Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Tang Qingsong took a final look at the two puppies before he left.

“Do these two need to be sent to the dog grounds for some training?”

Ji Yan’an looked over. Jiang Yunsui was so tiny, squeezed between the two fluffy, chubby puppies as if she were a beautiful little puppy herself.

Heiwa stood behind the girl and the two dogs like a loyal guardian.

“No need. Let her raise them herself.”

She had been willing to trade her military merits just to keep these two puppies in the manor. If he actually took them away and the little girl started crying, who would coax her?

Old General Tang gave Jiang Yunsui a thoughtful look.

Feeling a bit uneasy under his gaze, Jiang Yunsui hid behind Heiwa.

Heiwa cooperated perfectly, moving his body to shield her.

“Is this little girl… from the Ji Family?”

But looking at her clothes, it didn’t seem like it. If he wasn’t mistaken, those were the clothes of a maidservant.

“No.”

Ji Yan’an cleared his throat. “She’s my maid.”

Tang Qingsong: “…”

He gave Ji Yan’an a look full of complex emotions, then patted his shoulder and sighed.

“You’ve had it hard. If you’re short on maids, I can lend you a few from my place to serve you.”

Ji Yan’an knew he had misunderstood.

“No, I rescued her on the way here. Her entire family was killed by bandits, and she was the only survivor. I only kept her because she had nowhere else to go.”

He really wasn’t so poor that he couldn’t afford a proper maid.

Of course, he didn’t mention the real reason he had kept Jiang Yunsui.

Aside from the few people close to him who already knew, he wouldn’t tell anyone else.

Tang Qingsong nodded upon hearing this.

After Ji Yan’an personally saw him off and returned, he saw the heartless child playing hide-and-seek with the three dogs.

Heiwa was the seeker, while the other three hid.

Jiang Yunsui was pushing the brown puppy, her childish voice tinged with urgency.

“Don’t keep following me! Heiwa will find us!”

“Oh, you’re so silly. You don’t even know how to hide. Why do you always hide right next to me!”

Finally, Jiang Yunsui got huffy. In a fit of mock ferocity, she took a tiny bite of the puppy’s floppy ear, making Ji Yan’an frown.

This little thing really didn’t care about hygiene at all.

“Si Si, Si Si! Hurry, pick me up! Time’s almost up!”

Seeing that it was almost time for Heiwa to start searching, Jiang Yunsui gave her own hiding spot to the silly puppy and ran to a tree to call for her ‘cheat code.’

Ji Yan’an raised an eyebrow slightly.

Then he saw his hidden guard leap down, scoop up the child, and jump back into the tree.

Nanshu was counting for Heiwa: “Three, two, one… Heiwa, time’s up!”

Heiwa, who had been facing the wall, twitched his ears and immediately began searching for the person and the two fat puppies with high spirits.

Finding things was far too easy for a hunting dog like Heiwa.

Consequently, the two puppies were found very quickly.

The brown puppy tried to play foul and refused to come out, so Heiwa grabbed it by the scruff of its neck. The pup yelped, wanting to go back to its spot.

Heiwa simply swiped it away with a paw.

*Get out of here. Don’t delay my search for Little Mushroom.*

Then Heiwa began searching everywhere for Jiang Yunsui.

But after searching the entire courtyard, Heiwa’s tail, which had been wagging happily, gradually stopped.

Where was Little Mushroom? Where did his big Little Mushroom go?

Hiding in the tree, Jiang Yunsui put her hands on her hips triumphantly. *Hah! If I want to hide, nothing can find me, okay?*

If she could climb trees herself, she wouldn’t even have needed to call Si Si.

Ji Si stood on a branch with his arms crossed, his brow furrowed deeply as he stared at where Jiang Yunsui was sitting.

Wait… the person was clearly right there, but he truly couldn’t sense even a hint of her presence.
In fact, if he hadn’t been staring with unblinking intensity, he might have lost track of her in a single moment of distraction.

How exactly did she do it?

As Ji Si pondered this, his eyes lit up. This was a skill he wanted!

This ability was practically tailor-made for a hidden guard.

Unfortunately, Little Mushroom wouldn’t know how to teach it.

Finally, the time for Heiwa to find her was up, and Jiang Yunsui, laughing happily, made a sound from the tree herself.

Heiwa stood at the base of the tree, barking up at her.

He had found Little Mushroom.

Ji Yan’an had walked to the base of the tree at some point.

Jiang Yunsui’s smug little expression instantly vanished.

“Come down.”

His voice was flat. Little Mushroom stole several glances at him; he didn’t look like he was angry.

But if she went down…

She looked toward Ji Si, pleading with her eyes.

However, Ji Si had already vanished.

Jiang Yunsui was instantly dumbfounded. Wait, where did such a big Si Si go?

Did she have to get down by herself?

Little Mushroom swallowed hard. She was scared; she didn’t dare move. QAQ

If she had known, she wouldn’t have climbed the tree.

“I… it’s too high! QAQ”

Jiang Yunsui gestured pitifully with one hand.

Her other hand was tightly clutching the tree trunk, terrified that she might fall if she wasn’t careful.

It was so high; it would hurt so much if she fell.

She was very keen on staying alive.

Ji Yan’an held out his arms. “Come down. I’ll catch you.”

In this moment, the youth looked quite handsome, exuding a reassuring sense of stability.

But…

Not only did Jiang Yunsui refuse to come down, she wrapped both arms tightly around the trunk and wailed.

“I don’t want to! You’re so thin and your face is so pale! If I fall and crush you, whose fault will it be?!”

“You… you don’t look like you can handle being crushed!”

“And… and you don’t look like you can catch me!”

Caw! Caw! Caw!

The courtyard fell deathly silent. Only a black crow flying across the sky let out a series of caws, as if mocking him.

Uncle Li covered his face.

Nanshu sucked in a breath, his eyes widening.

Several hidden guards in the shadows nearly lost their footing and slipped from their perches.

At the entrance, Shen Qingzhu turned around, covering his mouth to stifle a laugh.

Ji Yan’an’s face turned dark with rage. He flicked his sleeves and snapped, “Fine! If you won’t come down, stay up there then!”

For the sake of this little brat being able to help him sleep well, he had finally managed to show a bit of kindness, only to be rejected and insulted!

Ji Yan’an stormed off, his retreating back and footsteps radiating sheer exasperation.

Jiang Yunsui felt wronged too. She was just telling the truth.

Heiwa tilted his head at the foot of the tree.

Was Little Mushroom coming down or not?

Shen Qingzhu walked in from the gate. As he passed the tree, he looked up at the child.

Pfft…

He couldn’t help but chuckle. This child was truly interesting; life would certainly never be dull with her around.

However, the jokes of a certain petty Young Master weren’t something one should watch for too long.

Quickly, Shen Qingzhu tucked his hands into his sleeves and strolled away, ignoring the child’s pleading gaze.

Jiang Yunsui: “…”

She puffed out her cheeks in a huff, looking like an angry little frog.

Hmph, she would find a way herself…

Looking down at the ground, Little Mushroom squeezed her eyes shut.

Ugh… Useless Little Mushroom couldn’t think of a way.

“Si Si, you’re so stupid! Why did you bring me up so high?!”

“Waaaah… I can’t get down.”

“Si Si, where did you run off to?”

“Si Si…”

Clinging to the tree, Jiang Yunsui opened her little mouth and began to howl, launching a full-scale sonic attack.