0p0 Chapter 696 The Clever Zong Hua!
Chapter 696 The Clever Zong Hua!
But no matter how much anyone tried to coax or coax him, Xiao Zonghua refused to utter a single word; his lips didn't even move.
The Crown Princess smiled and said, "The child is still too young, only eight months old, right? How could he possibly speak yet? However, it is true that he occasionally makes some similar sounds. We'll have to wait a little longer."
In fact, when the Crown Princess herself said those words, she wasn't sure what she was really feeling.
She initially heard Xiao Zonghua pronounce the word very clearly, but when she saw that he stopped speaking, she felt somewhat relieved. How could an eight-month-old baby possibly call someone "Dad"?
Her son, Duanmu Chen, was clever; he only started calling her "mother" when he was eleven months old.
Although Zonghua refused to speak again, the people present were inevitably a little disappointed. However, after a while, they were relieved, after all, he was just a little kid.
When it was time to eat, Mu Xin Nuan and Duanmu Chu Ze sat next to each other, with a small stool placed between them. It was specially prepared for Zong Hua, with a soft cushion on it. Little Zong Hua sat there, waiting for his mother and father to feed him from time to time.
"Is this how you've always raised your children?" the Crown Princess couldn't help but ask.
Mu Xin Nuan smiled in response, "Yes, that's right, sister-in-law."
"But isn't this too much work? When will you be able to make good use of this? If you ask me, why don't you just let the wet nurse feed the child? You are the princess, and your fourth brother is the prince. Isn't it a bit too much for you both to personally take care of a child?"
Duanmu Chuze's expression was slightly unpleasant, but he quickly put on a smile again.
“My sister-in-law doesn’t understand. If you haven’t raised a child yourself, you can’t understand how difficult it is to be a parent. Every night when I watched him fall asleep, I would think, did my mother accompany me like this? Was I as well-behaved as Xiao Zonghua, never crying at night?”
Because Duanmu Chuze was the Empress's son born in her middle age, he was personally cared for by the Empress when he was first born. Later, due to the Empress's poor health, he had to be handed over to a wet nurse for care.
As he grew older, he often went to the Eastern Palace to accompany the Crown Princess.
Looking back now, the memories of those days seem so vivid, yet her son is now all grown up.
The Crown Princess strongly disagreed with Duanmu Chuze's words and wanted to refute him, but when she saw the look the Crown Prince gave her, she could only smile awkwardly.
Mu Xin Nuan naturally ate her meal very carefully. Even though they were family, such a family made her feel quite nervous.
Originally, she and Duanmu Chuze were feeding each other vegetables and porridge, respectively.
But Xiao Zonghua had already eaten several mouthfuls of porridge, but no food had been brought to his mouth, and he became anxious.
With a wave of her little arm, she pointed at Mu Xin Nuan, "Mother, Mother."
The hall became even quieter.
Mu Xin Nuan was overjoyed and put down her jade chopsticks. "Zong Hua, what did you just call out? Call out again."
Xiao Zonghua stared at Mu Xin Nuan with his big eyes, and then his eyes moved to her bowl and plate.
Mu Xin Nuan understood now, so she quickly picked up a small bite of green vegetables and stopped it near his mouth, "Good boy, say it again."
"Mother." Xiao Zonghua's soft, sweet voice rang out, melting everyone's heart.
"Good boy! My baby can call me 'Mama' now, so good!"
The Emperor and Empress were naturally delighted. The baby, who was only a little over eight months old, could already call out "father" and "mother." He was simply a little prodigy!
“Come on, do you want some porridge? Call me.” Duanmu Chuze also tried this trick.
Xiao Zonghua glanced at him, then turned his face away, looking at Mu Xinnuan with a cute expression, "Mom!" and pointed to the dishes on the table.
Mu Xin Nuan chuckled, "Our baby wants to eat vegetables, not drink porridge, right?"
As she spoke, she fed him another bite.
Duanmu Chuze was displeased, but he patiently said, "My dear son, come on, have some porridge, come on, call me Dad."
Xiao Zonghua glanced at him, then looked at his mother. There was nothing he could do; if she didn't drink the porridge, it seemed she wouldn't get any vegetables.
"father."
He finally managed to utter a sound, which delighted Duanmu Chuze.
The Emperor and Empress were naturally very pleased with the meal.
They couldn't even remember the last time they were this happy!
Their grandparents are naturally happy that their grandson is so smart.
The Crown Prince laughed too, “Little Zonghua, come here, try calling me Uncle.”
Perhaps it was because the title was a bit difficult, or perhaps it was because it was the first time he had met the Crown Prince, so Xiao Zonghua was very disrespectful and refused to address him.
Just as they were about to finish eating, Xiao Zonghua suddenly called out "Weng" to the Emperor.
At this, the emperor's chopsticks trembled slightly. In common parlance, there are many ways to address one's grandfather, such as "gong" or "taigong," and some people simply call him "weng."
Seeing Xiao Zonghua looking at him expectantly, the Emperor was incredibly excited.
"Is my grandson calling me?"
In his excitement, he even forgot to refer to himself as "朕" (the imperial "I").
Xiao Zonghua tilted his head and smacked his lips. Duanmu Chuze whispered, "You can call him Grandfather. Come on, say it with your father, Grandfather."
Xiao Zonghua looked at Duanmu Chuze intently for a while before speaking, "Waiting for the old man (Grandpa)."
Although his pronunciation was unclear, the taste was definitely right.
The Emperor was overjoyed. "Good! Good! My dear grandson is so clever. Guards, reward him!"
"Thank you, Father."
The Crown Princess was furious. How could this child be so clever?
Or is this some kind of monster?
How did he come to be called Taigong?
Although his pronunciation isn't very accurate, he's only eight months old. How can you expect him to pronounce "earth" perfectly?
The Crown Prince was also pleased and raised his cup, saying, "Come, Fourth Brother, my nephew is so intelligent, which is clearly inseparable from your teachings. I toast you, brother."
"Thank you, brother. Please."
The two drank several cups of wine heartily, and the emperor felt much more at ease seeing the harmonious relationship between the brothers.
"Mother, mother."
Perhaps because he had just received a lot of praise and saw the adults' smiling faces, Xiao Zonghua guessed that as long as he spoke, the adults would be happy. So, later on, it was even easier for him to call out.
The Crown Princess returned to the East Palace in a foul mood.
The Crown Prince went directly to the Imperial Study.
Originally, Mu Xin Nuan was going to take the child to He Xuan to rest, but for some reason, the Emperor sent Duanmu Chu Ze and her to He Xuan together, leaving Aunt Fang behind, while he and the Empress personally took the child to Kun Ning Palace for a midday rest.
The Crown Princess had just returned to the Eastern Palace when she heard the news, and she was furious!