"No, you can play for another hour after lunch, but absolutely not now. If you keep bothering me, you won't even get that hour."
Realizing her mother wasn't joking, Da Bao quickly let go of Feng Jin's hand and stood firmly in place, his little head drooping in dejection.
An hour of playtime was better than none. Da Bao's ability to comfort himself was exceptional; he had thoroughly processed his disappointment in no time.
The gloom that had settled over him when Feng Jin took away his magic cube vanished without a trace, not a hint of sadness remaining. His face was once again alight with excitement.
"Mom, can I eat some pastries then?"
Since he couldn't play with the magic cube, he figured he should at least be allowed to eat pastries. Da Bao sidled up to Feng Jin and asked cautiously, his appetite already whetted, his heart set on the delicious pastries.
Feng Jin lowered her gaze to Da Bao, whose mouth was practically watering. She couldn't help but laugh. This little fellow was truly gluttonous. If she took away the magic cube and didn't let him eat pastries, Da Bao would probably burst into tears on the spot.
"I'll take you to the small kitchen to see what new pastries have been made."
Ultimately, Feng Jin agreed to take Da Bao to see what pastries had been made. She couldn't let the child go hungry.
As they left, Feng Jin glanced back at Er Bao, who was still soundly asleep on the bed. She tiptoed carefully, tucking the blankets in, and then took Da Bao out. She walked quickly, wanting to return before Er Bao woke up.
As soon as Da Bao entered the small kitchen, he followed the aroma to the pastries and immediately popped one into his mouth. Then, he selected a few more of his favorites to take back.
"Who is this soup for?" Feng Jin asked, glancing at the soup that had been prepared and kept in a purple clay pot on the table.
"Replying to Madam, this soup is for Second Young Master."
"Ling Muzhu... he wants this soup..." Feng Jin asked with a hint of disbelief. This soup was filled with goji berries, ginseng, and fleeceflower root – all ingredients that nourished blood and invigorate qi. And it was made with a black chicken...
What was wrong with Ling Muzhu's health that he was so eager to replenish himself? Little did he know, taking too much of such potent tonics when his body was already depleted would only worsen his condition. His body wouldn't be able to absorb the nutrients, and using these powerful tonics would be akin to adding insult to injury.
Since she had noticed it today, she couldn't let Ling Muzhu continue eating such nourishing food indiscriminately.
"How many days has Second Young Master been having this soup?"
He was so grown up, yet he still didn't know how to take care of himself. He didn't even know what he should and shouldn't eat. How could she not worry about him like this?
"Second Young Master ordered the small kitchen to make it yesterday. It was just finished, and we were about to send it to him when Madam arrived," the kitchen manager, a嬷嬷, replied respectfully, standing beside Feng Jin.
"Leave it here, I'll take it to Muzhu myself."
As soon as she finished speaking, Feng Jin picked up the soup and took it away, intending to deliver it to Ling Muzhu herself.
Glancing at Da Bao, who was following beside her, Feng Jin calmly instructed, "You go back to your room by yourself first. Don't run around. Wait for Mommy to come back, okay?"
Da Bao nodded obediently, "I understand, Mommy. I won't run around."
If Mommy wasn't going back with him, then he had a chance to sneak back and play with the magic cube. This was fantastic! At this moment, Da Bao was eagerly anticipating Feng Jin's quick departure.
"Then Mommy will leave first. After I'm done, I'll come find you quickly."
Reaching out to ruffle Da Bao's hair, Feng Jin gave him a few more worried instructions before stepping away.
Once his mother's figure completely disappeared from sight, Da Bao was so overjoyed he almost jumped up. "Great! Mommy's gone, so no one will be watching me anymore. I can finally play with the magic cube to my heart's content!"
Da Bao ran back to the room as fast as if he had wind fire wheels attached to his feet.
After Er Bao woke up and was about to get out of bed to wash, the door was violently pushed open from the outside. Da Bao darted to a chair, opened the box on the table, took out a colorful, square object, and held it in his hands, playing with it with great affection.
"What are you playing with?"
Er Bao had never seen such a thing and was very curious. The brothers, in a rare moment, squeezed together to look at it. When Er Bao reached out to touch it, Da Bao slapped his hand away.
"Mommy gave this to me. You can get yours from the box!"
Da Bao clutched the magic cube tightly in his arms, unwilling to let Er Bao touch it. This was his treasure, and he naturally wouldn't let Er Bao break it.
"So stingy!" Er Bao said disdainfully, lowering his head to look in the box. Indeed, there was an identical item in the box.
Driven by curiosity, Er Bao took out the object from the box. Once he held it, he realized it was made of wood. Although the workmanship was a bit rough, it looked very clever. It was quite a feat for Mommy to make something like this.
"Did Mommy send this?"
"How did you know?"
Da Bao asked with a hint of surprise. Er Bao had been sleeping just now, so how did he know Mommy had sent it?
"Only Mommy would make these peculiar things. Of course, I don't need to guess to know."
Besides Mommy, no one else could make these things. It was such a simple matter; anyone could figure it out, so why would there be a need to guess?
Er Bao's face was filled with an expression of disdain. Only Da Bao, the clueless one, wouldn't understand.
"Hmph, you think you're so smart!" Da Bao snorted and stopped paying attention to Er Bao, focusing all his attention on the magic cube. He was determined to master this little thing today.
Er Bao lowered his head and watched Da Bao's hands constantly twisting the magic cube. After watching for a while, he could roughly figure out how it was played.
Mimicking Da Bao's method, he grasped the essence of it in no time.
"You know how to play?" Da Bao glanced at Er Bao, seeing him playing with considerable skill, and asked tentatively.
"I don't quite understand it yet."
He knew that the small wooden blocks on the different sides could all move independently, but he truly didn't quite understand how it worked.
"I knew you wouldn't understand. Let your brother teach you."