Chapter 117 - 98: Character Card
[Current Balance: 10,000 Palace Fighting Points]
[Upgrading the system will deduct 70% of your balance as an upgrade fee. Would you like to proceed?]
Jiang Xian nearly had a heart attack when she saw the upgrade fee.
’Why is there a middleman taking a cut?!’
But for the sake of long-term development, after confirming there was no room to negotiate, Jiang Xian chose to upgrade anyway.
"After you upgrade, you’d better be worth the exorbitant fee I’m paying."
[System upgrading...]
[System upgrade complete. Host is now bound to the Palace Fighting System 2.0!]
[Querying Host status—
Rank: Noble Lady
Treatment: Concubine rank
Offspring: 0
Punishments: Forced kneeling, copying texts (108 forms of torture not yet unlocked)
Status: Overly active
System Evaluation: As a Noble Lady, you are under the close observation of the Emperor, the Empress, the Empress Dowager, the Noble Consort, and Consort Xian. Your future is promising.]
"I get the first four, but I’ve had no dealings with Princess Consort Zhang," Jiang Xian said, confused.
System: [That is something for the Host to figure out on her own.]
’Fine.’
She decided to pay more attention to Princess Consort Zhang during her morning greetings from now on.
Then, Jiang Xian’s attention was drawn to the "Status" field.
The system explained that if she encountered poison or some other misfortune, it would be reflected in her status. As long as she checked it frequently, she could avoid all slow-acting poisons. For fast-acting poisons, she could induce vomiting or purchase a single-use consumable from the system to counteract them.
[New rewards unlocked in the System Mall...]
[Detecting low social activity from the Host in the harem. It is not easy for a lone wolf to survive in the harem. In most palace-intrigue stories, the protagonist often has multiple allies. For example, in the famous palace drama *Zhen Xuan Chuan*: sisters from a powerful family provide protection in the early stages, a sycophantic physician from the Imperial Hospital offers healing and support, and in the later stages, a high-damage assassin sacrifices himself for love.]
[The last one laughing in a palace struggle needs good teammates.]
[Special category [Character Card] unlocked in the System Mall.]
[For 3,000 Palace Fighting Points, draw a character from the card pool who will be absolutely loyal to the Host. They will help you ascend to godhood and reach new heights!]
[System Upgrade Bonus: One free [Character Card] draw.]
After reading the explanation, Jiang Xian’s eyes lit up.
She was in desperate need of a loyal subordinate.
In the harem, words alone weren’t enough to secure absolute loyalty. The way she treated the Palace Attendants in Yizhu Pavilion now was by luring them with benefits; she couldn’t say she had any truly loyal subordinates. Concubines from powerful families could threaten the families of palace maids and eunuchs outside the palace to ensure their loyalty. The Jiang family, however, was still in the countryside and couldn’t help.
"You said you unlocked the special [Character Card] category because you detected my social level in the harem was too low. Does that mean there are other categories to unlock? Does it depend on the Host’s chosen strategy?"
System: [It’s based on the Host’s style of conduct. Some Hosts are social butterflies. After entering the palace, they not only make friends everywhere, but also form... ’more than friendly’ relationships with Princes, guards, and eunuchs. They even develop unspeakable relations with the lonely concubines of the deep palace. Such highly social Hosts do not need Character Cards provided.]
Jiang Xian understood.
Every decision she had made was like a branching choice in a game, leading her down a different path in life.
She was a little curious. "So what special category did that well-connected Host unlock in the end?"
[She unlocked Clones and a Portal Door.]
A host profile with the name "???" appeared on the system’s light screen.
Jiang Xian could only see her title: [Time Management Master].
She felt a twinge of regret. "I could have used clones and a portal door, too. I could go home, take out the system’s lessons, and educate my father. Help him have a second wind in his official career."
’But there’s no turning back now. I can only dream about it.’
She had expected the new unlocked category to be a more simple and direct reward, like [The King Abandons Court]. Something that would make the Emperor, after visiting her, want to force all his officials into a 996 work schedule, never clocking out, and creating a sweatshop dynasty.
Still, the current [Character Card] was also very useful to her.
Jiang Xian said immediately, "I want to use my free draw now."
As soon as she spoke, a large prize wheel appeared before her.
On the wheel were various glittering golden silhouettes of people.
There was a stooped woman, a man on horseback brandishing a sword, and a graceful young maiden.
At the very top of the wheel was a prompt:
[Buy 10 draws, get one free.]
The system really knew how to bait you into spending.
But Jiang Xian’s pockets were empty. She couldn’t afford thirty thousand points, so she could only use the free draw she received from the system upgrade.
System: [Host, please spin the wheel.]
She reached out and gave the wheel a gentle push.
Though she had only pushed it lightly, the wheel began to spin rapidly, glowing brightly.
Finally, it stopped on a tall, slender silhouette.
Judging by the build, it seemed to be a man.
Before the person appeared, his profile was projected onto the virtual screen.
Name: Sikong Rui
Age: 18
Occupation: Hidden Guard
Skills: Assassination, arson, theft, guarding, stealth, and concealment.
Personality: The character’s personality is cultivated by the Host. He will become the person you shape him to be through the tasks you assign. Whether you give him a curved blade and turn him into a human Asura who kills without hesitation, or make him a loyal hound who protects you in the deep palace—it all depends on a single thought from the Host.
’The choice is mine.’
Jiang Xian was a little surprised. She thought the character she rolled would be a capable nanny, palace maid, or eunuch; she hadn’t expected a Hidden Guard. This was a pleasant surprise. After all, she would be leaving the palace soon, and this gave her another tool to protect herself.
It was just his age...
He was so young. She’d feel a little guilty ordering him around.
Fortunately, she didn’t have much of a conscience.
The system added: [Generally, a Character Card will automatically generate a suitable and inconspicuous identity. This Character Card’s occupation is [Hidden Guard], and he comes with superb concealment and stealth skills, allowing him to move through the palace with an extremely low probability of being discovered.]
System: [Does the Host wish to summon him now? Once a Character Card is summoned, it cannot be turned back into a card. He will be a living, breathing human.]
Jiang Xian first sent the attending Palace Attendants out of the room, saying she wanted to be alone.
She thought for a moment, then added, "If Chen Daying needs to order her meal, Zhenqiu, you can just go get it for her. There’s no need to come in and tell me. I don’t wish to see anyone for a while... Unless the Emperor comes to see me, I’m not meeting with anyone else."
Ever since she started practicing the martial arts the system gave her, her five senses had become much sharper than an ordinary person’s.
She would notice if anyone approached.
Only after taking every precaution did she dare to summon Sikong Rui from the [Character Card].
System: [Summoning Character Card [Sikong Rui]...]
System: [Summoning successful!]
Right in front of Jiang Xian, a pitch-black door appeared.
The doorframe was composed of countless pale hands, scrambling to climb it. Dark mists coiled around them, tangling and then dissipating.
Just as Jiang Xian was about to reach out and open the door, it was pushed open from the inside. A large, pale hand with well-defined knuckles emerged first.