Finished speaking, Lin Feilu carefully raised her head and looked at Lin Jingyuan’s expression. She stretched out two soft fingers and grabbed the corner of his sleeves. She tugged it gently and asked in a small voice, “Brother Jingyuan, do you also hate my brother like others do?”
Lin Jingyuan immediately replied in a loud voice, “Of course not! He is not only your brother but mine as well. How old is he?”
Lin Feilu’s sweet smile reappeared on her face: “My brother is seven years old this year.”
Lin Jingyuan proudly raised his chin as he said, “I am one year older than him, so I will be his big brother. He is my Sixth Younger Brother. Why would I hate him?”
Lin Feilu’s eyes immediately brightened and her hand was still tugging the corner of his sleeve. She said in a soft and melodious voice, “Brother Jingyuan is so nice. You’re the best person I have ever met!”
Lin Jingyuan was so euphoric that he felt as if he had almost ascended to heaven.
The three of them then walked to the side residence together and the young eunuch who was following behind sullenly spoke, “Your Highness…”
Lin Jingyuan turned around and glared at him, “You are not allowed to follow me inside!”
In the internal courtyard of the side residence, Xiao Lan was still doing needlework with Yunyan. When she suddenly saw her daughter walking hand in hand with the Fourth Prince, everyone in the courtyard was frightened. Lin Feilu said calmly: “Mother, Forth Elder Brother has come to play with me.”
Lin Jingyuan waved his small hand, “Continue your work, there’s no need to pay attention to me.”
The group of women looked at each other in dismay and decidedly sat back down. They watched on as the three children merrily ran around all over the house.
Lin Jingyuan unhappily asked as soon as he entered the house, “Why didn’t you call me like you did before?”
Lin Feilu sweetly smiled and stood on her tiptoes. She slowly got closer to his ear and whispered in a hushed tone, “That’s our secret.”
Lin Jingyuan internally screamed: Ah! My heart is going to melt!!!
The small room that Lin Feilu lived in was very simple, there were not any extravagant decorations. Compared with Changming Hall where he resided, this room was almost comparable to the slums. However, it was a tidy dwelling. The room also had a unique fragrance that belonged to a little girl’s, which was not greasy but refreshingly sweet.
While he was busy looking around, Lin Feilu whispered again to Lin Zhanyuan, “Brother, please go get some persimmons.”
Although Lin Zhanyuan was quite reluctant to leave them, he still obeyed his sister’s words and immediately ran out to get the persimmons. Lin Feilu went to the bookshelf, climbed up on a stool, then picked out a book.
These books were brought in by Xiao Lan when she entered the Imperial Harem. She was quite a talented woman at that time but it was a pity that she ended up in such a desolate place. These books had accumulated quite a bit of dust.
She picked up a copy of “The Analects” written by Confucius. After she got down, she took the Asiatic apple flower and put it in the pages of the book. She then closed the book.
Lin Jingyuan asked with curiosity: “What are you trying to do?”
Lin Feilu gave him the book, “Brother should use this apple flower as a bookmark. Even if it withers, the luck within it will be sealed inside it forever.”
It was the first time that Lin Jingyuan heard of the word “bookmark”. He felt that his Fifth Sister was really something special!
He had always hated reading. He always had a headache whenever he read books. For this reason, he was often reprimanded by his both father and mother. However, at this moment he could not wait to open “The Analects” and flip to the page where the apple flower was placed and smell it. He could barely keep his hands off the book as he reluctantly put it away into his robes.
Not long after, Lin Zhanyuan came running with persimmons stuffed in his blouse. With quick, loud footsteps, he ran towards his younger sister, “Persimmons!”
Lin Feilu selected the largest and reddest one, then handed it over to Lin Jingyuan, “Brother Jingyuan, have some persimmons.”