Pregnant Salted Fish Chapter 68

TL: Hua

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The little prince’s cradle seemed to have been replaced. It now had four smooth, round wheels underneath, allowing it to move forward like a carriage, looking quite novel.

Hong Luan trotted over and curtsied: “Young Master, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager requests your presence at Yunluan Palace with the little prince.”

“I was just about to go!” Xu Yanqing had been bored at Wu’an Marquis Mansion for the past few days, so he had made this somewhat presentable little carriage, modeled after modern baby strollers. When he entered the palace today, he simply had Mu Yu load it into the carriage and bring it into the imperial palace.

After taking a nap on the little cub’s bed, Xu Yanqing woke up to see Wen Jing and Mu Yu sitting outside, chatting idly.

“Ahem, is the chief eunuch slacking off?” The young master leisurely walked out from the inner room.

Wen Jing, who was being teased, stood up and bowed: “I hope Young Master will conceal a thing or two for this servant in front of His Majesty.”

These two, one after another, were learning bad habits from the salted fish young master.

It wasn’t yet time for the little cub’s full-month banquet. It was rare for them to sit together and chat idly. Inside, a wet nurse was left to guard the deeply sleeping little cub.

It wasn’t until he heard the little cub’s cooing from inside that Xu Yanqing suddenly remembered something and waved for Mu Yu to fetch the baby stroller from the carriage.

Xu Yanqing’s carpentry skills weren’t developed in a day or two; mainly, he had many strange models in his mind.

However, it was also due to his overly lazy nature that he only bothered to make this little contraption because he considered the little cub to have been ‘pulled’ out of his stomach.

The baby stroller was beautifully made, polished smooth all over, without a single splinter. Inside, it was padded with a soft and comfortable small blanket.

The freshly woken little cub had just finished feeding and was burping as the wet nurse brought him out from the inner room. He was already a month old, and his bones had solidified a bit, so he didn’t need to be held horizontally all the time; he could also be held diagonally or upright.

However, it was clear that Xu Yanqing had held a child too few times. Even though the wet nurse had explained a lot to him, his whole body remained stiff when holding the little cub, looking very uncomfortable.

Finally, the little cub was carelessly placed into the baby stroller by his salted fish father. On the simple canopy of the stroller hung several small trinkets that Xu Xianzhi had found outside. As the stroller moved, these trinkets swung back and forth.

The little cub’s pair of big, watery eyes followed the small pendants back and forth, looking both adorable and endearing.

Xu Yanqing pointed at the little cub looking up and joked, shaking his head, “Very good, he can even roll his eyes!”

Mu Yu was shocked; that was a normal upward glance! His young master truly gave birth to a child just to make fun of him.

Unable to bear watching the little prince suffer in his young master’s hands, Mu Yu quickly said, “The weather is good today, not a hint of wind. Why don’t you take the little prince out for a walk, Young Master?”

“Alright!” Xu Yanqing shrugged indifferently, kicked open the anti-slip locks on the stroller’s four wheels, and then slowly stood up, pushing the stroller out.

They were already heading towards the Empress Dowager’s palace when they encountered Hong Luan walking towards them outside.

“Empress Dowager, Mother, I’ve brought the little cub.” The young master pushed the baby stroller into the main hall. Hong Luan had forgotten to tell Young Master Xu that a group of ladies were sitting in Yunluan Palace.

So, the clueless salted fish young master pushed the little cub through the hall door and was startled by the sight of a hall full of ladies.

It felt like His Majesty’s three thousand concubines had come to pay their respects to the esteemed Empress Dowager early in the morning. Xu Yanqing shivered all over, disgusted by his own thoughts. Unfortunately, Yunluan Palace was not a good place to vomit; otherwise, Xu Yanqing declared he could have thrown up until the sky turned dark.

The dejected salted fish silently closed his mouth and wanted to turn around and leave. He winked at Hong Luan, who was already serving beside the Empress Dowager. “Little palace maid, what’s going on? Why didn’t you tell me about such an important matter beforehand? Now I’m so embarrassed.”

Hong Luan quietly raised her hand and touched the tip of her nose, appearing very guilty. When she saw Young Master Xu, she only remembered the task the Empress Dowager had given her; she couldn’t possibly think of so much.

The Empress Dowager noticed the young master’s discomfort and affectionately waved to him: “Come here quickly, let me see if the little prince is awake.”

The salted fish, wishing he could dig a hole and crawl into it, could only push the little cub in front of the Empress Dowager without looking around: “The little cub just woke up, and I was just thinking of taking him out for a walk. I didn’t expect so many guests here, Your Majesty.” So many that his scalp tingled a bit.

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager’s benevolent gaze fell upon the little cub in the stroller: “Did you make this little carriage too?”

His Majesty’s imperial study still contained a very exquisite pendulum clock, which the Empress Dowager had seen, so her attention was now focused on the exquisitely designed baby stroller.

The little cub, seeing his grandmother, gurgled and blew saliva bubbles. After the bubbles were gone, he grinned, truly capable of melting hearts.

Under the burning gaze of all the ladies, Xu Yanqing suddenly began to reflect on his past mistake of staring at the Taoist master with similarly fervent eyes. But he still remembered to push the baby stroller closer to the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager beckoned to Lady Su and the Grand Princess below: “Come quickly and see if our Yuanchen is growing more and more beautiful!”

Since the Empress Dowager had left Yunhe Palace, the Grand Princess frequently entered the palace, so she was naturally not unfamiliar with the little prince. She skillfully picked the little prince up from the stroller and, smiling, handed him to Lady Su: “Lady Su, do you think Yuanchen resembles His Majesty more or Young Master Xu more?”

Actually, this topic has been discussed more than once or twice. The Grand Princess brought it up again, and its meaning was quite clear: it was to present the little prince’s birth father—Young Master Xu—to all the ladies and young misses.

Unlike the Grand Princess, who often entered the palace, Lady Su, who had only entered the palace this morning and had just seen the little prince once, was currently doting on him. She gently held the little prince in her arms and carefully examined him: “In appearance, the little prince resembles His Majesty greatly, but his eyes are identical to Ah Qing’s, and Ah Qing was also so endearing and lovable when he smiled at people as a child!”

“Indeed, he is lovable.” The Grand Princess playfully glanced at the seemingly flustered Young Master Xu: “Otherwise, His Majesty would not have fallen in love with the young master at first sight.”

Xu Yanqing blinked dazedly. What on earth was the Grand Princess talking about? Love at first sight was nonexistent.

Even in the open-minded world of his previous life, his and the Taoist master’s way of getting together was clearly a case of ‘driving a car before getting a license’ and then developing feelings over time. It couldn’t be considered love at first sight.

Alright, he hadn’t “gotten the license” with the Taoist master yet, but the Taoist master was being so obvious today, clearly thinking of the grand wedding.

The ladies in Yunluan Palace looked at Lady Su, who was chatting and laughing with the Empress Dowager and the Grand Princess, and were so shocked that they wished they could grab them and ask what riddle they were playing.

It was obvious that the little cub in the arms of Madam Wu’an was His Majesty’s only son, the recently full-month little prince of Daliang.

But what did His Majesty’s little prince have to do with Marquis Wu’an’s second legitimate son, who had a rather poor reputation?

The minds of all the ladies were turning to mush. While they were still confused, they heard the Empress Dowager say, “Our Yuanchen is truly worthy of being born of Ah Qing; even his temperament is as adorable and endearing as his father’s.”

So, who was Ah Qing?

Several young ladies looked up at Young Master Xu, who was obediently standing beside the Empress Dowager, and then whispered to their mothers beside them, “Marquis Wu’an’s second legitimate son is named Xu Yanqing, so the Ah Qing Her Majesty is referring to is…”

This hint was enough and should not be loudly spoken in Yunluan Palace, as it was all just their speculation. If it turned out to be false, wouldn’t it be a grave mistake?

Moreover, how could Marquis Wu’an’s second legitimate son, being a man, possibly give birth to a child? Even if he were miraculously able to, how could it be such a coincidence that he ended up with His Majesty?

Could it be that His Majesty actually preferred men and was a ‘cut sleeve[mfn]A historical euphemism for homosexuality—particularly male-male relationships.[/mfn]’?

This was not the time for wild guesses. Even though the ladies were secretly thinking all sorts of things, they still sat obediently, maintaining a dignified demeanor. In reality, the handkerchiefs in their hands were almost torn to shreds.

The little prince cooed and played with his maternal grandmother for a while, then lifted his head to find his salted fish father. Lady Su gently placed the little prince into her son’s arms, unable to resist teasing him a bit: “It truly confirms what the Empress Dowager said. The bond between a father and son is stronger; the little prince is so close with his father!”

The Grand Princess couldn’t help but laugh: “You, one a grandmother and one a maternal grandmother, are both jealous of the little prince’s birth father. You shouldn’t even think about competing with the young master.”

Then, the Grand Princess turned to the group of ladies below for affirmation, her clear, cold eyes holding the unique nobility of the imperial family: “Ladies, isn’t that right?”

“Yes, yes, the Grand Princess is right.” The hall was silent for a moment, then a lady skilled in social graces spoke up with a laugh: “Ultimately, children are closer to their parents, just as His Majesty respects the Empress Dowager.”

“Sweet mouth.” A faint smile rippled in the Empress Dowager’s slightly sharp eyes: “After so many years, your tongue is still as eloquent as ever.” The lady had spoken first, and the other ladies naturally did not want to fall behind. At the same time, they had come to a conclusion about Young Master Xu and the little prince’s origins. No matter how tumultuous their thoughts were, they still smiled brightly on the surface.

The salted fish was truly unaccustomed to such scenes of flattery and small talk, and he felt utterly on pins and needles in Yunluan Palace.

So, he glared down at the self-amused little cub. If it weren’t for this naughty little cub, he would have already run away.

The little cub was unaware of anything and couldn’t understand the gloominess in his father’s heart. He only thought his father was playing with him, so he opened his small mouth and laughed happily.

Xu Yanqing was resigned to his fate: the old saying is right, children are debts. Why was he so suicidal as to bring such a debt upon himself?

The Empress Dowager naturally noticed the young master’s restlessness and, after stifling a laugh, finally released him: “Just sunbathe outside, don’t run too far, lest you get bumped into.”

“Alright!” The salted fish instantly came back to life, joyfully putting the little cub into the stroller, and in a few steps, pushed the little cub outside.

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