The nursery was a war zone of "kindness."
While my mother was away at a tea party with the Empress and the other Consorts, my siblings had turned my room into a high-stakes strategy center.
"He's faking it," Yueran whispered, her silver needle hovering inches from my stomach.
I froze. Does she know?
"Third Sister, he's three months old," Lu Mingyuan said, adjusting his scholarly glasses. "Even a genius from the Primordial Era couldn't fake Qi suppression at this age."
"Then you don't know the Lu bloodline," Yueran countered. She grabbed my tiny wrist. I tried to make my pulse irregular, but her Qi was like a flood, sweeping through my body and finding my hidden nodes instantly.
Her eyes widened. A slow, predatory smile spread across her face.
"Found it," she whispered. "He's hiding his Qi in his 'Hidden Dragon' acupoint. He's not a Triple Root. He's... Oh, Heavens. He's already reached the Third Stage of Body Tempering."
The room went silent. My brothers looked at me like I was a golden ticket to a permanent holiday.
"Third Stage?" Tianhao gasped, his eyes wet with tears of joy. "At three months? He's not just a genius. He's a monster! He's the Emperor we've been waiting for!"
"I knew it," Jianfeng, the sword genius, muttered. "I could feel a faint 'Sword Intent' coming from his rattle yesterday."
I realized I was caught. If I didn't act now, I'd be wearing a crown by the time I was potty trained. I had to pivot. If I couldn't be "weak," I had to be "unstable."
I gathered my Qi and forced a "rebound." I made my energy flare wildly, causing the jade floor to crack. I let out a cough and made my face turn pale, pretending that my "talent" was destroying my body.
See? I tried to project with my eyes. I'm too talented for my own good! I'm a glass cannon! I'll explode if you make me Emperor!
"His foundation is crumbling!" Mingyuan cried out.
"Good," I thought. "Now leave me alone."
"Don't worry, Xian-er!" Yueran shouted, her hands glowing with a blinding white light. "Samsara Life-Giving Art!"
Wait, what—?
Warm, revitalizing energy flooded me. It didn't just fix my "fake" injury; it reinforced my meridians until they felt like steel. She wasn't just healing me; she was upgrading me.
"There," Yueran panted, wiping sweat from her brow. "I've stabilized his soul. And I've implanted a Spirit-Tracking Seal. If he tries to suppress his Qi again, it will alert me, and I'll come back with the 'Soul-Stinging Needles' to help him 'focus.'"
I looked at her, horrified. This wasn't a doctor. This was a warden.
"We must protect this secret," Tianhao said, his voice grave. "If Father finds out Xian-er is this good, he'll abdicate tomorrow and flee to the mountains with our mothers. We need to wait until Xian-er is at least five before we 'accidentally' reveal his power to the public."
"Agreed," the siblings whispered in unison.
They all leaned over the crib, six pairs of eyes filled with terrifying, sibling love.
"Don't worry, Little Brother," Tianhao said, patting my head. "We'll give you everything. Resources, techniques, secret guards... we'll even build your hidden forces for you. You just worry about growing up to be a grand, hardworking Emperor."
As they left the room, plotting how to "spoon-feed" me a Spirit-Vein next week, I stared at the ceiling.
I was a Shark in my last life, I thought bitterly. But in this life, I'm just the bait.