Chapter 1

"Notes on Raising Mushrooms as an Emperor" by Dan Qingluo [Completed]

Synopsis:

Lin Ling was a little mushroom spirit growing on a beam in the Imperial Study, watching the tyrant's daily routine every day—

Confiscating estates, banishing families, executing nine generations.

The little mushroom had no opinion on that, except the little flowerpot he used to bask in the moonlight kept getting innocently caught up in it, crashing to the floor along with the memorials.

So he invaded the tyrant's dreams every day to complain, and the tyrant gave him a new flowerpot.

Lin Ling sat on the beam, looking at the new flowerpot he had just received, happily imagining himself living in it—when someone angered the tyrant again.

The tyrant raised his hand, and Lin Ling immediately reminded him in a nervous whisper, "When you get angry and start smashing things later, don't break my new flowerpot again, okay?"

The hall instantly fell silent. Before everyone's eyes, the tyrant turned around and moved the flowerpot somewhere else first.

The ministers, their legs trembling and too afraid to look up, belatedly realized that the decisive, ruthless emperor was also learning to raise a soft, tiny mushroom.

PS: The dynasty is fictional, and the language leans modern. A sweet little bedtime read to help you sleep—if you think too hard while reading, you might not be able to fall asleep OvO

PPS: There are lots of similar stories in the author's column. They all feature the same protagonists but are standalone short stories. If you like them, feel free to check them out~

Tags: Supernatural, heaven-sent match

Sweet romance

Court politics, cute pets

Lighthearted

Main character: Lin Ling; interaction: Shi Changyuan; supporting cast: court ministers

Other: Cute pet sweet romance

One-line summary: The tyrant and his adorable mushroom demon consort

Theme: You need to work hard to obtain what you want

Chapter 1

Crash—

Inside the Imperial Study, an exquisite jade cup on the table was smashed against the floor. Shards flew everywhere, and the ministers in the study immediately dropped to their knees in a clatter, cold sweat streaming down their backs.

On the elaborately carved beam, a thumb-sized white mushroom stared at the tyrant below and unhappily swayed his little cap.

Smashing things again.

He actually had no opinion on it. Perhaps this was simply how human rulers managed their subordinates. But a few days ago, this human ruler had accidentally smashed his flowerpot—and had shown no intention of compensating him.

That gave him a very! strong! opinion!

As a mushroom spirit, Lin Ling felt that growing on the beam of a human ruler's study was truly inappropriate.

He wanted to return to the deep mountains and ancient forests of legend, so he had specially prepared a little flowerpot to move into. Yet before it had even warmed in his hands, the tyrant had smashed it with a crash, scattering it into pieces.

"Gentlemen, you have truly disappointed Us."

Directly beneath the beam, the tyrant sat upon the dragon throne. His tone was calm, as though the jade cup he had shattered earlier had been an illusion. Yet the calmer he sounded, the more the ministers kneeling below trembled like sieves.

Only the white mushroom on the beam swayed cheerfully, even stretching out his stalk to count the fragments on the floor.

One, two, three, four, five pieces...

"My little flowerpot died even worse. It broke into sixteen pieces," Lin Ling muttered quietly, with a strange hint of pride.

"Such a simple case of cheating in the imperial examinations has dragged on for so long. It is difficult not to suspect that you gentlemen are involved as well."

After counting the fragments, Lin Ling tried to eavesdrop on what had angered the tyrant today, but all he heard were some strange words.

Something about imperial examinations and investigations?

Hmm... maybe someone had gotten into a fight.

The emperor in his dark dragon robe walked before the crowd prostrating themselves on the floor. Looking down at them, he said in a chilling tone, "Perhaps all of you should be stripped of office and investigated."

The mushroom understood even less of the conversation that followed. He knew the tyrant was punishing them over this fighting matter, but he did not understand why "exile" was also a punishment.

The mushroom could only understand beheading. Sure enough, mushrooms belonged in the deep mountains and ancient forests.

Lin Ling grew even more determined to return to the mountains. He simply stopped listening to the strange words and quietly waited for night to fall, for the tyrant's time to rest.

When the oil lamp burned low and the shadows cast upon the wall flickered, the tireless human ruler finally removed his clothes and prepared to go to bed.

The tyrant did not return to his bedchamber because, as Lin Ling knew, he would have to rise and work again in another four hours.

"Perfect chance!" Lin Ling was quick-eyed and quick-handed. The instant the tyrant lay down, he entered his dream.

"Heh heh heh, I'm back—" The moment Lin Ling entered the dream, before he had even seen the tyrant himself, he announced the purpose of his visit.

"If you still won't compensate me for my little flowerpot, I'll keep haunting you forever. So? Have you thought it over... Eek?!"

Before Lin Ling could finish speaking, the gloomy setting of the dream gave him a huge fright.

A dried-up well, a deserted courtyard, clanking broken chains, and faint sobs rising and falling all around—it was terribly creepy, like the legendary Cold Palace, and also like the legendary dungeon.

The mushroom had never seen anything like this. He hurriedly waved his hand, using hallucinogenic spores to alter the other man's dream, returning it to the brightly lit Imperial Study.

Lin Ling looked around and nodded in satisfaction. It was exactly the same as the Imperial Study during the day.

The tyrant in the dream sat on the bed, wearing only an inner robe with a dark dragon robe loosely draped over himself. His long black hair fell at his sides. Propping his head up with one hand, he leisurely played chess against himself, utterly relaxed and completely unlike the imposing figure he was during the day.

"Found you!"

This was Lin Ling's third time entering his dreams, so he was already very familiar with the place. He plopped down opposite the tyrant. "You smashed another cup today. It broke into five pieces."

The young man before him held up five fingers and waved them in front of the tyrant. "But you smashed my little flowerpot into sixteen pieces. It can't even be glued back together anymore..."

It was a dream.

Shi Changyuan knew he was dreaming. For more than a decade, his nightmares had been nothing more than the hidden secrets of the Cold Palace from his youth.

Only recently, something strange had happened. The setting of his nightmares had changed into the Imperial Study, and there was an unfamiliar young man, beautiful yet strange in every way, chattering endlessly and demanding that he compensate him for a flowerpot.