At sixteen, Nan Leli assassinated the emperor, killed his father and brothers, and ascended the throne, stabilizing his rule through sheer force alone. Since his accession, there had been those who defied his authority and attempted rebellion, but he suppressed them all with brutal force. In his lifetime, he had wreaked havoc and killed countless people, yet he had never encountered anything as bizarre as this.
He lay sprawled on the ground, his entire body weak and limp, devoid of any strength. His face, in particular, felt as if it had been poisoned, tingling with a numbing, prickling pain.
How could this woman have poisoned him without him noticing?
Nan Leli was so furious he nearly coughed up blood.
Yet the young girl looked utterly innocent, her eyes wide open, her eyelashes still glistening with tears. It was hard to imagine she was the one who had done this…
But if not her, then who?
If she were truly as innocent as she appeared, would she have hit him?
If she were truly as innocent as she appeared, would she be dressed so… shamelessly?
From his angle, he could see her… well-proportioned figure beneath the black gauze, the warm, fair skin of her calves, and…
The emperor, who believed in keeping women out of his heart and prioritized killing above all else, covered his face and turned away, unable to find the words to describe it. He could only curse inwardly, “Outrageous!”
Meanwhile, Wen Qitian was unaware that she was being cursed at and had no time to worry about anything else, for another thing that could be called a cheat had appeared in her mind the moment she struck him.
[Ding~ Account entered correctly, password verified correctly. The “Papa Papa” System is at your service.]
“?”
[Account: Papa Papa, Password: Soft. Please take note, host, to prevent unnecessary trouble caused by others stealing your account. Now loading data for you…]
“…?”
[Data loading complete. Transmitting world information.]
As the information was being transmitted, Wen Qitian, outwardly appearing frightened, let out a sob while remaining vigilant of Nan Leli and sorting through her thoughts.
“Shu Nü Ji Yue” was an early-era tragic romance novel centered around the female lead. The female lead, Wen Jiyue, was an illegitimate daughter who lived in the shadows, constantly oppressed and mistreated since childhood. Yet, she never forgot her original intentions, responding to every situation with kindness and forgiveness, even when the male lead tormented her countless times. She loved him as if it were her first love.
Wen Qitian had transmigrated into the novel as the female lead’s legitimate older sister. Her status was worlds apart from the female lead’s. Though both were daughters of Yongwen Hou, Wen Qitian’s mother was the daughter of the Imperial Tutor, married through a proper and prestigious union. Her maternal grandfather had students all over the world and had served as the Imperial Tutor for three generations.
She also had an older brother, an outstanding young general who guarded the border alongside their uncle.
It could be said that in the capital, aside from princesses and noblewomen, she could do as she pleased.
This also led to the original host’s spoiled and willful temperament. Before learning of the female lead’s identity, she had bullied the female lead relentlessly.
But the good times didn’t last.
When Su Dishi encountered trouble, Yongwen Hou, who had long resented the original host and her mother for their influential maternal family, finally acted. Using a long-planted covert network, he sent the original host into the palace in an attempt to appease the tyrant’s anger.
The tyrant Nan Leli played the role of a love-hate antagonist in the novel.
The text described that before becoming emperor, the antagonist was courteous and noble, a true gentleman. After ascending the throne, he worked diligently for the country and its people. Unfortunately, upon meeting the Mary Sue female lead, he fell completely, paving the way for her his entire life and dying without ever winning her heart. In his second life, he wreaked havoc, treating people as less than human, determined to seize the female lead by force…
Uh… The timeline she had transmigrated into coincided with the plot where she was sent to the tyrant’s bedchamber and skinned by the reborn tyrant to be made into a lantern.
Wen Qitian absorbed the System’s information while lowering her gaze to look at the limp, formidable villain on the floor.
He wore a sullen, fierce expression, like a vicious dog that had been provoked and then leashed—powerless yet stubbornly clinging to her.
This feeling… was quite similar to raising a large dog. Whenever it got angry, it would bark incessantly. Though she couldn’t understand dog language, she knew the dog was probably cursing up a storm in its mind, possibly even plotting how to kill her.
The novel repeatedly described this tyrant’s fondness for peeling human skin to make lampshades.
The System said: 【For some reason, the author lost control of this runaway villain in the later stages. So, your main task now is to lower the villain’s Darkening value to facilitate the plot progression. Current Darkening value… 100%…】
“Wait!” Wen Qitian interrupted.
“This isn’t reasonable. I was perfectly fine at home, healthy and safe. What gives you the right to drag me into doing tasks for you?”
Though her personality had been somewhat spoiled by her family, she wasn’t foolish. Why would she work herself to death for the System out of nowhere?
The System paused: 【But you’re already in a vegetative state?】
“?”
Wen Qitian didn’t believe it, her face adopting the same sullen expression as the tyrant’s.
【You might not know this, but because you left the window open while sleeping, you suffered a stroke and became vegetative. That’s why we dared to bring you here for tasks. As long as you complete the tasks, you can safely wake up in the real world. Host, trust me, these tasks aren’t difficult. We’ve even given you a cheat—whoever you hit goes limp. Look at him, isn’t he limp? Host, feel free to smack him boldly. No need to be polite with the tyrant.】
What a… cheat.
Wen Qitian couldn’t help but twitch the corner of her mouth, glancing at Nan Leli. He was still fiercely glaring, even slowly raising a hand toward her.
“Rip—”
Perhaps his fingers were too forceful or the fabric too thin, but the hem of her pants tore, revealing her pale calf. She instinctively curled her toes.
Her eyes reddened, on the verge of tears again.
The man scowled: “What are you crying for? Help me up, and I won’t kill you.”
Though his words said one thing, his expression was fierce and menacing, as if saying, “Once you help me up, I’ll chop you to pieces.”
Wen Qitian’s reddened eyes darted around, and she muttered softly in a gentle voice: “How do I know you won’t abandon me once you’re up?”
Nan Leli nearly choked on his anger.
This little fool was quite sharp.
“If you don’t help me up, I’ll kill you anyway.”
Hearing this, Wen Qitian pursed her lips and asked the System in her mind: I think… while he’s weak, I should tie him up and run away?
The System: 【…Well, yes, but… what about our tasks? Just help him up first. If he tries anything, you can always smack him limp again.】
Alright then!
Wen Qitian slid off the bed. Under Nan Leli’s murderous gaze, she first patted his shoulder to confirm he was harmless, then bent down to try and help him up.
Unfortunately, the man stood around 1.8 to 1.9 meters tall, his body brimming with explosive strength. She, on the other hand, was petite and weak. Despite using all her strength to drag him, she not only failed to lift him onto the bed but ended up tumbling down with him.
The man’s damp, misty presence enveloped her, carrying an overwhelming sense of oppression. His hands rested on either side of her shoulders, his ink-black hair cascading down, obscuring their faces. From a distance, they appeared intertwined, inseparable.
In reality, danger lurked beneath the surface.
The man’s hand slid down to grip her wrist. The slender, fragile feel of it in his palm made his expression turn sinister:
“Is this all the strength you have, and you dare to strike me?”
“Agh—”
Her wrist was already injured from being bound by ropes, and with his fierce grip, it felt as if it were being snapped in two. Wen Qitian’s thick lashes trembled violently, a mist of tears spreading in her eyes, her willow-leaf brows furrowed in a way that tugged at the heart.
Nan Leli instinctively loosened his grip slightly and scoffed lightly, “You hit me, yet you have the nerve to cry? As if I’m bullying you—I don’t hit women.”
But you do kill women.
Wen Qitian cowered like a little quail. The System hadn’t told her that even when the villain was weakened, he could still easily overpower her.
The only hardship she had ever endured in her life was a kidnapping—a dark, stormy night when she was taken to the woods and abandoned in a cave for a full day and night before being rescued. Since then, she had never suffered so much as a scrape or a bump; her family treated her like a porcelain doll, watching over her around the clock.
And now, here she was, transported to this unfamiliar world, inexplicably bound to a System, and pinned down…
Unconsciously, her voice took on a choked sob.
“Let go!”
The small cry of pain sounded strangely tingling to the ears. Wen Qitian could hardly believe it was her own voice. Yet, just then, the man on top of her shuddered and collapsed onto her.
At nearly two meters tall, his weight nearly crushed the breath out of her. She gasped in alarm, “Hey!”
[Detected a 1% decrease in Darkening value. The villain character has fallen into a coma due to severe stimulation.]
Nan Leli buried his head in the crook of her neck, his faint breaths sending shivers across her skin. Then, to the System’s astonishment, it discovered that its host was actually smiling.
Under the pale glow of the chamber’s walls, her eyes sparkled brightly, and the corners of her rosy lips lifted slightly. With effortless ease, she pushed the man off her with a soft thud, stood up gracefully, and let out a delicate yawn.
System: […]
What happened to being weak, pitiful, and helpless?
Host, what’s going on with you?
Wen Qitian blinked her eyes innocently. “What’s wrong? He was so fierce, I really was scared—my legs even went weak.”
System: […] Host, please don’t act like this. It’s making me a little uneasy.
Wen Qitian pouted slightly, bent down, and hauled the man up. However, dragging a grown man like him onto the bed was no easy feat. Even without his interference, it took a considerable amount of time. Exhausted, she collapsed on the spot, pondering for a few seconds before catching her breath, rising from the bedside, and searching the bedchamber. She managed to find a sleeping robe and walked behind the screen.
Behind the screen was a door leading to another palace hall.
Nan Leli had emerged from there earlier, and sure enough, it was a bathing area.
A spacious bathing pool carved from white jade, adorned with a five-clawed golden dragon crafted from some special material using unknown techniques. The dragon coiled above, its mouth exhaling mist as warm water sprayed into the pool from within. Steam filled the air—it was a flowing water system.
This Emperor really knows how to enjoy himself.
The ingenuity of ancient people is truly remarkable, and the Emperor certainly knows how to indulge.
After a night of fear and anxiety, she felt mentally drained and had no energy to linger. She hurriedly washed away her weariness, put on the robe, and stepped out.
The robe belonged to Nan Leli—a single top that reached down to her thighs. Still, it was far better than the sheer black gauze she had worn earlier, which was practically see-through and offered little coverage.
When she emerged, Nan Leli was still unconscious. Instructing the System to wake her as soon as the villain stirred, Wen Qitian unceremoniously climbed onto the Imperial Bed.
As for the distinction between men and women?
She’d deal with that after waking up.
My brother said, it’s okay to look like a steamed bun, but you must never be the meat-filled kind—those are easily snatched away by dogs.
After the confrontation just now, Wen Qitian deeply believed in her brother’s words. With no elders to protect her now, she could only strive to be self-reliant.
She buried her head in the comfortable quilt, feeling a pang of bitterness in her heart.
She wondered how her family was doing after her accident…
[Author’s Note]
The male lead has no connection to the original female lead.