Chapter 14 - The Puppet's Tale (1)

Ah Jin laid down and began to digest the energy gained.

It swirled around, and she felt warm.

The exhaustion from the last task was gone.

Too bad it was too little before Ah Jin could relish enough of it.

San Qi narrowed his small eyes as he watched Ah Jin lie on the floor.

Smiling, he asked, "Do you want a bed? There are specials on household goods in the mall right now, regularly priced at 55, now only 19.9. Definitely a great value for money and will make you feel at home after a tiring task."

Ah Jin was still reeling.

Hearing it say that, she thought the kid was really crazy for wanting energy, not giving up the slightest chance!

"It's really inspiring, but unfortunately, I'm done absorbing it." Ah Jin shook her head in regret.

San Qi's eyes lit up, and it said in a rush, "It's okay. It can be absorbed and use again, too. Just like the client, it's fine to split it up."

"Oh! I see that's great."

Ah Jin's eight teeth were showing as she smiled.

San Qi was puzzled, was there a need to be so happy? Is she thinking evil thoughts again?

He repeated the conversation over again in his mind to make sure he hadn't said the wrong thing and relaxed a little.

"Yeah, it's very convenient, isn't it? Would you like a bed?"

"It's convenient. But forget about it this time. We'll buy it when we have more energy."

A little disappointed, San Qi started looking for a task for her.

Seeing that there was a job, San Qi had a bad idea and wanted to give her some sense.

After all, when it came to choosing a task, it was still his call.

"Ah Jin, there's a task here that pays well. Do you want to take it? I don't think this task is difficult with your ability."

Not that Ah Jin minded, as long as it made things easier.

It was then San Qi sent the plot to her.

The task this time was an ancient setting, and the client was a royal princess.

Naturally, with such a golden status, there shouldn't be any problems.

Still, the problem was biased towards her birth mother, the Empress.

The original character's name was Zhu Jinxiu, the First Princess and favorite daughter of the current Emperor.

However, as Zhu Jinxiu grew up, the Empress became increasingly strict with her.

She demanded that Zhu Jinxiu, as a royal princess, maintain the majesty and dignity of a royal princess at all times.

Thereby, from the time Zhu Jinxiu started to understand, she was taught by Zhang Mama.

She was taught to behave like a royal princess from a young age.

Zhu Jinxiu was also very obedient.

Every day she followed Zhang Mama's discipline.

One day, Zhu Jinxiu saw two little maids playing shuttlecock in another palace.

As a child, she was very playful, so she had fun with the two little maids.

Eventually, she was discovered.

The two maids were beaten with 30 slabs each, regardless of their status.

Zhu Jinxiu had to be present throughout the execution.

She watched as the two little maids cried out in pain at first, and then their voices grew weaker until the execution was over.

Zhang Mama told her that she was a princess and would not be punished, so her servant took the blame.

Zhu Jinxiu was too young to endure such a scene and returned to the palace with a high fever and nightmares.

Since then, she lost her youthful innocence and liveliness.

When the Emperor saw his beloved daughter becoming rigid and dull like the Empress, he did not spoil her so much.

However, the First Princess's due respect was not less given.

On the day she reached the age of 15, she was given Princess Anping's title and was granted marriage to the eldest son of the Marquis of Qinghe, Prince Rong Yi.

Princess Anping had forgotten how to fight back, having lived under the shadow of Zhang Mama and the Empress since her childhood.

She dared not resist and was afraid of losing the people around her, just like her two little maids when she was a child.

Like the Empress's puppet on a string, she would never go west if she was told to go east.

The strict rules taught her that her parents' orders could not be disobeyed.

The Emperor's order to give marriage, she would absolutely not resist, even if she had never met the Prince.

The Emperor's main reason for granting the marriage was to restrict the powerful officials.

When Zhu Jinxiu got married, she unexpectedly found that Prince Rong Yi was the right person.

A clean, diligent, and studious person.

At first, the couple's relationship was good.

As time went by, Prince Rong Yi began to notice an irregularity in this princess.

Following rules and regulations, even walking as if she had measured with a ruler.

Even in homes where people liked rules, they didn't always follow them and would overdo them.

However, in the case of Princess Anping, she was like a puppet.

In front of the public, Princess Anping honored the etiquette of a ruler and an official.

She was the ruler, and the people of the Marquis were her subjects.

In private, she treated the Prince like a guest and followed the rituals of a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law with the Marquis's wife.

All things were according to the rules, and she would not change her ways.

The Marquis' residence turned into a birdcage of rules and regulations.

There was nothing Madam Marquis could do about it.

After all, she was a princess.

In the end, she was a ruler.

After Princess Anping gave birth, Madam Marquis took the first-born son away from her after the banquet because her knees were empty.

She wished to keep her grandson by her side to enjoy the pleasures of heaven.

Although Zhu Jinxiu was reluctant, it was for the sake of filial piety that she could not refuse.

She could only see her child once a day, and her body couldn't stand the thought, so she fell ill.

The maids beside her couldn't stand her suffering.

They advised her to get well so that she could have a second child.

When the first son was five or six years old, she gave birth to her first daughter.

Madam Marquis saw that this was not good if she were to raise a child.

So she went to the Old Madam, who lived deep in the backyard, and the same thing happened.

Because of filial piety, she did not dare to resist and was tormented by her suffering.

Her illness caused the Marquis to fall into a relaxed atmosphere. On where he passed byIt her way to the garden, Zhu Jinxiu heard the maids talking and laughing behind the rockery.

Before she could get angry, she heard the maids mocking her.

These people named her the Puppet Princess, made fun of her severe and strict style and her inability to even keep her children.

They ridiculed her for being a young girl of twenty-eight years of age, but she had become an old woman even older than the Madam.

Zhu Jinxiu was so furious that she fainted on the spot.

She died soon afterward.

All she wanted was to be free from the Empress's discipline and manipulation, live her own life and raise her children without being mocked again.