Chapter 17 Still Thinking of Changing a Child
Emperor Mingde knew that the Queen Mother was missing Princess Chaoyang again, so he said, "I heard that Qing'er had another daughter yesterday."

A flash of joy flashed across the Queen Mother's eyes, and then she asked nervously, "How is Qing'er now? Are mother and daughter safe?"

"Don't worry, mother. Mother and daughter are safe." Emperor Mingde was afraid that the empress dowager would worry, so he quickly replied.

The Queen Mother breathed a sigh of relief and felt relieved.

She held the jade ring in her hand and said slowly, "It seems that Qing'er's choice was right. Xu Jinhuai is indeed a good match."

Emperor Mingde responded, "What the Queen Mother said is true. I heard that Xu Jinhuai treated Qing'er very well and kept himself clean. He has not had a concubine in the past eighteen years."

The Queen Mother's eyes were slightly red. "If we had known this would happen, we should not have stopped Qing'er from marrying Xu Jinhuai. This not only hurt the relationship between us mother and daughter, but also made the relationship between you and your brother become irreconcilable."

Emperor Mingde saw that the Queen Mother was sad, and he comforted her quickly: "It is my fault, and it has nothing to do with you, Mother."

"Qing'er has been engaged to Prime Minister Zhu's eldest son since she was a child. Prime Minister Zhu is a close minister. I was worried that Qing'er would make a fuss about breaking off the engagement, which would bring shame to the Prime Minister's Mansion and hurt the relationship between the monarch and his ministers."

"What's more, Xu Jinhuai was only a ninth-rank official at the time, and he was from a poor family. His mother was just a country woman. I am also worried that Qing'er will be wronged after marrying him."

"When we tried to stop it, it was all for Qing'er's own good."

After hearing this, the Queen Mother couldn't help but wipe away her tears. "That being said, what I said was indeed a bit harsh. I actually wanted to sever the mother-daughter relationship with her, and I didn't even prepare a dowry for her. I don't know how she has been living these years."

"Qing'er must still be resentful of me, her mother, in her heart, which is why she has never returned to the palace to visit me once in the past eighteen years."

Emperor Mingde saw that the Queen Mother was getting sadder and sadder, so he continued to comfort her, "How could that be? Mother and daughter don't hold grudges overnight. I guess Qing'er was afraid that you were still angry and didn't want to see her, so she didn't dare to return to the palace."

"Besides, when Qing'er married Xu Jinhuai, you prepared a lot of dowry for her, all of which were prepared according to the highest standards for a princess."

"As for Qing'er, she must be living a comfortable life, because not only did I keep her annual salary of several hundred taels of silver as a princess, but I also gave her a lot of farms and houses through Xu Jinhuai."

The Queen Mother felt relieved after hearing this. "That's good, that's good. The Emperor is really thoughtful."

"However, my health is getting worse day by day, and I am increasingly worried about Qing'er. Why don't we take a step back and send someone to visit Qing'er to let her know that we have actually stopped blaming her a long time ago."

Emperor Mingde had wanted to do this a long time ago, but he just couldn't find the steps. When he heard the empress dowager say this, he hurried down the steps and said, "Your Majesty is right. Tomorrow I will ask the crown prince to visit the princess at her residence."

The empress dowager kept talking to Emperor Mingde for a long time until she could no longer hide the sleepiness in the corners of her eyes, and then she let Emperor Mingde leave.

Day two.

Xu Jinhuai came to Princess Chaoyang's courtyard early again, waiting for Princess Chaoyang to get up and have breakfast with her.

If it were before, Princess Chaoyang would definitely think that he was deeply in love with her, but now, she would never be as stupid as before.

Seeing that she had finished washing up, Xu Jinhuai quickly went over to help her sit down, and asked with concern: "Qing'er, do you feel better today?"

Princess Chaoyang said as gently as usual: "Much better. I can't even lie in bed anymore."

Xu Jinhuai picked up some food for her and said, "You should pay more attention to rest."

Princess Chaoyang nodded slightly, turned her head and asked, "Is Yaoyao awake?"

Yuan Xiang replied: "I have been awake for quite a while, lying on the crib and playing obediently."

Princess Chaoyang smiled and said, "Let the nanny bring her over and put her in the cradle next to you."

"Yes, Princess." Yuan Xiang said and went to the inner room. A moment later, the nanny came out holding Xu Yaoyao.

The little guy was not obedient in the nanny's arms. He danced and babbled, and looked very lively.

Xu Jinhuai saw Xu Yaoyao and took the opportunity to ask, "Qing'er, when are you going to hold Yaoyao's third-day baptism ceremony?"

Xu Jinhuai had never asked about the baptism ceremonies of the previous children, so why was he suddenly asking about Yaoyao’s baptism ceremony?
Ever since she learned from her daughter's thoughts that Xu Jinhuai had already changed his mind, Princess Chaoyang felt that whatever he said now had ulterior motives.

[Mother, don’t wash the third day, don’t wash the third day, Yaoyao, don’t wash the third day. ]

[There will be too many people watching during the third day bath ceremony, Yaoyao will be replaced! ]

[Bad dad, bad dad, shameless, these two words are really interpreted by you to the fullest, and you even want to change your child]

[Yaoyao curses you, curses you to choke when eating and trip when walking.]

Princess Chaoyang felt a chill in her heart when she heard Xu Yaoyao's voice. It turned out that this was the reason why Xu Jinhuai came to show his courtesy so early today, and it was still to exchange the child.

Yaoyao is also his biological daughter. Has his conscience really been thrown to the dogs?

Thinking of Yaoyao's fate after being transferred to the concubine's place, Princess Chaoyang's hands holding the chopsticks trembled slightly.

Seeing that Princess Chaoyang didn't say anything, Xu Jinhuai continued to ask, "Qing'er, what's wrong with you? When are you going to hold Yaoyao's third-day bathing ceremony?"

Princess Chaoyang calmed down and said, "I'm fine. As for Yaoyao's third-day baptism ceremony, I don't plan to hold it."

[Oh yeah, no more baptism ceremony? ]

[Mother, mother, you are definitely my real mother. You actually think the same as me. ]

[Mother, mother, I love you, just like Yaoyao loves gold]

Princess Chaoyang:.
"The third day bath is a big deal, how can we not do it?" Xu Jinhuai was so surprised that even his voice became a little louder.

Princess Chaoyang keeps a very close eye on her daughter. If she doesn't hold a third-day bath, how can he find an opportunity to exchange the child?

Princess Chaoyang sighed and explained, "It's getting colder today, and Yaoyao was born prematurely, so she's weak. If she gets cold, it won't be worth it."

"Ah~" As soon as Princess Chaoyang finished speaking, Xu Yaoyao sneezed cooperatively.

[I am such a clever little ghost~]

[Mother, how was my performance? Please praise me.]

Princess Chaoyang:.
It seems that Yaoyao is really smart.

She looked towards the cradle with a worried look on her face and asked, "Did Yaoyao sneeze?"

The nanny quickly replied, "The second young lady just sneezed. Maybe she caught a cold last night."

After saying that, he looked at Juxiang and said, "Juxiang, go find the imperial physician to take a look."

"Yes." After paying her respects, Juxiang hurried out of the house. She really thought Xu Yaoyao had caught a cold.

(End of this chapter)