Chen Yu slept in the system space for some time.
When he woke up, his eyes were clear again, he immediately absorbed the rewards from the last mission and transferred to the next task world.
The first thing he noticed was a sharp pain in his lower abdomen as if a knife was carving out his bowels, followed by a bitter taste in his mouth. Chen Yu disliked any discomfort, he would never suffer pointlessly. So, without even checking the plot, he used the system to change his physique into one that could block out pain, then slowly sat up and glanced around.
The room he was in was decorated luxuriously in shades of red and gold, with embroidered silk coverings everywhere and an ornately carved canopy bed. Along with the rich robes scattered on the floor, it appeared that this was an ancient world.
His musing was interrupted by the inquiry of the two servants outside, who had been alerted by the rustling from his movements. That bitter flavor still lingered, so Chen Yu waved them away to get some tea then settled down to read about this mission.
This was a curious world. Everything was very similar to the usual traditional settings, except that both men and women could have children. However, among the common people, some bias remained against men who gave birth, so most boys would take an infertility medicine as soon as they reached puberty. Still, because the number of women wasn't overwhelming, many noble families without daughters would raise a spare son to be married out for political purposes.
The original owner of this body was such a case.
Zhang Hua grew up in a famous general's household, but his frame wasn't strong enough to train and fight like the other men in the family. Once the elders realized that he couldn't bring glory to Zhang Jia on the battlefield, he was directed to study the four arts and improve his looks in order to better his chances in the bedroom. Although Zhang Hua wasn't extraordinarily talented, luckily, he became increasingly beautiful as he grew, so much so that it wasn't out of the realm of possibility to connect with the royal family.
And indeed, Zhang Jia's efforts were successful, yesterday he had been brought into the imperial palace as Consort Jing.
Lu Guanting had ascended the throne as Emperor Taihe just three years ago, but he had already stabilized this country's position as the most dominant nation on the continent. He was famously admired for his fairness and intelligence.
The sole concern the court officials had was that the noble monarch only had one prince by the dead empress. But since the imperial harem was nearly filled and the emperor favored each of his concubines equally in turn, they couldn't bring up the matter without seeming to imply that the dragon body was not virile enough.
Chen Yu sneered.
From the soreness in Zhang Hua's hips, it was true that the good emperor had performed his duty vigorously, but the medicine that Consort Jing had been fed afterwards was precisely the drug to permanently prevent pregnancies. He could almost guarantee that there wasn't a fertile body left in the harem.
There was no way this could take place without the emperor's approval, so it appeared that Lu Guanting didn't want more children.
Was it that Lu Guanting couldn't let go of his love for the former empress, making him go to such lengths to protect their son's position as crown prince? Chen Yu narrowed his eyes, snorting silently. How likely was it that a man who could so absolutely consolidate his control would wholeheartedly love anything above power?
Well, whatever Emperor Taihe's motive was, Chen Yu didn't regret that he couldn't give birth, the thought of having to bear the pain of labor was horrifying. Of course, that didn't mean he would let what Lu Guanting had done to Zhang Hua go.
It was a pity, from the original owner's memories, Lu Guanting was quite attractive and skilled. Although he lacked Feng Kuo's sexy charm, he exuded a kind of masculine strength and power that could've met Chen Yu's standards.
However, skimming further along the information about this world, he decided that what Lu Guanting had done in the plot alone would have precluded him from earning Chen Yu's goodwill.
This story wasn't very original, it basically followed palace maid Yuan Niu's rise to being the empress.
A key step in her progression was the incident in which she traced a complex series of clues to discover that Consort Jing was responsible for poisoning the crown prince. This actually wasn't a scheme by the female lead, Zhang Hua really did try to kill the boy. Furthermore, he'd planned very well. If Yuan Niu didn't have the protagonist halo, he wouldn't have been caught.
But the plot armor was invincible, and once Emperor Taihe found that Consort Jing was beyond a doubt the culprit, he had Zhang Hua tortured in rather creative ways for months. When the original owner died at last, his mutilated corpse was hung outside the palace walls as a warning. Additionally, Zhang Jia's military power was entirely taken away, and the family was banished to stay outside the capital city, crushing any hope of recovery.
On the other hand, Yuan Niu, who'd revealed the truth as well as her brilliance, was directly made into a concubine and continued to rise, ultimately becoming the noblest woman in the land. While she never had her own children, she raised the twelve-year-old crown prince, who'd miraculously survived Zhang Hua's attack, as if he'd been born from her belly, gaining widespread praise for her virtue. Even after Emperor Taihe passed away, she held power as the empress dowager for many years.
Reclining against the chaise lounge, Chen Yu sipped the tea that the maids had brought over and curled his lips. He was somewhat pleased, the body's owner was not bad. It'd been a while since he was assigned the role of a clever villain instead of a blameless cannon fodder.
Perhaps other people would have felt guilty about hurting a child, but Chen Yu had no automatic affection for little humans. After all, anyone who stepped into the palace became pawns for everyone else. He only felt it was a pity that Zhang Hua had lost merely due to a protagonist's advantage.
What intrigued Chen Yu was why the original owner had acted against the prince despite the fact that he couldn't possibly have been pregnant himself. Zhang Hua wasn't an irrational character who would behave self-destructively. But that would probably clear itself up later.
Having grasped the story, Chen Yu called for water to bathe. Time to see what he looked like.
The reflection in the bronze mirror showed a hazy image of a delicate, pale body, but it was too blurry to get an accurate sense. Thus, when the ripples settled down, Chen Yu studied his reflection closely in the bathwater.
From the first glance, Zhang Hua was a beauty that could hook the hearts of men and women alike. His sleek hair reached down to his waist, adding a feminine touch, and the pitch-black peach blossom eyes were framed with long eyelashes that drooped downwards, giving off an impression of lazy seduction. Combined with the small plump lips that pouted naturally, Chen Yu concluded that this body was truly worthy of being titled a consort right away.
Satisfied, Chen Yu then smoothly washed off all traces of last night's activities, considering how to go about the mission.
According to the plot, the original owner had poisoned the prince a few months later. Right now, Yuan Niu was merely one of many maids, he could bring her in as a personal servant and foster her loyalty to him.
Chen Yu lazily twirled his fingers in the water. No, that was so tedious, and anyway, Yuan Niu presented herself as some kind of ally of justice. She would likely act out a play of reluctantly betraying her master for the sake of championing the sanctity of life, such nonsense wasn't interesting for Chen Yu.
But no matter how he intended to deal with Yuan Niu, his priority at the moment was to have a message sent to the emperor.
Apparently, this honorable and impartial ruler would favor any new concubine or consort for the first three nights after they were brought in. In fact, out of regard for their bodies, he would go so far as to visit them in their palaces before returning to his own.
Chen Yu guessed it was more like he didn't want his casual sex partners to invade his personal space.
In any case, the emperor should be planning to call on Zhang Hua tonight as well. But Chen Yu had no intention of meeting the male lead for now, he just wanted to rest.
---
Emperor Taihe was reviewing memorials in his study when his personal eunuch stepped in with a message.
The new Consort Jing had a slight fever and, fearing that he might pollute the dragon body, requested that the emperor not grant him his favor until he recovered.
Lu Guanting barely paused in his work before resuming. Indifferent, he asked, "Has the general's household been informed?"
The eunuch hesitated, uncertain what answer his master would prefer, but in the end, he reported the truth. Since the imperial physician's diagnosis indicated that Consort Jing had merely exhausted himself, he hadn't overly concerned the consort's paternal home.
The emperor nodded, dismissing the servant with an order to send some herbal tonics to the consort.