"Yes, I remember when the eldest young master was just learning to walk, Concubine Lin was not satisfied with the various tiger-head shoes made by the needlework room, saying that they did not care enough about the eldest young master. Now it seems that the craftsmanship of the palace embroiderers is indeed better than that of the palace embroiderers."
Meng Qi looked at the tiger-head shoes gently. After so many years, the stitches were still intact and the shoes were still straight. It was obvious that both the material and the workmanship were carefully crafted.
Wang Chenghai sighed and said, "Speaking of these shoes, there is a story in the mansion."
"What?" Meng Qi put the shoes on the dressing table.
"Concubine Li didn't raise that child. After the child died, Concubine Li regretted it and said that she made the shoes too early, so the child wore them and died."
"What do you mean?" Meng Qi turned to look at Wang Chenghai with a puzzled look.
"There's a folk custom, not really a custom, but a habit. It's said that unborn children, some say children who can't walk yet, must not have shoes made, as it's unlucky. Concubine Li started making small clothes and shoes as soon as she became pregnant. After the young master passed away, Concubine Li attributed this to the fact that she had made shoes early."
Meng Qi thought of Li's child who passed away when he was only a few months old. Because of the advice of an expert, even his teeth were not arranged in order, as if he had never been born into this world.
Meng Qi nodded, then suddenly thought of something. No, that wasn't right. If Concubine Zhuang had made these for her unborn child, how could she have made shoes? The imperial palace was the most sophisticated, and they wouldn't be unaware of this custom. How could they have made shoes for an unborn prince or princess?
So if these shoes were not prepared by Zhuang Cairen for himself, then whose were they?
Meng Qi shook out the small clothes and bellybands. There were no patterns on them, but the material was of excellent quality. It felt dry and non-slip in the hands, and was very suitable for children.
She turned the clothes over and found that there was a piece of cloth sewn on the inside of each piece of clothing and bellyband. If you didn't look closely, it looked like it hadn't been cut properly. This was the case with every piece.
Meng Qi walked to the window and looked carefully at it in the sunlight that was about to set. It had been so long that she could no longer see the original color, but she could vaguely see the bright yellow color of the cloth.
Bright yellow? Meng Qi was stunned. This was the Emperor's special color. She rubbed her eyes and looked again. It was indeed bright yellow. The Emperor's clothes were made of special materials, and this bright yellow, in particular, was specially dyed and wouldn't fade with age or repeated washings.
So, it seems that this box of children's clothes could not have been prepared by Zhuang Cairen for her own child. So whose clothes could it be? Why would she keep someone else's clothes here?
And it was certain that the owner of these clothes must also be the emperor's offspring. Meng Qi frowned, thinking that she would have to find out who the prince was who was born in the palace before the year when Concubine Zhuang's child died.
"Princess, shall we take this?"
Meng Qi nodded. "Take it. I'll go see if I can find any more. You can stand on the stool and go to the Duobao Pavilion to have a look. I can't see the top two floors."
Wang Chenghai agreed and went to step on the stool, while Meng Qi went to the east room.
There was only a cabinet, a bed and a large table under the window in the east room. There was a pen holder and a few teacups on the table. The teapot had rolled to the ground and broken.
Meng Qi was looking at it carefully when she suddenly heard a loud "clang" and Wang Chenghai's cry of pain. Meng Qi turned around and saw Wang Chenghai clinging to the shelf of the Duobao Pavilion with both hands, and the stool under his feet had fallen apart.
Meng Qi hurried over and moved another stool to Wang Chenghai's feet. Wang Chenghai gently placed his feet on this stool and said, "It's because I am too heavy."
Meng Qi smiled and said, "It's been a long time, I'm tired, are you okay?"
Wang Chenghai shook his head and said, "It's okay, ah..." Before he could finish his words, Duobao Pavilion collapsed because it had been bearing his weight for too long.
Fortunately, Meng Qi was prepared and reached out to support the shelf. Wang Chenghai jumped down nimbly and took Meng Qi's place, gently laying down the Duobao Pavilion in the direction where the shelf fell.
Wang Chenghai clapped his hands and said, "Princess, let's go out. This place has been in disrepair for a long time. I see that the roof is leaking. I'm afraid it's been eroded by rain. Don't let it collapse again and hurt you."
Meng Qi nodded and signaled Wang Chenghai to put away the box. Just as she was about to turn around and walk out, she saw a cloth bag sticking out between the fallen shelf and the original wall.
Meng Qi's heart skipped a beat, and she hurried over and gently pulled out the cloth bag. Wang Chenghai had just wrapped the box and put it on his back when he turned around and saw Meng Qi holding the cloth bag.
Wang Chenghai looked excited, "Princess, what is this?"
Meng Qi shook her head and said, "I don't know. It fell out from here." A cat's meowing sound was heard outside. Yuan Dong's voice calling the cat was heard from afar. This was the signal agreed upon by several people.
Meng Qi watched the sky grow darker outside, knowing it was almost time to serve dinner. She put the cloth bag in her arms and said, "Let's go back and come back tomorrow."
Wang Chenghai nodded, helped Meng Qi over the shelf, and the two returned to Hanyuan along the same path.
Wang Chenghai closed the gate and carried Ah Hua into the house. Yuan Dong came out with a basin. "Did Brother Wang wash it?"
Wang Chenghai put Ahua on the ground and took Yuandong's wooden basin. Yuandong opened the door and watched Wang Chenghai pour the water into the yard.
"She's done with the shower, has the princess retired?" Wang Chenghai was very pleased when Yuandong addressed him as "Brother Wang." This was the first time Yuandong had addressed him that way since arriving at Hanyuan. Previously, at the palace, she had always called him "Eunuch Wang."
At first, when Yuandong called her like that, she was really scared and waved her hands, saying that she didn't deserve it. But before Yuandong could say anything, Meng Qi smiled and said that she would respond to whatever Yuandong called her. Could it be that she looked down on Yuandong as her sister?
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