As Yan Ning and the other two arrived at the entrance of Jian Gong Zhai, laughter from Fukang'an, De Xuan, and Yun Wan drifted out from inside. Fukang'an's entourage brought out many novelties not found in the capital, which Fukang'an had bought and brought back for the children from various places over the years.
The main house door was open, and the figures of Yunwan and Dexuan skipping and jumping could be vaguely heard at the courtyard gate. Yan Ning smiled and patted Yunxin's hand in her palm, "Go on! Don't let your father's efforts be in vain!" Yunxin nodded and ran towards the main house with small steps.
The servants set up two long tables in the main hall, displaying the clay figurines, painted clay puppets, paper-cuts, embroidered fabrics, Shaanxi and Gansu embroidery, dried fruits and snacks that Fukang'an had accumulated over the years, like a market stall. Although novelties from various places were not commonly found in the capital, the children, who had been staying in the capital, had seen many trinkets from other places, including those bestowed by the Emperor and those presented to the Fukang'an family by officials from various regions when they came to the capital to report on their duties. However, those were all deliberately adorned with gold, silver, pearls and jade. Yunwan, who was used to seeing jewels and jade, was very interested in these small trinkets from the marketplace, and even more pleased that these trinkets were brought back by Fukang'an.
Yan Ning walked over and sat down beside Fukang'an. "How do you find the time to buy these little trinkets all day?" Fukang'an put down his teacup, a faint, helpless smile crossing his face as he lowered his head. "When I missed the children, I saw the local children asking their parents for these things. I thought Yunwan and the others would like them too, so I bought them and kept them. I brought them back with me this time when I returned to the capital!" Noticing Fukang'an's sadness, Yan Ning placed her hand on his hand, which was resting on the table, and comforted him. "You like them. Look, Yunwan's personal maid's hands are already overflowing with them. Yunxin is always indifferent to everything; even if she likes something, she won't show it on her face."
Fukang'an looked towards the center of the hall, his expression softening considerably. Yunwan moved nimbly; her personal maid couldn't carry all the items, so she tossed many more to the attending maids. Dexuan wasn't interested in these small trinkets, picking and choosing, occasionally making sarcastic remarks about Yunwan: "Truly, only petty people and women are difficult to deal with!" "Yunwan, you're a princess in the palace, how come you act like those wild children from the marketplace, never having seen anything good before, taking everything!" Yunwan's hands didn't stop, but she retorted verbally: "What do you know! These were bought by Father, how can they be the same as those rewards!"
Delin stood to one side, maintaining order in the hall, his elder brotherly demeanor clearly evident. Yunxin, squeezed to one side of the long table, took some local embroidery and looked at a shadow puppet. Just as she was about to hand it to her wet nurse, Yunwan snatched it away. Yunxin was already frail, and Yunwan's snatch was too swift; she lost her balance and fell to the ground. Wet nurse Wei immediately dropped what she was holding and helped her up. Seeing this, Dexuan loudly complained to Yanning, "Mother, Yunwan bullied my sister again!"
Holding the shadow puppet, Yunwan glared at Dexuan before immediately throwing herself into Fukang'an's arms. Her eyes, filled with timidity, looked at Yan Ning's angry face, her bright eyes gleaming like moonlight under the two pearls adorning her hair. She tugged at Fukang'an's deep crimson robe, pouting, "Father, Mother's going to hit me again!"
Fukang'an never imagined that these insignificant trinkets he brought back would cause such trouble. He ordered Qian Yi, the attendant guarding outside the main room, "Qian Yi, buy back all the best shadow puppets in the capital!" After Qian Yi left, Yunxin, helped up by her wet nurse, looked at Yan Ning with her two dark, weak eyes, and said in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, "Grandma, I like those shadow puppets! I can give them all to my sister!" She knew in her heart that Fukang'an had ordered the shadow puppets to be bought for her. She was born out of wedlock, and if she gave everything to Yunwan, it would mean giving up even her father's favor to Yunwan.
Yan Ning understood Yun Xin's personality; she would give in to anything she could. If she didn't genuinely like something, she wouldn't have asked her for it. Yan Ning snatched the shadow puppet from Yun Wan's hands and gave it to Yun Xin. Although Yun Wan pouted, deeply unwilling, she was also afraid of Yan Ning.
Half an hour later, Qian Yi returned with a set of shadow puppets from various opera schools in the capital, setting them up on a long table. The shadow puppets made in the capital, while incorporating Kunqu opera styles, lacked the exquisite craftsmanship and delicate knife work of the Shaanxi shadow puppets that Yunxin had brought. Yunwan overturned all the shadow puppets made by famous Beijing artists, her small lips parting to utter a phrase Yan Ning couldn't understand: "The lanterns are lit, the opera is performed with renewed melody, the lingering glances reveal a lifelike quality; the tinkling of jade pendants adds to the steadiness of her steps, as if Lady Li were vividly present before the tent. None of the shadow puppets in the capital can compare to the charming and graceful ones in your hands, sister; they are nowhere near as lifelike as the one depicting Emperor Wu of Han meeting Lady Li!"
Fukang'an was overjoyed that Yunwan, at such a young age, had said such things, and immediately ordered Qian Yi to send someone to Shaanxi to buy shadow puppets for her. Yunxin gripped the shadow puppets tightly in her hands, secretly regretting that she shouldn't have argued with Yunwan earlier.
Although Yan Ning felt that it was inappropriate for Fukang'an to go to such lengths for a shadow puppet, she knew that if Consort Rong and the Emperor found out about this, they would probably do the same thing.
After playing with the children, Fukang'an was going to the Peony Hall to pay his respects to the old lady. Yunwan, fearing a scolding from Yan Ning, insisted on going with him. The two returned around dinner time. When the six of them sat down to eat, Yunwan and Dexuan clung to Fukang'an, sitting close by. Even two children arguing over one father can cause many quarrels, let alone four children arguing over one.
Yan Ning couldn't treat everyone equally, and she didn't want De Lin and Yun Xin to be neglected. After dinner, she sent De Xuan and Yun Wan to their side rooms to rest. She left De Lin and Yun Xin in the main room with Fu Kang An for a while. De Lin, considerate of Fu Kang An's fatigue from the journey, only exchanged a few words with him before taking his leave. Seeing De Lin leave, Yun Xin felt a pang of sadness because of Yun Wan's situation, so she also took her leave and returned to her own room.
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