sbdcsierra Chapter 116 The First Beauty Who Became a Substitute Bride (The End)
Chapter 116 The First Beauty Who Became a Substitute Bride (The End)
After watching for a while, Ms. Wu looked away and turned to leave.
As she turned around, her gorgeous clothes fluttered in the wind, making a soft rustling sound, as if bidding farewell to the past.
She walked away with elegant steps, each step seemingly landing on the hearts of Shen Han and the other two, making them increasingly aware of the stark contrast between their current situation and their former arrogance.
When Shen Han and his two companions arrived in the county town, everything there was difficult for them to adapt to.
The simple environment, coarse food, and climate in the county town, which were completely different from those in Chang'an, made their symptoms of acclimatization increasingly severe.
Shen Han was initially trying to hold on, hoping to adapt as quickly as possible and then find an opportunity to make a name for himself, but his body was getting weaker and weaker.
Madam Xu was already frail, and upon arriving here, she became even more sickly. The county town lacked medical care and medicine, and much of the money they brought had been spent on travel expenses and bribing officials, making it difficult to find a good doctor.
Ms. Xu's condition continued to deteriorate. She lay on her simple bed, her eyes filled with despair.
She missed the exquisite residence, the comfortable bed, and the delicious food in Chang'an.
Here, she could only drink bitter medicinal soup and eat coarse grains that were hard to swallow. In the end, Xu could not overcome this difficulty and died of illness in the winter of the following year.
Her departure plunged Shen Han and Shen Huanyu into even deeper pain and confusion.
Having lost her mother and her former wealth and status, Shen Huanyu felt as if she had lost her soul.
She was no longer the spoiled and willful young lady, but a woman struggling with poverty and hardship.
Under Shen Han's arrangement, she married the son of the county magistrate, who was a vulgar man with little education and no understanding of gentleness and consideration.
Shen Huanyu has to take care of all sorts of household chores every day. Her hands have become rough, and her skin has lost its former luster due to wind and sun exposure and overwork.
Her once delicate face has now turned sallow, making her a veritable "yellow-faced woman."
She often gazed into the distance, reminiscing about the wonderful times she had spent in Chang'an, her heart filled with bitterness.
Seeing the changes in his daughter, Shen Han felt guilty and reluctant, but he was powerless to do anything. He could only continue to live a miserable life in this impoverished place, filled with regret for the past and confusion about the future.
In the end, neither the father nor the daughter survived for more than a few years before passing away one after the other.
...
A thousand years later, in a history and culture class, sunlight streamed through the classroom windows, illuminating the students' focused faces. The teacher stood on the podium, pointing to two exquisite portraits hanging on the blackboard.
The voice was impassioned as he announced, "Students, today we are going to learn about the famous emperor and empress of history—Emperor Huaicheng and Empress Jialing."
The students all looked up, their eyes fixed on the two portraits. Emperor Huaicheng was handsome and imposing, his brows revealing determination and wisdom; while Empress Jialing was beautiful and dignified, her eyes filled with gentleness and intelligence.
The teacher continued, "These two emperors and empresses lived together for a lifetime, jointly establishing the most prosperous dynasty in the Great Xia Dynasty. During their reigns, the government was efficient, the economy was prosperous, and the culture flourished, attracting envoys from all over the world. Their rule was praised by later generations as the 'Golden Age of Rule'."
The students listened with great interest, their eyes sparkling with longing for this glorious history.
The teacher continued, "Empress Jialing, in particular, pioneered the idea that women could also participate in politics, which greatly improved the social status of women."
He proposed that women could also attend school and become officials, and established girls' schools to encourage women to pursue knowledge and self-realization.
This move changed the traditional societal perception of women at the time, laying the foundation for women to gain more rights and opportunities in the future.
The historically renowned first female prime minister, An Nuannuan, was originally a palace maid of Empress Jialing. After Empress Jialing discovered An Nuannuan's talent, she helped An Nuannuan rise step by step to the position of prime minister.
The teacher continued, speaking at length: "Empress Jialing's remarkable achievements didn't stop there..."
The students below continued to discuss, "I heard that Empress Jialing was the most beautiful woman in the land. Legend has it that Emperor Huaicheng fell in love with her at first sight, dismissed his harem for her sake, and had only her as his woman until his death."
A girl said with a look of longing, "This is just a love story from a fairy tale. Emperor Huaicheng must have been deeply in love with Empress Jialing."
Another student added enthusiastically, "Not only that, I heard that after King Xie Siyuan of Chu died, his secret chamber was found to be filled with portraits of Empress Jialing, and that King Xie Siyuan never married."
When Emperor Huaicheng learned of this, he immediately had Xie Siyuan's body burned to ashes and scattered into the sea. The fact that uncle and nephew both fell in love with the same woman speaks volumes about Empress Jialing's beauty.
"It's a pity that the two of them never had children, so they could only choose a child from the royal family to raise from a young age," a bespectacled student said with some regret.
"Perhaps this is fate's arrangement," a quiet girl said softly. "Although they have no biological children, they have dedicated their lives to the country, and their achievements are enough to make them famous in history."
Moreover, their adopted child later became Emperor Jia Sui, a renowned wise ruler in history, who can be considered to have inherited their mantle and continued the prosperity of the Great Xia Dynasty.
The other students nodded in agreement.
The teacher listened to the students' discussion from the podium, smiled slightly, and then said, "The students' discussion is very lively, and they have a lot of their own thoughts, but what we should learn more about is the spirit of Queen Jialing."
The students quieted down after hearing their teacher's words, their eyes filled with respect for the emperors and empresses of the past, and at the same time, they were filled with a greater desire to explore this rich history.
...
After Shen Chumo returned to the space station, Tuanzi excitedly exclaimed, "Momo, we got a total of 2,000 points for completing this world mission! And this time the merit points are a whopping 100,000!! Momo, you're amazing!!"
Upon hearing this result, Shen Chumo's face lit up with a smile.
"Not bad, it's worth all the hard work I've put into this world."
Being in power isn't easy either. She and Xie Yanhuai dedicated their lives to improving people's lives, frequently visiting communities to understand their conditions. Along the way, they encountered various accidents, both big and small, and even faced life-threatening situations twice.
Fortunately, everything turned out well in the end.
Tuanzi jumped around excitedly, "MoMo, deducting 1,000 points for the antidote pill and 500 points for the tranquilizer gun..."
You now have a total of 2,000 points and 109,250 merit points. These points and merit points can be used to redeem many great items in the system shop!
Shen Chumo nodded slightly, "In that case, let's just upgrade you to L6 level directly."
Upon hearing this, Tuanzi was stunned for a moment, and then tears of emotion welled up in her eyes.
Tuanzi sniffed. "Mo Mo, you're so kind. I'll definitely work harder to help you in the future and I won't let you down."
Shen Chumo opened the system interface, found the option to upgrade Tuanzi's level, and confirmed the use of points to upgrade without hesitation.
With a soft flash of light, rings of data light emanated from Tuanzi's body, a sign of an upgrade.
Before upgrading, Tuanzi, as usual, first teleported Shen Chumo to the next world.