Chapter 212 [Extra] Raising a Cub
Xiao Mingyang started to grow teeth when he was five months old. When he was amused, he opened his mouth and revealed two small teeth on his gums.
At ten months old, he started babbling and imitating adults' speech.
"Mother, I'm back. Where's my sister?"
As soon as Asui came back, he took off his heavy cloak, greeted Yunwan, and then looked for Xiao Mingyang.
Little Mingyang had just woken up and was lying in the rocking bed, entertaining herself with the little tiger sewn by Yun Wan. When she heard her brother's voice, her little legs kicked in the air and she babbled incoherently.
Yun Wan pinched her tightly wrapped legs and waved to Asui, "You must be tired. Sit down and rest for a while. Xiaobao just woke up."
Asui, who is almost seven years old, has grown taller, and the cheeks on his face have faded slightly, giving him the outline of a young boy. He has an upright posture and a calm temperament, and looks more reliable than other children of the same age.
As he grew up, Asui had more to learn. Emperor Jingxuan did not shy away from Asui when handling state affairs, meeting with ministers, or discussing state affairs, and would ask for his opinions from time to time.
The elderly Xu Da Ru was not qualified to teach Asui how to be a king, so Emperor Jingxuan carefully selected several people from the court to be Asui's teachers.
Despite the large amount of coursework he had to study, Asui enjoyed it. Coming home from work every day and talking to his mother and sister was the moment he looked forward to most.
Asui sat next to the rocking bed, and the palace maids poured hot water for him to wash his hands.
The baby was delicate and fragile, so everyone in Qiyun Palace dared not be vague. They had to wash their hands with scented catkins before touching the little princess, so as not to pass on anything unclean to the little princess.
After washing his hands and warming them up, Asui reached out to touch his sister's soft and tender face.
Xiao Mingyang threw away the cloth tiger in his arms, hugged his hand and started biting it, not surprisingly, Asui's hand was covered with saliva.
Asui didn't feel disgusted at all and took the opportunity to check her gums. Not surprisingly, he saw new small teeth.
He doted on her and praised her, "Xiaobao is great! He has grown another tooth."
When he was at the age of growing teeth, his gums were itchy, so Mingyang didn’t like to bite the teething stick, but preferred to hold someone’s hand and chew on it.
Of course, she is also very picky. She only bites the hands of her parents and brother. Among them, she likes to bite her father's hand the most because the skin is thick and durable, and she doesn't have to worry about being hurt. It even makes her father laugh.
After chewing on his brother's hand for a while, Xiao Mingyang let go of it out of boredom, turned his head to look at Yun Wan, and a word popped out of his little mouth:
"take!"
Yun Wan was curious: "What does Xiaobao want to take?"
"Take it!" Xiao Mingyang looked at her intently and shouted again.
Yun Wan looked down at her body and found no accessories on her chest.
Nanny Zhong seemed to be thinking about something and hesitated, "My Lady, the little princess seems to be calling you."
As soon as she finished speaking, Xiao Mingyang shouted again, "It's difficult!"
She stared at Yun Wan with her big eyes and opened her little mouth to speak forcefully.
Ah Sui suddenly realized: "Mother, Xiaobao is calling for mother!"
Yun Wan smiled brightly, bent down and picked up her daughter, and asked expectantly: "Xiaobao, call me mother again?"
Xiao Mingyang: "Cool!"
"It's mother, not Liang, shout to mother, mother—"
Yun Wan patiently corrected him over and over again, and Xiao Mingyan finally shouted correctly: "Liang! Mother!"
The cry of "mother" was clear and loud, like the sound of nature, and the words of praise kept falling on Xiao Mingyang.
"Xiaobao is so amazing! He can even call me mommy."
"The little princess can talk now! She's truly a fairy!"
"The little princess yelled really well!"
This is the age where even yawning will get you praised.
Little Mingyang didn't understand what they were saying, but that didn't stop her from learning to call her mother and calling it to Yun Wan over and over again. Her tender little voice seemed to be covered with thick honey, so sweet that it made people sick.
Ah Sui was envious and held his sister's hand. He gently guided her: "Xiaobao, call me brother. Come, brother~"
“Ahh~”
"Royal brother?" Asui saw that she couldn't change the tone, so he changed the address.
Xiao Mingyang blurted out a word: "Brother!"
Ah Sui changed his tone: "Call me brother, brother?"
Xiao Mingyang: "Pigeon! Pigeon!"
“Pigeon, pigeon, pigeon!”
Although his shouting was not standard, Asui, as the elder brother, was very satisfied.
The younger sister first learned to call him brother instead of father.
Upon learning that his daughter was going to call for help, Emperor Jingxuan immediately dropped the memorial and went to Qiyun Palace to listen to little Mingyang calling for help.
The memorial can be approved later, at most to train the son, but the opportunity for the daughter to speak and call people for the first time must not be missed.
However, both "Father" and "Dad" were difficult to pronounce for a ten-month-old baby who was just learning to speak. In the end, Emperor Jingxuan had to settle for the second best and let his daughter call him "Woo-wah".
In the following days, little Mingyang spoke more and more fluently, and liked to call people with one word. For example, Fuling called her "Ling~", Yueya called her "Ya~", and Nanny Zhong called her "Ma~". Yuxue's cute appearance made people love her.
At the same time, he also learned to walk. After he was one year old, little Mingyang could walk several meters without help.
However, she was also a lazy baby. She didn't like to walk on the ground and only liked to be held by others, especially in the arms of her old father, Emperor Jingxuan.
Staying in his arms, little Mingyang could see the broadest view. Emperor Jingxuan was always very obedient to his little daughter. He often carried her everywhere. Even a crib for little Mingyang was placed in the Qinzheng Hall.
So much so that the ministers were no longer surprised by the emperor often smelling of milk when he went to court, and they could tell at a glance that he had held the little princess not long ago.
In the hall, Yun Wan ordered people to move the chairs and stools and his daughter's toys on the ground to make room for a spacious space.
She signaled the palace maid to put Xiao Mingyang down, then beckoned, "Xiaobao, come here, mother."
As soon as his feet in tiger-head shoes touched the ground, Xiao Mingyang instinctively curled up his legs.
The palace maid instinctively tried to help her, but Yun Wan stopped her: "Don't move, let her come over by herself."
Yun Wan discovered that after her little baby knew that no one would refuse her if she reached out to hug him, he became more and more reluctant to get down to the ground, and even refused to stand.
She was worried that this would be detrimental to the growth of her daughter's leg bones. After consulting the imperial physician, she decided to be a strict mother and require her daughter to walk every day.
Without the palace maid to support him, Xiao Mingyang stood on the ground and looked at Yun Wan pitifully: "Mother~"
This cry softened everyone's heart.
Suppressing her soft heart, Yun Wan deliberately put on a stern face: "It's no use to act like a spoiled child. Come towards me."
No one can stand it when this little girl opens her mouth, otherwise her father and brother's bottom line would not be lowered step by step.
Nanny Zhong, Fuling and others quickly lowered their heads, pretending not to see the little princess's big watery eyes.
Xiao Mingyang stood there in a daze. Her pink and white clothes made her look pretty and cute. She had two little buns on her head and her whole body was soft and fragrant.
"Mommy, hold me." She stretched out her hand but refused to take a step forward.
Yun Wan persisted in coaxing him: "Be good, little darling, come over here and I'll hold you."
Xiao Mingyang pouted: "Xiaobao is not well behaved."
Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help laughing, their shoulders shaking with laughter.
Yun Wan had no choice but to slide off the couch and fall to the ground. She covered her chest and pretended to be in pain. She reached out to Xiao Mingyang and said, "Oh, Mommy fell down. Xiaobao, come and help me up!"
Not far away, Xiao Mingyang was stunned. The other palace servants followed Yun Wan and asked in panic, "What's wrong with you, Madam?"
Influenced by the scene and atmosphere in front of him, Xiao Mingyang suddenly panicked, thinking that his mother had really fallen down.
"mother!"
She lifted her leg and walked towards Yun Wan, but because she was walking too fast and hadn't walked for a long time, her steps were messy and she fell to the ground halfway.
She sat on the ground and burst into tears, "Mom——"
Seeing this, Yun Wan and the palace maids no longer cared about whether to act or not, and rushed over immediately.
"Are you hurt? Let me take a look!" Yun Wan hurriedly checked the child's hands and feet, and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that nothing was wrong.
There was thick lichen on the ground. Little Mingyang sat on the ground like a pink ball. Tears were streaming down his pretty little face, which made people feel distressed.
Yun Wan felt guilty and reached out to hug her daughter, softly apologizing, "It's my fault. I scared Xiaobao, didn't I?"
Little Mingyang clung to his mother and said in a muffled voice, "Mom is not bad."
Then he pointed to the floor and said, "It's broken!"
Children's tempers come and go quickly. After being coaxed, little Mingyang stopped crying, but his little face, similar to Yunwan's, was puffed up with anger.
"Yes, yes, the floor is bad."
"Let the emperor, smash it!"
"Okay, okay, next time I'll let your father teach this floor a lesson."
Yun Wan gently wiped the tears from her face with a soft handkerchief and applied ointment.
After crying today, little Mingyang became more and more attached to his mother in the next few days, following her wherever she went.
The good thing is that the little guy is no longer averse to walking on the ground. He even takes a few steps around the lichen every day, and his short legs are walking more steadily.
That day, Xiao Mingyang completed her task for the day, and she lay on her special little blanket with her butt sticking out to rest, babbling to herself.
Yun Wan followed her with a smile, thinking that maybe she would fall asleep after playing until she was tired.
Fuling entered the palace and delivered the message: "Your Majesty, Concubine Kang and several other ladies wish to see you."
Yun Wan nodded, glanced at her daughter who was lying down, and said with a smile, "Take the princess down."
“I’m not leaving!”
When Xiao Mingyang heard this, he climbed up from the blanket and hugged her thighs, "Mom, I won't leave!"
Yun Wan lowered her head and kissed her cheek, "Okay, but I have something important to do later, so I'm afraid I can't play with you."
"I'll accompany my mother!" Xiao Mingyang said proudly.
Yun Wan carried her to his side and ordered, "Let them in."
A moment later, Concubine Hui, Concubine Kang and others came in. When they saw little Mingyang sitting crookedly on the couch, their eyes suddenly lit up.
I felt in my heart: I really want to take it home and raise it.
Yun Wan pretended not to notice the longing in their eyes, cleared her throat, and asked, "What do you want to see me about?"
Concubine Kang and the others looked at each other, not knowing how to start.
Seeing this, Concubine Hui said, "Let me help them."
"They want to ask to leave the palace, but they don't dare to go to the emperor, so they want to come to you for advice." She said concisely.
Yun Wan was stunned: "Leaving the palace?"
Someone took the initiative, and Concubine Kang no longer hid her feelings and spoke directly: "Your Majesty, we have known each other for a long time, and you know my character, so I won't beat around the bush with you."
She glanced at the others and whispered, "A few of us... do want to leave the palace voluntarily."
Meeting Yun Wan's concerned gaze, Concubine Kang felt a warmth in her heart and continued to explain, "We've been staying in this palace for over ten years since we were selected for the imperial selection. We originally thought that this would be our life, that one day we would...die of old age here."
"The appearance of the Empress gave us hope, and we thought that His Majesty would step into the harem again. But the truth is, we thought too much."
She laughed at herself, then seemed relieved and said, "Now that we have lost the desire to fight, and listening to Concubine Hui's story about her life outside the palace, I feel a longing for it."
"We are not here today to ask Your Majesty to grant our request, but simply to ask for your consideration. If it is feasible, we will go and ask for Your Majesty's favor. Regardless of whether it succeeds or not, we will not burden Your Majesty."
She spoke sincerely, not wanting Yun Wan to misunderstand. After all, as the queen, lobbying the emperor to agree to other concubines leaving the palace sounded like it was for the queen's own selfish desires.
The others nodded in agreement, "If Your Majesty finds it inappropriate, just pretend we never mentioned it."
Yun Wan didn't say anything, but only asked: "If you leave the palace, where will you go?"
Concubine Kang pursed her lips and smiled, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. We had dowries before entering the palace, and we have saved up quite a bit of money over the years. If our families find us shameful and refuse to accept us, we will leave home and become independent women."
Not all of them live in the capital. Some have harmonious relationships with their parents, while others do not. Moreover, they have not lived under the same roof for more than ten years, so conflicts are inevitable.
They had thought about all these and discussed them before coming. At worst, they could spend more money to buy a house, away from the capital and away from trouble.
"There is always a place for us in this world."
After more than ten years in the palace, life was like a stagnant pool. Yun Wan's entry into the palace stirred up the stagnant water, and none of the three concubines who originally held high positions and had children were left.
The spirit of these people has been gradually worn away day by day. They no longer have the courage to fight, and they know that there is no point in climbing up.
They originally wanted to live a mediocre life and simply live like this for the rest of their lives, but since the third prince was named Prince An and the emperor bestowed him a mansion, Concubine Hui Zhou Xianyue lived outside the palace under this name for a period of time, and she changed visibly.
To put it in detail, the pair of eyes that never looked people in the eye now had light, and the mouth that always made sarcastic remarks and stirred up trouble had become quieter, and the words it spoke were much more pleasant to the ear.
In short, my complexion has improved visibly.
They were not as lucky as Zhou Xianyue, who had a prince by her side. They thought that instead of being trapped in this deep palace for the rest of their lives, it would be better to fight for themselves. After all, the worst outcome was just this.
Especially when they saw little Mingyang drowsy in his mother's arms, Concubine Kang and her companions wanted to leave the palace even more.
After leaving the palace, even if they could not get married, they could still adopt a homeless child and raise him or her to pass the time. Life would have hope, which was better than looking up at the same sky every day in the palace and envying the birds flying by.
Yun Wan said calmly, "I will convey your wishes to His Majesty, but I cannot guarantee that it will succeed."
After all, there has been no precedent of concubines leaving the palace since ancient times, but thinking of the man who always likes to set precedents, she thought that this might be possible.
Concubine Kang and her companions were ecstatic: "If this can be accomplished, we will never forget the great kindness of Her Majesty!"
They suddenly made a sound, which scared the dozing little Mingyang. He started to jump, opened his eyes a crack, and quickly fell forward and fell into Yun Wan's arms and fell asleep.
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