Chapter 195: The Family Reunites
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.
Lu Chao Chao let out a cold laugh.
[Spare you? You insist on courting death!]
“Do you know why Emperor Daddy and Grandpa Xiao like me?”
Lu Chao Chao opened her tiny palm: “Because I have a birthmark on my hand. Emperor Daddy said it symbolizes good fortune!”
Xie Yi Ning panicked. “What’s so special about that?!”
“I have one too!”
“Hmph, I have three on my butt!”
As soon as those words fell, Imperial Uncle Xiao felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His body trembled violently, his lips turned pale, and his grip loosened—Xie Yi Ning fell straight to the ground.
She landed hard, crying out in pain. “Grandfather, it hurts! Yi Ning is in so much pain…”
Imperial Uncle Xiao stared at her, fury and disgust flashing in his eyes. He even took a step back.
Never before had Xie Yi Ning seen such hatred and anger in her grandfather’s eyes.
“Grandfather, what’s wrong? Is it because of Lu Chao Chao?!” she sobbed as she asked.
“I have no such granddaughter! Stay away from me!” Imperial Uncle Xiao pushed her away violently.
No, no, no!
None of them… none of them were his kin!
His expression turned terrifyingly dark. Clenching his fists tightly, his eyes burned red as he suppressed his fury.
“It’s all your fault! It’s all your fault, Lu Chao Chao! Are you satisfied now?!” Xie Yi Ning screamed, remembering her mother’s midnight sobs, her grandfather’s disgust, and their earlier plan.
Why did Lu Chao Chao have to live? Why was she still alive?!
With a shriek, she lunged at Lu Chao Chao.
She had been standing right beside her, so when she suddenly pounced, no one had time to react.
Not even the secret guards expected Princess Yi Ning to attack Lu Chao Chao.
“Chao Chao!” Madam Xu shrieked in despair, rushing forward.
But Lu Chao Chao had been near the railing. Xie Yi Ning’s forceful push sent her tumbling straight through the gap.
“Ah!” Gasps of horror filled the air.
A secret guard leaped down but was a moment too late.
Madam Xu rushed forward, grabbing Xie Yi Ning by the shoulders. “Why did you push Chao Chao?!” she cried, shaking her violently. “You’re just a child! How can you be so cruel? She’s only two years old!”
Xie Yi Ning’s eyes flickered with satisfaction, but the moment she looked up, she feigned panic and guilt. “I didn’t mean to! I didn’t mean to! I lost my balance!”
“Zhao Yang Sister, I swear I didn’t mean to!” she wept against the railing, crying out an apology.
Consort Xiao quickly stepped in, shielding her. “Don’t cry, Ning’er. Don’t cry.”
“Why are you being so aggressive?”
“Ning’er is only six years old! She didn’t do it on purpose!”
“Don’t scare her! She’s just a child!” Consort Xiao scolded, relishing Madam Xu’s misery.
She barked coldly, refusing to let anyone approach her daughter.
“You—!” Madam Xu pointed at her, hands trembling.
Xie Yi Ning hid behind Consort Xiao, sneering internally. [I don’t believe Father will abandon his own daughter over an adopted child!]
Lu Chao Chao should just die! It would be best if she died!
No one had expected a six-year-old child to attempt murder.
Even Imperial Uncle Xiao was shaken to his core. “Quick! Get the keys! Open the beast enclosure!”
His voice was hoarse as he roared.
“Look! The black bear is heading straight for Princess Zhao Yang!” Someone pointed, their face pale with terror.
Everyone turned just in time to witness a horrifying sight.
The beast enclosure held countless wild creatures, and among them, the black bear was the most ferocious of all.
“It is said that bears, when they feast on humans, never break the neck. Instead, they tear open the abdomen, letting their prey watch as they are devoured alive. One can even hear the crunch of breaking bones.”
“This great black bear has been starving for three days. What a predicament!”
Even the Eldest Prince was so startled that he leaped up.
He knew better than anyone how much the Emperor cherished Princess Sunshine.
Lu Chao Chao clumsily picked herself up from the ground. She had already sensed Xie Yi Ning’s malice.
From the moment Xie Yi Ning approached Imperial Uncle Xiao, she had felt it.
Xie Yi Ning was merely six or seven years old, and Lu Chao Chao had originally wanted to let her go.
But she had underestimated Xie Yi Ning’s ruthlessness—she actually wanted her dead!
What Xie Yi Ning pushed was not Lu Chao Chao’s fate.
She pushed her own.
Dressed in thick layers, Lu Chao Chao was unharmed by the fall. She raised her small hand and beckoned toward her mother.
Madam Xu wept even harder.
A massive shadow loomed overhead, enveloping her entirely. Lu Chao Chao lifted her gaze—before her stood the towering black bear, a creature as enormous as a mountain.
Compared to it, she was but a speck.
Bears were known for their brutality and bloodlust. Many onlookers had already covered their eyes in terror.
Everyone held their breath for Princess Sunshine.
Yet, Lu Chao Chao was completely unafraid.
“I love little animals,” she said cheerfully. “I especially love bears.”
The black bear was so tall that she had to crane her neck to see its full form.
Bears were intelligent creatures. In heavy fog, they could even mimic human gestures, standing upright and waving to lure people close—only to tear them apart mercilessly.
Now, the beast drooled, gazing at her as though she were its next meal.
“I really do love bears,” she murmured, pointing at the fur collar around her neck. “This is your elder aunt.”
Then, she gestured to the bear-hide coat she wore. “And this is your second uncle. Do they look familiar?”
She patted her chest.
She truly adored bears—she was covered in their pelts.
“Did you know? I still need a bear-skin blanket…” Lu Chao Chao’s eyes curved into a bright, mischievous smile.
“I know you can understand me!” she declared. As long as she willed it, all creatures could hear her words.
The great black bear hesitated in its approach. Its beady eyes fixated on her.
There was a familiar scent on her collar.
Her clothes also carried a scent it recognized.
But what made it tremble most was the formidable aura suddenly surging from the tiny human before it—an aura so powerful that the wolves, tigers, and leopards behind it all shuddered involuntarily.
It was a suppression imprinted deep within their very bones.
Lu Chao Chao tilted her head. “Would you rather reunite with your family, or bow before me?”
[People say bear paws are delicious. I’ve never tried them before!]
[If it attacks me, then I’ll have a reason to eat it.]
She swallowed her saliva greedily.
Before her, the great black bear seemed to have already turned into a dish of braised bear paw.
Thud.
The mountain-like beast suddenly prostrated itself before her, kneeling as if it were human.
Gasps of disbelief rippled through the crowd.
“What’s happening? The black bear is kneeling? It’s kneeling before Princess Sunshine!”
This scene shattered everything they believed to be true.
Imperial Uncle Xiao, trembling, hurriedly unlocked the beast garden’s gate.
Meanwhile, Lu Chao Chao regretfully patted the bear’s paw. “What a shame…” She wouldn’t get to eat it after all.
The black bear quivered slightly in fear.
Lu Chao Chao cast a glance toward Xie Yi Ning. The girl had yet to retract her gleeful, schadenfreude-filled gaze.
But the moment their eyes met, Xie Yi Ning shivered uncontrollably.
Lu Chao Chao’s face was all smiles. “Go on, give my big sister a surprise.”
Heh. The one you pushed wasn’t me.
It was yourself.
As soon as her words fell, and as the heavy gates swung open—
The black bear bolted, charging straight toward the gathered crowd.