Chapter 5 Feeding the Carp in the Rain "If Zhuozhuo gets hurt, that would be..."
"If you were to injure Zhuozhuo, that would be a terrible sin!"
"Why don't we carry this water vat away with us?"
"Then we need to scoop out some water."
...
A group of servants whispered around her porcelain jar and eventually reached a consensus.
Jiang Zhuoying then saw someone using a gourd ladle to scoop water out of her vat.
"Gurgle gurgle gurgle!"
She hid under the water plants and blew bubbles at these people.
She is the Second Prince's carp!
What exactly do these people want to do?
...
Jiang Zhuoying hid under the water plants, wishing she could squeeze her whole body into the crevice of the sinking stone.
She felt uneasy and somewhat anxious.
Now she is at the mercy of others, like a fish on a chopping board.
But she soon realized that these people did not want to hurt her; they were just circling the porcelain jar, trying to take it away with them.
This must have been ordered by the Second Prince, but where is she to be sent?
Jiang Zhuoying was a little anxious; she didn't want to leave the room.
Here she can hear the latest news about her mother's cause of death. If she leaves here, won't she have difficulty accessing this information in the future?
Jiang Zhuoying paced anxiously around the vat, but no matter how anxious she was, she couldn't change the fact that she was going to be sent away.
She looked up at the changing ceiling, from indoors to outdoors, from the roof to the sky...
She silently estimated the distance, and thankfully, the clouds above her head stopped moving not long afterward.
"We've finally arrived. Let's put Zhuozhuo back quickly!"
The shrill voice clearly belonged to the eunuch standing beside the man.
Put it back?
Jiang Zhuoying sensed something was wrong. She jumped up and down inside the porcelain jar, only to crash back onto the surface.
She only went through it a few times, just trying it out, and didn't know if the eunuch could understand it.
She doesn't want to "go back"!
She just wanted to stay in this porcelain jar!
"Hey, look how impatient Zhuozhuo is! Hurry up, hurry up!"
Jiang Zhuoying: "..."
The red carp fell back into the water with a 'plop' and stopped jumping up.
To this day, Jiang Zhuoying still doesn't understand why she turned into a red carp.
Even a raccoon dog or a parrot would be fine!
Having become a red carp, she couldn't make a sound at all, only able to 'gurgle' and blow bubbles.
Furthermore, their activity range is extremely limited, confined to areas with water...
In a state of utter despair, she drifted downstream and plunged into the deeper pool with a "plop."
Chu Yixin clapped her hands with a smile, and someone immediately brought over a tray. On the tray were the luminous pearl and duck that once belonged to her.
Jiang Zhuoying watched as the eunuch in front of her dumped all the items from the tray into the pool.
"Zhuozhuo should be happy this time." Chu Yixin nodded in satisfaction.
He turned to the person beside him and instructed, "Go and gather more items that Zhuozhuo likes. Anything shiny and that can float in water will do, but they have to be big enough that Zhuozhuo can't swallow them..."
The eunuch's soft voice lingered in Jiang Zhuoying's ears as she looked up to observe her surroundings.
This should be in the pond in the backyard. In front of her is the main house, and although the back is blocked by artificial hills and boulders, a row of rear buildings can still be vaguely seen.
The pool was quite spacious for her size, with bamboo and trees along its banks, providing shade in the summer. It must have taken a lot of thought to build it.
Jiang Zhuoying swam around casually for a bit, then submerged back underwater...
The bottom of the pool was sparkling, and she finally understood why the eunuch had said those words.
In addition to the usual pebbles and bricks, the bottom of the pool is also inlaid with several luminous pearls and various colored glass pearls.
Jiang Zhuoying was astonished; these things were no less valuable than the treasures in her makeup box.
The Second Prince was certainly not stingy when it came to this scarlet carp, at least in terms of material possessions.
“The manager of Yuanbaolou came to report a few days ago that the shop has received another batch of jade from beyond the Great Wall. Go and fetch it, and let Zhuozhuo choose some first.”
Jiang Zhuoying: "!"
What did she hear?
"Yes, sir, I'll go right away."
Yuanbaolou is an extremely famous jewelry shop in Luojing City. She used to be a regular customer of Yuanbaolou. The person behind it was actually the Second Prince.
Jiang Zhuoying suddenly felt something was wrong. She had been here for several days, and both the decoration of the house and the clothes of the Second Prince, the master, were extremely low-key and inconspicuous.
Is the Second Prince deliberately hiding his true abilities, given his deep scheming?
The rumors she had heard before were that the second prince was incompetent, mediocre, and not favored by the emperor.
Could such an incompetent second prince really have managed to run the Yuanbao Tower, which was so popular in Luoyang?
Not long after Chu Yixin and her men left, a light drizzle began to fall.
Jiang Zhuoying looked around and noticed that a pavilion had been specially built on the surface of the pond. Judging by its size, could it be for her to shelter from the rain?
Jiang Zhuoying didn't hesitate any longer and wagged her tail to seek shelter from the rain...
She had just swum to the pavilion when a tall figure appeared at the end of the stone path not far away.
It's the Second Prince, yet he's not holding an umbrella?
The man, carrying a food box in one hand, walked towards her in the light, misty rain.
Qi Fan was wearing an ivory-white long robe with a matching gauze wide-sleeved overcoat, which made him appear even more ethereal in the rain.
Jiang Zhuoying was stunned. This second prince was really too strange, coming to feed her in the rain.
Her guess was right. The man stopped by the pool, leaned down and sat down, staring at her expressionlessly, tapping the food box with his fingertips.
The wooden food box lid made a 'thump-thump' sound.
"Come here." His voice was slightly muffled by the sound of rain, but it was still clear.
The small pavilion where Jiang Zhuoying was sheltering from the rain was located right on the shore.
She hadn't eaten breakfast and was feeling a bit hungry. Since this man was so sincere, she didn't hesitate for long and slowly swam to him.
A slight smile finally appeared in the man's eyes as he reached out and opened the food box.
Jiang Zhuoying's gaze then shifted to his hands; his palms were broad and thick, with distinct knuckles.
At first glance, one would think that it's only natural for this person to have such a face and such hands.
But then, something caught her eye, and her gaze suddenly sharpened...
The thick calluses on the second prince's palms were clearly distinct from the back of his hands, making them almost seem like they belonged to different people.
The man slowly covered the porcelain spoon with the lid of the food box to ensure that the food inside the spoon would not get wet before Jiang Zhuoying put it in her mouth.
A fiery red carp leaned against the pond wall, swallowing the food that was fed to it bit by bit...
Jiang Zhuoying was full. She turned and plunged into the water, then wagged her tail at Qi Fan as if to thank him.
Although it was a bit strange for someone to bring her food in the rain, she benefited from it and should be thanked.
Seeing her leave the shore, Qi Fan didn't say anything, but simply closed the food box again and placed it on the shore.
The man stood up. The rain had lessened a bit, but he was still soaked to the bone. The soft, light-colored fabric clung to his body, making him appear even taller and more imposing.
Jiang Zhuoying quietly sank into the water, leaving only her eyes above the surface. Her face felt hot...
Do not look at what is improper! Do not look at what is improper!
How could she do this?!
The man on the shore ignored her every move. His hands, glistening with water droplets, went to her waist and began to untie the ties of her blouse.
Jiang Zhuoying: "!!!"
What are we supposed to do?
The scarlet carp in the pond sank to the surface with a "whoosh," followed by a series of bubbles rising to the surface.
Qi Fan slightly raised his eyes, glanced at the spot where the little fat carp had disappeared, and then turned back to continue the action he had been taking.
Jiang Zhuoying nestled at the bottom of the water, gazing towards the shore.
Good heavens, this second prince has truly gone mad!
I wonder what triggered this? Could it be that he's been demoted again?
Jiang Zhuoying watched his retreating figure and noticed that he had taken off his blouse and stepped into another pond next to hers.
She had never noticed before that there was another pond next to the fish pond she was in.
A fiery red carp slowly emerged from the water. Jiang Zhuoying observed it closely and noticed that wisps of smoke seemed to rise around the man.
Is this a hot spring?
While getting soaked in the rain, the Second Prince was truly—
Bizarre and incomprehensible.
The man, who had his back to Jiang Zhuoying, suddenly turned around and caught the little fat carp poking its head out of the pool.
Jiang Zhuoying: "!"
She was so frightened that she sank into the water. What was wrong with the second prince?
Could it be that it has eyes growing on the back of its head?
However, she had just noticed that there was a long scar on the man's well-defined abdomen.
The scar, about the thickness of a finger, stretched almost across the entire abdomen; it was quite frightening at first glance.
I've never heard of the Second Prince ever leading troops into battle.
Looking across the entire Rong Kingdom, who would dare to assassinate a prince?
Jiang Zhuoying took shelter in the rain-sheltered pavilion until the rain stopped.
She didn't wait for the man to leave; instead, she was greeted by Chu Yixin once again.
He held a tray in both hands, piled high with clothes he had brought for his master to change into.
Jiang Zhuoying glanced at it listlessly and found that it was bluish-gray and still had no embroidery pattern.
"Sir, lunch is ready. Where would you like to dine?"
After a few breaths, Jiang Zhuoying heard a deep voice from behind her: "Place it in the pavilion."
"yes."
...
Before long, two more servants arrived in the backyard with food boxes.
These were all trivial matters, and Jiang Zhuoying had no interest in them.
The rain had stopped, and she had just arrived in the new environment. She turned around and began to explore the fishpond, paddling with her pectoral fins.
...
"Your Highness, please forgive us! Your Highness, please forgive us! We did not mean it! We simply do not know why there was a spicy flavor in this dish!"
What happened?
Jiang Zhuoying emerged from the crack in the artificial hill. "It's just a little spicy, isn't it?"
She loves spicy food!
Why are these servants so terrified?
Or is it that the Second Prince mistreated his servants?
But the servants she had seen earlier did not seem to be mistreated.
"Everyone, go down and let Yu Ji investigate before coming back."
These words were spoken by Qi Fan, and apart from the beads of sweat that quietly seeped out from his temples, his expression showed no obvious abnormality.
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