Princess Yaoguang's!
In the back garden.
A beautiful figure gazed at the pond.
In the Central pond, the water shimmered, lotus leaves spread wide, and pink and white lotus flowers stood gracefully, like shy beauties dancing upon emerald jade.
Goldfish frolicked in the water, occasionally splashing crystalline droplets, adding a touch of liveliness to the serene scene.
Everything was as beautiful as a painting.
Until a yellow-clad woman, with hurried steps, broke the poetic tranquility of this painting.
"Princess, news about Xia Chen just arrived. Would you like to hear it?"
"He went to take up his post?"
The Second Imperial Princess did not turn around, still quietly admiring the lotus flowers in the pond.
"How did the Princess know?"
The yellow-clad woman was surprised. She hadn't said anything yet, but the Princess already knew.
Her name was Li Wei, one of the Second Imperial Princess's personal maids.
Li Wei, beautiful in appearance, loved candied hawthorn, a sword dao genius. In the twenty-fifth year of the Empress's reign, she went alone to Sword City, challenged the Sword Saint, and defeated him with three swords, shocking the world.
"He always stays at Zhendong Marquis Manor. Besides the news of his crippled physique, there's usually little movement in the capital regarding him. These past few days, Zhendong Marquis Manor has been planning a position for him. I heard it's in the Imperial Guards, so it must be this matter."
The Second Imperial Princess's voice was clear and cold. This matter was not hard to guess; a little thought was enough to figure it out.
"The Princess is truly amazing!"
Li Wei praised her sincerely. Why couldn't she think of these things?
"You should learn more from Zi Yue. You need to read more books; there's a lot of wisdom and truth in books!"
The Second Imperial Princess shook her head. Her maid was good in every way, but her mind wasn't very quick.
"Reading is too tiring. Zi Yue likes to read, but I still prefer delicious food. How wonderful is food!"
Li Wei shook her head, then ran smilingly to the Second Imperial Princess's side.
She and Zi Yue had grown up with the Second Imperial Princess since childhood, so there weren't as many rules in private.
"Princess, do you want to hear his news? This is your future Consort!"
Li Wei ran to Yaoguang's side, a blush on her face. She and Zi Yue were both Yaoguang's personal maids, and according to regulations, after the Princess married the Consort, they too would be expected to serve him.
"I don't want to hear!"
The Second Imperial Princess saw Li Wei's appearance and shook her head, but there was a slight smile in her eyes.
She wanted to tease Li Wei, but she was indeed not curious about the man who would be her future husband.
"Princess, how can you be like this? I'll tell you anyway!"
Li Wei pouted, looking incredibly cute. She hugged the Second Imperial Princess's arm and eagerly recounted everything Xia Chen encountered in the Imperial Guards.
After listening to Li Wei, the Second Imperial Princess, who had been calm all along, showed ripples of emotion in her eyes.
"He crippled Zhao Yu's arms with one move?"
"Yes, they said Xia Chen was incredibly fierce at the time. He faced an entire camp alone, but the others didn't dare to move; they were all intimidated."
Li Wei nodded earnestly, utterly certain.
"Did he bring his family soldiers to act?"
"No!"
The Second Imperial Princess nodded and did not continue to ask, a thoughtful look in her eyes.
"What's wrong, Princess? Is something amiss?"
Although Li Wei's mind wasn't quick, it didn't mean she was stupid. Seeing her usually astute Princess like this, she quickly asked.
"Zhendong Marquis Manor has had a rule for 600 years: only direct descendants of the Marquis Manor who reach the Eighth Rank Refining Essence Realm can leave the manor and join the army. Xia Chen being able to come out indicates he has already reached the Eighth Rank Realm.
But isn't he a martial arts cripple?
Originally, I thought he could break through to the Eighth Rank Realm because the Marquis Manor spent a great deal of money using precious medicines to pile up his cultivation.
But now it seems my previous judgment might be wrong. His combat power must have already reached the Seven Rank Refining Spirit Realm. Cultivation can be piled up with precious medicines, but combat power is determined by various factors..."
The Second Imperial Princess spoke slowly, with a hint of confusion in her eyes.
"Did he eat a miraculous elixir?"
Li Wei's eyes lit up.
"How can there be such a miraculous elixir in this world? Xia Family, are you hiding something?"
The Second Imperial Princess frowned. She suddenly realized that the news about Xia Chen's crippled physique had always come from the Xia family, but no one from the outside world had ever interacted with Xia Chen.
This meant that this news might have been deliberately spread by the Xia family. So, what was the purpose? To hide an ordinary genius?
Not to mention that the Xia family had produced geniuses throughout history, even in this generation, several prodigies had already emerged.
So, was there really a need to hide just one Xia Chen so much?
The usually astute Second Imperial Princess was very puzzled at this moment, unable to figure it out.
"Continue to monitor Xia Chen and report anything to me."
The Second Imperial Princess looked at Li Wei, only to see that at some point, Li Wei had pulled out a candied hawthorn from somewhere and was licking it. She couldn't help but shake her head with a smile.
"Okay, I will continue to pay attention."
After speaking, Li Wei pulled another candied hawthorn from her sleeve.
"Princess, do you want one? There's so much delicious food outside! Life outside the palace is much more fun than inside!"
Li Wei smiled, then quickly licked the candied hawthorn again. The sweet and sour taste exploded on her taste buds, making her eyes curve into crescent moons.
"I don't eat!"
"Eat one, I bought a lot!"
Saying that, Li Wei shoved a string of candied hawthorn into the Second Imperial Princess's hand.
A quarter of an hour later.
The Second Imperial Princess held a string of candied hawthorn, licking it while admiring the flowers.
Not to mention, this candied hawthorn was indeed quite sweet.
A slight smile couldn't help but appear on the lips of the usually aloof Second Imperial Princess.
...
...
Afternoon!
Nothing major happened, and Xia Chen, bored, summoned all the men from his two large camps and began to count heads.
By the end of the afternoon, he had basically recognized all two hundred people.
This matter seemed trivial, but it was also very important.
Among them, he temporarily appointed his family soldier, Xia Hui, to lead the Class A Camp as its commander.
Xia Hui possessed the Seven Rank Refining Spirit Realm. After Xia Chen learned more, he found out that Xia Hui had previously served as a Company Commander in the border army, commanding over 1,000 men. Therefore, managing 100 men now was simply effortless for him.
Making him a mere Company Commander was truly underutilizing his talent.
Although Xia Chen's appointment was somewhat irregular and procedurally incorrect, after Xia Chen reported the matter, Central Commander Li Wenzhong did not hesitate much and completed the formalities.
In principle, this was certainly not right, but that was only in principle.
Li Wenzhong was very happy to do this favor!
And Xia Hui was only a temporary replacement. In the future, if Xia Chen left the Imperial Guards or went elsewhere, Xia Hui would certainly follow him.
He hadn't been nostalgic for the position of Company Commander back then, so how could he be nostalgic for a mere Company Commander now?
...