Chapter 672: Playmate
Editor: Atlas Studios

Mu Yangling held Little Bear’s small hand and wrote the words “Qi Wenjin” at the end of the letter. With his lips pursed, Little Bear smiled in satisfaction. As usual, he found a piece of paper and pressed his small handprint for Little Treasure.

As Mu Yangling had wanted to leave traces of Little Bear’s growth since he was very young, she would let him leave his handprint on paper every month to make a picture book. Li Jinghua felt that this was a good idea, so she did the same for Little Treasure. Unexpectedly, as the two little ones gradually became sensible, every month, even when their mothers didn’t mention it, they would take the initiative to leave their little handprints. Later on, after the two little friends separated, they would write letters through their parents and contact each other. Every time, they would leave their small handprint as a memento.

Mu Yangling waited for the ink to dry before stuffing it into an envelope and handing it to Zhu Liang to send out. She hugged Little Bear and said, “Shall we go to the temple to pray to the Bodhisattva in two days?”

“Yiya.” Little Bear pushed his mother’s face away, not very interested. Instead, he pointed at the courtyard and asked his mother to bring him out to play.

Just as Mu Yangling held his small hand and walked out, Rain came in to report, “Your Highness, you asked the butler to find a few obedient boys. They’re here.”

“Oh? Bring them in for me to take a look.”

A group of four or five-year-old children were led in and lined up. They looked at Mu Yangling and Little Bear at her feet cautiously.

Little Bear tilted his head to look at them.

Mu Yangling didn’t expect them to be such young children. Rain whispered in her ear, “On the left are the children sent by the tenants. The oldest is six years old, and the youngest is four years old. Because they’re thin and weak, they look younger than kids their age. On the right are the children of the servants in the residence. Actually, there aren’t many of them. They’re all around four or five years old.”

They did not bring many servants to Qiannan, and few of those servants brought their children along. If one only counted kids between the ages of four and six, there were even fewer of them. Therefore, when the Princess Consort wanted to find playmates for the little prince, she only managed to find three children in their residence. Of course, that was not enough, so Zhu Liang could only choose from the tenants’ kids.

When the tenants learned that the Princess Consort wanted to choose playmates for the young heir of the Prince’s estate, they tidied up their kids, put on the best clothes, and sent them over. They prayed earnestly to the gods, hoping their kids would be chosen.

It had to be known that if one was chosen to be the little prince’s playmate, not only would the family have one fewer mouth to feed, but the kid would also receive new clothes every season. Such a young child would also receive a monthly allowance every month. Furthermore, if they did not make any mistakes, they would not have to fret about their future.

Therefore, there were even people who wanted to bribe the steward of the Prince’s estate and send the older children in. However, how could the stewards dare to accept bribes when it involved the little prince?

Anyone older than six years old was strictly refused.

Mu Yangling didn’t want a child that was too old because she was afraid that the older child would think too much and scheme to hurt Little Bear. On the other hand, a five- or six-year-old child was more sensible than Little Bear. With an adult following them all the way, they could play well together.

Mu Yangling posed questions to the row of children carefully, then picked out three and asked, “Are you willing to stay and play with the little prince?”

One of the three children was the child of a servant in the residence, nicknamed Brother Gui. Coincidentally, his father, Qian Zhong, was a deputy steward of Fan Zijin’s shop. Because Mu Yangling wanted to open a grain store in Qiannan and was in need of manpower, Fan Zijin gave his entire family to Mu Yangling. Now, Qian Zhong was in charge of Qiannan’s grain store. When he heard that the Prince’s estate was going to choose a playmate for the young heir, he sent his son over.

Four years old this year, Brother Gui was very bright and his eyes darted around in a lively manner.

The other two children were the children of the tenants on the farmstead. One was six years old, called Zhuzi, and the other was three years old, called Eggy.

Although the three children were timid, they remembered their parents’ instructions for them before they came. When they heard the question, they nodded fiercely to express their willingness.

Rain said with a smile, “Your Highness, do give them a new name.”

Mu Yangling thought for a moment and said, “Let’s wait for them to grow up before naming them. Let’s use their nicknames first.”

Mu Yangling patted her son and asked with a smile, “Little Bear, do you want to play with the little brothers?”

Tilting his head, Little Bear looked at the three people kids standing in a row in front of him, his eyes filled with eagerness. Children naturally liked to play with children. In the past, Little Bear had Little Treasure as his companion, but ever since he came to Qiannan, he no longer had any companions. Now that he saw the three children who were about the same age as him, he was naturally willing.

Little Bear looked at the three of them for a while before taking the initiative to run up, grab Eggy’s hand, and pull him into the garden.

As for why he chose Eggy, it was because he was as tall and big as him.

As the farmers’ lives were not easy, the six-year-old Zhuzi looked like he was only five years old. The three-year-old Eggy looked even younger than Little Bear who was two years younger than him. Only Brother Gui looked like the four-year-old child that he was.

Seeing that Little Bear had run away with Eggy, Zhuzi and Brother Gui looked at Mu Yangling uneasily. Mu Yangling said with a smile, “Hurry up and play. The little prince is waiting for you in front.”

Zhuzi and Brother Gui ran after them. Little Bear was taking out his toys to share with Eggy. Seeing Zhuzi and Brother Gui come over, he hesitated for a moment before reluctantly handing over two wooden horses. These were all given to him by Brother Little Treasure. He babbled to express that they needed to return the toys to them after they were done playing.

Although the three children did not understand what Little Bear was saying, it did not mean that they did not know how to develop their friendship. The four children squatted together and started playing with Little Bear’s toys. Zhuzi ran forward with the horse. In response, Little Bear clapped happily, grabbed a wooden horse, and ran after him…

Mu Yangling stood in the courtyard and watched. In the afternoon, when the children got tired from playing, Mu Yangling clapped her hands and said, “Alright, it’s getting late. Let’s go home and eat.”

Little Bear was about to put away his toys when Zhuzi quickly helped to put all the toys into the basket. Eggy hugged the wooden horse in his arms reluctantly before finally handing it back to Little Bear. Seeing how eager he was, in the end, Little Bear reluctantly chose a wooden horse that he did not like very much and gave it to Eggy. Eggy grinned joyfully, revealing his white teeth.

Also wanting a wooden horse, Brother Gui looked at Little Bear eagerly, but Little Bear didn’t give one to him. Protective of his bamboo basket, he dragged it to Mu Yangling’s feet. With a smile, she said, “You haven’t said goodbye to your new friends yet.”

Thus, Little Bear waved at them before dragging the bamboo basket of toys back into the house.

Mu Yangling couldn’t help but burst out laughing. In the past, this child would share everything with Little Treasure. She didn’t expect him to be so protective of his things. She didn’t expect him to be like this when playing with other children.

The servants below understood that the little prince was most fond of Eggy, who was about the same age as him. But then again, Eggy was indeed the most obedient among the three of them. Brother Gui was clever, while Zhuzi was steady and knew how to take care of people. The three of them complemented each other.

Little Bear must have gone crazy from playing during the day. After having dinner and playing for a while, he fell asleep on the couch. Mu Yangling covered him with a small blanket and said to Rain, “Leave these three children behind. Get the servants to take good care of them. I want you to also keep an eye on them and make sure the servants don’t fawn upon the favored and trample on the weak. No matter who Little Bear likes the most, I don’t want the servants’ actions to affect their attitude towards Little Bear.”

“Yes.” Rain lowered her head and agreed.

“What about the other kids?”

“Let them stay in the west courtyard.” This afternoon was just a preliminary test, so she was still uncertain that the children in the west courtyard would be eliminated, hence she wanted to let them stay for now.

“When you send them back tomorrow, give each of them five taels of silver as a reward for their troubles.”

Rain agreed.

Chapter end