After chatting with the Prince of Hui for a while, Yao Huang slept for a long time. When she woke up, it was already dark outside the window.
Feeling dazed for a moment, Yao Huang looked to her side and found that the swaddled baby previously placed there was gone. Instead, there was the Prince of Hui, lying down fully clothed.
Yao Huang: "..."
The Princess Consort didn't make any obvious movements, but Zhao Sui still woke up. Meeting the Princess Consort's clear gaze, not knowing how long she had been awake and looking at him like this, the Prince of Hui stiffened slightly for a moment. Then, as he propped himself up to sit, he asked in a low voice, "Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"
Yao Huang was indeed feeling a bit uncomfortable. Pointing to her chest covered by the quilt, she said, "It feels so swollen."
This was not her teasing the reserved Prince of Hui; the Princess Consort's brows were furrowed.
Zhao Sui immediately got into his wheelchair and called out for people.
Nanny Jin and Luo Jinhua walked in one after another.
Finding it awkward to explain the Princess Consort's discomfort, the Prince of Hui glanced at her and wheeled himself out.
Yao Huang looked at her mother: "Where is the baby?"
Luo Jinhua smiled and said, "He was taken to the wet nurse to be fed. Seeing that you and the Prince were both asleep, we left him with the wet nurse. The little one ate his fill and is sleeping soundly right now."
Her doubts resolved, Yao Huang looked at Nanny Jin for help.
Nanny Jin then began to gently massage the Princess Consort. Feeding a child was a tough chore; the concubines in the palace and the female family members of high officials and nobles all hired wet nurses to do it.
Having enjoyed so much since marrying into the royal family, Yao Huang naturally chose the most comfortable way to raise her child.
According to Nanny Jin, as long as Yao Huang drank the medicinal soup she had the kitchen brew for three to five days in a row, her chest would feel as relaxed as before.
Seeing her daughter's increasingly relaxed expression, Luo Jinhua said happily, "Mother has heard of this massage technique from other officials' wives. It's comfortable afterward, but it hurts a lot during the process. Look at Nanny Jin's superb skills; you must reward Nanny Jin well, and you should be even more filial to Her Majesty the Empress in the future."
Yao Huang: "That is a given. Without Nanny here, how could I have had such peace of mind these past few months?"
Nanny Jin had long experienced the Princess Consort's sweet talk. Now being praised by both mother and daughter together, she actually felt embarrassed at her age.
After cleaning up again, Luo Jinhua went to bring the baby back. Once she and Nanny Jin retreated, the Prince of Hui returned, with a tray covered in red silk resting on his lap.
The Princess Consort, who was intently examining the baby, was attracted by the red silk and asked, "What is this?"
Zhao Sui: "A reward bestowed by Imperial Father."
The Princess Consort's eyes lit up. She sat up, moved the swaddled baby closer to her, and made room for the Prince of Hui to place the tray.
Zhao Sui was alarmed seeing this: "Can you sit up already? Won't you be cold wearing only your inner garments?"
Yao Huang didn't feel cold, but to reassure the Prince of Hui, she picked up a padded short jacket prepared on the side and put it on.
Zhao Sui placed the tray next to the pillow and removed the red silk.
Yao Huang first saw a gold hairpin inlaid with gems in the shape of a peony flower. The outer layer of the peony at the head of the hairpin had seven pure gold petals, and in the middle of each petal was a ruby the size of a longan pit. The second layer consisted of seven petals carved from mutton-fat white jade. The third layer had seven gold wire stamens, each curling around a lustrous white pearl the size of a bean. The fourth layer also had gold wire stamens, but they were shorter, densely wrapping around a ruby the size of a hawthorn berry right in the center!
Yao Huang's heart melted just looking at it. It was the Prince of Hui who helped place the peony hairpin into her hand.
Yao Huang tried to pick at the ruby inside and only felt relieved when she confirmed it wasn't easy to pry out. Otherwise, if she wore it out one day and the most valuable ruby fell off while she was walking, she would cry from heartache!
On the tray, there was also a gold collar with a pure gold longevity lock hanging from it, and a pair of glittering gold baby bracelets, all for the little imperial grandson.
Yao Huang thought to herself that Emperor Yongchang definitely cherished his own grandson more, but a newborn grandson didn't understand anything and was easy to appease. Therefore, he could only elevate the rewards given to her to show his satisfaction with this imperial grandson.
"Imperial Father is truly wonderful. Your Highness must be very filial to Imperial Father in the future and check on his well-being often, whether there's an occasion or not."
Yao Huang instructed sincerely, because she and the child were the beneficiaries of Emperor Yongchang's love for the Prince of Hui. Only if the Prince of Hui continued to be favored by Emperor Yongchang would the rewards for her and the child keep flowing in.
Zhao Sui ignored the Princess Consort's silly words. He picked up a bracelet and compared it against the baby's tiny wrists raised by his shoulders; it wouldn't stay on at all.
Yao Huang felt that this version of the Prince of Hui was quite silly too.
After nightfall, the wet nurse took the baby away, and the Prince of Hui lay on the bed in the delivery room to sleep with the Princess Consort.
The couple brought up the topic of the baby's milk name.
The three children of the Prince of Kang were all given names by Emperor Yongchang after they turned one year old. Therefore, the children of the Prince of Hui and the Prince of Qing would definitely follow this tradition. The two couples only needed to think of a temporary milk name for their children.
Yao Huang: "Actually, Dandan is really quite cute, and it sounds like a name for a child who is easy to raise."
Zhao Sui: "Inappropriate."
Yao Huang: "Then how about Dandan, using the character for morning? 'The plan for the day is in the morning'—it has great meaning."
Zhao Sui: "...Inappropriate."
Yao Huang gave him a nudge: "Your Highness, you name him. You have seen more ink than the water I've drank my whole life."
Zhao Sui: "But that ink is not suitable for coming up with a milk name."
A milk name should sound very affectionate. The Prince of Hui still hadn't figured out how to affectionately address the Princess Consort, so he knew he similarly couldn't come up with a suitable milk name for the child.
Yao Huang: "My brother's milk name is Little Tiger, and mine is Little Flower. They both took a character from my parents' names."
Zhao Sui looked at the Princess Consort.
Yao Huang immediately covered his eyes: "You are not allowed to use my name!"
Zhao Sui: "...My name is too formal."
Yao Huang: "And mine is too vulgar!"
She withdrew her hand, and the couple both stared at the canopy, lost in thought. The Prince of Hui silently pondered over the character "Huang". Yao Huang thought of the bamboo grove they passed by when she went into labor that morning, remembered how the Prince of Hui liked to live in the bamboo courtyard when she first married him, and then looked at the Prince of Hui beside her, who was as elegant as tall bamboo. She smiled, leaned on the Prince of Hui's shoulder, and said, "Let's call him Little Bamboo. Your Highness is Big Bamboo, and he is Little Bamboo. Bamboo grows fast, so this name also has a good meaning."
The Prince of Hui, praised as bamboo by the Princess Consort, tilted his head and after a while said, "Let's call him Yun'er. 'Leaves of new spring bamboo, below flows a clear shallow stream.' 'Yun' is an elegant term for bamboo."
Yao Huang thought this line of poetry was very beautiful and perfectly matched the scenery of the bamboo grove this morning, so she kissed the Prince of Hui on the cheek with great satisfaction.
.
On the day of the washing ceremony for the young master of the Prince of Hui's estate, the close relatives of both the Prince and the Princess Consort who were able to travel all came.
The First Princess and the Second Princess came together from the palace. Being close by, they arrived quickly. They each brought gifts for their second sister-in-law and little nephew. The gifts from the imperial concubines would arrive at the same time as Emperor Yongchang's rewards.
"The name Yun is truly wonderful. I have also always felt that Second Brother has the posture of elegant bamboo," the First Princess praised with a smile.
The Prince of Hui, unaccustomed to such words of praise, left early, leaving the east side room of the backyard to the three sisters-in-law.
Having moved back to their new residence just a day ago, Luo Jinhua soon brought Yao Zhenhu and his son, as well as the members of the Luo family who had moved into the Yao family's guest rooms in advance for this occasion, to the Prince's estate. Prince Hui secretly observed everyone, just as he had done when hosting his two younger sister princesses. Only after confirming that no one carried any signs of illness did he have Eunuch Cao lead the female guests to the back to visit the Princess Consort and the child.
Prince Kang and his wife, Chen Ying, arrived with the young heir. Prince Hui continued his observations.
Prince Qing and Princess Fucheng were the last to arrive. Zheng Yuanzhen was still in her postpartum confinement period and it was not suitable for her to go out.
After his observation, Prince Hui had Eunuch Cao guide Princess Fucheng to the back.
As soon as Princess Fucheng entered the eastern side room, she first saw the members of the Yao and Luo families dressed in ordinary silk clothes. Whether in their attire, bearing, or manners, they were distinctly different from noble families.
Princess Fucheng frowned.
Luo Jinhua led her mother and two sisters-in-law forward to bow, just as they had curtsied to greet the two princesses.
Yao Huang stopped them and smiled, We are all relatives here. There is no need for so many empty formalities, wouldn't you agree, Aunt?
Princess Fucheng's obvious frown was a sign of disrespect towards her. Since that was the case, why should Yao Huang wrong her own maiden family to save face for an outsider in her own territory?
Thinking back to when she first married Prince Hui, even he had never looked down upon her maiden family's relatives.
Princess Fucheng gave a faint smile. Of course.
Ignoring those commoner women, Princess Fucheng approached the couch and looked at the little baby in the swaddling clothes. He looked small on his own, but if placed next to her biological grandson who was born a month premature, Prince Hui's child was visibly larger.
Princess Fucheng offered some polite praise and gifted the child a golden necklet.
Yao Huang expressed her thanks and, as a sister-in-law, thoughtfully asked about the condition of Zheng Yuanzhen and her son.
Princess Fucheng's smile became a bit more genuine as she explained, Yuanzhen had a difficult early pregnancy, which caused Sanlang to be born prematurely. He weighed just over five jin at birth. Fortunately, Sanlang eats and sleeps well, and he looks much plumper these past few days. Yuanzhen said that once her confinement is over, she will bring the child over to meet his little brother. You two sisters-in-law married into the royal family in the same year, and your eldest sons were born in the same year too. It is truly destiny.
Yao Huang: ...
She was a little unaccustomed to the Princess's sudden warmth and friendliness.
Princess Fucheng sat for a while before heading to the front courtyard. After attending the banquet at Prince Hui's estate, she accompanied Prince Qing back to their estate to visit her daughter.
Everyone cherishes their own children the most. As soon as Prince Qing entered Zheng Yuanzhen's room, he picked up his little Sanlang, kissed him, and said to Zheng Yuanzhen, After looking around, our Sanlang is still the best-looking.
Zheng Yuanzhen looked at her mother.
Princess Fucheng said, That one was carried to full term, so his cheeks are definitely plumper than Sanlang's, but his features are indeed not as fine as Sanlang's.
Naturally, Zheng Yuanzhen did not believe this. No matter how proud she was, she had to admit that she was not as beautiful as Yao Huang, and Prince Qing was not as handsome as Prince Hui.
But none of that mattered.
After Prince Qing left, Zheng Yuanzhen quietly asked her mother about the canal destruction in Liangzhou.
Princess Fucheng patted her daughter's hand. Rest assured, I have arranged everything. They are two death-sworn assassins burdened with wives and children. I gave them each five hundred taels of silver upfront. If they return after the deed is done, they will each receive another thousand taels.
That was what she had promised, but if the two actually returned, she would arrange for guards unaware of the truth to silently silence them, completely destroying the evidence. Their wives and children, also under her control, would soon join the two assassins on the road to the underworld.
If the two were unfortunately caught, in order to save the lives of their wives and children, they would follow her orders and insist that they were sent by the Du family of the Duke of Chengen's estate.
When the snipe and the clam grapple, the fisherman profits. If Prince Kang and Prince Hui ran into trouble, Imperial Consort Du and the Fourth Prince would similarly be the fishermen who stood to gain. Moreover, Imperial Consort Du's dislike for Prince Hui was known to all. Coupled with the confessions of the assassins, it would be very difficult for her imperial brother to suspect her.
Finally, Princess Fucheng instructed her daughter, Relax your mind and do not think about anything. Only when you yourself believe that this matter has nothing to do with us will you not reveal any flaws when the Emperor investigates it in the future.
Zheng Yuanzhen looked at her sleeping child and nodded slowly but firmly.
