“Your Highness Ninth Princess, please return. His Majesty says it’s too late at night, so he won’t be seeing you…”
Eunuch Li’s words made He Yingying clench her teeth.
Too late at night?
More like an excuse…
Her daughter had narrowly escaped death and returned alive—yet he wouldn’t even grant her a single meeting?
The imperial family—laughable, yet pathetic.
“I understand. Thank you for your trouble, Eunuch Li.”
She turned away.
Her back did not show the dejection Eunuch Li expected, but rather firmness and resolve.
This time, she was no longer the girl she used to be.
Whether for herself, for her mother, or for her senior brother… she would prove herself anew.
She harbored an idea—almost mad in its boldness.
The young girl strode out of the palace, her steps dashing, her bearing resolute.
But the closer she got to home, the more she shrank back like an ostrich.
At this hour, her senior brother was probably already resting.
He had been working so hard lately—she mustn’t disturb his sleep.
She tiptoed into the courtyard and headed toward her room.
“Back already?”
Just as she was about to open her door, a voice suddenly came from behind.
“Senior brother?!”
He Yingying trembled all over.
Turning around, she saw her senior brother sitting in a small pavilion to one side of the courtyard, looking at her.
“So late, and you still haven’t gone to bed, Senior Brother?”
Lin Wuming gave her a slightly helpless glance.
“When the little troublemaking kitten hasn’t come home yet, how could I sleep?”
“S-sorry… for making you worry.”
Lowering her head, her earlier grand ambitions seemed to vanish into thin air.
“Back home, and you’re not happy?”
Lin Wuming walked over and looked into her eyes.
After all, she was his junior sister—princess or empress, it didn’t matter.
If she had something weighing on her heart, as her senior brother, he ought to comfort her.
“Senior brother, I…”
Her words seemed to press on a hidden sore spot.
Her voice grew choked; her lips pressed tight as grievance and tangled emotions threatened to burst forth.
The cold wind whispered, and pale moonlight bathed the courtyard, catching the glisten of tears on her face.
Lin Wuming slowly opened his arms and embraced her.
“If something’s troubling you, it’s better to say it out loud.”
In his arms, feeling the warmth against her cheek, her body softened entirely.
Like a spoiled child, she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and sobbed quietly.
A short while later, in her room, she sat on the bed with her head resting on Lin Wuming’s shoulder, slowly recounting her past ten-plus years of life.
Facing one’s past was not weakness.
Even if her senior brother were to look down on her, He Yingying believed she would one day change it all.
“I see… The imperial household—supreme in status, yet burdened with endless troubles.”
Lin Wuming sighed after hearing her story.
It was just like those palace intrigues and succession battles in dramas—but this was reality, harsher and more unreasonable than any script.
A ninth princess lingering on the sidelines for over a decade had still ended up in the crosshairs.
“So, what do you think?”
“…Senior brother?”
“They think you’ll vie for power, that you’ll threaten them. But what do you actually want?”
He looked at her seriously.
Whether it was the so-called mission or fate, if she truly didn’t want to get involved, he’d treat it all as nonsense.
If she only wanted a peaceful, ordinary life, he’d make sure she stayed far from the storm.
“I…”
Her eyes lowered.
She used to think that as long as she stayed out of it and minded her own business, no one would target her.
But…
“Senior brother, if I say it, you mustn’t laugh at me.”
“Go ahead.”
“I want to be Empress!”
“Pfft—!”
Yes—this was the nearly insane idea she now carried.
She wanted to be emperor.
She wanted to be the female sovereign who looked down upon all under heaven.
And when such a lofty empress descended from her throne to act spoiled in a man’s arms, not even her senior brother could resist her charm.
Flat-chested? So what?
If the chest is not flat, how can it flatten the world!
Her words left Lin Wuming stunned.
Good heavens—his mission was to help her become crown princess, but she wanted to skip straight to dethroning her own father and taking the throne herself!
Overachiever much?!
At that moment, he almost believed that one day, his junior sister truly could stand as the supreme ruler of the myriad worlds.
“Senior brother, you said you wouldn’t laugh at me.”
She pouted, shaking his arm, cheeks tinged with embarrassment.
“I’m not laughing at you,” Lin Wuming said with a wry smile.
“It’s just… you really have a knack for shocking people.”
“Really?”
“Really. And I believe you can do it.”
Her senior brother’s encouragement lit her up inside.
If she had such a goal, all the better—he could just follow her lead, live off her, and be a carefree good-for-nothing.
As for all that political scheming?
He didn’t understand it anyway.
His junior sister had the fate and talent for it—no need for him to meddle.
Once she won her great victory, he could happily collect his reward… perfect!
He had no idea, though, that the Lord of Luoshui City had already dug a pit for him, and whether he liked it or not, he’d soon be falling in.
***
“Imperial Master, what do you think of this boy who appeared out of nowhere?”
In the imperial study, the emperor was still discussing the letter from the Lord of Luoshui City, though his tone was tinged with displeasure.
After all, judging from Luo Haonian’s words, this boy seemed to have an unclear relationship with his precious daughter.
The Imperial Master thought for a moment before saying…
“If Luo Haonian’s words are true, this youth is indeed a rare genius. And… even setting aside his talent, he’s still worth the empire’s full support.”
“You mean… the Wanle Palace?”
“Exactly.”
The Master nodded.
“The Buddhist sect’s influence in the empire grows daily, while both the righteous and demonic sects press close. They’re all waiting for the empire’s decline, for history to repeat itself.”
“At present, with the Great General and myself here, things remain stable. But what if one of us were gone?”
“Imperial Master…”
The emperor’s face shifted, struck by the thought.
The Master only smiled.
“A human life has its limits, Your Majesty. No need for sorrow. Since the reign of the Bright Emperor, I have lived through four dynasties, watched eras change, and seen the vicissitudes of the world—for ten thousand years. That journey has been long enough.”
“That little fox girl has a thousand years of cultivation—already at the peak of this age. And the fox clan is long-lived. If we could build mutual understanding, after my death, she could still protect the empire’s peace. I’ve pondered this for a long time. But the difference between humans and demons makes trust hard to build. So I set it aside—until now. Now, I think the time has come…”
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