Chapter 12

Eunuch 12 (Uncle as Beautiful as a Flower)

The little Character: Mingzhi, brought over by his mother, looked at them blankly.

This paragraph is an image paragraph; please visit the correct website, turn off ad‑blocking, and exit reader mode.

Jiang He pretended to hesitate, glanced at the child, sighed, and said: "Seventh Sister, you know it—our Jiang family hardly has any good‑looking ones. Though we were indeed cute as kids, when we grow up we all become as burly as bears…"

This paragraph is an image paragraph; please visit the correct website, turn off ad‑blocking, and exit reader mode.

Then he puffed out his chest, quite proud, and said: "It seems I'm the only exception in our Jiang family! I'm the white swan among the ugly ducklings, born with beauty that's hard to discard."

Otherwise, where would that creepy 'Everyone Falls for the Eunuch' halo come from? It pays no mind to anyone who's merely ordinary.

Character: Mingzhi froze instantly; he seemed to finally understand what his uncle and mother meant.

He foolishly reached up to touch his own face, then glanced at his uncle's flower‑beautiful face, completely unaware that he had unconsciously dropped the stone he'd been holding for self‑defense.

This paragraph is an image paragraph; please visit the correct website, turn off ad‑blocking, and exit reader mode.

Although he's still young, he knows what's beautiful and ugly—at least he knows that an uncle like that is truly handsome.

Will I become ugly when I grow up? Because the Jiang family kids basically all turn out deformed? No, little uncle is clearly good‑looking, like a fairy descended to the mortal world.

But little uncle said he's the Jiang family's sole exception… No, no, no—if there's a first, there must be a second!

The child immediately turned to his mother, a little unsure, and asked: "Mom, will Character: Mingzhi become really ugly when he grows up?"

Character: Jiang Yuner laughed despite herself, "Nonsense, our Character: Mingzhi is this cute—he won't turn ugly." She fondly stroked her son's face.

Jiang He watched the mother and son with a smile; the morning light fell on his face, soft and lovely as if it were a painting.

Seeing his smile, Character: Jiang Yuner suddenly froze, realizing that, without noticing, her sorrow and grief had almost completely faded.

This paragraph is an image paragraph; please visit the correct website, turn off ad‑blocking, and exit reader mode.

As it turns out, growing up makes one this gentle and considerate.

Then a cat appeared in Lenggong, meowing repeatedly.

Character: Mingzhi's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed happily, "Mom, Uncle, that's the kitty!" He ran over, "Kitty, are you here to see me? Wow, you're even carrying a fish—are you bringing it for me to eat?"

The child thought the cat was amazing—holding a fish in its mouth didn't stop it from meowing.

Jiang He walked over, took the fish from the System Cat's mouth, and said, "This is the cat I raised; its name is Tongtong."

This paragraph is an image paragraph; please visit the correct website, turn off ad‑blocking, and exit reader mode.

In his heart, the cat that brought him fish was the best cat in the world, the cat's owner was his uncle, and that uncle was the best uncle in the world—finally, his last guard lowered completely.

Character: Jiang Yuner eyed the fish the cat had dragged in—such a fat fish—wondering where the cat got it… Could it be… from that lake where many corpses were dumped?

This paragraph is an image paragraph; please visit the correct website, turn off ad‑blocking, and exit reader mode.

As if sensing her thought, Jiang He said, "Don't worry, it's not from the lake—it's from the Imperial Kitchen."

Only then did Character: Jiang Yuner relax, took a close look, and smiled, "This is a bass."

In this era there are no freshwater bass, only sea bass; the capital is far from the sea, and in the capital only nobles can enjoy this delicacy.

She couldn't help but look up to this plump three‑colored cat—it was truly amazing that the cat would bring over a fish. No, she should say it's her brother who's impressive, for managing to raise a cat that can fetch fish from the Imperial Kitchen…

Jiang He picked up the fish to prepare it; his movements in cleaning the fish were so practiced that one could tell he was skilled in cooking.

Character: Jiang Yuner sat to the side, wanting to speak but hesitating—she had so many things she wanted to ask.

"Seventh Sister, ask whatever you want." Jiang He didn't even look up, his hand steady as he split the fish's belly.

Character: Jiang Yuner hesitated a moment, glanced at the child beside her, and naturally shifted the topic: "Ninth Son, you're really handsome—I always thought you'd keep growing until you'd be too fat to leave the house, needing a wider door."

Jiang He bared his teeth in a smile: "Funny, I was thinking the same about you."

The brother and sister glared at each other just like they did when they were kids, then immediately burst into laughter.

Little Character: Mingzhi sat obediently to the side, chin resting on his hands, not quite understanding how his uncle, who looked as beautiful as a fairy, and his mother, who was so thin, could end up so fat they couldn't even get out the door.

Suddenly he thought of something, pattered off, and soon came back carrying a fish.

Mother and son stared at him, dumbfounded, suspecting their ears were playing tricks.

The child frowned, looked up at his mother, and said, "Mom?"

She pulled her son into her arms, rubbed his skinny little face, and said, "Before I had no choice, but now I'd rather not eat this fish if I can avoid it."

This paragraph is an image paragraph; please visit the correct website, turn off ad‑blocking, and exit reader mode.

The child's face lit up with a proud smile, and he promised his mother, "Whenever you want to eat fish, just tell me—I'll go catch some for you."

He praised, "Tongtong, you're amazing! Your mouth is so tiny, yet you can haul such a big, heavy fish."

The System Cat showed a proud expression: "It's not an ordinary cat—it can drag anything, no matter how heavy!"

His cooking skills were honed in countless small worlds; a pot of fish slice congee turned out fragrant, and mother and son ate until their bellies were round.

The light inside the house was dim, making it somewhat gloomy; in winter, it was even drafty from all sides.

The System Cat sighed in a human-like way, then suddenly leapt up and ran out of the house.

The mother and son's attention was quickly drawn to the roasted sweet potato; Character: Jiang Yuner reflexively swallowed a mouthful of saliva, met her brother's disapproving gaze, and couldn't help feeling a bit embarrassed.

Jiang He laughed: "Character: Mingzhi, don't rush; go light the fire first, I'll have the System Cat get medicine for your mother!"

Character: Mingzhi panicked at once, "Kitty, where are you going?" He wanted to chase after it, but he didn't want to leave his mother and uncle, so he turned his head anxiously to his uncle and said, "Uncle, where did Kitty go?"

Character: Mingzhi held the plump, chubby cat in his arms, stroking its soft fur, and was finally comforted, no longer feeling so disgusted and afraid.

This paragraph is an image paragraph; please visit the correct website, turn off ad-blocking, and exit the browser's reading mode.

Clear articulation, quick reflexes, good logical thinking; with bright, sparkling eyes, he looks very energetic.

Especially, the fish in the lake are particularly stupid; his fishhook hasn't been down long before a fish bites, making it especially easy to fish!

"Yeah, I'll have the System Cat bring back some sweet potatoes on the way; Character: Mingzhi, do you want to eat roasted sweet potato?"

Character: Mingzhi's face changed dramatically; although he is young, he understands what he should know, and his mother has told him many things—he has a good memory and decent comprehension, able to remember after hearing something just once.

Jiang He reached out and touched the child's head; the hair was dry, yellow, and sparse, which made him worry. This child clearly suffers from malnutrition, but even so, isn't the hair a bit too thin?

Jiang He personally made a pot of fish slice congee.

Character: Jiang Yuner sat nearby, smiling as she watched; when the uncle and nephew had spoken enough, she sent her son away, not wanting their conversation to be overheard by the child.

She said apologetically, "Character: Mingzhi, I'm sorry; actually Mom lied to you."

The child suddenly thought he had been rather foolish; that little iron rod had been ground for half a year, and had he realized earlier that plants could be fashioned into fishhooks, he and his mother would have been eating fish already, without that long hunger.

How old are you? Your hair is already so thin—once you become emperor later, won't you quickly turn into a Mediterranean (bald)?

Character: Jiang Yuner: "Can it still catch medicine?"

Jiang He first asked some simple questions, and the child answered them one by one.

It turned out that the fish in the lake had eaten human flesh, so when he ate the fish, wasn't he indirectly eating a person?

The sole table was likewise tattered, and in the corner a makeshift wooden rack stood, apparently for bowls and chopsticks. As for the wardrobe, the mother and son, seeing there were no extra garments, simply kept it.

Jiang He saw the child's nauseated expression and comforted, "It's fine! You haven't even eaten yet. The fish Tongtong last invited you to eat was taken from the Imperial Kitchen; from now on, tell Uncle what you want to eat, or you can tell Tongtong as well."

After drinking a large bowl of fish‑slice porridge, Character: Jiang Yuner let her son wash the dishes and led Jiang He into the room to sit.

System Cat ran into the child's arms, rubbing against his frail little face.

Mainly because it heard the mother and son discuss last night that they wanted fish‑slice rice porridge, it naturally wanted to satisfy them.

Character: Jiang Yuner said, "All the fish in the lake inside this palace cannot be eaten."

Character: Mingzhi: "Catch medicine?"

"Uncle, this is the fish I caught yesterday," he said proudly.

Character: Mingzhi washed the dishes, placed them on the rack, sat obediently beside them, and also tucked the plump System Cat into his arms.

She explained to her son why they couldn't be eaten; if those fish were edible, she would have fished them earlier, and wouldn't have waited until now.

Character: Jiang Yuner pursed her lips and couldn't help but sigh.

Original unmodified content, please move to Vinegar. Slip''er, literature#official? net. If already there, please turn off ad‑blocking and exit browser reading mode.