Da Ming: The system granted me immortality; I clock in every day.

"Xia Qing, Yan Nian...you've arrived."

Zhu Gaochi's voice was hoarse and intermittent, yet it carried an unusual calmness.

He laboriously raised his hand and waved away the imperial physicians and palace maids in the hall.

Only Zhu Zhanji, Linghu An, and two high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Revenue remained, kneeling before the bed.

"Father, you will surely be safe and sound. Your son has already sent people to search for renowned doctors among the common people..."

Zhu Zhanji, with tears in his eyes, knelt and crawled forward.

Zhu Gaochi shook his head slightly, a relieved bitter smile appearing on his lips.

"Zhanji, you fool. I know my own body. My life is nearing its end; no medicine can cure me."

He turned his cloudy eyes and gazed at Gu Yannian's handsome and serene face.

"May you live a long and prosperous life..."

Zhu Gaochi let out a gasp.

"That night in the first year of the Hongxi reign, I thought I wouldn't make it. It was you who, with your method of a light diet, pulled me back from the brink of death. I..."

"I have borrowed seven years of your lifespan, so I have lived enough."

Gu Yannian stood upright, his gaze gentle, not avoiding the emperor's stare.

"Your Majesty flatters me. These seven years of prosperity are due to Your Majesty's benevolence, love for the people, and tireless efforts. I merely offered a suggestion; it is Your Majesty who has truly revitalized this Ming Dynasty."

Upon hearing this, a glint of pride flashed in Zhu Gaochi's eyes.

Throughout his life, his greatest fear was being seen as an ordinary fat man.

When the late emperor was alive, he was always trembling with fear.

After ascending the throne, he walked on thin ice.

But he did it in the end.

In these seven years, Taicang has prospered, and people from all over the world have come to its aid.

The waters of the Grand Canal have sustained millions of people, and the sound of reading from the Imperial Academy has echoed throughout the land.

He left his son an empire that was incredibly wealthy and stable.

"Xia Qing."

Zhu Gaochi looked at Xia Yuanji.

"You have devoted your life to managing the finances of the Ming Dynasty, and your contributions are immense. After I am gone, you should retire and return to your hometown to recuperate. You are old and it is time for you to rest from the turmoil of the court."

Xia Yuanji was overcome with tears and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Your Majesty, I accept your decree and thank you for your great favor! I... I will never part with Your Majesty!"

Zhu Gaochi closed his eyes wearily and rested for a moment.

When he opened his eyes again, a final trace of imperial majesty shone forth.

He stretched out his withered hand, tightly grasped the wrist of Crown Prince Zhu Zhanji, and pulled him close.

"Zhanji, you have been intelligent and brave since childhood, and the late emperor loved you the most. I entrust this great land to you. You must remember that although the Ming Dynasty is strong, we must never engage in reckless militarism."

"We must allow the people to rest and recuperate, and treat meritorious officials with leniency."

Zhu Zhanji wept uncontrollably and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Your subject will humbly obey Your Majesty's teachings!"

Zhu Gaochi's gaze passed over the Crown Prince and fixed on Gu Yannian.

"Yannian, I know you are no ordinary person. You regard fame and fortune as fleeting clouds, while the entire court is fighting tooth and nail for power."

"Only you, you only remember your evening drum at dusk."

A genuine smile appeared on Zhu Gaochi's pale face.

"Today, I will not appoint you as Grand Secretary, nor will I entrust my son to you. I only ask one thing of you."

Gu Yannian clasped his hands together and respectfully kowtowed.

"Your Majesty, please speak. Your humble servant will do everything in my power to help."

"Keep an eye on the world's money on behalf of Zhanji."

Zhu Gaochi's voice grew weaker and weaker, as if he had exhausted all his strength.

"You've got a clever plan. With you in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, I'm not afraid of those corrupt officials emptying the national treasury. Zhanji is impatient and sometimes impulsive."

"If he wants to undertake large-scale construction projects or recklessly wage war, you...you should use the numbers in that ledger to give him a warning."

Gu Yannian raised his head, his eyes clear and firm.

He didn't utter any solemn vows, but simply answered in his usual calm tone:

"Your humble servant obeys the decree. As long as I remain in the Ministry of Revenue, the accounts of the Ming Dynasty will be clear and accurate, down to the last penny."

Upon hearing this promise, Zhu Gaochi's withered face broke into a completely relieved smile.

He seemed to have put down all his burdens, his gaze unfocused as he looked at the carved dragon and phoenix ceiling of the main hall.

"That year, the snowstorm in the border region was truly fierce..."

"That spicy hot pot on the red clay stove tasted really good..."

Emperor Hongxi, Zhu Gaochi, muttered to himself, his voice gradually becoming inaudible.

His withered fingers, which had been tightly gripping Zhu Zhanji's wrist, slowly loosened and slid onto the bright yellow brocade quilt.

A benevolent and magnanimous ruler thus passed away.

"Father!!!"

Zhu Zhanji let out a heart-wrenching cry and collapsed heavily onto the dragon bed.

Linghu An stumbled out of the imperial bedchamber, knelt on the white marble steps, and cried out in a shrill voice, "The late Emperor has passed away!"

In an instant, outside the Qianqing Palace, officials dressed in mourning clothes and weeping filled the air.

The death knell in the Forbidden City was tolled, its deep, resonant sound echoing throughout the entire Shuntian Prefecture, heralding the end of an era.

Gu Yannian knelt quietly beside the dragon bed, watching the emperor pass away peacefully.

Having witnessed countless life and death events, his mind was already as firm as a rock.

But at this moment, a faint ripple still stirred in his heart.

This fat emperor, whose fate he had changed, finally came to the end of his rather remarkable life.

He left a far deeper and more profound mark on the long river of history than he originally had.

After a long while, Gu Yannian stood up and helped Xia Yuanji, who was crying so hard he was almost fainting, to his feet.

"Minister Xia, a country cannot be without a ruler for a day. Your Highness still needs to take charge of the overall situation, and the cabinet and various ministries also need to immediately formulate regulations for the funeral and the ascension of the new emperor."

Gu Yannian reminded him in a calm tone.

Xia Yuanji wiped away his tears and nodded repeatedly.

Zhu Zhanji lifted his head from his grief, forcibly wiped away his tears with his sleeve, and straightened his body.

At that moment, the majesty and coldness of the new emperor were already beginning to show in his brows.

"Minister Gu's words are reasonable. Chief Steward Linghu, summon the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet for an audience, and draft an imperial edict immediately!"

After a brief period of grief, the palace quickly resumed its orderly power transition.

As night fell, the entire city of Shuntian Prefecture was dressed in mourning, and every household hung white lanterns.

Gu Yannian did not linger in the palace; the Ministry of Rites would take care of the funeral arrangements.

He walked out of the imperial city, and the night wind, carrying the chill of early winter, rushed towards him.

The long street was deserted except for a few patrols of soldiers from the Five Cities Garrison.

He walked back to the small courtyard in Xuanwu Lane, following the familiar streets and alleys.

Pushing open the wooden door, the old jujube tree in the yard rustled in the wind, and a few withered leaves drifted onto the stone table.

Gu Yannian took off his glaring bright red official robe and put on a plain linen long gown.

He went to the eaves, lit a small red clay stove, and added a few pieces of silver charcoal.

The fire gradually brightened, dispelling the surrounding chill.

He took out a plate of boiled peanuts and a pot of warm old wine from the food box.

Sitting on a bamboo chair, Gu Yannian poured a full cup of wine and slowly poured it onto the blue brick floor in front of him.

"Your Majesty, farewell. I will safeguard the accounts of this prosperous era for you."

He muttered to himself, picked up the wine jug, tilted his head back, and drank it down.

Wine enters the sorrowful heart, transforming into a warm current.

The dynasty is about to change again.

The seventh year of the Hongxi reign became a timeless moment.

The sun that rises tomorrow will shine upon a brand new era.

Xuande.

That will be an even more turbulent and tumultuous era of war and conflict.

Gu Yannian picked up a peanut and put it in his mouth, chewing it carefully.

The curtain has fallen on one chapter of the grand drama of the mortal world, and a new one is about to rise.

As for him, a spectator sitting below the stage, all he had to do was hold his teacup and wait for the drums and gongs to begin.

The night was deep, and the fire in the stove flickered.

I have to go to work tomorrow at 5:00 AM.