In the garden of the Yong'an Marquis Mansion.
"Zhuzhu!"
"Qiuqiu!"
Two little girls, holding hands, were both excited.
Shen Baozhu was wearing a light - pink dress today, with two silver bells on her head. She shook her head and said, "Qiuqiu, look at my little bells. They sound so nice!"
Qiuqiu was about the same height as Shen Baozhu but a bit plumper. Her chubby little face looked so pinchable. She praised, "They look nice and sound nice too. They're the best little bells Qiuqiu has ever seen!"
"Really? Then Baozhu will give you one." Shen Baozhu was so happy to see Qiuqiu after a long time. She immediately ran to Shen Heqing and asked her elder brother to take off one of her bells.
Looking at the generous Shen Baozhu, a hint of helplessness flashed in Shen Heqing's eyes. He took something out of his bosom and held it in front of Shen Baozhu. "Baozhu, take a look. What is this?"
Shen Baozhu was puzzled. "It's a bell. Why did elder brother bring a bell?"
Shen Heqing waved at Qiuqiu to come forward and helped her put on the bell in the same position as Shen Baozhu's. Now the two little girls had identical bells.
"Of course it's because elder brother is smart. I guessed that a certain little girl would want to share her bell, so I prepared it in advance." Shen Heqing laughed happily as he started to tease the kids.
Shen Baozhu pulled Qiuqiu and shook the bells on their heads. She thought the sound of the four bells was nicer than that of two!
Qiuqiu reached out her hand to touch the bell on her head. She was very polite. "Thank you, Brother Heqing."
Seeing Qiuqiu pulling Shen Baozhu to play on the other side, Shen Heqing took out a small booklet from his bosom and began to review his schoolwork.
Shen Baozhu was pulled by Qiuqiu to a corner of the garden. Then there was a safety amulet in her hand. This was the amulet that Qiuqiu had worn since she was a child. Shen Baozhu was a bit confused. "A safety amulet?"
"Baozhu, put it on quickly. My mother said the safety amulet can keep one safe!" Qiuqiu originally wanted to put it on for Shen Baozhu, but the red string of the amulet was too short and could only be tied around the neck. And Qiuqiu's hands were too short to reach her friend's neck, so she could only let her friend put it on herself.
Shen Baozhu was even more confused. She remembered that Qiuqiu treasured the safety amulet very much. Why did she suddenly give it to her?
Qiuqiu glanced at Shen Heqing, pulled Shen Baozhu to squat down, and whispered secretly in her ear, "Baozhu, I'll tell you a secret."
"Your father is a big bad guy!"
[How did this little girl know that the scumbag father is a bad guy?] The Dragon King was very curious.
Shen Baozhu was also curious. She stared blankly at Qiuqiu.
"I heard from my sister that your father is a big bad guy. He made the Lord of Heaven angry, and the Lord of Heaven struck him with thunder many, many times!" There was not only fear but also worry for her friend in Qiuqiu's eyes.
She continued, "My sister said being struck by thunder is very inauspicious! I'm giving the safety amulet to Baozhu so that it can keep you safe and ward off the inauspiciousness!"
Shen Baozhu, who had stuck the thunder - attracting talisman on her father out of anger: "Ah?"
Was she the Lord of Heaven?
[Hahaha, so this is how Shen Yunfeng is evaluated outside. It's really inauspicious.]
Qiuqiu didn't feel the slightest bit of embarrassment for speaking ill of Baozhu's father. She suddenly stood up and said happily, "I can help Baozhu put on the safety amulet!"
"It turns out that as long as Baozhu squats and I stand, it's so simple."
"I'm so smart!"
As a friend, Shen Baozhu also clapped her hands in a very supportive way. "Yes! Qiuqiu is the smartest!"
Qiuqiu squatted down again. "The sound of the little bells is so nice. Ding - ding - dang - dang."
A gentle breeze blew. The two five - or six - year - old little girls were squatting in the corner of the garden, their heads close together, whispering to each other. As they moved, the bells rang, just like a beautiful picture scroll.
The Dragon King felt refreshed when he saw this. [This is the life a cute little girl should have.]
He waved his big hand and gave a palm - sized night pearl and a gold ingot.
The night pearl was for Shen Baozhu, and the gold ingot was for Qiuqiu.
[The gold ingot is just the king's greeting gift for Qiuqiu. The night pearl shines at night and is suitable for reading at night.]
When Shen Baozhu saw the purpose of the night pearl, her smile disappeared. She held the night pearl in her hands, not knowing what to do.
[What's wrong with the cute little girl?]
[The night pearl can be placed beside the bed, which is convenient for elder brother to tell stories to Baozhu. It doesn't have to be used for reading.]
Shen Baozhu visibly relaxed. She stuffed the night pearl into her elder brother's hands and happily pointed at the gold ingot. "This is the greeting gift the Dragon King gave to Qiuqiu. He's so nice."
Qiuqiu's eyes widened. "Gold is falling from the sky!"
"It's not gold falling from the sky. It's the greeting gift the Dragon King gave to Qiuqiu. The Dragon King is so generous. He just likes to give gold." Shen Baozhu corrected her.
Under Shen Baozhu's emphasis, Qiuqiu obediently changed her words.
Looking at the gold ingot bigger than her own palm, Qiuqiu suddenly remembered a very important thing. "I almost forgot!"
"Baozhu, my family made a super - big pastry. It's even bigger than this gold ingot!" Qiuqiu made a gesture with her arms in the air. It was really big.
Shen Baozhu was drooling with envy. After giving the gold ingot to Shen Heqing for safekeeping, she followed Qiuqiu to eat the super - big pastry.
The two little girls still held hands and bounced along the way. The bells on their heads rang, ding - ding - dang - dang.
Qiuqiu sighed again. "It sounds so nice!"
"Right, right. Elder brother said the sound of the bells is too noisy. He has no taste!" Shen Baozhu agreed very much.
But soon, Qiuqiu changed her mind. The sound of the bells was so bad!
She and Baozhu saw her two sisters at a turning. Qiuqiu pulled Baozhu to run back, but because of the ding - ding - dang - dang sound of the bells, they were discovered and caught by the sisters.
The two sisters were dressed the same. One of them was tall, with skin as smooth as congealed fat and a face like a hibiscus. Every gesture of hers was dignified and graceful. Among the noble ladies in the capital, she was outstanding.
The other one was a bit shorter and had dark skin. There was even a scar at the corner of her eye. Although her features were regular, compared with the woman beside her, she was a bit inferior. It was also her who caught Qiuqiu.
Baozhu knew the tall sister. She was Qiuqiu's sister, named Chen Ruxia. She had given Baozhu some small ornaments before.
Looking at the two sisters, Qiuqiu frowned. She counted on her fingers and introduced, "The old sister, Chen Ruxia."
"The new sister, Chen Miaochun."
Baozhu tugged at Qiuqiu's sleeve. "Why is Sister Ruxia the old sister, and what's the new sister?"
Qiuqiu patted Baozhu's shoulder, sighed, and recited like a poem, as if going to her death. "Sister Miaochun was found and brought back home half a month ago. She's my real sister. Sister Ruxia isn't my real sister. She accidentally took my real sister's place. The people who adopted Sister Miaochun are Sister Ruxia's biological parents. They're already dead, so the family decided to let Sister Ruxia stay!"
"Although I've spent more time with Sister Ruxia, I, Chen Wanqiu, swear that I definitely won't be partial to Sister Ruxia. I'll treat Sister Ruxia and Sister Miaochun equally!"
After saying this series of words, Baozhu was dizzy. There were only two words in her mind: "sister".