The next morning, Jiaming, remembering that she still needed to breastfeed Hongxuan, woke up right on time. But by then, Fourth Master had already left.
Jiaming rubbed her eyes, yawned, and then slowly sat up. In her drowsy state, she heard rustling footsteps and weakly said, "Is Fourth Prince awake? If he is, bring him here!"
"She's awake. I've brought her over." Hongtao's voice came from outside the tent.
Upon hearing this, Jiaming suddenly became more alert. She slightly lifted the curtain, reached out and took Hongxuan, who was handed to her by Hongtao. After feeding the child inside the curtain, she held him and coaxed him to continue sleeping. Once the child fell asleep, she closed her eyes and fell asleep again.
After waking up again and having breakfast, she played with Hongxuan among the flowers and plants before returning to the house.
Inside the house, Jiaming's main activity was playing with the children.
Today was no exception. Moreover, when Jiaming looked at Hongxuan's face, which resembled the Fourth Master's, she thought of the Fourth Master and the humiliation he had caused her, especially last night.
Thinking about last night made her back ache again.
"Hmph, your father is a big shot," Jiaming originally wanted to say "pervert," but thinking that the child was still in front of her, she decided not to say it. The two words turned out to be "bad guy."
As she spoke, Jiaming pouted and gently poked Hongxuan's soft buttocks.
Just then, Xiao Hezi's voice suddenly came from outside the door.
"Master, something terrible has happened!"
The sound grew louder as it approached, and soon, Xiao Hezi rushed in. His apple-shaped face was flushed and he was covered in sweat from running in the summer heat.
Jiaming's heartstrings tightened suddenly, but her words remained normal, showing no sign of tension, "Xiao Hezi, what's wrong?"
"Master, there's a rumor circulating in the manor that Consort Hesheli plans to take either the young master or Consort Li's third son to raise!" Xiao Hezi spoke like a machine gun, his words coming out in rapid succession.
"What?" Jiaming was stunned!
Her first reaction was, "Hongxuan is going to be adopted by someone else? How can that be? She doesn't want that!"
Before I could react, I was interrupted by someone else's words.
"How could you do this?" Hongtao, who was serving Jiaming, said indignantly, "Young Master is the master's own son, and the master has taken good care of him, so why..."
Jiaming abruptly interrupted Hongtao, "Because concubines and princesses are not qualified to raise their own children, and your mistress is just a princess. Only secondary wives and primary wives are qualified to raise their own children."
"So, Master, you're just going to accept your fate like this?" Hongtao asked anxiously, puzzled. "Are you just going to let the young master be adopted by Consort Hesheli?"
Should she accept her fate? She certainly didn't.
But what could be done? Jiaming pondered for a moment, and then a flash of inspiration struck her. She straightened up and said decisively, "Of course not!"
Upon hearing this, Red Peach's eyes lit up. "Master, have you come up with any ideas?"
Otherwise, where would they get the confidence to stop the young master from being adopted by Consort Hesheli? Xiao Hezi, who shared the same idea, also looked up, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Jiaming, hoping that Jiaming would come up with a good solution.
Jiaming shook her head at their intense gazes, "I can't think of a solution."
Hongtao and Xiao Hezi were instantly disappointed. They both looked up at their young master, their eyes filled with the same worry.
"What are you disappointed about, what are you worried about?" Jiaming said with a speechless smile.
Red Peach: "Master, why aren't you worried?"
“Because it’s impossible for Consort Hesheli to adopt Hongxuan.” Jiaming continued with a smile, saying calmly, “If Hesheli really wanted to adopt someone, she would adopt Li’s third prince, Hongshi, now. Of course, even if she wanted to adopt Hongxuan, it wouldn’t be now. As for the future, who would adopt a prince who has already been raised to be a prince?”
"Why?" Red Peach felt like she had thought of something, but her brain wasn't quite up to the task, and she couldn't think it through thoroughly enough to break through that thin membrane.
Jiaming glanced at Hongtao and casually reminded her, "Think carefully about the differences between Hongxuan and Hongshi, and you'll understand."
Hongtao scratched her head, still unable to figure it out. In fact, she had just thought of this as well, but she still hadn't thought it through thoroughly enough. On the other hand, Xiao Hezi pondered for a moment and then suddenly realized the answer.
Li Yuan, who also heard that Hesheli might adopt Hongshi's daughter, had a different idea.
She believed that if anyone should be adopted, it should be the Fourth Prince Hongxuan. After all, she was a concubine, which was of higher status than Lady Guarjia. She was somewhere between being qualified to raise a child and not being qualified to raise a child, while Lady Guarjia was just a princess. According to the rules, she was not qualified to raise a child.
Furthermore, she had already raised Hongshi's previous children on her own, so if she were to adopt, it would be more likely that she would adopt the fourth prince, Hongxuan.
Although she thought this way, she wasn't as resolute as Jiaming. She still had some worries: what if Consort Hesheli wanted to adopt Hongshi?
In the Lotus Courtyard, Hesheli, one of the main figures in the rumors, was asked by her maid, "Master, do you really want to adopt the Third Prince or the Fourth Prince?"
“Foolish! How could I possibly want to adopt the Third Prince or the Fourth Prince?” Empress Hesheli said bluntly.
Similarly, the principal wife of the main wife did not believe that Hesheli would want to adopt the third or fourth prince. Regarding Liu Mama's concern—adopting one of the princes to compete with the master—the fourth wife said, "Hesheli is not that stupid. Can she adopt a prince? The person who spread this stupid rumor is really stupid!"
This foolish move, considered a stupid scheme by a fool—the rumor that the concubine had adopted a son—also originated from the Fourth Prince's backyard.
It should be noted that the Fourth Prince's harem consisted not only of his wife, Jiaming, Li, and Hesheli, but also of other women. They were naturally jealous of Jiaming for having a son, being favored (though not the most, but at least more than them), and living a comfortable life.
So Jiaming, who had been watching the show, has now found herself in trouble.
Although this trouble was not a trouble at all in Jiaming's eyes, because her son only drank her milk, if Hesheli adopted Hongxuan, would her chubby boy be able to go without milk when he was hungry?
Of course not!
After the rumors spread, Song finally realized where she had been looking for oversights.
She squeezed the handkerchief in her hand in frustration, saying with annoyance, "How could I forget that the Fourth Prince doesn't drink milk fed by his wet nurse!"
Alas, all that effort for these rumors was for nothing! Mrs. Song lowered her head in frustration.
“My lady, it’s not all for nothing, there’s also the Third Prince of Consort Li!” Song’s personal maid advised.
"That's right!" Madam Song suddenly looked up, her eyes sparkling, her face beaming with joy. (To be continued.)
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