After lunch, the rain was still falling outside. It looked like it wouldn't stop for a while, so Pei Yan played double-six with the Sixth Princess for a while.

After playing three games, the Sixth Princess felt sleepy, so Tao Ti asked the wet nurse to take her to the side hall for a rest.

The spring rain was falling gently. Tao Ti leaned lazily against the window, staring at the dense rain threads.

Pei Yan came over at some point and asked softly, "Are you watching the rain?"

"...Yeah." Tao Ti turned around and saw him sitting down. She also sat up straight, picked up the kettle and poured him a cup of tea.

The air was a little cold, and the fragrant jasmine tea emitted a white mist. Pei Yan's handsome face looked even more ethereal in the hazy white mist.

"Thank you." His cool fingers took the cup steadily. The warmth from the cup wall seemed to enter his blood through his skin and flow into his heart.

Taking a sip of tea slowly, he said softly, "I didn't expect that Xiaoliu and you would get along so well."

"Fei Fei is very cute, I like her very much." Tao Ti shrugged helplessly, "But I didn't expect that she would cry while eating dessert. I was really scared at first..."

Pei Yan slowly raised his eyes, his eyes were gentle and calm, and he said a few words of comfort, "Xiao Liu's mother passed away three years ago."

Tao Ti's hand holding the teacup suddenly stiffened, and the tea almost spilled out.

She looked at Pei Yan in disbelief, and saw that he didn't look joking at all. His expression gradually became serious. After a long while, she said, "How could this be..."

No wonder the atmosphere suddenly became so weird when she said that the Sixth Princess should return to the palace to look for her mother.

Ahhhh, I really want to stab myself to death! Didn't what I said stab the Sixth Princess in the heart?

When Tao Ti thought of the pitiful look of the little girl with tears in her eyes, she felt extremely guilty.

Pei Yan guessed what she was thinking with a light glance. Linglong told him everything that happened at the beginning.

"Ignorance is not a crime." He sat with his back straight, his slender jade-like fingers gently stroking the wall of the cup, and said softly, "You have only been in the East Palace for a short time, and you have only seen Xiaoliu twice in total. It is normal that you don't know her life experience."

Tao Ti lowered her eyes and was silent for a while. She raised her head again and asked solemnly, "Would you please tell me about her life story?"

There was no curiosity in her bright dark eyes, but full of concern.

The look in her eyes was so clear, just like a mountain spring flowing through Pei Yan's heart.

He turned his face to the window and looked at the rain outside the window nonchalantly. After a while, he opened his thin lips and told the story of the Sixth Princess.

"Supin entered the palace through selection nine years ago. She was not particularly favored. Father only summoned her a few times when she first entered the palace. Later, she became pregnant and gave birth to Xiaoliu. Because Xiaoliu was the youngest child of Father, Father would occasionally visit Supin... Later, it seemed that on a spring day like this, Supin suddenly contracted a serious illness and passed away..."

His voice was very pleasant, and amidst the sound of the pattering rain, it carried a hint of melancholy and sadness, which calmed one's heart.

"At that time, Xiaoliu had just turned five years old. On the day of Concubine Su's funeral, Xiaoliu disappeared, and the entire harem was looking for her. I happened to go to the library to look for an ancient book, and found her hiding in a corner behind the bookshelf crying..."

He even stretched out his hand and gestured, "At that time, she was sitting on the ground with her knees hugged, a small ball, like a kitten. Later, I coaxed her to sleep and carried her back home..."

As if he was lost in memories of the past, Pei Yan's voice was cold and calm, "What's the point of crying?"

No one can accompany anyone to the end, so the important thing is to save your energy for crying and try your best to live.

When Tao Ti heard his light-hearted sigh, she suddenly remembered that Pei Yan also lost his mother at the age of five.

She quietly looked at the man in front of her. He tilted his face, his nose was straight, and his jawline was clear. From this angle, his eyelashes were even longer and thinner, not curled, but just slightly drooping, like a carefully woven small fan, covering the emotions floating in his deep black eyes.

The corners of his lips are naturally upturned. I don't know if it's because he was born that way, or because of the habit of smiling over the past twenty years, which has formed the muscles naturally.

His smile was still very beautiful, like a white feather gently falling on the white snow, so gentle, yet with a hint of sadness.

On the way, the Sixth Princess told her that among all the brothers and sisters, she liked the Crown Prince the most. The Crown Prince cared about her very much, and she could feel that his care was genuine, not acted, nor fake.

Pei Yan is so kind to the Sixth Princess. Could it be that he sees his own shadow in this little girl who lost her mother at a young age?

When she thought about how little Pei Yan lost his mother and then fell into the icy lake, and from then on he was accompanied by one illness after another and bowl after bowl of bitter and smelly medicine... Tao Ti looked at Pei Yan with more and more sympathy.

The room became quiet, with only the sound of raindrops being heard.

After a moment, as if to summarize, Pei Yan said, "Xiao Liu was young, and for a moment he missed his biological mother, and his emotions got out of control, so you don't need to blame yourself."

Seeing that he still remembered to comfort herself, Tao Ti smiled at him and picked up the kettle to add some hot tea to his cup.

Her slender wrist was slightly exposed, and the white jade bracelet shone brightly in the dim light. She added tea slowly and gracefully, as if time seemed to lengthen with her every move.

"Your Highness, you must have missed the late Queen when you were a child, right?" she asked suddenly.

“…”

Pei Yan's fingertips trembled slightly.

Quiet, very quiet.

Tao Ti regretted asking. She didn't know why she suddenly wanted to know about his childhood. She forgot that they didn't have a close relationship...

It might be okay to ask between friends, but between the two of them...are she and Pei Yan friends?

She found it difficult to define it, and she didn't think about it for the time being. Anyway, no matter what, talking about deep things with someone you just met is a taboo in interpersonal communication! She should apologize first——

"I'm sorry..."

"Yeah." The pleasant voice sounded at the same time.

Tao Ti was startled, "......?"

Pei Yan nodded seriously and said, "I will think about it."

I wanted to do it so much when I was a kid, but after I grew up... I tried hard not to think about it.

He originally thought that the memory of his mother would fade away with the passage of time, but he never expected that the bond between mother and son would be so deep and last so long.

Every time I think of it inadvertently, my heart always becomes heavy and tormented, a bitterness that cannot be compensated by any bowl of medicine in the world.

"The late queen must have missed you, Your Highness," Tao Ti comforted. After a little thought, she told Pei Yan that "people will turn into stars and fly into the sky after they die."

Pei Yan chuckled after hearing this, and looked at her steadily with his peach blossom eyes, and raised his thin lips, "I am not a child, you should tell Xiaoliu this... maybe she will believe it."

Taoti, "..."

Well, she also felt that this comfort routine was too old-fashioned.

Pei Yan calmly changed the subject, "Come to think of it, how is the ginger milk made? It can make Xiaoliu cry after eating it. I am a little curious."

When talking about eating Taoti, she said, "This dessert is actually very simple. Squeeze the juice out of old ginger, boil fresh milk with sugar and rose petals until small bubbles appear, then quickly pour the milk into the ginger juice to let the two ingredients collide and blend naturally. Finally, cover the bowl and wait for a quarter of an hour, then uncover it and it's done."

Pei Yan raised his eyebrows. "From your description, you are using milk to add ginger juice, so it should be called milk adding ginger. Why is it called ginger adding milk?"

Taoti, "..."

Brother, you are killing the conversation again, you know that.

After a moment's silence, she explained unconfidently, "Maybe it's just easier to pronounce, just like calling a meat-filled bun instead of a meat-filled bun."

Pei Yan, "What is a meat bun?"

Tao Ti, "..." Broken mouth, this broken mouth!

She smiled awkwardly, "It's like a kind of pancake. I'll make it for you next time if I have the chance."

In order to prevent this "curious baby" from asking more weird questions, Tao Ti stood up and said, "Let me make you a bowl of ginger milk. It's been cold and rainy recently. Ginger juice can warm the stomach and stop vomiting. It's good for you to drink a bowl to warm your stomach."

Pei Yan smiled faintly, "Okay, thank you for your help."

Soon, Pei Yan tasted the sweet, tender and smooth taste of ginger milk.

"The aroma of milk neutralizes the spiciness of ginger, the unique taste of ginger alleviates the sweetness of milk, and the rose adds fragrance... It's really good." He commented seriously.

The rain outside had subsided a little, and Pei Yan was ready to leave after finishing a bowl of ginger milk.

But before leaving, he suddenly said to Tao Ti, "After the spring tax is done, I will take you out of the palace for a walk."

Tao Ti was stunned for a moment.

Pei Yan said, "I promised you last time, don't you remember?"

Tao Ti nodded quickly and smiled, "I remember, I remember." I just didn't expect you still remember.

Pei Yan smiled at her and left.