Ruffled, Ruoyin corrected herself. “But I will listen to my Lord from now on. I’ll only give money and not stick anything on my face.”
“Look at you. Do you even look like a Fujin?” Lord Fourth pulled a long face as he lectured Ruoyin, and he tore down the strips of paper on her face.
The concubines in the palace and the aristocratic women in the capital would sometimes play card games to kill time.
Thus, Lord Fourth didn’t think that Ruoyin was wrong for doing so. After all, staying in the back courtyard all day was really boring.
But he wasn’t happy at how she pasted strips of paper on her face. She was still his Fujin.
Didn’t she know that if she were to not keep up her bearings in front of her subordinates, she would lose the power of her authority over them?
Seeing Lord Fourth’s anger dissipating, Ruoyin said in a soft and cottony tone, “I know that I was wrong, my Lord. Please stop lecturing me. You look so fierce, my heart is beating so quickly~”
From the onset, she was never the real Fujin. She was just a silly food-loving chowhound!
Being here in this place without a cell phone, computer, clubs, or nightlife, where you’d be scolded for playing Fight the Landlord, how was any of this easy for her~?
As she said that, she took Lord Fourth’s left hand and put it to her chest to let Lord Fourth feel her heartbeat.
But she had a healthy bosom, so he could feel her good figure even when he was touching her indirectly over the fabric.
So how could Lord Fourth feel her heartbeat?
All he felt was her soft parts, and it softened his heart too.
But considering that she was pregnant, Lord Fourth moved his hands away modestly.
Changing the subject to the reason he came today, he said, “Since you are bored, I asked someone to bring Consort Li’s daughter over for you to take care of for some time.”
“Ah? Why?” Ruoyin asked uncomprehendingly.
“She’s almost a year old, and it’s about time that she came over here to learn some rules,” Lord Fourth said mildly.
“But I’m worried I might not bring her up well,” Ruoyin replied awkwardly.
She knew that the children here would address the first wife as lady or mother.
When they learn to walk and talk, they would come to learn how they should behave from the first wife and be respectful toward her lest they might be brought up by the other wives and not respect the rules.
But she also knew that it was no fun assignment to be bringing up kids.
Moreover, judging from Lord Fourth’s tone, the assignment didn’t seem as simple as just teaching some rules.
Perhaps it might be because Consort Li always tattled to Consort De about her that it annoyed Lord Fourth, and he decided to arrange something like this.
Because she heard that apart from his recent visit to Consort Song occasionally, he didn’t even go to Consort Li’s place at all.
Lord Fourth grasped Ruoyin’s hand tightly and said, “There is a wet nurse who will be coming to take care of her, so you don’t need to worry.”
After a moment of contemplation, Ruoyin said, “Okay, then, I’ll try my best~”
Anyways, being the Fujin, she would have to do this sooner or later.
Lord Fourth was very efficient as he instructed people to bring Consort Li’s daughter over that afternoon.
It had to be said that Consort Li had done a good job raising her daughter to be plump and healthy.
Seeing that, Ruoyin got up and said, “Come and let Mother have a hug.”
The child was not afraid of strangers. When she opened her round black eyes to see Ruoyin, she stretched out her meaty arms and ran to her.
But just when Ruoyin was about to hug her, the wet nurse carried her away from Ruoyin and said, “Fujin, you’re pregnant right now. Your health is of the utmost importance. She’s still very young. If she accidentally kicked you, that would be bad.”
Seeing how terrified the wet nurse was, Ruoyin turned to look at Lord Fourth.
Lord Fourth pulled a long face. He didn’t seem very happy.
No wonder. The wet nurse must have seen Lord Fourth’s intimidating look and stopped Ruoyin from carrying the child.
No wonder Lord Fourth said that she didn’t need to worry about it. Big Gege didn’t need her to hug the child, and eating and drinking were also under the control of a subordinate.
But this time, Ruoyin didn’t say anything about it.
With so many subordinates around, she wouldn’t make Lord Fourth lose face here.
Thus, she could only step forward to rub the child’s meaty hands as she smiled and said, “Come on, give Mother a smile~”
The child really did chuckle at Ruoyin. Then, she even stretched out her short arms again, wanting to be hugged by Ruoyin.
Everyone liked beautiful things. Children were no exception.
The child probably found Ruoyin so good-looking that her eyes gleamed upon seeing her, and she wanted to bury herself in her embrace.
Ruoyin grabbed the child’s hand and turned them downward. “No hugging alright~ but I can kiss you~ MUA~”
She pouted and kissed the child.
Seemingly unsatisfied after kissing, she pinched the child’s meaty cheeks lightly and lovingly.
She wasn’t pretending. She really loved children, especially the meaty ones. They looked so cute.
The child touched her face where Ruoyin kissed her. No longer demanding hugs, she stared at Ruoyin cutely.
Lord Fourth was watching quietly from the side. From Ruoyin’s eyes and her behavior, he saw only a woman who loved children.
She showed no negative emotions or any hint of pretense.
And so, Consort Li’s daughter stayed at Ruoyin’s Yi Lan Villa.
Three days later, the child’s first birthday party was held at Yi Lan Villa during the day.
Though she was the Fujin, Ruoyin’s birthday had been kept simple, so the child’s birthday was of course to be kept even simpler.
Just like during her birthday, they had a family feast. Apart from the grab ceremony, which was a little more extravagant, the other parts of the birthday were kept much simpler than Ruoyin’s birthday.
Consort Song had arrived at ten o’clock in the morning. It was also rare that Consort Li did not come late. In fact, she came early, just after Consort Song.
The two greeted her, “May the Fujin be blessed with peace and prosperity.”
Ruoyin waved her hand and said, “We’re all sisters. No need to be so courteous. Come, get up and take a seat.”
Consort Li hadn’t seen her daughter for three days. It seemed as though it had been three autumns now that she saw her again at Ruoyin’s place.
From how Consort Li appeared, it seemed that she had learned her lesson and stopped wearing the eye-catching traditional Han dress.
Instead, she wore a simple Manchurian dress adorned with cloud motifs, and she had half the number of hairpins compared to last time.
But if you looked carefully, you would find that Consort Li still put in quite some effort in dressing up.
Although it wasn’t as ostentatious as before, it was simpler, perhaps because she wanted Lord Fourth to have some pity for her.
When Consort Li entered the house, she didn’t carry herself haughtily like before. Instead, she behaved herself as she gave greetings and sat down.
Ruoyin wasn’t the kind who would prevent a child from seeing her own mother. She wasn’t so petty.
So she turned and said to the wet nurse, “Carry her over to Consort Li to let her have a look.”
The wet nurse hesitated for a moment before bringing the child to Consort Li. It seemed like she didn’t expect Ruoyin to be so magnanimous.
“Thank you, Fujin, for being considerate. My daughter has been with me from the time she was born. I haven’t seen her for a few days. I think about her every day and night these few days when I couldn’t see her.” Consort Li’s eyes were red as she spoke. She wiped the corner of her eyes with a handkerchief and laughed. “I missed her too much. It’s embarrassing.”
Ruoyin said indifferently, “Blood is thicker than water. It’s natural to miss your child.”
She could tell that Consort Li had raised her up well. She had real love for her child.
Consort Li smiled embarrassedly, got up, and amused the child. The child recognized her mother and called out, “Mother, Mother.”
Consort Li was bursting with joy as she smiled so widely.
But in just a few moments, Consort Li shifted her attention elsewhere.
Because someone had shouted, “Lord Fourth has arrived!”