Quick Transmigration: Reversing the Life of a Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character

Since ancient times, being the crown prince has been a high-risk profession. Throughout history, there have been very few crown princes who have ascended the throne smoothly.

Yuchi Hui was actually a very good crown prince. He was the empress's legitimate son and was raised as such from a young age. He was upright but not pedantic, and possessed both literary and military talents. He was wise and virtuous. Such a person had great personal charm, which was probably the root cause of his downfall, because he overshadowed his father, the emperor.

A thought suddenly flashed through Cui Yao's mind: if this person were to succeed to the throne, would the Xiao family's survival rate be much higher? Even after completing missions in several worlds, she was still not a particularly intelligent person. When faced with a talented individual, she was still no match for them. In feudal society, both thunder and rain were expressions of the emperor's favor. Unless there was a rebellion, the best outcome would be to have a wise and virtuous ruler.

Changing dynasties is not something one person can do. The Xiao family had no intention of rebelling, her maternal family was even less likely to rebel, and she herself could not do it.

Seeing that her daughter remained silent, the eldest princess comforted her, "It's alright, your mother is here. I won't let anything happen to you."

"Mother, I know." Cui Yao believed these words. In the original owner's life, the eldest princess was nearly eighty years old, and the one in power was her narrow-minded nephew. She was still able to protect her daughter even when the entire Xiao family was exiled.

"So you're going to present this crossbow to the imperial court?"

"Yes." Cui Yao nodded, "But now I'm a little hesitant. Should we wait a bit longer?"

She can wait until the new emperor ascends the throne before offering her his offering. According to the timeline, the current emperor has three years left, while the Xiao family's exile will last for nearly ten years. She can afford to wait.

But she couldn't explain it too clearly.

The eldest princess shook her head: "Since it has already been made, it should be presented immediately. You are not an unknown person. This action has already attracted attention. Holding onto it will arouse suspicion."

The Xiao family, which wields considerable military power, has created a formidable weapon, but the Xiao family matriarch remains silent. Isn't this courting death?

Cui Yao was just saying that once this thing is made, it can't be kept secret, or it will become a major problem.

What a mistake! We should have chosen a less sensitive invention instead.

"But how to offer it is a skill. Tell your mother first, how did you come up with the idea to make this?"

Half a month later, the emperor went hunting and was taken by the eldest princess to Cui Yao's estate to rest.

Then it was time for the performance.

"Excellent! Excellent! What a powerful weapon!" The Emperor stood up from his seat, his voice filled with excitement.

The eldest princess smiled calmly and said, "As soon as Yao'er finished making it, she told me that she wanted to present it to the court. I'm old and spend my days eating and sleeping, so I can't understand her ingenuity. I can only let the emperor take a look."

"As expected of our princess, she is intelligent, kind-hearted, and righteous." The Emperor praised.

"Your Majesty, please don't praise her. She's just like that. Her husband died young, and her eldest son... she just wanted to distract herself, which is why she's thinking about these things. Your Majesty, you don't know, when Yao'er first returned to the capital, she was so thin that her eyes were practically gouged out!" The Princess sighed twice.

In fact, half a month after returning, Cui Yao went to the palace to see the Empress once, but did not see the Emperor.

"Xiao Wujiang, alas, what a pity for such a talented general."

In such a setting, the Emperor's regret was enough for Cui Yao, his widow, to simply bow her head and express her sorrow.

In just a few words, the princess steered the conversation back to Cui Yao and the crossbow cart.

"Fu'an, why did you suddenly think of making ballistae? There are plenty of ways to pass the time."

"Your Majesty, it was just a sudden inspiration. I dismantled a few small repeating crossbows and wanted to make a big one."

"Why is it so big?"

"Actually, I didn't intend to make it this big. I originally planned to make a large repeating crossbow that could fire many arrows in succession. But I drew the size too big. By the time I realized it was wrong, many parts had already been made, so I couldn't bear to change it. I simply made the arrows big too. I didn't expect it to be so powerful. It was a lucky accident." Cui Yao lowered her voice for the last two sentences, creating a sense of embarrassment at making the best of a bad situation.

"Oh? What would it look like if it were made smaller?" the Emperor asked with great interest.

Cui Yao turned around and took the box from the maid's hand: "The original plan was to put a lot of small arrows in it, but we found that it was too big, so we changed the design."

The eunuch beside the emperor stepped forward, took the box from Princess Fu'an's hand, opened it to check it, and presented it to the emperor.

The Emperor took the box, took out the thick stack of papers inside, and looked at them one by one.

"I think Fu'an's initial idea was not bad." The Emperor took the two pieces of paper and looked at them separately, and then handed them to the eldest princess sitting below him.

The eldest princess stood up, looked at it carefully for a few moments, and smiled, "It's a good painting, but unfortunately I can't understand it."

In fact, the princess had already seen these drawings and even helped to select some, removing many of the ones that Cui Yao had drawn poorly.

"Haha, sister is joking." The emperor was in a good mood and called out a title he hadn't used in a long time.

The eldest princess paused for a moment, but quickly returned to her usual smiling self, engaging in a lively conversation with the emperor.

In the end, the emperor only took the stack of blueprints.

As soon as the Emperor's carriage left the estate, the Princess ordered her personal guards to guard all the entrances and exits of the estate. She also decided not to return to the capital, but instead closed the gates and doors and stayed at the estate with her daughter.

The next day, an imperial edict was issued, instructing the emperor to bring his court officials to see the crossbows the following day.

This kind of situation, where an imperial decree is issued in advance, is quite different from the case of the princess temporarily abducting the emperor; much more preparation is needed.

"All intersections will be sealed off until the Imperial Guard arrives to take over tomorrow."

"Zhuangzi conducted a thorough investigation everywhere, and all servants who were not bound by a death contract were taken into custody and forbidden from appearing in front of nobles."

"Has the placement of the seats been decided?"

With all the arrangements made, the servants on the estate basically won't need to sleep today.

As the host and the inventor of the crossbow, Cui Yao was naturally very busy. The crossbow and the blueprints were very important. Besides her, the craftsmen who participated in the manufacturing and the princess's personal guards who participated in the testing were even more important. These people would probably no longer be hers after tomorrow.

Cui Yao knew that this was an opportunity for those sworn slaves to change their social class.

"You should understand the power of the crossbow. The Emperor and his officials will be here tomorrow. I reckon you'll be taken away by the Ministry of War or the Ministry of Works. Although you'll still be craftsmen, you won't be slaves anymore. Your indentures will naturally be transferred directly to the court as craftsmen. Do you have any family members you wish to take with you?"

Half of the carpenters and blacksmiths here were Cui Yao's servants, and the other half were recruited from the common people. Regardless of their background, becoming a craftsman under the imperial court was a secure job, because even when there was no work, the imperial court would still provide a basic salary, and they could also earn extra money by taking on private jobs.