Chapter 1109: Chapter 1100: Jealousy
In the blink of an eye, seven days passed.
That day near noon, a luxurious carriage slowly approached the military camp—
The Princess Consort had arrived at the border.
Alongside the Princess Consort, a eunuch came to deliver an imperial edict from the Emperor.
The Emperor has bestowed a name on the Young Prince.
The generational name for this line is Heng.
Usually, there’s not much consideration when the Emperor bestows a name, but this time, the Emperor, being the maternal grandfather, took over the role of the paternal grandfather, giving exceptional respect to the Prince.
Xie Hengyuan.
The Young Prince, born over half a month ago, finally had a name.
This was the Emperor’s first grandchild, and born to his most beloved daughter, the Emperor held him in high regard.
No name seemed worthy enough for his grandson.
He specially consulted the Astronomical Bureau to calculate the Young Prince’s fate based on his eight characters, and adjust his name accordingly.
Finding nothing lacking, the Emperor felt assured in naming him.
It took the Emperor an entire afternoon and into the next morning to decide on just this single name, showing how cautious he was.
Su Jin was also very satisfied with this name.
The fact that the Emperor considered the generational line of Prince Zhenbei Mansion while bestowing the name made the Prince even more pleased.
Xie Jingchen had no particular feelings about it; even though it was his son, with so many elders involved, even having three or five sons wouldn’t mean he’d get the chance to name them.
Besides, his own name was also given by his grandfather.
As Prince NanAn and the others would say, right now, none of them could compete for this role, but once they become grandfathers, nobody would take it away from them.
Seeing Yuanyuan, the Princess Consort’s eyes moistened.
This child looked too much like Xie Jingchen in his younger days, as if they were carved from the same mold.
Xie Jingchen was taken away by Prince Donglin shortly after birth, a deep pain for the Princess Consort.
The image of Xie Jingchen as an infant was etched deeply in her heart.
The Princess Consort held onto Yuanyuan tightly, unwilling to let go, while the Little Princess stretched her arms wide, but the Princess Consort didn’t hold her.
Feeling neglected, the Little Princess sat on the bed, wailing loudly.
Since the day she was born, there hadn’t been a day the Princess Consort didn’t hold the Little Princess; this separation was truly unavoidable.
Manager Li knew better than anyone the hardships endured to comfort the Little Princess during those days.
Killing comes naturally to the Hidden Guard, but being tasked with comforting the Little Princess is more difficult for them than having a knife at their throats.
The Little Princess missed the Princess Consort terribly, but she wasn’t being held while the Princess Consort held someone else.
In her grievance, tears streamed down like unstrung pearls.
Upon seeing his daughter cry, the Prince wanted to hold her, but as soon as the Little Princess started crying, Yuanyuan was also affected and began to cry as well.
The Princess Consort was too busy consoling Yuanyuan to pay attention to the Little Princess.
The Prince strode over, his heart breaking at the sound of his daughter’s cries. Entering, he asked, "What’s the matter?"
"The Little Princess is jealous because the Princess Consort held the Young Prince but not her," Xique said with a laugh.
The Prince thought it was a minor issue.
He extended his arm, saying, "If Mother Consort doesn’t hold you, Father will."
Even though his arm touched the Little Princess, she pushed it away and continued to cry, fixed on the Princess Consort.
Her small body shook with sobs, as pitiful as can be.
The Prince was left speechless.
Awkwardness, pure and simple.
His Mother Consort refused to hold her, and she didn’t even want to be embraced by her father, who willingly came forward.
The maids covered their mouths, chuckling.
Especially Xingxing, whose cheeks hurt from laughing.
The Prince’s pride was slightly bruised, but he still picked up the Little Princess, "Father will take you horse riding."
With that, he carried the Little Princess outside.
The cries gradually faded into the distance.
Unsettled, the Princess Consort instructed Xique to follow and keep watch.
Su Jin looked at the Princess Consort and said, "Mother, let me hold Yuanyuan instead."
"Ruoruo hasn’t seen you in a long time and surely misses you."
The Princess Consort also longed for her daughter, but she felt indebted to Xie Jingchen throughout her life.
Seeing Yuanyuan, who so closely resembled Xie Jingchen in his infancy, she was overwhelmed and couldn’t focus on anything else.
Although she had lived in the Prince Mansion for over ten years, her moments with Xie Jingchen were rare.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she missed out on eighteen years of Xie Jingchen’s life.
The companionship that was lacking could never be made up for.
Though Xie Jingchen didn’t seem to mind, the Princess Consort felt guilty at heart.
The Little Princess was much more fortunate than Xie Jingchen because the Princess Consort would grow up with her by her side.
The Princess Consort held the Young Prince, gently patting his back. As the Little Princess’s cries faded and the Young Prince wasn’t drawn to cry, he soon calmed down.
This kind of unfounded crying along is irresistibly amusing.
The Princess Consort chuckled, "Don’t worry, the Prince will surely be able to coax Ruoruo."
Rushing from the Capital City to the border, even she fell ill along the way.
The Little Princess managed to hold together; the Princess Consort realized her daughter wasn’t as fragile as she thought.
Su Jin understood the Princess Consort’s feelings.
She wanted to hold Yuanyuan, and Su Jin didn’t stand in her way.
Though having faith in the Prince’s ability to comfort the Little Princess was overestimating his skills.
Even though the Prince himself thought it wouldn’t be hard to calm his daughter.
But carrying the Little Princess outside, not only did she not cease, she cried even harder.
The Prince took her for a horse ride.
Wherever the horse roamed, the cries encircled that place.
Earlier, only a few people in the tent saw the Prince’s awkward predicament.
Now, having taken a round outside, the entire camp was aware the Prince couldn’t console his daughter.
What could the Prince do?
If she cried any further, the Little Princess’s voice would become hoarse.
The Prince brought her back to the tent, handed the Little Princess to the Princess Consort, and took Yuanyuan, marching out without looking back.
The cry stopped before he even left the tent.
Looking back, the Little Princess held the Princess Consort’s neck, hugging her face.
The Prince felt a pang of heartache.
The heartache would only grow; taking Yuanyuan for a round outside, Yuanyuan cried as well.
The Prince was speechless.
The soldiers laughed heartily.
The Prince felt his embarrassment grow.
Neither of them was giving him face; he was holding cautiously, fearful of harming them.
Fortunately, news from Beimo arrived, and the Prince, carrying the child, handed him to Manager Li and strode towards the command tent.
The news brought by Beimo was that King Beimo sent Prince Beimo to the border to demand an answer from Nanliang.
Although this was expected, no one thought they would come so promptly.
Beimo Cheng King not only concerned Beimo but also involved Daqi.
Beimo Cheng King was assassinated in Daqi, and while Beimo only sent people to assist Daqi in the investigation, Nanliang aggressively pressured Daqi.
The pressure once applied to Daqi was naturally returned.
If heaven creates disaster, it can be forgiven.
Self-created disaster invites no survival.
Nanliang, with ambitious schemes, colluded with Beimo Cheng King to seize the throne of King Beimo. If not for Marquis Dongxiang and the Prince’s decisive actions, releasing King Beimo and turning crisis into invisible peace, who knows what today’s Daqi would have been.
Now Beimo sought retribution from Nanliang, the chaos between Daqi and Nanliang temporarily subsided, and Nanliang finally reaped the bitter fruit of its ambitions.
Initially, soldiers worried about giving Nanliang forty-five days to gather funds, fearing Nanliang would reneg on payment and continue the war against Daqi.
Now, all concerns dissipated.
Without requiring Daqi to send people to urge them, Nanliang proactively sent delegates to appease Daqi’s sentiments.
Nanliang promised to adhere to its commitments and deliver the funds and provisions on schedule.
