Chapter 89 During a leisurely summer day, Cheng Qianyue visited the West Garden and couldn't help but feel...
Arriving at the West Garden, Cheng Qianyue couldn't help but sigh inwardly: This place is so much better; there are sights to see and things to do. Life here is much more comfortable than in the Forbidden City. She secretly made an inappropriate analogy in her mind: Even raising pigs requires considering the size of the pigsty and whether the pigs are happy! Ahem.
Now that they were in the garden, Hongyan had a blast. The boy didn't seem to mind the heat, sneaking out to play every day. One day he'd be on the swings, the next he'd be boating. Lately, he'd found something new to play with: a pile of sand by the lake.
This sand was originally brought by the garden's craftsmen to reinforce the lake embankment, but somehow Hongyan saw it. Oh, what could the craftsmen do to stop the prince from playing in the sand? Later, the matter was reported to Cheng Qianyue. Cheng Qianyue then had someone specially transport a cartload of river sand for him and placed it near the reeds by the lake for him to rummage through.
Perhaps he saw the craftsmen reinforcing the lake embankment, and he spontaneously built a dam on the sand dune. Playing in the sand requires tools, so Cheng Qianyue had someone make him a set of small shovels to help him dig holes. The only problem was that he would come back every day covered in mud and sand, filthy beyond recognition.
Fortunately, it was the height of summer, so there was no fear of catching a cold while taking a bath every day. Hongyan was pulled into the bathtub by her, and a basin of water was poured over his head.
Hongyan loosened his grip on her nose and asked, "Mother, can I go into the water?"
Cheng Qianyue took a soap stalk and rubbed it on his head for a while: "What do you mean by 'going into the water'? What kind of water are you going into? What are you going into the water for?"
"Taking a bath," Hongyan replied, "I can jump in right after playing in the sand!" That way, I won't have to come back for a bath. It's already hot, and his mother uses hot water, so he'll still be sweating after washing and drying off. The lake is different; the water is a beautiful blue-green, and it looks so refreshing!
Cheng Qianyue poked him with a finger, annoyed. "You, a little guy less than a meter tall, you wouldn't even make a sound if you were thrown in. Besides, the sudden change in temperature can easily make you sick." Afraid that Hongyan would actually dare to jump into the lake, she put on a stern face and pretended to be angry, saying, "If you dare to sneak into the river, I'll get angry, and I might even hit you with the sole of my shoe when I get angry."
Hongyan unconsciously touched his little bottom and stuck out his tongue at her.
Cheng Qianyue scooped up some water with a ladle: "Quickly cover your nose, it's time to rinse your hair."
After a while, Hongyan finished his bath and sat by the window to dry his hair. At this moment, the wet nurse who served the Second Princess and the Fourth Prince came to report that the two had woken up. Cheng Qianyue then said to Hongyan, "Let's go, let's go to the main room to see your younger brother and sister."
Hongyan said awkwardly, "Mother, I still need to dry my hair. I'll play with them after the sun goes out in the evening."
Cheng Qianyue immediately saw through his little excuse: "What do you mean by drying your hair? You just think your mother's room is hotter than your east wing."
Hongyan didn't get angry when his little trick was exposed. He just tugged at her sleeve and said coquettishly, "But it's really hot, Mother."
Perhaps children are just more hot-tempered and can't sit still? Thinking of this, Cheng Qianyue lost her temper. "Alright, alright, then you can stay in the east wing. Just one thing, don't get too close to the ice chest, otherwise the cold air will make you feel uncomfortable."
After a while, Cheng Qianyue left the east wing and returned to the main room. The temperature here was a bit higher than in the east wing. One reason was that the east wing was on the east side and not as sunny, and the east wing was small, with only three rooms in total, so an ice chest was enough to keep things warm.
However, the main house was different. With five rooms, it was spacious enough that at least three ice chests would be needed to keep it cool. But Cheng Qianyue didn't put in that many ice chests because she had to take care of the Second Princess and the Fourth Prince during the day. Children would rather be a little warm than cold, so Cheng Qianyue only placed one large ice chest in the main hall and a small ice basin in the west room.
When Cheng Qianyue came in, both children had already finished drinking milk. She went over and touched them, noticing that their bibs were a little damp, probably from sweat. But it didn't matter; the children had plenty of clothes, some made by her, others by the wet nurse and nanny—a whole pile of bibs, jackets, and pants, enough to change them seven or eight times a day.
Cheng Qianyue picked up the two children and changed their clothes one by one. Then she put them on the couch, placed a few fancy ornaments on it, and let them crawl around on it as they pleased.
Then the two children bent over and went to pick a coral tree.
This was sent over by Yinreng a few days ago, saying that the Thirteenth Prince made it for his two children to play with. The trunk of the tree is made of coral, a bright red color that is particularly festive. The branches are adorned with small leaves carved from jade and emeralds, hanging down like willow branches. With the slightest movement, the leaves collide and tinkle together.
Cheng Qianyue looked at the tree with a sigh. The Thirteenth Prince's younger sister, the Eighth Princess of Fumeng, had died in childbirth while giving birth to twins—a tragic loss of life for all three. She only learned of this after her postpartum confinement, and it had truly shocked her; it took her a while to recover. Now, seeing this tree, she felt that perhaps the Thirteenth Prince had poured all his affection into his twin children, otherwise he wouldn't have sent coral—a talisman said to ward off evil and bring peace.
"That's right," Cheng Qianyue thought, "this coral tree is too flashy. Red coral paired with green jade—it's just a terrible combination." But the two children seemed to particularly like this "wind chime tree." At the time, Yinreng said that the Thirteenth Prince had specially considered the children's preferences, otherwise, just one red coral tree would have been enough; there was no need to add anything else, otherwise, it would lose its focus.
Cheng Qianyue wholeheartedly agreed: A prince's aesthetic sense cannot be based on bright red and green!
The ornament wasn't large, but it was quite heavy, so there was no fear of it tipping over on the tatami. Therefore, Cheng Qianyue had it moved over. Moyaqi and Hongchao sat there, playing with the jade plant's leaves, making noises.
Cheng Qianyue watched them from the side, to prevent them from falling down while climbing around. After watching for a while, she got a little bored, so she simply reached out and took the small basket from the cabinet behind her and started doing needlework.
She never disturbed the children when they were playing by themselves, and would only tease them when they got tired of playing and crawled over. Since she had nothing else to do, she would do some needlework, embroidering handkerchiefs or sewing clothes for the children.
She stitched the fabric, occasionally glancing up at the children, listening to their unconscious babbling. A sense of peace and tranquility filled her, and she felt no heat at all.
——
In summer, the coolest time is when it's pouring rain. Just after lunch that day, dark clouds slowly drifted in from the distance, and soon after, the wind began to howl in the courtyard.
Cheng Qianyue reminded people to bring in the clothes drying outside, and then instructed them to open the windows for ventilation. The damp wind came in from outside, circulated a few times, and dissipated most of the stuffiness in the room.
"Uh, uh uh~" Moyaqi tugged at Cheng Qianyue's clothes and slowly stood up from the kang (heated brick bed). This child's legs were surprisingly strong; she could already stand with support. Cheng Qianyue responded while supporting her waist to prevent her from accidentally sitting down. Moyaqi was very talkative, but she only called out "Ama Lisuo" and "Emother" with "E'e."
At this moment, Hongchao was crawling and playing at the other end of the kang (a heated brick bed). Seeing that the window was open, he wanted to reach for the windowsill. His wet nurse was standing not far away from him, gently persuading him to let go.
Just then, a flash of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the dimly lit room. Then came a deafening rumble of thunder, sounding like a landslide.
Moyaqi was startled, her eyes widened, her legs went weak, and she plopped down on Cheng Qianyue's lap, bursting into tears. Cheng Qianyue quickly hugged her and comforted her, "It's just thunder, don't be afraid." As soon as she finished speaking, another rumble of thunder sounded from the ground. Not only them, but even Cheng Qianyue was startled. When she came to her senses, she heard Hongchao also crying. Cheng Qianyue quickly looked up at Hongchao and saw that when his nanny tried to pick him up, he resisted, crawling towards her on all fours at lightning speed, finally bumping his head into her arms.
Cheng Qianyue called for someone to close the windows while hugging her two children and covering each of their ears. However, she couldn't cover two children with just her fists. Just then, Hongyan burst in like a firecracker.
For the first time, Cheng Qianyue felt she had too many children. But she couldn't let the small things ruin the big picture. After Hongyan ran over, she asked him softly, "Are you also afraid of thunder? Take off your shoes and come up."
Hongyan touched his nose sheepishly. He was indeed a little scared, but seeing his mother made him feel much better. After Hongyan ran up, Cheng Qianyue put Hongchao in his arms. Now she was holding Hongyan and Moyaqi on one side, with Hongyan sitting in her lap and holding Hongchao in both arms. The four of them sat together like a human pyramid.
After a while, there was a loud splash outside, and the rain started to pour down.
Cheng Qianyue felt like a sparrow, with three baby birds in her arms, eagerly awaiting her warmth to dispel the torrential rain. She held them tightly, gently comforting them.
This was the scene that Yinreng saw when he arrived. The three children, one adult and three children, huddled in a corner of the kang (heated brick bed), like a large tree sheltering three saplings.
Cheng Qianyue hadn't expected him to come all the way from the front in such heavy rain. But then she thought, at least there's someone to share the burden. After Yinreng changed his rain-soaked clothes and came closer, Cheng Qianyue handed Hongyan and Hongchao over to him. "The thunder just now frightened the children," she said.
Yinreng sat on the couch, turned sideways and held Hongchao in his arms, and said to Hongyan in a deep voice, "Thunder in summer is a common occurrence, Hongyan, don't be afraid."
Hongyan puffed out his chest and said, "Father, I'm all grown up now, I'm not afraid of thunder anymore." As soon as he finished speaking, there was another muffled thunderclap outside, and he couldn't help but shrink back.
Cheng Qianyue covered Mo Yaqi's ears and said to Hong Yan, "How old are you? Don't be stubborn. Quickly bury your head in your father's arms."
Hongyan stopped boasting and covered his ears, burying his face under Yinreng's armpit.
The heavy rain came and went quickly, pattering down for a while before gradually stopping. By this time, Moyaqi and Hongchao had calmed down, though their eyes were still glazed over. Cheng Qianyue comforted them a few times before she and Yinreng carried them into the east wing bedroom to sleep.
Not long after they came out, Hongyan became restless and whispered that he wanted to go out and play in the water. He also said he wanted to catch dragonflies whose wings were wet from the rain, and then he ran off in a flash.
The room, which had just been packed, was now empty except for the two of them. To be honest, Cheng Qianyue suddenly felt a pang of sadness at the emptiness of the room. But when she looked up, she saw Yinreng looking at her gently, and then slowly placing his hand on her ear.
Cheng Qianyue was taken aback for a moment, then slowly smiled: What? She's not a child... But this peaceful and tranquil atmosphere was just too wonderful, and she couldn't bear to disturb it by speaking.
For a moment, neither of them spoke, but their eyes were locked on each other, like vines intertwined.
At this moment, Ruocai came in carrying an incense burner. She lit some sandalwood incense to drive away the moisture in the room. Ruoyun took the incense burner and gently placed it in the main hall. In the hazy smoke, she saw the two masters in the west room slowly leaning together.
Ruoyun smiled and simply took everyone out with her.
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