"Hua Diandian is indeed becoming more sentient," Zheng Wei nodded in agreement.
Hearing their conversation, Hua Diandian cast a disdainful glance at them before continuing to rest.
"This little creature has become sentient and dares to look down on my sister," Le Xue marvelled with admiration shining in his eyes.
After sitting for a while longer, as noon approached and the heat intensified, the group decided to return indoors.
Hua Diandian followed Shen Xiaoyan to the main house and, upon entering the east side room, found Sanshengzi awake and playing on the kang bed.
Seeing Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei enter, Sanshengzi immediately babbled and smiled sweetly at them, his little mouth wide open.
"Our three little treasures are awake, how wonderful," Shen Xiaoyan said with a smile as she approached.
However, to her surprise, Sanshengzi did not coo and ask to be held as usual. Instead, his eyes were fixed on the back of her head.
What was going on?
Confused, Shen Xiaoyan turned around and saw Hua Diandian, with its large eyes wide open, looking at Sanshengzi on the bed with great interest.
"Eee ah~"
Ruanruan smiled at Hua Diandian and even waved its little fist.
Hua Diandian tilted its head and blinked at Ruanruan, then slowly opened its mouth.
Seeing this, Shen Xiaoyan's heart leaped into her throat.
"Meow!"
With a lazy cat's meow, Luoluo's fat black shadow suddenly appeared from nowhere.
It landed directly on Hua Diandian's back and patted Hua Diandian's head with its front paws.
Hua Diandian tried its best to turn its head, looking at Luoluo on its back with a bewildered expression. It did not move towards Ruanruan again.
The three wet nurses on the side were stunned, their legs trembling like sieves. They dared not speak, their eyes fixed on Hua Diandian in fear.
Shen Xiaoyan remembered that the wet nurses and the new servants had never seen Hua Diandian before, so their fear was understandable.
Shen Xiaoyan then asked the three, "Have they all been fed?"
The wet nurses opened their mouths but could not speak, only nodding heavily at Shen Xiaoyan.
Seeing this, Shen Xiaoyan said, "Then you should go back and rest. I'll send someone to call you if needed."
The three wet nurses simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief. Shen Xiaoyan watched them leave and then said to Huo Fen, "You go rest in the ear room too. I'll call you if anything comes up."
Once everyone else had left the room, Zheng Wei walked over and closed the door. He then sat by the kang, looking at Sanshengzi on the bed.
"You absolutely cannot open your mouth to the babies, understand?" Shen Xiaoyan warned Hua Diandian seriously.
"Madam, you really don't need to keep reminding me. I would never bare my teeth at the three little masters," Hua Diandian declared loudly, opening its mouth.
"Hua Diandian can... talk?"
Shen Xiaoyan looked at Hua Diandian in astonishment, then, after a moment of stunned silence, turned to Zheng Wei in disbelief.
Zheng Wei was also taken aback. He finally looked at Luoluo and said, "Luoluo, Hua Diandian... why can it talk? Is it because of you..."
"No..."
"It has nothing to do with the kitten. This is my own matter," Hua Diandian quickly interjected.
Through Hua Diandian's explanation, Shen Xiaoyan learned that Hua Diandian had been missing for so long because it had inadvertently wandered into the depths of Baiyun Peak.
In the depths of Baiyun Peak, it had eaten a blue flower bud. The flower bud grew alone on a not-so-tall plant and emitted a pleasant fragrance.
Attracted by the scent, Hua Diandian had swallowed the flower bud in one gulp.
However, to its surprise, after Hua Diandian ate the flower bud, its leaves and stem withered rapidly and disappeared.
Meanwhile, Hua Diandian gradually felt increasingly sleepy and experienced unbearable pain.
Hua Diandian did not know how long it slept. When it finally woke up, it felt that its body had undergone some changes. Most importantly, it discovered that it could actually speak.
Even though it could only speak word by word, Hua Diandian was still incredibly excited.
Hua Diandian's parents were equally surprised that it could speak human language, but they did not say much to Hua Diandian.
After the initial excitement and fear, Hua Diandian practiced diligently every day. After a month, feeling confident that it had mastered its abilities, it eagerly came to find Shen Xiaoyan.
After listening to Hua Diandian's lengthy explanation, Shen Xiaoyan found the world to be increasingly filled with mystery.
There was actually a flower bud that, when eaten by an animal, allowed it to speak human language. This was something unheard of throughout history.
Excited, Shen Xiaoyan asked Hua Diandian many questions.
Imagine a human and a tiger facing each other, conversing about the pleasant weather, what they had for breakfast, and what they would eat for lunch. What a peculiar scene it would be.
Sanshengzi, lying on the kang bed, clearly could not comprehend such strangeness, but they were filled with curiosity for Hua Diandian, watching it intently.
"Truly my children, they are so brave," Shen Xiaoyan said proudly to Zheng Wei, seeing this.
"They... simply don't know what fear is, do they?" Zheng Wei said hesitantly.
"This... hehe."
Her words exposed by Zheng Wei, Shen Xiaoyan gave a dry laugh and simply leaned on the kang table, watching Sanshengzi babble to Hua Diandian.
From that day on, as long as Sanshengzi was awake, Hua Diandian had to be there to play with them. Otherwise, they would cry incessantly until Hua Diandian appeared, at which point their cries would immediately cease.
Fortunately, Hua Diandian had no intention of leaving this time. Shen Xiaoyan speculated that it might have stayed because it had just learned to speak and had no one to communicate with if it left.
Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei discussed Hua Diandian's ability to speak and decided it was best not to let Yue Qingxin and Sima Han know for now, especially since Luoluo's ability to speak had also been kept from them.
The fewer people who knew about such incredible matters, the better, as exposure could only lead to endless trouble.
They also made an agreement with Hua Diandian not to speak in front of others. To this, Hua Diandian replied that it disdained speaking with ordinary people.
Shen Xiaoyan felt both novel and bewildered by Hua Diandian's increasingly human-like behaviour.
When she first transmigrated, she thought she was here to farm. Later, upon learning of Zheng Wei's past life and Sima Han's identity, she thought she would be involved in palace or harem intrigues. But now, knowing that such fantastical things existed in the world, she felt as though she might be destined for cultivation.
Shen Xiaoyan was lost in her pleasant thoughts, unaware that in the nearby Baiyun Manor, within the Shen family, a major event concerning her was unfolding.
Baiyun Manor, Shen Family.
Xu Xiao'e sat by the kang table, a slight smile on her face as she looked at Shen Cheng, who sat opposite her. She said unhurriedly, "Father, I still call you Father because I am grateful to you. Thank you for finding me such a good husband. Otherwise, where would I have my current life of wearing gold and silver?"
"Xiao'e, how are you speaking to your father?" Xu Shi, who was standing and comforting her youngest daughter in her arms, chided Xu Xiao'e gently.
"It's nothing. I've said it long ago that I don't have a daughter like you. That you are living well is your fate; it has nothing to do with me, and you don't need to thank me," Shen Cheng said coldly.
He had long declared that Xu Xiao'e had no further connection with the Shen family, but who knew she would come again, bringing a large sum of gifts?
The gold, silver, and jewelry, along with the silver coins, amounted to over a hundred taels, which was more than he had saved in his entire life.