In the Daming Palace, Princess Taihua held Empress Wu’s arm and cried for a long time.

Wu Shansi was initially outside the hall seeking an audience but stayed kneeling outside in fear because he heard Princess Taihua was inside.

Empress Wu usually treated her sons harshly, but she cherished this daughter like the apple of her eye.

After listening to Princess Taihua recount the incident, she asked in surprise, "Are you saying Shansi was beaten by that Mage?"

"Yes!"

Princess Taihua nodded her head and said, "My master grabbed his wrist and directly threw him out. Your nephew’s cultivation level is too poor; he couldn’t react at all."

Empress Wu slapped the Phoenix Chair and shouted sternly, "Such audacity, even if you hit a dog, you should mind the owner. How dare he beat my nephew?"

Princess Taihua wiped her tears and said, "Mother, I spent so long telling you the story, but you didn’t listen at all? It was your nephew who tried to harass me, and my master couldn’t stand it, so he threw your nephew out. Why have you become so unreasonable now?"

Empress Wu glared at her and said, "You girl, the older you get, the more you forget your manners. How can you speak to your mother like that?"

Princess Taihua replied coquettishly, "What, do you want your daughter to kneel thrice and kowtow nine times?"

"Really don’t know what to do with you."

Empress Wu shook her head with a chuckle, unable to get angry in front of this daughter.

She said to Princess Taihua, "Speaking of which, your cousin had a point. I wasn’t opposed to marrying you to him, and since you know now, I won’t hide it from you. You’re an adult now, and you’ll eventually need to marry. Though Shansi has his faults, he’s valued for his honesty and kindness. If you marry him, he won’t mistreat you."

Princess Taihua anxiously said, "Mother, are you serious? Where is he honest? He has countless dancing girls at home, how could he truly treat me well? Besides, he’s neither good at literature nor martial arts, how can he be worthy of me?"

Empress Wu laughed, "Oh, it seems your standards are quite high now? Then tell me, if Shansi isn’t worthy of you, who is?"

Princess Taihua raised her head with a dreamy look and said, "Of course, someone like my master, bold and decisive, stands tall and inspiring. Crucially, he is amusing and humorous, with a heart like a Bodhisattva, far better than any princes around me."

Empress Wu gazed at her for a moment and realized, "Ah, I see now. You’ve been enamored with that cultivator all this time?"

Princess Taihua shyly said, "Not really! He’s married; he wouldn’t fancy someone like me!"

Empress Wu said, "Then you should bring him sometime to let me see. I’ve heard about him before, always feeling he’s overestimated. If he is truly as good as you say, I could consider him for you."

Princess Taihua joyfully said, "Mother, are you serious?"

Empress Wu laughed, "When have I ever lied to you?"

Princess Taihua immediately beamed with joy, went over to Empress Wu, and acted spoiled, "Mother, I knew you treat me the best."

Empress Wu pinched her nose and said, "Good that you know. I only have one daughter, whom else should I treat well except you? Alright, I’m tired today, you may leave now!"

"Yes!"

Princess Taihua paid her respects and cheerfully skipped out.

Empress Wu shook her head with a smile and asked Wan’er beside her to bring some tea to drink.

Once Princess Taihua exited, she saw Wu Shansi still kneeling outside.

She went over, kicked him hard, and angrily insulted him, "You scoundrel, if you ever target me again, I’ll ask my master to beat you."

Wu Shansi bitterly smiled, hanging his head without daring to speak.

He heard everything clearly from inside the hall.

Empress Wu was evidently favoring her daughter, so he could only act like a wronged person, hoping Empress Wu would see him as an obedient child.

Sure enough, after a while, a maid came out to inform him to go inside and talk.

He entered the hall, knelt inside with a thud, and shouted, "Aunt Empress Dowager above, I come to apologize to you."

Empress Wu chuckled, "Oh? What crime have you committed?"

Wu Shansi said, "In response to Aunt, I shouldn’t have misbehaved after drinking and offended the Princess."

Empress Wu set down the teacup, her expression stern, "It’s good you understand. Taihua is not a girl from the Fairy Pavilion for you to toy with. She is a princess of the Great Tang Empire; her dignity represents mine. You publicly disgracing her means you are deliberately trouble me."

"Nephew knows his crime; nephew knows his crime!"

Wu Shansi kowtowed, making banging noises on the floor.

Empress Wu’s expression calmed down, gesturing for him to rise and speak.

Wu Shansi eyes flickered, cautiously standing up.

He was accustomed to handling this kind of scene from a young age.

Apologize when demanded, kowtow when needed—habitual.

To him, the people above simply want to blend firmness with kindness.

Once the severity is over, the kindness should follow.

Sure enough, Empress Wu asked Wan’er to fetch ointment to apply to his bruised head. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

His eyes darted over Wan’er’s figure.

Admittedly, this maid beside Empress Wu was a rare beauty in all the land.

Empress Wu saw it clearly above, she sighed.

Feeling a sense of fatigue, lacking anyone to depend on or hope for.

In the old Wu family, by kinship, there’s only this one nephew.

But unfortunately, this nephew cannot be of great use.

She asked Wu Shansi, "Did you say, the Virtuous Prince was also at the banquet today?"

Wu Shansi averted his gaze, promptly becoming serious, "Yes, that’s right, today’s banquet was the Virtuous Prince hosting that Mage. Nephew suspects, the Virtuous Prince is deliberately trying to win over this Mage. Aunt, in recent times, the Virtuous Prince has been pulling strings throughout the court, you must be cautious!"

Empress Wu said somberly, "You needn’t worry about these matters; I have my judgments. But you, always loafing around idly, never diligent. Why don’t you learn from Xiann’er? Look at yourself, aside from a group of idle friends, who among you can take on significant tasks?"

"Yes, yes, nephew has sinned!"

Wu Shansi lowered his head without daring to speak, perpetually in an obedient manner before Empress Wu.

Empress Wu instructed, "This Mage is a formidable person; you must sincerely win him over. No matter what, he cannot be allowed to side with Xiann’er. Can you complete this task?"

"Ah?"

Wu Shansi glanced at Empress Wu, feeling troubled, "Aunt, there’s a misunderstanding between us!"

Empress Wu reprimanded him, "A misunderstanding, then resolve it. Those who achieve great things don’t worry about minor matters; must I teach you even this?"

Wu Shansi knelt back down with a thud, continuously bowing, "Nephew has sinned, nephew understands, nephew will surely fulfill the task Aunt has given."