Chapter 244

Chapter 244 "His Highness hasn't been coming to the inner court much since the end of last month. Even if he's now exclusively favoring Consort Sun, at least he still remembers to come see me and Taotao. Have you noticed whether he's visited anyone else's courtyard?" Among everyone, Consort Hua had the most reason to feel wronged. On the day Consort Sun entered the household, she had served Prince Jing and earned herself a bad reputation. But it was Prince Jing himself who went to the Autumn Maple Courtyard, and everyone assumed he would take the opportunity to favor Consort Hua. Who would have thought that after that day, Prince Jing never mentioned Consort Hua again? The household staff were all weathervanes, and seeing that Hua Yu had no support from Prince Jing, they dared to gossip openly about her serving Prince Jing during her mourning period. Dantao, having been reminded, immediately thought of someone. "What you mean, mistress, is that the most anxious person in the household right now should be Side Consort Fang..." Fang Yuan'er had handled the funeral arrangements for Concubine Lian. The Princess Consort had pleaded on her behalf, reducing the punishment by a month, but she was still under House Arrest. During this confinement, Prince Jing hadn't even gone to see her once. In the past, the only one who could compete with Fang Yuan'er for favor was Xie Run. Now there was a new Side Consort in the household who was quite favored by Prince Jing—with family background and capability to boot. How could Fang Yuan'er not panic? With that comparison, the maidservants all came to their senses and immediately stopped worrying. Xiaoshu laughed. "Side Consort Fang must be tossing and turning in bed right now, terrified that by the time her House Arrest ends, His Highness will have forgotten she even exists." Xie Run didn't laugh, only said, "His Highness will probably continue to favor Consort Sun for a while. All of you remember to remind the maidservants in our courtyard—no restless hearts or restless spirits!" Xiaoshu and Dantao both answered crisply in acknowledgment. That evening, after finishing her dinner, Xie Run took her son, who was bundled up like a ball, for a walk. Taotao was almost a year old and could already walk steadily. Recently, whenever Xie Run had free time, she loved teaching Taotao to walk, and it also gave her a good laugh. The moment she set the little one on the ground, he started walking sideways like a crab, swaying unsteadily, his little face utterly serious. With every step, Xie Run suspected he would face-plant onto the ground. The maidservants gathered around, ready to rush forward the moment Taotao fell. Xie Run laughed at the sight. "Don't be so careful. Children need to tumble and fall to grow up healthy." "After falling a couple of times, he'll naturally walk steadily..." Before she could finish, she saw Taotao's body tilt, and with a thud, he flopped face-first onto the ground. The maidservants had all been respectfully listening to Xie Run speak and hadn't been paying attention, so they failed to catch him in time. Unexpectedly, Taotao didn't cry. He was like a short-legged turtle with its shell facing down—belly on the ground, limbs paddling in circles. Xie Run also stood up to check on him, only to meet Taotao's big black eyes, full of curiosity. He waved his hands and feet, lying on the ground and spinning himself around in place. Xie Run nearly collapsed with laughter. "I told you not to dress him in so many layers, but you were all afraid he'd catch cold, bundling him up like a turtle." "Now he can't even walk steadily—the moment he falls, he really does look like a turtle!" The clothes were too thick, so Taotao didn't hurt when he fell. He lay on the ground having a wonderful time. Dantao and the others quickly helped Taotao up, gently scolding, "Mistress, you're still laughing! We've never seen a mother like you." Xiaoshu also said with concern, "What kind of mother calls her own son a turtle? Then what would that make His Highness?" Xie Run said helplessly, "He didn't even cry out in pain. If I rushed over and pulled him up, he'd definitely start fake-crying at the top of his lungs." No sooner had she finished speaking than Taotao, who had just been helped to his feet, imitated his earlier fall and flopped down again with a thud. His limbs kicked about happily, laughter unceasing. Xie Run's face was full of black lines. This silly son of hers! Xiaoshu, Dantao, and the others stared, dumbfounded. Just then, Prince Jing entered the courtyard with his attendants. Seeing his son lying on the ground spinning around joyfully, he was silent for a long moment. Chunjuan was the first to notice Prince Jing and quickly bowed. "This servant greets His Highness!" The other maidservants followed suit with their bows. Xie Run was a beat slower in rising to bow, unable to suppress the smile on her face. Prince Jing's originally gloomy mood dissipated considerably at the sight of Xie Run's beaming smile. He even reached out to support Xie Run. "Is it that amusing?" Then he glanced at Eunuch Shian. "Hurry and help the boy up." Eunuch Shian quickly led a few young eunuchs to help Taotao up, but the moment he left the ground, he started to cry. He just wanted to crawl back down. Prince Jing's face was full of black lines. "What is he doing?!" The others, hearing Prince Jing's somewhat stern tone, all became a bit nervous. Xie Run, however, wasn't afraid at all, still smiling. "I'm teaching him to walk. He probably thinks falling on the ground is fun and doesn't want to get up." Seeing Prince Jing's expression of incomprehension, Xie Run said softly, "Children have their own temperaments." "You know how stubborn Taotao is, Your Highness? If we pull him up now, he'll cry at the top of his lungs all night." Xie Run glanced at Prince Jing, her smile radiant. "I wonder who he got that temperament from." Eunuch Shian chimed in playfully, "The young master's temper is exactly the same as His Highness's when he was a child!" "When the Prince was three years old, he happened to visit Xuewen Guan once. He found the idea of attending classes interesting, so he insisted on going every day. Even in wind and snow, when other princes would rather stay cooped up in the palace without stepping out, the Prince went without fail, rain or shine." "Princes and their study companions only entered Xuewen Guan at the age of five at the earliest. Only the Prince, who could barely hold a brush steady, sat at the front listening to lessons every day. The Noble Consort felt sorry for him, but the Prince wouldn't have it any other way..." Prince Jing, hearing about his own past, couldn't help but laugh. He stared at his son lying on the ground, eyes rolling around, for a few moments. Father and son locked eyes, and Taotao immediately beamed with joy. "Father!" He pronounced those two words quite clearly. The next second, he shouted, "Turtle!" As he shouted, he flailed his arms and legs. Xie Run: "..." Dantao and the others nearly fainted from fright. Prince Jing was amused. He scooped the boy up with one hand and hoisted him onto his shoulder. "Your father will have them send you a big turtle tomorrow. No need for you to lie on the ground playing turtle yourself." Taotao seemed to understand and exclaimed excitedly, "Big turtle!" Prince Jing remarked with interest to Xie Run, "Haven't seen him in a few days—his speech has gotten much more fluent." Xie Run replied, "Isn't that so?" "Earlier, I only taught him two words—'Father' and 'Mother.' He called them out all night long. When I opened my eyes the next morning, my head was full of 'Father' and 'Mother.'" Prince Jing laughed even harder at that. "This boy—he really takes after me!" After playing with Taotao for a while, Xie Run had someone take him to wash up and go to bed. She then asked Prince Jing, "Will the Prince be staying the night at Chunshan Court?" Prince Jing beckoned her over. "If I don't stay here, I'd have to go out into the cold wind in the middle of the night just to find another courtyard to rest in?" Xie Run said softly, "This concubine worries for the Prince. Knowing you'd have to brave the cold wind, I'd still rather you rest here in this courtyard." Hearing this, Prince Jing was pleased as well.