When Yu Miaohua woke up from her afternoon nap, she discovered that the main quest she had given up on had somehow completed itself?
[Congratulations, Host, for completing Main Quest 4.6: Have the Empress and Crown Prince sever ties with Yang Lishen! The first treasure map left by the previous dynasty has been issued!]
This time, the system had learned its lesson and waited until Yu Miaohua was fully awake before delivering the completion notice.
Yu Miaohua’s face went blank, while internally she was screaming in disbelief.
[What?! How is this possible? Did Her Majesty the Empress really cut ties with her father? Does she not care about her reputation anymore?]
Yu Miaohua truly didn’t understand. Moreover, she had never even hinted at this idea to the Empress.
Unbidden, the image of the Empress’s resolute expression as she held Yu Miaohua’s hand before her departure surfaced in her mind.
She had thought the worst that would happen was Yang Lishen being stripped of his status and reduced to a commoner. But the seemingly gentle Empress had quietly orchestrated such a dramatic move without a word.
The frustrating part was that she couldn’t rush to Fengyi Palace to ask—she couldn’t reveal that she already knew about this.
Yu Miaohua didn’t have to wait long. The Emperor’s edict soon spread throughout the inner palace.
Hong Xing, wide-eyed with shock, relayed the contents of the edict to her.
Yu Miaohua listened, stunned. The Emperor’s maneuver made her want to applaud—it directly resolved her biggest concern.
No one in the future would be able to use this against the Empress, accusing her of filial impiety. Instead, everyone would sympathize with her plight—how she had painfully severed ties with her father to save his life. Even Yang Lishen’s wealth was forfeited, as the Emperor had declared his fate inherently lowly, warning that excessive luxury would bring calamity.
But still…
What an incredible coincidence. She had triggered this quest, and the punishment just happened to align perfectly.
Either the Emperor and Empress shared a telepathic connection with her, or they had simply endured Yang Lishen’s antics long enough and finally decided to act.
After some thought, Yu Miaohua decided to visit Fengyi Palace.
The palace was packed with concubines who had come to pay their respects. Many wore expressions of concern as they offered their sympathies.
The Empress sighed, her eyes slightly reddened. "There was no other choice. To ensure he lives a few more years, I had no choice but to sever our father-daughter bond."
"It is my fault for being unfilial. I was so focused on honoring him that I failed to realize my actions only worsened his condition. This time, he fell gravely ill and wouldn’t wake. If not for the Taoist master’s guidance, he would have lost his life."
"The Emperor sent him to a Taoist temple, and now he has awakened and can eat again. This proves the master’s words were true."
Since their ties were now severed, the Empress referred to him simply as "he," no longer calling him "Father."
Coincidentally, Yang Lishen had recently made a mistake in his official duties. After being reprimanded by his superior, he had retreated to his residence under the pretense of illness—a convenient cover for the Empress’s explanation.
By the end of her speech, the Empress’s voice trembled, and tears spilled down her cheeks.
Yu Miaohua watched, dumbfounded. If she hadn’t known the truth, she would have believed every word.
[Her Majesty’s acting skills could win her an Oscar in the modern era. Host, doesn’t it unsettle you how deep her schemes run?]
[If she hadn’t done this to avenge me, she wouldn’t have needed to act at all. If I doubted her now, what kind of person would that make me?]
[My charm is truly unmatched—I made the Empress turn against her own father for me!]
Yu Miaohua didn’t see cunning as a flaw. As the nation’s mother, managing the inner palace for years, the Empress would have been easily manipulated if she lacked wit. Being shrewd was a good thing.
Especially when that intelligence was used to help her—it was downright reassuring!
Yu Miaohua couldn’t help but marvel at her own talent for being a femme fatale.
The Empress looked up and noticed the conspicuous lines of text floating above Yu Miaohua’s head.
A faint smile touched her eyes. For someone accustomed to being the protector, having someone place their complete trust in her was undeniably rewarding.
"Concubine Hui is here. Come forward."
The other concubines quickly made way—everyone knew how close the Empress and Concubine Hui were. The latter treated Fengyi Palace like her own home.
Not just Concubine Hui, the Empress was also on excellent terms with Concubine Yuan.
Sensing that the two highest-ranking women in the inner palace had matters to discuss, the others tactfully withdrew.
Once they were alone, the Empress said, "You needn’t blame yourself. Even without your involvement, the Emperor would have dealt with my father sooner or later."
"Rather than wait until his audacity grew and he committed a crime warranting the extermination of his clan, cutting ties now and stripping him of all influence is the only way to spare his life."
She didn’t want Yu Miaohua to bear undue guilt over this.
"You may not know this, but those girls he took in might have ties to remnants of the previous dynasty. My father, thinking himself clever, became a pawn in their schemes without realizing it."
In truth, the Emperor had no concrete evidence. But given their unwavering faith in the divine system’s omniscience, they attributed the matter to the previous dynasty’s remnants and pinned the blame on them.
Yu Miaohua, unaware of this, assumed the Emperor had uncovered irrefutable proof.
Her expression cleared with understanding. "So that’s how it is."
Then it struck her—this was the perfect opportunity to present the treasure map!
[System, hand over the treasure map now!]
She quickly added, "No wonder I found something under my pillow after my nap. The Buddha must have been outraged by the former dynasty’s remnants and entrusted this to me."
Once the system delivered the reward, Yu Miaohua pulled out the neatly folded treasure map from her sleeve.
The Empress feigned curiosity. "What is this?"
Yu Miaohua blinked and lowered her voice. "It’s a treasure map—leading to the former dynasty’s hidden vault!"
The Empress grasped her hand. "This is no trivial matter. Come, we must inform the Emperor at once."
She marveled inwardly: Had anyone else obtained such a map, they would have tried to pocket some of the treasure. Yet Yu Miaohua hadn’t even considered it.
Little did she know, Yu Miaohua simply felt she already had more money than she could spend. Another vault would feel like an abstract number rather than real wealth.
Moreover, this fortune had been amassed through the former dynasty’s exploitation of the people. It didn’t belong to any individual—returning it to the national treasury would at least benefit the common folk.
...
And so, Yu Miaohua handed over the treasure without hesitation.
After all, a vault worth millions in gold was too much responsibility to keep indefinitely.
Pei Lingyue took the map and dispatched a team of trusted men—led by the Marquis of Wulie, Jiang Xunxin, and Ge Chengrong, all personally vetted by Yu Miaohua—to locate the vault.
Ge Chengrong, as Minister of Revenue, had to feign illness to leave the capital unnoticed.
The lack of reliable personnel was still an issue.
Pei Lingyue couldn’t help but wish the divine system would level up further, allowing more officials to be evaluated so he could expand his pool of trustworthy aides.
Half a month later, the Marquis of Wulie and his team successfully located the vault and escorted the gold back to the capital.
Of course, they moved the gold into the treasury under the cover of night.
Given that Yu Miaohua was the one who made the greatest contribution, Pei Lingyue still brought her to see the gold.
Staring at the mountains of gold bars and ingots piled high, Yu Miaohua was utterly dumbfounded.
The sheer impact of so much gold gathered in one place was overwhelming—her eyes were nearly blinded by the dazzling sight.
[System, how many more treasure maps from the previous dynasty are left?]
[There are five in total.]
[There must be more treasure map tasks later, right? No wonder the previous dynasty fell—they really deserved it.]
[Good. If we trigger more related mission rewards later, we should do our best to complete them and uncover the other hidden treasures. I hope the Emperor will use this wealth for the people—it rightfully belongs to them anyway.]
[We’ll definitely trigger more treasure map rewards!]
[Alright, System, let’s work hard together!]
The system silently cheered in its heart—it was rare to see its host so motivated.
Pei Lingyue found this an unexpected delight—who knew that just showing Yu Miaohua the gold would ignite such fervor in her?
Afterward, Yu Miaohua was eager to trigger related missions, but for a while, the imperial harem remained eerily peaceful, and the court was similarly tranquil.
She was so bored she could practically dig her toes into the ground.
In truth, everyone was still reeling from the Emperor’s decree ordering the Empress to sever ties with her birth father. The excuse given might have fooled commoners, but it certainly didn’t deceive the court officials.
That was the Emperor’s father-in-law, yet the Emperor had disposed of him without hesitation, cutting off all of Yang Lishen’s escape routes with a single stroke—all under the guise of a righteous justification.
If it had been any of them, their fate would have been no better than Yang Lishen’s.
Who would dare act out in front of the Emperor now?
As for the harem, the most likely troublemaker—the princess from the Great Liang—was still under house arrest, copying Buddhist scriptures as punishment.
To prevent her from stirring up trouble, Pei Lingyue had even assigned several stern matrons to her palace.
From the seventh month onward, the regions of Jiangzhou, Xiazhou, and Songzhou had seen no rain for days. By the eighth month, the crops in the fields had withered under the scorching sun.
News of the severe drought in these three regions reached the capital, and the price of rice had doubled in just half a month.
Memorials reporting the crisis flooded the capital like snowflakes.
……
Jiangzhou.
"Mother, I managed to buy some rice."
A woman in brown clothing carried half a sack of rice home—purchased with the money she earned from selling embroidered handkerchiefs.
Her mother, Madam Zhang, examined the rice and sighed. "The price has gone up again."
Yang Cuihua said, "A single dan of rice used to cost 300 wen, but now it’s 900 wen."
If she hadn’t bought extra last month, their rice supply wouldn’t have lasted a few more months. But they had no choice—no one knew how long the drought would last. Their crops had already withered, leaving them with no harvest for the second half of the year. Even if they planted next year, it would take another six months before they could reap anything. And the price of rice would surely keep rising.
Madam Zhang’s face twisted with regret, tears spilling down her cheeks. "If only we had planted that Champa rice."
At the beginning of the year, the village head had urged them to take Champa rice seeds, saying they yielded two harvests a year. Madam Zhang had refused—if it was truly such a good thing, why would it be given to commoners like them?
She never expected that her neighbor, who had planted the Champa rice, had already harvested once in the seventh month. Thanks to that, their family was faring much better than hers.
Madam Zhang was filled with remorse. If not for her daughter-in-law’s skillful embroidery, which brought in some money, the two of them would have been reduced to eating wild greens and tree roots. Her son, to save food, had already left to work as a laborer in another region.
She clutched her daughter-in-law’s hand. "Next year, we’ll plant Champa rice on all our land."
Yang Cuihua nodded. "We’ll sow both acres with it."
But that was next year’s concern—they still had to survive the current crisis.
Yang Cuihua said firmly, "The court won’t abandon us."
Madam Zhang wasn’t so hopeful. Suddenly, she lowered her voice. "How much money do you have left?"
Yang Cuihua still had five taels of silver, given to her by her husband before he left. Knowing her mother was easily swayed, she lied, "Only about one tael. I’ll need to embroider more handkerchiefs soon."
"Mother, why do you ask?"
Madam Zhang whispered, "If the rain doesn’t come soon, we’ll have no way to survive. Maybe we should offer the money to the White Lotus Holy Mother, so she may grant us rain."
"You don’t understand—the Holy Mother has real divine powers. Her guardians wield mighty magic. Even Master Li, who was deathly ill, recovered within two days after drinking their blessed water."
"And the Wang family’s granddaughter was possessed—they cured her too."
Yang Cuihua didn’t believe in this so-called Holy Mother. "Can the Holy Mother conjure rice for us to eat? If she were real, why wouldn’t the Divine Consort have mentioned her?"
Compared to this sudden White Lotus Holy Mother, Yang Cuihua had more faith in the capital’s Divine Consort, the Noble Consort Hui.
"Noble Consort Hui gave us Champa rice and cotton. She even warned us about the earthquake in the third month. Why didn’t this Holy Mother warn us about the drought?"
Madam Zhang opened her mouth to argue but found her daughter-in-law’s reasoning sound.
"Then… we won’t give the money?"
While Madam Zhang hesitated, others readily handed over their meager savings to the White Lotus Holy Mother’s followers.
The White Lotus sect members counted the offerings from their believers, their faces darkening with dissatisfaction.
"It’s still too little."
The paltry sum wasn’t even enough for their own indulgences, let alone funding their plans to restore the fallen dynasty.
The White Lotus sect was, in fact, the remnants of the previous dynasty that Pei Lingyue had spoken of. Knowing their dynasty’s name was tainted—and that the people would beat them and drag them to the authorities if discovered—they had fabricated the identity of the "White Lotus Holy Mother, Savior of Suffering." Using sleight of hand and staged miracles, along with planted followers, they deceived the superstitious into offering them money.
Originally, this scheme only netted them small sums. But with Jiangzhou and other regions struck by a once-in-a-decade drought, rice prices soaring, and the people desperate, more and more turned to divine intervention. The White Lotus sect seized the opportunity to amass wealth.
"This is just the beginning. As long as the rain holds, our fortunes will keep growing."
A delicate-featured man, Xu Zi'an, one of the sect’s elders, narrowed his eyes. "Earlier, I visited the Gu, Sun, and Qian families… All three plan to raise rice prices even further. This is a heaven-sent chance for profit—they won’t let it slip."
"These merchants only care about silver. Before long, rice will cost ten times its original price."
All they had to do was fan the flames, and chaos would spread among the people.
Great Qi had stolen their empire—now, they would ensure its Emperor never sat securely on the throne again.
To say these remnants of the former dynasty were fiercely loyal to their fallen royal family would be an exaggeration. It was simply that during the previous regime, their ancestors had enjoyed the highest status and luxuries imaginable. Now, under Great Qi’s rule, these descendants of nobility could only skulk in the shadows, desperate to reclaim their forebears’ glory.
Their plans seemed sound—until two days later, when the government opened its granaries and began selling rice.
The price was the same as before the drought, if not cheaper: 180 coins per dan. The families of Gu, Sun, and Qian rushed to the White Lotus Sect in panic.
"Your Excellency, the government is selling grain so cheaply that no one is buying ours anymore. What should we do?"
If these were small-scale grain merchants, the three families might have dared to threaten them. But this was the government—they wouldn’t have the courage even with ten extra lives.
"Not only that, but the government has also set up multiple porridge kitchens."
Anyone who lined up could receive a bowl of thick porridge—so thick that chopsticks stood upright in it. And since people had to eat it on-site, no one could dump it maliciously.
With affordable rice and free porridge available, who would bother buying from them?
Xu Zi'an said calmly, "The government’s granaries are limited and can’t sustain all of Jiangzhou’s hungry mouths. Why not spend more to buy rice from the commoners? Purchase as much as you can. Once the people run out of rice, they’ll have to turn to the government again. When the granaries are emptied, you can set the price as you please."
His composed and confident demeanor was utterly convincing.
The three families agreed and followed his advice.
Thanks to the court’s low-priced rice, the city’s tense atmosphere dissipated.
For the common folk, as long as they weren’t starving and could see hope, they could endure a little longer.
Madam Zhang was especially relieved—she had listened to her daughter-in-law, and sure enough, the court hadn’t abandoned them. Every day, she and her daughter-in-law queued for porridge, and their hunger faded.
Since the Sun, Gu, and Qian families were willing to pay extra for rice, the two women discussed it and decided to sell most of their stock, keeping only enough to last until the next year. After selling, they bought more from the government, and through this back-and-forth, they recouped some of their earlier losses.
The three families kept spending, buying rice day after day—until they saw boat after boat arriving, loaded with more grain.
The government’s supply seemed endless, while their own funds were nearly exhausted.
What now?
Then, the government made an announcement.
Back in the first month, the Divine Maiden had sacrificed her own lifespan to glimpse the heavens’ secrets—not only foreseeing the earthquake but also predicting the drought in the eighth month. To prevent profiteering, the court had kept this hidden while making extensive preparations.
There should have been a locust plague as well, but thanks to early countermeasures and the promotion of poultry farming, the damage was minimal and confined to a few areas.
The Jiangzhou prefect declared loudly, "No one needs to worry about starvation. We have ample grain reserves to last until the drought ends."
He also announced that the court had decreed a three-year exemption from land taxes and poll taxes for Jiangzhou, Xiazhou, and Songzhou.
In the past, the people might have resented the court for hiding such a disaster from them. But after experiencing the grain merchants’ price gouging, they understood—if the news had leaked earlier, those greedy merchants would have hoarded all the rice, leaving them helpless.
Now, with the government’s assurance, they felt secure.
Still…
"Is the national treasury really that wealthy? Can they keep this up?" someone in the crowd asked.
The prefect had been waiting for this question. A faint smile appeared as he replied, "The heavens favor Great Qi. A map to the former dynasty’s treasure vault was bestowed upon us, and within it, the court found mountains of gold. There’s more than enough to cover the grain expenses."
He cupped his hands toward the air. "Our thanks to the former dynasty for their generous contribution."
The people loved nothing more than tales of hidden treasure—especially when it came from the fallen dynasty.
The news spread like wildfire, and the exhaustion and anxiety of recent days vanished, replaced by lively discussions.
"How much gold do you think was in that vault?"
"At least hundreds of thousands of taels!"
"With all the grain the court’s been distributing, it must be millions!"
"I heard the former dynasty’s descendants searched for that vault for over two hundred years and found nothing. Yet our court uncovered it—what does that tell you? Their fate was long exhausted. Heaven’s mandate belongs to Great Qi!"
"Exactly! Their emperor spent decades chasing immortality, and the gods ignored him. Meanwhile, we have a real Divine Maiden!"
"My father stubbornly followed that White Lotus Sect—nothing I said could change his mind. Now he regrets it and wants his money back. Why worship their so-called Holy Mother when we have the Divine Maiden?"
In no time, the once-thriving White Lotus Sect lost its foothold among the people. Many demanded refunds. If the Divine Maiden could foresee the drought, why hadn’t their Holy Mother, a supposed true deity, warned them? Clearly, she was lacking.
And if she was useless, why bother believing?
Overnight, White Lotus followers became public enemies. Xu Zi'an and his comrades fled in disgrace, abandoning the wealth they had swindled.
They were furious.
After searching for years, they had found nothing—only for Great Qi to stumble upon the treasure.
Was the heavens truly determined to side with Great Qi?
They refused to accept it.
After barely escaping, they regrouped with another faction.
"It must be because of the Divine Maiden. The gods favor Great Qi for her sake."
"Without her, Great Qi would never have gained so many blessings. We must find a way to make her ours."
With the Divine Maiden on their side, they could locate the remaining treasures, raise an army, and restore their dynasty.
And if they couldn’t have her… they’d rather destroy her.
...
[Congratulations, Host, on completing the hidden quest: Gaining prestige in the millions, becoming the true Divine Maiden in countless hearts. Reward: Three Dragon King skills + 1,000 points.]
[Congratulations, Host, on completing the hidden quest: Being acknowledged by five or more factions as their most cherished ideal. Reward: Three Sky Projection skills + 1,000 points.]
The voice announcing the quest completion echoed in Yu Miaohua’s mind, leaving her stunned.
The first hidden quest made sense—the court’s announcement about her predicting the drought had elevated her status among the people.
It is said that the imperial court took the opportunity to round up those grain merchants who had been hoarding and inflating prices—confiscating their properties and executing some as a harsh warning to others.
Dragon King’s skill…
As the name suggests, does this mean it can summon rain?
This skill is perfect, just what’s needed for those three prefectures.
[System, can you make it rain immediately in Jiangzhou, Xiazhou, and Songzhou?]
[The host must be present in the local area to use this skill.]
Yu Miaohua: "…"
In that case, she’ll use the dream-sending skill to convince the Emperor to let her leave the capital.
As for the projection skill…
[What can the projection skill do?]
[This system can help the host create related videos. As long as the host wishes, they can be projected into the sky for everyone to see.]
[Or you could even let everyone binge-watch dramas with you.]
[……]
Thanks, but this skill is practically useless.
Yu Miaohua outright ignored it.
[Which five or more factions are included?]
[The remnants of the previous dynasty, Daliang, the Grasslands, Half-Moon Country, and Yue Country.]
Seeing "the remnants of the previous dynasty," Yu Miaohua felt complicated emotions. As for Daliang, given how they seemed to despise her to the point of wanting her dead, she had assumed they hated her intensely. But in the end, they turned out to be so-called "anti-fans"?
She could do without that kind of fanbase.
Concerned about the situation in those three regions, Yu Miaohua used the dream-sending skill on Pei Lingyue that very night.
The next day, Pei Lingyue awoke from his dream and, after the morning court session, kept his trusted advisors behind.
The other officials had already grown accustomed to the Emperor’s favoritism toward the Grand Preceptor, Grand Tutor, and others.
Pei Lingyue declared, "This dream must have been sent by the System deity at the behest of Noble Consort Hui."
"To alleviate the drought in those three regions, I intend to send Noble Consort Hui out of the capital."
Grand Preceptor Jiang Kangyou immediately saw through the Emperor’s intentions. "Your Majesty wishes to have the Crown Prince, the Prince of Feng’s heir, and Scholar Shen escort Noble Consort Hui, correct?"
There was no way the Emperor would pass up such a good opportunity to earn rewards.
Pei Lingyue made the decision outright. "I believe the Grand Preceptor would be the perfect imperial envoy for this task."
With his teacher present, he could keep an eye on new missions at all times. His teacher was no rigid traditionalist and would surely find ways to assist Yu Miaohua in completing her tasks.
Jiang Kangyou did not refuse—this concerned the lives of the common people in those three regions, and he couldn’t bring himself to decline.
Pei Lingyue pondered for a moment, slightly worried that his teacher might favor Shen Sushang, so he also appointed the Marquis of Wulie to join the mission.
Thus, Yu Miaohua, having only just sent the dream, was packed onto a carriage that very afternoon.
Pei Lingyue gazed at her with earnest sincerity. "Noble Consort Hui, the people of Jiangzhou and the other regions are in your hands."
Yu Miaohua: "…"
Action-oriented people were truly terrifying.
Her departure was one thing, but why were the Crown Prince, the Prince of Feng’s heir, and Shen Sushang all coming along?
All three of them were her romance targets—wasn’t this coincidence a bit too much?
As if reading her thoughts, Pei Lingyue explained, "I need Scholar Shen to document the divine miracles."
Yu Miaohua could accept that. Her junior brother was practically becoming the Emperor’s personal artist.
"I cannot leave the capital at will, so the Crown Prince will represent me."
Yu Miaohua understood.
"As for the Prince of Feng’s heir…" Pei Lingyue said solemnly, "I know there are many lawless individuals spreading malicious slander about you. I want the world to see that my trust in you will not waver because of such rumors."
"I trust you all."
Yu Miaohua trusted herself, but she didn’t trust Pei Yuheng.
Hearing his uncle-emperor’s resolute words, Pei Yuheng guiltily averted his gaze—his conscience was far from clear.
Observing his cousin’s expression, Pei Chiyan sighed inwardly: His cousin’s entire family had been played by the Emperor like puppets on strings, with no hope of ever turning the tables.
