Chapter 550: Washing Three Ritual (Part One)
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Zhuang Zhuang seemed to know his Royal Mother was nearby and stopped crying soon, turning his head eagerly to look for food. Mingzhu felt a pang of heartache and forced a smile. “Oh, it turns out Zhuang Zhuang is hungry. Go ask the wet nurse for some food.”
Wet nurse Tang took Zhuang Zhuang and fed him, and soon Zhuang Zhuang began to suckle eagerly. Mingzhu watched with a smile. “This little one is very practical; hunger doesn’t trouble him.”
Wet Nurse Tang tried to please Mingzhu. “That’s how it should be. Wangfei, wait and see. When the month is full, the child will definitely grow up chubby and healthy.”
“Good, I’ll look forward to it.” Since Mingzhu had made up her mind not to breastfeed personally, she let go of that concern and focused on the well-being and diet of the two wet nurses. After all, they were the child’s food source. If the wet nurses weren’t healthy, it would directly affect the quality of the milk. Too greasy was no good, too bland was no good either, otherwise the child would get diarrhea or constipation from the heat.
Suddenly, Su Jin came in and whispered softly, “His Highness is here.”
Mingzhu was puzzled. “He’s here, why doesn’t he come in?” Suddenly remembering that Wet Nurse Tang was feeding the baby, she smiled and asked Su Jin to inquire of Yuwen Chu, “Ask if His Highness has urgent matters?”
In a moment, Su Jin came back and said, “His Highness says no. Today is the ceremony of washing three times. Since the guests haven’t arrived yet, he came over to see you and the baby.”
Mingzhu relaxed. She waited patiently until Zhuang Zhuang finished eating before sending Wet Nurse Tang away and calling out to Yuwen Chu, “Come in, Your Highness.”
Yuwen Chu came in with a smile, took Zhuang Zhuang from Mingzhu’s arms, and said, “He’s such a good child, so obedient and promising. He takes after his father.”
Mingzhu listened to his shameless self-praise and didn’t bother to expose him, just smiled and watched the father and son. It was said that Zhuang Zhuang looked like Yuwen Chu, but she couldn’t tell. But in her heart, they were equally adorable.
Seeing her staring at him, Yuwen Chu smiled even more broadly. “What are you looking at?”
Seeing this, Su Lan hurriedly led the maids out, leaving the husband and wife alone to chat.
Mingzhu whispered, “His Highness didn’t sleep all night, and he looks tired. Are you tired?”
“Not tired. As long as I think of you and the baby, I don’t feel tired.” Yuwen Chu was in a good mood, carefully holding Zhuang Zhuang as he sat down next to Mingzhu. “Are you okay?”
Mingzhu nodded. “I’m fine, very fine.” Suddenly, she noticed Zhuang Zhuang’s two black eyes staring at Yuwen Chu and couldn’t help but smile. “Zhuang Zhuang is looking at you.”
“Remember, I’m daddy.” Yuwen Chu quickly exchanged glances with Zhuang Zhuang, but Zhuang Zhuang looked at him for a moment, yawned, and then promptly closed his eyes and fell asleep.
“He eats and sleeps so well, just like his Mother.” Yuwen Chu glanced at Mingzhu with a smile. “But in the future, don’t spoil him too much.”
Mingzhu asked Su Lan to come in and put Zhuang Zhuang to sleep, grumbling, “Yes, everything good is yours, and everything bad is mine.”
“Eating and sleeping well is a blessing, what’s there not to like? Wangfei don’t belittle yourself.” Yuwen Chu gestured for Mingzhu to make room. “Sitting for too long can cause back pain. Let me lie down for a bit.”
Concerned for him, Mingzhu quickly made space, and Yuwen Chu laid down comfortably, squinting as he watched her, “Have you made up your mind?”
“Yes, I’ve already had the huinai soup. Your Highness is right; the situation in the capital is complicated, and Zhuang Zhuang doesn’t lack my milk. But you and my parents need me to recover quickly. I need to regain my health first so I can better take care of and protect Zhuang Zhuang.” Mingzhu touched the stubble on Yuwen Chu’s chin. “I won’t hold you back.”
Yuwen Chu grabbed her hand and placed it on his left chest, whispering, “I’m sorry.” It was just a small wish, but he couldn’t fulfill it.
Mingzhu immediately started acting cute, “Since Your Highness feels sorry for me, you should quickly find a way to make it up to me. I want to go out for a walk, have some fruits, eat ice bowl…”
She listed things off one by one with her fingers, but Yuwen Chu pressed her hand down, “You start panting as soon as I mention you getting fat? No way!”
Mingzhu glared at him, “You’re not sincere at all!”
“After you finish your confinement, I’ll hand over all the keys to our private accounts to you. Everything will be in your hands. Is that sincere enough?” Yuwen Chu kissed her fingertips, his eyelids drooping. Mingzhu patted his back and whispered, “Go to sleep, go to sleep. I’ll wake you up later.”
Yuwen Chu quickly fell asleep, and Su Lan quietly came in, whispering, “Your Highness, Qi Wangfei has come to see you.”
Qi Wangfei was brought in by Yuwen Chu to take care of the miscellaneous matters in the mansion and to receive guests who came to congratulate them. Since yesterday, she had been busy preparing for the ceremony. Today was the main day of the ceremony, and there were a few trivial matters that needed to be discussed with Mingzhu first.
If it were just Mingzhu alone, Qi Wangfei would have come in, but Yuwen Chu happened to be sleeping in the inner room. It wouldn’t reflect well on Yuwen Chu’s reputation and authority if Qi Wangfei found out he was in the delivery room or staying with the recently given birth woman.
But Mingzhu couldn’t bear to wake him up at this moment. She quickly put on a coat, tidied her hair, and walked into the outer room. After all, she had been lying in bed for the past few days and just moving a little in the room wouldn’t hurt.
Qi Wangfei was sitting in the outer room drinking tea. When she saw Mingzhu come out, she was startled and quickly helped her to sit in a sheltered place, scolding, “My niece-in-law is so reckless. You’re young and don’t take care of yourself. You’ll suffer in the future.”
Mingzhu had broken out in a cold sweat after taking a few steps, but she still felt much better moving around a bit. She smiled, “It’s all inside the house anyway, moving a bit is better.”
Since Qi Wangfei wasn’t her own mother-in-law, it wasn’t appropriate to insist too much when she wouldn’t listen. Instead, she picked out several urgent matters related to the washing three ritual and asked for Mingzhu’s opinion: “What do you think of this?”
Normally, matters like this should be handled by the bride’s family, but given the recent incident in the mansion, Lady Qian and others could only come to show their presence and join in the celebration. Qi Wangfei had a good reputation among the royal family and was very sensible in her actions, so Mingzhu entrusted her with full authority, “Auntie, your arrangements are appropriate. Just do as you say.”
Seeing that Mingzhu didn’t have any objections, Qi Wangfei was also very happy, “Alright then, you go back and rest quickly. It’s almost time. I’ll send someone to invite His Highness, and we’ll prepare to receive the guests.”
“I won’t see you off, Auntie.” Mingzhu didn’t want to tell Qi Wang that Yuwen Chu was sleeping in the inner room. She sent Qi Wangfei away with a forced smile, then tiptoed back into the inner room. She saw that Yuwen Chu was already awake, lazily lying on the bed, staring at her.
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