Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I gave birth to my child after nine months of pregnancy. It was a girl. To me, regardless of whether the child was a boy or a girl, she was now the only person in this world connected to me by blood. It was wonderful; I was no longer alone.

My personal maid, Bilian, told me that the Prince had only glanced at the child before leaving. She said uneasily, “Miss, do you think the Prince might not like the little Commandery Princess?”

“He won’t.”

Besides, the child was already born. Even if he didn’t like her, it wasn’t as if he could just throw her away. Since I became pregnant, he had only given me a few instructions, which mostly amounted to eating and drinking well. I thought about it, but since we had spent so little time together, I really couldn’t tell if he had any specific expectations regarding the child’s gender.

On the other hand, everyone else had hoped for a boy. It wasn’t necessarily a preference for sons over daughters, but this was the Imperial Family, after all; boys were always considered more prestigious than girls.

On the day of the child’s Xisan, Prince Li came to tell me that he had chosen a name for her: Yao.

The name was lovely, of course, but what shocked me was how early it was being given. Once she had a name, she could be entered into the Imperial Genealogy. It has always been difficult to raise young children, so it was generally the norm to wait until they were a bit older before naming them, and even the Imperial Family was no exception to this.

From that day on, I called her Yaoyao. Watching her change day by day, she grew fair, chubby, and incredibly adorable.

With Yaoyao around, life felt much more pleasant.

However, when Yaoyao was six months old, Bilian cautiously asked me if I had noticed that the Prince didn’t seem to like Yaoyao.

I thought about it, and it did seem to be the case. He had never held Yaoyao, nor had he ever teased or played with her. He didn’t even come around much anymore, though that might have been because I was still focusing on recovering my health.

Could it be that he just didn’t like children? That didn’t seem right either. Everything Yaoyao wore and ate was of the finest quality, and many of her things were items he had ordered to be brought from his private storehouse.

Since I couldn’t figure it out, I let it go. Regardless, Yaoyao was currently his only child. Even if he didn’t like her, what could he do? It wasn’t as if he had another child elsewhere that he preferred. Perhaps it was just his nature; there was no need to force it.

When Yaoyao was eight months old, Mu He got married. I contributed quite a lot to her dowry. When I returned home for the occasion, everyone in the family was wearing a smile, genuinely happy for Mu He from the bottom of their hearts. When I got married, although everyone had been smiling then too, it wasn’t this kind of happiness; rather, it had been worry.

The wedding was lively and bustling. Although it wasn’t as grand as mine had been, it was clearly handled with great care. My mother said she had embroidered Mu He’s wedding dress with her own hands; no wonder it was so beautiful.

I hoped her future life would be prosperous and bright. That was likely the wish everyone in the family held for her.