“Why can’t I participate?”

Ning Shengsheng deliberately rolled her eyes. “Third Sister, Master Pei already said it’s a minor evil spirit.”

“Even if I don’t have an Earth Aperture realm cultivation, I have thousands of magical artifacts and talismans. I could just smash it to death.”

The others exchanged glances. They had to admit that Princess Ning An did indeed have the resources for that. Everyone knew how much His Majesty doted on this princess, showering her with magical artifacts as if they were free.

“You—I wasn’t talking about you! I was talking about—”

“Then who were you talking about? Everyone who enters the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion is here to learn. We should all be treated equally.”

Of course, she knew Ning Jin was talking about Xue Chen. Without even asking, Ning Shengsheng also knew that Xue Chen wanted to go. That guy would do anything, no matter how dangerous, if it helped his cultivation.

She deliberately diverted the blame to herself to shut Ning Jin up.

“Princess Ning An is right. All students of my Heavenly Mystery Pavilion may participate in this mission.”

“Go back and pack. We leave tomorrow.”

Pei Yuan made it clear that anyone could go.

“Alright! The Frigid Spirit Pool, the Frigid Spirit Pool!”

The students cheered and ran out. No matter the era, students always loved outdoor activities, especially with such a tempting reward.

Ning Shengsheng packed up her books. As she passed Xue Chen, she said in a commanding tone, “You’re on my team. We’ll meet at Zhaoxia Palace tomorrow morning.”

She walked away after speaking, acting completely domineering and giving him no chance to refuse.

Xue Chen: “…”

Back at her palace, Ning Shengsheng first enjoyed being attended to by Songgao and Zaoni. It wasn’t until the dead of night that she climbed out of bed and snuck towards Xue Chen’s courtyard. Along the way, she was scared half to death by a Turbid Soul.

The system, not knowing what its divine host was up to now, couldn’t be bothered to ask. It was no match for her in an argument anyway.

Ning Shengsheng crept to the outside of the courtyard. Taking a deep breath, as if having made some great decision, she pushed open the gate without a second thought and rushed into the yard.

She started running around.

Hearing the commotion outside, Xue Chen pushed open his door, only to see Princess Ning An, dressed in a lavish palace gown, inelegantly hiking up her skirts and darting around the courtyard.

“…”

What is she up to now?

Ning Shengsheng looked up and smiled at Xue Chen. “Ah, did I wake you? My apologies…”

“This princess was tossing and turning all night, unable to sleep, so I decided to come out for a stroll.”

“I didn’t expect to have so much energy that I’d walk all the way here. You don’t mind, do you?”

Before Xue Chen could reply, there was a clatter. Two small porcelain bottles fell out from under Ning Shengsheng’s skirt, rolling to a stop at Xue Chen’s feet.

“…”

He then watched as this most arrogant princess of Great Ning covered her mouth with both hands and exclaimed in an utterly exaggerated manner, “Oh my, oh my, how clumsy of me. How did those fall out?”

“But this princess is far too precious to bend down and pick up these shabby little bottles.”

Right. So that was it. No wonder Ning An had come over in the middle of the night. To torment him, she was truly capable of anything.

Xue Chen didn’t want to waste any more time; he wanted to try inducing spiritual energy into his aperture again tonight. He pressed his lips together, bent down, and picked up the porcelain bottles. When he looked up, Ning An had already run off faster than a rabbit.

“This princess is going to bed now! See you later!”

This…

The young man stood there in the cold wind for a long time. He dazedly touched his forehead and muttered to himself, “No fever.”

He then looked in the direction Ning Shengsheng had left, completely bewildered. What new trick was she playing at?

“Meow~”

Snowball came and rubbed against his leg, its eyes closed. Xue Chen picked up the small cat. Snowball sniffed the porcelain bottles, a look of pure enjoyment on its face.

He hesitantly opened one.

“Jade Spirit Ointment?” This was the best spiritual medicine for external injuries. He poured some onto his palm and examined it carefully. It didn’t seem to be poisoned. Why would Ning An give him this? Was it intentional, or an accident?

Xue Chen had his pride, but he wasn’t inflexible. After a brief moment of thought, he decisively took the medicine. Only by becoming stronger could he avoid being bullied. After taking the medicine, he immediately sat down to cultivate.

The Frigid Spirit Pool. He had to get in. He needed to use the Frigid Spirit Pool to quickly reach the Earth Aperture realm so he could test the cultivation method he wanted to try.

On the other side, Ning Shengsheng ran out of the pear courtyard, panting as she leaned against a tree trunk. The system couldn’t hold back: 【Host, that whole stunt of yours is a new one on me.】

“So… what about it?”

“The best way is to just do what you want to do. If people see it enough, they’ll get used to it. At worst, they’ll just think I’m weird, and I don’t care what other people think anyway.”

She lifted her leg to pat the dust off.

The system gave a dry laugh: 【You’re really not one to dwell on things.】

“Mm-hmm~” Ning Shengsheng had always been like this. If she wanted to do something, she just did it. If it worked out, she was happy. If it didn’t, she would apologize and make amends. If she couldn’t make amends, she wouldn’t dwell on it. As long as her conscience was clear.

She returned to her bedchamber and had a wonderful night’s sleep. The next day, she was gently woken up by Songgao.

“Princess, Hostage Prince Xue is waiting outside.”

She was groggily attended to as she changed. Remembering Xue Chen’s thin frame, she said, “Zaoni, have him come in and eat with me.”

“Yes.”

The two maids didn’t think much of it. The princess had always fancied this Hostage Prince Xue, so having him come in for a meal was normal.

Xue Chen entered and bowed. “Greetings, Princess.” As his dark sleeves fell, they revealed his thin wrists.

“Mm.”

She gave a soft grunt and lazily pointed to a chair. “Accompany this princess for a meal.”

“Yes.”

Xue Chen ate quietly. The young man sat there, his figure long and straight, his posture elegant and composed. He was nothing like the terrible person others made him out to be.

Ning Shengsheng noticed that his chopsticks always went for the red bean soup. Does he like sweets? Before the villain had fully grown, he still had moments of childishness.

“Songgao, have the kitchen make two bowls of almond junket.”

“Yes, Princess. This servant will go at once.”

Hearing the words “almond junket,” Xue Chen’s figure stiffened slightly before he quickly returned to normal.

Ning Shengsheng, who had been secretly observing him, of course, noticed. This guy really did like desserts!

Before long, Songgao returned.

“Give that bowl to Hostage Prince Xue.”

“Yes.”

Xue Chen took a bite. The girl had already finished her bowl, wiped her mouth clean, and said with some pride, “In this vast palace, the almond junket from my private kitchen is the best. If you like it, I’ll have someone send you a bowl every day. Oh, no, ten or eight bowls!”

Xue Chen: …Neurotic.

“Princess, I have finished my meal. Shall we depart?”

“You wait outside. I’ll be out shortly.”

Xue Chen stood waiting in the corridor. He saw Ning Shengsheng change into an even more magnificent palace gown. His lips moved, but he said nothing in the end. It was not for a discarded son like him to comment on what the most-favored princess of Great Ning did.

Traveling with Ning Shengsheng was a grand affair. Her personal attendants alone numbered no less than four. Xue Chen sighed inwardly.

With such a large and noisy group, forget about evil spirits, even the villagers would probably be too scared to come out.

He followed behind, rubbing his temples in a headache. His stubborn, thin lips were pressed together. Even though they weren’t at the Earth Aperture realm, and even though Ning An was truly unreliable, he had to win.