Li Huaiyu was jolted awake by the sound of a metal pot crashing to the ground. The loud “Shig” startled her so much that she jumped out of bed before her eyes were even open. She heard Xu Chuniang shouting, “Something’s wrong! Something’s wrong!”
Rubbing her eyes with effort, Huaiyu sat on the edge of the bed and asked, “What’s going on?”
Xu Chuniang rushed to her side but suddenly froze, her face turning red with embarrassment as she forgot her lines.
Chi Jin caught up from behind and took over, “There’s a thief in the kitchen.”
What? Li Huaiyu raised an eyebrow. “The kitchen?”
“Yes, it’s a mess over there. Some servants said they saw bear paw prints,” Chi Jin lied without batting an eye. “Manager Lu suspects a wild bear came down from the mountain and is hiding somewhere in the estate.”
Xu Chuniang swallowed nervously. Wasn’t it supposed to be just a thief? How did it turn into a bear? Where were they going to find a wild bear?
However, Huaiyu seemed more interested in the bear than a thief. Her eyes lit up at Chi Jin’s words, and she jumped up, exclaiming, “Qingsi, help me get ready!”
Seeing that she didn’t ask about the jade carving, everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
However, as Huaiyu sat at the dressing table, she looked around and looked puzzled. She glanced at Qingsi in the mirror, about to speak.
“Master! We need to hurry!” Qingsi interrupted with a serious expression, quickly styling her hair into a neat updo, inserting a wooden hairpin that Chi Jin and Chuniang had bought, and then helping her out the door.
Huaiyu was confused and asked Chuniang, “Is it urgent?”
Xu Chuniang blushed and stammered, unable to articulate a response. Qingsi’s heart skipped a beat, and she signaled to Chi Jin—Xu Chuniang was not cut out for lying!
Chi Jin pulled Xu Chuniang behind him and answered gravely, “Yes, it’s urgent. We can’t let the news leak and cause panic among the people, but we also can’t let the bear escape and harm anyone.”
Li Huaiyu nodded, her expression turning serious as she followed them to the kitchen.
Lu Jingxing and Murong Qi were at the kitchen door. Seeing them approach, they were about to start the planned story about the thief, but before they could speak, Chi Jin asked, “Where are the bear paw prints?”
…What paw prints?
Lu Jingxing’s eyes widened slightly, and Chi Jin gave him a meaningful look. After a brief exchange of glances, Lu Jingxing swallowed his words and said to Li Huaiyu, “They’re in the back.”
Huaiyu was thrilled. Having grown up in the palace, she had never seen a wild bear, only read about them in books. Now she finally had the chance to see one. She lifted her skirt and skipped inside.
The kitchen was a mess, with broken dishes and scattered vegetables everywhere. The hooks that usually held meat swung empty under the eaves.
Lu Jingxing whispered to Murong Qi, “Have you ever seen bear paw prints?”
Murong Qi crossed her arms, “Yes, there are plenty of wild bears in the mountains of Eastern Jin. I even hunted two during last spring’s hunt.”
Seeing Li Huaiyu searching for paw prints in the back, Lu Jingxing had to put aside their recent grievances and bowed to Murong Qi, “Please, Your Excellency, teach me.”
Murong Qi glanced at him and chuckled, “Dinner on the pleasure boat, or no deal.”
Lu Jingxing: “…”
Yawning, Murong Qi said, “Decide quickly, or she’ll turn the courtyard upside down.”
Gritting his teeth, Lu Jingxing nodded, “Fine.”
“Great!” Murong Qi laughed, dimples appearing, then pulled him to a corner where Li Huaiyu couldn’t see, grabbed his hand, and pressed it hard into the ground, creating a deep impression. She then used her toes to make five round indentations.
Lu Jingxing asked, puzzled, “Why use my hand?”
“It would be the same with mine,” Murong Qi released him, nonchalantly. “But I’m too lazy to wash my hands.”
Lu Jingxing: “?”
Li Huaiyu searched the courtyard for bear paw prints, starting to suspect they were tricking her, when she heard an exclamation, “Your Highness, over here!”
A thick, solid paw print, completely different from a human footprint. Huaiyu squatted beside it, full of wonder, and then stood up to give orders, “Search the estate thoroughly, inside and out. Report any sign of the bear immediately!”
“Yes!” The servants responded in unison, grabbing long sticks and dispersing.
Remembering the little rascals were still with the wet nurse, Huaiyu turned and ran to the main courtyard.
Xu Chuniang was relieved and whispered to Chi Jin, “The master always says Her Highness is mischievous and lacks a mother’s tenderness. But look, when there’s danger, she’s very concerned about the young lord and lady’s safety.”
Chi Jin remained silent, gesturing for Xu Chuniang to follow him. She looked puzzled but complied.
Li Huaiyu excitedly picked up the two children—or rather, carried them, one in each hand—and walked out, saying, “Children, Mother is taking you to see a bear!”
Xu Chuniang: “…”
Perhaps inheriting their mother’s courage, the two little ones didn’t cry, their eyes wide open, giggling. Li Huaiyu lifted the little rascal and said, “Your father said sons are born to protect their mothers, so if the bear charges, you must protect me!”
Qingsi’s eyelid twitched, imagining the scene of her mistress throwing the young lord at a bear, and shivering.
“Your Highness, the young lord is only three months old.”
Huaiyu paused, looked down at the little rascal, and muttered, “True, he needs a few more years.”
Chi Jin glanced at Xu Chuniang, who lowered her eyes, “Forget I said anything.”
The fact that the children had survived to three months was thanks to Ziyang Jun and the wet nurse. The Lord had spoiled the mistress into a child herself, so in her eyes, she and the babies were equaled, unaware of what “nurturing” meant.
“Where’s the bear? Haven’t caught it yet?” Li Huaiyu asked.
Xu Chuniang snapped back to reality and quickly turned to Chi Jin, “Yes, where’s the bear?”
“The bear…” Chi Jin bowed, “We’ll catch it soon, Your Highness, please wait.”
With that, he left the main courtyard to find Lin Sihai.
Lin Sihai was the most robust among the male companions. Lu Jingxing had already sent for a bear pelt as quickly as possible, and a group of people hid in a dark room, hurriedly wrapping the pelt around him.
“Won’t this be obvious?” Lin Sihai looked down at himself.
“No,” Lu Jingxing fanned himself with a smile, “You look just like a bear, flawless!”
Murong Qi bit a rope and pulled it tight, securing the pelt before spitting, “What does your mistress have to do with me? Why am I helping?”
Despite her words, her hands moved deftly.
Lu Jingxing observed and praised, “You tie better than Chi Jin.”
“Of course,” Murong Qi lifted her chin, “I used to tie people up and throw them into lakes, very skilled.”
The room fell silent for a moment, everyone giving Lord Baihua a complex look. Then, pretending they hadn’t heard anything, they continued wrapping the bear pelt. Lu Jingxing’s hand holding the fan stiffened slightly. He thought, maybe the pleasure boat wasn’t a good idea; a place without a lake would be better for dinner with her.
The June heat was already rising, and those wrapping the pelt were sweating. Lin Sihai, wrapped in the bear pelt, was drenched, and looking uncomfortable, but he didn’t complain. Once the disguise was complete, he crawled into the cage Chi Jin had found, curling up like a bear.
Murong Qi watched, initially amused, but her expression soon darkened.
“What?” Lu Jingxing asked, puzzled, “Why are you upset again?”
“Why are you all so good to her?” Murong Qi’s eyes were shadowed. “People are inherently unrelated, and even family ties are just fabricated for alliances. You can live without her, so why go to such lengths to make her happy?”
Her thoughts were quite extreme, with a stubborn streak that couldn’t be reasoned with. She always seemed odd, and now Lu Jingxing understood why.
Murong Qi had no close people around her, not even a personal maid. She seemed to have a natural hostility towards people, so it was normal for her not to understand why Huaiyu had so many people around her.
Feeling a bit sympathetic, he closed his fan and gently tapped her shoulder, “If you’re good to people, they’ll be good to you. It’s natural.”
Murong Qi looked up, her bright eyes sweeping over his face, “So if I’m good to you, you’ll be good to me?”
His sympathy vanished, and Lu Jingxing forced a smile, “No.”
From his painful experiences over the past few months, being targeted by this lord was not a good thing.
Murong Qi narrowed her eyes, snorted coldly, and with a sweep of her dark sleeve, climbed the courtyard wall. She was about to jump over but paused, looking back, “Dinner. Don’t forget.”
Lu Jingxing opened his fan, covering half his face, and said helplessly, “I remember.”
With a raised eyebrow and a smile, Murong Qi leaped over the wall. Lu Jingxing watched her leave, shaking his head repeatedly. On the other side, Xu Chuniang called him, “Manager Lu, come help.”
“Coming.” He turned his attention back and followed them to the main courtyard.
Li Huaiyu sat under the eaves with the two children, her eyes fixed on the cage being pushed in from outside.
“Be careful, Master!” Qingsi pulled her back, looking tense, “Stay back.”
Huaiyu obediently stepped back, standing on tiptoe to look at the furry thing in the cage, frowning, “Too far to see clearly.”
“Just a glance is enough,” Chi Jin said. “We’ll send it away soon, before it wakes and breaks free, hurting someone again.”
“Yes,” Chuniang chimed in, “I just saw it, and a wild bear is nothing special, looks the same from afar or up close.”
Smacking her lips, Huaiyu asked, “Can we have bear paw for lunch?”
A drop of cold sweat ran down Lu Jingxing’s forehead, “No.”
“Why not? I used to have it in the palace,” Huaiyu said, “Braised bear paw, a royal delicacy.”
Chi Jin shook his head, “I can’t make it.”
“Is there anything you can’t make?” Huaiyu clicked her tongue, thinking, “Should I try?”
“No!” everyone said in unison.
The atmosphere was a bit strange. Huaiyu looked around at them, frowning, “Are you hiding something from me?”
“No!” came the synchronized reply.
Frustrated, they exchanged reproachful glances. Lu Jingxing stepped forward, “Don’t waste it. This bear has it hard enough, maybe cubs waiting for it. Let it go.”
Looking at the two babies in her arms, Huaiyu relented, “Fine, let it go.”
With those words, everyone sighed in relief, faces showing the joy of surviving a disaster. They were about to shake hands in celebration when Her Highness added, “I want to release it myself!”
The “bear” in the cage trembled.
“Release…” Lu Jingxing gripped his fan, forcing a smile, “Where to?”
“Where else? Back to the mountain!” Huaiyu said, “Before it wakes, let’s go now. We can be back by sunset.”
“Your Highness, we can go,” Qingsi said. “You stay home with the young lord and lady.”
“No way, this is too interesting. I must go myself.” Handing the babies to the wet nurse, Huaiyu said, “Bring the jade carving, too. It can absorb the essence of the sun and moon on the mountain.”
Mentioning the jade carving, everyone fell silent, exchanging glances and nudging Qingsi forward.
Qingsi, steeling herself, said, “I’ll get it. You… go with Manager Lu to wait for the carriage.”
“Okay!” Huaiyu clapped her hands excitedly, lifting her skirt and calling Lu Jingxing, “Let’s go.”
Lu Jingxing forced a smile, glancing worriedly at the “bear” in the cage. Would it survive if released on the mountain?
Qingsi took the empty box meant for the jade carving and held it close. As soon as Huaiyu got in the carriage, she reached for it, but Qingsi shook her head, “I’ll hold it. Manager Lu has something important to discuss with you.”
With that, she ran to the carriage behind.
Li Huaiyu turned to Lu Jingxing, “What’s the matter?”
Lu Jingxing stared at his fan, wondering what important matter he had to discuss.
Chi Jin chimed in, “Is it about Lord Baihua?”
Xu Chuniang added quietly, “Lord Baihua seems to have disappeared. She was just in the estate. Did you disagree?”
Lu Jingxing gave Chi Jin a long look, his eye twitching.
Of all the excuses, he had to mention Lord Baihua. Chi Jin was enjoying the spectacle. Was it because he had accidentally interrupted his time alone with Xu Chuniang a few days ago? Was he holding a grudge?
“Murong Qi? She seems to like being with you,” Huaiyu said with interest. “Aside from her status, she’s quite a match for your looks.”
“Praise a man with ‘handsome and dashing,’ thank you, Your Highness,” Lu Jingxing gritted his teeth. “I have no fate with Lord Baihua. What I wanted to discuss is… Lord Baihua has been in Northern Wei too long, which is inappropriate. We need to find a way to send her back to Eastern Jin.”