The day after the wedding.
Su Mian woke up naturally, but Duan Xuanyu was no longer beside her.
He stayed up all night and barely slept.
Now I'm getting up at four in the morning to go to the early court session.
Good heavens, with that kind of perseverance, he'll succeed at anything.
She just can't handle that kind of hardship.
If she were to become emperor, the most she could do would be to give each minister a cell phone.
From now on, clocking in on DingTalk will be done via video.
She got up slowly only after she had slept enough.
It's good that there's no empress dowager or concubines in this palace; there's plenty of time.
There are far too many palace maids and eunuchs in this palace; an emperor and empress alone don't need so many.
Moreover, they were all literate, making them particularly well-suited to disseminate the agricultural and medical technologies she brought.
Once they have been taught, let them leave the palace and establish a royal academy personally led by the Empress.
They each spent the day busy.
We'll meet in the evening.
Duan Xuanyu came over and hugged her. "Empress, I..."
Before he could finish speaking, Su Mian pushed him away. "No, you don't want to."
These short three years should be used to make achievements and build a career!
Su Mian, recalling the historical records she had seen in modern times, asked him, "Did Xu Guizhen kill him?"
That's the Daoist priest who took Duan Xuanyu the first version.
Duan Xuanyu was silent for a moment, then said, "This one, we can't kill him for now."
Su Mian asked, "Why?"
Duan Xuanyu took out a stack of memorials to show her.
Su Mian understood after reading it.
For several hundred years before the Northern Liang, another religion was prevalent... let's call it Religion A for short.
Because so many people believed in the Jia religion, the Jia religion owned a large amount of land and enjoyed tax exemption privileges. Many laborers joined the Jia religion, resulting in a sharp decline in national tax revenue and a shortage of soldiers.
The occupation of vast fertile lands by the Jia sect directly impacted the nation's finances and economic foundation.
The high-ranking members of the Jia sect are not bound by secular laws, and some even participate in political struggles, disrupting the imperial court.
Many members of the royal family and nobles would seek refuge with the Jia sect after committing a crime.
They would say, "I have already joined the Jia Cult, I have transcended the Three Realms and am no longer a mortal, so you cannot kill me."
Xu Guizhen is a high-ranking member of the Yi Sect.
Although the number of believers is not as large as that of the Jia sect, it is still much greater than that of the Bing, Ding, and Xu sects.
Therefore, Duan Xuanyu did not kill Xu Guizhen for the time being, but instead gave him a high-ranking official position and allowed him to take in young boys and girls.
"Boys and girls" is just a term of address; they don't actually refer to children. This is how all members of the B cult are called boys and girls.
Duan Xuanyu's goal was to use the B Sect, to which Xu Guizhen belonged, to suppress the A Sect.
Su Mian had no further objections.
He was indeed a benevolent emperor who loved his people dearly, and his aim was to bring more benefits to the people in everything he did.
As long as he doesn't get love-struck.
-
A year later, with the size of Sect A reduced, Duan Xuanyu began to reduce the size of Sect B as well.
That year, they also promoted new farming techniques, increased grain production, popularized various medical knowledge, and manufactured various new weapons to enhance military strength.
The following year, they reformed the tax system and cracked down on corrupt officials. With more money in the local area, they were able to fund education, allowing both boys and girls to attend school.
In the third year, roads were repaired, dams were built, commercial taxes were reduced, and the market flourished...
That year, they also began to make plans for what would happen after they were gone.
They chose the most obedient descendant of the Duan Family to inherit the throne.
He was an honest child.
They also left him a will, listing the names of all the trustworthy ministers, instructing him to always listen to Yu Fei and others, and to protect those upright and loyal officials.
Next, I need to prepare for my return to the future.
Three months before I left.
Duan Xuanyu suggested, "We can do what we did last time and bury more antiques and gold and silver jewelry in our joint tomb. When we dig them up in modern times, I can't even imagine how rich we'll be."
But Su Mian was a little worried. "What if tomb raiders dig it up? Many emperors and empresses' tombs have been looted by tomb raiders in the future."
Thinking about it that way, it's true.
How angry they'll be if the treasure they've set aside for themselves gets stolen!
Duan Xuanyu, then said, "Then let's build sixty or seventy fake tombs, and fill them all with wooden dragon carvings to mock tomb raiders. We'll bury the real treasures in temples, just like we did with the Temple of the Heavenly Empress last time."
Su Mian agreed, "That's good, that's good... You can also carve some things that might be lost in modern times into sixty or seventy fake tombs, carved on the ground and walls, so tomb raiders can't steal them."
She got more and more excited as she thought about it, "Then you can go back to school, take the exams, and become a civil servant in the field of archaeology... Only you can find all of our dozens of tombs, only you know what's recorded inside... That would be incredibly lucrative in the archaeological world! That way, I'd go into business and you'd go into politics, and we'd both be ecstatic!"
Duan Xuanyu chuckled, "Alright!"
They actually did it.
Finally, on the Duan Xuanyu's lifespan ended according to historical records, everything was ready.
The way they chose to die was on the battlefield, during a royal campaign, by bombing an enemy camp together.
Amidst the raging flames, he perished together with the enemy general.
Even in death, he died a glorious death, doing one last thing for his people.
-
When Duan Xuanyu returned to the modern world, his self-rescue system was automatically uninstalled, and he was finally able to survive.
Moreover, there isn't much of a time difference between now and when they left.
At this moment, Su Mian had just settled her parents, Xiao Xuanzi, and Xiao Guizi.
The dating reality show also announced that the final episode would be delayed, because they were struggling with how to tell the audience about the change of guests.
But now that they're both back, there's no need to replace them or delay things.
Su Mian will find a way to bring this up at the next meeting.
The first thing they did was rush to dig up their treasure.
We dug them all up and immediately took them home and hid them.
Then check online to see if the history has been changed.
"New artifacts have been unearthed... Two emperors ruled together, creating a golden age... For a hundred years after their deaths, their prestige still intimidated enemy nations... Their technology and medicine were already ahead of the West, until much later, when barbarian invasions caused their technology to regress..."
That's great! Although history hasn't been significantly altered, their people truly enjoyed a long period of good times because of them.
They flipped through it again.
I also found news about the police arresting tomb raiders.
News: "... The tomb raider is suspected of suffering from oxygen deprivation while entering the tomb, leading to mental instability."
In the news, a tomb raider was hugging a wooden dragon sculpture and shouting, "This really is a dragon from the Northern Liang Dynasty! It really is! Why doesn't anyone believe me!"