Chapter 11 The Emperor's Mood

　　Mu Chen was irritable today.

　　He had dumped a pile of things, and the four players were so scared their mouths wouldn't close when they received the tasks he assigned. But who would have thought that what he, the Emperor, had to do was still as much as ever?

　　From the moment the morning court ended, a low-pressure atmosphere permeated the Imperial Study.

　　Was his desk a cornucopia? Why were there so many more memorials?

　　Lu Xiaoyao felt it most keenly. She didn't even dare breathe too loudly, afraid of being killed at the slightest displeasure.

　　[My poor child is having such a hard time. Look at him today; he doesn't even dare doze off!]

　　[I can feel the Emperor's unhappiness through the screen! This kind of low pressure is too much to bear.]

　　[Ah~ The Emperor's heart is hard to fathom. But speaking of which, will His Majesty appear during the National Day this year?]

　　[I don't know. The First Prince has been appearing these past few years; His Majesty seems to be unwell.]

　　[Maybe he will come out? After all, something so big happened recently. Many old families were completely uprooted, and many new faces came up. There will definitely be many new faces at this year's Imperial banquet.]

　　[Who cares about new faces? I want to see General Mei Qiu~]

　　……

　　The chat in the bullet comments had already gone wildly off-topic, but the Emperor's displeasure in the game continued.

　　When the Emperor was unhappy, it wasn't just a simple matter of venting.

　　As a result, when the Ministry of Justice sent up a memorial about the officials involved in the recent flood, Mu Chen directly sentenced them all to death.

　　Those female relatives and children of the guilty officials who had been sentenced to exile by lower officials were also changed to death by Mu Chen. All their families were confiscated, and all the property seized was used for flood relief and post-disaster reconstruction in the affected areas.

　　The Ministers of Revenue, Justice, and Public Works had been in the Imperial Study from noon until dark for this matter. The dialogue between the Emperor and the officials – "You ask, I answer; if I don't think your answer is good, look at mine" – kept repeating.

　　The word Lu Xiaoyao heard the most was "kill." She was numb to it.

　　Lu Xiaoyao watched as the officials' faces grew paler and paler as the Emperor spoke, until the sun set in the west, and the three officials supported each other, their legs trembling as they left.

　　Lu Xiaoyao looked at the backs of these people as they left, her heart complex.

　　A surge of sadness rose within her character's body.

　　Lu Xiaoyao remembered that the family of the Lu Changfu character card was just like this – wiped out overnight. He was lucky to have been sent to be a eunuch. And now, it was happening again. A few words from the Emperor and another few families faced misfortune.

　　"Are you sympathizing with them?"

　　Lu Xiaoyao, brought back to her senses, was startled by Mu Chen's sudden question. She didn't know when, but the Emperor had actually walked out of the Imperial Study and was standing under the corridor, his hands behind his back, looking at the distant setting sun beyond the high walls.

　　"This servant wouldn't dare!"

　　Realizing that she had been swayed by her character's emotions, Lu Xiaoyao was terrified. Sympathize my ass! Seeing the Emperor's mood now, she knew he was unhappy; how could she dare give the Emperor attitude at this time?

　　"Changfu."

　　"This servant is here."

　　"The sin does not extend to the children, therefore, favor should not extend to the children." Mu Chen stood there, looking down at Lu Xiaoyao kneeling below. "Using the money that the people rely on to survive to nurture their own families, they should be aware that one day, this money will return to the people again. As for sentencing…"

　　Lu Xiaoyao instinctively felt the person above her head chuckle softly, "It's because I'm just unhappy with such a group of people living. If they want to blame someone, they can blame their husbands, parents, or children."

　　Those cruel and capricious words weighed down on Lu Xiaoyao, making her afraid to even breathe. The bullet comments also exploded with various opinions because of Mu Chen's words.

　　Some said Mu Chen was too heavy-handed and too cruel;

　　Others said Mu Chen's actions were just right, at least enough to deter those corrupt officials with similar thoughts;

　　Still others mentioned the improvement of the legal system, talking about the backwardness of the ancient feudal monarchs' thinking of ruling by men, and so on...

　　For the first time, Mingmei discovered that Lu Xiaoyao's live broadcast room actually had such serious chats.

　　"His Majesty will be coming later tonight, so please leave a small lamp for His Majesty when the Consort rests."

　　Mingmei saw the maid who came to deliver her meals and snacks at a fixed time every day. After the other party put down the dinner, she actually opened her mouth to speak, and then quickly retreated, not giving Mingmei any chance to say anything.

　　For example – "He doesn't have to come if he's busy..."

　　Mingmei was planning to take advantage of the Cold Palace map unlocking in the middle of the night to run out, but – Mu Chen was so busy that he was still thinking about coming in the middle of the night?

　　But tonight, she must take the initiative to sell lunch boxes!

　　If she doesn't sell the lunch boxes, she can't be a completely salted fish; she still has to think about selling lunch boxes all the time.

　　……

　　On the other side, since Mu Chen started his dinner, Lu Xiaoyao's work was also temporarily over.

　　She could finally rest!

　　Lu Xiaoyao almost cried with excitement when she returned to her room.

　　Two days and one night!

　　It was too difficult for her!

　　Before she could get excited, she unexpectedly found a note in her rice during dinner.

　　"Hmm?"

　　If she hadn't nudged it with her chopsticks while eating, Lu Xiaoyao could guarantee that she would never have tasted it in her mouth.

　　"Who is this? Asking me to meet in the second half of the night?"

　　Lu Xiaoyao frowned in disgust. Soon, she remembered who usually made these notes – the Honorable Consort.

　　Originally wanting to get a good night's sleep, Lu Xiaoyao could only rely on her memory to take out a small eunuch's clothes from a hidden cabinet under the bed. When the time came, she changed into them and quietly left the room to meet Bai Xiao at the agreed place.

　　But as soon as they met, Lu Xiaoyao saw Bai Xiao, dressed in a black tight-fitting suit, actually hiding behind a rockery and eating a lunch box!

　　"What are you doing?" Lu Xiaoyao looked at Bai Xiao, who was eating with relish, in confusion. "You asked me to come here just to watch you eat a lunch box?"

　　Lu Xiaoyao looked at the two lunch boxes beside Bai Xiao and tentatively asked, "Or – are you asking me to eat lunch boxes with you?"

　　"No." Slapping Lu Xiaoyao's outstretched hand away, Bai Xiao glanced at Lu Xiaoyao, "I met a mysterious merchant while waiting for you and bought them."

　　Lu Xiaoyao: ???!!

　　What!

　　Mysterious merchant??

　　[Sigh, who are you trying to impress with that surprised expression?]

　　The audience in the live broadcast room, seeing Lu Xiaoyao's surprised face at hearing that Bai Xiao had met a mysterious merchant and bought something, just wanted to say – [Do you think you should be surprised?]

　　[You were the first to meet him yesterday, but look at you now!]

　　[Points and points.jpg]

　　While a group of viewers was pointing and talking about the dumbfounded Lu Xiaoyao, Mingmei had already returned to her palace again.

　　Looking at the reactions of the audience in the live broadcast room, she smiled, her eyes curved, thinking of the scene when she met Bai Xiao tonight.

　　Through Lu Xiaoyao's live broadcast room, she appeared in front of Bai Xiao one step ahead of Lu Xiaoyao, wearing a white dress and a veil over her face.

　　Although her lines weren't as euphemistic as Lu Xiaoyao's, it was still a bunch of words followed by, "Do you want to eat a lunch box?"

　　As a result, the other party answered "yes" without hesitation, and directly started the transaction.

　　Two kinds of lunch boxes, Bai Xiao bought three boxes directly.

　　The contrast with Lu Xiaoyao couldn't be more obvious.

　　Thinking about the academic points she had earned tonight, Mingmei stepped lightly into the bedroom. Before she could turn around and close the door, a large hand reached out from behind the door and closed it directly. At the same time, the other party caught Mingmei's outstretched hand.

　　"You're back?"

　　Feeling the warmth of the other party's palm, Mingmei "flew" towards the other party, spinning around, the gold and silver thread embroidered skirt swaying.

　　Mingmei came to the other party and was caught and stabilized by the other hand. The whole process was like the other party embracing the starry river in his arms. The man's deep voice sounded in her ear: "Now that you're back, leave the rest of the time to me, hmm?"