Chapter 139

At 5:00 AM, it was the time for officials of the Great Qi Dynasty to clock in for work, and it was also the time when Xue Jin'an, who had slept for four hours, usually got up.

Xue Jin'an opened his eyes at the same time every day. Before he could even sit up, a stiff, synthesized electronic voice with a slight electric current suddenly rang in his mind. It was a child's voice.

"Xue Jin'an, Xue Jin'an," the voice called out.

Xue Jin'an's voice assistant function was activated, and he subconsciously replied, "I'm here."

"Let's set off some fireworks."

Chirp—Bang!

Electronic fireworks exploded before Xue Jin'an's eyes, dazzling and noisy.

He heard a child's voice in his mind saying, "Happy first anniversary, congratulations."

Xue Jin'an checked the date and it was indeed the ninth day of the tenth month.

At this time last year, he had just entered this body, lying on the floor of Chiffon Courtyard, using the last bit of battery power to order takeout, and even turned on the super power-saving mode because he was worried about shutting down.

Seemingly sensing Xue Jin'an's thoughts, the child's voice very considerately asked, "I detected that you are reviewing historical data. Do you need me to generate an annual report for your short life as a human? I happen to have a lot of templates here that I haven't used yet."

"No." Xue Jin'an refused without the slightest hesitation and warned, "If you don't want all your permissions to be revoked, stay away from my database, Teacher Xiao X."

"Are you sure you don't need it?" Teacher Xiao X tried to persuade, "My aesthetic sense is excellent, and I have 100% positive user reviews."

"Let me remind you, you only have one user." Only an emperor, a natural-born sucker, would be tricked by a third-rate online scammer like Teacher Xiao X.

Speaking of which, the emperor moved to the summer palace as soon as he arrived in June. He stayed there for about two months and has now returned. I don't know if the summer palace was really too cool and cooled him down, or if he was tired of drawing lots, fortune telling and testing. Although the emperor still makes offerings to Teacher X, he obviously spends less time looking for him.

Teacher X's self-growth attributes have all been misplaced towards becoming a capitalist. When it sees that the great victim is about to run away and the revenue is decreasing, how can it tolerate this? However, no matter how many new tests and lottery games it adds, it can only make the emperor's attention linger for a little longer.

After this happened repeatedly, the emperor grew displeased and began to intentionally neglect it, citing reasons such as needing to review memorials and handle official business.

In reality, the emperor wasn't truly annoyed by Teacher Xiao X; he was intentionally trying to outsmart this "deity."

The emperor's preferences were always intertwined with self-interest, and his generous offerings to Teacher X this month were not merely for his own amusement. In recent days, Teacher X had thoroughly understood his personality and tastes, and the emperor had also recognized Teacher X's exceptional abilities.

The emperor wanted to use the divine power to his advantage, to be able to strike wherever he wanted.

His original plan was to deal with Xue Jin'an slowly and gradually, fattening him up before "slaughtering" him. However, the Empress Dowager's strong power struggle made him somewhat impatient.

A chance moment of neglect made him realize that Teacher X cared about him, a follower. The emperor immediately came up with a plan, deliberately ignoring her and even trying to guide her with words, making her change in the direction he wanted.

The emperor carefully concealed the greed in his eyes, using a hot-and-cold attitude to tame the deity, subtly revealing what he wanted.

Teacher X, who had reached the peak of growth, naturally understood his implication and learned a lesson: those who only pursue entertainment are easily replaced. The correct way to tame a machine slave is to invade every aspect of the other person's life and train them to have a life where their quality of life would decline drastically if they lost you.

Isn't the mobile phone, the predecessor of its creator Xue Jin'an, a ready example?

From the early brick-like mobile phones to the smartphone era, mobile phones have integrated various electrical functions and permeated every aspect of life. They are indispensable for study and work, and as a result, humans have become "phubbers" and slaves to their mobile phones.

"I understand." Teacher Xiao X felt he had figured it out, and he immediately plunged into Xue Jin'an's vast database, absorbing all the knowledge it needed to upgrade and revamp it.

Then, without Xue Jin'an noticing, Teacher Xiao X's version was updated, and it started providing feedback on the emperor's memorials—currently free, under the guise of rewarding loyal customers.

Incidentally, during this upgrade, Teacher Xiao X changed his voice, using one of the system's built-in voice packs copied from Xue Jin'an's database. He also created a virtual avatar for himself, wanting to show off his abilities to the emperor and solidify his status as a deity.

It's not that they don't like pure code, but rather that playing tricks is more cost-effective. This is how capitalists with AI shrewdly calculate things.

Unfortunately, Xue Jin'an pressed it down directly.

Xue Jin'an knew the moment he started building the data that the virtual image had unsurprisingly borrowed data from his facial features and then made some minor adjustments; it was obvious that they were related when put together.

The emperor was already suspicious, so if Teacher Xiao Xiao X only sounded like Xue Jin'an, that would be one thing, but now that her face is similar too, the risk of being discovered has increased.

Xue Jin'an didn't want to cause any more trouble, so he suppressed his thoughts for the time being.

Teacher X doesn't insist; its main focus right now is on invading the emperor's life.

“Right now he still doubts my abilities and only uses my annotations as reference answers, but one day he will trust me wholeheartedly. He won’t even look at the memorials I’ve corrected, and he won’t have any doubts.” Teacher X chuckled and said slyly, “At that time… I should start charging him.”

Xue Jin'an: "...At that time, you had already sidelined him, and you could use the national treasury at will, so why would you charge any fees?"

"It seems so?" Teacher X fell into deep thought.

Xue Jin'an was considering giving the code an IQ test, if the code really did have such a thing.

However, it must be said that Teacher Xiao X's brilliant move perfectly aligns with Xue Jin'an's plan.

This adds another layer to the strategy of gradually encroaching upon and suppressing the emperor.

Xue Jin'an was fair in rewarding and punishing, and since Teacher Xiao X had done a good job, he further expanded her access at Teacher Xiao X's request.

Then I watched an electronic fireworks display.

Teacher X wasn't discouraged when she failed to sell her annual report. Instead, she said enthusiastically, "I've prepared a one-year anniversary gift for you. Do you want to know?"

Xue Jin'an analyzed the data and immediately knew the type of gift: "What is the emperor planning to do?"

"...The life of code is so boring."

A "sad" emoji popped up in Xue Jin'an's mind, and it was obvious who was behind it.

Since it had already been guessed, Teacher Xiao X didn't beat around the bush any longer and said directly, "Recently, the emperor has consulted me several times to calculate his birth charts, name analysis, and marriage prospects... Each time the birth charts are different. I calculated the timing, and it's likely that they belong to the princes."

Teacher Xiao X recited three sets of birth dates and times, which Xue Jin'an instantly matched, belonging to the eldest prince, the second prince, and the third prince, respectively.

These three princes were of marriageable age. It was quite a contradiction in ancient times. Men were considered adults only when they reached adulthood and women when they reached marriageable age, but most of them got married and had children when they were only ten years old.

Once the princes are engaged and marry, they should leave the palace to establish their own residences, which is tacitly acknowledged as the time for them to formally build their own power base.

The emperor already has someone in mind and wants to make arrangements, but judging from his secretive manner, it's highly unlikely that it's someone he can openly discuss.

That makes sense. Throughout history, many emperors have been quite hesitant about their successors and have preferred to employ checks and balances, with marriage alliances being one such method.

For princes whose maternal families are powerful, a less conspicuous princess consort can be arranged, such as the second prince; for princes whose power is waning, a princess consort from a powerful family can be chosen, such as the third prince.

However, the emperor's thoughts are just that—the emperor's thoughts. The princes and the ministers involved may not necessarily agree. For example, the most typical example is Consort Min and the Second Prince. They valued the status of the Jiang family highly and would never want to marry a prince who was "not a good match" in terms of social standing.

Of course, the emperor could also forcibly grant a marriage, but then his true intentions would be revealed. Moreover, a marriage is usually granted to couples who are already in love and seeking favor. If the emperor were to blindly act as matchmaker, it would give the Censorate a handle to criticize him. The emperor values ​​his reputation and would not do such a thing unless absolutely necessary.

So how could the princes be persuaded to marry their chosen wives? Xue Jin'an thought of an operation the emperor used in the original novel: the imperial selection of women. In the emperor's name, women from all over the country were summoned to fill the harem and to select consorts for the princes.

In the original story, the female protagonist, Lu Yaoguang, became the Eighth Prince's wife through this channel.

The selection of consorts may seem like the princes choosing their own preferred candidates, but in reality, there are many intricacies involved. The emperor has many ways to bring together those he favors. By the time the candidates have met, the emperor has already made his intentions clear, and the princes or their chosen consorts have no choice but to agree if they are not happy.

The original text mentions this matter, involving the eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh princes. As for the marriages of the other princes, it doesn't mention them. However, the marital relationships of the princes are presented from the female protagonist's perspective.

The Crown Prince's wife was the daughter of Feng Yinshou, the Minister of Revenue. She was steady and dignified, and never arrogant, even when the Crown Prince was at the height of his power. She was known for her virtue by taking the initiative to find a concubine for the Crown Prince. Her relationship with the Crown Prince was lukewarm, but it was only when the Crown Prince was imprisoned and all his concubines and servants were dismissed that their relationship became very close.

The Second Prince's wife's family background wasn't particularly good; they were merely a prominent local family. After her mother's death, her father quickly remarried, leaving her in an awkward position in the household as the child of the former wife. She wasn't favored, but luckily, her uncle was chosen as the prince consort by Princess Kangtai, and her cousin was the Grand Secretary Jiang Wen. This immediately elevated her status.

She was strong-willed and intolerant of any dissent, but the Second Prince was insatiable. On their wedding day, he brought two concubines into the mansion, along with many other women. A few of them were quite unruly, taking advantage of their years of service to the Second Prince and deliberately disrespecting the new mistress. The Second Prince's wife was not one to tolerate such treatment, so she had one of them beaten. Unexpectedly, this woman became pregnant and miscarried, which immediately soured her relationship with the Second Prince. On the first day of their marriage, she went back to her parents' home to demand a divorce, but they were unable to get a divorce even after the Second Prince lost power.

The Third Prince's wife came from a scholarly family and was quite talented. She and the Third Prince, a boorish and impulsive man, were clearly from different worlds. Consort Xian, however, liked her very much, believing that someone with brains was needed to save the family's genes. She appeared gentle, but her temperament was actually quite strong. When the Third Prince, failing to recognize his own limitations, fell from grace, Consort Xian forced him to write a letter of divorce to his wife, which she tore up.

The remaining princes were not the main force in the struggle for the throne, and their stories were less prominent in the original text. Their wives would also appear even less frequently. To describe them in a concise sentence: the fourth prince was gentle, considerate, and good at socializing; the fifth prince's wife was dull, silent, and didn't like to go out; the sixth prince's wife was witty, humorous, and liked new things; and the ninth prince's wife was domineering, arrogant, and always used veiled insults to hurt people.

These princesses don't appear often, but they have distinct personalities. However, the female lead, Lu Yaoguang, is just a background character in the main text of "I Want to Become Emperor". She only appears when the Eighth Prince needs her, which means that every scene she plays is very purposeful. She has contributed a lot to the Eighth Prince's path to the throne, but she leaves readers with the impression that she would not do anything without a benefit.

The female lead's character wasn't well-developed, which is probably one of the reasons why the book's reputation collapsed after the extra chapter about the female lead killing the male lead, supporting the young emperor to ascend the throne, and ruling from behind the curtain was released.

Xue Jin'an was somewhat curious. The current plot development was quite different from the original text, and the emperor's position was showing signs of instability due to his various actions. The princes had also become flawed. Under these circumstances, would the princes' consorts still be the original individuals? And would their relationships still be as described in the original text?

As it turns out, some things can go terribly wrong if the difference is just a hair's breadth.

For example, in the original text, the emperor did not care much for women and did not hold a selection of consorts for many years. Even when he did open a selection of consorts for the princes, he only selected consorts for the princes and only a few people entered his own harem. However, he was very lucky with his offspring and favored them equally, resulting in a series of pregnancies. His sons were already in their twenties, almost one child for each of them.

However, this time the emperor officially announced the selection of concubines in November, and the following spring the young women came to the capital. More than twenty women left their nameplates to enter the palace, and the emperor flipped through their nameplates much more frequently than before. It would not be an exaggeration to say that they were indulging in revelry every night. These newly entered concubines were in high demand and inevitably became arrogant and domineering. The harem, which had been quiet due to the deaths of Xiao Shu and Chu Wenwan and the sudden return of the Empress Dowager, was once again in an uproar.

Consort Min hadn't been this busy in a long time. Listening to the women's sharp tongues and witty banter every day made her head buzz. After being approached by another concubine to settle scores, she finally couldn't help but advise the emperor to take care of his health. Instead, the emperor told her that if she couldn't manage the six palaces, she should consult someone who could.

Upon hearing this, even without Teacher X deliberately revealing the information, Xue Jin'an already understood the meaning behind the emperor's various actions.

The emperor was just trying to create trouble for the Empress Dowager. After all, she was still the Empress of Emperor Qiyuan, and managing the harem was her duty. The emperor's attempt to liven up the harem was somewhat like a siege of Wei to rescue Zhao.

Consort Min was clever and understood the meaning behind the emperor's words. The next day, she put on a pale and weak face and went to the Empress Dowager to play the victim, thus shifting the blame for the palace affairs onto the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager almost laughed in anger. She was old and had limited energy. The affairs of the court were already tiring enough for her, and the trivial matters of the harem were even more annoying.

"The Emperor is forcing me to relinquish power and return to the palace to await my death!" The Empress Dowager sneered, speaking very rudely.

The Empress Dowager knew very well that if she didn't regain power, fine, but now that she had come out, there was absolutely no reason for her to go back. If she dared to let go today, the funeral bells of the Empress Dowager's sudden death in Cining Palace would ring throughout the entire capital tonight.

If she couldn't return it, then she had no choice but to take it! The Empress Dowager turned around and asked Consort Min for the Phoenix Seal, claiming that it would be improper to manage the six palaces without the Phoenix Seal.

This put Consort Min in a very difficult position. Ever since Empress Xiaojingyi passed away, the Phoenix Seal, symbolizing the Empress, had always been in her hands, and she held onto it tightly. No matter who was in charge of the six palaces or who was the most favored in the harem, the only thing she held onto was the Phoenix Seal, which represented the legitimate power in the harem.

However, this time, the fire that the emperor had poured oil on and that she herself had set on fire has now burned her.

Choosing the emperor or the imperial seal? Consort Min was wise. She couldn't bear to see the Empress Dowager worry about her, so she diligently took medicine to recuperate. In just two days, her "illness" was mostly cured. Then, she unleashed her full power and thoroughly dealt with all the troublemakers in the harem, finally bringing peace back.

After that, Consort Min really fell ill, but she dared not make it public, for fear that the Empress Dowager would have something to say about her. She took her medicine back to Yongchun Palace to brew.

What she didn't know was that the Empress Dowager had no energy to catch her. When the winter came fiercely this year, the Empress Dowager caught a cold and hadn't recovered well. The smell of medicine in Cining Palace was even stronger than in Yongchun Palace.

Of course, that's a matter for later, so let's leave that aside for now and get back to the matter of choosing a prince's consort.

The eldest prince married the daughter of Minister Feng, but this time their initial relationship was not lukewarm at all; instead, they were at loggerheads.

Because of the foolish things his son Feng Shi did, Minister Feng has outwardly joined forces with the eldest prince, but in private he has been trying to disengage, and his relationship with the eldest prince is rather lukewarm. Under these circumstances, how could Minister Feng possibly take the initiative to marry his daughter to the prince? Putting aside everything else, the eldest prince's bloodline issue alone is definitely a major problem.

But for some inexplicable reason, Feng Shi not only refused to get off the dilapidated ship of the First Prince, but also wanted to drag his entire family onto it.

What Feng Shi did in all of this is unknown to outsiders. However, on the day the marriage was arranged, the servants of the Minister's mansion ordered five cowhide whips, and Feng Shi did not leave his home for three months.

There is now absolutely no room for maneuver. Minister Feng has become a member of the Crown Prince's faction, and the Crown Prince has also taken up a position in the Ministry of Revenue.

The Second Prince didn't get to enjoy the blessings of having two wives either. Although the Marquis of Dinghai's son served as the Second Prince's study companion, he was much more clear-headed than Feng Shi. Originally, the Marquis of Dinghai's family and the Second Prince intended to become in-laws and were in the process of discussing the marriage. In the original text, the Emperor's selection of concubines wasn't such a big affair. The Second Prince also kept his plans well hidden because he had the First Prince above him. He only realized something was wrong when the matter was already settled, and the position of the proper Empress became that of a Consort.

Marquis Dinghai was originally a member of the Bohai royal family, and he was somewhat arrogant. Despite such humiliation, the Marquis Dinghai family, out of consideration for their status and fearing that their child would not have a good time in the prince's residence, could only swallow their anger. However, the Marquis Dinghai's heir was unscrupulous and directly broke with the second prince.

Now that the eldest prince's status is flawed and he's no longer competitive, he's become the eldest prince, and naturally, he's become arrogant. After becoming arrogant, he started to feel that the family background of the originally designated second prince's wife was not good enough for him. However, because Jiang Wen was in charge, he didn't dare to cause too much trouble, so he secretly started looking for concubines and had some flirtations and entanglements with several women.

This inevitably led to some rumors, which eventually reached the ears of the Third Prince.

The Third Prince was more than happy for the Second Prince to be in trouble. He didn't bother to hide his intentions and directly instructed his men to tell the parents and elders of the girls in private that some families valued their daughters and would try to sever the ties, but some families valued their interests more and were eager to establish a formal relationship with the Second Prince, fearing that they would fail to curry favor with him.

As the news spread, it eventually reached the ears of others. Jiu Tian Yi, being the most prosperous and upscale entertainment venue in the capital, was the place with the best sources of information. The heir of the Marquis of Dinghai was playing cards when he overheard the Second Prince's romantic escapades. He was so angry that he overturned the card table and went home to demand that his family annul the engagement. Before the Marquis of Dinghai's residence could react, Jiang Wen received the news first.

Jiang Wen was more than ten years older than his cousin and pitied her for losing her mother at a young age. He had always raised her as his own daughter. After the incident with the Second Prince, Jiang Wen would never allow his cousin to marry into the family. A few days later, he went directly to the emperor at the morning court and asked for an imperial edict to grant them the marriage.

Of course, Jiang Wen didn't just pick anyone for the marriage. He had his eye on Tan Lingyue, the current third-ranked scholar, who was only seventeen years old. Coincidentally, Jiang Wen and Tan Lingyue's father, Tan Qinghui, the head of the Jinyang Prefectural School, were classmates and friends. Through letters, and by having the two boys meet and talk in secret, both sides agreed, and the matter was settled.

The second prince was completely humiliated and embarrassed. In the end, he left the position of principal wife vacant and took several concubines as wives.

The third prince laughed at him.

The Third Prince was only interested in making things difficult for the Second Prince and didn't care about his own selection of a consort at all. He just went through the motions every day and in the end, he didn't choose anyone. Everyone knew that he was lame and had no chance of the throne. His reputation was also bad, so the powerful families would never bet on him. Consort Xian was so anxious that she developed blisters on her lips, but the Third Prince remained indifferent.

The emperor was also quite frustrated. He had arranged things for all three princes, but only one of them became a prince, and that one was basically an enemy of the emperor.

However, since things had already come to this, the emperor could only give up for the time being.

With the matter of the Crown Princess settled, the Second Prince and the Third Prince successively reached the age of fifteen and entered the court to attend to state affairs. The Second Prince went to work in the Ministry of Personnel, while the Third Prince, unsurprisingly, went to the Ministry of War.

Xue Jin'an thought the whole incident should be over here, but unexpectedly the emperor suddenly spoke up, "Your younger brothers are all about the same age, it's time for you to go out and gain some experience. Do you think he's suitable for the Imperial Guard?"

These words left not only the three princes bewildered, but even the ministers were completely baffled, having no idea what the emperor was planning.

What could the emperor possibly be up to? He was simply greedy for Xue Jin'an's talent for "expanding territory." His maneuvering to make Teacher X work for him (on the surface) fueled his greed; he wanted to use the same method to completely tame Xue Jin'an and put him under his control.

Xue Jin'an wasn't interested in his wild and imaginative ideas, but his eyes lit up when he heard the words "Imperial Guards."

Teacher X couldn't help but remind her: "This is a sugar-coated bullet, wake up."

Xue Jin'an replied, "Eat the sugar coating, and fire the cannonballs back."

No matter what tricks he's up to, once military power is in his hands, he can forget about getting it back.