“Someone, help!!! The young miss has fallen into the water!!! Someone, help—”
The moment Yun Fu sank beneath the water, what she heard was her maid Xizhu’s heart-wrenching, frantic cries, but what she saw was the unconcealable mirth in Xizhu’s eyes.
She knew the saying: an open spear is easy to dodge, but a hidden arrow is hard to guard against. This day had finally come.
Rustle~
A chubby little furball rolled off a mat made of dry straw, making a crisp sound.
A cat’s natural alertness made the plump little thing flip over and land steadily on all fours, its thick, fluffy tail shooting straight up to act as a balancing rod.
Yun Fu startled awake, her pearl-like eyes dimming slightly as she looked at the dilapidated little hut and the familiar straw mat.
As she’d thought, it was another dream.
Yun Fu had lost count of how many times she had dreamt of being pushed into the water. Every time she woke up to this dilapidated hut and the temporary “boudoir” she had painstakingly built, she found it hard to distinguish dream from reality.
She lifted her hand—no, her paw. It was fluffy and chubby, nothing like her own slender hands.
The cat sighed: ε=(′ο｀*)))
Gradually, Yun Fu had come to accept the fact that she had turned into a small cat after falling into the water.
She still remembered when she first woke up a month ago and discovered she had become a cat. It had taken Yun Fu only a day to accept this reality.
In any case, her existence in that family had been dispensable. Becoming a stray cat didn’t seem so hard to accept.
For as long as Yun Fu could remember, she had lived on a mountain with her master. Later, a sumptuously dressed woman had come looking for her, claiming she was the Prime Minister’s Mansion’s long-lost legitimate daughter and was now taking her home.
When Yun Fu was brought back to the Prime Minister’s Mansion, she didn’t feel the joy of a family reunion described in storybooks. Instead, upon entering the residence, she was assigned to a remote little courtyard with a maid who constantly made trouble for her.
Yun Fu even suspected that the woman who brought her home had been lying to her about being the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister’s Mansion.
Later, she was pushed into the water. The pond wasn’t deep, not nearly enough to drown someone. She had originally planned to play along and see who had sent this maid, but unexpectedly, after falling into the pond, she opened her eyes and… had become a cat.
As a human, she had lived her life well. As a cat, Yun Fu didn’t mistreat herself either.
Yun Fu began to search for a place to live, avoid vicious dogs, and find things to fill her stomach.
That’s right, even as a cat, Yun Fu was still a little stray. She had even gotten a scratch on her belly from another cat, which had nearly torn a gash in it. The wound had now gradually healed, leaving only a faint mark, and the fur in that spot had started to grow back.
In the bustling market of Jing An Cheng’s western suburbs, the shouts and cries of various vendors were incessant.
Pedestrians in linen clothes crowded the entire street.
The residents of the western suburbs were all formerly refugees who had fled from the south. The imperial court had designated this piece of land as a refugee camp. After the war ended, the refugees here were unwilling to return to the south.
It just so happened that a new emperor had ascended the throne, and all industries were waiting to be revitalized. The new emperor was virtuous and benevolent, loving his people as his own children. He had officials register the households of the refugees who had settled in the western suburbs, distributed land to them, and allowed merchants to set up shop, giving them a means to live and work in peace.
Because of this, when Yun Fu woke up and found herself in the western suburbs of Jing An Cheng, she heaved a huge sigh of relief.
If she had been in some other destitute and dangerous place, or in the middle of nowhere, Yun Fu couldn’t guarantee she would have survived so smoothly.
The small, warm-yellow cat trod on the tiled roof, leisurely strolling along the beams without making the slightest sound. Its tail was held high, and its pair of pearl-like eyes stared intently at the crowded street below. In the sunlight, its warm-yellow fur appeared even fluffier, its color as brilliant as the blazing sun, making it particularly eye-catching in the noisy market.
“Mama, a kitty! A pretty kitty—”
A toddler with two topknots looked up and saw the cat on the roof, unable to resist tugging on his mother’s hem and shouting loudly.
Yun Fu knew the child was talking about her. It couldn’t be helped; she had raised herself too well. Who wouldn’t love a fluffy, chubby kitty?
But Yun Fu quickened her pace, and with a few light leaps, she disappeared from the rooftop.
The woman, whose clothes were being tugged by her child to look at the cat, looked up and saw only a fluffy tail.
“The pretty kitty… is gone~” The child’s voice was full of disappointment.
Yun Fu took a stroll through the market and reaped a good haul of food, but she was also chased by many naughty children. A few even threw stones at her, all of which she dodged perfectly.
By the time she returned to her little den, the moon was high in the sky, and the air was tinged with dew. Yun Fu’s fur was a little damp.
The moment she stepped into her “home,” Yun Fu smelled a thick scent of blood.
Perhaps because a cat’s sense of smell is naturally keen, the scent of blood was so heavy it was almost overpowering.
A cat’s innate vigilance made Yun Fu’s ears fold back instinctively. The fur on her body stood on end, making the already round furball even fluffier and larger.
If it were an ordinary cat, it would have run away long ago upon smelling such a pungent scent of blood, but Yun Fu was no ordinary cat.
Following the scent of blood, she entered the house without a sound.
Under the moonlight, the dim and dilapidated house appeared even more desolate and bleak.
A cat’s night vision allowed Yun Fu to see the scene inside clearly.
Her “boudoir,” which she had painstakingly built with dry straw, was occupied by a large, unidentified object. There were even spots of blood on the straw.
The clothes on this unidentified object were visibly tattered, as if slashed by a sharp weapon.
Having been a noble lady in the capital for a time, Yun Fu recognized that the fabric of this person’s clothes was not something an ordinary family could afford.
It seemed this person had run into enemies, been hunted down, and had fled here.
Tiptoeing over with cautious cat-like steps, Yun Fu let out a tentative meow toward the person whose face she couldn’t see.
“Meow~”
The soft, sweet cry was exceptionally clear in the silent night.
Seeing that the person lying in her den remained motionless, Yun Fu moved her paws and crept closer again.
“Meow-wu?” Are you still alive?
The unconscious Wei Rong vaguely heard a cat’s cry. It was a very delicate and soft sound, reminding him of the little kitten he had secretly raised as a child. It seemed he was really going to die this time, to be hearing the cries of a kitten.
Yun Fu had already climbed onto the straw mat. She sniffed with her nose, looking at the large and small wounds on the person’s body and his barely perceptible breathing. She could deduce that this person was on the verge of death.
“Meow-wu-wu-wu~”
Yun Fu grew bolder now, her cries louder, as if making a show of strength, trying to squeeze past the person’s side.
Wei Rong fuzzily heard the cat’s cry again. It was soft and seemed to be acting cute with him.
He struggled to open his eyes, but his vision was a blur of blood, and he couldn’t see clearly.
A soft, furry sensation came from his fingertips, causing them to twitch uncontrollably.
“Meow-wu!!!”
Yun Fu felt the touch on her belly and couldn’t help but cry out in alarm.
A warning growl rumbled in her throat.
This person was truly despicable! It was bad enough that he was occupying her “boudoir,” but he even had the audacity to touch her belly!
Was a girl’s belly something that could be touched so casually?!! A scoundrel!
If it weren’t for the fact that this person was about to die, Yun Fu would have definitely given him a good scratch or two.
The reason Yun Fu had gone to such lengths to squeeze onto the straw mat was mainly for the two small dried fish she had hidden underneath it. They were her emergency rations. If this person died on her boudoir bed, her hard-earned dried fish would truly never see the light of day again.
So, Yun Fu had to quickly dig out her little dried fish and leave this place of trouble.
This person on the verge of death was clearly not someone to be trifled with. She couldn’t rule out the possibility that his enemies would track him here, implicate her, and cut her down in the process.
Just as Yun Fu was busy, the half-dead person lying on the straw mat suddenly rolled over.
At that moment, moonlight shone down from a hole in the roof, landing directly on the man.
The face that had been hidden was now completely revealed.
Yun Fu glanced up, and her pupils instantly dilated.