[Matriarchy]
"Your Majesty, has my loyalty score gone up yet?"
With the unification of the realm just around the corner, Xi Chao finally couldn't hold back the question.
*
Xi Chao, who couldn't recognize a single character, encountered a benefactor after hearing a strange voice.
The voice said, "Renowned minister Xi Chao, loyalty score: 5."
Xi Chao didn't give it a second thought.
Her benefactor had promised to fund her studies and the imperial examinations!
The only condition was that she remain loyal to the emperor and devote herself to the country.
Xi Chao finally passed the imperial examinations, but once again she heard the strange voice.
"Renowned minister Xi Chao, loyalty score: 8."
Now that she was educated and had seen more of the world, Xi Chao guessed that this was probably her loyalty score toward the emperor.
She was delighted. Over the past few years, she had indeed kept her promise to her benefactor and served the emperor with unwavering loyalty!
With the imperial relatives and powerful nobles controlling the government, Xi Chao unhesitatingly joined the emperor's loyalists.
She was determined to reform the court and serve the emperor, so she worked diligently and climbed the ranks.
Who could have guessed that she would actually help the emperor reclaim power and unify the realm?
*
It wasn't until much, much later that Xi Chao learned the emperor could see her loyalty score too.
Before she could celebrate, she received some terrible news.
Why was the loyalty score out of 100?!
[The Emperor's Perspective]
Emperor Xuantai unexpectedly acquired the Wise Ruler System, which let her see the stats of her ministers and potential renowned officials.
From then on, despite opposition from her court, she appointed people who never lifted a finger as generals and those who spoke crudely as worthy scholars.
She also threw seemingly loyal ministers into prison and placed her trust in ministers who spent their days in reckless abandon.
Her critics waited for her to ruin the country, never imagining that these seemingly unreliable people would actually hold up the Liang dynasty.
The one who made the deepest impression on Emperor Xuantai was Xi Chao, a highly capable official who excelled in both civil and military affairs, scored well in every category, and seemed energetic and utterly loyal.
What made her remember Xi Chao so well went beyond her exceptional abilities as an individual official...
Could someone tell her why the loyalty score of her trusted and beloved minister refused to reach double digits?
1. A serious political drama about two protagonists working together to build the country and bring peace to a chaotic age.
2. Set in the middle period of the Liang dynasty, when the country was divided and regional princes ruled their own territories.
3. Xi Chao can only hear her own loyalty score.
4. The early story focuses on the imperial examinations and nation-building; the later story takes place amid chaos.
Blurb dated 2025.8.7
Theme: Bring peace to the world for generations to come
