“Su Yuyao?”
Xiao Lin frowned deeply.
Give them to her?
Now that he had a daughter, all these rare treasures in the vault would naturally belong to Luo Luo in the future.
“No.”
He condescended to half-kneel, his large hand gently covering the fluffy little head, speaking with rare tenderness: “What Father meant was…”
“Liar! Father always knows how to sweet-talk Luo Luo!”
Luo Luo shook her little head like a rattle drum in the wind, firmly disbelieving him.
Taking advantage of her father’s distracted comforting, her small hand swiftly darted toward the nearby open chest like the wind, quickly grabbing several round thumb-sized gold beads and stuffing them into her waistband.
Hers!
All of them were hers!
With so many golden beans, how many sour-sweet sugar-coated haws could she buy?
()☆
Just imagining those bright red sugar balls made drool uncontrollably drip from the corner of her mouth, glistening as it hung there.
Xiao Lin looked at her comical appearance of being both greedy and gluttonous, and most of his helplessness melted away because of this little treasure.
He took out a silk handkerchief and, with some disdain yet gently, wiped away the suspicious glistening moisture from the little glutton’s mouth.
“Such lack of decorum, how could you drool like this!”
Had the princely mansion ever shorted her on food?
Luo Luo paid no mind and continued her “plundering” mission.
By now she was “moving forward under heavy load” – the treasures she carried in her arms and hung on her body piled higher and higher, weighing down the little one until she staggered, seemingly about to collapse under the weight.
Xiao Lin couldn’t bear to watch any longer. He steadied her wobbling little body with one hand and pointed to the red sandalwood chest filled with gold ornaments at her feet.
“This entire chest is yours.”
Luo Luo blinked her sparkling big eyes, which immediately shone even brighter. Her short little arm pointed to several places in the distance.
“Father! This one! And that one! That sapphire-inlaid chest over there! Luo Luo likes them all!”
Liu Bo, standing nearby serving, stroked his beard and chuckled lightly: “The young mistress truly has exceptional taste. The chests she picked are all top-quality solid pieces, the heaviest and most substantial.”
Xiao Lin massaged his forehead, meeting his daughter’s sparkling “must-have” gaze, and ultimately surrendered.
“Alright, alright, as you wish, everything as you wish.”
“Father is the best!”
Luo Luo cheered, noisily setting down the treasures in her arms, stood on tiptoe, and planted a loud “mwah” kiss on Xiao Lin’s slightly stiff cheek.
Xiao Lin bent down and began removing the gold necklaces and jade pendants hanging and swaying from Luo Luo’s body, returning them to their chests.
Little Luoluo carefully protected the few specially selected items in her arms.
A gold hairpin shaped like a budding peony, and a pair of jade bracelets as green and clear as lake water.
“These are for Mother, picked by Luo Luo herself, the most beautiful, most beautiful ones.”
She held them up high as if presenting treasures.
Xiao Lin pinched her little nose, red with excitement: “Quite thoughtful, picking dignified gifts for your mother?”
Luo Luo proudly lifted her small chin.
“Mother praises Luo Luo for being her thoughtful little cotton-padded jacket.””A thoughtful little cotton jacket?””
Xiao Lin gave her a meaningful glance.
It might be true that she was a caring little cotton-padded jacket to her mother, but when it came to him, she was clearly a small, tattered jacket full of holes.
“Fine,” he waved wearily, “take them, bring them along when you go find your mother later.”
Luo Luo gathered the selected jewelry into a redwood dressing case and held it in her arms.
Meanwhile, at the other end, Yun Ying was buried in the mountain-like pile of chests, searching diligently.
“Found it!”
He took out a small milk bottle carved from mutton-fat white jade from a sandalwood chest.
The jade was warm, smooth, and fine, fragrant to the touch, with a round and adorable bottle body.
“Young mistress, does this jade bottle catch your eye?”
Luo Luo’s eyes suddenly widened, bursting with brilliant light: “Like it! I like it so much!
ε==(づ′▽)づ
This was exactly the one she had been accustomed to using when she was with her mother.
Xiao Lin took the small jade bottle and handed it to his daughter, his expression serious.
“Luo Luo, now that you have your own milk bottle, you must not covet others’ belongings in the future.”
“Mhmm, mhmm, mhmm!”
Luo Luo held the warm white jade milk bottle tightly against her chest with both hands as if she had obtained a treasure, nodding her little head rapidly.
“Luo Luo understands, will never snatch others’ milk bottles again.”
With her dear milk bottle in her arms and her pouch filled with golden beads,
The little one puffed out her chest, resembling a little general who had won a great battle, and stepped out of the treasure vault door with great satisfaction.
Sugar-coated haws!
Crystal sugar-coated haws!
Here I come!
Just as the restless little figure was about to skip away joyfully, Xiao Lin’s thin lips moved slightly: “Shadow.”
Silently, a figure in profound black, like the most loyal shadow, quietly appeared at his side, kneeling on one knee.
It was the shadow guard commander under Xiao Lin, the one with the highest martial arts skills.
“Follow the young mistress closely, don’t leave her side.”
“As you command!”
Shadow’s figure flickered and had already vanished like mist into the shadows of the corridor pillars.
Liu Bo watched the little ancestor who was ready to set off, laughing heartily: “Young mistress, where are you off to perform chivalrous deeds?”
Luo Luo lifted her small face, looking very serious:
“First to the West Market to buy the reddest, sweetest sugar-coated haws, then to the Duke’s mansion to bring Mother the precious jewelry. Grandpa Liu, will Mother happily kiss Luo Luo when she receives them?”
“Oh my, this old servant thinks the Lady will be overjoyed. For the young mistress to be so filial and considerate is truly something rare to find even with a lantern.”
Liu Bo praised profusely.
Luo Luo giggled, her eyebrows dancing with joy.
After all, she was Mother’s most intimate little cotton-padded jacket.
She had just turned the corner of the corridor with light steps when a slender figure silently blocked her path ahead.
Su Yuyao, dressed in a bright-colored ruqun, fixed her gaze firmly on the obviously valuable dressing case in Luo Luo’s arms.
The patterns and material were clearly top-grade treasures from the vault.
Had the Prince allowed her to take them freely?
She herself had been in the mansion for so long, yet she didn’t even know which way the vault door opened.
Jealousy and resentment surged in her heart, but she forced a fake smile on her face.
“Luo Luo, good child, what are you holding in your hands? Is it heavy? Let Auntie take a look for you?Luo Luo cautiously took a step back, hiding the case even more securely behind her: “No looking, these are gifts Luo Luo is bringing for Mother.””
A cold light flashed in Su Yuyao’s eyes. Noticing Xiao Lin, Yun Ying, and others approaching not far away, a plan instantly formed in her mind.
She swayed slightly, pretending to slip, simultaneously letting out a delicate cry: “Oh dear…”
She intended to fake a fall toward Luo Ning, planning to falsely accuse the little girl of mischievously pushing an elder.
“Ouch!”
A crisper, louder exclamation sounded even faster than hers.
Only then did Luo Luo react half a beat faster than her, “thump” landing sitting on the ground, the case in her hands falling aside, instantly scattering a few gold hairpins and hair ornaments.
The little ball’s mouth puckered, and glistening tears came instantly. Pointing at Su Yuyao, she cried out dramatically to Xiao Lin who had already approached.
“Father! Aunt Su was jealous of the jewelry Luo Luo has for Mother, she tried to snatch it. Luo Luo didn’t give it… she, she pushed Luo Luo! Waa… it hurts.”
The feigned panic on Su Yuyao’s face instantly froze into a comical expression, her outstretched hand suspended mid-air.
This, this little brat… how did she steal her act?!
These were the lines she was supposed to say!