Chapter 16: Days of Silence (6)

Chapter 16: The Days of Silence (Six)

The female lead was about to transmigrate, which gave Chu Yaoyao a sense of urgency.

She was currently holding a pen, drawing something on a piece of paper.

With her chubby, baby-faced little countenance, her attempt to look serious only made her appear more adorably dim-witted.

System: What is the Host doing?

【I can't write, so I can only draw the method for making soap.】

System: Are you sure others can understand it?

【Otherwise, why don't you end the punishment early and let me speak?】

The System instantly went offline.

After a long while, Chu Yaoyao put down her pen, panting slightly, and rubbed her wrist.

Children simply lacked strength; it had only been a short while, and her hand was already aching.

As soon as Consort Shu entered, she saw a dirty little "calico cat." "What has Ya'er written? Let Mother see."

【I'm drawing the raw materials and the process for making soap.】

Consort Shu picked up the scribbles... well, she couldn't understand a single thing.

But she still steeled herself and tried her best to identify them. "Let Mother see... this is..."

【Shells.】

"It looks like shells?"

Chu Yaoyao nodded happily. 【Yes, yes, yes.】

【Burn the shells, then crush them, then boil wood ash, add the shell powder and stir... put it on top of lard... add coarse salt, stir and stir... put it into a bamboo tube... after three days it will take shape, then remove the mold.】

So that was how it worked.

Consort Shu said seemingly inadvertently, "Mother seems to have seen this method before, in an old book. It was used to make soap?"

Now it was Chu Yaoyao's turn to be stunned.

【What's going on? Could it be that there were other transmigrators in this world before?】

【System, System! Something big is happening!】

【It seems this world has been transmigrated through like a sieve!】

System: What happened?

【Didn't you say that besides me, only the female lead transmigrates? Did you have a bug?】

【How does Mother know the soap recipe, and where did the book she mentioned come from?】

The System indicated that it didn't know either.

System: Don't worry, Host. I will go investigate further.

Consort Shu had no idea how difficult the situation had become for the System because of the excuse she had casually made up.

She sat at the desk, re-transcribing the production method she had heard from the inner voice onto paper.

The matter of the ancient book was the result of discussions between her and the Emperor.

To prevent Ya'er from noticing anything suspicious, they had fabricated the existence of an ancient book.

This way, if anything inexplicable happened in the future, or if someone accidentally let something slip, they could simply say it was written in the book. If Ya'er asked where the book was, they would say it had already been burned.

***

At the Shi Estate.

Chu Yao was peeking over the wall, occasionally giving orders to the person beside him.

"Xiao Zhuozi, when that woman comes back in a moment, lead His Highness inside. Then, be clever and find an opportunity to knock her unconscious."

Xiao Zhuozi advised bitterly, "Your Highness, you are a dignified Prince. Why must you make things difficult for a little girl? Besides, if you want to deal with her, there's no need to do it personally."

Chu Yao slapped the back of Xiao Zhuozi's head. "What do you know? His Highness and her are irreconcilable!"

Thinking of the news he had heard in Qionghua Palace, Chu Yao stared teeth-grittingly at the courtyard below. He had finally learned who the "female lead" was.

Deceiving him? Using him? Treating him like a fool?

Just thinking about these things made him unable to eat or sleep!

Chu Yao thought viciously: *Today, I will slash her face, and we'll see how she uses her beauty charms in the future!*

Suddenly, a commotion broke out below, and Chu Yao hurriedly hid.

"Quick, quick, quick! Carry the Young Miss inside! Go find a doctor, quickly!"

...

The footsteps gradually faded, and the courtyard fell silent once more.

Chu Yao poked his head out to observe for a while, then gave Xiao Zhuozi a look. "Go."

The master and servant climbed down from the wall and slipped into Shi Jingjing's room.

Looking at the unconscious Shi Jingjing, Chu Yao pulled a dagger from his robe and tossed it to Xiao Zhuozi.

"Go, quickly!"

The hidden guards saw this and were faced with a dilemma. The Emperor had ordered them to protect the Shi family girl, but the Third Prince intended to harm her.

What should they do?

Just as the hidden guards decided to step in and knock the two of them unconscious...

Something strange happened.

The window, which had been tightly shut, suddenly flew open, and a bird flew in.

It circled above Xiao Zhuozi's head.

"Ah! Your Highness, bird droppings got in my eyes! I can't see!" Xiao Zhuozi cried out in pain, clutching his eyes.

"Useless!"

Chu Yao snatched the dagger, preparing to take action himself.

Two more birds flew in through the window, and along with the first one, they began pecking at his face.

Chu Yao dodged while swinging the dagger wildly.

The two hidden guards in the room watched this in disbelief.

*Has this bird become a spirit or something?*

Footsteps approached from outside, so the hidden guards had no choice but to reveal themselves, knock the two men unconscious, and carry them away.

***

The Imperial Study.

It was already late at night by the time the memorials were finished being reviewed.

Su Maowen presented an envelope. "Your Majesty, Consort Shu sent this over through a messenger."

"Oh?" Emperor Qixuan raised an eyebrow slightly. Wan Zhi was really something; was there no way she could say what she wanted to say in person?

It reminded him of the days when he was still a Prince and exchanged letters with Wan Zhi.

Back then, every time Wan Zhi wrote in her letters...

Seeing the look of nostalgia on Emperor Qixuan's face, Su Maowen lowered his head and chuckled inwardly.

It seemed Consort Shu's methods were indeed profound; a single letter could evoke the Emperor's memories, practically having him completely under her thumb.

Looking at the Emperor's expression, it seemed he was quite willing. What was that phrase?

Right, *to find sweetness in hardship.*

Emperor Qixuan opened the envelope. The outpouring of emotions he had imagined was nowhere to be found.

The entire text... was actually just a recipe.

Scanning through it rapidly, it turned out to be the soap recipe Ya'er had mentioned.

Oh, Wan Zhi mentioned at the end that twenty percent of the soap profits should be set aside for Ya'er.

Outside the Imperial Study, Su Maowen heard a voice deliberately lowered.

"Master!"

He snapped his head toward the sound. "Why are you here? You just finished your punishment; shouldn't you be resting? Let me tell you, don't appear before the Emperor lately, or watch out for your life!"

Xiao Luzi limped over to his side and handed him a food box obsequiously. "I was afraid you'd be hungry, so I brought you some food. It's still warm."

Su Maowen felt a bit moved.

Xiao Luzi cast an inadvertent glance at the door. "Master, the Emperor seems quite busy these past few days. He hasn't entered the inner palace for a long time."

Su Maowen reached out and slapped him. "Where did you learn your manners? Is that something you're allowed to say?!"

Xiao Luzi rubbed the spot where he was hit and chuckled. "When the Emperor is busy, you aren't free either. I was just worried your body wouldn't be able to take it."

...

Inside, the hidden guard sent to monitor Shi Jingjing came out to report.

"The Third Prince went there? What is the situation?"

The guard replied, "The imperial physician said they were superficial wounds."

Emperor Qixuan snorted. "He deserves a lesson!"

"And after that?"

"When Miss Shi woke up again, she seemed like a different person. She kept saying strange things.

She said things like, 'Father is cowardly, Mother is status-driven, wanting the original host to be a lucky charm or a stepping stone'?"

"Then she laughed triumphantly and said: 'Since ancient times, those who transmigrate must be the protagonists. I am the Child of Destiny of this world.'"

...

After dismissing the guard, Emperor Qixuan raised his hand to rub his temples. It seemed the soul from another world had indeed arrived.

He had already prevented her from going near water, yet in the end, she was choked unconscious by a mouthful of soup.

Could this be what they called "destiny that cannot be defied"?