“Mm. These are lollipops, they’re very tasty. If you tear off the pretty colored paper wrapped around the ball at the tip of the small stick, you’ll find the candy.” Huangfu Yue said.
Huangfu Xuan and his sisters immediately tore off the wrapper of the lollipops with impatience. Upon seeing the colorful round balls, their eyes all lit up.
“The colors of these candies are so beautiful!” the four little ones exclaimed in unison.
“These candies are so delicious, they’re lychee flavored!” Huangfu Xuan couldn’t wait to be the first to try one.
“Mine is strawberry flavored! This strawberry flavor is great!” Huangfu Ling also started eating her lollipop.
“Mine tastes like my favorite orange!” Huangfu Jing called out, enthusiastically licking the orange-flavored candy ball.
“I can’t quite tell what mine tastes like… but it’s really good, I love it!” Huangfu Ying said, eating her lollipop with a slightly puzzled expression. But her confusion quickly turned to delight, and a sweet smile reappeared on her little face.
“Ying’er, your lollipop is cola flavored,” Huangfu Yue said.
She liked cola-flavored lollipops, so she knew immediately that the lollipop in her second niece’s hand was cola-flavored. However, this little girl had never tasted cola before, so she didn’t know her lollipop was cola-flavored.
“Cola flavor? Cola? What is cola?” Huangfu Ying asked curiously, tilting her little head slightly.
“Cola is a type of drink… A drink is something you drink… I’ll let you have some later,” Huangfu Yue explained.
Huangfu Ying nodded, and Huangfu Ling immediately exclaimed, “I want to drink cola too! When Auntie gives Ying sister cola later, she has to give me some too!”
“Me too! Jing’er has never had cola, and she wants to drink it,” Huangfu Jing chimed in.
“I want to drink cola too! Auntie, can you give me some too, please!” Huangfu Xuan’s mouth began to water.
“Alright! If you all behave and be good children, Auntie will give all of you cola to drink in the future,” Huangfu Yue agreed with a smile.
“Thank you, Auntie, we’ll be good children!” The four little ones giggled happily and called out in unison. Then, they continued to enjoy their lollipops, praising their aunt as they ate.
Concubine Zheng watched from downstairs, her eyes crinkling with a smile that reached her eyes.
Seeing how well Yue’er treated Xuan’er and his sisters, doting on them and spoiling them, and how the four children adored her and were so close to her, she was genuinely happy from the bottom of her heart.
Watching Yue’er with the four little ones, she felt reassured. Even if the mothers of the four little ones were no longer in the Prince of Dai’s mansion, she knew that Yue’er would be there to take good care of them.
Everyone else watched Huangfu Yue’s close interactions with the four children with smiles, especially the children’s mothers. Only Xu Yuqing was an exception.
Zhu Jiayi and Zhong Liangshu were happy that Huangfu Yue was good to their children and doted on them. Xu Yuqing, however, was filled with displeasure.
Earlier, when she saw Huangfu Yue being so affectionate with her daughter, hugging and kissing her, she had thought the girl was trying to curry favor with her. But then she realized Huangfu Yue was equally good and loving to the other children. This meant Huangfu Yue wasn’t trying to win her over or please her, and she had overthought things. Damn it!
Why was this wretched girl Huangfu Yue not only so good to her own daughter but also to the children of the other branches? It was truly infuriating and made her angry!
Huangfu Yue didn’t forget that she still needed to buy a carriage, and that Concubine Zheng wanted to buy incense-making supplies. She walked downstairs with the four children.
Seeing Huangfu Yue descend, Zhu Jiayi, who was on the upper floor, also came downstairs with her attendants.
When Huangfu Yue reached the ground floor, she set the four children down and looked at Concubine Zheng. “Grandmother, let’s go.”
“Where are you going? Yue’er?” Zhong Liangshu asked curiously. Zhu Jiayi and Yang Wanqian also cast curious glances at Huangfu Yue, awaiting her answer.
Zhong Liangshu, Zhu Jiayi, and Yang Wanqian had only heard Huangfu Yue mention going to buy a carriage afterward, so they didn’t know she was actually going to do so.
“I’m going to buy a carriage. I was thinking that afterward, everyone would have a carriage to ride in when we travel, so we wouldn’t have to walk so hard like yesterday,” Huangfu Yue replied.
Upon hearing this, Zhong Liangshu and Zhu Jiayi’s faces lit up with joy.
They hadn’t had a carriage yesterday and had walked the entire way, which was incredibly tiring. So, they were both very happy to hear that Huangfu Yue was going to buy a carriage for them.
“Yue’er, thank you,” Zhu Jiayi said immediately, her face full of gratitude.
“Yue’er, thank you,” Zhong Liangshu echoed her thanks.
Xu Yuqing, standing nearby, muttered disdainfully, “What’s there to thank? Isn’t that what she’s supposed to do!”
Huangfu Yue, with her excellent hearing, caught the remark clearly. She rolled her eyes inwardly but was too lazy to argue with the woman and didn’t retort.
“Grandmother and I will be back after buying the carriage. You all stay at the inn and wait for us during this time. Don’t go anywhere,” Huangfu Yue instructed.
She had to make sure they stayed put at the inn after they left, to prevent any accidents.
“Is Grandmother also going to buy a carriage with you?” Zhu Jiayi asked with a hint of surprise.
“Grandmother, you’re already old. You shouldn’t go running around with Yue’er; it’s too tiring. Just let the servants accompany her to buy the carriage,” Yang Wanqian said with evident disapproval.
“Yes,” Zhong Liangshu nodded, also showing disapproval, her eyes flickering with confusion.
Being shrewd, she found it strange. It made no sense for Concubine Zheng to accompany Huangfu Yue to buy a carriage when there were plenty of people to go with her. A large group of servants could accompany Huangfu Yue, not to mention officials like Feng Maoyuan.
Concubine Zheng glanced at her granddaughters-in-law, her gaze lingering on Xu Yuqing, who had remained silent. She replied, “I thought the weather today is good, and I wanted to go for a walk. My old bones need some moderate exercise, so when I heard Yue’er was going to buy a carriage, I wanted to accompany her…
Don’t worry, Yue’er will take care of me, and nothing will happen.”
Hearing that she was supposed to accompany her granddaughter, Xu Yuqing said nothing, clearly indicating she wasn’t worried about herself and didn’t care about her.
Hmph… what a good granddaughter-in-law!
Xu Yuqing didn’t notice Concubine Zheng’s gaze or the flicker of dissatisfaction in her eyes as she pondered her thoughts.
“So that’s how it is!” Zhu Jiayi said with a laugh after hearing Concubine Zheng’s explanation. “Since Grandmother wants to go for a walk, then go ahead. It’s good to walk around, it’s good for exercising, just as you said, Grandmother, you need to get some moderate exercise.”
Zhong Liangshu nodded in agreement. “Yes!”
“Mm. It’s good to walk around for exercise!” Yang Wanqian also nodded in agreement.