After The Child's Mind Was Read, The Tyrant, With a Dark Face, Dragged Out The Male Empress Dowager

Yuan Ruan, a former office worker, dies after being struck by a truck and reincarnates as a baby in a world resembling a melodramatic novel. She is born to a rebel family and immediately used as bait to lure the Emperor of Great Xia into an ambush. Abandoned in a wooden basin, she binds with a Prank System that can deduce secrets and plotlines of those nearby. Her initial task is to prick the Emperor’s finger, a near-impossible feat for an infant. Resigned to her fate, she observes the approaching imperial cavalry, including the formidable General Wu Yi, and listens to the System reveal that Wu Yi is being framed by a spy, Captain Chen, who stole the general’s tiger tally.

Wu Yi hears Yuan Ruan’s inner thoughts and realizes she possesses divine knowledge. He saves her from the ambush and brings her to the main camp. The System exposes Captain Chen’s treachery, leading to his arrest and the recovery of the stolen tally. The Emperor, initially skeptical, becomes convinced of Yuan Ruan’s divine nature when she reveals that he is not the Empress Dowager’s biological son, but rather the son of a foreign concubine. She also predicts an assassination attempt by an old woman posing as a grieving relative, who plans to set the baby on fire. Wu Yi and the Emperor evade the trap and flee into the wilderness, where they face a series of lethal, plot-driven accidents over twelve hours. Wu Yi protects the Emperor, earning Yuan Ruan’s nickname for him, “Male Mommy.”

After surviving the assassination, the Emperor publicly adopts Yuan Ruan as his daughter, granting her the title of Princess. The System reveals that she is actually the Emperor’s long-lost sister, born from the late Emperor’s union with a palace maid. Simultaneously, the National Fortune of Great Xia binds itself to Yuan Ruan, making her the human embodiment of the nation’s fate. If the kingdom thrives, she gains power; if it falls, she suffers. The System offers tasks that reward technological advancements, such as high-yield crops and coal briquette formulas, in exchange for humiliating acts like riding courtiers like horses.

The Crown Prince arrives, and the System exposes deep family secrets: the Crown Prince’s son is not his own, but the result of an affair between his concubine and the Second Prince. The Crown Prince is devastated but vows to handle the matter fairly. The trio—Emperor, Crown Prince, and Wu Yi—decide to keep Yuan Ruan’s abilities secret to avoid attracting the attention of the “plot entities” responsible for the assassination attempts. They resolve to support her in strengthening the nation.

Yuan Ruan triggers a national fortune mission to prevent an alliance with the treacherous Xiongnu First Prince and to integrate the wildling tribes into Great Xia. She suggests honeycomb briquettes as a trade item to attract the wildlings, who rely on coal during winter. The Emperor and Crown Prince devise a plan to help her complete the task by disguising themselves and visiting a market. During the outing, they encounter human traffickers beating a child. The System identifies the child as a son of the Emperor, triggering another mission. Wu Yi intervenes, saving the boy and confronting the traffickers, while the Emperor and Crown Prince look on, united in their protection of the princess and the kingdom’s future.