The night was hazy, and the flower boat swayed gently.
Inside the cabin, a slender celadon vase rolled onto the floor. Su Zhenzhen's body pressed against the lotus flower, and she fell into the cabin with the young man, their fingers intertwined.
The glazed lamp was placed on the floor. As the light shone down, the young man's face revealed a beautiful, cool paleness, like premium cold jade.
Su Zhenzhen's fingertips traced across the young man's forehead, then slowly trailed downwards.
She tapped the tip of his nose, landed on his lips, but did not stop there, continuing to caress down to his neck.
The woman's fingertips carried the heat of summer, pressing against the young man's even hotter skin.
Lu Hexu had never liked being close to others.
But he did not dislike Su Zhenzhen.
He also disliked scorching hot things, but he did not dislike her temperature.
There was a mole here.
Su Zhenzhen leaned down, her lips lightly pressed together, and kissed the mole that she had rubbed red.
Lu Hexu lay there, his hands gripping the woman's waist.
Su Zhenzhen's hair slipped into his collar, stirring up a strange heat.
He subconsciously bent one knee, his body turning slightly, revealing the smooth lines of his calf.
Bullying a beautiful youth.
Su Zhenzhen heard Mu Dan's low panting, and the hands gripping her waist suddenly tightened.
Su Zhenzhen sobered up. Looking at the bite mark on the mole on the young man's neck, she immediately sat up and brought the glazed lamp over to check.
Fortunately, it did not bleed.
She had really been dazzled by his beauty.
There are many bacteria in the mouth; such intimate behavior is actually not recommended.
Su Zhenzhen knelt beside the young man, the light from the glazed lamp in her hand falling clearly onto his face.
The young man's eyes and brows were flushed red, and his forehead was beaded with fine sweat.
He parted his lips slightly, revealing the crimson tip of his tongue, and his reddened eyes fell upon her.
Because of the matter regarding Princess Qige's maid, Wei Heng had been guarding the entrance of the Qingliang Palace.
It wasn't until the sky grew faintly bright that His Majesty, who abhorred sunlight, finally returned.
Casually tossing the glazed lamp in his hand into the hall, Lu Hexu leaned his head back against the ice blocks.
Wei Heng stood nearby and handed over a cup of cold tea with ice.
The young man raised his hand to take it.
Because he never saw the sunlight, Lu Hexu's skin was very pale.
When he raised his hand to take the teacup, Wei Heng noticed what seemed to be a faint bite mark on the young man's beautiful, pink-tinged fingertips.
Before Wei Heng could see it clearly, the hand was already withdrawn.
Wei Heng thought he had seen it wrong.
He raised his eyes, naturally not daring to look directly at the Emperor's face, so his gaze fell on the collarbone and neck.
Hmm?
Wei Heng saw the bite mark on the young man's neck.
A small, distinct circle.
It hadn't bled; it was just a shallow mark, but because the young man's skin was too pale, it looked exceptionally obvious.
Wei Heng opened his mouth, Your Majesty...
Hmm? Lu Hexu replied lazily, seemingly in a good mood.
Truly rare.
When had Wei Heng ever seen such a docile Emperor?
He recalled the question this ancestor had asked yesterday.
Do women like flowers?
It seemed his suggestion of the flower boat had worked very well.
Did he have a woman he liked now?
Wei Heng thought of the books he had people buy. This Emperor was still inexperienced in matters of intimacy. If he asked about such things again, he could hand over the carefully selected books for him to read.
What is it?
Lu Hexu lazily tapped the teacup with his fingertips.
Wei Heng snapped back to reality. It's about Princess Qige. Yesterday, the courtyard where Princess Qige was staying caught fire. Her maid disguised herself as a dancer and ran out with a sword. She is now locked in the courtyard by Han Shuo.
Hmm, bring her over.
Saren's arms were tied behind her back as she was brought before Lu Hexu.
She knelt on the cold floor tiles, her eyes met with three giant bronze basins.
The ice blocks emitted a chill that seeped into her skin thread by thread.
Saren, with her hair disheveled, raised her eyes to look at the Emperor sitting behind the imperial desk.
It was a young man wearing a round-collared, narrow-sleeved dragon robe, his bare feet resting on the floor tiles. His skin was very pale, and his aura was gloomy. He clearly had an extremely beautiful appearance, but it was completely overshadowed by that sinister feeling, making the first impression not of his looks, but of that gloomy coldness.
It was also Wei Heng's first time seeing this Mongolian maid.
He remembered what Han Shuo had said. Sure enough, there was some resemblance.
But because the mother of the Mongolian Crown Prince Altan was from the Great Zhou, the similarity was not high, perhaps only about thirty percent.
You are the Emperor?
Saren looked up at the Emperor sitting behind the imperial desk.
Lu Hexu did not answer, merely rubbing the tiny bite mark on his fingertip.
So faint.
Almost invisible.
Emperor of the Great Zhou, I have something to say to you. I am the Mongolian Princess Saren, and my father is the Khan of Mongolia.
Saren knew this was her last chance.
Crown Prince Altan secretly slaughtered our brothers and sisters. I was the only one who luckily escaped death, hiding in Qige's mansion. Later, Dayan drugged my father's horse, causing him to fall to his death, and seized the opportunity to usurp the Khan's throne. I came to the Great Zhou this time to make a deal with the Emperor of the Great Zhou.
Saren looked at the Emperor of the Great Zhou in front of her, trying hard to convey her meaning. I have my father's edict passing the throne to me. Before my father passed away, he entrusted Mongolia to me. I now only need an army to safely escort me back to Mongolia and help me rally the old troops, then I can unify Mongolia and stabilize the regime. As long as the Emperor of the Great Zhou is willing to lend me this army, I promise a century of peace and friendship with the Great Zhou.
My royal uncle is a warmonger, but I love peace and do not wish to see war. My subjects also dislike the flames of war. Emperor of the Great Zhou, you can trust me.
Saren's voice echoed in the Qingliang Palace.
Wei Heng widened his eyes, clearly not expecting such a convoluted story behind all this.
But... is this credible?
If they were to investigate it, it would take a long time. By then, the new Khan Dayan would have already consolidated his power, making him even harder to deal with.
Wei Heng subconsciously looked at Lu Hexu.
He was waiting for His Majesty's ruling.
Lu Hexu stood up and walked over to Saren, his fingertips touching the woman's long hair cascading down her body.
Saren nervously raised her eyes to look at this young Emperor of the Great Zhou.
Lu Hexu's gaze moved downwards, the corners of his eyes drooping like blades. Where is the succession edict?
Saren immediately said, Please, Your Majesty, send someone to bring my silver collar and jewelry.
After Saren had been caught by Han Shuo earlier, Han Shuo had cautiously removed all the jewelry and items from her body.
Lu Hexu raised his hand towards Wei Heng.
Wei Heng immediately sent someone to summon Han Shuo.
Han Shuo entered the hall holding Saren's belongings. He first bowed and greeted Lu Hexu before handing the items to Saren.
Saren, now untied, knelt on the floor. She used a silver hairpin to open the collar, taking out half of the edict from inside. Then, using another extremely fine little key that fell out of the collar, she opened the other half of the edict hidden inside the silver hairpin.
Thus, she pieced the two parts of the edict together and handed them to Wei Heng.
Wei Heng raised his hand to take it and handed it to Lu Hexu.
Lu Hexu did not take it, not even glancing at it. Alright, I agree to your terms.
A look of disbelief appeared on Saren's face.
She had only wanted to take a gamble.
She didn't expect... it actually worked.
Your Majesty, you are a benevolent ruler. The outside rumors about you are not true, Saren said with a serious face.
Lu Hexu tilted his head and said nothing.
Wei Heng and Han Shuo slowly lowered their heads.
"Your Majesty, I have one more matter. Princess Qige is my close friend and she has helped me a lot. The rest of those maids are Dayan's people. We didn't realize it at first, but later we found out that they were poisoning Qige's daily meals. Dayan never intended for us to return to Mongolia alive. This peace negotiation is just a scam. If Princess Qige dies in the Great Zhou, Dayan will definitely use it as an excuse to launch a war."
Wei Heng knew about this. "The imperial physician did not find any problems."
Lu Hexu said lightly, "Kill that imperial physician and replace him with another one. Also, kill all those Mongolian maids. Cut off their heads and hang them at the entrance of the Qingliang Hall." After speaking, Lu Hexu looked down at the barely visible bite mark on his fingertip and muttered, "I've killed very few people lately."
It was said that the tyrant had killed many Mongolian maids and hung their heads at the entrance of the Qingliang Hall. Every day, officials passing by would see it, turning pale with fright and trembling at the knees, not daring to offer advice.
Of course, there were also bold ones who spoke out against the tyrant's proposal to negotiate peace with Mongolia, saying that the tyrant had killed so many of their people and still wanted peace, which was pure nonsense.
A minister, reprimanding the emperor for nonsense.
In broad daylight, Han Yuan led several officials to kneel under the scorching sun, speaking passionately.
As night fell, the doors of the Qingliang Hall opened.
Lu Hexu stood in front of the hall doors holding a long sword, his gaze looking down. "Who said that?"
Han Yuan, who was kneeling at the very front, swept his gaze over the sharp sword. Gritting his teeth, he stood up. He was a second-rank official; would this tyrant really dare to kill him!
The next moment, there was one more old man's head at the entrance of the Qingliang Hall.
"Who else." Lu Hexu held the bloodstained sword in his hand, and Han Yuan's head rolled among the remaining ministers.
These ministers turned deathly pale, shaking their heads repeatedly and prostrating on the ground, not daring to say another word.
This deterrence was too shocking, directly shutting the mouths of those ministers who still wanted to clamor.
Inside the Tinghe Courtyard, Shen Yanci's residence.
Several cabinet ministers who had come to the Qingliang Palace for a vacation gathered together, all looking sickly pale.
"Lord Shen, His Majesty implementing such cruel policies... is truly..."
Although the sentence was not finished, it was obvious that these words resonated with everyone, and they all shook their heads.
Shen Yanci's face also showed concern. "Lord Han died an unjust death."
The old man Han Yuan had become his scapegoat with just a little provocation.
But if he were the one to speak up, the person the tyrant would use his sword on would be him.
Shen Yanci took a sip of tea to suppress the fear in his heart.
He knew this tyrant was crazy, but he didn't expect him to be this crazy.
Han Yuan, a second-rank cabinet minister, was killed just like that.
He even cut off his head and hung it at the entrance of the Qingliang Palace, making the courtiers he had persuaded too afraid to step forward and mention the Mongolian matter to pressure the tyrant, fearing that the next person hanging there would be themselves.
"My lords, His Majesty acting like this truly makes the entire court uneasy. I invited you all here today to say one thing: the cabinet is the pillar of the state. I know you are all loyal patriots. How can the great Zhou Dynasty sit back and watch His Majesty enforce cruel policies and destroy the state?"
"Yes, yes." Everyone nodded in agreement. They were all smart people, and being able to appear here at Shen Yanci's place naturally meant they understood what this gathering implied.
"Lord Shen, we will all listen to you from now on."
Shen Yanci smiled and nodded. "Alright, it's getting late. Please go back, my lords. Be careful on the way. Inside the palace, the Imperial Guards are in power, so beware that walls have ears."
The lords stood up one after another to take their leave.
After they walked out of the courtyard, the smile on Shen Yanci's face completely vanished. "Insatiable old foxes."
Su Zhenzhen also heard about the tyrant treating human heads like candied haws and hanging them all over the Qingliang Hall.
It was said that blood flowed all over the ground, and the serving palace staff scrubbed it for three whole days.
Hugging the beautiful youth Mu Dan, her face was full of fear. "What a terrifying tyrant."
[I hope I never meet him in my life.]
The beautiful youth stroked her face with one hand and nodded casually, "Mm."
"However..." Su Zhenzhen changed the subject, "I think although his methods are a bit brutal, they are indeed very effective."
Lu Hexu's stroking motion paused.
He lifted the woman's chin and tilted his head to look at her.
Su Zhenzhen hugged Mu Dan's slender waist and looked up at him. "I also advocate for peace, but unfortunately, I'm not a courtier."
She heard that even Wei Heng, the tyrant's confidant, chose to advocate for war.
Let alone those courtiers.
She heard that although those courtiers no longer dared to kneel at the entrance of the Qingliang Hall, afraid of having their heads chopped off and hung up by the tyrant, memorials still flew into the Qingliang Hall like snowflakes, every word and sentence expressing their desire for war.
"But fortunately, I'm not a courtier either, otherwise my head might also be hung at the entrance of the Qingliang Hall."
As she spoke, Su Zhenzhen shrank her neck, feeling a severe chill at the back of her neck.
[Scared.]
[Need a pat.]
Lu Hexu raised his hand and caressed the back of the woman's neck.
Su Zhenzhen narrowed her eyes comfortably. "Mu Dan, have you ever seen that tyrant?"
The youth said slowly, "No."
"No wonder you're still alive."
The summer night was as dark as ink. Su Zhenzhen and Lu Hexu were lying on a rocking chair.
The youth stayed silent for a while and replied, "Mm."
Since the flower boat incident last time, the two had become much more intimate.
The rocking chair wasn't very big. Su Zhenzhen sat on the youth's lap, leaning against his side, her head resting on his chest.
The youth lay there, letting her hug him.
[So good.]
Next to the rocking chair was a wooden stool with freshly cut fruits on it, and as usual, a small bowl of honey next to it.
The youth stretched his body on the rocking chair like a kitten exposing its belly. He reached out his beautiful fingertips, used a bamboo skewer to pierce a piece of peach, dipped it into the bowl, and then put it in his mouth.
The peach was cut into bite-sized pieces.
Su Zhenzhen saw the honey staining the youth's lips.
Usually, he would roll it three times in the honey, but this time he only rolled it once.
She sat up, "There are lotus seeds to eat."
Su Zhenzhen got up to get the lotus seeds.
The freshly peeled lotus seeds were plump.
Su Zhenzhen stuffed one directly into Lu Hexu's mouth.
The youth frowned.
Su Zhenzhen looked slightly expectant, "What's wrong?"
"Bitter."
Bitter!
Her medicine was working.
Su Zhenzhen knew that Mu Dan's body was gradually recovering.
But physical wounds could heal, while mental trauma could not easily heal.
Now only the wandering soul syndrome remained.
Su Zhenzhen remembered the prescriptions she had recently copied from the stone stele at the Medicine King Temple. One of the prescriptions mentioned the wandering soul syndrome.
But this kind of prescription was very ancient after all, and she didn't dare to use it lightly.
Su Zhenzhen was lost in thought when suddenly, she heard a very weak meow.
Hmm?
Before transmigrating into the book, Su Zhenzhen was a cat slave. She would pet cats on the street, pet cats at home, buy cat supplies during online festivals, and hold her cat every day calling it baby, mommy loves you.
People who raise cats are extremely sensitive to cat meows.
This meow pierced Su Zhenzhen's fragile nerves.
She subconsciously stood up and walked out from under the eaves to look for the kitten.
"Meow..."
The sound seemed to come from above.
Su Zhenzhen stopped in her tracks and slightly raised her head, her gaze meeting the kitten's right on.
It was a small kitten, trapped on the eaves and unable to get down.
Usually, kittens like this are carried up by their mother. It opened its mouth, its voice already very weak. Its fur was matted in clumps, and being white, the dirt was especially obvious. Its little face was pitch black, with only a pair of large, dark grape-like eyes staring at the two of them.
Because mother cats groom their kittens, kittens are generally very clean. For this kitten to be this dirty, it was obviously lost, or perhaps abandoned by its mother.
"There's a kitten." Su Zhenzhen waved to Mu Dan.
The young man lazily walked over and raised his eyes.
Su Zhenzhen glanced at the young man, then at the kitten.
Those dark eyes, so similar.
It was also a little white cat, which made it look even more like his cold white skin.
The kitten's pitiful appearance was also very similar to when Su Zhenzhen first saw Mu Dan.
There was slippery moss on the eaves, and the kitten moved forward, trying to find another foothold.
The next moment, its body tilted, and it slipped from the eaves.
Su Zhenzhen's body reacted faster than her brain; she reached out her arms to catch the cat.
The kitten didn't fall; one of its claws hung onto the eaves, dangling precariously.
Su Zhenzhen couldn't reach it.
Lu Xu stood there, watching Su Zhenzhen brush past him.
"Mu Dan, help me get a stool." Su Zhenzhen turned to look at the young man.
Lu Hexu walked over, picked up a stool with one hand, placed it by his feet, then stepped on it and lifted the kitten down.
"Hey, hey, hey, you can't lift it by the claws, you have to lift it by the scruff of the neck."
Su Zhenzhen hugged the kitten to her chest with heartache, and then suddenly noticed the scratches on Mu Dan's hand from the kitten.
"You're scratched!"
Su Zhenzhen placed the kitten in a nearby medicine basket and covered it, then took Mu Dan's hand to wash it.
She squeezed the blood out of the young man's wound, wiped it clean with a handkerchief, and then washed it again with soap locust.
Fortunately, the wound wasn't deep, and it should heal by tomorrow.
"Saved it, and then what?" the young man suddenly spoke.
Su Zhenzhen thought for a moment and asked, "Can palace maids keep cats?"
She didn't know.
Su Zhenzhen glanced at the kitten meowing its heart out in the medicine basket, "It would be nice if I could."
Lu Hexu said, "Yes."
Su Zhenzhen immediately made up her mind, "I'll keep it. Even though it means an extra worry and attachment, it's a good thing."
Lu Hexu saw the soft warmth seeping into the woman's eyes.
His eyes showed a cold texture like black glaze, "Worry? Attachment?"
"Yes," Su Zhenzhen nodded.
Lu Hexu withdrew his hand.
He didn't have such things.
He wouldn't worry about or be attached to anything.
-
Wei Heng took over the matter of Saren completely. He secretly ordered people to escort the Mongolian princess and Princess Qige back to Mongolia, and wrote a secret letter to Zhou Changfeng, stationed in Xuanfu, asking him to help Saren unite the old Mongolian tribes.
Things progressed very quickly here. With the Khan's edict, Saren quickly led the old tribes and pulled Dayan from power in just a few days.
By the time Shen Yanci received the news, Saren had already sent a peace treaty to the Great Zhou, accompanied by more gifts than Altan had previously offered.
"What's going on? Why did a Mongolian princess suddenly appear? Wasn't Altan's whole family killed?"
Liu Jingxing also didn't expect that there would be a fish that slipped through the net, and that this very fish would affect their entire plan.
Shen Yanci rubbed his forehead with a headache, his other hand pressing on his knee under the desk, tightly gripping the sachet. "Let those people withdraw. There's no point in advocating war now."
Liu Jingxing's face was extremely ugly.
The face of this arrogant strategist twisted terrifyingly after tasting failure multiple times.
-
The kitten was fine. Su Zhenzhen wiped its body with a damp cloth and fed it steamed minced meat. The kitten ate quickly, and after eating, it fell asleep immediately, insisting on sleeping next to a person's neck.
Left with no choice, Su Zhenzhen could only wear this neck pendant.
After being cared for for a few days, the kitten finally regained its health. It was also very smart and would go out to the flowerbed or under a tree to use the toilet, as long as a window was left slightly open.
It was just too lively. She didn't know how it managed to climb the tree in the courtyard.
The kitten hid in the tree, sticking its butt up and posing as if to pounce on a bird, but after holding the pose for a long time, it didn't act, until the bird on the branch flew away.
The kitten stayed in the tree, thought for a while, and started howling for help.
Su Zhenzhen: ...
Su Zhenzhen carried the kitten down and then began to study the prescription.
She had found a prescription on the stone stele of the Medicine King Temple that was said to have a soothing effect on sleepwalking, and Su Zhenzhen decided to give it a try.
She spent a day looking for herbs in the house according to the prescription and found that she was missing a few ingredients.
Su Zhenzhen glanced at the sky. The sun hadn't set yet. If she went down the mountain now, a round trip would take about four hours, which should be enough time.
Holding the prescription and her waist tag, Su Zhenzhen opened the wardrobe and glanced at the messy clothes piled up inside, unorganized, and even found a kitten in the middle of them.
Exactly like Mu Dan's habits.
Su Zhenzhen petted the kitten, then casually pulled out an outfit from the pile of clothes and put it on. After leaving the steamed minced meat, she hurried out.
Because she had her waist tag on her, she easily passed through the gate.
She had gone out once with Mu Dan before, so she remembered the way.
Actually, there was a main road down the mountain from Qingliang Mountain, so she wouldn't get lost.
Although the sun was about to set, the temperature hadn't dropped at all.
Su Zhenzhen was sweating from walking. She casually picked a wild fruit and popped it into her mouth.
The wild fruit had some peck marks from birds on it, which meant it wasn't poisonous.
After walking for more than an hour, Su Zhenzhen finally reached the bottom of the mountain.
The street was still very lively. Su Zhenzhen passed by the candied fruit shop from last time and went in to buy a bag of almond butter candies.
The boss actually remembered her and gave her two extra pieces.
"It's hard to forget people with such good looks and talent as you and your little husband."
Su Zhenzhen thought of Mu Dan's face.
Indeed.
"What else would you like to buy, miss? We have some new candies here, take a look."
Although it was a candied fruit shop, the boss had filled nearly half of it with candies, and next to them, he had placed some bamboo tubes cut low, containing small pieces of candy for customers to taste.
Su Zhenzhen picked up a bamboo skewer, pierced a few pieces to taste, and then bought some milk candies and hawthorn candies.
The boss enthusiastically wrapped them up for her.
Su Zhenzhen continued to wander around the shop, her eyes falling on a corner.
Although it was a corner, it was a good spot because it was out of the sun, so the candies wouldn't melt easily.
"Boss, what kind of candy is this?"
The boss happened to finish wrapping two portions of candy for her, glanced over, and said, "This is Tangchan, made from rock sugar, various nuts, orange and tangerine peel, and mint, shaped into cakes. My wife is very skilled. Most people can only make them into neat blocks, but my wife can mold them into kittens and puppies. Look, there's even a little bird."
It looked like a modern-day sachima.
Su Zhenzhen only became interested because she saw that little cat.
"I'll buy a little cat."
The beautiful, three-dimensional spun-sugar kitten was placed in a paper bag and handed to Su Zhenzhen.
Su Zhenzhen found it amusing. She admired it for a while before carefully closing the bag to keep the dust out.
The spun-sugar kitten was a bit soft, and afraid of ruining it, Su Zhenzhen carried it with great care along the way.
After leaving the candied fruit shop, she still had to go to the apothecary.
Because those few medicinal herbs were quite rare, Su Zhenzhen had visited many apothecaries but still hadn't gathered them all.
She was still missing two.
Su Zhenzhen looked at the last two herbs on the prescription and sighed.
There was only one apothecary left to check.
It looked very small, and there was hardly anyone inside, save for a dozing physician.
Su Zhenzhen handed over her prescription. "Old gentleman, do you have these two herbs here?"
Woken up by Su Zhenzhen, the old man opened his cloudy eyes and glanced down at the prescription. His eyes instantly widened, looking extremely interested in Su Zhenzhen's prescription.
Su Zhenzhen very generously allowed him to copy it down.
"Little lady, where did you get this prescription?"
The old gentleman clicked his tongue and nodded as he looked at the prescription, marveling at it repeatedly.
"There is a Temple of the Medicine King on Mount Qingliang. It was carved on a stone tablet there."
"Oh, so it's from the Temple of the Medicine King. That is royal grounds; ordinary people like us cannot enter."
As the old man spoke, he carefully put the prescription away. Then, remembering something, he asked with a worried look, "Can this prescription be shared with outsiders?"
Su Zhenzhen thought about it. Since she was allowed to copy it freely, it should be fine to share.
Besides, prescriptions were invented to treat illnesses and save lives. Otherwise, what was the point of inventing them? To keep them for self-admiration and collect dust?
"Yes."
Su Zhenzhen sat opposite the old gentleman, picked up the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone from his desk, and proceeded to write down a few more prescriptions from memory.
"There are also these."
"Thank you so much, little lady."
The old gentleman was overwhelmed with excitement. Holding the prescriptions, his eyes actually grew red.
Actually, Su Zhenzhen could understand this feeling.
Everyone values different things. Scholars love books the most, martial artists love famous swords and precious sabers, and practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine, of course, love rare prescriptions the most.
"Little lady, you have accumulated great merit today. You will surely be rewarded in this life."
Everyone likes hearing good words.
It was just a pity that in her previous life, she was hacked to death by a patient.
Su Zhenzhen nodded with a smile and said, "Alright, thank you."
"By the way, do you have these two herbs here?"
The old gentleman shook his head helplessly. "I'm afraid these two herbs can only be found in the imperial palace. Ordinary folks like us don't have them."
The palace?
How could she forget? Why didn't she ask Mu Dan first?
After all, he had a high-ranking, powerful eunuch as a godfather.
Holding her purchased herbs and candies, Su Zhenzhen prepared to head back. Passing by an ancient cat supply store, she went in out of curiosity.
The shop was quite large, surprisingly boasting two floors.
On the counters of the first floor were cat foods: dried small fish, as well as little snacks made from loaches and cooked pig trotters.
The second floor was for cat beds and cat bathing.
When Su Zhenzhen went upstairs, she happened to see an attendant carrying a little cat out. It was actually a small white cat with a peony flower dyed onto its fur.
"Does the customer like it? This was dyed using balsam flowers. We can dye other patterns too, as long as the customer likes it. Our shop also provides nail clipping, ear cleaning, and fur trimming services."
Su Zhenzhen was short on money. She browsed around and ultimately only bought a small bag of dried fish and a pheasant feather cat teaser.
Although it was getting late, the night market remained bustling.
As the Mid-Autumn Festival approached, the Ao Mountain lanterns left over from the Dragon Boat Festival on the main street had already been removed and replaced with new designs.
The one closest to Su Zhenzhen was a crane lantern.
She heard that on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, a massive Ao Mountain lantern would appear here, stacking tens of thousands of colorful lanterns into a mountain shape, over ten stories high, resembling a giant turtle.
She really wanted to see it. She would invite Mu Dan to go together when Mid-Autumn arrived.
Just as Su Zhenzhen was thinking this, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from behind, accompanied by the wails of pedestrians injured by the recklessly galloping horse. She immediately dodged to the side along with the crowd.
A fine white horse galloped past her. The man riding it was dressed in luxurious brocade, wearing a jade crown, and draped in gold and silver. At first glance, it was almost blinding.
As he spurred his horse, he cursed loudly, "Get out of my way, all of you!"
Causing trouble and hurting people by galloping through the streets—what an arrogant display of power.
Su Zhenzhen frowned, stepping back to yield along with the crowd around her.
Just as the brocade-clad man was about to ride past, his gaze suddenly paused.
In the crowd, although the woman was dressed plainly, under the warm yellow lantern light, her unadorned face was a rare, peerless beauty.
Zhao Zuchang was mesmerized. He immediately reined in his horse, stopped, and then directly turned the horse around, pushing through the crowd to come before Su Zhenzhen.
"Beauty."
Su Zhenzhen frowned, lowered her head, and hugged the items in her arms, turning to leave. However, the man relentlessly guided his horse to block her path. "Where does the beauty live? It's getting late. Why not come to my manor and stay for a day?" The brocade-clad man's tone was gentle, but his words were nauseating.
Is your family running an inn?
Su Zhenzhen kept her head down, trying to squeeze herself into the crowd. "I am already married."
"Even if you're married, you can always change your husband." The man sat on his horse, leaning toward her in what he thought was a flirtatious manner.
Su Zhenzhen subconsciously looked up and saw the man's enlarged facial features, which looked like five sesame seeds dotted on a large flatbread to serve as a face.
Are you as good-looking as my husband? Don't make him die of laughter.
