The emperor cast a glance at him and said in a low voice, “Focus.”

Having said that, the emperor resumed writing his official documents.

The crown prince was instantly motivated. He tried to compose himself, but just as he settled back into his seat to deal with administrative work, his thoughts unraveled in panic.

How… how could they say that?!

[Ah Ruan, let me tell you something. The crown prince is a huge fan of soft fur. However, to maintain his image, he doesn’t dare keep a cat. Instead, he carries three golden cat paw charms on his belt.]

[Huh? Cat paws? Like the pads on their feet?]

[Exactly! The crown prince gazes at them and thinks of cats! Every night, he fiddles with the charms. Cute, isn’t it?]

[Super cute! I want to play with those paw charms too!]

The crown prince’s face turned bright red.

How could everything about him be exposed?! Thankfully, his father was focused on his documents and wouldn’t be bothered with trivial gossip.

Or so he thought.

“Zirong,” the emperor’s deep voice interrupted.

The crown prince forced himself to remain composed as he looked over. “Yes, Father. Is it about the western patrol…”

The emperor cut him off with a calm yet commanding tone. “Give it to her to play with.”

The crown prince: ?

The emperor shot him another glance. “If she likes them, let her have them. I’ll have the craftsmen make you new ones.”

The crown prince: …

Father, didn’t you just tell me to focus on my duties?!

Though he was willing to let the little divine child play with his paw charms, it was mortifying to have his father hear about it.

His face flushed with embarrassment as he stammered, “Y-yes, yes.” He quickly retrieved the palm-sized golden cat paw charms from his robe.

He intended to personally hand them to Yuan Ruan, but the emperor brushed his hand aside and placed the charms, along with other toys, into a tray. Gently, he set the tray before Yuan Ruan.

The little baby let out gleeful giggles and waved her arms excitedly.

The crown prince: …

The sight of his father being so attentive left him momentarily dazed. He almost couldn’t reconcile this image with the “tyrant” he knew.

Yuan Ruan took another nap.

When she woke up, she rubbed her eyes and yawned.

Before she could make any noise, a waiting palace maid quickly stepped forward, gently cradling her in her arms and wiping her face.

Another maid brought over a bowl of warm soup, feeding Yuan Ruan as she whispered, “I never expected His Majesty to love his daughter so much. If I could manage to gain favor and have a child or two…”

“Are you crazy? Have you forgotten the empress’s methods?” The maid holding Yuan Ruan shook her head in horror. “The empress ruined her half-sister’s face for competing for His Majesty’s affection. If you want to die, don’t drag me into it.”

The younger maid pouted. “It can’t be that serious…” Seeing this, the older maid sighed and changed the subject.

Yuan Ruan drank her milk quietly, listening to the palace gossip.

At that moment, both maids turned to bow. Yuan Ruan looked over, spotting the handsome duo entering together.

[Big Brother! Nephew! You’ve come to see me!]

Her innocent inner voice was filled with joy.

The emperor and crown prince paused simultaneously, their gazes meeting Yuan Ruan’s wide, sparkling eyes.

The emperor stepped forward, his expression serious as he picked her up and bounced her lightly. “Why are you so light? Not eating enough? Don’t like the food?”

The younger maid blushed and said coquettishly, “Your Majesty, the little princess has a great appetite. She loves when I feed her.”

[System: Ah Ruan, close your eyes! That maid is seductively batting her lashes at the emperor!]

[What? Where? Let me see!] Yuan Ruan stretched her neck.

The emperor: …

He wasn’t interested in the maid in the slightest, and even if he were, the absurd commentary had completely ruined the moment.

[System: Ah Ruan, you’re now a princess. One day, you’ll enter the palace. Do you think the concubines might use you as a pawn in their power struggles?]

Hearing this, the emperor’s heart tightened.

Even if he could hear the divine child’s thoughts, it would be terrible if she encountered such malicious individuals and got hurt.

[Not afraid! I’ll cling to Big Brother’s thigh! If anyone bullies me, I’ll complain right in front of him!]

[System: But you can’t talk yet!]

[I can cry. I can roll my eyes.]

[System: Savage.]

The emperor nearly laughed aloud. This little one had quite the lively personality.

Yuan Ruan cooperatively allowed the maids to clean her hands and face before clinging to the emperor’s arm, refusing to be put down.

[I must go out today! I need to see if I can trigger a national fortune mission!]

[System: Go for it, Host! Latch onto the emperor!]

The emperor and crown prince struggled to stifle their laughter. So this is what mutual affection feels like—it’s wonderful.

At that moment, Wu Yi strode in with a beaming smile.

“Good news! According to our scouts, the old Xiongnu Khan passed away without naming an heir. The eldest prince is respected but lacks strong maternal clan backing, making him relatively weak. The second prince, a legitimate descendant of the Daque clan, has more power. If their struggle for the throne escalates, they won’t have time to ally with Chen Kingdom or trouble Great Xia. Your Majesty, we could support the weaker side to prolong their conflict.”

The emperor listened attentively. Suddenly, the the voice of the system exploded with excitement:

[System: Ahhh! Host, missions activated! Two consecutive national fortune missions!]

[National Fortune Main Quest 1: Prevent Great Xia from allying with the Xiongnu’s eldest prince (Incomplete), National Fortune +2]

[National Fortune Side Quest 2: Incorporate nearby wild tribes into Great Xia (Incomplete), National Fortune +2!]

The wildlings are remnants of fallen nations. Refusing to be absorbed into new regimes, they retreated into deep forests and mountains, living as outcasts without any formal citizenship.

The emperor, crown prince, and Wu Yi: !!!

Their expressions instantly grew solemn.

Yuan Ruan, confused, asked:
[Huh? What kind of person is this Xiongnu First Prince? Refusing to ally with him earns the same national fortune boost as absorbing all the wildlings in Great Xia?]

[System: Let me check! This Xiongnu First Prince… oh, he’s a… uh, a “servant of three masters”… no wait, a lackey for three clans! He promises one thing and backstabs the next moment. Moreover, he favored both men and women, considered himself useless, and often messed around with the envoys…. For instance, shortly after signing a cooperation agreement with Great Xia, he raided and massacred 5,000 citizens within a week.]

Wu Yi, who had just been considering an alliance with the prince, now looked furious, his face twisted with rage.

The emperor and crown prince’s expressions darkened as well. Someone who betrayed their nation and caused such harm must pay!

[Yuan Ruan: System, these missions just pop up like this? What if I can’t complete them?]

System: Well, national fortune missions are divided into main and side quests. The wildling mission is a side quest—you can choose to accept or decline it. But main quests, like avoiding an alliance with the Xiongnu First Prince, are mandatory. If you fail, national fortune points will be deducted. Right now, Great Xia’s fortune is at zero. If it drops into the negatives, you’ll start experiencing physical pain.

Yuan Ruan scrunched her chubby face.
[Zero?! Let me think about how to complete this mission.]

The emperor gave the crown prince a look.

Understanding the cue, the crown prince immediately said, “The First Prince is cruel and unpredictable. We cannot align ourselves with such a beast.”

The emperor added, “Agreed. No alliance.”

Wu Yi chimed in, “Your Majesty and Your Highness are absolutely right! I was short-sighted earlier. This prince is someone we must never ally with!”

Yuan Ruan blinked in surprise. Just then, the system cheered loudly:
System: Woohoo! Host, the first mission is complete! Main Quest 1: Prevent an alliance with the Xiongnu First Prince (Completed), National Fortune +2!

Yuan Ruan: What?!

System: It’s true! The system shows it as completed. Could this be a beginner’s bonus? A free two points!

The emperor and crown prince: !!!

The mission’s success was determined far more easily than they had expected.

Yuan Ruan, delighted, leaned over to plant kisses on the emperor’s and crown prince’s cheeks.
[Yay! Big Brother, Big Nephew, love you both! Big hearts to you! At least it won’t hurt now.]

For the first time, the emperor and crown prince found their faces smothered with such enthusiastic affection.

They were stunned for a few seconds, but their moods quickly brightened.

The emperor, ever the stoic, maintained his composure, while the crown prince warmly reciprocated with a cheek kiss of his own.

[System: Host, I forgot to mention—accumulating national fortune points will unlock special abilities exclusive to you. For instance, with three points, you’ll activate your first divine skill. Now you’re only one point away! Should we accept the wildling mission?]

Yuan Ruan, her mood even better, waved her tiny hand:
[System, let’s wait for now. Maybe I can come up with a way to nudge Big Brother and the others into solving the wildling issue themselves.]

[System: Good thinking, Host.]

The emperor and crown prince exchanged a knowing smile.

The emperor said, “To disrupt their internal affairs, we don’t necessarily need to target the Xiongnu royal court directly. Stick to the original plan. Zirong, arrange for our men to infiltrate and connect with hidden operatives. Act when the time is right.”

The crown prince nodded. “Understood. This winter, wildlings in the borderlands must descend the mountains to trade coal and goods with Xiongnu, Great Xia, and Chen. Father, I suggest a bold move: send people to integrate with the wildling tribes by providing them with grain. They can then help smuggle our agents into Xiongnu territory, making our operations more discreet.”

Wu Yi realized that the emperor and crown prince were deliberately steering the conversation toward the wildlings, subtly helping Yuan Ruan complete her national fortune mission without arousing her suspicion.

So Wu Yi added, “Your Highness, that’s unlikely. Wildlings deeply distrust people from the Five Nations and often betray agreements. For instance, twenty years ago, Shu Kingdom tried to bribe the wildlings with grain to sabotage Great Xia. What happened? The wildlings took Shu’s grain, then secretly negotiated with Great Xia for another batch of grain. In the end, they fled back to the deep mountains with both supplies.”

The crown prince replied, “If that’s the case, why don’t we fully integrate the wildlings into Great Xia? I’m willing to try.”

[System: Host, Big Nephew has a plan! I knew the heavens wouldn’t assign a national fortune mission without a path to completion. Should we accept the wildling mission now?]

[Yuan Ruan: Accept, accept, accept! Big Nephew is brilliant! Let’s solve the wildling problem in one go!]

The crown prince sighed inwardly. If resolving the wildling issue were so straightforward, they wouldn’t still exist.

Moreover, the lack of a mission completion prompt indicated that his current approach wasn’t enough.

The emperor said steadily, “It’s a good idea to win over the wildlings, but we must prepare an offer they find irresistible, guiding them into our fold step by step.”

The crown prince nodded thoughtfully.

[System: Wise words, Your Majesty. As the saying goes, with a 300% profit margin, they’ll commit any crime. With a 1,000% profit margin, they’d even slay a god for you!]

The trio: !!!

The emperor nearly choked on his tea.

The crown prince and Wu Yi roared internally: What kind of system is this?! Teaching violence to our divine treasure? What if it corrupts her values?!

Yuan Ruan patted her chubby cheeks.
[Yuan Ruan: System, I think I might have an idea for a benefit that could attract the wildlings.]

The trio: !!!

Yuan Ruan rubbed her eyes, then paused, her soft, round face puzzled:
[Yawn… why are they staring at me?]

The emperor and the others stiffened, quickly averting their gazes. Outwardly, they made idle chatter, but their attention remained on Yuan Ruan.

Little one, tell us. We’re eager to see what divine skill you’ll unlock.