The System Was Better at Working the Angles

Was she trying to seduce him?

"Well, hehe... Since my Beloved Consort has asked, naturally I'll tell you the truth."

King Zhou chuckled, looking rather guileless. "That was an oath I made. It means that if I don't let you down, you won't let me down either!"

"But what does that have to do with spanking?" Su Daji asked, a look of confusion in her eyes.

King Zhou launched into the explanation he had prepared, smiling as he twisted the meaning. "It has everything to do with it. There's a lot to it. You won't let me down either—you won't... won't... Think it over, Beloved Consort. Take a closer look."

"Ah... Hehe, Great King, you're killing me! So that's what you meant by 'bottom'!"

Su Daji finally understood. She covered her lips and giggled, her whole body trembling like a flower in the breeze. When she finished laughing, she asked again, "But Great King, you spanked me far too hard. I can hardly take it!"

"It was a solemn oath! I made a solemn oath!"

King Zhou answered with a straight face.

"Is that really a thing? The harder the spanking, the more solemn the oath?"

For a moment, Daji couldn't tell whether he was telling the truth. She simply looked at King Zhou and tried her bewitching charms again.

Di Xin remained unmoved and continued speaking as if nothing had happened. "Beloved Consort, today you were invested as a Noble Consort in Xianqing Hall. To rise from Beauty to Noble Consort in a single day—there's never been a precedent. To show my sincerity to the departed emperors and ancestors, and prove that I'm not simply infatuated with your beauty but because of your virtuous character, I made another promise: we won't share a bed for eighty-one days. I've sacrificed a great deal this time, so you'd better serve me well in the future!"

"Ah... Great King, you needn't be so bound by..." Daji froze, then began to dissuade him. She urgently needed to make progress and improve her cultivation, and she also had to answer to Goddess Nuwa for her mission.

She vaguely sensed that something was wrong, but couldn't put her finger on it.

It seemed King Zhou hadn't been bewitched by her charms at all. She'd actually wasted her efforts trying to seduce him.

Di Xin cut Daji off. "As emperor, how could I break my word? Beloved Consort, there's no need to persuade me. I can certainly hold out. All right, get some rest!"

With that, he hurried to leave.

He didn't want to keep playing out some strange supernatural tale here.

"Great King, please wait. Since you value your word so highly, I admire you greatly. There's one matter I'd like to ask you to grant." Knowing she couldn't get anywhere this way, Daji hastily changed tack and called out to Di Xin again.

As she spoke, she slowly rose and took a piece of white silk from a small chest among her dowry. She held it out to Di Xin. "I can't stay in Great King's chambers for long. The Central Palace and the Western Palace will surely have something to say about it. This is a blueprint I prepared. Please build a small tower according to it, so I'll have somewhere to live."

Di Xin took the silk and unfurled it. It was covered in dense lines, and showed what looked like a tall tower, several dozen feet high—not the small tower Daji had described. Three characters were written beside it, and he happened to recognize every one.

"Star Picking Tower... Beloved Consort, seeing that name reminds me of a dream I had the other day. In it, an immortal sang a song to me. I still remember the lyrics clearly: 'The tower stands a hundred feet high; I can pluck the stars with my hand. I dare not speak aloud, for fear of startling the immortals above.'"

Di Xin pretended to reminisce, making it up as he went.

He'd expected Daji to ask for the Star Picking Tower to be built. He just hadn't thought she'd bring it up so soon.

There was no way he'd build it. After its completion, the torturous punishment of roasting people over a fire and the snake pit would be installed inside, and many would suffer. Even King Zhou himself would eventually burn to death there.

After being transported to this world, Di Xin would never allow the Star Picking Tower to appear.

When he finished reciting the poem, he explained, "That's how I interpret the dream: the immortal was forbidding me from building this tower. If I disturb the immortals above, Heavenly Punishment will descend."

Daji had come here intending to ruin Cheng Tang's fortune. Hearing Di Xin's explanation only strengthened her resolve to have the tower built.

Her eyes shifted, and she came up with a reply. "Great King, your interpretation is wrong. As emperor, you possess Human Emperor Fortune. The closer you are to the heavens, the closer you come to the heavenly secrets. If you meet an immortal, perhaps you could ask for the Art of Longevity. Great King, please grant my wish. I beg you!"

Daji's voice was soft and sweet, and she wielded her bewitching charms to their fullest.

Di Xin feigned a dazed look, intending to refuse tactfully, when two options suddenly appeared before him.

[Option One: Agree to Su Daji's request and build the Star Picking Tower as she wishes. Completion reward: one Spirit Pill worth ten years of cultivation.]

[Option Two: Agree to Su Daji's request, but do the opposite: build a tower underground, fill it with water, and name it Deyue Tower. Completion reward: one Spirit Pill worth five years of cultivation.]

After carefully reading both options, Di Xin was utterly impressed.

System, are you serious?

You're even more shameless than I am!

In this situation, it looked like he had to agree. Otherwise, Su Daji would definitely grow suspicious. After all, though his various actions had explanations, quite a few of them were unreasonable.

Agreeing would surely placate Daji for the time being.

When it came time to inspect the finished tower, he could simply say the workers had read the blueprint upside down.

Besides, an underground tower just meant digging a deep pit. It wouldn't burden the people or cost much. Once it was dug, he could decorate it a little and then fill it with water.

He could also take the opportunity to build a secret chamber at the bottom. Two birds with one stone!

Shameless—absolutely shameless!

Di Xin marveled to himself, then smiled and said, "Since my Beloved Consort puts it that way, I have no more concerns. We'll do as you say."

"Then thank you, Great King!"

Only then did Su Daji smile, once more displaying her irresistible charm.

Di Xin left with the blueprint. He was already imagining the look on Su Daji's face when she saw the enormous water pit on the day the tower was completed.

[Host's choice is completely correct. The option task is complete. Reward: one Spirit Pill worth five years of cultivation.]

The system's reward arrived as soon as he stepped out of Shouxian Palace.

So far, he'd completed three option tasks, and each time the system had judged his choice completely correct.

That put Di Xin greatly at ease.

After these three experiences, he'd reached another simple conclusion: the option with the worst reward was always the correct one.

And that correct option was also the one most beneficial to him in every way.

The correct choice was always listed last.

If he could keep confirming these conclusions, choosing would become even easier.

Back in the Imperial Study, Di Xin swallowed the Spirit Pill he'd just received.

His sensations were completely different from before. He felt as if he could soar into the sky, as if the entire Royal Palace could no longer contain him.

In just one day, his cultivation had increased by eight years. What if the system gave him more tasks?

Di Xin was filled with anticipation.

"Great King, Empress Jiang of the Central Palace requests an audience!"

Just as he was daydreaming, a eunuch came over and reported the news with great care.

This is bad!

She must have come because he'd invested Su Daji without consulting her. She was here to call him to account.

Di Xin felt his rear tighten. After a brief pause, he instructed the eunuch, "Tell the Empress she needn't come here. I'll go see her in the Central Palace myself."

The eunuch acknowledged the order and left. Di Xin reviewed his memories of Empress Jiang, making sure he knew what to expect, then set out for the Central Palace with the Imperial Guards surrounding him.