Bianjing
A tavern
[Ding—Host, this corpse is slightly dead. Get ready.]
[Oh no, it’s about to be completely dead.] The system’s voice was a little anxious.
The words had just fallen…
A transparent soul struck the pose of a champion sprinter.
It fiercely plunged headfirst into the corpse slumped over the round table.
In an instant, the soul and the corpse were like two mutually attracting magnets, clinging tightly together in a flash.
The originally “slightly dead” corpse, with the infusion of the soul, unexpectedly began to undergo a wondrous change.
The exceptionally beautiful face, once pale as paper, gradually regained a hint of color. The corpse’s skin slowly became rosy and lustrous.
The once tightly shut eyes also trembled slightly, as if about to open…
[System rebooting… Signal weak…]
The next day.
“Lang Jun, we’ve arrived at the imperial palace. Please watch your step.” The coachman kept his head down, not daring to sneak a peek.
Everyone in the residence knew that the Xiao family’s eldest young master had an exceptionally foul temper and hated it most when people stared at his face in a daze.
And why wouldn’t they? This eldest young master’s face was ten times more handsome than that of an ordinary man.
Yesterday, the coachman had accidentally glanced at him and stared for two seconds, earning him two kicks. His stomach still ached now.
Xiao Yaozu dazedly stepped down from the horse-drawn carriage.
No! To be precise, it was a donkey cart.
She looked down at the green official’s robe she was wearing.
It really was a Seventh Rank official’s robe.
Exactly as the system had said.
She had really transmigrated. What’s more, she was a Nan Lang who had just become a Seventh Rank official thanks to his ancestors’ merits, and one with an extremely poor reputation at that.
Wait, Nan Lang???
She immediately had a bad feeling. She had been a woman for over twenty years; surely she wasn’t about to gain something extra, was she?
Following the crowd, she walked with a slight pigeon-toed gait to feel things out…
Thank goodness, still a fragrant lady.
She had no idea why the original owner was clearly a man, but had become a woman now that she was here…
Memories of the original owner were gradually released into her mind…
The original owner was the recently found true young master. He had been abducted by human traffickers while viewing lanterns as a child.
More than a decade later, by a stroke of luck, he found his way home with the jade pendant he carried.
But after returning, he found everything unfamiliar.
Although the original owner was the legitimate son born to the main wife, Master Xiao favored the second young master born to a Yiniang.
After the original owner went missing, Madam Xiao was heartbroken for a time, but soon had another child.
Her husband rarely visited her chambers, so Madam Xiao had no choice but to focus all her attention on her younger son.
Madam Xiao was still very happy for the first few days after the original owner returned.
But the original owner, having lived a vagrant life, had picked up many bad habits. Terrified of poverty, his behavior was coarse, and he made a fool of himself on many occasions.
The disappointment in Madam Xiao’s eyes grew heavier and heavier. Especially since that lowly concubine would laugh at her, saying she didn’t know how to discipline her child because of Xiao Yaozu. Naturally, Xiao Yaozu became dispensable in the Xiao family.
The original owner simply gave up on himself, going out to drink every day.
This time, the imperial court was recruiting new officials. The Xiao family had a spot for an official, and as the eldest legitimate son, it fell to Xiao Yaozu.
Unfortunately, Xiao Yaozu was too excited that night. He drank all night and died suspiciously of alcohol poisoning.
To be precise, she should have transmigrated last night, but her soul was unstable just after arriving.
She could only move like a zombie, following muscle memory, and had only just now fully integrated.
She had finally graduated and found a good job, only to be worked to death by overtime and sent to ancient times.
[Ding—System reboot successful.]
[Integration complete. Hello, Host. I am the Gossip System. It’s a pleasure to work with you.]
Gossip System? As a corporate drone, she could also smell the scent of a rookie system.
Xiao Yaozu’s mood sank a little. She had already transmigrated to ancient times, couldn’t she get a more powerful system? What could she do with just gossip?
What was even more infuriating was that back in the modern world, she was supposed to get paid tomorrow.
She had worked for so long, only to be transmigrated without getting a single cent of her salary!
[System, I’m not that much of a gossip. Can we switch to another one?] she said with conviction.
System calculating…
[According to the data collected by the system, in the modern world, the Host worked for two hours and gossiped for six hours each day.]
[This is equivalent to the Host pretending to be busy at work as soon as she clocked in, while actually gossiping the whole time.]
[So, Host, you understand.]
Cough, cough, cough~
This background check… didn’t have to be so precise.
She never thought all her little tricks would be so thoroughly investigated by this system.
[Hey now, System, since you’re so amazing, besides gossip, are there rewards and stuff? Super strength pills? Cheats?… Check-in rewards?]
She listed them one by one, certain she would hit on at least one.
Transmigration was, in her eyes, similar to job hopping.
Naturally, she wanted to be clear about the “company” benefits~
[Ding, check-in reward triggered. Please complete the work check-in. Reward: 1 point of life recovery value.]
Xiao Yaozu’s eyes widened slightly.
You clever little devil, there really is one.
Good thing she had read system novels and thought to ask.
However…
[System, what is this life recovery value for?]
[It’s used to repair the Host’s body. Besides alcohol poisoning…]
A small red light flashed in her mind from the system: [You have also been afflicted with Gu poison. You were supposed to be completely dead last night. Even with this system’s help, you won’t live for long unless the Host actively gossips to increase your life value.]
She was greatly alarmed. She was actually poisoned with Gu.
Her eyebrows furrowed into a thinking caterpillar. No wonder she felt sore all over when she woke up.
[System, can you find out who wanted to kill Xiao Yaozu?]
[Your father’s concubine.]
She actually already had her suspicions, but she continued to ask the system.
[System, wasn’t Xiao Yaozu a man? How did he become a woman now that I’m here?]
[Host, Consort Liu was afraid she would lose favor if Madam Xiao gave birth to a son, so she placed a Gu worm in Madam Xiao’s womb that could only produce daughters. Even if born a boy, he would turn into a girl as he grew up.]
[As he aged, his appearance would become exceptionally beautiful, but he would only live to the age of 18.]
Just like flowers in nature, the more beautiful something is, the more poisonous it is.
No wonder the original owner had low self-esteem, believing from the bottom of his heart that he was a monster, and his temper became more and more uncontrollable.
The original owner was afraid, afraid that one day he would be exposed in this feudal society…
With no one to guide him, he could only watch helplessly as he walked step by step into a dead end.
Every time Xiao Yaozu remembered something, the dull ache in her heart would intensify…
The heart’s previous owner remembered everything.
It expressed two words with incomparable clarity: Resentment.
She took note.
[System, this path doesn’t look like it’s leading to Jinluan Hall! How do I check in?]
[Host, don’t panic! You don’t have to go to Jinluan Hall every day. As long as it’s a place where the Emperor works, it counts as a successful check-in.]
The moment Xiao Yaozu stepped into the garden, a broadcast immediately sounded in her mind.
“Ding—Check-in successful. Reward: one point of life value.”
As soon as the voice fell, she immediately felt a slight difference in her heavy body.
So this is life value…
It was like drinking 999 Cold Remedy, her soul felt cool for a moment, so comfortable~
Looking at her health value again, it had changed from -100 to -99.
Sigh…
[Host, don’t be unhappy. I have a heaven-shaking piece of gossip for you~]
[Quick, tell me, tell me~]
Well, since I’m here, I might as well.
In the distance along the corridor, a tall figure in bright yellow, surrounded by a crowd of eunuchs, was walking over.
Xiao Yaozu stood behind a group of officials, hidden among a sea of green robes, secretly indulging in gossip…
She was the kind of person who could bravely slack off while sitting right outside the boss’s office with surveillance cameras in all four corners.
How could one survive in society without a few skills?
But this place wasn’t bad either. The flowers were in full bloom, and she could breathe in the air of nature.
[The Emperor is about to die—!!] The system’s tone was filled with excitement, just short of holding its hand in a delicate pose.
The Emperor: “…”
Who was that?
His chest felt stuffy today, so he had chosen to work in the garden to lift his spirits. He never expected…
Someone would say he was dead right to his face?
The Emperor’s dragon eyes swept downwards, and the hundred officials were as silent as cicadas in winter.
Xiao Yaozu innocently turned her little head and met the gaze from above.
[Ahhh, System, the Emperor is looking over here! He, he, he…]
[What about him?]
[He really looks like an emperor. He’s definitely no shorter than 1.85 meters. That draconic aura, he’s just like the wise rulers from the history books.]
System: “…”
The Emperor impassively retracted his gaze.
He roughly knew who that person was.
With a beauty that surpassed the Tanhua Lang, standing so far away, and wearing a Seventh Rank official’s robe.
Who else could it be but the Xiao Yaozu who was causing such a stir in the Xiao family?
He never thought that in this person’s heart, he was actually a wise ruler.
What was even more miraculous was that he could actually hear this kid’s inner thoughts, which were in a conversation with something called a “system.”
He didn’t know if it was some kind of object or a supernatural ability.
On account of this kid calling him a wise ruler, he would give him a chance.
He wanted to hear what else they had to say.
Xiao Yaozu quickly lowered her head. That glance just now made her feel as if she had truly seen an emperor step out of a history book. It was too stunning.
After the shock, she blinked and continued to gossip.
[Do you know why the Emperor was clutching his chest just now? It’s because six months ago, the Saibei Wang presented a beauty as tribute. She has some tricks up her sleeve and was granted the title of Noble Lady Li not long after entering the palace.]
[Last night, the Emperor and Noble Lady Li… first, they did the Thomas Flair, then they flipped the fish, back and forth flipping the fish… and he called for water several times.]
[Wow—~]