Chapter 1

"Cu cu~ cu cu, cu cu~ cu cu."

Listening to the cuckoo's call, Mo Zizai's eyes were somewhat dazed.

"I am..."

Forget it, don't ask the three great philosophical questions of life. It's obvious that I've been transported to another world.

Although it's my first time, as a web novel author, I'm familiar with this kind of thing.

I just didn't expect that after making others get transported so many times, it would finally be my turn.

Regaining his composure, Mo Zizai sat up from the recliner and took a look around.

"This courtyard is unfamiliar. It feels a bit like an ancient scenic area, so it must be in ancient times, right?"

"Although my body is a bit weak, it's much better than my previous life's body, which was suffering from chronic lower back pain."

"These hands... they're actually quite fair!"

Mo Zizai raised his hands and examined them carefully. His fingers were long and slender, soft and boneless, and his skin was very fair and smooth, looking just like a woman's hands. In his previous life, just for these hands, he could have bought a billion-dollar insurance policy without any loss.

"Such beautiful hands, not to... cough, cough, not to type on the keyboard would be a waste."

"Since I have such beautiful hands, I should be quite handsome..."

"Wait a minute!!!"

A terrifying thought suddenly flashed through Mo Zizai's mind. He quickly reached down and, after a moment, he let out a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness my balls are still there."

Wearing women's clothing could be considered, but being a woman was unacceptable.

Moreover, in an ancient setting, becoming a woman would be very risky. Who knows, a tall and strong man might come along, holding a monk's saber and say to me, "Sister-in-law, Wu Song has something to say."

I would probably die on the spot. I didn't expect to be transported into a crosstalk sketch, making a fool of myself for others' amusement.

Just as Mo Zizai was about to get up to find a mirror to see how handsome he was, a eunuch in a brocade robe quickly walked in from the courtyard gate.

Seeing that Mo Zizai was awake, the eunuch, with his high-pitched and thin voice, asked, "Your Highness, it's almost the hour of Si. Are you still going to the imperial tomb?"

Hearing this person call him "Your Highness," Mo Zizai, who was about to ask for some information, suddenly felt a surge of anger. He stood up abruptly and slapped the eunuch hard.

"Damn you, if I hear the words 'Your Highness' again, I'll cut out your tongue!"

Mo Zizai's slap was extremely harsh. Chen Ying, the eunuch, who dared not resist, instantly had five clear fingerprints on his face.

"Your Highness, calm down, calm down."

Chen Ying knelt down smoothly. Almost immediately after Mo Zizai slapped him, he knelt and bowed several times, "Your servant knows his mistake, your servant knows his mistake!"

"Get out of here. If you dare to appear in front of me today, I'll break your legs!"

"Yes, yes, yes, your servant will leave, your servant will leave."

Hearing Mo Zizai's stern command, Chen Ying almost crawled out of the courtyard.

After Chen Ying left the courtyard, the inexplicable anger that had surged in Mo Zizai suddenly subsided. Before he could think about what had happened, a flood of memories rushed into his mind.

After Mo Zizai digested the sudden influx of memories, he finally understood why he had suddenly become so angry and why Chen Ying had been slapped.

"This guy deserved that slap. It's lucky he wasn't killed on the spot."

The title "Your Highness" was a scar for his predecessor. Every time he heard it, he felt that someone was deliberately humiliating him, which was bound to make him angry.

As for why he felt that the title "Your Highness" was a humiliation, it had to do with his predecessor's original identity.

After thinking for a long time, Mo Zizai finally came up with a fitting summary of his predecessor's identity:

"The Emperor has passed away, and the new Emperor is not me."

His predecessor was the Crown Prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and an only child, with no siblings. He could be considered the predestined emperor.

But three years ago, the guardian of the eastern front, the Pillar of the State General Tang Shuyu, was ambushed and killed in battle, along with the seven thousand elite troops he led.

Upon hearing this news, the ailing former emperor fell seriously ill and was on the verge of death.

Seeing this, the fifteen-year-old Crown Prince Mo Zizai was overjoyed, preparing to tearfully take the imperial throne. However, things suddenly changed.

The dying former emperor ordered the recall of Tang Shuyu's daughter from the eastern front. While she was on her way back, the former emperor, supported by medicine, regained his strength and, within seven days, forcibly eliminated all opposition in the court.

When Tang Shuyu's daughter arrived in the capital, the dying former emperor talked with her all night. No one knew what they talked about.

But the next day, the former emperor passed away, and the Empress ascended the throne, changing the imperial surname from Mo to Tang.

Thus, Mo Zizai, who was surnamed Mo, found himself in an awkward position. He was about to tearfully become the emperor, but before he could react, the throne was suddenly gone.

And that wasn't the end. The first thing the new Empress did was to grant Mo Zizai the title of Prince Zizai and order him to guard the imperial tomb for three years.

In his predecessor's view, this was essentially a form of house arrest.

So for the past three years, his predecessor's daily routine was to go to the imperial tomb at the hour of Si and curse his father and the Empress who had taken his throne.

For three whole years, he cursed for an hour every day, rain or shine, without a single day off.

"Damn, if I had this kind of perseverance in my previous life, my novels wouldn't have flopped so badly."

Mo Zizai highly praised his predecessor's perseverance. This guy was definitely a good writer, and being a Crown Prince in this world was a waste.

As for the former emperor's unconventional actions, Mo Zizai was also amazed. Throughout history, he had never seen an emperor who didn't pass the throne to his own son but instead to an outsider, and a woman at that.

However, as a穿越者 (穿越者 means "穿越者" in Chinese, which translates to "穿越者" in English, but in this context, it means "a person who has been transported to another world"), Mo Zizai, as an outsider, could understand why the former emperor didn't pass the throne to his predecessor.

His predecessor was simply too extreme, with traits like cruelty, impulsiveness, arrogance, and grandiosity, all of which he possessed.

To put it simply, if you look through history, any qualities that a fallen emperor should have, he had.

Just from the fact that no one in the court came to visit him during his three years of house arrest, you can see what kind of person he was.

"But, not being an emperor and being a prince is not bad for me."

After clarifying his identity, Mo Zizai was quite fond of his new title as a prince.

In his previous life, he was just a novelist. Suddenly becoming an emperor who had to manage everything was too much of a career change, and he couldn't handle it.

Being a leisurely prince was much better. He wouldn't have to worry about anything, would still get paid, and could just eat, drink, and enjoy life. How carefree.

"Being a prince is good."

Thinking about the thriving entertainment industry in the Great Zhou Dynasty, Mo Zizai's angry tears involuntarily flowed from the corners of his mouth.

"The feudal era is too corrupt. I must teach them a lesson."

"I will beat ten of them!!!"

...

While Mo Zizai was lost in his fantasies, Chen Ying, with a red handprint on his face, had already dismissed the eunuchs guarding the courtyard.

"Don't blame me for the prince's bad mood. He's not going to the imperial tomb today, so you can all go."

After the young eunuchs left, Chen Ying turned to look at Mo Zizai's courtyard, standing there for a while before sighing, "Don't blame me, Your Highness. I just want to live."

With that, Chen Ying left without looking back, leaving the large courtyard empty.

...

Not long after Chen Ying left, at the entrance of the imperial tomb, five men in official robes were heading towards the tomb.

"Stop."

A guard with a long spear blocked their path, "Who are you? Don't you know this is a restricted area of the imperial tomb?"

"I am the chief eunuch of the Office of Ceremonial, Shao Jing. The Empress has an edict for Prince Zizai."

Shao Jing, while speaking, took out his identity token from his waist and handed it to the two guards.

The token was about the size of a palm, made of metal, with "Office of Ceremonial" engraved on the front, and "Chief Eunuch" and "Shao Jing" on the back.

"I have seen you, Chief Eunuch Shao."

After verifying the authenticity of the token, the guard respectfully returned it, but asked in confusion, "Chief Eunuch Shao, why are there only a few of you to deliver the edict to Prince Zizai?"

Before Shao Jing could speak, a thin-faced man behind him said sarcastically, "What, are five of us not enough?"

"Do you want us to check the edict and bring everyone from the Office of Ceremonial?"

"I dare not!"

The guard hurriedly declined. Checking the edict was not something he dared to do; it would be asking for his life.

"He's just a prince without any support. The Empress remembering him is already a favor in the name of the former emperor. Do you expect us to make a big fuss?"

The thin-faced man's words were full of disdain for Mo Zizai. If Shao Jing hadn't given him a look, he would have said "waste" directly.

The two guards pretended not to hear the almost-spoken word, smiling and said, "Please, sirs, come in and wait a moment. I will inform the prince to receive the edict."

Hearing the guard say he would inform the prince, Shao Jing's heart tightened, and he blurted out, "No need!"

Noticing the guard's strange look, Shao Jing realized he had acted out of character. He cleared his throat and said, "The Empress's edict to Prince Zizai is a secret edict, and it's not appropriate to make a big fuss."

"Secret edict?"

The guard glanced at the edict in Shao Jing's hand, understanding. It was a secret edict, which explained why only five people were here.

Since it was a secret edict, the guard didn't think much more. After a cursory check of the weapons on the five men, he let them in.

...

On Mo Zizai's side, just as he was fantasizing about criticizing the courtesans, a mechanical voice suddenly sounded in his mind, shattering his thoughts.

"The Penguin Accelerator has been installed. Welcome, esteemed Penguin member, to use the Penguin Accelerator."

"Ultimate acceleration, ultimate experience."

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