AMBTMS Chapter 2

Although he was the legitimate eldest young master, Li Shu’s presence in the mansion had always been weak, and his character could even be described as timid. Li Yang was born of a concubine, but she was a favored one. Moreover, the official wife only had one daughter, so there was no one above to suppress her.

The usually docile and bullied elder brother suddenly revealed a fierce side, and he was more surprised than afraid. Being humiliated like this in front of the servants, Li Yang’s face was burning and he couldn’t endure this humiliation, “Li Shu, calling you big brother is giving you face. Know your place and don’t disrespect me!”

“Oh, is that so?” Li Shu propped himself up, “Since when is this mansion under your command? You calling me big brother is because I am older than you, not as you said… hmm, giving me face.”

Leaning slightly forward, Li Shu gave Li Yang the illusion of being looked down upon. Li Yang wanted to say something, but under the gaze of those eyes, he couldn’t utter a word. Li Yang had never taken his frail and sickly elder brother seriously. He never thought that he would one day be completely suppressed by someone he had always looked down upon, unable to even summon any resistance.

Cold sweat gradually soaked his back, and his heart thumped rapidly in his chest. He tightly restrained himself under this pressure, refusing to bow down and beg for mercy.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Shu relaxed his body and lay back. His eyelids drooped, “Alright, leave. Be more respectful in front of me in the future.”

After the words fell, Li Yang felt like a drowning man resurfacing, calmly letting out a breath. He looked at Li Shu, who still appeared frail, with complex emotions, and without saying a word, he turned and left.

If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed that his elder brother, who usually had such a low presence, could have such a dominant side, making others afraid to meet his gaze. Were all those previous instances just an act? If it weren’t for that highly recognizable face, he would have suspected that Li Shu had been replaced by someone else.

“You all leave first.” After Li Yang and his entourage left, the room became considerably empty. Maids moved back and forth, which made Li Shu dizzy.

“But…”

Qinghe pulled aside the maid who wanted to speak, and bowed, “Yes.”

Li Shu nodded, and Qinghe swiftly tidied up the room before closing the door.

Now, not only was his body uncomfortable, but his head also began to ache. It felt like someone was holding a knife, cutting at his nerves, making it unbearable.

[System, what’s happening?] Li Shu endured it but the situation kept worsening and he had to ask.

[Host, wait a moment. Let me help you block the pain first.]

Li Shu didn’t know what 1314 did, but the pain receded like a tide. Li Shu leaned on the bed and listened to 1314’s explanation.

[Your soul is too powerful, and the current body is too weak to withstand it, causing a certain degree of rejection. In fact, new hosts usually have such a reaction when they first arrive in another world, but none of them have such a strong soul like you at the beginning and the rejection will not be too great. Don’t worry, Host, this is temporary. I’ll transmit the plot related to the original owner to you. Once the plot is received, the rejection reaction will automatically disappear.]

This time, the system transmitted the plot related to the original owner.

The original owner was also named Li Shu. He was the son of the first wife of the Left Prime Minister Li Cheng. Due to premature birth, he was weak since childhood. As the legitimate son and the eldest, his days shouldn’t have been like this, with each illegitimate son riding over him. However, it is said that if you have a stepmother, you have a stepfather. After the original owner’s mother passed away, Li Cheng quickly married a second wife. The current wife did not deliberately embarrass the original owner, but it was impossible to treat the original owner as her own child.

The original owner’s health deteriorated and he was frequently ill. With this frail body, pursuing an official career was impossible. In addition, Li Cheng had several healthy sons, so the original owner, who was deemed worthless, was no longer his concern. Since then, the original owner’s life has become increasingly difficult.

His status as the eldest son was both an honor and a constraint. His younger brothers all regarded him as a roadblock. Although he knew that they knew the Left Prime Minister wouldn’t choose him as the heir, but what if?

Nobody wanted this “what if” to happen. Therefore, when the original owner was about to come of age, someone couldn’t resist taking action against him. The original owner was cautious and, with some medical knowledge learned from Doctor Lin, managed to overcome each crisis. Unfortunately, he couldn’t dodge the attempt this time and ended up dying. Li Shu was then brought to this world by the system, becoming “Li Shu”.

In the original plot, the assailant was also successful, but the original owner survived. Not only did he escape death, but he also got a blessing in disguise as his health improved. After several such incidents, the original owner understood that even if he did nothing, as long as he carried this identity, he would be a thorn in others’ eyes. Not only would those people not let him off the hook just because he was avoiding them, but they would find him easy to bully and act more and more capriciously. Only when he reached a height beyond the reach of those could he live without constant fear.

So, he seized every opportunity to climb higher. He became one of the few children from an aristocratic family to take the imperial examination and become an official, and, even rarer, caught the Emperor’s eye. His official career progressed rapidly, thanks to the Emperor’s deliberate connivance, and he quickly stood at a high position.

The original owner was ruthless. He was the sharpest blade under the Emperor’s command, pointing and killing wherever instructed. Ministers complained about this, but the Emperor protected him, dismissing piles of impeachment letters without a glance and leaving them helpless.

People sighed: “As expected of the Left Prime Minister. He ingratiates himself with His Majesty, and even raised a son who could attract the Emperor’s favor!”

It’s just that everyone had their own opinions on how much of this sentence was sincere and how much of it was sarcastic.

The original owner played a significant role throughout the plot and carried considerable weight. He fell in love with the female protagonist, who had given him warmth since childhood, but she only saw him as a brother. In the later plot, the powerful original owner relentlessly targeted the male protagonist because he could not get the female protagonist, which caused a lot of trouble for the male protagonist, including the loss of many generals under him.

It was precisely because of his interference that the male protagonist realized how important the female protagonist was to him, leading to the ultimate happy ending. No wonder this world was chosen by the system.

[So, I got the villain script?] Competing for the female protagonist, aggressively targeting the male protagonist – what else could it be if not a villain?

[Does the host care about this?] 1314 looked at the host cautiously, and saw that the host did not look angry, and explained, [Upon entering the small world, the host’s identity cannot be changed. Because the owner of this identity suddenly passed away, we need to enter this small world and complete the plot that the original owner was supposed to follow.]

[Do we need to strictly follow the plot?]

[There’s no need for that,] 1314 shook its head. [But a few key plot points are necessary. Our main task is to ensure the happiness of the main characters and prevent the plot from collapsing. By the way, the main plot specifically refers to the story involving the protagonists.]

In terms of OOC, the requirements from the Matchmaker System were minimal.

*OOC is an acronym for Out Of Character. This often describes a fictional character behaving in an unusual way that is contradictory to the way they’ve been written.

1314’s words made Li Shu less resistant to completing the task. It was a relief not to have to constantly play the role of the original owner.

Just like in the original plot, after this serious illness, Li Shu’s health gradually improved. Regardless of how others reacted, under Doctor Lin’s care, although he couldn’t reach the standard of a healthy person, compared to before, he was in much better condition.

As the weather got warmer, Li Shu maintained the original owner’s daily routine, and also waited for Li Cheng to come to him. In the original plot, Li Cheng would visit him after the original owner recovered, and it was during this conversation that the original owner got a fresh start.

He didn’t have to wait long. On a sunny afternoon, Li Cheng’s trusted subordinate Yun Jing appeared in the courtyard, respectfully saying, “Eldest Young Master, the Lord invites you.”

At the moment, Li Shu was sitting on the veranda, enjoying the sun. He tilted his head slightly when he heard the voice, “I know.”

There was no surprise or inquiry about why the left prime minister suddenly wanted to see him. He just said “I know” in a calm tone, as if it were the most ordinary thing, and Yun Jing couldn’t help but glance at him. Eldest Young Master Li Shu had a weak presence in the Left Prime Minister’s residence. Yun Jing’s deepest impression of him was being in poor health and frequently falling ill. After seeing him in person today , there was no hint of a long-standing illness. Instead, he appeared refreshing and elegant.

“My Lord, the Eldest Young Master has arrived.” Yun Jing didn’t enter but gestured for Li Shu to go inside.

“Father.” Li Shu bowed to the man in green standing by the window.

At the words, Li Cheng turned back, pausing on Li Shu’s face for a moment before speaking in a gentle tone, “Zi Shu is here, please sit.”

Left Prime Minister Li Cheng was a refined man. His appearance lacked aggression, and his eyes were tolerant. He could easily gain the trust of others. Judging solely from his appearance, he truly fit the description of a “gentleman”.

“Thank you, Father.” Li Shu sat as instructed.

“I heard from your mother that your health has been improving lately. What does Doctor Lin say? Is it truly okay now?” Li Cheng spoke with concern, and his eyes revealed just the right amount of worry, as if he were a genuinely worried father.

However, not a trace of concern leaked from him. Li Shu was a nine-tailed fox that could absorb emotions, so he was highly sensitive to human emotions. No matter how Li Cheng behaved, if there were no genuine emotions, then there were no genuine emotions given off. He could deceive others but Li Shu couldn’t be deceived.

Li Shu wasn’t surprised by this and replied, “Doctor Lin said as long as I take good care of myself, it won’t affect my daily life.”

“That’s good,” Li Cheng said in relief. “Since your health has improved, do you have any plans for the future?” This was his true purpose in summoning Li Shu.

Li Shu looked up, his voice slightly trembling with excitement, “I want to participate in the imperial examinations, just like Father.”

He lifted his chin, resembling a small beast refusing to surrender, yet his eyes were filled with admiration and trust toward his father, evoking a tremor in Li Cheng’s heart.

“Have you thought this through? This path is challenging.”

The imperial examinations had been widely implemented nationwide just recently. For aristocratic children, entering the government through the imperial examinations was considered a last resort. Currently, aristocratic children still followed the traditional path of entering officialdom through the guidance of the previous generation. The imperial examinations were viewed as a means for selecting officials from the common people. Those selected through the imperial examinations were mostly sent to distant places, and even if they stayed in the capital, they had limited access to power.

Since the introduction of the imperial examinations until now, spanning over a decade, there was only one successful example like Li Cheng, and he too came from an aristocratic background.

“If Father can succeed, as Father’s eldest son, I believe I can do it too.” Li Shu’s attitude was resolute, showing no signs of retreat despite the difficulties ahead.

“You…” Li Cheng paused, then continued, “You have such determination, that’s good. Since you’ve made this choice, Father naturally supports you. I hope you can persevere to the end.”

“I will.”

‘Of course, I will persevere to the end, otherwise, what will happen to the plot mission?’