40. Getting better and better

The residence of the Marquis of Beiding.

Jin Lanyue, freshly washed and smelling sweet, got off the carriage and saw a small white figure by the door.

Her eyes lit up: "Little White!"

Little White shyly came up to her and licked her palm.

Jiang Xiyue, who was standing nearby, laughed and said, "This little dog is very clever. It stayed in its room all day and didn't dare to go out, but when I was about to go to the door to meet you, it followed us out. Although it was scared, it didn't run away."

"I knew Xiaobai and I were best friends!" The little dumpling happily picked up the puppy and went back inside to play.

As night fell—

"Miss is hiding a puppy again!" The old woman lifted a corner of the quilt, and a fluffy head immediately peeked out.

The little dumpling pounced and hugged the blanket: "Moon wants to play with Little White!"

Little White had already cleverly rolled over, revealing its little belly wrapped in bandages.

The old woman reached out to grab it with a stern face, but the puppy suddenly licked her calloused fingers.

The old woman exclaimed "Oh dear!" and looked at those wet, dark eyes before finally sighing, "This old servant will go and make some bone broth."

"Yay!" Behind them, Little Dumpling and Little White quietly gave each other a high five.

-

The days that followed seemed to get better and better.

Wenhua Hall.

Rest time.

Jin Lanyue was squatting by the tree roots counting ants when suddenly her vision went dark. Looking up, she saw the little prince standing in front of her, his silhouette backlit and edged with gold.

He pursed his lips and suddenly shoved an oil paper package into the little dumpling's hand: "Here you go."

The oil paper package was still warm from my body and exuded a sweet rose scent.

The little dumpling carefully peeled off a corner, revealing a golden, flaky pastry adorned with bright red rose petals—clearly a special dessert made by the imperial kitchen.

"Rose pastry." The young prince turned his face away, his voice muffled but unable to hide a hint of pride. "From the Imperial Kitchen. You can't find such delicious things outside the palace."

The tips of his ears had a faint pink tint.

The little dumpling held the oil paper package, its eyes sparkling: "Thank you..."

"Seeing is believing!" A figure suddenly appeared from behind the tree, and the little princess quickly broke off half of the pastry.

"You!" The young prince stamped his foot in anger, "This is for her!"

However, the little princess had already stuffed the pastry into her mouth, puffed out her cheeks, and mumbled, "I don't want to hear it, you're just spouting nonsense!"

"Who are you calling a bastard?!"

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing again, the little dumpling quickly broke the remaining half of the pastry in half: "Let's eat it together!"

She stood on tiptoe and handed the slightly larger half to the little prince: "Here you go."

The little prince was stunned, looking down at the tiny hand in front of him.

The little girl's hands were fair and tender, with round, chubby fingers, and the tips and knuckles were the same pink color as her cheeks.

Her hands were as lovely as her face; she was holding a pastry, her big, bright black eyes gazing at him expectantly.

The little prince blushed and said haughtily, "I didn't really want to eat it..."

But he obediently accepted it.

And so—

The three little ones eventually sat side by side on the tree root, sharing the rose pastry bite by bite.

"So sweet." The little dumpling squinted its eyes, with crumbs of pastry sticking to the corners of its mouth.

"It's too sweet." The little prince complained, but he still ate the last bit of pastry.

-

The residence of the Marquis of Beiding.

Another day off.

Jin Lanyue ran across the rain-soaked lawn, lifting her skirt, her embroidered shoes sinking into the soft mud.

"noob!"

She tossed the sachet with a flick of her wrist, her white figure streaking across the still-dampened grass like a shooting star.

The red ribbon around the puppy's neck resembled a knight's cape. It leaped nimbly, drawing a perfect arc in the air, and steadily caught the sachet in its mouth.

"Woof!"

Little White spun around triumphantly, then darted back and jumped into Little Dumpling's arms.

Its wet nose brushed against her cheek, and its tail wagged like a windmill.

The little girl giggled and leaned back, plopping down on the grass. The puppy immediately started jumping and bouncing around her.

"Little sister!" Second brother chased after her breathlessly, "It...it took Daddy's court boots to use as a bed mat again!"

Before the words were finished, the furious shout of the Marquis of Beiding came from afar: "My new boots—"

-

Wenhua Hall.

The break between classes has ended.

Qu Zijin slowly entered the classroom, then his eyes suddenly widened, and he almost tripped over his own steps.

The little prince and princess, who have always been at odds, were now flanking Jin Lanyue's table, their three little heads almost touching.

"Hold your wrist like this." The little princess held the little dumpling's chubby hand and guided her to move slowly across the rice paper.

"That's not right." The young prince suddenly spoke up, pointing his finger at the Xuan paper. "The horizontal lines should be flat, and the vertical lines should be straight. The force should be even, not like you suddenly exerting force like that."

The little dumpling was sandwiched between the two, her tiny hand holding the calligraphy brush trembling slightly.

Her hands were even smaller than those of the little prince and princess, and it was already quite a struggle for her to hold the pen and prevent it from moving around.

Therefore, her calligraphy has never been very good... well, perhaps a muddy mess of writing cannot be called "calligraphy".

Now, she looked at the little princess's elegant handwriting on the left and the little prince's neat regular script on the right, and fine beads of sweat appeared on the tip of her nose.

Ugh, this is so hard!

"I...I can't write well..." The little dumpling pouted, the ink spreading along the crooked strokes, forming a dark cloud on the rice paper.

"It's alright." The little princess took out a silk handkerchief from her sleeve and gently wiped the beads of sweat from the little dumpling's nose. "The first time I wrote, I ate all the ink!"

The young prince gave a soft hum, but silently took out a small wolf-hair brush from his brocade pouch: "This is more suitable for beginners."

Qu Zijin stood three steps away, a rare smile appearing on his face.

Then, he deliberately increased the speed of his steps, watching the comical way the three little ones hurriedly separated.

"How's your calligraphy practice going?" Qu Zijin gently tapped the young prince's shoulder with his ruler, only to find that the student who used to give him the most headaches was now writing surprisingly neat calligraphy.

Perhaps it's because, at this very moment, this calligraphy copybook is placed on Xiaotuanzi's desk, serving as an example.

"Reporting to the Grand Tutor, this student..." Before the little prince could finish speaking, he heard a "rip" behind him—the little dumpling's Xuan paper had been punctured by a brush.

The little dumpling looked up sadly: "Writing is so hard!"

The little princess was the first to laugh out loud, followed by Qu Zijin.

The young prince looked at them, and slowly, he smiled too.

-

The three little ones got along better than ever before.

Later, when school ended, Marquis Beiding was preoccupied with official business and asked Qu Zijin to escort Jin Lanyue home.

Upon hearing this, the little princess and the little prince volunteered to escort the little dumpling to the palace gate.

The setting sun bathed the palace walls in a honey color, and three small figures cast overlapping shadows on the long palace path.

The little girl was led by one person on each side, her skirt swaying gently with each step, like a little sparrow being surrounded by people.

“I will bring grapes from the Western Regions as tribute tomorrow,” the young prince suddenly said. “I’ve heard that these grapes are crystal clear and seedless, and they also have a specialty called raisins.”

"What's so special about it!" The little princess immediately shook the little dumpling's other arm. "I have a new butterfly kite with precious gems from the other side of the sea on its wings. They're called diamonds, and when it flies, they reflect seven colors in the sunlight!"

She deliberately leaned close to the little boy's ear, making sure her voice was just loud enough for the prince to hear: "These are much more interesting than some people's grapes!"

"But grapes are delicious!" the little prince retorted.

"My kite is beautiful!"

Not to be outdone, the two of them grabbed the little dumpling's hand.

The little dumpling staggered slightly as the two pulled her along, the snacks in her pouch jingling all over the place.

The purse was empty when it arrived this morning, but now it's bulging—the little princess's golden jujubes haven't been finished yet, and the little prince's pine nut candy has been added in as well.

There are also hawthorn balls, candied fruit, and other delicious treats...

"Um..." the little dumpling began weakly, her voice sweet and childlike, "We can eat grapes together, and fly kites together..."

The little princess and the little prince were taken aback and exchanged a glance.

It seems... there's nothing wrong with it?

But since we couldn't reach a conclusion, I still felt a little unhappy.

so……