Wu Wanning held her chest high and stood straight, her eyes shining with excitement and anticipation.
After a long silence, General Guo finally spoke. “Princess, you are mistaken. In all of Great Zhou, there are no female generals.”
Rongyao looked at General Guo. “Why not? If Sister Wanning grows up to be stronger than you, can’t she become a general too?”
General Guo froze. He opened his mouth, glanced at the seven-year-old girl standing nearby with an expectant look on her face, and ultimately could not bring himself to say the words.
“Fuxi thinks Sister Wanning is more capable than so many people! If she can defeat a general, then she can become a general when she grows up!”
The moment she said this, the surroundings fell silent.
No one spoke up to refute her.
After all, even His Majesty had not contradicted Princess Fuxi.
“Yes! I’ll definitely become stronger when I grow up. I’ll read more books—lots and lots of military texts! I’ll practice martial arts every day! I’ll definitely become strong enough to defeat the great general!” Wu Wanning excitedly promised. It was as though, so long as she worked hard, she would surely be able to become a female general.
“You can do it!” Princess Fuxi encouraged her friend just as excitedly.
General Guo looked at the two little girls encouraging each other, the corner of his mouth twitching.
Dantai Ji’s deep eyes rested on his daughter and the girl from the Wu family. A flicker of something passed through them.
Cui Huaiyin cast a worried glance at His Majesty. Seeing that he said nothing, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Gu Shen’an turned slightly and lowered his head. No one noticed that his gaze had remained fixed on Princess Fuxi the entire time, never shifting away.
…
There was little of interest in the palace.
Every day, the princes and princesses went to Wenchang Academy to study and practice calligraphy, then went to practice martial arts in the afternoon.
Aside from the frequent rumors that Grand Princess Fuxi was a prodigy of exceptional intelligence, there were also rumors that Wu Wanning, the companion at Princess Fuxi’s side, was a prodigy as well—a prodigy of martial arts.
It was said that a few days earlier, she had actually lifted a sack of sand with one hand and run ten laps around the training grounds. Anyone who heard the story found it impossible to believe.
There was also the fact that His Majesty took Grand Princess Fuxi out of the palace on the fifteenth day of every month to observe the lives of the people. The Grand Princess was young and clever, and no one objected to His Majesty showing her a little extra affection.
The most favored consort in the palace was still Noble Consort Cui. Ever since Noble Consort Cui had entered the palace, His Majesty had never favored another consort.
This naturally aroused the displeasure of the other women in the palace.
The Empress Dowager did not concern herself with such matters, so the responsibility fell to the Empress.
The Empress naturally could not approach His Majesty directly, so she went to Noble Consort Cui to discuss the matter.
All the palace consorts gathered in the Empress’s Fengyi Palace. One after another, they pressured Noble Consort Cui to persuade His Majesty to show equal favor to all the women.
However, Noble Consort Cui actually fainted on the spot in the Empress’s Fengyi Palace.
The imperial physicians hurried over. When His Majesty learned that Noble Consort Cui had lost consciousness, he arrived at Fengyi Palace in a fury.
The several consorts all knelt outside the hall to plead guilty.
The imperial physician took the unconscious Noble Consort Cui’s pulse, but his face soon lit up with joy.
The reason was that Noble Consort Cui was pregnant!
The news that Noble Consort Cui was with child shocked many people.
Even Noble Consort Cui herself could hardly believe that she was pregnant.
Hadn’t her health been damaged, leaving her unable to conceive again?
Yet several imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy came to examine her, and all of them knelt on the floor in delighted astonishment. They were certain that Noble Consort Cui was indeed pregnant, and that the child had already been in her womb for three months. Both Noble Consort Cui and the baby were healthy and safe.
His Majesty was overjoyed. He rewarded the physicians of the Imperial Medical Academy, as well as everyone in Changle Palace.
When the Empress Dowager heard the news, she immediately sent a great many precious gifts that very day.
Clearly, His Majesty and the Empress Dowager attached extraordinary importance to Noble Consort Cui’s pregnancy.
That day, Princess Shengping returned to Fengyi Palace after her lessons and immediately sensed that something was wrong.
As soon as she entered the Empress’s Fengyi Palace, she saw the Empress staring coldly at her. The Empress spoke at once.
“Kneel!”
Princess Shengping, Tantai Yu, froze for a moment before hurriedly kneeling. “Mother, you…”
“Didn’t you say Noble Consort Cui’s body had been ruined and that she would never be able to conceive again?”
Tantai Yu blurted out, “Yes, I said…”
“The imperial physicians just examined her. Noble Consort Cui is three months pregnant!”
“Impossible!” Tantai Yu’s eyes widened, her face turning deathly pale. She spoke without even thinking.
The Empress could no longer suppress her fury. “Noble Consort Cui is pregnant with His Majesty’s child once again!”
“If not for you—if not for your absolute certainty that Noble Consort Cui could never have children—how could I have…” The Empress abruptly stopped. She closed her eyes and exhaled before saying coldly, “Leave! I don’t want to see you again for the next few days!”
Tantai Yu left the main hall of Fengyi Palace in a daze, her face full of terror. She urgently called out to the system in her mind.
“System! Why did this happen? According to the book, Noble Consort Cui clearly had only one daughter! How could she become pregnant again?”
【The host did not finish reading the entire book. Perhaps Noble Consort Cui became pregnant again in the later chapters, but because of the host’s appearance, the plot has been brought forward.】
Tantai Yu clenched her fists. “Could the future Ziwei Star be the child in Noble Consort Cui’s womb?”
【The system cannot confirm that. Only when sufficient energy has been accumulated can the system unlock the authority to view information about the Ziwei Star.】
Tantai Yu shouted angrily, “Then what use are you to me now?”
【Without the system, the host would die.】
Tantai Yu took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.
During this period, she had observed several of the princes and discovered that none of them were as clever as the system had described.
Not one of them met the standards of the future emperor. She could only console herself that they had not yet grown up. Perhaps they would become different when they were older.
But now, Noble Consort Cui was pregnant again. What did that mean?
It meant that if she gave birth to a prince, he was very likely to be the future emperor she was seeking.
No wonder. No wonder there had been no progress in her mission, and the system had not been able to obtain even a trace of energy. It turned out that the prince she was supposed to win over had not even been born yet!
Damn this system! Useless system! Why had it sent her into this world so early? Why hadn’t it sent her directly to the moment the future Imperial Star was born?
It had made her wait for so long, and she had nearly taken the life of Noble Consort Cui, who might give birth to the future emperor!
What was she supposed to do now? She had already become enemies with Noble Consort Cui and Princess Fuxi. How could the mother and daughter possibly allow her to get close to the future emperor in the days to come?
If she could not get close to the future emperor, how could she complete her mission?
Tantai Yu was so anxious that she scratched at her head. Her face pale, she walked forward while countless possible solutions flashed through her mind…
Changle Palace.
Rongyao looked at her father, who was grinning foolishly with delight, and at her uneasy mother. She asked, “What’s wrong?”
Cui Huaiyin pulled her daughter in front of her and gently embraced her. In a probing tone, she asked, “Yaoyao, would you like to have a younger brother or sister?”
Rongyao stared at her mother blankly.
“Don’t I already have one?”
Cui Huaiyin said, “It’s different. I mean a younger brother or sister born from your mother.”
Rongyao was stunned for a moment. Looking at her mother and father, she repeated, “A younger brother or sister born from Mother?”
Cui Huaiyin cupped her daughter’s chubby little face. Gazing into those bright, pearl-like eyes, she made a firm promise in the gentlest voice, “Whether it’s a younger brother or a younger sister, you will always be the child Mother loves and cherishes most. Mother promises that will never change.”
“Can Yaoyao accept them?”
