“Ningning.” Yan Shiyao rose with a smile.

“A’Jie, why have you come today?” Yan Yunning was a little surprised.

A slight flicker crossed Yan Shiyao’s brow, and she said playfully, raising an eyebrow, “Why, naturally to congratulate our Ningning on becoming a mother — and to congratulate myself on becoming an aunt.”

Yan Yunning smiled faintly. “Mother.”

Truthfully, she still hadn’t quite grasped the idea that she was about to become a mother. The word still felt a little foreign placed upon herself.

“Where is the Crown Prince?” Yan Shiyao asked.

“At this hour, he should have just come down from morning court.” Yan Yunning pulled Yan Shiyao down to sit with her on the sandalwood chairs, the corner of her mouth curving. “Are you looking for Xuan Yanyu?”

“No.” Yan Shiyao smiled. “Your older sister is here for you — I wanted to go strolling down the main streets with you.”

“Crown Princess, it’s time to drink your water.” Before Yan Yunning could respond, a maidservant came forward carrying a cup of water and presented it to her respectfully.

Yan Yunning took a perfunctory sip or two, then waved the maidservant away.

“Crown Princess, could you please drink just one more sip?” the maidservant said anxiously.

His Majesty had instructed them to strictly follow the medical official’s requirements in caring for the Crown Princess during her pregnancy — they could not be negligent.

Yan Yunning took the cup and had another small sip.

The maidservant broke into a smile and, without Yan Yunning even needing to say a word, curtsied and stepped back.

“Crown Princess, would you like some fruit?” Xiao Yue came forward cheerfully with a platter of fruit.

“No need — I’ll let you know when I want some.” Yan Yunning rubbed her temples wearily.

Watching this scene, Yan Shiyao’s lashes gave a faint tremble. She composed her expression and said, “Ningning, shall we go for a walk down the main streets?”

“No.” Yan Yunning glanced at the maidservants, medical officials, and guards waiting outside the hall, and smiled lightly. “If I leave the manor, they all have to follow. Then everyone on the street would know my identity — it would disrupt the small merchants and vendors.”

With such a grand entourage, people would naturally feel constrained. There would be no shopping and wandering about as freely as usual.

“Then just don’t let them follow,” Yan Shiyao said without thinking.

Yan Yunning frowned. “I cannot. If something were to go wrong, I wouldn’t be able to answer to Father Emperor or the Empress.”

This child was not solely hers and Xuan Yanyu’s. If she acted willfully and refused to let anyone accompany her, and something happened because of her willfulness, she would have no way to answer to Xuan Wang and the Empress.

When news of the child spread, His Majesty Xuan Wang had bestowed gifts upon the people, personally held a palace banquet, arranged for medical officials, and called physicians even when she simply choked — it was not hard to see how much he valued this child. The Empress was the same — during those two days in the palace, she had fussed over Yan Yunning with endless reminders, and her face had carried a smile every single day.

The pregnancy was still in its earliest months, the most precarious period.

She lacked for nothing — why take any risk to go strolling? They should at least wait until after the third month before talking about it.

“Nothing will go wrong — with A’Jie here, nothing will go wrong.” Yan Shiyao pressed her lips together in a smile. “Ningning, you don’t need to be so tense all the time. Even when nothing is happening, you need to get out and move around.”

Yan Yunning frowned and asked in return, “A’Jie, why is it so important to you to go strolling down the main streets?”

Yan Shiyao took Yan Yunning’s hands in hers, smiled, and patted them. “A’Jie is returning to Qilan in two days — naturally I wanted to have a proper stroll with you, a good chat. Here in the Crown Prince’s manor, once the Crown Prince returns, A’Jie feels rather ill at ease.”

“Ill at ease?” Yan Yunning pursed her lips slightly and laughed softly. “A’Jie, you have known Xuan Yanyu even longer than I have — how could you feel ill at ease?”

Back when she was calling Xuan Yanyu “Yanyu-gege,” he hadn’t even been able to stand the sight of her.

Yan Shiyao laughed self-deprecatingly. “Yes, I have known the Crown Prince longer than you have — and he nearly, without a shred of mercy…”

Her voice gradually faded. Yan Shiyao’s throat tightened, and the rims of her eyes reddened. She turned her head away, wiping at her tears.

“If you are unwilling, then forget it. A’Jie is returning to Qilan — who knows when we will see each other again.” The more she spoke, the more Yan Shiyao’s tears fell.

A slight stir moved through Yan Yunning’s heart. Feeling ill at ease seeing Xuan Yanyu in the Crown Prince’s manor?

And yet insisting on going to stroll down the main streets??

What on earth was she trying to do???

“A’Jie, how about this — I’ll have someone inform the Crown Prince. When he returns, I’ll have him stay in Zhaozheng Hall and not step out. Then you shouldn’t feel ill at ease, should you?”

Yan Shiyao’s expression stiffened. Then, in an earnest and heartfelt tone, she said, “Ningning, don’t be so willful. The Crown Prince is not an ordinary person — stop always telling the Crown Prince what to do, what not to do. You need to listen to the Crown Prince.”

Yan Yunning turned her teacup slowly in her fingers, a brow lifting slightly.

Yan Shiyao leaned in close to her, lowering her voice. “Ningning, listen to A’Jie — once someone of his standing no longer regards you well, once he grows weary of you, your life in the Xuan royal palace will be very difficult. So you must accommodate him more, don’t always place demands on him, and don’t go against his wishes.”

Yan Shiyao spoke with sincerity — she truly meant well for Yan Yunning.

Yan Yunning nodded. She could not deny that Yan Shiyao had a point. It was not as though she had never seen the consorts who had fallen out of Xuan Wang’s favor in the Xuan royal palace — in terms of food and clothing, they fared very poorly indeed.

The maidservants and eunuchs in the palace also followed Xuan Wang’s regard, and those without favor truly did not live well.

“Ningning, do you hear me?” Yan Shiyao said gently.

“It doesn’t matter. If Xuan Yanyu proves unreliable, I shall simply depend on the child in my womb.”

Asking her to change her nature and go about pleasing Xuan Yanyu — that was impossible. Even if she loved him, she would never change herself for him.

If Xuan Yanyu truly required her to accommodate him in every way every single day, to never go against him — then frankly, she felt that Xuan Yanyu would no longer be worth her love.

Once Xuan Yanyu ascended the throne in the future, the child in her womb would either be his eldest imperial prince or his eldest princess — their standing would go without saying.

From the name Xuan Wang had chosen alone, one could see — if Xuan Yanyu proved unreliable, she would depend on her child and herself.

In any case, she was who she was and would not change. And she had a feeling that even if she ever grew weary of Xuan Yanyu one day, Xuan Yanyu would never grow weary of her first.

Yan Shiyao looked at Yan Yunning with a complicated expression, then sighed. “Ningning, a child is not dependable either. Think about it — what if the Crown Prince later has other children? What if those children turn out to be more clever and well-behaved than yours? Then your child wouldn’t be…”

Before Yan Shiyao could finish, Yan Yunning cut her off with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “A’Jie, then who do you say is dependable?”

“One’s family, of course.” Yan Shiyao said it with certainty.

Yan Yunning gave a quiet smile and said nothing.

“Crown Princess, the Crown Prince has returned,” Xiao Yue called from the doorway of the hall.

Yan Shiyao pressed her lips tightly together and rose to her feet. Since that day when she was injured at the Grand Commandant’s manor, she had not seen Xuan Yanyu.

Barely a moment after Xiao Yue’s words, the man stepped over the threshold and walked in with his unhurried ease, bending down to encircle Yan Yunning in his arms. His voice came out slow and lazy, “When did you have your morning meal?”

Yan Yunning felt a pang of guilt. Xuan Yanyu had asked her to eat at regular times, and she had agreed readily enough — but in practice had not complied at all.

“Hmm?” The man tilted his head to look at her, his eyes narrowing slightly.