Taking advantage of the empty Imperial Study at this moment, Chu Chen pretended to sweep the floor while secretly heading to the third floor to search for the True Essence Profound Art.
Guided by his memory, he quickly found a dusty, tattered ancient book.
This book clearly hadn't been touched for a long time, and even the writing on its cover had faded.
Chu Chen flipped through it roughly. Fortunately, the contents within the pages were still relatively intact.
And it was exactly the same as the cultivation technique he had learned in the simulator.
"Although it hasn't been inquired about for a long time, if it's always kept here, perhaps someone will discover it someday."
A bold idea surfaced in Chu Chen's mind.
"If the physical book is destroyed, won't I be the only one in this world who knows this cultivation technique?"
However, this thought was quickly dismissed.
The Imperial Study's collection of books is recorded. If a book were found missing, all the eunuchs of the Imperial Study would likely face death!
Since no one would be interested in this book for a while, it was better to leave it there to gather dust!
After returning the cultivation technique to the bookshelf, Chu Chen began to clean while memorizing the location of each book.
Several hours later, he swept from the third floor to the first, and had already memorized all the books in the Imperial Study by heart.
"This head eunuch is truly something. He hasn't returned for so long, isn't this bullying a new employee?"
Chu Chen leaned against a bookshelf to rest. With nothing else to do, he opened his panel to check his attributes.
Host: Chu Chen
Position: Eunuch of the Imperial Study, Imperial City
Cultivation: Intermediate Ancient Martial Realm
Cultivation Technique: True Essence Profound Art
Skills: Masterful Stratagem Tier 1, Meridian Passageway Open, Exceptional Memory Tier 1
Redemption Points: 200
Looking at the system's cooldown time, it was now perfect to start a new round of life simulation.
"Last time I died inexplicably at the hands of a group of mysterious people. This time, I must find out the identity of that group."
[Life Simulation Loaded! Protagonist: Chu Chen!]
The initial trajectory of life was similar to before. The system also humanely added a skip option.
Chu Chen directly accelerated the process, arriving at the point after he was recruited into the Qingming Palace.
[Through superb martial arts, Princess Xin Yue outwardly maintains a master-servant relationship with you, but secretly regards you as her master, practicing martial arts with you daily.]
[One day, as you were leaving Qingming Palace, you saw several suspicious figures.]
[You were very alert and secretly followed them without revealing your presence.]
[By eavesdropping on their conversation, you learned the identity of the mysterious people. They are high-ranking officials from the Imperial City Guard, secretly plotting to kidnap Princess Xin Yue and incite a rebellion!]
[Seeing that the other party had a large number of people and their cultivation was above yours, you did not act rashly but reported the matter to Princess Xin Yue.]
[However, to your surprise, those individuals were trusted subordinates of the Empress, deeply favored by her, and held considerable status in the palace.]
[Your words reached the Empress's ears. Instead of being taken seriously, you were accused of falsely accusing officials.]
[The Empress was furious and ordered your execution. Fortunately, Princess Xin Yue protected you, and you were spared death, but were imprisoned and never to see the light of day again.]
[Not long after, you died of melancholy in prison.]
"I never expected that this Yun Yue Kingdom, which appears so peaceful on the surface, would have such traitors at work?"
After reading this life trajectory, Chu Chen couldn't help but frown and fall into thought.
He knew clearly that since the system provided such a trajectory, it meant that this matter would eventually become a reality.
After understanding the background of the Yun Yue Kingdom through the system, Chu Chen also had a general idea of why such a thing would happen.
Currently, the Empress of Yun Yue Kingdom was in power. Able-bodied men either cultivated immortal arts or martial arts, or entered the palace to become eunuchs, leading to a significant decline in agricultural productivity.
Coupled with the backwardness of Yun Yue Kingdom's farming techniques, this further depleted the granaries and plunged the common people into suffering.
Whenever times are difficult, rebellion is inevitable. Therefore, it was not strange for there to be traitors causing trouble in the Imperial City.
But even if Chu Chen knew about this in advance, he was just a lowly eunuch, without fame or power. If he said the wrong thing, he might lose his head!
"Forget it! Let's deal with the immediate matters first!"
[Congratulations to the host for successfully completing the life simulation! You may choose one of the following three skills!]
[God-tier Animal Husbandry: The host awakens a god-tier animal husbandry talent, and their knowledge of animal husbandry increases unprecedentedly.]
[God-tier Planting: The host awakens a god-tier planting talent, and their agricultural knowledge increases unprecedentedly.]
[God-tier Military Strategy: The host awakens a god-tier military strategy talent, deeply understands formations and troop deployment, and achieves great success on the battlefield.]
Seeing these three skills, Chu Chen immediately understood something.
It seemed that the skills provided by the system were related to the current predicament of the host.
In this regard, the most valuable at present would undoubtedly be God-tier Planting.
After all, the Yun Yue Kingdom was located in the Central Plains and was a major agricultural country. Animal husbandry would not have much practical use.
As for troop deployment, it was even less relevant. As a mere eunuch, how could he have the authority to command troops?
Chu Chen made his choice immediately. As a flash of inspiration struck his mind, a vast amount of agricultural knowledge rapidly passed through his brain.
In a short while, Chu Chen was already familiar with the growth habits of various crops and the optimal planting methods.
"Oh? You've cleaned up so quickly? I didn't expect you to be so diligent, kid!"
At the same time, Head Eunuch Chen finally returned to the Imperial Study at a leisurely pace.
"Since I just entered the palace, I naturally have to be diligent!"
"Head Eunuch, please have a seat! I'll go make you some tea!"
"Never mind, never mind! No need to go to so much trouble! If some lord sees it, it won't look good!"
Hearing Head Eunuch Chen's words, Chu Chen nodded in agreement and stood respectfully beside him.
"By the way! What's your relationship with Eunuch Han? He seemed to be taking good care of you earlier!"
"Oh! Eunuch Han and I are from the same hometown, and I have some ties with his family! It's rare to meet someone from the same hometown in this palace, so I was fortunate to receive his care!"
"I see! You seem to have some potential, kid. Work hard in this Imperial Study! Even if you don't achieve great things in the future, at least you'll have food to eat and your life will be relatively safe!"
"Thank you for your praise, Head Eunuch!"
Chu Chen smiled and nodded, suddenly thinking that he might be able to get some real information about the Yun Yue Kingdom from him.
"By the way, Head Eunuch, on my way to the palace, I happened to hear that the Yun Yue Kingdom is currently facing a grain shortage, and many places are suffering from famine. Has His Majesty considered how to solve this problem?"
"Keep your voice down! Are you tired of living?"
Upon hearing this, Head Eunuch Chen was so frightened that he directly covered Chu Chen's mouth.
Fortunately, only the two of them were in the Imperial Study at this moment, and no outsiders heard.
"You brat! I just praised you a little, and you're acting foolish! If this matter were heard by someone with ulterior motives, you'd lose your head within three days!"
"His Majesty's actions are her own decision. Do you, a lowly eunuch, want to worry about matters of state?"