MTL - Emperor Zhengde of Ming Dynasty - Chapter 184 Show prestige

Derek Carter never asked for a System, an apocalypse, or the pressure of being humanity’s so-called “last hope.”He was just trying to survive the daily struggles of being an orphan in Paleview City—dodging bullies, scraping together meals, and lying his way into school. Life was already hard enough.Then, one day, a blue screen pops into his vision:[Warning: The world is doomed. Try not to die.]Yeah, great. Just what he needed—cryptic doomsday messages and no instruction manual.Now, monsters are creeping into the city, reality is unraveling, and Damien’s “legendary” starting stats are barely above zero. The System promises him power, but there's just one tiny problem—he’s never won a fight in his life.Armed with sarcasm, questionable decision-making skills, and the sheer refusal to die, Damien is about to embark on the worst (and possibly last) adventure of his life. Because if the world really is ending… he’s at least going to make it someone else’s problem first.After all, heroes are overrated—survivors get to tell the story.

The journey of a generation’s male empress started because of four words.

“Send a dowry escort.”

During the 19th year of Yuanqing, Qi Yunruo boarded a carriage and entered through a corner door of the second prince’s estate. Then, across the watery corridor, he gazed at the prince from afar.

Notes:

For aristocratic women in imperial China to marry into a family part of the upper nobility, they must be of the legitimate line and must also have an escort/dowry maid that married into that family. That escort would be a “ying” (媵) and could be considered a concubine.

- Description from Novelupdates

He chose her out of curiosity, and she chose him for a good sleep.In this one-year hidden marriage, they agreed to take what they needed and have only pleasure without love. But the reality was that he was very domineering. He could bully her, but if anyone else did the same, they would face severe consequences.Many people felt sorry for him and thought that she didn't deserve him. However, they discovered that her real identities were stunning and extraordinary.She was a genius hacker, a skilled miracle doctor, and even a deadly ghost...Now, people felt sorry for her. How could an astonishing woman like her marry a disabled man?Suddenly, a man who had been in a wheelchair for several years stood up and revealed the business empire he had built during those years.Later on, people started to envy the couple's talent and beauty.While the heavens favored them, she suddenly realized that in his heart, she was nothing more than a substitute...Love was just like poison hidden in sugar. If you believe in it, you lose...

Struck down amid the battle, the Hero and Demon King meet their demise. As their souls linger on the edge of the afterlife, a mysterious force intervenes, merging their fragmented souls together with a new being. Rusty, the living armor, now affected by their memories and presence, embarks on his own quest. Will he seek revenge on those who betrayed the hero, or will he fulfill the desires of the fallen demon king? or instead, forge his own path?