A Lost Puppy

Li Mei woke up after a while as she looked up in a daze. She was somehow back in her room as the sky darkened.

She pushed herself up and fixed her appearance before placing her feet on the ground only to hiss.

Ugh, damn it! It hurt like hell!

She paused for a while and took a few deep breaths as she placed her hand on her calves in an attempt to soothe her pain, but to her surprise, there was a layer of sticky, green cloth covering up her leg. There was a medicinal odor leaking through the cloth as she wrinkled her nose.

Just as she was staring at the cloth with her head tilted, the head servant walked inside with a bowl of soup and placed it on the table, bowing to his 'young master'.

"Please, have some medicine."

Li Mei looked at the table and raised her brows. The servants are actually helping her? Hadn't the prince warned them against it already?

The head servant knew what the young master wanted to ask and immediately said, "Master allowed us for the time being to help you get healthy."

Li Mei raised her brows as she smiled, but that smile was so shallow that it seemed that she was only looking at the man indifferently. "Thanks."

"There's no need young master. This is our job." The old man walked forward and said, "This is the medicine our doctor has prepared for you. Please, have a sip."

Li Mei didn't have any problem with medicines. She couldn't even get a chance to eat food as a kid and had to eat bitter stuff directly from the kitchen dustbin in emergencies. Thus, to her, this extremely bitter medicine was actually a rare delicacy.

Thus, no matter how bitter it was, she sipped it all in a single go and placed the bowl on the table, still looking indifferent. It didn't seem like she had just taken a bitter medicine at all!

Li Mei raised her head and looked at the servant, tilting her head, "Anything else?"

"Well, we have also prepared a medicinal bath for the young master…."

"Then please prepare some food for me." Li Mei waved her hand as she said, "I feel hungry."

Since the man was being generous, she should get all the services from him as possible. After all, Cao Haoran wouldn't really be this kind to her at all times.

The head servant felt the corner of his lips twitching. He had thought this young master would hesitate a little, but it turns out, he wanted to be served at all times.

He didn't care though. He merely wanted to do this out of kindness. His grandson was also the same age as this young master, and he felt a trace of familial attachment and nothing else.

Thus, he turned around and walked away from the room.

***

On the other side, Cao Haoran decided to sneak into his younger brother's home once again as he entered the room and looked at the empty bed. He sneered and stood there, leaning against the headboard just like before.

As expected, the man came through the window, trying his best to hide his presence. But as soon as Cao Liangjei entered, the first person he saw was his own big brother.

He paused and looked at his big brother awkwardly.

The two of them stared at one another as Cao Haoran walked over, staring down at his younger brother before jumping outside the window in a flash. Cao Liangjei looked frozen as he stood there without uttering a single word. His mouth opened and closed as he stayed there, looking at the window in a daze.

What just happened?!

Why the heck was his big brother at it again?!

Ugh, can't he go and see his beloved when the man himself kept stalking young boys all day and night?!

No, he had to confront that guy!

Thus, instead of sleeping soundly on his bed, he also jumped outside the window and followed his big brother.

Cao Haoran didn't know how to feel. He had thought he would confront the man, but when they faced one another, he turned around and rushed right out without speaking a single word.

Of course, he was an adopted prince, but he was also spoiled to the point that he was deemed useless in every field. He knew those arts well, but he just never felt like he should go about pleasing those old b*stards, should he?

They were all useless and even this kingdom seemed like a leftover piece of what used to be a great country. Right now, all that was remaining was only a drop of the wealth that everyone had seen in the past.

He never liked patriotism, especially toward a failed country like this.

What taxes? They were still high.

What education? There were still beggar children roaming about without learning anything from their childhood.

More importantly, they were extremely biased against the demonic race. Sure, the ancestors did something terrible, but did it mean they should blame it all on these innocent people? Please, grow up! They all needed to revive their values.

Honestly, Cao Haoran felt extremely disgusted by the thought of serving such a kingdom, and he would rather serve a donkey than that.

As he was heading toward his palace, he felt a familiar presence following him behind. He slowed his steps and stepped toward a branch as he waited for his brother to arrive.

The man jumped over to the branch opposite to his and looked at his big brother.

The two of them stared at one another without speaking a single word.

"Third brother…." Cao Liangjei opened his mouth first as he hesitated and said, "I…. I…."

"Don't say anything if you think I'm going to force you." Cao Haoran didn't want to talk at all. It wasn't like he hadn't expected this to happen. This entire family was full of selfish people all over the place, so how could his younger brother not be the same? After all, they were all born of the same father.

Except for him, everyone was the same.

Earlier, when he was just adopted, he had somehow lost his memories of his life before that. His imperial mother only told him that she found him sitting beneath a tree with a flute in his hand and beautifully wrapped with feathers all over his body.

And ever since he was brought here, everyone treated him differently for selfish reasons except for this younger brother of his who arrived two years after his appearance. They always had a special relationship with Cao Liangjei tailing behind him like a little, lost puppy.

Perhaps, it was his own wishful thinking, nothing else.