Damn summons

Just as Gao Yuan expected, The Emperor was overjoyed the moment he saw the Lan Xang royal seal and Khon Kham.

He didn't even bother to care whether Gao Yuan had grown stronger or more difficult to control; he immediately went to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to burn incense and report to Heaven and his ancestors.

As for Gao Yuan's act of recommending Liu Rengui, The Emperor viewed it as a flaw Gao Yuan had intentionally exposed.

In his view, as long as he won him over properly, a talented commander like Liu Rengui would sooner or later fall into his—the Great Gan Emperor's—hands. With a stroke of his brush, he appointed Liu Rengui as the Jiedushi of Zhongnan Circuit and even added a title, conferring him the rank of Count of East Pass County.

When Liu Rengui received the secret decree sent by the Emperor, he didn't even open it before sending it directly to Gao Yuan's desk.

Seeing this secret decree, Gao Yuan didn't need to open it to guess what his brother-in-law wanted to say.

It was nothing more than reminding Liu Rengui who had granted him his office and title, and perhaps even hinting at monitoring or restricting Gao Yuan's development.

Igniting the unopened imperial decree with a candle flame and dropping it into a copper basin, Gao Yuan looked at Liu Rengui.

"Regular, there is no need for such things between us. If I doubted you, I wouldn't have recommended you for this position."

"My Lord treats me with sincerity, so how could I hide anything from My Lord? Your subordinate will serve you to the death to repay your kindness in recognizing my worth."

"Hahaha, alright, alright. Stop with the mushy words. Developing Zhongnan Circuit well is the best way to repay me."

Gao Yuan smiled and patted Liu Rengui on the shoulder.

"So, are there any difficulties right now?"

"Nothing else, really, except that the population is far too low. In places like Location, only the administrative seats have any signs of life."

"Don't worry about that. Governor Wang Chuan sent over five thousand people, most of whom are able-bodied young men. I have already ordered them to divert their path directly to Vientiane;"

"Additionally, I have already ordered the families of the Xuanjia Army and the Third Division soldiers to relocate to Vientiane. You must settle them properly."

Liu Rengui was overjoyed. He stood up and cupped his fists in a salute to Gao Yuan.

"Your subordinate will certainly not fail My Lord's high expectations."

"Mhm, go get to work. Remember to take your family with you when you leave; don't stay separated from your flesh and blood forever."

"This..."

Seeing Liu Rengui's conflicted look, Gao Yuan waved his hand and cut him off.

"I wouldn't stoop to using hostages. Go on!"

"Your subordinate thanks My Lord for his trust!"

After seeing Liu Rengui off, Gao Yuan sat in his seat and found an almanac to flip through.

"Hmm, today is an auspicious day. Let's do some draws!"

Ever since pacifying Lan Xang, Gao Yuan had received an A-rank gacha card, a random equipment card, and an S-rank Talent Card from the system. His pockets were suddenly bulging.

After a moment of hesitation, Gao Yuan turned his gaze toward the equipment card.

"System, use the Random Equipment Card!"

"Host is using a Random Equipment Card. Randomly drawing..."

"Congratulations, Host, on obtaining Growth-type Equipment: Zhao Yun's bright silver spear (B)."

"Nice!"

Gao Yuan was currently only using an ordinary iron spear. He hadn't expected to finally get a weapon for himself today. He impatiently clicked on the bright silver spear's attributes.

"Gentian Bright Silver Spear: When used, it increases the Host's Agility, reduces physical consumption, and significantly boosts the speed of spear technique comprehension. It can be upgraded when the Host kills a sufficient quantity and quality of enemy forces."

"Good stuff. It's much more badass than that Tube-sleeved Armor of Wu Anguo."

With armor and a weapon, Gao Yuan felt his backbone stiffen considerably.

"My luck is good today. System, draw the A-rank card for me too."

"Host is using an A-rank Gacha Card. Randomly drawing..."

"Congratulations, Host, on obtaining one Random Equipment Upgrade Card."

"Uh... System, are you obsessed with equipment today? An A-rank card only gives me this?"

Gao Yuan felt the sting. An A-rank card! And all it gave him was an equipment upgrade card. Wasn't this a scam?

If it upgraded the bright silver spear, that would be fine—at least it would go from B-rank to A-rank. But if it was used on that armor, wouldn't that be a massive loss?

"Host, you can save this card for later use..."

"Holy mother of..."

Gao Yuan was truly speechless. This meant one of his A-rank rewards was temporarily unusable. Just thinking about it made him feel stifled.

"Rise after a fall, rise after a fall. I hope this talent card isn't a waste. System..."

"Host is using an S-rank Random Talent Summoning Card. Randomizing..."

The classic character card screen appeared again. Gao Yuan stared unblinkingly, chanting in his heart.

"Prime Minister, Prime Minister... Wang Meng is fine too. Li Linfu? Forget it, I can't handle him. The Crouching Tiger? Skip that one, skip that one... Holy mother of..."

Lacking a refined vocabulary, Gao Yuan relied on a single curse to express himself. Today was the day he had cursed the most.

"Congratulations, Host, on obtaining the S-rank talent, Wu Xu."

"Wu Xu..."

"Alright, System, no need for an introduction. I know her. All hail Empress Zetian. Your Majesty, please accept my humble bow."

Gao Yuan stopped the system's introduction, his face looking as if he had swallowed something foul.

"System, my dear brother, it's true I want to support my wife to become Empress, but you didn't have to shove an actual Empress onto me, did you? What's the plan? A dual-empress ascension? Two sovereigns ruling together? And she can be rated S-rank?"

"Host, please do not doubt the System's impartiality. The Great Teacher once gave her a very high evaluation. If you don't believe it, look."

A line of subtitles appeared before Gao Yuan's eyes, and he found it was indeed true. Talent for governance, magnanimity in tolerance, wisdom in discerning character, and skill in utilizing people—four phrases illustrated the Great Teacher's high evaluation of the only female emperor in China's history.

"Furthermore, Host, some of Wu Zetian's negative traits were closely related to her youthful experiences and that era. So, young man, work hard to reform her."

"System, come back! If you do this, how am I supposed to explain this to my wife when I go back!"

The system did not respond. Immediately afterward, a flash of golden light occurred, and a bright, timid-looking girl of about sixteen or seventeen appeared before Gao Yuan.

With just one look, Gao Yuan understood why Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin had named her Wu Mei, and why the 'Little Pheasant' had been so obsessed with this stepmother. She was truly alluring.

A woman had suddenly appeared in Gao Yuan's courtyard—and a very beautiful, very charming woman at that. This made the four women extremely furious.

"I really only took her in because she's very smart and can help you handle some affairs. I truly, truly don't have those kinds of thoughts. I swear!"

Gao Yuan felt like he was sitting on pins and needles under the four resentful gazes. He raised three fingers and swore resolutely.

Gao Yuan spoke with utter sincerity, but when the four women looked at him, their eyes still said, "Do you take me for a fool?" This left classmate Gao Yuan feeling very hurt.

Ignoring Gao Yuan, Zhao Xiyao beckoned to the nervous Wu Xu beside her.

"Little sister, come over to Big Sister's side."

Taking Wu Xu's small hand, Zhao Xiyao asked like a kind big sister next door.

"What a lovely girl. What is your name, little sister?"

"Wu... Wu Xu!"

"A good name!"

After some simple comforting, Zhao Xiyao, Zheng Wan, and Song Yao began to test her with some questions on government affairs.

Although he wasn't skilled in administration, Gao Yuan could tell that while Wu Xu was still very green, she was exceptionally intelligent. This made the women seem to believe Gao Yuan's nonsense a little.

Finally, Zhao Xiyao made the final decision. She shot a glare at Gao Yuan before showing a friendly smile to Wu Xu.

"Sister Wu Xu, how about staying by my side from now on?"

"Mhm!"

Wu Xu nodded in pleasant surprise.