Retired Villainess Transmigrates into a Cannon Fodder

The Strongest Fox-Demon (7)

Deterred by the presence of Bai Yi, how could the mere pheasant dare to make a run for its life? As such, Zhuang Liu was able to catch it with ease.

Exhilarated, Zhuang Liu placed the pheasant into the birdcage — thus increasing its headcount to a total of four. Brimming with a bright smile, she reckoned that the heavens had blessed her family.

Bai Yi — resting atop the window sill — stared at the joyous family with a smile in her heart, for she felt as if she was finally able to help out her benefactor even a little.

With the boost of confidence from this event, she found that improving the life of her benefactor was actually much simpler than she expected. Seeing how Chu Xiang was still asleep, Bai Yi hopped to the side of Zhuang Yulang’s table to observe him studying and looking through written texts.

Having become rather fond of her, Zhuang Yulang could hold himself back from taking a few glances at her once every few seconds. At that moment, Zhuang Liu quietly creaked open the door to bring her son some water. However, upon seeing Zhuang Yulang distracted from his studies and patting Bai Yi on her head, her expression turned rather bitter.

“Yulang! How could you let that animal on your desk? What if it accidentally damages your books?”

Bai Yi sprung up in fright upon hearing her sharp voice as Chu Xiang looked over to assess the situation. Taking large strides over to the desk, Zhuang Liu placed down the cup of water before grabbing onto Bai Yi. Discontent by her sudden actions, Bai Yi shot a fierce gaze at her before leaping onto Zhuang Yulang’s lap.

Zhuang Yulang then said in a hurry, “Mom, please calm down. Xue’er is very obedient. She really won’t touch, let alone mess with my things. See? My writing brush and inkstone are still in good condition.”

Still aggravated, Zhuang Liu replied, “No can do. How could an animal understand such things? What about the other one? Where did it go?”

Recalling the existence of Chu Xiang, she hastily looked around the room in search of her. The instant she saw Chu Xiang resting on a pile of seemingly old clothes, she slapped down on her thigh and yelped out, “Oh my! Those are your father’s clothes! How could you let her sleep on them?”

Hearing her words, Chu Xiang stood up and moved to the side. At the same time, Zhuang Liu quickly walked over and carefully picked up the clothes on the ground.

“I cannot allow you to keep these two as pets! Kick them out at once! From the looks of things, they also seem to be distracting you from your studies. Now, hand the white one over and throw them out!”

Zhuang Yulang tightened his grip on Bai Yi worriedly and said, “Mom, how could you go back on your promises? Besides, they have nowhere to go. Kicking them out now is no different from sending them off to their ends. How is that any different from murder?  How could you be so heartless sending them off to die just like that?”

“Me? Heartless? Where do you think the fox-fur clothing worn by the nobles comes from? They are no different from chickens. All of which are meant to be killed by us humans.”

“What do you mean by no difference? Mom, don’t you see just how adorable Xue’er is? Hong’er is also quite sensible. They’re completely different from those pheasants. Why don’t you take a closer look?”

At that moment, Zhuang Yulang lifted Bai Yi up and placed her before his mother in an attempt to let her see Bai Yi’s good points.

Bai Yi said in a fit, “What’s wrong with this woman? I didn’t do anything bad at all. In fact, I even helped her out quite a bit, yet she actually wants to chase us out?!”

Chu Xiang shook herself and admired the beauty of her blazing fur before saying, “Of course, she would be worried. Since the brush and inkstone are very expensive to them, it’s only natural for her to be scared that you’ll accidentally break them. In her eyes, the two of us are nothing but burdens. It’s not like she knows you’re the one who helped her out anyways.”

Just as the two of them were communicating with each other, Zhuang Liu had already reached out her hands to grab Bai Yi away.

“We must kick them out of the house now. We cannot afford to keep them here anymore. Besides, they serve as nothing but distractions to you from your studies. It won’t be long before the day you take the imperial exam, so you must not be distracted by these two animals…”

Slightly frustrated, Zhuang Yulang responded in an unyielding manner, “I have already decided to raise them myself! If you want to kick them out, you’ll have to kick me out too!”

Upon hearing such words, Zhuang Liu stopped and let out a pained expression. Seeing her response, Zhuang Yulang bowed his head slightly with regret and said in a calm manner, “Mom, I shouldn’t have said that to you. However, I beg of you. Please allow them to stay here.”

Looking at her son, Zhuang Liu calmed herself down before saying, “Fine, the two of them can stay. However, they are not allowed in your room and can only stay in the courtyard. Otherwise, I’ll kick them out.”