Chapter 80 080 "Yue Hong greets his aunt."

That wall was at least two meters high. Lu Yuanyuan was slightly startled, and immediately pointed to the courtyard gate, ordering, "Quick! Go check if anyone has fallen and hurt themselves."

Eunuch Shen responded and went out for a moment before returning to the garden with a child: "Reporting to the princess, the one who fell from the wall just now was His Highness the Third Prince."

Yue Hong?!

Lu Yuanyuan was surprised and excited. She straightened up and saw a child dressed in a dark blue silk dress walking towards her in the sunlight.

At this time, Yue Hong was only around eleven years old. He hadn't fully developed yet and was shorter and thinner than she had imagined. Despite his young age, he was quite handsome, with bright, piercing eyes, rosy lips, and a youthful innocence.

However, perhaps because she had seen so many unruly, grown-up versions of Yue Hong, she had a preconceived notion that this guy's demeanor was more arrogant than other children when he was young, a mini version of him ten years later.

Yue Hong was the anchor point that brought her back from her time travel. Having the opportunity to meet him so soon put Lu Yuanyuan in a great mood, and her resolve became even stronger.

She will definitely seize the opportunity and successfully revive Yue Hong.

Meanwhile, caught red-handed climbing the wall and falling flat on his backside, Yue Hong's little face was tense, seemingly feeling a bit embarrassed. But as a grandson of the emperor raised with proper manners, he naturally knew what to do when he saw his aunt. Arriving before Lu Yuanyuan, he still respectfully bowed to her. Before his voice changed, his clear and crisp voice said, "Yue Hong greets Aunt."

oh?

Although they weren't close, at least this kid knew she was his aunt. That was even better, saving her the trouble of introducing herself.

Lu Yuanyuan reached out and supported his elbow, gently helping him up, and began to ask him affectionately, "Did you hurt yourself anywhere just now?"

Yue Hong paused for a moment, then shook his head.

Eunuch Shen whispered in her ear, "His Highness the Third Prince climbed up by stepping on a human ladder made up of three children. When I went out, those children scattered like birds and beasts. I vaguely saw that they seemed to be the sons of several ministers from the Imperial Academy."

Lu Yuanyuan: "..."

This kid, as expected, has always had a bunch of followers following him around since he was a child.

To clarify the timeline, the current emperor of the Yong Dynasty is Princess Wenshu's biological father. The crown prince is Princess Wenshu's half-brother—that is, Yue Hong's biological father, and the next emperor of the Yong Kingdom.

With these two connections, the Manjushri Princess she possessed could be said to have the strongest backing in the entire palace.

As for Yue Hong's mother, Consort Xie, she was only a concubine of the Crown Prince at this time. Although she was favored by the Crown Prince, her status was still inferior to that of Princess Wenshu.

Therefore, when she had Eunuch Shen bring Yue Hong in, the palace servants who were with Yue Hong didn't dare to utter a single word.

Lu Yuanyuan gently touched her chin.

The original owner's reputation for punishing servants like a shrew was probably an open secret in the palace. Moreover, in all this time, the original owner and Consort Xie had likely exchanged no more than ten words; she didn't think Consort Xie would send Yue Hong to curry favor with her. It was most likely that the boy had become curious about her and secretly came to see if she really was a shrew.

Since that's the case, let's play along and make good use of this curiosity.

Lu Yuanyuan smiled and said, "Shouldn't you be attending classes at the Imperial Academy at this time?"

Yue Hong kicked the stone sullenly: "I don't want to go to the Imperial Academy."

Another one who doesn't like reading.

Lu Yuanyuan drew out her words with an air of seriousness: "Oh—so, you were bored and came all the way here to play with your aunt?"

"I'm not bored," Yue Hong retorted, then realized what she had said: "You want to play with me?"

Lu Yuanyuan smiled and nodded.

She managed to handle the difficult Yue Hong in the future, so she refused to believe she couldn't soothe a child.

According to the system, the speed at which the reincarnation flower blooms is directly proportional to the frequency of her contact with Yue Hong. Therefore, attracting Yue Hong's attention and becoming his playmate is the most natural way.

Although today is formed from yesterday and tomorrow is determined by today, and our actions in the present will affect the future, Lu Yuanyuan is not worried that her approach to Yue Hong will trigger a butterfly effect. Because even if she changes Yue Hong's affection for his aunt, making that affection deepen, at most it will just mean that he will have another family member to miss in his heart.

Yue Hong immediately raised his voice, grabbed her sleeve, and said enthusiastically, "Then let's go out and play Cuju (ancient Chinese football), and go horseback riding together!"

Lu Yuanyuan: "..."

This guy really seems to have inexhaustible energy from childhood to adulthood.

Lu Yuanyuan feigned difficulty: "But I don't know how to play Cuju (ancient Chinese football), nor am I good at riding horses."

Yue Hong's two thick eyebrows furrowed instantly, as if he were somewhat disappointed: "Then what can you play with me?"

“I can tell you a story,” Lu Yuanyuan said calmly. “Would you like to hear the story of your aunt’s brave battle against the giant snake?”

Yue Hong's eyes widened, and sure enough, he bit the fishhook she had thrown out: "Fight the giant snake?"

Summer in Yong Kingdom is hot, especially today, like an open steamer. After standing in the sun for a while, Yue Hong's forehead was already covered in beads of sweat. But Lu Yuanyuan, who was bathed in the same sky, only felt warm in her hands and feet, which was truly unbelievable.

Lu Yuanyuan winked at Eunuch Shen, crossed her arms, and said, "That's a long story, and it's a bit hot in here. Why don't we go inside and eat something while we talk?"

Such adventure stories held an irresistible allure for the princes residing deep within the palace. Yue Hong said, "Good!"

The palace maids understood and helped Lu Yuanyuan up, vying to put her shoes on.

Princess Manjushri's palace was not yet the desolate and gloomy place it would become later. It covered a vast area, with carved railings and pavilions layered upon each other, a jade pool shrouded in mist, and koi swimming in the water. It was more luxurious and elaborate than the Eastern Palace.

As she entered the palace, Lu Yuanyuan glanced casually at the ground in the garden, where there was a stone slab that was a slightly different color from the rest of the slab.

The space beneath the slab is hollow; it is a well.

After Princess Manjushri's death, the palace became a desolate palace, and the well became a dry well, eventually being sealed off. In the future, she once helped two young palace maids climb down to the bottom of this dry well and retrieved a cat named Green Pearl. At the bottom of the well, in the silt untouched for countless years, she found some strangely shaped snake skins, which she stored in her storage ring for future study.

Later, in the [Infant Devouring] instance, she lost many magical treasures in the Imperial Mausoleum. Fortunately, she hadn't carried this storage ring with her; it was left in the Yong Kingdom's Imperial Palace, so this piece of evidence still exists.

This time, after returning to the palace as Princess Manjushri, Lu Yuanyuan learned that the well had actually been sealed off during that period. Yesterday, she had ordered people to pry open the heavy stone slab to check it out. The silt at the bottom of the well had not yet completely dried, and there were no strange snake molts inside.

Finding no valuable clues, Lu Yuanyuan had no choice but to have the stone slab returned to its original position.

The two entered the palace together, and Yue Hong immediately noticed several ornate screens blocking the view of the inner hall. It was very dark there, and the curtains were drawn. But soon, palace servants filed in, serving exquisite snacks, so he didn't pay much attention to it.

His gaze swept across the table, and Yue Hong opened his mouth slightly, unable to hide his surprise. He clearly hadn't expected that the dishes served would all be his favorites.

Lu Yuanyuan slowly took a sip of tea. In fact, these were all dishes she had selected in advance, just to cater to her preferences.

After finishing her snacks, she began to tell Yue Hong her story of bravely fighting the giant snake—the original story being how she was almost dragged away by a snake on her way back to the palace. Of course, she added a lot of artistic embellishment, making the story sound much more thrilling.

Yue Hong listened with great interest, occasionally asking questions such as, "Auntie, what is a snake's molt?"

Lu Yuanyuan was taken aback: "You haven't seen it before?"

Yue Hong puffed out his cheeks, not to be outdone, and said, "Who says I haven't seen one? I've eaten snakes!"

Lu Yuanyuan blinked, then suddenly felt like laughing. She decided to give him a simple biology lesson: "When a snake sheds its skin, it's changing all the skin on its body."

Why does it need to shed its skin?

Lu Yuanyuan thought for a moment and said, "There are many reasons. Sometimes, it's because it has grown bigger and its body has become longer, so the old skin can no longer accommodate the new flesh, and it has to change into a larger skin. Sometimes, it's because the old skin is damaged or sick, so it has to shed the old skin and replace it with healthy new skin. So, every time a snake sheds its skin, it's like a new life."

Yue Hong said thoughtfully, "It's a pity that there aren't any in the palace; I can't see them with my own eyes."

Lu Yuanyuan casually said, "It's okay, you'll definitely have many opportunities to meet in the future, and you'll understand when you do."

This kid is going to fight in the future. He won't see snakes, insects, rats and ants in the palace, so why would he have to worry about not seeing them outside?

"What?"

"It's nothing, let's continue. After that snake shed its skin..."

By the time Lu Yuanyuan's story came to an end, the sun was already setting. Yue Hong was still a little unsatisfied: "Auntie, do you have any other stories?"

Lu Yuanyuan smiled, patted his shoulder, and said, "Of course, but it's getting late, you should go back now. Come find me again tomorrow, and I'll tell you another story."

She had already seen a palace servant who looked like Maitreya Buddha enter the room. It was none other than Eunuch Zhang, who was currently serving Consort Xie and would be following Yue Hong in the future. Consort Xie must be worried because Yue Hong hadn't returned for so long and knew he was here.

Yue Hong looked up at her.

He came here today because he overheard two palace maids talking the night before and learned that his aunt had returned to the palace. His aunt rarely appeared at palace banquets and had never given him a second glance before. In other people's eyes, his aunt seemed to be a very scary woman; everyone both feared and feared her.

But... this afternoon, he discovered that his aunt was very different from the rumors. She wasn't a monstrous demon with a blue face and fangs. Her hands were cold, and her face was pale, but the way she looked at him was gentle and tender, as if he were someone she had known for a long time.

He was somewhat confused by this, but he didn't dislike this relative.

Yue Hong pursed his lips and bowed to her: "Then, Aunt, I will come to pay my respects again tomorrow."

Lu Yuanyuan smiled and nodded.

After watching Yue Hong leave, Eunuch Shen walked up from a corner of the palace and said, "Your Highness, are you tired? Let me help you lie down over there."

Lu Yuanyuan shook her head, stood up with the help of the table, and walked towards the inner hall.

Passing by the several opaque screens, you can see that all the furniture has been removed. In the center of the gauze curtains, there is a large golden cage, with a white cloth inside, and a small monster curled up on the cloth.

The snake's digestive juices burned its body, causing blood to seep from its skin.

Lu Yuanyuan had assumed that, based on its previous recovery speed, this wound would heal quickly as well. However, unexpectedly, its astonishing self-healing ability seemed to have suddenly failed. It remained in this half-dead state throughout the journey, unable to eat the fresh food brought to it.

Lu Yuanyuan was confused and puzzled. She really couldn't figure out whether it was a monster or a pure monster.

If it were a monster, the digestive juices of an ordinary snake wouldn't completely paralyze its ability to repair itself.

If it is an animal, and just an ugly and deformed one, then its ability to heal whip wounds is inexplicable.

Since it had already returned to the palace, and to avoid frightening others, Lu Yuanyuan couldn't just lock it up somewhere else. So, she temporarily placed it, cage and all, in her own territory. She even had the Imperial Advisor come and take a look. However, she had already experienced the Imperial Advisor's level of skill in Yong Kingdom before; the so-called Imperial Advisor was actually just a cultivator rejected by the cultivation world. Sure enough, the Imperial Advisor couldn't cure it either, and instead exacerbated its suffering.

Lu Yuanyuan walked to the cage and asked the person next to her, "It still hasn't woken up today?"

Jinzhong lowered his head and said, "Your Highness, no."

Life and death are predestined; whether this little monster recovers or not depends entirely on itself.

Lu Yuanyuan sighed softly, "I understand. You continue to take care of it. The cloth underneath is stained with blood; change it with a clean one later."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Lu Yuanyuan glanced at him one last time before turning and leaving. The palace servants lifted the curtain for Lu Yuanyuan and followed her out.

Behind the screen, all the light was blocked out.

No one could see that the little monster curled up on the white cloth suddenly twitched slightly, and something seemed to be pulsating very slightly beneath its shapeless skin.

...

Lu Yuanyuan spent the entire afternoon making up stories, and her already limited energy was completely depleted. That night, she went to bed early to rest.

Just as she was drifting off to sleep, a scream shattered her peaceful dream.

"The thing in the cage...the thing in the cage is gone!"