Chapter 583: Zhuazhou (3)
Qi Xiuyuan used his actions to express how much he valued Little Treasure. Even if he did not immediately confer Little Treasure as the Crown Prince after ascending the throne, Little Treasure’s status would not be shaken.
After the two children chose what they liked, the zhuazhou ceremony was concluded. Mu Yangling went forward and carried Little Bear down. She wanted to take back the wooden sword in his hand, but he dodged her. With the small wooden sword in hand, he went to look for his father. Then, he stuffed the wooden sword into his father’s hand, wanting him to perform a sword dance for him.
Qi Haoran carried the child up and said softly, “Daddy will teach you in the afternoon.”
Everyone was slightly surprised to see Qi Haoran personally carrying the child. The Qi family’s patriarch opened his mouth but did not say anything in the end.
Madam Wu looked up and said, “Haoran, our ancestors are particular about carrying one’s grandchildren but not one’s children…”
“Madam, that’s an ancient etiquette observed during sacrificial ceremonies, which we’ll certainly respect at such occasions. But this is everyday life and it’s only natural for father and son to be close to each other.” Qi Haoran refuted this with a straight face. “Besides, only when a father is kind can the son be filial. I’m often not at home, so I don’t have much chance to shower concern on the child to begin with. It’s fine to be closer now.”
Madam Wu immediately did not dare to speak. ‘Only when a father is kind can the son be filial.’ Was he hinting that Qi Feng was not kind, so it gave them the right to be unfilial now?
Many people had the same question as Madam Wu, but no one raised any objections at this moment. What a joke. This was Qi Xiuyuan and Qi Haoran’s eldest son’s banquet. Were they tired of living?
Qi Xiuyuan stopped in his tracks and turned around to take the sleepy Little Treasure from the wet nurse’s hands. Li Jinghua, who was coaxing Little Treasure to put the jade seal away, was startled to see this.
Little Treasure opened his sleepy eyes and glanced at his father before leaning against his chest and continuing to sleep. He was still holding the jade seal tightly in his hand.
Qi Xiuyuan grabbed the jade seal and said with a smile, “Put it away for Father first. I’ll let you play with it tonight, okay?”
Little Treasure said in a soft babyish tone, “It’s cold.”
Qi Xiuyuan paused in surprise and immediately understood. The weather was already slightly hot, and the two children were still wearing several layers of clothes today. Little Treasure was being greedy for the coolness of the jade seal. A tad amused, he took off the hat on his head and said, “Father will bring you back to sleep on the mat later.”
Instantly satisfied, Little Treasure gave the jade seal to Qi Xiuyuan.
Qi Xiuyuan handed the jade seal to Shi Jian and carried the child out for a walk.
Little Treasure was already asleep with a frown, but Little Bear was still hugging the wooden sword and jumping around. Qi Xiuyuan couldn’t help but say, “This kid is really energetic. It’s already afternoon nap time, but he’s still so excited.”
Looking at Little Treasure in his arms, his boy looked a little thin in comparison.
Having already wiped Little Bear’s face and hands with a towel, Qi Haoran took off his clothes and stuffed him on the bed. Upon hearing this, he said, “This kid likes to join in the fun. If he doesn’t take a nap now, he’ll definitely fall asleep without eating at night. Then, he’ll wake up early in the morning and pound on the door.”
Placing Little Bear beside Little Treasure, he realized that he had long limbs. Although he was a year younger than Little Treasure, his size was almost comparable to Little Treasure.
Qi Haoran frowned slightly. He also felt that Little Treasure was too thin and weak.
Qi Xiuyuan and Qi Haoran were both stalwart and outstanding martial artists. In terms of appearance, they looked more like their maternal ancestors. With his long limbs, Little Bear resembled Qi Haoran and grew very quickly. However, Little Treasure looked too thin and weak in comparison.
They didn’t think that it was a genetic issue, because Little Treasure’s small face bore a great resemblance to Qi Xiuyuan’s, so it could only be the problem of Li Jinghua’s previous injury and giving birth prematurely.
At the thought of this, Qi Xiuyuan’s eyes turned cold. He watched as Little Treasure turned over uncomfortably before his gaze slowly softened.
After the zhuazhou ceremony, Qi Xiuyuan began to consider moving into the palace. The palace was considered safe after this period of cleansing.
Qi Xiuyuan asked Qi Haoran if he wanted to move in, but Qi Haoran shook his head and refused. If he had to move in and move out again, he might as well just stay in the Qi Residence.
“Rong Xuan and I have discussed giving you the title of ‘Rong’. Had the plaque made first. You can go to Minister Qin’s residence to take a look later. Previously, they dug up too many places in Minister Qin’s residence, so it will take a longer time to repair it.”
Frowning, Qi Haoran said, “Didn’t you agree to let Ah Ling follow me to the border? Then let’s just leave the Prince’s Residence for now. How can we have the money to repair it when we’re so poor now?”
“…” Qi Xiuyuan said, “I still have the money to repair the house.”
“It’ll still cost a lot. Let’s leave it for now. We’ll slowly repair it in two years when our finances ease up. We’ll also be able to renovate it more nicely so that our descendants won’t have to worry so much.”
Qi Xiuyuan agreed to his request.
Since it was only Qi Xiuyuan’s family moving into the palace, it was naturally very simple. There was everything in the palace, and there were many people who came to move things. They moved everything in with just one trip.
Li Jinghua gave Mu Yangling a token and said, “You have to come to the palace to visit me often.”
Mu Yangling agreed.
On the other side, Little Treasure and Little Bear were hugging each other and crying their hearts out. No matter what, they refused to part.
In the end, Mu Yangling and Li Jinghua could only agree to let Little Bear stay in the palace for a day every two days or let Little Treasure leave the palace for a day. Only then did the two children let go of each other and enter the palace hand in hand.
That’s right, they were entering the palace together. Little Bear felt that he had to experience life in the palace first, so he stayed in the palace that night.
Initially, Qi Haoran was quite excited. How could he not be happy that his third wheel of a son had finally left?
However, at night, when Mu Yangling said worriedly for the fifth time, “I wonder if Little Bear is crying.”, Qi Haoran was already powerless to persuade her. He lifted the blanket and pressed upon her. “Don’t think about him anymore.”
Shortly after, Qi Haoran was kicked off the bed. Mu Yangling snapped angrily, “I’m worried if my son is doing well in the palace, but you’re still in the mood to think about this. Go to bed early. Let’s go to the palace to see our son tomorrow morning.”
The next day, Qi Haoran stormed into the palace with a dark expression. Before he reached the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, he heard the brat’s arrogant voice. After turning around the trees blocking him, he saw the two brats trying to stick a large peony flower on their heads each.
The corners of Qi Haoran’s mouth twitched. He went forward and pulled the flowers from their hands. “Where are you going to stick it when you don’t even have hair?”
He handed the flowers to the wet nurse at the side and said, “These are for girls to play with. You two are boys. You’ll look absurd with a flower sticking out of your head. Don’t ruin such fine peony flowers.”
“Pfft.” A coquettish laugh came from the side. Qi Haoran followed the sound and looked over. The palace maid immediately blushed and lowered her head. She said in a low voice, “Fourth Young Master, this isn’t a peony flower. It’s a peony.”
Her voice was delicate, crisp and pleasant to the ears. Qi Haoran couldn’t help but take a few more glances at her.
Rain’s expression changed slightly. She took two steps forward to block Qi Haoran’s line of sight and asked with a smile, “Fourth Master, why did you come in alone? Where’s Fourth Madam?”
Mu Yangling was coming here in a carriage. He had ridden a horse here first because he was still annoyed with her about last night. Qi Haoran naturally wouldn’t tell Rain this, so he simply said, “Fourth Madam is right behind.”
Qi Haoran bent down and picked up the two children, one on each arm. “Have you eaten?”
“No.” Little Treasure rushed to answer. “Want to eat porridge.”
Little Bear wrinkled his nose and patted his father’s arm as he made babyish noises, “Ah, ah, ah.” Little Treasure immediately translated, “Little Brother wants to eat soup dumplings.”
Only then did Little Bear nod in satisfaction.
Source: NovelFull.com, updated on N𝘰vgo.co