Shortly after, Madam Yin entered.

“Mother, why have you returned? When did you arrive?” Ye Yaming asked.

“Last night,” Madam Yin replied. “I was thinking about your upcoming delivery and couldn’t stop worrying, so I came back.”

She had only two daughters, and with her elder daughter giving birth for the first time, she was truly concerned. She hadn’t wanted to go to the Capital initially but was persuaded by her daughter. Even after arriving there, she couldn’t stop worrying.

Now, with the delivery approaching, she couldn’t bear to stay away any longer, so she returned to Lin’an with her guards, maids, and servants.

“Are you well?” Looking at her daughter’s large belly, she felt nervous. She had heard from her mother-in-law the previous night that Ye Yaming was carrying twins, and seeing Ye Yaming now made her heart pound.

“Don’t worry, I’m doing fine,” Ye Yaming smiled, glancing at Lu’E.

Lu’E promptly relayed Doctor Deng’s words to Madam Yin.

As Ye Yaming’s pregnancy progressed, Bai Rui and Lu’E, who normally wouldn’t need to attend to her personally, continued to stay by her side after finishing their other duties, just as before, fearing the younger maids might not be attentive enough.

“I brought a midwife back from the Capital, recommended by Princess Imperial Yuan. Would you like her to come in and check on you?” Madam Yin asked.

“Mm, that would be fine,” Ye Yaming agreed.

When the midwife entered and paid her respects, Ye Yaming instructed Lu’E: “Please explain the situation to Madam Li.”

At her residence, besides Ye’s Old Madam and Madam Qi who visited frequently, other relatives like Madam Tao, the Ye clan relatives, Yin family’s aunts, Mei family, Tao family, and others would all come to visit. Each time, Ye Yaming had to dress properly to receive guests and explain her health condition, which she found tiresome.

Fortunately, given her high status and special circumstances, people wouldn’t complain if she were slightly negligent in her duties. And after meeting visitors once, when she expressed that receiving guests was too tiring, people would be considerate enough not to disturb her again. At most, they would send gifts.

If she had stayed in the Capital, those aristocratic families would all send female relatives to visit as a matter of protocol. With so many people and the need to observe strict etiquette, as the only mistress in the Marquis of Wuwei’s mansion, she would have had to be extremely vigilant in entertaining these people, which would have been truly troublesome.

After Lu’E finished dealing with the midwife, Ye Yaming said to Madam Yin: “I haven’t gone into labor yet, so Madam Li doesn’t need to attend to me personally. Let her stay at the Ye residence for now, and call her over when I go into labor.”

Madam Yin had already been instructed by her mother-in-law not to place unfamiliar people close to Ye Yaming. Hearing her daughter’s words, she immediately agreed.

“You, mother, and daughter haven’t seen each other for a long time. You two talk; I’ll take my leave,” Madam Qi rose to say goodbye.

Ye Yaming didn’t stand on ceremony with her and asked someone to bring fruit for Madam Qi, saying with a smile: “These were brought back by my Fourth Uncle from Huizhou. We have plenty, so please don’t be polite.”

Madam Qi didn’t refuse and left with the fruit.

Madam Yin escorted her to the courtyard gate, then returned to ask Ye Yaming: “Does Madam Qi visit often?”

Ye Yaming smiled: “Every few days. She wasn’t even this anxious when her daughter-in-law was pregnant and giving birth.”

Madam Yin looked at Ye Yaming’s belly and asked: “Has the doctor mentioned whether they’re boys or girls?”

Ye Yaming gave her a reproachful look: “How could a doctor be so magical as to determine the sex just by taking a pulse?”

She rubbed her belly: “Boys or girls are the same. Regardless of what others think, to me, boys and girls are equal.”

Madam Yin opened her mouth to say something but closed it again.

Having suffered half her life for not having a son, she naturally hoped her daughter would give birth to a boy. Lu Guanyi was the heir to the Marquis’s estate—how could they not have a son to inherit the title?

Ye Yaming naturally knew what she was thinking and said: “The Lu family title isn’t hereditary in perpetuity; it decreases in rank with each generation. With A’Yi, it’s already down to Earl, and by my son’s generation, it would be nothing.”

“Besides, for my children, whether boys or girls, I hope they earn whatever honors they desire themselves, rather than relying on ancestral privilege.”

“That’s true.”

Although Madam Yin wasn’t completely convinced by Ye Yaming, she had long learned not to argue with her. Ye Yaming always had a whole set of reasoning that Madam Yin simply couldn’t counter.

She brought up another matter: “Do you remember our neighbors in the Capital, the Li family?”

Ye Yaming nodded: “Yes, I remember. They wanted to propose marriage to Yin’er.”

She asked with interest: “What’s happened? Any progress?”

When Ye Hongsheng and Madam Yin went to the Capital, Ye Yayin and Ye Yayu naturally went with them. They also had shops in the Capital. At Ye Yaming’s instigation, they planned to develop the cosmetics industry.

“After that conversation with Yin’er, didn’t I have the steward hint to them that Yin’er was still young and wanted to marry later? And that we were considering whether the children were compatible. Their Old Madam is very proper and wouldn’t let her grandson approach Yin’er privately. She brought Young Master Li to visit, saying they just wanted to get acquainted. I called Yin’er out to meet the young man. He is handsome and well-mannered; we all thought he was quite good.”

“Later, whenever Yin’er went out and encountered Young Master Li, they would stop and chat briefly. After several such meetings, they became familiar with each other and even arranged to go out together a few times. Before I left, Yin’er told me she was willing to accept this marriage. If none of us object, the Li family will send people to formally propose.”

Ye Yaming, seeing her expression alternating between satisfaction and sighing, asked: “Is there some problem?”

Madam Yin shook her head: “Not with the Li family. It’s with Yu’er.”

She sighed: “Li Shu, the Li family’s son, has a close friend from his private school days named Liu Yuzhang. They’re very close, and several times when Yin’er met Li Shu, he was with Liu Yuzhang. Somehow, Yu’er and Liu Yuzhang became attracted to each other. When Yin’er was discussing her marriage with me, Yu’er hesitantly told me about her and Liu Yuzhang.”

Ye Yaming asked: “Is there something inappropriate about this Liu Yuzhang?” Otherwise, Madam Yin wouldn’t have such an expression.

“Liu Yuzhang became an Xiucai two years ago and plans to take the provincial examinations this autumn. According to Li Shu, he’s exceptionally talented and likely to pass. But his family is poor. His parents are still alive; he’s the eldest, with a twelve-year-old sister and a seven-year-old brother. His father is a Tongsheng who maintains their livelihood by tutoring. The whole family lives in a small courtyard with only four rooms.”

Hearing this, Ye Yaming also frowned and asked: “Did Liu Yuzhang express interest in marrying Yu’er first?”

Madam Yin shook her head: “No, he didn’t. According to Yin’er and Yu’er, Liu Yuzhang always observed proper etiquette. It was just that Li Shu wanted to speak more with Yin’er, so he asked Liu Yuzhang to entertain Yu’er. It was during one chance occasion when Yu’er saw Liu Yuzhang handling a dispute that she felt he was a very good person and developed feelings for him.”

“However, she hasn’t expressed her feelings to Liu Yuzhang yet, planning to ask us first.”