Chapter 4 — The Ultimate Backstage Power in the Universe

By the grace of heaven, the emperor decrees: We have heard that the daughter of Marquis Zhending, Chi Yunshu, is graceful, modest, virtuous, and possesses exceptional beauty. Hearing this, We are exceedingly pleased. Qi Yu froze for a moment, then burst into ecstatic joy as he turned to look at me. My imperial father is bestowing our marriage upon us? Impossible. His Majesty cannot possibly be this blind, can he? The grand eunuch ignored everyone and continued reading: We hereby exceptionally grant her the title of Crown Princess. All wedding rites shall be handled by the Ministry of Rites and the Bureau of Astronomy to select a propitious date. Qi Yu: ? I raised my head: ?? Everyone in the marquis estate: ??? The Marquis of Zhending was dumbfounded: Daughter, do you know the Crown Prince? I was equally bewildered: I have never even met the Crown Prince. Qi Yu was evidently on the verge of a complete mental collapse. Impossible! I petitioned my father first; why would he grant her to the Crown Prince? This imperial decree must be fake! The grand eunuch smiled gently: Then this humble servant must be fake as well, I suppose? Qi Yu:…… Exactly. An imperial decree could theoretically be forged, but no one would ever dare impersonate the chief eunuch serving directly by the emperor's side. Qi Yu knew him all too well. Which only made his breakdown all the more severe.

Although I did not know the Crown Prince, I guessed this must be the new target mission assigned to me by the system. I was just about to consult the system, only to remember that it had been offline lately. With a single imperial decree descending from above, some rejoiced while others sorrowed. Qi Yu was filled with impotent rage, throwing little tantrums of fury, while Chi Jinhua tirelessly interrogated me about the Crown Prince, looking entirely eager to ditch the Seventh Prince and climb higher, desperate to test her luck. The empress seemed exceptionally pleased with me as her prospective daughter-in-law, bestowing countless jade hairpins, jewelry, and even a complete phoenix crown and bridal robes. On the eve of the grand wedding, Qi Yu sneaked into my back garden and shook me awake from my peaceful slumber.

I: ? He must have lost his mind, breaking into a maiden's bedchamber in the middle of the night. Furthermore, were all the guards in the estate utterly useless? Just as I opened my mouth to call for help, Qi Yu hurriedly clapped a hand over my mouth, his eyes filled with profound anguish. Yunshu… I know your heart belongs to me, and you have no desire whatsoever to become the Crown Princess. We share the same feelings, and I cannot bear to watch you leap into a fiery pit. Therefore, elope with me. His plan was quite cunning: marry as the principal wife, but flee together as concubines. Even if I were only a concubine, the marquis estate, eager to save face or ensure my well-being, would still pull out all the stops to help him, dealing a heavy blow to both the empress and the Crown Prince at the same time.

There were far too many curses on the tip of my tongue that I simply could not utter aloud. I gave him only one word: Scram. Scram as far away as possible. Taking advantage of his momentary daze, I immediately shrieked at the top of my lungs: Guards! There is an assassin! Qi Yu gritted his teeth, but in the end, he had no choice but to climb out through the window and flee. Being caught wasn't the biggest deal, but if people found out that the Seventh Prince had sneaked into the bedchamber of the Crown Prince's bride-to-be in the middle of the night, there was no telling how the censors would memorialize against him. Abruptly, I grabbed his wrist and twisted it backward. He let out a sharp cry of pain, while I smiled brightly. Your Highness, do be careful. Do not shout too loudly, lest someone discovers you are here and—

Cold sweat broke out across his forehead: What do you want? If word gets out that we were alone in a room together, it will be rather difficult for you to explain things to His Imperial Highness, especially since the entire capital knows how close we are. Who said you were the Seventh Prince? What? I pulled a black hooded cloak out from under my pillow and tossed it over his head. The estate guards, who had come running at the sound of the alarm, immediately rushed in and gave him a thorough thrashing. He did not dare to cry out, terrified of being recognized by others. Thus, he silently clenched his teeth and bore the beating, until he was finally hauled away by the guards to be handed over to the marquis for punishment. I hurriedly intervened: He is merely a petty thief attempting to steal valuables. Just break both his arms and throw him out. The guards nodded: The young miss is truly benevolent.

Beaten to within an inch of his life, Qi Yu:…… Benevolent my foot! After disciplining Qi Yu, I felt thoroughly refreshed and promptly went right back to sleep. The next day, I was dragged up, dressed, made up, and forced to endure a series of tedious rituals. It was not until the wedding night that I finally met the real Crown Prince. Word had it that the Crown Prince possessed a frail constitution and rarely met outsiders, so I had instinctively assumed he was the type to cough twice every three steps. I even suspected this marriage was merely intended to ward off evil spirits, taking me in to dispel his bad luck. It was not until the wedding curtains were lifted that I beheld a face carrying immense visual impact. Sharp, well-defined features, an aura of cold detachment, and a tall, sturdy build—there was simply no way this person resembled an invalid.

… Your Highness the Crown Prince? The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow: You may simply call me Qi Ling. I stared in a daze and nodded, whereupon the Crown Prince continued: I heard my imperial younger brother sneaked into your room in the middle of the night? I grew slightly nervous. How did he know about that? Did that thick-skinned wretch Qi Yu actually dare to recount it? Noticing my tension, the Crown Prince suddenly let out a soft chuckle. Host, you look utterly adorable right now. Huh? I was still blank and uncomprehending. Wait a minute, host?! I suddenly remembered how the system had been mysteriously absent lately, and recalled how it used to boast about this particular target mission. The system was Qi Ling.

I am losing my mind, system! Why on earth did you go and possess someone else's son?! The system, originally expecting words of praise:…… The system replied irritably: Do you think I had any other choice? Men in this era, no matter how carefully one chooses, fail to yield a single decent specimen. At least the previous world had laws, but here imperial power is absolute, and the status of women is truly far too low. But you couldn't just hijack someone else's imperial prince body, could you? The system waved a hand dismissively: I didn't hijack it, I am merely borrowing it temporarily. Once I return it, I will help him mend his constitution for free. Originally, he was only slated to live until twenty-two, but with my medical treatment, living to sixty will be no problem at all. Qi Yu had originally relied on the Crown Prince's untimely demise to catch the emperor's eye. Now that the Crown Prince was robust and healthy, Qi Yu could forget about ascending the throne in this lifetime.

I couldn't help laughing out gleamingly: System, doesn't that mean we've successfully completed our mission? The system nodded: Indeed. But when I went back to headquarters for a meeting, I reviewed your memory files, and so I wanted to help you fulfill a single wish. This remark stirred an indescribable emotion within me. You systems are actually quite humane. I must give you five stars. The system rolled its eyes: That was an individual action of this system, please do not generalize all systems. I smiled faintly: Then why are you treating me so well? The system remained silent and gave no reply. An ambiguous atmosphere instantly permeated the air between us.

A moment later, the system turned and walked toward the side room, leaving behind a parting remark: Cringey romantics are not allowed to flirt with coworkers. I: Humph, humph. On the second day after I became the Crown Princess, the emperor issued a decree bestowing Chi Jinhua upon Qi Yu in marriage. Needless to guess, the system had clearly exerted secret influence over the emperor. What I hadn't expected was that Qi Yu's maternal aristocratic family was rounded up and imprisoned on charges of treason shortly after the marriage decree was announced, scheduled for execution in late autumn, while even Qi Yu's birth mother hanged herself in suicide. Following his marriage to Chi Jinhua, the emperor enfeoffed him as a vassal king, immediately dispatching the married couple to the most remote fiefdom without permission to return to the capital.

I was rather surprised: You dealt so ruthlessly with Qi Yu, why didn't you beat the pulp out of Xu Fengze like that previously? The system was practicing calligraphy while listening to my question, and set down its brush to show me its writing. You say I wasn't ruthless with him? After you left, I made full use of the legal system to severely punish them. I asked curiously: How did you punish them? Anonymous police reporting. …… No wonder it kept emphasizing that the previous world was a society ruled by law. In the afternoon, bathed in warm sunlight, my consciousness gradually drifted away. I saw the four bold characters the system had just finished writing: Even ten thousand bells of salary are accepted without debating ritual and righteousness, ten thousand bells are just sheer bliss to me. …… Getting addicted to playing someone's son is truly real.

After two heavily dramatic worlds, I began to eagerly anticipate what tricks the system would pull this time. Yet no sooner had I stepped into the new world than I was hit with a combo of bone-scraping and heart-gouging, the pain so intense I nearly soared straight up to the heavens. Sensing the situation was dire, the system immediately seized control of my body and threw a direct punch at the assailant. The punch contained enough spiritual energy to blast someone thousands of miles away, yet it was effortlessly neutralized by the opponent.

Xiao Qiu, this is what you owe Yu Zhi, why are you still resisting? I opened my eyes to see my former master staring at me with a stern, reproaching expression. I owe that person nothing! The system instantly dialed down my sensory pain to the lowest setting, and I channeled my spiritual energy to flee several dozen meters away before coughing up a mouthful of blood. The master looked at me coldly and waved his hand to capture me. Yu Zhi's spiritual roots were crippled because of you. I am going to take your spiritual roots to compensate her.