Chapter 601: Fight
“Sister-in-law, Big Brother is his father. I’m sure he’s equally concerned about the child.” Mu Yangling felt that Li Jinghua was thinking too much. After all, why wouldn’t Qi Xiuyuan dote on his only son?
Upon hearing this, Li Jinghua was silent for a moment. Then, she nodded and said with a smile, “I understand. Thank you for taking care of Little Treasure these few days. Even though the preparations for the conferment ceremony have been completed, I still need you to help take care of him on that day.”
Qi Xiuyuan’s heart ached for Little Treasure more than Li Jinghua had imagined. He was angry and heartbroken when he heard that Little Treasure would be frightened if he stayed in the palace alone.
That very night, he ordered to keep Little Treasure in the Palace of Earthly Tranquility.
This being Little Treasure’s first time sleeping with his parents, he lay under the blanket and twisted his head curiously. One moment, he turned to look at his father on the right, and the next moment, he turned to look at her mother on the left. Amused at this sight, Qi Xiuyuan tapped the little fellow’s forehead and said, “Alright, if you continue tossing and turning, you’ll faint. Go to sleep.”
When Little Treasure woke up in the middle of the night, he dazedly opened his eyes and saw his parents sleeping at the side. With a yawn, he turned around to continue sleeping.
Qi Xiuyuan opened his eyes and patted his back gently with a smile.
As the highest-ranking woman in Great Qi, Mu Yangling was able to stand in the front row during Li Jinghua’s conferment ceremony. She even enjoyed the treatment provided to the royal family and did not have to wait outside like the others. Instead, she was invited to the side hall to sit and wait.
Little Treasure and Little Bear were both wearing formal attire and sitting on the chairs at the side. Little Treasure was still wearing his hat obediently, but Little Bear was pulling at his lapels due to the fact that the entire outfit was too heavy. On a hot day, one would easily sweat wearing it. Due to the discomfort, Little Bear could only pull at these clothes.
Mu Yangling quickly helped him take off his clothes, then looked up at Nanny Wang and said, “Help the Eldest Prince take off his clothes, too. Let him put them back on later.”
The palace maid quickly brought in water to wash the two children. Seeing this, Mu Yangling frowned and waved her hand. “There’s no need for this. Go get dry towels and clean undergarments.”
Spring took the things sent by the palace maid and shook the clothes. Rain, who was at the side, looked up at her and went forward to press down on the clothes. She said, “Seeing as the garment has come unstitched, I’m afraid it will prick the Eldest Prince. Let’s use what we brought.”
After saying that, she turned to look at Autumn and said unhappily, “What are you waiting for? Hurry up and bring our bag over.”
Autumn was stunned, because this kind of personal service had always been provided by Spring and Rain. The others rarely had an opportunity to do such things. After glancing at Fourth Madam and Spring, she hurriedly bowed in agreement and went to bring over the bundle they had brought over.
Seeing this, the palace maid hurriedly went forward to stop her. “Sisters, wait a moment. The Eldest Prince’s clothes are all custom-made. Although others can’t see the undergarment inside, we can’t let the Eldest Prince suffer. Since his costume has come unstitched, I’ll just get another one. We mustn’t let the Eldest Prince suffer.”
Spring calmly said with a smile, “Sister, you’re thinking too much. Let’s not talk about anything else. The undergarment that the Eldest Prince is wearing now comes from our Prince’s estate. Our Princess Consort often makes clothes for the Eldest Prince. The Empress is aware, too. Coincidentally, our Princess Consort has just made two sets of clothes for the Eldest Prince and brought them into the palace today. Considering it will take up a lot of time for you to go back and forth, we might as well use the ready-made clothes.”
Mu Yangling had already dried Little Treasure’s back with a dry towel. Seeing that the clothes had not been sent over, she could not help but frown. “What have you guys been busy with? Hurry up and bring the clothes over.”
“Here are the clothes.” Autumn glanced at them and quickly opened the bag to retrieve an undergarment.
Made of silk, it was lightweight and sweat-absorbent. Mama Wang had sewed it.
Only Qi Haoran would wear the clothes made by Mu Yangling. Meanwhile, most of the clothes Little Treasure wore were made by Mama Wang and his wet nurse, Nanny Wang.
Mu Yangling helped him change into his undergarments. After tying the straps, she patted his butt and said, “Go play. We’ll put on the outer-clothing later.
Then, she picked up her son, who was still sweating profusely even though he was only wearing an undergarment. She sighed and said, “Why do you sweat so easily?”
Little Bear looked at the water in the basin and was tempted. Not daring to bathe him at this time, Mu Yangling only used a towel to dry his sweat before helping him change into clean clothes.
Seeing that the two children had changed their clothes, the palace maid immediately shut her mouth. She turned around and said with a smile, “Then, Sister, I’ll take these away.” As she spoke, she went forward to take the clothes that she had just brought over.
However, Spring smiled and waved the palace maid’s hand away. “This is easily fixed. I’ll just get someone to get a needle and thread to stitch a few stitches. Seeing as the Eldest Prince and our Young Master are naughty, perhaps they might be of use later?”
The commotion here quickly attracted the attention of the female official, Aunt Bai. Aunt Bai was a female official that Li Jinghua had arranged to serve the Eldest Prince. In terms of closeness, she could not compare to Nanny Wang and the two servant girls who served beside the Eldest Prince most closely. In terms of qualifications, she could not compare to Eunuch Lan, the chief eunuch serving beside the Eldest Prince. Hence, she had always been obedient. However, at this moment, her heart beat violently. She knew that this was a make-or-break moment for her.
Her eyes lit up as she went forward and said to the palace maid, “Go to the small kitchen and bring some snacks for the Eldest Prince and Third Young Master to take when they’re hungry.”
She looked up and, upon meeting Spring’s eyes, nodded slightly.
Spring lowered her eyes and Aunt Bai heaved a sigh of relief. After the palace maid left, she quickly ordered two people to follow her.
As soon as the palace maid walked to an empty spot, her mouth was covered by two eunuchs and she was dragged to the side. Aunt Bai said with a cold expression, “Bring her to the Palace of Earthly Tranquility to be guarded strictly. After the ceremony, the Empress will personally interrogate her.”
“What’s going on?” Being sharp-eared and sharp-eyed, Mu Yangling had seen the confrontation between Spring and the palace maids just now. At this moment, she sent the palace maids out, leaving only her trusted aides in the room.
Spring looked at Rain, who hurriedly said, “Fourth Madam, when Sister Spring opened her clothes, I seemed to detect a fragrance, but upon closer inspection, the smell disappeared again. However, I kept feeling uneasy, so I took the initiative…”
Mu Yangling nodded and glanced at the clothes. “It’s better to err on the side of caution. Since the two of you touched the clothes, bring them to the side hall and wait. Don’t let others have a chance to come into contact with these clothes.”
The two of them agreed and bowed before leaving.
Mu Yangling turned to look at Nanny Wang, whose face was slightly pale, and said, “You’ve seen it too. From now on, you have to keep a keen eye on the Eldest Prince. You have to pay attention to everything that enters his mouth and comes into contact with. You should know how much the Emperor and Empress value the Eldest Prince. If anything happens to him, none of you will be able to get away with it. Therefore, watch with widened eyes. Don’t let the Eldest Prince touch anything he shouldn’t.”
The people serving Little Treasure immediately knelt down and agreed fearfully. Then, they widened their eyes and looked at Little Treasure. As long as he ran to touch anything else in the house, they would stop him. Then, they would gently coax him to Little Bear’s side and let the two of them play with the toys Mu Yangling had brought from outside the palace.
However, Mu Yangling had only casually stuffed into their luggage two of Little Bear’s favorite toys into the palace. Since each child only had one toy to play with each, after playing for a while, they were already tired of it. The two children ran to Mu Yangling and looked accusingly at the servant girls who kept stopping them.
Mu Yangling scratched their heads and said with a smile, “Shall I tell you a story?”
The two children’s eyes lit up as they sat obediently on the couch and waited.
Nanny Wang and the others heaved a sigh of relief.
45 minutes before the ceremony was to begin, Aunt Bai came in to remind them. Mu Yangling quickly got someone to help the kids put on their formal attire and led them out one by one.
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