Extra 3 Who will you marry when you grow up?
"Ping'er..."
Su Zhijun squatted beside the flower bed in the backyard, her small body curled up into a ball, holding a piece of dry branch in her hand, and drawing on the ground. In a moment, it could be vaguely seen that she was drawing a woman with long hair.
"When you grow up...who are you going to marry?"
Ping'er was slightly startled, lowered her eyes to look at her, confusion flashed in her eyes, "Why do you suddenly ask this?"
Su Zhijun put down the branch in his hand and looked up at him.
He had already got a new name, which was given by his mother. He also took the surname Xie and was called Xie Yun'an, but his nickname was still Ping'er.
As the twelfth lunar month was approaching, Ping'er had grown rapidly in height. She was two fingers shorter than him in the spring, but now she was half a head taller than him. Her appearance was exactly like that of her third uncle. At such a young age, her eyes and eyebrows had the same radiance as her third uncle.
"Sister Cailian said that children from wealthy families in the capital often get married early, often getting engaged after the age of ten. Some even set their sights on unborn babies, which they call child marriage." Su Zhijun sighed softly, holding up her small face. "Sister Qingshuang also said that Third Uncle has been very popular in the palace recently and has become the Emperor's personal physician."
"Those snobbish families have learned that Third Uncle has a younger brother, and they've already set their sights on you. They've sent invitations home, asking you to go boating and drinking tea with the daughters of several other families."
Ping'er's long eyelashes cast a faint shadow as she sat quietly beside her, silent.
"Say something, please." Su Zhijun poked him with her fingertips, her brow furrowed. "When I was in girls' school, several girls came to me and asked me to speak well of you for them."
Ping'er glanced at her, her soft hair falling on both sides of her cheeks, "Did you refuse them?"
"Why should I refuse?" Su Zhijun was puzzled. She puffed up her cheeks and tilted her head to ask in a low voice, "Grandpa said that boys will get married sooner or later. If there are girls you like among these families, it's not a bad idea to get engaged early."
Ping'er looked at her with a calm expression, "What was the first question you asked me?"
"At first..." Su Zhijun thought for a moment, "Who are you going to marry when you grow up?"
"you."
Su Zhijun was stunned, her eyes slowly widened, and her little mouth opened silently.
"What are you two doing?" Su Chen opened the door to the east wing and saw the two of them huddled together. He immediately smiled and said, "Ping'er, have you finished your homework? Master Zhou is notoriously strict. Do you still have the heart to play with Cuicui?"
"Brother..." Su Zhijun stood up in a panic, not even daring to look at Ping'er beside him, "Why did you come out of my mother's room?"
"My fourth uncle sent some toys to cheer me up and told me to take them to my mother." Su Chen walked slowly up to the two of them and looked at the little girl with a doting smile in his eyes. "Come inside and rest for a while. Look at you, your face is all sunburned, and you won't stop playing for a while."
"I...I'm going to see mother." Su Zhijun said with his head down, then ran away.
"etc."
Su Zhijun's body stiffened.
Ping'er's smiling voice came from behind, "Sister, you're running in the wrong direction. My sister-in-law is in the east wing."
Su Zhijun paused, stammered in response, and then ran towards the east wing.
"Madam, please have some snacks." Qing Shuang brought a plate of lotus cakes and said softly, "There's no need to get angry over such a small matter."
"This is outrageous! What are these families thinking?" Su Cheng showed a look of fear. He threw several visiting cards in his hand on the table and said helplessly, "In the past few days, there have been many visiting cards sent to our house. Chen'er and Ping'er are fine, but someone actually set their sights on Cuicui. How old is she?"
"Madam, calm down. Actually, Master Ping is a few months younger than Miss."
Su Cheng gently held his forehead, a look of fatigue flashing across his face. "That's right, boys tend to be taller, and I forgot that Ping'er is the youngest."
Cai Lian filled her cup of tea and sighed softly, "The mansion is thriving, the three sons-in-law are all enjoying successful careers, and we're the only one in power at court. This is like a ready-made Tang Monk's meat. I can't blame others for wanting it. On the bright side, isn't this also a sign that those outsiders recognize the performance of the three sons-in-law?"
"mother!"
The door of the east wing was pushed open. Su Cheng raised her eyes slightly and saw the little girl with puffed pink cheeks walking into the room angrily and sitting down beside her.
"What's going on?" Su Cheng found it funny and raised his hand to poke her chubby cheeks. "Who bullied my daughter?"
"Of course it's Ping'er!" Su Zhijun knew she had lost face and was furious. "He always finds a reason to tease me!"
"Ping'er is so kind, how could she tease you?" Su Cheng couldn't help but laugh, picking up a piece of lotus cake and passing it to her. "Normally, he's the one chasing you around, calling you sister all the time. You spend more time with him than with Chen'er. Just a month ago, you said you loved Ping'er the most. How come you've become enemies now?"
"It's not like we're at odds." Su Zhijun pouted, unwilling to lose face in vain. "I've been to the girls' school these past few days, and many of my classmates have been asking me about Brother He Ping'er. They've even bought me candied haws and dates, asking me to speak well of them in front of Brother He Ping'er."
"I'm grateful for what I've done, so naturally I have to ask around to see who Ping'er is interested in. He's going to get engaged anyway, but he...he said..."
Su Cheng became interested and raised his eyebrows, "What did you say?"
"He said he wanted to marry me!"
A hint of surprise flashed across Su Cheng's eyes, but he also felt that it was within his expectations. He wanted to laugh secretly, but when he saw his daughter's cheeks flushed, whether it was from anger or shame, he suppressed his smile and said, "You are still young. Children's words are innocent and cannot be taken seriously."
Su Zhijun was stunned for a moment, then raised his tender little face, "That's true..."
"Look, your little face is all red." Su Cheng rubbed her head and said softly, "Ping'er was probably teasing you. You got so angry over his casual words. Why didn't you think of turning the tables?"
Su Zhijun was puzzled, her mind going blank. "Counterattack... an army?"
"Ping'er is teasing you, so you tease him back. It's just a verbal joke anyway. Whoever loses face loses."
Her mother's words kept echoing in Su Zhijun's mind. She walked out of the east wing in a daze and saw Ping'er sitting on the swing from a distance, looking at her quietly.
Feeling angry, Su Zhijun took a step forward and walked up to him.
Ping'er sat on the swing and had to look up at her, with a smile in her eyes, "Sister, you..."
With a popping sound.
While Ping'er was not prepared, Su Zhijun quickly lowered her head and kissed him on the cheek.
The swing stopped moving and Ping'er was dumbfounded.
Only Su Zhijun raised the corners of her lips, like a cat that stole some fish, and looked at him smugly, "Don't you want to marry me? I agree. Whoever regrets it first is a puppy!"
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