Beside the stone table under the shade of the trees, Song Yixuan sat obediently beside Song Yihuan and said in a clear voice,
"Fourth Sister, it's cool and quiet here. Xuan'er likes it here."
Song Yihuan raised her hand and gently stroked her younger brother's head, revealing her beautiful and charming side profile. Her eyelids drooped slightly, and her curly eyelashes cast a shadow on her fair face. Her eyebrows were relaxed, and there was an extremely gentle smile on her lips.
"Then you should study here for a while longer. Don't shout to go back after reading just a few sentences. If you're like this, you won't be able to pass the imperial examination and become the top scholar in the future."
The little boy gently swayed his feet and nodded in response, "Xuan'er knows. Xuan'er will definitely pass the imperial examination and become the top scholar in the future, so that Fourth Sister can live a good life."
Hearing the conversation between the siblings, Ji Lingchuan's lips curved slightly.
He's so young, yet he's already thinking about becoming the top scholar.
But then he remembered that Song Yihuan had almost become the wife of the second-place scholar before, and his lips immediately drooped.
Perhaps thinking that this place was secluded and deserted, the siblings below sat for a while and then began to do their own things without a care in the world.
Song Yixuan recited the Thousand-Character Classic, shaking his head and swaying his body, while Song Yihuan sat beside him, listening and absent-mindedly continuing to embroider the thing in her hand.
Ji Lingchuan didn't know what was wrong with himself. Clearly, this loud reading was no less ear-piercing than the wailing-like opera singing. He had come here to avoid the noise, but at this moment, listening to the child's reading and the woman's occasional reminder and correction, his heart was filled with tranquility.
His gaze unconsciously fell on Song Yihuan's slender and delicate fingers.
Her fingers looked tender and fair. The needle and thread fluttered nimbly in her hands, leaving patterns on the cloth bit by bit, making people unable to take their eyes off.
It was such a pair of skillful hands that had pickled such delicious green plums and embroidered a long brocade with completely different patterns on both sides.
How many more surprises did she have that he didn't know about?
Although it was cool here, it was still summer after all. Before long, fine beads of sweat appeared on Song Yihuan's forehead, and a faint blush gradually spread across her fair face.
The blush spread from her cheeks to the back, making her jade-like ears turn pink.
She looked serious and focused, not even noticing the sweat sliding down her forehead.
That drop of sweat hung on the tip of her nose, about to fall but not yet.
Ji Lingchuan's gaze turned deep, and his breathing became a bit heavier.
Song Yihuan's hand paused. As if sensing something, she looked up. The sweat on the tip of her nose naturally dropped and landed on her fair hand.
Was it just her imagination?
Song Yihuan frowned slightly. She always felt that someone was watching her.
But above her head, she could only see the dense branches and leaves that were enough to block out the sky and the sun. There was not a single figure.
She couldn't help but think of the wanted notice she had seen on the bulletin board in the Western Market.
Surely it couldn't be that a thief had sneaked into the Prince Ning's Mansion?
She immediately denied her own thought and felt a bit ridiculous.
What was she thinking about?
This was the Prince Ning's Mansion, heavily guarded. It was unlikely that any blind thief would dare to sneak in.
Song Yihuan withdrew her gaze. At this time, Song Yixuan also handed the writing brush in his hand to her and said, "Fourth Sister, we should learn new characters today."
Song Yihuan took the brush with a smile. "Okay. What character does Xuan'er want to learn today?"
Ji Lingchuan didn't leave. He just hid his figure in the overlapping shadows of the trees, but his eyes still watched the two figures snuggled together below.
The siblings once again immersed themselves in their own world. They got together and picked up the brush to write and draw on the paper. From time to time, they let out cheerful laughter. Their affection was far deeper than that of ordinary relatives. Even he was touched when he saw it.
This place was really very quiet and cool. Song Yixuan lay on the stone table, focusing on practicing calligraphy, while Song Yihuan picked up a folding fan and fanned him on the side. As she fanned, the wind gradually became weaker until it stopped completely.
Song Yixuan looked to the side and found that his sister had fallen asleep on the table. The sunlight filtered through the swaying branches and leaves and fell on her face, making her skin look as white as jade.
Song Yixuan stared at her for a moment. Without waking her up, he put down the brush in his hand, carefully got off the stone bench, ran to the side to pick a banana leaf, then trotted back to the stone table. He stood on tiptoe and tried his best to hold up the banana leaf in his hand, wanting to block the sunlight on the sleeping woman's face.
But he was too short. No matter how much he stood on tiptoe, the banana leaf still couldn't reach Song Yihuan's head.
Just as he was about to fall and bump into Song Yihuan, his small hand suddenly fell into a large, warm palm, and his body also stabilized. Song Yixuan's eyes suddenly widened. When he turned his head, Ji Lingchuan's handsome and deep face came into view.
Song Yixuan opened his mouth to shout, but Ji Lingchuan put a finger to his lips, signaling him not to make a sound so as not to wake Song Yihuan.
Song Yixuan quickly nodded vigorously and obediently closed his mouth.
Ji Lingchuan took the banana leaf from the little boy's hand and blocked the sunlight falling on Song Yihuan's face so that she could sleep more soundly.
Getting closer, Ji Lingchuan could see her delicate and fair skin and her plump and rosy lips more clearly. The faint fragrance of apricot blossoms was carried to him by the gentle breeze, making his eyes turn dark. His throat unconsciously made a swallowing motion.
The next moment, Ji Lingchuan stood up and withdrew, taking a step back. He didn't dare to look any further.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the embroidery she had casually placed beside her. He found that the pattern embroidered on it was a coiled dragon pattern. Although it was not finished, it was already taking shape. It was obvious that it was embroidered for a man.
Thinking of the time they had spent together in the garden pavilion that night, he guessed that this embroidery should be for him.
A secret joy that only he could understand emerged in Ji Lingchuan's heart.
His gaze shifted, and he saw the scattered papers on the stone table. Ji Lingchuan paused for a moment, remembering that these were what the siblings had written together just now.
A thought flashed through his mind. He stood in front of the table, picked up the calligraphy copybook that the siblings had practiced on just now and examined it carefully.
After seeing the characters on it clearly, a look of surprise flashed in his eyes.
Ji Lingchuan had seen Song Yihuan's calligraphy before.
That day at the Princess Ning's place, he had seen the excerpt from "Sheng Lü Qi Meng" she had written. She had used a wild and flowing running script, which was very similar to his own calligraphy.
He thought that the calligraphy Song Yihuan taught her younger brother would be that running script, but he didn't expect that what was left on the paper was a very beautiful and neat official script.
She could even write official script?
Song Yixuan was still young, and the characters he wrote were in a mess, big and small. It could be said to be a sorry sight.
But the official script written by Song Yihuan was neat and beautiful. Every stroke was the same in size and thickness. Even the great scholar Qi would probably praise this calligraphy if he were here.
It seemed that what she was good at was not just running script. She even knew a thing or two about official script?