Chapter Forty-Four: The System Has Led Me Astray!

Does even need to ask? Upgrade immediately! He urgently needs that body health free adjustment feature right now!

"Upgrade, what are you waiting for?"

[Beep, system upgrading...]

[Upgrade complete, skill lottery function unlocked. The host can spend 50 points to randomly draw a skill. Disaster prediction function unlocked. The host can spend 500 points to predict a disaster that will occur in the future.]

Wait a minute?! This disaster prediction function actually costs points?

This is not what he expected at all! Since predicting disasters costs points... then what about that body health adjustment??

Li Chengche took a sharp breath, then opened the skill description.

Sure enough...

[Body Health Free Adjustment passive skill: The host can freely adjust his own body health condition through this skill. Each adjustment costs 1,000 points.]

This cost is more expensive than quite a few skills... and moreover, this is the cost required for just a single adjustment.

At this moment, Li Chengche truly and deeply understood the difference between a seller's show and a buyer's show.

System, you thick-eyebrowed fellow, trying to scam your Imperial Grandson here, aren't you?

Just as he was thinking this, Cui Yingying's maid returned. She was holding a thoroughly soaked umbrella, and everything below her knees was drenched. "Your Highness, the umbrella has already been delivered to Miss Su's Drunken Flower Pavilion."

"Drunken Flower Pavilion??"

Now Li Chengche understood why the system had judged earlier that he was indifferent to his fiancée's crisis.

By the time his umbrella was delivered, she had already arrived at the Drunken Flower Pavilion. Wasn't that the definition of being indifferent?

[Beep, detected that the host is indifferent to the state of his fiancée's maid, judged as elementary slacking off, points +50]

Wait a minute? How many points? Previously, elementary slacking off only gave ten points.

How come this...

[Beep, the system detects the host's doubt and is now answering it. With each system upgrade, the points required for a single instance of slacking off will increase.]

Splendid, simply splendid. Li Chengche looked at the maid. "You've worked hard. Go down, change into some clean clothes, and get to sleep early."

With that, Li Chengche took a thirty-liang silver note from the bed. "Take this silver note first."

"This maid thanks His Royal Highness the Imperial Grandson."

"Alright, go on down. Your young mistress, is she alright?"

"She's fine. She caught in the rain and came down with a cold, and is currently resting at the Drunken Flower Pavilion."

What was the point of all that?

Speaking of which, fifty points were rewarded just now, right? Perfect, time for a lottery draw.

Previously, none of those skills in the system mall cost less than 500 points. With 50 points, whatever skill comes out is pure profit.

"System, points lottery."

[Beep, the host is participating in the points lottery.]

[Congratulations to the host for acquiring the skill: Advanced Fishing Technique.]

[Would you like to view the skill description?]

"View." He hadn't seen this skill in the mall before.

Therefore, he needed to take a good look at what this skill actually did.

[Advanced Fishing Technique: The fisherman never returns empty-handed. This skill guarantees that every time you fish, you will catch something, even if there is no bait on your hook at all.]

Meaning, even if he wanted to emulate Jiang Taigong, every single cast would have a willing fish biting the hook?

Very well, this skill is quite good, but the problem is... what use is this?

Could it be that he, the dignified Imperial Grandson of the Eastern Palace, needs to go fishing himself?

Right now, Li Chengche genuinely regretted spending those fifty points.

How wonderful it would have been to save them for buying a useful skill in the future?

"System, can I get a refund?"

[Ding, once the lottery is triggered, no returns or exchanges are accepted.]

Damn it, what a nuisance.

Just as he was thinking this, the voice of Qin Gou'er came from outside, "Your Highness, Li Chengzong and the others seem to be plotting to harm you."

"Is that so?"

Li Chengche asked lazily.

This attitude completely baffled Qin Gou'er. He now had some doubts about whether the Imperial Grandson had even heard what he had said.

"Your Highness, this subordinate said that Li Chengzong and the others are plotting to get rid of you."

"I heard it."

[Beep, detected that the host is indifferent to others plotting to harm him, judged as elementary slacking off, points +50]

"Let them make a fuss. They surely won't send assassins directly to murder this Prince, right?"

"Well, probably not..."

"Then what is there for me to worry about? Lying here in my sickbed, could they still manage to kill me?"

"Your Highness, that may be true, but..."

"There are no buts, go and rest."

Qin Gou'er let out a helpless sigh, bowed, and obeyed orders.

"Yes, Your Highness..."

To be honest, he had been following Li Chengche for quite a few days now, but this Highness's heart was simply too big.

This was a major matter of someone plotting to take his life, yet he was so utterly indifferent?

After sending Qin Gou'er away, Li Chengche yawned.

He was in his sickbed, and this was the Eastern Palace Mansion. Even if they really wanted to hire assassins, no one would dare to commit murder in this place.

Since assassination was out of the question, the only remaining option was poisoning. And a matter like poisoning was far too easy to investigate. Even if Li Jiancheng disliked him, given his status as Imperial Grandson, Li Jiancheng would not let the matter rest easily.

After all, Li Jiancheng's reaction to his feigned illness this time had already proven this point—forcing Consort Zheng's people to fetch medicine, and placing Consort Zheng Guanyin, who had shared thick and thin with him, under house arrest for three days.

Therefore, those fellows wouldn't resort to poison either. Since neither assassination nor poisoning would work, only one path remained: using fake medicine to slowly send him on his way.

And since Li Chengche was merely faking his illness, he would be able to taste if the medicine was wrong. So, what was there to be afraid of?

In fact, that was indeed the case. In the bedroom of the Prince of Taiyuan, several brothers were currently wearing gloomy and worried expressions.

Because, after a round of discussion, they confirmed that no quick methods could be executed within the Eastern Palace.

And right now, Li Chengche was seriously ill and couldn't possibly leave the Eastern Palace.

Li Chengzong furrowed his brows and cursed angrily, "Simply absurd... We couldn't lay a hand on him when he was in good health, and now that his health is failing, we still can't assassinate him."

"Exactly, Second Brother, why did he have to fall ill in the Eastern Palace? Wouldn't another place have been fine? Even if he had fallen ill at the Drunken Flower Pavilion!"

Li Chengzong sighed. "There is only one move left: bribe his maid and swap his medicine... When the time comes, the investigation will conclude that he died of illness..."

"Second Brother, wouldn't it be better to just poison him to death?"

Li Chengzong gave Li Chengde, who had asked the question, a blank stare. "Fourth, you refuse to admit you're foolish, don't you? Do you even hear what you're saying? The other day, Imperial Concubine merely instructed the servants not to buy medicine for him, and she was placed under house arrest for three days. If we poison him to death, when Father investigates later, death by lingering execution would be getting off lightly."

Li Chengde asked doubtfully, "Surely not? Father doesn't really like him much anyway."

"True, Father doesn't like him, but he is the Imperial Grandson, favored by the Grand Emperor, and he just recently presented that glass artifact. When the Grand Emperor issues an imperial decree to punish us then, do you suppose Father would offend the Grand Emperor for our sakes?"

"Well, naturally he wouldn't."

"That's why I'm saying, the only option is to swap his medicine and let him die slowly."