Part 2
On the twenty-fifth day of the siege, the general guarding the main gate led over a thousand of his troops—among whom were many family members dressed as rebel soldiers—and rushed straight to the amnesty station to surrender to Ying Xi.
On the twenty-seventh day, the streets of Xindu fell into chaos.
To suppress the citizens who wanted to seize the gates and flee, the rebels killed over a hundred civilians, but they still couldn’t stop the tide of people surging toward the outside of the city.
Fan Zhiai ordered the main gate of Xindu to be locked tight.
On the twenty-ninth day, the sweltering, humid weather caused an epidemic to spread through Xindu.
Resources in the city were scarce, and the commoners suffered beyond words. They crawled to the palace to beg the Lord for medicine and ice.
Li Yilong could only concede some interests, opening the ice cellars and dispatching imperial physicians to provide free consultations.
The palace concubines wailed incessantly. Due to the uneven distribution of resources, they grew jealous and even engaged in physical brawls.
There were also dozens of young princes in the palace who needed to be raised, and their daily consumption created a massive expenditure.
Li Yilong’s enormous harem had become a catastrophic burden for Xindu!
In contrast, the Jiangbei Emperor, Ying Xi, issued a decree for free medical consultations at the amnesty station. He dispatched grain and medicine from various parts of Jingzhou and Yangzhou, causing the citizens of the small Southern Dynasty to once again realize where the trend of the world lay.
The territory cannot be divided. What is long divided must unite.
If one side is in trouble, the only thing that can support it through the crisis safely is the powerful empire behind it.
On the thirtieth day of the siege, the two-month deadline had passed.
Xindu was teetering on the brink of collapse.
On this day, Ying Xi as usual received the commoners at the amnesty station. In his spare time, he read CEO novels, scouring the pages filled with melodramatic plot points for the little bit of “intellectual battle” he enjoyed.
The Sweet System was happy to see this, thinking her host was finally enlightened.
After all, how could a BL novel be complete without a “boat scene”?
And a very stimulating one at that. Perhaps while reading, His Majesty would want to find someone to fall in love with. Hehehe.
But in reality, things went against her wishes.
Specifically, after finishing several “Overbearing CEO” novels, Ying Xi’s language style had changed somewhat. This made it very strange when Ying Xi had daily conversations with his subordinates.
Lian Qing reported: “Your Majesty, the various commanderies have once again sent resources to support the commoners who have fled.”
“Very good. If they aren’t all consumed, no one is allowed back to camp.”
Lian Qing broke into a sweat. “The main gate of Xindu has been replaced by Li Yilong’s confidants. Any citizen who approaches the gate is killed on sight. The number of commoners escaping the city to surrender has decreased.”
“The rebel Li is playing with fire; he will surely face retribution in the end.”
Lian Qing was speechless. “Your Majesty, this subordinate feels General Xie’s saber wound is nearly healed. Why don’t I switch back with General Xie and let him stay by your side to protect you?”
“I don’t need you to ‘feel.’ I want Me to ‘feel.’ He shall continue to recuperate.”
Sweet System: [—Your Majesty, that’s enough!]
Her host was naturally brilliant and possessed super plasticity, but the plasticity was too strong—it was easy for him to be led astray.
The noble and elegant Emperor-shou was about to turn into a “greasy” overbearing CEO.
The Sweet System couldn’t allow it!
She thus had a peaceful exchange with Ying Xi, timely stopping the loss: [Your Majesty, these 1000 Sweet Pet BL novels I gave You were for You to observe how others fall in love.]
[In fact, the early development philosophy of the System was to allow people to establish unbreakable bonds through interaction. It wasn’t for You to learn intellectual battles from CEO novels, nor was it to encourage You to learn to be an Overbearing CEO.]
The Sweet System sincerely advised: [Your Majesty, if You can’t find true love, You and I probably won’t be able to unbind. Those interaction missions that give You a headache will continue to be issued endlessly in the future.]
[No matter how well Your Majesty can perfunctory things, there will eventually be a day You can’t deal with them,] the Sweet System said.
The Sweet System’s “cliché” lecture made Ying Xi gaze at the gloomy sky outside the amnesty station.
“I have already maxed out Su Xueyi’s favorability.”
[That is Prime Minister Su’s favorability toward You, not Yours toward him,] the Sweet System explained. [Favorability can be one-way; a healthy romantic relationship requires a two-way effort.]
Ying Xi sighed softly: “I told you before. With my status, falling in love with anyone would be a catastrophic disaster.”
The Sweet System fell silent for a few breaths. Her host had emphasized this long ago.
“Lust is like this for a person: if I were to fall, and power lost its rational control, I would think that even if I emptied the world, I would want to win the other person’s smile. How unfair would that be to My other subjects?”
A layer of gloom rose before Ying Xi’s eyes, and his voice grew a bit raspy: “I saw with my own eyes how my adoptive father loved countless women. When his interest was piqued, he would grant their fathers and brothers official titles. He would point wherever they wanted on the map of mountains and rivers. It was absurd and laughable.”
“I swear I will never be such a faint monarch.”
Her host might not be a “good lover.”
But her host was definitely a good Emperor!
A wise ruler should have good karma. The Sweet System suggested finding a middle ground: [Then couldn’t You fall in love with someone virtuous and sensible?]
The Sweet System gave an example: [For instance… just like Empress Zhangsun, there is always someone who can achieve a win-win with You.]
“I have never thought of appointing an Empress,” Ying Xi said. “Those words about living in harmony with a future wife were just to deceive Dang’er. I hope Dang’er will strive for progress, so that in the future, the throne can be passed down to him through brother-to-brother succession.”
Ying Xi refused once again: “Little Girl, if the Mainframe is making things difficult for you, you can always tell Me directly.”
“Spending favorability is fine, completing missions is fine.”
“But please do not force Me to do things I do not want to do.”
His Majesty was elegant, disciplined, and polite. His attitude was neither humble nor arrogant, as if he had long ago accepted his choice very calmly.
But in that instant, a guess rose in the Sweet System.
Her host had experienced betrayal in his past life, suffered hardships in his youth, and had a weak body. Coupled with his hatred for Emperor Yuantai, multiple factors caused him to deliberately avoid intimate relationships—it was like a stress response after trauma.
The Sweet System felt incredibly distressed.
His Majesty wasn’t wrong!
The ones who were wrong were the people who made His Majesty afraid to love!!!
The Sweet System’s emotional range was several times greater than a human’s.
She sniffled, her voice growing raspy as she spoke: [In this world, everyone encounters moments of loneliness and helplessness. I like Your Majesty very much, and I am willing to be forever loyal to Your Majesty. That’s why I’m afraid Your Majesty will be sad alone.]
Ying Xi was stunned.
He had never expected that a conversation starting from CEO novels would end with the Sweet System crying.
He was somewhat at a loss, and the Sweet System wept for a long time.
If the little Sweet System could come to his side in human form, he would surely treat her as well as he treated Hua Zhao.
The Sweet System said seriously: [I respect Your Majesty’s will, but I hope Your Majesty can consider.]
[Is there truly no one in this world who once made You enjoy being with them? Someone who once made You let down Your guard and believe there are things more important than chasing power?]
It wasn’t that he didn’t know the Sweet System was “inducing a confession.” This was her final struggle.
Between the Mainframe and the Sweet System, if one of them gave up on urging him to fall in love first, the pressure would be greatly reduced.
Ying Xi shook his head: “I…”
But he froze.
A strong sense of choking suddenly blocked his throat!
A sour ache burst through his heart and lungs, and his breathing suddenly grew heavy.
Ten thousand thoughts hit his mind at the same time.
Ying Xi’s face was originally cool and numb, but now he couldn’t control his lips from trembling slightly.
A layer of watery light rose in his vision.
In his blurred vision, the ghost of another person gradually formed.
He saw the thousands of rays of light spilling behind Xie Qianli’s silver armor, brilliant as the sun;
He saw the other person approaching him, handsome in appearance and gentle in manner.
He saw the interactions with “Foal” in both lives, from youth until now, and he suddenly realized, with terrifying clarity, the danger of his flustered heart.
He felt himself trying his best to recall the temperature when their skin touched.
Foal is warm… and a bit clumsy in front of Me…
I…
The status of monarch and subject was different, not to mention they were both men. Foal was disciplined and upright, having had a strict upbringing since childhood.
The taboo only broke through his heart for an instant. Ying Xi shook his head, suppressing all the “impossibilities” of forcing someone’s hand.
The Emperor slightly parted his thin lips: “I… only love power.”
[Warning!]
[System Warning!!!]
[You have seriously violated the Dating System Code of Conduct. Your qualifications need to be re-audited. Binding is about to expire.]
[All functions of this System are suspended. Feedback has been sent to the Rebirth Office. Rebirth opportunity is being revoked.]
[Please complete the verification task immediately.]
[Please complete the verification task immediately—]
[Verification Task: Establish an intimate relationship with a certain person (Complete or Die)]
He hadn’t guessed wrong; it was the Dating System that had given him a new life.
The original deficit in his body began to drain along with his life force, making him feel a detachment from this world. Ying Xi felt the world spinning.
No one is not afraid of death.
Ying Xi was no exception, but he almost had no capacity left to think. He could only hold onto the chair and gasp for breath.
At that moment, Lian Qing suddenly strode into the amnesty station and reported: “Your Majesty! Someone has started a riot in the fiefs!”
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