Chapter 22: I’ve Even Kicked Its Master Before

Jiang Huaiyue and Qiu Chan rummaged through the place for a long time but still didn’t see even a shadow of the painting.

She looked dejected but tried to comfort herself, “It’s okay, it must be hidden in some corner we didn’t notice.”

As long as no one else found it, it wouldn’t be a big problem.

She brushed the dust off her hands and said to Qiu Chan, “Qiu Chan, let’s stop looking and go back.”

“But Mistress, what if something happens?” Qiu Chan’s small, round face was full of worry.

Jiang Huaiyue thought it through and replied casually, “No worries. It’s not signed, so even if someone finds it, who would know it’s drawn by our mistress?”

The palace was so vast, and there were plenty of people who could paint. Many also liked Jiang Jingchen.

At the prince’s study:

Pei Ji stared at the portrait in front of him. “You mean this was found in Jiang Huaiyue’s bedchamber?”

Looking at the person in the portrait and the poem in the lower right corner, his ink-black eyes carried a hint of coldness.

When he heard Jiang Huaiyue making excuses at the palace gate, he already knew she was lying. So he thought of having someone check the central palace, hoping to find something. Unexpectedly, there was a pleasant surprise.

His sister liking her brother was rather interesting.

He looked again at the poem:

“Dawn sees the sky, dusk walks the clouds,
Walking, thinking of you; sitting, thinking of you.”

He couldn’t help but sneer coldly—such deep feelings indeed.

“Yes, I noticed this was different from other calligraphy and paintings, so I opened it to take a look,” Fu Yao said as she entered the central palace. She immediately saw the painting on the desk, very conspicuous.

This lady was His Majesty’s sister, yet the painting expressed endless affection.

If this got out, wouldn’t people criticize her?

At that time, Jiang Huaiyue had no idea that her desperately hidden secret was already known by someone—and that someone was Pei Ji.

Pei Ji tossed the portrait aside, his eyes darkening. “Leave.”

Fu Yao felt the coldness in his tone and didn’t dare hesitate. She quickly withdrew.

She couldn’t help but worry about the lady. The mistress was married to the prince but had feelings for someone else. Wasn’t that like cuckolding the prince?

No one would be happy about that—it was a matter of dignity.

Jiang Huaiyue returned to the manor and handed the peach blossom branch in her hand to Qiu Chan, asking her to find a vase for it.

Then she suddenly remembered the rice ball and went to look for it in her room.

“Rice ball? Meow~” She searched for a long time but couldn’t even find a single hair.

“Mistress, what are you doing?” Qiu Chan entered carrying the vase and saw her mistress rummaging around.

She wondered if the mistress was still looking for that painting.

Jiang Huaiyue furrowed her brows. “Rice ball is missing?”

“Ah? I locked it in the room earlier,” Qiu Chan hurriedly put down the vase and joined the search.

The two ladies turned the whole room upside down but didn’t find any trace of the cat.

“Maybe it ran outside. Let’s look outside,” Jiang Huaiyue sighed, worry creeping into her heart for the little rice ball’s safety.

If it ran outside and accidentally met Pei Ji, it would be over.

So, Jiang Huaiyue and Qiu Chan left the courtyard and started searching outside.

Inside the study, sunlight filtered through the lattice windows, casting shadows on the floor. Wisps of smoke curled up from the incense burner.

Pei Ji leaned back in his chair, resting lightly, when suddenly he heard a cat’s meow from the window.

“Meow~ meow~~”

He lifted his eyelids and got up to go out, only to see Moying carrying a cat from the corner.

“Your Highness, it seems to be the princess’s cat,” Moying said, lowering his head as he looked at him.

Pei Ji’s gaze swept over the white cat in his hand. Seeing the cat’s heterochromatic eyes, it was indeed the cat Jiang Huaiyue had rescued last time.

She did take good care of it—this cat that was nearly dying before was now fattened up quite a bit.

“Throw it out,” Pei Ji said coldly.

Moying knew how much he hated these furry little animals, so he immediately turned to leave.

But suddenly, he heard a voice behind him: “Forget it, just put it down first.”

Moying was stunned for a moment, then placed the cat on the ground.

The cat, seemingly understanding their conversation and recognizing Pei Ji as someone with authority, immediately walked over to his feet and rubbed against his clothes.

Moying inwardly worried for the cat’s life. “You stupid cat, you really aren’t afraid of dying!”

Pei Ji lowered his eyes and glanced at the cat rolling and being playful, then kicked it. The cat was kicked away and looked up with a meow.

“Fangtuo,” Jiang Huaiyue came running over and saw Pei Ji kick the cat away with his foot.

She hurried to pick the cat up from the ground and carefully checked it over.

“Your Highness, Fangtuo is just a cat. How can you kick it?” Jiang Huaiyue was anxious and for a moment forgot her fear of him, raising her voice.

Pei Ji narrowed his eyes coldly and said, “I’ve kicked its owner before, let alone a cat.”

His icy gaze landed on her, and Jiang Huaiyue held the cat and stepped back a little.

Yeah, he had even kicked her before, so a cat was nothing to him. Such a man didn’t value human life. How could she have been so impulsive, forgetting her own limits?

“Your Highness, rest assured, I will watch Fangtuo carefully from now on and absolutely will not let it run around and disturb you again.”

Pei Ji stood on the steps and suddenly said, “Princess, didn’t you go to get some things? Have you brought everything back?”

Jiang Huaiyue heard this and thought of that painting, her expression momentarily stunned.

“Yes, everything’s back. If Your Highness has no other requests, I’ll leave first.”

Pei Ji immediately noticed something was off and, for some reason, a trace of hostility rose in his heart: “I hope you really brought everything back. Don’t lose anything, that would be bad.”

Jiang Huaiyue didn’t know what he meant by that, but her heart felt even more uneasy.

She didn’t respond, instead holding Fangtuo and running away.

Watching her flustered figure, Pei Ji showed a faint smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

Jiang Huaiyue left Qingshui Residence, holding Fangtuo as she returned to her own courtyard. She reached out and scratched the cat’s neck, saying with a bit of annoyance, “You stupid cat, why’d you have to pick a fight with Pei Ji? Don’t want to live, huh?”

Fangtuo half-closed its eyes comfortably, letting Jiang Huaiyue scratch its itch.

“Being a cat is really nice,” Jiang Huaiyue said, watching Fangtuo enjoy itself.

She kept wondering what Pei Ji’s words meant. Did he know something?

But that couldn’t be right. Pei Ji couldn’t possibly know. And even if he did, it wouldn’t matter—after all, in his eyes, she was just someone insignificant.

Jiang Huaiyue thought that the matter of Fangtuo running off was finally over.

But who knew, just a few days later, while she was having a meal, the cat disappeared again.

“Princess, Fangtuo is missing again,” Qiuchan hurried in.

Jiang Huaiyue put down her chopsticks and sighed: “Have you searched the yard?”