According to tradition, the ceremony was held after lunch, and rural ceremonies were not as grandiose or complicated as those of famous aristocratic families, though the procedures were more or less the same.

First, an altar was set up in the living room outside the birthing room, where statues of deities such as Goddess Bi Xiao were placed for veneration.

Then, the elders, in order of seniority, would add a spoonful of clear water to a basin filled with a decoction of mugwort and other herbs, along with Gold, Silver, and Copper coins, red dates, peanuts, and other things, in a ritual known as 'Adding to the basin'.

Those who performed the 'bath thrice' rite would ordinarily utter auspicious phrases upon seeing this, but since Yang Mengchen didn't know what to say, Lady Luo spoke instead.

Finally, the person performing the 'bath thrice' rite stirred the basin with a small club while reciting auspicious words. Naturally, it was Yang Mengchen who did the stirring, while Lady Luo pronounced the good wishes, and then they started bathing the baby. If the baby caught a chill and cried, it was not considered taboo.

Instead, it was thought to be very auspicious, a sign known as the 'Resounding basin'.

With everything prepared, Yang Mengchen took Xiao Huaichen from Xiao Hongtao's arms, unwrapped his swaddling clothes, and carefully cradled his body. He began by washing the baby's head, then moved on to the waist, followed by other parts of the body (as taught by Lady Luo), while Lady Luo continued to speak auspicious phrases.

Throughout the process, Xiao Huaichen didn't cry or fuss; he even smiled at Yang Mengchen, exceedingly well-behaved and adorable, which amazed and elicited praise from everyone.

Taking a soft cloth, Yang Mengchen gently wiped off the medicinal water from Xiao Huaichen's body. He then laid him on the newly replaced swaddling cloth on the table, gently dressing him in a cotton outfit that he had sewn himself, which had been sterilized with herbs and emitted a faint fragrance.

After wrapping the baby up, he gently tapped a large green onion on the swaddle three times, symbolizing intelligence and wit—the word "intelligent" being a homophone for "onion" in Chinese. Finally, someone was asked to throw the onion onto the rooftop, wishing for the child to be exceptionally smart in the future.

With that, the 'bath thrice' ceremony was complete.

It was Xiao Yichen's turn next. The little rascal waved his tiny arms and legs energetically, his dark eyes 'fixed' on the bathing basin. Was he eager to play in the water or attracted by the basin's bright colors? Either way, he would not cooperate with the bathing, which made everyone laugh heartily.

The deep winter season made it clear that if they let Xiao Yichen continue to fuss, he would definitely catch a chill. So, Yang Mengchen feigned sternness and admonished him a few times. Perhaps sensing that Yang Mengchen was upset, Xiao Yichen turned his eyes toward him and smiled ingratiatingly.

Seeing that Yang Mengchen wasn't cajoling him as usual, he quickly calmed down but pouted and looked at Yang Mengchen with a 'woeful' gaze.

Yang Mengchen couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, not paying any more attention to Xiao Yichen and instead hastened to complete the 'bath thrice' ceremony, after which he handed him back to Sister Ke.

Upon seeing Yang Mengchen ignoring him, Xiao Yichen pouted and suddenly burst into loud wails.

Yang Mengchen immediately went to soothe Xiao Yichen with a gentle and quiet voice, while also checking on Xiao Huaichen, who was in Xiao Hongtao's arms. It was said that a younger brother learns by watching his older brother, and these two were quite the reverse. Only after Xiao Yichen had cried three times would Xiao Huaichen begin to cry.

True to form, Xiao Huaichen was now starting to pucker up, looking like he was about to cry. Yang Mengchen leaned down to kiss their foreheads and smiled while both comforting and teasing them.

Xiao Yichen stopped crying in an instant, smiling sweetly at Yang Mengchen. Naturally, Xiao Huaichen didn't cry out loud either, smiling at Yang Mengchen just like his brother.

The crowd's laughter grew even louder at the sight.

Leaning against Yang Chengxuan beside her, Nangong Lingyan rubbed her belly and panted, "Oh my, I can't take it, these two little... little rascals... have me laughing so hard my intestines are knotting up... haha..."

Yang Chengxuan stood firm and kept a watchful eye on Nangong Lingyan to prevent her from accidentally falling.

Xiao Hongtao shook his head with a smile. He was both proud and at a loss regarding his two clever and mischievous sons. It seemed that in the future, only Chenchen would be able to keep the boys in line.

Ever since she had two little brothers, Xiao Wanxue had been particularly happy. Seeing her brothers getting close to Sister Mengchen without a hint of jealousy—after all, without Sister Mengchen, there wouldn't be the two brothers—and besides, the brothers were quite affectionate with her as well.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.