Refining God expert?
Yang Cheng felt his heart stop.
Cheng Junyi was definitely Lady Cheng.
And Lady Cheng was actually a Refining God expert?
After a Martial Emperor shattered space, they could become a Martial True God. Martial True Gods were divided into nine ranks: Insight God, Yin God, Yang God, Refining God, Shattering God, Nirvana God, Boundary God, Vast God, and Ancestral God.
In his past life, the strongest True God Yang Cheng had ever met face-to-face was a mighty Yang God. As for a Refining God expert, he had only seen one from a distance—he never had the chance to actually interact with them.
Now, the system told him that Lady Cheng would become a Refining God expert. How could he not be shocked?
But Yang Cheng quickly realized the system mentioned 500 years later. The Lady Cheng of 500 years in the future would be a Refining God expert. That didn't mean the Lady Cheng of now already had that level of power.
Even so, Lady Cheng right now definitely wasn't an ordinary person.
No wonder both Father Emperor and Mother Empress treated Lady Cheng with such respect.
Yang Cheng was sure that in his past life, he'd never met Lady Cheng. Back then, at this point in time, his bones had already been crippled, and Mother never held any banquets—so naturally, Lady Cheng was never invited.
According to what Father Emperor and Mother Empress said, Lady Cheng would leave Great Zhou soon.
So it made perfect sense that he hadn't encountered her in his previous life.
Three hours later.
In the imperial garden.
An eight-year-old girl was chasing a kite. Without realizing it, she seemed to lose her way and ended up outside Universal Peace Hall.
At that moment, Consort Xian from Universal Peace Hall appeared and ran right into the eight-year-old girl.
No one else was around.
The eight-year-old girl bowed deeply. "Changle greets Consort Xian."
"There's no need for formality between us," Consort Xian said. "You sent a maid to secretly deliver a message saying you had something urgent to discuss. What's so important?"
"I've received news that His Majesty is looking for a martial arts teacher to guide the crown prince," the eight-year-old girl said. "He's already approached Lady Cheng. Please, Consort Xian, tell Noble Consort Zhuang right away to beg His Majesty for a chance for the sixth prince to become Lady Cheng's disciple."
This girl was none other than Princess Changle.
"Is this really that important?" Consort Xian asked.
"It's extremely important," Princess Changle replied. "Lady Cheng's status is incredibly high. If the sixth prince becomes her disciple, it will benefit him endlessly in the future."
Consort Xian's face turned serious. "I'll go find Noble Consort Zhuang immediately."
Princess Changle nodded slightly, picked up the kite from the ground, and hurried away, pretending not to know Consort Xian at all.
Consort Xian moved fast. She knew Noble Consort Zhuang would be at the carp pond today to feed the fish, so she went straight there.
When Noble Consort Zhuang saw Consort Xian, a faint glint flashed in her eyes—too subtle for most to notice.
The two of them were already secretly working together, though they kept up appearances by acting like rivals in public.
Noble Consort Zhuang's red lips curled into a sneer. "Sister, I heard the fourth prince only learned about a thousand characters so far?"
Consort Xian's face nearly fell. This woman's mouth was just vile. If she didn't know the sixth prince had great destiny, she'd have loved to tear Noble Consort Zhuang's lips right off.
"Heh, my son isn't the crown prince. He doesn't need to be that talented," Consort Xian said with forced calm. "Besides, no matter how talented the sixth prince is, he can't compare to the crown prince. The crown prince is already outstanding, and now he's about to become Lady Cheng's disciple. After that, the other princes won't stand a chance."
"Who says my son can't match the crown prince?" Noble Consort Zhuang snapped, her expression darkening. Then she froze. "Wait, what did you just say? The crown prince is going to be Lady Cheng's disciple?"
"Of course. Don't tell me you didn't know?" Consort Xian replied with a look of feigned surprise.
Noble Consort Zhuang immediately forgot all about arguing. She stood up and hurried away without another word.
Consort Xian watched her retreating figure with a faint smile.
Fifteen minutes later, Noble Consort Zhuang arrived at the imperial study to request an audience with Yang Yuan.
"Let Noble Consort in," Yang Yuan ordered.
Chief Eunuch Su Jin went right away to escort Noble Consort Zhuang inside.
"Your Majesty, Xiu'er already knows nearly 5,000 characters. I boldly beg Your Majesty to find a good martial arts teacher to guide him," Noble Consort Zhuang said.
How wise was Yang Yuan? Just hearing this, he instantly saw through her intentions. "Beloved consort, you want Xiu'er to also become Lady Cheng's disciple?"
Noble Consort Zhuang covered her red lips, speaking sweetly. "This little thought of mine could never escape Your Majesty's notice."
Yang Yuan's face showed a bit of hesitation, like he was weighing things carefully. After a moment, he said slowly, "Fine, then Xiu'er can go with Cheng'er to meet Lady Cheng. But I can only give Xiu'er this chance. Whether he can win Lady Cheng's favor will depend on his own performance."
Noble Consort Zhuang's face lit up with joy. She knelt gracefully. "I thank Your Majesty on behalf of Xiu'er for your great kindness."
The next day.
Yang Yuan came again to Splendid Radiance Hall.
"Empress, I've convinced Lady Cheng. She's willing to give Cheng'er a chance," Yang Yuan said.
Yun Liyue looked curious. "How did Your Majesty manage to persuade Lady Cheng?"
Yang Yuan laughed. "My Yang clan ancestors once did a great favor for the Cheng family's ancestors. I used that favor as leverage."
Yun Liyue's face turned solemn. "For Your Majesty to go to such lengths for Cheng'er is truly his blessing."
"Haha, what are you saying, Empress? Cheng'er is also my precious child," Yang Yuan said with a smile. "Oh right, Lady Cheng gave me two spots. So besides Cheng'er, Xiu'er will be going too."
Yun Liyue's expression didn't change as she replied calmly, "That's a good thing."
That afternoon.
Yun Liyue took Yang Cheng out of the palace.
Autumn Water Courtyard.
This was royal property. Here, Yang Cheng saw Lady Cheng, Cheng Junyi, once more.
"Little crown prince, we meet again," Cheng Junyi said with a smile.
"Yang Cheng greets senior," Yang Cheng said, bowing formally like an adult.
Cheng Junyi burst into delighted laughter.
"Yang Xiu greets senior. I wish you everlasting beauty, wisdom, and kindness," Yang Xiu's voice sounded just then.
"My, what a sweet mouth," Cheng Junyi laughed even harder.
Yang Cheng now noticed Yang Xiu had also arrived.
"My words come from the bottom of my heart," Yang Xiu added.
Everyone around them looked shocked. A one-year-old child saying something like that was astonishing.
Noble Consort Zhuang's face was full of pride—Yang Xiu made her look so good.
Yang Cheng just smiled faintly and said nothing more.
Yang Xiu was a child of destiny who could do whatever he wanted. But Yang Cheng knew he wasn't.
So he preferred to plan carefully before acting. Until he figured out Cheng Junyi's personality better, he wouldn't try to show off.
Yang Xiu performed excellently. But a one-year-old acting like this might not win everyone over. Most people saw babies as innocent and pure. They could be smart, but not cunning.
Especially since Yang Cheng clearly remembered Yang Xiu hadn't become Cheng Junyi's disciple in his past life. He didn't believe Yang Xiu and Noble Consort Zhuang hadn't tried before. Most likely, Cheng Junyi simply didn't like Yang Xiu.
So when facing Cheng Junyi, Yang Cheng knew it was wise to treat Yang Xiu's behavior as a negative example.
"Sixth prince, you're very thoughtful," Cheng Junyi said, seeming to like Yang Xiu, but then her tone shifted. "But let's be clear: if you're not my disciple, I'll only dote on you. If you want to become my disciple, sweet words and clever tricks won't be enough."
Noble Consort Zhuang's smile froze slightly.
Yang Xiu's movements stiffened, too.
Yang Cheng kept his innocent, wide-eyed look, like he didn't understand anything.
"To become my disciple, the requirements aren't complicated. You just need to pass one simple test," Cheng Junyi said, her expression turning serious.