The Tyrant Can Read My Mind!

"Song Yunchu, you despicable, shameless, treacherous dog! You deserve to be struck down by heaven's lightning and die a horrible death!" Hearing the high-pitched cursing echoing in her ears, Song Yunchu paused in her tracks, her brow twitching slightly. It had only been ten days since she arrived in this novel's world, yet she had already heard people call her a "treacherous dog" dozens of times. Not far ahead lay the Imperial Study. Just as Song Yunchu was about to order someone to drag the cursing military general away, the red-clothed maid beside her blurred into motion. In a flash, she appeared in front of the man and kicked him squarely in the chest. "Insulting the Prime Minister is an unforgivable offense! Executing you on the spot wouldn't even begin to expiate your crime! Men!" At the woman's command, several imperial guards swarmed forward, drawing six or seven long swords that instantly pressed cold against the man's throat. Song Yunchu hurriedly called out to stop them. "Hold on!" The woman in red turned around, her face filled with confusion. "Does the Chancellor wish to spare this man's life?" Song Yunchu replied, "Just take him into custody for now. This Chancellor still has questions for him." The guards dragged the man away. Even as he was being hauled off, his eyes remained bloodshot as he barked furiously, "You treacherous dog! Go ahead and kill me! Even as a ghost, I won't let you off!" Song Yunchu sighed inwardly. As she turned back around, she overheard two of her subordinates whispering behind her— "A dog's mouth really can't spit out ivory. He can spew nothing but filth." "Since the Chancellor wants to interrogate him, we'll have to keep his tongue intact. Let's give him the water cure and the nail t*****e, let him taste a fate worse than death." Song Yunchu's expression shifted slightly. She quickly turned around and instructed, "No need for t*****e. Just keep a close eye on him, and that will suffice!" The two of them froze, then chorused in unison, "Yes, Chancellor." For someone so utterly insolent, the Chancellor actually spared him from t*****e. Could it be that this man possesses some extraordinary talent? Song Yunchu noted her subordinates' bewildered yet fearful expressions. Keeping her face deadpan, she turned and walked away. She couldn't blame them for being shocked. The original owner of this body was the Right Prime Minister of the current dynasty. She had cross-dressed as a man to enter court, and on any regular day, she was black-hearted, ruthless, and utterly devoid of morals. Ten days ago, her finger had slipped on a w*******l app, opening a book titled Provoking the Dark Prince: Runaway Consort, You Can't Escape! Catching sight of a character with her exact name in the synopsis, she had clicked on it as if possessed. It was a toxic, angst-filled "groveling-after-heartbreak" romance novel. The male and female leads were a complete psycho couple—one toxic scumbag and one brainless fool. The entire plot was packed with so much melodramatic, agonizing nonsense that it gave her a splitting headache. Her rage peaked when she read the plot point where Prime Minister Song—the villain sharing her name—was stripped of office by the Emperor on charges of treason, exiled, and subsequently hunted down and shot to death with a barrage of arrows by the male lead. How could this brilliant, calculating master villain die at the hands of the male lead she despised most? To vent her frustration, she—a person who usually never bothered to leave reviews—bombarded the book with countless critical comments and roasts. The original author had replied under her last comment: Dear reader, why don't I give you the pen and let you write it then? When she woke up, she had become Prime Minister Song. She had every reason to suspect the author had literally cursed her into the book. As she neared the Imperial Study, the Chief Eunuch came jogging toward her, lowering his voice. "Lord Song, His Majesty encountered assassins on his way back to the palace this morning. Though his sacred person is unharmed, the assassins escaped. His Majesty is in a dreadful mood. It is already past noon, and he still refuses to eat. Would you please go and persuade him?" Song Yunchu remained silent, maintaining her cold, aloof facade as she walked onward. The "plastic relationship" between Prime Minister Song and the Emperor ran deep throughout the entire novel. In the early chapters, Prime Minister Song was the absolute ceiling of martial arts prowess, though she would be surpassed by the male lead in the mid-to-late game. She had won the Emperor's favor by slaughtering all of his royal brothers. Meanwhile, His Majesty looked frail and sickly on the outside, never seen without his medicine, but on the inside, he was an insidious, ruthless mastermind who easily matched Prime Minister Song's cruelty. As a reader, Song Yunchu naturally knew this was a classic "praisetrap"—raising someone to the skies just to watch them fall. The Emperor had broken protocol to appoint a second Prime Minister just to split the power of the veteran Grand Chancellor Liu, and he had even handed control of the palace's premier intelligence agency, the "Mingjing Bureau," over to Song. It held the power to monitor the words and deeds of all officials. If anyone stepped out of line, Song had the authority to punish or execute them without even reporting to the Emperor first. Whenever she remembered that the upcoming plot involved the Emperor plotting to assassinate Prime Minister Song, with that psycho male lead hot on her heels to deliver the final blow, her eyelids would twitch frantically. Stepping into the Imperial Study with a heavy heart, she raised her eyes to look ahead, cupping her hands in salute. "This minister pays respects to Your Majesty." Behind the imperial desk sat a man with features as flawless as a painting. His pale, jade-like face bore a perpetual, sickly pallor, but beneath his long lashes, those beautiful phoenix eyes were exceptionally bright and clear. When his gaze met hers, he looked entirely gentle and harmless. "Yunchu, no need for such formality. Come, sit," Jun Liluo said softly. He turned and immediately instructed the Chief Eunuch to bring over the fruits and fine wine that Song Yunchu favored. Song Yunchu took a seat before the imperial desk, scoffing inwardly. [Heh. If I hadn't known your true character profile beforehand, I really would have been fooled by this gentle, harmless act of yours.] Jun Liluo's hand paused mid-stroke as he held his ink brush. He lifted his gaze to look at Song Yunchu. "Yunchu, I was attacked this morning. Although it ended without disaster, we failed to capture the assassin. At the time, I thought to myself: if only you had been there, that assassin would never have escaped. It seems I truly cannot do without you. Next time I travel outside the palace, will you accompany me?" Song Yunchu suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. [Must be exhausting for the dog emperor to spout such sickeningly sweet nonsense.] She maintained her composure, responding in the most grounded, steady tone she could muster. "To accompany the imperial carriage is this minister's greatest honor. From now on, as long as I am by your side, I will never allow any traitor to harm Your Majesty." "Your competence is what sets my mind at ease the most... Cough, cough!" Before Jun Liluo could even finish his sentence, he covered his lips and let out a string of coughs. Seeing this, Song Yunchu quickly stood up and handed him the teacup from the imperial desk. "Is Your Majesty's throat uncomfortable? Perhaps we should summon the imperial physicians." Jun Liluo took the teacup while still coughing. Just as the tea passed his lips, he heard Song Yunchu secretly scoffing in her mind again— [The dog emperor can seriously act. He's clearly a martial arts master, yet he spends all day pretending to be a frail, tragic heroine like Sister Lin. If you could transmigrate out of this book, I'd take you straight into modern showbiz. Winning Best Actor would just be a matter of time.] Jun Liluo: "..." He swallowed his tea calmly, flashing a faint smile at Song Yunchu. "No matter. It's an old ailment. The imperial physicians have instructed that I only need to take my medicine on time." Having listened to Song Yunchu's inner voice over the past few days, he had already grown accustomed to the bizarre vocabulary that popped out of her mind from time to time. When he first suddenly gained this ability, he had been utterly shocked himself. It happened ten days ago during a palace banquet. He had been enjoying the music and dancing alongside his officials when a sudden wave of muttered complaints echoed directly into his ears. [Wow, this Golden Sand Rich Crab is absolutely delicious! The descriptions of rare delicacies in this book certainly didn't lie.] [This Hibiscus Pearl Cake paired with plum wine is a match made in heaven. Truly worthy of the imperial kitchen!] It was unmistakably Song Yunchu's voice. Song Yunchu regularly ate these dishes, so why would she be so full of praise? Just as curiosity gripped him, he heard Song Yunchu grumbling again— [Tsk. Just to highlight how beautifully the female lead dances and sings, the author summarized this entire palace banquet's performances with the words 'dull and tedious'. Now that I'm actually a character inside the book, it really is boring as hell.] [This girl is quite pretty, but I really can't appreciate this melody. It's not even as good as my own singing.] [The wind blows the sand, the butterfly loves the flower, a tale for the ages~ Like the moon in the water, infatuated with the flower in the mirror~] Hearing Song Yunchu actually burst into song, Jun Liluo found it utterly mind-boggling. He instinctively glanced down toward his right. From his throne, he could see Song Yunchu's perfectly serene profile. Her lips were firmly sealed! Yet, the singing in his head continued— [That midsummer year, you packed your bags and left home, by the ancient path I wanted to speak but my tears fell first~] Sensing that something incredibly bizarre was happening, he called out, "Yunchu!" Hearing her name, Song Yunchu turned her head to look at him. "What are Your Majesty's commands?" [Why is the dog emperor looking at me with such a creepy stare? I don't think I provoked him, did I?] Jun Liluo's pupils constricted— Dog emperor?!