After the milk ball arrived, the father who had no heirs had a string of good luck.

Princess Li nodded and accepted the food box.

Zhang Ji kept reminding Tang Rui, "You can't eat anything a stranger gives you, it'll give you diarrhea."

"My stepmothers, I've remembered everything. I'll be a good girl!" Tang Rui smiled sweetly and waved her little hand at them.

"Get out!" Situ Che shouted, and the two women fell silent, giving him a uniform glare.

Situ Che lowered the carriage curtain with a dark expression.

Inside the Prince's mansion, Consort Gu watched the carriage slowly depart.

"Consort!" Her personal maid came over and whispered in her ear, "I went to the kitchen to get some hot water and overheard Xia Yun from Consort Zhang's courtyard talking to Caiying. They mentioned something about a snake, and it seemed like they were after that doll."

"What does this have to do with me?" Consort Gu withdrew her gaze, a complex look flashing across her eyes: "Everyone has their own fate, and so do I."

The maid didn't understand, but she knew that her master wouldn't get involved in this matter.

...

Inside the carriage, Tang Rui happily enjoyed the breakfast prepared for her by Consort Zhu, while Princess Li sat to the side explaining the intricacies of palace life to her.

Simply put, the emperor had seven children: the second, third, fifth, sixth, ninth, and eleventh.

Tang Rui's adoptive father, Prince Li, was the seventh prince. Before he was injured, he was a renowned war god of the Great Xia Dynasty, skilled in both literature and martial arts, and no other prince could compare to him.

Moreover, Prince Li and the Crown Prince are both born of the same mother, the Empress's children.

However, the Empress's attitude towards the two men was completely different.

The crown prince doted on her immensely, giving her whatever she wanted.

Prince Li was like everyone else's child, and the Empress was very harsh on him.

Not only that, Prince Li's relationship with the Crown Prince is also very bad, while he is closer to the Ninth Prince.

Situ Che was annoyed: "Why are you telling her so much? Does she even understand?"

"This humble servant..." Princess Li realized she had spoken too much, and her face gradually flushed red.

"I understand!" Tang Rui shook her head and took over, with crumbs of mung bean cake still stuck to the corner of her mouth: "What Mother Consort means is that the Empress and the Crown Prince are not trustworthy, but Ninth Uncle is trustworthy. She told me to be careful and not to get into trouble."

Situ Che: "..." Is this really five years old? Isn't he a bit too smart?

But then again, he seemed to be quite smart when he was five years old.

His child naturally resembles him.

"My daughter is so smart!" Princess Li was overjoyed, wiping the crumbs from the corner of her mouth and hugging her affectionately.

...

They arrived at the palace quickly. Princess Li carried Tang Rui out of the carriage and followed Situ Che to the main hall.

When they arrived, not only was the emperor there, but all the princes except for the youngest eleventh prince were also present.

The Crown Prince even brought his illegitimate daughter, Situ Qiang, along for the first time ever.

Every royal palace has its own spies, and it's no secret that the illegitimate daughter of the Prince of Li came knocking on their door.

They came here just to see what the fuss was about.

But... upon seeing Tang Rui's face, the princes displayed various expressions.

Rather than resembling the seventh prince, he looks exactly like the empress.

I really want to know what the Empress's expression would be if she saw this miniature version of herself.

Unfortunately, the Empress has gone to Jin Guang Temple to pray for blessings and is not currently in the palace, so we won't be able to see this excitement for a while.

Prince Rui chuckled lightly: "Alright, now we don't even need to do a blood test to verify kinship."

"Fifth Brother, you are mistaken!" A hint of displeasure flashed in the Crown Prince's eyes: "Royal blood cannot be confused. You cannot determine that this woman is of royal blood just by looking at her face."

"Yes!" Ninth Prince Jin chimed in, glancing sideways at Situ Qiang: "After all, the Crown Prince's illegitimate daughter doesn't look like you."

The crown prince narrowed his eyes dangerously.

Situ Qiang frowned: "What do you mean by that, Ninth Imperial Uncle? Are you saying I'm not Father's biological daughter?"

The King of Jin retorted, "You said it yourself."

"You!" Situ Qiang's eyes reddened with anger as she tugged at the Crown Prince's sleeve. "Father, look at Uncle Jiu..."

"Alright!" The emperor spoke, and Situ Qiang fell silent in an instant, no longer daring to cause trouble, only glaring fiercely at Tang Rui.

Tang Rui: "..." Why are you glaring at me? You're crazy!

The emperor waved his hand, and eunuchs had already prepared the vessel for the blood test to determine kinship.

Situ Che said nothing, picked up a silver needle, pricked his finger, and dripped a drop of blood into the water.

When it was Tang Rui's turn, Princess Li intended to coax her gently.

But this girl didn't need anyone to coax her at all; she stood on tiptoe, took a silver needle, and pricked her finger.

hiss…

it hurts!

Tang Rui almost burst into tears.

This body seems to have highly developed pain nerves; she shouldn't try to look cool!

Princess Li quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe the bloodstains from her hands, feeling extremely distressed.

Then look at those two drops of blood, slowly merging together in the water.

The eunuch held up the bowl and showed it to the emperor, and then to all the masters present.

Princess Li breathed a huge sigh of relief when she saw the two drops of blood merging together.

Although she was quite certain that Tang Rui was the prince's child, she was still on tenterhooks until the truth came out.

Now her daughter can't escape.

The emperor's expression softened: "Indeed, it is of royal blood."

Prince Chen, who had remained silent until now, said, "Father, since she is the child of my seventh brother, she is of noble birth. I humbly request that she be granted the title of Princess."

The Crown Prince chuckled, "Yes, after all, Seventh Brother only has this one daughter in his life, so he should be granted the title of Princess."

Upon hearing this, Situ Che's expression turned cold.

The princes looked embarrassed.

The emperor gave him a disapproving look.

However, it's so embarrassing to say that!

He's clearly your own brother, so why are you treating him so cruelly?

Just then, Tang Rui's childish voice rang out: "Although my father only has one daughter, I am worth ten of them."

The crown prince chuckled softly but did not speak.

Everyone else laughed too, but it was all good-natured laughter.

The emperor, unusually, softened his expression: "Very well, very well, you are worth ten of them, so... I'll bestow upon you the title of Zhaohua!"

Everyone's expression changed drastically upon hearing this!

Even the crown prince almost lost his composure.

Zhaohua means bright and radiant.

Historically, those who deserve this title are either the eldest princess or the eldest daughter of the crown prince.

What right does a prince's illegitimate daughter have?

Situ Qiang had long been unhappy. As a concubine's daughter, no matter how outstanding she was, she was not qualified to be granted the title of princess.

But this little baby is clearly just an illegitimate child, not even as good as her, a concubine's daughter. Why should she be granted the title of princess?

She is still Princess Zhaohua!

Does she deserve it?

"Grandfather!" Situ Qiang stepped forward, bowed respectfully to the emperor, and said solemnly, "Even if she is Seventh Uncle's biological daughter, she is not worthy of such a title."

Before the emperor could even speak, Tang Rui protested, "How am I not good enough for him?"

Situ Qiang sneered, "Your birth mother is unknown, and you know nothing of the Four Books and Five Classics, poetry, or songs. Your grandfather bestowing upon you the title of Princess was an immense favor. How could you possibly be worthy of the name 'Zhaohua'?"

Tang Rui, hands on her hips, retorted, "Nonsense! As long as she's my father's daughter, no matter who her mother is, she's my mother's child. As for the Four Books and Five Classics, how do you know I don't know them?"

"..." Who on earth is spouting nonsense?!

Situ Qiang glanced at the emperor, a plan forming in her mind: "Alright, let's put aside the issue of my birth mother for now. You say you're familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics? Dare to compete with me?"

Princess Li grew anxious and kept giving Tang Rui meaningful glances.