Song Chaoyu frowned and looked at the courtyard, a strange feeling arising in her heart.
Prince Ning, however, did not overthink it. He strode forward, rubbing his hands, about to enter the courtyard. "Excellent! She has given us, the Prince Ning's household, a little heir! Others are not allowed to see, but I finally can! Hurry and take this prince in, I want to see the little heir's appearance!"
"Waa—"
The child's cry from the room inexplicably made Song Chaoyu feel uneasy.
The midwife also walked towards Song Chaoyu, opened her mouth, and was about to speak.
Song Chaoyu frowned, "If you have something to say, just say it!"
The midwife whispered to Song Chaoyu, "When we were delivering the baby just now, at the moment the child was born, Princess Ning did not allow us to touch her. I feel that the child seems a bit unwell, but the maids and wet nurses brought by Princess Ning only took a hurried glance at the child before wrapping her up. Princess, I feel something is not right!"
Yes, even when guarding against them from Prince Chang's household, Song Chaoyu did not have this sense of unease.
She looked at the side courtyard and realized that Tiaohong had not yet come out.
She personally slipped a silver ingot to the midwife, "You have worked hard today. How about this, you take the wet nurses to rest first. When I give birth some days later, I will still need to trouble you all. Please do not speak of the matters here to others. Let it be known only to us, is that alright?"
"Alright."
This midwife was their own person and naturally obeyed Song Chaoyu, nodding repeatedly. "Please rest assured, Princess. Since you have said so, we will not speak a single word more. Princess, please also take care of your own health and do not overexert yourself."
"Hahaha!"
While they were talking outside, Prince Ning's hearty laughter also came from the courtyard. "Excellent, this is truly excellent! You have given birth to an heir for this prince, and from now on, our Prince Ning's household will have descendants! Even if this prince has wronged you in the past, this prince will surely compensate you in the future!"
Now that Prince Ning was overjoyed with his beloved son, he naturally spoke this way.
Song Chaoyu said to Qiuhong behind her, "If they wish to leave, prepare their belongings for them. Our Prince Chang's household will not stop them, do you understand what I mean?"
Qiuhong nodded. Not long after, Mu Hansu indeed walked out of the side courtyard.
Song Chaoyu smiled and stepped forward, nodding slightly to him. "Congratulations to His Highness Prince Ning on the birth of his beloved son."
Prince Ning's eyes were filled with smiles, and his gaze fell to Song Chaoyu's swollen abdomen. "Congratulations to you as well. It is thanks to the good midwives and attendants from Princess Chang's household that my Princess Ning was not harmed. Thank you, Princess Chang!"
Song Chaoyu waved her hand and craned her neck to look into the courtyard. "Are the child and the mother both safe? What are your plans? Will you be moving today?"
"We will move."
Leaving Song Yanjiao and the newborn child in Prince Chang's household was something Mu Hansu could not feel at ease about. "Prince Chang's household is good, but Jiao'er feels more at ease returning to her own home. Moreover, Prince Chang is still in a coma, and you are pregnant yourself, so it is inconvenient for us to disturb you further. We only hope that you too will give birth safely in the future, and then the capital will truly be lively."
Song Chaoyu nodded and did not stop them. "Since that is the case, Brother Prince Ning must remember to report to His Majesty the Emperor early."
They exchanged pleasantries, and then Song Chaoyu watched Prince Ning depart.
A moment later, the courtyard was empty.
Prince Ning's servants and attendants cleaned up the courtyard, thus giving Prince Chang's household a sense of closure.
However...
Looking at the empty courtyard, Song Chaoyu frowned and asked the people around her, "Has anyone seen Tiaohong?"
The maids and servants inside and outside the courtyard all shook their heads. "We saw Sister Tiaohong come in earlier, but then she disappeared. We don't know where she went."
Since this girl would not run around, Song Chaoyu did not ask further.
She simply entered her own room and saw Mu Changxi already sitting up and looking at her. "How is it?"
Song Chaoyu smiled. "Indeed, she gave birth to a son. Although it was not an easy birth and she has harmed her body, this son of Princess Ning has secured her position in Prince Ning's household. No one will dare to question her anymore."
Mu Changxi sat up and then took Song Chaoyu's hand. "Is it time? Now that Mu Hansu has the heir in hand, he will likely make his move. If I do not wake up soon, I will not be able to protect our Prince Chang's household."
Song Chaoyu understood Mu Changxi's thoughts and nodded. "Alright, it is finally an opportunity. I will tell Father tomorrow morning that you have woken up."
Mu Changxi smiled and embraced her, their hearts in sync.
—
By evening, Tiaohong returned from outside.
As soon as she hurried into the courtyard, she was chided by Qiuhong. "Where did you run off to, you girl? You were nowhere to be seen for half the day, and the Princess has been looking for you!"
Tiaohong's expression, however, grew more serious. She entered the room and walked towards Song Chaoyu. "Princess, something big has happened!"
"Oh?"
Before Song Chaoyu could say anything, Mu Changxi suddenly sat up straight as if energized, looking helpless. "It's a pity I can only wake up tomorrow, otherwise, I would really like to go and see what great event has made Tiaohong so serious."
Tiaohong, who usually loved to joke, was unusually serious today. "Princess, please come with me!"
Even Mu Changxi stopped smiling. He nodded to Song Chaoyu, making her feel increasingly uneasy.
Song Chaoyu, along with Qiuhong and Xiao Ruizhi, followed Tiaohong out of the door.
Tiaohong then said, "Didn't you ask me to watch the people brought by Princess Ning? I discovered that when the childbirth reached its final stage, they pushed away our midwives and wet nurses and instead used their own people, which made me feel something was unusual. So I did not alert them and just followed them, and indeed, I found out they were so bold!"
Tiaohong said that they had been careful in their actions.
However, this was Prince Chang's household, and they had come in a hurry. No matter how careful they were, they could not escape Tiaohong's eyes.
So Tiaohong followed them, dodging the sight of the servants and maids, and went to the backyard. She then watched them, holding a tightly wrapped bundle, leave through the back door.
As they spoke, Song Chaoyu followed them to the back door.
In her heart, she already understood a little. "Could she, Song Yanjiao, be so bold as to abandon her own newborn child?"
Tiaohong sighed and then gestured for Song Chaoyu to get into a waiting carriage. "Princess, please come with me! What she dared to do is far more serious than you can imagine! She is simply unworthy of being human!"
To make Tiaohong so angry, Song Chaoyu became even more curious about what exactly Song Yanjiao had done.
—
The carriage traveled towards the outskirts of the city. If Song Chaoyu remembered correctly, that direction led towards the moat.
Indeed, after leaving the city, Tiaohong pointed to Bianxi, which was connected to the moat. "I personally saw those two old women place the baby's bundle in a basket and throw it into this stream! If I hadn't been quick-witted, such a young child would have drowned in this stream!"