As the two left the Pei family home, the little princess remained silent, her head drooping, looking quite dejected.
"Princess, are you alright?"
Chu Qingyin shook her head listlessly: "It's nothing, after all, it was an expected result."
"I've said what I wanted to say, and that puts a weight off my mind."
Su Yujiao asked, "Tomorrow, I've made plans with Weiwei and the others to go fishing and enjoy the spring scenery in the back mountains. Are you coming?"
Chu Qingyin gently shook her head, saying she wasn't interested and just wanted to go back and get a good night's sleep.
She usually loves to join in the fun, so it seems she really has broken up with her boyfriend.
"Let's go together. When you're in a bad mood, go out for a walk and clear your head."
“Let’s go fishing together, and I’ll personally cook you a whole fish feast.”
"Just keep my cousin-in-law company; it'll be more lively with more people."
After much persuasion from Su Yujiao, Chu Qingyin finally agreed.
The next morning, Su Yujiao prepared her things for the spring outing and went to a peach grove on the back mountain early to get ready.
"Weiwei, help me set up the tent."
"Oh, are we going to build it ourselves?"
"Yeah, self-sufficiency is the way to go, otherwise how boring would it be?"
"Oh well."
"Whatever you say goes?"
"It's very simple. We'll set it up together in no time."
"Just put a nail in the ground and tie the rope to the four corners."
"Xiao Tao, go and tie the hammock between those two trees."
"Yingzi, go and tie the swing to that taller peach tree."
"Peony, why don't you go fishing first?"
"Alright, fishing is my specialty."
Jin Mudan, holding the high-end fishing rod Su Yujiao had given her, couldn't wait to run to the riverbank, eager to try out this unfamiliar fishing rod and see if it was any good.
After the tent was set up, Su Yujiao took out a folding table and laid out all the food and drinks, instantly creating a spring outing atmosphere.
"They've taken the bait! They've taken the bait!"
Wow, what a big fish!
"This fishing rod is so good. You can tell a fish has taken the bait just by the float sinking."
Upon hearing Jin Mudan's shout, the two children immediately clapped excitedly and then ran over with their short legs.
"Little sister, what a big fish!"
"Little fish, little fish."
Su Yujiao and the others also went over to take a look: "They took the bait so quickly, they really are experts."
"Hehe, that's my only hobby."
"You don't need to lift a finger, I'll take care of all the dinner tonight."
"Okay, then I'll leave it to you."
"Let's go prepare the barbecue for lunch."
"Mommy, I want to go fishing too."
"I want one too! I want one too!"
Su Yujiao gave each of the two children a children's fishing rod and told them not to run around, especially not to go far, and to pay attention to safety.
"You two are so smart and capable. You don't need to do anything. Just keep an eye on the two little ones."
"yes."
"Sister-in-law, I'm hungry."
"I left home too early this morning and didn't even have breakfast."
Su Yujiao pointed to the drinks, snacks, and braised food on the table: "Have some first, just to tide you over."
"But I want something hot."
"Sister-in-law, I want to eat the kind of rolled noodles you make, just with soaked noodles. When can you make them?"
Instant noodles?
"Instant noodles? That's so easy."
"It can be done right now."
"Just wait, it won't take the time it takes to drink a cup of tea."
"Sister-in-law, I want to eat too."
"Yes, we have both."
Su Yujiao took a small stove from the carriage, set up a small pot, boiled the water, threw in two packets of instant noodles, and added two poached eggs. It was done in a few minutes.
"So fast?"
"Um."
"Eat quickly, don't let the two little ones see, they can't eat."
Why?
"They are too young to eat fried noodles. It's bad for their stomachs and intestines, and they'll easily get an upset stomach."
"Oh, oh, oh."
"Sister-in-law, these noodles are so delicious, I want to eat them every day."
Su Yujiao burst out laughing. She must have never eaten anything good before, wanting to eat instant noodles every day.
"Don't speak too soon. Try eating it three times in a row first, and you'll definitely get tired of it."
"I wouldn't get tired of it, I could eat it every day and never get tired of it."
After they finished eating, the two went fishing by the river.
After all, the well-behaved little princess rarely had the opportunity to go out and play, let alone go fishing.
Therefore, fishing is a novel experience for them.
"Mother, little fish, little fish."
An An's clear and crisp voice came from the riverbank.
Su Yujiao turned around and saw that the little guy had actually caught a mini fish with a children's fishing rod.
The little fish was still struggling and thrashing on the hook.
Jin Mudan quickly pulled the fishhook and placed the small fish into the small wooden bucket next to An'an.
Momo suddenly had tears in her eyes, her lips trembled, and she looked like she was about to cry.
"Don't cry, little sister, I'll help you fish."
"Here are all the little fish from your brother."
As An'an spoke, she poured the small fish from her bucket into Momo's small wooden bucket.
"Brother is so awesome."
"Give it to my brother."
To express her gratitude, Momo gave An'an the candy she had been saving for herself.
"Thank you, little sister."
An'an glanced back at Su Yujiao, and seeing that she hadn't noticed, she immediately stuffed it into her mouth, covering her mouth and giggling.
His mother wouldn't let them eat too much candy, saying it would cause worms in their teeth, but candy was so delicious that he couldn't resist sneaking a bite.
By noon, Jin Mudan had caught a whole bucket full of fish by herself, weighing over 100 jin (50 kg).
Chu Qingwan and Chu Qingyin each caught a fish, though they were small, they were still fish!
The two were overjoyed and reluctant to eat it, saying they wanted to take it back to the palace to keep as a pet.
Su Yujiao smiled and said, "Let them be happy. This is the joy of fishing."
At noon, everyone ate barbecue together, and in the evening, we returned to the courtyard for a whole fish feast.
Before leaving, they packed two sweet and sour fish, one for the Empress and one for the Crown Prince, so that they could also try them.
I never expected that the fish wouldn't taste fishy at all, and there were so many things I'd never heard of before.
Living with my cousin-in-law is so wonderful; there's always so much delicious food to eat every day.
My cousin is really unlucky; he doesn't know how to cherish such a good wife.
...
On the Lantern Festival, the Emperor, for the first time ever, went to the Empress's palace and said he wanted to have a reunion dinner with his children.
During the banquet, the Emperor asked the Crown Prince about some state affairs, and the Crown Prince answered in an orderly manner, handling each matter very well.
The Emperor nodded with satisfaction, then sighed.
Over the years, all his attention has been on Chu Zhongyuan, and he has never seriously looked at the Crown Prince.
Looking back, it was too late.
The crown prince treated him with only respect and distance, lacking the affection and warmth between father and son.
It's not his fault. Over the years, he has been too biased and has never fulfilled his responsibilities as a father.
It's understandable that the child isn't close to him.
"We'll have the Imperial Astronomical Bureau pick an auspicious day later to see which day would be suitable for your ascension to the throne."
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