“The two princes look exactly alike in these cloaks!” Baoqin also remarked.
Lanqin quickly replied, "Brothers naturally look alike."
When the four girls arrived together, Lanqin had already ordered lunch to be set out in Wan Anfang's main room. Because there were many people, Lanqin instructed someone to bring out a long table. It was laden with more than twenty dishes, all vegetables grown in the garden.
"Please sit down, Mingyu, come sit over here with me." Lanqin naturally took the first seat in Chang'an. Hongli and Hongzhou were already sitting to her left.
When Fucha Mingyu saw Lanqin invite her to sit down, she was delighted and gracefully moved over to Lanqin's side. Seeing this, Wuxiha went around to sit next to Hongzhou, while Biechuke sat down next to Mingyu. Xueying, seeing this, sat down next to Biechuke.
Lanqin took in their expressions and actions, then turned to Mingyu and said, "Why didn't you wear your fur coats? It's freezing outside, you should take care to keep warm."
"Thank you for your concern, Consort. I'll have a maid go back and get it later," Mingyu said with a smile.
"After we finish our meal, why don't we go to the plum garden? When I came back from school today, I found that all the red plum blossoms there had bloomed. It's chilly outside, but the fragrance of the plum blossoms is quite captivating," Hongli said to Mingyu, seeing her reserved demeanor and worried that she might feel awkward in front of Lanqin.
"Well..." Mingyu hesitated, unsure whether she should accept Hongli's invitation on this occasion.
“Then let’s go together. It’s really stuffy staying indoors. Why don’t we all go out to admire the plum blossoms? I came very early this morning, and I’m quite tired from the journey, so I won’t go with you. I need to rest for a while after lunch,” Lanqin said. She was over thirty years old now, but in her heart she was already in her forties. In addition, she had been managing the household affairs of the Yong Prince’s Mansion for the past few years. Although there were servants to do it, she didn’t have to do it herself, but it was still very tiring!
“Mother is tired, so please rest. Or, I can stay here and keep you company?” Biechuk said quickly when he saw Lanqin say this.
"Or I might as well not go. I should stay and keep them company," Mingyu said quickly upon seeing this.
Ushiha and Xueying exchanged a glance and said, "Mother, why don't you eat your meal quickly? After the meal, everyone can go back and rest so that you'll have the energy to appreciate the plum blossoms. Anyway, they're in our own yard, so we can go see them later. There's no rush."
Seeing this, Lanqin nodded and said, "Alright, after you finish your meal, you should all go back and rest for a while, and then go to the plum grove. I will go and take a look when I've rested up."
Hearing Lanqin say this, everyone stopped talking and began to eat.
When Lanqin came in person, the servants in the kitchen took extra care and put more effort into preparing the meals than usual, which made these young ladies from well-to-do families, who usually didn't eat much, unable to resist eating more.
Hongzhou checked on Xueying every now and then, and seeing that she hadn't said a word since she came in, he said, "Ying'er, I've already asked someone to find the book you mentioned last time. Why don't I go get it for you later?"
It turned out that Hongzhou would occasionally find some excuse to see Xueying, and Xueying could only use reading as an excuse to brush him off. Unexpectedly, Hongzhou meticulously found the extremely obscure book she wanted.
"Thank you, Fifth Prince." Xueying had no choice but to reply when she saw him say that.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
