1629 I’m Still A Child
Yuan You said innocently, “I didn’t mean to. I just happened to glance over.”
Hexin put a hand to her forehead in frustration.
The interlude immediately cheered up Yaoyao, who had been in low spirits. She put an arm around the blushing Baoyu’s shoulder and comforted her, “Some people grow slower than others, so don’t worry too much about it. You’re flat now because you’re still growing, but in another two years, things will be different.” Her eyes flitted over to Yuan You’s “steamed dumplings”, and she paused before adding, “Maybe at that time, Youyou will still be stuck at the ‘steamed dumplings’ stage, whereas yours will have grown into tall peaks.”
Her stream of words made Baoyu’s head spin, but she finally understood what she meant.
The corners of her mouth twitched. “Your Highness, I’m still a child.”
“Yes, a half-grown child,” Yaoyao said teasingly. Remembering something, she lifted a corner of the curtain and peered out. “By the way, where did that little monk come from? He keeps following you around.”
Baoyu’s embarrassment disappeared at the mention of the little monk, and she said excitedly, “Your Highness, what do you think of him?”
Yaoyao regarded the little monk, who was following the carriage closely, and commented, “He’s quite good-looking. It’s a pity he’s bald, though—if he grows out his hair, he might look more handsome.”
Baoyu said in delight, “That’s what I thought too.”
Yaoyao shot her a look and let the curtain fall back into place. “Why are you so happy? You haven’t told me where he’s from and why he’s following you.”
Baoyu said, “I was traveling with the Crown Prince and Huaiyuan from Great Shang’s imperial capital to the West Water Frontier when I met him. According to him, the only master of his temple had passed away, leaving him all alone. When he’d eaten all the food in the temple, he went down the mountain to ask for alms but ran into human traffickers instead. When we met him, he was almost sold off to… that place.”
“Where?” Yuan You leaned close and asked curiously, her eyes wide.
Baoyu glanced at her, still a little upset that she had called her flat. She pursed her lips before answering, “A male bordello.”
“What’s a male bordello?” Yuan You did not understand and got even more curious.
This time, Hexin did not understand either.
“What is this male bordello you’re talking about?”
Yaoyao grinned mischievously. “It’s like a brothel but with men. They’re commonly known as Master Rabbits.”
Yuan You’s eyes widened. “Master Rabbits?” All of a sudden, she realized why Qi Heng had been so furious in the holiday home—apparently, the name “Master Rabbit” was really an insult.
She instantly felt a little guilty.
She had not called him that on purpose, though—it had all been a coincidence.
Hexin was greatly surprised too. “I didn’t know that kind of place existed.”
“I’ve never been there either. I’ve only read about it,” Yaoyao explained with a shrug, then said to Baoyu, “So you stood up against the injustice and saved him?”
Baoyu nodded a little sheepishly.
After encountering something like that the first time she went on a long trip, she had been unable to stop herself from teaching those human traffickers a lesson. However, because of that, the little monk ended up tagging along after her and refused to be driven away.
Of course, she could not bring herself to drive him away either.
“He looks quite young. How old is he?” asked Yaoyao.
“Fourteen,” said Baoyu.
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