Life Simulation: My Wife from Another World Became Real - Chapter 8:

Chapter 8: Dukes and Generals, Are They Born Noble?

In the days that followed, Lu Chen went to the docks every day to carry goods.

After his shift, he never forgot to buy two meat buns for Jiang Qingyu.

With Lu Chen taking care of her, the girl no longer left early and returned late like before. Instead, she obediently stayed in the ruined temple, waiting for Lu Chen to come back from work.

Around dusk, she would prepare a pot of rice soup in advance. When Lu Chen returned, the two of them would eat meat buns and drink rice soup together.

Life was still tough, but much better than wandering the streets begging.

That evening, after dinner, they sat on the temple’s threshold to enjoy the breeze. The spot where they had buried the beggars was now covered in over half a meter of wild grass.

They had lived in the ruined temple for nearly half a year and were used to it by now.

“When will days like this ever end?” Jiang Qingyu murmured with her chin propped on her hand.

Lu Chen thought she was tired of living in the temple, so he did some quick calculations and said, “Give it two more months, and we’ll rent a small courtyard to live in. I asked around earlier—rent in Luo City for a small courtyard is about 300 to 400 copper coins a month. Right now, I can carry 200 bundles a day, which earns me 20 coins a day. That’s 600 a month, more than enough to rent a place.”

“But when renting, we need to pay one or two taels of silver as a deposit. That’s the big chunk. I need to save more before then.”

Before he transmigrated, Lu Chen had the physique of a beast of burden—half his monthly salary went to rent. After transmigrating, he was still a beast of burden, still worrying about rent.

But unexpectedly, Jiang Qingyu shook her head and said, “That’s not what I meant.”

Lu Chen turned to look at her and asked, “Then what did you mean?”

Jiang Qingyu sighed. “Brother Chen, I meant, when will these chaotic war times ever end?”

That question stumped Lu Chen.

Half a year ago, several rebel factions had joined forces and broken through Luo City. They looted, burned, and killed for over two weeks before leaving fully loaded.

The people of Luo City thought peace would return once the rebels were gone.

But soon after, gangs took over the city. Every household was forced to pay tribute, or they’d be visited by thugs. If you couldn’t pay, the men were taken to work in the mines, and the women were dragged off to brothels.

Situations like Luo City’s were common throughout the Great Yu Empire.

Lu Chen thought for a moment and said, “The rise and fall of empires—long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. The Great Yu Empire’s fate is near its end. It won’t be long before someone rises with the banner: ‘Dukes and generals, are they born noble?’ and starts a rebellion.”

Jiang Qingyu had studied with her father since young and read many historical records. But she had never heard of sayings like “long divided must unite,” or “dukes and generals, are they born noble?”

Tilting her head, she asked, “Brother Chen, what does ‘dukes and generals, are they born noble?’ mean?”

“That’s a long story…” Lu Chen chuckled and began telling her the tale of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang’s uprising.

After listening, Jiang Qingyu looked confused and said, “Aren’t today’s rebels just like Chen Sheng and Wu Guang? But they only know how to burn, kill, and steal—they’re even worse than the Imperial Court’s hounds!”

Lu Chen replied, “That’s because they haven’t met a true leader and lack a unified front, so they’ve never formed a real force.”

“If someone could step forward and give them true faith and values, those rebels might very well wipe out the remaining luck of the Great Yu and build a brand-new empire!”

Hearing this, a small flame seemed to spark in Jiang Qingyu’s heart.

Then she asked, “Brother Chen, what are faith and values?”

…

As their conversation deepened, a bright meteor suddenly streaked across the night sky.

Jiang Qingyu quickly clasped her hands together and whispered a wish.

Lu Chen found it amusing and mimicked her, also folding his hands and muttering a few words.

“Brother Chen, are you making a wish too?” Jiang Qingyu asked with her head tilted.

“Uh… I guess you could say that.”

“What did you wish for?”

“Well… if I say it out loud, it might not come true.”

Jiang Qingyu pouted, “That’s nonsense. As long as you’re sincere, your wish will come true.”

Lu Chen asked, “Then what did you wish for?”

Jiang Qingyu didn’t hide it. With a serious face, she said, “I wish my father and mother are still husband and wife in the next world, so they won’t be as lonely as me…”

As she spoke, memories of her mother sewing clothes for her and her father teaching her to read and write surfaced again.

Before she knew it, her voice was choked, and tears welled in her eyes.

Lu Chen knew she was thinking about her parents again, so he gently pulled her into his arms and said, “How could you be lonely? You still have me!”

Jiang Qingyu didn’t respond, but she quietly reached behind him and hugged his waist.

It was a beautiful moment.

Then Lu Chen suddenly pushed her aside.

Jiang Qingyu looked at him pitifully and asked, “Brother Chen, don’t you like Xiao Yu?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then why did you push me away?”

Lu Chen coughed awkwardly and said, “I… I’m ticklish!”

Jiang Qingyu: o(￣ヘ￣o＃)!

To ease the awkwardness, she asked, “Brother Chen, what wish did you make just now?”

Uh…

Lu Chen definitely wasn’t going to admit he just mumbled nonsense earlier.

After thinking for a bit, he said, “I wished I could earn more copper coins, rent a bigger place soon, so we won’t have to live in this ruined temple.”

Jiang Qingyu blinked and asked, “And?”

“Also, to buy Xiao Yu all the meat buns she could ever eat.”

“And?”

“Of course, to buy you lots of pretty clothes and all kinds of makeup and powders.”

“And?”

“Uh… and…” Lu Chen thought for a moment, feeling that he had already wished for plenty. Any more and they might not come true.

Jiang Qingyu glared at him and puffed her cheeks, “Don’t you want to marry me?”

With that reminder, Lu Chen quickly said, “Of course I do! Once we’ve settled down and are old enough, I’ll marry you, Xiao Yu.”

Jiang Qingyu giggled, “That’s more like it.”

…

That night, they slept like always—one in the corner, one under the Buddha statue.

In the middle of the night, Lu Chen suddenly felt warmth around him.

He opened his eyes and saw Jiang Qingyu had crawled into his arms and covered him with the old sheepskin coat.

“Brother Chen, we’ll be together forever… right?” she murmured in her sleep.

Lu Chen gently patted her shoulder and whispered by her ear, “Yes, we’ll always be together!”