Song Yihuan loved apricot blossoms because when they bloomed, the mountains were covered in white as far as the eye could see. Thus, the apricot blossoms on this dress were all embroidered by her own hand.
However, since she had once bumped into Ji Lingchuan while wearing this dress, she could only hide it away.
Now, she wasn't sure whether Ji Lingchuan had seen her in that medical hall. It would be too unfair to the dress to seal it away forever.
After some thought, she finally put the dress into a trunk and placed it together with the luggage for her trip to Xingzhou.
One day before the departure, a servant from the Prince Ning's Mansion came to Tinglan Courtyard to ask if Song Yihuan had packed her luggage. The trunks needed to be loaded onto the carriage in advance to avoid delaying the journey the next day.
Song Yihuan had the packed luggage carried out. For a moment, Tinglan Courtyard seemed empty, which made Song Yihuan feel a bit unaccustomed.
Tinglan Courtyard in the Prince Ning's Mansion was twice as spacious as Qinghe Courtyard in the Marquis Ding'an's Mansion. Whether it was the structure of the main house or the furnishings inside, the Marquis Ding'an's Mansion couldn't compare.
After living here for so long, she had gradually gotten used to everything here and even developed a bit of unnecessary attachment.
This wasn't a good thing for her.
Suppressing the melancholy in her heart, Song Yihuan lowered her head and was about to mend Song Yixuan's clothes when unexpectedly, someone came to Tinglan Courtyard again.
"Is Miss Song the Fourth and Young Master Song the Fifth here? I'm here on the orders of the heir apparent to deliver longans to you two."
Inside Tinglan Courtyard, the four master and servants were all surprised.
The needle in Song Yihuan's hand even pricked her finger.
Did she hear correctly? Longans? Sent by the heir apparent?
Song Yihuan looked at Fuling and Chunxing. Both of them subconsciously stood up straight and shook their heads at Song Yihuan.
Song Yihuan put down what was in her hand and walked out of the courtyard with Fuling. Sure enough, she saw a guard from Jingtao Courtyard standing outside. The guard was holding a tray full of longans.
Seeing Song Yihuan, the guard beamed with a smile on his face. "Fourth Miss, these are the longans the heir apparent ordered me to deliver. Please accept them, Fourth Miss."
Song Yihuan's ears were burning hot. She hesitated and didn't dare to take them.
What was Ji Lingchuan doing? How could he so openly send longans to her like this? Wasn't he afraid of attracting gossips?
As if sensing her embarrassment, the guard said, "Fourth Miss, please rest assured. Every courtyard in the mansion has these longans. It's not just for your side. Fourth Miss can accept them with peace of mind."
Hearing what the guard said, Song Yihuan felt relieved. She asked Fuling to take the tray from the guard's hand. Song Yihuan took out a small piece of silver and handed it forward. "Thank you, brother. Please convey my thanks to the heir apparent for me."
"I will definitely convey Fourth Miss's words to the heir apparent." The guard smiled.
Back in the courtyard with the longans, Song Yixuan and Chunxing immediately surrounded them, exclaiming in admiration at the big, round and fragrant longans on the tray.
"So this is the legendary longan." Chunxing had been following Song Yihuan since she was a child. Having lived a hard life, she had never seen such a rare thing as longans.
Fuling had once been lucky enough to see longans when she was by Song Nanxin's side, but she had never had the chance to eat them. Smelling the fragrance, she couldn't help but swallow her saliva.
"Fourth sister, what is longan? Can Xuan'er eat it?" Song Yixuan asked, blinking his eyes. The greed in his eyes was clearly visible.
Song Yihuan stroked her younger brother's head and smiled. "Longan is a fruit that grows in the Lingnan area. It got its name because it looks like the eye of a dragon. The 'Shennong Ben Cao Jing' also records that longan is warm in nature and sweet in taste. It has the functions of tonifying the heart and spleen, nourishing the blood and calming the nerves. It is mainly used to treat symptoms such as deficiency of qi and blood, restlessness, forgetfulness, insomnia, and sallow complexion due to blood deficiency. It's just suitable for you to eat. You can eat it with confidence."
Song Yixuan's eyes lit up after hearing this. "Really? Brother-in-law is so kind!"
Song Yihuan smiled but didn't respond to his words. Then she sat down, broke off a longan, peeled the shell, revealing the white and sweet pulp inside, and handed it to Song Yixuan's lips.
The child took a bite. The juice filled his lips and tongue. The sweetness made his eyes narrow into slits.
"Is it delicious?" Song Yihuan asked with a smile.
Song Yixuan nodded vigorously. Then he also peeled a longan in the same way and handed it to Song Yihuan's lips. "Sister, you eat too!"
Song Yihuan took the longan pulp her younger brother handed her. The honey-sweet taste spread from the tip of her tongue to the bottom of her heart.
Looking up and seeing the two maids secretly swallowing their saliva, Song Yihuan's eyebrows relaxed. She called the two of them forward and put a handful of fruits in each of their hands. "Look at how greedy you are. Go and eat them."
The two maids were so excited that their faces turned red. They repeatedly thanked Song Yihuan and walked to one side to peel the longans and eat them. The small courtyard was filled with laughter.
Shulan Courtyard.
Song Nanxin peeled a longan and put it into her mouth. The sweet taste made her squint her eyes happily.
"No wonder it's a tribute to the palace. It's much sweeter than the ones in the Marquis's Mansion before. Thank you, heir apparent, for giving me such a good thing. I'm really happy." Song Nanxin said to Ji Lingchuan who was sitting opposite her.
Ji Lingchuan's expression was calm. "I'm glad you like it."
Song Nanxin rolled her eyes and said to Granny Zhao, "Granny, pick out some of these longans and send them to Yihuan and Yixuan. Let them have a taste of something new."
Granny Zhao responded and stepped forward. Just as she was about to divide some fruits according to Song Nanxin's order, Ji Lingchuan said, "There's no need. His Majesty rewarded a lot of these longans. I've had people send them to every courtyard in the mansion. This is specially left for the heir apparent's wife. You can just enjoy them at ease."
Song Nanxin was taken aback for a moment and forced a smile. "Really? The heir apparent is really considerate."
Ji Lingchuan sat in Song Nanxin's place for a while longer and then got up to leave. "You should rest well. We're leaving for Xingzhou tomorrow. Make sure you're well-rested."
Song Nanxin replied with a "Yes" and watched Ji Lingchuan leave with open eyes.
It wasn't until she was sure that Ji Lingchuan had left that Song Nanxin pushed the tray with the longans away angrily.
"I don't want to eat anymore. It's so boring."
She thought the longans were specially sent to her. She even wanted to show off to that little girl. But unexpectedly, everyone in the mansion could eat them. He was really "fair to everyone" and considerate!
At this time, a smiling voice came from behind. "Saying that everyone has them, I'm afraid it's actually for someone in particular. He sent them to every courtyard on purpose so that no one could tell. The heir apparent really has a good plan."
Song Nanxin turned around. "What did you say?"
Behind her, Cui Muyuan, who had disguised himself as "Baishao", had a smile on his face and was playing with a leaf in his hand. He looked very casual, as if the words just now were just a casual remark.
When it was getting close to the autumn hunting departure, Baishao beside Song Nanxin was quietly replaced again. Now the one beside Song Nanxin was Cui Muyuan.
The speaker might not mean it, but the listener took it to heart. Song Nanxin took Cui Muyuan's words to heart.
Could it be that Ji Lingchuan went to so much trouble to send longans to every courtyard really for Song Yihuan?
Clenching her fists tightly, Song Nanxin felt that she could hardly breathe.
Unexpectedly, after all her precautions, she still failed to prevent Ji Lingchuan from taking a fancy to that little girl Song Yihuan?
But there was still a bit of fantasy in her heart. With a cold, solemn and proper-tempered person like Ji Lingchuan, how could he possibly have feelings for his wife's younger sister?
He had learned the old-fashioned ways of Grand Scholar Qi. His way of doing things was comparable to that of Grand Scholar Qi. He wouldn't ignore the reputation of the Prince Ning's Mansion either.
Song Nanxin tried to comfort herself in her heart that it was absolutely impossible, but she didn't sleep well that night. When she woke up the next day and saw herself in the mirror, Song Nanxin let out a scream.