Chapter 35 The Fire-Breathing Tenth Prince
News of the great victory of the Duke of Huguo's mansion spread throughout the capital, and the story of Princess Mu Yu of Anguo drawing talismans to pray for blessings and having them appear became the hottest topic of conversation on the streets.
Mu Yu's status in the capital rose accordingly.
Now, Mu Yu no longer needs to use her short legs to go out.
She was either held in the arms of her grandfather, the emperor, or carried on the shoulders of her brother, Xiao Beichen. When the mood struck, she could even ride the tiger king kept as a pet in the mansion and survey her "territory" with great majesty.
Princess Anguo's residence has become the liveliest kindergarten in the entire capital, with a group of noble children running in and out every day, chattering incessantly.
That day, a new face appeared at the kindergarten.
The tenth prince, Chu Zhao.
Chu Zhao is five years old this year. Because he was born weak, he had been recuperating in a royal temple until recently when the emperor brought him back to the palace.
He had fair skin and looked clean, but he wasn't very tall; standing next to four-and-a-half-year-old Mu Yu, he was a head shorter.
But that doesn't stop him from feeling extremely good about himself.
As soon as Chu Zhao entered the courtyard, he pushed aside a minor nobleman blocking his way, put his hands on his hips, and walked straight up to Mu Yu, asking questions in the tone of an adult.
"You are Princess Mu Yu of Anguo?"
Mu Yu had a piece of osmanthus rice cake that Xie Zhiwei had just sent her stuffed in her mouth. Her cheeks were bulging. When she heard this, she looked up and stared at the stranger with her big, dark eyes.
Chu Zhao puffed out his little chest and announced, "I'm five years old, and you're four and a half. You're younger than me, so you have to call me 'Tenth Brother' from now on."
Mu Yu scanned him from head to toe.
Then he said very seriously, "But you're shorter than me."
"puff!"
Qin Zheng, who was holding a teacup next to her, couldn't help but spit out all the tea on the ground.
Chu Zhao's fair face instantly turned bright red.
"You! You're talking nonsense!" He jumped up and down in anger. "I... I hadn't started growing yet! I'll grow taller than Father Emperor in the future!"
"Oh." Mu Yu nodded, then lowered her head to focus on the cold rice cake in her hand, clearly having lost all interest in the topic.
Being ignored is the greatest provocation.
Chu Zhao felt offended and was furious.
His eyes darted around, and he decided to use his best skills to subdue this little girl.
"Hey!" he deliberately raised his voice, "Can you breathe fire?"
Mu Yu stopped eating the cold rice cake.
Flame-breathing?
What is that? Is it edible?
"I know it!" Chu Zhao raised his chin even higher when he saw that Mu Yu was finally looking at him again. "I learned this from a wandering master in a temple. It's a real immortal technique!"
"If you obediently call me 'Tenth Brother' right now, I'll perform for you!"
Mu Yu's eyes lit up immediately when she heard there was a performance to watch.
She stuffed the rest of the chilled rice cake into her mouth in a few bites, her words mumbled but clear: "Tenth Brother!"
Chu Zhao's vanity was greatly satisfied.
He cleared his throat and loudly announced to all the children who had gathered in the courtyard to watch the spectacle, "Watch closely! This prince is about to begin casting a spell!"
Yan Ziche silently held his forehead, unable to bear watching any longer.
Xiao Beichen subtly moved closer to Mu Yu, keeping a wary eye on the unreliable prince, afraid that he might hurt Mu Yu.
Chu Zhao then assumed a horse stance with great flair, making a strange gesture with her two small hands in front of her chest.
Then, he ran to the stone table, saw a teacup, picked it up without thinking, and gulped down a big mouthful.
He thought it was "magical water" that a master drank before performing a spell, and had no idea that it was lamp oil that the servants had just brought up to add to the lamps that night.
Then, he took out a small candle from his pocket and had the eunuch beside him light it.
Everything is ready.
Chu Zhao took a deep breath, puffed out his cheeks like a toad, aimed at the candle flame, and sprayed it forcefully!
"puff--"
A liquid mixed with saliva and oil sprayed onto the flames.
There was no sound at all.
"Huh?" Chu Zhao was dumbfounded.
That's not right, that's what the street performer did.
"No, no, I wasn't ready just now, let's do it again!" He started to cheat.
He took another big gulp of lamp oil, mustered all his strength, and aimed it at that tiny flame once more.
This time, he sprayed harder and faster!
Perhaps it was at the perfect angle that the atomized lamp oil ignited the moment it came into contact with the flame.
"call--"
A bright flame actually came out of his mouth!
"Wow!"
Princess Jianing and Qin Zheng both exclaimed in surprise.
Chu Zhao was stunned, and then a huge sense of accomplishment overwhelmed him.
"See? I didn't lie to you!" he shouted triumphantly, gesturing wildly.
He forgot that he still had a mouthful of lamp oil left in his mouth.
With this shout, the remaining lamp oil, mixed with the still-burning embers, sprayed out in a fan shape.
Without any deviation, they all landed on the stone table next to them.
The stone table was covered with Mu Yu's "masterpieces" from the past few days.
To welcome her father's triumphant return, Mu Yu drew many more "lucky soldiers," intending to give them all to him as amulets when he came back.
Xuan paper is already easy to catch fire, and now it's completely soaked in lamp oil.
The moment the flame touched the paper, it shot up incredibly high!
The table was covered with stick figures of various shapes, writhing and struggling in the orange-red flames, and soon turned into patches of black ash.
Everyone was taken aback by this sudden turn of events.
Mu Yu was still holding the unfinished piece of cold rice cake in her hand, her mouth wide open, completely dumbfounded.
Her talisman!
She drew so many amulets for her father!
Everything was burned to the ground!
Chu Zhao was also terrified. He stared blankly at the towering flames, his little mind completely blank, utterly unaware of the terrible trouble he had caused.
The guards and eunuchs in the courtyard reacted quickly and rushed over with buckets of water, extinguishing the fire in no time.
On the stone table, only a pile of dark, still steaming ashes remained.
Moisture quickly gathered in Mu Yu's eyes.
Her precious treasure... her life's work... is all gone...
However, just a second before the tears were about to fall.
A sudden, sharp pain shot through Mu Yu's chest, making it hard for her to breathe.
In her vision, the colors of the whole world had changed.
A horrifying sight appeared.
From that pile of burnt-out ashes, a wisp of energy, thinner than a hair yet dark and heavy, carrying a putrid aura, quietly crawled out like a worm!
The black line twisted in the air, as if trying to determine its direction.
Finally, it plunged headfirst into the ground and disappeared.
Mu Yu clearly felt that the energy was exactly the same as the "black worms" she had seen in her dream that were wrapped around her father!
Mu Yu understood instantly.
Although her paintings were ugly, they were infused with her purest blessings, and unknowingly, they lured out the evil thing hidden deep in the capital's geomantic veins and pressed it onto the paper!
Those paintings are just a temporary cage!
Now, the tenth prince's fire has burned away the "talisman paper" that served as the cage.
That scoundrel who was locked up has been released!
Mu Yu's face was drained of color.
She no longer cared about crying, nor about the paintings that had been burned to ashes.
She looked up, a hint of unease in her amber eyes.
"not good!"
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