Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The Crown Princess gently patted Princess Lanzhen's back, silently comforting her.

Princess Lanzhen steadied herself, nodded slightly to the Crown Princess, and scooped another spoonful of milk egg custard to continue feeding the little girl.

Shen Zhinuo was completely engrossed in her conversation with the system and didn't notice Princess Lanzhen's unusual behavior. She ate absentmindedly while pressing, "What happened next?"

The system replied, "After her daughter's untimely death, Princess Lanzhen was heartbroken but forced herself to arrange the funeral. Even then, she managed to send a team of guards to escort you."

"After Princess Huayue's burial, Princess Lanzhen took her son to follow you, but despite hurrying, she was still a step too late. Your entire family, along with the princess's guards, had all perished."

"When Princess Lanzhen saw the bodies of all sizes in the snow, overwhelmed with grief, she spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted on the spot."

"When Princess Lanzhen regained consciousness, she escorted your family's coffins to the capital. After the funeral, Princess Lanzhen fell gravely ill and passed away soon after."

Hearing this, the Crown Princess's eyes reddened, and she leaned her face against Princess Lanzhen's shoulder, her heart unable to calm down for a long time.

Her elder sister had truly been devoted and righteous to their family.

Shen Zhinuo was also moved. She stretched out her little arms to hug Princess Lanzhen's waist, her small head nuzzling into her embrace, saying in a sweet, childish voice, "Nuo Er likes Auntie."

Princess Lanzhen looked at the little girl's big, watery eyes, her heart melting. She put the bowl aside on the table, picked up the child, and kissed her several times, "My darling, Auntie loves you too."

After hearing so many sad things today, Shen Zhinuo didn't want to listen anymore and silently rested her head on Princess Lanzhen's shoulder.

The little black dog waited briefly, and when Shen Zhinuo stopped speaking, it vanished into thin air.

Seeing her daughter listless, the Crown Princess knew the child was sad and couldn't bear it. She gently patted Princess Wen'an's head and softly instructed, "Hui Er, your second brother said early this morning that he was going to feed the peacocks. Take Nuo Er to see."

Princess Wen'an nodded obediently and reached out to her sister, "Nuo Er, come to sister."

Shen Zhinuo wriggled into her sister's arms and was carried out.

Seeing the two princesses heading out, the maids and eunuchs hurried after them.

Princess Wen'an, with her thin arms and legs, carried a chubby little girl in her arms. Although this scene often occurred in the Eastern Palace, it still made people nervous, worried the two little girls might fall.

The head maid, Coral, hurriedly bent down and asked, "Princess, let this servant carry the little princess."

"No need," Princess Wen'an tightened her arms, holding her sister more securely. Nuo Er was soft and chubby, easy to carry, and she couldn't bear to let anyone else hold her.

Coral knew this would be the outcome and didn't insist, just extended her arms to protect them from the side.

Shen Zhinuo also advised, "Sister, Nuo Nuo is too fat, let me walk by myself."

Princess Wen'an smiled and kissed her sister's little cheek, "Sister can carry you."

The group left the main courtyard and headed towards the back garden.

As they passed the moon gate and entered the back garden, they heard the sound of peacocks from the peacock garden, sounding somewhat panicked.

The two Green Peafowls had been in the Eastern Palace for some time, and Shen Zhinuo fed them personally every day, so she was very familiar with their calls. Hearing something was wrong, she struggled to get down, her little legs moving as fast as they could, quickly running towards the peacock garden.

"Nuo Er, slow down," Princess Wen'an called after her with the group in tow.

When Shen Zhinuo got closer, she was almost furious.

Her irresponsible second brother was chasing the two peacocks around the garden, trying to pluck their feathers.

Shen Zhinuo placed her small hands on her waist, stomped her foot, and shouted, "Second Brother, stop it!"

Seeing his sister arrive, Shen Weiqing guiltily scratched his head. When he raised his hand, he noticed he was still clutching a few peacock feathers, so he quickly hid his hand behind his back and asked with a grin, "What brings you here, Nuo Er?"

Shen Zhinuo waved her little hand and said, "Second Brother, come here."

Seeing the little girl's belly puffing up in anger, Shen Weiqing slowly made his way to the garden gate. As soon as he stepped out, he tried to run away.

Princess Wen'an had expected this and quickly pounced, grabbing his sleeve. "Second Brother, don't you dare run."

"Hui Er, let go of me. Nuo Er is going to beat me," Shen Weiqing said as he tried to pry Princess Wen'an's hand off, but he didn't dare use too much force. As the siblings were at a standoff, Shen Zhinuo arrived, lifting her little foot and kicking Shen Weiqing.

However, her round little body wasn't very agile, and she almost fell, which only made her angrier. After steadying herself, she kicked him twice more.

Shen Weiqing, a young man who trained daily in martial arts, found the little girl's kicks as light as a tickle. But to calm her down, he pretended to be in pain, exclaiming, "Nuo Er, I was wrong."

Seeing him admit his mistake, Shen Zhinuo stopped kicking. She stood on her toes, snatched the peacock feathers from Shen Weiqing's hand, and held them up in front of him. "Why did you pull out my peacock's feathers?"

Shen Weiqing explained, "Grandmother's birthday is coming soon. I wanted to make a decoration for her."

He had been planning this for a while but knew the little girl would never agree, so he hadn't done anything about it. That morning, the base for the decoration he had ordered arrived, and he couldn't delay any longer. So, while the little girl wasn't around, he sneaked in to pluck the feathers, only to get caught.

Shen Zhinuo snorted, "If you wanted to make a decoration, why did you have to pull out my peacock's feathers?"

Shen Weiqing crouched down and coaxed her gently, "Nuo Er, the peacock is a symbol of good luck and happiness. Just let me pull out a few feathers."

Shen Zhinuo glanced at the frightened peacock, turned her little body, and said, "No."

Shen Weiqing shuffled closer to the little girl, clasped his hands in a pleading gesture, and continued to coax her, "Good Nuo Er, be nice this once, won't you? Besides, I've already pulled out a few. If you don't agree, it'll be a waste. If you let me do this, I'll do anything for you."

Hearing this, Shen Zhinuo's big eyes sparkled with an idea. "Really? You'll do anything?"

Shen Weiqing nodded vigorously, "Yes, yes."

Shen Zhinuo said, "Then, from now on, you have to take me out to play every day."

Her system wasn't working well; it could only scan someone's face to get information. She wanted to scan everyone as quickly as possible.

But her father and mother were always busy, her eldest brother was busy with his studies, and none of them had time to accompany her all day. Her sister was weak and timid, not the type to take her on wild adventures. Looking around, Second Brother was the only one in the family who could do it.

Without a second thought, Shen Weiqing agreed, "That's no problem. I'll take you out to play."

Princess Wen'an, however, guessed her sister's true motive for wanting to go out and tugged on Shen Weiqing's sleeve, whispering a reminder, "Second Brother, have you forgotten? Father and Mother both said not to take Nuo Er out of the palace recently."

Shen Weiqing slapped his forehead, "Oh, right. I completely forgot about that."

Shen Zhinuo looked at her brother and then at her sister, puzzled. "Why can't I go out to play?"

Shen Weiqing lied, "The palace is busy getting ready for Grandmother's birthday party. There are people coming and going, and it's a bit chaotic. Mother is worried you might get hurt."

Princess Wen'an nodded in agreement.

Shen Zhinuo thought for a moment and said, "Then, after these busy days are over, you can take me out to play."

Shen Weiqing readily agreed.

Shen Zhinuo then handed him the peacock feathers she was holding. "You can have these, but don't pull out any more. I've collected some feathers that the peacock shed before. I'll give them to you later."

Shen Weiqing slapped his thigh, "That's great. If I had known, I wouldn't have pulled any out. Chasing them around was exhausting."

Shen Zhinuo remembered the peacock's earlier cries and kicked him again. "Serves you right."

After the two children left, the Crown Princess and Princess Lanzhen sat together to discuss.

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The Crown Princess speculated, "Sister, do you think Hua Yue's illness might also have been tampered with by someone?"