Grandpa Huo suddenly chuckled: "Hehe, Xiaoyi, have you heard some rumors about the royal family? I know, those rumors must say that the eldest prince can't inherit the throne, right?"
Stone nodded silently: "Is the eldest prince not the king's biological son?"
"Yes, the eldest prince is the son of the current king's elder brother." Grandpa Huo suddenly fell into deep thought: "The eldest prince's biological father was a brave and skilled king who personally led his troops to conquer a vast empire. It was because of him that the Luo Ming Empire's territory expanded by two times!"
Isn't "valiant and skilled in battle" a term used to describe a general?
Shi Tou frowned. In her memory, it seemed that none of the founding emperors ever fared very well in the end: "What about him?"
"He's dead." Grandpa Huo's tone was tinged with sorrow: "Even the most valiant warrior can't withstand a thousand troops. The Fallen Nether Empire was too powerful, and its aggression was too strong, finally provoking the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people. The surrounding countries began to form alliances. At that time, they had a saying: even if it costs the strength of the entire race, they must kill His Majesty Mosen!"
Your Majesty Morsen...
Stone silently pondered these words.
"Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. Xiaoyi, Grandpa wants to ask you, do you like the eldest prince?"
puff!
Stone was completely dumbfounded. Didn't Hua Wushuang say that the eldest prince already had a wife? And they seemed to have a good relationship, so how come...?
etc!
Shi Tou suddenly realized that Hua Wushuang was already married to the eldest prince, but it didn't seem to mention that she had a child! Could it be that Old Man Huo was planning to make himself the eldest prince's concubine?
Oh my god! Brother Lin An, we'll never say you're the bottom again, so come out here right now!
"Xiao Yi?" Grandpa Huo saw that Shi Tou kept his head down and didn't say anything, so he couldn't help but ask again, "Do you like the eldest prince?"
Stone raised his head, his face covered in blood, and looked at Grandpa Huo: "I don't like it."
She's going all in! Anyway, she already has a fiancé, and she also has a ring space. At worst, she can just dive into the space and come out after Old Man Huo dies.
"Huh?" Grandpa Huo was clearly taken aback by Shi Tou's decisive refusal and was momentarily stunned: "Why?"
If you don't like it, you just don't like it. What's the point of asking why?
Shi Tou stared at Grandpa Huo with a twisted expression and a pitiful look in his eyes. He then threw himself into Grandpa Huo's arms, crying, "Grandpa, I don't want to leave you! I love you the most, Grandpa!"
puff!
Shi Tou turned around and saw that Old Man Huo, who had been drinking tea, immediately coughed up his drink upon hearing Shi Tou's words: "Cough cough. Xiao Yi, please continue, please continue!"
With someone like you ruining the mood, how can she possibly continue?!
"Haha, Xiaoyi, you're so funny! Do you really like Grandpa that much? Don't you like Dad?" Huo Xiaoxiao's reaction was a beat slower than her father's, but she also burst into laughter.
Stone stared at the father and daughter with endless resentment. If looks could kill, these two would be minced meat by now!
"Ahem, Xiaoyi, do you have some misunderstanding about me?" Grandpa Huo looked at Shi Tou with a dark expression, his tone quite heavy.
Shi Tou hesitated for a moment, then looked pitifully at Grandpa Huo: "Grandpa, didn't you want to give Xiao Yi away?"
Grandpa Huo choked on a mouthful of blood, unable to spit it out or swallow it: "I... I just wanted you to be the little princess's playmate..."
"Little princess?" Shi Tou hadn't expected Grandpa Huo to give her such an answer. Especially seeing Grandpa Huo's weak and dejected look, she was at a loss for words.
"Grandpa, are you talking about the Sixth Princess? What happened to her?" Huo Xiaoxiao couldn't contain her curiosity and asked directly.
The Sixth Princess?
Stone was a little confused. Wasn't the eldest prince not even thirty yet? How could he already have a sixth princess? Or...?
"Grandpa, is the little princess you mentioned the eldest prince's sister or his daughter?" Stone asked a question as well. Unsurprisingly, her question was met with disdain from everyone.
"Xiao Yi, can't you at least pay attention to what's going on in the capital? Don't just focus on your money-making scheme. I really don't know what you're planning to do with all that money?" Surprisingly, Baozi agreed with Huo Xiaoxiao's words.
Shi Tou shook his head, banishing the chaotic sounds of steamed buns from his mind: "I bought you things too, sister, after I made money!"
Looking at Shi Tou's aggrieved expression, Huo Xiaoxiao didn't know what to say. To be honest, her younger sister was quite amusing. In public, she would always address her as "sister," appearing both respectful and affectionate. However, in private, she would absolutely despise her.
Tsk tsk, speaking human language to humans and ghost language to ghosts, that probably describes someone like Stone perfectly.
"Alright, Xiaoxiao didn't bully your sister." Even Old Man Huo couldn't stand it anymore. He knew his daughter well; Huo Xiaoxiao's temperament wasn't exactly like her deceased mother's, but rather like his. Sigh, what will become of a girl with such a fiery temper? Luckily, the Huo family had already decided that Huo Xiaoxiao would find a husband to live with her, otherwise…
Huo Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes decisively: "Xiaoyi, you'd better not talk to me. If you speak, before I can even react, people will think I'm bullying you."
Stone stuck out his tongue. Who can be blamed for this? The only one to blame is Huo Xiaoxiao for attracting too much hatred.
"Xiao Yi, you haven't answered Grandpa's question yet! Are you willing to be the Sixth Princess's playmate?" Grandpa Huo had been holding back for a long time, and now he finally couldn't resist asking for a clear answer. He had to go to the palace first thing tomorrow morning, and the eldest prince was waiting for his reply!
"How old is the sixth princess?" If he had a choice, Shi Tou would definitely not want to be a kindergarten teacher. Taking care of children is too much of a burden.
Grandpa Huo thought for a moment: "They're probably a little younger than you, born around the same year." The two princesses of the royal family have always been the apple of everyone's eye. Compared to the princes who often appear in front of the public, the two of them are definitely mysterious figures.
"Alright then!" Shi Tou breathed a sigh of relief. She was already 10 years old this year. Thinking about the elementary school students in her previous life, she felt that 10-year-old girls were at most a little vain and spoiled, and should not be difficult to take care of.
Of course, at this moment, Stone had no idea that a huge surprise awaited her in the palace.
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I lost 7 favorites, but gained 200 subscribers...
Honey, the filling in my steamed buns is starting to feel the pinch! ~~o(>_<)o ~~
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Chapter 156 Linda's Dangerous Palace
"Miss, you must not go to the palace!"
After discussing it with Grandpa Huo and agreeing to go to the palace two days later, Shi Tou returned to his Zi Xin Yuan. However, unexpectedly, an uninvited guest arrived at Zi Xin Yuan early the next morning.
"Linda? Didn't you go to find your brother?" Stone looked at the girl in surprise.
Linda was a girl Stone met after leaving the Crimson Forest. Her original name was Erniu, but Stone renamed her Linda after she became his contracted servant. According to Linda herself, she possessed the talent for prophecy, although Stone always felt it was unreliable.
Later, after arriving in the capital, Linda took the initiative to say goodbye to Shi Tou, saying she was going to find her brother. Shi Tou didn't bother to argue, and just like that, Linda disappeared for more than a year.
"Miss, I came here specifically to tell you, please do not go to the palace!" Linda looked at Stone with great urgency and sincerity.
Shi Tou hesitated for a moment. Grandpa Huo hadn't forced her to be the so-called sixth princess's playmate, but since she had already agreed last night, going back on her word now would be...
"Miss, I'm serious! You absolutely mustn't go into the palace, or something bad will happen!" Seeing the hesitation on Stone's face, Linda rushed towards her without hesitation and grabbed her hand: "I'm begging you, please don't go into the palace."
Stone pulled his hand away forcefully, looking at Linda with a mixture of amusement and exasperation: "Linda, who told you I was going to the palace?"
Stone had always been skeptical of Linda's supposed prophetic abilities. But today, her appearance was just too coincidental. So coincidental that it felt like a conspiracy.
"No one told me you were going to the palace. It's like this, Miss, listen to me. A year ago, after I left you, I've been searching for my brother in the capital. I could sense his presence every time, but I just couldn't find him. Yesterday, I was perfectly fine in my rented attic when suddenly I felt a chill run down my spine. I thought about it carefully, and it seems like the person who's in trouble is you!"
Stone raised an eyebrow, signaling Linda to continue.
“Last night, I fell asleep restless. In my dream, I saw you, Miss, enter the palace. Then…” A hint of confusion flashed in Linda’s eyes: “Then I saw many people chasing after you, and then…”
Seeing Linda's hesitant expression, Stone asked helplessly, "What happened next? Did I die?"
"I don't know either, but that feeling is really strange. Miss, please, don't go into the palace. I always feel that it's terrifying, extremely terrifying!"
Stone gestured for Linda to come inside with her, then told Chrysanthemum, who was still terrified, to leave: "I do intend to go to the palace, but I'm just going to be the Sixth Princess's playmate. My grandfather said it's only because the Sixth Princess has been sick recently and needs me to keep her company. There won't be any danger."
“But the palace is dangerous, the sixth princess… the sixth princess…” Linda’s eyes were full of confusion: “Wait a minute, what sixth princess? There are only four masters in the palace, there is no sixth princess!”
"What did you say?" Stone looked at Linda in surprise: "What do you mean by only having four masters, and what do you mean by not having a sixth princess?"
Linda lowered her head, as if organizing her thoughts: "Miss, it's like this, I can sense that strange aura. You know, there are five masters in the palace: the king, the third prince, the fourth prince, and the fifth princess—only these four masters!"
"Where is the Queen? And the eldest prince and his wife?"
"Neither the Queen nor the Princess Consort are true members of the royal family. As for the eldest prince, although I also find it strange, he certainly isn't." Linda truly never misses a beat.
"The eldest prince isn't royalty? What do you mean?" Stone was genuinely confused. The queen and princess were one thing, since they didn't have royal blood, but what about the eldest prince? Even if the eldest prince wasn't the king's biological son, neither were the fourth prince and the fifth princess, right? Why single him out...?
"I don't know how to describe this feeling, but he doesn't feel that way."
Shi Tou lowered his head and thought for a while, then suddenly changed the subject and asked, "Where's your brother? Don't you have any news about him?"
Linda was taken aback, clearly not expecting Shi Tou to ask such a question: "My...my brother is in the capital, but I can't find him."
"Gaga, Master, don't listen to her, hurry up and go to the palace! The Bodhisattva Tia Divine Sword is in the palace!" Just as Stone was hesitating, Baozi came out to stir things up again.
Stone hesitated for a moment: "Let me think about it some more!" Linda wanted to say something, but Stone waved his hand to interrupt her: "You can go down first, let me think about it some more."
After Linda left, Stone told Chrysanthemum, who had been waiting outside, to call a car; she planned to go to Ironforge again.
In the lounge of Ironforge, Stone plunged headfirst into his ring space: "Baozi, I'm asking you, are you hiding something from me?"
Although Shi Tou knew that Bao Zi meant her no harm, she always felt that Bao Zi was hiding something from her. Sometimes, she even suspected that Bao Zi's arrival in her life was part of a conspiracy.
"Giggle, Baozi is utterly loyal to its master, heaven and earth can bear witness!" Baozi exaggeratedly shook its folds, trying to please its master: "Master, you must believe in Baozi!"
"It's not hard for me to believe you. Let me ask you, you once said that I..." Stone really found it difficult to say the words "my son": "The son I gave birth to in my previous body inherited the throne of the Fallen Nether Empire, right?"
"Huh? Master, you mean Kashi? That's right, after Secamoro died, Kashi became king!"
Shi Tou pondered for a moment: "Then, does the royal family have any methods for verifying bloodline identity?"
"Hehe, there aren't any in the royal family, but Prince Kashy's descendants can be identified! Baozi remembers Master saying that all the descendants of the Yi family are born with divine power and can master the Nine Heavens Astounding Technique!"
"How do you tell?" Stone stared intently at the steamed bun. "Don't try to fool me!"
Baozi wrinkled its dumpling skin, looking aggrieved: "Hehe, Baozi is a good dumpling, Baozi won't lie to its master! A person who has mastered an extraordinary skill will show one thing very clearly!"
"explain!"
"Hehe, once you master the Nine Heavens' Astounding Technique, you'll become extremely alluring and captivating, a scourge to the nation!" Baozi stared intently at the stone: "If Baozi dares to lie to Master, I'll turn Baozi into a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger)!"
Alluring and seductive? Or a scourge to the nation?
Suddenly, Shi Tou's eyes widened in surprise, and he asked incredulously, "What if a man masters the Nine Heavens Astounding Technique? Is it the same?"
"Hehe, of course they're the same! Prince Cassidy is exceptionally handsome, isn't he?" Baozi answered matter-of-factly, "Didn't Master always say that Prince Cassidy was a beautiful little princess?"
Beautiful little princess...
Stone suddenly felt a lot of sympathy for Prince Kathy, who had been dead for who knows how long. Well, the former owner of the steamed bun was definitely a weirdo!
o(╯□╰)o