Shen Baozhu quickly comforted the Treasure - Hunting Rat. "Don't be scared, don't be scared. Sister Miaochun was just joking with you. How could she know that you're tastier than a rat? She's never eaten one, so it must be a joke."
"I've eaten rats," Chen Miaochun said. She couldn't understand what the Treasure - Hunting Rat was saying and thought Shen Baozhu was talking to her.
Lin Yu: [Eaten rats?]
True Person Qingyun: [She probably ate them when she was starving at the Wang family.]
These words caused quite a stir. Chen Ruxia and Yan Mingli both looked at Chen Miaochun with pity. The Treasure - Hunting Rat got even more scared and began to tremble. Shen Baozhu looked at Chen Miaochun and then at the Treasure - Hunting Rat, not knowing whom to comfort.
Should she comfort Sister Miaochun who had eaten rats or the Treasure - Hunting Rat that was said to be tastier than a rat?
Seeing Shen Baozhu's distress, True Person Qingyun kindly reminded her: [Among puppet rats, protecting the master is the most important thing. If Baozhu is not afraid, the Treasure - Hunting Rat won't be either.]
Looking at the subtitle, Shen Baozhu softly called out to the Treasure - Hunting Rat, "Are you scared?"
The Treasure - Hunting Rat immediately hopped in front of Shen Baozhu and stretched out its short paws to block Chen Miaochun. "Don't be scared, Master. I'll protect you."
At this moment, the Treasure - Hunting Rat forgot its own fear and firmly stood in front of its master.
Chen Miaochun couldn't understand what the Treasure - Hunting Rat was saying. She just thought the rat's appearance was kind of funny. She reached out and pinched the rat's ears. They felt soft and warm under her fingers.
"Baozhu, does it have bugs on it? Can I rub its belly?" Chen Miaochun asked Shen Baozhu.
This made the Treasure - Hunting Rat both ashamed and angry. It was ashamed because this person was so shameless as to want to rub its belly. It was angry at Chen Miaochun's words. It was a noble Treasure - Hunting Rat! How could it have bugs? This was simply a great humiliation to a rat!
The Treasure - Hunting Rat bared its teeth at Chen Miaochun, trying to scare her away.
But unexpectedly, Chen Miaochun wasn't scared at all. After getting Shen Baozhu's permission, she pulled Chen Ruxia over to pinch the rat's ears together.
Watching the two sisters fondle the rat's ears, Shen Baozhu couldn't help but quietly reach out and poke the rat's belly.
The round belly wasn't hard. It felt soft when she poked it.
The three of them were having so much fun that they didn't notice Yan Mingli, who was sweating nervously beside them.
Yan Mingli was a bit scared of the Treasure - Hunting Rat. To be more precise, he was afraid of rats. Seeing this big Treasure - Hunting Rat that resembled a rat, Yan Mingli was truly terrified.
He stammered, "Aren't you guys scared?"
Shen Baozhu pressed her hand on the rat's belly, leaving a small handprint. She said cheerfully, "The Treasure - Hunting Rat is a gift from the True Person. Why should I be scared?"
Chen Ruxia thought the rat was cute and endearing. Chen Miaochun had even caught and roasted rats when she was at the Wang family, so there was no way she would be scared.
Seeing Chen Miaochun fondling the rat, Yan Mingli suddenly felt jealous. He gritted his teeth and pushed Chen Miaochun aside. "I want to pinch it too!"
But the Treasure - Hunting Rat put its two paws in front of itself. "Master, save me! Someone's trying to take advantage of me!"
Lin Yu: [Yan Mingli seems really scared of the Treasure - Hunting Rat. Does the rat even know what 'taking advantage' means?]
True Person Qingyun: [Considering that Baozhu is a girl, the puppet rat was made female.]
The puppet rat itself has no gender, but in the Treasure - Hunting Rat's mind, it was a female rat.
Lin Yu: [No wonder the rat didn't react much when Miaochun and Ruxia pinched it, but shouted 'taking advantage' when it was Yan Mingli.]
Like the others, Yan Mingli couldn't understand the rat's squeaking. He reached out to pinch the rat's ears, but the rat stomped hard on his foot.
Yan Mingli widened his eyes and gasped in pain. He grabbed the rat and started to knead it. "Stinky rat, you stomped on me! How dare you!"
The rat wanted to resist, but suddenly it felt that Yan Mingli's hands seemed to know some kind of magical technique that made it feel extremely comfortable.
"Humph, feel good, right? When it comes to massage, if I say I'm the second, no one in the capital would dare say they're the first. Even that fussy old man was massaged comfortably by me." Yan Mingli was extremely proud. He could handle this little rat easily.
Seeing Yan Mingli and the rat getting along harmoniously, Shen Baozhu didn't step forward. She pulled Chen Miaochun and Chen Ruxia and told them what had happened today, especially about the bad Third Prince. "The bad guy attacked me and made me bleed a lot. Fortunately, the True Person sent the Treasure - Hunting Rat."
"The Treasure - Hunting Rat is so amazing. It knocked the bad guy out and can also help me hide treasures."
Hearing this, Chen Miaochun gently held Shen Baozhu's little face in her hands and examined it carefully. When she saw that there were no scars, she let out a sigh of relief.
Chen Ruxia ordered someone to get a white cloth and wrapped it around Shen Baozhu's forehead a few times. "Be a good girl, Baozhu. Wrap this white cloth around your head for a few days. Otherwise, the wind might blow on your head and give you a headache."
Shen Baozhu touched the white cloth on her head and nodded obediently. "Okay. I won't go to the Marquis Mansion tomorrow. I don't want Qiuqiu to worry if she sees this."
Tomorrow was the first day to eat pastries. Shen Baozhu originally planned to go and play with Qiuqiu to celebrate this happy day. But now that she had the white cloth on her head, if Qiuqiu saw it, she would surely be worried. So Shen Baozhu decided to visit Qiuqiu a few days later.
Thinking about Qiuqiu's unstable mental state, Chen Ruxia advised, "Even though all the servants in the Yong'an Marquis Mansion have been replaced, Qiuqiu still feels uncomfortable. She always dreams about the fire that day. Mother said that Qiuqiu doesn't have nightmares for several days after seeing Baozhu. To be on the safe side, it's better for Baozhu to go once."
Shen Baozhu thought it made sense and nodded again. "Okay, I'll go play with Qiuqiu tomorrow."
As they were talking, a figure flashed by. In the blink of an eye, it was in front of Shen Baozhu.
Shen Baozhu looked at the out - of - breath Ginseng, puzzled. "Aunt Ginseng, why did you run so fast?"
The person who came was Ginseng, the chief maid beside the Princess of Jingning.
Ginseng was shocked to see Shen Baozhu with the white cloth on her head. Without explaining, she just said, "The Princess is back. I'll go and invite Doctor Liu."
Chen Miaochun and Yan Mingli had never seen Ginseng's kung fu before. Especially Yan Mingli, he was surprised. "Coming and going in a hurry. Is this the legendary light kung fu?"
Chen Ruxia looked at Ginseng's back and then at the white cloth on Shen Baozhu's head. She had a guess in her mind. Did Aunt Ginseng misunderstand that Baozhu was injured and go to invite the doctor?
What did her first sentence mean?
Out of intuition, Chen Ruxia ordered the servants to prepare some pigments quickly.
But in the Princess Mansion, except for the former Marquis Shen Yunfeng, only the eldest young master Shen Heqing was good at painting. There were pigments in the study. If they went out to buy some, it would take at least half an hour.
"Sister Ruxia, do you need them urgently? We can borrow some from big brother first and make it up later," Shen Baozhu suggested.
Yan Mingli's eyes lit up. Wouldn't this be a chance for him to enter Shen Heqing's study?
So he urged, "Yes, yes. Let's borrow them first and make it up later."
"Alright, I'll go and get them for you."
Without waiting for Chen Ruxia's reply, Yan Mingli ran away quickly, afraid that Chen Ruxia would change her mind and call him back.