Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 490 The Xia Family's Daughter Has Grown Up, a Young Tiger in the Forest

"Mingyue, why are you in such a hurry?"

On the east side of the Star-Picking Hall, the maid and adjutant Han Shuang saw Mingyue running hurriedly across the suspension bridge and immediately stopped her with a curious expression.

"Greetings, Lord Frost!"

The positions of the sisters Han Yue and Han Shuang as chief and deputy officers are legitimate fifth-rank official titles in the Great Xia Dynasty. There are a total of thirty maids in the Zhaixing Palace, all under their command, so everyone must bow to them when they see them.

After Mingyue finished her bow, she looked up and smiled, "The Second Prince's Tiger Forest Trial has been moved up to tonight. Lady Hanyue went with the Second Prince and asked me to inform the Madam."

Han Shuang was taken aback upon hearing this, then quickly waved her hand and said, "Then you should go quickly!"

Mingyue nodded and then quickly walked towards the Star-Picking Platform.

"Weren't we supposed to meet on the evening of the 28th? Why did it come up earlier?"

Han Shuang muttered to herself, then, as if remembering something, quickly ran towards the back of the main hall.

She quickly ran to the door of a quiet little room on the east side of the Star-Picking Palace. She stepped forward, gently knocked on the door, and then whispered, "Your Highness, are you awake? Han Shuang has something important to report."

"I've been awake for a while now. Come in, Aunt Frost!"

As soon as she finished speaking, a girl's voice came from inside the room.

Although the girl's tone was slightly languid and even carried a hint of coldness, her melodious and clear voice suggested that she was very young, at most around nine years old.

Han Shuang received a response and slowly pushed open the door and went inside.

The room wasn't very large, only about eight meters wide and long, but the furnishings were extremely exquisite and refined. To the left of the entrance was a washbasin carved from white jade; further inside was a round mahogany table covered with blue brocade; around the round table were six chairs, the main body of which was green jade, clearly made of high-grade animal bone. The backrests of the six chairs were carved into different animal head shapes, and the cushions were made of blood jade fox fur.
The south wall of the round table was a weapons rack, on which hung five longswords, three long whips, two horizontal swords, two ceremonial swords, plus more than ten small daggers and short swords. All of these weapons were made of silver without exception, and had unique and exquisite designs. They were even inlaid with many gemstones and jade pendants.

To the north is a three-meter-high shelf, on which are displayed hundreds of different kinds of rare treasures. Among them, two or three tenths of the items are emitting a bright spiritual light, which ordinary people would probably not recognize.
To the right of the entrance is a bookshelf filled with all sorts of books, many of which are yellowed, indicating they have been frequently browsed.

The bookshelf split horizontally in the middle, dividing the room into two sections. A circular archway was left in the center, with hundreds of blue jade wind chimes hanging from it, serving both a decorative purpose and providing some privacy for the inner room.

Jingle bell…jingle bell…

As the door was opened by the frost, a cold draft blew in, gently stirring the blue jade pendants, and a clear, melodious bell rang out inside the room.

Han Shuang quickly closed the door and walked towards the bookshelf with practiced ease. She lifted the blue jade wind chime curtain, looked inside, and her eyes lit up slightly.

If the outer room is this luxurious, the inner room is even more so. Lifting the curtain reveals a small table, a small dressing table, a bed, gauze curtains, a wardrobe, and so on. Almost nothing in the room is ordinary. It can be said that more than 90% of the items cannot be exchanged at the inner city's supply department. Even if they can be exchanged at the remaining level, the price will be sky-high, at least 200,000 contribution points or more.

However, none of these precious items could attract Han Shuang. Firstly, she was familiar enough with the room and its furnishings that she was no longer surprised. Secondly, it was because of the girl who was sitting upright on the edge of the bed, holding a book in her hands.

The young girl had a full head of black hair parted into strands, tied into a bun on top of her head with three jade hairpins, letting it hang down naturally. She also tied the ends of her hair into a bun that hung down over her shoulders. It was the most popular hairstyle among unmarried girls in Xia City at the moment.

But unlike ordinary women, the young girl wore a small silver crown with a phoenix design, which added to her noble air.

The girl had skin as white as snow, bright eyes and white teeth. Her face was seven parts similar to Li Xuanling's, with the remaining three parts being due to her playfulness. She also had three water-blue holy patterns on her forehead, which added a touch of ethereal beauty and divinity to her already exquisite face. Anyone who saw her would feel ashamed of their own appearance.

The young girl wore a deep blue summer brocade dress, adorned with cloud patterns woven with silver thread and phoenixes. Five or six strings of light blue tassels hung from the hem, giving her an ethereal and otherworldly air, unlike any mortal woman, but rather like a celestial being.

"He's already this big at just over nine years old. In a few more years, when the Crown Prince turns fifteen, he'll be incredible. I wonder who will be good enough for him..."

Han Shuang couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Logically speaking, she had watched Xia Yuyao grow up from birth to the present, plus the four years she had served her personally, so she shouldn't have reacted so strongly.

However, in fact, as Xia Yuyao has grown up over the past two years, her stunning beauty has begun to emerge, and she can't help but sigh almost every time she sees her.

Han Shuang believed that, up to this point, the most beautiful woman she had ever seen was Madam Li Xuanling. In fact, she was already certain that Bing Yuan could not find a woman more beautiful than Madam Li.

But as Xia Yuyao grew up, she gradually began to waver.

Appearance is only one aspect; talent is even more frightening!
Thinking of this, Han Shuang suddenly looked at Xia Yuyao carefully. After a moment, a look of horror appeared on her face. She then quickly walked up to Xia Yuyao and asked in surprise, "Your Highness, your basic strength has exceeded 27 jin?"

Frost had broken through to the Cold Resistance level several years ago, and it was with the aptitude of a superior battle body. Now with the strength of 32 manes, it was naturally able to see through Xia Yuyao's basic strength at a glance.

The two princes usually cultivate together with their wives, Li Xuanling, at the Star-Picking Platform. However, the second prince is restless and can't sit still, so he can only stay for a maximum of three hours a day. The eldest prince is different; he prefers quiet and is more obedient to his wife, so he often stays at the Star-Picking Platform for several days in a row to cultivate in seclusion with his wife.

Xia Yuyao stayed at the Star-Picking Platform for a total of five days. Han Shuang remembered very clearly that five days ago, the Crown Prince's basic strength was only over 267000 jin.

But now, it has already exceeded 27!

Xia Yuyao could basically guess the shock in Han Shuang's heart, but she didn't show much pride on her face. She simply nodded slightly as an answer, and then asked with a faint smile, "Auntie, is there something you need to see me about?"

Upon hearing this, Han Shuang suddenly remembered that she had come to talk to Xia Yuyao, and hurriedly nodded, saying, "Your Highness, the Tiger Forest Trial has been moved up to tonight. The Second Prince has already gone there with the Imperial Guard. Wouldn't you like to go out and take a look?"

Hearing Han Shuang's words, Xia Yuyao's eyes clearly showed a hint of interest, but she quickly suppressed it and gently shook her head, saying, "Forget it, if he goes alone, the Imperial Guard will have to make a big fuss. If I go along to join in the fun, who knows how many people I'll cause trouble for? Besides, Mother will definitely be unhappy if she finds out."

Upon hearing this, Han Shuang saw Xia Yuyao sit back down on the bedside and gently open the book in her hand, a pang of heartache immediately appearing in her eyes. "His Highness is good in every way, except he's just too sensible!"

Compared to Xia Yusheng's carefree and mischievous nature, Xia Yuyao is far too sensible. In recent years, she has completely followed Li Xuanling's orders. Not to mention the inner city, she has hardly ever gone out to stroll around the Xia Palace.

The Second Prince would occasionally gather his peers from the inner city to come to the Summer Palace to play with him; while the First Prince usually either cultivated or read books, and had never made any requests.

After all, he is a nine-year-old child. No matter how obedient he is, he is bound to be curious about the outside world. What if he gets sick from being cooped up like this?
Moreover, this time it's the Tiger Forest, which Han Shuang knows. The Crown Prince, like the other children, dreams of going there.

Remembering that Xia Yuyao hadn't left the Xia Palace for four consecutive years, Han Shuang mustered up some courage and said softly, "That's the Tiger Forest Trial, isn't it? How about I go and beg Madam? If Madam agrees, I'll take the Crown Prince there."

Ruhulin is adjacent to Xiacheng, located in the northwest corner of Xiacheng, at the former border of Arrow Bamboo Forest and Redwood Ridge.

Speaking of this place, we must mention that the Great Xia has developed rapidly in the past two years. With the Great Xia being in its ninth year, a group of seventeen or eighteen-year-old new generation members, such as Lu Dong, Luo An, and Zou Ping, have successively broken through the Cold Resistance level. The Cold Resistance level of the Great Xia has gradually shown a trend of rapid rejuvenation.

Then, in the tenth year of the Great Xia Dynasty, the surge in Cold-Resistant level cultivators officially began. After that, almost every few days, someone from the Martial Arts Pavilion would break the record, starting from eighteen years old and gradually becoming seventeen... sixteen...

At the end of the tenth year of the Great Xia Dynasty, Peng Bo's adopted grandson Qin Feng, who was five days shy of turning fifteen, broke through to the Cold Resistance level, thus completely lowering the age of the Cold Resistance level in the Great Xia Dynasty to under fifteen.

This marked a turning point. The following year, the eleventh year of the Great Xia Dynasty, fourteen-year-olds at the Cold Resistance level began to emerge one after another, and even thirteen-year-olds started to appear.

The Xia Dynasty had a rule that people of the Xia Dynasty reached adulthood at the age of fifteen, and those who were minors were considered children. They were strictly prohibited from going out on their own. Such a rule was clearly no longer in line with the situation of the Great Xia Dynasty at that time.

The summer rites were stipulated by Lord Xia Hong, and modification was definitely not allowed. However, given that there were already quite a few Yuhan-level children under the age of fifteen in Xia City, it was not feasible to continue suppressing them. Therefore, in August of last year, the Director Xia Chuan had the Dragon Guard cooperate in creating a Tiger Grove in the northwest of the outer city, next to the city wall.

The term "baby tiger" refers to the geniuses of Da Xia who are not yet adults but have already broken through to the Cold Resistance level. When the baby tiger roars in the valley, all beasts tremble in fear. Xia Chuan created this Baby Tiger Forest to cultivate the hunting abilities of these geniuses in advance and let them accumulate experience in wilderness survival.

The total area of ​​the Tiger Forest is 25 square kilometers. The cold beasts inside are released into the forest by the Dragon Guard on a regular, timed, and quantitative basis. Only the intermediate and low-level cold beasts are used specifically for the trials of underage cold-resistant geniuses.

The new rules are clear: minors at the Cold Resistance level can form groups of three, and as long as they can work together to kill five types of intermediate-level cold beasts, they will be eligible to go out early.

Not only can they come into contact with various living low- to mid-level cold beasts in advance, but they can also fight them in close combat. Furthermore, if they successfully kill five of them, they can gain the qualification to leave Xia City ahead of time.

As a result, once the Lunch Tiger Forest was launched, it almost immediately became the most desired place for all the children in Xia City.

Although the Tiger Forest only contains low- to mid-level cold beasts, and they were all driven and captured by humans, it is still very close to Xia City, and cold beasts are not so easy to control. Therefore, this forest has always been managed by the Dragon Guard.

No one doubted the strength of the Dragon Guard, and indeed, since the Lunch Tiger Forest officially began operating last August, there has not been a single death. The most serious injuries suffered by all the children who participated in the trial were minor ones, which is not a big deal given the current medical level in Great Xia.

As a result, more and more children wanted to go in, which increased the management pressure on the Imperial Guards. So, starting in June of this year, it was stipulated that the facility would be open once every ten days, with a maximum of 50 children allowed in at a time.

Although the two princes were confined to the palace, they were still fully aware of the news from the outside world. At the end of last year, Xia Yusheng learned about the matter of the Tiger Breeding Forest from his peers who came to the Xia Palace, and immediately made a fuss about going there. As expected, he was refused by his wife, Li Xuanling.

But Xia Yusheng did not give up. After that, he would bother Li Xuanling almost every half month. Sometimes, when Li Xuanling was in seclusion, he would try to sneak out, but of course, he could not succeed.

Whether she was annoyed by her son's constant nagging or had finally come to her senses, Li Xuanling finally relented at the beginning of this month and agreed to let Xia Yusheng go to the Tiger Breeding Forest.

We were originally scheduled to go on the night of the 28th, but for some reason we went earlier.

Han Shuang knew the allure of the Tiger Breeding Forest for the city's children, and she also knew that although the Crown Prince didn't say it, he must have been dreaming of going there. Out of pity, she mustered up the courage to offer to ask Li Xuanling for help.

I'd rather not have to deal with the cold beasts, or even just be able to go out and see them...

As if sensing Han Shuang's concern for her, Xia Yuyao smiled first, then shook her head and said, "Auntie, don't waste your time. Mother won't agree."

"Maybe not?"

Seeing that Han Shuang was somewhat skeptical, Xia Yuyao's eyes flickered slightly, and she smiled and said, "Right now is a crucial moment for our Great Xia to establish itself in the south. Second Uncle and Uncle Yuwen are each leading large armies to suppress the north, while Mother is left alone to guard the city. Naturally, Xia City cannot afford to have any problems."

The three northern towns are on the verge of collapse. When people are driven to despair, they do foolish things. That's probably why Mother has been keeping such a close eye on us these past two years..."

If a child had said these words, Han Shuang would have been horrified. However, looking at Xia Yuyao, who was only nine years old, on the soft couch, Han Shuang showed no change in expression, clearly having long been unfazed by such a thing.

“Yao’er is precocious and knows more than Sheng’er. She also has more ideas than him. We need to pay more attention to her. You will definitely have a harder time than Han Yue in the future.”

These words were spoken by Madam Li Xuanling four years ago when she instructed her and her sister Hanyue to take care of the two princes respectively.

At first, Han Shuang didn't understand when she heard this, but after serving Xia Yuyao closely for more than four years, she understood everything.

Sensible, obedient, and well-behaved—these are indeed the qualities of His Highness.

But none of these qualities compare to her greatest trait: intelligence!

Not to mention herself, the personal maid, even Madam Li Xuanling sometimes finds herself completely under the thumb of the Crown Prince.

As for the Second Prince Xia Yusheng, let's not even mention him!

(End of this chapter)