Ji An stopped abruptly halfway when he saw Jiang Yun lying on Sui Heng’s shoulders. Although they had already cleaned up briefly, their clothes were clearly not so neat, and the end of Jiang Yun’s hair still carried a hint of dampness.
He suddenly realized something and quickly lowered his head.
Although the two were already married, it was always embarrassing to come out of the council hall in such a state. Jiang Yun immediately wanted to go down, but Sui Heng refused to let go and just asked Ji An, “What’s going on?”
“The old servant is not sure either. Xiao Huangsun is itching badly and is now awake.” Ji An is reporting the situation.
Not until they climbed up the stairs and reached the entrance of the bedchamber did Sui Heng willing to put Jiang Yun off his back and instructed Ji An to go and prepare clean clothes.
How can Ji An not understand? He said yes and hurriedly went to prepare it himself.
Jiang Yun bit his lips and looked at him. “You’re not allowed to do this in the future.”
Fortunately, it was the people in this courtyard who saw them. If they had bumped into someone outside, he would really be too ashamed to see people.
Sui Heng folded his arms and said with a smile, “Your Highness Rongyu, look at your thin skin. We are already married. Not to mention that no one has seen us, even if someone really does, who dares to talk?”
“You still say.”
“Fine, Gu won’t say it.”
He said, “Let’s go look at that little thing first.”
Sui Heng reached out and couldn’t help but scratch Jiang Yun’s pretty nose.
The two of them entered the room, and the little boy was indeed sitting on the small bed with tearful eyes. His nightgown was mostly off, and his exposed back and armpits were sporadically covered with a few red rashes.
Xiao Huangsun is in good health and rarely gets sick on weekdays. It makes the palace attendants very nervous when he suddenly has rashes. After all, babies at this age have poor resistance, and once they are involved in things like rashes and acne, it is a major issue that cannot be ignored.
Two palace attendants were comforting the little one and telling him that he should not scratch the rashes with his hands. The little one’s eyes were red, and he was obviously still frightened by the strange itch on his back.
“Father!”
As soon as he saw Sui Heng and Jiang Yun return, the little dumpling’s eyes lit up. He immediately rolled out of bed and rushed towards Jiang Yun, but was intercepted by Sui Heng halfway.
Sui Heng directly picked up the little thing and placed him on the big bed.
The little dumpling looked at Jiang Yun with grievances and wanted to climb onto him.
Jiang Yun went to change his clothes before coming over and carefully examining the rashes on the little one’s back with Sui Heng. Small red lumps, only the size of a needle tip, mostly concentrated in the chest, back, and armpits. Sui Heng hesitated and said, “Could it be prickly heat?”
At present, it is hot and humid, and it is easy to sweat when sleeping at night. If not wiped and cleaned in time, it can clog pores and easily cause prickly heat.
Not to mention young children, even Sui Heng, who used to march and fight in July and August in the past, exposed to the field all day long, were often smothered in prickly heat because of the thick military uniforms.
“Prickly heat?”
The little dumpling seemed to have heard some terrible words, opened his eyes wide, and with a snap, a tearful bean came out.
Jiang Yun frowned, unsure.
It is also possible to get this red rash because of allergies triggered by accidental ingestion of food, accidental exposure to pollen, or even exposure to something unclean.
Different etiologies lead to vastly different treatment methods.
“Is it still itching?”
Jiang Yun asked.
The little dumpling immediately nodded pitifully.
Itchy.
Very itchy.
Sui Heng stood up, “It’s alright, it’s a small problem. Gu has experience with this matter, so Gu takes him to wash up. You can rest first.”
Sui Heng picked the little troublemaker up and walked towards the bathroom.
Jiang Yun said anxiously, “Are you sure?”
“Don’t worry, it’s very simple, wash him with mugwort water and apply some bitter melon juice, and it will be gone by tomorrow.”
Jiang Yun still followed.
He could not be of any help, so he just crouched aside and watched Sui Heng being busy.
Mugwort is something that is often used at this time of year. It can be used for mosquitoes and promote health by soaking in baths. After drying in the sun, it can also be used for moxibustion. It is naturally kept in the Crown Prince’s mansion and is all picked from the imperial gardens of the palace as high-quality mugwort leaves.
Ji An and Gao Gong also suspected that he had prickly heat, but Xiao Huangsun had a noble status, and no matter how small the illness was, it was not something they could easily judge. Therefore, to be cautious, Ji An reported to Sui Heng and Jiang Yun as soon as possible.
With instructions from Sui Heng, Ji An quickly had someone prepare a large bucket of mugwort water at a suitable temperature.
Sui Heng tested the water temperature, put the little troublemaker in the bathtub, and began to skillfully bathe him. The little boy was wilting, but once he got in the tub and his skin got wet, the rash on his back and armpits didn’t itch as much. His spirit immediately improved.
“Bubbles.”
The little boy waved his little hand and stared at a beautifully patterned box on the nearby shower rack eagerly.
“Bubbles?”
Jiang Yun wondered.
The little boy nodded heavily and shyly said, “Want bubbles.”
Jiang Yun followed the little boy’s gaze and saw that box.
Jiang Yun naturally realized that it was a box containing bath beans1It is a powder used by ancient Chinese folk for washing..
Sui Heng specially brought it back from the palace a while ago, claiming that it was a new tribute from the northern Hu people because it added a local characteristic essential oil and medicinal flowers. It had a peculiar fragrance, a better cleaning effect than ordinary bath beans.
Using bath beans to bathe the body can indeed make the skin smoother, but what does that have to do with bubbles?
“Bubbles!”
The little dumpling couldn’t wait to hint at another father with his eyes.
Sui Heng solemnly said, “Can’t have bubbles today.” The little dumpling immediately pulled down his ears in displeasure.
Jiang Yun looked at these two people strangely and asked Sui Heng, “What kind of bubble?”
“Father, scrub bubbles!”
The little dumpling rushed to answer as soon as possible, trying to seize the opportunity to have bubbles.
Jiang Yun suddenly understood something and chuckled lightly at the corner of his mouth.
Sui Heng caught it the first time, his eyes narrowing lightly as he asked, “Why are you laughing?”
Jiang Yun looked at him with a smile on his face, “To be able to scrub the bath beans into bubbles should take a lot of effort.”
Sui Heng snorted coldly.
Although bath beans are bathing products, but aristocratic children value etiquette. They bathe almost every day, regardless of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Compared to cleaning, bath beans have a greater function of fumigation and fragrance. Most of the time, they are soaked in water and gently applied to the skin, and very few people rub them hard.
Only when there is a lot of sweat and mud on the body will it be vigorously rubbed and used as a cleaning product.
This nasty piece of work is laughing at him.
Sui Heng deliberately leaned closer and raised his eyebrows, saying, “Rongyu, don’t you know that even if you don’t have mud on your body, you can still scrub bubbles out of a bath bean?”
“How about Gu give you a try later?”
Jiang Yun couldn’t help but understand the shameless and vulgar meaning contained in these words.
Jiang Yun immediately moved away from him.
Sui Heng pulled back and laughed, saying, “It’s no use hiding. Don’t you dare laugh at Gu. When you take a bath in the future, Gu will scrub bubbles for you every day.”
The little dumpling looked at his two fathers and felt even more aggrieved.
Father is only willing to scrub bubbles for Father, but he doesn’t scrub bubbles for him.
Wuwu.
“Bubbles.”
The little one struggled and spoke again.
Sui Heng took a bath towel and skillfully pulled the little troublemaker out of the water, tightly wrapping it around him. He said, “You still to to scrub bubbles, scrubbing mud is more likely.”
After taking a bath and wiping the little one clean, the imperial physician has also arrived. After checking him, the imperial physician confirmed that Xiao Huangsun had indeed developed prickly heat, so he prescribed a kind of talcum powder specially used to eliminate prickly heat and asked the palace attendants to evenly apply it to the areas on Xiao Huangsun’s body where he was prone to sweating before Xiao Huangsun went to bed.
Both of them are here today, so naturally they don’t need the palace attendants.
Sui Heng refused to let Jiang Yun move, he took the powder and skillfully applied it all over the little troublemaker’s chest, back, armpits, and other areas. Jiang Yun was also enjoying his leisure time and sat inside, watching them being busy while holding the booklet of The Eight Immortals crossing the sea and reading the story to the little boy.
After Sui Heng finished applying, the little boy also fell asleep on the pillow.
The window in the room was open, and a cool breeze blew in. Jiang Yun closed the book and wiped away the powder that accidentally touched the corner of the little boy’s mouth. Sui Heng had already brought another basin of hot water over.
Jiang Yun asked, “What are you doing?”
Sui Heng replied, “This little thing has already washed, Gu will also wipe your body.”
Jiang Yun naturally knew what he was referring to and couldn’t help feeling a bit embarrassed, saying, “Why don’t we go to the bathroom instead?”
Sui Heng finds it funny.
“Don’t worry, Gu won’t startle this little guy.”
He directly extended his arms and carried Jiang Yun outside, busy with his hands and feet. Jiang Yun sat on the edge of the bed, leisurely looking at him, taking care of the whole family all night, and was still energetic without any signs of fatigue. He couldn’t help but wrap his arms around his neck and gently kiss him.
Xiao Jiang Nuo’s situation has attracted attention from everywhere.
Although it was just a small matter of prickly heat, it was a significant event that could not be ignored when it reached Emperor Sui and Empress Yan’s ears. Empress Yan personally came to the Crown Prince’s mansion and called Ji An and Gao Gong to inquire in detail about the recent food, drink, and daily life of her obedient grandson.
“Why did he get prickly heat when everything was fine? Did you not put enough ice in the ice basin at night? Or did you forget to burn moxa and let mosquitoes fly in? And there is also the bedding used on Nuo Nuo’s small bed. How many times has Bengong said that it must be made of pure cotton material that is easy to absorb sweat, never silk or other fabrics? And that veil. Didn’t Bengong ask people to bring a soft veil last time? Did you guys forget to replace it for the little boy?”
“Also, elk antler soup is a great tonic and should not be consumed at night. If possible, let the nannies breastfeed a few more times. They’re too busy with work and don’t know anything about raising kid, so you guys need to pay more attention.”
Empress Yan thoroughly questioned and reprimanded, and also specially left behind two elderly and experienced momo who were capable of raising children to help take care of her obedient grandson.
Emperor Sui also bestowed many small toys to make the little boy happy.
The Marquis Duan’s mansion in Dongzhou quickly sent over a whole large box of the latest style of mechanism birds.
Xiao Junwang, Sui Zhang, has been feeling very frustrated lately because Xiao Nuo Nuo still refuses to talk to him. The last time he ran into him at the palace, he ignored him as well.
At a young age, Sui Zhang was already accompanied by five or six noble sons of the same age, some of whom came from the families of military officials and others from the families of civil officials, carefully selected by Lan Guifei. Their main task was to accompany Xiao Junwang in studying and practicing martial arts. Xiao Junwang, Sui Zhang, was known for his martial prowess and combativeness, but Lan Guifei still hoped that her grandson could become a talented person with both literary and military abilities.
Nowadays, this group of companions has basically become Xiao Junwang’s followers.
Seeing Xiao Junwang sigh all day long, a disciple of the Lan family who had always been close to him asked, “What’s bothering Junwang? May we share Junwang’s burden?”
“Nuo Nuo ignored this county king.”
“If any of you have a way to make Nuo Nuo talk to this county king, this county king will promote you to the position of Grand Assistant Reader.”
Accompanying students also need to be ranked based on their seniority, especially noble children at this age who love to compete for priority. As everyone knows, the “Nuo Nuo” in Xiao Junwang’s mouth refers to the little Crown Prince of the Crown Prince Mansion and is the other little grandson of His Majesty, who indulges in spoiled things.
Everyone began to express their opinions on various topics.
The little young masters of the civil service officials’ families are very afraid of this sturdy Xiao Junwang, who fights with them all day. They are not very bold to speak, while the children of the military officials’ families are much bolder.
One person directly said, “How about the hero save the beauty?”
Sui Zhang asked what it meant.
The person chuckled and said, “We can find someone to pretend to be a thug and bully Nuo Nuo. At the critical moment, Xiao Junwang rushed out single-handedly and repelled the thugs. The Little Crown Prince will definitely forgive Xiao Junwang.”
Sui Zhang said no.
Nuo Nuo is much stronger than him, where does he need him to save him?
After talking for a long time, there was no practical solution, but in the end, a little young master from a civil service official’s family whispered, “I heard my father say that the Little Crown Prince has been in labor for the past two days. How about Xiao Junwang finding something that can dispel prickly heat? The little Crown Prince will definitely be happy.”
The teenagers also want the Xiao Junwang and the Little Crown Prince to reconcile quickly because the Crown Prince’s mansion not only has divine cranes to see but also the latest mechanism birds from the Qi capital to play with.
Sui Zhang’s eyes lit up, and he immediately jumped down the steps and said, “That’s it. Check it out quickly. What can relieve itching? If you find it out, you’ll get a lot of rewards!”
The next day, Xiao Junwang, Sui Zhang sneaked into Lan Guifei’s bedroom and stroked a box on the dressing table. He rode his jujube-red horse to the Crown Prince’s mansion confidently.
Almost at the same time, Lan Guifei shouted in the palace, “Where is the pearl powder that Bengong asked the Imperial Medical to grind?”
