The man in green sighed, seemingly aware of his teammate's unreliability.
"Let me introduce myself first. My name is Shen Lingyun. My identity in the game is the third young master of the prime minister's mansion. What about you?"
"Su Qingwen," Su Qingwen replied expressionlessly.
... People may have different fates. Why is he the third young master of the prime minister, while I'm just a maid... What the hell! We're both beta - testers, yet there are players who pay to win.
"Wow, I just heard you say you've reached the rank of imperial concubine!" The man in green, who was in the dark.
Su Qingwen felt so awkward that she didn't want to tell him the truth. She just politely let out a couple of forced laughs to show respect.
Being an idle imperial concubine was really a sad story.
She sighed. "Alas, this game is so difficult. This emperor is the most arrogant and pretentious person ever. If it weren't for his good - looking face, hmph..." Someone selectively forgot how miserably she had been bullied.
"Pfft, it's okay. We can study the game strategy together. It'll help us complete the tasks faster!"
"Sounds good, bro!" Someone beamed with joy.
"By the way, I was going to tell you..." The man in green was about to say something else.
Just then, a middle - aged man in purple finery came out of the Jinyuan Hall.
This man looked to be in his forties. He had slender eyes, a fair complexion without a beard, and his eyes showed a hint of shrewdness and cunning.
He walked in a hurry, as if he was angry but also extremely arrogant.
He turned to the eunuch Xiaoshengzi, who was chasing after him, and said in a shrill and sarcastic tone, "You just go back and tell His Majesty that water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. His Majesty has grown up and has his own opinions, but he shouldn't forget who helped him ascend the throne back then. Humph!"
After saying that, he flicked his sleeve with a dainty gesture, looking so ostentatious that Su Qingwen, who was standing nearby, was greatly shocked.
The innocent Xiaoshengzi wiped the sweat off his forehead and let out a long sigh. When he saw Shen Lingyun, his eyes lit up. He turned to Shen Lingyun and said, "This must be the third young master of the prime minister's mansion. His Majesty is waiting for you. Please go in quickly."
"I'll come out and tell you later. I'll go in now."
Su Qingwen was so shocked that her mouth hung open. She waved her hand to signal him to go quickly.
Damn it! Who is this guy? Is he one of the powerful minions? Why doesn't he just fly to the sky?
The world is going downhill. Even eunuchs are so arrogant these days.
"Sir, why don't you rise with the wind..." Su Qingwen recited a poem dejectedly.
Xiaoshengzi asked in confusion, "Your Highness, what does this poem mean?"
Su Qingwen looked mysterious. "You're so uneducated. It means 'Why don't you fly to the sky?' It's so appropriate to describe that guy just now!"
After saying that, she nudged Xiaoshengzi with her elbow. "Hey, who is that guy?"
Xiaoshengzi pulled her to the side, put his hand close to her ear in the typical gossip - spreading posture, and whispered, "That's the great eunuch Gao Quan. It's actually a secret in the palace, and I'm only telling you, Your Highness. His Majesty used to be a prince who was not favored by the late emperor or the ministers. Then he was spotted by Gao Quan, the great eunuch beside the late emperor, and was supported all the way to the throne. But in Gao Quan's eyes, His Majesty is just a puppet emperor. In fact, Gao Quan is the one who controls the whole court situation. No wonder he is so arrogant. After all, His Majesty is in his hands."
Oh my god! What kind of plot is this? Is Huayueye really in such a miserable situation?
"That's why His Majesty invited him here this time to question him about why the grain funds allocated to the victims were embezzled and the matter of noble sons buying official positions. But Gao Quan didn't take His Majesty's questioning seriously at all. He even said that His Majesty was ungrateful."
Holy moly! This is one hell of a move! Su Qingwen's mouth opened so wide that an egg could fit in it. "Isn't Huayueye usually very arrogant? How can he bear this?" Is it really true that there's always someone to subdue him?
"It is said that Gao Quan has the late emperor's edict in his hand. The edict says that the throne should be passed on to the third prince at that time. But we all know what kind of person this third prince is.
He is cruel and heartless. When he was still a prince, he did a lot of evil things like bullying men and oppressing women. After His Majesty ascended the throne, he was locked in the water prison. If he were released to be the emperor, not to mention the people would suffer, His Majesty would also have a hard time!"
So, this Gao Quan is the ultimate boss, the most powerful person in the whole world. Do I not have to take down Huayueye anymore?
Holy crap! Why do I feel a little happy for no reason?
Just then, a system prompt sounded.
[System: Congratulations, dear! You've successfully unlocked the main - line objective. Now you're qualified for side - quests.]
Su Qingwen was so surprised that she almost bit her tongue off. "Holy shit! So Gao Quan is really the boss. Wait a minute. Didn't you say before that I wasn't qualified to check the side - quests? Are you kidding me?" Su Qingwen asked suspiciously.
[System:... Dear, that's because you hadn't unlocked the main - line characters at that time.]
"No, I used to get rewards for completing tasks. Is the reward this time just unlocking the side - quests? My game rewards haven't been secretly taken by you, have they?" Su Qingwen started to roll up her sleeves.
[System: Well... There are indeed rewards, but you can only use them when you start the side - quests.]
Su Qingwen's curiosity was piqued. "Tell me quickly! They're my reward skills. Why can't I use them?"
[System: Dear, I'm a principled system...]
Su Qingwen smiled slyly. "I heard you were reported for having a bad attitude last time?"
[System: What do you want to do...?]
Su Qingwen's eyes sparkled. "I've heard that there are dozens of terabytes of educational action movies in your internal network. If I..."
[System: The system is humanity's best friend. Can't we talk things through? Our new skill is "Historical Replay".]
Huh?! It sounds so high - end.
Su Qingwen got interested. "But why can it only be used in side - quests?"
[System: Because only side - quest items can use this skill. It won't work on others...]
Su Qingwen silently gave the middle finger. It's so useless. No wonder it was too embarrassed to tell me.
Just then, Shen Lingyun came out of the hall.
Su Qingwen's eyes lit up. She stepped forward. "Hey, what were you going to tell me just now?" Su Qingwen still remembered that Shen Lingyun had left his words half - said before going in.
"Actually, I wanted to tell you that there's probably a hidden boss in this game..."
What? A hidden boss?