Chapter 74: The End – Extra: Chronicles of Raising the Crown Princess (Daughter’s Perspective…
Zhao Xuan, now two years old, had discovered that her mother and father were both fools.
First, her mother. Her mother didn’t even know how to hold a child properly—every time she held her, it was so uncomfortable! Her mother couldn’t teach her anything either. She had tried to teach her how to walk before, but after half a day of effort, she still couldn’t get it right! Her mother also didn’t know how to sing lullabies. Every time, she would just recite a bunch of strange words into her ear, and Zhao Xuan couldn’t understand a single sentence!
Then there was her father. When it came to taking care of her, he was quite clever, but in other aspects, he was much more foolish than her mother! For example, he always forgot that she was just a tiny little child and would ask her many questions about her mother. Even if she knew the answers, she couldn’t explain them properly! Also, her father would randomly imitate her—blinking, rolling her eyes… What was the point of him learning those things?
Fortunately, there were still smart people around her. For instance, Left Commander-in-Chief Ming Luo, State Preceptor Su Tan, and the white-haired old ancestor in Renshou Palace… They were all very serious, knew a great many principles, never fooled around casually, and never made silly faces at her.
Aside from being held by her mother, she loved being held by the old ancestor the most. Sleeping in the old ancestor’s embrace was especially cozy.
But on this day, as she was dozing off on the old ancestor’s shoulder, she noticed that her mother, who usually loved making funny faces at her, was unusually serious today. Half-asleep, she heard her mother speaking to the old ancestor: “Zhao Jue’s posthumous child born outside the palace? Who knows if it’s really his! I just announced my intention to establish Xuan’er as the Crown Princess, and now this child appears out of nowhere. His intentions are condemnable! You know…”
Zhao Xuan struggled to keep her drooping eyelids open, gazing up at this mature and somewhat unfamiliar version of her mother. But she was too sleepy and accidentally fell asleep after hearing only a couple of sentences.
Zhao Rongzhang, halfway through her words, noticed the little pink bundle already fast asleep and bent down to take her from the Grand Empress Dowager’s arms.
“Hey, I can hold her. Let her sleep here with me!”
Zhao Rongzhang handed the child, who began to squirm the moment she was in her arms, to the nursemaid, her expression turning serious again. “We shouldn’t have been discussing these things in front of her in the first place. Besides, your hair has turned completely white. You don’t have the strength to hold her while she sleeps.”
The child was still too young. Even though she would eventually have to face many complex and cruel matters, and one day stand on her own, Zhao Rongzhang hoped that the first things she experienced in this world could be simplicity and warmth, that she could grow up slowly enveloped in that simplicity and warmth.
She wanted first to nurture a rich inner world within her, and then cultivate her ability to stand on her own. That way, even if she faced setbacks in the future, she would not easily fall into despair or lose heart.
Zhao Xuan woke up from her sleep feeling very hungry. Just as she was about to whimper, she heard her mother’s voice again, but this time her mother was speaking to her father in a very low tone: “…Directly killing them is not feasible. They have been plotting for a long time. When I first ascended the throne, they wanted to act but didn’t dare. Now, after more than two years, they think their foundation is solid and must have made thorough preparations.”
“Kill them all.”
Zhao Rongzhang pinched Guan Xuan’s cheek again, wrinkling her nose as she said, “Zhao Jue’s old faction numbers at least a thousand, if not ten thousand. Can you easily wipe them all out?”
Guan Xuan nuzzled her hand, lowered her eyelashes for a moment, and asked, “What if we make them lose the trust of the people?”
“You’ve gotten clever. Yes, we must make their words untrustworthy. Tomorrow, I will summon Su Tan to the palace…”
“Ah-Xuan is awake.”
Her father’s footsteps suddenly approached. Zhao Xuan opened her round, wide eyes and met his equally round ones. Her father smiled at her, imitated her blinking, and picked her up: “Clever Ah-Xuan, eavesdropping already.”
Zhao Xuan cried unhappily. She wasn’t being noisy or fussy—she was clearly super well-behaved!
Zhao Rongzhang lightly pinched Guan Xuan’s cheek: “Do you even know how to praise a child? You made her cry! She’s clever and understands everything! Xuan’er, Xuan’er, look at me, come on, look at Mother…”
Through tear-filled eyes, Zhao Xuan saw her mother making a particularly strange funny face at her and cried even louder.
“She’s hungry and wants food.” Guan Xuan took out the Eight-Treasure Paste that had been kept warm on the small stove, scooped some up, blew on it, tested the temperature on the back of her hand, and carefully fed it to her daughter.
Zhao Rongzhang stopped making funny faces, her expression full of doting as she poked her daughter’s little cheek, which was happily chewing and swallowing: “So adorable. Damn those who dare try to take anything from my Xuan’er—they should all die.”
“Mhm, they all have to die.”
Zhao Xuan didn’t know what “die” meant, but she felt reassured. With her mother and father around, surely no one could take her things.
Some time later, Zhao Xuan felt she had grown a little taller and could speak more fluently. Fluffy white things drifted down from the sky, and Nanny Rui’an said it was snow. The nanny held her little hand out under the eaves and said, “Snow, snow, fall down!”
“Fall down, fall down!” The snow disappeared as soon as it landed in her palm, and Zhao Xuan jumped up in delight. She wanted her mother and father to play with her, but these past two days she hardly ever saw them.
Not only were they absent, but the Left Commander-in-Chief and the State Preceptor were also gone.
Nanny Rui’an said they had important matters to attend to today and wouldn’t return until dark.
“Silly Mother, silly Father.” Zhao Xuan puffed up her cheeks angrily. She missed them terribly—what could be more important than spending time with their clever and adorable Xuan’er?
The elder ancestor overheard from behind and burst into laughter.
That evening, Zhao Xuan distinctly heard movement in her mother’s bedchamber. Seizing the moment when the wet nurse wasn’t paying attention, she toddled over. But before she was halfway there, the wet nurse exclaimed and scooped her up to carry her back: “Little Highness, you mustn’t disturb Her Majesty and the Consort!”
“I want Mother to hold me!” Zhao Xuan refused to listen, struggling and about to throw a tantrum.
Just then, the door opened, and her mother appeared at the doorway, looking at her with a soft heart: “Come here, come here, little Xuan’er.”
Although Mother had brought her inside, she only let her sit by the screen playing with boring toys, warning her not to run around. Zhao Xuan heard Mother scolding Father: “So foolish, hoarding so many blood pills she won’t need. If you get injured, stop the bleeding quickly and get it treated.”
“It’s better if she doesn’t need them.”
Zhao Xuan quietly peeked from behind the screen. Mother was wrapping bandages around Father’s wounds. Father spoke again: “The matter of the meteorite falling from the sky, inscribed with ‘The Child of Destiny, Only Fire, Only Xuan,’ has spread throughout the land. The operas about the royal bloodline being severed after Prince Su’s rebellion are also widely circulating in the capital city. No one will easily believe them anymore.”
“I know.”
“This time, I deliberately left a flaw. I’m not so easily injured.” Guan Xuan smiled, his eyes curving. “To prove that child’s legitimate lineage, they definitely won’t miss next month’s sacrifice to the Great Ancestor. On that day, when they all gather, I…”
“Xuan’er, you’re eavesdropping again.” Zhao Rongzhang glared toward the corner of the screen.
Zhao Xuan wriggled, pretending to be wronged: “The snow is falling, I want to play. You haven’t played with me for two days!”
Father quickly covered his wounds, put on his clothes, and pleaded with Mother on her behalf: “Your Majesty, take me along to spend time with A-Xuan.”
Zhao Rongzhang couldn’t maintain her stern expression. Unable to bring herself to pinch her daughter’s cheek, she pinched Father’s instead: “Don’t teach her to act spoiled like that!”
And so, the three of them sat together under the eaves, stretching their hands out toward the outside. Both Mother and Father were warm. In the snowy yard, the large yellow-and-white fat cat clumsily pounced at snowflakes. Zhao Xuan happily called out to the snowflakes filling the sky: “Fall down, fall down!””
A month later, something major seemed to have happened in the capital city. Zhao Xuan noticed everyone whispering about something, but whenever she asked, they would look secretive and say nothing. Even her beloved elders and Nanny Rui’an, who loved talking to her the most, refused to tell her.
She asked Mother, who gently touched her little hair bun: “Do you really want to know?”
Zhao Xuan nodded while eating her sugar cake.
“Mother will take you to court. Remember, in front of others, you must call me Your Majesty.”
“What about Father?”
“He doesn’t participate in court affairs. He’s busy today and won’t be back until very late. Let’s go.”
Curious, Zhao Xuan followed her mother to the court, sitting in her lap and looking down at the officials. She listened to the cries of “Long live the Emperor”: “Your Majesty, may you live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand ten thousand years! May the Crown Princess live a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand thousand years—”
On this day, she realized her mother was not just a silly person who made funny faces. She was awe-inspiring, making many people fear her and many others revere her.
Also on this day, Zhao Xuan was dressed in magnificent attire, crowned, and led by her mother through all the ceremonies, becoming the first Crown Princess of the dynasty.
As for her father, he still seemed like a fool. Exhausted after a long day, she fell asleep right after dinner. Half-asleep, she felt something tickling her face—the thin calluses on Father’s fingers. She cracked her eyelids open slightly and saw his gentle, smiling eyes.
There was a red mark on his nose. She reached up to touch it—it seemed like a nosebleed. Disgusted, she turned over. Father was so grown up, yet he couldn’t even wash his face clean. Father wiped her hand, tucked the quilt tightly around her, gently rocked the cradle, and began humming a lullaby.
Zhao Xuan grew even sleepier, mumbling drowsily: “I’m the Crown Princess, not a little child. I can… I can sleep by myself.”
“Alright.” Guan Xuan agreed verbally, but his rocking motion did not stop. He continued humming a somewhat unskilled lullaby until he saw His Majesty and her daughter fall asleep once more.
His Majesty’s daughter, born with his bloodline, had eyes just like his.
He had killed all who would hinder them. Sooner or later, he would eliminate every single person who posed a threat to them. He intended to live a long life, protecting them until they too reached a hundred years of age.
A soft, heavy weight pressed against his back—it was His Majesty leaning on him, planting intermittent kisses on his ear. Her voice had grown soft with drowsiness: “Go warm the bed for me. Who knew Little Mute could hum so beautifully? Before, she always needed me to coax her to sleep. I considered myself generous just reciting a passage from the Three Character Classic to her.”
“I thought it didn’t sound good,” Guan Xuan said shyly. “If Your Majesty likes it, I’ll lull you to sleep the same way.”
Zhao Rongzhang pinched his cheek again. “If you don’t hum properly, I’ll punish you by making you seal your own Mute Acupoint again. No matter what happens, you’ll have to endure it without making a sound.”
“Mhm.” Guan Xuan agreed with a smile, kissed her palm, and carried her into the bedchamber on his back.
Outside the hall, snowflakes continued to swirl, falling and stopping, stopping and falling again, piling up into a thick layer.
——
[The End]
Author’s Note:
I apologize to all the friends who have been waiting! This story started in June 2025, and today, in March 2026, it’s finally finished… Looking back at the author’s note from the first chapter, I said I felt like I was just beginning to learn not to fear the unknown, and I still feel the same way now, haha. Last April, I started working—my first job was quite relaxed, so updates were relatively stable during that time. However, the boss I encountered was too unscrupulous, so I left, only to quickly jump into another huge mess… My second job was very far from home, with heavy and varied workloads and only five days off per month. Although the salary was slightly higher, it left me severely sleep-deprived every day. The content I updated during that period was truly subpar. If there are any readers who stuck with it since then, I really owe you a huge apology! I’ve revised everything now, wuwuwuwu QAQ
Then, in October, to my surprise, my previous work Snake Snake Dangerous Yet Truly Beautiful was published and required special signed copies, so I had to pause updates for this book. What I didn’t expect was that Snake Snake sold quite well, leading to additional printings of special signed cards and many more signed copies. So, from October last year until March this year, I’ve been signing non-stop… This is why Princess was constantly on hiatus—I genuinely had no time and was stretched too thin.
Last year, I indeed encountered many unforeseen hardships, but I also came across countless unexpected joys. Let’s look forward to more pleasant surprises in the future together! I also hope we can all find more courage and strength to overcome our pains!
This book’s theme is relatively niche, and from the start, I didn’t have high expectations for its performance. Later, due to various reasons, updates became increasingly sporadic. However, during the writing process, I could feel my own growth—compared to my previous works, the plot is richer, and the character development is more pronounced. I truly love the Princess and Little Mute, I really adore this pairing!!! But now that I’ve indulged in it, I probably won’t write this kind of setting again in the future.
For my next project, I plan to start “Hug Brother,” and I’m considering launching another historical romance novel simultaneously (I swear I’ll never slack off again, so don’t worry about major hiatuses—wait, let’s not jinx it, okay?). I haven’t decided which one yet, so feel free to make suggestions!
Thank you for reading!