Chapter 8 My cousin too? "Let's sleep together."
Despite her repeated pleas, Ying Zheng still did not take her with him when he went out the next time.
Huan Chun brewed some fresh tea, slowly walked in and put it down, then bowed again. "Ever since the last time Prince Yan came to visit, Gongsun has stopped taking his concubine out with him."
Pang chuckled, brushed aside the tea leaves, took a sip, and gave Zhu a meaningful look.
Zhu was serving her mother-in-law, keeping her company with idle chatter to relieve her boredom. She was just sitting there quietly when she suddenly heard Huan Chun come in and say these words. She couldn't help but feel a little smug. "He's wary of the Crown Prince Yan. It's a pity that Banban is so naive and only cares about looks. When Yueji and Zheng'er returned home, she couldn't walk past his face. I said she was shameless, but Axiu wouldn't let me say it."
Pang admitted, "Zheng'er is just like Yueji, with good looks. He will surely be handsome and dashing in the future."
"My Ji family's children have no worries about food and clothing, so it's fine if they value appearance. Even you are a beauty that is one in a million in Handan," she teased, pointing at Zhu.
Madam Zhu blushed, quite shyly. "I was thinking that we should hire some tutors to teach her properly. She'll be six in two months, and it wouldn't be a bad thing for her to learn how to manage a household early on. What do you think, Mother?"
Madam Pang rested her forehead on her hand and pondered for a moment, "Recently, she has been learning things from Zheng'er."
Madam Zhu nodded. "Don't you know how Banban is? She's very lazy. Zheng'er always dotes on her, but she only works sporadically. However, she does have some talent in singing and sings quite well. Yueji has praised her several times."
Pang sighed and shook his head, "They still need to learn."
She rubbed her temples thoughtfully, "Being a concubine is vastly different from being a wife, not to mention..."
The queen consort held real power.
Zhu's expression changed slightly, but before she could speak, Pang waved her hand and said, "Never mind, let Zheng'er teach her first. She's still young. It would be a mistake to separate her from Zheng'er too early and lose more than she gains."
At this point, Zhu Shi fully understood that her mother-in-law also planned to have Banban replicate Yueji's path. Anguo Jun was in poor health, and even if he could ascend the throne, he wouldn't be able to hold it for long. In that case, the throne would almost certainly belong to Prince Yiren.
Moon Princess possesses a captivating charm, and strange men are infatuated with her.
At that time, wouldn't the Qin state's harem be ruled by the two Zhao Ji, Yue Ji and Ban Ban, one big and one small?
Of course, this is just the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law's current wishful thinking about the future.
Changing the subject, Pang's gaze fell on Zhu's lower abdomen. "Banban is already six years old. You should give her a younger brother or sister. I see there's nothing wrong with your body. Are you deliberately using contraception?"
Startled, Zhu hurriedly denied, "No." A daughter-in-law has no reason not to listen to her mother-in-law, so Zhu lowered her brows and eyes, and respectfully agreed, "It's time to have a child."
After Zhu left, Huan Chun advised, "Why be so blunt? Your wife won't be happy to hear it."
“No matter how tactful you are, she’ll just pretend she doesn’t understand.” Madam Pang chuckled. “This is for her own good. Madam Zhu is beautiful, but she doesn’t have a long-term vision.”
"Let's have another child sooner, so that she can develop a relationship with Banban. If she has great fortune in the future, she can help her younger siblings. Even if we don't talk about that, the Ji family is so big and powerful. If Banban goes with Zheng'er in the future, someone will have to share Ashu's burden. How can one child do it?"
“Ashu’s father passed away early. He had a very hard life, and as his mother, I always wanted to love him.”
“I’m already being kind enough by not even suggesting that Ashura take a concubine. What more could she possibly want?”
Banban had been playing wildly with Ji Xiu all day, and when she got back she drank two cans of pear juice. It wasn't until dinner time that she realized Zhu had been crying for a long time. She quickly ran over and hugged her legs, "Mother?"
"Mother, what's wrong?"
Madam Zhu stroked her daughter's soft hair, kneading and pinching it gently. "Mother is alright, but I'm very distressed."
"Did Father bully you?" Banban kept asking, as if she wanted to stand up for her, her little hands clenched tightly.
"No," Zhu said, her tears turning into a smile. "How could your father dare?"
Ji Xiu had no complaints about Zhu Shi. The two had a good relationship. Before getting married, Zhu Shi was spoiled and therefore found it hard to bear the feeling of being subservient to her mother-in-law.
After all, she was her mother-in-law, not her own mother, so how could she feel sorry for the pain she endured during childbirth?
When Zhu gave birth to Banban, the baby was breech and there were some unexpected complications. She still vividly remembers the excruciating pain and how it took her two postpartum periods to recover. As a result, she developed a phobia of childbirth.
But both Pang and her husband wanted her to have another child, and they had a point, which she understood.
That evening, Banban was still worried and came over to check on him before going to bed.
Zi Chan stopped her, saying they had important things to say and were already fine, and coaxed her to leave.
Before she left, she faintly heard Ji Xiu gently coaxing Zhu Shi, saying something like, "I'll listen to you, I'll definitely support your decision, don't worry about her."
Unable to hear anything from the corner of the wall, Banban sighed and went to find his cousin.
"I could hear you sighing from afar." Ying Zheng, wearing his undergarments, examined her expression. "What's wrong?"
Banban scratched her head, unable to explain it; she was just imitating Zichan.
"Is my cousin already asleep? Did I disturb you?" She peeked inside through the door frame. Ying Zheng's room was always clean and tidy, even the bed was neat and tidy. It was cold and unpleasant to sleep in.
"No, I just freshened up." Ying Zheng let her in. "You came from the main courtyard?"
"How did you know?" Banban asked, puzzled.
She was dressed much larger than usual, clearly dressed by an elder. Although she was only six years old, she already had a love for beauty and didn't like wearing thick clothes. When wearing a cloak, she would deliberately lift a corner to show off her waist.
"I guessed," Ying Zheng said. "Since you're not sleepy, let's review the lessons."
"..." Ahhhhh!
"I'm so sleepy, so sleepy!" She rolled onto her cousin's bed. "I'm so sleepy I can't even walk, my brain is all mush, I'm going to sleep!"
"So-so."
He called her name sternly, his attitude leaving no room for negotiation.
Banban sat up listlessly, no longer daring to pretend to be asleep, "Alright then."
She sat down at the desk with him, feeling sullen and slightly puzzled. "Why doesn't my cousin care about me anymore?"
"This afternoon you went to the shop with your uncle, had tea and listened to a storyteller, wasting the whole day playing without learning anything. Do you think I don't care about you if I ask you to review what you learned yesterday before bed?" Ying Zheng frowned and said unhappily.
Banban was persuaded and willingly said, "Then you grind the powder for me."
The two studied for a while, and at 1:15 PM, Yun came in to deliver the night tonic. Today's night tonic was a soft and tender chicken and mushroom soup, mixed with some crisp water bamboo slices.
“My young lady usually goes to bed early, this is the first time she’s had a nighttime tonic.” Cong Yun served the two of them, the millet cakes were freshly made and were steaming hot as they were arranged on the plate.
"It's good if you don't eat it." Although Banban was really craving it, she also knew why her cousin needed to have a nightly supplement every day.
“You’re at the age where you’re growing taller.” Cong Yun noticed Banban’s gaze and gestured, “You’re taller than you were a few days ago.” The latter was referring to Ying Zheng.
"Hmm." Ying Zheng wiggled his ankle.
This millet pancake was made according to Banban's preferences, with lots of milk and sugar added, making it very sweet.
After serving the two young masters their evening tonic and rinsing their mouths, Congyun said, "Tomorrow we'll have fish, freshly brought-back eel. You should get some rest."
Ying Zheng had never been particularly interested in food, except for fish, so he immediately agreed upon hearing this.
Banban raised his hand and shouted, "I want to eat grilled eel, with plenty of sauce poured over it, to cover the steamed rice!" After shouting, he followed Ying Zheng closely and said, "Cousin, it's so cold outside, I don't want to walk anymore."
Cong Yun was slightly taken aback and subconsciously stopped him, "How can this be?" Boys and girls should not sit together after the age of six.
“Alright.” Ying Zheng nodded directly. “What’s the problem? My cousin and I have always been close.”
Before Yun could even finish his hesitation, Banban had already rolled onto his bed, her shoes kicked off haphazardly, and she was covered by the blanket with only her head showing.
She had no choice but to pull down the window lattice to prevent the siblings from catching a cold from the draft at night.
Ying Zheng lay down, the faint chill dissipating in the warmth of the blankets. He lay quietly, closing his eyes.
Banban held her breath as soon as he lay down, and seeing that he didn't react, she wanted to speak again, "Cousin, did you burn incense?"
“No.” He raised his arm and sniffed it. “What does it smell like?”
"Mmm!" She moved closer, nestled against his shoulder, and sniffed closely, "You smell so good, a fresh fragrance, like a sweet and sour apple."
The apple is a familiar fruit, but it is not quite the same as a crisp, sweet apple; it tastes soft, mushy, and sour.
Banban doesn't really like eating it, but it smells amazing, and it's great for filling a room with its aroma.
Ying Zheng was speechless. How could she smell that? Did she have a dog's nose?
"I came back from my husband's house in the evening, and he gave me two crabapples. I haven't eaten them yet. Do you want some?"
Apricots are a rare commodity, inaccessible to anyone but royalty and nobility, and are extremely expensive.
Ji Hao favored Ying Zheng as a student, and would always covet good things from him.
"It doesn't taste good, it's sour and astringent, not sweet at all." Banban pouted.
She snuggled into his arms, and he turned to gently pat her shoulder. He didn't have any skills in coaxing a child to sleep, and his words were quite awkward. "Banban, how is that paper you mentioned last time made?"
Banban was slightly taken aback, not expecting him to ask this suddenly, and slowly blinked, "Huh?"
"It's the kind of brittle paper you mentioned," Ying Zheng reminded her.
“Bamboo slips and cloth are indeed not very convenient.” He thought of the books in Ji Hao’s house, which were actually not many, but filled several rooms.
Banban tried hard to recall, but wasn't quite sure. "I don't know."
"It seems to be made of tree bark, cotton, linen, and wood," she said. "I dreamt about it. In my dream, people wrote on paper, and they could even erase what they wrote."
How can tree bark and wood be made into something thin?
Ying Zheng fell into deep thought, and the idea that it could be erased was even more unbelievable.
"What else was in the dream?" he pressed.
Banban hesitated, "That was just a strange dream. Do you believe me?"
Ying Zheng didn't hesitate. "How will I know if it's true if I don't try? I often have strange dreams too." He touched her little face and told her to close her eyes. "There's an old man in my dream, that's my grandfather."
"What did my cousin's grandfather look like?"
Ying Zheng didn't answer; instead, he smiled.
"why are you laughing?"
He laughed and said he dreamed of his grandfather whom he had never met, and she actually believed him, even asking what he looked like.
What an idiot.
"Don't believe what others tell you in the future; think it over carefully." Clearing his throat, Ying Zheng pressed her head into his arms.
"Did my cousin say the same thing to me?" Banban asked sullenly.
Of course not.
"Except for my cousin."
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