Chapter 155

Chapter 155: Why Are You Biting Her Face?

Little Xing Hui reached Nian’er, threw his arms around her, and chomped down on her cheek. He didn’t have teeth yet, so he left her face covered in drool.

Nian’er paused, then started calling: “A’Niang.”

Chun Zhi quickly pulled Little Xing Hui a bit aside and said with a laugh: “Why are you biting Nian’er’s face?”

Nian’er didn’t cry. She just kept calling “A’Niang.”

Yu Zhu stepped up, wiped the drool from Nian’er’s face with a handkerchief, and soothed her: “Don’t be afraid, Nian’er. This is Young Master Xing Hui. You’ll get to play with him from now on.”

Nian’er didn’t understand what “from now on” meant. She stared at her mother and reached out to be held. Yu Zhu picked her up, and Little Xing Hui reached to grab Nian’er again.

Sitting by the soft couch, Chun Zhi told Little Xing Hui gently: “It’s Nian’er’s first day here. Don’t scare her.”

Little Xing Hui sat down, half understanding, then grabbed the tiger-head doll and tried to hand it to Nian’er. When she didn’t take it, he tried to stuff it into her hands.

From the side, Qing Ye laughed: “The young master seems to have a real bond with Nian’er.”

A maid added: “He usually treasures that tiger-head doll. He won’t give it to anyone. Now he’s offering it to Nian’er himself. That’s rare.”

Held in Yu Zhu’s arms, Nian’er watched Little Xing Hui insist on giving her the tiger-head doll. After hesitating a while, she finally stretched out both hands and took it.

Seeing that, Little Xing Hui patted the soft couch and babbled, calling Nian’er to play with him.

Chun Zhi smiled and said: “Yu Zhu, put Nian’er on the couch so she can play with Little Xing Hui.”

Yu Zhu noticed that Nian’er, holding the tiger-head doll, kept watching Little Xing Hui. She wasn’t very afraid of him. She was curious. And since Little Xing Hui kept patting the couch, Yu Zhu set her daughter down.

Almost as soon as Nian’er was down, the two little ones crawled toward each other. Little Xing Hui moved a bit faster; Nian’er was a bit slower. The two small heads leaned together, you look at me, I look at you, both full of curiosity.

“Yu Zhu, sit too,” said Chun Zhi, thinking Yu Zhu must be tired after running back and forth today.

Yu Zhu saw the maids standing around and hesitated, not wanting to break decorum.

“Sit when I tell you to sit,” said Chun Zhi as she took Yu Zhu’s hand and sat her beside her on the edge of the soft couch. She lifted her hand to signal Qing Ye and the maids to step out.

Qing Ye and the others bowed to the Princess Consort and quietly withdrew to the doorway.

Only Chun Zhi and Yu Zhu were left in the room, with the two little ones. Little Xing Hui sat while Nian’er lay on her tummy. After staring each other down for a good while, they began playing with the same tiger-head doll, babbling words no adult could understand.

Watching them neither fight nor fuss, but fall into playing together, Chun Zhi asked Yu Zhu with a smile: “When you went to bring Nian’er home today, what did your mother-in-law say?”

Thinking of Mother Ji’s fawning face in front of Young Master Gu, Yu Zhu frowned. She calmed herself by looking at Nian’er, then said: “With Young Master Gu there, she got five hundred taels of silver. She even wished he would take her into the Prince of Chang’an Manor too.”

Chun Zhi looked surprised and asked: “The one who went with you to fetch Nian’er was Gu Yuan Jia?” Gu Yuan Jia now worked for Huo Zheng as a guest advisor to the Prince of Chang’an Manor. With his talent and skill, this kind of errand shouldn’t have been his job.

“It was him,” said Yu Zhu. In a low voice she explained: “He said when you went to the study to speak to the prince, he happened to be there, so the prince sent him along.”

That reason sounded weak. Chun Zhi wanted to say something, but when she saw Yu Zhu lower her head, she swallowed her words and instead asked: “Have you told your cousin that you brought Nian’er into the Prince of Chang’an Manor?”

“I will send him a note later,” said Yu Zhu.

“Your cousin…” Chun Zhi started, meaning to ask what Yu Zhu planned from here on.

Yu Zhu understood and went on: “I married my cousin only to give Nian’er a proper status. I already agreed with him that when he meets a girl he truly wants to marry, I will divorce and explain it all to her.”

When she came to the Capital and met Elder Cousin Ji again, Elder Cousin Ji was being pushed by Mother Ji to look at girls. He wanted to make his way first and didn’t want to marry, but he couldn’t refuse his mother and he wanted to help Yu Zhu, so they married. After the wedding, Yu Zhu stayed with Mother Ji in Qingyi Lane, while Elder Cousin Ji focused on his future. Yu Zhu hadn’t expected Mother Ji to be so hard to live with. She had no extra silver for a wet nurse, so she had to take work right after her month and entered the Princess Royal Manor.

Now that she had met Sister Chun Zhi and finally brought Nian’er to her side, Yu Zhu wanted only to raise her daughter well. She had no mind for anything else.

“If you don’t plan to live long-term with your cousin, it’s better to divorce sooner,” said Chun Zhi. “From now on, you can live well with me.”

Chun Zhi worried that Yu Zhu would waste her own time and her cousin’s. Better to end it now. In any case, she would look after mother and daughter, and they would not go hungry.

“Sister Chun Zhi…” Yu Zhu was so moved that words failed her.

Chun Zhi pushed a loose lock of hair behind Yu Zhu’s ear and said gently: “Enough. You don’t need to say anything. I know what you want to say.”

Yu Zhu lifted her eyes to look at Chun Zhi: “I can never repay your kindness. I can only…”

Chun Zhi covered Yu Zhu’s mouth with her hand and said: “I told you not to say more.”

Yu Zhu looked at her and curved her lips in a small smile. Her eyes were full of gratitude.

“But there is one thing I think you should decide soon,” said Chun Zhi. “From now on, you and Young Master Gu will see each other often, and Nian’er is…” She let the rest go unsaid. “About Nian’er, will you keep it secret, or will you tell him? You should decide early.”

People say sons resemble their mothers and daughters their fathers. As Nian’er grew, signs would show.

Quietly, Chun Zhi added: “And Young Master Gu seems not to have given up on you.”

“Hide it as long as I can,” said Yu Zhu, biting her lip. “At his age, he will soon take a wife. When he marries, someone will manage him and bear his children. By then, why would he still pay attention to an ordinary maid like me?”

Chun Zhi didn’t agree, and she asked again: “What if Gu Yuan Jia never takes a wife?”