Chapter 11

Chapter 11

By the time I received his reply, two months had already passed. The letter was written in his usual style-curt and to the point. He simply said he acknowledged the news and told me to take good care of my pregnancy. By contrast, he mentioned Yaoyao much more; over half of the page was dedicated to her. At the very end, he added a brief note about Lady Wu and Lady Wang, instructing them to go to a temple to pray for blessings.

While I didn’t know exactly what he was thinking, this was indeed an excellent solution for me. Now that I was carrying a child, I sometimes lacked the energy to deal with so many distractions. Those two women seemed quiet enough, but who knew if they would try to stir up trouble? Sending them away was a fine idea.

Besides, it wasn’t my suggestion. Surely they wouldn’t dare disobey the Prince’s orders?

The next day, I had people escort them out. Naturally, they were unwilling, but what choice did they have? Accompanying them were several older nannies I had personally selected-women who were stern and of few words.

As everyone had hoped, the baby was a boy, and I breathed a sigh of relief. To put it grandly, we had finally achieved a ‘perfect’ pair of a daughter and a son, but to put it practically, a household like ours needed a boy.

Preparing for the worst, if the Prince never returned, having this child would ensure a much better future for both Yaoyao and me. This boy would be our support and protection in the years to come. It might sound overly pragmatic, but it was the honest truth.

I heard that Yaoyao took one look at the baby and refused to look again, constantly crying out that he was ugly. Well, it seemed the little girl, now nearly three years old, already had her own sense of aesthetics.

Fortunately, after some time, Yaoyao finally decided the baby was good-looking. Even though he was so small that he slept all day and night, Yaoyao loved to stay by his side, saying, “Little brother is pretty.”

When he turned one month old, we received a letter from the Prince. He had chosen a name: Jue. I originally wanted to call him Ah Jue, but Yaoyao always called him Chouchou, and I eventually found myself following her lead.

The Prince was finally coming home. He had been gone for three years; Yaoyao had grown up, and Chouchou was starting to talk. Time had passed quite quickly, and I had grown accustomed to this way of life.

On the day the army entered the city, I took the two children to watch. Yaoyao pointed at the Prince and asked, “Is that Father?”

When I nodded, Yaoyao’s eyes practically sparkled. “Father is so handsome.”

Indeed, the Prince was not ugly-there are no ugly people in the royal family. However, having seen so much slaughter, he carried an aura of cold ferocity. Fortunately, his reputation had improved somewhat; the old rumors about him being a ‘wife-curser’ were no longer mentioned.

After the procession, Yaoyao urged me to head back, desperate to see her father. She had been too young when he left to remember much, but the older Yaoyao remained intensely interested in him.

They say a brief absence kindles new love, but that wasn’t quite the case for the Prince and me. At the very least, the first person he looked for was Yaoyao, picking her up just as he used to. The second person he glanced at was Chouchou. Having never met him before, Chouchou wasn’t very brave. By the time he got to me, it was just a few polite, formal remarks.