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Shen Chuwei and Lady Tao Liangyuan arrived when Song Qing was sitting at the desk drinking tea and reading, with Taotao and Chu Lingfeng practicing their writing.

Having reached the doorway to the Study Room, Lady Tao Liangyuan hesitated again.

Seeing her standing still, Shen Chuwei extended her hand and pulled her inside.

Lady Tao Liangyuan had no choice but to follow her in.

Upon seeing Song Qing, she noticed that despite several days of not seeing him, he hadn’t changed, except that the look he gave her seemed somewhat different than before.

Song Qing, who was most attentive to etiquette and propriety, stood up to greet them when he saw the Crown Princess and Lady Tao Liangyuan, "Crown Princess, Lady Tao Liangyuan."

Shen Chuwei said, "Continue with your reading, I’ve come to see how Taotao’s writing is coming along."

Song Qing nodded and returned to his desk to continue reading.

Shen Chuwei glanced at Lady Tao Liangyuan and saw her shaking her head. She patted her shoulder in a comforting manner before approaching Taotao’s desk.

Lady Tao Liangyuan watched Song Qing lower his head to resume reading and didn’t try to initiate conversation as she had done before.

She walked over to the Bookshelf, pulled out a book, and flipped it open.

She didn’t understand why Song Qing was so fond of reading sage’s texts, but she didn’t enjoy them; they weren’t as interesting as the stories Shen Chuwei had given her.

She held the book in her hand, and whether she looked at it didn’t matter; she was just putting up an appearance.

The sound of pages turning, coming from Song Qing, filled Lady Tao Liangyuan’s ears. Her gaze drifted towards Song Qing’s hair ribbon which was a shade of green, embroidered with bamboo leaves.

"The book is upside down."

Lady Tao Liangyuan had been fixated on the bamboo leaves when she suddenly heard Song Qing speak. Distracted, she hadn’t heard clearly what he had said and looked at Song Qing in confusion.

Song Qing repeated, "The book is upside down."

This time, Lady Tao Liangyuan heard him clearly, and looking down at the book in her hand, she indeed found it was upside down. She blushed with embarrassment and quickly turned the book right side up.

Song Qing watched Lady Tao Liangyuan’s action and withdrew his gaze, the corners of his lips curved up in a barely noticeable smile.

Although Taotao was only 17 months old, his progress from scribbles to recognizably written characters was impressive compared to his peers.

Shen Chuwei didn’t have many demands for her son, but being of the Royal Family, it wasn’t up to her to be undemanding. Xiao Jinyan only had this one son; how could he not excel?

Watching her son write, she felt he was already doing incredibly well.

Taotao lifted his head to look at his mother and happily curved his phoenix eyes, "Mother Concubine."

Shen Chuwei did not skimp on her praise, "Son, you’re amazing, being able to write at just over a year old. When Mommy was your age, all I knew was how to eat."

Actually, she couldn’t remember what she had been doing when she was as large as Taotao, but considering her own character, eating was probably a safe bet.

Taotao put down his Vermilion Brush and picked up the rice paper from the desk, holding it up joyfully, "I want to show it to Father Emperor."

Shen Chuwei soothingly stroked Taotao’s head, "When your father returns, you can show it to him."

Taotao silently set down the rice paper. It had been three months since he had seen his father and he didn’t understand why it was taking him so long to return.

Chu Lingfeng, holding a brush in his hand, watched the affectionate scene between the Crown Prince and the Imperial Grandson with an envious look.

"Little Gugu, give me a candy."

Chu Lingfeng turned his head when he heard the voice and saw the little princess holding out her hand, a piece of candy wrapped in green paper. Looking at her rosy little face full of anticipation, he faced her.

"Thank you, little princess," Chu Lingfeng took the candy from her hand.

Susu happily took another candy from her bag and held it up to Chu Lingfeng, "Little Gugu, I want this too."

Chu Lingfeng glanced at the candy before him and guessed from her expectant behavior that she wanted him to unwrap it for her.

Taking the candy from her hand, he methodically peeled off the wrapping. Just as it was opened, a small eager hand reached out as if afraid he would eat it.

A shallow smile curved the corners of his lips as he handed the candy to her.

Susu, with the candy in her mouth, immediately beamed sweetly at the taste and cuddled into Chu Lingfeng’s embrace, "Little Gugu, let’s play together."

Chu Lingfeng placed the candy in his sleeve and regarded the little princess who had suddenly thrown herself into his arms, her glossy, talkative eyes looking up at him.

"Wait until I finish writing, then I’ll play with you."

"Okay." Despite her small stature, Susu seemed to understand the large part of what Chu Lingfeng meant.

Shen Chuwei had noticed her precious daughter early on and, when leaving, took her along, not wanting to disturb Chu Lingfeng’s practice.

Shen Chuwei told Lady Tao Liangyuan about Xiao Jinyu’s plans to have an in-depth conversation with Song Qing.