Chapter 120

Chapter 120

[After the Transmigrated Man Broke Off His Engagement to the Princess – 3]

Jiang Yingchen’s face turned gray. He collapsed to the floor and convulsed violently, his heart seemingly gripped by an enormous hand that squeezed it in waves of excruciating pain.

Another mouthful of blood lodged in his throat. He coughed weakly several times, then lay on the floor with hatred and resentment frozen across his face. He died without closing his eyes!

Liu Che wanted to mock the idiot a few more times. Then he saw the man lie motionless on the floor as the light in his eyes gradually faded. Jiang Yingchen had actually died. Liu Che could not help feeling slightly startled.

“He’s far too weak! We hadn’t even displayed Our full strength!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Liu Che felt his body rise with the wind. He spun through the air for what seemed like ages. When he opened his eyes again, he discovered that he had returned to the White Mist Space.

After Zhu Yuanzhang and the others sent Liu Che away, their ears had finally enjoyed some peace. They gathered to watch Ying Zheng handle state affairs. Yet less than a day later, Zhi’er had actually returned!

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned at Emperor Gaozu. Emperor Gaozu frowned at Li Shimin. Li Shimin frowned at Zhu Yuanzhang. The three exchanged glances back and forth, rolled up their sleeves, and advanced.

“What are you doing?!” Liu Che dodged warily to one side and snapped, “That piece of trash is already dead! Are you still trying to drive me away?!”

The three emperors looked astonished. Outside the space, even Ying Zheng paused in the middle of reviewing a memorial. All four asked at once, “Tell us what happened.”

Outnumbered, Liu Che did not dare resist. He snorted and reluctantly explained, “That man originally came from a later age. His surname was Jiang and his given name Yingchen. His grandfather was once a duke and arranged a marriage with the previous Emperor of Qin, agreeing that the Jiang Family’s eldest grandson would one day marry a princess. But his son was incompetent, committed a crime, and lost the family’s noble rank. The Jiang Family declined from then on, leaving only Jiang Yingchen and his younger sister, Jiang Weier, to depend on each other. Jiang Yingchen was frail. Some time ago, he caught wind-cold and failed to survive. When he next opened his eyes, the Jiang Yingchen from the later age had arrived…”

He recounted everything that had happened between him and Jiang Yingchen. The emperors could not suppress their laughter. Li Shimin clicked his tongue. “As expected, trash is merely a resource placed in the wrong location!”

Only Ying Zheng’s expression grew somewhat grave. He immediately summoned an attendant. “We seem to recall that during the late Emperor’s reign, the imperial family made an agreement with the Jiang Family that its eldest grandson would one day marry a princess?”

The agreement had been made many years ago. The attendants froze and did not dare answer rashly. They merely bowed and said, “This subject has served Your Majesty for too short a time and knows little of the matter. This subject will investigate and report back afterward!”

Ying Zheng naturally granted permission.

In a feudal agrarian age, property and land were difficult to separate. So long as the court wished to search, locating a fallen gentry son whose full name was known was as easy as reaching into a bag.

Ying Zheng quickly investigated all eighteen generations of Jiang Yingchen’s ancestors. He then ordered the Imperial Guards to station men outside the residence and watch it. With imperial authority looming overhead, no matter what abilities this visitor from a later age possessed, he would never create much trouble.

…

Jiang Yingchen had died in the modern world and transmigrated to ancient times. Filled with ambition, he planned to achieve greatness. Yet before his career even began-before a single day had passed-his own System mocked him to death.

What kind of pathetic male lead was this?!

If someone turned the story into a novel and posted it on Qidian, the readers would probably tear the first chapter to shreds.

Jiang Yingchen’s eyes flew open. His heart seemed to remember the pain and fury of the moment before his death. He shuddered, only then realizing that he had somehow returned to his modern home!

What was going on?

What had just happened? Had it been a nightmare?

Jiang Yingchen looked himself up and down in panic. Then his gaze fell on his fingers, and his body began trembling beyond his control.

There was a patch of ink on the pad of his index finger!

He had gotten it while writing the soap formula with a brush in the Great Qin world.

So none of it had been a dream. It had truly happened?!

Jiang Yingchen shuddered. When he recalled how he had died, he immediately ground his teeth. He opened his computer in a few quick movements and began hammering searches for the information he wanted.

Soap…

What? People had already made simple soap before the Common Era?!

And what about the damned System’s claim that nobles stuffed spice-soaked dates into their nostrils when they used the privy…

Fuck! That was real too?!

They burned incense made from compounded aromatic powder and agarwood essence in privies built atop high towers, stuffed spice-soaked dates into their noses, then washed their hands with gold basins and crystal bowls when they finished?!

Jiang Yingchen: “????”

Poverty had limited his imagination. Ancient nobles had lived that extravagantly?!

The agony of his final moment still lurked in his heart like a venomous snake waiting to strike. The System’s words-its repeated contempt and humiliation-were knives that had sliced his self-respect to pieces, leaving him in unbearable pain.
“If I get another chance to go back, I definitely won’t repeat my mistakes!”

He hammered out another flurry of searches. Before long, he discovered dejectedly that glass could not be mass-produced in ancient times either. The wealthy had no need for it, while the poor could not afford it. Without modern large-scale industrial production, there was no hope of making a fortune from glass.

The more Jiang Yingchen thought, the more excited he became. After the excitement faded, however, disappointment settled over him. What use was such a perfect plan?

He could not transmigrate back again!

The thought left him deeply frustrated. He rose to fetch a bottle of soda from the kitchen, only to trip over the stool beneath his feet. He stumbled, and by terrible coincidence, his head struck the hard corner of the desk.

Before Jiang Yingchen opened his eyes, he heard Jiang Weier’s familiar sobbing. He wanted to curse, yet could not help feeling grateful that Heaven had given him a second chance to transmigrate.

He would forget soap and glass. He would make cement, salt, and sugar instead, then improve the iron-smelting furnace. He would amass a fortune, become the richest man in Great Qin, break off his engagement, and enjoy a beautiful wife and lovely concubines!

Jiang Yingchen’s calculations clicked furiously through his mind. Then a familiar voice sounded in his head, pouring into his ears like a demonic chant.

“Oh. You’re back.”

Jiang Yingchen: “…”

The smugness in Jiang Yingchen’s eyes instantly froze, and venomous resentment slipped uncontrollably into his expression.

Then the damned System that had literally angered him to death chuckled twice and asked with biting sarcasm, “Well, Young Master Jiang? Still making soap?”

Jiang Yingchen: “…”

Jiang Yingchen smiled outwardly while cursing inwardly. “No!”

“Oh?” Liu Che asked with little interest. “Then what are you going to make?”

Jiang Yingchen had been quite delighted to live a second time. Unfortunately, the moment he returned, he encountered the damned System again. Worse still, the thing seemed bound directly to his mind. He could not escape it even if he wanted to!

He felt thoroughly dispirited. Knowing how viciously articulate the damned thing was, he refused to answer. He resolved that no matter how the System pestered or harassed him, he would treat it like flatulence and ignore it.

Jiang Yingchen expected the System to badger him endlessly. To his surprise, after asking once and receiving no answer, it fell silent. Who knew what it was plotting?

But who cared? As long as it left him alone!

Jiang Yingchen sat up and offered Jiang Weier a few reassuring words. Then he thought of his soap scheme, aborted before it could even begin, and remained unwilling to let it go. His eyes shifted. “Prepare water. I want a bath!”

He had only just recovered from a serious illness and was not fit to bathe. Jiang Weier objected, but Jiang Yingchen stubbornly refused to listen. She eventually gave in, ordering the servants to bring extra braziers to keep the room warm.

Most of Jiang Yingchen’s knowledge of ancient life came from television dramas. He expected servants to carry in a wooden bathing tub. Instead, the residence had a dedicated bathing chamber with inlet and drainage channels beneath the floor. Other servants entered with trays holding fragrant medicinals for the bath and perfumed cream to apply afterward. Steam curled through the air, accompanied by waves of elegant fragrance. It was extraordinarily pleasant.

Jiang Yingchen deliberately picked up the perfumed cream and examined it. When he opened the lid and inhaled, he found the fragrance refined and clearly expensive. Recalling his earlier confidence in his fragrant-soap scheme, he instantly felt as though he had been slapped across the face.

And this was only the household of a fallen gentry son. What would life be like in a powerful noble clan, or even within the imperial palace?

Pretending to worry that the household was spending too much each day, Jiang Yingchen questioned a servant in the name of concern for the family’s future. The servant laughed. “Oh, what we have is nothing! The imperial family built a special estate beside the hot springs outside the city. They have people there whose only task is raising butterflies. Sometimes, when His Majesty feels like eating hot pot, palace musicians play in front while servants release butterflies into the hall behind him to make the occasion more elegant. Now that is truly rare and magnificent!”

Jiang Yingchen: “…”

The servant looked at him in surprise. “Eldest Young Master, why have you stopped talking?”

Jiang Yingchen: “…”

It was nothing. Poverty had limited his imagination yet again.

They raised butterflies specifically to release them while the Emperor ate, merely to improve the atmosphere. The rich and powerful truly knew how to enjoy themselves!

Soaking in the comfortably warm water, Jiang Yingchen became even more determined to rise to wealth and power and stand above ordinary men.

After his bath, he dried himself carelessly, changed into clean clothes, and went straight to the study to write furiously.

Methods for producing salt and sugar, recipes for stir-fried dishes and snacks-as for the formula for cement, how many modern people could possibly not know it?

The only somewhat complicated matter was improving an iron-smelting furnace. Fortunately, he had looked it up specifically before transmigrating back, and the relevant information remained exceptionally clear in his mind.

As Jiang Yingchen wrote, a trace of anxiety remained. He feared the damned System would mock him or claim that none of his business schemes were feasible. Yet apart from a few cold laughs at the beginning, it remained entirely silent and offered no opinion at all!
Clearly, he had finally chosen the correct path!

The damned thing had been so talkative before. Now it had nothing to say, didn’t it?

Jiang Yingchen gloated inwardly, and pride crept into his expression. He summoned the servants and ordered one group to begin experimenting with cement according to his instructions, while another began working on salt and sugar.

He was not a complete fool and understood the importance of secrecy. Every servant he used was bound to the Jiang Family by an irrevocable contract. Before they departed, he repeatedly warned them that anyone who leaked the secret would die.

Half a month passed. The salt and sugar both produced results, and after repeatedly adjusting the cement formula, his servants finally succeeded.

Jiang Yingchen was overjoyed. He ordered them to pave a section of the rear courtyard with cement. Once he personally inspected the result, he began preparing to bring the cement, salt, and sugar to market. At the same time, he threw himself boldly into improving the iron-smelting furnace.

The following day, officials from the Office of the Governor of Jingzhao arrived.

When the news reached Jiang Yingchen, he froze. His first thought was whether the Emperor had finally remembered his engagement to the Princess and intended to bestow the marriage.

Please, no!

I have no desire to marry a princess!

Jiang Yingchen was filled with resistance. The System, which had rarely spoken lately, seemed suddenly stimulated by something and burst into squealing laughter.

Jiang Yingchen: “…”

Its laughter made Jiang Yingchen uneasy. For no apparent reason, apprehension and worry rose in his heart. He hurriedly washed his hands and went to the front hall to meet the visitor.

The visitor’s surname was Zheng. Although Jiang Yingchen dreamed of dominating the realm, he had been an ordinary nobody before transmigrating. Faced with an official, he inevitably felt nervous and constrained. He politely addressed the man as “Official Zheng,” then imitated television dramas and ordered a servant to serve tea.

“Tea will not be necessary.”

Official Zheng lifted a hand and stopped the Jiang servant. He said to Jiang Yingchen, “This official has heard certain rumors recently and came today to ask you several questions.”

Jiang Yingchen grew more cautious. “I am listening.”

Official Zheng asked, “This official hears that Young Master Jiang recently ordered his servants to evaporate seawater for salt?”

Jiang Yingchen had not expected the question. His expression immediately changed. Then he remembered he had neither stolen nor robbed anyone. Why should he be afraid?

Steadying himself, he answered, “Yes.”

Official Zheng frowned and gave him a strange look. “This official also hears that Young Master Jiang created a material called cement. It is exceptionally strong and can supposedly be used to build city walls and dams?”

“That’s right.” Pride leaked into Jiang Yingchen’s expression. “You heard about that too?”

Official Zheng: “…”

Official Zheng looked at him as though he were an idiot. “This official further hears that Young Master Jiang has been privately modifying an iron-smelting furnace, with some initial success?”

Jiang Yingchen was genuinely puzzled. He had clearly ordered his servants to keep their mouths shut. How did this man surnamed Zheng know everything so precisely?

Since the official had come to his door and directly mentioned the furnace, he plainly possessed evidence. Denying it would only humiliate Jiang Yingchen.

Displeasure rose in Jiang Yingchen’s heart. He decided he must discipline those servants properly afterward. Those who deserved beating would be beaten, and those who deserved death would be killed. Otherwise, indulgence would make them forget who their master was!

Official Zheng: “…”

Official Zheng raised a hand and rubbed his forehead without speaking.

The damned System snickered.

Jiang Yingchen asked in confusion, “What’s wrong, Official Zheng?”

Official Zheng answered, “I have a headache.”

The damned System laughed again.

Jiang Yingchen vaguely sensed that something was wrong, yet could not identify the problem. He was truly baffled. Maintaining a careful smile, he asked, “Official Zheng, did this humble one say something wrong?”

The damned System squealed with laughter.

Jiang Yingchen: “…”

Jiang Yingchen could bear it no longer. “What are you laughing at?!”

The damned System replied, “I remembered something happy.”

Jiang Yingchen demanded, “What happy thing?!”

The damned System answered, “Salt and iron are state monopolies. Violators are executed.”

Jiang Yingchen: “…”

Jiang Yingchen: “!!!!!”

Damned System, fuck your mother! Why didn’t you tell me earlier?!!!!