Chapter 19 The Gift: Something was gnawing at the mermaid's heart...

Xiao Jiang thought about it and realized that she couldn't keep her discovery to herself; she needed help.

In the village, the people closest to her have disappeared. Xiao Hai is mute, and Granny Fang is too old.

After much thought, she couldn't find anyone she could discuss things with.

Finally, she decided to go find Qingdai.

This was a decision made after careful consideration. During the few days she recuperated at the temple, she was like a sister with a bad temper but who knew how to take care of people. Although she always had a cold face, she helped her a lot. Now, the only person she could trust and rely on was Qingdai.

A faint sound of water came from the bathtub.

Xiao Jiang turned her gaze over, but the merman in the bathtub closed his eyes at that moment, as if he didn't want to see her.

Xiao Jiang reluctantly looked away. Xiao Hai had been reluctant to let her get close lately. Whenever she approached the bathtub, he would turn his face away, his straight nose would twitch slightly, and he would frown, showing a disgusted expression, as if he had smelled something nauseating.

She carefully sniffed her entire body but didn't find any strange smell on herself. On the contrary, because she had been close to Qin Yuqi that day, she had picked up some of his incense, a faint woody scent. The incense wasn't unpleasant, so she didn't pay any attention to it.

Xiao Jiang assumed Xiao Hai was just in a bad mood. Perhaps it was because she had promised to take him to the sea but hadn't yet done so.

Thinking about this, Xiao Jiang found it even harder to face him, fearing that he would be in a worse mood, so she didn't take him with her when she went out several times.

Besides these, what she finds even harder to face is the selfish thoughts that occasionally pop into her mind—

Why not keep him, let him stay with you forever? Aren't monsters meant to be together? Without him, who else can accept you, a monster? Father is gone; from now on, you two will only have each other to rely on…

The voice in her heart grew louder and louder; she knew this was wrong.

Xiao Jiang slapped his forehead, forcibly suppressing these thoughts.

Hearing the noise, the merman in the bathtub raised his blue eyes and looked at the girl sitting by the window.

Her white hair was a little dazzling in the sunlight. She knew he didn't like the smell on her, so she obediently kept her distance from him.

But her self-awareness only made him more uncomfortable. Her sharp fingernails silently scraped against the barrel underwater, sawdust piercing her nails and causing a needle-like pain. Something was gnawing at the merman's heart, giving rise to an indescribable restlessness. The pain in his fingertips allowed him to temporarily divert his attention from this inexplicable restlessness.

He tried to focus his energy on restoring his spiritual sea and absorbing the faint spiritual energy in nature.

But this is the third time!

She went out alone, without him. Who was it that kept saying they'd be inseparable? Liar!

A thicker splinter pierced his fingertip.

That's right, one day his spiritual power will recover. Just wait. Once his spiritual power recovers, he will leave this place...

No! Has she grown tired of him? Or has she found someone new?

He remembered the human boy in the woods that day—foolish, arrogant, haughty, and irritable… utterly repulsive. Most importantly, those predatory eyes, especially when he looked at her.

Why is she still getting involved with him? Doesn't she also hate that boy?

Her clothes were covered in his disgusting scent, just as repulsive as the person who was the source of it. Why couldn't she just throw them away?

With a soft "whoosh," only the mermaids could hear it underwater.

His fingernail broke.

She was still sitting by the window, looking outside, seemingly lost in thought, only showing him half of her profile.

*

Ever since His Highness the Crown Prince inspected the mine, Liu Dan's inner turmoil had never subsided. It wasn't because there was anything wrong with the mine, but because of a single sentence spoken by His Highness the Crown Prince.

On the way down the mountain, His Highness the Crown Prince was in low spirits, making no attempt to hide his gloomy expression. Liu Dan, being astute, stepped forward to report on the project's progress and plans, hoping to ease the future heir's worries. However, the Crown Prince was not reassured; instead, he said quietly, "Lord Liu, if someone dislikes you, but you don't want them to dislike you, what would you do?"

Having spent many years immersed in officialdom, Liu Dan's mind raced, and he immediately identified countless people as the "he/she" in the sentence, but quickly ruled them out one by one.

His Majesty, the Empress, the Third Prince, Jia Qianyang, the ministers in the court... none of these are possible.

But besides these people, who else could make him feel resentful?

Could it be that His Highness the Crown Prince is targeting him? Did he accidentally offend His Highness somewhere?

Thinking too much caused him to miss the opportunity to answer. By the time he anxiously tried to ask for clarification, His Highness the Crown Prince had already left, clearly not wanting to talk to him anymore.

The troubles ended one evening.

After having dinner, Liu Dan went to report to Qin Yuqi. He saw His Highness at the window, peeking out every now and then, seemingly waiting for someone. He knew the person wasn't him, but still wanted to see who it might be, so he stepped aside and slowed his pace.

With little light left, he could only vaguely make out that His Highness seemed to be staring blankly at something.

A short while later, the torches outside the guesthouse were lit, and Liu Dan saw the object in His Highness's hand. The torchlight shone on it, reflecting a bright light. It turned out to be a gleaming silver bracelet.

He suddenly remembered someone.

Regarding the previous question, he felt he might be able to offer some advice.

In the inn, Qin Yuqi rummaged through his belongings, having his servants find all the rare and precious treasures he had brought with him on this trip.

These past few days he's been thinking about his relationship with that person. It seems that only when he makes her angry will she look at him more or pay attention to him. But after each argument, their relationship becomes even more tense. If this vicious cycle continues, they'll really become enemies.

He decided to take the initiative to ease the tension with her. As the crown prince of a country, he should be more magnanimous.

The table was covered with a dazzling array of treasures.

Liu Dan suggested he give a gift, and he did indeed have many presentable gifts, but what she liked...

Qin Yuqi hesitated for a long time. For those ignorant barbarians, a few trinkets they'd never seen before would suffice. She was clearly just like them, yet there was something different about her. He couldn't guess what she would like.

Pearls won't do, they're too delicate...

Brocade won't do, it's too ostentatious...

Gold and silver won't do, they're too tacky...

Didn't she want his jade pendant last time? Why don't we give it to her first, and then tell Father that it was lost and have the Imperial Workshop make another one?

But she didn't seem to really like him; she just wanted to make things difficult for him.

The dampness in my heart surged up again.

Qin Yuqi scattered objects all over the ground, including many priceless treasures. The servants who attended him dared not utter a sound, only stealing glances at the scattered pieces of treasure on the ground.

"They're all useless!"

Qin Yuqi was still dissatisfied with the remaining items after picking and choosing, and the more he looked at them, the more irritated he became. He resisted the urge to overturn the table.

"Where is Lord Liu? Why hasn't he arrived yet?" Qin Yuqi asked his attendant.

"We've already sent someone to the mine to inform them, and they should be on their way by now," the servant replied respectfully, his head bowed, his eyes darting out in a desperate attempt to catch up with someone.

This is the scene that Liu Dan saw when he entered the room.

"My little darling, what are you doing?"

The inner chamber was attended by personal guards brought from the palace, so Liu Dan no longer bothered to conceal his identity. He carefully avoided the piles of rare treasures on the ground to enter the room. For someone of his size, finding a foothold in such a place filled with rare treasures was quite a challenge.

When he moved to Qin Yuqi's side, he was met with the young prince's handsome face, filled with anger and resentment. "Lord Liu, you said before that if you want to befriend someone, you have to lower yourself and take the initiative to show goodwill..."

There was a moment of silence. Liu Dan waited for Qin Yuqi to continue, but Qin Yuqi did not, clearly waiting for him to speak.

"Indeed, that's what I said." Looking at the treasures scattered on the ground, Liu Dan understood and a confident smile appeared on his face. "Is Your Highness troubled about how to curry favor with that person? Giving gifts is indeed a suitable way. As long as you can cater to their preferences, they will surely feel your sincerity."

Qin Yuqi grew impatient with his roundabout manner and said in an even more agitated tone, "If you have any good ideas, just say them quickly."

"Your Highness, please don't be anxious." Liu Dan's smile remained unchanged, but he thought to himself that no matter what his status was, he was still just a young boy. However, he appreciated the prince's youthful demeanor even more, finding it much more pleasing to the eye than his usual pretentious and mature manner.

Liu Dan smiled wryly: "Your Highness, if I'm not mistaken, that person probably doesn't know your identity. Perhaps, the person is in the stronghold?"

Qin Yuqi suddenly stood up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, pushing the table in front of him forward quite a distance with his sudden movement. "You...you don't need to worry about all that, just give your suggestion."

Anything bestowed by the royal family is naturally the best. As a relative, Liu Dan was closer to the Crown Prince than to ordinary officials. At this moment, he was absolutely certain of his suspicions. He just hadn't expected that so many noble ladies in the capital had failed to catch the eye of his prince, yet he would be defeated here.

“Your Highness, the objects around you are naturally rare treasures, but they may not necessarily move this person. The value of an object lies in her needs. Only objects that are helpful to her and that she cannot obtain on her own are the gifts that best reflect Your Highness’s intentions.”

Qin Yuqi looked up, his eyes unconsciously filled with anticipation.

"I have heard that she has been exceptionally knowledgeable and quick-witted since childhood, and that she was already well-versed in the clan's classics by the age of ten. If Your Highness were to bestow upon her the books of the Great Yong Dynasty, I imagine..."

...

No one paid attention to what was said after that. Qin Yuqi took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in his chest.

But his patience was limited, and his silence lasted only a moment before his increasingly absurd suggestions were interrupted.

"...What exactly are you talking about?"

He approached the situation with a genuine desire to learn, but Liu Dan gave him these nonsensical suggestions.

A book? She had never read a single word, let alone the words of the Da Yong dynasty. He thought Liu Dan was very knowledgeable.

Seeing Qin Yuqi's drastic change in attitude, Liu Dan realized something was wrong. He tentatively asked, "Your Highness, isn't the person you want to give the gift to the Qingdai witch in the village?"

He had met the Qingdai witch in the temple; she was poised and elegant, and he had a very good impression of her. As the daughter of the chieftain, she held an extraordinary position in the village, and it was quite possible that she would take over both clan and temple affairs in the future. His Highness's fondness for her, and the opportunity to gain further support from the villagers through this connection, was undoubtedly a brilliant move.

Unexpectedly, Qin Yuqi became agitated, disregarding etiquette, and threw a book at Liu Dan. Seeing the other's bewildered expression, Qin Yuqi angrily flicked his sleeve, turned his back to Liu Dan, and gave him a stern order to leave, "Stop talking, go. No, get out, get out!"

Just as he was kicked out of the house, the door was slammed shut, and Liu Dan guiltily touched his nose, which had almost been caught in the door.

He saw it with his own eyes that day; His Highness was looking thoughtfully at a silver bracelet, while the Qingdai Shrine Maiden had several bright silver bracelets on her wrist.

The person should be the Qingdai Shrine Maiden, but where exactly did he say something wrong?

Back in the mine, Liu Dan was still completely baffled, feeling both puzzled and frustrated.

Just then, the Grand Preceptor came out of the mine. Normally, he was not inclined to pay attention to this Grand Preceptor. Confucius said, "I do not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits." He came from a noble family and was taught orthodox Confucianism. He did not think much of people who practiced crooked and unorthodox ways. Besides, he always felt that there was something sinister about this Grand Preceptor.

But things were different now, and he desperately needed to vent his grievances. So, during a break from supervising the work, he poured out his pent-up frustrations to his usually quiet colleague.

Liu Dan had assumed that Jia Qianyang would be just as confused as he was about what the prince was thinking, but instead, a strange smile appeared on the prince's sallow face. He chuckled coldly a few times and said knowingly, "So that's how it is."

"What's the meaning?"

Jia Qianyang turned around and saw the bewildered Liu Dan. His usually calm eyes now held a genuine smile. "Lord Liu is indeed conscientious in his duties, but after all these years you've been going around in circles with the Ministry of Works. Have you ever thought about why?"

Jia Qianyang left, leaving Liu Dan standing there bewildered.

Damn it, why did he impulsively go and pour out his troubles to this person? Now he understands everything, right? He thinks he understands everything best!