Chapter 322: Premature Birth (3)

"This servant dares not, this servant takes her leave." The two bowed respectfully and hurried out.

Ruyi was secretly delighted; that old wet nurse had been shouting at her just moments ago, relying on the fact that she was a person of the Empress Dowager. Fortunately, her own mistress was becoming more and more dignified. While Ruyi was still feeling smug, the Little Prince in her arms became unhappy. Whether it was because Ruyi was young and didn't know how to hold him, or because the child was hungry, the little one who had been sleeping peacefully with his eyes closed began to twist his neck and whimper. Ruyi panicked, not knowing what to do. Qingfeng casually set the porridge bowl in her hand onto the low table beside her and said, "Give him to me."

Gently placing the Little Prince into Qingfeng's arms, Ruyi breathed a sigh of relief. She half-knelt by the bed and said with a flattering smile, "The Little Prince is so cute; he really looks like the Emperor."

The soft sensation in her arms made Qingfeng's heart soften as well, and the corners of her mouth curled up unconsciously. While coaxing the child, she listened to Ruyi speak. Does he look like him? Qingfeng looked carefully at the little one in her arms; his face was tiny and still seemed undeveloped. He could be called cute, but how could one tell who he looked like?

Having not seen Yan Hongtian upon waking, Qingfeng didn't say anything, but she was still somewhat disappointed in her heart. At this moment, as Ruyi brought it up, Qingfeng feigned indifference and asked, "Where is the Emperor?"

"At noon, the Empress Dowager and the Empress came to see you. It seems... they had some dispute with the Emperor. After they left, the Emperor went out and hasn't returned yet."

Qingfeng was slightly stunned: "The Empress Dowager and the Empress came to see me?"

"Yes."

Qingfeng still wanted to ask what dispute the Empress Dowager and Yan Hongtian had, but she heard the door creak, and a familiar figure strode in.

Ruyi hurriedly knelt to salute: "May the Emperor be blessed."

The child in her arms finally stopped crying, and Qingfeng breathed a sigh of relief. Looking up, she saw Yan Hongtian standing before the screen, taking off his outer robe. His clothes were actually wet. Qingfeng looked out the window and realized that it had started to drizzle at some point.

Ruyi hurried to serve him, taking the outer robe and finding clean clothes for the Emperor to change into.

Seeing Ruyi attending to him, Qingfeng said no more. While gently coaxing the child, she asked in a low voice, "Have you eaten?"

A sentence so ordinary that any wife in an ordinary household would ask it, yet it made Yan Hongtian pause, a sense of novelty rising in his heart. Since his ascension to the throne, no one had dared to speak to him like this, had they?

Yan Hongtian looked toward the inner chamber. The faint orange candlelight shone on her through the curtains, making her appear as if she were bathed in a hazy halo. Her hair was loose, not tied up, and hung behind her, revealing a lazy charm. Her complexion was much better than it had been during the day. She was holding the child in her arms, rocking him gently, with a happy and doting smile on her face. Yan Hongtian was so shaken by the warm and beautiful scene before him that he forgot to respond.

After a long silence with no reply, Qingfeng looked up and met a pair of somewhat dazed eyes. Qingfeng smiled: "Haven't eaten yet?"

Coming back to his senses, Yan Hongtian coughed lightly and replied indifferently, "I have eaten." He walked to the bed. A bowl of bird's nest porridge, still steaming but clearly barely touched, sat on the low table. Yan Hongtian frowned, "Why have you only eaten this little?"

After he said that, Qingfeng felt that she was indeed quite hungry. She beckoned to him gently, "Come here."

Just as Yan Hongtian walked to her side and sat down, Qingfeng gently placed the child in his arms and said, "Hold him for a while; I'm going to drink my porridge."

Qingfeng had only taken two bites when she heard Yan Hongtian's deep voice call out: "Ruyi."

"Yes."

"Take the child away."

"Wait." Qingfeng was anxious, "Why do you want to take the child away?"

"It is getting late, and you should rest. Naturally, the child should be left to the wet nurse to care for." Yan Hongtian's expression was strange, his brows tightly knitted together. She knew there were such rules in the Palace; Princes and Princesses generally did not live with their mothers. They were cared for by wet nurses and old nannies from birth, and mothers could only see them during morning and evening greetings. This might be a rule they were accustomed to, but she did not want it to be this way. If she couldn't care for and accompany her own child, what kind of mother-child relationship was that? She was born into an ordinary family, with a loving mother, a kind father, and harmonious sisters. She hoped her child could be like her.

Yan Hongtian's expression remained poor. Qingfeng did not want to argue with him at this time, so she softened her voice and said, "I have only just seen the child; I can't bear to be separated from him. Let him stay with me tonight, okay?"

Yan Hongtian was always stubborn. Qingfeng thought she would have to spend a lot of effort to persuade him, but to her surprise, he didn't talk to her about any more rules. Instead, he hurriedly lifted the child in his hands slightly and said coldly, "Then you hold him yourself."

The child was well-behaved, not crying or making a fuss; why did he look so disgusted? This was his own son! Qingfeng asked strangely, "What is wrong with you?"

Yan Hongtian remained silent, his face darkening a few shades more. The little baby in his hands moved his neck again, and Yan Hongtian immediately stiffened all over. His usually steady voice actually carried a hint of panic, "He... he is too soft. You hurry and take him away." He didn't have many heirs, and he had never held a child before, so naturally, he had no way of knowing that a little infant could be so soft, as if he had no bones!

So he had been keeping a dark face and wanting to take the child away just because he didn't know how to hold a baby? Qingfeng was both angry and amused. Knowing the reason, she retracted the hand she had reached out and huffed, "You think being a father is so easy! Hold him properly." After saying this, she happily picked up the porridge bowl again and ate on her own.

Ruyi quietly looked up and saw the Emperor holding the Little Prince with both hands, looking awkward as if he didn't know whether to put him down or hold him. She couldn't help but let out a giggle. Yan Hongtian shot her a cold glare, scaring her into shrinking her neck. The Emperor couldn't bear to lose his temper at the Consort and the Little Prince, but he was definitely willing to take it out on her.

"This servant takes her leave." After a hurried bow, Ruyi ran out in a flash.

Outside, the rain was drizzling. Inside, the master of Qiongyue and king of the Six Kingdoms felt at a loss for the first time. Or was this what they called the feeling of being a father?

At the hour of the Dragon (7-9 AM), Yan Hongtian woke up as usual, but his open black eyes were not as clear as usual. Even during the busiest times of the celebrations, he had never been this exhausted. Yan Hongtian lay on his side, propping his head up, and looked at this little thing lying across the middle of the bed. After being raised for a few days, his skin was much ruddier. His tightly closed eyes were narrowed into small, crescent-moon-like slits, and his tiny mouth was always slightly pursed. He was quite lovable when he was quiet, but he was also quite troublesome when he cried. The daytime was fine, but he would cry and fuss two or three times a night. He had never known that children were such troublesome things. It had only been three days, and he had been tormented like this, let alone Qingfeng, a mother with no experience at all who insisted on doing everything herself.

Just as Yan Hongtian was about to get up, the little one sleeping in the middle suddenly moved. His closed eyes did not open, but his little mouth stretched wider and wider. Seeing that he was about to cry again, Yan Hongtian's expression stiffened, and he called out loudly, "Someone!"

Ruyi pushed the door open gently. Just as she entered the inner chamber, she heard the Emperor's deliberately lowered voice say with some urgency, "Take the child to the wet nurse."

"Yes." Ruyi stifled a laugh and walked quickly to the bedside. Just as she picked up the Prince, Qingfeng, who was lying inside and so tired she could barely open her eyes, half-propped herself up and murmured, "What's wrong with him..."

"You haven't had a good night's sleep in the past few days. Just have the child brought back after you wake up." Yan Hongtian waved his hand at Ruyi, telling her to take the child away. Qingfeng, who was indeed exhausted, said nothing more and leaned against the bed frame, yawning. Seeing her haggard face, Yan Hongtian hummed lowly, "You brought this on yourself."

Qingfeng stretched lazily, secretly slandering him in her heart. The child made a fuss every night, yet he still came over to rest every day. She didn't believe there weren't other rooms in such a large separate residence. Saying she brought it on herself—he didn't seem to be doing much better himself. However, Qingfeng only dared to say these things in her heart, lest someone become angry from embarrassment.

After sitting for a while, Qingfeng felt more energetic. Seeing that Yan Hongtian was in a not-so-bad mood, Qingfeng moved toward him and smiled, "There is something I want to discuss with you."

"Speak." Rarely seeing her trying so hard to please him, Yan Hongtian vaguely guessed what she was going to say.

"After returning to the Palace, I want to... raise this child myself... let him live with me in Qingfeng Palace until he is three years old, is that possible?" Qingfeng said cautiously, especially the word "three," which she had struggled with for a long time before saying.

"Every Prince has his own Palace after birth; none live with their mothers. Do you want to break this rule?" Yan Hongtian's sword-like brows raised. Fortunately, he was not angry, but that cold tone already indicated that Qingfeng's proposal was wishful thinking.

Qingfeng had long guessed this outcome, but she was still very disappointed. She finally understood Zhen Zhen's feelings now; not being able to spend time with one's own child is truly the greatest torture for a mother. Sighing heavily, Qingfeng replied, "Fine, I won't break your rules."

So easy to talk to? "What are you planning now?"

Qingfeng shrugged, "What could I possibly do?"

According to his understanding, although she couldn't be called someone who would stop at nothing to achieve her goals, she would definitely not give up easily. Yan Hongtian sat on the edge of the bed, lifted Qingfeng's chin to make her look him in the eye, and smiled, "Tell me about it, so you don't do anything shocking and have the Empress Dowager and Empress come to cause trouble again. It's better for me to have a bottom line so I can handle it."

Xiao Yu had calculated the time and guessed that Yan Hongtian should be up. Arriving outside the door, she found it unlatched. Just as she walked into the outer chamber, she heard the Emperor's voice, tinged with a bit of teasing, coming from the inner room. Looking through the screen, the two were sitting on the bed talking in the morning light. Naturally, one couldn't see their expressions clearly in the haze, but it wasn't hard to hear the doting and indulgence in the Emperor's tone. With a light smile, Xiao Yu quietly retreated, not forgetting to pull the door shut.

(End of chapter)