Everyone's eyes were fixed on Yun Shu with eager anticipation. And sure enough, she did not disappoint.
She soon continued speaking, her voice composed and measured.
"But when This Princess say 'free,' I do not mean without exchange."
Her gaze swept slowly across the faces below. When she saw them reveal expressions of "as expected," she gave a quiet laugh.
"There is an old saying: true masters are often hidden among the common folk. This Princess has always believed that the people of this land must harbor many with extraordinary talent, yet for various reasons, they have been unable to reveal their capabilities.
This Princess intends to find them all.
However, being stationed in the capital, it is difficult for This Princess to oversee such a vast undertaking alone. Therefore, I wish to entrust this task to all of you."
"Your Highness means to have us help seek out these hidden talents?" someone quickly surmised.
"Is it perhaps that whoever discovers the most talents shall receive the methods you spoke of for free?"
"More or less," Yun Shu gave a subtle nod.
"However, it will not be judged by numbers alone. The quality of those discovered must also be taken into account.
And as for how to measure that quality... it shall be quite simple. In the future, This Princess shall organize regular voting events through the Tian Sheng Weekly. The common people themselves will evaluate which new inventions are most useful and which contribute the most to the advancement of Tian Sheng."
After all, the progress of an era could not rely solely on her drawing blueprints day and night.
That very day, as the auction concluded, several Merchants' Association Heads had already sent riders galloping back to their respective prefectures. The moment they returned, they issued high-reward proclamations, offering up to one hundred thousand taels of silver to find skilled artisans among the people.
Yet Yun Shu had anticipated this perfectly. She neither paid it much heed nor had the time to do so.
—
"Is it confirmed that the Seventh Prince of Bei Xiang has truly gone missing?"
Inside the imperial study, Yun Shu closed the memorial in her hands with a startled expression. "Were there not many guards stationed at the envoy residence? How could a single prince vanish right under their noses?"
"The guards at the residence reported that during your auction at the Tian Waitian Restaurant, the Seventh Prince claimed he wished to join the lively spectacle and left with a few members of the Bei Xiang envoy."
Emperor Xuanwu's expression was grim as he spoke.
"After they entered the restaurant, the guards remained outside, waiting patiently.
When the auction ended and the group exited the establishment, they were all still cloaked and masked.
The guards did not dare act rashly by demanding they remove their masks. They merely approached with caution, exchanged a few words to test the waters. Among them, there was indeed one whose figure and voice were indistinguishable from that of the Seventh Prince.
Yet upon returning to the envoy residence, that 'prince' turned out to be an ordinary Tian Sheng commoner."
"A commoner?" Yun Shu frowned, sensing something off.
"Are we certain it was not a shadow guard or some other hidden agent?"
"It has been verified. He truly is an ordinary citizen of Tian Sheng."
At this, Emperor Xuanwu sighed, a trace of helplessness appearing on his face.
"We investigated thoroughly. His identity is clear beyond doubt. According to his own statement, he was paid two hundred taels of silver. The other party told him that the Seventh Prince wished to wander freely through the capital, but the rest of the envoy would not allow it. Wherever he went, they would follow closely, giving him no freedom. So, he hired someone to impersonate him."
"Who among the common folk would dare impersonate a foreign prince?" Yun Shu remained skeptical.
"And is a prince's demeanor and manner of speaking something so easily mimicked?"
Upon hearing these words, Emperor Xuanwu's gaze shifted, growing subtly complicated as he looked at her. Though she had done nothing wrong, Yun Shu felt a sudden flicker of guilt under that look.
"Why does Father Emperor regard Your Daughter so intently? Could it be that this matter bears some connection to me?"
"It is... somewhat related," Emperor Xuanwu admitted, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. Beneath the layers of complexity in his expression, a faint trace of pride and exasperation could be seen.
"That man said, if asked to impersonate one of our own Tian Sheng princes, he would never have dared. Even two years ago, he would not have dared impersonate the Prince of Bei Xiang either.
But now... things have changed. Tian Sheng has Us, and it has you, the Crown Princess. It is no longer a nation to be trifled with by the likes of Bei Xiang.
Even if the deception were discovered, the mere fact that he is a citizen of Tian Sheng would render the Bei Xiang envoys too afraid to retaliate."
Yun Shu stared in disbelief.
"That... is how he justified it? What about the prince's bearing and speech patterns? Those cannot be faked by mere confidence alone."
"That, indeed, cannot," Emperor Xuanwu agreed with a nod.
"However, the guards did not actually converse directly with the false prince. They only overheard a brief exchange between one of the Bei Xiang envoys and the disguised man. The impersonator only gave a few casual responses. As for his bearing... the cloak was too large. They could not discern anything."
"...Very well." Yun Shu rubbed her temples.
"So the situation now is that the Bei Xiang envoy helped the Seventh Prince pull a trick to slip away, and now they have the audacity to twist it around, falsely accusing Your Daughter of orchestrating his replacement at Tian Waitian Restaurant?"
She let out a laugh of disbelief.
"Do they take us for fools?"
"The envoy who spoke with the false prince now vehemently denies any prior knowledge of the switch," Emperor Xuanwu replied calmly. "And the Seventh Prince did disappear within your establishment. The imposter is indeed one of our own citizens. Their accusations, while shameless, are not entirely baseless."
"That would only matter if we insisted on following reason," Yun Shu said, stepping forward. Her hands pressed firmly onto the imperial desk, body leaning slightly as a crooked smile curled on her lips.
"But what if we abandon reason altogether?"
Emperor Xuanwu fell silent.
He had long known that his daughter was destined for the throne, and that the path to fulfilling the Simulation Life Selection System's 'unify the realm' outcome required strength, decisiveness, and even ruthlessness.
Still, he had always thought those qualities would be forged slowly, through future hardships and trials.
But now... it seemed she had always possessed them.
It was not calculation or ambition that drove her most — it was simply that she refused to be wronged.
Looking back, it made sense.
From Grand Preceptor Cui in the academy hall, to the Empress, the Eldest Prince of Bei Xiang, the abolished Crown Prince, the Eldest Prince, even himself — anyone who dared wrong her had been swept aside.
Those early opponents had long since vanished from her path.
And as for himself, had it not been for the Simulation Life Selection System's early warnings, she might very well have taken the entire treasury and sailed off to establish a kingdom overseas.
Now, the ones foolish enough to test her bottom line were none other than the Bei Xiang envoy and their vanished Seventh Prince.
Which meant...