The fluffy black and white bear blinked its eyes mischievously.
Song Zhenbao: "O(≧?≦)O Wow, what an adorable little bear."
With quick reflexes, Song Zhenbao caught the strange-looking but adorable little bear that had crawled over and poked its big head out.
"Little bear, you're so cute! Do you live across the street?"
Song Zhenbao asked the little dumpling in her arms in a low voice.
The little bear tilted its head, its adorable big eyes showing no fear as it looked in amazement at the strange human cub in front of it.
"What kind of animal is this? Why does it look different from it? Is it also a member of the panda family?"
The clever little panda was puzzled, but still enjoyed being petted by the human cub.
This made Song Zhenbao, who already loved teddy bears, love the teddy bear in her arms even more.
She was so reluctant to part with the little bear in her arms, but the bear's home seemed to be next door.
...
Song Zhenbao played with the red panda for a while. At first, Qingyin didn't notice, but not long after, the red panda, who had secretly run over to eat the bamboo on the other side, couldn't hold back anymore.
It whimpered and meowed at Song Zhenbao a few times, "Ah ah." I'm hungry.
Song Zhenbao was startled by the little bear's voice and was afraid that it would wake her mother, who would then send the little bear home.
She was so frightened that she covered the red panda's mouth.
Red panda: "?"
At first, the little panda thought Song Zhenbao was playing with it. Whenever it called out, Song Zhenbao would cover its mouth, which amused the two little cubs so much that they played together several times.
However, not long after, the baby panda, which was only a few months old, couldn't resist its hunger and started to grunt and whimper.
Song Zhenbao couldn't stop her, and her body froze as Qingyin walked over in confusion, asking, "Niannian, what are you doing?"
Song Zhenbao looked at Qingyin with a pitiful expression, clutching a small teddy bear about half her body size, and asked nervously, "Mother?"
Qingyin: "???"
!!
Qingyin was shocked and delighted when she saw what her daughter was holding. The black and white color scheme, the big dark circles under her eyes, and the chubby, furry body—what else could it be but a national treasure of modern China?
"Red panda!"
Qingyin exclaimed in surprise, her soft and melodious voice full of delight.
Song Zhenbao tilted her head in confusion, looking at her mother, "Mother, do you know what this little bear is?"
Qingyin ruffled Song Zhenbao's soft hair, then gently rubbed the little panda's head with her hand: "Yes, Mother knows. This is an animal from the southwest region. Mother has read about it in travelogues. A small number of people in the area call it a panda."
To be precise, Qingyin didn't know what pandas were called in this era, so she gave a brief explanation.
Even if someone investigates later to find out why she knew the name of this panda, especially since it was wrong, it wouldn't be worth the effort. Firstly, the southwest region is remote, and secondly, different places do have different names for pandas. Local elders and young people might even use different names, making it difficult to investigate.
Qingyin will not needlessly create unnecessary trouble for herself when she comes to the small world.
Song Zhenbao hugged the little panda in her arms with delight, "So you're a little panda! You're so cute!"
The red panda grunted softly, as if responding to Song Zhenbao's words.
Their adorable appearance made Qingyin envious of her daughter who was holding the little panda in her arms.
No matter how cute the red panda is, Qingyin doesn't want to take it away from her daughter and hug it herself, since her daughter loves it so much.
Seeing Song Zhenbao carrying the little panda and looking exhausted and sweaty, Qingyin told her to put the little panda down and sit on the ground to play with her.
Song Zhenbao nodded happily.
Qingyin also began to ask her daughter where the little panda came from.
Song Zhenbao walked over to the wall where the wildflowers had been growing, parted the wildflowers to reveal a small hole in the wall, and said, "Mommy, the little panda came from here."
Qingyin frowned slightly, glanced at the small hole in the wall, no bigger than a panda's head, then looked at the manor across the street, and asked the maid beside her.
"Whose estate is that across the street? They even keep red pandas there."
Pandas are animals unique to the southwest region and not found in the capital. Just this fact alone means that the family that could transport pandas from the southwest to the capital must have a very impressive background.
This maid was from the manor. After Qinghe returned, Biyao went back to serve her mother. This time, Song's mother did not take her with her, and Qingyin only brought Qinghe with her.
While playing at the manor, Qingyin asked Qinghe to go inside to brew medicine, so she only had two maids who served her at the manor with her.
One of the maids was tall and slender with delicate features. She was quiet but also timid. The other maid had a rounder face and bright eyes that stared at Qingyin. She answered boldly, "This servant reports to Miss that the estate across the street is said by Steward Li to be the estate of a prince from the capital. He told us to be careful and not to disturb the nobleman across the street, but as for which one it is, this servant does not know."
"If Miss wants to know, I will go and ask Steward Li right away."
"So it's a prince's estate. No wonder he can keep pandas there." Qingyin nodded knowingly.
Looking at the clever and bold little maid, he felt a surge of joy.
"What's your name? You're quite clever."
The maid's face lit up with joy. "My name is Hongtao, and I am the daughter of a farmer in the village."
"Okay, you can stay by my side for the next few days."
"Yes." Red Peach nodded excitedly, wishing she could jump for joy right now.
Seeing the overjoyed Red Peach, Qingyin's lips curled up slightly.
Bold yet meticulous, and articulate in her speech, it's a real shame that such a clever little maid is left on the estate. Qingyin thought that this time, she could take this little maid with her.
However, there's still a long time before she leaves this estate, so there's no rush to tell this lovely little maid. In case something unexpected happens, it's better to wait until right before she leaves to tell her and make her happy.
Qingyin thought.
On the other side, seeing her maid being praised by the beautiful young lady, another maid couldn't help but cast an envious glance.
Hongtao didn't care about the attention she received. She had earned this opportunity herself. The young lady hadn't asked her questions just now, but Xiaocui didn't have the courage to answer. She had answered well herself, so why couldn't she stay by the young lady's side?
Who knows, we might even be able to serve the young lady in the future.
Thinking of this, the rosy-cheeked girl secretly glanced at the exceptionally beautiful young lady out of the corner of her eye, her eyes filled with infatuation and amazement.
If she could serve such a beautiful and kind young lady in the future, she would be willing to spend the rest of her life as a vegetarian and chanting Buddhist scriptures.
—
Next door, the Fourth Prince, along with his entourage, also walked into the familiar bamboo forest, led by the keeper of the Iron-Eating Beasts.
The honest-looking servant who specialized in raising iron-eating beasts happily said to his masters, "Your Highnesses, you are truly fortunate today."
"The iron-eating beast that the master keeps is pregnant. It gave birth to a little cub just a month ago, and it's at its cutest."
The Fifth Prince smiled excitedly: "Then we'll be able to see the Little Iron-Eating Beast!"
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