Great Qi After Unifying the North... Fell in Its Second Generation
Chacha: [Emmm... this emperor really didn't have any incidents that could be called gossip. He was decisive and ruthless when necessary, diligent in government and caring toward his people. His mind was full of state affairs, and everything he did was wholeheartedly for Great Qi. He rested for only four hours a day. A complete workaholic!]
Emperor Hongyao's lips curved upward. That was quite accurate.
The princes all puffed out their chests with pride, their hearts full of admiration and respect for their imperial father.
The ministers were all thrilled. If the timing hadn't been wrong, they would surely have dropped to their knees together and shouted that His Majesty was wise and wished him ten thousand years of life.
As ministers, they were fortunate to live under the leadership of such a sovereign. They would surely be able to accomplish great things, perhaps even leave their mark in the history books. What luck it was to live a life without regrets.
Shen Anxin: [Two shichen, just four hours? He worked that hard? Could his body take it?]
Xiao Yanchen was slightly moved and silently thanked Shen Anxin for asking. It was something he cared about too, but he couldn't persuade his imperial father to rest. After all, the great realm had only recently been secured, and there truly was a great deal to do.
Emperor Hongyao's lips curved. The girl had a conscience after all.
Chacha: [Staying up late would affect anyone, but he had a strong constitution, so overall, it wasn't much of a problem.]
Everyone was delighted to hear that. It was good news, at least!
Shen Anxin: [That's good. Such a competent emperor ought to live a long life and keep working longer. That way, peace can last longer throughout the land, and my good days can last longer too. The capable should shoulder more work, after all.]
The ministers: The capable should shoulder more work, my ass. Why did she have to blurt out such an obvious truth?!
Emperor Hongyao nearly laughed out loud in exasperation. Did she take him for an old ox in the fields?! That girl... But she was right.
With him there, Great Qi would surely be protected!
Chacha: [Ah, found it. It could be considered a little quirk.]
Shen Anxin: [What is it? What is it?] She was terribly curious about what sort of little quirk such a charismatic emperor might have.
The ministers' eyes widened. Their appetites had been whetted again and again, and they could no longer contain their curiosity. They grew bolder, too.
To hell with it! They wanted to eat the melon!
Chacha: [It's about him and the princes. Don't be fooled by how imposing Emperor Hongyao usually is when he disciplines them, like a model of a strict father and sovereign. Behind the scenes, he's actually a complete maniac when it comes to showing off his children.]
The ministers: What's a maniac who shows off his children?
Emperor Hongyao: I have a bad feeling about this.
The princes looked at one another.
Shen Anxin: [You mean he likes to boast to outsiders about how outstanding his children are?]
Chacha: [Yup!]
The ministers: Does he? The princes were dragons and phoenixes among men, outstanding to begin with. We never saw the emperor go out of his way to show them off, did we?
The princes stole puzzled glances at their imperial father. They hadn't noticed it either.
Sweat broke out on Emperor Hongyao's forehead.
Shen Anxin: [His sons are all pretty outstanding, right? Although I've only seen their looks so far, the rumors out there are really something. By all rights, there aren't many talented young men in Great Qi who can compare with them. Add their status to that, and they completely crush everyone else's children. Does he have anyone he can show off to?]
Chacha: [You've hit on the key point. Because his sons were all so outstanding, and he was the emperor himself, he couldn't show them off in Great Qi. So back when the nine kingdoms still existed, whenever he had a chance to interact with the rulers or imperial relatives of other countries, he would always sneakily have a prince step forward and show what he could do. Only when he saw the other party's expression of amazement or resentment would he be satisfied.]
[Now that the nine kingdoms are gone, he has to hold it in again. That's why he's really looking forward to a chance to establish diplomatic relations with the Southern Xia Dynasty.]
Shen Anxin: [...Hahahahahahaha! Emperor Hongyao actually has a side like that? Honk honk honk honk honk honk!]
The ministers: You're laughing far too hard, but... it is a little...
Hold... hold it in. We can't laugh. Aren't we all fathers too? One laugh, and all nine generations of our families will be mourning us.
In the past, whenever they saw the princes step forward to show their abilities, they had thought Emperor Hongyao wanted to overawe the other side and display their nation's might.
To prove that their dynasty not only had an outstanding ruler, but also had heirs more outstanding than the other side's.
Who would have thought those were actually his thoughts?
The princes were a little embarrassed. So that was how it was. Had they performed well enough, then? Had their imperial father been satisfied?
He probably had been. They had received rewards after every performance.
Even Xiao Yanchen, who was closest to Emperor Hongyao, had never guessed this. But judging by his imperial father's reaction now, it was probably true.
Emperor Hongyao's face flushed slightly, and he forcibly suppressed it, but his expression no longer held the composure of a man who ruled the world.
Even that secret, childish little thought of his had been caught by the Gossip System. It seemed its ability to dig up gossip was real.
Shen Anxin's shoulders shook secretly for a while. After taking several deep breaths, she finally calmed down.
Shen Anxin: [It's not so bad. It's just a harmless little quirk. How many points is it worth?]
Chacha: [Points +0.5]
Shen Anxin: [That little?]
Chacha: [The gossip itself isn't worth much. It only reached 0.5 because he's the emperor.]
The ministers: Pretend we didn't hear that conversation. How could they discuss whether the emperor was worth much?! This little girl's courage was as plump as ever.
Emperor Hongyao: She made me lose face in front of the entire civil and military court, and now she complains I'm not worth much? I'll remember this, little girl.
Xiao Yanchen very much wanted to cough deliberately and interrupt Shen Anxin's uninhibited remarks, but Shen Anxin was wholly focused on earning points and didn't care at all.
Shen Anxin: [Is there no other big gossip about Emperor Hongyao that can earn points? What a pity. Given his status as emperor, the points would surely be substantial. If there's nothing else, I can only switch to someone else.]
Everyone: It feels as though this girl has an invisible register of life and death in her hands. She even dug out a little secret like that about the emperor, so as for us... Although we're loyal to Great Qi, still...
Chacha: [Ding! Found a huge piece of gossip about Emperor Hongyao's future!]
Shen Anxin: [Huge gossip?! How huge?]
Chacha: [As huge as an entire country.]
The ministers: Could it concern the future of all Great Qi? Could they learn the future fate of the Great Qi dynasty? Wait, were they allowed to hear this?
The ministers immediately looked tensely toward the head of the court, only to see that Emperor Hongyao's face had darkened.
Xiao Yanchen frowned slightly and looked at Emperor Hongyao.
But Emperor Hongyao gave no instructions. His hand had merely tightened around the dragon-head armrest.
Shen Anxin, on the other hand, didn't think it was such a huge piece of gossip.
[So it's Great Qi's future, then. It should be about the same as other dynasties. With good luck, it'll be passed down for a dozen or so generations, flourish for two or three hundred years, then decline, fall, and be replaced by another. That's called the law of history. No dynasty can escape it. Does that count as huge gossip?]
Everyone: A law of history? Although everyone hoped the dynasty they founded would endure for ten thousand generations, anyone who had read the histories knew that so far, no dynasty had been an exception.
No matter how many wise and mighty rulers a dynasty had, none could achieve it.
So even if they would never admit it aloud, they knew it in their hearts. To endure for more than two hundred years would already leave a bold, vivid stroke in the long river of history.
They weren't greedy. If they could unify the north, ensure its stability, gradually restore the heritage of the Huaxia people, and give Great Qi's common folk good lives, then their generation of Great Qi's people could be said to have fulfilled its mission. As for how many generations it would last, that was for their descendants to worry about.
Emperor Hongyao had a sense of it too. He knew his son. Xiao Yanchen could raise his own son well, and even set an example for his grandchildren's generation.
So at the very least, he could ensure there would be no problems within four generations.
Chacha: [You guessed wrong, host.]
Everyone's hearts jolted. Wrong?
Was it better? Or more...
Chacha: [According to historical records, Great Qi, after unifying the north... fell in its second generation.]