Chapter 239 Baby (Second Update)

She couldn't help but walk over and whisper behind the little one, "Baby, where are your family?"

Baby?

Little Jingkong, who had never been called that before, trembled slightly, turned around blankly, looked around, and stared at the other person with a dazed expression: "Are you... calling me?"

There don't seem to be any other children here.

But baby...

Oh dear, I'm so embarrassed!

He's four years old!

Little Jingkong's face suddenly turned blushing, making him even more adorable.

Princess Yu, with her soft heart, knelt down in front of Xiao Jingkong and spoke to him at eye level: "Are you alone? Where are your family?"

Xiao Jingkong tilted his head and said, "My family went to do their work."

Princess Yu was charmed by him: "You're... from the clinic?"

Little Jingkong put his little hands behind his back and nodded.

Xiao Jingkong was wearing the Imperial Academy's uniform and cap, looking like a miniature little official, except his hair was a bit short.

Glug~

Little Jingkong's stomach rumbled.

He looked down at his belly with a resentful expression.

Why are you yelling at a time like this? Doesn't he have any dignity?

Princess Yu chuckled, placed the food box on a rock, opened the lid, and took out a small dish of crab roe pastries for him: "Here you go."

These are crab roe pastries bought from outside. They've been sitting out for too long and gotten a bit cold, so she took them to the kitchen to have them reheated.

This kind of thing could be done by the eunuchs, but she herself had been cooped up in the room all afternoon and wanted to go out for a walk.

Xiao Jingkong looked at the bright yellow pastries, slurped his saliva, and sighed, "Thank you, but I can't eat meat."

Xiao Jingkong had seen Xu Zhouzhou and Chu Yu eat crab roe pastries before, so she knew that they contained meat.

Even without meat, most pastries use lard to enhance the texture.

Gu Jiao had given all these instructions, so Xiao Jingkong generally didn't eat out.

Princess Yu was taken aback: "Why can't we eat meat?"

The little guy was embarrassed to admit he was sensitive to meat, so he thought for a moment and said, "Maybe it's because I used to be a monk?"

Princess Yu was even more puzzled. How could such a cute little guy have been a monk before?

Is that why his hair is so short?

Princess Yu looked at his little head again and asked softly, "How old were you when you became a monk?"

Xiao Jingkong honestly said, "I was very young. My master said I was born in a temple and grew up in a temple, so I became a monk."

Princess Yu then asked, "Then why didn't your parents take you down the mountain?"

Xiao Jingkong shook his head: "I don't have parents. No, I do now. Jiaojiao's parents are my parents!"

When he said these words, there wasn't a trace of complaint or sadness in his eyes; he was a truly sunny and adorable person.

However, Princess Yu felt her heart clench, as if she were in pain. She looked at Xiao Jingkong and asked nervously, "How old are you this year?"

Little Jingkong held up a finger: "Four years old."

Princess Yu suddenly felt a pang of sadness. If her child were still alive, he would be four years old...

After Ming'er woke up, Princess Yu took her back to the royal garden.

Throughout the journey, whether it was the eunuch's imagination or not, he felt that the princess was in a particularly low mood.

On the other side, the imperial palace.

The Liang Kingdom envoys, represented by Prince Yu, and the Zhao Kingdom ministers were arguing fiercely in the Qilin Hall.

The Liang Kingdom actually attempted to exchange a lime mortar technology for the Zhao Kingdom's most advanced bellows technology and the newly developed glutinous rice mortar technology.

To be honest, compared to the most basic water drainage technology that Liang Kingdom once gave to Zhao Kingdom, this lime mortar is Liang Kingdom's latest technology.

However, Zhao Kingdom doesn't need this technology; Zhao Kingdom already has a better glutinous rice mortar!

Furthermore, replacing one component wasn't enough, so they replaced the bellows technology as well. Isn't that shameless?

The imperial court was very fortunate that they had taken control of the bellows in time; otherwise, given Liang's shameless behavior, they might have stolen the techniques from a small county town and then accused Zhao of stealing their techniques!

That's not the most infuriating thing. What's even more infuriating is that the Liang Kingdom actually wants to start an unequal trade relationship with the Zhao Kingdom—exchanging Liang Kingdom's inferior handicrafts for Zhao Kingdom's superior silk and tea.

It is said that Chief Minister Yuan was so angry that he fainted on the spot.

The princes' expressions were no better; no matter how much they fought internally, they should always be united in their dealings with the outside world.

The Liang Kingdom has gone too far! This is not negotiation; it's blatant robbery!

But what can they do?

It's just that Zhao is too weak and Liang is too powerful.

After arguing all day, both sides' officials were furious, but Prince Yu remained calm and unaffected, seemingly very confident in the negotiations.

"It's getting late, gentlemen. You should all go back and think things over for the night. There's no rush. In any case, I'll be staying in the capital for a few more days."

The officials of Zhao Kingdom were so angry they couldn't even roll their eyes.

Of course you're not in a hurry. You're just here to fleece the sheep; you're not afraid of not getting anything.

Ignoring the dark expressions on everyone's faces, Prince Yu left the palace with a smile on his face.

The Crown Prince and Prince Ning exchanged a glance, both seeing sparks fly in each other's eyes.

This negotiation is crucial. Whoever can regain the initiative from the Liang envoy will be able to prove to the emperor that they are more capable of inheriting the throne.

Because Princess Rui became famous for her song at the welcoming banquet, Prince Yu, who loved music, developed a good impression of the couple.

The emperor noticed this and sent his third son to be Prince Yu's guide. For the past few days, the third son had been showing Prince Yu around the capital, fulfilling his duties as a host.

From this point of view alone, Prince Ning's lineage had many more opportunities to privately contact Prince Yu.

After leaving the palace, Prince Rui invited Prince Yu to go boating on the lake.

Prince Yu had visited the capital before and was deeply impressed by the painted boats there, so he was very willing to go there.

The two boarded the luxurious three-story pleasure boat that Prince Rui had prepared in advance.

However, no one expected that halfway through the boat trip, Prince Yu's cabin suddenly caught fire. The fire spread rapidly and soon engulfed the entire pleasure boat.

Prince Yu was not trapped in the cabin by the fire because he was grilling fish with Prince Rui on the deck. However, since the entire pleasure boat was burned down, everyone had to jump into the water to escape.

Prince Yu was no exception.

I was having a nice time boating on the lake, but I almost drowned!

Prince Yu returned disappointed!

The pleasure boat was burned down, so the cause of the fire is unknown.

The news quickly reached the palace.

The emperor summoned Prince Rui and berated him: "What kind of work have you done? I asked you to receive the envoys, and you caused such a mess! Couldn't you have taken precautions beforehand?!"

Prince Rui felt extremely wronged.

He swore he had taken precautions, checking everything countless times, just in case something went wrong, but in the end it still broke out...

Prince Rui was severely reprimanded by the emperor. When he came out of the imperial study, he met Prince Ning, who had been waiting for him outside the palace.

Prince Ning asked worriedly, "Third brother, are you alright?"

Prince Rui, his eyes red-rimmed, said, "I'm fine... it's just... I messed things up... Father Emperor said... I don't need to worry about the envoy's affairs anymore, and told me to kneel in the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests..."

Prince Ning patted him on the shoulder and said with relief, "It's good that you're alright. I'll kneel with you."

Prince Ning knelt together with Prince Rui on the cobblestone path of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests was where the emperor reflected on his mistakes. If a prince made a mistake, he was usually only made to kneel in the Imperial Study. Kneeling in the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests indicated that the matter was very serious and that the emperor did not intend to forgive him easily.

Prince Rui hurriedly shook his head: "Brother, this has nothing to do with you. It's my own fault for not doing a good job."

Prince Ning looked at him and said, "You are my younger brother. If you make a mistake, it is because I, as the elder brother, have not taught you well."

Prince Ning and Prince Rui were forced to kneel together as punishment. The emperor said nothing. Everyone knew Prince Ning's temper; he was the one who protected his younger brothers the most.

The Emperor sighed, "The Crown Princess has been to Liang and has some understanding of the Liang envoys. Let her and the Second Prince handle the reception."

The Crown Prince was entrusted with a critical mission and went to the royal garden with his wife overnight to check on Prince Yu's condition.

Prince Yu was actually fine. The fire started in the side room. He was on the deck. He jumped into the lake early and came back to change his clothes and was fine.

He didn't want Princess Yu to worry, so he planned to downplay it and gloss over it. But when he entered the room, he noticed that his princess's expression was strange.

Ming'er slept too much in the afternoon and went to play in the garden now. Princess Yu sat alone by the window, her eyes vacant.

"Madam, what's wrong?" Prince Yu walked over anxiously. "Has Ming'er's condition worsened?"

Princess Yu turned around.

Prince Yu then noticed that her eyes were red and swollen, as if she had been crying. He quickly asked, "Madam! What happened?"

Tears welled up again in Prince Yu's already dry eyes: "Your Highness... do you think that child... might not actually be dead..."

Prince Yu was taken aback for a moment before realizing who she was talking about.

Prince Yu had two sons and a daughter, but none of them were his biological children; they were the children of his elder brother.

His brother died in battle, and his sister-in-law also passed away from illness. He adopted his three nephews and nieces. Ming'er was the youngest, and she was not even a month old when she came to their home.

That child was conceived when Ming'er was four years old.

So strictly speaking, the child who died young was their only flesh and blood.

Double ticket countdown, tickets sold out.

(End of this chapter)