The Guide to Capturing a Black Lotus

34

The little cub still laid on the table, squinting its eyes and idly swishing about with its tail.

This tender, young and harmless little thing caused one to be unable to help but feel affection for it. It didn't know that the person beside it had already cruelly decided its fate with a mere few sentences.

Ling Miaomiao felt her heart move with compassion and breathed on its soft fur around its neck. Having been disturbed, the cub turned its head around and softly nipped the back of her hand, like it was acting cute.

Miaomiao deftly dodged it.

The eunuch was still somewhat unresigned, and accompanied by a smile: "Look at how obedient it is—-The palace has a forest park inside. Actually, when it grows up, it won't necessarily have to die, there'll be specialists to raise and train it..."

Mu Sheng suddenly interrupted him with a smile: "When a tiger is young, it's like a cat. Although it may be unique and special to everyone, they won't actually raise it like a cat. I also don't like it, looks like Gonggong has made another trip in vain."

"Then... how unfortunate." The old eunuch's smile was somewhat hesitant but he very quickly found some footing again, "Her highness the Dowager Consort had instructed me before, that if you don't want it, I should send it over to Princess Duanyang."

"Many thanks, Gonggong."

Xu Gonggong let out an extremely amiable smile and picked up the little wool bundle on the table that seemed to want to sleep till it was dark.

He squinted at the two and nodded to indicate that he was leaving. Taking rapid, small steps, he quickly left.

Mu Sheng stood in place and sent him off with his gaze. Other than his inner white clothes, his outer gown draped over his shoulder, dragging along the ground.

He looked like some random spoiled young master of a noble family that had just woken up in a mess. A bare smile hung on his face but his eyes didn't contain even the slightest bit of warmth.

After a long time, he turned around to return to the bed: "You're not soft-hearted at all."

Ling Miaomiao was unconcerned: "Do you think that the imperial concubine that saved it is soft-hearted? Killing the mother and snatching away the child, how is that compassion at all? It's merciless cruelty."

Mu Sheng's steps suddenly grinded to a halt as he felt as if his temples suddenly exploded. A wave of warped pain assaulted his head.

However, it only lasted a moment, before he could even figure out its origin, it had already retreated like the tide.

He slowly supported himself onto the bed and pulled aside the covers to lay down.

Turning his head, he stared at Ling Miaomiao's side face that still had fine strands of fur on it.

She was as innocent and tawdry as all the other girls in the world. Small and weak. But, at the same time, she wasn't quite the same.

Each and every action of hers seemed to stubbornly follow some sort of rulebook.
She could continuously change her attitude and continuously compromise out of greed for life, but he could faintly feel that those
'compromises' of hers were mere ideas; She'd never forsake her path.

Ling Miaomiao was like a mollusk, dead but not showing any signs of death. Not at all like him.

"What difference is there between cats and tigers? Isn't it fine as long as it can earn the favor of humans?"

Where her confidence came from, he wanted to explore.

The weather was blistering and the story was moving along slowly. Ling Miaomiao had to constantly suppress her rising irritability: The black lotus always looked for so many different methods to test and investigate her, he often even used riddles and cryptic methods.