Fu Tingyun hurriedly stopped Third Sister: “How can you spoil a child like this!”

Youyou also refused: “Master Yan says, ‘When there is work to be done, the disciple should labor; when there is food and drink, the teacher should be served first.’ I must show filial respect to my Mother and Aunt. I cannot accept Aunt’s things.”

“Good, good, good,” Third Sister was even more delighted to hear this. “Aunt knows you are filial, but this is Aunt’s sincere wish, and there’s no reason to take back a gift once given. This time you keep it, and next time Aunt won’t reward you with jewelry, but with something else.” As she spoke, she slipped the bracelet onto Youyou’s wrist.

Youyou was a child with thin wrists, so she couldn’t keep it on. Moreover, since her mother didn’t want her to accept it, she struggled to return it to Third Sister, but Third Sister insisted on giving the bracelet to Youyou. The two kept pushing it back and forth, and if not for Yu Wei, the bracelet would have fallen to the ground. Fu Tingyun had no choice but to let Youyou accept it, though she still said: “Surely you don’t reward children like this when Chun Bing and Yuan Xiao show you filial respect? You mustn’t do this in the future.”

“Of course, of course,” Third Aunt responded with a smile, sighing, “Isn’t it because I don’t have a daughter of my own that I’m so eager?”

Everyone couldn’t help but laugh.

Youyou bent her knees in a formal curtsey to Third Aunt, officially expressed her thanks, and had Yu Wei help put the bracelet away. She then took the remaining pastries to Xiao Gongzi.

Maids and elderly maidservants were tidying the room, while Xiao Gongzi, Xu Gongzi, and Yuan Xiao were playing touhu (arrow-tossing) in the study.

Xiao Gongzi hit eight out of ten attempts, but Xu Gongzi was even more impressive, hitting every target with ease and a relaxed expression. This left Yuan Xiao, who only hit one out of ten, feeling embarrassed. He plopped down on a nearby chair and complained: “What’s so fun about this? It’s just a matter of brute force. If we’re going to play, let’s play Qiqiao cards.”

Youyou, who had just entered, couldn’t help but giggle.

The three boys heard her and looked over.

Yuan Xiao smiled sheepishly.

Xu Gongzi dropped the arrows and ran over: “Sister, we were looking for you to play earlier, but you weren’t around.”

Youyou held up the pouch in her hand: “I went to Eldest Cousin’s place, and he gave me these. Peach blossom cakes they’re delicacies from the palace. There aren’t many, so everyone should just have a taste.” She opened the pouch and gave one to Xu Gongzi.

Yuan Xiao exclaimed, “Oh! I ate mine long ago. I didn’t expect Big Brother would still be hiding such good things.” He added, “These peach blossom cakes are excellent,” and took one without hesitation.

Xiao Gongzi received a peach blossom cake and first admired it in his hand for a long time before slowly savoring it, one small bite at a time.

Xu Gongzi, however, stuffed his into his mouth in one go.

Yuan Xiao asked the two brothers: “How is it? Not bad, right?”

“Delicious,” Xiao Gongzi narrowed his eyes, with a thoroughly enjoyable expression. “It’s both fragrant and sweet. Even better than the fuling cakes that Third Niang makes.”

Xu Gongzi seemed unimpressed and said: “Too sweet.” Seeing Youyou standing next to him holding a pastry and spacing out, he said loudly, “Sister, don’t you like it either?”

“Oh!” Youyou came back to her senses and hurriedly said, “No, no. I’ll eat mine back in my room.” She quickly walked out, “You all continue playing! I’m going back to sleep. I need to pay my respects to Mother early tomorrow morning!”

Xiao Gongzi touched his head: “It’s not even the middle of the xu hour yet…”

But Xu Gongzi pulled Yuan Xiao’s sleeve: “Second Cousin, what is qiqiao cards?”

Yuan Xiao perked up, instructing one of the maids in Xiao Gongzi’s room to fetch the qiqiao cards from his room, then pulled Xiao Gongzi and Xu Gongzi to the arhat bed by the window: “I’ll tell you how to play…” no longer paying attention to Youyou.

Youyou left Xiao Gongzi’s room and went to Chun Bing’s place.

Chun Bing was still organizing his books.

Seeing Youyou come over, he hurriedly asked: “My mother and Ninth Aunt… did they eat it?”

Youyou noticed his face was still flushed and asked curiously: “Is Eldest Cousin very hot?” Then she looked around, saw the windows wide open, and gave Chun Bing an even more puzzled look.

Chun Bing stammered a few sentences, then asked about Third Sister and Fu Tingyun: “…They didn’t say anything?”

“Aunt praised me for being filial,” Youyou said happily, “and even rewarded me with a bracelet.” She chattered on, telling Chun Bing about what had happened.

Chun Bing listened and breathed a sigh of relief, then asked Youyou: “Is the pastry delicious?” His eyes held a hint of expectation.

Hearing this, Youyou quickly took out her pouch: “Eldest Cousin, we’ll split it half and half.” She divided the peach blossom cake into two halves and handed one to Chun Bing, “You didn’t get to eat any!” She looked quite distressed on his behalf.

Chun Bing felt a warmth in his chest and hurriedly said: “I don’t like to eat it… you eat it.”

“We’ll share it,” Youyou thought of Yuan Xiao and Xiao Gongzi’s reactions and felt this pastry must be very good. Chun Bing had never eaten it, yet claimed he didn’t like it, which must be just politeness, so she insisted on giving Chun Bing half.

Chun Bing looked at Youyou’s clear, bright eyes and the half of the pink pastry lying in her palm, white as jade carving. His chest felt tight, as if something was about to burst forth, making him both fearful and joyful.

Seeing he didn’t move, Youyou stomped her foot coquettishly and called out “Eldest Cousin.”

Chun Bing felt flustered inside, lowered his head, and ate the half-cake directly from Youyou’s palm.

His tongue brushed across Youyou’s palm, tickling her so much that she giggled. She wiped her palm on her handkerchief before eating the other half of the pastry.

Chun Bing asked her: “Does it taste good?”

“Delicious!” Youyou nodded, still savoring the taste.

Chun Bing watched, feeling both happy and sad.

He was happy that Youyou liked the pastry he had given her, but sad that there was only this little bit, and Youyou hadn’t eaten her fill.

He clenched his fist, his brow revealing a touch of resolute determination: “Youyou, I will study hard, and when I grow up, I’ll become an Elder too. Then you can eat as many peach blossom cakes as you want.”

“Ah!” Youyou’s mouth fell open in astonishment as she stared at Chun Bing, unable to understand what connection there was between her liking peach blossom cakes and him becoming an Elder…

In the evening, when Third Sister returned to her room, the personal maidservant helping her with her toilette removed her hairpins and noticed the bracelet on her hand was gone. After a moment’s thought, she smiled and said: “You gave the bracelet to Young Miss?”

Third Sister nodded and smiled: “That child is truly likable. Ninth Sister is more fortunate than I am.” She looked quite envious.

“Indeed!” The maidservant placed the removed hairpins into a box and smiled, “Young Miss is not only beautiful but also gentle in character. At such a young age, she already knows how to take care of her younger brothers… I wonder which family will be fortunate enough to have Young Miss as a bride in the future…”

Third Sister’s heart stirred upon hearing this.

She sat at the dressing table without making a sound for a long while.

When the maidservant prepared water for Third Sister to wash, Third Sister rose and said: “I’ll go see if Chun Bing and Yuan Xiao are asleep yet,” and went to the side room where her sons stayed.

Yuan Xiao was already sound asleep, but Chun Bing sat upright, practicing his calligraphy.

Third Sister went over and sat beside her son, smiling: “Haven’t you finished today’s writing practice yet?”

“I’ve finished,” Chun Bing put down his brush and respectfully answered, “I want to practice an additional five hundred characters every day starting today.”

Third Sister was taken aback.

Chun Bing said: “With Father not by my side, I must be even more self-disciplined.”

Naturally, Third Sister was happy to see her son striving for self-improvement, and she advised him: “But do take care of your health. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

Chun Bing respectfully agreed and sat down to continue practicing his calligraphy.

Third Sister then asked about the peach blossom cake: “…Why did you think of saving it for Youyou?”

The usually steady-handed Chun Bing’s hand trembled, and a drop of black ink fell onto the slightly yellow rice paper: “I, I… forgot to eat it, and when I was packing my trunk today I found it. Cousin happened to come by, so I gave it to her…” He stammered at first but became more fluent as he continued.

Third Sister smiled slightly, patted her son’s head, and returned to her room to rest.

Chun Bing let out a long sigh, the image of Youyou’s sweet smile appearing in his mind, and the corners of his mouth curled into a slight smile.

Third Sister began to occasionally observe Chun Bing and Youyou.

Perhaps due to age and gender, Yuan Xiao, Xiao Gongzi, and Xu Gongzi often played boisterously together. Youyou sometimes joined in their games, but other times she acted like an older sister, keeping them in line. Chun Bing rarely played with Yuan Xiao and the others, mostly reading alone, occasionally standing to the side with a smile, his gaze often falling on Youyou, either helping her out of difficult situations or helping her manage Yuan Xiao and the others.

Youyou, however, treated Chun Bing quite ordinarily, doing whatever she needed to do, sometimes even finding Chun Bing too meddlesome and showing impatience.

But Chun Bing always maintained a good temper. Regardless of how Youyou treated him, he remained gentle in her presence, always ready to help, sometimes even rushing over without being called.

Third Sister couldn’t help but feel it was unfair to her son.

Her maidservant smiled and said: “Young Miss is only seven years old this year. Madam is being a bit too impatient.”

Third Sister laughed at herself, opened her mind, and stopped worrying about these matters. Every day, she would either try making new pastries with Fu Tingyun in the kitchen, or draw new patterns with Fu Tingyun, or make small items for the children like socks and dudou (belly-covering undergarments).

The children were divided into three groups. Every morning, Chun Bing and Yuan Xiao studied with their family tutor in the south study of the outer courtyard, Youyou studied with Master Yan in the east wing of the inner courtyard, and Xiao Gongzi and Xu Gongzi practiced stance training with Daoist An in the back courtyard. In the afternoon, Chun Bing still had classes, Xu Gongzi went with Daoist An to explore Yuming Mountain, and Youyou, Yuan Xiao, and Xiao Gongzi either played character decomposition games, word association games, or competed with grasses, leaving Master Yan, who taught Youyou, with nothing to do.

Master Yan, who had a wealth of knowledge but could only teach a little girl, and seeing that Chun Bing at such a young age already showed some structure in his learning, couldn’t help feeling some disappointment. He pretended to pass by to listen to the lessons given by the Shen family’s tutor.

Third Sister’s husband had placed great hopes on his two sons, and the tutor he hired was an old Confucian scholar well-versed in various philosophical texts and skilled in composition. Seeing Master Yan poking his head around, he knew Master Yan was testing him, so he gave a lecture that was flowery and impressive, thoroughly intimidating Master Yan.

Master Yan, having suffered a blow to his pride, indicated to Fu Tingyun that in the afternoon, he would have Youyou trace and copy characters, to avoid her playing all day and wasting time.

Fu Tingyun planned to formally teach Youyou women’s work in autumn and thought it would be good to solidify her writing skills during the summer, so she agreed.

Master Yan then put all his effort into teaching Youyou to write, tiring Youyou so much that she could barely lift her arms. She inevitably complained to Chun Bing, who advised her: “Only by tasting the bitterest of bitterness can one become supreme among people. Writing practice is a test of one’s diligence. Settle your heart, and with time, it will get better.”

Unable to find comfort from Chun Bing, Youyou spoke to Yuan Xiao.

Yuan Xiao secretly helped Youyou with her writing.

When Chun Bing found out, he severely scolded Yuan Xiao, causing both Youyou and Yuan Xiao to avoid him when they saw him.

He was glum for several days, his face clouded with unhappiness.

When Third Sister learned of the reason, she couldn’t help but smile and hinted to her son: “Everyone likes to hear pleasant words rather than harsh ones.”

“But that is honey on the lips while a dagger in the belly,” Chun Bing said sternly, “not the behavior of a gentleman.”

Third Sister didn’t say much more and responded vaguely.

A few days later, she saw her son go to Master Yan, and after a few days, Youyou’s assignments were greatly reduced.

Youyou was delighted, and when she saw Chun Bing coming, she pointed to her characters and asked: “What do you think? Master said it’s quite good, so he reduced my assignments.”

Chun Bing thought the writing lacked both structure and charm, but remembering his mother’s words, he hesitated for a long time before reluctantly nodding: “It’s acceptable! Need more practice though.”

What kind of person was Eldest Cousin? He was someone who could write Spring Festival couplets to paste on the door.

Youyou immediately beamed with joy.

In the evening, there were plums to eat.

Youyou selected several large, red ones and had a maid deliver them to Chun Bing and Yuan Xiao.

Yuan Xiao let out a cheer, stuffed a few plums in his pockets, and went to play with Xiao Gongzi.

Chun Bing, however, looked at the plums without speaking, and after a good while, let out a soft sigh and picked up a plum to take a bite.