Five Elements Card Game (Card and Chess Player) Chapter 159: Princess / Empress

A single battle to avenge her father, wiping out thirty thousand troops of the Lihuo State, while conveniently eliminating her greatest political rival. Ren Yin returned in the identity of a princess, preparing to inherit the throne.

Looking at the soldiers returning from the battlefield, clad in vine armor and armed with mechanism crossbows, the opposition within the royal city did not dare to utter a single sound.

Ren Yin entered the second stage: ascension and reform.

Since ancient times, the essence of reform has remained unchanged. Simply put, it is a change in the manner of interest distribution. If broken down, there are two types. The first is when productive forces develop, relying on new productive forces to generate new modes of production, such as the various state reforms during the Warring States period.

The second is when productive forces do not undergo massive development, and a portion of the interests of certain classes is carved out to benefit the lower strata and pacify social conflicts.

Both processes result in deaths and bloodshed. In the end, success is not guaranteed.

If they fail, what follows is rebellion and revolution—using violence to destroy the old order and establish a new one.

Reform is the most offensive undertaking. Those whose interests are carved away cannot comprehend that this is actually helping them and maintaining the existence of the entire order; instead, they will obstruct it in every possible way. Of course, the reformers themselves may not be entirely fair and just, and using the opportunity to eliminate rivals is inevitable.

Having understood the situation of the Qimu Kingdom, Ren Yin began to ponder how to carry out the reforms in this second stage. Violating the script, or aligning with it too completely, could both potentially lead to ultimate demise.

Since ancient times, some reformers have succeeded, some have failed, and many have succeeded only to be assassinated by others.

"I am not here to secure welfare for these NPCs... I am here to clear the game," Ren Yin first told herself, and then promptly overturned the thought.

Because the core of the Playwright's game is immersion.

You must immerse yourself in the character you are playing, stand in her position, and operate with insights that transcend the character's own comprehension.

Complete character immersion versus operating from a plane above the character have always been the two major schools of thought in the performing arts. The Playwright probably enjoys watching both versions, but if it wants to see the fully immersed version, it will simply seal away your memories.

"So I am going to play a queen, but I must do a better job than this queen once did," Ren Yin muttered to herself.

Reform requires prestige. If the reform is handled well, the process itself becomes a means of establishing prestige. Now that Ren Yin had defeated foreign enemies, all she needed to do next was ascend the throne, thoroughly beat back the State of Lihuo, and sign some sort of treaty to gain complete control of supreme power.

By utilizing the process of reform, she could extend the tentacles of royal authority into every sector. Afterward, she would not be reduced to the point of committing suicide by self-immolation within the royal city.

Ren Yin spent two days cramming knowledge related to this world. The other people genuinely acted like NPCs, ignoring her and the various habits of hers that clashed somewhat with this world. Furthermore, their responses to her inquiries were basically uniform.

The Playwright was capable of creating even more realistic NPCs; these reactions were clearly some sort of hint.

Do not truly treat them as living people.

A long time had passed within the game, yet only half a day had elapsed in the outside world.

Wu Hui returned from a grocery run, having secured a new backup safehouse and brought back some drinks and similar items for the others.

Li Xiaojing had originally intended to go out with Wu Hui, but her older sister kept clinging to her. Because Li Xiaojia herself did not want to go out, she refused to let her younger sister go out either to be alone with Wu Hui.

Wang Xiaodie sat on the sofa eating popcorn. The moment Wu Hui stepped out, she stopped cleaning, instantly booting up her cola, snacks, and television dramas.

It felt increasingly like a parent and a child.

In another seven hours, Wang Xiaodie's game was set to begin as well. This round would be at level five difficulty: The Card Player.

To be honest, skipping two levels of difficulty still made her feel a little nervous. However, the more difficult the situation, the more important it was to maintain a good mindset.

She hoped that after this game, she could add a few more points to her intelligence so that she wouldn't constantly be played in the palms of Wu Hui's and Ren Yin's hands.

Wu Hui felt that it shouldn't be too difficult for Wang Xiaodie to clear the level-five difficulty. After all, she had a massive pile of props on her person, along with items like the *Collection of a Hundred Insects*.

Even if they were to fight, he wouldn't dare claim a hundred percent victory.

As for intelligence, after coming out of the last game and allocating her points, she barely managed to reach nine. She should... be able to come out alive.

"If I die, will you be sad?" Wang Xiaodie, dressed in a maid outfit, put down her snacks and cola, and lay down on Wu Hui's lap.

"..." Wu Hui looked down at the young woman, not knowing how to answer.

Sad? Definitely. But the game was so dangerous that he had long since prepared himself for his own death or the death of those around him. Therefore, if she died, he would at most mourn for her for a while, and then that would be it.

"How hateful." Although Wang Xiaodie said this, she clearly wasn't angry: "You tricked me into signing a contract, and then kept using all sorts of methods to extend the time limit..."

Still, if possible, maintaining this for a lifetime wouldn't be too much of an obstacle; recently, aside from the slave contract, she had even learned the True Love Contract.

The problem was, could players like them really talk about anything permanent?

Wang Xiaodie sighed.

Meanwhile, inside the game, Ren Yin had already begun her ascension ceremony.

Originally, there were several brothers, sisters, and others acting as rival competitors. But now, Ren Yin possessed the allegiance of tens of thousands of troops.

Do not underestimate an army of tens of thousands; these were all elite forces, and they were capable of operating right around the royal city.

In other words, the moment Ren Yin lost her temper, the lives of all the nobles and elites in the entire city would be under her control. With such overwhelming might, naturally no one dared to oppose what she intended to do.

This army was Ren Yin's foundation, so she was extremely generous with rewards and armaments. The royal city was prosperous; supporting an army of tens of thousands was still entirely feasible. But next, she would have to act like the protagonist of any transmigrated novel, applying modern thinking to adapt to the local tech tree.

Conducting scientific research, developing the economy, and incidentally reforming the political system. The Qimu Kingdom looked like an oversized tribal alliance, with many regions concealing their own trump cards and refusing to share them with others.

The late king had expended a great deal of effort to gather power, and now Ren Yin naturally had to continue this reform.

However, such reforms were obviously prone to offending people.

There would be no shortage of people like the prime minister, and there would undoubtedly be plenty of turmoil to come.

Though her intelligence was high, she ultimately lacked experience in governing a country, and Ren Yin's second stage was exceptionally grueling. Sitting upon the throne, wearing a crown woven from various woods, she fell into deep contemplation for a moment.

Experience was crucial; nothing could be mastered without a teacher—at best, some people simply learned faster.

Fortunately, though it was the princess's first exposure to state affairs, quite a few veteran ministers left behind by the late king remained loyal to her.

Oh no.

Now she should be called the Queen.

A monarch was not merely the title of a ruler, but also shouldered the responsibility of leading the entire nation forward.

Ren Yin closed her eyes and fell into deep thought. If she were the true princess, this is what she would do. Yet how must she act to avoid the tragic ending at the end?

A level-five difficulty Playwright game—it seemed it wasn't going to be all that simple.

P.S. First update of the day, begging for votes, collections, and subscriptions.
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