Sleeping Soundly in Her Bed - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Escape and Eavesdropping

 

To ask Rachel to go over was something she was ten-thousand times unwilling to do.

 

Thus, she tucked her head in, hiding behind the screen and not daring to move an inch. But strangely, the body of this golden peacock did not seem to be governed by her will; it actually defied her inner heart, walking toward Jiang Zhishui step by step.

 

No, absolutely do not go over! This woman clearly isn’t normal!

 

Rachel screamed desperately in her mind, trying to reclaim control of the body. However, the golden peacock’s shell seemed born to submit to Jiang Zhishui, not daring to offer the slightest disobedience to her commands.

 

In the end, Rachel could only stiffly and with utter humiliation walk step by step until she stood before Jiang Zhishui.

 

What exactly did Jiang Zhishui want to do?

 

Would she be punished?

 

She’d definitely be hit!

 

With such dawdling and sluggish movements—if this were a pet Rachel herself kept, she would have long ago ordered the servants to throw it directly out of the palace. Only pets who knew how to please their masters were qualified to stay by her side.

 

Did Jiang Zhishui think the same way?

 

“Little bird.”

 

Jiang Zhishui slowly reached out her hand.

 

The hand was fair and slender, with a thin layer of calluses on the knuckles, yet it exuded an irresistible strength.

 

Rachel instinctively shrank her head back. Just as those fingers were about to touch her, the fear in the depths of her heart finally overcame her reason—she jerked her head and, using every ounce of strength in her body, pecked down hard on Jiang Zhishui’s hand!

 

Peck!

 

The moment Rachel realized what she had done, she panicked and let go, taking a large leap backward. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the punishment to descend.

 

She had pecked Jiang Zhishui; this time, she was truly going to die. To face death again less than half an hour after resurrecting—if others found out, Rachel would be too ashamed to live!

 

But she waited for a moment, and the expected punishment did not arrive as scheduled. Filled with confusion, she cautiously opened her eyes just a crack.

 

She expected to see a look of fury on Jiang Zhishui’s face, but instead, she only saw Jiang Zhishui slowly extending her hand, palm open toward her. The center of the palm was slightly red.

 

What did this mean?

 

“Little bird,” Jiang Zhishui called her again, her voice flat. “Be good.”

 

This woman didn’t seem to have any intention of attacking her, and Rachel’s body once again moved closer to her uncontrollably. She saw Jiang Zhishui slightly raise her hand; Rachel thought a blow was coming, but unexpectedly, those fingertips only lightly stroked her head. The voice was impossibly gentle.

 

“Why is my little bird so afraid of me?”

 

Jiang Zhishui’s hand was far too gentle, and even her voice made Rachel sink into a daze. She unconsciously squinted her eyes, her entire body leaning toward Jiang Zhishui. Her long, golden tail feathers actually coiled around Jiang Zhishui like a cat’s tail, and her throat even let out an involuntary, satisfied low warble.

 

“So good.”

 

Jiang Zhishui lowered her eyes, her expression soft, completely unlike the cold sharpness she displayed during meditation.

 

Rachel stared blankly, and for a moment, she actually felt a sudden impulse to fan out her tail!

 

What a joke! She, a dignified princess, actually wanted to display her feathers for a woman?

 

Rachel snapped back to her senses, restraining the urge. Otherwise, she would have truly lost face!

 

The golden peacock’s feathers ruffled again, but Jiang Zhishui showed no surprise, simply continuing to patiently groom them one by one.

 

Rachel had fallen from the tree several times earlier and had been hauled along by that red-clothed woman; her once smooth and brilliant wings were already a mess. Yet Jiang Zhishui didn’t show the slightest distaste, her movements extremely light, as if she were handling some rare and precious treasure.

 

Looking at the woman grooming her, it felt as though in her eyes, Rachel really was just a simple golden peacock and nothing more.

 

As Jiang Zhishui continued to convey this message, Rachel gradually relaxed, as if she truly were just a peacock belonging to her. Thinking this, Rachel’s eyes slowly fluttered shut. She had just gone through a period of great joy and sorrow, walking along the edge of life and death, and had exhausted most of her strength; she had only been holding on by sheer force of will.

 

Gradually, Rachel actually fell into a deep sleep.

 

When she woke again, it was sunset.

 

The slanting sun spilled over the lawn of Jiang Zhishui’s courtyard, dyeing it a golden-red. Rachel walked groggily out of the room, only to find the surroundings empty.

 

Where was everyone?

 

The golden peacock hadn’t eaten a single grain from morning until afternoon. Her earlier terror had suppressed her appetite, but now that Rachel had come to her senses, she was suddenly so hungry her front was sticking to her back, and she felt dizzy. She forced her weak body into the yard, but found no maids nearby. A sharp wind whistled through the flowers; in the blink of an eye, the entire world seemed to contain only Jiang Zhishui.

 

The woman held a long sword, practicing under a flowering tree.

 

Entirely different from the posture-focused fencing of the Imperial nobles, Jiang Zhishui’s swordsmanship was more fluid and freehand, not bound by formal elegance. Her movements were wild and graceful; the wind whipped up by her blade amidst falling petals and leaves brushed against Rachel’s face, carrying the scent of earth and floral fragrance.

 

So fragrant. I want to eat flower cakes.

 

Rachel’s stomach let out a loud growl. The sound alerted Jiang Zhishui, who instinctively threw the long sword in her hand.

 

—Directly at Rachel!

 

“Chirp!”

 

Rachel screamed, instinctively closing her eyes.

 

The sword was so fast that it was clear how much power Jiang Zhishui had used. She definitely couldn’t dodge it; she was going to be sliced in two, chirp!

 

But the expected pain once again failed to arrive. She fearfully opened one eye and found the treasure sword stabbed straight into the ground beside her, having only trimmed two of her feathers.

 

“Little bird?”

 

Jiang Zhishui had already come to her side and knelt down, her gaze heavy as she examined the trembling peacock on the ground.

 

“Are you hungry?”

 

Rachel stared death at her—this woman didn’t look at all like she had just tried to kill her. She was calm and collected, even naturally asking if she was hungry.

 

She was simply a temperamental demon!

 

Rachel made a new resolution: she must escape this place! Staying by Jiang Zhishui’s side, even a hundred lives wouldn’t be enough to lose!

 

Seeing that Rachel gave no reaction, Jiang Zhishui simply knelt and scooped her up. The peacock’s long tail feathers dragged on the ground; with a flick of her toe, the sword returned to Jiang Zhishui’s hand. With a smooth motion, she hooked Rachel’s tail feathers over her own shoulder.

 

“I’ll take you to eat.”

 

Rachel huddled in her arms, not daring to move, her heart growing more fearful. What kind of freakish strength is this!

 

The golden peacock’s food consisted of pears sliced by a maid and cooked corn, with a side dish of finely minced fish. Rachel breathed a sigh of relief—she knew peacocks ate insects, and she was afraid Jiang Zhishui would feed her bugs. Fortunately, this woman hadn’t gone that insane yet.

 

Turning her head, she saw that Jiang Zhishui’s own meal was truly lavish: eight dishes and two soups. Except for one bowl of cream soup, the rest were all Eastern delicacies.

 

In the Kingdom of Lanxi, Eastern cuisine was something only nobles could afford. Every dish was intricate and exquisite. Rachel used to get three Eastern dishes a day, which was already a sign of great honor; she hadn’t expected this woman to eat eight in one meal.

 

Well, Jiang Zhishui was Eastern to begin with, so it made sense.

 

Rachel lowered her head, pecking at her pears and corn kernels with indignation.

 

As it turned out, everything tastes good when you’re starving. If this food had been placed before the former Princess Rachel, she probably would have flipped the table, but now she ate with great relish.

 

After happily finishing the pears and corn, Rachel went to peck at the minced fish, only to find she couldn’t pick it up at all. She immediately became unhappy.

 

Suddenly, Rachel felt a gaze. She looked up and found Jiang Zhishui staring at her.

 

“Chirp?”

 

She instinctively took a step back, feeling inexplicably creeped out—why wasn’t this woman eating? Why was she staring only at her?

 

“Little bird, do you need help?”

 

Rachel took another step back. What does that mean? Why say such a thing to an innocent peacock? I’m a peacock, not a person, I can’t understand you!

 

She looked left and right, seeing the maids all with their heads bowed and breaths held; none dared to show confusion. It was clear how ruthless this woman was on a normal basis.

 

“Little bird?”

 

Jiang Zhishui called again. Even the surrounding maids shivered, seemingly terrified that Rachel hadn’t reacted yet.

 

Thinking of her own safety, Rachel reluctantly walked to her side.

 

“So you want me to feed you?”

 

Rachel just stared at Jiang Zhishui. In truth, she really did want to eat that fish mince.

 

A maid nearby, being very observant, brought over a fresh serving of fish mince and presented a silver spoon—it seemed such occurrences had happened before. This Jiang Zhishui was indeed a bit of a pervert.

 

“Get up here,” Jiang Zhishui said.

 

Rachel pretended not to understand until Jiang Zhishui pointed to the wooden chair beside her. Then, as if having a sudden epiphany, she hopped up and waited for the feeding.

 

Spoon after spoon of fish mince was sent into her mouth. Rachel ate with total satisfaction. Even when Jiang Zhishui reached out her hand, Rachel instinctively nuzzled against her palm.

 

This nuzzle made both of them freeze.

 

“Little bird?”

 

Jiang Zhishui frowned slightly. Alarm bells rang in Rachel’s heart—was the previous golden peacock cold and never nuzzled Jiang Zhishui?

 

A miscalculation! She should have been more arrogant!

 

Thus, Rachel snatched the last bite of fish mince, jumped directly off the wooden chair, and turned to run, leaving behind a cold and stylish silhouette.

 

The maids’ faces turned pale, but Jiang Zhishui showed no sign of being offended. She merely propped up her head, watching the retreating back of the golden peacock, a trace of a half-smile appearing on her lips.

 

“Little bird?”

 

Rachel paced back and forth in the garden.

 

After leaving Jiang Zhishui’s courtyard, she had traveled unimpeded to a massive garden; not a single maid dared to stop her.

 

“Why would Lord Peacock come here?”

 

“Should we report to Her Ladyship? Or maybe block her; she shouldn’t be wandering in here.”

 

“Do you dare to block Lord Peacock?”

 

The maids fell silent. The smallest one with her hair in a bud-bun looked defeated, clearly having no way to handle this golden peacock.

 

Rachel finally shook them off. Now that she was full and satisfied, she began planning her escape.

 

The first step was to scout the path. It was said Eastern architecture was vastly different from the local style. Fearing she would get lost, she circled the garden, planning to follow a maid to perhaps find an exit and sneak out when Jiang Zhishui left the house.

 

To her surprise, after wandering for a long time, she ended up back where she started. Trapped in the center of the garden, she couldn’t get out at all.

 

Rachel finally panicked.

 

At first, she looked for people around the garden, only to find the maids who were just chattering away had all vanished. The entire garden was as empty as a graveyard.

 

A graveyard.

 

Rachel shivered—why did she feel this garden was like a graveyard?

 

No, she couldn’t stay any longer. Alarm bells rang in her mind. She simply closed her eyes and bolted in one direction, only to crash straight into a rockery.

 

The peacock’s forehead was bounced back by the wall. Rachel staggered to steady herself and found that she had never seen this part of the rockery before. It seemed she had come to the right place.

 

She followed a path through the rockery. It remained deserted, and the temperature around her grew cold; even her wings began to tremble slightly.

 

Should she continue? Perhaps once she passed this rockery, she would find someone. If she could escape this garden, Rachel swore she would never wander alone again—she would definitely follow someone!

 

She took a few more steps forward and was just about to turn around when she suddenly heard a cold female voice: “I have supported the First Prince from the beginning. It is a pity the Second Prince was too treacherous. Yan Shan, the plan to infiltrate the palace is yours to execute. If the First Prince is still in the world of the living, we may yet have the strength to counter-attack.”

 

Rachel: “?”

 

She recognized it as Jiang Zhishui’s voice, but the words left her utterly bewildered—Jiang Zhishui said she had supported the Eldest Brother from the start?

 

Wait, if Jiang Zhishui supported the Eldest Brother, did that mean they truly had a chance to rise again?

 

Rachel froze on the spot, followed by a surge of wild joy—the Eldest Brother was indeed still alive! She had to bring this news to him!

 

She was suddenly filled with fighting spirit, but a new problem quickly surfaced: hiding behind the rockery, how could she escape without Jiang Zhishui knowing? If Jiang Zhishui discovered she was eavesdropping—it was said Eastern female officials were meticulous and calculating—even if she was just an innocent peacock, she might be silenced.

 

Rachel took a step back, intending to flee the scene and at least avoid being discovered. But at that moment, a dramatic event occurred—her long tail feathers actually knocked over a small rock on the rockery behind her.

 

The two people behind the stone wall turned their heads instantly.

 

The woman in red shouted sharply: “Who is there!”

 

A flying dagger, glinting with a chilling light, flew straight toward Rachel!!!