Chapter 269
Chapter 269
When they went to catch the bees had nothing to do with Jiang Yunsui, because she was not allowed to come along at all.
The little one had an uncanny tendency to attract trouble. What if her bad luck drew out something dangerous again?
So when Jiang Yunsui woke the next morning, not only had the bees arrived, but their hive box was already finished and the colony had moved in!
Jiang Yunsui stared in shock.
She grumbled under her breath, but still circled the box and watched it for a long time before asking Ji Si and the others to hang it from a tree.
This colony consisted of honeybees. There were plenty of flowers here, all rich in nectar, and Jiang Yunsui sweetened the arrangement further with a little energy. The bees soon stopped resisting and settled peacefully into their new home.
The group had also brought back pieces of honeycomb, from which they removed the white larvae.
They delivered the larvae to the Phoenix-Mimic Bird, and the little creature obligingly ate them.
Everyone finally relaxed.
As long as it ate, they had nothing to fear.
Over the next several days, Ji Yan’an monitored the road and wall construction while also making time to check on Jiang Yunsui’s courtyard.
They found many sweet osmanthus trees. Taking advantage of the opportunity, they planted them not only inside and around Jiang Yunsui’s courtyard but throughout Beizhen City as part of a beautification project.
That was right. Sweet osmanthus trees now lined both sides of Beizhen City’s cement roads.
There simply were not enough saplings yet.
“Little Yunsui, cultivate more saplings for us. Tell me if there’s anything you want.”
“Then I want another large estate beside the one I already have,” Jiang Yunsui said.
“All right. I’ll relay your request to the Young Master immediately,” Nanshu replied.
“Don’t worry. He’ll definitely agree.”
Indeed, despite being tremendously busy, Ji Yan’an agreed without hesitation when he heard her request. He even gave her several more shops.
“If we return to Shangjing one day and reclaim everything that belongs to the Ji Family, I’ll give you a hot-spring estate there.”
“My grandmother gave it to me for my fifth birthday.”
Holding a pair of chopsticks, he picked up a wriggling bee larva and offered it to the Phoenix-Mimic Bird.
Attracted by the scent, the bird swallowed it in a single bite.
Beside it, Jiang Yunsui stroked its now-dry down. It was still only a tiny red ball of fluff.
“You’d better not forget.”
A hot-spring estate! She was already looking forward to it.
The corner of Ji Yan’an’s mouth curved upward. “Don’t worry. I have an excellent memory.”
The Phoenix-Mimic Bird grew stronger by the day. Its fiery red down gradually filled out, its appetite increased, and its body became steadily plumper.
Ji Yan’an was the first person it saw when it opened its eyes, but Jiang Yunsui’s aura was the one it knew best and loved most.
Unlike Milk Tea, which could only remain in its nest as a chick, the Phoenix-Mimic Bird became lively the moment its eyes opened. Every day, it tried to escape the nest. Its short legs were surprisingly nimble as it chased after Jiang Yunsui, chirping incessantly.
Jiang Yunsui crouched and picked it up.
“You’re not allowed to poop on me!”
She lectured the little thing in a low voice, then poked its warm, fluffy feathers.
It loved basking in the sun during the day and moonbathing with Jiang Yunsui at night.
It was also terribly mischievous. Confident that it could not understand a word anyone said, it was curious about everything and wanted to peck, inspect, or paw at whatever caught its eye.
Even Jiang Yunsui struggled to keep up with its boundless energy.
She had no choice but to ask Zuozuo and Youyou to help watch it.
“Aah! Huohuo!”
Jiang Yunsui turned away for only a moment. When she looked back, the fiery-red creature was standing before Black Cat. Fearless as only a newborn could be, it promptly pecked Black Cat on the nose.
The cat yowled in pain and opened its mouth-and Huohuo thrust its entire head inside.
Jiang Yunsui was so frightened that her voice cracked.
Fortunately, Black Cat, which often came to bask in Jiang Yunsui’s Moonlight Essence, was highly intelligent. Faced with a fragrant morsel that had delivered itself straight into its mouth, the cat managed not to bite.
But this little thing… Slurp… Why did it smell so delicious?
Black Cat did not eat Huohuo. It merely licked the chick’s feathers several times, eyes gleaming.
Jiang Yunsui rushed over, snatched the little thing away, and smacked its bottom several times.
“Are you stupid? Are you?”
“Qianqian, Houhou, keep a closer eye on it!”
Though still tiny herself, Jiang Yunsui had already experienced the hardship of raising a child.
Of course, whenever she turned mischievous and Huohuo joined her, their combined destructive power was far greater than the sum of its parts.
For example, at that very moment…
Holding Huohuo, Jiang Yunsui crept furtively into Ji Yan’an’s study.
“Let me see what Master Xu’s painting looks like.”
Master Xu was a renowned painter and calligrapher from the previous dynasty. The great clans and nobles competed fiercely to collect the works he had left behind.
Ji Yan’an had acquired one of his paintings yesterday and stored it away.
Jiang Yunsui wanted to see it, but she had been unable to find Ji Yan’an. So that night, she had sneaked in by herself.
She had come purely to appreciate the painting. She set Huohuo aside and told it to amuse itself.
After studying painting with Ji Yan’an for so long, she had at least learned how to appreciate art.
Standing before the scroll, Jiang Yunsui held up a candle and rose onto her toes, tipping her head back to study it for a long while.
The painting actually depicted a battlefield.
Famous artists rarely painted scenes of war.
They might love horses and paint warhorses, but they certainly did not love the bloodshed of the battlefield.
That was why their paintings generally featured landscapes, people, or animals.
Master Xu’s reputation was well deserved. The battlefield’s grim, oppressive air seemed to surge straight out of the painting.
“Chirp! Chirp, chirp!”
Huohuo’s panicked cries came from nearby. Jiang Yunsui turned, and her scalp prickled with horror.
Fire!
Sparks clung to Huohuo’s bottom as the little bird shrieked and charged toward her.
Jiang Yunsui ran over and grabbed the burning Phoenix-Mimic Bird. In her panic, she plunged it into the brush-washing water on the table.
The flames on its body went out, but the fire on the room’s folding screen grew larger.
“Fire! Hurry, come put it out!”
Clutching a bedraggled Huohuo that no longer looked like itself, Jiang Yunsui ran for the door.
Fortunately, many people stood guard outside, and the courtyard always had water ready for emergencies. The instant the guards and servants saw the flames, they rushed inside carrying buckets.
Jiang Yunsui had not even made it out when an entire basin of water splashed into her face.
“Pfft…”
“Good heavens! Miss Yunsui, what are you doing in here?!”
Jiang Yunsui and Huohuo looked like a pair of drowned chickens, each guiltier than the other.
“Quick, get them outside first.”
After escorting Jiang Yunsui and Huohuo out, everyone continued fighting the fire.
Fortunately, they had discovered it quickly. The flames were extinguished before they could cause a major disaster.
Ji Yan’an, Nanshu, and the others hurried back.
“What happened?” Nanshu demanded. “Did another assassin come?”
Ji Yan’an had been targeted so often that Nanshu had developed a conditioned response, automatically assuming an assassin was responsible.
Jiang Yunsui lowered her head even farther.
Huohuo might be young and ignorant, but it was still sensitive to danger. Seeing Jiang Yunsui’s posture, it sensed disaster approaching. It wriggled vigorously, rump in the air, and tried to burrow into her clothes to hide.