Volume 1, Chapter 1: The Empress Kills Her Husband in a Dream

"In the third year of Xuande, a great drought struck Qilu, leaving the fields barren and yielding not a single grain! The land was littered with the corpses of the starved, and the people resorted to exchanging their children for food. In the fourth year of Xuande, floods ravaged Sanjin, submerging countless homes and fields. In the eighth, eleventh, and fourteenth years of Xuande, disasters struck in rapid succession—clear signs of evil spirits at work. Considering Her Majesty's dream, I submit that... the Prince of Qin must be executed!"

"I concur!"

"I, too, concur!"

Within the Fengtian Hall of the Great Qi Dynasty, the civil and military officials knelt in unison. When it came to the judgment of Li Jize, the Prince of Qin, their consensus was unanimous: "Execute!"

Atop the dragon throne sat Empress Zheng Yanxi. Clad in a golden dragon robe, with phoenix eyes and willow-leaf brows, she possessed an air of incomparable nobility. Yet, she did not deliver her final verdict.

Instead... she cast her gaze upon a majestic, middle-aged general standing in the court, clad in tiger-head armor.

Following the Empress's gaze, the officials turned their heads to look. The middle-aged general's hands trembled slightly. Under the scrutiny of the crowd, he gritted his teeth, fell to one knee, cupped his hands, and cried out, "My rebellious son, Li Jize, deserves execution!"

The Empress exhaled a heavy breath. She turned her head slightly to look at the eunuch beside her. "Eunuch Gao, he has been exposed to the scorching sun for three days. Has he confessed to his crimes?"

The court fell deathly silent. Every official waited in hushed anticipation for the Empress to hand down the final judgment.

Yet, to their surprise... Eunuch Gao looked deeply troubled.

The Empress frowned in confusion. "Speak."

Eunuch Gao whispered, "Rep... Replying to Your Majesty! An hour ago, the Prince of... of Qin's body could hold out no longer... He has passed away!"

A collective gasp echoed through the hall. The officials erupted into shocked whispers.

The middle-aged general stood frozen, dumbfounded, his face filled with utter disbelief.

What? Dead?

The Prince of Qin, who had once led three thousand Wolf Cavalry to tear through a barbarian army of a hundred thousand, was dead?

The Heavenly Stratagems General, who had always fought on the front lines and spent over ten days without sleep to lead flood relief efforts, had actually perished from heatstroke?

This... was far too ironic!

Among the officials, several elder statesmen shook their heads and sighed in helpless grief.

There was no greater sorrow than a dead heart.

The Prince of Qin, the Heavenly Stratagems General of Great Qi—how could he have simply died of heatstroke? His heart had broken, and his soul had departed with it.

*Slap!*

Enraged, the Empress slammed her palm onto the imperial desk, her beautiful face instantly clouding over with dark fury.

"Died of heatstroke? What kind of joke is this?"

With a thud, Eunuch Gao fell to his knees in terror. The ministers quickly followed suit, bowing low as they chanted in unison, "May Your Majesty appease your anger!"

"Hmph! I refuse to believe Li Jize was that weak! I merely subjected him to a minor punishment, and he died?"

"Guards! Bring him to me. Alive, I want to see him; dead, I want to see his corpse!"

Before long, a group of armored imperial guards hurried into the hall, carrying the body of a man whose lips were pale and face was ash-gray.

The officials craned their necks to look, but many could not bear the sight and turned away.

Who could have imagined that the Heavenly Stratagems General—who once ruled the winds and clouds, second only to one and above tens of thousands—would meet such an end?

For a moment, a collective sorrow washed over them, the bitter realization that once the hares are hunted, the hounds are cooked.

The middle-aged general, Li Jin, clenched his fists. Seeing his son's corpse, he closed his eyes in helpless resignation.

*If the sovereign decrees the minister's death, the minister has no choice but to die.*

This was the fate of the Li family!

Atop the dragon throne, the Empress suddenly stood up, staring in disbelief at the corpse brought before her.

Li Jize! Her Brother Ze!

Her childhood sweetheart, the fiancé who had won endless glory for her, and to whom she was betrothed.

She had only wanted him to yield, to surrender his military command, and to dissolve their betrothal!

If only Li Jize had been willing to step down and enjoy a life of wealth and leisure, everything would have ended there.

Yet, she never expected... that he would rather break than bend. Even in death, he had refused to bow his head or speak a single word of submission.

*Li Jize, oh Li Jize... why must you be so stubborn?*

"Imperial Physician!"

The Empress looked toward the very back of the hall, where Imperial Physician Wang stood. Receiving her silent command, Wang quickly stepped out from the ranks of the officials.

The physician was not here to treat the Prince of Qin, but to confirm whether he was truly dead!

After all, he was the Heavenly Stratagems General, the Prince of Qin who was hailed as the pillar of Great Qi. How could he die so easily from heatstroke?

Looking at the motionless Prince of Qin, Li Jize, whose eyes were closed and whose cracked lips were peeling, the physician tremblingly reached out and pressed his fingers against his carotid artery...

After checking for a moment, Physician Wang let out a sigh of relief. He turned to report to the Empress that the Prince of Qin was indeed dead.

But before the words could leave his mouth... the civil and military officials scrambled back in terror, as if they had seen a ghost, forming a wide circle around the body.

Even the Empress on her throne widened her eyes in utter shock.

The physician spun back around, making a choking sound like a chicken caught by the neck. He muttered, "He's... he's come back to life!"

Li Ji slowly woke up, his head buzzing painfully.

What on earth?

He was a doctoral graduate of military engineering. While researching a new weapon, an accident had triggered a massive chain explosion. Shouldn't he be dead?

Why, upon opening his eyes, did the people before him look so bizarre?

Not only were they dressed in ancient costumes of some unknown dynasty, but why were they all staring at him as if he were a giant panda in a zoo?

As Li Ji sat in bewildered contemplation, questioning his sanity, a flood of memories forced its way into his brain.

He had crossed over! He had transmigrated into the body of a young general named Li Jize.

Li Jize came from a long line of generals. His father, Li Jin, was a general of the Great Qi Dynasty, and he himself was the imperial consort-elect!

During the transition of power following the late Emperor's passing, he had used the Li family's prestige in the military to help his fiancée, Princess Zheng Yanxi, ascend the throne.

Afterward, he achieved great military feats by suppressing rebellions and conquering barbarians, while domestically building river dikes and cultivating fertile fields.

Excelling in both civil and military affairs, his reputation soared, earning him the titles of Prince of Qin and Heavenly Stratagems General of Great Qi.

Under normal circumstances, with his outstanding achievements and his betrothal to the Empress, Li Jize would have married the ultimate beauty and reached the pinnacle of life.

But everything went wrong because... the Empress had a dream!

She dreamed that an evil entity would emerge to overthrow Great Qi and plunge the world into war.

Suddenly, all fingers pointed at Li Jize, and rumors spread that the Prince of Qin was planning a rebellion.

"The one to replace Qi is Li!"

For this ridiculous dream, the Empress actually ordered Li Jize's arrest to face charges.

What was even more laughable was that his father, Li Jin, out of blind loyalty, had willingly surrendered his own son to dispel the Empress's doubts.

With his childhood sweetheart and his biological father conspiring against him, Li Jize died. First, his heart died, and then his body followed.

Who could have imagined that Li Jize's death would pave the way for Li Ji from another world—a doctoral graduate of military engineering and a master of modern scientific invention!

"Li Jize! You dared to fake your death? Do you plead guilty?!"

The Empress's sharp rebuke echoed through the hall, and the officials instantly realized what was happening.

What resurrection? Li Jize had merely faked his death and had now been exposed!

Everyone turned their eyes toward the Heavenly Stratagems General. How would he respond?

Yet, the very first words out of Li Jize's mouth were, "System? System Daddy?"