The ceremony of ascending to the throne of the Emperor of the Republic of China and the inauguration ceremony of the Prime Minister were held together…and they were shabby. 

Jiang Zhen did not know what the enthronement of the emperor of Daqi looked like but in his own words, now that they had very little money, there was absolutely no need for a big event.

Of course, it was necessary to ensure safety, that was for sure. 

After Jiang Zhen took over Toyo, the vast majority of the people under his gentle policy did not even think of revolting, but lived with him peacefully. But there was a group of people who rebelled against him all the time.

Most of these people were descendants or subordinates of the Toyo aristocracy, who had the opportunity to receive education in the past. There were also some relatives of Toyo people who were killed by Jiang Zhen’s side in the war. They constantly failed, but they were lurking around, always thinking about restoring their country. 

This group of people was not big, and in another few decades it was estimated that they would cease to exist. For now, Jiang Zhen still needed to be well guarded to prevent them from causing trouble. 

The day before the inauguration ceremony, Jiang Zhen had a meal with his family. Then he went back to his room with Zhao Jinge in his arms. 

He was now in his forties, and these years of life had inevitably left a mark on his face and even a few grey hairs appeared on his head.  Even so, because he has always paid attention to his body and exercise, he was still in good shape and even his eight pack was not missing. 

Jinge’s eight pack had become one.

All these years Jiang Zhen had been fighting around, Zhao Jinge stayed with the women and gers in the rear, dealing with various political affairs. Even if he didn’t want to stop exercising, the intensity of these exercises was not enough to keep his muscular body. 

However, his appearance was maintained much better than Jiang Zhen.

He stayed in the rear, so there was no need to face the wind and rain. Although conditions were not enough for him to enjoy extravagance, he was never short on food or clothing. He has been in a high position for a long time, so his temperament was also getting better and better.  

Today, Zhao Jinge looked like he was in his thirties at most. 

Jiang Zhen liked seeing Zhao Jinge like this very much. 

Zhao Jinge always looked to his taste, but now that he had his hair cut short and wore clothes similar to modern military uniforms that he asked people to make, complety different from the long robes of Daqi…

The first time he saw Zhao Jinge buttoning his clothes neatly to deal with political affairs, he wanted to rip them off. 

It was a pity that all these years he had fought in the war, and the two of them spent less and less time together. The number of times he was able to rip off Zhao Jinge clothes was really not that many.

Of course, this evening he will rip them off as much as he wants. 

 Jiang Zhen didn’t hesitate to rip off Zhao Jinge’s clothing and then press him down.

Downstairs, Zhao Mingzhu, Zhao Chengyu and the elderly Zhao couple finished their meal and started eating fruits. 

Zhao Mingzhu was now fifteen and has grown into a graceful girl. Although she was a little tall and her skin was a little dark because she was often outside taking part in sports, she was still absolutely beautiful. After all, whether it was Zhao Jinge or Jiang Zhen their facial features were good-looking.

In contrast, Zhao Chengyu looked a little shabby. Of course, it wasn’t because he wasn’t good looking, but because his recent growth spurt made him look as thin as a bamboo pole.

It was all because he was still growing up. Despite being thin, Zhao Chengyu ate a lot, even more than Jiang Zhen did before. Now, after eating, he was still holding a big apple and nibbling on it. Seeing Zhao Mingzhu bring out pastries, he also moved closer to them 

“Chengyu, you are too good at eating.”  Zhao Mingzhu looked at her brother with emotion. She was a little disappointed to find that her brother was already as tall as she was! 

She was taller than many men but her brother, it could be estimated that he would stand out in the crowd in the future.

“If you can eat well, you eat well.”  Zhao Liu said joyfully, and suddenly remembered the past. “Alas, when Jinge was as old as you, there was never enough food. Your father, back then, was always starving. Once I saw that he had planted a few more bean seeds and even without boiling them, he ate them directly.” 

Zhao Liu’s hair was now white, and perhaps due to her old age, she liked to recall the past and talk about it to Zhao Mingzhu and Zhao Chengyu. 

Zhao Mingzhu and Zhao Chengyu also liked to hear about the past, and after listening, couldn’t help feeling grateful.

Their luck was really good. Although their lives were chaotic in recent years, they never lacked food or clothing. Their parents have always taken good care of them, and also gave them enough love.

 Zhao Mingzhu thought of that hug Jiang Zhen gave her when they were eating earlier, and what Jiang Zhen said. The corner of her mouth hooked up, “Dad must have worked so hard because he had too many hard days in the past! He wanted all of us to live a good life!”

Her father never avoided her and would personally take her around to teach her, so her knowledge was undoubtedly very broad. It was also very clear for her what life was like for the vast majority of people in the world.

It was really precious for her to have her present life. 

“Yes,” Zhao Liu laughed: “We all have a good life!” It was not even a simple good life; she couldn’t have imagined such a good life before.

She grew up in a small village as an uneducated woman, but now she would become an empress dowager. 

Zhao Liu still felt it was surreal.

After being taken away from Fucheng by Zhao Jinge, and later learning that they had become fugitives, Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui were very scared. During that time, Zhao Liu even fell ill from worry and fear.

Fortunately, they soon settled down in Toyo.

When they first settled in Toyo, they lacked a lot of things, so their lives were similar to the time they had in Hexi village before.

Their family again lived in a house made of clay, while a group of people began to reclaim the land. Yet, because of this, Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui’s hearts surprisingly settled down. 

Being fugitives was nothing if they still had land they could plant. It meant they wouldn’t starve to death. Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui were even excited to plant their own land once again. 

Zhao Liu and Zhao Fugui planted for a year while Jiang Zhen gathered more and more people to work for him. Then they moved into a large house to live, and later Jiang Zhen frequently went out.

They knew that Jiang Zhen was doing something big, but at first, they just thought that Jiang Zhen was taking over land with these Toyo people. But the actual result was… 

Jiang Zhen took over the whole Toyo! Not only that, he even built his own country!

In the future this country would no longer be Toyo, but the Republic of China.

 Every time she thought about it, Zhao Liu felt amazed. 

“This is so delicious, sister, do you want to send some over to Father?” At this point of time Zhao Chengyu had already eaten most pastries on the plate.

“Zhao Chengyu, you aren’t afraid of your stomach exploding.” Zhao Mingzhu was a bit helpless as she added, “Also, if you try to send food to Father right now, he will definitely ignore it.”

 “Why?” Zhao Chengyu was a little puzzled, then he reacted with a jolt, immediately revealing a somewhat embarrassed expression.

He was really stupid. His father must be in the middle of “important things” ah! When he was young, his father often used this reason to kick him out of the room, didn’t he?

 His parents have always had a good relationship.

Since they almost defeated Toyo two years ago, some generals were reluctant to keep their wives, but their father never had such thoughts.

This was also very good.

Zhao Chengyu was now studying at school and his friend’s father kept a woman secretly. His parents however, had a good relationship. He didn’t realize how envious his friends were of him.

Zhao Chengyu and Zhao Mingzhu were very happy, hoping that Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge would always have a good relationship.  Still, Zhao Fugui and his wife felt a little embarrassed when they saw the tacit expressions on the faces of the two children. 

People of their generation never let their children see anything! But what about Jiang Zhen? Sometimes he would even kiss Zhao Jinge at home without avoiding his children! 

However, they also thought it was quite good.

They still had many things to do tomorrow so Zhao Fugui and his wife quickly went to bed while  Zhao Mingzhu and Zhao Chengyu also went to bed early.

Jiang Zhen, however, didn’t go to sleep until quite late that night. 

He was busy preparing for the enthronement and sweeping up the rebels, so he hadn’t done anything with Zhao Jinge for a month. Of course, now he had to find a way to make it up to himself.

Early the next morning, Jiang Zhen woke up still in good mood.

Many men start to gain weight in their forties, but due to exercises he was still in very good shape.

Jiang Zhen was very energetic, but Zhao Jinge was a unable to get up. 

Although he was not out of shape, he lacked exercise over the years.

“It’s time to get up, My Majesty.” Jiang Zhen pressed a kiss on Zhao Jinge lips, thinking that after today Zhao Jinge would be an emperor. It made him a little emotional. 

Overwhelming the emperor or something like that, was really interesting to think about. 

“You…” Zhao Jinge heard Jiang Zhen’s address and couldn’t help blushing. He always thought he would be the empress and did not expect to become the emperor. Since Jiang Zhen called him His Majesty…should he call Jiang Zhen the empress?

Well, it was something to think about. 

Jiang Zhen pointed out that they had studied this constitutional monarchy for several months now, and the Emperor’s rights were not many. At least not as many as the Prime Minister’s rights, so he couldn’t compare to Jiang Zhen. 

Of course, he didn’t care about this.

Jiang Zhen has always been faithful to him, and their children were already grown up so he has long been satisfied.

“Jinge, I didn’t give the Royal Family much power, but this is for the good of our descendants.” Jiang Zhen kissed Zhao Jinge again before he begin to explain.

He was aware of the future direction of development.

While a centralized emperor may be overthrown, an Imperial Family that only had symbolic meaning would be able to go on. 

If he gets more land and property for himself while he is still alive, he won’t have to worry about his children and grandchildren’s future.

The most important thing was educating them. Just like Zhao Mingzhu and Zhao Chengyu, he believes that they will certainly be able to make their own heaven!

 

Edited by: Antiope1

 

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