Back in Qingming Palace, Chu Chen couldn't sleep for a while. He decided to open the Life Simulator.
【Simulation loading complete, protagonist: Chu Chen!】
【The movable type printing technology you invented for Princess Xinyue to cheat on exams has received extreme attention from the Empress.】
【Late that night, the Empress secretly summoned her confidantes and ordered someone to set fire to the Western Palace Jing Shi Fang, and the fierce flames quickly engulfed the entire Jing Shi Fang and its surrounding buildings.】
【The fire raged for an hour before it was extinguished.】
【The next day, eunuchs and palace maids cleaned up the scene and found that the chief eunuch of Jing Shi Fang, Han Yuan, and his disciples seemed to have no time to escape and were burned to death. Only the chief eunuch's jade pendant could barely identify his identity.】
【During the court session, Princess Xinyue received an order from the Empress to take you and eight hundred soldiers to the outskirts for field training, with an indefinite duration.】
【A week later, Chen Kingdom and Yun Yue Kingdom had friction, and Chen Kingdom launched a small-scale invasion.】
【...】
【You were backstabbed and died at the age of twenty-four.】
【Gained twenty points.】
【Congratulations to the host for successfully completing the life simulation. You can choose one of the following three skills.】
【Legendary Identification Technique: Activate the skill, and the host can view the origin information and cultivation of people and things.】
【Blue-level Husbandry Technique: Grants the host a large amount of corresponding husbandry knowledge.】
【Purple-level Formation: Grants the host a large amount of corresponding formation knowledge.】
Damn, this is the first time I've had such good luck after an update, and I actually got a legendary skill reward.
Chu Chen became excited.
All three reward options were excellent, but the Identification Technique had the highest level and was the most useful.
Chu Chen immediately chose the Legendary Identification Technique and obtained the method to use this legendary skill.
Staring at a person or object for three seconds allows you to see their origin information and cultivation, costing only a little spiritual energy.
This skill is amazing, I won't have to worry about misjudging people anymore. .oγg
Chu Chen was happy for a while and then turned his attention back to the simulation process.
I didn't expect the fire to be set by the Empress, and it burned the Jing Shi Fang. Was she trying to cover something up for me?
Could it be that the Empress vaguely knew that I hadn't been castrated?
Regardless, it's good that it burned. Whether she knew or not, my value has been demonstrated. Even if my identity as a fake eunuch is exposed, the Empress will probably be reluctant to do anything to me.
It's just a pity that Eunuch Han Yuan was burned to death. As expected of someone who rules an empire, their heart is truly ruthless.
As expected, late that night, Chu Chen was sleeping soundly when he heard the sound of gongs and drums, and vaguely heard someone shouting about a fire, "Fire! Come quickly to extinguish it!"
"Little Chenzi, what's going on outside that's so noisy?"
Princess Xinyue's voice came from the inner room.
"Your Highness, it seems like there's a fire somewhere in the Western Palace, and they're looking for people to put it out."
"Oh, I see. That's fine then."
Princess Xinyue, still groggy, wasn't worried about the fire and went back to sleep.
The next day, not long after waking up, a eunuch arrived at Qingming Palace with an imperial decree.
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The troops of the Fifth Princess Xinyue have been trained well, but they lack actual field training. Therefore, Princess Xinyue is hereby permitted to lead her troops and all personnel to the outskirts for field training, with an indefinite duration."
"By Imperial Order!"
"Long live, long live, long live the Emperor."
After Princess Xinyue received the imperial decree, Chu Chen and the others got up from the ground.
"What does Mother Empress mean by this?"
"This servant, a mere eunuch, knows nothing of His Majesty's intentions. I am only instructed that if there is no important matter, Your Highness should depart before this afternoon."
The eunuch delivering the decree smiled obsequiously, but his eyes subtly glanced at Chu Chen, full of envy.
He wasn't as favored by the Empress as Chu Chen was by Princess Xinyue. If only he could switch places, how wonderful that would be.
After the eunuch left, Princess Xinyue, still confused, handed the imperial decree to Chu Chen: "Little Chenzi, what do you think Mother Empress means?"
"This subject does not know. But this subject knows that this is exactly what Your Highness has been hoping for, isn't it? Now Your Highness can openly go out to play outside the city."
"Moreover, the imperial decree only mentioned field training outside the city, but it didn't say how far you couldn't go."
Chu Chen smiled and pointed out the loophole in the imperial decree.
"That's right! Why bother thinking so much? The most important thing is that I can go out and play again."
Princess Xinyue suddenly realized and urged, "Then Little Chenzi, hurry up and go to the military camp to make arrangements. I will pack my things, and we will depart in an hour."
"Okay."
Soon, while the Empress was still holding court with the ministers, Princess Xinyue and Chu Chen led their eight hundred soldiers and left Shuangyue City.
For the entire morning and afternoon, the entire troop, except for a one-hour break at noon to cook their meals, was on the move.
The new recruits, who had never experienced such high-intensity marching, and the two hundred auxiliary soldiers Chu Chen had requested from the military camp, were all crying and moaning from exhaustion when they rested in the evening.
In the central military tent.
Princess Xinyue complained, "Little Chenzi, why were you so insistent on marching so urgently today? Not only are the soldiers exhausted, but I am also very tired."
"Your Highness, this is all for better training the soldiers. Among our troops, only your three hundred personal guards are cavalry; the rest are infantry."
"If we don't work on their legs, they won't be able to catch up or escape in future battles. It will be too late to regret then."
"Sweat more in peacetime, bleed less in wartime."
Chu Chen explained with admonishment.
Princess Xinyue opened her mouth and said unhappily, "But I see them all working so hard, and many of them have blisters on their feet. Even when training their legs, shouldn't we slow down a bit?"
"Your Highness, this is already slow. We only traveled twenty li today, which is just normal marching speed, far from my expectations."
"Moreover, we cannot walk slowly. We must walk faster so as not to disappoint His Majesty's concern for you."
Chu Chen explained again.
Princess Xinyue was a bit confused and asked inexplicably, "My walking farther is Mother Empress's concern? Why?"
Looking at the naive princess, Chu Chen sighed and said, "May I ask Your Highness, when do emperors grant princesses military power beyond the norm?"
"Hmm~ When there is war? But I don't remember any nearby wars."
Princess Xinyue thought for a moment and shook her head.
"Besides war, there is another situation like this, and that is the struggle for the throne."
"..."
Princess Xinyue was stunned. After a moment, she reacted and said anxiously, "I never thought about contending for the throne."
"But the struggle for the throne has already begun. From the moment each princess added five hundred new soldiers, whether Your Highness is willing or not."
Chu Chen replied faintly.