As the new emperor ascended the throne and issued a general amnesty, all members of the Crown Prince's faction, except for those who had died in the preceding chaos, were at least reinstated to their former positions. Many were promoted, granted titles, or received other benefits.
It seemed as though everything was developing in a positive direction.
However, the reality was far from it.
Numerous troubles and hidden dangers remained. Beyond other aspects, the two giants alone were enough of a problem.
Xiao Weiln and Du Hong, these two giants, although they had made significant contributions, their colossal physiques not only instilled a vague sense of fear in all the capital's inhabitants but also left the new emperor and his officials feeling insecure. They themselves found it difficult to endure. Apart from the initial period of displaying their might and the time they spent destroying the imperial palace, which they enjoyed immensely,
Their lives thereafter.
They never felt that things were as good as they were now.
They only experienced countless inconveniences.
Firstly, there were the issues of food and drink.
The remaining palace maids and eunuchs in the imperial palace exerted immense effort, finally managing to retrieve dozens of large vats originally used for carrying firefighting water. They filled these with well water for the giants to drink, helping to alleviate their thirst.
Then, personnel from the imperial kitchens cooked pot after pot of rice and noodle dishes.
Over a hundred people worked for nearly an hour.
Only then were the two giants finally fed.
And this was just for one meal, not even including snacks or other beverages like wine.
For these two giants alone, it would likely require specially assigning two to three hundred people, working seven to eight hours a day non-stop, to solely cater to their daily dietary needs, ensuring they wouldn't go thirsty or hungry.
Because neither the emperor nor the eunuchs and palace maids dared to slacken their efforts, their food and drink were adequately managed.
They could grudgingly accept the troublesome process of eating.
However, subsequent tasks such as washing, using the toilet, changing clothes, or even scrubbing off grime, undoubtedly presented one difficult challenge after another. Not to mention their accustomed daily amusements and other activities.
How would these be carried out?
For two giants of such immense size, just their daily ablutions would consume a considerable amount of salt. Using the toilet would be even more problematic, with no way to conceal it. What could block the waste of a person hundreds of meters tall? Even the city walls of the capital couldn't contain it.
Furthermore, there weren't any toilets large enough for cleaning.
Let alone the smell...
Ah, just thinking about it was sickening!
Fortunately, they themselves understood their predicament and did not dare to carry out such activities within the capital. Ultimately, they endured and rushed out of the city, finally finding a relatively secluded spot partially screened by small peaks before they could resolve their needs.
Afterward, they began searching for Ding Yun.
Hoping that Ding Yun could help them resolve their situation, and if possible, return them to their original size.
What could Ding Yun do? No matter how she explored, she found no shrinking function on the magnifying glass she possessed. In the end, she could only regretfully express her inability to help, stating that at most she could assist them in creating houses suitable for their dwelling and the tools they would need for daily use.
Although they felt some regret about this, even harboring a faint sense of remorse, they knew there was no other option. They finally agreed and told Ding Yun what they needed and how the houses should be built.
Ding Yun did not wish to listen to their demands herself and hurt her ears. Therefore, she specifically found several craftsmen to listen to their requests and then had the craftsmen construct two bronze house models scaled according to their specifications.
At the same time, she prepared the tools they requested.
Subsequently, Ding Yun transported all these items to a sparsely populated area far from the capital.
She arranged the items there.
And began to enlarge them to scale.
Even with her constant power replenishment and magnification, it still took three to four days to fulfill all their requirements, ensuring they at least had a place to live, clothes to wear, and blankets to cover themselves.
Even so, they felt extremely unaccustomed to it.
They even felt that their standard of living had declined significantly.
It was far worse than in the past.
How to describe it? In the past, when they were thirsty, servants could bring them a cup of tea at any time, and a cup of tea would quench their thirst. But now, even if the servants kept tea readily available, it would take a long time to bring the tea to them. It would be better for them to walk a few steps themselves and pour it for themselves.
Or use their enlarged cups.
To fetch water from the river to drink.
The situation with meals was similar. Although their own cooking lacked flavor, at least it was fast.
Bathing was even more so.
If servants bathed them, several might drown before the bath even lasted long. Moreover, for the servants to scrub off their grime, they would need knives and would scrape very slowly. It was truly not as good as doing it themselves.
Therefore, before long, the two who were accustomed to being served had to start relying on themselves, having to dress themselves, cook their own meals, pour tea, and wash themselves.
To them, those days.
Could be described with the word "arduous."
What they found most unbearable, however, was not these aspects, but the fact that they had no women with whom they could interact normally. All women now seemed to them like the "Egg Girl," as delicate to hold as a raw egg, and even if they wanted to feast their eyes, they had to lower their heads and squint closely.
Otherwise, they couldn't even see what people looked like.
To help them alleviate their distress, lest they become perverted in their loneliness, Ding Yun specially enlarged many Buddhist scriptures and sent them over, suggesting they chant them when they had nothing else to do, embracing detachment.
This was to prevent them from having impure thoughts.
Of course, regardless of anything else, the deterrent effect of these two giants was still present. Therefore, Ding Yun's family lived quite comfortably and freely in the capital.
Much more comfortably than before.
Not only did they have a more luxurious residence as the Prince of Tongping, but
Ding Yun also had her own Imperial Tutor's Mansion, which was a converted former prince's mansion. With her own residence, Ding Yun became less inclined to stay at home. After all, at home, people were always disturbing her, and her family was more attentive to her than before.
Her sisters-in-law even wanted to learn magic from her.
She was truly unaccustomed to it and unable to teach.
Nor did she want to be constantly disturbed and lose her peace.
Therefore, as soon as the Imperial Tutor's Mansion was renovated, she immediately moved in and announced that she was going into seclusion.
From then on, she would receive no visitors.
Even the emperor would not be entertained.
If Ding Yun could only stay in this ancient world, she might still have considered interacting more with others, or even going out to see plays to pass the time.
However, since she could also go to the technologically advanced society, there was no need for her to listen to the chirping plays in the ancient world. Were video games not fun? Were TV dramas not entertaining? Were movies not exciting? Could various imaginative novels not pass the time? Regardless, the technological society was far more interesting and enjoyable than the ancient world.
Moreover, at this point, the original host's wishes had been basically fulfilled. The current situation was that the more low-key she was, the more at ease the emperor would be. So, why bother causing trouble? Naturally, it was best to avoid appearing publicly as much as possible and enjoy herself in the technological society.
Not only would she be happy, but the emperor would also be at ease.
Their family's status would naturally be further solidified.
Therefore, from the moment Ding Yun announced her seclusion, she dedicated more time to her body in the technological society, gradually becoming familiar with her family and the situation.
At the same time, she strove to demonstrate her learning ability.
Hoping to put her parents at ease.
And for them to stop treating her like a baby just starting to learn, but rather as an adult with some independent capabilities and normal thought processes.
However, this was clearly not something that could be achieved in a short period.
Because Ding Yun could not behave too extravagantly, her parents would not easily believe that their daughter, who had been foolish for over ten years, could become comparable to a normal person in just a few years.
Therefore, even though Ding Yun could now cook and wash clothes herself, change TV channels, and even use voice commands to search online for the TV shows and movies she wanted to watch,
They still treated Ding Yun as illiterate.
And one evening after dinner, they began discussing in front of Ding Yun whether they should teach their daughter some basic cultural knowledge, or see if they could find connections to send their daughter to school to study and get a diploma.
On this matter, the couple did not have the same opinion.
"Let's just teach her ourselves at home when we have free time.
Think about it, she's already twenty years old. At this age, children from other families are close to graduating from university, and intelligent ones might have already graduated.
Now, you want her to go to primary school or kindergarten.
First of all, whether schools are willing to accept her, and how much she can learn, aside from the mockery and ridicule from other students, it would be quite damaging to the child. Think about it, first graders are six or seven years old. Suddenly having a twenty-year-old adult, wouldn't that cause a stir?
Sometimes, the unwitting malice of children.
Is actually more hurtful.
So, let's forget it!
Besides, although a diploma is important, don't you think about how many years it will take for our daughter to get a useful diploma? Even just a high school diploma, she would have to study for at least twelve years. She's twenty this year, and after twelve years, she'll be thirty-two.
At that age, what's the point of a high school diploma?
Some companies' recruitment requirements.
Are for those under thirty-five.
So, let's teach her ourselves. If that doesn't work, let her learn a skill, or see if we can find her a good partner. Then we can be at ease."
Xiao Haizhe directly rejected his wife's idea of sending their daughter to school. This was because his daughter's age difference was not just three to five years older than children who normally attend school, but over ten years. This age gap, to put it bluntly, or to put it in ancient terms,
A child could be in primary school.
Instead of himself just starting primary school.
Both the difficulty of enrollment and the criticism she might face after enrolling, the unconscious discussions and laughter of the children, would all be significant problems.
He really didn't want his daughter to experience such stimulation.
"But without a diploma, even if Yunmeng finds a partner, she won't find a good one. I checked the local matchmaking market the other day, and the requirements for women are at least a junior high school education.
If she's told she's illiterate.
Who knows what kind of undesirable individuals will be introduced.
And she's this age, what skills can she learn? She can't just learn to do laundry and cooking and then become a nanny, can she? Although the income for nannies is quite high.
But that means living under someone else's thumb.
I can't bear to see that!"
Huang Juan was also in a dilemma. When she had previously accepted that her daughter might be foolish for life, she hadn't thought too much about it, intending to take each day as it came. She planned to live as long as possible, take care of her daughter for more years, and ideally save some money for her daughter. If things really didn't work out, she would send her to a nursing home or similar place, considering she had done her best.
However, since her daughter recovered, her worries and considerations have increased. She began to worry about her daughter's future, whether she could find a job, find a partner, and so on.
People are often like this.
When they give up hope and feel helpless, their psychological state is completely different from when they have some hope. With a glimmer of hope, they naturally desire something better.
Huang Juan now feels that since her daughter is no longer foolish and not too old, perhaps her future can still have a good outcome. The original plan of an isolated old age and being sent to a nursing home in her old age was naturally immediately abandoned in favor of seeking something better.
But to seek something better, her daughter's conditions must be improved.
Otherwise, there's no possibility of marrying into a better family.
After all, her daughter is not a peerless beauty.
She doesn't ask to find a very good husband for her daughter, but at least he shouldn't be undesirable or a divorcee.
"Sigh, it's because we're not working hard enough and don't have the ability. If we could leave a few houses and shops for our daughter to collect rent, we wouldn't have to worry about these things. It's truly a headache!"
"Perhaps we should have had another child back then. Having a younger brother or sister to help out might have made the situation better."
"It's unnecessary. Who would want to be born with the fate of taking care of their sister for their entire life? It was good that we didn't have another child. If we had, the resentment would likely have been passed down."
"So, are we going to let her go to school or not?"
"No more. We'll teach her ourselves first. If she truly has some ability in learning, we'll hire a dedicated tutor for her, and then prepare for a self-study exam. Although a self-study diploma is slightly inferior, it's still a diploma.
It's better than having no diploma at all.
Also, she needs to learn a skill. We will most likely pass on before her. We don't have any brothers or sisters to support her. If she's unable to cope with unforeseen circumstances and support herself after we're gone, we won't be at ease."
After careful discussion and consideration of the pros and cons.
Xiao Haizhe and his wife ultimately decided to teach their daughter themselves. At the very least, they needed to help their daughter move beyond the level of illiteracy before considering other aspects. And it was only then that Ding Yun remembered what she had overlooked earlier.
That was overlooking the fact that the original host should be illiterate.
When Ding Yun's consciousness core was offline, it could automatically read the client's soul or memories to acquire language and literacy skills. When online, it could directly obtain relevant information from the internet and learn automatically.
For her, there were almost no language barriers in any world, so she naturally didn't pay attention to this point.
The characters the original host learned in the ancient world were quite different from the characters in this world, so she hadn't revealed any flaws before. Recently, to save trouble, Ding Yun had been using voice input for most of her communication, avoiding typing, and thus hadn't revealed any flaws.
But if they hadn't suddenly brought this up today.
Ding Yun might have genuinely forgotten that even if she wasn't truly illiterate now, she should barely know any characters.
Explaining it later would be difficult.