EMHTC -Chapter Extra 4 How are you

The sea breeze was fierce, whipping past the speedboat, and the air was thick with the scent of saltwater.

Xu Yanmiao noticed that Princess Xiangyang had been watching him the entire time.

Princess Xiangyang smiled and said, “I haven’t seen you in thirty-six years.”

From her teenage years to middle age, Princess Xiangyang firmly admitted that the most beautiful part of her life was the years she spent with Xu Yanmiao.

Because starting from Yaoxi to him, she had transformed from a princess into an official. She went from being someone who had to get married, to someone who could live freely.

Entering the world where she could hear Xu Yanmiao’s thoughts—it felt like the beginning of a beautiful dream.

Xu Yanmiao also smiled and teased, “Then should I be calling you Grandma now?”

The nostalgic expression on Princess Xiangyang’s face shattered instantly. Clenching her fists, she gritted her teeth and said, “Say that again if you dare!”

Xu Yanmiao shook his head vigorously, “No, no, I wouldn’t dare, I’m afraid you’ll push me into the sea.”

Princess Xiangyang rolled her eyes at him and pulled out two lidded wooden buckets and two long wooden sticks from the cabin. Her eyes sparkled. “Wanna play?!”

Xu Yanmiao cheered, “Let’s go!”

The speedboat sliced through the waves, the sky embraced the sea, and wooden sticks struck wooden buckets—ha he he he dong dong—the sounds soared toward the clouds.

They shouted “ah ah ah” at the top of their lungs, not caring about pitch or tune, but the person steering the boat was infected by their joy and began humming along.

They sang joyful songs—of blue skies, of white clouds, of the air of freedom. The sea waves joined in, and even the seagulls sang along.

After a while, their voices grew tired, and laughter rang out from the boat.

“In this lifetime, does His Majesty still force you to marry?” Xu Yanmiao asked.

Princess Xiangyang smiled knowingly. “Not anymore. Though he still nags now and then, saying I’m no longer a princess in this life and what if I get bullied if I don’t marry… But he doesn’t force me into blind dates anymore. Besides, the modern era is better than the ancient one. Worst case, I just run away. I can support myself even if I live alone.”

Unlike ancient times, where a woman traveling alone could easily be trafficked, robbed, or tricked into exploitation. Even if she reached a new place, local clans would oppress her. If she wanted to farm, no one would sell her land. If she wanted to work in a weaving house, even local women couldn’t get in—how could a stranger like her have a chance?

But in the modern era, it’s different. With an ID card in her pocket, she could survive in any city.

Then, Xu Yanmiao and Princess Xiangyang chatted for hours, covering topics from all over the world.

That afternoon, the sunshine was unusually bright.

In the evening, Xu Yanmiao hitched a ride with the old emperor to a food stall, just in time to witness the crown prince trying to go out in a wheelchair—only to be chased and beaten by the old emperor.

Xu Yanmiao’s lips twitched.

With all due respect—it’s one thing for ordinary people to use a wheelchair to get around. But you, the Crown Prince, who had a lame leg in your past life—shouldn’t you be especially fond of walking and running in this life?

“Xu Lang!!”

Xu Yanmiao looked up—the car had arrived at the food stall, and the window had been rolled down. His good buddy Lian Hang looked at him with red-rimmed eyes.

Xu Yanmiao blurted out, “You brought your tear-leakage condition into this life too?”

Lian Hang grinned. The tears hadn’t even fallen before the mood was ruined. Half laughing, half crying, he asked, “Spicy beef or baby squid? What’ll it be?”

Xu Yanmiao: “Both!”

Lian Hang gave him an OK gesture.

Xu Yanmiao got out of the car.

“Xu Lang!” Chancellor Dou smiled at him, waving him over. “Come sit here.”

The Minister of Revenue teased, “Why aren’t you wearing a suit?”

The Minister of Personnel came out of the shop holding a plate of raw meat skewers. Taking a few quick steps, he spotted Xu Yanmiao and laughed, “Long time no see, Xu Lang. When I recovered my memories and saw your name, I thought, ‘No way, must be someone with the same name.’ Didn’t expect it really was you—don’t worry, you passed!”

The Minister of War waved with a grin, “Xu Lang! What do you want to drink—beer, milk tea, juice? Plain water works too! But you’ve gotta drink something—there’ll be toasts!”

The Ministers of Justice, Works, and Rites all turned their heads to look at him with smiles. Even the Marquis of Yongchang was there.

This scene was just like the old days.

They called out noisily, and Xu Yanmiao hopped off the car briskly, shouting loudly, “Cola! I want cola!”

He walked over joyfully, like a drop of water naturally merging into the sea.

“Come, come, come! Eat some meat!”

“Beer! Fill the beer!”

“Don’t forget Xu Lang’s cola!”

“Boss, a plate of stir-fried oysters!”

Xu Yanmiao looked at the group before him—emperors, crown princes, chancellors, and ministers from their past lives—now all sitting in a noisy street-side food stall, surrounded by ordinary city dwellers chatting enthusiastically, with messy plates on the table and the floor scattered with used tissues and bones.

In their past life, who could’ve imagined a scene like this?

Xu Yanmiao was caught up in the atmosphere and happily shouted, “Boss! One serving of fried noodles, please!”

The boss responded enthusiastically, “Coming right up!”

Oil was poured into the large iron wok. Noodles were tossed in, and with a loud sizzle, white smoke rose into the air. The flames beneath the wok looked just like the crashing waves Xu Yanmiao had seen earlier that day when out at sea—wobbling and roaring.

At the table next to them, a drunkard swayed unsteadily as he drank. Then, he suddenly turned to harass a girl sitting nearby having late-night snacks. The poor girl froze in fear, afraid he might hit her.

The men and women at Xu Yanmiao’s table all furrowed their brows, ready to step in.

Just then, a small sesame biscuit flew through the air and hit the drunkard squarely on the head. The biscuit shattered, and the sesame stuck to his greasy face. The drunkard was stunned for several seconds before reacting, yelling angrily, “Who did that?! Who threw it?!”

“Your grandpa, that’s who!” A burly man at a nearby table stood up. With a gold chain around his neck, tattooed arms, and eyes wide open like a tiger’s, he was an intimidating sight.

Next to him sat a young man in a white shirt and gold-rimmed glasses, calmly smiling. Even while holding a cheap plastic cup from the night stall, he made it look like a pricey boutique coffee.

The drunkard sobered up quickly when he saw the burly man’s formidable physique. With a sheepish laugh, he said, “Ah, a misunderstanding, big bro. I didn’t know that chick was your girl…”

The burly man frowned, “Scram!”

The drunkard quickly paid and rushed out of the stall, afraid he’d be beaten if he walked too slowly.

Xu Yanmiao hesitantly called out, “…General? Minister He?”

The two men turned their heads in unison. When they saw Xu Yanmiao and the others, their expressions grew emotional. “You… You all!!!”

The General let out a loud howl: “Your Majesty!!!”

Everyone at the night stall turned their heads toward them in unison with a whoosh.

The old emperor: “……”

Everyone else at the table: “……”

Marquis Yongchang had just taken a sip of his drink and nearly spat it out. After struggling to swallow, he immediately mocked, “Qin Guan, are you brain-dead?!”

Calling him ‘Your Majesty’? Didn’t he realize they were at a night market?

So embarrassing!

The General gave a dry laugh.

Well, he had thought it was just him and Xing Cong who had ended up in this world. Seeing familiar faces so suddenly had him too excited to think straight.

Fortunately, in modern times, nobody was fazed by weird behavior. After giving them a glance, the other diners lost interest.

The General quickly dragged his and the Minister of Rites’ table over and combined it with Xu Yanmiao’s.

“Your Majesty! I’ve missed you all so much!” The General started shamelessly flattering.

The old emperor gave him a look of disdain. “Alright, alright, what era are we even in? Stop with the formalities. Where have you two been all this time? Especially you, Qin Guan—what’s with that arm?”

The General looked down at his tattooed arm and laughed heartily. “This? I got it when I was in the underworld.”

Everyone: “???”

You were in what?!

The General casually explained, “Back then, I was young, poor, and reckless. Someone said you could get fed if you joined, so I dove right in. I was willing to risk it more than anyone else. Eventually, I became a small gang leader. Then a big gang leader. Then… well…

Long story short, the authorities cracked down on us. I did a few years inside. After getting out, I contracted a coal mine and became a coal boss. Only recently did my memories return.”

The officials of Daxia: Wow!

Now that was a wild journey—way more interesting than theirs!

They quickly handed over a beer. “Come on! Tell us everything!”

The General didn’t hold back and downed it in one gulp. “Let me tell you, back then…”

Blah blah blah…

“Even without my memories, there were still these scrawny punks who thought they could mess with me. Pfft. I picked up my knife and just—”

Blah blah blah…

“And then! Back then, neither Xing Cong nor I had our memories. I wasn’t good at scheming and always got tricked. So I thought, I need someone cultured to help me. Then I saw him at a school. He was giving a speech, totally fearless! Even the way he breathed between sentences was steady!”

The officials of Daxia: “……”

“The light hit his mouth just right—ugh, that lighting—tsk!”

The Minister of Rites smiled gently and discreetly withdrew his foot.

Just then, a dog barked and ran past. It was as if a cold wave of public affection slapped the faces of the Daxia officials from a distance.

The General quickly sucked in a breath and changed the subject: “Ahem, anyway, I could tell right away he was cultured. But also broke.

So I hired him to be my strategist. I handled the action, he did the planning. Soon, we took control of a whole block.”

Blah blah blah…

“Then I went to prison. He waited for me to get out! Now I’m a coal boss. And Xing Cong…” The General threw an arm around the Minister of Rites and grinned mischievously. “…is the man behind me.”

The Minister of Rites adjusted his glasses and added, “I translate works now. It’s an interesting job.”

The Minister of Rites’ superior burst out laughing, teasing, “Well, at least it matches your area of expertise.”

The Minister of Rites raised his glass with a slight smile and downed it.

The Crown Prince slammed the table: “Alright, time to eat!”

“Yes, yes!”

“Let’s eat!”

“I’ll drink one first!”

“Cheers!”

The summer moon hid behind the clouds, leaving behind only a soft pale glow illuminating the sky.

The Crown Prince slung an arm around the Minister of Works’ shoulder and toasted him.

The Minister of Personnel, seeing Lian Hang struggling to grab a dish, casually picked one up and handed it to him.

The General and Princess Nangyang were animatedly arguing about which rock song was better.

Here, there were no monarchs or ministers, no hierarchy or rank. Xu Yanmiao came running out of the shop holding two big watermelons. “Come, come! Watermelon time! General! You cut!”

The General picked up a knife. “Alrighty!”

Just as he stood up, the Minister of Revenue, drunk beyond measure, slumped over. As his head tilted, tears rolled down his cheeks and he burst into sobs.

“Why am I still managing money for your damn Gao family?! Do you know how despairing it was when I regained my memory and realized I’m still doing finance—still your accountant, reading your ledgers?! Out of all the companies in the world, even while amnesiac, I somehow ended up at yours!”

He pounded the table, bawling, “Why is it still you?! Waaaaahhh!!!”

Everyone rushed to comfort, soothe, or sober him up. The whole scene was a hilarious mess. The Crown Prince was laughing so hard he nearly fell over.

Xu Yanmiao stood in front of the table holding the two watermelons, eyes crinkled with laughter.