The appearance of Haidongqing truly captured the attention of many, even His Majesty ordered people to pursue and capture it.
Amid the chaotic and noisy sounds, Xiao Huayong heard Shen Xihe's loud shout. Due to the distance and mixed noises, he could only vaguely recognize it as Shen Xihe's voice, so he asked Tianyuan, who was riding alongside his carriage for protection, "Who is the Princess calling?"
Tianyuan had also been distracted by Haidongqing's appearance. Though he heard someone calling out, he couldn't even identify who it was and had no time to pay attention. Instead, he anxiously reminded the Crown Prince, "Your Highness, it's Haidongqing!"
Haidongqing had been personally tamed and raised by Xiao Huayong. Back then, in order to capture it, Xiao Huayong spent a full three months in Bohai Commandery, patiently waiting before finally seizing it. After that, it took several more months to tame it. Since then, it had eyes only for Xiao Huayong.
It was not kept in the capital and would only seek out Xiao Huayong in cases of extreme urgency.
"It's just joining in the excitement," Xiao Huayong replied indifferently.
Tianyuan breathed a sigh of relief and then remembered Xiao Huayong's earlier question. "This subordinate will go investigate immediately..."
"Meow!"
Before he could finish speaking, Duanming suddenly leaped into his carriage. Xiao Huayong deeply disliked small furry animals and his face darkened. He was about to strike it dead with a palm strike when Tianyuan cried out in alarm, "The Princess's cat!"
Tianyuan had visited the Princess Manor several times and had once coincidentally encountered this cat. Though it was just a fleeting glimpse, the cat was so ugly that it was hard to forget.
The moment Tianyuan uttered "Princess," Xiao Huayong's palm strike veered off course, striking the carriage shaft instead and causing the carriage to jolt violently. If Tianyuan outside hadn't immediately reached out to steady it, there might have been a risk of overturning.
Completely unaware of the trouble it had caused, Duanming leaped out through the carriage window and perched on the roof, letting out provocative cries towards Haidongqing circling high above: "Meow meow!""
Moyu, who had chased after it, showed a rare expression of disdain on her usually cold face. The Princess's cat always overestimated its abilities, provoking every powerful enemy it encountered as if it didn't know it was just a cat but thought itself a tiger!
She leaped up and grabbed the overly arrogant Duanming, then apologized to Xiao Huayong: "This maid has offended. Please forgive me, Your Highness."
"No matter." Xiao Huayong stared at Duanming, who was still waving its claws fiercely while being held by the scruff of its neck by Moyu. "It has courage."
This was the first time he had seen a cat dare to challenge Haidongqing, the god of eagles that could even repel cheetahs and black bears.
Tianyuan looked up at the sky: ...
In His Highness's eyes, anything or anyone related to the Princess could do no wrong. If it were someone else's cat daring to provoke His Highness's Haidongqing like this, His Highness would definitely summon Haidongqing to torment it beyond recognition.
"This maid will take it back to report," Moyu bowed to Xiao Huayong again.
Unwilling to make Shen Xihe worry, Xiao Huayong waved his hand to indicate she could withdraw.
When Moyu brought Duanming back, Shen Xihe took out a cage and directly threw it inside. Duanming began meowing in the cage and scratching at the bars with its claws. Shen Xihe completely ignored it. No matter how much it cried or sharpened its claws, Shen Xihe remained perfectly composed.
She preferred tranquility—a tranquility that didn't require external things or other people to accommodate or cooperate. Even amidst massive crowds, she could remain as serene as an orchid, calm and unperturbed, unaffected by any external objects or noise.Shen Xihe could bear it, but others could not. Hongyu and Biyu gritted their teeth and endured the ear-piercing sound of Duanming's claws scraping against the cage, while Xue Jinqiao grew increasingly agitated, feeling an impulse to vent her frustration through destruction.
Sensing an impending episode, she hurriedly said, "Sister, I'm heading back."
She took Diandian and returned to the Xue family's carriage.
They soon arrived at the temporary palace, where a servant led Shen Xihe to her assigned quarters. She placed Duanming to the side—the cat had finished sharpening its claws and was now curled up pitifully in the cage, emitting soft pleas for mercy whenever Shen Xihe drew near.
Just as Shen Xihe had Biyu tidy up their belongings, Tianyuan arrived with some small fish: "Your Highness, His Royal Highness only just learned that you keep a cat and specifically sent me to deliver some food for it."
"His Royal Highness is too considerate," Shen Xihe gestured for Hongyu to accept the offering. "His Royal Highness mentioned that the temporary palace has many mosquitoes and insects. He wonders if you might have a spare mosquito-repelling scent satchel to share. This way, he wouldn’t need to trouble the Imperial Hospital. Since we’ve just settled in today and everything is chaotic, if something unclean were accidentally brought in, it would be difficult to investigate."
Tianyuan smiled outwardly, but inwardly he was exasperated by his master’s behavior.The prince clearly had mosquito-repelling satchels but insisted on asking the princess for one, using the pretext of fearing sabotage to make it hard for her to refuse.)
Since Xiao Huayong had put it that way, Shen Xihe saw no reason to withhold a mere mosquito-repelling satchel. Not only did she provide one for repelling mosquitoes, but she also gave one for repelling snakes—both filled with fragrant medicines she had personally prepared: "Hang these two scent satchels in His Royal Highness’s room. Neither snakes, insects, rats, nor pests will dare approach."
In truth, every room had been fumigated with mugwort by the temporary palace staff before the emperor’s arrival for the hunt. Rooms reserved for royalty and nobility like them were even scented with ordinary fragrant spices.
However, these measures couldn’t ward off snakes, insects, rats, or pests.
"I want some too! I want some too!" Xue Jinqiao exclaimed as soon as she entered, having overheard Shen Xihe’s conversation with Tianyuan.
Shen Xihe glanced at the luggage carried by the two maids behind her, Hua and Cao: "Where’s your Diandian?"
At the mention, Xue Jinqiao puffed her cheeks: "Diandian refused to come inside."
No matter how hard she tugged outside, the leopard wouldn’t enter.
A faint smile touched Shen Xihe’s lips: "In my courtyard, not only do snakes, insects, rats, and pests dare not approach, but even birds and beasts keep their distance."
Some scents naturally instilled fear in animals. Upon entering the courtyard, she had hung different scented sachets at all four corners.
"Why isn’t Duanming afraid?" Xue Jinqiao asked.
"Duanming was raised by me. I’ve trained him," Shen Xihe replied, turning to go inside.
"Sister, please help me train Diandian too..." Xue Jinqiao hurried after her.
Tianyuan finally understood—the princess’s cat was named Duanming. What an unconventional name.
He took the scent satchels back to the courtyard and handed them to Xiao Huayong: "The princess is truly a master of perfumery. Lady Xue’s leopard didn’t dare enter because of her scent satchels."
"If she can recreate the Cold-Repelling Incense, I’d find it perfectly natural for her to blend any fragrance," Xiao Huayong remarked, holding the two sachets close to smell. Up close, they were pungent, but from a distance, they emitted a light, pleasant fragrance.
He promptly hung one on each side of his bed, carefully smoothing out the tassels. It was a pity they weren’t made by her own hands.
"By the way, Your Highness, you’ll never guess what name the princess gave her cat," Tianyuan said boastfully.
Xiao Huayong shot him a sidelong glance.Tianyuan obediently said, "The princess has given the cat the name Duanming."
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