To Be A Virtuous Wife

115

Waking up in the morning, Qu Qing Ju looked beside her. The space had become empty, the light coming in through the windows. She rubbed her forehead as she got up. It seemed to be late in the morning.

The palace attendants waiting outside heard the noise from inside, and quickly came in with the washing tools. They served her to get out of bed and change. After everything was prepared, she then sat in front of the table to sedately eat the morning meal.

"Mu Jing, how many days until Cheng Wang Fei's confinement ends?" When the child was one month old, they would have a month-old banquet. She didn't need to personally go, but it would be good to prepare what she needed to give.

"About ten more days. Is niangniangworried about what to give for the month-old banquet?" Mu Jin handed over a handkerchief for Qu Qing Ju to wipe her hands and then a lotion for Qu Qing Ju to rub on. After entering autumn, the wind became stronger. If the hands weren't taken care off, they wouldn't look good after a few days.

"En," Qu Qing Ju rubbed her hands against each other and sighed, "The wives of the noble families, this back and forth isn't something easy. Any other person, I can hand off for someone else to do, but not Cheng Wang Fei." Thinking some more, she eventually had them prepare things that would help a woman recover and things that infants could use. For other people, she only had to give things that looked good. But she and Luo Wen Yao had some feelings between them, so she naturally had to repay her for her sincerity.

"Today's weather is good to take a walk." Qu Qing Ju thought for a second, "Let the nursemaid take His Highness Imperial Son out to walk as well."

Mu Jin hurriedly let the others prepare. She saw that the Empress' expression didn't seem right and couldn't resist asking: "Niangniang, should the phoenix carriage be prepared?"

"No need, we'll just walk outside," Qu Qing Ju stood to walk to the door. The warm sunlight spilled onto her body, making her dazed for an instant. She raised her head to look at the sky and turned back and saw that the nursemaid had already carried Tun Tun over. Smiling, she said: "Let's go."

When the Empress set out, even though there wasn't a troop of servants before and after her, there were still many attendants that followed. Even more, there were quite a few servants that were there to take care of Tun Tun. Qu Qing Ju walked over the white jade bridge over the lotus pond and entered the Imperial Gardens. Looking at the blooming chrysanthemums, she suddenly realized that autumn had really arrived.

Passing by a pavilion, Qu Qing Ju stopped walking. She turned back to look at that pavilion in the midst of the flowers, asking with a raised eyebrow: "Winter last year, didn't Han liangdi sing there for the Emperor?"

Mu Jin didn't know why the Empress would suddenly mention Han liangdi. She looked at the pavilion, nodding: "Niangniang, what is it?"

"Nothing," Qu Qing Ju sighed, seemingly in regret, "Just rueful. Almost a year has passed in the blink of an eye. Time passes so quickly."

"Niangniang doesn't have to think about these things," Mu Jin smiled as she supported Qu Qing Ju's wrist, "nubi heard the black chrysanthemums over there have flowered well. Do you want to see?"

"No, Tun Tun is still little, it's not good to be too close to the flowers," Qu Qing Ju pointed to a stone table near a fake mountain not far away, "Let's go sit there. We can also soak in some sun."

Tea and pastries quickly were put on the stone table. A soft cushion was put on the stone bench. Qu Qing Ju sat down on the bench. Seeing Tun Tun looked around at the surroundings with wide eyes, she knew that he was curious about the outside scenery so she let the nursemaid carry him to see the surroundings. Listening to his happy cries, she couldn't resist laughing: "Children are just children, anything can make them happy."