"Lady Cheng, will you be testing martial talent?" Noble Consort Zhuang couldn't hide her urgency and blurted out, "Xiu'er's martial talent is absolutely not a problem."
"It has nothing to do with martial talent," Cheng Junyi said as she swept her wide sleeve across the table. "The crown prince has the Divine Dragon Sword Body, and the sixth prince has the Heavenly Sword Sacred Body. Their talents are definitely fine. However, if you want to become my disciple, you must earn the approval of my first disciple."
First disciple?
Everyone's faces changed subtly, puzzled thoughts rising in their hearts. Just then, they seemed to sense something and all looked instinctively toward the curtain behind Cheng Junyi.
A maid lifted the curtain. Everyone noticed that behind the maid was a little girl who looked like a porcelain doll.
The girl was about two years old, with big watery eyes and rosy cheeks that made people feel an irresistible urge to pinch her face.
"This is my first disciple, Tang Xingyu," Cheng Junyi said with a faint smile. "Crown prince, sixth prince, whichever of you can win her approval will become my second disciple."
Yang Cheng felt his mind quake!
Tang Xingyu?
He'd never heard of Cheng Junyi in his past life, but the name Tang Xingyu was famous like thunder in his ears. Yang Xiu's success later in life relied greatly on a group of prodigies who supported him. The most important of them was the Shattering God expert, Tang Xingyu.
Tang Xingyu was powerful, stunningly beautiful, and shone like the blazing sun. In his previous life, Yang Cheng had once glimpsed Tang Xingyu from afar. Back then, Tang Xingyu was someone completely out of his reach.
Could it be just a coincidence, that the names happened to be the same?
Yang Cheng immediately rejected that thought. In his past life, there had been rumors that Tang Xingyu supported Yang Xiu because Tang Xingyu's teacher owed Yang Xiu a favor. He hadn't understood it then. But now, everything clicked instantly.
Tang Xingyu's teacher was Cheng Junyi. And Cheng Junyi owed the Yang family a favor. In his past life, since he was a cripple and Yang Xiu never became Tang Xingyu's junior, it must have been Yang Xiu who used the Yang family's favor later to get Tang Xingyu's help.
Even though he figured all this out, Yang Cheng still felt shaken to the core. It was just so hard to connect the peerless Tang Xingyu of 500 years in the future—who suppressed countless geniuses across the myriad worlds—with the porcelain-doll-like two-year-old girl before him.
Because Tang Xingyu had a connection with Yang Xiu in his past life, Yang Cheng instinctively glanced at Yang Xiu. He immediately noticed Yang Xiu looked completely unsurprised by Tang Xingyu's appearance. That made Yang Cheng thoughtful.
Everyone around them looked at each other, speechless. Letting a two-year-old girl decide whether Yang Cheng or Yang Xiu could become Cheng Junyi's disciple—just hearing it sounded absurd. But Cheng Junyi's serious face showed she wasn't joking at all.
"Tangtang, between these two little brothers, which one do you like?" Cheng Junyi asked Tang Xingyu.
Tang Xingyu's rosy little face showed pure confusion.
Cheng Junyi chuckled when she saw that. "Take your two little brothers to play. If you end up liking one of them, tell your teacher when you come back."
"Play?" Tang Xingyu's eyes lit up like stars. "Teacher, can Tangtang go shopping?"
"You can," Cheng Junyi said, her face full of affection.
"Little brothers, hurry up and follow me!" Tang Xingyu urged excitedly.
After the three little ones left, Cheng Junyi looked at Yun Liyue. "Your Majesty the Empress, I truly adore the crown prince. But taking a disciple involves my sect's rules. I hope you understand."
"It's no problem. Everything depends on fate," Yun Liyue replied calmly. To gain was her luck; to lose was her destiny—she wouldn't force it.
Cheng Junyi's eyes revealed a look of appreciation. As for Noble Consort Zhuang, she didn't even bother paying her any attention.
Out on the street.
Three wobbly little children, surrounded by a mighty entourage of guards and palace servants, toddled along the road.
"Your name is Tangtang? I'm Yang Xiu," Yang Xiu said proudly.
Yang Xiu's eyes shone with pride. "If I become your junior brother, that'll definitely be your honor. Don't look at how you're older than me—I know way more than you, and I'll protect you in the future."
His mind was sharp, clearer than many four-year-old kids. Toward Tang Xingyu, this two-year-old toddler, he naturally felt a strong sense of superiority.
But Tang Xingyu immediately looked unhappy. "Bragger, you're not even taller than me."
Yang Xiu frowned. "I'm not taller only because I'm younger. But I already know 5,000 characters and can read martial arts books by myself. Don't you admire me?"
Tang Xingyu pouted. "You're not taller than me."
Yang Xiu was furious. "You… you… how dare you!"
But he quickly adjusted, pulling a bottle from his clothes. When he opened the lid, a rich, spiritual fragrance wafted out. Tang Xingyu's eyes locked onto the bottle, her gaze full of longing.
Yang Xiu said proudly, "This is spirit marrow, priceless. My mother paid a huge price to get it. If you choose me, I'll give it to you as a gift."
Tang Xingyu clearly wavered. But right then, a sweet smell drifted by. Her attention instantly shifted. She turned her head and saw Yang Cheng walking over with two sticks of candied hawthorn. The bright red, shiny treats caught her eyes completely.
"This candied hawthorn is a gift to you," Yang Cheng said.
A glistening string of drool immediately appeared at the corner of Tang Xingyu's mouth.
"Slurp." She quickly sucked in her drool. "Is there a condition on this gift?"
Yang Cheng laughed softly. Obviously, even though Tang Xingyu was little, her mind was sharp. Yang Xiu's words—'if you choose me, I'll give you this spirit marrow'—had revealed to Tang Xingyu that it was a trade.
"I already said it's a gift, so of course there's no catch," Yang Cheng said.
Tang Xingyu still looked worried. "What if I don't pick you as my junior brother?"
"Even if we're not fellow disciples, we can still be friends," Yang Cheng said, then teased, "Hurry up and take it, or I'll eat both myself."
"Little brother, you can't eat too much candy or your teeth will rot," Tang Xingyu said. But she couldn't resist the lure of the candied hawthorn. She stretched out her chubby little hand and grabbed the treat.
Yang Xiu cried out urgently, "No, you can't take his candied hawthorn!"
Tang Xingyu puffed out her cheeks. "Why not?"
"If you take his candied hawthorn, you can't have my spirit marrow," Yang Xiu declared.
Tang Xingyu glanced longingly at the spirit marrow. Seeing this, Yang Xiu's face showed triumph. He thought any child with half a brain would know which to pick. A mountain of candied hawthorn couldn't compare in value to a single bottle of spirit marrow.
But in just a moment, Tang Xingyu turned away and snorted. "Fine, I don't want it. What's so great about it anyway? You don't even get to eat candied hawthorn."
Yang Xiu's eyes widened in disbelief. "You're seriously comparing a stick of candied hawthorn with my spirit marrow? Do you have any idea how many candied hawthorns one bottle of spirit marrow could buy?"
Tang Xingyu snapped angrily, "I'm not talking to you anymore. You don't even know how delicious candied hawthorn is."
Yang Cheng couldn't help but laugh. As expected, everything had its strengths and weaknesses. Yang Xiu, enlightened by Lin Xinglan, had intelligence far beyond his age. But he also lacked a child's natural innocence. Because of that, he couldn't understand just how irresistible candied hawthorn was to a little kid.
A normal two-year-old girl, no matter how smart, wouldn't think too far ahead. Tang Xingyu might know the value of spirit marrow, but she wouldn't care how much it could help her future. Right now, what mattered most was that the candied hawthorn in front of her was the greatest temptation.
Soon, Yang Cheng and Tang Xingyu were happily munching on their candied hawthorn. Yang Xiu trailed behind them, swallowing hard, then quickly pretending not to care.
Once Yang Cheng and Tang Xingyu finished eating, their time outside was up. The maids led them back to Autumn Water Courtyard.
Cheng Junyi picked Tang Xingyu up. "Tangtang, did you have fun?"