Chapter 714 - 260: Chaoyang
Chapter 714: Chapter 260: Chaoyang
She then asked Mrs. Zhao, "Have you finished writing the letter to Jing? I’ll have someone send it over."
Mrs. Zhao took a letter from her breast pocket and handed it to Xu Su Ying. "It’s finished. Please have someone send it off. I wonder where Jing is right now. If he knew Qing’er delivered safely and gave him a son, he would be absolutely thrilled."
After rambling on for a bit, Mrs. Zhao looked up and noticed the heavy, dark circles under Xu Su Ying’s eyes. She grabbed Xu Su Ying’s wrist and gently guided her toward the door. "Hurry back and rest. I’m here for Qing’er. We’ll take turns. We can’t have you exhausting yourself."
Xu Su Ying indeed had matters to attend to, so she didn’t stay. Carrying the letter, she returned to the front courtyard and hurried into the study to write one of her own. Once finished, she summoned a servant and ordered them to dispatch the letters immediately. Afterward, she went to greet the old madam, returned to her room, and slept until nightfall.
The newborn baby’s childhood name was Chaoyang, and his formal name was Zhao Ji. Chen Wanqing had chosen both names. The character "Ji" meant the clearing of the sky after rain. It also symbolized weathering a storm to see the home and nation bask in shared glory. She hoped that the child’s father, in his current predicament, would be like the passing rain and eventually see the light of day.
For Chaoyang’s Third-Day Washing ceremony, they didn’t invite outsiders. Only the Xu family gathered for a lively, intimate celebration. By the time of the one-month milestone, Long Princess, Princess Kangning, the Xu family’s in-laws, and close friends arrived early to celebrate the baby’s Full Moon banquet. At the banquet, Chen Wanqing made only a brief appearance before returning to her room to rest.
The old madam came from a prestigious aristocratic family and was extremely particular about postpartum confinement rules. Avoiding drafts and staying warm were just the basics. Every day, Chen Wanqing’s stomach had to be massaged at regular intervals to promote lochia discharge and pelvic healing. These were all considered essential routines. At first, Chen Wanqing was in excruciating pain. But after enduring it for a month, having a maid assist with pelvic restructuring didn’t feel nearly as unbearable anymore.
On the day of Chaoyang’s Full Moon banquet, Chen Wanqing received Zhao Jing’s sixth letter. In the letter, Zhao Jing still said very little about his hardships or the dangers he faced on the road. He only mentioned that their group had passed the border pass city and was continuing westward. If nothing unexpected happened, they would arrive at the Western Regions Royal Court in another half month.
The further west they went, the more difficult communication became. It was common for a letter to spend over half a month in transit now. Looking at the date at the bottom, twenty days had already passed since Zhao Jing wrote it. By now, he should have arrived at the Western Regions Royal Court.
Chen Wanqing’s heart seized up again. Her rapid heartbeat caused her left hand to tremble uncontrollably. Massaging it gently with her right hand, she kept telling herself, "It’s fine. Jing is blessed with great luck; he will definitely be fine. Father will be fine too. Grandmother and Mother donated so much Incense money at the temple. Buddha will protect them."
After murmuring this to herself several times, her heart finally felt less panicked, and her hand gradually stopped shaking. Chen Wanqing slowly lay back down on the bed, stared at the inner canopy, and forced herself to sleep. She thought, "Once my confinement month is over, everything will be fine. If I miss them then, I can just go straight there to find them."
The reality, however, was that even after her confinement ended, Chen Wanqing couldn’t leave. Chaoyang was only two months old, and she took care of him throughout the day. She breastfed him and devoted all her heart and energy to her son.
At first, the old madam advised against nursing the baby herself, feeling it would drain her physical and mental strength. But Xu Su Ying argued that it was good to give her something to occupy her time. Otherwise, constantly worrying about Zhao Jing from dawn to dusk would wear down even the healthiest of people. Furthermore, because she had personally nurtured this crying newborn into a plump, rosy little dumpling, she found it absolutely impossible to abandon him now.
She told herself, "I should wait a bit longer. Autumn is almost here, and it will get cold soon. The Western Regions are not like Capital City; heavy snow falls there as early as the tenth month. Before I could even reach the Western Regions, I would probably freeze to death halfway there."
Xu Su Ying had originally prepared a whole bellyful of arguments to persuade her against leaving, but seeing that she never mentioned going to the Western Regions again, she kept her words to herself.
In the second half of the year, the family celebrated two joyous occasions. First, Chang Yao’s marriage was officially arranged. Second, Yanhe passed the imperial examination for vacancy-filling and was successfully promoted to a Secondary Sixth-Rank Imperial Academy Editor.
With these two happy events as a foundation, along with Chaoyang growing bigger day by day—babbling and squealing happily as everyone’s little bundle of joy—life in the manor finally lost its previous gloom.
By the end of the year, Chaoyang was six months old. He could already sit on the couch and stretch out his chubby hand to reach for the sweet tangerines beside his maternal grandmother.