Chapter 2664 - 2597: Give It to Me

The young servant sat sadly on the steps. When the Crown Prince returned and saw the little figure sitting there resting his chin on his hands, he couldn’t help but smile. He walked over, picked him up, and said sternly, "What’s there to worry about at your age?"

The servant quickly replied, "Father, Mother said the baby is a sister, but I haven’t prepared a gift for her."

He pouted in grievance and said with tears, "I still want a brother."

Hearing this, the Crown Prince picked him up and brought him inside, saying, "That’s not hard at all. We’ll just have your mother give birth again in the future, you’ll surely have a brother."

The Crown Princess, who had just risen from the couch: ...

The Crown Prince placed the boy on the couch, motioned for her to sit down, and asked, "Who came today? Since when has the Imperial Hospital been so careless, telling you the baby is a girl?"

When the Crown Princess was first pregnant, they had asked, but even Director Xiao and the junior imperial doctor dismissed their inquiries lightly, claiming they couldn’t diagnose it.

The Crown Prince certainly didn’t believe they genuinely couldn’t diagnose it. Let’s leave others aside; Director Xiao and Imperial Doctor Liu’s skills shouldn’t fail to diagnose this.

It’s simply that they didn’t dare to say or didn’t want to say.

The Crown Princess smiled and said, "I’ve been feeling a bit unwell today, so I invited Manbao over. She said our child will be as lovable and cherished as Mingda in the future."

The Crown Prince immediately understood and touched her belly, "Then we should prepare more brightly colored clothes."

"Children don’t need too many clothes. I asked, and they said wearing Little Clothes’ would do."

"No, they must wear new clothes." After all, she’s his legitimate eldest daughter; how can she wear old ones?

The Crown Princess said, "...They say old clothes are more comfortable, and at that time, Little Clothes grew fast, didn’t wear the old clothes for long, and they’re almost like new."

But the Crown Prince was stubborn, and the Crown Princess couldn’t persuade him at that moment. Since they’re almost like new, why not just wear new ones?

Is he someone who lacks cloth?

He added, "Let the people below buy soft materials. Can I not find cloth for the child?"

The Crown Princess remained silent.

When Manbao visited the palace again, she heard the Crown Princess worriedly mention the issue.

Manbao asked, "Do you want to make new clothes or use old ones?"

The Crown Princess sighed, "I’ve already made a few outfits, thinking it would be a boy, so they were all based on Little Clothes’ previous attire. Plus, with Little Clothes’ clothes, it’s enough. His Highness didn’t object at the time, but once it’s said to be a girl, he doesn’t want the child to wear Little Clothes’ old clothes."

Manbao asked, "What’s your opinion?"

The Crown Princess helplessly replied, "I have to listen to him, or he’ll get angry. But all of Little Clothes’ clothes have been washed and aired. No one’s wearing them now, and it’s not good to throw them away. Her Highness is very frugal, and if she finds out I just tossed them, she’ll definitely be upset."

If the children occasionally get sick in the palace, they either call Imperial Doctor Liu or her, so she knows the Crown Princess is good to them but wouldn’t let them use Little Clothes’ things.

Manbao thought for a moment and said, "Then why don’t you give them to me?"

The Crown Princess widened her eyes in surprise and joyfully asked, "You, are you pregnant?"

Manbao happily said, "No, but my second niece and eldest nephew’s wife are about to give birth; they could use them."

The Crown Princess’s hopes dashed, but after thinking about it, she said, "That works too. I’ll have someone pack them."

The Crown Princess instructed the palace maids to pack, filling four bundles with not only clothes but also swaddling clothes, little shoes, and small cloth bags...

All brand new, as children grow quickly, an outfit may not fit after two or three months.

The Crown Princess said, "These are clothes for the first year; have a look."

Manbao opened them and took a glance; they’re all simple outfits, with no embroidery, all with printed patterns or plain colors, primarily in red and moon white. Underlayers are mostly soft linen, while the outer layers are mostly red.

Well, Little Clothes was an auspicious baby for several years, so now he likes to grab anything red whenever he sees it, especially fond of the color red.

With so many items, Manbao couldn’t take them all back alone, so the Crown Princess assigned a few people to accompany her and deliver them home. She even joked, "In the future, when you have a child, I’ll collect the clothes this child wears for you then."

Manbao didn’t mind at all and nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes."

Seeing her so happy to receive the items, the Crown Princess was also very pleased.

After autumn began, mornings were pleasantly cool, so Manbao and Bai Shan rode horses to arrive this morning. The Eastern Palace sent a carriage to transport the items back. Today, Zhou Dalang and Junior Ms.Qian were at home; seeing a palace carriage arrive, they thought Manbao had received a reward again and considered preparing a shrine for it.

Instead, the attendant driving the carriage and two palace maids took down four large bundles, while Manbao handed her horse to the gatekeeper and went to pick one up herself.

Zhou Dalang quickly reacted, went over to help, and asked, "What is this?"

"The Crown Princess sent Little Clothes for the children of Liu Sanniang and Lijun."

This kind of thing is common in the village, though generally only the maternal family is willing to give clothes worn for a season to little children. Not only does it save money, but it also carries blessings.

Even Junior Ms.Qian thanked the palace maid and attendant repeatedly, then patted herself down as she doesn’t usually carry money, so she went to pat Zhou Dalang.

Manbao watched amusedly and took out her pouch to reward them, inviting them to stay, "It’s almost time for lunch; why don’t you stay and have a meal before returning?"

The palace maid and attendant didn’t dare, quickly kneeling to decline.

Manbao thought for a moment and didn’t insist, nodded, "Then go ahead, be careful on the way."

Junior Ms.Qian quickly said, "If you aren’t staying for lunch, at least take something for the road."

Not giving Manbao time to stop her, Junior Ms.Qian already ran to the kitchen and soon returned with several leaf-wrapped meat buns and a bamboo tube filled with soy milk.

She fetched a small basket from the corridor, packed them inside, and stuffed it into their hands, smiling, "They’re freshly made and still warm. The meat is pork; you probably eat pork, right?"

The palace maid and attendant were dumbfounded.

Manbao swallowed the words meant to stop her and laughed with them, saying, "Take it, have some on the road to fill your stomach."

The three couldn’t refuse the generous offer and had to accept.

Once they got on the carriage and traveled a long way, they regained their senses and looked at the basket’s contents together, wondering whether to eat them... or not?

Thinking about reporting back for duty after returning to the palace, they realized eating would be long past regular meal times, and they’d only find leftovers by then, so their hands reached into the basket.

One maid said, "These are from Imperial Doctor Zhou’s house; eating them should be fine."

Another maid said, "I think it’s fine too."

The attendant cautiously replied, "But the foremen said, when outside on duty for the palace, eating external food isn’t allowed. If we get sick, we’ll be sent directly to the epidemic station."

The maid had already taken a bite, her eyes brightening, "Eat quickly, it’s delicious. If we get a stomachache, Manbao will be in the palace tomorrow; we can discreetly ask her for some medicine."

"Right, I heard that Rong Si, who used to drive for Imperial Doctor Zhou, was once sick too, and Zhou treated him without sending him to the epidemic station."

Manbao knew nothing of this; she called Liu Sanniang, who was on leave, and Zhou Lijun, who was about to give birth, to come and choose items together.