Lin Ming was a college student, majoring in history, and was struggling with his thesis paper. For some foolish reason, he chose to write about Emperor Mingde. The research on this period was the most, and there were countless papers written on it, both at home and abroad. Countless experts and scholars published papers on it, so he really could not write anything new and novel about it.
You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )
Returning to the dormitory from the library, his dorm buddies looked at his sad and bitter face, and laughed at him with no sympathy: “Aren’t you also surnamed Lin? That’s also considered a story of your ancestors, yet you still can’t write it?”
Lin Ming waved his hand: “You guys, have some sympathy, I must have taken the wrong medicine when I decided to write a history thesis on Emperor Mingde.”
A buddy took pity on him and said, “How about you start from a different angle. Isn’t it rumored that Emperor Mingde’s lover was Chen Baisong? Why don’t you write about this?”
Lin Ming: “It’s not like no one had written that. If you search the Internet, don’t even mention thesis papers. There are already thousands of books published on the subject.”
The buddy said sympathetically: “You might as well write about Emperor Mingping then, who at least was the second female emperor in the whole of Chinese history.”
Lin Ming rolled his eyes: “Do you think she is easy to write?”
Buddy: “Well, her time reigning was short at least, and you won’t be scolded by the instructor if you can’t write something new.”
When Emperor Mingping ascended the throne, she was already in her forties and lived only to the age of sixty-two. Her eldest daughter succeeded her.
The buddy suddenly said: “I also wrote a thesis on Emperor Mingping before. Think about it, starting from her, the Ming Dynasty had produced three female emperors. If she hadn’t only had one granddaughter, and that granddaughter was also mentally retarded, the emperor would not have become a man again.”
“It sounds like you are quite regretful?” Asked the roommate who was reading in an upper bunk.
Buddy: “That’s right, when the three female emperors were in power, they were scolded a lot. When the male emperor appeared, no one scolded them anymore. After all, the three generations were all focused on developing national power. When Emperor Mingyong was in power, the industry developed very fast, and there were even already trains.”
“But as soon as the male emperor came to power, he launched a war on foreign lands. At that time, which country in Europe was not our colony?”
“We managed to conquer those lands, but we couldn’t control it. If it weren’t for that war, social development would only be faster.”
“At least fifty years of regression.”
“If it hadn’t been for Emperor Mingshao turning the tide, the Ming Dynasty would have been over by then.”
“And wouldn’t have lasted until it successfully transformed into a constitutional monarchy.”
Lin Ming nodded: “Speaking of which, I went to watch the ceremony when this female emperor ascended to the throne. I was the student representative of our province.”
“F**k!”
“F**k!”
“Lin Ming, you lucky bastard!”
Lin Ming said proudly: “You don’t know how many competitors I have defeated.”
At that time, it was truly like thousands of troops were crossing a single-plank bridge.
“No, you’ve all gone off topic, I’m going to write about Emperor Mingde!” Lin Ming collapsed.
Roommate: “Why don’t you write that he was a transmigrator, there has always been such a suspicion on the Internet.”
“Opening up the market economy, the state going under macro-control, improving the status of women, creating more jobs, laying a solid foundation for national unity, vigorously developing water conservancy and weapons construction. To be precise, he had laid down the foundation for a modern society.”
When the roommate mentioned this he began to go on endlessly: “His life was also quite magnificent. According to historical records, he was the son of a landowner in the northern region at the beginning, and he did business in the south. He was particularly prescient and built a farmstead with a city wall, and there was even a watchtower, and he also trained his own troops. All his future generals had followed him before he made his fortune.”
The roommate was a real history buff. Lin Ming had only majored in history because of his family’s expectations. His whole family studied history. He had lived in such an environment since he was a child and had no choice at all.
But the roommate was not the same. He liked it, studied it carefully, and had read a lot of official history texts. He was a person who really relied on interest to support his studies.
Just when the roommate wanted to continue, the big brother of the dormitory said, “Have you watched the new TV series recently? They used the Mingde Emperor Lin Yuan as the protagonist to promote it. The drama will recreate that period of struggle for hegemony in a chaotic world, and show how the Mingde Emperor developed a turbulent society and made the Great Ming the number one power in the world at that time.”
Lin Ming: “I saw the trailer, and the actor looks a lot like the portrait of Emperor Mingde.”
The portrait of Emperor Mingde was still preserved in the Imperial Museum. The painting was done in very real likeness as there were already sketches made back then.
“The eyes look alike.” The big brother said, “I just checked the Internet, there are too many romantic scenes…..”
“Right, right, Lin Yuan is practically like a stallion in it. Seeing one and loving one, loving one and sleeping with one, both men and women. That private life is just terribly chaotic. Anyway, I don’t believe it. I have discussed it with my instructor, we both agree that since he ascended the throne, Emperor Mingde had never been close to those so-called lovers in rumors, only Chen Baisong was by his side.”
“They say he’s bisexual, but I think he’s gay.”
“But I think Hong Xiu and Chu Lin should have been his lovers in the early days, right?”
“The history books say that Chu Lin’s face was as beautiful as a woman’s, and that his beauty was not that of mortals. I just don’t believe that Emperor Mingde, a homosexual, could have resisted. I wouldn’t have resisted if it was me. As long as they look good, both male and female are fine with me.”
Lin Ming: “I don’t think so. My dad also said it shouldn’t be. Anyway, the only lover that is clearly identified now is Chen Baisong. All the rest are just rumors.”
Roommate: “Anyway, I think Emperor Mingde must have been a libertine when he was young. Now that is charm.”
“The audience also likes to see Emperor Mingde conquering all kinds of men and women.” The big brother said, “Those losers are just so appreciative of this kind of ability.”
“The directors also like to film in that direction.”
“The audience loves watching this now.”
“Wasn’t there a time-travel drama before? The heroine transmigrated into Hong Xiu, conquered the empire with Emperor Mingde, and then started to scheme and fight in the harem. After scheming the deaths of a bunch of men and women, she ruled the world with Emperor Mingde…..” Big brother, “I was honestly nauseated, why couldn’t they just make a good heroine centered TV series. Why did they have to put the setting in the early Ming Dynasty, and even transmigrated into Hong Xiu, who was a die-hard female fan of Emperor Mingde, and even requested to be cremated when she died so that her ashes could be scattered beside His Majesty’s mausoleum.”
“Now this is f**king loyalty!” The big brother looked excited, “My goddess!”
Lin Ming: “Anyway, every TV series about Emperor Mingde is always promoted under the banner of recreating history, but I suspect that the screenwriter had not even read the biographies regarding Emperor Mingde.”
“Yes, yes, there was a very classic one ten years ago, called “Emperor of the Great Ming”? Called itself a historical drama, and a lot of people even believed it. But Lin Yuan was a cold-hearted war-mongering madman in it, still wanting to fight even after unifying the empire, but was persuaded by Song Shizhao, and it was filmed as if Song Shizhao was Lin Yuan’s true love.”
“Those who did a little homework will know that Song Shizhao was more than forty years older than Lin Yuan. When the two met for the first time, Lin Yuan was in his teens and Song Shizhao was in his fifties, so how could they have anything between them? If that was the case then this world is really too psychedelic.”
“Be content, Song Shizhao is still a pretty mild choice, even Princess Chang’an was not spared by them. That group of losers thought that Princess Chang’an’s children could only inherit the throne because Lin Yuan did it with his own sister. Therefore, they found a princess’s consort to use as guise, and the successor to the throne was actually Lin Yuan’s child. I was seriously amazed when I saw this theory, and the poster of this forum has been looking for solid evidence this whole time.”
“For example, Princess Chang’an was brought into the palace less than three years after giving birth to her children, and she lived in the palace closest to the emperor’s living quarters, and the two children were brought up by Lin Yuan himself. When Emperor Mingping was old, she once said that she saw the late emperor as her father.”
Lin Ming: “…..Suddenly, I feel like that makes sense…..”
Roommate: “Don’t look at this kind of nonsense, that group of people on the Internet can come up with anything, and the evidence they put forth are not credible. According to their theoretical logic, Lin De and Lin Xuan may have been born by Lin Yuan himself and that Lin Yuan was intersex.”
Everyone in the dorm room laughed out loud.
Lin Ming took a sip of water: “Then I shall start from the transmigration perspective?”
Big brother: “Yes, write it well, maybe you can even rewrite it into a novel or a TV series.”
Lin Ming: “It makes sense. I’ll think about it carefully. If it is written like this, it will be very awesome when it is turned into a novel!”
The big brother patted Lin Ming on the shoulder and said with a look of pity, “Fight on.”
There were so many materials to check, this child would probably be crippled after writing the thesis.
Before going to bed, Lin Ming also asked: “If you could time travel to that time, who do you want to be?”
The several people said in unison: “Er Liang!”
“When I read the history books, I felt that Er Liang is really a winner in life. Although there is not much written about him, there are still many experts who study him.”
“Yes, he was Lin Yuan’s servant. He went to the south with Lin Yuan. He didn’t need to fight wars or manage governmental affairs. And he said it himself, Lin Yuan never scolded or yelled at him. When they were in dire straits just after arriving in the south, he even shared a quilt with Lin Yuan. In the end, he became the general director in charge of palace affairs, and he didn’t have to be castrated in order to be in that position. As the first general director in charge of palace affairs with a dick, his life is practically a cheat sheet.”
“If you think about it, changing the setting to the modern times, it is equivalent to being a secretary. You only need to bring tea and water to the boss, and the boss is very easy to get along with. In the end, the boss became the leader of the world’s largest company, and the secretary became the head of the logistics department of the head office. And he barely even expended much effort, was completely safe, dying a peaceful death and even having twelve children…..”
“A winner in life…..”
“I want to be Er Liang when I transmigrate over and cling to Big Boss Lin’s golden thigh!”
“Yes, otherwise I feel like I might starve to death during the famine and period of upheaval.”
Lin Ming pursed his lips: “You really have no ambition.”
Roommates: “Then what are your ambitions?”
Lin Ming: “I want to transmigrate as Chu Lin, he has good looks, a good figure, and is very popular. He also hugged thigh early and became a winner in life, and if I looked like him, I would be able to climb onto the bed of Emperor Mingde, and maybe even become history’s first male empress.”
Everyone: “…..such ambition…..”
Lin Ming sighed and said, “Having said so much, which point should I start my thesis on?”
Roommates: “Sleep.”
“Good night.”
“Fight on.”
“We bless you.”
Lin Ming cursed: “Are you all beasts?!”
You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )
Roommate: “We also have papers to write. You’re the one who chose a ten-star difficulty topic to write, so we can only express sympathy.”
“Lin Ming, we are optimistic about you!”
Lin Ming: “…..”
Emperor Mingde, please bless me so that my thesis paper will pass.
TN: well, we’ve finally reached the end, I’m gonna miss this amazing story ( ಥᐞಥ ) but what a journey! You guys have been amazing and I’m glad I could share this with you all. Long live kingdom building and farming stories!!!🎆🎉🥂✨
If you would like to show some ♡ then please consider supporting this translator! ლ(⌒εー)ლ
The BL Muse 
Thank you so much for your hard work and perseverance in this project! 💕💕💕💕💕
I’m really really really happy that I found this story and could follow your translations as it grew! 💕💕💕💕💕💕
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Thank you so much for translating this wonderful story!!
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Thank you so much for sharing this translation with us. I really enjoyed reading this. It’s lonely at the top but I am so glad that Lin Yuan had Chen Baisong with him. To lie in a coffin together….. Lin Yuan’s language of love.
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Really enjoyed this novel and I’m not even into BL. If only it was longer! It would have been cool to see chapters examining how all the new technology started changing society. Thanks for the amazing translation.
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I can’t believe it has ended. This is one of those novels which after reading it, you’d still want more. Such a very good read that I just want to jump rope with my tears. I’ll miss this one so much for sure. I really feel like rereading right now QAQ. I love everything about it—the plot, the characters, the world building, etc.
Thank you very much for translating this novel! If it weren’t for you, I’d be in the corner crying with my head cracked open while reading it in MTL. You’re really amazing and did a very good job in translating this. I wish you all the best!
I’ll miss Lin Yuan so so so much (｡ﾉω＼｡)
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“Jumproping with tears” 🤣
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Damn, I can’t believe it’s over! I wish they’d reincarnate into the modern world haha. Anyway, thank you so much translator!
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Thankyou very much for translating this huhuhu we will miss this novel I’m very happy to discover thiz and to read it end too even though i want more xtra
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Thank you for sharing this story. Honestly, I could read more about what happened to the people who followed Lin Yuan. I think Chu Lin and Hala Zhang got together. And Chen and Lin Yuan got reincarnated.
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So not only us are fans of Song Shizhao and Lin Yuan~ ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) And little Er Liang has twelve children?!
And now, seriously – it was a great, even epic journey! o(≧∇≦o) It was incredibly satisfying to see our great empire grow. The story was extremely engaging, full of emotions and stories of multiple people (❁´ω`❁) I don’t know what else to say… I will be sad that this novel came to end, but I am very pleased with the whole story~ Big thank You for Your marvelous work and that You showed us such a excellent novel! ❤⃛ヾ(๑❛ ▿ ◠๑ ) Take care and see You with another project! Long live kingdom building and farming stories! ✧⁺⸜(●′▾‵●)⸝⁺✧
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So awesome, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate this novel.
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Ah… it’s done. That was so satisfying! Thank you so much for translating this and sharing it with us~ (´,,•ω•,,)♡
I kinda wanna go on a kingdom-building binge now… (๑ↀᆺↀ๑)✧
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Such a good story! I’m not ready to let go of this novel, I’m going to run off and check the author’s other works.
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This was an amazing translation!
Thank you for choosing this book and letting me accompany Lin Yuan on his journey ~
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Thank you for your hard work. <3333 I can't believe this novel is over!!!! *cries* Maybe I should reread it?
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Thank you so much for your hard work!! This was such a great read, I think this is the best transmigration into ancient China that I’ve read because I enjoyed the kingdom building aspect immensely. And now I’m off to reread the whole thing from top to bottom ❤
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Thank you so much for translating this novel!
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I’m happy to see the modern world and their take during those times. And the subsequent events/eras. I’m sad that Chu Lin didn’t seem to end up with Hala Zhang. I shipped them so hard and they were just forgotten. I laughed on their discussion that Er Liang does seem the most with power as a mob chara! 😂 AND THE FRONT LINER TO MC AND ML’S LOVE AND A PART OF THE TRIO FROM THE START HAHAHHAHA a perfect character to transmigrate into or choose indeed.
This was a nice and detailed kingdom building journey. Thank you for your hard work! It was an enjoyable read~ Othet transmigration-into-the-past won’t be the same 😩 this one really looked realistic sometimes. The bar has risen.
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I’ve got tl plans for more kingdom building/farming/business ancient novels of the same level 😽
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Thank you for allowing us to take this journey with you. It has been a crazy journey but joyful. See you around NYXBIRD
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Thank for translation.
I like kingdom building and also BL.
So, I always looking story that combine this two genres and now I found it.
I love this story very much!!!!
I’m gonna miss this story.
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Dear translator, thank you for the hard work! This was an excellent translation, a perfect match for a great novel!
“Lin Yuan is practically like a stallion in it. Seeing one and loving one, loving one and sleeping with one, both men and women. That private life is just terribly chaotic.” 🙊🙊🙊 Poor middle aged virgin LY, he even got labelled a stallion! That’s what you get for being too virtuous and not kidnapping the capital’s male & female beauties…
On that note, I’m not sure why several reviews complain about this not being a BL. The author was very clear and the relationship between LY and CBS, there’s nothing vague about them. It’s just that romance was not the main point of the plot, but to be fair, even LY himself got limited time after becoming the Emperor.
I think the strongest advantage of this story is that the author really showed how the average poor people of the time lived and how LY became a very successful and lauded Emperor by trying to uplift them. After all, there’s no country without its people and being an Emperor is meaningless if you have nobody to rule over.
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Thanks translator for your awesome work! I never read farming to building an empire genre before this was really refreshing to read. I do feel the Romance came abit late than expected. Lin Yuan must be feeling very lonely when he reached the top and just roll with the it. If only Mister Song were much younger xD. It was really eye opener to travel to the Yuan Dynasty and see the suffering of all these poor people, how much they suffer from hunger and how much they have to sacrifice to even live during those times. I love all the characters that was came in Lin Yuan’s path and can’t believe no one really died except for that poor guy from the earlier Bandit base. I love this novel! , but I don’t think I go back and read it over again, it feel depressing to read the suffering of the people.
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Eyyy!! That was amazing and thank you for translating
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Thank you so much for translating. I love it too, I love it so much the I have a collection of cool, funny and sad moments of this novel lol
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I can’t express how much I loved this all this journey, I started reading release that witch and after that I read so many kingdom building, and this is by far the BEST I ever read, not a single one comes even closer to this one, I will never be able to read another kingdom building story again without comparing to this one, from chapter 1 to the end It was perfect.
Thank you so much for the translation, sending lots of love to you ❤️❤️❤️
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Reading this novel was an extraordinary journey!! Thank you so much dear translator for your amazing work on this wonderful novel! ♥♥♥
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I wanna ask since I don’t remember reading it. Did Chen Baisong get buried together with Lin Yuan?
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Yup💕
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This was an amazing work. Thanks for translating!
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Thank you for translating and sharing the story with us. It was a fun ride.
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I will miss this novel so so much!!! I really wish there’s more LY and CBS scenes, i wonder what would they have been if they’re reincarnated in modern era (well i’m pretty sure they’re still together even after being reincarnated many times) AHHHH I’M CRYING, I’LL GONNA MISS THEM 😭😭
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My gawd it was a journey…nd author didn’t try to really sugarcoat much….it wasn’t that out of logic… everything has its meaning nd logic nd direction nd planned….nd it was a really rollercoaster ride❤️❤️❤️ didn’t try to give it much of a forced romance without any sense. Everything was at the right time nd the right place…..loved it ❤️❤️🤧❤️❤️
Thanks for the translation nd putting so much hardwork ❤️❤️❤️
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I remember reading this story when you had only translated the first 5. I’m always so sad when I reach the end. I have such fond feelings about this story because of just how well written it is, not only are all the characters love able and realistic the setting and world building of the story is the best I’ve read until now!! The progression of the story is just perfect, always managing to keep my interest. I really hoped it would never end. Although I have already read and reread so many times I can’t help but want to reread some more!!! Thank you for all the hard work translating!!!! ❤
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This comment. J’adore.
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I just finished rereading this for probably the hundredth time. The feels are still there which goes to show how well-written and how good of a translation it is. Thanks so much again for translating this story! I will probably return again to reread this in a couple of months haha
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💘💘💘
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cant believe it’s the end already i will miss this.
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Thankyou for your hard work. You did a really fantastic job in your translations.
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Man what a journey!
I can’t believe it’s over. This has been my go-to whenever I’m having downtimes between classes.
Goddamn, I will miss it. I wish there was more CBS x LY fluffy scenes. I do love the side stories though. I wish they could have expanded more.
Anyways thank you translator and team for these 11/10 quality food. I am quite late to the party bc of waiting for more chapters but this was such a fun journey. I cried, laughed, and was just all along enjoying the ride with others.
THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
☺☺☺💞💞💞💞💞
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Thank you so much for translating. I really enjoyed reading
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Such an amazing novel! I’m going to miss their story (T_T)
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Thank you for an amazing translation. I thought it would be a long story when I first started but I found myself so engrossed it’s just flown by. I am sad to say farewell to the amazing world that Lin Yuan has built.
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Translator nim, i loved your translation and this story very much :))
The journey was so long and so fulfilling, Lin Yuan’s step by step life and progress, watching his ambition grow, learning and improving and all the short chapters about the common people….so amazing.
When i read LY being crowned Emperor, when he entered Dadu…i was trembling from emotions, i felt so proud :’)
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❤️❤️❤️❤️
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Such a wonderful story.
Thank you for taking us along for the ride
I was never into the history genre but this was amazing. It kept me engaged.
A jewel of a story!
NGL, I shed some tears for old man song 😭
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Everytime I finished a novel I feel really melancholic this is one of those times😭
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Thank you so much for your translation. I really love this novel, it’s a masterpiece. I got very emotional with these last two extras. Reading about the future made me cry a lot and reminese.
It’s was a beautiful journey from helping two people on the street by buying them as slaves. Giving people work and feeding them. To making women be more appreciated and respected , having more rights and positions. Building an empire and working on it. I’m so happy to have read about this. Even the romance was fulfilling.
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Thank you so much for sharing this translation with us. I really enjoyed reading this. It’s lonely at the top but I am so glad that Lin Yuan had Chen Baisong with him. To lie in a coffin together….. Lin Yuan’s language of love
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Thank you sooo much for this wonderful novel and all the hard work you put into it💚💚💚
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Thank you for all the hard work you put into this amazing translation! I really appreciated your notes as well.
Another baffling but hilarious chapter 😭 All these LY ships. CBS sweetie I’m so sorry; at least you’re the only one confirmed! Everyone else is just rumors! And him and Guo’er???! I won’t lie my mind drifted barely in that direction for a hot second, but at least I have the excuse of recent Targaryen politics brain-rot; what’s theirs?! Like damn can’t a pre-modern man like his sister. But the one drama that made him a warmonger is the most egregious— I KNOW the name of the South Bodhisattva wasn’t erased just like that. Bring back the broadcasting censors; WADDISDIS.
That Hong Xiu tidbit; a legend, an icon. I thought a couple chapters back how cool it would be if they made a series of Hong Xiu as essentially a detective/super spy. Now THAT would be great. Instead we got… that.
The early Lin men…. >_> From the Taishang Huang to the billiard ball for brains who nearly ruined the dynasty, all were useless.
Also Lin Ming you’re just too unlucky; as Chu Lin you’d have gotten yourself offed or pushed out so fast.
I, too, was hoping for a YuanSong reincarnation. It would have been a bit typical though I suppose. Guess I’m just spoiled by other time-travel/transmigration media. I also agree with that NU reviewer; a funeral for one or both of them would have been nice to see. And what some thought of a burial of such… high honour. 🤭 I believe that CBS went first, simply because he’d make sure LY’s final edict came to pass by hook or by crook and I’d like to see Lin Xuan try his bullshit with such a respected elder there. Especially one that semi-raised him!
Pity we never heard back from some characters such as Jiang Guang. He probably took that surnamed Shen guy’s spot in the history books. Or maybe they shared.
Truly an amazing kingdom building novel. The various perspectives were cool— even though I didn’t care for some on occasion. The author really put effort into creating backgrounds for a plethora of characters. Often times I just did not care (mostly the rich people) but I appreciated them! And the displays of morality and lack thereof and the human experience… 🤌🏾 The emotions, whether positive or negative, really hit the mark.
The romance was great! I almost lost out on this amazing story because of those reviewers. It wasn’t the focus, but once it began the author was generous with the sweetness. Hell, they were generous before! Remember the buns. Both buns ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Y’all just can’t appreciate a sober (heh), down-to-earth, semi-clandestine love. The girls that get it, get it!
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