Chapter 27

The performance on the stage continued, and in the Imperial Garden, Prince Xian was still busy with his tasks, while Xia Qingqing was working hard, sweat dripping down her face.

“Sixth Young Master… no, Prince Xian, have you seen where the crickets went? I’ve been searching for so long, but I can’t find them! The Imperial Garden is so vast; they must have run far away. How about I go back and help you look for them?”

Xia Qingqing sat down on the ground, drenched in sweat. She had been brought into the palace by a palace maid, only to be intercepted by Prince Xian halfway and never even got to see the Empress Dowager or Jian Qiu. Instead, she found herself searching for crickets with Prince Xian on the ground.

This Prince Xian really lives up to his name! Every day he has nothing to do but play with crickets. Doesn’t that affect my business? I wanted to promote skincare products while the evening performance was going on!

“Hmph! Are you trying to climb the social ladder? Do you want to marry Prince Jin or Prince Yan?”

Prince Xian stared at her with an unhappy expression.

“Ah, so you’ve caught onto my little thoughts! Who wouldn’t want to climb the social ladder? For a woman, marrying a good man is like a second life. Marrying a good man means living well, eating well, and being respected.

You have to know, as a lowly concubine’s daughter in the Xia family, life is tough. I’ve almost starved to death, almost frozen to death, and almost drowned. All kinds of deaths were lined up waiting for me! If either of those two men take a liking to me, I could escape from the Xia family’s hellhole. Wouldn’t that be great?”

Xia Qingqing gave him a disdainful look.

“You, with the Empress Dowager taking care of you, would never understand my miserable life!”

“Oh, so that’s how it is! Then marry me! Once I marry you, I’ll set up a royal mansion outside the palace, and you can be the princess. Who would dare to bully you then?”

Prince Xian crossed his arms and looked at her arrogantly.

“Me, marry you?”

Xia Qingqing stared suspiciously at Prince Xian, who was disheveled and covered in dirt. He was a fool. If I marry him, won’t everyone laugh at me?

“Yes! I’ve heard that you’re quite capable, and even dared to use a chopping knife to kill someone. From now on, you can be my princess and protect me. Prince Jin won’t dare bully me again!”

Prince Xian gazed at her with admiration in his eyes.

Xia Qingqing thought for a moment, then shook her head. “Forget it! Following you doesn’t seem like a good idea. I’ll find a way to make more money and leave the Xia family to live on my own. No strings attached!”

“You… Hmph! Am I really that bad? Prince Jin tried to beat me, but he failed, and I gave him a good lesson! If you like money, I’ll give you all my wealth in the future. How about that?”

Prince Xian was not convinced.

“Oh my! I like sleeping in, not bowing and greeting people all the time, and I don’t like fighting with others over trivial matters. I prefer a simple, direct approach—if you provoke me, I’ll deal with it. If you don’t obey, then I’ll make you regret it!”

Xia Qingqing answered him awkwardly.

Being a princess means having to go to the palace for daily greetings! And those people in the palace, all of them are scheming! Can this fool of a prince really protect me? Earning money is hard, but keeping my life safe comes first!

After hearing Xia Qingqing’s explanation, Prince Xian immediately stared at her, his eyes dark with thought.

“Good! I like your character! Sister, marry me! I’ll let you sleep in, and you won’t have to go to the palace. It’ll just be the two of us in the mansion, and we can sleep all day. When we wake up, we’ll catch crickets and play. And since you’re the sixth child in your family, and I’m also the sixth, we’ll live a happy life together, just the two of us!”

Xia Qingqing frowned slightly and began to seriously consider his words.

In ancient times, society was male-dominated, and no matter how capable a woman was, she couldn’t escape the protection of her family or a man. But he’s a fool. How can he protect me?

Although he has the Empress Dowager and the Emperor to protect him now, once they are gone, who will protect him? And what can he use to protect me?

If I have to cling to someone’s leg, I want to cling to a strong one!

Seeing Xia Qingqing lost in thought, Prince Xian grew anxious.

“Come, I’ll take you to meet my father and let him tell you if I can protect you. If my father knows I’ve woken up and want to marry, he’ll be so happy! He’ll reward you with a lot of gold and silver, and I’ll give it all to you.”

He pulled Xia Qingqing up and started leading her toward the Imperial Study.

“Let go! Let go! I’m not going! We should find the crickets. I think I hear them calling!”

Xia Qingqing pulled her hand out of Prince Xian’s grip and ran back to the flowers to catch the crickets.

“My golden-horned king! And my silver-horned king!”

It seemed that Prince Xian had also heard the crickets and immediately crawled into the flower bushes after her.

The two of them crawled around in the bushes.

At that moment, Emperor Jing arrived in the Imperial Garden for a stroll.

He noticed the flowers and leaves rustling and looked on with confusion.

Eunuch Gao also stared for a moment. “Your Majesty, is there some small animal in there? Let me go and take a look!”

Emperor Jing nodded. “Go ahead!”

Eunuch Gao tiptoed forward, parted the branches, and saw two figures inside.

One was a man and one was a woman, both crawling around.

“Who is it? Come out!”

Eunuch Gao shouted.

“Eunuch Gao, it’s me!”

Fifth Prince turned around and glanced.

“Prince Xian! What are you doing in there? Come out! The Emperor is here!”

Eunuch Gao smiled and called out to him.

Upon hearing that it was the fool, Fifth Prince, Emperor Jing showed a fatherly smile.

“Fifth Prince, come out! Father’s here!”

He walked toward them.

“Is the Emperor here?”

Xia Qingqing lay motionless on the ground, not expecting to encounter the Emperor of the Huachao dynasty in the Imperial Garden.

“Yes, it’s my father!”

Prince Xian laughed foolishly as he backed out of the flowers, stood up covered in dirt, and threw himself into Emperor Jing’s arms.

“Father! Your son, Qingqing, is inside catching crickets!”

“Qingqing?”

Emperor Jing looked at the bushes in confusion.

“I already have a Qingqing. Where did another one come from?”

“It’s Xia Qingqing! She caught the crickets for me! I think she’s so interesting—she can tell stories, fight, and even heal people…”

Prince Xian excitedly explained Xia Qingqing’s qualities to Emperor Jing.

Emperor Jing understood immediately!

This Xia Qingqing was the daughter of the Imperial Counselor Yan, the lowly concubine’s daughter, the one who had been scolded by the Empress Dowager.

“Your Majesty, peace be upon you!”

Xia Qingqing crawled out from the flowers, quickly kneeling to greet the Emperor.

“Get up.”

Emperor Jing looked at the little girl covered in dirt.

She was petite, with sparkling eyes beneath her bangs, her fair skin covered in dirt, and holding two crickets in her hands.

She was a mischievous, cute little girl.

She was willing to play with his foolish son, and even praised her.

She seemed to be a kind-hearted girl!