Yu Xiaocao, whose heart was filled with unease, noticed that the emperor’s gaze had fallen on the multicolored stone on her wrist. She hurriedly hid her hand behind her back in a seemingly guilty manner and said, “There’s no separate dimension. There really isn’t another realm!”
In Zhu Junfan’s eyes, her reaction seemed like a clumsy denial that resulted in self-exposure. He felt even more certain that there was something with the multicolored stone.
The little divine stone’s scornful voice sounded in Xiaocao’s mind, [What are you afraid of? With this Divine Stone here, would I let you get bullied? With my current power, I'll immediately abolish him if he dared to harm you! But, according to this Divine Stone’s probing, the other party currently doesn’t have any malice towards you. Tut tut, this fellow has a pretty character. In the face of such a big temptation, he unexpectedly doesn’t have any intention of taking it for himself!]
After Yu Xiaocao heard what the little divine stone said, her heart somewhat relaxed. The little divine stone was right. The emperor just didn’t have any intention of taking it for himself at present, but if he continued to misunderstand, he might change his mind one day. After all, the possession of a realm that defied all laws, or a spiritual spring that could resurrect people, were a major challenge to one’s heart.
He was the high and majestic emperor. In this ancient society, the supremacy of the imperial family was the norm. Even if she had the protection of the little divine stone, she couldn’t let him feel suspicious about her. After all, she just wanted to be a dutiful little peasant girl. She didn’t want to live a life where she had to flee to the end of the world if she murdered the sovereign.
Since it turned out this way, it would be better to be honest than let him think that she had a law-defying realm! A celestial stone that could improve one’s health and accelerate the growth of crops should be much less tempting than a law-defying realm, right?
Yu Xiaocao bit her lower lip hard, and a faint taste of blood spread in her mouth. As if he could see the struggles within her heart, Zhu Junfan just stared at her silently with a calm gaze. Seeing that her fists were tightly clenched as if she had made a decision, he finally spoke up, “What? You’ve decided? Do you want to be honest and receive a lighter sentence, or refuse to confess and get a harsher punishment?”
“If I refused, would Your Imperial Majesty cut off my head?” Yu Xiaocao had calmed down a lot as she asked in reply.
Zhu Junfan seriously pondered for a couple seconds, and then laughed, “Since I became the emperor, I vowed to be a wise ruler. It seems to contradict my ideals if I want to kill you merely because of the separate dimension in your hands. So…I won’t kill you. No matter how tight one’s mouth is, the Ministry of Justice seems to be able to pry it open. Do you want to go have a tour?”
“No need! I’m still underage, so it’s bad for a pre-teen’s mental and physical health to see such a bloody scene!” Yu Xiaocao was somewhat curious about the top ten tortures of the Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty, but she would politely decline the offer to see it in person.
Zhu Junfan curled up his lips and said, “Pre-teen? In your previous life, even your younger brother was married, so how can you be underaged? Who knows, you might even have a few kids. Stop pretending to be young.”
“You’re the one who has a bunch of kids! I’m still a single young woman, who has passed the average age of marriage! I don’t even have a boyfriend, so where will I get a kid?” Yu Xiaocao bravely glared at him.
“You’re a single young woman passed the average age of marriage, yet you’re still shamelessly pretending to be underaged?” There was finally someone who he could talk in a casual manner with, so Zhu Junfan started to joke with her.
Yu Xiaocao pouted and stubbornly said, “I’m young at heart! To be able to always keep a pure childlike innocence is very rare and commendable, don’t you think so?”
“Alright! Let’s stop talking about all this nonsense! Quickly tell me about your separate dimension. What does it look like? How big is it? What did you plant inside? Do you have hybrid rice? Wheat that can produce a thousand catties per mu?” Zhu Junfan really had no intention of taking the realm for himself. In his opinion, the possession of a treasure was predestined and couldn’t be forced.
Yu Xiaocao rolled her eyes and interrupted the emperor’s series of questions. She said in a stern and serious manner, “Emperor, I really don’t have any separate dimensions!!”
“Then what is that little rock on your wrist? Don’t tell me that it’s just a normal little rock!” Zhu Junfan stared at her wrist with a ‘stop lying’ expression.
‘You’re a little rock. Your whole family are little rocks.’ The little divine stone rolled its eyes and sharpened its claws on the side.
After briefly thinking about it, Yu Xiaocao took the multicolored stone bracelet off her wrist, walked forward, and handed it to him. She said, “Your Majesty, you have sharp eyes. This is indeed not an ordinary stone. It said that it is a multicolored stone left from when Goddess Nuwa mended the sky. After tens of thousands of years of cultivation, it had gained intelligence and spirituality, and could transform into a human form. It could also talk…”
After Zhu Junfan heard this, he thought, ‘This little stone has become an immortal ah!’ He took the stone and thoroughly examined it with an incredulous expression, “Hey, my fellow transmigrator friend, even if you want me to believe that you don’t have a separate dimension, you don’t have to fabricate a fantasy story to lie to me ah! I might believe you if you tell me that a monkey will come out of the rock. But to say that this stone has cultivated into an immortal, hehe…do you think that I’m a fool!!”
[Dummy! Fool! Stupid! Take your dirty hands off of me! Why are you touching me? How can a vulgar mortal like you disrespect this Divine Stone?] The little divine stone’s young yet haughty voice suddenly emerged within Zhu Junfan’s mind. He trembled with fear and threw the multicolored stone on the ground. Xiaocao quickly stepped forward, picked up the little divine stone, and gently wiped it.
The voice sounded in Zhu Junfan’s mind again and seemed to be filled with anger, [D*mn it, you actually dared to throw this Divine Stone! If I don’t let you have a taste of my power, you won’t understand why the flowers are so red!]
“Little Glutinous Dumpling, don’t!” From the little divine stone’s tone, Yu Xiaocao knew that the little fellow was really angry, so she hastily stopped it. However, before she finished speaking, the gold-coated carved wooden chair that Zhu Junfan sat on suddenly scattered into a pile of wood. As for him, the emperor wearing his imperial robe, he was now sitting awkwardly within the bits of wood awkwardly with a bewildered expression on his face.
Suddenly, Zhu Junfan’s eyes widened and his expression was full of disbelief. It turned out that a faint golden light had emerged from the multicolored stone on Xiaocao’s wrist and slowly turned into a golden baby. The little baby was chubby and only wore a little red top. Its exposed limbs looked like lotus roots, while its hair was tied up like a launching rocket. It looked like it had come out of a New Year painting.
The little baby appeared very pleased with itself as it snorted, “You dared to disrespect this Divine Stone. Do you know how powerful I am now? If you do it again, I won’t let you off so lightly.”
“Xiao…Xiaocao, quickly pinch me. Am I dreaming?” Zhu Junfan was completely stunned to see a little baby appear out of nowhere. It was too mystical, wasn’t it?
After hesitating for a second, Yu Xiaocao immediately went forward and stretched out her hand to harshly pinch the emperor’s cheek. She felt very satisfied in her heart, ‘At the present time, I’m probably the only one to have a chance to pinch the emperor’s face. Such a good feeling ah!’
Zhu Junfan, who had seen through her thinking, helplessly smacked away her hand, which was torturing his cheek. He said, “You’re really pinching me just because I said that!”
“Heh heh, wasn’t it an imperial edict by you, the Emperor? How can this lowly commoner not comply? This lowly official received an imperial edict to pinch you ah!” With a slightly crafty smile, Yu Xiaocao spoke in a very right and confident manner.
“Who told you to pinch my face? It’s all red now. How am I supposed to see people later? Can’t you give me some face, my fellow transmigrator?” Zhu Junfan rubbed his painful face as he glared sulkily at the young girl. She really didn’t treat him as the emperor ah!
Yu Xiaocao nodded and replied in a matter-of-fact manner, “Alright, I’ll pinch somewhere else next time.”
“You want to do it again?” Zhu Junfan stared at her with a fierce gaze, revealing a domineering force. This caused the young girl to finally realize the difference between their statuses. She immediately stepped back and stood a safe distance away.
“Tell me, what exactly is that thing?” Zhu Junfan asked as he pointed at the little baby who was walking around and touching the things in the imperial study.
Seeing that the other party still spoke in a disrespectful manner, the little divine stone was infuriated. It put one of its hands on its hip like a teapot and scolded, “How dare you! You dared to speak of this Divine Stone in such a manner. It seems like your fall earlier was too light…”
“Alright, alright, alright! I’m wrong. You’re not a thing, okay?” Zhu Junfan felt very wronged. He was the emperor, but the little girl didn't take him seriously and even pinched his face. This unknown thing scolded and punished him whenever it liked. Was there anyone more wronged than him?
“Humph! Foolish human, this Divine Stone is a disciple of Goddess Nuwa. I was ordered by Goddess Nuwa to cultivate in the mortal realm!” The little divine stone picked up a crane and evergreen ornament and scratched the crane’s mouth. ‘Humph! Little White Crane looked down on me because it’s Goddess Nuwa’s mystical mount. It also called me a slow-witted and obstinate stone. See if this Divine Stone doesn’t break your beak so that you can’t speak!’
Zhu Junfan glanced at Yu Xiaocao with eyes full of questions. Yu Xiaocao nodded at him and said, “Little Glutinous Dumpling, which is the Divine Stone’s current name, accidentally recognized me as its master. Had it not been for it, I would have died a long time ago and wouldn’t have the chance to be reborn into this era. Once it accumulates enough merits, it will leave this world.”
Zhu Junfan, on the other hand, thought of another matter. He ceased his brows and had a gaze full of worries, “Based on what you’re saying, the reason you’re able to produce high-yield crops has a lot to do with it. If it leaves, then…”
Yu Xiaocao thought about it and said, “The spiritual energy that the little divine stone emits while it cultivates can gather in water and help accelerate the growth of crops. It’s thanks to the little divine stone that my family early-ripening vegetables can be harvested in early spring. It’s also responsible for the high yield of my family’s corn and wheat. However, there’s still several decades before it’s time for it to leave. If we carefully cultivate it, we will definitely be able to produce high-yield crops. I have already told the tenant farmers at the farmstead to collect bigger wheat ears, and if we also grow them meticulously… I believe that the output of wheat will increase in a few years. A yield of a thousand catties per mu isn’t just a dream…”
“Good! We were right about you!! Whether the people in our country can fill their stomachs will depend on you… Oh right, without the divine stone’s spiritual energy, can the seeds from the crops you grow still be able to produce a high yield?” Zhu Junfan expressed his worries.