Chapter 1: The Empress Dowager and Her Substitute Lover 1

[Beginner Mission One: Poison the Emperor.]
[Mission Time Limit: 12 hours.]
[Countdown has started. Host, please mind the time limit.]

“Get out!”

A hoarse, shadowy male voice rang out, accompanied by a vase hurled straight at her.

[Yueyue, dodge!]

Hua Yue narrowed her eyes and stepped back. Just as the vase was about to smash into her, she swung her leg high.

Kick!

Spin!

A graceful turn!

“Crack—”

The sound of the vase shattering echoed through the room.

“Perfect!”

With a fluid counter, Hua Yue smugly applauded herself.

“Ah!”

“Xiao Su!”

“Are you insane?!”

The man’s voice, gritted with pain and rage, sounded to Hua Yue like the triumphant chime of victory in a game.

Music to her ears.

Hee hee.

Hua Yue ignored him. A draft drifted in from the window, sending a chill through her that made her sneeze.

She looked down.

Good heavens.

She was in a sheer outfit?

No wonder she was cold.

Raven hair cascaded down her back, and the half-transparent red silk robe she wore revealed glimpses of snowy white skin—enough to entice anyone.

Hua Yue nearly drooled.

[Host, please remain in character. An OOC level of 60% will alert the world’s consciousness, and a severe breach will result in ejection from the mission world.]

System 404’s mechanical reminder sounded in her mind.

Hua Yue rolled her eyes and muttered, “...What character? I don’t even know who I am, alright?”

As a seasoned novel enthusiast, Hua Yue wasn’t at all surprised to find herself bound to a system.

In fact, she was quite excited.

The Villainess System.

Her mission was to play the villainess; if she succeeded, she’d have a chance to realize her wish.

It seemed a fair bargain.

She agreed without hesitation.

This was her first novel world.

A heavy thud sounded behind her.

Hua Yue looked up.

The room was lavish in the extreme.

She stood in the outer chamber, and through the golden thread curtain, she could see a man by the bed, his posture disheveled and desperate.

The metallic scent of blood filled the air.

With her sharp vision, Hua Yue could clearly see the words gradually appearing on his forehead.

Seventh Prince, Wei He.

A soft snort escaped her.

Engraved words on the forehead—how ridiculous. Hua Yue couldn’t help laughing out loud.

[Host, please be aware: transmitting plot and memories...]

Caught off guard, her mind felt stuffed with cotton, making Hua Yue grimace with discomfort.

“After Cross-dressing as a Scholar, the Champion Is Seized by the Emperor”—what a blunt and to-the-point title.

The male lead, Wei He, Seventh Prince, shared the bleak childhood of so many male leads in old-school romances: his mother consort died young, leaving him isolated and bullied.

The heroine, Wan Jinyu, eldest legitimate daughter of the Minister of Rites, had from childhood disguised herself as a boy for special reasons, studying, taking the imperial exams, and entering officialdom.

A refined gentleman, famed throughout the capital.

She was the very official whom the male lead, the Seventh Prince Wei He, wished to win over, but as they spent more time together, unexpected feelings blossomed.

Wan Jinyu, for her own reasons, dared not and did not wish to get involved emotionally.

But, this was a dog-blood, possessive, and dramatic old-style romance.

Tormented by his feelings, Wei He decided to force Wan Jinyu to be with him, only to discover by accident that Wan Jinyu was, in fact, a woman, and compelled her to enter the palace as his consort.

In short—

After miscarriages, amnesia, and brushes with death, the two ended up happily together.

It was also the original villainess who helped the male lead discover the heroine’s true gender.

As for the original host—

Currently a favored imperial consort, she was the villainess of the story’s early chapters.

Xiao Su, daughter of a general, was brought into the palace for her beauty.

She loved the Seventh Prince, Wei He.

Little did she know all of this was Wei He’s calculated approach—using her affection to his own advantage.

Later—

The emperor died, Wei He ascended the throne.

The original host became Empress Dowager.

Unable to suppress her feelings for Wei He, she failed to seduce him and grew jealous of Wan Jinyu.

She tried assassination and poisoning, but none succeeded.

Instead, she only enraged Wei He.

Coincidentally, the former Crown Prince’s son, Wei Yan, rebelled. Wei He sent the original host’s father to fight, and both her father and brother perished in the conflict.

The antagonist, Wei Yan, was defeated.

This minor villainess also met her end.

At this moment, the story was in its early stages. Under Wei He’s calculated seduction, Xiao Su had fallen for him.

She wanted beauty, he wanted power.

They made a perfect pair.

Yet, just as success seemed within reach, Wei He turned cold and planned to break their pact.

Little did the original host know she was but a pawn in Wei He’s climb to power.

Having used her to the fullest, he now despised her for her foolishness. Naturally, it was time to cast her aside and erase that less-than-glorious chapter of his past.

Watching Wei He grow ever more powerful, slipping from her control, the original host finally snapped.

Thus, the current situation.

So he was the male lead.

[Host...]

404 had just begun to speak when Hua Yue rolled her eyes, cutting off the system’s grating mechanical voice.

“Got it, I’m working, I’m working—I do have professional standards, you know.”

What an awful sound.

[...]

Hua Yue lifted her hand and swept aside the curtain, walking toward the man.

“Get out!”

The blood scent came from the man’s palm. Hua Yue met his gaze—a pair of eyes brimming with murderous intent.

He had a handsome face.

Chiseled cheeks, a high-bridged nose, and now, under the effect of the drug, his cheeks were flushed, making him appear fragile and easy to bully.

Hua Yue crouched down, blinking, recalling the description in the novel.

She lifted a hand, scarlet nails lightly trailing across the male lead’s cheek, earning a look of pure disgust.

Feigning hurt, she let her voice drip with honey: “Why must things come to this between us, Your Highness? You know my feelings. As long as you give in to me, I can give you everything you desire.”

Wei He panted, grabbing Hua Yue’s wrist, his eyes bloodshot.

“Wretch! Since you’re so insatiable, tonight I’ll make you wish you were dead!”

Hua Yue: “...”

Tsk.

Why must a perfectly good male lead have such a mouth?

Without a change in expression, she twisted his wrist free and leaned back out of his reach, still wearing a coquettish smile. “Your Highness, I could only wish for it.”

Her voice was soft, her graceful figure even more alluring in the candlelight, making Wei He’s eyes blaze redder.

Reason gone, he lunged at her.

But then—

Something unexpected happened.

Wei He, despite being consumed by desire and agony, still—

Could not!

Hua Yue lowered her long lashes, hiding the amusement in her eyes, and murmured with feigned confusion, “Your Highness?”

Wei He: “...”

At this moment, he truly wanted to kill the shameless woman before him.

Yet in his heart, a cold dread crept in.

What was happening to him?