Chapter 140: Wither

In fact, Emperor Song's operation was not complicated.Chen An summarized it for him, it was actually just six words: cede territory, pay indemnities, kneel as a vassal.

Six words may seem simple, but in reality, they required a lot of courage.

It should be noted that just a few years ago, the Song Dynasty could still rival Great Hua and even engage in direct conflict with the country.

At that time, the Emperor of Song and the Emperor of Hua were equals in status.

Even though the Song Dynasty was now in decline, the psychological advantage it once had still existed, and it was not easy to bow down.

But the newly ascended Emperor of Song did just that, directly quelling the dissent of many ministers at home, and through sheer effort, managed to achieve peace, even conceding large territories.

It is said that he even sent one of his sisters to the imperial palace of Cheng Zheng.

After all the sacrifices, his only request was to reclaim the ancestral land of Song in Mingzhou.

This place was very important for the Song Dynasty.

Because it was not only the ancestral land of the Song Dynasty's royal family, with significant political significance, but also held a crucial position, being an important part of the Song Dynasty's rear defense line, second only to the imperial capital.

Not to mention that the only treasure land in the Song Dynasty, Xuanbing Cave, was also there.

Frankly speaking, this was a piece of land that the Song Dynasty had to reclaim at all costs.

Facing the request of the Song Dynasty, what did Cheng Zheng say on the other side?

He agreed.

There was no other way.

He was a more pragmatic person.

Mingzhou was of extraordinary importance to the Song Dynasty, but for him, the Emperor of Great Hua, it was of little use.

This place was the ancestral land of the Song Dynasty, not his.

Xuanbing Cave?

Great Hua was not lacking in treasure lands.

From a geographical perspective, this place was very important for the Song Dynasty, but it was not of much use to Great Hua.

After all, it was too far away.

Rather than bearing the pressure from the Song Dynasty and forcibly taking over this territory, it was better to use this territory as a bargaining chip to demand greater benefits.

In addition to the pressure from the rear defense line, after considering various factors, Cheng Zheng agreed.

He agreed so readily on his side, Chen An almost spat blood.

Betraying his teammates!

He was still enjoying his time collecting source energy in Xuanbing Cave, when Cheng Zheng suddenly sprung this on him.

Was there no room for joy?

Seeing that people from the Song Dynasty were already coming to take over Mingzhou, Chen An had no choice but to lead his men away.

The only thing worth celebrating was that Chen An had collected most of the energy-rich places in Xuanbing Cave, leaving only some scattered areas because the range was too large to cover.

All kinds of heavenly materials and earthly treasures in there, like Xuanbing, had also been extracted, leaving it almost empty.

It was so empty that it could house mice, not a drop of oil was left.

I wonder if the people sent by the Song Dynasty to take over would cry out loud when they saw this.

They probably wouldn't.

After all, Chen An had left them something.

Moreover, with the restorative power of the treasure land, at this level, it should be able to recover in about fifty or sixty years.

They could afford to wait.

Thinking about this, Chen An's mood improved slightly, and he led his army directly and left the area.

Time passed slowly.

In the following decades, everything was changing.

After the Song Dynasty's submission, Chen An led his troops back to Great Hua, rested for a few years, and then went to war with Lu, which was currently in conflict with Great Hua.

Compared to the Song Dynasty, Lu was much weaker.

And this time, Chen An didn't spend ten years like before.

In just three years, the Lu army was defeated, achieving a complete victory.

In the following year, the capital of Lu was breached by the army, and the ruler of Lu knelt and submitted.

Years later, Chen An went to war again and destroyed the Tianyue country.

The Duke of Tianyue personally took action, along with another powerful martial artist, and tried to surround and kill Chen An, but was defeated in one stroke by Chen An.

In that battle, the two great martial artists of Tianyue died, the king of Tianyue was killed by Chen An himself, and Tianyue country ceased to exist, coming directly under the rule of Great Hua.

After this battle, Chen An's reputation soared, being hailed as the number one master of Great Hua.

Of course, this title had actually been earned during the battle with the Song Dynasty.

His feat of defeating three great martial artists at once was still being talked about among the countries.

After the battle with Tianyue country, Chen An was en nobled for his achievements, directly being granted the title of Chen King.

In the following decade, he did not go out to battle again, but stayed in Shengjing quietly, reuniting with his wife and children.

Yes, wife and children.

As it turned out, even though they were projection bodies, all their functions were normal.

In this long period, the Fourth Princess had already become pregnant, and now she had given birth to two children for Chen An.

Two sons, the eldest son named Chen Mingshuo, and the younger son named Chen Mingjue.

Although Chen An was happy about these two children, it was still normal for him.

But for others, such as Cheng Zheng and others, they had great expectations for these two children.

Perhaps this was a misconception brought about by Chen An.

Chen An's performance was too extraordinary, the number one genius of Great Hua, who had risen to the rank of a martial artist before the age of twenty.

With such a talented and extraordinary father, even if the children were not as good, they should still have some extraordinary qualities, right?

However, the final result left them disappointed.

Chen An's two children grew up successfully, but they did not show the extraordinary talent that Chen An had displayed in the past.

They were diligent in martial arts, but compared to Chen An's performance in the past, they were completely different.

This was disappointing.

Not only to others, but even to the Fourth Princess, their mother, was somewhat disappointed with these two children.

Perhaps this was due to their high expectations, which resulted in a gap.

Among all the people, perhaps the only one who did not have any special feelings was Chen An himself.

What was his own situation, others did not know, and he himself was clear about it, right?

It might be right to say that he had good talent, but did he achieve his extraordinary accomplishments relying solely on talent?

It was fine to say this to others, but if he thought this way too, it would be a bit shameless.

If not for the upgrade template enabling him to turn things around, under normal circumstances, it would have been uncertain whether Chen An could have advanced to the rank of a martial artist in his lifetime.

Considering this, why bother to push the children so hard.

Moreover, in his opinion, the talents of the two children were not bad at all.

Time continued to pass bit by bit.

In the blink of an eye, more than twenty years had passed.

On this day, inside a mansion outside Shengjing, the atmosphere seemed somewhat tense.

It was still springtime, with flowers blooming in the garden outside, looking beautiful and occasionally emitting a gentle fragrance.

Usually at this time, the owner of this mansion would come out to admire the scenery and enjoy the spring outside.

But now, the owner of the mansion was not in the mood for it.

The Fourth Princess was sick.

Since two years ago, the Fourth Princess's health had gradually deteriorated.

And in the following two years, her health had worsened, to the point where she could no longer get out of bed.

At first glance, it might seem surprising, but thinking about it carefully, it was actually quite normal.

Considering her age, the Fourth Princess was already in her fifties.

In modern times, being in your fifties was not a big deal, but in this world, it was actually considered quite old.

Indeed, she was old.

Just a few years ago, Chen An's second son, Chen Mingjue, had also married, and now had two children.

As for the eldest son, Chen Mingshuo? His oldest child was about to turn ten.

People in this era got married very early, and if another five or six years passed, Chen An might become a grandfather.

Thinking about this was terrifying.

In this context, being in one's fifties was actually quite old.

In the spacious courtyard, Chen An was accompanying the Fourth Princess.

"Feeling better?"

In the room, Chen An gently pressed the Fourth Princess's shoulder and spoke gently.

In front of him, the Fourth Princess lay quietly in his arms.

This should have been a harmonious scene, but now it seemed a bit off.

Considering their age, Chen An was also in his fifties.

But due to his deep cultivation and emphasis on health, his hair was still dark, and his appearance had changed slightly compared to the past, with a hint of maturity in his eyes, but he still looked like he was in his twenties.

Time seemed to have left no mark on him, so even now, there had been no significant changes.

Chen An appeared much younger than his peers, but the Fourth Princess was different.

Perhaps because of her illness, she now looked old, almost like an old woman.

From the outside, they seemed to be from different generations.

If an outsider saw this scene, it would probably look odd.

But Chen An had long been accustomed to it, so holding the Fourth Princess in his arms, he did not feel anything wrong.

After all, no matter how old she became, she was still his wife, right?

"Feeling... a little better."

The Fourth Princess nodded in his arms, her voice sounding hoarse and weak.

She seemed to be feeling uncomfortable, frowning all the time.

Chen An wanted to help her as much as he could, channeling his energy to alleviate her pain, but he could only delay the Fourth Princess's suffering.

After all, he was not a doctor, and his energy was not all-powerful, so he could only alleviate the pain, not cure the illness.

"The flowers seem to have bloomed."

After a moment, the Fourth Princess looked up, with a look of confusion on her face. "But the flowers this year, don't seem to be as fragrant."

Actually, they were still just as fragrant.

It was just that, due to her age and illness, the Fourth Princess' senses had gradually dulled.

Chen An spoke softly, "Maybe it's the flowers themselves."

"I went to check a few days ago, the flowers outside seem to have fallen ill, and many have withered."

"Can flowers get sick?" the Fourth Princess asked with a smile.

"Of course they can."

Chen An nodded.

In the days before, whenever he had some free time, he would go out to explore, taking the Fourth Princess to see the various sceneries, or teaching his grandsons, or visiting Cheng Zheng in the palace to chat with a few old friends.

But after the Fourth Princess fell ill, he had put these things aside and focused on staying by her side.

This way, he could make her a little happier.

A few months passed in companionship.

The Fourth Princess's health deteriorated further.

Doctors and physicians from various places, as long as they had some reputation, were all invited by Chen An.

Except for some treatment plans that were too far-fetched, Chen An tried all sorts of decent methods.

But it was no use.

The medical level in this world was still lacking.

Despite the strong martial arts, other aspects were far from those of the previous life.

Moreover, not all diseases could be treated even in Chen An's previous life.

All options had been tried, but in the end, none had any effect.

By the end, the Fourth Princess was starting to feel overwhelmed, instinctively rejecting those treatment plans.

For her, those treatments were not treating her illness but were rather adding to her suffering.

In the end, Chen An could only follow her wishes.

Perhaps it was a brief recovery, or maybe her mood had improved, but in the final days, there were signs of improvement in the Fourth Princess's condition.

But Chen An was not happy.

Because he already knew the outcome.

Sure enough, a month later, the Fourth Princess's body suddenly collapsed, lying on the bed, barely able to move.

At this point, everyone knew very clearly that the Fourth Princess was approaching the end.

On the night before her passing, by her bedside, the Fourth Princess' mind was somewhat blurred, but she still tightly held onto Chen An's hand.

She spoke softly, recounting past events, especially her first meeting with Chen An, and mentioned it over and over again.

"When we were at the National Academy back then, did you already plan to get to know my brother through me?" Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ N0ᴠᴇFɪre.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

The Fourth Princess asked in a low voice.

"Yes."

Chen An nodded.

"Back then, in your eyes, was I very stupid?"

"To be honest, a little bit."

Chen An smiled, "Not only very stupid, but also very troublesome, always causing trouble."

The Fourth Princess's awareness suddenly cleared up, and she stared at Chen An.

It was just that her body was too weak, otherwise, according to her character, she would probably have gotten up from the bed directly at this time and given Chen An a fierce beating.

In the room, soft voices continued to sound.

One question after another came out of the Fourth Princess's mouth, and then Chen An answered them.

The two voices echoed.

But one thing was very obvious, the voice of the Fourth Princess was getting quieter and quieter.

In the end, unless Chen An's hearing was remarkable, he would probably have had some trouble hearing clearly.

The voice gradually lowered, becoming more and more blurry.

Until a certain moment, the voice in front of him completely disappeared.

Chen An grabbed the Fourth Princess's hand, tentatively calling her name several times.

No response.

Unknowingly, the hand he was holding seemed to have become cold.

There was no warmth at all.

Chen An suddenly lifted his head, his expression somewhat dazed.

A strong sense of unease and confusion welled up in his heart.

A person who had been by his side day and night, had she really left him like this?

Had he really lost sight of the person he remembered?

That night, Chen An didn't fall asleep.

Since coming to this world, he had never experienced such feelings.

In the past, no matter what situation he faced, he could remain calm.

Because he knew that he was just a projection, and this world didn't mean much to him.

Even if he really died, it was just a return to his original form.

So in the past, he had always been able to keep calm.

But today, that calm had been shattered.

People, in the end, would die.

His relatives, his children, everything would die.

What about himself?

It seemed like he would too.

Even though this body was just a projection, and even if he died, he would just return to his original form, but even if he returned to his original form, wouldn't he still die?

It seemed that he would still die.

Although the martial arts were powerful, even figures as powerful as Emperor Song Taizu would eventually pass away.

Of course, with the upgrade template, he might be able to go further.

But even so, it seemed that the likelihood of dying on the way was still higher.

Perhaps it would be a sudden serious illness, or an unbeatable strong enemy.

Even reaching the realm of immortality, in this vast world, there were probably even more powerful things that were enough to kill him.

By then, wouldn't it still be death?

People would always die.

Struggling, was just to delay one's death.

If that was the case, what was the point of the present effort?

Chen An lifted his head and looked up at the seemingly unchanged sky, feeling a little lost.

For the next half year, he continued to live according to his usual habits.

He personally arranged the funeral of the Fourth Princess and buried her.

During this time, Cheng Zheng and others came to visit.

Friends came to comfort him. Chen An seemed to have recovered and had a smile on his face again.

Everything seemed to have returned to its original state.

Until half a year later, some bad news came.

Inside the National Academy, there was a sound of reading everywhere.

Compared to the past, the National Academy was not in decline, but seemed even more prosperous than before.

After Cheng Zheng took office, he reformed the National Academy, turning it into a place dedicated to educating the descendants of noble families.

Almost every qualified noble son would come here for a visit.

Chen An's eldest and second son had been to the National Academy and studied there for several years.

Every year, Chen An would come here to visit one person.

That person was Chen An's old teacher, Dong Heng.

In the past, when Chen An was still young, he had received many favors from his teacher Dong Heng, and it was thanks to his care that he was able to proceed smoothly.

Otherwise, with his situation back then, even if he could still rise, it would probably have been much more difficult.

To show his respect, every so often, Chen An would personally visit.

This year was no exception.

But this time, during this visit, he received an unexpected message from his teacher Dong Heng.

"Chang'an, I'm about to die."

In the main hall, Dong Heng sat in his usual place, seemingly the same teacher as before.

He smiled at Chen An as he walked in, and spoke like this.

Chen An's movements suddenly paused, subconsciously looking up at his teacher.

"Teacher, you..."

"It's an old problem that was left over from before, I didn't expect it to suddenly flare up."

Dong Heng sighed, then smiled, "It's about time, it should have been in the past half month."

"Chang'an, you've come at a good time."

"If you had come a month later, you probably wouldn't have seen me again."

(End of this chapter)