Without good manners, one cannot survive.
Old Madam Wei laughed once, and then she heard Princess Jin exclaim in a low voice: "The little prince is awake!"
The little prince was so precious that although their third-day bathing ceremony was held, it was actually postponed for two days. It was not held until five days after he was born, because they were afraid that he could not withstand such ordeal.
The little guy was wrapped in a bright yellow swaddling cloth. Whenever he moved his eyebrows or mouth, the people below would tremble with fear.
The affairs of the outer palace were handled by Concubine De and the female officials sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, so the princesses of the vassal states simply went to the inner palace to check on the precious little prince. Princess Jin even went up to take a look, but when she moved the swaddling clothes, the little prince pouted and seemed about to cry, which frightened her.
The little prince really kicked his legs and burst into tears. His wrinkled face had not yet fully relaxed, but he was crying like a little old man. All the women in the palace rushed over to him.
The midwife and the wet nurse held him and tried to comfort him, but it still didn't work. Old Madam Fang had brought her daughter-in-law to deliver new clothes and fruits. Seeing the queen's anxiety, she also stood up and tremblingly took a few steps forward. She laughed when she saw him and said, "He's crying with strength. He's a strong little prince."
She is the queen's biological mother, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief when she heard this.
Queen Fang just frowned and said, "I don't know who she inherited this temper from. She is really impatient. She cried all night last night. Several nurses watched her but they couldn't calm her down. When she woke up this morning, her voice was even a little hoarse."
After she said this, the princesses dared not speak again.
Old Mrs. Fang frowned, as if she wanted to say something, but she held it back in the end. After hearing the report from outside that the fragrant water was ready for bathing, she carried the child outside.
In order to give the little prince a bath on the third day, a golden basin was made according to the one that was specially made when Empress Ming gave birth to her legitimate son. Hot soup made from tiger bones, mugwort leaves and other ingredients was poured into the golden basin, and hot steam drifted everywhere.
There was no empress dowager in the palace, so Old Lady Fang, the grandmother, added the first spoonful of clear water, and then added many various golden anklets, small golden tables, small golden abacus, small golden pens and other such things into it, and said auspicious words with a smile on her face, such as "live a long life", "be blessed with longevity", and "god of longevity".
Next came the only remaining concubine in the palace, Concubine Jing.
Then came the princesses of various vassal states.
The little prince's head was held up by the wet nurse, and the dirt was carefully washed off before he was put into the golden basin to bathe.
He was still young and afraid of water. As soon as he entered the water, he started grabbing around with his hands and crying at the top of his lungs.
Empress Lian Fang was also shocked and kept asking people to pick up the little prince.
But the ceremony was only halfway through when Old Lady Fang grabbed her daughter's hand and gently advised her, "My Lady, the louder the crying, the more auspicious it is. You can't try to comfort her."
As she spoke, it was time for Old Lady Wei to step forward and put another handful of green onions on the food.
Wei An seemed curious and squatted down beside him. The little prince's hands were grabbing everywhere, so Wei An also reached out his hand and was caught by the little prince.
Strangely enough, as soon as she held the little prince's hand, although he was crying hard, his throat was not so hoarse anymore, and he even opened his eyes and looked around.
Only then did Queen Fang feel relieved.
After washing away all the blood stains on the little prince's body, the wet nurse and the palace maids quickly wiped him dry, put on the bright red new clothes sent by his mother's family, wrapped him in bright yellow swaddling clothes, and handed him to Queen Fang, smiling and saying, "Please hold the little prince and worship the thirteen gods to thank the gods and pray that the little prince will live a long life of a hundred years, have sharp ears and eyes, no worries, and turn misfortune into good fortune and disaster into blessing."
Queen Fang did as she was told.
This time, he sincerely prayed to God for protection, hoping that the little prince would grow up smoothly and live a safe and healthy life.
I didn’t know this before I became a mother. I was always thinking about how to educate my child and how to encourage him to work hard.
But after suffering and struggling to give birth to this piece of flesh, you will understand why there are so many examples of loving mothers but many unkind children in this world. Putting aside other things, just this soft piece of flesh will open its eyes and smile at you when it wakes up. Even if it is the moon in the sky, she would want to pick it for him.
After worshipping the gods, he sat down to take a breath, beckoned Wei An over, and asked her very gently, "Why did the little prince stop crying when you held his hand?"
She remembered that she seemed to have never met Wei An before.
He had wanted to see her before, but was delayed every time by something else. Later, when she was adopted by King Zheng, he should have seen her, but she was about to give birth, so he postponed it again. Nothing was more important than giving birth to a child.
"My little sister loves to cry the most when she takes a bath." Wei An lowered his head and said in a thin voice, "The maids said that the common people don't take off all the clothes when bathing their children because children are naturally timid and they are afraid that they will be frightened. I thought that although the aunts held the little prince's arms, the little prince had nothing to hold on to and was afraid, so they reached out to hold the little prince to make him less afraid."
All the princesses and concubines in the room laughed.
After laughing, they all had their own thoughts.
Why is this Miss Wei Qi different every time I see her
How was this child taught to be so sharp and unforgiving, to humble himself, and to act like a spoiled child and flatter others
They really couldn't stand the fact that someone who used to be so sharp-tongued that made Mrs. Shoushan unable to eat for several days was now saying such naive and childish words.
Old Madam Lian Fang also laughed: "That's right, this child is very protective of his younger siblings. Although children thrive in water, they are also very afraid of water. You have to be careful the first few times. Don't forget to let the little prince have something to hold next time."
It's not that the wet nurses were inconsiderate. When the little prince went into the water to bathe, he should have been holding the golden abacus and other things in his hands. However, the little prince was so frightened that he had no chance to hold on and threw them all away.
They received the reward just the same, so they had no objection and responded respectfully, congratulating Queen Fang: "Your Majesty, your sincerity will be answered, and the little prince will be safe and healthy, and live a long and blessed life."
Queen Fang smiled and nodded gently, then touched Wei An's head and said, "You are a rare talent." She smiled and asked Wei An, "Last time I heard that you made a fragrance called Ban Yue? Next time when you are free, please send a portion to me. I like this one, too."
Wei An responded respectfully.
Princess Changying sat next to Princess Duan, her eyes slightly narrowed, the smile not in her eyes, her whole body looked like an ice sculpture.
I underestimated Wei An. It turns out she is a powerful person who can bend and stretch. No wonder my daughter suffered at her hands.