After sulking for a while,
"Hehe, she dotes on me. Whether she holds grudges against others, I wouldn't know! Brother Jiang Chen, don't worry. When I have time, I'll put in a good word for you."
"Hmph, no amount of pleading will help. Jiang Chen! Heir of Marquis Jianghan, dead last in the preliminary assessment, and has currently failed all three basic tests!"
Beside the rockery, Princess Gouyu had appeared once more, now changed into a light yellow gown. Nobody had noticed when she'd arrived.
A cold smile played on her lips. "Jiang Chen, you really have the nerve to show up here."
Well, a dead pig doesn't fear boiling water. At this point, Jiang Chen had no choice but to go all in. "What? You planning to take revenge on me?"
"Revenge?" The corner of Gouyu's lips curled into a sneer. "You don't even qualify for me to bother with revenge. Worry about that when you've got the ability to make it to the final assessment."
She was right — a person who couldn't even pass a single basic test wasn't worth the effort of a crackdown from the first person in charge, Princess Gouyu.
"Heh, this foolish woman underestimates me far too much." Jiang Chen knew that in Gouyu's mind, he'd already been stamped with the label "good-for-nothing."
He was about to say something when a burst of noisy footsteps came from outside — the shipment of Woyang Stones had arrived.
Jiang Chen waved his hand and said to Princess Gouyu, "Hey, you — Gouyu, right? Princess Zhiruo tells me you care about her deeply. I just want to ask: can you call the shots around here or not?"
"What do you mean?" Gouyu asked coldly.
"If you can, then tear down every structure within a hundred meters of Princess Zhiruo's chambers. Demolish any mountains you find, fill in any streams."
"And hire the finest craftsmen to carve the largest of these Woyang Stones into a stone bed for Princess Zhiruo to sleep on. Preferably in the nude."
Jiang Chen paid no heed to the faint dark line that crept across Gouyu's pretty forehead and continued.
"The remaining eight Woyang Stones — follow this diagram of mine and arrange every one of them accordingly. I'll come back next time to handle some other tasks."
"Oh, and little Zhiruo — these sachets are for you. I took the Dragon Bone Supreme Yang Grass and cut it into nine sections, making nine sachets. Wear one on your person at all times, and place one or two in the places you frequent most. This Dragon Bone Supreme Yang Grass is pretty junk, but it'll have to do for now. The yang energy it produces can nourish your meridians."
"Additionally, this is my hand-drawn 'Chart of the Yang Spirit Entering the Apertures,' accompanied by a verse of incantation. Meditate and visualize it carefully. It will help generate yang energy within your body."
"For now, these are the methods I can offer. We need to stabilize your condition first. Remember — do exactly as I say. And above all, you must stop cultivating. Otherwise, the consequences will be unthinkable."
Jiang Chen issued his directives like a general commanding troops, carrying the air of a true master. This barrage of instructions had even left Princess Gouyu momentarily stunned.
Having finished, Jiang Chen didn't give Gouyu a chance to respond. He brushed off his sleeves and swaggered away.
It wasn't until he was about to leave that she finally snapped back to her senses, snarling, "Jiang Chen! You can't even pass three basic tests — what gives you the right to order us around?"
Jiang Chen's gaze sharpened. He paused mid-step but didn't turn back. "If you truly love your niece, you'll do as I've said. If you'd rather she die early, then by all means, keep training with her like before."
It had to be said — Jiang Chen had real potential to be a con man. His stern, righteous words, combined with that commanding aura that radiated authority without anger, left even the formidable Princess Gouyu — the woman who held the fate of every regional lord in the Hidden Dragon Examination — temporarily without the confidence to argue.
It wasn't until Jiang Chen's figure had vanished from sight that Gouyu finally came to. "That arrogant little brat! He's going to make me lose my mind!"
Dongfang Zhiruo smiled. "Auntie, Brother Jiang Chen is actually very kind. Let me tell you — that day at the Heaven Worship Ceremony..."
After Dongfang Zhiruo recounted everything that had happened recently in full detail, the expression on Princess Gouyu's face grew increasingly complex.
"I was only gone from the royal capital for barely a month, and all of this happened?" When Gouyu heard that Jiang Chen had been flogged, died and come back to life, and then received a divine mandate by fortune's grace, her expression turned particularly conflicted.
Princess Gouyu had been born into the imperial family. Among everyone in the capital, hers was one of the sharpest perspectives. Her ambitions and vision had never been confined to a single kingdom.
Because of this, she had devoted herself to cultivation, determined to use martial arts training to explore a broader and more magnificent world.
It was precisely because of her broader vision that she understood the matter of a divine mandate better than most. While the average person might be half-believing and half-doubting, after hearing the full story, she was at least seventy percent convinced.
"A teenager of barely a dozen years could not have fabricated so many detailed accounts on the spot. Especially the fact that Zhiruo and her mother were born during a solar eclipse — that is a secret of the royal household that has never been disclosed to anyone. The Taiyin Body? The Taiyin Evil Qi?"
Princess Gouyu's feelings were becoming complicated. Dongfang Zhiruo was the niece she doted on most, raised under her own watchful eye since childhood.
She had always insisted that Zhiruo's condition was simply a matter of physical frailty, and therefore pushed her to cultivate martial arts. Even if she couldn't achieve anything remarkable, building up her health should at least be possible, right?
But today, Jiang Chen had torn into her with a blistering rebuke, and suddenly, Gouyu's conviction built over more than a decade began to waver.
"Could I really have been wrong? Everything I've done for Zhiruo — not only did it not help her, but it actually harmed her?"
"A divine mandate? Should I believe in something like this?"
Princess Gouyu was caught in a painful internal conflict. She naturally wanted what was best for Dongfang Zhiruo. But what if she sided with Jiang Chen and he turned out to be nothing but a charlatan? Wouldn't that doom Zhiruo?
Just then, the eunuch