Qi Yuning mentioned that she wanted to take the little emperor out to see the lotus leaves among the people, and she really did what she said. During the Qixi Festival, which happened to be a holiday, she took little Zhao Jie to her farm in the countryside of Shengjing.
The village was quite lively. It just so happened that Aunt Li in the village had just given birth to a son safely today, and they happened to be there.
This Aunt Li was not very old, only twenty-five. She was originally a maidservant of Qi Yuan'an. After Qi Yuan went to the military camp, she did not follow him, but married the head of Qi's farm.
Although she is only twenty-five, she already has three children, and the one born today is her fourth.
Aunt Li was also a person with a miserable life. Her husband died not long after she became pregnant.
Qi Yuning had heard about this before, and considering that it would be difficult for her to raise several children alone, he let her continue to stay in the manor and take care of it.
Today, when this child was born, he also lost his father.
Qi Yuning was pregnant and couldn't go to the delivery room to see Aunt Li. She just asked Lichun to bring the newborn baby to her yard for her to see.
Little Zhao Jie came forward and looked at the newborn baby and said, "He's so small!"
Qi Yuning looked at the rosy-cheeked little baby and felt as if she had been kicked in the stomach. She thought that if Lingling were here, she would definitely want to see the baby as well.
Qi Yuning smiled faintly at the soft little baby boy and said to Lu Ze, "Sister Ali was my brother's personal maid before. Her parents are both loyal servants of the Qi family. I think, how about letting her be Lingling's wet nurse?"
Qi Yuning has already found several wet nurses for Lingling, and Princess Pingrou has also found several for Qi Yuning.
But Qi Yuning was mostly dissatisfied.
She was relieved about Ali, and now that Ali had lost her husband, it would be difficult for a woman to stay in the farm with four young children. It would be better for her to go to the princess's mansion to be a wet nurse, which could also provide shelter for the four young children.
Lu Ze also knew that Qi Yuning and his mother had put a lot of thought into choosing a wet nurse for Lingling. They had selected one many times since Qi Yuning became pregnant. “Since she is a loyal servant of the Qi family, that’s perfect.”
Qi Yuning didn't know that a child would be born today, so she didn't prepare any gifts in advance. She only gave the newborn baby boy a small ruby-inlaid dagger that she carried with her for self-defense.
Zhao Jie gave her a gold lock that he always carried with him.
Qi Yuning said, "Your Majesty, this is your golden locket, you can't give it away casually."
Zhao Jie said: "I like this little brother. When he grows up, I will let him come and play with me."
Qi Yuning smiled faintly and said, "When he grows up, Your Majesty will also be old enough and may not want to play with him. However, he has an older brother who is the same age as Your Majesty, so they can play together."
Zhao Jie smiled faintly and said, "I'm going to go play with him."
Qi Yuning asked Chunfen to take Zhao Jie to play with Ali's son Chu Qing, and asked Lichun to ask Ali if she wanted to be Lingling's wet nurse.
Qi Yuning held the newborn baby in her arms and was reluctant to let go.
Lu Ze couldn't help but feel a little jealous and said, "You're holding someone else's child, little Xinling, come out and be jealous."
Qi Yuning smiled and said, "It shouldn't be Lingling who is jealous, it's Lingling's father who is jealous. Don't mention it, I really like this child. This child and I are destined to be together, so it's okay to recognize him as my godson."
"Ouch!"
Qi Yuning felt a sharp kick in her stomach, took a deep breath, and even gave the child in her arms to Guyu.
Qi Yuning touched his belly and said, "I don't recognize him as my godson anymore. Little ancestor, please don't kick me!"
Lu Ze walked to Qi Yuning's side and saw her belly moving through her thin clothes. Lu Ze smiled and said, "It's said that Lingling is jealous, but you still don't believe it. She's jealous when you hold Yuan Ge'er. You also want to adopt a godson. Will Lingling be happy?"
Qi Yuning smiled and said, "What a jealous little guy!"
Lichun came back almost half an hour later and said to Qi Yuning, "Princess, Ali agreed to be the little princess's wet nurse, but she has a concern. After all, her baby is a posthumous child, and she is afraid it will be unlucky..."
Qi Yuning smiled and said, "I only want someone who is loyal and capable to Lingling. Nothing else matters. There are no such taboos."
Lichun smiled and said, "That's what I told her too. Sister Ali will definitely be loyal to the little princess."
It was not until the afternoon when Qi Yuning came out of the manor and heard laughter from afar.
In the middle of the river pond, I saw a little girl of eight or nine years old rowing a boat with a bamboo pole, a little boy of five or six years old and a three-year-old child picking lotus leaves and lotus pods, and Zhao Jie was also on a small wooden boat, picking lotus pods and playing in the water, having a lot of fun and laughing happily.
There were several boats on both sides carrying guards and palace maids.
Qi Yuning felt a movement in her abdomen again. She touched her belly and said, "Even if you want to play, you have to wait a little longer. Don't kick again."
Lu Ze asked Qi Yuning: "Did Lingling kick you again?"
Qi Yuning nodded and said, "With such a lively atmosphere, how could Lingling not be moved?"
After the group of children rowed ashore, a little girl of eight or nine years old walked up to Qi Yuning, knelt down and saluted, saying, "Princess."
Qi Yuning looked at the little girl and asked, "Do you know me?"
"Well, thank you for taking care of us, my mother has always told us to remember your kindness."
Qi Yuning was very satisfied with this graceful girl. "What's your name?"
"Chuchi, it's not the 'Ci' of goodbye, it's the 'Chi' of pond."
Qi Yuning smiled and said, "Chu Chi, that's a good name. Is this your brother or your sister?"
Qi Yuning looked at the three-year-old child, and for a moment she couldn't tell whether it was a boy or a girl. The clothes she wore were for boys, but she looked more like a girl.
"It's my younger sister. She's very naughty and always gets her skirt dirty when she wears it. My mother is going to give birth to a younger brother, so I dressed her in boy's clothes to save trouble."
Qi Yuning looked at Chu Chi in front of him and said, "You are a good child."
Chu Chi smiled sheepishly and said, "Princess, am I still a good child if I'm lazy?"
Qi Yuning smiled faintly and said, "You are very good for taking care of your brothers and sisters."
Qi Yuning glanced at Zhao Jie's sweaty back and asked the palace servants to change Zhao Jie's clothes. "Your Majesty, we should go back."
When Zhao Jie heard that they were going back, he said reluctantly, "I don't want to leave. I want to play with them."
Qi Yuning saw that Zhao Jie was in the mood to play, and said, "But your majesty still has to go to court tomorrow. If your majesty goes back now, they will all come to the princess's mansion in a month, and then they can play with your majesty more often."
Zhao Jie reluctantly said goodbye to his playmates. In the carriage, he was full of longing for He Chi. "It's great that they have so many brothers and sisters."
Qi Yuning could understand Zhao Jie's expectations, "Yes, it's great to have brothers and sisters."
Lu Ze said: "My younger brother and sister are not good either."
Qi Yuning looked at Lu Ze and smiled faintly. Lu Ze's brother and sister were indeed a headache for their brother.
When I returned to the city, it was the Chinese Valentine's Day. Although it was not a big celebration due to the national mourning period, there were many more girls' families on the street than usual, but it was not as grand as in previous years.
Qi Yuning and Lu Ze accompanied Zhao Jie to watch the excitement in the city for a while before sending Zhao Jie back to the palace.
In the palace, Queen Mother Zhou was very anxious, and she was relieved only when she saw Zhao Jie return safely.
"Jie'er, don't come back so late from playing next time!"
"Mother, I was playing in the lotus pond today, picking lotus leaves and lotus pods. The lotus pods are so delicious. I brought some for you."
"The lotus pond?" Queen Mother Zhou frowned and said, "You are not allowed to go near the water. Do you want to be like your father?"
Queen Mother Zhou looked at Qi Yuning and said, "Princess, please don't bring His Majesty near any water in the future!"
Qi Yuning herself was about to become a mother, and could understand Queen Mother Zhou's thoughts, so she responded, "Yes."
Lu Ze gently held Qi Yuning's hand to comfort her. Qi Yuning signaled to Lu Ze with her eyes that she was fine. Prince Duan died by falling into the water. She could understand why Queen Dowager Zhou was so excited.
After Qi Yuning and Lu Ze returned to the princess's residence, she felt the baby in her belly kick her again, so she asked her maid to find the imperial physician.
Looking for the imperial physician late at night even alarmed Princess Pingrou.
When the imperial physician arrived and examined the princess's pulse, he said, "The princess's baby is fine, it's just that the fetus is moving. The princess is already seven months pregnant, and the fetus is moving in her belly. This is normal."
Qi Yuning smiled faintly and said, "It turns out that she didn't kick me because she was jealous."
She thought Lingling could understand what she said even in her belly.
Princess Pingrou said, "It won't do if you don't have an experienced maid to take care of you."
Qi Yuning said, "Mom, I have found one. She can come over after she finishes her confinement. She can also be Lingling's wet nurse in the future."
Princess Pingrou responded, "That's good."
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