Chapter 51 The Poor Little Lamb, the Dog, and the Market

Chichi is a sensible little lamb.

Before being rescued by the Prince of Huai'an, it lived on the mountain behind the cemetery for a long time. It was so hungry that it even ate tree bark. Unfortunately, a hunter discovered its tracks.

The little sheep was surprisingly strong; it almost bit the hunter's head in one bite, but a sudden thunderbolt stopped it.

The thunder awakened the deepest fear in Chichi's heart, and the hunter fled in panic.

Since then, Chichi has never dared to leave any obvious traces on the mountain again. Only when it is extremely hungry will it catch some small animals to eat, such as tigers, foxes, wolves, etc. The meat is plentiful and filling, but the taste is not very good.

The corpses in the cemetery at the foot of the mountain are the food I hate the most. Whether they are alive or buried, they don't taste good and have a foul smell.

Chichi couldn't help but wrinkle her nose, examining the slave who had brought her back with satisfaction.

Look how well it raises its slaves. When it brought it back, it was so thin and weak. Its size wouldn't even be enough for a strong human tribe to eat in its territory.

Chichi heard everything the Prince of Huai'an said. It snorted disdainfully. What a ridiculous slave! It was clearly its own unwillingness to gnaw on the grass and tree trunks on the back mountain, so how did it become the slave's achievement?

It was just curious about what the plants in the slave house tasted like, so it ate a little bit. On the back mountain, it would occasionally eat small animals to fill its teeth.

However, since it was leaving, it would at least offer some consolation to the little slave.

After rubbing against Huai'an's calves, Chichi returned to Jiang Yuzhi's side.

It only felt safe around this human, and even the prolonged hunger no longer bothered it. As it ate and thought, it glanced at Bai Yan beside it. This human gave it a similar feeling, except that it was too cold. The little girl was much better.

Jiang Yuzhi patted Chichi's little head again. If Diting were here, he would know what Chichi was thinking.

Huai'an tried to cheer himself up. "Brother Bai, Miss Jiang, you can take Chichi with you, but during our stay in Wannan, can it stay with me? Of course, you can also stay at the Prince's Mansion."

Bai Yan asked Jiang Yuzhi with his eyes.

Huang Daopo had already met her, and she carried the loom and spinning wheel with her. Jiang Yuzhi looked down at Chichi, leaving only the poor little guy who needed to be taken away.

"Your Highness is too kind. I hope Your Highness will take good care of me in the days to come."

Upon receiving Jiang Yuzhi's affirmative reply, Huai'an was overjoyed. "Good, good, good, no need to be so polite with me. Someone, go and prepare two rooms, close to my room."

"yes."

As soon as the servant left, Xu Ling, along with officials from the Ministry of Personnel and several estate managers from the Prince's estate, entered together.

Huai'an breathed a sigh of relief when he saw them arrive together. "You've come at the perfect time. In front of Prince Xiao, I will repay the grain I owe Prefect Xu."

Xu Ling was overjoyed. His Highness Prince Xiao was truly selfless. With his arrival, it was clear that Prince Huai'an would be brought to justice!

"Oh, Your Highness is too kind. It was just a certain amount of grain. I knew Your Highness would repay it. Someone, bring the account books and let's count the grain!"

While they were happily negotiating with the head of the estate, officials from the Ministry of Personnel were reporting on the results of the past two days.

The Examination and Merit Office compiled the political achievements of Wannan officials over the past three years into a dossier and submitted it to the authorities, while the Merit Evaluation Office compiled statistics on the ranks of officials who died for various reasons and whether the Prince of Huai'an was unworthy of his position.

Xu Ling did a very good job; the officials of the Second Division did not have to exert much effort.

Finally, the Ministry of Personnel reported the changes of officials in Wannan to Bai Yan for confirmation.

By the time the whole process was completed, night had fallen.

Huai'an didn't keep the people from the prefecture for a meal, but prepared a large banquet to entertain Jiang Yuzhi and Bai Yan. No extra food was prepared for Chichi, who was clinging to Jiang Yuzhi, showing no desire to eat.

Huai'an saw this and didn't know whether to be happy or worried. "Miss Jiang, you should eat well."

Jiang Yuzhi wasn't hungry either, and was focused on figuring out whether the food was truly a glutton. "Your Highness need not worry."

Only Bai Yan and Huai An were eating at the table.

Bai Yan: "Huai'an, use less. If you get any fatter, you won't live long."

Huai'an paused with his chopsticks, then smiled wryly, "I have a good appetite, so I can't help but eat more. Maybe I'll be able to lose weight slowly once you take it away. Brother Bai looks healthier and healthier."

The last time the two met was on the way to attack Kyoto. At that time, Bai Yan was still panting heavily, especially after the journey, he could only get around in a wheelchair.

When Bai Yan first met Huai An, he was sitting in a wheelchair.

Bai Yan's normal complexion surprised Huai'an greatly.

Bai Yan took a sip of tea and said slowly, "Thanks to Yu Zhi, I'm slowly recovering."

Huai'an: "Oh? Miss Jiang also knows medicine?"

Jiang Yuzhi's body stiffened slightly, but she quickly regained her composure and unconsciously tightened her grip on Chichi's head. "I know a little bit. A Taoist priest should know some Taoist medicine."

Chichi felt her hair tighten and looked up at Jiang Yuzhi in confusion. "Huh?"

Sigh, I don't understand. Why doesn't Di Ting come along? I miss it.

Jiang Yuzhi was half-heartedly trying to fool Huai'an.

...

Di Ting couldn't empty the void, and then another celestial being descended from heaven.

An old acquaintance, Yang Jian, and his beloved dog, Xiaotianquan.

"Speak, what brings Yang Erlang here?" Di Ting squatted in the main seat of the reception room, its tail slapping against the armrest of the wooden chair.

"It's nothing."

"What are you doing here if you have nothing to do!"

"The Jade Emperor was worried and ordered me to come down and take a look."

"Isn't something wrong?"

Sui Gu laughed awkwardly twice. She hadn't really done anything with Fang Xiangshi and was now cowering beside Di Ting.

Yang Jian: "It's nothing to me. Xiaotian wanted to come out and play, so I brought it here. It likes to play with you."

Since there are few of its own kind, the Celestial Dog loves to play with Di Ting, who has transformed into a white dog.

Di Ting asked doubtfully, "Really?"

Yang Jian said frankly, "If you don't believe me, listen to this."

Di Ting actually used his magic power, and after listening, the corner of his mouth couldn't help but twitch.

The Jade Emperor had just sent Sui Gu and Fang Xiangshi down to the mortal realm when he immediately summoned Yang Jian to go with them, to prevent any mishaps.

Unexpectedly, Yang Erlang stayed at his Guanjiangkou for several months until Xiaotianquan wanted to find a playmate, at which point he set off to come.

Besides that, Yang Jian's mind was filled with images of the Celestial Hound, ......

"I have no place for you to stay here." Even so, Di Ting still didn't want to keep Yang Jian; having two little gods at home was enough of a hassle for it.

"I have money."

"I don't need it."

Sui Gu dared not utter a word; they were eating and living at the Jiang residence for free.

"What do you need? Just let me and Xiaotian stay here."

Di Ting chuckled twice, "Ha, then go and kill that one in the sky."

Yang Jian calmly took a sip of tea. "Sure, but I can't guarantee success. Please take good care of Xiaotian for me then."

Damn it, I forgot that this guy's relationship with the Jade Emperor is not as good as my own.

Di Ting cleared his throat. "I'll stay, but you have to agree to three conditions. We'll discuss the specifics later."

Yang Jian: "Okay."

Di Ting: "You're not even going to ask what it is?"

Yang Jian: "There's nothing to ask. You naturally wouldn't mention things I can't do."

Di Ting gritted his teeth and said, "Fine! Go to the backyard and choose a room yourself. Don't look at what you shouldn't see, and don't know what you shouldn't know."

Yang Jian finally smiled with satisfaction. "Thank you, Lord Diting," he said, gently patting Xiaotian's head. "Go on, go play."

Then he strolled to the backyard and chose a house that the Celestial Dog would like.

The Celestial Hound let out a howl and pounced on Di Ting, jumping around in front of it and panting happily with its tongue lolling out.

Howling Celestial Dog: Let's play together! Let's play together! Let's play together!

Di Ting's tail began to wag, and it turned its head away, muttering, "Stupid dog."

Sui Gu and Fang Xiangshi followed closely behind Yang Jian.

As Yang Jian passed by Zhao Pingfeng's house, he did not pause at all.

Sui Gu saw that Zhao Pingfeng's room door was wide open and the windows were not closed.

Zhao Pingfeng has always been like this. Even if he is a living dead and loves cleanliness, he will still have a strange smell. Opening doors and windows for ventilation is a common practice for him, but he will not sit in the sun.

Sui Gu could only pray that Yang Jian hadn't seen Zhao Pingfeng.

Yang Jian certainly couldn't have missed it, but he didn't like meddling in other people's business. His uncle had only asked him to come down and keep an eye on the progress of the two minor gods, and hadn't given any other instructions, so he naturally didn't need to care about anything else.

...

Several days later, Jiang Yuzhi became completely familiar with Chichi and took it with her every day as they traveled around Wannan with Bai Yan. Huai'an couldn't bear to part with Chichi, so she followed them and actually lost a lot of weight, and her waistline became barely visible.

The gold thread on Jiang Yuzhi's bowl also grew longer and longer.

One lap, two laps, three laps...

One night, Huang Daopo came again.

The cotton in the cotton field has been harvested, and Huang Daopo, with a cloth bag hanging from her waist, is picking the cotton.

"You're here, Xiaozhi."

"Mother-in-law."

How much gold thread is there?

Jiang Yuzhi raised her wrist and showed it to Huang Daopo.

"Not bad, not bad. With this many more, we can move on to the next step."

"Next step?"

"Don't worry, Xiao Zhi. Just remember not to let anyone know that you have a loom and a spinning wheel with you, and that boy next to you. When you use these two things, make sure he is by your side."

"Bai Yan?"

"Xiao Zhi is so smart. Don't stay in Wannan any longer. Once this matter is settled, take the poor little thing back to the capital."

"Grandma, is the poor little thing you mentioned Chichi?"

Huang Daopo smiled kindly, "Just as you guessed."

Is it really a gluttonous beast? Then why let it follow you? Is it simply because the Sheji Tu (a mythical map of the land and grain) can curb its hunger?

"Alright, alright, stop thinking nonsense. Once the world is at peace," Huang Daopo pointed to the non-existent sky, "you will get back everything you owe. Go back now."

Before Jiang Yuzhi could say anything more, Huang Daopo had already disappeared from sight.

She sat in the cotton field for a while before returning to the Prince's bedroom in the same way as last time.

Today is the first day of the opening of the Wannan New Market.

As the floodwaters receded, only mud remained in the original waterway for the small boats.

After discussing it with Bai Yan, Xu Ling used the funds approved by the government to repair the river and lay neat stones on it.

This was so that people could set up stalls and sell goods to supplement their household income.

During the flood season, the stalls are set up on small boats, while during the dry season, they are set up on the river.

Bai Yan invited Jiang Yuzhi to go to the market.

The market was bustling with people, and the cries of vendors rose and fell.

"Freshly picked flowers! Madam or Miss, would you like to buy some? They smell wonderful! Hey young lady over there! Come and smell them, they're not expensive!"

"Flower cakes! Flower cakes! Homemade sauce! Sweet but not cloying, crispy and delicious!"

"The cotton is freshly fluffed! Come and take a look! It's cheap! You can use it to spin yarn or make quilts and cotton clothes!"

"..."

It was lively, but Bai Yan wasn't in the mood. The sheep and Huai'an were like leeches, sticking to them tightly.

We've finally managed to have a date with just the two of us, so we always need to add two more.

Chichi and Huai'an were naturally happy, and the little slaves would diligently buy whatever it wanted to eat and feed it to it.

"Young master over there, please buy a bouquet of flowers for the young lady."

Bai Yan gladly accepted and took out some loose silver coins to hand to the flower-selling girl.

"Young master, here's your change."

"No need, your flowers are very good, the rest is a tip."

"Oh! Thank you, young master. I wish you and the young lady a long and happy marriage!"

The young woman did not refuse. She spoke auspicious words, put the loose silver into the small cloth bag at her waist, and then gave Bai Yan a more beautiful bouquet of flowers.

That's great, we earned more today, so Mother won't have to weave cloth day and night anymore.

Bai Yan took the carefully wrapped bouquet and quickly caught up with Jiang Yuzhi, who had somehow walked ahead of him.

Pushing past Huai'an and Chichi, she presented the flowers to the absent-minded Jiang Yuzhi.

A pleasant fragrance wafted from it, and she stopped walking aimlessly. "Just bought it?"

Bai Yan: "Hmm, do you like it?"

Jiang Yuzhi stared intently at Bai Yan's eyes, which were deeper than those in Huang Daopo's illusion.

"It smells delicious, we should go back now."

Bai Yan was a little disappointed, but didn't take it to heart. "We've only gone less than halfway. Are you tired?"

"Thankfully, it's time for us to head back to Kyoto."