Demon Consort’s Father 1
Based on the experience Qin Jingzhou had accumulated while doing tasks, he knew that every mission issued by the World Will was bound to have a “save the world” component. After all, if the world’s own Fate’s Son could solve the issue, why would the World Will go out of its way to bring in others?
To be honest, if his cheap children were likable enough, he’d be easier to talk to, but his fees would always match the level of his realm and power.
He saw with his own eyes that Ling Jing arrived in this world before him, so clearly there were some pretty big problems with the male and female leads of this world.
He already had an idea of what this mission would require.
It had to be noted: while the direction of time inside and outside the world would not change, the flow of time could differ greatly.
For example, if Ling Jing entered first, then upon his entry, she would definitely have transmigrated before him, but in the outside world, less than a minute would have passed between their arrivals—while inside the mission world, the gap might be three to five years.
So he didn’t bother waiting for the System to introduce the plot and just rushed right in.
The moment he “walked through the door” and sensed the level of spiritual energy, which was on par with the last world’s “misery loves company” setting, he laughed before saying a word. No wonder this world’s World Will was recommended by the last one—it looked like this world’s “God” would also prefer to use “blessings” as rewards.
Although he hadn’t proven it personally, his instincts told him that a sincere “blessing” from a thriving world was even more valuable than hard currency like spiritual stones.
Familiar with the process, Qin Jingzhou took on the identity and first inherited the original host’s dying wish: protect the life of the eldest son, and either find a way to get the eldest daughter out of the palace, or kill the foolish Emperor!
To make such requests, the original host was clearly no stickler for protocol and couldn’t be boxed in by ideals like “loyalty to the Emperor.”
He cheerfully promised the original host, then suddenly opened his eyes—at that very moment, an arrow had pierced right through the heart-guard plate, striking the original host’s heart. And among the loyal Prince’s Personal Guards was a traitor. Taking advantage of the host’s momentary distraction, the traitor drove a dagger into the unprotected gap beneath the original host’s arm...
The System’s clear voice chimed in at the right moment, “The original host is Yan Jingzhou, Marquess Jingwen of the continent’s strongest nation, Great Qi. Right now, as you can see, Brother Zhou, he is commanding troops on the front lines against Great Qi’s mortal enemy, the elite army of Jin.”
Qin Jingzhou cut straight to the point, “Was the traitor who tried to assassinate the original host sent by the current Emperor of Qi?”
The System replied instantly, “That’s right. The original host Yan Jingzhou had led troops at the border for many years and was about to deal a crushing blow to Jin’s elites. The current Emperor of Qi, Emperor Yongning, thought it was the perfect time to ‘kill the donkey when the millstone is done with it’.”
Clearly, the original host saw right through Emperor Yongning’s schemes and so wanted him to kill the emperor if he could.
Qin Jingzhou asked further, “If I hadn’t come, would Qi have perished at the hands of Emperor Yongning?”
“Yes. Emperor Yongning is basically a budget combo of Song Huizong and Gaozong from your hometown, Brother Zhou. An average muddleheaded emperor wouldn’t dare assassinate his own general in the thick of battle. But as soon as the command banner falls among the chaos, Qi’s supposedly unbeatable forces fall apart and scatter. Of course, as long as he gets rid of those he truly fears, Emperor Yongning doesn’t care about the losses—even if his elite troops are bled dry. He figures soldiers can always be recruited anew, but a general growing too powerful must be removed as soon as possible.”
“A real dimwit of an emperor.”
Qin Jingzhou nodded slightly. Killing a fool like that would have to wait until he returned victorious. For now… He struck out with his sword, cleanly taking off the traitor’s head. Shock was frozen forever on the traitor’s face as his head fell from his body.
With his other hand, Qin Jingzhou gripped the arrow lodged in his heart, yanked it out forcefully, bringing a spray of blood. He looked at his shocked Prince’s Personal Guards and the Middle Army close at hand. “What are you standing around for?!”
The deputy general, stunned at first and then overjoyed, raised his arm and shouted, “Charge!”
Aside from a handful of Prince’s Personal Guards who stayed beside him, the rest of his elite troops charged forward in an orderly surge.
Qin Jingzhou, still in control atop his horse, proceeded to heal the original host’s fatal wounds at his own expense.
When his wounds were mostly healed—since he’d been injured in full view, he couldn’t possibly restore the wounds completely and had to leave convincing traces—he patiently waited about half an hour. Soon enough, his ten thousand troops had surrounded the Jin commander’s encampment, while the bulk of the enemy cavalry, seeing the situation turn, had already fled out of sight.
In the cold-weapon era, losing twenty percent would shatter troop morale, and the soldiers would ignore all orders just to survive.
Yet the Jin cavalry, this time… Qin Jingzhou estimated the casualties wouldn’t have been less than thirty percent before they began to collapse and flee, which was an impressive display.
Their commander, now completely cornered, was left with no way out. Glaring at Qin Jingzhou, he shouted in heavily accented Qi, “I demand to see your Emperor!”
Qin Jingzhou didn’t answer, but instead turned to the captain of his Prince’s Personal Guards. “Bring me my bow.”
The original host had given up his scholarly life for the army, and his very first claim to fame was with a longbow—taking out an enemy commander a hundred paces away.
The guard captain was beside himself with excitement, offering up the meticulously maintained longbow with both hands.
Sliding his sword back in its sheath, Qin Jingzhou took the bow, hefted it lightly with a touch of nostalgia before firming his expression and lifting the bow. His motions were smooth and practiced, carrying an unbroken grace.
The arrow traced a beautiful arc through the air and struck the Jin general right between the brows.
The man collapsed, flag falling with him. The remaining Jin soldiers, seeing this, lost all will to fight. Most broke away in retreat, the rest surrendered on the spot.
With the outcome decided, Qin Jingzhou signaled to those around him. “Don’t pursue cornered foes.”
The runners hurried to spread the order for the withdrawal and cessation of hostilities.
He left the mopping up to others, leading his Prince’s Personal Guards, the proud Middle Army, and the vanguard back into the main camp behind West Gate Pass.
Once in the command tent, Qin Jingzhou didn’t bother acting fragile. Instead, he called for the trusted military advisor to gather the original host’s closest followers and the military doctor, who all quickly surrounded him. Even though he hadn’t looked like he was forcing himself on the battlefield, no one would relax until they saw his wounds in person.
With help from his confidant, Qin Jingzhou removed his armor, revealing the blood-soaked inner vest and his injuries for all trusted eyes to see.
The wound under his arm was not so bad—these were all old hands, and saw at a glance that it was just a misplaced stab. Truly an assassin sent by an idiot of an emperor—a bungler equally as hopeless!
But the general’s chest wound… Had the arrow gone a bit deeper—none of them even dared imagine the result!
Seeing several confidants in tears, Qin Jingzhou let the military doctor treat his wound. He remained calm, even managing a wry smile. “If disaster doesn’t kill you, fortune will follow. What are you crying for?”
The deputy general wiped his eyes, looked at the slightly pale-faced commander, and steeled himself. He dropped to both knees, “General, let’s… rebel!”
Everyone else, save for the military doctor who was holding ointment in one hand and bandages in the other, also dropped to their knees. “General!”
This was a low-cost version of the famous “donning the yellow robe and declaring oneself emperor”...
Qin Jingzhou was inwardly amused.
And the System chimed in, “When the emperor does something as outrageous as trying to kill his own general during battle, he has no right to blame his ministers for disloyalty.”
In this world’s original plot, the male lead was the original host’s third son, while the female lead was Emperor Yongning’s true love, Noble Consort Guo.
After his father’s death, the male lead struggled to uncover the truth behind both his father’s and eldest brother’s deaths. In this process, he fell in love with Noble Consort Guo. The two joined forces to overthrow Emperor Yongning, and when the rebels stormed the Capital, the male lead escaped with Consort Guo. After many hardships, they founded Southern Qi in the south.
Consort Guo became Empress Dowager, her son ascended as Emperor, and the male lead served as regent and imperial uncle.
At this point, the story ended. Outside the main plot, though, when the young emperor grew up, he used the same tricks as his father to assassinate the male lead, forcing his birth mother, Empress Dowager Guo, into mourning for the old emperor’s spirit. Southern Qi fell within three years after the new emperor took power.
After that, the entire continent plunged into chaos reminiscent of the “Five Barbarians Turmoil” from Qin Jingzhou’s homeland, with two centuries of nonstop war.
After hearing this, Qin Jingzhou asked, “Based solely on the synopsis, the male and female leads seem pretty normal.”
The System replied, “I haven’t told you the details yet. Let’s leave aside the transmigrator who ended up as the female lead and focus on the male lead, who is the original host’s third son.”
It turned out Emperor Yongning long wished to exterminate the original host’s entire family. After the original host’s eldest son got married, at the emperor’s order, his new bride began to undermine his health little by little through baleful influences and poisons hidden in food and medicine. The male lead, after discovering this, neither abetted the act nor warned his elder brother.
The original host’s eldest daughter, a consort in the palace, suspected her father died by the emperor’s plots and quietly gathered evidence. Once certain, she decided to repay the emperor with his own methods. By that point, both her father and eldest brother were dead, the emperor’s decrees no longer left the Capital, and the daughter knew her plan spelled certain doom regardless of the outcome. She sent a secret message to her younger brother, telling him of her intentions and urging him to take the family to the northwest, where their father had spent more than a decade commanding troops.
The male lead, upon receiving this message, said nothing to his family and immediately betrayed his sister to Noble Consort Guo. Consort Guo, in turn, promptly reported to Emperor Yongning.
After hearing all this, Qin Jingzhou laughed in disbelief. “So the male lead got the evidence for the emperor’s crimes from his own sister and then sold her out?”
“That’s right.”
He asked, “He did it for Consort Guo?”
“Yes.”
“So when Consort Guo turned against the emperor, he joined forces with her to take revenge, is that it?”
“Exactly.”
Qin Jingzhou shook his head, almost in admiration, “A lovesick fool of this caliber is truly something else. Was the male lead abused by his family as a child or what?”
“No, not at all.”
After thinking a moment, Qin Jingzhou asked, “The synopsis says he only fell in love with Consort Guo while gathering evidence, right? So does the male lead know her yet?”
The System flickered with light, “He does. Right now, he’s pining for her alone, but she occasionally sends him some gossip—like how the emperor, in private, always gnashes his teeth over the original host.”
Qin Jingzhou laughed again. “So the male lead knows his own father is in danger but never says a word? What a way to repay your father—divine filial piety!”
“Even the World Will thinks something’s wrong with this male lead.” Since devouring the center-of-attention system, the System had gotten much more opinionated. “Otherwise, why let Ms. Ling arrive ahead of you? The World Will invited both of you in quick succession, sparing no expense—so you can tell it is truly furious.”
Looking around at his loyal followers kneeling before him, Qin Jingzhou lowered his voice. “What are you all shouting for? Get up! We need to make our plans carefully.”
His followers glanced at each other, and moments later, they all broke into smiles.