"His Majesty forbade you from practicing martial arts in your early years. Now that your bones and sinews have set with age, what good would training do? I'm no fool. Don't fob me off with that nonsense!"
Zhou Cheng gently shook his head:
"Aunt, you should know that I never lie.
Though I've only recently begun practicing martial arts, I collected martial manuals from across the land years ago and studied them day and night, building a solid foundation in martial arts theory. Now I merely wish to find a suitable place to put my ideas into practice. Great Eastern Mountain suits me perfectly."
Li Yunrui's smile gradually faded. She gave him a dubious look, then her gaze deepened:
"You know I don't believe anyone can go without lying. Since you've come to ask a favor of me, I want the truth!"
"That is the truth."
[Negative emotions from Li Yunrui +23!]
"Then keep it to yourself."
After a few breaths, she leaned back languidly, her fingertips brushing her temple.
"But I can more or less guess... 'The great affairs of a nation lie in sacrifice and war.' Overseeing the temple repairs as a representative of the imperial family would indeed earn you some prestige at court, among the people, and within the imperial clan. However-"
Her tone shifted.
"With your reputation for 'Why Not Eat Meat Gruel,' Chengcheng, even my recommendation would hardly convince anyone. To succeed, you'd have to call in favors and smooth things over on every side. Right now, the Imperial Treasury's affairs are burdensome, and countless eyes are watching me. Your aunt already has her own head scorched and brow burned. Why should I spend my connections and favors on you?"
Li Yunrui raised a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes, as though she really had a headache.
Zhou Cheng set down his teacup and walked behind her. He placed his fingers on her temples and began massaging them with just the right pressure.
Feeling the warm, smooth touch of her skin beneath his fingertips, with that rich yet dangerous fragrance lingering around his nose,
he bent down, brought his lips close to her ear, and lowered his voice.
"Of course I wouldn't ask you to exert yourself for nothing, Aunt. I can offer a secret in exchange."
"A secret?"
Li Yunrui's eyelids stirred slightly. A disdainful smile had only just appeared on her face when she heard Zhou Cheng say:
"Father once said in private that whoever married Cousin Wan'er would take over the Imperial Treasury from you..."
[Negative emotions from Li Yunrui +66!]
Li Yunrui's eyes snapped open. An icy sharpness gathered between her brows, and every trace of languid allure vanished from her face.
"Chengcheng, you know your aunt hates hearing that more than anything!"
With a soft snort, she continued:
"Besides, that hardly counts as a secret. You promised a secret, then brought this up. Could it be that you know whom His Majesty favors?"
"How perceptive you are, Aunt!" Zhou Cheng praised her, his fingers gently stroking her cheek.
Just as she was about to turn her gaze toward him, he continued:
"Count Sinan, Fan Jian, is as close to Father as a brother. He has an illegitimate son in Danzhou named Fan Xian."
Li Yunrui frowned. After a moment's thought, she said impatiently, "What do you mean? Would His Majesty really marry Wan'er off to some country-bred bastard? Absurd!"
"Fan Xian is no ordinary illegitimate son."
"A bastard is a bastard. What makes him any different?"
Zhou Cheng chuckled. "Isn't Cousin Wan'er an illegitimate daughter too? Yet Father still adopted her and made her a commandery princess, didn't he?"
[Negative emotions from Li Yunrui +110!]
"You!" Li Yunrui sat upright and slapped his hand away. Turning her head, she glared at him with anger blazing in her eyes. "Did you come here expressly to infuriate me?"
"Don't be angry, Aunt. Let me finish."
Zhou Cheng took her hand and leaned close to her ear again, speaking softly:
"What sets Fan Xian apart is his mother. I've heard that his birth mother's name was Ye Qingmei."
The moment the name "Ye Qingmei" left his lips, Li Yunrui's expression changed, and she abruptly moved to stand.
As soon as she moved, Zhou Cheng slipped an arm around her waist and drew her into his embrace.
But Li Yunrui paid no attention to his overstepping. She merely spoke that name through gritted teeth.
"Ye. Qing. Mei!"
Zhou Cheng held her securely from behind, feeling the woman trembling in his arms.
"Now, Aunt, do you still think this Fan Xian is 'ordinary'?"
Li Yunrui drew several deep breaths. Only after a long while did she barely manage to compose herself.
Her voice still carried a chill:
"Chengcheng... I truly underestimated you. To think you could uncover a secret like this! If that Fan Xian really is that woman's son, His Majesty might very well betroth Wan'er to him!"
"I'm glad you believe me, Aunt. Then you know what to do?"
"Have him killed, of course!"
"Er... I meant the temple repairs."
For a moment, the atmosphere turned awkward. Li Yunrui freed herself from his arms and turned around, looking him up and down as though meeting him for the first time.
"Chengcheng, I understand you less and less.
When His Majesty chose tutors for you back then, he was clearly handing you an entire base of upright scholar-officials. Yet you let your reputation fall into ruin, squandering his gracious intentions.
Now the Crown Prince and Chengze are growing their wings, while you? You have neither influence nor prestige. Yet, unexpectedly, the moment you came of age, you were made Prince Cheng.
Now you've established your own household and staff. His Majesty has given you a chance to cultivate supporters, but instead you want to run off to repair a temple, and you've even come to me for help... What exactly are you trying to do?"
Looking into Li Yunrui's eyes, Zhou Cheng could only repeat helplessly:
"I really just want to practice martial arts."
Prince Cheng had been the Former Emperor's title before he ascended the throne.
To outsiders, Zhou Cheng's appointment as Prince Cheng undoubtedly meant that he held a special place in the emperor's heart. It was a powerful signal from Emperor Qing!
But Zhou Cheng understood that it was merely a little trick Emperor Qing used to steer his three sons into conflict and balance their power.
Apart from his obsession with expanding his territory, Emperor Qing's only other pastime was using his sons as chess pieces.
Zhou Cheng simply had no desire to stay in the Capital and play a chess piece for Emperor Qing's amusement.
Li Yunrui saw the candor in his eyes, yet still could not believe him.
She did not believe anyone could go without lying.
After studying him for a while, she waved her hand.
"Forget it. If you don't want to say, then don't. This news about Fan Xian is crucial to me. This time, your aunt truly owes you thanks."
Zhou Cheng wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Then how do you intend to thank me, Aunt?"
Li Yunrui's red lips curved alluringly, and her gaze suddenly became soul-stealing. She even wound her arms around his neck of her own accord, her breath fragrant as orchids:
"However you want your aunt to thank you, that's how I'll thank you."
Li Yunrui had always been mad!
Zhou Cheng slowly withdrew his hand from inside the lapels of her sumptuous palace robes.
Li Yunrui's breathing was slightly uneven. Once it steadied, she cast him a sidelong look and said mockingly:
"You little imp. You've grown much bolder this time."
Zhou Cheng smiled unconcernedly, taking her hand and gently kneading it.
"I'd certainly like to explore your depths further, Aunt. Unfortunately, I'm still young and weak, not fully developed. I'm afraid you'd seize on my shortcomings, and a poor performance would cost me face. But soon-one year at most..."
Li Yunrui gave a dry chuckle and pushed him away, then began straightening her slightly disheveled hair and lapels.
"Get out!"
[Negative emotions from Li Yunrui +33!]
After leaving Guangxin Palace, Zhou Cheng settled into his princely household's sedan chair.
The curtains dropped, shutting out the light and prying eyes.
"System."
At a thought, a translucent panel silently appeared before him. The sedan swayed slightly, but the panel remained fixed in midair, every detail clearly visible.
[Attributes] Strength: 12 Constitution: 12 Spirit: 15 Speed: 11 Coordination: 11 [Skills] Martial arts (Hundred-Forged True Qi, exclusive to Joy of Life, designated): Lv9 (3141592/5000000)
"The experience is accumulating faster and faster!"
Zhou Cheng gazed at the martial arts experience bar on the panel, filled with emotion.
A martial arts level of Lv9 corresponded to the realm of a Ninth-Rank Expert.
The maximum level was the limit of martial arts in this world: Grandmaster.
At that imperial banquet years ago, Emperor Qing's fury had not only activated the system's basic ability to absorb negative emotions, but also unlocked the attribute panel and experience conversion function.
The attribute panel needed no explanation. Experience conversion, meanwhile, allowed him to designate a skill and convert negative emotion points into experience for that skill at a one-to-one ratio.
"With level-nine martial arts, I should now be equivalent to a Ninth-Rank Expert rebuilding his cultivation after losing it..."
Experience conversion only granted him the cultivation experience of the corresponding realm; it could not directly increase the strength of his true qi.
Before you continue