Play at the palace was curated. Toys were silk, wood, bits of carved ivory—not mere distractions but lessons in disguise. The system labeled objects with uses and outcomes; a wooden horse could become a mnemonic, a rattle might be used to test reflexes. For Long Yue, every toy was a textbook.
SYSTEM: Play-learning module active. Recommend: 'toy-as-instruction' schedule. XP multiplier +10 for structured play.
Aunty Lin set out small objects: a painted wooden horse, a bell that chimed like a distant temple, and a stack of small cloth squares. Scholar Zhao arranged a little game where each object corresponded to a line from the Classics. Long Yue, bright-eyed and oddly intent, listened as the world turned into teaching.
[Scholar Zhao:] "One day, when you can walk, you will move them and recite what they mean."
[MC / Long Yue:] (thought) "One day. For now, I will pretend I understand."
He did understand, in the way that the system allowed—images knitted to lines, textures to rhymes. The wooden horse became the caravan from the Book of Odes; the bell became the measure of evening rites. His small hands learned to point and choose, and the system rewarded him with soft pings and progress bars no one else could see.
SYSTEM: Infant Education session complete. Memory Palace nodes increased: +4. XP +80.
The palace's daily rituals turned slowly into a curriculum: posture in the presence of elders, the cadence of a bow, the slow tracing of the brushstroke that Scholar Zhao rehearsed with infinite patience. Long Yue was a sponge trained by code and cotton.
But learning wasn't only academic. The Empress placed social tests into play: a parade of lesser courtiers were invited to present small gifts. The system suggested responses for each rank: a beaming smile for humble servants, a reserved nod for ministers, a brief clap for soldiers.
[Empress Wu:] "Teach him balance: warmth toward the common, reserve toward the ambitious."
SYSTEM: Social calibration module: balance = stability. Recommendation: display small variance in reaction depending on rank to maximize loyalty spread.
Long Yue practiced. He learned that a smile given to a seamstress earned a lifetime of soft glances; a precisely measured clap for a junior officer bought measured respect. The game taught him the economy of attention.
During one session, a small boy—son of a low-ranking scribe—was allowed near the cushion. He offered Long Yue a carved bead.
[Scribe's Son:] "For you, little prince."
[MC / Long Yue:] (thought) "Friends are useful. Beads too."
He accepted—the system logged the interaction as a budding alliance in the low-tier social bracket. Gifts between children had the odd alchemy of sincerity and politics.
SYSTEM: Ally established: Scribe's Son +1. Social mesh expanded.
In the evening, when the nursery settled, Scholar Zhao took a softer tone.
[Scholar Zhao:] "Do not let words come only from you, young one. Let them be led by action."
[MC / Long Yue:] (thought) "Words, action, dumplings. Sequence noted."
The system added an amusing subtask: create a schedule for "culinary socialization" when old enough. Long Yue considered the concept like a child considering a treasure map: full of routes and possibilities.
The palace taught him through toys, through gestures, through measured smiles. Each game was a stone placed in the foundation of power. He had been gifted a memory palace and a tutor and a bodyguard, and now the palace itself taught him the grammar of influence.
SYSTEM: Play-learning full session: +120 XP. Infant Charisma I progress: +10%.
Long Yue, small and absurdly scheming, drifted to sleep with a wooden horse clutched in his fist and the faint knowledge that childish play could be the most dangerous thing in a palace.