"Yuan'er, you're so good!"
Lu Qingwan planted a kiss on the chubby cheeks of the little bun. "But before your father-king recovers, Yuan'er will stay with Mother Concubine for now.
Just spend some time getting acquainted with that auntie every day. Once your father-king is better and you're familiar with her, you can let her take care of you. Wouldn't that make you happy?"
The little bun's eyes curved into crescent moons as he nodded vigorously, like a pecking chick. "Hooray! Mother Concubine is the best!" he exclaimed, hugging her neck and bouncing.
Lu Qingwan squinted, enjoying the affectionate moment with the little bun while instructing Li Qing, "Send for Rou Jia."
The latter turned and shouted, "Rou Jia!"
"Here!"
Chen Rou Jia and her sparring partner stopped their movements, then trotted over. Upon seeing Lu Qingwan, she naturally bowed. "This servant greets the Princess."
Lu Qingwan frowned slightly. "You're only serving as a maid by my side temporarily. There's no need to call yourself a servant or to deliberately lower your stance."
Rou Jia was slightly taken aback, unsure what else she could do in the prince's manor if not be a maid.
Lu Qingwan didn't make things difficult for her. "Just refer to yourself as a subordinate, like Li Su."
Rou Jia readily agreed, "This subordinate understands."
Lu Qingwan was very pleased with her quick comprehension. "Your family is from a scholarly background, and the Xu family is a prominent and wealthy one. Managing household affairs and bookkeeping shouldn't be difficult for you, should it?"
Mentioning her maternal family and the hellish Xu family, Rou Jia's face paled slightly.
However, she still nodded. "This subordinate had no authority to manage household affairs in the Xu family. But I was skilled in arithmetic from my maiden days. If the Princess wishes for me to do the bookkeeping, this subordinate is willing to try her best."
Lu Qingwan shook her head. "Just trying your best won't do. I want you to be an expert at it."
Rou Jia looked troubled, and her worried expression made Lu Qingwan smile.
"Li Jin is an expert in this area. Take this New Year period to practice with him. Once you've mastered it, you can attend to your real duties."
As she spoke, she placed the little bun in her arms into Rou Jia's. "But for now, he is your real duty."
Rou Jia instinctively caught him, looking flustered as if holding a hot potato, unsure whether to hold him or put him down.
"Princess, this..."
"His name is Feng Shu Yuan. You should know him. I've already dealt with the person who was taking care of him. From now on, you will look after him when he is in the manor. When he is not here, you will attend to other matters for me."
Lu Qingwan then reached out without hesitation to poke the little bun's cheek. "Come, Yuan'er, say hello to your Auntie Rou Jia."
The little bun, suddenly placed in the arms of a stranger, felt a little uneasy. But with Lu Qingwan nearby, he was well-behaved. When poked, he turned his head to look at Rou Jia curiously and said in his milky voice, "Auntie Rou Jia~"
The little bun was still young, and his pronunciation was unclear. Everyone only heard "Rou Jia," with the word "auntie" seeming to be swallowed.
Lu Qingwan doted on the little bun, pinching his cheeks and laughing at him. "Rou Jia is a few years older than me. How could you call her by name so casually..."
"It's alright, Princess."
Rou Jia, holding the little bun, dodged Lu Qingwan's playful grasp. "A child's cheeks shouldn't be poked too often. They'll drool when they speak when they grow up."
Lu Qingwan sheepishly withdrew her hand, only to see Rou Jia handing the little bun back. She raised an eyebrow. "What? Are you not satisfied with the task I've assigned you?"
"I am satisfied, very satisfied."
Rou Jia looked at the little bun with affectionate eyes and explained proactively, "This subordinate has sweated all over and is dirty. Children have weak bodies, and I don't want him to fall ill."
Her own child had been frail and sickly, and despite her precautions over the years, he had passed away. Seeing this little bun, who was the same age as her child, she couldn't help but feel a surge of maternal affection.
Lu Qingwan hugged the little bun and blinked. "Very well, I'll take him to play for a while. You can go find Li Jin once you've tidied up."
Rou Jia quickly acknowledged and withdrew, rushing off to wash up, clearly eager to hold the little bun again.
Lu Qingwan watched her leave, then asked the little bun, "Does Yuan'er like Rou Jia?"
"I do, Rou Jia is very gentle. But Mother Concubine, Rou Jia doesn't like Yuan'er, does she?" The little bun's dark eyes were filled with confusion and even a hint of grievance.
Lu Qingwan raised her eyebrows in surprise. "How could that be? Our Yuan'er is so adorable, who wouldn't like him? Why do you think she doesn't like you?"
The little bun's raven-like eyelashes fluttered, and he said in a plaintive little voice, "But Yuan'er feels that she looks very sad when she looks at me, almost crying!"
The pampered little rascal, at such a young age, already displayed an unparalleled talent for commanding attention. When he wanted to, he could always make everyone around him happy. When Rou Jia held him, he had sensed her low spirits.
Lu Qingwan was also surprised by the little bun's keen perception of Rou Jia's emotions. She said softly, "Rou Jia doesn't dislike Yuan'er. It's just that Rou Jia also had her own child. This little brother, Mother Concubine has seen him. He was as cute as you, and Rou Jia loved him very much. But he was harmed by bad people and died. When Rou Jia sees you, she thinks of her own child, and that's why she's sad. But Yuan'er is so clever and cute, Mother Concubine believes that with your company, Rou Jia will be able to overcome the pain of losing her child and become happy again. Rou Jia is Mother Concubine's good friend. Is Yuan'er willing to help Mother Concubine with this?"
Children couldn't quite grasp the concepts of death and the pain of losing a child. But as soon as he heard that he could help Lu Qingwan, he readily agreed. "Yes, Yuan'er is certainly willing to help Mother Concubine!"
"Then Mother Concubine thanks Yuan'er in advance!"
Lu Qingwan smiled and carried the child back to Wutong Courtyard. As they reached the entrance, she saw Ying Yi hurrying towards them.
Lu Qingwan put the child down and instructed Li Su, "Take Yuan'er away."
The little bun, having just reunited with Lu Qingwan, was reluctant to leave and clung to her, calling out, "Mother Concubine~"
"Yuan'er, be good. Mother Concubine has something important to do. You play with Li Su for now. Mother Concubine will make you delicious food tomorrow."
"Alright." Even delicious food couldn't cheer him up when he had to part with his mother again so soon after meeting. The child reluctantly followed Li Su, refusing to be carried, his small figure leaving a trail of footprints in the snow.
Lu Qingwan sighed helplessly and walked into the courtyard. As soon as she entered the house, Ying Yi also arrived and got straight to the point.
"Reporting to the Princess, Doctor Xiao Meng said that one bottle of a medicine called atropine is missing. I interrogated the staff at Bai Xing Lin and confirmed that the medicine was lost on the tenth day of the eleventh month. On that day, that woman deliberately slandered you for molesting a female patient and caused quite a scene. We all thought it was Prince Chen intentionally trying to prevent you from treating Prince Jing, and thus deliberately tarnishing your reputation. Now it seems that damaging your reputation was just a pretense; the real purpose was to steal the medicine."