The anti-Qing movement began with the looting of the Eight-Nation Alliance.

Just as he thought of this, Shen Lian felt everything go black. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself back in his old rented room.

"Haha! It's actually a dual-transmigration system. That's awesome! It would be even better if it had a spatial dimension too!" Shen Lian was overjoyed.

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Lian felt as if a space had appeared in his mind, roughly the size of ten square meters. It was small, but at least it was there, which was good enough.

Shen Lian reached out and grasped the teacup; with a thought, the cup was stored in his spatial dimension.

"Hahahaha..." Shen Lian, naked from the waist down, burst into loud laughter in the room.

With dual-penetration and spatial abilities, I'm going to be rich now!

Now is not the time to be complacent; he can't linger here. Shen Lian looked around the rented room, but it seemed there was nothing he could take with him!

After thinking for a moment, I took a black suit and several white shirts. I also took two pairs of leather shoes, half a pack of cigarettes, and a counterfeit Zippo lighter into my storage space.

Lying back in the wooden tub, Shen Lian's smile was barely contained. Heh heh! The Eight-Nation Alliance, Japan, Empress Dowager Cixi...

I'm coming, get ready to fight!

"Young Master, Young Master. Are you done washing? Uncle Fu is here to urge you!" Qiu Yue's gentle voice rang out from outside.

"Okay! I'll be right out!"

Shen Lian quickly got up, dried himself off, put on his clothes, and went outside.

Uncle Fu was already waiting outside the door. When he saw Shen Lian come out, he nodded and led him to the back hall.

"Uncle Fu, how is my father's condition?" Shen Lian asked as they walked.

“The master already had old injuries, and now that he’s getting old, his health is deteriorating. He’s coughed up blood several times already.” Uncle Fu’s eyes reddened as he spoke.

Shen Lian's adoptive father was a member of the Xiang Army. He followed Commander Zeng in suppressing the Taiping Rebellion, risking his life and saving the old commander's life several times. In the end, he was recommended to the rank of acting general.

However, there were too many meritorious generals in the Xiang Army at that time, and countless people were recommended to the rank of general or admiral. It was already not easy for him to be appointed as a nominal general but actually serve as a guerrilla commander.

Still serving as a guerrilla in Linqing, a place rife with lucrative opportunities, this old man is no ordinary reckless soldier. Shen Lian secretly became extremely cautious.

Shen Lian followed Uncle Fu into the house, and the eyes of the people inside immediately turned to look at him.

On the exquisitely carved canopy bed lay a gaunt old man, with a middle-aged woman sitting beside him attending to him. A little girl of about twelve or thirteen stood timidly by the bedside.

"Father, your son is back!"

Shen Lian strode to the bedside and tried to squeeze his eyes shut. Unfortunately, his acting was so bad that he couldn't produce a single tear.

"It's good that my son is back, it's good that he's back!"

Shen Hu, emaciated and weakened by illness, lay on the bed, looking at Shen Lian with a faint smile.

Shen Lian reached out and grasped the old man's withered hand, finding it to be nothing but skin and bones. He was momentarily moved.

"Your child is thousands of miles away from home and cannot serve your father. Your child is unfilial!"

Shen Hu smiled with relief; his son had finally grown up. He could now depart in peace.

Despite possessing the original owner's memories, Shen Lian was momentarily at a loss for words when faced with this "father."

"Lian'er, there are two things I need to get done quickly since I called you back this time." Shen Hu took a breath and paused.

"Firstly, you're not young anymore, and your father wants to see you marry a woman from the Nie family as soon as possible!"

Holy crap! I never expected to be forced into marriage so soon after transmigrating. Shen Lian was speechless.

Searching his memories, the original owner recalled that his fiancée was named Nie Xiaoqian. She was no ordinary woman; she was Nie Gongting's youngest daughter.

It seems to be a marriage arranged between Shen Hu and Nie Shicheng on the battlefield decades ago, when neither of them had children yet!

Later, Shen Lian and Nie Xiaoqian were born one after another, and the two sides confirmed the marriage.

In this day and age, marriages are arranged by parents and matchmakers, and Shen Lian has no way to resist.

Besides, with such a national hero as his father-in-law, who held a high position of power and commanded a large army, Shen Lian would certainly not refuse.

"It's all up to Father!" Shen Lian replied obediently.

"Good, good!" Shen Hu nodded repeatedly in satisfaction.

"The second thing is your future. I sent you to a military academy in the United States in the hope that you would return after completing your studies and take over my position. What do you think?"

Shen Lian was overjoyed upon hearing this. He had been thinking about how to build his own army. He never expected that his father had already prepared everything for him.

"I'm sorry to trouble you, Father. I'm studying military knowledge diligently in the United States. I hope that one day I can command an army and fight on the battlefield. The current situation is turbulent, which is the perfect time for soldiers to show their skills."

"Haha, good! My son has the ambition of a general, I am very pleased. I have already discussed it with your father-in-law, and you will go to the capital in a few days to discuss the wedding date, and take care of this matter at the same time!"

Shen Hu laughed heartily. His son had been abroad for several years and had really made something of himself.

The father and son chatted for a while longer, and seeing that Shen Hu was tired, Shen Lian prepared to take his leave.

"Uncle Fu!" Shen Hu greeted him.

"Master!" Uncle Fu hurriedly went to the bedside.

"From now on, Shen Lian will be in charge of all matters, big and small, at home. You must help him a lot."

"Yes, sir!"

Shen Hu waved his hand, nodded in satisfaction, and closed his eyes with a smile.

Seeing this, Shen Lian and Uncle Fu quietly withdrew.

"Lian'er greets her elder brother!"

Just as she stood outside the door, the pretty little girl came to Shen Lian's side and bowed.

"Hehe! It's been years since we last met, and our little Yulian has grown into a young lady!" Shen Lian teased, making the girl blush with embarrassment.

“These past few years, while I've been away from home, it's always been my second aunt who has been taking care of my father. Thank you so much, second aunt!”

Shen Lian bowed respectfully to the woman before him.

"Oh! Young Master, you mustn't do that! Get up, get up!"

Huang was so startled that she was flustered and wanted to help Shen Lian, but dared not. As Shen Hu's concubine, she did not have a high status in the Shen family. Shen Lian had never given her a kind look before, but she did not expect him to bow to her today and even call her Second Mother.

"These are things I should do, but... it's just that the master's health is deteriorating. There's nothing I can do. Fortunately, the eldest young master is back..."

As she spoke, Huang's eyes reddened, and she quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe the corners of her eyes.

"Second Aunt, don't worry. Father is a lucky man and will definitely be alright. I also know some Western medical treatments, and I will definitely find a way to cure Father."

The old man can't die now! Shen Lian remembered that nowadays, officials are required to observe a period of mourning when their parents pass away.

At this crucial moment, he couldn't afford to waste a single second. The Eight-Nation Alliance would be marching into Beijing next year, and he didn't have much time left.

"Uncle Fu, how much wealth does my family actually have?"

After comforting Madam Huang and her younger sister, Shen Lian led Uncle Fu back to his study. After Yue'er served hot tea and left, he eagerly asked about the matter he cared about most.