After rebirth, she discovered the space golden finger

Chapter 618 The Chosen One (3)

Seeing the boy staring at her in disbelief, Pei Yun walked up to him and calmly asked, "Do you want to be the emperor?"

The boy looked into the other's calm, deep black eyes, and the fear in his heart slowly dissipated. However, Pei Yun's question still shocked him. His hands, hidden behind his back, unconsciously clenched into fists, and he asked softly, "Who are you? I don't think I've seen you before in the palace..."

The boy was certain he had never seen this woman before. Her beauty was stunning, and she possessed an ethereal, otherworldly quality that was completely different from any of the women he had ever seen in the imperial harem.

"I've come to find the 'Chosen One.' There are no cultivators in this world, so the so-called 'Chosen One' must be someone who possesses imperial power and the throne. And you are now my candidate. I hope you won't disappoint me..."

The boy didn't fully understand Pei Yun's meaning, but his eyes widened, shining with eagerness, and he asked excitedly and nervously, "You... senior... are you an immortal?"

“…You can consider me as such.” Pei Yun said, raising his hand and pointing vaguely at the top of the mentally challenged woman’s head.

A moment later, the steamed bun in the woman's hand fell to the ground, and she closed her eyes, fell asleep on the bed.

"Don't hurt my mother! What have you done?! Mother! Mother!" Upon seeing this, the boy hurriedly hugged the woman and roared at Pei Yun.

Pei Yun looked at the boy calmly, without explaining, nor did he need to explain, because the sleeping woman soon woke up. Her eyes were no longer dull, but clear as she looked at the boy, touched his cheek, and said weakly, "...Chen'er."

The boy was stunned at first, then looked at the woman in disbelief and exclaimed with delight, "Mother, you recognize me, Mother!"

With tears streaming down her face, Zhuang Meiren hugged the boy tightly: "My Chen'er, you've suffered so much. It's all my fault, all my fault..."

"Mother!" The mother and son embraced each other emotionally.

After a while, once the two had calmed down, the boy, the seventh prince Zhao Chen, knelt down beside Pei Yun with a thud, kowtowing and saying, "Thank you, immortal, for saving my mother. As for what you just asked me, I am willing... I want to be the emperor..."

"Why do you want to be emperor? Just because I asked you?"

"...Who wouldn't want to be emperor! Being emperor means having supreme power...it means that my mother and I will no longer be bullied by anyone, and we can eat our fill and stay warm..." Zhao Chen said, a hint of ambition quietly rising in his heart.

Pei Yun stared at him intently for a moment, then said, "I can see that these words are from the bottom of your heart. Based on your honesty, I'm willing to give you a chance. Of course, my selection of you now doesn't mean I won't change my mind later. If you're willing to accept my test, come here to see me at Chenshi (7-9 AM) tomorrow..."

"I'm willing! Thank you, immortal, thank you, immortal..." Zhao Chen was overjoyed and was about to kowtow again when he was lifted up by an invisible force.

"Just call me Senior Pei. See you tomorrow." Pei Yun said, and before the other party could react, he vanished from the spot.

……

The next morning, when Zhao Chen arrived at the Cold Palace, Pei Yun was already waiting there. He bowed in fear and said, "I'm sorry, Senior Pei, I..."

“It’s alright, I arrived earlier.” Pei Yun shook her head, and seeing the food hidden in his arms, she said gently, “You can give the food to your mother first, and then leave with me.”

"Thank you, senior." Zhao Chenwei breathed a sigh of relief.

After a moment, he came out of the room and stood in front of Pei Yun, looking at her expectantly.

Pei Yun remained silent. This world did not restrict storage artifacts, so she directly took out the Vermilion Bird Puppet, put him on the puppet, and flew out of the palace...

Zhao Chen cautiously glanced at the towering sky outside the puppet, and his whole body went into a daze. He still couldn't believe that he had really met an immortal, as if it were all a dream.

When his feet touched solid ground, he swayed slightly before regaining his senses. He looked around and realized he was in a field, the muddy ground making his already dirty shoes even dirtier.

"Senior Pei, why did you bring me here..." Zhao Chen looked at Pei Yun with a blank expression.

“This is my first test for you—farming,” Pei Yun said. “Spring planting is coming soon. There are three acres of land here. You must plant crops. The tools have been prepared for you. You can use this money. There are villagers in the nearby villages. You can ask them for help, but there is one condition: you must go to the fields and farm the land yourself. There is a thatched hut at the end of the village. That is the house I prepared for you. You can live there…”

“…Senior, I don’t know how to farm. I’ve never farmed before…” Zhao Chen took the money bag helplessly.

"Then study. If you can't even pass this test, then there's no point in continuing..."

Pei Yun said, "You'll stay here for the time being. I'll take care of your mother. As for the people in the palace, they won't notice you've disappeared..."

Zhao Chen felt a moment of panic, but managed to regain his composure: "...This junior is willing to accept the test."

"In that case, let's begin." Pei Yun said and left the scene, leaving him standing there blankly, staring at the rising sun overhead.

In the days that followed, Pei Yun kept a close watch on Zhao Chen's actions.

At first, Zhao Chen couldn't even light a fire or cook rice properly. He lay on the cold, hard bed, covered with a thin blanket, yet he was still freezing. His whole body ached all night long, and sometimes when it rained, the roof leaked.

The house was cold and damp, infested with snakes, insects, and rodents, and the outhouse was filthy; he had to clean all of this himself.

After enduring the disdain and indifference of most of the villagers in the vicinity, he finally managed to buy wheat seeds and fertilizer and rent oxen with the help of a few kind villagers. He secretly observed the villagers' farming practices and imitated them.

Next, Zhao Chen experienced unprecedented hardship and exhaustion, which was nothing compared to the suffering he had endured in the palace.

Every day, I buried myself in the fields, enduring the sweltering heat, sweating profusely. When I first started plowing, I couldn't even lift my arms on the second day, and my back felt like it was broken.

Since Pei Yun brought him here, he has abandoned him and never appeared again.

This terrified Zhao Chen, as if he had been abandoned. Alone in this dilapidated room, which was even worse than a cold palace, he was deeply afraid and even complained and regretted it many times.

But as the work became more arduous, he no longer had time to think about these things. Every day, he would fall asleep as soon as he got into bed, and the next day he would drag his exhausted body to the fields...

After some time, he finally managed to plant all three acres of land, but the money Pei Yun had left him was almost gone.

Every day, Zhao Chen would go to the mountain to chop firewood, go to the river to wash his clothes, and dig for wild vegetables before returning to his thatched hut in the dark.

The candles in the room had all run out, and in the darkness, he sat on the edge of the bed, silently munching on a black steamed bun...

When Pei Yun reappeared, Zhao Chen was in the field, bending over and harvesting wheat with a sickle. His face was no longer fair and tender; it was much darker from the sun, and his body had grown noticeably taller, making him look much more mature.

When Zhao Chen saw Pei Yun, the joy of the harvest on his face had not yet faded. When he finally saw the familiar figure, a huge surge of joy welled up in his chest, and he hurriedly ran towards Pei Yun.

"Senior Pei," Zhao Chen wiped the sweat from his face, smiling expectantly at her, "have I passed this test?"