The Holy Princess: The Past

It happened months after Princess Royal's funeral...that Concubine Xue began poisoning Huang Beiyue, the daughter of her former lady.

However, while she intended to put trace amounts, she underestimated the amount that instantly killed the poor child...and what replaced her, was someone stronger and far superior.

This one who replaced the princess, was a powerful priestess who possessed holy energy.

And as poison is made out of spirit energy plus ingredients, it classifies as something holy energy can purify so effortlessly.

And she woke up, receiving the memories of her body.

Her body's identity is Huang Beiyue, a royal princess born to her mother Princess Royal and her father Xiao Yuancheng.

At age six, people have high expectations of her, but she cannot cultivate. Respect plunged rock-bottom and she was regarded as a national joke that not even servants other than Dongling respected her. Bullied by everyone and her tutors were unusually harsh and cold towards her when her mother wasn't around to do her duties as princess. Her father and grandfather doesn't care about her and openly dotes on her older siblings and her younger sister Rou and openly making it clear they don't care whether she lives or dies as 'she's useless'.

It was hard for a princess who was hated by almost everyone in the city to speak up.

But despite this, she was loved by her mother, her royal grandmother, uncle, and Aunt Xihe and had one friend in Dongling.

To make up for her lacking in martial arts, her mother opted for her to be a scholar instead. But woman never knew how she is treated when she's at work!

'That Midoriko...' she mused as she got up from her bed. 'After what the jewel did, she did this to me to save my life, but I can never go home any more.'

Midoriko reincarnated her in this body so she's wanting for nothing...despite the tough parts. And gave her all knowledge of Miko skills and techniques from Past to Present as well as Onmyodo techniques a Miko can do which is about...very few...

She went to grab a piece of paper and to her chagrin, write with ink and brush. "I knew I'd miss ballpens!" she thought with a scowl as she wrote her concerns in the paper, and sent it out as a shikigami bird to reach her uncle.

A scroll containing the lamentations of a princess.

xxx

Things were tough since they got outed.

Ever since Emperor's visit that outed their dastardly secret, they lost their Imperial Status and it became clear in the Spring Banquet after Princess Royal's funeral and that got tongues wagging, making people wonder what they did, while Beiyue sat next to Princess Yingye, guided by a maid.

They were on the mercy of the Emperor, and Principal Cang He is the tutor of the Trash Princess and he is horribly aware of what went on that he treats them with chill. Not only that, he manages her two fiefs and teaches her how, so she can be a proper country lord one day.

To add insult to injury, no doubt as revenge for years of mistreatment when Princess Royal wasn't around, she supported her MAID by helping her cultivate, get an education and got a citizenship even that she's no longer a slave, but a paid maid who's WAY overpaid! An employed maid's salary is one gold coin a month and how much is cultivation which was why she's overpaid! Since they began training, Dongling's cultivation rose too too fast its unreal! They could have gotten the same perks with Beiyue's money!

Example, it normally takes forty years to reach her stage of Sword Master. Yet she did it in four years so talent is also part of the equation! And she became a 6-star Summoner to add insult to injury!

Zhonglei and Rou could have been Gold-Classes with Zhongqi a Sword Master and Xiao Yuancheng a Sword Sage! Yun could have been such a Summoner!

"That money could have been ours!" were bitter thoughts. After Princess Royal's funeral, Xiao Yuancheng had suggested that he would be regent to Beiyue's fiefs until she's old enough in order to control the money for himself to spend on his childe and family genius who will bring up the Xiao name. Why should that trash have such money anyway?

But they never saw this coming and hard times followed.

They lost their status, and never got to touch that money as planned. Xiao Yuancheng was transferred to a division where his superiors were once suitors of Princess Royal who give him the stink eye and make his life as hard as possible in his career. Thankfully he wasn't demoted nor his salary reduced. However, how far can they go with his salary of 10000 gold? And they moved back into the former Xiao Mansion on orders.

Originally, the Xiaos have their own mansion thanks to Senior Master's hard work, but upon Yuancheng marrying Princess Royal, they moved into her mansion. But given what nearly everyone has done from Master to Slave, they got kicked out of the more lavish estate! Only Concubine Fang wasn't kicked out and her daughter Ling lives with her thus they still live within Princess Royal's Estate in her pavilion.

It also showed that unless Senior Master helps them with his money, Xiao Yun, the family Summoner can never rise and Zhongqi won't be where he is now, a Silver Class C.

Senior Master got her a 5th rank Sky Snow Cat due to elemental advantage back when he's a 5-star Summoner, but she was only able to get to 2-stars in rank, not even touching 2-star junior level. They have to find stronger ice beasts or at this rate she'll be held back in Lingyang College and that, would be embarrassing! To graduate a Summoner must be at least a 4-star before their final school year! Zhongqi is the same. Unless he gets to Silver Class A before next year, graduating two years later, would be just a dream. He'll be held back until he has enough cultivation to graduate!

And a barrier is placed over Bishui Pavilion, a powerful barrier not even Senior Master can destroy.

They can't even hold Dongling against Beiyue as how can they? Her cultivation is far stronger than the master's! And they can't even visit Bishui Pavilion as there's a barrier in there! And that damn brat is vengeful, effortlessly beating up their manservants and family sons! In a world like this, Might makes Right, that power no matter what form, is everything.

And that damn trash brat has it all! Emperor's backing! Status! Money! Overpowered maids!

Then there's Concubine Fang!

She looks unusually young with good threads and so is Xiao Ling! Why?!

'Alright Fang, what did you do?' Qin once demanded during a family meeting Beiyue is excluded out of even though she's the Family Master, not Senior Master or Master as their husband's status was inferior to that of his legal wife's.

'Things you never did.' said Fang wryly. 'I know my place ever since Master married Princess and I was the first woman in this household though I'm still a Concubine back then. Our situation now is because you and your children don't know your place. We could have had it all if not for you two and your kids. Princess and her daughter are kind, gentle and generous and you all took that for granted horribly while acting high and mighty when normally, a royal would have had you on the chopping block by now.' Qin and Xue went red at those coolly-spoken words and their husband looked like he swallowed a bug. 'And while you certainly enjoyed yourselves, life is like a wheel, and everyone has their limits. Thanks to you and all the children and master's lack of parenting skills, royal third miss hit hers and repaid back in kind.'

They were all expelled from Princess Royal's estate and status lost. However, it's clear who gets good treatment from the Trash Princess.

Concubine Fang, ever since that day, enjoys youthful beauty without compare and beautiful clothes even though she was the most inferior of Yuancheng's wives as Xiao Ling doesn't know martial arts because Fang's overprotective, only agreeing to body training and wifely arts when a martial artist child is much better, that Xiao Ling was only 'slightly' better than the family trash. She could have it better if Fang wasn't so protective. Something Ling herself was bitter about as she dreamed of adventures. She only got bare-minimum training and cultivation, that was it. She can't even take low-level quests in Mercenary Union.

Xiao Ling however, enjoyed the same perks as her mother that she is now married off to a Sima's(ch: War Minister) son because she grew up beautiful in skin and body, though her looks was mostly a mix of her parents', not the beauty brought out by pills as four years ago, she was fourteen, same age as Zhongqi, older than him by five months. Fang had to give her all training and discipline she could so she would be a favored wife as beauty can only take her so far.

Yun and Rou were extremely jealous that the second-useless family child got high-class wares and they don't! Their skin is brown and without cosmetic pills, they're not as beautiful! Thanks to that, Ling gets to marry up! Her father-in-law is a Sima, thus enjoys a salary of 100000 so that bitch has it good! Worse? Out of favor to Concubine Fang, Beiyue pays for HER clothes and accessories until she's thirty! Who on earth would marry them now with such brown skin that almost everyone in Lingyang School thinks Xiao Yun is a slave due to her looks and skin color?

Cosmetic Pills bring out the best of good looks in one's blood and has to be taken at a young age before puberty hits. For girls, it's before their menarche. For boys, it's before their voices deepen.

Xiao Yun was three years older than her two younger sisters who were the same age, Rou being younger than Beiyue by a couple months. She was eleven four years ago. Now it's too late for her to have those pills and Rou just had her first time. Thus it's too late for both to take the goods!

Damn that Huang Beiyue!

While the daughters were jealous, so were their mothers.

Qin was the second most beautiful in the Xiao Household. As a child, she has access to such pills. But no wealthy woman at the time, can ever compare to Nanyi's fairy, Princess Royal obviously. Not to mention she was educated. But her slip twenty years ago caused her to lose support from her father and disowned for flirting with the just-married Prince Consort on his own wedding day and when he reciprocated her seduction by having his hand inside her dudou, they got caught by a eunuch and three maids who aired it for all to hear! She was also reason why concubines are no longer allowed in Royal Palace thus all concubines hated her for 'making history'.

Yet now she was showing her age of mid-thirties. She was starting to 'wilt'.

Xue was a girl her husband brought home and wed as his second concubine, Background unknown, until Dongling let it slip. She was Princess Royal's maid who, while her lady fought in the front lines, seduced her way to concubinehood, betraying her lady! Who was it who took her in after saving her from near-death in a wartorn village, hah? She's the viper to the farmer!

Xue was shaken when the Emperor aired it out in his rage, that her dark secret only Yuancheng knew so far, was exposed.

However, for her husband being a known adulterer, only Fang gets away scott-free from the family's reputation and father-in-law wasn't happy with his son and two of his daughter-in-laws. Fang never did wrong from start-to-finish, while three of them started and ended wrong.

While he did have a hand in the older children's cultivation, he was cold to almost all adults and treated Fang well! He also deeply regrets he went into seclusion too soon so he was hard on them all except for Fang who got her daughter married off, so she accomplished something!

Grrr hateful!

xxx

The Emperor has just gotten back from a visit.

He was as if he was twenty again, and not a stressed-out forty-something man who worked for a Black Company.

Well, working for the Imperial Court is exactly that.

If you run a country in a medieval world, it's equal to a Japanese Black Company. Departments must finish and submit their work within set deadlines that you must overtime for the Emperor's perusal. And he's also overtiming to keep country afloat.

But! Politics are involved. One must read between the lines of what people around you say, lest you approve or disapprove of what shouldn't!

However, unlike the court, Beiyue was strict with her uncle who enjoys all healing wares she makes him that erases effects of stress in his body and keeps his blood vessels clean. She makes him take a twenty minute break twice a day like sunbathing three hours after breakfast, and jogging twenty minutes before dinner to get his blood flowing after sitting for hours, BEFORE training for three hours, so his dinner is quite late unlike everyone else in the palace. He eats at 8:00 while the rest of his family eats an hour earlier. Then after dinner, her tonics! So he was the most relaxed and stress-free Emperor in Nanyi's history that his sleep is good as his body is healed from all stress, and enjoys his own hobbies after dinner as a means to relax.

He got more productive, and nothing goes past him.

For three years, his cultivation also increases 'to insane levels'.

Unlike Princess Royal who's a Summoner, he was an Enchanter as he refused to be stuck at Warrior Profession. He took the throne at age 21 when war with Dongli ended. He thus has less opportunity to cultivate, nevermind stay in shape. That upon graduating Lingyang School, he could have been an Archmagus-Class. But being an Emperor reduced him to a job that's a mix between Politics and Paper-Pusher.

But with his niece years later, he had that opportunity to retrain himself, and he's now a peak Magician-Class Enchanter.

In Higurashi Kagome's mind, she compared cultivation levels to MP in video games in Earth.

Magic users have the highest MP level, followed by Summoners, and later, Knight/Warrior-Classes.

In this world, that's Enchanters followed by Alchemists, then Summoners and Warriors.

Within three years, from Magus, he went Magician-Class. Naturally, he re-trained himself and learned a few tricks from Beiyue herself. She creates spells. Mostly Barrier Spells...which he uses on his office and his quarters that only he and Zhanye can enter as he's tutoring his Crown Prince on how to do his jobs when he retires.

(she doesn't say that she got them from her skills as a miko and from a certain thing she found in Misty Forest)

It was such a cheat, his niece's power. What he has, it'd take him by the time he's RETIRED to reach that level had he been a normal person, not a monarch. It's just as difficult as Summoners to get stronger. But he achieved Magician-Class Rank 1 in power in three years. 8 more to go before Sorcerer-status!

And Beiyue...sniffle. Looks more like sister each day now...but what's with her unusual clothes?

(She wears variants of kosode and haoris in many colors and designs, while hakama or andonbakama or strictly plain. The sleeves are chinese sleeves not sode sleeves)

xxx

The Palace...

The Emperor's quick rise was also the topic of the palace, amazed with their monarch and looking at him with respect.

'He's setting a good example!'

'Yeah, he's catching up to his son who's the strongest royal after Princess Royal!'

Crown Prince Zhanye who obtained Purple-Fire Kirin was a hard worker who rose to 9-stars, Intermediate Rank. He would be a Huang-Class before he graduates for sure!

After 9-stars, what's beyond that?!

It was good their Monarch is also putting in some effort since when war comes, he has to be at the front lines like his father before him did.

'Father, how did you do it?' Yingye asked her father eagerly. Princess Yingye is fourteen years old this year.

'Well, its very hard to obtain, but results are worth the while.' the Emperor smiled. He wasn't stupid. While he would gladly help Yingye, its no secret his dear daughter who was so innocent, is being used by that damn woman and his unwanted father-in-law, exploiting her innocence to use against him. He noticed that every time he does something for Beiyue, they act on it! 'Expensive too and it takes a year to get it.'

But he has a way around that. He researched a curse, which he will put in Xia Guang Hall later for this stunt. Every time they think of certain keywords, she will have a crippling-painful headache! Thankfully Yingye doesn't live in there.

He'll do it soon when nobody's around. He wasn't known as an imp in his younger days for nothing!

'Eh?'

'So yes, can you wait that long?'

'Eep...' Yingye squirmed in dismay. She can't wait that long!

During Lunch Break...

The Emperor acted on it.

Dressed as a Eunuch, he snuck around and planted his cursed barrier, to be triggered by specific keywords he had in mind. He also ensured only Yingye wouldn't get hurt as she was closer to her mother than Zhanye was.

And it happened in the afternoon that a Eunuch informed him his Empress had a crippling headache...

'Oh, I see. Go call for the Imperial Physician, he'll sort her out.' came the tonelessly-uncaring retort from the Emperor casually doing his work that its no news that given what happened years ago, he doesn't spare a thought for his Empress, is chilly to his own mother which got worse when the palace got wind what actually happens to Princess Beiyue when Princess Royal is away. He never approved of her pairing with Xiao Yuancheng but Grandqueen insisted on it, look at what happened to her youngest granddaughter! Not even a background check?! How can he trust her now for Yingye, his own daughter?!

He went as far as saying his children and niece will not put up with marital arrangement bullshit as he and his sister have or he'll kill any who tried personally no matter who they are!

The horrified Empress protested as she already has a girl in mind for her son and the Emperor noted his son's WTH? expression at his mother and that was enough for him to slap her hard in the face to many people's shock.

'The royal children will decide their own fate! I refuse for them to end up like us!'

Anything to do with the two princesses is taboo in the palace, lest they set off the Emperor's rage at them.

Nobody likes a repeat of what he did to Princess Royal's former maids who abandoned two little girls to their fate in a callous family's hands. He ordered their faces disfigured and kneecaps removed and thrown out the streets!