Starting With 1 Trillion Spirit Stones, I Power Up by Raising Empresses - Chapter 2:

Chapter 2: Princess, Forgive My Rudeness

It was vastly different from what he had imagined.

The furnishings in the Fifth Princess’s residence were simple, even somewhat shabby. Though the room had been decorated with festive red for the wedding, it still couldn’t mask the desolate and lonely atmosphere.

Inside the bridal chamber, Xiao Jing looked around at the furnishings before finally turning his gaze to the Fifth Princess, who sat quietly on the edge of the embroidered bed, her face covered with a red veil.

From the beginning of the ceremony to now, he still hadn’t seen her true face.

Her figure looked quite good.

As for her appearance, Xiao Jing had no energy to be concerned. Right now, his entire mind was focused on how to survive and become stronger.

He didn’t lift the veil immediately, because a notification had popped up in his mind from the system.

[Suitable target detected for binding.]

[Mu Lanchu]

[Realm: 7th layer Body Refining stage (suppressed)]

[Physique: Mortal Body]

[Potential Value: 63 (barely qualified)]

[Public Identity: Fifth Princess of the Yan Empire, titled Princess Yuhe.]

[Relationship with host: strangers who completed the wedding ritual.]

[Kind reminder: Once binding is successful, a cultivation relationship will be established. The target will be unable to harm the host in any way.]

[Proceed with binding?]

[Yes] [No]

Seeing the name on the panel, Xiao Jing paused. He tried to recall—was the Fifth Princess really named Mu Lanchu?

A princess of the Yan Empire, and her cultivation was only at the 7th layer Body Refining stage?

And the system mentioned “suppressed”?

These thoughts flashed through his mind.

At the same time, he selected [Yes].

[Congratulations, host. Binding successful. You have received the Binding Gift Pack.]

“System, open the gift pack!”

[Congratulations, host. You have obtained: Gold Crow Bloodline (Gold Rank) — usable on your cultivation target.]

[Gold Crow Bloodline (Gold Rank): Ancestor of the Yan Empire once gained a great opportunity and obtained the Gold Crow Bloodline. His descendants have a chance of inheriting and awakening it. Throughout history, the bloodline has manifested in four forms, ranked strongest to weakest: Gold (pure Gold Crow bloodline), Red, White, and Black.]

Xiao Jing carefully read through the system’s description. To his surprise, the first meeting gift the system gave to Mu Lanchu was the Gold Crow Bloodline of the Yan Empire’s founding ancestor—and it was the strongest gold variant!

Mu Lanchu sat on the edge of the bed, hidden under the red bridal veil, nervously twisting the edge of her wedding gown.

She waited, but Xiao Jing didn’t come to lift her veil.

Her unease grew stronger and stronger. Finally, she couldn’t help but lift a corner of the veil herself.

She saw Xiao Jing sitting beside the table, eyes dazed and staring into the void, but with a faint smile on his lips.

She sighed softly.

Could it be… the third prince of Liang was a fool?

[Your cultivation target, Mu Lanchu, sees you smiling foolishly and suspects you may be mentally unsound. Her vigilance toward you decreases.]

Seeing this message, Xiao Jing froze.

He closed the system panel and looked toward the Fifth Princess.

He saw that a corner of her veil had been lifted, revealing half of her jade-like face and one clear eye.

Her long lashes fluttered like a timid kitten, hiding beneath the red veil and secretly peeking out, cautiously observing him.

To his surprise, the Fifth Princess was more beautiful than he had expected.

[Mu Lanchu notices that you’re very handsome when not smiling foolishly. Her guard lowers again.]

[Mu Lanchu senses no hostility or killing intent from you. Her sense of safety slightly improves.]

As Xiao Jing stared at her, the system continued feeding updates about Mu Lanchu’s mental state.

Xiao Jing was speechless. What kind of mentality was this woman working with?

Just because he smiled foolishly, she dropped her guard?

Just because he was handsome, she lowered her vigilance again? Assumed he wasn’t dangerous?

Did being good-looking automatically make one trustworthy?

Could good looks justify everything?

But that clear and gentle eye under the veil made him want to see the full beauty behind it.

Xiao Jing stood up and approached the soft gauze canopy.

Mu Lanchu immediately panicked and lowered the veil again, shrinking back slightly. She looked very nervous but didn’t make any sudden movements.

Xiao Jing gently lifted the veil.

A breathtaking, pure, and flawless face was revealed before his eyes.

Such beauty would easily score at least a 9.5 back in his original world!

A man and woman, alone in a bridal chamber, officially wed with the blessing of both empires—this was a legitimate union.

Since the title was legitimate and the woman lovely, how could the night be wasted?

Xiao Jing grinned mischievously.

“Princess, please forgive my rudeness.”

…

Half an hour later…

Mu Lanchu leaned against Xiao Jing’s shoulder. Only after the flush faded from her cheeks did she speak in a soft and cautious whisper, “Husband~ now that we’ve consummated our marriage, you’re the only one I can rely on. Please find a chance to help me escape the Yan Empire.”

As she spoke, her cherry-like lips leaned close to his ear, whispering softly like a kitten, her breath gently tickling the fine hairs inside his ear.

Xiao Jing was surprised.

What? Escape?

Before binding with the system, he himself had considered running away.

But with the system in place, that changed everything.

With 1 quadrillion spirit stones in funds, he only needed to spend on the cultivation target to improve his own cultivation.

Why run?

Besides, to spend lavishly, he needed to stay in prosperous places. The capital of the Yan Empire—Changtian City—was perfect.

Would he really go to some remote backwater to throw money around?

Seeing that Xiao Jing didn’t respond, Mu Lanchu asked again in a soft voice, “Husband? Is it not possible?”

“Why do you want to escape?”

“I… don’t want to keep living in constant fear.” Mu Lanchu bit her lower lip and hesitated before whispering again, “Husband, now that we are truly married, there’s something I can’t hide from you anymore. But I’m afraid that if I tell you the truth, you’ll abandon me.”

She never doubted Xiao Jing’s identity and treated him as the real prince.

Her lashes lowered, her expression gentle and pitiable.

“It’s alright. You can tell me.”

Xiao Jing’s mind was clear, and a thought flashed through his head.

Could this Princess Yuhe also be a stand-in?

The system’s panel showed the name Mu Lanchu, but the royal family of the Yan Empire carried the surname Bi.

Sure enough, Mu Lanchu softly said, “The real Princess Yuhe died a few years ago. I was taken to replace her.”

“She’s dead?” Xiao Jing was stunned. He had guessed that the Fifth Princess, like the Third Prince, might not want to go through with the forced marriage and thus used a stand-in.

He hadn’t expected she was truly dead.

“Yes.”

“Four years ago,” Mu Lanchu sighed, “Princess Yuhe originally inherited the Gold Crow Bloodline of the Bi clan’s imperial ancestor. The Crown Prince coveted it and forcibly took her bloodline, which killed her.”

“I was captured to fill the position she left behind.”

“I was once a disciple of a small sect on Yan Empire’s Greenhill Mountain.”

“After the Crown Prince accidentally killed Princess Yuhe, he feared punishment from the Emperor, worried that the ministers would find out, and dreaded the backlash of fratricide being known to the world. So he secretly searched for someone who resembled her.”

“They stormed my sect and claimed I looked ninety percent like the Fifth Princess. Then they slaughtered my entire sect—several dozen senior brothers and sisters, even the sect master, were silenced.”

“I was dragged to Changtian City, thrown into the Fifth Princess’s residence, taught imperial etiquette, and forced to impersonate Princess Yuhe. They told the public she was crippled and too frail to appear, all to deceive the world…”

“All to protect the so-called… dignity of the royal family.”

“This…”

After hearing her out, Xiao Jing frowned.

So the saying about imperial families turning on each other wasn’t wrong.

It seemed life in the Yan Empire might be more dangerous than he had anticipated.

“Husband, I’ve been living like this, under house arrest, for four years.”

“The Crown Prince’s full-blooded sister, Third Princess Huaiwei, has been keeping close watch on me for him.”

“Now that you’ve come to the Yan Empire as a hostage, your situation is already difficult, and I will only drag you down.”

“Please, for the sake of our wedding night, find a way to help me escape the Yan Empire.”

“Chuchu will never forget your kindness!”

Mu Lanchu had clearly placed all her hope and survival on Xiao Jing’s shoulders with those words.

Xiao Jing now understood.

He was a stand-in. Unexpectedly, so was Mu Lanchu.

Interesting.

Both of them were impostors—neither had reason to judge the other.

The situation was troublesome, but not frightening.

Because in this continent, as long as one had enough strength, even imperial power was nothing to fear!

Looking at the beautiful woman in his arms, trembling with anxiety, Xiao Jing held her more firmly.

“Since we are now husband and wife, and I have yet to give you a proper gift, let me give you a grand one tonight, on our wedding night.”