Chapter 948: I've imprisoned the Empress—how do I fix this!

【Now transmitting to the next world……Transmission successful.】

「Meow…」

Jin Chen was awakened by the cat's meow, opened his eyes to see a pile of memorials on the desk, his hand still holding a brush; he must have been making annotations.

Hey, Emperor.

Jin Chen set down his brush, already emperor—why work so hard?

Beside the memorials lay a black cat, its fur glossy, its green eyes clear; Jin Chen absentmindedly stroked it a few times, thinking that the original owner's life as emperor was rather comfortable.

「Meow…」

The black cat turned away haughtily, not letting Jin Chen pet it, but softly hooked its tail around his slender fingers.

0731 wanted to speak but hesitated, then spoke anyway.

【Host, I advise you to accept the memories first, then decide whether to pet the cat.】

Jin Chen warily pulled back his hand, casually tossed aside a few memorials, and lay face-down on the desk, eyes closed.

【Transmitting plot……Transmission successful.】

The villain of this world is the current Empress of the Great Jin Kingdom, Wen Zhiheng.

He was the legitimate son of a Vice Minister of Personnel, a companion-reader to the Crown Prince, handsome as a jade crown, talented and beautiful; in his youth he outshone many noble sons of the capital with a single poem, and his fame spread far and wide.

Yet contrary to everyone's expectations, he did not enter officialdom to serve the Great Jin Kingdom; when the Crown Prince came of age, the former emperor bestowed him as the Crown Prince's consort, after which he had no further connection to an official career.

Two years later the Crown Prince ascended the throne, more ruthless and cruel than his predecessor, governing with an iron heart, and was rumored to be a tyrant; once the consort became Empress, she was even less allowed to interfere in state affairs.

But at that time, the tyrant still cherished Wen Zhiheng, having been his companion-reader since childhood, and fully understood his aspirations; thus he specially granted him the right to participate in governance, and would consult him first on matters.

With Wen Zhiheng weighing pros and cons at his side, the tyrant's methods softened, and court affairs were no longer filled with resentment.

The turning point came when the tyrant encountered the divine cat specially offered by the Western Regions beyond the frontier; upon seeing that black cat, he was bewitched and insisted on personally keeping it nearby, no amount of advice could dissuade him.

Not long after, a favored little servant suddenly appeared in the palace; the tyrant even directly ennobled him as a first-rank noble, granting him a palace, yet he often kept him within the Emperor's Hall of Blessed Tranquility.

This shape-shifting cat demon is the protagonist's love interest, Shao Chun.

The tyrant doted on and protected this little plaything, never expecting that it was merely Shao Chun's mission: to learn all of the tyrant's daily habits and obtain the map of the secret passages of the Great Jing Kingdom's imperial palace.

Relying on his favor, Shao Chun used his words to provoke, causing the tyrant to discard many loyal officials.

Wen Zhiheng advised him, only to have his right to participate in governance revoked and be confined to the Cold Palace, unable to leave without imperial order.

Yet though the tyrant doted on Shao Chun, his true affection belonged solely to the protagonist's love interest, Jin Xiao Mo—who was none other than the tyrant's fifth imperial brother.

Shao Chun believed that, when he first transformed, the one who kept him company was Jin Xiao Mo, who was nothing like the tyrant's fickle temper but instead extremely gentle.

As Shao Chun's investigation into the palace's secrets deepened, he was suddenly blocked by a certain force that could freely enter and leave the imperial palace; after several covert visits, he discovered it was none other than the Empress imprisoned in the Cold Palace.

Wen Zhiheng exposed Shao Chun's scheme, but the tyrant wouldn't believe a word of it, instead listening to slander; he completely deposed the Empress, and the entire Wen clan was implicated and sentenced to death.

Without Wen Zhiheng's interference, Shao Chun successfully obtained the imperial edict and palace map, but when preparing to hand them over to the Western Regions beyond the frontier, he was moved by Jin Xiao Mo's true affection.

Jin Xiao Mo did nothing, yet easily took the edict, stormed the palace to force the tyrant's abdication, and ascended the throne as emperor.

Jin Chen: "……"

Good news, in this world my wife is directly the Empress.

Bad news, he's a lunatic.

How could he be this stupid!

Even the protagonist's love interest is putting on airs!

0731 reminded, 【That's the black cat you just petted!】

Jin Chen sprang to his feet, his voice deep and resonant, "Attendant! Wash my hands!"

The black cat was startled by him, fur bristling in displeasure, its body lowered and arched, baring its teeth.

「Meow! 」

"What meow! Meow again and I'll chop you up!"

Jin Chen rolled his eyes inwardly, but his expression remained as cold as still water.

No, it's only been half a year since Wen Zhiheng was demoted to the Cold Palace by him.

Soon it will be the point where Shao Chun obtains the edict and is stopped by Wen Zhiheng's privately cultivated forces; after a bit more waiting we can also find the Western Regions spy lurking in the palace.

"Yan Fu'an, take the cat away."

Jin Chen washed his hands, urging the nearby eunuch.

"Yes."

Yan Fu'an hurriedly waved toward the hall's exterior, signaling the servants to take the black cat away.

The black cat refused to leave, still wanting to watch the memorials; nimble, it dodged several servants and leapt onto the desk.

「Meow! 」

It was very dissatisfied, letting out a rough breath toward Jin Chen, but seeing his dark face and furrowed brows, as if he were worried about something, it thought a moment and softened its voice.

Its paws pressed on Jin Chen's thigh, it softly meowed a few times, hoping he'd hold it—this was its way of asking him to dismiss the attendants so it could assume human form.

Jin Chen was pondering how to win the Empress's forgiveness when his thigh suddenly grew hot; he glared and flung the cat aside.

"Outrageous! Didn't I tell you to take the cat away?"

He was terrified!

"This…"

Yan Fu'an thought, "Could it be that the sun rose in the west today? Usually His Majesty only says such things but never actually lets them touch his precious cat."

But doubt aside, no one dares disobey the emperor's order; the eunuchs and palace maids lunged to catch it, yet the black cat grew angry and ran off on its own.

Jin Chen dried his hands and paid no heed.

In his heart he still thought, "What gall! He dares imprison his own wife!"

He glanced at Yan Fu'an, gave a light cough, and sat down.

Yan Fu'an immediately knelt, considering the will of Heaven, "These memorials aren't urgent right now; Your Majesty, why not take a break? Go to the imperial garden and play with the cats."

Jin Chen: "......" Silence.

This...

Yan Fu'an broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead, and he added, "The Fifth Prince has just returned from Lingnan to the capital; now is a leisurely time—Your Majesty, why not summon him into the palace to inquire about the flood situation in Lingnan?"

Jin Chen continued Silence.