"Squeak—"
On summer nights, the trees are filled with the chirping of cicadas.
"Kitties~, why do you think they keep meowing?"
After half a month, Xiao Xi'er has almost recovered. And after Xiao Xi'er cried to Sha Ting about not having a mother, their relationship has gradually improved.
If Sha Ting accompanied Xiao Xi'er before out of respect for Qin Jue, now Sha Ting is accompanying Xiao Xi'er voluntarily.
Every morning when Xiao Xi'er wakes up, Sha Ting would run to her side for breakfast. Now, the two of them, human and tiger, are inseparable.
"Kitty?"
(Probably because they are courting.)
What is courtship?
After courtship, you can have a baby.
"Just like my father and mother gave birth to me?"
Xiao Xi looked at the cicadas chirping in the bushes, then touched her chin and said earnestly...
"You guys must have lots and lots of babies! Then they can play with me!"
"Chirp chirp chirp—" (Okay, little princess, you'll have to watch our cicada babies have babies!)
"Uh-huh"
Xiao Xi walked over to Sha Ting, tugged at the fur on Sha Ting's leg, and Sha Ting lay down. Xiao Xi then climbed onto it.
"Kitty~ Look, it's a firefly!"
Xiao Xi patted Sha Ting's head, and Sha Ting ran to where there were fireflies.
You guys are so beautiful!
The fireflies looked at each other, then at Xiaoxi'er.
You are cute too.
"whee"
"Could you come back with me? I want my father to meet you."
Fireflies flew around Xiaoxi'er, and she was completely surrounded by them.
Xiao Xi patted Sha Ting's head, put one hand on her hip, and pointed forward with the other.
"Kitties! We're heading to the Hall of Mental Cultivation!"
Shating ran in the opposite direction from Xiaoxi'er, so fast that the palace servants thought he was a gust of wind.
Some of the palace servants were quite frightened.
Everyone's talking about ghosts, saying there's a group of glowing ghosts, flashing on and off, carrying two blue and green lanterns about the size of a baby's fist.
And it was very fast, passing by like a gust of wind, and there were even children's voices.
When Qin Jue learned of this rumor, he immediately sealed it off, and anyone who dared to speak out against it would be punished with a cane.
——————
Liuyun Pavilion
Yang Jiaojiao walked to the palace gate and had Cuiyun take the bags containing writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones from Qin Jingmu and Qin Jingtai.
"Jingtai, when will you bring the little princess back?"
Yang Jiaojiao saw Qin Jingmu and Qin Jingtai returning from outside, and she was unusually gentle and considerate.
"Mother, please don't laugh like that, it gives me the creeps."
Qin Jingtai shrugged when he saw Yang Jiaojiao's smile.
"Smack—"
Yang Jiaojiao slapped Qin Jingtai on the head, "I told you to call your sister over to play, didn't you hear me?"
"Mother, my sister isn't going to the palace school anymore, how am I supposed to find her?"
Yang Jiaojiao was exposed by Qin Jingtai's words and immediately straightened her back.
"Figure it out yourself. If you don't know, ask Jingmu to help you. If you don't bring the little princess back to play, you can sleep in the yard and feed the mosquitoes."
"Mother, please don't drag me into this."
Qin Jingmu took two steps away from Qin Jingtai, his expression full of disdain.
But Qin Jingtai didn't think so. Qin Jingtai walked over to Qin Jingmu's side again.
"Since you two are twins, you both get a share. Stop haggling here."
"Cuiyun, give their things to them."
After Yang Jiaojiao finished speaking, she ordered Cuiyun to return Qin Jingmu and Qin Jingtai's schoolbags to them. Then she turned and left without looking back.
Cuiyun had no choice but to walk to Qin Jingtai's side, "Third Prince, your and the Second Prince's things..."
After Qin Jingtai took it, he handed Qin Jingmu's schoolbag to Qin Jingmu.
"Take it."
"Why?"
Do you want to feed the mosquitoes?
Upon hearing about feeding mosquitoes, Qin Jingtai obediently took Qin Jingmu's schoolbag as well.
Yunfeng Pavilion
Bai Cai grabbed a eunuch and walked to Wei Linglong's door.
"Kneel down"
After the young eunuch knelt down, Bai Cai bent over and spoke into the doorway.
"Your Majesty, this servant has caught a woman engaging in lewd acts within the palace."
"oh?"
"Come in"
Hearing "go in," Bai Cai pushed open the door and went inside. Once inside, he saw Wei Linglong sitting on a bench in the main hall, wearing a coat.
Who is it?
"It's... a lowly eunuch who does odd jobs in Her Majesty's palace, named Xiao Banzi."
With whom?
"Tang Yu, the sworn sister of Consort Wan"
Upon hearing this, Wei Linglong burst into laughter, "Even the heavens are on my side!"
"Go and call Xiaoban in."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Bai Cai left the room, brought Xiao Banzi in, and forced Xiao Banzi to kneel on the ground again.
"This servant...this servant greets Your Majesty."
"Speak, explain it to Her Majesty clearly, word by word."
"Please, Your Majesty, spare my life! This servant...this servant was bewitched...this servant..."
Before Xiao Banzi could finish speaking, Wei Linglong picked up a plate of pastries from the table and threw it at him.
"I'll give you a chance to live. Tell me the whole story."
"Yes... okay..."
After thinking for a moment, and in order to survive, Xiao Banzi didn't hesitate and started pouring it out without thinking twice.
"This servant often sees Green Leaf and Liu Ming engaging in illicit activities behind the artificial hill in the Imperial Garden. Each time, after Liu Ming finishes, he ignores Green Leaf. And then…"
"And then what?"
Xiao Banzi stopped talking, startled by Wei Linglong slamming her hand on the table, and continued speaking.
"Then this servant fetched clothes for Green Leaf and received a reward for it. But one day... when this servant went again, I found it wasn't Green Leaf anymore... but Consort Wan's sworn sister, Tang Yu."
"At first... at first this servant was also afraid, but... but Tang Yu... everything was so good... this servant... this servant got clothes for Tang Yu, and again... again received benefits."
Who is Liu Ming?
"He...he's one of Commander Zou's men."
After hearing this, Wei Linglong made up her mind. She lowered her eyes, looked at the cat at her feet, and kicked it.
How many times has this happened?
"Your Majesty, yes... more than ten times..."
"Come here."
Wei Linglong spoke to the little board, who was so frightened that he knelt on the ground and begged for his life.
"Your Majesty, this servant dares not do it again..."
"Please, Your Majesty, spare this servant this time!!"
"The Empress has ordered you to go there, how dare you disobey?"
Bai Cai walked up to Xiao Banzi and slapped him twice across the face. Xiao Banzi, trembling, walked up to Wei Linglong.
Wei Linglong waved to the little board, and the little board obediently bent down.
Then Wei Linglong whispered something in Xiao Banzi's ear. After she finished speaking, Xiao Banzi straightened up a little, but it was still noticeable that he was still hunched over.
"I understand. If you handle this matter well, I will not only spare you, but also leave your past affairs alone."
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