Reforming the Treacherous Minister - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

After successfully completing my mission, I steeled my heart, abandoned the Male Lead I had raised with my own two hands, and returned to the real world.

I thought that would be our final farewell, that we would never meet again for all eternity.

But not long after, I transmigrated back.

The streets of Chang’an City were as bustling as ever.

This was my third day back. I didn’t have a single coin to my name, and right now I was staring at the steaming buns across the street, practically drooling.

The System was playing a game, completely unconcerned with whether I lived or died. “I told you to go find the Male Lead, but you refused. In that case, suffer.”

It would have been fine if he hadn’t spoken. The moment he did, I nearly exploded with anger.

“What kind of bullshit is that? First you tricked me into coming here to do a mission. I completed it for you, finally managed to leave, and then you told me the world had gone haywire and made me come back. Easy for you to say! You know what happened back then. How am I supposed to have the face to go find him now?”

“What do you mean, tricked? You clearly agreed to it yourself!” The System crossed his arms and snapped right back at me, practically spraying spit in my face. “You think I wanted to come back? If you hadn’t messed things up the first time, would I need to do this a second time?”

I had nothing to say.

Because it really was my fault.

If I had to blame anything, I could only blame myself for being blind enough to board a pirate ship back then.

When I was a sophomore in college, I was on my way back to school after working a part-time job at night when I got hit by a car.

The driver fled the scene. I died on the spot. Before I died, my mind was filled with the tens of thousands of yuan still sitting unspent in my account.

Tears streamed down my face.

If I’d known this day was coming, I would have added an extra egg to my luosifen yesterday.

Then the System appeared.

“I can bring you back to life. In exchange, you have to complete a mission.”

As someone who had grown up without parents, I hadn’t earned that money easily. Dying before I could spend it all felt like a huge loss, so I agreed on the spot.

The System said my mission was to transmigrate to another dynasty and reform the Male Lead, who was destined to become a treacherous minister, into a kind, gentle, positive young man.

The mission had clearly ended perfectly. Who could have known that the moment I left, he would somehow break down completely? So now, I had no choice but to do it all over again.

“Stop talking. Hurry up and think of a way for me to appear in front of him naturally.”

I had been squatting on this street for three days. I had seen his carriage pass by from a distance, but I never dared go up to him.

To be honest, I was actually pretty curious.

The System had told me that time flowed differently in each world. For me, only two months had passed. For him, it had been five years.

Five years… He must have changed a lot.

While I was lost in brief thought, the System suddenly grew excited.

“There he is, there he is! Hurry, go!”

I whipped my head around and saw a carriage approaching not far away.

The entire carriage was pitch-black, but it was anything but ordinary. All four sides were wrapped in expensive, exquisitely woven silk, making it outrageously luxurious. And that was not even mentioning the four enormous rubies embedded in its corners. As it rolled forward, they looked like flowing flames.

“That kid’s doing pretty well for himself.” I sighed in relief, unable to stop myself from remembering the first time I met him.

Back then, he was only seven or eight years old. Although he was the legitimate son of the Chancellor’s Residence, his birth mother had died early, and he was tormented in every possible way by the new wife his chancellor father had married. Most days, he couldn’t even fill his stomach. He could only cling to life in the woodshed of that remote courtyard.

The System sent me straight into that woodshed.

At the time, I was still wearing modern clothes-a short-sleeved shirt and jeans-and my hair was a head of yellow curls. My mind was still foggy, and before I could even process what was happening, someone suddenly seized me by the throat.

As I struggled with all my strength, I realized the one choking me was actually a child.

Luckily, he was still young, and terribly thin besides. With a little effort, I broke free of his grip.

“Cough, cough, cough… Who are you? Why are you choking me?”

How could someone this young be so vicious? I was about to curse him out, but the moment I met the child’s eyes, the words caught in my throat.

His face was dirty, so I couldn’t make out what he really looked like. But those eyes made my heart lurch violently.

They were black, still, and desolate. His rims were red, and he looked like a trapped young beast, ready to kill everyone who threatened him in the very next second.

I swallowed.

“System, where is this?”

The System was silent for a moment. “The person in front of you is the Male Lead, Xiao Yan.”

This time, it was my turn to fall silent.

“Are you… sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“Do you want me to reform him, or did you send me here to get killed?”

The System explained, “That’s why I sent you to this point in time. You have to instill the right ideas in him from childhood…”

Me: “…”