CHAPTER 402: CHAPTER 397: IMPERIAL CONCUBINE

As time passed day by day, courtiers and the common people grew ever more admiring of Ye Qiu, and under her leadership, Dachen Country became increasingly powerful. She adopted a child from under her elder brother and sister-in-law and raised him in the Imperial Palace, educating him as if he were the Crown Prince, and no one raised any objections.

At this time, Mr. Zhang had retired and returned to his hometown. Looking at the contented farmers with joy on their faces, Mr. Zhang was filled with myriad emotions. He had once questioned himself whether it was right to support a woman ascending to the throne. Now it seemed, none compared to her. Perhaps after a thousand years, this group of courtiers who supported the Empress would still be remembered in the history books!

Everything in Dachen Country was developing in a positive direction, and its territory had expanded to the largest in history. It was an era heralded as the zenith of Dachen. The title of Empress spread to every corner of the world, her Merit Points widely celebrated.

At this moment, however, the atmosphere inside a part of the Cold Palace in Dachen Imperial Palace was extremely tense. Qiao Qingyue looked coldly at the foul-smelling man with a sense of revulsion, no matter how he howled, she did not move an inch.

"Qiao Qingyue, really the Emperor, you dare to treat me this way? Hurry and help me wash up, go get me something to eat." Ji Fei lay on the bed, weakly wailing, his tone still as imperious as always, only the object of his commands had become the woman he once loved.

Qiao Qingyue looked at him with disgust—because of his own doing that he had ended up like this. If he hadn’t been so useless, why would she have been trapped here every day? If he couldn’t fulfill the promises he made at the start, why did he bother to tempt her? Had he not sought her out, who wouldn’t have been honored to marry the granddaughter of an elder from the Qiao Family?

"Do you still think you’re the Emperor?" Qiao Qingyue mocked him, "You want me to serve you? Don’t even look at what you are worth!" She had endured for so many months, but she finally could not bear it anymore. Why should she serve him?

"I am the Emperor, how dare you disobey my orders?" Perhaps it was an aftereffect of the medicine given by Ye Qiu, but Ji Fei’s mind was sometimes clear and sometimes confused.

"Emperor? Daxin is no more; now it’s called Dachen. The new Emperor is sitting in the Jinluan Palace right now." Qiao Qingyue’s eyes were somber. They were both women, so why had Ye Qiu managed to come this far? Why had she initially only thought of becoming the Empress? But now, everything was too late. Was she supposed to spend the rest of her life in this desolate Cold Palace?

No, she could not let her life simply pass by like this. At this moment, Qiao Qingyue thought again of Ye Qiu’s last words to them, saying that arguing no more than three times was already impossible. So let Ji Fei die—then she could leave.

"Emperor, this is the last time I will call you this," Qiao Qingyue slowly approached the bed, her voice ethereal, "Since you bothered me in the past and couldn’t fulfil your promises to me, then pay with your life. You loved me so much before, you must wish for me to live happily, right?"

"What do you want to do?" Seeing Qiao Qingyue walking closer, Ji Fei suddenly became lucid again, struggling to retreat while continuously provoking her, "I tempted you? Yes, I was the one who took notice of you first. But if your Qiao Family didn’t have that intention, how could I have noticed you? Qiao Qingyue, don’t pretend to be so noble, you’re just a filthy whore."

As Ji Fei spoke, Qiao Qingyue’s expression grew uglier. Perhaps she had felt some guilt before, but now it was overwhelmed by hate.

"Since you, the Emperor, say I’m manipulative, then I won’t be polite with you, go to hell." Qiao Qingyue snarled as she lunged forward, her hands clasping Ji Fei’s neck.

Summoning all her strength, Ji Fei’s face instantly turned beet red. He was already weak, but now he suddenly found the strength to grab Qiao Qingyue’s neck in return, both gasping for air, neither willing to let go.

The next day, the bodies of the two were discovered by a Palace Attendant who had come to deliver food. Both were stiff, each still clutching the other’s neck, eyes wide open.

"Lady, the two people in the Cold Palace are dead. It’s said they strangled each other, and the attendants can’t even separate the two bodies."

Upon hearing this, Ye Qiu didn’t even pause in writing: "Since that’s the case, bury them together. Seal that Cold Palace as well."

"Chirp!"

Ye Qiu left this world at the age of fifty, by then Dachen had reached the pinnacle of its national power, all internal and external troubles virtually resolved by her. The Crown Prince was well-educated, and she could leave with peace of mind.

"Congratulations Host, for completing the task. Current skills include Skin like Jello, Charming Eyes, Aroma, Voice Like a Pearl. Unlock the next skill selection: Waist like a thin snake, slender legs, slender hands, Swan-like neck, beautiful hair, graceful jade feet..."

"Stop." Ye Qiu silently looked at the interface in front of her, never expecting that this would be the first to greet her after completing the task.

She also remembered the ’Emperor System’ quirk; seemed like every time she conquered an Emperor or played out a country, it was considered task completion?

It seems that Daxin did indeed become her Dachen—was this an accidental surprise stumbled upon by mistake?

God damn it, what a nasty surprise. She didn’t want any of these mixed-up skills.

"System countdown, if the host does not choose, a skill will be randomly assigned."

It’s even mandatory, Ye Qiu fell silent.

Countdown three, two, one, choosing randomly...

And then Ye Qiu saw "slender legs" pop up on the panel.

"001," Ye Qiu called out to her own system, and just when she was about to burst with anger, she returned to 001’s space.

Name: Ye Qiu

Merit Points: 85000

Skills Redeemed: Hacker God

Light of the God of Cooking Level 7

Level 8 Body Forging Technique

Ten Times of Luck Bonus (six remaining)

Emperor System (Achievements obtained: Skin like Jello, Charming Eyes, Aroma, Voice Like a Pearl, Slender Legs)

Poison Scripture, Medicine Manual

"Mission accomplished, would you like to enter the next world?"

Great, even the panel here in 001 has changed, why can a system upgrade skills inside another system?

"What’s the matter with this?" Ye Qiu asked the 001 system somewhat impatiently.

Perhaps because Ye Qiu’s question this time did not involve any secrets, it didn’t pretend to be dumb or stunned, giving an explanation straightforwardly: "As one of the skills, the Emperor System can be upgraded just like the others."

After explaining, it continued to prompt with the same line: "Mission accomplished, would you like to enter the next world?"

"Little Golden Crow, do you want to go?"

"Yes." Little Golden Crow said cheerfully.

"Enter the next world."

"Mr. Ye, that Liu Tong from your class skipped classes again. Tsk, tsk, not to say I have any prejudice as a teacher, but look at him, his family backgrounds can’t compare with others to begin with, and he still doesn’t try his best. At first, I thought he was different from the others, but just a few months have passed, and his grades are getting worse. No wonder the other students disagree with him getting the scholarship. You really need to take this seriously."