The Cannon Fodder Character Attacked The Arrogant Male Protagonist. - Chapter 2

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Someone! Protect His Majesty!” Before Yu Zhao could react, a shrill, piercing voice erupted beside him. “Quick! Someone, guard the Emperor!”

The head eunuch, Eunuch Wang, who had led Yu Zhao here, shrieked as if Jiang Jindeng in the flowerbed were a ferocious beast. At that moment, Yu Zhao heard some strange, distinct thoughts.

What do I do? If His Majesty gets hurt, my head will be on the chopping block!

I do not want to die! My parents are waiting for me back home.

Amidst the swirling snow, Yu Zhao was shielded by an umbrella. The palace servants crowded around, their mouths opening and closing as they shouted, “Guard the Emperor!”

Yu Zhao understood instantly; this was the golden finger the system had granted him—the ability to hear others’ innermost thoughts. He looked at the protagonist lying on the ground, who watched them with an indifferent gaze. Yu Zhao motioned for the surrounding servants to step back.

They stood face to face.

The protagonist’s expression was cold. His eyes were beautiful, with jet-black pupils glowing with a chilling light, filled with wariness and resistance. He stared at Yu Zhao—truly a rebellious young wolf cub that most people would fear to look at. It was hard to imagine how one could ever tame him.

Yu Zhao stood tall and upright, looking back with calm composure.

At that moment, the Emperor did not exhibit the irritability or volatility he was known for. He lowered his eyes, his demeanor appearing gentle and approachable. Yet, there was an inexplicable sense of grace and ease that came from long-standing authority, as if he were evaluating Jiang Jindeng. Looking again, one might feel as if they had misread the situation. The servants peeked a few times, feeling a bit dazed. Has His Majesty always been this… this…

Jiang Jindeng, the protagonist of a Long Aotian web novel, was quite unique, somewhat akin to a tragic but beautiful and powerful figure. He was arrogant and heartless. On his path to dominating the three realms, he never cared for the followers who trailed behind him or the romantic advances of women. He never seemed truly moved, and the author never explicitly described his inner world. This unique narrative style made Jiang Jindeng incredibly popular, attracting a legion of fanatic male and female fans.

Yu Zhao squatted before him and reached out a hand. “The ground is cold. Get up.”

Jiang Jindeng chose to respond with a dagger.

At this moment, his cultivation was sealed, but his raw strength could not be underestimated. Yu Zhao was very close. However, Yu Zhao swiftly intercepted his wrist in mid-air, moving so quickly that even the surrounding palace servants failed to notice.

Yu Zhao chuckled. “Do you like stabbing people?”

The servants only saw His Majesty suddenly grab the hand of the honorable Jiang and lean toward his neck.

Oh my god, what is he doing!

Yu Zhao used his Mind Reading system to listen carefully to the protagonist’s thoughts. But apart from catching the faint, refreshing fragrance on Jiang Jindeng’s body, he heard nothing. No, he did hear the rhythmic thumping of an accelerating heartbeat.

007 whispered, “Sob, the protagonist is the Son of Heaven. The world will intentionally protect him, so Host, the cheat might be ineffective against the Dragon Aotian protagonist.”

Is that so?

Although Yu Zhao’s actions were audacious, only those involved knew that his touch was clean, pure, and entirely devoid of desire. A flicker of confusion crossed the protagonist’s face. Seeing him look a bit adorable, Yu Zhao flicked his forehead with his finger. He had no ulterior motives; it was merely a soothing gesture for a junior.

Yu Zhao tucked the dagger into the protagonist’s sleeve and let go of Jiang Jindeng. He raised an eyebrow, smiled naturally, and said, “The snow is getting heavier. You should not stay here.”

Yu Zhao turned his head to instruct the attendants nearby. “If Honorable Jiang does not wish to leave, you are to stay and accompany him from ten meters away.”

After speaking, he rose and left without looking back at Jiang Jindeng.

007 was stunned. In truth, from the moment he transmigrated to the moment he met the protagonist, Yu Zhao’s actions had been unhurried and methodical. Faced with one surprise after another, Yu Zhao’s psychological resilience was so strong that it was the first time 007 felt its own function was unnecessary.

Yu Zhao returned to the Imperial Study and instructed the palace servants to report on state affairs.

What to do? His Majesty is going to get angry again.

My life is at stake.

The crowd of people below Yu Zhao began to tremble visibly.

“Audacious! His Majesty told you to speak, so why are you stalling?” the head eunuch, Eunuch Wang, took the opportunity to scold them. “Someone! Drag them all away and behead them!”

“Wait.”

“Slow down!” Eunuch Wang squeezed his shrill voice, looking anxiously at Yu Zhao. “What are His Majesty’s instructions?”

Yu Zhao smiled. “You tell me.”

Eunuch Wang flopped onto his knees. “Y-Your Majesty, whatever you wish to know, this slave will tell you everything without reservation.”

“How is my performance as an Emperor?”

Eunuch Wang began to wheeze, unable to catch his breath. “Y-Your Majesty, you toil for the country and the people, worrying day and night. With you in power, it is a great blessing for the world. There is no one in the country who is dissatisfied with you.”

His Majesty, you spend half of every month acting recklessly, wasting labor and money. The people have harbored grievances against you for a long time, and rebels are rising everywhere!

“His Majesty cares for the people, always teaching your ministers that the people are the foundation of the nation, and you worry whenever there is a natural or man-made disaster.”

The people live in misery every day, Your Majesty! Disasters occur frequently, and you do not even look at them, let alone care.

“The ruler is wise, the ministers are capable, and the ministers are loyal to the core.”

The aristocratic families are arming themselves, their wolfish ambitions are obvious, and they are on the verge of overthrowing you to declare themselves rulers!

“The national treasury is full, and there is a surplus.”

The treasury is empty, and the nation is on the brink of collapse.

007 became increasingly guilty as it listened, eventually not daring to appear in Yu Zhao’s mind. At this rate, completing the mission was nearly impossible. Jiang Jindeng was extremely cold-hearted; treating him gently did not guarantee his favor, but any mistreatment would definitely lead to resentment. Generally, if the host failed the mission, the ending would likely be the same as the original character’s, or even worse. The hosts they had sent before either ended up in miserable circumstances or died in their original worlds. The Space-Time Administration would promise them wealth and life if they completed the mission, but even then, hosts naturally resisted such predicaments. Moreover, they had nothing to offer Yu Zhao if he failed.

Eunuch Wang knelt on the ground, trembling, feeling as though his head was in jeopardy. To his surprise, Yu Zhao showed no sign of anger. “You may rise. I understand.”

He picked up the memorials on the table and flipped through a few pages, roughly grasping the situation. The memorials on the table were few, and most were irrelevant inquiries from the provinces. This indicated that someone else was handling the important state affairs; he did not even have to put up a facade, as the significant documents never reached the Emperor. The few on the table were even approved by eunuchs.

“Eunuch Wang, stay behind. Everyone else, go bring the archives from the last fifteen years to the Imperial Study.”

From a young age, Yu Zhao had managed his family and later his enterprise. In his short life, he had reached heights others could only dream of. He was a genius in the eyes of others, and his gentle, noble demeanor had been praised by countless people. Based on the novel’s setting, Yu Zhao had replaced the Emperor, and the Space-Time Administration had deliberately altered the memories of characters related to the Emperor. Since these characters were nameless NPCs in the novel, they could be altered, so in everyone’s memory, the Emperor had always looked like Yu Zhao.

Everyone now felt a bit bewildered, unable to understand how someone like His Majesty could have acted so absurdly in the past. Yu Zhao was not the type of man with an imposing physique; he was a slender, tall youth. Yet, at the first glance, one could not help but feel weak-kneed. His fierce aura was still a source of mystery because he appeared so gentle and indifferent. The palace servants unanimously agreed that His Majesty was even more terrifying than before, mostly due to the awe of an unpredictable superior.

Seeing the others dismissed and only himself remaining by the Emperor’s side, Eunuch Wang smiled triumphantly. Yu Zhao, however, propped his hand up, turned to him, and brought up an old matter.

“Why was Honorable Jiang alone in the Imperial Garden? The weather is freezing, he has no cultivation, and who allowed him to be there?”

Eunuch Wang broke into a cold sweat instantly. “Reporting to Your Majesty, Honorable Jiang has always been eccentric since he arrived in the palace. None of us dared to arrange anything for him… Since you wanted him to be your Empress, none of us dared to neglect him.”

Yu Zhao realized this novel was truly ridiculous. An Emperor wanted to make a man his Empress. Yu Zhao had already guessed why the protagonist was there. He pondered for a moment and asked, “What are they arguing about in the morning court today?”

As expected, he heard Eunuch Wang say, tearfully, “All the ministers are striving to oppose this matter. Prime Minister Gu has already submitted a formal petition for several days.”

007 screamed, “Host, you are so amazing.”

“But Host, you care about the Long Aotian protagonist, why not do it in front of him?”

Yu Zhao replied, “They are proud individuals. My actions would look like I am treating him like a pet, which would only make the protagonist angry.”

007 felt immensely guilty. “I am sorry, Host. You lived such a good life, and we gave you nothing but led you into a difficult situation. You are the first host we chose like this, without your consent.”

Yu Zhao smiled and comforted it, “It is precisely because my life has been so smooth and successful that it had become somewhat boring. I thank you for providing this opportunity. Furthermore, clearing up a chaotic mess from zero to one is quite interesting in itself.”

007 was moved to tears by his praise.

The palace servants, seeing that the Emperor had brought back a youth from his southern travels to be the Empress, did not dare to offend him. After escorting Jiang Jindeng back to his palace, they respectfully withdrew.

Jiang Jindeng lived in the largest building in the palace, the Jinyue Pavilion. Jiang Jindeng recalled the Emperor’s appearance. He remembered his pure and elegant face, his long, slender fingers, and those eyes that appeared approachable but were actually held in high esteem.

Why did no one else see that the Emperor had been replaced?

In his previous life, he had come from the gates. He had always been extremely cautious, but that time, he had inexplicably let his guard down and was schemed against by a man, being kidnapped into the harem.

Now that he had lived a second life, the person had been replaced entirely. Jiang Jindeng loathed this new person, even more than he loathed the original. Jiang Jindeng hated the feeling of being under someone else’s control.