"Alright, then Hongzhou can have my snacks!" Hongli said generously. Every day when he came back, he would eat the cream cake that Lan Qinsu made.
"That's a good boy! Si Hua, go get Hongli's cake and ask Chef Niu to make some more," Lan Qin instructed.
"I don't want it, let's save it for Hongli. Mother also prepared some snacks for me," Hongzhou said.
Lanqin felt a pang of sadness, naturally understanding that the "mother" he referred to was Lady Geng. So, Lanqin said to Hongzhou in an extremely gentle manner, "Try Hongli's cream cake. Anyway, you can still have some when you go back to your mother's. Since you're here with the concubine, why not try just a little bit?"
Hongzhou couldn't help but nod, and together with Hongli, they stared expectantly at the snacks.
Lanqin sat with the two little ones, but mostly looked at Hongzhou.
"Mother, I won't bring Hongzhou to play anymore." Hongli was jealous again.
"Why?" Lanqin asked, both amused and exasperated.
“Mother seems to prefer Hongzhou. Hongli will go to his mother’s place with Hongzhou in the future,” Hongli said.
Lanqin rolled her eyes at Hongli. This little guy was starting to play mind games with her. What he meant by what he just said was that he also wanted to ask Hongzhou's mother for a kiss, making Lanqin jealous.
“Okay, Hongli, then come with me to my mother’s place tomorrow.” Hongzhou naturally didn’t understand the meaning behind Hongli’s words and naively thought that he really was going.
Lanqin affectionately stroked Hongzhou's small, crescent-shaped head; he was clearly much more innocent than Hongli. Madam Geng had raised him very well. Lanqin felt much relieved and understood somewhat why Madam Geng had grown distant from her over the past few years.
When the cream cake was served, the two little ones stared at it, especially Hongli, who couldn't wait to stuff the cream into his mouth.
“Hongzhou, I guarantee you’ve never tasted the pastries my mother made. These are only available here,” Hongli said.
"Hongli, Hongzhou, you can eat now!" Lanqin personally placed two forks in front of each of them.
"Hongzhou, try it! It's delicious!" Hongli took the small spoon and reached for the big piece of cream cake in the middle.
Hongzhou looked at the thing you placed on the plate in the middle with some curiosity. He saw a layer of yellowish rice cake-like stuff at the bottom and a layer of white stuff on top.
Seeing that Hongzhou was hesitant to take a bite, Lanqin said, "Hurry up and try it, otherwise Hongli might eat it all. It's delicious!"
Hongzhou hesitated for a moment before reaching out to scoop up a spoonful, then put it in his mouth with some hesitation.
"How is it, Hongzhou?" Hongli asked when he saw that Hongzhou had finally eaten.
A hint of joy appeared on Hongzhou's small face as he exclaimed, "It really is delicious!"
"Si Hua, go and tell Niu Baoquan to make another piece so that Hong Zhou can take it back to eat," Lan Qin immediately instructed.
Just then, Yu Xiao walked in and said to Lan Qin, "Master, Lady Geng has arrived."
Upon hearing this, Hongzhou immediately put down his spoon and said to Lanqin, "Consort, Mother has come to see me."
Lanqin felt a pang of sadness, but said kindly to him, "It's alright, your mother will talk to the concubine, and you can stay here and eat with Hongli, okay?"
Hongzhou nodded somewhat timidly, then sat back down and shared the cake with Hongli.
Lanqin went out herself and saw that Madam Geng was already standing at the courtyard gate. This was the first time she had stepped into the South Courtyard since she adopted Hongzhou. Lanqin looked at Madam Geng's worried face, forced a smile, and went to greet her, saying, "Sister Geng, it's been so long since I've seen you here."
Madam Geng also saw Lanqin. She had just heard the maid say that Hongzhou had gone to the South Courtyard with Hongli, and her first thought was that Lanqin had instructed her to do so. So, when she saw Lanqin smiling and walking towards her, even playfully scolding her for not having visited the South Courtyard in a long time, the doubts that had been on Madam Geng's throat immediately died in her throat.
"It's been a long time since I've come to pay my respects to Consort! Consort, you look better and better." Madam Geng said with a smile.
Seeing the clearly forced smile on Geng's face, Lanqin knew that she suspected Lanqin of deliberately letting Hongli bring Hongzhou here, and she felt a little uneasy. Although it was somewhat unavoidable to entrust Hongzhou to her care in the first place, it was never said that he was being adopted by her, and there was no record of it in the jade register. In fact, if Lanqin wanted to, she could have asked the Fourth Prince to take Hongzhou back, and he would definitely have agreed.
Lanqin herself couldn't bear to see the potential harm Hongzhou might suffer when he suddenly found out he wasn't Geng's biological son, and she also couldn't bear to hurt Geng.
“Then you must come often in the future. Hongzhou and Hongli are brothers after all, they get along very well. Hongzhou is in the house, you and Hongli are eating cake together. Sister Geng, why don’t you come in and sit for a while?” Lanqin said.
“Hongzhou has a fixed schedule every day. He should go back to practice calligraphy.” Madam Geng has completely regarded Hongzhou as her son. She will not allow Hongzhou to leave her one day. Even now, she will not allow him to come to the South Courtyard rashly.
Lanqin looked at Madam Geng and knew that she was afraid that Hongzhou would get close to her, so she said, "I asked Sihua to bring Hongzhou a piece of cake. You can take it back to him. I think he likes it very much."
"Thank you, Consort Geng," said Lady Geng.
Lanqin then sent Yuxiao into the house to call Hongzhou. When Hongzhou came out, he saw Madam Geng standing in the courtyard. He quickly lowered his head, walked up to her, and said, "Mother~"
Madam Geng looked down at Hongzhou and saw that there was still a little bit of cream left on the corner of his mouth. Suppressing her displeasure, she squatted down and used the handkerchief in her hand to wipe the cream off his mouth, saying, "You are so naughty. If you want to play with the Fourth Prince, you should go back and tell your mother first!"
"Mother, I'm sorry, it won't happen again next time," Hongzhou said, sounding slightly aggrieved.
"Fifth Prince, go back with your mother now, and come play again next time, okay?" Lanqin couldn't bear to see Hongzhou being punished by Gengshi, so she patted Hongzhou's little crescent-shaped head and said.
"Mother, may I invite Hongli to visit us?" Hongzhou asked, looking up at Madam Geng.
Hongli stood beside Lanqin, watching Hongzhou ask Gengshi, and then looked at Gengshi expectantly.
Seeing that both children were looking at her, Madam Geng was reluctant, but she couldn't refuse Hongzhou's request, so she said, "Of course you can. As long as the Fourth Prince is willing to come and play, you can let him come and play with us."
Hongzhou nodded happily and winked at Hongli.
Lanqin happily said to Madam Geng, "Then another day, Hongli can go to your place with Hongzhou to play."
Geng nodded with a smile.
After Lady Geng took Hongzhou away, Hongli said to Lanqin, "Mother, I feel like you really like Hongzhou."
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