Volume One, Chapter Six: Things Meant for Servants

She followed the sound to the backyard, her pupils suddenly shrinking.

The cat, curled up and barely clinging to life, was gravely injured. Its fur was soaked with horrifying blood. It trembled all over, emitting only weak cries. It was clear that it had been beaten and then thrown from a height!

“Dewdrop...” Mu Yuanzhi choked back tears, her eyes instantly moistening.

She had cared for this little kitten for three years, yet after just three days with Pei Yunxi, it was in this state!

Dewdrop was a birthday gift from her father, the emperor. So adorable and endearing, she used to carry it outside every day to bask in the sun. This clingy kitten was her inseparable companion, her family. Naturally, Pei Yunxi would never let this go; anything that belonged to her, Pei Yunxi would always try to take with persistent coaxing.

When she was locked away in the Eternal Alley, Dewdrop was conveniently taken back by Pei Yunxi to be raised.

Mu Yuanzhi cradled the bloodied, unrecognizable kitten tenderly. She stroked its fur soothingly, but it no longer responded. Only its broken paw weakly clung to the strands of hair it once knew so well.

“Princess!” The eunuch Xiao Nianzi hurried over at the sound.

A woman in a blood-stained prison uniform holding a similarly bloodied, lifeless creature created a hauntingly eerie scene.

“Princess...”

“Dig a hole and bury it.” After a long silence, Mu Yuanzhi said softly.

“Right!” Xiao Nianzi was momentarily stunned but nodded. He found it strange and only upon approaching did he barely recognize that the creature in Mu Yuanzhi’s arms was Dewdrop, the pet cat!

How much Mu Yuanzhi cherished this kitten was known throughout the palace gates. Its death was obviously unnatural. Why wasn’t she making a scene?

“Make the burial spot inconspicuous. Don’t let anyone find it,” Mu Yuanzhi added, composing herself as she knelt to gently lay down the kitten’s body.

Xiao Nianzi, unaware of the full story, complied. After burying the kitten, he flattened the surrounding soil so well that no one would suspect the earth had been disturbed.

“Remember, nothing happened tonight.” Mu Yuanzhi looked up at him, her gaze icy.

Xiao Nianzi nodded rapidly, inexplicably feeling a new fear toward this new mistress—an unfamiliar sensation.

Mu Yuanzhi turned and walked inside. She knew Pei Yunxi would surely try to exploit Dewdrop’s death, perhaps to twist the truth and accuse her of killing the cat, claiming she’d rather kill it than let the younger sister raise it.

This kind of trick was Pei Yunxi’s usual tactic.

“Princess.” Returning from the Internal Affairs Office, Hongdou carried a pitifully small bundle of inferior charcoal and a stove, with two packs of medicine hanging at her waist.

---

When she arrived at the Internal Affairs Office, the officials there were busy supplying Pei Yunxi’s Chang Le Palace with top-grade silver silk charcoal—bundles far exceeding the average quota for each palace, enough to last several winters.

Hongdou explained her purpose and waited a long time, only to have the steward impatientlyI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.