Chapter 258
Chapter 258
In the blink of an eye, the day of the full-month banquet at the Grand Princess's mansion arrived.
Everyone gathered before the Grand Princess, saying pleasant words.
The smile on the Grand Princess's face never faded.
It must be known that she had always wanted a sweet, soft baby girl. Unfortunately, when she gave birth to her second son, her health was damaged, and from then on, she could only envy others who had daughters, while she was left with two 'stinky boys'.
Ever since her little granddaughter was born, the Grand Princess had been visiting her second son's courtyard frequently to see the baby.
If the child weren't so young, she would have wanted to take her back to her own courtyard to raise.
The Grand Princess was truly overjoyed today, so she had sent invitations to every prominent and respectable household in the capital.
Naturally, all who received the invitations came to attend.
At this moment, the Grand Princess's eldest daughter-in-law, He Yushan, stood not far away. Watching her mother-in-law, whose heart and the entire courtyard seemed filled only with the newborn daughter of the second branch, she couldn't help but feel a pang of sourness in her heart.
Especially now, seeing her mother-in-law personally holding that little girl while sitting there, chatting and laughing merrily with the noblewomen of the capital, made her even more jealous.
Furthermore, the scale of today's full-month banquet was far grander than those held for her own two sons back in the day.
The more He Yushan thought about it, the more unsettled she felt, yet she could only stand at a distance, watching her mother-in-law and sister-in-law's joyful expressions.
"Mother, does Grandmother not like me and my younger brother anymore?" He Yushan's eldest son, Gu Shaoting, looked at his grandmother, who was currently holding the sister born to his aunt and beaming with delight, and asked with a tinge of bitterness.
"Don't talk nonsense! You and Yu'er are naturally Grandmother's beloved grandchildren," He Yushan retorted without a second thought.
To be fair, the Grand Princess's treatment of the two children wasn't bad at all.
Although she might not attend to every little thing personally, she had never shortchanged the children in any way.
It was just that He Yushan always felt that her mother-in-law's attentiveness couldn't compare to the devotion she showed today towards the little girl born to her sister-in-law.
"Then why is Grandmother only holding the younger sister?" Gu Shaoting pursed his lips, looking at He Yushan as if she were lying.
"You silly child, how can you be jealous of your younger sister? She's still very small and naturally needs to be held. You were held too when you were little," He Yushan comforted the two children.
However, thinking about it, she found it somewhat hard to recall when her mother-in-law had last held them.
"I hate the younger sister, Mother. I don't want a younger sister. If only there were no younger sister, then the youngest child in the mansion would be me, and Grandmother would be holding me right now!" Little Gu Shaoyu clenched his small fists, speaking with righteous indignation.
He Yushan's heart also felt unsettled. She thought, even her Yu'er understood that if that little girl were gone, the most favored children in the mansion would be her Ting'er and Yu'er.
Still, such thoughts could only remain in her heart; such words must never be spoken aloud.
What He Yushan didn't notice was a young maid following behind her, listening intently to their conversation. Upon hearing Gu Shaoyu's resentful words,
the maid noted the unwillingness on He Yushan's face.
Xu Qingshi hadn't expected to run into Xie Yanzhi and Jiang Yu here at the Grand Princess's mansion.
After all, such occasions were usually attended by the adults of the families. Who would have thought it so coincidental that all three of them had been sent by their families as representatives?
"How did you two end up here?" Xu Qingshi asked curiously.
"My mother brought me," Xie Yanzhi said, pointing towards Lady Yao not far away.
"My mother is pregnant, so she sent me to deliver the gift," Jiang Yu shrugged and said.
"My grandmother isn't feeling well, so she also sent me to deliver the gift," Xu Qingshi quickly added his reason for being there.
"What a coincidence!"
After speaking, the three children burst into laughter.
After all, following their last parting on less than happy terms, they were finally gathered together again today.
"By the way, Qingshi, are you alright?" Xie Yanzhi, recalling how Xu Qingshi had rushed out of the An Prince's mansion last time to find Miss Li, looked at his friend with concern. Afterwards, his mother had told him that rumors couldn't be trusted.
But Xie Yanzhi also thought, what if this matter were true?
Wouldn't that mean Xu Qingshi wouldn't have a stepmother?
Remembering how Li Zhiwei had desperately protected them, Xie Yanzhi felt for the first time that a stepmother might not be so bad.
However, this not-so-bad stepmother was now about to marry someone else, which made him somewhat hesitant about his previous view.
Hearing Xie Yanzhi's question, Jiang Yu also looked at Xu Qingshi curiously, his eyes also filled with concern.
Upon hearing this, Xu Qingshi first felt choked up—really, why bring up that sore subject?
But since the question was asked, he couldn't avoid answering it.
"It's fine. Who asked my royal father to be older than me? He's more urgent, so we should prioritize him!" Thinking of this, Xu Qingshi also felt somewhat indignant. But then he considered that his father was getting on in years and should have someone to accompany him.
As for himself, he was still young and had plenty of time to choose a wife slowly.
When the time came, he would definitely choose a wife even more beautiful than his father's, to outshine his father's wife in the future.
Thinking this, Xu Qingshi puffed out his chest.
Xie Yanzhi and Jiang Yu exchanged a glance, somewhat confused. What did this have to do with the An Prince?
Especially that phrase, "prioritize the An Prince"?
Could it be that the An Prince didn't want to marry, so Miss Li was marrying someone else?
However, the world of adults was something they, as children, couldn't understand.
"Have you seen that 'extremely beautiful' baby?" Xu Qingshi was still very curious about today's protagonist, the Grand Princess's granddaughter.
"No."
"Me neither. When I arrived earlier, I saw the Grand Princess holding a swaddled bundle. I wanted to go take a look, but my mother wouldn't let me." Xie Yanzhi was also quite curious about the child in the swaddling clothes.
"Then, how about we go take a look?" Xu Qingshi was always very interested in beautiful things.
Right now, they were extremely curious about that supposedly very beautiful little baby.
"But why don't they have someone bring her out?" Jiang Yu, however, asked somewhat puzzled.
"Could it be because she's still very small? Have you ever seen a newborn baby before?" Xu Qingshi thought for a moment. In the past, his family never let him attend such occasions.
After all, children were too young, and they were afraid they might disturb the baby.
"I haven't seen one before either," Xie Yanzhi thought and shook his head.
It's the first time my own mother was willing to bring me.
"I haven't seen one either. I've been thinking, I want the younger sibling in my mother's belly to come out quickly so we can go rob birds' nests together." Jiang Yu thought about what his mother had told him, that there was a younger sibling in her belly.
He was very eager for that younger sibling to come out and keep him company, but his mother always said it wasn't time yet.
He was also very curious, just when would it finally be time?