On October 19th, the Prince of Jin's Mansion was crowded with guests, with hundreds of tables set up inside and outside.
Prince Jin accompanied Jiang Changning and held Yu Ming, who was dressed in red, to meet the guests, and was greeted with unconditional compliments.
The most common phrase is: "The young master looks exactly like Prince Jin."
The center of the hall is covered with a thick, bright red brocade carpet.
On the carpet were placed books, swords, musical instruments, chess boards, abacus, brushes and other items, about twenty or thirty in total.
Prince Jin whispered, "That is my father's personal seal. I didn't expect my mother to put it up there as well."
Jiang Changning saw a jade seal with an animal head carved on it. "There are too many things. It will be difficult for Xiao Ming to pick out the one he likes."
"It's okay, my son is smart." King Jin said with a smile on his face.
Jiang Changning had not taught Xiao Ming how to choose beforehand. The little guy was put on the carpet and looked at so many things, feeling a little dazed.
The concubine looked a little anxious and was about to signal, but Jiang Changning stopped her, "Mother, don't be anxious, let Xiao Ming pick what he likes."
"Okay." The concubine controlled her temper and looked at her grandson eagerly, "Be good, you have to catch a good one!"
Xiao Ming looked around but failed to catch anything. The onlookers were watching him with smiles on their faces.
Zhao Xifang whispered, "Isn't she a fool?" Her daughter's one-year-old birthday was coming very soon.
The two ladies beside her frowned, took a step to the side, and silently distanced themselves from her.
They couldn't afford to offend Prince Yu's Palace, and similarly, they couldn't afford to offend Prince Jin's Palace either.
At this time, Xiao Ming moved. He reached over, grabbed the wooden sword with his left hand and the book with his right hand. These two objects were placed together, and it was obvious that he was intended to grab them at the same time.
As expected, everyone watching the ceremony praised in unison: "The young prince is a man of both civil and military talents."
The concubine was grinning from ear to ear, her little grandson was so well-behaved and smart!
What made her happy was yet to come. After Xiao Ming threw the book to his mother, he grabbed his grandfather's private seal.
The people watching the ceremony immediately said: "Thanks to the virtue of the ancestors, your career will be prosperous."
When Xiao Ming grabbed the gold ingot, the ceremony was over. King Jin smiled politely and said, "Thank you all for coming to my son's ceremony. The palace has prepared a few glasses of light wine. Please move in and take your seats."
The banquet at Prince Jin's Mansion was very sumptuous, and at 3 p.m., both the guests and the hosts left happily.
A few days later, the little princess of Prince De's Mansion also turned one year old, and Jiang Changning took Xiao Ming to the banquet.
The little girl was born in the early morning. Her nickname was Xiaoxiao. She was pretty and delicate. She looked at Xiaoming and called out in a baby voice, "Brother."
"Sister." Xiao Ming also likes this little sister who is only a few days old.
"It's a pity that they are brother and sister, otherwise, we could be in-laws." The Princess Consort of Prince De said regretfully.
"I won't arrange a marriage for my son." Jiang Changning said quickly.
The Princess of Changshan said with a smile, "The royal family does not allow child marriages."
The marriages of royal family members were all arranged by the palace, unless the palace issued an order allowing royal family members to choose their own spouses.
This year the emperor was young and the Empress Dowager was ill, so the selection was cancelled. The Empress Dowager then issued an edict allowing men and women of marriageable age from royal family and noble families to marry on their own.
In the past few months, the official media has been very busy, and several prefectures have taken the opportunity to arrange marriages with families that wanted to form an alliance.
"I heard that the King of Ningxia has taken a fancy to the youngest daughter of the Earl of Wuchang." Zeng Zhaofu said.
The Changshan Prince's Consort curled her lips, "No way, what's that look in his eyes? I heard that the youngest daughter of the Wuchang Earl is also a spoiled girl, with a temper similar to Song Yirou."
"To be honest, Fang Tingting's temper is better than Song Yirou's, and she has her dignity." Jiang Changning had met Fang Tingting several times because of Zhuang Qingru.
"That's true. At least Fang Tingting didn't bother a married man and cause a lot of trouble," Wen Bingqing said.
"It's a shame that the Song family doesn't care about her." Zeng Zhaofu said with disgust.
"Yes, I care. Haven't you noticed that the Ministry of War has been quiet for the past two months?" Jiang Changning said with a smile.
"The prince doesn't like her." Jiang Changning threw a peanut into his mouth. "If the prince was interested in her, it wouldn't be my turn to be the Princess of Jin."
"That's true." Several people agreed.
After chatting for a while, Prince De came in and said, "Everyone is here, you can take Xiaoxiao out now."
Jiang Changning discovered that the person holding Xiaoxiao was Xiaoxiao's wet nurse, and that Prince De's wife kept touching her belly from time to time, and he had some vague guesses in his mind.
When Xiao Ming arrived at the hall for the ceremony of the first month of the lunar year, he saw the large red carpet on the floor and said, "Mom, down, down, down."
Jiang Changning didn't expect that he still remembered what happened a few days ago. "Today is not your one-year-old celebration. Today is my sister's. You can't grab it. Just watch. Be good. I'll give you meat soup later."
Smart Xiao Ming loves meat soup the most. He nestles obediently in his mother’s arms and doesn’t make a fuss about getting down.
The items in the girl's one-year-old birth ceremony no longer include swords, seals, etc., but instead include rouge, powder, etc.
Xiaoxiao, like Xiaoming, also grabbed four things, first a brush and a pair of scissors, and then silk flowers and an embroidery basket.
This praise: "The little princess will be able to manage the household well in the future."
That one said: "The little princess is clever and has an outstanding appearance."
Zhao Xifang whispered again, "She's just a girl, and she can't inherit the title, but you're still holding a grand ceremony to celebrate the birth of a newborn. It's really a waste of money."
Because she didn't pay enough attention to her daughter, she didn't make a big deal about her daughter's full moon, hundred days, or one year old birthday.
After the banquet at the Prince De's Mansion, before Jiang Changning left, he quietly asked the Prince De's Consort, "Are you pregnant again?"
"You figured it out!" said the Crown Princess of De Wang with a smile.
"How many months?" Jiang Changning frowned slightly.
"Almost three months." replied the Crown Princess of Dewang.
Jiang Changning frowned even more tightly, "You are too impatient."
"It was an accident." Although the Crown Princess of Prince De gave birth to a daughter as her first child, she did not expect to get pregnant with a second child so soon.
"You are too careless. Since you are pregnant, you should take good care of the baby." Jiang Changning said.
The wife of the Prince of De blushed slightly, "What about you? When do you plan to get pregnant again?"
"I'm not in a hurry. I'll take good care of my body first." Jiang Changning was still a little afraid of the pain of childbirth and didn't want to have another child so soon. She would wait until her scars healed and she forgot the pain before having another child.
After entering November, the weather became colder day by day, and the first snow of the year fell in the middle of the month.
The snow fell from midnight to early morning, and there was a thick layer of snow on the ground.
Last year Xiao Ming was still young and couldn't control himself, but this year he can walk. He doesn't like to be held and likes to run around the yard. He doesn't cry when he falls down, but gets up and walks again unsteadily.
After eating a bowl of milk soup in the morning, Xiao Ming clamored to go out, "Go, go, go."
"It's snowing outside. Let's go out for a walk today." Jiang Changning used a handkerchief to wipe the milk stains from the corner of his mouth.
"Mom, let's go. Mom, let's go." Xiao Ming said, and was about to roll off the kang by himself.
Jiang Changning picked him up and said, "You little brat, you are quite brave. You are not afraid of getting your head broken and bleeding."
Although there is a carpet on the floor, you will still get hurt if you roll off the kang.
Xiao Ming was in Jiang Changning's arms, leaning towards the door, trying his best to express that he wanted to go out and play.
Jiang Changning had no choice but to put on a thick cotton jacket for him and play with him in the corridor.
(End of this chapter)