The Tyrant Daddy Overhears My Thoughts - Chapter 1
“Congratulations, Your Majesty, it’s a little princess!”
I was held upside down, and a hand slapped my backside.
The pain made me cry out, “Waah!”
What’s going on? Wasn’t I burning the midnight oil, rushing to finish a proposal? How did I suddenly turn into a baby?
I struggled to open my heavy eyelids.
In my blurry vision, an old face full of wrinkles appeared.
It was an old wet nurse in ancient clothing, swaddling me.
“The Seventh Princess is truly beautiful, just like a spitting image of His Majesty.”
The old wet nurse spoke words of flattery.
Seventh Princess? His Majesty?
Did I transmigrate? And into a newborn baby at that?
“Another princess?”
A low, cold male voice came from nearby.
“What use are so many princesses to me? Even for a political marriage, they’re not good enough.”
I struggled to turn my eyes.
I saw a tall man dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe.
His face was cold and stern, exuding an aura that kept people at bay.
Good heavens, is this my dad?
He’s quite handsome, but his patriarchal thinking is just awful!
“Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Consort Lan’s body is weak, and it’s already difficult for her to give birth safely…”
The old wet nurse replied nervously.
Yan Xiao snorted coldly, “Useless. Since it’s a princess, then according to the old rules, hand her over to…”
I panicked.
At this rate, they were going to casually dump me on some concubine to raise!
Although I didn’t know what this “old rule” was, I’d watched enough palace dramas.
Unfavored princesses lived worse than dogs in the harem.
[Tyrant! Tyrant! Your patriarchal thinking is awful! Serves you right if your country falls!]
I frantically screamed in my mind, but unfortunately, only wails came out.
Yan Xiao’s body stiffened. He narrowed his eyes and strode towards me.
I cursed in my heart: [What are you looking at? Haven’t you seen a beautiful woman before! This tyrant will be finished sooner or later!]
Yan Xiao’s mouth twitched slightly, revealing a hint of an amused smile.
He reached out and poked my cheek: “This little thing is interesting.”
[Hey! Who are you calling a “thing”! This old lady graduated from a 985 university in my previous life!]
I rolled my eyes in my mind.
“Your Majesty, what about the Seventh Princess’s upbringing…”
The eunuch asked cautiously.
Yan Xiao pondered for a moment: “The Seventh Princess shall be named Yan Qingqing, and Consort Lan shall raise her.”
Everyone present was stunned, including me.
What’s going on? Did this tyrant change his ways?
Didn’t he just despise me for being a princess? Why is he suddenly so generous?
Yan Xiao gave me a deep look, then turned and left.
I was carried by the old wet nurse and delivered to Consort Lan, or rather, Consort Zhaoyi Lan now.
I looked up.
The woman leaned against the headboard. Although her face was pale, her delicate beauty was undeniable.
She carefully took me from the wet nurse’s arms, her eyes filled with maternal love.
“My little princess.”
Her fingers gently stroked my cheek.
My nose stung.
In modern times, I was an orphan and had never experienced maternal love.
I didn’t expect to have a mother after transmigrating to ancient times.
“Consort, His Majesty has named the Seventh Princess Yan Qingqing, and he has also promoted your rank, allowing you to continue raising the princess.”
The old wet nurse said flatteringly.
Consort Zhaoyi Lan froze for a moment, then smiled bitterly: “What does His Majesty mean by this? Could it be…”
She didn’t finish, but I read worry in her eyes.
It seems that the tyrant hadn’t done anything good in the past, and a sudden favor made people afraid instead.
“Consort, don’t overthink it. The Seventh Princess is so adorable; it’s only natural for His Majesty to like her after seeing her,” the wet nurse advised.
My mother-consort shook her head, gazing at me gently.
“Regardless of His Majesty’s intentions, Qingqing is my daughter, and I will protect her completely.”
Hearing this, my heart warmed.
It seems this mother truly cares for me.
In that case, I will protect her too!
I stretched out my small hand, grabbed one of her fingers, and revealed a toothless smile.
“Oh my, the Seventh Princess is smiling! She’s truly intelligent and clever!”
The wet nurse exclaimed exaggeratedly.
I lay in the cradle, unable to stop gnawing on my chubby little hands.
“Consort, the Seventh Princess is full moon today. Shall she wear this Hundred Blessings Skirt?”
The old wet nurse shook open a small skirt embroidered with gold threads.
My mother-consort gently picked me up: “Our Qingqing is truly amazing; she’s already one month old.”
“Consort, Consort Shu has sent a longevity lock.”
A palace maid walked in, holding a brocade box.
My mother-consort opened the box, and I was dazzled by the gold lock.
Good heavens, it looks so valuable.
My mother-consort picked up the gold lock and dangled it in front of me: “Qingqing, do you like it?”
I stared at the longevity lock; it looked more like a death-inducing lock.
[Isn’t Consort Shu that pervert who beat a palace maid so badly she couldn’t get out of bed for a month? Sending such a big gold lock, she’s probably trying to break my neck so she can inherit my baby bottle!]
“Cough, cough…”
A sudden cough came from the doorway.
I turned my head and saw the tyrant daddy standing there, I don’t know when he arrived.
Behind him followed a group of imperial consorts, and the one at the very front, adorned with pearls and jade, must be the Empress.
Everyone in the room knelt down with a rustle.
Yan Xiao waved his hand, walked straight to me, his gaze subtle: “I’ve come to see the Seventh Princess.”
I couldn’t help but frantically type in my mind: [The lead content in the gold lock sent by Consort Shu is severely exceeding the standard. Many imperial princes in history were made stupid by this kind of poisonous gold artifact!]
Yan Xiao’s eye twitched fiercely.
“Your Majesty, I find the Seventh Princess to be adorable, like jade and snow.”
The Empress’s nail, painted with balsam, grazed my cheek.
“Why not let Consort Shu raise her? Her palace has the most capable wet nurses.”
My hair stood on end: [W_T_F! Is this nail trying to disfigure me! Wait, hand me over to Consort Shu? Wouldn’t I just die young then?]
“This consort feels that Qingqing is still small…” My mother-consort mustered up the courage to refuse.
The Empress shot a glare: “Is Consort Zhaoyi Lan questioning this consort?”
I cursed wildly in my mind: [You hypocritical b____h! Seemingly virtuous and gentle on the surface, but secretly deducting the monthly allowances of the concubines!]
Yan Xiao’s eyes instantly turned cold.
“Your Majesty, it’s time to feed the Seventh Princess.”
My mother-consort picked me up, skillfully avoiding the Empress’s words.
Yan Xiao gave me a meaningful look.
“I heard from the Imperial Astronomer that the Seventh Princess has a special fate and needs to be raised by her birth mother until she comes of age.”
Hearing this, Consort Shu’s handkerchief was almost shredded.
I was dumbfounded: [Did the tyrant take the wrong medicine today? So supportive?]
Yan Xiao lightly coughed: “Promote Consort Zhaoyi Lan to Consort Xiuyi Lan, and grant her residence in Changchun Palace.”
Consort Shu almost dropped her teacup.
I giggled, burping: [Hahahaha! The face-slapping came as fast as a tornado! But why did the tyrant daddy suddenly turn on the Empress? Could it be that he already knows she’s not a good person?]
I suddenly remembered something more important.
[Isn’t Changchun Palace the closest to the Imperial Study? Does the tyrant have to pass by my home every day on his way to and from work?]
“Qingqing seems very happy.”
Yan Xiao poked my dimple.
I nodded frantically in my mind: [Of course! The early bird catches the worm, I’ll sun my baby by the window every day, and I don’t believe you won’t come to cuddle… I mean, to see me and my mother-consort! I will definitely be a favored princess!]
“Issue the decree.”
Yan Xiao twirled the jade thumb ring on his hand.
“Starting today, the Seventh Princess shall be brought to the Imperial Study to greet me every day.”
Crack!
The Empress’s nail guard broke.
I was bubbling with happiness: [Such good news? Tyrant daddy, don’t worry, once I can speak, I will definitely brainwash you into a wise ruler with socialist core values!]
I was carried into the Imperial Study by the wet nurse.
I had already been brought to greet the tyrant daddy for a week straight.
The entire harem was spreading rumors that the Seventh Princess was about to be made Crown Princess.
“Your Majesty, an urgent dispatch from eight hundred li south.”
A guard rushed in, covered in sweat.
“The Li River has burst its banks; three prefectures and twelve counties are affected!”
I blew a bubble with a poof.
[Oh my goodness! Because of this ineffective disaster relief, it directly led to peasant uprisings. Alas! Am I going to be a fallen princess before I even grow up?]
Yan Xiao unfolded the memorial, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter.
“Prime Minister, what do you think?”
The white-bearded old man in purple robes stood up: “This old minister believes we should open the granaries and distribute three catties of millet per household per day.”
I rolled my eyes in my mind: [Good heavens, three catties of rice? To feed birds? And this old fox skims off the top during transportation, so this relief grain will be so heavily exploited that the common people won’t even be able to make porridge with it.]
“Your Majesty, this old minister is willing to personally supervise!”
The Prime Minister spoke passionately.
I kicked my legs in agitation: [Absolutely not! This old man will go and do some “labor instead of relief” scheme, forcing the disaster victims to repair his private villa! I say, you should send the army to escort the grain, set up official porridge kitchens directly, and then use “labor instead of relief” for water conservancy projects.]
The tyrant lightly tapped on the table.
“I have decided to dispatch the Tiger Ben Army to escort grain and fodder, set up official porridge kitchens along the way, and additionally conscript disaster victims to build embankments, paying thirty copper coins per day and providing two meals.”
The Prime Minister’s face instantly turned green: “Your Majesty, this cost is too great…”
“From my private treasury.”
Yan Xiao’s decision was final.
“As for the supervisor… Minister Li.”
A dark-faced general stepped forward excitedly: “Your subject is here!”
“You go. Remember, I want to see every grain of rice go into the stomachs of the disaster victims.”
I clapped wildly in my mind: [Well done! Wait… why is the tyrant daddy so reasonable today? He really has the potential to be a wise ruler!]
Yan Xiao pretended to lower his head and study the memorial, a faint smile playing on his lips.
“Why is Qingqing suddenly smiling so happily?”
Yan Xiao put down the memorial and gently pinched my cheek.
I showed a toothless smile: “Yi ya~”
Thinking to myself: [I wonder if tyrant daddy knows that the Prime Minister, that old fox, has a secret compartment in his study filled with bribery accounts from various officials.]
I yawned and slowly closed my eyes.
Yan Xiao had someone send me back to Changchun Palace.
“Prepare the imperial carriage, I want to go to the Prime Minister’s Residence to appreciate chrysanthemums.”
The Prime Minister’s legs went soft: “Your Majesty, the chrysanthemums in this old minister’s home have not yet bloomed…”
Yan Xiao’s smile didn’t reach his eyes: “It’s fine, I love to see unbloomed flowers.”
That very night, the Prime Minister surrendered all his family property to the national treasury to compensate for his wrongdoings.
Under the lamp, Yan Xiao opened the “Seventh Princess’s Voice Log.”
He dipped his brush in cinnabar and circled the words “demon” and “auspicious omen.”
Then he crossed them both out.
Finally, he wrote: “National Preceptor.”
I lay on my mother’s shoulder, being carried into the Imperial Garden to sunbathe.
My third birthday had just passed.
In other people’s eyes, I was a prodigy.
Ordinary children wouldn’t be able to recite the Three Character Classic at three years old.
“Consort, General Xie’s wife has brought her young master to pay respects.”
A palace maid reported softly.
My ears perked up.
General Xie? Isn’t that the loyal minister who guarded the northern frontier?
He was later executed with his entire family by the tyrant on charges of colluding with the enemy.
“Let them come in.”
My mother gently tidied my crooked little bun.
In the distance, a heroic-looking woman and a five or six-year-old boy walked over.
Although the boy wore brocade robes, he couldn’t hide his sharp demeanor, like an unsheathed sword.
“This consort greets Consort Xiuyi.”
General Xie’s wife curtsied.
The boy stared straight at me.
Suddenly, he blurted out: “Mother, this little sister is so pretty!”
My little face turned red.
Good heavens, he’s already such a charmer at such a young age.
My mother smiled and raised my little hand, waving it.
I recalled the original plot.
Young Master Xie…
Ah! Isn’t that Xie Linyuan, the young general who went to battle at thirteen, made the Northern Di cry for their parents, and finally died unjustly in prison?
While I was thinking, a burst of laughter came from a distance.
Three young men in luxurious clothes surrounded us.
The one in the lead lifted his chin: “Oh, isn’t this the Xie family’s little bastard?”
“Third Prince, watch your words.”
Lady Xie shielded her son behind her.
Not only did the Third Prince not rein it in, but he even reached out to push Xie Linyuan.
“Your father isn’t just a gatekeeper… Aiya!”
A pebble the size of a walnut accurately hit the Third Prince’s forehead.
Silence fell across the entire scene.
Because the one who threw the stone was me.
Yanâthree-year-oldâQingqing.
“Qingqing!” My mother covered her mouth in surprise.
I waved my little fists: “Bad! Hit!”
My heart was roaring: [Serves you right for bullying the future God of War! If I weren’t such a tiny little thing right now, I’d definitely throw you into the pond with an over-the-shoulder throw!]
“How dare you!”
The tyrant daddy’s voice suddenly came from behind the rockery.
Everyone knelt down with a crash.
Only I was still flailing my arms.
Yan Xiao strode over.
He first looked at the bump on the Third Prince’s forehead, then at the other stone in my hand.
Finally, his gaze fell on Xie Linyuan.
“Your Majesty, forgive her! Qingqing didn’t do it on purpose…”
My mother’s voice was tinged with a sob.
I frantically typed in my mind: [These three brats started the bullying! Young General Xie will be the loyal subject who defends half your country in the future. If you don’t discipline these brats now, they’ll become the parasites of the fallen country!]
Yan Xiao raised an eyebrow and looked at Xie Linyuan.
“Can you recite Sun Tzu’s Art of War?”
Xie Linyuan held his head high: “Yes!”
“Good.”
Yan Xiao nodded in satisfaction.
“Starting today, Xie Linyuan will enter the palace as the Seventh Princess’s study companion.”
“Pfft!”
I sprayed a mouthful of spit on the tyrant daddy’s sleeve.
What’s going on?
Is the tyrant daddy sending me a child groom?
“Imperial Father!”
The Third Prince wasn’t having it.
“He’s the son of a mere martial artist, why should he…”
“Go back and copy the Analects twenty times.”
Yan Xiao said coldly.
“Go now.”
After everyone dispersed, the tyrant daddy pinched my cheek.
“Does Qingqing like the Xie family’s young master?”
I blinked my big eyes, feigning innocence: “Yi ya~”
But my heart was screaming: [I’m only three years old, is it really appropriate for you to ask if I like men? But that’s the future young hero who single-handedly defended Yanmen Pass for thirty days! Although he died unjustly in the end… How can I save the Xie family?]
Yan Xiao gave me a thoughtful look, then turned and left.
The young master was brought to the Imperial Study and saw several military books on the desk, as well as a small custom-made wooden sword.
“Your Majesty said that young master will accompany the Seventh Princess in play every morning and study martial arts here every afternoon,” the eunuch respectfully said.
A few days later, Xie Linyuan scratched his head in confusion.
They said he would be a study companion, but how did it become the other way around?
And every time he encountered a bottleneck in his martial arts training, that sweet, milky little princess would always happen to babble strange things nearby.
“The principle of leverage is to have the fulcrum closer to the heavy end, right…” I said, gnawing on my fingers.
Within a few days, Xie Linyuan’s spear skills improved by leaps and bounds.
I stood on my tiptoes, leaning over the desk in the Imperial Study.
My small hands clutched a brush, writing and drawing on the paper.
My five-year-old body was truly uncooperative; writing a character was like creating abstract art.
“Seventh Princess, it’s time to eat,” the wet nurse gently called out to me.
“Just a moment.”
I didn’t even look up, continuing to write.
In my mind, I was calculating the expenditures of the Imperial Kitchen for the past half-month.
I’m a walking audit bureau, wahahaha!
The Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue knelt on the ground trembling: “Greetings, Your Majesty.”
The tyrant daddy threw an account book in front of him.
“I want to see how the Imperial Kitchen spends three thousand taels of silver every month!”
I looked up and sneered in my heart: [Ginger costs two qian of silver per catty? Laughable, it’s only fifty copper coins on the market! And sea cucumber, the quantity doesn’t match, at least 30% was embezzled… On the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, there’s a record of him splitting the spoils with the head of the Imperial Kitchen today.]
The tyrant daddy was furious: “Strip this thief of his official robes! Give him twenty lashes!”
“Your Majesty, be merciful! Your subject has been wronged!”
The Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue cried out that he was wronged, but in reality, he was extremely guilty.
His clothes were stripped, and that record of splitting the spoils was discovered.
Yan Xiao kicked the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue to the ground: “Is this what you mean by ‘wronged’?”
The Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue immediately wet himself from fright.
I covered my nose in disgust: “Little trickster, playing with fabricated accounts with me? In our time, even listed companies can be investigated thoroughly!”
“Your Majesty, be merciful!”
The head of the Imperial Kitchen desperately kowtowed.
“Someone has framed me…”
Yan Xiao sneered, picked me up, and placed me on his lap.
“Someone! Go raid the residences of the head of the Imperial Kitchen and the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue!”
I had just finished dinner and was carried back to the Imperial Study.
[Tyrant daddy really can’t be without me for a moment! Having a clingy dad is so annoying…]
Seeing me shaking my head, Yan Xiao picked me up onto his lap and pinched my cheek.
[Come, Qingqing, let’s read the military report together with Imperial Father.]
I rolled my adorable little eyes: [I’m only 5 years old, what could I possibly understand!]
In reality, I quickly scanned it.
[Border herders reported that thečĺ tribes are gathering, but the defending general reported everything as normal.]
I wailed in my heart.
[The defending general has been bribed. Three months later, the Northern Di will break through the defenses and strike directly at the capital… Alas! Every day is spent teetering on the brink of national collapse.]
[In the age of cold weapons, the best way to deal with nomadic peoples is to fortify defenses and clear the fields, plus crossbow formations, and the spacing of the beacon towers should be shortened. As it is now, there’s simply not enough time to transmit warnings…]
“Your Majesty, Qingqing, it’s time for bed.”
[Mother-consort is here to pick me up, oh yeah! Finally off work! La la la~ Let the tyrant daddy stay up all night by himself!]
Yan Xiao rubbed his forehead.
A leaky little cotton jacket, how irritating.
I followed my mother-consort back to Changchun Palace.
Yan Xiao unfolded the latest secret report from the Northern Frontier, his eyes growing colder.
“Summon the commander of the Tiger Ben Army.”
Then he wrote on the latest page of the Seventh Princess’s Voice Log: “Predicted Northern Di invasion method, time consistent with secret guard intelligence.”
Outside the palace, a team of armored soldiers secretly assembled.
Their horse hooves wrapped in cloth, they silently disappeared into the night.
I leaned against the carriage window, watching the dusty official road outside.
My heart was as excited as a two-hundred-pound child.
For my tenth birthday, tyrant daddy promised to take me on a secret inspection tour.
“Daddy, that porridge stall is so lively!”
I tugged on tyrant daddy’s sleeve.
He was dressed as an ordinary wealthy merchant today, but his menacing aura was still impossible to hide.
“Let’s go take a look.”
Tyrant daddy, now to be called Master Yan, gestured for the carriage to stop.
A long line stretched in front of the porridge stall, most of them emaciated refugees.
A pang of sadness went through my heart: [The “years of famine” lightly brushed over in history books are a mountain weighing down on the common people…]
Yan Xiao lowered his head and glanced at me.
I shook my head and sighed.
[This rice is at least half husks; in modern times, it would have been reported to the consumer association long ago!]
On the way back in the carriage, I counted on my fingers, calculating in my mind.
[To solve the famine, simply distributing grain isn’t enough; we need sustainable development. First, promote potato cultivation; the yield per mu is five times that of wheat. Second, build water conservancy projects, referencing the Dujiangyan model. Third, establish official textile factories to provide income for women…]
The tyrant daddy suddenly spoke: “Qingqing, what do you think if the imperial court were to establish benevolent institutes in various places to teach the common people to grow new crops?”
My eyes widened.
Isn’t this exactly what I was just thinking?
[As expected of my daddy, he’s just like me!]
Yan Xiao’s brow twitched violently.
However, he had gotten used to such outrageous remarks over the years.
“Daddy is amazing! We can also have imperial physicians conduct regular free clinics, and set up literacy classes…”
I grew more and more excited as I spoke.
A trace of indulgence flashed in Yan Xiao’s eyes, then quickly returned to coldness.
A few months later, Imperial Grace Benevolent Institutes were successively established across the country.
I received a basket of potatoes personally grown by the tyrant daddy.
Ugh… they were quite ugly, small and shriveled.
But for an emperor to be willing to personally farm, it was already very rare.
The young general’s brows were tightly furrowed in front of the sand table.
The Northern Di had suddenly changed their tactics, avoiding all ambushes as if they had precognitive abilities.
“Report! The enemy has launched a surprise attack on the western flank!”
Xie Linyuan’s head snapped up.
The western flank was where the Seventh Princess, when playing with sand last time, casually mentioned it was a good place for a sneak attack.
“Order! Execute plan number seven!”
Plan number seven was a pocket formation tactic the Seventh Princess had casually mentioned while eating pastries on one occasion.
That night, the Northern Di suffered a crushing defeat.
Xie Linyuan stood on the city wall, looking at the distant flames.
Suddenly, he wanted to know what that little girl, who always liked to use pastries as cities on the sand table, was doing at this moment.
Inside Fengyi Palace, the Empress listened to her confidante’s report.
“Not only has the Seventh Princess participated in court affairs, but even the Xie boy has repeatedly achieved military merits. His Majesty even said in court yesterday that women can also be officials…”
“Demon!”
The Empress slammed the table.
“Go tell the Prime Minister to proceed as planned.”
Two days later, a children’s rhyme suddenly appeared in the capital.
“Seven-star maiden, knows fate, brings chaos to the court, a star of calamity.”
The Imperial Astronomer reported a demon star appearing next to the Ziwei star.
I was placed under house arrest in Changchun Palace.
Yan Xiao stared at the two memorials on his desk.
One was from the Prime Minister, jointly signed by other officials, demanding the expulsion of the demon.
The other was an urgent dispatch from Xie Linyuan, eight hundred li away, a victory report from the northern frontier.
The candle flickered, and a bloom appeared.
Yan Xiao picked up his brush and wrote on the latest page of the Seventh Princess’s Voice Log.
“Demon? Or auspicious omen?”
The ink was not yet dry, but he fiercely crossed it out.
He rewrote it:
“My daughter.”
I counted the 20th bird flying past the window.
This was the seventh day of my house arrest.
Changchun Palace had three layers of guards outside; not even a fly could get in.
Of course, no news could get out either.
“Consort! Consort, what’s wrong?”
My mother-consort’s personal palace maid suddenly shrieked.
I jumped up and rushed into the inner chamber.
I saw my mother-consort collapsed on the couch, her face bruised and purple, white foam at the corners of her mouth.
“Summon the Imperial Physician! Quickly!”
My voice was distorted.
I placed my fingers on my mother-consort’s pulse.
Irregular rhythm, constricted pupils, this is… symptoms of mushroom poisoning!
“Princess, the Imperial Physician’s Office said… said he’s not on duty today…” The little palace maid returned, crying.
I was trembling with rage.
That good-for-nothing Empress, she even bribed the imperial physicians.
Seeing my mother-consort’s breathing grow weaker.
“Everyone out! I need to pray for my mother-consort, no one is to disturb me!”
Once the palace maids retreated, I immediately dragged out my secret toolbox from under the bed.
The herbs and tools I had secretly collected for the past six months finally came in handy.
“First, I need to induce vomiting… activated charcoal… and also something like atropine…”
I mumbled to myself while frantically grinding Datura flower seeds.
“Qingqing…”
My mother-consort called out weakly.
“Mother-consort, don’t be afraid! You just ate some bad mushrooms, you’ll be fine in a moment!”
I held back my tears and poured the homemade antidote into her mouth.
Suddenly, a neat kneeling sound came from outside the door: “Greetings, Your Majesty!”
Why is the tyrant daddy here now?
Yan Xiao stood at the doorway, looking at the chaotic room.
Mortars, charcoal powder, overturned porcelain bowls.
And that little girl with a face covered in black ash.
My voice trembled: “Imperial Father… Mother-consort, she…”
Yan Xiao strode forward, his gaze sweeping over Consort Xiuyi Lan’s pale face.
Then it fell on the bowl of green liquid on the bedside table.
He suddenly remembered the secret guard’s report.
“The Seventh Princess secretly hides herbs every day, grinding unknown powders late at night…”
“What did you give your mother-consort to drink?”
I knelt down with a thud: “It’s an antidote! Mother-consort was poisoned by poisonous mushrooms; if we don’t save her now, it’ll be too late!”
Yan Xiao’s pupils constricted.
Poisonous mushrooms?
This kind of palace secret medicine was known to few even in the Imperial Hospital.
“Your Majesty!”
The Chief Imperial Physician rushed over.
Seeing Consort Xiuyi Lan’s symptoms, his face immediately changed.
“This… this looks like…”
“Investigate.”
Yan Xiao uttered only one word.
While the imperial physicians were frantically consulting, the tyrant daddy lifted me to the side hall.
“Explain.”
He sat in the Grand Tutor’s chair, his fingers tapping the armrest.
My back was covered in cold sweat.
This is it, I’m done for. My medical knowledge has been exposed.
I’m probably going to be confirmed as a demon, aren’t I?
“When I was little, I dreamed of an old white-bearded immortal, who taught me a lot of medical skills.”
I blinked my eyes, starting to weave a story.
“The immortal said I was the reincarnation of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden, specially sent to assist a wise ruler.”
Crack!
The armrest was crushed.
I shrunk my neck.
“Imperial Father, you don’t believe me… You have an arrow wound on your left shoulder that hurts every time it’s overcast or rainy, there’s a book of ‘Seventh Princess’s Sayings’ in the third drawer of your desk, and… and you can hear my…”
Before I finished speaking, the tyrant daddy clapped a hand over my mouth, his eyes so sharp they could kill.
“Who told you?”
I pointed to the sky, then to my heart.
Finally, the tyrant daddy released his hand and let out a long sigh.
“When did this start?”
“The day I was born.”
I confessed honestly.
“When you poked my cheek, I was cursing you as a tyrant in my heart…”
“Pfft!”
The tyrant daddy chuckled, then immediately straightened his face.
“If this matter becomes known to a third person…”
“I understand! Elimination!”
I raised my hand and swore.
“Even Mother-consort doesn’t know.”
The tyrant daddy rubbed his temples: “What about Xie Linyuan?”
“Huh?” I didn’t react for a moment.
“The one you often mention in your heart, your future husband.” The tyrant daddy narrowed his eyes.
My face instantly turned red.
All my maidenly thoughts were heard!
The young general moved stealthily in the shadows of the palace walls.
When he received the news of the Seventh Princess’s house arrest, he was training troops. He immediately took off his armor and rode back to the capital alone.
Xie Linyuan performed a graceful flip and landed on the eaves.
Suddenly, he heard a familiar clear voice.
“Xie Linyuan! Get down here!”
His foot slipped, and he almost fell.
Under the moonlight, the Seventh Princess stood in the courtyard with her hands on her hips.
Behind her was… the smiling, yet not smiling, Emperor.
Yan Xiao looked at the young general kneeling before him.
His armor was still on, covered in dust from his journey, having returned to the capital in defiance of orders.
“Your subject… deserves death.” Xie Linyuan’s forehead touched the ground.
“Indeed, you do deserve death.”
Yan Xiao said coldly.
“Abandoning your post, trespassing in the palace at night, any one of these is enough for execution.”
“Imperial Father!”
I hugged his arm.
“Brother Linyuan was worried about me… and he just achieved a military victory!”
Yan Xiao raised an eyebrow: “Oh? So how do you plan to plead for him?”
My eyes darted around, and I stood on tiptoe to whisper in his ear: “How about I trade three prophecies for his life? First, the day after tomorrow, the Prime Minister will collude with the Censorate to impeach you for sheltering a demon. Second, the Northern Di envoy is on his way to the capital, seemingly seeking peace but actually for assassination. Third…”
I smiled cunningly.
“You will have a legitimate imperial prince next year.”
Yan Xiao’s temple twitched.
The first two could be inferred from intelligence, but the last one…
The Empress had already been confirmed to be infertile.
I stood by theč Dragon Pillar in the Golden Luan Hall, feeling the gaze of all the civil and military officials, like a flock of chickens.
My fourteenth birthday had just passed, and the tyrant daddy gave me a surprise.
He granted me special permission to participate in court affairs and conferred upon me the title of Princess Rui.
“Your Majesty! A woman participating in government violates ancestral laws!”
The Minister of Rites knelt on the ground, kowtowing like an old hen pecking at rice.
I rolled my eyes in my heart: [Ancestral laws, ancestral laws, your ancestors still lived in caves! Why don’t you go back to living like savages?]
“Cough, cough.”
Yan Xiao on the dragon throne coughed twice.
“Princess Rui is proficient in calculations and will assist the Ministry of Revenue in auditing accounts.”
I immediately cooperated by pulling out my small abacus and clacking away.
“Last year, there was a problem with the accounts of the Jiangnan Textile Bureau. Three thousand bolts of Yun brocade went missing, equivalent to ninety-eight thousand taels of silver, which happens to be the cost of Minister Li’s new residence!”
Minister Li slumped to the ground.
The entire court was in an uproar.
After the court session, I bounced along with the tyrant daddy back to the Imperial Study.
“Your humble servant Xie Linyuan, greets Your Majesty, Princess Rui.”
The young general was still in his armor, dusty from his journey, yet his sharp aura was undeniable.
Three years of guarding the border had tempered him, making him even more upright.
The scar between his eyebrows added a hint of sternness.
My heart skipped a beat: “Rise.”
“Your subject has a memorial to present.”
Xie Linyuan knelt on one knee, holding up a memorial.
“Great victory at the northern frontier, thirty thousand enemies annihilated. Your subject… does not desire rewards.”
Yan Xiao raised an eyebrow: “Oh? Then what do you want?”
“Your subject wishes to marry Princess Rui.”
Yan Xiao’s face visibly darkened to the color of a pot’s bottom.
“General Xie, do you know how to write the four characters ‘merit too high for the emperor to handle’?”
“This humble general is willing to return his military tally.”
Xie Linyuan looked up, his gaze burning.
“I only ask to be the Princess’s consort.”
Yan Xiao narrowed his eyes, his lips pressed into a thin line.
This was a prelude to him killing someone.
I suddenly burst into tears.
“Imperial Father! He’s bullying me!”
This cry immediately flustered Yan Xiao.
Xie Linyuan was also stunned.
That handsome face, which wouldn’t change color on the battlefield, was now filled with panic.
I sobbed and complained: “Brother Linyuan clearly promised to teach me archery, but now he wants to be the consort, he’s clearly trying to be lazy!”
Yan Xiao looked at me, then at Xie Linyuan, and sneered.
“In that case, General Xie shall immediately serve as Princess Rui’s archery instructor. As for the marriage…”
“It will be discussed again when the Princess comes of age.”
I secretly winked at Xie Linyuan.
The young general’s earlobes were bright red, and a smile played on his lips as he lowered his head.
Xie Linyuan stood on the training grounds, watching the figure running towards him, her skirt rustling.
After three years apart, the little girl had grown taller, but the cunning glint in her eyes hadn’t changed at all.
“Master~”
I deliberately drew out the sound.
“Princess, please be discreet.”
Xie Linyuan maintained a stern face and handed over a wooden bow.
After a short while of practice, my arms were too sore to lift.
But young General Xie was being unreasonable.
I even wondered if he really liked me.
“Princess, keep practicing. Shoot fifty more arrows.”
My eyes darted around, and I quickly changed the subject.
“Young General Xie, if honeycomb briquette workshops were built at the border, do you think the soldiers would have an easier winter?”
Xie Linyuan was startled.
Honeycomb briquettes? Was it another one of her wild ideas?
“Your subject is ignorant and does not know what honeycomb briquettes are.”
I giggled and pulled him over, drawing a diagram in the sand.
“It’s like this after digging out the coal… and then that… the efficiency can be improved by dozens of times.”
The young general gazed at my fluttering skirt.
He suddenly wanted to know if this little princess, who could always turn whimsical ideas into reality, had even a tiny space in her heart for him.
Yan Xiao looked at the secret report sent by the secret guard.
The Northern Di Khan secretly met with a Great Liang envoy.
The envoy wore a token from the Prime Minister’s residence at his waist.
It really did happen as Qingqing predicted.
Yan Xiao lightly tapped the desk: “What did Xie Linyuan teach Princess Rui today?”
“Reporting to Your Majesty, Her Royal Highness learned archery and also discussed the method for making honeycomb briquettes.”
Yan Xiao raised an eyebrow.
Honeycomb? Briquettes?
Those must be things from that girl’s previous life, right?
“Issue a decree that, effective immediately, Princess Rui may deploy ten artisans from the Ministry of Works.”
“Also send a team of secret guards to watch the Prime Minister’s Residence, especially his correspondence.”
I rushed into the Imperial Study, hugging a stack of account books.
When the old fox saw it was me, he immediately put on that fake, fawning smile.
I deliberately stacked the account books on the desk.
The top one listed the details of grain and fodder allocation for the northern frontier.
The Prime Minister’s pupils suddenly constricted.
“Qingqing is here.”
The tyrant daddy held the Arabic numeral conversion chart I had written.
I tugged his sleeve: “Imperial Father, I discovered something super interesting! Look at this.”
I opened the account book and pointed to a string of numbers.
“According to the Prime Minister’s reported grain loss rate, each person in the grain transport team needs to eat eighteen catties of grain per day. Are they elephants?”
The Prime Minister’s face went from red to white: “The Princess is young and doesn’t understand transport losses…”
“Then this is even more interesting!”
I pulled out another secret memorial.
“Your nephew, whom you sent to the northern frontier, opened three grain stores at the border.”
I tilted my head.
“Are they using that kind of magical grain that can reproduce itself?”
The tyrant daddy chuckled.
I knew that smile.
The last time I saw him smile like that, the Ministry of Justice’s prison was filled the next day.
“Prime Minister.”
The tyrant daddy slowly rolled up his sleeves.
The old fox started trembling.
“What crime is it to embezzle military grain? And what about colluding with the enemy? With both crimes combined…”
Yan Xiao suddenly exploded.
He slashed the Prime Minister’s belt with his sword.
“Shouldn’t it be extermination of the nine generations of his family?”
I stood in front of the bronze mirror, wearing my wedding dress.
Today was the day of my grand wedding with Xie Linyuan.
I took a deep breath and grabbed my mother’s hand.
She was now Consort Gui Lan.
“Mother, I’m scared…”
“Silly girl.”
My mother smiled and stroked my head.
“Who was it that disguised herself as a man and went on expeditions with His Majesty? Who was it that used gunpowder packs on the battlefield to scare away the Northern Di army? And now you’re scared?”
I burst into tears and then laughed.
In the past year, I had followed the tyrant daddy on campaigns across the south and north.
I had even infiltrated enemy camps, so why was I scared by a wedding?
“Qingqing.”
The tyrant daddy appeared at the doorway.
“It’s time to go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to offer sacrifices to the ancestors.”
In front of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, civil and military officials stood in two rows.
Xie Linyuan, in his wedding attire, gazed at me with burning eyes.
A barely suppressed smile played on his lips.
“Kneel!”
As the master of ceremonies chanted, Xie Linyuan and I knelt side by side.
“By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Princess Rui is exceptionally intelligent and has repeatedly achieved extraordinary feats. Today, I bestow her in marriage upon Marquis Zhenbei, Xie Linyuan, and grant them permission to establish a private residence and government office, and participate in political affairs…”
When the imperial decree was read, the entire court was in an uproar.
This wasn’t just marrying a princess; it was practically marrying a prime minister.
“Your Majesty!”
The Prime Minister’s family had been raided and exterminated.
His remaining loyalists still tried to make a fuss.
Yan Xiao silenced them with a single look.
“My decision is made.”
He took out a scroll of bamboo slips from his sleeve.
“This is the draft constitution co-authored by me and Princess Rui. Effective immediately, Great Liang shall establish a cabinet to manage all court affairs.”
My eyes welled up.
The late-night secret talks of the past six months, the countless arguments and compromises.
Finally, they had resulted in this scroll that would change history.
From today onwards, Great Liang would no longer be the dynasty of one person.
But a nation shared by millions of citizens.
“Qingqing.”
Xie Linyuan secretly held my hand under his sleeve.
“Your husband has had a question for ten years.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you love me?”
“My silly consort.”
I smiled cunningly.
Red candles burned brightly.
Xie Linyuan gently lifted the veil.
He met a pair of eyes as bright as stars.
“Qingqing…” His voice was slightly hoarse.
I pulled a scroll of paper from under the pillow.
“Husband, this is the first-class marriage contract I drafted. Clause one: no concubines allowed. Clause two: no lying to me. Clause three…”
Xie Linyuan chuckled, snatched it, and tossed it aside.
“Your husband will add one more clause.”
He leaned down and kissed her ceaselessly chattering mouth.
“For all lifetimes, only you, my dear.”
Yan Xiao stood in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, watching the sun rise.
Ten years had passed in a flash.
That little infant who cursed him as a tyrant in her heart could now rule the country with him.
“Your Majesty, border victory report.”
The secret guard presented the military report.
“The honeycomb crossbow improved by Princess Rui has utterly defeated the Northern Di. The Khan has submitted a surrender letter.”
Yan Xiao chuckled softly.
Honeycomb crossbow? That must be Qingqing’s ingenious idea, right?
He turned and walked towards the Imperial Study.
On his desk lay the latest issue of “The Great Liang Gazette.”
This newspaper, founded by me, spread imperial decrees throughout the land.
Outside the capital, in the newly completed women’s academy, the sound of children reading resounded.
“Your Majesty, it’s time to eat.”
The eunuch gently reminded him.
“Send it to Princess Rui’s residence. I’ll go see my grandchild.”
The first fireworks of the new year bloomed in the night sky.
The prosperous Great Liang was ushering in its most glorious chapter.
(The End)
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