——Jingbei Marquis Estate, Study."Your son pays respects to Father and humbly awaits your instructions."Fu Chuanyi stared at the graceful youth before him, nearly unable to resist rubbing his eyes: "Xuechen?""Yes, but Father, I am now Yuchen!" Fu Xuechen flashed a playful smile.Well! Truly worthy of being dragon-phoenix twins. With deliberate imitation, they could confuse others, almost deceiving even the eyes of their own parents."Excellent! Excellent!" Fu Chuanyi praised endlessly: "This puts my mind much more at ease! As long as you handle things appropriately, no one will suspect a thing. If there are any personal matters you need to know, I have already instructed Fu An. He will stay close by your side, ready to remind you at any time!"Next, Fu Chuanyi began advising Fu Xuechen on points to pay attention to.Fortunately, tomorrow there was no need to go to the Imperial Academy for now. As long as he successfully became selected as the imperial prince's study companion, he would henceforth accompany the prince in the Upper Study and no longer need to return to the Imperial Academy to face the noble youths familiar with Fu Yuchen. Fu Chuanyi only briefly mentioned the situation at the Imperial Academy before shifting to explain the circumstances of the imperial palace.The current emperor's reign title is Yuan'an. Over fifty years old, he has seven imperial princes and two imperial princesses. The Eldest Princess was born earliest and is older, already married. Following her are the Eldest Prince and Second Prince. This daughter and two sons were all born to Emperor Yuan'an's first wife before he raised his army. This first wife died early, unable to wait for Emperor Yuan'an's successful return to welcome her, her soul returned to her hometown. She was posthumously honored as the First Empress after death.Eldest Prince Yunhui, aged twenty-one, grew up in the countryside in his early years. His upbringing environment was not much better than that of an ordinary wealthy landlord. He lacks much learning and is rather dull, truly unworthy of his princely title. Therefore, he was also ordered to study in the Upper Study, catching up on lessons alongside his younger brothers.Second Prince Yunran, aged nineteen, is indeed born quite brave and martial. By age thirteen, he followed Emperor Yuan'an in campaigns north and south. After several years of warfare, he gained considerable appreciation from a group of military generals.Third Prince Yunzhi, aged eighteen, is born of Emperor Yuan'an's concubine. This concubine also came from humble origins, originally a chamber maid accompanying the First Empress's dowry. After the empire's founding, the mother gained status through her son, and the concubine was elevated to consort, titled Consort Xian, one of the Four Consorts. But that is all—high in position yet lacking favor.However, in Emperor Yuan'an's early years before his rise, Third Prince Yunzhi showed considerable talent for scholarship, early on passing the imperial examinations of the previous dynasty as a xiucai. He single-mindedly aimed to enter officialdom through the imperial exams. Unexpectedly, Emperor Yuan'an later succeeded in his uprising, and Yunzhi suddenly transformed from a xiucai into an imperial prince.Fourth Prince Yunzhen, aged fifteen, is born of Emperor Yuan'an's later remarried wife, Lady Zhang. Lady Zhang's biological father was the retired Minister of War of the previous dynasty, providing Emperor Yuan'an with much assistance in his uprising. Thus, after Emperor Yuan'an's success, Lady Zhang became Empress, and Yunzhen accordingly became the legitimate imperial prince.This essentially means the entire Great Rong Empire has three legitimate imperial princes. Excluding the dull and untalented Eldest Prince, both the Second Prince born of the former Empress and the Fourth Prince born of the current Empress are strong contenders for the heir apparent position. The Second Prince has age advantage and some military foundation, while the Fourth Prince is not lacking either. Not to mention the current Empress Zhang controlling the inner palace, the Zhang family contributed greatly during Emperor Yuan'an's uprising, with many military generals having been disciples or subordinates of the Zhang family's elder statesman.Fifth Prince Yunqi, aged fourteen, his birth mother is Consort De.Sixth Prince Yunzuo, aged thirteen, seven months younger than the Fifth Prince, his birth mother is Noble Consort Xie, once one of the renowned noble ladies in the capital, famed for her beauty and grace. Her father is Xie Yu, a strategist by Emperor Yuan'an's side, currently the Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion and a Military Councilor.Seventh Prince Yunyou, aged eleven, his birth mother is Consort Jing.Second Princess Zhiling, aged nine, her birth mother is Consort Yi.After hearing this introduction, Fu Xuechen had only one thought: This emperor is quite fickle, with a tendency to love each new one he sees. Apart from the deceased empress, each of the other consorts has only one child, as if once they became pregnant, the emperor abandoned them and turned his favor to other new consorts.After briefly summarizing this information, Fu Chuanyi finally began to address the important points: "Among them, aside from the Eldest Prince, who has been ordered to resume his studies, the Second and Third Princes have already come of age and established their own households, so they will no longer attend the Imperial Study. Therefore, the selection this time is mainly for companions to the Eldest Prince, Fourth Prince, Fifth Prince, Sixth Prince, Seventh Prince, and Second Princess, totaling six companions."Fu Chuanyi then shared what he knew and had learned about the other candidates for companions. In summary, the companions are mostly from noble families, with a few being the sons of civil officials. Their ages generally range from eleven to seventeen. Aside from the companion for Second Princess being a girl, and the companions for the Eldest Prince and Fourth Prince being older, the only princes Fu Xuechen's age could accompany are the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Princes.Among these, because Noble Consort Xie, the birth mother of the Sixth Prince, is a cousin of Fu Xuechen's mother, Lady Xie, the Fu family naturally belongs to the Sixth Prince's faction. Fu Chuanyi is also highly regarded by Military Councilor Xie Yu. Thus, barring any unforeseen circumstances, there is over a ninety percent chance the Sixth Prince will choose Fu Yuchen as his companion."Even the princesses need companions?" Fu Xuechen couldn't help but question, surprised that the Great Rong Empire was so progressive that princesses could study alongside princes in the Imperial Study. Why hadn't anyone mentioned letting her participate in the selection for a princess's companion before?Fu Chuanyi knew what his daughter was thinking: "The princess is quite young, and our family can only provide one companion. It wouldn't be possible for both you and Yuchen to enter the Imperial Study. Therefore, considering closeness and future prospects, the best choice can only be for your brother to become the Sixth Prince's companion."Alright then! It seems the Fu family is indeed quite close to Noble Consort Xie and the Sixth Prince's faction, and the Sixth Prince likely has no claim to the throne, destined only to become a virtuous prince in the future. But that's just as well—staying out of the succession struggle between the current empress and the late empress's factions is a rather prudent approach for the Fu family.Additionally, Fu Chuanyi mentioned two strong competitors for the Sixth Prince's companion position: one is Cheng Defang, aged thirteen, the youngest illegitimate son of Duke Yi, Cheng Yaozong, also from a noble family; and the other is Xie Yucheng, aged fourteen, the legitimate son of Xie Xian, a third-rank Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works from the Xie clan.One from a ducal family, the other a civil official's son from the Xie clan—Fu Xuechen realized that for the Jingbei Marquis Fu family to secure the companion position was not so easy. Compared to the ducal descendant, they only had the advantage of being legitimate heirs; compared to the civil official's son, they only held the edge in martial prowess.Fu Chuanyi looked at his daughter with hopeful expectation: "Your abilities are no less than your brother's. Whether you can secure the position of study companion as we wish—tomorrow, it all depends on you!"Fu Xuechen nodded in agreement, actually feeling a bit of pressure. If she failed the exam, not only would she disappoint her parents' hopes, but she would also lose such a great opportunity to move about freely outside in the future!The next day, as dawn barely broke, Fu Xuechen was awakened by her maid Haitang. After washing up, she braved the cold north wind and practiced swordplay in the courtyard.The original host had practiced martial arts since childhood and was not a frail young lady. Although Fu Xuechen had transmigrated, she smoothly inherited the muscle memory of the original host. To maintain her figure, she practiced the family sword technique every day, usually without interruption even in rain or snow, simply moving indoors instead.The ancient marquis estate covered a larger area than most modern villas. When the weather was suitable, she even rode horses and practiced archery—hobbies she had inherited from the original host after arriving in this era.Compared to Fu Yuchen, the original Fu Xuechen seemed to excel slightly in both academic studies and martial skills.This was also one of the reasons why the two heads of the Fu family thought of having her impersonate Fu Yuchen to participate in the study companion selection.After finishing her practice and sheathing her sword, Fu Xuechen remained composed, her breathing steady, without even a drop of sweat.Turning around, she saw her mother, Lady Xie, standing under the eaves in a thick fox-fur cloak, eagerly watching. Behind her, inside the house, maids and servants were busy arranging a variety of pastries, steamed buns, and pickled side dishes on the round table.In Fu Xuechen's memory, Lady Xie, who came from a scholarly family and did not practice martial arts, had never risen this early before. It seemed the study companion selection truly weighed heavily on her mind. Coupled with the need to carry out the deceitful act of swapping identities to deceive the emperor, she was too anxious to sleep soundly."Mother, don’t worry! Your son won’t make any mistakes!"Fu Xuechen smiled reassuringly. She was actually quite pleased to refer to herself as "son" and felt no awkwardness or discomfort about it.Seeing her so calm and at ease, Lady Xie felt somewhat more at ease. Fortunately, the children were still young, only twelve or thirteen, an age when the distinctions between male and female were not yet so pronounced. As long as her daughter didn’t reveal any flaws, no one would ever suspect that the marquis’s young master, with identical features, had been replaced by a young lady.Lady Xie wanted to reiterate the key points she had emphasized earlier, but from this moment on, with uninformed servants around, she hesitated several times, feeling it inappropriate to speak. In the end, she sighed helplessly."Your father has to attend court and rose even earlier. Otherwise, he could have waited for you so you could go together and look out for each other.""Everyone is in the same situation. Your son is no worse than others. If Father can’t wait for me, then so be it! I have Fu An, and that’s enough." Fu Xuechen was neither nervous nor concerned. Compared to the original host, who rarely went out, she had attended university in another province in her previous life and worked part-time to pay tuition, making going out a habit for her.It was just a change to an ancient environment, and she wasn’t familiar with the city’s buildings or paths, but wasn’t there still Fu An by her side?With someone to lead the way and provide transportation, there was no need to worry about getting lost. Once she reached the palace, she would be no different from Fu Yuchen—after all, Fu Yuchen had been to the palace just as many times as she had! Even without Fu An to guide her, eunuchs would be there to show the way, so there was truly nothing to fear."You really are exceptionally bold!" Lady Xie remarked with admiration.Fu Xuechen smiled. "Before we learned to ride horses as children, Father once encouraged us—'Boldness earns you a horse!' I’ve always remembered those words."After breakfast, Fu Xuechen draped a fox-fur coat over her shoulders and, accompanied by Lady Xie, walked to the outer courtyard. The servant Fu An was already waiting with the horse. Fu Xuechen mounted the horse skillfully, waved goodbye to her mother, and rode off."If only you were also…"If only you were also a son, perhaps you would be more reliable than Yuchen, better able to support the marquisate and become its future pillar. What a pity! As Lady Xie watched her daughter ride into the distance, she couldn’t help but feel this way.
Chapter 2
The Prince Does Not Compete for the Throne