Chapter 103 [Extra] Jiang Family Jiang Mian: "As long as Brother Congshan likes it..."

Chapter 5 [Extra] Jiang Family Jiang Mian: "As long as Brother Congshan likes it..."

Jiang Mian thought about it for a moment. She didn't actually like eating eggs that much, and her younger brother had always hated the smell of eggs. If he smelled the smell on her, he definitely wouldn't allow her to hug him. It would be better to give them to her older brother Congshan to eat.

Before Cong Shan could react, an egg appeared in his palm. He was stunned, blinked, and seemed a little bewildered.

Faced with Jiang Mian's kindness, he couldn't bring himself to refuse and had no choice but to accept it.

"Thank you, junior sister." He actually quite liked eggs, but since they were a gift from Jiang Mian, he would definitely keep them safe.

"I'm glad Brother Congshan likes it!" Jiang Mian raised her eyebrows and eyes. She then pulled Congshan aside and talked about the osmanthus chicken. When Congshan heard about her catching the chicks, he couldn't help but cover his mouth and chuckle. This was something that Jiang Mian would do.

The little girl is lively and playful, fearless, and loved by her family, which Congshan greatly envies.

He lowered his gaze. Unlike women, men are not allowed to go out freely. They are bound by many restrictions and must maintain the demeanor of a young master from a noble family. Their smiles cannot be too over the top, and their gait cannot be frivolous.

If he could, he would like to go up the mountain to catch chicks like Jiang Mian and have a good time.

"Brother Congshan, I'll take you to catch chickens in the future!" Jiang Mian promised confidently. In her world, it seemed that there was nothing she couldn't do.

“Okay,” Congshan sighed softly.

He didn't take the little girl's words to heart, since his mother wouldn't allow him to go out freely, but he was still grateful for Jiang Mian's kindness.

However, for several days in a row, Jiang Mian did not appear in the Imperial Academy. Cong Shan was worried that something had happened to her, so he took the initiative to ask Mr. Song. Even if Jiang Mian loved to play, there was no reason for her to miss class for several days.

Mr. Song said, "The Second Prince's birthday is coming soon. Jiang Mian has been in the palace these past few days. She should be back after the Second Prince's birthday banquet."

Jiang Mian is the niece of the Emperor Fengjun and was personally bestowed the title of Princess Ruyi by His Majesty. She also has a very good relationship with the Crown Princess and the Second Prince. In previous years, the Second Prince would invite her to the palace for a few days to celebrate his birthday.

He will also go to the palace with his father for the Second Prince's birthday banquet, and that's when he will be able to see Jiang Mian.

However, without her by his side all of a sudden, he felt a little unaccustomed to not having anyone to ask him questions when he was drawing blueprints.

Inside the Imperial Garden, the sounds of children playing could be heard, along with Jiang Wanyi's helpless voice.

"Ping An, slow down."

A cute little boy dressed in a blue robe heard this but ignored it.

He was holding a paper mandarin duck by the hand. If he wanted it to go higher, he had to run and use the wind to lift it up. But that would risk him falling. His father was worried about him, so he reminded him, but when he was having too much fun, he wouldn't listen to anyone.

Jiang Mian also had a paper mandarin duck in her hand. She ran much faster than Ping An, and her paper mandarin duck flew higher than his.

Ping An, being a boy, was even more mischievous than her, and their personalities clicked perfectly. One was a little tyrant in the palace, and the other was a little tyrant outside the palace.

Jiang Wanyi was worried that Ping An was so unconventional, how could he become a dignified and refined young lady in the future? She was afraid he would have trouble getting married.

"Ping An, look! My kite is flying so high!" Jiang Mian's eyes were fixed on the kite, and she shouted happily, completely unaware of the flowerpot at her feet.

She tripped and fell forward, but luckily Xile was nearby and helped her up.

Xi Le frowned, looking somewhat mature for his age. "Watch where you're going."

Jiang Mian clutched her chest, panting, and said, "Thank you, cousin."

If she really falls, she'll definitely start crying immediately, and she'll cry nonstop. If that happens, her father will have to come to the palace to pick her up, which would be incredibly embarrassing.

Seeing that Jiang Mian almost fell, Ping An handed the paper mandarin duck to the palace maid serving nearby and came over to check on her condition.

Seeing that Jiang Mian was not hurt at all and was still holding Xi Le's hand as if she was very scared, he couldn't help but purse his lips and say, "How can you be so careless? You're as delicate as the young master of the Minister of Rites."

Although he was a boy, he wasn't afraid of pain like Jiang Mian. Even if he really stepped on a flowerpot and fell, he wouldn't cry or make a fuss. At most, he would whimper a few times when the medicine was applied.

"Do you think everyone is as thick-skinned as you?!" Jiang Mian was angered by Ping An's sharp tongue. Although the two had a good relationship, if Ping An continued to talk like this, he might lose her!

Xile adopted the demeanor of an elder sister and admonished, "Ping An, you mustn't do that."

Ping An looked unconvinced and said, "Sister, I understand."

Jiang Wanyi watched the group of children bickering from the side. He was almost scared when Jiang Mian was about to fall, but thankfully she was unharmed in the end.

Let the children handle their own affairs. When Jiang Wanyi saw Ping An and Jiang Mian, who had just been bickering, she turned around and went to play behind the rockery hand in hand, just like usual.

Although Xile thought the two little ones were childish, she still followed them to prevent them from causing any trouble. With her there, it would be easier to handle the situation.

Ping An pulled Jiang Mian aside, wanting to hear about what was happening outside the palace. Finally, she said angrily, "Why didn't you bring the eggs laid by the quail into the palace for me? Don't you care about me at all?"

“There are only three eggs from the Gui chicken, not enough to go around.” Jiang Mian comforted him, saying soothingly, “Next time it lays eggs, I will not give any to anyone else, but will take them to the palace for you.”

"That's more like it." Ping An nodded.

"I heard that the Imperial Kitchen recently received a batch of Persian chickens. They have colorful feathers and extremely tender meat. The Empress Mother plans to use them to nourish the Empress Father. Mian'er, would you like to go and see them?"

Jiang Mian never hesitated to agree to anything new, and her eyes immediately lit up.

"But whenever the people from the Imperial Kitchen see me, they try every means to stop me, and several times they've even summoned my father..."

This was thanks to Ping An's several disruptions in the imperial kitchen, which made the head chef refuse to let him in again.

Ping An and Jiang Mian both looked at Xi Le.

"Royal elder sister."

"cousin."

With Princess Xile around, the head of the imperial kitchen will certainly not stop us anymore!

Xile knew what the two little ones were plotting, but Ping'an didn't even consider why the head of the imperial kitchen dared to stop him—it was all at the behest of his father, the Empress.

"No way," she refused outright.

Ping An immediately deflated, and Jiang Mian was also somewhat disappointed, but they were only sad for a short while. After whispering to each other, the two came out of the artificial hill again to play with the paper mandarin ducks.

This year marks Ping An's sixth birthday. He is studying at the Imperial Academy's boys' school and his studies are quite good. However, he is always inconsistent in his studies, and when he gets angry, he will make a fuss and refuse to go to the Imperial Academy. He is currently only in a nominal position, so the emperor had to select a few officials from the court to give Ping An lessons regularly.

Being a prince requires more than just being able to read and write.

Ping An's birthday banquet not only invited his close friends, but also allowed officials of the third rank and above to bring their families to the palace for the banquet, which was considered a respectable honor for important officials.

Ping An received many gifts, big and small. Besides those from Jiang Mian and Xi Le, there were also gifts from several close friends. He had the rest sent to the storeroom.

Xile gave him a set of fine writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, hoping that her younger brother would study more and even if he could actually absorb some of the classics, she, as his older sister, wouldn't have to worry so much.

Jiang Mian then gave her beloved treasure to Ping An. Ping An immediately fell in love with the novel little gadget, saying, "This mechanical bird is so much fun! So that's what you learned to make at the Imperial Academy."

"It's not like he only does this. Besides mechanical engineering, Mr. Song also teaches us how to draw blueprints, mostly for bridges, dams, and the like." Jiang Mian stretched out her fingers and began to list them carefully. She joined the school relatively late, and Mr. Song is only teaching her theoretical knowledge now, without letting her practice yet.

Upon hearing this, Ping An immediately felt that Jiang Mian was quite impressive. He grabbed Jiang Mian's hand and said excitedly, "Then it's a deal. Once you've learned it, you'll build me a bridge in the Imperial Garden!"

"No problem," Jiang Mian patted her chest and assured her.

Seeing how easily her brother Congshan drew the blueprints, she thought that building a bridge wouldn't be too difficult.

She didn't tell Congshan before entering the palace, and she hasn't seen him for several days. She wonders how he is now and whether he misses her.

Jiang Mian cupped her cheeks and couldn't help but start guessing.

Minister of Works Jiang Yuan was supposed to go to the palace today to attend the prince's birthday banquet, but her eldest son went to change his clothes and hadn't come out for a long time. She almost thought something had happened.

Cong Shan hesitated in front of his wardrobe for a long time before finally settling on a red dress. The front was embroidered with ink bamboo, and the shoulders were embroidered with patterns in gold thread. The dress made him look like a handsome young man with a jade face and a golden crown.

When Jiang Yuan saw him, she couldn't help but feel a little surprised. Her son had never dressed like this before, but since he was going to the palace for a banquet today, his attire was quite reasonable.

Judging from his appearance alone, he seems to possess extraordinary talent.

Cong Shan followed his mother into the palace. Because of his mother's official position, he sat very close to the main seat and could clearly see the Second Prince's appearance, as well as Jiang Mian beside him.

When Jiang Mian saw him, she winked at him and secretly gave him a thumbs up, as if praising his clothes for the day.

Cong Shan lowered his head, his face turning slightly red.

Ping An noticed that Jiang Mian kept looking to the right, so he followed her gaze.

"Isn't this the eldest son of the Minister of Works? Mian'er, do you know him?"

“This is my fellow disciple, he’s a really good person.” Jiang Mian’s eyes seemed to sparkle.

Ping An said irritably, "Tch, he's good-looking, but he's so weak, he'd be knocked down with just one punch."

He earnestly instructed Jiang Mian, "You must never marry someone like this in the future."

"Why?" Jiang Mian looked at Ping An, who seemed to know everything.