Chapter 166: Little Sisters, Hand in Hand

He Shuran held back for a long time; finally her face turned purple‑red from holding back, her tongue broke the seal, and she softly said a few words: "Sui Sui looks nice."

She originally meant to say, "Sui Sui is also nice."

But, for some unknown reason, a word went missing in the middle.

This left He Shuran regretful and unsure what to do, standing there helplessly.

Sui Sui, being praised as nice, couldn't help feeling proud.

The little child didn't know how to show pride; she originally wanted to imitate Qiaoqiao Jiejie by puffing out her little belly and raising her little head.

But when she realized she was still holding Shuran Jiejie's hand, Sui Sui gave up that approach and thought of other ways to express her happiness.

Smile?

When happy, one should smile more, right?

Le Le said the same thing.

The two sisters stood there silent; the Princess Consort of Qi and Lady He did not urge them, just smiling as they watched.

The Princess Consort of Qi saw through but said nothing.

Unfortunately, her health is poor; staying with the civet cat for long makes her breathing uneven.

He Shuran felt that Sui Sui like this was exactly like a civet cat made happy by teasing—body curled, limbs waving in the air, exposing its cute belly, head tilted, letting the owner continue teasing.

He Shuran also didn't know whether her description was accurate.

In the end, He Shuran felt embarrassed being looked at, and gently shook Sui Sui's hand: "Sister, let's go get something to drink."

Grandmother even had the civet cat she'd raised for years sent to other people's homes to be cared for.

For this, grandmother secretly cried several times.

Thinking of this, He Shuran tightly grasped Sui Sui's hand, but controlled her strength so as not to hurt her sister.

He Shuran thought that the regret of not having a civet cat seemed to have diminished greatly upon seeing Sui Sui like this.

She turned away, quietly wiped her tears so the child wouldn't see, then quickly turned back.

However, she felt that if a comparison must be made, then Sui Sui is even cuter than a civet cat!

He Shuran actually had always wanted to keep a civet cat.

Making the adults wait there all the time, however, is not very nice to look at.

Thinking of this, Sui Sui narrowed her eyes, showed her little white teeth, and gave a silly hehe laugh: "Hehe."

Because of this, in the residence, not to mention civet cats, even furry creatures are rarely seen.

Now looking at the innocent and adorable Sui Sui right before her eyes.

Therefore, He Shuran even tried to suppress her embarrassment; though her voice was small, she bravely expressed herself actively for once.

Moreover, Sui Sui really is cuter than a civet cat; most importantly, Sui Sui likes her and can speak!

When Sui Sui smiles, she is full of innocence.

Lady He watched from the side, feeling both sour and sweet.

However, her gaze toward Sui Sui grew more appreciative and more loving.

Thinking back, when Sui Sui first came to the residence, she was a poor little thing who only dared to hide behind Xiao Liu, not daring to look around.

Now the children have made obvious progress; they all know to actively take the hand of the sister they like.

The Princess Consort of Qi thought this was quite good.

She never thought of making Sui Sui into a worldly‑wise person; she herself couldn't do that, so why demand it of others?

She only hopes that in this child's life, she will have close friends in her inner chambers and eventually find a good partner.

She does not seek great wealth and honor, only peace and smoothness.

The two children quickly went hand in hand to drink today's tea.

The Princess Consort of Qi and Lady He also sat down, watching the children while chatting about family matters.

Hai Tang hadn't been gone long before she returned with the news, standing at the gate, unsure whether to enter.

After seeing Hai Tang, the Princess Consort of Qi nodded, indicating for her to come in, and she whispered: "It's the Fifth Young Master from the Tang Fu who caught a small snake, apparently threw it onto the Fourth Young Lady, causing a frightened scream; the monks are now helping to catch the snake."

Princess Consort of Qi:.

Lady He:..

Hearing this, the Princess Consort of Qi was surprised and speechless, but she thought it was also alright.

As long as they don't provoke our side, how their own household members cause trouble is their internal affair.

Moreover, she brought Sui Sui here, staying only three or five days before returning, with no fixed schedule; if necessary, they could even go down the mountain tonight.

By contrast, Lady He, who plans to stay a while, finds it quite troublesome.

Before, she had only heard that the Fifth Young Master of the Tang Fu was rather mischievous.

Lady He has little interaction with their household, so she doesn't know the situation.

Now that she has seen it, she is speechless and also troubled.

Thinking ahead, they will all be staying in this wing of dormitories, and similar incidents might happen from time to time; Lady He just wants to withdraw.

She brought the children here to pray for blessings, hoping they could receive some divine light in the temple and rest awhile.

They definitely did not come here for excitement!!!

Unfortunately, the Tang Fu is high‑ranking and powerful; they dare not mention or speak of it.

Lady He showed some emotion on her face, not wanting the Princess Consort to misunderstand, so she could only smile wryly and say: "Please excuse the Princess Consort for seeing this joke; I really am……"

She wanted to explain, but had nowhere to do so.

The Princess Consort of Qi also understood her state of mind.

Seeing Lady He on the verge of tears, the Princess Consort of Qi hurriedly soothed her gently: "It's fine; the Buddha knows your yearly sincerity and will not hold occasional inconvenience against you."

That means, if feeling unwell, returning to the residence early is no problem.

It's not a big deal; later, just pick a time and come over again.

After hearing this, Lady He could only give a bitter smile and nod: "That's also true."

He Shuran felt sad seeing her mother's bitter smile.

She thought it was all due to her poor health.

The doctor said she might not survive.

Although He Shuran is young, she knows that "not being able to stand" means not living long.

Her health worsens each spring, her breathing becomes labored, and sometimes she can even faint from holding her breath.

Because of this, her mother brings her to Lanruo Si every spring to stay a short while and bask in the divine light.

Besides that, their group also brought a female medic, just in case she had another accident.

He Shuran knows her mother dotes on her, and everyone in the family dotes on her.

But she doesn't want to be a burden to her family.

She doesn't want to see them anxiously counting the days each spring, carefully waiting for spring to pass before they all relax and rejoice that she has lived another year.

However, He Shuran is also reluctant to die.

She thought her mother was so good, and everyone in the family was so good.

This world is also so beautiful, she……

She can't bear to give it up.

Thinking of this, the little girl couldn't help but hold Sui Sui's hand, tears falling in a pitter-patter.

Sui Sui originally wanted to tell her sister, 'Today's five-spice pastry smells so good!'

But before she could say it, she saw her sister crying.

Sui Sui panicked all of a sudden!

The second watch is at 19:00.