Chapter 275 The Queen Mother's Cat
Over at Shouxin Hall, things were going very smoothly just as Bai Qianqian had planned.
Bai Qianqian looked at the fat beetle flower wrapped in a cloth bag and carefully asked Ziyue to confirm, "Is it sure it won't chase people?"
She had no intention of hurting herself just to get the Queen Mother to treat her differently.
Zi Yue just smiled when she heard this, "Don't worry, madam. This cat is very docile. There are also nephrites in the bag, so it doesn't care about others."
As if to increase the credibility of her words, Zi Yue carefully lifted the cloth bag and touched the cat's head. She saw the fat cat humming comfortably in its throat and let her touch it.
Bai Qianqian was relieved then, and the two of them took away the cloth bag in a deserted place. Bai Qianqian personally carried the cat and walked towards Shouxin Hall. When she reached the door, she unexpectedly bumped into Si Linglong.
Si Linglong seemed to have forgotten the unpleasantness they had yesterday. She bowed to Bai Qianqian and looked at the cat in her arms, pretending to be oblivious.
"Hey, isn't this the Queen Mother's cat? Why is Concubine Lian holding it?"
Bai Qianqian ignored her, so Ziyue explained, "The Queen Mother's cat ran to the back hill, and Your Majesty happened to see it, so she specially sent it back to Your Majesty."
"That's a coincidence." Si Linglong said as she sniffed forward deliberately, "Hmm? Why do I seem to smell the scent of hay?"
Hearing her sudden words, Bai Qianqian subconsciously took a step back and almost bumped into Shu Hong who followed in from behind. Seeing this, Zi Yue hurriedly protected on one side, skillfully separating her own mother from Si Linglong and the others. She was also worried that she would smell the smell of mustard, so she smiled and explained,
"This cat ran to the back hill and rolled around. Maybe it got the smell of some dry mountain grass."
"Oh." Si Linglong responded, not knowing whether to believe it or not. She glanced at Bai Qianqian's skirt and said, "No wonder, the Queen's skirt is stained with dirt. If you don't wipe it off quickly, it will be bad to offend the Queen Mother later."
In the end, he didn't care about Bai Qianqian and led his people inside. The nanny who came had already seen Fuhua in Bai Qianqian's arms, so she naturally invited the two of them into the house and asked someone to invite the empress dowager over.
After hearing what Si Linglong said, Bai Qianqian also found that there seemed to be some mud on the hem of her skirt, and she frowned immediately. Zi Yue saw this and hurriedly squatted down, took a handkerchief to wipe it for her. When she saw that it was not clean, she dipped the handkerchief in some tea and continued to wipe it.
When she wiped it, she felt a foul smell suddenly spreading from Bai Qianqian's skirt. She subconsciously covered her nose and leaned back.
Bai Qianqian was a little confused. She couldn't see the hem of her skirt clearly because she was sitting, so she bent over and pulled it up a little. With just this movement, she could smell the foul odor coming from the hem of her skirt.
Before she could open her mouth, the docile cat in her arms was apparently stimulated even more by the smell. With a sharp meow, the cat suddenly jumped onto her legs.
"ah!"
Bai Qianqian was startled by the sudden attack of the tabby cat. Just as she was about to kick the cat away, she heard Si Linglong, who was sitting opposite her, suddenly shout,
"Lady Concubine Lian, this is the Queen Mother's cat! Don't kick it!"
Bai Qianqian paused in her movements after hearing her shout, but the cat obviously didn't care whether she stopped or not, and raised its claws to touch the hem of Bai Qianqian's skirt.
"Ah!" Bai Qianqian only felt pain in her leg. Even though she knew in her heart that she couldn't kick the cat, her feet kicked the cat away reflexively.
When the Queen Mother came over, she saw Concubine Lian kicking the cat away. The cat let out a sharp meow and suddenly jumped into the back of the main hall.
This scene caused the faces of the palace maids serving the Queen Mother to change. The Queen Mother's face darkened, and her sharp eyes shot towards Bai Qianqian, and she shouted angrily,
"Princess Lian! You are so brave!!"
Before Bai Qianqian had time to check the condition of her calf, she was shaken by the Queen Mother's deep shout. Her legs went limp, and she knelt softly on the ground, enduring the pain in her calf. She met the Queen Mother's cold, angry and sharp eyes and almost cried.
"M-Mother..."