Chapter 84
The system was scared.
The data and code were jumbled around for a while, and after repeated checks, the system finally said, "I promise I was very careful every time I switched between private and group chat modes, and there was no crosstalk."
Chu Hua: [I'm not saying this because I suspect there's something wrong with your operation, but this matter can't be concealed for too long.]
System: [Why?]
Chu Hua: [You're a melon-eating system. Although there are many limitations, the main one is that there's not enough melon. You rarely waste it on things you already know about. But there are too many traces of them invading my life.]
If you were more curious, you could investigate who sent the assassins to kill me and why. Or if you saw someone in my family who was skilled in martial arts, you could investigate and discover the truth.
[As for the Ye family, Min family, and Ximen Jie incidents, they all broke out shortly after we started eating melons. One or two times could be a coincidence, but when it happens so often, I always don't suspect it and don't investigate. How can the old foxes not smell the signs of something amiss?]
The reason she was able to conceal it for so long was because her course schedule was too tight and she had little free time. She had to squeeze in time to watch the gossip and had no time to pay attention to anything else.
system:【! ! ! 】
Chu Hua comforted it: "Of course, this is just my guess, it may not be correct."
[Perhaps we've cooperated well, so they haven't suspected anything yet. After all, you can't detect their unspoken thoughts.]
Chu Huan and the system can control the input and output of intelligence through private and group chat modes. Others can also exploit system bugs. As long as they keep their thoughts to themselves and don't speak them out, the system won't be able to detect them.
The system was very annoyed: [If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have been so honest, and they wouldn't have known.]
However, the system rules say that one must be honest with the host. Since it is the first time for it to lead a host and has no experience, it naturally follows what the rules say.
Chu Huan disagreed: [Even if you don't tell them, they'll try to find out.]
[Faced with something beyond their understanding, they have the potential to explore all hidden things. How can they feel at ease if they don't thoroughly investigate?]
system:【……】
No wonder the system rules say that one must be honest with the host. With the hundreds of tricks in humans' minds, it really cannot do anything about it. If it really wants to deceive and conceal, it will also affect the cooperative relationship between the host and the system.
Those who work as civil officials really have dirty hearts!
Chu Hua's eyes were filled with deep emotion as she spoke: "Now both sides are walking on a tightrope. It all depends on which side accidentally reveals a flaw first, allowing the other side to seize the opportunity."
The system hurriedly said, "Don't worry, Sister Huan. I will be extremely careful and will never hold you back!"
Its host is going to be the second empress!
By then, it would be the first melon-eating system in history to assist a female emperor in ascending the throne, and it would definitely be passed down through the ages! It would be the most beautiful system in history!
Chu Huan had no idea what her little silly system was thinking. She had never said that she wanted to become the empress. It was just the system's wishful thinking.
[We share a common interest. I certainly believe that you will unconditionally favor me and help me.]
If the system had tear glands, it would be moved to tears by now.
The lack of tear glands does not prevent it from using data to simulate the appearance of the little dumpling crying. Even if the host cannot see it, it still has to make a show of it.
[Sister Huan, sob, sob...] The system was so moved that it started to cry. It also simulated the crying voice of a baby in a very human way, which made Chu Huan's heart soften.
Having been abused by Chu Qi and Chu Shu since she was a child, Chu Huan actually doesn't like children very much, but the system always follows her arrangements and helps her to bluff people.
In the past few months, because she was busy with classes and could not replenish her melon energy properly, the system could only go and practice questions and eat melons by itself, and had no complaints about this. Chu Huan had no choice but to soften her heart towards the system.
Chu Hua: [Okay, stop crying, eat some melon and cheer yourself up.]
[Okay.] As soon as it came to eating melons, the system became an expert, and the crying sound instantly disappeared. [Whose melon do you want to eat?]
Chu Huan just wanted the system to divert attention and didn't have any particular interest in being the melon-eater.
【Are you interested in someone? 】
System: [There are several more people on the list Nangong Ling gave me. Don’t you want to eat their melons? ]
Chu Hua: [We can eat their melons later. Our goal now is to make you happy, so of course we have to choose the melon that will make you happy.]
The system was deeply moved.
It has never heard of a host who cares so much about the system. It thinks: This is probably the pinnacle of life, right?
System: [I'm made up of code, I don't have any particular emotional bias. If I had to say I have a bias towards something, it would definitely be you, Sister Huan!]
Oh wow, the little idiot Tong can even say sweet words now.
Chu Huan felt that there must be a string of learning and human-like codes in the system, otherwise it would not be able to control the host so accurately.
Chu Hua: [That's fine. Eat whatever you want, or we can roll the dice and decide.]
The system's tone suddenly became excited: "I know dice! Humans love playing mahjong and comparing big and small. People with decision-making disorder like to roll the dice to make decisions!"
He had just said he had no particular emotional preference, but now he got excited when he heard about dice.
Chu Huan secretly shook her head, not knowing what was wrong with this little fool.
Chu Hua: [Then find a melon related to dice.]
System: [Received!]
[Huh? This dice-related melon is a bit big.]
Chu Hua: [How is it?]
System: [This matter involves the Western Rong, and King An is also involved.]
There were continuous wars between Dasheng and Xirong, countless bones were piled up, and the hatred was deep as the sea. Prince An was a member of the royal family and his identity was sensitive. If he was involved with Xirong, he would be charged with treason if he was not careful.
With King An's identity and status, he can almost walk around Dasheng with his own will. Why does he need to be involved with the Western Rong?
Could it be that Prince An really wants to rebel?
Chu Huan had a headache, but forget it, let those old foxes worry about it.
【Tong'er, I'll share it later. 】
Everyone discussed it together and slightly modified their previous remarks to make everything more natural, and then opened the sharing mode to share the big news in the group chat.
The system starts with a small story: [Dice are generally used in gambling. This story tells how the wealthy casino uses dice to cheat.]
As he spoke, he couldn't help but complain: "Nine out of ten people lose money when gambling. A gambling house is clearly a place where people lose everything, yet they actually named it "Wealthy Gambling House". It's really heartbreaking."
[Hiss—some people actually went there just for the name. Are these people crazy? Gambling is something that's hard to quit once you get hooked. Those with strong willpower are still a minority.]
Opening a gambling house is like opening a business. If everyone who enters can become rich, is the owner of the gambling house some kind of philanthropist who would give away all his wealth to make others rich? Just a little thought will tell you there must be something fishy going on. And yet, someone would actually step into it. How foolish!
After hearing the system scold so heartily, Chu Huan wanted to find a new job for the system: to be its mouthpiece.
Over the course of a year, this can save her a lot of money on tea and water.
Chu Hua: [As you said, gambling houses are for business. To maintain high profits, they will cheat to some extent.]
Didn't TV shows and movies often have that plot where the protagonist wins too much and is targeted by the gambling den's people. After they leave the gambling den, they hire a group of thugs to steal their winnings back?
Everyone: ???
TV series or movies? What is that?
System: [I previously thought it was something the screenwriter added to make the plot more compelling and watchable, with no historical basis. Who knew this wealthy gambling house actually did that?]
Winning a little money doesn't matter; they still have to rely on those who win to spread their reputation and attract more fat sheep to slaughter. This can be considered an initial investment.
If someone is skilled and wins a lot of money, the gambling den will try to lure them in, offering them a high salary if they can be used for their own purposes. However, if they refuse, they will be punished with severed limbs, their winnings taken back, or even their life.
This result was a little beyond Chu Huan's expectations.
Opening a gambling house should be for money. Robbery and hiring are both possible. Isn't serious injury and murder a bit too much?
He was so ruthless and didn't seem to have any scruples. Could it be that he had some powerful backer behind him?
Others thought so too.
The Chu family began to count the more arrogant and domineering families in the capital to see who was the most suspicious, while the Jinyiwei and the fifth prince began to suspect the first-rank officials and royal relatives.
It is not necessarily that they sent someone to do it, but given their identities and status, they might be the backers of the people behind the gambling house. Otherwise, how could they be so indifferent to human life?
Chu Hua: [Who owns the Fugui Casino?]
System: [On the surface, it's a man named Zhang Fugui, but in fact, the real person behind Fugui Casino is Prince An.]
The two words "King An" made everyone alert.
The last time they heard about Prince An was because of his extremely rampant behavior in his fiefdom Zhouzhou. He stopped taxes from being submitted to the national treasury, killed the Jinyiwei sent by the emperor, raped women, beat to death a scholar, and dismembered and suppressed him.
Half a year has passed, and there is no news about what the emperor did to Prince An. It is probably because of the will left by the previous emperor and the secret guards that it is difficult for the emperor to take action.
It was just that Prince An opened a gambling house in the capital and killed a few ordinary people, so they didn't have much hope.
The real princess who was replaced by the emperor was dismembered and suppressed by Prince An. The emperor did not do anything to Prince An. Can he still expect him to turn against him for the sake of a few ordinary people who were killed?
Chu Huan also felt that this wave of uncertainty was unpredictable, unless there were deeper secrets behind the gambling house, such as... Xirong.
System: [Zhang Fugui came to the capital over a decade ago and has been visiting various high-ranking officials, giving gifts and establishing connections. He's quite generous, and it's clear at a glance that he's wealthy and well-connected. Otherwise, how could he have mastered all the connections in the capital in such a short time?]
[No matter what business you run, there's always competition. Gambling houses are especially untouchable. Without connections and backing, they'd be flooded with cheats and forced to close down.]
Zhang Fugui appears to be an ordinary businessman, doing silk business in Jiangnan, which is why he has so much money and connections, but in fact he is a member of Prince An's staff.
The system had said this before, and everyone still remembered it.
Unexpectedly, the system suddenly made a sudden turn: [If you dig deeper, you will find that Zhang Fugui is actually from Xirong.]
Everyone shuddered, their heads felt like they had been hit by a stick, buzzing, and they couldn't hear clearly.
Prince An is the emperor's son and owns the richest fiefdom in Jiangnan. He is about to become the local emperor of Zhouzhou. What does he want?
What on earth was wrong with him that he had to have something to do with Xirong?
The Jinyiwei still held a glimmer of hope in their hearts. Xirong often sent spies to Dasheng. Perhaps Zhang Fugui was also a spy, and Prince An was kept in the dark.
Chu Huan already knew this in advance, and was silent for a long time, pretending to be shocked and speechless.
After a long while, she finally spoke with difficulty: [Continue.]
System: [Initially, Prince An sent Zhang Fugui to the capital because he wanted to plant a spy there to send any information he found back to Zhouzhou.]
[Over the years, the capital has repeatedly dispatched Jinyiwei to Zhouzhou. Zhang Fugui secretly sent messages, and with the help of highly skilled secret guards hidden in the dark, Prince An was able to intercept and kill the Jinyiwei in such a timely manner.]
Jinyiwei:!!!
It turns out that this is how their colleagues died over the years!
I thought that the secret guards left by the late emperor to Prince An had improved a trick, but I didn't expect that it was because Prince An had placed spies in the capital and grasped the movements of the Jinyiwei.
But the Jinyiwei always keep a low profile when carrying out their missions, so how did the other party find out?
Chu Hua was curious: [If the Jinyiwei wanted to infiltrate Zhouzhou, they would have to disguise themselves and keep their whereabouts secret. How come they were discovered by Zhang Fugui before they even left the capital?]
System: [Because there is a traitor.]
The Zhenfu Division was indeed the office of the Jinyiwei, but not all of them were Jinyiwei, so there were always tasks that needed to be done by others. The grooms and doormen might seem insignificant, but the grooms knew the movements of the horses, and that different feeds were needed for short and long journeys.
The concierge knew when the Jinyiwei went out and came back, how many people came and went, and who went out but never returned. By summarizing this information, he could roughly infer the purpose of those people.
Everyone suddenly realized that this was actually possible.
The Jinyiwei's faces turned dark. They never expected that their colleagues would die at the hands of the news spread by the groom and the doorman.
Chu Huan felt like she was watching a suspenseful crime drama: [It has that vibe of a crime drama.]
System: [Opening a gambling house allows you to find people addicted to gambling and use them for your own benefit. These people are willing to sell their wives and children for gambling, and will risk everything. You can also use the large sums of money collected from the gambling house to buy intelligence and gain people's support.]
There are many people watching around the Zhenfu Division, for example, the wonton stall that many Jinyiwei like to eat at. The stall owner's father owes a lot of money to the gambling house, and the old woman selling sesame cakes has a son who is a gambling addict.
[These people were not spies from the Western Rong, and they didn't even know what this information was used for, but they did betray the Jinyiwei and killed many of them.]
Behind every gambler there is a family member who suffers as a result. Because they are worried or unable to get rid of the pain, the family members pass the pain on to others, causing the death of innocent people and the pain of more families.
Chu Huan found it difficult to comment on these people's actions, and she was not in a position to deal with them, so she simply skipped the topic: [How did Prince An get involved with the Western Rong?]
System: [At first, Prince An didn't know Zhang Fugui was from the Western Rong. He simply accepted the silver and money sent from the capital. He didn't ask about the large amount of money because, in his eyes, gambling houses were very profitable.]
He didn't know that part of this money came from a gambling house run by Xirong, the same gambling house run by the Xirong spy whose property was confiscated last year. It was a bribe, I guess.
[Later, Zhang Fugui sent a message to Zhouzhou, and Prince An successfully intercepted and killed the Jinyiwei. After a few times, the Xirong people took the initiative to meet with Prince An for a detailed discussion.]
Chu Huan secretly took a breath: [Hiss—this method is quite insidious.]
The money was taken, the intelligence was seized, and the Jinyiwei were killed. The Xirong people must have kept all this evidence. Prince An couldn't explain himself even if he had ten mouths. He had no choice but to board this pirate ship.
System: Huh???
It was rare to see Chu Huan mispredict something, and the system chuckled: [Sister Huan, you really underestimated Prince An.]
He was indeed a bit over-pampered by the late emperor, but he was still quite clear-headed and knew that his current situation was due to him being the emperor's younger brother. But if he were to collude with the Western Rong...
To fit the context, the system deliberately switched to an agitated tone: [Isn't this just handing his head over to the Emperor? The Emperor is just trying to find an excuse to deal with him. If he gets involved in this, his life will be over immediately!]
Chu Huan: “…”
Everyone: “…”
It’s not that it’s hard to understand.
The harem during the previous emperor's time was not as stable as it is today. Even if Prince An was favored in his childhood, he must have encountered many things, both openly and secretly. He would not have been raised to be stupid like the second princess in her childhood.
System: [He's a clear-headed person, but he's also very greedy for pleasure. He takes all the money, beauties, and intelligence sent by Xirong, and when Xirong asks him to do something, he starts to act rotten.]
The Western Rong wanted to provoke a conflict between King An and the Emperor, forcing Dasheng to be preoccupied with internal strife and unable to focus on the border, allowing their troops stationed on the border to take advantage of the situation and invade. To this end, the Western Rong obtained evidence of King An's crimes and threatened him to rebel.
The staff were worried that Prince An had fallen into a trap and offered a lot of advice. Prince An, in turn, reassured them, "I live in Zhouzhou without having to do anything and enjoy life just like the emperor. Why would you bother to rebel? Am I stupid?"
Chu Huan: “…”
Everyone: “…”
This guy is really clear-headed.
They could almost imagine how devastated the Xirong spies would be after they had painstakingly planned for several years, sending money and people, and helping to collect and integrate intelligence, but were tricked by King An at the critical moment.
Chu Hua: [Then won't the Xirong people be angry?]
System: [Of course I'm angry! And wasn't the gambling den of the Xirong spies raided? The Xirong people suspect it was Prince An's doing.]
They sent people to King An to test him, but he knew nothing and, of course, denied it. The Western Rong had no evidence, and after several failed attempts to persuade King An to rebel, they concluded that their cooperation had failed and that this path had come to an end.
Later, they decided that since Prince An wouldn't move, they could get the Emperor to move. They prepared to send the evidence they had gathered to the capital. Everything was already on the way, but Prince An's staff noticed something was amiss, and the two sides were fighting.
Chu Huan:? !!
Everyone:? ! !
There is such a good thing?!
When the news reached the palace, the emperor and his ministers were shocked.
The Western Rong traveled thousands of miles at their own expense to deliver evidence, eliminating some of King An's forces along the way while weakening the Western Rong's spies.
With the evidence in hand, the emperor would have a reason to kill Prince An, take over everything from him, and use the evidence to settle accounts with the Western Rong and demand compensation.
This time, the imperial court won a huge victory!
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