Stick With The Cold Female lead

Chapter 57 - Pearls are given to beautiful women

Following the Empress's order, dozens of noble ladies hurriedly used their martial arts to ascend the terrifying tree. With only a few branches, climbing it was no easy task.

Soon, one of them was injured by a sharp blade and fell. The remaining ladies, frightened, retreated after only managing to climb two or three meters before coming down.

Within the span of half an incense stick's time, more than half of the noble ladies who had attempted the climb were gone. Though the Empress found it regrettable, she still rewarded them with gifts as a form of encouragement.

The noble ladies who were rewarded felt ashamed and embarrassed to accept the Empress's gifts. They politely declined the offerings and instead cheered on those still climbing.

When they reached about five meters, the second princess pulled the third and seventh princesses back down. The tree was designed in an odd manner—below six meters, there were seven or eight branches in each section to assist the climb, and though there were some blades and poisons, careful martial arts could help one avoid danger.

But after the six-meter mark, the branches became fewer and thinner—only two or three per section, and stepping on them carelessly could cause them to break. Embedded in the trunk were sharp daggers, needles, swords, and blades, along with poisonous plants that could kill with just a drop of blood.

Without excellent martial skills, climbing any higher was a death sentence.

The Yanxue Kingdom was founded on martial arts, and the noble ladies were taught kung fu since childhood. However, most of them lived a life of luxury, thinking that they had guards anyway, and learned kung fu only to strengthen their bodies, so their martial arts skills were not very good.

Climbing the first few meters had already drained them. Going any higher seemed unnecessary—getting injured or killed would hardly be worth the risk.

Recognizing her own limitations, the second princess decided to retreat and pulled her two equally unskilled sisters back with her.

Once the princesses descended, the others, realizing there was no need to compete any further, also gave up one by one, descending from the tree like dumplings falling into a pot.

In the end, only three people remained in the tree.

The fifth princess, the ninth princess, and surprisingly, the concubine-born daughter of Minister Cui from the Ministry of Revenue.

The others were full of praise upon seeing this.

"Who would have thought that Minister Cui's daughter would be so brave? Truly a credit to her family."

Minister Cui managed a strained smile.

"You're too kind," she replied.

But inside, she was filled with confusion. With her busy work schedule, she rarely had time to discipline her children, especially her concubine-born daughter, whose courtyard was far from hers. She had barely seen her throughout the year and had only heard from the steward that she was rebellious, refusing to study or train in martial arts.

When had her martial skills become this good? Was the steward deliberately being harsh on her, or had the girl been hiding her talents all along?

Minister Cui's mind was filled with questions, but she kept her thoughts to herself, focusing her gaze on the tree like everyone else.

At the highest point was Ji Qingchi, and just below her was the fifth princess, Ji Qingxuan. Cui Jinli, Minister Cui's daughter, trailed behind them.

Ji Qingxuan's martial arts were not as refined as Ji Qingchi's, but far superior to the other princesses. Watching Ji Qingchi skillfully navigate the increasingly difficult climb ahead of her, Ji Qingxuan felt a surge of jealousy. Gritting her teeth, she refused to admit defeat and continued upward, unwilling to retreat.