Extra Chapter 16
After the little princess had been fussy about food for nearly a month, Her Majesty's father, the Emperor, had carried her for almost a month. During dinner time, Yanshu would feed their son first, while Yuwen Lan would carry his little daughter around outside.
After enduring this routine, finally, after four and a half months, the little girl was ready to start eating solid food.
On the first night of introducing solid food, the whole family sat around the dining table to witness this exciting moment.
Especially the doting father Yuwen Lan, who personally held his little daughter on his lap while Yanshu fed her.
The little girl's eyes lit up at the sight of the bowl, and when she saw her mother holding a small wooden spoon, she became even more excited, reaching out with her chubby little hands trying to grab it. It took Yanshu quite some effort to finally get the first spoonful of rice porridge into the little princess's mouth.
The whole family eagerly watched as the little girl smacked her lips a couple of times before swallowing the porridge, then happily made two "ah" sounds.
It was as if she was announcing that she had finally eaten something other than milk.
Everyone else was delighted too, especially Yuwen Lan.
Having waited so long for this day, he could finally sit down and properly enjoy a meal with his wife and children.
Just like her brother when he was little, the little girl had a good appetite. She accepted everything from rice porridge to egg yolk and fruit puree, never refusing anything. She would always finish the portions prepared for her by the adults, growing healthy and chubby, much to everyone's satisfaction.
However, as the little one grew day by day, she became increasingly clever.
Gradually, the little girl became dissatisfied with the bland rice porridge. She would often spit out the porridge fed to her, anxiously trying to grab the adults' bowls while babbling away.
Her mind-reading brother translated from the side, "Sister wants to eat our dishes."
Yanshu: "..."
Yuwen Lan: "..."
This little girl, how did she become so clever so quickly?
However, having already raised one child, Yanshu had a bright idea. She used chopsticks to let the little girl taste a bit of non-spicy soup from their dishes.
The little girl smacked her lips a few times, clearly delighted.
Yanshu then fed her another spoonful of rice porridge.
The little girl smacked her lips again, swallowing somewhat hesitantly.
But when her mother quickly gave her another taste of soup, it successfully dispelled her doubts, and the little girl became excited again.
Yanshu continued feeding her spoonfuls of porridge, and whenever the little girl showed signs of doubt, she would quickly offer some soup.
With this strategy, they successfully managed to feed the little girl until she was full.
Yuwen Lan: "..."
His wife always had the best solutions.
However, their son, who had been watching, couldn't help but say, "Mother is tricking sister..."
Yanshu: "..."
She quickly explained to her son, "Mother isn't tricking sister. Sister is too small, her teeth haven't fully grown in yet, and eating adult food could be dangerous for her. Mother can't let sister be in danger, so this is the only way to feed her."
The little boy seemed to understand and looked sympathetically at his chubby little sister, saying, "Poor sister, soup isn't as good as meat."
Yuwen Lan nodded from the side, "When Xuan'er grows up, she can eat meat with her brother."
But as soon as he finished speaking, the little boy picked up a salt and pepper shrimp and said, "I'll save this tasty shrimp for sister."
Yanshu quickly smiled and said, "Sister will have to wait many more days before she can eat shrimp. We'll make new ones for her then, you eat this one."
Inwardly, she was very pleased - her son was such a good brother!
From the side, Yuwen Lan also nodded and said, "Heng'er cares for his sister and is a good elder brother, but as the Crown Prince, he must also remember to care for all the people of the realm."
The little boy obediently nodded, "I understand."
Just then, the little girl, who was full of soup, opened her mouth and started babbling along.
Her brother immediately translated for their mother, "Sister says she likes today's food and wants it again tomorrow."
Yanshu: "...No problem, daughter, you can have all the soup you want."
Yuwen Lan: "..."
Poor little daughter, grow up quickly.
Since starting school, the three-year-old brother had become increasingly steady, while the six-month-old sister remained playful as ever.
The little girl seemed to have a wild spirit, unable to stay indoors and always wanting to go out to play.
Every day after eating, she would point outside and make "ah ah" sounds to the adults, indicating it was time to take her out to play.
Especially every morning when her brother had to go to class, the little girl would get as excited as if she were going to class herself.
Thus, every morning there was a peculiar sight in the palace: the milk-scented little bundle of joy, the little princess, sitting in a specially made cart, being pushed by adults to send her little brother, the Crown Prince, to the study.
Of course, with the tiger-headed brother bouncing along in front, and the chubby, delicately beautiful sister behind, they couldn't be more adorable.
However, when they reached the study door, brother would wave and say, "Goodbye, sister," before entering the study.
The little sister would pause, make an "ah" sound, and then start crying.
Wuwuwu, why wouldn't brother play with her anymore? Why did brother run away by himself?
The little girl would cry very sadly.
The wet nurses and palace maids, afraid of disturbing the Crown Prince's studies, would quickly push her away.
She would only forget about it when she saw something like a cat or dog, or when they took her to watch the goldfish in the pond.
As days passed by, once the little princess developed the ability to crawl, she was no longer content to sit in her little cart.
Yanshu felt that this little girl was just as mischievous as her brother had been when he was young.
She would crawl all over the palace, and quite quickly at that.
Especially when she heard the palace servants announce "His Majesty arrives," the little girl would crawl faster than anyone.
Thus, whenever Yuwen Lan stepped into the hall, she was always the first one he saw.
Moreover, the little girl would keep calling out in her sweet voice, "Dada, dada..."
Which meant "Father," and it made the daughter-doting emperor so happy he could hardly contain himself.
Indeed, what father wouldn't be moved when such a soft, fragrant, and adorable little person affectionately called them "Father"?
Yuwen Lan would quickly pick up his little daughter, kiss her repeatedly, and softly ask, "Did Xuan'er miss Father?"
Unable to speak properly yet, little Xuan'er would giggle and snuggle in her father's arms, her little mouth calling out "Dada..." a few more times while sucking on her finger.
Yuwen Lan's heart melted completely. He nuzzled his little daughter's head and asked softly, "Is Xuan'er hungry? Shall we eat some meat?"
As soon as he finished speaking, his son nodded and said, "Yes, this subject would like to eat lamb leg!"
Indeed, after attending the study for over half a year, the little Crown Prince had become quite proficient in using respectful language when speaking to adults.
Yuwen Lan ruffled his son's head and ordered, "Then let's have the imperial kitchen roast two lamb legs."
Fu Hai quickly went to relay the order, and an hour later, the family was enjoying freshly roasted lamb legs.
While the parents and brother heartily ate the crispy-outside-tender-inside lamb meat, the little princess was enthusiastically gnawing on a meatless bone.
...This scene looked somewhat familiar.
The little girl was babbling away while gnawing on her bone.
Her brother quickly translated, "Sister says hers is different from ours."
Yanshu told the little girl, "All little ones gnaw on these, your brother did too when he was small, right, son?"
The little Crown Prince made agreeing sounds, while secretly thinking to himself that being grown up was better.
After all, lamb bones really weren't as good as lamb meat.
As more days passed, the little princess turned one year old.
The old year passed, and the people welcomed the new year.
On the afternoon of the third day of the New Year, the children accompanied their parents to Songhe Mountain to pay New Year respects to their grandparents.
The little girl could walk now, and despite the cold winter weather, it didn't dampen her enthusiasm for activity. As soon as they got out of the carriage, she started toddling around on her own.
Yuwen Lan, worried, held his little daughter's hand in his, afraid she might fall.
After walking a few steps, they saw Grandpa and Grandma waiting at the courtyard entrance.
Their son happily called out "Grandma, Grandpa!" and ran towards them.
Just then, Niuniu also broke free from her father's hand and ran up, her little voice sweet and tender as she called out, "Grandma," "Grandpa"...
The Empress Dowager, having finished hugging her grandson, came over to embrace her granddaughter. Her eyes crinkled into crescents with joy as she kissed the little girl repeatedly, exclaiming in delight, "Xuan'er hasn't visited many times, yet she still remembers her Grandma and Grandpa?"
Yanshu smiled from the side, "She follows her brother's lead."
However, in her heart, she too found it surprising. She had to admit, her little girl had always been particularly quick with words, learning many terms of address without needing to be specifically taught.
After spending most of the day at their grandparents' home, two days later, Yanshu took the siblings to visit their maternal grandparents.
Surprisingly, the little girl could immediately call out "Grandma," "Grandpa," and "Uncle" correctly.
Mind you, while the little girl had seen her maternal grandmother quite a few times, she had rarely met her maternal grandfather and uncle.
Even with her brother's guidance, how could she recognize everyone so quickly?
And she hadn't mistaken anyone either.
The Zhongyi family was also quite amazed by this.
"How is the little princess so clever, recognizing everyone at once?"
To this, Yanshu could only say, "Perhaps she learned it from her brother."
But in her heart, something felt off.
So she immediately called out to the system, asking, [System, does my daughter have some special ability? How is she so accurate at recognizing people?]
The system replied, [That's right, to celebrate you, my host, having a precious daughter, I gifted a sub-system to Niuniu.]
Yanshu: [...What? A sub-system?]
Did this mean her little girl had a Melon Eating System too???
The system explained, [Correct, what else could my sub-system be? But don't worry, currently Niuniu's is an infant sub-system, pure and harmless, very healthy. It just teaches her to recognize people and such, consider it early education.]
Yanshu: [!!!]
Could it really work like this?
My system is truly amazing!!!
