Chapter 112
Chapter 112
“Shengsheng! You’re here.”
Shengsheng Zhou had only knocked when the door flew open and a figure pounced at her.
Wrapping an arm around Zhiyu Jiang’s waist, Shengsheng pinched her flesh. “Looks like you’ve been eating well.”
No sooner had she spoken than a red figure entered her vision.
“Chief~~~”
Shengsheng caught the lunging woman with her free hand. Holding one beauty in each arm, she grinned broadly.
A faint stamping sensation came from her head, instantly sobering her.
“Ahem…” Shengsheng coughed and released them.
Only then did Zhiyu and Meiren Liu see the little white bird on her head.
The bird looked exhausted, as though it had just flown an unknown number of miles.
Zhiyu had seen it before and showed no surprise, but Meiren exclaimed softly.
“This doesn’t seem to be the Chief’s previous bird.”
Shengsheng nodded. As expected of Beauty. When Shengsheng first saw it, she had thought Pecky had faded.
“Right… Its owner has temporarily entrusted it to me.”
Wonderful. Pecky was not the only bird spirit in existence. Fusheng Duan had ordered this bird, Qingbai, to accompany her.
He claimed she should take it outside for fresh air.
But Shengsheng felt the bird was monitoring her. After leaving the palace, she bought pastries and fruit instead of going directly to the inn.
Qingbai apparently thought she had no intention of visiting the inn and stamped frantically atop her head.
Whenever Shengsheng walked in any other direction, it treated her skull like a trampoline.
Its movements were absurdly elaborate, like a 360-degree extreme spin followed by a landing.
Shengsheng had intended to travel discreetly, but the creature drew a crowd.
Some people even threw copper coins.
Scenting a business opportunity, Shengsheng stood still and let the bird perform tricks on her head, earning cheers and coins.
Following her principle that every little bit counted, Shengsheng graciously thanked her honored spectators. Then she happily left with the exhausted Qingbai and a handful of coins.
Once no one was watching, she doubled back to the street, bought two large buns, and asked the vendor for oiled paper.
She secretly wrapped the coins with the buns, walked to the end of a small alley, and dropped the bundle into the battered bowl of an old beggar accompanied by a child.
Gratitude filled the old beggar’s cloudy eyes. In an aged, hoarse voice, he thanked her.
The sallow, thin child held a steaming bun. Though saliva filled his mouth, he insisted the old beggar take a bite.
Only then did he eat with satisfaction.
By the time the old beggar discovered the hidden coins, Shengsheng had long since left.
The old man and bewildered child kowtowed three times in the direction she had gone.
While shopping, Shengsheng had noticed many refugees nearby.
They were forbidden from remaining anywhere prosperous and had been driven into this dilapidated alley.
If refugees had appeared even in the capital, had something happened?
——-
“So he left without saying goodbye?” Shengsheng asked in surprise.
Meiren Liu nodded. “Yes. When Xiaoyu and I went to call Miss Li for breakfast, she and that great villain… no, that gentleman, were both gone.”
Thoughtfulness entered Shengsheng Zhou’s eyes.
Was he avoiding her, or…
She set the question aside and decided to advance the plot first.
In the original novel, Fusheng Duan had rescued Zhiyu Jiang.
Afterward, he brought her into the palace as his personal maid.
That was right.
Shengsheng clearly remembered Fusheng’s excuse: he lacked a palace maid and would let Zhiyu repay her debt.
After the original host died, the position happened to be vacant, giving Fusheng a proper reason to keep the heroine beside him.
Later, Weiqing Song captured a spy sent by the Zhu Kingdom to the Zhen Kingdom. He used it to pressure Xunlan Liu and demanded Zhiyu in exchange.
If a criminal official’s daughter could ease tensions between two kingdoms, Xunlan naturally welcomed the bargain.
In this portion of the plot, Shengsheng faced two enormous problems.
First, bring Zhiyu into the palace with a legitimate justification.
Second, find the missing Xunlan.
Shengsheng rubbed the belly of the overfed Zhiyu while her mind raced.
She swore that after reincarnation, she would become a proper salted fish.
Anything requiring thought would be someone else’s responsibility.
No one would stop her from lying flat!
“Right, where’s Survivor?” Shengsheng suddenly realized.
Zhiyu burped. “The woman next door has a female dog. When she saw Survivor was male, she borrowed him for breeding.”
Shengsheng fell silent. “Survivor is still a puppy. He hasn’t developed yet, has he?”
Zhiyu and Meiren froze. They exchanged a look and said together, “That’s right.”
“Beauty, come retrieve him with me.” Shengsheng rose.
Meiren immediately stood and linked her arm through Shengsheng’s, smiling sweetly. “All right, Chief~~”
As soon as they reached the neighboring door, Shengsheng heard noises like someone demolishing the room.
Truthfully, any crashing sound now made Shengsheng panic.
It forced her to remember the horror of Fusheng and Siran Ming jointly demolishing a house.
Before Meiren could knock, the door opened from within.
A young woman with hair like a chicken’s nest started at the sight of two people outside.
Meiren smiled beautifully. “Miss, our Survivor is still a child. He cannot breed.”
At the name, the woman’s face wrinkled like a bitter melon. “You’re just in time. Take your dog away. He’s almost climbed into heaven.”
Shengsheng assumed “climbed into heaven” was exaggeration.
The sight inside made her ashamed of that assumption.
She stared upward, eyes wide, at the little black dog clinging to a pillar with all four paws and climbing.
Live long enough and you truly saw everything.
Come on–a dog climbing backward with his bottom in the air was incredibly cool, all right?
Looking at the agitated dog circling below, Shengsheng guessed this was the female intended for breeding.
Qingbai, who had been sprawled listlessly on her head, suddenly shot upright.
It smelled something familiar.
And the source–
was the terrified little black dog.