Chapter 27: Reality Alters, Dou Clan Seizes Power

Gu Kang died.

He is the first member of your family whose reputation among the people surpasses that of the court; his achievements shine brilliantly in the annals of history, and all people under heaven will never forget his merits.

Achievement unlocked: Sole Favor of the Emperor, Wise Monarch and Virtuous Minister, Peaceful Rivers and Calm Seas, Virtue Reaches the Four Quarters, Eternal Incense.

Sole Favor of the Emperor (Basic Achievement): Alone, you have gained the Emperor's favor.

Wise Monarch and Virtuous Minister (Advanced Achievement): You stand alongside the sovereign of your age in history, praised by all people.

Peaceful Rivers and Calm Seas (Rare Achievement): You managed flood control and saved the common people, worthy of comparison with Yu the Great's deeds.

Virtue Reaches the Four Quarters (Rare Achievement): Your accomplishments are revered by all people under heaven, making you a figure universally admired.

Eternal Incense (Rare Achievement): All people under heaven will spontaneously offer incense in your honor.

Congratulations! You have earned 215,000 achievement points.

Exclusive effect of Eternal Incense: As long as Gu Kang's incense continues, an additional 1,000 achievement points will be granted annually.

Game prompts flickered across Gu Yi's vision, slightly easing his heavy thoughts.

Too many!

Although Gu Yi had already guessed that Gu Kang's unlocked achievements would far exceed Gu Sheng's.

But he never expected so many!

Two hundred fifteen thousand achievement points!

From basic to rare achievements, all were present.

Most crucially, one achievement carried an exclusive effect.

As long as Gu Kang's incense endures, achievement points will continue to flow.

For Gu Yi, this was undoubtedly tremendous good news.

The Gu clan aims to endure for thousands of years!

As long as the Gu clan's influence remains, Gu Kang's incense will almost certainly never fade, and the achievement points it generates are unimaginable.

Moreover, Gu Yi discovered another way to earn achievement points!

This game has basic achievements.

That means not only elite figures like Gu Kang and Gu Sheng can earn achievement points!

As long as the clan has enough descendants, even those lacking talent can unlock basic achievements.

Even if basic achievements grant only a small number of points.

But if the quantity adds up.

Even a little is meat!

Gu Yi took a deep breath, then re-entered the clan information interface, intending to test whether he could now embody a role.

{Do you decide to embody a role? }

{Cost: 300,000 achievement points}

Three hundred thousand achievement points!

Gu Yi hesitated for a moment, then ultimately chose to cancel embodiment.

Although this special achievement greatly eases the pressure on achievement points.

But it requires time.

For Gu Yi right now, achievement points are still extremely scarce.

The Gu clan's prestige is currently at its peak.

And the entire Eastern Han will soon enter a prolonged period of prosperity; now is clearly not the wise time to embody a role.

Don't forget: once you embody a role, you cannot earn achievement points!

Gu Yi must always preserve at least one opportunity to embody a role.

To respond to sudden crises or chaos in the realm!

Currently, manipulation merely adds luster to the Gu clan.

Gu Yi wants the Gu clan to endure—not fleeting glory.

With a thought, he closed the interface, observed for a while longer, then exited the game entirely.

He planned to first see what changes had occurred in reality.

Gu Kang's impact was simply too great.

He didn't believe it would be like Gu Xiao's time, leaving nothing behind.

He walked into the living room.

Cold air still struck his face.

Old Gu disliked the warm air from air conditioning; he had only plugged in an electric heater, sipping tea calmly while watching a military program on the sofa.

This may be an inherent trait embedded in the Chinese male lineage.

From childhood onward, he could always discourse on the grand schemes of history.

The older he grew, the more opinions he held.

He embodied "An old steed in the stable still dreams of a thousand li" perfectly.

Gu Yi first glanced around, confirmed there was nothing unusual, then sat beside Old Gu and said: "Dad, our ancestor—"

"What are you trying to do!" Old Gu cut him off with a glare. "Ever since just now, you've been asking about our ancestor!"

"I'm telling you, don't touch anything in the Gu Kang Shrine!"

"If you do, you'll be a traitor to our family!"

Old Gu's face was stern, his expression utterly unyielding.

Hearing this, Gu Yi froze in shock.

Kang Gong Shrine?

Has reality truly changed?

"Of course—he's different from Gu Xiao and Gu Sheng. His reputation across the land is too great; even the corrective force of history cannot erase him entirely."

Gu Yi mused inwardly.

No time to think more—he rushed back to his room and picked up his phone to search carefully.

Soon, he found this location.

But it was not, as Gu Yi had imagined, in Hebei.

Though Hebei did have one, the most famous was in Jiangnan Province.

This was a living shrine erected for Gu Kang by later generations.

Originally built during the Eastern Han period, it underwent multiple repairs across successive dynasties.

The most precious items inside were the golden statue commissioned by the Jiangnan aristocratic clans during the Ming dynasty, and an ancient jade said to have been worn by Kang Gong.

These had been placed inside the Kang Gong Shrine for display.

Officially, they still belonged to the Gu family.

Gu Yi searched carefully for images of the ancient jade.

It really was left behind by Gu Kang!

In an instant, Gu Yi's heart began pounding again.

"They really did leave something behind…"

"Though only this one item—extremely well-preserved—it's still a major breakthrough!"

"If more things keep appearing, maybe my family will one day have a private museum—then won't I become Director Gu?"

Gu Yi was ecstatic.

After taking a deep breath, he carefully checked the historical records again.

Indeed, history had not changed.

Though the Gu family had undergone a radical transformation, its current influence was still insufficient to override history's corrective force and alter the entire course of history.

Yet the Gu family now had its own dedicated entry.

It contained detailed biographies of Gu Xiao, Gu Kang, Gu Sheng, and others.

But nothing followed beyond that.

The entire Gu family appeared like a meteor descending from the heavens—flourishing brilliantly in the early Eastern Han, then gradually weakening until vanishing from history.

Clearly, this was due to the corrective force of history.

Only Gu Yi's intervention could change this!

Gu Yi shook his head and did not dwell on it.

This was already a very good start.

The achievements of Gu Kang and Gu Sheng far exceeded his original expectations.

As for the future—

As long as he could earn achievement points,

why fear the Gu family would be unable to resist history's correction and vanish into obscurity?

He had nearly two thousand years to change all of this!

Gu Yi casually tossed his phone aside, picked up his game console, stared at the screen for a few seconds, and directly returned to the game.

Luoyang.

As soon as Gu Yi entered the game, decades of the Gu family's development flooded into his mind.

Though Gu Yi had only been away from the game for a moment,

years had passed within the game's timeline.

It was now autumn of Zhanghe Year Two.

Even Emperor Liu Da had already passed away!

With the Gu family's influence waning, history unfolded as originally intended, no longer marked by the grand turbulence of Liu Zhuang's era.

Liu Da died young.

Crown Prince Liu Zhao ascended the throne.

Due to his youth, Empress Dowager Dou assumed regency and held power over the realm.

The Gu family's current state matched Gu Kang's prior expectations: after his death, its power rapidly declined.

Though Liu Da had long ago promoted Gu Liang to the Minister Tai,

Gu Liang's talents could not, like Gu Kang's, swiftly seize authority or dominate the court ministers.

Of course, the Gu family had not weakened to the point of retreating back to Hebei.

Simply put, the Gu family once stood alone at the top; now it stood among the other great clans of the realm.

In fact, it was even stronger than most.

Because Ban Chao, Yuan An, and others had risen in prominence.

After Gu Sheng repelled the Northern Xiongnu, Han's prestige in the Western Regions reached its peak.

Ban Chao had spent these years dominating the Western Regions.

Aside from stabilizing local powers, he eliminated the remnants of the Northern Xiongnu's influence.

He had now been enfeoffed as Marquis of Ding Yuan.

As for Yuan An, since Gu Kang recommended him to the position of Governor, he had risen swiftly.

He was now the Grand Chancellor of the realm.

Clearly, his talents were extraordinary.

These people were all staunch political allies of the Hou Fu, all deeply indebted to the Hou Fu.

The only thing the Hou Fu currently lacked was a figure like Gu Kang, one worthy of leadership.

This was also within Gu Yi's expectations.

The Hou Fu would certainly weaken, but not to the extreme.

Of course, there were also some good developments.

Perhaps due to insufficient talent, Gu Liang could accomplish far less than Gu Kang had, leaving him with abundant free time.

His descendants now far surpassed those of the previous two generations.

He already had seven descendants.

Four sons, three daughters.

Many of the other Hou Fu members also had numerous children.

Some of them held official posts in the regions.

At least in terms of population, the Hou Fu had undergone a dramatic transformation, moving toward the stature of a great clan.

Gu Yi first carefully examined the attributes of these individuals.

There was no one like Gu Kang, a master of political scheming.

But one man caught Gu Yi's special attention.

He was Gu Liang's youngest son, Gu Xi.

【Administration: 75; Diplomacy: 70; Politics: 83; Command: 79; Martial: 67】

Although individually, his attributes were not as extraordinary as those of Gu Kang or Gu Cheng, he excelled in comprehensiveness.

Each attribute could be called excellent.

He could govern and wage war.

This truly caught Gu Yi's eye.

Having many children certainly had its advantages.

At least, the probability of producing talent had greatly increased.

"Perhaps one day, the Hou Fu will also witness a scene as splendid as the Eight Dragons of the Xun clan."

Gu Yi murmured softly, then turned his gaze toward the Guan Jun Hou Fu.

The atmosphere within the Guan Jun Hou Fu was serious.

Gu Liang's several sons stood before him, their faces clearly filled with concern.

"Hmph!"

Gu Liang sat on his chair, face flushed with anger, and said: "What is the Empress Dowager trying to do?"

"How long has it been since the late Emperor passed away?"

"She has successively promoted members of the Dou clan, ignoring the objections of ministers across court, and seized full control of the court for herself."

Since Liu Da's death,

the Empress Dowager Dou first promoted her elder brother Dou Xian from Commander of the Tiger Guards to Palace Secretary, placing him in charge of state secrets and issuing imperial edicts;

then appointed her younger brother Dou Du as Commander of the Tiger Guards, commanding the Emperor's personal guards;

her younger brothers Dou Jing and Dou Gui were both made Palace Attendants, responsible for conveying imperial orders and managing documents.

In less than a year,

the Dou clan had already seized control of the entire imperial palace.

With Wang Mang's precedent in mind, ministers were naturally highly sensitive to this; they repeatedly submitted memorials of protest, but the Empress Dowager simply suppressed the matter outright.

Afterwards, the ministers turned to Gu Liang.

Hoping to leverage the Hou Fu's influence to jointly petition and force the Empress Dowager to relent.

But the Empress Dowager clearly did not care about the ministers' opinions.

She pressed on stubbornly, suppressed the matter entirely, and even publicly declared that Gu Liang was old—why not follow the example of the Loyal Martial Marquis and retire to Julu to enjoy peace?

How could Gu Liang not be furious?

The Hou Fu might depart, but it could never depart in such a humiliating manner.

Otherwise, the influence built by two generations of the Gu family would be instantly shattered.

Letting the entire world witness the Hou Fu's decline.

"Father."

"The current court situation is treacherous; the Empress Dowager clearly will not favor our Hou Fu descendants. Now that you have submitted your memorial, she will surely seek every opportunity to target our family."

"Why not seize this chance to withdraw now, and await future changes?"

The speaker was Gu Liang's eldest son, Gu Qi.

His attributes were quite ordinary; his first thought upon hearing this was to withdraw immediately.

Upon hearing this, Gu Liang immediately frowned.

He glanced at him, then turned to the other three sons present and asked: "What do you think of this?"

This was perhaps the Hou Fu's exclusive method of educating its descendants.

Passed down from the original Gu Yi, to Gu Kang and Gu Cheng, then to Gu Liang.

"We must not withdraw!"

Before his two older brothers could speak, the youngest, Gu Xi, shook his head firmly and said: "If we withdraw now, no matter what happens in the future,"

"it will be a devastating blow to the Hou Fu."

"Father."

"Our Gu family's two generations of ancestors worked hard to earn the imperial house's innate goodwill toward us."

"Your Majesty will grow up!"

"If our Gu family truly withdraws now, the impact on our reputation across the realm need not be mentioned."

"Should Your Majesty reclaim power one day."

"Will he still favor our Gu family?"

"And even with the Empress Dowager—now that we've withdrawn, will she truly feel at ease?"

"At this moment, the only course is to press forward despite the difficulties."

"Even if we cannot stop the Empress Dowager, as long as we hold on, should Your Majesty one day regain power, our Gu family will return to the glory of our grandfather's era!"

Gu Xi suddenly lowered his voice and said seriously, "I believe that even now, the Empress Dowager will not emulate the Han empresses of old."

"The golden age built by my grandfather and Emperor Ming still endures."

"The hearts of the people have not turned chaotic."

"This is the most vital foundation for Your Majesty's future reign!"

Gu Liang glanced at Gu Xi in surprise; his serious expression gradually softened, and he nodded approvingly: "Well said."

"This, indeed, is the only path for our Gu family!"

He gave no clear praise or criticism to his sons, then told them to seek out Yuan An and the others to discuss their next steps.

Gu Yi was deeply confused.

Logically, given Gu Xi's talent, the Gu family should never have declined so rapidly into obscurity in history.

Yet why did the search results show no trace of Gu Xi?

This makes no sense!

With Gu Xi's ability and the Gu family's prestige, they should never have been forgotten.

A strange sense of unease surged back.

Gu Yi instantly guessed the reason.

——Early death.

Indeed, not long after, in the summer of Yongyuan Year One, Gu Xi truly fell ill!

(Ps: Same time tonight for another update—early in the month, please vote for monthly tickets~~ we'll add extra chapters!)

The next chapter is the most critical plotline of the entire Eastern Han period—don't rush, brothers.

Also, recommend a friend's new novel—brothers who like it should go check it out.

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(End of chapter)