Deep Palace Pet Peach Blossom Flawless

Chapter 605 Raising a Cat

The prince stayed in Lijing Villa for a few days and accompanied Murong Xianglan for a few days. The two gradually became familiar with each other.

The prince had to return to the imperial city to handle government affairs, so he told Murong Xianglan: "Ni Ni, I have to go home to take care of the family business. You stay here obediently. I will come to see you when I have time."

Murong Xianglan looked at the prince with her round, sparkling eyes and nodded. The prince looked at the white cat in her arms and couldn't help but smile, "Let this white cat accompany the clay cat for now!"

When the prince came to Lijing Villa again, the villa was not quiet at all. Qiulan was with him. Murong Xianglan was obviously deeply traumatized. Aunt Qiulan was attentive and gentle, and even more considerate than the younger Ranchun and Ranxia.

The prince looked at the chaotic scene in front of him, and saw Ran Xia chasing Murong Xianglan in a rage.

"Miss, don't run!"

Murong Xianglan was chasing the cat, and Ranchun was holding some rice paper for practicing calligraphy in her hand. Her expression was conflicted and she wanted to hold back her laughter. She looked at Murong Xianglan chasing the cat and felt a little at a loss.

“What are you doing??”

As soon as the prince standing at the gate of the courtyard spoke, the whole noisy scene stopped, and the white cat that Murong Xianglan had finally held on to let out a "meow" and ran away without a trace.

Murong Xianglan glanced at the white cat, then hurried to the prince and performed a proper blessing ceremony.

The prince looked at Murong Xianglan and said with satisfaction: "Well, it seems that your cheeks have gained some flesh."

Murong Xianglan blinked, and Ranchun and Ranxia hurriedly saluted. Ranxia complained, "Young Master, it's time for the young lady to learn needlework, but she just can't sit still and has to run out to play with Xiaobai. I was so anxious..."

Murong Xianglan quickly lowered her head, trying not to attract the prince's attention.

The prince chuckled and said, "Oh? Ni Ni is not behaving well? Then how is the calligraphy I asked you to copy before I left going?"

Ranchun looked at him with a puzzled expression. She handed the rice paper to the prince, who took it and flipped through it one by one. "Well, although your handwriting is still a little bit weak, but with practice bit by bit, you will definitely achieve something..."

As the prince was flipping through the paper, a picture of a white cat playing with a ball, written in childish brushwork, came to light.

The prince was silent for a few breaths, and Murong Xianglan became even more uneasy. She secretly raised her eyes to see the prince's reaction.

The prince was certain that this was not a well-behaved little clay cat. If it had been spoiled since childhood, it would definitely be more naughty than it is now.

"Ni Ni, you want to draw a cat? Like the one I drew that day, right?"

Murong Xianglan's eyes lit up and she nodded quickly.

The prince's smile faded slightly. "Well, if you like painting, you can spare an hour every day and I'll teach you how to paint! But you can't change the time for calligraphy practice, and you can't do anything else. Are you willing?"

Murong Xianglan smiled broadly and nodded.

At this time, Qiulan came forward and looked at Murong Xianglan gently: "Nini, is it? I am Aunt Qiulan. I will take you to wash your face first, and then we can have some snacks later, okay?"

Murong Xianglan looked at the prince, and only nodded after the prince nodded.

The prince watched Qiulan lead Murong Xianglan away and said to himself, "I have to find a way to make Ni Ni speak."

The prince had specially built a long corridor in the backyard of the villa, covered with lush green leaves, making the entire corridor cool and pleasant. Murong Xianglan woke up from her nap and chased and played with the little white cat here.

The prince specifically asked Ranxia to read to Murong Xianglan, including poetry, songs and everything else, in order to stimulate her and see if Murong Xianglan would take the initiative to speak.

Ranchun, on the other hand, seduced Murong Xianglan: "Miss, will you read along? If you do, the snack in my hand will be yours!"

Murong Xianglan looked at the delicious and tempting snacks, but still didn't say anything.

The Crown Prince also asked the imperial physician to take Murong Xianglan's pulse. The physician reported to the Crown Prince, "This young lady has been malnourished for a long time, which has damaged her health. She needs to slowly nourish herself and recuperate. The young lady you mentioned hasn't spoken yet. Perhaps she was stimulated before. If she wants to speak again, she may need the right opportunity. We can't force it!"

The Crown Prince probably understood that Murong Xianglan might have suffered great trauma and pain in the past, which led to her silence. Therefore, the Crown Prince was even more furious with Murong Cheng, and would occasionally reprimand him in his memorials. It was a pity that Murong Cheng, though not a good person in the inner chambers, was generally quite good at government affairs, otherwise the Crown Prince would certainly not have spared him. However, he could forget about any further promotions for the next few years!

Murong Xianglan's family and foundation are still in the Murong family. Even if the prince takes action, he will have some concerns. He will not be satisfied if the punishment is too light or too heavy.

For a long time afterwards, the prince taught Murong Xianglan everything, including calligraphy, the Book of Songs, playing the zither, painting, and chess...

The prince would come to Lijing Villa from time to time. With the little girl Murong Xianglan around, the villa was in chaos every day. Whenever Qiulan came with the prince, he would hold Murong Xianglan and coax her to sleep at night. When Murong Xianglan cried in her dreams, Qiulan would always comfort her in time, hug her gently, pat her back, and sing nice nursery rhymes to comfort the child.

Gradually, Murong Xianglan finally stopped crying at night. That day, the prince was in the study teaching Murong Xianglan calligraphy. Murong Xianglan was petite, so the prince prepared a wooden chair for her to sit on in the study.

The prince calmly picked up the pen and wrote his name.

"Ni Ni, come and look, this is my name! You can practice my name with me today."

Murong Xianglan looked up and saw three large characters written on the fine rice paper. The prince said in a gentle voice, "This is my name—Lan Chuming!"

The prince looked at Murong Xianglan with a smile, "My name is Lan Chuming! Do you know these characters? Can you write them? What about you? What's your name? Can you write your own name?"

Murong Xianglan looked up at the prince seriously and finally said the first words in more than a month: "My name is Murong Xianglan! This is my name! I can write my name!"

The prince was slightly stunned. He clearly heard the clear and sweet echo of Murong Xianglan.

Ranchun, who was serving snacks, was stunned. Ranxia, ​​who was pouring tea, was also stunned. Qiulan, who was standing at the door, turned around suddenly and stared at Murong Xianglan. Yunen, who was standing next to the prince, also raised his head suddenly. The whole study became quiet and you could hear a pin drop!

The prince looked at Murong Xianglan quietly: "Then can you tell me how old you are?"

Murong Xianglan nodded and held up eight fingers to the prince: "I'm seven years old!"

The prince reached out his hand and silently retracted Murong Xianglan's extra, tender finger. "I'll teach you arithmetic another day! Do you know who they are? Can you tell me their names?"

Murong Xianglan immediately got down from the mahogany chair and ran to Qiulan. "You are Aunt Qiulan! As long as you come, you will hold me to sleep every night!"

She ran to Ranchun again and said, "You are Ranchun's sister, who reads poems to me every day!"

"You are Sister Ranxia. You jump up and down when I act naughty! But you will give me delicious cakes!"

"You are Brother Yun'en, you belong to the Young Master, and you must stay by his side every day!"

Ranchun couldn't bear it anymore and turned away, secretly wiping away her tears. Qiulan was not in a hurry to leave, and looked at Murong Xianglan with red eyes.

Murong Xianglan, who was already seven years old, looked like she was only four or five years old. Before the results of the Crown Prince's investigation came out, he had no idea that this child was already seven years old! This shows Murong Cheng's indifference and coldness.

The prince squatted down and said, "Ni Ni, you are really great! Now start practicing calligraphy with me!"

Qiulan and the others put down what they were holding and gathered around.

Murong Xianglan smiled broadly: "Okay, young master!"

The prince couldn't help laughing and asked, "What did you call me?"

Murong Xianglan looked at Qiulan and the others in confusion. She had heard them call her that!

"master!"

The prince shook his head. "They call you Miss. You shouldn't call me Master. What should you call me?"

Murong Xianglan glanced at the large characters the prince had just written on the desk and said crisply, "Brother Chuming!"

The prince's phoenix eyes immediately showed a smile, and he took Murong Xianglan's hand: "Let's get started!"

The prince accompanied Murong Xianglan to practice calligraphy. While the prince was reading the documents, Murong Xianglan quietly drew a little turtle with all four legs lying on the ground.

When the prince checked, the little turtle sandwiched between the rice paper fell out.

The corner of the prince's mouth twitched, "Ni Ni, come here!"

The prince pulled out the little turtle, pointed at it, and said, "Have you forgotten what I told you?"

As soon as the prince's face darkened, Murong Xianglan couldn't help but feel scared. She looked at the prince pitifully with her black pupils.

Qiulan felt sorry for him and looked at the prince, hesitant to speak. Ranchun and Ranxia didn't dare to speak.

The prince said solemnly, "Sit down!"

Murong Xianglan sat obediently on the wooden chair, waiting for the prince's punishment.

The prince had a serious face and quickly reached out to pick up the thinnest wolf-hair brush. His left hand quickly held Murong Xianglan's little chin and drew on her tender little face.

Murong Xianglan was a little confused. When she realized what the prince had done, she immediately jumped up like a cat with its fur standing on end. "Brother Chuming, what are you doing? What did you draw for Ni Ni?"

The prince suppressed his laughter and said, "Bring me the glass mirror!"

Qiulan's shoulders trembled as she placed the glass mirror in front of Murong Xianglan. Murong Xianglan stared at the person in the glass mirror with her big eyes. The Murong Xianglan in the glass mirror also widened her eyes. The three extra mustaches on both sides of her face made her jump up and down, and she looked like an extremely angry kitten.

"Brother Chu Ming!"

Murong Xianglan reached out and snatched the wolf-hair brush from the prince's hand, "I'm not a kitten, I want to draw for you too!"

The prince finally couldn't help but burst into laughter. How could he let Murong Xianglan succeed? As long as the prince stood up, Murong Xianglan would be completely helpless against him. There was no other way, this was his height advantage.

Ranchun, Ranxia and Yunen had already covered their mouths and laughed secretly.

For a moment, the study was filled with laughter and joy! Qiulan was also very pleased. On the surface, it seemed that the prince was slowly healing Murong Xianglan's injuries, but in turn, wasn't Murong Xianglan also healing the prince, who was always carrying a huge burden on his shoulders?