5355

Chapter 5355: Affection

The next morning, Qiao Mu was awakened by the noisy sounds in the courtyard. She looked up at the bed curtains, then glanced at the bright sunlight streaming through the window, guessing it must be already late morning. Recently, her sleepiness had become more severe, but every time she felt her pulse, there was nothing wrong. Not only was there nothing wrong, but her body was as healthy as a young calf. Every three days, she would take a Body Strengthening Pill, and the imperial physicians would line up to take her pulse three times a day—morning, noon, and evening—and each time she was perfectly healthy, so much so that everyone envied her.

Yet, despite such a flawless body, she was incredibly sleepy every day. Especially lately, she would fall asleep at fixed times... She had to be asleep by 9 PM sharp every night and wouldn't wake up until 9 AM the next day. When awake, she was full of vigor, capable of killing an ox across a mountain, looking energetic and perfectly fine in every way. But in the afternoon, at a certain hour, she would have to sleep again, waking up around 3 PM to move around and eat... At 7 PM, she would inevitably climb into bed to sleep. It was this comical, repetitive cycle.

Lady Qiao Qiao calculated for herself that, excluding time for eating and washing, she was probably only awake for an hour in the afternoon... No wonder the numerous palace maids and eunuchs around her all looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy, tense and anxious. It was simply that their Crown Princess slept too much.

However, the Crown Prince, who always doted on the Crown Princess, was not as nervous this time. He just looked at his wife's... belly with an indescribable gaze.

Qiao Mu slowly got out of bed. As she looked up, she saw Cai Xiu pushing the door open and rushing towards her. "Crown Princess, how did you get down by yourself?"

Lady Qiao Qiao expressionlessly stroked her belly, then lightly bounced. "Don't look at my big belly; actually, I feel as light as a swallow right now, and I can create wind when I walk."

Cai Xiu silently lowered her head, her lips twitching involuntarily. Her movements, however, were not slow; she had already gone to support the little Crown Princess. "Crown Princess, please allow this servant to help you with your ablutions."

The little stoic asked casually, "Why is it so noisy outside?"

Cai Xiu smiled, pursing her lips. "The Crown Prince has brought the Master and Madam, and the Second Master and Second Madam's family, to the East Palace."

"His Highness means that the New Year is approaching. Your body is getting heavier, and it's inconvenient for you to travel, so he brought everyone over. They will stay in the palace and celebrate the New Year together."

The little stoic's eyes brightened, but she pouted charmingly and mumbled softly, "He's just being meddlesome."

Cai Qi, who had just walked over, heard this and quickly suppressed her laughter, saying, "When this servant came over just now, I saw Miss Lin'er pulling a few young palace maids, playing touhu (pitch-pot game)."

"It seems Miss Lin'er won big."

The little stoic responded with an "oh," putting on a small expression of "I'm not too interested," but her feet involuntarily moved towards the door.

Cai Xiu hurriedly smiled and stopped her. "Crown Princess, please allow this servant to do your hair before you go out."

"Mm-hmm," Cai Qi also said, "You also need to change your clothes."

Only then did the little stoic realize that in her excitement, she had almost gone out without combing her hair or tidying her clothes. So, she reluctantly stopped, nodded, and said seriously, "Bring the red one."

The Crown Princess indeed had many red battle robes. Recently, due to her growing belly, she had also ordered the Imperial Garment Bureau to rush a batch of new clothes.