Chapter 582 The Child's Placement
When the group returned to the Qiao residence, it was already past noon.
The child was already crying loudly from hunger while still in the carriage.
If Wei Jia hadn't been taking medication to regulate her body since giving birth, Qiao Qinghe would have wanted her to feed the baby a few times in the carriage.
Fortunately, after returning to the Qiao residence, Madam He had already found a wet nurse.
Because Qiao Qinghe woke up yesterday and learned of Min Yuexi's death, she planned to bring the child back. Therefore, she instructed He Shi to find several suitable wet nurses overnight.
He spent one night and one morning searching for five women of different ages and appearances.
“Madam, these five women have all recently given birth, come from respectable families, and are of good character. I have had people investigate them thoroughly.”
Qiao Qinghe nodded. "Have the doctors examined them? Is there anything wrong?"
Ms. He quickly responded, "Dr. Mu has examined them, and all five are in good health and have not taken any medication recently."
Qiao Qinghe carefully examined the five people again. Their clothes were of varying ages, but all were clean and tidy. Their fingernails were also clean. Two of them had even trimmed their fingernails beforehand, making them neat and tidy.
She nodded in satisfaction, dismissed the others, and let them feed the baby one by one.
Because she was worried that her child would become picky, Qiao Qinghe originally wanted her child to choose the people himself.
As a result, the children happily suckled at all five women's breast milk, without being picky at all.
The five women looked at each other nervously, their faces filled with anxiety.
They had heard from their master that they would only hire two wet nurses.
this……
The families that offered to be wet nurses weren't exactly well-off. All five of them were counting on this job to supplement their family income.
For a moment, all five of them felt uneasy.
Just then, Qiao Qinghe looked at the little creature who had already eaten its fill, smiled, and waved her hand, "Keep all five of them here. Go and arrange for them to stay."
The following words were spoken to Mrs. He.
Madam He smiled and agreed. After the five people thanked her with great joy and excitement, she led her people down to make arrangements.
Holding the child, Ah Shuang asked somewhat helplessly, "Madam, should the young master be raised in the main courtyard?"
When this was mentioned, Qiao Qinghe hesitated for a moment.
Just then, Wei Jia, who had gone back to see the child and changed into some casual clothes, came to the main courtyard.
Upon hearing A Shuang's words, Wei Jia volunteered, "Mother, you're getting old, and I'm afraid you can't handle the child's fussing. Why don't you leave the child with me?"
“Perfect, it will give him and Sister Zhen some company.”
Wei Jia spoke sincerely.
She truly cared for the old lady and also felt sorry for the child who lost his mother at birth.
"Let's forget about it," Qiao Qinghe shook her head and refused.
Wei Jia was taken aback and looked at Qiao Qinghe in surprise, "Mother, do you not believe me?"
Qiao Qinghe glared at Wei Jia, annoyed. "Are you saying this on purpose to provoke me?"
Wei Jia smiled sheepishly, "Mother, please don't worry. With Madam He's help, I can take care of both children."
Qiao Qinghe still shook her head and refused, "Your own health is still depleted, and now you have to manage the household, take care of Zhen'er, and worry about me. You're already working hard enough."
"This child can't be bumped or hurt, so I won't leave him with you; it would only cause you trouble."
Wei Jia knew that Qiao Qinghe had made up her mind, so she didn't insist. However, she still asked with concern, "Then who does Mother plan to entrust the child to?"
"We can't really keep it in the main yard, can we?"
Qiao Qinghe couldn't think of a suitable candidate for the time being.
Su Rongrong is only staying temporarily; she will move back to her original residence once the Earl of Enping returns to the capital.
Feng Yuerou is a good candidate; she can live in the mansion for a long time and has experience in raising children.
Unfortunately, Feng Yuerou's two children are still young and need constant care.
Two children were already enough of a worry for Feng Yuerou, and she didn't have the energy to take care of another one.
The remaining members of the Qiao family were not even considered.
After considering all the options, it seems the only option is to raise the child in the main yard.
Thinking of this, Qiao Qinghe nodded, "Let's raise them in the main courtyard. Later, we'll have someone clean up the east wing and pick two honest and reliable old women with experience in taking care of children. The rest can be chosen from the main courtyard."
"It's better to have the child under my watchful eye, which makes me feel more at ease."
Seeing that Qiao Qinghe was determined, Wei Jia did not try to persuade her further. Instead, she went downstairs to arrange for someone to tidy up the room and prepare the things the child would need.
The child thus settled down in the main courtyard.
As promised, the Prince Qi's residence kept its word. Consort Liu returned to the palace that evening, and the next day, officials from the Ministry of Rites entered the Prince Qi's residence.
Min Yuexi's funeral was also conducted according to the rites for a princess.
Soon, people from all walks of life received news of the death and went to pay their respects.
King Qi, who had been hiding for many days, finally made his appearance.
However, the once radiant King Qi, after disappearing for many days, reappeared looking completely different—haggard, dejected, unshaven, and unkempt. It was clear that he was overwhelmed with grief and had been depressed for days.
As the funeral of Princess Qi was held, the reputation of Prince Qi's deep love for his deceased wife gradually spread, overshadowing the initial unsavory speculations about the cause of her death.
Hearing the rumors outside, Qiao Qinghe simply smiled and ignored them, showing no intention of undermining the situation.
What's remarkable is that no bad news has come from the Crown Prince's side either.
The Crown Princess was present the entire time that day, so she naturally knew the whole truth.
Based on Qiao Qinghe's understanding of the Crown Princess, she would definitely inform the Crown Prince about the matter.
However, Qiao Qinghe was quite surprised that the Crown Prince did not undermine the Qi Prince's Mansion.
But she quickly figured it out.
I'm afraid that in the Crown Prince's eyes, the King of Chu is now a greater threat to him than the King of Qi.
The Prince of Qi was able to rise to prominence only because of the Qiao and Liu families. Now that the Qiao family has taken the initiative to sever ties with the Prince of Qi's household, the Prince of Qi has suffered a great loss. The Crown Prince is overjoyed and naturally wouldn't dare to cause trouble at this time.
Aside from the Crown Prince's residence, Madam Yuan, as the Crown Princess's aunt, still sided with the Crown Prince.
Since the Crown Prince didn't say anything, Old Madam Yuan naturally kept her mouth shut as well.
As for the rest, Madam Zheng was not one to meddle.
Although Li Sanqi is gossipy, he is also a person with a sense of propriety.
Li Jingyue, needless to say, would not utter a word, whether it was from Qiao Qinghe's side or the Crown Prince's side.
And so, the events of that day were kept secret by everyone without prior agreement.
Neither the cause of Min Yuexi's death nor the sudden death of Consort Liu was mentioned.
However, the news that Li Yiqian, the young master of the Qi Prince's Mansion, had been taken back to the Qiao family in Nancheng caused quite a stir in the capital.
Some say King Qi is benevolent, some say the Qiao family is domineering, some say the young prince is pitiful, and some say it's against etiquette...
In short, there are all sorts of opinions.
But none of this affected Qiao Qinghe's life.
Min Yuexi was given a grand funeral. Wu Shi, who had been living in the Qi Prince's Mansion and watching over Min Yuexi, finally returned to the Qiao Mansion.
After resting for two days to recover, Ms. Wu came to the main courtyard to visit the children.
Qiao Qinghe heard from her servants that Wu had been crying with the child for an hour, but hadn't said anything.
He simply instructed someone to take good care of the child and not let the child be frightened.
A few days later, just as He was reminding her whether Wu should return to Huizhou, Wu took the initiative to approach Qiao Qinghe, saying that she wanted to stay in the capital and help take care of the child.
Qiao Qinghe thought about it for a while, but in the end she shook her head and refused. She ordered people to prepare carriages and luggage, hired a security escort agency, and sent the person back to Huizhou.
After seeing off Madam Wu, the Qiao family returned to peace.
Just then, Feng Yuerou took the initiative to approach Qiao Qinghe and confessed that she had gone to the Dali Temple to see the Lady of Annan again after Qiao Qinghe fell into a coma.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com