“Here, Daya, this is an egg Dad specifically stole from the kitchen for you. Eat it quickly. Even Dad couldn’t bring himself to eat it. Sigh, the last time I had an egg was last month.”
The man before her was dressed in brown hemp clothes as he handed an egg to Tang Li. His longing gaze was pinned to the egg, and he even swallowed hard, clearly wishing he could eat it himself.
Tang Li could guarantee that if she said, “Dad, I’m not hungry, you eat it,” her father wouldn’t even pretend to decline; he would swallow it in one gulp.
That was exactly what he had done yesterday!
He had some fatherly love, but not much. This father of hers would never let himself suffer, no matter who else did. Aside from her second uncle who was a scholar, her father was the one who ate the most eggs in the house.
Tang Li tilted up her face, which had thinned out from her illness, and put on an expression of joy mixed with gratitude as she took the egg. The egg wasn’t large; she bit off half of it in one mouthful. Eggs from chickens fed on vegetable leaves and earthworms were fresh and delicious even without seasoning, lacking any hint of fishiness.
Tang Xun, who had been waiting for his daughter to refuse, stared blankly at her satisfied face. He spoke somewhat insincerely, “Eat up, recover well. If you like them, Dad will go get more for you.”
Tang Li immediately squeezed out a look of filial admiration. “Thank you, Dad. I knew you loved me the most. You’re so good to me, Dad. I want to eat two more eggs tonight.”
She knew perfectly well that her “cheap” father had skimmed quite a few eggs for himself when he was collecting them in private. He had secretly hoarded over ten eggs, occasionally giving himself “extra meals.”
Tang Xun hurriedly said, “The eggs in our house are all accounted for. I only dare to steal one every few days at most. If I take too many and your grandmother finds out, she’ll definitely skin us alive.”
At this point, his tone turned somewhat indignant. Aside from the eggs his mother boiled for the second son to eat, she saved the rest to sell at the market for money to buy brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones for him. So what if he could study? Was it that impressive?
Fortunately, he was clever. He had mastered the laying schedule of the family’s old hens and had stealthily collected several eggs. He usually hid them in a hole in the old tree in the courtyard to treat himself when he was craving something good. It was only because his daughter had been sick for a while and nearly didn’t make it that he had painfully parted with an egg today.
Tang Li blinked her dark, clear eyes. Paired with her palm-sized face, she looked exceptionally innocent. “Dad, don’t worry. I found over a dozen eggs in that hole in the old tree. When the time comes, our family can split them and eat them in secret.”
She pressed her hands together, looking moved. “It must be that Heaven saw how pitiful I was being sick and specifically sent these eggs. Thank you, Heavens!”
Tang Xun couldn’t smile—the eggs he had painstakingly saved! How did his daughter find them? He had clearly hidden them so well, even covering them with branches and grass.
To maintain his image as a doting father, he couldn’t tell the truth. He could only follow along with his daughter’s words. “Yes, thank heavens.”
He comforted himself; at least those eggs were going into the stomachs of his own branch of the family, so it wasn’t a total loss.
Nevertheless, his heart still twitched with pain. He muttered a few insincere words and walked away, nursing his heartache.
Watching his soul-shriven back, Tang Li cheerfully poured herself a cup of water. She had eaten the egg too quickly and it was sticking in her throat.
[Host, why bother fighting a battle of wits with your father over a few eggs? As long as you bind with this system and complete the relevant tasks, it won’t be a problem for you to eat dragon livers and phoenix galls every day in the future.]
A voice filled with frustration at her lack of ambition appeared in Tang Li’s mind. Hearing it, she rolled her eyes.
[And then wake up earlier than a rooster and go to bed later than a dog? I’m not stupid!]
Half a month ago, Tang Li had caught a cold and nearly died. In her delirious state, she had awakened memories of her past life in modern times.
Before she could use her past experience to follow the example of novel heroines and start a business to make money, the Virtuous Empress Cultivation System appeared.
The system stated that its goal was to cultivate a “Virtuous Empress for the Ages” for the Jing Dynasty to extend the Great Jin’s national fortune and collect energy. As long as she completed the tasks it assigned, she could earn Achievement Points to exchange for items in the mall. She could also improve her reputation, leading to her being selected to enter the palace due to her virtuous name, becoming the Empress of a nation and leaving a mark on history.
The “cake” it painted was big and round, but Tang Li had taken one look at the curriculum in the system’s back-end and manually declined.
According to the system’s plan, the Four Arts (zither, go, calligraphy, and painting) were just the basic courses. She would also have to master everything from astronomy and geography to medicine and needlework, with over sixteen hours of classes every day. Even her senior year of high school wasn’t that miserable.
Was this a life meant for a human?
Whoever wanted to be this “Virtuous Empress” could go ahead, but Tang Li wasn’t interested in the slightest. According to the system’s schedule, even if she did become the so-called Virtuous Empress, she wouldn’t be able to relax at all or enjoy any fortune. Instead, the relatives around her would be the ones to “ascend to heaven with the lady” and enjoy themselves…
She does the hard work while others enjoy the benefits? That was equivalent to others’ happiness being built upon her suffering—it was double the pain.
Refused! Absolutely refused!
Tang Li glanced at the countdown in the top left corner of the system interface—21 hours, 8 minutes, and 47 seconds left before the system would be forced to leave due to losing its host. Judging by the system’s earnest attitude over the past few days, it would likely face punishment if it didn’t complete its business.
[Do you really not want to reconsider? If you don’t do the tasks and gather reputation, your branch of the family will end up on the streets with no place to be buried.]
The system’s voice sounded urgent, and it even began to proactively reveal spoilers to Tang Li.
[Your branch of the family are cannon fodder in an Imperial Examination novel. Your father is the “control group” foil, and your second uncle is the male lead of the novel.]
Tang Li, who had looked bored, suddenly became interested.
[You mean my second uncle will not only pass the provincial exam but will also become a high-ranking official in the future?]
Since he was the male lead, his future wouldn’t be limited to low-ranking positions; he might even become the Prime Minister.
Tang Li’s second uncle, Tang Zheng, was a silent man who didn’t talk much and had an average relationship with her father—more accurately, her father unilaterally disliked the second uncle. However, the second uncle was usually quite good to the two children of the first branch, often bringing them things from the city. When he returned a few days ago and learned the original Tang Li was sick, he specifically brought her some sugar to sweeten her mouth when taking medicine. Because she took her medicine obediently, he even gave her a jade pendant.
She was truly curious. If his own brother became an official, no matter how much her “cheap” father slacked off, he shouldn’t starve to death. How did her branch of the family end up in such a state?
Since she couldn’t figure it out, she stopped guessing. Tang Li decided to fleece the system for information!
[Really? I don’t believe it. Unless you send me the original plot and let me see exactly how my branch ends up.]
To meet its quota, the system went all out and immediately transmitted the original plot to Tang Li. it was counting on Tang Li to bind with it and do the tasks once she knew the details.
After receiving the full plot, Tang Li went silent.
Her father was truly a “capable” man, managing to turn a winning hand into a total disaster.
Regarding talent for studying, her father did have some. When he was young, the Tang family spent money to send him to school, but after only a few days, he quit because it was too tiring. Over the years, he did nothing at all at home. Once the family assets left to him by his great-grandfather were swindled away, he set his sights on the silver held by Tang Li’s grandmother.
After tricking her out of the silver using the excuse of opening a shop, the money was squandered in no time. The grandmother was literally worked to death by anger, and the first branch was kicked out of the house, their reputation ruined to the point that even passing beggars would spit on them.
In sharp contrast, the diligent second uncle not only passed the exams smoothly but even became the youngest person in the Jing Dynasty to achieve Triple First Place. Eventually, he was favored by a Prince’s Manor and married a commandery princess. A separate page in the genealogy was opened just for him—he was the legend of their small county.
[Host, time is running out! If you don’t work hard, in less than half a year, your branch will be kicked out of the house.]
[Your father currently still has twenty taels of silver and ten mu of land left by your great-grandfather. We must find a way to make him spend that money on you, lest it be swindled by his fair-weather friends. As a newcomer benefit, the host can draw a Newcomer Gift Pack, which is guaranteed to contain a Dream-Visitation Skill. You can use it on your father to make him believe you will become the future Virtuous Empress, making him willing to spend silver to cultivate you.]
[Deep down, your father feels somewhat inferior compared to your second uncle. As long as you can become the Empress and bring glory to the first branch, he will surely turn over a new leaf and mend his ways.]
The system had already arranged everything clearly.
Tang Li didn’t buy the “cake” the system was painting at all. In her view, the one who needed to be bound to the system and whipped into shape was her father!
People of this era placed great importance on the character of a girl’s parents, especially the imperial family. How outstanding would she have to be for them to ignore her father’s character?
This system was such a burden! Why wasn’t it a “Great Father Transformation System”?
Compared to “chickening” herself, Tang Li was more willing to “chicken” her parents and be the one who won by lying down at the starting line.
She was still only an eight-year-old child.
[Can’t you just transform yourself into a Great Father System?]
[…No.]
[You can’t even do a small thing like that? Useless! Truly useless!]
The system was struck by Tang Li’s disdainful tone and tried hard to show off its strengths.
[Our Virtuous Empress Cultivation System is truly useful. Even rotten wood can be carved into a work of art. As long as you finish the classes assigned by the system, you can obtain corresponding skills. For example, after ten thousand medical classes, you can become a divine physician.]
[After two thousand classes on the Four Books and Five Classics, you will have the scholarship of a Xiucai. Finish twenty thousand classes, and you’ll be a great scholar of the age!]
Tang Li’s tone became subtle.
[In other words, if one finishes twenty thousand classes, passing the provincial exam is no problem?]
[Forget the provincial exam, being the Zhuangyuan would be no problem.]
Seeing Tang Li’s stance soften, the system diligently introduced the back-end courses, praising every skill to high heaven.
Tang Li’s eyes lit up.
A system like this would be a waste on her; it should be used on her father!
[System, come, let’s negotiate!]
[You wouldn’t want to be recycled after the mission fails, would you?]
…
In the middle of the night, Tang Xun stealthily got out of bed and crept into the courtyard.
His hand reached into the tree hollow, which was empty.
Tang Xun let out a long sigh. Those eggs had indeed all been taken by that girl… He wondered where Daya had hidden them…
Tang Xun felt very sad and decided to go to the county seat tomorrow to buy meat buns to satisfy his cravings.
He would eat four big meat buns this time!
As for the others at home, they had eggs to eat, so he wouldn’t bring them along.
Just as he was thinking this and turning to go back inside, his foot slipped. He lunged forward and made intimate contact with the ground, the impact making him see stars.
In his daze, he seemed to hear a strange voice.
Something about soaring to greatness, a separate page in the genealogy…
He even saw a vision of himself dressed in luxurious clothes, standing in a magnificent golden palace.
Someone seemed to ask if he was willing.
Was this a divine revelation from the Heavens?
“I’m willing! I’m willing!”
Of course he wanted a separate page in the genealogy to let everyone know that he was the most successful person in the Tang family.
Tang Xun couldn’t wait to agree.
[Agreement obtained from Tang Xun himself. The Virtuous Empress Cultivation System is now officially bound to Tang Xun.]
A voice appeared out of nowhere in his mind like a clap of thunder, leaving Tang Xun’s head blank.
Virtuous Empress System?
He was to be the Virtuous Empress? For real?