The Royal’s Little Lady

It had already turned dark by the time they left the Palace. There were only quiet pedestrians walking on the desolate streets outside the Palace gate. Every household had closed its doors; there was not even a light on the road.

 

The Palace had sent another carriage, so GuiZhi and Nanny An sat in one carriage while Gu Sui’er and Xiao Heng sat in another. Originally, those two were supposed to take care of Little Ah Chen, but Gu Sui’er was reluctant and decided to carry him herself. At this moment, she was leaning on Xiao Heng to breastfeed the baby.

 

Little Ah Chen lay obediently in Gu Sui’er’s arms as he ate voraciously, his little head arching back and forth.

 

A part of the milky white skin was exposed in front of him, like a swell tender enough to drip water.

 

Xiao Heng looked at her and recalled how the third Prince was looking at her before.

 

That kind of gaze made Xiao Heng feel uncomfortable.

 

“That person, the third Prince was born in the Imperial family with first-class appearance and talent.” Xiao Heng seemed to say very casually.

 

“Ah, I see…” Gu Sui’er leaned softly on his solid arm, holding the fragrant little baby in her embrace and breastfeeding him. Hearing his words, she didn’t care too much; she just remembered her prior suspicions.

 

The third Prince was naturally not as good as Xiao Heng in her eyes; the impression they gave off was different. Compared with Xiao Heng, who was like the sky, the third Prince was the underground. How could he be better?

 

It was simply that his action of raising an eyebrow was a bit similar to Xiao Heng’s.

 

“He already has a Princess Consort and three concubines. He usually likes to enjoy the spring scenery1Enjoy the spring scenery [沾花问柳] — I think the author wanted to say “寻花问柳” instead of “沾花问柳” as ‘寻’ means seek/look for while ‘沾’ means to moisten or touch. Basically, this idiom means to frequent brothels (both ‘花’ or flower and ‘柳’ or willow, are indicators of prostitutes).. The moment he sees even a somewhat beautiful woman, he would try to make her his concubine.”

 

Xiao Heng had always disdained to mention these things.

 

But now, looking down at the little baby’s voracious manner of eating and the moist red cherry fruit shaking in front of his eyes, he couldn’t help but say something.

 

“This… I didn’t expect him to be that kind of a person.” Gu Sui’er was a little surprised but she didn’t particularly care. Besides, if one thought about it carefully, it was not too shocking for an awful person who tried to ruin her reputation from the first approach to be dissolute.

 

“Yes, he tried to ruin my reputation too. He must not be a good person.”

 

After she said this, the man remained completely silent, not saying a word.

 

Gu Sui’er didn’t seem to take his words to heart at all.

 

She lifted Little Ah Chen, placing his head on her shoulders and patting his back gently, all while murmuring softly to the sleepy baby.

 

The soft baby stuck to the woman’s exquisite body like a tadpole with his tiny arms and legs spread all around.

 

Xiao Heng’s brows knotted in a frown. After looking for a long time, he finally asked.

 

“How many times have you stared at the third Prince before this?”

 

After asking this question, Xiao Heng felt his cheeks heating up faintly.

 

The woman beside him really had a crystal clear and pure heart; he could almost see through it every time.

 

He knew that she would never be disloyal and that she cared about him and Little Ah Chen wholeheartedly. However, the way she looked at the third Prince today was still imprinted in his heart.

 

It was like the layer of dust on the desk that one always wanted to wipe off completely.

 

“En, it is a little weird…”

 

However, Gu Sui’er’s entire heart and soul were focused on her little baby at the moment. How could she know what the man was thinking?

 

“What is strange?”

 

As he spoke, he stretched out his arms to embrace her.

 

Because she was holding Little Ah Chen, he conveniently embraced both the mother and son at once.

 

“I don’t know what’s wrong. When I saw His Majesty, he seemed to look a bit familiar. When I saw the third Prince, I also felt that his expression looked somewhat similar to yours, that is, when you raise your brows…”

 

While talking, Gu Sui’er suddenly realized: “I understand why His Majesty seemed a bit familiar!”

 

“Why?”

 

“Eh…” Gu Sui’er tilted her head and looked up from Xiao Heng’s arms. She could see his handsome and ever-indifferent face in the dim light of the night pearl inside the carriage.

 

She muttered: “His Majesty seems to look a bit like you.”

 

No wonder he seemed familiar. His Majesty turned out to resemble the person she saw everyday.

 

Just because he was the Emperor and was in his forties, she didn’t think about associating him with Xiao Heng.

 

Xiao Heng pursed his lips slightly, still not uttering a word.

 

Nevertheless, he turned his head and looked outside the window through the thin muslin curtains hanging in the carriage.

 

As the thin muslin curtain swayed lightly with the carriage’s movement, the corners of his mouth twitched. Suddenly, he wanted to laugh.

 

“Ai, I’m too foolish…” The woman in his arms mumbled.

 

Xiao Heng was in a good mood.

 

He suddenly realized that he himself was a fool, much more foolish than Gu Sui’er.

 

While thinking like this, he took the little baby from Gu Sui’er’s arms.

 

“Be careful, he barely fell asleep…” Gu Sui’er reluctantly handed the child over.

 

After Xiao Heng took the child, he held him with one hand and Gu Sui’er with the other, kissing her on the forehead softly.

 

His sudden move was quite intimate. Gu Sui’er couldn’t help leaning into his arms even more, rubbing her head against his chest.

 

The chest was firm and strong, but she liked it.

 

Suddenly she felt that she liked to go out. It was not the same as when she stayed back at the residence.

 

There, she was always surrounded by maids and nannies.

 

Xiao Heng encircled the woman in his arms, feeling as if he had embraced a soft, fragrant and warm piece of jade with a faint, lingering scent of milk. He couldn’t help but bow his head more and gently pecked her cheek with his lips.

 

Her cheeks were so smooth and tender that they were almost comparable to those of a newborn baby.

 

Gu Sui’er had never been so close to Xiao Heng since she gave birth. Now that he suddenly made such a move, her body unconsciously shook a little, wanting to evade and welcome at the same time.

 

“Are you still…” His low, hoarse voice came close to her ear, a voice from the depths of his throat that would never be heard by a third person in this world, “bleeding2T/N: The bleeding here referred to is not menstruation but lochia [恶露], which is the vaginal discharge after childbirth. It consists of blood, mucus, uterine tissue and other materials from the uterus and is a normal part of the postpartum healing process that doesn’t usually cause complications. It typically lasts about six weeks and at this point, I gave up trying to understand the flow of time in the novel ;_;?”

 

“N-no…” She bit her lip and whispered.

 

Xiao Heng took a deep breath and gently nipped at her cheeks. The tender and soft skin that bounced back to its original place was being nibbled; gently and slowly brushing past the corner of his mouth.

 

“Although it’s gone, the doctor advised waiting for a few more days.”

 

The man’s breathing was heavy. His voice had turned so hoarse that it didn’t seem to belong to him anymore.

 

“En.” Although his words didn’t have a head or a tail, Gu Sui’er understood.

 

After experiencing the pain of childbirth and recently completing her confinement period, Gu Sui’er was indeed a little afraid. But seeing that he was so considerate, her heart surged with warmth.

 

At this time, Little Ah Chen moved his fat little leg and kicked his waist lightly.

 

Xiao Heng turned his head only to see the child continue sleeping soundly after the deed.

 

He looked at the woman again. She was leaning against his chest softly and obediently as if he was her everything.

 

A myriad of feelings flooded his mind, tugging at his heartstrings.

 

The baby was still young and tender. He must raise him up to be a man who would be able to support both heaven and earth. This was his responsibility as the father.

 

But she was also very fragile, gentle and lovable. He couldn’t help but want to use all his strength to love her and give her everything he could.

 

Unexpectedly, she raised her head at that moment and asked in a low voice, “Third Master, you haven’t told me yet. Do you think His Majesty resembles you?”

 

The abrupt mention of the topic destroyed the surge of affection in his heart.

 

He patted her smooth hair a bit forcefully as a small punishment.

 

However, she didn’t seem to notice at all. Instead, she still looked at him with her big eyes brimming with curiosity.

 

He had no choice but to whisper, “And you say you’re stupid?”

 

“Gah?”

 

Xiao Heng felt helpless; he lowered his head and gently bit her chin: “Your eyes are very sharp.”

 

Not stupid at all.

 

Hearing his reply, Gu Sui’er was a little complacent. But she was still not satisfied yet.

 

“Then how ah? How can third Master look like His Majesty? Moreover…. why was he so kind to our Little Ah Chen ah?”

 

Little Ah Chen might have gotten into huge trouble for pulling off the Emperor’s crown. Even if Gu Sui’er didn’t know the rules of the Palace, she saw Eunuch Hu’s unsightly expression and the way the Imperial guards rushed in. Presumably, it was a grave matter.

 

But lo and behold, the emperor was not at all angry.

 

Xiao Heng’s mouth had already moved from biting her chin to her neck.

 

Her neck was fair and slender with faint blue veins throbbing under the skin akin to jade.

 

He couldn’t curb himself from nipping a big mouthful before taking a deep breath and saying hoarsely, “You’ll know after a while.”

 

Some people were still alive from his mother’s natal family. They were his third uncle Zuo ChengHui and his family. Soon, the great injustice meted out to them would finally be resolved and the title of Duke AnGuo would be restored. When that moment came, his third uncle would bring his family to YanJing City to regain the title.

 

And he, in compliance with the Emperor’s intention, was going to acknowledge his family lineage.

 

Only when he acknowledged and uncovered his identity would his mother be posthumously conferred a title and be buried in the imperial tomb as the Emperor’s woman.

 

He lowered his head and looked carefully at the woman in his arms, kneading her waist gently. He asked, “Your brother is twelve years old, right?”

 

Gu Sui’er blinked in surprise. She didn’t understand why he suddenly mentioned her brother.

 

“Yes, he will be thirteen after the new year.”

 

Xiao Heng nodded silently, his hands still moving.

 

Nowadays, her younger brother, Gu Bao’er, was learning martial arts and could also recognize a few characters. He would be turning thirteen years old at the beginning of spring next year.

 

At the age of thirteen, one could enter the army camp.

 

He had also found a proper place for the boy, i.e., first throw him into the barracks to train him.

 

As long as he was not an incompetent person, it would be possible for him to be promoted even a little and get some merit for his duties.

 

With military merit and his partly-official title, her natal family would no longer be an empty shell that won’t be able to help her in the future.

 

The street outside was cold and the moon was bent like a hook.

 

Inside the carriage, Xiao Heng hugged his woman and child in silence.

 

Closing his eyes, he could hear the sound of some family scolding the children, and the rustling of fabric.

 

Outside the window was YanJing City, the boundless world of people.

 

Inside the carriage, a space full of the warm and soft fragrance was his woman and child.

 

This was his home.

 

Xiao Heng gently buried his chin in her fragrant bun and he took a deep breath.

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1Enjoy the spring scenery [沾花问柳] — I think the author wanted to say “寻花问柳” instead of “沾花问柳” as ‘寻’ means seek/look for while ‘沾’ means to moisten or touch. Basically, this idiom means to frequent brothels (both ‘花’ or flower and ‘柳’ or willow, are indicators of prostitutes).2T/N: The bleeding here referred to is not menstruation but lochia [恶露], which is the vaginal discharge after childbirth. It consists of blood, mucus, uterine tissue and other materials from the uterus and is a normal part of the postpartum healing process that doesn’t usually cause complications. It typically lasts about six weeks and at this point, I gave up trying to understand the flow of time in the novel ;_;