In the morning, all around Prince Shun’s Mansion, Aunt Hong Xuan’s angry roars could be heard.
"Feng Xiaoli, stop right there."
A shadow darted through Prince Shun’s Mansion, accompanied by a smaller figure.
Hong Xuan, out of breath, thought to herself that this wasn’t walking a dog, but rather taking a person for a walk.
She had run around Prince Shun’s Mansion ten times that morning.
She was as tired as a dog, yet that little rascal Feng Xiaoli was still comfortably nibbling on pastries. In order to keep up with Feng Xiaoli, Hong Xuan had also indulged in snack after snack.
It wasn’t easy but come afternoon, Su Wang arrived to tutor Feng Xiaoli.
As Feng Xiaoli’s caretaker, Hong Xuan naturally had to attend the lesson as well.
Attending lessons would have been just fine, but they were studying the very abacus arithmetic that Hong Xuan had disliked since childhood.
"I have one hundred cents and want to buy one hundred chickens, which should include roosters, hens, and chicks. I need to spend exactly one hundred cents. Roosters cost five cents each, hens three cents, and three chicks together cost one cent. How should I buy them?"
Su Wang posed a math problem.
"Roosters... hens... one hundred... three cents..."
Hong Xuan felt like she was running out of fingers.
She almost broke her brush in frustration, thinking, ’You don’t need to learn abacus to be a doctor.’
"Buy four roosters, eighteen hens, and seventy-eight chicks."
Feng Xiaoli’s voice was milky and tender.
Hong Xuan was dumbfounded.
In the blink of an eye, the problem was solved.
"Xiaoli is very smart, just as smart as Xiaojin."
Su Wang looked on with approval.
Although Xiaoli was mischievous and couldn’t sit still, she was indeed a very intelligent child, just a bit lazier compared to Dugu Xiaojin.
After enduring the arithmetic lesson, Hong Xuan didn’t even feel like talking anymore.
"Aunt Hong Xuan, Xiaoli is hungry,"
Xiaoli touched her flat belly, indicating her hunger.
"You have eaten four meals this morning and you’re still hungry?"
Hong Xuan touched her own waist which had visibly gained a few inches, thinking ’This is only the first day!!’
She suddenly understood what Feng Bailing meant by "trouble" that morning.
"I’m tired of the snacks in the mansion."
Feng Xiaoli looked up at Hong Xuan with pitiful eyes, gripping her hand.
Hong Xuan felt her tongue was frozen, unable to utter the word ’no.’
A quarter of an hour later, Hong Xuan was carrying Feng Xiaoli. Feng Xiaoli’s big eyes were curiously looking around the whole way.
"Xiaoli wants to eat candied hawthorn."
Xiaoli spotted a hawthorn candy vendor.
Hong Xuan looked at the street vendor nearby and the bright red candied hawthorn, her eyes becoming grave.
"Eating random foods can stunt a child’s growth."
Hong Xuan’s gaze swept coldly over the vendor.
She picked up Xiaoli and quickened her pace.
The vendor watched Hong Xuan walk off with Feng Xiaoli and slipped into a nearby alley, annoyed.
Inside the alley, there were several other vendors, all holding snacks that Feng Xiaoli enjoyed on a regular basis.
"No good, there’s a woman with the child. That woman is very alert and won’t let us get near the kid."
The vendors respectfully reported to the man in the alley.
"That woman is Hong Xuan from Poison Dragon Villa."
Dongfang Cheng’s eyes darkened.
That day, failing to capture Feng Xiaoli in the Imperial Palace, he was quite angry. He had hoped to take advantage of the situation to deal with Feng Xiaoli, but Dugu Wu and Feng Bailing were too cautious. With Hong Xuan watching over Feng Xiaoli, their protection was as good as poison.
In Huichun Hall, Nalan Yan’er’s complexion wasn’t very good, there were several ledgers on the table in front of her from various Medicine Shops. Over the past few months, business at the Medicine Shop had been declining, all because of Xinglin Spring.