Chapter Twenty-Two: Mother, Please Stop—I'm Behind the Carriage

“We’re rich! We’re rich!”
In the bedroom, Linley gleefully counted his pocket money. “Do you know what the happiest thing in life is?”
The maids glanced at the copper coins in his hand. “Counting money?”
“Wrong!”
At the same time, Winnie raised her fist with righteous conviction.
“The happiest thing in life is counting money until your hands cramp!”
Lin Wen looked at her bed, covered in gold coins, and felt a headache coming on. As soon as the farce onstage ended, the royal mages and lords couldn’t wait to snatch up all of the queen’s first batch of projection gems, each priced at two hundred gold coins.
An ordinary elf earned barely a hundred gold coins a year; one of Winnie’s projection gems equaled two elves’ annual income. While the gems themselves weren’t cheap, Winnie’s profit was still more than half—an outrageous windfall.
“Mother, isn’t your price a bit too high?” Lin Wen asked.
“Fool, gems must be expensive to be valuable.” Winnie shot him a look. Having finally managed to outwit Linley, she intended to maximize her gains. “Have faith in your brother’s charm.”
Lin Wen still had his doubts, but in just a few days, he realized Winnie hadn’t lied—the second batch of projection gems sold out as well.
After all, Linley was no ordinary person. His prior cultivation had already aroused immense curiosity among the elves. Those who hadn’t come to Twin Moon City were willing to spend two hundred gold coins just to catch a glimpse of the little prince they’d never seen.
Elven nobles from all corners were the primary buyers, and many merchants also begged Winnie for the gems. If she’d had more, she might have joined the ranks of the kingdom’s wealthy. Even as it was, she was counting money until her hands were sore.
Five days later, Linley’s birthday arrived. Because the king was injured, there would be no celebration this year.
But that evening, the mages lined up to present gifts.
“Your Highness, this is a spell compendium I wrote. I hope you won’t visit my laboratory anymore.”
“Alright, just set it down!”
“Your Highness, here’s the hundred-flower spice powder you requested—perfect for roasting meats. There’s really nothing interesting in my laboratory.”
“Fine, put it over there!”
“Your Highness, these rune papers are specially made for you, enough for a whole year. Perhaps you could refrain from visiting my place for a while…”
The mages were especially enthusiastic. That morning, a rumor spread—Linley was planning to visit the laboratories of those who hadn’t given him birthday gifts. Good heavens, that was practically a declaration of intent to rob them!
The little tyrant was not the same as before. The royal mages preferred to offer gifts to avert disaster.
“Haha, you’re too kind, all of you!”
Linley feasted, a roast chicken in one hand and a roast duck in the other, his face shining with oil. He was in excellent spirits, and his ears were especially sharp tonight. He overheard a conversation at the back of the line.
“Are you planning to give that box?”
“Is there a problem? This was a gift to me. It’s the most popular present among the nobility—if you haven’t received this box, you’re not really a noble!”
“Well… but do you really not know what’s inside? You can’t give that to His Highness.”

What! Linley perked up. A gift like that, and they didn’t want to give it to him?
As a prince with simple tastes, Linley never fussed over what gifts he received—so he wiped the grease from his mouth and declared loudly,
“That expensive-sounding box—bring it here at once!”
The elder mage carrying an exquisitely decorated box stepped forward. Linley impatiently opened it and found a crystal-clear round gem inside. His eyes lit up. “This gem looks like a projection stone, but it must be a real gem, right?”
The mage who’d delivered the box turned pale as he saw the stone.
“No…” he stammered, stepping back. He hadn’t checked the box’s contents beforehand—it was indeed a projection gem.
“Let me see if it’s real.”
Linley picked up the gem and examined it. His hands were so greasy that the gem slipped to the floor, and suddenly an image was projected into the room.
“Do I just need to sing a song here?”
A familiar voice rang out. Linley’s eyes widened, staring at the image.
“What is this?”
“That…”
“…Everyone, run!”
The mages sensed trouble and scattered in an instant.
Linley stared at the projection for a long time; his face turned from red to white, then to green, and finally flushed crimson—he looked like a chameleon!
“Mother, you’ve gone too far!”
The little tyrant’s furious roar shook the palace.
Fuming, Linley stormed into the garden. “Snowy, come on, take me to Mother!”
He leaped onto his leopard and rushed to the queen’s chambers. But when he arrived, the cunning queen was already gone.
“The queen said something came up at the school and left in a hurry,” the maid explained. Linley was sure she’d fled as soon as her plot was exposed.
“Damn it, she’s using me to make money!” Back in his bedroom, Linley was still restless, growing angrier the more he thought about it. “No! I’m going after her. I won’t let her get away!”
He stuffed all the mages’ gifts into his earring, then rummaged in his wardrobe for some clothes and packed those away as well, before heading to the queen’s chambers once more.
“Give me Mother’s usual things—I’ll need them to sneak out and find her!”
“Leaving the palace, ha!”
The maids exchanged amused glances as Linley took the queen’s comb. The palace was under tight lockdown; getting out wouldn’t be easy.
Linley rode his leopard to the garden, comb in one hand and a rune in the other.

“Good thing I have two Great Transposition Talismans!”
Even if you had three, it wouldn’t matter—the leopard thought to itself. But it had never seen Linley so agitated and was curious. “Why are you chasing the queen?”
“To make her cough up the money, of course!” Linley fumed. “She made so much and only gave me some copper coins—how selfish!”
…
The leopard felt drained, thinking it hardly mattered whether they chased her or not.
“Everyone stand back, I’m going to use the Great Transposition!”
Linley positioned himself on the leopard’s back. At that moment, the earring’s attention shifted to him as well. “You again? It’s impossible.”
“This time, I’ll use all my true energy.” Linley held up the rune. “I’ll definitely succeed. Watch me—Great Transposition!”
“I told you it’s not possib—”
In the moonlight, there was a flash of white. Suddenly, the garden was empty.
“—le.”
The rest of the earring’s remark echoed a thousand miles away. It froze in shock. The leopard took in its surroundings and was equally stunned.
Inside a carriage overflowing with gold coins, Winnie stared in disbelief at the sudden appearance of a boy and his leopard.
“Darling, what are you doing here?”
“Hahahaha! I told you—I did it!”
Linley threw his head back and laughed in triumph. But midway through, there was a bang—he vanished from the carriage, leaving only the leopard behind.
Winnie leapt up, her pupils contracting. “Teleportation instability!”
The leopard’s expression changed as well. It had thought Linley’s teleportation had succeeded, but it had actually failed, resulting in a rare double teleport.
A double teleportation was a mishap, often sending one to a strange dimension—never to be seen again.
“Where did he go?”
Leopard and Winnie grew anxious, then heard a shout from outside.
“Mother, stop the carriage! I’m behind you—I’ll never catch up at this rate!”
On the dark road, the boy was sprinting after the carriage with all his might.