Chapter 21: I Want to Adopt a Cute Cat
Jiang Xue sighed and left the room with the diary.
But within minutes, she burst back in, panic-stricken.
“Sis! A message written in blood!!” She shrieked, handing the open diary to Jiang Mei. “Something’s happened!!”
On the diary page, a piece of torn gray cloth lay silently. Three large, glaring characters were written on it:
【Save Princess】
“I was wondering why the Third Princess hadn’t replied for so long, if something had happened, and then…” Jiang Xue’s voice was choked with sobs. “This must have been written by her servant, Shizhu. But how can I save her?!”
Unlike her panic, Jiang Mei only paused for a moment before calming down.
“It’s impossible through the diary alone,” she quickly judged. “There must be another connection between you two, right?”
Jiang Xue paused, then nodded uncertainly. “Only when we’re dreaming… but you’ve seen my hypotheses, right?”
According to her hypotheses, they needed to reach a certain level of connection for the interaction to upgrade. Otherwise, it would only be one-sided, or the dream might even end abruptly!
“There’s no other way!” Jiang Mei threw off the covers, opened her drawer, and took out her sleeping pills. “Let’s try this.”
The person who had just said “You being impatient is useless” now spoke calmly, but her hand holding the pill bottle trembled slightly.
Seeing her sister’s anxiety, Jiang Xue calmed down.
“If our speculations and hypotheses are correct, the probability of saving the Third Princess might be quite high?” she said, taking the sleeping pills and pouring herself a glass of warm water from the water dispenser in the room. “I’ll go to sleep right away and find her in the dream!”
After taking the pills, she hugged the diary, lay down in the cold bed, and closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to come.
Jiang Mei tucked her in, turned up the heat, and made sure she was warm.
“Sister…”
Ten minutes later, she heard her younger sister murmur, “Don’t worry, I’ll… try my best.”
Jiang Xue felt her consciousness sink into darkness.
She tried to see something in the darkness, but no matter where she looked or how far she walked, there was nothing but blackness.
“Don’t panic, think!” she told herself. “I can remember what Wangmei Pavilion looks like!”
With constant self-suggestion, she tried hard to recall the Wangmei Pavilion she had seen in her dream—Xiao Luohan’s residence after being sent for marriage.
The surrounding darkness didn’t dissipate, but Jiang Xue saw a flash of bright red.
…A fox.
A completely crimson fox appeared out of thin air, running towards her from afar.
Wherever it passed, light appeared bit by bit, like pieces of a puzzle, forming an incomplete courtyard.
A white light flashed before her eyes. Jiang Xue instinctively closed her eyes. When she opened them again, large snowflakes obscured her vision.
She waved them away and, scanning her surroundings, continued to chase the red fox, her gaze quickly focusing on a particular spot.
A gray, fur-trimmed cloak was huddled under a plum tree, surrounded by a thick blanket of snow.
The red fox disappeared there.
Jiang Xue suddenly realized something, her pupils constricting, and she ran towards the figure.
But she quickly found that she was running very, very slowly, as if her feet were weighted down with sandbags.
What should she do?!
She bit her lip in frustration. After thinking hard, inspiration struck. She started imagining herself as Xie Xitong’s large white cat.
The white cat could nimbly jump and climb on the sofa, tables, wardrobe, refrigerator, and doors in the living room. So could she now!
As soon as the thought crossed her mind, her perspective lowered, as if she really had become a cat.
But to her delight, she could move freely!
A large, white Maine Coon cat, like the wind, rushed towards the gray bundle, circling around to the front, and finally saw Xiao Luohan’s face!
Her hair was covered with snow, and she was kneeling on the ground, her lips and cheeks pale and bloodless.
On such a cold, snowy day, how could the sickly Third Princess be kneeling outside?!
Anxious, Jiang Xue meowed repeatedly, burrowed under her body, and heaved—fortunately, the Third Princess was light, and she lifted her up in one go!
“Quick, quick, look! She moved!”
“No! That’s—!”
Distorted shrieks, like those of a screaming chicken toy, filled the air.
The cloak and robes hung down in front of Jiang Xue’s eyes, obstructing her view. Fortunately, she caught sight of a bright red in her peripheral vision. Thinking “it’s worth a shot,” she ran towards the red as fast as she could.
“A ghost! I’ve seen a ghost!!”
“There really are ghosts and spirits!!”
“Quick, go—”
“Spare me, Great Spirit! Spare me, Great Spirit!”
Jiang Xue burst into a room with its doors wide open, leaving the piercing noise behind.
“Princess Zhuìyù!”
A familiar female voice rang out. Jiang Xue looked up in surprise, but saw nothing—the robes and cloak were still blocking her view!
However, the woman who had called out “Princess” quickly carried Xiao Luohan away, muttering “May the spirits protect you and keep you safe” and “Shizhu is willing to be your ox or horse in the next life,” while hurrying towards what seemed to be a bed.
Jiang Xue took a few steps forward on her four fluffy paws, but was startled by a shoe that suddenly appeared in front of her, freezing in place.
The sound of the door closing and being bolted came from behind.
Still shaken, Jiang Xue padded over to the bed and, continuing to imagine herself as a cat, effortlessly jumped onto it.
Shizhu had wrapped Xiao Luohan in the blankets, clothes and all, but her breathing was rapid, and her eyes were tightly closed. She was clearly suffering from the cold!
“Great Spirit, Great Spirit!” Shizhu’s voice came from behind, approaching quickly, trembling with a sob. “Are you still here? Did you come after seeing my message written in blood?”
Jiang Xue, lying beside the pillow, meowed loudly.
But Shizhu seemed not to hear, continuing to talk to herself: “Just now… just now, His Highness from the Eastern Palace came. It was he who ordered…”
Jiang Xue couldn’t hear the rest, but other voices gradually became clearer:
“You’re so fond of spreading rumors, so I’ll punish you to kneel here and see if the ghosts and spirits you speak of will come to save you!”
“If there really are ghosts and spirits… ha! Your restless elder sister would have already taken my head, and it wouldn’t be your turn to be sent here!”
“Watch her closely! If anyone dares to brush the snow off her, I’ll skin them alive!”
The surroundings fell into darkness again, the distorted, arrogant, and vicious male voice booming like thunder.
Jiang Xue followed the sound and saw a large hyena standing in the darkness, its face ferocious, foul-smelling saliva dripping onto the ground, bits of rotting flesh clinging to its sharp yellow teeth.
She woke up retching, and before she could even open her eyes, someone gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?!”
Her older sister’s anxious voice brought her back to her senses. “Just throw up here, I’ll get a basin!”
“I-I’m fine!” Jiang Xue hurriedly grabbed her hand and shook her head, quickly pulling the diary from her arms. “Quickly find medicine for the Third Princess! She’s been exposed to the cold, she might die!”
Then, remembering the scene from her dream, she gritted her teeth and added, “That dog of a Crown Prince made her kneel in the snow!!”
Her older sister’s worries had finally materialized. The “ghost and spirit” rumors had probably reached the Crown Prince of Daying. However, those truly in power didn’t believe in such things.
To be precise, they were heartless, taking pleasure in toying with other people’s lives.
—Since you claim to be protected by ghosts and spirits, then let them protect you. Otherwise, prepare to die!
After fainting from the cold, Xiao Luohan had many strange dreams.
She first dreamed of an unusually large white cat carrying her from under the plum tree back to her room, then of the white cat chasing a red fox, one after the other, into the palace where the Emperor of Daying rested.
“Dog Emperor! Control your dog of a son!!”
She heard a furious roar. At the same time, the white cat, like a tiger descending a mountain, or like a gust of wind, wreaked havoc wherever it went, cups and lamps crashing to the ground.
The eunuchs and palace maids were terrified, but no one knew where the “wind” came from, with such force and destructive power!
In the end, they could only kneel before the Emperor, who had rushed over after hearing the commotion, kowtowing and crying “Ghosts and spirits!” Bloodstains quickly appeared on the floor.
…What a lovely cat.
Xiao Luohan thought hazily.
If she had met it earlier, she would definitely have adopted one.
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