Jiang Si was deeply concerned about her elder brother in the southern frontier.
“I wonder how Second Brother is adapting to the South. The weather and food there are so different from the capital…”
Yu Jin felt irritated hearing this and said with displeasure, “What’s there for a grown man to adapt to? He’ll eat what’s there to eat and drink what’s there to drink. If he can’t sleep well, it’s simply because he’s not tired enough.”
He recalled that when he went south at just twelve years old, no one had shown such concern for him.
Of course, he didn’t care for others’ sympathy, but at that time, A Si hadn’t even noticed him as a person, let alone worry about him.
Thinking about this, Yu Jin felt increasingly jealous of Jiang Zhan.
The saying “fools have fool’s luck” perfectly describes Jiang Zhan. For someone as brilliant as himself, he had to care for himself before finding a wife.
Feeling extremely unbalanced, he glanced at his wife and said mischievously, “The women in the South are different from those in the capital, you know. They’re all passionate and bold. Who knows, Jiang Zhan might already have a sweetheart—”
Jiang Si grabbed Yu Jin’s ear and asked with a half-smile, “Passionate and bold? I wonder how many such passionate and bold girls Your Highness encountered in the South?”
Yu Jin inwardly cursed his mistake. He had been so focused on digging a pit for Jiang Er that he hadn’t realized he’d buried himself in it.
“Ahem, A Si, you know me. I wouldn’t even look at someone who isn’t as good-looking as me—”
“What about those who are better-looking than you?”
Yu Jin’s expression turned serious. “So far, I only think you’re better-looking than me.”
Jiang Si rolled her eyes at him but let the matter drop.
Yu Jin silently breathed a sigh of relief. After leaving Jiang Si, he went to his study and began writing a letter to Jiang Zhan.
By the end, he had written a thick stack of papers.
Yu Jin stared at the still-wet ink on the paper, stroking his stubbled chin, thinking: Strange, I’ve already married my wife, what else is there to say to that fool Jiang Er?
In the southern frontier, June was when the vegetation was at its lushest.
Jiang Zhan led a team in a successful ambush. Upon returning to camp, they prepared a wild deer they had caught along the way and set it up for roasting.
Large chunks of venison were skewered on wooden branches, dripping with fat and emitting a tantalizing aroma that made the soldiers’ mouths water.
“General, it’s ready,” a soldier said, handing Jiang Zhan a slightly charred skewer of venison.
“Thanks.” Just as Jiang Zhan took it, he sneezed three times in succession.
Who’s thinking of me?
Jiang Zhan pondered for a moment, then had a thought: Could it be that he was about to become an uncle again?
Taking a bite of the meat, Jiang Zhan asked a nearby soldier, “Are you married?”
The soldier immediately became excited: “General, are you going to arrange a marriage for me?”
Jiang Zhan scoffed, “What are you dreaming about? I don’t even have a wife myself.”
“Oh.” The soldier immediately sobered up.
This time, Jiang Zhan asked a soldier who looked older.
The soldier looked embarrassed: “General, I just look mature for my age. I’m not married either.”
Jiang Zhan’s mouth twitched. He thought you call that looking mature? You look downright awful.
Finally, a soldier who couldn’t stand it anymore volunteered, “General, I’ve been married for a few years.”
“Do you have children?”
“Yes, a boy and a girl.” The soldier became excited talking about his family back home.
“Then tell me, how long does it take from when a woman becomes pregnant to when she gives birth?”
He remembered when Fourth Sister had announced her good news but wasn’t sure how long it took for a child to be born. He wanted to calculate if it was time yet.
The soldier was stumped. He counted on his fingers and hesitantly said, “About nine months, I think…”
“No, doesn’t everyone say it’s ten months of pregnancy? It should be at least ten months—”
Soon, a group of grown men were arguing heatedly around the nearly burnt venison.
Jiang Zhan listened, his head spinning. He bit into the venison forcefully, thinking about the distant capital where he might have a new relative, his eyes filled with a smile.
By the time he returned to the capital, Fourth Sister’s child might be old enough to call him uncle.
Three days after the birth of the little mistress of the Yan Prince’s mansion, it was time for the Third-Day Washing Ceremony.
The Third-Day Washing was an auspicious ritual that couldn’t be neglected, but it didn’t require inviting many relatives and friends. Only close relatives were invited to celebrate.
On the bride’s side, female relatives from the East Peace Earl’s mansion and the Yining Marquis’s mansion were invited. On the groom’s side, naturally, it was mainly the princesses and their consorts.
Even so, on the day of the Third-Day Washing Ceremony, the Yan Prince’s mansion was extraordinarily lively.
In the afternoon, an incense altar was set up in the outer hall of the birthing room, with the midwife beginning to preside over the ceremony.
As the midwife splashed water from the basin onto A Huan, the baby immediately began to cry.
Everyone immediately started saying auspicious words, though inwardly they were indifferent.
After all, it was just a girl. Even if she was the Yan Prince’s first child, there wasn’t much to pay attention to.
Today’s visit was merely a formality.
As the midwife chanted, “The bed god and goddess, surnamed Li, we entrust the adults and children to you; send more boys, fewer girls…” Princess Qi’s eyes flashed with amusement.
The midwife’s chants were fixed. She had heard the same words during her ceremony.
Send more boys, fewer girls—at the time, she had felt so disheartened.
Why couldn’t she have given birth to a son in one go?
Princess Qi couldn’t help but look at Jiang Si.
Only three days after giving birth, the woman before her showed no signs of swelling. She only looked a bit more voluptuous than before pregnancy, and this fullness made her appear even more radiant.
Princess Qi felt a surge of bitterness.
Some people in this world were just blessed by heaven, beyond envy.
Looking at Jiang Si’s calm, smiling expression, Princess Qi thought to herself: Having given birth to a daughter, is the Yan Princess not concerned?
Heh, she must be putting on a brave face.
“Princess, someone has come from the palace,” a maid hurriedly ran in to report.
The room suddenly fell silent, and everyone looked at each other in surprise.
Why would someone come from the palace for a Third-Day Washing Ceremony?
When a royal family member had a new addition, it was neither a major nor a minor event. Reporting to the Imperial Clan Court to record it in the genealogy was customary, but whether the palace would send rewards depended on which family it was. If it was a less favored branch of the royal family, at most they would follow custom and send some tonics.
It was rare for someone to be specially sent for the Third-Day Washing Ceremony. Thinking carefully, this had only happened when a few prince’s mansions had given birth to heir apparent sons…
As everyone speculated, they finally saw the eunuch arrive.
When they saw that the arriving eunuch was Le Gong, Pan Hai’s disciple, everyone sensed something unusual.
Le Gong was Pan Hai’s disciple, and Pan Hai was the Emperor’s most capable attendant. The fact that the eunuch sent from the palace was dispatched by the Emperor himself, rather than the Empress or Empress Dowager—
Everyone became increasingly curious about the eunuch’s purpose, until little Le took out an imperial edict on yellow paper, causing their eyes to widen suddenly.
How could there be an imperial edict?
Little Le glanced at everyone and carefully unfolded the edict, reading: “By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The Yan Princess Consort is of keen intellect, dignified, and virtuous. Now hearing that the Yan Princess Consort has given birth to her eldest daughter, who must inherit her mother’s grace… The Yan Prince’s eldest daughter has deeply pleased Us, and We hereby bestow upon her the title of Princess Heshu. Let it be so.”
There was no wind in the hall, nor any sound. The scene fell into an odd silence.