Another half month passed.
The capital of Bright Hua, which should have been bustling with activity, remained unusually calm on the surface. Yet everyone knew that beneath this tranquility, dark currents were stirring. The plans of Prince Tao and the Demon Sect remained unclear, and though the emperor kept them in mind, he couldn't find a reason to act against them.
Some forces, having caught wind of the situation, quietly began to regroup.
These factions had once supported Prince Tao in his bid for the throne, naturally putting them at odds with the emperor. Knowing a purge was inevitable in the future, they started reaching out to the Demon Sect's forces, both openly and in secret.
The emperor saw it all and kept it in his heart. Once his power was secure, he would deal with them one by one. For now, though, he was bogged down by the empire's chaotic and overwhelming affairs, leaving him exasperated.
The southwestern chieftains rebelled repeatedly, the northwest suffered severe drought and rampant natural disasters, leaving the people with no harvest and millions displaced as refugees. In the north, the nomadic tribes, once subdued by Ming Jiang, were growing restless, crossing the border time and again.
When Ming Jiang was alive, his might suppressed all corners of the realm, pacifying the seas and stabilizing the land. But after his death, the empire's deep-seated flaws, long held in check, began to surface one by one.
"Another request for rewards!"
In the Hall of Nurturing Heart, the emperor erupted in anger, causing the eunuchs and attendants, including Lord Jian Qian, to kneel silently, foreheads pressed to the ground, not daring to make a sound.
"They dare to extort me…" The emperor glared at the northern barbarian king's petition, his eyes blazing with barely contained fury. "And now they want to marry my daughter? This is an insult to me!"
"Is Bright Hua without soldiers or generals?"
But everyone knew the emperor was just venting. Even setting aside whether Bright Hua's treasury could sustain a war, the emperor himself had no desire to let the military nobles grow stronger.
Back when he was Prince Ren, he had hoped the military nobles would bolster their power to aid his claim to the throne. Now that he was emperor, he feared their strength, knowing it could influence even the succession.
After his outburst, the emperor calmed down, exhaustion creeping into his voice as he said, "To Li's quarters."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Lord Jian Qian replied, head bowed.
"Man is born good by nature…"
As the emperor arrived, he heard the clear, melodic sound of reading coming from the little princess's palace. Hearing his daughter's soft, delicate voice lifted his spirits, and he said with a pleased smile, "Compared to those tiresome scholars and generals, my Li is far better! Obedient and well-behaved."
Lord Jian Qian, attending at his side, heard this but said nothing, keeping his eyes down and his expression neutral.
The little princess was wild. She exasperated her tutors daily, skipped lessons, and slipped out of the palace.
Yet Li was also brilliant. No matter how difficult the lesson, she could recite it flawlessly and even draw insightful conclusions, leaving her tutors both frustrated and fond of her. No one dared report her antics to the emperor, though. If a group of lofty Confucian scholars couldn't handle a girl in her teens, they'd only invite ridicule if word got out.
"Father! Father!"
Li, who had been reading with a serious expression, sitting upright with her small chest puffed out, turned and saw the emperor. Her face lit up with joy, and she abandoned all decorum, rushing into his arms.
"Why haven't you come to see me in so long?"
"Oh, my dear!"
The emperor beamed. To most, a daughter was a treasure, and though he was cold and disdainful toward Empress Mei Su, he genuinely adored his youngest daughter. She was obedient, cheered him up, and no matter how irritated he felt, seeing her always extinguished his anger.
He patted her head affectionately and said, "Yes, yes, it's my fault. I've been too busy…"
*I wish you'd stay busier!* Li thought to herself, inwardly grumbling. Playing the good girl was exhausting.
The emperor tested Li's studies briefly. Whether it was the Three-Character Classic left by Ming Jiang or the classics of the great scholars, she recited them perfectly, not missing a single word.
"Li truly puts my mind at ease!"
The emperor couldn't help but sigh. Both Qing and Li, his daughters, were extraordinarily gifted, while his sons seemed far more ordinary by comparison.
After enjoying some father-daughter time with Li, the emperor left. As emperor, his schedule was packed, and squeezing out time to visit his daughter was a rare luxury.
Once she was sure he was gone, Li's obedient demeanor vanished, replaced by a sly, lively spark. She dashed into the hall in a few quick steps, shedding her ornate gown to reveal skin as tender and pale as milk.
Wearing only a pink bellyband and silk undergarments, Li exposed vast stretches of her snowy, delicate flesh. Her rosy complexion glistened, her shoulders gleamed like jade, and she raised her slender, jade-like arms. Humming a tune, she pinned up her hair and called to her maid, "Hana, come help me bind my chest."
Hana wrapped Li's budding breasts with silk, hesitant and gentle, saying timidly, "Princess, I heard from the older maids that this isn't good for your body. They say it'll stop them from growing…"
"Big ones are a hassle. Look at Consort Yu Fei, lugging around those two lumps of flesh. Doesn't she get tired?" Li replied carelessly, tightening the binding herself. Her small, bowl-shaped breasts were neatly concealed. She checked herself in the mirror, then had Hana fetch a young nobleman's disguise. She slipped it on quickly, tied her hair up with a band, and nodded in satisfaction. "Let's go. Time to have some fun."
Over the past half month, she'd been sneaking out every few days. Thanks to Wally Wang's bottomless wealth and generosity, she'd had a blast.
Hana and the other maids hesitated but said nothing. A willful mistress was still their mistress, and they could only obey. Hana, with a pained expression, donned a pageboy's outfit to follow.
The pair slipped out through a side gate, sneaking away unnoticed. High above in the palace, a pair of eyes watched them leave, devoid of emotion.
"Off to see Feng again?"
Qing murmured to herself, watching her little sister depart.
Her heart was a tangle of emotions.
Ever since meeting Feng Wei, her clingy little sister had changed. Qing closed her eyes slightly, her magical power rippling outward like waves.
Deep in her consciousness, an immortal gate stood firm as a chasm. No matter how many times she assaulted it, it wouldn't budge.
The backlash hit hard, an unstoppable force disrupting her breath. Her chest tightened, a surge of inner fire rising from her smooth abdomen and spreading through her body. Her throat sweetened with blood, and she coughed up a scarlet stream from her lips.
"Still no good…"
Qing adjusted her breathing, calming her chaotic energy, and wiped the blood from her mouth. Her face paled, her eyelids drooped like thin paper, her brows snowy, and her lashes trembled. A soft breeze passed, and her tall, slender figure seemed frail, like a sickly, delicate woman.
Just like Suya Jun…
Qing's gaze flickered, an indescribable feeling welling up. The image of a scholar and beauty locked in an embrace lingered in her mind, impossible to shake.
She should go to Feng.
She knew he could help her break through this barrier. But she didn't want to see him, didn't want to trouble him again, and certainly didn't want to owe him anything.
"I have my own… way."
Qing whispered, as if comforting herself, her tone resolute. "This is my trial, my destined calamity."
Unbeknownst to her, a flash of crimson flickered in her eyes before vanishing.
In the depths of Yong Row, a once-forgotten corner now saw new visitors. Several eunuchs gathered around a dilapidated shack, patched with wooden boards.
The lead eunuch, clad in blue robes, a mark of rank in Bright Hua's palace, wrinkled his nose at the faint stench that lingered despite repeated cleanings. Frowning, he said to his subordinates, "This old fool still won't leave?"
Yong Row was a place for aged, powerless eunuchs and maids. By palace rules, those who served twenty years without rank were to be expelled.
Normally, this damp, remote spot reeked so badly that no overseer bothered with it. But recently, Elder Mu had drawn attention, sneaking around, pilfering, and irking the younger eunuchs.
With late autumn nearing winter, it was time for a mass expulsion, and Yong Row's overseer, the lowest and least lucrative post among the palace managers, relied on the expulsion fees to profit. Naturally, he took it seriously.
Expelling one old eunuch netted thirty taels of silver!
For those with connections, the overseer couldn't skim too much, only a few taels, lest trouble arise. But Elder Mu, decades in the palace with no kin or allies, was perfect. The overseer could pocket all thirty taels without issue.
"Stubborn old mule!" he cursed, ordering his men, "Drag him out."
"Yes!"
The eunuchs shoved open the door, only to scatter moments later in chaos.
"Ah… ah…"
Elder Mu burst out, waving a stick to fend them off.
"Still fighting back?" The overseer sneered, signaling a few burly eunuchs to grab cudgels and charge.
Elder Mu, stooped and skeletal, roared fiercely but was no match for the young and strong. In moments, they disarmed him and pinned him down.
The younger eunuchs, heavy-handed, kicked his bony, wrinkled chest and battered his dirty face as he struggled. Soon, his face was swollen, nose bleeding, gasping for breath.
"Hey, hey, easy! Don't kill him!" The overseer, seeing Elder Mu half-dead, quickly intervened. He was here for money, not a corpse to complicate things.
Pulling out a document, he had a subordinate grab Elder Mu's bony hand and press a fingerprint onto it.
With that, thirty tales were his. Satisfied, he waved a hand. "Pack his things. Send him out today."