Chapter Seventy-Four: Stuck

Fubao carefully packed the letters she had written to Meng Yun and Lin Sanlang, and then composed another for Gu Li, her heart longing to know if her elder brother missed her. When Magnolia arrived, Fubao was already nestled obediently under the covers, feeling a spark of joy at the prospect of sharing a bed with her aunt tonight. She wondered whether her father and mother missed her as well.

Lin Sanlang, who was currently contemplating the idea of a second child, certainly did not.

“Auntie, you’ve gotten chubbier!” Fubao, ever honest and keen-eyed, noticed that Magnolia’s waist was thicker than before.

Magnolia was momentarily speechless.

“Fubao, you must never tell a beautiful aunt that she’s gained weight, do you understand?”

“Why not?”

“Because your bottom will get smacked!”

Fubao shrank back and clutched her backside, frightened by the idea.

“Is it okay to say that to a young lady, then?” Fubao blinked her round, innocent eyes at Magnolia, asking sincerely.

Magnolia was at a loss—where did this child get such clever little ideas?

In the end, Fubao was subdued and tucked in to sleep. Oh—Auntie has a baby now! She wondered if it would be a little sister or brother. Does getting chubby mean there’s a baby on the way?

That night, Fubao fell into a muddled sleep, still pondering why the chubby uncle didn’t have a baby. Meanwhile, Magnolia spent a restless night, fuming at her failed plan. She had hoped to worsen Han Zixuan’s eating disorder so she could appear with a remedy, but the delay caused by that ill-fated physician ruined everything. Her precious recipe was defeated by nothing more than a pig’s trotter! She was furious!

If that gluttonous chef hadn’t entered the palace, Magnolia would never have let him off so easily. No matter how she cursed him, the plump chef was thriving in the palace. Judging by the emperor’s insistence on having a pig’s trotter as the main dish for every meal, it was clear the chef was doing extraordinarily well.

The next day, Fubao, cradling her rabbit Xiaobai, who spent all day burrowed in its nest, went to visit Bai Jie. Her eldest cousin Bai Zhuo was home, reading a book. When he saw Fubao hopping in with her rabbit, he greeted her.

“Good morning, eldest cousin,” Fubao called out, but Bai Jie was nowhere in sight. She was puzzled.

Sensing her confusion, Bai Zhuo put his book down and said, “Fubao, you’re here to see your second cousin, aren’t you? He’s in the back garden practicing his morning exercises.” His younger brother preferred martial arts over literature, and reading always made him dizzy. Now, he pestered their father daily to teach him kung fu, though their father’s skills were mediocre—just enough to fool Bai Jie, who was a bit naive.

With this information, Fubao skipped off to the back garden. After searching for a while, she finally found Bai Jie wedged beneath a rockery.

Fubao was speechless—how did he manage that?

Bai Jie was mortified—why had she come when he hadn’t even gotten out yet? So embarrassing!

That morning, Bai Jie had run around practicing his father’s breathing techniques, sucking in his stomach and straightening his back for a quarter of an hour. All had been going well, until a rabbit appeared in the manor. It was such a tiny, adorable rabbit—perfect for gifting to his cousin. His father was away, so Bai Jie was alone. He chased the rabbit all over the garden, and before he knew it, it darted into the rockery. Seeing the path was wide enough, Bai Jie thought he could squeeze through if he held his breath and sucked in his stomach.

But he hadn’t expected what happened next. Halfway in, Bai Jie felt an urgent need to release air from his rear, and in the moment of relief, he relaxed his stomach and got stuck. To his shock, when he looked up, the rabbit was actually mocking him, wiggling its bottom at him!

Bai Jie was dumbfounded.

“There’s a rabbit?” Hearing Bai Jie mention a rabbit, Fubao grew excited, and the rabbit Xiaobai in her arms was even more thrilled—perhaps it was a female rabbit!

Bai Jie: Shouldn’t you be rescuing me first?