It turned out to be a cat!
Song Yihuan's face was beaming with surprise.
She had loved cats since childhood. In the Ding'an Marquis Mansion, no one liked her, but only the cats and dogs didn't mind her lowly birth and were willing to show her affection. She had dreamed of having a cat of her own.
It was a pity that keeping a cat was a burden for an unfavored concubine's daughter like her. She could only watch from afar as her elder sister or other noble ladies in the capital city held their cats while having gatherings, hiding her envy deep in her heart.
Cautiously, Song Yihuan squatted on the ground and reached out her hand to the cat hiding under the tree. She softly called out, "Meow~ Little cat, would you like to come to me?"
Unexpectedly, the cat not only ignored her but also dashed out from under the tree.
However, it didn't run far. After running a short distance forward, it stopped and turned back to look in Song Yihuan's direction, meowing.
Was it... inviting her to follow?
She looked back at the quiet house, bit her lower lip, and then lifted her skirt and chased after it.
After leaving the courtyard, Song Yihuan saw in the moonlight a cat as small as a palm standing on the open ground. Its fur was black and white, and its eyes glistened in the night, making Song Yihuan's heart melt.
"Meow~" The cat meowed at her. When she stepped forward and was about to catch it, it playfully ran a short distance forward and then stopped again, tilting its head to look at Song Yihuan.
Song Yihuan realized that the cat was playing with her. She wondered whose cat it was and how naughty it was.
Song Yihuan knew that she was currently staying in the Prince Ning's Mansion, and the cat that appeared in her courtyard must have an owner. Maybe it was raised by a noble person in the mansion. But being able to play with it for a while had already fulfilled her long - held wish.
She played this game of chasing and being chased with the cat, not noticing that she was walking farther and farther away. Just as she was about to catch the naughty cat again, it dodged and slipped into the bushes.
Noticing that the scenery in front of her looked strange, Song Yihuan looked up and found that she had unknowingly come to the pavilion in the garden again.
At this moment, a lantern was hanging in the pavilion. A familiar and imposing figure was sitting in the pavilion, and the cat that had just been playing with Song Yihuan was now lying on his lap.
Ji Lingchuan raised his hand and gently stroked the cat on his knee. Looking at her, he asked in a deep voice,
"Song Yihuan, why are you here so late?"
The man's deep and somewhat solemn voice drifted out from the pavilion.
Song Yihuan tightened the skirt in her hand. She opened her mouth but didn't know how to answer for a moment.
If she said that she had chased the cat here, would he believe her? Probably not.
Raising the corners of her lips, Song Yihuan showed a smile and counter - asked, "Then why are you here so late, Young Master? Don't tell me you've been waiting for me here on purpose just to let me change your dressing?"
The light from the lantern in the pavilion shone on Song Yihuan's face. Ji Lingchuan clearly saw her smile, but for some reason, he felt a sense of restlessness in his heart.
Although the smile was extremely beautiful, it seemed false, distant, and deliberate.
Ji Lingchuan didn't say a word, and Song Yihuan just stood silently outside the pavilion, not daring to take another step inside.
With a meow, the cat lying on Ji Lingchuan's lap jumped to the ground, ran to Song Yihuan's side, raised its tail high, circled around her twice, and then rubbed its head against her leg, meowing softly.
Song Yihuan's expression instantly softened. Unable to resist, she squatted down and reached out her hand to the cat.
This time, the cat didn't dodge her but obediently stood still, allowing her to stroke it. Only when she really touched the cat did Song Yihuan realize how small it was. It was all bones.
"Do you like it?" Ji Lingchuan's voice came from beside her ear. Song Yihuan was startled. Looking up, she found that Ji Lingchuan had already walked in front of her.
Remembering that the cat had just been lying on his lap, Song Yihuan thought that the cat must belong to him, so she retracted her hand and stood up, replying, "I don't like it. I just think it's small and weak, a bit pitiful."
She said it lightly, and the love that had almost overflowed from her eyes just now instantly disappeared. She looked cold and indifferent.
If it weren't for Song Yixuan telling him personally that she liked cats, he might really have been deceived by her.
He belatedly realized that she was used to lying. She could tell some lies without changing her expression. Maybe it was because she had grown up in an environment like the Ding'an Marquis Mansion that she had developed such a character.
Ji Lingchuan said indifferently, "In that case, I'll have to throw this cat out of the mansion."
Sure enough, Song Yihuan's face changed. She said anxiously, "Why? What mistake has it made?"
Ji Lingchuan said, "It has made no mistake. It's just that there's no place for it in the Prince Ning's Mansion. I thought if you liked it, I would let you raise it. Since you..."
"I like it!" Song Yihuan interrupted him. After she said that, she noticed that the corners of his lips twitched as if he was smiling. But when she looked again, he was still as cold as ever.
"You just said you didn't like it. You're used to lying. I don't know which of your words is true and which is false."
Song Yihuan steadied her mind, looked directly into his eyes, and softly said,
"I said I didn't like it just now because I thought it already had an owner. Since it belongs to someone else, even if I like it, I can't own it. In that case, it's better to nip it in the bud from the start. If I don't give my heart, then I won't be sad when I can't get it."
"Now that I say I like it, it's because I know it has no owner. If so, I'm willing to fight for it, cherish it, take good care of it, and give it a place to stay."
Ji Lingchuan curled his fingers. He said, "This cat has no owner. It's a stray cat I accidentally met when I went out to handle some business today. Since it likes you and you like it, take it back."
"Really? Thank you, Young Master!" Song Yihuan's deer - like eyes widened slightly. The lights were reflected in her eyes, twinkling with a moving light. The curve of her lips was no longer as deliberate as before. It showed a bit of childishness. Her smile was like the moon breaking through the clouds and a lotus blooming, making Ji Lingchuan's heart burn.
His throat itched, and he forced down the turmoil in his heart.
"Go to bed early." Not daring to stay here any longer, he left with a word and strode away.
"Meow~" The cat meowed at his back, but this time it didn't follow him. Instead, it lay down beside Song Yihuan.
Song Yihuan watched the man's figure disappear into the night. Then she squatted down and picked up the cat on the ground.
Holding it up in front of her, Song Yihuan tapped its nose and said with a smile, "Little cat, from now on, you're my little cat. Will you go back with me?"
The cat meowed softly, as if answering her.