Since having her child, Su Luo has made it a habit to carry some snacks with her.
She touched her cuff and sure enough, there was a packet of homemade dried fruit. This kind of sweet but not cloying treat was Yi Huan's favorite.
Su Luo simply forgot that Yi Huan hadn't come this time, and she had casually put this in her sleeve when she left.
"Little friend, tell me your name, and I'll give you something delicious."
Shen Jiazhen turned to look at Shen Yuan first, and only spoke after seeing his father nod.
"Shen Jiazhen"
"Shen Jiazhen, a good name, here you go."
Su Luo opened the dried fruit and gave it to him. He had always heard that Shen Yuan had a son who was over three years old.
He was born to his childhood sweetheart. His wife died in childbirth, leaving behind only this one son.
Shen Jiazhen accepted the candied fruit and thanked Su Luo.
The Shen family were imperial merchants, and they had tasted all sorts of delicacies in the world, but when Shen Jiazhen tasted Su Luo's candied fruit, his eyes lit up immediately.
"Princess Yu, which dried fruit shop did you buy this from? It's so delicious, I love it."
Su Luo chuckled; children this age are the most gluttonous.
"This wasn't bought, I made it myself."
Shen Jiazhen was a little disappointed. At home, he could eat whatever he wanted, and everyone listened to him, including his grandparents.
But what he feared most was his father. There were many things his father wouldn't let him eat, saying they were unhealthy.
But healthy things don't taste good, like bird's nest, he doesn't like to eat it.
It was rare for me to have some dried fruit that my father allowed me to eat, and it was something I couldn't buy outside.
"Princess Yu, I've heard my father say that you're the best cook in the world. May I come to your house?"
Shen Yuan picked up Shen Jiazhen and sat him on his lap, wiping the residue off his face.
"You brat, you'd abandon your old man for a bite to eat."
Su Luo and Xie Wanwan covered their mouths and burst into laughter; this child was just too adorable.
"I want my father, I want my grandparents, I can't go..."
Shen Jiazhen muttered to himself, but he really wanted to eat what Su Luo made, and he thought about it for a long time with his round little eyes.
He turned to Su Luo and asked, "Princess Yu, do you have a daughter? When I grow up, I'll marry your daughter, and then you can come and cook delicious food for me every day, okay?"
This was the best solution that three-year-old Shen Jiazhen could think of. His grandmother said that she would get married when she grew up.
Since you're going to get married anyway, you might as well marry someone you like, and you can also enjoy good food.
"Oh! Children speak without thinking, Princess Yu, please don't mind."
Shen Yuan quickly tried to smooth things over, asking Su Luo's daughter what kind of status she had and why she would be interested in their merchant family.
Su Luo and Xie Wanwan were almost bursting into laughter.
"It's alright, it's alright, he's just a child."
After saying that, Su Luo answered Shen Jiazhen very seriously.
"You know what, I actually have a daughter. She's older than you, and you can't beat her."
Shen Jiazhen kept replaying those three words in his mind: "Can't beat them..."
If he can't beat his wife, he definitely won't be able to win the best food either. I'm so scared. It's better not to get married.
"Father, Jiazhen is all grown up. If he doesn't get married, he won't be able to beat you..."
Even Shen Yuan couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Today, the child is clinging to him, and he can neither hit him nor scold him.
"There are still more than ten years to go, we're not afraid!"
The group arrived at the village, where the weather was different from that in Changping Village.
The cotton matured early, with fluffy bales growing well.
Xie Quan and the people of the village had prepared a set of tools and had begun to harvest the fruit.
With the two hundred-plus people brought by Shen Yuan, the cotton from several estates in the capital can be harvested in about half a month.
Su Luo laid out the procedures, and everything was at its best...
...
Nangong Manyu's carriage stopped in front of Nangong Qing's residence.
She received a letter from Su Luo early in the morning, asking her to come and see her third brother.
I don't know what's wrong with Third Brother. He's been gone for half a month. If you didn't know better, you'd think he was playing with the Northern Liang princess who lives next door every day.
"Ah Xu, where's my third brother?"
Ever since Nangong Qing fell ill, it has been Axu who has been taking care of her almost all the time.
Only Ah Xu could talk to him about the past and help him resolve his inner conflicts.
"Greetings, Fifth Princess. What brings you here, Fifth Princess?"
Nangong Manyu put her hands on her hips and walked up to Axu.
"Can't I, the princess, come to see my third brother? Tell me now, where is he?"
Ah Xu pointed to the bedroom. After all these days, he finally understood why the Third Prince had become like this.
It turns out that, without his previous notice, the Third Prince had actually...
Given the circumstances at the time, who would have thought of that? Even if Su Luo was a widow, she was not a good match for the Third Prince.
The two only referred to each other as friends, but feelings are like a seed, and the interaction between them is like the rain and dew that nourishes it.
The rain and dew only helped it grow taller and taller, until it was firmly rooted and unable to break free.
The Third Prince hadn't spoken of it before, but now that Su Luo has Prince Yu, he plans to process these feelings on his own.
It's fine to be reckless for a while; one day I'll get through this.
“Ah Xu, what time is it? My third brother is still not up. If he develops a lazy habit, Father will be the first to question you.”
"Princess, the Third Prince, he..."
Before Ah Xu could finish speaking, the door was pushed open by Nangong Manyu.
A strong smell of alcohol wafted from the room.
"Huh...!"
Nangong Manyu covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, her eyes stinging from the stench.
After waiting for a while, she and Ah Xu went in together, only to find the room full of wine jugs.
Nangong Qing didn't even change her clothes before lying on her side on the bed.
Ignoring the mess in the room, Ah Xu went to Nangong Qing's bedside and called him.
"Your Highness, the Fifth Princess has come to see you."
He called out, but Nangong Qing on the bed did not respond. Ah Xu spoke again.
"Your Highness, the Fifth Princess has arrived."
He still didn't wake up, but his body moved slightly, and he seemed to be talking to himself.
Ah Xu couldn't hear clearly, but it sounded like she was saying something like, "I can't do it, I can't do it, it hurts so much..."
As soon as Nangong Manyu came in, she shook her head and turned Nangong Qing over on the bed. She couldn't believe that this was still the Third Prince she knew.
How could someone who looked down on the world, who wished he could grow two wings and fly away, who yearned for a free and vibrant life, have become someone who willingly stayed at home?
"Third brother, third brother, wake up! The imperial physician said you're vomiting blood, and you're still drinking alcohol. Are you trying to kill yourself?"
After turning the man over, Nangong Manyu discovered that there was an exquisite rabbit lantern inside his bed.
Who would put a lantern on their bed to sleep? I'm not a child anymore.
"Third brother, get up now."
As she spoke, she picked up the lantern from the bed and handed it to Ah Xu: "Ah Xu, take this and throw it away. It reeks of alcohol and stinks terribly."
Ah Xu took the lantern. "This can't be lost! It's His Highness's life-saving charm. Su Luo gave it to His Highness after winning the competition on the Lantern Festival."
It has a different meaning; it's something that can't be said aloud. If His Highness doesn't even have something to cling to, how painful it must be.
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