T/N: Guys, I’ve started yet another project! This one has everything – romance, action, intrigue, sweetness, angst…..and an absolutely shameless protagonist! Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

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It was the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month in the capital, the coldest day of the year. 

The streets were covered with snow, icicles hung from the eaves, and the cold wind blew into one’s face like a hard slap from the heavens.

No one would want to go out in such weather.

But this day had been buzzing since early in the morning. People rushed about to tell each other the news in spite of the cold wind, and lively crowds could be seen everywhere on the streets.

A group of people even knelt down and worshiped around the thirty-meter-high Coiling Dragon Jade Pillar.

“Heaven has eyes! The ancestors bless us! Finally, the treacherous minister no longer has a chance to harm our Great Zhou Dynasty again! He died well!”

“If you ask me, such a death was too easy for Liu Zhenqing, a treacherous minister who brought disaster to the country!”

The Three Kings Rebellion had just come to an end the day before, and this morning, they heard that the traitor Liu Zhenqing had died violently.

This was simply a pleasant surprise for the Great Zhou Dynasty. After all, once the three kings were successively destroyed, there was a shadow in everyone’s hearts. Even though the three kings were rebels and traitors and deserved to be destroyed, if they were all gone, who could compete with Liu Zhenqing, who covered the sky with one hand and had all the power in the world! Could they rely on the little emperor who had not yet taken charge of the government or the officials and ministers who had little power?

Perhaps Liu Zhenqing would seek to establish his throne the next day, and the Great Zhou Dynasty would have to change its name.

But they never expected that once everyone woke up anxiously, they would hear of such a happy event. It was almost like a dream.

The powerful official’s death was so sudden.

“It’s true? Liu Zhenqing died like this? How did he die?”

“I heard that he was kidnapped by the last rebel prince and died with him! It can be regarded as doing a good deed for the Yuan family!”

“Didn’t I hear that he was kidnapped and accidentally shot to death by the rescuers?”

 “It doesn’t matter how he died as long as he’s dead. A disloyal and unjust person such as Liu Zhenqing, if the former emperor and the First Prince hadn’t trusted him and promoted him, how could a dandy who always caused trouble everywhere take charge of the regent’s golden seal to assist the new emperor and sit in the high position of Prime Minister of the country?”

“Ai, he was given too much power and got carried away. I heard that Vice Prime Minister Jiang once wanted to reorganize the cabinet to displace his authority, so that the new emperor could smoothly transition to power, but he was forcibly suppressed by Liu Zhenqing. He also conveniently imprisoned a group of loyal veterans in the Sky Prison. Isn’t this just trying to control the situation in the government, bring chaos to the laws and discipline of the court, and use the new emperor as a puppet? His disloyalty is obvious to everybody.”

“Thanks to the Liu family, who had generations of loyal ministers and good generals, such a thing happened. It was a complete embarrassment to the Liu family.”

“The Liu family has practically died out, and there is no need for the emperor to exterminate the whole clan. This is retribution.”

Since there was no intact family, something else would have to be done. Everyone was gearing up and waiting for the new emperor to handle Liu Zhenqing’s affairs.

On the first day, the officials who went to arrest the faction members returned without success. Who were the faction members? It seemed they didn’t know for the moment.

It must be that Liu Zhenqing was isolated and forsaken, detested by everyone. All those who were with him in the beginning abandoned the darkness and embraced the light.

On the second day, the officials who raided the manor returned empty-handed. What about the money he embezzled and the bribes he accepted? Why hadn’t they found a single valuable thing in the house?

Liu Zhenqing must have been suspicious and cunning, with a guilty conscience. He was afraid of failure and left a way out for himself, hiding all his money.

Then, everyone waited for the collection of incriminating evidence.

This happened very quickly. Within seven days, evidence came to the palace from all directions of the Zhou Dynasty. Many of the evil rumors spread over the past few years were true.

There was severe flooding one year, and corrupt officials made money from the disaster relief. Some people had appealed desperately, but were ignored, and it was Liu Zhenqing’s tacit approval that led to numerous casualties among the victims that year.

At that time, excessive taxes and levies were imposed in the south, and the problem was serious. A good official was recommended to go and investigate, but he was assassinated by Liu Zhenqing. In the end, even his family members in the capital were wiped out.

One time, a southwest border city was being harassed by foreign tribes, and struggled to maintain its position while waiting for support. Liu Zhenqing went there and directly forced the good general who was guarding the city to his death, offering his head to appease the anger of the foreign tribes. This nearly caused the border city to fall and the common people to suffer.

What was even more outrageous was that he tricked his way into becoming a sworn brother, then took advantage of Marshal Huo resisting the enemy while being besieged to cut off his food and fodder. Heedless of the situation of the Great Zhou Dynasty, he only indulged in his own selfish desires and vented his personal vendettas, causing Marshal Huo and the Huo family’s 100,000 troops to be trapped to death. And at that time, it was said that he was having an affair with the enemy prince. If the servants hadn’t seen the prince’s name engraved on his back later, no one would have known that he had done such a shameless and scandalous thing.

He persecuted the faithful and honest and was malevolent, his crime the same as treason.

Not to mention what he did in the capital. He violated the law of heaven by not giving the Emperor his due, and deliberately suppressed him. He killed innocent people indiscriminately, and was vicious and merciless. He imprisoned the royal family and ostracized clan members. There were even rumors that the Three Kings were planning to leave the capital, but Liu Zhenqing refused, so it was likely that he was the one who forced the Three Kings to rebel.

At this point, his crimes had been determined, and there were too many to write down.

When the three characters “Liu Zhenqing” were engraved on the side of the Coiling Dragon Jade Pillar, condemning him to infamy for thousands of years, the crowd became agitated.

Even if someone occasionally expressed regret, he would be scolded with disdain and ridicule when they said that the former Liu Zhenqing was most likely to be remembered as a gifted scholar, a handsome man, and a loyal minister.

But who could forget in the bottom of their hearts that bright young man in the capital back then?

There were two versions of things. They said he was a dandy, but that was because he lived a free and easy life and did not behave according to conventional sense.

They once saw him, a handsome man dressed in snow white, casually leaning against a window in a comfortable posture. He was audacious enough to make fun of a royal grandson, who had forcibly taken a young girl on the roadside. When the other party was getting angry, he took the wine in his hand and drank it without haste, and smiled elegantly as he told the other party to cool down, lest he become so angry that he spontaneously combusted. As a result, when the other party came to attack him, he had already jumped out the window and fled without a care for propriety, leaving no trace of his dignity and face. He used a real man’s ability to stand firm or bend to the extreme, making the other person hop about in anger.

There were countless such incidents, which made others not know whether to laugh or cry. At the same time, they discovered that this person was very talented and handsome, and he gradually became famous.

Before he came of age, he was well-known all over the country, and his beauty was unparalleled.

Subsequently, there was turmoil in the government and the public, and he entered the court to assist the new emperor.

And who could deny that the original Liu Zhenqing was able to make good decisions and had extraordinary courage? 

When the troops were getting ready to fight outside the pass and the court was in turmoil, he could fight with the ministers verbally and settle disputes in the court. Together with Marshal Huo, he became the pillar of the crumbling Zhou Dynasty.

It was a pity that this person would eventually be made hateful by power.

However, the new emperor probably still cared about the many years of master-disciple relationship between them, and left him a coffin. He was not qualified to enter the Liu family cemetery, so he could only be settled in a common graveyard.

There were angry people who went to the grave to spit on it and curse, but every time they went back, they would find that the tomb had been cleaned up. They never expected that someone would help such a villain, and everyone became even angrier.

It wasn’t until half a year later that Huo Fenglie, who had taken over the Huo family army, returned victoriously. As one of the victims, as well as the younger brother of Marshal Huo, he naturally hated Liu Zhenqing to the core.

Then the grave was dug up, the bones were crushed, and the ashes were scattered and burned. Even the emperor didn’t pursue the matter after hearing about it.

In the end, he deserved what he deserved.

Eight years passed, and nobody mentioned Liu Zhenqing anymore.

. . . . . . .

Liu Zhenqing felt that he had slept for a long time.

Accompanied by a pain that felt like his heart was splitting in two, Liu Zhenqing slowly woke up.

All of a sudden, a slap hit him in the face. The blow made his head buzz and his cheek hurt.

A not quite distinct voice reached his ears, gradually becoming clearer. “Be honest! Don’t force me to kill you now!”

Liu Zhenqing immediately felt himself being pushed to the ground, and a pair of hands groped around his body, pulling at his clothes.

Wait? What was going on? Wasn’t he dead? Even if he wasn’t dead, who would dare offend him so, a powerful official who was below one and above more than ten thousand? Was he not afraid of being flayed alive by him?

A sneer came from nearby. “Lao San, I told you to search for money and items. What, are you interested?”

“In any case, the boss wants to sell him to Nanfeng Pavilion after everything is done, so why not have a taste first and inspect the goods? It will probably cost a lot of money to sleep with one like this in the future!”

“Heh, it’s up to you. Finish up before the boss comes back. Don’t waste time.”

Presently, there was the sound of somebody leaving and closing the door.

From the initial confusion to actually feeling in crisis at this moment, Liu Zhenqing ignored his dizziness and bit his tongue to keep himself as awake as possible.

Because his body felt weak, he didn’t struggle desperately, but quietly observed.

The roof above his head was dilapidated, and there was a toppled Buddha statue in the corner of his eye. This place was a ruined temple, devoid of people. Calling for help would definitely be useless.

The person holding him down was a tall, brawny man with dark skin and yellow in the whites of his eyes. His face was villainous and there was a dagger at his waist. He was probably a fugitive.

“Damn it, the clothes of a young master are troublesome!”

How could an impatient man endure such clothing with three layers inside and out, and a cumbersome belt? The quality was pretty good, and it couldn’t even be torn. He was so impatient that he wanted to just pull out his dagger and cut it open.

Suddenly, a crisp, pleading voice sounded.

“Da-ge, I’ll, I’ll take it off myself. Please don’t hurt me.”

The man was stunned for a moment, and looked at the young master beneath him who suddenly understood his circumstances. There was still a palm print on his fair and tender cheek, and his previous expression of wanting to commit suicide seemed as if it had not completely vanished yet.

That pair of tearful eyes were very beautiful upon closer inspection. The clear eyes and long, thick lashes were still stained with moisture, and then he blinked a few times, as if fanning out the aura contained in them. The lips that spoke softly were even more moist, looking tasty and delicious.

He didn’t think this young man was that attractive before, and was only aroused by his struggling. But at this moment, in order to avoid suffering, he slightly raised his eyes with the corners of his mouth slightly curled, his expression full of submission and obedience. His appearance became charming, and it was as if he had changed into a different person.

The man’s lower body was so excited that his brain stopped working. Proud that he had tamed a high-ranking young man from a noble family, he straightened up magnanimously and motioned for the other person to take off his clothes.

Liu Zhenqing looked grateful at once, and propped up his body with shaking hands, using both hands to touch his belt.

“That’s right. This is what life is like. Be good and gege will arrange for you to go to a better place. You will suffer less in the future……”

Before the man could finish his arrogant words, he heard a sound. He sensed a cold light flash before his eyes, and before he could react, his neck felt slightly cold and he could no longer make a sound when he tried to speak. He could only instinctively reach up and cover his neck, trying in vain to stop the blood that poured out continuously.

The man stared at the person before him with wide, disbelieving eyes. He could see Liu Zhenqing holding a dagger in one hand, the one that had been hanging at his waist. With one hand, he carefully wiped away the blood that had accidentally splashed onto his face. His movements were calm and casual, but the chill in his eyes was awe-inspiring.

“Life is so long, but you had to take a shortcut. Isn’t this the end? Allow me to arrange for you to return home, ba.”

Liu Zhenqing smiled and stretched out a hand to tap the man’s forehead, and the man fell straight down. Then he stood up, but he still felt dizzy.

Touching his head, Liu Zhenqing found blood on his hand. It was obvious that his head had been seriously injured before.

Before he could think carefully about the current situation, there was conversation outside the door.

“Boss, why are you back so early?”

“Damn it, I got the ransom, but the reward wasn’t given. They said they wouldn’t give it until the government saw the body. This is to prevent us from benefiting twice.”

“Then what should we do? This kind of beauty is worth a lot of money if sold.”

“No matter how beautiful he is, it won’t be as much money as the reward. And when I just went up the mountain, I saw a group of people who had something off about them. There were quite a lot of them, and I don’t know if they’re here to look for him. I feel like they’re dangerous, and it is no longer safe here. Where is Lao San?”

“He’s……he’s busy in there!”

“Tsk! That trash. Come, let’s kill the hostage and retreat quickly.”

The two of them prepared to rush in as they spoke, calling for Lao San while kicking in the door.

As a result, as soon as they came in, they saw their brother lying in a pool of blood, and the person who had been kidnapped not long ago had disappeared.

There was a back door to this ruined temple. The two people’s expressions immediately changed, and they chased after him at once. As soon as they exited the back door, they could indeed see a figure in white flashing into the forest in the distance. The two men immediately shouted and began to chase him.

He didn’t know if he had a concussion. Not only was he dizzy, but his body felt extremely heavy as he fled, and he pretty much couldn’t run. He could already hear curses in the wind, but there was no other option than to make a run for it.

Don’t look at how neatly he just defeated the enemy. He didn’t know martial arts at all, and that move was a special one that Huo-dage taught him. It could only be used when the opponent was undefended and had the skills of a three-legged cat.

Now that there were two opponents who were big and powerful and determined to kill him, those tricks to take advantage of another’s unpreparedness were useless.

Sensing that the sounds behind him were getting closer and closer, Liu Zhenqing was just considering which direction he would be most likely to encounter the group of people the boss had just mentioned, when his foot suddenly slipped and he promptly fell down the slope beside him.

Liu Zhenqing inwardly cursed the heavens. Wouldn’t this kind of accident cost him his life? What bad luck.

However, no matter how difficult the predicament was, he would instinctively refuse to give up, and instead observe the situation. Suddenly, his eyes flashed. He was close to a mountain pass, and at this time, there were shouts and footsteps on the mountain road above. Soon, the sounds moved forward. They apparently hadn’t realized that Liu Zhenqing had accidentally fallen.

Liu Zhenqing took a deep breath and silently retracted the three-character sutra he had just sent to the heavens.

It was not advisable to stay here for long. Liu Zhenqing quickly got up and dragged his aching body in the opposite direction, until his willpower could no longer drive his body and he really had to slow down.

As he was looking for a secluded place to hide, there happened to be a small puddle. Liu Zhenqing hurried over to drink the water and relieve his dry throat.

As a result, he was stunned the moment he lowered his head.

Although he had long felt that the stature of this body didn’t suit him, he also guessed that he had been reborn once more. But when he saw this completely unfamiliar face, Liu Zhenqing was still stunned for a handful of seconds.

Damn, he had transmigrated again.

In fact, he was originally a young social worker in modern times. After his sudden death, he had traveled to a completely unknown historical dynasty, the Yuan clan’s Great Zhou Dynasty, and became the ten-year-old young master of the Huo family living in the capital. He was raised with fine clothes and good food, and grew up happily. Although he died tragically later, he felt that enough was enough, and he was ready to drink Meng Po’s soup and be reincarnated. Unexpectedly, the King of Hell didn’t follow the rules, and put him into circulation at will.

He would definitely file a complaint next time!

Liu Zhenqing touched his chin and looked at the reflection in the water carefully. The figure in the water swayed, as if also looking up at him.

After removing the dirt and grime, the face was gentle and delicate. The facial features weren’t too prominent and the proportions were just right, with a pair of lively eyes. Their color was the same as his original eyes, a rare light amber. The eyes were mellow, the lips full and red, and the overall appearance was not aggressive.

It looked much more honest than his last face did, which was an absolute advantage for someone accustomed to deceiving others.

He didn’t know if it was just him, but he felt that it was somewhat similar to his last face, although he couldn’t pinpoint the details.

He had no memory of this body. It could only be determined based on the conversations between those three people that this was a wealthy young master. This transmigration was much worse than the last one.

He would definitely file a complaint!

The more he thought about it, the more his head hurt. The blood had been congealed before, but now fresh blood flowed out, likely because of the running just now. His head was dizzy.

The wound was not small. Based on the basic medical skills he had accumulated in his previous life, he could judge that the original owner had died because of this.

He stood up and used the dagger to cut a strip from his clothes, intending to bandage his head.

He glanced at it casually and found special dark patterns on the clothes, and couldn’t help being surprised.

No wonder that big guy couldn’t tear it apart. Wasn’t this the special fabric made by the Liu family?

Could it be that since he was still related to the Liu family, this was still the Zhou Dynasty? No way, ah, there was no one left in the original Liu family. After his death, even if there were still Liu family members, they would definitely have been implicated.

His head hurt. Forget it, he wouldn’t think about it for now.

This fabric was strong, and would function as half a suit of armor when worn. Naturally, the finished product was also very heavy. No wonder it was hard for him to run. It wasn’t entirely because of his injury.

Although this cumbersome clothing was elegant and refined, it was not conducive to escaping and must be removed.

He took advantage of the chance to reduce the weight, but after fumbling for a while, Liu Zhenqing was very frustrated with himself. He was so anxious to escape just now that he didn’t realize that the burden on his body was not just the clothing.

There was a necklace made entirely of gold and inlaid with precious jade, a white jade belt, several high quality jade pendants, a hair tie that was actually made of high-grade black jade, and a bag full of money in his sleeve. This outfit, which exuded the aroma of a fat sheep, was completely comprised of gold and jade, forming a moving treasure chest. This aesthetic was truly vulgar. And it also added an additional ten kilograms of weight to him.

No wonder that man was ordered to search for property before!

After tidying up, he wore a single warm, light layer, feeling as light as a swallow.

Looking down again, he found that he was slender and of a medium height, and looked a little frail. He was currently wearing a white shirt, but didn’t care about propriety. His life was at stake.

Liu Zhenqing did not run away immediately. For every step, he thought ten steps ahead. Looking at the wealth everywhere, he slewed his eyes and found a nearby tree, wrapped his belonging in his clothes, dug a hole with the dagger, and hid them well.

Perhaps this would be the capital for him to settle down and find a wife in the future.

After doing this well, Liu Zhenqing listened carefully to the movements on the mountain while fumbling downhill.

The mountain was not high. Maybe if he got down to the roadside, he would have the chance to seek help.

Naturally, Liu Zhenqing also expected that the two ruffians would wait at the foot of the mountain if they were unable to find him, so he could only move forward cautiously.

Sure enough, he soon saw two people looking around at the intersection. Liu Zhenqing crouched in the tall grass and watched for a while, then decided to just change his path. However, just as he was about to stand up, he felt extremely dizzy. Liu Zhenqing knew that he wouldn’t last long with this injury. He was going to set the record for the shortest transmigration.

While he was in a dilemma, he heard the sound of galloping horse hooves not far away.

Liu Zhenqing looked up and saw a group of people on horseback about to pass by on the road. They also noticed the people on the roadside, and the two ruffians immediately bowed and made way for the team, trying to pretend that they were just passers-by.

But they were still surrounded by several horses.

“Who are you! What are you doing here!”

“These humble ones are from a landowner’s family at the foot of the mountain. We are here to catch an escaped slave.”

Liu Zhenqing frowned. He saw that the group of people were tall and upright. Their backs were straight and there was somewhat of a pattern to their movements, as if they had been trained. They should be officials. They weren’t wearing uniforms, only basic military robes, so their identities could not be determined. But they had obviously gone up the mountain for some purpose. Although they were wary of the two people they had met, they weren’t on guard against them, and were obviously certain that the two ruffians were not their targets. So they probably didn’t care much about these two people……

After some thought, Liu Zhenqing could only seize the opportunity. He rushed forward suddenly. “Heroes, help me, these two are bandits. They kidnapped me here, please help me, heroes!”

Liu Zhenqing continued to stumble and crawl, rushing toward the horses in an extremely embarrassing manner. The horses were so frightened that they became restless, but they were quickly stabilized, and everyone looked down at the person slumped on the ground.

The ruffians were naturally shocked at this moment, and hurriedly said: “This is the escaped slave we were just talking about. He’s a lunatic who talks nonsense. We’ll take him away now.”

As he spoke, he was about to step forward and pull Liu Zhenqing away, but in the next second, a long sword swung down and stopped in front of him. 

The ruffian’s face paled, and he tried his best to explain and try to save the situation. Even though he said this, his body had already instinctively retreated. In the end, he had a guilty conscience. 

Someone said, “Seize them,” and the two of them fled. People immediately gave chase.

Liu Zhenqing was a little surprised. He had thought to say a few words, but didn’t expect that these people would believe him right away. 

When he looked up, he felt certain at once. These people were either looking at him with wide eyes or complex expressions, and must be familiar with this body.

“Young Master Liu, are you all right?”

Liu Zhenqing said with peace of mind: I’m indeed from the Liu family.

The one who had just stretched out his sword to stop that man got off his horse to help him. Although his tone was harsh, he was still polite. Just as Liu Zhenqing was about to say a few words of thanks, he spied the wolf symbol clearly engraved on the sword hanging at his waist.

The wolf was the symbol of General Huo.

Liu Zhenqing suddenly felt as if he couldn’t catch his breath. General Huo had been polite and friendly to him before, but his soul had lingered after his death, and he’d seen what happened afterward. It was entirely conceivable that if General Huo’s people found out that the core of this body had been replaced by Liu Zhenqing, they would immediately cut him to pieces. And they probably wouldn’t give someone from the Liu family a second glance.

The Liu family and the Huo family? Who on earth was he now, ah!

Before he could regain his breath, his body truly hit its limit. His eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

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Table of Contents >> Chapter Two