Chapter 1: Shocking! Crown Prince Breaks into Grandfather’s Harem!

【Waking up at three in the morning to attend court, the useless emperor is neglecting his duties.】

Xu Yanmiao tucked a steamed bun into his arms, braved the wind into the court hall, and sat down in a corner to start munching on the bun.

He also indulged in some gossip provided by the system to go along with his meal.

【The Censor-in-Chief has been fishing for fifteen days and hasn’t caught a single fish. Hahaha, his fishing skills are too lousy!】

【The Minister of War hasn’t bathed or changed his socks for seven days. He was finally kicked out of the house by his wife last night. It’s rare, enduring for seven days. If it were me, I couldn’t bear it.】

【Tsk tsk tsk, the Minister of Rites…】

“Cough, cough.”

Xu Yanmiao raised his head, respectfully stood up, and said, “I wonder what Minister Zheng wants to instruct me?”

Minister of Rites, Zheng Peng, stroked his beard and smiled, “Xu Lang, where did you buy this steamed bun from? I smell its fragrance.”

“Oh, um…”

After Xu Yanmiao finished talking about the bun, Minister Zheng asked if he had slept poorly last night, as there seemed to be dark circles under his eyes. He inquired about the difficulty of handling official business and why Xu was dressed so lightly on such a cold day, wondering if the servants at home were neglecting their duties…

From matters of food and clothing to residence and transportation, from poetry and essays to life philosophy, by the time they had finished chatting, it was time for court. Minister Zheng bid farewell with a smile, still stroking his beard.

Xu Yanmiao secretly sighed.

【Minister Zheng is quite the chatterbox? He’s chatting so much that I don’t even have time to read gossip.】

【Oh well, let’s go to court first.】

Xu Yanmiao looked ahead and happened to see Minister Zheng’s figure. No matter how he looked at it, he felt that the minister had encountered something good today; he was walking briskly, with a spring in his step.

He also saw… the Minister of War glancing at Minister Zheng with resentment?

【Hiss——】

【Could it be… Minister Zheng and the Minister of War have some unresolved past? Was there once a time when one climbed to a high position just to give the other a resentful look?】

“Bang—”

Minister Zheng seemed to have accidentally stepped on his trouser leg and stumbled.

Xu Yanmiao quickly put away those random thoughts and joined the other officials to care for Minister Zheng, who had fallen. In the corner of his eye, he saw the Minister of War standing farthest away, looking particularly… deliberate?

【Is this… avoiding suspicion? Where there’s smoke, there’s fire…】

The Minister of War suddenly raised his voice, “Minister Zheng, are you alright?”

Minister Zheng immediately replied, “I’m fine, thank you, Brother Li, for your concern!”

One smiled, and the other smiled too, filled with the insincere politeness typical of adults.

Xu Yanmiao took a bite of the bun secretly. His eyes sparkled—

【There’s still a connection! There’s still a connection!】

Forgive him, when he’s inevitably dragged down to the execution ground at the Meridian Gate for being accused of exam cheating, he can only pass the time by indulging in gossip.

He’d only mutter a few words to himself in his heart, never letting them slip out. No big deal!

【I knew they must have had some undisclosed history, and sure enough, one stumbled, and the other couldn’t resist showing concern!】

【Oh oh! Their smiles froze again. Did they realize they accidentally revealed their thoughts and now they’re trying to cover it up?】

Xu Yanmiao munched on the bun and watched the Minister of War greet Minister Zheng before turning around and walking towards the door, his steps crisp and decisive…

As Xu Yanmiao tiptoed through the thick crowd and glanced at the Minister of War’s back, he blinked lightly.

【Strange, why does the Minister of War seem like he’s fleeing? Why is he still wiping his sweat?】

Of course, he wouldn’t take his little internal drama seriously; those thoughts were just something to amuse himself with in his boredom.

【Could it be…】

Several people passing by Xu Yanmiao involuntarily tensed their bodies.

【Has something happened in the court?】

Just as they finished thinking, Xu Yanmiao heard several soft sighs nearby, as if they had just breathed a sigh of relief. Xu Yanmiao took two steps aside, feeling inexplicably puzzled.

*

Xu Yanmiao is a time traveler.

And a lazy one at that, who can’t distinguish between different grains, and takes eight minutes to run a kilometer.

As for the essential skills of a time traveler, like smelting iron and steel, making gunpowder, cement, hot air balloons, steam engines… he doesn’t know any of them.

The only fortunate thing is that he has a system, although it’s not very useful, only providing gossip, but having a golden finger is not in vain for a time traveler. However, this system…

【Hey, hey, System, can you hear me?】

【Zzz… Zzz… System malfunction… Zzz…】

Today is also a day when he can’t contact the system.

Xu Yanmiao habitually turned off the system, adjusted his official hat, lowered his head, and followed the others to attend the court meeting.

The original owner is seventeen years old this year, not considered a young genius. He participated in the imperial exam purely to gain experience and familiarize himself with the exam process. However, unexpectedly, there was a rare large flood in the capital recently, with dozens of counties affected. The old emperor, in his kindness, granted direct promotion to the candidates who were qualified for the provincial exam, allowing them to skip the district exam and participate directly in the metropolitan exam the following year. The original owner was one of them.

And because the failure rate of the metropolitan exam was as high as ninety percent in recent years, the court formulated a series of policies for those who failed the exam—

For example, candidates who failed the exam would still have the opportunity for official positions, and they could also enter the Imperial College to study and then choose to continue taking the exam until they passed, or wait for an opportunity. Perhaps they might be assigned to various government departments for observation.

The original owner… had another stroke of luck. After entering the Imperial College, he was soon picked up by the Ministry of Personnel to fill a vacant position and became a clerk at the Ministry of Personnel (ninth rank).

—Responsible for handling documents, registering miscellaneous matters, and distributing tasks to various offices.

【Like a low-ranking official like me, I don’t know why Minister Zheng suddenly came to chat with me this morning.】

From above came the loud voice of the court official, “Kneel—”

Xu Yanmiao knelt down with the others,

“Bow—”

Then, he bowed down again.

Estimating that the old emperor had arrived, Xu Yanmiao curiously raised his eyes to sneak a peek, but couldn’t see anything. It was crowded with people all around, and all he could see were backsides in front of him.

Subconsciously, Xu Yanmiao thought—

【Such perky buttocks. Do officials judge others not only by their faces but also by their backsides?】

After a moment of silence on the Golden Platform, a eunuch’s voice came with the emperor’s decree: “In recent days, the capital has cooled down. Officials, take care of your health and avoid catching colds.”

There was another round of thanks and kneeling, expressing gratitude for the old emperor’s concern.

Xu Yanmiao skillfully followed the others, while thinking: 【Isn’t it rumored that the old emperor has a bad temper and is unpredictable? Those coughs just now should have been considered a breach of etiquette, but he didn’t even mention it. Seems like his temper is quite good.】

Turning his head, Xu Yanmiao saw someone constantly wiping sweat and was stunned.

【Is the old emperor really that scary?】

Scaring people into sweating in the dead of winter?

The person wiping sweat was almost in tears. Not just him, Xu Yanmiao noticed that people around him were either sweating in the cold or trembling slightly, and the most exaggerated was the guy on his right who was crying silently, looking as if his life was about to end, ready to be used as a punching bag by those in power.

Xu Yanmiao: ?

At that moment, the crying guy whispered, “Xu Lang…”

Xu Yanmiao tried to smile, whispering, “What is it, brother?”

The guy sniffled, “I think… His Majesty is in his prime, showing no signs of aging… don’t you think?”

Xu Yanmiao: ??

Xu Yanmiao continued to smile, “Yes, I think so too.”

【Why say this all of a sudden? Are there secret agents around here? Is he expressing loyalty through them?】

【But really, it’s impressive how someone can rise to the court and blatantly lie like this. The old emperor is sixty-three this year, probably has plenty of white hair and wrinkles, yet he can say with a straight face that there’s no sign of aging…】

His thoughts wandered, and Xu Yanmiao quickly refocused. The guy had already covered his face and was bowing, his hand on his forehead, making it unclear if he was still crying.

An eerie silence fell over the golden platform again.

After two or three breaths, the eunuch announced, “Ritual complete—”

“Rise—”

The officials all stood up.

Their movements, however, seemed hurried and impatient, as if they couldn’t wait.

The old emperor began discussing state affairs with the officials.

—When they said officials, it actually meant those of second rank and above. Officials below the second rank had no right to speak directly with the emperor in such settings.

One by one, the policies were arranged, determining the fate of the people across the land under the emperor’s gate, some being approved, others rejected…

They were steering the country. They were controlling the lives of millions.

And he could only stand among the masses, listening to the discussions, waiting for the documents to be handed to him later, which would be dispatched across the nation with little remaining warmth.

Thinking about this, Xu Yanmiao felt a pang in his heart.

【I wonder when I can become a big shot, steering the nation and the people.】

【I need to work hard!】

【I need to strive!】

Xu Yanmiao looked up at the clear sky and thought of waking up at three in the morning and facing the wind…

【Hmm…】

【Forget it. For a good-for-nothing like me, it’s better to lie flat. I wonder when the old emperor will finish court; I’m so hungry. I need to find something to pass the time…】

【Let’s check out some gossip—】

Xu Yanmiao excitedly opened the system, not noticing the horrified looks from others.

【Wow, the emperor just got a sixteen-year-old concubine yesterday! A young blossom with an old tree! Old but vigorous! And he spent the whole night with her, yet his voice is still so powerful today! Impressive!】

【And this concubine used to be the Crown Prince’s lover, wow wow wow! The Crown Prince even has a penchant for passionate, jealous literature!】

【Wow wow wow! The Crown Prince broke into his grandfather’s harem… hiss— taking advantage of the old emperor being at court! Hurry up, hurry up! Why isn’t there a video…】

【Eh? Why is there no sound?】

Xu Yanmiao cautiously looked up, sneaking glances around.

【What happened? Why is everyone kneeling? Where’s the emperor?】

The emperor had gone to the harem to catch an affair.

The courtiers added in their hearts—