Chapter 23: Pei Ji Actually Has a Secret Golden House

“We’ve searched everywhere, but still no sign of Rice Ball. Could it have run over to the prince’s place again?” Qiu Chan guessed, recalling the last incident.

Jiang Huaiyue gave a faint, hopeless smile. “You go look somewhere else. I’ll check at Qingshui Residence.”

That damned cat—it seemed to think it had nine lives or something.

“All right.” Qiu Chan bowed and went out to continue searching.

Jiang Huaiyue resignedly wiped her lips with a handkerchief, then stood up and went looking for the cat.

She arrived at Qingshui Residence, which was very quiet; only a few birds chirped here and there. At this hour, Pei Ji was probably not here.

She circled around the residence but found nothing.

Jiang Huaiyue sighed deeply and turned to leave.

She walked past the rockery, through the long corridor, winding and turning until she didn’t know exactly where she was. As she walked, she spotted a locked door.

Seeing the door was locked, she thought Rice Ball probably couldn’t have gotten in there, so she wasn’t going to check it—then suddenly, a cat’s meow came from inside the courtyard.

That familiar sound—she didn’t even need to think. It had to be Rice Ball. But how on earth did it find this place, so hidden and secluded?

The door was still locked, which was strange. She stepped closer to examine the lock—a sturdy bronze lock that definitely couldn’t be opened without a key.

Jiang Huaiyue had to think of another way. The door wouldn’t open, and the walls were built very high, so climbing over wasn’t possible.

After some thought, a sudden bright idea struck her: Rice Ball was a cat; if it could get in, there must be another way in around here.

So Jiang Huaiyue searched the base of the wall for a long time until she finally found a hole behind some bushes.

Looking at the narrow hole, she estimated she could squeeze through, so without hesitation, she bent down and crawled through the dog-sized hole.

Pushing aside the weeds at the entrance, she struggled hard to get through, thinking to herself that once she found Rice Ball, she definitely had to starve it for a few days.

Once out of the hole, Jiang Huaiyue brushed the grass off her clothes, tidied her messy hair, then stood up to look around.

What she saw made her eyes light up instantly—it wasn’t some desolate courtyard at all, it was a paradise!

The house before her was elegant, with a lush courtyard full of greenery. Pear blossoms bloomed just right, and a sturdy branch had a swing attached.

The sound of flowing water came from nearby, and koi fish in the pond leapt eagerly.

Jiang Huaiyue suddenly heard a woman’s voice nearby. Her eyes widened in surprise—how could there be a woman here? Could it be that Pei Ji actually had a secret golden house with a mistress?

This thought popped into her head and the more she thought about it, the more convinced she became. She never expected Pei Ji to do such a thing.

She cautiously lifted her skirt and peeked out, seeing under the tree in the courtyard a woman in a pale blue dress cradling a small kitten, playing with it.

That cat was clearly the ungrateful little beast she had been searching for all this time. After all the trouble she had gone through looking for it, it was happily enjoying itself here.

Jiang Huaiyue hesitated, wondering how to get Rice Ball out without disturbing the young lady inside.

But before she could think further, it seemed Rice Ball spotted her and jumped down from the lady’s lap, running straight toward her.

Now it was bad—the lady turned around and looked their way, and Jiang Huaiyue didn’t even have time to hide.

Seeing the ungrateful little cat rubbing against her feet like a dog, Jiang Huaiyue really wanted to kick it.

“Sis~”

At the sound of “Sister,” Jiang Huaiyue was momentarily stunned. She raised her eyes to see a girl in the distance with a delicate oval face, clear and pure eyes, and a smile curved like a crescent moon.

How to put it—this girl was like a mountain spring in summer, giving a feeling of coolness and cleanliness, as pure as a sheet of white paper, untouched by the mundane world.

She hadn’t expected Pei Ji to like such a girl.

“Um… are you calling me ‘sister’?” Jiang Huaiyue pointed at herself, feeling she probably couldn’t live up to that title.

Gu Yuan nodded and ran over to stand before her. “Sister, did you come to play with A Yuan?”

She tilted her head, her eyes showing delight, as if seeing her was the happiest thing ever.

Jiang Huaiyue twitched the corner of her mouth. “I came looking for it. Sorry to disturb you, miss. I’ll be leaving now.”

She had to leave quickly—if she stayed too long, her life might be in danger.

She picked up Fangtuo from the ground, nodded at Gu Yuan, and prepared to leave.

Unexpectedly, her sleeve was grabbed. She turned around and saw the little girl smiling brightly. “Sister, A Yuan wants to play too. Please take A Yuan with you!”

Jiang Huaiyue nervously tugged her own sleeve and immediately refused, “No, I can’t take you with me.”

“Sister~” Gu Yuan looked like a little abandoned puppy, tears immediately welling up in her eyes.

The little girl before her was crying with tear-streaked cheeks; if this had happened on a normal day, Jiang Huaiyue would have comforted her properly.

But this was Pei Ji’s beloved—if she made the girl cry, it was over. If Pei Ji found out, he would definitely skin her alive.

She felt around her waist, found a piece of candy, and handed it over. “Don’t cry. Here, have some candy. I can’t take you with me—Pei Ji would kill me.”

“Who is Pei Ji?” Gu Yuan wiped tears from her cheek and took the candy, asking curiously.

Jiang Huaiyue saw how naive the girl was and thought, “What a mess—Pei Ji really plays dirty, not even telling the girl his true identity, truly ruthless.”

“No one, I’m just making it up. Go, go,” Jiang Huaiyue said as she started to run.

Before she could get far, her sleeve was grabbed again. “Sister, please stay with A Yuan. A Yuan likes you.”

Jiang Huaiyue looked at her with a miserable face. “A Yuan, really, I have things to do today. How about I come see you next time?”

“No, A Yuan wants Sister to play with A Yuan.”

Only now did Jiang Huaiyue suddenly realize something was off. Why did this girl give the impression of being mentally immature?

Judging by her appearance, she was about the same age as Jiang Huaiyue, but her speech and behavior were a bit too childish.

She tugged her own sleeve again and gently comforted her, “A Yuan, Sister really has something to do today. Next time, Sister will bring you some delicious snacks, okay?”

“Really? Sister won’t lie to me?” Gu Yuan, still with tears on her eyelashes from just crying, looked pitifully adorable, and Jiang Huaiyue’s heart almost melted.

She nodded to promise, “Really, I mean it.”

Gu Yuan pitifully clenched her skirt and fell silent.

Jiang Huaiyue was relieved to have finally calmed her down, no longer hesitated, and turned to leave.

At that moment, the distant door was kicked open. Before she could react, a gust of wind hit her, and she was uncontrollably thrown forward, crashing into the nearby wall, tumbling down noisily.

The Fangtuo in her arms let out a miserable meow as it fell from her embrace and ran off to the side.

Jiang Huaiyue clutched her chest and spat out a mouthful of blood, feeling as if all her internal organs had shifted.