Un joven errante

Capítulo 17

My chest ached. Luckily, he was still a child; otherwise, given his princely status and martial arts training from a young age, his kicks would naturally be powerful. I instinctively fell backward to reduce the force of the kick, but I still couldn't help but groan—it hurt so much.

Yunying took it from behind, but I hurriedly got up and knelt respectfully in front of him.

I took a few deep breaths, trying to catch my breath after that kick. I forced myself to squeeze out a few tears and sobbed softly.

Sima Shao looked at this humble and respectful servant, unable to understand why he had felt something special about her that day. The way she pounced on him that day seemed premeditated, and there was a mischievous glint in her eyes—that triumphant smile that made the month-long ordeal of being confined to bed even more unbearable. How could his feet have been hurting so badly that he couldn't get out of bed for a month? There was no mistake, how could he be wrong? But the terrified servant kneeling on the ground now—it really was her.

He thought about it for a month and searched for a month, vowing to take revenge and teach her a lesson so she would know that he was the crown prince and she was just a servant, and teach her how to be a servant.

But seeing her kneeling timidly before him, he felt no joy at all. Instead, he was annoyed and unhappy by her subservient manner.

After thinking it over, he glared at her fiercely, and while she was crying and kowtowing, begging for mercy, he flicked his sleeves and left in a huff.

Watching my sugar daddy leave inexplicably, his eyes blazing with inexplicable rage, I blinked in bewilderment. What was going on? Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my chest. I coughed a few times and coughed up blood. A wave of dizziness washed over me, and Yunying's image before me blurred. My last conscious thought was of her panicked cries for help as she screamed at me—

"Miss, here's your order of boiled eggs with brown sugar."

I glanced at it with disgust. I knew that brown sugar boiled eggs—well, they were delicious once in a while, but if you ate this for a month straight, even the finest delicacies would lose their flavor. But Yunying insisted that this would help with my chronic chest pain. There was no proof, and I had no way of verifying it.

So, I had no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it. Seeing that Yunying was about to explode, I closed my eyes and obediently ate it.

The kick that brat gave me that day wasn't very strong, but it triggered my illness. I had been seriously ill before, and although Chen Ningyuan's treatment saved my life after that accident, I was left with chest pain.

"Damn brat, I don't care if you're my future master or some sugar daddy. Next time I see you, I'll make you pay!" With that thought, I drank the last mouthful of the deep red soup.

So sweet.

But--

I hate sweets!

Volume 2, Chapter 29: Si Fang Ge

It turns out to be Zha Ziyanhong

Misty and hazy

Like a spring breeze

It was clearly a beautiful day and a lovely scene.

In my mouth

One statement becomes empty

Whose courtyard is filled with delightful pleasures?

Morning flight and evening roll

Painted Boat on Misty Waves

Springtime beauty cannot be contained

In the dark

But they followed along the way

Bored, I moved my large drawing table to the tall locust tree in the courtyard to prepare for drawing. Singing as I painted, I felt quite content. These past few days I've been focused on recovering from my injury, and I almost missed the deadline for the samples the shop needed. Today I'll cram at the last minute and finish them as quickly as possible. Under Xiao Qi's management, "Jun Jin" has grown bigger and bigger, becoming the only chain store in the country. It no longer just sells clothing; it has gradually expanded to fabrics, including silks and brocades from various countries, as well as fabrics and clothing styles with regional and ethnic characteristics. Now, the whole world is buzzing with rumors: just as there's a top-tier manor in the martial arts world called "Ji Xian," there's also a top-tier manor in the business world called "Jun Jin." However, I've always kept the location of Jun Jin Manor discreet and secretive. Its ancient and simple exterior has even deterred thieves. Few people know that the shabby old house is the entrance to Jun Jin Manor, while the interior is unimaginably magnificent and exquisite, incorporating many modern architectural styles, as well as some techniques I can explain to the workers. Anyone who has been there knows that Junjin Villa is an unparalleled and unique place. It is also the home I carefully built for myself and for those around me. One day, we will all live there together, relying on each other, and live happily ever after.

Unbreakable

It's all a mess.

Unexplained

Makeup residue

Like this

Pay all

What a pity!

Rumors are circulating that Junjin Manor is a legendary sacred place, with some even claiming it doesn't exist in the real world and can only be glimpsed by those with the right destiny in a dream world. When Yunying relayed these rumors to me, I couldn't help but chuckle. In ancient times, legends of gods and men were truly prevalent. Why make it sound so mysterious? They're just trying to protect their home discreetly. I don't want to live under the constant scrutiny of everyone after they learn about Junjin Manor; that would be exhausting!

Shake your head and continue singing softly:

Unbreakable

It's all a mess.

Unexplained

Makeup residue

Like this

Pay all

What a pity!

Just as he was lost in thought, Xiao Quanzi suddenly ran over laughing. From afar, his voice could be heard: "Master, Master, hehe, look what I brought you."

Damn those feudal hierarchical ideas! At first, he sweetly called me "sister," but after learning from Yunying the next day that I was at least a beauty, he started calling me "master." After several attempts to correct him proved completely ineffective, I lost interest in this futile effort. Let him call me whatever he wants.

I turned around impatiently, and he was holding a fluffy white thing in his hands. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was Xiaobai, who had run away from home to chase girls for a long time.

He stopped in front of me, panting, looked up and grinned at me, revealing his white teeth: "Hehe."

I took Xiaobai from his arms; it already looked impatient and disgusted. Xiaobai has never liked being touched or held by strangers. At first, it would act cute and docile, but when people let their guard down, it would suddenly attack. What's worse, it only scratches people's faces, which could easily disfigure them. I guess he forced Xiaoquanzi to carry it back because Xiaobai smelled my scent on Xiaoquanzi; after all, we'd been living together for several days.

"Aww," the little white dog in my arms gave me a resentful look, looking incredibly aggrieved, as if to say: Look how much face I've given you. Knowing it's yours, I've been holding back my temper. Do you know how hard that has been? Still not satisfied, it rubbed its head against me and sighed contentedly.

I chuckled. That brat. He's such a good actor. I know he's holding back, acting all innocent and wronged because he wants to escape the memory of the golden retriever he tricked into climbing the tree a few days ago.

I squinted at it dangerously. Little brat, you think you can mess with me? You're still too green. You think you can escape like that? No way!

The little white dog in her arms seemed to sense something; this woman was terrifying, and a chill ran down her spine.

Xiao Quanzi remained standing there, grinning foolishly. After a long while, her face flushed red, she stammered, "Does Master like it?"

Seeing his eager expression, as if he wanted his master's praise, I couldn't bear to tell him that Xiaobai was originally my pet. I smiled back and said, "I like it very much, Xiaoquanzi, thank you. What should we call it? Hmm, it's all white, so cute, let's call it Xiaobai, okay?"

Xiao Quanzi was completely captivated by its master's beautiful smile, and it took it a long time to come back to its senses. "Okay, master, call it whatever you like." Looking at its master's joyful smile, Xiao Quanzi felt a warmth in its heart. This morning, when it went out, it unintentionally saw this cute little creature, as adorable as a fox, lazily sunbathing on the eaves. It thought that its master would definitely like it, so it waited there all morning. After confirming that the little animal had no owner, it found a ladder and secretly brought it over while it was sleeping.

"By the way, Master, may I ask you a question?"

"Sure, go ahead and ask." I lowered my head and focused on combing Xiaobai's fur with my fingers.

"Um, um—" he stammered, unable to get the words out.

After waiting for a while without him saying anything, I looked up and saw his face flushed with nervousness. I gave him an encouraging smile and said, "What is it? Go ahead and say it. Don't be shy."

He lowered his eyelids, his face flushed, and whispered, "Was that Master singing just now? It was so beautiful. I've never heard such a beautiful song before."

I chuckled to myself: Of course you wouldn't have heard that before; it's a modern pop song. Hehe.

"Does Xiao Quanzi like to hear this?" I asked, looking at his increasingly red face. "How about I sing it for you? Listen carefully, I'll sing it for you while I draw." I smiled at him again after saying that.

This little eunuch is so cute. He even blushes! Just like my third brother. Thinking of my departed third brother, I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. But I composed myself and continued singing to him.

"So it was Zha Ziyanhong"

Misty and hazy

Like a spring breeze

It was clearly a beautiful day and a lovely scene.

In my mouth

One statement becomes empty

Whose courtyard is filled with delightful pleasures?

Morning flight and evening roll

Painted Boat on Misty Waves

Springtime beauty cannot be contained

In the dark

But they followed along the way

Unbreakable

It's all a mess.

Unexplained

Makeup residue

Like this

Pay all

What a pity!

..."

As Xiao Quanzi watched her master, who was smiling gently and singing to her, she gradually became immersed in her own illusion, as if she were seeing her older sister again.

My older sister, who grew up with me, was sold off by our parents because our family was too poor. I don't know where she is now, or if she's doing well. I remember her running in the peach orchard behind our house, her sweet smile just like my master's now. I remember her often singing folk songs from our hometown to me, saying, "Little brother, don't worry, we'll all be fine from now on. I'll take good care of you. We'll always be together." Her expression was so gentle then, her fair cheeks seemingly bathed in a soft, translucent glow, like a fairy. So many years have passed. I was sold to the palace to become a eunuch, suffering terribly at first, until my master rescued me. And now I see her again, that same fairy-like glow spreading across my master's face, so beautiful, so very beautiful.

Xiao Quanzi felt dizzy the whole day. This feeling of happiness was so wonderful.

All I remember is that in the end, my master looked at me with pity, his face streaked with tears, and gently pulled me into his arms, sighing softly, "Little eunuch, don't worry, I will take good care of you from now on. We will be family from now on."

“Miss, sigh—” Yunying looked at me with concern, “You are only one person. You can’t be good to everyone, and things can’t always go the way you imagine. You should be kinder to yourself.”

I pulled the blanket back up for the sleeping Xiao Quanzi, put my hand to my lips and shushed Yunying, gesturing for her to come outside with me so we could talk.

I strolled slowly with Yunying into the courtyard for a walk. Gazing at the dappled shadows under the locust tree, I smiled gently, put my arm around Yunying's shoulder, and teased, "I don't need to worry about myself. You're always there to worry about me, so I don't need to."

Yunying looked at me with a disapproving expression, which made her small face look rather mature.

I gently rested my head on her shoulder and let out a deep breath. "Yunying, it's so good to have you by my side. That way I won't be so lonely."

“Miss,” Yunying looked at me with some emotion, “as long as you need me, I will stay with you for the rest of my life.”

"Really?" I closed my eyes comfortably and murmured, "That's nice."

Volume 2, Chapter 30: The Wind's Enigma

One night, for some reason, I suddenly remembered a sentence I had seen long ago, as if in a past life: "The splendor of the world is the battleground of life, inspiring awe." The battles of the women in the harem took place in the most magnificent and grand place in the world, in the palace of the most powerful person in this era—the emperor, the place closest to the emperor.

Sometimes I wonder what would have happened between me and Brother Sima if I hadn't entered the palace. Once I was in the palace, I wouldn't be as naive as before, still wondering who Brother Sima was. When I entered the palace, the matriarch and Yunying repeatedly reminded me that the person named Sima Rui was the current emperor. My ignorance of history gradually began to pierce through the layers of clouds, becoming clear and bright.