On The Self-Cultivation Of A Favored Concubine - Chapter 79

As the Little Empress grew older, her speech became fluent, and she was already able to run and jump around. Meanwhile, the three little Feifei….ahem…remained tiny fluffy balls, as if their growth had completely halted.

One evening at dusk, Xie Xuanzhao and Liu Qinglan sat together for a meal, watching their daughters play nearby. Seeing the three tiny creatures clinging to the Little Empress, Xie Xuanzhao couldn’t help but look at Liu Qinglan with concern. “Why does it seem like Xiaobai and the others aren’t growing at all?”

She had seen Liu Qinglan’s original form and knew an adult Feifei wasn’t this small. While not huge, an adult should at least look like a full-grown cat, not a newborn kitten.

Liu Qinglan coughed softly and explained, “They are little spirits, after all. They don’t grow that fast.”

In other words, the three little Feifei would have to endure a long infancy until their spiritual power was sufficient for them to take human form.

Xie Xuanzhao watched as the Little Empress sat on the carpet, skillfully picking up her three younger sisters like dolls and rolling around in play. The roles had reversed, the Little Empress now looked significantly larger than them.

Liu Qinglan pulled a half-finished small bookbag from a basket and asked, “Has the teacher been selected yet?”

“Yes, it is the Grand Scholar of the Imperial Court, Old Master Xun.” Xie Xuanzhao took the bookbag from her. It was mostly finished, lacking only the decorative patterns.

“A-Yin, what kind of pattern do you like?” Liu Qinglan asked the Little Empress, who was having the time of her life with her sisters.

A-Yin looked up and said in a milky voice, “I like kittens, like my sisters.”

“Pfft.” Liu Qinglan turned back to Xie Xuanzhao and winked, signaling that Xie would have to do the embroidery… because her own cat paws simply weren’t capable of such craftsmanship.

Xie Xuanzhao understood. She leaned down and scooped up her youngest daughter, Chu’er, who was always very well-behaved in front of her mother.

“Chu’er, hold this ball of yarn. Hold it tight, and Mother will draw you.” Xie Xuanzhao gently stroked her soft fur and positioned her paws. Chu’er obediently hugged the yarn ball with all four limbs and lay on the desk, blinking her innocent eyes as she watched her mother begin to sketch.

Soon, a drawing of a kitten hugging a ball was complete. Following this design, Xie Xuanzhao began to embroider the pattern onto the bookbag for the Little Empress’s first day of school.

The First Day of School

When the day finally arrived, it was treated with great solemnity.

Yanmo and LuLu woke up early to prepare everything. The Little Empress was also excited, wearing her beloved little backpack and sitting in her seat early in anticipation. On the backpack was the adorable, soft image of a kitten hugging a ball.

Swinging her fair little legs, the Little Empress urged, “Hurry up, hurry up!”

“Meow, meow, meow!” After a chorus of tiny mews, the three kittens rushed out from the inner room and skillfully jumped onto their sister’s lap or perched on her shoulders.

Liu Qinglan chased after them. Seeing the Little Empress covered in kittens, she hurried to shoo them down. “No, no. Big sister is going to school to study, not to play.”

The Little Empress immediately reached out and tightly hugged her three sisters, looking up earnestly. “Mother, we want to learn together.”

“Yes, yes!” The three kitten faces looked equally serious, chiming in with agreement.

Liu Qinglan still reached out with her “cat claws” and picked them up one by one by the scruff. “You’ll scare the old teacher. You’re too mischievous; you can’t go.”

“Sigh!” The three kittens stood in a row, simultaneously drooping their ears in disappointment and letting out a heavy, world-weary sigh.

The Little Empress lowered her head and quietly played with her sash. She looked calm, but she was already plotting.

Liu Qinglan carried the three kittens back to the bedroom and patted their heads. “Stay here and play nicely. No sneaking into the kitchen for snacks, and absolutely no sneaking into the classroom to disturb your sister. Understood?”

“Oh…” The three kittens nodded under their mother’s pats, almost curling into balls.

Outside, LuLu prepared a redwood box containing the “Four Treasures of the Study” and some snacks. Seeing the box and its size, the Little Empress’s phoenix-like eyes narrowed slightly. She had a plan.

“Oh, my tummy hurts. Auntie LuLu, I need to go for a moment.” The Little Empress hopped down from her chair and, without waiting for a reaction, dashed into the inner room.

The three kittens being lectured looked over in unison. The Little Empress winked at them and, pretending to be in a rush, hiked up her skirt. “Mother, Auntie LuLu brought the food box, but my tummy suddenly hurts. Help me undo my sash!”

Liu Qinglan had no choice but to lead her to the restroom.

Once they were gone, LuoLuo the cat looked thoughtful. “Did you guys understand sister’s look just now?”

Chu’er licked her fur silently, while Xiaobai said, “I heard ‘food box’.”

“Ah, I get it! Follow me!” LuoLuo slapped a paw down and nimbly ran outside.

LuLu was busy talking to Yan Mo, completely unaware of the three kittens approaching the food box with stealthy, silent steps. They sneakily pried open the lid and, one by one, crawled inside with disciplined precision. Finally, a snowy white paw reached out, pulled the lid shut, and tucked itself back in. Perfect.

A moment later, the Little Empress emerged looking calm. “Auntie LuLu, let’s go.”

“Alright.” LuLu picked up the box and paused. She felt like the box had somehow gotten heavier.

“Auntie LuLu, hurry. Mother said I shouldn’t be late on the first day.” The Little Empress urged seriously.

“Ah, right.” LuLu didn’t have time to overthink it and labored to carry the box as she escorted the Little Empress to the study hall.

Back in the inner room, Liu Qinglan looked at the empty bed. Blast it! Those three little ancestors snuck out again!

In the Classroom

In the study hall, the old teacher responsible for the Little Empress’s education was already seated. After exchanging greetings, the Little Empress sat down and looked sincerely at LuLu. “Auntie LuLu, you can head back now. I will listen to the teacher carefully.”

Seeing she wasn’t needed, LuLu withdrew to the front palace.

The Little Empress immediately looked down and opened the food box. A furry head popped out mischievously, followed by another. Phew! They needed to breathe.

The Little Empress quickly reached out to cover Xiaobai’s mouth before she could speak. The three kittens understood immediately and remained perfectly silent.

The old teacher glanced over and began the lesson. The Little Empress sat with perfect posture, but three kittens were sprawled across her lap. She listened intently, and at first, the kittens did too but soon, they began to doze off.

Eventually, they collapsed on their sister’s lap, sleeping soundly and snoring…purr, purr, purr.

The teacher asked, “What is that sound?”

The Little Empress replied, “My stomach growling.”

“Then please, Your Majesty, have some food before we continue practicing calligraphy.”

“Okay. Thank you, Teacher.” The little girl was solemn and dignified, truly looking the part of a little adult. The teacher stroked his beard, feeling quite gratified.

The Little Empress carefully moved the snoring kittens to the chair beside her. She crouched down, opened the food box, and carefully took out the snacks LuLu had prepared. She sat back down and began to eat elegantly.

As she ate, a cat paw silently reached out.

The Little Empress, nibbling on a mung bean cake, looked down to see all three kittens awake, sitting around her legs and blinking at her. She reached out, broke the cake into four pieces, and fed her sisters one by one.

Since it was her first day, she only had half a day of school. On the way back to the front palace, LuoLuo declared, “I’m not hiding in the box anymore.” The other two agreed.

So, the Little Empress reached out and scooped them all up in a bundle, walking wobblily. “I’ll carry you back.”

LuLu, watching from the side, was terrified and moved to help, but the Little Empress tripped and fell to the ground along with the three kittens. LuoLuo looked mournfully at the fur she had lost in the squish.

In the end, the three kittens simply hung off their sister, and they returned to the palace in a grand, if messy, procession.

Domestic Bliss and the Future

Liu Qinglan was sitting in the courtyard, resentfully munching on corn. Originally, she had been sitting next to Xie Xuanzhao, watching her wife work while happily snacking. Then, she had been dismissed.

“Qinglan,” Xie Xuanzhao had said earnestly.

“Hmm?” the Liu spirit asked, munching away.

“I can’t concentrate on my work when you’re like this.”

“How? I’m not talking or bothering you.”

“But you’re…”

“Oh~ I get it! Is it because even when I do nothing, I affect your heart? Because your heart and eyes are full of this young maiden, right?” Liu Qinglan grinned, corn in her mouth, eyes sparkling at the beauty before her.

Xie Xuanzhao rubbed her temples, silently took the corn, put it back on the tray, and handed the whole thing to the stunned Liu spirit. “Young maiden, it’s because you’re eating that corn so loudly, chomp chomp. Go eat outside, then come back when you’re done. Be good.”

“…”

And so, the little spirit had been kicked out. As she sat in the courtyard munching resentfully, she thought of the three cubs who had snuck off to school. Kids grow up and stop listening to their mothers.

“Mother~!” A cheerful, tender voice rang out. Liu Qinglan saw her eldest daughter returning with the three sisters. Her first reaction was to finish her corn quickly!

“Meow-woo~” The three kittens, with their sharp eyes, rushed over and pounced on their mother, meowing wildly.

“Alright, alright, take it! You can’t eat too much; we have lunch soon.” Liu Qinglan painfully surrendered her snacks to her daughters.

For several years, the Little Empress continued to sneak her kitten sisters into the classroom. She gradually became steady and dignified, developing the aura of a ruler. The old teacher was pleased; the Little Empress was brilliant with a photographic memory, a true blessing for the nation.

One day, the Little Empress went to see Liu Qinglan. “Mother, when can my sisters turn into humans? I want them to be able to go to school openly.”

Liu Qinglan, nibbling on a dried fish, looked at the sky. “Soon, I think. Just wait a bit more.” Seeing her daughter still staring at her, she silently pulled out another dried fish. “Only one.”

The Little Empress checked the surroundings to make sure no one was looking, then quickly popped the fish into her mouth, savoring it.

Liu Qinglan laughed. “Tastes good, right? Your tastes actually follow mine. I’m quite satisfied.”

The Little Empress reached out again.

Liu Qinglan’s smile faltered. “That was the last one.”

The Little Empress took the fish, gobbled it down, and reached out yet again.

Liu Qinglan covered the box. “No more, no more!” These were the five spice dried fish Taoxi had made specifically for her, one of a kind!

The Little Empress leaned in and whispered, “Mother, if you don’t give me the fish, I’ll tell Mother what you did last night…”

Liu Qinglan immediately covered her mouth in surrender. “Fine, fine! Take them all!”

Only then did the Little Empress smile. She gave Liu Qinglan a big kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, Mother! I’m going now!”

Liu Qinglan felt like she had been scammed.

Sure enough, a “chilly wind” blew from behind as Xie Xuanzhao’s voice drifted over. “Little Liu, what did you do last night?”

Liu Qinglan turned with a stiff smile. “I’m here!”

Xie Xuanzhao sat beside her and leaned in. “Confess.”

“Cough… I just… wanted to go for a walk.”

“Then why were you packing so many things? It looked like you were running away from home.” Xie Xuanzhao’s eyes flickered toward the wardrobe.

“I wanted to take the cubs out to see the world. They were born in the palace. I wanted to take them to Mount Huo to see what the forest is like.” Liu Qinglan turned and hugged Xie Xuanzhao tightly. “Is that okay?”

Xie Xuanzhao smoothed her long hair. Feifei belonged to the mountains; they weren’t meant to be housebound. She mused, “Speaking of which, we haven’t had an autumn hunt in a long time. A-Yin is old enough to learn to ride a pony. Let’s go to Mount Huo this autumn.”

“Wonderful! I love that idea!” Liu Qinglan followed her daughter’s lead and gave Xie Xuanzhao a big kiss on the cheek.

Xie Xuanzhao’s eyes darkened. “In my case, a light kiss isn’t enough.”

Liu Qinglan chuckled. “I get it, I get it.”

On a crisp autumn day, the long awaited autumn hunt began. The Little Empress received a pure-colored pony and trotted through the open hunting grounds, with three kittens perched on her, enjoying the cool mountain breeze.

Returning to her “natal home,” Liu Qinglan was thrilled. she couldn’t wait to take her wife and daughters to the nest where she had lived for so long.

“This is the cat nest where your mother used to live,” the spirit said sentimentally, patting the withered branches. “It wasn’t easy, looking back.”

LuoLuo jumped onto it. “Why do I think this looks like a bird’s nest?”

“Haha, I built it to mimic a bird’s nest!” Liu Qinglan began to enthusiastically recount her anecdotes of living in the wild, and the cubs listened intently. Their instincts made them fall in love with the forest that had raised their mother.

The family’s laughter echoed through Mount Huo. There would be many more stories and many more roads ahead, but the scenery remained as beautiful as ever.