Lose My Heart to the Lovely Kitten Princess - Chapter 40
Chapter 40 Clean up the residence
“Meow!”
Behave, baby bird!
If it kept hopping around, it was going to get hurt!
Cheng Xiaoxiao raised her head to pat the baby bird’s head with her paw.
“Chirp chirp!”
In an instant, the baby bird obediently held onto the fur on Cheng Xiaoxiao’s head.
“Lan, stay where you are. I’ll go that way, so we can surround the cat.”
“Sure,” replied Lan. She didn’t have time to cry and quickly blocked Cheng Xiaoxiao’s path and continued, “Behave. His Highness will get anxious if he can’t find you later. We won’t hurt you. We just want to take you back to His Highness.”
“Lan, why are you talking to the cat? It’s not like it can understand humans! Watch out, I’m going to grab the cat now.”
The maid slowly approached Cheng Xiaoxiao from behind with her arms outstretched.
Lan reached her arms out and half-squatted in front of Cheng Xiaoxiao to cut off her path.
Cheng Xiaoxiao glanced at the old lady beside Lan. Then she asked, “Where’s the well you were talking about?”
“Can you see me?” asked the old lady in surprise as she stared at the cat which had just spoken to her.
“Don’t bother with these minor details now. I won’t be able to help when more people come in a minute. Hurry up and take me to the well. I will draw them over.”
Cheng Xiaoxiao glanced left and right. These maids were making such a commotion. If they drew the attention of the residence guards, it would spell trouble.
“Okay,” replied the old lady. She instantly floated towards the cat and showed her the way as she said, “It’s this way.”
“Okay,” said Cheng Xiaoxiao with the baby bird on her head. Then she darted to her side.
“Oh no! The cat took off!” shouted the maid, “Lan, hurry up! We have to go after her!”
“Mhm!” replied Lan as she went chasing behind the maid. Then she glanced at the ground behind her and wondered where her hairpin had gone.
Did someone else find it?
“It’s over here,” said the old lady as she brought Cheng Xiaoxiao to some tufts of grass beside a well, “The grass conceals the hairpin.”
“Alright, leave it to me!” said Cheng Xiaoxiao as she ran into the grass. She saw the worn-out wooden hairpin and instantly stopped. Then she turned to look at the two maids when they caught up with her breathlessly.
“Meow.”
“Don’t run,” said the maid as she held her breath and slowly inched towards Cheng Xiaoxiao, “Be good.”
“Meow!”
Cheng Xiaoxiao suddenly used her tail to sweep the wooden hairpin out of the grass.
“Oh! It’s my hairpin!” shouted Lan as she ran over instantly. She picked up the wooden hairpin and said with her eyes all red, “How… how did she know it was here?”
She carefully wiped the dirt and grass off the hairpin.
“Lan, the cat! The cat!” said the other maid softly as she reminded Lan to catch the cat. The cat had obediently curled up next to Lan.
“Oh yes!” replied Lan while she placed the wooden hairpin into her hair. Then she turned to look at the lion cat curled up by her feet and said as she beamed, “Thank you!”
“Meow.”
Cheng Xiaoxiao meowed at her adorably.
Lan finally realized why Prince Jing dismissed all the beauties in the household for the cat’s sake.
“Thank you,” said the old lady when she saw her daughter’s smile. She turned to look at Cheng Xiaoxiao gratefully and said with joy, “I can finally leave in peace.”
“Why did you refuse to reincarnate?” asked Cheng Xiaoxiao quizzically as she looked at the old lady.
Judging from her age, the old lady probably died a natural death.
In theory, people who died from natural deaths rarely had any undone business in the earthly realm.
“I was worried that Lan’er couldn’t take care of herself. She kept crying after I died,” replied the old lady as she looked at Lan affectionately. Lan kept smiling after she recovered the hairpin.
“But Lan’er can finally smile again. She’s all grown up now and is capable of caring for herself, so it’s time for me to leave,” said the old lady before she transformed into a black cloud and automatically flew into Cheng Xiaoxiao’s jade pendant. Cheng Xiaoxiao sensed the pendant turning hot and lowered her head to see the jade pendant letting out a green glow. She murmured in her heart that the jade pendant seemed to be glowing even more brightly.
“I’ve got her!”
Darkness suddenly enveloped Cheng Xiaoxiao the moment she gathered her thoughts. The maid had already pulled her into her arm and said, “Behave. We will bring you back right now. But what were you up to?”
The maid noticed the tomato juice and chicken feathers on the lion cat and couldn’t help frowning as she asked, “Why are you so dirty?”
“Meow.”
Cheng Xiaoxiao rubbed the tomato juice onto the maid. Hmph! Served the maid right for calling her dirty!
“Heavens, my clothes!” cried the maid as she looked at her dirty clothing. She hastily handed the lion cat to Lan and said, “Hold onto her!”
She pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the tomato juice off as she complained, “This is so hard to clean off. I can’t get it off!”
Lan took the cat and touched her head cautiously and said, “Can you behave and stay put?”
“Meow.”
That was more like it!
Cheng Xiaoxiao meowed before she obediently curled up in Lan’s arms, but she kept looking at the well.
Many heads of all gender and ages craned out of the well.
They zipped back into the well when they spotted Cheng Xiaoxiao’s staring.
She already spotted heads reaching out from the well when she was looking for the wooden hairpin. It seemed there were quite a lot of spirits with undone business lingering in Prince Jing’s residence.
There was a lot of work lined up for Cheng Xiaoxiao now.
She had to help Chu Yunshen clean up the residence before she reincarnated.
“Sir, here…we…we found the prince’s cat,” said Lan and the other maid. They saw Xiaowu hurrying out of Chu Yunshen’s room the moment they got there.
Xiaowu swiftly turned around when he heard a timid voice. His eyes landed on the lion cat in the maid’s arms. Her white fur had gotten clumpy from tomato juice, and there were even some chicken feathers on her head.
They had finally caught the culprit wreaking havoc in the kitchen.
Prince Jing got summoned to the palace first thing in the morning.
The moment he came back, he heard the servants discussing a supernatural incident.
After Prince Jing and Xiaowu returned to the room, he noticed that the lion cat and baby bird were missing. Xiaowu swiftly realized what had happened.
Xiaowu was just on his way to find the little fellow when the maids came back with her.
“You dirty cat!”
Xiaowu wanted to pick the cat up and wash her up before sending her to Prince Jing.
“Meow!”
Xiaowu was the dirty prick!
Cheng Xiaoxiao raised her paw and clawed Xiaowu’s hand. Xiaowu evaded her instinctively, and she took the opportunity to jump right onto the ground.
CREAK.
The door opened from inside.
“What’s the commotion about?”
Chu Yunshen’s voice came from overhead. Cheng Xiaoxiao raised her head to look up in shock at the huge object looming over her.
Chu Yunshen lowered his head to look at the dirty lion cat. He retreated and asked, “How did she end up like this?”
Xiaowu swiftly grabbed hold of Cheng Xiaoxiao. He held her at arm’s length before he replied, “Master, the little fellow made trouble in the kitchen again.”
Chu Yunshen looked at the little fellow as she struggled in Xiaowu’s arms. His dark eyes narrowed, and he said, “Bring some water over and bathe her.”
Chu Yunshen went back into the room. Xiaowu acknowledged his order. Then he told the maids behind to send water while he took Cheng Xiaoxiao into the outer room.
Chu Yunshen sat down behind the table and read a military book. After the maids came back with the water, Xiaowu placed Cheng Xiaoxiao inside the basin. Then Xiaowu pulled the baby bird off Cheng Xiaoxiao’s head and tossed it into the water too.
“Chirp chirp!”
“Meow!”
Baby bird!
Cheng Xiaoxiao saw the baby bird struggling in the water. She hastily pushed the baby bird up with her back. Then she glared angrily at Xiaowu.
Xiaowu said shamelessly, “It’ll be cleaner after taking a dip.”
Cheng Xiaoxiao quickly dipped her head into the water and suddenly raised her head.
“AH!” cried Xiaowu when Cheng Xiaoxiao flicked water onto him.
“Chirp chirp!”
“Meow meow!”
Cheng Xiaoxiao and the baby bird were overjoyed to see Xiaowu drenched, so the two of them thrashed around happily in the water.
“Oh God, can you two stop it?”
Xiaowu attempted to grab Cheng Xiaoxiao with one hand while he held onto the baby bird with the other. But whenever he caught one of them, the other retaliated, and he was helpless as his eyes were blinded by water.
Chu Yunshen leaned into his chair as he attempted to read his military book. He looked up when he heard the nonstop meowing coming from outside and caught sight of the cat and bird. There was too much of a commotion, and it was impossible to read.
The midday sun penetrated through the open windows and scattered on the water that kept spraying into the air.
Chu Yunshen straightened his back and closed the book before heading over to the hall.
The cat and the bird were having so much fun that they failed to notice Chu Yunshen staring at them.
“Oh, Master!” said Xiaowu when he finally finished bathing the cat and the bird.
Xiaowu finally noticed Chu Yunshen leaning against the pillar nearby as he stared at the lion cat in Xiaowu’s arms.
“Mhm,” said Chu Yunshen as he reached his hand towards Xiaowu. Then Xiaowu quickly dried the lion cat with a towel before handing her to Chu Yunshen.
Chu Yunshen held Cheng Xiaoxiao up with both hands and looked at her. The little fellow was always arrogant towards Xiaowu, but absolutely adorable when she was in his arms.
He raised his hand and touched her nose gently and asked, “Where has all your toughness gone?”
“Meow…meow…”
Cheng Xiaoxiao reached her neck out and tried to wriggle into Chu Yunshen’s arms, but he kept his arms out, so she could only swing her paws in mid-air as she attempted to grab his shirt.
Chu Yunshen watched as the little fellow kept sticking her tongue out and acting cutely. Then he curled his arms and pulled Cheng Xiaoxiao into his embrace and smiled as he asked, “Are you going to run off again?”
“Meow… meow…”
Cheng Xiaoxiao shook her head like a rattle.
However, first thing in the morning the next day, Cheng Xiaoxiao clean forgot her mistakes. The moment Chu Yunshen left, she darted out of the room.
Cheng Xiaoxiao didn’t bring the baby bird with her when she headed to the same well she found yesterday.
Shortly after Cheng Xiaoxiao got to the well, someone screamed, “The cat is here again. Come out, everyone!”
Cheng Xiaoxiao saw a little girl who seemed roughly 12 years old reach her head out from under the water.
Did such a young girl die here?
Cheng Xiaoxiao closed her eyes and chanted in her heart, “Hear my order, jade pendant and open my eyes.”
The little girl became translucent when Cheng Xiaoxiao opened her eyes again. Also, her forehead, cheeks, wrists, arms, torso, and legs were covered with red pustules.
Did the little girl die of smallpox?
There were no surefire methods to cure smallpox in ancient or modern times. Since she hailed from modern times, she was inoculated with a vaccine originating from cows when she was born to prevent smallpox.
“Why didn’t you get reincarnated?” asked Cheng Xiaoxiao as she jumped up onto the well and blinked and looked at the little girl.
The little girl shyly shrank her head back into the well and stared at Cheng Xiaoxiao.
