Grabbing What You Want

Ye Mo was now contemplating whether to make a few more companion puppets for her children. Perhaps these puppets could grow alongside them? However, as she watched her six children, all around the same age, she decided against it. It was better for them to bond and interact as siblings.

Ye Mo headed back to the study. This time, the kids weren’t rushing to cultivate. Instead, they asked her for some storybooks. Ye Mo didn’t mind them reading more, so she handed each of them a book, knowing they could swap them amongst themselves once they were done.

She was clever about it too. The storybooks she gave them were ones she didn’t plan to read aloud to them later—otherwise, what would be the point?

In the study, she had set up a few desks. She stayed quietly at a small desk, engrossed in her own book, while the six little ones gathered around a large table, silently reading theirs. Every now and then, one of them would ask their puppet companion, “How do you read this word? What does it mean?”

Occasionally, Ye Mo would glance up at her children. Seeing how well-behaved they were filled her with pride and contentment.

When it was time for dinner, the old butler called them from the study after the meal was prepared. The little ones were thrilled, as their mother now ate with them at every meal.

At this point, they could all eat solid food, and their favourite things were various broths—fish soup, chicken soup—anything with a strong, savoury flavour. Even the little puppets Ye Mo had made for them sat by their sides, “eating” too.

Though the puppets didn’t consume much, Ye Mo was astonished to see them eating at all. She observed the puppets closely and realized that as soon as the food entered their bodies, it was quickly digested. Ye Mo was a little shocked. Had she really made such advanced puppets without realizing it?

No wonder Yu He’s puppet had grown so quickly—it had been fuelled by food!

Ye Mo rested her chin on her hand and turned to the butler. “Butler, do you want a puppet body?”

The butler looked at the small puppets and shook his head. “No need, young master. Maybe when this body of mine is no longer usable.”

He had organized the entire space flawlessly, and Ye Mo worried that if he were transferred into a puppet’s body, he might not be able to manage things as well. After all, puppets weren’t as advanced as chips—while they could store information, they didn’t have the same vast capacity.

After dinner, Ye Mo successfully put her children to bed and then quietly left the space.

Once outside, she noticed Yu He pacing outside the guards’ quarters, holding her constantly crying baby. Ye Mo smirked. It seemed Yu He was trying to exchange her crying child for the guards’ puppet child.

Did she really think that after Ye Mo’s death, the child would be hers to deal with? What a joke!

The guards were busy tending to the puppet child Ye Mo had given them. The puppets were well-behaved and much loved by the guards. Yu He eventually knocked on one of the guard’s doors.

Lan Feng stepped out from the next room, leaning against the doorframe as he addressed Yu He. “Miss Yu He, is there something you need?”

Yu He tried to peer inside, but Lan Feng blocked her view entirely. “If you have no business here, please leave. That child of yours is far too troublesome.”

Tears welled up in Yu He’s eyes. “This child has never behaved. Could you help me exchange it for yours?”

Lan Feng’s patience was wearing thin. “What? You got something for free and still want the best? Go cool off somewhere else.”

At that moment, Prince Caser appeared nearby and commanded, “Lan Feng, exchange the child for her.”

“In your dreams,” Lan Feng coldly glared at the prince. Who did this guy think he was? They only took orders from Ye Mo—who was this prince to them?

Ye Mo narrowed her eyes and, with a thought, disguised herself as a servant.

If Lan Feng couldn’t handle the situation, she would step in to help.

Just then, the other guards—Kang Jiming, Zheng Yuanhao, Fang Wei, and Zajier—stepped out.

“Prince Caser, you’re really throwing your weight around,” Zajier said, fiddling with his wristwatch and snapping a picture of the prince. “I think we should show this to the general. What a rare sight!”

“Yeah, you’re quite the tough guy, aren’t you?” Kang Jiming chimed in, turning to Yu He. “If Madam Yu He doesn’t want this child, why not return it to us?”

Yu He immediately stepped back, her face pale.

Prince Caser’s expression darkened. He hadn’t expected Ye Mo’s subordinates to be so disrespectful. On Star One, everyone bent over backward to cater to his whims. Here, however, they couldn’t care less about him.

This angered him greatly.

“I’ll say it one more time: give her the child, and I’ll forgive your insolence.”

“I’ll also say it again: no, we won’t,” Lan Feng replied coldly. “Madam Yu He, please return the child to us. We never made any deals with you—you said you were just fostering it, didn’t you?”

As Lan Feng reached out to take the child, Prince Caser attacked, and a fight broke out between him and the guards. His own subordinates soon joined the fray.

Ye Mo, still disguised, entered the guards’ room and scooped up the puppet baby. “Go ahead and fight!” she told the guards. “Don’t hold back!”

If they couldn’t win, she would step in herself. After all, even if Qin Lin regained his memory, it wouldn’t justify storming in to steal a child.

Soon, all ten guards were locked in combat with Prince Caser and his men. Meanwhile, Yu He spotted Ye Mo holding the puppet baby, her expression growing increasingly sinister. She quickly handed her own baby to Yuan Lili and quietly approached Ye Mo.

This woman looked like a maid and she felt that she should be able to get the child.

Seeing her sneak closer, Ye Mo laughed inwardly. This woman thought she could just snatch the baby from her?

While Yu He might be the protagonist, if she dared to make a move, Ye Mo would defend herself. After all, even the law allowed for self-defence.

Yu He lunged at Ye Mo, but she deftly sidestepped her.

“Give me the baby!” Yu He snarled, her face twisted with rage.

“No, you look like you’re ready to eat someone alive—I don’t trust you.” Ye Mo changed her voice and Yu He could not recognize it was hers.

“Eat someone? Give me that baby—it’s my sister’s child, and he belongs to me!” Yu He’s eyes gleamed with malice as she glared at the puppet in Ye Mo’s arms.

(End of the chapter)