“No, no, no, how can this be? I won’t become a virtuous empress!”
How can a man become a virtuous empress? If there really were a male empress, he would surely be condemned by everyone far and wide, undoubtedly cursed as a wicked empress. Forget about having a separate entry in the family register—he might even be expelled from the family.
Imagining that scene, Tang Xun snapped back to his senses.
What kind of evil spirit is this? Tang Xun somewhat regretted sneaking out tonight. Had he run into a ghost?
[The Virtuous Empress Cultivation System has confirmed its binding to host Tang Xun. Unless host Tang Xun dies or completes the tasks, the binding cannot be undone.]
Tang Xun felt like crying but had no tears. How could this be forced upon him? He would go to the temple tomorrow to pray and see if he could ask the gods to drive away this monster.
“I really can’t do it. I’m average-looking, not good at studying, and have a terrible character. I can’t shoulder the position of empress. Besides, I have elderly parents above and children below, and a wife. If I become an empress, how could they ever show their faces in public? My younger brother is said to have the talent of a Zhuangyuan (First place in the imperial exam). With a brother like me, he wouldn’t be able to hold his head high in the official circles in the future.” Tang Xun wore a pained expression. To rid himself of this monster, he didn’t hesitate to belittle himself. He even brought up his family, hoping to persuade this so-called system to change its mind. He’d rather die than become an empress.
[If the host does not wish to become a virtuous empress, that is also acceptable. As a system that respects the host’s wishes, we can change the mission objective for the host and sign a new contract. We can strive to cultivate the host into a person with the virtues of a virtuous empress throughout history, leaving a legacy in the annals of history in a new way.]
“I don’t have to enter the palace?” Tang Xun seized the key point, as if seeing a glimmer of hope.
[Yes, as long as the Main Quest and Side Quests are completed, rewards will be issued, granting the host a healthy physique and exceptional intelligence.]
Although he didn’t quite understand what Main Quests and Side Quests were, if it was just about completing tasks, it shouldn’t be too bad, right?
If the system had immediately asked Tang Xun to complete tasks, someone as lazy and carefree as him would have flat-out refused. Tasks? Get them all away from him! But because of the shock of becoming a male empress earlier, he felt that the new option might not be entirely unacceptable?
And there were even so-called rewards… If he became smarter, maybe even capable of photographic memory, could he also become a young scholar like his second brother and earn people’s admiration?
Over the years, seeing the treatment his younger brother received, it would be a lie to say he wasn’t envious. But every time he tried to study, as soon as he picked up a book, he would start feeling drowsy.
Still, he should go to the temple tomorrow first! It would be best if he could send this evil spirit away. For now, he should just keep it at bay.
“Fine, let’s sign the new contract!” he said through gritted teeth.
A quarter of an hour later, after hearing the terms of the new contract, Tang Xun’s face turned pale. “If I fail to complete the tasks, I’ll be struck by lightning? Isn’t that just killing me?”
[Host, rest assured, we will modify your body so that it won’t be harmed by the lightning strike. If you don’t believe it, you can try it first.]
Tang Xun wasn’t out of his mind. Even if it wouldn’t kill him, it would definitely hurt a lot. He wasn’t going to try it. He quickly waved his hands in refusal.
[Main Quest 1.1 is now issued: Complete twenty lessons on the Four Books and Five Classics within one day. Upon successful completion, you will be rewarded with three points of Intelligence and one tael of silver. Failure will result in punishment by lightning strike and the confiscation of one tael of silver. Each Main Quest completed will reward one hundred points. After Main Quest One is fully completed, you can exchange for related supplies from the system mall.]
[This is the system’s first task. Once completed, it will become a mandatory daily task in the initial stage. Completing the daily task will reward one point of Intelligence and one tael of silver.]
Under the system’s guidance, Tang Xun checked the backend and discovered that one lesson lasted half a shichen. There were twelve shichen in a day, so he was supposed to study for ten shichen?
The light in his eyes completely died out. Even his second brother, diligent and hardworking as he was, never studied for ten shichen a day! Why was his own fate so bitter?
Was this punishment for the more than twenty years of his life he had wasted?
“My… my second brother is already asleep. As a good elder brother, I can’t possibly wake him up now just to get books.”
He immediately found a reason to rest.
[Don’t worry, Host. At night, you only need to close your eyes to study within the Sea of Consciousness Space. The Sea of Consciousness can conjure the relevant books for you.]
Tang Xun’s face was wooden — this system monster’s capabilities seemed greater than he had imagined?
Could Buddha really drive it away?
[Host, please begin today’s study as soon as possible!]
Like a warning, the sound of thunderclaps rang in Tang Xun’s ears, startling him so much his soul almost left his body.
He looked around, somewhat afraid the thunderous noise would frighten the neighbor’s dog. That dog would bark incessantly at night at the slightest disturbance.
Yet, the house next door remained completely quiet, with no sound of barking at all.
Could it be that only he could hear it?
With a pained expression, he tiptoed back into the house.
The quilt on the bed rose and fell slightly; his wife Cuiyu was sleeping soundly, making him incredibly envious.
Gritting his teeth, he lay down on the bed and closed his eyes. The next moment, he felt his surroundings change.
He found himself in a clean, bright room, sitting on a chair. On the table lay several books emitting a faint scent of ink.
Opening a book, he found the characters inside small and clear, the paper white and thin. Annotations were marked below the text. He had never seen such books before! His younger brother had once borrowed books from a wealthy classmate to copy, and he had seen those. Even the books bought by those wealthy people were far inferior to the ones before him now.
He wondered if they could compare to the books used by the Emperor?
In Tang Xun’s understanding, the Emperor was the most powerful person in the world, enjoying the finest things under heaven. He instinctively used this as a benchmark for comparison.
Just what kind of deity was this system?
Carefully putting down the book, he was astonished to discover that the window was inlaid with priceless, colorless glass.
This… if he pried this off and sold it, he could get a lot of silver, right?
Tang Xun was tempted, and he indeed acted on it.
The next moment, purple lightning struck him, and he couldn’t help but let out a shrill scream.
…
Just a wall away, Tang Li watched somewhat speechlessly as her father was struck by lightning from the system within the space. Although she wasn’t the system’s host, because she had transferred the binding authority and had also reached a cooperative agreement with the system, she possessed a partial perspective of the system. Thus, she could clearly see the scene on her father’s side.
If the system hadn’t isolated the sound, her father’s screams just now could have woken up half the village.
Her father was truly something—he actually wanted to dismantle the glass. But this thing existed in his Sea of Consciousness; even if he took it apart, he couldn’t bring it into reality!
She was such a clever one, convincing the system to bind with her father and even teaching the system how to make it easier for him to accept the situation.
Look, because of the option to become a male consort, her father was now cooperating so well.
After being struck by lightning, the system began projecting the voice of a great scholar onto the wall, giving her father lessons.
After enduring the lightning strike, her father seemed much more subdued, listening to the lessons with a pitiful expression.
Tang Li listened for a while but couldn’t help yawning. The lecture video was too hypnotic… She might as well sleep. After all, the system would supervise her father’s lessons properly.
A crackling sound rang out. Tang Li rubbed her eyes and realized it was because her father had lost focus, so the system gave him an electric shock as a reminder. Judging by her father’s grimacing expression, that shock must have been quite intense.
Tang Li patted her chest, feeling relieved.
Fortunately, she hadn’t chosen to bind with the system, or she would be the one suffering now. Better her father than her—he should study hard, and she would silently cheer him on in her heart!
She hoped her father could pass the imperial examination and lead their branch of the family to change their fortunes as soon as possible, allowing her to lie back and enjoy life happily.
Tang Li closed her eyes and fell asleep with a blissful expression.
In contrast, Tang Xun, who had attended lessons all night, was anything but happy. Because the system had modified his body, he didn’t feel the slightest bit sleepy even after staying up all night. However, after an entire night of lessons, his empty head was stuffed with too much information, feeling as if it could explode at any moment.
Yet he couldn’t stop—he had to complete his first task today. Even with the so-called reward dangling in front of him, Tang Xun couldn’t muster any joy.
After eating, he immediately retreated to his room, closed his eyes, and started reading. When asked, he simply said he hadn’t slept well due to insomnia and needed to rest because of a headache.
In other households, a grown man lying idle in bed all day would be criticized behind his back.
But the Tang family was already used to it. For Old Mrs. Tang, as long as her eldest son didn’t go into the city to hang out with his dubious friends, it was a good thing.
The eldest branch still had a few meager acres of land. As long as they didn’t squander it, they wouldn’t starve.
Still, seeing her son’s brazen laziness and her daughter-in-law Song Cuiyu’s indifferent attitude, Old Mrs. Tang felt a bit guilty. She changed the subject, “Is Daya feeling better now?”
Tang Li, who was mentioned, looked up and said obediently, “Much better. The doctor said I just need to take medicine for two more days.”
Old Mrs. Tang quickly added, “Has your second uncle finished the dried fruit? If not, I still have some. Come and get it later.”
After all, Tang Li was the Tang family’s first child, and Old Mrs. Tang had personally taken care of her for several years, so she still had quite a bit of affection for her. She thought about boiling some eggs for her granddaughter to nourish her body. As for the others in the eldest branch… she still needed the eggs to exchange for money, so she wouldn’t give them any.
With her memories from her past life restored, Tang Li naturally had higher emotional intelligence than children her age. With phrases like “Grandma is the best,” she charmed Old Mrs. Tang until she couldn’t stop smiling.
In the end, Old Mrs. Tang not only gave Tang Li some dried fruit but also promised to make her a new dress this month.
Finally, she even took a jab at her eldest son, “Your cleverness comes from your second uncle. You should get closer to him and not pick up your father’s bad habits. Look at him—who else sleeps all day like he does?”
Old Mrs. Tang had a simple idea: if her granddaughter got along well with her second uncle, it would benefit her future marriage prospects.
Tang Xun, who had just been electrocated for daydreaming, overheard this with his sharp ears and felt even more wronged than the “snow in June” from the storybooks.
He really hadn’t been sleeping this time—he was clearly studying hard. He dared say even his younger brother hadn’t worked as diligently as he had today!
Suppressing the urge to vomit blood, he continued studying. By evening, Tang Xun had finally completed all twenty lessons.
At that moment, he was almost moved to tears of joy.
“System, does this count as completing my task?”
Where’s the silver?
Give him the silver now! He needed silver to comfort himself.
【The host must first pass the exam. If you fail the exam, the task will be considered a failure.】
Tang Xun’s face paled. There was still an exam?
He gritted his teeth. “Fine, let’s take the exam.”
He had studied so hard—surely he wouldn’t fail, right? Back when he was a child, his teacher had even praised him as a genius.
…
Half an hour later, Tang Xun stared at the large “FAIL” written on the exam paper, his face ashen.
“Ah—”
A bolt of lightning struck from the sky, the pain piercing deep into his soul and causing his body to tremble uncontrollably.
In his daze, Tang Xun heard the system’s voice.
【There is still one hour left until the end of the day. The host can spend one tael of silver to open a new retake opportunity. Would the host like to proceed?】
In reality, retakes didn’t require spending silver—each exam allowed three retake attempts. However, the system and Tang Li had agreed that to control Tang Xun, they had to use what he valued most: silver.
This one tael of silver would naturally be confiscated and added to Tang Li’s private stash.
【Yes, I agree!】
Tang Xun struggled to say. If this task failed, his private stash would be gone.
Having already taken the exam once, Tang Xun spent fifteen minutes filling in the gaps in his knowledge, and finally passed the second retake.
When he heard the system say, “Retake passed. Congratulations on completing Main Quest 1.1,” Tang Xun was almost moved to tears of joy again.
“System, where’s the reward?”
Even though the retake cost him one tael of silver, as long as he received the reward silver, it wouldn’t be a loss.
【Congratulations, the host has gained three points of intelligence.】
Tang Xun saw on his personal page that his intelligence had increased from 109 to 112.
But he was more concerned about something else.
“Wasn’t there also one tael of silver?”
【Since the host completed the task through a retake, you cannot receive the full reward.】
Tang Xun panicked. “You never mentioned that before!” Nor had it mentioned there would be an exam—otherwise, he would have taken it more seriously. Had his one tael of silver just vanished? Wait, including the retake fee, he had lost two taels of silver. His world had just collapsed!
【The final interpretation rights belong to the system.】
The voice made Tang Xun’s teeth itch with frustration. Though it carried no emotion, it sounded utterly infuriating.
Tang Xun: “…”
Tomorrow, he would go to the temple to pray! He had to get rid of this evil spirit immediately!
He couldn’t live like this for another day!