Miss Cousin is Always Busy

Chapter 173

It wasn’t entirely accurate to describe her current role as cannon fodder. Rather than cannon fodder, she was a villainess.

Meanwhile, the protagonists of this story were a prideful flower in her harem and her younger cousin sister.

The original owner was spoiled by her father and had a violent personality. After becoming empress regnant, she didn’t have any big ambitions, and her only goal in life was to sleep with men. As evidence of this, she had several hundred beautiful men in her harem, and she still didn’t feel satisfied.

Naturally, the original owner wasn’t a well-liked ruler, so the protagonists ended up working together to take her out.

Jun Zishu soaked herself in hot water, washing away the smell of the incense that stained her body. Next to her, several maids served her in silent trepidation.

Based on the original owner’s memories, Jun Zishu could tell that the original owner really didn’t have any ambitions. If it were up to her, she would’ve dedicated herself to working as a proper empress regnant, stabilizing the empire, and expanding the country’s borders. Sleeping with men would be the last thing on her list to do.

[You have two missions in this world, Host. The first is to break up Meng Lanxi and Yue Mingsheng. The second is to work as a good ruler.]

Okay.

Jun Zishu closed her eyes and organized the information in her mind.

Meng Lanxi was the male lead, and he was the son of a merchant family. He was an ambitious person who entered the capital to take the imperial examination, and his goal was to secure the top position and become an important official.

However, in the final phase of the examination, the original owner took a liking to his beauty, disqualified him from the exam, and took him into her harem.

There was no way the male lead could accept such a fate, so he held a deep grudge against the original owner.

The original owner wasn’t proficient in politics, so she left most of her work to her closest confidant. Meanwhile, this confidant was the female lead, Yue Mingsheng.

Yue Mingsheng’s grandmother was the late emperor’s nursing mother, who had sacrificed herself to save the late emperor from an assassination. Yue Mingsheng’s mother had grown up together with the late emperor, and the two of them shared a sibling relationship. By some twisted fate, Yue Mingsheng’s mother ended up sacrificing herself to save the original owner. As a result, even though Yue Mingsheng was of low birth, the late emperor had granted her the title of princess.

However, Yue Mingsheng did not grow conceited because of her induction into royalty. Instead, she continued serving the late emperor and the original owner respectfully.

Meanwhile, the person the original owner trusted the most was this non-blood relative of hers.

After the late emperor passed, the original owner had a big pile of work thrown onto her lap, and she had a headache dealing with these tasks every day. It was only when Yue Mingsheng had noticed her plight and stepped forward to help her that the original owner finally got to catch a breather.

Yue Mingsheng was instrumental to the fact that the original owner could enjoy life right now.

The original owner never once suspected that Yue Mingsheng would betray her. After all, Yue Mingsheng’s family had remained loyal to the throne for many generations.

Initially, Yue Mingsheng indeed did not harbor any thoughts of rebellion.

However, the original owner’s temper grew worse with time, and her actions became more and more despicable. Under the male lead’s deliberate guidance, Yue Mingsheng worked together with the male lead to steal the country.

Meng Lanxi was a prideful flower, and he thoroughly rejected every one of the original owner’s approaches even after entering the original owner’s harem. Yet, not only did the original owner not get mad at him, but she even became thoroughly captivated by his personality. At one point, Meng Lanxi only had to behave a little submissively to the original owner before the original owner agreed to his request to enter court.

After matching the memories she received with the original storyline, Jun Zishu was relieved to find out that this scene had yet to come up.

However, while Meng Lanxi had yet to get a spot in court, he had already hooked up with Yue Mingsheng. Or, more specifically, he was in the midst of luring Yue Mingsheng to his side, and Yue Mingsheng was still hesitating to make a decision.

Fortunately, it wouldn’t be too difficult to separate them right now.

When Jun Zishu got out of the water, a little eunuch approached her with a towel to wipe her body.

The original owner was a pervert, and even the eunuchs she kept around her had feminine faces. Oftentimes, she would either desecrate these eunuchs or let them serve her.

However, Jun Zishu frowned when she saw the eunuch. Then, she waved for the eunuch to back away and gestured for one of the palace maids on standby to wipe her. She still had no desire to let a man she hardly knew about touch her.

The little eunuch’s face paled, and he quickly withdrew in fear and confusion.

Meanwhile, the palace maid carefully wiped Jun Zishu as ordered. Then, once she was done, she kept her head low as she waited for Jun Zishu to proceed to the next phase of the bath.

“No need to put those things on for me today. Help me get dressed.”

After every bath, the original owner would lay on the beauty couch and have the palace maids and eunuchs massage her with massage oils. Jun Zishu didn’t have that kind of hobby, and she had even less interest in letting others touch her body, so there was no way she would go through with this “tradition.”

“Understood,” the palace maid responded.

After getting dressed, Jun Zishu draped her slightly wet hair aside for the palace maids to dry it. Then, once they were done, she gestured for them to withdraw.

“Who will you be visiting tonight, Your Majesty?” Defu asked, bowing when he saw Jun Zishu returning to the palace.

“I won’t be sleeping with anyone tonight; it’s too troublesome. I want to go to my cousin’s place. Bring me to Mingxi Palace.”

Jun Zishu thoroughly displayed the capriciousness and impatience of a tyrant. She also displayed a careless frivolity in her eyes and eyebrows.

“Understood.”

The palanquin moved steadily. During the journey to Mingxi Palace, Jun Zishu played with the beads on her wrist, her expression looking somewhat gloomy.

[Are you in a bad mood, Host?]

Internet Addict Little Fairy tried to strike up a conversation after losing her connection with the internet.

Should I be happy?

Jun Zishu had a headache just thinking about the hundreds of men in her harem. Moreover, a large portion of these men bore a grudge against her, and there was the possibility that some of them might try to poison her one day. Some of the officials in court were also dissatisfied with her.

Tsk. Men are so troublesome.

Fortunately, although the original owner was a little bit of a nympho, she had never caught any sexual diseases or gotten pregnant.

[Good luck, Host! I believe in you!]

Mhm.

When the palanquin arrived at Minxi Palace, Jun Zishu raised her hand to stop the palace maids from going inside to announce her arrival. Then, she had Defu wait outside while she entered the palace grounds.

After arriving before the inner palace, Jun Zishu pushed apart the doors and saw a woman sitting behind a desk reading a document.

Yue Mingsheng wore a loose white robe and had her long hair draped across her back. Currently, her eyebrows were furrowed as she read the document in her hands. Under the candlelight’s illumination, her white, dainty wrists looked like they were glowing. Her posture also exuded gracefulness, and she gave off a demure and reserved feeling.

With this kind of bearing, Yue Mingsheng really fit the role of a princess. If she chose not to bring up her origins, nobody would think that she was the child of a servant.

“Your Majesty.”

When Yue Mingsheng heard the sound of the doors opening, she didn’t bother looking away from her document initially since she thought it was a palace maid here to bring her tea. However, she quickly realized that something was amiss when the other party arrived before her.

Specifically, when the fragrance the gentle breeze carried flowed into her nostrils, she quickly realized her visitor wasn’t a palace maid. Then, when she looked up and saw the person before her, she couldn’t help but be surprised.

However, the reason she was surprised wasn’t just because she didn’t expect to see the person before her. Another cause for her surprise was the fragrance coming off of this person. This person would always carry an overpoweringly sweet fragrance with her while radiating a vaguely promiscuous aura. Never had she seen this person be so clean before.

“No need to bow. I am only here to take a look,” Jun Zishu said nonchalantly.

Yue Mingsheng nodded and stepped out of her seat, offering it to Jun Zishu.

After sitting down on Yue Mingsheng’s previous seat, Jun Zishu crossed her legs and began reading the processed documents on the table.

Meanwhile, Yue Mingsheng took a seat beside Jun Zishu and returned to her work, letting Jun Zishu do whatever she wanted. According to her experience, this empress definitely wouldn’t be able to sit still for long. She would probably toss the documents aside in less than 15 minutes and leave.

However, to Yue Mingsheng’s surprise, the person beside her quietly read the documents for a long time.

Out of curiosity, Yue Mingsheng secretly tilted her head to look at Jun Zishu. However, she failed to see the usual uncomfortable smile on Jun Zishu’s charming face. Instead, taking its place was a cold expression. Right now, Jun Zishu looked much colder than usual, even giving off the majesty of a ruler.

“It’s getting late, Your Majesty. Why don’t you go back and rest?” Yue Mingsheng asked as she stopped writing. Going by her memory, this person should be spending the night with her harem of beautiful men right about now.

“No hurry. Or will you be sleeping soon, Little Sister?”

Jun Zishu raised her hand to prop up her face, her long black hair swaying gently with her movements. Her face also exuded a charming aura when she raised her left eyebrow.

Yue Mingsheng didn’t know what had gotten into her. For some inexplicable reason, she found Jun Zishu’s current appearance exceptionally beautiful.

“I’ll be up a while longer,” Yue Mingsheng answered. She had originally wanted to say yes, but she changed her words right as they were about to leave her mouth.

“I kicked those several men out of my bed today,” Jun Zishu said with a smile, her eyes focused on Yue Mingsheng’s countenance.

“What happened? Did they make you unhappy, Your Majesty?”

“Not really. I just feel a little bored. In the end, men are nothing more than just that,” Jun Zishu said, a derisive smile appearing on her face.

Although Jun Zishu’s actions and words were insufferably arrogant, Yue Mingsheng didn’t feel disgusted at all. On the contrary, she felt that this was how Jun Zishu should act. After all, while Jun Zishu might be a woman, she was still the empire’s sovereign. How could she be so obsessed with men?

“You’re not young anymore, Little Sister. Girls your age would’ve long since gotten married. Has your heart found where it belongs yet?”

Yue Mingsheng was 17 this year. In the current era, she had long since reached the age where she should be married and have children.

Yue Mingsheng was startled. She couldn’t understand why Jun Zishu had suddenly asked such a question. Was it just a casual mention? Or was there a deeper meaning to the question?

“I still haven’t found anyone I like.”

“Not yet?”

Jun Zishu spat out these two words playfully as she narrowed her eyes and leaned closer to Yue Mingsheng.

Yue Mingsheng’s palm started to sweat a little when subjected to Jun Zishu’s gaze.

What a strange feeling… Yue Mingsheng thought as she clasped her hands together under the table.

“Why do I hear words of you getting very close to my people? Hm?”

Despite speaking in a teasing tone, Jun Zishu’s voice gave off a sense of danger. Even though her face was smiling, her eyes suddenly lost their warmth.

“Why would you think that, Big Sister? You know I would never dare to do that.”

Yue Mingsheng stopped addressing Jun Zishu formally, opting to call her “big sister” in a well-behaved manner. At the same time, Yue Mingsheng inwardly frowned as she tried to recall the members of Jun Zishu’s harem whom she had encountered more than once. On the surface, though, she continued looking at Jun Zishu sincerely.

“Don’t be afraid, Little Sister. I don’t mean to doubt you,” Jun Zishu said, smiling eloquently.

The abrupt change in her behavior caused Yue Mingsheng to think that the previous coldness and anger she showed was nothing but an illusion.

“Honestly, there isn’t anything particularly good about men,” Jun Zishu said as she gently held up Yue Mingsheng’s chin with her fingers.

At this point, the distance between the two shrank to almost nothing, and Yue Mingsheng could smell the warm and soft fragrance coming from Jun Zishu.

This was the first time Yue Mingsheng had realized how beautiful the person before her was.

She had never paid any particular attention to this face in the past. However, now that this face was stuck so close to her, she suddenly found her breathing growing a little strange and erratic.

“I will give you however many men you want. If you want to marry, I can find the perfect consort for you. If you don’t wish to marry, you can keep a few bed warmers as well. You can even take your pick from my harem,” Jun Zishu said, the intent in her words filled with indulgence.

Yue Mingsheng felt that her mind was currently split into two halves. One half was listening to Jun Zishu’s shocking and confusing words, while the other half was in a trance because of the breath that came out of Jun Zishu’s mouth when she spoke.

“But…”

Jun Zishu suddenly changed her tone and let go of Yue Mingsheng’s chin. Then, she started gently stroking Yue Mingsheng’s face, her fingers ambiguously wandering across the girl’s pristine skin.

Yue Mingsheng felt her face grow a little numb from the physical contact, and her heart also shuddered slightly in excitement.

“Mingsheng, you have to remember that it is only because of me that you are who you are now.”

“I will never forget. I will forever be your people, Big Sister.”

“Don’t lie to me, Mingsheng. I will take it seriously,” Jun Zishu said as she gently patted Yue Mingsheng’s face. Then, she stood up and left the palace.

Meanwhile, Yue Minghuan gently touched her face, her heart filled with an indescribable emotion.