Becoming the Crown Princess by Strength - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

After two months of playing around, Father took me on a spring outing. It seemed to be some event the emperor had arranged, where officials brought their families out to the countryside to admire the flowers.

Father arrived first. The emperor sent everyone else away and spoke with him in private.

Off to the side, I unexpectedly ran into the Crown Prince. Surprised, I called out, “Didn’t you say we’d never see each other again?”

He looked blank for a moment before remembering, then seemed a little embarrassed. “So long as I wish it, we can.”

“What a convenient ability you have,” I said with a sigh. He glanced at me, then quickly looked away again.

Seeing that his complexion still didn’t look too good, I went up to him worriedly and tugged at his sleeve. “Are you really over your cold?”

“I am.” His expression eased a little, and he nodded. He looked at me, wanting to speak, then stopping, then wanting to speak again. “I have returned to the academy.”

“I know. The eunuch told me.”

He pressed his lips together, lowered his head, and asked quietly, “Then you… you came to see me every day before. Was there something you needed?”

Only then did I remember. I quickly let go of him and took three big steps back.

“What do you mean by that?” He looked at me, a little hurt.

I had eaten breakfast and hadn’t washed my hands. I was afraid I’d make him sick again.

Before I could explain, a large group of people suddenly arrived, weaving in between us. Father also came back. Everyone exchanged greetings and began chatting merrily.

The Crown Prince didn’t look at me again. He went off to talk to other people and ignored me.

There was no one presiding over the outing. After walking for a while, everyone sat down on the ground. The adults gathered around the emperor, while the children gathered around the Crown Prince, chatting and joking.

I sat dryly at the edge. They were all talking about the most boring things-poetry, songs, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Listening to it was torture.

The Crown Prince was surrounded like the moon among stars, smiling with the warmth of a spring breeze. Every now and then, he would glance at me. I stared at him in a daze, thinking that I was never coming to this again.

A perfectly good day was being wasted just like that. Finally, I couldn’t hold it in anymore and asked, “Does anyone like playing with mud?”

They looked at me strangely. One girl asked, “I’ve never seen you in previous years. Who are you?”

“I’m An Fu.”

Immediately, more people turned to look at me. “Is your honored father General An?”

I said yes. Everyone fell silent and secretly glanced at the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince sat in the middle of the crowd, smiling kindly. “It’s all right. This is an outing, after all. No need to be so restrained.”

That girl stood up with a smile. “Actually, I quite like playing with mud too. I’ll come keep Younger Sister An company and relive the feeling of childhood.”

“Yes, it’s been ages since I played.”

“Just to relive the feeling…”

One after another, more people got up. I took half the crowd with me. The Crown Prince’s expression turned very ugly. Struggling, he propped himself up. “Actually, I also-”

“You can’t.” I stopped him solemnly. “You can’t play with mud. You’ll get sick.”

He froze there, neither sitting nor standing. I explained to everyone, “Last time he played for a little while, he was sick for an entire month.”

“Oh.” Everyone’s eyes were opened.

The Crown Prince’s face turned livid. I led everyone away. “If anything happens to him, everyone here will have their nine clans executed. We can’t bring him along…”

We went to the riverside to play with mud, piling up fortresses, pretending to fight battles, and planting flags. The battle was so passionate and satisfying that we forgot ourselves, drawing more and more onlookers.

“Haha, take the border city!”

“Split the army into three routes and seize this prefecture!”

“Not good! There’s an enemy attack from the rear! You actually set an ambush here!”

After half a day of fierce fighting, I, with my rich experience, still came out slightly ahead. I planted the final flag, pushed over the enemy’s house, and declared victory.

“Hahaha, we’ve flattened it!”

Our side cheered and jumped for joy, while the other side beat their chests and stamped their feet. Everyone discussed the battle heatedly for a long while. Someone said, “Younger Sister An truly is a tiger cub from a family of generals. Your ability to command troops and arrange formations is already so strong at such a young age.”

“That’s nothing.” I proudly wiped my nose and shot to my feet. “Let me tell you, I was born to be a general. Watch me perform uprooting a willow tree with my bare hands.”

Everyone cleared a path for me. Excited, I ran out and chose a tree about as thick as a person’s arm span. I wrapped my arms around it, sank my breath to my dantian, let out a mighty shout, and used all my strength to pull it bit by bit from the earth.

“Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh!” Behind me, everyone gasped and cheered. Endless strength surged through my whole body. My face flushed red from exertion, and with one heave, I…

I did pull it up, but what was this familiar feeling of being lifted by the back of my collar?

“What are you doing!” Father’s furious roar exploded by my ear.

I hugged the tree while he held me up. He turned back and bowed repeatedly to the emperor standing off to the side. “My foolish daughter doesn’t know the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth. It is this humble official’s failure to discipline her. I will teach her a proper lesson at once.”

All the onlookers fell silent, shrinking back as they looked at the emperor. Although the emperor was smiling kindly, the flesh on his face was twitching. “It is nothing. Children are bound to be a little mischievous… Put the tree down first.”

Father set me down. The tree was planted back into its pit, and then he grabbed me and hauled me away.

“Was that fun?” He put me down in a secluded spot and glared at me so hard his beard practically bristled. “Showing off? Gathering people around you? Arranging troops and formations? Why don’t you just rebel outright?”

The rush faded from my head, and I burst into tears. “I know I was wrong. Please don’t hit me.”

“So you are afraid of being hit? I thought you weren’t even afraid of getting beheaded, having the household confiscated, and seeing nine clans executed.” He roared in a low voice, afraid others would hear.

Only after scolding me for a good long while did he let me go back. “Learn your lesson. Keep your head down. Otherwise, you can try being human again in your next life!”

I returned crying, sat down at the mat, sobbed and sniffled, wiped away my tears, and cried all the way until dusk.

“Xiao Fu, you’ve been crying for an hour.” The girl who had been playing with me earlier held my head and stroked it, sighing. “Impressive. Even when I was little, I couldn’t cry that much.”

The other children chattered among themselves. “Even a fierce girl’s tears are fiercer than everyone else’s…”

I had cried myself dizzy. At last, she rubbed my face. “All right, stop crying. Sister Lu has to go now. I’ll come play with you again when I have time.”

Sister Lu stood up and waved at me. I looked up at her reluctantly. “Wuu…”

“Ah, my father is calling me. I have to go too.” Someone else stood up, patted my head, and comforted me perfunctorily. “Don’t be sad. Who hasn’t been beaten before?”

One after another, everyone got to their feet. Without even discussing it, they lined up to leave the banquet, each one patting my head as they passed. Some were too lazy to say anything at all.

Once they were all gone, only the Crown Prince remained at the table. He gave a light cough and beckoned to me. “An Fu, come here.”

Confused, I walked over while rubbing my head and asked between sobs, “What is it?”

He coughed again, staring at me with a gleam in his eyes. “Are you… not hungry?”

“I am.” I pouted and rubbed my belly.

The sun was setting. Everyone else had left, and Father was still talking with the emperor. Who knew when he would take me home for dinner?

The Crown Prince glanced left and right, then pulled two pastries out of his roomy sleeve.

My eyes widened. I couldn’t help grabbing his sleeve to peer inside, but he clutched his cuff and hurriedly shoved me away. “What are you doing? No…”

I had no choice but to stare longingly at the pastry. He watched me for quite a while before handing it over, still wary that I might crawl into his sleeve. “Eat.”

“Thank you.” Once I had the pastry, I had no room to think about anything else. I unwrapped the paper and bit into it. It was a flaky red bean pastry. The filling was gentle and soft, melting on the tongue, light and faintly sweet. The craftsmanship was extremely high, completely different from what I usually ate.

The Crown Prince said, “Crouch beside me. Don’t let anyone see.”

I crouched down while gnawing on the pastry. He placed his hand on my head. “Slow down. From the look of it, they still have a while to talk. There’s no hurry.”

After I finished, he gave me the remaining one too.

“Aren’t you eating?” I looked up, both greedy and too embarrassed to take it. “You should eat this one.”

“I’m not hungry.” His hand stroked the top of my head every now and then. He narrowed his eyes in pleasure and smiled with modest warmth. “They’re both for you.”

“Crown Prince, you’re so nice.” I rubbed my hands together and accepted it. “But I haven’t washed my hair in three days.”

“Hm?” he asked, not understanding.

“I haven’t washed my hair in three days,” I repeated. “It’s all mud and dirt. If you touch it, will you fall ill again?”

He suddenly used force to ruffle my hair into a mess, his smile tinged with annoyance. “Do you really think I’m that delicate?”

I comforted him. “It’s fine. You’re the future Son of Heaven-Heaven’s pampered child. It’s only right for you to be a little pampered.”

“I’m not… But that’s not…” He still wanted to explain, but just then, Father and the emperor finished talking and walked toward us.

The Crown Prince stood and bowed properly. The emperor came over as well, stroking his beard with a cheerful smile as he looked at me. “Xiao Fu, did you have a good time playing with your Crown Prince Brother?”

The Confiscation Maniac was talking to me! How terrifying!

Father had said that not a single word His Majesty spoke was unnecessary. Every word had five layers of meaning, so mysterious upon mysterious that the slightest poor response could get your household confiscated.

What was he hinting at? What was he trying to lead me into saying? Was he waiting for me to misspeak so he could confiscate my home?

My brain creaked like an old, withered wooden gear. The harder it turned, the more stuck it became. I trembled with fear, and with nowhere to hide, I could only edge behind the Crown Prince.

“Heh heh heh, your relationship really is quite good…” The emperor laughed, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince shuddered, slid half a step to the side, and exposed me completely.

I followed him over and clutched his sleeve tightly.

He pried my hand off bit by bit. “In reply to Imperial Father, our relationship is ordinary. This son is at the age where he should be studying, and there is only schoolwork in my heart.”

The emperor, satisfied, left with the Crown Prince. Father wiped away a cold sweat. “Thank goodness you didn’t speak just now.”

Having survived a disaster, I wiped my sweat too. “Father, did you understand what he meant?”

“No. Aside from pointing me at a target and telling me to hit it, your father has never understood a word he says.” He was very frank. “But every time you’ve spoken lately, you’ve caused trouble, so keeping your mouth shut was definitely the best choice.”

Still shaken, I said, “I don’t want to become a consort after all. It’s too scary. If I play with the Crown Prince, our household will be confiscated sooner or later.”

“That’s exactly why you have to go! Do you think we won’t be confiscated if you don’t enter the palace? Our whole family is made up of fools, so we need someone lurking in the palace even more. We have to use foreknowledge to make up for our lack of intelligence.” He gripped my shoulders excitedly. “This is one of the few bits of wisdom your father possesses. It absolutely cannot be wrong.”

“But I’m not very smart either…”

“Fu’er, you have to work hard. Think about it. Your father, your brother, your sister-which one of us isn’t risking our lives fighting on the front lines? Are you really unable to endure even this little bit of hardship?” he criticized me solemnly. “I know your mission is very difficult. We are licking blood from the edge of a blade, and you are walking a tightrope, but can the sons and daughters of the An Family be defeated by hardship?”

He moved me with his words. Full of ambition, I clenched my fist. “All right. For the safety of our family, I will work hard to become a consort!”

“You met the Crown Prince while you’re still so young. You’ve seized the initiative completely, so you must take hold of it. You can seduce him first.” Father conspired with me in a low voice. “If there’s anything you don’t know how to do, ask your mother. Back then, she had your father utterly bewitched.”