Henkeng's eyes sparkled like stars as he rushed over to grab the jade mop. "Grandma is the best! It's a hundred times prettier than the clay mop Mom made!"
Shen Weiwan pretended to be angry and pinched his chubby face: "Hey, you little heartless guy, my mud mop is a limited edition, there is only one in the whole capital!"
The Queen Mother smiled until her wrinkles relaxed. She stroked his hollow head and said to Xiao Yu, "Look, my grandson is still a discerning person. By the way, I heard that you braided your wet nurse's hair into a mop? Just like your mother!"
Xiao Yu held his forehead and sighed, "Mom, please don't indulge him anymore. If you continue to indulge him, he will pick off the gold bricks from the palace hall to play with."
"What do you know, little kid?" the Queen Mother rolled her eyes at him, her pearl and jade headdress rustling. "When you were three, you stuffed three caterpillars into my phoenix crown!"
Shen Weiwan suddenly became interested and pulled Xiao Yu's sleeve and shook it: "Really? Your Highness, tell me quickly, was it sent in a gold and jade box?"
Xiao Yu's ears flushed, and he tried to change the subject: "Mom, let's not talk about the past..."
But Kengkeng raised the jade mop and shouted, "Dad also cheated grandma! Kengkeng also wants to cheat dad!"
The afternoon sun filtered through the carved window lattices, casting coin-like specks of light on the blue bricks, illuminating the three laughing people. Watching Kengkeng playing with the jade mop, Chen Weiwan suddenly remembered the loneliness of her past life in the snow. Now, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of this warm room, her nose ached, and she couldn't help but laugh. She leaned close to Xiao Yu's ear and asked, "Your Highness, do you think that when Kengkeng gets married, will he braid her hair into a mop?"
Xiao Yu smiled and put his arm around her waist, nuzzling the tip of his nose against the top of her head. "That depends on whether his wife has your ability to cheat people. Otherwise, she won't be able to hold our son."
"That must be there!" Shen Weiwan raised her eyebrows, "Otherwise, how can he be worthy of my son, Shen Weiwan?"
As she was speaking, Chuntao came in, covering her mouth with her hands, her shoulders still shaking: "Madam, Aunt Zhang has finished mopping the toilet, and there's still... a piece of toilet paper stuck in her hair."
"Alright, alright," Chen Weiwan waved her hand and took out an oil-paper bag from her dressing table. "Tell her to go to the account office to collect the reward. Give her ten kilograms of chili powder, so she won't drool and soak her pillow during her next nap."
Chun Tao retreated in response. In the warm room, Keng Keng's laughter rang out again. He was poking the sole of Xiao Yu's boot with a jade mop: "Dad! Mop the floor!"
Xiao Yu reluctantly took the mop and bent down to demonstrate under the expectant gaze of Kengkeng. The hem of his brocade robe swept across the blue bricks, startling a few dormant dust mites. Shen Weiwan leaned against the door frame and smiled at the father and son. The Queen Mother instructed from the side: "Yes, just like when you mopped the study when you were a child, mop hard!"
As the sun set, Nanny Zhang, her hair half dry, came to claim her reward. Seeing the ten pounds of radiant red chili powder, she rolled her eyes and nearly fainted. Meanwhile, Keng Keng was "inspecting" the garden with a jade mop in hand. Chen Weiwan and the Queen Mother followed behind him, one teaching him "how to accurately shoot fallen leaves" while the other praised him for being "more promising than his father was."
Xiao Yu stood on the Nine-Curve Bridge, teacup in hand, watching this absurd yet heartwarming scene, his vision thick with tea mist. He knew that as long as this mother and son were around, life in the Prince's Mansion would be like a never-ending string of pistachios, always yielding a sweet nugget amidst the chaos. As for the ten pounds of chili powder? Shen Weiwan would probably turn it into chili candy, and the next victim might be his "unlucky" father.
At that moment, Nanny Zhang was on the verge of tears as she stared at the chili powder. She finally understood that being a wet nurse in the prince's mansion was a training camp for scammers. But looking at the glittering monthly allowance, she silently picked up the chili powder again—after all, the money was so generous! At worst, she could just wear an iron helmet to sleep next time!
Chen Weiwan looked at Nanny Zhang's back and shook her finger at Kengkeng: "Son, did you see that? This is called 'money makes the world go round'. In the future, you have to be strategic when you cheat people, do you understand?"
Henkeng nodded, half understanding, but the jade mop poked Xiao Yu's ankle with a "snap". "Dad! Drag harder!"
Xiao Yu looked down at his son's chubby, smiling face, sighed helplessly, and swung his mop, drawing graceful arcs across the bluestone. Laughter erupted again in the warm room. Even the old butler couldn't help but purse his lips as he passed by, tapping his cane on the floor in a cheerful rhythm. Perhaps this was daily life in the Prince's mansion. Amidst the cycle of exploiting and being exploited, there flowed an unparalleled warmth and homely atmosphere. And the "mop legend" of Kenkeng was merely a humorous footnote, bordered with jade, in these long years.
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