Everyone who could hear Yuan Ruan’s thoughts simultaneously turned to look at her.

Yuan Ruan: ?

How strange. Could it be that I’m particularly adorable today?

She smiled sweetly again, waving her hand before retreating behind the Emperor.

The Emperor lightly patted Yuan Ruan’s back while casting a stern glare at the group of officials who clearly didn’t know how to restrain themselves.

The courtiers quickly averted their gazes, pretending as though they hadn’t heard anything, and began discussing other topics.

However, to the sixth-ranked and below officials who couldn’t hear Yuan Ruan’s thoughts, this sudden shift in conversation was utterly baffling.

The lower-ranked officials were thoroughly confused, internally screaming: What’s going on?! We’re in the middle of apprehending a rebel, and you’re all chatting about domestic issues?!

Unbeknownst to Yuan Ruan, she had inadvertently caused a division among the court officials.

She continued venting her thoughts to the system:

[Murong Ji wanted to seize the Zhou family’s assets, so he conspired with Zhou’s younger brother to set a trap. The plan was to travel far with Zhou to see the Crown Prince, frame the Crown Prince for killing her, and then split the family’s assets between himself and Zhou’s brother. It was used as funds for the restoration of his kingdom. But… he didn’t know that Zhou is already pregnant!]

Everyone: !!!

What? What kind of monster is this man?!

The Crown Prince was so furious he nearly fainted.

Frowning deeply, he spoke harshly:

“Murong Ji, when you conspired with Zhou’s brother to seize her mining assets and intended to have her killed by framing me, did you consider that Zhou might already be carrying your child?”

Murong Ji froze instantly. “What?! Only five times! That’s impossible!”

The curly-haired woman stopped abruptly. “You… How do you know it was five times?”

Murong Ji immediately clamped his mouth shut. A moment later, he stammered, “No, no…” Then, regaining his composure, he dryly said, “Zhou Niang, don’t believe him. I’m not…”

The Crown Prince interrupted, “You can stay in the capital until the child is born, and we’ll confirm the truth then.”

Lowering his voice, Murong Ji hissed, “He’s lying to you. He wants to kill you to protect his reputation.”

Zhou Niang clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. “You think I’m that stupid?!”

With that, she threw a punch at Murong Ji, sending him flying. He landed hard on some empty vegetable baskets.

Zhou Niang rushed over and ripped open his clothes.

Everyone: !!!

“Ha! There it is! A red mole!” Zhou Niang sneered, her eyes filled with hatred.

“The head of my clan despises men who are heartless. That’s why every girl in our clan drinks sacred blood to feed a mother-child gu poison. After three years, a red mole forms on the woman’s palm. Once she has relations with someone, the child gu transfers to the man. If I die, the man will die too. There’s no antidote.”

Her tone turned cold and mocking. “I came here urgently to explain this privately to the Crown Prince for his safety. But it was you-it was you!”

Everyone: !!!

What a shocking revelation! Who knew such a thing could exist?!

But they quickly realized: Zhou’s brother must have known this but intentionally kept it hidden, planning to claim all the family assets for himself.

The Crown Prince’s faction breathed a sigh of relief as they looked at him approvingly: Thankfully, Your Highness adheres to virtue. Otherwise, if your life depended on a woman, your claim to the throne could’ve been compromised.

The Crown Prince:

Murong Ji struggled to stand up, stunned for two seconds before snarling, “You’re lying! That’s impossible!”

The curly-haired woman coldly stabbed her own hand with a knife, letting out only a muffled groan.

The next moment, Murong Ji collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

Yuan Ruan cupped her cheeks in astonishment:

[Wow! Is this some kind of mystical setup?! System, I want one too!]

[You’re already the embodiment of Daxia’s national fortune! In the future, you’ll have countless divine abilities. Anyone who dares to bully you will face divine retribution. You don’t need such minor tricks.]

The officials hearing about the concept of national fortune for the first time were stunned.

They exchanged glances, finally understanding why the Emperor had appointed such a young girl as the National Preceptor.

They also realized why some officials had initially opposed her but stopped after a single confrontation.

[Murong Ji is a descendant of the royal family of Ji Kingdom, which was destroyed a hundred years ago. He’s been plotting to restore his nation, yet he’s reduced to leading a group of fifty wildlings. His plan to use Zhou’s assets has now backfired, and he’s at her mercy. A fitting end.]

The Emperor and the Crown Prince:

How does a man from a fallen royal family, now living as a Wildling, have the audacity to think he can restore a kingdom with just one woman’s wealth?

The disdain in everyone’s eyes as they looked at Murong Ji was palpable.

The Minister of Revenue began jotting down notes: “We should propose to the Emperor that we sweep the areas around the Daxia clean of these wildlings, make them pay taxes, and contribute to the kingdom.”

The Minister of Justice shook his head.

“Before paying taxes, they’ll have to answer to my department for breaking our laws.”

Unaware that plans to deal with the wildlings were already being drafted, Yuan Ruan was focused on the new side quests displayed by her system.

[System, the Crown Prince is really clever. This world is more advanced than I thought. Maybe the things I’ve imagined for boosting national fortune already exist here.]

The Emperor smiled faintly: Indeed, a place worthy of the little Divine child’s presence.

The Crown Prince pressed his lips together in a slight smile: Hearing the little Divine child praise the kingdom is unexpectedly satisfying.

The young officials felt a surge of pride as well, enjoying her compliments about their nation’s capabilities.

[Maybe they even have potatoes yielding 4,000 kilograms per mu already.]

Everyone smiled slightly: Yes, we do… Wait, what?

What did you just say?

Potatoes yielding 4,000 kilograms per mu? What kind of crop is that?!

The Minister of Revenue collapsed onto the ground, his abacus trembling in his hands. He almost shouted to Yuan Ruan: Little goddess, we don’t have that yet!

[Or spinning wheels producing 100 kilograms of fabric per day.]

Everyone: !!!

What? A spinning wheel producing 100 kilograms a day?!

In their current system, producing 1.25 bolts of cloth per person per day was already impressive. This would be a complete game changer!

Now, not only the Minister of Revenue but also everyone else was visibly excited. Cloth was as valuable as money in this era, often used for transactions instead of currency. Yuan Ruan might as well have claimed to know how to print gold.

Even the Emperor couldn’t help but extend a hand, tempted to say: Little one, we don’t have it yet. Why not create it for us?

The system’s voice sounded uncertain:

[I’m not sure. Based on the technology level, this world should align with the Han Dynasty. But their scientific methods seem surprisingly advanced. Perhaps this world’s dynamics are a fusion of multiple realms.]

Yuan Ruan suddenly smiled: [No matter. I’ll focus on completing national fortune mission. As for potatoes and spinning wheels, I’ll let it go and look for other things the kingdom needs.]

The crowd nearly shouted aloud: No, don’t give up! We need those things!

The system also nodded in agreement: [What a pity. Such tasks that assist national fortune rarely appear.]

[Daily Task: Slap yourself in front of ten people. Reward: Potatoes.
(Successfully planting potatoes will earn national fortune points based on coverage area.)]

Yuan Ruan: [It’s fine. No one would agree to do such a thing anyway-]

Before she could finish, the system nearly glitched at the sight before it.

Even Yuan Ruan was stunned.

One official suddenly burst into tears. “I just realized I wronged a woman in the past, like Murong Ji. I’m sorry!” He began slapping himself.

Another paused for two seconds before saying, “I, too, have wronged two women in my life!” He joined in, slapping himself.

A third official was dumbfounded, glancing at the others. What excuse can I use? I can’t just claim I’ve wronged three women! After a brief pause, he began slapping himself, muttering, “Damn, my face itches-there’s a bug on it!”

[What’s going on? A public scumbag confession session? Is everyone bewitched?]

Everyone: Yes, bewitched-by you.