001: [Congratulations to the host for successfully completing the task. Next, I am preparing to jump to a non-task world for you. Wishing you a pleasant journey!]
Lu Yue was very satisfied with this. Although the task was important, one also needed to balance work and rest.
Due to the time constraint of only three days, Lu Yue chose an F-grade world, belonging to the cultivation world. There, the spiritual energy was abundant, and the scenery was beautiful, making it the perfect place to relax and have fun.
So our little mischief Lu began his “three-day tour of the cultivation world.”
Because it was a non-task world, the system was in a blocked state during this period, with no 001 nagging in his ear, which Lu Yue was quite satisfied with.
However, our 001 wasn’t so leisurely.
God knows why the male lead from the previous world also disappeared?
Although the task was completed, the mental data of the male lead was not retrieved. Lu Yue completed the task, but it couldn’t report back to the main system!
Just because of this, its performance suddenly dropped from first to third place. As a high-level intelligent system second only to the main system, 001 felt deeply ashamed, especially when it saw the smug expressions of 003 and 004.
However, it searched all the task worlds and non-task worlds with its advanced permissions, but still didn’t find the mental data of the male lead. This could only mean that it had already broken free from the control of the main system.
001 couldn’t help but shiver a bit. This had never happened before. Just a small piece of mental data could actually break free from the powerful main system. Such mental strength could be described as “terrifying.”
Three days later, Lu Yue appeared in the system space with a radiant glow, then heard 001’s voice, almost tearfully joyful.
001: [Host, you’re finally back! I missed you so much!]
Lu Yue shivered: [Can you speak like a system?]
001 looked aggrieved: [Host, I really missed you…]
Lu Yue: [Is that so? I had a very leisurely time without you.]
Facing Lu’s merciless words, 001 felt like its system heart shattered into pieces.
Lu Yue ignored 001’s fragile psyche: [Alright, hurry up and enter the task world.]
The male lead in this world is named Liu Jun, the eighth emperor of the Beiyang Dynasty. Because the previous emperor died early, he ascended the throne at the age of eight. Liu Jun’s mother, Lady Liu Fengru, became the Empress Dowager and after assisting in politics for only a year before it was rumored that she fell seriously ill and passed away, at the young age of thirty. As to whether she actually fell ill, no one really cared.
That year, the male lead was nine years old when he lost his mother. In the same year, the ministers of the Beiyang Dynasty unanimously elected the Sixth Prince Liu Yuan, the male lead’s uncle, who held considerable power at the time, as the regent to govern the court.
The ministers in the court all privately visited Liu Yuan and pledged allegiance to him, especially Prime Minister Huan Chong, who was the quickest to pledge allegiance. From then on, the Beiyang Dynasty only knew of the Regent, not the Emperor. Liu Yuan became the true ruler of the Beiyang Dynasty, while the weak Liu Jun was just a puppet emperor.
Only Li Ji, the Minister of War, was truly loyal to the emperor. However, for his own safety, he could only pretend to be obedient and secretly conspire with the emperor.
In the next five years, the power of the regent’s party became more and more stable. By this time, Liu Jun’s mind had matured. He saw the power struggles within the court clearly and knew that besides Li Ji, there was no one else he could trust, not even the palace maids around him were under his control, they all belonged to the regent.
So he could only continue to pretend to be an incompetent emperor, as no one would be interested in an incompetent emperor.
Unfortunately, as the male lead grew older, his appearance became more and more beautiful. The male lead’s mother, Lady Liu Fengru, was the first beauty of the Nanyue Kingdom. The Nanyue had always produced beauties, and Lady Liu Fengru was even more stunning than all others, her beauty comparable to that of celestial beings. And the male lead perfectly inherited her beauty, even surpassing it by a few degrees.
Seeing such an emperor, who lacked the aura of a sovereign but was stunningly beautiful, inevitably aroused some unscrupulous thoughts in people’s hearts.
So, at a banquet, the current Prime Minister, Huan Chong, ordered someone to bring women’s clothes for the male lead and made him dress as a female dancer to entertain the crowd.
For the sake of the overall situation, the male lead had no choice but to endure and accept it.
Since then, whenever there were court banquets, Huan Chong and others would make the male lead wear women’s clothing. Later on, they escalated the situation by even having him wear women’s clothing to court, for the ministers to admire.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Mgbw atja wbwfca bc, atf wjif ifjv yfujc ab agfjv atf qjat bo yijmxfclcu.
Ccv ktja eialwjafis vgbnf tlw ab yijmxfcfv kjr ktfc Lejc Jtbcu, lc bgvfg ab klc bnfg atf cbyifr jcv ufcags ja atf alwf, jmaejiis vgeuufv atf wjif ifjv jcv vgfrrfv tlw lc kbwfc’r mibatlcu, atfc rfca tlw ab atf yfvr bo atbrf qfbqif.
At the critical moment, it was Li Ji from the Ministry of War who, with his men, rescued the emperor from the den of wolves.
While the male lead was unharmed, Li Ji was exposed as well. In the end, he was falsely accused by the public of corruption and bribery and was executed.
The male lead lost his last supporter in the court, and shortly after, the ministers also lost interest in the emperor. Therefore, they launched a palace coup, preparing to kill the male lead.
The male lead was undoubtedly doomed to die, but at the critical moment, he was mysteriously rescued by a group of people. These mysterious individuals were none other than the First General of the Nanyue Kingdom, Yang Jun, who was also his biological father.
What everyone didn’t know was that before Lady Liu Fengru married into the Beiyang Dynasty, she had fallen in love with Yang Jun and conceived his child, but was forced to leave due to political marriage.
Upon learning the truth, the male lead was not very surprised. Instead, he buried this secret deep in his heart.
Three years later, the male lead and Yang Jun launched a palace coup in the Nanyue Kingdom, overthrowing the ruling Liu Dynasty. Unfortunately, Yang Jun was fatally stabbed during the coup, and the male lead ascended to the throne. He then dispatched an army of four hundred thousand troops straight to the capital of Beiyang, executed more than half of the ministers, and had their bodies dressed in women’s clothing and hung on the city walls for a whole month.
And Lu Yue’s identity this time was that of the regent, Liu Yuan.
Lu Yue sighed. Although Liu Yuan had never humiliated the male lead, if it weren’t for his indulgence, they wouldn’t have dared to act so recklessly. So, the male lead’s hatred towards him was probably no less than that towards Prime Minister Huan Chong.
Lu Yue with a serious face: [I request to lower the difficulty of the task.]
What a joke, if he went over there like this, he might be killed by the blackened male lead in minutes.
001: [Alright! To ensure that the host successfully completes the task, I have already advanced the timeline as much as possible. Come on, host!]
Lu Yue was still wondering why 001 agreed so quickly when he suddenly felt everything go dark.
Once again, when Lu Yue opened his eyes, he found himself lying sideways on a large sandalwood bed. As he opened his eyes, he saw a golden incense burner emitting a fragrant aroma on the table.
Calming incense.
Lu Yue furrowed his brows and said, “Come in.”
Two rather beautiful maids bent forward and called out in unison, “Regent.”
“Remove the incense.”
“Yes.” The two maids did not raise their heads and maintained their bowed posture until they exited the room.
Lu Yue rubbed his chin in thought, realizing that the original owner of this body must have been quite imposing, as the maids didn’t even dare to lift their heads to look. However, he wondered what the original owner looked like.
In front of a tall bronze mirror, a man dressed in a black python robe appeared. The man was over seven feet tall, with a straight nose and sharp eyes, giving off an intimidating aura.
After observing for a while, Lu Yue was particularly satisfied with this body. This was the physique of a true man!
Just as he was admiring himself, someone suddenly entered from outside and said, “Regent, the Prime Minister found eight boxes of gold and silver jewels embezzled by Li Ji, the Minister of War. He requests your presence at the court.”
Lu Yue’s heart skipped a beat, but he remained composed on the surface. “Take me there.”
He realized he had been transported to the time when Li Ji was framed, which meant the male lead had already been drugged and taken to someone else’s bed.
This was not good.
But it wasn’t the worst-case scenario either.
With this in mind, Lu Yue began to doubt.
Lu Yue: [001, be honest, you’re not scheming against me behind my back, are you?]
001 with a mournful face: [Oh, host, how could you think I’d ever scheme against you!]
Lu Yue with a sharp gaze: [Then what’s the deal with you agreeing so easily earlier?]
001 weakly: [Well, you see, I wanted to ask the host for a favor…]
Lu Yue: [What favor?]
001: [Can the host leave more time when completing the task, preferably without letting the male lead develop too strong an obsession?]
Lu Yue suspiciously: [Don’t we just need to complete the task? Why bother about his obsession?]
001 almost in tears: [Host, considering how many times we’ve cooperated, please help me out!]
Lu Yue smirked: [Well, it depends on your performance.]
001: [Host, if you have any requests, feel free to ask. As long as I can help, I will!]
Lu Yue heard the answer he wanted, so he said: [Alright, I reluctantly agree.]
001 delightedly: [Thank you, host!]
Lu Yue smirked inwardly, thinking what a foolish system it was.
At this moment, they had already arrived at the court.
“The Regent has arrived—” A sharp voice resounded, causing Lu Yue’s heart to tremble for a moment, but he quickly regained his serious demeanor.
And at this moment, the previously noisy voices disappeared.
It was almost more majestic than the Emperor’s arrival.
With this in mind, Lu Yue straightened his back, stepped forward in his black and gold-trimmed boots, and entered the hall.
As the handsome and cold man in the black python robe appeared, almost everyone’s gaze shifted to him.
Lu Yue paid no attention to everyone’s stares and instead looked straight at the person sitting on the throne.
The person above was wearing a red robe that did not match his status at all. His exquisite face was as beautiful as if it were delicately painted, unparalleled in beauty. Despite being sixteen years old, the youth still looked thin, and his black eyes revealed a gentle demeanor, like a stunning flower placed above, devoid of any hostility, purely for admiration.
Lu Yue was almost dazzled, but when he saw the blatant display of 90 points of blackening value above the male lead’s head, he suddenly came to his senses.
Almost being misled, this could be dangerous.
Just as Lu Yue stabilized his mind, he heard someone say, “Regent, yesterday I visited the home of the Minister of War, and inadvertently discovered eight boxes of gold and silver jewelry. The origin of these jewels is unclear, and it must be that Li Ji accepted bribes and committed corruption. Please, Regent, pass judgment!”
“Please, Regent, pass judgment!”
Lu Yue’s ears were ringing from the synchronized shouts, and when he turned his head, he saw Li Ji being bound and pressed to the ground by someone.
Li Ji glared angrily at Lu Yue. “I didn’t embezzle! You’re framing me!”
Before Lu Yue could speak, he heard Huan Chong, who was standing in front, smiling slyly, say, “Li Ji, you’re audacious! How dare you be so insolent in front of the Regent!”
Twisting defense into insolence, the logic of ancient people was really unreliable.
Facing Li Ji’s furious questioning, Huan Chong just smiled innocently. “Oh, really? We didn’t commit any of these treasonous acts. Wasn’t it all at His Majesty’s request? If His Majesty is willing to wear women’s clothing, how can we, his subjects, go against his wishes? Isn’t that right, Your Majesty?” Huan Chong turned the tables and directed the blame towards the young man on the throne.
Everyone’s gaze shifted to Liu Jun, with expressions of schadenfreude and some with gleams of malice.
Huan Chong looked at the young man on the throne with a smile, as if he knew the answer already.
Sure enough, the young man lowered his eyes and said, “It was my voluntary decision.”
Another round of low laughter echoed in the court hall. Under the exaggerated sleeves, the young man’s fists were clenched tightly, but his face showed a timid expression.
Lu Yue couldn’t help but sigh in his heart. When the emperor behaves like this, the male lead is also in a miserable situation.
Li Ji, with a heavy heart and tears in his eyes, cried out to Lu Yue, who still stood coldly aside, “Regent! His Majesty is your own nephew—”
“Even if you don’t consider the bond of blood, you should still consider the dignity of the royal family!”
Li Ji knelt down, crying bitterly, truly grieving.
Unfortunately, his impassioned plea did not move anyone; instead, it seemed to fuel their perverse interest even more.
And Lu Yue thought to himself, he is not my own nephew.
Huan Chong glanced at Lu Yue’s expression and noticed that he seemed unaffected. Feeling even more pleased, he continued, “Minister Li, you should worry about yourself. Regent, Li Ji not only committed corruption but also dared to disrespect his superiors. I earnestly request the Regent to order Li Ji’s execution!”
“I earnestly request the Regent to order Li Ji’s execution!”
All the ministers bowed to the man in the black robe ahead. At this moment, Lu Yue suddenly felt a fleeting, sinister gaze from above.
Liu Jun tightly gripped the armrest of his throne, his heart sinking into the abyss. He knew that once Li Ji was executed, he would be truly isolated. However, he also understood clearly that he couldn’t save him, because Liu Yuan would never let Li Ji live.
At this moment, the young man deeply realized his own powerlessness. This almost despairing feeling was like that of a non-swimmer being thrown into the water, struggling in vain as he watched his body gradually sink into the depths of despair.
Lu Yue’s mood to watch the drama disappeared instantly under the male lead’s gaze; after all, there was still a task to complete.
Just when everyone thought Li Ji was doomed, they suddenly heard this statement: “The gold and silver jewelry were given to Mr. Li by me.”
This statement surprised the ministers, especially Li Ji and Liu Jun. Because they knew that these items were the pretext for framing Li Ji, how could they be given by him? The only answer was that Lu Yue was lying and siding with Li Ji, but that was simply impossible.
What was he up to, after all?
Huan Chong was the first to react from his shock, his face stiff as he said, “Regent, are you mistaken? This… can’t be possible, right?”
Lu Yue smiled as he walked slowly towards Li Ji, who was kneeling on the side, and said, “How could I be mistaken? Mr. Li, as a prominent minister of our dynasty in charge of the Ministry of War, must have many military needs. I simply gave him these items for the purchase of military supplies. I never expected that it would be misunderstood by the Prime Minister.”
Lu Yue spoke lightly, as if there was indeed such a thing. Although Huan Chong had the ability to confuse right and wrong, Lu the little devil had the innate ability to seize every opportunity and manipulate others without changing his expression. Even if these old foxes practiced for hundreds of years, they couldn’t compare to him.
Moreover, the others were still in a daze, wondering if the Regent had taken the wrong medicine. All the carefully prepared words in their minds were shattered by a single move.
Taking advantage of the situation, Lu Yue continued to address the few people pressing down on Li Ji, “Why don’t you hurry up and untie Mr. Li!”
The two ordinary guards were startled by Lu Yue’s momentum and quickly untied the rope.
“Mr. Li, it’s my fault for not explaining clearly to them, causing you to suffer. Mr. Li won’t blame me, will you?” Lu Yue suddenly became friendly towards Li Ji, who was still in a panic.
This Regent was not a merciful character.
Who knew what kind of conspiracy he had? However, Li Ji had no better choice. If he didn’t agree, he would be dead. It didn’t matter if he died, but His Majesty…
In the end, Li Ji nervously said, “How could the subordinate blame the Regent? The Regent was just being kind.”
“That’s good. Since it’s like this, let’s stop here. You can all disperse now,” Lu Yue said. Just as he finished speaking, he heard the eunuch standing in front of the court shout, “Dismiss—”
Huan Chong had wanted to say something, but seeing that everyone had already started to leave, he had no choice but to shut his mouth and leave with a flick of his sleeve.
These ministers in court deserve a date worse than death! 👹
Mustve been a terrible date you had huh 😂🤣
Whoops I meant fate* 💀 Even then I still think any date you go with them would be terrible 😔