During the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the status of servants was extremely low.
They were treated like the master's belongings; if they made a serious mistake, they would surely have no chance of survival.
The little maid said with a crying tone:
"Young master, you are the legitimate son of the Yuan family, Young Master Yuan Shu!"
"The current year is the third year of Xiping. Can you really not remember it? Please don't scare me!"
Yuan Shu?! The third year of Xiping?
In his previous life, Yuan Shu, who was particularly interested in novels and games about the Three Kingdoms, knew a bit about the reign titles from the late Han Dynasty.
The Yellow Turban Rebellion led by Zhang Jiao occurred in 184 AD, which was the first year of Zhongping.
Xiping should have been a reign title from ten years before the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
This meant that the time period he traveled to was ten years before the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
To his surprise, he had crossed over as the young Yuan Shu.
Speaking of Yuan Shu, everyone knew he was a famous "dead bone in the tomb." He was also the target of ridicule for later generations of Three Kingdoms enthusiasts. However, Yuan Shu never ridiculed him, because he felt his fate was very similar to Yuan Shu's.
He had a rich family background, the heritage of four generations of ministers, and was the legitimate son of the Yuan family. His status was undoubtedly much higher than that of Yuan Shao, a son of a concubine, and even more so compared to Cao Cao and others. In the end, he met a tragic fate of dying from vomiting blood. How was this different from his previous life, where his family was destroyed?
Yuan Shu was the legitimate son of the Yuan family from Luoyang, but he was also a discarded child under the will of heaven. Suddenly, a strong emotion surged in his heart, as if it was the unwillingness of the former Yuan Shu, or perhaps his own ambition! Yuan Shu clenched his fists.
He whispered to himself: "From today on, I am Yuan Shu, and my dignity and glory will be protected by me!"
"Ding! Host's strong unwillingness detected, triggering binding conditions. The Three Kingdoms Prodigal Son System is now binding!"
Yuan Shu was stunned. He didn't expect there to be a system, but since he was a transmigrator, he felt somewhat relieved. It seemed that the heavens were not being too hard on him, but the name of this system... Hmm, it didn't seem very powerful.
"System name: Three Kingdoms Prodigal Son System."
"Host name: Yuan Shu"
"Strength: 15, Leadership: 31, Intelligence: 20, Politics: 22, Charisma: 55, Luck: -10"
(For ordinary people, each stat is 50)
Yuan Shu furrowed his brows.
His stats were pretty awful; they were far worse than an average person's.
The only stat slightly better than an ordinary person was charisma, probably because of his handsome appearance.
Luck -10?
Yuan Shu smiled bitterly. No wonder the historical Yuan Shu was so miserable—such luck would hardly lead to anything good.
While Yuan Shu was mocking his miserable fate, the system's cold voice rang out again:
"Ding! System friendly reminder:
The host will earn one attribute point for every 100,000 money spent during a mission.
Additionally, completing system tasks will grant surprise rewards. Please work hard, host!"
Yuan Shu was quite surprised: "The Three Kingdoms Prodigal Son System, so this is what it means."
"Ding! System reminder: Completing tasks will quickly earn attribute points and various rare items. Please work hard to complete the tasks!"
Yuan Shu suddenly felt that a glimmer of hope appeared in his otherwise bleak life.
Since being a prodigal would make him stronger, then this young master might as well be a prodigal to the extreme, overturning everything and creating a bright new world!
"Ding dong, the system has detected the host's strong desire to squander money and has issued the first squandering task:
Please spend 100,000 zhu in the hour of Zi!
Task reward: One attribute point, one random lottery chance!
Task failure penalty: Randomly deduct three attribute points from the host! Please work hard!"
Is the task here already?
The task reward sounds quite generous, granting some attribute points and even a chance to draw a lottery. Not bad.
But the penalty for task failure looks quite frightening—randomly deducting three attribute points.
For ordinary people, maybe three attribute points wouldn't be too damaging.
But given Yuan Shu's current situation, his attribute points are already dismal. If they get deducted further, there will be no hope left.
He quickly asked the little maid, "What time is it now?"
The little maid cautiously replied:
"Young master, it is noon.
Do you need to have a meal, shall I inform the kitchen?"
The little maid thought to herself that Young Master Yuan Shu had been unconscious for so long, he must be hungry.
Yuan Shu thought, noon? It's still okay, there's plenty of time until the hour of Zi, I should be able to squander money in time.
But where would the money come from?
He asked again:
"No need for a meal, I have something to do and need to go out.
By the way, I need a lot of money right now. Do you know where I can get some?"
The little maid was quite surprised. Young Master Yuan Shu was notorious for being a spendthrift.
He forgot what year it was, and the little maid believed it.
He even forgot his own name, and the little maid would believe that too.
But how could this person forget how to take money from home, how to squander money?!
This the little maid could not believe, no matter what.
But since the young master asked, and she couldn't refuse, she answered:
"Young master, your daily expenses have always been directly withdrawn from the account.
However, for amounts exceeding 100,000, the master's approval is required."
Yuan Shu nodded. It seems getting some capital for squandering wasn't too difficult.
Indeed, during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms period, who could compare to the wealth of the Yuan family, who had four generations of ministers?
At this point, the little maid reminded him:
"By the way, the master and madam previously told me to notify them as soon as young master woke up."
Yuan Shu nodded and said:
"Alright, you can go ahead and inform them."
It is only natural for parents to worry about their child's safety.
Moreover, it's a good opportunity to see his adoptive parents and get some money for squandering.
The little maid, hearing Yuan Shu's instruction to find the master and madam, bowed to him and left the room.
Now, only Yuan Shu remained in the room.
Yuan Shu stared at his extremely handsome yet somewhat gloomy face in the mirror, muttering to himself:
"In this life, I must not continue to bear the reputation of the 'dead bone in the tomb'!
Although my current attributes are weak and my starting point is low, with the system's help, I will surely go down in history and create a prosperous world!"
"Ding! The system has detected the host's strong unwillingness, triggering the main storyline. The ultimate goal has been set!
Ultimate goal: Unite the Three Kingdoms, leave a mark in history, and create an era of prosperity! Please work hard, host!"
Upon receiving the system's prompt, Yuan Shu felt a surge of energy.
It turns out that this spendthrift system was not just about squandering money. The reason it had such a misleading name was to confuse ordinary people.
Unite the Three Kingdoms, create an era of prosperity!
Could someone who only knows how to squander money really achieve this?
Suddenly, a few words appeared in his mind:
"First, be invincible, then wait for the enemy to be vulnerable!"
"He who does not compete, no one can compete with him!"
"Great skill appears clumsy, great wisdom seems foolish."
While he was pondering these words, the system reminded him again:
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully grasping the system's essence. As a reward, the first main quest is now available!"
[Author's note]: The protagonist's initial attributes are very low because the previous Yuan Shu was quite useless, but as the tasks progress, they will increase.
Yuan Shu's appearance is definitely no problem; the Yuan family has particularly good genes, all of them handsome men.
The protagonist is the most handsome among them.
His charm isn't very high right now because other attributes are so low, affecting his overall demeanor.
Especially with the luck stat being so low, how could there be any charm with such bad luck?