Chapter 28 Cat Slave's Attendant
In the end, Xiao Qing still brought Ying Ying back to Chengde Palace.
Zhao Youchen's face was no better than a black pot. So when Ying Ying carefully carried the three kittens and followed behind with some difficulty, he was irritated.
He was especially annoyed when the young emperor would sometimes stop and look back, seemingly looking at Yingying's legs, and would deliberately slow down his pace.
Things developed too fast. From Ying Ying appearing in the garden, to His Majesty discovering a few kittens, to Ying Ying volunteering to be a palace attendant... and what's even more unbelievable is that not long ago, he actually ate "Qingxin" in order to steal food for these kittens.
How did things get to this point?
Zhao Youchen felt he had a whole host of reasons to oppose Yingying being taken back by the young emperor—including the young emperor's agreement to let Yingying keep these cats of unknown origin in Chengde Palace.
However, he had no doubt that if he hadn't been there, and if there weren't so many people watching, His Majesty would have held the cat in his arms himself.
When His Majesty was still the Crown Prince, we never heard of him liking small animals like cats or dogs.
Or was it because he wasn't in the palace at that time and didn't know His Majesty well?
Zhao Youchen had already figured out how to write a letter to the Grand Tutor.
However, the Grand Tutor's journey to the Northern Capital was fraught with peril, and he was already exhausted. Now, he was also burdened with the affairs of the Nanhua Palace here...
Zhao Youchen glanced at His Majesty, whose steps were light and quick, as if he wanted to return to Chengde Palace as soon as possible, and sighed inwardly.
Is it because they're young, or are they just playful?
Upon returning to Chengde Palace, Xiao Qing ordered someone to bring some warmed goat milk. He personally tested the temperature with his hand, as if he wanted to feed the kitten himself.
However, after glancing at Zhao Youchen standing beside her, she still considered her image and left these matters to Ying Ying.
Since Yingying revealed her feelings in the garden, she has been unusually quiet.
Now that they've arrived at Chengde Palace, he stands silently to the side. If Xiao Qing doesn't call him, he seems capable of maintaining that posture for an entire day.
Yingying is clearly an expert at taking care of kittens.
He poured half of the milk from the small bowl into another empty bowl, then held the half-bowl of milk close to the kitten.
The kittens smelled the milk, and their eyes widened even more. Their furry little paws excitedly tried to hold down the small bowl, and then they scrambled to bury their heads in it to lick the sweet milk.
The more Xiao Qing looked at them, the cuter they seemed, and the more she liked them; it felt like her heart was being scratched by their claws.
Zhao Youchen felt he couldn't watch any longer.
"Your Majesty?" he whispered to Xiao Qing.
We haven't gotten to the important stuff yet.
Xiao Qing then remembered the promise she had made to Zhao Youchen before bringing Ying Ying back.
After the kittens had eaten and drunk their fill, they snuggled together, rubbed their fluffy little heads against each other, and then fell into a deep sleep.
Xiao Qing ordered someone to carry the kittens to the warm pavilion next door, and Ying Ying obediently knelt down.
Xiao Qing was actually quite uncomfortable seeing people kneeling in front of her.
If this happened in modern times, it would shorten one's lifespan.
But things are different now.
She recalled the scene not long ago when the Grand Tutor was still in Nanhua. After the Southern Capital was established and the change of era name was completed, the Grand Tutor led her to stand on the high steps of the Hall of Diligent Governance and loudly announced that the Great Xiao Dynasty had established its capital in Nanhua and adopted Dingyuan as its era name. At that time, hundreds of officials below shouted "Long live the Emperor!" and then knelt down to pay their respects.
Xiao Qing still remembers that feeling, although she still can't describe it clearly.
That's a feeling you can't get no matter how many TV dramas you watch.
It's so real it sends chills down your spine.
Unbeknownst to me, so much time has passed since she found liberation in that world. But that's life; sometimes you can never guess what kind of beginning will follow the end.
Like her, she has lived in this world she never imagined for so long.
He was still acting as an emperor—well, more accurately, as a pretender emperor.
Big head.
Xiao Qing came to her senses. "I didn't have time to ask earlier," because she had to feed the cats, otherwise she would be sad if another one starved to death. "Now you can tell me in detail why you took 'Qingxin'?"
Although calming the mind is a common medicine in the palace, it's not something that just anyone can get.
Yingying agreed and explained the whole story in great detail.
This is such a coincidence that it couldn't be more so.
First, Yingying encounters a kitten in the palace that has been abandoned by someone.
Keeping such small animals as pets is forbidden in the palace. Moreover, there is only His Majesty the Emperor in Nanhua Palace now; there are no other concubines or other mistresses.
His Majesty the Emperor could not possibly keep a cat. The other people in the palace were all servants, so how could they possibly keep a cat without permission?
Therefore, it is possible for cats to be abandoned.
When Ying Ying found them, two of them were already starving and cold, on the verge of death. He wrapped the remaining three in his clothes and took them back to the Imperial Guard's headquarters.
But cats are not allowed in the palace, and they are not allowed in the Imperial Guard either.
Helpless, Yingying had no choice but to secretly hide the kittens in the garden and find food for them herself.
Although the Imperial Guards' meals were decent, the food was simply unsuitable for a newborn kitten.
So Yingying had no choice but to go elsewhere to find food.
He knew that kittens this young needed to eat liquid food, preferably milk. He figured it would be easier to find such food outside the palace.
But this is the imperial palace.
There are no proper masters in the palace other than His Majesty the Emperor, so if he wants liquid food, he can just scoop up a few bowls of rice soup, but if he wants milk, he can only go to the Imperial Kitchen.
Yingying fed the cats rice water for two days, but she couldn't resist the urge to find them some more nutritious food.
That's why he appeared in the imperial kitchen. After observing for a while, he actually found an opportunity to sneak in and steal some milk.
Once it happens, it will happen again.
Although Yingying knew that stealing was wrong, the three kittens were also living beings.
He grew up in the mountains and fields, and in such circumstances, he displayed a different set of values from ordinary palace servants.
His thinking was simple: saving the cat was more important.
This brought him trouble.
You think you can steal once, steal twice, and then steal a third time?
The head chef of the imperial kitchen was a meticulous person, and he caught the thief red-handed.
Not only did he arrest the person, he also discovered that Ying Ying had never taken "Qingxin".
Yingying was thirteen years old at the time, still a teenager, so it was impossible for him to be working in the court. Therefore, the only possibility was that he was a palace servant.
The fact that the palace servants did not take "Qingxin" was a very serious matter.
The head chef, who was busy in the kitchen all day, had no idea that Ying Ying was someone Zhao Youchen had brought back. He was furious at Ying Ying's theft, so he ordered his men to beat him up, injuring his legs, and then personally gave him medicine before driving him out with sticks.
Xiao Qing nodded, mentally approving of his decision.
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