Chapter 236: Extra: Previous Life, The Death of Chen Xu（End of Book）

Chen Xu deeply hated the aristocracy, and this hatred became particularly intense after he met Xie Yuqing.

In this era where aristocratic families were valued and occupied all political resources, children from humble families had no chance of advancement unless they were exceptionally talented and surpassed all others.

“The upper class has no humble families, the lower class has no aristocracy.” Even the worst aristocratic children could be ranked as sixth-grade officials during the assessment, while children from humble families, even if their talents far surpassed others, could only be ranked as sixth-grade at most, which was already the highest rank among humble families.

Aristocratic children could be appointed as clean officials, high officials, and enter the central government, while children from humble families could only start from the lowest-ranking turbid officials.

This was the injustice of this era towards children from humble families.

And the most ironic thing was that the original founder of the “Nine-Rank System” was actually Chen Qun, an ancestor of their Chen family. Chen Qun probably never imagined that two hundred years later, his descendants would also become humble families, unable to join the ranks of the aristocracy.

Chen Xu secretly vowed that one day he would break this unfair rule of “the upper class has no humble families, the lower class has no aristocracy” and make these high-ranking aristocrats fall from the clouds into the dust.

That day, he came to Jiankang with this ideal and ambition. On the banks of the Qinhuai River, he witnessed many elegant aristocratic children gathering on painting boats for pure conversation. These aristocratic children had their eyes above the top, as if they were immortals, unattainable and out of reach.

And among this group of aristocratic children, one person was particularly fresh and eye-catching. “He” did not apply powder on his face like other aristocratic young masters and dress in spotless white. Instead, “he” wore a simple narrow-sleeved black robe, with his black hair tied into a bun and fastened with a single white jade hairpin.

“His” face was handsome and elegant, with the gentleness of a woman but also the heroic spirit of a man.

More importantly, as soon as this person stood among the crowd, a unique temperament made him impossible to ignore.

“He” was also engaged in pure conversation, but seemed to speak very little. After everyone else had spoken at length and asked for “his” opinion, “he” only smiled and did not answer.

However, “his” arrogance and rudeness did not cause any resentment. On the contrary, it made the aristocratic children admire and respect “him” even more. Even if “he” was sparing with words, as long as “he” said a word, it would be widely circulated and regarded as a golden saying.

“What? Have you taken a fancy to him? Although it’s not uncommon to prefer men these days, don’t think that ‘he’ is some aristocratic young master. ‘He’ is Xie Yuqing, the eldest legitimate daughter of the Chenjun Xie Clan, and also the most talented woman in our Southern Liang. Even the Crown Prince and His Majesty highly admire her.”

The laughter of several young masters came from beside him. Chen Xu followed the sound and saw several aristocratic youths privately discussing this aristocratic woman disguised as a man.

“Since she is the eldest legitimate daughter, why does she dress in this androgynous way?”

“You don’t know, do you? This is called being willful and unconventional, free and easy. The Xie family has gathered all its resources to cultivate such a brilliant and talented eldest legitimate daughter. They no longer treat her as a daughter and let her do as she pleases. Now she is even serving as an official by the Crown Prince’s side, specifically responsible for selecting talents for the Crown Prince. If you can get a word of praise from her, it would be like adding gold and jade to your crown. Soaring to prominence and becoming a favorite of the Crown Prince is also very possible!”

“However, it’s really difficult to get a word of praise from her. Look at those people, they’ve talked their lips off, but have they gotten a single word of response from her?”

Hearing these words, Chen Xu’s gaze could not leave Xie Yuqing. He had an unusual admiration for such a legendary talented woman. So, he made a decision in his heart, deciding to take a gamble.

Just after Xie Yuqing and the aristocratic children disembarked from the painting boat, Chen Xu boldly rushed towards Xie Yuqing, who was surrounded by the crowd. He stopped in front of everyone and shouted to that unattainable figure, “The Nine-Rank System is nothing but a decadent and declining system. Are the talents selected by it truly useful to the country? In the past, Wang Yan’s pure conversation misled the country, and He Ping Shu even created the Five Minerals Powder that poisoned the world, causing many famous scholars to die suddenly from illness due to improper use.”

“Not to mention, Wang Ningzhi of the Langya Wang Clan, as the governor of Kuaiji, foolishly believed in the Way of the Celestial Masters. During the rebellion of Sun En, the leader of the Way of the Celestial Masters, he did not lead the army to resist but instead practiced star-stepping and divination at home, worshiping gods and inviting spirits, resulting in the city being captured and his beheading. And Xie Daoyun, the talented woman who married him, ended up with her entire family being slaughtered and her descendants all perished in her later years…”

“Stop——”

A personal guard crossed the crowd, strode to him, and held a sword to his neck.

“It’s alright, Ling Ye, let him go, let him speak!”

Ling Ye knew that Xie Daoyun was Xie Yuqing’s ancestor and had always been a role model for the Xie family’s descendants. Now that this humble family child brought her up, wasn’t it disrespectful to the Xie family’s ancestor!

Seeing that Xie Yuqing was indeed interested in his words, Chen Xu bowed to her and said, “Chen merely feels that the Nine-Rank System cannot truly select talents for governing the world. If this continues, dynasties will change, and wars will still be unstoppable. If we want the dynasty to last, reforms must be implemented. This is Chen’s humble opinion!”

“Farewell!”

Having said half of what he wanted to say and just piqued Xie Yuqing’s interest, Chen Xu flicked his sleeves and left. Some aristocratic children indignantly wanted to order someone to chase after him, but Xie Yuqing stopped them.

“It’s just a humble family child trying to attract everyone’s attention. There’s no need to argue with him. Just let it go, young masters.”

With Xie Yuqing’s words, those aristocratic children had to pretend to be magnanimous on the surface and no longer make things difficult for Chen Xu.

Chen Xu knew that he had successfully caught the attention of this most talented woman in Southern Liang.

Sure enough, not long after, someone from the Xie family found him and said that Xie Yuqing had invited him to a pavilion to drink and talk.

He got his wish and stood before this noble lady of the Xie family. He also seized this opportunity to display his talents and ambitions in front of her.

Later, when Crown Prince Xiao Tong held a pure conversation gathering in the Eastern Palace, he received an invitation obtained for him by Xie Yuqing and also displayed his poetic talent in front of the scholars in the Eastern Palace.

His reputation spread from then on, and he had the opportunity to be ranked and enter officialdom.

At first, he only served as a county magistrate, but during his tenure, he achieved remarkable political achievements and was deeply loved by the people. He also received affirmation and praise from Xie Yuqing.

“Many of today’s aristocratic children, although they hold official positions in the court, do not actually work. They travel around, claiming to be aloof from worldly affairs, calling it the elegant demeanor of a distinguished scholar!

Although my Xie family is also aristocratic, I know that if this continues, the aristocracy will be nothing more than a beautiful shell guarding withered bones. Eventually, there will be a time of decline, and the country will not prosper for long. But if I am the only one who thinks this way, nothing can be changed.”

“Fortunately, Chen Langjun is a man of action and shares the same ideals as me. If Chen Langjun is willing, I can recommend you to the Crown Prince again to serve as an official in the court. Are you willing?”

Feeling Xie Yuqing’s recognition and appreciation, Chen Xu was ecstatic, but he was able to control his emotions. After a long pause, he finally summoned the courage to ask what was on his mind, “Xie Yuqing, if I go to your family and propose marriage to you, would you be willing to marry me?”

Xie Yuqing only froze for a moment and then smiled, “Grandfather has no intention of letting me marry. He intends to find a husband who will join our family. However, you can try.”

He knew that the implication of “try” was that she agreed. As long as the head of the Xie family, her grandfather Xie Jing, could agree to this marriage, he would be able to marry this noble lady of the Xie family.

From then on, he would also be able to break free from the shackles of his humble origins and become a person of high status.

So, he later mustered the courage to propose marriage to Xie Jing, but unexpectedly, he was met with a harsh reprimand from Xie Jing.

Xie Jing even spoke harshly and severely criticized him, saying, “Even if the daughters of my Xie family do not marry, they will never marry into a humble family.”

This was the unwritten rule that the aristocracy and commoners could not intermarry. He originally thought that Xie Yuqing would speak for him in front of her grandfather, but he did not expect to be so humiliated.

From then on, he dared not step into the Xie family’s door again but hated these high-ranking aristocrats even more.

Until one day, Hou Jing led his troops and attacked Southern Liang. The Buddhist Emperor Xiao Yan, in order to appease this surrendered general from Eastern Wei, constantly promoted him and provided him with food and supplies. As a result, Hou Jing’s appetite grew larger and larger. He even made a request to Xiao Yan, wanting to marry the daughters of the prestigious Wang and Xie families, even specifically naming Xie Yuqing, the most talented woman in Southern Liang.

Xiao Yan did not dare to offend the aristocratic families and also knew that the Xie family would never marry their painstakingly cultivated daughter to a Sinicized Jie person who had no merits. So, he tactfully refused him.

This incident made Hou Jing furious!

He knew his chance had come. If he could use Hou Jing’s hand to eliminate these high-ranking aristocrats, then there would no longer be an insurmountable gap between the aristocracy and commoners. He would not face opposition from her family if he wanted to obtain Xie Yuqing. He could even take advantage of the chaos in Southern Liang to achieve something else.

So, he sent people to carefully observe the movements of Hou Jing’s side and even had people deliberately provoke him, leading Hou Jing to eventually lead his troops to attack Jiankang. Along the way, many poor children who, like him, hated the emperor and the aristocracy joined Hou Jing’s army.

Hou Jing’s destructive power was indeed extremely strong. After entering Jiankang, he quickly gained control of the Tai City and led his troops to burn, kill, and loot everywhere. He first ordered the extermination of the entire Wang and Xie families and the capture of Xie Yuqing alive.

He had sent a message to Xie Yuqing in advance, telling her to flee Wu Yi Alley immediately.

Everything went according to his plan. Xie Yuqing did indeed escape. Except for a few children, the rest of the Xie family died in the rebellion.

But he was captured by Hou Jing!

However, Hou Jing did not kill him because he also expressed the same hatred and indignation towards the aristocracy as Hou Jing, and he made Hou Jing believe him.

✿✿✿

People with common enemies quickly become allies.

The first task Hou Jing gave him was to capture Xie Yuqing!

Of course he went, trying to use carrier pigeons to track Xie Yuqing’s whereabouts. Finally, in the land of Guangling, he found her surrounded by enemy troops. Seeing her desperately fighting with a group of enemy soldiers, he was somewhat shocked. He had never seen such a resolute and determined side of her.

It was also at the moment he saw her that he realized the rest of the Xie family had already escaped. Currently, he could only take her back to claim credit and eliminate Hou Jing’s suspicions.

Although he was now also a spy, a spy who wanted to help his uncle achieve his ambition.

At that time, he struggled and hesitated for a long time. It was not that he had not thought about taking her alive to Hou Jing. But at that time, she would know that he had betrayed her family. He did not want to leave a despicable and hypocritical impression in her heart.

Moreover, he could not bear to send his beloved to the enemy and watch her be humiliated.

So, he came up with a bold idea. He had heard that there was a kind of coffin in the Qi state that could preserve a dead person’s body from decay forever. If a sorcerer was invited to summon the soul, it could bring the person back to life.

If that was the case, he could make her no longer Xie Yuqing, the noble lady of the Xie family, but come to him with a different identity.

Then, there would be no distinction between high and low birth between them, and he would be able to fully possess her.

After this thought arose, he stabbed her with that knife. Although he also felt pain, he believed that this pain would not last long, and there would be a time when they would meet again.

Moreover, the purple jade ring on her body, which was said to be able to give people all kinds of power, was also a great temptation to him.

After killing her, he brought her to Hou Jing and told him that this woman had committed suicide because she did not want to be humiliated.

Hou Jing believed him and promised him that he would keep the body as a memento.

After that, he placed her in an extremely cold ice cave and then, together with Princess Liyang, who had become Hou Jing’s plaything, set up an ambush, luring Hou Jing into a trap and then letting his uncle lead troops into the city to kill this Sinicized Jie person who had caused chaos in Liang.

After Hou Jing’s death, he took Princess Liyang to the Qi state and exchanged her for that coffin with Prince of Bohai Gao Cheng.

And the past between Princess Liyang and Prince of Bohai was a secret he had inadvertently learned from this princess of a fallen state.

He had also worried about whether this princess of a fallen state held more weight in Gao Cheng’s heart than a coffin. The result naturally fulfilled his wish. Gao Cheng did not hesitate to exchange this priceless coffin and did not pursue him afterwards.

After bringing the coffin back to Jiankang, he placed her inside. But at that time, her body was completely frozen, and it was even difficult to see her original appearance.

He was a little scared. Could he really bring her back to life?

Later, the Western Wei army captured Jiangling, and he was taken to Chang’an as a hostage. He stayed there for more than ten years until his elder brother Chen Qian ascended the throne and he returned to Jiankang.

But he never gave up looking for her. Even if her body could not wake up, would there be a next life?

As long as he found those who resembled her, there would always be one who was her, right?

So, any woman who slightly resembled her, whether in appearance or temperament, was taken into his harem.

But he knew that none of these women were her. It was just that he himself was unwilling to admit it, unwilling to accept this fact!

Until he saw that painting and then met a young girl at the Eastern Palace banquet who did not look like her at all but had a similar temperament, he vaguely felt that she must have returned!

Later, the Xie Zhen he saw at the Pure Conversation Gathering on Mount Fahua gave him an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

But he clearly saw disdain and coldness towards him in Xie Zhen’s eyes.

So, he was a little scared again, afraid of recognizing her, afraid of losing her again…

Later, when he learned that Xiao Jinyu was Xie Zhen, he became even more certain that this stunningly beautiful young girl was her reincarnation.

Greed arose in him again. He wanted to possess her and even sent Fan Yi to chase after her.

But in the end, he was still disappointed. He personally betrothed her to Prince of Lanling Gao Changgong, and after that, they were separated by a river, never to meet again!

As the emperor, his words were golden and could not be broken!

But he spent every day in regret, not knowing whether he regretted killing her or regretted sending her away himself!

Five years later, in order to suppress the aristocracy once again, he wanted to kill Xiao Xian in the Tai City to eliminate those forces that supported Xiao Xian.

Unexpectedly, an envoy from the Qi state arrived and rushed into the execution ground regardless of everything, rescuing Xiao Xian from the Tai City and hurling insults at him in front of the Duan Gate!

That was the last time he saw “her.” Although it was only a side view or a back view, it struck him deep in his soul like a thunderbolt, making him feel unbearable pain once again.

After that, the rumors of “hypocrite” seemed to be constantly echoing in his ears. Coupled with the onset of his headaches, he was even more tormented.

Empress Liu Jingyan still served him medicine by his bedside, but she was no longer as gentle as before.

She even dared to boldly criticize him by his bedside, “Your Majesty, we cannot be people who do not keep their word. If you really kill Xiao Xian, will the hearts of the people still be with you, Your Majesty?”

“Your Majesty is so unpopular and insists on taking action against the aristocracy again. In this way, our Chen state has lost Xiao Xian and will surely face its downfall one day!”

Liu Jingyan took advantage of his illness to allow Xiao Xian and the envoy from the Qi state to leave. But after that, his illness became more and more serious. Sometimes he even had auditory hallucinations, hearing the ridicule and insults of the world, hearing her mocking laughter.

One day, he could no longer bear it and came to the coffin hidden in the underground secret chamber, wanting to see her again!

And once again summoned several sorcerers to perform a soul-summoning ritual for her.

Several times, he felt the wind whistling in his ears, as if she had come, but when he looked around, there was no one in sight.

Finally, he asked the sorcerers to open the coffin, saying that he wanted to see her face again. But after the coffin was opened, he found that there was nothing inside, or rather, she had already turned to dust.

“So, Gao Cheng lied to me. This coffin cannot bring the dead back to life at all. He lied to me, he actually lied to me, hahaha…”

“Your Majesty, this young lady’s heart is not here. No matter how you summon her soul, she will not come back!”

“Therefore, Your Majesty, it is not that we are incompetent, but that her heart has already gone!”

The sorcerers were afraid that the emperor would fly into a rage and have their entire families executed, so they all found excuses to explain. After they finished explaining, they discovered that the emperor’s black hair had suddenly turned white, and blood was gushing from his mouth. He was lying motionless on the coffin.

Several sorcerers panicked and ran to Empress Liu Jingyan to report, explaining the whole story. Liu Jingyan did not punish them but only ordered people to carry him, who was on the verge of death, back to his bedchamber and began to prepare for the Crown Prince’s ascension to the throne.

On the day the Crown Prince ascended the throne, Chen Xu finally breathed his last. He seemed to see Xie Yuqing walking towards him, and he happily took her hand and walked towards a place he did not know…

This is the true end of the book. Thank you very much for your support, dear readers, Yanzhihu1, Zizhuha, Huohuohuoyi, Xiaomeng0304, Losing Weight in Dreams, and so on. Thank you for accompanying me all the way to the end!