Chapter 38: Chu Xingchen offered a few pointers, and she truly took them to heart. His suggestions were sharp and incisive.

Although she still didn’t hit the bullseye, compared to the arrows from before that couldn’t even touch the target, she had already improved significantly.

Even Su Yingxue hadn’t expected that she would actually hit the target! This was the first time in over a month!

“Younger Brother, I hit the target, look!” Seeing this, Su Yingxue’s face lit up with a sincere and radiant smile. Gripping her bow, she turned to look at Chu Xingchen, who had already taken his place and was waiting, and said to him joyfully, “Younger Brother, you’re truly a genius at archery. Even someone with skills like This Palace can be taught to such an extent—it shows you truly have talent.”

Chu Xingchen looked calmly at the woman before him, her eyes filled with joy and gentleness, and suddenly felt that having a face as gentle and beautiful as Su Yingxue’s would indeed give people the illusion that she was exceedingly kind and benevolent.

However, Chu Xingchen detested this face to the extreme. Just as the hideous scars covering his back and body were all bestowed upon him by the owner of this face. Though those wounds had long since healed, every time he saw Su Yingxue’s beautiful, gentle, smiling face, they would sear in his heart with unbearable heat, as if someone were branding him with a red-hot iron, reminding him of past humiliation and hatred.

As Chu Xingchen gazed at Su Yingxue’s smiling face, his eyes imperceptibly turned cold, but he quickly concealed all traces, bowing humbly and respectfully, replying softly, “It is due to Her Highness the Eldest Princess’s diligence in learning, not because of Xing Chen.”

“Her Highness the Eldest Princess is exceedingly intelligent. This can be considered merely a Prize, and in the future, she will surely improve even more.” Chu Xingchen said with a gentle smile, appearing utterly respectful and harmless, like a little white rabbit.

Indeed, those male protagonists in novels who could face a life of being a hostage in the Great Sheng Dynasty for ten years, covered in scars, on the brink of death with no hope, yet still refuse to relent, seize every opportunity with all their might, and then turn the tables—they were all men of profound cunning and rich inner drama.

But Su Yingxue’s current original self was merely Zhang Susu, a woman in her twenties, just a university student. She had always lived surrounded by the love and kindness of her parents and classmates, dwelling in a dreamlike ivory tower, with a pure and kind heart. How could she possibly possess the ability to see through people’s hearts?

Looking at Chu Xingchen before her, Su Yingxue inexplicably felt something was off. When she read the Original Work, she always felt that throughout the entire story, whether in terms of psychological descriptions or behavioral portrayals, the male protagonist Chu Xingchen harbored extreme disgust and hatred for the supporting character Su Yingxue. The original book also had no scenes of him offering guidance to her. Now, with Chu Xingchen gently offering her pointers like this, did it prove that, under certain circumstances, she, Zhang Susu, could still rely on her own judgment to appropriately alter the trajectory of the original book?

Regardless, looking at the gentle Chu Xingchen before her, Su Yingxue felt that the current Chu Xingchen was actually quite adorable. After all, the present him lacked the full-blown hostility, hatred, and brutality of the novel’s version, instead possessing a more refined and elegant demeanor.

This was how the male protagonist in the novel should have been originally—far better than the yandere male lead in the original book. It proved that her actions were right.

Yingxue thought to herself, it seemed she could indeed rely on her own efforts to change the fate of both Chu Xingchen and herself. After all, now even the male protagonist was helping her.

“Your Highness the Eldest Princess, the reason Your Highness cannot steady the aim is not due to poor targeting, but rather because this military bow is too strenuous for a woman to draw,” Chu Xingchen said gently. “Since Your Highness holds the esteemed position of Eldest Princess, why not have someone craft a smaller, more suitable bow for women? This way, drawing the bow wouldn’t require so much effort.”

Though Chu Xingchen only offered a few pointers, Su Yingxue took them to heart. This Chu Xingchen certainly had a keen eye for identifying the crux of the matter.

Thus, Chu Xingchen guided Su Yingxue through several more arrows. With his guidance, she improved rapidly. Now, three or four out of ten arrows could hit the target—a vast improvement from her previous record of missing every shot.

Su Yingxue was quite pleased. However, the drill ground suddenly received an imperial decree for the Ministry of War to conduct a military review, leading to the cancellation of both the equestrian and archery classes. Su Yingxue and Chu Xingchen departed the drill ground in separate carriages, one after the other, heading toward the Imperial Palace.

On the carriage ride back to the palace after archery practice, Su Yingxue turned to Qiushuang with a puzzled expression. “Qiushuang, why is it that even a beginner like Chu Xingchen could spot the flaws in my archery, yet after over a month of instruction, Mr. Liu never once pointed out my mistakes?”

Hearing this, Qiushuang smiled as she refilled Su Yingxue’s tea. “Your Highness the Eldest Princess, this servant has something to say, though I’m unsure if I should speak of it.”

“Speak freely,” Su Yingxue replied with a smile. Nowadays, she trusted Qiushuang completely.

“Ever since Your Highness woke up after falling into the lake, I’ve felt as though I’m serving a different mistress,” Qiushuang said with a light laugh. “Previously, Your Highness had a rather poor reputation among the palace staff and court officials—being seen as willful and spoiled, quick to resort to flogging or scolding whenever displeased with a courtier or servant.”

“All the palace attendants and courtiers serving Your Highness focused solely on avoiding mistakes, never striving for merit,” Qiushuang stated plainly. “Your Highness used to prefer hearing lavish praise and could not tolerate others commenting on your shortcomings or errors. This was a taboo among those who served you. Mr. Liu is merely an external official, and his instruction was granted out of respect for His Majesty.”

“So, in such a position, doing well wouldn’t necessarily earn him credit, but making a mistake could easily implicate him.” Having spent years navigating the palace, Qiushuang understood such matters clearly. Life was simply like this. “His Majesty dotes so heavily on Your Highness the Eldest Princess that if any issues arise, he would inevitably side with you. Thus, throughout the entire Dasheng Royal Palace, no one is willing to be the one to stand against Your Highness.”

“Qiushuang,” Su Yingxue responded with a faint smile, “Indeed, whether court officials or palace staff, who among them isn’t just working to feed their families? It’s only natural they’d prioritize self-preservation. If I were in their position, I might do the same.”

After all, the original Su Yingxue in the Original Work was nearly a maddened villain. She was notoriously extravagant and willful—during the once-in-a-century drought in the northwest when famine ravaged the land and corpses littered the fields, she still insisted on bathing daily in fresh milk and flowers. She had a tyrannical nature, delighting in flogging, beating, and humiliating others. Even the four first-rank maids—Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter—suffered frequent scoldings and whippings in the Original Work, let alone other servants and attendants like Chu Xingchen.

“Qiushuang, I have done many wrong things in the past. The way I treated you, Chunfeng, Xiahe, and Dongxue was my fault,” Su Yingxue suddenly became serious. Recalling the descriptions from the original text, she was suddenly overwhelmed with mixed emotions. Though those actions weren’t hers, they were still hers in a way. Ever since her Book Transmigration to this Otherworld, she had received thoughtful and proper care from the four of them. Su Yingxue could feel that they genuinely had her best interests at heart, which made her feel somewhat guilty for what the former Su Yingxue had done.