The next day was Yan Ningshuang’s kinship recognition ceremony. Originally, according to protocol, Ren Yaoqi should have attended, but early in the morning, Princess Consort had Nanny Xin tell Ren Yaoqi to rest well in her room and not go to Chengde Hall. Since Ren Yaoqi didn’t want to disobey Princess Consort’s wishes, she didn’t attend Yan Ningshuang’s kinship recognition ceremony.
Although Xiao Jingxi had appeared normal from yesterday until now, Ren Yaoqi could see he hadn’t yet recovered from the shock of becoming a father for the first time. He didn’t sleep early in the morning, and when Ren Yaoqi woke up, the first thing he said to her was: “Yaoyao, what do you think of the pet name Abao?” Ren Yaoqi’s response was to turn over, close her eyes, and continue sleeping.
After that, once Ren Yaoqi had chased Xiao Jingxi out the door, she had Pingguo bring several account books for her to look at to pass the time. Recently, Ren Yaoqi was familiarizing herself with the Princess Consort’s accounts. Since she needed to stay properly in her room for the near future, Ren Yaoqi decided to use this time to sort through Yanbei Prince’s Manor’s accounts from recent years.
Just as she was checking last year’s expenditures, Sangshen ran in happily, saying that Madam and the eldest young lady had come. The Madam and eldest young lady Sangshen mentioned were naturally Ren Yaoqi’s mother, Li Shi, and Ren Yaohua.
Ren Yaoqi had originally planned to tell her natal family about her pregnancy after Yan Ningshuang’s kinship recognition ceremony was over. Hearing they had come on their own, she thought Xiao Jingxi had sent someone to notify them.
Li Shi and Ren Yaohua quickly arrived at Zhaoning Palace. Li Shi had a joyful expression on her face. Seeing Ren Yaoqi, she walked over quickly while supporting her and said happily: “Qi’er, is it true? Are you with child?”
Ren Yaoqi smiled slightly: “Yes, Mother. It’s been confirmed.”
Hearing this, Li Shi was overjoyed.
Ren Yaohua looked at Ren Yaoqi’s abdomen and smiled: “Early this morning, Pan’er ran to tell me she was going to be a big sister again. I didn’t understand what was happening at first. Later, I learned she had heard the servants responsible for shopping discussing that you were pregnant. She was just clamoring to come see you.”
Because of the grudge between Prince Xian’s Manor and the Yan family, neither Li Shi nor Ren Yaohua had attended yesterday’s wedding banquet—they had only sent ceremonial gifts. So they didn’t know what had happened at the banquet.
Li Shi also said, “Nanny Zhou also heard the outside gossip and rushed to tell me. I heard that now everyone in Yunyang City knows about your pregnancy. You child, how could you not send someone home to tell me about such important news? Instead, I had to hear it from others.”
Li Shi’s tone carried some reproach. Ren Yaoqi quickly admitted her fault with a good attitude.
The three women sat together chatting. Li Shi asked Ren Yaoqi many questions, such as whether her appetite was poor, why she seemed to have lost weight, and whether she preferred sour or spicy foods. Ren Yaoqi patiently answered them all.
Li Shi held Ren Yaoqi’s hand and said, “It would be wonderful if you could have a son in one try.”
Having boys or girls had almost become Li Shi’s obsession. When Ren Yaohua’s first child was a daughter, Li Shi was quite disappointed. Now that Ren Yaoqi was pregnant, Li Shi naturally hoped Ren Yaoqi’s first child would be a son.
Ren Yaohua said carelessly, “Mother, why are you saying such things now? Whether it’s a boy or a girl isn’t something she can decide. When I had Yi-jie as my first child, the Lei family didn’t try to divorce me.”
Ren Yaohua’s eldest daughter was named Lei Changyi, with the pet name Yi-jie. Although Ren Yaohua had given birth to a daughter, because of Lei Ting’s respect and protection, not one person in the Lei family dared gossip. Ren Yaohua’s life was now comfortable, and her heart had broadened considerably.
Li Shi glared at her displeasedly: “Can Yanbei Prince’s Manor’s situation be the same?”
Seeing Ren Yaohua about to say something else, Ren Yaoqi quickly said: “Sister is right. Whether the child is male or female isn’t something I can decide. As long as the child can be born safely and grow up healthy, that’s good. Mother, don’t worry. His Highness, Princess Consort, and my husband are all reasonable people—they won’t treat me poorly just because I gave birth to a girl.”
Li Shi finally sighed: “I hope so.”
Since there were only three women in the room, plus Ren Yaoqi’s few dowry maids, Li Shi spoke more freely. She asked: “Has your mother-in-law mentioned arrangements for chamber maids?”
Both Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaohua were stunned upon hearing this. Ren Yaohua glanced at Ren Yaoqi and frowned.
Ren Yaoqi said calmly: “Not yet.”
Li Shi hesitated for a while: “Prince’s manors all have very strict rules. When your grandmother was pregnant with me, the palace also sent people to the manor. I heard that the prince’s manors all have such rules. I don’t know if Yanbei Prince’s Manor is the same…”
Ren Yaoqi smiled and said, “That might be the rule for the Capital prince’s manors. I haven’t heard Princess Consort mention it. His Highness has neither taken concubines nor chambermaids.”
Li Shi’s expression brightened: “That’s good. I was just worried. When the palace arranged people for your grandfather according to protocol, he only accepted them for show, then sent them all away later. I see that Jingxi is also someone who values loyalty and righteousness…”
Just as Li Shi reached this point, they heard Pingguo outside reporting in a formal tone: “Miss, the young master has returned.”
Li Shi quickly swallowed her words.
When Xiao Jingxi entered and saw everyone in the room looking at him, he calmly stepped forward to greet Li Shi, then smiled: “I was just thinking of sending someone to tell Mother, but you’ve already come.”
Li Shi then explained how she and Ren Yaohua had rushed over to confirm upon hearing the news. Li Shi now had a very good impression of her second son-in-law, so even though Xiao Jingxi had returned, the atmosphere in the room wasn’t awkward.
Xiao Jingxi looked at Ren Yaoqi, then smiled at Li Shi: “Am I interrupting your conversation by being here?”
Li Shi was about to speak when she was interrupted by Ren Yaohua, who had been silent. Ren Yaohua looked at Xiao Jingxi directly and said: “Not really. My mother just remembered some prince’s manor rules and was worried my younger sister might overlook them due to her youth and inexperience, so she was giving her some guidance to prevent future criticism from those with ulterior motives.”
Li Shi frowned: “Hua’er!”
Ren Yaoqi: “…”
Xiao Jingxi wasn’t bothered by Ren Yaohua’s attitude and smiled: “Oh? What rules?”
Ren Yaohua said seriously, “Since there are no outsiders here, I’ll speak plainly. I heard that the prince’s manors have a rule that when the legitimate wife is pregnant, the manor arranges chambermaids to serve. I wonder if Yanbei Prince’s Manor also has this rule?”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingxi couldn’t help but be stunned, then smiled bitterly inwardly.
Although he had long known his wife’s elder sister was formidable, today was the first time he witnessed her fierceness firsthand. Tell me, what other sister-in-law in this world would dare to ask so directly in front of her brother-in-law and mother-in-law: “My younger sister is pregnant, which must be inconvenient for you. So during this period, do you need chamber maids?”
Even a man who originally had such intentions would probably deny it now to save face, otherwise, he’d offend his in-laws and be labeled as lustful.
Fortunately, Xiao Jingxi wasn’t an ordinary person and had no such frivolous thoughts. Faced with his sister-in-law’s fierce questioning, he only paused briefly, then said with an unchanged smile: “Our Yanbei Prince’s Manor doesn’t have such a rule. My father, the Prince, also has no chambermaids.”
When Princess Consort was pregnant back then, Old Princess Consort had indeed arranged several beautiful women for the Prince, each skilled in various arts. The Prince accepted them graciously on the surface, then turned around and bestowed them all upon his subordinates, making a group of old bachelors who were too busy fighting wars to marry extremely grateful and swear to serve such a considerate Prince with their lives.
The Prince was very satisfied. When Princess Consort was pregnant with her second child, he proactively asked Old Princess Consort for more women, specifying that only top-quality beauties would do. This infuriated Old Princess Consort so much that she smashed her teacup and didn’t leave her room for three days. By the time Princess Consort was pregnant with Xiao Jinglin, Old Princess Consort just rolled her eyes and didn’t even show her face.
Upon hearing this, Ren Yaohua smiled with satisfaction and turned to Li Shi: “Mother, you were right. Our son-in-law is indeed a good man who values loyalty, righteousness, and reason.”
Everyone: “…”
Although Li Shi somewhat blamed her eldest daughter for speaking rashly without consideration, Xiao Jingxi’s answer still put her mind at ease. Having been suppressed by a concubine for over ten years, she very much disliked the idea of her daughter encountering such troubles.
So the atmosphere of their conversation became much more relaxed afterward. Li Shi became increasingly satisfied with this son-in-law, calling him “my son” and “Jingxi,” completely forgetting how she had once looked down on Second Young Master Xiao for his poor health.
While they were talking, head maid Sangshen came in again to report that Third Young Master Xiao and Third Young Madam had arrived.
Ren Yaoqi frowned and exchanged glances with Xiao Jingxi, somewhat hesitant about whether to let them in now. She was mainly worried about the awkward atmosphere if Li Shi’s side encountered people from the Yan family.
Finally, Li Shi said: “Since they’ve come, how can we avoid seeing them? Let them in.”
Ren Yaoqi thought Li Shi was right—otherwise, it would seem like Li Shi and the others were too concerned about the Yan family members.
So Xiao Jingyue and Yan Ningshuang were quickly brought in.
Xiao Jingyue still had his careless demeanor, while Yan Ningshuang had a trace of melancholy between her brows. Upon entering, her first glance drifted toward Xiao Jingxi.
Unfortunately, this resentful glance was caught by Ren Yaohua, whose brow immediately furrowed as she narrowed her eyes and looked Yan Ningshuang up and down.
After exchanging greetings, Xiao Jingyue said with a grin: “We didn’t see Second Sister-in-law at today’s kinship recognition ceremony, and Ningshuang felt very uneasy, so we came over ourselves to complete the proper etiquette. Hearing that Second Sister-in-law is pregnant, little brother congratulates Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law.” He then turned to gaze tenderly at his newlywed wife: “Ningshuang? Aren’t you going to congratulate Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law?”
Upon hearing this, Yan Ningshuang’s face turned slightly pale as she bit her lip lightly and glanced at Ren Yaoqi’s abdomen.
Ren Yaoqi smiled: “I was the one lacking in courtesy today. Please don’t blame me, Third Sister-in-law.”
Yan Ningshuang glanced at Ren Yaoqi and said stiffly: “Congratulations.” Biting her lip, she said with a pale face, “I heard it was discovered yesterday. How coincidental.”