jdhmnovel Chapter 716 Pairs
Chapter 716 Pairs
"But, what's the point of four happy events? Are there so many?" Prince Jing was naturally happy, but he was confused by his wife's words. No matter how he calculated, it didn't seem right. His brows furrowed deeper and deeper, like an old shopkeeper who couldn't figure out the accounts.
"Finding the youngest son is one joy, the eldest daughter-in-law being pregnant is the second joy, then the youngest son getting married, and now Qiurong is pregnant again. Isn't that the fourth joy? You are getting old and confused." Princess Jing glared at him with disgust in her eyes.
Prince Jing was so happy that he laughed and let his old wife curse him.
"Has your father hired a midwife? We need to find two wet nurses in advance, too." Princess Jing suddenly turned to Jing Chunxi and asked a series of questions. Her eyes, though cloudy, revealed undeniable concern. "Forget it, I'll find one and send it to you."
"Also, what are the regulations for the servants in your mother's room? Are there enough people to serve? If not, I will transfer the experienced ones in the mansion over." Prince Jing also interrupted. He had stood up and was pacing back and forth in the study, like a general about to go to the battlefield and planning tactics.
Jing Chunxi was somewhat bewildered by this sudden enthusiasm. All the speeches she had prepared were useless, and she could only watch in amazement as the two elderly people made arrangements for her unborn brother or sister.
Do old people have to think so carefully? It's only now? Even the nursing mother has thought of it. She muttered to herself, but felt a warm feeling well up in her heart.
Like! So much like. So much like Aunt Mi! Jing Chunxi suddenly realized that this meticulous care was exactly the same as the way Aunt Mi took care of her family.
Is this what unconditional family love really is? She lowered her head, hiding the complex emotions in her eyes, her fingers unconsciously stroking the edge of the teacup.
She was happy for her mother, thinking she had married the right man. She was also happy for their family.
In the face of unconditional love, what was blood relationship? If a close relative was cold-blooded, ruthless, and selfish, then in her eyes, they were nothing.
……
Noticing that there were no books or booklets on the desk just now, Jing Chunxi's slender fingers unconsciously stroked the edge of the teacup and fell into deep thought.
A ray of slanting sunlight shone through the carved window lattice outside the window, illuminating her slightly furrowed brows and casting a patch of fine light and shadow.
She wondered, were my grandparents truly so learned? They'd just written so many couplets without even consulting a book. Could it be that they just wrote them effortlessly? Were those neatly-crafted antithetical phrases already etched in their minds, flowing naturally?
After further reflection, it seemed perfectly natural. How could the emperor's son have the same ease and freedom as the children of ordinary people? She had heard her grandmother say that royal children began their education at the age of three, rising before dawn to recite the Thousand Character Classic and gradually becoming more proficient in reading.
What do ordinary children do when they are three years old? They are probably still crying over a piece of malt sugar, or they are afraid to tell their mother that they wet the bed! Thinking of this, Jing Chunxi unconsciously smiled bitterly.
"Grandfather, grandmother, how about we make a couple?" Jing Chunxi adjusted his mood, suddenly raised his little face and suggested, his voice as clear as a yellow oriole singing in a valley.
This sudden suggestion made Prince Jing and Princess Jing, who were sipping tea, raise their heads at the same time. Surprise flashed in the eyes of the two old men, and they were completely unaware of her meaningful look.
Prince Jing set down his blue and white porcelain teacup, the tea swaying gently in the cup, reflecting his smiling face. He deliberately put on a serious face and said teasingly, "Xi girl has been running around outside for the past three years. Could it be that she has found some hermit master as her teacher?"
As the old prince spoke, his fingers tapped lightly on the rosewood table, making a dull sound. He knew full well what kind of education this unfavored daughter of a marquisate could possibly receive before the age of eight. As far as he could remember, the Pingyang Marquisate didn't even have a proper school. What she was able to learn was probably entirely thanks to her brilliant mother.
"Qiu Rong was very smart when she was young. Maybe Sister Xi inherited her mother's intelligence." Seeing that Jing Chunxi did not respond immediately, Princess Jing hurriedly tried to smooth things over, gently wiping the non-existent tea stains with the embroidered handkerchief in her hand.
The old princess narrowed her eyes and looked seriously at her granddaughter with picturesque features, and couldn't help but think of the past.
When her son disappeared, Jing Qiurong was only seven or eight years old, a few years younger than her granddaughter. She remembered the girl as a lovely, almond-shaped girl, her almond-shaped eyes always smiling, her mouth sweet as honey, and the curve of her skirt swaying perfectly when she bowed. Back then, she had even considered arranging a marriage for her because of her love for her.
But now, looking at this granddaughter who, though not her biological daughter, was more like her own, the old princess was filled with emotion. This child not only inherited her mother's beauty, but also had some courage and independent thinking that her mother did not have.
Thinking about how she followed him into exile, assisted her mother in supporting the family business, and even went out on her own to work hard for her maternal grandparents, this courage was far beyond the reach of ordinary women. Most importantly—the old princess's eyes fell on Jing Chunxi's unconsciously clenched fists—this child's courage was truly astonishing.
"Xier likes to read books usually, and now he wants to compete with me." Jing Chunxi's firm voice interrupted the two old men's thoughts.
She straightened her back and looked at them with burning eyes, "Ling'er and I will come up with the first line, and Grandpa and Grandma will come up with the second line."
"I won't!"
Ling'er, who had been sitting quietly by the side, was so engrossed in her snack that she was almost knocked over her teacup when her sister called her name. She waved her hands hastily, her cheeks flushed with anxiety.
Although her family couldn't afford to send her children to the provincial school due to their small number of children, she did attend the Imperial Clan Girls' School for three years. The main focus there was on teaching music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and needlework, so literacy was a natural skill for her. She had memorized quite a bit of poetry and prose, and could usually come up with a few random sentences, but she had never attempted something like writing couplets, which required quick wits.
"Do you think your sister can really do it?" Jing Chunxi smiled and pinched Ling'er's chubby little hand, feeling the sweat oozing from her palm. "Anyway, I'm free anyway, so just play and kill some time." After comforting her sister, she immediately threw out the first couplet: "Bamboo Green"
"Zhu Cui and Mei Xiang," Princess Jing replied without hesitation, her words coming so fast it seemed like an instinctive reaction. After she finished, the old princess glanced at her husband with a smug look, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes smoothed out.