After finishing his meal, the Fourth Master wrote some calligraphy in his study for a while before having someone help him wash up and then entering Lanqin's bedroom.
The next day, Fourth Master returned to the front yard feeling refreshed. Lanqin, as usual, slept until the sun was high in the sky, and was finally woken up by the sounds of the two children exchanging blows.
This was also Lanqin's own instruction, to have the wet nurses help the two children get up and then bring them to her room. She didn't want the children to be separated from their mother for too long; normally, children need to be with their parents day and night to feel safe. However, as a granddaughter of the emperor, Wuxiha had wet nurses and maids serving her from birth, and if Lanqin wanted, she wouldn't even need to breastfeed the child.
Lanqin felt that after giving birth, the baby was taken away and neglected in terms of food, drink, and sleep. This severing of the mother-child bond was inhumane. Therefore, she insisted on staying by her child's side, watching them make noise, to find it normal.
That's right, Lanqin was trying her best to create a normal family atmosphere for Wuxiha and Xichen. Every morning they could see their mother, occasionally their father, play with their mother during the day, and sleep in their familiar wet nurse's arms after drinking milk at night.
Lanqin changed her clothes with Nianxue's help and then ordered her hair to be combed twice. Just then, she heard Sihua's voice from outside, "Master, Carpenter Wang has arrived."
"Let him in." Lanqin pointed to the set of white magnolia jewelry in the dressing case, indicating that Nianxue should put the set on her.
When Lanqin said she wanted him to come in, she meant that Wang the carpenter should wait in the main room. There was absolutely no way he could go into the inner room. Apart from the Fourth Master, no man could enter the inner room of the women in the inner quarters of the mansion.
After Wang the carpenter stood at the entrance of the main room for half an hour, Lanqin was seen wearing a light blue cheongsam embroidered with white orchids, with moon-white trim. It matched the white jade magnolia hairpin on her head and the magnolia earrings on her ears perfectly. She looked light, pretty and very charming.
The two children, each carried by their wet nurse, followed her out.
"Carpenter Wang, are all the toys I asked you to make finished? The two children are waiting to play with them." Lanqin immediately beckoned Wang into the house.
"Reporting to Consort Wang, I have finished making the rolling rocking horse and the spinning wheel. They are in the courtyard. Would you and the young master like to go out and take a look?" Carpenter Wang said excitedly. Lanqin had given him more than just appreciation; she had also inspired and guided him. Without Lanqin, he would have remained just an ordinary carpenter, making tables and chairs according to his master's requests. But now, he had created something he had never even imagined.
Lanqin led her wet nurse and maid out to see the toys she had made. The little wooden horse had been made to look like a horse, except that the hooves had been replaced with wooden wheels, while the rest of the parts were made to resemble a real horse.
Upon seeing the little wooden horse, Xichen immediately bounced around in his wet nurse's arms, babbling incessantly, clearly wanting to sit on it right away. Wuxiha, still too young at only three months old, simply nestled against his wet nurse's arms, turning his little neck to look around.
"Carpenter Wang, is this pony sturdy enough? Will the wheels come off?" Lanqin bent down and touched the pony. She saw that there was a blanket on it, and the pony's ears were specially made to make it easy for children to grip.
"Don't worry, Consort, I've tried it many times. Even children much older than the young master can ride on it without it collapsing." Carpenter Wang scratched the back of his head and chuckled foolishly.
"Alright, come on, let our Xichen try out this little pony. He seems to really like it!" Lanqin waved to the wet nurse holding Xichen, signaling her to put the child on the pony.
“Come on, put him on, I’ll hold his waist from behind, let’s let Xichen experience what it’s like to ride a horse,” Lanqin said with a smile.
Little Xichen was placed on the horse's back. She couldn't sit still on her own, so the person behind her held her up. Then the wet nurse pushed the horse's rump, and the little wheels started to turn.
All that could be heard was the rumbling sound of wooden wheels rolling on the ground. Little Xichen laughed heartily in the carriage, and even Wuxiha was attracted by the sound, sitting in his wet nurse's arms and struggling to get out.
“My little darling, you’re too young to play with those things,” the wet nurse said with a smile, holding Ushiha.
Lanqin gestured to the maidservant who was following her to help Xichen, while she straightened her back, feeling that her waist was almost aching. However, seeing how happy Xichen was, babbling and making noises on the little wooden horse, Lanqin felt that it was really worth it to have created such a thing.
“Come on, our Wuxiha has something to play with too. Let’s go ride that spinning top, shall we?” Lanqin walked up to Wuxiha, took her from the wet nurse and held her in her arms.
"Your Highness, let's try it first. What if the little princess falls and gets hurt..." The wet nurse was even more nervous than the mother herself.
Lanqin was taken aback, then laughed and said, "Carpenter Wang, our wet nurse is worried. Why don't you give it a try and let us see?"
Speaking of this spinning disc, it's similar to a modern carousel, except that the carpenter Wang used the principle of grooves that can fit together and roll to make two interlocking wooden discs, with a wooden chair rubbed on each of the four sides.
Looking at this strange object, Lanqin was genuinely impressed by Wang the carpenter's "hands-on skills." She had drawn up a blueprint for him, modeled after those modern children's spaceship rides, and he had actually made it. Lanqin knew at a glance that it would work; it should be perfect for children to play with.
Carpenter Wang chuckled foolishly, then walked over to the spinning chairs, squatted down himself, and cranked the handle. With his external force, the wooden chairs around him indeed started to spin, though it was a little inconvenient each time they reached the spot where he was squatting.
After spinning around a few times, Ushiha started thrashing about at the spinning chair, and even Xichen, who was getting a little tired of riding the little rocking horse, started looking in this direction.
Lanqin then asked the wet nurse to place Wuxiha on one of the small chairs, then fastened the "seatbelt," and began to ask Wang the carpenter to turn the handle.
Little Wuxiha sat on the swivel chair that his mother had made herself, happily flapping his arms and legs.
Xi Chen also made "woof woof" sounds towards this side, so the maids serving him on his little wooden horse had no choice but to push it this way.
"With a mother like you who knows how to have fun, these two kids will definitely become masters of play from now on," Fourth Master said with amusement as he entered the courtyard and saw the scene. He had never seen anything like it before.
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