I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 437: Are you collecting stamps here?

It's beyond our reach, so we can only wait.

Chu Liuzheng eagerly awaited good news every day, checking the system whenever he had a spare moment, but who would have thought...

【Ahhh!!! King Xiao is ill, so don't make any rash moves!!!】

[One goes, another goes; one goes, another goes. Are you guys trying to save Grandpa like the Calabash Brothers?]

[Well, that's a quadruple celebration for the City Lord's Mansion! They now have thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth male concubines!!]

Chu Liuzheng stared speechlessly at the system interface, genuinely unable to understand why Pei Yunjian, Ren Qingxia, and Yan Chengtong had collectively lost their minds. Knowing there were tigers in the mountains, they still went into the tiger's den. Couldn't they have asked King Xiao for permission before taking action?
Now things are really messed up. Not only is her eldest brother trapped in the city lord's mansion and can't get out, but the three of them have also been locked up. They could make up a whole mahjong table.

Chu Liuzheng shut down the system wearily, stealing a glance at the emperor who was focused on reviewing memorials.

[The message will arrive this afternoon via carrier pigeon, but I'd better not risk it. I'll let the tyrant see it himself this afternoon.]

She brought over the peeled grapes, then picked up a travelogue, pretending to be engrossed in reading it, while searching for information related to Guiyun City in the system.

She has already flipped through quite a few pages in the past two days, but she is always worried that she may have missed something, so she flips through them whenever she has a spare moment.

Although Guiyun City is only a small city, it holds a very special position in Dasheng, somewhat like Yuecheng, as it is independent and not under the jurisdiction of the imperial court.

Everything in Guiyun City is under the management of the city lord, whose position is elected, and only those with both talent and virtue can assume the role. It is more like a country within a country than a city.

Why is Guiyun City so special?

This brings us to the dramatic story of the emperor who preceded the Great Sheng Dynasty, Emperor Shouchang.

[Tsk tsk, Emperor Shouchang's experiences could be made into a documentary, "The Story of Shouchang's Incognito Visits." First, he went on an incognito visit; then he fell in love at first sight with a commoner girl and forced her to break off her engagement and enter the palace to serve him, threatening to kill her entire family if she didn't. Was he forcing her to love him or hate him?]

Xiao Jingfan silently slowed down the pace of reviewing memorials, multitasking while listening to his ancestors' gossip.

[After entering the palace with Emperor Shouchang, Yingying was greatly favored for two years, and gradually developed feelings for him. Their blissful relationship earned Yingying a lot of resentment from the other concubines.]

[If she had remained the emperor's favorite, it wouldn't have been so bad. But Emperor Shouchang wasn't one to hold onto affections for long. Once the novelty wore off, he forgot all about her, not even bothering to visit her when he heard she was pregnant... Hmm? She's his heir, after all. How could he be so indifferent?]

Chu Liuzheng flipped through the reasons and let out a long "oh" in his heart.

[No wonder they didn't value it; Emperor Shouchang was already thirty-six at that time, and he certainly didn't lack offspring. Yingying's pregnancy was just icing on the cake; it wouldn't have mattered if she didn't have it.]

[Tsk tsk, life isn't easy for a disgraced concubine in the harem. Not long after, Miss Yingying was forced to miscarry. Well, now Emperor Shouchang remembers her good points and is showing concern for her.]

[When she needed him most, he wasn't there. Yingying was heartbroken and disillusioned with Emperor Shouchang. After losing her unborn child, she hated the emperor even more. She resented him for forcing her into the palace and not appreciating her, and hated him for indirectly causing the death of their child. She didn't want to have anything to do with the emperor anymore.]

[Isn't that what men are all about? When they're being nice, they treat people like trash, completely forgetting they even exist in their harem; but when they're being cold, they eagerly fawn over them, offering words of comfort.]

Xiao Jingfan, feeling as if he'd been shot in the knee: "..."

He placed the completed memorial aside, stood up, and sat down beside Chu Liuzheng, pulling him into his arms. Chu Liuzheng casually fed him the last grape, then turned to ask, "Have you finished reviewing the memorial?"

"Rest for a moment." Xiao Jingfan lowered his head and buried it in the crook of her neck, smelling a delicate orchid fragrance. He couldn't help but frown slightly. "Why did you change your face powder?"

"I ran out of the old ones, so I just grabbed a random jar from the cabinet." Chu Liuzheng wiped the grape juice off his fingertips with a handkerchief and casually asked, "Doesn't it smell good?"

Xiao Jingfan neither said yes nor no, but gently nuzzled her neck with the tip of his nose and planted two light kisses.

Chu Liuzheng felt ticklish and reached out to push him away. "If you don't like it, I'll change it back."

She thought they all smelled nice, and it didn't matter which one she wore. She didn't mind indulging the emperor in these little things.

Xiao Jingfan then said, "Change it back."

"Okay." Chu Liuzheng agreed, then nudged him, "There are still quite a few memorials left. You have to summon three officials this afternoon. If you don't approve more this morning, you'll be staying up late again tonight. I can't wait for you."

"How audacious!" Xiao Jingfan laughed and scolded, then hugged the person for a while before letting go and returning to his desk to continue reviewing memorials.

Zhou Yuande then came in to change the tea and also gave Chu Liuzheng a plate of peeled grapes.

Although the grapes were sweet and juicy, Chu Liuzheng didn't dare eat too many, thinking that she would have lunch soon. She reopened the system and continued reading about Emperor Shouchang's gossip.

Under Emperor Shouchang's warm concern, Miss Yingying's attitude softened slightly... Uh, really? Does she forget her mistakes so easily? She's already back to her old ways?

Chu Liuzheng blinked, feeling that this Yingying girl was too easy to coax.

[At least put on some airs! How can Emperor Shouchang possibly appreciate it if we just let him get his way? What if he gets tired of it soon and finds someone new?]

She continued to look down.

Good heavens, call me a prophet! That damned emperor has really reverted to his old ways; during one of his incognito visits, he brought back another commoner girl.

Dog Emperor?
Xiao Jingfan paused, thought for a moment, and figured that since it wasn't an insult directed at him, and Emperor Shouchang had been buried for many years, he probably wouldn't hold a grudge against a young girl, right? So he continued to multitask and review the memorials.

[One is Yingying, the other is Yiyi, and before that, there was Qianqian who died suddenly. They were all brought back from the common people. Did Emperor Shouchang have some kind of mission to bring back a commoner girl every time he went on an incognito trip? And their names are all so similar. Are they collecting them here?]

Chu Liuzheng took a sip of tea and briefly flipped through the biography of Miss Yiyi.

[Tsk tsk, if Miss Yingying is a genuine, pure, innocent flower, then this Miss Yiyi is a pretentious, manipulative little green tea. She has a whole repertoire of tricks to manipulate Emperor Shouchang, making all the women in the harem grit their teeth in hatred. They've tried every trick in the book, but Miss Yiyi has managed to evade them all.]

[This Miss Yiyi is adapting well to life in the harem. Is she really just an ordinary commoner? Or was she specially trained and sent to Emperor Shouchang...? Wow, what did I tell you? She really was specially trained! Miss Yiyi was actually sent to Emperor Shouchang by Miss Yingying's former fiancé, Brother Qi!]

[Wait a minute, isn't that Qi guy an orphan apprentice at the blacksmith's shop, living in abject poverty? How would he know the emperor's whereabouts? And even send people to the emperor? What kind of ability does he have?]

(End of this chapter)