To Transform an Assassin?
Xiao Yunzhou was stunned.
The Immortal Realm indeed lived up to its name, presenting him, the Emperor, with such a challenging test!
Could the resentments and grudges between the previous and current dynasties truly be resolved?
Xiao Yunzhou took a deep breath and looked down at the cherished daughter Chu Chu cradled in his arms. Seeing the worried look on her tiny face, he couldn't help but smile.
This matter was urgent, yet it was for the adults to worry.
No need for his precious daughter to fret.
"Someone, tell Consort Liu to... send someone to fetch the little Princess back."
Xiao Yunzhou dared not let his beloved daughter face even the slightest risk.
Although he did not trust leaving her entirely to others, for now, he, the Emperor, was the one being targeted by the assassin!
Unless there were peculiar circumstances, the assassin would not pay heed to a child not yet a year old.
"Tell Consort Liu that she need not attend court for the time being, and the little Princess should not come to the Imperial Study either."
With over twenty days until the Lantern Festival, Xiao Yunzhou planned to keep them away from the assassin's sight until this matter was resolved.
Xiao Yunzhou had the little Princess taken away and strictly forbade Consort Liu, the little Princess, and the Fifth Prince from appearing before him.
There were no secrets in the harem, and within an hour, this news had spread throughout.
"Consort Liu fell from favor after conferring titles on her ladies-in-waiting? How amusing!"
"I've always said that harem women should not meddle in politics. What our ancestors left behind cannot be wrong. The Emperor found her a novelty at first, but soon realized Consort Liu's impropriety!"
"One rises, all rise; one falls, all fall. Now the Emperor no longer sees Consort Liu or the little Princess, and even the Fifth Prince will lose favor."
The palace ladies gossiped endlessly behind closed doors, with many secretly rejoicing.
The Consort Li, who had been so enraged by Consort Liu's actions that she could not eat, and the Empress Tong, who had been burning with the desire to remonstrate, now rejoiced in having restrained themselves.
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager was right. These harem women rise and fall in an instant, but none can surpass you."
The Empress's attendants could not help but smile all day.
"You need only sit and watch, doing nothing, and you will never lose."
The Empress Tong nodded and smiled, "Tell the Crown Prince to be more diligent in his studies."
Seizing the opportunity, she would outshine the Fifth Prince!
A prince or consort who had lost the Emperor's favor had no future in the palace.
*
In the Donghua Palace.
Consort Min was making a new batch of down coats.
She selected dried duck down, stuffing it into the fabric as she sewed the edges.
To prevent the down from shifting inside the garment, they would sew 'grid-like compartments' onto the coats - a technique devised by Consort Liu.
"The Emperor is so fickle. One new fancy every day, but at least he hasn't summoned you all lately."
"I miss our dear Chu Chu so much when he monopolizes her every day." Consort Min wished the Emperor would just go away, leaving them in peace.
Consort Liu could only laugh wryly.
Consort Min had grown thinner and darker recently from the strenuous work on the down coats.
[Damn, Auntie Consort Min has a combat power of 81! A formidable woman warrior. Could she teach me in the future?]
Xiao Chuchu felt Consort Min's combat attribute when she was scooped up and smothered with kisses.
The Fifth Prince Cheng Qian and Sixth Prince Cheng Shan, who had just entered, witnessed Consort Min's overly affectionate embrace of Xiao Chuchu.
"Mother, Chu Chu feels disgusted, look at her wiping her face with her tiny hands," Cheng Shan said, unable to watch his mother's domineering behavior.
He had recently grown taller thanks to the sheep's milk and eggs, his growth spurt beginning.
[No, no, I'm not disgusted. I'm trying to absorb Auntie Consort Min's combat power!]
Xiao Chuchu's eyes shone with admiration as she gazed at Consort Min.
[If I had 81 combat power when I grew up, I wouldn't have to fear scumbags anymore.]
As a modern woman, Xiao Chuchu had no interest in embroidery but longed for the combat prowess to strengthen her body and protect herself.
Especially after the recent assassination attempt, improving her survival skills consumed her thoughts.
While the Sixth Prince Cheng Shan could not hear her inner voice, he saw her bright, grape-like eyes and could not resist poking her chubby cheeks.
"Fifth Brother, your sister is so adorable. Look, she has dimples when I poke her."
[Wow, does the Sixth Prince Cheng Shan inherit Consort Min's combat attribute?]
Xiao Chuchu was startled when the Sixth Prince touched her.
[Not even ten years old, yet his combat power is 71 with a five-star growth rate! With proper nutrition and martial arts training, he could reach over 90 after adulthood!]
Good heavens.
Xiao Chuchu gazed at the still baby-faced and innocent Sixth Prince, awestruck.
[He's a future master!]
[In just ten years, the Sixth Prince might even be able to battle that tea-serving eunuch with 99 combat power!]
What?
The expressions of Consort Liu and the Fifth Prince Cheng Qian froze.
That tea-serving eunuch had such high combat power?
Was he a master bodyguard specially assigned by the Emperor to protect him?
That scrawny little fellow?
Xiao Chuchu could not hear their thoughts or answer their unspoken questions, still lost in her own musings.
[My mother's combat power is less than 50, so I'll probably be a waste. Alas, I must start doing radio calisthenics early to improve my physical fitness!]
Xiao Chuchu pondered.
Her thoughts only further perplexed Consort Liu and Cheng Qian.
The Fifth Prince Cheng Qian then approached the Sixth Prince, who was trying to hold Xiao Chuchu, and shoved him aside to take his sister into his own arms.
"I'll hold her."
His younger brother's roughness might cause him to drop his sister, which would be disastrous.
Moreover, if his sixth brother's combat power could reach 90, then his own potential was no less.
His sister should admire him, her brother, instead!
When she grew up, he would personally teach her horse riding and archery.
The Fifth Prince Cheng Qian thought with some displeasure, but soon froze.
As he cradled Xiao Chuchu in his arms, her rosy face contorted strangely.
[Oh my, my own brother, yet your combat power is only 59!]
Cheng Qian: "..."
Consort Liu: "..."
[Alas, it seems the Liu family's attributes are all concentrated in our wits.]
Xiao Chuchu shook her head with a tsk.
[How disappointing! The novels described my brother Cheng Qian as an accomplished individual, both scholarly and martial. Was the author mistaken about what it means to be well-versed in both civil and martial arts?!]
[My brother's current combat power is 59, with only a two-and-a-half-star growth rate. Despite being older than the Sixth Prince, his combat power at adulthood would be fortunate to reach 70.]
["It's no wonder my brother later died on the battlefield. It seems my brother was all talk and no action."]
Cheng Qian fell silent.
He held his sister's arm as if it weighed a thousand pounds!
His horsemanship and archery skills were not bad, and he had also studied military strategy well, it was just... wrestling on the training grounds and fighting with the palace guards, he always lost.
But he felt that being a strategist would not be a problem for him.
["Alas, my brother's core strength is lacking. It's over, he must have inherited the Emperor Father's feeble waist."]
Cheng Qian: "..."
Concubine Liu: "..."
Xiao Chuchu noticed that others did not examine so carefully, since it would cost points to redeem the specific six-dimensional martial arts data.
But for her own brother, Xiao Chuchu was very concerned about the reason behind his poor martial arts abilities.
Without hesitation, she spent 50 points to redeem the data, and as soon as she saw it, she blinked.
["My brother's arm force application is incorrect, his core strength is lacking, and the training ground instructors' guidance is unsuitable for him, resulting in his slow growth."]
["His lower body and legs are still decent, but his agility is insufficient."]
["His endurance is acceptable, but his explosive power is poor."]
["Tsk."]
Cheng Qian was immediately on high alert and hurriedly took detailed notes.
He still had time, he could still improve!
["Alas, my brother's stature probably won't be very tall in the future."]
["The training ground instructors follow a fierce path, which is unsuitable for my brother."]
["My brother is actually quite similar in build to that tea-serving eunuch before the Emperor, who looks skinny..."]
["But no, it's too dangerous for him to be like that wretched fellow with a martial arts score of 99."]
Cheng Qian's eyes flickered.
As Xiao Chuchu thought of that eunuch, her thoughts instantly turned to the Lantern Festival tragedy.
["I wonder if the Emperor Father is capable or not."]
She grew worried, ["Is there any way to redeem that tea-serving eunuch's weaknesses?"]
Cheng Qian and Concubine Liu were stunned, immediately pricking up their ears and stopping what they were doing.
