On the way back, they passed by a row of orange groves. Lin Feilu looked around. No one knew what went through her mind but she stopped and said to Qingyan, “I want to go pick some oranges.”
Qingyan replied “These autumn oranges are grown only for ornamental purposes. They are not edible as they are very sour.”
Lin Feilu did not seem to be listening and insisted, “I want two.”
Qingyan did not persist to persuade her and finally went to pluck a few small oranges. One could tell that they were sour with just a glance. Lin Feilu wrapped up the oranges and put them in her sleeves before returning to Mingyue Palace.
Xiao Lan and Yunyou were still doing needlework in the courtyard. When they saw the basketful of persimmons brought by Qingyan, their expressions changed. As they were about to reprimand her, Qingyan recounted what had happened with a jovial expression on her face.
Xiao Lan was a little astonished. She turned her gaze towards Lin Feilu, who was squatting in the courtyard. She was digging out an ant’s nest together with Lin Zhanyuan. Xiao Lan did not put much further thought into the matter, as she just assumed that perhaps the Fourth Prince was in a good mood today. She instructed Qingyan to peel the persimmons for the two children.
Lin Feilu sat on the threshold of the side residence with a sweet and ripe persimmon in her hand. As she bit into it and nibbled, she looked into the opposite direction where the doors of the main residence building were still shut tight.
She overheard the conversation that took place between Yunyou and Xiao Lan earlier. The other party had not opened the doors even up until now. Lin Feilu was very satisfied with the other side’s reaction. She just said that there was someone on the tree and the other party got frightened so much. This proved that the direction of her plan this time was right.
Only when it was finally afternoon did the doors of the main residence open slowly. The setting sun cast its rays all over the courtyard and sifted through the bare branches of the pomegranate tree. Concubine Xu was being supported by Hongxiu when they first took a quick glance at the pomegranate tree. Immediately afterwards, they averted their eyes as they walked around it, hastily running towards the front gates of Mingyue Palace.
Lin Feilu was still sitting down on the threshold as she stared at them. Concubine Xu was frantically looking around while she panicked and met with the little girl’s eyes. She felt that the little girl seemed to be looking at her, but also at something else at the same time. It felt very sinister.
The two women did not return to Mingyue Palace until it was evening. Lin Feilu had already finished dinner by this time and was playing shadow tag with Lin Zhanyuan in the courtyard.
(T/N: Shadow tag is similar to tag – but instead of touching other players to tag them, they must step on their shadows.)
As soon as Concubine Xu came in, the two children stopped laughing. In Lin Zhanyuan’s eyes, she was a bad person. His mother said that he should stay away from bad people, so he attempted to pull his sister along and ran back.
However, Lin Feilu did not move. She just stood there in a daze with a blank expression on her face, staring at her intently.
Concubine Xu was feeling so fed up that she wanted to teach her a lesson. When she approached her, she realized Lin Feilu was not looking at her, but behind her instead.
She quickly turned her head around and found no one was there.
When she turned back, she saw Lin Feilu cowering with fear. Her big eyes were still staring at the position behind her, revealing an unabashed fear.
Concubine Xu suddenly felt a chill down her spine and a layer of cold sweat was dripping down her back. She felt spooked for some unknown, inexplicable reason.
Hongxiu mustered her courage and asked, “What are you looking at, Fifth Princess?”
This time, Lin Feilu did not answer her. She turned around and ran back into the side residence, pulling Lin Zhanyuan along as if she was terrified. She slammed the door shut without turning her head back.