Chapter 62
Chapter 62
Shengsheng stared blankly at Fusheng, who stood before her dressed entirely in black. Then she glanced at the table in the distance.
*Do you have no humanity? Waking me up was bad enough, but why did you light the lamp too? Are you planning to spend the night chatting with me by candlelight?*
Fusheng fell silent.
She truly defeated him. How was he forever incapable of following the turns her mind took?
“Your Grace, this servant is sleepy.” She was a child now. She was entitled to whine.
Fusheng said nothing at her aggrieved little voice. He merely watched her in silence until goose bumps rose across her skin.
“Guess why I’m dressed like this.”
*Have you finally decided to go give Xunlan Liu a green hat?*
“This servant does not know.”
Fusheng’s smile deepened. He tucked her back beneath the covers.
“Never mind. It doesn’t matter. Go to sleep. I’ll be leaving shortly.”
He even remembered to extinguish the lamp she had been obsessing over.
Darkness settled over the room again, and Shengsheng promptly closed her eyes.
He could watch all he pleased. She was going to sleep.
Tomorrow, she would ask Weiqing about Xiaoyu and Pecky. That was also why she had not refused when he brought her back to the Eastern Palace.
Well, that was the immediate reason.
The fundamental reason was that all her worldly possessions were still here, and she needed to make sure they were safe.
Fusheng sat motionless beside her bed, watching in the darkness as she drifted off. A long time later, he finally rose and vanished like a specter.
He had intended to kill Xunlan tonight. The man’s death would create endless complications, but leaving him alive meant an endless stream of trouble. It was truly irritating.
Yet for some inexplicable reason, just before acting, Fusheng had found himself coming to see Shengsheng. Once he had seen her, the restlessness clamoring inside him had strangely gone still.
Forget it. Xunlan could keep his life for a few more years.
Shengsheng slept soundly, entirely unaware of what she had missed.
Had she known, she would have beaten her breast with regret and volunteered to deal with that bastard Xunlan herself.
Three days between minor punishments, five days between major beatings–even with her brain one size smaller, she remembered that grudge perfectly.
* * *
Early the next morning, Shengsheng had only just awakened when Weiqing came to see her in person.
Fusheng was already gone. She had no idea how long he had sat there the previous night.
As the thought crossed her mind, the palace maid before her finished dressing her and reached for her hair. Just then, Weiqing walked in.
“This servant greets Your Highness.”
One large figure and one tiny figure bowed in unison, speaking the exact same words.
The palace maid froze and looked at Shengsheng, who was holding the same posture as she was.
Shengsheng straightened awkwardly, fidgeting with her fingers.
Force of habit.
“You may leave.” Hiding a smile behind his hand, Weiqing dismissed the bewildered maid.
Once she was gone, he picked Shengsheng up. “Come. Daddy will do your hair.”
Ten minutes later–
A brand-new bird’s nest had hatched on top of Shengsheng’s head.
Shengsheng stared at him. Did you think you were Fusheng?
Weiqing stared back. I forgot I wasn’t Fusheng.
In the end, they summoned the dismissed palace maid again. With her superb skill, she successfully rescued the hopeless tangle Weiqing had made.
Shengsheng regarded her with profound admiration.
As a palace maid proficient in nearly every conceivable art, Shengsheng could manage her own hair at most. Fusheng had never asked her to do his, nor had Siran Ming. Even Weiqing had never once let her touch his hair.
It was as though the three men had made a pact that no one was permitted to touch their precious hair.
Shengsheng respected this unfamiliar territory.
During breakfast, Weiqing dismissed the servants, chose his words carefully, and told her about Zhiyu Jiang.
He had gone to see her yesterday. The moment Zhiyu saw him, she had thrown herself around his leg and frantically demanded that he hand Shengsheng over.
Weiqing had no choice but to tell her that Shengsheng was safe, only that an accident made it impossible for them to meet at present.
That had been the wrong thing to say.
Zhiyu exploded on the spot. She even declared that if he did not let her see Shengsheng, she would call down a lightning bolt and split the entire imperial palace apart.
Weiqing firmly believed that Shengsheng had taught her both the reckless use of abilities and this lawless audacity.
Left with no alternative, he had come to the culprit herself.
He knew Shengsheng did not want Zhiyu to see her yet. But with the lives of everyone in the palace at stake, he had to bring it up.
Sure enough, Shengsheng fell into a long silence.
Weiqing assumed she was questioning where she had gone wrong in Zhiyu’s education, so he gave her time to digest the news.
*Excellent! She has finally inherited my mantle. Xiaoyu, my darling, Mommy never has to worry about anyone bullying you again! Well struck!*
Weiqing closed his eyes.
He had been wrong. He should never have attempted to interpret Shengsheng’s thoughts with the mind of a normal person.
Everything else was tolerable, but Shengsheng became genuinely anxious when she heard that Zhiyu refused to eat.
How could that child skip meals?
Without food, where would she find the strength to smite people?
Fine. If Zhiyu wanted to play with her like a doll, so be it. That was still better than letting her starve.
Shengsheng hurried through breakfast, then Weiqing took her to Zhiyu.
The small courtyard looked much as it always had, save for one difference.
Every servant stood in the courtyard with their head lowered, while a familiar female voice made an endless racket inside.
Hearing Zhiyu, Shengsheng grew anxious and quickened her steps. As she crossed the threshold, she completely forgot her current height.
And so she ended up hanging over the doorsill, unable to get down.
Shengsheng went still.
Weiqing fought back laughter. His clear eyes curved into crescents as he lifted her free, then carried her inside himself.
The room was a disaster. Not a single piece of furniture remained where it belonged.
For instance, had anyone ever seen a table hanging from the rafters?
How it had gotten up there, no one knew.
Shengsheng drew a deep breath as she surveyed the filthy wreckage.
She could not get angry. She could not get angry. The child had caused trouble because she was worried about her, absolutely not because she enjoyed it.
At the sound of the door, Zhiyu raced over. When she saw Weiqing, the anticipation vanished from her face. She turned away at once.
“Zhiyu Jiang, aren’t you going to look carefully at who came?”
“It isn’t Shengsheng anyway!” Zhiyu shouted, presenting them with a stubborn back.
Shengsheng patted Weiqing’s shoulder, signaling him to put her down.
“You silly child! You may be angry, but how can you refuse to eat?”
The familiar scolding reached Zhiyu’s ears.
But…
The words were so stern. Why did the speaker have a milky baby voice and slur every syllable?
Shengsheng despaired.
This wretched voice could go straight in the trash.