"Miss! Young Miss!"
The girl's loud and frightening voice slowly reached her ears from far away. Opening her eyes slightly, Xiang Zi could see the sunlight. she yawned and rolled over. She felt that these days were more relaxing than the days when she was a cloud.
Every day, she regarded sunbathing as her job and sleeping as her purpose. There were no worries, no stingy Yue Lao, no hardship of saving money to buy a fan, no red-dressed young man's unlucky, vicious face…
Red-dressed young man…
Xiang Zi opened her eyes. Just thinking about that person would bring her into a bad mood. She couldn't sleep anymore.
She sat up and heard the girl's screaming voice, which made her eardrums ache.
"Young Miss! Don't move, Cui Bi will save you! No, Cui Bi will call someone to save you!"
Under the tree, her personal maid was looking for a passerby. Xiang Zi said without care, "I can come down by myself."
She still wasn't used to hearing her childish voice. She rubbed her throat and said in a husky voice, "You, get out of my way. I'm jumping off."
Cui Bi's pale face turned green.
"Young, Young, Young…Miss, don't, don't, don't scare me! Don't bully Cui Bi just because I'm timid!"
Xiang Zi ignored her, grabbed a branch, and climbed down.
In the blink of an eye, she had been reincarnated as the now five-year-old daughter of the prime minister named Yun Xiang. This five-year-old was spoiled by everyone; she didn't need to do the laundry, clean, or cook. Even when climbing a tree, there was a maid under the tree, trying to protect her.
She was puzzled as to how Emperor Li would arrange his favorite play, "the wife chasing the husband."
Moreover, her so-called husband was probably still being punished in the Nether World. Xiang Zi secretly laughed in her heart.
Thinking about the day of the reincarnation and remembering Chu Kong's resentful eyes, her mood instantly soared. Revenge was bliss.
Xiang Zi jumped off when she was near the ground. She asked Cui Bi, who was full of cold sweat, "What's the matter?"
It took Cui Bi a while before she calmed down.
"The prime minister let this servant come search for you. He said to take young miss to the General's mansion."
"Oh."
Xiang Zi answered without much emotion and rubbed her dirty hands on Cui Bi's skirt. Cui Bi gritted her teeth but didn't say anything.
"Go tell my father that he can go first. I know where the General's mansion; I can find it myself."
The emperor, her father, and the general were childhood friends. The relationship between her father Song Qin Wen and General Lu Lian was particularly close.
The two mansions were opposite each other. The two adults would go to court together. After their official duties, they would come home together. When the two families had nothing to do, they would visit each other. She knew the general's mansion as well as her own home. There was no need for somebody to bring her there.
After hearing what she said, Cui Bi helplessly frowned. "But today, the prime minister said that I need to go with you…"
Those politically involved old men always had some business.
Xiang Zi pouted, cleaned her hands on Cui Bi's skirt again, and helplessly said, "Alright, alright, I'll go now."
She rushed into the living room. Her father was sitting on the chair. He took one look at her and sighed helplessly. "I give up, might as well let her be a little wild."
Xiang Zi tugged at her clothes. She didn't think there was anything wrong with it. Comparing to her clothes from Yue Lao's temple, there were so many rules about clothing here.
While walking to the General's mansion, he talked about the past. While Xiang Zi was in her mother's belly, the General's wife was also pregnant. The two families had agreed that if they were of the same sex, they would become sisters. If they were the opposite sex, they would be husband and wife. But no one had ever thought that the General's wife would fall, then have a miscarriage. She hadn't been pregnant since then.
She interrupted her father's affectionate story-telling.
"That isn't right. A few days ago, I saw the General's wife. Her belly was really big."
After saying those words, Xiang Zi started feeling suspicious.
Father Song looked at her affectionately and nodded. "Yes, the General's wife gave birth to a son today. Yun Xiang, now you can go see what your future husband will look like."
She looked up and saw the smiling face of her father, which caused her tears to nearly fell out. She asked him, "Have you ever seen a grass mud horse?" (1)
Her father was stunned.
Xiang Zi lowered her head, placed her hands over her heart, and whispered, "Do you know the emotion when ten thousand mud horses passed by? No…you don't understand."
She wiped her tears and looked defeated at her father. "Let's go take a look."
When they walked into the General's mansion, every servant bowed and greeted them. Their happy voice overshadowed her gloomy words. "The bastard who came late."
The news about the General receiving a son traveled fast. Xiang Zi and her father didn't sit long in the living room before many officials came with gifts for the General's son.
While her father was busy greeting his colleagues, She sneaked to the backyard. Everyone in the General's mansion knew her, so no one stopped her. Xiang Zi used the image of an innocent lost child to go to the General's wife's chambers. Outside the door, she heard the weak laugh of the General's wife.
"Ah Liang, our son looks like you."
The General's rough voice turned soft like a quiet stream. She almost couldn't hear what he said. "No, our son looks like you."
She didn't let the guards announce her presence and entered the chamber. Xiang Zi hid behind the door and stuck her head out. Besides the General's wife, there was a tightly wrapped meatball, revealing only his face.
From her angle, she could only see the nose and eyes. Xiang Zi deeply felt that the General and his wife were wrong. He obviously looked like a bun or, better yet, a dumpling. How could they know whom he looked like?
Seeming to sense her presence, the General turned around, looked at her once, smiled, pinched the little bun's face, and said, "Kid, your blessing isn't light. You haven't even opened your eyes yet, but your wife is hiding behind the door and already waiting for you. Why don't you wake up and take a look?"
After hearing those words, she was embarrassed and couldn't hide anymore. So Xiang Zi went out very naturally and said, "Greetings, General. Greetings, General's wife."
"Little girl, you're already here, so your father and the others must be waiting. Wife, you take a good rest. I'll go greet our guests."
The Lady nodded weakly. The General passed by her and rubbed her head bluntly. "Girl, go take a look at my son, your husband."
After saying that, he left.
She ran to the bed and leaned over on the edge of the bed to take a look at this lifetime's Chu Kong. He was very ugly. Xiang Zi looked up at the General's wife. She didn't dare to openly hurt him, so she asked sweetly, "Lady, can I touch him?"
"Of course."
She stretched out her finger and poked him. Surprisingly, it felt very soft. It was hard to imagine that the red-dressed, vicious devil who had beaten her butt possessed the same soul as this little one here.
Xiang Zi was a little surprised. So, this was a new life; all from the past life had come to the present. It left people in awe.
Seeing the little bastard's clenched fists, she curiously poked his fist. Xiang Zi didn't know that he would open his fist and softly grab her finger in a tight grip. Then he put her finger in his mouth.
She was stunned and dumbfounded. It felt like her heart was also touched by his soft hands. A warm feeling crept into her heart. This little thing was really mystical.
"Yun Xiang, he likes you."
The General's wife gently touched his face and asked her gently, "Do you also like him?"
Her heart shook a little. Xiang Zi felt that if she were to say 'I love to bully him' at a time like this, she would get struck by lightning. So, she nodded. "Yes."
The soft fingers grabbed her finger and put it in his mouth. He began to gently suck on it. Xiang Zi felt like she was not herself, as she relaxed on the couch beside the bed.
She was bewitched and said, "Really like…"
This gently touch was more addictive than the warm wind from the weaver's girl fan.
"This is really good. From now on, you two can walk hand-in-hand and grow old together."
She continued slowly. "Although you're a few years older than him, it's no big deal. At the moment, you can protect him. In the future, he can protect you…"
This gentle voice floated past her ears. The word 'husband' brought her back to reality.
Xiang Zi remembered Emperor Li's crazy laugh when he walked out of the temple. She couldn't help but shudder and shook her head. She could clearly see the future play about 'the wife chasing the husband' getting nearer.
And Xiang Zi, at this time, has let the enemy's appearance bewitch her!
What a failure, how shameful…
That day, Xiang Zi didn't know how she got back home. She only knew that her father touched her head at dinner and said, "Yun Xiang, in the future, you need to get along with Hai Kong."
His expression was like he had already gotten her married.
Xiang Zi asked him, terrified, "What is Hai Kong?"
"Your uncle Lu's son. You saw him today; do you like him?"
She absently nodded. "Like. Uncle Lu gave him a good name. It has a valiant feeling to it. He's really the first general I look upon."
Wasn't that right? Lu Hai Kong. It had such a domineering feeling to it.