“I already said it is a reward for you…” Yun Suiwu handed his empty cup to Aunt Pei and pulled the little prince back when he tried to crawl away.
“But… Aunt Pei already rewarded this servant earlier. I… I…” Lianxiang was so nervous that her tongue became tied. The sachet in her hands felt like a burning hot object, making her hands shake nonstop.
“Since it is a reward from the prince, just accept it,” Aunt Pei said as she walked over and placed the last golden bead she had picked up back into the sachet.
However, Lianxiang kept shaking her head.
Since leaving Linglong Pavilion, she had already made several mistakes. Any one of them could have been enough for the prince to throw her out of the manor.
Yet not only had the prince not punished her, he had rewarded her with an entire pouch of golden beads—more than ten of them.
To her, it felt like the final good meal given to a prisoner before execution. She felt that if she accepted this pouch of gold, something terrible would happen to her.
“Put it away quickly before the little prince starts making a fuss for it,” Aunt Pei said with a warm smile, looking directly into Lianxiang’s eyes.
Then she tucked the sachet into Lianxiang’s arms.
The golden beads inside made a clear clinking sound.
Aunt Pei’s smile seemed to calm Lianxiang’s heart, easing much of her fear and anxiety.
Afterward, Aunt Pei turned to the prince and apologized.
“Your Highness, it is already mid-August. Some of the fireflies we caught are no longer glowing. I have already sent people to catch more from other parts of the manor, but it may take a little while.”
“Take the little prince back to rest,” Yun Suiwu instructed calmly.
“Then I will have someone escort the little prince and Nurse Shen back,” Aunt Pei replied.
She then told Lianxiang to carry the little prince.
The little prince was still holding the prince’s white jade thumb ring and refused to let go.
Lianxiang used a banana to trade with him.
The little prince was young and greedy. Once he took the large banana, he could no longer hold the thumb ring, so she successfully got it back.
Only after leaving Wangyue Tower did the tight knot in Lianxiang’s heart finally loosen.
Yet she still felt uneasy.
The prince’s reward was simply too generous and too sudden.
Unable to keep her worries to herself, she shared them with Aunt Pei.
“Aunt Pei, I clearly made a mistake. I almost caused the little prince to fall. Why didn’t the prince punish me? Instead, he rewarded me with an entire pouch of golden beads…”
Aunt Pei, who knew the full situation, looked thoughtfully at her and then smiled even more kindly.
“The prince naturally rewarded you because you take such good care of the little prince. Besides, you are Consort Song’s cousin. Of course your reward would be greater than others’. And in the end, the little prince was not harmed, was he? ”
After offering several more comforting words, she finally calmed Lianxiang down.
Lianxiang gradually accepted this explanation.
After all, Consort Song had once saved the Empress’s life. The prince treated her cousin differently, so it made sense that he would also show extra tolerance and generosity toward her.
“I remember that your husband had already passed away before you entered the manor, correct? ” Aunt Pei asked casually.
“Yes. My husband fell down a hillside and died when our child was a little over one year old. It has been about six months now…” Lianxiang answered sadly.
Aunt Pei nodded.
“Then who is raising your child now? Your mother-in-law? ”
“No. My parents-in-law died long ago. After my husband passed away, my child and I were driven out of the family home with nothing.
Later, my cousin noticed that I had done a good job caring for my cousin-in-law’s child, so she recommended me to become a wet nurse at the prince’s manor and gave me such a good position.
If it were not for my cousin… I… I truly do not know what I would have done.
The only way I can repay her kindness is by taking good care of the little prince.”
As she spoke, her face filled with sorrow, while her voice carried deep gratitude toward her cousin.
“So that is what happened,” Aunt Pei said.
She had not expected such a story and felt even more sympathy for Lianxiang.
Afterward, she arranged for the prince’s guards to escort Nurse Shen back to Qingzhu Courtyard.
She herself returned to Wangyue Tower.
…
Walking to the couch, Aunt Pei skillfully began massaging the prince’s shoulders and neck.
“Your Highness, Nurse Shen is truly pitiful. Her husband had barely died before her husband’s family drove her and her child out of the house.
Now her child is being cared for by her sister-in-law, while she works here as a wet nurse thanks to Consort Song’s help.
A young widow like her, especially one who is so gentle and delicate in appearance, has not had an easy life.”
After a pause, Aunt Pei added,
“Of course, this is only her side of the story. If Your Highness wishes, you could have someone investigate further.”
Anyone allowed near the little prince had already undergone a thorough background check.
Clearly, Aunt Pei had another purpose in saying these words.
Yun Suiwu simply gazed at the bright moon outside the window.
His long fingers rubbed the white jade thumb ring, still covered with the little prince’s saliva.
Was she deliberately pretending to be innocent and foolish in front of him?
Or was she truly simple-minded and pure-hearted?
Seeing his reaction, Aunt Pei said nothing more and quietly continued massaging his injured shoulders and neck.
…
Perhaps because the prince was injured, or perhaps because there was temporarily little happening at the military camp, he remained at the manor after the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Every day, Consort Song dressed herself beautifully and came to Qingzhu Courtyard to play with the little prince.
She hoped to have a chance encounter with the prince and show him her image as a virtuous and loving mother.
However, the prince never personally came to Qingzhu Courtyard.
Whenever he wanted to see the little prince, he simply ordered someone to bring the child to him.
Each time, Nurse Zhao, Nurse Qian, and Nurse Li competed to carry the little prince over.
Why?
Because everyone knew that on Mid-Autumn Festival, Nurse Shen had received two golden beads from the prince as a reward.
More importantly, the final decision about who would remain as the little prince’s permanent wet nurse ultimately rested with the prince.
As for Lianxiang, she avoided these opportunities whenever possible.
She was always afraid that she would fail to care for the little prince properly in front of the prince and be punished.
Most importantly, the reward she had received that night was simply too valuable.
After returning home, she counted the golden beads inside the sachet.
There were fifteen in total.
Each was made of pure gold and about the size of a pearl.
Together they were worth several hundred taels of silver.
Such a large amount of money was beyond anything she had ever imagined.
Even if she left the prince’s manor immediately, she could buy a shop, purchase two houses, support her child, and still have money left over.
Although Aunt Pei had explained that the reward was due to her excellent care of the little prince and her relationship with Consort Song, she still felt somewhat uneasy.
However, as time passed and the prince truly never mentioned the Mid-Autumn Festival incident again, she gradually stopped worrying about it.
She continued quietly caring for the little prince.
Still, whenever she had to care for him in front of the prince, she felt genuinely nervous and frightened.
Fortunately, whenever Aunt Pei came to Qingzhu Courtyard to take the little prince to see the prince, Lianxiang was usually not on duty.
…
One day, Steward Xiao of the prince’s manor delivered two bunches of Crystal Grapes.
These Crystal Grapes had originally been presented to the Emperor as tribute from a foreign land.
Later, the little prince’s eldest brother—the Crown Prince—had them specially sent all the way to Guangling.
The grapes were sweet as honey, seedless, and highly nutritious.
Yet they were given only to Nurse Shen.
The order was for her to eat them so that their nourishment would pass into her breast milk and then be fed to the little prince.