When the Jing Prince walked in, Xiao Hua was straightening her clothes in front of the table. A copper basin and a bowl was placed in front of her.
Seeing the Jing Prince, Xiao Hua's face turned red.
"Why is highness here?" As she spoke, she moved forward, her body seemingly blocking the Jing Prince's sight intentionally.
Unfortunately, her height wasn't comparable to the Jing Prince's and he naturally saw the things on the table. The copper basin was filled with water and a hand towel while the bowl was filled with a milky liquid.
The Jing Prince looked at the top of her head. The children were eating outside while she was eating inside?
"The children constantly need something to eat?"
Xiao Hua stared blankly, "Not, not really. Matron Xu said they can eat some slurry and what not. Nana He makes some every day for them.
The Jing Prince nodded and sat down at the table, pulling her to sit with him.
"Let Nana He know if you want to eat something."
How did they get to this topic? Xiao Hua was completely confused, and had forgotten about the bowl on the table. She felt her clothes were a little wet and was a little uncomfortable. She said: "Highness, I'm going to go change."
Xiao Hua entered the bathroom while the Jing Prince remained at the table. From the room, he could clearly hear the palace maids playing with the children.
The Jing Prince felt a little thirsty. Ding Xiang and the others were busy and no one served tea. He saw the bowl on the table, and thinking that she had just drank out of it, he lifted it without any thought and took a couple of sips.
Xiao Hua came out and saw right away the Jing Prince drinking from the bowl, and exclaimed: "Highness, how can you drink that, that's....." she said while taking the bowl away from him in embarrassment.
The Jing Prince hadn't been able to taste anything, and only felt it didn't taste very good. Seeing her astonished appearance, he was extremely confused.
Within the silent room, a man with a jade-like face and ink black brows sat with a confused expression. Some white substance still lingered on his pale lips. Xiao Hua's breathing couldn't help but speed up and her face grew even redder.
Once she snapped out of it, she felt extremely shy, wanting to cover her face and escape. Before she could move, she was pulled into his arms.
"What's wrong?" The Jing Prince spoke as he put the bowl in Xiao Hua's hands on the table, and half wrapped his arms around her.
"Nothing, nothing...."
Xiao Hua was used to being honest in front of the Jing Prince, and didn't dare gloss over things. She could only say hesitantly: "Highness, do you know what's in the bowl?" Her face seemed ready to drip blood.
"What?" Hearing her say this, the Jing Prince involuntarily licked his lips, trying to taste what it was.
It had a little raw flavor.....
Bang—-
Seeing the Jing Prince's actions, Xiao Hua was mindblown. She buried her face in his chest and didn't dare look at him.
"Ah....that's, that's the milk I squeezed out....."
Oh?
Her face was lifted by him. Why was she still so easily embarrassed after giving birth?!
"Why squeeze?"
Xiao Hua took a few deep breaths. The Jing Prince's calm seemed to have affected her as she mumbled: "Our son and daughter can't finish it all. Matron Xu said it needs to be all squeezed out or that area will hurt."
"Does it still need squeezing?"
"Just finished."
"Can't finish it all?"
"Ah?"
What does that mean?
"Then how is it dealt with after squeezing?"
Why is his highness asking this! But Xiao Hua still honestly answered: "It gets poured out."
The Jing Prince gave her a glance and didn't say anything, but his hand lifted the bowl and he drained it in one go.
"No waste!"
This was the Jing Prince's conclusion.
Due to the Jing Prince's actions and words, Xiao Hua was embarrassed the whole day. She hoped for the Jing Prince to go busy himself so she could nurse her emotions. However, she realized the Jing Prince didn't seem to be leaving anymore.
The two sat on the kiln. Zhuo'er and Yi Yi sat in their father's lap.
The two played by themselves, and then played with each other. Afterwards, Zhuo'er fell asleep on the side. Yi Yi was still full of energy and hugged her father's leg, leaving a trail of saliva on it.
Xiao Hua lifted her up and used her bib to wipe it clean, "You've become a bag of saliva. Where does all that saliva come from?"
"Growing teeth." The Jing Prince had asked Doctor Hu, so he knew about it.
Actually, Xiao Hua knew as well, but she was just saying it.
When it was dinner time, the wet nurses carried the two little ones away. The two babies seemed to know that they had to leave soon. They didn't cry, but looked at Xiao Hua and the Jing Prince with pitiful eyes.
Xiao Hua's heart wavered. Seeing the man next to her remain silent, she had the two little ones remain until they fell asleep before allowing the wet nurses to take them away.
After a bath, the two of them lay in bed. Because of today's matter, Xiao Hua was still a little embarrassed to be alone with the Jing Prince.
"Not squeezing anymore?"
Eh? Squeezing what?
Xiao Hua snapped out of it. The Jing Prince had been with her the entire time, how could she squeeze.
There was no need to mention it, she felt swollen. Matron Xu had said that it must be squeezed dry before bed. But seeing the Jing Prince acting decent while he stared into her eyes, Xiao Hua's face darkened repeatedly.
She palmed her face and everted her eyes. She had decided to wait until he fell asleep before getting up and squeezing.
"If it needs squeezing, this humble prince will help you."
Xiao Hua choked and coughed a couple of times. Before she could recover, she was already pressed down.
......
This sort of sucking was completely different from a child's suckling. Xiao Hua completely didn't know how to react. Furthermore, this person's hands were also moving while his mouth was sucking, and Xiao Hua soon wasn't able to endure.
"Not allowed to pour it out in the future."
At the very end, the Jing Prince said these words. However, Xiao Hua had long since been blanked out, with only a single thought remaining: this person is really too.....
The next day, Xiao Hua purposefully forgot the Jing Prince's words. Unexpectedly, the Jing Prince got angry when he returned.
He was very cute when he got angry. He just ignored you and wouldn't look at you, making it clear that he was unhappy but it wouldn't show on his face. After careful examination, Xiao Hua realized that this man and her son seemed to play the same tune on different instruments. They were both this way when they were angry.
When her son got angry, Xiao Hua just needed to hold him, kiss him and cajole him. If that didn't work, she still had a "trump card". But when a man was angry, could she solve it the same way? Xiao Hua was helpless as she tried flattering, and made several forms of reparation. In the end, she still took out her "trump card" due to her helplessness, and finally managed to coax this man into a slightly better mood.
If Xiao Hua had known things would turn out this way, she would definitely not intentionally forget things.
Something like this couldn't be hidden from others, especially not from those who personally served Xiao Hua. After Xiao Hua squeezed out her milk a couple more times without pouring it out, and instead saved it in a bowl for the Jing Prince, Ding Xiang, Chun Cao and the rest all blushed.
This made Xiao Hua feel awkward for several days, complaining countless of times that the Jing Prince looked proper on the surface but was completely indecent underneath.
***
In November the Jing Province was extremely cold. The water outside froze into ice, but the western pavilion's inner room was warm like spring.
The two children were extremely lively recently, especially Yi Yi. She would stuff whatever she could get her hands on into her mouth. Matron Xu and Doctor Hu said that children would be this way when they were growing teeth. Xiao Hua noticed that their beds were the same way.
But what does growing teeth have to do with chewing on everything? Xiao Hua was helpless, and could only order Ding Xiang and the wet nurses to put away all the toys.
Yi Yi, this little fellow, couldn't find anything to chew on and became obsessed with chewing on her father and mother's hands. If they held her she would contentedly start chewing. Many times when she saw their daughter sitting on his lap and chewing his hand while drooling, Xiao Hua felt like burrowing into the ground. Even though she was the one who gave birth to them, she still wondered whether these were really her children.
Yi Yi occasionally got happy due to the nibbling and would turn around and give everyone a toothless smile. This smile tugged on their heartstrings, and made them want to give everything to her. Zhuo'er was a little better than her. Although he would also chew on people's hands, he was perfectly content with chewing on his own hand.
Xiao Hua would often wonder if she was the same way as a baby when she saw him sitting there chewing happily on his hand.
Then she would look at the Jing Prince and look at her son before smiling mysteriously.
After being on the receiving end of this smile for some time, the Jing Prince quickly figured out what Xiao Hua was thinking. He wasn't dumb. Looking at his foolish son and then looking at the cutely smiling daughter in his arms, the Jing Prince felt that his daughter was still more lovable by a little.
Yi Yi got sick, and suddenly got a fever.
Her little face was red and burning, and she grew listless, only able to cry and whine. She seemed like a little sheep who was being weaned off milk. Zhuo'er was still fine and didn't get feverish. Hearing his sister cry, he became stunned. He could only stare foolishly and let out little cries with his mouth.
Xiao Hua's heart ached and almost broke. She was clearly fine when she left for the night. How had things turned out this way overnight? Furthermore, Yi Yi' stomach was a little upset. She had diarrhea.
She couldn't have caught a cold. The two children were kept under close watch. The western wing's windows were specially made and there wouldn't be a draught. Doctor Hu came and was also without explanation. Only after Matron Xu walked around the western wing was she able to explain. Yi Yi had eaten something unclean.
The moment these words came out, Eunuch Fu immediately walked in that direction with a dark expression. There was no need to guess that those wet nurses were in trouble.
Matron Xu also knew that this old eunuch cherished the two children, and hurriedly called him back, "Aiya Eunuch Fu, wait a minute."
Eunuch Fu stood still and Matron Xu continued: "It's not a problem with the wet nurses. These wet nurses only eat the food from the small kitchen, and Nana He wouldn't have given them anything bad to eat. The little mistress and master's food is fine as well. Otherwise, it's not possible for only little mistress to get a fever."
"Then hurry up and say what the problem was. Stop dilly-dallying."
Matron Xu secretly rolled her eyes and said: "Wasn't I just about to say it? I just took a look around the western wing, and think that the little mistress definitely chewed on some dirty toy to end up this way."
Ding Xiang spoke on the side: "Matron Xu, after your instructions madam had given the orders. When no one is around, their toys would be put away."
Matron Xu said: "Then we have to ask those serving in the western wing. Just now I saw a rattle-drum on the children's bed."
The situation was swiftly investigated, and it was completely an accident. Little Yi Yi recently liked to chew on things, and it wasn't easy to put her to sleep at night. Since Xiao Hua had ordered not to put any toys around them, the western wing's palace maids and wet nurses had all kept a close eye on things.
Last night Yi Yi made a fuss and wouldn't sleep, and the wet nurses didn't dare give her anything to play with. They could only use a rattle-drum to soothe her. After Yi Yi fell asleep, the wet nurse had forgotten to tidy up the rattle-drum. Yi Yi had probably found it and put it in her mouth.
The wet nurse who forgot to clean up the rattle-drum was definitely going to get punished. When Eunuch Fu headed out, Xiao Hua said that she probably didn't do it intentionally. It wasn't that Xiao Hua's heart wavered, but rather she had kept an eye on all the wet nurses normally, and they treated the children extremely well. An occasional mistake was understandable.
Of course, since Yi Yi got sick due to her carelessness, this matter couldn't be glossed over. Xiao Hua's words were merely because she was afraid Eunuch Fu would torment people again. This Eunuch Fu enjoyed having people beaten to death, and Xiao Hua remembered this very clearly. She always had the worry that he would beat someone to death over some minor thing.
It wasn't clear if Xiao Hua's words had an effect or what, but Eunuch Fu didn't make things difficult for that wet nurse. He merely sent her out of the estate. This punishment seemed light, but was actually quite hard to bear. The estate's benefits were good, and those wet nurses all cherished the two children. It was said that the wet nurse left the estate in tears.
When Xiao Hua heard this, she was relieved that Eunuch Fu didn't beat her to death.
Doctor Hu was prepared to prescribe Yi Yi some medicine but was stopped by Matron Xu. She said that it was better not to take any medicine for such a small fever. Just stopping the supplementary nourishment, breastfeeding a couple of days and some careful attention was all that was needed.
As expected, Yi Yi recovered before two days had passed. She became lively once again, and tried to chew on whatever she could get her hands on.
Xiao Hua teased her while saying: "Little scoundrel chewing on things. Still haven't learned your lesson after getting a fever."
Little Yi Yi gave a couple of cries in her direction, as though refuting her, and then gave her a toothless grin.
Author's notes:
Hehe, another bout of vulgarity. My morals are all over the floor.
Tomorrow's the first of June. Don't know if this author can take the day off, and go celebrate the children's festival.....