Wei Hong nodded, said goodbye to Li Tai and the Song couple, and prepared to take her away.
Seeing this, Yao Youqing handed the grasshopper back to the boy, her gaze lingering with reluctance.
When Madam Song saw it, she asked, "Does the Princess like this?"
“The princess likes it,” the child said before Yao Youqing could speak. “We played together for a long time just now, and she even asked me how to weave it, but unfortunately I don’t know how.”
Yao Youqing smiled awkwardly, somewhat embarrassed.
She had never played with these things before, and found them novel, so she asked a few questions out of curiosity.
Madam Song smiled and said, "They're just some little trinkets. They were all made by Douzi for him. If Your Highness likes them, I'll have him make some for you later."
Yao Youqing was too embarrassed to trouble others, so she quickly shook her head.
"No, no, I just... just because it's new."
Upon hearing this, Madam Song smiled without saying a word and personally saw them out.
That evening, Douzi personally went to Wei Hong's residence and delivered a basket of grasshoppers, dragonflies, and other items to Yao Youqing, saying that his teacher's wife had sent them.
Yao Youqing thanked him repeatedly, and after he left, she fiddled with things in the room for a long time.
She particularly loved one of the butterflies, holding it in her palm with great affection, saying as she looked at it, "Dr. Dou is really amazing. Not only is his medical skill excellent, but he can also weave these things."
Wei Hong initially thought these were just trinkets and didn't care much about them; she could play with them if she wanted.
But upon hearing her praise, his expression darkened.
"What's so special about this? It's just some grass."
He said in a deep voice.
“I think it’s amazing,” Yao Youqing said. “I can’t do that.”
After saying that, he asked Wei Hong, "Does Your Highness know how?"
Wei Hong: "..."
Won't.
But if he wants to learn, he'll definitely learn it very quickly!
He was smart from a young age and could learn anything quickly. How could weaving grass be difficult for him? It's just that he didn't care to learn it before!
Yao Youqing had no idea what he was thinking. She pinched the butterfly and shook it up and down, muttering, "So, none of us know how to do it, but Doctor Dou does. That's really impressive."
Wei Hong's face was somber, and he didn't reply. When Yao Youqing went to do something else, he picked up the butterfly and looked at it.
What's so difficult about that? He'll quickly understand how it's woven once he takes it apart and looks at it.
So he peeked outside and saw that Yao Youqing hadn't returned. He then disassembled the butterfly and studied it for a while, thinking he could put it back together later.
As a result, the grass turned into a tangled mess in his hands, and he could never put it back together after taking it apart.
Not long after, Yao Youqing's footsteps were heard outside the door.
In a panic, Wei Hong hurriedly hid the disassembled butterfly in his sleeve and haphazardly swept the other things on the table into the small basket. When Yao Youqing came in, he said to her, "Stop playing, it's very late today."
Yao Youqing said "Oh," nodded, and put the basket aside.
Wei Hong breathed a sigh of relief behind her, raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and thought that he would ask Douzi to make an identical one for her tomorrow and put it in, so that she wouldn't notice.
As a result, when I raised my hand, the butterfly that I had hurriedly put into my sleeve accidentally fell out and landed on the ground with a soft thud.
Yao Youqing turned around: "..."
Wei Hong: "..."
Chapter 52 Choices (Part Two) - 700 new entries added
Although Yao Youqing liked the butterfly very much, she wouldn't get angry with Wei Hong over it. She picked up the clump of grass that had fallen to the ground and was no longer recognizable, and sighed, "Why is Your Highness acting like a child, secretly hiding things after breaking them?"
"It's just a butterfly made of straw. I won't say anything to you, so why bother?"
Her tone was helpless, as if she were the older one, and Wei Hong was the younger child.
Wei Hong stubbornly denied it: "I didn't mean to hide it, I was just afraid you would cry again if you saw it, so I put it away."
Yao Youqing frowned slightly and puffed out her cheeks as she retorted, "I don't cry all the time."
Her brothers have always said she's a crybaby, but that's clearly nonsense. She... she's not!
Wei Hong chuckled and leaned closer to whisper in her ear, "Who was crying under me all day? Their eyes were all red."
Yao Youqing was extremely embarrassed, looking at him with a mixture of shame and anger, but she didn't know what to say.
Wei Hong smiled and pulled her into his arms, kissing her cheek. Yao Youqing angrily dodged away, so he gently bit her ear instead, and before she could dodge again, he carried her to the bed.
Yao Youqing thought he was going to do what he hadn't finished last night, and her body tensed up.
But Wei Hong didn't immediately stop, instead he kissed her and said, "Wait for me a moment."
He got up and went outside to give some instructions to the servants before returning to the room and taking out the ointment he had obtained from Li Tai earlier that day.
Yao Youqing asked, puzzled, "Your Highness, what is this?"
Wei Hong chuckled softly, "You'll find out soon enough."
A quarter of an hour later, a servant brought in a bowl of medicinal soup, put it down, and then left.
Yao Youqing thought Wei Hong was sick and looked at him with concern.
"Is Your Highness feeling unwell?"
Wei Hong looked at her and picked up the medicine.
"This is... a contraceptive soup, prepared by Uncle Li's mother herself."
Yao Youqing was slightly taken aback, then suddenly realized.
She knew that her father and the prince were at odds, and even if the prince treated her well, it didn't necessarily mean he wanted the child she bore.
But when Wei Hong personally brought her this bowl of contraceptive soup, she still felt somewhat uncomfortable.
I can't quite pinpoint what's wrong, but I just feel a tightness in my chest.
But she didn't say anything, and reached out to take it.
Wei Hong was afraid that she would overthink things, so he quickly explained, "It's not that I don't want you to have children, it's just that your aunt said it's not good for a woman to give birth too early, it's dangerous for both the woman and the fetus, so... she suggested that we wait two years before having children, it's better for both you and the baby."
Yao Youqing paused, recalling that Song had kept Wei Hong alone during the day, and then she understood what they had said.
Her slight annoyance vanished in an instant, and she obediently nodded: "I'll drink it."
After saying that, he took the medicine bowl, put it to his lips, and took a sip.
As a result, after taking that sip, her brows immediately furrowed, and her whole face scrunched up in a frown.
"...Is it hard to drink?"
Wei Hong asked from the side.
Yao Youqing has never liked taking medicine since she was a child, and this medicinal soup tastes particularly bad, which is why she almost couldn't help but vomit.
But she forced herself to swallow the mouthful of medicine and said, "It's nothing."
Just as he finished speaking and was about to gulp it down, Wei Hong took the bowl of medicine from his hand and put it to his lips to take a sip.
He thought the herbal soup smelled unpleasant, but since it's medicine, most of them don't smell good, so it's normal that it doesn't taste good either.
But after tasting it, he realized that the medicine was really hard to drink. Even he, who always drank medicine without hesitation, thought it tasted terrible.
He held the bowl with a stern face and didn't say anything. Yao Youqing took the bowl back and said, "It's okay, I'll just finish it in one go and then eat a candied fruit."
Her voice was soft and gentle, just as obedient as usual.
Wei Hong watched as she put the bowl back to her lips, closed her eyes, and prepared to drink the medicine in one gulp. His heart skipped a beat, and he reached out and snatched the bowl away.
"I'm not drinking anymore!"
Yao Youqing was startled, as he unexpectedly spilled medicinal soup all over her.
Wei Hong slammed the bowl back onto the table and went over to quietly wipe her clothes with a handkerchief.
Yao Youqing looked at him and whispered, "But if we don't drink it, what if we get pregnant..."
That wouldn't be a good idea, would it?
Wei Hong stopped wiping, threw the handkerchief aside, looked up at her small face, and recalled what Song had said.
When she was young, Song's health was damaged by pregnancy, and after giving birth to a daughter, she was never able to conceive again.
Fortunately, she and Li Tai had a harmonious relationship, and Li Tai never had any intention of remarrying or taking a concubine. The two of them raised their only daughter like a precious jewel.
Their daughter looks a lot like Yao Youqing; this resemblance isn't about appearance, but rather the feeling she evokes.
They were also petite and delicate, and were treated like precious gems from a young age, never experiencing any hardship. They were the apple of their parents' eyes.
When their daughter grew up, they originally planned to have her marry into their family so that the Li family line could continue and their daughter could still be with them. They could watch her get married and have children, and also help take care of their grandchildren.
But the little girl and the boy next door were childhood sweethearts and secretly developed feelings for each other.
The boy also wanted to marry her, but he was the only son in his family, and his parents would definitely not agree to him marrying into the family.
For the sake of their daughter, Li Tai and his wife finally relented and agreed to let their only child marry into the family, thinking that since the two families lived close by and knew each other well, it was a good marriage.
Even if the man's family moves away in the future, it doesn't matter where the couple lives; they can just move with them.
The groom's parents were not entirely unreasonable. They promised that if the girl gave birth to two sons, they would register the younger one in the Li family, give him the Li family surname, and allow him to continue the Li family line.
Both parties were overjoyed, the marriage was quickly arranged, and the girl soon had a child after the wedding.
“At that time, your Uncle Li and I were very happy,” Song said, “but it didn’t take long for us to be happy.”
Because the girl's health had been poor since she became pregnant, it was only thanks to Li Tai's excellent medical skills that the pregnancy was finally stabilized, and both families breathed a sigh of relief.
Later, when the girl was about eight months pregnant, Li Tai was invited to make a house call in the next town. At first, he was worried that his daughter would not want to go, but after listening to the other party's pleading for a long time, and thinking that his daughter seemed to be doing well for the time being and that her due date was still far away, he finally agreed.
After treating the patients, he rushed back immediately, but on the way he encountered a pregnant woman whose pregnancy was malformed and who was on the verge of death, with both mother and child on the verge of death.
With a doctor's heart full of compassion, he stopped and tried to treat the woman in labor, even though he was worried about his daughter.
Just then, a servant of the Li family rode up at full speed. Upon seeing him, he immediately reined in his horse and scrambled to his side, telling him that his daughter had gone into labor early and that the situation was extremely critical. He urged Song to return home immediately.