Chapter 10
Chapter 10: Was I Really This Scary Twenty Years Later?
“Yeah! Done!” Chu Tian Tian bounced on her toes, her little braids snapping side to side like tiny whips.
Even a mission this hard was no match for her. She was incredible.
“When I grow up, I’m taking you with me to punish the wicked and protect the commoners!” She planted her hands on her hips, radiating swagger like she’d just conquered the world.
Qin Rui’s face flushed bright red. He jumped so high he looked ready to take flight, then—copying the opera stories—clasped his fists and dropped to one knee.
“Wow! I knew it! My lord is the greatest! When I master my martial arts, I’ll protect my lord and chase off every bad guy!”
“Qin Rui! Don’t listen to her nonsense!” Chu Jiao Jiao stormed over and reached to yank him away. “Come with me.”
Qin Rui shook her off like gum on a sleeve, his little face twisted with disgust. “You’re so annoying. Stay away from me.”
“Qin Rui, I have something fun!” Chu Jiao Jiao insisted, pulling out a small golden bell.
“Bleh! Like I care!” Qin Rui made a dramatic “Awoo!” and scurried up the rockery like a monkey. “You can’t catch me, you can’t catch me! My lord’s follower only recognizes my lord!”
Chu Jiao Jiao hiked up her skirt and chased after him in a mess. Her hairpins had gone crooked, her face tight with fury. When she couldn’t climb up, she could only stomp at the base of the rockery, practically vibrating.
“Get down here! You’re going to kill me!”
While Chu Jiao Jiao was tangled up with Qin Rui, Chu Tian Tian’s eyes darted around. She slipped off to a quiet corner like a little cat.
Her mind sank into the pocket space. With a soft whoosh, she popped open the blind-box gift pack.
Inside was a pile of strange seeds.
Potato?
Sweet potato?
Corn?
Tong Tong didn’t recognize any of them.
Chu Tian Tian pouted. “Tong Tong is mean. Why give Tian Tian seeds? Tian Tian doesn’t know how to farm. Tian Tian’s little shovel is only good for digging up worms.”
She flicked her hand, ready to toss the seeds into a corner of the pocket space.
[Ding!
Host, don’t underestimate them.
These are high-yield divine seeds. Potatoes and sweet potatoes can produce a thousand jin per mu. Corn is also a major staple.
With them, why fear the commoners going hungry?
These are the foundation of a prosperous age.]
“A thousand… jin per mu?” Chu Tian Tian’s mouth fell open so wide it could’ve swallowed an egg.
“They can feed the commoners?” Her eyes went round. Then she clenched her tiny fist like she was accepting a sacred mission. “Then… then Tian Tian’s little shovel has to learn how to farm!”
She tilted her head, hesitating, then whispered to herself, “Mm… maybe I should find a chance to give them to Imperial Father instead.”
Carefully, she gathered the seeds back up and tucked them away.
By the time the sun sank low, the emperor was still in the Imperial Study discussing affairs.
“Sweetie is leaving!” Chu Tian Tian waved. “I’m going back to find Mother!”
Qin Rui snapped to attention, threw on a grand, ridiculous bow, and shouted at full volume, “Respectfully seeing off Ninth Princess, Your Highness! This little one awaits orders at any time!”
That shameless display turned the nearby Chu Jiao Jiao—still panting from the chase—into a puffed-up pufferfish.
Chu Tian Tian toddled toward the cold palace. Imperial Father had already had Nanny Wu dragged away, so no one would hit her when she returned.
Humming a tune that had absolutely no relationship with the correct notes, she marched on her short legs and made it back to Mother’s room without a single obstacle.
Consort Li was still asleep.
“Mother~ wake up~” Chu Tian Tian patted her cheek with a chubby little hand.
Consort Li’s eyes flew open. Her whole body felt strangely light—too light.
Had she… arrived in the underworld?
Then she saw it: a small figure by the table, standing on tiptoe and struggling to reach the water jug.
“Sweetie?” Consort Li’s eyes flooded instantly. She lunged forward and hugged her daughter so tightly Chu Tian Tian nearly vanished.
She burst into sobs. “My poor child! It’s Mother’s fault I dragged you down with me! Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid—Mother will walk the Yellow Springs with you!”
Chu Tian Tian’s face turned red from being squeezed. She blinked, confused, then reached up and patted Consort Li’s forehead.
“Mother, you don’t have a fever. Did you sleep too hard? Tian Tian just wanted to pour you some water.”
Consort Li froze.
Then she pinched herself hard.
Hiss—pain.
She wasn’t dead.
She whipped her head around. Same broken shack. Same cold palace. Same stale, damp air that felt like it clung to the bones.
Then she looked down at the warm, living child in her arms, and joy hit her so hard she almost couldn’t breathe. She cried even harder, but these were tears of relief.
“Not dead… my Sweetie isn’t dead! Heaven has eyes!”
Chu Tian Tian immediately started chattering, recounting the whole day—how she drove off the bad kitty, how she gained a little follower named Qin Rui, and how she made that bad sister so furious she could explode.
“Oh! And Imperial Father and Imperial Grandfather both like Tian Tian so much!” She flicked her little hand, and a plate of delicate pastries “appeared” on the table. “Mother, eat! Imperial Grandfather gave these—they smell so good!”
Consort Li’s pupils shook.
She clamped both hands over her mouth to keep from screaming. Then, without thinking, she rushed to the door and slammed it shut, bolting it tight.
She grabbed Chu Tian Tian again, voice trembling. “Sweetie… my little ancestor… this ‘making things appear’ ability—don’t ever show it to anyone. Not even your Imperial Father. Do you understand?”
She didn’t know why her daughter had been blessed with something like this. But precious jade invited disaster. This secret had to rot inside her belly.
Startled by Mother’s panic, Chu Tian Tian nodded so hard her head bobbed like a pecking chick.
“Mm-hm! Tian Tian remembers. Only Mother gets to see.”
After they ate together, Chu Tian Tian’s eyelids started drooping. She yawned so wide it looked like she might swallow the lamp.
“Mother, my head feels dizzy. I’m going to sleep.”
She closed her eyes and fell asleep right there in Consort Li’s arms.
Consort Li stared at her daughter’s peaceful face, and something inside her finally shifted.
Sweetie was extraordinary. If she kept being a soft persimmon for others to squeeze, she would only drag her child down.
For Sweetie… she had to stand up.
Her natal family?
Ha. Her heart had gone cold long ago.
From now on, only she and her daughter mattered.
The next morning, Eunuch Teng was already waiting outside the cold palace with a beaming smile.
“Ninth Princess, Your Highness, the Retired Emperor misses you terribly. He specifically sent this old servant to escort you to Yang Qing Hall for breakfast.”
Consort Li gently straightened her daughter’s collar and lowered her voice. “Go, Sweetie. Keep your Imperial Grandfather company. Remember what Mother said—watch your words and actions.”
Once Chu Tian Tian left, Consort Li’s expression changed. She took out paper and ink, wrote a letter, and had someone deliver it to the emperor.
Since Sweetie returned yesterday, the cold palace had clearly gained more guards. It had to be the emperor’s arrangement.
Chu Tian Tian had just reached the entrance of Yang Qing Hall when a cold voice rang in her head.
[Ding!
New redemption mission: You brutally killed Prince Su’s consort and scared his heir apparent into madness.
Prince Su hates you to the bone and has raised deathsworn to take your life.
Obtain Prince Su Chu Cheng Yan’s spoken forgiveness immediately, or you will face assassination risk.
Mission difficulty: High risk.
Mission reward: Divine skill—Photographic Memory.]
Chu Tian Tian shuddered so hard she let out a loud, humiliating hungry hiccup.
T-twenty years later… was she really that terrifying?
Killing her sister-in-law? Scaring her nephew into madness?
That was… so bad.
Her little face scrunched up. Then her neck went cold as if a blade had just slid against it.
Assassination…?
Right then, her belly growled.
Delicious smells drifted out from the hall like a warm, irresistible hook.
“Forget it!” Chu Tian Tian declared. “Even if the sky falls, Tian Tian still has to eat first! If I’m full, I’ll have the strength to coax Eldest Imperial Brother!”
Her worries flew straight out of her head. Her short legs went thump-thump-thump as she charged inside.
The Retired Emperor was eating when a gentle-looking youth in an academy-blue robe entered, bowed, and greeted him.
“Grandson Cheng Yan greets Imperial Grandfather.”
The Retired Emperor laughed. “Sweetie, this is your eldest Imperial brother, Cheng Yan. He just finished lessons.”
Prince Su Chu Cheng Yan!
Chu Tian Tian nearly choked on her pastry.
Chu Cheng Yan’s gaze fell on her. For an instant, something complicated flickered in his eyes—then vanished, stolen by her snow-bright, lively cuteness.
Chu Tian Tian swallowed hard and started thinking at top speed.
How was she supposed to get him to say he forgave her… out loud?