126: Chapter 126 Old Friends in the Jianghu

Main Body had taken hard control of the Cement Factory Manager Cheng Yu's body for over three days. No one knew exactly what he had discussed with Slaanesh, but ever since he resumed his duties, all hostile actions within the empire directed at the Slaanesh Court were forcibly terminated, and along with this, the status of the Aeldari within the empire was significantly elevated.

Previously, when Aeldari nobles were captured, they were executed first and questioned later. That was no longer the case; one had to petition His Majesty the Emperor and confirm that they were truly guilty of heinous crimes before they could be killed. Furthermore, for the Drukhari / Dark Aeldari lingering in the Tempestus Sector who refused to cooperate with the empire, the empire's strategy had shifted from extermination to appeasement.

However, these were not the things the citizens of the empire were most concerned about. After all, the number of Aeldari was very small, and most clones had heard of these pointy-eared creatures but had never seen them, so they did not care much.

The Retired Emperor and the Empress Dowager had actually returned to the court; this was what was most shocking and delightful, for to all the clones, the two Sovereigns were their biological parents.

...

Main Body was filial and did not want the Retired Emperor and the Empress Dowager to suffer with him in the imperial capital, and he was also worried about them being wiped out indiscriminately by the Corpse Emperor or some other force.

Therefore, he urgently ordered the construction of a new Battle Moon and designated it as the imperial palace for the two Sovereigns, as that would be the safest option.

As for his younger brother, Cheng Zhou, he was temporarily titled Prince Fu. His guards and fiefdom would be decided once he came of age; for now, he was to live with the Retired Emperor and the Empress Dowager and focus on his studies—at the very least, he had to achieve a high school level of education.

Cheng Tianxiao and Li Xuemei had taken three days to digest everything, and only then had they just barely recovered from the shock—and even then, only slightly. It was impossible to force too much information onto elderly people all at once; it was easy to scare them silly.

Therefore, the explanation Ivankov gave them was… "The human world was destroyed, and our group escaped to forty thousand years later to rebuild civilization. Your son is impressive; he can clone himself to serve as an expeditionary force, so we installed him as Emperor. You two should just enjoy your lives here and not worry about other things. In the universe of this era, there are ghosts and gods. Ghosts and gods can know people's hearts and kill them; the original human world was destroyed by ghosts and gods."

The Imperial Younger Brother, Cheng Zhou, accepted it very quickly. Although he didn't know what Warhammer was, he knew he was now a prince. Within just half a day, he had started referring to himself as "This Prince" and "Gu." He was truly worthy of being the younger brother of the abstract little hero Cheng Yu; they were definitely blood-related.

The family also met Cheng Yu's current wives and concubines, as well as Cheng Yu's pair of fraternal twins. After getting to know each other, they were escorted by the Imperial Guards to a secret location.

Did one not know of the Chu-Han Contention? Cheng Yu would not give his enemies the opportunity to capture his parents and hold them hostage against him.

Of course, Lord Slaanesh was his foster mother, and since she was the one who had sent them over, she was not within the scope of his precautions, nor could he take precautions against her; the god was too powerful, incomprehensible, and invincible.

If it were not for the great cause of human rejuvenation, Main Body would have wanted to truly submit to the Corpse Emperor and settle down in a corner.

After settling his family, Cheng Yu went to handle the government affairs that had been delayed over the past two days. He completely forgot about Lin Xiao, because Slaanesh hadn't mentioned her either. The person in charge of the Imperial Clan Court had indeed submitted a report, but the matter was not important, and the truck container carrying the memorials… was pressed at the very bottom.

Lin Xiao spent another solid half-month in the Imperial Clan Court prison. During this time, clones delivered food to her, and Lin Xiao recognized Cheng Yu, but no matter what she said or how she wailed or cursed, the clones ignored her and just silently delivered the food.

It was not until half a month later, when the frame of the Battle Moon was completed, that Main Body finally processed that memorial. He hurriedly sent someone to summon Lin Xiao and bestowed upon her the official titles of Chief of the Imperial Clan Court and Minister of Treasury for the Imperial Household Department.

"It's been many years; how did you end up in prison?" A solitary shadow on the cold river, old friends from the Jianghu. No matter how many grievances there were, they had passed over these many years. When old friends met, there was nothing but sighs and nostalgia.

"I was day trading. When I lost money, I embezzled company funds to fill the hole. I actually have to thank you for bringing me here; otherwise, after I got out of prison, I would have had to work for the rest of my life to pay off the debt."

"666. Is there anyone else in your family?"

"None left. My family was a family of day traders; my parents jumped long ago."

What else was there to say? In any case, the Cheng Yu Empire had no stock market, at least not for the time being. Main Body could only send a few clones to watch over her and make sure she didn't get addicted to gambling.

As for other matters after their meeting, they were not for outsiders to know.

...

Over the past few days, Wild Dog Cheng Yu's internet cafe had been unusually busy. Even though many branches had already been opened, reservations were still required to get a seat.

With this kind of customer traffic, Wild Dog Cheng Yu still had to set aside a single-person private room every day, which made the Centaur Nun very dissatisfied. How much money was being lost each day? Yet, when she asked him for the reason, he wouldn't say.

"You don't have a crush on that dwarf who comes to surf the internet every day, do you? Your taste is truly perverted!" the Centaur Nun mocked.

"Crush my foot. Your brain is full of romance and love all day long. So low-class; I disdain to communicate with you!" Wild Dog Cheng Yu retorted.

"You goddamn clone! Now that you have money, you don't recognize your old lady anymore. Don't you know who lent you the money to open the shop back then? You heaven-struck wretch! I can't go on living!"

The Centaur Nun began rolling on the ground. Her actual physical size was much larger than what others saw in her state, so several clones who had come to surf the internet were knocked over because they couldn't dodge in time.

Now, whether they were there to surf the internet, passing by, or consuming in the shop next door, everyone came over to watch the commotion. Even two of the patrolling Security Officer Cheng Yus came in to see what was going on.

"Everyone, come and judge this!" The Centaur Nun was still throwing a tantrum and rolling around at the internet cafe's front desk, muttering incessantly, while Wild Dog Cheng Yu sat alone behind the bar, head down, smoking a cigarette in sullen silence.

"Boss, it's not that I, your brother, am lecturing you, but in this world, it's not easy to find a partner. Treat your wife better," Security Officer Cheng Yu said, saluting toward the sky. "His Majesty the Emperor has said that the most important thing between a husband and wife is patience. Life, after all, is just living with someone; if you endure it, you'll get through it."

"Exactly, exactly! The landlady is really nice; she even gives us soda to drink. Boss, you've never given us soda." The shirtless street-thug Cheng Yus who were surfing the internet chimed in, taking advantage of the chaotic scene to steal soda from the refrigerator next to the bar.

"Alright, alright, disperse, disperse! It's a husband and wife fighting; why are you all joining in the fun? Go back to your surfing." Wild Dog Cheng Yu's underlings began to disperse the crowd of onlookers. Of course, they didn't dare to chase away the Security Officers; not only could they not chase them away, but they also had to take two cartons of cigarettes from behind the bar for them.

After the Security Officers left, Wild Dog Cheng Yu said irritably, "Great, another two cartons of cigarettes lost. You're certainly better at saving money than I am; forget it, it's not convenient to talk outside. Come with me to the back room; I'll explain it to you."