[{"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-204":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},2347219,4587,"Chapter 204: When a Man Is About to Die, the Son of Heaven Is Nothing!","simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-chapter-204",204,"\u003Cp>【Hall of Heavenly Mandate!】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Lu Chen, why did you kill Chen Sanzhong?”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【The Empress Dowager had just spoken those words.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Zhou Zhen laughed loudly from the steps:】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“A eunuch slave, dead is dead.”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Why the rush? When Father died, Empress Dowager didn’t show this kind of panic!”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【At these words!】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【The Empress Dowager’s usually calm face finally showed anger.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Second son, Sanzhong always treated you well—have you forgotten how he stayed outside your room all night after your first ascension, fearing for your safety?”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Wasn’t it his Western Depot that removed countless hidden threats so you could hold the throne steady?”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“If you hadn’t begged him, would he have ambushed Lu Chen?”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Zhou Zhen cut in:】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Isn’t that what a slave is supposed to do?”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“A slave who calls himself ‘Nine Thousand Years,’ wielding boundless power—I, the Son of Heaven, must fear him threefold. Why? Don’t you know how much I hate him?”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“A eunuch, a mere castrated man—do you know how he looked at me? Like a descendant.”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“What! Is he going to be my grandfather? Or is the Great Qing Empress Dowager going to remarry?”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“A dog slave—he dares!”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【The Empress Dowager trembled with rage; she never imagined her own grandson, whom she raised from childhood, would speak such disrespectful words.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【A flicker of sorrow passed through her eyes, but more than that, there was disappointment and heartbreak toward Zhou Zhen.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Zhou Zhen, what… are you saying!”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Zhou Zhen was at his wit’s end; he no longer feared anything.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“What? It’s the truth—can’t the affairs of the realm be spoken of? Must Empress Dowager kill her own blood grandson for a eunuch, an outsider?”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Zhou Zhen laid out his plan: “I originally intended to use Lu Chen to eliminate Chen Sanzhong, then use the Golden Guard to wipe out both of them.”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“But Xie Chunan ruined my plan—he forged imperial edicts and golden arrows. Lu Chen didn’t die!”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Zhou Cheng chuckled: “Second brother, you’re truly ruthless—you wanted to kill both the Junior Protector and Chen Sanzhong, and now you want to kill Empress Dowager too.”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Worse still, you summoned border troops and tried to seize Xie Chunan to wipe out the Jiangnan aristocratic clans.”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“A three-birds-with-one-stone strategy—truly brilliant.”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Too bad!”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Xie Chunan knew your intentions all along. To use others as pawns, second brother, you must have the ability to do so.”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Zhou Cheng shook his head: “You’re nothing but a ruler who can’t even maintain what you’ve inherited!”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【To seize power and be devoured by it—killings never solve problems.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【A true emperor understands the art of balance.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Zhou Zhen’s face darkened under Zhou Cheng’s mockery.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【He hadn’t expected his plan to be laid bare so openly—he wanted to eliminate the Jiangnan clans and Empress Dowager alike.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Stop portraying yourself as a tragic figure. Everyone wronged you? You’re the kind of man who doesn’t deserve it.”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Zhou Cheng, don’t sit there spouting empty moralizing. Do you think you’re so noble? You’re just a shadow-watcher, waiting for your chance—aren’t you after this throne too?”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Zhou Cheng didn’t mind; his eyes held a complex mix of pity and mockery.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Second brother, we’ve been brothers. I never wanted this. But your deeds have chilled my heart. For the throne, for power, you’re willing to sacrifice everything.”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Do you know those are your kin, your subjects, your people?”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Zhou Zhen’s eyes flickered, then hardened again. “Kin? Subjects? People? In my eyes, they’re all tools to secure imperial power. If sacrificing a few ensures my throne stands firm and the Great Qing endures forever, what does it matter?”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【The Empress Dowager fell silent.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Amid the Golden Guard’s protection, Zhou Zhen looked like a caged beast—eyes bloodshot, radiating madness.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“I am the Son of Heaven—everything must obey me. This world exists only to welcome my arrival—why are there so many obstacles!”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Lu Lu, Xie Chunan, Zhou Cheng, and Sixth Brother, Chen Sanzhong.”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“And you, Lu Chen!”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Why do all of you oppose me? Why!”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“You should kneel to me. Die for me.”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【You simply watched the current Son of Heaven—hair disheveled, like a drunken layabout.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Zhou Jinyu looked at her former husband—only sorrow in her eyes.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Zhou Zhen’s gaze suddenly lit up as it fell upon the Lu Family Army!】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【As if grasping his last straw, he shoved aside the Golden Guards and screamed toward them.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Lu Family Army! Yes—there’s still the Lu Family Army!”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Kill Lu Chen, kill Zhou Cheng, and I’ll make you Princes, Dukes—I’ll build ancestral shrines for you, to be inherited for generations!”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Dou Gu, from now on you’re Commander of the Lu Family Army—I’ll grant you the title of Peer Equal to the Emperor.”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Dou Gu, Huang Chong, Sui Cheng… I’ll enfeoff you all as Marquises. Kill them for me.”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【The Lu Family Army only sneered—as if watching a mad actor.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Zhou Zhen screamed.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Dong Jie held him, unable to bear it, pleading:】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Master, the tide has turned. Wake up! You can’t go on like this!”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Zhou Zhen glared at Dong Jie:】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“If not for you, would I be in this state?”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“You dog slave!”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Without warning, Zhou Zhen stabbed Dong Jie in the heart.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Zhou Zhen had no strength; Dong Jie wore armor—the blade couldn’t pierce the iron, not even breaking the surface.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【All the Golden Guards had been personally trained by Dong Jie—utterly loyal.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Several stepped forward to seize Zhou Zhen by the shoulders.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Dong Jie cried out:】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Stop! The Master is the Son of Heaven—do not act rashly!”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【The Golden Guards halted. They looked from Dong Jie to Zhou Zhen, eyes filled with hesitation and torment.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【In the end, they withdrew—but their gazes remained locked on Zhou Zhen, ready to strike at any moment.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Dong Jie seized the sword in Zhou Zhen’s hand—the blade cut deep, blood gushing.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Zhou Zhen watched it all—no remorse in his heart.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【He laughed coldly, tossed the sword aside as if it had been nothing but a trivial farce.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【At that moment!】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Dong Jie stripped off his armor, revealing a chest scarred with wounds, and slowly knelt before Zhou Zhen.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【On his chest hung a round jade pendant—not precious.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Zhou Zhen recognized it at once.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Dong Jie, bloodied hand gripping the jade, smiled: “This was the pendant you gave me when I was ten, after I won a ball game in the Prince’s residence. I’ve kept it ever since.”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“If not for you taking me in back then, I’d have starved to death on the streets—there’d be no me today.”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Dong Jie picked up the sword again, pressing its cold edge to his own chest.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“A lord commands, a subject dies—it is natural. I, Dong Jie, swore I would die before my master.”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Now, it’s not your fault—man plans, heaven decides.”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“Dong Jie departs!”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【The Golden Guards couldn’t stop him—the blade pierced his chest.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Blood pooled at Zhou Zhen’s feet.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Zhou Zhen suddenly woke up.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【He looked at the Hall of Heavenly Mandate—the place where ancestors were worshipped—and laughed.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Zhou Zhen straightened his robes, picked up the sword from the ground, and placed it against his throat.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【“I, Zhou Zhen, die as the Son of Heaven of Great Qing!”】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【The Empress Dowager seemed to know the outcome—two tears rolled down.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Zhou Jinyu’s face held only a faint smile.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Zhou Cheng bowed from afar, expression calm.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Blood streamed from Zhou Zhen’s neck as his body toppled backward.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1228,"2026-06-21T01:33:00.595Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","ae0e921d32e36457655265959c4f6f2ad23032aabcba8e9da7b4e91e4133b7db","simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-chapter-205","simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-chapter-203",728,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsimulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-cover.jpg"]