Lin Zhanyuan walked over in a dignified manner. He had mastered the art of perfecting the royal etiquette with Lin Feilu as he bowed to Imperial Concubine Su in a proper manner. Lin Wei had already jumped over and hugged his leg, sulking as she called out pitifully, “Brother!”
The little sister’s face was full of tears and snot as Lin Zhanyuan looked down at her. Then, he pulled the cuffs of his sleeves as he wiped her face clean little by little.
In the end, he patted her head and said seriously, “Sister, be good. Don’t cry, alright? Good children don’t cry.”
Lin Wei really stopped crying as she took his hand and ran to the edge of the flower field. There, she squatted down and pointed at the rabbit’s burrow, “Brother, I can sing the children’s song you taught Weiwei to sing yesterday!”
After she finished speaking, she clapped her hands and sang, “Little bunny, be good and open the door; open it quickly, I want to come in~!” Then she shook her head abruptly, singing fiercely and firmly, ” I won’t, I won’t, no means no! Mum hasn’t come back so I won’t open the door!”(3)
(T/N: This nursery rhyme is about a wolf trying to get into a house of rabbits when the mother left the house. Before she left, she told the kids to not open the door to whomever was outside no matter who they were unless it was her)
Imperial Concubine Su, “Pfft…”
I am too good at giving birth, for I have given birth to such an adorably lovely daughter.
Of course, this was also the children’s song that Lin Feilu sang every time she needed to coax Lin Zhanyuan. After he taught his sister to sing the tune yesterday, the little baby secretly practised under the covers for a long time before she went to bed at night.
Xiao Lan had been tense and nervous since the arrival of Imperial Concubine Su. Now that she saw this scene unfold and heard the Imperial Concubine’s laugh, her tense spirit relaxed and she couldn’t help but laugh as well.
Imperial Concubine Su said after she laughed, “I can’t do anything about this child. Since she wants to play here, please help me to take care of her, sister.”
Xiao Lan naturally replied affirmatively.
When Imperial Concubine Su entered the palace, Xiao Lan had already fallen out of favour, so this was the first time the two officially met each other. Imperial Concubine Su couldn’t just remain here the entire day, so after entrusting Xiaoqing with a few orders, she left the Mingyue Palace.
As they were walking out, Imperial Concubine Su’s personal maid asked worriedly, “Imperial Concubine, are we just going to leave the princess here? Wouldn’t it…”
Imperial Concubine Su listened to her concerns as she laughed in her heart. Her voice softened unconsciously as she replied, “Wei Er rarely has a playmate. The Sixth Prince is pure and kind and Brilliant Lady Lan is gentle— there’s no harm done in leaving her there.”
The maid nodded and said, “Imperial Concubine, yesterday, Noble Consort Ruan requested for you to help her choose a satin pattern this morning, so please don’t forget it.”
Imperial Concubine Su said softly, “Let us go then.”
The morning sun was not intensely bright. When Imperial Concubine Su came to Yunxi Palace unhurriedly, the Imperial Embroidery Workshop already delivered a horde of multicoloured brocades to the palace. Noble Consort Ruan was already starting to go through her choices when she heard the palace staff announce Imperial Concubine Su’s arrival. Her voice resonated and echoed from within the room, “Come in and give me some advice; I’m about to go crazy with the amount of colours there are.”