“Just… me alone? ”Nurse Shen looked at Steward Xiao’s smiling face and asked in confusion.
“These Crystal Grapes were limited to only one basket, and more than half had already spoiled. Naturally, we can only let one wet nurse eat them,” Steward Xiao explained reasonably.
After speaking, he did not stay long. He greeted the head wet nurse and left.
As the chief steward, he still had many matters in the manor to handle.
The three other wet nurses looked at the washed Crystal Grapes on the table.
If they said they were not jealous, they would be lying.
Recently, the three of them had been competing fiercely for chances to care for the little prince in front of the prince. Because of this, they had already developed many disagreements.
Yet in the end, the Crystal Grapes meant to improve the little prince’s nutrition were given only to Nurse Shen.
Was this not another way of saying that the prince valued Nurse Shen highly?
Naturally, the three wet nurses felt very unwilling to accept it.
They all thought that Nurse Shen was young and had only helped care for Consort Song’s nephew for a few days. The only reason she had been able to enter the manor as a wet nurse was because of Consort Song’s recommendation.
Still, they had to maintain friendly smiles on the surface.
The head wet nurse raised her wrinkled eyelids and looked at Lianxiang.
“Since this reward is for the little prince, Nurse Shen, take the grapes back to your room and eat them. Then feed the little prince tonight.”
“Yes,” Lianxiang replied respectfully with a bow.
Among the four wet nurses, the prince had specifically chosen her to eat the grapes and then nurse the little prince.
She believed it was because she was Consort Song’s cousin and because the little prince drank more of her milk than anyone else’s.
So Lianxiang carried the two bunches of grapes back to her servants’ quarters.
These Crystal Grapes were smaller than the grapes commonly found in Guangling and were light green in color.
When she bit into one, it was sweeter than honey and absolutely delicious.
She could swallow them directly after a few bites.
Not only were they seedless, but they did not even need peeling.
Lianxiang never imagined that being a wet nurse in the prince’s manor would come with such benefits.
She ate one grape after another.
Not only did they taste sweet, but her heart felt happy as well.
…
Steward Xiao then went upstairs to the study on the second floor of Wangyue Tower.
Standing respectfully before the prince, who was reviewing official reports at his desk, he said,
“Your Highness, the grapes have been delivered. When I left, I saw Nurse Shen carrying them back to her room.”
Yun Suiwu continued reading the report in his hands.
A beam of sunlight streamed through the window and fell upon his handsome features.
His normally cold expression seemed softened by a golden glow.
Slowly.
He would take his time.
He wanted to see how much longer she could keep pretending.
“Then this servant will take his leave,” Steward Xiao said.
Steward Xiao had once been the Emperor’s personal attendant. Like the head wet nurse, he had been left behind in Guangling to help care for the little prince.
When the Emperor had taken the Empress to Lake Heart Island to recover from her injuries, nearly half of their attendants had remained behind to look after the child.
…
Within a single afternoon, news had spread throughout the entire manor.
The prince had given the two bunches of Crystal Grapes only to Nurse Shen to eat before nursing the little prince.
This was undoubtedly a signal.
More importantly, Steward Xiao himself had delivered them.
Who was Steward Xiao?
He was one of the prince’s most trusted aides.
Other than the prince himself, Steward Xiao likely held the greatest authority in the entire Prince Zun Manor.
When Consort Song heard about it, she was delighted.
She felt that Lianxiang’s chances of becoming the little prince’s permanent wet nurse had greatly improved.
She repeatedly reminded her that the next time Aunt Pei came to take the little prince to see the prince, she must perform well in front of him.
…
That evening, Lianxiang was nursing the little prince when Xiyu entered the room.
“The prince has arrived,” she said.
“After you finish feeding the little prince, bring him outside.”
Lianxiang nodded in agreement.
Perhaps because of the Crystal Grapes she had eaten at noon, the little prince nursed for a very long time.
While drinking, he smacked his lips happily.
After finishing on one side, he immediately moved to the other.
It was as if he wanted to drink every last drop of milk.
“The little prince still isn’t done eating? ”Xiyu asked when she returned some time later.
Nurse Qian, standing nearby, replied,
“It is probably because Nurse Shen ate those Crystal Grapes at noon. Her milk tastes even better than usual, so the little prince does not want to stop drinking.”
“That won’t do,” Xiyu said.
“What if the little prince overeats and becomes uncomfortable? Besides, the prince still has things to do tonight. We cannot keep him waiting.”
She then instructed Lianxiang to bring the little prince outside.
The little prince was indeed full.
Even after nursing stopped, he did not fuss.
However, Lianxiang was afraid.
She had always been timid.
Whenever she stood before the prince, she never knew how she should properly care for the little prince.
So she made an excuse.
She claimed that she had eaten too many Crystal Grapes at noon and had been holding it in for too long and needed to use the restroom.
Then she asked Nurse Qian to carry the little prince outside instead.
Nurse Qian was thrilled.
Her smile nearly reached her ears.
…
As soon as the door opened, the outer room appeared completely dark.
Not a single candle was lit.
Instead, hundreds of glowing green fireflies floated through the room.
“Wow…”
The moment the little prince saw the scene, he was completely captivated.
He stretched out his tiny hands and waved them excitedly through the air, trying to catch the fireflies.
Lianxiang, who came out behind them, was equally shocked.
She had not expected that the prince had come so late simply to show the little prince the fireflies.
There were so many of them.
She had no idea where they had managed to catch them all.
The prince truly adored the little prince.
Combined with his noble and exalted status, this love seemed even more precious and rare.
Lianxiang suddenly felt her nose sting with emotion.
She thought of her own child back home.
If her husband were still alive, he would probably have loved their child just as much.
He could not command people to catch hundreds of fireflies like the prince.
But catching a few and placing them inside a mosquito net for their child to admire would not have been difficult.
…
Led by Xiyu, Nurse Qian carried the excited little prince to the prince.
Yun Suiwu had always possessed sharp eyesight.
The moment he noticed that the person carrying the little prince was not Nurse Shen, his gaze immediately locked onto the graceful figure standing behind the maids and quietly heading toward the door.
His long fingers gently rubbed the white jade thumb ring.
Nearby, the little prince happily babbled and waved his arms, wanting Nurse Qian to carry him toward the largest cluster of fireflies.
“Burp!”
Suddenly, the little prince let out a loud burp.
A considerable amount of milk spilled from his mouth.
Xiyu and Xixue quickly stepped forward to wipe the milk from the corners of his lips.
“Your Highness,” Nurse Qian said, “it is probably because Nurse Shen ate two bunches of Crystal Grapes at noon. Not wanting her milk to go to waste, she fed all of it to the little prince. As a result, he seems to have overeaten.”
As she spoke, she noticed that Nurse Shen had already disappeared through the doorway.
Nurse Qian then laid the little prince down.
Yet even lying down, the little prince continued kicking his legs and waving his arms, happily humming adorable baby sounds.
This was clearly different from the picture Nurse Qian had painted.
She was obviously trying to suggest to the prince that Nurse Shen lacked good judgment and had carelessly overfed the little prince.
Yun Suiwu looked at the milky-white liquid at the corner of the little prince’s mouth.
Knowing that it had come from the young widow’s nursing, he could not help recalling the scene he had witnessed at Lingyan Temple.
At that time, she had been holding a cup in one hand while lowering her head and squeezing milk into a white porcelain teacup.
In her other arm, she had been holding a hungry child crying to be fed.