Today was the one - year - old birthday banquet for Wei Huan.
Chu Qing looked at the sleeping child in her arms, then raised her eyes and glanced at the emperor and the empress who had secretly sneaked out of the palace.
Well...
She still felt rather complicated.
Yuan Rui's eyes were full of doting as he looked at the child, while Lan Wanyu smiled as she looked at the child and then at Yuan Rui.
"Aunt Empress, does Wei Huan have a courtesy name yet?" Yuan Rui asked excitedly but in a hushed voice.
He lowered his voice for two reasons. One was that he was afraid of waking the child, and the other was that he was afraid of being heard by... someone.
Chu Qing smiled and replied, "Although his name was chosen when he was just born, the prince hasn't come up with a courtesy name yet. He said he'd wait until the coming - of - age ceremony."
"Ah... I have to wait until the coming - of - age ceremony..." A flicker of disappointment flashed across Yuan Rui's eyes.
Seeing his expression, Chu Qing immediately understood what he was thinking.
After a moment's thought, Chu Qing said with a beaming smile, "Why don't you, Your Majesty, come up with one? It'll be more convenient to call him. I always feel that the nickname 'Tuanzi' sounds too childish, and he might not like it when he grows up."
Sure enough, a glint of light flashed in Yuan Rui's eyes.
"Is what Aunt Empress said true?"
"Of course it's true!" Chu Qing nodded.
After hearing this, Yuan Rui began to think carefully. After a short while, he said, "Since his name is 'Huan', then... his courtesy name shall be 'Huanyu'?"
"Huanyu?"
"How about it..."
"Your Majesty is erudite and talented. From now on, his courtesy name will be 'Huanyu'." Chu Qing said with a squinted smile.
Seeing that Chu Qing had agreed, Yuan Rui was naturally overjoyed.
"What are you talking about? You seem so happy." Wei Ying suddenly pushed the door open and walked in. Seeing Yuan Rui grinning stupidly, he couldn't help but curl his lips and ask.
Since he came back, his nephew, the emperor, seemed to show him extra... respect.
This was how a junior should act towards an elder!
Yuan Rui, who had been grinning stupidly, subconsciously took a few steps back, and his voice seemed a bit lacking in confidence. "I... I just bestowed a courtesy name on this child..."
Wei Ying was surprised and let out a soft "hmm", but the end of the tone rose slightly, which made Yuan Rui feel a bit nervous.
His uncle...
Wouldn't...
Be unhappy, would he...
After all, usually a child's courtesy name was given by his father. Although he was the lord of a country, it was this man who had guarded the country.
Doing all this without any blood relation...
It really made him feel ashamed.
Seeing Yuan Rui looking absent - minded, Wei Ying said calmly, "What courtesy name did Your Majesty bestow on my son?"
"Huanyu..."
"Not bad."
"Eh???"
"Hmm???"
"Uncle, you..." Don't object? Yuan Rui stared at Wei Ying with wide eyes.
Wei Ying smiled faintly. "It's his blessing to have a courtesy name bestowed by Your Majesty."
Hearing this, Yuan Rui grinned again.
Watching the majestic emperor of the Great Yan Kingdom grinning stupidly here, Wei Ying rubbed his temples with a bit of a headache and said, "Everyone is gathered outside. Let's go out."
Yuan Rui was still grinning stupidly. Seeing this, Lan Wanyu shook her head helplessly, gently tugged at his sleeve, and said, "Alright, Your Majesty. Let's go out first. Aunt Empress still needs to tidy up properly."
"Ah! Okay!" Yuan Rui immediately blushed a bit and nodded. Then he put his arm around Lan Wanyu and walked out.
After the emperor and the empress left, Chu Qing said with a bit of a laugh, "Yuan Rui is still like a child."
Wei Ying let out a soft snort, then gently took the child from Chu Qing's arms and handed it to the wet - nurse. Then he said unhurriedly, "He only acts like this in front of us and the new empress. You don't know how cold - blooded people outside have made him out to be this past year."
"Is he more cold - blooded than you?" Chu Qing raised an eyebrow.
"Well... We're about the same～" Wei Ying replied seriously.
...
When Chu Qing was properly dressed and walked hand in hand with Wei Ying into the yard, she was so shocked at the sight of the people filling the yard that she covered her mouth.
Looking at the familiar faces, Chu Qing could hardly hold back her tears.
Qu Ling had walked up to her, grabbed Chu Qing's hand, and said with a beaming smile, "Qing'er, can you drink and chat with me now?"
Wei Ying beside her subconsciously frowned. Before he could say anything, Gerile, who had been standing behind, suddenly squeezed in front of Chu Qing. Her voice was filled with barely concealed excitement. "Can the princess drink now?"
Seeing Wei Ying's gloomy face, Chu Qing smiled and said, "Don't be in a hurry, you two. I've only given birth for a year. At least... wait for another month for me to recover."
Qu Ling nodded with a big smile, but Gerile sighed disappointedly and said, "I came to Yongcheng with so much difficulty. Waiting for another month... I definitely can't do it..."
Seeing that Gerile was really disappointed, Chu Qing patted her hand and said gently, "If you want to drink and chat with someone, you can go with Ling'er first!"
Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, the two of them glanced at each other.
Then...
They walked away hand in hand.
Chu Qing's hand was still hanging in the air, and the smile on her face froze.
These two girls...
Oh! She was no match for wine after all!
False friendship!
Chu Qing was still immersed in the resentment of being "betrayed" when another person stepped forward. He bowed his hands and then said, "Congratulations, Master! Congratulations... Mistress!"
The person who came was actually Ba Tel.
It had not even been two years since they last saw each other, but this young man seemed to have grown taller.
Previously, he had only reached Wei Ying's shoulder, but now he was faintly taller than Wei Ying.
Wei Ying said indifferently, "You and Gerile have both come to Yongcheng. What about your tribe?"
Ba Tel stopped smiling and replied seriously, "Da Ren stayed behind."
"Aren't you afraid that... he..."
"Master, if you suspect someone, don't use them; if you use someone, don't suspect them." Ba Tel looked solemn.
Wei Ying finally curled his lips into a smile and nodded in satisfaction.
Just as he finished speaking, another man walked over slowly.
The person who came was actually Wen Yi.
By now, he was the crown prince of the Dongyi tribe.
When Wen Yi saw Wei Ying, his face flushed slightly as he called out "Elder Brother".
Since Wei Ying had been injured and infected with a strange disease while saving him a year ago, he had voluntarily changed his way of addressing him.
After getting to know Wei Ying's character, he no longer had any awkward feelings.
After hearing this address, Wei Ying nodded very naturally.
Wen Yi then turned to greet Chu Qing. Then he called Wei Ying aside. Presumably, the two brothers were going to talk about something.
"Princess, the young heir has woken up～" The wet - nurse suddenly walked over with the child in her arms.
Chu Qing turned around and saw a little ball smiling sweetly at her.
Her heart immediately melted. Chu Qing gently took the child from her.
After feeling his mother's scent, the little ball rubbed against Chu Qing's chin and called out "Mother" in a milky voice.
Wei Huan took after his mother in appearance. At only one year old, one could already tell how many young girls he would captivate in the future.
With the appearance of the main character, more people surrounded Chu Qing.
The little ball was not shy at all. He smiled sweetly at everyone.
Wei Sheng, Wei Yi, Hong Ling, and even Zhen Kun, whom they hadn't seen for a long time, were all standing guard nearby. Although they were itching to get closer, they knew that their duty was to protect the princess and the young heir.
At this moment, laughter and joyous voices came from time to time in the yard of the Ningwang Mansion.
"Your Highness, the auspicious time has come. It's time to take the young heir to the zhuazhou ceremony!" Lv Luo squeezed into the crowd and shouted desperately to remind them.
Only then did Chu Qing take the child from Qin Zhao's arms. Then she led everyone to the meeting hall.
Inside the hall, the items for the zhuazhou ceremony were neatly arranged on a red silk cloth.
Chu Qing gently placed the little ball on the silk cloth and then said gently, "Go and pick something you like."
The little ball immediately understood what Chu Qing meant and crawled straight towards the pile of items.
The soft little fellow directly crawled past the books, pens, ink, paper, inkstones, and coins. Then he hesitated between the bow and arrow and the abacus.
Chu Qing raised an eyebrow and then couldn't help but laugh.
He was truly the child of her and Wei Ying.
Just when everyone thought he was going to choose either the abacus or the bow and arrow, unexpectedly, the little fellow suddenly turned around and crawled in another direction.
Everyone was shocked when they saw this.
It was because there was nothing in the direction he was crawling.
Instead...
There were several people standing there.
They were Wei Ying and Wen Yi who had come back from their conversation, and Ba Tel, who looked confused.
Then...
Wei Huan pounced on Ba Tel's leg and hugged it tightly.
Wei Ying raised an eyebrow.
Chu Qing was completely shocked.
Grabbing a living person during the zhuazhou ceremony...
What did this count as?