The parlor was very lively—many people from the Duan family had come. Besides Mr. Duan and Mrs. Duan, the two Duan young masters were also seated there. He Mengmei sat in the seat of honor drinking tea, while Mrs. He was being pulled aside by her in-laws for conversation. Among the whole crowd, only He Ningzheng and Duan Mingyi were absent.

He Yunqin smiled and brought Hongdou forward to greet everyone: “Uncle Duan, Auntie Duan, Elder Brother Duan, Second Brother.”

Both Duan young masters were around thirty years old. The eldest was named Duan Mingfeng, the second Duan Mingbo. By appearance, both belonged to the refined, scholarly type, but from managing the family business through repeated setbacks, they couldn’t hide a certain weariness—their posture wasn’t upright, and their smiles lacked spirit.

The moment Mrs. He saw He Yunqin, she scolded him: “You’ve finally come back. Hongdou isn’t feeling well, and instead of letting her rest at home, what were you thinking, dragging her all over the place?”

He Yunqin, scolded for no reason he could readily explain, was at a loss for words for a moment, stunned, before finally smiling and nodding: “Right, whatever you say is right. It’s this son’s fault for not thinking things through.”

Mrs. He shot her son a secret glare, then studied Hongdou’s complexion carefully, her concern plain on her face. Hongdou pretended nothing was wrong and sat down beside her mother-in-law.

Mrs. Duan, seeing the warmth between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, her expression cooled slightly. She lowered her eyes and took a sip of tea before putting on a kindly smile again, studying Hongdou closely. “Second Young Mistress has the advantage of youth—just looking at her complexion, one really can’t tell she’s unwell.”

He Yunqin glanced up at Mrs. Duan. Mrs. He said, “Our second daughter-in-law usually has a sturdy constitution and rarely suffers from headaches or colds. When she suddenly said yesterday she wasn’t feeling well, we simply had to have her looked at to set our minds at ease.”

He Yunqin had already noticed Director Cheng wasn’t present, and asked his mother, “Didn’t Steward Yu say Director Cheng had arrived? Where has the old gentleman gone?”

Before Mrs. He could answer, Mrs. Duan spoke up with a smile, “Mingyi wasn’t feeling well, so Ningzheng just had Director Cheng go examine her.”

Mrs. He said, “That’s right. Director Cheng waited quite a while and you two still hadn’t come back. Mingyi said she wanted to switch doctors, so Director Cheng simply went to see her first.”

After waiting a while longer without Director Cheng coming back down, He Yunqin glanced at his wristwatch and said to He Mengmei and Mrs. He, “Father, Mother, I have urgent business to attend to tonight and need to go out. Uncle Duan, Auntie Duan, please stay seated—forgive me for not keeping you company longer. Hongdou, come change clothes with me while Director Cheng is still upstairs.”

Hongdou excused herself to the Duan family and went back to the room with He Yunqin.

Closing the door behind them, He Yunqin walked to the safe behind the desk, opened it, and took out a stack of documents. He stood at the desk to look through them.

Hongdou moved closer and saw they were all architectural drawings, guessing they were structural diagrams of Western-style houses that He Yunqin had drawn himself. “These are drawings of houses? How many are there in total?”

He Yunqin stared at the pages. “Five.”

“All buildings that have been vacant due to hauntings over the past decade or so?”

“Yes. There are another two that have never been reported haunted and were never vacant, but because the origins of the people who built them are unclear, they’re also part of our investigation—one of them is that house of yours on Tongfu Lane.”

Hongdou looked through them one by one alongside him. Sensing it wasn’t convenient to carry them around, He Yunqin went through the structure of each building once more before tossing the documents back into the safe. “I have to go. I probably won’t be back tonight—go ahead and sleep without me.”

Hongdou turned to head to the inner room. “It’s cold out—let me get you a coat.”

He Yunqin pulled her back. Raising his hand, something silver and gleaming dropped from his palm. “Look—do you like it?”

Hongdou looked closely—it was a diamond necklace, with only a single gemstone as the pendant. Compared to the necklace strung with jewels that He Yunqin had given her as a wedding gift, this necklace seemed rather unremarkable. Yet on closer inspection, the gemstone still shone with a dazzling, heart-stirring brilliance. Worn on ordinary days, it would look especially delicate and refined.

She looked up at him. “For me?” She guessed he must have just taken it out of the safe on impulse.

He Yunqin had her turn around so he could fasten it on her himself. “You haven’t worn the one I gave you for our wedding more than a few times. The other day the owner of Fengyu Jewelers dragged my father along to take inventory, and I saw this necklace in the shop—the quality looked good, so I picked it up on the spot. This pendant is more delicate, just right for everyday wear—it shouldn’t be too much for your taste this time.”

A smile rose in Hongdou’s eyes. She pouted slightly. “It’s not that the other necklace was too much for my taste—it’s just too eye-catching. I’m a student—how could I possibly wear something like that out?”

“So this time I picked one that isn’t eye-catching.” He lowered his head to fasten it for her, then gripped her shoulders to turn her back around. “This piece doesn’t fear water—once it’s on, you don’t need to take it off.”

She lowered her head eagerly to examine it, then looked back up at him. “Well? Does it look good?”

Seeing his wife so pleased, He Yunqin was naturally delighted. He rubbed his chin. “Barely passable to look at.”

Hongdou glared at him, happily fingering the pendant. “Why is it diamonds every time?”

He Yunqin’s gaze dropped, secretly thinking that if the pendant rested against her snow-white, jade-smooth chest, it would surely be beautiful beyond words. But he couldn’t afford to dwell on that now—his eyes lingered on her chest for a moment before he stepped toward the door, saying as he walked, “When I was little, I read old books, and they often used the phrase ‘love as solid as gold’ to describe the bond between husband and wife. Later I learned that diamonds withstand tempering better than ordinary metals—truly deserving of the name ‘unbreakable.’ In my humble opinion, compared to jade or pearls, this is the most fitting thing to give my wife.”

Hongdou mulled this over, and a smile rose from her heart to her face. She walked him to the door, and just as he opened it, she stepped in front of him. “Hey, wait a moment.”

“What is it?” He raised an eyebrow. “Can’t bear to see me go?”

She rarely wore such a serious expression, and said softly, “You’ve given me so many gifts—isn’t there anything you’d like as a gift?”

He laughed. “You want to give me a gift.”

“Of course.”

“Then I’ll have to think about it carefully.”

He deliberately pondered for a moment, then smiled. “I really can’t think of anything. Yu Hongdou, the value of a gift lies in sincerity—if you ask ahead of time and then give it, what surprise would be left for me?”

He always had his reasoning. Hongdou followed him out, silently calculating. “Well, there’s no rush—maybe one day I’ll give you a big surprise—”

Just then a servant came over and said, “Second Young Master, the car is ready.”

He Yunqin smiled. “I’ll head out now. Once Director Cheng finishes examining you, get some rest early.”

Hongdou reached up to brush his coat, meaning only to dust off some grime, but her hand brushed against something hard. She realized with a start it was a pistol—she remembered seeing one on him once before, on a night not long ago when he’d been called out.

Unease suddenly rose in her heart. “He Yunqin.”

He Yunqin looked at her quietly, seeing her worry, and took her hand, pressing it to his lips to reassure her.

The two went downstairs and said their goodbyes to the Duan family, and He Yunqin walked through the parlor and left.

Once in the car, He Yunqin saw Hongdou still standing on the steps and urged her repeatedly, “It’s too cold, go back inside quickly.”

Hongdou nodded, and as she watched him start the car, she slowly raised her hand to hold the brilliant, glittering gem at her chest, and suddenly called out to him, “He Yunqin.”

“What is it?”

She smiled. “Ich liebe dich.”

This was a secret shared only between the two of them—one that didn’t fear being spoken aloud even with others present.

He Yunqin froze for a moment. Though it was the first time he’d heard it from her lips, it felt as though it had already lingered in his ears for a long time. He smiled, and replied low and solemnly, “Ich auch.”

She watched He Yunqin drive off in his car until he was out of sight.

A great, round moon hung low in the sky, close enough to touch. Moonlight lay clean as snow, and the grass lay lush as brocade. The He family’s front courtyard and back garden were tended with great care—every night, everywhere seemed like a dream wrapped in a gauze veil. With He Yunqin’s departure, she felt a touch of loss at first, but now, facing the beautiful moonlit scene, savoring the little moments of tonight and of these past months since their marriage, she felt her heart fill with all manner of emotion. In just a few months, it felt as though she’d spent half a lifetime with He Yunqin. As sweetness washed over her, that faint wisp of melancholy in her heart scattered like light smoke.

It was only when the steward reminded her not to catch a chill that she finally went back inside. Laughter and chatter still filled the house. She walked over to sit by the sofa and chatted with her mother-in-law for a while. Director Cheng came downstairs with He Ningzheng and his wife, followed by a nurse.

The moment Director Cheng appeared, before He Mengmei and Mrs. He could speak, Mrs. Duan sat up straight immediately, and as soon as he sat down, she couldn’t wait to ask, “Director Cheng, Mingyi’s health isn’t seriously affected, is it?”

Duan Mingyi said nothing, leaning against He Ningzheng, who also looked troubled.

Director Cheng calmly took a sip of tea before saying, “Eldest Young Mistress’s condition isn’t serious, but if she wants to conceive, first she needs to relax emotionally, and second, she’ll need about a year or two of careful adjustment. I’ll introduce a doctor named Mary to Eldest Young Mistress later—she’s a specialist in gynecology. If she redesigns a treatment plan for Eldest Young Mistress, it likely won’t be too difficult to manage.”

With several grown men present, the rest wasn’t convenient to discuss in detail.

The air in the room went still.

After a long moment, it was Mrs. He who broke the silence, smiling. “Mingyi and Ningzheng are both still young—there’s no rush on this matter either way.”

Director Cheng looked up. “Has Second Young Mistress come back?”

Mrs. He only then came back to herself, and said to Hongdou, “Tell Director Cheng everything that’s been bothering you.”

She then personally accompanied Hongdou upstairs.

Before long, Director Cheng came back down with Mrs. He, laughing as they walked. “Mrs. He worried for nothing—Second Young Mistress isn’t ill at all, she’s expecting! The mother’s constitution is strong and the baby is stable—she’s at least fifty days along. Mr. He, Mrs. He, congratulations, congratulations—the He family is expanding.”

Mrs. He could no longer hide the joy on her face, pressing a hand to her chest, half moved and half delighted: “Who would have thought—the second son has barely been married any time at all, and he’s already going to be a father.”

She then turned to the beaming servants nearby. “Go tell Fourth Miss to keep her second sister-in-law company. Director Cheng, please, sit downstairs.”

The door hadn’t been closed, and the two of their bright voices carried in from outside the door. Hongdou, not sure whether she was happy or shy, stood dazed in the room for a moment. Then, suddenly remembering something, the corners of her mouth slowly curved upward. She turned and opened the glass door to the terrace, gazing far into the distance. Knowing full well she couldn’t possibly see He Yunqin’s car, she still couldn’t help wishing she could tell him the wonderful news the very first moment.

Author’s Note: Sorry, today’s second update is being pushed to tomorrow, everyone don’t hit me, I’ll make it up to you with a red envelope.