Chapter 135 Chapter 135 Fang Ying approached her friend: "They...
Fang Ying didn't hide it from Zhou Congshan. When they met, she took out the Jade Unicorn and told her the whole story. "We've discussed it and feel that it should be given to you, so as not to let our lady down."
Zhou Congshan held the two Qilins in his hands and examined them carefully, then nodded and said, "It's amazing that Madam is thinking of us even though she is far away in Zhenzhou. Please thank her for me." He then asked someone to put the things away.
"How's your health?" Fang Ying asked, expressing her deepest concern. "Why are you so thin?"
Zhou Congshan touched his cheek. "It's hot. I always hate summers. After the Dragon Boat Festival, I haven't felt like eating. And my birth happened during the dog days of summer, so those days were the hottest and stuffiest."
Fang Ying said distressedly, "I knew I had suffered a lot, and they didn't allow anyone who reported the incident to mention it. They just told me everything was going smoothly to comfort me."
Zhou Congshan took her hand and said with a smile, "It's useless to worry about me. I can't come." He then comforted his friend, "I'm much better now. The weather is cooler, and I'm eating more."
Fang Ying didn't believe it and asked Chu Yin who was standing beside her: "Is what the princess said true?"
"Yes," Chu Yin replied with a smile. "Don't worry, my lady. His Highness has been forcing the kitchen to cook new dishes for the princess every day. Over the past half month, the princess's appetite has improved a lot."
Fang Ying finally believed it and asked Zhou Congshan about the delivery and how she recuperated during the confinement period.
"I felt terribly painful and never wanted to have another child," Zhou Congshan said, frowning as he recalled the experience. "But they all said it was like this with the first child. I gave birth quickly, so the next time I had one, it would be much smoother."
"Not necessarily. Didn't our fifth sister-in-law give birth to her second child before you? It took more than three hours."
Zhou Congshan nodded: "I don't believe them either."
The maid quickly interrupted, "My Lady, the little prince should be awake by now. Should we bring him to Madam Fang for a look?"
Zhou Congshan knew what she meant, but nodded anyway: "Go ahead, bring him back when he's really awake. Don't bring him back when he's still asleep and he'll start crying."
"Yes." The maid responded and left.
Fang Ying was curious: "What do you mean by waking up first and then holding him? Is there also the possibility of faking awakening?"
Zhou Congshan said, "Sometimes he doesn't really wake up, or he falls asleep while feeding. If the prince happens to come, they will hold him in their arms, and he will start crying if they tease him."
"Such a young child, who is sleeping a lot, doesn't recognize people."
Fang Ying knew that the servants were trying to curry favor with the King of Qin for the good of Zhou Congshan and his mother, but they were doing something wrong. If she didn't tell them, she was afraid they would get worse. So she decided to be the bad guy for her friend. "There's no need to bring him up every time for Your Highness to see. It would be better to let the little grandson sleep more and eat more so that he can grow stronger. Your Highness would be happy to see him."
"You're right." Zhou Congshan glanced at the maids standing by, "Did you all hear that?"
The maids all bowed and saluted, saying, "We heard it."
Zhou Congshan added, "We don't need so many people here. It's so stuffy. Just leave Chu Yin to serve."
The maids filed out. Fang Ying leaned closer to her friend and chuckled softly, "Are they afraid I might lead you astray?"
"It's not just them. I read your pregnancy notes. There are some things they refuse to listen to Madam." Zhou Congshan said with a mischievous smile, "Those old guys have complained to His Highness quite a bit."
Fang Ying was surprised: "Sue me?"
Zhou Congshan patted the back of her hand and said, "Let's sue together."
Fang Ying laughed and shook her head: "What did your highness say?"
"His Highness summoned the imperial physician, and he said the mother's happiness was paramount. Besides, there's nothing wrong with what you wrote."
"The imperial physician also examined it?" Fang Ying was surprised.
Zhou Congshan quickly reassured him, "No, I relayed it."
Fang Ying breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. What I wrote is mostly based on my own experiences, combined with what I heard from others and the imperial physician. But childbirth is different for everyone..."
"I know." Zhou Congshan stopped her from explaining and said with a smile, "I've also added some of my experiences. I'll have someone copy them out and send them to you."
"Okay." Fang Ying's eyes lit up, "This is better."
"Do you feel that writing down your discomfort and pain, although it doesn't help, does make you feel more comfortable and relieved?" Zhou Congshan asked.
"Yeah, it's like I've talked to someone about it, and I don't feel so upset anymore."
Zhou Congshan nodded. "Especially here, there's no one to talk to, unlike you guys who have sisters-in-law. Hey, did your fifth sister-in-law give birth to a daughter or a son?"
"Son." Fang Ying said.
Zhou Congshan then asked, "Hong'er is one year old, are you planning a banquet?"
She spoke whatever came to her mind, and Fang Ying didn't find it strange. She smiled and nodded, "Her father wanted to have a lively party, but the elders weren't at home, so he only planned to invite close relatives and friends."
"Okay, I prepared something for Hong'er. It's a gift, and it can also be put on the trial table to see if she will grab it." Zhou Congshan said and glanced at Chu Yin.
Chu Yin went into the inner room and quickly came out with a black lacquered mother-of-pearl box and handed it to Fang Ying.
"Open it and take a look."
Fang Ying opened it as she was told, and saw a golden phoenix hairpin inserted into the velvet surface of the box. The phoenix on the hairpin had its wings spread out, and its long feathers trembled slightly, as if it was about to fly. There was also a small emerald in the phoenix's mouth, which swayed with the person's movements, but it was stuck inside and could not fall out.
"This must be made in-house, right?" It's obvious that it's made with exquisite craftsmanship that can't be compared with those made outside.
Zhou Congshan nodded, but said: "Don't worry, it's for Hong'er to play with, not an engagement token."
Fang Ying looked at her helplessly, and Zhou Congshan immediately laughed: "Just kidding. Has Hong'er started to learn to talk? Can he walk?"
"She can walk a few steps with support, but I don't want her to walk in a hurry. She can also say 'mother and father' and clearly say 'eat' and 'play'."
"That's great." Zhou Congshan sighed, "After a few days, when it's cooler, bring Hong'er to see me. The last time we saw him was on a full moon."
"Okay, I've never taken her out of the house."
"Then your Ji Liulang has been away for several months. Will Hong'er still recognize him when he comes back?"
Fang Ying laughed and said, "Not only do they not recognize him, they even want to beat him up."
"This young lady is quite impressive." Zhou Congshan said with a smile, "She looks like you."
“…”
Zhou Congshan continued, "I like it even more."
Fang Ying smiled and shook her head. Before she could answer, the maid came back to say that the little prince had woken up.
"Bring it here." Zhou Congshan ordered.
Soon a fair-faced woman came in holding a swaddling baby. She first bowed to Zhou Congshan, then held the child in front of her and showed it to them.
The baby in the cradle had a little yellow on his face and sparse hair, but his eyes looked like Zhou Congshan's, black and bright, rolling around and humming.
"Now you know that Hong'er is good-looking, right?" Zhou Congshan said first.
Fang Ying glanced at her and saw the obvious disdain in her eyes. She smiled and said, "Our little grandson is so handsome! His eyes are exactly like yours, with a high nose bridge and beautiful eyebrows. After some time, when his hair fades and he grows out, he will look exactly like the boy in the painting."
The nurse holding the child echoed, "My lady, what you said is absolutely right. Please praise me more."
The maidservant who followed also said: "No matter how much the servants praise the little prince, the princess won't believe it. It has to be your words for the princess to listen."
Fang Ying turned around and looked at Zhou Congshan, who said, "Ignore them. They're praised to the skies for simply changing a baby's diaper."
"Our nanny said the same thing. She said that the child can't speak, and you can't tell from his face whether he's healthy or not. You need to pay more attention to his bowel movements. As long as he eats well, sleeps well, and has normal bowel movements, he'll be fine."
Zhou Congshan really listened to Fang Ying's explanation and said nothing more. He watched his friend teasing her son without reaching out or getting too close. Knowing that she was concerned about the royal heir, he quickly let the wet nurse take the child out.
When she, Fang Ying, and Chu Yin were the only ones left in the room, Zhou Congshan said, "Even though I gave birth to him, I still don't like him very much."
Fang Ying said, "If you don't breastfeed yourself, it seems to be a little different. I see Hong'er is almost three months old now, and she smiles and dances when she sees people. That's when I really like her. In the beginning, it was always indifferent. I would see her once or twice a day and then forget about her."
"You too?" Zhou Congshan was surprised.
"Yeah, she just slept all the time for the first two months. There was nothing interesting about her, so she started to become a pain in the ass."
"I thought I was cold-hearted..." Zhou Congshan laughed at himself, "I think he likes children more than I do."
He was naturally referring to the King of Qin. Fang Ying took her friend's hand and soothed her, "It will be fine slowly. There's one more thing..." She paused for a moment, "I hesitated for a long time and didn't dare write it down."
"What?"
Fang Ying glanced at Chu Yin, who then looked at the princess and said with a smile, "The tea may be cold. I'll go get some hot water."
Zhou Congshan nodded, and after she left, he looked at Fang Ying, waiting for her to speak.
"Do you remember that I said Ji Liulang sent our lady away, and I thought it was great?"
"Remember, you said you weren't well."
"Yes, what about you? Are you well?"
Zhou Congshan didn't know what was wrong with Fang Ying's health at that time, but when she asked, she immediately understood.
"I'm worried you won't be able to recover." She frowned. "Are you okay now? Are you the same as before you were born?"
Fang Ying shook her head: "It's better than when it was just one month old, but..."
Zhou Congshan was discouraged: "I knew it."
Fang Ying didn't want to say that yet. She continued to ask, "Your period hasn't come yet, right?"
"Not so soon, right?"
"I didn't have my period until three months later. Before that, I was extremely reluctant to have sex with him," Fang Ying said, her face flushed with shame. But to prevent her friend from following her path, she told him the truth. "He consulted the imperial physician. This kind of thing is very common, but few people seek medical attention. The imperial physician simply speculated that it was related to menstruation."
Zhou Congshan was stunned for a moment before he understood, "No wonder..."
Fang Ying asked in a low voice: "You too?"
Zhou Congshan's cheeks flushed slightly, and he nodded slightly: "I said I wasn't well enough, but he didn't force me."
Fang Ying then asked, "Are there any concubines in the mansion?"
"Openly, no. Privately, I don't want to ask."
Fang Ying held her hand and advised: "Next time, just tell her directly, wait until your period is over..."
Zhou Congshan looked troubled: "Isn't this better? I already have a son."
This was spoken out of anger. Fang Ying said, "How can having only a son be enough? Think about the empresses throughout history. With only sons but no favor, could they accomplish anything?"
Zhou Congshan said lazily, "She's still the empress, but she hasn't even become the crown prince yet. The emperor has been gone for five months, and I heard he's taken in a few more beautiful concubines in the Luoyang Palace. Who knows, maybe they'll give birth to some brothers for him next year."
Fang Ying wanted to laugh but didn't dare, so she could only clapped her hands.
Before Zhou Congshan could speak, Chu Yin's voice came from outside the door: "Princess, the tea is ready."
"Come in."
Chu Yin came in and changed the tea for the two of them. Zhou Congshan remembered and asked, "I heard that your Ji Liulang went to Yinzhou?"
"Well, it is said that the Dangxiang people have strong soldiers and horses." Fang Ying only said the first half of the sentence.
"What else did you say?"
Fang Ying was surprised that her friend was curious about this matter and couldn't help but look at her.
"It's not me," Zhou Congshan said. "He mentioned it in his words. I'm very curious about what Ji Liulang thinks of the Dingnan Army. If there was a reason, I would have wanted to find someone to ask."
"There's no excuse. Find one. Your Highness, are you not going out on patrol lately?"
"I'll ask him and send you a letter then."
"OK."
After the two of them had decided on this matter, Fang Ying drank another cup of tea and chatted about some family matters before saying goodbye and leaving.
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The author has something to say: Trying the month of the year is like grabbing the week.
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