The Heroine Fell Deeply For Her [Quick Transmigration] 119

Chapter 119: Taken Home by the Princess Part 7

After breakfast, Qin Yang glanced at the person standing beside her, a thought crossing her mind. She picked up a plate of pastries: “These are for you, finish them all.”

These pastries were rather dry and overly sweet, enough to make one sick after a few bites. A small punishment.

Qin Yang had only taken one bite with serving chopsticks, leaving the rest untouched.

Tao Ning’s eyes lit up, and she said happily, “Thank you, Your Highness. I’m just hungry.”

This caught Qin Yang off guard.

She had forgotten that not everyone shared her dislike for these pastries. Seeing Tao Ning eating with such relish, she suddenly felt a pang of annoyance.

What kind of life had An Ning lived to find such sweet pastries delicious?

Actually, Qin Yang was overthinking it. Tao Ning was simply hungry, the small portion of porridge and vegetables from breakfast long gone. Who wouldn’t be tempted by a table full of delicacies?

Having finally regained her sense of taste, she hadn’t had a chance to enjoy a variety of flavors, only plain porridge, vegetables, and rice.

Now, Tao Ning would eat anything, even if it was bitter medicine.

Moreover, the imperial retreat only provided two meals a day, barely enough to feel full, let alone snacks or extra meat.

Qin Yang, however, accustomed to a life of luxury, couldn’t understand, her thoughts resembling “let them eat cake.”

Cui Hong, always by her side, observed everything. Despite her suspicions about this suddenly appearing An Ning, she had to admit she was an interesting character.

Chongxi, still young and playful, after his morning lessons, begged Qin Yang to take him to see the tigers.

He had wanted to go yesterday, but there wasn’t enough time, dragged to the study by Qin Yang, his head filled with political strategies and Confucian classics, even his dreams haunted by old men chanting scriptures.

Waking up today, his mind was a blank slate.

But he hadn’t forgotten about the tigers. Qin Yang, helpless, agreed, unwilling to let him go alone, accompanying him.

She knew that if Chongxi got excited, he might even try to hand-feed the tigers.

So, the emperor went to the tiger enclosure, accompanied by the princess and their entourage. Among them, only Tao Ning frowned slightly.

She remembered that Qin Yang’s tragedy began with a visit to the tiger enclosure with Chongxi.

A familiar gaze flickered over her, and Tao Ning looked up, but couldn’t find the person, only seeing their back.

There were eunuchs and palace maids, the eunuchs serving as the emperor’s companions and protectors.

Scanning the crowd, Tao Ning’s gaze landed on a tall eunuch who didn’t bother to bow, his back looking familiar.

Just then, they arrived at their destination. The tiger enclosure was already prepared.

Chongxi’s determination to see the tigers was unwavering, so she could only focus on protecting Qin Yang, the mission target.

As Qin Yang sat down, Tao Ning finally saw the person’s face, indeed the same person from yesterday.

Dressed in a eunuch’s uniform, his appearance ordinary.

But he acted as if he had never met Tao Ning, not even glancing at her, only focusing on serving Chongxi.

Tao Ning, however, said, “Strange.”

520 was puzzled: [Strange how? He’s just an ordinary person, not even carrying a weapon.]

Tao Ning carefully recalled the face she had just seen: “If a face is natural, the features complement each other, creating a harmonious whole. Any alteration that goes against the original appearance will create a sense of dissonance. I don’t think this person should look so ordinary.”

520: [Plastic surgery?]

Tao Ning: “Disguise.”

They spoke simultaneously, and 520 coughed awkwardly: [You’re right, he must be in disguise.]

Tao Ning: “…” Working with it always felt unreliable.

Initially, everything was peaceful. A large, heavy cage was carried in by the guards and placed on the ground.

Chongxi peered inside, seeing a majestic tiger lying there lazily.

Its body like a small mountain, its gaze arrogant and condescending, truly worthy of its title as king of beasts.

To keep it calm, the menagerie staff had fed it until it was almost full before bringing it here. The animal trainer stood beside the cage, tempting the tiger with fresh meat.

Chongxi watched with amusement, while Qin Yang, uninterested, had already finished a pot of tea.

Finding it a bit quiet, Qin Yang turned to look at Tao Ning, who was staring intently at the iron cage, assuming she was also fascinated: “Do you also want to feed the tiger?”

Tao Ning shook her head: “No, I’m scared.”

Qin Yang found it amusing that she said this with such a serious expression, shouldn’t she be avoiding looking at it if she was scared?

Then she thought that perhaps, having lived in the imperial retreat for so long, she might have been bullied or frightened by the tigers before.

Qin Yang’s heart softened: “There’s nothing to be afraid of, there are many guards here, I’ll have someone protect you.”

Tao Ning continued staring at the cage, muttering, “Thank you, Your Highness.”

Chongxi, finding it boring to just watch, walked around the table towards the cage.

He said to the trainer, “Let me try.”

The trainer, not daring to disobey, handed him the long wooden tongs, and Chongxi excitedly fed the tiger a few pieces of meat before finding it tiring and losing interest.

Chongxi said boredly, “Forget it, it’s not fun just watching it eat, here you go.”

Handing the tongs back to the trainer, he turned to leave.

Just then, danger struck.

The tiger, which had been calm, suddenly became agitated after Chongxi left, pacing and ramming the cage.

The trainer’s attempts to calm it were ignored, and the tiger’s movements grew increasingly violent.

The commotion startled Chongxi, who turned around, shouting for his guards, quickly surrounded by eunuchs.

Everyone shouted, “Protect His Majesty!”

Guards drew their swords, and the retreat’s guards, armed with bows and arrows, appeared.

Everything happened very quickly. After a few more impacts, a scream echoed as the tiger burst free from its cage, its eyes bloodshot.

It immediately killed the trainer who tried to stop it, scattering the guards, and charged towards the princess.

Tao Ning instantly understood. Without time for explanations, she grabbed the tablecloth, stained with spilled tea, and Qin Yang’s wrist: “Your Highness, do you have a sachet?”

Qin Yang immediately understood, pulling a sachet from her belt, its yellow tassels swaying in the wind. She was about to throw it towards an open space when Tao Ning snatched it.

Qin Yang: “What are you doing with that? Throw it away!”

Tao Ning said calmly, “Trust me, Your Highness.”

She wrapped the tablecloth around Qin Yang, making the maid gasp, as if disgusted by such a thing touching the princess.

Qin Yang, without thinking, grabbed the tablecloth, which smelled of tea, and Cui Hong helped wrap it around her.

Without further explanation, Tao Ning turned and pushed through the crowd. Qin Yang couldn’t stop her, the people around her pulling her away.

Chongxi, surrounded by his servants, was being carried away, his legs dangling in the air, too scared to run.

He shouted, “Save Elder Sister! Save her! Make sure she’s safe!”

A tiger’s roar made his voice rise in pitch.

Chongxi whimpered, “I’ll never come to the menagerie again… Father used to hunt tigers with a bow and arrow, but he never said they were so terrifying.”

The guards weren’t pushovers either, managing to injure the tiger with their swords.

However, the injuries only enraged the tiger, making it even more ferocious, injuring several more guards.

Tao Ning grabbed a bow and arrow from a guard.

The guard, suddenly disarmed, was about to curse, “What are you…”

He turned to see the woman in a maid’s uniform, drawing the bow like a full moon, aiming at the charging tiger, then releasing the arrow like a lightning bolt.

The arrow hit the tiger’s left eye, the eyeball rupturing, blood spraying everywhere, and an even louder roar almost deafened everyone.

The retreat guards were stunned, exclaiming in admiration: Such impressive archery, could she be one of the princess’s guards?

The guards and maids had different duties, and those stationed at the retreat didn’t recognize Tao Ning.

Blinded in one eye, any other tiger would have been rolling on the ground in pain, but this was a tiger king from the borderlands, extraordinary, still able to see who had injured it with its remaining eye.

The tiger sniffed the air, baring its fangs, and charged towards Tao Ning.

Suppressed screams echoed around them.

The Young Master, initially shocked by her skill and worried about his plan failing, almost laughed out loud seeing this.

Even if the princess wasn’t injured, killing this annoying person wasn’t a loss.

The tiger’s paws slammed against the ground, shaking the earth, and everyone thought Tao Ning was doomed, the guard whose bow she had taken running away.

But what happened next was something he would never understand. The slender woman dodged the attack with an ethereal grace, her movements like a celestial being, landing silently, too fast to be seen clearly.

With a crash, the tiger, unable to stop, slammed into the spot where the emperor had been sitting, smashing the table and chairs into pieces.

Tao Ning was now standing with her back to the Young Master.

He instinctively sensed something was wrong.

The next moment, the figure with her back to him flicked her wrist, and a sachet with yellow tassels came flying towards him. Instinctively, he punched it away.

The sachet was indeed knocked away, but it had been punctured, the string untied, and the Young Master’s punch only released the powder inside, covering his face and sleeves.

His mind went blank.

His last image of the world was the blood-soaked tiger charging towards him.

Then a sharp pain in his neck, and everything went black.

At the same time, a mechanical voice echoed in Tao Ning’s mind: [Congratulations, Mission Participant Tao Ning, mission accomplished.]

Only Tao Ning could hear this voice. Unfazed, she raised her hand, drawing the bow and releasing another arrow.

The arrow flew true, piercing the tiger’s throat. Before it could turn and attack, three more arrows followed, all hitting the same spot.

Countless arrows rained down, turning the dying tiger into a pincushion.

Blinded in one eye, riddled with wounds, its throat pierced by multiple arrows, it finally died.

Tao Ning watched coldly, saying calmly, “He was indeed Xie Baiyi.”

520 felt its CPU overheat: [Wait, that’s the male lead??? That’s Xie Baiyi??? Shouldn’t he be attending poetry gatherings and plotting to restore his kingdom? Why is he serving the emperor as a eunuch??? And the male lead doesn’t look like that! The world line described him as handsome and elegant, this ordinary-looking person is who???]

In the deathly silence, Qin Yang moved, pushing aside the people shielding her and walking towards Tao Ning.

Tao Ning was staring at the tiger carcass, seemingly lost in thought, actually observing the body beneath it.

The person was dead, beyond dead.

A thought suddenly crossed Tao Ning’s mind: “You said my future self likes complete annihilation. There’s no spiritual energy here, would chopping him into mincemeat work?”

520 shuddered: [Were you thinking about this all this time? Don’t worry, there’s no chance of him possessing another body or being reborn, unless he learns to jump off city walls like the princess in the other world line.]

Tao Ning looked away indifferently: “Is that so? Then forget it.”

When a hand landed on her shoulder, Tao Ning wasn’t startled by the tiger, but by the icy cold hand.

Because Qin Yang’s hand was touching her neck, cold as ice.

Qin Yang gripped her shoulder, her voice cold and stern: “Where is the Chief Eunuch of the Menagerie?! I will not tolerate this!”

Only Tao Ning knew that the princess’s hand was trembling. She reached up and covered it with her own.

So she was also afraid.

Several figures scrambled out, prostrating themselves on the ground, their voices trembling: “Your servant is here.”