Why are there still questions?
Yun Shu could barely keep her composure.
She might have looked dignified and unshakable just now, but truth be told, a good portion of what she said was complete nonsense.
Her entire strategy had been to start with a few details she vaguely remembered, planting the idea that she was deeply familiar with the relevant beliefs. That alone had been enough to sway initial impressions. Then she had subtly shifted concepts, entered full bluffing mode, and sealed the performance with a bit of modern-era technology—plus just the right atmosphere. The resulting spectacle had overwhelmed her audience so thoroughly, they hadn't even had time to pause and think things through.
As for the truth? Whether it was Roland's faith or the tenets of Buddhist Zen, she only knew fragments. Press her even slightly, and the whole illusion would fall apart.
If it were just Roland here, she would not have cared. She would have simply ordered someone to drag him out and be done with it. Let him mutter to himself if he liked—none of it would have anything to do with her.
Unfortunately, the hall was not empty. Aside from Roland, a number of foreign envoys still sat watching, their eyes fixed on her.
To ignore him now would mean shattering the lofty image she had worked so hard to craft.
And Yun Shu… well, she did have a bit of pride to uphold.
Besides, this grand performance needed to be flawless if it was to be truly convincing.
She slowly turned, gaze descending from her high seat, and looked straight at Roland.
The foreigner straightened like a bowstring, worried that if he waited even a second too long, this rare opportunity would slip away. He immediately called out:
"I know of the Buddha! That is the belief of Buddhism. So, too Crown Princess—do you follow Buddhism?"
"This Princess follows no one but herself."
Yun Shu turned away, her wide sleeves brushing the air. With that, she gave him no further reply.
"Fifth Sister, you were amazing!"
As Roland was finally dragged out of the Lin De Hall, Yun Shu resumed her seat.
Yun Chuhuan, who had been practically vibrating with excitement, finally had a chance to shuffle over and sit beside her.
"When did you learn such divine arts? Can you teach me too?"
"Read fewer storybooks."
At that moment, many within the hall were still watching Yun Shu.
She kept her expression perfectly composed, lips unmoving, and murmured under her breath,
"As long as you don't study math, physics, or chemistry, life is full of miracles."
Yun Chuhuan blinked. "What?"
Math… he had heard of that. Wasn't it that thing Huyan Mingchuan from Bei Xiang was so obsessed with?
He had once tried peeking at it himself. The moment he did, stars danced before his eyes.
Yun Chuhuan scratched his head and resumed pestering Yun Shu with more questions, completely undeterred.
Meanwhile, the Third Prince had already stepped forward to present his formal birthday tribute. Now, with a gleeful grin, he turned his gaze up to Emperor Xuanwu.
"Father Emperor, I have another piece of good news. I would like to seize this moment to share it with you."
"Oh?"
This silly child wasn't about to announce Bei Xiang's surrender, was he? That was a matter best left for the King of Bei Xiang to declare personally later.
Emperor Xuanwu raised an eyebrow and gave the Third Prince a subtle warning glance.
"What is it?"
The Third Prince paused. "Hmm?"
Was Imperial Father trying to give him a hint just now?
But what was there to hint about?
Had he forgotten something important?
He thought hard, circling the issue several times in his mind, but came up with nothing. In the end, he concluded that Imperial Father's eye must have twitched for no reason.
With his usual foolish grin, the Third Prince beamed wide enough to show his molars.
"Congratulations, Father Emperor! You are about to become a royal grandfather!"
Grandfather?
For a brief moment, Emperor Xuanwu had still been inwardly chastising the Third Prince for missing his cue. But the moment that word sank in, his entire demeanor changed.
"Wonderful, truly wonderful! This is joyous news indeed!"
He turned at once to Li Dehai. "Go to Our private vault and see what precious ginsengs and lingzhi mushrooms we have. Pick out the finest ones and deliver them to the Third Princess Consort at once.
And summon physicians—yes, fetch two from the Imperial Medical Bureau, ones skilled in safeguarding pregnancies. Send them to the Third Prince's manor immediately."
On his forty-fifth birthday, to hear that he was soon to become a grandfather… Emperor Xuanwu was so overjoyed he completely forgot that the grand Wanshou banquet was still underway. He issued order after order, already planning out his future imperial grandchild's upbringing with near feverish enthusiasm.
Even Yun Shu, who had vowed to maintain her dignified bearing throughout the evening, broke composure for a brief moment. Her eyes lit up as she turned toward Tang Xinhua.
She was already making a mental list—how best to support her cousin through a safe pregnancy, what contingency plans to prepare for the birth, and what gifts to prepare for both mother and child.
The court officials, many of whom had long dismissed the Third Prince as unfit for duty, now began reevaluating him. They quickly stepped forward to offer congratulations to both the prince and Tang Xinhua.
Finally, it was Huyan Mingchuan who, finding the room far too noisy to concentrate on his beloved mathematics, stepped forward holding the surrender scroll.
Only then did calm return to the Lin De Hall.
With a face like thunder, Huyan Mingchuan presented the scroll.
"This King comes today to fulfill the Crown Princess's promise. I hereby present Bei Xiang as tribute to Tian Sheng."
…
For a long moment, silence reigned.
Aside from Yun Shu and those already in the know, the rest of the hall fell into stunned disbelief.
"Did he just say… he's giving what to Tian Sheng?"
"I think he said Bei Xiang?"
"Remove the 'I think.' He said Bei Xiang."
"Wait… does that mean Bei Xiang has surrendered?"
"Seems like it. But why did he say he was fulfilling a promise to the Crown Princess? Did Her Highness make some sort of pact with the King of Bei Xiang?"
"Isn't this the Ninth Prince of Bei Xiang, the one who stayed behind in our capital? Could it be the Crown Princess agreed to marry him? Is Bei Xiang… her dowry?"
"That would be one hell of a dowry."
"Shh! I think he heard us. He's glaring!"
"What's there to be afraid of?" one minister scoffed. "At best, he's a live-in son-in-law."
"Are you not afraid of Her Highness the Crown Princess?" another official murmured darkly. "Have you not noticed… she's glaring at you as well?"
"…!"
Instant silence fell over the gossiping ministers.
At the head of the hall, Emperor Xuanwu gave a deliberate cough and spoke calmly, shielding Yun Shu from further speculation.
"Indeed, you have proven yourself a man of your word. Our Crown Princess spared no effort in defending your stay in the capital, and now her judgment has borne fruit."
Did everyone hear that?
His Xiao Wu had not agreed to marry that madman.
===
Hey guys~ just a quick update ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ
Technically, I've got 9 ongoing projects listed on my account. But! Mom's Apocalypse Survival Log, The Invincible Money-Grubbing Fairy, and My Daughter is the Empire's Lucky Charm are all fully translated already. Right now (as of September 29), Reborn as the Fallen Idol, I Leaned Into the Chaos! has less than 50 chapters left to go.
That means, out of the last 5 projects that are truly active, 3 of them are complete works (the original novels are already finished). The other 2 are still being serialized by their authors, but I've already caught up with the latest chapters—those are also queued up in my drafts with over 400 chapters ready to roll (148+260).
So really, my current active projects are just 3. Yay progress! (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و
On my side, I also just got a job offer starting in October. I don't know the exact details yet, so I'm holding off on picking up any new big translation projects for the moment. If I do start working, I'll have to juggle both job and translations, and I don't wanna push myself into burnout (ง •̀_•́)ง.
Originally, I planned to dive into another historical-themed novel right after finishing Mom's Apocalypse Survival Log, but that might have to wait a bit. Or if I do take it, I'll probably slow things down to about 2 chapters a day instead of my usual 5. Some of you have also asked me about continuing Glitched: Highway Apocalypse, and I'll see if I can sneak it into my schedule ( •̀ ω •́ )✧.
For now, until I know how much free time I'll actually have, I won't be starting any giant 400+ chapter novels (unless the chapters are really short). If it's on the longer side with heavier word counts, I'll probably cap it around 300