Chapter 65 Still Couldn't Protect the Portrait
The two Tibetan mastiffs, growling softly, silently sniffed the air as they approached the child.
Xie Mianmian pursed her lips tightly and tiptoed along the grass in another direction.
She finally understood why she hadn't seen any patrolling guards in the courtyard. It turned out that the Third Prince kept two vicious dogs to guard the palace!
It's unclear whether there are only these two, or if they've raised a whole bunch.
Moreover, this Tibetan Mastiff wasn't playing hide-and-seek with her; if she got caught, she'd probably be eaten.
How ruthless! Xie Mianmian thought to herself as she crawled towards another courtyard without stopping.
There was no one in the courtyard, and no Tibetan mastiffs were seen.
Xie Mianmian relaxed and peered through a window. It seemed to be a study, but no one was inside.
It seemed this wasn't the place he was looking for, and the child was about to leave.
The voice came again, "Oh my, little mouse, you dare to come here."
"Don't go, the master doesn't allow us into the study." The voice sounded somewhat fearful.
"That smell seems to be over there, let's go!"
Hearing the Tibetan Mastiff approaching her, Xie Mianmian quickly climbed onto the windowsill and crawled inside.
The child carefully examined the study, which was decorated in a gaudy manner, with bookshelves filled with expensive vases.
"This is the Third Prince's study. It's really ugly," the child exclaimed.
Xie Mianmian walked to the desk and found a letter in the center of the table.
The child curiously unfolded it and took a look.
Frowning, I realized I couldn't recognize all the characters and couldn't understand them.
She only understood the characters for "thank you" and "boat" on the screen.
Oh dear, this letter is strange. Xie Mianmian casually put the letter into her bosom.
At this point, the Tibetan Mastiff did not give up searching for the child.
Xie Mianmian heard them say, "I'll stay here. You go wait outside the door. When the person comes out, bite Wushe, hehe."
"What about the side windows?"
“That leads to the front hall, where there are many people; the thief certainly wouldn’t dare go there.”
The child's eyes lit up immediately; he had found his way to the front hall.
Xie Mianmian huffed and puffed as she climbed up to the side window, then jumped down and landed in the soft grass.
The children were still running through the bushes, and the front hall seemed to be bustling with people.
But the palace servants, hurrying along, did not notice that in the bushes at their feet, a small figure was busily pupaing.
It's actually quite conspicuous; just bend down slightly, and you can see a child in a pink dress standing out through the sparse branches under the green leaves.
But nobody cared.
Xie Mianmian walked and stopped, stumbling and crawling, until she found her destination—the room where the wedding supplies were stored.
There was no one inside, so the child slipped through the crack in the door.
Upon entering the inner room, two exquisite and elegant portraits come into view.
These are portraits of the emperor and empress.
My second sister told me that on the day of the prince's wedding, when the prince and the princess were to bow to each other, they had to perform the ritual of kneeling twice and kowtowing six times, and they had to bow to heaven and earth, as well as to the portraits of the emperor and empress.
These two portraits are much larger than ordinary paintings, about the height of a person, and are painted with meticulous detail.
Uncle Huang looks so fierce in the drawing! The child is looking up. How could Uncle Huang look like that? He's always smiling.
Xie Mianmian scratched her head, indicating her confusion.
"Squeak." That was the sound of the door opening; someone had come in.
The child looked around.
I found a pile of clothes in the corner, with different red fabrics piled up haphazardly, including half-finished wedding dresses and various fabrics of different sizes.
Xie Mianmian quickly crawled inside, pulling her clothes to cover herself completely.
"Clatter, clatter." The person seemed to have taken the item and then left.
Xie Mianmian struggled to emerge from the pile of clothes.
It seems that person wasn't there to damage the portraits of the Emperor and Empress. Who could it be?
The child lay sprawled among the pile of clothes, his eyes fixed intently on the portrait.
She'll keep watch here, seeing who dares to cause trouble!
For a long while, the child's eyes didn't blink at all; he was extremely focused, and tears slowly welled up in his eyes.
Oh dear, the child squinted for a moment, then quickly opened his eyes. Luckily, the portrait was unharmed.
Just lying there, with her chin resting on her arm, feeling the soft, comfortable fabric beneath her, Xie Mianmian felt a wave of drowsiness wash over her.
Sunlight streamed through the gauze window, casting a soft, warm orange glow.
Feeling the warmth of the sunlight on his body, the child turned over and lay on his back, not forgetting to pull over a piece of cloth and carefully cover himself up.
Okay, that feels good. It's so soft beneath me, and the child is gently inhaling the scent of sunshine.
With her eyes closed, the child's ears were listening intently; she would be the first to notice if anyone came in.
Gradually, the early-rising child fell into a deep sleep, lost consciousness, and drifted off to sleep.
After an unknown amount of time, Xie Mianmian suddenly woke up.
Huh? Who am I? Where am I?
It wasn't until the child saw the majestic portraits of the emperor and empress that he remembered, though his eyes, still slightly unfocused from just waking up, stared blankly at the portraits.
Sunlight gradually falls on the portrait, and the child can see that the dust in the air is gently drifting.
As I stared, several orange-red flowers suddenly bloomed on the emperor's portrait and quickly spread outwards.
Xie Mianmian stared blankly, still not having reacted.
"Oh no!" The portrait has caught fire!
The child tumbled down from the pile of clothes, ran to the portrait, picked up a piece of cloth, and frantically patted the fire on it.
The effort was in vain; the fire spread extremely quickly, and in just a few breaths, the portrait was about to be burned to ashes.
Xie Mianmian covered her mouth in alarm. She had been watching the whole time and hadn't noticed anyone coming in.
Even though she had just dozed off for a while, the portrait was still perfectly fine when she opened her eyes!
How could the portrait have spontaneously combusted without anyone setting it on fire?
Then the child noticed that the overall frame of the portrait had not been burned, and some fragments remained. The hole burned through in the middle seemed to be able to form a pattern.
Xie Mianmian frowned, looking at him with suspicion, tilting her head to the left and then to the right.
It looks familiar, like a character?
The child took a few steps back and then squinted intently.
Oh dear, the portrait was burned into the character "谢" (thank you)!
Oh no, oh no! Xie Mianmian paced back and forth rapidly.
Not only did the emperor's portrait inexplicably spontaneously combust, but it also burned into the character "谢" (meaning "thank you").
But how can this be explained? It's too coincidental. Uncle Huang will definitely be angry. Besides, the painting is burned. How can the Third Prince and the others pay their respects now?
Xie Mianmian was so anxious that she paced back and forth, with only one thought in her mind: she couldn't let anyone discover the painting.
So the child stood on the wooden table, frantically reaching for the portrait, and with a mighty effort...
"Thud." The portrait fell to the ground.
The child was so anxious that all he could hear was the sound of his own heart pounding in his ears, as if it was about to jump out of his throat.
She didn't hear the door creak open and someone step in.
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