Ever since Su Xiaobao entered the Imperial Palace, she sat on the threshold every day, gazing outside with eager anticipation, hoping to catch sight of her daddy.
But she was disappointed. So many days had already passed, yet she still hadn’t seen him.
“Gurgle…”
Her stomach began to rumble. Su Xiaobao’s pretty little mouth turned downward, and her large eyes filled with tears. She looked as pitiful as an abandoned puppy.
“Oh my, our princess is still waiting for His Majesty.”
The sarcastic voice came from behind her. Su Xiaobao turned her head and saw the palace maid who brought her food.
On her first day here, she had eaten well. The second day was the same.
But starting on the third day, Xiaobao noticed that the meals they brought her were cold. As long as there was something to eat, she was already satisfied, so she wasn’t picky.
What was too much was this morning. The food the maid brought her had already gone bad, and there wasn’t even any side dish. It was completely inedible.
That was why Xiaobao had been hungry until now.
“I thought you were some kind of golden egg, but in the end His Majesty hasn’t even set foot here once. I still have to bring you food every day. What terrible luck.”
The palace maid rolled her eyes at Su Xiaobao, then threw the food in her hand onto the ground. She looked down at her from above, her manner full of contempt.
“Eat, Little Princess.”
Although she called her Little Princess, there wasn’t the slightest trace of respect in her voice. It was filled with malice instead.
Su Xiaobao looked at the food she had brought over: a hard, dry cornmeal bun. She picked it up and bent it a little. One look was enough to tell her that it was hard enough to knock her teeth out if she bit down.
Su Xiaobao puffed up her cheeks in anger until they looked like a pufferfish. “I can’t eat this!”
Xiaobao was so aggrieved that she began to cry. Her eyes reddened like a rabbit’s. Then she suddenly stood up and ran outside, crashing into the palace maid and knocking her onto the ground.
The maid landed heavily on her bottom, while Xiaobao quickly ran away.
The palace maid cried out in pain as she got up from the ground. Cursing and swearing, she went after Su Xiaobao, only to discover that the little girl had already vanished without a trace.
Only then did the maid begin to panic. If the girl ran around and entered somewhere she shouldn’t…
At the thought of what would happen, the maid’s face went pale. She hurriedly picked up the things from the ground and ran off. At that moment, she felt somewhat regretful. If she had known this would happen, she never should have greedily eaten all the good food herself and tried to fool and humiliate the girl with this junk.
Who would have thought that this soft, easy-to-bully little pushover would actually be so bold?
But what she hated even more was Su Xiaobao.
“That little slut really is a country bumpkin from the countryside. Why did she have to run around? Tch, she’d better just die out there.”
The palace maid was so furious that her teeth itched, and she continued to curse under her breath. However, she knew very well that no one else could find out about what had happened today. The girl had disobeyed orders and run off on her own. It had nothing to do with her.
Su Xiaobao ran with her head lowered. The Imperial Palace was far too large, and she had only just arrived. After running for a while, she became utterly lost.
She didn’t even know where she was anymore.
But soon, Xiaobao’s empty stomach began to rumble, and her nose—sensitive with hunger—caught the sweet aroma drifting through the air. It made her mouth water.
With red-rimmed eyes, Xiaobao sniffed her little nose. Tears still clung to her curled, fluttering eyelashes.
Her little legs followed the sweet fragrance. The tiny figure she made in the night was hardly noticeable. She turned this way and that without knowing where she was going, and then she saw an extremely magnificent palace.
It was already nighttime. Lamps were lit inside, yet the area around it was very quiet.
Su Xiaobao was hungry and had no mood to admire the beautiful, exquisite architecture. She cautiously made her way inside, gripping the doorframe with both little hands and peeking in.
At a glance, she saw a large number of beautiful, delicious-looking pastries arranged on a table.
The little milk bun’s eyes lit up at once.
Her bright, dark eyes blinked. She secretly looked around and discovered that there wasn’t a single person there!
“Xiaobao’s tummy is so hungry. I’ll only eat a tiny bit, just a tiny bit.”
She muttered in an incredibly soft voice as she carefully walked inside on her short legs.
After all, she was doing something wrong, so the child felt very guilty. A faint blush appeared on her fair, delicate little face as she nervously looked around.
With considerable effort, she climbed onto a stool. Since she was so small, she had to stand on it to reach the things on the table.
She picked up a small millet cake nearby, not even as large as her palm, then sat down and hurriedly took a huge bite.
After just one bite, the little milk bun’s eyes lit up. Her snow-white, soft cheeks quickly bulged as she chewed, her expression filled with bliss.
It was so delicious!
Although she was only three years old, the tiny little milk bun ate with great care and concentration. She didn’t make a mess at all—she simply ate a little too quickly.
After eating three pastries in succession, she became thirsty. Xiaobao looked at the water jug on the table. Standing on the chair, she rose onto her tiptoes and reached for it.
Her small, fleshy hand—with a dimple on the back—had just touched the jug’s handle when a long sword gleaming with cold light was suddenly pointed at her neck.
The child sensed an intense killing intent. She bent over the table with her little bottom sticking up, then turned her head to look to the side—and met a pair of dark, blood-red eyes.
She was so frightened that she hiccupped.
Nangong Shiyuan held the long sword against Su Xiaobao’s neck. He wore only a thin black inner robe, and his ink-black hair hung loose around him. His handsome, sharply defined face was as dark as deep water, while his narrow eyes, filled with murderous hostility, stared down at the child who had appeared in his bedchamber and boldly stolen his food.
His gaze lingered on the child’s neck.
It was so thin. He could strangle her to death with one hand.
The dark thought flashed through Nangong Shiyuan’s mind, and he looked at her coldly.
“Which palace are you from?”
As he spoke, his brows drew tightly together. Had the palace maids these days started entering the palace at such a young age?
She had no sense of rules. Perhaps he should simply kill her.
Nangong Shiyuan had already been in a bad mood after going several days without sleep. Now, the killing intent in his heart surged violently.
Su Xiaobao was frightened by him and looked at him with tear-filled eyes.
“I—I don’t know.”
Tears the size of beans rolled down her cheeks with soft plops. The child couldn’t control herself at all.
“Xiaobao came to find Daddy. Daddy brought Xiaobao back and then stopped caring about me, sob sob… Does he not want me anymore? I’m so hungry. I’m sorry, I ate your food.”
The child’s words came out in a jumbled mess. Nangong Shiyuan understood what she meant, and then a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
How old was the daughter who had just been brought back?
He remembered hearing Lin Zhengqing say that she was about three years old.
Looking again at the pitiful child crying in front of him, Nangong Shiyuan thought expressionlessly:
This was probably his cheap daughter.
“Your daddy doesn’t want you anymore,” Nangong Shiyuan said viciously, suddenly uttering a heart-wrenching sentence.
Then he successfully watched the child freeze.
But the next moment, Nangong Shiyuan’s expression cracked.
Because after standing there dazed for two seconds, Su Xiaobao suddenly opened her mouth wide and burst into loud sobs.
“Liar! Bad guy! Daddy would never not want Xiaobao! Mommy said Xiaobao was the most obedient, so Daddy would like me. Uncle also said Daddy was very busy. It’s not that he doesn’t want Xiaobao, sob sob…”