Blissful Days After Widowhood - Chapter 513

Although Lu Xu still believed that his own sister was the most beautiful in the world, he couldn’t help but be amazed by the charming Xiao Yudi. He couldn’t believe that this was the same child who looked like a little kitten before.

Lu Xu awkwardly asked, “Is this Xiao Yudi? Did she get replaced?”

Gu Ye was very satisfied with his surprised look, laughed, and said, “I already said that children don’t look good when they are born, but they get better as they grow.”

Lu Xu asked again, “So, Xiao Yudi is only one year old now. What will she look like in the future?”

Gu Ye put his hand to his lips, concealing a smile, and raised an eyebrow, “She will be a hundred times more beautiful than she is now.”

Lu Xu was dumbfounded; a hundred times more beautiful? What would that even look like? He couldn’t imagine.

While they were talking, on the other side, Gu Yin and Empress Zhou were also having a conversation. Before Xiao Yudi came into the picture, Gu Yin and Empress Zhou had already gotten along well. With Xiao Yudi’s arrival, they had even more topics to discuss, and they could talk about parenting experiences all day long without a break.

But Empress Zhou couldn’t go out of the palace often, so the two exchanged letters more often. 

After giving birth, Gu Yin continued her daily routine, dedicating half a day to her duties at the restaurant.

Although Xiao Yudi was at home, she was taken care of by Mrs. Wang and a group of maids and the wet nurse, so she didn’t have to worry at all.

The little girl was busy with her own affairs and received good care from the family. Despite only having her grandparents with her during the day, in the evening, other family members would return quickly, eager to play and cuddle with her, so she never felt lonely.

Now, Empress Zhou looked at Xiao Yudi, who was like a pink dumpling, with envy and regret. She sighed, “I’ve never envied others before. I felt that having Ah Lie and Ah Zhao was already a blessing from heaven.”

Looking at her eldest son, who was only nine but already quite mature and responsible, taking care of everything inside and outside.

Also, accompanying her out of the palace today was Lu Zhao, who, though not as agile as his age-mate Lu Xu, had grown robust in the past two years. He was no longer the child who only wanted to stay close to his mother.

What more could she ask for?

“Seeing this child today, I realized that having both a son and a daughter is the only way to say it’s a blessing,” Empress Zhou said affectionately, helping Xiao Yudi tuck away the strands of hair on her forehead.

Xiao Yudi, growing up in a lively extended family, was not afraid of people at all. When Empress Zhou touched her, she didn’t shrink back, but instead, revealed a sweet smile and said in a childish voice, “Thank you, Auntie.”

Mrs. Wang, standing nearby, laughed and said, “Isn’t it simple? If you don’t mind, you can consider our Yudi as your adopted daughter.”

Empress Zhou was indeed very tempted, her face filled with a smile. However, when she looked at Gu Ye and Lu Zhao, her smile became even more intense. She didn’t follow Mrs. Wang’s suggestion but picked up a warm cup of water to feed Xiao Yudi.

Empress Zhou’s status was noble. If she adopted her as a daughter, their own daughter would become a princess, and that would involve granting land and titles.

As a courtier, who would take the initiative to bring up such matters?

Gu Yin quickly gave Mrs.Wang a meaningful look, which made her realize that she had misspoken. 

Later, after Xiao Yudi had played enough with the nine-ring puzzle – mainly because she had been playing for so long without solving it – she put it down, looked at Gu Ye with outstretched arms and said in a soft and tender voice, “Brother, hug.”

Gu Ye quickly responded and ignored Lu Xu. He went over to pick her up skillfully.

This little sister was the one he had been looking forward to. Gu Ye’s affection for her was no less than that of Gu Yin and Wu Qingyi, her biological parents.

When Xiao Yudi was even smaller, Gu Ye even took care of changing her diapers. He didn’t mind getting dirty; he was just worried that the servants wouldn’t take good care of her and would make her little bottom red.

Later, whenever he received something good, it would all be stuffed into her little private storage.

By the time Gu Ye was shuttling between the palace and the outside world, if Emperor Zhengyuan assigned him a task, he would stay in the palace for ten days or half a month without going home.

However, when Xiao Yudi began to recognize people and remember things, Gu Ye dared not do so.

There was one time when he hadn’t returned home for just ten days, and Xiao Yudi looked at him differently when she saw him.

It wasn’t that she was estranged; she just didn’t recognize him for a moment. Unlike when he usually came back, she would always be the first to call him and ask him to pick her up, kissing his cheeks.

It was when he played with her for a while and played the flute for her that Xiao Yudi recognized him. After recognizing him, she squeezed into his arms, sniffing and saying, “Brother, bad.”

For a one-year-old child, being able to say a few simple words and express her thoughts clearly was already considered quite intelligent. So, she only said a few words. However, her meaning was clear—she was complaining that her brother didn’t come home! She had never been fond of crying since she was a child. When learning to walk, even if she stumbled and fell, she would pat her clothes and stand up on her own, rarely crying.

When she cried like this, his heart clenched. He hugged her tightly, blaming himself, “Alright, your brother was bad. He hasn’t come back to see Xiao Yudi for many days.”

Not just saying, Gu Ye even took her chubby hand and playfully hit himself, “Is it okay for brother to help Yudi hit himself?”

After a few light hits, Xiao Yudi tried her best to pull back her chubby hand but refused to continue hitting. She said seriously, “Brother hurts!”

Then, two small hands hit Gu Ye’s face, giving him a whining sound.

From then on, no matter how busy Gu Ye was, he would return home at least once every two days.

Now, Gu Ye happily carried Xiao Yudi out to play. Lu Xu and Lu Zhao had seldom visited Duke Ying’s Mansion, so they followed.

Outside, Wu Zhong and Wu Qingyi were entertaining guests, and Mrs. Wang got up to welcome other female relatives who came to the banquet.

In the room, only Gu Yin and Empress Zhou were left.

Empress Zhou waved to make all the palace servants with her back away. Seeing that she had something to discuss, Gu Yin also dismissed the servants.

Now alone with each other, Empress Zhou spoke, “Ah Lie is now nine years old. His Majesty’s suggestion is that certain matters should be settled by his tenth birthday at the latest.”

It was self-evident that she was referring to the matter of appointing the Crown Prince.

Not long after Gu Ye was recognized back, he supervised the education of his two younger brothers both inside and outside the palace. He hosted a charity banquet on his birthday, and the substantial sum of money was spent on repairing bridges, paving roads, and helping the poor. The accounts were open to the public.

In the past two years, he had grown older and more composed, handling more responsibilities. It couldn’t be summarized in a few words. In any case, whether in the court or among the people, his prestige had always been the highest among the three princes.

The position of the Crown Prince had long been within his grasp.

Gu Yin was not surprised, but what surprised her was what Empress Zhou said next, “However, it seems that Ah Lie himself is not very willing. His Majesty hinted at this before, but he mentioned that he is still young, and His Majesty is in the prime of his life, so it’s not the right time.”

Her son had long harbored ambitions to become the Crown Prince. Now that the position was within reach, he was unexpectedly hesitant.

He wasn’t the type to easily accept favors, and he had the temperament to turn setbacks into advances even when dealing with his own father. How could people not find it surprising?

Gu Yin nodded and said, “I’ll ask him privately.”

Talking to intelligent people was always reassuring. Empress Zhou smiled and patted her hand.