People often say that being born into a royal family, despite its many drawbacks, at least guarantees a life of wealth and privilege.
Ji Mingchen scoffed at this notion.
From the moment he could walk, his father, the Emperor, had thrown him into the fields to play in the mud and eat coarse grains. Once a week, he was allowed meat as a special treat from the palace. Thus, his childhood was filled with mud, sweaty farmers, and countless insects and rodents.
Not only was he poor, but his life was also arduous. Every day, he had to practice cultivating Yuan Power, learn the art of forging, and study literature.
At six years old, Ji Mingchen couldn’t understand the purpose of it all. He asked his father, “I can see why I need to learn Yuan Power and forging to make a living, but why do I need to study literature?”
His father smiled, patting Ji Mingchen’s mud-covered face, and said, “When you go out with your mother, if you see a tall mountain and instead of reciting ‘Towering peaks touch the sky,’ you simply gape and say ‘Wow, that’s so high!’ your mother might just give you a beating.”
“I’m thinking of your future, son. Study well, and you’ll find it useful later on.”
Ji Mingchen squinted as he listened, still unconvinced that it would be of much use in the future. The greatest benefit, he thought, might be to please his mother and make her think his father was doing a good job of raising him.
Nevertheless, he gritted his teeth and studied. At ten, he successfully opened his innate red meridian and officially returned to the palace to assist in governing the country as a prince.
To be fair, there had never been a prince so young assisting in state affairs in history. There was much debate in the court, but his father said, “How can you compare yourself to ordinary people? You’re my best son, inheriting your father’s good looks and your mother’s intelligence. If anything, ten is too late to start governing.”
Ji Mingchen was delighted to hear this at the time, feeling grown-up and ready to shoulder the responsibilities of the state.
But later, he realized it was all nonsense. He was the Emperor’s only son! His father was just eager to shirk his duties and go sightseeing with his mother!
It wasn’t just about traveling; everywhere they went, they left something behind. They would write poetry praising their mother’s calm demeanor on cliff faces by still ponds, carve words on mountainsides wishing to stand together like twin peaks, and even erect a huge stone tablet in a valley of flowers, not to commemorate anything grand, but simply to say, “The weather is nice today, and Yi smiled at me, more beautiful than all these thousands of flowers.”
How nauseating! They were nearly fifty years old and still not embarrassed by such behavior!
Look at him, on the other hand. At sixteen, he was already praised for having the makings of a wise ruler. Because of his childhood hardships, he was especially sympathetic to farmers. He reduced agricultural taxes, weakened the power of landlords, and personally inspected the fields each year.
The strong emphasis on commerce during his father’s reign gradually normalized, farmers’ status improved, and the country’s grain reserves increased year by year.
Moreover, he excelled in both civil and military affairs, capable of winning the role of Number Three Scholar in the imperial examinations and emerging victorious in the Six Cities Tournament.
Speaking of the Six Cities Tournament, Ji Mingchen won first place on his first attempt.
However, being a prince, he didn’t belong to any particular city. The elders deliberated and kindly revoked his title, allowing the representatives from the six cities to continue competing.
Ji Mingchen was furious but helpless. After the unification of the six cities, the tournament became purely a matter of city pride, no longer affecting taxation. His victory served no purpose, so it was better to let one of the cities claim the honor and celebrate.
But at that tournament, he did meet a young lady.
Ji Mingchen’s impression of girls his age mostly came from his sister, Ji Yichen.
Ji Yichen had fallen ill shortly after birth, and although she recovered, her constitution became peculiar. While other girls were slender and graceful, she gained weight from merely drinking water, always remaining plump and round.
She had tried dieting and increasing her training, but it only resulted in another bout of illness, and she ended up gaining another two ounces.
Their mother was very concerned for her and always told her that a woman’s beauty wasn’t defined by thinness and that being healthy and happy was what mattered. Ji Yichen seemed to take it to heart, but her personality gradually became timid and insecure.
Ji Mingchen was very fond of his sister, so he always considered her feelings, constantly observing her expressions and finding ways to cheer her up.
But the young lady from the Hai family he met at the Six Cities Tournament was naturally bold. She brandished her nine-section whip and, with her chin raised, challenged him: “On the battlefield, there’s no distinction between ruler and subject. Do you dare accept my challenge?”
Ji Mingchen stared at her in astonishment, thinking that girls could be like this.
Isn’t this how girls should be?
He wished his sister could be this confident.
Lost in these thoughts, he failed to guard against the young lady’s whip. With one lash, his arm was cut open.
“Your Highness!” The people around them panicked.
Ji Mingchen snapped back to reality, frowning as he glanced at his arm. He quickly raised a protective shield and counterattacked.
His counterattack was fueled by anger, feeling that the young lady had taken advantage of his distraction, which was far from courageous. She had spoken of a fair match, yet resorted to a sneak attack.
Although the young lady opposite him was also talented, she was younger and her teachers certainly weren’t as formidable as his parents. After a few exchanges, she was at a disadvantage.
Ji Mingchen easily pinned her to the ground, sitting on top of her and raising his fist, he asked, “Do you surrender?”
The young lady turned her face away, her cheeks gradually reddening. “Get off me!”
“Apologize first for attacking without warning.”
“I called out to you before I attacked, everyone here can testify. How was I to know if your lack of response meant you were preparing to attack? Should I have waited for you to strike first?” She glared at him, her face red as blood. “If you don’t get up now, I’ll have to marry into your family!”
Ji Mingchen came to his senses, realizing their position was inappropriate. He quickly stood up, patted his clothes, and reached out to help her up.
Hai Qing ignored his hand and turned away, nearly jabbing his face with her hairpin as she left, her retreating figure clearly showing her anger.
Ji Mingchen found it amusing and couldn’t help but laugh on his way back.
Nanny Xun deliberately asked him, “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing,” he said, his eyes curving into a smile. “I just thought her puffed-up cheeks looked like a leather bag.”
Nanny Xun was speechless. He couldn’t even come up with a better comparison for the young lady, clearly having inherited none of his father’s charm.
However, since he showed interest, the Hai family’s daughter was allowed to attend lessons with him in the palace.
As two swords sliced through the air, splitting two logs from a distance before being sheathed, Ji Mingchen was now nineteen, and Hai Qing beside him had grown into a graceful young woman.
His mother summoned him and asked gently, “Do you wish to marry the Hai family’s daughter?”
However, Ji Mingchen hesitated.
They had grown up together and knew each other well. Hai Qing’s eyes always shone when she looked at him, but he felt something was missing. Marrying now seemed hasty.
“Allow me to think it over, Mother,” he said.
Ming Yi frowned and shook her head at him. “If you haven’t made up your mind, let the Hai family’s daughter return home. Don’t keep her in the palace any longer.”