But this was a special alert from the Simulation Life Selection System.
And during the last simulation, the chosen scenario had been bringing Xiao Wu to attend this Spring Plowing Ceremony. That choice had led to a result where the rice seedling survival rate dramatically increased the following year, and within three years, the major thoroughfares across all of Tian Sheng were fully renovated, smooth and level.
In other words, if he did not go and step on that wall of mud right now, there was a high chance the outcome of the simulation would deviate—possibly even collapse entirely.
That could not be allowed.
What wall of mud could possibly be more important than the complete restoration of Tian Sheng's infrastructure over three years?
At worst, he could simply have someone send two baskets of finer, cleaner clay to Yao Hua Palace as compensation.
Emperor Xuanwu stared at the special prompt on the glowing interface for barely a second before turning on his heel and walking straight toward the mud wall.
At that moment, Yun Chuhuan was gleefully dragging the Third Prince toward his masterpiece.
The layout of the ceremonial field had the north and south sides flanking the center, where the so-called "mud wall" stood.
Yun Shu sat calmly by the wall. When she first noticed Emperor Xuanwu approaching, she didn't think much of it. She assumed he might have come to speak with her.
From a distance, Yun Chuhuan spotted his Imperial Father drawing near and nearly burst with joy, assuming His Majesty had heard of the wall and was coming to admire it in person.
Yet as Emperor Xuanwu drew closer, he did not spare even a glance at Yun Shu or the mud wall. It was as if she were invisible.
Only then did Yun Shu realize something was off. She lifted a hand to intervene, but it was already too late.
A boot embroidered with golden dragon patterns came down hard on the mud wall.
Yun Shu winced and immediately turned to look at Yun Chuhuan, who had just arrived at the scene.
The boy stared in stunned silence at what was left of his masterpiece.
Then, suddenly—
"Waaaah—!" he erupted into a wail that shook the heavens.
Yun Shu: "!!!"
Emperor Xuanwu: "..."
Surely this was an overreaction?
He hadn't even cried like this when fined hundreds of taels of gold.
Emperor Xuanwu's expression started to crack. He attempted to maintain his imperial dignity.
"Why are you crying over nothing? You are a prince, a man!"
"Waaaaaaah—!"
Most of the children labeled as little terrors possessed a special ability: The power to scream and cry at full volume, so loudly and so inconsolably that no reasoning could quiet them.
Yun Shu had once thought Yun Chuhuan an exception.
Those of lower status dared not make him cry. And those so high above him, he dared not cry in front of.
Only now did she realize her mistake.
Yun Chuhuan hadn't refrained from deploying this weapon before because he couldn't.
He simply hadn't thought it necessary.
But now he did.
Clutching her ears in pain, Yun Shu shot Emperor Xuanwu a look of silent accusation.
"Sixth Brother were fine. Why on earth did you provoke him?"
Emperor Xuanwu looked away, suddenly sheepish.
Did she think he had wanted to provoke the boy?
This was all for Tian Sheng.
How could he have predicted that a clump of mud meant more to this brat than gold?
Though he could not bring himself to apologize—not with the face of an emperor—he also had no intention of turning this around and blaming anyone else for it.
Instead, he shot Yun Shu a vaguely guilty glare.
"Your Sixth Imperial Brother is wailing like this. Are you not going to comfort him?"
Yun Shu: "?"
Emperor Xuanwu: "..."
Had that little scoundrel just scolded him with her eyes?
One by one, they were getting out of hand.
He forced a stern expression back onto his face and begrudgingly offered a word of comfort.
"Enough. It was not Our intention."
Even the Third Prince couldn't help shooting him a skeptical look.
Who are you trying to fool?
That stomp was anything but accidental.
Ignored by the Sixth Prince, silently questioned by the Third, and stared down by Xiao Wu, Emperor Xuanwu flushed with indignation. In the end, he flung his sleeves and stormed off in humiliation.
The culprit fled the scene without taking any responsibility, but Yun Chuhuan's ear-splitting cries continued without pause.
Yun Shu let out a long sigh.
"Alright, alright. Stop crying, can we talk this through?"
"Waaaah—!"
"How about this? Let's figure out a way to make a kind of mud no one can step through. And the next time someone tries to ruin your wall, we'll trip them right onto their back. How about that?"
To calm him, Yun Shu even said something as treasonous as tripping the Emperor.
Luckily, Yun Chuhuan—devoted son though he was—did not disappoint. In one second, his howling stopped as if someone had turned off a magical faucet.
With tears still clinging to his lashes, his blurred eyes blinked as he sniffled and looked at Yun Shu seriously.
"Can we really trip him hard enough to fall?"
"...We can."
Yun Shu smiled with saintly benevolence.
"Absolutely."
The Third Prince: "..."
Those old men who accused him of being unruly really ought to see this.
Compared to these two, he was the very picture of restraint.
He was speechless.
While the Third Prince stood in stunned silence, Yun Chuhuan had already seized Yun Shu's hand and was eagerly discussing how to create that unbreakable mud.
Cement. Yun Shu had thought about it countless times during her jostling journey to the capital.
But she knew Tian Sheng's treasury was empty. The new commercial tax had only just been implemented. It would take at least until year's end to show returns.
And Bei Xiang loomed menacingly on the border. Even if funds were available, military spending would take priority.
Nationwide road construction was simply too costly.
Even if she created cement now, the roads would remain bumpy for some time.
She only rode long-distance carriages a few times a year anyway. After much deliberation, she had shelved the idea.
Yet now, to appease Yun Chuhuan, she had no choice but to dust it off again.
Fortunately, Yun Chuhuan was now the one desperate to develop it, not her.
She could let him tinker as he pleased. If he succeeded, all the better. If not, she would tackle it herself when time allowed.
There was no rush.
Yun Shu began explaining in a calm, coaxing tone.
"Look, ordinary mud hardens when dry, but one light kick and it crumbles.
Ceramic clay probably has additives that ordinary mud lacks. Once processed, it becomes much harder and only softens again when soaked in water.
So, what if we mixed different types of materials into the mud? Would it be possible to create a kind of mud that becomes rock-hard once dry, unyielding even under a sledgehammer?"