Chapter 184: Fierce Bun Begging for Food
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.
“Poof…” Madam Xu, a distinguished lady from an eminent family, couldn’t suppress her laughter and inadvertently sprayed out a mouthful of tea.
“What… what did she call herself?” Madam Xu was both shocked and bewildered by the unexpected name change.
Deng Zhi looked resigned. “She thought ‘Lu Chao Chao’ wasn’t fierce enough. Hence, she’s now ‘Fierce Bun.’ Around the streets, they even call her ‘Brother Bun,'” Deng Zhi explained earnestly.
“Brother Bun?” Madam Xu laughed until tears formed. “Oh dear, she’s so adorable. Little Potato renamed herself Fierce Bun. Hahaha…” Her laughter echoed through the room.
“Have you relayed the news to the king?” she inquired.
Deng Zhi nodded with a helpless expression. “Yes, I have. His Majesty asks about her several times a day.”
Madam Xu’s laughter grew so intense she had to lean on the wall for support. She could just imagine the king laughing until he questioned his sanity.
“Just a bit longer, just a bit longer,” Madam Xu gasped, trying to catch her breath. “This little one thinks she can manage us and His Majesty by playing the runaway. She’ll be crying to come home within three days. Ensure the secret guards intensify their surveillance and report every hour. Triple their payment. She must not come to any harm.”
“Understood,” Deng Zhi replied with a grin.
“Where is Little Potato begging now? Let’s casually drop by and see her…” Madam Xu admitted to missing Lu Chao Chao after just a day apart.
Deng Zhi chuckled, sensing Madam Xu’s concern. “She’s currently in Guiping Alley.”
“Smart girl, that street is bustling with high-ranking officials and noble families,” Madam Xu noted as she headed out.
Soon, they were seated in the front of the carriage, with Rong Che acting as the coachman.
“When did you become a coachman?” Madam Xu queried.
Rong Che, sneaking a book from his coat, declared loudly, “I only aspire to be your coachman.”
Deng Zhi shivered, goosebumps popping up.
Madam Xu raised an eyebrow.
Rong Che clutched the book close, his eyes darting to the title, ‘Thirty-Six Strategies to Win Her Heart.’ His ears blushed a deep red.
“Why aren’t you at court today?” Normally, it was time for the morning court session.
“I have fifteen days of annual leave each year, and I haven’t taken any in eighteen years. I’m using them now,” Rong Che stated firmly.
Madam Xu was stunned. Every position at court was crucial; how did the king permit him almost a year off? His role as Protectorate General was significant.
Rong Che scratched his head. “The king is generous.”
Generous, my foot. Rong Che and his father had to cling to the king’s legs, wailing about the potential extinction of the Rong family due to no heirs, while he remained a bachelor. This spectacle forced the king’s hand, granting him leave.
The carriage meandered towards Guiping Alley, close to the royal palace and a hub for the elite.
“There! I see the little miss,” Deng Zhi whispered excitedly to Madam Xu.
Madam Xu’s gaze followed to see Lu Chao Chao, a tiny figure leading a dog and surrounded by a group of reverent beggars.
Dressed plumply and as short as an adult’s thigh, Lu Chao Chao truly resembled a potato.
Madam Xu stifled her laughter, feeling relieved seeing her doing well.
“Little Potato… coming home?” she called softly.
Scarface, pulling at Lu Chao Chao’s sleeve, asked, “Brother Bun, that lady called you Little Potato! Isn’t your name Fierce Bun?”
Lu Chao Chao looked up defiantly. “She’s mistaken! Fierce Bun fits me much better!”
At that moment, a lavish carriage rolled up, causing the beggars to quickly step aside.
“Move, move, don’t block the way,” the footman ordered as he dismounted and shooed them from the silver shop.
“That’s Grand Duke He Shu,” Scarface whispered, pulling Lu Chao Chao back.
Fresh from court, Grand Duke He Shu was at the shop selecting jewelry for his wife. He glanced over, spotting the dirt-streaked face of Lu Chao Chao and her distinctive dog.
Grand Duke He Shu clenched his jaw. [Last time she collected a debt, my wife was so upset she stayed at her mother’s for months!]
With a flick of his foot, he smashed Lu Chao Chao’s begging bowl to pieces.
“Scram, filthy beggar! If I see you again, I’ll break your legs,” he scolded.
“My bowl, my bowl,” Lu Chao Chao whimpered as Scarface, recognizing the prince’s carriage, gripped her, trembling, not daring to approach.
“We can’t provoke him; that’s the king’s wild-tempered uncle,” Scarface cautioned.
Undeterred, Lu Chao Chao led her followers to Grand Duke He Shu’s mansion.
Scarface looked alarmed. “Forget it; this is normal for us.”
Lu Chao Chao waved dismissively. “But you’re my brothers; following me shouldn’t mean being wronged! We don’t beg like this! Let’s go.”
“Who begs by knocking on doors?” Scarface protested as they approached the mansion gate.
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation
As they knocked, a footman opened the gate slightly, spotting only Scarface and the others. “Courting death, beggars at the door! Scram!” he snarled, driving them away.
Madam Xu, watching from a teashop window, felt a mix of pity and admiration.
[What a mess.]
“Time to come home, isn’t it?” she murmured softly.
Outside the gate, Lu Chao Chao, cheeks flushed with anger, shared some meat strips with Chasing Wind.
“Wait here,” she instructed her group as she skillfully dug a dog-sized hole near the mansion wall, her spiritual energy aiding her stealth.
…
Inside, Grand Duke He Shu was tenderly pinning a hairpin into his wife’s hair, who looked radiant three months postpartum.
“I feel like someone is watching…” the duchess muttered, suddenly uneasy.
“Wan Wan, you’re overthinking. This is the prince’s mansion, who could get in?” Grand Duke He Shu reassured her, his fingers playing with her hair.
But just as the atmosphere turned intimate, “Give me back my bowl!” a childish voice erupted from under the bed.
Grand Duke He Shu froze, and the duchess screamed, clutching the blanket.
Looking under the bed, Grand Duke He Shu saw a baby glaring at him, a chubby hand reaching out. “Give me back my bowl! Be kind, give some money too…”
Grand Duke He Shu, “Who taught you to beg like this?!”