chapter 23
Chapter 23
The koi couldn’t help but ask, “Why?”
“No reason,” Ye Piaoling said. “Just think of it as a strange quirk of mine!”
The koi was speechless for a long while before saying, “That wish won’t do. Pick another one.”
Seeing this, Ye Piaoling looked quite disappointed.
She thought for a moment and muttered, “You can’t even manage a simple bathrobe. That makes me question your ability to get things done… Looks like I’ll have to make a simpler wish, something you can actually accomplish.”
Koi: “Alright, let’s hear it.”
Ye Piaoling stared at it seriously and said, “I want to eat braised carp.”
“…”
The koi’s heart skipped a beat and quickly replied, “The Regent King’s bathrobe is nothing to me, just a flick of the wrist. But I was recently injured, and many spells are hard to cast. You’ll have to wait a few days. Once I recover my strength, I’ll use magic to fetch that item for you.”
“Great!” Ye Piaoling clapped her hands. “I knew you could do it!”
The koi said, “It’s a deal. Now hurry and change my water!”
Ye Piaoling said, “I’ll do it after I wake up!”
Upon hearing this, the koi immediately ended the dream so she would wake up quickly.
…
Ye Piaoling woke from her dream.
She habitually turned over and continued sleeping…
She slept all the way until the next day, well past sunrise.
Sitting up, she stretched lazily and remembered the dream from last night, and her promise to change the koi’s water.
Ye Piaoling hurriedly got dressed and went to check the fish tank in the hall.
Inside the tank, the cornmeal had mostly settled, forming a thick yellow layer on the bottom, like a sandy beach.
On the water’s surface, the koi was once again floating belly-up, motionless, with a look of utter doubt about its fishy life…
Ye Piaoling tapped the tank. “Buddy, don’t lose heart. I’ll get you some clean water right away.”
After changing the water, Ye Piaoling put the koi back in.
The koi was already numb.
It kept the same posture, floating on its back.
Ye Piaoling watched it for a while.
It didn’t move at all, like an emoji drifting on the water’s surface.
“Tsk, for a fish, you sure like to pose like this. So willful.”
Ye Piaoling sighed, shook her head, and went out.
At lunch, Fox Shadow returned.
Ye Piaoling said, “You don’t need to feed Huohuo anymore. It doesn’t eat.”
Fox Shadow: “Huohuo?”
“That koi,” Ye Piaoling said. “I gave it a name-Huohuo. What do you think? Sounds nice, right?”
“…”
Fox Shadow was silent for a moment, then let out a relieved sigh. “Good thing I have a name.”
Ye Piaoling: “How did your investigation of Aunt Liu go?”
She’s tried to harm me several times-it’s about time for some payback!
Fox Shadow said, “Aunt Liu insulted the Prime Minister with wild words before. After sobering up, she voluntarily reduced her monthly allowance to accept punishment and dismissed most of the servants in her courtyard. She also repented, saying she wasn’t fit to be a mother, and sent Young Master Tianbao to another concubine’s courtyard to be raised.”
Ye Piaoling frowned.
To send away her own son-she’s really going all out with this act…
Fox Shadow said, “The Prime Minister saw that she was truly remorseful and treated her much better. Aunt Liu has severe morning sickness and vomits everything she eats. Later, she only wanted dishes from her hometown in Jiangnan and requested a chef from there. The Prime Minister agreed.”
Ye Piaoling: “Oh? Has the cook arrived yet?”
Fox Shadow said, “He has. Aunt Liu ate the food he made and really stopped vomiting. The cook stayed at Wenxiang Courtyard, now in charge of Aunt Liu’s meals.”
Ye Piaoling tasted the news carefully, feeling things were far from simple.
Dismiss the servants, then bring in a strong young cook from her hometown…
Everything seemed reasonable enough.
But Ye Piaoling couldn’t shake a strong hunch:
Dad, you’re about to get played for a fool!
“How old is this cook? What kind of person is he? Any cultivation?”
“His name is Tu San, in his thirties, a big burly fellow. No cultivation, but apparently knows a bit of martial arts.”
Ye Piaoling grinned.
Brilliant…
Tonight, I’ll pay a visit to Wenxiang Courtyard and deliver Aunt Liu a ‘special gift’!
…
Night fell.
Ye Piaoling used Qinggong to slip into Wenxiang Courtyard.
Wenxiang Courtyard was spacious. Besides the main house where Aunt Liu lived, there were several side courtyards for the servants.
Ye Piaoling leapt onto the roof and lifted a tile.
Ever since she gained martial arts, her senses had become unusually sharp. By the clear moonlight, she could vaguely see that Aunt Liu’s bedchamber was empty.
She wasn’t surprised.
Aunt Liu getting pregnant at this critical moment? Most likely a lie. What she needed now was to actually get pregnant!
As for Ye Liaozhai helping out? Ha! Not a chance. He wouldn’t lift a finger for this. So she could only find someone else…
Like Tu San, the hometown cook brought from miles away!
Dismiss the servants, send away her son-all to make it easier for her to meet her old flame late at night.
But where would Aunt Liu choose to rendezvous so no one would find out?
Ye Piaoling darted across the rooftops of Wenxiang Courtyard, checking every building, but found no trace of Aunt Liu.
Now that was odd.
Ye Piaoling frowned.
Could she be hiding underground?
Ye Piaoling glided silently between the courtyards, finally arriving at a rundown side courtyard.
This was the most remote corner of Wenxiang Courtyard, piled with unused junk year-round, dusty and deserted.
Behind the courtyard was a dried-up well.
Ye Piaoling’s gaze landed on the well, eyes glinting.
A sturdy rope was tied to the windlass, trailing down into the depths…
Ye Piaoling walked over to the edge.
At the bottom of the well, Aunt Liu was cuddling with Tu San.
Tu San laughed, “All these years, you still remember your old lover!”
“You rascal, I’ve never stopped thinking about you!”
“Just hurry up and get pregnant. Then we’ll let the Green Turtle Prime Minister raise my son, hahahaha…”
Ye Piaoling sat down by the well, listening to their conversation, secretly marveling at Aunt Liu’s creativity-she actually thought of having an affair at the bottom of a well.
A deep well could block out all sound.
And in the dead of night, even if someone passed by and heard noises from a deserted well, they’d probably think it was haunted and run away…
Having a secret rendezvous here was practically foolproof!
Ye Piaoling sighed in admiration, then pulled out her dagger and began cutting the rope.
The well was at least ten meters deep; without the rope, there was no way out.
Aunt Liu and Tu San could live happily ever after at the bottom of the well…
mumu_shin
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