Chapter 1

Chapter 1

My littermates were terrible sleepers.

One moment I was peacefully dozing, and the next a particularly fragrant backside had planted itself squarely on my head.

“&*%#@!”

“Xiaoshui! Xiaoshui!”

Zhuzhu was calling me in a stage whisper, like a burglar afraid of getting caught.

I scrambled out of the den. “Rrrow!”

She scooped me up at once. “Hold out one more day. Tomorrow, I’ll ask Her Majesty for custody of you.”

“Why tomorrow instead of today? You’re a princess consort. Can’t you ask for one measly lynx a little early?”

Zhuzhu gave an awkward laugh. “Well, the palace has rules. Just hang in there another day.”

Fine. She had only just arrived in this world too. Her situation was not much better than mine.

Still, I was worried. “What if somebody else picks me?”

“Relax. Impossible,” she assured me. “I heard the keepers talking. You’re the runt of the litter. The other lynxes already look strong and majestic, but you’re short, round, and permanently puffed up. Your bones are too slight. No one will want you.”

I glared at her.

“That’s a good thing,” Zhuzhu said. “No one will fight me for you.”

On second thought, she had a point.

She spent ages comforting me, promising that once she got me home, we would figure out whether I could turn human again.

Her mouth kept saying, “Poor thing. You must be suffering.”

Her hands, meanwhile, never stopped scritching me.

I had a nationally significant curse on the tip of my tongue, and I was not sure whether to let it fly.

Zhuzhu and I had transmigrated into this made-up dynasty together.

She had become Princess Consort Yong. I had become a three-month-old lynx.

Thank goodness my Sis Zhu was capable. She followed the clues until she found me. For some reason, I had also retained the ability to speak with her.

She was my only hope now.

The imperial household traditionally kept lynxes, cheetahs, and hunting dogs.

The animals were treated well, but…

If they sent me hunting with the Empress or anyone else, I might die.

The next day, my two littermates and I were taken to the animal house to be chosen.

My two “brothers” were only three months old, but I had to admit that they already showed every sign of growing into splendid beasts.

We were the same age, yet they stood a good deal taller at the shoulder than I did…

Wait. Why was I comparing myself to lynxes? I was human!

I flopped down in a huff.

Her Majesty had three sons, and Zhuzhu’s bargain-bin husband was the second.

Since this litter happened to contain three lynxes, the Empress summoned all three princess consorts to choose one apiece.

Zhuzhu had told me not to worry. She had already reached an understanding with her two bargain-bin sisters-in-law.

The eldest son was the Crown Prince and enjoyed first choice in everything. He would never pick the runt of the litter.

By custom, I should have gone to the third prince, Prince He.

When Princess Consort He heard Zhuzhu wanted me, she was delighted.

Her Majesty had not arrived yet, so I flattened myself like a roast duck and tried to nap.

Then the Crown Princess said, “That one may be frail, but she is rather amusing.”

Princess Consort He looked over at once. “She is. You rarely see such a short, round lynx. She looks like a little house cat.”

Zhuzhu went on high alert and shot me a warning look: Too cute. Tone it down.

I stood up immediately.

After waiting a little longer, I could not bear it anymore.

I had overeaten from nerves that morning, and this lynx body’s bladder was not exactly reliable.

While the three princess consorts were chatting, I squeezed through the railing and escaped.

What else could I do? I was human. Surely no one expected me to squat and pee in public.

I ran to the privy, dragged over a chair as a step, climbed onto the chamber pot, lifted my rear, and relieved myself in one smooth sequence.

When I turned around, all three princess consorts were staring at me.

Careless. I had forgotten to shut the door.

The usually aloof Crown Princess squealed in a sugary voice, “Oh! She is so clean!”

Princess Consort He’s eyes shone. “No wonder her coat looks glossier than the others’.”

Zhuzhu’s expression was impossible to describe. “But we agreed…”

Then a voice came from behind them. “What an interesting little creature. She may remain at Our side.”

The three princess consorts nearly jumped out of their skins. “Y-Your Majesty!”

Her Majesty stood well over six feet tall, with a narrow waist and long legs. She was dazzlingly beautiful, yet the pressure of her presence was overwhelming.

Unfortunately, my fur broadcast my emotions with perfect honesty. Every hair on my body exploded in terror.

Save me, save me, save me… my eyes pleaded.

Zhuzhu was new here too. Faced with the imposing Empress, even her voice shook.

“I-Imperial Mother, this… this one…”

I gazed at her encouragingly. Good girl! My custody battle depended on you!

Perhaps the Empress disliked the smell, because she strode over, picked me up by the scruff, and carried me out of the privy.

For one blissful second, I forgot myself. Who was not a sucker for a gorgeous face?

No! If I went with Zhuzhu, I might become human again. If I went with the Empress, I would be a lynx forever!

“M-mew…” I tried to prompt the petrified Zhuzhu.

Princess Consort He gasped. “Even her cry is different from an ordinary lynx’s!”

I stared at her.

Honestly. Had she never seen the world before?

The Empress looked faintly surprised too, though she was far more composed. She casually smoothed my puffed-up fur, then glanced at Zhuzhu with one eyebrow raised.

“Was there something you wished to say?”

“No…”

And just like that, custody of me passed to Her Majesty.

Later, I scolded Zhuzhu for being a coward. She scolded me for failing to hold my bladder.

By the time I followed Her Majesty back to her study, I had recovered from the devastating impact of her beauty and grown considerably calmer.

Mostly because I was terrified.

The Empress was decisive, ruthless, and hard as iron. Every lynx she had kept before had been a powerful hunting beast.

I was, shall we say, a tiny little distance from powerful.

What would she do with me?

The answer was nothing. She was so buried in affairs of state that, for the entire half day I spent with her, she never stopped moving.

One moment there were floods in Jiangnan. The next, unrest in the southwest.

I also met Zhuzhu’s bargain-bin husband, Prince Yong.

He did not get along with the Crown Prince. After talking back a few times, he was roundly berated with the Empress’s tacit approval.

The youngest, Prince He, saw how the wind was blowing and promptly flattered the Crown Prince. The Empress scolded him for being a spineless sycophant.

The imperial heart truly was as deep as the sea, its moods impossible to fathom.

I spent the whole afternoon curled beneath her desk without making a sound.

I was afraid that one tiny noise might get me killed.