Fate Trading System – Chapter 186

Plan A

Guiding Stars 2

Retrospection

【Actually, this is the world I’ve carefully selected for you.】

Wow, aren’t you just so amazing.

【These are orders from above, and I’m helpless too. Host, this is your tenth world of transmigration and your tenth mission. Usually at this point, we increase the difficulty level of the checkpoint.】

Lord Fourteen said.

So if I pass the tenth checkpoint, will there be any rewards?

【Yes, there will be many benefits.】

Lord Fourteen, why do I get more worried the more you talk like this? I feel like you have ill intentions. The gifts you’ve given me in the past have mostly made me miserable.

【Keep going, Host. This one believes in you.】

So will I have any golden fingers this time, or are you just going to let me struggle with this broken body? I’m already in this state, how am I supposed to compete?

【Time regression, you can return to ten years ago.】

That’s so good?

The original host died at twenty-five, was reborn at twenty, and if using time regression, that means returning to age ten.

【Same old rules, but this time it’s one-sixth of your life value.】

You’re still trying to trick me at this time? You’re simply a shrewd merchant.

【Business is business, but besides that, I’ll try to provide you with some other conveniences.】

Okay, since I have to complete the mission anyway, let’s begin.

It was an indescribable feeling, time reversing, all things withering and then reviving.

In fact, it was just an instant when Su Xin suddenly opened her eyes and found herself in an elaborately decorated room, where every furnishing exuded an air of exquisite luxury.

Su Xin was lying in bed covered with blankets. As she propped herself up, she felt a sharp pain in her palm.

【Host, I have a gift for you.】

Speak.

Su Xin hadn’t had time to sort through her thoughts; her current memories were too chaotic. There were her own memories, the original host’s current memories, the original host’s memories from twenty-five years ago, and the memories from returning to age twenty – four sets of memories intertwined and mixed together. Su Xin felt dizzy and with the pain in her palms, she felt like exploding.

【An internal martial arts manual and cultivation secrets.】

Holy crap, such a good thing?

【This world is rather dangerous, so you should keep up with the times and learn some martial arts of this era.】

Can I take them with me when I leave?

【No, it would disturb the world’s laws. Things from other worlds are not allowed to exist in your world.】

Alright.

Su Xin could also do roof-walking, though that required special tools and agile movements, not superpowers. But in this era, roof-walking meant truly flying, and qinggong and such – just thinking about it was cool.

【Keep going, Host. By the way, would you like some chrysanthemum tea to help clear your mind and think rationally?】

Alright.

After the chrysanthemum tea took effect, Su Xin indeed felt much better, with that irritable feeling being suppressed.

At this time, Su Xin was ten years old.

She knew why the Emperor’s consorts all had children in clusters, as if it were a competition – if one became pregnant, the others must follow suit.

According to future circumstances, the current situation could be listed as follows:

First Imperial Princess, Yue Xingchen [越星辰 | yuè xīngchén], ten years old.

Second Imperial Princess, Yue Xinglan [越星岚 | yuè xīnglán], seven years old.

Third Imperial Prince, Yue Jiuyin [越玖音 | yuè jiǔyīn], six years old.

Fourth Imperial Prince, Yue Jiuting [越玖亭 | yuè jiǔtíng], five years old.

Fifth Imperial Princess, Yue Xingyao [越星遙 | yuè xīngyáo], four years old.

Sixth Imperial Princess, Yue Xingtang [越星棠 | yuè xīngtáng], two years old.

Seventh Imperial Prince, Yue Jiuge [越玖歌 | yuè jiǔgē], one year old.

Eighth Imperial Princess, Yue Xingying [越星穎 | yuè xīngyǐng], three months old.

Ninth Imperial Princess, Yue Xingtu [越星圖 | yuè xīngtú], unborn.

Tenth Imperial Princess, Yue Xingya [越星雅 | yuè xīngyǎ], unborn.

Eleventh Imperial Prince, Yue Jiushu [越玖書 | yuè jiǔshū], unborn.

Twelfth Imperial Prince, Yue Jiuqing [越玖晴 | yuè jiǔqīng], unborn.

This meant that the future Great Demon King was now just a four-year-old brat.

But even as a child, the Demon King was still a little demon, quite destructive in power.

The Fifth Imperial Princess was born to the Emperor Consort. Although no Crown Prince had been appointed yet, she was always held in higher regard than others.

Su Xin pulled her hands out from under the covers; her fair palms were now red and swollen. From her sorted memories, she knew she had been punished by the Emperor Consort.

The original host had lost her birth father early in life and was given to the Emperor Consort to raise at age one. She had little impression of her birth father and regarded the Emperor Consort as her parent. The Emperor Consort’s attitude toward the original host was quite good before the birth of his own daughter, the Fifth Imperial Princess, but after his daughter’s birth, his attitude deteriorated.

The Emperor Consort clearly wanted his own daughter to become Emperor, so in his eyes, all other imperial princesses were obstacles to his daughter’s path. The original host wasn’t his biological child, and although he had raised her for several years, his attitude inevitably turned sour.

Yesterday, the original host was carrying a potted flower – she had always loved tending to flowers and plants since childhood. She tripped on a stone from somewhere and fell, the flower pot naturally slipping from her hands. As bad luck would have it, the Fifth Imperial Princess Chu Xingyao was passing by, and the pot nearly hit her face but was blocked by a palace servant. However, some soil inevitably splashed onto Chu Xingyao’s face during the incident.

The original host, ignoring her pain, quickly got up from the ground and went to apologize. Chu Xingyao wiped her face clean and left without a word.

This girl had always been aloof, disliking conversation with others, sometimes not even acknowledging her own father.

The broken flower pot was cleaned up by palace servants, and the original host took her small plant seedling back to her room. While contemplating how to properly apologize to her sister, she was summoned by the Emperor Consort.

The Emperor Consort was clearly very agitated and made a mountain out of a molehill, thinking the original host intended to ruin Chu Xingyao’s face. The Emperor Consort was never sparing in assuming the worst intentions of everyone in the palace. Furiously, he ordered palace servants to bring a punishment ruler [戒尺 | jièchǐ], striking each of the original host’s hands ten times without mercy, and forbade the servants from applying medicine. That’s why Su Xin found her hands in such a state upon arrival.

Her palms were severely swollen, painful to the slightest touch.

Su Xin’s eyes felt uncomfortable because the original host had cried all night in bed yesterday, feeling both wronged and in pain.

After sorting through her memories, Su Xin didn’t plan to get up immediately; it was still early, and not yet light outside.

Lord Fourteen, what time is it now?

【Three o’clock in the morning.】

Su Xin wasn’t sleepy at all and was excitedly thinking about what she had just received – the secret manual!

The martial arts techniques and secret manual didn’t appear before Su Xin as physical books, but rather manifested directly in her mind.

Su Xin started learning from the basics, reciting the incantations and beginning to practice.

The martial moves would have to wait; there was no way to practice them now. Su Xin was still living in the Emperor Consort’s palace, surrounded by the Emperor Consort’s people. The Emperor Consort never forced the original host to read any books or practice martial arts, just letting her happily play with her flowers and plants.

The original host had thought the Emperor Consort was being kind to her, but wasn’t this intention obvious now?

Oh right, Lord Fourteen, check who the Fifth Imperial Princess’s birth mother is?

【Alright, please wait.】

But after a moment, Lord Fourteen didn’t provide an answer.

Lord Fourteen? Could you not find anything?

【Cannot find it, because even the Emperor Consort doesn’t know who that person is. In the Emperor Consort’s memories, there’s no record of that person’s true identity.】

It might have been a reckless flower thief [采花賊 | cǎihuā zéi | term for sexual assault criminals] from jianghu, who had heard of the Emperor Consort’s beauty, snuck into the palace at night to enter his chambers. The Emperor Consort had been alone for a long time, and like dry wood meeting fire, that’s how it happened.

The Emperor Consort was afraid, but along with that fear came a sense of vengeful satisfaction.

Su Xin was somewhat surprised that the dignified and reserved Emperor Consort was such a person in private, but upon careful thought, it wasn’t strange. The Emperor Consort actually had some psychological distortions, though he hid them well.

Lord Fourteen, help me check again, who in the court could be useful to me?

Everyone was still young now, some sisters weren’t even born yet, and the factional divisions weren’t as severe. Many up-and-coming talents hadn’t even become active in court yet – it was still very early.

【I’ll transmit all the information to you.】

Su Xin spent several hours reviewing the materials and finally decided on two people.

One was the mother of her young study companion, currently a Vice Director of the Secretariat, who would later become the Director of the Secretariat, a position of high rank and authority. This person was very shrewd, managing to live comfortably even under Chu Xingyao’s elimination of opposition.

The other was this year’s new Literary Champion, a Scribe in the Ministry of Personnel, who would later be promoted to Administrator, managing official selection, appointment, promotion, demotion, examinations, and other matters – a very important talent.

Better to win them over before they aligned with others.

For the former, Su Xin could gradually win her over through her young study companion; the latter would be simpler. This future old fox was still green, though she would grow very quickly. The current Champion still maintained that spirited yet inexperienced nature, with a heart wanting to pledge allegiance and create change.

Dawn broke.

Su Xin felt somewhat sleepy, but after sleeping for just a short while, she was awakened.

It was her palace servant Jinxiu [錦繡 | jǐnxiù], a rather cute young man with a gentle speaking voice.

From her memories, Su Xin learned that Jinxiu was the original host’s first attendant. Jinxiu later bore the original host a daughter, though ultimately they couldn’t escape the fate of perishing together.

“Your Highness, it’s time to rise. We must go to Zixing Hall for lessons.”

“Mm.”

Su Xin carefully sat up from bed, letting Jinxiu help her dress and wash up.

“How could the Emperor Consort be so harsh, and not even let us apply medicine? Look how swollen your hands are. How will you attend lessons today? The Imperial Tutor will surely require writing, but you can’t even hold a brush with these hands.”

Jinxiu gently blew on Su Xin’s palms, speaking with great concern.

Su Xin pressed her lips together, not answering.

Royal regulations stipulated that only children six years and older could attend lessons at Zixing Hall under the Grand Preceptor’s instruction. Although the original host didn’t particularly want to study, she still attended dutifully, learning earnestly every day, but the knowledge rarely stuck in her mind – like problems the teacher explained on the blackboard, forgotten right after hearing them.

Jinxiu, accustomed to her master’s silence, attended to her meal.

Just as Su Xin finished breakfast and prepared to leave, she heard the palace maid’s announcement.

The Emperor Consort said she could report sick today; the First Imperial Princess was not to leave her chambers.

This timing was quite convenient.

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