Chapter 61
Chapter 61
“Do not frighten her. Which palace does this little girl belong to?”
A weak, elderly voice sounded from the imperial sedan.
Shengsheng inwardly sighed at her bad luck.
How had she managed to encounter the emperor of Zhen?
The young eunuch behind her was about to answer, but Shengsheng spoke first.
“This servant greets Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live for ten thousand years.”
The instant she finished, her feet left the ground.
By the time Shengsheng understood what had happened, Weiqing’s smiling face filled her vision.
He pinched one of her braids, then nodded to the emperor while holding her.
“This son greets Father. Come, darling. Greet your Imperial Grandfather.”
Shengsheng stared at him.
Lianmin Song stared at him.
Every person present fell silent.
Heaven only knew where the Crown Prince’s illegitimate daughter had suddenly come from.
As emperor, Lianmin recovered first.
“Weiqing… What is this?”
Weiqing smiled without answering.
Shengsheng finally reacted. She pushed both little hands against his chest.
“Your Highness, dun talk nonsense.”
Weiqing nodded earnestly.
“Yes, yes. Daddy will not talk nonsense.”
“Father, as you can see, this son has matters to attend to. I will take my leave.”
With that, he carried Shengsheng away.
The young eunuch who had followed her hurried after them.
Heaven only knew how Little Ancestor had suddenly become the Crown Prince of Zhen’s daughter.
That was not important.
If he lost her, the Noble Consort would skin him alive.
*You are insane! You are insane! You are insane!*
Young Miss Shengsheng Zhou’s thoughts consisted of only those words.
Naturally, Weiqing had not gone mad.
This was the best method he had found to keep Shengsheng.
No matter how powerful Fusheng’s true background might be, publicly, he remained only the Noble Consort of the Zhu Kingdom.
If Weiqing insisted Shengsheng was his daughter, his elderly father would never allow the blood of the Song imperial family to be taken into another realm.
Weiqing carried her all the way back to the Eastern Palace.
He already drew attention wherever he went. With a child in his arms, rumors that the Crown Prince had an illegitimate daughter spread through the entire palace within a few short hours.
How widespread did the story become?
Fusheng had barely left Xunlan’s residence when he overheard several young palace maids discussing it.
They had clustered directly outside the guest residence of a foreign dignitary. From time to time, they glanced back to ensure they were speaking loudly enough for him to hear.
What remarkable coincidence.
If Weiqing had not deliberately planted them there, Fusheng would reverse the characters of his own name forever.
Night had already fallen.
The young eunuch Xunlan had assigned to “serve” Fusheng bowed.
“Your Grace, let us return to the residence.”
Service in name, surveillance in truth.
That fool Xunlan must have noticed something was wrong.
Or perhaps…
someone had told him.
Slap.
A clear handprint appeared on the eunuch’s face.
Malice flashed through his eyes and vanished at once. He smoothly dropped to his knees.
“Since when does this palace need a dog like you to instruct me where to go?”
Fusheng laughed coldly.
He drew a handkerchief from his sleeve and slowly wiped his palm, as though he had touched something filthy.
The eunuch lowered his head.
“Your Grace is correct.”
Fusheng had struck him simply because he disliked the man.
In the end, however, he still returned to his residence.
After the door closed, Fusheng sat by the window, listlessly watching the lamp on the table.
Only when the faintest rustle came from outside did he know the man had left.
“Qingbai.”
At his quiet call, a pure-white bird appeared on the windowsill.
“Tell the Empress Dowager there is something wrong with Xunlan Liu,” Fusheng ordered blandly.
Qingbai took flight at once.
Fusheng rose and blew out the room’s sole source of light.
* * *
Shengsheng had gone numb. Ever since returning to the Eastern Palace, her feet had not touched the ground.
Weiqing held the tiny girl in his arms and waved a stuffed tiger before her lifeless face. “What is it? You don’t like this one? What about this little pig? Isn’t it amusing?”
He tossed the tiger aside and plucked a pig from the mountain of toys in front of him.
Shengsheng shoved away the snout nearly poking her face. “Your Highness, this servant has only become smaller. She has not become stupid.”
Weiqing nodded. “I know. So you don’t like the pig either?”
Shengsheng glared daggers.
In her next life, even if she had to be born among the dark-skinned frontier tribes, she absolutely refused to be born in Zhen.
Seriously. She was begging.
*This kingdom has no future.*
“Did the Noble Consort tell you when you’ll change back?” Weiqing set down the pig with a disappointed look, as though asking only in passing.
That question, Shengsheng could answer. “His Grace said in one month.”
But why had he asked whether Fusheng had told her?
It was almost as though Weiqing was certain Fusheng would know.
Before she could dwell on it, Weiqing sighed. “So this version of you is available for a limited time.”
Shengsheng stared.
Had he gotten his line wrong? Since when did an ancient man say “available for a limited time”?
Though his face showed nothing, Weiqing quietly heaved a great sigh of relief. Her toddler form was unbearably adorable, but he still preferred the original Xiaohong.
Of course, he would sooner die than admit that. Shengsheng assumed he was merely sorry that his amusement would disappear once she changed back.
Weiqing had wanted her to sleep in his bed, but after Shengsheng’s vehement refusal, he left in disappointment.
Too many aggravating things had happened today. Ordinarily, Shengsheng would have tossed and turned all night–not really–but in her current body, she fell dead asleep the moment her head touched the pillow.
Weiqing had barely stepped outside when a servant came to report.
“Your Highness, Miss Jiang has been making a fuss all day. She hasn’t taken a sip of water or eaten a grain of rice.” The servant looked ready to weep.
Heaven knew how impossible that girl was to serve.
For days, she had done nothing but sleep and demand Shengsheng.
Sleep. Demand Shengsheng. Sleep. Demand Shengsheng.
They had coaxed her and comforted her, but nothing worked. She insisted on seeing the woman herself.
Weiqing frowned. “Take me to her.”
That little ancestor was Xiaohong’s own little ancestor. If Xiaohong found out, she would surely think he had been mistreating her.
* * *
As previously mentioned, little Shengsheng had fallen dead asleep the instant her head touched the pillow.
One second later, a pair of wicked hands kneaded her awake.
Still dazed, she pushed away the hand pinching her cheeks and opened her eyes.
“You heartless little thing. I searched myself sick for you, and here you are sleeping like a baby.”