Chapter 193
Chapter 193
“Is Master going to the palace?” The youth in an ordinary servant’s uniform called to the much shorter person ahead of him.
Zhiyu Jiang turned around. The youth stood in the shadow beneath the eaves, his expression hidden.
But his voice was gentle.
“Mm. Come with me.” She could complain to Shengsheng Zhou about how strange this person was while she was there.
Shengsheng had someone move a couch into her courtyard. Wrapped in a thick blanket, she occasionally stuffed a chestnut into the Ninth Prince’s mouth.
Weihe Song sat curled in Shengsheng’s arms with his knees drawn up, reading a book intently. Whatever Shengsheng held out, he bit down without even looking.
Thus, when Shengsheng fed him a leaf, the child chewed it five or six times before noticing the bitter taste filling his mouth.
Shengsheng laughed until she nearly toppled over.
What could be more romantic than sitting in a courtyard after the rain, enjoying the cool breeze beneath a thick blanket while waiting for someone?
There was something.
Curled up by the fire in the Eastern Palace, reading a storybook while palace maids fed him chestnuts, Weiqing Song supplied the answer remotely.
When Zhiyu arrived, Shengsheng was laughing so hard her eyes had disappeared as she helped the bun-faced Weihe rinse his mouth.
“Greetings, Your Highness.” Zhiyu saluted.
The youth behind her copied the motion and bent his knees.
Xiaosui had shaped this body himself, supposedly after his original face.
It matched Shengsheng’s impression of him exactly: an exceptionally youthful face.
Shengsheng dismissed the attendants in the courtyard, slipped on her shoes, and walked over. “You’re here.”
Weihe swung his two short legs, then hopped down.
“Ninth Prince.” Zhiyu did not forget to greet him.
The Ninth Prince nodded with reserved dignity and remained glued to Shengsheng’s side.
Zhiyu’s brow twitched. She could actually see a reflection of her former amnesiac self in him.
She looked at Shengsheng, who smiled like a flower while measuring Zhiyu’s waist and saying she had grown thinner.
Mm. Sure enough, every inch of her radiated motherly energy.
“Xiaosui, have you gained weight?”
Shengsheng looked at the youth with an exceedingly complicated expression.
*The female lead lost weight, and you gained it???*
*Who do you think you are, A-Pang?*
A-Pang: ? Don’t drag me into this, thanks.
*Senior, I didn’t want to. The flesh grew by itself. I never laid a hand on it.* Xiaosui blinked, looking aggrieved.
Zhiyu watched the expressions passing between them.
Was this Xiaosui bullying her?
In front of Shengsheng, he pretended to be an innocent little fool. But with Zhiyu, he acted seductively sinister???
Zhiyu instantly became displeased.
Normally, Shengsheng would have been the first to notice her mood. However, Weihe nearly tripped over a stone that had come from nowhere, drawing Shengsheng’s attention.
As a result, she did not see what happened when she bent down.
The previously silly and adorable Xiaosui suddenly stepped forward. With an amused look in his eyes, he leaned close to Zhiyu’s ear and whispered, “Master, what is wrong?”
Zhiyu’s ear went soft…
and her reflexive response was a full shoulder throw!
Shengsheng stopped halfway through asking whether Weihe was all right and slowly turned toward the crash.
Then she sucked in a breath.
“Well, this…”
Zhiyu glanced at the youth sprawled on the ground clutching his arm, then blinked at Shengsheng. “Oh. He accidentally tripped over a stone too.”
Shengsheng: “…” Put your hand away before you say that.
Heaven and earth were her witnesses. Shengsheng had taught Zhiyu plenty of ridiculous nonsense.
But she could guarantee
that none of it had ever included a shoulder throw!
Of course, Shengsheng Zhou did not know that Zhiyu Jiang’s time in Deep Mountain had not been wasted.
This was Xiaosui’s first taste of pain.
He had never experienced the sensation while living in chaos.
He merely noticed Zhiyu’s sudden anger and wanted to tease her.
Good lord. Was she truly the female lead?
Tyrant queen was more like it.
*Serves you right. What did you do this time? My daughter would never hit you for no reason.*
Xiaosui whimpered twice. *Senior, I didn’t do anything.*
Shengsheng pulled him off the ground. Xiaosui clutched his arm, his delicate face pale. The pain seemed severe, and his teeth had left a clear mark in his lower lip.
“Oh, my good lord~” Standing at the palace gates, the Second Princess stared inside with shining eyes.
“Sixth Sister, is this paradise?!” Heart-shaped eyes darting between Zhiyu and Xiaosui, the Second Princess cried dramatically.
“No. You came to the wrong place. My Buddha doesn’t save lovesick fools,” Shengsheng replied mercilessly.
The Second Princess suddenly realized she had overreacted and immediately coughed. “Oh, Sixth Sister is joking again.”
“I did not know the State Preceptor was here. Forgive me for failing to welcome you.” Blushing, the Second Princess twisted her handkerchief and greeted Zhiyu shyly.
Zhiyu returned the courtesy. “Greetings, Second Princess.”
The Second Princess swallowed as she looked at the tall youth behind her with disheveled hair.
Her collection did not include this type yet.
“Sixth Sister, this princess has changed her mind.” The Second Princess stared unblinkingly at Xiaosui.
Shengsheng suddenly had a bad feeling. “Second Sister?”
“I’ll lend you that object. I want him!” She pointed straight at the baffled Xiaosui, her tone firm.
Shengsheng: “Oh, is that all?” She had thought the Second Princess wanted their Xiaoyu.
Xiaosui: “???”
“This servant belongs to the State Preceptor. Second Sister, I cannot decide for her.”
Hearing that he belonged to the State Preceptor, the Second Princess frowned. She looked at the immortal-like State Preceptor, then at the youth. “Lord State Preceptor, is there anything you want? I can trade you anything.”
*You can trade me for him if you want!!*
Zhiyu turned to look at Xiaosui.
Xiaosui met her gaze with lowered eyes, looking rather pitiful.
Zhiyu thought, *He certainly knows how to act.*
“There is no need to speak of trade. Since the princess likes him, he may follow Your Highness. It is his good fortune.”
“Xiaosui, hurry and greet the princess.”
Zhiyu’s lips curved slightly. From an angle Xiaosui could not see, she winked at Shengsheng.
Shengsheng secretly gave her a thumbs-up.
Being chosen by her was your good fortune.
Poor Xiaosui looked back every third step as the Second Princess led him away.
“It seems we can’t count on the Second Princess returning Xiaosui intact.” Shengsheng shook her head.
Zhiyu blinked and looked at her without understanding.
Shengsheng patted her shoulder. “The next time you see Xiaosui, he’ll be a real man.”
Zhiyu tilted her head in confusion. “Is he… fake right now?”
Shengsheng: “…You can understand it that way.”
The Ninth Prince, who had remained silent, tugged at Shengsheng’s sleeve. “Imperial Sister, is Xiaohe a real man now?”
Shengsheng looked down at the short little bean with round eyes. “…Wait a few more years.”
The Ninth Prince lowered his head sadly.
So he was not a man yet.