The belated cheat

"Yan Huaimin, awarded third place among the first-rank jinshi graduates."

"Yang Mingxuan, awarded second place among the first-rank jinshi graduates."

"Shen Shixu, awarded first place among the first-rank jinshi graduates."

In the grand, solemn hall, the civil and military officials stood on opposite sides. The civil officials wore red court robes in shades that varied by rank, darker at the front and progressively lighter toward the back.

The military officials wore deep blue-green court robes, likewise darker at the front and lighter toward the back.

But the three figures standing ahead of all the officials drew the most attention that day: the Top Scholar, second-place graduate, and third-place graduate of the current imperial examination.

All three wore crimson robes, yet each carried the same color with a different air. The third-place graduate was handsome and refined, the second-place graduate composed, and the Top Scholar breathtaking.

The best-looking of the three was the Top Scholar, Shen Shixu. Originally, they had intended to award him third place, but his essays were simply too good. Third place would have done him an injustice, so they named him Top Scholar instead.

He was also the youngest of the three, having just turned eighteen that year. To take first place as Top Scholar on his very first attempt at the Spring Examination made him a truly exceptional young talent.

Shen Shixu had not expected to become Top Scholar on his first attempt either. Even though he did his utmost to contain himself, the corners of his mouth still lifted, and his eyes sparkled as though they held an entire galaxy.

The other officials were all studying their three future colleagues. The second- and third-place graduates were considerably older than Shen Shixu. However pleased they were inwardly, they could still maintain an outward appearance of composure. Yet the delight in their eyes escaped none of these old hands who had spent years navigating officialdom.

As for Shen Shixu, his radiant youthful spirits made those aging old fossils recall their own pride and exhilaration when their names had appeared on the list of successful candidates.

Emperor Wu'an looked at his three newly acquired talents, then at the other scholars waiting outside the hall. These were all fresh blood for his Great Qian, the pillars of his court in years to come. He could not help feeling delighted.

Just as everyone was rejoicing, a high-tech voice that did not belong to this era suddenly rang out throughout the hall.

Ding-dong. Suitable host detected: Shen Shixu. Requesting binding. Binding successful.

Before the assembled ministers or Shen Shixu could react to that mechanical voice, a clear, youthful voice suddenly spoke. "Hello, my dear esteemed host! I'm Gossip System 011. You can call me Xiao Yi."

Shen Shixu had read novels in his previous life, so he knew a little about systems. Hearing that voice, he understood that a system had bound itself to him. But he had never heard of a gossip system. What sort of system was that?

What Shen Shixu did not know was that, from the moment the system had bound itself to him, his inner voice had become audible to everyone present.

The ministers exchanged bewildered looks. Seeing one another's startled, uncertain expressions, they realized that they had not been the only ones to hear that voice; everyone else had heard it too. They looked up at Emperor Wu'an, the Crown Prince, and the other princes. Those powerful figures looked just as startled and uncertain as they did. Apparently, none of them had imagined it.

After binding to Shen Shixu, 011 could share his thoughts. Realizing that he did not know what kind of system it was, it immediately explained, "Esteemed host, I'm a gossip system. I can see other people's secrets, sometimes even things they don't know themselves. I can see both the past and the future. I'm the perfect assistant for enjoying the drama!"

Although Shen Shixu would have preferred a rapid-promotion system to help him navigate officialdom, a gossip system was not bad either. Having a system to help him unwind and entertain himself outside work sounded pretty good.

[So that's how it works. Do you have any juicy gossip for me right now? Also, calling me 'esteemed host' sounds rather strange. Why not call me something else? Aren't you going to be bound to me for the rest of my life? In that case, call me Big Brother. Judging by your voice, you seem younger than me.]

Without moving his lips, Shen Shixu questioned 011 in his mind. (From now on, Shen Shixu's inner thoughts and the system's voice will both appear in [].)

011 felt incredibly lucky. On its very first attempt at binding to a host, it had found someone so capable, good-looking, and kindhearted.

[Understood. Thank you, Big Brother! Big Brother, I've found some gossip about the previous Top Scholar, Sun Minghao. I have to say, Sun Minghao is an ungrateful, heartless scumbag who abandoned his wife and child!]

Hearing Sun Minghao's name, the ministers listening in could not help turning toward Li Zhengda, a vice minister in the Ministry of Revenue, who wore an ochre court robe.

As soon as Li Zhengda heard that this concerned his son-in-law, he pricked up his ears and listened closely. Then he heard this so-called system describe his son-in-law with all those derogatory words.

His first reaction was disbelief. How could Sun Minghao possibly be the scumbag that system claimed he was?

Abandoning his wife and child? Ungrateful and heartless? Those accusations were utterly baseless.

Regardless of Li Zhengda's shock and disbelief, 011 continued sharing its gossip with Shen Shixu. [Sun Minghao came from a poor family. His father died young, and his mother raised him single-handedly. The year he passed the qualifying examination to become a licentiate, his mother arranged a marriage for him. His wife was the most capable woman in all the surrounding villages, but she wasn't particularly attractive. You could only call her ordinary-looking.

But she was exceptionally good at getting things done. After He Xiuniang married into the family, she took on every bit of work in the Sun household, from washing clothes and cooking to working in the fields. She also ran a tofu business and occasionally did needlework to sell to an embroidery shop in town.

Through selling tofu and doing needlework, He Xiuniang actually managed to save enough money for Sun Minghao to travel to the capital for the examination.

Sun Minghao clearly disliked He Xiuniang and looked down on her for being unattractive, yet he still consummated their marriage. They have a six-year-old daughter.

Before leaving for the capital, Sun Minghao promised He Xiuniang and his mother that he would place well in the examination and give their family a good life. Yet once he left, he never returned. He didn't even send a letter home.

His mother worried about him every day, but she couldn't get any news at all. Anxiety eventually made her fall ill. He Xiuniang nursed her devotedly and sold everything she could to pay for her treatment, but his mother still passed away last month. Even as she died, she was still calling for Sun Minghao.]

Hearing this, Shen Shixu could not help lamenting inwardly, *[From what you're saying, this Sun Minghao really is a piece of work. He looked down on He Xiuniang for being unattractive, but he still slept with her and had a child.

If he'd never touched He Xiuniang, I might have had a little respect for him. But he clearly disliked her and still slept with her anyway. Wanting it both ways while pretending otherwise—absolutely disgusting!

And his mother, too. His father died young, and she endured so much hardship to raise him. She even found him a virtuous wife, only to end up raising such an ungrateful wretch. She deserved so much better!]*

011 wholeheartedly agreed with Shen Shixu. [Exactly! You're right, Big Brother. And those aren't the only awful things he's done! He's married another wife now and has another child. And he secured this new wife through scheming and manipulation.]