Zhao Shun, the twenty-four-year-old monarch of the Southern Dynasty, ascended the throne at the age of six, with his mother, Empress Dowager Zheng, ruling from behind the curtain. When he was nineteen, Empress Dowager Zheng passed away from illness, returning power to the emperor.

However, during Empress Dowager Zheng's reign, she heavily favored her Zheng family relatives, who were now prevalent throughout the court, practically controlling everything. In addition, the Empress Dowager had spoiled Zhao Shun, raising a second-generation wastrel who indulged in beauty and pleasure all day long. Therefore, Zhao Shun remained uninterested in court affairs and continued to heavily employ his relatives, leading to widespread resentment from both the court and the common people.

But Zhao Shun didn't care. He even thought these were the days of the immortals. He could take all the beauties in the world, indulge in extravagance, and enjoy the greatest glory of the world. His mother had passed away, so he didn't have to be responsible. What could be better than these immortal days?

"Apparently, that's all the memory I have." He couldn't even remember the name of the person next to him...

"Tsk, the instance refuses to sell me any information..." Zhang Yuanqing groaned as he got up, and immediately heard a Lingjing prompt sound next to him:

[Main mission activated: Defeat the Northern Dynasty army or protect the Southern Dynasty capital.]

[Ding! Side mission activated: Find the spy lurking in the palace.]

[Ding! Side mission activated: Win the hearts of the people.]

[Note: Each time a task is completed, part of the item inventory can be unlocked.]

"There are too many tasks..." Zhang Yuanqing's expression was a bit dazed as he listened to the continuous prompts in his ear.

There was a 24-hour survival task in the side missions, and the "Fallen Monarch" instance was a large-scale war instance, which obviously couldn't be completed in 24 hours. There were already so many tasks in the initial stage of the instance, so what about the middle and later stages?

Also, now that his skills were sealed, his item inventory was sealed, and his body had become weak and unable to take care of himself, how could such a character survive?

"For others, this is an A-level instance, but for me, this feels comparable to an S-level..."

Obviously, the "Fallen Monarch" was the core character of the instance, and he was unlucky enough to draw the most difficult character card.

"Alas, I don't know where the others have gone. Can I find my Left Guardian, Demon Eye, and Right Guardian, Little Fu? I need your protection..."

He had experienced this kind of instance once, during the last Five Elements Chaos instance.

At this moment, the girl beside the pillow was awakened by the movement. She rubbed her eyes with her small hands, opened her snow-white arms, and wrapped them around him, saying娇气, "Your Majesty."

Her delicate, newly developed body twisted slightly, making a skillful seductive movement.

"You're so capable at such a young age... Damn feudal society..." Zhang Yuanqing preferred mature beauties and had no interest in this kind of little girl. He gently pushed her away and ordered, "Help me change!"

The girl nodded in agreement, quickly climbed out of bed, and picked up the palace dress from the ground with her white, tender buttocks sticking up. With the shuttle and guidance of her small hands, the complex clothes were quickly put on.

She was a palace maid... Zhang Yuanqing guessed the girl's identity, looking at her slightly plain palace dress.

If she was a concubine with status, she wouldn't dress him herself.

After putting on his clothes, the girl led the Emperor to the screen and took off the casual clothes hanging on the screen one by one, skillfully helping Zhang Yuanqing put them on.

Throughout the entire process, all Zhang Yuanqing had to do was extend his arms and lift his feet, or remain still. It reminded him of his father helping him dress when he was a child, which was one of Zhang Zizhen's few memories.

Chen Shu was a strong woman all her life, and her way of raising children was also inclined to strictness and letting go. She demanded that Zhang Yuanqing dress himself from the age of three. Zhang Yuanqing didn't know how to dress, and in his memory, there was always a pair of large, warm hands helping him put on his clothes.

Taking advantage of the palace maid's help in dressing him, Zhang Yuanqing started his brain and thought about what he should do next.

"What were my side missions again? Damn, my memory has also declined..."

Zhang Yuanqing opened the attribute panel to review the instance missions. The main mission could be ignored for the time being. The three side missions were "Survive for 24 hours," "Find the spy," and "Win the hearts of the people," which could also be ignored, as they were impossible to achieve for the time being.

What needed to be done were the two side missions, but what did "Survive for 24 hours" and "Find the spy" mean?

"Surviving for 24 hours means the palace isn't safe? These two side missions may be related. The danger comes from the spy lurking in the palace. So, the next goal is very clear: find the spy. But I must have enough intelligence support. Hmm, first understand the situation in the palace..."

As he thought, Zhang Yuanqing heard a muffled urging from outside the curtain: "Your Majesty, it's time to drink your medicine. The imperial physician said that the medicine should be drunk while it's hot, or the effect will be greatly reduced."

Outside the curtain, a tall, burly figure appeared again.

"I know," Zhang Yuanqing replied impatiently. After the palace maid put a gold and jade crown on his head, he walked to the bronze mirror and examined his appearance.

He was a handsome young man, thin and weak, with a sickly pale complexion and dim eyes, a typical picture of someone who had hollowed out his body with wine and sex.

"An unhealthy body. In this era, if you encounter a sudden illness, it's easy to die..." Zhang Yuanqing muttered to himself.

This was nothing like the appearance of the favored son of heaven, Yuan Shi Tianzun. Even if Guan Ya stood in front of him, she probably wouldn't recognize him.

He lifted the curtain and walked to the outer hall.

The hall was decorated with luxurious and expensive gold thread carpets. Famous paintings hung on the walls, and antique shelves displayed pottery. The orchids by the windows were all precious varieties. On the round table covered with bright yellow silk was a bowl of medicine with diminishing steam.

A burly middle-aged eunuch was kneeling on one side, with fish-tail wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and a hint of impatience between his frost-like eyebrows, as if he would strike at any moment.

Zhang Yuanqing sat down at the table, picked up the bowl, took a sip, found it bitter and disgusting, and deliberately said loudly, "What kind of medicine is this? It's worse than粪水(feces)! Take it away, take it away, I won't drink it!"

His purpose in doing this was to maintain the character of a fatuous ruler, not to start a conversation and gather information in a reasonable way.

The middle-aged eunuch with frosty hair frowned and said, "Your Majesty, the toxins in your body have not been removed yet. The imperial physician said that it will take at least ten days to fully recover. These days, you'd better not indulge in carnal pleasures."

The palace maid who had served him last night shrank her head, her face full of fear.

Toxins? Zhang Yuanqing's eyes lit up, and he deliberately said loudly, "Toxins? What toxins? I am the True Dragon Son of Heaven, the Nine-Five Supreme, immune to all poisons!"

The middle-aged eunuch with frosty hair raised his eyebrows, took a few steps closer, and stared down at him.

Although Zhao Shun, this fatuous ruler, lived a carefree life of pleasure, the fact that even a eunuch could give him attitude showed that he had no real power at all.

"The eunuch may also be a member of the Zheng family... I was poisoned three days ago. It seems that the spy has already made a move once..." Zhang Yuanqing's thoughts raced, and he sighed inwardly again.

"I will encounter another assassination within 24 hours. This is the method of the person who poisoned me. If I can't find the spy, there's a high probability they will continue." Zhang Yuanqing's thoughts raced, and he sighed inwardly again.

"Demon Eye, Little Fu, your king needs your protection!"

"This medicine is too bitter, take it away." Zhang Yuanqing pushed the bowl aside. Since the original owner almost died from poisoning, he must never touch anything in the palace again. Maybe the spy is in the bedroom, maybe among the palace maids and eunuchs present. Any negligence would lead to his death on the spot.

The burly middle-aged eunuch said angrily, "Your Majesty, if you don't drink the medicine, I can only force you to drink it."

"Bastard..." Zhang Yuanqing simply smashed the bowl on the ground with all his might, and roared, "You eunuch without a bird, how dare you threaten me!"

The middle-aged eunuch's chest heaved, and he finally flicked his sleeves and left.

Watching the middle-aged eunuch leave, Zhang Yuanqing's eyes flickered slightly. He dismissed the others around him, summoned the palace maid who had served him last night, and snorted coldly, "Who is he?"

In this huge palace, he currently only trusted this little palace maid.

If she was a spy, Zhao Shun would already be dead. It's hard to guard against the person closest to you.

The little palace maid should be a reliable instance NPC from whom he could obtain some information.

"He is Li Changshi..." The little palace maid was a little dazed, not understanding why the Emperor was asking this question.

"Is Li Changshi trustworthy?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.

The little palace maid's expression became even more confused. "Li Changshi is an old servant of the Empress Dowager's palace. The Empress Dowager arranged for him to serve you before her death. Li Changshi is trustworthy, but he has a bad temper."

"Someone from the Empress Dowager's side? Then he shouldn't be a spy!" Zhang Yuanqing thought, then asked.

"He just said I was poisoned. Is that true?"

The little palace maid nodded repeatedly.

"A few days ago, Your Majesty did have a sudden illness, suffering from severe abdominal pain. Li Changshi discovered your abnormality and invited the imperial physician to diagnose Your Majesty."

"Where was I before I was poisoned?" Zhang Yuanqing asked again.

The little palace maid lowered her head and thought for a moment, then said with difficulty, "Your Majesty has been to many places and contacted many concubines and palace maids."

The subtext of this statement was that you have too much fun, and no one knows how you were poisoned.

This was a bit of a headache... Zhang Yuanqing thought for a few seconds, relying on his profound knowledge of literature and history, and came up with an idea: "I want to see the Imperial Diary."

The little palace maid said, "Your Majesty can ask the Chief of the Inner Secretariat to obtain it."

The official in charge of the emperor's Imperial Diary was called the "Diary Recorder," and the Diary Recorder was under the jurisdiction of the Inner Secretariat.

Zhang Yuanqing waved his hand: "Not that Imperial Diary, but the one that records my activities in the palace."

The emperor had two copies of the Imperial Diary, one recorded by the Diary Recorder, including conversations with ministers during his palace life.

The daily one was recorded by the eunuchs.

The little palace maid replied, "Your Majesty can ask Li Changshi for it."

"I'm afraid he'll hit me..." Zhang Yuanqing ordered, "You go get it."

The little palace maid pouted, looking aggrieved, and said, "Yes!"

She lowered her head and hurried away, leaving the bedroom.

A quarter of an hour later, the little palace maid returned, holding a thick stack of books, and offered them with both hands.

Zhang Yuanqing took the Imperial Diary and nodded with satisfaction: "Well done. You will serve me tonight."

The little palace maid was overjoyed. Whether they were concubines, palace maids, or even singers in the palace, who wouldn't want to serve the emperor?

As long as they could conceive a dragon child, they could soar to the branches and become phoenixes.

Zhang Yuanqing waved away the palace maid, sat up, and began to flip through the Imperial Diary, reading intently. The writing in the Imperial Diary was standard regular script, which was not a problem for a high-achieving student from Songhai University.

The Imperial Diary recorded the people Zhao Shun had contacted and the things he had done, and there must be clues.

After reading a few pages, Zhang Yuanqing's head began to ache, realizing that he had underestimated Zhao Shun's debauchery.