Chapter 19 The Bet Eleanor bit her lip; she and Eva both knew…
Why is there a bald patch in Sky Garden?
Eva frowned and pulled back, "Hui..." The spirited horse immediately stopped obediently.
The steps of the Sky Garden spiral upwards, and the outer walls are covered with layers of vines. Generally speaking, no matter how much digging is done inside, it's not noticeable from the outside.
However, someone tied the vines together with ropes and hung them on the rack, making them look like pickled cucumbers drying in the sun.
I can let everything else go, but where is my rose?
Eva's eyes sharpened as she scanned the outermost bushes.
It seems there's no damage? Just as she was starting to feel a little relieved, she noticed the large clumps of mud stuck to the outside.
"Who did this?!" Wang sneered, not expecting an answer from the person behind him, and kicked his horse in the belly, leaping over the gap in the garden.
Whoosh—
While the others tried to take a detour, Wang had already leaped from the hillside and passed through the vines.
Whether it was the skilled imperial guards in front or the sighing ministers behind, they all had to abandon their original plans to climb the mountain, either staying where they were or obediently following along.
Eva controlled the reins, guiding the horse around the lovely roses, then cleaved the mud-covered vines with a single sword stroke.
Rustling, rustling.
As clumps of mud and vines rolled down, she finally saw the little princess blinking in the mud.
Eva was both amused and exasperated, and her raging anger momentarily subsided.
“Lily?” Her emerald eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at Eleanor, who was stuck in the mud, with a scrutinizing gaze.
"Mother!"
The girl emerged from the mud, her hands and feet still embedded in the soft puddles, only her lovely face remained clean and white. Tiny specks of mud clung to the edges of her smiling face like eyeshadow.
"what are you doing here?"
Eva smiled gently, but her hand remained on the hilt of the sword.
Eleanor seemed oblivious, gazing innocently at Eva.
When her mother didn't pull her away or continue to whine, she simply rolled over twice like a small animal, then casually patted her skirt—slapping the mud onto the mud, making a crackling sound.
Wang is still angry... Luckily, I had a backup plan.
Eleanor tilted her head back, deliberately keeping a few steps away from Eva. She opened her arms wide, full of energy, and said, "It's a gift! Does Mother want to see it now?"
Gift?
Eva's thoughts were interrupted. Following Eleanor's suggestion, she thought for a moment: Could it be a birthday present? Her birthday was indeed recently, but it wasn't today.
"I originally intended to give this as a birthday present to my mother."
Eleanor went to the mud and dug with her delicate little hands.
A big lump of mud? Eva's indifferent gaze slowly changed after some of the mud had been removed from the "lump of mud".
No, it was a rose covered in mud.
Perhaps the little princess plant was transplanted into a hole that was too big and too much water was poured in, leaving part of it submerged. Now that the small irrigation ditch has been dug up, the flower inside has been revealed.
This cluster of roses has not yet bloomed, but the buds are already round and lovely. What is especially precious is that its flower shape is not that of an ordinary rose; it is rounder and cuter. If you look closely, the very edge seems to have another color!
Eva couldn't help but loosen her grip on the sword hilt. She nimbly dismounted, grabbed a flower bud, and examined it carefully from head to toe.
How did you grow it?
Hmph~ How else can it be planted? Grafting, of course!
Eleanor chuckled inwardly.
Fortunately, when she instructed Coral to investigate Heidi, she specifically asked about it. She learned that Heidi had prepared a birthday gift for her mother every year when she was a child, which is how she obtained this pot of roses.
It's difficult to build goodwill overnight.
She doesn't have the time to put in the meticulous effort of her past life, so she has to find another way and take some risks.
This pot of roses was prepared by Eleanor in her previous life, despite suffering from a headache.
She vaguely remembered the methods of cutting and grafting, which she used to cultivate a pot of exotic roses that would bring a smile to her mother's face.
Because she didn't understand the specific details of cultivating flowers in her previous life, she asked Coral and her family to help her cultivate it. It took two or three years to successfully grow this two-colored rose—not a true rose, but a hybrid of rose and other flowers, which just looks like a rose.
But that's enough.
Eleanor looked up and, as she wished, saw a glimmer of light in Eva's eyes: this king of Norlana, who was indifferent to everyone, was only irresistibly drawn to interesting and novel things.
“Hey…” Eva smiled and plucked a flower bud, twisting the petals open one by one with her fingers, guessing what the flower would look like when it was in full bloom.
After she plucked the petals, she tossed the flower stem aside, her smile now radiating a touch of carefree nonchalance.
Eva reached out and ruffled the little princess's muddy hair. "Well done. You dug this up here today, were you waiting for me to come?"
That's a dangerous claim; she can't accept it.
Eleanor tilted her head innocently, then shook it vigorously: "I... I was thinking that lots of things can be grown here!"
She tried to speak like a real child, her words a little slurred but still clear: "Mother, look, I dug up so much—well, actually, not all of it was me—to transplant this flower from the pot here..."
Eleanor "casually" waved her arm, drawing everyone's attention to Andra, who was crouching at the edge of the field.
Andra also showed a shy smile at the right time, as if he really was a poor little guy who had been dragged to plow the fields by a spoiled princess.
When a little princess does something strange on her own, her behavior can easily arouse suspicion.
However, if two people with special identities are doing the same thing seriously at the same time, what becomes attractive is "the two of them" rather than the inherent logic of the matter.
For example, if a person dressed in strange clothes walks down the street, people will be curious about what she is going to do and whether she has mental problems.
But when two people dressed in strange clothes walk straight ahead in a certain direction, others will subconsciously assume that they are going to participate in some kind of activity.
Eleanor wasn't afraid that Eva would reject her request outright; she was afraid that Eva would start to think.
No one can control another person's thoughts. Who knows if the king will choose to kill the princess after careful consideration?
If Eva becomes a variable who "might take action," then all her inferences about the mastermind behind the scenes will have to be re-examined.
During the investigation, strategic mistakes could waste many opportunities to revert to previous positions, which would be too costly.
"Transplanting?" Eva walked around the little clay figure with great interest, then laughed heartily. "Hahaha, you don't need to dig such a big hole for transplanting—tell me, what are you planning to do with this pile of soil?"
Eleanor glanced at Eva's expression out of the corner of her eye; her intuition told her there was no danger. Was she probably being seen as clever, or perhaps just being cunning?
The little princess stuck out her tongue and obediently put her toes together.
She looked around, seemingly trying to find someone to take the blame, but in the end she resigned herself to her fate, lowered her head, and nodded. "Because I thought... if we dug all this up, Mother, you would let me raise birds."
"A little bird?" Even Eva couldn't keep up with her daughter's wild thoughts.
Eleanor explained cheerfully, "Because I want a really big garden, with lots and lots of beautiful flowers, and lots and lots of beautiful birds!"
Eva looked at the smug little princess, chuckled, and shook her head: "No, this is my garden."
If you keep demanding the Sky Garden back, the child will at least get a good beating.
Eleanor wouldn't be so "disobedient." She tilted her little face up and smiled, her eyes crinkling: "I know, that's why I didn't dare to hurt Mother's flowers and avoided them all."
"So that's how it is," Eva thought, recalling the wisteria vines that had been tied up and the roses covered with mud cakes.
This child truly cares about protecting her property and has put it into action.
How about giving her some gold or jewels?
Eva was about to speak when she saw Eleanor open her arms—wanting a hug—but the good girl noticed the mud on her clothes and quickly lowered her arms.
The little princess nervously clenched her fingers and whispered, "Then, could we just carve out a small piece of land on the back hill?"
She loosened her skirt with her right hand and made a very small circle: "I can raise birds and grow flowers on the mountain."
The courtiers listening on the hillside couldn't help but smile; the little princess was just too adorable.
They awaited Eva's response, ready to playfully tease the king when he agreed, hoping to improve his mood.
"Ha." Eva laughed, bending down to tap the little princess's forehead. "This request isn't unreasonable."
"Hehe~" Eleanor chuckled slyly, lowering her head to hide her excitement.
The key point isn't the size of the land behind the mountain! With the king's approval, she can hire craftsmen under the guise of raising chickens and flowers, and "request" assistance from some of the instructors. Then...
"But I rejected it."
"Thanks... eh?"
Eva looked down at the little princess, a dangerous glint of intoxication in her eyes.
"Do you think I'll definitely agree? Hmm? Just a small request."
"......"
The little princess was on the verge of tears. She pitifully clutched her golden pendant and said in a trembling voice, "I'm sorry, I just... really wanted to raise a little bird... Waaah."
Even her cries were soft and weak, not sharp enough to pierce the eardrums.
Seeing the princess crying so pitifully, some ministers couldn't sit still: mainly the family members of the princess's guards.
They were hesitant to offer advice, but they let out soft sighs, as if to say, "Never mind, never mind."
"Okay, I was just kidding~" Eva chuckled, pinned the rose to her chest, and picked up Eleanor with one arm to comfort her.
"That, that chicken farm~?" The little princess wiped away her tears and smiled through them.
A garden? Of course.
Eva's expression was cheerful, as if she was about to make that promise any second.
But looking into Eleanor's shining eyes, she said gently, "The rose is a birthday present. What will you give in exchange for the manor?"
Manor? I didn't say manor...
Eleanor bit her lip; she and Eva both knew the manor wasn't the point.
She tentatively asked, "May I give you a better gift on your birthday?"
“No.” Wang calmly refused, but her drunkenness gave her a completely new idea.
She suddenly picked up the little princess and put her on the horse, asking with a smile, "Want to make a bet with me?"
A note from the author:
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Sincerity or pretense? Sensitive people can always easily tell. [Eleanor with upright ears and a rabbit head] will also slowly discover this.
Because I was updating consecutively before, this week's updates will be on Thursday night and Sunday morning to try and get on more of the rankings. But don't worry~ If all goes well, it will be available for purchase next week, with three chapters released on that day. After that, I'll maintain a daily update schedule unless I have to take a break~ [Applause]
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