TL: Hua
The state of mind of the various officials who received the emperor’s invitation can fundamentally be divided into two categories.
One category consisted of officials who had seen the emperor coaxing the little prince in the imperial study and had glimpsed the noble person behind the screen. They had already expected this in their hearts, so when they received the invitation, they felt that everything was settled.
The other category comprised officials who were completely unaware. Each of them was utterly flustered and shocked in their own homes. The emperor had always been a dignified and self-possessed individual, and now he even had a child! It truly made people’s jaws drop.
However, whatever thoughts the court officials harbored no longer mattered. The emperor had already distributed the invitations, and the Empress Dowager’s palace had also issued imperial decrees to the various noble residences.
Soon, the little prince’s full-month celebration arrived.
The little cub in his swaddling clothes was still sleeping soundly. The Empress Dowager gently walked over, her eyes full of loving kindness.
After a month of transformation, little cub Yin Yuanchen no longer had that wrinkled, comical newborn face. His skin was as fair and tender as his salted fish father’s, but his features were strikingly similar to the cool and detached emperor’s, delicate with a touch of nobility. Even when he frowned, he was exactly like his imperial father.
After a while, the little cub mumbled and awoke from his peaceful sleep. The Empress Dowager then saw her obedient grandson open a pair of dark, bright eyes.
“Oh, our Yuanchen is awake!” The Empress Dowager put her finger into the cub’s plump palm, playfully teasing, “Today, our Yuanchen’s beloved father is coming to the palace. Do you miss your father?”
The little cub was still too young to understand words, but he tightly grasped the Empress Dowager’s finger, his eyes darting around the room at the palace attendants as if searching for someone, and then he started babbling.
He vigorously kicked his little quilt with his tiny feet. At just a month old, the cub couldn’t roll over yet, but he lifted his head, babbling even louder.
The wet nurse specifically assigned to the little prince leaned over and picked the cub out of the cradle. The cub had slept all night; although the wet nurse had coaxed him to wake up for a nighttime change, his soft cloth diaper was still full of pee.
The little prince was much less trouble than other children the wet nurse had cared for. Although the little prince was of noble birth and she had to serve him with utmost care, he had not once confused day and night since birth, sometimes not even fussing once all night.
After cleaning the surprisingly calm little prince, palace attendants brought in warm water of a suitable temperature.
The Empress Dowager personally took a cotton cloth, wet it in the hot water, and turned to gently wipe the little prince’s chubby cheeks clean. She then had a palace attendant bring over a red outfit that had been prepared early, dressing the little prince piece by piece.
Thus, a joyful little prince was born under the hands of the Empress Dowager. It was clear that the little cub seemed to like the vibrantly colored clothes, excitedly grabbing at himself with his tiny hands.
After a long while of fussing, the little cub became a bit hungry. He no longer cared about his new red clothes; instead, he pulled at the wet nurse’s collar with his little paws and cried out.
The smile on the Empress Dowager’s face never faded. She raised her hand to carefully adjust the cub’s collar again and quickly had the wet nurse come to feed her obedient grandson.
At this moment, the little prince’s beloved father had just been pulled out of his warm bed by Lady Su, and before he was even fully awake, he was confronted with a pile of clothes.
Lady Su, infuriated, laughed instead: “Look at how lazy you are! How can you be a father? You’re probably even more fond of sleep than the little prince in the palace!”
Xu Yanqing, with tears in his eyes, hugged the clothes his mother had thrown at him, from head to toe, and lazily yawned, “It’s still early, Mother, what’s the rush?”
“It’s your own child’s full month celebration; what do you mean, what’s the rush?” Lady Su no longer wanted to talk to her lazy son. She raised her hand and called out to Mu Yu, who was standing by: “Quickly, dress your young master, and let him grab something to eat. We’re going to the palace in half an hour.”
Mu Yu stepped forward, supporting the swaying young master, and nodded seriously to Lady Su, “Madam, don’t worry.”
Lady Su naturally knew her son’s disposition, so she could only huff and glare at the salted fish again, then turn and leave the room.
Mu Yu painstakingly persuaded his young master, then pulled out the clothes from his young master’s arms and dressed him neatly, piece by piece.
Today’s breakfast was very simple, truly living up to Lady Su’s “just grab something to eat.” A warm towel was placed on his face, and at the same time, the bedroom window was opened by Mu Yu.
A cool breeze instantly woke Xu Yanqing from his drowsy state. In reality, he wasn’t that irresponsible; although he was a bit lazy by nature, he wouldn’t completely disregard the little cub’s full-month celebration.
It was truly Lady Su being overly cautious that she came to wake him so early. The salted fish young master slowly put a piece of pastry into his mouth.
“Mu Yu, go get that wooden box I gave you yesterday.” After breakfast, Xu Yanqing took a cloth to wipe his hands clean, then remembered what he had told Mu Yu yesterday. Mu Yu quickly took a medium-sized wooden box from the cabinet and handed it to his young master: “Is this the longevity lock that Young Master prepared for the little prince?”
Xu Yanqing looked completely bewildered: “Why would I prepare a longevity lock?”
“Don’t people usually give longevity locks for full-month gifts?” Mu Yu was even more confused.
Xu Yanqing shrugged carelessly: “Everyone gives longevity locks. The little cub would probably have enough to wear a different one every day for half a year. He certainly doesn’t lack one from me.”
Mu Yu nodded repeatedly. His young master made so much sense; he was speechless.
By the time Xu Yanqing had eaten his fill and emerged from his courtyard, the entire family was already waiting at the entrance. It was still barely dawn, and the carriages of Marquis Wu’an’s mansion were already heading towards the imperial palace.
The streets were still largely empty, with only a few scattered shops preparing for the day. Xu Yanqing pulled back the curtain and glanced outside; not a single official was as eager as they were.
By the time Marquis Wu’an’s family arrived at the imperial palace, the little prince had just finished feeding.
Stepping back into Hanliang Palace, Xu Yanqing inexplicably felt as if he had returned home. He sat stiffly on the bed, and the next moment, a cheerful little cub was placed in his arms.
The salted fish young master appeared small, pitiful, and helpless.
The Empress Dowager pulled Lady Su to sit down. Seeing this, she laughed heartily, and together with Lady Su, they playfully teased Xu Yanqing, who was holding the little cub awkwardly.
The little cub hadn’t seen his salted fish father for almost half a month. At first, he stared at Xu Yanqing with wide, curious eyes. It wasn’t long before, as if he smelled the familiar scent of the young master, he immediately tilted his head and grinned.
The little cub raised a chubby hand and tugged at his father’s collar, babbling as if asking where his father had gone to play all this time and why he hadn’t come to spend time with him for so long.
The Empress Dowager couldn’t help but chuckle, “He is his true father, after all. No matter how we tease or coax him, the little cub is still closest to his father.”
The Empress Dowager’s words carried a slight hint of sourness, but Lady Su agreed with her, “Exactly! And that brat Xu Yanqing still complains and is incredibly lazy.”
The innocent salted fish young master, holding the little cub in his arms, made a grimace. The little cub wasn’t scared at all; instead, he opened his mouth and laughed even more happily.
When Yin Yanjun arrived, he saw this scene, and a faint smile instantly touched his brows. He slowly walked over to the young master, extending a hand to gently caress the cub’s tender cheek.
The cub reflexively grabbed his imperial father’s large hand, playing happily and joyfully.
The Empress Dowager and Lady Su both looked over, and a knowing smile appeared on their faces. Seeing that the little prince was being watched, they both got up and went elsewhere to talk.
Soon, the side hall became quiet, with only the occasional “spluttering” sound of the little cub blowing spit bubbles.
—
It was truly too early today—of course, “too early” was only for the salted fish. So, after a short while, he yawned repeatedly, and the little prince in his arms, as if infected by his salted fish father, also opened his mouth and let out a tiny yawn.
Yin Yanjun watched, both amused and exasperated, gently pinching the young master’s earlobe with his thumb: “Qingqing, did you not sleep well last night?”
“Sort of, plus I was woken up by my mother early this morning.” A physiological tear welled up in the corner of Xu Yanqing’s eye from exhaustion. He held the little cub with one arm and used the other to wipe away the tear.
Feeling overwhelmingly sleepy, Xu Yanqing simply handed the little cub to Yin Yanjun: “Why don’t you play with him for a bit, Taoist master!” He needed to catch up on some sleep first.
So Xu Yanqing kicked off his shoes and immediately curled up on the little cub’s exclusive bed. He closed his eyes and was fast asleep in no time.
The little cub fell asleep much slower than his father. He played in his imperial father’s arms for a while longer before smacking his little lips and closing his eyes.
Yin Yanjun then gently placed the little cub in the cradle, moving the cradle next to the young master. Both father and son were sound asleep, their sleeping expressions even bearing a slight resemblance. A somewhat deeper smile spread across his handsome and detached features.
Leaving Wen Jing to guard the father and son sleeping soundly on the bed, Yin Yanjun then got up and returned to the imperial study. Due to the little cub’s full month celebration today, the memorials placed before him were thicker than usual, most of them being expressions of surprise and congratulations from officials across the land, with little substantive content.
The little prince’s full-month celebration was arranged at Jiying Palace. From this, the officials could see the emperor’s immense favor towards the little prince.
After all, traditionally, Jiying Palace was used at most once a year, but this year marked the emperor’s second banquet there.
As the sun gradually rose, officials and their families entered the imperial palace one after another. All the male officials and their female relatives were led by palace attendants to two different areas.
Because the Empress Dowager had confined herself to Yunhe Palace for many years, few of the female relatives of these officials had experience entering the palace.
Therefore, no matter how noble their status outside, they were all more or less a bit uneasy at this moment.
Then, the female relatives heard sounds of laughter coming from within Yunluan Palace. Some madams could vaguely make out the voice of the Grand Princess among them.
Yunhe Palace had been planted with a lot of vegetables by the Empress Dowager, and she even had the idea of raising some chicks, so naturally, she couldn’t let a group of female relatives disturb it.
Therefore, the Empress Dowager decisively moved to Yunluan Palace, not far away, and had the Grand Princess come early to entertain the madams and young ladies.
Of course, those madams and young ladies naturally dared not truly let the Grand Princess entertain them. Each of them very consciously lined up to bow and greet the Empress Dowager.
During this time, it was inevitable that some madams would bring up the just-one-month-old little prince to gauge the Empress Dowager and the Grand Princess’s attitude towards the person who had given birth to the emperor’s child.
“The little child is fond of sleep; he was just sleeping with his father!” The Empress Dowager raised her hand and called out to Hong Luan: “Go see if the young master and the little prince are awake. If they are, bring the little prince over for the madams to see.”
It was also good for a month-old child to get some light and sun. Hong Luan, having received the Empress Dowager’s imperial decree, respectfully exited Yunluan Palace.
It was precisely at this moment that the salted fish young master pushed over the little prince, who was happily enjoying himself in his cradle.
