Jiang Yingcheng was squeezing her eyes shut, trying hard to pretend she was asleep.
Normally she fell asleep the moment her head touched the pillow, so she had never done anything like this before. With her eyes closed, every bit of flesh on her face was straining with effort, practically screaming “I’m already asleep, stop looking at me!”
Zhang Momo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Does Your Highness need to use the toilet?”
Other than that reason, she truly couldn’t figure out why the Little Princess would be making such an expression.
Jiang Yingcheng felt somewhat discouraged but stubbornly decided to commit to the act.
007 said helplessly: 【Why are you pretending to sleep?】
The childish voice replied with complete confidence: 【H-how else can I chat with you?!】
007 said: 【Aren’t we already chatting?】
When they communicated, it was through brainwaves anyway, so there was no fear of being overheard. It genuinely couldn’t understand Jiang Yingcheng’s behavior.
Jiang Yingcheng let out a soft, milky huff.
She wasn’t stupid.
If she kept her eyes open now, Zhang Momo would keep trying to play with her. Since she couldn’t divide her attention, if she focused on chatting with Tong Ge, she would often freeze with a blank expression, looking really silly!
Jiang Yingcheng kept her eyes tightly shut, and before long, she actually fell asleep for real.
007: 【……】
Sins of a past life, babysitting in this one.
Even an angelic doll like Jiang Yingcheng was no exception!
When she woke up again, Jiang Yingcheng had already been brought by the nursemaid to the dining table, seated beside her mother to wait for the meal.
Jiang Yingcheng pressed her hands firmly over her ears, her nose twitching repeatedly.
007 had been continuously and frantically ranting for a very long time, making her head spin.
Only when it finally stopped did 007 notice Jiang Yingcheng’s actions and asked puzzledly: 【What are you doing?】
Their communication didn’t require ears at all. Covering them was useless and would only make others suspicious.
Jiang Yingcheng sniffled sorrowfully: 【I-I’ve been dirtied.】
007’s scolding was just too foul!
Upon hearing this, 007 let out a heavy, cold snort.
Fang Zhaoyi, who had caught this statement, carefully examined Jiang Yingcheng.
The little one was fair and tender, with a pleasant sweet fragrance about her—she didn’t look dirty at all.
But since the child had said so, she forced herself to gather her spirits and said gently with a smile, “Chengcheng, after we finish eating, shall we take a bath together with Mother?”
As soon as she said this, her heart ached with pain.
She had remembered the news she’d previously overheard from the child’s thoughts.
If her sister had done such a thing, it meant she completely disregarded Chengcheng’s safety. But her sister had no idea what an adorable child Chengcheng was.
What a child truly worthy of love.
A startled exclamation from the nursemaid brought Fang Zhaoyi back to the present. She saw the little one clumsily standing up from her chair and reaching out to lean against her.
Fang Zhaoyi quickly gathered the child into her arms.
As soon as she was in her embrace, the little one leaned on her shoulder and gave her cheek a loud, firm kiss.
“Smack!”
Everyone in the room froze for a moment, then burst into laughter together.
The little one raised her chubby fist, her eyes sparkling as she declared, “Mother Consort, don’t be sad! Tomorrow Chengcheng will sneak out again to play with Father Emperor!”
Fang Zhaoyi couldn’t quite follow the logic of that statement.
Fortunately, she didn’t have to speculate for long, as the little one’s inner voice immediately followed—
【When the time comes, I’ll have Mother Consort pick up Chengcheng. That way, Mother Consort can spend more time building affection with Father Emperor!】
Fang Zhaoyi chuckled helplessly and tapped the little one’s forehead with her finger, but she had no intention of stopping this plan.
Since her sister now dared to make such schemes, it indicated that the child-swapping incident had already sown hidden dangers. While she hadn’t yet found an effective solution, allowing the little one to build a good relationship with the Mingze Emperor would bring her considerable peace of mind.
Suppressing her worries, Fang Zhaoyi began eating with the child.
007 finally found an opportunity to carefully explain the uses of this golden finger.
Its tone was full of pride: 【I know everything about this fictional world and can help you avoid all conspiracies.】
【I can also exchange many items from the System mall—both food and daily necessities, even knowledge that doesn’t exist in this world.】
Jiang Yingcheng: 【Wow!】
She was overjoyed: 【Then… then Chengcheng wants two strawberry-flavored little cakes!】
Fang Zhaoyi slowed her chewing, afraid she might miss any important information. Unexpectedly, after listening for a long time, aside from repeated exclamations of amazement, this was all she heard.
What are little cakes? Are they like Dan Hong Gao?
And how can they have strawberry flavor?
Fang Zhaoyi calmly swallowed the meat in her mouth.
For some reason, today’s dishes were much more sumptuous than usual, but she didn’t pay it much mind, assuming the entire palace was like this today.
She unconsciously leaned closer to the little one, hoping to hear more about Jinshu.
007 said: 【Naturally, cakes can be exchanged, but you need to use Merit Points for the exchange.】
Jiang Yingcheng was startled and murmured: 【Merit Points?】
【That’s right,】 007 said, 【You’ll receive corresponding Merit Points for every good deed you do. When you have enough points, you can exchange them for various items in the mall.】
Jiang Yingcheng quickly asked 007 to bring up her panel. The large “0” in the Merit Points column made her little face flush with embarrassment.
【Then… then as long as I do enough good deeds, I can exchange for lots and lots of things, right?】
Hearing this, Fang Zhaoyi secretly committed this information to memory.
Although she didn’t know exactly what could be exchanged with these so-called Merit Points, judging by the information this entity could access, the exchangeable items were certainly not ordinary objects.
It seemed she needed to make proper plans for this little one as well.
After receiving 007’s confirmation, Jiang Yingcheng asked again: 【Is there anything I can do without needing points?】
007 hesitated for a moment before responding: 【What do you want to do?】
Jiang Yingcheng lowered her head and fiddled with her chubby fingers, her voice soft: 【Chengcheng wants to help Mother Consort think of a way to bring cousin here…】
Fang Zhaoyi’s expression froze, and she completely stopped chewing.
She had thought that after learning her true identity, the little one would want to avoid contact between her and Jinshu. She never expected the child to be so magnanimous, even taking the initiative to help her find a way to bring Jinshu to her side.
Fang Zhaoyi’s eyes grew warm and moist, her delicate fingers tightening around the silver chopsticks in her hand.
The little one was truly too heartwarming, making her feel a pang of sorrow in that moment.
The filthy conflicts among adults had dragged such a small child into this mess, and layers of regret threatened to drown her.
Fang Zhaoyi forced a strained smile at the corner of her lips. Just as she was about to ask the nanny to serve the little one more meat dishes, the childish voice rang out again.
[Wow, Tong Ge, you’re so smart!]
[If we bring my cousin into the palace as my study companion, then… then he can come to the palace often. Your idea is brilliant!]
Fang Zhaoyi’s eyes lit up as well.
That’s right!
Chengcheng had reached the age to begin his education. She could discuss it with the Mingze Emperor and use this reason to bring Jinshu into the palace.
Although they would only be able to interact during the day, it would at least provide an opportunity for explanations—far better than letting her sister have her own way!
Fang Zhaoyi’s heart raced wildly. Having experienced both extreme sorrow and joy in a single day, she no longer felt like eating and just wanted to hug the little one and cover him with kisses.
He truly was her lucky star!
But then the troubled voice of her lucky star followed—
[Um, but Chengcheng doesn’t want to go to school.]
[Is there a way for only the study companion to attend classes while Chengcheng plays in the palace by himself?]
Fang Zhaoyi: “……”
007: [……]
She had spoken too soon.
Some things… it still couldn’t accomplish.