Chapter 38: Stable

“Jing ge’er is such a good child, strong as a little calf.”

The Empress looked at Xu Zaijing with a gentle expression.

As everyone chatted, Xu Zaijing sat quietly and dutifully behind the screen.

When the Empress asked a question, he answered; when she didn’t, he sat in silence.

By the time the noble ladies outside the screen had nearly run out of things to say,

everyone prepared to take their leave.

The Empress leaned back against a large cushion and waved Xu Zaijing over.

“Jing ge’er, good child, come to me, let me look at you again.”

Hearing the Empress speak, the noble ladies outside the screen—Princess Pingning, the Cao family relatives, Sun Shi—fell silent.

Xu Zaijing obediently walked to the bed.

The Empress gently took Xu Zaijing’s small hand, about to speak.

Suddenly, the Empress froze.

She turned his small hand over.

The Empress, pampered in the inner palace,

had hands naturally soft and delicate.

Thus her touch was extremely sensitive—holding Xu Zaijing’s hand, she felt the calluses covering his palms.

Especially hard were the heels of his hands and his fingertips.

The result of long-term practice gripping a spear and years of archery training.

“Sun Shi, you’re truly heartless—this child is so young, and his hands are already like this. Someone, bring me my bottle of Jade Skin Ointment.”

The Empress said to Sun Shi, her voice filled with pity.

“Thank Your Majesty’s great kindness, but my little monkey loves wielding spears and clubs—when I visited my natal home, I even made several of my nephews cry.”

“Boys must be lively; strong bodies can bear burdens.” The Empress’s eyes flickered with a shadow of sorrow—no one knew what she was thinking.

“Jing ge’er, you’re still young—don’t train too hard, or you’ll harm your growth. Good child.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Good.”

After the lady-in-waiting placed a fine wooden box into Sun Shi’s hands, the Empress released Xu Zaijing.

The box contained the exclusive imperial Jade Skin Ointment.

With a wave of her hand, everyone departed the palace.

The palace’s soft sedan chairs carried the noble ladies to the palace gates,

Princess Pingning stepped out first—but instead of leaving immediately, she waited for Sun Shi behind her.

After bidding farewell to the Cao family ladies, she walked over to Sun Shi,

and the two walked out together.

Behind them, two squads of ladies-in-waiting and eunuchs carried or lifted many items.

“Lady, the Empress ordered me to bring your Jing ge’er some gifts—don’t refuse.”

Sun Shi looked startled: “How could this be? To receive gifts without merit—I feel unworthy.”

Princess Pingning smiled broadly: “Lady, don’t overthink it—the Empress simply seeks a good omen.”

Princess Pingning didn’t say it aloud, but her son Heng had been healthy since birth.

Seeing the robust Xu Zaijing, she believed some good fortune clung to him.

The Empress had long suffered barrenness; Princess Pingning, raised under her care, was treated as a daughter—and so, as a daughter, she had spoken a few words to the Empress.

During the New Year visits, the Empress was the first to send Xu Zaijing fine gifts; other imperial consorts followed suit.

The only difference: the Empress’s gift came first, carrying the same weight as the first incense at Xingguo Temple.

Previously, whenever the Emperor fathered a child, the Empress had donated a thousand taels of gold to temples and Daoist monasteries, hoping for healthy growth.

Now that she had borne an imperial heir, she spared no expense in scattering offerings to temples and monasteries.

And Xu Zaijing, this living auspicious sign, would be richly rewarded.

At the palace gate, after bidding farewell to the Cao family ladies, Princess Pingning’s endless gifts were loaded onto Sun Shi’s carriage.

One box held pearls from northern Liao, each large and plump.

Another box held rare birds and animal pelts from the northwest, each hide glossy and supple.

There were also jade from the northwest, coral from the southern seas—six or seven boxes in total.

Sun Shi had Xu Zaijing climb into the carriage,

then looked at Princess Pingning: “Your Highness.”

“Lady, don’t overthink it.”

“Your Highness, I fear my Jing ge’er’s fortune is too thin—he might drain the Empress’s blessings.”

Princess Pingning understood: Sun Shi feared that if the prince fell ill or died, Xu Zaijing might be blamed in turn.

“When people go to temples and monasteries to burn incense and offer oil money, and their prayers go unanswered, do they tear down the temples? It’s merely for peace of mind, for a good omen.”

As she spoke, Princess Pingning sighed and glanced around.

“I’ve grown up beside the Empress. All her imperial children died young. Before I married, before I had children, I never understood a mother’s grief. But now that I have Heng ge’er, I deeply admire Your Majesty.”

Sun Shi nodded. After multiple losses of children, the Empress had remained so composed—not bitter, not cruel—she deserved to be called a true hero.

“Your Highness is right.”

The two parted. Sun Shi sat in her own carriage, gazing at her young son and sighing softly—she did not know if this was fortune or misfortune.

Back at Quyuanjie, Hou Fu.

Xu Zaijing stepped down from the carriage and returned to the courtyard—he learned his father, Xu Minghua, had already returned home.

Xiao Zhu ordered the servants to carry the gifts back to the main wife’s courtyard.

Xu Minghua stepped out and saw his wife.

In front of the children, the two showed no great affection; Xu Minghua naturally asked about the row of boxes.

Sun Shi said only that they were the Empress’s gifts.

Xu Duan and his siblings looked at their little brother, exchanging glances.

Xu Minghua fell silent.

“Duan, take your brothers and sisters to see the gifts I brought.”

“Yes, Father.”

Once the children had left, Xu Minghua spoke to his wife:

“Wife, you’re right—the prince is well, that’s fine; but if anything untoward happens, Jing er might be blamed.”

“Husband, such mysterious matters—who can say? When we first consulted a master, he said it would be a girl. But when born, it was a boy.”

“Jing er has always been unusually sensible.”

“But according to Princess Pingning, all the other imperial consorts’ children died before full term, for various reasons.”

The couple’s voices faded. After some discussion, they decided to spend money from the Marquis household to make grand offerings at Daoist monasteries for the nation’s blessing.

Because the morning palace visit had delayed his daily training, Xu Zaijing completed his lessons before lunch in the riding grounds.

In the stable beside the riding grounds, several new horses had been added.

Several young soldiers, around twenty years old, stood nearby.

All of them stared at the central black stallion, murmuring in admiration.

Then someone turned and saw Xu Zaijing practicing spear techniques—he was young, but his form was disciplined.

He patted his companion, who also looked over.

“That’s the Fifth Young Master of the household.”

“The young master is young, yet his spear technique is already disciplined.”

“I heard from Xu Jiu Lang that recently, the young master demonstrated archery before His Majesty—the little horse in the arena was his reward.”

“Whoa—performing before His Majesty? That’s truly impressive.”

Another soldier said: “I grew up in Bianjing. Boys of the noble class his age are still playing.”

As they spoke, the page Qingyun ran up, calling:

“Young Master, Bai Da Niangzi has invited our household’s boys and girls to visit her Marquis household.”

(End of Chapter)