CH 1

Early in the morning, a small, round, fluffy-feathered gray sparrow flew from afar and landed tentatively on the windowsill.

On the windowsill, a small green plant lay quietly in a pot.

The green herb was lustrous and the tips of its tender green leaves were crystal clear. They stretched out from the stem and comfortably swayed slightly in the wind. A small flower bud adorned the top of the green herb, like a small pompom, shyly hiding in the slender leaves, showing a hint of laziness.

The little gray sparrow jumped up to the edge of the flower pot. Its tiny beak was just about to touch the leaves of the small green herb when the sound of people suddenly came from outside the courtyard.

The little gray sparrow was startled and fluttered its wings to the eaves of the room.

Two servant girls, one tall and one short, whispered as they walked into the courtyard.

“Say, what is going on with our little Prince, he wants to marry someone with an unknown background. Look at how angry the Great Princess is.”

“No idea, I even heard that it was a man. Although no one knows how he looks, for the Prince to publicly go against His Holiness, he must be a top-tier beauty.”

“What are you thinking about, you brat? If he really were to marry our Prince, he would be considered the Princess Consort. Whether he is a beauty or not isn’t something we can discuss.” 

After the short servant girl was knocked on the head, she closed her mouth and said no more. She took out a watering can from the basket and watered the flowers and plants in the courtyard.

After a while, she continued, “But according to the law, didn’t they say that men can only be concubines and not the legal wife?”

“Exactly,” the tall servant girl sighed as she pruned the flowers, “Otherwise why would His Holiness, who had always spoiled and pampered the Prince so much, lock him up in the palace and make him reflect on his actions. I heard that the Prince wanted that young man to marry over as his consort. Sigh, refusing to explain where that young man came from and refusing to let others see him, no matter who you ask, who would agree?”

The short servant girl paused before covering her face and chuckling: “Maybe it’s because he’s afraid that he’ll make things difficult for the young man. I didn’t think that our Prince would ever have a time that he would actually be infatuated and overprotective.”

“All right, get back to work.”

Once the two servant girls finished taking care of the flowers and plants in the courtyard, they went to the windowsill, carefully took out a bowl of clear yellow soup from the basket, and poured it onto the little green herb.

The short servant girl lamented while pouring: “A courtyard full of flowers and plants, but this little plant is the most precious. These medicinal soups from the West are all tonic medicine, which is hard to find, and it was all used by our Prince to water this plant. Even I feel my heart ache when I see this.”

“It’s not the first day you learned that our Prince treasures this little herb.” The tall servant girl laughed, “Our Prince said that this herb is a sign of blessing and can prevent all harm and all kinds of poison. It is an immortal plant he got through fate and must be carefully taken care of. Our Prince has been raising this little herb for ten years, if it wasn’t for the fact that he had been locked in the palace these past two days and isn’t able to leave, do you think we’ll even have the opportunity to take care of it?” 

The two maidservants carefully poured the medicinal soup and cleaned the flower pot for the little green herb before leaving the courtyard.

As soon as the maidservants left, the little green herb gave a jolt and shook the crystal water droplets off its leaves.

The little gray sparrow flew down from the eaves and was instantly splashed with a few drops of bitter medicinal soup.

“Little leaf!” The little gray sparrow chirped and called out in dissatisfaction.

“How many times do I have to repeat myself, my name is Ye Zi, not little leaf. What part looks little to you?” The voice that spoke was clear, slow, and languid, with a little tiredness that was not difficult to detect and lazy to the extreme.

Two slender stalks stretched out from beneath its leaves. They were like two long, thin arms reaching out and stretching its body. The pale pink flower bud moved, as if it was a small animated head. After a shake, its gaze fell upon the little gray sparrow. 

The little gray sparrow accused accusingly: “You soiled my feathers!”

Ye Zi was more aggrieved than the little sparrow: “My whole body was soiled.”

When the little gray sparrow saw that the little green herb was soaked with yellow medicinal soup, and its smelly and wretched appearance was several times worse than its own, it was not so angry anymore and sympathized: “Little leaf, you really are too pitiful.”

Ye Zi shook his branch indignantly: “Exactly and it’s all because of that bastard, Gu Yan.”

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Gu Yan, also the owner of this Prince Rui Manor, was the nephew of the current Holiness.

Little Prince Gu once became very sick when he was a child. He had a fever that didn’t go away for several days and even the Imperial doctors were unable to help. One night, after several days of fever, the little Prince suddenly disappeared. No one knew how he left the manor under the surveillance of a group of maidservants, but when he reappeared the next day and was found unconscious at the manor’s entrance, he was holding Ye Zi, this small green herb in his hands.

And little Prince Gu’s illness was miraculously cured.

The little Prince was silent about how he got this little green herb after he got well, only saying that it was an auspicious immortal plant and kept it in the Prince’s manor until now.

As Ye Zi was immersed in memories, even his delicate leaves curled up unconsciously.

He had spent a full ten years in the Prince’s manor. 

Ten years ago, he woke up and found himself here, and he had turned into a small green herb. 

The name Gu Yan was not new to him.

Ye Zi clearly remembered that before coming here, he had just finished reading a palace fighting novel. The villain of that novel was Prince Rui, Gu Yan.

That novel spent more than two-thirds of its pages on how the little Prince turned himself from the pride of the Heavens into a psychopath and was eventually killed by the protagonist, who was an Imperial Prince, because he failed to seize the throne and lost his mind.

According to all the information he got, Ye Zi was sure that he had transmigrated into said novel. As for why he didn’t become any of the characters inside and became a small green herb, perhaps it could only be attributed to a system bug.

However, he wasn’t the only one that had a bug.

The little Prince in the novel, Gu Yan, grew up with unparalleled talent. Not only was he extremely handsome, but he was also capable of literature and martial arts. He was good at scheming and his IQ bested all the protagonists and supporting roles in the novel. His entire persona even made Ye Zi think that the author was a villain fanatic.

——But it was completely different from the Gu Yan that Ye Zi knew.

Ye Zi stayed in the Prince’s manor for ten years and still didn’t understand what went wrong after he transmigrated that made Gu Yan’s persona collapse into this.

Wasn’t he supposed to be the pride of Heavens, cold-blooded, and ruthless? Wasn’t he supposed to be all-powerful?

He was already twenty-something and still didn’t bother to learn anything on a day-to-day basis. He either shuts himself in the courtyard fiddling with flowers and plants or fooling around. He wasn’t capable of literature nor was he capable of martial arts. Besides his face, he was essentially useless. 

Now, for the sake of marrying a little goblin from nowhere, he was going to go against his Imperial Uncle. Why doesn’t this person directly soar to the Heavens instead?  

“Little leaf, what are you thinking about?” The little gray sparrow’s voice brought Ye Zi out of his memories, “Is it because you know that the little Prince is going to get married so you’re unhappy?”

Ye Zi tried to roll his eyes at him to show his attitude, but the little flower bud barely shivered; it was unable to do such a difficult action.

He silently withdrew his shaking flower bud and replied in a cold voice: “What does it matter to me if he’s getting married or not?”

The little gray sparrow bounced around him with a look as if it had seen through the world: “I came from outside and many girls in the city are sad just because the Prince is getting married.”

Since Ye Zi became a small green herb, he had the ability to communicate with plants and animals, but most plants and animals’ spiritual consciousness had yet to develop so he could only do simple communications with them and couldn’t talk with them. This little gray sparrow was the first little animal he met here that he could talk to directly and it was also his only friend.

Ye Zi usually couldn’t leave the Prince’s manor so he relied on it to bring him outside news.

It had only been a few years since the little gray sparrow developed its spiritual consciousness and it was extremely interested in human society. If it had nothing to do, it loved to squat in the corners to eavesdrop on people talking. After listening for a few years, it had learned quite a few things.

Ye Zi clicked his tongue and said sourly: “Who let that kid fool around the markets all day? He’s like a peacock, causing a group of girls to come crying that they want to marry him……Don’t just stand there, come lend me a hand.” 

A small handful of soil was thrown out of the flower pot. Ye Zi was using his two slender stems and struggling to move the soil so that he could come out. 

Since he was doused with medicinal soup, he was now sticky and smelled terrible so he desperately needed to find a place to wash up.

The little gray sparrow jumped onto the edge of the flower pot and came up to help him dig through the soil. After half a day of digging and panting, the roots of the stem buried deep in the pot finally came out.

The little gray sparrow suddenly asked, “Don’t you want to be a Princess Consort?”

“——!!!” Ye Zi was pulling himself out and when he heard the words, his foot slipped and his entire plant body flew out backward, falling solidly off the windowsill.

Ye Zi fell onto the paved stone floor. His body was full of mud that was brought out from the flower pot making him look quite messy. He struggled to get up as he shook the roots that hadn’t been active for a long time. He took two wobbly steps and jumped into the carp pond on the side.

Ye Zi stretched out his leaves in the carp pond, allowing the water to flow through his stems and roots and veins. It was so comfortable that the tips of his leaves were trembling.

It was a while before Ye Zi asked rhetorically, “What goes on in your brain all day? Why would I want to be the Prince’s Princess Consort?” 

The little gray sparrow inclined its head, as if it was caught off by Ye Zi’s question.

Ye Zi decided not to let this little sparrow continue to think nonsense: “Besides, the Prince already has someone he likes in his heart, it’s not up to others to decide whether they want to or don’t want to.” 

The little gray sparrow wondered: “But aren’t you the one he likes the most?”

Ye Zi: “……”

“You silly little bird, do you know what ‘like’ means?”

“Of course I do!” The little gray sparrow was in its rebellious stage and was most sensitive to people saying that it didn’t understand something. It fluttered its wings twice and said righteously, “It is said in the textbook that to like someone is to rejoice when you see them, to miss them when you don’t see them, and always want to be together all the time.”

“……The Prince keeps you in his room, stays with you all day, and sends someone to take care of you even when he isn’t in the manor. Two years ago, that cat in the front yard ran in and bit you and the Prince almost skinned it, isn’t that ‘like?’”

——Its words almost made Ye Zi believe as well. 

Just as he was about to ponder on how to explain to the little gray sparrow that Gu Yan was at best raising him as a good luck charm, when the latter suddenly remembered something and fluttered its wings, flying into mid-air: “I can’t talk to you anymore, I have to go to the teahouse to hear the story from the storyteller. I’ll miss it if I don’t go now.”

After saying that, it hurriedly flew away, leaving Ye Zi in the water and in a mess.

Frankly speaking, Gu Yan was indeed quite good to him. Not only would he water him every day and remove insects, but he would also talk with him to relieve boredom and find all kinds of tonic for him, as if he was afraid that he wouldn’t live long. He was being undeniably attentive. 

But……if Gu Yan could be less attentive, perhaps Ye Zi wouldn’t have developed the urge to strangle him to death every time he saw him. 

Although Ye Zi’s appearance was that of an herb, he was indeed still a genuine human. He didn’t need to be watered, he didn’t need people to pour those bitter and unpleasant-smelling tonics onto him, and he didn’t need someone to chatter beside him day and night, making it impossible for him to sleep!

A couple of days was fine, but that little Prince was somehow extraordinarily persistent in the matter of raising him and treated him like this for ten years.

Even if it was towards his own wife, he would never be as patient as he was. 

The more Ye Zi thought about it, the angrier he became. He jumped out of the pond and prepared to go back into the pot to calm down.

Just as one of his roots stepped into the flower pot, he suddenly had an idea.

When he first arrived at the Prince’s manor, he couldn’t control his body comfortably. Later, because Gu Yan watched him too closely and his group of secret guards worked day and night shifts, Ye Zi had no chance to escape even if he wanted to.

But today was different.

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It was rare for Gu Yan to enter the palace and not be able to return for a short time so wasn’t this not the best time for him to escape from his evil clutches? 

Who told you to torment me every day! I’ll leave home and anger you to death! 

Ye Zi spent less than three seconds formulating a plan to leave home.

He waved his two small foot-like grass roots and began to trot out of the yard. These years, he had left the flower pot before to sneak out to play so he knew the arrangements in the Prince Rui Manor very well. 

Ye Zi easily avoided the attendants and maidservants in the Prince’s manor and soon arrived at the front yard.

He squatted in the flower bed under the wall and his leaves curled up unconsciously; there was some noticeable tension.

Not far from him was the gate of the Prince’s manor. Beyond those doors would be his freedom, but it wasn’t so simple for him. 

All because of the stupid cat that was kept in the front yard.

A few years ago, Ye Zi tried to control his new body and left the flower pot for the first time. He was curious and wandered around the Prince’s manor and was even prepared to run out of the Prince’s manor to take a look. However, he didn’t expect that he would be discovered by that stupid cat, who chased him for more than ten yards and almost made him bald.

Ye Zi was afraid of cats even when he was a human and after that experience, he had a psychological shadow of cats. Even occasionally hearing a cat’s cry from afar could make him shake for most of the day.

Ye Zi secretly observed from the eaves for a while. After not seeing any cat, he finally felt assured. When the guards who were guarding the gate were not paying attention, Ye Zi stretched out his stem, climbed the tiles on the wall, and swung himself up like a swing.

At the same time, a carriage leisurely stopped in front of the Prince Rui Manor.

“Your Majesty, be careful.” Hearing a familiar voice, Ye Zi froze and stopped in a frightened manner from leaping straight out of the courtyard wall.

Not coming back early nor coming back late, but to come back at this time.

That person did it on purpose, right? !

Ye Zi lay in the middle of the tiles. He carefully poked out his small flower bud and quietly observed.

A pale, strong, bony hand lifted the curtain and a pair of brocade cloth boots stepped out from the carriage.

Perhaps it was due to the serious illness that he had when he was a child that harmed his foundation, but Gu Yan’s body hadn’t been very good. Not only could he not practice martial arts, but he was also afraid of the cold. Even though it was early Spring, he was still wrapped in an ink-colored fox fur. His face was slightly pale and it made him look a little weak. 

He seemed to have sensed something and swept a faint glance in Ye Zi’s direction.

Gu Yan was handsome. He had a high nose bridge, sharp eyebrows, and a light vermilion mole at the tail of his eye that added a bit of a somber quality. He always looked indifferent and cold, and the bottoms of his eyes were so deep that they looked like a pool of water that people couldn’t help but unconsciously drown in.

Ye Zi was afraid of being seen by him and was about to shrink back when he heard a cry from behind him that made his heart chill.

“Meow!”

A sizable orange cat came below the wall at some point and its rounded cat eyes had already locked onto Ye Zi. As it meowed, it leaped up and flashed its claws mercilessly at the tender little green plant.

“Ahhhhhh——”

Ye Zi had half of his leaves clawed off by its strike and his fear went straight to his heart. He shouted in panic and jumped forward, flying straight out of the courtyard wall of the Prince’s manor and smashing right into Gu Yan, who was preparing to enter the manor.

When Gu Yan saw something flying towards him, he subconsciously raised his hand and caught it.

Gu Yan, who saw what he had caught: “……”