Once the Qing twins left and the rest of the kids dispersed, the Hu siblings finally had some time for themselves. They sat down on the bench below the tree.

"Haa... First Sister, num num, I thought that you were really going to pierce his eye with that hairpin." Hu Cheng Se was eating two kinds of sweets at the same time. "Mother and Third Sister are godly! How the heck did they make these?!"

"Second Sister, please put down your food and empty your mouth before you talk," Hu Bai said, looking at Hu Cheng Se's crumb-covered face and food-filled mouth.

Hu Ye ate slowly, savoring every bit of the flavor, reluctant to swallow it all at once.

"Eldest Sister is very scary. I should take note to never cross her in this life," Hu Cheng Se said in a low voice.

Hu Ye, who was sitting beside her, heard her clearly and bluntly said, "Why do you need to be afraid of her? She is just a protective old woman, no need to be scared or anything."

Suddenly, a flash of light sparked in the corner of Hu Bai's eyes. "Ahh?! Who did you just call old?"

"Whoever reacted." He gave a mischievous smile.

"You brat!" Hu Bai sprung to her feet. Hu Ye was even faster as he ran and managed to get away from her clutches.

"Come back here!" Hu Bai ran after him and they ended up playing chase like a cat and a dog. "Ahg! Hu Ye, stop! Come here!"

"Ahahah, catch me, catch me!"

"Sheesh, those two are fooling around again. Even though heaven and earth blessed them, they are still children. Very childish. Don't you agree, little sister?" Hu Cheng Se said before gobbling her brother's and sister's share that they left behind.

When Hu Cheng Se did not hear Hu Zi's reply, she became worried. "Sister?"

"Hm?" Hu Zi was eating; her eyes were closed. "Yeah..."

Hu Cheng Se felt lost. When her sister was feeling down like this, Hu Cheng Se could do nothing but silently comfort her.

Later, after they finished their food, Hu Zi went back to the Hu residence while the rest of her siblings attended the afternoon class.

Tomorrow night, there would be the Winter Welcoming Festival, a special event that was held every year at the start of the cold season. Hu Zi helped her mother and maids prepare the clothes.

Unlike the previous years, it seems that this year their parents wouldn't be able to accompany them. The Great General was summoned to the palace, and their mother was invited to a feast with some other housewives.

-----

"Now, take care of each other."

"Yes, Mother!" The Hu siblings spoke simultaneously.

They had finally arrived at the festival area, which was not far from the palace. Their mother smiled and closed the carriage door, the carriage beginning to move away.

"We should go."

Holding each others' hands, the four siblings marched together towards the festival. Their house guards following closely behind.

As expected, the road was crowded, filled with many different people of all ages. So many stalls and so many people. The hustle bustle made the siblings feel very excited.

Although she couldn't see the various beautiful red lanterns, Hu Zi was very excited too. They dove into the sea of people with Hu Bai in the lead. After looking at them marching together, crowds would automatically part to give them some space to walk through.

They went into many stalls. There was so much food and toys.

"This is heaven!" Hu Cheng Se said when she saw a steamed bun stall. "Here I come, baby!"

Before she could run to the stall, she was stopped by a hand.

"Second Sister, don't go that way, you will get separated!" Hu Ye dragged Hu Cheng Se away from the stall and brought her to the place where Hu Bai and Hu Zi were standing.

It was a stall that sold ornaments. They wanted to buy them for their mother.

"Younger Brother, can you help me pick one for Third Sister?" Hu Bai said.

"Of course." Hu Ye smiled and stepped forward.

Despite being a boy, Hu Ye knew a lot about women's preferences and was good at choosing the best accessories. He immediately reached for a particular hair ornament.

"Do you think this one is good enough?"

"Oh! It is perfect!" Hu Bai said. Hu Ye smiled and walked toward Hu Zi.

"Sister, here..." Hu Ye fixed her hair, tying it sideways. He then picked up the hair ornament and placed it in her hair.

Hu Zi opened her eyes, still seeing nothing, but everybody else around her was unable to breathe for a moment.

The stall keeper was stupefied. How can there be a creature this cute?

Hu Zi, sensing that multiple eyes were on her, touched the hair ornament Hu Ye gave her. It was a plum blossom-shaped hairpin, one of her favorite flowers!

Hu Zi unknowingly gave a small smile.

Stunned, the siblings' eyes were warm. They knew that there was something bothering Hu Zi since yesterday, but she always kept her problems to herself. Unaware of what the problem was, the only thing they could do was continue to support her.

Just then, a familiar figure pushed his way through the front of the crowd. Dressed in black, this attractive boy was looking disdainfully at the purple-eyed blind girl in front of him.

Hu Ye looked in the boy's direction. The moment he saw who it was, his usual indifferent eyes turned dark. Hu Cheng Se's expression turned horrible, her mouth turning upside down, her face now similar to a gloomy pug. Only Hu Bai maintained her smile, but if one observe closely, they could see veins popping on her forehead.

"Humph!"

When she heard this disdainful sound, Hu Zi realized that there was a familiar figure nearby.

"You must be joking, I thought that there was something big going on when a lot of people stopped and gathered here, but it is only this blind illiterate girl and her siblings."

"Qing Bo, you walking disaster!" Hu Cheng Se stomped on her feet, completely forgoing formality. "We were having a lot of fun before you stormed in and ruined it."

"Oh, Hu Second Miss! Are you ready to make our score differentiate by three points? I do not mind!"

Sparks formed in the air.

"The Hu Second Miss and the Qing Young Master are having a showdown! We need to see this," said someone inside the crowd.

"What?! I want to watch too! Wait for me!"

The crowd that was gathered around the Hu siblings thickened.

"The situation is not good," Hu Bai said. "We are attracting too much attention." She signaled for Hu Cheng Se to finish it off fast.

Hu Cheng Se understood that it would be inconvenient for them to stay here. She wanted to stop but...

"Where are you going, Hu Second Miss?" Qing Bo smirked, his sharp eyes not missing Hu Bai's signal. With his poisonous mouth, he continued to provoke. "Don't tell me that you are scared? I thought you want to defend that waste?"

"Watch your mouth, boy!" said Hu Cheng Se, who just couldn't wait to confront this sh*t.

"Sister, stop!" Hu Bai warned.

"And now the eldest is going to take the role of the hero again."

"You are looking for unnecessary trouble, Qing Young Master!"

"Now, I always wonder why you three always stay by this waste's side," said Qing Bo in an unhurried manner. He walked toward Hu Zi. "Are you not afraid that she might tarnish your esteemed reputation? Don't you know that this waste is the biggest joke in the city? She is the only rock in a pile of gems."

"You better stop talking nonsense, Qing Young Master," Hu Cheng Se said to him and blocked his way. "My Third Sister is our beloved pride and joy!"

"Yes, she is not a fault!" Hu Bai and Hu Ye said simultaneously, their voices sounding like thunder.

Looking at the three siblings glaring so fiercely at him, Qing Bo couldn't help but take a step back. Under the pressure, he seemed to be unable to think deeply like he usually did because the next thing he said was, "Look, you three are like guardian angels, protecting the waste. For what? Now that I think about it, there could only be two possibilities. The first is that you all pity her, and the second is that you three must be using her to gain a reputation as good and caring siblings!"

Slap!