Chapter 440: Chapter 440
In her heart, she cursed the useless dog emperor countless times. Concubine Yu—or rather, she should be called Noble Concubine Yu now.
Thinking of this, Murong Qing hated the emperor even more, grinding her teeth.
The child she had gone through such hardship to give birth to, in the end, only earned her the rank of Noble Concubine. To be so stingy with the women of the rear palace, what great achievements could he possibly accomplish!
If not for the sheer luck of being born an emperor, hah!
After cursing him another round in her mind, Noble Concubine Yu finally ordered someone to bring the now-awake Third Prince before her.
The Third Prince was not even three months old yet, a tiny bundle wrapped in a bright red swaddling cloth, his skin fair and tender. He should have been at that age of being jade-like, snow-like, and adorable.
However, after playing with him for a while, Murong Qing's gaze couldn't help but freeze for a moment, especially when she saw that the child could only be led around foolishly, not even slowing his movements:
"System, the elixir you gave won't have any problems, right?"
Why did she feel this child... wasn't very clever?
"Tsk, host, you're just being too sensitive. He's not even three months old, what can you tell? Relax! Nothing will go wrong!"
Seeing the system so confident and swearing it was fine, Murong Qing reluctantly set her worries aside and began pondering how to first raise her rank.
Or perhaps first pull someone down to make room for her?
Compared to the scheming and infighting within the palace, life at the Grand Princess's Residence was much more harmonious and joyful.
Especially since little A-Bao, though a bit lazy, was truly a clever child, with strong little arms and legs.
She could call people fluently before she was even seven months old.
Compared to Xie Huai, who had specially studied up beforehand and was now especially incredulous, and the increasingly delighted Grand Princess who had experience raising a smart child before, An Ning, the biological mother, was actually the calmest.
Apart from finding various ways to 'torture'... ahem, exercise the child every day, the lives of the An Ning couple quickly returned to normal.
Every day, they still admired flowers, appreciated music, played some brainless little games. Aside from often having an extra little one by their side who looked at them with slight disdain, the idle, leisurely life of the couple basically hadn't changed at all.
Occasionally, Zhou Yun and her sister would also bring their respective children over to play.
The days passed, plain yet interesting.
As for the Grand Princess, while her demeanor was normal, An Ning could see in private that she had clearly become much busier. And this busyness increased even more frequently as A-Bao—that is, little Xie Jun—grew day by day and increasingly displayed an extraordinary mind.
However, in contrast, within the imperial palace:
"This is what you call 'system-produced, guaranteed quality'!"
"May I ask, where is the 'optimization' you spoke of?"
An optimization that produced a fool carved from the same mold as the previous two?
Dissatisfied, she tossed the large-character practice sheet aside. Murong Qing's tone couldn't help but carry deep displeasure.
Just ask anyone who has ever questioned a child, especially a not-so-smart child, about their schoolwork how infuriating it is. Even a transmigrator who considered herself fairly calm was no exception.
Thinking of the Third Prince she had just seen, even the system, which prided itself on having seen much of the world, couldn't help but fall silent now.
However, questioning its ability was absolutely unacceptable. The system immediately raised its head and retorted excitedly:
"Well, that... that might not necessarily be my fault! Could it be... could it be that this is already the result after genetic optimization!"
"No matter how powerful the medicine, it can only improve upon the existing foundation."
Thinking of the previous two, and that A-Yi was born when the emperor was already over forty... that quality could only decline further...
And the original host was clearly not a smart person either.
Actually, it wasn't without reason.
"How can there be such a useless person?" And yet this person was also utterly lacking in self-awareness. Thinking of herself, still stuck at the rank of Noble Concubine without moving an inch all because the Third Prince wasn't clever enough.
"How can there be such a useless person?" And yet, this person was also utterly lacking in self-awareness. Thinking of herself, still stuck at the rank of Noble Concubine without moving an inch all because the Third Prince wasn't clever enough.
"Is there really no other way? Your systems are all-powerful, you even have this kind of medicine. Can't you directly find a great figure to be reincarnated here?
Not asking for Qin Shi Huang or Emperor Wu of Han, but a more capable emperor or politician, wouldn't that work?"
"You make it sound easy. No matter how powerful the medicine, it still acts on the body. This is the soul! Do you think this is Chinese cabbage?"
The system rolled its eyes without any courtesy. Reincarnation? Being able to procure the soul of a great power? If it really had that kind of ability, why would it still be a palace struggle system?
Shifting her gaze back to the abandoned homework in the corner, she pondered for a moment. Then, in the darkness, the graceful woman in thin clothing on the soft couch suddenly smiled:
"Actually, if that's the case, being a bit foolish might not be without its benefits..."
In the middle of the night, as a gentle breeze brushed past the window, the few lanterns still lit in the inner chamber suddenly flickered. Staring directly at her host's smiling face, within the spiritual sea, the system suddenly shivered:
"Wait, hos... host, are you thinking of making a move against the other two princes?"
"Host, calm down! The Eldest Prince and Second Prince have already left the palace and established their own residences, and they don't enter the palace often." Most importantly, these two had quite a few of the emperor's people around them.
The maternal families behind them weren't pushovers either.
However, the next second, what answered it was its host's merciless, cold laugh: "Who told you I was going to take such a huge risk and directly move against them?"
At the same time, Grand Princess's Residence
Early in the morning, before An Ning could wake from her lazy sleep, she was rudely awakened by a certain system clamoring uncontrollably.
"Host, host, come quick and see! Just as you predicted, that Concubine Yu has indeed made a move!"
But the very next second, before An Ning could even open her eyes, she heard the system couldn't help but exclaim:
"Ah, this, this, this... this person is too ruthless!"
A true wolf, a destroyer! Holy crap!