Good Man Operation Guide

Shen Huyang couldn’t stand it.

As the Emperor continued to recite how their Consort Mother must be missing him down there and how happy the two would be when reunited; she couldn’t resist saying the usual words her fuma would say.

“Consort Mother went at the right age. Emperor Father is now old and dying, if you go down to see Consort Mother, I’m afraid you wouldn’t match well.”

The Emperor’s eyes widened, he obviously didn’t expect this issue.

Shen Hu’an, who was crying with tears on his face, not knowing if he should continue to cry, was also dumbfounded. He raised his eyes and quietly looked at his Sister, and then at the Emperor Father in whose eyes seemed to have suffered a hard hit. And he couldn’t bear it.

“Sister, don’t say that, maybe Consort Mother has long been reincarnated and wouldn’t be able to meet Emperor Father at all?”

He was kind and comforting, but this sentence was also a heavy blow to the Emperor who had been waiting to die, hoping to reunite with his beloved consort.

Ah, that’s right. In the beginning, Consort Liu… died of hatred.

Even until she died, her wait for him still didn’t manage to bear fruit.

Moreover, in the 10 years that followed, he had treated their children so poorly.

How would she be willing to forgive him?

How would she still be waiting for him?

Ultimately, they have missed their timing with each other.

The old Emperor kept twitching in bed with remorse and sorrow in his eyes.

“Yu’er …”

And… the Emperor… died.

Shen Hu’an, who was completely unaware that his words had contributed to Emperor Father’s death, stared blankly at the dead Emperor on the dragon bed. He flung himself forward and cried.

“Emperor Father!!!”

Shen Huyang, who was watching his brother grieve for the Emperor: “…”

Although it seemed that something went wrong in the process…

However, it could still be considered a relief, right?

The Emperor died and the Crown Prince succeeded the throne.

Shen Hu’an smoothly ascended to the throne. After all, he had already been responsible for representing the imperial government before and had got along well with the civil and military officials.

The Fourth Prince had already turned into a quail by the late Emperor’s series of harassments and so bowed down very honestly. After he was appointed ‘Wang’, he simply just hid in the royal palace and hardly went out.

(TNote: Wang = Prince/Duke.)

The enthronement ceremony was rather tedious. By the time Shen Hu’an finally got everything done, he was eager to promote his Brother-in-law to the top of his life, but then he received the news that the other was going to resign.

The new Emperor refused to accept it and ran to the Princess’s residence.

It was Brother-in-law and Elder Sister who raised him to this position. So now was the time to enjoy the fruits of victory, isn’t it!?

Now that it was summer, the heat was so intense that even the gazebo was permeated with hot air.

The blue-clothed Fuma, who was wearing a thin shirt, coughed lightly as he sat down on a stone bench.

“Your Majesty shouldn’t have come to retain me.”

Shen Hu’an was rarely stubborn. “Why not stay? Brother-in-law is so powerful that you should stand at a higher position.”

“But has Your Majesty ever considered that Your Majesty’s subjects and subordinates all followed Your Majesty only because of the connections I had made? If Your Majesty welcomes me to a high position again, in the future, will this dynasty be surnamed Shen or will it be Lin?”

“Even if I am willing to help Your Majesty today… Just think, I am the Fuma of Your Majesty’s elder sister, I am a powerful minister in court, and Your Majesty respects me. Even if today, I am willing to submit to Your Majesty, but what about after the years pass? Your Majesty, can you guarantee that you wouldn’t be afraid?”

Shen Hu’an froze, he hadn’t thought that far yet.

“How can I fear my Brother-in-law? Even if Brother-in-law is very serious, annoying, and likes to tell my Sister about the bad things I’ve done, in my heart, Brother-in-law is the closest person to me after my Sister.”

Lin Shiheng looked at him quietly for a few seconds.

“I also believe that Your Majesty wouldn’t do that now, but people change. Just like the last time I said so to Your Majesty, nothing in the world would always remain the same.”

“Even if Your Majesty doesn’t fear it and I won’t obsess over power; my Lins’ offspring will inevitably come out with one or two black sheep in the future. At that time, if Your Majesty treats me leniently, it will be unfair regarding the law. But if you act in accordance with the law, there will be a rift between you and me.”

“So it would be better to not give people the right to act recklessly in the first place. I am Princess Huyang’s fuma, this alone can guarantee 100 years of prosperity to the Lins’. Why add flowers to the brocade, bringing ourselves trouble?”

(TNote: flowers to the brocade = to decorate something already perfect/ gilding the lily/ add icing to the cake.)

“During these first 5 years of His Majesty’s ascension to the throne, I will take the Princess away from the capital to minimize the impact. Also, please Your Majesty, don’t let the Princess down.”

Shen Hu’an finally understood what Lin Shiheng meant.

There were benefits for the other to stay, but for himself, the young Emperor, there were a number of risks.

Therefore, the other had to back out before the danger arrived.

He gave up his position as a powerful minister and the attention of the masses just to save him, this young brother-in-law.

The ends of his eyes were slightly red. If he hadn’t already grown up a lot, he might have cried as before.

Then, at last, Shen Hu’an, who had ascended the throne, stood up and saluted Lin Shiheng.

“Brother-in-law’s words, Hu’an will keep in mind.”

“in the future, Hu’an will certainly live up to Sister and Brother-in-law’s expectations, and will make great efforts to govern the world with care.”

After Shen Hu’an left, Lin Shiheng stretched and yawned in the pavilion before turning to head back to the courtyard.

Shen Huyang was packing up the gifts with a happy face, her actions were as gleeful as a bird in mid-flight.

Seeing him come in, the joy on her face dropped a little, and she asked with some trepidation, “How’s Hu’an doing? Was he unhappy?”

After all, they had grown up together. And even after Shen Huyang got married, Shen Hu’an would always come to visit her at the residence.

Shen Huyang truly felt a little guilty about going out to play without her brother.

“His Majesty is very reasonable, and there was no unhappiness.”

The blue-clad scholar smiled calmly, and his eyebrows were relaxed. “Now that His Majesty has smoothly succeeded to the throne, Princess won’t have to worry about it anymore. In a few days, we will set off.”

With that, he took out a road map from his sleeve and started planning with Shen Huyang, who was excited again after knowing that her brother had agreed. Where should they go to play first?

On the other side, after returning to the palace, Shen Hu’an, who was full of ‘my Sister and Brother-in-law has sacrificed so much for me, I must work hard and try harder’, sadly picked up the official documents and began to read.

He must be a good Emperor.

Never let Elder Sister and Brother-in-law sacrifice be in vain!

In the second year of becoming a good Emperor, Shen Hu’an received a letter from his Sister and Brother-in-law when they were at the Taihu Lake.

The scenery of Taihu Lake was as amazing as they had imagined in their hearts, and the roasted lamb leg there was also very unique. They had gone boating on the lake while reciting poems, drawing pictures, playing the zither, and lived happily. They thought of their younger brother who was far away in the Imperial City, so they specially sent the lamb leg to share with their younger brother. Because it was a long way away, the roasted lamb leg was gone, but a pickled lamb leg which tasted slightly worse than one roasted wasn’t so bad.

The Emperor, who ate the whole pickled leg of lamb enjoyed it for seven days and wrote back to express his hope for them to send another roasted lamb leg. By this time, he had a vague sense that his Sister and Brother-in-law, who left the capital, seemed to be living a good life.

Sure enough, in the days that followed, he received letters from his Sister and Brother-in-law from various places, one after another. Most of which were about the scenery, eating, drinking, and having fun, but all of which were accompanied by local products.

Shen Hu’an from the ‘I am very pleased that you’re not living a miserable life’ at the beginning, to ‘Why do I feel that my Sister and Brother-in-law were living more comfortably than me, the Emperor’, then turning to ‘It’s not just a feeling, you really are living more comfortably than me ah!!’

Compared with attending morning court before dawn every day, dealing with the official documents after court, and being so busy that he could only eat in a hurry, then finally after a busy day, he still had to go to the harem to see the concubines and *cough cough*, to make an imperial son or daughter for him… The other two could sleep naturally every day, eat whatever they wanted, and play however they wanted. And although they had already left the capital, there were still maids and servants guarding them and whenever they arrived somewhere new, they could just announce their identities and would be respectfully served by local officials… That was simply living the dream!

The worst thing was that, as an Emperor, even when he was tired and didn’t want to go to the harem *cough cough*, it would get hinted at daily by the officials who paid attention to this aspect. ‘Your Majesty, how can you not *cough cough*, where would your imperial sons and daughters come from?’ ‘Where would our future Crown Prince come from?’ ‘Is there any Emperor who doesn’t *cough cough*, you should take pills!’

The tired Shen Hu’an: … how did Emperor Father manage a harem of three thousand women without being exhausted in the first place?

He wanted to eat some delicious food from the mountains and sea but then someone submitted a memorial.

Your Majesty, this is a waste!! As a monarch, how can you be so extravagant? Bla bla bla…

He wanted to go out of the palace to play but again someone submitted a memorial.

Your Majesty, you aren’t putting the country at heart! As the ruler of a country, how can you go out onto the streets whenever you want? What about the country? Bla bla bla…

He wanted to take a nap, but someone… ah, that didn’t need someone. He couldn’t bear to do it himself and couldn’t indulge in sleeping.

As a good Emperor, it was just a matter of getting up at the crack of dawn, right? That is nothing!

Fortunately, although life was hard, Shen Hu’an also had a fellow sufferer.

Princess Huyang’s Fuma’s best friend, Zhao He.

Recalling that there was still a good friend of his Brother-in-law who had ran away, Shen Hu’an was keen on frustrating Zhao He.

If he had to get up before dawn, so would you.

If he had to be busy all day where his feet couldn’t even touch the ground, you’d have to follow.

(TNote: busy, without his feet touching the ground = so busy without a chance to stand still/ relax.)

I am exhausted every day and still have to go to the harem to have s*x, you also have to…

Oh, no… this was out of his hands.

At first, Zhao He was very happy when he was promoted. Although he became a bit busier, his status did grow.

But like Shen Hu’an, he would always receive letters and local products from his friend Brother Lin.

And so, Zhao He, who had taken up a high position, became increasingly skeptical of life.

His environment growing up had always groomed him to be an official, be good at being an official, be able to sit in a high official position and bring honor to his ancestral graves.

But how come, with such comparison, there was still jealousy in his mind?

However, no matter how jealous he was, he still couldn’t let go of his official position and couldn’t travel around the country as happily as Brother Lin.

Fortunately, His Majesty probably thought highly of him because of Brother Lin.