Qin Tao's bombshell revelation in front of everyone ignited the immense enthusiasm of the people of Li Family Village.
Suddenly, the villagers, who had been gossiping amongst themselves, became incredibly animated, each offering their own version of the affair between Li's father and Qin Tao. Before
Li Shiyue could say anything, her previously silent system abruptly spoke up: "System loading complete, binding host, host binding in progress, binding successful.
Scanning, task detected, please complete the beginner task as soon as possible."
After a two-second pause, the system added: "Please check the system taskbar and complete the task to receive the reward."
Li Shiyue had no interest in watching her father and Qin Tao's drama unfold; her mind was completely occupied with the unreliable system she had acquired after transmigrating.
Using her mind, Li Shiyue opened the system interface and quickly tapped the taskbar marked with a small red dot. Sure enough, there was a line of text: "Assist the female supporting character Qin Tao in successfully rising to power, and you will receive one chance to win a prize."
Meanwhile, Li's father was still shocked by Qin Tao's self-deception. He first frowned, then, seeing Qin Tao still sobbing with her head down, he feigned concern and went to comfort her. Right there in front of everyone, he reached out and hugged Qin Tao tightly.
From this task, Li Shiyue gleaned three pieces of information:
First, the term "female supporting character" suggested that she had likely transmigrated into a book, which must have a male and female lead;
of course, it was also possible that she herself was the female lead.
Second, the system mentioned a "newbie task," so logically, in games, there are usually three newbie tasks. This "assisting the female supporting character Qin Tao in rising to power" should be the first newbie task, with tasks two and three to follow.
Furthermore, the system only mentioned that successful completion of the task would grant a chance to win a prize, without specifying any penalties for failure.
If the punishment wasn't too severe, it would be fine, after all, why would Li Shiyue want to aid and abet evil?
Third, this isn't a proper system.
Why do I say that?
Because in Li Shiyue's opinion, what proper system would let its host help a mistress rise to power?
Sure enough, when Li Shiyue carefully examined the system interface again, she finally saw a line of small words at the very bottom right corner of the interface—"The Cultivation of a Favored Concubine. "
What? A favored concubine? Cultivation?
What garbage!
"Unbind! Unbind! Unbind me now! Garbage system! Did you hear me? Unbind me!"
Li Shiyue didn't wait for the system's reply. The first thing she felt was her mother's trembling hand. Then she saw her mother hide her hand in her sleeve to conceal her trembling hand due to extreme anger.
After taking a deep breath, Li's mother confronted Li's father, demanding, "Li Wangguang, have you forgotten what you said when you proposed to my family?
Li Wangguang, how could you face me like this!"
Qin Tao nestled in Li's father's arms, listening to Li's mother's words with a smug smile.
Li's father was now caught in a dilemma. His eyes, filled with grief and indignation, seemed to be filled with worry.
Yet, he still held Qin Tao tightly in his arms, truly displaying the despicable act of a man who couldn't let go of either of them.
Seeing Li's father like this, Li Shiyue knew what he was thinking. A man like
him simply wanted both.
Li's father wanted a literate and well-mannered wife like Li's mother, who could manage the household, and he also wanted a wife like Qin Tao, who could flatter him and make him feel like a boss.
However, the problem was, judging from the scene, Li Shiyue suspected that neither Li's mother nor Qin Tao could satisfy Li's father's desires.
"Sister Chunniang, it's all my fault. Last winter, Wangtian was conscripted into the army. If it weren't for Brother Guangzi, the three of us would probably have starved to death long ago.
Now that Wangtian is gone, I'm just a weak woman, and I really have no way to survive. How can I live in this world with my child?
Waaah, I really have no way to survive, waaah!"
As Qin Tao spoke, she started to cry again, truly a picture of a beautiful woman weeping in the sunlight.
While Li Shiyue was still mentally screaming for the garbage system to unbind itself, she suddenly heard a solid "thump," and Qin Tao had actually knelt down before Li's mother!
"Sister Chunniang, please give me a way out.
I'm pregnant with Guangzi's child," Qin Tao said, tears streaming down her face, as she raised her hand to touch her lower abdomen.
"I'm willing to be a concubine, please give me and the child in my belly a way out!"
Then Qin Tao kowtowed to Li's mother!
Qin Tao's performance was quite an eye-opener for Li Shiyue; she truly never expected that a scene from an old-fashioned melodramatic novel would unfold so vividly before her eyes.
Li Shiyue looked worriedly at her mother, who stood ramrod straight ahead. Her mother wasn't "moved" by Qin Tao's actions; she still stared at Li's father, her eyes filled with a piercing question that forced him to lower his head again.
Li's father's attitude was one of neither admitting nor denying; he simply wouldn't step forward to take responsibility. Ha, what do I care about what happens between women?
Father Li remained silent, glancing occasionally at Mother Li, who stood before him with a furious expression, then looking down at Qin Tao, who knelt on the ground, kowtowing and refusing to
rise. However, the villagers of Lijia Village, holding torches and watching, began to chatter animatedly, their words rising and falling with each shout.
"Hey, Wang Tian and the others have been taken away for over half a year now, are they really all dead?"
"Who can say for sure? But the village head didn't mention it."
"The village head was killed by the refugees, how could he tell you anything?"
"Sigh, we're all about to become refugees ourselves, how can we care about the men who have been taken away for labor?
To be honest, Qin Tao had no other choice but to seek out Wang Guang."
The gossipy men chatted amongst themselves, when suddenly a loud cry of "Ouch, ouch, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!" rang out.
Li Shiyue looked up at the shouting man. It turned out that his wife had grabbed his ear from behind and twisted it hard.
"No way, ha, I'll teach you a lesson you won't learn! I see you're just like that heartless Wang Guang, thinking about other men's wives, aren't you!
Whether Wang Tian lives or dies is none of your business, you're just here watching the show!
The child wets the bed, and you don't even care!
I'll show you what it means to have no way!"
The scene of a wife disciplining her husband, while not as exciting or interesting as Li's father and Qin Tao's affair being discovered by their eldest son, was still quite amusing.
A gossipy man nearby shouted, "Sister-in-law Lan Hua, you've got some nerve! Look how much pain Wang Shui is in!
Sister-in-law Lan Hua, were you on top of Wang Shui last night? Haha, haha."
"Pah! You dare tease me, you old dog! I'll tell Auntie!"
Li Shiyue, who had been watching the commotion, saw Zhou Lan Hua release her grip on Li Wang Shui's ear. She squatted down, picked up a small pebble, and threw it directly at the old dog—truly a decisive woman.
Suddenly, the electronic voice of the garbage system in Li Shiyue's mind finally responded: "Warning!
Unbinding will result in the host's death and soul being shattered.
Do you wish to unbind?"
Li Shiyue, who had been watching the spectacle, now turned pale, gritting her teeth and replying hatefully to the system in her mind: "No unbinding."
"Please complete the beginner's task as soon as possible. Successful completion will allow you to draw a prize."