Nine out of ten gamblers lose; I've run into a jerk!

Chapter 10 Enlightenment in the Toilet

【My dearest host, System 9527 is at your service】

After much anticipation, it finally appeared. After all, it was still counting on Shen Qing to work for it, so the system couldn't pretend to be dead for too long.

"Stop coming up with useless stuff," Shen Qing waved his hand. "Does this world have any other systems? Like an infrastructure system, a famous minister system, a sign-in system, or something like that?"

I don't know, dear.

"...Is your system not connected to the internet?"

Shen Qing was just making a casual remark, but the system unexpectedly chimed in.

[The current signal is weak. If the host agrees to bind and activate the system, we can attempt to search if any other systems exist in this dimension.]

Shen Qing was taken aback. "Really?"

But what does "weak signal" mean? Why is it necessary to bind to it for retrieval? Is the system, as an outsider, being ostracized by the world's consciousness, while he is the connector of this world? But he was clearly also abducted by the system.

[Host, you really don't need to worry at all. I'm a seasoned system; I've seen it all, and my combat power is top-notch.]

"Heh~ A strategy system, relying on seduction to bewitch the enemy?"

[It's not impossible, love makes people stupid...] Sensing the death stare, the system immediately changed its tune: [There are also offensive items in the shop.]

"Signing a contract is such a serious matter, you should at least come out for a face-to-face meeting. It's been buzzing in my head." Shen Qing had always been very curious about what kind of existence the system was and what its true form looked like.

We're not on the same level. I can see you, but you can't see me, just like you can see an ant, but the ant can't sense you.

"Oh, so I'm a low-dimensional being."

Should it respond to this question or not?

"Then how can I hear you?"

Human thought is four-dimensional.

"???" This is too scientific. No, I can't reveal that he doesn't understand. Shen Qing quickly changed the subject.

"Actually, there's something I've never understood. Your system seems to be an intelligent life form, so why don't you just possess another body to complete the mission? Why do you have to bring in an outsider as a host, adding a middleman to make a profit and increasing the variables?"

【Uh… I don’t know~】This is the first time a host has asked this question.

"I suspect that the world's consciousness rejects undocumented immigrants, but the question is, am I not an undocumented immigrant myself?"

[...] Damn! He guessed right. The system didn't say anything because saying it out loud would make him sound even more like a villain.

"That's contradictory. It can't be that Shen Qingxi's body plus my soul equals the Heavenly Dao's favorite son, can it?" Shen Qing laughed at her own absurd idea as she spoke.

[Heh...hehe...] The system awkwardly chuckled along.

Suddenly, Shen Qing clapped his hands, a "wise" glint in his eyes.

"I got it!"

【What?!】

Shen Qing smiled without saying a word. It was not advisable to work behind closed doors. Going out and exploring was indeed the right thing to do. Today's experience made him realize that he was not special at all. Transmigrators are not necessarily the protagonists; they may also be cannon fodder!

I silently set three principles for myself:

First, keep your identity as a time traveler firmly hidden;

Second, we must resolutely prevent the system from being exposed;

Third, do not trust the system!

Additional information: If you really can't cover it up, you can appropriately reveal the respawn information to confuse the enemy.

Fortunately, according to Shen Qing's experiment, unless he expresses his willingness to communicate, the system cannot probe his inner thoughts. However, if he is bound to the system, the system may be able to know all his thoughts without any privacy. Of course, this is still just his conjecture.

What exactly did he realize? Looking at Shen Qing's crooked smile, the system felt that he was even more villainous than the villain!

Shen Haiwang was always good at coaxing people, including himself. His depressed mood vanished, and he came out feeling refreshed. The students queuing at the door looked at him strangely.

He coughed awkwardly and then slipped away.

On the way back, I could hear sounds coming from the East Pavilion in the distance.

"The world has really changed. These days, even illegitimate children and sons of soldiers can be respected."

The two young masters from noble families were whispering to each other, their voices so loud that he could hear them clearly from more than ten meters away, not to mention Jiang Se and the Fifth Prince Que Shu who were even closer.

It's sarcastic and unpleasant, not very harmful, but very insulting.

Nine-year-old Que Shu was clearly not as calm as Jiang Se. If he rushed up to argue with her, he would lose his composure and be at a disadvantage. If he didn't react, he would be laughed at and seen as easy to bully. He was caught in a dilemma and his angry emotions were written all over his face.

"Wasn't the founding marshal of my Xuan Kingdom a military strategist? And the founding prime minister was born out of wedlock. It was through the hard work and pioneering spirit of these two sages that the foundation of my Xuan Kingdom was laid. May I ask what remarkable achievements your household has made in the past thirty years?"

The one who spoke up for justice was the Lady of Le'an County. Jiang Se looked at her, and her gloomy eyes finally stirred.

"It's you again, Le'an. You wouldn't have fallen for him, would you? Well, this illegitimate son's appearance is indeed attractive."

"He's not qualified to be your husband, but he'd be a good gigolo, hahaha~"

"you!"

Le'an was a shrewd and open-minded person, but she was still a girl after all, and her face turned bright red from being teased like that.

The troublemakers around them even joined in the commotion.

Sure enough, the best way to attack women since ancient times is to spread rumors and make them fall into a self-proving trap.

"presumptuous!"

For the first time, Jiang Se, who had remained unmoved, became angry, clenched her fists, and it looked like the two were about to come to blows.

"Jiang Jieyu has arrived—"

Just as tensions were rising, a loud "Yes, sir!" came from outside the Wenhan Pavilion.

Even if you don't care about the monk, you should care about the Buddha. Although the rank of the sixth-grade concubine is not high, she is really favored. If she continues to make trouble, it will be disrespectful to the emperor. The troublemaking boy snorted coldly, turned his sleeves and left. The others also scattered.

Shen Qing had heard of Consort Jiang. She didn't enter the palace through the proper selection process, but rather had an affair with the emperor during an autumn hunt outside the palace. Her methods of rising to power were not exactly honorable.

When she first entered the palace, she was only an eighth-rank Baolin, just one rank higher than a ninth-rank Gengyi. It is said that this was done out of respect for Marquis Wu'an. Three months later, she became pregnant and gave birth to a seventh-rank Fangyi. After giving birth to the fifth prince, she was promoted to a sixth-rank Jieyu.

Later, for some unknown reason, the emperor and the empress fell out of favor, and Consort Jiang became the most favored concubine in the harem. The reason her rank remained unchanged was that further promotion would be disrespectful to the families of the other concubines.

Shen Qing stood on tiptoe to peek, wanting to see what level of favored concubines in ancient times were at.

This sight was quite alarming; my heart was instantly struck a blow.

A palace maid cleared the way, and a person emerged from it, dressed in a sky-blue palace gown that trailed on the ground. Her movements were graceful and elegant, her face as beautiful as a hibiscus flower, and her waist as slender as a silken thread. All the spring breezes for miles around paled in comparison.

Shen Qing was at a loss for words, feeling that even Daji, the concubine of King Zhou of Shang, and Bao Si, the concubine of King You of Zhou, were no more than that.

At this moment, Shen Qing finally understood something. It wasn't that the Prime Minister was fond of married women, but rather that in ancient times, women in their prime and children could already attend primary school.

For example, he felt no emotion when he looked at the beauties in the palace school who were still like bean sprouts, which can only be said to be that Prime Minister Cao had normal aesthetic sense and was not a lolicon.

I sat up in shock while on my deathbed, realizing that the traitor Cao Cao was actually myself!