The words "little one" made Song Yihuan recall last night's dream.
Her expression remained calm as she smiled and pinched his nose. "You have quite an imagination. Did you see the face of the fourth brother-in-law?"
She was a bit curious. She wondered who could be the fourth brother-in-law in Xuan'er's mind.
Song Yixuan paused for a moment and shook his head. "No, I didn't see. I only dreamed that the fourth sister got married, but the fourth brother-in-law didn't appear."
His mood sank again. "This dream is not sweet at all."
"Come on. As long as you listen to the fourth sister, take your medicine properly, don't run around, and quietly read and write here, one day you'll get better just like in the dream." Song Yihuan hugged her younger brother and comforted him, her face full of pity.
A soft little hand landed on her eyebrows. Song Yixuan gently rubbed the frown on her brow that she didn't even notice when it appeared, and replied, "Yes, Xuan'er knows."
Song Yixuan felt a bit guilty. He had lied to the fourth sister.
Although he didn't see the face of the fourth brother-in-law in the dream, the clothes he wore and his voice were exactly the same as the eldest brother-in-law's.
The eldest brother-in-law was the husband of the eldest sister. How could he become the fourth sister's husband?
Song Yixuan's little head couldn't figure it out. He didn't want to say it and make the fourth sister unhappy, so he could only keep it in his heart.
After the siblings had breakfast, Song Yihuan changed into her going-out clothes, put on a veil hat, and walked towards the side gate of the Prince Ning's Mansion with Fuling.
She was going out with Song Nanxin today. They said they were going to pick out accessories for the banquet at the Duke Jiang's Mansion. The two had made an appointment to meet at the side gate and then set off in a carriage together.
When Song Yihuan arrived at the side gate, Song Nanxin hadn't come yet, so she stood there waiting.
Just as she stood still, a figure rushed in from outside the gate. Looking closely, it was Fuzhou, the personal attendant beside Ji Lingchuan.
Song Yihuan still had her veil hat in her hand, so Fuzhou saw her as soon as he entered the gate.
He stopped in his tracks. Fuzhou was quite surprised and raised his hand to salute Song Yihuan. "Greetings to Miss Song the Fourth."
"Brother Fuzhou, you don't need to be so polite." Song Yihuan nodded slightly and subconsciously looked behind him.
Normally, where Fuzhou appeared, one could always see a certain person. Was she so unlucky that after having a nightmare last night, she would run into that evil star early in the morning?
Fuzhou noticed her gaze. His eyes immediately became deep. He coughed twice and explained to Song Yihuan respectfully, "I'm afraid I've disappointed Miss Song the Fourth. Our lord has gone to the palace for the morning court roll call. He's not in the mansion."
Song Yihuan came to her senses and realized that Fuzhou had misunderstood.
He thought she was waiting here on purpose for Ji Lingchuan to have an encounter?
She was annoyed in her heart and specifically explained, "I'm waiting here because I'm going out shopping with the eldest sister today."
What she meant was that she wasn't waiting here on purpose and had no intention of inquiring about Ji Lingchuan's whereabouts.
Fuzhou smiled and said, "I see. Then I won't bother Miss Song the Fourth. I'll take my leave first."
After saying that, he bowed his hands and turned to leave.
Song Yihuan waited at the side gate for nearly a stick of incense before Song Nanxin finally came.
For this outing, Song Nanxin had changed into a bright dress. There was a golden hairpin with a jade and pearl butterfly playing with flowers in her hair. The clothes on her body were embroidered with complex and noble winter jasmine everywhere, making her look rich and dignified, which extremely matched her title of the Princess Consort of Prince Ning.
As for Song Yihuan standing at the side gate of the Marquis's Mansion, she was wearing a light green dress. Only the hem and cuffs were embroidered with cloud patterns, making it look extremely plain.
But this extremely plain dress on her outlined her exquisite figure, diluting the charm in her bones and making her look ethereal and out of this world. Every gesture of hers attracted people's attention.
Song Nanxin also saw Song Yihuan's outfit. She cursed "vixen" in her heart. Then she stepped forward and affectionately took Song Yihuan's hand.
"Have you been waiting for a long time? I was just about to set off when the prince suddenly came to Shulan Courtyard. He insisted that I accompany him to drink tea and gave me a new hairpin. That's why I was delayed."
Song Nanxin raised her hand to caress her temple and blushed shyly with a bit of pride. "Yihuan, look. Isn't it beautiful?"
Song Yihuan looked at the hairpin in her hair. It was different from the one Song Nanxin had shown her yesterday. The butterfly on it was lifelike and exquisitely made. The tassels hanging below were inlaid with crystal-clear agates. It was indeed very valuable.
However...
Fuzhou seemed to have said just now that Ji Lingchuan had gone to the palace and wasn't in the mansion at all.
Song Yihuan smiled silently in her heart.
She could see that the eldest sister was trying to tell her what a proper and polite person Ji Lingchuan was. In his eyes, there was no other woman except his princess consort.
She replied calmly, "It's beautiful. The jewelry the prince gave you matches the eldest sister very well."
Song Nanxin didn't know at all that Song Yihuan had known Ji Lingchuan's whereabouts earlier than her. She held Song Yihuan's hand and chattered about how clingy Ji Lingchuan was when he accompanied her to drink tea just now, looking extremely proud.
"The prince treasures me so much. When we get to Duobaozhai later, I have to choose carefully. Yihuan, what do you think I should choose for him as a return gift?"
Song Yihuan said, "I have limited vision. I'm afraid I'm not good at choosing. You can decide, sister."
As the two sisters were talking, they stepped over the side gate and got on the carriage parked outside.
Fuling was responsible for watching over Song Yixuan, so she didn't follow. After watching the carriage leave, she turned around and went back to Tinglan Courtyard.
Seeing her come back, Chunxing asked, "Have the two young ladies gone out?"
After getting an affirmative answer from Fuling, Chunxing instructed, "You watch over Young Master Five carefully. I'll go back to the Marquis's Mansion right away to get the monthly allowance for Miss the Fourth."
When Chunxing quietly left the Prince Ning's Mansion from the back door of the side courtyard, she looked at the sky and murmured, "I hope I can get the silver smoothly today."
For a moment, only Song Yixuan and Fuling were left in Tinglan Courtyard.
Song Yixuan knew that Fuling was a servant beside Song Nanxin. He sat there quietly playing with the Kongming Lock and didn't pay much attention to Fuling.
Fuling didn't make a sound to disturb him either. Instead, she took a broom and swept the fallen leaves in the yard, looking up from time to time to make sure Song Yixuan was still sitting there.
As she was sweeping, Fuling looked up and met Song Yixuan's clear eyes, which were like two black grapes.
Startled, Fuling stopped what she was doing and asked, "Does Young Master Five have any instructions?"
Song Yixuan tilted his head slightly and looked at her. "Fuling, can a man marry two women as his wives?"
Fuling stood there stunned. When she came to her senses, she said with a bit of amusement, "Young Master Five, you're so young and you're already thinking about getting married? Since ancient times, a man can only have one wife. The choice of a wife should be based on family background, origin, and character. If there are other women he likes, he can take them as concubines."
"Miss the Fourth and Young Master Five's birth mother, Concubine Rou, is the marquis's concubine."
Song Yixuan's little face was already pale. After hearing this, his face seemed to turn even paler, as if it would break with a single touch.