Chapter 77: CH 50

Gu Sui’er had only met the Emperor once in her life, or rather, she had just heard his voice through the screen.

At that time, with Princess ZhaoYang around, the whole place was a mess and as a result she didn’t even know how His Majesty looked. 

She didn’t expect him to send an Imperial Decree and instruct her to actually bring the little tadpole into the Palace. 

She looked at Xiao Heng for help: “How about you take the little tadpole into the Palace ah? Can I not go?”

She hadn’t gone out for a month during her confinement, staying inside all day. Even though the maids wiped her body with warm water every day, she still felt she couldn’t see anyone in such a disgraceful way.

“Alright.”

Xiao Heng glanced at her knowingly, surmising what she was thinking.

But he didn’t say anything because he himself didn’t really want her to go there either.

After resting on the bed and being served with good soup and water to nourish her body, her current figure was no longer as delicate as before. It had gradually become well-rounded.

Her long, jet-black hair was pulled into a loose bun at the back of the head. Furthermore, a few strewn strands partly hid her ears from sight, making the snow-white skin at the base of the ears faintly discernible and giving her a bright and beautiful yet languid sensuality. Her body was plumper than before but she was not actually fat. Instead, it was soft and snowy, with a rosy glow. And since she was always in the house, and had to feed the little tadpole frequently, the lapel of her upper garment was often loose. Occasionally, when Xiao Heng entered the room abruptly, he would catch a glimpse of the creamy white flawless pair before she could cover it. Watching the person turned her head, his face would start to burn faintly.

Her whole body exuded a clear charm while a soft fragrance lingered over every strand of her hair.

He didn’t know what she should wear at this time to conceal this seductive body of hers.

It was better not to go.

However, Gu Sui’er didn’t know Xiao Heng’s thoughts. When she heard Xiao Heng’s response, she felt relieved at first, but then, she reluctantly spoke up again.

“But… if I don’t go, what’s to be done if my little tadpole is hungry…”

The little tadpole was a fussy baby who wouldn’t drink other people’s milk.

When she murmured like this, the little tadpole, who was lying on the bed, blinked his bright eyes and looked at her quietly.

When she saw this, her heart melted.

There was nothing more satisfying than taking care of this ignorant and tender little person. How could she even be willing to let him suffer the slightest bit of grievance!

“It would be better if I accompany you to enter the Palace… No, I can’t bear to let him go there alone…”

She glanced at her little tadpole and said so quickly.

Xiao Heng, who was right beside her, looked at all this calmly, neither objecting nor agreeing.

In his heart, all he was thinking was: A cloak must be added. Also, a veiled hat1Veiled Hat [帷帽] – Also called wéimào or literally, curtained hat, it is a type of wide brimmed hat with generally a shoulder-length veil hanging via the edge all around the head (longer length veiled hats are also available). It was a popular form of head covering during the Tang dynasty. This lady is so damn pretty!  must be brought…to cover her whole body sufficiently…

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So this day at dusk, Nanny An and GuiZhi helped Gu Sui’er wrap her body tightly. Afterwards, GuiZhi held the little tadpole while Nanny An assisted her in getting into the sedan.

The small soft sedan quietly came outside the Marquis’ Mansion through the back door before the people inside descended and entered the carriage to go towards the Palace.

From the outside, this carriage would seem very ordinary; not at all ostentatious when it moved through the road. However, the interior was extremely luxurious. It was so comfortable that once anyone sat on the soft seat, they wouldn’t even want to budge from the place.

Gu Sui’er half-leaned on the soft couch, listening to the gentle sound of horses’ hooves outside.

Beside her, GuiZhi sat, holding the little tadpole in her arms. The child was sound asleep in the swaddling clothes2Swaddling clothes [襁褓] – It is the narrow cloth (fabric) used to wrap an infant and restrict its movements. There’s an adorable blessing for your eyes below hehehe : .

Before, Xiao Heng always used to ride a horse, but today, he climbed into the carriage.

Soon after he entered, his robes fluttered as his tall figure straightened, making the carriage suddenly seem a bit cramped. Fortunately, no maid besides GuiZhi and Nanny An were accompanying Gu Sui’er. So, after shifting to the other side, the seat beside Gu Sui’er was vacated.

Gu Sui’er was also about to get up after them.

Xiao Heng held her down and said deeply, “Lie down.”

Gu Sui’er was afraid that Xiao Heng would not get enough space to sit, so she still wanted to get up, but Xiao Heng directly sat next to her.

Seeing this, Gu Sui’er didn’t move anymore.

Inside the crowded carriage with only a narrow space remaining, Nanny An and GuiZhi lowered their heads, trying their best to weaken their sense of existence.

Gu Sui’er lay next to Xiao Heng calmly, listening to the clear sound of the wheels of the carriage as they rolled across the streets.

In early winter, the streets of YanJing City were quite cold; so cold that she felt as if their carriage was the only thing left in this world.

[T/N: I have no idea how cold equates to being alone, don’t ask me（￣︶￣;;)]

She opened her eyes and saw that Xiao Heng was staring at her quietly.

She used to be afraid of his cold and cheerless eyes, but now, she realized that he just had that kind of temperament.

“Don’t be afraid.” Xiao Heng thought she was worried about what would happen after entering the Palace: “After reaching, just kowtow. You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.”

“En, okay.”

“He just wants to take a look at the little tadpole.” Xiao Heng explained again.

Why did he want to see the little tadpole? The little tadpole was the child of the Marquis RuiDing’s family, not the three Prince’s. What did it have to do with the Emperor…

Gu Sui’er didn’t quite understand, but she didn’t ask.

Xiao Heng reached out and held her hand, as if to soothe her: “I have some good names for the little tadpole. You can choose one.”

Gu Sui’er blinked, she didn’t expect him to suddenly mention this matter at this time.

Xiao Heng said all the names in a row: “Xiao Chen, Xiao Yan, Xiao Yu, Xiao Xuan, Xiao Gong…”

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Gu Sui’er listened attentively, thinking about it deeply.

She didn’t know how to write many characters, but these few happened to be some of the ones that Xiao Heng had taught her before.

“All of the names have the same character roof as ‘treasure3TL/N: All the names mentioned above – Chen (宸), Yan (宴), Yu (寓), Xuan (宣), and Gong (宫) have the same radical roof or ‘zìtóu‘ (字头) ‘宀’ as the character ‘bǎo‘ (宝) which is translated to ‘treasure’. It’s like they all have identical hats customized from the same brand xD‘ ah.”

When Xiao Heng heard this, he couldn’t say anything for a moment. A somewhat complicated emotion filled his eyes, but he finally said: “Correct. Our little tadpole’s name must be taken from the character meaning treasure.”

Gu Sui’er: “Oh.”

Xiao Heng looked down at her. She was already wrinkling her little brows in contemplation as she struggled to pick a pleasant name for her little tadpole.

For the little tadpole’s name to be taken from the character ‘treasure’, it could be said that it was a choice that he had been struggling with for a long time. It was both a compromise and a determination.

But as far as Gu Sui’er was concerned, she didn’t understand what these names, taken from the character ‘treasure’ signified.

To her, it was very simple. The name just needed to sound good.

At this time, Gu Sui’er finally had a realization: “Does the name ‘Chen’ refer to the stars?”

Xiao Heng nodded: “Yes.”

‘Chen’ was actually one of the names initially listed by the Emperor.

‘Chen’, where the North Star was located, was the center of the stars and heaven. It was also where the Heavenly Emperor resided4TL/N: The character ‘chen’ (宸) has two meanings — 1. Roof or eaves (original), and 2. Imperial residence (extended). Just like how the Imperial Palace is located in the center of the capital city (which is again, in nearly the center of the Empire/Kingdom), the North Star or ‘Běijíxīng‘ (北极星) is also located almost at the north celestial pole, the central point around which the entire northern sky turns while it holds nearly still in its position. Supposedly, this phenomenon is somewhat similar to what happens between the Emperor and his subjects. In the «The Analects», there is a sentence that goes as– The Master said, “He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps to its place and all the stars turn towards it.” (子曰：“为政以德，譬如北辰，居其所而众星共之。”).

Gu Sui’er suddenly smiled: “That’s nice. Let’s just choose this name, okay?”

Xiao Heng looked at her, only to see her looking up at him with a smile filled with anticipation.

Her eyes seemed to twinkle like stars.

Xiao Heng nodded: “Okay.”

Thus, the little tadpole’s name was selected. It was Xiao Chen.

His nickname was naturally Little Ah Chen.

[TL/N: I was tempted to keep it Xiao Ah Chen but since it can be confused with the surname (Xiāo, 萧), I decided to keep it ‘Little’ (xiǎo, 小). So, whenever I use ‘Xiao’, it was and will refer to the surname.]

Many years later, Xiao Heng thought, perhaps everything was destined ah.

At this moment, Gu Sui’er couldn’t help but mutter a few times in a low voice: “Xiao Chen, Xiao Chen, Little Ah Chen, this is the name of my family’s little tadpole.”

While she was talking, she couldn’t help but look at Little Ah Chen, who was sound asleep beside her.

He didn’t know that he had a new name; he was lying in his swaddling clothes and sleeping sweetly.

The carriage stopped.

Looking outside, the carriage had already arrived at the gate of the Palace. The eunuch who was accompanying them, went forward for the routine inspection and showed the waist card to the guards at the gate. The other party’s expression changed immediately as he let them enter.

As a result, the carriage passed through the Palace gate like this.

On the way, they occasionally encountered palace maids and eunuchs, who couldn’t help but feel a bit surprised, speculating whose carriage this was, and why it was entering the Palace at this time.

But of course, no one dared to ask or even to take a second look.

In the Imperial Palace, there were inevitably many events not meant for ordinary people to know or ask. Sometimes one may lose their head just because they took one more look at something.

The carriage went forward for an unknown amount of time before finally stopping.

When he was about to get off the carriage, Xiao Heng motioned GuiZhi and Nanny An not to move. He took up Xiao Chen in his arms, and reached out his other hand to support Gu Sui’er.

However, seeing him hold the child in his arms, Gu Sui’er didn’t let him support her. She decided to stand up on her own.

Xiao Heng insisted, wrapping his arm around her soft and supple waist and carried her out of the carriage.

As soon as they got off the carriage, a group of people dressed in grandly embroidered attire, came forward and encircled them. The one at the front, who didn’t have a beard, stepped forward and said with a smile: “Commander Xiao, you have arrived. His Majesty kept thinking about you, saying it was time for your arrival.”

While speaking, he looked at Gu Sui’er from the side of his eyes. With just one glance, he seemed to be a bit dazzled.

Although the sky had turned dark and he couldn’t see her clearly, he could make out her features vaguely. Her hair was like black jade while her skin was fair and clear. She must be a very beautiful and delicate woman.

The thing that caught Eunuch Hu’s attention the most was that the woman was leaning softly beside the perpetually frigid third Young Master Xiao.

Unexpectedly, third Young Master Xiao, who had never been close to women, let the woman lean on him like that.

Tsk tsk tsk, Eunuch Hu sighed secretly, things are very different now ah.

Although he thought like this on the inside, he spoke up flatteringly: “Third Master, His Majesty was afraid that the child would be unable to bear the cold, so he let the minions burn the floor heater quite early and make the inside nice and warm. Come in quickly ah, it’s cold outside.”

Xiao Heng nodded and went in directly, supporting Gu Sui’er with one hand and holding Little Ah Chen with the other.

Since Gu Sui’er gave birth, she had not stepped outside the room for an entire month. But now that she suddenly left the residence to meet the country’s monarch, she was somewhat apprehensive. Fortunately, Xiao Heng was supporting her body. She could barely stand firm as she held onto Xiao Heng’s arm lightly and followed him.

They reached a door after walking by sets of curtains. The door had many guards standing outside.

Once inside, it was warmer but when they entered the innermost chamber, it was even warmer, just like a cozy spring day.

The room was brightly lit. However, before she dared to look up and peer anymore, she heard a voice say:

“Ah Heng, you’ve come. Hurry up and come over, let Zhen take a look at him!”

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