Chapter 4
When Zhang Xihua sat in Xue's mother's arms and tasted the muddy complementary food that Zhang Shining fed her, she felt like the sky was falling.
It tastes so bad.
puff--
The supplementary food that Zhang Xihua vomited out sprayed all over Zhang Shining's face.
Zhang Shining suppressed his temper and advised gently, "Xi'er, eat your food obediently so that you can grow taller." He then fed a big mouthful of supplementary food into Zhang Xihua's little mouthful.
puff--
Zhang Shining was sprayed with supplementary food all over his face again.
It was so disgusting. It must be the fruit and vegetable puree with bitter melon added. Even if Zhang Xihua had the mind of an adult, she would not be able to eat such a disgusting complementary food.
Zhang Shining asked Xue's mother for help.
Mother Xue said, "Xi'er usually eats very happily. Sister Shi, you should feed Xi'er the whole bowl of complementary food, otherwise he will be starving this morning."
Zhang Shining fed a mouthful of complementary food into Zhang Xihua's mouth, then leaned to the left.
puff--
Mother Xue secretly adjusted Zhang Xihua's sitting position.
Zhang Shining's face was covered with supplementary food again.
Every time Zhang Shining fed a mouthful of complementary food, Zhang Xihua sprayed the complementary food all over her face. After feeding Zhang Shining this bowl of complementary food, it can be said that Zhang Xihua didn't eat any of it, and it was all sprayed on Zhang Shining's face.
"This is how you raise a child. Sister Shi, don't bother with Brother Xi. Go wash your face and change your clothes." Mother Xue comforted Zhang Shining, who looked resentful.
Zhang Shining glared at Zhang Xihua who didn't obey his orders to eat, and went back to the inner room to wash his face and change clothes.
Mother Xue finally couldn't hold it in anymore and laughed softly.
"It's hard for our brother Xi."
It is indeed bitter, and my mouth is full of bitterness.
Zhang Xihua understood Mrs. Jiang’s good intentions, but could she please not use her as a tool next time?
In order to avoid eating such unpalatable complementary food for three meals a day, Zhang Xihua started crying loudly when Zhang Shining came back to hold her. No matter how Zhang Shining coaxed her or changed the way he held her, she would cry.
Zhang Shining coaxed Zhang Xihua for a while, then he was exhausted and sweating.
But this baby still has a lot of energy and cries endlessly, even louder than the chirping of cicadas in summer.
Zhang Shining asked Xue's mother to help him comfort his younger brother for a while.
Mother Xue played along and said, "This must be your first time taking care of Xi'er, and he's not used to it yet. You have to persevere until Xi'er gets used to it, and then you'll stop crying."
"Wow wow wow wow wow..."
The crying of the baby filled the entire Jiangyuxuan.
Mother Xue came up with an idea and asked Zhang Shining to carry Zhang Xihua and walk around the yard. Maybe Zhang Xihua would be distracted by the flowers and plants and stop crying.
Zhang Shining walked around the yard again and again, holding Zhang Xihua, who cried and stopped crying. The little baby in her arms almost drove her to a mental breakdown.
At noon, when feeding Zhang Xihua solid food, Zhang Shining finally gave up and said to Xue's mother, "I'd better go to school tomorrow. Xi'er is even more difficult to deal with than Mr. Zhuang. I would rather go to school than stay at home to take care of the child."
Mother Xue quickly sent a maid to tell Madam Jiang what Zhang Shining had said.
Mrs. Jiang came to Jiangyunxuan in person to pick up Zhang Xihua.
Zhang Shining also knew how difficult it was for her mother to manage the household affairs of the Zhang Mansion. "Mother, I will never make you angry again. I will be your pride like my elder sister."
Zhang Shunning, the eldest daughter of the Zhang family, has loved reading since she was a child. Once she opens a book, she forgets to eat and sleep. Over the past ten years, she has read thousands of books and is a well-known talented woman.
Zhang Xihua remembered that in history, Zhang Shunning was promoted from a talented person to a noble concubine after entering the palace. Because of her talent, she never lost favor until the death of Emperor Hongde.
Later, Emperor Hongde's cousin Emperor Huiyuan succeeded to the throne. Because Emperor Huiyuan appreciated Zhang Shunning's talent, he abolished the system of burying concubines alive with the dead, and Zhang Shunning was able to live out her life in the palace.
In Zhang Xihua's opinion, even if Zhang Shunning in history was not buried alive with Emperor Hongde, her ending of dying of old age in the palace would be cruel for a talented woman like her.
Unfortunately, he was still a baby and was powerless to stop Zhang Shunning from participating in the selection and entering the palace as a concubine.
*
On the first day of October in the second year of Hongde, Zhang Shunning went to the capital as a lady of Nanzhili and was sent to the palace of the kings for re-selection.
The selected lady will receive a gold and jade bracelet personally bestowed by the Empress Dowager.
The unsuccessful ladies would receive 100 taels of silver and be sent back home.
This day was Zhang Xihua's first birthday. Mrs. Jiang had dressed Zhang Xihua in a scarlet robe with hundreds of flowers on it early in the morning, and then Old Master Zhang carried Zhang Xihua to the Zhang family ancestral hall to pay homage to the ancestors of the Zhang family.
Old Master Zhang was originally worried that if he brought his granddaughter into the ancestral hall as his grandson, the ancestors in the hall would be unhappy.
Unexpectedly, the lamps exploded, and it wasn't just one lamp that did this, but all the lamps did this.
Old Master Zhang suddenly remembered what the monk who came to the gate of the house to beg for alms said on the day his granddaughter was born.
The monk said, "Today your family will have a daughter who will make a fortune. Your family business will prosper for generations to come. We all rely on this young lady."
It seems that what the monk said was true. Not only did his granddaughter have an excellent birth date, but she was also loved by all the ancestors of the Zhang family.
After the ancestor worship, Old Master Zhang carried Zhang Xihua to the main hall to meet the guests.
Among the guests were Duke Cao and his family, Duke Ning and his family, Duke Chu and his family, Duke Ding and his family, Marquis Zhongshan and his family, Marquis Huaian and his family, Marquis Deqing and his family... I will not list them all here.
Suddenly, a doorman came to the main hall and announced: "Princess Xiang and the young prince are here to visit."
Old Master Zhang quickly sent someone to pass the message to Madam Jiang.
Madam Jiang personally went to welcome Princess Xiang and her son into the flower hall where the female guests were and took seats of honor.
Old Master Zhang then had Zhang Xihua carried to the flower hall to show the female guests.
Zhu Mingji, the young prince of Prince Xiang's Mansion, was crying in the arms of Princess Xiang. When he saw Madam Jiang holding Zhang Xihua, he stopped crying immediately and stared at Zhang Xihua with his clear black and white eyes.
Zhang Xihua also wanted to see what Emperor Huiyuan looked like when he was young.
After taking a look, I found that Zhu Mingji was a very smart and graceful child.
Zhu Mingji is only one month older than Zhang Xihua, and there seems to be an unspoken understanding between children of the same age.
Whenever Zhu Mingji saw Zhang Xihua, he would smile foolishly at her.
As soon as Mrs. Jiang took Zhang Xihua out of Zhu Mingji's sight, Zhu Mingji started crying.
Princess Xiang said, "My young master and I are just like his father. We both like beautiful children. How about I adopt Xige'er as my godson? What do you think, Madam?"
Mrs. Jiang happily agreed.
Zhang Xihua did not object. As she could cling to the power of the future Emperor Huiyuan, it would be difficult for her not to become a high-ranking official in the future.
By the time the ceremony of grasping the newborn baby was held, Zhu Mingji could no longer leave Zhang Xihua.
Zhang Xihua was carried to a blanket where an abacus, a gold bowl, books, a small bow and other items were placed.
Because Zhu Mingji insisted on sticking to her, Princess Xiang felt very embarrassed and put Zhu Mingji on the blanket as well.
"Oh, my young master and Xi'er really hit it off at first sight. It was Xi'er's day to be in the limelight, but my young master insisted on doing this. I'm really sorry." Princess Xiang apologized to Madam Jiang.
Madam Jiang smiled and said, "It is a blessing for our Xi'er to be able to please the Crown Prince. That day, we saw the Crown Prince grabbing King Wu's bow in one hand and King Wen's brush in the other during the "Zhuazhou" ceremony. In the future, the Crown Prince will be a hero who can pacify the world with his pen and decide the fate of the world with his horse."
Princess Xiang was very pleased and looked at Zhang Xihua crawling on the carpet towards the golden seal with a smile.
Just when Zhang Xihua was about to grab the golden seal, Zhu Mingji crawled over and grabbed her little hand and wouldn't let go.
Zhang Xihua wanted to break free from Zhu Mingji's little hand, but the baby was so strong that she couldn't get away at all.
Zhang Xihua wanted to use her head to knock Zhu Mingji away again, and spoke fiercely to Zhu Mingji in a baby talk.
The general meaning is, today is my big day, I am happy, don't force me to slap you.
Zhu Mingji also responded with a bunch of baby talk.
Zhang Xihua actually understood.
Zhu Mingji was saying, "Give your brother a slap."
Then Zhu Mingji let go of Zhang Xihua's little hand.
Zhang Xihua raised her little hand and slapped Zhu Mingji on the face.
Mrs. Jiang, Old Master Zhang and other guests looked horrified.
"Geese, geese, geese, geese..."
Zhu Mingji smiled foolishly, holding Zhang Xihua's face with his little hands and biting Zhang Xihua's chubby face with his little mouth.
Princess Xiang smiled and said, "My young master really likes Brother Xi."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Then Zhu Mingji grabbed Zhang Xihua's hand again and refused to let go. Zhang Xihua couldn't grab the golden seal she wanted to grab at all, and the ceremony of grabbing the first month of the new year could not go on.
Madam Jiang didn't want the situation to remain awkward, so she said, "My Xi'er has grabbed the young master's hand, which is better than grabbing anything else. In the future, when the young master slips some stuff between his fingers, our Xi'er will enjoy it endlessly."
The guests all agreed with Mrs. Jiang.
Princess Xiang was flattered by everyone and loved her godson Zhang Xihua even more.
Even after the Zhou-Zhua ceremony was over, Princess Xiang still held Madam Jiang's hand and said, "Come visit us often in the future. Bring Xi'er to our palace more often."
Zhang Xihua only felt that the gold necklace that Princess Xiang had just given her was really heavy. Zhu Mingji, that baby, was really annoying. He nibbled on her soft face for so long that her face was covered with red marks and saliva.
If it weren't for the fact that he was one of the few relatively reliable emperors of the Ming Dynasty, she would definitely bite it back, making Zhu Mingji's face full of disgust.
Princess Xiang grabbed Zhu Mingji's little hand and waved it towards Zhang Xihua.
Zhu Mingji: "Sister... Xiangxiang... Sister... Sweet... Sister... Delicious..."
Princess Xiang smiled like a flower.
"Oh my god, this is the first time my young master has spoken so much."
Princess Xiang tapped Zhu Mingji's nose again and corrected him, "It's not a sister, it's a brother. If it were a sister, it would be great. I beg His Majesty to appoint a sister as your wife in the future."
The smile on Mrs. Jiang's face was a little stiff.
Then Zhu Mingji said, "Sister... kiss... sister... kiss..."
Zhang Xihua pretended to be a little tiger and roared at Zhu Mingji. This was her most ferocious look.
She didn't want Zhu Mingji to bite her face again.
Zhu Mingji blew a kiss to Zhang Xihua and blinked at her continuously, making Princess Xiang and Madam Jiang laugh out loud.
After seeing off the imperial carriage and other guests from Prince Xiang's palace, the doorman suddenly arrived at Yangrongzhai and reported, "The palace eunuch has come to the palace to deliver an imperial decree."
Old Master Zhang hurriedly led his family to the main hall and knelt to receive the imperial edict.
After the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict finished reading the yellow silk imperial edict, everyone knew that it was the edict that the eldest daughter of the mansion, Zhang Shunning, was selected to be named a talented person, and they knelt down again to thank the emperor for his grace.
Old Master Zhang secretly gave five hundred taels of silver to the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict.
The eunuch who delivered the imperial edict exchanged a few words with Old Master Zhang and then hurried to the next house to deliver the imperial edict.
Everyone was happy that this huge wealth had finally come to their family, except Mrs. Jiang, who felt a little disappointed.
The four high palace walls will trap Shunjie'er for the rest of her life.
Her poor child, for the sake of family honor, he had to sacrifice his entire good life in that imperial city.
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