Lilia searched for the traces of Lanzu in the palace, but after finding nothing, she sat on the swing in the garden, lost in thought. She murmured to herself, "Where is Lanzu?"
Lanzu had been watching her sister Lilia from a distance. She knew that in Lilia's memory, only Iris existed, and everyone else was a stranger. Lanzu's biggest wish was for her sister to be safe, and whether she could remember the past was no longer important to her.
Seeing her sister sitting on the swing in a daze, Lanzu walked slowly towards her and sat down beside her. Softly, she asked, "Sister, why are you sitting here alone and lost in thought?"
Lilia snapped out of her trance and turned to look at Lanzu. The warm sunlight shone on her, giving her a golden halo, making her look like a painting.
"Lanzu." Lilia hugged Lanzu's neck with both hands and pressed her cheek against his shoulder. She whispered, "Little sister, thank you for always being there for me."
Lanzu gently patted Lilia's thin back and said in a soft voice, "Sister, we're family, there's no need for formalities. Have all your memories come back?"
Lilia shook her head. "No, I only remember the names of everyone in this painting and their corresponding relationships. As for our past memories, they are still a blank."
After listening to Lilia's description, Lanzu fell silent for a few seconds before asking, "What kind of painting is it?"
"It's a picture of everyone together, setting off fireworks." Lilia then took out a finely folded colored painting from her pocket and showed it to Lanzu.
Lanzu looked at the painting and couldn't help but say, "The painting is good, it looks like us."
Lilia nodded and smiled. "Yes, the owner of this painting is called Baixi."
"Oh, so it's that little girl!" Upon hearing Baixi's name, Lanzu's lips curled up. "I saw her this morning, she's good at cooking."
"Sister, I have something to ask you." Suddenly, Lilia became serious and looked directly at Lanzu.
"As long as I can answer, I will tell you everything."
"The little white snake in this painting is named Baixi, and there's also a girl with white hair and tall stature named Baixi in the palace. Are they the same person?" Lilia stared at Lanzu, wanting to confirm the answer from her.
"I thought it was something big." Lanzu breathed a sigh of relief and shook her head with a smile. "The little white snake in the painting and the Baixi in the palace are the same snake. She is Iris's summoning beast. When she was summoned, the first person she saw was Iris, so naturally she regarded her as her mother."
Upon hearing this, Lilia couldn't help but grit her teeth. "That little white snake is really cunning. She wants to be Iris's aunt."
"What?" Lanzu furrowed her eyebrows, finding it impossible.
In the vampire hierarchy, it was a grave offense for a junior to take advantage of their seniors and would be punished with twenty lashes and a year of imprisonment.
"Sister, can you explain the situation in more detail?"
"When I met Baixi, she called me 'Grandmother.' I told her not to call me that and asked her to call me sister, since I didn't know her at that time. She happily accepted it." Lilia spoke with a resentful expression.
Li Lanzu raised an eyebrow and said, "This little girl dares to take advantage of me! She knows that only Iris exists in her sister's memory, but she still didn't refuse her sister's proposal. Iris doesn't care about this little girl, I will take care of her!"
"Of course, we must take care of it. No one can take advantage of Iri!" Lilia nodded firmly.
Then the two began to look for Baixi in the palace...
Meanwhile, Baixi was washing dishes in the kitchen, humming a nursery rhyme and feeling very happy.
"I'm really lucky today. Thanks to Aria's help in hiding the truth, if the lie was exposed, I would definitely be scolded by my mother, and Grandma would be affected too. Hmm... I should call her Sister instead. I took advantage of Naiqin, and she still doesn't know. Hehehe..."
"Without me, Baixi, this family would probably struggle to survive." Baixi had a delicate smile on her face, mixed with a hint of melancholy. Many scenes flashed through her mind.
After finishing washing the dishes, Baixi planned to take a walk outside the palace and buy some snacks that her mother loved.
She walked leisurely with her hands behind her back, heading towards the palace gate. Suddenly, a figure stood in front of her, blocking her path.
Baixi was a bit puzzled when she saw her aunt grandmother blocking her. She stopped and looked at Li Lanzu, asking, "Aunt grandmother, what's wrong? Do you need something from me?"
Li Lanzu raised her eyes and looked at the girl in front of her. She was wearing a blue dress, with long white hair flowing down to her waist, fair skin, and beautiful features.
"Someone is looking for you. Come with me." Li Lanzu said indifferently and didn't say much more.
Baixi frowned, puzzled. "Who is looking for me?"
"You'll see when you meet them." After speaking, Li Lanzu took the lead and walked in a certain direction. Baixi followed behind.
Ten minutes later, the two arrived at Lilia's residence. Baixi asked, "Sister... Grandma, what is it that you want from me?"
Li Lanzu didn't answer, but pointed inside the main hall, indicating for her to enter and talk.
Although curious, since she had come, Baixi stepped into the hall. She looked around but didn't see anyone.
After a moment, Lilia appeared in Baixi's sight. She had a serious expression, and her eyes were sharp as if she had returned to the time when Lilia was the vampire Queen.
Baixi felt uneasy under Lilia's gaze, even a bit scared. Then, she started to play her perfect acting skills, using a blank and dull tone to say, "Uh, what's going on? I need to make chicken soup for my mother, and Grandma, I have something else to attend to, so I'll leave first! My mother is waiting for the chicken soup I'm making."
Lilia sneered, "Baixi, you can act just like my daughter."
"Grandma, I..." Baixi started to explain in a rambling way.
However, Lilia seemed unwilling to listen to her explanations. She raised her hand to stop her from continuing, "You took advantage of my memory loss to try and take advantage of Iri, didn't you?"
"Uh..." Baixi innocently blinked her eyes and then pretended to be surprised, "Grandma, what are you talking about? I am my mother's daughter! How could I take advantage of my mother, even if I had ten thousand times more courage, I wouldn't dare."
"If you had ten thousand courage, wouldn't you be floating in the sky?"
"I can fly, so there's no need for that."
"According to vampire regulations, juniors who dare take advantage of seniors will be punished with twenty lashes and one year of imprisonment. And you just committed that mistake."
"Considering you are a member of the royal family, the twenty lashes will be changed to twenty strokes, and the one-year imprisonment will be changed to copying the family rules ten times. Any objections?" Lilia's tone was icy and emotionless.
Baixi froze. She knew her butt was in trouble, she just didn't expect it to come so quickly. "No objections."
Baixi could only see herself bending over a chair and quietly saying, "Go ahead."
She knew that if her mother found out about this, it wouldn't be as simple as twenty lashes and copying rules. Her mother would bring up all the past grievances, and her butt would not only be beaten but also owe thousands or even tens of thousands of lashes. As for being imprisoned, it was certain that she would be confined to her room. Every day she would have to practice and her mother would come to inspect at night. It was better off being imprisoned, lying on a cold iron bed without having to do anything.
Lilia took out a ruler and without hesitation, swung it towards Baixi's butt.
Baixi wailed and cried, but she didn't feel any pain. Because she had consumed Anzu, her body had undergone a qualitative leap in strength. A regular ruler couldn't hurt her, only a specially-made one would have an effect.
After giving Baixi twenty strokes, Lilia put away the ruler and before leaving, she left a sentence.
"Bring me the copied family rules tomorrow."
"Oh..." Baixi obediently replied.
Lilia walked over and returned Baixi's painted drawings to her. "Thank you, little Baixi, for reminding me of the names of these people in the drawings and their corresponding relationships."
"Huh?"
Lilia handed Baixi a bottle of pain-relief powder. "Apply this and it won't hurt anymore. Hurry and make some soup for Iri."
After that, Lilia and Baixi bid farewell and left Baixi alone, still lying on the chair. She looked at the drawings and couldn't help but speak up, "What am I doing? Am I finding trouble for myself? Although I don't feel any pain, if Grandmother tells Mother about all this, I'll be done for."
Baixi calmed down and thought carefully. With the current relationship between Grandmother and Mother, they probably wouldn't say anything. But who knows about the future.
"I have to seize the time to practice. At least before Mother finds out, I can escape while she's angry."
With that, Baixi quickly returned to her bedroom and began intense training. She didn't want to be punished by her mother.
...
"Sister, did I just lose some of my previous majesty?"
"Less dignity, more cuteness. Since I became Your Majesty, I use 'I/we,' and you used 'you/thou.' But now, that attitude is gone."
"So that was how I used to be." Lilia murmured to herself. In her memories, it was all scenes of her being with Iris, and her personal memories remained blank.
