Vol 7 Chapter 233 – Does ginseng have genders?

XH 233 - Does ginseng have genders?

The 19th Emperor finally gets the chance to meet Yu Zheng, Bai Chuan's precious ginseng. Thanks to his return, Long Yuen could finally step into the Peach courtyard. 

Their first conversation that consisted of polite greetings had gone smoothly, but the 19th Emperor's heart was not as calm as his face portrayed. The desire to ask a very inappropriate question, which was about Yu Zheng's gender, was truly hard to repress. 

He has nothing against love past the gender boundary, but would it not be better for the ginseng to transform into a female form to complement Bai Chuan? 

Actually, does ginseng have genders in the first place?

"...What did you do to your poor daughter, Bai Chuan?" The 19th Emperor asked when he stepped into the room and saw the weird situation. His curiosity about the ginseng's gender had flown away. 

Long Yuen had expected to see a harmonious scene of a father and daughter until it stings his eyes, but this was far from it.

"I'm feeding her," Bai Chuan explained as if there was nothing wrong with it.

It would have been, if Xiao Hua was not hiding behind a large snow wolf that was standing in his full height, eyed Bai Chuan guardedly. Bai Chuan was holding a piece of meat with his chopsticks, looked as graceful as usual, but it was strangely a threatening sight to Xiao Hua.

"Why would you have a meal this late at night? It's the usual time to sleep."

Hearing new voices, Xiao Hua seeks for external help. "Long Zhu, I don't want to eat anymore!"

Her voice was half wailing, half pleading, with a little complaining mixed in them. Her wide, unfocused eyes trembling in fear made one pity her. 

The 19th Emperor coughed, feeling his face a bit warm. "Long Zhu is not among us, little granddaughter. But your grandfather will help-"

"Bai Chuan, don't tease our daughter so much or she will hate you." Yu Zheng laughed and used the opportunity that Xiao Hua misunderstood him as Long Zhu to give her head a light rub.

Da Bei growled at the opportunist Yu Zheng just as Xiao Hua moved away from the hand, startled.

"She could not even differentiate between pork and chicken," Doctor Bai said, pulling Xiao Hua's attention away from getting angry for being fooled. 

"I can!" Xiao Hua protested loudly. "But you keep feeding me until you confuse my taste buds! And those spices! It may be light but after eating all again and again, I only want to vomit! Do you think I'm those Master Chef in variety shows where I'm the experienced judge and taste food with their nitpicky high class tongues! I'm the instant noodles and oven lover!"

The more she spoke, the more her brain could not keep up with her mouth. In the end, her words were spoken in english!

This young lady isn't afraid of consequences! 

"You need to finish eating your rice at least."

"Bloody hell! You did not even feed me rice at all! I don't want to eat anymore!" Xiao Hua roared fiercely with bitter resentment, her arms like a steel ring around Da Bei's neck. 

The 19th Emperor felt that he was left out, or just being ignored! How dare they treat him this way!

"Bai Chuan!" The 19th Emperor raised his voice and got everyone's attention on him. "Now that there's someone to look after your daughter, you will come with me! Wake up my useless son so that I can release the bounty you pressured me to put on Liu Chu Chu's head!"

"Bo… Bounty? Liu Chu Chu?" Xiao Hua was greatly taken aback. 

That is the heroine! 

The World Spirit had just removed Liu Chu Chu's privilege of only being able to be killed by the demon, and immediately someone wanted to place a bounty on her!

"Liu Chu Chu is too dangerous to be set free. She needs to answer for her crimes. A traitor to her Kingdom is a severe offense," the 19th Emperor explained.

"Of course! She needs to be killed! You make the right decision, Long Zhu!" Xiao Hua nodded earnestly. To think that the World Spirit's cheat was so strong, she should have thickened her face and beg for more cheats!

The 19th Emperor: '...'

Doctor Bai snickered softly. 

Yu Zheng kindly pointed out, "Instead of training her tastebud, she should learn how to recognize people's voices first."

"...Wait, wait, wait! That isn't Long Zhu? Where is he then?" Xiao Hua asked. That person's voice was half similar to Long Zhu's, so she thought his voice had become hoarse from speaking, or yelling, at the hero.

"He said he has matters to deal with," Yu Zheng answered. He knew that the young man needed some time alone to calm down his inner turbulence. It was difficult to suddenly ask a man filled with rage for years to stop being angry and forgive the one that wronged him.

"Did he set the date to finally end that ingrate's life?" The 19th Emperor asked, still in the dark of the latest news.

"That ingrate will be a travelling monk, helping those in need as he travels."

"...What?" Not only the 19th Emperor was shocked, even Xiao Hua was surprised at the sudden change of occupation.

"It is a waste to kill such a talented man. He has a heart to change his wicked ways and help people to make up for his sins. Such noble ambition should be nurtured well." Yu Zheng had spoken with high regard, but only Doctor Bai knew how fake it was.

Yu Zheng just wanted to grab this golden opportunity to mess with the favourite son of the world.

The 19th Emperor sighed. "If that's what Long Zhu decided, I will not interfere." 

Among them, only Long Zhu has the greatest hatred towards that ingrate, which surprised Long Yuen. He believed he must have missed some important incident between them that gotten his favourite grandson to hate Long Shan this deeply.

"... Papa Ginseng." 

At that call, Yu Zheng turned his head, a little amused that Xiao Hua would really call him that. 

"Yes, seedling?" 

Should she regret calling him that? "... A monk will be bald forever, right?"

Yu Zheng laughed. "I will have your eyes fixed before he even has any chance to grow out his hair."

Xiao Hua's heartbeat loudly, her lips trembled. If he said it outright, then it was a confirmation! Her eyes can be healed! It was not that Xiao Hua does not believe Doctor Bai and Long Zhu, but she can only fully believe it when the doctor himself said it with great confidence.

"- heal him and have him start working tomorrow morning."

Xiao Hua blinked, missed out a portion of the conversation during her momentarily bliss. 

"I will go," Doctor Bai finally relented. "Xiao Hua, the rice-"

"I won't eat it! Let Papa Ginseng eat it. He must be hungry!"

The fate of the bowl of rice was decided just like that and the 19th Emperor dragged Doctor Bai away.

"Do you still want to be with him?" Yu Zheng asked when they were left alone. 

"Him?"

"Your little boyfriend."

"Oh."

"Mhm, there are plenty of other good men around for you to pick. There's no need to settle for the first man you see."

"Pfft. Bwahahaha!" Xiao Hua burst out laughing and adjusted her weight on Da Bei's back so that she could get comfortable. "I thought you would tell me to stay single until I'm thirty or something."

That was what those handsome, filthy rich, daughter-cons' fathers in novels said to their daughters. 

It was simply her being out of her mind to expect Yu Zheng to behave the same way.

"You will expire from lust if we did forbid you so."

"Bwahahaha!" Not a father material indeed! "Actually, the World Spirit told me that Long Zhu fulfilled my ideal husband material. Such a good catch, why would I give it to others?"

If she was still Le XiaoTing, she would not hesitate to dump Long Zhu for locking her up. But right now, she was Xiao Hua and should not use the same standard to pick a good husband. He treated her like a princess, lavish her with jewelry and branded clothes, even fed her plenty of expensive food. 

In a way, Long Zhu had treated her far better than her boss and ex boyfriend. 

Warily yet not moving away due to Xiao Hua sprawled on him, Da Bei stared at Yu Zheng's hand that stretched out and rubbed his fluffy head.

"You should be able to find where Long Zhu is with your nose. Your little mistress is counting on you to find her little lover." 

Da Bei huffed, like he was sighing, as his black eyes showed that he understood what Yu Zheng was saying. He shifted around until Xiao Hua had her body more or less completely sprawled on him.  

"Eeek! Da Bei! Where are we goooooooing!" 

Yu Zheng waved as he watched the children disappear towards the direction where Long Zhu was at.