“Zhu Xiaxia, listen to me explain.”
Zhu Qiu panicked and froze mid-action.
“Waaah~”
Zhu Xiaxia wiped her tears and ran off without looking back, leaving Zhu Qiu standing there in shock.
“Don’t cry, I really didn’t mean it.”
“What now? What should I do?”
Zhu Qiu planned to first follow the original plan and throw away the trash, then figure out how to handle Zhu Xiaxia.
When she stepped back into Zhu Xiaxia’s room, she saw Zhu Xiaxia still sitting at the desk, carefully looking at a book as if studying something.
“Zhu Xiaxia?”
“I’ve decided!”
Zhu Xiaxia suddenly stood up from her chair, startling Zhu Qiu.
“Decided what?”
“I’ve decided that from now on, I will study cooking harder and strive to make food that makes my daughter happy every day!”
For some reason, Zhu Xiaxia, who had been crying just moments ago, suddenly regained confidence.
But who would taste the food?
Our little princess, of course.
And the little princess really didn’t want to go through that.
Still, not wanting to discourage Zhu Xiaxia, she cautiously replied:
“Well, Zhu Xiaxia, cooking… maybe it’s better to leave it to Xiaguang. Plus, as Dragon King, you have so many daily duties. You probably don’t have extra time to learn cooking, right?”
“No problem, no problem. For my precious daughter, this little sacrifice by Mother is nothing.”
“Ah?”
“No! I really don’t want to taste dark cuisine again!”
Zhu Qiu screamed in her heart, but it was useless.
“This is Mother’s mistake. I’ve decided to make it up to you.”
“Make it up to me?”
Zhu Qiu’s previous despair vanished instantly.
“Yes. Since my daughter missed lunch, and Mother wants to learn cooking, to prevent you from going hungry, I’ve decided to give you pocket money starting today.”
“Pocket money?”
“Did I hear that right? Zhu Xiaxia actually said she would give me pocket money! Zhu Qiu’s eyes widened.”
She had barely ever had money of her own, all family assets were controlled by Father, and every time she wanted something, she had to ask him first.
But today was different.
Zhu Xiaxia had said something unprecedented.
“Could I really have money I can spend as I wish?”
“Thank you, Mother!”
Zhu Qiu thanked her immediately.
No sooner had she spoken than Zhu Xiaxia placed a gold coin in Zhu Qiu’s palm.
“Wow!”
Zhu Qiu stared at the coin, turning it this way and that.
“Huh? It looked different from the coins she had seen before. And there seemed to be some characters engraved on it.”
“Zhu Xiaxia, what brand of coin is this?”
“Of course, it’s a custom limited edition coin by Mother. There’s only one like it in the world, and my name is engraved on it in Dragon Script.”
“Really? What can I buy with this coin in the Dragon Race?”
“You can buy anything you want.”
“Huh?”
Zhu Qiu looked confused.
Zhu Xiaxia continued: “If my daughter uses this coin in another country, it’s just an ordinary coin.”
“But if you spend it in the Dragon Race, just show this coin, and all expenses will be charged to me.”
“Wow!”
Zhu Qiu was amazed.
So this coin represented endless wealth.
Even as an ordinary coin, though, Zhu Qiu would have been content.
“Go try buying something.”
“Yay! Thank you so much, Mother!”
Zhu Qiu jumped up excitedly, kissed Zhu Xiaxia on the cheek, and ran out at full speed.
Zhu Xiaxia’s face flushed so red it seemed about to explode.
Meanwhile, Zhu Qiu ran to the Imperial Palace gate and followed the cloud road ahead.
Walking there, she felt a strange embarrassment.
She recalled that when she arrived yesterday, it took her a full hour to get here.
Not because she was slow, but because she got lost.
Yes, it was possible to get lost even in a place like this.
Finally finding the road, the first thing she did when she saw Zhu Xiaxia was hide in her arms and cry so terribly.
“So embarrassing!”
This can’t happen again.
As a Sword Saint, I must maintain my aura and not act like a little kid.
Now I need to buy food in Dragon City and bring some back for Father on the surface.
Zhu Qiu continued walking and, seeing the magnificent Dragon City gates, gasped.
“Wow!”
Her first impression: the Dragon Race is really rich. How had I not noticed before?
No time to think, I’m here for serious business.
As she walked along the road, she realized a severe problem.
There were so many dragons!
She shivered and wanted to find a shop to buy something, but another problem arose.
All the shop signs were in Dragon Script, which she couldn’t read!
This is bad.
Should I go back to Zhu Xiaxia for help?
“No, no.”
Zhu Qiu shook her head vigorously.
“I’m a Sword Saint. A Sword Saint can’t admit defeat.”
Determined, she stopped a passing dragon.
The dragon lady smiled brightly: “Isn’t this Princess?”
“Wow, today must be my lucky day!”
Unafraid, she reached under Zhu Qiu’s arms and lifted her like a child.
Zhu Qiu’s feet left the ground, and her mind went blank.
“Overload.”
“Princess, you’re so cute! This is my first time seeing you this close.”
Then she leaned in, about to kiss Zhu Qiu.
“No! Stop being so familiar! All of you adult dragons are way too perverted!”
“Put me down!”
Zhu Qiu struggled violently.
She hated being kissed by strangers.
Luckily, the dragon lady noticed her discomfort and stopped.
“I’m sorry, Princess, I just think you’re too cute and got carried away.”
Since she apologized, Zhu Qiu felt bad making a fuss.
“It’s okay. Do you know where I can buy food?”
“This place is a restaurant. Shall I take you inside?”
The dragon lady pointed at the shop, full of expectation.
“No thanks, I can go in myself.”
Zhu Qiu quickly slipped into the restaurant.
“Yes! Escaped successfully!”
The dragons outside were too scary, even scarier than Zhu Xiaxia.
Better to stay inside the palace in the future.
Inside, the shop owner nearly reacted like the first dragon lady when she saw the Princess.
“Stop!”
To prevent a repeat, Zhu Qiu immediately put her hand up, blocking herself.