Chapter 77: The Old Prince Next Door 30 (Arc End)

Prince Chen had no time to spare for the excitement happening outside over the past two days.

What excitement?

It was the spectacle of numerous officials having their homes raided and being sent into exile.

Only the Emperor, his son, and Zhou Zeyu knew exactly why these people were being purged.

Everyone else was left in the dark.

Prince Chen’s heart and mind were currently entirely occupied with the collected dossiers, carefully selecting a daughter-in-law.

“I think this family is quite good. I’ve met the girl; she is reasonably pretty, but more importantly, I like her personality. She is a girl who does things properly, balancing thoughtfulness with integrity, which is rare these days. There are some issues with her background, though. Her mother was the first wife but passed away, and her stepmother doesn’t treat her well. If her father weren’t a decent man, the girl might not have even survived to adulthood.” Su Huandan truly felt this girl was a good match.

Although there was a stepmother in her natal home, her grandparents and father were sensible people. When the stepmother was caught mistreating the eldest legitimate daughter left by the first wife, her household management rights were stripped away. Now, the household was managed by the wife of the girl’s elder brother from the same mother.

“You call that pretty? She doesn’t even have a tenth of your beauty. However, aside from her looks, her other qualities are indeed excellent. As a legitimate daughter of the Duke of Ding Estate, her upbringing will certainly be top-notch.” Prince Chen’s comment about her not having “a tenth” of Su Huandan’s beauty made her incredibly happy.

She reached out and touched her face in disbelief. “I’m already at this age, and you still think I’m beautiful?”

Hearing the Princess Consort’s tone, alarms blared in Prince Chen’s mind. He stared seriously at her face. “Your skin is still so smooth, I can’t see any wrinkles, and your hair is black and shiny. You’re still young.”

She really did look young. It was just that as the years passed, she wasn’t as slender as before. She was slightly plump, but it was a very full and attractive kind of plump. At least Prince Chen liked it; holding her to sleep at night was comfortable!

She was doing much better than him. He was quite a few years older than the Princess Consort. Although his face still looked alright, he was starting to show signs of age.

Wrinkles had appeared at the corners of his eyes where there were none before.

In the golden autumn of October, Zhou Zeyu got married. He wed the eldest legitimate granddaughter of the Duke of Ding Estate, the very girl both Prince Chen and Su Huandan had set their eyes on.

The choice was indeed correct, yet Prince Chen felt that something was missing between his son and daughter-in-law.

“They don’t look as close as the two of us,” Prince Chen thought to himself. A life like his and the Princess Consort’s was what he called living. His son’s life always felt a bit off, looking quite awkward to him.

Zhou Zeyu: …

My daily life is the most common way for modern couples to interact. How can I be like you and Mother?

The two of you are endlessly clingy. Do you know what outsiders say about you?

Those who speak kindly call it “having a good relationship, inseparable as glue and lacquer¹,” while those who speak harshly call you “a pair of old eccentrics!”

Prince Chen: …

What are they talking about? How are we old eccentrics?

Their young daughter rolled her eyes and said, “Last time at the Marquis Wending Estate’s flower viewing banquet, didn’t Father pluck someone’s peony and pin it in Mother’s hair? That flower was being raised by the Marquis for his old mother to see. And then what happened?”

Su Huandan felt a bit embarrassed. At their age, behaving like that in public was indeed a bit inappropriate. There were always jealous people who wanted to say a few words. Hmph, it was all just a case of sour grapes.

The following year, the daughter-in-law gave birth to a big, healthy boy. He was so robust that Prince Chen held Su Huandan that night and cried.

“I’m content, I’m content. I never thought I’d live past thirty-five, but I’ve lived until now and even seen my grandson.” His crying made Su Huandan feel incredibly touched and sorrowful.

Stay well, we still have tasks to complete. Our young daughter hasn’t married yet.

At least we should wait until we see our daughter’s life settled smoothly before we kick the bucket, right?

Five years later, the daughter-in-law gave birth to a granddaughter. Prince Chen cried again. Su Huandan was puzzled; he was clearly a domineering person, so why did he have so many tears in his old age?

Another year passed. After the young daughter gave birth to a son, Prince Chen’s health finally gave out.

His body was like a tattered cloth doll leaking air from all sides. Sustained by the Spiritual Spring Water, it was already a miracle he had lived this long.

That year, Prince Chen aged exceptionally fast. His appetite plummeted, and by the second half of the year, he could no longer get out of bed.

He would often hold Su Huandan’s hand and reminisce about the past. “If I had met you earlier, you wouldn’t have been bullied in the Duke of Yi Household, and I could have healed my body sooner. I might have been able to accompany you until our hair turned white together. It’s a pity…”

What was a pity?

The one he would have met earlier was the original owner, not her, Su Huandan.

On the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, Prince Chen fell into a sleep from which he never woke. When the Emperor heard the news, he fell ill, and his own health began to fail.

The specifications for Prince Chen’s funeral were very high, but before the funeral had even ended, Su Huandan’s body began to fail as well.

Her hair turned white visibly to the naked eye, and the speed at which her face aged changed day by day.

Her children knelt by the bed crying, but Su Huandan felt that this life, reaching this point, was enough.

Her life with Prince Chen had actually been quite pleasant. She was truly a bit afraid of the days without him. A husband and wife shared a relationship closer than that of parents and children. Having spent every day together, losing one person made everything feel wrong. Waking up in the night to find him gone, or eating a meal without him there… Su Huandan didn’t want to torture herself. She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life pining for someone.

It was better to continue with the reincarnation. Once she had things to keep her busy, she wouldn’t dwell on things so much.

Three days. In exactly three days, Su Huandan drew her last breath.

The couple had their funerals held together, which became a celebrated story of devotion.

She didn’t need to worry about her children’s futures. Ending it like this was quite good.

After returning to the Underworld, Su Huandan’s lingering attachment to Prince Chen quickly vanished.

As an outstanding worker, her previous training courses hadn’t been for nothing.

Transporting herself to the Feedback Department, Su Huandan handed over her mission and returned to her small courtyard.

It was much more peaceful to check her rewards on her own territory.

Back in the courtyard, Su Huandan checked the rewards for the main mission. The reward this time was still a skill, but there were no longer any newcomer benefits. Instead of a choice of three, she was simply given “Financial Mastery.”

Did this mean she could be an accountant or something in her next life?

Tsk tsk. A skill she didn’t have to study for, mastered just by living out a lifetime. Su Huandan thought it was wonderful.

It was just that the rewards for the main quest were far inferior to those of the sub-quest. Su Huandan nervously clicked open the reward package from the sub-quest, and then joyfully planted her new prize, a Peiyuan Fruit², in the backyard.

The Peiyuan Fruit was a spiritual plant. It took thirty years to flower, thirty years to bear fruit, and thirty years to ripen. It was a precious item that took ninety years to produce a single harvest. It could be consumed by mortals and was a type of spiritual fruit that could be eaten regardless of one’s fate.

What did it mean to ignore one’s fate?

For example, according to the Underworld, an Emperor’s fate belonged to a special category where the lifespan was strictly predetermined. It was very difficult to extend such a life, and Spiritual Spring Water would no longer have any effect. However, a Peiyuan Fruit could allow an existence like an Emperor to extend his life by thirty years.

If a human with an ordinary fate ate it, extending their life by fifty years was perfectly normal. One had to wonder, wasn’t this thing a magnificent treasure?

If Prince Chen had a Peiyuan Fruit to eat, he could live at least another thirty years. While Spiritual Spring Water also extended life, its effectiveness truly varied from person to person.

After tidying up her rewards, Su Huandan hurried off to the Great Hall of Reincarnation once again.

Translator’s Notes