Chapter 3: Junior Sister Part 1

Xun Changqing’s thinking was simple, but the Pingnan Prince’s Consort did not allow it. Leaving aside her age being too young, her status was also quite special.

However, the Pingnan Prince’s Consort protected Xun Changqing tightly. Perhaps she knew that children of the imperial family did not easily survive—after all, the eldest imperial prince had died young just a few months after birth—so she kept her in the mansion. Only after she grew older did she gradually allow her to venture out. Therefore, most people only knew that the Pingnan Prince had taken a son from the borderlands in his forties and fathered an heir. Whether it was a county princess or a young lord received little attention. Thus, when Xun Changqing reappeared in public, everyone simply assumed the Pingnan Prince had added a young lord to his family.

The emperor and those in the know all thought the child was just being playful, so they turned a blind eye and let her make a fuss.

After the new year passed, Xun Changqing was virtually six years old. After her February birthday, she would turn six for real.

She only remembered that in her previous life, the Lingyun Sect Leader had come to the Imperial Capital together with Wei Lingci, coinciding with the emperor’s birthday celebration. The Lingyun Mountain was a sect from the martial world with no prior ties to the court, but it had once assisted the southwestern army in their campaign against the Western Fan. The emperor valued their abilities and issued a decree granting favors to all Lingyun Sect members, allowing them preferential treatment from the court.

Wei Lingci had been frail since childhood, and the Ning’an County Princess and her consort had only this sliver of bloodline from her, so they doted on her immensely and sought someone to send her to Lingyun Mountain to practice martial arts.

With the status of a county princess, she naturally received special treatment. The sect leader personally took her as a disciple and taught her himself. Her swordsmanship was extraordinary, like a roaming dragon—even men could not compare. That was why her mother had sent Xun Changqing into her tutelage.

Wei Lingci’s maternal grandfather had been the Previous Emperor’s enlightenment teacher, hailing from the Border City before entering the capital and settling in the Imperial Capital. Grateful for his grace, the Previous Emperor bestowed the title of Ning’an County Princess upon Wei Xiao. The Wei family was not a deeply rooted noble house in the capital. Wei Xiao chose to stay wise and protect herself amid the surging waves of the Imperial Capital. No matter how deep the Previous Emperor’s grace, it was merely in remembrance of her ancestor’s merits. Powerhouses abounded in the Imperial Capital—it was no place for her to linger.

Wei Xiao had grown up by the Previous Emperor’s side since childhood, excelling in propriety, talent, and virtue without flaw. She was a few years older than the current emperor, and the Previous Emperor had intended to match them. After his death, Wei Xiao left the capital for Jiangnan. In the treacherous Imperial Capital, how could a woman without the emperor’s favor withstand the invisible blades and swords? Thus, Wei Lingci was born in Jiangnan’s Shangrao.

Since Xun Changqing had now changed into a boy’s body and was fully five years old, it was naturally time for her to attend the Imperial Academy.

The Pingnan Prince’s Consort thought it was just a child’s whim and that she would stop once she got tired of playing. But when Xun Changqing herself proposed going to the Imperial Academy, she realized the child was not joking. She felt both heartbroken and helpless but did not want to go against her wishes, so she went along with it.

The child of the Pingnan Prince’s Mansion should not grow up spoiled—this point had been emphasized to her by the Pingnan Prince long ago, but she had not paid it any mind.

The Imperial Capital was all peaceful.

After starting at the Imperial Academy, Xun Changqing went to school and returned home each day. On rest days, she stayed in the mansion, occasionally pestering the consort to teach her martial arts.

Although Great Qi emphasized civil over martial pursuits, having martial skills was never a bad thing.

Most importantly, she wanted to go to the Southwest Region. Though it was a land of war and chaos, the southwestern army was stationed there—that was the domain of the Pingnan Prince’s Mansion. If one day her father truly rebelled, she and her mother consort would not stay in the Imperial Capital.

What she most wanted to know was whether her father had risen in arms out of desperation or from harboring ambitions all along.

Perhaps the young emperor could not tolerate such a minister whose achievements overshadowed the master. Moreover, in terms of bloodline, the Pingnan Prince’s Mansion held the legitimate eldest lineage. The current emperor understood this, but the hot-blooded Xun Yiran did not. The empress’s maternal clan was Great Qi’s pillar, a century-old noble house with deep connections, so they naturally did not want the Pingnan Prince’s Mansion to grow too powerful.