Chapter 4: 4. Chapter 4: Truly Real

Chapter 4: Truly Real

"Mm." Meng Shisan's expression remained unchanged.

If not for the fact that her demonic power had vanished for unknown reasons, she wouldn't need to use demonic qi to fish, let alone such a faint trace of it.

Back when she was the complete Meng Shisan, she wouldn't even have needed to dip her index finger into the water, nor would she have needed to wait for so long. She would only need to stand on the shore; without using any demonic power or qi, simply by relying on the attraction of her true form, fish, shrimp, crabs, and other aquatic creatures would have flocked to her side instantly.

Now, she was half Meng Shisan and half Meng Liangchen. Her demonic power was gone, her demonic qi was weak, and her demonic soul was trapped within a human body. She did not yet know why her soul had been struck from Jinling all the way to the capital, turning her into a half-mortal.

Fortunately, a tiny bit of demonic qi remained; otherwise, she wouldn't even be able to eat a succulent carp.

To think that she, a grand Great Demon of the Cricket Clan, had fallen to such a state.

She wondered how her physical shell left behind in the Ancestral Temple was faring...

Meng Shisan felt her index finger being bitten, and her drifting thoughts immediately snapped back to the present. She lifted her right hand, and a golden carp, biting her index finger, was pulled out of the water.

"Miss..." Seeing this scene, Baozhu found herself unable to describe her current feelings with words; she was so shocked that she couldn't even finish calling out "Miss."

Meng Shisan allowed the golden carp to keep biting her finger as she lifted the large fish—which was as long as her hand and as thick as three of her fists—above the wooden bucket. She parted her lips slightly and said, "Down."

As if it understood, the large golden carp released its grip with a *plop* and landed steadily in the wooden bucket.

The fish's head landed at the bottom of the bucket while its tail slapped against the rim, nearly overflowing the container.

Standing by the bucket, Baozhu was once again shocked to the point that her eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, her mind filled with question marks as to why the golden carp was so obedient.

"Take it back. We will have fish for lunch." As a Great Demon, Meng Shisan had long since achieved *bigu* (fasting from grains), but since she was currently Meng Liangchen and half-human, she still needed to consume mortal food.

She had already learned that although there was silver left in the dowry left by the original host's biological mother, it had all been exhausted over the past ten years. Of the monthly allowance of three taels of silver, it was considered good if even one tael reached the original host's hands.

With such an empty private treasury, the original host was dirt poor. To secure a physician to visit the manor and check her pulse, the money used to bribe the staff at the Shanfang Clinic had come from the private savings of Baozhu and Jinyin.

Although they were first-class maids of the Taichen Courtyard, they had unfortunately been purchased by the original host's mother. Their indentures were held by the original host, and having grown up alongside her, they had endured much bullying. Forget about any perks; they were lucky if their wages weren't docked.

Thus, it was extremely difficult for them to save even a small amount of money.

This time, the two of them had pooled all their belongings—a total of over three taels—and spent it all on the elderly women guarding the gates and the stewards responsible for announcing visitors at the Shanfang Clinic.

Thinking about how it took the two maids ten years to save just three taels of silver, and then considering the room full of valuable ornaments and the private treasury that, aside from silver and cloth, contained nothing but large dowry items that could be looked at but not touched, Meng Shisan felt a sense of profound frustration.

For ten years, even the master's meals had been abysmal; the three daily meals of the maids by her side could only be worse.

Although she had not seen what the two maids ate, and they were hesitant when asked, she could imagine that, just like the original host, they had been mistreated regarding food all along.

Even without using demonic power to probe this body, Meng Shisan could feel the person's frailty and sickly nature.

Having just recovered from a major illness, she needed to eat light meals. The original host's appetite had always been very small; she would have to proceed step by step, gradually building up her appetite and nourishing this body.

She had not yet eaten lunch, but the two maids had already eaten a little. Since this large golden carp was her lunch and their extra food, it should be sufficient.

At the same time, on the Xuanyuan Terrace built facing Qiushui Lake, Meng Shisan—who had returned to Taichen Courtyard joyfully with Baozhu to prepare the carp—was unaware that Crown Prince Li Shou, who had arrived at the southeast corner even earlier than them, had witnessed the entire process.

And it had stirred an endless storm within his heart.

At some unknown point, Li Shou had begun frequently dreaming of a woman. Although he never spoke to her in his dreams, he knew she was his Crown Princess.

With this realization, whenever he dreamed of her again, he would exert all his effort to see her face clearly, yet no matter how hard he tried, he could never make out her features.

There were many dream scenarios, each leaving a deep impression on him, some even surprising him.

In one dream, she had dipped her finger into the water, and once a fish bit her index finger, she lifted it up with a grin, holding it before him as if showing off her trophy.

Li Shou clearly remembered that after waking from that dream, the more he reflected on it, the more he felt he was obsessed. How could fishing with a finger be real?

And today, at this very moment!

He had witnessed with his own eyes that fishing with a finger was indeed real!

"Your Highness!" The Captain of the Eastern Palace Guards, Ji Kuan, stood with hands clasped at the base of Xuanyuan Terrace and reported, "Chi Nan has arrived."

Li Shou was suddenly interrupted from his shocked contemplation. He turned his head toward the sound and looked down the terrace, seeing that at the end of the stone steps, there was another person standing besides Ji Kuan.

The eldest legitimate son of the Meng family's main branch, Meng Renping, courtesy name Chi Nan.

"Your Highness," Meng Renping bowed from below.

Li Shou nodded slightly. "Come up and speak. I happen to have questions for you."

The late Empress Meng was the first wife of Emperor Zong and the former Empress. She had given birth to the Eldest Princess Li Yan and the Crown Prince Li Shou.

Unfortunately, she suffered a difficult labor when giving birth to Li Shou. Just as Li Shou let out his first cry, Empress Meng, who had exhausted her strength to ensure his safe birth, smiled and closed her eyes.

She passed away immediately.

Upon Li Shou's hundredth day, Emperor Zong issued an edict appointing the legitimate son, Li Shou, as the heir to the Eastern Palace.

Empress Meng came from the Meng household; she was the legitimate daughter of Meng Tianguan and was the aunt to the current sons and daughters of the main and secondary branches. Therefore, Li Shou had been close to the Meng family since childhood, often playing at the Meng family's Xuanyuan Terrace when he was young, and frequently coming here to sit in meditation as an adult.

Because Empress Meng had loved climbing high to gaze into the distance during her maidenhood, and because Meng Tianguan doted on his daughter, he had ordered the construction of this Xuanyuan Terrace.

Since he became aware of this reason, Li Shou had frequently climbed the terrace.

Whenever he sat in the pavilion at this high vantage point, it felt as though his mother were right beside him, sitting shoulder to shoulder, enjoying the beautiful scenery together.

"Yes." Meng Renping appeared calm as he ascended the steps one by one, but in reality, his heart was far from calm.

Ji Kuan felt the same.

One was the Captain of the Eastern Palace Guards, and the other was the Vice Prefect of the Zhanshi Office; both served Li Shou long-term and were intimately familiar with his temperament, as well as his various taboos and habits.

In the past, let alone allowing someone to ascend Xuanyuan Terrace, even speaking loudly at the base of the terrace was forbidden.

Consequently, around the Xuanyuan Terrace and the facing Qiushui Lake, it was customary that whenever His Highness visited the Meng manor, this southeast corner had to be cleared completely. Whether living or dead, person or object, nothing was allowed to approach the southeast corner.

Except for the two of them.

Thus, Ji Kuan stood guard at the bottom of the terrace's stone steps, while Meng Renping waited in a pavilion a dozen paces away from the high platform.