Chapter 182: The Sky Has Fallen
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.
Madam Xu clutched her temples, her head aching from anger.
Yet, seeing Lu Chao Chao standing barefoot on the cold floor with her neck shrunk in guilt made her heart ache instead.
Deng Zhi quickly wrapped the child in a soft quilt and held her close.
“You almost scared Madam Xu out of her wits this time…” Deng Zhi scolded lightly, her voice tinged with exasperation. “Next time, please don’t act like this again.”
Lu Chao Chao’s little face was full of confusion, and Deng Zhi sighed.
[She’s just a two-year-old. What does she know?]
Madam Xu reached out to touch her cold little cheeks, her heart filled with pity.
“Forget it,” she muttered. “Next month, she’ll start school. These carefree days won’t last much longer.”
Lu Chao Chao’s eyes widened in alarm.
[What?! This is a disaster!] Her round eyes sparkled with disbelief.
Madam Xu couldn’t help but chuckle at her daughter’s dumbfounded expression. “A few days ago, His Majesty summoned me to the palace. He praised your cleverness and suggested that you start school earlier. Normally, the princes begin their education at three, so you starting at two isn’t that unusual.”
Madam Xu guessed it was because Chao Chao’s abilities were extraordinary. His Majesty likely feared her spoiled tendencies might grow unchecked. Early schooling would guide her to better understanding and maturity.
After all, Lu Yuan Ze’s family had a reputation for corruption; their twisted nature had long tainted those under them.
Chao Chao spent her days aimlessly riding her dog around and eating snacks wherever she went. Madam Xu worried about the influence on her child.
Besides, even though Chao Chao retained fragments of her past life’s memories, they were fragmented and unclear. Her vague grasp on reality often left her drifting between understanding and confusion.
[Perhaps early schooling is for the best.] Madam Xu concluded. [It might save her from becoming a little outlaw in the future.]
Lu Chao Chao hadn’t expected this. She had only come to check if her mother was asleep, but she overheard this catastrophe instead.
“School?”
[But I’m only two! The sky is falling!]
Even as a once-mighty ancient being with seven divine disciples, Lu Chao Chao felt her world crumbling.
Her lips trembled, tears threatening to spill as she clutched at Madam Xu’s sleeve.
“Mama, I don’t wanna go to school, wuuu… I’m still a baby!” she cried, her voice pitiful.
“Mama, I promise I won’t sneak chicken legs anymore! Can I not go to school?” She tugged at her mother’s clothes with care, her tiny fingers pleading.
“If I go to school, I won’t see Mama anymore. Chao Chao will miss you…” Her sweet-talking attempts, though stammered, were almost convincing.
“Chao Chao, reading and learning are good things,” Madam Xu said firmly.
If Chao Chao were an ordinary child, it might have been fine for her to remain semi-literate. But her powers were far too immense, and one misstep could lead her astray.
Additionally, Madam Xu found herself increasingly frustrated with Chao Chao’s illiteracy.
“His Majesty has arranged a small class of children under seven. Perhaps you’ll even make some good friends there,” she suggested.
At two years old, Chao Chao had no friends. Madam Xu realized everyone around her daughter were adults; there wasn’t a single peer her age in sight.
Chao Chao blinked her large eyes. “Why do I need friends?”
“Strong people don’t need friends,” she declared boldly.
[The strong are destined to be alone,] she thought, thoroughly puzzled by the notion.
Madam Xu felt a lump in her throat at her daughter’s response.
“Weaklings huddle together for warmth, but the strong walk alone,” Chao Chao said with a dramatic wave of her small hand.
“Besides, I do have friends! It’s just that they all want to be my subordinates!” Chao Chao raised her chin proudly.
Madam Xu sighed deeply. [Well, she’s not entirely wrong…]
“Whether or not you make friends doesn’t matter. But as for going to school, that’s not negotiable,” Madam Xu said decisively.
Chao Chao’s head drooped, her energy completely drained. She looked like a wilting eggplant struck by frost.
Madam Xu’s heart softened at the sight but remained firm.
Deng Zhi carried Chao Chao back to her room. The little girl sprawled on the bed, listless and silent.
“Little Miss, when I was a child, my family was too poor for me to learn even a few characters. Being able to study is a blessing,” Yu Shu said gently, trying to console her.
“Later, when I sold myself into servitude and came to the Xu family, my martial skills weren’t exceptional. But because I could read and write, the master chose me.”
“In poor families, having someone who can read is a source of great pride,” Yu Shu continued, though she knew such lofty words were unlikely to comfort a two-year-old.
Sighing softly, Yu Shu tucked the quilt around Chao Chao and quietly left the room.
Chao Chao puffed out her round cheeks, her little face squishing against the bed. Determined, she slid down and clumsily dressed herself.
After bundling up in a thick hat and gloves, she packed a small bundle with spare clothes. Her lips pouted as she muttered, “Hmph, I’m running away! I’ll roam the world and live as a wanderer!”
Before leaving, she made sure to grab her milk bottle.
Under the cover of night, she released a thread of spiritual energy, causing Yu Shu to collapse in slumber.
Climbing onto a stool, she unlatched the main door. The house was silent in the midnight chill.
“Windchaser, let’s go! We’re roaming the world!” she whispered, untying her loyal dog’s leash. Together, they squeezed through a dog hole in the courtyard wall.
The streets of the capital city were quiet under the moonlight.
Chao Chao opened her arms wide and took a deep breath. “Ah, freedom smells so sweet!”
However, her first step into the world ended with a loud thud. She had fallen flat on her face.
Scrambling up, she dusted herself off with as much dignity as she could muster. Acting as if nothing had happened, she led Windchaser further into the streets.
“We’ll sleep under the bridge, okay?” she suggested, pointing at an arched stone bridge. It looked like a decent shelter from the wind and rain.
But as they approached, she spotted a group of beggars huddled beneath. Their clothes were tattered, their bodies reeked, and their hair was matted into filthy clumps.
Seeing a child approaching, the beggars sat upright in alarm.
“Where’d this kid come from? Shoo! This isn’t a place for you,” one of them barked.
Chao Chao ignored their words and proclaimed, “I want to be a beggar too! I’m here to roam the world!”
Her declaration left the beggars dumbfounded.
“Get lost, kid. You don’t know how good you have it!” another grumbled.
Chao Chao simply settled on Windchaser’s thick fur, wrapping herself tightly in a small blanket.
The beggars gawked. “She came prepared?!”
Eventually, one of them, a man with a limp, sighed. “Fine. Watch over her tonight. Let’s not let anyone snatch her away.”
By morning, the entire Lu household was in chaos over Princess Sunshine’s sudden disappearance, and the capital city was on the verge of a frenzy.