Chapter 288 The Diligent Emperor Used as Cannon Fodder (Thirteen) Murong Yu...
Murong Yu hesitated for a while, but finally listened to Lin You's advice and curled up in bed that night to read a horror novel.
After all, there are two of these evil entities. Who knows what tricks the other one might have? It's better to remind yourself more often.
These novels were all selected by Lin You from bookstores in the capital. She even specially commissioned a batch from a writer of vernacular stories to ensure that Murong Yu could read something fresh every day.
Because the text inside was designed as a smokescreen, from the perspective of the two subsystems that were constantly monitoring the mission objective, the emperor simply read two pages of the travelogue before going to sleep, and there was nothing unusual about it.
Those who are good at being emperors tend to have strong stress resistance. Although he was indeed frightened by the content described in the book, Murong Yu did not show any inappropriate expression, nor did he suffer from insomnia or nightmares. He also got up on time to go to work the next day.
Lin You had tried to find this subsystem in the palace, which was now Subsystem Two, but she could only detect its existence through a signal capture device.
In other words, she can only perceive things within a certain range when the system is communicating with the host or issuing tasks.
The palace can detect the approximate location of Subsystem 2, confirming it's within the capital city area, but it can't detect any more detailed locations.
Lin You didn't expect him to be of any help. She had wandered around the capital many times during this period but hadn't caught a single signal. She didn't know if it was just bad luck or if Subsystem Number Two really didn't like to talk.
The subsystems all have detection capabilities for the mission objectives. Now, the only option is to take Murong Yu out of the palace and see if we can lure System Number Two out.
Knowing that the evil entity was monitoring him, Murong Yu would not show any abnormality even when he was alone, and he would not show his emotions. This was not a difficult thing for an emperor.
Murong Yu calmly finished the court session. The matter of the previous land reclamation had been discussed and a result had been reached. Yesterday, he also specially asked the ministers who had been busy for so long to go back and rest. Today was a rare moment of free time.
He looked at the goose fat roll in his hand and pretended to be interested, asking the servant who was attending him, "I remember there is a famous old-established pastry shop outside the palace. It tastes best when it's fresh out of the oven."
The head eunuch who served His Majesty immediately understood: "But the Su Ji Dim Sum Shop that His Majesty used to frequent is still doing very well. I heard the other day that they made quite a few new dim sum items. Since you happen to have some free time today, you should go out for a walk. You've been so busy these past few days, so take a break."
Seeing Murong Yu nod, he quickly instructed the guards, arranged a carriage for the trip, and even thoughtfully prepared casual clothes for His Majesty to wear during his incognito visit.
Once Subsystem Number One realized this, it encouraged Nangong Rou to pretend to bump into the Emperor and leave the palace together, so that they could have more private contact and interaction and have a chance to develop feelings for each other.
Unfortunately, after Nangong Rou deliberately dawdled while finishing her makeup, Murong Yu had already left.
"You can't blame me for this. It's your fault for being so out of touch. You didn't even give us advance notice of something this important."
What girl doesn't wear makeup on a date? It's a shame I finally got my makeup done, but all I do is rush me and nag; I can't get anything done right.
While Nangong Rou said it was a pity, her hands didn't stop moving at all. She quickly packed up the cosmetics she had just used, and also packed a box of freshly made snacks.
The subsystem hesitated for a long time before finally accepting the accusation with no choice, watching helplessly as Nangong Rou took the pastries that were originally made for the emperor to the empress's palace.
She retorted confidently, "You said the Emperor was free today, so I spent half the morning making these snacks. He's out of the palace and we don't know when he'll be back. Do you expect me to wait for him to come back and eat stale snacks?"
Because Nangong Rou had always been quite proactive in completing tasks, the subsystem didn't want to dwell on it. In the end, after Nangong Rou promised that she would definitely complete the task proactively next time she had the chance, the matter was considered closed.
After all, they were in the palace, and especially after Nangong Rou became familiar with the Empress, the Emperor could see them almost every day, so this opportunity wouldn't make a difference.
But for Subsystem 2, which is outside the palace, this is an unprecedented opportunity.
It's been several months since I transmigrated here, and I haven't even seen my mission target yet. Subsystem 2 is so anxious that it's scratching its head in frustration. Unfortunately, its host is a Buddhist and homebody who doesn't care about fame or fortune, so it's also very desperate.
[Ding! A timed mission has been issued. In half an hour, go to Su's Pastry Shop on East Street and buy three limited-edition pastries. Mission completion rewards you with a crisis warning from Pei Chengzhi. Failure has no penalty.]
Li Tianle originally didn't want to pay attention to the system, but this time the task reward seemed different. It was no longer those messy beauty and skin care products, but a message.
Of your students, he seems to be the quietest, but he is actually the most attentive. He treats you, his teacher, like a father. Are you willing to let him be ruined, or even lose his life?
Although he knew that most of what the system said was exaggerated, Li Tianle couldn't just sit idly by, even if it was just an ordinary victim.
No wonder this guy kept chattering away when he was reading at the Hanlin Academy. Later, when he took on a part-time teaching job, it shut up on its own and never disrupted any of Li Tianle's classes.
Li Tianle originally thought that the system was too scared to cause trouble because of his scolding, but it turned out that it was to deepen his connection with this world.
As long as he gets to know people, his carefree state of mind will begin to crack. The more people he gets to know, the deeper his feelings will become. Once he has something to care about, Li Tianle will no longer be able to stand idly by.
Knowing it was a trap, Li Tianle still stepped into it. He really couldn't stand by and watch Pei Chengzhi, whom he had been teaching for several months and who had always been well-behaved and sensible, stand by and do nothing.
"I accepted the mission, and I have no problem buying snacks, but I can't be the one to pay for it too. Is there no financial compensation for doing a mission?"
"I've heard of the pastries at that shop you mentioned. A small bag costs half a tael of silver. I just bought a house; where am I going to get the money to buy all the pastries?"
This was Li Tianle's first mission after arriving in this world, and Subsystem 2 provided excellent service, giving him ten taels of silver directly.
With a heavy ingot of silver in his hand, Li Tianle put down the book he was reading while slacking off at work and walked outside.
The system-assigned task time coincided with the government office's lunch break, so there was no need to ask for leave.
Su Ji Dim Sum Shop wasn't far from Hanlin Academy, so Li Tianle didn't bother looking for transportation and just strode over there.
It was Lin You's suggestion to leave the palace at this time. After all, someone who could easily get close to the Emperor and hadn't shown up for so long was most likely a minister. It would be easier to go out during the lunch break and after get off work, making it easier to lure them out.
When Li Tianle arrived at Su Ji, nothing unusual had happened. He looked around the shop and quickly ordered three types of pastries with the least leftover stock.
"These three are obviously our best-selling snacks, so they must taste the best. Wrap up the rest for me."
Li Tianle placed ten taels of silver on the counter, and the shop assistant quickly began packing it up.
A packet of pastries costing half a tael of silver would naturally not be packaged as casually as a ten-coin packet sold on the street.
The packaging is an exquisite wooden box, divided into six small compartments, each with oil paper cut into various elegant patterns at the bottom.
With Li Tianle's consent, the three kinds of pastries were arranged in a box with two pieces of each kind, and after being covered, they were wrapped in silk cloth to form a beautiful shape.
Putting aside the taste of the pastries, just looking at the packaging tells you that they're not cheap.
Exquisite packaging naturally takes longer. Subsystem 2 thought Li Tianle would ask people to speed things up and finish the task sooner, but to everyone's surprise, he just watched the staff pack slowly without urging them to hurry up.
Li Tianle naturally knew that the system had sent him here not simply to buy snacks, but to trigger something related to the mission.
It has been feigning impotence and rage for so long, and now that it has finally revealed its trump card, it must be no ordinary mission, but one that will trigger some key events.
This task seems simple, but there are two key points. One is that it requires a limited quantity of pastries. In order to ensure the taste of the pastries, the shop can only make so many each day. Once they are sold out, you can only wait for the next day.
One option is to pack all three types of pastries without specifying which type. This could mean someone comes and buys all the pastries, and that this person is connected to the system's purpose and won't come often.
If that's the case, even if I leave quickly with some snacks for the sake of the mission, I might still not be able to avoid these troubles, and we might even have a deeper connection.
If it's just about buying the pastries from him, that's fine, but these are things that people eat. If he manages to get them and some important person gets sick from eating them, then he'll be in big trouble.
Seeing the waiter pack six boxes of the three kinds of pastries, Li Tianle pointed to the other pastries and said, "It looks a bit small. Bring me a little of each of the other pastries as well. It will cost ten taels of silver in total. Just make sure they are the kind that you make fresh every day. Pack them carefully for me."
Despite giving these instructions, Li Tianle didn't take any of the packaged pastries. Instead, he sat far away, leisurely drinking tea brought by another waiter and eating other pastries offered as samples to customers, clearly showing no hurry.
A business worth ten taels of silver is considered a big deal even in a snack shop in the capital. The tea and snacks served were delicious, and Li Tianle was happy to have a good time there.
This isn't the kind of modern pastry with all sorts of technology and elaborate processes. The food is guaranteed to be all-natural and handmade. Especially since it's a time-honored brand that supplies important people, the hygiene standards are absolutely guaranteed.
After all, in modern times, if a hygiene problem is found, the worst that can happen is a fine and closure of the store, but here, it could mean losing your head.
To the system's surprise, Li Tianle, who had always been passive and uncooperative with the task, didn't even think about exploiting the bug this time, and even clicked his tongue twice in regret.
Li Tianle paid no attention to its sarcastic manner and continued to mock it:
"I've paid, and the shop's snacks have been packed up. The task should be complete by now, right? Even the task notification is delayed. If all else fails, go update your software or at least install a patch."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
