Chapter 233 Extra 4

Chapter 233: Extra Story 4

Even though he had already guessed the subsequent outcome, Du Wei couldn't help torturing himself by continuing to watch the rest of the simulation.

He wanted to know just how inhuman that bastard Han Zhang could really be!

The eighth simulation continued.

"Ever since seeing Shen Qinglan, who had already married another man, at the palace banquet, the middle-aged Han Zhang was like an old house catching fire—once it started, there was no putting it out."

"This time, Han Zhang didn't directly have you 'die of illness' to make room for Shen Qinglan like in the previous simulation, because the situation now was different from before."

"He was the emperor now, and Shen Qinglan was someone else's husband. It wouldn't look good for an emperor to take his minister's husband. If he killed you—the Empress with such a reputation for virtue—or deposed you, his own reputation suffering wouldn't matter, but if Shen Qinglan got a reputation as a seductive villain, reviled by the whole world, that would break his heart!"

"Han Zhang didn't want Shen Qinglan to bear any infamy or speculation, so... he chose to use others as pawns to do his dirty work."

"He began openly favoring other princes, giving those princes and their consorts hope in the struggle for the Crown Prince position, pitting them against each other while quietly wiping out their backers..."

"Like a master chess player, he coldly watched the slaughter on the board, even fanning the flames..."

"In just two years, you consorts and princes had died or been crippled from the infighting. You even made a desperate move, hiring a poison expert to kill Han Zhang and seize the Throne directly, imitating the Xuanwu Gate Incident, a famous coup in history."

[Unfortunately, you failed, and this move played right into Han Zhang's hands. He seized the opportunity to pretend to fly into a 'furious rage,' deposing you from your position as Empress, banishing all the consorts to the cold palace, and placing the remaining crippled princes under complete house arrest!]

"The court wasn't spared either; every official involved (mainly the consorts' natal families) was thoroughly purged!"

"This upheaval... was recorded in history as: The Guiyou Palace Coup, the downfall of both factions."

"But after clearing away you, his 'wife and children,' as obstacles, Han Zhang didn't immediately go to Shen Qinglan. Instead, he spent a whole year putting on a show of being heartbroken by his wife and children who had been blinded by greed and betrayed him for the throne, winning the people's deep sympathy..."

"Only when ministers, worried about the dynasty's succession, urged him to hold consort selections and refill the harem... did Han Zhang finally reveal his true intentions."

"Using the pretext of leaving the palace to clear his head, he staged an assassination attempt, so the widowed Shen Qinglan could claim credit for saving the emperor's life."

"That's right! Shen Qinglan was widowed. While dealing with you consorts, Han Zhang also had Shen Qinglan's husband killed. Shen Qinglan had been a widower for three years now!"

"Afterward, using the excuse of repaying a life-saving debt, Han Zhang not only promoted Shen Qinglan's father's official position but also frequently left the palace in plain clothes under this pretext—ostensibly to chat with Shen Qinglan as a friend, but actually sweet-talking his way into the man's heart."

"Although Shen Qinglan was no longer young and had been through a marriage, what he'd gained was life experience, not relationship smarts—to put it bluntly, he was still a novice at love."

"And although Han Zhang was nearly thirty-eight, he kept himself in good shape and still looked mature and handsome. He was also a smooth talker. How could Shen Qinglan resist such courtship? He quickly fell head over heels and was swept into Han Zhang's arms!"

"Amid everyone's stunned confusion and the Shen family's wild joy, Han Zhang happily held a grand wedding, openly and honorably bringing Shen Qinglan, a widower, into the palace with full empress-consort rites."

[After marrying, the two were blissfully in love, and in the very first year, Shen Qinglan gave birth to a son. Han Zhang was overjoyed, declaring, 'My first son!' and immediately announced the boy as Crown Prince!]

[At that time, you—barely surviving in the cold palace—finally heard this news and flew into a rage, cursing, 'Han Zhang, you bastard, you're so heartless!' Then you died from sheer rage...]

"When he heard of your death, Han Zhang let out a silent sigh and said he was sorry, but he had no regrets."

"Because he felt that going easy on you would be cruel to his beloved. Hesitating and being wishy-washy would only hurt both sides."

"Since he'd already played the villain, he would see it through to the end. These blood debts can be settled in the afterlife later—right now, he just wanted to give his beloved the best things and the highest status, even if he went to hell for it."

Du Wei: "..."

Du Wei's face went pale, and his whole body ran cold.

How could Han Zhang do this?

Even if he didn't care about the consorts, those princes were Han Zhang's own flesh and blood. How could he bring himself to harm them?

This man was truly terrifying—a complete madman.

"When you love someone, you want them to live; when you hate someone, you want them dead." That saying was perfectly personified in that bastard Han Zhang!

But from this simulation's outcome, he finally got it.

As long as Shen Qinglan was alive and kept that face of his, the moment Han Zhang encountered him, he'd catch fire like an old house and there'd be no putting it out.

"Fine, fine, fine. Han Zhang, you want to screw me over like this? Since you're showing no mercy, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

"Run the simulation again!"

Du Wei, seething with hatred, activated his cheat ability once more.

"Ninth life simulation activated."

"Host, after another failure, you summarize your lessons again."

"It's still the same: falling in the water, getting married, having a child, rebelling, taking the throne... After becoming Empress this time, you simply send people to hunt down and kill Shen Qinglan, who's far away outside the capital!"

"Shen Qinglan was caught off guard, and the assassins tracked him down and attacked him. But what you didn't expect was that in this life, because he'd married badly, he'd been diligently practicing martial arts ever since, to protect himself from his husband Wang Xu, who might kill him for his money."

"Therefore, although Shen Qinglan was severely wounded in the assassin's attack, he still survived, thanks to his loyal page boy and guards protecting him."

"Shen Qinglan, having survived, was furious and immediately started investigating who was behind it!"

"Although Shen Qinglan's resources and manpower were limited, making it hard to trace it back to you, he had a powerful father. After Shen's father got wind of it, he followed the clues and successfully exposed you."

"Although the Shen family didn't understand why you'd target Shen Qinglan when there was no grudge between you, that didn't stop Shen's mother from wanting revenge for her son's sake, nor Shen's father from wanting to eliminate you as a threat to the Shen family."

"So... with Shen's father pulling strings, you and your son were again seen as thorns in the side of those harem consorts and princes fighting over the succession. Your barely-secured position as Empress began to shake!"

"Even worse... Han Zhang noticed the harem turmoil, investigated, and found out it all started because you'd inexplicably sent assassins after Shen Qinglan."

"So Han Zhang got interested in Shen Qinglan, dug deeper, saw his portrait... and then he fell in love again."

"You died in the first year of the new dynasty—Han Zhang killed you and your son again to make room for Shen Qinglan."

"Ahhhh, damn Shen Qinglan, damn the Shen family!"

"Again!"

Du Wei coughed up blood in rage and kept summing up his lessons to try again.

"Tenth simulation: This time, you plan to quietly kill Shen Qinglan during the chaos of war... Unfortunately, Shen Qinglan isn't some fragile pretty boy, and he has loyal servants protecting him. He escapes again, and while fleeing, he runs into Han Zhang, who's on the march with his army."

"The two fall in love again, so Han Zhang decides to remove this obstacle for his beloved. He lets the enemy army through, and you and your son get captured and killed by the enemy..."

"Again!"

"Eleventh simulation: This time, you still decide to kill Shen Qinglan, but you pick the moment he's leaving the capital with his husband Wang Xu to take up a post."

"Unfortunately, you fail again. This time, Wang Xu dies instead, which just makes Shen Qinglan happily rush back to his family home, starting a cushy widowed life."

"Not long after, Shen Qinglan runs into Han Zhang while out shopping. The two fall in love yet again, and then... you 'die of illness' again, courtesy of Han Zhang."

"Again!"

"Simulation 12: You still want Shen Qinglan dead! This time you picked... damn, failed again... and you're dead again."

"Simulation 13... dead... dead again."

"Simulation 14... Simulation 15... Simulation 108..."

Failure!

Failure! Failure!

Still failing! Failing at everything!

Because Shen Qinglan's got his own martial arts skills, has loyal servants watching his back, and the Shen family's protection—he's like a cockroach you just can't kill, no matter what you do.

And as long as Shen Qinglan's alive, he's bound to run into Han Zhang eventually.

Because Shen's dad and Wang Xu are always hustling for promotions, dragging Shen Qinglan back to the capital from out of town.

And Shen Qinglan loves to eat, drink, and have fun, roaming all over the place, and Han Zhang likes to wander around too—the chances of them bumping into each other are just way too high!

And that bastard Han Zhang—whenever he runs into Shen Qinglan, no matter what, he'll pick you to die just to clear the way for his sweetheart.

Du Wei is completely losing it.

He thought about just offing Han Zhang and putting his own son on the throne to finish the system quest.

But Han Zhang's even tougher to kill!

Poison? The guy's a medical genius—totally useless.

Jump him? His fighting skills let him take on a whole army solo—that's even more pointless.

Using sex to wear him down so he kicks the bucket early?

Han Zhang can toss aside even the drop-dead gorgeous looks Du Wei upgraded with the system—to him, every beauty in the world is just a bag of bones next to Shen Qinglan.

Now he finally admits it—no more running his mouth.

Shen Qinglan really is Emperor Shengwu's one true love!

Those two are a perfect match, a top-tier match, a match made in heaven.

Because nobody else can soften that scumbag Han Zhang's heart!

"Forget it, I'm done, let it all burn..."

"System, whoever wants this stupid mission can take it—I'm out!"

"Host, if you fail the mission, you'll be wiped out."

"Then wipe me out. Dying just means I get a fresh start anyway. My mental scars are so bad they could blanket the sun right now..."

Du Wei, totally done with life, decides to just give up.

The Luck-Draining System: "..." I've never dealt with such a pain-in-the-ass male lead in any world!

Fine, if this place doesn't work out, there's always somewhere else.

To avoid getting caught by the Heavenly Dao, the Luck-Draining System has no choice but to wipe Du Wei's memories of this world, send him back to the future, and sneak off quietly.

But... just as it's about to leave the Royal Academy in Starsea City, New Calendar year 232, a huge wave of psychic energy suddenly wraps around it.

And then, it eats it.

The Luck-Draining System dies with its eyes bugging out!

—

Meanwhile, down by the river at the Royal Academy.

A handsome guy and a gorgeous guy are sitting on the grass together. The gorgeous one seems to sense something, turns to his lover, and whines playfully:

"Hubby, what were you just thinking about? I was talking to you—why aren't you answering me?"

"Nothing much. Just sensed some weird energy, so I ate it, and my Power went up. Looks like we've got a few more centuries to live."

Han Zhang leans down with affection and kisses his beloved's forehead.

The gorgeous one, Shen Qinglan, beams with surprise at this, throws himself into Han Zhang's arms, and shows a happy, joyful smile:

"Really? That's wonderful! Hubby, I want to live with you as long as possible in this life, even longer, because I don't know if we can be together in the next."

"We will. Next life, and the one after that... we'll always be together."

"Liar. Reincarnation means drinking Meng Po's soup—when you don't remember me, we won't be together."

"No, even if I don't remember you, the moment I see my hubby, I'll fall in love with you. I only love my hubby."

"Me too, I only love my hubby..."

Shen Qinglan leans against Han Zhang's chest, happy and shy.

Han Zhang wraps an arm around his waist, pulling him close protectively, his smile tender and lingering.

His hubby is as cute as ever.