Someone Beat Them to It

"Ahh~ That was such a refreshing nap!"

Jiang Nuan stretched on the couch, feeling as though she had come back to life.

Hearing the movement, the palace maid across from her came in and said to Jiang Nuan,

"Ninth Princess, Consort Shu and Consort De have been waiting outside for quite some time."

"Huh? Why are they here?"

Jiang Nuan was puzzled.

Just then, Guagua spoke up.

[Hehehe, host, I know this one! They're here to fight for custody of you. Word has already spread about how much your scumbag father valued you yesterday. It's not just them—lots of consorts in the palace want to fight for custody of you now.]

[Oh, so that's why. I was wondering why they'd come knocking at the temple gates without a prayer to offer.]

"All right. Let me get ready first, then I'll go over."

Jiang Nuan soon got up and began getting ready.

But before she could go over, someone beat them to it.

Eunuch Wang, who served at the emperor's side, came straight to the Hibiscus Pavilion.

"Ninth Princess, His Majesty requests your presence at the Hall of Diligent Governance."

Wang Dehai was one of the emperor's favorites. Seeing that he had come to fetch her personally, the consorts attached even greater importance to Jiang Nuan.

Naturally, Jiang Nuan went to the Hall of Diligent Governance first. When she arrived, she discovered three other people there besides her scumbag father.

They were Qiu Rongri, the Minister of Revenue; Yan Hongxiong, the Minister of War; and Mao Qiantao, the Grand General.

They were discussing how to handle the Hu People in the north, who had been struck by heavy snow and might head south to plunder.

Jiang Yunsheng was also troubled by the matter.

When he heard the eunuch announce Jiang Nuan's arrival, he simply had her come in and sit to one side.

The three men frowned as soon as they saw Jiang Nuan enter, then looked at Jiang Yunsheng in confusion.

"This is my Ninth Princess, Jiang Nuan. My ministers, there is no need to concern yourselves with her. Continue your discussion."

[Huh? Aren't they discussing something really important? Why did they call me here?]

This was precisely what the ministers were wondering. They were discussing such an important matter. Bringing in the Crown Prince would have been understandable, but a princess—and a ten-year-old little brat at that? What was His Majesty thinking?

Wait, something was wrong. Where had that voice come from?

The three exchanged glances, then fixed their eyes on Jiang Nuan, whose mouth had never opened.

Jiang Yunsheng took one look. Well, there were another three who could hear her. What determined who could hear these thoughts?

Eunuch Wang was put to work once again, quietly explaining the situation to the three men.

The three of them found it utterly absurd, but they had indeed heard Jiang Nuan's voice just now, and she truly had not opened her mouth.

They could only accept this absurd reality.

[Guagua doesn't know either. But host, want some juicy gossip?]

The sudden appearance of another voice dealt another blow to their understanding of the world.

Jiang Nuan nodded. She had nothing to do here, and she did not understand what they were talking about. What else could she do but enjoy some gossip?

[They're discussing the possibility of the Hu People coming south to plunder. Mao Qiantao believes the Hu People are brutal by nature and troops should be sent to suppress them. Qiu Rongri thinks the blizzards in the north will restrict the Hu People's movements and may well trap them. With the treasury empty as well, he believes sending troops would be inadvisable. Yan Hongxiong agrees.]

The three ministers were horrified. When they had discussed this earlier, only the three of them and the emperor had been present. How could this voice know what they had said?

Guagua, however, paid them no mind and continued sharing the gossip with Jiang Nuan.

[They don't reach any conclusion today. Then, five days later, the Hu People really do come south and plunder dozens of villages. They spare no one—not the elderly, the weak, the women, or the children. A total of one hundred and ten thousand people are slaughtered!]

At these words, the men could no longer remain seated. They sprang to their feet, fierce flames burning in their eyes.

Those were all subjects of Great Xia! How dared the Hu People do such a thing!

Jiang Nuan was furious too. She asked,

[What happened afterward?]

[*After word reaches the court, the court is enraged. Countless military officers volunteer to go and wipe out the Hu People. In the end, Mao Qiantao's son, Mao Zhonglin, leads a hundred thousand troops against them.

Sadly, although they win the battle, it is a bitter victory. The imperial army loses half its men, and even General Mao Qiantao's only son, Mao Zhonglin, dies there.*]

Hearing that his son had died, Mao Qiantao's perpetually straight back bent a little.

[I've heard about this. Afterward, General Mao has to bury his son while his own hair is already white. Unable to bear the grief, he lets it knot inside his heart, and dies within two years. Guagua, I want to change this!]

If she had not known, that would have been one thing. But now that she did, her conscience would not let her sit by and do nothing.

But what could she do?

If she said it outright, probably no one would believe her.

[Guagua, can you find out when those Hu People will attack, which villages they'll plunder, and how many of them there are?]

[Of course! Host, do you want to tell your scumbag father about this? He probably won't believe you.]

[That's fine. I'll write the information down in a bit and slip it into a book my scumbag father reads every day. Let's try that first.]

Jiang Yunsheng thought, Daughter, there's no need to go to all that trouble. Just tell me. I believe you!

Unfortunately, he could not reveal that he could hear her thoughts. He could only watch Jiang Nuan rack her brains for a way to make him believe her and take the matter seriously.

The three ministers also watched Jiang Nuan eagerly, hoping she would reveal more information.

[All right, host. I've put all the information you wanted on paper. It's inside your sleeve now. You can find a chance to leave it there.]

[Good Guagua! Love you, mwah!]

Jiang Nuan was about to find an excuse to slip the note into the book, but when she looked up, she discovered that everyone was staring at her.

They hurriedly looked away and resumed their discussion, though their eyes still flicked toward Jiang Nuan's sleeve from time to time.

[Hey, Guagua, if you can slip the note into my sleeve, doesn't that mean you can slip it into the book too?]

Jiang Nuan suddenly realized what they had overlooked.

[Oh, right! How could I be so dumb? You're the clever one, host.]

If Guagua had possessed a physical form, it would surely have been knocking its own head with a look of chagrin.

[Hehe, host, all done!]

As soon as Guagua finished, it went straight to Jiang Nuan to claim credit.

[Guagua, you're amazing! Thank goodness I have you.]

Jiang Nuan did not stint on her praise.

Guagua was thoroughly satisfied. After that, Jiang Nuan simply sat to one side, and no more thoughts rang out.

Jiang Yunsheng had already obtained the answer he wanted, so he did not keep Jiang Nuan any longer and sent her back.

As soon as Jiang Nuan left, Jiang Yunsheng opened the book he had been reading recently. Sure enough, there was a note inside, clearly detailing the Hu People's plans.

The ministers were now utterly convinced of Jiang Nuan's abilities.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Our heartfelt congratulations! The Ninth Princess is an auspicious blessing bestowed upon Great Xia by Heaven!"

Hearing their praise, Jiang Yunsheng's mood improved considerably.

"Of course she is. Just look at whose daughter she is! Now that we have the Hu People's plans, the three of you must devise countermeasures as quickly as possible. This time, I'll make sure those Hu People come here and never return!"

Jiang Yunsheng issued his orders, and they immediately began preparations. One secret command after another was dispatched north.

Meanwhile, on the way back to the Hibiscus Pavilion, Jiang Nuan could not for the life of her work out why her scumbag father had summoned her.

After puzzling over it for a while without finding an answer, she simply gave up.

When she arrived, she was surprised to discover that Consort Shu and Consort De were still there. Even Consort Xian and Consort Liang had come, along with several lower-ranking consorts.