Chapter 34: Not Failing Fame But Failing Her

Leping County was built against the mountains, and the path to the back mountain was slightly rugged; in many places, the path could no longer be discerned, making it inconvenient for Gu Jiangming to walk, yet at this moment, he felt a sensation he could not describe.

Was it excitement?

That was not it.

Was it regret?

A little, but that was not all of it.

More of it was that feeling of trepidation, wanting to confirm whether his thoughts were correct.

Every step he took.

Felt so familiar, as if he had been here before, walking here step by step in such a dejected state.

【Must believe that a hundred years are all but a dream; Heaven and Earth are vast, so wander at will.】

【Regret. Regret. Regret.】

【Gu Jiangming of Leping County stands weeping before his wife's grave.】

The characters carved on the tombstone were crooked and hard to distinguish; one could only barely make out the general meaning through a few strokes.

But this phrase was known only to himself, and this point alone was enough to prove that there could not possibly be a second person who had set up this tombstone besides him.

"A hundred years of life are all a grand dream; Heaven and Earth are vast, one should indulge and wander to one's heart's content, but how can the regret in one's heart be forgotten just like that?"

"I am sorry, I broke my promise again."

A voice identical to his own rang in his ears.

【Mie Changsheng】 opened automatically in Gu Jiangming's mind; before the save file of 【Wine Sword Immortal】, there was another save file that had been preserved.

There were many save files Gu Jiangming would not specifically save because there was nothing special about them; only those save files that left him feeling unsettled would Gu Jiangming keep.

At the time, Gu Jiangming had wondered why there could only be one save file in each timeline, and as long as there was a save file, the time of the Reincarnation would automatically advance.

The current Gu Jiangming had figured it out.

Because in each timeline of the Reincarnation, there could only be one version of himself.

The tombstone before his eyes was the save file from the first time he had completed an entire timeline and saved it.

The name of the save file was—【Not Failing Fame But Failing Her】.

Just like the previous situation, Gu Jiangming had never imagined 【Mie Changsheng】 to be too special.

Only now did Gu Jiangming confirm that 【Mie Changsheng】 was capable of changing reality.

And Gu Jiangming's previous attitude toward 【Mie Changsheng】 was like that of a normal person facing a realistic game.

It was just that this game opened in his own mind, without needing to be started through other media.

Therefore, everyone encountered inside 【Mie Changsheng】 was, in reality, just a passerby, an NPC, to Gu Jiangming.

And he would start his life inside through his own operations, making attempts at every step.

The highly free and unique social system was also why Gu Jiangming had once regarded 【Mie Changsheng】 as a welfare game for transmigrators to pass the time.

At the very least, having returned to this boring and dull ancient dynasty, he could still have a game to pass the time.

The most classic feature of 【Mie Changsheng】, and a setting Gu Jiangming found quite interesting, was the interaction function within it.

By establishing social relationships, you could set up sworn brotherhoods, take on masters, and marry and have children.

Throughout the entire Reincarnation, the self-simulated plot would change and take new turns based on your social relationships or your own choices.

For example, if you were a scholar among the commoners, as long as you defected to an official with extremely high worldly prestige and became his protégé, you could possess a massive amount of resources.

With a player's mindset, Gu Jiangming was certainly not interested in climbing up step by step at the beginning.

You could study hard for twenty years, but it was not as good as defecting to a powerful big shot to rise rapidly.

You are a player! You are the protagonist!

There was undoubtedly a natural protagonist mindset in this; how could one be considered a protagonist without something special?

You could be a live-in son-in-law, you could take the path of living off a woman, so why think about the path of hard work and struggle?

Reality was already torturous enough, why look for a sense of existence in a game?

Trying every possible way to become a live-in son-in-law and complete a class transformation—wouldn't the progress of this process be fast as heaven?

And at the start of this save file, Gu Jiangming's mindset was initially the most typical player mindset.

However, the appearance of one person changed Gu Jiangming's initial extreme, unorthodox, and nearly "cheat-code" way of thinking; in every subsequent Reincarnation, Gu Jiangming no longer had that initial contempt for NPCs.

Sometimes, his thinking would also include a kind of respect for NPCs.

For instance, during the second save file, Gu Jiangming expressed his feelings to Jiu Jiu and established a marital relationship; he had completely taken a liking to her.

He felt Jiu Jiu's character portrait was very good-looking and very much in line with his own aesthetic.

In fact, even if he had not succeeded and had been rejected by the other party, Gu Jiangming would have finished the necessary procedures and left on his own to avoid embarrassment.

He would not perform any other redundant operations.

Of course, the main thing was that the save file had indeed been a heavy blow; he had almost become depressed through the screen.

This was Gu Jiangming's first serious wife in 【Mie Changsheng】; she was not special, there was nothing unique about her, and furthermore, she was even somewhat foolishly innocent in her temperament.

At the time, Gu Jiangming had not thought much of it; he did not treat it as a Reincarnation World where one could cultivate immortality, but only wanted to pass the imperial examinations and walk his own path as a literary saint.

Leping County was his spawn point, and as for Gu Jiangming... he had been clever since childhood, but his family was poor, so even when studying, he would secretly listen to the teacher's lectures outside the private school.

The private school teacher, seeing his eagerness to learn, did not drive Gu Jiangming away, and Gu Jiangming had already realized at that time that his character seemed to come with a transmigrator's perspective; no matter what he did, the progress was very rapid, and in terms of mindset and ideas, they were exactly the same as his real self.

But the Gu Jiangming at that time did not think too much about this aspect.

And the wife in this save file was considered a childhood sweetheart of Gu Jiangming; both their families were very poor, she yearned for the school, and Gu Jiangming was also a child with no books to read, but through his own inherent Knowledge and the local knowledge he had stolen by listening in, seeing how eager she was to learn, he taught her to read.

Later, Gu Jiangming learned that she had talked about him to others, constantly praising Gu Jiangming's profound knowledge, and she would also secretly bring him things to eat.

But Gu Jiangming had never taken it to heart; he helped her simply because he saw her eagerness to learn, just a small effort.

Subsequently, Gu Jiangming thought of a few small ideas that could not be effective in the long term, earned some copper coins, enrolled in the private school, and secured the status of a government student in the county.

At the time, Gu Jiangming was curious if 【Mie Changsheng】 had a favorability system, and after checking carefully, there was no such value, so he tentatively sought her out to see if the person who often talked about him had already reached the required favorability.

As it turned out, she readily agreed, saying she would wait for Gu Jiangming to grow up before they married.

Gu Jiangming was only testing the waters at the time; how could the position of a legal wife be given away so easily?

But a real man must keep his word, and there was no need to go through all that trouble just to deceive an NPC's feelings.

At worst, he could just find someone better in the next Reincarnation.

Sure enough, once they reached the appropriate age, Gu Jiangming married her.

However, after they were married, Gu Jiangming discovered that this wife he had picked up had the nickname "Little Cripple," and at the time, quite a few people in the county mocked Gu Jiangming, who always topped the exam rankings, because of this.

My wife—only I am allowed to judge her!

What are you people barking about? Gu Jiangming naturally fought tooth and nail with these people.

Just like that, the two of them huddled together for warmth; because their family conditions were not very good, later on, when they wanted to pursue official titles, both the travel expenses and the difficulty of going to take the exams were immense.

The elders in the family meant to persuade Gu Jiangming to stop thinking about any official titles; going to such great lengths to take the exams, wouldn't it be useless if he didn't pass, and wouldn't it just waste the family's wealth for nothing?

Young people should just farm properly.

Don't be overly ambitious.

Gu Jiangming was not an ancient person; he knew clearly in his heart that only knowledge could change fate, and only by becoming someone in the Imperial Court could he master his own destiny.

It was impossible to make him give up on pursuing an official title, and although his conditions had improved relatively after he passed the provincial exam, compared to before, it only exempted him from taxes, unless he didn't intend to take the next step and ran off to be an official right now.

Of course, there were also landlords who wanted to register their land under Gu Jiangming's name to avoid the Imperial Court's taxes, but that money took time and could not be obtained in a lump sum; Gu Jiangming's initial thought was to speedrun it as early as possible—where would he have so much time to drag things out? A one-shot success was Gu Jiangming's mindset at the time.

But the elders in the family thought that since he had already passed the provincial exam, there was no need to keep tossing and turning to take the imperial exam for the top scholar; they argued about this for a long time, but Gu Jiangming still could not convince them.

She, that simpleton, followed her husband wherever he went, never refuting Gu Jiangming's ideas; her entire being possessed only one talent trait: 【Eat Bitter and Endure Labor】.

Only the two of them knew the hardships of that journey.

And Gu Jiangming tried his best to pass every round of exams on the first try to avoid having to retake them, which would have increased the travel expenses needed to attend the exams.

After working hard together for a long time, they finally saved up enough travel expenses to go to the capital for the exams, and even this amount was not abundant; they would likely have to skip meals on the road to save money, but fortunately, with his status as a provincial graduate, Gu Jiangming was helped and appreciated by others on the way to the exams, and he was sponsored with a sum of silver.

But Gu Jiangming still remembered her words when he left home—"If it's still not enough, I'll ask my father for more; he has a sharp tongue but a soft heart, he'll still help me. At worst, I'll do chores for my parents and ask them to mortgage some copper coins for me."

At that time, Gu Jiangming's mindset had leveled out; he would just go to the capital to take the exam, and if he didn't pass, he would never try again, just live a good life and stop adding unnecessary difficulties to the family.

He deeply understood the pressure Fan Jin felt when he passed the provincial exam.

The lack of understanding from his father-in-law, the spending pressure when going to the capital for the exams, and what kind of reality he would have to face if he didn't pass with high honors.

Relying on his knowledge that transcended the era and the determination that he must pass with high honors, Gu Jiangming passed the imperial exam as the top scholar in one fell swoop.

Whether it was his calligraphy that amazed the world or his article that could be called peerless, both were appreciated by the Emperor at the time, who praised him profusely in the throne room.

This led to Gu Jiangming being snatched up as a son-in-law under the ranking board as soon as his name was posted; even though Gu Jiangming stated repeatedly that he already had a family, he was still kidnapped and forcibly married.

Gu Jiangming told them again and again, but the others didn't take it seriously, reasoning with him and appealing to his emotions.

They told Gu Jiangming, "No one in the capital knows about this matter; you are very honest, you told them, but think about your success after years of studying by the window—isn't the beautiful prospect before you now what you were pursuing?"

"As long as you don't say it out loud, aren't you just a nineteen-year-old eligible bachelor who hasn't married yet? When the time comes, you'll find a good patron, and with this connection, high office and great wealth will be right before your eyes."

But from the time Gu Jiangming went to the capital for the exams to being snatched as a son-in-law, a full six months had passed; the travel expenses for the exams were saved by the two of them together.

Thinking of those words, those sincere feelings.

Gu Jiangming broke down.

Yes, he could indeed treat everything as nothing now, but if he really did it, would he still be a human being?

After wasting half a year in the capital, Gu Jiangming, having been forcibly married, found a good opportunity and escaped the capital; relying on his willpower, he walked for a full three months and finally returned to Leping County.

After fifteen months of separation, Gu Jiangming thought he had done what a husband should do most.

But something even more devastating happened.

Because Gu Jiangming had been missing for a full seven months while going to the capital for the exams, in the eighth month, news finally arrived in Leping County that Gu Jiangming had passed the imperial exam as the top scholar, and at the same time, news arrived that he had married the daughter of the Governor of the Capital.

Everyone in Leping County was mocking someone for having poor judgment, for having taken a fancy to an ungrateful wretch.

During this time, Gu Jiangming could not imagine how the other party could have endured it, so he was anxious to go back and prove that he had not let her down.

By the time he returned to his former home, things were already different.

Because in the second month after the rumor about Gu Jiangming and the daughter of the Governor of the Capital reached Leping County.

His wife from this save file was first forced by her parents to remarry, because only by remarrying could they earn back the money from this losing investment through this cheap daughter.

She refused; while making her do manual labor to make up for the borrowed travel expenses Gu Jiangming had used for the exams, they made things difficult for her and forced her to change her mind, after all, she would have to rely on a man to survive in the future.

Gu Jiangming could not imagine what kind of person could endure such inner torment during this time.

Just how strong did his wife have to be to face the fact that her husband might have "betrayed" her?

Even if it was a rumor, when everyone was spreading it, the biggest rumor became the truth.

Her husband's "betrayal," the mockery in the county, her parents demanding she remarry, and having to listen to them badmouth her former husband from time to time.

How much pressure could such things place on one person?

So at that moment, Gu Jiangming's heart had long since sunk to the bottom of the sea.

And that simpleton who had married him just thought everything could be dragged out; she firmly believed that all of this was fake, that she could wait for Gu Jiangming's return, but she didn't.

Under countless persuasions, her father could no longer suppress his thoughts and dragged his daughter away to remarry.

And she proved in her own way that she had not let Gu Jiangming down; unwilling to accept the remarriage, she chose to end her own life to preserve her purity.

Gu Jiangming touched his head, suddenly unable to remember that name.

He had a headache.

A conversation echoed in his mind.

"Why does everyone call you Little Cripple?"

"Because I don't have a name."

"Why don't you have one?"

"My father and mother didn't think of a name for me."

"Impossible, everyone must have their own name."

"I am a girl; they despised me as a money-loser, so would they even bother to name me? Do you think that's possible?" She glared at you.

"How could that be."

"My name is Gu Jiangming."

"What is your father's surname?"

"His surname is Wang."

"Then you should be called Wang Qinghe."

"Look, this way, my 'Jiang' (river) can match your 'He' (river), my 'Ming' (bright) can match your 'Qing' (clear); rivers can flow together, and 'Ming' means bright and open, while 'Qing' means pure and untainted."

"No, no." You shook your head again, "Putting 'Qingming' together is too ominous; I will think of a better name for you."

"No need, it is already very good that I can have my own name. Wang Qinghe, Wang Qinghe, what a lovely name."

Oh.

So her name was Wang Qinghe.

Gu Jiangming's head began to throb with pain again.

It was a person standing before a grave, dressed in rags, his face full of weariness.

"Tell me, if there are past and present lives, will you still be able to remember me?"

"I do not want to be forgotten by you, nor do I want to forget you."

"One must believe that a hundred years is but a dream; Heaven and Earth are vast, so just wander at will."

"They urged me to let go, they told me to forget you, they thought you were insignificant, that a hundred years is just a big dream, but... but can our regrets really be forgotten?"

【Save file saved.】

【To respect your personal rights, this Reincarnation has retained your initialized physical state.】

【At the same time, you will receive one opportunity to change the save file; please explore and use it yourself.】

In the deep night when that save file was recorded three months ago.

Wang Qinghe draped a sable robe over her father, who was reviewing official documents at his desk.

Suddenly affected by the sharp pain that surged in her mind, Wang Qinghe stumbled and nearly fell to the ground.

"What is wrong?" Wang Yuan noticed his daughter's movement behind him, immediately put down the files in his hand, stood up, and asked in a concerned tone: "Do you want Father to find an imperial physician to take a look at you?"

"It is just a headache." Wang Qinghe shook her head and said: "It is nothing serious."

【Please begin your first Reincarnation—】

【Please begin your first Reincarnation—】

【Please begin your first Reincarnation—】

That constantly repeating voice forced Wang Qinghe to return to her room to rest first.

Segments of text appeared in her mind along with the images.

【Your name is Wang Qinghe, this is your first Reincarnation, your name was supposed to be Wang Yu, you are a successor of the Yongliang Wang Family Blade, your status is the Second Young Lady of the Wang family, but you have disliked this name since you were young; in the year you turned eight, you changed your name to Wang Qinghe.】

Two-in-one chapter.

To ensure the plot flows completely, this 5,000-word chapter has met the daily update count.

At the same time, we have fixed a derivative bug content related to body initialization.

Added a spirit body form for Gu Mingyue.

See Chapter 24 for details.

(End of chapter)