the cat in emperor's arms

mei mei

Pei Shenyu was alarmed and startled, never expecting that his usually obedient cat would suddenly make such a dangerous move. His face turned serious as he urgently called out, "Xiaoguai!"

But Ming Luomeng seemed not to hear him at all, not even turning her head as she dashed into the alley.

The moment the cat's figure disappeared at the alley's entrance, Pei Shenyu's heart tightened abruptly. He quickly dismounted, tossed the reins to Bai Cang, and hurriedly stepped into the alley in pursuit.

The alley was deep and silent, with white walls and black tiles lining both sides. The long stone-paved path seemed to stretch on endlessly.

A slanting ray of sunlight fell just right on the white cat, who was now sitting at the feet of a young boy dressed in monk's robes. The boy's expression was calm, and in his hand hung a small copper bell.

The cat's tail swayed back and forth, and its bright eyes revealed its fondness for the bell.

Pei Shenyu let out a small sigh of relief...

Fortunately, it wasn't lost.

For some reason, he had just felt an inexplicable emptiness in his heart, a kind of unspeakable fear, as if his heart had been hollowed out along with the cat's disappearance.

Being so emotionally affected by a cat was a feeling he had never experienced before.

Pei Shenyu furrowed his handsome brows tightly and took a few steps forward to the boy. He bent down to scoop the cat into his arms, but before he could reprimand it, the cat started scratching in displeasure, struggling and meowing in his arms.

Seeing Ming Luomeng behave this way only heightened the inexplicable irritation in Pei Shenyu's heart.

"Xiaoguai! Behave."

But the young monk suddenly spoke. "This humble monk sees that the benefactor is a person of fate."

It was only then that Pei Shenyu noticed the young monk in front of him.

The little monk was quite young, only as tall as Pei Shenyu's waist, dressed in simple grey cloth robes, with a small bamboo basket on his back and a string of prayer beads around his neck. His voice still carried the innocence of a child, but his brows and eyes held a maturity beyond his years.

"You say it's fate, then tell me, how so?"

"The benefactor's cat likes this monk's bell and followed it here." The young monk removed the red string from his wrist, causing the bell to jingle softly.

He placed the bell in his palm and handed it to Pei Shenyu.

"This is fate."

Pei Shenyu furrowed his brows without speaking, accepting the bell with one hand. The cat in his arms immediately extended its paw to reach for it. But he was still irritated and calmly lifted the bell out of reach, while tightening his grip on the cat with his other hand.

Ming Luomeng, unable to move in his arms, could only meow in protest, expressing her discontent.

Pei Shenyu glanced down at the cat in his arms. This was the first time in days he had seen the cat so lively.

Does it like this bell that much?

"Can I buy this bell from you?" he asked as he turned back to the monk.

"Of course, one bell for one gold coin," the young monk replied instantly, as if he had expected this.

"That expensive?" Pei Shenyu frowned.

Though he was a crown prince, he was not ignorant of the ways of the world.

"My master said that fate comes naturally," the young monk's expression remained unchanged, his voice calm, "If the benefactor feels the time hasn't come, you don't have to buy it."