“You’re finally here. Hurry and get rid of this stiff maid. She’s really infuriating me.”
“Her Majesty the Queen,” Xiaguang greeted.
“Xiaguang, go prepare a bottle of milk for Zhu Qiu. After you help me with one small favor, you can return to your room to rest.”
“Understood. Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Xiaguang saluted and left.
‘Oh yeah! She’s finally gone.’
Zhu Qiu didn’t even have time to celebrate before she was picked up by Zhu Xiaxia, who supported her by the bottom.
“Good daughter, it’s time for lunch.”
“Zhu Xiaxia, let me go! I don’t want you to hold me.”
This time, Zhu Qiu only said it out loud while her body remained obediently still.
She had tried before; Zhu Xiaxia’s strength was enormous.
There was no way to break free, and it would only be a waste of effort.
It was better to save her energy and maintain her best condition for her upcoming plan.
“Doesn’t my daughter want to eat in Mother’s arms? That really is a pity.”
‘Is it really such a pity? Who in their right mind eats in someone’s arms?’
Hmph.
“Then, does my daughter want to change places to eat?”
Change places?
That would be fantastic.
As long as it wasn’t in Zhu Xiaxia’s arms, she could accept anywhere—on the table, on the floor, even on the roof.
“Yes, yes, I want to eat somewhere else.”
Zhu Qiu nodded in agreement.
“Very well. Seeing as my daughter was so well-behaved this morning, I’ll grant your wish.”
Zhu Qiu hated the way Zhu Xiaxia spoke, but at least she could finally have a decent meal.
“Since it’s time to eat, let me down.”
“No rush. When the food arrives, I’ll let you down.”
Whatever. She could wait.
While waiting for the food, Zhu Qiu began to contemplate her plan to change back again.
She reached a state of deep focus, ignoring everything else around her.
About 1 minute later, Xiaguang walked out of the kitchen shaking a milk bottle and headed straight for Zhu Xiaxia.
“Your Majesty, the milk is ready.”
Xiaguang held out the bottle with both hands, but Zhu Xiaxia waved her off, declining it.
“Xiaguang, you don’t need to give it to me. I still need you to help me with one more small favor.”
“Please give your orders, Your Majesty.”
Zhu Xiaxia passed Zhu Qiu, whom she had been holding, into Xiaguang’s arms.
Since her hands were busy, Xiaguang had to use her tail to curl around and hold the milk bottle.
“Xiaguang, you’ve never held a Dragon Cub before, have you?
Remember to support the bottom with one hand and cradle the back with the other so she doesn’t fall.
Next, you will feed her. Once she’s finished, you can rest.”
“I might trouble you with these things in the future. Don’t worry, your salary will increase.”
Huh?
“Understood. Thank you, Your Majesty.”
After giving her instructions, Zhu Xiaxia walked up to the second floor.
Xiaguang was extremely surprised.
The Queen had handed the Princess over to her just like that.
The Queen mentioned there would be more tasks like this in the future.
Following this trend, was she expected to become a nanny?
Xiaguang was currently 2500 years old.
She wasn’t exactly young, but she was far from middle-aged.
However, she had never been married, never had a child, and certainly had no experience raising one.
An unmarried 2500-year-old with a child?
It didn’t seem too bad.
Fine. As long as the salary was right, she might as well try her hand at childcare.
It was just one meal, after all. It should be simple, right?
“Princess, it’s time to eat.”
Xiaguang gently patted Zhu Qiu’s back.
“Oh, okay.”
Hearing the voice, Zhu Qiu’s eyes immediately snapped into focus.
Her thoughts returned to reality, but what appeared before her wasn’t Zhu Xiaxia, nor was it the dining table.
Instead, it was two mounds of wickedness, each about the size of a pomelo.!
‘Wait, what are these? Are these even things I should be looking at?’
‘That’s not right. I remember Zhu Xiaxia’s wickedness being quite small.
How…?’
“Princess, here is your lunch. I will feed you.”
This voice… it was Xiaguang?
It made sense.
Only Xiaguang possessed such immense wickedness.
But that made even less sense.
Wasn’t she in Zhu Xiaxia’s arms? How did she end up in Xiaguang’s?
Zhu Qiu just looked up to confirm when her mouth was plugged by the milk bottle from above.
“…”?
“Drink your milk obediently, Princess.”
Xiaguang used her tail to shove the bottle into Zhu Qiu’s mouth.
She even increased the strength of the arm holding Zhu Qiu, pinning the girl’s arms down so she couldn’t move them.
Mmph.
‘Seriously, Zhu Xiaxia! So this is what you meant by changing places?’
Going from Zhu Xiaxia’s arms to Xiaguang’s—she certainly had changed locations.
Because Zhu Qiu’s head was tilted back, and more than half of her small head was buried in that massive wickedness, she had no power to resist and couldn’t even speak.
If this was the case, she would have preferred being in Zhu Xiaxia’s arms.
At least she wouldn’t have been forced to drink while looking up; she could have drunk at her own pace.
Seeing that the Princess wasn’t putting up a fight, Xiaguang breathed a sigh of relief.
Feeding a child was quite simple.
What she didn’t know, however, was that this posture was a recipe for choking.
“Cough! Cough, cough!”
And just as expected, it happened.
In less than 30 seconds, Zhu Qiu began to cough violently, spitting up all the milk she had just swallowed right into the middle of Xiaguang’s wickedness.
Startled, Xiaguang quickly let go.
“Cough, cough! Cough!”
“Cough, cough… waah—”
Xiaguang was dazed.
Everything had been fine a moment ago; why did the Princess suddenly spit up her milk?
“Waah~ Let me down, let me down! I don’t want you to hold me! Waah~”
Amidst her confusion, Xiaguang placed Zhu Qiu on the floor.
Looking at her own clothes, the Princess’s clothes, and the floor—all soaked in milk—her first thought was to clean up.
The floor was easy enough; a simple spell would handle it.
However, the clothes were tricky.
Using Magic might accidentally damage the fabric.
“Let me do it.”
At that moment, as if she had expected an accident, Zhu Xiaxia walked down from upstairs.
“Xiaguang, accidents are normal for your first time. Change your own clothes first and clean the floor. As for Zhu Qiu… leave her to me.”
Hearing the Queen’s new task, Xiaguang quickly saluted.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Xiaguang quickly used Ice Magic to turn all the milk on the floor into ice cubes, cleared them away, and then hurried back to her room to change.
She had been too careless.
In all her years as a maid in the Dragon Race Imperial Palace, she had maintained a record of zero errors.
But now, it was broken.
She had one mistake, and the Queen even had to clean up after her.
‘Sigh, it’s fine. When you’re away from home, you define your own status. If I say it’s zero, it’s zero.’
Besides, Xiaguang rarely left the Imperial Palace.
So it didn’t matter.
Zhu Xiaxia looked at Zhu Qiu, who was slumped on the floor with teary eyes.
Her face showed concern, but her heart was blooming with joy.
She really wanted to see her daughter crying and asking for a hug.
It seemed her wish was about to come true.
“Waaaah~ Waaaah~ I hate this! You’re such a bully! Who feeds someone like that? Waaaah~”
Zhu Xiaxia unconsciously stood in front of Zhu Qiu and reached out her hands in advance, waiting for Zhu Qiu to ask for a hug.
But instead of a hug, she got a sentence.
“Bad dragon! I knew you were lying to me! I knew you just wanted to bully me! Waaaah~”