Princess Xin Yue was incredibly quick to grasp the techniques for generating force related to martial arts.
In just three to five days, she had learned about eighty to ninety percent of the relevant skills and knowledge. All that remained was practice and real combat.
Normally, martial artists would have a master or fellow disciples to spar with during practice.
However, Princess Xin Yue had no fellow disciples, and it was inconvenient for Chu Chen to spar with her.
Any sparring would require physical contact, which the Empress would absolutely not permit.
Therefore, Chu Chen simply made a wooden dummy for Princess Xin Yue to practice with.
But she lost interest after only two days.
Xin Yue really wanted to spar with someone, but let alone the imperial guards, even Chu Chen dared not fight her.
If this news reached the Empress, they wouldn't have enough heads to be chopped off.
With no other options, Princess Xin Yue turned her attention to the maids.
But these maids were even more delicate and boneless. Forget sparring, just a touch from Xin Yue's partially mastered Bone Softening Palm would send them into fits of agony.
After injuring three palace maids in a row, Xin Yue lost interest in them.
Fortunately, Xin Yue herself had no martial arts foundation, so the damage she inflicted on the maids was limited.
Chu Chen felt a little guilty about this.
After all, Princess Xin Yue had injured those maids because of the martial arts he taught her.
Thus, he prepared some medicinal liniment for bruises and sprains and sent it to those maids.
This act caused his reputation among the palace maids to rise rapidly, and many even wanted to form a "paired eating" relationship with him.
"Paired eating," in other words, was to live together.
After all, the imperial palace had strict rules and a repressive environment. If one didn't find emotional support, the excessive pressure could easily lead to mistakes.
And in the imperial palace, mistakes meant death.
"Paired eating" usually involved eunuchs and palace maids, and sometimes same-sex pairings, though this was less common.
The two would eat together, work together, and sleep together. Apart from the absence of normal marital intimacy, they were no different from ordinary couples.
Chu Chen, however, politely declined.
He wasn't at a point where he needed a palace maid to alleviate his loneliness. Moreover, he wasn't a real eunuch.
If he were to eat and live with a palace maid, his true identity would definitely be exposed.
Even without the Life Simulator, Chu Chen knew that he would ultimately die at the hands of Princess Xin Yue.
So, he mercilessly rejected the subtle invitations from those palace maids.
Princess Xin Yue's boredom didn't last long. Soon, she received a task from the Empress.
She was to accompany Chu Chen out of the palace to supervise the curved-ridge plow, ah no, it should be called the Yan Zai plow now.
To oversee the promotion of the Yan Zai plow among the common people.
As soon as she heard that she could leave the palace, Princess Xin Yue was so happy her mouth couldn't close. She immediately packed her bags, ready to depart.
Fortunately, the palace maids stopped her.
As a princess, leaving the palace couldn't be so casual.
Corresponding preparations had to be made: escorts, clothing, and even the mode of transportation all required appropriate ceremony.
However, considering that the princess was going on official business, everything was to be kept as simple as possible.
While Princess Xin Yue was busy packing for her trip, Chu Chen also initiated another life simulation.
[… ]
[After leaving the palace, you accompanied the princess on her travels, and all work proceeded smoothly.]
[Meanwhile, the current Prime Minister hosted a banquet for the princess, and you, as her attendant, naturally attended as well.]
[During the feast, the Prime Minister repeatedly hinted at wanting to establish a long-term cooperative relationship with you. However, you knew that the Prime Minister was not a good partner, so you ignored his hints.]
[Finally, the Prime Minister could not hold back and revealed the benefits and risks to you, asking you to join the Prime Minister's faction. You vaguely sensed the Prime Minister's ulterior motives, so you refused.]
[The Prime Minister harbored resentment. Not only did he obstruct your promotion work, but he even secretly colluded with a rival country, leaked the curved-ridge plow and waterwheel designs, and framed you.]
[The Prime Minister did not know your identity as a fake eunuch, but he falsely accused you of having an affair with the princess and demanded that you prove your innocence.]
[The imperial scandal enraged the Empress, who even threatened to behead you on the spot.]
[Although Princess Xin Yue pleaded for you, you were not executed on the spot, but you were still imprisoned.]
[In prison, you were ambushed and killed by the combined forces of the Guard General and the Prime Minister, at the age of twenty-three.]
Chu Chen's mouth twitched.
After finally building a good relationship with Princess Xin Yue, he encountered such trouble as soon as they left the palace.
"Damn it, this Yun Yue Kingdom is full of dangers," Chu Chen grumbled.
The rewards from this simulation were nothing special. Chu Chen casually chose an eyesight enhancement that seemed decent.
However, judging by the simulator's results, the Prime Minister and the Guard General did not belong to the same faction, which gave Chu Chen room to maneuver.
Chu Chen's eyes flickered as he fell into deep thought.
The promotion of the Yan Zai plow among the common people was something anyone could supervise. Whether Princess Xin Yue was present or not, the outcome would be the same.
Then why did the Empress make such a decision?
Clearly, she wanted Princess Xin Yue to participate in state affairs. In other words, she was accumulating political capital for her.
According to the information Chu Chen had gathered, the overt heir to the throne of Yun Yue was Princess Xin Yue's eldest sister. If nothing unexpected happened, Princess Xin Yue would at most be a leisured princess in the future.
State affairs would have nothing to do with Princess Xin Yue.
But judging by the Empress's current attitude, something unexpected was likely to happen.
Chu Chen murmured to himself.
"Could it be that a succession dispute is about to unfold?"
A succession dispute, or factional strife, in his previous life was akin to the election battles in the United States.
Such struggles for power had run through human history and had never changed.
Modern election battles seemed more civilized, but only seemingly. Not to mention far away, when the elections in a certain country were filled with scandals and assassinations.
The absurdity of it was unparalleled.
On the Qingzhou Continent, with its extraordinary martial power, such struggles were bound to be even more intense.
Once caught in the middle, unless one possessed overwhelming martial strength, they wouldn't even know how they died!
But looking at Princess Xin Yue, who was enthusiastically preparing to leave the palace, Chu Chen couldn't help but sigh.
He seemed to have been branded with Princess Xin Yue's label and couldn't get off this sinking ship.
In court matters, what's important is not what you did, but what others think you did.
When everyone thinks you belong to a certain faction, then you belong to that faction, and nothing you do can change that.
Undoubtedly, with Chu Chen appearing before the Empress and making significant contributions alongside Princess Xin Yue, he would certainly be perceived as part of Princess Xin Yue's faction.