After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

On December 26, with Oswald issuing the lord's decree, the massive reconstruction of Ice City began.

Based on the lord's guiding principle of destruction before construction, the city was divided into five major areas: the Duke's mansion, which served as the political center, as well as the residential area, commercial area, industrial area, and military area.

After the division was completed, Oswald personally picked up a hoe and led the disaster victims to dig up this strange thing called the sewer.

The city was bustling with activity for a time, with construction sites everywhere, and even the wind and snow stopped for a few days in this lively atmosphere.

At the same time that Oswald was spending the Marquis's estate like water, the atmosphere in the Marquis's estate remained as quiet as ever, unlike the hustle and bustle outside.

The door was tightly closed. The silver-haired girl, sitting by the window and gazing at the construction scene not far away, was tightly gripping the gemstone on her necklace, her expression indifferent and silent.

Oswald's fiancée, Annie, was far from being as calm as she appeared.

She's back, back to six years ago...

She didn't know what had happened, but she had a wild guess.

When you open your small palm, the gem is still shining, proving that the miraculous power has not yet dissipated.

Someone must have used the Wishing Star! Otherwise, there's no way to explain the current situation!

Apart from her, the owner of the Wishing Star, almost everyone, including her family, has no memory of the future.

She knew that in that dangerous situation, someone would definitely use the Wishing Star. After all, even she had hesitated. But she never expected that person's wish was to go back to the past!

But what can they do if they come back? What can they change? Last time, they almost proved one thing at a terrible cost—the Duke died and the North collapsed!

Who could have imagined that the maid possessed such a powerful appeal? Who could have imagined that the people of the north would be so loyal to that tyrannical ruler who harbored rebellious intentions?

First, the Northern Army abandoned the pass, allowing the Demon Army to advance south. Then, Elene instigated a rebellion throughout the Northern Territory, which, together with the Northern Army, ignited the flames of war across the entire front.

The emperor's army arrived in haste, but successfully ignited a massive three-way battle at the foot of the ice city, involving nearly 600,000 troops—a battle rarely seen in the world!

In that battle, the sky darkened, rivers of blood and severed limbs flowed beneath our feet, and countless clashing armor and blades clashed before us. The earth trembled, and colorful spells rained down from the sky amidst the heavy snow, day and night.

The Grim Reaper's scythe swung relentlessly, and the demon army, the northern army, and the central army fell in droves like wheat being harvested.

The Hero Squad? They were scattered long ago!

The only saving grace was that, before the war reached its climax and the situation collapsed further, someone decisively used the Wishing Star.

During the war, Annie also captured a resident of the North and asked him why he wanted to rebel. After all, she was also a marquis of the Northern Territory, and after the duke's death, she would naturally seek justice for them.

Unexpectedly, the young man glared at her fiercely the whole time, then gritted his teeth and burst into tears, saying, "When I was starving to death, it was the Duke who gave me a bite to eat; when I was dying of illness, it was the Duke who gave me a bowl of medicine; when I got married, the Duke allocated me land; when I established my business, the Duke gave me interest-free rent; when I was bullied by you nobles, it was the Duke who set up a court and truly upheld justice for me!"

"You don't need to pretend. The only way I can repay the Duke's kindness is to die today!" With that, he broke free from his restraints, his face contorted with rage, and lunged at Annie. In the end, he was hacked to death by the panicked soldiers.

Annie stared blankly at the mangled corpse for a long time, only one thought constantly swirling in her mind: We were wrong, we were all wrong...

But what should we do this time? To be honest, it was already absurd that that stupid plan could even be carried out last time.

Both sides deployed their elite forces, the northern cavalry was annihilated, and Oswald was killed in battle... It was as if everything had been arranged, so smoothly that it was unsettling.

Repeating the same tricks is impossible, and supporting Oswald is a dead end. After all, he'd rather march south and conquer the entire kingdom than fight the demon army. Then he'd turn around and fight the Demon King to the death.

Annie, who was so stubborn that she was hitting two dead ends, felt like her brain cells were about to die, but she still couldn't think of a safe solution.

Not to mention that she is not free now, just like last time, Oswald has placed the entire Marquis family under house arrest.

Could it be that he's relying on his looks? But his fiancée has never been taken seriously by him. Not to mention, Oswald has a maid whose looks are no less than hers, and in his previous life, he had never heard of any scandals between the two.

As for the Wishing Star... something that can defy fate shouldn't be used for such trivial matters.

Annie slowly closed her eyes. Now, her only hope lay with the other girls around the hero who also possessed the Star of Wishes. If they had also retained their memories, they would probably come to save her...

After more than a month, the main sewers of Harbin were successfully completed. Following the principle of providing relief through work, Oswald, who had also been working hard for many days, immediately sent the disaster victims to repair and reinforce the city walls.

It doesn't matter if they're a little tired, the main thing is to make sure they have enough money to last until the autumn harvest.

Oswald plopped down on the wall, gazing at the distant snowstorm, a cheap handmade cigarette dangling from his lips, his body covered in dust, and began to contemplate his future plans.

Spring has already appeared in unseen corners; it even rained yesterday. It's February now, and in less than a month, it will be time to organize spring plowing.

When the time comes, the disaster victims will all go back to their homes, but Oswald still wants to leave some people behind to do things, such as mining iron ore and starting a steel company.

Unfortunately, he had quite a few capable generals under his command, and based on his experience from his previous life, he could easily promote several of his future generals.

On the contrary, there is a severe shortage of civil servants, not just a little, but a shortage that has persisted for two lifetimes.

Therefore, he inevitably fell into the current predicament where, if Elena doesn't come back, he has no one else to rely on.

In the past two days, horse-drawn carts carrying coal have been entering the city one after another. Elena has also written to say that everything is settled and she will probably be back soon...

Actually, Oswald wasn't really in a hurry to do anything; rather, he was afraid to stop himself. Ever since his consciousness returned, his heart had felt empty.

In his previous life, the system gave him a goal so he could go back, and he used that goal as an excuse. But was he truly happy in that previous world?

Even if he had enough money to enjoy himself for a lifetime, could he escape loneliness?

He didn't actually want to go back at all. He even wanted to find a secluded paradise in this world, far away from people, and live out his life quietly by himself.

But he couldn't do it. The system seemed to have already guessed his thoughts, so it arranged for him to play the role of Oswald.

In the freezing cold, with a group of people collapsing from hunger right in front of him, he had no time to feign indifference...

In his previous life, Tian Hao could be indifferent because he was just a nobody, and his cost of living could be very low if he only needed to fill his stomach.

Moreover, if you are from the bottom class, it seems that schools want you to study hard, families want you to stand out, and society wants you to strive and struggle, but all education ultimately points to three words: money, money, money!

You can be worthless, you can be immoral, you can be emotionless, but you cannot be without money.

If you have money, even if you don't spend a single penny on your parents, they can still hold their heads high and boast about it to others; if you don't have money, even if you send your entire monthly salary home, you are still an enemy in your parents' eyes, a failed investment.

Historically, after Su Qin achieved great success, he returned home and asked his sister-in-law, who had been kneeling on the ground apologizing, "Why were you so arrogant before and so respectful now?"

His sister-in-law is an honest person, and said it's only because you are now in a high position and have a lot of money.

If this is the case even among family members, then one can only imagine what it's like with other people and society as a whole. Therefore, in that world, everyone can be indifferent, everyone must strive to be indifferent, and overcome the deepest human emotions within themselves.

After all, in that kind of environment, the more sensitive a person is, the more painful it is.

Previously, Oswald considered himself a person who was afraid of death. He had suicidal thoughts but dared not carry them out, and was even more afraid of being ridiculed by his family for it.

But at the moment the system knocked him over with a dump truck, he clearly felt an unprecedented sense of liberation being released deep within his soul, like a fly that had been perpetually stuck on a screen window finally falling to the ground.

It passed away quietly, without making a sound, in that narrow room.

"Wind, wind, don't let the wind whip around."

In Oswald's daze, an old hand, faster than words, snatched the cigarette from his mouth in a flash.

Old George took a few puffs with relish, puffing out clouds of smoke, and then said to the speechless Oswald in a serious tone, "It's a pity this cigarette is being wasted on the wind."

"I think you deserve a beating!" Oswald sighed. These people were becoming increasingly rude to him.

Continuing his woodworking, old George said with a grin, "My lord, once I find a good piece of wood, I'll make you a pipe, the best kind, the kind that can be passed down through generations."

"Okay, I'll wait, I'll wait."

Oswald rolled his eyes at him, then chuckled, stood up, dusted himself off, and, not thinking about how long old George would make him wait, saw a troop of cavalry entering the city in the distance.