Chapter 48
Winter has passed and spring has arrived. The frost and snow have melted, and spring is in full bloom at the royal palace, with lush greenery everywhere.
Lu Pianpian stood by the pond feeding the fish. As soon as the fish food was scattered into the water, the fish hidden underwater eagerly poked their heads out to grab the food, splashing water onto the shore.
The palace maid pulled Lu Pianpian's dress back a little, "These fish are like hungry wolves pouncing on their prey..."
A white shadow fell from the eaves into the pond with a splash, startling the fish that were feeding, which quickly darted into the water and hid at the bottom of the pond.
"Young Master Lu, what fell in there?" The palace servant was startled.
Lu Pianpian didn't see clearly either, but the thing that had fallen in suddenly popped its head out, thrashing and struggling in the water, meowing...
The palace maid was startled. "Where did this stray cat come from? It's so dirty!"
It was so dirty that you couldn't even see its fur color; it was indeed very dirty. The only thing that stood out was its pair of round, blue eyes, which were surprisingly clean.
Lu Pianpian broke off a branch from a nearby tree and stretched it out onto the water. The cat was quite clever; seeing this, it immediately grabbed the branch with its paws, allowing Lu Pianpian to pull it out of the water.
The cat climbed from the edge of the pool onto the bank, shook off the water, and some patches of its fur were washed clean, revealing its original color—it was a white cat.
"It's too dirty, hurry up and move away, don't bump into Young Master Lu!"
This cat is the apple of their Emperor's eye. If they get upset because of it, and the Emperor blames them, they will be the ones who suffer.
"fine."
Lu Pianpian walked up to the cat and asked, "Where did you come from?"
The cat stopped shaking off the water, looked up at Lu Pianpian, and meowed.
Lu Pianpian squatted down, brushed back the wet fur covering the cat's eyes, and met the blue eyes hidden behind it. A sense of familiarity welled up from the bottom of her heart, "Have I seen you somewhere before?"
The cat tilted its head and meowed.
"Young Master Lu, how could you have ever seen such a dirty cat before!"
The palace servant pretended to shoo the cat away, but the cat suddenly jumped up and slashed the servant's hand hard with its claws, "Meow!"
"Oh dear, this vicious beast is really tired of living!"
The palace maid cried out in pain, wanting to take her anger out on the cat, but Lu Pianpian stopped her, saying, "Go and treat your wounds first."
"But Young Master Lu, what if this cat hurts you..."
"It's alright, you can go now."
The palace servant left dejectedly, saying, "Yes."
Once the palace servants left, the cat returned to its harmless appearance, its big, watery blue eyes looking obediently at Lu Pianpian.
One moment she was hurting someone, the next she was feigning innocence and harmlessness, which really reminded Lu Pianpian of someone.
He reached out and picked the cat up from the ground. A look of confusion flashed in the cat's eyes. "Don't you mind that I'm dirty?"
As soon as it finished speaking, it realized it had given itself away and quickly covered its mouth with its paw, meowing.
"You can talk?" Lu Pianpian asked warily, "Are you a demon?"
Seeing that it couldn't hide it any longer, the cat jumped from Lu Pianpian's arms to the ground and ran around wildly in the yard. Suddenly, a tall figure blocked its way, knocking it so hard that it was dizzy and fell back to the ground.
Huan Changming looked down at the cat and said with disgust, "It's filthy."
The cat slowly got up and pitifully licked its fur, trying to remove all the dirt.
"Stop licking, I'll have someone take you downstairs to take a bath later."
Huan Changming looked disgusted, so the cat had no choice but to stop doing anything. Huan Changming looked up and met Lu Pianpian's gaze. "Have you fed the fish?"
Lu Pianpian said expressionlessly, "Alright, now it's time for you to keep your promise."
"What, are you afraid I won't keep my promise?"
It sounds like a promise, but it's really just a transaction.
In exchange for Lu Pianpian not escaping Huan Changming, Huan Changming promised Lu Pianpian that she could choose one of the three imprisoned people each month to meet with. Today happened to be the day that Lu Pianpian could go to see Lu Zhong.
Lu Pianpian walked over and said, "Once His Majesty the King has spoken, he cannot take it back."
Huan Changming seemed quite pleased with those words, "Go ahead."
Lu Pianpian nodded and left.
Cat noticed Huan Changming staring intently in the direction Lu Pianpian had left and whispered, "He heard me just now."
“If you heard it, you heard it.” Huan Changming withdrew his gaze and asked it in a low voice, “You’ve been gone for so long this time, have you found any trace of the Spirit Rhinoceros Butterfly?”
The cat shook its head. This time it had searched many places, but found nothing about the whereabouts of the Spirit Rhinoceros Butterfly. "The Spirit Rhinoceros Butterfly clan only lives on Flower Sleep Island."
"waste."
Those stupid butterflies on Flower Sleep Island, who knows when they'll finally cultivate into Spirit Rhinoceros Butterflies!
"I'll go look again..."
The cat has been away for too long this time; it has returned to bring news to Huan Changming.
"No need."
"Aren't you using the Spirit Rhinoceros Butterfly anymore?"
"I already have an antidote with me."
Huan Changming can put aside the Lingxi Butterfly issue for now.
When Lu Pianpian arrived at the prison and met Lu Zhong, she found that although he had lost a lot of weight, he was still clean and his cell was neat and tidy, much better than when they last met.
"Father, are you alright?"
Lu Zhong hurriedly went behind the railing and saw that Lu Pianpian was unharmed. He said with relief, "Don't ask anyone to come in. Your father is fine here. You don't need to worry about him."
Lu Pianpian nodded. "Father, do you need anything in prison? Is there anything I can get for you?"
"I lack nothing, Father lacks nothing." Lu Zhong patted Lu Pianpian's hand. "By the way, son, so much time has passed. Is there any news from His Highness the Crown Prince? When will he come to eliminate the traitors?"
Lu Zhong was imprisoned and unaware that the country had undergone a dynastic change long ago.
Lu Pianpian was at a loss for words. Seeing that his expression was off, Lu Zhong pressed him for an answer, asking, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"Father, the eldest prince dispatched troops several months ago and clashed head-on with the traitors in Jianghuai County..."
"What was the result? Did Your Highness achieve a great victory?"
Lu Pianpian remained silent, and Lu Zhong impatiently asked again, "Son, whatever the outcome, I can bear it. Just tell me!"
"Father, our army was no match for them." Lu Pianpian paused, her voice lowering, "The entire army was wiped out."
Lu Zhong stared blankly at Lu Pianpian for a moment before snapping out of his daze. His expression aged considerably in an instant. "I understand..."
Lu Pianpian tried to comfort her father, but he just waved his hand at her and said, "Don't risk coming to see me in prison anymore."
"Father, believe me, I will definitely find a way to get you out of here!"
Lu Zhong retreated to the depths of the cell. "I am your father, listen to me... If you ever come to see me again, I will not see you again."
Lu Zhong was extremely loyal to the late emperor, so it's understandable that he couldn't accept the news of Huan Juntian's defeat.
"Father, no matter what you say, I will still come to see you again."
"Don't you understand what I'm saying?" Lu Zhong roared angrily. "Get out of here and never come back again!"
Lu Pianpian was afraid that he would get angry and hurt his health, so she didn't dare to stay any longer and provoke him. "Alright, I'll leave first today... Dad, don't worry, I will definitely make sure nothing happens to you."
Lu Pianpian walked out of the prison in a daze. He had made a solemn promise to Lu Zhong that he would protect him. If his father found out that he had compromised himself under Huan Changming to save their lives, he wondered how his father would view him.
The more he thought about it, the more distressed he felt. Suddenly, he felt a tightness in his chest, and a familiar feeling welled up from his body.
Lu Pianpian quickly pulled over a passing palace servant and asked, "What solar term is it today?"
The palace maid replied, "Yes, it is the beginning of spring!"
Lu Pianpian's eyes widened, and she quickly released the palace servant and fled in a panic.
Jingyi and a group of court officials were summoned to the Imperial Study to discuss matters concerning Huan Changming's enthronement ceremony.
"Your Majesty, spring is in full bloom, and all things are reviving. It is the perfect time to hold Your Majesty's coronation ceremony."
Huan Changming had been on the throne for over a few months, but due to internal strife and the looming threat of the foreign rebel Huan Juntian, the enthronement ceremony had been postponed. Now that the internal and external affairs were at peace, some officials proposed holding the enthronement ceremony, arguing that this was in accordance with ancestral tradition and would be legitimate.
Jingyi agreed, "Your Majesty, I second that suggestion."
"Then this matter will be entrusted to Prime Minister Jing in full charge."
"Your Majesty, I will certainly do my utmost to ensure the success of this enthronement ceremony," Jingyi said confidently. "I will go to the Imperial Observatory today and have them calculate an auspicious day!"
"good."
After discussing the matters concerning the enthronement ceremony, the ministers left the imperial study.
Jingyi did not travel with the others and went to the Imperial Observatory alone. When he arrived at the Imperial Garden, he suddenly saw a panicked figure hiding in the artificial hill.
He followed suspiciously and saw a person who had wrapped himself up from head to toe in clothes and was trembling all over.
Jing Yi held his breath and tried to step forward to lift the clothes to see the person's true face. He accidentally stepped on a pebble, startling the person inside. Jing Yi quickly stepped aside to avoid being seen.
But it was clear that the other party had noticed that there were people around. Jingyi saw the other party stagger out from the artificial hill. The clothes covering his body were accidentally caught on a corner of the artificial hill, allowing Jingyi to see what was being covered behind him.
It was a pair of butterfly wings that covered his entire back. They were pale gold in color, and as the wings fluttered, golden powder fell from his wings to the ground, emitting a dazzling luster.
Jing Yi stared in astonishment. He had seen such wings before, in the frozen illusion of the Spirit Rhinoceros Butterfly, as Xi Zhi.
These are the butterfly wings that Yaoyao can only possess after transforming into a Lingxi butterfly.
Realizing that his wings were exposed, the other person quickly grabbed the corner of his clothes that had been caught and covered himself again before stumbling away.
He ran in such a hurry that the wind blew up a corner of his clothes that was covering his face, allowing Jingyi to see his profile.
Jing Yi suppressed his excitement and gritted his teeth as he called out the person's name: "Lu Pianpian..."
This lynx butterfly had been hiding right under their noses all along!
Lu Pianpian, still retaining a sliver of consciousness, ran back to his bedchamber, shooed all the palace servants out, and locked the doors. He huddled alone in a corner of the bed, covering himself completely with the blanket, intending to endure this agonizing period as it was.
After an unknown amount of time, Huan Changming's questioning voice suddenly came from outside the hall: "Who locked the hall door?"
"Your Majesty, it was Young Master Lu who locked it after he returned..."
Why lock it?