52. National Master Dad 3
Cheng Ye obediently let Cheng Jiu lead him into the Xiangxie Courtyard. As he passed the front yard, he couldn't help but glance at the rambutan tree in the corner. Cheng Jiu noticed his gaze and asked, "Do you like it?"
Cheng Ye looked up at Cheng Jiu and nodded shyly, "I like rambutan."
There was a rambutan tree behind the small side courtyard next to the cold palace where Cheng Ye used to live. Rambutan has a good taste and a long fruit season. It was Cheng Ye's only snack and important food supply over the years.
Cheng Jiu hesitated for a moment, reached out and touched his son's little head, sighing in his heart. The child was already seven years old but looked like five years old. He didn't know how much suffering he had suffered.
"If you like it, keep it."
Butler Zhuo nodded in agreement. These unsightly trees were originally going to be removed, but since the young master liked them, they had to stay.
Cheng Ye's face lit up with joy when he heard this. He let Cheng Jiu lead him along, stealing glances at him. He thought, "It's so nice to have a dad. I can live in a big house, wear new clothes, have enough food to eat, and even plant a rambutan tree in the yard."
After passing through a long corridor, you will reach the inner courtyard. The inner courtyard is spacious and bright. There is a small fish pond on the right and a small rockery in the middle of the pond. The water is clear and you can see the bottom. Several goldfish in the water pop up from time to time to spit bubbles.
There is a pavilion beside the pool with a stone table and stone benches. The owner can enjoy the breeze and have a snack in the pavilion in his free time.
On the right side of the yard is a magnolia whose blooming period has ended, and under the wall are several pots of golden chrysanthemums in full bloom, which are very beautiful with their golden color.
Cheng Jiu led his son around the screen in front of the door and into the inner room. The room was simple, with a screen, a table and chairs, and a step-out bed. Even a child playing and fighting wouldn't feel constrained. Two pots of flowers sat on the table by the window, their delicate fragrance filling the room.
He looked down at his son and said, "You will live here from now on. Do you like it?"
When Cheng Ye heard this, his eyes widened. What a big and beautiful house.
He looked up at Cheng Jiu, pinched the corner of his clothes and hesitated for a moment, then asked out loud the uneasiness he had hidden for a day: "Am I really your son?"
Although Cheng Jiu had already explained to him that everyone had parents, and he knew his mother was Princess Taimin, and his wet nurse had told him this many times, she had never told him that he had a father, everything that had happened today had made him feel uneasy.
Cheng Jiu carried his son to the chair next to him and sat him down. Qinghua Wulan's face was filled with tenderness. He was serious.
He looked at his son and said, "You are my son. I will protect you forever."
…
In the next half month, the relationship between the father and son made rapid progress. This was mainly because the Imperial Master had nothing to do on weekdays, and they naturally became closer as they spent more time together.
As soon as Cheng Jiu entered the Champs-Elysées Courtyard this day, he saw his son, dressed like a fairy boy, squatting on the ground and digging the soil of a large flowerpot. His servant Xiao Taozi was standing by and watching nervously.
Cheng Jiu raised his eyebrows. What happened?
Cheng Jiu walked over, looked at the little thing on the ground and said, "What are you doing?"
Xiao Taozi saluted quickly.
Cheng Ye saw Cheng Jiu's eyes light up, and he stood up and smiled happily: "Dad!"
Cheng Ye wore a white brocade dress with a blue edging, and her hair was neatly combed and tied up with a small brocade ribbon. After being carefully cared for for half a month, her little face had become a little chubby, her complexion had become rosy, and she had grown a little taller, looking particularly energetic.
Cheng Jiu bent down and picked up the child's dirty little hands: "What are you planting?" Cheng Jiu glanced at the big flowerpot on the ground. The soil in the flowerpot had been messed up and scattered all over the ground, dirtying the child's shoes.
Cheng Ye said, "It's a pear seed. When it grows up, it will produce lots of pears." He then discovered how many delicious fruits there are in the world: grapes, dates, persimmons, pears... He loved them all, but the pear he was eating today was his favorite. So he decided to plant the pear seeds in a large flowerpot in the yard, so that he would have plenty of pears to eat in the future.
Cheng Jiu led Cheng Ye back into the house. A servant brought in a basin of water and placed it on the table next to Cheng Jiu before leaving. Cheng Jiu wiped Cheng Ye's hands with a wet handkerchief and said to Xiao Taozi, "Go find some nail clippers."
Xiao Taozi: “Yes”
Children's nails grow fast. They were just cut a few days ago and now they are growing again. In addition, they just played in the mud, so there is some tiny dirt stuck in the little nails.
Cheng Ye sat on the chair next to Cheng Jiu and let Cheng Jiu trim his nails obediently. The child couldn't sit still and said, "Dad hasn't come to see me for two days." Xiao Taozi said that his father was busy with work and had no time to come and accompany him. He had learned a lot of big characters and his father didn't even know it.
"Hmm," Cheng Jiu said nonchalantly, "The day after tomorrow is the emperor's birthday, and we need to pray for him."
The emperor's birthday is a major national festival, and we need to pray to God, wishing that the people will have a good harvest and that the country will be prosperous and the people will be safe.
Cheng Ye was curious and blinked his black eyes and asked, "Is the emperor's birthday the Wanshou Festival that the wet nurse mentioned?"
He brought back two bowls of delicious food, saying it was for the Emperor's birthday and was a gift from the nobles.
These days, he has learned some of the hierarchical system structure, corresponding etiquette, and festivals of Anrong Kingdom from the etiquette teacher, but there is too much and he still doesn't understand a lot.
Cheng Jiu naturally knew who Cheng Ye's wet nurse was; she was the one who raised Cheng Ye. Based on this favor, Cheng Jiu had already sent people to find her family outside the palace and settle them down, thus fulfilling her loyalty.
"Okay." After repairing one hand, Cheng Jiu started to repair the other one.
Little Taozi stood aside with his head lowered, not daring to look up. Although he had witnessed the Imperial Master's fondness for the young master over the past few days, this was the first time he had seen someone manicure someone's nails. The Imperial Master, who seemed like an immortal in the Ninth Heaven, had actually taken on a touch of worldly airs.
Cheng Jiu touched the trimmed nails with his fingertips to make sure they wouldn't hurt anyone before handing the nail clippers to Xiao Taozi.
Xiao Taozi took the nail clippers respectfully.
Cheng Ye tilted his little head up to look at his father and said sweetly, "Is the Longevity Festival fun?"
Not fun, and very boring.
Cheng Jiu patted his head and said, "After the blessing ceremony, there will be a state banquet in the harem. Do you want to go?" He had been reluctant to join in the fun, but if his son wanted to go, it was fine. His son had been confined to the cold palace since he was born, and he probably didn't meet many people, let alone attend any celebrations.
Cheng Ye blinked and said, "Will there be a lot of people?"
Cheng Jiu: “There are a lot.” By then, almost all the princes and ministers will be present with their families.
Cheng Ye, who was curious and a little scared, was confused again.
Seeing this, Cheng Jiu said, "Don't worry, think about it slowly."
************************************
On the evening of the Emperor's birthday, a state banquet was held. Musicians from the music troupe sang and danced, and civil and military officials sat in order, either below the palace or in the two corridors outside. Cheng Jiu and his son sat at their own dedicated table. The table before them was filled with a variety of food: snacks, fruits, cooked pork and mutton with bones, whole chickens and geese, and so on.
Emperor An Zhenghong sat on his high throne, watching the singing and dancing with a serious expression. Inwardly, he was secretly criticizing the Imperial Preceptor below him. "Ha, didn't you say you wouldn't come? Now you're here and you're staying? Where's all that aloofness gone, the way you used to show up after praying and then leave? Has it all gone to hell?" Look at him, picking up fruits, snacks, and prepared foods from a small plate for the little child beside him. And who's the one who's making all my ministers drop their jaws? Tsk, tsk, being a father is different. To anyone who didn't know, you'd think he was a wet nurse in Imperial Preceptor's guise.
The civil and military officials below, the royal family and relatives all have eyes that don't
Has he glanced over here four or five times? Yet, he still acts as if no one is around. Haha, he maintains this point quite well.
Seeing that the ministers were about to lose their jaws, An Zhenghong coughed lightly: "Ahem, is this the young man from the Imperial Master's family, Cheng Ye? Come here and let me take a look."
Cheng Ye was eating with his cheeks puffed out when he heard someone calling his name. He looked up and saw the solemn emperor sitting on the high platform looking at him. Cheng Ye's heart became nervous again. He looked at his father next to him and saw his father nodded at him.
"Go ahead and just do what Mr. Etiquette tells you."
After swallowing the food in his mouth and wiping his greasy mouth and hands with a handkerchief, Cheng Ye walked over with his short legs and knelt down solemnly to pay his respects: "I, Cheng Ye, pay my respects to the Emperor. I wish the Emperor great happiness and a long life."
The little arms and legs, trying to perform the somewhat awkward yet unconventional etiquette, coupled with the childish voice, amused An Zhenghong. The palace was a place of refinement, and even the youngest children were bound by the strictures of palace rules. Seeing such a naturally clumsy child was quite a novelty.
An Zhenghong: "So you still have to call me uncle. How old are you this year?"
Cheng Ye: "Your Majesty, the boy is seven years old this year."
An Zhenghong: "Seven years old, um, exactly two years younger than Xuer," he said to the queen next to him.
The Empress smiled and said, "Who says not?" Empress Nian looked to be about thirty-five, dignified and elegant, with a graceful demeanor. Empress Nian and the Emperor had been a young couple, deeply in love. Why were the princes so young? Wasn't it because they both longed for a legitimate son first? Unfortunately, an injury to the Empress's health in her early years made it difficult for her to conceive. It wasn't until the Emperor was thirty that she conceived the Fifth Prince, An Chixu. Now the Fifth Prince was nine, a playful age.
An Zhenghong: "Children are easy to play together. If you have some free time one day, you can come to this palace to play with some of my younger princes."
Cheng Ye: "Yes, I bow to thank the emperor."
The emperor asked Cheng Ye a few more questions, and he answered them one by one. Only then did the emperor let him go back.
After returning to his seat, Cheng Ye felt a little embarrassed as soon as he relaxed. He reached out and tugged at the corner of Cheng Jiu's clothes.
"Hmm?" Cheng Jiu asked, noticing his son's embarrassed look, "What's wrong?"
Cheng Ye leaned close to Cheng Jiu's ear and whispered a few words. Cheng Jiu raised the corner of his mouth slightly and said, "Xiao Taozi, accompany him to the toilet."
Xiao Taozi: "Yes." After that, he took Cheng Ye's hand and said, "Young Master, please follow me."
Cheng Ye blushed. How could his father say that? It would be embarrassing if the people around him knew that he was so nervous and in a hurry to go to the bathroom.
In the second half of the banquet, Cheng Ye began to feel sleepy. Children are prone to sleepiness, and after a day of hard work, he should be tired. Seeing this, Cheng Jiu did not want to stay any longer, so he reported to the emperor and left.
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