Chapter 1 The Beginning

"Then how would I know you're the Emperor? I thought the Southern Dynasty was the enemy." Jiang Jingwei glared at him, her cheeks puffed up. Considering a Fire Master's temper, even her father would fight to the death if his scalp was threatened like that.

But now, she was weakened by illness and could only be bullied by Yuan Shi Tianzun.

"Stop talking nonsense!" Zhang Yuanqing urged, "Tell me the mission."

Jiang Jingwei sat cross-legged, leaning against the artificial mountain, and said weakly, "My main mission is to monitor Zhao Shun and the internal situation of the palace and report to the Shenrui Army regularly. The side mission is to assassinate the fatuous emperor."

The main mission is so safe, yet you chose the more difficult side mission? You won't die if you don't complete the side mission. This girl really lives up to the Fire Master profession.

Zhang Yuanqing was filled with complaints. He asked, "What kind of force is the Shenrui Army?"

Jiang Jingwei tilted her head and recalled, "The Shenrui Army used to be an army of the Southern Dynasty. Sixteen years ago, they were annihilated. The surviving Shenrui Army soldiers became bandits, planning to take revenge on the Emperor and the Southern Dynasty. My character's father was a member of the Shenrui Army."

I have to check the detailed information of the Shenrui Army later!

Zhang Yuanqing's expression relaxed slightly. Although Jiang Jingwei was also in the enemy camp, this precisely indicated that it was not a job problem, but a copy problem. Copy problems are easy to solve.

According to the copy mechanism, teammates are unlikely to become mortal enemies, so there must be a solution.

I'll find an opportunity to ask Xiao Fu!

He opened his inventory, took out a porcelain bottle, and threw it to Jiang Jingwei, "Heal your illness first, and I'll take you back to the Imperial Concubine's Palace later."

Since Xia Hou Aotian and the Palace Master of Zhisha arrived, the gang warehouse of the Returned from the Dead has been filled with a constant supply of elixirs and life source fluid. The elixirs refined by Scholars can heal injuries and cure diseases.

With feeble hands and feet, Jiang Jingwei carefully took the porcelain bottle, pulled out the cork, poured out a few brown pills, and swallowed them whole. Soon, her pale face gradually turned rosy.

Then, she squatted down next to the two beauties, pried open their mouths, rudely stuffed pills into them, and pinched their noses, forcing the unconscious women to swallow.

Soon, one of the beauties groaned and woke up. They looked around blankly. When they saw Zhang Yuanqing, Wan Meiren's pale face bloomed like a flower, filled with surprise.

"Yuan Shi gege, you came to save me! I knew it. With Yuan Shi gege around, there definitely wouldn't be any danger. Sob sob..." She threw herself into his arms like a swallow returning to its nest.

As expected of Xie Lingxi, always so tea-like. Zhang Yuanqing was not surprised by this. She was the teatiest in the Returned from the Dead.

Zhang Yuanqing looked at Wang Geji again: "Are you the Queen?"

Wang Geji's beautiful, pale face showed a happy smile. "Gang leader, you came to save me."

Xie Lingxi snuggled in Yuan Shi gege's arms and sobbed, "Sob sob, we failed to assassinate the fatuous emperor. Yuan Shi gege, are you also here to assassinate the fatuous emperor?"

Zhang Yuanqing reached out and wiped his face: "Take a look and see who the fatuous emperor is?"

Xie Lingxi and the Queen stared intently, then jumped away in shock. After a few seconds, they realized what was happening. Xie Lingxi stammered, "Yuan... Shi gege, you are the fatuous emperor?"

"Assassinate me? Assassinate me?" Zhang Yuanqing flicked each of them on the forehead. "Brainless things."

Although he already knew the reason for the mission, which led the teammates to make a wrong judgment, thinking that the Southern Dynasty was the enemy, Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but want to beat them up when he thought of the life-and-death crisis he faced last night, which originated from his teammates.

Xie Lingxi and the Queen, who had been hit on the head, looked confused. "If you are the fatuous emperor, why would we receive the mission to assassinate the fatuous emperor?"

"Tell me your side and main missions first!" Zhang Yuanqing said.

Xie Lingxi and the Queen explained their missions and character information one after another. Wan Meiren was an informant planted in the palace by the Zheng family. Her main mission was to cooperate with the Zheng family's actions. Her side missions were two: one was to assassinate the fatuous emperor, and the other was to win the fatuous emperor's favor and become an imperial concubine.

The little green tea assassinated because she didn't want to become the Emperor's imperial concubine, so she chose the other side mission to kill the fatuous Emperor!

Wang Geji represented a lakeside force called the Green Dragon Gang. The gang leader was a famous hero in the Jianghu.

The Green Dragon Gang wanted to assassinate the Emperor with the slogan "Kill the fatuous emperor and save the people." Therefore, they sent the daughter of a jester who was proficient in music, Wang Geji, to infiltrate the palace as a geji.

Wang Geji's main mission was "to get close to the fatuous emperor and collect information" to create opportunities for the Green Dragon Gang's assassination. The side mission was to assassinate the fatuous emperor.

The main mission of the three beauties was not to assassinate the fatuous emperor, which was understandable. After all, the main mission was a matter of life and death. If the main mission was to assassinate the fatuous emperor, then it would be an endless battle with Zhang Yuanqing.

On the one hand, everyone was a teammate, so it was unlikely that such a mission would appear. On the other hand, Zhang Yuanqing was the Dominator, and the beauties were the Saints. The ranks did not match. It was unreasonable to ask the Saints to assassinate the Dominator.

Currently, there were three known forces: the Shenrui Army, the National Teacher, and the Green Dragon Gang.

Alas, the situation in the capital was more complicated than the front-line battlefield. Zhang Yuanqing sighed, and his burden was by no means smaller than Fu Qingyang's, but heavier.

He not only had to deal with three enemies but also had to find a way to save his teammates. While he was thinking, light footsteps came. The three beauties showed surprised expressions. Zhang Yuanjing moved his ears and recognized the footsteps, then comforted them, "Don't be nervous, it's Hong Ji ge."

As soon as he finished speaking, the footsteps came closer and closer. It was Li Changshi, wearing a red eunuch uniform and with frost on his temples. The fatuous emperor's lackey was Hong Ji ge.

Xie Lingxi changed her face in a second and said with a smile, "Oh, so Li Changshi is Hong Ji ge. Thanks to Hong Ji ge for staying by Yuan Shi gege's side, otherwise, we would have accidentally killed gege. Our gang is so safe."

Hong Ji ge was overjoyed and threw the package hanging on his shoulder over. "Change your clothes." After speaking, he took the lead to walk out of the artificial mountain forest.

Zhang Yuanqing followed, and behind him came Xie Lingxi's soft voice, "Yuan Shi gege, I'm scared, can you not leave!"

"No way." Jiang Jingwei raised her eyebrows and said, "You go change with Yuan Shi Tianzun over there."

"No need, there's nothing to see even if it's small!" Zhang Yuanqing replied loudly and quickly left, hiding behind an artificial mountain on the edge with Hong Ji ge and waited. After waiting for a quarter of an hour, Xie Lingxi's voice finally came from the depths of the artificial mountain forest.

"Gege, we're done changing!" The two then returned to the scene and saw three female teammates bowing their heads, sorting out their crooked collars and skirts.

Jingwei complained, "Ancient people's clothes are so difficult to wear. Aren't they tired of wearing such troublesome clothes every day?"

Zhang Yuanqing reached out and wiped their faces one by one. The three beautiful faces turned into delicate girls and women.

Not too outstanding, but worthy of Zhao Shun's harem's appearance.

There were no mediocre faces in Zhao Shun's harem, except for Wan Meiren.

After the three changed their appearances, Zhang Yuanqing looked at Hong Ji ge and said, "Take them to the Imperial Concubine's Palace, and say that they were transferred from another palace to serve me. I'll follow you secretly."

The four teammates nodded lightly and walked towards the Imperial Concubine's Palace led by Hong Ji ge. Zhang Yuanqing stopped in place and waited for the three to walk out a distance, about to approach the Imperial Concubine's Palace, then used Night Wander, quickly catching up.

His Night Wander time was limited, so he couldn't follow the team slowly.

"Squeak"

Hong Ji ge pushed open the palace door and led the people in to wait.

Zhang Yuanqing took the opportunity to sneak in, then revealed his figure and looked at the inner hall with the curtains hanging down. Suddenly, his eyes showed doubt. Behind the curtains sat two graceful figures.

"You're back!" A somewhat familiar voice came from behind the curtains. "You recruited three beauties to serve you on the first day you entered the dungeon. You're more fatuous than Zhao Shun!"

Hearing this familiar tone, Zhang Yuanqing immediately understood, breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "I didn't let you serve me, are you unhappy?"

The curtain was lifted, and it was indeed the Consort De, who was graceful and had skin as white as snow.

There were only two women left in the team, either Little Aunt or Guan Ya, but Guan Ya would not use this tone to talk to him, so it was Little Aunt.

Consort De frowned and said, "Let's compare information. My main mission is to protect the Southern Dynasty from being destroyed, and my side mission is to protect you. Yesterday it was 24 hours, and today it's updated to 72 hours."

The same side mission as Hong Ji ge!

Zhang Yuanqing asked, "What's the mission level?"

"Level 4."

"Lower than I thought, then why didn't you save me yesterday?"

"The eunuch next to you took the lead, and besides, it's not bad to let you suffer." Consort De turned her attention to the three palace maids. "You found your teammates, were the assassins yesterday your teammates?"

Zhang Yuanqing shrugged. He led Hong Ji ge and the other three into the inner hall, compared each other's character information, main missions, and side missions, and then revealed the current predicament.

Zhang Yuanqing asked, "What are your opinions and analyses on the follow-up actions?"

Jiang Jingwei's eyes were blank and her mind was empty.

Hong Ji ge subconsciously said, "Where's Guan Ya? Quickly find Guan Ya, she's a scout, she analyzes well."

"Alas, I'm born with two fewer brains on my side. I envy Little Round for having so many talents!" Zhang Yuanqing sighed.

Little Round pondered and pondered, "Judging from the mission, all we can do is wait passively, wait for the assassins to arrive, and protect you to live through 72 hours. But according to the difficulty of the 24-hour survival mission, the 72-hour side mission is more dangerous and is likely to lead to attrition."

Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by the Palace Master of Zhisha's sneer, "Xie Lingxi, the Queen, and Jingwei can lie low or assist and don't have to fight the enemy head-on. Hong Ji ge and I will be the main force, and you and Yuan Shi Tianzun will improvise. As long as the Extraordinary Realm doesn't actively send themselves to their deaths, we can guarantee the survival rate. In addition, the enemies are already very clear, namely the Shenrui Army, the Green Dragon Gang, and the National Teacher and the Zheng family behind him."

"It's difficult for the Shenrui Army and the Green Dragon Gang to enter the palace to assassinate. The 72-hour crisis should come from the Zheng family."

Xie Lingxi was worried, "The National Teacher's level is unknown, but the Zheng family must be raising experts, and there are their people in the Imperial Guards. Once the assassination begins, Yuan Shi gege will be a turtle in a jar, and we will have to fight the Zheng family to the death in the palace. At that time, there may really be attrition. In short, I can't watch Yuan Shi gege encounter misfortune."

Hearing this, Jiang Jingwei subconsciously said, "Then let's escape from the palace. The Green Dragon Gang and the Shenrui Army won't be able to find Yuan Ling Shi Tianzun."

Zhang Yuanqing frowned, "The notes remind me that I can't give up the Emperor's identity. But escaping from the palace is an idea, we can discuss it in the long term."

"I think what you need to do now is to pretend to be stupid. Zheng Longtu was attacked, the Zheng family will definitely test you. If they find out that you know the Zheng family is plotting against you, they will definitely send experts to kill you."

"And if you don't know these things, and are just a fatuous emperor, then the strength of the experts the Zheng family sends to kill you won't be too exaggerated." The Palace Master of Zhisha twirled her hair with her fingers.

"In addition, there is a side mission in your side missions to win the hearts of the people. This may be a hidden plot or hidden function. If you don't want to sit still and wait for death, you can consider completing this mission."

"How can I win the hearts of the people?"

Hong Ji ge said, "This is simple, Yuan Shi, just issue a decree of self-reproach. This should be able to win the hearts of the people. That's how it's portrayed on TV."

Jiang Jingwei clapped her hands "Pa pa", "Yes, yes, yes!"

"What yes, yes!" The Queen rolled her eyes, "Zhao Shun is already a fatuous emperor. If he issues a decree of self-reproach when the Northern Dynasty is invading on a large scale, isn't that giving the Zheng family a reason to usurp the throne? The Zheng family will be laughing, and the folk resentment is deep. A decree of self-reproach is likely to incite a civil uprising."

Zhang Yuanqing nodded, "Under such circumstances, a decree of self-reproach really can't save the hearts of the people. Instead, it gives the people a reason to vent their resentment. The people fear and respect the imperial power, but they don't dare to act rashly now. If the Emperor himself admits his guilt, then what do the people still care about? The rebellious officials and traitors will be even less worried."

(The following content is not part of the translation.)

This is a very simple psychology.

"And I am a puppet emperor, and it is difficult for government orders to leave the palace. It is almost impossible to rely on legitimate operations to win back the hearts of the people unless I leave the palace." Zhang Yuanqing frowned more and more as he spoke.

"But if I leave the palace, the Qinglong Gang and the Shenrui Army will be waiting. If I don't leave the palace, I will face the Zheng family's assassination. Both roads are dangerous."

Little Round said softly, "You still have to leave the palace. If you stay in the palace, you are passively waiting for the enemy to come and assassinate you. If you leave the palace, although you will also encounter assassination, you can carry out side missions. From the perspective of revenue, it is best to hide out of the palace."

Xie Lingxi added, "I think the side mission of winning the hearts of the people is very important. This also conforms to the main theme of the copy of the fallen king."

"Although hiding in the palace can avoid the Qinglong Gang and the Shenrui Army, the Zheng family will assassinate once if it fails, but if it fails to assassinate twice, the third time it will definitely go all out, which means that we can only live for up to 72 hours and then be wiped out."

"It's a bit like sitting still and waiting for death. The third assassination will definitely be encountered. It is indeed necessary to leave the palace. Alas, it's a bit of a headache, let's deal with the current difficulties first."

Zhang Yuanqing rubbed his eyebrows, turned his head to look at Hong Ji ge, "There are only women in the palace. I will arrange two tasks for you. One is to find a girl group from the Yuyin Workshop, I want to listen to music today when there is nothing to do. The second is to investigate what is going on with the Shenrui Army?"

Hong Ji ge cupped his hands and left, while Zhang Yuanqing continued to discuss the details of leaving the palace with the women, how to win the hearts of the people after leaving the palace, when to leave the palace, how to hide it from the Imperial Guards, etc.

Furthermore, he couldn't give up the Emperor's identity, so things that symbolized the Emperor's identity had to be taken away, so as to prevent the Zheng family from controlling the palace and supporting a counterfeit.

We can't suffer the losses of Huang Silang!

A quarter of an hour later, Hong Ji ge returned and knocked on the door of the Imperial Concubine's Palace, leading a group of delicate young women into the palace one after another. The young women of the Yuyin Workshop were all beautiful, tall, and slender, with colorful clothes fluttering.

At first glance, they were the best artillery stands. Zhao Shun understood the correct usage of dance troupes.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!" The dancers saluted one after another.

Zhang Yuanqing instinctively showed a lustful smile, "No need to be polite, no need to be polite, beauties, I miss you all so much, hurry up and play music, hurry up and dance."

Little Round, the Palace Master, Xie Lingxi, and the Queen's faces sank at the same time, only Jiang Jingwei forgot the mission, her eyes lit up, looking forward to the performance of the song and dance troupe.

Immediately, the musicians holding the qin and pipa retreated to the side, and the remaining six dancers began to sway their long sleeves and twist their waists, dancing gracefully.

At first, Zhang Yuanqing was not focused, thinking about his character and the copy plot, slowly listening to the melodious sound of the qin and the gurgling pipa, watching the snow-white bellies with exposed navels twisting and twisting, watching the full curves outlined when the buttocks were upturned, he suddenly felt that this was the scenery that adult men dreamed of.

He gradually became addicted. At this moment, an Imperial Guard crossed the threshold and broke into the palace, shouting loudly, "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Zheng requests an audience."

Here it comes!

The spirits of everyone in the hall were lifted. Zhang Yuanqing relaxed his body, maintained a lazy sitting posture, and said lightly, "Invite Prime Minister Zheng."