The Royal’s Little Lady

“I haven’t seen him for just a day, but he looks more and more lovely. Just look at this soft skin and tender flesh!”

 

The two Young Madams beside her also looked at him. And the more they looked, the more they liked him. At this moment, they just wished they could snatch him from the old lady’s hands and hug him.

 

It was particularly true for the second Young Madam. She was pregnant, so she was looking forward to giving birth to a boy especially since her first child was a girl. She was a little envious when she saw that Gu Sui’er gave birth to a big fat boy. She wanted to get closer to her, hoping to bring good luck to herself.

 

The Old Madam hugged him for a while, not wanting to let go of him. Seeing the tender and lovely little appearance of the baby, she couldn’t help but chastise Xiao Heng again: “Ah Heng, from your cold and cheerless temper, you don’t seem to be a father at all. You need to fix it!”

 

Seeing that the Old Madam was also taking her side, Gu Sui’er naturally felt comforted and even a little complacent. She secretly peeked at Xiao Heng.

 

But all she saw was Xiao Heng was standing there without saying a word.

 

Just then, he suddenly looked up.

 

It just so happened that her look of taking joy in calamity and delight in disaster1Taking joy in calamity and delight in disaster [幸灾乐祸] – An idiom that means rejoicing in other people’s misfortune. was perfectly captured by him. She quickly averted her eyes.

 

Xiao Heng grunted softly, but Gu Sui’er heard it.

 

Thinking about it, she felt like laughing again but tried her best to hold back.

 

Xiao Heng looked at her smile with a dark face. Looking at her being like this, the base of his ears reddened a little. He turned away.

 

When the Old Madam asked about his wet nurse, Nanny An came over to report, “Because the Little Young Master has been crying a lot recently, the wet nurse is kneeling outside.”

 

When the second Young Madam heard this, she sensed something was wrong with the situation.

 

So everyone hurriedly ordered Wet Nurse Sun to come over.

 

As soon as Wet Nurse Sun came over and saw the Old Madam and the second Young Madam, she sniffled: “I really want to serve the Young Master well, but I really don’t know why he keeps crying…”

 

When the second Young Madam heard this, her complexion changed.

 

But after she thought about it, she realized the ideas of these slaves.

 

Blame her for thinking of sending people in a hurry and not foreseeing these slaves’ thoughts of wanting to climb high only to overreach themselves.

 

After observing everything, the Old Madam pointed at Wet Nurse Sun and said, “It’s a pity. Even though you are a wet nurse, you can barely look after a baby. Hurry up and see her out. Find four good ones and send two for the second child’s branch and two for Ah Heng’s branch.”

 

Wet Nurse Sun felt as if she was struck by thunder, crying and kneeling on the ground to beg for mercy. However, the Old Madam, who had already reprimanded her, naturally won’t let her stay. She immediately sent someone out to find new wet nurses.

 

This incident of Nanny Sun being expelled terrified all the maids of TingZhu Courtyard.

 

A wet nurse’s value was naturally much greater than theirs but she was chased out so easily. So, they, the ones with merely any value, trembled with fear and did not dare to slack off a bit. They worked with extra efficiency, no longer having the audacity to be negligent. In a short while, the whole atmosphere of TingZhu Courtyard was different from before, it was very busy inside and out.

 

Anyway, Nanny An reported to Gu Sui’er about the person named GuiZhi who had a clear mind, an ordinary appearance and was quite useful.

 

“Actually, it’s a good thing she has an ordinary appearance. We don’t have to worry about her playing bad tricks and can put her in an important position. Young Mistress, think of Bao Ya and Jin Fu, both of them wanted to stir up trouble hardly after you gave birth ah!”

 

Gu Sui’er didn’t care what that person looked like. As for inciting trouble, she didn’t think about it.

 

It was just about the position of a concubine. She didn’t have the idea of ​​being the only one in Xiao Heng’s backyard.

 

After listening to her words, Gu Sui’er summoned GuiZhi and let Nanny An question her carefully. Only then did she know that the girl’s father was originally a scholar. Later, because of the reversal of fortune, she sold her body to bury her dead father and was reduced to a slave.

 

Gu Sui’er herself came from a farmer’s family, so she thought highly of this literate daughter of a scholar’s family. Hence, she was promoted to be Nanny An’s helper and manage almost all the things inside TingZhu Courtyard.

 

Xiao Heng naturally had no opinion when it was reported to him. He informed the Old Madam who left everything up to her. So, GuiZhi flew up the branch and became an important maid.

 

GuiZhi was indeed a smart person. Since she was promoted by Gu Sui’er and Nanny An, she was neither arrogant nor impulsive, helping Nanny An in managing the matters of the yard, be it punishing someone, promoting the capable servants, or even warning them. Little by little, TingZhu Courtyard changed. Everyone became prudent and everything turned clear and orderly.

 

Gu Sui’er relaxed after hearing Nanny An’s report.

 

But there was another troublesome thing that made them a little worried- that was the matter of the wet nurse. Because Wet Nurse Sun was dismissed, the residence hurriedly searched for wet nurses again and soon found four women. All of them had clean family backgrounds and were quite competent in their job. Two were sent to the second branch and two were sent over to TingZhu Courtyard.

 

After this, one would think that everyone could relax but unfortunately, they couldn’t. Although the little tadpole was born only a few days ago, he was quite sensitive. After drinking his mother’s milk these days, he was dead set against drinking the wet nurses’ breastmilk.

 

The Old Madam was extremely worried for this reason. She let four wet nurses take turns, but none of them could feed him.

 

In the end, the Madam secretly advised: “When this child was born, there was a red light in the labor room. In all likelihood, he must have been an honorable person in his last life. There are some such people who are very picky about food, so maybe, it’s the same about a wet nurse’s milk.”

 

The Old Madam didn’t reply. After thinking about it for a while, she also felt that it was plausible, so she could only let Gu Sui’er feed the baby.

 

Outsiders assumed that Gu Sui’er was tired from breastfeeding, but she herself didn’t think so.

 

During the confinement period, she didn’t have to do anything. She just rested on the bed. Even during the mealtimes, someone would come to serve her. So, when she held the little tadpole only to feed him, she didn’t feel tired at all.

 

Although her body was slender, because of the childbirth, that place was plump and full of milk, enough for her to feed the child till he was full.

 

The little tadpole also gulped down his mother’s milk happily each time. After eating, he would yawn softly, leaning onto his mother’s chest and sleeping sweetly.

 

By the time the confinement period was over, the little tadpole grew whiter and chubbier. That fleshy little face turned even plumper and the jet-black hair grew half a finger long. He looked just like a ginseng doll2Ginseng doll [参娃娃] – I’m not sure about this one. It can either refer to the ginseng doll mentioned in a Chinese fairy tale or, it can also simply point to a plump ginseng (ginseng is an expensive medicinal material). . Everyone in the mansion loved him.

 

When the baby’s full moon banquet was held in Marquis’ Mansion, the little tadpole was carried out to be shown to the guests and the old family friends. Everyone was charmed by him.

 

“He is like a ginseng doll, so adorable!”

 

The little tadpole was a very strong and healthy baby. He was just a month old, but he could already raise his chubby little head and blink his sparkling eyes to look at his mother. 

 

If someone teased him, he would turn his face away haughtily, as if he didn’t care to look at others at all. From his face, one would think he was extremely indignant.

 

Everyone laughed when they saw it.

 

Of the people who saw the matter, half of them really thought that this baby was amusing, and the other half wanted to win favor by fawning on him and praising him. The Old Madam’s face lit up even more as she heard everyone compliment her great-grandson and say how he was so charming and capable. One must know that normally, a child is not able to raise its head at this age. Nevertheless, this child could.

 

In the evening, when the little tadpole was finally carried back to Gu Sui’er’s side, she held him and hurriedly fed him his meal.

 

But at this moment, word came.

 

The Emperor had asked for Xiao Heng to enter the Palace with his child.

 

His Majesty wanted to see the little tadpole.

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1Taking joy in calamity and delight in disaster [幸灾乐祸] – An idiom that means rejoicing in other people’s misfortune.2Ginseng doll [参娃娃] – I’m not sure about this one. It can either refer to the ginseng doll mentioned in a Chinese fairy tale or, it can also simply point to a plump ginseng (ginseng is an expensive medicinal material).