On The Self-Cultivation Of A Favored Concubine - Chapter 70

At this moment, Liu Qinglan arrived carrying a redwood tray with three small bowls filled with fresh milk. She crouched down and patted the three small heads with her hand, saying tenderly, “It’s time for a snack~”

The “bowl milk” emitted a sweet fragrance. Luoluo, who had just been calling her younger sister useless, immediately hooked her little claws onto the rim of the bowl. Abandoning her usual elegance and composure, she buried her head and began to lap it up with a gulu gulu sound. The other two also buried their heads, focusing intently on drinking their milk until the small bowls were licked spotlessly clean!

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, it was time to light the lamps. Xie Xuanzhao had a rare bit of free time today, having finished her official duties early. She asked Yan Mo to prepare several soft balls of cotton yarn and walked over with a beaming smile.

Liu Qinglan had just finished spreading out the bedding and was lying sideways on the mattress, watching the three little cubs surrounding the little Empress on a small wool blanket in the center.

A’yin was already able to reach out her tiny hands to grab things, but she couldn’t hold on tight. Chu’er placed her own little tail in A’yin’s palm. Feeling the fluffy tail, A’yin grabbed it, but the tail quickly slipped away. Chu’er couldn’t control it perfectly either, her little tail wagged energetically, flicking back and forth.

Xiao Bai and Luoluo were rolling around together, chasing their own tails and then tumbling into each other, scratching and nipping in a playful scuffle.

Watching from the side, Mother Liu felt an itch in her heart. She first peeked around usually, Xie Xuanzhao would be busy with government affairs at this time…so, feeling reassured, she transformed into her original form. She then “thick headedly” rolled into the pile of her daughters to frolic with them. The big cat and little cats tangled together, looking perfectly harmonious.

Liu Qinglan lay beside her daughter, her tail draped over A’yin’s little belly, and stuck out her tongue to lick the baby’s fingers. Meanwhile, the other three climbed onto Liu Qinglan, tugging at her ears and pulling at her fur, having the time of their lives.

When Xie Xuanzhao entered, she saw them all playing together. She let out a snort of laughter and walked over quickly. Taking advantage of the little Liu-sprite’s distraction, she reached out and gently pinched her ear. “You’re already a mother, yet you’re still acting like a child.”

Liu Qinglan took the opportunity to roll into her arms and said solemnly, “This is called having a ‘childlike heart.'”

As they spoke, the three little Fei Fei (mythical leopard cats), following their mother’s lead, began to climb toward Xie Xuanzhao. They scrambled up her skirt, one perched on her back, peeking over her shoulder, another hung from Xie Xuanzhao’s arm. The last one looked silently at her mother’s embrace and, seeing it already occupied by her other mother, secretly continued to climb upward, eventually squatting right on top of Xie Xuanzhao’s head. As she sat down, she even crushed a hair ornament.

Liu Qinglan looked up and immediately reached out to hug her wife tightly. “No way! Only I get to hug you right now. All of you, get down from your mother!”

Luoluo, perched on the shoulder, brought her little mouth close and…ba-ji, planted a kiss on Xie Xuanzhao’s cheek, her little tail curling up. “Mommy, I like you. I want to be close to you, okay?”

Xie Xuanzhao rubbed her little head, her phoenix eyes overflowing with laughter. “Yes, yes, yes.”

Not to be outdone, Liu Qinglan leaned in and gave the beautiful Empress a ba-ji kiss on the other cheek. “Beautiful Sister, I want to be close to you too.”

Xie Xuanzhao naturally treated her lover differently than her daughters. So, in front of the three little cubs and the baby, she leaned over and smilingly captured the little Liu-sprite’s red lips in a long kiss.

The little Empress chewed on her fingers, not understanding what was happening, while the three little Fei Fei synchronized their paws to cover their eyes. Their little tongues poked out, how embarrassing!

The little Liu-sprite, having gotten what she wanted but still acting coy, raised her little pink fists and playfully thumped the beautiful Empress. “The babies are watching, don’t do that.”

Xie Xuanzhao nipped at her little ear. “Then get up quickly. If you keep clinging to me like this, who could stand it?”

Liu Qinglan had no choice but to get up reluctantly. She then picked up the “spectating” cubs one by one and placed them next to their eldest sister. “It’s time for bed-bed.”

The little cubs raised their paws in protest, indicating they didn’t want to sleep yet!

Xie Xuanzhao pulled the prepared yarn balls from her sleeve and rolled them toward the little Fei Fei. “Then play with the yarn balls.”

The yarn balls were brightly colored and large. Chu’er could almost lie across one entirely. Xie Xuanzhao had prepared three, so each had one.

Liu Qinglan sat to the side, smiling as she watched her cubs rolling around with the yarn. Her fingers began to itch, and she couldn’t help but stretch out a paw, wanting to join her daughters.

Xie Xuanzhao gently patted her hand away, her eyes shimmering with a deep meaning. “Yours is ready too, of course, but it’s not for playing with right now.”

Liu Qinglan shared a knowing look with her, her foot reaching out to brush against Xie Xuanzhao’s calf, the intent was clear.

The four little ones played happily, completely unaware of the romantic tension between their two mothers. To take care of the babies, the two hadn’t been together intimately for a long time. Finally having a suitable opportunity today, how could they not look forward to it?

Because of this anticipation, the little Liu-sprite became surprisingly patient. Once the cubs finally fell asleep clutching their yarn balls, Xie Xuanzhao stood up first to cover them each with a small blanket. Then, she took her little wife’s hand and led her all the way to the embroidered bed behind the screen.

Liu Qinglan circled her excitedly. “Where is my yarn ball?”

Xie Xuanzhao tapped her nose and pulled a snowy white, soft yarn ball from deep within her sleeve. Handing it over, she said in a low, seductive voice, “Go play with it on the bed.”

After one night, Liu Qinglan found she could no longer look at that “pure” yarn ball the same way.

Time for growth always passes quickly. In the blink of an eye, our little Empress was finally able to flip over and sit up, following her sisters as they crawled around on the bed.

To let the children play together every day, Liu Qinglan simply moved to live in the front palace.

When Xie Xuanzhao was free, she would stand by the window watching Liu Qinglan look after the babies, sometimes joining in or reigning in the little sprite’s playfulness.

On a cool day, Lu Lu and Yan Mo were sent by the “Little Empress Dowager” Liu to prepare a cart board and pull ropes. The two walked hand in hand like sisters to the storehouse to find the items.

Perched on a roof beam above was a sharp-nosed snake, looking at them with a gaze full of resentment. Since Jiang Wenwen had re-entered the palace, she had seen these two together every day, their relationship seemed to have progressed leaps and bounds compared to their time at Mount Huo.

Lu Lu, drenched in sweat, pulled out a long-unused small cart board. “It’s been a long time since there were newborns in this palace. Look at these little things the former princes and princesses used to play with, they’re all covered in dust.”

Yan Mo stood beside her and looked closely. “If your master hadn’t acted on a whim and needed it urgently, we could have just made a new one.”

“This cart board looks quite dirty, but it should be like new after a wash.” Lu Lu flicked away the dust while checking for damage. “Our Lady is quite frugal; she doesn’t mind these things.”

Yan Mo covered her mouth with a smile. “That’s not called being frugal; it’s called being a ‘virtuous wife.'”

LuLu nodded vigorously. “Right, my Lady is virtuous~”

The little snake lying above, having had enough of their “lovey dovey” behavior, felt utterly heartbroken. Unable to restrain herself any longer, she blocked their path halfway.

Seeing a small patterned snake lying across the pebble path, LuLu turned pale with fright and grabbed Yan Mo’s sleeve. “A snake!”

Yan Mo followed suit, gripping her hand, then leaned down to look at the familiar little snake. She let out a surprised “Eh?” and approached. The little patterned snake slithered over affectionately and bumped its head against her palm.

Yan Mo recognized her. This little snake had appeared in her life long ago, it had stayed with her in the courtyard while she finished many paintings and calligraphy pieces. She had once hung a small wooden tag on the snake and named it “Wen-Zi.”

But later, for some reason, the snake had mysteriously vanished, only to reappear now.

Yan Mo crouched down, signaling for the frightened LuLu not to be afraid. “This is an old friend of mine, a magical little snake.”

Seeing that she still remembered her, Jiang Wenwen’s eyes practically filled with tears; she wasn’t a heartless person after all.

Yan Mo patted the snake’s head. “How did you find me? And why appear here so suddenly?”

Jiang Wenwen glanced at the curious Lu Lu, then leaned closer to Yan Mo, affectionately indicating she wanted to go back with her.

“Lu Lu, let’s take it back and raise it. I’ve spent a long time with it before, it’s very well-behaved,” Yan Mo suggested.

Seeing that she liked it, Lu Lu nodded. “Okay.”

Seeing her goal achieved, Jiang Wenwen quickly climbed up and curled into Yan Mo’s sleeve, contentedly being carried to the front palace.

Liu Qinglan was sitting in the courtyard with the little Empress in her arms and the three cat-cubs perched on her shoulders, playing together happily.

Lu Lu set up the cleaned cart board and attached the long rope. She looked at Liu Qinglan, who was walking over. “My Lady, are you really going to put the little Empress on this?”

Holding the baby in both hands, Liu Qinglan nodded with a smile. “Don’t worry, it’s definitely safe.”

Yan Mo brought out the small bedding. She and Lu Lu laid out the cart board, quickly forming a warm and comfortable little nest with sideboards installed.

Liu Qinglan placed the little Empress inside and grabbed a rope. The three little Fei Fei at her feet understood perfectly, they came over and….awooo….bit onto the harness.

With Liu Qinglan pulling at the front and the three cubs assisting, they began “walking the baby” in the courtyard.

Lying on the small wool blanket, the little Empress felt the wind whistling past her ears. It was comfortable and fun, and she began to giggle.

Hearing the laughter outside, Xie Xuanzhao couldn’t help but come out. Seeing the Fei Fei pulling their eldest sister in a circle, rolling all over the place like snow white puffs, her heart melted. Oh, the cuteness!

Liu Qinglan, leading the way, saw the “busy person” come out and waved to her. “Come on, join us! Play together~”

Xie Xuanzhao lifted her skirt, looking as if she had returned to her teenage years. With a face full of smiles, she stood beside Liu Qinglan.

Liu Qinglan handed her the harness, then picked up the three little ones one by one and put them on the cart to sit around their sister. “Squeeze in together. Your other mother and I will pull you.”

The three Fei Fei immediately sat obediently, watching their two mothers pull the little cart.

As the cart moved, the wind ruffled the soft fur of the three cubs. They sat perfectly still, huddled together. Xie Xuanzhao looked back and felt her heart completely dissolve; she truly wanted to give them the very best of everything.

Liu Qinglan, however, was fully immersed in the game. She pulled the harness and ran joyfully, circling the courtyard again and again amidst her daughters’ laughter until they had all played to their heart’s content.