Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It took me a long while to realize that Zhou Fuyan wanted me to be the talent scout who could identify his prized horses.

In other words, HR.

Wait. Me?

An unlucky ghost who died before she even had the chance to pick up her bachelor’s diploma?

“Is Su Cairen unwilling?”

“This concubine is willing. It’s just that my abilities are limited, and as the saying goes, every profession has its own specialty…” I watched Zhou Fuyan’s expression and said in a small voice, “At the very least, Your Majesty should let me recruit a few professionals.”

Zhou Fuyan was silent for a moment. “Granted.”

It seemed he had come tonight solely for this matter.

Now that we were done discussing it, however, he showed no sign of leaving.

“Come here. Undress me.”

“…”

Either way, I was doomed, so I steeled myself and went straight up to untie Zhou Fuyan’s belt.

His waist was actually pretty slim.

And yet, after changing, His Majesty headed straight for the bed without so much as glancing at me, lay down, and closed his eyes.

There were faint shadows beneath the young emperor’s eyes.

Although I was in the harem, I had heard a thing or two about court affairs.

When Zhou Fuyan proposed accepting transmigrators, the native officials in court had nearly torn the roof off arguing.

They feared people like us, whose origins were unknown, and saw us as a threat.

At first, Zhou Fuyan had been the same. It was just that there were far too many of us. He couldn’t kill us all, and it wouldn’t look good to kill us either. That was why amnesty and recruitment had become the solution.

The difference was that Zhou Fuyan feared transmigrators would rebel, while everyone else feared transmigrators would steal their livelihoods.

After a long while, I slowly climbed onto the bed as well and lay down beside the emperor.

Between heaven and earth, eating and sleeping were the most important things.

So what if I slept in the same bed as someone? It wasn’t a big deal.

Zhou Fuyan had just given me an offer. Surely he wouldn’t kill me, right?

I had still been a little on edge, but before my imagination could run wild for long, I fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, when I woke in a daze, there was already no one beside me, though some warmth still lingered under the covers.

Through the bed curtains, I saw eunuchs helping Zhou Fuyan dress.

Then I heard that young voice give an order. “Su Cairen has rendered meritorious service by attending the bedchamber. Promote her to Consort Su.”

?

You can get promoted just for sleeping?

And by several ranks at once, too.

And so, I became the head of HR in charge of evaluating all kinds of transmigrators within the palace.

First, I recruited real HR assistants for myself, then brought in a few talents from the main fields.

Finally, I had them assess the transmigrators’ abilities one by one.

Naturally, not everyone was outstanding. Most were ordinary people like me.

Reading résumés until my head spun made everyone around me feel sorry for me.

“Other people think you got some amazing benefit from the emperor, but in the end, all you got was a title. Now you’re doing this much work for him.”

I stretched lazily. “Sister, that’s where you’re wrong. At least my salary went up.”

Song Qingyun rolled her eyes. “What went up was your salary as a consort. You’re working HR, and he isn’t paying you for that!”

!

Enlightenment struck like a bucket of cold water over my head!

One salary, two jobs.

What a miserable life.

But there were benefits, too. Since I was now the highest-ranking consort in Zhou Fuyan’s harem, Zhao Wanning began enthusiastically launching her beauty business.

As for me, an HR manager with no experience, I was shoved onto the stage whether I liked it or not.

I built a team and personally oversaw everything from résumé screening to interviews.

I was very busy.

Yet the emperor just had to summon me every few days.

Others thought he was coming to favor me. In reality, he was coming to hear my work reports.

After listening, he would point out shortcomings and casually throw in a round of emotional manipulation.

Sure enough, people who held power were practically self-taught in this area.

I finally confirmed it: Zhou Fuyan had no worldly desires.

At least, not for me.

Thus, I was able to become a pure and proper workhorse.

When he stayed the night, he really did just sleep.

I had no idea exactly how busy the emperor was, but almost every time he came over, he fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. Before I woke up, he would be gone again.

Zhou Fuyan was sometimes restless in his sleep and treated me like a body pillow, but I endured it.

After all, he was the ultimate boss who could decide whether I lived or died.

Yet in everyone else’s eyes, I was the most favored woman in the harem and was about to become some kind of femme fatale.

“…”

My life had become even more miserable.