"Tang Tang, why are you rolling around on the ground? Get up, you'll catch a chill. It's too cold."
Shen Qingqing helped the little girl up and brushed the dust off her. Ye Tangtang dove headfirst into her mother's arms, rubbing herself against her chest.
[Wow, Mommy really is the best! Aaaah, Mommy's body is so soft! It's soft here too. So big and so white.]
Ye Tangtang closed her eyes and kept nuzzling. Cuddling with beautiful women was her favorite thing, but she would never admit she was a little lecher.
Shen Qingqing: "..."
Was this really her daughter?
Stunned by her daughter's shamelessness, she lifted her away from her chest. Ye Tangtang opened her big, innocent eyes and looked at Mommy.
｡◕‿◕｡
With such a pretty, harmless face, what on earth was going through her head?
Shen Qingqing gently patted her daughter's little bottom as punishment.
"Waaah... Mommy hit me! Does Mommy not love me anymore either? I've never had a daddy, and now Mommy doesn't like me either. I don't want to live!"
Ye Tangtang began sobbing, wailing as she cried. She kept it up for ages without shedding a single tear.
Shen Qingqing doted on her daughter most of all. Unable to bear her crying, she hurriedly gathered her precious girl into her arms and soothed her.
"Be good, Tang Tang. Mommy's here. Mommy didn't hit you. There was a mosquito just now, and Mommy only wanted to shoo it away."
Ye Tangtang nestled against Mommy's soft chest again and kept nuzzling, mischievously sticking out her tongue along the way. She had gotten what she wanted.
[Haha, she smells so good!]
The system: [...]
Was such a shameless host really his?
Could he still change hosts now? He raised his hand to request a new one!
He didn't seem to have hands...
Eunuch Wang said in a pinched voice, "Lady-in-Waiting Shen, His Majesty has granted you permission to return to your former palace. No other consort has moved into it. Once it's cleaned today, you can move in."
"Thank you, Eunuch Wang."
After thanking him, Shen Qingqing took her daughter back to the Cold Palace.
Ye Tangtang produced a piece of candy on a stick from somewhere, tore off the wrapper, and popped it into her mouth.
Her lollipops were still the tastiest, la-la~
"Tang Tang, what's that you're holding? How come Mommy's never seen it before?"
"Mommy, this is... candy on a stick. A lollipop, for short. It's really yummy! I have another one here. Would you like to eat one with me?"
With an air of mystery, Ye Tangtang took out another lollipop and winked playfully at her mother.
It was Shen Qingqing's first time seeing anything so strange. Was this the lollipop her daughter had mentioned? But where had Tang Tang gotten it?
And Tang Tang had changed. Now she was affectionate toward her mother too.
"Tang Tang, Mommy won't have a lollipop. Keep it for yourself." Shen Qingqing lovingly stroked her daughter's fuzzy little head.
Tang Tang had suffered so much with a useless mother like her.
Weeds grew everywhere in the abandoned palace. After all, no one cared about women who had fallen from favor. They were left here to live or die on their own, with one meal delivered each day. As long as they still had a breath left in them, that was enough.
Ye Tangtang had grown up in this Cold Palace for twelve whole years. The meager daily meals had left her severely malnourished. Though she was twelve, she looked like a ten-year-old, far smaller and weaker than others her age.
Ye Tangtang skipped along in front, sucking on her lollipop and happily humming a little song in her head.
[Pleasant Goat, Pretty Goat, Lazy Goat, Boiling Goat...]
Shen Qingqing: "..."
What was this now?
Why were there suddenly so many goats? Did Tang Tang want a whole roast goat?
Shen Qingqing had forgotten what meat tasted like. After so many years in the Cold Palace, if not for her daughter, she would have long since...
"Mommy, what's this? Can I eat it?"
Half a small flatbread sat on the table. Ravenous, Ye Tangtang picked it up and took a bite, nearly breaking her teeth. Was this damn thing a rock??
[Holy crap! This thing's so hard I could use it as a creep-smashing hammer. If anyone dares try anything with me, I'll whack him with this brick on the spot and knock him so silly he won't know east from west!]
Ye Tangtang couldn't bear to part with the thing in her hand and secretly tucked it into the front of her clothes. Hehehe, this would be her ultimate self-defense weapon from now on!
Shen Qingqing: "..."
Try anything with her? This was the imperial palace... Besides, she was so little. Who would have designs on her? Why did her daughter have so many thoughts like these?
"Tang Tang, we won't have to eat these things anymore. Your imperial father has agreed to let us move back to our old palace. From now on, you'll have delicious food every day."
Shen Qingqing held her precious daughter in her arms. Tang Tang would surely grow fair and plump now, just like the other little princesses.
[Delicious food... Will there be roast chicken, roast duck, and whole roast goat? Roast fish, steamed fish, and fish with pickled mustard greens would be even better. Ideally, there'll be some hot pot too. Ah, it's been so long since I had hot pot.]
[My beautiful mommy's chest is so soft. More cuddles~]
Shen Qingqing was holding her daughter, lost in sorrow, when she heard that last thought. She hurriedly pushed the little lecher away and pinched her soft little cheeks.
The girl's face was filthy, and her hair hadn't been tended to in ages. She looked every inch a little beggar.
Every time Shen Qingqing tried to comb her hair, Ye Tangtang would hide far away. She had been afraid of people ever since birth.
"Tang Tang, once we move into the new palace, shall Mommy give you a bath? Then I'll comb your hair and make our little Tang Tang look beautiful."
Ye Tangtang nodded like a chick pecking at grain. "Yes, yes! Mommy, take a bath with me!"
[Mommy has such a lovely figure. I can finally get up close and cuddle her. Hehehe~]
[Tang Tang, please mind your image and rein in those shameful thoughts. That's your mother!!]
Once again, the system was stunned by his shameless host's shamelessness.
The corner of Shen Qingqing's mouth twitched. "..."
This child...
Perhaps she had better not bathe with her after all.
"Mommy, why aren't you saying anything? Don't you want to take a bath with Tang Tang anymore? Do you think Tang Tang is too dirty?"
Ye Tangtang blinked her big, dark eyes, then lowered her head pitifully, her little mouth turning down in utter hurt.
"Tang Tang, of course not. How could Mommy ever think that of you? We'll go wash together in a little while."
Shen Qingqing truly couldn't bring herself to turn down such an adorable daughter. It was fine. Her daughter was still little.
"Yay! Tang Tang loves Mommy the most!"
Ye Tangtang followed behind her mother like a little flatterer while Shen Qingqing packed their belongings. They would be moving out soon.
After living here for over a decade, she had actually grown used to it.
The imperial harem was the true great dye vat, staining everyone who entered it. And Ye Yubei... Shen Qingqing gently bit her lip.
Still, for her daughter to have a better life, she couldn't let this chance slip away.
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