Qiao Ci's soul was forcibly pulled away. She only managed to see this much before the scene changed, and she found herself in a small space.
In the center of the space was an orange-yellow circular sofa, and on the sofa sat a shiny golden ladle.
"Welcome to my territory, hehe, congratulations Host on successfully completing the mission! Mission completion level is SSS, reward is 100,000 points. After deducting the 800 points overdrawn during the mission, the current remaining points are 99,200. Host, you are amazing, keep up the good work~"
A large party popper exploded directly over Qiao Ci. The big golden ladle bounced to Qiao Ci's side, happily dancing the samba around her.
"You promised me retirement, how did I die young?" Qiao Ci glared fiercely at the big golden ladle.
"Uh, because Host had already completed the mission and should have left long ago... plus, the Heavenly Dao of that world had already begun to develop consciousness and reject outsiders... and..." The big ladle stammered.
"Speak human."
"Ahem, well, because the female supporting characters in the Three Thousand Worlds were filled with righteous indignation, the main system received too many missions and was short-handed, so Host's retirement plan ended early..." It was originally planned for the Host to have some fun, but she was urgently recalled. The little ladle felt a bit guilty.
"...Can I go say goodbye to him?" Qiao Ci asked after a moment of silence.
"No, the mission has ended. Unless the mission requires it, we cannot go back." The little ladle continued, "However, I can show you Su Mo's subsequent life."
Qiao Ci nodded.
A large screen instantly appeared before her, and on the screen was Su Mo's expressionless face. The depths of his eyes were dark and silent, devoid of any light. He was currently teaching Crown Prince Qiao Xun archery...
Qiao Ci died of natural causes. The young Crown Prince was only ten years old. Everyone thought Su Mo would finally reveal his true colors, perhaps holding the emperor hostage to command the lords, or even directly replacing him to become the new emperor.
After Su Mo handled Qiao Ci's funeral, Crown Prince Qiao Xun ascended the throne smoothly, and Su Mo followed the example of his predecessors by ruling from behind the curtain.
Everyone wore expressions of "As expected," thinking his true colors had finally been revealed, and the next step would be his usurpation.
The Empress was deceased, and Su Mo was in his prime. Now that he held immense power, some ambitious individuals began to search for beauties, preparing to secretly offer them to Su Mo.
The first person to send a woman to Su Mo was Prime Minister Su. He believed his son must have grown tired of serving a single woman for ten years and was in desperate need of fresh beauties to relieve himself.
When the extremely seductive woman he had found at great expense lay bleeding before him, and Su Mo, with a cold, demonic expression, pointed his sword at him, Prime Minister Su was so terrified he wet himself...
This was definitely not his youngest son...
Su Mo, upholding justice, stripped Prime Minister Su of his official position for attempting to debase the harem. He declared that he was the Empress's Imperial Husband and would only have the Empress as his woman for the rest of his life. Anyone who dared to send women to him would face more than just demotion!
Everyone waited and waited, but the new Emperor did not become the puppet they had envisioned. Instead, he grew increasingly outstanding, often able to handle matters independently.
Su Mo gradually retreated to the background, and when the new Emperor turned sixteen, he completely relinquished his power.
"Father, are you going to find Mother Empress?" the young Emperor asked Su Mo, who looked indifferent, with reluctance in his eyes.
"Yes, your Mother Empress has waited for Father for too long. Father... also wishes to join her soon."
"You must guard the Mo Kingdom well. This is the empire your Mother Empress worked so hard to build."
"You are the successor she personally chose. You must be diligent and love your people like she was. Do not disappoint her."
*
Inside the imperial mausoleum, large night-blooming pearls illuminated the tomb as if it were daylight.
Su Mo looked at the peerless beauty in the coffin, who appeared to be merely asleep, with gentle features.
She was most concerned with her image. He had found the mermaid pearl for her, which could preserve a corpse from decay. His Empress would remain beautiful forever.
Lifting the transparent coffin lid, he stepped inside and slowly lay down beside the woman. He reached out and gently tapped her forehead, "You slept too soundly this time. No matter how I kiss you, you won't wake up..."
"I guarded the empire you built with your own hands for six whole years. Should you not reward me?" Su Mo's eyes were tinged red, his voice choked with emotion.
He pressed his face against the woman's cold lips, as if she were truly kissing him in reward. Su Mo's eyes immediately curved, shy as he was in his youth, "Your judgment is indeed good. The successor you personally chose is now capable of handling affairs independently. The Mo Kingdom has someone to inherit it."
"I... I can't hold on any longer..."
He stroked the woman's serene face, his expression gentle, his voice captivating.
"I called you 'Niang Niang' your whole life, but I don't think I ever called you by your name, Empress..."
"Can I... call you A Ci?"
"Heh heh... Actually, I've already called that name countless times in my heart..."
"You... you must be very bored and cold here by yourself..."
The man tightly held the woman's hand and closed his eyes in contentment.
A Ci, I'm coming to accompany you.
*
Qiao Ci watched the entire scene with a blank expression.
The little ladle was leaning against Qiao Ci, crying like a leaky sieve, golden tears falling one by one. They vanished as soon as they touched the ground.
Seeing Qiao Ci's stony heart, it couldn't help but complain, "That pure young man was tricked by you into dying for love, how pitiful,呜呜呜..."
"Help me check him again." Qiao Ci ignored the golden beans rolling down her body and glanced at it.
"Wh... what?" The topic shifted too quickly, and the little ladle didn't react, asking blankly.
"Su Mo's origins." Qiao Ci reminded it.
"I already checked before. Su Mo has no abnormalities. He is the biological son of Prime Minister Su and his wife. The result will be the same if I check again." Seeing Qiao Ci's displeased gaze, the little ladle quickly activated the data, and the result was: "Still nothing..."
"Trash system." Qiao Ci scorned.
The little ladle knew Qiao Ci was in a bad mood and magnanimously didn't argue with her. Instead, it asked curiously, "Host, since you suspect Su Mo's origins, why don't you ask him directly?"
"If he's unwilling to say it himself, he must have his reasons..." Qiao Ci shrugged. "Forget it, let it be."
Little ladle: ...
No love!
"Your account has received 10,000 points, please check."
The little ladle thought it had misheard and was stunned for a moment.
"Your account has received 20,000 points, please check."
The little ladle looked delighted, thinking those deadbeat systems had finally shown some conscience and returned points. It quickly opened its account to check.
Upon seeing that the sender of the points was Qiao Ci, it asked uncertainly, "Host, uh, did you click by mistake..."
"A tip." Qiao Ci said generously.
"Ahhhhh, thank you, boss! From now on, Little Ladle will be your loyal fanboy, love you, Host dear~"
Usually, it was the one giving out points. Now, it saw its own money back!!
The little ladle secretly vowed in its heart to treat the Host as its own child, to cherish her, support her, tolerate her, and treasure her. Whatever she said, that's what it would do!
"Host, do you wish to enter the next mission?"
"Yes."