As the sweltering summer approached, the weather grew increasingly hot, and the palace had already switched to lightweight summer attire.
Children, in particular, were especially susceptible to the heat. Yanshu had the knitting bureau make several cool summer outfits for her baby, exposing his chubby arms and legs, making the little one feel much more comfortable.
This, however, further accentuated the chubbiness of the child's figure, making him look exceptionally cute and adorable.
But as the child grew older and more capable, he also became more restless, climbing all over the palace every day, quite mischievous, which was quite exhausting for Yanshu.
Fortunately, there were plenty of hands in the palace. Seeing that the child was now older, she felt it was time to resume her career in writing novels.
Woohoo, ever since giving birth, she could only produce one novel every two months. She felt terribly guilty towards her readers.
However, the child was still young, and although there were wet nurses and attendants to take care of him, the little one often sought her out for various things, wanting to be held. Yanshu had no choice but to ask Rendong to accompany the wet nurse and take the child to the Imperial Garden to play.
Not long after, the emperor in Qianming Palace faintly heard a childish voice outside the hall.
As there was no pressing business at the moment, he felt a stir in his heart and quickly got up to go outside.
Sure enough, he saw his little son pulling the wet nurse's hand, trying to enter the palace, while the wet nurse and Rendong looked troubled and were coaxing the little one not to disturb him.
However, upon seeing his figure, no one could stop the child anymore. The little one sweetly called out "Daddy" and, with a chuckle, toddled towards him.
Yuwen Lan was also pleasantly surprised and quickly bent down to scoop his son into his arms, asking, "Why are you here, Heng'er?"
Rendong quickly explained, "Your Majesty, the empress is busy with important matters. She originally asked us to take the little prince to the Imperial Garden to play, but the little prince only took a few steps before insisting on coming to see you. He even pointed the way and insisted that we bring him here."
This was true. Despite his young age, the child already knew many things, such as the directions to the Central Palace, Qianming Palace, and the Imperial Garden. If he wanted to go somewhere and the adults didn't take him, he would definitely throw a tantrum.
Yuwen Lan naturally understood this and did not blame Rendong and the others. Instead, he gently asked his son, "Heng'er, did you miss Daddy, so you came to find him?"
The little one vigorously nodded his round head and said, "Miss Daddy, play..." while pointing towards the Imperial Garden.
This sweet voice melted everyone's hearts. What could Yuwen Lan refuse? He immediately agreed, "Alright, then Daddy will take Heng'er to the Imperial Garden to play."
With that, he carried the child to the Imperial Garden.
As the weather was hot, other places were not cool enough, so Yuwen Lan directly took the child to the edge of Taiye Pool.
The vast water surface, dense willows, and gentle breeze made this place very cool.
Moreover, the lotus flowers were in full bloom on the lake, which was also very pleasing to the eye.
As soon as the child arrived, he was immediately attracted by the lotus flowers in the lake, pointing at them with his chubby fingers and saying, "Flowers... Mama."
Yuwen Lan understood; his son wanted to pick a lotus flower to give to his mother.
It was rare for the child to be so filial from a young age. How could the father not support this? He immediately ordered the attendants, "Pick a lotus flower."
The attendants immediately complied, rowing a boat to the middle of the lake and picking a beautiful lotus flower.
Yuwen Lan personally handed the lotus flower to his son, who smiled very happily, showing his white little teeth.
Yuwen Lan kissed the child's face and then asked, "What will Heng'er give Daddy?"
He remembered that last time at the Empress Dowager's place, when he asked this, the child gave him a sweet kiss.
He thought this time would be the same, but instead, the child thought hard and then plucked a petal from the lotus flower in his hand, offering it to him.
He said very seriously, "Daddy... here."
Yuwen Lan, "???"
He gave his mother a whole flower, but only a petal to him?
He asked in confusion, "Why not give Daddy a kiss?"
The child replied, "Man, kiss wife."
What?
Yuwen Lan widened his eyes and quickly asked again, "What did Heng'er say?"
The child repeated seriously, "Man, kiss wife."
Seeing Yuwen Lan's puzzled expression, Rendong and the others were inwardly sweating, so they explained, "Your Majesty, the little prince probably means that a man can only kiss his wife..."
[Goodness, how did the little prince say what the empress usually tells him? I hope the emperor doesn't get angry.]
Yuwen Lan, "..."
He finally understood what his son meant.
And it was his wife who taught him that.
...Why did the child have to tell him this at such a young age?
Just then, the child in his arms said to him again, "Daddy... man."
Yuwen Lan, "..."
He didn't need Rendong to translate this time; he understood.
His son was saying that he was also a man.
...Not bad, at least the child could distinguish between men and women.
He nodded seriously and said, "Yes, Daddy is also a man. So Daddy kisses your mother, my wife."
Upon hearing this, Rendong and the wet nurse were inwardly exclaiming—
The emperor was truly a rare good man in the world!
A model for all men!
The child in his arms also nodded seriously, trying to imitate his mother's usual praise by giving a thumbs-up. However, the action was too difficult, and after struggling for a while, he simply extended his whole chubby hand and said, "Daddy, good!"
Yuwen Lan nodded solemnly and said, "So Heng'er should also learn from Daddy. By the way, do you remember what you learned from the Analects yesterday?"
The child actually nodded.
This surprised Yuwen Lan, who immediately asked enthusiastically, "Then what do you remember?"
The child said, "Don't hit wife."
Yuwen Lan, "???"
This meant... not hitting one's wife?
...What was his wife teaching every day?
He had to suppress the urge to raise his eyebrows and asked his son patiently, "It was Daddy who taught Heng'er, 'Seek the Way, adhere to virtue, rely on benevolence, and enjoy the arts.' Do you remember?"
The child was stunned.
Yuwen Lan then recited, "When three people walk together, there must be one who can be my teacher. Choose the good and follow it, correct the bad..."
Before he could finish, the child's eyelids began to droop, blinking as if he was about to fall asleep.
Yuwen Lan, "..."
He had been teaching for over a year, and the child still fell asleep whenever he heard the classics?
He quickly changed the subject, "Alright, it's still early, not time to sleep yet. Let's play with Daddy, Heng'er."
He was worried that if the child fell asleep now, he might not sleep at night.
Pointing to the water, he said, "Heng'er, look, what's that?"
The child followed his finger and his eyes lit up, saying, "Fish."
Yuwen Lan smiled and asked, "Is it fun?"
The child said seriously, "Yummy..."
Yuwen Lan, "..."
As a model father who personally took care of the child every day, how could he not understand that the child meant "delicious"?
The child was still pointing at the water with a serious expression, saying, "Eat fish, baby, eat fish..."
Yuwen Lan, "..."
Alright, besides falling asleep whenever he heard the classics, his son was still very smart.
Yes, that's right.
Like his mother.
After staying in their hometown for a few days and visiting their former colleagues and students at the academy, the time for the summer vacation was almost over.
Qi Shuguang and his wife prepared to return to the capital.
As before, the couple planned to enjoy the journey by eating and sightseeing along the way.
To allow his wife to appreciate different scenery, Qi Shuguang specially planned another route.
One day, passing by Lanling, Qi Shuguang took his wife to visit an old friend—Gu Hongbai, the famous scholar from Lanling who had attended the Great Scholars Forum in the capital.
Upon seeing him, Gu Hongbai and his wife were very happy, especially when they saw that he had gotten married and brought his wife along. They immediately prepared a banquet to entertain them.
At this time of year, schools across the country were on summer break, so Gu Hongbai's academy was also empty, which was perfect for the four of them to enjoy their drinks and conversation.
Madam Gu was a straightforward person. After a couple of drinks, she first congratulated Qi Shuguang and his wife, expressing her heartfelt emotions, "Old Qi, you've waited a lifetime for a heart's desire, and finally, the heavens have been kind to you."
Qi Shuguang nodded eagerly, "Thank you, Sister-in-law. You're right; the heavens have been kind to me."
He then looked at the Empress Dowager with deep affection.
Gu Hongbai, sitting beside him, laughed and added, "Old Qi, just you wait. I've calculated—your good days are far from over. Live well, aim to reach your eighties or nineties, and you'll have another four or five decades of happiness ahead!"
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager looked surprised and asked, "Mr. Gu, do you also practice fortune-telling?"
Before Gu Hongbai could respond, Madam Gu interjected, "He's just talking nonsense, Sister-in-law. Don't take him seriously. But Old Qi has done so many good deeds; he certainly deserves good fortune."
Qi Shuguang then turned to the Empress Dowager, saying earnestly, "My lady, you are my good fortune."
The Empress Dowager blushed, slightly embarrassed, and chided, "Look at you, making Mr. and Madam Gu laugh at us."
Madam Gu quickly shook her head, "How could we laugh? We're old friends! There's nothing to laugh about."
She then turned to her husband, "But look at how well Old Qi expresses himself."
Gu Hongbai raised an eyebrow, "Is that so? Didn't he just say that one line? How many love poems did I write for you back then? If you string them together, they could circle this mountain! Should I write another one for you now?"
This made Madam Gu blush even more. She chided, "Are you drunk? With the students away these past few days, you've become so unruly. At our age, talking about love poems..."
Perhaps the alcohol had gone to his head, but Gu Hongbai immediately retorted, "What do you mean, 'our age'? We're still young!"
He then chuckled, "With such a wonderful life with you, who would want to grow old?"
Madam Gu blushed even deeper and quickly fed him a piece of food, saying, "Eat up..."
Beside them, Qi Shuguang and the Empress Dowager exchanged smiles and began to serve each other their favorite dishes.
Yes, with such a wonderful life, who would want to grow old?
Let the years continue.
If we could do it all over again, I would hope to meet you in the prime of our youth.
That way, our companionship could be even longer.
