Outside of this, the other courtyards were also brightly lit at the moment. Only after learning that the Prince had stayed in Plum Garden with Consort Qin did they finally settle down and rest.
Qiao Rongjin slept so deeply that it felt like she had lost track of time, only waking up at noon.
The first thing she did after waking was lie in bed in a daze for a full ten minutes before slowly getting up.
Qinglian heard the movement and came in carrying a basin of warm water to help her mistress wash and dress.
Only when a cold damp towel was placed on her face did Qiao Rongjin finally wake up completely. While washing her face, she casually asked, “Where’s my son?”
Upon hearing this, Qinglian looked helplessly at her sleep-loving mistress. “The Fifth Young Master has been up for a long time already—he’s outside playing now. The moment he woke up, he asked about you! He got up very early and immediately asked for you, but since you were still sleeping, the little one didn’t want to disturb you, so he’s been obediently playing outside while waiting for you to wake.”
Qiao Rongjin’s eyes curved slightly at that. Before she could say anything, Qinglian’s excited voice came again from above her head.
“Oh right, Mistress! The Prince sent over a lot of things early this morning. You should take a look later. And the Princess Consort also sent many tonics, saying they’re for your health and the Fifth Young Master’s. She even sent over some of the Fifth Young Master’s daily necessities that were missing yesterday. Oh, and she also sent a wet nurse and three maidservants, saying you can choose whichever you like, and if you don’t, she’ll replace them!”
As Qinglian combed her hair, she spoke cheerfully. The Hai Tang Courtyard hadn’t been this lively in a long time. Both main figures of the household had sent gifts over—enough to make the other courtyards envious.
“Then why didn’t you wake me up?” Qiao Rongjin turned around immediately.
With both the Prince and Princess Consort sending people over, it didn’t seem proper for her not to greet them personally.
“I originally wanted to wake you,” Qinglian replied, “but Eunuch Wang and Nanny Zhang both said that His Highness and the Princess Consort were considerate of your lack of rest and told us not to disturb you. They left after dropping everything off. The Fifth Young Master was there at the time too—and you should’ve seen him, Mistress! The young master’s bearing is no less impressive than the Prince’s!”
Thinking of her little master’s noble, cold, yet slightly domineering demeanor, Qinglian’s eyes practically sparkled.
As expected of the child born to her mistress—his posture alone could intimidate people, and he was so good-looking too!
Qiao Rongjin loved hearing this. Nothing pleased her more now than praise for Qi You—more than praise for herself.
“That’s right!” she said proudly.
Soon, under Qinglian’s skillful hands, she was fully dressed. In a pink dress, she looked as though she had never been married at all—completely unlike someone who had already given birth.
“Let’s go take a look!” she said.
Not only did she miss her little cub dearly, she also wanted to see what exactly the Prince and Princess Consort had sent.
In the main hall, Qi You, who had been playing with building blocks, turned toward the sound.
Seeing his mother, a flash of amazement crossed his eyes as he smiled obediently. “Mother!”
Today’s mother looked completely different from that day—wearing a fashionable new makeup style, dressed beautifully, her long black hair coiled up, the distracting white band gone. She looked elegant, refined, and strikingly beautiful.
“Mm! My good son!” Qiao Rongjin immediately reached out and pinched his cheek again.
Qi You didn’t mind being pinched at all. He just smiled and stood up naturally with her pull.
“Come, let’s see what they sent.”
She led him to the large round table in the center of the hall. Some of the items were already placed on top, forming a small mountain of luxurious packages, with more neatly arranged on the floor.
Qinglian instructed Ziyun to set out lunch, then stayed by Qiao Rongjin’s side, explaining which items were from the Princess Consort and which were from the Prince.
Qiao Rongjin first looked at the Princess Consort’s gifts. There were quite a lot—common tonics as well as rare medicinal herbs. Because Doctor Zhao had said that Qi You was still undernourished and should use dietary therapy to build strength, the Princess Consort had sent many herbs. The Prince also sent quite a few.
As for the Prince’s gifts, Qiao Rongjin opened several boxes of different shapes and found all kinds of tea leaves—about two to three jin in total. She raised an eyebrow.
The Regent Prince really did send quite a lot… too bad she didn’t know much about tea and wasn’t interested in it, so she stopped looking.
But Qi You, on the other hand, knew these teas were not cheap—ranging from everyday rich-household varieties like Biluochun to top-grade teas such as West Lake Longjing.
He understood very well what kind of person “that man” was. Normally, if there were good things, he would first think of Consort Chen, and at most the Princess Consort—his mother and the other concubines in the backyard usually got nothing. So sending these things today was rather unusual…
“Wow! We’re rich! We’re rich!”
While he was thinking, he suddenly heard his mother’s exclamation. He turned his head.
Then he saw rows of dazzling gold and silver.
His expression turned complicated. That was just like that man—always giving vulgar wealth as rewards, never genuine warmth. Still, seeing how happy his mother looked, he said nothing and stood quietly aside.
Not only Qiao Rongjin was delighted, Qinglian was also grinning so widely her teeth almost disappeared. So much gold and silver—how could they ever spend it all?
Qiao Rongjin picked up a gold ingot excitedly. “Go weigh it—how much silver is this worth?”
Qinglian was about to answer when Qi You suddenly said, “Fifteen thousand taels.”
“Hm? How do you know that, my dear?” she asked in surprise.
Qi You didn’t answer. Instead, he ran off toward his room.
The mother and maid looked at each other in confusion.
“What is that kid doing? Forget it, don’t mind him—go weigh it!”
Soon the silver was confirmed: exactly fifteen thousand taels.
They looked at each other again in shock.
“That kid is something… he was actually right! As expected of my son!”
Just then, Qi You came running back, holding a not-small wooden box.
Seeing him sweating, Qiao Rongjin quickly took it from him. “What is this?”
“A gift for Mother,” Qi You said, slightly out of breath, each word clear and steady.
“For me?” Qiao Rongjin opened the box curiously—then froze in place.