Dusk settled over the land.
In the Regent’s Manor, the glazed tiles gleamed with a cold, hard luster under the dim yellow lantern light. The rhythmic footsteps of elite guards patrolling echoed against the blue stone pavement.
In the northwest corner of the manor, nestled in the shadows by the wall, a small gray figure stirred.
Luo Luo cautiously parted the branches, revealing a pair of sparkling, wide eyes as she nervously surveyed the high walls and the distant patrol guards. She was covered in dirt, looking like a little mud monkey. The cuff of her indigo jacket was torn, exposing the equally grimy cotton lining beneath. The small milk bottle hanging around her neck was broken. Her face was smeared with mud and sweat, but her eyes shone with an unusually bright, mischievous gleam.
She had entered through a dog hole.
Of course, it wasn’t a proper dog hole—more like a small, damaged section at the end of a drainage ditch, concealed by thick weeds. It was pitifully small for an adult, but for a three-and-a-half-year-old “little bean” like her, it was just enough to squeeze through the moss-covered stone crevice with difficulty.
In her memory, she knew exactly when the guard shifts changed and which hidden corners could offer shelter. These “secret passages” were all too familiar to her.
Her small body pressed tightly against the cold stone wall as she used the shadows of the artificial rockeries and the pillars entwined with wisteria to conceal herself. Then, with great effort, she moved through the depths of the manor’s rear garden, staying just at the edge of the lit areas.
The rich scent of plants mixed with the tantalizing aroma of food wafting from afar tickled her nose.
Food!
Gurgle…
Her stomach immediately protested with a loud, honest rumble.
From the moment she had crossed over until now, aside from falling, being scolded, captured, thrown out, setting fires, and setting off firecrackers, she hadn’t even had a sip of water. Intense hunger instantly overwhelmed all other thoughts, temporarily pushing aside the rage of her scumbag father.
Following the enticing fragrance, Luo Luo crept toward the source of the light and the stronger aroma, moving like a little animal tracking its prey.
The door was slightly ajar, and from the crack, steam and the irresistible smell of meat continuously drifted out. Luo Luo crouched low, using her hands and feet to quickly slip under the window. She grabbed the windowsill, stood on her tiptoes, and peered inside.
A large pot on the stove was simmering, bubbling softly. On the cutting board, under the oil lamp’s glow, several golden-brown honey-glazed roasted chickens lay, alongside plates of delicate, freshly baked pastries that emitted a tempting sweetness.
Luo Luo gently pushed open the slightly ajar door and reached for a still-warm honey-glazed chicken leg.
( )☆
“Thief! Catch the thief!”
The plump cook’s voice was as loud as a gong.
Chaotic footsteps and exclamations instantly surged from outside the courtyard. Several burly kitchen helpers and guards who had heard the commotion blocked the small doorway, glaring fiercely at the “little thief” by the stove.
Grease from the chicken leg dripped down Xiao Luoning’s grimy fingers…
Xiao Luoning, her face shiny with grease and her cheeks stuffed full, was hauled by two guards like a little chick to outside Xiao Lin’s study.
The entire manor seemed enveloped in a stifling, eerie storm.
Behind the massive rosewood desk, Xiao Lin’s face was as dark as still water. The study was brightly lit by candles, illuminating his sharp, cold jawline. His fingers unconsciously rubbed a jade thumb ring until it grew slightly warm as he coldly watched the little figure tossed onto the cold, golden brick floor.
Luo Luo was struggling to swallow the last bite of pastry, her greasy little hand wiping the rose pastry sugar from the corner of her mouth. She lifted her oil-stained face, grinned, and revealed a set of small white teeth.
“Stupid Daddy, your pastries are pretty tasty.”
( ′ )
“Drag her out,” Xiao Lin’s voice was devoid of emotion. “Throw her back into the crater she blasted open earlier today.”
The guards stepped forward to comply.
“Waaah!”
An earth-shattering, dry wail suddenly erupted.
Luo Luo lunged at the nearest carved pillar, wrapping her arms and legs around it like a little gecko, clinging on for dear life. Her small head pressed stubbornly against the cold pillar.
“I’m not going! I won’t go even if you beat me to death!” Her short legs kicked wildly in the air as tears and snot smeared messily across the pillar. Her voice was shrill enough to grate on the ears: “Stupid Daddy, I am your biological daughter! I’m your daughter from five years in the future! Daddy is going to hit his own daughter! Waaah!”
Luo Luo threw a tantrum, rolling around and jumping up and down. Her tear-streaked face, illuminated by the candlelight, showed such stubborn determination in her brows and eyes that it actually made the two burly guards hesitate to approach.
Somehow, her demeanor faintly resembled the prince’s.
Liu Bo muttered to himself, “Prince, I can’t help but feel this little beggar bears some resemblance to you.””
Xiao Lin’s gaze lingered on her face.
He abruptly raised his hand, stopping the guards from moving again. His eyes, cold as a deep pool, fixed intently on the small, greasy bundle on the floor as he slowly uttered a few words: “Prepare water.”
“Silver needle.”
A small white jade bowl filled with clear water was placed on the desk. A plain silver needle glinted coldly under the candlelight.
Xiao Lin’s face remained stern as he extended his long, powerful index finger. The needle tip pricked his fingertip, and a drop of thick, crimson blood instantly welled up, falling into the clear water. It sank slowly to the bottom, remaining cohesive without dispersing.
His cold gaze then turned to the little devil on the floor.
Luo Luo’s small face tightened with tension as she extended her still greasy, dirty little finger.
The silver needle pricked down.
“Oww…” The little devil’s eyes welled up with tears as she squeezed out a blood droplet the size of a red bean.
“Plop.”
The blood droplet landed accurately in the water.
Two drops of deep red blood hung suspended in the bowl, resting close to each other at the bottom.
All eyes were locked on the water bowl.
One second.
Two seconds.
The edges of the two blood droplets seemed to blur slightly, then, as if pulled by an invisible force, they slowly merged into one.
“Impossible!”
Xiao Lin shot to his feet.
His tall frame jolted the desk violently, causing the inkstone to topple over. High-quality Hui ink spilled out, staining the open military intelligence reports.
Absurd!
He had never crossed the line with Pei Qingci.
But this child?
His gaze snapped back to the instigator on the floor.
Luo Luo straightened her small body as much as she could, meeting his almost burning eyes without fear.
“Do you believe me now? I am Xiao Luoning, your precious daughter from five years in the future. My birth mother is Pei Qingci, the one you’re about to abandon.”
“See how adorable and sensible I am? Shouldn’t you go immediately, right now, to the Pei residence and kneel to apologize to my mother?”
Each word stabbed sharply into Xiao Lin’s frayed nerves.
“…”
The lips of the Great Qian’s God of War moved a few times, but no sound came out.
Liu Bo was equally astonished. Their prince was the late emperor’s youngest son. Although he was now twenty-six, he had never married. How could he have a child?
“Prince, I heard there was a thief in the manor.””
The study door, unnoticed, had been quietly pushed open.
A woman in a moon-white dress leaned languidly against the doorframe, her posture seemingly boneless. The moonlight and candlelight outlined her delicate, soft features. The corners of her eyes tilted up slightly, exuding a captivating charm.
Luo Luo looked the woman up and down.
The original host, Su Yuyao, had tried to seduce Daddy and was casually disposed of by him.
But the woman before her now was a wicked woman who had crossed over, specializing in seducing the male protagonists of various stories. These types of people took pleasure in seducing male leads and belittling the female leads!
However, in her opinion, this woman wasn’t even half as beautiful as a single strand of her mother’s hair.
(‘ヘ′;)ゞ