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nTranslator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

nBack at Shouning Palace…

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nThe Fourth Prince took a white piece and placed it down gently, smirking sheepishly as he said, “You’re so done for.”

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n“That’s it. You’re right. I’m done.”

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nRuirui, who was sitting across him, pushed the chessboard away.

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nShe lost every single game.

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n“Sis, you’re the eldest princess and, therefore, no going back on your word.”

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nHmph~ “Father is testing his seven sons now at Taihe Hall. Why are you here playing chess with me instead of over there being tested with them?”

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nRuirui brought this up immediately.

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nTheir father was currently furious and troubled because all of the princes were performing way below expectations.

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nYet, the only one who was amounting to something was instead being shunned.

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n“Sis, be reasonable, will you? You were the one who came to Shouning Palace asking for games of chess. Besides, what do father’s tests with the other brothers have to do with me? I have never been seen as one of them to begin with.”

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n“How could that not have anything to do with you? That bunch could gang up on you, and you could beat them all soundly. If you’re not going there, I’m going to talk to father then,” Ruirui said.

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nShe started to get up.

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n“Go and talk to father about me, and I’ll go and talk to Noble Lady Zhen about you.”

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n“What about me?”

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n“How old are you now? Shouldn’t you be getting married?” The Fourth Prince said this in a rather grown-up tone.

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n“None of your business.”

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nRuirui threw a light punch at Liu An and added, “Liu An, seriously though. None of those hacks are anywhere near you. Great Xia would be a h*ll of a lot more stable if you were to become the crown prince. Your sis here would feel a lot more secure even if I were to get married.”

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n“Sis, are you thinking that none of the garbage from the big families in the capital city can be a match for you, because you’re so good at just about everything? That’s fine. Talented people come from all over the world. You’re the eldest princess, and you should get to choose who you’ll marry.”

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n“Liu An, stop changing the subject.”

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n“You’re old now, sis. Delay much longer and you’ll miss the best age for marrying.”

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nThe Fourth Prince continued jabbing at her.

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n“You’ve gotten tired of living.”

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nRuirui threw a palm attack at Liu An.

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nLiu An leapt backward and easily dodged the attack from her fluffy hand.

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nThe siblings chased each other around in the palace.

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nThe air was cheerful in the Shouning Palace.

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nConcubine Jing sat on a chair and watched the siblings laugh as they played tag with each other, as she ate from a bowl of fruit.

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n“Beating on your little brother is something you can only do when the little brother is still young!”

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nLi Mu added his opinion. His words seemed to have a deeper meaning.

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n“I’ll kill you!”

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nRuirui chased down her brother even harder after hearing what Li Mu had said.

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n“Stop it, Eunuch Li! Sis is misunderstanding what you’re getting at.”

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n“Misunderstanding me?”

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nLi Mu was dumbfounded.

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nHe then looked at how ferocious she looked.

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nIt seemed as if she had really misunderstood him.

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nWhat he’d meant was that if she were to not beat up her little brother when he was young, she wouldn’t get to do so when her little brother grew older.

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nYet, the way it had sounded to the sister was that if she were to not beat up her little brother when he was young, she wouldn’t get to do so because she had to get married.

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nTalking about marriage was one surefire way of pissing her off.

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nLiu An was the pitiful one taking all the heat instead.

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nWhack~ Whack~

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nRuirui took An Mu’s broom and continued chasing after Liu An.

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n“My, my, what a show indeed.”

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nA lowly servant like An Mu wouldn’t have been able to speak in other palaces.

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nOnly in a palace like Shouning Palace, which was so harmonious…

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nThe siblings were only able to completely ditch the rules expected of them in this palace.

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nRuirui would have acted more obedient in the other palaces.

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nLiu An, the Fourth Prince, would have been reduced to an invisible being, who wouldn’t even dare to cough, let alone jump about like he was doing at the moment.

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nThey played for a little while longer.

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nRuirui was unable to catch up to Liu An and headed back to her palace, fuming.

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nShouning Palace was all quiet again.

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nBack in the hall…

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nLiu An was reading books.

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n“Grandma, are these books really things that the ninth uncle brought from outside?” Liu An asked with a doubtful tone.

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nThis uncle was practically confined at the lord’s residence and had literally no power.

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nHe was wondering how someone like that, who didn’t even have manuals to train with, had been able to send some to the palace.

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nHe was especially wondering about Sun Tzu’s “Art of War”, as there was no way Liu An’s father would have let his uncle even touch it.

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n“Indeed, your uncle was afraid that I’d be bored here, and since he was unable to come and see me, he had someone else bring the books and toys over instead.”

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n“Grandma, were these things brought over by Eunuch Li?”

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n“Of course. He was the only one who was in contact with your ninth uncle.”

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n“I see…”

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nLiu An lowered his head and pondered.

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nHe realized that only Eunuch Li had touched the books before any of them did.

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nHe thought that he seemed to have stumbled upon a huge secret.

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n“Grandma, did Eunuch Li usually read these books?”

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n“He hasn’t read any of them.”

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n“He knows how to read, right? Why wasn’t he been reading them then? These books are good.”

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n“When would he have time to read? He’s busy all day long, and when he finally finds some time, he has to act as a liaison between me and your ninth uncle.”

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nLiu An nodded.

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nHe then turned around and asked, “An Mu, you like strategies, don’t you? Here, you can have this.”

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nLiu An acted like he owned the place when he was in Shouning Palace.

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n“Thank you, Your Highness!”

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nAn Mu took the book with joy.

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nHe then found that the prince had actually given him two books.

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nOne of them was “The 36 Stratagems”.

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nAn Mu bowed even lower than usual.

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nThe prince had taught him how to read as well as how to excel in martial arts. Now he’d even given him the book he’d wanted to read the most.

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nAn Mu had nothing but gratitude for the Fourth Prince.

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n“I need your help with something?”

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n“What would that be?”

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n“Tell me about Eunuch Li.”

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n…

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nIn an alley in the palace, Li Mu straightened his emerald robes, as he hauled a bag of flour toward Shouning Palace.

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nThe eunuchs wearing green and blue robes all lowered their heads and walked quickly as they passed him.

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n“Why does an emerald-robed eunuch like him do all that work himself? And, furthermore, it doesn’t look easy at all,” a blue-robed eunuch asked cautiously.

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n“That is a eunuch from Shouning Palace, which was once a “cold” palace. At that time, he was the only eunuch working there. The previous emperor passed away and the mistress of the palace was promoted. But the “cold” palace is still a “cold” palace, so he’s still doing all the hard work.”

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n“Man, life in a “cold” palace must indeed be hard.”

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n“Now you know, eh? If it wasn’t for the fact that he’s wearing emerald robes now, he probably wouldn’t even be able to walk outside the palace.”

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nLi Mu went about his business without caring about what the others thought about him.

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nEverything he bought from outside was food.

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nA stove had been built in Shouning Palace.

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nConcubine Jing liked cooking something up when she was in the mood.

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nShe then asked Li Mu to take the food outside.

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nIn the past, when Liu Yu had still been in the lord’s residence, Li Mu would make sure Lord Yu got those cakes.

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nHowever, Liu Yu hadn’t been in the capital city for the past ten years.

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nLi Mu had been giving the cakes to poor children in the slums for the past decade.

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nHe’d also taught them some martial arts.

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nMany children had managed to become warriors without resources, which enabled them to get jobs.

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nLi Mu poured the contents from the bag into a container when he returned to Shouning Palace.

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n“Good day, Eunuch Li!”

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nLiu An appeared just as Li Mu took his broom out in the compound.

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nLiu An then bowed to him.

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n“Huh?”

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nLi Mu was dumbfounded.

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nWhy is the kid acting so proper today?

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nWhatever.

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nKids are rambunctious, and you never know what they’ll want from you.

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nBest to just pretend that I saw nothing.

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n“Eunuch Li, I heard that my father is selecting a husband for my sister. Guess where that husband will be from?”

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n“Clan Zhao. Where else?” Li Mu answered after thinking for a bit.

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nHe was puzzled why the kid had asked such a question.

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n“You really are something, Eunuch Li. You’ve guessed right indeed. However, my sister is unwilling to marry the seventh son of Clan Zhao.”

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n“She’s thinking that the seventh son is a good-for-nothing?”

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n“Do you have any other thoughts about that seventh son of Clan Zhao then?” Liu An asked.

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nHe was able to tell that something was different from the way Li Mu answered.

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n“The seventh son from Clan Zhao is really a piece of work.”

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nLi Mu was not about to continue from there.

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nHis cover would be blown if he were to say more.

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nLiu An then asked how did he know so much, and Li Mu simply answered that he’d heard stories.

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nIf he were to continue, he would run out of excuses.

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nThere was also the thing about knowing said seventh son.

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nHe had been traveling all over the capital city and had checked in at Clan Zhao’s estate many times.

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nHe’d discovered that the seventh son was anything but simple by chance.

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nPutting it simply, the man looked like a playboy on the outside, yet he was hiding something really powerful.

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nThe man was rather like Liu An in certain ways.

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nHowever, the Fourth Prince was only keeping a low profile, while the other man was pretending to be something else.

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nLi Mu didn’t know what to make of such cunning at such a young age.

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nClan Zhao might just be a huge challenge for the new emperor in the future.

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