The three entered the courtyard hand in hand, where they saw Quanfu being pleaded with by two little ones who were grabbing his sleeves.
Quanfu was extremely anxious. He couldn't offend the princess, but he couldn't disobey the prince's orders.
“Quanfu, Consort Huan is here, what are you doing?” Su Peisheng reminded them from behind, and then greeted the two princesses, “Greetings to Princess Huan, and greetings to the Fifth Prince.”
Quanfu was overjoyed that his savior had arrived. He quickly paid his respects to Nan Yi and pulled the two young masters away, intending to leave.
Master Tong disliked associating with the other masters in the mansion, especially the young masters. Back then, when Princess Li Jia caused such a scene, Master Tong and the master were very angry with each other.
The master has only given a clear order to all the masters in the backyard: don't go looking for trouble with Master Tong unless it's absolutely necessary.
"Are you Tong E'niang?"
The Fifth Prince shook off Quanfu's hand, ran up to Nan Yi, looked up at her curiously, and Huan Gege followed closely behind.
"Mother Tong, you look so beautiful." The little guy praised sincerely. Although her clothes were old, Mother Tong still looked very beautiful.
"Yes, Fourth Brother wasn't lying after all. Mother Tong looks like a fairy. I wish I were as beautiful as her," Huan Gege continued.
Having been away from home for a long time, Nan Yi didn't recognize them and asked Su Peisheng, "Who are they?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Princess Huan is the daughter of Master Wen, and the Fifth Prince Hongzhou is the daughter of Master Geng."
If there's the Fifth Prince, then there's also the Fourth Prince, Hongli.
Nan smiled and said, "Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you all. I'm sorry, Aunt Tong wasn't prepared and didn't bring any gifts. So..."
She reached into her sleeve pocket and actually took out two yellow jade kittens from the blue lotus. She intended to give them to Princess Huan and the Fifth Prince, but remembering the past, she paused and handed the items to Su Peisheng instead.
"The item was given to me by the prince years ago. It's in good condition and quite valuable. They're still young, so please carry it for them and take them home. It's getting late, and their mothers will be worried if they don't see them return for a long time."
After giving instructions, Nan Yi said to the two children, "Princess Huan, Fifth Prince, Mother Tong has just returned to the manor. She's covered in dust and quite hungry, so she won't be able to play with you. Please forgive her for any shortcomings in hospitality." She apologized with a smile.
"Yes, Mother Tong, we'll come to see you another day. Farewell." The little Fifth Prince bowed politely, and Princess Huan also curtsied before leaving hand in hand with the Fifth Prince.
Nan Yichao gestured to Su Peisheng, who then bowed and left.
Xiao Shunzi and Yiren each went to catch up with old friends.
In the warm pavilion, Nan Yi, Xiao Xi, Zhen Zhen, and others sat together. In the middle was a small table with a table full of dishes. Knowing that her mistress had returned, Zhao Mama specially cooked her favorite dishes and a pot of pear blossom wine.
Nan Yi poured wine for each of them, while adding tea to his own cup. "Come on, let's drink tea instead of wine and celebrate my freedom."
Xiao Xizhen smiled and said, "Congratulations."
The three put down their cups, and Zhenzhen carefully served food to the two of them. Suddenly, her eyes reddened again, as if she had thought of something.
She sniffed, suppressing her sadness, and said, "Time flies so fast. The four of us sisters were supposed to be together, but we're now scattered all over the place. Sometimes when I think about it, I feel so sad. You went there, and Xixi ran off to the border and hasn't come back for years. I'm all alone now, without anyone to confide in."
Xiao Xi turned his head away, wiped his eyes, and continued to pour wine into his glass, urging Zhenzhen, "Don't mention those unhappy things. Today is a good day. Nan Yi is back, and I may be staying in the capital for a while. We have a good time to get together."
"Yes, I heard your eldest son is already eight years old and your youngest is three. Zhenzhen, congratulations!" Nan Yi also said.
Of the four of them, Zhenzhen was the luckiest. The Tenth Prince had always treated her very well, and she gave the Tenth Prince two more sons. Over the years, although she had occasional disagreements with the primary wife, the Tenth Prince always protected her, so the primary wife didn't dare to do anything too outrageous.
When talking about her son, Zhenzhen smiled shyly. She glanced at Nan Yi and said, "Don't talk about me yet. You should hurry up and give Fourth Master a son or daughter. He'll have someone to rely on in the future. Favor can't last a lifetime. When you get old, you'll still have to rely on your son."
She understood this, of course. Nan Yi vaguely knew that she might not be able to have a child with Fourth Master, not because she was unwilling, but because she was unable to.
It didn't work before, and it's even less likely to work now.
Her body is probably incapable of bearing children.
“Yes, Nan Yi, you’ve been married to the prince for over ten years, how come you haven’t gotten pregnant? That’s strange. Could it be that you’re unwell?” Xiao Xi also found it odd. Given how much the prince doted on her, it shouldn’t be like that.
"How could that be? It depends on fate. I'm not destined to have children; you can't force it." Nan Yi didn't want them to worry, so she tried to change the subject, "Let's not talk about children, I..."
"Is it related to what happened forty-four years ago?" Xiao Xi suddenly asked with a serious expression.
Nan Yi was taken aback. She had almost forgotten, but then she remembered that Xiao Xi still remembered. She thought for a moment and nodded, "Half of the reason."
"Damn it!" Xiao Xi slammed his fist on the table in anger.
This startled Zhenzhen. "What kind of riddle are you talking about? Forty-four years, what happened in forty-four years? Oh, no, that year, Nan Yi seemed to have fallen ill."
Realizing what had happened, Zhenzhen frowned immediately. She thought of a possibility and asked in shock, "Could it be that Nan Yi's body was damaged that time, which is why she has been unable to conceive?"
As expected of a woman who frequented the prince's harem, her mind and her sharp reflexes were remarkable. Nan Yi and Xiao Xi exchanged a glance and lowered their heads in unison.
"You bastard!" Zhenzhen's anger was no less than Xiao Xiqian's. She angrily questioned, "Isn't this ruining your life? Without a child to rely on, what will you do in the future?"
Two close friends spoke up for her, and Nan Yi was grateful. She thought to herself, "Child, who knows how long she will live? It doesn't matter if she has no children or no one to rely on. She never intends to depend on anyone."
"There's no certainty about this, so don't worry about me. I'm still young, so I'll let nature take its course when it comes to having children. Come on, eat your food, it's getting cold."
Nan Yi didn't want to dwell on meaningless things, so she told Xiao Xi and Zhen Zhen about the interesting things that happened in the Forbidden Garden.
With the wine and food left over, Xiao Xi and Zhen Zhen, having drunk too much, ended up falling asleep together while chatting.
Nan Yi had Yi Ren wash the two of them, and then had Yi Shang lock the courtyard gate. "Tell Quan Fu that Xiao Xi and Zhen Zhen will stay at Lan Courtyard tonight. If Tenth Master comes, please ask him to come and pick them up tomorrow."
"That……"
Nan Yi knew what she was going to say and hurriedly interrupted her, "There are women in the courtyard, he won't come."
Nan Yi and Yi Ren both knew exactly who he was.
In the palace, the banquet had just ended, and Prince Yong led Lady Nara, Lady Nian, and Lady Li out of the palace, their steps slightly hurried.
The Nara, Nian, and Li families saw this and each harbored resentment. They all knew that their master was anxious to see that person, but they remained silent.
Then, things didn't go as planned.
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