Ren Yaohua thought for a moment and said to the wet nurse, "Pan'er is probably tired. Let's rest here for a while."
There were also some delicately built madams and young misses around who had grown tired from walking and stopped to rest. The wet nurse was also afraid that Lei Pan'er would truly exhaust herself, so she quickly agreed.
Ren Yaohua instructed a maid to set out the tea and snacks. Then, she took Lei Pan'er's hand and walked to a tree to cool off in the shade. The wet nurse had originally wanted to follow, but after some thought, she stopped four or five paces away from them. She knew that the Ren Family's Third Miss would one day marry into the Lei Family and become its matriarch, so she was tactful in Ren Yaohua's presence.
Ren Yaohua squatted down in front of Lei Pan'er, stroking her head. She looked into her eyes and asked, "Pan'er, what's wrong?"
Lei Pan'er glanced at her once, then again, but still bit her lip and said nothing.
Ren Yaohua sighed, her tone growing even gentler. "Tell me, alright? Did that older sister who was just whispering in your ear say something to upset you?"
At these words, Lei Pan'er's lip first trembled, then her eyes turned red. Finally, unable to hold it in any longer, she burst out crying with a loud "Waaah—"
Ren Yaohua was taken aback for a moment, then immediately pulled Lei Pan'er into her arms, lowering her head to comfort her in a soft voice. Passersby on the path heard the crying and immediately looked over in confusion.
Watching from the side, the wet nurse quickly smiled and tried to cover for her. "Our young miss is delicate. She's tired and doesn't want to walk anymore, so she's throwing a tantrum."
The people who had looked over at the commotion all smiled in understanding and paid them no more mind. Which family's young daughter wasn't doted on and pampered? It was already quite an achievement for a little girl of Lei Pan'er's age to have walked this far.
While murmuring soft words to soothe Lei Pan'er, Ren Yaohua glanced up at the wet nurse, thinking to herself that this nurse was quite quick-witted. Xiangqin, standing to one side, even gave the wet nurse a friendly smile and pulled her aside to have some snacks. The wet nurse glanced at Lei Pan'er and saw that her crying was gradually subsiding, as if Ren Yaohua had successfully coaxed her. Feeling a little more at ease, she tactfully went with Xiangqin, though her gaze never left Lei Pan'er.
Ren Yaohua slowly managed to calm Lei Pan'er down and took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears and runny nose. Pan'er's eyes and nose were red from crying, making her look both adorable and pitiful. Ren Yaohua couldn't resist pinching her cheek and teasing, "Look at you, you've turned into a little bunny."
Looking pitiable, Lei Pan'er hiccupped and said, "Like the bunny cakes?" She was referring to the rabbit-shaped Double Ninth cakes Ren Yaohua had specially made for her before.
"That's right. Were the bunny cakes delicious?" Ren Yaohua stroked her head.
Lei Pan'er sniffled and nodded, saying a little shyly, "Delicious." After a moment's thought, she pouted and tugged on Ren Yaohua's sleeve. "Pan'er likes to eat bunnies, Pan'er doesn't want to be a bunny!"
Ren Yaohua pinched her cheek again. "Then no more crying in the future?"
Lei Pan'er nodded obediently.
Just as Ren Yaohua was wondering how to ask Lei Pan'er why she had been crying, Pan'er, with her big, red-rimmed eyes fixed on Ren Yaohua, suddenly asked, "Sister Yaohua, are you going to be my mother?"
Ren Yaohua's hand, which was tidying Lei Pan'er's skirt, paused. She looked up at Lei Pan'er, meeting a pair of eyes filled with a mixture of shyness, happiness, nervousness, grievance, and worry. Ren Yaohua couldn't help but be stunned. Seeing such complex emotions in a child's eyes made her heart ache for Lei Pan'er.
Precocious children were always especially endearing.
Ren Yaohua chose her words carefully. "Did that older sister who was whispering in your ear just now tell you that?"
Lei Pan'er nodded, her eyes fixed on Ren Yaohua without blinking. "She asked me what I like, and I said I like the bunny cakes Sister Yaohua makes. She said that once you come to our house in the future, I'll be able to eat them every day."
Ren Yaohua frowned, but seeing Lei Pan'er looking at her curiously, the expression on her face softened slightly.
However, Lei Pan'er asked again, "Are you going to be my mother?"
"I..." Ren Yaohua was at a loss for words, not knowing how to answer Lei Pan'er's question. She paused, then asked, "Were you unhappy just now because of this?"
Lei Pan'er thought for a moment but shook her head. She looked at Ren Yaohua and put on a serious, solemn expression. However, since she had just been crying, the expression looked rather comical on her face. But what she said next greatly surprised Ren Yaohua.
"I know a lot of people want to find a new wife for my daddy. They all say that then Pan'er will have a new mommy. But Pan'er knows they're just coaxing a child. Daddy's wife is Daddy's. They aren't Pan'er's mother. Pan'er only has one mother, and she's gone, just like Great-Grandmother." As she said this, Lei Pan'er's expression grew dim.
Ren Yaohua pressed her lips together, unable to find any words to comfort her.
Lei Pan'er sighed like a little adult, then looked at Ren Yaohua and said, "Sister Yaohua, I've thought that it would be nice if you or Sister Yaoqi became my mother. I could see you every day, and you could teach me to write and play with me. Even though you wouldn't be Pan'er's real mother, Pan'er likes you, and you like Pan'er. But if you become my mother, will you start liking Daddy and not like Pan'er anymore?"
Ren Yaohua was speechless.
"Sister, can Pan'er ask you a question?" Lei Pan'er asked earnestly, her eyes blinking.
Ren Yaohua nodded. She hadn't expected Pan'er to have thought so much.
"Sister, many people like Pan'er only as an afterthought because they like Daddy first. What about you? Do you like Daddy first and then like Pan'er?" Lei Pan'er's small face was filled with worry.
Seeing her talk about "like" this and "like" that, Ren Yaohua wanted to raise a hand to cover her mouth. She wanted to put on a stern face and lecture Lei Pan'er a little, so she wouldn't spout such nonsense in the future. But on second thought, Lei Pan'er was still a child. What she said was what she truly thought. If she reprimanded her now, Lei Pan'er would probably not want to speak her mind to her in the future.
So, Ren Yaohua thought for a moment and said, "I didn't know your daddy when I met you."
Lei Pan'er's eyes lit up at her words, and she immediately grabbed Ren Yaohua's hand. "So Sister likes Pan'er first, and then likes Daddy as an afterthought?"
Ren Yaohua couldn't help but pat Lei Pan'er's little head. "Nonsense!"
A thought seemed to strike Lei Pan'er, and her eyes suddenly widened as she clapped a hand over her little mouth. "Does Sister only like Pan'er?" Isn't Daddy too pitiful then? Lei Pan'er instantly forgot her previous dilemma, her face filled with sympathy.
Ren Yaohua was speechless.
After much effort, Ren Yaohua finally managed to soothe the imaginative little Lei Pan'er. In the end, she instructed her, "Don't mention these things in front of others in the future, and don't pay any mind to what others say to you."
Lei Pan'er nodded obediently. After a moment's thought, she pouted again. "Pan'er doesn't like that older sister."
Ren Yaohua paused, only then realizing Pan'er was talking about Ren Yaoying. She couldn't help but ask curiously, "Why don't you like her?"
Ren Yaoying had always given others the impression of being gentle and frail. Most of the time, she was more popular than Ren Yaohua, who liked to wear a cold expression. Had Lei Pan'er seen through her true nature after meeting her only a few times?
Lei Pan'er sucked on her finger and thought for a moment, then said seriously, "She clearly doesn't want to smile, but she keeps smiling at Pan'er. She clearly doesn't like Pan'er, but she pretends to like Pan'er. Pan'er saw her eyes were about to start twitching."
Ren Yaohua let out a "pfft" of laughter and pulled Lei Pan'er into her arms, ruffling her hair vigorously.
Pan'er didn't know how she had suddenly pleased Ren Yaohua, but she liked the feeling of being held in her arms and giggled foolishly as well.
Lei Pan'er's father, Lei Ting, had once said that Lei Pan'er was very clear in her heart about who genuinely liked her and who was feigning affection. The child had an innate acuity for perceiving others' inner feelings. Just as she could tell from the very beginning that Ren Yaohua's and Ren Yaoqi's affection and concern for her were from the heart, she could also sense the stiffness behind Ren Yaoying's gentle smile.
"If you don't like her, just stay far away from her when you see her in the future. If she still insists on coming over to whisper things to you, just look at her and cry loudly." In an excellent mood, Ren Yaohua taught Lei Pan'er how to deal with Ren Yaoying.
Lei Pan'er nodded, only half-understanding.
By the time the two of them had rested enough and Ren Yaohua had led Lei Pan'er back to Madam Li and the others, Lei Pan'er had long since returned to her usual lively and boisterous self. There was no trace of her earlier moodiness, a fact that even Ren Yaohua found amazing.
It was Ren Yaoying whose expression turned a little unsightly when she saw Lei Pan'er happily sticking to Ren Yaohua again, their attitude even more intimate than before.
On the way down the mountain, Lei Pan'er fell asleep from exhaustion after walking for so long. Ren Yaohua entrusted her to her wet nurse and walked behind by herself.
When Ren Yaoying came out of the privy on the mountain, she found that the maids and matrons she had brought with her had all disappeared. Only the head maid who had followed her in to attend to her was still by her side. Ever since Ren Yaoying had been tricked by Madam Lin into falling into a latrine pit, she was never without someone by her side when she went to the privy.
Ren Yaoying was greatly alarmed. Just as she was about to call for someone, she saw Ren Yaohua emerge from another path.
Ren Yaoying glanced around, her heart secretly on guard. She forced herself to remain calm on the surface and said, "Third Sister, what are you doing here? Where are the maids and matrons I brought?"
She guessed that her people had likely been sent away by Ren Yaohua. But they were still halfway up the mountain. She had deliberately walked behind earlier to avoid Ren Yaohua, and only now did she realize that the location of this privy her maid had led her to seemed a bit remote.
Ren Yaoying looked suspiciously at the head maid beside her, but the maid lowered her head.
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