Chapter 106
Chapter 106
“Oh, that hairpin is carved with heather blossoms.”
During breakfast, Xiyuan Duanmu pointed at the hairpin in Shengsheng Zhou’s hair.
Shengsheng nodded. “You recognize them too, Concubine Duanmu?”
Xiyuan nodded eagerly. “Of course. Why haven’t I seen you wear it before? I had an ex-girlfriend from the literature department who loved *Wuthering Heights*. Doesn’t its protagonist end up buried on moors covered in heather? She talked about it so much I remembered. Hey, have you heard the legend of the heather?”
Shengsheng’s interest was unusually piqued. Meiren Liu and Zhiyu Jiang had slipped out to have fun, leaving only her and Xiyuan.
Seeing that Shengsheng wanted to listen, Xiyuan seized the rare chance to show off. Pretending to hold a folding fan, she waved her empty hand several times with what she believed was suave elegance.
“The legend is ancient. When heaven and earth had only just formed on this planet, all the flowers and grasses chose places to grow. But there was one rock in a desolate wilderness where no plant was willing to live.”
“The rock was very lonely. It asked, ‘Will anyone come keep me company?’ But its home was too barren and the conditions too harsh. No flower or grass would come. In the end, the heather arrived. It bloomed alone upon the bare rock and accompanied it through its long years, generation after generation.”
Swallowing her final mouthful of millet porridge, Shengsheng wiped the corner of her lips and nodded. “That sounds romantic.”
Xiyuan nodded. “Right? It’s terribly romantic. I just didn’t expect this world to have heather too.”
“So why did the literature major break up with you?” Shengsheng was more curious about that.
It was as if someone had pressed pause on a chattering recording. Xiyuan’s voice stopped in her throat.
Shengsheng became even more curious.
Under Shengsheng’s burning gaze, Xiyuan burst out in embarrassed fury, “Because she entered my room without telling me and discovered my collection of precious magazines!”
Shengsheng fell silent.
There was truly no need to explain what sort of magazines they were.
Little Ming had a huge bump on his head. Perhaps he cared too much about his appearance, or perhaps his pride was wounded, but he hid in his room and refused to see anyone.
He especially refused to see Shengsheng and would not eat. Only after she coaxed him sweetly through the door, lying that eating more would cure him, and Rong Li helped deliver the food, did the emperor of a mighty realm avoid starving to death here.
At noon, Zhiyu and Meiren returned in disguised men’s clothes. Sharp-eyed Shengsheng noticed something extra in Zhiyu’s arms.
Seeing that Shengsheng had noticed, Zhiyu hurried over. “Shengsheng, Shengsheng, look!”
It was a small black dog covered in wounds. Both ears drooped listlessly, making it look pitiful.
“Where did you pick this one up?” Shengsheng asked in surprise.
Zhiyu said angrily, “When Beauty and I found him, a group of children had tied him up and were going to throw him into the river.”
They carried the dog indoors, and Shengsheng fetched medicine.
She had no other medicine; it was the bottle Fusheng Duan had given her.
Rong Li happened to be present and came to join the excitement. As a guard, injuries were commonplace for her.
One sniff told her it was rare. She exclaimed, “Miss Shengsheng, this medicine is so precious. Why not use mine? I have some too. Wouldn’t it be wasteful to use this on a dog?”
Shengsheng Zhou shook her head and, for once, said something profound. “No life is noble or lowly.”
Rong Li regarded her with newfound respect.
Xiyuan Duanmu added, “Thus, everyone in the world is equal.”
Shengsheng’s hands paused.
Right. Now she knew where the heroine’s theory of equality had come from.
The unconscious puppy whimpered in pain. He had seemingly never suffered so much in his life. His whole body burned.
Those damned lowborn brats. He would exterminate their nine clans!
Xunlan Liu thought bitterly.
Seeing the puppy in such pain, Zhiyu Jiang’s heart rose into her throat.
“Shengsheng, he seems to be hurting.”
Shengsheng’s fingers grew gentler. “He’ll recover after we care for him awhile.”
Who knew what sins the puppy had committed? His body was covered in wounds–marks from whipping, scrapes, and abrasions across all four little paws.
He had even nearly become a drowned dog.
Many voices clamored around him, while a not-unpleasant medicinal scent lingered beneath his nose.
Had an imperial physician treated him?
Was he back at the palace?
Xunlan wondered through a haze.
He struggled to open his eyes. The first thing he saw was a face filled with concern and delight. A red mole sat beneath her left eye; objectively speaking, it was a very distinctive face.
“Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof!”
Imperial translation: *Ugly woman! Why are you in our bedchamber?*
Everyone jumped at the barking and assumed he feared strangers.
But the dog himself froze, round canine eyes widening.
“Woof, woof, woof!”
Imperial translation: *Where is that dog barking?*
When Xunlan realized the sound came from his own throat, disbelief gave way to shock and rage, then to utter incredulity and despair.
It was not a dream?!
Unfortunately, no one cared about a dog’s emotional journey, nor could anyone read that rainbow of feelings on a furry canine face.
Seeing the puppy she rescued looking listless, Zhiyu had to ponder what those two bursts of barking meant.
“Why are you barking like a dog?” she asked innocently.
To Xunlan, the words were naked humiliation. He immediately bared his teeth and tried to bite her, only for pain throughout his body to force a whimper from him. He shrank back.
Shengsheng patted his dog head. “The medicine was just applied. Don’t split your wounds open.”
Xunlan raged, “Woof, woof, woof!”
Imperial translation: *How dare you touch our imperial head!*
Shengsheng asked in surprise, “You want more pats?”
So she stroked him several more times.
Seeing how satisfying it looked, everyone lined up and took turns patting him.
Xunlan howled, *Lowborn scum! Don’t touch us! We’ll exterminate your nine clans! Whimper… Stop! Insolence!*
After contentedly petting the dog’s head, everyone dispersed.
One had to admit that small animals had wonderfully soft fur. It would be even better if this dog took a bath…
Lying on the bed like a tattered doll, his canine eyes empty of hope, Xunlan whimpered. His imperial head was unclean! Unclean!
Those hateful peasants! He would exterminate all nine of their clans!
They had better remember it!
Shengsheng assumed he was tired. “Sleep. You’ll feel better after a nap.” Probably.
Xunlan turned his head away.