No title, no marriage? Do you think I'm some kind of lapdog?

[Congratulations, host, for completing today's advanced daily check-in task and obtaining an S-grade storage ring!]

"We can't worry about that now; we should focus on developing ourselves."

"As for the intrigues and conspiracies within the palace, as long as they don't bother me, I don't care what they do to me."

Su Chuang, wearing a ring on his hand, left the Golden Palace and walked towards the Yongle Palace, where Emperor Wu dined.

Commander of the Capital City Patrol Army?

He stroked the golden knife hidden in his sleeve, a chill creeping into his eyes.

This position may seem glamorous, but it is actually fraught with danger.

Was Emperor Wu testing him, or did he really want to drag him into the mess in the capital?

However, this did not deter him. He happened to have two IOUs in hand, which he could use to his advantage and stir up more trouble in the capital!

As he was pondering, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a beautiful figure at the corner of the long corridor on the only way he could pass.

Lin Ruxue was leaning against the railing, her fingertips still twirling the gold foil wrapper of the lollipop Su Chuang had given her last time.

She looked at the latter with a half-smile, her eyes full of laughter, but she couldn't hide a trace of worry.

Su Chuang's heart skipped a beat, but he only curled the corners of his lips into a slight smile:

This princess is even better at flirting than him.

"Brother Chuang is so impressive today."

"They even dared to snatch Wanyan Zongbi's sword."

Her voice was soft, but her gaze fell on the golden hilt of the knife that was faintly visible through his sleeve.

"What, does the princess also want to experience what it's like to have something taken away from her?"

Su Chuang paused, then suddenly leaned close to her ear and chuckled softly.

"Then give it a try."

Lin Ruxue's ears turned slightly red, but she met his gaze with an expression of complete acceptance.

"In that case, if the princess likes it, may I give this knife to you as part of your dowry?"

Su Chuang paused, his face now displaying that nonchalant smile.

"Who wants your knife?"

"I only want candy."

Lin Ruxue's ears turned slightly red, but she met Su Chuang's gaze.

"Sugar is no problem, plenty available!"

Su Chuang chuckled lightly, speaking in a relaxed tone.

His fingertips brushed across Lin Ruxue's palm, leaving behind a lollipop wrapped in gold foil.

Ambiguity can sometimes be more interesting than being straightforward.

"Tch, for the sake of this lollipop, I won't hold it against you."

"Let's go to Yongle Palace for a meal."

"besides…"

Lin Ruxue's cheeks were flushed, making her look incredibly cute.

"Your mother is waiting for you to dine at Yongle Palace. She... seems to have something to say today."

She squeezed the candy tightly and said in a low voice.

"Um... okay then..."

Su Chuang became wary upon hearing this; this banquet was bound to be a bad one!

"Hey, how's the storybook coming along?"

He immediately asked, as this was his current biggest concern.

As for the drinks, there's absolutely no need to worry. Everything is on track, and Jia Xu is in charge of everything. Plus, there are the Embroidered Uniform Guards secretly protecting us, so there won't be any problems.

This is all thanks to Wang Wenxiang's tireless promotion.

He felt that once the storytelling business was on track, he should start working on his third business.

Selling candy?

Or should we sell salt?

"whee…"

"It's incredibly popular."

"After hearing the contents of the story, all the teahouses, bookstores and storytellers tried every means to contact me."

"However, I have already made it clear that when we sign the agreement, you will take 60% of the profits, I will take 10%, and they will take 30%."

Lin Ruxue said happily, and when she got excited, she clapped her hands.

The reason she was able to appear in public despite being a woman was entirely due to Emperor Wu's favor.

"I'll take 60%? Isn't that too much?"

Su Chuang pondered.

He didn't actually do anything; he just wrote the story down from memory.

"Not much, not much. After all, the most important thing about storybooks is the story content."

"I imagine the talk of the town in the next three days will be about A Chinese Ghost Story and Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils."

Lin Ruxue waved her hands repeatedly.

"Oh well…"

Su Chuang didn't insist, after all, no one would complain about having too much money.

It seems he has another task now: updating the story every day.

As the two were chatting, they unknowingly arrived at Yongle Palace.

"Ru Xue has arrived. This must be Duke Su Xinguo..."

Empress Zhang Yuhua, the mistress of the harem and Empress of Emperor Wu, spoke.

She wore a phoenix robe, and was stunningly beautiful. The cruel knife of time had not left any marks on her face.

"Ah...Greetings, Mother!"

Lin Ruxue was surprised that Zhang Yuhua would come out, and quickly bowed.

"Your humble servant pays respects to Your Majesty the Empress, may you live a thousand years!"

Su Chuang dared not be careless and immediately bowed down in worship.

He knew very well that this Empress was no ordinary woman.

Not only did he have a deep relationship with Emperor Wu, but he also dared to point his finger at him and curse him.

Moreover, her family held the top position among civil officials, with her brother holding the position of Left Chancellor.

He was quite influential even within the military.

However, the only regret is:

She has not been able to give birth to a son for Emperor Wu until now, only having one daughter, Lin Ruxue.

Therefore, Emperor Wu's sons were scrambling to recognize Zhang Yuhua as their mother in order to obtain the status of the legitimate heir and thus be more likely to inherit the throne.

"No need for such formalities."

"Thank you, Your Majesty..."

"Although I live deep within the palace, I have still heard my husband say that Su Zhenbei's son, Su Chuang, is a man of hidden talents and knows how to conceal his abilities."

When Zhang Yuhua spoke, she was so startled that Su Chuang was speechless.

Although her voice was gentle, her gaze was sharp as needles, fixed on Su Chuang's face.

"This boy is unruly; I'm sorry to have made Her Majesty the Empress laugh at him."

Su Chuang spoke respectfully, feeling that the Empress's gaze was even more frightening than that of Emperor Wu.

"Unruly?"

"A person who can make the Xiongnu envoy kneel down and present a knife in the Golden Palace is not a wicked person."

Zhang Yuhua chuckled upon hearing this.

"Um... the kid has no skills whatsoever, he's just greedy and a little bit lucky."

Su Chuang immediately rejected the idea.

His back stiffened slightly, and his face still wore that foolish smile of a greedy young master, but his fingers were already gripping the golden knife in his sleeve.

He now felt that none of the people in the palace were kind.

The sound of her father's name coming out of her mouth was foul and pungent.

"Good luck is also a part of ability."

"Many times, it's this kind of luck that makes things happen."

"For example, my husband could contend for the throne..."

"For example, the death of Su Zhenbei..."

"If I had been a little luckier, I might not have died."

"But if you're even less lucky, you'll be completely destroyed..."

Zhang Yuhua looked at the horizon, while the Empress chuckled softly, speaking as if unintentionally, or perhaps as if talking to herself.

"Your Majesty is right, so all I ask for now is to survive, save up some money, and live a peaceful life."

Su Chuang said urgently, his face still bearing that naive smile of a greedy young master.

He is now increasingly convinced that his father's death was the result of a palace coup!

Some people didn't even want to leave Su Zhenbei's body intact!

This reveals the deep-seated hatred involved.

"You should know that I have no other children besides Ruxue."

Zhang Yuhua gave an irrelevant answer.

"Now that you have no father or mother, it is just right for my husband to adopt you as his son."

"I took an instant liking to you and wish to adopt you as my son so that you can care for me in my old age and see me off in my final days."

"I don't know if you'd be willing."

"To become Emperor Wu's legitimate son?"