Chapter 196: Is Xiao Fu Bao Disliked? The Whole City Loves Me With Their Lives
Chapter 196: In Life, Who Isn’t Greedy?
Prince Qi quickly picked up Feng Xuanrui in one arm and Feng Xuanbin in the other, preparing to take the kids back for dinner.
Suisui leaned against her mother’s shoulder, watching her fourth brother Feng Xuanjie’s eyes light up and then dim. She couldn’t help but ask softly, “Does Fourth Brother want Father to hold him too?”
Everyone was taken aback by Suisui’s words.
Upon hearing the little girl, the attention of the group instinctively turned toward Feng Xuanjie.
When he saw his father lift up the youngest two brothers, Feng Xuanjie had been thinking about whether his father would pick him up as well. Although he was already a big boy and a brother, at just over ten years old, he still yearned for his father’s affection and closeness.
However, after seeing his father only holding the smallest siblings, he felt an unavoidable pang of disappointment, even though he had been somewhat prepared for it.
Prince Qi probably hadn’t thought too deeply about it.
Reacting instinctively, he had lifted the two youngest children, but upon being pointed out by Suisui, he felt a mix of surprise and bemusement.
After realizing, he couldn’t help but chuckle, “You’re all good children; Father can hold you together.”
But holding them together was impossible.
After all, no matter how strong Prince Qi was, he couldn’t lift several children with just one arm.
So, he squatted down, hugging each child in turn before leading them toward the dining hall.
Dinner was quite lavish since the prince had returned to the residence, and preparations were in order.
Once everyone was seated, before they could start eating, Aunt Qiu walked in with a hesitant expression and whispered, “The maid from Concubine Che’s room said that Concubine Che isn’t feeling well and wants the prince to take a look.”
Everyone: …
Even a young child like Feng Xuanrui understood Concubine Che’s little schemes.
How should one put it?
It was really unrefined.
If it had been a few years ago, the young masters of the prince's residence might not have grasped such matters.
But over the past few years, the tactics of the concubines and favored maidservants had become increasingly lowbrow, making it so that the young masters grew up seeing a lot.
Aunt Qiu initially didn’t want to mention it, fearing that if Concubine Che truly had an issue, they might end up being blamed by Qi Wangfei.
So, after some hesitation, she decided to be honest.
Qi Wangfei, however, had a nonchalant attitude. She smiled and looked at Prince Qi, “Why don’t you go take a look, Your Highness? If there’s nothing wrong, you can return quickly; the boys still need their lessons.”
Prince Qi had just poured himself some water, arranged his sons, and was preparing to coax Suisui to feed him.
Then he heard Aunt Qiu come in saying Concubine Che was making a fuss.
Prince Qi wasn’t foolish; even if he had been naive in the past, over the years, he had seen enough tricks from the concubines to understand their schemes.
So, when Aunt Qiu mentioned it, Prince Qi immediately understood Concubine Che’s intentions.
Irritated, he waved his hand dismissively, “If she’s feeling unwell, she should see a Physician. I’m not a physician; what’s the point of going?”
After speaking, Prince Qi felt uneasy and stood up, striding outside. “Wait here; I’ll go speak to Qiao Zhi myself.”
As Prince Qi left, the young masters felt a bit disheartened. Their father had just returned to the residence after several days and hadn’t spent much time with them before he had to go tend to someone else.
Even the youngest, Feng Xuanbin, felt his eyes redden again.
Feng Xuanrui also felt a hint of disappointment in his heart, but over the years, he had learned to see things more clearly.
So, he quickly masked his sadness and turned to Suisui, saying, “Sister, today we have Dongpo pork and dried meat; they taste really good! After dinner, we can drink sweet cherry milk…”
Suisui hadn’t seen her brother for two days and missed him dearly.
Because of their father, she hadn’t had the chance to talk much with him earlier.
Now that she had the opportunity, she clung to Feng Xuanrui’s side, nodding as she listened, “When the time comes, I’ll drink half, and give you the bigger half!”
“No need, no need. We have plenty. But if my sister wants me to drink, I’ll have some too; your intentions are what matter most.”
The siblings chatted happily. Initially, Feng Xuanbin had reddened eyes, but now…
Hey?
Their father wasn’t staying, and now their sister was going to follow Sixth Brother too?
That wouldn’t do; he had to at least keep one of them!
Feng Xuanbin quickly squeezed in closer, and Feng Xuanbo didn’t give an inch either.
The children huddled together, momentarily forgetting about their meal.
Qi Wangfei didn’t stop them; she just asked Aunt Qiu to keep an eye on things.
If the prince went to see Concubine Che, they could simply start eating.
There was no reason to wait for him to comfort the women in the back courtyard while a room full of people went hungry.
Prince Qi had just enjoyed a few moments with the children when he was interrupted, and his mood wasn’t very good.
Qiao Zhi was initially happy to see the prince come out.
Having her master favored by the main family made them, as servants, feel some pride.
However, before her smile could fully blossom, she heard Prince Qi coldly say, “If she’s unwell, she should see a Physician. If there’s nothing wrong, she should stop being so dramatic. Don’t corrupt my daughters; let Che Shi calm down and stop causing trouble.”
After saying this, Prince Qi turned and went back inside.
He had been thinking of checking on his sons’ lessons and wanted to hold Suisui to feed her.
He hadn’t had the chance to feed his own daughter yet, but Suisui was just so endearing to him.
In that moment, Prince Qi realized that in life, who isn’t greedy?
Not wanting one thing leads to wanting another.
Like him; he wanted both a biological daughter and Suisui.
Reflecting on this, he couldn’t help but smile and tease himself, “Ah, being greedy is not good~”
Qiao Zhi didn’t expect the prince to say such things.
Moreover, he didn’t even try to avoid the audience when he spoke.
The servants outside, busy with cleaning in the courtyard and those in Qi Wangfei’s quarters, were all listening in.
With the prince being so direct, Qiao Zhi couldn’t help but wonder how Concubine Che would fare in the residence from now on…
Unless she had good news, like being pregnant with a daughter.
Otherwise, after receiving such a cold treatment from the prince, how would she survive?
The problem was…
Concubine Che could never possibly get pregnant!
Thinking of this, Qiao Zhi suppressed the darkness in her eyes, thinking to herself: No, tonight, she had to come up with a reason to go out!
As for how Concubine Che reacted to Prince Qi’s words, Prince Qi didn’t concern himself with that.
All he knew was that personally feeding his daughter was a joyful and happy experience.
He was nearly uncontrollable!
If Suisui hadn’t been able to eat much, he would have loved for her to try everything!
In the end, Suisui left the table feeling full. If it weren’t for Qi Wangfei’s persuasion, Prince Qi would have wanted to feed her more.
Eventually, realizing the little girl genuinely couldn’t eat anymore, he worried she might overindulge.
After dinner, Prince Qi held the child, gently rubbing Suisui’s belly.
His technique wasn’t great, having learned it temporarily from Physician Liu.
However, Prince Qi was incredibly patient as he rubbed.
From time to time, he would ask, “Is it uncomfortable?”
“Is it heavy?”
“Do you feel any better?”
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