Chapter 23: Completing job in the Court World (4)

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. Being an emperor was not an easy job, and while Zheng Hongxuan only fell ill when it came to matters related to his original self, he was still somewhat considered a diligent ruler. Indeed, he had been too busy over the past half-month to summon Yue Jun or Lin Yuetian—perhaps, as the system had speculated, he was deliberately ignoring the original self, letting him “cool off” and “temper his patience.”

The result was that, half a month later, when Consort Lin reported that the young eunuch bestowed upon her by the emperor had gone missing, Zheng Hongxuan was greatly shocked. He immediately ordered the palace staff to conduct a thorough search. Every palace hall was scoured, including Yue Jun’s residence. However, they found nothing. After searching for a full seven days, they finally retrieved a eunuch’s corpse from a well in the imperial garden—a supposed “suicide.” Strangely, a bloodstained letter was hidden in the seams of the deceased eunuch’s belt.

It was said that upon reading the blood-written letter, Zheng Hongxuan fell gravely ill and never recovered. The impact was severe, even more effective than Lin Yuetian had initially anticipated. Taking advantage of this heaven-sent opportunity, Lin Yuetian, still playing the role of the imperial favorite Yue Jun, “accidentally” collided with the anxious Consort Lin, who was rushing to tend to the emperor’s illness. Concerned for the emperor’s health, Consort Lin flew into a rage and had Yue Jun “beaten to death” and “thrown out of the palace.”

At this point, Zheng Hongxuan was already overwhelmed by the shock and bedridden from illness—he had no mind to bother with such trivial matters. Yue Jun had merely been a tool he used to disgrace the original self. Now that the original self was no longer around, the fate of this tool did not stir even the slightest ripple of emotion in him. Thus, Lin Yuetian successfully faked his death and escaped.

After faking his death, Lin Yuetian disguised himself as Yuexiang, a young palace maid whom General Lin had supposedly sent into the palace out of concern for his sister’s safety. He continued to move freely within the palace.

It was a perfectly reasonable arrangement. The emperor had not been on the throne for long, and the bloody power struggles had yet to settle. Now, this young and vigorous ruler had suddenly fallen ill—was this not a sign of turmoil? Naturally, General Lin was worried for his sister and sent a considerate palace maid to care for her. He was even praised as the “Best Big Brother in the Capital.”

“……”

“System, what’s wrong?” Lin Yuetian asked while pinning up his hair in his room. “You’ve been hesitating to speak for a while now.”

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Actually, when I think about it, cross-dressing isn’t that big of a deal… I was just overreacting,” the system muttered. One moment, it found Lin Yuetian’s disguise utterly bizarre, and the next, it realized that nothing Lin Yuetian did should come as a surprise. Feeling conflicted, it changed the topic. “Why did you fake your death? Wouldn’t it have been easier to stay alive and get closer to Zheng Hongxuan for some more outrageous operations?”

Lin Yuetian adjusted his expression, found the right “role feel,” and gave the mirror a demure, shy smile—a sight that nearly made the system collapse in fright.

Maintaining the coy smile, Lin Yuetian explained, “Different people require different strategies. Zheng Hongxuan is an emperor, which means he’s the most prideful, the most aloof, the most obstinate, and also the most ruthless character among all these worlds. Even if I stabbed him a few times, he wouldn’t suddenly have a change of heart and return my love like the original self wished. So for someone like him, brute force is the worst strategy… But isn’t there a very common trope? You know, that one—the kind where the scummy top only starts regretting everything after the loved ones die. So, I might as well die first and push Zheng Hongxuan into that state.”

“……”

“Why aren’t you saying anything again?” Lin Yuetian, still in his petite and adorable palace maid disguise, gently reassured the system, “Trust me. I know what I’m doing.”

“It’s not that… I just find this ridiculous,” the system said in a low voice. “I can’t believe you’ve read those kinds of trashy stories.”

“Fun fact,” Lin Yuetian said. “I am a dedicated, hardworking professional.”

The system: “? Why are you suddenly saying that? I already know you’re narcissistic; no need to keep reminding me.”

“Fun fact,” Lin Yuetian continued. “I spent decades in the last modern world.”

The system: “Do you think I’d forget? My memory isn’t that bad, stop underestimating me.”

“Cold fact,” Lin Yuetian added. “The modern world has search engines like Baidu and Google.”

The system took a long time to process these words, slowly realizing the hidden meaning behind them. Then, it was struck with shock—an even greater shock than when it had watched Lin Yuetian smash a rock over the head of an imperial favorite. “Didn’t you say you never joke around?!”

“Who’s joking? I’m just stating facts…” Lin Yuetian said as he walked toward Ganquan Palace. Without hesitation, he stepped inside and stood behind Consort Lin, who was in the middle of her morning grooming.

Through the mirror, Consort Lin glanced at him and lazily ordered the other maids, “You’re all so clumsy. Leave. Let Yuexiang serve me alone.”

“Yes,” Lin Yuetian answered sweetly, ignoring the system’s shudder of disgust. “This servant will attend to Your Highness.”

Once the others had left, Consort Lin covered her lips with a smile. “You really do have some skill. Not only do you handle affairs grandly and beautifully, but you even play the role of a woman so perfectly…”

“You flatter me,” Lin Yuetian replied humbly.

“…You’ve done well these past days,” Consort Lin’s tone turned serious. “I don’t know what you wrote in that so-called suicide letter, but His Majesty has become increasingly paranoid…”

This paranoia was Lin Yuetian’s handiwork.

He had not been idle. Every day, he stirred up rumors and chaos in the palace. One night, he would dress in old scholar’s robes, sit by the well with disheveled hair, and sigh. Another night, he would hide in an abandoned palace, laughing or crying eerily. Yet another day, he would secretly throw nail clippings and hair under the dragon bed while Consort Lin attended to the emperor’s illness—scaring not only the cleaning eunuchs but also Zheng Hongxuan himself.

Thanks to Lin Yuetian’s relentless efforts, the entire imperial palace was now steeped in superstition. Some claimed that the wrongly slain Prime Minister Lin had returned; others whispered that the eunuch who died unjustly had come back seeking vengeance; still, others insisted that Yue Jun, whom Consort Lin had ordered killed, was back to take revenge on her.

But in Zheng Hongxuan’s eyes, there was likely only one explanation—Lin Yuetian had returned.

“Feudal superstitions are truly unacceptable,” Lin Yuetian remarked to the system.

“Why does it sound like you’re being hypocritical when you say that?” the system retorted. “Didn’t Consort Lin suspect you were an agent sent by Zheng Hongxuan to test her and General Lin? Why isn’t she even pretending to doubt you anymore?”

“Simple,” Lin Yuetian said. “Testing is just a strategy—a way to probe. It’s useful, but the current situation is too big. The emperor is gravely ill, ghost rumors are rampant in the palace, and the court is in turmoil. If this was really Zheng Hongxuan’s test, then he has gone too far and is practically creating the perfect opportunity for General Lin. Zheng Hongxuan isn’t stupid—he wouldn’t risk making such a mistake. Besides, if General Lin truly needed an undercover agent like me or had to send his sister into the palace just to stay safe, then he wouldn’t even be worth Zheng Hongxuan’s time.”

“I see…” the system murmured. “So Consort Lin completely trusts you now.”

“For now, at least,” Lin Yuetian replied calmly. “Until Zheng Hongxuan dies.”

“His Majesty has summoned the Imperial Astronomer to perform three soul-calling rituals in the past week. His condition hasn’t improved despite countless physicians and endless medicine—he only gets worse. It’s clearly a sickness of the heart,” Consort Lin said in a low voice. “Three nights from now, my brother will lead elite troops into the palace and divert the guards. The emperor cannot die by my brother’s hand—you understand, don’t you?”

“I understand.” Lin Yuetian smiled sweetly. “I’ll take care of it.”