Chapter 4
Chapter 4: Clinging to a Big Thigh
Nanny Wu went down hard, landing flat on her back.
She yelped, then scrambled up with murder in her eyes, reaching for Chu Tian Tian.
“You little brat! You dare ram me? You don’t want to live!”
She lunged and grabbed, spitting curses with every breath. “My real daughter is Princess Ying Yue! If you don’t kneel and flatter me, you still dare—”
But Chu Tian Tian was slick as an eel. She hugged the food box tight and darted around the courtyard, slipping out of Nanny Wu’s grasp again and again.
She was almost at her mother’s door when—
Bang!
Nanny Wu slammed it shut with a sharp, satisfied thud, blocking her path.
She loomed over Chu Tian Tian. “Still trying to run?”
“Stop!”
A small voice cracked across the courtyard.
The little crown prince marched in with his hands on his hips, face set in fierce outrage. The Cold Palace gate couldn’t be opened without the emperor’s order—so he’d had his guard help him climb over the wall.
He’d barely landed before he saw Sister Little Nine being bullied.
And that was that.
“How dare you!” Guard Zhou Ping roared. “Why aren’t you kneeling before the crown prince!”
Nanny Wu dropped to her knees so fast it looked like her bones remembered fear better than her mind did.
“Brother Crown Prince,” Chu Tian Tian blurted, startled and relieved, “why are you here?”
She hadn’t expected this little prince to be loyal enough to chase her all the way back.
“Sister Little Nine,” Cheng Xuan declared, puffing himself up, “don’t be afraid. With me here, no one will bully you!”
He pointed at Nanny Wu like a commander pointing at an enemy general. “Guard Zhou—take this vicious slave. Send her to Imperial Mother and have her beaten!”
The Cold Palace wasn’t a place Cheng Xuan should linger. Zhou Ping scooped the little crown prince into one arm, seized Nanny Wu with the other, and kicked off the ground—
In a blink, they were gone.
Chu Tian Tian stared, eyes round as coins.
Brother Crown Prince’s guard could fly.
Once the courtyard fell silent again, she hugged the food box and hurried to her mother’s room.
The Cold Palace wasn’t just quiet.
It was cold in the bones. Damp in the breath. Even the air smelled like old earth and rotting wood.
Inside, the room was painfully bare—just a round table and a bed.
Consort Li lay on her side, nearly motionless. Every so often she coughed, and if you listened closely, there was a wet gurgle in her breathing.
No wonder Tong Tong said Mother would die of illness.
“Consort Mother.” Chu Tian Tian climbed onto a small stool and patted her gently. “Consort Mother, wake up.”
Consort Li felt pain in every breath. Her limbs were heavy, her chest tight, her whole body drained.
Then she felt a little hand tapping her cheek.
She forced her eyes open.
“Tian Tian…”
Her daughter.
Chu Tian Tian carefully drew water from the Spirit Spring Pocket Space and fed it to her slowly, one careful sip at a time.
“Consort Mother,” she whispered, “you have to get better.”
She didn’t want to be the Tyrant Empress.
If Mother’s death was the root of everything, then saving her might keep the future from ever turning dark.
Tiptoeing, she finished a full teacup.
Consort Li’s lashes trembled. Whether it was a last flare of strength or the water’s effect, the crushing heaviness eased slightly. She could speak without choking.
“Good child… it’s Consort Mother… Consort Mother has dragged you down.”
“Don’t say that,” Chu Tian Tian said, voice serious beyond her years. “Tian Tian knows you had no choice.”
Consort Mother had been born a concubine-born daughter. Before she entered the palace in place of her elder sister, she’d been adopted into the main wife’s name.
Her uncle—the family’s eldest son—was now imprisoned, and the whole household had collapsed into panic. Of course they’d come begging her to plead with the emperor.
“Consort Mother,” Chu Tian Tian said earnestly, “learn from this. After it’s over, don’t act so rashly again. Think more for yourself.”
Consort Li stroked her daughter’s cheek, eyes wet.
This child was beautiful—so much like the emperor it made her heart ache.
But because of her, Tian Tian had never known comfort.
“Good child,” Consort Li murmured, “take this.”
She pulled a jade pendant from her robe and pressed it into Chu Tian Tian’s small hand.
“When I’m gone… use it. Find a way to see Imperial Father.”
It was the gift the emperor gave her the first time they met.
To the world he was the Son of Heaven. To her, once, he’d been a young man who could pout and cling and act shamelessly affectionate.
She had made a terrible mistake. She only hoped that, remembering what they’d once had, he would spare their daughter a path to live.
“Good child,” Consort Li said, voice weakening, “grow up well. Don’t hate Imperial Father. Don’t hate anyone. Consort Mother only wants you to be happy. Everything else… doesn’t matter.”
Her eyes grew heavy, fighting to stay open.
She stared at Chu Tian Tian as if trying to carve her face into her heart.
“Consort Mother is tired,” she whispered. “Go play.”
She didn’t want her daughter to watch her die.
It would scare her.
Chu Tian Tian nodded. She tucked the jade pendant into her robe and patted it like a promise.
“Okay. Consort Mother, rest. I’ll bring you food later.”
Consort Li gave the faintest hum. A tear slid down her cheek. “Go.”
Chu Tian Tian closed the door, found the dog hole, and slipped out.
She was going to find the emperor.
From her mother’s words, Imperial Father seemed to love Consort Mother—truly love her. But love didn’t weigh much against an empire.
She could understand the punishment.
Still, she could use the jade pendant to tug at feelings… and offer a way to solve her uncle’s disaster relief mess. Maybe then Imperial Father would stop targeting them.
She walked for what felt like two incense sticks—then stopped dead.
She had a problem.
She was lost.
She’d only been back in the palace a short time. Everything looked the same. Everything was too big. Too clean. Too confusing.
Chu Tian Tian squatted down and started drawing a map in the dirt with fierce concentration, her little butt sticking out like a stubborn flag.
“You there.” A voice sounded behind her. “Who are you?”
Chu Tian Tian startled so hard she nearly fell over.
[You were scolded by court officials in open court, throwing the court into chaos and overturning heaven and earth! In a rage, you dug up the imperial mausoleum. The Retired Emperor’s coffin was destroyed, sparking public fury. Obtain the Retired Emperor’s forgiveness immediately, or assassination attempts will spike and your life value will hit zero at once!]
[Mission difficulty: Hell mode.]
Hell mode?
Chu Tian Tian rubbed the tip of her nose, unimpressed.
Tong Tong really was funny. If this were twenty years later, the Retired Emperor would be long gone. Wanting his forgiveness really would mean going to hell.
“Kid,” the voice said again, half amused, “I’m talking to you. What are you doing?”
Chu Tian Tian turned.
An old man sat casually on a stone by the lake, holding a fishing rod. He wore a plain white robe. His hair and beard were long and snow-white, giving him an otherworldly air.
Chu Tian Tian’s eyes widened.
“Grandfather,” she asked sweetly, “are you an immortal?”
The old man burst into laughter.
This child—she knew how to talk, and her words were pleasant to the ear.
“Yes,” the Retired Emperor said, smiling. “I’m an immortal. Come here, child. Let me have a look at you.”