Yanruo was startled and subconsciously asked, "It's still cold, should we... wait a little longer and ask Miss Xinrui to come over?"

“I can’t wait any longer.” Ulanara laughed. “If we wait any longer, this garden will have to change its surname to Qian, just like her.”

“Oh, or perhaps, he changed his surname to Niohuru after her.” Ulanara laughed again.

Yanruo knew about this, and couldn't help but feel resentful: "The prince is really biased. Even if he wanted to elevate the banner of the concubine, the Han banner would have been fine, but he went straight to the Bordered White Banner, and a major one at that, the Niohuru clan..."

Originally, the household only had one principal wife with the prominent Manchu surname Ulanara. If Qian Shengyan were to be appointed as a secondary principal wife, and still bear the surname Niohuru, that would truly be...

Ulanara was also worried about this matter, but there was something else that worried her even more. She withdrew her outstretched hand, expressionlessly wiped the blood from her fingernails digging into her palm onto her sleeve, and said, "Ulanara, you must have your own prince."

***

Two days after the Lantern Festival, after having breakfast early in the morning, Yinzhen took Qian Shengyan to Xifeng Xiuse.

Qian Shengyan had been excitedly planning to visit her son, but as she walked, she realized something was wrong. She asked, puzzled, "Grandpa? Are we going the wrong way? Should we go a little further west?"

“No, the direction is right.” Yinzhen took her hand and turned to smile at her. “I have had a field reclaimed on the east side of Xifeng Xiuse. We’ll farm here from now on.”

What? Farming?

A huge question mark slowly rose above Qian Shengyan's head.

How did you start farming?

No, even if we're going to farm, why take her there? She doesn't want to play in the mud...

When they arrived at the destination, Qian Shengyan found that the three princes had already arrived. The youngest, Hongzhou, was sitting on the ridge of the field, laughing and grabbing at the soil with his hands.

The wet nurse who was looking after him looked conflicted, as if she couldn't wait to pick up Hongzhou and get away from this dirty place.

"It's alright, let him play." Yinzhen spoke up at that moment, and the wet nurse had no choice but to agree, standing to the side with a look of unbearable disapproval.

Hongshi was at least a bit older, so he could help with things like turning over the soil; Hongli, on the other hand... could also do it, but he was a bit slower, following behind his father and brother, trying his best to dig the ground to catch up with their speed.

And Qian Shengyan...

Qian Shengyan sat down next to Hongzhou and together they sculpted a little figure out of the damp clay—actually, it was just like a snowman made of clay, with a round head and a round body, and limbs made of withered branches. But even so, it made Hongzhou laugh out loud.

Two-year-old Hongzhou can't speak very well yet, only able to say a few short sentences. Qian Shengyan hadn't had much contact with him before, but when they started chatting, she noticed this problem and intentionally tried to get him to say more.

So when the father and his two sons returned after turning over a patch of land, they heard Hongzhou laughing and saying, "Round belly! Round! Just like Father!"

Yinzhen: ? ? ?

"Mother, what are you doing!" Hongli hopped over in a few steps and saw a row of clay figures of varying sizes in front of Qian Shengyan. He immediately became interested. "How did you make them, Mother? They're so round!"

"Come on, like this, you have to roll it..." Qian Shengyan demonstrated while leading the two children to roll mud balls. Yinzhen found it amusing, and looking at the taciturn Hongshi beside him, he patted him on the shoulder: "Why don't you go and make a clay figure?"

“…Our son has grown up.” Hongshi said with a forced smile.

Yinzhen raised an eyebrow slightly, said nothing more, and walked over to squat down next to Qian Shengyan, smiling as he asked Hongzhou, "Which round belly looks like Father's?"

Hongzhou was originally very afraid of Yinzhen, but what Qian Shengyan had just told him was so funny that he mustered up his courage and pointed to the largest clay figure: "Father." Then he pointed to the second largest, "Third Brother." And then, "Fourth Brother, Hongzhou."

"Hmm, just the two of us, father and son? What about you?" Yinzhen asked Qian Shengyan, but she tilted her head slightly: "If I were to include concubines, there would be so many more clay figures to add..." She counted on her fingers, "Prince Consort, Concubine..."

Yinzhen grasped her muddy fingers, both amused and exasperated, "Alright, alright, I know." He paused, and although he couldn't be too blunt in front of the children, he still sighed, "Petite."

Qian Shengyan: ...

She was just telling the truth, how did that make her petty!

The weather was still very cold in the first month of the lunar calendar, and the ground had not completely thawed. Yinzhen mainly brought the children here today to have some fun and get them moving. After playing for a while, everyone returned to Xifeng Xiuse, where Yinzhen and Qian Shengyan had lunch.

Hongzhou was noticeably more lively and kept trying to get close to Qian Shengyan to talk to her. Hongli was almost pushed away by him several times, so he became a little unhappy: "This is my mother!"

“Oh…” Hongzhou blinked and then laughed, “Hongzhou, you also want this, to be your mother.”

"No! Your mother is Geng Eniang!" Hongli said angrily.

Hongzhou said somewhat aggrievedly, "There are so many, Mother, I can have some too."

Before Hongli could even process what "many mothers" meant, Qian Shengyan coughed lightly and tapped the table in front of him: "Sit down and eat."

"Oh." Hongli's eyes darted around. "Mother, how about bringing my little sister to farm next time?"

He really wanted to sculpt a small clay figure to represent his sister, but he failed several times. Perhaps when his sister arrives, he will be able to make one and show it to her.

Qian Shengyan almost burst out laughing: "Ferguchun isn't even a year old yet, how could he possibly be farming?" She took a sip of soup and then put some food on Hongli and Hongzhou's plates. "Eat up."

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