Chapter 720 - Cold War
Perhaps his gaze had stayed on his lady mother and little nephew for too long, as his lady mother actually comforted him, “When Di’er was born, Lady Mother’s health wasn’t very good and couldn’t help you take care of him. Don’t think that your lady mother is being partial. By the time that the child in your wife’s belly is born, Xuan’er wouldn’t need me around all the time. At that time, Lady Mother can help you take care of your child! Lady Mother will have experience, so I will surely take good care of the baby!”
‘Lady Mother, please don’t say that. If Youngest Brother or Youngest Sister-in-law heard you, they might think that you’re practicing with their son!’
Zhu Yunxuan was the name that Imperial Prince Jing gave the little fellow. His nicknames were Baozi and pork steamed bun, both of which were given by his ‘unreliable’ mother. As the heir of Imperial Prince Xu, it was quite silly for him to have such humble nicknames. When he grew up, he was often teased by other kids. In the end, after these people were made very miserable by this black sesame filling steamed bun, there was gradually no one who dared to make fun of his nickname.
Little Baozi was different from his lord father, who subdued others with his strength. He would use his intelligence to make others unable to lift their head. When he grew up, he appeared handsome, gentle, and harmless on the surface. But, in fact, he was actually very black-bellied. Almost all of the noble young masters, who were around his age, in the capital had stumbled in his hands. Later, there was a saying in the capital, ‘It’s better to offend Imperial Prince Xu than to provoke his heir’.
At this time, Imperial Prince Xu’s heir was still an adorable little bun. After the wet nurse completed her post-natal confinement period, Imperial Prince Xu, who felt bad that his wife had to get up multiple times every night to feed the child, gave Little Baozi to the wet nurse to be taken care of. However, Little Baozi was already accustomed to the usual taste and was desperately unwilling to consume the wet nurse’s breast milk.
Zhu Junyang hardened his heart and decided to let him starve for two meals. Little Baozi, who had never been troublesome, cried until his voice was hoarse and still refused to drink even a mouthful. Even if it was placed into his mouth, he would push it out with his tongue. If he couldn’t push it out, he would just hold still and not suck or swallow. With his mouth blocked, his cries were soundless, and he could only shed silent tears.
Princess Consort Jing’s heart pained to see this. She snatched her grandson from the wet nurse’s arms and carried him to Xiaocao. With reddened eyes, she choked, “How can there be such cruel parents like you two? The child has been crying all day and hasn't even drunk a mouthful of milk. Do you guys want to starve him to death ah? My pitiful Little Baozi, your parents don’t care about you, but your grandmother does. If your parents don’t want to raise you, Grandmother will bring you back to Prince Jing’s Estate to raise!”
When Yu Xiaocao heard Little Baozi’s low and feeble cry, she felt as if her heart had been pulled out by someone. She glared fiercely at Zhu Junyang and asked angrily, “Didn’t you say that Little Baozi is doing very well with the wet nurse——eating well and sleeping well? Why didn’t you tell me about Little Baozi refusing to drink the wet nurse’s breast milk? Why didn’t you carry Little Baozi back when he’s crying so much that he can barely breathe? You’re abusing my son; I won’t let you off!!”
Seeing this, Princess Consort Jing realized that it was her son’s fault. She quickly put Little Baozi into her daughter-in-law’s arms. Then raised her hand and smacked her youngest son a few times. She hit him so hard that even her hand had turned red. “Is there such a father like you? Is your heart made of stone? Little Baozi is only around a dozen days old, so he can’t miss a single meal. How can you be so cruel that you let him starve for an entire day?”
Little Baozi, who had arrived in his mother’s embrace, stopped crying upon smelling the familiar scent. His little face was still wrinkled up in aggrievement, and from time to time, he would sniffle, appearing extremely pitiful.
With a pained heart, Xiaocao kissed her son’s forehead and opened her clothes. When Little Baozi, who had been starving for a day, smelled the luring fragrance of milk, he accurately located his ‘source of food’ and sucked and swallowed big mouthfuls.
It was no wonder that Little Baozi refused to drink other people’s breast milk. Xiaocao’s body had been nourished and transformed by mystic-stone water since childhood. Her breast milk contained a faint amount of spiritual energy, and thus it had a better taste and higher nutritional value than that of normal people’s milk. This was similar to suddenly letting a nobleman, who was used to eating rich feasts, eat a coarse grain steamed bun. It would be strange if he was willing to eat it!
He was his own flesh and blood after all. How could Zhu Junyang not feel distressed? He believed that boys should be raised in a rough manner, especially the eldest son. In the future, he must be able to stand on his own and not be used to relying on him for everything.
In his opinion, his refusal to drink the wet nurse’s breast milk was probably because he wasn’t accustomed to it. Habits were developed slowly. Besides, drinking milk was an innate skill for young children. He would naturally eat when he was hungry. However, he hadn’t expected that his son would go against his thoughts——no matter what he just refused to eat.
Zhu Junyang, who was criticized by his lady mother and ignored by his wife, completely gave up on the idea of letting the wet nurse take care of their son. He repeatedly apologized and tried to put in a good word for himself in front of his lady mother and his wife. But, unlike before, Yu Xiaocao didn’t easily forgive him. She didn’t hit or scold him, let alone pulled a long face. Instead, she ignored him completely.
When Zhu Junyang spoke to her, she directly disregarded him. When Zhu Junyang loitered in front of her, her gaze went straight through him and fell behind him. When Zhu Junyang pulled on her arm, she would only stare fixedly at the hand on her arm until it withdrew from her staring…
For Zhu Junyang, this felt even worse than being beaten and scolded. As for his son, who was the ‘culprit’, he acted just like his mother and didn’t act in accordance with his father.
As long as Zhu Junyang appeared in Little Baozi’s line of sight, he would wrinkle up his little face and whimper. It was a tearless cry that only had sounds. Once Zhu Junyang retracted his head and was out of his sight, he would immediately be all sunshine and rainbows again, showing a toothless grin to his mother and grandmother. If his father wanted to get close to him and hug him, that would provoke him and lead to a loud, deafening cry. As soon as he put him down, even if he was just placed on the bed, he would abruptly stop crying as if there was a switch on his body.
Tsk! Imperial Prince Xu felt very aggrieved that both the mother and son didn’t want to see him. Princess Consort Jing just had to make things worse at this time, “Serves you right! Let’s see if you would do such a stupid thing again in the future?! My dear grandson, your lord father is a baddie. Let’s not forgive and teach him a lesson!”
Ay! Even his own mother was pulled into the enemy camp. Zhu Junyang felt utterly helpless ah!
This situation lasted for ten or so days, and it wasn’t until Little Baozi’s full moon banquet that his wife finally slightly softened her stance. Because Little Baozi was a premature baby, his washing ceremony was held in a simple manner with some close friends and relatives coming to see the baby.
Imperial Prince Xu and his wife also didn’t plan to host a big event for Little Baozi’s full moon banquet. Zhu Junyang felt bad for his wife, who had just finished her post-natal confinement period. He was afraid that she would be tired, so the full moon banquet was held in Zhenxiu Restaurant. Even though they didn’t send out many invitations, there were many who came uninvited.
Imperial Prince Xu’s position in the imperial court was rising like the morning sun, and Princess Consort Xu’s reputation among the common people was becoming better and better. There was absolutely no harm in becoming acquainted with them ah! It would be very foolish of them to not come to increase their sense of presence! Even if they weren’t qualified to sit at the banquet, their names would be recorded on the gift list when they delivered their presents. When Imperial Prince Xu and his wife looked over the list, their names would eventually appear in the couple’s eyes.
There were many people who had such thoughts, and thus Imperial Prince Xu’s huge outer courtyard was nearly swamped with gifts. The full moon banquet was also very lively with friends and family gathered together. Little Baozi was first carried by his mother to walk amongst the womenfolk and received a lot of valuable gifts. Then his father carried him away to show off among the male guests. One would be tired from holding all the presents that he had received.
Little Baozi gave his father a lot of face. At the full moon banquet, he was carried around by his father for half a day, but he didn’t cry at all. Zhu Junyang inwardly pondered, ‘Does this brat’s attitude towards him depend on his mother’s attitude? It can’t be. This little fellow is so young, so what would he know?’
In the evening, after Little Baozi fell asleep, Zhu Junyang scooched closer to his wife and told her his guess. Yu Xiaocao thought about it seriously and nodded, “That’s quite possible! Infants don’t know anything, but they should be able to feel their parents’ emotions. Perhaps Little Baozi felt my indifference towards you, so he also didn’t like you.”
Zhu Junyang had a wronged expression on his face that looked exactly like his one-month old son, “Wife, you’re being too cold and indifferent to me. We can’t let this happen again in the future.”
“Who told you to do something so vexing? He’s only around a dozen days old, moreover, he’s a premature baby. How can you let him starve for a day? If something bad happens, do you think that I will let you off easily?” Yu Xiaocao still felt infuriated when she spoke of this matter. Had it not been for her meticulous care, Little Baozi might have already fallen ill from being starved by his father!
Zhu Junyang sincerely admitted his mistake, “This prince is indeed at fault for this matter! I didn’t expect that the little guy would be so persistent——he would rather starve than give in. To have such a resolute, firm, and tenacious temperament, he is indeed this prince’s son…”
“You still dare to mention it! Have you ever thought that if something bad happened, how in the world would you give me back my son?” Yu Xiaocao grabbed his ears and pulled them hard towards opposite directions.
Unexpectedly, when this guy heard her words, his phoenix eyes instantly lit up. He hugged his wife and jumped onto the bed. With a smile on his face, he hinted, “Our son is fine, but that doesn’t stop me from giving you another son. Cao’er, my dear sweetheart, this prince really misses you——"
“Scram! Where did you learn to speak in such a tone as if you’re flirting with naïve women?” Yu Xiaocao’s mouth was soon blocked, and the clothes on her body fell to the ground like autumn leaves. Then it was followed by the gasping sounds that could cause one’s face to flush…
Imperial Prince Xu, who had been ‘starving’ for several months, could finally eat a delicious meal. Furthermore, it was a huge banquet——an all ‘milk’ feast. The taste was extraordinary!
That night, the young heir, who was having a midnight snack, worked hard to suck tasty breast milk. However, today’s ‘food bag’ seemed to be quite empty——he had to suck very hard ah! Little Baozi exerted a lot of strength yet only ended up half-full before he pitifully went back to sleep.
Yu Xiaocao was so angry that she twisted and pinched the flesh on her man’s body. This guy was so shameless that he even stole his son’s food. How could there be such a father! It was no wonder that Little Baozi didn’t like him! He was a father who didn’t act like a father!
With a contented expression on his face, Zhu Junyang let his wife pinch him as if she was just giving him a massage. But she had inadvertently lit up a fire with her pinching. As if she was a salted fish, Yu Xiaocao was flipped around and tossed about for most of the night. She was so tired that she didn’t even have strength to move her fingers. When their son woke up hungry in the middle of the night, it was Zhu Junyang who carried him over and placed him in front of her chest to be fed. As for the exhausted Xiaocao, she had no idea about this matter and slept until the late morning.