The morning light at the Prince's Palace was shredded by the sweet fragrance of croton flowers and the subtle tartness of plum soup. Just as the gong sounded at three o'clock in the morning, Shen Weiwan leaned against the carved dressing table and began to retch violently. The sour liquid bubbling from the celadon spittoon reflected her pale face. The soft satin belt of her moon-white skirt had been loosened two inches. The hem, embroidered with winding croton branches, swept across the blue brick floor, startling a few sweet-smelling ants that had followed the sour smell and left tiny trails in the morning light.
"My lady, your morning sickness is three times worse than when you were pregnant with Keng Keng." Chun Tao entered, carrying a white porcelain bowl. The sour plum soup in the bowl created light brown ripples, and the porcelain spoon made a subtle tinkling sound as it touched the rim of the bowl. "The imperial kitchen made fresh sour plum paste yesterday. I specially diluted it to three times the concentration and added honey from the Croton fields."
Chen Weiwan's fingertips trembled when she took the bowl, and sour air rushed to her nose: "Go to hell, this baby must be incompatible with me, and you torture me with croton powder every day." She stroked her slightly bulging belly and wiped the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief. Suddenly, she heard the rustling sound of stones rolling over croton leaves outside the window, mixed with the sneaky muttering of two little heads.
"Brother, do you think mother is carrying a brother or a sister?" The voice was so sharp and thin, like a sparrow stealing food. The red rope of croton on the pigtail shone like a small torch in the morning dew.
Kenkeng's voice was filled with the confidence of a young adult, carrying unquestionable authority: "No matter if it's a dragon or a phoenix, when it's born, sew the leftover itching powder from the Kengnan Chu envoy last month into the swaddling clothes. I guarantee he'll fall over laughing the moment he cries!"
"Puff—" Chen Weiwan's hand trembled, and the sour plum juice splashed on the moon-white skirt. The light brown mark that spread out looked very much like the traces of croton powder. Chuntao covered her mouth in shock, pinching the corner of her clothes with her fingertips: "My little ancestors, are you trying to trick your own brothers and sisters?"
Shen Weiwan, holding her waist, moved to the window, her skirt wet with morning dew. She saw Kengkeng and Wawa squatting in the third row of croton fields, each holding a small blue cloth bag. Peach-pink powder leaked from the bag, gleaming suspiciously in the early sunlight. "What are you two up to now?"
The two little guys were like kittens whose tails had been stepped on. He hurriedly hid the cloth bag behind his back. His chubby face flushed red, and his earlobes were still stained with traces of croton powder from last night's grinding. "No, nothing! Mom, why don't you rest in the house?"
Wawa blurted out, the red string on her braid brushing against Douye: "We're preparing a meeting gift for our younger siblings! The kind that would make a liar cry for his parents!"
Chen Weiwan walked over on the dewy bean leaves, her skirt brushing against the bean pods, making a soft "crunch" sound. "What's the gift? Take it out and let me see it."
He hesitated to open the cloth bag, revealing half a bag of peach-pink itchy powder. The red powder in the oil-paper bag next to it was stained on the paper, like a handful of broken coral. Shen Weiwan pinched a little red powder and put it to the tip of her nose. The spiciness made her sneeze repeatedly, and tears came out of her eyes: "Is this chili powder?"
"That's my brother's brilliant idea!" Wa Wa tilted his little face up, his eyes full of admiration, his baby teeth gleaming. "When my little brother or sister gets hungry, add a little bit of this to the bottle. I guarantee he'll cry even louder than the Western Shu envoy did when he had diarrhea last year!"
Shen Weiwan's eyes went dark, and she hurriedly held onto the Croton vine beside her. The morning dew on the pods soaked her cuffs: "You are the reincarnation of the devil who cheated my brother! How can a baby just out of the womb withstand such torment from you?"
"Mom, have you forgotten?" He tilted his head, the croton powder on the tip of his nose falling off. "You said that we should start to trick people from childhood. Wasn't that little liar Nan Chu tricked into crying last time by using candied haws with croton powder in it?"
"That's a liar!" Shen Weiwan was furious. She poked his forehead with her finger, but he dodged it flexibly. "How can you be so deceitful to your own brother and sister? Be careful that no one will play with you in the future!"
Before he could finish his words, the rustling of fabric echoed from the moonlit doorway. Xiao Yu entered, carrying a string of candied haws. The hem of his dark brocade robe brushed against the dewy croton leaves, startling a flock of butterflies. "What's going on? I heard you three yelling in the croton fields from a distance."
Wawa immediately rushed over, grabbed the hem of his shirt and shook it: "Dad! We want to give a gift to our younger brother and sister, but Mom said we can't!"
Xiao Yu raised an eyebrow, bent down and picked up the itching powder from the cloth bag. The powder leaked from his fingers, drawing a pink arc in the morning light: "Oh? What's such an amazing gift?"
He puffed out his little chest like a rooster protecting its cubs, his collar still stained with thread from last night's swaddling. "Itchy pink swaddling, chili powder bottle! I'll make sure our little brother or sister remembers us as soon as they're born!"
Xiao Yu didn't get annoyed when he heard this. Instead, he laughed out loud. He squatted down and pinched the pitted face: "It's a good idea, but forget about the chili powder, it's too spicy. The itching powder can be used to sew two stitches on the corners of the swaddling clothes. It's just a token of appreciation."
Shen Weiwan was dumbfounded and pointed at Xiao Yu's nose: "Your Highness! Why do you still indulge them?"
Xiao Yu stood up and hugged her waist, his nose brushing against the newly inserted croton flower in her hair, its fragrance mixed with the scent of sour plum. "They're just playing around, kids. Besides, with a sly mother like you, are you afraid they'll get cheated back?"
"This isn't a question of whether or not it's a scam!" Chen Weiwan broke free angrily, her skirt brushing against the dew on the bean leaves. "This is the bond between siblings! How can someone be greeted with itching powder right from birth?"
"Friendship needs to be cultivated from childhood." Xiao Yu coaxed her with a smile, wiping the sour plum stains on the corners of her mouth with his fingertips. "When the children are born, let them get along on their own. We can just watch the fun from the side."
Kengkeng and Wawa immediately cheered, and the croton powder in their sleeve pockets fell out and piled up in the bean field: "Long live Dad! Long live Mom!"
Shen Weiwan looked at their shining eyes and suddenly remembered that year when she was reborn. She was also holding back a lot of bad intentions and rubbed her aunt's hands red in the general's mansion. Forget it, these two little bastards were cast in the same mold as her. She couldn't control them even if she wanted to. She might as well let them go.
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