Crowned Consort in Golden Age-Chapter 330 - 329. Baby’s nickname is out
329. The Baby’s Nickname is Unveiled
Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li personally accompanied Ren Qining and his party to meet Mr. Qingyun after inviting them into Prince Ding’s Mansion.
As Ren Qining and others walked through Prince Ding’s Mansion, they couldn’t help but show a hint of surprise at the scenery of the courtyards. Although Prince Ding’s Mansion was located in the very center of Licheng, and was also the largest residence in the entire city, it naturally paled in comparison to the palaces of various countries. It was even somewhat smaller than the Prince Ding’s Mansion in the capital of Great Chu. Moreover, there were no carved beams and painted pillars, nor peculiar flowers and exotic plants in the Mansion that outsiders envisioned. The front courtyard, where administrative affairs were handled daily, was clean and concise yet impressively grand. The rear courtyards, where they resided daily, offered a quiet and pleasant environment.
While such a mansion wouldn’t be considered bad, it did seem a bit shabby given Mo Xiuyao’s current reputation. Ren Qining glanced at the white-haired man walking ahead of him. Such an appearance, Ren Qining thought, his gaze deep, could either mean he has never considered ruling the world, or he harbors even greater schemes. He quickly dismissed the first possibility. If Mo Xiuyao had no desire to dominate the world, then what were the southern expeditions and northern wars for?
Mr. Qingyun temporarily resided in a quiet little courtyard deep within the mansion. Although Prince Ding’s Mansion was not large, it respected all kinds of norms and distinguished between inside and outside. The many officials and generals who came and went daily generally only visited the front courtyard or the main residence where Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li lived, so they usually did not disturb others. Hence, the latter half of the mansion remained very peaceful. After asking the pageboy standing at the door to go in and inform Mr. Qingyun of their visit, Ye Li turned to look at the woman in blue who was closely following Ren Qining. "Consort Yun, please wait for a while in the side hall and have some tea," she said.
Consort Yun was taken aback and, looking at Ye Li with displeasure, said, "I came sincerely to wish Mr. Qingyun a happy birthday. What do you mean by this, Princess Consort?"
Ye Li frowned slightly, looked at Ren Qining, and said, "King of Northern Territory, we in the Central Plains do not traditionally bring secondary consorts to birthday celebrations. Please understand." As soon as these words were spoken, Ren Qining’s expression immediately turned somewhat unhappy. He was a man from the Central Plains, and a descendant of what was once its most orthodox imperial family. Even though the Lin imperial family no longer existed, he had indeed learned all the necessary etiquette. Ye Li’s action was clearly a mockery of his ignorance of etiquette, as if he were a barbarian.
"Your Majesty..." Consort Yun hadn’t expected Ye Li to disregard her so completely. She glared at Ye Li hatefully, her eyes filled with tears as she tugged at Ren Qining’s sleeve.
Queen Helan, however, chuckled heartily and said, "Princess Consort Ding must have misunderstood. Not just in your Central Plains, even we in the Northern Territory do not have such a practice. His Majesty merely favors Consort Yun and lets her attend to him; she can just wait outside for us." In the Northern Territory, the main wife truly did dominate, and secondary consorts were as insignificant as female slaves in the eyes of these noblewomen. Therefore, noblewomen from the Northern Territory would absolutely not consent to becoming secondary consorts.
Ye Li smiled faintly. "I see."
While they were talking, the pageboy who had gone in to report came out to invite everyone in. Consort Yun quickly tugged at Ren Qining, looking at him pitifully. "Your Majesty..."
Ren Qining frowned slightly and said, "You just wait outside."
"This junior, Lin Yuan, pays my respects to Mr. Qingyun." Inside the small courtyard, Mr. Qingyun had been preparing tea and only had the others invited in when he heard the pageboy’s report. Before Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao could make introductions, Ren Qining stepped forward and bowed slightly.
Mr. Qingyun stopped what he was doing, looked up at Ren Qining, and said with evident confusion, "Lin Yuan? Although I am old, I recall that the King of Northern Territory is surnamed Ren?"
Ren Qining smiled faintly and said, "Lin Yuan is Ren Qining. This junior, Lin Yuan, descendant of the Lin imperial family, pays respects to Mr. Qingyun."
Nearby, Mo Xiuyao’s expression turned slightly cold. No wonder Ren Qining was so eager to be the first to pay respects to Mr. Qingyun. It was less about wishing him a happy birthday and more about antagonizing people. Years ago, when the head of the Xu family killed the last emperor of the previous dynasty and surrendered the city, the Xu family subsequently gained its present reputation as the foremost scholars in the world under the patronage of successive Emperors of Great Chu. Ren Qining’s declaration was clearly intended to remind Mr. Qingyun that the Xu family had achieved its current status by betraying the former imperial family.
After observing Ren Qining for a long moment, Mr. Qingyun finally laughed and said, "So there is still a branch of the former dynasty’s imperial family existing in the world. Not bad. With such achievements, the King of Northern Territory can be considered to have brought comfort to his ancestors."
Ren Qining looked at Mr. Qingyun and asked earnestly, "This junior wishes to restore the former empire and revive the imperial family. Does Mr. Qingyun think it possible?"
"Possible," Mr. Qingyun said. "In the affairs of the world, nothing is truly impossible. If Young Master Lin possesses this ambition, why would it not be possible?"
Ren Qining’s eyes flashed as he asked, "Does Mr. Qingyun think this junior will succeed?"
Mr. Qingyun fell silent for a moment before finally asking, "If the King of Northern Jin truly unifies the world, will this world... bear the surname Ren, or Lin? Will this land be named the Northern Territory, or Great Qin?"
Hearing this, Ren Qining’s expression changed slightly. He forced a smile and said, "It will not be too late to discuss this once the land is stabilized."
Mr. Qingyun shook his head and said, "If the King of Northern Jin cannot make this decision, he will never unify the world." Ren Qining’s face turned somewhat pale, but he fell silent and spoke no more.
Ye Li stepped forward with a faint smile and asked, "Grandfather, why are you making tea by yourself? Aren’t Elder Su and Mr. Xiuting here?"
Mr. Qingyun served them tea with a smile, invited them to sit, and chuckled, "They’re in the study room playing chess. I’m old and find prolonged sitting too stifling, so I came out for some tea. By the way, where have those little rascals been these past few days? They haven’t even come to visit this old man unless someone herded them."
Ye Li covered her lips and laughed. "You granted them a few days off, and they’ve been in the courtyard watching over their younger siblings." The babies, just over a month old, had already started to fill out and were adorable, pink little bundles. Led by Mo Xiaobao, the three little ones hovered around the babies every day. They no longer preferred their usual boisterous play, and there was certainly no time to visit Mr. Qingyun for tutoring classes in the small courtyard. "If Grandfather finds the mansion too boring, I’ll have the little ones sent over to keep you company. Please don’t mind their mischief."
Mr. Qingyun waved his hand dismissively. "Forget it. Those boys have gotten increasingly wild this year. I’ll enjoy the peace and quiet while I can."
Seven or eight-year-old boys are a handful, and a naturally intelligent imp like Mo Xiaobao was even more of a nuisance. He would lead the two younger ones on rampages through Prince Ding’s Mansion, much to everyone’s dismay. If it weren’t for Xu Qingchen previously, and now Ye Li, keeping them in check, they would have surely caused chaos beyond the mansion walls. However, for the sake of the two recently born babies, they had been unusually quiet for some time. Every time Ye Li saw Mo Xiaobao leaning over the cradle, talking to the still-oblivious babies, she knew he would make an excellent older brother.
After chatting with Mr. Qingyun for a while, Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao accompanied Ren Qining outside. It wasn’t clear what Mr. Qingyun had said, but Ren Qining looked rather pale as he was leaving. Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li acted as if they hadn’t noticed, had the visitors escorted back to the posthouse, and then retired for the day.
「Back in the main courtyard」
In a room specially set up adjacent to the bedroom, two soft, fair little bundles lay side by side in a spacious cradle. The babies, just over a month old, were already fair-skinned and lovely. Their delicate, beautiful little features made one want to affectionately pinch their cheeks. They were surprisingly well-behaved; though awake, with their dark little eyes wide open, they weren’t crying or fussing. Three little boys of varying heights stood around the cradle, gazing eagerly at the two adorable babies. The two babies were exceptionally quiet; they weren’t sleeping, but lay there with their dark little eyes open, not crying or making a fuss.
"Little sister... grow up quickly, and older brother will take you out to play..." Mo Xiaobao, supporting himself on the cradle, gazed at the little baby wrapped in red swaddling clothes and whispered. Then, looking at the little brother wrapped in yellow swaddling clothes, he added, "Little brother, you also need to grow up quickly. Older brother will teach you martial arts, and we’ll protect little sister together..."
"And me! Me too!" Leng Junhan, also a little dumpling, raised his small hand and declared, "I also want to protect little sister. Junhan likes little sister!"
Mo Xiaobao, who had always been kind to Leng Xiaodai, suddenly turned hostile. "Leng Xiaodai, are you trying to get ideas about my sister?! My sister is mine, don’t you dare have any wishful thoughts!" Seven-year-old Mo Xiaobao had an impressive vocabulary of idioms.
Leng Xiaodai turned his head arrogantly. "HUMPH! I just like little sister!" Little sister was so soft and tender, he really wanted to take a bite...
"Wipe off your drool. Don’t get it on our little sister. Dirty," Xu Zhirui glanced at Leng Xiaodai with disgust, as stoic and serious as his father. However, he also really wanted to pinch the little sister’s and little brother’s cheeks.
Mo Xiaobao turned around, hands on his hips, and stared seriously at his two little companions. "Neither of you is allowed to have designs on my sister!" he stated gravely. "In the future, if anyone dares to have designs on my sister, you have to help me beat him to death!"
The two little companions looked at each other and nodded firmly at Mo Xiaobao, exclaiming, "That’s right! Whoever dares to have designs on our sister, beat him up!" Simultaneously, they cast hostile gazes at each other. The soft, tender little sister is mine!
Outside the door, Ye Li couldn’t help but laugh softly at the three little boys’ conversation, leaning onto Mo Xiuyao. Mo Xiuyao supported Ye Li with one hand, his handsome face clouded with gloom. That idiot Mo Xiaobao! he thought. I’ve taught him for so many years, all for nothing! The ones most likely to have designs on his sister are right in front of him!
The two walked into the room. Ye Li smiled and asked, "Xiaobao, Zhirui, Junhan, what are you doing?"
Seeing his parents return, Mo Xiaobao happily greeted them, not forgetting to take credit. "Mother, I was protecting my little brother and sister."
Mo Xiuyao walked over and lifted the baby girl from the cradle, dismissing the wet nurses who were watching over them nearby. He looked down at his baby daughter, a profound tenderness shining in his eyes. "My little princess is awake, and not crying... So well-behaved. Not at all like your older brother, who cried all day when he was little. I almost thought he was incapable of anything but crying."
Mo Xiaobao, slandered by his father in front of his sister, glared at Mo Xiuyao indignantly. Mo Xiuyao threw a disdainful and provocative look back at him, holding the soft little princess even higher, making it impossible for Mo Xiaobao, craning his neck, to see even a glimpse.
I’ll definitely grow taller than Father when I grow up! Mo Xiaobao swore silently in his heart, frustrated and angry.
Ye Li smiled and patted her son’s small head. Mo Xiaobao immediately tugged at her skirt, complaining, "Mother, Father is bullying Xiaobao..."
Ye Li gently flicked his forehead and laughed. "You’ve been guarding your sister here these past few days. Does that mean you don’t have to do your lessons?"
Mo Xiaobao rubbed his little forehead. "Great-grandfather said he isn’t lecturing these few days..."
"Great-grandfather is old, and with many things to attend to these days, that’s why he isn’t lecturing. Does that mean you all can stop studying? How many days has it been since you practiced calligraphy or read your books?" Looking down at her son, Ye Li asked with a half-smile.
"Three days..." Mo Xiaobao, knowing he was in the wrong, lowered his head and replied softly, "Mother, was I wrong..."
"It’s good that you know you were wrong. Studying requires perseverance, understand?"
"I understand, Mother. I’ll go make up for the past few days right now," Mo Xiaobao nodded repeatedly.
Only then did Ye Li bend down, kiss his forehead, and say with a smile, "That’s a good boy. Do it after lunch; you mustn’t tire yourself out too much. Everything must be done in moderation, understand?"
"Yes, I understand. I’ll come see my little brother and sister again tonight." Mo Xiaobao nodded emphatically and then led Xu Zhirui and Leng Junhan out.
Seeing the three children reluctantly leave, Ye Li chuckled softly, then went over and gently lifted the little boy from the cradle. The little fellow’s eyes widened, and he gurgled with laughter upon seeing Ye Li. Seeing her son’s adorable and well-behaved appearance, the smile on Ye Li’s face grew even more tender. Mo Xiuyao, holding the little princess, glanced over, his gaze settling on their giggling son in Ye Li’s arms. His handsome eyes narrowed. "Ah-Li, you hold the little princess. Let me hold this boy."
Ye Li was somewhat baffled as she swapped the babies with Xiuyao. Wasn’t Mo Xiuyao usually more fond of holding their daughter? And did it really matter who held whom?
"WAH! WAH!" The moment the little fellow was in Mo Xiuyao’s arms, he began to wail loudly, showing no deference at all. As if affected by his cries, the little princess in Ye Li’s arms also began to whimper.
Mo Xiuyao’s face instantly darkened. He stared gloomily at the baby in his arms. "Quiet!"
"WAH! WAH!" wailed the baby.
"WHIMPER... WHIMPER..." added the little princess.
"Quiet!"
"WAH! WAH!"
Ye Li, gently coaxing the little princess, was utterly exasperated. The two beside her were too noisy, and even the usually docile little princess couldn’t be soothed. She exasperatedly took the little boy from Mo Xiuyao’s arms and handed him the little princess instead. Only then did Ye Li focus on coaxing the little boy. "Darling, be good. Father is being mean, let’s ignore him... Good boy, don’t cry..."
The man sitting to the side holding his daughter instantly looked grim. "Ah-Li..."
Ye Li glared at him. "He’s just a baby! How can he understand when you scold him like that? What if you scare him?"
Mo Xiuyao shot an annoyed glance at the little bundle occupying his wife’s embrace, grumbling internally: Look at him, he’s clearly challenging me! How is that being scared? Little brats are truly annoying. Why didn’t Ah-Li give birth to two little princesses? See how well-behaved my precious little princess is! And why does this brat have to look like Xu Qingchen?! It’s said that nephews often resemble their maternal uncles, but Xu Qingchen is clearly his mother’s cousin!
Actually, Mo Xiuyao was definitely overthinking it. The baby boy didn’t resemble Xu Qingchen so much as Ye Li’s deceased mother, Madam Xu. In her youth, Madam Xu had been one of the most beautiful women in the Xu family and was also Xu Qingchen’s paternal aunt. Naturally, there would be some resemblance between her and Xu Qingchen. The little boy resembled Madam Xu, and therefore also bore some resemblance to Xu Qingchen.
"Not yet. Grandfather said he needs to think about it carefully. We can pick pet names first." Actually, for naming a baby, any time before their first birthday wasn’t too late. However, it was always inconvenient to just call them ’baby, baby’, especially with two of them. Mo Xiuyao also felt they should give it serious thought, especially for his little princess. He had initially wanted to name them himself, but after compiling a long list of names and rejecting every single one, Prince Ding, for the first time in his life, began to doubt his own erudition. He couldn’t even come up with a pleasing name for his precious children?!
"Then let’s pick pet names first, shall we? What should we call them..." Mo Xiuyao turned his head, gazing at the boy in Ye Li’s arms who was gurgling and grasping at her fingertips. A mischievous smile touched his lips. "Let’s follow Mo Xiaobao’s naming style. How about... Mo Xiaobei?"
Ye Li could already imagine the resentful look their son would have when he grew up. She shot him an exasperated glance and said, "You’re talking about our daughter, right?" Mo Xiaobao was already pushing it; it could barely pass as a boy’s name. If they really called him Xiaobei, our son would cry his eyes out in the future!
Mo Xiuyao shook his head. "How could that be? I’ve already thought of a pet name for our little princess. Let’s call her Xin’er. She’s the apple of our eye, Ah-Li’s and mine. With that, our hearts are full, aren’t they?"
"Are you sure that sounds better than Xiaobei?" Should I thank him for not calling her ’Little Sweetheart’?
"Xin’er sounds lovely, doesn’t it, Ah-Li? Mo Xiaobei, Xin’er..."
Ye Li looked heavenward, speechless. Seeing Mo Xiuyao holding the little princess with such a delighted expression, her heart couldn’t help but soften. Xin’er it was, but... "There will be no Mo Xiaobei. The younger brother’s pet name will be Lin’er." She had to stand firm on the principles she needed to uphold; she didn’t want her son to develop an inferiority complex over a pet name in the future.
Mo Xiuyao looked resentfully at Lin’er, who had narrowly escaped being named Mo Xiaobei. Seeing Ye Li’s determined expression, he had no choice but to give up. "Xin’er, my sweet treasure, Father loves you the most."
Ye Li looked helplessly at the suddenly childish man. Is it really okay to favor daughters so blatantly over sons?
Many years later, the already world-renowned Second Young Master Mo once confessed to his most trusted confidant that the person he admired, respected, and was most grateful to in his entire life was his mother. Not because she had given birth to him, nor because she had loved and raised him, but because she had resolutely saved his name, preventing him from falling into the same tragic predicament as his elder brother. Just imagining it: standing in the midst of tens of thousands, weapon in hand, accepting the adoration of the masses, when suddenly a familiar voice bellows, "Mo Xiaobei! So-and-so is looking for you..." What an utterly devastating catastrophe that would be!
Of course, Second Young Master Mo, still oblivious to everything at this time, wouldn’t understand how narrowly he had brushed past a miserable fate. So he just lay in his mother’s arms, gurgling happily. Little Princess Xin’er seemed to sense her younger brother’s happiness and giggled along. Ye Li smiled as she watched the two lovely, smiling babies in their arms, the joy on her face deepening. Mo Xiuyao looked at his wife, then at the little princess in his arms, and could only silently tolerate the fact that the toothless little rascal was occupying his beloved wife’s embrace.
Each holding a baby, they sat down. No matter how busy, Ye Li would always pull Mo Xiuyao along to hold the babies and play with them for a while each day. This was a lesson learned from Mo Xiaobao and his father’s seemingly innate incompatibility; Ye Li firmly believed this was absolutely due to them spending too little time together when Mo Xiaobao was little.
"Xiuyao, what do you think of Queen Helan?" Ye Li asked, teasing little Lin’er with one hand.
Mo Xiuyao pondered for a moment, then frowned thoughtfully. "She seems decent. It’s rare to find a woman from the Northern Territory who is so flamboyant yet knows her limits. Does Ah-Li like her?"
Ye Li laughed. "I just feel... this Queen Helan is quite extraordinary. However, her relationship with Ren Qining doesn’t seem very good."
"Queen Helan is the first cousin of Ren Qining’s previous wife. Ever since the former queen died, there has been constant contention within the Northern Territory regarding the choice of Ren Qining’s new queen. Lin’s trusted aides naturally hoped Ren Qining would marry a woman from the Central Plains to be queen. However, no matter how simple-minded the people of the Northern Territory might seem, how could they easily concede on matters concerning their lineage? Naturally, they wouldn’t agree. In the end, it seems the Northern Territory side gained the upper hand, and thus he married Helan as queen. It would be strange if their relationship were good under such circumstances."
Ye Li massaged her temples. "Even so, Ren Qining has gone too far," she said. "When visiting another country, if he didn’t bring the queen, it would be one thing. But since he brought the queen along and also paraded another secondary consort, it was clearly a deliberate slight to the queen’s dignity. Even if you hadn’t acted against the former queen, I’m afraid Ren Qining himself would have done so within a few years. So, aren’t you considered to have solved a problem for him?"
Mo Xiuyao was unconcerned and chuckled lightly. "Doesn’t he have a new problem now? Besides... Ah-Li’s intuition isn’t wrong. This Queen Helan is probably even more formidable than her predecessor." The former queen had been the princess of the largest tribe in the Northern Territory. Although a woman from a non-Central Plains tribe, her methods were not ordinary. She held considerable prestige among the ministers of the Northern Territory. It was precisely because of this that their initially harmonious marital relationship had gradually soured. But this current one, who appeared flamboyant and reckless, seemingly without much cunning... Mo Xiuyao, however, was the kind of person who, when it came to feigning ignorance to achieve his goals, no one in the world could surpass him. "Ren Qining thinks he is someone special, that he can use the people of the Northern Territory and then just cast them aside. This Prince fears that he will end up with a tail too big to wag and instead suffer the consequences himself."
Ye Li couldn’t help but smile. "So, it seems my intuition was correct. Was Queen Helan trying to show us goodwill just now?"
Mo Xiuyao said, "Ah-Li needn’t be too concerned. If you like her, there’s no harm in befriending her. If you don’t, just ignore her. If I want to deal with Ren Qining, this Prince has plenty of methods."
Ye Li smiled. "It’s no matter. I also find this Queen Helan quite interesting. Why don’t we invite her to the mansion in a couple of days for some tea and a chat?"
Mo Xiuyao did not object to Ye Li’s suggestion. "Ah-Li, you can decide."
Ye Li looked down, smiling as she played with the baby. Ren Qining was too complacent and conceited. He doesn’t know what kind of expression he’ll have on that day when he’s stabbed in the back by someone close to him, does he?
