By now, everyone had gone their separate ways—Situ Jing’er and Meng Duo’er had returned to Xijing, Guxi and Baili Xiaosheng had gone back to Nanzhao, and Baili Weisheng remained completely without word to this day.
With Jun Buli still not returning either, Prince Yao’s manor had grown truly cold and quiet. If it had never been lively to begin with, that would have been one thing, but having tasted that liveliness before falling silent again left a stark sense of loss—not just for Ziqing, but even for Hongyi and the others as well.
If not for Baili Xiaosheng’s request, Ziqing likely wouldn’t have let Guxi go at all.
More than ten days flew by, and soon it was time for the little princess’s full-month celebration, which also marked the end of Ziqing’s postpartum confinement period. Fortunately, with Jun Beiyue by her side, had it not been for him, given the state of tension between her and Jun Buli, it might well have affected her physical recovery.
On the day of the celebration, Jun Buli still hadn’t shown himself. As the old saying went, once a son is born, one should be prepared to hand him over to his future wife—and now it seemed the old saying was proving true in practice.
Ziqing’s heart had grown a little cold, no longer wanting to wait, no longer holding out hope. She’d decided that in a few days, she and Jun Beiyue would go stay at their travel palace in Mobei, and whenever she felt like it, whenever she wanted to return, she would.
What should have been a joyous occasion left the entire manor feeling cold and empty instead. Hongyi, watching anxiously, finally spoke up bluntly. “Mistress, His Majesty is His Majesty, and the little princess is the little princess. You can’t take out your anger over His Majesty on the little princess, can you!”
“Have I?” Ziqing frowned.
“Then why haven’t you arranged the little princess’s full-month celebration?” Hongyi pressed further.
“Her father went to make the arrangements. Everyone’s away, so there’s not much point in making a fuss. Go invite my father over in a bit, and call Yingzi too. Let’s all have a meal together.”
Ziqing certainly wouldn’t shortchange her daughter, but even with the desire for liveliness, she simply couldn’t muster it.
As for inviting the imperial relatives, nobles, and court officials to offer their congratulations—she might as well skip that entirely. She couldn’t stand the sight of all that fawning, flattering nonsense.
Hearing this, Hongyi finally relaxed, immediately acknowledging the order and hurrying off to attend to it.
Ziqing kept the little princess in her cradle, gently rocking it. Seeing her daughter’s mischievous eyes, she couldn’t help thinking of her brother when he’d been a baby—the two siblings really did resemble each other, both in appearance and spirit.
“When you grow up, will you be like your brother, keeping everything bottled up inside without telling Mommy?”
Ziqing asked this quite seriously, though the little princess had no idea what she was talking about, thinking she was just being playful, giggling happily.
“You, you laugh even more than your brother did. In a few years, you might turn out even more mischievous than him! But let me tell you now, you’re a girl, you’re not allowed to be that wild, understand!”
“Your brother was absolutely wild as a child in the world of poisonous beasts—even the Four Great Poison Beasts were afraid of him!”
As Ziqing spoke, she couldn’t help but laugh, though her eyes grew a little misty. Her son was right there beside her, so why did she suddenly feel such a deep, wistful longing for him?
It felt as if her Little Bear had left her, gone far away, and wouldn’t be coming back for a very, very long time.
The little princess understood none of this, but seeing Ziqing smile only made her laugh even more joyfully, like a happy little angel, utterly carefree.
Watching the little princess, Ziqing couldn’t help but consider another question—her approach to raising her children.
In truth, aside from those years in the world of poisonous beasts, she really hadn’t done much in the way of properly raising Little Bear at all—she’d simply been too busy, constantly on the move, and had been absent for the crucial first decade of his life. Thinking about it now, she genuinely felt guilty.
“Do you think Mommy should give in a little? Am I meddling too much?”
“But it’s just so embarrassing, isn’t it!”
Ziqing murmured to herself, as if asking the little princess. But just then, a maid came hurrying in from outside.
Hongyi, quick-eyed, immediately stepped forward and scolded her quietly, “Such a fluster—what kind of manners is this?”
“Aunt, His Majesty, he… he…”
The moment the maid mentioned “His Majesty,” Ziqing turned to look, and though she didn’t ask, her gaze fixed intently on the maid, sharp with attention.
“Speak up!” Hongyi, equally startled, urged her on.
“The young master sent people from the palace to prepare a family feast, over at the Hundred Flowers Garden. All the food and wine are already set out, and… and they say the mistress and little princess are invited over,” the maid said, clearly delighted.
Ziqing’s eyes lit up instantly. She knew—her son had finally given in. Without another word, she scooped up the little princess and headed straight for the Hundred Flowers Garden.
When she arrived, she saw from a distance that Jun Beiyue had already gotten there ahead of them, apparently discussing something with Jun Buli, both father and son with their brows slightly furrowed.
Ziqing felt a surge of excitement, but seeing this scene from a distance, she slowed her pace, calming herself down as well.
Sensing Ziqing’s approach, both Jun Beiyue and Jun Buli turned to look at her. Jun Beiyue smiled and moved to take the little princess, while Jun Buli’s gaze also fell on the baby.
Whether he was ignoring Ziqing, or had simply forgotten their earlier unpleasantness, he acted as though nothing had ever happened at all.
Ziqing lowered her gaze slightly, saying nothing further, and took her seat. Just as the maid was about to set out bowls and chopsticks and pour tea, Jun Buli stopped her.
He said nothing, simply pouring tea for Ziqing silently, then returning to his own seat.
Ziqing looked down, exhaling softly, but soon lifted her gaze, arching an eyebrow to look at Jun Buli, half-scrutinizing, half-assessing.
Just looking, saying nothing, with no intention of looking away.
To her surprise, Jun Buli did exactly the same, arching an eyebrow right back, as if in challenge, as if in scrutiny, showing not the slightest sign of deference.
As this mother-son standoff continued, the atmosphere around them cooled by several degrees, falling into a tense silence. The maids and servants attending nearby all held their breath, not one of them daring to speak.
Only Jun Beiyue, gently playing with the little princess, glanced up at the two of them and chuckled softly.
Ziqing immediately turned to look at him, and at the same moment, so did Jun Buli.
“What’s so funny?” Ziqing asked coldly—clearly, both of their battle energies had suddenly found a new target in Jun Beiyue.
Jun Buli watched too, waiting for his father’s answer.
But to their surprise, Jun Beiyue laughed. “I’m happy! It’s rare for all four of us to sit down together for a meal. What, aren’t you two happy about it?”
At these words, Ziqing’s expression instantly turned serious, and so did Jun Buli’s—mother and son both stared solemnly at Jun Beiyue, neither understanding what had come over him.
The whole scene fell into dead silence again, the surrounding servants unconsciously holding their breath, even Hongyi’s heart thumping wildly, terrified the mother and son might do something drastic!
Only Jun Beiyue remained perfectly composed, letting them stare all they liked.
But right in the middle of this tense standoff, the little princess suddenly burst into a loud wail.
“What’s wrong!” Ziqing asked urgently, and at the same moment, Jun Buli had already rushed forward, his face full of concern. “What’s wrong with little sister?”
He reached out to take her, but Ziqing’s hands had already reached out too—for a moment, mother and son found themselves deadlocked.
The little princess, oblivious to what was happening, only cried louder and louder.
“Mommy, hurry and soothe her, is she hungry?” Jun Buli said anxiously. At these words, Ziqing’s hand, resting on the baby’s swaddling, went slightly stiff.
Mommy… he’d called her Mommy again… how wonderful.