Chapter 30

Unless the world has opened its arms to you in friendship and promised that everything you see is a playground designed just for you, you cannot afford to treat everyone as a fool.

Take the stubborn Registrar, for instance. After hearing Zhao Luming’s theory that "this is all for the sake of the Emperor, my father," he was not moved in the slightest.

"The Great Song has a million troops in the Imperial Guard; why would there be any need for a twelve- or thirteen-year-old girl to recruit local militia?" he said. "The Princess is still young, with no one to guide her, yet she is so incredibly mischievous!"

The mischievous Princess, however, was not about to give up. "But I was stabbed by a sword."

The Registrar’s tone softened immediately. "That was an unfortunate accident, Your Highness; there is no need to be so fearful."

"But I am still afraid," she insisted, being unreasonable.

"Nanzheng City is as stable as Mount Tai; Your Highness may rest easy," the Registrar persisted, refusing to yield an inch. "Besides, if the Imperial Court were to hold us accountable in the future, I would be willing to shoulder the blame alone. Would you really want your reputation to be tarnished, Your Highness?"

There was little point in arguing further. The Registrar’s reasoning was sound; even in a modern society a thousand years later, there is no logic in a thirteen-year-old child raising an army. More importantly, if things got out of hand, it wouldn’t be the unruly child who was strung up and beaten—it would be the people around her. Li Su was firm in his belief that if he helped the Princess recruit soldiers, he would be betraying her father, the Emperor, and would have to pay for it with his life.

This was a bit of a nuisance. Could she bypass Li Su and get things done?

Theoretically, yes. There were countless peasants living on her tens of thousands of acres of land. If she were determined to recruit able-bodied men, Li Su could glare until his eyes fell out and still not stop her; after all, the hierarchy between ruler and subject is clear. So, while the matter was troublesome, it was not impossible.

But Li Su’s attitude was a barometer.

The group held a closed-door meeting.

With the leader having issued this mission, the young teenagers brought from Bianjing to Xingyuan Prefecture put their heads together to brainstorm.

"After we harvest the grain this year, let’s recruit a hundred or so—very quietly," Gao Sanguo suggested first. "By next autumn and winter, we’ll recruit another hundred. In three to five years, our Lingying Palace will have hundreds of well-trained retainers. Wouldn't that be more impressive than the Imperial Guard?"

Everyone nodded, agreeing it was a great plan.

But the leader had a different opinion. "I cannot wait three to five years. Besides, three or five hundred people—what good would that do?"

The three Gao siblings looked at each other, startled. "How many able-bodied men does the Princess need? And what for?"

"I was stabbed," she said with a straight face. "You tell me what for!"

"Wang Chuanyun is only one person, not Nie Yinniang! If three or five hundred people fired their bows at once, she’d be turned into a sieve anyway!"

Ji Lan noticed the look on her face and hastily coughed.

"In any case, we must recruit more people," Peilan said. "Just ignore Registrar Li!"

"The Princess is the one who promoted him; he only has his position in Lingying Palace because of her. Why fear him?"

Gao Daguo shook his head. "Even if he keeps quiet, how could the Imperial Guard just sit by and watch?"

When the Princess was sent to Xingyuan Prefecture for cultivation, the Emperor had provided her with an escort of one hundred Imperial Guards. And these were no ordinary soldiers; they were hand-picked from the Palace Command. They were something else entirely. When these hundred guards first entered Nanzheng City, they caused quite a stir. Even now, married women and unmarried maidens still hovered around Lingying Palace, just to catch a glimpse of these young men.

Zhao Luming, however, was unimpressed.

What was there to look at? Their broad chests, slim waists, and long legs? Their colorful armor and imposing demeanor? The physique was fine, and the armor-like robes were indeed grand, but other than serving as her honor guard, they were completely useless!

These Imperial Guards were under the command of a Du-zhi, a man who knew his own advantages well. He spent his days fluttering around the city like a butterfly. The underage girls in Lingying Palace kept their silence and pretended not to see anything.

But if Lingying Palace decided the guards weren't up to the task and started recruiting its own soldiers, the Imperial Guard would certainly react.

"Can we give them some money?" Gao Erguo’s idea was more flexible. "If they