SMMW | Chapter 9
by _squishee“Alright, the poetry gathering is over. After subtracting the money spent on food, there’s still five hundred left. Those rewards the girls threw at the event can only increase Charm, they can’t be spent like real money. What a pity.”
[……]
[emmmmmmm]
[You two are… ?]
[0-0]
[Why are all the civil and military officials stammering like this?]
[Does the streamer really not realize something is off?]
[Very gay]
[Stop meddling in little couples’ business]
[At least one or two of you is gay]
[Very rigorous]
“Wen Qing is this emperor’s trusted minister. He’s going to be prime minister in the future. I get it, you all just want the joke. Later on it’ll be fine. Later on, this emperor will widely gather a harem, spend his days in wine and pleasure, pools of wine and forests of meat, and all the state affairs will be handled by Wen Qing.”
[Don’t believe it]
[Why does all the hard work get dumped on my sister-in-law???]
[You’re so stingy that even if you became emperor, you still wouldn’t get a wife]
[Wen Qing’s pretty great, just let him be empress]
[For now, don’t marry [Sports Car x1]]
A sports car was the biggest gift Song Hao had received since he started streaming. One cost 99 yuan, and Song Hao could get 49.5 from it. No matter how you looked at it, he had today’s takeout money.
Naturally, one had to be especially pleasant toward a big spender, so Song Hao immediately replied, “Thanks, boss, for the sports car. I definitely won’t marry. If I’m going to marry, it’ll be when I’ve become emperor.”
[Boss, you fool, he’s only straight with his mouth]
[That gift money was wasted]
[Just to earn an extra twenty in price difference, he never pays attention to Xing’er, but he gives all the baiweizi worth 50 qian each to Wen Qing]
[And even spent 500 treating him to food]
[Tsk tsk tsk]
Song Hao defended himself. “The exam is next month. I’m worried the officials are going to pull some nonsense, so I’m maxing the stats in advance to make it foolproof.”
As he spoke, he opened the status panel.
〖Yuan Hao: Literary Talent 178, Physique 36, Romantic 5, Charm 7, Appearance 88〗
“Look, look, what provincial exam or not? The moment I go, it’s first place!”
[Streamer: Pretty awesome, achieved in exchange for staying single]
[Is this really how this is played…]
[Other people already have kids at this stage]
[You have no idea what you’ve missed [melancholy]]
[At least there’s still one male sister-in-law]
The comment section was still cracking jokes when the game screen prompted that a visitor had arrived.
“What did I tell you? Random event, right? The officials are definitely trying something. You absolutely have to max the stats early.”
Song Hao clicked 〖Go Out〗 and discovered Wen Qing standing at the door, looking over his shabby little house.
〖Yuan Hao steps aside and invites Wen Qing into the house first, but Wen Qing shakes his head. He is breathing hard, clearly having rushed over in a hurry.
Excitement is hard to hide on his face as he says in broken phrases, “My family’s medicine-buying caravan… just returned today. Inside it there was a medicinal herb we’d never seen before, Golden Vine Flower, the medicinal herb you mentioned, the one to treat Auntie’s illness.”
Wen Qing carefully takes out a wooden box from inside his clothes and hands it to you.
“But it’s dried too, so I don’t know whether it’ll still work.”
Your choices are: Accept / Refuse〗
Song Hao was dizzied by the unexpected delight. He had never imagined that the medicinal herb he had failed to find after digging through saves a hundred and eighty times would come so easily into his hands.
“…Is he an angel?” It was a little cheesy, but at this moment Song Hao truly felt that a white holy light was shining around Wen Qing.
〖Accept〗
〖Yuan Hao is nearly in tears. He carefully accepts the herb and bows deeply. “This great kindness cannot be thanked in words. In the future, I will surely…”
Wen Qing quickly helps Yuan Hao back up. “‘It is not repayment, but forever to regard one another as dear.’ I remember those words, and I hope Brother Yuan remembers them too.”
Yuan Hao: “I lost my composure. Please come in and sit for a while.”
Wen Qing: “Auntie’s health is more important. Presumably Brother Yuan has many things to deal with. This foolish younger brother will come disturb you another day. Farewell.”
With that said, he leaves in a hurry without waiting for Yuan Hao to detain him, just as hurried as when he came.
※ Obtained Golden Vine Flower x1〗
“Looks like we’re going to be brothers for life. Even if he rebelled, I could forgive him,” Song Hao muttered.
[Is this right? Wasn’t this Xing’er’s plotline?]
[I’ll just say it straight. Xing’er’s favor has to reach 80 before you can dig up Golden Vine Flower, otherwise your mom can’t be saved.]
[Someone else has triggered another branch. If Yun Ling from the apothecary reaches 60 favor, you can buy it from her, but you can only raise her favor using baiweizi.]
[Is this the third branch?]
[The freedom level is so high, I kind of want to get into it]
[Trust me, don’t play]
[Everyone’s game is randomly generated, only the big events are the same]
[You seriously can’t play this without paying]
[Even guides are not that useful, because you never know who corresponds to who, the models and names can all change]
[The romanceable characters in the beginner phase are easier to recognize, childhood sweetheart, apothecary, academy]
[Wen Qing corresponds to the academy route?]
[But Kong Mengxue is already there, she’s the headmaster’s daughter]
[No way this is actually the gay route…]
[Huh??? The officials even prepared this plotline?]
[The streamer’s got something]
Song Hao looked at the comments with very mixed feelings. He opened the favorability panel for characters.
Under the female section, 〖Xing’er 4, Yun Ling 3, Kong Mengxue 2…〗
Under the male section, 〖Wen Qing 77, Zou Hui -30…〗
[All three female leads together don’t even add up to 10, incredible]
[How did you even grind 77?]
[-30 is killing me hahahahahaha]
[Zou Hui, a model of terrified straight manhood]
[Wen Qing is the real sister-in-law]
“Whatever, let’s save the patient first.” The more Song Hao looked, the dizzier he got, so he directly controlled the character into Mother’s room and tried to feed the Golden Vine Flower to his mother.
〖Hint: Golden Vine Flower cannot be used directly〗
“Looks like I need to find Xing’er or Yun Ling to help boil it into a medicinal decoction.” After saving the game, Song Hao first went up the mountain to find Xing’er.
〖Yuan Hao: Xing’er! I found Golden Vine Flower!
Xing’er: Really? Auntie can be saved! Let’s hurry down the mountain!
An hour later, Xing’er finished boiling the Golden Vine Flower and fed it to Su-shi. Su-shi’s complexion really did improve a lot, the pain in her body eased, and she fell asleep peacefully.
Xing’er wipes away tears: That’s wonderful, Cousin. As long as Auntie slowly nurses her health from now on, her life will no longer be in danger.
Xing’er takes out her medicine basket. After counting the herbs inside, she hands them all over to Yuan Hao.
Xing’er: Golden Vine Flower is precious. Cousin must have spent an enormous amount of money. Selling these herbs should at least make up a little for it.
Yuan Hao: You worked hard to gather all these. I can’t take them.
Xing’er: Cousin, please take them. In a month, when you go to the provincial capital for the exam, you’ll need travel expenses too. If not for Auntie, I would have died young back when I was seven. Auntie has always hoped that you could focus on your studies. If you accept them, Auntie will also be able to recover in peace.
Yuan Hao: Alright.
※ Xing’er Favor +5, obtained Tongcao x60, Baiweizi x12〗
“That many?! I’m getting rich. Tongcao is 10 qian each, so that’s 600 altogether. I’m almost at 3000 qian now.”
[Sounds like a lot, but with the first recharge of 3 yuan you already get that]
[Zero-spend is so hard]
[It’s only because you’re getting with guys. Otherwise getting married costs 5000]
[And that’s not even counting the baiweizi, 50 qian each, so another 600]
[Don’t even think about it, the baiweizi is for mother-in-law]
Sure enough, after putting the herbs away, Song Hao first went to the apothecary and sold 50 stalks of tongcao, gaining +500 money. He planned to keep the remaining tongcao in case of emergency. Then he turned right around and went to the Wen residence, giving all the baiweizi to Wen Qing.
〖Wen Qing holds over a dozen stalks of baiweizi in both hands and says nothing for a very long time. In the end, his voice chokes up as he says: “Then I’ll accept them.”
Yuan Hao: “My younger female cousin gathered them, so count it as presenting the Buddha with borrowed flowers.”
Wen Qing: “Even so, the merit is still credited to your account.”
Yuan Hao: “It’s all fine. At long last, one burden has been lifted from the heart. Whether it’s your mother or mine, both now have medicine to take, and the two of us can also prepare for the exam with peace of mind.”
Wen Qing: “Brother Yuan is right. In a month, when the provincial exam is held in the provincial capital, shall we go together?”
Yuan Hao: “Naturally.”
Wen Qing: “Then it’s a promise.”
※ Wen Qing Favor +20〗
[My sister-in-law really is sincere]
[He loves him]
[Who loves who, the streamer or Wen Qing?]
[They’re both in love, I ship it]
[97 already, just get married at 100]
…