Chapter 78 | Playing Goddess in a Dying Dynasty

“Host, I don’t know about that either. The hosts our systems bind to are all chosen by the Great God.”

Looking at Yun Shu’s obviously low spirits, the system suddenly felt it shouldn’t have spoken just now.

After a moment of thought, it tried to offer comfort. “Host, I believe people with great merit are more likely to meet the Great God’s criteria for task-takers. In any case, I’ve never seen a system in the Great God Space bind to someone who was purely wicked.”

Worried that Yun Shu wouldn’t believe it, it even provided an example.

“Because the systems in the Great God Space possess incredibly powerful functions. A trash system like me is at the bottom of the barrel, so it’s impossible for the Great God to choose someone who can’t control their own desires to be a task-taker. That would cause massive trouble for the small worlds.”

“Host, once you finish the task, I can go ask the Great God to help check if your family and friends are performing tasks in other small worlds.”

Yun Shu reached out and stroked the little fox’s head, her tone laced with a rare hint of tenderness. “System, thank you. I’m very happy, and very lucky, to have bound with you.”

The little fox sniffled. “Host, clearly I’m the lucky one to have met such a powerful host like you.”

“Yes, we are both lucky.” Yun Shu squeezed the system’s fluffy little paw, a brilliant smile lighting up her face, making her look exceptionally vibrant.

The little fox looked at her expectantly. “Host, do I count as a comrade fighting by your side?”

“Of course you do.” Yun Shu looked down at the little fox. “You’re already doing great. Don’t call yourself useless anymore.”

She rubbed the little fox’s head again.

“Alright, stop crying.”

“I’m a system, I don’t have human emotions. I didn’t actually want to cry, but my program has a sentimentality setting added to it, so it makes it easy for tears to fall, waah...”

The little fox quibbled even as it continued to sob.

Yun Shu didn’t call it out, only saying, “Open the monitor. Let me see if they voted to use the conservative method to persuade me, or the radical one.”

She was actually quite curious.

While she admired Pei Wanning’s boldness, a person’s mindset was difficult to change completely all at once. Restricted by the background of the era, most people would lean toward the conservative side.

However, what if there was an exception?

As the saying goes, life is full of surprises.

The system panel expanded, once again showing the scene of everyone gathered in the main hall of the Governor’s mansion to deliberate.

The group was still locked in debate, each side arguing their own logic.

Pei Wanning suddenly stood up and said, “Everyone, hear me out. If we continue to argue like this, I’m afraid we won’t have a result even after the three-day deadline passes.”

The room gradually quieted as their gazes fell upon her.

Pei Wanning looked around the hall. Courage was built through repeated practice; unlike her past habit of flinching away, she could now remain composed under the scrutiny of the crowd. “Since everyone is sticking to their own opinions and no one can convince anyone else...”

“Then how about this: everyone present will write their chosen strategy on a piece of paper. With ink as our witness, the minority will follow the majority. That way, no one will have anything left to say.”

The people seated there looked at each other, their expressions a mix of shock and bewilderment. No one spoke for a long time.

Among them were those born into great clans, those who had seen much of officialdom, and those who were well-versed in the classics, yet not one of them had ever heard of making a decision based on the number of votes.

What was this?

Was it a Pure Conversation? Or were they drawing lots together?

Pei Du’s brow furrowed even more deeply. “A’Ning, with such a great matter before us, how can you treat it like child’s play? Since ancient times, imperial court deliberations have followed court rules, and provincial decisions have followed provincial procedures. Even clan sacrifices emphasize hierarchy and order. Counting numbers on paper—what kind of logic is that?”

“Uncle.” Pei Wanning’s tone was neither hurried nor slow. “Times are different now. Let me ask you: of everyone sitting here, who dares to sit in that Governor’s seat and make the final call on this matter?”

Silence began to spread.

Whenever they handled official business or discussed matters, they would all deliberately avoid the main seat.

This was because they all revered the Divine Lady as their master in their hearts; naturally, only the Divine Lady was qualified to sit in the main seat.

This resulted in a deadlock whenever their opinions didn't align, as no one could finalize a decision.

The disadvantage of being a group without a leader was obvious.

The problem was that they couldn't exactly carry a pile of official documents to the Divine Lady Temple to ask for instructions and have the Divine Lady make the decisions.

Just thinking about it was unrealistic.

But this concerned the people’s livelihood; they couldn't just keep dragging it out.

In the long run, it would certainly cause major problems.

Shen Yu thought for a long time before speaking up. “I support Miss Pei’s proposal. This is a good method.”

He actually felt that Pei Du was too bound by convention, but because they were close friends, it was hard to say it outright and make him lose face in front of everyone.

Lu Sui lowered his eyes in thought and felt that the feasibility of Pei Wanning’s method was very high. “I also think Miss Pei makes sense. Right now, we have neither a lord nor a superior. Letting the minority follow the majority is relatively fair.”

He never subscribed to the traditional values of Heaven, Earth, Sovereign, Parents, and Teachers.

In any matter, he only cared about whether it was fair.

Zhang Qiaoniang, Su Aheng, and the others were ordinary commoners. Let alone discussing matters at the same table as men, they didn't even know how to write their own names. They were only able to enter the main hall of the Governor’s mansion because Pei Wanning had fought for them, presenting their contributions.

Naturally, they all supported Pei Wanning one hundred percent.

Moreover, in a world where men were superior to women, they were natural allies due to their gender.

Pei Du: “...”

Brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones were quickly prepared.

Considering that some people were illiterate, Pei Wanning wrote both strategies on each piece of paper and told them what the words meant, allowing them to circle their choice.

Before long.

The only sound in the hall was the rustle of brush tips gliding across paper.

A moment later, the white papers were collected together.

“Presenting a gift to the Divine Lady: eleven votes.”

“Inviting the Divine Lady to move her carriage to Xindu: eleven votes.”

A tie.

The atmosphere in the hall instantly became subtle.

Eleven to eleven, not one more, not one less—it was as if the heavens were intentionally laughing at them.

Shen Yu looked at the sky outside.

“Everyone, the three-day deadline is approaching. If we still can’t make up our minds, I’m afraid we will miss the critical moment.” He thought of a middle-ground solution. “How about this: we present the gift to the Divine Lady first. If the Divine Lady accepts the gift, we then invite her to move her carriage?”

This was a way to satisfy both sides. The crowd no longer had objections and went off to prepare the relevant matters.

On the other side, Yun Shu saw that Shen Jue, Shen Yu, and Lu Sui had all voted for the strategy proposed by Pei Wanning.

She was a bit surprised, but even more so, she felt gratified that her ideological education was having an effect.

While some old concepts were hard to break, they weren't impenetrable walls. Ultimately, things could be changed through human effort.

“System, stop eating. Let’s go.”

Since her initial descent was in Creek Valley and there were more sweet potato fields there, Shen Yu and the others decided to return to the repaired Divine Lady Temple in Creek Valley to present the gift to her.

The system space could teleport them, but it required Shock Value. With her habit of saving whenever possible, she wouldn't spend money unnecessarily.