Chapter 267: Yuan Qing Cheng: The Fool Was Us Five All Along

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Yuan Qingcheng imagined it perfectly: she would pretend she hadn't noticed Zhao Yu's flaw, continue living with him as a loving couple, and treat each other exactly as before.

Yuan Qingcheng told herself: "Maybe it was Shi Yun's greedy little cat who told him about the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall? I can't be so hasty—jumping to conclusions that he's the delivery guy. Besides, my thoughts are too extreme: us five crossing over into this era is already unbelievable; could it really be us six? Maybe that delivery guy never died at all?"

Yuan Qingcheng also felt she was creating problems out of nothing—why waste time on such useless thoughts? She'd be better off studying how to increase grain yields or cultivating more high-yield, tasty, nutritious fruits and vegetables.

Yuan Qingcheng even asked herself: "Has the Emperor treated you badly? He gives you everything you want, has spoiled you like a daughter these past years—afraid you'll melt if he holds you too close, afraid you'll break if he holds you too tight. Even in this feudal era, such a good man is hard to find; in your last life, you'd never have met one. Besides, back then, the Emperor never provoked or annoyed you—he gave you absolute freedom to develop on your own. Wasn't it you who came to him willingly, leading to over a decade of life together? Now, the Emperor hasn't changed at all—why are you so paranoid, doubting this and suspecting that?"

Yet Yuan Qingcheng understood all these principles, and she couldn't be certain Zhao Yu was the delivery guy they'd collided with right before dying in their last life—but once that seed of suspicion took root, like wildflower seeds carelessly scattered in spring, it quietly sprouted and grew in her heart, becoming impossible to uproot. At night, in silence, or in some casual moment with Zhao Yu, those doubts surged like hidden currents, silently eroding her inner peace.

Yuan Qingcheng was intelligent—some might say, purely in emotional intelligence, she was the highest among the five women—but the problem was, having emotional intelligence didn't mean she had acting skills.

In fact, the opposite was true: Yuan Qingcheng's intelligence and sensitivity often revealed cracks in her emotions, especially when facing Zhao Yu—the man she loved yet couldn't help scrutinizing. Even the tiniest glances of suspicion or doubt she let slip were impossible to hide from someone who knew her depth better than anyone.

In fact, after Zhao Yu accidentally revealed his flaw over the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall yesterday, he appeared unchanged on the surface—but in truth, he quietly observed every move Yuan Qingcheng made, especially after he used Ye Shi Yun as a cover and she immediately stopped suspecting him.

Zhao Yu had lived with the five women for twelve years, and during those twelve years, he had constantly played along with their acts—he knew them better than anyone.

Take Yuan Qingcheng: Zhao Yu knew well that she was the most suspicious of the five women, and her thoughts were the heaviest among them. So, when he revealed such a glaring flaw, and she didn't suspect him but instead pretended to defend Ye Shi Yun, it was almost certainly suspicious.

To put it plainly: after living with Yuan Qingcheng for twelve years, she still hadn't discovered he was a transmigrator—Zhao Yu was both proud and surprised. After all, a bedmate can't be hidden from forever; eventually, cracks always show. And Yuan Qingcheng was this suspicious.

All one could say was that the peaceful, intrigue-free life Zhao Yu had created for Yuan Qingcheng had truly numbed her. If she'd been placed in an environment of deceit and scheming, she wouldn't have waited so long to catch his flaw.

In short, after careful observation, Zhao Yu believed Yuan Qingcheng had guessed something—perhaps even nearly confirmed he was also a transmigrator.

Zhao Yu smiled faintly, utterly unconcerned.

Long ago, Zhao Yu—who believed in securing the bag—had already won over the five women. They'd already given him more than twenty children. He'd long since turned their five bowls of raw rice into five bowls of porridge.

Now, with over twenty children binding him to the five women, he had firmly tied them all to his side.

More importantly, the value of the five women—Zhao Yu hadn't fully squeezed them dry, but he no longer needed them to become the one emperor of a thousand ages.

First, Zhang Chun.

That foolish woman who always thought she was clever was the one Zhao Yu had squeezed the driest. She had long ago picked out for him all the talent he needed in governance and military affairs. Zhao Yu also understood Song Dynasty history—he knew who was useful, who wasn't, who could be trusted, and who was only to be used. Now, even if Zhang Chun quit, it affected Zhao Yu almost not at all.

Next, Li Lin.

Li Lin had trained for Zhao Yu the strongest army of this era—the Divine Mechanism Army—and helped him develop the Red Coat Cannon and matchlocks, and was even close to inventing the flintlock rifle.

Remember: the flintlock rifle was the firearm used longest by humanity, its development spanning the entire 17th to 19th centuries, continuing into the early 20th—usable for two or three centuries.

Even if Zhao Yu lived longer, could he live two or three centuries?

With the weapons the Zhao Song Dynasty already possessed, they were already enough for Zhao Yu to sweep the entire world.

Besides, with Li Lin's foundation and the various weapon directions she'd casually mentioned to the researchers working with her, even if Li Lin quit, those researchers could continue developing new weapons.

And hasn't Zhao Yu seen pigs run even if he never ate pork? As a child, he'd played with plenty of toy guns and cannons—he could give advice, guide development directions. Though he couldn't match Li Lin, he was still far superior to anyone else in this era.

So, even without Li Lin, Zhao Yu could still maintain the strongest army of this era.

Ye Shi Yun was a bit troublesome.

Without Ye Shi Yun overseeing the Zhao Song Dynasty's economy, Zhao Yu would have to rely on Cai Jing, Qin Hui, and others. Besides, Zhao Yu knew that ministers like Lyu Yihao, Zhao Kai, Zhang Que, Ye Mengde, and Chen Gui also understood economics well.

In short, though none matched Ye Shi Yun in reliability or ability, Zhao Yu had replacements for her.

Ma Xiao Jiao was truly troublesome.

Invention and creation depend most on vision and an open-minded approach.

These were qualities people of this era lacked.

But the good side was, Ma Xiao Jiao had already invented the steam engine and begun researching electromagnetic induction.

If Ma Xiao Jiao quit, as long as Zhao Yu carefully preserved her research notes and blueprints, those precious sparks of thought wouldn't easily fade. He could recruit more young talents passionate about science and continue exploring the path she had opened. After all, the birth of the steam engine signaled the horn of the Industrial Revolution about to sound across this ancient land, and research into electromagnetic induction heralded the first dawn of the Electrical Age.

Yuan Qingcheng was the same.

If Yuan Qingcheng quit, as long as Zhao Yu recruited more young talents passionate about agricultural science and continued along the path she had opened, achieving food self-sufficiency for the Zhao Song Dynasty was merely a matter of time.

This was Zhao Yu's confidence—he wasn't afraid the five women knew he was also a transmigrator.

To be honest, Zhao Yu was actually a little curious to see how the five women would react when they found out he was a transmigrator too.

Of course, if he could maintain the status quo, he'd prefer it—if these women, once emotionally broken, threw tantrums and quit, it would cause Zhao Yu considerable loss.

But then again, what must happen, Zhao Yu couldn't stop.

After careful observation, Zhao Yu believed Yuan Qingcheng had guessed he was also a transmigrator.

If Zhao Yu still hid this from Yuan Qingcheng, they'd inevitably drift apart, sleep in the same bed but dream different dreams, growing farther and farther apart.