After lunch, the three of them changed into cotton jackets and trousers and headed to the farmland to begin building the wall. The Eighth Prince and Sheng Shu, who diligently practiced martial arts, toiled silently, feeling no discomfort. Yu Jiaxing, who rarely practiced horse stance, had blisters on his delicate hands before he'd even dug a single trough with his hoe.
Feeling the discomfort in his hand, Yu Jiaxing raised his hand and looked at it. He dropped the hoe and ran to Sheng Shu to show his hand. He asked anxiously, "Zhongqi, look, how hard I work."
Seeing Sheng Shu look up, then lower her head and continue working, Yu Jiaxing chased after Sheng Shu and asked, "Did you see that?"
Sheng Shu said calmly without even turning her head: "I see, you must have worked so hard. Eat an extra bowl of rice tonight."
Yu Jiaxing curled his lips and said, "I need to eat more!" Seeing that Sheng Shu had no time to pay attention to him, Yu Jiaxing looked at the Eighth Prince who was also working with his head down next to him, and went back to his original place in a sullen manner.
Yu Jiaxing really ate an extra bowl of rice at night, drank some digestive tea and went back to his room to sleep.
At three in the morning, Sheng Shu, sleeping in bed, suddenly felt a chill all over his body and unconsciously wrapped himself in the quilt. It wasn't until a pair of small hands grabbed him that he woke up and opened his eyes. Seeing the pale hand holding his, Sheng Shu suppressed his suspicion and looked at the person who reached out. It wouldn't have been a big deal if he hadn't looked, but once he did, he was truly shocked.
The child with black hair draped over his face, his face invisible, was coughing, cough cough cough...
Shaking the child's hand away, Sheng Shu feigned composure and scolded, "Whoever you are from, leave immediately, or I will be ruthless."
As soon as he finished speaking, the coughing child stopped crying and let out a sinister laugh. Sheng Shu picked up a pillow from the bed and threw it at him. The child staggered, leaning sideways, revealing a pair of dark eyes. Sheng Shu jumped up, stepped forward, and quickly restrained the child. He picked up a towel from the washstand and tied the child's hands.
Looking at the child on the ground with her face tied up and her hair draped, Sheng Shu put on her clothes and went over to her, using the window pole to push her hair back. A childish, dark, thin face was revealed beneath the black hair, making her look like a girl. Sheng Shu put down the pole and asked, "Who are you? Who sent you?"
The child on the ground stared blankly ahead, as if he didn't hear Sheng Shu's voice. Sheng Shu stepped forward and kicked him lightly before repeating the question.
At this moment, the temperature in the room seemed to drop even lower. A gust of wind blew the window open, and the candlelight in the room was extinguished. Sheng Shu was about to go forward to close the window when the child on the ground made a strange creaking sound.
In the dim moonlight, Sheng Shu stared blankly at the twisted child in front of him. The child on the ground looked like a puppet, with its limbs extremely twisted and its head almost turned behind it. Its dark eyes stared at Sheng Shu, and the corners of its mouth raised in a strange arc.
Just as Sheng Shu was about to faint, the door outside was thrown open and the Eighth Prince rushed in with his guards. Seeing the knife-wielding guards, the child, whose head had already turned to look behind her, suddenly let out a startled laugh. Then, her body slumped to the ground, seemingly returning to normal.
The Eighth Prince stepped forward to inquire about Sheng Shu's condition: "How is it?"
Seeing the person coming in, Sheng Shu finally relaxed. He leaned on the corner of the table and said to the prince, "Your Highness, I'm fine. It's just that my hands and feet are really not working. I'll pay my respects to you when I have time."
Sheathing his knife, the Eighth Prince nodded. He then turned to his guards and ordered, "Take them away and interrogate them thoroughly." The eight guards knelt and accepted the order, quickly disappearing into the room.
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