During those days of my menstrual period, I was very well-behaved and obedient, staying in my Twin Palace.
As Mother had promised, she put me on a high - nutrition diet. In fact, when you're truly being cared for like a fragile flower by everyone, a high - nutrition diet isn't that hard to accept. After all kinds of conditioning and precautions, my abdominal pain basically subsided in the following days. However, seeing so much blood flowing out of my body every day still scared me a bit.
Later, Mother told me that this was a stage every woman had to go through. Only with it could a woman give birth normally. This gradually dispelled my fear.
The previous overcast and rainy days had been replaced by warm sunshine.
The whole palace had been washed by the rain and became extremely clean and bright.
On the last day of my menstrual period, Brother cooperated unusually and pulled me out of the Twin Palace to the Peach Orchard.
At the same time, Xiayao and Zizhen, who had been in low spirits for several days, were also pulled out.
When Xiayao saw me, she threw herself into my arms and rubbed against me, saying, "Second Sister, you're finally better! You don't know. While you were staying in, Brother and Mother wouldn't take me out to play. I had to face that bookworm Fourth Brother all day. It was so boring!"
Zizhen rolled his eyes, folded his arms and snorted.
Seeing this, I quickly said, "Okay, okay, my dear Xiayao. Second Sister is better now. I'll take you guys to pick peaches!"
Xiayao's eyes immediately lit up. "Right! The peaches are ripe at this time of the year. It's more fun to pick them by ourselves!"
"Yes, yes!" Xiayao and I cheered together.
At this time, Brother coughed lightly. "Hey, don't forget who came up with this idea!"
Fourth Brother Zizhen looked at us helplessly, let out a long sigh, looking like he was at his wits' end with us.
...
When we entered the Peach Orchard, we saw countless pink peaches against a backdrop of green leaves. They were so tempting.
When Brother saw them, he quickly climbed up the tree, picked two peaches and threw them to me. I saw a pool not far away, so I ran over to wash them, then gave them to Zizhen and Xiayao who were standing by the pool. Xiayao happily took the peach and took a bite, while Zizhen shook off the water on the peach in disgust before hesitantly taking a bite.
At this time, Brother picked two more peaches and jumped down from the tree. He also came to the pool, washing the peaches while saying, "Do you think this pool was built for decoration or specifically for us to wash peaches?"
I gave Brother a disdainful look. "I think it's for watering..."
Brother smiled and handed me the peach with water on it. The water on his hand splashed onto my skirt as he reached out. Seeing his mischievous smile, I knew he did it on purpose. I pouted and slapped him before taking the peach.
Unexpectedly, he ran back to the pool, squatted down and splashed a ladle of water at me. "Didn't Xihe say it was for watering?"
"Annoying!" I reacted and splashed water at him too. For a while, we were in a complete mess, half of our bodies soaked.
Xiayao was munching on a peach while saying, "Second Sister just got better, and Big Brother is already bullying her. I'll go back and tell Mother. Let's see how Mother punishes you!"
Brother looked at her and smirked. "Does Xiayao also want a taste, so she's deliberately provoking Brother?"
Seeing this, Xiayao quickly ran away, but she still couldn't avoid the ladle of water Brother splashed with his hand. She was drenched from head to toe and immediately shouted, "Big Brother!"
Then the three of us started chasing and playing around until Xiayao and I joined forces to push Brother towards the pool.
"One! Two! Three!"
"Splash—"
As we wished, Brother fell into the pool. Xiayao and I immediately ran away laughing, but Brother stood up from the water, hands on his hips, shouting at us, "You two little rascals! Just wait until I get out of the water and teach you a lesson!"
The water in the pool was not deep, only reaching the waist. Seeing Brother about to get out, I pretended to be delicate and said, "Brother, I'm still weak. You know that..."
Seeing this, Xiayao also put her finger on her forehead, pretending to be weak. "Yes, I'm also feeling dizzy. Fourth Brother, hurry up and help me!"
Brother was furious. Fourth Brother, having finished his peach, wiped his hands on his sleeve, then took out a scroll from his bosom, found a peach tree to sit under and started reading, not wanting to pay any attention to us three crazy people.
At this time, the sun was just right. The grass looked extremely fresh in the strong sunlight. Brother climbed out of the water, started wringing out his clothes, and said as he walked, "Let's go, let's go back and change our clothes. Look at what a mess we're in."
Xiayao said, "The weather is so nice today. We can just bask in the sun for a while. Why go back and make it so troublesome?"
I said, "Yes, we're already out anyway."
Brother squinted his eyes. "You guys aren't that wet, so of course you can say that!"
Xiayao and I quickly ran over to wring out Brother's clothes. As we did so, we said, "Oh, Brother, just take off your outer robe. Your inner shirt is very thin. It'll dry after a while in the sun. You're a man. Are you still afraid of a little water?"
Xiayao said, "Yes. You and Second Sister each have your own palaces. It's very convenient to go back and change a set of clothes. But what about me? If I go back, Mother will definitely ask me. I'm an honest person. If Mother asks, I'll definitely tell her everything. You know Second Sister just got better..."
"Okay, shut up!" Brother glared at Xiayao. "If you don't go, I'll go with Xihe." With that, Brother dragged me to the Twin Palace. Helplessly, I had to change into another set of clothes and then go back to the Peach Orchard with Brother.
When we got back, Zizhen was seriously reading his scroll, while Xiayao was sitting by the pool boredly, kicking the water with her feet. As soon as she saw us coming back, she ran over bare - footed.
Brother seriously pointed at her feet and said, "Yong Xiayao, put your shoes on!"
Xiayao quickly went to put on her shoes. At this time, Zizhen stole a glance at us. Seeing me suddenly looking at him, he quickly turned his head and continued reading his book.
Oh, this Zizhen is really so studious. It makes the three of us - Brother, Xiayao and me - feel ashamed...
"The sun is so good. How about we accompany Xiayao to bask in the sun?" Our clothes were all dry, but Xiayao's half - length skirt was still damp. Seeing this, I pulled Xiayao to sit on the grass, while Brother found a shady place to lie down and take a nap.
After a while, Xiayao and I started studying the golden needles Mother had taught us. Brother was lying there with his head in his hands and his legs crossed, while Zizhen still sat upright, concentrating on his book.
Mother gave us the golden needles for self - defense. The needles were divided into two types: poisonous and non - poisonous. Of course, we used the non - poisonous ones for our daily study. At first, Xiayao and I were quite normal, but after a while, Xiayao started throwing the needles at me. So I started to counter her moves in a small range. We actually had a great time. But after another while, I found it boring because this little slippery Xiayao took advantage of my inattention and stabbed me in the thigh with a needle, making me cry out.
"Xiayao, you're in big trouble!"