"Did you have fun today?"
"Fun..."
"Stop for a moment, swallow what's in your mouth first." Zhu Yin'e said helplessly.
"Oh."
Little Carp glanced at the pastry in her hand, but ultimately didn't put it back. It was made by Zhu Yuchan, whom she liked the most.
"Mother, what do you want to say? Hurry up, I still want to eat some."
"You, you little foodie, mother asks you, did you have fun today?"
"Happy."
"Then what did you play, and where did you go?"
"We went to Gu Gu's house and played with airplanes and balls. I'm telling you, I'm telling you, Big Brother built a big house for me. The house had many flowers, and the door opened to more flowers. It was so beautiful..."
"Gu Gu?"
"Yes, Gu Gu, Gu Gu is a little bird, but unfortunately, she can't fly..."
"Uh..."
Little Carp spoke in a jumbled manner, and it took Zhu Yin'e a while to understand what she meant.
Gu Gu was a bird demon, about the same age as Little Carp.
But they went to Gu Gu's house. Where was Gu Gu's house? Was that where they went during the time they disappeared?
The more Little Carp spoke, the deeper Zhu Yin'e's confusion became.
Seeing her daughter burying her head in food again, Zhu Yin'e touched her little head and said, "Little Carp, do you want to turn into a dragon?"
"No," Little Carp replied without looking up.
"Eh? Why not?" Zhu Yin'e was a little surprised.
She knew that Little Carp's dream used to be to become a "big evil dragon" and roar around, scaring people.
"Big Brother said I can become a 'gun'."
"Gun?" Zhu Yin'e could hardly imagine what she would look like as a "gun."
"What kind of gun?"
"It's a very, very powerful gun. It can swim in water, fly in the sky, open its mouth very, very wide, and swallow a big evil dragon in one gulp."
Little Carp tilted her neck, "wu wu"ed towards the sky, with pastry crumbs on the corners of her mouth.
"You mean Kun, don't you?" Zhu Yin'e frowned and thought.
What Little Carp described, only the legendary Kun matched such an image, and it wasn't called a "gun."
"Yes, yes, it's Kun, it's Kun. Mother is so smart. Big Brother said I have Kun in me and can turn into Kun." Little Carp nodded repeatedly, then lowered her head to concentrate on eating pastry.
"You, I think you're not Kun, you're Taotie?" Zhu Yin'e poked her forehead lightly with her finger and said with annoyance.
Upon hearing this, Little Carp looked up in surprise and said, "Mother, you said the same thing as Big Brother! Do you have telepathy with Big Brother?"
"What telepathy, it's called 'heart-to-heart connection'." Zhu Yin'e tapped her little head somewhat speechlessly.
"And where did you learn that word?"
"Sister Huimei and Big Brother said it. Ge ge ge... Do you also have a heart-to-heart connection with Big Brother?"
"Don't talk nonsense." Zhu Yin'e's cheeks flushed slightly.
"Why?" Little Carp asked confusedly.
"Because... because... only husband and wife can say that." Zhu Yin'e didn't know how to explain, so she just casually offered a reason.
"Oh..."
Little Carp looked enlightened, then said, "Then you should be Big Brother's wife too."
"What nonsense are you talking about? Lord Liu already has a wife, and you have a father."
"Hey, he died, turned into a star, and can't play with me anymore." Little Carp looked indifferent, which angered Zhu Yin'e so much that she lifted her up, placed her on her lap, and spanked her bottom hard twice.
"Ouch, ouch, woo woo woo..."
Little Carp wailed, stuffing the remaining pastry into her mouth. The "woo woo woo" sounds weren't crying, but rather the sounds produced because her mouth was full of pastry, preventing the cries from coming out.
"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Zhu Yuchan rushed in after hearing the noise.
"Sister Yuchan, help! Mother is going to beat me to death?"
Hearing Zhu Yuchan's voice, Little Carp quickly swallowed the pastry in her mouth, wiped her mouth, and shouted loudly.
"Calling for Sister Yuchan won't help. Will you dare to talk nonsense again next time?" Zhu Yin'e said with a stern face, patting her bottom two more times.
"I won't dare, I'll never dare again." Little Carp conceded very quickly.
"If you talk nonsense again next time, I won't use my hand, but a willow branch to spank your bottom," Zhu Yin'e said.
"Madam..."
Zhu Yuchan was a little anxious from the side, but seeing Zhu Yin'e's slightly angry expression, she dared not persuade her.
"Can you not use a willow branch?"
Upon hearing "willow branch," Little Carp, who was feigning crying, shivered. That thing really hurt when it spanked one's bottom.
"You're bargaining now?" Zhu Yin'e was amused by her.
"Then tell me, how should I punish you?"
"Punish me? Punish me by not letting me come back..." Little Carp's big eyes darted around, and then she said.
"Not come back? Wouldn't that be what you want, to stay overnight at Lord Liu's house?" Zhu Yin'e knew exactly what she was planning.
"Hehehe..." Little Carp became a little embarrassed upon hearing this.
Seeing her like this, Zhu Yin'e sighed softly and let her down from her lap. Little Carp habitually pulled up her pants, looking incredibly cute.
Zhu Yin'e reached out and stroked her little face, saying, "Don't talk nonsense in the future. Your father is Feng Zhirun, a great hero."
"Oh, oh." Little Carp nodded repeatedly, unsure if she understood.
"Alright, you can go play now."
Little Carp turned and ran out, not forgetting to grab the last piece of pastry from the plate before leaving.
Watching Little Carp depart, Zhu Yin'e sighed deeply.
Longmen had returned to the Dragon Palace. Had he returned?
If he had returned, why hadn't he come to find her?
If he had returned, why was he treating Little Carp as he always had?
"Madam." Zhu Yuchan called out softly from the side.
"You go out first. I want to be alone for a while." Zhu Yin'e said.
"Okay, Madam. Call me if you need anything." Zhu Yuchan said, and then withdrew from the room.
Seeing her leave, Zhu Yin'e turned her gaze to the wall on her left, where a painting hung.
The painting depicted a man and a woman. The man was dressed as a scholar, but he was tall and imposing, with an extraordinary aura. The woman was Zhu Yin'e, smiling like a flower, her face full of happiness.
She stared blankly for a while, her expression tinged with annoyance. "You unfaithful man, after reincarnating, do you want to sever ties with your past life? If you don't come to me, can't I go find you?"
She said this, but it was only words. Little Carp had finally met someone who treated her well and whom she liked. For Little Carp's sake, she didn't want to disrupt their current relationship.
So, in the end, it could only turn into a helpless sigh.
Meanwhile, Liu Nanfeng was contemplating whether to meet Zhu Yin'e to seek her permission to reactivate the dormant genes within Little Carp.
After all, activation only represented a new developmental direction, and she would still need to strive for growth herself.
This required a very long process, so the sooner, the better.