Jiang Yun Sui scratched her head. Was that it?
If the matter was handled, it was no longer her concern.
With her carefree nature, she pushed the whole incident out of her mind and took Cook Chen’s hand to walk back.
Along the way, Cook Chen remained in a daze. What had just happened had truly shaken her.
“Auntie Chen, eat!”
She eagerly opened the food boxes, beaming broadly as she pushed them toward the older woman.
Only then did Cook Chen notice what she was carrying. When she lifted the lids, she gasped in surprise.
These were dishes far too fine for ordinary people to enjoy.
“Yun Sui… where did you get all this?”
“From Young Master Ji,” Jiang Yun Sui replied obediently.
“What?!”
“Eat quickly, Auntie,” the little girl urged in her soft, childish voice. “I’m already full.”
She patted her stomach gently, a hint of regret in her tone. “My tummy is so small I can’t fit much more.”
Human food tasted so wonderful that she wished she could stuff herself until she could eat no more, but her “little mushroom” body simply did not have a large appetite.
Hmm… though perhaps it was a little bigger than the Young Master’s, she thought to herself, and felt quite pleased.
Cook Chen looked at the feast before her all good food, it would be a shame to waste it.
She might as well eat.
Her mind was still in a fog, and she worried whether the trouble with the two maidservants would somehow drag her and little Yun Sui into it.
Jiang Yun Sui yawned widely, her eyelids growing heavy, her small head nodding forward as sleepiness washed over her.
Seeing this, Cook Chen’s heart softened. She really was just like a gentle, innocent little kitten.
“Go on and get some sleep. I’ll finish eating, tidy up, and then rest too.”
Jiang Yun Sui nodded, ready to climb straight into bed, but Cook Chen pulled her back to wash her face and feet first. Only then did she stumble sleepily onto the mattress.
Even fighting against drowsiness, she was still well-behaved enough to say goodnight.
“Goodnight, Auntie.”
The soft, sweet words had barely left her mouth before her head touched the pillow and she was fast asleep.
Cook Chen tucked the quilt carefully around her with gentle hands.
She gazed at the little girl’s face for a long time.
When Yun Sui had first been brought in, she had been covered in blood. Steward Li had called several servants together and asked who would be willing to look after her.
Some had families and refused to take on the burden; others were young and did not want to be tied down caring for a sickly child.
Cook Chen, feeling her heart go out to the girl and thinking of her own children who were no longer with her, had stepped forward when everyone else stayed silent and accepted the duty.
Jiang Yun Sui was very well-behaved. When she woke, she never cried or made a fuss though some of her habits were rather odd.
She was also extremely timid; apart from Cook Chen, she rarely spoke to anyone else, and would immediately hide whenever strangers came near.
Yet today, when she had seen Yun Sui being threatened, the usually shy child had stepped forward bravely. Even though she was afraid, she had still spoken up to defend them both.
And then there was this fine food she had brought back.
Thinking of all this, Cook Chen felt her heart swell with affection.
“Yun Sui, from now on, Auntie will raise you as my own. We’ll look after each other, just the two of us.”
She had thought she would spend her remaining years alone, but Jiang Yun Sui felt like a precious gift from heaven.
After finishing her meal and cleaning the room, Cook Chen took her own and Yun Sui’s dirty clothes and sat by the doorway to wash them.
Halfway through, a figure dressed entirely in black appeared at the entrance, making her jump in fright.
“Where is she?” Ji Yi asked in a deep, flat voice.
Cook Chen’s hands trembled anxiously. “You’re looking for Yun Sui? Sir, she is still only a child and speaks without thinking could you please be lenient with her?”
“The Young Master wishes to see her.”
Worry etched across her face, Cook Chen could only point toward the inner room. If the Young Master himself wanted her, there was no way to stop it.
Ji Yi stepped inside and circled the small room several times, even glancing underneath the table.
But Jiang Yun Sui was nowhere to be found.
He stepped back out looking thoroughly frustrated. “She’s not there.”
Cook Chen blinked in confusion. “What? But Yun Sui was just in bed asleep!”
Ji Yi paused, then strode straight over to the bed. After feeling around carefully, he finally found her curled up tight beneath the covers like a little ball.
He stared at her rosy, sleeping face for a long moment. There was no doubt about it this child was far from ordinary.
“Wake up.”
He crouched beside the bed and shook her firmly several times, yet she did not stir.
He could not help but wonder how someone could sleep so soundly it was almost like being dead.
Finally, he simply rolled her up inside the bedding, hoisted the whole bundle onto his shoulders like a giant spring roll, and hurried off as swift as the wind.
Cook Chen rushed after them, but she was too slow to catch up.
In less time than it took to drink half a cup of tea, Ji Yi arrived at Ji Yan’an’s study, carrying the girl still wrapped in her blankets.
“Master, I have brought her.”
He set the “spring roll” respectfully down in front of Ji Yan’an.
Staring at the large, lumpy bundle on the floor, Ji Yan’an fell silent.
He had asked for the girl what on earth had Ji Yi brought him?
“Unwrap her and wake her up.”
Ji Yi nodded, knelt down, and shook the corner of the blanket. The little girl rolled neatly out, round and soft, and came to rest right at Ji Yan’an’s feet.
Even then, she did not wake.
Ji Yan’an thought: This damnable ability to sleep so deeply… I feel nothing but envy and resentment.
For so long, his body had been wracked by a slow-acting poison, robbing him of proper rest. He stared at Jiang Yun Sui’s peaceful face, his frustration almost palpable.
He stood, knelt down beside her, and pinched her cheek gently between his fingers.
It was plump, soft, and surprisingly pleasant to the touch.
When he pulled it slightly, it bounced back with excellent elasticity.
His expression remained stern. Still not awake?
He pinched her nose shut.
Jiang Yun Sui let out a muffled grunt and opened her mouth to breathe.
Ji Yan’an: ……………
Without a word, he used his other hand to squeeze her mouth into the shape of a duck’s bill.
At last, the lack of air forced her awake. She blinked her eyes open in a daze.
A faint smirk tugged at the corner of Ji Yan’an’s mouth. Hmph.
But his triumph lasted barely two seconds. The child raised her small hand and slapped him right on the side of the head.
“How dare you!”
Jiang Yun Sui yawned, rubbed her eyes, and stared blankly ahead, completely unaware of what she had just done.
“Jiang Yun Sui.”
Ji Yan’an’s voice came out sharp and tight, as if he were grinding his teeth.
Jiang Yun Sui blinked. Hmm? Who is Jiang Yun Sui?
Ji Yan’an pinched both sides of her cheeks to make her look directly at him. “You slept very well, didn’t you?”
The words carried a cold, threatening undertone.
Jiang Yun Sui tilted her head slightly, her voice soft and still thick with sleep. “Who are you?”
“Open your eyes wide and look properly!”
Slowly, her mind cleared. But being woken so abruptly had left this little “mushroom” feeling deeply aggrieved.
“Where did you steal me away from my home?” Her childish tone was full of resentment. “Why did you do that? I want to sleep!”
Ji Yan’an gave a cold laugh. “Sleep? Who said you were allowed to sleep?”
If only he could sleep as well!
Jiang Yun Sui studied him for two seconds. Though this Young Master Ji was terribly thin, his fists were bigger than hers, he stood much taller, and he looked quite fierce.
She quickly concluded: I definitely cannot win in a fight against him.
Besides, she still needed his help to break free from the strange bond of fate that clung to her.
So between acting boldly and swallowing her anger, the little mushroom chose to stay quiet and sulk.
She huddled on the floor, looking like a dejected little lump.
Ji Yan’an sipped his tea slowly. “Tell me about those two women what exactly did you hear and see?”
Still groggy from being woken so suddenly, Jiang Yun Sui’s mind moved sluggishly.
“What two people?”