“Who did you say is the hopeless weakling?”
“Hmm?”
A low, angry voice came through.
The scene fell into utter silence.
“Crown Prince…”
“Your humble servants pay respects to the Crown Prince.”
The servants knelt in unison across the ground.
Jiu Jiu’s eyes darted around, and she said to the white tiger beneath her, “Little White, bite him!”
“Roar—”
The white tiger, carrying Jiu Jiu, charged toward Xiao Jiuyuan.
However, the scene Jiu Jiu had anticipated—Xiao Jiuyuan frightened out of his wits—did not materialize.
The white tiger stopped three steps away from Xiao Jiuyuan and, like a large cat, nudged Xiao Jiuyuan’s hand with its head.
A low growl rumbled in its throat, as if it were acting coquettishly.
“Little White, you traitor… Ah, let go of me…”
Just as Jiu Jiu was about to scold the white tiger for its betrayal, a slender, large hand grabbed her by the back of her collar and lifted her down.
Tiny as a ball, Jiu Jiu dangled in the air, flailing her limbs in a comical and amusing manner.
Qing Wu turned his face away to look elsewhere, afraid he might accidentally laugh out loud and earn the Little County Princess’s resentment.
“I’m incompetent?”
“You want to seize my power?”
With each word, Xiao Jiuyuan gritted his teeth so hard they seemed to creak.
Jiu Jiu stiffened her neck and said, “You’re so weak; power should be handed over to someone stronger.”
“Well said. Now that you’ve fallen into my hands, shouldn’t it be up to me, the stronger one, to decide how to deal with you?”
Xiao Jiuyuan narrowed his eyes as he examined Jiu Jiu. “Tell me, should I spank you in front of everyone? Or hang you up for all to see the consequences of disrespecting your own father?”
Jiu Jiu’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.
She, a future Great Demon, being spanked by a mere human—what face would she have left to show anyone if word got out?
“Daddy, I was wrong!”
After weighing the pros and cons, Jiu Jiu instantly admitted her mistake.
To bend and stretch as needed—that is the way of a Great Demon!
“What exactly were you wrong about?” Xiao Jiuyuan asked.
Jiu Jiu obediently replied, “Everything.”
Seeing her sincere attitude in admitting her mistake, Xiao Jiuyuan nodded with satisfaction.
He thought to himself, Though mischievous, she’s not entirely beyond redemption.
Little did he know, what Jiu Jiu was thinking at that moment was:
“Dog of a father, daring to threaten this Great King! Just wait until this Great King regains my demonic power—I’ll show you how I deal with you!”
The next day, Jiu Jiu, who had wanted to visit the beast garden to play with Little White but was stopped by the servants, stormed off to confront Xiao Jiuyuan.
As soon as she entered the courtyard, she sensed something was off.
Xiao Jiuyuan’s expression was frighteningly grim.
“What’s wrong?” Jiu Jiu asked, tilting her head.
Xiao Jiuyuan’s gaze lingered on Jiu Jiu for a moment.
Then he said to Qing Wu, “Take her to the Eldest Princess’s residence.”
“Your Highness…”
Before Qing Wu could finish speaking, Xiao Jiuyuan had already turned and left.
Confused and bewildered, Jiu Jiu asked Qing Wu, “What’s wrong with him?”
“The Crown Prince is in a bad mood, Little County Princess. Please don’t take it to heart.” Qing Wu forced a strained smile.
If the Little County Princess knew that the Crown Prince intended to send her to be raised by the Eldest Princess, he didn’t know how heartbroken she would be.
Unaware that she was about to be sent away, Jiu Jiu waved her hand dismissively and said, “Men have those few days every month when they’re in a bad mood. Just ignore him.”
“By the way, I heard the Eldest Princess loves hosting all kinds of banquets. They sound so fun—why don’t you take me to one?”
Qing Wu hesitated, unable to bring himself to tell the Little County Princess the truth.
He decided to first take the Little County Princess to the Eldest Princess’s residence, then later try to persuade the Crown Prince to bring her back to Donggong.
Having made up her mind, Qing Wu said, "It just so happens that the Eldest Princess is hosting a flower-viewing banquet today. Would the Little County Princess like to attend?"
"Of course! Is my useless father's biggest rival going?" Jiu Jiu grinned like a cunning little mouse as she asked Qing Wu.
Qing Wu was puzzled. "The Little County Princess is referring to…"
"Of course, it's the Fourth Prince. Why are you being so silly?" Jiu Jiu looked at Qing Wu with disdain.
Qing Wu's lips twitched twice.
Just as she was about to speak, she saw Jiu Jiu rubbing her little hands excitedly, grinning mischievously. "Hehe… The enemy of my enemy is my friend. It's time to give my useless father a taste of my power."
Qing Wu's expression immediately changed. "Little County Princess, you must not! The Crown Prince is your biological father. Patricide is a grave crime!"
"Are you stupid? Why would I help someone kill my own father?" Jiu Jiu rolled her eyes so hard they nearly disappeared.
So it wasn't about patricide after all!
Qing Wu breathed a sigh of relief. "Then what does the Little County Princess plan to do…?"
"Don't you understand the tactic of 'beating the grass to startle the snake'? I'm going to teach the Fourth Prince a lesson and show my useless father what I'm capable of."
"Preferably, I'll scare him so badly that he wets his pants. From then on, if I point east, he won't dare go west; if I tell him to chase ducks, he won't dare catch chickens. Hehehe…"
Jiu Jiu even let out a wicked "hehehe" laugh.
Qing Wu opened her mouth, wanting to say something but holding back.
Forget it. As long as the Little County Princess is happy.
After all, she couldn't cause much trouble anyway.
At the Eldest Princess's residence.
A maid was painting a floral design on the Eldest Princess's forehead when a servant came to report.
"Princess, someone from Donggong has arrived."
"Donggong?"
The Eldest Princess's red lips parted slightly, a flicker of surprise in her eyes. "Why would my dear imperial brother have the interest to visit my princess residence today?"
"Could it be that the sun is rising from the west?"
Then the servant added, "Princess, the visitor is not His Highness the Crown Prince, but a little girl of about four or five years old."
"The people from Donggong call her the Little County Princess."
Upon hearing this, the Eldest Princess was quite astonished. "Are you sure you heard correctly? They called her the Little County Princess?"
"Absolutely certain," the servant replied.
The Eldest Princess waved her hand dismissively. "Let her be. It's probably just another act for the sake of the one in the rear palace."
"Our Xiao family has truly produced such a devoted soul in him."
"Have someone keep an eye on her. Don't let her get bullied. If my dear imperial brother goes mad, I won't be able to stop him."
The servant hurriedly agreed and went to make arrangements.
The Eldest Princess then asked the maid, "Is everything prepared in the Buddhist hall? Fu Bao said this last time is crucial and must not go wrong."
"Princess, rest assured. Everything is ready," the Nanny replied.
The Nanny spoke with concern, "Princess, should we really not inform the Consort about this? If he finds out, I'm afraid…"
"This matter concerns whether I can conceive a child. He has no choice but to agree. Fu Bao is right. Given the Consort's temperament, it's better not to tell him about such things."
The Eldest Princess placed her hand on her flat abdomen, her eyes filled with hope and determination.
Her lifelong wish was to have a child of her own.
If Fu Bao could make her wish come true, she would be willing to give her life for it.
Meanwhile, Jiu Jiu was having Qing Wu take her around to identify people.
"That woman in the green dress is the daughter of Minister Liu from the Ministry of War. She is deeply in love with the Fourth Prince and vows to become his consort."
"The woman to the left of Miss Liu is the widow of General Zhao. General Zhao was a key supporter of the Fourth Prince. After his death, the Fourth Prince wanted to take his widow into his residence but refrained for fear of being impeached by the censors."
"That young lady in red is General Ye's daughter. There are rumors in the streets that she and the Fourth Prince are having an affair."
Jiu Jiu listened and nodded.
She thought to herself, this Fourth Prince really is quite the philanderer.
Wait, she seemed to have overlooked something.
In the book, her good-for-nothing father seemed to have died at the hands of a woman.
That woman seemed to be… who was it again?