I manage female characters in all the heavens.

Chapter 102 Commander Cao, the so-called fortune and honor are found in danger.

When Yunluo woke up, it was already morning, time for her morning class.

According to regulations, unmarried princesses and noblewomen, even if they are already adults, are required to receive daily education in needlework (embroidery, etc.), music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, etiquette, and other related fields.

This is a public education program for female members of the royal family, personally supervised by the Empress Dowager. It aims to improve princesses and noblewomen in all aspects of morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor, so that they can become excellent tools for marriage alliances. They are not allowed to be absent or ask for leave unless there are special circumstances.

Xiaoman was so shocked by what he said when he woke up that she didn't remember about going to class, and by the time she started washing up and getting ready, it was already a little late.

Xiaoman had been waking the princess up at the exact time, just in time to get her dressed, have breakfast, and be ready for class.

But today, after a short delay, Xiaoman and her two other maids hurriedly dressed "Yunluo" in gold and silver, but they still despaired and said that it was too late.

Yunluo glanced at the nearly one hundred various accessories laid out in front of her and was somewhat speechless: "Do I really have to wear all these things? They're so troublesome, they've made me forget how to dress!"

Xiaoman was almost in tears: "Princess, please cooperate! We're already going to be late. If we're any later, the Empress Dowager might punish us even more!"

You are a princess, so the beating is just a formality and you are not afraid. But I am just a maid, and the beating really hurts when it hits me!

I don't want to get beaten up!

Yunluo glanced at the pile of accessories, feeling displeased. With a flick of her sleeve, she swept everything into a heap, indicating that she wouldn't wear them anymore.

She casually picked up a gold hairpin, simply tied her hair up and secured it with the hairpin, then took off her gorgeous palace dress and casually picked out a plain yellow and white dress to change into.

This is what she wears for her daily activities, and she also wears this when practicing martial arts.

Xiaoman was shocked: "Princess, this is to see the Empress Dowager, you can't dress so informally!"

"Having to meet her every day and wear formal attire every day is making me, as her daughter, feel cold! Today I'm going to see the Empress Dowager dressed like this, let's see if she's unhappy about it and wants to hit me!"

Yunluo, spoiled and arrogant, indicated that no etiquette or rules could govern her, and if she continued to nag, she would replace her personal maid.

"Then, at least, I have to wear this one!" Xiaoman held up a necklace in front of her, with a crystal-clear, mermaid-like luminous pearl on it that was quite dazzling.

“This little mermaid pearl was given to you by the late Empress Dowager Shufei on her deathbed. It’s different from other things, so you have to wear it,” Xiaoman said.

"Little Mermaid Pearl?"

Yunluo's eyes lit up. She took the necklace and ran her fingers over the smooth surface of the luminous pearl. Her true energy probed into it to examine it, and sure enough, she found that it was hollow inside, containing a shriveled, strange bean.

This is the legendary Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom, a strange and extremely rare fruit or medicine.

According to the Persian Secret Records, the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom originally grew at the source of the Yellow River. Legend has it that it only bears fruit once every thirty years, with only one fruit each time. The flower seeds have long been extinct, and only three remain in the world.

If all three Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom seeds are used on one person, a miracle of bringing the dead back to life can be achieved.

Taking the first pill can save a life and prevent the injury from worsening, regardless of the severity of the injury, but the user will fall into a permanent sleep.

Taking the second pill can awaken a sleeping person, but there is still a risk of death from the escalation of their injuries.

If a third Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom could be found and taken at this time, the patient's injuries would be completely healed, truly a case of bringing the dead back to life.

Yunlu put the mermaid pearl around her neck. This crucial prop must be kept close to her body. If it gets swallowed by the cat like in the original story, then she's just being brainless.

The first Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom has already been used by Zhu Wushi to stabilize Su Xin's injuries, and there are only two Heavenly Fragrance Cardamoms left in the world.

Of these two, one was in her hands, and the other was not far away, in the hands of the Empress Dowager.

If we can find a way to get the Empress Dowager's Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom, then Zhu Wushi will have no choice but to beg her to save Suxin. At that time, the Iron-Blooded Marquis, who loves beauty more than the country, will surely not be stingy with the Absorption Technique.

Inside a palace, the Empress Dowager, who was old and rarely slept, sat in the main seat at the head of the table. She looked at the large group of princesses and noblewomen sitting neatly below, reading in a drowsy manner, and felt a headache coming on.

They were all born into privilege, only accustomed to sweetness and never to hardship. Although they had to come because of the Empress Dowager's authority, they put on an act of being very happy and willing to learn.

But when it came to class, they were all lazy and unwilling to study properly, which made her so angry that she wanted to hit them.

In contrast, Yunluo, who complained from the beginning that she didn't like learning these things and only liked practicing martial arts, would seriously complete these classes, thinking that she would quickly learn them and then she wouldn't have to learn anymore and could concentrate on practicing martial arts.

Yunluo is naturally active and has a rather carefree personality. She can get along with both the Empress Dowager and the Emperor in a relaxed manner, showing her lively and lovely side.

She would even share her favorite things with the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, trying to get them to play with her. If she was rejected, she would only be a little upset for a few days, and she would try again next time.

There's a real reason why she's so favored.

Thinking of Yunluo, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but look towards Yunluo's seat, but she didn't see anyone there.

The Empress Dowager sighed, "That girl, she's late again. She's such a worry..."

Yunluo being late is not an exception; it's actually the norm. After all, given her habit of arriving at class on time, there are always times when unexpected things happen and she's late.

The Empress Dowager was already used to it. She casually picked up the ruler beside her, ready to lightly tap Yunluo's hand ten times when she arrived.

There's also Yunluo's personal maid, who doesn't know how to serve her mistress properly, causing her to be late. She must be given twenty slaps on the hand so that she'll remember this lesson.

I long for Yunluo, and Yunluo arrives.

A figure moved about at the entrance of the hall. A girl in a yellow and white dress skipped in and darted to her seat at lightning speed. She picked up her book and joined in the morning reading, completely absorbed, as if she had been there for a long time.

The Empress Dowager narrowed her eyes and tapped the bell beside her with a ruler, producing a clear, ringing sound that echoed throughout the palace.

Everyone immediately stopped reading and looked at the Empress Dowager at the head of the table.

"Yunluo, you've gotten bolder today, daring to come to class in your everyday clothes. Come here, I've prepared 20 lashes for you, come and take them."

"Xiaoman, come in too. You have forty today."

She got used to hitting him, and even remembered the names of the maids around Yunluo.

Being remembered by the Empress Dowager means you have a lot of room for advancement in the future, and rising to prominence is not a dream. This is all thanks to the Princess, Xiaoman, you should be very grateful.

Xiao Man walked to Yun Luo's side with a bitter expression, tugged at Yun Luo who was still pretending to be studying hard, and whispered, "Princess, you deserve a beating."

Yunluo put down her book and glared at Xiaoman.

Your potential for improvement has shrunk significantly!

Seeing that she couldn't get away with it, she could only sigh, stand up, and walk with Xiaoman to the Empress Dowager, saying ingratiatingly, "Mother~"

"Stand still, extend your left hand." The Empress Dowager remained unmoved by the address of "Mother."

"Clap clap clap!"

Twenty slaps landed in an instant, and the Empress Dowager felt refreshed, all the gloom of the morning swept away.

Oh, Yunluo is truly my sweet little cotton-padded jacket. By teasing her and seeing her cute pouting expression, I get so much joy, and I feel like I've become more than ten years younger!

Pleasant!

Yunluo withdrew her hand, which was as white and jade-like as ever, and sneered inwardly. The Empress Dowager was old and frail, and her attacks were weak and powerless, completely unable to break through her defenses.

Of course, the Empress Dowager can't be blamed for this. After all, Yunluo now possesses tens of thousands of units of true qi, and her Mingyu skill has advanced to the sixth level. True qi is hidden beneath her skin, and when she manifests Mingyu, she can even defend against sword and blade strikes.

It's terrifying that someone could break through the defenses of a mere Empress Dowager, an old woman with no martial arts skills whatsoever.

The overall martial arts level of the world's number one is indeed high, but not to that extent.

The Empress Dowager frowned as she looked at Yunluo's hands, which showed not even the slightest blush.

Even though I used more force today than yesterday, I can't see any effect. Is Yunluo finally making progress in martial arts training and just now using his skills?

That's not right. I clearly instructed everyone not to teach Yunluo any real skills, at most just some martial arts moves. How could it have this effect?

Although the Empress Dowager did not practice martial arts, she was not completely ignorant of martial arts.

Such a method, which renders an attack ineffective without any apparent exertion of force, is something only martial artists who have cultivated true qi can achieve.

She repeatedly emphasized that she was not allowed to teach anything real, but now Yunluo has even mastered true qi, completely disregarding the Empress Dowager's orders!

The Empress Dowager narrowed her eyes, immediately finished slapping Xiaoman 40 times, and turned her head to look to the side.

A eunuch quickly came over to await the Empress Dowager's instructions.

"Go and find out who Yunluo has been asking for martial arts advice these past few days, and who taught her the method of condensing true qi."

Royal family members, especially princesses and noblewomen, are best advised not to practice martial arts, lest they develop a bloodthirsty nature. What if the emperor makes a decision that displeases them, such as arranging a marriage alliance, and one of them decides to kill the emperor on the spot?

The Empress Dowager, being an experienced woman, knew that these princesses and noblewomen would all need to be married off if nothing unexpected happened. It was too dangerous to let them master martial arts, and this had to be stopped.

However, this kind of thing cannot be discussed openly, so it can only be done in secret.

Fortunately, Yunluo is currently the only member of the royal family who is obsessed with martial arts. The others have no intention of enduring such hardship, so dealing with only one person is not difficult.

The eunuch shuddered and went to investigate with a bitter expression.

He didn't need to investigate to know who they were; they were just people from the Eastern Depot.

Princess Yunluo had no place to learn martial arts in the palace. She learned everything by watching the guards practice and secretly learning from them. She also challenged the eunuchs to fight and interrogated them about their skills. That's how she gradually learned.

The only possible source of her internal energy cultivation technique is the eunuch from the Eastern Depot.

The Empress Dowager's task seemed simple, but in reality, she wanted him to investigate the Eastern Depot, which was simply impossible.

The Eastern Depot was a professional intelligence agency. How could an ordinary eunuch investigate it?

But the Empress Dowager had given the order, and he could not disobey.

He went directly to the great Supervisor Cao and complained to him:

"Your Excellency, please investigate which descendant taught Princess Yunluo internal martial arts! The Empress Dowager wants to hold them accountable!"

Chief Supervisor Cao, dressed in a purple-red robe, was practicing martial arts in a side hall when he suddenly heard this and his eyes widened immediately.

"What? My people disregarded the Empress Dowager's orders and taught the princess internal martial arts?"

Cao Zhengchun's breathing became unsteady, and the pure internal energy he had cultivated over decades of Tiangang Boy's Kung Fu roared out, almost blowing the entire room away.

He knew better than anyone where his power came from: it came entirely from the favor of the Zhengde Emperor!

If this incident causes him to lose the trust of the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, given what he has done over the years, he won't even be able to leave with a whole corpse.

This is practically undermining his foundation and taking his life!

After calming his mind, he first suspected that this was a conspiracy by the Dragon Guard Manor.

The current imperial court has two powerful intelligence agencies: the Eastern Depot, which includes the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Dragon Guard Manor.

Under the imperial power, the two sides checked and balanced each other, engaging in open and covert struggles, each wanting to eliminate the other and become the sole dominant power. Now, they are almost locked in a life-or-death struggle.

If anyone wanted to destroy Cao Zhengchun's power and take his life, the first person he would think of was the Dragon Guard Manor and the Iron-Blooded Marquis Zhu Wushi.

However, he himself knew that it was unlikely that Zhu Wushi was behind this. The Iron-Blooded Marquis was not so narrow-minded as to do such petty tricks.

After the Empress Dowager's attendant eunuchs left, Cao Zhengchun slammed his hand on the table and summoned several young eunuchs:

"Go and ask the people below if anyone has taught Yunluo Internal Energy. Have them step forward and apologize to the Empress Dowager, explaining that they are actually a spy from the Dragon Guard Manor. If no one can, draw lots to decide."

Who cares if it's the Dragon Guard Manor or not, just shift the blame to them.