Chapter 287 Temptation
“Who are you, Big Sister?” Tianci saw that she was a stranger. He immediately became interested and grinned, watching Hua Mengshi walk down.
Hua Mengshi walked down the stairs and sat down on a vacant seat by the side.
The waiter smiled radiantly and came up to her. “Princess, after the soup is sent to you, you must have a few bowls. Miss Hua has instructed me to make you take them.”
Hua Mengshi gently nodded. “Thank you, waiter.”
The waiter was so happy that he blushed. This lovely, tender woman thanked him so gently. Well, most of his former guests had looked down on him.
Tianci also sat by Hua Mengshi’s side.
Looking at his small, handsome face, Hua Mengshi hated him so much that her teeth chattered. She would like to destroy anything and anyone involved with Hua Qiyue.
Unfortunately, she could not at this time.
Hua Mengshi looked smilingly at Tianci. “I am Princess Mingzhu. Who are you?”
Tianci stared at the jade beads on Hua Mengshi’s wrist. They were the special possession of Princess Mingzhu. She had worn them on her wrist since birth.
The jade beads were warm and luscious, gleaming with a gentle sheen. It caused Tianci to throw it a few more glances.
“My name is Tianci. My mom is Hua Qiyue!”
“Oh… I seemed to have seen you before. But…” Faint tears glimmered in Hua Mengshi’s eyes. Although only Liu’er and Tianci were around, she still would like to pretend to the utmost.
Maybe Liu’er was also Hua Qiyue’s spy? The outcome could be imagined if she were to reveal her true colors.
“Only that you can’t quite remember, right? Actually, I feel that I’ve seen you before too. But maybe not.” Tianci’s memories were also very vague.
“Yes, it’s just like what you have said. You’re just six or seven and yet such a good talker.” Hua Mengshi smiled.
Tianci pursed his lips and smiled. The waiter brought her some soup. Hua Mengshi began to take the bowl in her hands tremblingly and took a small sip. Her eyes were full of blessed joy.
“You must know that… for the last few years, my days weren’t really happy…” Hua Mengshi mumbled in a low voice. She made Liu’er crease her brows a little.
Tianci always liked to see what made people special. The special thing on Hua Mengshi’s body was her string of jade beads.
All the beads were exceptionally round and luscious.
They gleamed with a bluish glow. One could tell in one glance that these beads were premium, extremely hard to buy from the market.
“Why? Do you like this string of jade beads?”
Seeing Tianci’s curious glance, Hua Mengshi gave a tender smile. “Your mom has saved me before. She has done me too great a turn and wouldn’t accept my thanks. But I’ve nothing to repay you all. After all, if you need Qi Artists, I am… no longer one myself. So I can only give you this string of beads to repay my gratitude.”
Hua Mengshi said this and put down her soup bowl. She gently removed the string of jade beads from her wrist and placed it in Tianci’s hands.
Children are never scheming in their hearts, nor are they hypocrites. So Tianci happily accepted the beads. After Tianci thanked Hua Mengshi, the Hare leaped up to his shoulder from one side.
“Kid, how could you accept someone else’s things like that?”
The Hare’s red eyes were flashing as it said quietly.
Chuckling, Tianci shook the beads in his hand. “I didn’t accept them ‘just like that.’ The Princess has given them to me. Anyway, I like them too and so I took them.”
The Hare gave a helpless sigh. It stared into Hua Mengshi’s horrified eyes. “A… talking hare…”
Hua Mengshi pretended to be flabbergasted. Her whole body turned limp, and she collapsed into a faint, pretending to be “in shock.”
Liu’er quickly helped her up and called her a few times. She could only get the waiter to help her take Hua Mengshi up her room.
Tianci was playing with that string of beads and followed behind, somewhat worried. “Sister Princess ought to be fine, right?”
The Hare snorted. “She’ll be fine. She just needs lots of tonics.”
Tianci seemed to understand, yet not. He assented and followed them to the room. Hua Mengshi’s face was ashen. Liu’er went off to ask for Ji Feng’s help.
As Ji Feng was the medicine saint, he knew quite a bit about treating minor ailments. He felt her pulse for a while and quietly retracted his hand. “Princess Mingzhu is fine. She’s just in shock. Furthermore, her constitution is too weak and she might faint any time. But I’m surprised that she has survived.”
Hearing this, Hua Mengshi naturally took all his words to heart. She wondered if she had acted too weak. It looked like she could not pretend to be so feeble anymore, or it might arouse their suspicion.
Tianci gave a sigh of relief and glared at the Hare. “It’s all your fault, scaring Sister Princess into a fainting spell.”
“Humph, it’s hard for a mortal to see me. The fact that she could hear my almighty voice is her blessing.”
Ji Feng and Tianci stared at each other, smiling at the Hare’s smugness.
Only when Ji Feng and the others departed did Hua Mengshi slowly open her eyes.
“Mistress, are you awake? Do you want to sit up or rest?”
Liu’er saw her and cried in a happy surprise.
“It’s alright. I’ll just lie down for a while,” Hua Mengshi said quietly.
“Then I will go and notify Young Master Ji and the others.” Liu’er smiled. Hua Mengshi pulled her back and stopped her.
Liu’er hurriedly brought her the unfinished soup she was taking just now. Hua Mengshi silently watched the world outside the window, her eyes full of complex emotions.
When Hua Qiyue returned, Liu’er secretly sneaked to Hua Qiyue’s room.
“Just now Princess Mingzhu had half a bowl of soup. She also gave a string of jade beads to the young master. Then, she was frightened into a faint by the Hare. Right now, the Princess is in her room. She says she would like to build up her constitution.”
Liu’er related all the past happenings to Hua Qiyue.
Hua Qiyue lightly sipped a mouthful of tea and nodded. “Good. You may go back. Don’t let her detect your disappearance.”
Liu’er gave a curtsy and slowly retreated. Hua Qiyue narrowed her eyes, trying her best to recall that string of jade beads on Princess Mingzhu’s wrist.
Tianci had found her by lunchtime. Tianci had searched the entire inn and had not found Hua Qiyue. He ran into Liu’er who pointed at Hua Qiyue’s room. He immediately understood and sprinted over, slapping the door. Then, he pushed it open.
After Tianci pushed the door open, he found Hua Qiyue sitting there having tea.
He made an ugly face and closed the door, dashing over to Hua Qiyue’s side.
“Mom, look, this string of beads is from the Princess!”
Hua Qiyue took the jade beads Tianci handed her and injected spiritual energy into them, trying to probe. It was only an ordinary string of premium jade—not some divine weapon.
“These jade beads are of premium quality. But Tianci, you can’t accept things from the others just like that, you understand?” Hua Qiyue said with a light smile.
Tianci pouted. “I thought everyone whom Mom has accepted is trustworthy.”
Hua Qiyue gave another light smile. “Have you forgotten what I had once told you?”
Tianci suddenly came to a realization and nodded. He seemed frustrated. “Mom, in the future, I won’t easily accept anything from the others, nor will I play with anyone just like that. Most importantly, I won’t talk to strangers.”
“That’s right. Just remember this in the future. Better return this string of jade beads to Sister Princess,” Hua Qiyue said quietly. Tianci was not unwilling.
Although he liked the beads, he was not that crazy over them. At least he could get some lower-quality beads from the outside stores. He would accept those beads just as much.
Tianci came out of Hua Qiyue’s room and went over to Hua Mengshi’s. He stretched out both hands and presented the string of jade beads to her. “Sister Princess, my mom told me not to accept anything easily. I did nothing to deserve this. Better return this string of beads to you, Sister Princess.”
Hua Mengshi raised her brows in surprise. She did not expect Hua Qiyue to teach her son this way.
She gave a cold snort at the bottom of her heart but showed a faint smile on her face. “Tianci, I’m no stranger. You’d better accept it.”
Tianci shook his head. “I cannot go against my mom’s teachings.”
“Ho ho, alright then, I won’t force you. But if your mom changes her mind, you can come to me anytime. After all… I have nothing else to repay you,” Hua Mengshi said tenderly.
Tianci smiled and said nothing more.
“I have a lot of fun stuff here. Look.”
Hua Mengshi made Liu’er bring her a medium-sized brocade sachet at the head of her bed. She untied it and took out many things.
Exotic stones, stone whistles, and rings. There were a lot of things that interested Tianci. Unfortunately, Hua Qiyue had warned him against accepting gifts from people. So Tianci could only study them one by one. In the end, he shook his head.
“These things are fun, but I’d better not take them.”
Hua Mengshi’s heart skipped a beat. She had not expected Tianci to have such willpower. Most children would still secretly keep an item they liked despite promising their parents.
But Tianci was different.
Hua Mengshi smiled tenderly, her eyes gleaming with maternal-like love. “Very well. Tianci is such a good boy. You remember your mom’s words so well. But in the future, when we know each other better, your mom should consent. Therefore, I will keep these items for you.”
Tianci heard her and immediately, an expression of joy appeared on his face.
“That’s great. Thank you, Sister Princess!”
Watching Tianci’s joyous smile, Hua Mengshi felt that the second stage of her plan had succeeded.
The first step was to approach Hua Qiyue and her friends as Princess Mingzhu, to lower their guard.
The second step was to entice Tianci, to slowly and truly get close to Hua Qiyue.
Hua Qiyue was a person who was wary of many people. Princess Mingzhu and Hua Qiyue had had their differences before. So to make Hua Qiyue lower her guard was no easy task.
Hua Qiyue and her friends were immune to poison. So using poison was not useful either.
But Hua Mengshi had mastered the Art of Melting and Absorbing Spirit. Her true prowess had reached the first level of Holy God. If she found a few more women in Xuanyuan City, her Qi Art would soon reach the Great Deity Realm.
When Hua Qiyue put her trust in her, Hua Mengshi could kill Hua Qiyue, at the first level of Holy God, in one move!
In other words, she would soon avenge her great feud. At this moment, Hua Mengshi tried strenuously to keep herself calm.
After Tianci went off, Hua Mengshi quietly instructed Liu’er to help her down, to take her meal with the others.
To be close to the company, she could not avoid taking her meals with them.
Hua Mengshi right now had changed her original voice. After all, she had mastered the Art of Melting and Absorbing Spirit. Her entire body was undergoing a slow change.
To become stronger and her ideal, to do whatever she wanted… She could, after absorbing someone else’s blood and essence, change her looks to resemble that person with her willpower.
But Hua Mengshi did not need to change to someone else again. She liked her identity as Princess Mingzhu best.
