"How did the original owner tolerate this maid?" Qiann Yan seemed a bit puzzled.

[Miss Cheng mentioned that she was raised in a secluded boudoir from a young age, and the closest person to her was Qiao Xin. This girl was usually sweet-tongued and constantly praised her, so she believed her. Later, when she married into the Prince Mansion, Qiao Xin found a way to climb to higher branches. It was then that Miss Cheng understood that this girl actually looked down on her, believing she was just beautiful but lacked brains, which led to such an outcome.]

[Later, Miss Cheng experienced these events countless times, always returning to the most embarrassing moments, even considering punishing Qiao Xin. Unfortunately, the plot was too strong, and in the first few instances, Qiao Xin easily evaded punishment.]

[Later, it seemed Qiao Xin was just an unimportant maid in the plot, and the control wasn’t as strong. Miss Cheng promptly punished her. However, once Qiao Xin was dead, the plot would arrange countless other Qiao Xins.]

Qiann Yan pondered these words in thought: "Then, she is more unfortunate than I am. The world I live in should not be a storybook world."

"To this day, I haven’t sensed the presence of any plot in my world."

System 666 quickly praised: [Naturally, the Host must have been very formidable in the first life, right?]

"Not so formidable," Qiann Yan replied, though System 666’s words were pleasing, prompting her to share some experiences from the first life, "The most challenging was seizing power in the first life, lurking in the deep palace for ten, twenty years, secretly competing with brothers and sisters, until they were all defeated by me."

"Father felt their ambitions were too great and, in anger, exiled them all."

"After the exile, he realized he had no heirs to inherit the throne. He found me in a distant corner, discovered my face was already ruined, and had no intention of grooming me. He resented my appearance, took it out on me, and planned to exile me to the harshest place."

"I had meticulously arranged for so many years, how could I possibly give up? I directly staged a coup."

"First time as an emperor, I lacked experience and made numerous mistakes. Luckily, father was still around. I frequently went to the underground palace to consult him on being an emperor."

System 666: [...]

"My brothers and sisters also were unwilling to accept defeat and wanted to come back," Qiann Yan said casually, "Actually, it’s good to return. The underground palace is spacious enough; everyone can live there. I locked them all up and consulted them on issues when needed."

System 666: Is that possible?

[The Host didn’t get rid of them completely?] System 666 couldn’t help but ask.

Qiann Yan: "You’re somewhat foolish. In situations like mine, killing doesn’t resolve the root issue. Killing them all would make wielding power more difficult. What I want is the entire world; why seek this world? It’s to live peacefully and comfortably. How can I live peacefully and comfortably? Of course, it’s by stabilizing the world. When the country’s people are settled, happy, and living well, naturally, as the ruler, I can also live well."

"When the people and ministers are all living well, won’t they respect me?"

"If I resort to killing, they will fear me, which would be counterproductive. Of course, it’s on the premise that I can manage the situation. Thanks to years of arrangement, I can control this."

"Moreover, the struggle with father, brothers, and sisters is merely a power contest, not deep-seated hatred. If they can be controlled, it’s unnecessary to kill."

System 666: [Are they still in the underground palace in this lifetime?]