Everyone set out for Ming Yue Palace, and Ye Zhizhou followed besides De Gui Jun, frantically flipping through the plot data in his mind.

Ming Yue country's guoshi position was revered. It was said that they could see the fate of the country and had the right to decide who was the rightful heir to the throne. Of course, that was the power of guoshi from long ago. After so many generations of pressure and suppression, by this generation, the power of the guoshi had become a kind of existence similar to a mascot. However, this mascot was born with popular support, so the emperor would not dare to offend him rashly.

The birth of every guoshi was the will of heaven. The baby who was selected as the guoshi would have a bird-shaped birthmark on his buttocks.

Ye Zhizhou's eyes widened. Bird-shaped birthmark? bird-shaped? What bird? It wouldn't be the same as the birthmark on his lover, was it? Did this mean that his lover's identity could very well be the guoshi?

[Asking the host to calm down and focus on the mission.]

He collected his thoughts, quickly gathered up his spiritual power that he'd unconsciously sent out, and smiled soothingly at De Gui Jun who had looked over.

The position of guoshi was a lifelong one. When the last one died, the next one was born. The newly born guoshi was then sent to the Moon Palace to be cultivated as soon as he was discovered. After reaching the age of 18 and going through a sacrificial ceremony, he would then formally put on the guoshi's robe and meet the common people. So many generations of guoshi of Ming Yue country had followed this way of inheritance, except for one, Rong Guangyan.

It was said in the original plot that the protagonist's father, the guoshi during that time, pretended to be dead and disappeared after sending the protagonist to the Tianshan cult. In other words, in the hearts of the emperor and the common people, the previous guoshi was dead, but in fact, the protagonist's father who pretended to be dead was still missing even at the end of the original plot.

The old guoshi died, but the new one was still not born. The emperor became suspicious, and the common people gradually panicked. Fortunately, before long, Rong Guangyan, who was three years old, was brought over by his family. It was turned out that the birthmark on Rong Guangyan was too shallow. In addition, the guoshi had still been alive, so his family didn't think much of it. Now that the guoshi had died, the birthmark on Rong Guangyan's body suddenly became clear. Only then did the family realize that the child's identity might not be simple, and they quickly brought the child over.

So the emperor was at ease, and the common people were relieved. Rong Guangyan was successfully left on Ming Yue Palace. Because of this issue, the emperor thought that Rong Guangyan was special, so she did not follow the old system and did not wait until he had reached the age of 18 to confer him as guoshi, Instead, after confirming that the birthmark on his body was real, she immediately held a sacrificial ceremony for him and dressed him in the guoshi's robes.

After getting here in the plot data, Ye Zhizhou couldn't help frowning and calculated the ages of the characters on the plot data. The protagonist was already 18 years in the plot data. it was 11 years ago that her father, the guoshi, pretended to die and left. Rong Guangyan entered the Ming Yue Palace when he was three years old... so later in the plot, the protagonist actually took a 14-year-old little *zhengtai into her harem? And the original host was also secretly in love with this little shengtai? What was the matter with the royal daughters? They all liked to gnaw on tender grass? No, the original host was not a royal daughter, he was a son, therefore it was a royal son who secretly loved the little zhengtai...

{*shota/shotacon; a young, cute boy}

His brain couldn't help but produce images that shouldn't be seen by others. He rubbed his arms and pulled his thoughts back. He began to look for traces of Sha Yang in the plot data. The father of the protagonist was the guoshi before the last guoshi, and Rong Guangyan was the current one in the plot data. So this Sha Yang should be the previous one... However, there was a three-year gap between the death of the second to last guoshi and the birth of Rong Guangyan. How did this predecessor, Sha Yang, appear? Why wasn't it mentioned at all in the plot data? What was going on with the gap of three years? Wasn't it when the previous one died, the next one was born?

"Tongtian, are you having plot holes again?"

The little mirror laid quietly in his clothes and refused to answer the question.

It seemed like Tongtian didn't know what was going on with the plot either... He couldn't help but lift his hand and rub his face. He looked at several noble concubines who were talking together in front of him, then looked at the thoughful-looking De Gui Jun. he stepped forward and asked in a low voice, "Father, who is this Shan Yang? Isn't the present guoshi Rong-gongzi?" The original host's memory didn't have this Shan Yang's existence, and now facing this kind of "Everyone knows but I don't know" pain-in-the-ass situation, he was completely unprepared.

"He's the twin brother of the second to last guoshi." De Gui Jun slowed down and stood side by side with him. He also lowered his voice and said, "This matter is known to all the older people in the palace... I'll explain to you later. Right now, there are too many talkative people around."

Ye Zhizhou nodded to show that he understood, his head full of thoughts flying around. It turned out that the father of the protagonist also had a twin brother, which was not mentioned at all in the plot data... This plot hole was a bit big.

Ming Yue Palace was located in the far corner of the Imperial Palace, covering a large area. High walls surrounded it, separating it from the outside, forming a unique world.

Ye Zhizhou's thoughts became a little bit impure after entering the outer gate with the crowd. So, the guoshi all lived in the palace. No wonder no one found out about the scandalous relationship between the emperor and the previous guoshi. Thinking about the fact that all the former guoshi grew up in Ming Yue Palace... With this kind of palace and these kinds of people, if nothing happened here then it would simply be letting down the heavens.

It was only at this time that the emperor withdrew her thoughts from her memories. She realized that the imperial consort and several noble consorts were following beside her. Her expression darkened, and she stopped, turned around, and scolded them, "Sha Yang Guoshi just woke up and must not be disturbed. What are you all doing here? Go back!"

The several noble consorts were overwhelmed by her ferocity to the point of not knowing what to do. Yue Qing, the imperial consort, quickly adapted to the situation, saluted respectfully, and cautiously said, "Then this subject will visit the guoshi another day." With that, he stepped back and walked away with his servants.

Seeing this, De Gui Jun quickly tugged at Ye Zhizhou, went up, and saluted before taking his leave. Ye Zhizhou had no choice but to suppress his curiosity and followed him to leave. When he reached the outer gate, he could not help but look back and saw that the emperor's expression had become darker and the group of noble consorts could only reluctantly take their leave.

A white shadow suddenly flashed past in the corner of his eye, and he quickly turned his head to look in that direction but saw nothing.

"Yan'er."

His head was gently patted warningly by De Gui Jun. He quickly turned back and bowed his head respectfully like other people. A little doubt flashed in his eyes. That white figure just now felt a bit familiar. Was it just his imagination?

After returning to De Lan Palace, Ye Zhizhou hurriedly grabbed De Gui Jun, who wanted to return to his room, as he wanted to know the gossip. "Father, what is the matter with Sha Yang Guoshi?"

"You actually still want to know about this." De Gui Jun stopped, feeling a bit helpless as he was tugged over to sit down in the small hall. After sending everyone away, he said, "Sha Yang Guoshi is the twin brother of the deceased guoshi. When the two were taken to the Ming Yue Palace, their birthmarks were almost the same. The Ming Yue Palace had never encountered such a situation. After showing the emperor, she concealed the matter. She decided to wait until the two were 18 years old and have the heavens choose during the sacrificial ceremony."

"Have the heavens choose?" Ye Zhizhou couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. This world was this incredib;e?

"It actually was just a divine drawing." It seemed that De Gui Jun didn't believe in those divine matters very much, as his tone was indifferent. He continued on, "As a result, Sha Yang Guoshi suddenly fainted without warning before the ceremony and did not wake up again. The position of guoshi was then passed on to Sha Yue."

Ye Zhizhou was shocked and surprised. "It was actually decided by drawing lots... Why did he faint? Wait, has he been in come until now?" After being a vegetable for so many years, even if this Sha Yang woke up, he should be a waste of a person.

"The imperial doctor couldn't find out why he had fainted." De Gui Jun shook his head and frowned lightly. "Sha Yang Guoshi fainted and never woke up. He only woke up once, 14 years ago, and said a single sentence to the people in Ming Yue Palace."

Fourteen years ago? Wasn't that when Rong Guangyan was born? Ye Zhizhou's heart jolted and he asked, "What did he say?"

"'The time has come.'" De Gui Jun rubbed the teacup and frowned deeply. "What he said that time was 'The time has come.' No one could understand the meaning of his words. Even Sha Yue Guoshi was at a loss. The strangest thing is that after so many years of being in a come, his appearance has remained the same as when he fainted, never changing."

Ye Zhizhou couldn't help but widen his eyes. "Never changing?" Sleep-sleeping beauty?

De Gui Jun nodded, looked at him with a serious expression, and said, "So remember, Yan'er, don't be infected by those people from Ming Yue Palace. Avoid them if you can, and even if you can't, you should try to keep a distance. Sha Yang, that forever sleeper but never aging monster is worshipped as a miracle by the whole Ming Yue Palace. They even regarded him as the successor before the appearance of Rong Guangyan Guoshi... It's too scary; they're all crazy. Yan'er, father just hoped you live safely. Don't get involved with those scary things. Do you understand?"

Ye Zhizhou hastily changed his expression to conceal his crazily cursing mood. He nodded cleverly and obediently promised, "I will listen to Father. In the future, I'll stay away from those people from Ming Yue Palace." On the premise that his lover was not someone from Ming Yue Palace!

After saying goodbye to De Gui Jun and returning to his room, Ye Zhizhou immediately ripped off the clever and obedient mask, took out the mirror and shook it vigorously, shouting, "The plot is breaking down this fast. How do you want me to do my mission? Tongtian. what's going on with these recent worlds of yours? Pull yourself together!!"

[Asking the host to please trust the system.]

Ye Zhizhou was speechless for a few seconds, before continuing to shake Tongtian. "How can I trust you?! The protagonist's father has a strange twin brother. This matter wasn't mentioned in the plot data at all. Am I still using my head if I believe in you?!"

[Soul flag fluctuation detected... Soul flag fluctuation ended. No abnormality.]

[The probability of Rong Guangyan and the protagonist falling in love has dropped to 0%. The first soul flag has been pulled out. Congratulations to the host. May the host persist in his efforts.]

[The probability of Yu Shuang, Yu Qiong, and the protagonist falling in love has dropped to 50%. May the host persist in his efforts.]

[The probability of Xia Yanyun, Mu Yan, Liu Jun, Ruan Mohe, Ke Qi, and the protagonist falling in love has dropped to 80%. May the host persist in his efforts.]

Ye Zhizhou's hand shool and he almost threw the little mirror to the ground. "I-I didn't do anything. Are these flags going crazy..."

[The probability of Leng Ye and the protagonist falling in love has dropped to 0%. The second soul flag has been pulled out. Congratulations to the host. May the host persist his efforts.]

What the fuck... He really didn't do anything! The plans to pull out the flags were only halfway done, and he hadn't even started to do anything. What was going on with these flags?!

The closed door was suddenly pushed open. De Gui Jun ran in with an anxious expression and said incoherently, "Yan'er, your mother emperor has just issued a decree marrying Sha Yang Guoshi to you, an-and also gave you a number of secret guards as your dowry, as if to confer a king title to you... Yan'er, what's going on? Why did your mother emperor confer marriage to the guoshi upon you? That's the guoshi!!"

A bolt from the blue!

Ye Zhizhou was stunned and then exploded. That Sha Yang was from the protagonist's father's generation, and the original host was only 17 years old. The old joining the new shouldn't be done this way! Wait! That wasn't the point! The point was, how could he marry a strange guoshi who was not his lover?!

"Father!" He quickly grabbed De Gui Jun's sleeve and said equally incoherently, "Where are the people who sent the decree? Why wasn't I called to accept the decree?" Why wasn't he given the chance to resist the decree! Forcing an arranged marriage on his was unacceptable!

"The old nanny came in, gave the decree, and left." De Gui Jun was so stunned out of his wits by this explosive news. He was both, worried and frightened. "Yan'er, you must escape. That Sha Yang has been sleeping for so many years, yet his appearance never changed. He must be a monster. Quickly escape. The emperor simply wants to force you to death!"

De Gui Jun's personal eunuch also rushed over, shouting as he ran, his voice becoming distorted, "De Gui! Many guards of the Ming Yue Palace are outside, and they've surrounded De Lan Palace! There are also many imperial guards! What are going to do?!"

Ye Zhizhou hurriedly helped support De Gui Jun, whose frame of mind was collapsing even further. His anxiety strangely faded a little. Why was this style of marriage snatching similar to... His gaze swept over the system prompts that were in the air, and couldn't help but let out a smile.

It- it couldn't be that... Sha Yang was his lover...

start: 10:11 finish: 12:13... well that's definitely an improvement from last week... plz comment and vote ;-;

This arc is apparently called . I'll try to properly include the title for the next one.

I apologize for the note and for any typos/ misspelled words