My Daughter is the Empire’s Lucky Charm

"Father?"

Yun Shu couldn't see the translucent light screen. All she noticed was the sudden change in her father's expression. The emperor, who just moments ago had looked thoroughly irritated, now gazed into the air as though pondering something cryptic. His features softened into something almost amused.

Only when Yun Shu called out again did Emperor Xuanwu return to himself, his expression now gentle and approachable.

"Xiao Wu..."

"Oh no. That tone. That look."

Whatever was about to come next, Yun Shu already knew it wouldn't be what she wanted to hear.

Instinctively, she took a step back.

Emperor Xuanwu blinked. His daughter's blatant caution was written all over her face. He couldn't pretend not to see it, even if he wanted to.

Well, at least she had caught on. That made things simpler.

He only hesitated a moment before speaking again.

"Regarding this matter, your father already has arrangements in place. I will replace Grand Preceptor Cui, but not right away."

"When exactly?"

Yun Shu didn't press him on what the arrangements were. She wasn't foolish enough to question the private thoughts of an emperor.

She only cared about one thing.

"Can it be done within ten days? Grand Preceptor Cui ordered me to submit the punishment copy within that time."

"Ten days..."

Emperor Xuanwu coughed lightly, his voice slightly guilty. "Probably not."

"Then what about my punishment essay?"

As she had feared, the answer wasn't ideal. Yun Shu's smile disappeared.

"Grand Preceptor Cui is clearly retaliating against me in broad daylight."

"For now, I can only ask you to endure this injustice."

Emperor Xuanwu nodded solemnly.

"To compensate you, I will have the attendants bring you an additional reward along with today's gift."

"That... works too."

She would just consider her writing effort paid labor. In that case, it was still a good deal. In her past life, she had never lacked money. Even though she hadn't yet needed to spend much in this new world, the emptiness of her coin pouch left her deeply uneasy.

At least this imperial father of hers held the throne. The reward was bound to be generous.

Yun Shu left the imperial study in high spirits. As she bounced lightly down the steps, she twirled around cheerfully—only to come face-to-face with three heads poking out from the corner of a nearby wall.

"What are you three doing here?"

"We were just worried about you, Fifth Sister."

Caught red-handed while spying, Yun Chuhuan didn't show a shred of guilt. He offered a bold excuse without blinking.

"What if Father got angry? With us around, we might have pleaded for leniency."

Yun Shu laughed through her nose. "Hiding in the shadows is your idea of helping plead my case?"

"It just didn't come to that this time."

Yun Chuhuan wasn't the least bit embarrassed. Still smiling cheekily, he asked,

"You looked rather pleased walking out of the imperial study just now. Did Father agree to let you off from copying the twenty passages of The Great Learning?"

"I still have to copy them."

She had taken the reward, after all. It would hardly be right to shirk the task.

However...

Her eyes slowly narrowed on Yun Chuhuan, a not-so-innocent smile spreading across her lips.

Yun Chuhuan shrank back instinctively. He knew what that look meant and quickly offered up his ally.

"Fifth Sister, don't worry. I had promised to let Zi Ming help you copy The Doctrine of the Mean. Since that's no longer needed, he can help you with The Great Learning instead!"

"Wait, no! I can't!"

Liu Ziming panicked as soon as he realized the fire had jumped onto him. He waved his hands in protest.

"Fifth Princess, Sixth Prince, it's not that I don't want to help, but the feather pen creates strokes different from a traditional brush. I only know how to write with a regular brush. I could never replicate your feather pen calligraphy."

"No problem. I wasn't planning on asking you two to copy it anyway."

Yun Shu nodded calmly.

"I have something else I want you to do... come closer."

She beckoned them over, and the three boys immediately huddled close.

Even the Dragon Shadow Guard hidden in the dark couldn't make out what they were whispering about.

Later that day, when the guard reported to Emperor Xuanwu, he could only share the events exactly as he had seen them, repeating the few muffled words he had overheard.

Emperor Xuanwu: "..."

Could he be wrong again?

After leaving his study, the very first thing Yun Shu did wasn't related to solving the punishment essay. Instead, she had Yun Chuhuan buy a massive quantity of radishes and gather a few extra people... to deep-fry radish balls?

Was radish fritters really that delicious?

His mind wandered for a moment before he realized how far off track his thoughts had gone. Emperor Xuanwu rubbed his forehead in exasperation.

"Very well. Keep a close watch on her over the next few days. If anything unusual happens on the Fifth Princess's side, report to me at once."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

...

Unaware that her secret meeting with Yun Chuhuan had triggered all kinds of wild speculation due to one overeager foodie and a slip of the tongue, Yun Shu behaved impeccably for the next several days.

She listened attentively during lessons, finished her assignments with diligence, and neither napped nor whispered in class.

Even Grand Preceptor Cui found it difficult to find fault with her. He could only console himself with the idea that the unruly Fifth Princess had finally been tamed.

What he didn't know was that Yun Shu was spending her afternoons huddled with Yun Chuhuan and the others.

The daily reports delivered by the Dragon Shadow Guard to Emperor Xuanwu grew increasingly bizarre:

"The Princess completed one passage of The Great Learning and handed it to Liu Ziming."

"The Sixth Prince informed her that the radishes had been procured and the people gathered. They are stationed outside the palace."

"The Princess made many batches of deep-fried radish balls. The Sixth Prince and his companions were overjoyed, praising them as delicious."

"The Princess and the others used carrots for sculpture practice. Miss Cen had poor carving skills and was mocked by the Sixth Prince. In turn, the Sixth Prince was mocked by the Princess."

"Unwilling to admit defeat, the Sixth Prince claimed that the artisans outside the palace could carve a radish dragon and phoenix."

"Liu Ziming brought a basket of carved radishes into the palace. These were delivered to the Princess. Among the carvings were dragons and phoenixes, Chang'e flying to the moon, and flying carriages pulled by horses."

Emperor Xuanwu: "..."

So for these past ten days, his daughter had been completely absorbed in radishes. Even the people they had stationed outside were recruited for the purpose of carving radishes.

This was truly absurd. Could it be that carving a pair of auspicious radishes could somehow inspire a surge in the number of scholars from humble households?

As the deadline approached, Emperor Xuanwu finally found himself unable to sit still any longer.

===

The Emperor call her with "小五啊..." 

"小" (Xiǎo) = Literally means "little," but here it's a diminutive prefix conveying familiarity or endearment.

"五" (Wǔ) = Refers to Yun Shu being the fifth child (五公主, Fifth Princess).

Together, "小五" translates roughly to "Little Five"—a playful, affectionate nickname a parent might use for their fifth-born child.