Chapter 6: Returning to the base, I rediscovered the useful functions of the romance system...
The golden light disappeared, and the exhaustion from not being able to sleep until late at night made Ying Xi's body feel particularly heavy, causing her to sway a few times when she landed.
Ying Xi rubbed her eyes.
He looked up and saw the study: a sandalwood desk, five or six feet long and two feet wide, piled high with memorials year-round. A gauze lamp decorated with dragon patterns sat on the desk, but today, due to the unusual circumstances—he hadn't returned to the study—wasn't lit.
This is... Weiyang Palace, his office?
Overwhelmed by a strong sense of strangeness mixed with disbelief, Ying Xi took a deep breath.
He hadn't yet recovered from his trip to the pleasure house when Yingxi heard Yujing's voice through the large screen separating the inner and outer rooms of the study.
He observed secretly and listened carefully.
Yu Jing said, "Go outside and call Doctor Niu into the palace. Also, spread the word that His Majesty is unwell. When the ministers come looking for him tomorrow, they will all be refused entry."
"Yes, sir," the little eunuch under the jade mirror replied.
Yu Jing paced on the carpet, her footsteps light and indistinct, before asking, "Is the light on in the bedchamber?"
"Your Excellency, the light was on for a while, but according to the time His Majesty goes to sleep, it has already been turned off."
Yu Jing took a slight breath, then immediately perked up again: "Be careful, you absolutely cannot go out and say anything. If even a whisper of this leaks out, I'll skin you alive!"
The young eunuch answered tremblingly.
On the other side of the screen, Ying Xi chuckled. In just a few moments, Yu Jing finished arranging the trivial matters in the palace and ordered a few eunuchs below her: "Take my clothes, and secretly mobilize people! Mobilize our trusted confidants, and find clever and sensible ones to come into the city with me to search!"
It's likely that the eunuch's confidants were also eunuchs.
They're nothing more than palace maids and servants. Ying Xi pursed her lips.
Yu Jing analyzed that since he had just ascended the throne, he had few capable people in the court, and therefore dared not entrust his affairs to the court officials. This thought was quite subtle.
The young chief eunuch's voice trembled, even sounding like he was about to cry. Eunuchs' voices were naturally high-pitched and thin; when he cried, they sounded hoarse, startling Ying Xi.
"My Majesty, my living ancestor. You must be unharmed."
"Even if I were to shorten my own lifespan by a few years, I would be willing to do so in exchange for Your Majesty's return. Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."
Ying Xi was well aware that Yu Jing's anxiety stemmed from her fear of bearing the responsibility for losing the emperor.
However, the two sides had their own reasons for being separated, and after observing in secret for a while, Ying Xi was quite pleased that Yu Jing was consistent in word and deed and managed things well. He stepped out from behind the screen and coughed lightly.
"I have already returned to the palace, there is no need for me to go."
The whisk in Yu Jing's hand fell to the ground with a thud. She made a face that was neither quite laughing nor crying, appearing somewhat comical: "Your Majesty—"
Ying Xi nodded: "Mm."
He certainly couldn't wait for Yu Jing to ask curious questions and reveal the existence of the system.
Ying Xi casually covered it up: "I went to stroll around the lantern market, and then, seeing that it was getting late, I took another route and walked back to the palace. It's rare for me to go out, so I stayed outside a little longer. I'm sorry to have troubled you."
"You flatter me, Your Majesty! I dare not accept such praise!"
In fact, Ying Xi couldn't tell how much of what the other person said was true or false.
However, as a reward for Yu Jing's performance just now, Ying Xi took it as true for the time being. She reached out and gently helped Yu Jing up, saying in a low voice, "It's rare that Liu Huichun is on duty again tonight. You just said to have someone summon him to the palace. He is famous for his temper and medical skills. There's no need to see me. Just ask him how he can treat you until you are fully recovered."
Jade Mirror: "..."
A few days ago, after being reminded by the emperor, Yu Jing discovered that she suffered from paralysis. As a result, her opinion of the emperor changed, and she decided to become a close advisor to the emperor.
Now the emperor has even bestowed upon him the best imperial physician.
That means he could use the emperor's physicians, rare and precious medicines, and any other means to save his life, which could end at any moment.
Since her family fell into misfortune and she became a eunuch, Yu Jing has never been treated like a human being, nor has anyone ever cared about her.
However, the emperor valued this lowly life that had lost its roots.
For the first time, the Grand Eunuch of Weiyang Palace couldn't recall any fancy words. His sharp mind went blank for a moment, his eyes reddened, and tears rolled down his cheeks.
Fearing he might lose his composure before the emperor, Yu Jing went from bowing to prostrating himself on the ground, covering his head with the ornate sleeves of his official robes like an ostrich.
System notification: Charm value +500
"?" Ying Xi was puzzled.
***
Before going to sleep, Ying Xi summoned Tian Tong.
Sweet Tong is a highly human-like AI. When it was talking to Ying Xi in the middle of the night, it yawned deeply and said in a sticky voice, "Your Majesty."
Ying Xi was curious about the function to return to the base and asked about it directly.
Sweet Tong replied naturally, "Ah, isn't that how most dating games are?"
Suddenly realizing that the host she was bound to this time was a real ancient person, Tian Tong tried to explain in a way that Ying Xi could understand. She said that in the future, there would be a type of romance game that would typically have a main storyline and side storylines. The main storyline would connect the entire narrative, while the side storylines would branch out into various different gameplay styles.
"Whether it's the main user experience or a secondary user experience, there's always a switching process involved."
“This step might be called ‘Return to the Main City,’ ‘Home Panel,’ or ‘Go Home,’ but here it’s called ‘Return to the Outpost,’” Tian Tong said.
Yingxi fell into a brief silence.
Sweet Tong immediately assumed that this was due to the rapid advancement of technology over a thousand years, creating a generational gap in thinking between them and the ancients.
Tian Tong had been waiting, intending to continue explaining the science to Ying Xi.
However, it clearly underestimated the host's ability to accept things. Ying Xi summarized it as follows: "I can return to the study in Weiyang Palace at any time."
Sweet Tong stared blankly: "Yes."
Ying Xi continued, "If I encounter danger again, or if I am in a faraway place, I can return to Weiyang Palace and avoid many troubles."
For example, he escaped the brothel and Prince Yong in an instant today.
Sweetie: "Yes."
Although Ying Xi was lying down, her tired eyes brightened slightly as she rediscovered the useful functions of the romance system: "I understand."
There are always people who can make ordinary conversations sound like they're delivered by someone in a superior position.
Just like when Ying Xi opened his mouth, Tian Tong wanted to cling to his leg and shout "Your Majesty!"
It was clearly once a system that was a little smug and temperamental.
Sweet Tong obediently said, "Well then, Your Majesty, goodnight. I'll take my leave now."
Yingxi tried to adapt to its language habits and slowly imitated it: "Good night."
The clear, cold voice of ice and jade clashing was received by Tian Tong, whose voice trembled as she said, "Your Majesty, could you please say goodnight again?"
"No." Because we shouldn't do meaningless things.
Sweet Tong is sadly about to be taken offline.
Yingxi said, "But I will reward you for remaining here until the appointed time, and I will continue to cooperate in completing the tasks you have assigned."
For some reason, both of these beginner quests are quite difficult, as Sweetie knows.
But the host is so obedient and charming.
Sweetie excitedly: "Mwah!"
***
The next day.
The scene where Doctor Niu enters the palace late at night to treat the emperor shows how, even though Ying Xi has already returned to the palace, the rumors of the emperor's poor health still spread.
So Ying Xi took a short sick leave without much burden and did something he hadn't dared to do in his previous life.
The emperor's sick leave, of course, did not require approval from anyone.
Even when the emperor is on leave, he must report to the emperor on important matters of state, while minor matters are handled by the Secretariat.
Only when you take a real vacation do you realize that even in a great country like ours, there can't be major events every day.
Ying Xi lay in her palace until 9 AM without being disturbed. When she could no longer lie there, she got up to wash and eat.
He idly whiled away the time until noon, feeling as if the years were endless. After the suppression of the Green Ox Army rebellion, the most powerful bandit force in the north, which claimed to be a righteous army, had been wiped out, and the rest were insignificant. In his previous life, the situation was also relatively peaceful during this period.
Ying Xi took a moment to think about Prince Yong.
Logically, he should now give Ying Dang a whole package of torture, enough to leave Ying Dang completely bewildered.
However, Ying Xi didn't want to argue with Prince Yong, or rather, she was too lazy to argue with him anymore.
In my past life, I was mentally and physically exhausted, and actively attracted a lot of karma.
His tireless efforts yielded no positive results; even his younger brother betrayed him.
If he were to continue earnestly advising Prince Yong in this life, only to be met with Prince Yong's defection to the enemy on the battlefield—he felt it was pointless.
The idea of punishing and educating Prince Yong only briefly crossed Ying Xi's mind.
After that, Ying Xi put aside the matter of Prince Yong, deliberately not bringing any ceremonial guards or having Yu Jing accompany him. He said he wanted to take a walk by himself and came to the most secluded viewing pavilion in Weiyang Palace.
He didn't come here specifically to enjoy the scenery.
As he stood in the middle of the pavilion, he summoned the system and selected "Return to base".
With the same golden light enveloping her and her body suddenly feeling light, a moment later, Ying Xi found herself standing again in the study of Weiyang Palace, in front of the sandalwood table where she worked.
Ying Xi slowly curled the corners of her lips into a smile.
He tried to go a little further.
It took some effort to reach Shanglin Garden, where the plum blossoms were in full bloom.
Red plum blossoms, like snow, fell in the wind in a colorful flurry. Ying Xi bent down and hid himself in the plum grove where he was almost invisible from a distance. A branch of winter plum was lying in front of him. He broke off the branch and tried to return to the stronghold again.
Sure enough, they returned to the study in Weiyang Palace.
"..."
The wonders of creation are truly wondrous. Ying Xi sighed inwardly.
As his thoughts wandered, Ying Xi lowered his eyes and saw a sprig of winter plum blossom. The sprig lay obediently in his palm, having been moved directly from Shanglin Garden back to the base.
Yingxi stared at the flower branch in a daze.
After a while, a smile appeared on his lips, as if he had seen the big picture from the small details and thought of more interesting things.
He tested the return-to-base function for the third time, and went to the royal palace's secret treasury.
The Secret Archives was an important place for storing archives from Chang'an and other places. It contained not only information on local population and topography, but also records of local customs, famous families, and more. It is said that many secrets of the imperial palace were also kept here.
To ensure a spacious location for storing various documents of the imperial court, the secret storage area was chosen to be located in the most remote part of the palace.
What's even more special is that the hidden place is surrounded by a bridge on one side and water on three sides.
This design ensures that access to the secret storage area is only possible via this suspension bridge, maximizing the protection of the confidentiality of the archives.
Now that the confidential files are being reviewed at the end of the month, Ying Xi is just in time to check them out. She wants to verify whether it is possible to return to the base while in an isolated island environment.
He trusts hands-on experience more than the product descriptions provided by the app.
Even though he had just spent half a day in Shanglin Garden and was already exhausted, Ying Xi was even more tired when he set off for the secret place, since his health was not very good to begin with.
But curiosity still prevailed.
In the chilly early spring, Ying Xi, her forehead covered in fine beads of sweat, finally arrived at the outer island of the secret hideout after much trouble, facing the suspension bridge.
He was so exhausted that he could barely maintain his elegant demeanor.
Ying Xi looked around and saw that the search and investigation work on the island had not yet begun.
Several groups of scribes dressed in standard blue robes, each carrying a thick stack of books, filed into the main gate of the secret storage room in orderly fashion.
Unable to contain her excitement, Ying Xi dragged her heavy legs into the secret chamber to verify her guess.
However, at that moment a sharp, piercing ringing sound came from my mind!
alarm--
Ying Xi frowned.
Sweet System urgently reminded: "Abnormal status detected in the host account. Some services have been disabled. Please adjust accordingly."
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