Chapter 4: The Demon Lord Princess's Daily Loafing Chapter 4: Three Years Later (2)

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Protagonist:

Yan Qianqian

Inside Wufangyuan at this moment, eight-year-old Yan Shuang'er wore blue clothes, her eyes slightly closed, looking extremely quiet—completely unlike the little girl who used to wear a big red butterfly bow at age five. She held a book in her hands, recording travelogues of various countries, all sorts of novelties dazzling to the eye.

Yan Shuang'er, who had been reading, suddenly raised her head and asked the yatou Xiao Jin: "Xiao Jin, what gift do you think I should give Mother for her birthday?" Xiao Jin thought seriously for a while and said: "Whatever Third Miss gives, the Princess Consort will like it. But there are many rare treasures in the Wangfu, so your servant thinks it's better to give the Princess Consort a more novel gift."

Yan Shuang'er felt Xiao Jin made sense, and after thinking hard herself for a long time without coming up with anything, she asked Xiao Jin again: "Xiao Jin, is Second Brother back yet?" Xiao Jin answered: "Second Young Master isn't back yet. But I heard from the little servant Zhaocai by his side that Second Young Master will come back tonight to have dinner with everyone, and should be back this afternoon." Yan Shuang'er thought for a moment, then continued lowering her head to read the book in her hands.

By noon, Yan Shuang'er felt her neck sore from reading, so she took Xiao Jin to stroll in the courtyard. Just as she reached the entrance, she saw Second Brother Yan Si walk in. He wore a dark blue robe embroidered with dark patterns, clearly valuable at a glance. Yan Shuang'er hurried forward and asked: "Second Brother, for Mother's birthday, what birthday gift do you plan to give her?" Yan Si glanced at Yan Shuang'er and said mysteriously: "It's a secret; just wait until Mother's birthday to be greatly surprised." Yan Shuang'er, finding no useful information from Second Brother, took Xiao Jin to Xinxiang Yuan.

As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw Eldest Sister playing the zither in the pavilion. So she lifted her skirt and ran quickly into the pavilion, plopped down on the stone bench beside her, and asked: "Eldest Sister, what gift are you giving Mother for her birthday? I'm almost worried to death." Yan Xiner stopped the zither in her hands and gently said to Yan Shuang'er: "I painted a painting, preparing to give it to Mother. He immediately said that whatever we give, Mother will like it, so just pick what you're good at or what Mother likes." Eldest Sister's painting—Yan Shuang'er thought hard for a long time, suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and said: "Eldest Sister, I know what to give!" Then she took Xiao Jin and ran off.

Yan Xiner shook her head with a smile, saying: "Looks steady on the outside, why still act like a child?" Linglong also smiled from the side: "Third Miss is just eight years old, she's naturally a child. She just pretends to be mature and steady usually. She'll be fine in another two years."

At this time, Yan Qianqian and Yan Wang had just finished training. Because there was a holiday from the Shufang today, Yan Wang didn't go to class, and Yan Qianqian was only three years old, and An Wang hadn't sent her to class yet, so the two children had nothing to do this afternoon and went out to play together (An Wang had assigned an Anqi to each child).

On the bustling Dajie, hawkers' cries were everywhere. Qianqian, who hadn't gone out for several days, looked at the candied hawthorn seller and was so excited that saliva flowed from the corner of her mouth. She said to Yan Wang: "Elder Brother, I want to eat candied hawthorns." I patted my pockets—no money, what to do? The two children looked at each other. Just then, Yan Qianqian suddenly remembered: "There are the two Anqi Father gave!" So she shouted: "Shiyi, I want to eat candied hawthorns~" The Anqi appeared immediately. They went to the candied hawthorn seller and bought two skewers. After handing them to Yan Qianqian and Yan Wang, they vanished in a flash, and only the two of them were seen holding candied hawthorns and beginning to munch munch munch.

The two ate while walking. After walking a short while, they saw osmanthus small round balls sold by the roadside. Yan Shuang'er looked at Yan Wang, her eyes full of wanting to eat, wanting to eat, wanting to eat. "Shiyi, small round balls" — no sooner said than done, Shiyi "whoosh" appeared, then "whoosh" disappeared without a trace. In the blink of an eye, Qianqian and Yan Wang each had a small paper bowl in hand. The paper bowl held eight plump, chubby little balls, each topped with a bit of yellow, bright osmanthus sauce. Qianqian picked up a small bamboo skewer from the paper bowl, skewered a small round ball, gently blew on it "huff huff huff huff," then popped it into her mouth. She bit down, the soft glutinous skin wrapping strawberry sauce inside, the sour-sweet strawberry sauce paired with sweet osmanthus sauce—that taste was truly indescribable. Qianqian curiously narrowed her eyes. Just like that, the two held a small paper bowl in one hand and candied hawthorns in the other, walking and eating "munch munch" with great relish.

The two were eating happily when suddenly someone shouted from behind: "Yan Wang, Yan Wang!" Yan Wang turned back—it was his good friend from the Shangshufang, the grandson of the Censor-in-Chief, Qi Yu. Qi Yu was one year older than Yan Wang, and both were students of Sixian Ban. (The Shangshufang had two classes: one was Qi Meng Ban, accepting children aged 3–6; the other was Sixian Ban, accepting children aged 7–10.) Qi Yu ran until he was out of breath, looked at the three-year-old little milk doll beside Yan Wang, and curiously asked: "Is this your younger sister?" Yan Wang nodded. "Such a cute little girl isn't in school yet, right?" Yan Wang nodded again. Qi Yu continued: "Such a cute little girl isn't in school yet, what a pity."

Yan Qianqian looked puzzled: (What are you talking about?) Yan Wang glanced at him and said: "Soon, Father said he'll send her to school this year." Hearing this, Qi Yu's face lit up with surprise and joy, and he said excitedly: "Great, my little sister is also starting school this year, also just three years old! She's called Qi Xi, maybe they'll be in the same class!"

Yan Wang nodded slightly and replied: "Mm." He was naturally taciturn; being able to respond to Qi Yu was already giving him enough face.

The three walked side by side on the road, Qi Yu chirping like a cheerful little bird; Yan Wang like a quiet big tree, silently listening; while Qianqian hopped and skipped, still munching munch in her mouth—the trio seemed very harmonious.

Just then, a sudden burst of mournful crying came from ahead, the voice full of despair and helplessness. At the same time, there were men's angry curses and the chattering discussions of onlookers. This sudden change made the three of them stop in their tracks and curiously look toward what was happening ahead.