SBCEJM -Chapter 44 The First Contestant Is Actually a Sterilization Master?!

【But then again…】

The system’s trademark dramatic pause made Feng Zexuan’s eyelids twitch.

Here it comes.

Her favorite kind of plot twist had finally arrived.

【Host, brace yourself. What comes next is a little rough on men.】

【This Zhang Wan’er, praised as the capital’s number one talented lady, secretly enjoys developing “sterility packages” for men…】

Feng Zexuan’s breathing stopped.

She had expected at most some romantic scandal or messy household drama.

Instead, the opening move was biochemical warfare.

【From the Minister of Personnel’s residence, starting with Minister Zhang himself down to all her uncles and male cousins—any man who had ever shown favoritism toward sons over daughters was spared by absolutely no one.】

【She drugged every single one of them with a colorless, odorless infertility poison.】

【Nowadays, every adult male in the Zhang family may look glorious on the surface, but each one is a “last of his line.”】

The system’s voice brimmed with gleeful schadenfreude.

【Surprised? Shocked?】

“Hiss—!”

Sharp gasps rose one after another throughout the imperial garden.

Every young nobleman present, regardless of rank or age, felt a chill between his legs at almost the exact same moment.

They subconsciously clamped their knees together in perfect synchronization.

All eyes shifted from admiration and amazement to outright terror, as though they were looking at a living King of Hell.

The center of those gazes, Zhang Wan’er, remained seated calmly.

She had heard it.

That Feng family’s top scholar had exposed the deepest secret she had buried with just a few casual remarks.

Yet there was none of the panic everyone expected on her face.

On that breathtakingly beautiful face was only the extreme irritation of someone whose meticulously crafted plan had suddenly been disrupted.

Her gaze pierced through the crowd and locked tightly onto Feng Zexuan.

Men…

Creatures like them truly deserved death.

Meanwhile, Feng Zexuan was completely immersed in gossip mode, utterly unaware of the murderous stare aimed at her.

【What kind of dark revenge-novel heroine is this?! No crying, no whining, no explanations—just straight-up stabbing through the problem!】

She screamed internally.

【System, quick! What kind of blood feud drove her to wipe out all the men in her family like this?】

The system immediately responded.

【Here it comes!】

【Zhang Wan’er, legitimate eldest daughter, nineteen years old, was once the treasured jewel of the Zhang family.】

【The turning point came after her first younger brother was born.】

【Overnight, all the love shifted to that tiny swaddled infant. Her grandfather carried him around, her father doted on him, and her mother’s eyes no longer saw her at all.】

Feng Zexuan instantly broke emotionally.

【This is karma for favoring sons over daughters! Daughters are treated like grass while sons are treated like treasure. But who would’ve thought this blade of grass was actually a man-eating flower~】

The system continued:

【To regain attention, Zhang Wan’er studied desperately. Qin, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and literature—she became the capital’s most renowned talented lady.】

【Her family’s attention returned, but what remained was only scrutiny, calculation, and appraisal.】

【She became the perfect bargaining chip for family.】

【The final straw came when she and one of her half-brothers caught colds at the same time.】

【She burned with fever and fell unconscious, while the half-brother merely coughed twice.】

【Yet the entire family surrounded the boy with concern, and even the best physician in the estate was summoned to his courtyard.】

【She lay alone on a freezing bed, listening to the laughter and warmth coming from the neighboring courtyard, and for the first time clearly realized that this “number one talented lady of the capital” had less value in her household than a concubine-born son’s coughs.】

【At that moment, she understood.】

【No matter how outstanding a girl is, she’s only merchandise waiting to be sold.】

【No matter how mediocre a boy is, simply because of his gender, he can have everything.】

【Why?!】

Feng Zexuan emotionally collapsed again.

【…This karma really isn’t undeserved.】

【Born female, she refused to accept fate! From that day onward, she used her extraordinary talent in pharmacology to study day and night, finally creating that unsolvable infertility poison.】

【Her first target was her father, whose household was overflowing with wives and concubines. When no more newborns appeared in his estate, she tasted the joy of revenge for the first time.】

Feng Zexuan commented:

【Cruel, but impressively so. At least she didn’t harm the innocent children who were already born—she left them a sliver of hope.】

【So, Host, do you think her goal was merely the tiny Zhang family?】

The system’s tone carried a trace of mockery.

【Her real plan was to become Crown Princess. After gathering enough supporters, she would use the Crown Prince as the center point and quietly spread her “masterpiece” throughout the entire imperial clan!】

【She wanted the supreme imperial authority to taste the bitterness of dwindling heirs!】

【She wanted to personally sever the roots of this male-dominated world!】

Upon hearing this, Empress Liu Mengli’s hand holding the teacup trembled violently. Scalding tea spilled onto the back of her hand, yet she felt nothing.

【Whoa, now that’s broadening the scope! A crazy beauty villainess—I absolutely love her!】

Feng Zexuan whistled internally.

【Her methods are extreme, sure, but why does this weirdly feel satisfying? This Miss Zhang knows how to fight back instead of obediently suffering in silence—and she’s playing on such a huge scale. What a ruthless woman!】

Hearing this, Zhang Wan’er curled her lips into a cold sneer.

This was nothing.

Her ultimate goal was to bear a daughter and then use every means possible to personally place that daughter upon the throne—to create Great Xia’s very first empress.

To completely overturn this world where men stood above women.

Unfortunately…

It was destined to remain only a fantasy.

Right from the start, she had drawn the ultimate explosive card.

Before Zhang Wan’er’s journey to becoming Crown Princess had even begun, it had already been blown to pieces.

Facing the emperor’s gaze—one so sharp it seemed ready to dismember her alive—Zhang Wan’er suddenly grinned.

She knew that today, death was likely unavoidable.

Empress Liu Mengli steadied herself, though her back was already drenched in cold sweat.

If not for “Feng Zekai”…

Had such a poisonous woman truly entered the Eastern Palace, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Today, Scholar Feng’s gossip had truly done the realm a great service!

Feng Zexuan’s gossip radar buzzed wildly again.

【Exciting! The very first contestant was already this explosive! Next one! Who’s next?!】

The system’s cheerful voice rang out again.

【Ding! Contestant Number Two in the Crown Princess selection—Second Miss Li Xiuning of the Assistant Minister of War’s household!】

Feng Zexuan’s gaze landed precisely beside the Assistant Minister of War.

That young woman wore a plain white dress, her figure delicate and frail, as though a gust of wind could topple her.

She lowered her head timidly, looking utterly frightened by the previous spectacle.

【Look at this girl—delicate as a pear blossom in rain, pitiful enough to melt hearts. That timid little expression is basically the textbook definition of a top-tier white lotus!】

Empress Liu Mengli frowned slightly.

Too weak.

She lacked the bearing necessary to become the mother of the nation and instead carried the air of a mere concubine.

Li Xiuning seemed to sense the empress’s scrutiny. Her little face instantly turned pale, and her trembling became even more severe, as though she might faint on the spot.

Well, timid though she appeared, at least she seemed simple-hearted—not deeply scheming like Zhang Wan’er.

That thought had barely crossed the empress’s mind—when Feng Zexuan’s inner commentary ruthlessly cut it off.