s uncle.

As the late emperor’s most favored son, Prince Haicheng not only possessed a wealthy and prosperous fief, but because it was surrounded by mountains on three sides, it was also extremely easy to defend—put simply, Prince Haicheng’s territory was basically this world’s equivalent of the Sichuan Basin.

Five years later, Prince Haicheng would die in the capital while attending the funeral of the Grand Empress Dowager.

The plot glossed over Prince Haicheng’s death in a single stroke, but it was certain that he died at Princess Anyang’s hands. Si Chenghui’s promotion after “marrying” Princess Anyang was rapid, but it was only after Prince Haicheng’s death that it could truly be called “soaring straight to the clouds.”

Qin Jingzhou sighed. “So the emperor gave the order, Si Chenghui devised the plan, and Princess Anyang carried it out—truly a loving family. Seen this way, ‘sacrificing the entire family’ was, in a sense, Si Chenghui’s pledge of allegiance. But Si Chenghui was vindictive. His final revenge directly wiped out Great Qi.”

The system said, “If he weren’t so utterly heartless and devoid of loyalty or kinship, he could have been a hero.”

“The mountains are high and the emperor is far away. I can’t sanction him in the next few years,” Qin Jingzhou said frankly. “My hometown plus Prince Haicheng’s fief is the best fallback. I’ll go home and farm for a few years first.”

The system responded promptly, “Build high walls, stockpile grain, and delay proclaiming kingship!”

In the plot, the emperor was bent on curbing the princes’ power. Which of the princely families was stupid? The emperor’s handling of Prince Haicheng was overly simple and brutal—like holding a knife to the princes’ throats.

It would be stranger if the princes didn’t rebel.

Even without Si Chenghui, given the emperor’s temperament and methods, the fall of the nation was hardly undeserved.

The next morning, they set out again. The old couple still didn’t show their faces. The original host’s third brother’s wife continued rolling her eyes and throwing tantrums. The sons and daughters-in-law looked a bit weary after a sleepless night. Qin Jingzhou, however, seemed to have completely set his worries aside, once again enjoying exclusive use of the carriage piled halfway full of luggage.

At midday, the carriage stopped. Just as Qin Jingzhou was about to get down to eat, the original host’s second brother came over on his own initiative.

The second brother opened the door and sat inside the carriage. “Big Brother, have you thought it through? Just admit fault—”

Qin Jingzhou cut him off. “Brother Hui is Third Brother’s son. We won’t go join the fun.”

The second brother was left speechless. “Ah?”

This second brother was a classic fence-sitter.

He wasn’t particularly terrible as a person, but compared to Third Brother’s family, who could directly change the family’s status, the eldest brother—who had always supported the whole family—suddenly seemed less important.

Qin Jingzhou believed everyone had their own fate. He only fulfilled his duty to remind. “It’s true that Brother Hui placed as Tanhua, but even entering the Hanlin Academy he’s only sixth or seventh rank. Back home, he’s a grand lord, but what kind of place is the capital? The old man is his grandfather, Third Brother is his father—that’s one thing. You and I are separated by a layer. Why rush over to curry favor?”

The second brother could hear the deeper meaning in his elder brother’s words. He felt a jolt in his heart, but quickly decided his elder brother was just… jealous.

Another day passed, and the Si family smoothly arrived at the prefectural city.

At this point, Qin Jingzhou asked his sons and daughters-in-law again. Though conflicted and hesitant, filial piety ultimately won out, and they decided to follow their father.

So Qin Jingzhou had his eldest son go inform the old man that there was no need to trouble themselves—their family wouldn’t be going to the capital.

Old Master Si, Old Madam Si, and Third Brother’s couple had never really wanted to bring Si Da’s family along anyway. Seeing that Si Da truly couldn’t endure the cold treatment, they felt a sense of satisfaction and triumph, as if their wishes had come true.

When parting from the Si family, Qin Jingzhou chose to be as benevolent and righteous as possible. “It’s not just that the capital’s waters run deep. This journey is equally perilous. Not going to the capital and not dragging Brother Hui down might give you a chance to live.”

When he said this, Old Master Si’s face turned iron-blue, and his hand was already raised.

Qin Jingzhou stepped back. “Good words are hard to use to persuade—” He turned and left with his sons and daughters-in-law.

The original host’s second brother’s heart pounded violently.

Half a month later, Qin Jingzhou—still temporarily staying in the prefectural city—received a visit from the original host’s second brother, now missing an arm.

Upon seeing him, the second brother collapsed to the ground, crying bitterly, tears flowing like a spring. “Big Brother, our parents are gone!”

Qin Jingzhou grew curious. Only Old Master Si and Old Madam Si were gone? Princess Anyang definitely wouldn’t let matters rest—she should have already sent people to pursue and kill…