The Great Zhou Dynasty, the Regent’s Estate.
Red candles burned brightly, and double happiness symbols adorned the room.
Su Tang sat on the bridal bed, which was scattered with peanuts and longans. She wore a red bridal veil embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in the water, her stomach rumbling with hunger.
She had transmigrated.
The good news was that she had transmigrated into the all-powerful Regent’s Princess Consort of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Starting at the very peak, she would enjoy endless glory and wealth.
The bad news was that this was a historical court intrigue novel, and the original owner of this body was a spy planted beside the Regent by the Empress Dowager—commonly known as a “cannon fodder female supporting character.” According to the original plot, on her bridal night, she would try to poison the Regent and be beheaded by a single stroke of that bloodthirsty King of Hell’s sword, having fewer than three thousand words of total screentime in the entire book.
“What a tragic fate…”
Su Tang let out a long sigh beneath her veil, touching her neck, which hadn’t even warmed up yet.
【Ding! Detecting host’s overflowing desire for survival. The Gossip System is now binding…】
【Binding successful! This system is dedicated to uncovering all the untold secrets of the Great Zhou Dynasty. As long as the host eats popcorn and watches the show, you can gain lifespan points and monetary rewards.】
A mechanical voice suddenly sounded in her mind.
Su Tang’s eyes lit up: 【System? Golden thigh? I’m familiar with this! As long as you don’t make me go to the palace to fight in the court intrigue and die, anything is negotiable.】
As an office worker who had died from overwork in modern times, Su Tang’s life goal in this existence was very simple and unpretentious: cling to a strong thigh, strive to make money, live to a hundred, and die with a smile on her face.
As for the legendary “gloomy, ruthless, and bloodthirsty” Regent, Lu Ci?
As long as she didn’t provoke him and treated him like a boss, she should… be able to live, right?
Just then, steady and powerful footsteps came from outside the door, accompanied by a guard’s respectful bow: “Welcome, Your Highness!”
He was here! The biggest villain boss of the entire book was here!
The carved wooden door was pushed open, and a gust of chilly night wind poured in, causing the red candles in the room to flicker violently.
Su Tang immediately straightened her back, folded her hands neatly on her knees, and assumed the virtuous and refined posture of a noble young lady.
The footsteps approached and stopped before the bridal bed.
Even through the veil, Su Tang could feel an overwhelming sense of pressure, as if she were being stared at by a sleeping wild beast.
“Lift it.”
The man’s voice was deep and icy, like crushed jade falling on pearls. Pleasant as it sounded, it carried no warmth whatsoever, as if dipped in ice shavings.
A cold wedding scale reached in and lifted the red veil.
Her vision suddenly cleared.
Su Tang subconsciously looked up, her breath catching instantly.
The man standing before her wore a deep black python robe with subtle patterns, a jade belt cinching his waist, and a posture as straight as a pine. His face was extraordinarily handsome, with sword-like brows reaching his temples, a high-bridged nose, and a pair of long, narrow Phoenix eyes that tilted slightly upward at the corners, carrying a touch of casual indifference.
His abstinent, cold aura made him look like a walking hormone.
On the surface, Su Tang remained composed. She hurriedly stood up to salute, her voice soft and delicate: “Your servant greets Your Highness.”
However, her mind was screaming wildly:
【Holy crap! Holy crap! Isn’t he way too handsome? Is this the appearance of a villain? The author didn’t lie to me! That face, that waist, those legs… If I could touch him, I’d die happy!】
Lu Ci, who was just about to give the new consort a stern warning, suddenly froze.
Who?
Who was speaking?
His sharp gaze swept around the room. There were only he and Su Tang present; his secret guards were at least a hundred feet away.
Lu Ci frowned, his gaze falling back onto the woman before him, who lowered her head obediently and looked as timid as a mouse.
Was he hearing things?
Suppressing the strangeness in his heart, Lu Ci said coldly, “Lady Su, since you have entered the Regent’s Estate, you must abide by my rules. Put away any improper thoughts you may have. I will not kill you, but I will certainly never touch…”
Before he could finish his sentence, that cheerful, unabashed voice exploded in his mind once again:
【Ah yes, yes, yes, you won’t touch me! After all, everyone in the capital knows that you, the Regent, suffer from an implicit illness and are an impotent, frigid man!】
【What a waste of such good looks. You look all refined and proper on the outside, but turn out to be a silver-plated spearhead. Tsk tsk tsk, what a waste of divine talent!】
“…”
Lu Ci’s pupils shrank suddenly. His cold, pale, handsome face flushed red at a speed visible to the naked eye, the redness spreading all the way to his earlobes.
Suffering from an implicit illness?
Impotent?
Frigid?!
When had such rumors about him ever existed?!
Having practiced martial arts for years, Lu Ci possessed keen hearing and sharp eyesight. At this moment, he only felt his head buzzing. Staring fixedly at Su Tang, he gritted his teeth and said, “What… did you say just now?”
Su Tang blinked her big, innocent eyes in total confusion, looking exceptionally pitiable: “Your Highness? Your servant didn’t say anything. I have been listening attentively to Your Highness’s teachings.”
【What’s wrong with this Regent? Why did his face suddenly turn red like a monkey’s butt? Could it be the legendary menopausal hot flashes? That’s not right, he’s only twenty-three, at the peak of his youth…】
【Oh—I get it! He must have seen my natural beauty and couldn’t control himself, but since his body can’t perform, he became embarrassed and angry! Ah, a man’s damned self-esteem.】
Lu Ci: “!!!”
Lu Ci felt the veins on his temples throbbing frantically.
He clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking with a sharp pop. A wave of unprecedented humiliation and anger rushed straight to his head. As the great Regent of the Great Zhou, who had governed the court for eight years, acted decisively in slaughtering his enemies, and struck terror into the hearts of the Xiongnu, was he actually being fantasized as a “useless, impotent” failure in the mind of a woman who had just entered his doors?!
Most terrifying of all, he could actually hear her inner thoughts!
What kind of sorcery was this?
Lu Ci took a deep breath, trying to maintain his persona as a cold and aloof Regent. He had to figure out what was going on. Was this woman possessed by a demon?
“Your Highness, are you feeling unwell?” Seeing Lu Ci’s expression changing unpredictably, turning pale one moment and red the next, Su Tang couldn’t help but ask out of “concern.”
She reached out a fair, delicate hand, seemingly wanting to support him.
As if burned, Lu Ci abruptly took half a step back and shouted sternly, “Don’t touch me!”
Scared, Su Tang pulled her hand back and lowered her head aggrievedly: “Yes, your servant knows her mistake.”
Her internal bullet comments floated past once more:
【Che, pretending to be a big deal. Fine, I won’t touch you then; who cares anyway? System, hurry up and open the beginner’s gift bag. I want to see what kind of gossip there is in this estate to make my life as a grass widow a bit more interesting.】
Lu Ci’s eyelids twitched.
System? Gossip? What kind of jargon was this again?
In the next second, a mechanical electronic voice unexpectedly reached Lu Ci’s ears as well:
【Ding! The beginner’s gift bag has been opened. Congratulations to the host on obtaining a copy of the ‘Regent’s Estate Character Relationship Map,’ along with today’s fresh, hot gossip:】
【The Regent, Lu Ci, is not impotent. Rather, because he practices the Virgin Boy Skill, he has kept his body pure as jade for twenty-three years and has never even touched a woman’s hand. Tonight, he was actually nervous to death; he almost tripped over the threshold when he came in just now!】
Su Tang almost couldn’t hold back her laughter.
She pounded the ground frantically in her heart: 【Hahahahaha! Help! Virgin Boy Skill? Keeping pure as jade? What kind of pure-hearted old virgin setting is this? I’m dying of laughter! No wonder his ears turned so red; turns out he’s shy!】
【System, you’re too mean! How can you just spill this kind of gossip out loud? Leave me some dignity! What if the Regent dies of shame and anger? Wouldn’t I become a widow then?】
Lu Ci: “…”
Lu Ci felt all the blood in his body rushing to his head. His usually majestic and cold face was now so red it looked as if it were about to drip blood. He stared fixedly at the woman in front of him, whose shoulders were twitching slightly as she obviously held back her laughter, wishing he could throw her out on the spot!
When had he ever tripped over the threshold?!
And who was pure-hearted?!
“Su… Tang!”
Lu Ci gritted his back teeth, squeezing those two words out through the gaps of his teeth, his voice terrifyingly raspy. “Get… get out to the side hall to sleep!”
If this continued, he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to resist killing her on the spot to silence her!
As if granted a grand pardon, Su Tang immediately curtsied and took her leave, moving as nimbly as a rabbit: “As you command! Rest early, Your Highness. Take care of your health, and don’t let anger harm your body (kidneys)!”
With that, she lifted her skirt and slipped away, without the slightest reluctance of a newlywed bride.
【Yay! No need to serve in bed! No need to face this pure-hearted old virgin! Survived! This is a huge gain!】
Su Tang’s cheerful inner voice gradually faded away along with her retreating figure.
Inside the bridal chamber, dead silence was restored.
Lu Ci stood in place, watching the empty doorway, his chest heaving violently. He looked down at his long, powerful hands, and then at the glaring red bridal bed.
After a long while, this Regent, who held absolute power in the court, suddenly covered his burning face and let out a low growl that sounded on the verge of collapse.
“Dammit…”
Where on earth did this woman come from?!