Because of past incidents, Jiang Yuancheng’s young heart had been deeply wounded.

He realized that every time he took his younger sister out, something unfortunate always seemed to happen.

Now, just the sight of a wooden stick made his backside ache.

He became listless and demotivated.

With nothing better to do, he returned to his old hobby—carving.

“Fourth Brother, is this a turtle?” Jiang Yuanxi asked curiously as she leaned over.

Jiang Yuancheng froze.

He threw away his carving knife. “It’s a stone lion.”

Jiang Yuanxi widened her eyes. “Oh,” she dragged out the syllable.

【So the lion evolved in the direction of a turtle?】

Jiang Yuancheng felt a blow to his confidence.

Indeed, he was useless at everything.

Last month, he took another academic test—and once again, he placed last.

He couldn’t study well, couldn’t carve properly, and couldn’t even take care of a child.

Outside, people called him “Jiang San Fei” (Fourth Master Jiang the Three-Time Failure), and it seemed they were right.

His eldest brother was a literary genius.

His second brother was a martial arts prodigy.

His third brother was a business mastermind.

Even his youngest sister, barely over a year old, had already displayed astonishing talents—possessing incredible strength and the ability to capture ghosts and subdue demons.

Only he… was a true waste of space.

Jiang Yuancheng lowered his head. His expression was unreadable. “Yuanxi, isn’t your Fourth Brother useless?”

Jiang Yuanxi blinked, confused as to why he would say that.

“You’re not useless!”

Jiang Yuancheng turned to look at her.

Jiang Yuanxi continued, “Fourth Brother is also very smart! For example, um… for example…”

She racked her brain but couldn’t come up with anything.

【Ah! I thought of something!】

Jiang Yuancheng’s eyes lit up with anticipation.

He wasn’t entirely useless—his sister had discovered his strengths!

“You can eat a lot!” Jiang Yuanxi declared with conviction. “And you sleep really well!”

[Once her Fourth Brother fell asleep, nothing could wake him—not even thunder.]

The smile on Jiang Yuancheng’s face collapsed instantly.

He flopped backward and stared at the ceiling, lifeless.

Great.

So he was just a useless glutton and sloth.

A failure among failures.

Jiang Yuanxi suddenly realized she might have said something wrong.

She panicked.

Then, inspiration struck. “Fourth Brother can farm!”

Jiang Yuancheng glanced at her. “Farm?”

Jiang Yuanxi nodded eagerly.

【All the flowers sent by the Grand Princess were taken care of by Fourth Brother. Not a single one died—in fact, they flourished. Clearly, Fourth Brother has an extraordinary talent in this area!】

Wait.

Jiang Yuancheng frowned.

What did taking care of flowers have to do with farming?

Besides, farming was something only poor peasants did.

As a noble young master, why would he engage in such a crude activity?

Tending to flowers was acceptable for cultivating one’s character, but farming? That was just shoveling manure.

His little sister was clearly still too young and talking nonsense.

Jiang Yuancheng dismissed the idea and didn’t take it to heart.

At that moment, Chun Zhi entered the room.

“Miss, the two officials from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau wish to see you.”

…

Pei Zhengyi and Pei Jian sat sipping tea.

Pei Jian asked, “Father, do you think the Princess will agree to our request this time?” He couldn’t shake the feeling that they resembled human traffickers trying to recruit child labor.

Pei Jian lacked confidence.

Pei Zhengyi looked toward the doorway. “Regardless, we must secure the Princess’s support this time—otherwise, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau will be doomed.”

The bureau was divided into two departments.

The Emperor had been considering abolishing it for a long time.

One department was responsible for observing celestial phenomena and weather patterns.

The second department specialized in exorcising demons and capturing ghosts—mainly comprised of Taoist priests.

Due to a flood disaster in Jiangnan, the Emperor had already lost trust in the first department.

As for the second department, after their failure to deal with the Mu Prince’s mansion incident, the Emperor now viewed the bureau as nothing more than useless officials leeching off imperial salaries.

The Mu Prince’s mansion had seen many deaths, yet despite multiple attempts, the bureau had failed to resolve the issue.

Then, the little Princess had accidentally wandered into the mansion and solved the problem herself—cementing the Emperor’s decision to abolish the bureau entirely.

Pei Zhengyi had a strong premonition: the bureau’s survival depended entirely on the little Princess.

Jiang Fengyuan entered, carrying Jiang Yuanxi in his arms.

He cupped his hands in greeting. “Greetings, esteemed officials.”

Pei Zhengyi and Pei Jian, being of second-rank and vice second-rank positions, outranked Jiang Fengyuan.

“Greetings, Princess. Greetings, Lord Jiang,” they both bowed.

Jiang Fengyuan rarely interacted with the bureau, but since they had come to see Yuanxi, he was just here as a formality.

Pei Zhengyi got straight to the point. “Princess, have you considered our offer from the other day?”

The fact that she had driven out the entity in the Mu Prince’s mansion proved that her abilities far surpassed theirs.

If they could recruit the Princess into the bureau, no one would dare call them frauds anymore.

Jiang Yuanxi had nearly forgotten about this matter.

“Is the bureau fun?” she asked.

【If it’s not fun, I’m not going.】

Pei Zhengyi immediately responded, “Yes! It’s very fun! We have everything!”

He wasn’t sure what she meant by “fun,” but agreeing with her seemed like the best approach.

Jiang Yuanxi’s eyes sparkled. “Do you have great demons, demon kings, or even the King of Hell?”

Pei Zhengyi: …

Each of those things was way out of their league!

Just what had this Princess encountered before?!

Their bureau was broke—barely holding onto its front gates.

Pei Jian gritted his teeth. “We humbly request the Princess to teach our officials the true art of demon exorcism and lead the bureau!”

Although their primary duty was celestial observations, they still needed real skills. Ever since the passing of their former leader, the bureau had been in decline—now on the verge of being shut down.

Pei Zhengyi was furious at his son for ruining the setup he had carefully built. He almost wanted to beat the boy.

【With demonic energy appearing in the capital and a mysterious giant turtle, the situation was looking grim.】

If it were a major demon, she could handle it. But small demons, imps, and spirits? Those were just annoying.

Better to let these people take care of it.

Jiang Yuanxi pondered.

“Alright, I agree.”

Pei Zhengyi was moved to tears. “The Princess’s kindness will never be forgotten!”

Jiang Fengyuan, holding his daughter, took a step back.

His daughter was becoming too sought after—what a headache.

Pei Zhengyi rushed to the palace without delay, requesting the Emperor’s approval to appoint Princess Xihe as the bureau’s leader, while he himself would step down as deputy.

The Emperor immediately refused.

A bunch of conmen wanted to trick his precious goddaughter?

Not a chance.

Besides, Yun’er had mentioned it was time for Yuanxi to start schooling.

He was considering enrolling her in the Imperial Academy.

Plus, Yuanxi was still so young.

The bureau’s leader was a second-rank position—if he approved, the ministers would drown him in protests by morning.

Pei Zhengyi didn’t give up.

“Your Majesty, the Princess’s talents surpass even mine!”

The Emperor scoffed.

Of course, a bunch of frauds couldn’t compare to his daughter.

After much persuasion, the Emperor finally relented.

“She may join the bureau, but she will not be its leader.”

Pei Zhengyi bowed gratefully. “Many thanks, Your Majesty!”

The Emperor thought for a moment.

He would summon his little troublemaker tomorrow to hear her opinion.

After all, she still had to go to school.