Chapter 25
Chapter 25: Winning Over the Xie Family’s Eldest Son
“What?!” Xie Jun Yi exploded. “She dares?!”
His temper rushed straight to his head. His little face went beet-red, fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white.
He might be a menace, but there was one thing he couldn’t stand—being called useless.
And getting called useless by a three-year-old toddler?
“So what if you’re in Sun-Chasing Class?!” he snarled. “Just wait—I’ll rip her mouth apart!”
Like an enraged lion cub, he spun around to go find Chu Tian Tian and settle the score.
“Hey! Wait!” Chu Jiao Jiao grabbed his sleeve and yanked him back, all sweetness and fake concern. “You’re going now? She’s the darling of the courtyard. The Crown Prince and the Eldest Prince are both protecting her! If you charge in, even if you’re right, you’ll end up wrong. You might even get punished by the teacher!”
Xie Jun Yi stopped. Annoyingly, she wasn’t wrong.
His anger, however, didn’t get the memo.
“Then what do we do?” he snapped. “I’m not swallowing this!”
A vicious glint flashed through Chu Jiao Jiao’s eyes. She leaned in, voice low and tempting. “An open spear is easy to dodge. A hidden arrow is the one that hits. Find a chance and scare her—hard. Best if she panics, loses her footing, and tumbles into Mo Ming Lake. Let her embarrass herself in front of everyone. Then she’ll learn not to act arrogant.”
She smiled, soft as poison. “Quiet and clean. No one can blame you.”
“Tumble into Mo Ming Lake… humiliate her?” Xie Jun Yi rubbed his chin, eyes spinning. Then he split into a nasty, excited grin.
“Heh. That’s a good idea. That’s got bite.” He cracked his knuckles. “Just watch. I’ll teach that little brat who doesn’t know her place.”
Mo Ming Lake shimmered under the sun.
Whenever class ended, the shore filled with noisy students, splashing and shrieking like it was their personal kingdom.
Chu Tian Tian crouched at the water’s edge, giggling as she swirled her little hand through the cool lake and tried to coax tiny fish closer. A small bucket sat by her feet.
Then—
A sharp chime rang in her mind.
[Ding! High-risk Redemption Mission issued!]
[Host: You plan to push new policies. Vice Minister of War Xie Zheng leads a death remonstrance to block you.]
[In a rage, you issue an edict: behead Old Xie and execute nine generations of his clan as a warning.]
[Once the order is issued, the Xie family’s eldest son, Xie Jun Yi, is grief-stricken and furious. He spends his entire fortune, hires top-tier deathsworn, and swears to take your life.]
[Redemption Mission: Smile away a thousand grudges with Xie Jun Yi, and persuade Xie Zheng to support your ideas unconditionally.]
[Reward: Golden-silk soft armor, immune to blades.]
“The Xie family? Eldest son? Which one?” Chu Tian Tian’s brain went blank.
And seriously—assassination again?
How much evil did she do twenty years later, anyway?
Every other day someone wanted her dead. At this rate, she wasn’t living past thirty.
Sweetie sighed, shoulders slumping. Life was hard. Being a baby was hard.
Then her eyes lit up. She reached into the water and scooped up a tiny carp, delighted. She turned to shout, “A Dai! The bucket—”
“WAAHOO—!”
A figure wearing a ferocious ghost-face mask sprang out from behind the rockery with a monstrous shriek, claws out, lunging straight for her back.
Xie Jun Yi.
He’d come to “scare her to death.”
“Ah—!” Chu Tian Tian jumped and instinctively dodged aside.
SPLASH!
A thunderous splash shook the shore. Water exploded upward in a glittering sheet.
The scream Xie Jun Yi was waiting for never came.
Instead, he overcommitted, couldn’t stop himself, and dove headfirst into the icy water of Mo Ming Lake.
In one blink, the “ghost” became a drenched rat.
The shore went dead silent for half a heartbeat—then laughter detonated.
“Hahaha! Xie Devil King fell in!”
“Serves him right! He scares people every day!”
“Karma hits faster than a tornado!”
In the chaos, Chu Tian Tian moved with terrifying speed. She frowned, reached out, and hooked the back of Xie Jun Yi’s collar with perfect precision.
With a tiny grunt and a serious little lean, she hauled.
Splash!
She dragged him up onto the shore—this boy half a head taller than her—like she was pulling up a wet sack.
“Cough—cough—cough!” Xie Jun Yi hacked and sputtered. His mask hung crooked, revealing a stunned, miserable face with lakeweed stuck to his cheek.
Chu Tian Tian squatted in front of him, eyes wide with genuine worry. “Little brother! Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself? Did you swallow water? Should Tian Tian call the imperial physician?”
Her baby voice was pure concern. No mockery. Not even a giggle.
Xie Jun Yi froze.
He’d come to humiliate her… and she was asking if he was hurt.
Shame hit him so hard it nearly drowned him worse than the lake. His face burned hotter than his soaked clothes.
“I… I’m fine,” he muttered, voice tiny.
“Really? Your clothes are soaked through! You’ll catch a chill!” Chu Tian Tian reached for him with her chubby little hand. “Come on. Tian Tian will go home with you to change.”
She nodded solemnly, like she was issuing an imperial decree. “Tian Tian will explain to your family that Tian Tian accidentally scared you, and that’s why you fell in.”
Xie Jun Yi’s mind emptied out. Like he’d been bewitched, he let her take his hand and lead him away, walking in a daze.
Behind them, A Dai quietly picked up the bucket and followed.
At the Vice Minister of War’s residence, the moment Xie Zheng saw his son dripping lake water onto the floor, his temper lit like a firecracker.
“Useless! Idiot!” he thundered. “You’ve embarrassed the Xie family! All day you cause trouble and refuse to learn anything! Why didn’t you just drown in the lake?!”
Xie Jun Yi shrank back, neck tucked, lips pressed tight.
“Don’t scold little brother!” Chu Tian Tian stepped in front of him like a furious little hen guarding her chick. She puffed out her cheeks and glared up at Xie Zheng. “He’s not useless! He’s smart! He’s brave! He’s responsible!”
She rummaged for the strongest word her tiny brain could find—and landed on it with triumph.
“He’s a… a business genius!”
Silence.
Xie Zheng and Xie Jun Yi both turned to stone.
Business… genius?
This boy who only knew fighting and cockfighting?
Chu Tian Tian tilted her head, eyes bright. “Official Xie doesn’t believe it?”
Before anyone could answer, she seized Xie Jun Yi’s hand and bolted. “Little brother, come! Tian Tian will take you to make money! Prove it!”
What happened next made the entire Xie household feel like their jaws had detached.
Chu Tian Tian marched straight into the East Market, the busiest stretch in the capital, dragging Xie Jun Yi behind her like she had a plan written in the stars. A Dai followed silently, carrying the bucket like this was perfectly normal.
She sniffed once. Her big eyes snapped toward a corner stall run by a Western Regions merchant with a thick beard.
She shoved through the crowd, pointed at the colorful glassware and strange spices, and started talking—baby voice sweet as candy, content sharp as a knife.
“Uncle Hu, look! This glass cup has amazing clarity and unique patterns. Rich ladies in the capital love rare goods. And this ‘rosemary’—it wakes you up, clears your head, and takes the stink out of meat. Scholars and master chefs will fight for it!”
Then she waved her little hands, breaking down transport costs, buyers, and pricing like she had a ledger carved into her bones.
The merchant stared at her, stunned, eyes going round. A toddler… talking profit margins?
Xie Jun Yi was still half-dazed, but Chu Tian Tian’s confident little look struck something deep in him—his wild courage, and the instincts he’d picked up in noble circles.
It ignited with a boom.