Chapter 11: Meng Fen and Zheng Zuosheng’s Gift

Page (1/3)

Last night’s disrupted routine completely threw off Yun’er’s internal clock. As a result, the next day, Yun’er slept straight through until noon, only stirring groggily because hunger finally roused him.

When Yun’er awoke, Xinniang was not in the room, but the maid was nearby, attentively watching over him. In a moment’s turn, she saw Yun’er sitting dazedly on the bed, having slept so soundly that a bit of drool still lingered on his face.

The maid chuckled softly and quickly fetched a clean cloth to wipe it away.

After washing his face, Yun’er finally became fully alert.

At that moment, Xinniang returned to the room. Upon seeing Yun’er had just changed his clothes, she immediately came over to lift the little darling into her arms, gently touching his forehead.

“You know, your father is really something—how could he leave you alone in the courtyard in the cold wind for so long? If I hadn’t gone looking for you yesterday, he might have kept you out there all night. Luckily, our little Yun’er is healthy and didn’t fall ill despite the chill. Otherwise, I wouldn’t let that Li Xiaoxian off so easily.”

Xinniang was naturally gentle, even somewhat resigned in temperament, but while Li Fu could neglect Yun’er at times, he must never mistreat him.

After all, this child was difficult to rear; a moment’s neglect could lead to illness and loss. Xinniang had seen this in her own childhood—her mother, despite careful nurturing, had lost several children.

Furthermore, why had Yige’er been sent home so early yesterday?

Xinniang suspected it was due to Lady Bu’s assertiveness. Just as when she had given birth, it was obvious to any discerning eye that Li Fu cared little for these two children destined to blend into the crowd. Xinniang felt a twinge of resentment but was hesitant to make a fuss, unlike Lady Bu, who dared to stir trouble. When Lady Bu made a scene, Li Fu realized his mistake and came to soothe them.

Last night, Xinniang had been truly angry. When she carried Yun’er back, if it weren’t for Meng Min and a few others present, she might have overturned the table in frustration.

If Lady Bu could fight for Yige’er, then Xinniang could fight for Yun’er. Whatever else she did was of no matter; Li Fu must not wrong Yun’er.

Yun’er noticed Xinniang’s growing anger, but despite her strong demeanor, her eyes were reddening.

This made Yun’er feel a bit sad.

After some thought, he reached out and hugged Xinniang’s arm.

“What is it?” Xinniang’s attention was immediately drawn to him, and her troubling thoughts were quickly dispersed.

Yun’er looked at Xinniang with dark, shining eyes, and then struggled to speak, “Mother… Mommy.”

Having already called out “Father” last night, Yun’er decided not to keep practicing that word today. Instead, he called her “Mommy” to bring her joy.

Xinniang’s eyes widened in surprise. She even crouched down to look at him, her face radiant with happiness. “Yun’er called Mommy?”

“Mommy.” This time, Yun’er’s voice was clearer—a genuine call for his mother.

Xinniang truly wept then, tears of overwhelming joy.

She lifted Yun’er in her arms and patted his back repeatedly, so happy she hardly knew what to do.

After a good while, Xinniang calmed down and realized Yun’er hadn’t had breakfast yet. It was time to feed him.

But as Xinniang took him to eat, Yun’er tugged at her sleeve, gesturing with both hands and saying, “Bi…big pomegranate.”

Yesterday, Li Fu had given him a particularly large and beautiful pomegranate, but they hadn’t peeled it for him, so he hadn’t eaten any.

Though it was a pity, the fact that his father had brought him such a pomegranate meant it belonged to him! Later, when they went to the courtyard, Yun’er even carried that large pomegranate with him—it was meant for Mommy.

Xinniang understood her son well. Despite her anger yesterday, when she lifted Yun’er from the courtyard, he was still drowsily glancing at that big pomegranate. Xinniang immediately picked it up and took it along.

Page (2/3)

“Don’t worry, Yun’er, the big pomegranate is still here.”

Xinniang had the maid fetch the large pomegranate she had carefully set aside last night, so it wouldn’t get mixed up with the others.

As soon as Yun’er held it, he recognized it instantly—the weight and color told him Mommy hadn’t given him any other fruit.

“Do you like pomegranates, Yun’er? Would you like Mommy to make some pomegranate juice for you? Tonight, I’ll also make a pomegranate pouch for you to hang at your waist.”

Yun’er shook his head, then lightly tapped the big pomegranate twice with his fair little hands before purposefully pushing it toward Xinniang.

“Mommy, for you.”

Xinniang had thought Yun’er wanted her to peel it, but instead, he was giving it to her. It turned out that even though he was very sleepy yesterday, he kept thinking about that pomegranate because he wanted to share it with her.

This truly moved Xinniang, and she immediately kissed Yun’er hard.

Putting the big pomegranate away, Xinaniang smiled warmly as she carried Yun’er off to eat.

Once they were full, Lady Bu came with Yige’er to visit Yun’er.

Lady Bu had heard about yesterday’s events.

She had assumed that when Li Fu sent Yige’er home, he would have also sent Yun’er back. Instead, he had taken Yun’er to the courtyard, where it was cold late into the night. They were drinking, warm from the alcohol, but had left Yun’er alone to doze in the chill. This startled Lady Bu and made her think Li Xiaoxian’s behavior was rather improper.

Though initially worried, seeing Yun’er eating heartily eased her mind.

After sharing a rare moment of mutual complaint about Li Fu’s faults with Xinniang, Yige’er babbled and waved at Yun’er, wanting to play.

Xinniang smiled and said, “Yige’er can talk now? Yun’er called ‘Mommy’ this morning.”

Lady Bu’s heart skipped a beat, feeling a pang of jealousy.

She instinctively glanced at Yige’er, trying to hold back, but eventually could not resist softly coaxing him to say “Mommy.”

Yige’er was usually lively and restless in Lady Bu’s arms, twisting his body and turning his head from side to side, paying no attention to her mouth.

Yun’er noticed Yige’er’s restlessness and waved his hand to call out. Yige’er, always following Yun’er’s lead, immediately focused his attention.

Yun’er clung to Xinniang’s arm and called out childishly, “Mommy.”

Yige’er blinked, following Lady Bu’s mouth movements but watching Yun’er’s lips carefully. He was used to learning pronunciation from Yun’er since Yun’er would tap his head if he didn’t.

“Mommy.” Yun’er called again.

Yige’er finally caught on and, as usual, called out vaguely, “Mo…mmy…”

His pronunciation was off—sounding like “niao qing”—but Lady Bu, like Xinniang earlier, realized this wasn’t meaningless babble. Yige’er had genuinely spoken his first word. Although calling “Mommy,” he directed it toward Yun’er.

Lady Bu ignored this and joyfully hugged Yige’er, eagerly coaxing, “Yige’er, say ‘Mommy’ again, say it again.”

Though small, children are perceptive; they may not understand words fully, but they read adults’ expressions well.

Yige’er sensed Lady Bu’s delight and grinned, then called “Mommy” once more.

Page (3/3)

This time, Lady Bu heard it clearly.

Xinniang, seeing Lady Bu happily holding and coaxing Yige’er, felt a surge of pride.

Lady Bu did not notice that Yige’er was clearly learning from Yun’er. Considering how they usually played together, Yun’er would chatter constantly, leading Yige’er’s practice. What once seemed like random noises was really Yun’er teaching Yige’er to speak.

Now that both children had spoken, Lady Bu and Xinniang wanted to encourage them further and soon left, each carrying their own little one.

Since Meng Min and Zheng Zuosheng were still guests at the Li residence, and with male visitors present, Xinniang stayed in her room to play with Yun’er, rarely going out.

Four or five days passed before Li Fu came to see Xinniang.

His expression was ordinary, but when he saw Yun’er, he immediately lifted him up, eyes full of expectation. Yun’er understood and obediently called “Father,” delighting Li Fu greatly.

Li Fu then held Yun’er on his lap and said to Xinniang, “Ziming and the others left this morning. Before they left, they sent a gift for Yun’er. I’ll have someone deliver it later.”

Xinniang knew Li Fu well enough to sense his underlying embarrassment despite his calm demeanor.

After all, they had been drinking late into the night, dragging along a child eight or nine months old to party with them—it was somewhat shameful.

Several days had passed, and Xinaniang’s anger had mostly dissipated. The important thing was that Li Fu recognized his mistake and likely wouldn’t repeat it.

After entertaining Yun’er a while longer, Li Fu left.

That evening, the gift Meng Min had sent arrived as promised, delivered by the maid.

Meng Min had sent a beautifully crafted food box. Yun’er had thought it contained food and was overjoyed, waving his arms excitedly.

But upon opening it, the top layer revealed a large pomegranate; beneath it were neatly arranged books!

Yun’er immediately understood—Meng Min was teasing him.

He had clung to the pomegranate all day yesterday and kept demanding crispy cakes. Meng Min’s gift was clearly a playful joke.

Hmph.

Yun’er was annoyed and thought, no wonder Meng Min was a master of banter. Even as a nine-month-old baby, Meng Min refused to lose and deliberately teased him before leaving. Compared to Zheng Zuosheng’s gift, which was much simpler—a complete set of scholar’s writing tools.

Yun’er sighed again.

Alas, Old Meng purposely mocked him with a food box, while Old Zheng, even before formally becoming a disciple, was already trying to outdo him.

He hadn’t even started studying yet, and he was given tools for his exams.

Carefully, Yun’er pushed the scholar’s set aside, unwilling to look at it.

Xinniang smiled and put away the writing set along with the books Meng Min had left. These were precious items, especially the books.

Though Xinaniang was literate, she only knew a few simple characters, taught by her mother to manage the household. She had never studied proper texts herself, but even so, she recognized their value. At her family’s best, they owned only a few treasured volumes.

Although Meng Min hid the books inside a food box, his care and regard for Yun’er were no less than Zheng Zuosheng’s.