Chapter 1576: Chapter 1583 Xiang Yun Also Gave Birth (5)
Every little change, every bit of progress the children made brought them endless joy. A lot had happened over the past few months.
For instance, Xiang Yun far away in Qing Luo Kingdom had given birth to a chubby little boy with a tiger-like appearance. The husband and wife were calm about this, but the Emperor and Empress of Qing Luo Kingdom were utterly elated. The old couple held their grandson and wouldn’t let go. Emperor Qing Luo even took the opportunity to issue an edict pardoning the world, mimicking the Great Jin Dynasty by exempting the common folk from a year’s tax labor. He even insisted on abdicating the throne immediately to Wanyan Jingchen, hoping to escape the complicated disputes of state affairs and focus on being a doting grandfather.
Wanyan Jingchen had only recently returned to Qing Luo Kingdom and hadn’t yet established a strong foundation in court. Thus, he resolutely declined his Imperial Father’s request to abdicate. However, Emperor Qing Luo’s desire to retire was very strong, and after several days of contention between father and son, they finally decided to wait until the young prince turned one year old before proceeding with the abdication.
After Xiang Yun gave birth to her son, she immediately wrote a letter to Cai Wei, bringing up the old proposal of marriage alliance between the two kingdoms.
Upon receiving the letter, before Cai Wei could respond, Nangong Yi had already made it clear—absolutely not. His daughter wasn’t meant to be married off. Even when the time came for her to marry, it would be to take a husband into their family while keeping him under his watchful eye!
Cai Wei didn’t quite understand Nangong Yi’s borderline obsessive protective behavior. She was under the impression that men of this era held sons in higher regard than daughters. Yet, as months passed since the children were born, she increasingly realized that this man’s favorite was not his son, but his daughter.
Whenever the three little buns simultaneously reached out their hands to be hugged, he would always pick up the pink, frilly little beauty first, leaving the other two little buns with endless grievances, pouting wrongfully as they looked on.
Whenever he brought some tasty treats or fun toys for the children, the first recipient would always be the beautiful little Princess Mingzhu. While Yu’er and Jin’er always got their shares too, they were invariably placed behind Mingzhu.
Cai Wei was perplexed for a long time by this man’s preference for daughters over sons. Later, the man unintentionally revealed the reason, and she finally understood.
It turns out, the reason Nangong Yi adored Mingzhu so much was because he saw her as a younger version of Cai Wei herself—someone to pamper and cherish.
Besides the news of the Qing Luo Kingdom’s crown princess giving birth and proposing marriage, there had been a few other occurrences, both big and small.
Sun Hu and Sun Bao got married. Their brides were two sisters from the Meng slaves, Dun Zhu and Dan Zhu. They met the sisters while escorting goods for Cai Wei in Lingbei. First, they were captivated by their unparalleled roast duck craftsmanship, and later, as they got to know them, feelings gradually developed.
Although Dun Zhu and Dan Zhu weren’t considered beauties by Great Jin standards, they checked all the boxes for what Sun Bao and Sun Hu brothers sought in women. They were robust, capable, sincere, cheerful, and looked like the kind of women who could build a good life and raise strong families. Unlike the women of Great Jin who were delicate, incapable, and always putting on airs of vulnerability—just watching them was annoying.
Dun Zhu and Dan Zhu’s parents also approved of their marriage. As such, Sun Bao and Sun Hu got married in Lingbei, to their ideal brides, forming families and settling down with their own roots.
Cai Wei learned of this news from the Sun Family Brothers themselves. After delivering escorted goods to the capital, including forty carts of glass stored in Cai Wei’s private library, they reported on the situation in Lingbei.
Nowadays, Northern Ridge’s Royal City is gradually growing in prosperity and thriving. Business on the commercial streets is booming, and many Liaodan people are doing business there. However, the stockpile of glass there has exceeded one million pieces, stored in four large warehouses. If Cai Wei hadn’t advanced their payment in silver taels, they might’ve thought that glass had no market demand anymore!