Lin Jingyuan glanced over and asked with a frown, "Are these the persimmons that I gave you the other day? It's been so long. Why do you still keep them?"
Lin Feilu responded in an unhurried tone: "They can be eaten for a long time."
Lin Jingyuan saw his sixth brother standing by, staring at the persimmons and swallowing his saliva.
A few days ago, he inquired about his fifth sister from his palace maids and eunuchs. He learned that both she and her mother were not favored. She was an imperial princess whose existence carried no significance within the Imperial Palace. However, he did not expect her to live in such poverty that she even had to be frugal with persimmons, even though the entire garden was brimming full of them.
He looked at his fragile looking fifth sister, then took a good look at this shabby room. Suddenly, the desire to protect her welled up in his heart.
Instead of taking the persimmons for himself, he handed it over to Lin Zhanyuan: "Here, eat this, Sixth Brother."
Lin Zhanyuan was not happy but he still took the fruit and nibbled. Lin Jingyuan went out of the door and called the eunuch outside, "Kang-an, come here."
Kang-an was anxiously pacing back and forth outside. Hearing his master's call, he immediately entered inside. Lin Jingyuan's small face became a little serious and he whispered to him in a low voice. After hearing his words, Kang-an replied, "I will do it right now. Your Highness, you should also come with me."
Lin Jingyuan arrogantly stuck his chin out, "Go by yourself, this Prince will take his Fifth Sister to the lake for a fishing trip!"
Since his master had already commanded, Kang-an had no choice but to go on ahead. Hearing that the two children were going out to play, Xiao Lan was not at ease. Originally, she wanted to let Qingyan follow them, but Lin Jingyuan did not even let his own servant follow them, how could he let Qingyan follow along? At this time, a willful and arrogant voice cut off her thoughts, "No one is allowed to follow us!"
Just as Xiao Lan wanted to say something, Lin Feilu interrupted her, "Mother, with Fourth Brother around, everything will be alright."
Xiao Lan could only watch them depart with a worried expression on her face.
Qingyan comforted her with words, "Although no one is following them, everyone in the palace knows the Fourth Prince. He is kind to the princess and will not let others bully her."
In contrast to the worrisome thoughts of an adult, Lin Feilu's inner thoughts were very simple.
Follow the character to unlock new questlines.
Lin Jingyuan was an imperial noble of high prestige. With him around, the probability of meeting new characters would greatly increase. She could feel that her efforts to raise her favorability with Lin Jingyuan so far had been very successful and was easily nearing 70.0%. The time was ripe to find the next target.
The poor fourth prince was oblivious to the fact that he was just an NPC in the eyes of his little fairy sister. He was just happy to bring her along with him. On the way, the palace maids and guards who met them saluted him respectfully as they discreetly glanced at Lin Feilu.
Isn't this the unfavored Fifth Princess? When did she have such a good relationship with the Fourth Prince?
To survive in the Imperial Palace, one must learn to take cues from changing circumstances. These two people were so close that they seemed to be glued together. It was apparent that the undistinguished fifth princess was hugging the fourth prince's big thighs. In the future, no one could afford to look down on her as they had before.
(T/N: "To hug (someone's) big thighs" means to curry favor with someone.)
Lin Feilu kept quiet the entire time she was following Lin Jingyuan. She could tell what these people were thinking from just a glance. However, she was not bothered by them. She continued to act the part of a delicate, obedient and shy character.
The fishing pool was very far to the west, they had to walk through almost half the length of the entire Imperial Harem. The further they walked westwards, the more tranquil their surroundings became. The passing scenery gradually became uninhabited. As they passed through a palace hidden within a bamboo forest, a faint voice was heard not far away ahead of them.
When they got closer to the source, they could hear a girlish voice lashing out, "Song Jinglan, I came to look for you as soon as I got better. I invited you to go rowing in the lake with me, but you surely don't know how to appreciate favors!"