From Cold Palace Princess to Celestial Empress Ch. 14
Extra Chapters (4/9, thanks for the Ko-fi!)
“Aside from that, there is one more matter.”
Wang Jin’s expression turned serious as he spoke.
“Please go ahead, Eunuch Wang.”
“Near the cities of Beiyang, Donglin, and Xilu, there have been sightings of evil cultivators who have been harming innocent civilians. The city lords are tied down with their duties and unable to act. They have requested the court to send Qi Refinement Realm martial artists to eliminate these evil cultivators.”
As he spoke, Wang Jin glanced at Xiao Minghuang.
“If this humble servant is not mistaken, Your Highness has already reached the third level of the Qi Refinement Realm. Your progress is truly remarkable!”
“You flatter me, Eunuch Wang.” Xiao Minghuang smiled faintly, her expression gradually turning serious. “Could you elaborate on the matter of these evil cultivators?”
Wang Jin’s intention in bringing up this matter in person was clear: he wanted her to go to a city and assist in eradicating the evil cultivators who were harming the local populace, bringing peace back to the people.
“The situation is like this…”
Wang Jin briefly summarized the events.
Ever since the news of the Emperor’s seclusion spread a month ago, the evil cultivators who had been lurking in the shadows began to emerge, frequently plundering ordinary people to cultivate their dark arts.
The city lords needed to remain in their main cities to guard against unforeseen events, leaving them with no time to spare.
For other areas, the court had dispatched high-level cultivators to assist in the extermination. The evil cultivators active in Beiyang, Donglin, and Xilu cities were relatively weaker, so the royal advisors had decided to use this as a training opportunity.
Several princes from the court would be sent out to deal with the disturbances caused by the evil cultivators.
Xiao Minghuang, having grown up in the deep palace, knew nothing about the affairs of the outer court. To handle these matters, she needed to gather information beforehand.
“From Eunuch Wang’s perspective, which city should I go to assist in the extermination?”
Xiao Minghuang asked.
Before the Emperor went into seclusion, he had entrusted Wang Jin with the responsibility of protecting her safety, which indicated that Wang Jin was a trustworthy person. Therefore, Xiao Minghuang asked directly.
“Among the three cities, the evil cultivators in Donglin City are the strongest, reportedly nearing the Spring Realm. The royal advisors have already assigned the Second Prince to go there.”
“As for the remaining Beiyang and Xilu cities, the situations are quite similar. It doesn’t matter much which one you choose.”
At this point, Wang Jin paused:
“But if you go to Beiyang City, it would be more suitable for the Ninth Princess.”
Xiao Minghuang asked:
“What do you mean by that?”
Wang Jin smiled:
“The Ninth Princess must have forgotten. The old Lord of Beiyang City was very close to His Majesty. They once made a prenatal agreement that, regardless of whether they had a son or daughter, they would arrange a marriage. Calculating the years, the old Lord’s grandchildren should now be around the same age as Your Highness.”
After Wang Jin’s reminder, Xiao Minghuang finally recalled that there indeed seemed to be such an arrangement.
“The old Lord of Beiyang City passed away many years ago. The current Lord of Beiyang City has had no contact with my father, and I have never met the son of Beiyang City. It’s better not to bring up this marriage arrangement.”
Xiao Minghuang had no intention of getting married; she had Xiao Ruoshui, and that was enough.
“But going to Beiyang City might be a good idea. I can take this opportunity to annul the marriage arrangement to avoid unnecessary trouble in the future.”
Seeing that the Ninth Princess had made up her mind, Wang Jin didn’t press further and simply smiled, “In that case, this humble servant will inform the royal advisors that the Ninth Princess will be going to Beiyang City to assist in the extermination.”
“Thank you for your trouble, Eunuch Wang.”
Xiao Minghuang clasped her hands in gratitude.
“It’s a small matter.”
With that, Wang Jin’s figure flashed like a streak of light, leaping into the sky and disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Seeing this, Xiao Minghuang couldn’t help but marvel:
“Divine Sea Realm cultivators, soaring through the skies and diving into the earth, truly something to aspire to.”
But.
The streak of light that had been advancing through the sky suddenly halted, turned around, and descended back to the ground.
Wang Jin reappeared, looking apologetic as he took out a small pouch and handed it to Xiao Minghuang.
“As one gets older, memory tends to fail. This is a storage pouch bestowed by His Majesty to the Ninth Princess, containing some cultivation resources. Please accept it, Your Highness.”
“A storage pouch?”
Xiao Minghuang took the pouch and expressed her thanks.
After handing over the pouch, Wang Jin added:
“For this trip to Beiyang City, this humble servant will secretly follow along the way to protect Your Highness from any potential harm!”
Xiao Minghuang clasped her hands and said:
“Thank you so much, Eunuch Wang!”
“Your Highness is too kind.”
With those words, Wang Jin’s figure flickered and disappeared.
Xiao Minghuang knew that as an elder, Wang Jin would not spy on her private matters nor appear under normal circumstances. The trials and tribulations ahead would have to be faced by her alone.
Next, Xiao Minghuang turned her attention to the storage pouch. Following the usage method recorded in the book, she extended her spiritual sense into the pouch.
The scene before her eyes caused a flash of surprise to cross Xiao Minghuang’s pupils.
“So many spirit stones and elixirs! The Emperor has truly spared no expense!”
Inside the storage pouch, a small mountain of spirit stones was piled up, crystal clear and exuding an extremely rich spiritual energy. Just a whiff of it made one feel as if their bottleneck was loosening.
In addition, there were numerous bottles of various elixirs placed on the other side, each labeled with a tag.
“Qi Mending Pill, Qi Boosting Pill, Strength Enhancing Pill, Blood Nourishing Pill…”
When Xiao Minghuang’s spiritual sense swept over the last bottle of elixirs, her pupils once again revealed a trace of astonishment.
“There’s actually a whole bottle of Ascension Pills!”
Xiao Minghuang couldn’t help but twitch the corner of her mouth, her stunning face filled with bewilderment.
“The Emperor has truly gone all out, directly giving me ten precious Ascension Pills!”
A little over a month ago, she had only won one Ascension Pill in a bet with the Seventh Prince. But this time, the Emperor had given her ten in one go!
Before this, the relationship between the Emperor and her could hardly be considered close.
Although they were father and daughter, in the fourteen years since her birth, the number of times she had seen the Emperor could be counted on one hand. If anyone claimed there was a deep father-daughter bond between them, no one would believe it.
“Then, there’s only one possibility!”
Xiao Minghuang’s eyes flickered as she pondered for a moment before reaching a conclusion.
“The Emperor is making an investment. He believes I have the highest chance of winning, so he chose me.”
But upon deeper reflection, perhaps it wasn’t that simple.
The Emperor might not have had a choice at all.
The Second Prince was already at the peak of the Qi Refining Realm, just half a step away from breaking through to the Spring Realm. Moreover, he had the support of Prince Wu’an, and all the court officials were at his beck and call. The most the Emperor could offer him was the throne.
And even if the Emperor did give the throne to the Second Prince.
The Second Prince might not necessarily be grateful.
Even if the Emperor didn’t give it, the throne would eventually fall to the Second Prince anyway.
But the same approach, when applied to Xiao Minghuang, was extremely effective.
She had no backing from any faction. Any favor the Emperor bestowed upon her would be magnified infinitely, making her deeply grateful to him.
What truly puzzled Xiao Minghuang was why the Emperor hadn’t chosen the Sixth Prince but had instead chosen her.
After much deliberation, Xiao Minghuang couldn’t figure it out and decided to put it out of her mind.
“The most pressing matter at hand is the situation in Beiyang City.”
According to Wang Jin, Beiyang City was located in the north, bordering the Golden Elephant Kingdom. The two countries often had conflicts, and wars were frequent.
The chaotic situation provided fertile ground for the survival of evil cultivators.
If the world were peaceful and stable, where would these evil cultivators find space to survive?
However, this trip outside was also an opportunity for Xiao Minghuang.
There were no more opportunities left in the capital of the Great Xia Kingdom. It was a good time to venture out and perhaps encounter some.
As for the spirit stones and elixirs bestowed by the Emperor, Xiao Minghuang planned to give them all to Ye Ruoshui.
PS: Today, I had a great exchange with a big shot. Here’s the synopsis:
I transmigrated into the game “Dawnlight” as the villainous witch Anna.
The system informed me that I could only return home after completing all of Anna’s storylines.
However, just before the final storyline, “The Death of the Witch,” the system suddenly abandoned me.
And so, I was killed by the hero.
When I woke up in the darkness, it was the hero who was holding me in an emotional embrace.
“Welcome home.”
And so, the hero began her journey in pursuit of the witch.
《Trapped in the Dungeon, the Protagonist is Imprisoned》
Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Ruu
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