Lin Mo was quite unhappy with the system’s evaluation of her, but the system felt it was simply telling the truth.

“You’re still sitting on the floor? Father already left. Even if you keep throwing a tantrum, it’s pointless now. You might as well be obedient and go to court with Father tomorrow,” Lin Qi said, frowning deeply as he looked at his troublesome little sister.

Their eldest sister was gentle, well-educated, and didn’t require any extra attention. But this youngest sister… she was a real headache. No wonder Father went out of his way to get her a government post.

Lin Mo glanced at her big brother, then slowly got up from the floor.

“Brother, if you pass the exam this year, will you have to go to court too?”

Lin Qi nodded. “Yes. Why do you ask?” He eyed her suspiciously. What nonsense was this girl about to come up with now?

Lin Mo sighed miserably. “That means all three of us in the family will be working. Ugh, life is hard. If I can’t get out of bed in the morning, could you come carry me?”

Lin Qi: “…”

Forget it. This girl really was beyond saving.

Father had asked him to check on her and comfort her if she was really upset. But now it seemed there was no need. She was already planning how to get dragged to work in the morning.

That afternoon, the official court uniform was delivered. Turned out the assistant recordkeeper position was actually a Grade Eight post.

That night, lying in bed, Lin Mo gloomily chatted with the system.

[System, do I really have to go to court? Can I even handle this job?]

System: [You should be fine. You’re just an assistant, after all. How hard could it be?]

Even though the system said that, Lin Mo still didn’t feel at ease. She suddenly sat up in bed with a dramatic flop and began packing her things.

[Nope, that’s it. If I don’t escape now, then when?! I’d rather die than go to work!]

Watching her pack so quickly and efficiently, the system was left speechless.

Was she really about to sneak out in the middle of the night? Wasn’t this a little too dramatic?

Outside, Lin Ran—her older sister—was worried and had come over to check on her. She paused, ears perking up. Had she just heard some rustling?

But then, the noise stopped. She must’ve imagined it. This time of night, Lin Mo should already be asleep.

Standing at the door, Lin Ran listened quietly. Once she heard her sister’s steady breathing inside, she finally left.

Her little sister had always had strange habits. She preferred being alone—even at night. The servants assigned to her courtyard were usually stationed in the outer yard unless she specifically called for them.

And when she did call for someone? Her voice was so loud it startled people—it was like a man’s shout! Yet she insisted on sending her maids so far away. Calling them like that every time must be exhausting.

(Lin Mo: You don’t understand. It’s about privacy, okay?)

One incense stick later, Lin Mo—who had been desperately trying to escape—was caught and dragged back home by her brother and father.

Lin Qi smiled as he said, “We figured you’d try to run, so we prepared for it in advance.”

Minister Lin even stationed someone to keep watch outside her room all night, just to make sure she wouldn’t sneak off again.

Lin Mo: …How well do you people know me, seriously?!

System: [You might as well give up. Your brother and father know you even better than you know yourself. But don’t worry—if you get bored at court tomorrow, I’ll feed you the juiciest gossip! I promise your days will be full of drama and excitement!]

Lin Mo lay on the bed, her face filled with despair.

She just… really didn’t want to go to work!

Early the next morning, Minister Lin came to drag his daughter out of bed.

“You stinky girl, still not up? Time to go to court!”

Half-asleep, Lin Mo was yanked away by her father, her eyes still not open.

Madam Lin, Lin Qi, and Lin Ran stood at the door seeing them off: “…”

“Make sure you keep a close eye on Mo’er. Don’t let her fall asleep in court!”

Madam Lin was truly worried about her youngest daughter. Falling asleep during court was exactly the sort of thing she was capable of doing.

After sending the father-daughter pair off, the three left at home all felt unsettled.

Madam Lin wrung her handkerchief anxiously. “Do you think your sister can actually handle this task?”

Lin Qi and Lin Ran both shook their heads and replied in unison, “Hard to say.”

Madam Lin: “…Can’t you just comfort me a little? Maybe give your sister a bit of confidence? She’s not completely unreliable.”

The more she spoke, the less confident her voice became—mostly because she herself didn’t believe it.

[Aaaah! Heaven and Earth! I’m so sleepy! I don’t want to go to work!]

Lin Mo sat in the carriage, wailing in her heart.

Minister Lin calmly sipped his tea. He was long used to this kind of behavior from his youngest daughter.

System: [Host, you’ll get used to it. You only have to stand for a few hours. Just be a good little mascot.]

[Tonz, I don’t want to stand. If only I could find a place to sit down…]

Lin Mo truly hated the idea of standing that long. Standing for hours every single day? No wonder older officials had bad knees—of course their joints would give out.

The system felt a bit sorry for her. This job started way earlier than the modern 8 or 9 a.m. schedule. It wasn’t even light out yet!

System: [MoMo, just endure a little longer. I’ll find some juicy gossip for you. With something fun to hear, morning court won’t be so unbearable.]

Minister Lin could only hope the gossip wouldn’t be too scandalous, and that this system could at least try to be subtle.

But he quickly realized: when these two talked, subtlety did not exist.

The entire way there, Lin Mo and the system never stopped chatting. The girl and her AI chatted from the southern seas to the northern plains. Minister Lin was utterly stunned by what he heard.

They gossiped about affairs in other people’s households, whose children belonged to whom, and even whether certain men were “functional” or not. What were they even doing?!

“Ahem, we’re here. Hurry and get down. You’ll be following Lord Li in a moment,” Minister Lin said, leading Lin Mo over to an elderly man with a goatee. The man held a brush and scroll in his hands—clearly not someone to mess with.

Minister Lin wiped the sweat from his brow. Finally! He’d been force-fed way too many “melons” (gossip) on the way here.

“Lord Li, I’ll be troubling you to look after my daughter,” Minister Lin said with great courtesy. Though his rank was higher than Lord Li’s, he was genuinely polite—a rare thing.

“No need to be so formal, Lord Lin. Your daughter and I seem to have a good connection. Since we’ll be working together from now on, we’re all colleagues—no need to talk about who’s taking care of whom,” Lord Li replied with a warm smile, looking very approachable.

Soon after, the officials began entering the court hall. Lin Mo stood next to Lord Li. Though her rank was low, due to her special position, she stood relatively close to the front. The placement wasn’t ideal, though—after all, she and Lord Li were both record keepers.

Before long, the officials began arguing over something. Lord Li’s brush was flying over the paper as he wrote frantically.

Lin Mo asked if he needed help, but Lord Li refused. So now she was just standing there like a living ornament.

[Tonz, got any big gossip? I’m so bored.]

System (cheerfully): [Yup! And it’s about the Emperor!]

The officials: “!!!”

Emperor Xuande: “…”

The Emperor’s ears perked up. He was now very curious to hear what gossip involving himself was being passed around.

Instantly, the volume of arguments in court dropped significantly. Everyone began sneaking glances at Lin Mo’s direction.

At that moment, Minister Lin felt like he was about to suffocate. Gossip about the Emperor—was that something you could casually “eat” in front of a room full of officials?! Couldn’t she have picked someone else?!