Jing Yu had been feeling something unusual lately.
Since the day a powerful spiritual practitioner arrived in South Qing Street, this feeling of unease had not dissipated.
The eighteen-year-old girl had a heart as delicate as a painting. After her brother finished his visit and returned to the military camp, she stayed at home alone. Apart from tending to the flowers and plants, she often found herself lost in thought.
Even when she slept at night, she would dream contradictory dreams.
In one dream, the detestable Prince of Taicang would always laugh wickedly as he kidnapped her, locking her in a dark, secluded room. She would be forgotten, left to grow old in that dark chamber. But soon, another brand-new dream would follow. In this dream, the detestable Prince of Taicang had transformed into the noble King of Taicang.
She dreamt of this remarkable king, who, with a mere wave of his hand, could collapse a building or summon terrifying monsters with a single finger, facing the formidable state teacher of the Zhou Qing Kingdom. Yet, the Taicang King remained calm and composed, as if nothing could frighten him.
She even dreamed that the Taicang King beckoned her, gently saying, "Jing Yu, don't be so petty, pour the king a cup of tea."
The mere mention of tea caused Jing Yu to become irritated. She even found herself silently complaining about her brother, "Why doesn't he bring back some tea leaves when they distribute rations in the military camp? They always bring back meat from beasts that I don't even like, forcing me to eat them."
It seemed that the girl had forgotten how she always insisted her brother bring back some beast meat whenever he went out.
"At least I told him this time, so next time, he'll bring back some tea leaves. If the king asks me to pour tea again..." Jing Yu snapped back to reality, realizing that she had been watering a red lotus flower with the kettle. The water had overflowed from the flowerpot, dripping onto the floor.
"Ah! My flower!"
Jing Yu cried out in surprise and quickly placed the kettle aside, draining the excess water from the flowerpot.
"Hmm, the pattern on this lotus leaf... it almost looks like the shape of the king sitting on my family's chair."
The mind of a young girl is always full of poetry. Just as Jing Yu became mesmerized by the lotus leaf's pattern, the wooden door was knocked on.
Her heart skipped a beat. "Could it be that my brother brought the tea leaves back?"
Putting the lotus flower aside, she hurried to the door with light steps, still carrying a hopeful expression. She opened the door to find several officers in blue uniforms waiting for her.
"What... what's the matter?"
Jing Yu felt a bit disappointed when she saw it wasn't her brother, and her mind suddenly recalled how the prince had kidnapped her last time. She couldn't help but feel a sense of panic.
"The king has issued an order," one of the officers said. "The households affected when the Zhou Qing Kingdom's state teacher was captured will receive twenty days of food compensation, and any houses that collapsed will have craftsmen sent for repairs."
"Miss, there are two people in your household. This is your food."
Jing Yu blankly took the sack of rice and the sack of vegetables from the officer. The officer continued, "The Duke of Taicang has personally ordered that your hospitality toward the king be rewarded with a young deer-horned goat."
Before she could react, another officer brought out a young goat, no more than two months old. Its fur was pristine white, well-groomed, and it had small horns beginning to grow. As the goat matured, its horns would become more prominent and beautiful.
The most important thing was that the deer-horned goat was a rare delicacy, with tender meat that absorbed flavor easily and no unpleasant odor.
Jing Yu finally came to her senses. She looked at the little goat, and her heart filled with joy. She took the rope from the officer's hand, excitedly circling around the little goat.
"Baa..." The deer-horned goat gazed at Jing Yu with watery eyes, perhaps admiring the girl's beauty.
Her eyes sparkled with happiness, and she thanked each officer before heading back into the house, leading the little goat and carrying the food.
The streets of South Qing were becoming livelier as many residents received their compensation—twenty extra days of food from the royal court. It was enough for their children to eat well for quite some time.
"The King of Xia truly is a kind and benevolent ruler. He is worthy of being the descendant of the King of Shang."
"That's right. When I first heard that Prince Ji Xia had become king, I was worried. I feared he might still be as reckless as before. But it seems I worried for nothing. How could the prince of Taicang remain a spoiled youth forever?"
"Exactly! And don't forget, not only is the King of Xia our ruler, he is also the walking embodiment of the Great Wind. I heard that Taicang's victory against the Jiuquan Tribe on the battlefield was due to the divine weapons granted by the Great Wind!"
"How noble is the Great Wind? I don't know how many countries and races have the Great Wind as their totem!"
While collecting their food, the people discussed among themselves. If Ji Xia had been present, he would have likely sighed at how simple the desires of the people of Taicang were. All they needed was a few more days of food, and their goodwill was fully expressed.
Jing Yu placed the rice and vegetables into the cold storage, then stared at the little goat in a daze.
"How did the Duke of Taicang know that I had hosted the king? He wasn't even in South Qing that day..."
As soon as the word "hospitality" crossed her mind, her face flushed. "What hospitality? I just poured a pot of water for the king."
"Since the Duke of Taicang wasn't here, could it be that the king told him? Does the king still remember me?"
Jing Yu began to overthink. Her heart was completely captivated by Ji Xia's calm and composed demeanor at the time, forgetting that the very person who had kidnapped her was now the king of Taicang.
She felt somewhat relieved at the thought and began to walk in circles around the little goat in her small courtyard. After a while, she crouched next to the deer-horned goat and whispered to it.
"What should I call you, little goat? Since you were given to me by the king, how about calling you Xiao Xia?"
"No... No... The king might get angry if he hears I named you after him. How about Xiao Mei?" she said. "You will grow even more beautiful under my care..."
Just as Jing Yu was lost in her thoughts, an unexpected event occurred.
The little goat stared into her eyes and suddenly spoke, "Xiao Mei? What a ridiculous name. I'm called Huai Shuang, not Xiao Mei!"
Jing Yu shook her head. "The goat was given to me by the king, so I should be the one to name it…"
"Ah!"
Jing Yu froze as she realized what had just happened. She stared at the little goat for a long time, and then, with a piercing scream, she exclaimed, "A ghost? Are you a monster?"
The little goat lazily looked at Jing Yu, its voice as sweet as a young girl's, "Don't worry. I'm now a harmless deer-horned goat demon. I won't hurt you."
Jing Yu nodded in understanding, but as soon as the goat lowered its head, she quickly ran toward the wooden door, hoping to reach South Qing Street and find the officers to tell them about the speaking demon in her house.
The deer-horned goat didn't move. A gust of wind blew and caught the stumbling Jing Yu, sending her back to the little goat's side.
The goat rubbed its tiny horns against Jing Yu and said, "Don't worry, I won't harm you. I can teach you many things. Will you take me in?"
Jing Yu suddenly calmed down. Realizing that the talking goat had been a gift from the king, she no longer felt afraid of it.
She quickly patted the goat's head, then withdrew her hand in a flash. After confirming that the little goat wouldn't harm her, she let out a sigh of relief.
After thinking for a moment, the girl nodded heavily. "I'll keep you, for the king's sake."
"But… but you mustn't eat people!"
The little goat snorted through its nose, speaking in a peculiar tone, "Don't worry, I'm an herbivore now."