After the servants helped him take a bath and change out of his dusty clothes, the Fourth Prince summoned his two sons to him for a lecture.
Normally, the eldest prince was raised in the front courtyard, with the Fourth Prince personally taking care of his daily life. The third prince was raised in the east courtyard under the care of Lady Li. Although the two brothers lived in the same mansion, they didn't see each other often. Due to the tense relationship between the First Prince's wife and Consort Li, the two children still acted like strangers when they met. They could only see each other when paying respects to their elders or when the Fourth Prince made special arrangements.
Every time he thought of this, the Fourth Prince felt a pang of discomfort. This was his oversight! The adults' favoritism had already affected the children. Now the eldest prince was already eight years old, while the fourth prince was only four and a half. They were still quite young; perhaps he still had some time to make amends. Moving the third prince out from Li Shi's place was precisely for this reason. Now, they were both in the Fourth Prince's front courtyard, so he could see them every day.
"Honghui, as the elder brother, you must always act like one. Hongyun, as the younger brother, you must listen to your elder brother." The Fourth Prince patted the eldest prince's shoulder and then touched the third prince's crescent-shaped hair.
The two children looked at each other, then nodded with their heads down.
"Now that we're on the estate, you still need to do your daily homework. Your wake-up and study times will be the same as in the manor. I won't restrict your afternoons. You can go to the estate to play whenever your father doesn't call you, but you'll need a servant with you." Fourth Master wanted to take this opportunity to let his two sons develop a brotherly bond.
After the reprimand, the two princes were taken back to their rooms by their respective nannies to rest for the afternoon. The Fourth Prince, on the other hand, returned to his temporary study and began to write.
"Su Peisheng, have all the books in the car brought in, and make sure Mr. Dai's letter is delivered promptly," Fourth Master instructed, pausing his writing.
Su Peisheng bowed and retreated. He sensed that his master's short stay at the estate wasn't entirely for relaxation. Sure enough, upon arrival, he went straight to the study and had people constantly report to him on matters within the manor and developments in the palace. That man surnamed Dai was nothing more than a poor, pedantic scholar; it was unclear what merit he possessed to gain the Fourth Prince's trust. Now he lived in a separate courtyard within the Fourth Prince's residence, provided with good food and drink daily, and received a monthly stipend of twenty taels. His only task was to keep the Fourth Prince company in the study. Now that the Fourth Prince had left, he specifically instructed him to report daily on matters within the manor and outside the palace via letters.
After noon, Lanqin felt that since she had already come out, it would be a waste to stay indoors and miss this opportunity to go out. Anyway, Fourth Master had said that once they arrived at the estate, she could go out and do as she pleased.
So, Lanqin had Xicha comb her hair into a simple double bun, then left the room with Huanbi. Nianxue needed to pack her things, and Xicha was too timid, but Huanbi's straightforwardness and cleverness suited her well.
Furthermore, the Fourth Prince's imperial estate was essentially a large farm. It had grasslands and woodlands where they kept animals for hunting; vast fields planted with seasonal crops, likely supplying the Fourth Prince's household; and numerous ponds and courtyards, with ducks and geese in the ponds and river fish in the water; the courtyards housed various livestock. Its scale and layout were quite similar to some modern large-scale farms.
At that moment, the eldest prince and the third prince were feeding the sheep by the sheepfold. These two imperial grandsons rarely had the opportunity to have such close contact with small animals, so it was naturally a novel and interesting experience for them.
The eunuch beside them, speaking in a high-pitched voice, warned, "Princes, be careful." If either of the princes made even the slightest mistake, they would all be dead.
Lanqin, supported by Huanbi, walked into the sheep pen. She wanted to see the horses, since Fourth Master had said he would teach her to ride.
As soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw a group of people surrounding two young princes, presumably the servants who tended to the animals. They were usually busy with their work and rarely got to show their faces in front of their masters. Now that two distinguished guests had finally arrived, they had to serve them well, in case they received a reward!
"Big brother, I want to go in and touch those lambs. Look, those little lambs are so cute!" Hongyun said excitedly, pointing to the lambs that were only a few days old and still suckling at their mothers.
“There’s sheep dung everywhere inside. Go in and bring those lambs over so the Third Prince can pet them,” Honghui said to a servant standing beside him.
He does look quite like an older brother.
“Taking the lambs away from their mothers will make them uneasy. Why don’t we have the servants go in and clear away the sheep dung before you go in?” Lanqin said to the eldest prince with a smile as she walked to the side.
This was the first time Lanqin had seen the eldest son of the principal wife in person, and his features did indeed resemble those of the princess consort. The third prince, upon seeing Lanqin, pouted unhappily, probably still angry about the bird-hunting incident.
Honghui bowed slightly to Lanqin, and Hongyun had no choice but to follow suit.
What a sensible child!
Lanqin was taken aback by Honghui's bow. She thought to herself that this child was a bit precocious. On the contrary, the Third Prince Hongyun was more like a child. He could get angry when he wanted to, and he could put on a grumpy face when he wanted to show his displeasure. Although he was a bit annoying, he was still a child at heart.
"Eldest Prince, you also want to go in and touch those little lambs, right? Why don't you go in with the Third Prince?" Lanqin encouraged, not believing that such a young child would really like being confined like this.
"Come on, come on!" Hongyun couldn't wait any longer and grabbed the eldest prince's hand, shaking it vigorously.
A sharp-eyed servant had already taken a basket and rake to collect the sheep droppings. Before long, the sheepfold was no longer covered in sheep droppings. The eldest prince seemed to find it too dirty and refused to move.
"Third Prince, come on, let's go pet those little lambs with Aunt Lanqin, okay?" Lanqin thought to herself that this eldest prince was more composed than she, a thirty-year-old single woman.
Upon hearing this, the Third Prince seemed to immediately forget about hunting birds, nodded, and grinned at Lanqin.
Lanqin walked over, took his chubby little hand, and opened the sheep pen door. The two went inside and came to the lambs that had been born just a few days ago. Honghui tried to go in several times, but always seemed to be wary of something, and stood at the door without going in.
Lanqin picked up a baby lamb and handed it to the Third Prince beside her, saying happily, "Don't be afraid, come and hold the little lamb."
Hongyun excitedly took the lamb, his little mouth agape as he exclaimed, "Brother, come quick! The lamb licked my hand!!"
Lanqin turned to look at the eldest prince, who seemed to be holding back something, as if he had been wanting to come in. So she hurriedly said loudly, "Come in quickly, I promise I won't tell anyone that you went into the sheep pen, and your brother won't tell either."
After hearing this, Honghui finally went into the sheepfold. When he squatted down and stroked the lambs that were only a few days old with his younger brother, a genuine and innocent smile, typical of an eight-year-old child, finally appeared on his face.
Lanqin played with the two princes for quite a while. As it grew late, they finally came out of the sheepfold and went back to their own houses.
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