Chapter 24: The Eldest Princess Reaches Out

“Yes! I only have one card left!” Diloxi tossed out two cards with a cheerful grin.

She had nothing left on but a single undergarment; everything else had been lost. Qingyue eyed Long Chen mischievously—she herself was down to just a pair of pants. “Pass!” she said.

Xuan Yi looked at Long Chen with anticipation, feeling that this round would surely be hers.

Long Chen still held five cards; from the looks of it, he was certain to lose.

“Come on, Little Dragon, play your cards…” Diloxi sat cross-legged, making no attempt to hide her spring-like beauty, unconcerned that Long Chen was a eunuch—what did it matter if he looked? This was the heart of the palace, after all.

Long Chen grinned wickedly and threw out four cards. “Four threes—a bomb!”

“One five. I win. Your Highness, you have only one piece left. Off with it.”

He made a lewd gesture.

“Ah… How did I lose again?” Xuan Yi collapsed onto the couch, hugging a pillow with a sigh.

Diloxi still had a Joker in her hand and had thought victory was certain.

“This is outrageous! Hold him down and strip him!”

Diloxi resorted to shamelessness, tearing up the Joker in frustration.

Xuan Yi and Qingyue immediately pinned Long Chen to the couch, and in moments, his clothes were shredded to pieces.

“So satisfying! The princess is truly wise.”

“Exactly—why waste words with him? Just strip him.”

The two maids, Xuan Yi and Qingyue, felt their grievances amply avenged.

Diloxi draped herself in a robe, sneering, “Little Dragon, attend your princess’s bath!”

Long Chen lay on the couch in utter despair.

“To think a princess would break her word! Have you no sense of honoring a wager?” he complained.

Diloxi scoffed, “My rules are the rules. Up with you—now!”

With no choice, Long Chen got up and followed her into the bath.

The three of them attended the princess, washing her from head to toe, then giving her a full massage and treatment. Long Chen felt as though his very soul had been drained.

Returning to his quarters, he found little Xiangning waiting for him.

“Welcome back, Steward.”

She had already brewed tea and made his bed.

“Little Xiangning is the best, not like those others who bully me,” Long Chen said wistfully, taking a sip of tea before collapsing into bed.

The journey back from Linjiang City had been exhausting, and he hadn’t rested at all—he was utterly spent.

The Eastern Palace.

This was the residence of the eldest princess, Yuwei.

Though the Empress had not officially named Yuwei as her successor, by the traditions of direct inheritance, she was clearly the leading candidate in everyone’s eyes.

Yuwei stood by the window, watching the snow fall. A tall, stern-faced woman approached—it was He Ningxin, her advisor.

“Your Highness, the Fourth Princess has recovered Linjiang City and destroyed two hundred thousand of the Heavenly Might Legion. Her renown is soaring.”

He Ningxin was Yuwei’s strategist.

“My fourth sister’s luck is remarkable—she’s acquired a remarkable eunuch. In letters, he can best the great scholar Yu Shinan; in arms, he can rout the Heavenly Might Legion. Why do I not have such a eunuch at my side?”

He Ningxin felt a pang at these words. It was like Cao Cao lamenting the loss of Guo Jia—diminishing all those around him.

“It is my own inadequacy that I cannot relieve Your Highness’s worries,” He Ningxin said, ashamed.

“That’s not what I meant. Have you investigated Long Cheng’en’s background?”

Yuwei was also suspicious of Long Chen’s identity, even suspecting he might be a spy sent by Southern Liang.

“I’ve looked into it—he’s with the Dragon Army.”

“What? The Dragon Army?”

“That’s right. He once served as Long Ye’s bodyguard. After the fall of the Dragon Army, he wandered into Eastern Zhou. This time, he’s taken revenge on Southern Liang with the help of the Fourth Princess.”

“So that’s it! No wonder he knows Linjiang City so well.”

The information He Ningxin obtained had all been deliberately released by the Empress; they knew nothing of Long Chen’s true background.

“As long as he’s not a spy. Though my fourth sister and I are rivals, the state comes first—we must not waste our strength on internal strife.”

Yuwei had a sense of the greater picture and would not undermine Diloxi.

He Ningxin ventured, “Should we try to win Long Chen over?”

Yuwei asked, “Do you have a plan?”

He Ningxin replied, “There was a wager in court today—Long Cheng’en must solve the firewood crisis. It’s an unsolvable problem. If Your Highness recommends him as Minister of Works, I believe he will be grateful and loyal.”

Yuwei nodded. “Good. Go win him over. Tell him I have promised he will be made Minister of Works.”

He Ningxin went to carry out her orders.

In Phoenix Song Palace, Shadow Phoenix brought a stack of memorials for the Empress, who reviewed them at a leisurely pace.

“The eldest princess’s people have investigated Long Chen’s background. I sent them the dossier we prepared in advance.”

“Very good. From now on, all information on Long Chen will follow this script. I expect Southern Liang will send their agents soon as well.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

Shadow Phoenix departed to make arrangements.

In the secluded quarters.

Out in the snow, Long Chen stood bare-chested, wielding a soul-iron spear, thrusting it again and again, each strike splitting the air with its force.

The Tyrant Dragon Spear Technique that Diloxi had given him was extremely difficult, but fortunately, his body had prior training in spear arts, so he progressed rapidly.

Long Chen’s physique grew more and more powerful, his muscles standing out in stark relief—nothing like the effeminate eunuchs of the palace.

Xiangning sat under the eaves, dazed. That handsome face, those robust muscles, the masculine energy—none of it resembled a eunuch in the slightest.

“The Steward is so captivating,” she thought, her heart fluttering with springtime longing.

With each thrust, Long Chen felt the martial energy within him churning and gathering at his life gate, then coursing through his meridians, finally collecting as a warm current at the crown of his head.

Suddenly, the spear exploded with a resounding bang, startling Xiangning.

Long Chen withdrew the spear, delighted as he gazed at his hands—he had finally broken through to the Grandmaster realm.

“Steward, are you all right?” Xiangning asked with concern.

“I’m fine—I’ve broken through to the Grandmaster level!” Long Chen exclaimed with delight.

Xiangning’s eyes widened in shock. “You truly are extraordinary, Steward. In such a short time, you’ve advanced from the Warrior to the Grandmaster realm—it’s unbelievable!”

Xiangning herself did not practice martial arts, but she knew that such a leap would take at least five years of hard training—three for a genius. For Long Chen to achieve it in just a month was beyond genius, it was godlike.

“Impressive, isn’t it? Come, bathe with me.”

He hung the iron spear on its rack and swept Xiangning into his arms, carrying her to the bath.

She was both expectant and bashful; though Long Chen was not a man, he was more robust than any man, and she most enjoyed bathing him.

The hot water was already prepared. Long Chen soaked in the tub, the medicinal warmth seeping into his pores.

Herbs had been added to the bath, promoting the flow of blood and energy, aiding his cultivation.

Xiangning took up the cloth and carefully scrubbed him, her body unconsciously pressing against his back.

The strength of his muscles made her blush furiously—he was just too powerful, too manly.

“Steward, you’re in high spirits today,” came a sudden voice.

A tall, stern-featured woman appeared in the bathhouse—it was He Ningxin, the major-domo of the Eastern Palace under Princess Yuwei.

Astonishingly, Long Chen had not even sensed her approach—a sign that her cultivation had surpassed his own.

“And who might you be?” Long Chen asked, not recognizing her.

“My name is He Ningxin, lady-in-waiting to the Eastern Palace,” she introduced herself, her eyes fixed intently on Long Chen’s chiseled chest.

She hadn’t seen such a masculine physique in many years.