The private room fell silent.
It was Xiao Ji who finally broke the silence, his deep eyes seeming capable of seeing straight into a person’s heart.
“Does Your Highness really think I can be won over to your side?”
Shang Changge curved her lips into a smile. Meeting his gaze directly, she decided to speak plainly.
“General Xiao is an intelligent man. Both of us understand that, whether for the nation, the people, or even for yourself…”
“Among my dozen or so younger brothers, A-Ze is the best choice.”
Aside from not being favored by the Emperor, her beautiful younger brother possessed every quality required of a perfect heir.
More importantly, he could be benevolent when benevolence was needed and ruthless when ruthlessness was required.
A crown prince that perfect—
If he didn’t become Emperor, even she would feel it was a waste for the Qingyan Dynasty.
Of course…
The main reasons she was helping him were because he resembled her eldest brother and because it served her own interests.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t care who became Emperor.
She and her eldest brother were different.
From beginning to end, she had always been a selfish person.
She had never truly cared about the fate of the world.
Even in the apocalypse, when she self-destructed and perished together with the zombie horde, it wasn’t because she wanted to save humanity.
It was simply because there was no way for her to escape.
Since she was going to die anyway, she dragged the zombies down with her as company.
Shang Changge was cold.
And she was rational.
Yet this side of her did not make Xiao Ji feel unfamiliar.
On the contrary, it felt very familiar.
A princess who put interests above all else—that was the princess he knew.
The difference was that the current Shang Changge had shed her former arrogance, foolishness, and quick temper.
In their place, she had gained cunning and political skill.
Knock. Knock.
Someone rapped on the door.
Before the attendant carrying the tea and snacks arrived upstairs, Duoming’s voice came from outside.
“General, the refreshments have arrived.”
At once, Shang Changge abandoned her elegant posture.
Her graceful body, carrying the faint fragrance of peonies, lazily leaned against Xiao Ji once more.
Meeting his unreadable gaze, she blinked innocently.
“What’s wrong, A-Ji?”
“Why are you looking at Jiaojiao like that?”
“You look so fierce when you stare like that. Don’t be so scary, or people will get frightened~”
Xiao Ji had finally figured it out.
The seemingly noble and unattainable Eldest Princess of Qingyan—
In private, she was nothing more than a little scoundrel and shameless rogue who loved playing political games and presenting different faces to different people.
The next morning.
It was another beautiful sunny day.
The training grounds of the Princess Manor echoed continuously with the sounds of weapons clashing and spirited battle cries.
Around the training field grew numerous flowering trees—roses, osmanthus, magnolias, and more.
The breeze carried waves of floral fragrance through the air, creating a surprisingly pleasant atmosphere.
On the training platform—
Shang Changge wielded a long spear, fighting enthusiastically against more than twenty guards at once.
Qing Yao and dozens of guards taking a break stood below, watching and learning.
At first, they had been terrified that the princess might get hurt.
Now they simply swallowed nervously while observing with the mindset of students.
After all, they had gone through a very simple process:
Being thoroughly beaten by the princess.
That was all.
The question everyone wanted answered was:
When did the Princess learn martial arts?
And how did she become this powerful?
Shang Changge’s answer would have been:
Fine, I’ll come clean. No more pretending.
If I keep hiding it, I might lose my life one day.
As for asking further questions?
No one dared.
Doing so would only invite humiliation.
If they weren’t so incompetent, why would the princess have been forced to protect herself personally?
Ever since arriving in this world, Shang Changge had rarely attended gatherings hosted by the noble ladies and young masters of the capital.
As a result, she had plenty of free time.
After spending most of the morning training, she finally stopped and returned to bathe and change.
The bathhouse.
Besides the bathing pool, the Princess Manor also possessed a natural hot spring.
Shang Changge soaked comfortably in the spring water, eyes closed as she relaxed both body and mind.
Several maids stood nearby with lowered heads.
They remained at a respectful distance.
Only Qing Yao stood close enough to massage Shang Changge’s shoulders and arms while sharing the latest gossip from the capital.
“Your Highness, all the commoners are talking about how the Great General spent last night acting intimately with a young lady in a teahouse.”
Because other maids were present, Qing Yao deliberately adopted an eager gossiping tone.
“I wonder who that girl is. To actually fancy someone as fierce-looking as the Great General… it’s really quite curious.”
After that, whether intentionally or unintentionally, Qing Yao proceeded to list a long series of Xiao Ji’s faults.
Shang Changge found it amusing.
Opening her eyes, she chose not to expose her.
The little girl was clearly holding a grudge over what Xiao Ji had said the previous night—that he wished to meet the Princess.
But if they were really going to discuss who had been more presumptuous…
Then Shang Changge had teased and harassed Xiao Ji far more times than Xiao Ji had ever offended her.