Chapter 18

When Chu Yingzhao opened her eyes on the bed draped in soft brocade, the twilight had already quietly stained the horizon a deep violet.

The long, exhausting journey and the countless burdens weighing on her shoulders were like a suffocating net, one that had finally loosened just enough at this moment to allow the young empress to catch her breath.

She had slept deeply; the long-overdue slumber left her consciousness hazy and unfocused.

She had had a dream.

At first, she dreamed of the late emperor, but thanks to the power of stereotypes, the tyrant on the throne had transformed into a donkey with oversized ears. The dog in question, draped in an impossibly large dragon robe, sat upright on the high dais, baring its teeth and producing a piercing sonic attack. Behind him was the desperate, long-suffering Empress Dowager. She held a thin leash in her hand, the end of which was looped around the "Beagle Emperor's" neck. In the dream, she could not clearly see the Empress Dowager's expression, but the scene was absurdly comical.

Then, the dream shifted, and she saw another version of herself.

Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the palace doors were thrown wide open, and sunlight flooded the blue-bricked floor. She wore a black-and-red dragon robe, a sword hanging at her waist, her expression as cold as ice. The hall was packed with court officials, yet it was deathly silent; even the sound of breathing felt oppressive.

In the very next instant, she drew her sword.

Cold light flashed, and blood splattered three feet high.

"Twenty-six," the version of her in the dream spoke coldly, her voice devoid of a single ripple.

As the words fell, twenty-six heads rolled one after another. The headless officials knelt on the ground, blood soaking the blue bricks, flowing past her feet and snaking along the floor. The corpses shouted "Long live the Emperor," and the other version of her turned, walked out of the hall, donned her armor, and boarded the war chariot for her personal campaign.

After that, everything descended into chaos.

Following a long, blurred, and out-of-focus transition, the scene shifted again. The Empress, now in grand ceremonial robes, stood directly in front of the granary. A ray of morning sunlight pierced the clouds, slanting across the top of the granary door. A familiar, dark red-stained eighth-rank official’s robe swayed in the early spring breeze.

Within the crowd, a dagger quietly emerged, thrusting straight toward her chest. But her reaction was lightning-fast; she grabbed the blade’s tip, blood spilling from between her fingers.

"—All traitors."

The version of her in the dream delivered the final verdict.

The dream dissolved into a mess.

The crimson color, woven from blood and fire, surged in her mind. The sound of blades falling was accompanied by wailing and clamor. Amidst the splashing blood, she panted heavily, stumbling backward, murmuring something that was drowned out by the endless sounds of slaughter.

Suddenly, a pair of bright golden eyes appeared at the edge of her vision.

Those beastly pupils were as sharp as knives, yet they held a burning radiance. They pierced through the fire and blood, as if stabbing directly into the depths of her soul.

Chu Yingzhao’s heart gave a violent jolt, and she woke up completely.

The entire palace was shrouded in night. She sat propped up on the bed, reaching up to press her brow, struggling to banish the lingering shadows of the dream.

...It felt like she had just had a compilation of nightmares.

Outside the door, a maid knocked softly: "Your Majesty, do you have any needs?"

"Nothing," Chu Yingzhao cleared her throat, her tone calm. She rose slowly and draped a thin outer robe over her shoulders. "You may withdraw."

She walked to the window and pushed it open just a crack. A cool breeze rushed in, clearing her chaotic thoughts. The absurdity and reality of the dream were intertwined, leaving her unable to define her own feelings.

The late emperor, the Empress Dowager, the blood of her ministers, and even those golden eyes—everything felt like some sort of secret omen.

Turning back to the bed, she opened the system interface, hoping to dispel that inexplicable feeling of oppression with data.

The system appeared instantly. She swiped through the interface, flipping through various modules one by one, attempting to find a sliver of comfort in these familiar functions.

Suddenly, her gaze stopped on the "Mission Module," which she had rarely paid attention to. Now, a red marker appeared in the upper right corner of the icon, clearly indicating unread content.

After clicking it, the cursor for the [Achievement System] flickered in the corner of the interface, as if waiting for her review.

She blinked, and lines of text appeared alongside the blue light, accompanied by a gentle female voice:

[Achievement System:
·Complete specific goals to receive Achievement Point rewards. Every 100 Achievement Points can be exchanged for 1 Souvenir Voucher.
·Unlock hidden titles upon reaching certain achievement progress.]

The screen flickered a few times, then began playing a demonstration:

In the center of the interface, an iron card appeared, engraved with an exquisite heart-shaped gem, accompanied by a progress bar and reward description:

[Achievement: Heartthrob (I)]
[Favorability of 1 person reaches 50. Reward: 10 Achievement Points.]

Below, the "Claim" button had lit up. The system pointer clicked automatically, and with a soft chime, the Achievement Points in the top left corner changed to [10].

Immediately after, following a flash of white light, the card turned into bronze, the progress bar moved forward by a quarter, and the reward description changed to:

[Achievement: Heartthrob (II)]
[Favorability of 100 people reaches 50. Reward: 20 Achievement Points.]

Watching the still-flickering "Claim" button, Chu Yingzhao touched her chin.

She could still claim more.

But where on earth did she get so much favorability?

***

However, even though her brain was still busy reconciling the accounts, her hand didn't hesitate, and she clicked to claim.

The interface changed again. Strangely, the card, now silver, and the achievement showing the third stage, were still available to be claimed.

—Fifty points of favorability; this value was already considered quite high. To use a somewhat imperfect analogy, if the other party had one hundred dollars, then under specific conditions, they would likely be willing to share fifty with you.

And the third stage required a full one thousand people to reach this value.

...She wasn't sure, but a thief never returns empty-handed; she would claim it first and worry later.

The fourth-stage reward, which required a full ten thousand people to claim, finally turned gray.

But looking at the 60 Achievement Points she now had, Chu Yingzhao was already rubbing her palms together, starting to search everywhere for other "wool" she could shear:

[Achievement: Exclusive Spring Breeze (I)]
[Favorability of a single male lead reaches 10. Reward: 10 Achievement Points.]

[Achievement: Drunk with You (I)]
[Date with a single male lead reaches 1 time. Reward: 10 Achievement Points.]

[Achievement: Smiling Amidst the Storm (I)]
[Complete 1 Shuraba (love rivalry) scene with multiple male leads present. Reward: 10 Achievement Points.]

[Achievement: Fragrance Alone Under the Moon (I)]
[Defeat 1 opponent. Reward: 10 Achievement Points.]

...

The Empress was dazzled. Although her actual gaming time was less than a week, she had already completed nearly twenty achievements—truly a leader in the industry.

But favorability and dates were one thing; when did she complete a Shuraba scene?

When building the levees, Bai Wenqing and Qi Wangzhu had a dispute over the flood discharge area, and she had made the final decision.

...Did that count as a Shuraba?

And as for the "defeat an opponent" achievement, could it be... the Deputy Minister Yao she had beaten to death with a staff on the first day of court?

That was, indeed, an opponent in a broad sense...

The Empress gradually gave up on trying to understand the romance system.

Of course, none of that mattered.

Chu Yingzhao’s gaze rested on the top left corner, where a beautiful string of numbers flickered slightly in the blue light.

[Achievement Points: 340]

She had three more chances to draw!

The Empress did not hesitate, sliding the screen to jump to the Gacha module.

The wheel remained dazzling, the gold and purple quadrants glowing with extraordinary temptation.

Your Majesty clutched the five draws she had diligently "sheared," intending to bathe, change clothes, wash her hands, burn incense, and then... wait, five draws?

She blinked, shifting her gaze to the male lead interface.

[Shadow (Relationship Value): 91]
[Bai Wenqing (Favorability): 25]
[Liu Qianzheng (Favorability): ?]
[Arisu (Favorability): ?]
And—
[Qi Wangzhu (Favorability): 36]

Yes, in a corner the Empress hadn't paid any attention to, her childhood friend had secretly increased her favorability by 25 points, contributing two precious Souvenir Vouchers to the Empress.

However, the Empress thought, somewhat perplexed: she hadn't been "conquering" him at all, had she? She had been so busy these past few days that they hadn't even spoken a few sentences to each other.

Although a bit confused, Chu Yingzhao didn't dwell on it, instead returning to the Gacha wheel, her eyes locked firmly on the "Start" button.

Five vouchers, five chances.

She took a deep breath, her fingertips lightly landing on the "Start Draw" button. The interface lit up instantly, the wheel rotating slowly, and the surrounding prize icons gradually blurred, their glow becoming increasingly dazzling.

"Amitabha," she murmured softly, her eyes focused intently on the wheel, as if she could seize fate through the screen. "Amen, Om, Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable."

In the midst of her completely chaotic and entirely insincere fragmented prayers, the wheel's speed gradually slowed, and the icons became clear.

As expected, the pointer slid silkily past the gold area and stopped coldly in a white grid.

R-rank card.

The faint special effects dissipated, and a sheet of letter paper shimmering with a pale golden light slowly emerged.

[Crossing Note]
[Paper conveys intent, crossing the river of love. Non-directional; only the specified character can read the letter's content.]

Chu Yingzhao raised an eyebrow.

Although it was a white card, if used for secret messages or conveying important information—my goodness, a very good R-rank card, utility maxed out!

Unfortunately, it was a single-use item. If it could be reused, she could definitely make the intelligence agency great again!

She put the letter paper into her inventory and let her gaze rest on the Gacha interface once more.

***

The wheel spun again. Learning from her previous lesson, she kept her mouth shut this time, not subjecting the various deities to another "Great Khan’s Roll Call."

The pointer rotated dozens of times, various afterimages whistling past her eyes. She almost thought she saw the silhouette of a gold card, and as her heart rate accelerated, the pointer actually slowly stopped... stopped... stopped...

Stop! It should stop!

...But it didn't quite stop.

It moved slowly but firmly, decisively, at the very last moment, sliding forward a tiny bit further.

Before the Empress’s gradually clenching iron fist, a familiar silhouette slowly appeared—

What a coincidence, we meet again, Teacher Letter Paper.

No wonder it was designed as a single-use item; so that was where they were waiting for her!

Looking at the stacked props in her inventory, the Empress took a deep breath and clicked to draw again.

Three draws left; it wasn't a big problem.

The rebellious pointer, which had repeatedly defied the imperial will, began its heinous work again.

Light and shadow cycled, silhouettes flashed by, and finally, Her Majesty the Empress flashed a bit of white light.

The third R-rank card.

Fortunately, this time the silhouette finally changed. A silhouette resembling a candle made a leisurely entrance, staring back at Chu Yingzhao.

[Mandarin Duck Candle]
[Mandarin ducks flying in pairs, brocade candles flowing with light. Non-directional; after use, it can burn with absolute stability for an entire night.]

Hmm... the direction was actually quite clear.

But it didn't matter.

As a "non-chief" (someone with bad luck), she was adept at discovering the advantages of all props: absolutely stable, environmentally friendly, safe, and widely applicable—it was even biodegradable and fully met environmental standards.

The Empress immediately bestowed an imperial name upon this festive candle: Windproof Lighter.

As for the third draw still being a white card, the Empress was actually feeling relatively stable.

Would she get a gold or purple card? Oh, she didn't? Well, if she didn't, so be it. Actually, she didn't really want one anyway. Dying of laughter, she didn't even look down on these things. This wheel of yours is really quite average, haha.

The Empress, while trying her best to maintain a smile and dignity, clicked to draw for the fourth time.

For some reason, her intuition was faintly ringing, and a certain unknown expectation was gradually magnifying.

Accompanied by a crisp system sound effect, the pointer slowly began to rotate.

Various colors flashed across the screen, and all kinds of pattern silhouettes slid past her eyes like flowing water, but this time, there seemed to be a strange sense of rhythm, as if the light and shadow in the picture carried a certain leaping emotion.

She even vaguely suspected that the rotation speed was slightly faster than the previous three times, and there was a subtle deliberateness as the golden light swept past.

Her heart leaped inexplicably, and her eyes locked even tighter onto the screen.

"...Gold?" she whispered to herself, her tone carrying a hint of unconscious expectation.

The wheel's speed gradually slowed down, and that flash of gold swept past again. This time it lingered longer, as if gathering strength. Chu Yingzhao narrowed her eyes slightly, her fingertips subconsciously tapping the desk, waiting for the result.

Finally, when the wheel stopped, a golden light erupted suddenly, and the entire screen was dyed a dazzling golden yellow!

Gold card!

Chu Yingzhao was overjoyed, wishing she could pull the progress bar to skip this highly formal demonstration video:

A sandalwood book box gradually emerged in the light. Dark green bamboo patterns were carved upon it, the corners inlaid with warm jade, and the lock was engraved with an orchid pattern.

Its corresponding character was already obvious.

[Yalan Box]
[Contains "Treatise on National Policy." After gifting it to Qi Wangzhu, the limited mission "Ink Written in History" can be triggered.]

Unexpectedly, its description was extremely short, and after being confirmed by the Empress repeatedly, this golden legend had no favorability bonus.

Moreover, at the very bottom, there was a line of small text:

[*Note: Legendary quality prop, limited to being gifted to the corresponding male lead in person.]

...As expected of a gold card, such strict conditions for use.

But it was called "Treatise on National Policy."

Oh dear, then there was nothing to be done. What could the Empress do? She could only restrain the smile on her face as much as possible; she was completely doting on it now.

Moreover, after a little research, she discovered a new loophole: the note only said it could be gifted to Qi Wangzhu, but it didn't say that after Qi Wangzhu received it, she couldn't borrow it back to admire.

...The name of the limited mission also seemed to have a tendency in that direction?

While pondering these things, she sent someone to summon Qi Wangzhu.

The attendant responded immediately, but added cautiously: "Your Majesty, Qi Zhengheng, Zhang Yanli, and many officials from the Six Ministries are already waiting in the Imperial Study. I wonder when you will summon them?"

"Coming," Chu Yingzhao finally remembered that after court today, she had sent people to schedule a high-level meeting. Her gaze moved away from the only remaining draw, and she said, "Summon the maids; I need to change."

As a "non-chief" with strong self-management skills, she understood the principle of stopping while ahead after drawing a gold card.

Moreover, this meeting was very important.