Chapter 80: Crown Prince’s Concubine – 8

She had been married to the Crown Prince for three years and had only given birth to a daughter. Since then, she had been unable to conceive again. None of the concubines in the rear court had managed to produce a son either. The Crown Prince was anxious but helpless, and though new women were constantly brought into the palace, not one of them could bear him a male heir.

Was it possible that, other than Ren Xin, no one else would ever be able to give birth to the Crown Prince’s son?

The Crown Princess murmured to herself, “It is all fate.”

Nothing happening in the Eastern Palace¹ had anything to do with Ren Xin. She had completely settled her mind, treating the teacher’s lectures on the Analects² and the Zizhi Tongjian³ as a form of prenatal education. She listened with great interest every day, which put a lot of pressure on little Xie Qingfeng, causing him to study even harder.

Life passed peacefully. Letters arrived from Xie Liangchen every month, sometimes accompanied by local specialties or furs.

Ren Xin would also pick out some of the delicious treats she had been experimenting with in the kitchen—choosing items that traveled well—and send them to him.

Occasionally she included a letter, but when she had nothing to say, she would simply write out recipes, leaving Xie Liangchen caught between laughter and tears.

During Ren Xin’s pregnancy, little Xie Qingfeng was kept incredibly busy. He considered himself the sole pillar of the family and felt he had to oversee everything. In the morning, he accompanied his grandmother for breakfast before heading off to school with his only classmate, the little pregnant lady Ren Xin.

He ate lunch with Ren Xin, and in the evenings, he chose where to eat at random. However, he always spent the time after dinner walking with Ren Xin. Only late at night did he have time for himself, which he used to focus on reading and finishing his homework.

This packed schedule made Xie Qingfeng visibly more cheerful, and he began to handle matters with a sense of maturity.

Grandmother said to Ren Xin, “Look at how well you’ve taught little Xie Qingfeng. You’ll be an even better parent to your own child in the future!”

Ren Xin: “???” What exactly had she taught him?

Was it that her ability to polish off three bowls of rice at every meal had forced the boy to grow up?

Did he feel that if she kept eating like this, the Xie Family would go bankrupt, so he had to hurry and grow up to earn money to support the household?

Ren Xin was now six months pregnant, and her belly was startlingly large. She checked her own pulse and did the math: triplets. She really was a high-achieving ginseng.

Even at six months, the little pregnant lady remained light on her feet. Her massive belly didn’t hinder her at all. Furthermore, Ren Xin had zero pregnancy symptoms; she could eat, she could drink, and she could still discipline a child.

Indeed, she had given Xie Qingfeng a thrashing.

The naughty boy had actually gone to the lakeside to pick lotus flowers just to please her and his grandmother. Although nothing had happened, the thought of it was enough to make one’s blood run cold.

Grandmother was angry, but she couldn’t bring herself to scold him.

Ren Xin had no such reservations. she took a ruler and gave him a few sharp swats on the backside.

She asked sternly, “Xie Qingfeng, do you know what you did wrong?”

No matter how composed he usually was, Xie Qingfeng was still a child. Being spanked in public made him feel deeply wronged.

Ren Xin continued, “Do you feel like you’re being treated unfairly? If you had fallen into the lake, you don’t know how to swim. If no one had been there to save you, have you thought about the consequences?”

Xie Qingfeng remained stubborn and refused to bow his head. “I knew what I was doing. I wouldn’t have fallen in.”

“You don’t know a damn thing! Don’t you know that it’s the swimmers who drown? Even with foolproof plans, things can go wrong. How can you be so confident that everyone you took out today is trustworthy? What if they harbored ill intentions? The hardest thing to grasp in this world is the human heart. A gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall⁴—did you eat the teacher’s lessons along with your dinner? Go write thirty pages of calligraphy tonight to help you remember this lesson!”

Translator’s Notes