The Peerless Poison Strategist: The Empress Calls Him the Living Yama

Lin An transmigrates to Great Xia just as the empress posts a notice calling for talented people. He decisively answers the call and enters the palace for an audience.

Faced with the empress's questions, Lin An comes up short on good ideas and offers one ruthless scheme after another.

Empress: You were born into a powerful family. Your mother was a lowly maid whom your master raped after drinking, and you were born from that assault. You were bullied from childhood, and at eighteen you watched your mother be beaten to death by your master. How would you take revenge?

Lin An: I would plot a rebellion, assassinate the emperor, and insult my superiors. Once caught, I'd curse the empress and ask if she had the guts to execute my entire clan.

"..."

Empress: Our armies are at war, and we have the city surrounded. How can we take it with the fewest casualties?

Lin An: The best strategy is to defeat the enemy's plans. Taking a city by force is the worst option, while winning hearts is the best. So I suggest launching plague-ridden enemy corpses into the city with trebuchets, or dumping them into the enemy's water supply.

"..."

Watching Lin An remain so calm and composed, the empress thought, Where did this living King of Hell come from? I must make him mine, and make him mine completely.