Chapter 1623: The Empire's Ideal

"Xiaoru..." Seeing Shen Xiaoru crying like rain on pear blossoms, Zhu Yaofei instantly shoved all the strange things to the back of his mind.

"Xiaoru, it... it must have been so hard on you..." The moment Zhu Yaofei thought of all the torment his wife had endured over the past year and more, his heart filled with both grief and guilt, and tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.

Truly, a man does not easily shed tears — only when his heart is truly broken!

Seeing her husband, just recovered from a grave illness, begin to cry, Shen Xiaoru remembered the doctor's instructions — the patient had just woken from a "prolonged coma of unknown cause," and although all tests had found no serious problems, he still needed plenty of rest and should avoid intense emotional fluctuations...

"Yaofei, don't cry. The fact that you've woken up is better than anything!" Shen Xiaoru wiped her tears even as she comforted Zhu Yaofei.

Zhu Yaofei was quite the male chauvinist. With such a disaster befalling the family, he had to grit his teeth and hold on no matter what — he had to recover quickly, get back to work, and earn money to support the family!

The moment he thought of work, Zhu Yaofei grew worried — he remembered that before falling into the coma he had been busy with a big deal, having followed several close senior colleagues in a roundabout investment in a company preparing to go public. He had no idea whether the deal had succeeded. If it had, he would at least have some money on hand...

"Xiaoru, that company we invested in..."

"It's already gone bankrupt..." Shen Xiaoru sighed. "It could have kept going, but who could have imagined that an epidemic pneumonia would suddenly break out! It erupted just a few months after you fell into the coma, and no one was prepared...

Yaofei, you can tell just by looking — everyone is wearing masks, and the shops are all desolate. This infectious disease is truly severe, worse than the flu and worse than SARS. It has now spread across the whole world, and the most urgent matter in the world is defeating it. But the medical community still hasn't developed a specific cure or a vaccine, so the only way to slow the spread is through quarantine and increased social distancing. So for now everyone has had to set aside economic development and boosting consumption...

Sigh, the company we invested in was in chain restaurants. There was no way to keep it going, so it had to close down!"

What? What is going on? How did an epidemic break out?

And this epidemic actually shut down the company I invested in... How is that possible? Such a big company, how could it close just like that! Zhu Yaofei felt his vision go dark and nearly fainted — fortunately, having once been an emperor in a dream, he no longer regarded money so heavily.

"Th-then my job at the fund company..."

"The company has arranged long-term sick leave for you," Shen Xiaoru said. "Yaofei, you've just recovered from a serious illness. You need to rest properly. Don't think about work for now."

Don't think about it... Zhu Yaofei's heart was nearly shattered!

An investment of several million gone, and his job more than half ruined! Who knew how many people were eyeing his position! He had already been on sick leave for over a year, and even if he went back it would be gone. Even if he wasn't fired, he would be demoted. There was nothing for it... he would just have to climb back up. But he was already forty years old, and he had been gravely ill — could he still fight his way up?

"Xiaoru," Zhu Yaofei looked at his wife, "I... I've let you down!"

"Let me down?" Shen Xiaoru seemed not to understand. "Yaofei, what are you saying?"

"I... I can't give you a good life anymore. The investment is wiped out, my job is hard to keep, and the medical bills cost so much..." Zhu Yaofei sighed, tears about to fall again. "From now on, from now on..."

What to do from now on? Zhu Yaofei didn't dare think any further!

"Yaofei!" Shen Xiaoru cut her husband off, looking both amused and exasperated. "What are you talking about? You make it sound as if I was with you for the money!"

Huh? Zhu Yaofei could hardly believe his ears. Hadn't his wife Shen Xiaoru been won over by the money he spent? Was she actually a woman who regarded money as dirt?

Zhu Yaofei studied his wife's expression — very sincere! After not seeing her for over a year, her acting had improved!

Shen Xiaoru saw her husband's dazed look and assumed his mind was still not clear, so she stopped humoring his nonsense and instead told him about their plans going forward.

"Yaofei," Shen Xiaoru said, "you're very weak right now, so you should still rest quietly... and don't stay in Shanghai any longer. I'll go back to our hometown with you and stay there. Let's get your health back first. By the way, our children are in the hometown now too. School has been suspended for this period, and I haven't had the time to look after them, so I sent them back. Our whole family can finally be together for a while."

That made sense! Zhu Yaofei thought: go back to the old home in Hunan for a while, recover, and then figure out how to make a comeback! If this pneumonia really was that severe, then nothing much could be accomplished during this period anyway. Better to enjoy the warmth of wife and children first and get by for now. He glanced at his wife again and suddenly realized this woman gave him a very reassuring feeling... Had he really misjudged her in the past?

"Where is this car going?" Zhu Yaofei looked at the scene outside the window and noticed something was off.

"To board the plane!" Shen Xiaoru looked at this husband who was always asking strange questions. "It's not our first time flying from here."

Not the first time? Zhu Yaofei thought: Why don't I remember this airport? Where is this? No, wait — it seems a little familiar, but it's all blurry. I can't recall!

Just as Zhu Yaofei was straining to search his fragmented memories, the car stopped in front of an aircraft parking area.

"Yaofei, we're here..." Shen Xiaoru forced a small smile. "Let's board the plane first. You were unconscious for so long and sustained only by IV drips. The doctor said you can have liquid food soon. I've had the flight crew prepare chicken soup. Once you're on board, drink a little soup first, then get a good sleep, and we'll be there."

What? Chicken soup served on the plane? What kind of plane is this? Even business class doesn't offer that!

What on earth happened?

What exactly is going on?

What has happened to this world?

Full of questions, Zhu Yaofei climbed out of the car with his wife's support, then looked up — and was instantly stunned by the sight before him.

Parked in front of him was a beautifully styled, twin-engine large business jet!

The aircraft's stair-door had already been lowered, and three blonde, blue-eyed foreign flight attendants in garish gold uniforms were standing beneath the door, not wearing masks, smiling at Zhu Yaofei and Shen Xiaoru.

"This plane is..." Zhu Yaofei asked in a low voice.

"This plane was sent by your father to bring us back."

What? Zhu Yaofei was instantly dumbfounded. My father? My father is a teacher in Hunan. How could he send a plane... Could I have another father?

Shen Xiaoru looked at her husband and continued: "After you lost consciousness, your father was frantic with worry, so he sent two planes to wait in rotation at Yingtian International Airport... The moment you woke up, they were to bring you back immediately!"

And he sent two planes at once!

Zhu Yaofei felt dizzy. Who exactly is my father? No — who exactly am I?

"X-Xiaoru, t-tell me quickly, who am I?" Zhu Yaofei grabbed his wife and asked.

"Yaofei, you... you are Zhu Benhai!"

"Zhu Benhai..." The moment Zhu Yaofei heard those three words, a sharp pain shot through his head, and from the depths of his mind surged another flood of memory fragments.

Among them were memories concerning "Zhu Benhai" and "Zhu Yaofei." Zhu Yaofei was a descendant of the Ming dynasty's Prince of Min line. The Min princely line's generation poem ran: Hui yin ying yan yu, ding gan qi yin yong, chong li yuan zi fang, kuan rong xi ben cong. By the time it reached Zhu Yao's generation, it should be the "ben" generation, so his genealogical name was Benhai. But the name on his identity card was... At this thought, another version of memory surfaced in Zhu Yaofei's mind.

His formal name was Zhu Benhai, courtesy name Yaofei, and he went by his courtesy name in public, known as Zhu Yaofei. And he also held a terrifying identity — he was the Crown Prince of the oil-rich Kingdom of Riau!

And his father was the tenth King of the Kingdom of Riau, Zhu Ximing!