Ancient Spoiled Heir 01 – You are the villain; you’re supposed to bully him…
099 hid behind a pillar, secretly watching Xiao Jinglian kneeling in the snow.
The snow was falling heavily today, and the biting wind whipped around, making 099’s wide sleeves flap empty in the air.
The wind burrowed into his form. Though it couldn’t reach his bones, it still made him shiver with a sudden chill.
Xiao Jinglian knelt in the snow, his head slightly lowered while his back remained straight. He neither moved nor made a sound. Even though he was pleading with someone, he emitted no sound of entreaty or wretched cries.
The snow fell so thickly that the flakes gathering on Xiao Jinglian’s head refused to melt.
The stark white draped over him like mourning clothes for the dead. Hidden from view, 099 found his gaze unable to look away.
“Stop looking, Host,” 888 reminded him. “You’re the villain; you’re supposed to bully him.”
099 recalled his identity: an artificial intelligence created by the Main God. 888 was 099’s colleague.
During the process of literary narratives evolving into three-dimensional worlds, certain characters were inadvertently missing. The Main God created systems and hosts to fill the gaps in every story, allowing the narrative to properly develop into a world.
099 let out an “Oh,” not daring to steal another glance. Completing his missions was his underlying core programming, and he didn’t want to be wiped out.
The snow grew heavier and heavier.
Shi Henzhen, the Regent inside the study, still refused to come out.
Shi Henzhen, the Regent of the Dayand Dynasty, intended to marry off his adopted foster son, Xiao Jinglian, to the puppet emperor.
Xiao Jinglian refused to submit.
In this world, there were men capable of bearing children, known as Ge’er. Ignoring physical positions and gender, regardless of whether they married a man or a woman, a Ge’er could bear children.
Xiao Jinglian was one of the most striking among them.
He was born far too exceptionally good-looking. 888 said Xiao Jinglian was the protagonist of this story, except that the story’s tone was that of a tear-jerking angst novel.
Therefore, Xiao Jinglian was destined to endure an extremely tragic life.
Everyone loved him, yet everyone looked down on him and trampled upon him. Everyone felt he had utility to be exploited, and everyone wanted to tear away his flesh and chew his bones.
When a whale falls, all things come to life; Xiao Jinglian was that floral mud that sacrificed itself to nourish the world.
099 shook his head vigorously, casting the emotions that shouldn’t belong to a villain out of his mind.
He now possessed a physical body and was human, no longer a pure program. He had to restrain himself and properly complete his mission.
Yet, a sharp ache seized 099’s nose, and he thought to himself: If this story were simply one where everyone loved him, how wonderful that would be.
Xiao Jinglian lowered his gaze and eyes, kneeling in the snow like a sculpture of a snow bodhisattva.
“Young master,” Cao Xing finally found his master and hurried to 099’s side, distressed. “Why are you hiding here? If the Prince sees this, he’ll beat us servants to death.”
Hearing the voice, Xiao Jinglian looked over.
099 failed to hide in time and was caught dead to rights.
Xiao Jinglian said, “Go back.”
099 stubbornly refused.
He walked out from behind the pillar.
Xiao Jinglian had always treated 099 quite well. Because 099 was the villain, he had to pull little pranks since childhood.
When Xiao Jinglian fell asleep, 099 would pluck a strand of Xiao Jinglian’s hair.
When Xiao Jinglian was reading, 099 would catch a green cricket and place it on the back of his hand.
When Xiao Jinglian was bathing, 099 would still cause trouble, purposely storming in with a bucket of ice cubes and announcing he wanted to freeze his older brother to death.
099 was the most qualified villain, never giving Xiao Jinglian an easy time.
Yet Xiao Jinglian never grew angry.
After a few hairs were plucked, upon waking up and casually reaching out to grab the mischief-making 099, Xiao Jinglian wouldn’t even open his eyes as he pulled the person straight into his embrace, lightly patting his back to coax him to sleep.
When 099 wanted to hear a song, Xiao Jinglian wouldn’t spoil him and refused to sing. So 099 sang by himself, making a racket to disturb Xiao Jinglian and forbidding him from sleeping.
Yet Xiao Jinglian insisted it sounded wonderful.
099 was tone-deaf, system-certified, and the system never lied.
Older brother was lying to him. But 099 felt a warm glow inside his heart.
When the green cricket was placed on the back of his hand, Xiao Jinglian would catch the insect, carry it to the windowsill, and let it go.
099 would complain that he had worked so hard to catch it.
Xiao Jinglian would pull 099 close to his side: “I also worked very hard to catch you.”
Before 099 could feel overjoyed, Xiao Jinglian would say, “Time to study characters.”
099’s beaming face would instantly droop; he didn’t want to study.
As for bringing in such a huge bucket of ice cubes, 099 would dump all of it into hot water. Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, it would melt away. Xiao Jinglian would say that Jiujiu could conduct experiments now, as hot water and ice cubes could neutralize each other.
099 would ask what an experiment was.
Xiao Jinglian would step out of the wooden tub and throw on a robe without answering.
He would open the window and look at the moon outside.
The moon wasn’t round at all.
888 explained that in this book, Xiao Jinglian was a time-traveler, originally a modern person.
099 would snuggle up against Xiao Jinglian, and Xiao Jinglian would take his hand, saying that experiments belonged to a very distant story.
A story so distant that Xiao Jinglian was almost beginning to forget it.
888 said that before traveling through time, Xiao Jinglian was a high school freshman studying at the city’s best high school, groomed as prime material for Tsinghua or Peking University.
099 asked what Tsinghua and Peking University were.
888 did not elaborate further. The Main God bestowed systems with more knowledge, while bestowing hosts with more emotion.
The former aided in mission completion, while the latter allowed them to better play their assigned persona.
Even without 888 answering, 099 couldn’t be bothered to pursue it further. There was no end to the questions in this world, and Xiao Jinglian’s palm was far warmer than any question.
The heavy snow flew wildly.
The grown-up 099 walked over to the grown-up Xiao Jinglian’s side and said with arrogance, “What right do you have to be the Empress? The position of Empress should be mine!”
Shi Henzhen, the cold-hearted Regent, never changed his mind once a decision was made. The only person he tolerated was his youngest foster son, Lin Jiujiu.
With that, as if fleeing from ghosts, 099 recklessly sprinted straight into Regent Shi Henzhen’s study.
Back then, 099 had been dropped into a dead body, becoming a resurrected little beggar on the street.
No one knew that this body had died and come back to life, its soul replaced.
When Shi Henzhen’s carriage passed by, 099 followed 888’s promptings, trembling as he climbed up, stood on his feet, and blocked the vehicle.
888 said this body had been adjusted to a form better suited for survival, telling him to wipe his face.
099 gave a few reckless wipes, and the carriage came to a screeching halt.
The coachman reported the incident, and Shi Henzhen lifted the curtain, casting a distant glance at him from afar before ordering someone to bring him aboard the carriage.
The coachman remarked that someone with such looks must surely be a Ge’er.
A guard muttered that it would be a shame if he died.
Shi Henzhen smoothed his dirt-smudged hair backward without uttering a single word.
Years passed, and he had grown up, yet he was not a Ge’er.
A Ge’er would only reveal their corresponding traits after reaching adulthood at eighteen, growing a red mole on their wrist and an enchanting lotus pattern across their abdomen, resembling either a blessing or a curse. A good fate meant the former, while a ruined life meant the latter.
Everyone assumed Xiao Jinglian would become the Regent’s successor, as the Regent valued him the most and had hired numerous Confucian scholars and martial experts to instruct him.
Yet after turning eighteen, Xiao Jinglian’s destiny changed.
Among the foster sons Shi Henzhen adopted, only he could bear children, and only he was suited to marry the puppet emperor and spawn the next puppet emperor.
Originally, everyone thought that candidate would be Lin Jiujiu.
099, Lin Jiujiu, the pampered little beggar raised in the Prince’s Mansion, had become a discarded chess piece. But everyone had grown accustomed to spoiling him, so no one changed their attitude for the moment. After all, if the Prince himself hadn’t said anything, what could the subordinates do?
Shi Henzhen was painting. Upon entering the room, 099 no longer dared to make a fuss and obediently stood near the doorway.
An incense stick of time passed, then two. 099’s legs grew numb from standing, so he secretly shifted his posture.
Shi Henzhen put down his writing brush: “Speak. What is it?”
099 cautiously walked to Shi Henzhen’s side and pleaded, “Foster Father, I want to be Empress. I don’t want Xiao Jinglian; I hate him.”
Shi Henzhen possessed a cold and heartless appearance, with eagle-like eyes, a high nose bridge, and a tall, imposing build.
099 leaned close to him like a fledgling bird begging for food.
Shi Henzhen hoisted him over his shoulder in a single motion, sending 099’s field of vision spinning head over heels.
Shi Henzhen said, “If you have no brains, keep your mouth shut.”
“Foster Father,” 099 pleaded, “I genuinely want this.”
Carrying him for a few steps, Shi Henzhen tossed him onto the bed.
Standing by the bedside, Shi Henzhen’s towering figure nearly swallowed the light. His shadow fell over Lin Jiujiu, a sneer lingering at the corners of his lips.
“If you want to blame someone, blame the fact that you can’t bear children.”
Lin Jiujiu’s face turned ashen.
He sprawled across the bed and wailed loudly.
888 said: Your acting is overdone.
Lin Jiujiu choked back his cries, it was all thunder and no rain, as he hadn’t even shed a single tear.
The next instant, his entire body was flipped over.
Shi Henzhen checked for his tears, a large hand sweeping across his face: “All the water you drank went straight to your brain; not a single drop could come out.”
Lin Jiujiu closed his eyes, terrified of receiving a slap.
Even though Shi Henzhen had never struck him before.
Still, he remained terrified.
Shi Henzhen looked sinister, the type of freak who could slaughter an entire household in the middle of the night.
Those calloused hands, marred by various scars and having traversed countless battlefields, brushed across his eyes with moderate pressure.
“Silly boy, not being a Ge’er is a good thing. I’ll find a few wives and concubines for you so you can stay by Foster Father’s side for the rest of your life, free from bitter hardships and torment.”
Lin Jiujiu slowly opened his eyes. In his utter bewilderment, he asked 888: I’m here to complete missions. How can I do this and that with someone, and even give birth to a bunch of children?
888 replied: It’s all fake; you don’t need to mind it. Guard your own heart, and you won’t have to care about any of it at all.
Lin Jiujiu didn’t quite understand, but he had indeed transformed from a program into a human being, possessing this thing called a heart.
Before Shi Henzhen, he didn’t dare openly oppose him, so he could only nod obediently and murmur, “I won’t throw tantrums anymore.”
Clumsily, he covered Shi Henzhen’s hand, traced the scars on it, and asked if it hurt.
“So many, many of them,” Lin Jiujiu said. “Too, too many.”
Shi Henzhen replied, “These are nothing. They don’t count as pain.”
Shi Henzhen withdrew his hand, gave Lin Jiujiu’s head a pat, and told him to go back and pay no mind to court affairs.
“Then what about Xiao Jinglian?”
Shi Henzhen said, “If he wants to kneel, let him kneel until both his legs are crippled.”
Lin Jiujiu didn’t want to leave. He wanted to say something, but as the villain, aside from claiming he wanted to be Empress, for a moment he couldn’t find any other excuse to stop Xiao Jinglian from entering the palace.
Everything he possessed was given to him by Shi Henzhen. What could he possibly use to trade for Shi Henzhen changing his mind?
Unable to find a way, Lin Jiujiu stood in a daze, refusing to leave.
888 urged: Host, hurry up and leave. If you anger Shi Henzhen, you’ll be in for a rough time.
Besides, Shi Henzhen loves Xiao Jinglian; the two of them are mutually willing. Right now, they’re just playing around. Staying here makes you a fifth wheel.
Lin Jiujiu was confused: Love? Forcing someone to kneel until their legs are crippled shouldn’t be love. Forcing your beloved to marry someone else shouldn’t be love.
888 said: Forced love.
Not understanding the classifications of love, Lin Jiujiu had no choice but to leave under 888’s urging.
Stepping out of Shi Henzhen’s study, the snow was no longer as heavy.
Xiao Jinglian had also stood up. Walking very slowly, yet neither limping nor stumbling, he walked up to Lin Jiujiu and stroked his head: “Let’s go back. It’s cold outside.”
“Then what about you?” Lin Jiujiu said. “You stole my Empress position. Ever since I was little, I knew I was meant to be the Empress, but now that I’ve grown up, Foster Father likes you and not me, and he’s giving the Empress position to you instead of me.”
Xiao Jinglian smiled: “That’s right, Jiujiu. Eldest Brother stole your position; from now on, don’t bother talking to Eldest Brother anymore.”
Even though he was smiling, and who in the entire city of Wangjing wouldn’t wish to see him smile, yet outwardly he always wore an icy expression,
he had always only smiled for Jiujiu. Yet Lin Jiujiu felt as though Eldest Brother was crying.
“So ugly,” 099 lied.
“Really,” 099 said, “Really, really, so ugly.”