Chen Afu arrived at the entrance of the bamboo pavilion, and the sedan chair arrived. Princess Rui led a little boy of three or four years old down from the sedan chair. The little boy looked very much like Prince Rui, but his face was pale and he looked listless. He looked different from a healthy child.
Chen Ahfu stepped forward and bowed, saying with a smile, "I am sorry for not welcoming you, my distinguished guest."
Princess Rui smiled and said, "I'm sorry to bother you so early in the morning. I'm sorry to bother you, Grandma Chu." Then she lowered her head and said to the little boy, "Xuan'er, call me auntie."
After hearing what Princess Rui said, Li Xuan looked up and called Chen Afu, "Aunt, Aunt."
He spoke slowly, with clear eyes, neither happy nor sad, as lucid as a newborn baby.
Chen Afu knew that this child had some intellectual problems, but was much better than Chu Hanyan. The King and Queen of Rui showed their kindness to them, perhaps because they saw that the legendary Chu Hanyan had become smarter, and hoped that they would help this child?
Chu Lingxuan had told Chen Afu more than once that he wanted to befriend Princess Rui. Although he didn't say it explicitly, Chen Afu guessed that the Chu family might also have something to ask of the King Rui or Princess Rui.
Having dealt with Miss Chu for so long, Chen Ahfu naturally knew how to get along with such a child. Moreover, such a young child became like this, most likely she was a victim of palace fighting. Her heart was extremely soft, she squatted down and placed a thumb-sized horse jade pendant in her palm, which was the gift she prepared to give to Li Xuan.
She smiled at Li Xuan and said, "Xuan'er, look at this pony..." She rubbed her hands together and then opened them again. The jade pendant on her hand was gone. She said, "Hey, it's gone."
There was a change in Li Xuan's eyes, and he wondered, "Xiao Ma, go, go, where are you going?"
Chen Ahfu picked her up and said with a smile, "Come on, Auntie will take you to find Xiao Ma."
Princess Rui was still a little stunned. This son wanted no one except her and his wet nurse, but now he was taken away by Chen Afu, whom he had just met. Perhaps, the temple gate was found right this time.
They came to the east room, asked Princess Rui to sit on the kang, and the maid served tea.
Chen Ahfu also sat on the kang, holding Li Xuan on his lap. He rubbed his hands together and spread them out. The pony pendant suddenly appeared on his palms again. He smiled and said, "Ah, it's back again."
Li Xuan laughed out loud.
Chen Ahfu put the pony into his little hands and said, "Auntie will give this pony that can play hide-and-seek to Xuan'er."
Li Xuan started playing with the pony.
Chen Ahfu asked the maid to take out the remaining egg tarts to serve the guests. Li Xuan was immediately attracted by the egg tarts and ate two in a row.
Seeing that Princess Rui seemed to have something to say, Chen Afu asked the servants to leave.
Princess Rui then explained the reason, "I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, this is a scandal in our palace..."
King Rui has many women, but not many children. He is already 27 years old this year, but he has only two sons and no daughter. His eldest son is Li Chao, born to Concubine Jiang, and he is already 11 years old. His second son is this Li Xuan, who is 4 years old this year.
When Li Xuan was two years old, the Seventh Prince had not yet been conferred the title of King Rui and they still lived in the palace. One night, Li Xuan suddenly became stupid.
After investigation, it was found that he was frightened by a little eunuch pretending to be a ghost, or that Concubine Jiang was the mastermind behind it. Because the Seventh Prince's wife had never been pregnant before, and the imperial physician said that the Seventh Prince had favored women too early and too frequently, which damaged his foundation and made it difficult for him to have an heir. Concubine Jiang thought that her son would definitely be the Seventh Prince's only son and would inherit everything from him in the future. But who knew that when Li Chao was seven years old, the Seventh Prince's wife actually gave birth to another son.
Concubine Jiang was afraid that her son's position would be taken away, so she bribed the young eunuch.
After the investigation, the Seventh Prince was furious and ordered the death of Concubine Jiang. But he was afraid that Li Xuan's illness would not be cured, and Li Chao would be his only normal child, and his title would still be passed on to him in the future. He was afraid of revenge from the Seventh Prince's wife, so he sent Li Chao to his mother, Concubine Zhou De, and he is still there now...
After many treatments, Li Xuan has gotten much better, but compared to normal children, he is still a little dumber and thinner. If the child continues to be like this, he will definitely not be able to inherit the title of King Rui.
Princess Rui was of course unwilling to give Concubine Jiang's son the gift, so she kept trying various ways to cure the child, but with little success.
She wiped her tears and said, "I heard from my grandfather that you are very good at taking care of children. Even the eldest sister of the Chu family who was so mentally retarded...oh, such a serious illness was cured. My Xuan'er..." She gritted her teeth and said, "Let Grandma Chu take him to your home. You should raise Xuan'er the same way you raised the eldest sister of the Chu family. Please." Then, she looked at Chen Afu with full expectation.
Chen Ahfu was a little embarrassed. How could she dare to take this child to Tangyuan? Not to mention that he was the baby of Princess Rui, there was also a big treasure that she wanted to hide in the cellar. She thought about it and realized that this child was not born mentally retarded. His condition was much better than that of Miss Chu at that time. If the medicine and correction were appropriate, he should be able to be cured.
She whispered, "I got a secret recipe. I heard that green agarwood is helpful for this disease. At that time, I got one by chance, and I gave it to Yan'er. I was reluctant to light it at first, so I took it out little by little for her to smell, and only lit it when there was no smell. I used it sparingly, and one stick of incense lasted more than two months. Of course, I still had to continue taking the doctor's medicine..."
She was not lying. The green-leaf agarwood contains the leaves of the Yan agarwood tree. It was by smelling the fragrance of the leaves every night and with her correct guidance that little girl Chu came out of her own world.
She also talked about how to enter the inner world of children, how to make friends with children, etc. But she didn't dare to give the green leaf agarwood to Princess Rui again, nor did she dare to say that she was familiar with Master Wuzhi.
Princess Rui cried with joy and said hopefully, "I know the emperor and the queen mother have green leaf agarwood. I'll ask my prince to ask for one."
Chen Ahfu added, "I heard that the Queen Mother gave one to my Third Aunt. I'll go ask her. If she hasn't used it yet, I'll shamelessly ask her for it."
Mrs. Chu San first presented the green leaf agarwood that Chen Ahfu had given her to the Queen Mother. Later, Master Wuzhi gave a few to the Emperor, who presented three more to the Queen Mother, who then returned the one to Mrs. San.
She would first ask for the one from the Third Madam as a favor, and then she would give one to the Third Madam Chu.
Princess Rui was even more grateful to Chen Afu, and took her hand and said, "Thank you, Grandma Chu. If my Xuan'er's illness can be completely cured, I will let him recognize you as his stepmother. No, today, and I will take him to your house to play in the future, which is also a visit to relatives."
Chen Ahfu quickly refused, "Thank you, Princess, for thinking highly of me. The Second Young Master is of royal blood. How dare I ask such a big favor of you?"
Are you kidding? How is it possible that both the uncle and nephew recognize her as their stepmother?
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