Hua Manman went to the Moon Viewing Pavilion for a while to see the Seventh Prince.
The little guy seemed to have inherited all the best features from his father and mother. His features were exquisite; even at such a young age, it was clear he would grow up to be a handsome man.
Hua Qingqing asked with a smile.
"Do you want to hold Qiong’er?"
Hua Manman was eager on the inside but put on a look of disdain.
"He’s just a little pipsqueak. What’s there to hold?"
Hua Qingqing knew she never meant what she said and placed the Seventh Prince directly into her arms.
Startled, Hua Manman quickly reached out to catch the Seventh Prince.
But she had never held such a small child before and had no experience whatsoever.
She was afraid of using too much force and hurting the Seventh Prince, but also afraid of not using enough and dropping him. For a moment, she was in a complete fluster.
Hua Qingqing stood beside her, guiding her hands.
"Use this hand to support his bottom, and the other to support his head. Yes, just like that. Don’t be so tense. Relax a little."
Hua Manman gradually got the hang of holding a child. Although her movements were still a bit stiff, at least she was no longer as flustered as before.
’When I get home, I have to teach Prince Zhao how to hold a baby,’ she thought to herself.
After all, their child would be born soon.
Speaking of childbirth, Hua Manman couldn’t help but feel her heart pound nervously.
She might always appear carefree and thoughtless, but she was still a woman. And no woman could be completely unafraid of childbirth.
Childbirth wasn’t always smooth even in modern society, let alone in this ancient era without C-sections or antibiotics.
What if she had bad luck and a difficult labor resulted in the death of both mother and child?
Just the thought of it made her scalp tingle with fear.
Since Hua Qingqing had experience with childbirth, Hua Manman wanted to ask her what it felt like.
But given her current persona, she didn’t know how to bring it up.
Hua Qingqing keenly sensed her younger sister’s hesitation and thoughtfully took the initiative to ask.
"Is there something you want to tell me?"
"Of course not! I have nothing to say to you!" Hua Manman turned away.
A moment later, she turned back and asked awkwardly.
"Does giving birth... hurt a lot?"
Hua Qingqing smiled faintly, her voice gentle. "It definitely hurts a lot."
Hua Manman’s face immediately scrunched up.
Hua Qingqing continued, "But you just have to grit your teeth and get through it."
Hua Manman muttered under her breath, "Easier said than done. It’s not that simple when you’re the one actually doing it."
Hua Qingqing’s smile faded, and she sighed softly.
"When your time comes, no matter how hard it is, you can only grit your teeth and endure. There’s no other way."
It was an unavoidable trial of motherhood.
Hua Manman looked at the little guy in her arms and huffed softly.
"When I have my child, I’ll make sure he’s properly filial to me. If he dares to be disrespectful or unfilial, I’ll break his damn legs."
The Seventh Prince opened his big, dark, shining eyes and gazed at his aunt with innocent confusion.
He had no idea what his aunt was talking about.
「That night」
The Emperor came to the Moon Viewing Pavilion. He deliberately humbled himself to coax Hua Qingqing, hoping she wouldn’t take the day’s events to heart.
Hua Qingqing, of course, put on a gentle and magnanimous air, saying she didn’t remember a thing.
As usual, she served the Emperor with the same utmost care and dedication.
Around midnight, as the Emperor was sleeping groggily, he suddenly heard suppressed sobs from beside him.
He opened his eyes and saw Hua Qingqing crying silently.
Only then did the Emperor realize that Hua Qingqing wasn’t unbothered at all. She was actually full of grievances, but because she didn’t want to make things difficult for him, she could only pretend not to care and force a smile in his presence.
The Emperor’s heart ached for her, and his guilt multiplied.
He quickly pulled her into his arms to comfort her.
"Don’t cry, don’t cry. It’s all my fault. I didn’t trust you enough. I wronged you. I promise you, something like this will never happen again."
「The next morning」
The Emperor went to the morning court assembly as usual.
On the way, he specifically instructed Zuo Ji.
"Go to my private treasury, pick out some of the finest fabrics and jewelry, and send them to Hua Zhaorong."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The Emperor felt that this wasn’t enough. After a moment of thought, he added.
"Also, draft an edict to bestow a title upon Hua Zhaorong.
Her words are always refreshing and her manners are impeccable, so use the character ’Zhen’ for her title."
Zuo Ji replied again, "Yes, Your Majesty."
He clicked his tongue in amazement. ’Hua Zhaorong... no, it should be Zhen Zhaorong now. What a masterful schemer!’
’Not only did she cause Lady Wen’s scheme to fail completely, but she also made the Emperor even more attached to her.’
’Just look at the title he chose for her.’
’Zhen, meaning thorough, complete, perfect...’
’For the Emperor to grant such a title meant that in his heart, Zhen Zhaorong was practically a perfect person.’
’Such high praise probably surpassed even what the once-unrivaled Consort Liu had received.’
...
「Inside the Prince Zhao Mansion」
Hua Manman was teaching Li Ji how to hold a baby.
Since they didn’t have a child yet, they had to use a pillow as a substitute.
To make the performance more realistic, Hua Manman even found a small set of clothes to put over the pillow.
From a distance, Hua Manman holding the pillow really did look like she was holding a small baby.
She explained the steps for holding a baby one by one.
Li Ji listened attentively from the side.
He looked even more focused than when he used to learn martial arts.
Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought they were discussing important matters of state!
After Hua Manman finished her explanation, she shoved the pillow into Li Ji’s arms, signaling for him to practice.
Recalling Hua Manman’s instructions, Li Ji stiffly picked up the pillow.
Hua Manman exclaimed, "Aiya, wrong, wrong! You need to use this hand to support the baby’s head! A newborn’s neck has no strength. If you don’t support his head, it’ll go like this..."
She tilted her own head back and made a CRACK sound effect.
A chill ran down Li Ji’s back, and his scalp went numb with fright.
He hastily supported the upper part of the pillow, terrified that his precious baby’s head would be gone.
Si Yun and Jinxiu, who witnessed this scene: "..."
There was no need to be so realistic.
Hua Manman rarely got to be the teacher, and it felt much better than being the student.
She smacked Li Ji’s arm and lectured him with a straight face.
"Be gentler! You’ll hurt the baby with that much force."
Li Ji didn’t think he was using that much force.
But he had no grounds to argue back.
After all, he had absolutely no experience holding babies.
He could only obediently ease up on his strength.
Hua Manman said, "Even gentler. A newborn baby is so delicate. It can’t handle that much force."
So, Li Ji lightened his grip some more.
But he accidentally loosened it too much, and the pillow in his arms fell to the floor with a THUD.
Hua Manman: "..."
Li Ji: "..."
The air froze in that instant.
Hua Manman was burning with rage. She gritted her teeth. "You actually dropped our baby."
Li Ji tried to defend himself. "I didn’t do it on purpose! You’re the one who kept telling me to be gentler..."
Hua Manman picked up the pillow and went to hit him with it.
Li Ji wasn’t an idiot; why would he just stand there and take a beating? He nimbly dodged the attack.
Hua Manman chased after him, waving the pillow. "You dropped our baby, and you dare to run? What kind of father are you?!"