Chapter 5 Maybe I should just be a villain
Yu Sui's tireless research into the strange fire finally paid off.
Initially, she thought the Five Elements Light Cores were born from a strange fire, but after she crushed five of them, she clearly found that the Five Elements Light Cores were born much slower.
She herself felt that she had exhausted too much mental energy, her eyelids were heavy, she had difficulty breathing, and finally she fainted.
The next day, the mute woman found her lying next to the Liudan jade stone. She hurriedly went over and woke her up, and frowned when she saw Yu Sui's blank and dazed expression.
Yu Sui tried to cover it up, but the mute woman still reported it to Madam Su.
Madam Su asked her what happened, and Yu Sui said that she couldn't sleep last night, so she got up to recite her lessons and then fell asleep by the Liudan jade stone because it was cool to be near it.
They managed to get away with it.
These are trivial matters, so Madam Su wouldn't take them to heart.
Yu Sui also learned the current limit of his ability to recreate the Five Elements Light Core.
Throughout the summer of that year, Yu Sui visited Gu Gan's house every few days, and by winter, she had almost finished reading all the books in the study.
As the weather turned cooler, the restless strange fire finally brought her another benefit.
After winter set in, the jade stones in Yu Sui's house were replaced by the mute woman and others. Instead, they hung a Taoist "Four Seasons Rest Talisman" under the eaves of her courtyard to stop the winter chill from getting close, making the house warm as spring.
Yu Sui stood under the eaves wearing only a thin shirt, looking up at the falling snow. She stretched out her hand, and the snowflakes melted just before they reached her palm.
She no longer needed to go to the Imperial Academy in winter, but she didn't have any free time. She started to frequently go out with Madam Su to attend banquets. At the end of the year, the Prince's Mansion also held banquets, and the Nangong family would be invited to spend New Year's Eve at the Prince's Mansion.
The Lunar New Year holiday is actually the busiest time for Yu Sui.
She has to attend the banquet hosted by this minister today, the banquet hosted by that general tomorrow, and the banquet hosted by the palace the day after tomorrow. Even if she goes out as a mascot, the mascot representing the Nangong Prince's Mansion must be present.
However, most of the time Yu Sui went with Madam Su, and occasionally the other ladies would also go. Only today, at the banquet held at the Zhenguo General's Mansion, did the master of the mansion, Nangong Ming, also attend.
Nangong Ming stood in front of the carriage and waved to Yu Sui, who had just stepped out of the palace gate, signaling her to come over.
Yu Sui obediently went over and called him "Father." Nangong Ming patted her head and told her to get into the carriage first. He then spoke a few words with Madam Su outside before they parted ways.
After getting into the carriage, Madam Su closed her eyes to rest. Yu Sui rolled her eyes, wondering whether she should chat with her or remain silent.
After she remained silent for a while, Madam Su spoke up: "What is your relationship with the children of the Zhongli family?"
Zhongli Ci, the General Who Guards the Nation of Qingyang, is known as one of the Three War Gods of the Military School. The Zhongli family is a prominent military clan, with generations of ancestors serving as distinguished generals in Qingyang.
Their descendants are all highly talented in military strategy, proficient in the art of trapping and killing in battle formations. In addition, they also possess unparalleled family swordsmanship, making them one of the top ten families in terms of combat strength among the six kingdoms of the Xuan Gu Continent.
They were also among the most powerful people in Qingyang Kingdom.
General Zhong Li Ci's wife was an ordinary person with no background in the capital. She had a son and a daughter.
Her son, Zhong Lishan, was ten years old, and her daughter, Zhong Lique, was six years old. They were the same age as Yu Sui and were also studying at the National Academy.
Yu Sui had seen Zhong Lique a few times at the National Academy, but they had never spoken, because she was sleeping most of the time.
Yu Sui often heard the name Zhong Li Que, but always from Princess Shangyang.
Zhong Lique's refusal to join Princess Shangyang's group of sisters made Princess Shangyang feel very embarrassed.
The young princess has everything she wants and rarely encounters anyone who disobeys her. Zhongli Que is one of them, and for a while, he frequently picked fights with her, which even required the Empress to intervene to stop it.
This shows that the Zhongli family's status was no better than that of the Wang Nangong family, the only family with a different surname.
Faced with Madam Su's question, Yu Sui quickly went through the information in her mind and answered truthfully, "Not very familiar."
Madam Su opened her eyes and glanced at her. Yu Sui thought she was going to criticize her social skills, but Madam Su closed her eyes again and said calmly, "There's no need to get too close."
Yu Sui nodded.
It seems the two families don't have a very good relationship.
Today is the birthday banquet of the eldest son of the General Who Protects the Nation. There are many people here, and Yu Sui is dazzled by the Zhongli family alone.
The Zhongli family clan prospered.
General Zhongli Ci had three brothers from the same father and mother. After the brothers married and had children, their descendants numbered nearly eleven or twelve, not counting collateral relatives and distant relatives.
Yu Sui followed Madam Su as a mascot.
This is where the advantages of a high status become apparent. At least she doesn't have to address everyone she meets; most people respectfully call her "Little Princess."
After the pleasantries were over, everyone started exchanging small talk. The men gathered in one group to talk about men, while the women gathered in another group to talk about women.
The children also played with the children.
The servants in the manor cleared the snow in advance, red plum blossoms adorned the branches along the road, and stone lanterns were lit to dispel the darkness of the night.
Princess Shangyang also arrived. She was having a great time playing with the other children when she ran ahead and casually called out to Yu Sui, who was lagging behind.
Exhausted, Yu Sui walked at the back with her head drooping. When she heard the shout, she looked up and immediately saw Zhong Li Que avoiding Princess Shangyang.
Under the cover of her maid, Zhong Lique lifted her skirt and ran through the red plum grove. She was in a hurry, so her cheeks were flushed and she breathed out a little cold air.
She ran out of the plum grove and came face to face with Yu Sui on the road. Both of them were stunned.
As a princess of the royal palace, she had people diligently dressing her up every day. Yu Sui didn't really care; she just thought everything looked good.
Before she left, the maid first styled her hair into a hanging bun, with two small flower buds on the top of her head. Then, she separated two strands of black hair, braided them, and tied them up. Finally, the remaining long hair was divided into two long braids that hung down her back, with a thin red rope weaving through the braids and tied to the ends.
At this moment, Yu Sui looked at Zhong Li Que standing a few steps away. Their hairstyles were not exactly similar, but they were exactly the same. Even their hairpins were in the style of begonia flowers. The same red rope was weaving through the long braid, and the red rope hanging at the end of the hair was also decorated with two gold beads.
The two girls looked at each other, neither of them speaking. After hearing someone calling Yu Sui's name again, Zhong Lique lowered her head and ran away quickly.
Yu Sui raised her hand to touch the cold hairpin on her head, then lowered her head and walked forward.
Zhong Lique ran for a short while, then looked back, her gaze hesitant as she watched Yu Sui walk away.
Yu Sui's memory of that day was limited to matching hair ornaments with the young lady of the General's Mansion, which was also her memory of Zhong Lique.
It wasn't until spring, when Yu Sui returned to the Imperial Academy to study, that he saw Zhong Lique again.
But the two still didn't have much interaction.
Princess Shangyang, after repeatedly hitting a wall with Gu Gan, tried to win over Yu Sui to work for her.
Yu Sui asked her, "What do you want to do?"
Princess Shangyang put her hands on her hips and said, "Keep an eye on him. You have to tell me everything he does!"
Yu Sui shook her head and quickly refused.
Gu Gan has been at the National Academy for a year, and has gone from offending all the teachers at the beginning to now being appreciated by all the teachers and sincerely teaching knowledge.
Yu Sui sometimes felt that Gu Gan was the one who got the protagonist role.
Gu Gan has a mysterious background, perhaps even carrying a deep-seated blood feud. He is protected by someone like Nangong Ming as he grows up. He himself is also exceptionally talented. The arrogant and domineering Princess Shangyang likes him, and many boys also like to be his friend. Even the teachers he has offended are impressed by him.
When the carriage arrived at the Prince's Mansion, Yu Sui lifted the curtain and glanced at his three older brothers. Not only did he have a network of relationships with the positive characters, but he also had villainous characters who frequently caused trouble for Gu Gan and looked down on him.
With his childhood sweetheart, whom Nangong Ming personally endorsed as "someone he would protect at all costs," Gu Gan's future is limitless.
What about her future?
They either died because their identities as destroyers were exposed, or because of the struggle for the Breath of Soil.
Yu Sui raised her hand to rub her face, lost in thought: Maybe I should just be a villain.
The villain who brought catastrophe to the Xuan Gu Continent.
Destroying the world is easier than saving it, isn't it?
Yu Sui's impression of Zhong Lique deepened in the summer of the year he was seven.
She rearranged the Liudan jade in her room, and at night, unable to sleep because of the heat, she sat next to the Liudan jade and extracted new five-element light cores from the strange fire.
During the day, he would laze around and sleep at the National Academy.
Yu Sui didn't deliberately socialize. In the past few years, apart from Princess Shangyang who took the initiative to talk to her, she didn't make any friends her own age.
But she was very popular with the boys.
Even boys older than her liked to treat her like a younger sister.
These friendships were formed by attending banquets with Madam Su. They met at banquets and would chat more when they met at the National Academy.
Especially Han Bing's friends, who were four or five years older than the little princess, were all well-mannered boys. Because of their good relationship with Han Bing, they treated Han Bing's sister very well and helped Yu Sui with her studies a lot.
There was a young man named Lin who had two tiger teeth when he smiled. He was sincere and kind, and in Yu Sui's eyes, he was a very gentle young master from a noble family.
I heard that his family recently got into trouble; his father was imprisoned and interrogated for three days and hasn't been released yet, while his mother is trying to find someone to help him.
Young Master Lin was only twelve years old. He was usually a gentle and cheerful person, but he became extremely silent.
Before Young Master Lin found Yu Sui, she was sleeping at her desk. It was lunchtime, and the tutor left while the others went to eat lunch in their own groups.
Yu Sui rubbed her eyes and stood up. Zhong Li Que walked towards her from afar. Even from a distance, her gaze towards Yu Sui revealed that something had happened.
But Yu Sui didn't see it at that time. She was walking towards the outer door. Because she was closer, she was faster than Zhong Lique.
Seeing Yu Sui leave the classroom immediately, Zhong Lique panicked and called out, "Nangong Sui!"
"Don't go out!"
The moment Yu Sui stepped out of the classroom, the young master Lin rushed over and grabbed her sleeve. He knelt down, completely abandoning his usual elegance, and kowtowed to Yu Sui, shouting:
"Princess, I beg you, I beg you to save my father! He's been wronged!"
He gripped Yu Sui's wrist so tightly that he almost pulled her down.
At this moment, Yu Sui felt his ears ringing.
“My father guarded Tongzhou for more than 20 years, stopping and killing hundreds of people transporting and selling poisonous herbs. All of my ancestors died from poisoning, so how could I collude with drug traffickers to embezzle and accept bribes!”
"I implore the princess to tell the prince to reinvestigate this matter!"
"Princess, I beg you! Please, Your Highness, release my father!"
Young Master Lin's actions attracted a lot of onlookers. Yu Sui hadn't slept well last night, and now she was overwhelmed by a barrage of messages from the other party. As she pulled her hand back, she said, "You, you get up first."
At this point, Young Master Lin completely regarded her as his last lifeline. He knelt before her, kowtowing until his head bled, refusing to let go, and desperately pleading for his father's innocence and begging for a further investigation.
Zhong Lique stood at the back, turning her face away in frustration. Oh no, she was too slow. She was going to be in trouble when she got back.
Yu Sui was almost pulled down by Young Master Lin, but fortunately, her older brother Han Bing and others arrived in time, forcibly pulling Young Master Lin away from her and protecting her behind them.
This matter caused a great uproar, involving court officials and bureaucrats, and it couldn't be simply overshadowed by a few words from children playing around.
Yu Sui's mediocrity over the years has not caused her any harm. She tries her best to avoid attention and minimize her presence, but because of her status as a princess of the royal family, sometimes she has no choice but to try.
She left people with the impression of being stupid, which also reduced her presence in the elite circles of the capital.
So far, Madam Su has simply accepted the fact that her daughter is stupid and not very talented, while Nangong Ming can't understand why he has a stupid daughter.
Young Master Lin usually gets along well with the eldest son of the Prince's Mansion, but when he encounters a problem, he seeks help from the future heir of the Prince's Mansion, Princess Nangong Sui.
No matter how stupid she may be, she still represents the most honored person in the royal palace and wields power that some people cannot obtain.
Yu Sui's reaction clearly didn't handle the matter well, which made Nangong Ming express his dissatisfaction with her for the first time.
That evening, after Yu Sui returned home, she was forced to kneel in front of Madam Su's door as punishment.
Madam Su frowned and glanced at her, but said nothing.
When Nangong Ming returned from outside and passed by Yu Sui, she felt that eerie, oppressive feeling of being bitten on the throat by a venomous snake, a feeling she hadn't experienced in a long time.
The man had just sat down when he sighed softly and, with a wave of his hand, slapped Yu Sui across the face.
Yu Sui covered her flushed cheeks and looked up, her eyes filled with tears.
“Sometimes being too stupid comes at a price.” Nangong Ming smiled at Yu Sui and said, “You shouldn’t be so stupid as to forget your identity. You represent the entire Nangong Royal Mansion, and you represent me. When he was full of lies, you told him to get up first.”
"Sui Sui, look, who can wake you up first today?"
Tears streamed down the girl's face.
Yu Sui wiped away her tears and thought to herself, "Indeed, there's a price to pay for trying to live by being stupid."
"It was my fault," she said softly.
Nangong Ming asked, "What's wrong?"
Yu Sui said, "We shouldn't tarnish the reputation of the Prince's Mansion."
With a vague answer, Nangong Ming sighed and let his foolish daughter off the hook.
Yu Sui knelt at Madam Su's door all night.
That night, Young Master Lin's father was convicted and died in prison. His entire family was arrested, and Yu Sui never saw him again.
[Author's Note]
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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