Chapter 704: Little Stone 2 (1/2)

Chu Lian laid back down in bed and looked up at He Changdi, “Hubby, what nickname should we give the little guy?”

“Whatever you like.” He Changdi tugged the blankets over her and poured some honey water for her. He fed it to her carefully.

Chu Lian was in high spirits over the nickname. It was rare to get this chance, so she definitely wanted to give their son a fun and interesting nickname.

Actually, she still hasn’t rested enough. Once she finished her lunch and drank some nourishing soup, she drifted back to sleep.

When He Changdi came out of the bedroom, he was met with the sight of Laiyue waiting anxiously outside.

Laiyue whispered something into He Changdi’s ear, immediately causing a change in his expression. He gathered Chu Lian’s servants together and handed down some orders with a cool face. After that, he went into the room to look at Chu Lian once more before hurriedly leaving with his men.

In the blink of an eye, Chu Lian had already been on bed rest for a week.

It was now the middle of December. The weather in the capital was getting colder and colder. The winter winds were like blades trying to pierce their way into the bodies of the people.

After a good rest over these seven days, Chu Lian could now get out of bed and walk a little with someone else’s support.

She wasn’t able to breastfeed Little Stone in the end, she just produced too little breast milk. Little Stone would only be able to have one or two mouthfuls before it ran out. Seeing that they couldn’t continue this way, she gave up and left Little Stone to the nursemaids.

Pebble was the little heir’s nickname, chosen by Chu Lian.

The little fellow was fierce and demanding when drinking milk. He wouldn’t stop until he had his fill and his cries were especially loud. Since his temper was as rough and hard as a rock, Chu Lian had called him Little Stone as a joke. The maidservants had joined her in calling the baby Little Stone, so Chu Lian decided to give him that nickname in the end.

During these seven days, Little Stone had finally grown out of that red, flushed skin that his parents had commented on and he had become a cute, fair and chubby baby.

It took about that much time of staring for Chu Lian to finally discern that he really did have some features where he resembled He Changdi, especially his nose and ears.

When he smiled, he looked absolutely like his father.

Senior Servant Zhong had the best understanding of this, as she had seen He Changdi when he was young. She would often joke that Little Stone was exactly the same as his father had been as a baby.

However, the happy and harmonious atmosphere in the rural estate couldn’t reach the hostile situation in the capital.

Although it was close to the end of the year, there was no air of celebration to be found anywhere in the capital.

The weather was desolate and the citizens were tense.

During the week that Chu Lian had been in confinement to recover from the birth, He Changdi hadn’t returned at all. He had only sent two letters back in secret.

From the contents of the letter and the tense atmosphere in the capital, Chu Lian could guess at how bad the situation was at court.

Every day, whenever she played with her son, she would be filled with worry for He Changdi.

On the sixteenth of December, Yuan Zhong’s army suddenly appeared outside the capital!

On the seventeenth of December, the news that the emperor was gravely ill spread from the palace!