Chapter 36: The Old Tales of Chongyue

Chapter 36: The Old Tales of Chongyue

The nearby Sword Child felt that his master was like a storyteller, pausing at the crucial moments to build suspense, adept at keeping his audience on edge.

If it weren't for the fact that everyone knew what the master was talking about except the lady, he would have been captivated by the master's storytelling skills.

But the lady seemed uninterested and had already started to stand still, drawing her arrow.

This did not dampen the master's enthusiasm: "On the eve of battle, the commander of the Bei Di army was suddenly beheaded! The one who took his head was none other than Princess Royal Chongyue!"

"It's truly remarkable. That Bei Di commander was their fiercest warrior, said to be ten feet tall, with the strength of a giant, making it nearly impossible for a hundred men to get close to him. Yet, according to rumors, Princess Royal Chongyue had always been frail and lived within the palace walls. It's hard to imagine how she managed it..." Even now, Chang Sui An found it difficult to believe.

"According to the maid who accompanied the Princess Royal, she emerged from the tent, sword in one hand and the commander's head in the other—"

"Outside the tent, the Bei Di soldiers surrounded her with their swords drawn. Unwilling to be taken alive as a hostage, the Princess Royal resolutely slashed her own throat."

"The Bei Di army fell into chaos due to the loss of their commander and internal strife over military control. Meanwhile, our troops were inspired by the Princess Royal's heroic act—Father said that without this, the outcome of the battle would have been uncertain."

Chang Sui An's tone was heavy, filled with admiration and regret: "Princess Royal Chongyue and the late Crown Prince were truly siblings, both so noble-hearted, caring for the people. It's truly admirable... Unfortunately, I can barely remember the Crown Prince from when I was young, and I never had the chance to see the Princess Royal."

Hearing these words, Chang Suining narrowed her eyes slightly, and the arrow left her bowstring.

Chang Sui An instinctively looked over.

The bow was light, and its range was limited; the target was only ten steps away. Still, even so, Chang Sui An did not have much hope for his sister's shot, considering she had only started learning yesterday... right?!

The boy's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Ningning, you... you hit the bullseye!" Chang Sui An almost jumped up.

Chang Suining nodded: "Yes."

"But you've only been learning for a day!" Chang Sui An couldn't understand—how did she do it? Both hitting the bullseye and maintaining such a calm demeanor!

"A day is enough to find your rhythm." Chang Suining calmly drew another arrow.

Chang Sui An watched the arrow fly straight out, then stepped back in shock, as if it had hit his eye instead of the bullseye.

"...Ningning, could you be the legendary archery genius, one in a million?"

The girl tilted her chin slightly and nodded seriously: "That's exactly what I think."

Her expression remained calm as she looked at the target, which was only ten steps away.

If she wasn't a genius, she'd be stuck playing with children's toys, wasting time and effort. Acting would be too troublesome.

So, she was destined to be a genius—not just in archery.

While she remained composed, Chang Sui An could not keep his cool.

For the rest of the day, he busied himself with one thing—telling everyone in the household about his "astonishing discovery": "My frail sister is actually a martial arts prodigy!"

Apart from the Sword Child, who had witnessed it firsthand, everyone else was skeptical—after all, in the master's eyes, anything the lady did was the best in the world.

There were precedents, including but not limited to—when the lady learned embroidery at ten, the master was amazed and ran around the house showing off her work, despite no one being able to tell what it was.

And when the lady first practiced calligraphy and painting, the master secretly brought them out to display—look at my sister's painting of plum blossoms, aren't they just like the ones described in poems, resilient and strong?

They all nodded, pretending to be impressed, though they couldn't tell what the paintings depicted.

Setting aside Chang Sui An's busy day for now.

Today, the imperial rewards arrived not only at the Chang residence but also early at the Cui residence in Anyi Lane.

Facing the eunuch delivering the imperial decree, Cui Yan showed no warmth.

"My son serving the court is his duty. My family dare not accept this reward on his behalf." He stood on the stone steps outside the hall, his voice cold and distant.

The eunuch struggled to maintain a smile: "This is merely a token of His Majesty's appreciation..."

He dared not use the word "reward."

In any other place, such behavior could be punished for disrespecting the emperor, but this was the Cui residence—where the aristocratic Cui clan openly displayed their disdain for the royal family.

Despite their deep roots and complex influence, the royal family had little choice but to tolerate them.

Moreover, attempts to marry into the major aristocratic families, including the Cui, Lu, Zheng, and Wang clans, had been repeatedly rejected. The Cui clan considered the royal family unworthy of marrying their daughters, even princesses.

What had the emperor said when faced with repeated rejections?

Thus, the eunuch dared not insist and could only smile apologetically.

"This coral is nice!" A young man in brocade robes approached, touching the coral held by a small eunuch. "If I could have it in my study, I'd write more characters!"

Cui Yan's face darkened: "How improper!"

Cui Lang came beside him, smiling softly: "Father, Grandfather is in the inner hall with urgent matters to discuss. I came to relay the message."

Cui Yan frowned and turned to leave.

Cui Lang quickly signaled the eunuch with a nod.

The eunuch breathed a sigh of relief, bowed to the young man, and instructed his subordinates: "Quickly bring everything inside!"

Ah, not only must we give the rewards, but we must also seize every opportunity to deliver them... what a task!

"...Do you want to embarrass me further today?" On the way to the inner hall, Cui Yan scolded his son: "Can't you get whatever coral you want? Why must you make such a spectacle in front of others!"

"That's something we shouldn't refuse if it's offered for free." Cui Lang sighed and said, "Father, I truly can't understand this. You say there are plenty of our clan members serving as officials in the court. Why is it that when it comes to my elder brother, it's..."

"What do you mean by 'plenty of our clan members serving as officials'? Our Cui clan has always held only prestigious civil positions!" Cui Yan said sternly, "This is for the sake of our clan's legacy and the long-term prosperity of our generations! But what is he doing now? As a son of the Cui clan, he willingly serves as a tool in the hands of Empress Ming. The disdain within the four families is beyond measure!"

And there are some things that cannot be said openly—Empress Ming obtained her position illegitimately, muddling the line of succession, and is inherently at odds with us noble clans due to our conflicting interests. Therefore, his actions are no different from not distinguishing friend from foe, betraying the clan and forsaking family!

"Father, please calm down... In my opinion, Elder Brother's stubbornness isn't hard to cure!"

Cui Yan glared at him. "What ridiculous idea do you have now?"