Chapter 2873: Heartless Man

Jiang Luofu felt embarrassed. Why is the Little Fiend Empress saying all these things out loud?

Zu An replied with an awkward smile, “You also know that the stronger a cultivator is, the harder it is for them to have offs...”

But the Little Fiend Empress interjected before he could finish his sentence. “What about her? How did you knock her up in a single shot?”

She thought about the time she had to stand guard for the two of them, and she felt as if she was radiating a ‘cuckolded’ halo.

“I’ll explain it to you once things are settled here,” Zu An coaxed her. This was one of the abilities he had received from the Seed of Reproduction he'd inherited. Most of its abilities were sealed, but its fundamental ability remained intact.

So this is the power of reproduction... I can knock up any woman right away as long as I will it. But he couldn’t say it aloud lest the Annihilation Progenitor sense it.

The Little Fiend Empress was aware of the existence of universal deities, and upon noticing his vague statements, she was sharp-witted enough to know not to probe further. At Zu An’s coaxing, she slowly broke into a smile.

Zu An continued his sentimental act as Confounding Crossroads, and his actions only got increasingly ridiculous over time.

The Annihilation faction’s upper echelons didn’t suspect much; instead, they just mocked him behind his back, saying that he was pretending to be sentimental because he couldn’t bear the humiliation of having his army wiped out in the Battle of Xiamen.

This continued for a few more years. Confounding Crossroads’ physical condition continued to deteriorate before he abruptly passed away.

No one was surprised. If those on the path of Annihilation failed to bring annihilation upon others, they themselves would be annihilated instead. Confounding Crossroads clearly looked as if he had been on the path of self-annihilation in the last few years.

Confounding Crossroads had brought back the little prince, who had been sent out of the palace, in advance and called for Oboi, Suksaha, and the other Annihilation faction’s powerhouses to aid the little prince[1].

The Annihilation faction’s powerhouses could have refused to acknowledge the little prince, but now that they were living in it, they had to respect this world’s rules. Besides, it was much easier to control a young emperor than to let Confounding Crossroads’ unruly brothers take the throne.

So, the powerhouses came to a tacit agreement to support the little prince’s ascension. They also followed this world’s tradition and named the era Kangxi.

Zu An was finally freed from the imperial palace, and he made his way to Yunnan.

By now, the Annihilation faction had already recovered from their two tragic defeats arising from Dodo’s death and the Battle of Xiamen. The gap in resources between both sides was too great. Even if the Annihilation faction didn’t do anything special, the rate of their growth was still bound to far surpass that of the Southern Ming’s Yongli administration and Taiwan’s Zheng clan.

The Zheng clan soon lost Xiamen and had to retreat to Taiwan.

The Yongli administration also suffered a series of defeats, resulting in them losing several provinces. Hermes and his army made huge progress, and it didn’t take him long to completely destroy the Yongli administration.

The Yongli Emperor, his officials, and his bodyguards were forced to escape to Burma[2].

Hermes led his troops into Burma and coerced them to hand over the Yongli Emperor.

“I don’t know why he’s going so far,” Zu An murmured in confusion while taking a brief rest in a cavern.

The Wu Sangui in history would have been doing this for glory and wealth, but Hermes was most definitely not that kind of person. He could claim at least 50% of the credit for the Universal Conglomerate’s rise to prominence.

Hermes should have been a man of impeccable virtue, be it based on his reputation or from Isabella’s testimony. He wasn't lustful, greedy, or power-hungry... In fact, he didn’t have any vices at all.

Why would someone like that side with the Annihilation faction and work even harder for them than Sixth Elder Naraka, who had defected right from the start?

“He could be trying to distance the current him from the old him. He’s currently in an awkward position. The only way he can get a footing in the Annihilation faction is by accruing merit,” Zhao Xiaodie replied.

She looked at Zu An with moved eyes.

In this world, she was the Conqueror King’s daughter. Even though there was no true blood tie between them, this connection still put her in a lofty position. Little had she expected the Conqueror King to suddenly die and his allies to be purged.

If not for Zu An shielding her from this turmoil, she might have been dead by now. He even constantly consoled her and took her out on walks, fearing that she wouldn’t be able to tolerate the abrupt plunge in her standing.

As such, the two of them led carefree lives... though it would have been better if they didn’t have a third wheel accompanying them.

‘Third wheel’ Tang Tian’er paid no heed to Zhao Xiaodie’s look of contempt. She shook her head and said, “Hermes has already done enough to gain a footing in the Annihilation faction. There is no need for him to go to this extent. It would have been wiser for him to take a step back and nurture his troops. That would strengthen his position while making the Annihilation faction more reliant on him. Someone as smart as him should have already considered this move.”

“He must have his reason for doing this!” Zu An frowned.

“Could it be because of Chen Yuanyuan?” Tang Tian’er suggested.

That was also Zu An’s conjecture, since Hermes had indeed surrendered because of her. However, Hermes had been fighting on the front lines all these years, while Chen Yuanyuan, also known to him as Yu Yanluo, remained in the capital. The two of them hadn’t met at all.

Zu An had often visited Yu Yanluo, but the latter had no idea what Hermes’ motive was.

“Forget it, we’ll know once we meet Hermes.” Zu An had no clue what was going on.

I wonder if Isabella managed to make an escape in that battle... I’ve already written down the fate of ‘Nine Tribulations’ in the Annals of Time, so she should be fine.

Just then, Tang Tian’er wrapped her hands around his neck and said, “I want to sleep with you tonight.”

Zhao Xiaodie leaped to her feet. “Can you have some shame? Stop throwing yourself at him when you two aren’t even married yet.”

“You speak as if you didn’t throw yourself at him,” Tang Tian’er scoffed. “Also, it’s none of your business that we aren’t married yet. Stop putting on matriarch airs before me. The real one is in Taiwan right now.”

Zhao Xiaodie’s face reddened. “I don’t care. I am his legitimate wife in this world. You need my permission to get together with him.”

Tang Tian’er didn’t bother arguing with her. Instead, she placed herself in Zu An’s arms and wept, “Big brother Zu, look at how fierce she is.”

I can almost smell the scent of green tea lingering in the air[3].

Unable to take it anymore, Zhao Xiaodie rushed forward to tear Tang Tian’er’s arms off Zu An. Of course, Tang Tian’er wasn’t about to take it lying down either. A fight broke out between the two of them.

Zu An felt a headache settling in. It was precisely because the two of them were unable to get along that he dared not leave them in the capital by themselves. Otherwise, who knew what would happen between them?

If he only took one of them along, the one who was left in the capital would get upset. So, he'd chosen to bring the two of them with him. He didn’t think that they would start fighting so quickly.

“Enough, enough. Let’s stop bickering.” Zu An separated the two of them.

Zhao Xiaodie hurled her fist at Tang Tian’er threateningly.

Tang Tian’er sobbed. “Big brother Zu, you promised to marry me, but you haven’t given me a proper title even after so many years. If you continue being such a scumbag, I’ll really leave you for good.”

—

Just to elaborate a bit more on history:

The little prince (Zu An and Jiang Luofu’s child) is the Kangxi Emperor.

In his earlier years, the Kangxi Emperor was supported by four regents (aka Sonin, Ebilun, Suksaha, and Oboi), but by then, the Qing Dynasty had learned its lesson and was very wary of regents.

Oboi, in particular, was growing very powerful, so the then 14-year-old Kangxi Emperor reached out to Empress Dowager Bumbutai (aka Jiang Luofu) to help him oust Oboi.

Empress Dowager Bumbutai aided him, and by the time the Kangxi Emperor was 16, they succeeded. It was said that this was the reason the Kangxi Emperor was extremely filial to her.

The Kangxi Emperor (together with his son and grandson, Yongzheng and Qianlong) ushered in a golden age of prosperity for the Qing dynasty.

—

1. This little prince is the Kangxi Emperor, known to be one of the greatest emperors in not just the Qing Dynasty but in China’s long history. ☜

2. Now known as Myanmar. ☜

3. A reference to 'Green Tea Bitch', a Chinese internet slang term used to refer to scheming people who put on an innocent front. ☜

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