The little golden statuette that Lin Yuqiao made for Mang Xia has finally been completed, and the accuracy of the replica is quite high.
Mangxia was initially delighted to hear about the reward and had been looking forward to it for a long time. However, when she finally finished making it, she was surprised to find that it was a golden statue of an old man with a cane.
Mang Xia's smile froze slightly as she received "Master Jin" from Lin Yuqiao.
Why not just give her a gold hairpin or something? She doesn't have any particular requests, but it just seems really strange for a young woman to be carrying an old man's gold statue.
"Your Majesty, who is this?"
Mangxia asked cautiously.
"It doesn't matter who this is, as long as you know this is the highest reward for you!"
Holding the heavy golden statue, Mangxia hesitated for a long time before speaking, "...Thank you for the reward, Your Majesty."
"Don't be silly, you're not happy about getting a reward! You're so shallow. This golden statue is made of gold, and it's such a big piece of gold. You should keep it as a treasure."
After they went outside, Granny Fang tapped Mangxia's forehead, half scolding and half advising her.
"I'm happy, very happy. I just want to know who this person is!"
Looking at the old man in her arms, Mangxia still looked like she was struggling. Gu Yu, standing next to her, covered her mouth and chuckled to herself.
Thinking about Mang Xia's expression when she received the golden statuette, Lin Yuqiao couldn't help but laugh. Mang Xia's forced smile was so funny.
"Mother, please stop laughing, it will scare your little brother."
Seeing Lin Yuqiao laughing so hard, Mengmeng was very worried.
"Okay, okay, I won't laugh anymore, I won't laugh anymore."
Lin Yuqiao pulled Mengmeng into her arms and, taking advantage of the fact that he hadn't dared to struggle since he knew he was pregnant, proceeded to thoroughly ravage him.
“My adorable baby, you’ve lost weight.”
Lin Yuqiao felt that his face was not as soft and easy to squeeze as before, and looked at his face, which was getting less and less chubby, with heartache.
Since this child officially started learning, he has become incredibly self-disciplined. He gets up early every day to memorize texts, practices calligraphy with his teacher in the morning, and then reviews and reinforces his lessons afterward. His excellent performance has even surprised Liu Heng.
"Mother, please don't call me that anymore."
Looking at her mother's still-flat belly with a sense of awe, Mengmeng didn't dare to struggle and said dejectedly in Lin Yuqiao's arms.
"No, no matter how old Mengmeng is, she will always be her mother's precious baby, her little darling, her little chubby."
Looking at his mature expression, Lin Yuqiao wanted to tease him. She was really worried about her son's increasingly dull and uninteresting personality.
Covering her face with her little hands, Mengmeng felt so embarrassed by her mother's increasingly mushy words that she wanted to hide. And this was in front of her little brother; she wondered if he could even hear her.
Lin Yuqiao continued to kiss her son's cheek through his adorable hand, and teased him for a while before letting him go.
At first, she was worried that Mengmeng would be unhappy if she found out she had a little brother. After all, it seems that children need to go through a psychological adjustment process before they can accept that they are no longer their parents' only baby and that they have to share their things with others.
To everyone's surprise, Mengmeng wasn't upset at all. Upon hearing that she was going to be a big brother, she grinned and looked around expectantly, asking, "Where's my little brother?"
Lin Yuqiao hugged him, still a little worried, and pointed to her belly, saying, "The little brother is here, or it might be a little sister. Mengmeng, don't worry in the future. Even if there are other younger brothers and sisters, Mengmeng will always be Mommy's precious baby."
She remained there tenderly, but when Mengmeng's eyes shifted to her stomach, she was horrified. "Mother, you've swallowed your little brother!"
Mengmeng knew that his mother loved to eat snacks, and sometimes she would force him to have afternoon tea, snacks, and late-night snacks with her. However, he underestimated his mother's appetite. She even ate his little brother.
Hearing her son's adorable words for the first time, Lin Yuqiao was stunned for a moment before bursting into uncontrollable laughter, startling Liu Heng, who had come to see her after learning of her pregnancy.
"What are you laughing at!"
Liu Heng stopped the person who was laughing and pounding the bed, afraid that she might accidentally strain her back again.
Lin Yuqiao laughed so hard that after a while, she looked at the still bewildered Mengmeng and burst into laughter again. She no longer wanted to know what kind of foodie image she had in her son's mind.
After hearing Jiang Mama's smiling explanation, Liu Heng couldn't help but chuckle as well.
He took his son's hand, pointed to Lin Yuqiao's belly and said, "Mengmeng, be good. Your mother didn't eat your little brother. He's still small. He'll come out in ten months. When you were little, you were also in your mother's belly."
"oh."
A little embarrassed and angry at her mother's laughter, Mengmeng still didn't know why her little brother was in her mother's belly, but she knew in her heart that she must have said something wrong just now, so she refused to say anything more and obediently nodded.
Liu Heng loved his obedient and self-disciplined nature, and gently stroked his head with a smile.
"Qiaoqiao, give me another son who looks just like Mengmeng."
Inside the tent at night, Liu Heng gently stroked Lin Yuqiao's still flat stomach and said with anticipation.
Of all his children, only the one born to her resembled him the most. At first, Liu Heng was worried that Mengmeng would inherit her lively personality, but the child gave him a pleasant surprise.
"No way. Mengmeng is just like you, that's why she's so boring. She's so young but acts like a little old man. This is the first time I've ever seen a child who doesn't like playing with toys and only likes reading."
Lin Yuqiao propped herself up on her arm and looked at Liu Heng, speaking willfully. The man in front of her was like a giant version of Mengmeng; she had never seen Liu Heng have any other hobbies besides handling official duties.
Liu Heng didn't argue with her; after all, the child's personality wouldn't change just because she said something.
He was the same way when he was a child. He found all toys boring. Besides studying hard to absorb more unknown things, he also hoped to grow up faster.
He hoped that she would grow up early, become her mother's support, and no longer suffer from the mistreatment of other concubines. He also hoped that she could be proud of her hard work in her studies. That was probably what he thought when he was a child.
Mengmeng's upbringing was undoubtedly much better than Liu Heng's. He had the love of both parents, and his mother was a concubine, so no one could look down on him. Yet he remained self-disciplined and never arrogant, which Liu Heng found even more admirable.
In fact, Mengmeng was even more of an elder brother than Lin Yuqiao had imagined. In addition to studying, he even took on the role of supervisor. No one knew what Liu Heng had said to him, but after Lin Yuqiao realized what was going on, he often supervised her and forbade her from making any large bending movements.
"Mother, don't overexert yourself, it will tire out your little brother."
Seeing Lin Yuqiao making handicrafts, preparing clothes for her unborn child, Mengmeng looked at her with concern.
"Mother isn't tired."
Lin Yuqiao smiled at her son, then continued her struggle with the pile of fabric beside her.
Her embroidery skills were so mediocre that she couldn't even make clothes for Mengmeng back then. Now, Lin Yuqiao is determined to improve her skills so that her second child can wear clothes made by his mother.
After sewing for a while, Lin Yuqiao noticed that Mengmeng was still watching her.
"My darling, your mother made clothes for you back then. But your father and your nanny were worried you wouldn't be comfortable wearing them, so they wouldn't let you wear them. I'll have Granny Jiang find them for you to see later!"
Thinking that her son was still a child after all, and no matter how self-disciplined he was, he would still have some reservations in his heart, Lin Yuqiao put down her needlework, took Mengmeng's little hand, and smiled as she spoke to him.
When Mengmeng first heard that his mother had even made clothes for him, he was a little surprised, but also felt a sweet warmth in his heart. He wasn't jealous that his mother made clothes for his little brother; he just wondered if he himself had been expected to be by his mother when he first arrived.
When Granny Jiang found the slightly crooked clothes that Lin Yuqiao had made years ago, Mengmeng covered her mouth and laughed. Sure enough, her father would never let her wear clothes that weren't perfectly straight.
Mengmeng was a little skeptical that his mother's needlework was much better than it used to be. Looking at his own little clothes being put away again, he thought that his second brother's clothes would probably be put away in the same way in the future.
Because it was her second child, Lin Yuqiao was quite adept at handling the situation, and her emotions remained calm throughout her pregnancy. Also, with Mengmeng by her side, the time didn't feel difficult to pass at all.
The following autumn, the fourth prince, nicknamed "Guai Guai," was born.
"Guai Guai is not as easy to manage as Meng Meng used to be."
Li, who was given special treatment by Liu Heng and was allowed to enter the palace again to serve the new mother, held the chubby baby in the stroller and listened to his deafening cries, her brows furrowing slightly.
This little grandson cries so much. Except when he's asleep or nursing, he often bursts into tears for no apparent reason.
"Yes, their ancestors are not like their names."
Because Guai Guai cried so much, we were afraid it would affect her postpartum period, so several wet nurses took turns taking her to sleep in the side room at night.
Mengmeng was really cute back then, so why is Guaiguai not well-behaved at all?
“Children are always hard to raise. Your fourth brother was a night owl when he was little. He would cry every night. Those years were so torturous that I lost a lot of weight.”
Hearing Li's words, Lin Yuqiao suddenly understood. That's why there was such a large age gap between her and her fourth and fifth brothers. The three older brothers were all about one or two years apart, but only with her fourth and fifth brothers was there a four-year difference.
Because Li Shi couldn't soothe him, Lin Yuqiao took Guai Guai from the bed. Hearing his crying subside a little, she couldn't help but tap his little nose.
"Crybaby."
Although Lin Yuqiao holds Guai Guai the least and still doesn't have milk, Guai Guai recognizes people, and she's the only one who can soothe Guai Guai somewhat.
"Next year, the Third Prince will be five years old and will officially begin his studies at the Imperial Study. Has His Majesty mentioned anyone to be his study companion? Why not bring your third brother's family to the palace to be his study companion? That child is quite clever, and he's two years older than the Third Prince, which would be suitable."
Lady Li has been living a good life these past two years, and she has become quite radiant and prosperous. She was thinking about this matter when she entered the palace to help with postpartum care.
"That's fine too. Daoxi from Fifth Brother's family can also be brought in. The Second Prince will probably be getting married soon, and he won't be able to go to the study to study anymore. Mengmeng will be quite lonely by herself. It would be good to have two more study companions to keep him company."
Lin Yuqiao has always been generous with such small favors. The educational conditions in the palace are far superior to those in the common people. Liu Heng has hired renowned scholars as teachers, and sending his nephew to the palace to study together would not only benefit them but also strengthen his relationship with Mengmeng.
They were all cousins, and the little boys played and mischievously together, which also helped to keep Mengmeng company. Lin Yuqiao had always felt that his personality was a bit too quiet.
"Alright, when we get back I'll talk to your third and fifth brothers and ask them to teach you Dao Xing and Dao Xi the rules in advance."
Hearing Lin Yuqiao agree so readily, Li was overjoyed.
At her age, she asks for nothing more than the safety of her children and the bright future of her grandchildren.
"There's no need to restrain the children too much. Anyway, it's just their cousins in the study, and there are no outsiders."
Lin Yuqiao is also lenient with her nephews and nieces whom she has never met. She has never been too restrictive with her own son either. For her, children are happy when they grow up freely without pressure.
After Lin Yuqiao finished her postpartum confinement, Li went back home. Thanks to the child, all the weight Lin Yuqiao gained during pregnancy and postpartum quickly disappeared.
"Crying like this will hurt your voice."
That night, Liu Heng heard faint crying coming from the side hall and became somewhat worried.
The side hall was a bit far from their sleeping quarters, yet they could still hear their son crying, which showed how loudly the boy was wailing.
"Children who cry a lot are so torturous."
Lin Yuqiao pulled the blanket up to cover her face; she really wanted to get a good night's sleep. Ever since she took in Guai Guai, she felt more and more that Meng Meng was God's little angel, who had never caused her any trouble.
After a while, Liu Heng couldn't stand it any longer, so he got up, put on his clothes, and got out of bed to go see his son.
Who knew that as soon as he entered Guai Guai's room, he saw Meng Meng squatting by the stroller, patting Guai Guai's belly with her little hands.
"Sweetie, don't cry. Sleep well so you can grow up. When you grow up, your brother will take you to study."
He took her little hand, which was waving obediently, and she gradually calmed down. Mengmeng used her other hand to wipe away his tears.
Seeing this scene, Liu Heng felt incredibly tender.
"Mengmeng, go to sleep, it's very late."
Once the boy was quiet, Liu Heng quickly urged Mengmeng to go to sleep. This little boy was only four years old.
Mengmeng nodded obediently. He had actually been preparing to sleep, but his younger brother's crying was so loud that he couldn't rest easy without checking on him. His poor little brother couldn't speak when he was uncomfortable or unhappy, and he didn't have any teeth, so he couldn't eat solid food or snacks.
As soon as Mengmeng pulled her hand away, Guai Guai was about to start crying again, so Liu Heng quickly took over and held his hand.
Perhaps he was tired from crying, he quietly fell asleep after shedding a few tears. Liu Heng left only after he was sound asleep, and before leaving, he instructed the wet nurses to take good care of him.
When he returned to the room, Lin Yuqiao was already fast asleep. It was rare for her husband to take care of her, so she needed to rest and recharge. Tomorrow, her son would be going to school, her husband would be at work, and she would still have to take care of her crybaby son.
They gently got into bed and lay down together. Liu Heng embraced the person who had rolled into his arms and soon fell asleep as well.
Tomorrow will be another new day.
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