Is it Abnormal to Want to Marry an Empress?

Chapter 3: The biggest way to get promoted is actually to bribe Shangguan?

“Do you want to obtain this simulated memory?”

[Yes/No.]

Su Yuzhou fell into contemplation. She was still exploring and understanding this sudden strange thing, which seemed to be helping her to deduce and simulate the future direction.

I have to find a way to see if the information inside is correct.

As for this option… Su Yuzhou hesitated for a moment and chose yes. If she could get all the memories of the simulated trend just now, it would be much more detailed than just guessing the real situation by herself with a few notes.

A massive amount of memories surged into Su Yuzhou’s brain like waves. She raised her right hand and gently stroked her forehead.

The memories of the past five years, clear to every day and every hour, she remembered everything she did clearly.

And the face she saw most often was that of a scholar named Lu Cheng’an. From her exile to her return to the capital, Lu Cheng’an was almost always by her side during these five years.

The last scene.

She rode the white jade lion given to her by her father, leaping into the sea of fire. As a descendant of the royal family, these groundless accusations imposed on her were a great insult.

And most importantly, when she went to the capital, as the eldest daughter of the emperor, she was refused the opportunity to pay respects to her father. This was the heaviest blow. On one hand, she couldn’t fulfill her filial duty to her father, and on the other hand, it also meant that the capital had been completely controlled by the Princess of Qin.

Su Yuzhou just didn’t expect that after her death, her perspective could still switch to Lu Cheng’an.

After her death, Lu Cheng’an incited rebellion, and even his actions were recorded in history books, named – the Rebellion of Han Lu. It can be seen that Lu Cheng’an’s label as a supporter of the Han prince was firmly attached.

But Su Yuzhou was not sure whether Lu Cheng’an was taking advantage of her status as a supporter of the Han Princess to rebel conveniently and gain fame, or if he was truly loyal and righteous.

[Game Over.]

[Your life is full of sorrow. As the eldest daughter of the emperor, you had no chance of the throne, exiled outside, but confined upon returning to the capital. Your path as a princess was tortuous, but you excelled in benefiting the people. As a princess, you may be a qualified virtuous ruler, but as a potential empress, your actions undoubtedly filled those who followed you with despair.]

[In the third year after your death, you were posthumously titled as ruthless, known as – Ruthless Han Princess.]

[Score: 20 points.]

[Entry Evaluation: Poor you, in the end, only one famous minister followed you to the end.]

“Is this princess really that bad?” Su Yuzhou felt annoyed seeing this evaluation, but she had to admit that after thinking it over, she carefully pondered her series of actions in the simulation. It seemed like the scholar Lu Cheng’an, who followed her throughout, was the one doing everything, while she either wandered around or occasionally visited the common people in disguise.

Just as Su Yuzhou was still regretting her actions.

The scene popped up again.

[Game restart.]

[The beginner’s tutorial has been completed, and the official version will be launched.]

[In the seventh year of Zhengying, the southern scholar Lu Cheng’an, who was forced to be involved in the North-South List case, visits you. He wants to become your retainer.]

[Do you agree?]

Definitely agree.

Su Yuzhou thought for a moment. The outcome of her first deduction was that this Lu Cheng’an followed her, even rebelled against her imperial sister, indicating his unwavering loyalty to her. In the historical records, he was undoubtedly a staunch supporter of the Han princess. He was indeed her right-hand man.

And this time, Su Yuzhou found that when she clicked on Lu Cheng’an’s name, he would turn into something like a card, and his special abilities would be displayed as text on it. Other servants in the Han Prince’s Mansion or some ordinary officials with official positions were white.

Soon, Su Yuzhou realized that this golden color might represent a person’s ability, but she didn’t know how powerful it was.

“Lu Cheng’an requests to abandon his pen and join the military, to fight for the military power for this princess?” Su Yuzhou looked at his proposal, hesitating.

Because in the first deduction, Lu Cheng’an was obviously a talent focused on domestic affairs. After her death, he rebelled and was quickly suppressed, showing his lack of military leadership skills. Sending him to the military camp might mean he would never rise to prominence.

[Refuse.]

Su Yuzhou quickly gave her command.

This immediately broke Lu Cheng’an’s composure.

###

(Lu Cheng’an’s Pov)

“Oh my, my Han Princess.” Lu Cheng’an burst into tears. “I have to go to the army to train my attributes. If I don’t go to the military camp, how can I improve my leadership ability and enhance myself? And during that wave from the Princess of Qin, without military power, how can you compete with her? I’ll help you seize military power from the beginning, so that the Princess of Qin won’t ascend smoothly.”

“Then I’ll form factions in the military camp, and aggressively boost the favorability of these military NPC generals. When you look back, you’ll find they’re all Han Princess’s supporters. You won’t even need to rebel. We’ll just pull off a Zhao Kuangyin script, put on the yellow robe, and overthrow her for you, letting the Princess of Qin know who the real mastermind is.”

“Sigh, indeed, I shouldn’t have too many thoughts about AI. They don’t understand me.” Lu Cheng’an pondered for a moment. “I’ll just leave without saying goodbye. When I come out of the military camp, rebellion? Easy as pie—”

[Leave a letter and leave the Han Princess’s Mansion, joining the Central Military Supervisor’s Office.]

[In the eighth year of Zhengying, you become a soldier of the Divine Strategy Guard.]

A map interface appeared in front of Lu Cheng’an. This was a military camp, where he would start his career as a soldier.

Charge——

[In the ninth year of Zhengying, you are still a soldier of the Divine Strategy Guard.]

Lu Cheng’an took a deep breath. There was no fighting on the front line, no promotion opportunities at all. How could he manage? But after two years in the army, his physical strength and health soared, indicating his exceptionally good physical condition.

As for leadership ability?

He didn’t even have the chance to lead troops, so how could he improve his leadership?

“Bribe the officials, can’t stand it anymore.” Lu Cheng’an clicked on his wealth and used all the salary he had saved up over the past two years to bribe the leaders of the Divine Strategy Guard.

[In the tenth year of Zhengying, you are promoted to the rank of leader in the Divine Strategy Guard, commanding a hundred-man team.]

“What the hell, is this some kind of joke from hell, bribing officials and getting promoted in a second?” Lu Cheng’an felt a bit of a brain hemorrhage. He had diligently served in the military camp for two years, yet he didn’t get promoted, but bribing officials—boom—got him promoted the next year?

What do you mean?

[In the summer of the tenth year of Zhengying, the rebellion of the Wo slaves in the south began, disturbing the border. The Divine Strategy Guard, the Tian Nan Guard, the Anshan Guard, and the Xiangbei Guard formed the Southern Army Corps to suppress the rebellion.]

[In the autumn of the tenth year of Zheng Ying, the Southern Army Corps suffered repeated defeats, and it was difficult to quell the rebellion of the Wo slaves.]

“It’s done, are you letting me play the script of Qi Jiguang¹?” Lu Cheng’an fell into contemplation. “Special plot, as long as I do well, promotion should not be difficult. Now I’m just a leader, I can’t even touch the real military power center.”

“To support the Han princess’s ascension, I need to at least have the right to control a military corps.”

“This scenario is very important.” Lu Cheng’an’s eyes gleamed. “I need to carefully consider every option from now on.”

1. Qi Jiguang (戚继光) was a renowned military general, strategist, and national hero in Chinese history. He lived during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) and is best known for his successful military campaigns against Japanese pirates along the southeastern coast of China,