Chapter 332
......
There was an earthquake today.
Princess Huiyun moved to her son's house.
She watched as her son called his wife away,
Leaving her alone.
She felt something oddly strange.
The room had a charcoal stove burning, keeping the temperature just right.
As she prepared to wash up, there was a knock at the door.
It was little Mianmian.
Still not asleep.
Mianmian remembered how Princess Huiyun would always sleep with her when she was at the princess's mansion.
Now that the princess was at their home, she might feel uncomfortable too, so even though she had already gone to bed, upon hearing movement, she came over.
She was ready to sacrifice herself to keep Grandma Princess company for the night.
Princess Huiyun looked at the little girl dressed in white, wearing a fluffy hat on her head and snow-white socks on her feet. The child was as soft as a cloud, so adorable it could melt one's heart.
Princess Huiyun couldn't help but hug and kiss the little girl.
Mianmian wiped both her left and right cheeks.
Even if it was the princess kissing her, she still disliked the wetness.
"Grandma, go wash up quickly. I'll sleep with you. Mother doesn't let me stay up late. She says if I sleep too late, I won't grow tall."
As she spoke, she let out a little yawn.
Her little cheeks were rosy, perhaps from the warmth.
Her eyes were half-open as she lay on the bed waiting.
Princess Huiyun looked at the little bump on the heated bed, feeling warmth spread through her heart.
She had thought she would feel uncomfortable.
But the servants were very professional in helping her wash up.
The face oil they used here actually smelled better than what she usually used, with a faint floral fragrance. It was very moisturizing - the white cream felt smooth and tender when applied to her face.
When she put on her nightgown, a little head poked out from the bump on the bed.
"Princess, please come to bed," came a soft, sweet voice filled with laughter.
The princess always felt a bit strange when her granddaughter called her "princess."
But she was just too adorable.
She got into bed and lay down.
Then closed her eyes to sleep.
The little one asked, "Grandma, can we have someone blow out the candles? I can't sleep with light."
Princess Huiyun looked at how the child was wrapped up like a silkworm from head to toe, even wearing a white eye mask, and yet still wouldn't allow candles?
She always had someone keep watch at night with candles lit.
But since the little one didn't want candles, she had them blown out.
In the darkness, she felt a tiny body snuggle up against her.
After adjusting to the dark,
She could see that the eye mask had been removed, and in the darkness, a pair of eyes like black jewels were darting about.
The drowsy little girl from moments ago had become wide awake once the candles were extinguished.
Snuggling up to Grandma Princess, she started chatting.
Princess Huiyun: ......
She had been a bit scared at first, but now instead of fearing the dark, she worried about how obvious the little girl's dark circles would be tomorrow.
"Grandma, let me tell you a story."
Princess Huiyun: "Aren't you going to sleep? Didn't your mother tell you to go to bed early?"
"I'll sleep after I finish the story."
"Grandma, did you like the group name I came up with today?"
Princess Huiyun's mind went through a string of names before landing on: "The Black-hearted Cotton group?"
Jiang Mianmian: ...... This abbreviated name didn't sound quite right.
Never mind, she'd think of another one.
"Grandma, let me tell you a story about the martial arts world. It's really fun."
"Alright, go ahead."
Princess Huiyun, who hadn't been close to anyone for decades, now had a fluffy little head nestled against her.
"I'll tell you a story called 'Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.'"
Princess Huiyun stroked the hat on the little head and asked, "Alright, tell me. Why do you wear a hat to sleep?"
"This way my hair won't get pulled out by the pillow, and I'll lose less hair. I'm starting the story now, Grandma, don't interrupt."
In the darkness,
Without candlelight,
On the still-warm heated bed,
Outside, the cold wind made sounds,
Beating against the doors and windows.
"...The young man surnamed Duan smiled and said: 'My given name is Yi, and I've never learned any martial arts...'"
The soft, sweet voice continued the tale.
Princess Huiyun had expected the little one to ramble nonsensically.
After all, from their time together, she felt the little one often said odd things.
Like always calling her "princess" and saying things like "Princess, please get in the carriage"...
But suddenly she began telling the story very seriously.
Really seriously.
It seemed to be quite a solemn story.
This "Demi-Gods" thing, wasn't it a Buddhist scripture?
Princess Huiyun listened attentively and was quickly drawn in.
Until the little one got to the part where "Duan Yu fell off the cliff..."
She asked, "What happened next?"
Mianmian yawned and said, "Then, I'm sleepy now and need to go to bed. If I don't sleep, Mother will spank me tomorrow. Grandma, let me tell you, Mother is very strong, and her spankings really hurt. Although Mother won't spank you, if Mother isn't happy, Father definitely won't be happy, and if Father isn't happy, you probably won't be happy either, so let's go to sleep."
Princess Huiyun: ...... Why did she listen to the story?
Just when it got to the exciting part, with the fall from the cliff, what happened next?
If she weren't her beloved granddaughter, the princess would have had someone shake her awake to continue the story.
┭┮﹏┭┮
Soon she heard even breathing beside her as the little one fell asleep.
Princess Huiyun turned over completely, unable to sleep, absolutely unable to sleep.
Whose child was this, so annoying?
Telling only half a story.
She felt the soft little one snuggled against her and thought, never mind, never mind, she'd hear the rest tomorrow. Better sleep now.
Princess Huiyun tossed and turned for a while before finally accepting her fate and sleeping.
She wore the same eye mask as the little one.
Though everything was already dark, wearing the eye mask somehow made it easier to sleep.
Slowly she too drifted into the dark dreams of night.
In her dreams, Princess Huiyun fell off cliffs several times...
......
Qin Luoxia finished entertaining her mother-in-law princess, chatted for a long while, and was then called away by her husband.
Indeed, he called her to soak their feet together.
Indeed, her husband gave her a foot massage.
Qin Luoxia felt a bit embarrassed.
But since her husband enjoyed doing this, she didn't stop him.
They fell asleep in each other's arms.
Very quickly falling into slumber.
At dawn,
Jiang Changtian got up and went to the government office.
This was perfect timing for Qin Luoxia, as she wanted to check on the tunnel she had dug.
She had actually been thinking about it all day.
The last earthquake had destroyed all the underground rooms she had made in Jingzhou.
Now that there had been an earthquake in the Capital City, she wondered if there would be any impact.
This time she had considered what to do in case of an earthquake and had made everything very sturdy.
But when she went to check early in the morning, Qin Luoxia was stunned.
Aliali: 673eb950c4f3f33ac4ee7f08She had thought everything would be fine, but her tunnel had turned into a water tunnel. Water had seeped in from somewhere, and she didn't know where it had cracked or what water source it had connected to.
She wondered how she could get hold of the princess's underwater clothes to go down and take a look.
......
Early in the morning, the princess opened her eyes.
Her whole body ached.
She had fallen off cliffs eight hundred times in her dreams last night.
She looked at the well-behaved little one lying beside her, and seeing she was awake, Princess Huiyun asked, "What happened after Duan Yu fell off the cliff?"
Jiang Mianmian turned over, facing her bottom toward Princess Huiyun, and said, "Grandma, let's sleep a bit more, it's still early. Children need to take morning naps to grow taller. I'll tell you after I wake up."
Princess Huiyun: ......!!!
......