Chapter 1
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[A/N] Eating Guide:
①【Cute Daily Life】【Heartwarming Humor】【Main Quests】as the main focus, leaning towards a diverse cast.
② Guidelines for raising the Long Aotian cub.
③ 18th-tier Cannon Fodder Whitewashing Quests, with a reward exchange system.
④ Cute daily life with a focus on plot, only considering the emotional line.
⑤ Not a universal BL, with an important supporting character who is a straight man with a wife.
૮ ᴖﻌᴖა˚????
Xue Yao stood still, holding a wooden horse high above his head, his expression serious as if he were defending a fortress.
Laughter from a group of boys filled the air, along with the sound of a young child crying nearby.
His mind slowly cleared. Xue Yao’s last memory was the thunderous noise of the plane just before it crashed.
He felt the need to find a quiet spot to ponder the situation. A slight ache pierced his arms as he gently lowered the wooden horse he had held overhead.
A displeased boy’s voice said, “Why are you being so slow, A’Yao? Drop it quickly!”
A’Yao? Was that a call for him?
Xue Yao looked blankly at the person who had called him “A’Yao.” It was a child.
He turned to look around and saw a group of children.
Xue Yao’s eyes gradually widened.
Why were all these children dressed in ancient clothing?
Wearing a vibrant crimson robe, the boy who called him A’Yao appeared to be about ten years old. His complexion was fair, his features refined, and his narrow single eyelids gave off an air of domineering sharpness.
“What are you daydreaming about?” The Third Prince, noticing that Xue Yao had yet to release the wooden horse, waved his hand and prepared to take matters into his own hands.
Xue Yao mumbled in confusion, “What are you all…”
Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly choked.
How could he be making a child’s voice?
He lowered his head in disbelief and looked at his own body. Indeed, it was that of a child.
Was this a dream?
Gradually, the crying of an unfamiliar young child drew nearer.
Xue Yao followed the sound and saw a three or four-year-old toddler running up to him. With a penguin-like waddle, the cub made a determined effort to pick up the fallen wooden horse.
Just as the wooden horse was about to be lifted by the toddler, the Third Prince suddenly pushed Xue Yao aside and kicked the wooden horse with a hearty laugh. “Aiya! Old Seventh’s wooden horse fell and even broke its ear!”
The toddler, upon hearing this, anxiously lowered his little head and discovered that indeed, one of the wooden horse’s ears had broken off. He immediately burst into tears with a loud wail.
“Old Seventh is crying!” The Third Prince got more enthusiastic. He took a step over the wooden horse and bent down to break its tail. “The wooden horse’s tail snapped!”
The toddler, crying and rubbing his eyes, glanced at the broken tail and let out an even louder cry.
His sobs failed to elicit comfort from those around him. So, he opened his chubby little arms and tottered over to the palace maids nearby, taking turns seeking comfort.
The toddler had delicate features with a hint of mixed heritage. With eyes glistening beneath long lashes and small mouth pouting in distress, his appearance was so fragile, pitiful, and round that it was truly heartrending.
However, the palace maids lowered their heads and retreated, not daring to meddle.
This toddler was the Seventh Prince, born to a Persian dancer who held the Emperor’s favor. But his mixed lineage cast a shadow over his future, and no one dared to incur the wrath of the Third Prince.
Xue Yao’s foggy mind latched onto the name “Old Seventh.”
He remembered the Long Aotian novel he had stayed up late to finish on the plane last night. The male protagonist was the Seventh Prince, Lu Qian, often referred to as “Old Seventh” by his brothers.
So, was he dreaming of the plot from that novel?
Since it was a just dream, Xue Yao lowered his head once again and studied the Seventh Prince closely.
Truly a heaven-sent child of extraordinary looks. Even in his infancy, he had a face that could bring calamity to the nation and its people. It exceeded Xue Yao’s imagined beauty from the book. It was likely that in the future, if the novel were made into a TV series, they wouldn’t find a more suitable baby to portray.
Thinking he was in a dream, Xue Yao missed his last chance for survival. He didn’t lend a helping hand and ended up joining the group that “damaged the wooden horse,” all of which were etched into the shadowy recesses of the Seventh Prince’s young mind.
The Seventh Prince, unable to secure a comforting hug, trotted away, determined to report to his mother!
Over the next half hour, Xue Yao’s jumbled memories gradually became clearer.
His host was also named Xue Yao. Born in the thirteenth year of Linan, he was eight years old this year and served as a reader-in-waiting to the Third Prince.
Xue Yao hailed from a prestigious family. His grandfather, in his time, achieved the second-highest rank in the imperial examination, and rose to the position of Minister of Revenue. Subsequently, the eldest son of the Xue family automatically secured a place in the Imperial Academy.
Xue Yao’s father, as the third son in line, had to participate in the imperial examination on his own. Achieving third-class honors [lowest tier among passers], he was currently scraping a living in the Ministry of Rites.
Xue Yao was selected to serve as the Third Prince’s reader-in-waiting, a decision made by his father, Master Xue.
Master Xue believed that the Eldest Prince had the best chance of being named the Crown Prince. So, the legitimate son of the Xue family, Xue Qiong, was sent to serve by the side of the Eldest Prince.
Meanwhile, there was a five percent chance that the Third Prince could become the Crown Prince, due to his Mother Consort’s older brother being the Governor-General of Yanzhi, who had achieved significant victories in the coastal regions in recent years. His Mother Consort, as a result, received the Emperor’s favor.
Although it might be a fleeting glory, Master Xue didn’t want to take any chances. Hence, he sent the concubine-born son, Xue Yao, to serve by the Third Prince’s side.
In case the Eldest Prince’s fortunes took a turn for the worse, the Xue family counted on Xue Yao to bravely offer counsel and rescue their beloved eldest son, Xue Qiong.
In case the Third Prince’s fortunes took a turn for the worse (which, for the moment, seemed certain and inevitable), the Xue family planned to make a painful sacrifice by offering up this obedient and sensible concubine-born son, Xue Yao.
These conclusions were drawn by Xue Yao based on the scanty descriptions of this supporting character in the novel, combined with the supporting character’s own memories.
His host, also named Xue Yao, was a genuine eight-year-old child. He had no suspicions about the arrangements made by the adults and followed his father’s advice loyally, faithfully accompanying the Third Prince.
Xue Yao recalled the fate of this cannon fodder in the novel. On the day when the forces of Prince Ning besieged the palace, he met his end at Prince Ning’s sword.
In the novel, there was even a vivid description of the cannon fodder’s death.
At a critical moment, Xue Yao abandoned the Emperor and attempted to escape through the imperial palace’s west gate.
Arriving at Xihua Garden, Xue Yao suddenly saw a figure dressed in purple flash before his eyes. A tall and slender figure gracefully landed, holding a sword with his back turned.
“The wooden horse broke its ear.” The person with the sword had a low, melodious voice, yet it carried a chilling undertone like a venomous snake’s hiss. He turned slowly, locking his enigmatic smiling eyes on Xue Yao. With a subtle curl of the left lip, the dust in the vicinity swirled as a murderous intent simmered.
To his astonishment, Xue Yao recognized this person as Prince Ning. In his panic, he stepped back, feeling a sharp gust graze his face. He raised his hand to cover his ear, only to discover that it had been severed!
Meanwhile, a drop of blood dripped from Prince Ning’s sword, its crimson hue stark and vivid.
Xue Yao stepped back repeatedly, like someone who had encountered a ferocious demon. The figure of Prince Ning vanished in an instant, then a mocking voice sounded from behind him, “The wooden horse’s tail snapped.”
Before he could react, a sharp blade pierced into the base of Xue Yao’s spine, slicing through flesh and exposing bone!
Recalling this scene, Xue Yao’s buttocks couldn’t help but clench.
At the time, he found it exciting, but now he only felt pain in his ears, his rear, and his heart!
Was this really a dream?
Why was his thinking so clear in a dream?
If it was not a dream, did it mean he’d somehow entered the novel he was reading?
Just a little over ten minutes ago, he witnessed the entire process of “the Seventh Prince’s wooden horse having its ear broken and tail snapped” with his own eyes!
In the novel, the wooden horse of the Seventh Prince, Prince Ning, was intentionally damaged by Xue Yao, and the horse’s tail was snapped on the orders of the Third Prince.
Because Xue Yao had suddenly found himself in this body and was slow to react, the Third Prince grew impatient and took matters into his own hands.
If there was a wrongdoing, there would always be someone responsible for it. Would Prince Ning not bother with Xue Yao’s ear and tailbone because of this?
Based on the character’s portrayal in the novel, it was unlikely. Xue Yao was undoubtedly in deep trouble!
The Third Prince was in deep trouble.
Those little underlings who had just cheered for the Third Prince were all in deep trouble.
Could Xue Yao resign from his position as the prince’s reader-in-waiting, depart for faraway lands, and, relying on his modern knowledge, become a legend in the Niujia Village, capturing the hearts of all the village girls?
Probably not, because this was a Long Aotian novel.
Everyone knew Long Aotian novels. Even if the usual IQ of a cannon fodder character was off the charts, as soon as they encountered the protagonist, it instantly dropped to subpar levels. Forget about escaping the protagonist’s grasp. They’d willingly seek trouble if the protagonist didn’t find them. It was like a passive skill of cannon fodders to bring their own doom.
And the protagonist, with intelligence comparable to a genius and a face that could steal hearts, not only possessed astonishing martial prowess but also had a network of spies and informants scattered across the land. Their information-gathering speed was like a fiber-optic gigabit wireless network. There was simply no villain who could escape a confrontation!
Oh heavens, oh earth. If Xue Yao had truly died in the plane crash and transmigrated, why was he not assigned the role of a virtuous supporting character instead?
He hadn’t done anything bad in his whole life. Meeting such a tragic end in a plane crash was already unfortunate enough. Now, he had to become an obscure, 18th-tier cannon fodder who had his ear cut and tailbone stabbed by the male protagonist for no apparent reason!
Is there no justice left in this world?
Complaining wouldn’t solve the problem. Xue Yao needed to first understand his current environment and then calmly analyze it. He decided to request a leave of absence and return to his family residence.
His paternal grandparents were still alive, and the Xue family had not yet divided its assets. Their residence was a sprawling ancestral mansion with a large courtyard featuring small bridges and flowing water.
Strolling through the covered walkway, with the spring breeze caressing his face, Xue Yao’s tangled emotions began to ease slightly. The memories of his host started to fall into place.
Xue Yao’s father held a respectable official position, but it didn’t come with many perks. As a result, their family lived much more modestly than his eldest uncle’s, who had inherited a position at the Ministry of Revenue.
The novel was set in the Great Qi dynasty, resembling the Ming period. Salaries for officials were remarkably low, to the extent that even corruption had its formal conventions. For example, lower-ranking officials were required to offer gifts to their superiors twice a year, once in winter and once in summer. These were known as “charcoal offerings” and “ice offerings”. Additional gifts were presented on holidays and special occasions.
Officials in the capital city had limited direct contact with the common people, making it challenging to amass wealth. Their livelihood depended on the various forms of tribute established by custom and convention.
However, Master Xue held a position related to education and primarily interacted with the palace. His subordinates couldn’t engage in corruption, and they were compelled to maintain integrity.
With life becoming increasingly challenging, the Xue family’s hopes rested on the eldest son, Xue Qiong, to rise to prominence alongside the Eldest Prince and elevate the family’s status.
Even the simplicity of the meal revealed how the Xue family was far from prosperous.
Although they hadn’t divided their assets, daily meals were separate affairs.
Xue Yao’s family resided in the eastern courtyard of the Xue estate. At the dining table, there were only Master Xue, Madam Chen, and the two young masters.
The eldest son was the legitimate heir, Xue Qiong, who had just turned ten years old, and the second son was Xue Yao.
Xue Yao’s birth mother, Concubine Zhou, couldn’t join them at the table. She had to stay aside and serve along with the maidservants under the gaze of Master and Madam.
Today’s meal featured a dish of wild chicken soup, richly stewed, with two succulent chicken legs.
Following customs, Concubine Zhou served one chicken leg into Master Xue’s bowl, and the other was meant for Madam.
However, the Madam claimed she had dental issues and couldn’t eat it, so naturally, the chicken leg was passed on to her son, Xue Qiong.
On the opposite side, Xue Yao let out a small gulp, swallowing a mouthful of saliva.
Before his transmigration, he had grown weary of eating chicken legs. But now, after consuming clear soup and plain vegetables for two days, the aroma of that chicken leg was as tempting as abalone. Xue Yao, at the age of eight, simply couldn’t resist temptation due to his insatiable appetite.
Master Xue, trying to play the role of a father, heard his youngest son salivate and looked at the chicken leg in his soup bowl. He hesitantly said, “Well, my dental health isn’t perfect…”
Just as Xue Yao was about to burst into tears of gratitude, his older brother, Xue Qiong, swiftly devoured the chicken leg, his mouth glistening with oil. He raised his hand and proclaimed, “My teeth are in great shape! I’ll eat it on behalf of Father!”
The way he said it made it seem like he was volunteering to suffer. Unwilling to let him “endure the hardship”, Xue Yao quickly contended to take the burden off his father. “Big Brother has already had one. Let me handle this one for you!”
Madam Chen, seeing the concubine-born child acting so impudent, immediately spoke up for her own son, “Your Big Brother has been working hard lately, practicing swordsmanship with the Edest Prince. He’s been through a lot, so naturally, he needs some extra nourishment.”
Master Xue hesitated briefly and changed the direction of the chicken leg that he had intended to place in front of his younger son.
Fairness was secondary. The older son was close to becoming the future Crown Prince’s confidant and represented the family’s hope, so it was only natural to show favoritism.
Master Xue hadn’t read the novel, so he was unaware of the eventual ascension of the Third Prince and the abrupt dethroning of the Third Prince by the Seventh Prince. In his eyes, the Eldest Prince had the most potential, and thus, his elder son, Xue Qiong, had the brightest future.
Xue Yao, seeing the chicken leg slipping away, quickly changed his approach and said to Master Xue, “Our Third Prince is constantly being tested by His Majesty on the Confucian classics. It’s quite demanding. Besides, the Emperor doesn’t pay much attention to the Eldest Prince’s sword practice. He can afford to take it easy now and then!”
Master Xue, with keen insight, raised his eyes to look at Xue Yao and asked, “Does His Majesty frequently test the Third Prince’s knowledge?”
Xue Yao pretended to whine, “Yes, and all of us in the courtyard have to stay vigilant all the time!”
Xue Yao, using his adult mind, easily understood that as a pawn of the Xue family, his competition with Xue Qiong was not about acting cute and playing the pity card. It was about leveraging the fact that the Third Prince received more favor than the Eldest Prince. If the Third Prince was favored, the Xue family’s hope rested with him, Xue Yao, not Xue Qiong.
As expected, once he said this, Master Xue didn’t hesitate to push the chicken leg toward Xue Yao, lovingly telling him to eat slowly. He even promised to make another chicken tomorrow.
The chicken leg battle was won effortlessly by Xue Yao.
However, after the meal, as soon as Master Xue left, Madam Chen’s face turned as cold as ice. She glared at Concubine Zhou with a cold sneer. “You sure know how to teach your son well, huh? At such a young age, he’s already scheming, can’t distinguish between older and younger, and talks nonsense. Can we really expect him to be filial?”
Concubine Zhou turned pale in fear, bowed, and replied, “I have been lax in disciplining Yao’er. Please, Madam, punish me.”
Xue Yao: “……”
Many novels depicted concubines having the upper hand, but how was it that when he transmigrated, he encountered such a weak Mother Concubine?
Concubine Zhou was considered a great beauty. In the memories of his host that Xue Yao now inhabited, Concubine Zhou was perceived as a gentle and virtuous ancient woman. However, the details of how Concubine Zhou came to be in the Xue residence were not in the host’s memories, as he was quite young at the time. The host only knew that Concubine Zhou often treated herself like a servant, behaving even more humbly in the presence of Madam Chen.
Both Madam Chen and Concubine Zhou were victims of the ancient polygamous marriage system, and they had experienced a lot of hardship. In theory, they shouldn’t cause further harm to each other, but…
Madam Chen coldly ordered Concubine Zhou, “Go to the ancestral hall and recite scriptures to repent.”
“Pak!” Suddenly, Xue Yao, who had been lost in his thoughts, knelt before Madam Chen! “Mother, please, calm your anger. It’s my fault.”
Concubine Zhou, with tears in her eyes, looked at Xue Yao and whispered urgently, “It has nothing to do with you. Please, withdraw and don’t disturb Madam any further!”
Xue Yao: “……”
By the heavens, this sudden act of kneeling and apologizing wasn’t his own will!
It was as if it were an instinctive response originating from this body!
Although he held no emotional attachment to Concubine Zhou, this body and its memories seemed to have a deep affection for his birth mother, leading him to unconsciously protect Concubine Zhou.
It would be best if this were based on memories of love for family. He hoped it wasn’t some special feature ingrained in this cannon fodder’s body that made specific actions or words under certain circumstances.
For instance, upon seeing the young Prince Ning with a new toy from his childhood, would Xue Yao automatically destroy it?
In that case, even if he had two hundred pairs of ears and ten thousand tailbones, it wouldn’t be enough for Long Aotian to cut down!
Just as his inner thoughts were still processing, a mechanical system notification sounded in Xue Yao’s ear: 【Whitewashing Points +6. Villain Redemption System’s Beginners Guide Completed! Friendly Reminder: Reach 50 Whitewashing Points to unlock the exchange interface.】
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