"That's really interesting."
Li Chang'an couldn't help but chuckle, then went over and teased a parrot in a cage with his finger.
"Interesting, very interesting!"
Unexpectedly, several parrots started mimicking her speech. Since these parrots were just mimicking and didn't understand the meaning of her words, their intonation sounded a bit strange. In addition, their voices didn't sound like human voices, so they sounded somewhat hoarse, which made them even more comical.
"Wow, you guys can talk! That's amazing!"
Li Chang'an hadn't expected these parrots to be so intelligent. She was even more delighted by the little creatures. As she spoke, she gently tapped the head of a yellow and white parrot with her finger. The touch was warm, and her smile softened even more.
"Amazing, amazing!"
The parrot that had been patted on the head by Li Chang'an seemed to enjoy it and started opening its mouth to try and talk again.
Suddenly, a clear whistle rang out. Before Li Chang'an could turn around to see where the sound came from, all the parrots rushed out of their cages and flew off in one direction.
Looking in that direction, Li Chang'an saw a person standing not far away, holding a cloth bag in her hand and a wooden whistle in her mouth. He figured the whistle sound he had just heard must have come from her.
At this moment, all the parrots flew towards the person, some flapping their wings and circling around her, while others boldly perched on her shoulders and arms.
This scene struck Li Chang'an as quite novel, so she went over to see it.
The girl in front of me looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old. She was fair-skinned and had bright, clever eyes. She reached into her cloth bag, grabbed a handful of millet, and scattered it out. The parrots immediately rushed over and scrambled for the food.
"It's always like this, it's not like I'm not giving you any!"
The little girl took the whistle out of her mouth with a helpless look, and glared reproachfully at the group of little creatures on the ground that looked like starving ghosts. As she spoke, she threw a handful of millet onto the ground.
"Do you own all these parrots?"
Li Chang'an looked at the man and the dozen or so parrots with great interest and couldn't help but ask a question.
"Um... to be precise, I'm the one who's being cared for by the Prince. Oh, you must be the princess the Prince brought with him, right? My name is Atao, and I'm the maid who takes care of the animals here. Greetings!"
Before Li Chang'an could ask any more questions, the little girl named Atao started chattering away, explaining a whole bunch of things on her own.
"Besides the parrots, are there any other animals in here?"
Looking around, Li Chang'an did not find any other animals.
"There are rabbits and peacocks in the side courtyard, and koi and swans in the small pond. Oh, and the prince also keeps a big fat cat; it's probably either sleeping or out playing right now..."
Atao chattered on and on to Li Chang'an, then said with some distress, "If Da Bai runs off and runs wild, I'll probably have to give it a bath when it comes back, and it'll cause a huge commotion!"
"And who is Da Bai?"
Li Chang'an found it somewhat amusing. This little girl named A Tao was indeed straightforward and outspoken, wearing her emotions on her sleeve. However, it was precisely because of this that Li Chang'an could see that she was a person without any guile or scheming, making it relatively easy to get along with her.
"It's the big fat cat that the prince keeps. Its fur is as white as snow, and any dirt on it is very noticeable. It needs to be bathed every few days, but the worst part is that it doesn't like it!"
Once the topic of that annoying guy came up, Atao started talking again, and then invited Li Chang'an to feed the parrots with her. The two of them even scattered millet on their arms and shoulders, and then the parrots jumped up and stood on their bodies to eat.
"Chang An!"
Just as the two were having a good time, Feng Beichuan returned. He waved to Li Chang'an, then saw the woman standing still as the parrots perched on her. So he walked over to the two of them.
"Atao greets Your Highness!"
Atao bowed to Feng Beichuan, but as soon as she moved, all the grains that had been scattered on her fell off, and the parrots flew away.
Feng Beichuan nodded slightly to indicate that there was no need for formalities. Then, seeing that Li Chang'an showed no sign of leaving, he asked Atao for some millet and joined in feeding the parrots.
"They've probably eaten enough, I'm going to feed the fish now."
Atao grinned at Li Chang'an and Feng Beichuan, then wisely ran away.
It looks like there will soon be a mistress here!
Thinking this, Atao's smile deepened.
About fifteen minutes later, the parrots had finished eating and began to flutter their wings and circle around the yard in twos and threes, presumably digesting their food.
"Good training! You don't even need to close the birdcage, aren't you afraid they'll all escape?"
As Li Chang'an spoke, he patted the loose grains of rice off his body.
"We didn't train them intentionally. We started with a hundred, but only a dozen or so of them were left because they were destined to stay here."
A faint smile remained on Feng Beichuan's lips as he gazed thoughtfully at the birdcages hanging from the rafters and said, "I never intended to close those cages from the beginning."
"Aren't you afraid they'll all run away?"
Li Chang'an followed Feng Beichuan's gaze and looked over, feeling that his way of raising animals was truly novel.
"Those who belong here will never leave, and as for those that fly away, it's better to give them a free soul than to imprison them here."
Feng Beichuan's gaze gradually became somewhat distant as he spoke.
What are the differences between animals and humans?
After hearing these words, Li Chang'an was taken aback at first, and then nodded in agreement. Suddenly, she felt that the man in front of her was not as absurd as she had thought. In some ways, he did have his own unique insights, and the things he did were also quite original.
After a moment of silence, the two of them went out of the back gate of the villa together. After passing a small patch of lush trees, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a vast sea of flowers and a small pavilion for people to enjoy the flowers and rest.
Perhaps to preserve that natural beauty, the paths here are paved with small stones, which are slightly uncomfortable to walk on, but they blend perfectly with the scenery and make people happy to experience this unique feeling.
Although the two came here to see the crabapple blossoms, in fact, there are many more varieties planted here than just crabapple blossoms; it's just that the crabapple blossoms are the most vibrant at this time of year.
"With rouge on her face and jade on her skin, she is one of the most beautiful women among flowers. Today, we are honored to invite this beauty to come and admire her."
Feng Beichuan's eyes sparkled as he spoke while silently observing the woman beside him.
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