The palace was massive.
At the very least, after wandering around for a bit, I still hadn’t completely figured out the layout.
Si Zhizuo had adapted much faster than I had.
Not long after arriving at our new home, she was already circling through the air, busy as could be—ordering one person to do this and another to do that.
The palace was divided into a main hall and side wings.
Standing in the center of the main hall, I looked at the imperial consort’s couch before me, the corners of my mouth twitching silently.
Who would have thought?
Even in the modern era, I could enjoy the kind of treatment only ancient emperors received.
The couch used for regular resting was already ridiculously large, let alone the bed used for sleeping at night. It was big enough for six or seven people to lie down side by side.
I stared at the bed, which was carved from some unknown spiritual tree, and for a moment, I doubted its original intended purpose.
‘It can’t be—could it really be this debauched?’
‘Calm down, I must stay calm…’ I repeated to myself in my heart. ‘I can’t act like I’ve never seen the world before.’
Size had its benefits, though. At least when my daughter came over to sleep, the three of us wouldn’t have to squeeze.
The side wing had been prepared long ago, decorated according to the style Zhizhi liked. Under my personal direction, it had been turned into a dreamlike space fit for a princess.
At that moment, I was inspecting the bathroom in the room when a somewhat hurried, milky little voice came from behind me.
“Mama, Mama.”
I didn’t turn around immediately, but remained silent for a second. “I can hear you. You don’t have to keep repeating my name.”
I couldn’t stand it when children did that. It wasn’t like I hadn’t heard her. Yet she had to stay right next to me, calling “Mama, Mama” incessantly like some electronic repeater.
Si Zhizuo quieted down and tugged at my sleeve. I noticed she wasn’t wearing shoes again. Her little feet, stepping on the ground, were visibly covered in dirt.
I suddenly wanted to take back my description of her being a deity untouched by the dust of the world…
Ever since Zhizhi decided she wanted to experience life, she frequently refrained from showing any signs of her divine nature. From any angle, she looked like an ordinary little girl.
Unless—she got completely angry.
The little ball on the ground was very quiet. She had been calling me just a moment ago, but now she was silent.
A sudden flash of insight struck me, and I felt a bit amused.
‘What is it… what is she asking for now? Or did she do something wrong?’
I ignored her little scheme for the time being and didn’t take the initiative to expose her. I would let her speak for herself.
Si Zhizuo acted hesitant, her small hands twisting together.
I took hold of the hand she was playing with and gently straightened out her five fingers. Her fair, clean little palm was covered in black soot.
I sighed, took out a wet wipe, and began cleaning the dirty spots. As it turned out, the more I wiped, the blacker it seemed to get. Specifically, when I glanced down, I saw that her two legs beneath her little dress were also pitch black.
My face darkened noticeably.
Si Zhizuo’s heart skipped a beat.
‘Deep breath. It’s normal for her to be angry.’ She tried her best to offer a smile.
‘I’m not angry.’
Si Zhizuo stuck out her little tongue.
Even if she wasn’t angry, it might just be the calm before the storm. Would Mama hit her?
I pulled her into the bathroom. There would be no bathtub treatment this time; I simply turned on the shower.
“I can’t wipe this clean. Wash yourself.”
Si Zhizuo shrunk her head back.
‘Oh no, I made Mama angry again.’
Si Zhizuo had long since learned how to take off her dress by herself.
After a full ten minutes had passed, I looked at the little ball who had become fragrant once again, and my eyebrows finally stopped twitching. “Alright, tell me. What were you doing just now?”
Si Zhizuo blinked. “A big goose was chasing me. I couldn’t help it, so I fought with it.”
“And the result?”
“The result… was that I lost.” Si Zhizuo clenched her tiny fists, still lacking self-awareness. “It makes me so mad. Next time, I’ll use the energy of a single realm. I refuse to believe I can’t beat a big white goose.”
I pressed my hand to my forehead.
‘Can even a Ghost Emperor be a brat?’
She was so young, yet already addicted to the joy of fighting.
When speaking about the details of the fight, the little ball looked radiant. Even though she had lost, I could read true happiness in her eyes. This was the joy of a child—a pure heart that didn’t care about winning or losing.
Perhaps thinking of my own childhood, the urge to get angry vanished without a trace.
‘Perhaps this isn’t so bad.’
Children were supposed to be like this.
“Come here and sit down.” I brought over a small stool, knelt on the floor, and opened the straps of a pair of princess shoes. “Remember to wear shoes next time. Who runs around outside barefoot all day?”
Si Zhizuo looked a bit unhappy.
Human children generally didn’t like wearing shoes; they disliked the feeling of being restrained. After all, people were born without shoes. Almost everyone developed the habit of wearing them later in life.
And she clearly hadn’t developed that habit yet.
“Aiyah.” The little thing kicked her feet twice, but I caught her ankles firmly.
“If you move again, I’ll spank you.”
Si Zhizuo instantly became much better behaved.
‘She couldn’t, could she? She was being so good, yet she was still going to get spanked?’
Since Su Liumeng wasn’t at the palace, we had an early dinner. Then, the two of us walked along the path leading away from the Su family estate.
When the nearby servants saw who was coming, they all lowered their heads and bowed.
“Mama, let’s go to the nearest valley. The temperature there is higher than in other places, and fireflies have already begun to breed in large numbers.” Si Zhizuo had clearly planned this in advance.
She kicked at her shoes. Because she was wearing them, she didn’t float in the sky. She kicked a little stone quite a distance away.
It had been a long time since I had worn the heavy clothes of winter. Most of the time, I could go out simply in an autumn dress. Even if my cultivation realm no longer existed, it didn’t mean my physical constitution was gone. Moreover, I had already been able to resume my cultivation.
Si Zhizuo was still secretly calculating her little plan, completely failing to notice the expressionless look on my face.
I didn’t like bugs to begin with. Naturally, I felt nothing toward catching fireflies. Only people who had never seen fireflies would think a sky full of glowing dots was romantic.
I had seen fireflies countless times when I was a child. When they weren’t glowing, they were just fleshy insects. More importantly, their tail sections were particularly large. If you accidentally crushed one in your palm, it was enough to make you feel disgusted for an entire day.
Finally, we reached our destination. This was a valley, and even though it was currently winter, the mountainside was already covered in blooming flowers. Before we even stepped inside, I could smell the fragrance of the flowers.
Although I didn’t like bugs, the beautiful scenery before my eyes still made me subconsciously hold my breath.
“Mama, isn’t it beautiful?” Si Zhizuo held my hand and tilted her head up, asking expectantly.
My face remained expressionless.
The shock lasted only for a moment. I currently couldn’t muster interest in anything. Just as Su Liumeng said I was cold, I wasn’t just cold in that sense; I was equally indifferent toward everything in the world.
Looking at my expression, a hint of disappointment flickered in Si Zhizuo’s eyes.
‘How can it be… completely useless?’
But it didn’t matter.
Once Mama saw the fireflies dancing in the sky—a dreamlike scene comparable to those in anime—she would surely be able to cheer up.