Everyone looked towards the door. Seeing their expressions, Chen Xiao understood. He had them invited in and looked at the people kneeling before him, asking, "Are any of your relatives among them?"
The answer is obvious, because many people were already in tears, and those who did not see their loved ones could only lower their heads in sorrow.
The person who had just knelt down and begged for death wavered upon seeing his elderly parents. As he watched his parents, leaning on their canes, stagger towards him, he could no longer hold back and rushed over to hug them, his cries growing louder.
Besides these, there are also those who are determined to die. Even with the comfort of their loved ones, they remain unmoved. Having endured unimaginable torment, they are lifeless and unwilling to remain in this world.
Chen Xiao hesitated for a moment, but still told everyone about the prefect's situation, leaving it to them to decide how to punish him.
......
In the first year of the Jiajing reign, the Guangling kite-trading gang was wiped out, and nearly a hundred people were rescued. Thirty of them committed suicide and were buried in the western suburbs cemetery. Qi Yuan, a wealthy merchant from Guangling, was involved and was executed in the autumn. His estate was confiscated, but the others were not implicated. The Guangling prefect knew about the gang but did not report it. However, due to the pleas of the people, he was spared the death penalty and exiled to Yazhou.
......
The prefect was exiled to Yazhou, and his wife and children volunteered to go there, so the prefect's mansion was left empty, waiting for the new prefect to take office.
After resolving the matter in Guangling, Xu Qian led Yuan Yin and the others back to the capital early. Some unjustly impeached officials were still locked in the palace, their cries of distress filling the air. He had to go back and deal with them, otherwise impeachment memorials would fly to Guangling and slap Chen Xiao in the face.
Chen Xiao stayed in Guangling. She ordered people to bury those who committed suicide, and then provided relief to the remaining victims. In her spare time, she would also provide psychological counseling to the victims.
During this time, Xi Xi did not log on. Yin Yu Yao stayed silently by Chen Xiao's side. Her body was already 120 years old. Immortality was not a blessing for her, but a shackle. Her only wish now was the same as those who committed suicide: to end her own life.
Because Chen Xiao felt that the Guangling kite-flying operation had gone too smoothly—the leader had not been arrested, there was still no news about kite-flying operations in other places, and there was still an unresolved issue of a traitor within the court—and Xu Qian's previous sealing off of the palace had aroused much suspicion, Chen Xiao set off back to the capital after staying in Guangling for a week.
She, Yin Yuyao, and Qi Fengli rode in the same carriage in complete silence...
A 120-year-old deposed empress who had served two dynasties, a 24-year-old woman who was in love with her nominal son, and a 15-year-old emperor whose mind was full of kites, traitors, and sycophants—none of the three knew what to say.
Chen Xiao wanted to ask about Yin Yuyao and Chu Qiaoling, but with Qi Fengli present, she couldn't ask.
She wanted to ask about Qi Fengli and Qi Yanshang, but with Yin Yuyao present, she couldn't bring herself to ask.
I had no choice but to suppress my emotions and start talking to myself.
"This isn't just a world in a book, but a real world. No wonder I always felt those people were so real, and those events in the Night Dynasty felt so real..."
"I remember that the author of 'The Legend of the Night Dynasty' was also 's.' Is 's' Xi Xi? Yin Yuyao's situation before transmigrating was exactly the same as mine, but the difference is that only she read her book 'The Legend of the Glorious Dynasty.' If I remember correctly, how many people read 'The Legend of the Night Dynasty'? How many was it again...?"
"If that's the case, then anyone who has read S's books will be transported to this G1 interface. Someone else before me also transported to this interface—a member of the Night Dynasty. Who could it be...?"
Yin Yuyao and Qi Fengli looked at Chen Xiao's pensive expression and exchanged a glance. They both saw the same thought in each other's eyes: Being an emperor must be tiring!
......
An hour later, the group arrived in the capital.
Chen Xiao brought the two back to the palace and temporarily settled them in... Zhaoyang Palace?
Chief Eunuch Shen exclaimed in shock, "Your Majesty, could these two women be...!?"
Chen Xiao: ......
"Is it possible that those two palaces are crammed with officials, and I can't possibly place them there? Nor can I place them in the Qianqing Palace... Right now, the only empty places in the entire palace are my harem and the Cold Palace... Chief Eunuch Shen, what do you think?"
Then Chief Eunuch Shen remembered that the two palaces originally intended to house foreign officials were now filled with court officials of different genders. The emperor's palace was naturally not suitable for them. The only empty palaces were the various palaces in the harem and the Cold Palace. Arranging them in the harem would be the best option.
So he didn't try to persuade her any further.
Chen Xiao wanted to arrange for the two beauties to stay in his palace. Anyway, the bed was big enough, and sleeping with fragrant beauties would be so wonderful!
But it was just wishful thinking. As the chief eunuch left behind by Chu Yanxi, Chief Eunuch Shen had been strictly managing Chen Xiao's behavior, but he hadn't gone too far. He had only maintained basic rules. It must have been Chu Yanxi who gave the order, so Chen Xiao had never said anything about Shen Xi's occasional overstepping of boundaries.
At 1:00 PM, Chen Xiao sent someone to invite Princess Yuanyin to stay in the palace temporarily, then sent someone to the imperial mausoleum to invite Qi Ruyan to the palace, and finally sent someone to the Prime Minister's residence to invite Xu Qian to the palace to discuss important matters. This kept Ye Qi and the others very busy.
Chen Xiao himself went to Zhaoyang Palace, first to the East Hall to find Yin Yuyao and tell her his guess.
When Yin Yuyao heard Chen Xiao's guess, she also thought it made a lot of sense, and the two began to speculate on who the Night Dynasty's mission taker might be.
Just then, Xixi came online.
“I went to the Dimensional Realm, but I didn’t see the Main God. However, I checked all the mission records, and there was only one mission participant who failed to complete the mission, and that wasn’t you. The ‘S’ you mentioned is not me either. Although my code name was indeed ‘S’, that was two hundred years ago. You’ve been deceived. I will investigate this matter again and give you an explanation.”
Chen Xiao also explained to Yin Yuyao, "Although I've only known Xixi for a little over a month, it feels like we've known each other for ages. I can assure you, she's definitely not that kind of bad...system. Although she can be a bit annoying, a bit arrogant, a bit cocky, and a bit unprofessional at times..."
Xi Xi had initially felt her electronic heart beating, until she heard Chen Xiao's last words... "Very well, how could an electronic heart beat? It's all an illusion."
"And even if the tasker fails to complete the task, they won't be treated like this, right, Xixi?"
But when she heard her host defending her and explaining things for her, Xi Xi immediately perked up, and her voice was no longer as low as before.
"Of course! Our system's principle is: no matter the situation, the host comes first, and the task comes last! And even if you don't complete the task, you won't be eliminated. Like Chu... that task taker who didn't complete the task, he's perfectly fine..."
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