Chapter 172
Chapter 172
Uncomfortable under Siran Ming’s stare, Shengsheng Zhou shoved a radish at him, its roots caked with clumps of mud. “Go wash it.”
Holding a giant radish almost as long as he was tall, Siran began scrubbing it in the water with his little hands. Afraid he might fall in, Shengsheng even found a rope, wound it around his waist, and tied the other end to her own.
Zhiyu Jiang looked back and forth between them, unable to keep from remembering the days when the three of them had been together.
Siran had no idea how to wash a radish. His hands were small, so he scrubbed it haphazardly while his eyes drifted unconsciously toward Shengsheng.
This face was still unfamiliar to him. The distinctive red beauty mark was gone, and her features were far more refined than before. If one had to find a resemblance, it lay in the same clear eyes she had always possessed.
The emotions within them changed with astonishing richness, nearly a different expression every moment, making others wonder what could possibly be happening inside her mind.
“Xiao Ming disappeared and never returned.”
The sudden subject made Shengsheng’s hand pause, and she nearly dropped her radish.
“Oh. I see,” she answered.
“I’m sorry. If I hadn’t impersonated him, you wouldn’t have blocked that sword for me, and you wouldn’t have died,” he whispered.
His body was still that of a child and could not withstand such violent emotional swings. His eyes immediately reddened.
Shengsheng shook her head. “I don’t blame you.” She would have died even without him.
If anything, she ought to thank him. Without him, how could her death have been so glorious and meaningful?
“Don’t cry. I’ll sing you a song.”
The moment she said it, Zhiyu seemed to know by telepathy exactly what she intended to sing.
The two began almost simultaneously. “Listen to me thank you~ Because of you, warmth filled the four seasons…”
Siran: “…No need.” It sounded like mockery.
“Oh, right. Did you tell anyone else that you recognized me?” Her gaze suddenly sharpened.
Water droplets clung to Siran’s cheeks as he shook his head. “I did not.”
But he could say with certainty that everyone who should or should not know already knew.
Hearing his answer, Shengsheng nodded. “Good boy.”
The emperor of an entire kingdom actually felt a trace of happiness at praise usually reserved for a kitten or puppy.
“No one but me will dare marry you,” Siran said solemnly.
Under Shengsheng’s look of *What dogshit are you spouting?* Siran continued, “Anyone who wishes to marry you opposes me. They won’t want to offend Yong Kingdom.”
Shengsheng pressed her lips together. Before she could respond, Zhiyu laughed beside her. “You were slapped into a wall just yesterday.”
She had barely finished when someone called from behind them, “What are you talking about?”
The three turned. Weiqing Song stood behind them, watching with a faint smile, while a tender little yellow bird perched atop his head.
“Pecky?!” Zhiyu cried.
Shengsheng immediately dropped her radish and walked over. But she forgot that Siran remained tethered to her waist. She merely felt a little weight behind her and dragged him the entire way.
The five-year-old god of war hugged a poorly washed radish with several broken roots, his expression blank as he was hauled across the ground.
Zhiyu snickered.
“My baby! How did you find me?”
Shengsheng caught the bird and kissed him on the left and right, lavishing him with affection.
Weiqing looked at Fusheng Duan, whose feathers had been flattened by kisses, and said with an indescribable expression, “I saw him on the way and brought him over.”
Shengsheng gave him a thumbs-up. “Imperial Brother, you’re incredible. You finally did something a human being would do!”
Weiqing refused to accept such praise.
“Oh, right, Imperial Brother.”
After Shengsheng Zhou relayed the news she had just received from Zhiyu Jiang, Weiqing Song frowned slightly.
They truly had come at an unfortunate time.
Shengsheng shook her head and said mysteriously, “Not necessarily~”
Once the radishes were washed, Weiqing thought it was better to act sooner rather than later. They might as well solve the riddle for descending the mountain first, allowing them to leave directly when the time came.
After a brief discussion, they decided to go immediately.
Seeing Siran Ming behind Shengsheng’s waist, Weiqing gleefully transferred the rope from her waist to his own.
Then he told the dark-faced Siran, “Be sure to hold tight to my sleeve, little Ming~”
They returned to the house.
“Where is Noble Consort?” Shengsheng asked despite knowing the answer.
Distracted by thoughts of the test, Weiqing replied, “Resting inside.”
Shengsheng thought, *At least he listens to me. He isn’t too rebellious.*
The truly rebellious Fusheng Duan stood on her shoulder and stretched his feathers.
Perhaps birds lacked the many complex organs of humans. In bird form, he did not suffer as much as he did in his human body.
Weiqing accepted the new test from a visibly displeased Wukong Zhou and smiled politely. “Thank you for making a special trip up here, Brother Monkey.”
Siran, whom Weiqing held by the scruff, looked up at the man and thought he seemed familiar.
This drawing was not anything as complicated as the hands from last time. It was simply a… clam.
“No story is required this time. You only need to perform the corresponding dance,” Wukong said sternly.
People from below the mountain stood out here. Before long, a crowd of spectators had gathered.
They were literally eating melon as they watched. Shengsheng was stunned.
In the middle of autumn, they could still eat watermelon?!
Even the imperial palace could not obtain out-of-season fruit.
“Imperial Brother, your little sister knows this dance. The only question is whether Imperial Brother sincerely wishes to descend the mountain.”
Remembering Fusheng’s social shake, Weiqing suddenly detected an ominous premonition in her smile.
He immediately jostled little Siran. “Come now. You’ve eaten and lodged here for free for days. It’s time to pay the price.”
Wukong said coldly, “You may not force a child.”
Realizing from Weiqing’s reaction that nothing good awaited him, Siran widened his innocent eyes. “No. I’m still little!”
Weiqing: “…” He truly wanted to crush the bastard by sitting on him.
As for why Shengsheng would not dance, she offered the perfect explanation. “The costume doesn’t fit me.”
The bird being comfortably kneaded by Shengsheng narrowed his eyes in delight at Weiqing’s misfortune.
Retribution might be delayed, but it would always come.
Weiqing suspected his ears had malfunctioned. “Costume?!”
Shengsheng nodded with an innocent smile. “Yes. A friendly contribution from the Duanmu family.”
Zhiyu nodded beside her and lifted the large bag she had carried all along.
Her mother had made it when she had nothing better to do. Who would have thought it truly matched this riddle?
Weiqing rubbed his head. “My head suddenly hurts.”
A villager nearby shouted, “I’ll treat it!” He produced a silver needle half a person’s height from nowhere. “One prick will cure you. No charge!”
Weiqing lowered his hand. “It stopped hurting. Quite suddenly.”
But when he finally put on the costume, Weiqing thought numbly that the needle might have been preferable.
The bright moon shone between the pines, but Weiqing Song simply could not do this…