Chương 760: Liu Chen and Liu Ce make a small wooden horse

She walked on tiptoe and spoke in a low voice, afraid of disturbing the Crown Princess.

The thresholds of the palace were all covered with soft cloth, just in case the Crown Princess accidentally tripped and fell.

The paths in the yard are swept clean, and you can't find a single pebble. They are watered three times a day, and there's not a speck of dust.

Even the flowers in the East Palace Garden were specially moved. The thorny roses and other roses were all removed and replaced with gentle osmanthus, orchids, and jasmine, for fear that the fragrance would be too strong and would irritate people, or that it would prick the Crown Princess.

Empress Cai Yan was even more concerned about it every day, more so than when she herself was pregnant.

Every day, they send people to deliver things. Today it's the best bird's nest in the palace, and tomorrow it's a newly made loose-fitting dress. The day after tomorrow, they've sent two experienced old nannies who have served concubines during childbirth to keep a close eye on the Crown Princess's diet and daily life.

She would visit the East Palace every few days, chat with Xu Jingxian, recount the amusing stories of her pregnancy with the Crown Prince, and give her various instructions, fearing that Xu Jingxian, being young and naive, might tire herself out.

Liu Ce would also occasionally bestow gifts upon the Eastern Palace, such as pearls from the South China Sea, warm jade from the Western Regions, and the finest ginseng, which were sent to the Eastern Palace in a continuous stream.

He also specifically instructed the Royal Hospital to send someone to the Eastern Palace every day to check on the patient's pulse, with Hua Tuo and Zhang Zhongjing taking turns on duty. Any slight disturbance should be reported immediately, and no negligence was allowed.

If anything were to happen to the Crown Princess and the Imperial Grandson, everyone would be in deep trouble.

The entire palace, from top to bottom, revolved around the unborn child in the Crown Princess's belly.

They treated it like it was a precious treasure.

Once, Liu Ce passed by the East Palace and heard the sound of sawing wood in the courtyard, accompanied by flying sawdust.

He was quite puzzled, wondering what the Eastern Palace was doing, building houses?

Upon entering, one would see Liu Chen squatting on the ground, sweating profusely as he sawed a piece of wood. Beside him lay a pile of wood shavings, a small hammer, and small nails, with sawdust scattered all over the ground.

His clothes and face were covered in sawdust, as if he had just rolled out of a pile of sawdust.

"What are you doing?" Liu Ce asked curiously, walking over with his hands behind his back.

Why did he give up being a proper crown prince to become a carpenter on the ground?

Liu Chen looked up and saw his father. He scratched his head a little embarrassedly, his face still covered in sawdust, making him look rather silly.

"I want to make a little rocking horse for my child. When he is born, he can ride it and play with it."

I asked around, and they say babies can ride a rocking horse when they're six months old. I'll make it in advance so it can be used then.

Liu Ce went over to take a look and saw that the wood was sawn crookedly, one side was higher than the other, and the horse's head was sawn flat, looking like a crooked-necked duck.

He couldn't help but laugh, and he didn't hold back in his criticism:

"This isn't a rocking horse, it's firewood! With your skills, even a child would fall apart if they sat on it, and what if my grandson falls and gets hurt?"

"It's not that bad," Liu Chen retorted, unconvinced.

"I followed the blueprints; I'm just not very skilled. I'll get better with practice."

Besides, my son will definitely like what I made by hand. As long as it's sturdy, it doesn't matter if it looks nice or not.

Looking at his son's clumsy yet earnest demeanor, Liu Ce suddenly recalled the time when he had just become a father.

At that time, Liu Chen had just been born, and he also wanted to make a small wooden car for his son so that the child could sit and play.

As a result, after staying up all night for three days, the little wooden car he made was crooked and twisted. After pushing it for two days, the wheel fell off, causing Xiao Liu Chen to fall on his bottom and cry for a long time.

Cai Yan felt sorry for him for a long time and scolded him for several days, saying that he was using the child as a guinea pig.

Thinking of this, his heart softened, and he rolled up his sleeves and squatted down as well.

"Alright, I'll teach you a couple of tricks. Back in my day..."

Before he could finish speaking, he heard Empress Cai Yan's laughter behind him, slow and teasing:

"Husband, please don't teach him. The little wooden cart you made for Chen'er back then only lasted two days before the wheels fell off, and the child even cried from the fall. How dare you teach others?"

I think you two are equally bad at this; don't make the Trojan horse fall apart.

The father and son exchanged a glance, both seeing embarrassment in each other's eyes, and then laughed simultaneously.

Liu Ce coughed, trying to save face: "That's because conditions were poor back then, and the tools weren't good. Now we have all the tools we need, so it's definitely different."

That's what he said, but his hands betrayed him as he picked up the saw and started figuring it out with his son.

That afternoon, the emperor and the crown prince squatted in the courtyard of the East Palace, pondering over a piece of wood for a whole hour.

You saw a bit, I planed a bit, and every now and then we'd have a little argument...

"Father, the horse's head needs to be pointed a bit more, otherwise it won't look good."

"Why pointy? Round toes are safer. What if the child bumps into something? Listen to me, round ones."

"The legs have to be the same length, look, this side is shorter."

"It's okay, just put a pad on it and it won't stop you from riding."

The father and son were clumsy, and sawdust flew all over them, their faces covered in white wood chips, making them look like two snowmen.

The palace maids and eunuchs nearby wanted to help but didn't dare, their faces turning red from holding back their laughter.

Finally, we managed to piece together a crooked little wooden horse. Although it looked a bit ugly, with its head tilted and its four legs of slightly different lengths, and it wobbled a bit, it was sturdy enough to move forward two steps with a push.

Liu Chen happily placed the wooden horse in the Crown Princess's bedroom, facing her belly, as if talking to the child:

"Son, this is something your father and grandfather made together for you. When you come out, your father will take you to ride the rocking horse."

"When you grow up, Dad will make you an even bigger one and take you horseback riding in the countryside."

Xu Jingxian looked at the crooked, ugly-cute little wooden horse and laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight, clutching her stomach as she said:

"My husband, you and Father are amazing. This wooden horse is one of a kind; the child will definitely love it."

"That's right, I made it myself." Liu Chen looked smug, as if he had done something great.

As evening fell, the setting sun painted the sky a warm orange hue, and the sweet fragrance of osmanthus blossoms filled the entire courtyard.

Liu Chen accompanied Xu Jingxian on a slow walk in the courtyard, his steps extremely deliberate, and he carefully supported her arm with one hand, afraid that she might fall.

Xu Jingxian gently placed her hand on her lower abdomen, her eyes as tender as water.

"Husband, tell me, is it a boy or a girl?" she asked softly, with a hint of curiosity.

Liu Chen looked down at her; the setting sun cast a soft, almost unreal glow on her face. He smiled and said:

"Boys or girls are fine. If it's a boy, I'll teach him horseback riding, archery, and how to govern the country, so that he can become a good emperor like his father."

If it were a girl, I would spoil her and make her the happiest princess in the world, and no one would be allowed to bully her.

"Let's have seven or eight more, then the palace will be lively and full of life, and the Crown Prince's palace won't be empty."

"What are you saying?" Xu Jingxian blushed and lightly punched him.

"Who wants to have seven or eight children?"

Liu Chen chuckled and helped her walk slowly forward, their shadows stretched long by the setting sun, nestled together.

Not far away, under the eaves, Liu Ce and Cai Yan stood side by side, looking at the young couple's backs and smiling at each other.

Cai Yan sighed softly, "Time flies. Looking at them reminds me of when we first had Chen'er. We were just like that, eagerly anticipating his birth every day."

In the blink of an eye, Chen'er is about to become a father.

Liu Ce nodded, gazing at the sunset on the horizon, a smile playing on his lips, his tone full of satisfaction:

"Yes. Life is getting better and better, and the country is passed down from generation to generation, life goes on and on."

Just wait, in a few months we'll be able to hold the Emperor's grandson. We'll be busy then.

A gentle evening breeze swept by, carrying a few osmanthus petals that landed beside the little wooden horse in the yard.

One by one, the palace lanterns in the hall lit up, their warm yellow light illuminating two figures on the window paper, a scene both gentle and peaceful.

This vast empire of the Han Dynasty, accompanied by such joyous fireworks, has continued to flourish generation after generation.

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