The tea that he’d just poured was now wasted! The little red bird’s backside was sticking up as it drank, and Chen Ziqi flicked it squarely on its little butt.
“Tweet!” The little red bird immediately leapt up, trying to clutch at its bum with its tiny wings. Unfortunately, they were too short to reach all the way behind it, and it could only chirp angrily at Chen Ziqi in retaliation.
You dare flick Benzuo‘s bum? Looks like you don’t want to be the Crown Prince!
Chen Ziqi had no clue what the little creature was chirping about. He picked up the well-fed little chick and got ready to go to bed.
Qingping Palace had quite a few residences within it. It was meant to hold concubines before they were assigned ranks and was therefore built to accommodate a large number of people. The residence that Chang E and Chen Ziqi lived in was one of the larger ones that had many rooms. For the first time in Chen Ziqi’s life, he had a room all to himself.
“Sleep well, Dianxia,” Fuxi said. He had already prepared Chen Ziqi’s bed, and two palace maids had done the same for Chang E.
Chen Ziqi carried the little red bird into the bedroom. Upon seeing the soft, spacious bed, he couldn’t hold back an ear-splitting grin. The wooden bedposts were delicately carved with floral motifs, and it was covered in a canopy made of supple silk. A soft silk blanket was laid out on the bed, and it all looked incredibly comfortable.
Chen Ziqi set the little red bird on an ornamental perch to the side of the bed in high spirits. He instructed Fuxi to close the windows and doors to prevent the chick from running off in the middle of the night, then proceeded to take off his clothes, starting with the outer robes and finally stripping off what was usually the middle layer. As Chen Ziqi didn’t have an undershirt, he just climbed into bed without a stitch of clothing.
A bamboo mat made of soft, polished bamboo strips had been placed under the blankets. It had a pleasant cooling effect and did not jab uncomfortably at Chen Ziqi at all. The blankets were also lovely and soft, though they smelt a bit musty because they hadn’t been sunned in a while.
Chen Ziqi rolled around on the bed in glee, then lay chest-down on a squidgy cushion. He used a finger to trace the lotus flower patterns on the cushion, the same finger that had been cut by the High Priest earlier that day. The small wound had begun to heal, and there was only a thin red line where the cut had been made. It still hurt a little when touched. On seeing the wound, he recalled again what happened at Zhanghua Pavilion earlier that day.
In particular, he remembered the Dragonstone that undulated with light when it came into contact with the royal family’s blood. This was the first time Chen Ziqi had heard of this method of testing for kinship, and he wondered what kind of arcane secret the stone held. Also, what of that mysterious High Priest?
Whilst he was lost in thought, a pastel yellow beak suddenly appeared and pecked at his finger.
“Eh?” Chen Ziqi looked at the little red fluffball next to his pillow, then looked at the bed, which was a good two feet from the ground. How did this little thing jump up?
The small red bird tilted its head to the side, its two crown feathers swaying as it did so. It examined Chen Ziqi’s finger, taking in its pale, tender appearance. It halted abruptly, pulled its head back, then pecked fiercely at the finger.
“Hey! Another sneak attack?” Chen Ziqi exclaimed. He dodged quickly and flicked the chick in retaliation. The chick fell over backwards, landing on its round little bum, its two skinny bird legs pointed toward the sky. It was a hilarious sight.
“Hahahaha!” Chen Ziqi couldn’t hold back his laughter. This little chick was so amusing.
“Tweet!” The little red bird cried out angrily, getting back on its feet with a disgruntled chirp. It made to peck at Chen Ziqi again.
“Tsk, what a temper,” Chen Ziqi tutted. He placed a finger on the chick’s head to stop its advance, then pushed it over again. The sight of the overturned little chick was too funny, and he doubled over with laughter. He then kicked aside his blankets and imitated the chick, falling over backwards with his legs pointed toward the ceiling.
The little chick, which was struggling to get up, turned around, and got an eyeful of Chen Ziqi’s naked little bum. It fell over again in shock and immediately turned a brilliant shade of scarlet.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
In the dim glow of candelight, Chen Ziqi didn’t notice the little bird’s feathers change colour. He was still kicking up his legs in glee, laughing exuberantly. “I know what to name you, I’ll call you Chao Tian.”
“Tweet tweet tweet tweet!” What nonsense is this Chao Tian? Benzuo is called Dan Yi! The little red bird was extremely dissatisfied with this strange new name, and tried to correct this grave error.
Sadly, Chen Ziqi didn’t understand him continued teasing him. “Liang Jiao Chao Tian Ji. – that sounds like the name of a dish in a restaurant! Hehehe!”
Olaaif mtlivgfc vlvc’a tjnf atja wemt rajwlcj, jcv Jtfc Ildl kjr cb fzmfqalbc. Dfobgf ibcu, tf rajgafv sjkclcu. Lf qeiifv atf yijcxfar eq ab mbnfg tlr rabwjmt, atfc aegcfv ab ibbx ja atf ilaaif gfv ylgv cfza ab tlr qliibk. “Tbe mjc riffq bc atf yfv, yea sbe’gf cba ab qbbq bc atf yfv, ‘xjs? Po cba, P’ii aegc sbe lcab mtlmxfc rbeq,” tf kjgcfv. Qlat atja, tf mibrfv tlr fsfr jcv vgloafv boo lcab j yilrroei riewyfg, ifjnlcu qbbg Gjc Tl ab rajcv jcv reix bc atf qliibk.
The next morning, a loud wail shattered the dawn. Chen Ziqi awoke with a start. He struggled out of bed, ran to the window on bare feet and opened the windows to have a look outside.
A palanquin was parked in the Qingping Palace courtyard. A palace maid dressed exactly like Biyun emerged, carrying a boy who looked to be about three years old.
“Jiujiu, I want my jiujiu, boohoohoo…” The little boy sobbed as if his heart were breaking as he struggled futilely against the palace maid’s arms.
“Dianxia, you’ll be able to meet your father very soon,” the palace maid said soothingly. She looked around anxiously, afraid that the boy’s wails would wake the other nobles in the palace.
“I don’t want my father, I want my uncle, BOOHOO!” the little boy wailed, sobbing even harder.
Biyun saw this scene as she came out to fetch water and went up to offer help. A few palace maids managed to cajole the boy into going into the residence next door, and when the door closed behind them, the sound of the boy’s crying became softer, though one could still hear the boy’s muffled cries for his uncle.
“Tweet tweet?”
A crisp little chirp sounded next to Chen Ziqi’s ear. Chen Ziqi turned to look at it in surprise. He hadn’t realized that the little red bird was awake. It was presently standing on his shoulder, its little claws digging into Chen Ziqi’s bare shoulder as it craned its neck to look outside. The sensation was a little painful and little itchy at the same time.
Chen Ziqi blew a puff of air hard at the little bird, trying to blow its two crown feathers flat.
“Tweet!!!” Dan Yi cried out in surprise as he lost his balance and fell from Chen Ziqi’s shoulder. He tried to flap his little wings to arrest his fall, but it was futile; his wings hadn’t grown. The little struggling fluffball continued to fall toward the ground.
Chen Ziqi nimbly caught the bird in mid-descent, then furrowed his brows. “You obviously can’t fly, so how did you get up on my shoulder?”
I have qinggong! Dan Yi raised his head and proudly swished his two crown feathers to make them stand up again.
Chang E had two palace maids attending to her – Biyun and Biyü. Biyü was the talkative one. True to her nature, she started telling Chang E about the little boy as she assisted her with washing up one morning.
“That boy’s also one of the lost princes, like our Dianxia. Unfortunately, his mother has already passed away, and he lived with his uncle all this while. He hasn’t stopped crying for his Jiujiu since he woke up this morning.” Biyü’s tone was lively, and it was quite pleasant to hear her speak.
“He looks like he’s only two or three. Such a poor little thing.” Chang E said, sighing in a perfunctory manner. She didn’t say any more on this.
Biyü saw that Chang E was not really concerned about the boy and stopped talking. She mentally changed her assessment of Chang E; she thought that this Niangniang was the kind, soft-hearted type, but that didn’t appear to be the case at all.
Chen Ziqi was not one to sit still, so he went out exploring after eating his breakfast.
Fuxi followed him anxiously. “Dianxia, you still haven’t had your audience with the Emperor. It’s best to keep a low profile until then,” he said.
“When will the Emperor grant me an audience?” Chen Ziqi asked. He picked up the little red fluffball that had followed him out and put it on his shoulder.
“Jiujiu…..” The door where the little boy stayed in suddenly opened, and the boy himself ran out, stumbling and nearly falling over his own feet in his haste to escape from the house. He ran blindly and crashed face-first into Chen Ziqi, his tears and snot staining Chen Ziqi’s huafu.
“I’m not your Jiujiu,” Chen Ziqi said. He pushed the little boy off him.
The boy had fair skin, a chubby body and a chubby little face. His eyes were red with crying, and he looked like a fat, red-eyed white rabbit. When he saw that Chen Ziqi was not his uncle, he opened his mouth, ready to wail again.
“Tweet!” Dan Yi chirped irritably from his perch on Chen Ziqi’s shoulder. The quality of the Chen family’s descendants was really going from bad to worse; the lost princes seemed no better than the seven idiots who were raised in the palace.
“Birdbird.” The little boy looked at the fluffy red bird and suddenly wasn’t interested in crying any more.
“This isn’t a ‘bird’. It’s a chicken,” Chen Ziqi corrected. He narrowed his eyes calculatively at this vapid looking little fatty. The princes in the palace already had a head start in forming alliances, and he was late to the game. Perhaps he should get this one on his side early, so that he wouldn’t lose out when he went up against the others…… With this thought in mind, he deliberately softened his tone. “What’s your name?”
“Ah Mu,” the child said obediently. His eyes were fixed on Dan Yi. “Birdie, I want to carry the birdie.”
“Nope,” Chen Ziqi said. He refused to let him play with the bird and pointed at the little boy’s crotch instead. “You have a bird yourself.”
“I have one too?” Ah Mu bent his head and groped his crotch, confused.
“Pfft…” Fuxi and a few palace maids who were watching this hilarious exchange did their best to stifle their laughter.
“How vulgar,” a haughty woman’s voice said from behind them. Chen Ziqi turned around. A woman wearing a cloak the colour of yellow gosling down alighted from a palanquin with a little boy in her arms. That woman had sharp almond-shaped eyes that lifted upwards at the outer corners, and her eyes seemed to glow with an inner light. She looked like she was someone who had neili.
A disciple of the Suxin Sect? Dan Yi tilted his head, looking at the motifs on the woman’s cloak. The Suxin Sect was one of the Qi martial arts sects, and it only took in girls as disciples. It was the complete opposite of sects like Jiyang Sect that only took in boys. Dan Yi had not thought that the Suxin Sect’s leader would actually do something as disgusting as sacrificing one of her own disciples to service the Emperor.
“Niangniang, this way, please.”
The old eunuch made his appearance again, and this round, he was much politer to the newcomer than he had been to Chen Ziqi and his mother.
Dan Yi narrowed his eyes, looking at the boy in the newcomer’s arms. He looked to be about four or five, and might already have started practicing martial arts. He was very tanned, with rather coarse features. Dan Yi sniffed, then turned to look at Chen Ziqi’s profile. Thick eyelashes fanned out from his eyelids, framing Chen Ziqi’s intelligent, lively eyes beautifully.
Dan Yi hung his little bird head in resignation. From the looks of it, Chen Ziqi was still the most pleasing of the lot.
In the days that followed, five more children arrived at the Qingping Palace, four of which were boys, and the last of which was a girl. They all came with their mothers; Ah Mu was the only one without.
Dan Yi perched on Chen Ziqi’s shoulder, surveying all the new arrivals with a critical eye. Then, on the day Chen Ziqi was scheduled for his audience with the Emperor, Dan Yi disappeared.
Author’s Note: Mini-theatre
Qiqi: I’m going to give situational names to my Laogong
Birdie Gong: If the Laogong falls down
Qiqi: The chicken whose legs face heavenward ︿(￣︶￣)︿
Birdie Gong: If the Laogong strips off his clothes
Qiqi: The chicken that lost its skin
Birdie Gong: The Laogong who wants to have sexytime
Qiqi: The chicken ready for launch _(:з」∠*)_
Birdie Gong: The Laogong in the middle of sexytime
Qiqi: The chicken that can’t stop moving
Birdie gong: The Laogong who does it seven times in one night
Qiqi: The spicy chicken! QAQ
Translator: I’m sorry, despite my best efforts, this mini-theatre doesn’t translate very well. Please read the raws if you can, it’s much funnier than what I’ve penned above!
The emperor gets around. Thank you
The Emperor is the real stud here.. Planting seeds here and there !!! (°□°)/
The emperor is a real player. I wonder if there will be any beastkin or halfling children coming in 🤣
This >>> (:з」∠*)
Ikr!? I died-
Woah, that
s a lot of DianxiasEven with translating it’s still funny 🤣🤣 Thank you for the chapter ❤️❤️
Lmao the emperor is the real slut here