Chapter 55.1

This carriage was much faster than the one Yaoniang used on the way here. Right before the sky turned dark, the group of people arrived at Jin Wang Manor.

Under the cover of darkness, Yaoniang went back to her small courtyard with Xiaobao.

The small courtyard appeared to have been arranged a long while ago. Xiaobao was arranged to stay in the room where Yuchan lived, which was next door to Yaoniang’s room. While they were still in the carriage, Yaoniang finally plucked up the courage to talk to Jin Wang about keeping her son by her side. Jin Wang had no objection to this, but his only condition was that Xiaobao could not live with Yaoniang.

Yaoniang had a tacit understanding of Jin Wang’s meaning. At least now, her son could finally stay by her side. In the future, she wouldn’t need to worry about Xiaobao while she worked in the residence.

The only issue was that Xiaobao's food would be a bit difficult to solve. Fortunately, Yuchan was not a random person. When Yuchan first came to the small courtyard, Yaoniang thought that Yuchan was here to serve the little princess. But after Jin Wang’s visits at night, it was Yuchan who cleaned up the mess. Only then did Yaoniang understand why Yuchan had come to the small courtyard.

Yaoniang had a plan. If she could feed her son, she would feed more. If worse comes to worst she would just drink some more milk soup in the future. If she wasn’t free in the evening, she would ask Yuchan for help to feed him some rice gruel or something. Anyway, Xiaobao was already at the age where he could start to eat some of that stuff.

Like so, Xiaobao settled down in the small courtyard as the son of Nanny Su.

This was unprecedented. There had never been a wet nurse who could take care of her own child while working as a servant. But Yaoniang was not any normal wet nurse after all. She cured the little princess of her nightly cries and won over the hearts of Mammy Mu, Jin Wang, and even Consort Jin. Now she is the head of the little princess’s wet nurses. It was likely that she would even become the little princess’s future Mammy. By then, her job wouldn’t be as simple as breastfeeding her.

It was said that Mammy Mu pitied Nanny Su for her tragic life, so she agreed to let the mother and son enter the residence together. Mammy Mu holds an unusual position in the mansion and has the power to do this.

After receiving the favour from above, it was reasonable to say that she would go to thank her. The next day, early in the morning, Yaoniang held Xiaobao and came to Mammy Mu’s residence to see her.

Nowadays, Mammy Mu has very little work to be done. She doesn't intervene in the affairs of the small courtyard. She designates it all to Yucui and Yuyan, and she rarely shows her face to others. Yaoniang couldn't help but guess what Mammy Mu was doing in her room all day. She learned that Mammy Mu spent most of the time in her room reciting Buddhist scriptures.

When Yaoniang arrived, Mammy Mu had just finished the ceremony. She was covered in the smell of sandalwood and was still holding a string of Buddhist beads in her hand. Mammy Mu was dressed in plain clothes.

She walked out of the small Buddha room in the back and sat down on the bed. Luyao brought over a basin of water to serve her. Mammy Mu took a sip of tea before she raised her head to look at Yaoniang.

"I’ve let Nanny Su wait for a long time. This has been an old habit of mine for many years. I always dilly-dally like this in the mornings." Her words indicated that she did not mean to look down on Yaoniang.

Yaoniang with Xiaobao in her arms bowed slightly, and said, "Mammy Mu, don't say that. It was Yaoniang who came at a bad time and disturbed you."

"Nanny Su, sit." Then she ordered Luyao, "Serve some tea."

Yaoniang sat down on the chair. Mammy Mu asked, "Nanny Su coming at this time is because—" 

Yaoniang was screaming in her heart. Mammy Mu most certainly already knew about herself and Jin Wang. To avoid embarrassment, Yaoniang acted according to protocol and said, "This servant is here to thank Mammy. Thank you, Mammy Mu, for sympathizing with this mother and son and for allowing Xiaobao to stay with this servant." 

Following Yaoniang’s words, Mammy Mu shifted her gaze to Xiaobao's face, who was lying in Yaoniang’s arms.

The child was born with a good-looking face and it was likely that he would be a handsome young man in the future. It’s unknown what kind of demeanour his parents had to be able to give birth to such a child. There was no need to mention Yaoniang's appearance, but this child did not resemble her. He most likely looks more like his father. It's a pity that his life is too bitter, that his father was gone before he was even born.

While Mammy Mu looked at Xiaobao, Xiaobao was also looking at her.

Xiaobao had a deep impression of Mammy Mu. Although she was only an old Mammy, she had a special status in the palace because of her extraordinary relationship with Father Emperor.

In Xiaobao's previous life, Mammy Mu had always treated him kindly. He had learned about his mother from her. Unfortunately, Mammy Mu wasn’t willing to go into further details. She said that there was no need for him to think so much and that he must maintain a peaceful mind and healthy body

She only mentioned his mother once, that his mother was a poor woman who lived a hard life.

Xiaobao still remembered Mammy Mu’s constant sighs and wringing wrists. Later, he learned that his mother was pregnant with his brother when she died. His father would order people to perform a ritual on the tenth day of the third month every year. There were two recipients for this ritual. One was called Su Yaoniang and the other was Erbao.

It took him a lot of effort to learn these two names from the eunuch who was in charge of the matter.

When Xiaobao came back to life again, this was the reason why he immediately decided that Yaoniang was his mother. There was only one person called Yaoniang beside his father. She could only be his mother.

Thinking of this, Xiaobao's eyes darkened involuntarily. Although his face was still pretending to be innocent and naive, his thoughts had long drifted away.

On the other hand, Mammy Mu looked more and more startled. She realized that Xiaobao looked a little like that person.

Back then, Mammy Mu had watched the birth of Jin Wang. Naturally, she still remembers what he looked like when he was still in his infancy. She felt that Xiaobao and Jin Wang as a baby were carved from the same mould.

Especially those long and narrow eyes. Those were the unique characteristics of the men from the Zhao Family. But when she thought about it again, all babies looked the same when they were young. They are all chubby, white and cute. She must have been muddle-headed to think that Nanny Su’s son and his highness looked alike when they were young.

Nanny Su was married. According to what she had heard, her dead husband was a street vendor.