NFBE Chapter 4 The Gate to a New World
Chapter 4 The Gate to a New World
The image on the screen in mid-air froze, then contracted into a line, shrank into a point of light, and disappeared.
The original owner's scrolling timeline was short, only 10 minutes long.
"That's all?" That's not enough information.
Life is long; only the most memorable and important things will flash through our minds.
Shen Qing had only one thought: This guy is so love-struck, he doesn't pretend to know anything else important!
Wait a minute, is it that Shen Qingxi doesn't want to know, or is it that the system doesn't want him to know?
Shen Qing stroked his chin, lost in thought.
Honey, do you believe I'm a good leader now?
"Oh~ you're not called stupid human anymore?" Shen Qing scoffed. "I still prefer your previous unruly self."
[...Human, do you agree to be bound to the system?]
Shen Qing tapped the bed board with his finger. This was an unconscious action he took when he was thinking. From then on, every time the system saw Shen Qing make this gesture, it would shudder.
"Let's take a look at the contract details."
[A...contract?] The system was bewildered. [There's no such thing. The host can simply agree.]
"Ha~ What a blatant unfair contract term." Shen Qing rolled her eyes. "What's the difference between this and simply checking a box to agree to a user agreement?"
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The system almost failed due to data backflow!
Shen Qing picked at her ears; it was a bit noisy.
"Someone come here!"
"Wow—"
Wen Ying opened the door, clasped her hands under her stomach, and respectfully stepped forward with small, quick steps.
As expected of a maid trained by a prestigious family, her demeanor and bearing are something modern young actresses should learn from.
Shen Qing casually reached out his hand and calmly changed and dressed under Wen Ying's help. As long as he started acting, Shen the Movie Emperor had absolute confidence.
The meal was ready. Shen Qing looked at the low table in front of her and her eyelids twitched. Damn it, she had to kneel down.
Forget it, he doesn't know how to make glass or gunpowder, but a stool is easy enough. I'll just have to bear with it for now.
Shen Qing took his seat without making a sound, gracefully kneeling on the mat. As he lowered his buttocks to sit on his calves, he encountered resistance. Wen Ying placed a tall, plate-like object between his calves, and he sat steadily on it.
He sat with an elegant posture, and no one could tell from the front or the side that he was sitting on a 'stool'. Later he learned that this thing was called a heel support.
Wow, the case is solved! That cunning old ancestor of his, I knew that people in ancient times wouldn't have their legs go numb even if they knelt for hours.
I thought the unearthed murals were abstract art, but they're actually realistic. It's laughable that I didn't learn everything from Japan and ended up with bowlegs.
Shen Qing took out a slightly yellowed cake from the plate. It was really too much trouble for him, a southerner, to have to get rice.
I reluctantly took a bite, but damn it, it was made of unleashed dough, rock hard, and there were unidentified particles when I chewed it. It even made my throat hurt when I swallowed it.
If he hadn't seen Shen Qingxi's revolving lantern, he would have thought that her family was poor or that the original owner of the body was being abused.
It seems the technology of this era was not advanced enough. They didn't even have steamed buns made from fermented dough. And looking at the boiled meat next to it, well, they even used a tripod to cook it. They didn't even have an iron pot, let alone stir-frying vegetables.
This is unbearable. When has the young master ever suffered like this?
"When I fell into the water today, did anyone in the household say anything?" Shen Qing asked casually, trying to get the information out of the mansion.
Wen Ying stood respectfully to the side with her head bowed and replied, "The head of the household and the eldest son have not yet left the office. The mistress is at the South Manor, and the eldest son's new bride has not yet returned from her visit to her family."
In other words, there is no proper master in the mansion now, so wouldn't he be the most powerful?
Shen Qing finished her pancake with great elegance, clapped her hands, and stood up, signaling Wen Ying not to follow. She took a few steps and, seeing that Wen Ying remained standing still without asking any questions, nodded in satisfaction. Suddenly remembering that the original owner should be accompanying the princess to her studies at this time, she asked, "What about the academy..."
"This morning I sent Hei Zi to ask for leave on behalf of the young lady, saying that she had caught a cold."
intimate!
With her hands tucked into her sleeves, Shen Qing gracefully found the "Wensi Pavilion" based on her memory. Only when she reached the entrance did she realize with a start that she hadn't tripped over her curved robes despite walking so far—a testament to her incredible muscle memory.
Upon seeing their master, the guards bowed respectfully and stepped aside. Shen Qing went straight inside, closed the door, and instantly shed her ladylike facade, searching for her target.
The superiority of the aristocratic families over the common people lay in their cultural monopoly. Each family's collection of books was a treasure trove, and historical records were indispensable. They would even compile their own family histories.
As the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, Shen Shi held a high position and wielded great power. Even the imperial gazette was kept here, and all direct descendants could come in to view it, but they could not take it out at will.
In this respect, the aristocratic families would not discriminate against women, and the future matriarch of the family should also have a broad perspective.
Although Shen Qing didn't like doing business, his family had been in business for generations, and he had gained some understanding from being around them. At least he knew that business warfare was all about information asymmetry.
No one would do a losing business. Strategy points must have their significance. He needs to know what benefits this world can bring to the system, or rather, the god behind the system, in order to judge whether this business is feasible and how to do it.
Picking up her pen, Shen Qing recorded the important information she saw. Before she knew it, the sun was setting, and the sunlight streaming through the window stretched the shadow of the girl hunched over her desk longer and longer.
After half a day of frantic reading, Shen Qing had roughly grasped the political landscape of this world.
The origins of the ideology and civilization of the mainland are similar to the development process of the Chinese people on Blue Star. The last unified dynasty was named Qian, and the power of the aristocratic clans reached its peak, showing no respect to the royal family.
In the late Daqian period, the imperial family declined, powerful clans seized power, and the emperor's decrees could hardly leave the capital. At the same time, natural disasters occurred one after another, and the Northern Di, Southern Man, and Western Rong tribes launched invasions, causing untold suffering to the people.
As various rebel armies raised their banners, the Situ royal family became a mere shell of its former self. Thirty-seven years ago, the Northern Di destroyed Qian and occupied thirteen cities around the capital. The imperial grandson, Situ Yanli, fled and regrouped his old troops to recover the three northeastern states. Phoenix Lord Feng Xilan rose to power in the south, becoming the only female vassal, creating a potential tripartite balance of power.
Unfortunately, Situ Yanli died young, and his descendants were all incompetent. His lineage was scattered overseas and, according to legend, hibernated on Liudao Island. When the Phoenix Queen was giving birth, she was betrayed by her husband's clan, and her old followers fled and established the three kingdoms of "Xiang", "Jing", and "Xia", which completely plunged the country into a situation of warring states.
Emperor Taizu of Xuanguo founded the country thirty-three years ago and passed away twelve years ago. His son succeeded him and adopted the reign title Yongxi.
After decades of fighting, all the countries were exhausted. Apart from some minor skirmishes in local wars, they generally agreed to stop the major battles and recuperate, temporarily forming a relatively stable situation of political division among the sixteen kingdoms.
The Shen family of Yunyang were affected by the war fifteen years ago and migrated north along with several close relatives.
But the territory is only so big, so the original ones naturally push out the outsiders, and the first ones push out the later ones.
At that time, Shen Shi had not yet entered the court and his foundation was shallow. In order to establish a firm foothold, he arranged a marriage alliance with the local gentry.
After decades of war, the sons of soldiers rose to power and became the new elites, while the gentry suffered heavy losses and their influence was no longer what it used to be. Now, the court is a contest between the royal family, the meritorious nobles, and the old gentry.
Shen Qing frowned and pressed his temples, which were throbbing slightly. What a terrible era it was, with the rites and music in such disarray that it was almost as chaotic as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.