[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten":3,"chapter-simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-chapter-148":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Simulated to Reality: I Once Looked Down Upon Ten Thousand Ages?",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2347163,4587,"Chapter 148: The North Wind","simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-chapter-148",148,"\u003Cp>Today, Cining Palace welcomed guests for the first time in a long while!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A group dressed entirely differently from those in the Jiangnan region.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the roosters crowed, they moved to the crisp sound of the night watchman’s bell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had already set out from Fengtian Gate!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stepping through the morning mist, they traversed the long palace corridors toward Cining Palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tuoba Hongyan, among the group, lifted his head slightly to gaze at the grand imperial palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Son of Heaven’s residence, indeed majestic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mind involuntarily recalled his father’s “Leopard Pavilion,” reeking of wild beasts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon ascending the throne, his father reorganized the Grand Secretariat and designed the “Leopard Pavilion” as the place to review memorials and military orders!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside, he kept tigers, leopards, and hunting dogs—every entry carried a thick, pungent odor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bed was strewn with firewood; he ate raw meat!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this thought, Tuoba Hongyan’s teeth ached.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His father claimed it was “sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall,” never forgetting the humiliation of the Yellow River.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Leopard Pavilion also displayed portraits of Lu Chen; his father would often stand before them for long stretches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tuoba Hongyan always felt his father was haunted by a demon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had originally planned to face Lu Chen again in a fair duel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over these years, his father had lost all desire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or rather—he had lost his spirit!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back then, Lu Chen’s Lu Family Army was terrifying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as Lu Chen lived, the North Wind dared not march south!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Father cares more about Lu Shaobao than he does about his own son!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The morning autumn chill grew sharper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet compared to the biting winds of the North Wind, this cold felt negligible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tuoba Hongyan tightened the fur hat on his head—he hadn’t worn it since arriving in Jiangnan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had it not been for his servant’s reminder today!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He might have forgotten that the North Wind of this season demanded a hat to ward off the cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He suddenly realized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long residence in the capital had made him forget the North Wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the past two years, he had served as both envoy and hostage in Daqing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Others lived in constant dread; he, however, thrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once, he favored plump women—tall, strong, and thrilling to ride astride.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had fallen for the “slender horses of Yangzhou,” their damp jade feet, petals drifting, dancing and singing in a single embrace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Tuoba Hongyan thought of this!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He patted his belly—his clothes no longer fit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d drunk too much last night; this morning, he was still dazed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, Jiangnan’s decadence dulls a true man’s ambition!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder southern scholar-officials disliked war!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Living in Jiangnan was living in paradise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leisurely ease, better than a god’s!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They arrived at Cining Palace!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tuoba Hongyan entered alone and met the Grand Empress Dowager.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind the pearl curtains!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An elderly woman with white hair sat calmly, beside her a tall woman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The eunuchs and palace maids withdrew silently, leaving only trusted attendants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elderly woman was Daqing’s Grand Empress Dowager.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tall woman was the former Princess of the North Wind, now Empress—and his aunt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tuoba Hongyan bowed; he was granted a seat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Today is colder than usual. I summoned you here of my own accord.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I didn’t expect… you’ve dressed so heavily!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Empress Dowager’s voice came from behind the curtain—surprisingly not aged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tuoba Hongyan froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He suddenly realized!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His full fur robes clashed with the palace hall’s atmosphere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His aunt wore only a light gauze shawl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The maids had added just one extra garment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hall’s windows were sealed; iron braziers glowed with charcoal—warmer than outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elderly woman’s voice came again, colder now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It seems the North Wind and Daqing are truly different.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At these words!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tuoba Hongyan’s drunken haze vanished instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He realized—he was in Daqing’s imperial palace, facing the Grand Empress Dowager, the legendary figure who had endured five dynasties and remained unshaken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though North Wind and Daqing had been at peace for fifteen years, ancient enmities lingered—especially for this Empress Dowager, who had lived through that humiliation firsthand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He suddenly remembered!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This Empress Dowager was also the birth mother of the current Emperor Hui; years ago, Emperor Hui and his concubines had once been forced to perform the “Sheep Signing Ceremony” in North Wind territory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had it not been for Chen Sanzhong carrying her away alone, she might have been exiled to the frozen north.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was momentarily stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Empress Zhou Jinyu’s laughter broke the tension.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her voice carried a teasing tone:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Looks like Hongyan was out drinking again last night—sleepy this morning! Did you find another beauty?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tuoba Hongyan had taken eight wives since arriving in the capital, within just one or two years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Courtesans, widows, the “tofu beauty,” and opera performers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Jiangnan scholar-officials, these were low-class; they valued social parity and status matching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tuoba Hongyan didn’t care about such reputations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had no heirs yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the capital’s bustling streets, the people whispered: this northern prince was a “wax spear”—eight wives, two years, not one belly swelled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tuoba Hongyan didn’t mind; he’d just mutter: “If you dare put your wife on my bed, see who she begs!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Grand Empress Dowager, this weathered old woman, had heard of Tuoba Hongyan’s antics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her address to him changed accordingly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hongyan, speak plainly—what does your father say this time?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tuoba Hongyan replied solemnly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My father’s terms remain unchanged: once Lu Chen dies, the North Wind…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused, realizing mentioning “the North Wind” here was inappropriate—he swallowed the words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We will launch troops south to assist His Majesty in reclaiming Jiangbei and Hexi.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We will send one hundred thousand soldiers, all under His Majesty’s command.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To aid Daqing—unify the realm!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Grand Empress Dowager sat silently, listening to Tuoba Hongyan’s words—she gave no immediate reply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tuoba Hongyan understood: this seasoned, politically astute woman had her own judgment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew he lacked the eloquence to sway this most powerful woman in Daqing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said nothing, waiting quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At last, the Grand Empress Dowager broke the silence, sighing deeply, her voice heavy with sorrow and resignation:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who becomes emperor doesn’t matter—they’re all Zhou clan sons. The second, eighth, sixth, even the fourth—all are capable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But her tone shifted:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yet if my son dies and Daqing splits into three, how can I face our ancestors?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the Emperor’s death on Mount Zhongnan, the realm split into three.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The one most heartbroken was this old woman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I agree—but I hope the North Wind remembers this promise, our decades of alliance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Great Qing is no longer the Great Qing it once was!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this, Tuoba Hongyan’s face lit up with joy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A eunuch from the Western Depot rushed in hurriedly, his expression utterly panicked, his voice trembling as he reported.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The matter was too grave to care about outsiders being present.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stumbled into the hall and fell to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He cried out:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your Imperial Majesty, something is wrong!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Has the Chief Eunuch been harmed?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Someone has forged the Golden Arrow!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1176,"2026-06-21T01:32:57.622Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","914aaf10bc6a5c138c597b38f9d80eadc15f0244877e27de584a09de297dddfc","simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-chapter-149","simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-chapter-147",728,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsimulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-cover.jpg"]