CHAPTER 621: CHAPTER 621 DUCKLING XIAO HUANG

In the afternoon, Xia Ruqing finally woke up. Still nestled in bed, she heard Little Bun crying outside. Her brow immediately furrowed. She quickly changed her clothes and tied up her hair before heading out to take a look.

As expected, Little Bun was crying in the courtyard. His cries were hoarse and desperate, the picture of heartbreak. In her memory, he rarely cried like this.

She saw Sister Huang and Sister Liang, both with stern faces and furrowed brows, evidently taking a firm stance. Xia Ruqing stepped forward.

"What’s happened?"

Sister Huang and Sister Liang hurried forward to pay their respects.

"We greet Your Highness!"

"Please, rise!" Xia Ruqing gestured with her hand.

The moment Little Bun saw her, he forgot everything else and flung himself into her arms.

Xia Ruqing quickly crouched down to wipe his sweat and tears with a handkerchief.

"What’s the matter?" she asked softly.

Sister Huang and Sister Liang, who were at the side, began to speak, but Xia Ruqing signaled them to stop.

She wanted to hear what Little Bun had to say!

However, Little Bun didn’t speak and continued to sob.

Xia Ruqing wasn’t in a hurry, comforting him slowly while waiting for him to speak.

After a while, once his sobbing had subsided, Little Bun finally spoke.

"Mother Consort..."

"I... I want to catch... catch fish! The Sisters... won’t let me!"

"Won’t let you do what?" Xia Ruqing asked calmly.

Reminded of his grievance, Little Bun felt a fresh wave of indignation.

"They won’t let me into the water!"

He was, after all, just a child. No matter how clever, he still possessed a child’s temperament. Being unable to play with what he wanted would make him sad and lead to a tantrum.

Xia Ruqing had no intention of reprimanding him. It was just that... this time, he had been a bit too mischievous.

On such a hot summer day, the pond water was deep, yet he insisted on getting in. It was no wonder Sister Huang and Sister Liang were so resolute.

Looking at her son’s tear-filled eyes, Xia Ruqing felt a surge of frustration.

"Son, you can’t go! The water is too deep, and you can’t swim!"

She had barely finished speaking when Little Bun let out another loud ’WAH!’ and burst into tears.

The Sisters wouldn’t help him, Zi Yue and the others wouldn’t help him, and in the end, even his own mother had refused him.

Instantly, an overwhelming sense of grievance surged within Little Bun, like a relentless tide engulfing him.

"WAH!"

His wails were like thunder, threatening to pierce their eardrums.

Xia Ruqing frowned, glanced up at the sky, feeling a headache forming amidst her helplessness.

When boys get mischievous, they can truly move heaven and earth.

She longed for a daughter; next time, she absolutely had to have a daughter!

Little Bun cried as if his heart would break.

However, if he knew that while he was heartbroken, his mother was fervently praying to quickly give him a little sister, one wonders what he would think. Would he cry, or would he laugh?

Once her prayers were done, she still had to face reality.

Xia Ruqing wiped Little Bun’s small face clean with a silk handkerchief and said, "Mother will think of a way, but you mustn’t cry anymore! If you cry again, Mother won’t help you!"

Little Bun immediately stopped crying, his large, watery eyes still brimming with tears. He gazed at her with a mixture of surprise and adoration, as if she were his peerless champion.

Xia Ruqing felt quite embarrassed and picked up Little Bun.

"Let’s go! We’ll think of a solution together with Mother!"

"Mhm!" Little Bun nodded, giggled, and a snot bubble even appeared.

Consequently, Xia Ruqing found herself occupied for the entire afternoon.

She had promised her son she would find a way, and she couldn’t go back on her word, could she?

So, she had someone go to the city to find a carpenter. She also instructed them to find the lightest type of wood available, one that could float even with a person sitting on it.

She had the carpenter carve the wood into the shape of a small yellow duck. Eyes were inset with Glazed Beads, a layer of tung oil was brushed on the outside, and then the wood was wrapped with a type of water-resistant cloth. Finally, she had a painter add the finishing touches. Where a beak was needed, a beak was drawn; where wings were needed, wings were drawn.

This served two purposes: first, to make the little yellow duck appear more lifelike, and second, to prevent any exposed wooden splinters from scratching anyone.

By the following afternoon, the lifelike little yellow duck boat was complete.

Looking at the finished little yellow duck, Xia Ruqing was extremely satisfied.

It wasn’t complicated at all, really, following the same principle as modern children’s swim rings. You sit on top, and your legs can stretch into the water. Because the wood was light enough and the little yellow duck’s buoyancy was sufficiently great, there was no need to worry about it capsizing, no matter how much one thrashed about. With this, her son could play in the water without any fear of danger.

Xia Ruqing was very happy about this.

First, she had someone procure a large water vat, fill it with water, and let Little Bun sit on the little yellow duck boat to test it.

It was just a vat, after all, so he wouldn’t drown.

Little Bun sat on the little yellow duck, his legs dangling in the water, giggling with delight.

"Mother, Mother, fish!"

Xia Ruqing was torn between laughter and tears.

"Where are the fish?"

Little Bun slapped the water, still thoroughly excited.

Xiao Xizi had a brilliant idea: he went out to gather some lotus flowers and leaves, and also caught a few fish to place in the vat.

Little Bun became even more delighted.

"GIGGLE..."

"Mother, it tickles, it’s so ticklish!"

He laughed heartily, splashing water about like an indulged little master.

Seeing his exuberant and carefree expression, Xia Ruqing suddenly felt that all her hard work over the past two days had been worth it.

When Zhao Junyao entered, bow and arrows in hand, he chanced upon this very scene.

He exclaimed in astonishment, "Qingqing, is this the... duck you were making?"

Xia Ruqing smiled. "Yes, Your Majesty, what do you think?"

Little Bun, waving his arms and legs with all his might as if he had acquired the world’s most precious treasure, proudly exclaimed, "Daddy, Daddy! It’s fun!"

As he spoke, he held up the lotus flowers and leaves from the vat and, pointing to the fish within, declared, "Fish! Daddy!"

Zhao Junyao: "..."

Left with no alternative, he walked over, glanced at the fish, and offered a few words of suitably impressed praise. "Great! Chenchen is amazing!"

Upon hearing the praise, Little Bun was so ecstatic he practically floated on air.

Sister Liang and Sister Huang, standing nearby, couldn’t help but chuckle. They finally breathed a sigh of relief. At last, he had stopped pestering them about catching fish in the pond! They had already been uneasy about him in the vat, let alone the pond.

After playing for the better part of an hour, Little Bun was both exhausted and famished.

The little fellow declared rather imperiously, "I’m hungry! I want to eat!"

Sister Liang chuckled and quickly scooped him up. "Alright! Your Royal Highness the Prince, let’s go get something to eat!"

Little Bun glanced back at the little yellow duck, showing no great reluctance to leave it, and obediently went off to eat.

From that day forward, water and ponds lost their mystique in his eyes. Once the novelty wore off, he wasn’t as fond of it anymore. He was just a child, after all.

That night, after his meal, the thoroughly tired Little Bun slept with exceptional soundness, a detail hardly needing mention.

「At Xia Ruqing’s Quarters」

Zhao Junyao had arrived not long before and had already instructed his attendants to deliver some of the game he had hunted.

"What fine game did Your Majesty hunt today?" she chuckled.