Chapter 9 Don’t fight them when they come

Chu Yunshen pinched the corner of the letter and burnt it using a candle that was burning brightly. As his dark eyes paused on the burning letter, it read, “Don’t fight them when they come. You may return.”

The flickering candlelight made Chu Yunshen’s face even more resolute as he said, “Tell the generals to come to the barracks for a meeting this afternoon!”

“Yes, Your Highness!” Xiaowu then hurried out swiftly.

“Hua, the steward can only get the rat poison in the afternoon. Do you think we can borrow His Highness’ cat to catch the rats?” Auntie Cui kneaded the dough as she asked Auntie Hua, who was adding water to the pot.

“But that’s His Highness’ beloved pet. Would he agree to send it to the kitchen to catch rats?” asked Auntie Hua worriedly.

“It’s in a cat’s nature to catch rats. How would we know whether His Highness wouldn’t agree if we didn’t even try? I don’t care. I’m going to borrow the cat from Xiaowu now. Get everyone to put away any sharp objects so that we won’t hurt His Highness’ cat.”

“Sure,” said Auntie Hua as she watched Auntie Cui walk away towards the forecourt and disappear into the distance. She didn’t care. If Auntie Cui managed to loan the cat, it was far more effective than rat poison. “Everyone, please stop what you are doing for a while. Auntie Cui has gone to borrow His Highness’ cat to help catch the rats. So let’s put away any sharp objects in the kitchen quickly”

“Yes, Auntie Hua.” Then the female cooks started putting the sharp objects away.

Cheng Xiaoxiao and the baby bird were sitting in a corner in the kitchen and feasting happily. She didn’t realize that the female cooks were planning to borrow her from the prince to catch herself.

She was using both her chubby uninjured paw and her bandaged one to hold a chicken drumstick up to eat laboriously. The baby bird was eating some white rice that she gave it. And neither of them was aware of the danger that was looming towards them.

“Ah! I caught the ones who were stealing food!”

A shrill voice broke the kitchen’s silence. Cheng Xiaoxiao shivered when she heard the voice. Then the chicken drumstick slipped from her paws and fell onto the ground. Oh no! They found them!

“There’s even a baby bird here!” said another voice in shock.

“So it was His Highness’ beloved cat that was stealing the food. Send someone to get Auntie Cui to return quickly. There is no need for her to borrow the cat since she is in our kitchen!”

Cheng Xiaoxiao watched as the people encircled her tightly. Then she waved her chubby little paw.

When she had the chance, she had to take the baby bird and leave this hotbed of trouble.

“Meow.”

The female cooks watched as Cheng Xiaoxiao greeted them with her paw.

And their eyes almost popped out.

“Was… was she greeting us?” asked Auntie Hua as she felt her legs turn as limp as noodle. Then she leaned weakly against another female cook’s shoulder.

“I… I’m not sure. I think so,” said another female cook who was stuttering in shock at the sight.

“But that’s His Highness’ cat. Why don’t we catch it first and send it over to His Highness?” said a female cook as she craned her head over from outside the ring of people.

“Be careful, everyone. Don’t harm His Highness’ beloved cat.” Auntie Hua and a few other female cooks encircled Cheng Xiaoxiao. Everyone reached both their hands out into the air as they prepared to lunge towards her anytime.

“On a count of three, we will all move together!” said Auntie Hua cautiously as she lowered her body.

“Okay,” said the female cooks beside her as they nodded.

“One!”

The atmosphere was explosive.

“Two!” Sweat started trickling down some of their foreheads.

“Three!”

A thunder exploded as Auntie Hua yelled gravelly. All the female cooks then pounced on the kitten in the center at the same time.

“Ah! My head!”

“Hey, the cat escaped!” The cat was squatting at the corner of the wall when she spotted people lunging at her. So she turned with the baby bird on her head and leaped fluidly onto the wall.

“My butt!”

They cried in pain nonstop.

Cheng Xiaoxiao looked as the female cooks banged into each other. The female cook dressed in purple was holding her head as she howled and looked at her resentfully.

The female cook in grey was holding her bottom as she jumped around in pain.

Someone stepped on Auntie Hua’s hand so hard that it swelled. She shook her hand hard as she refused to give up and continued to catch the cat.

“Oh my! Don’t run! My old bones can’t take it anymore!”

“Meow.”

Did they want to catch her? There was no chance they could!

After Cheng Xiaoxiao escaped from the kitchen with the baby bird, she planned on heading back to Chu Yunshen’s room. But as she turned at a corner, she heard footsteps, and her fur exploded instantly.

A man so average looking that he had completely forgettable features hobbled out from the corner. With a hoe in one hand, he held a bucket with the other. He was burly, but his right kneecap was turning outwards strangely. So it seemed like someone had broken his leg before.

Cheng Xiaoxiao guessed he must be a gardener in the prince’s residence.

He wasn’t one of the cooks that were trying to catch her, so Cheng Xiaoxiao’s fur instantly smoothened out. The little kitten exhaled and twitched her whiskers.

Just as she was about to go towards Chu Yunshen’s room. A shadow suddenly loomed over her. Then a familiar scent drifted into her nose. Oh no!

Cheng Xiaoxiao sensed something was wrong, so she got ready to jump. The moment she leaped into the air, a rough hand grabbed her and pinned her hard on the ground!

“Chirp chirp!”

“Get lost!”

The man swept the baby bird aside.

“Meow!”

Baby bird!

Cheng Xiaoxiao looked worriedly at the baby bird that had gotten slapped onto the ground. There was a hefty weight on her back as she roared furiously at the man behind her, “Meow!”

How could he capture her so easily?

Also, the moment he grabbed Cheng Xiaoxiao, all her fur exploded. And she was so terrified that she shivered instinctively out of fear.

This fear was instilled in the cat itself before she transmigrated.

“Useless things don’t deserve to live!”

A hand suddenly pinched her neck. Then a hoarse and vicious voice came floating down from over Cheng Xiaoxiao’s head. This voice! It belonged to the spy!

Cheng Xiaoxiao’s fur instantly exploded. Then she struggled to escape his iron grip with all her might. But there was no way a cat could retaliate a burly man like him.

As Cheng Xiaoxiao felt the iron grip on her throat growing tighter and tighter, her breathing became weaker and weaker. Help her prince!

“Who goes there! Who goes there!”

Xiaowu!

Save her quickly!

Cheng Xiaoxiao heard the voice of her savior. Her body shuddered, then she struggled even harder as she cried, “Meow!”

The hand on her neck suddenly loosened. In the blink of an eye, Cheng Xiaoxiao felt herself getting lifted in midair. “I was helping the cooks catch the cat.”

“Are you new here? Why haven’t I seen you around the residence before?” asked Xiaowu as he looked at this foreign face.

Prince Jing’s current residence was just a villa he had on the frontier, so there were only a handful of servants in the household. Why hadn’t he seen this man before?

“Sir, I have been working in the residence for three years as a gardener. Since I usually only take care of the plants here, you might not have seen me before.”

“Three years?” Xiaowu reached his hand over and gestured for the cat to be handed to him.

In a flash, the kitten that was about to reach him suddenly went towards the gardener and bit his arm.

“Meow!”

What got into the kitten?

Why was she suddenly going mad?

Xiaowu stared in disbelief as the kitten suddenly pounced on the man. When he wanted to take the cat into his arms, she bit the gardener and refused to let go.

“Ow! Be careful, Sir. This cat is crazy. Let me help you…”

As the gardener spoke, he raised his hoe and attempted to smash it on the kitten. Xiaowu raised his hand and grabbed it from him. Then he hurled it a few meters away. Xiaowu shouted angrily, “How dare you! How dare you hit His Highness’ cat…”

“I’m sorry! I was just worried that the cat might harm you, Sir!” implored the man as he swiftly knelt on the ground.

Before the gardener finished his sentence, Cheng Xiaoxiao meowed loudly and pounced on him again. Then she swiped her paw on his face.

Hurt his ass!

He was trying to harm her again!

She was going to claw this spy to death this time!

　　

“Ah!” an excruciating scream rang. Xiaowu frowned as he looked at the gardener. The gardener’s face was dripping with blood as he covered his face and glared at the kitten. There was a far more savage look in his eyes than an average person could muster.

Xiaowu scooped the kitty up and said coldly to the gardener, “Come with me to see His Highness.”

The gardener clenched his fists tightly as they hung next to him before he replied good-naturedly, “Sir, but I haven’t finished watering the plants.”

“You can do it after seeing His Highness!”

“Meow!”

Xiaowu looked at her kitten’s limpid eyes to see there was no trace of madness in her.

Something must have happened to the little fellow.

“Do you not want to let him go?” asked Xiaowu as he glanced at the gardener.

“Meow.”

Cheng Xiaoxiao nodded her head.

“Okay,” said Xiaowu as he looked at the baby bird that had appeared by his feet out of the blue. He bent over and picked the shivering baby bird up before placing it on Cheng Xiaoxiao’s head as he said, “Then let’s take him to His Highness.”

“Meow!” Cheng Xiaoxiao nodded her head swiftly.

Don’t let the spy escape.

At the sight of the animal cozying up to the enemy, his eyes looked even more murderous.

But when Xiaowu looked at him, he put away the murderous look in his eyes and acted good-natured.

Chu Yunshen was in the kitchen forecourt while he listened to the female cooks reporting on every single deed the little fellow committed.

Then he saw Xiaowu carrying the kitten and returning from behind the kitchen as she brandished her claws.

A crippled man was following closely behind Xiaowu.

Chu Yunshen’s eyes paused a moment longer on all the scratches on the man’s face. Then his eyes landed on the restless bundle of fur in Xiaowu’s arms again.

The little fellow surprisingly kept craning her neck at the man with his face covered in blood and meowing nonstop.

Chu Yunshen eyes landed on the man once again. Although the little fellow was a little naughty, she never treated anyone so hysterically before.

Except for the time when the spy poured that poisonous fluid on her. Chu Yunshen’s eyes turned dark. He eyed Xiaowu, who stepped forward immediately to hand the white cat to Chu Yunshen. Then he leaned to Chu Yunshen’s ear and whispered something.

Chu Yunshen nodded his head.

“Bring him over.”

“Yes, Your Highness!” replied Xiaowu as he yanked the man over and shoved him on the ground. Then he shouted angrily, “How dare you! Do you know what you’ve done?”

“Forgive me, Your Highness! I was only trying to help the cooks catch the cat!”

The spy acted innocent and knelt on the ground begging for mercy.

When Cheng Xiaoxiao looked at that spy as he acted all good-natured, she couldn’t help feeling angry. Was he trying to catch a cat here? It was more like killing a cat!

“Meow”

Cheng Xiaoxiao’s tail shot bolt upright, and all her hair went erect. All her claws extended from her paws as she attempted to jump out of Chu Yunshen’s embrace and pounce onto the gardener.

Hmph! She almost got murdered by him! She wasn’t going to forgive him!

“Heh!” As a large hand stroked her head, Chu Yunshen’s cold sneering came from overhead.

“Meow,” said Cheng Xiaoxiao as she immediately became discouraged, and her fur slid down. When she sensed a familiar tapping on her head, she retracted her claws before shrinking her neck to move her head away from the palm. Then she stared wide-eyed with her differently colored eyes as fury radiated from them.