Chapter 1: Flowers Bloom Again, Man Returns to Youth

In a daze, Zhao Xu slowly opened his eyes.

The curtains were drawn, and strings of pearl beads hung down. A faint, elegant, and natural fragrance filled the air.

The quilt covering him was warm and comfortable, with vivid patterns and elegant colors.

Zhao Xu recognized it at a glance.

This was the work of the Eastern Dyeing Workshop and the Brocade Workshop!

No one else could produce such fine weaving, colors, and designs.

Modern times could imitate it, but it lacked the essence.

Just like Emperor Huizong's Slender Gold script, which middle school students could copy, but no one could capture its essence.

"Was I dreaming again?" Zhao Xu chuckled.

But this dream felt too real.

He had had similar dreams before, but none as vivid as this one!

Zhao Xu reached out and gently touched the embroidered patterns on the quilt.

The stitching was tight, the craftsmanship exquisite, and it felt very comfortable to the touch.

Suddenly, Zhao Xu saw his own hand.

It was clearly a child's hand!

Pale, tender, and frail…

Then, Zhao Xu felt a slight tickle in his throat and began to cough.

Cough, cough!

A familiar yet unfamiliar woman's voice came from outside the curtain.

"Your Highness!"

What a long time it had been since he heard that title!

Zhao Xu looked in the direction of the voice and saw a woman who seemed familiar, though he couldn't remember when he had last seen her.

She was a plump woman in her forties, wearing a beizi (a type of outer garment), with a slightly round face and a few age spots. She had a gentle and bright gaze, and her face was lightly powdered.

She bowed slightly, peeking in from the side of the curtain, smiling and looking at Zhao Xu with affection.

Zhao Xu looked at the woman, swallowed, and his pupils suddenly constricted. His breathing quickened as memories long buried resurfaced, making him feel dizzy and disoriented, as if time had lost its meaning!

"Grandma Guo…" he whispered her name softly.

A person who had long since passed from his life and memory.

Now, she was alive and standing before him.

Zhao Xu looked at his hand, that pale, tender, and small hand.

It was undoubtedly a child's hand!

Incredible!

Unexplainable!

Zhao Xu was lost in thought.

Grandma Guo's round face, once forgotten, now smiled, blending the past and the present in a surreal yet real moment!

Grandma Guo asked gently, "Has your old illness returned?"

"Should I call Doctor Qian to the palace?"

Zhao Xu took a deep breath, feeling the air in his lungs and trachea, then shook his head: "No need, Grandma Guo, I'm fine…"

"It was just a dream!"

"A nightmare?" Grandma Guo squatted outside the curtain, asking gently.

Zhao Xu exhaled, not answering directly, but murmured to himself: "It seems I had a long, long dream!"

He leaned back on the jade pillow, his eyes filled with confusion, unsure of what was happening.

Memories of the past surged in his heart, vivid people and events rolling through his mind, leaving a mix of regret and longing, bitter and sweet.

The present was incredible, like a dream, hard to believe yet undeniable.

Could the Buddhist concept of reincarnation be real?

Otherwise, how could he live one life after another, even reversing time?

Flowers bloom again, man returns to youth!

"Heaven loves me so much!" Zhao Xu whispered, but the words that came out were not in the formal Song Dynasty language, but in the Mandarin of nine hundred years later.

A language similar to the formal language but without the many checked tones.

"How fortunate I am!"

He looked at the woman in front of him, his wet nurse, a loyal person chosen by his father to care for him.

"Grandma Guo!" Zhao Xu looked at her seriously.

"Ah!" Grandma Guo responded gently: "Your servant is here!"

"This time, I won't let anyone bully you!" Zhao Xu said firmly.

Grandma Guo was slightly taken aback, not quite understanding the prince's meaning, but she smiled and said: "Your Highness is joking, who would bully me?"

Zhao Xu laughed softly.

Indeed, under normal circumstances, no one would be idle enough to bully a loyal and honest wet nurse in the palace.

But the problem was, this wet nurse, though honest and loyal, was chosen by his father.

In many people's eyes, anyone or anything associated with Zhao Xu's father was guilty!

They had to be eliminated, thoroughly and completely!

So, when Zhao Xu was twelve, a bizarre rumor spread in the capital city.

It was said that the current emperor was sending people to select wet nurses in the capital, but in reality, he was looking for beauties for himself.

The civil officials were immediately outraged and submitted numerous memorials discussing the matter.

The result was that one day, when Zhao Xu returned from the Nying Ying Pavilion to the Funing Palace, he found that all the palace maids and eunuchs chosen by his father to serve and care for him were gone.

Grandma Guo was no exception!

At twelve, Zhao Xu felt his hands and feet turn cold, his body tremble, and his eyelids twitch. He still remembered the feeling at the time.

Fear, shock, doubt, and anger intertwined in his chest.

He felt like a bird trapped in a cage.

Outside the cage, wolves and tigers were already gathered, watching him with fierce eyes, waiting for him to make a mistake so they could drag him out and tear him apart!

Sometimes, in the middle of the night, Zhao Xu would be scared awake from his dreams.

He feared he would be the next Noble Duke of Gaogui!

No!

He didn't even have the qualifications to be the Noble Duke of Gaogui.

At least, the Noble Duke of Gaogui had loyal ministers and brave warriors willing to die for him in a doomed charge.

But what did he have?

Nothing!

Everyone around him was someone else's eyes and ears!

Even counting ants in the garden could be reported to Cheng Yi.

As Zhao Xu recalled the past, he looked at the furnishings in the bedroom. Screens stood tall, and through the gaps in the pearl curtains, he could see the flickering light of the charcoal in the braziers. So, it wasn't winter, but early spring.

Zhao Xu thought about how Grandma Guo addressed him.

"Your Highness?"

He wasn't the emperor yet?

So, his father was still alive?

Was it the seventh or eighth year of the Yuanfeng era?

He thought for a moment and then asked tentatively: "Grandma Guo, how is Father's illness?"

Grandma Guo sighed and said softly: "Your servant is just a lowly person, how dare I inquire about such important matters?!"

"But I heard that famous doctors from all over the country have been summoned to the capital…"

Zhao Xu listened and was almost certain of the time.

The eighth year of the Yuanfeng era, around February.

Because in the seventh year of the Yuanfeng era, although his father was already ill, he could still handle state affairs and meet with ministers.

Even in the first month of the eighth year of the Yuanfeng era, his father still received envoys from the Liao Kingdom.

It was only after that that his father's health began to decline rapidly.

By February, he was bedridden and had lost the ability to speak.

So, doctors from all over the country were frantically summoned to the capital, a sign that the central government had given up hope and was trying to save a dead horse.

To further confirm the time, Zhao Xu asked tentatively: "How are the two lecturers at the Zishan Hall doing?"

The Zishan Hall was where the princes studied before they were married.

The officials there included Yishan (Moral Guide), Zan Du (Reading Guide), and Zhi Jiang (Lecturer).

If Zhao Xu remembered correctly, there were only two lecturers at the Zishan Hall, with the positions of Yishan and Zan Du vacant.

"I don't know, but I heard Feng Jing say yesterday that the Ministry of Rites is holding a public examination, and the Secretariat has dispatched many people to assist with the grading, including the two lecturers…"

Zhao Xu nodded.

It was roughly confirmed.

The eighth year of the Yuanfeng era, before the 17th of February.

Why so certain?

Because on the 17th of February, a fire broke out at the Ministry of Rites examination hall, killing more than thirty people and burning most of the exam papers.

Among them were the two lecturers from the Zishan Hall who had been dispatched to assist with the grading.

Zhao Xu remembered this incident very clearly.

Because it was his initial nightmare!

The lecturers at the Zishan Hall were his father's carefully chosen启蒙 teachers, and they had accompanied Zhao Xu throughout his childhood.

But they were burned to ashes in a fire just before he was to be designated as the crown prince!

Then, a group of old ministers were gradually placed around him.

Su Shi, Su Zhe, Su Song, An Tao, Liu Anshi, Cheng Yi, Wang Yansou, Fan Zuyu, Fan Boliu…

The leaders among them were two old men.

Sima Guang and Lu Gongzhuo!

Not a single new minister!

Not even a half-hearted supporter of the new policies!

No one knew what others thought, but in the mind of the young but already aware Zhao Xu, there was only one evaluation: a fraud!

The fire at the examination hall, even if it was an accident, was undoubtedly a long-planned conspiracy in Zhao Xu's eyes.

Deep fear and unease followed him like a shadow, turning into nightmares and terrors.

In the following nine years, these things were constantly reinforced and compounded.

"Your Highness… Your Highness…" Zhao Xu was lost in thought when Grandma Guo's gentle voice called out to him.

Zhao Xu came to his senses and looked at Grandma Guo, saying: "I'm fine, Grandma Guo, you can go and rest!"

"Yes… Your servant will take my leave!" The woman hesitated for a moment but slowly retreated behind the screen.

Zhao Xu watched Grandma Guo's retreating figure and recalled her fate in his previous life.

After she and others were driven away from Zhao Xu's side when he was twelve, he didn't hear from them again until he took personal control of the government. By then, Grandma Guo had already died of illness in the capital city.

When Zhao Xu learned of this, he was furious.

He immediately ordered the officials involved to be demoted!

The eunuchs involved were exiled!

This still didn't satisfy him, and two years later, he blamed the officials who had been the most vocal and exiled them as well!

But for the current Zhao Xu, these events were a very long time ago.

Nine hundred years ago, to be precise.

No one could have imagined that the man who only lived to the age of twenty-four would live another life nine hundred years later.

He woke up in a university dormitory in a new century, as a history major with the same name as him.

Although he didn't know the reason, Zhao Xu quickly adapted.

His method of adaptation was simple: observe more, learn more, and speak less.

This was not difficult for Zhao Xu.

Before he took personal control of the government at seventeen, he lived this way.

No matter what others said, he remained silent.

Whether it was the reading tutors or the Empress Dowager's inquiries, he remained silent.

He didn't ask about state affairs or government matters.

Even when the people around him replaced all the eunuchs and palace maids who had cared for him since childhood, Zhao Xu remained silent and pretended not to know.

But in his heart, he recorded the names of each person.

When the Empress Dowager passed away and he brought back the ministers his father trusted and relied on from all over the country, Zhao Xu struck with a thunderous blow: the Shao Sheng and Shao Shu reforms!

The corrupt officials in the court were silenced, and the evil elements in the country were driven away!

Then, he carried on his father's legacy and led the army westward.

The battle of Hehuang, and the submission of Qingtang!

At the siege of Pingxia, the dead lay for miles, and ten thousand heads were taken. The Hengshan region was reclaimed, and the capital of the Western Xia was occupied. The Western Xia lost its courage, and the Liao Kingdom watched with concern!

The long-standing weakness and humiliation of the Song Dynasty were swept away!

But fate was unkind, and his ambitions were unfulfilled, leading to his early death at a young age!

That's right!

Zhao Xu was the seventh emperor of the Song Dynasty.

Later known as the "Great Song Emperor Zhezong, Constitutional Founder, Virtuous and Wise, Respectful and Filial".

But neither of these titles was as famous as his third title.

The brother of Emperor Huizong of Song!

Yes, the famous "Five-City Scholar".

In the new century, he was as famous as the Ming Dynasty war god, the "Valley of the Tartars Scholar" and the "Gate-Knocking Emperor".

Having such a famous younger brother, Zhao Xu's fame was negligible.

If you weren't a history major, you might not even have heard of him.

When Zhao Xu opened his eyes in the unfamiliar environment of the new century, he regained the survival skills he had before taking personal control of the government.

Under the cover of silence, he observed and learned everything.

Things he had never heard of or seen before, things that seemed like heavenly books or myths.

Although it was difficult at first and caused some laughter, he was very smart and diligent.

Dilig