Chapter 883: The beloved cousin escaped from control (9)
"Can't... build a cage as big as a house?" Wu Xiaoran asked again.
When the emperor heard what he said, he really thought about it, then smiled and said, "Ran'er, I can let someone try this suggestion."
Wu Xiaoran's mouth corners curled up slightly, obviously very happy.
After seeing the goshawk, the emperor took a group of children to see other animals and had a great time. Even Du Shichu, who had seen many animals that were much rarer than the wild beasts in the Imperial Menagerie, felt that this "visit to the zoo" activity was very successful.
The other little kids picked out their favorite animals to raise. Some raised cats and dogs, and everyone was very happy.
Only Wu Xiaoran returned empty-handed. The emperor advised him to raise a cat or a dog first, but he firmly refused and was determined to wait for his eaglet, whose shadow he had not even been seen.
Du Shichu returned to her bedroom contentedly, holding the cat she had chosen. The cat she chose was called the Norwegian Forest Cat in later generations. It was beautiful and domineering, like a lion on the grassland. Its thick and long fur fluttered in the wind when it walked. It walked calmly and confidently, and was smart and courageous.
Because it was presented as a tribute to the palace, it was trained and taught to be docile and clingy. No matter how Du Shichu rubbed it, it just meowed a few times and didn't struggle at all.
Du Shichu liked the cat very much and named it "Little Lion". When the emperor heard her call the cat this name before, he was very happy: "Chu'er, you are so mean. This is obviously a cat, but you call it Little Lion."
Du Shichu asked him back: "Don't you think it looks like a lion?"
The emperor stared at the cat again and again, and had to admit that the name Du Shichu gave it was very suitable for it.
After living in the palace for a few days, Du Shichu took the little lion out of the palace and returned to her own princess's residence.
She is still in mourning and cannot participate in entertainment activities, so the little lion brings her a lot of fun. She takes it to the garden to catch butterflies. The little lion has a strong body and agile movements, but somehow it didn't even catch a butterfly. Du Shichu was amused by its serious look and couldn't stop laughing.
Later, Du Shichu was afraid that the cat would be too frustrated if it failed too often, so he quickly took it to the lotus pond to fish.
Du Shichu even had his servants prepare a mini fishing rod for him. He also put his little paw on the handle of the fishing rod and told him, "Little lion, don't let go. If you feel you have caught a fish, call me and I will help you catch it."
The little lion meowed twice seriously, as if in response. The maids nearby couldn't help laughing, thinking that the princess raised the little lion as a child, which was very cute.
I don’t know if it’s because of his natural interest in fish, but the little lion was able to sit still and was very patient. The paw that was on the handle of the fishing rod didn’t move at all, and his beautiful emerald green eyes were staring at the lake without blinking, making him look more like a fisherman than Du Shichu.
Du Shichu's mouth corners were always smiling. The little lion was so funny that he would not feel bored just by looking at it.
About a quarter of an hour later, Du Shichu's fishing rod suddenly moved, and she immediately realized that a fish had taken the bait! She held her breath, paused for a moment, and then quickly swung the rod, and a palm-sized carp was caught by her and fell on the grass next to her.
"Meow!" The little lion was even faster. As soon as it saw the carp still jumping on the grass, it rushed over quickly, no longer caring about its fishing rod. It ran to the struggling fish, lowered its head to sniff it, then suddenly stretched out its claws and slapped the carp hard!
No one knew where it got the strength from, but after it slapped the carp until it was dizzy, it immediately held it tightly with its claws, then turned around and meowed at Du Shichu, as if calling her: "Come here quickly!"
Du Shichu then walked over, squatted down, and said to it: "This is the fish I caught. You can't snatch it from me."
As she said this, she pretended to reach out to take the fish, but the little lion widened its eyes and looked at her in disbelief, as if wondering why she, the master of the house, would snatch the fish from a little cat like it. How could she have the nerve to do that?
"What's wrong? What's wrong? Even if you hold it down, it doesn't mean it's yours." Du Shichu said confidently, and stretched out his hand to take the fish under its paw. The little lion immediately raised his other paw, slapped Du Shichu's hand, and meowed as if cursing, in a fierce manner.
"Little lion, this is not very kind of you..." Du Shichu simply lay on the ground and tried to snatch it from it, but the little lion was very ferocious. Its claws slapped Du Shichu's outstretched hand like playing whack-a-mole, making it impossible for her to snatch it back.
"Forget it. I'm afraid of you." Du Shichu finally gave up.
The little lion meowed and played with the dying carp with satisfaction.
Du Shichu picked up the little lion's fishing rod that was about to fall into the pond, and picked up a stone to press it down. The little lion could not hold on, so he had to lean on the stone.
The little lion finally had enough of playing with the fish, so Du Shichu ordered his servants to pick it up and make it into cat food for the little lion to eat at night. It couldn't be wasted, after all, the little lion had snatched it from him with his own strength.
Just as Du Shichu was still playing fishing with the little lion, a servant suddenly came to report that someone was looking for her again.
"Who is it this time?" Du Shichu asked lazily.
"He is said to be from your maternal grandfather's family in Lincheng, and a cousin of yours, Princess." The maid replied.
Du Shichu raised his eyebrows: "Another cousin?"
She looked through the original owner's memories. There were indeed several cousins of the same generation as her in the original owner's maternal grandfather's family, but she had never met them. One reason was that the frontier where the original owner's mother and the King of Qi were stationed was far away from Lincheng, making it inconvenient for them to go back to visit; the other reason was that the original owner's mother died early, and contact with them decreased year by year, which led to the original owner's estrangement from her maternal grandfather.
Du Shichu thought that the original owner's maternal grandparents would not show up. After all, when the original owner's father passed away, the families outside Lincheng did not send anyone, but the Zhou family in Beijing went to visit Zhou Yizhu. Although the Zhou family had bad intentions, doesn't it also show that as long as there is a heart, they can express their concern no matter how far away they are?
They did not show up when the original owner's father died, but now that Du Shichu has returned to the capital, they appeared instead. Du Shichu therefore does not have a good impression of them and thinks that they might be another person who wants to take advantage of the opportunity to control her and make a profit.
She didn't want to see this so-called cousin at all, but he was from the original owner's mother's family after all, and they were close. She couldn't just not let someone from her maternal family in for no reason, otherwise it would be bad for her reputation, so she ordered listlessly: "Let him in."
(End of this chapter)
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