Chapter 22: She Pulled Me In!!
While the sleeping pills were still effective, Jiang Xue quickly went back to sleep.
She wanted to check on the Third Princess’s condition, see if Shizhu had given her the medicine they sent, and… compare Shizhu to her family’s driver, Sister Cheng, to find similarities.
Their voices were too alike, the only difference being their tone.
Modern society advocated equality. Sister Cheng simply accepted their salary, found the working conditions favorable, and sincerely wanted to care for her, a child about the same age as her own daughter. That’s why she had continued to work for their family. She wouldn’t speak to them in such a respectful and apprehensive manner.
If this truly was a parallel world, with the same or similar interpersonal relationships, wouldn’t it be highly likely that Shizhu and Sister Cheng were counterparts?
With these thoughts in mind, Jiang Xue drifted back into the dream.
Just as she started to imagine Wangmei Pavilion, the red fox that had guided her before reappeared.
“You’re here too!” Although she still didn’t know what it was, Jiang Xue was happy. “Thank you for leading me to the Third Princess!”
The red fox didn’t respond, only wagged its bushy tail and turned to run ahead.
Jiang Xue quickly imagined herself as the large white cat and followed without hesitation.
But this time, they didn’t arrive at Wangmei Pavilion, but at a magnificent palace, filled with palace maids and eunuchs in ancient costumes.
The red fox disappeared again, and Jiang Xue stood there, bewildered and unsure what to do.
Fortunately, it wasn’t long before she saw a eunuch hurrying towards a room.
“Your Majesty! His Highness the Crown Prince, he… he has provoked the ghosts and spirits! The ghosts and spirits have truly manifested!!”
Hearing “Your Majesty” and “His Highness the Crown Prince,” Jiang Xue’s spirits lifted.
Aha! So this was the dog emperor’s territory!
She suddenly understood the red fox’s intention in bringing her here—the Third Princess was a princess sent for marriage alliance. Although the Crown Prince disliked and even loathed her, the fact that the marriage had been arranged meant that the Emperor of Daying approved.
So she would cause havoc here! Preferably enough to scare everyone and make the dog emperor punish his son!
She fully utilized the Maine Coon’s talent for “demolition,” destroying everything she could see while cursing loudly:
“Dog Emperor! Control your dog of a son!!”
She wanted the dog emperor to punish his own son on the spot, not take it out on the servants.
After smashing countless priceless porcelain vases and toppling several ornate lampstands, Jiang Xue finally saw the old emperor hurry out.
Just then, a flash of fluffy red caught her eye.
By the time Jiang Xue reacted, the scenery around her was rapidly receding—the red fox had wrapped her in its tail and was fleeing the scene!
“Hey! At least let me hear the end!” Jiang Xue protested. “I’m not leaving! I’ll take responsibility for my actions!”
The next second, the world fell silent, and a silly, cute dog’s face appeared before her eyes, almost making her jump out of her skin.
Recognizing the “Shiba Inu” plush toy she had given the Third Princess, Jiang Xue paused, forgetting to complain about the red fox, and quickly looked around.
She saw the Third Princess!
Xiao Luohan, pale and with her eyes closed, was lying quietly inside the bed curtains, her brow furrowed, covered with a thick quilt.
She saw Shizhu carefully applying a cooling patch to Xiao Luohan’s forehead. Glancing at the bedside table, she saw the cooling patches, anti-inflammatory medicine, and fever reducers that her older sister had found were all there, along with an empty wooden bowl with water droplets and a mortar and pestle.
It seemed the Third Princess had already taken her medicine.
Jiang Xue approached Xiao Luohan and placed her paw on her forehead.
Burning hot!
Anxious, she paced back and forth on the quilt, but she was just a small cat. If she returned to her human form, her movements would be restricted, let alone being able to do anything for the Third Princess!
…Wait! The fox! Would it know what to do?!
While Shizhu was applying the cooling patch, Jiang Xue jumped off the bed and searched the room for the red fox.
Under the bed, in the gaps between the cabinets, behind the door, in the corners of the screen, under the bed curtains… she checked every place a fox could hide, but it was nowhere to be found!
Jiang Xue could only return to the Third Princess’s pillow and stare at Shizhu.
Even though she had chosen such a conspicuous, large, pure white Maine Coon cat, Shizhu still couldn’t see her.
—To be precise, no one in this world except the red fox seemed to be able to see her. Otherwise, when she was carrying the Third Princess and causing havoc in the dog emperor’s palace, the onlookers wouldn’t have been shouting “Ghost.”
And besides the Third Princess, she couldn’t seem to touch anyone, only interact with objects. When other people’s body parts passed through her, it was like passing through air.
She was like a ghost that could possess objects!
She saw Shizhu wipe the Third Princess’s face, neck, and shoulders with a serious expression, muttering, “Great Spirit, please protect us! Don’t let the King of Hell take any more girls from me…”
The “ghost or spirit” Jiang Xue indicated that she couldn’t do anything more. She had done all she could. In modern times, this would at most require an IV drip, or in more serious cases, a trip to the emergency room for oxygen and resuscitation.
Let alone whether they had the resuscitation equipment or could get it in time, even if they could send it through the small diary, the only trustworthy person, Shizhu, might not know how to operate it.
All they could do now was wait, keep her company, administer medicine on time, and occasionally help the Third Princess with physical cooling.
“…Cat.”
Jiang Xue suddenly heard the Third Princess murmur, very softly and weakly.
“Meow.” Imitating a cat’s meow, she snuggled up to her, imagining the “bold” things the large white cat did while Xie Xitong was napping, curling up around the Third Princess’s head.
She stayed nestled against the sleeping Third Princess, only moving slightly when Shizhu came to apply a cold compress.
Now that she was closer, she could finally see Shizhu’s face clearly—it was indeed different from the Sister Cheng she knew, but there were similarities in some details.
Besides that, the Shizhu here had a deceased daughter, while the Sister Cheng she knew not only had a daughter but also one who had been admitted to a prestigious university and worked part-time during summer and winter breaks.
Another subtle clue… Sister Cheng loved tending to the dianthus flowers in their yard. When Jiang Xue was little and pestered her to explain the different plants, she had heard her say with a smile, “Dianthus flowers are not only beautiful, they’re also medicinal!”
The name “Shizhu” (dianthus) now belonged to Sister Cheng’s beloved only daughter. The literal meaning of the characters was also significant: like stone, like bamboo, resilient and upright.
Jiang Xue was piecing together the clues when she suddenly felt a coolness on her belly, making her shiver.
She turned her head and saw that Xiao Luohan had turned over at some point, her hand, extending from under the quilt, resting on her cat form.
She couldn’t help but rub her paw against the Third Princess’s hand. The next second, the hand that had been resting there tightened, pinching her belly until it made a gurgling sound.
Jiang Xue hadn’t had dinner yet! Shortly after seeing Xie Xitong off, she had learned about Xiao Luohan’s predicament. After finally resolving the issue, she was still worried and had been watching over the sleeping Third Princess.
With her stomach growling, she felt she should leave, at least to have dinner, and then…
Before she could finish the thought, she was pulled by an unknown force, her entire cat form sinking into the Third Princess’s warm quilt!
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