Grandmother Jia regretted that her in-law enjoyed such longevity. For the time being, she couldn’t extend her hand into the Lin family and could only plan slowly.

Her daughter believed she could bear children, and Grandmother Jia thought the same. She had always been helping her daughter keep an eye out for physicians skilled in this area.

Unless absolutely necessary, Grandmother Jia didn’t want to send Jia family members over to make her daughter sad. However, if there were illegitimate children and her daughter remained childless, even if it would make her daughter sad, that couldn’t be helped.

If it really came to that, she would use borrowed wombs to bear children. By then, with Jia family bloodline descendants under her daughter’s name, even if others met with misfortune and the Lin family became furious, it wouldn’t matter much…

Thinking of this, Grandmother Jia temporarily settled on a plan in her heart.

First Madam and Second Madam didn’t know Grandmother Jia’s thoughts. After returning to their own courtyards, before long someone delivered the gifts their sister-in-law had sent to their respective households.

Looking at how generous these gifts were, both women couldn’t help but feel both envious and jealous, especially Madam Xing. Her natal family had declined, she had married in without bearing children, and didn’t win First Master’s favor. Money was the only thing she could grasp.

She was famous in the Jia residence for being money-oriented.

Comparing herself to the equally childless sister-in-law, how could Madam Xing not be jealous?

Madam Wang also valued money greatly. Her two sons were both raised under the Old Madam’s watchful eye. Whenever she wanted to be closer to them, Grandmother Jia would have something to say. Additionally, although she was supposedly managing the household affairs, she had to ask Grandmother Jia about all major matters—she couldn’t make decisions at all. Though her husband was somewhat more upright than the elder uncle, he was also excessively doting on Concubine Zhao. Only by having money in hand did she feel secure.

—

Time flowed by, and in the blink of an eye, Concubine Mei’s pregnancy had reached three months. Doctor Zhou had also relented, saying she no longer needed to lie in bed constantly and could get up and walk a few steps, though she couldn’t overexert herself or become overly excited… Although there were many restrictions, it still brought some peace of mind.

Seeing this, the Old Madam brought up again the matter of fulfilling vows at the temple, gilding a golden body for Buddha, and also sending winter clothing to impoverished families. The last item was stopped by Lin Ruhai: “It won’t be too late to do so after the child is born.”

The Old Madam was somewhat reluctant but still agreed: “I understand. Then we’ll postpone it for now. I’ll have people start making preparations.”

Seeing the Old Madam making such a grand display, Concubine Mei was naturally delighted.

The Old Madam valued her and valued the child in her belly—this was a great joyous occasion!

Such a thing would never have happened in the Mei family.

When her concubine mother gave birth to her younger brother, both Grandmother and Father were only ordinarily pleased, because the legitimate wife had already borne several legitimate sons.

But the Lin family was different! The child in her belly had a very good chance of being the Lin family’s eldest son!

As long as Jia Min remained childless, whether considering legitimacy or seniority, her son would be the best candidate to inherit the Lin family!

At that time, even if she wasn’t a wife, no one could look down on her!

Harboring such grand ambitions, even though her health had improved somewhat, learning from past experience, Concubine Mei still restrained herself. She continued to stay in Plum Fragrance Courtyard without going out, properly nurturing her pregnancy, only waiting for her son to be born and make a stunning debut.

Compared to this colleague with such strong ambition, Yun Shuyao remained as carefree as ever. If one were to compare, her days before pregnancy were leisurely, and her days after pregnancy were still very leisurely.

Because of her pregnancy, she didn’t need to clock in daily. Her time was arranged by herself. Every day she slept until she naturally woke, then got up to eat breakfast, then took a walk. After her walk, she would read books, practice calligraphy, and cultivate a bit. In the afternoon, she would learn what she considered useful skills from Nanny Wang and the others.

The Old Madam would send people over from time to time to check on her and understand her situation. As for Lin Ruhai, whenever he had time, he would basically come once a day at irregular times. Sometimes he would stay to dine with her, and sometimes he would just come sit for a while before leaving.

If his visits were considered work hours, at most it would be two hours.

At the shortest, he would leave in less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

Two hours, compared to a day’s twenty-four hours, or an eight-hour work schedule, wasn’t much. Moreover, when Lin Ruhai came, he could guide her in some matters. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the third-place scholar was learned and accomplished—his breadth of knowledge was extremely vast.

He hadn’t only studied books for the civil examinations; he had also delved into many other types of books.

Lin Ruhai also enjoyed discussing these things with her. From time to time, this concubine of his would have some remarks that made his eyes light up.

From different angles came different perspectives on things.

Lin Ruhai also discovered that although Madam Yun didn’t like going out and about, when it came to reading books, apart from the Four Books and Five Classics which she didn’t enjoy, there was nothing else she didn’t like.

Her interests were broad.

Because of this common language, he stayed at Concubine Mei’s side for less time. Additionally, Concubine Mei had severe pregnancy reactions and could eat few things, so Lin Ruhai rarely dined with her. Concubine Mei was somewhat dissatisfied but didn’t say anything, much less suggest that he stay the night.

According to current conventions, during pregnancy one couldn’t share a bed with a man. If he really stayed, they would have to sleep in separate beds. Some people would arrange for maids to serve during such special periods, but Lin Ruhai was indifferent toward maids, and Concubine Mei didn’t want to create competitors for herself, so she dismissed this idea.

In peaceful times, it seemed as if time had pressed fast-forward. In the blink of an eye, they had reached the end of the twenty-seventh year of Kangxi’s reign.

This was the time when the Lin family’s estates and businesses from various locations reported their accounts, and the Lin household became busy.

Yun Shuyao also had an estate. Because it had been purchased for less than a year, the yield was small—apart from some beans, there were some domesticated poultry being raised. Yun Shuyao had the estate workers sell most of the poultry, then sent some separately to her natal family and her uncle’s family.

One of her purposes in establishing this small estate back in her hometown was that it was close to home, so she could help the family when conditions allowed.

She was eating and drinking well here, but they were still living as before.

Although they didn’t worry about food and clothing, the quality of food and clothing wouldn’t be too good either. The Yun family rationed their meat consumption carefully. With this poultry, they wouldn’t need to buy meat from outside for the New Year.

They truly couldn’t refuse, but the yield from her small estate was limited. After calculating the accounts, Song Shi worried for her daughter.

The income was really not much, and her daughter had also had the estate workers make so many preparations, saying she wanted to plant flowers next year. She didn’t understand—what yield could come from planting flowers?

Could it be she wanted to make rouge and cosmetics to sell?

It seemed to be so. For this, she had even specially purchased two young, capable maids to place at home, saying that they weren’t familiar yet and asking her to train them. In Song Shi’s view, this was finding an excuse to subsidize them.

She could handle these little household matters herself—there was no need to spend money buying maids.

However, her daughter had acted first and reported later. She couldn’t very well tell the broker to take them back.

Still, she had made up her mind that next time she visited, she would have to give her that money.

Could she enter the Lin residence to see her daughter once more before the New Year?

Yun Shuyao also wanted to see them once more before the New Year, so Song Shi received an invitation and brought her two sons to visit.

She brought along both the estate’s profits and the monthly rent from the shop.

This was the second time the two brothers Yun Heng and Yun Yan had entered the gates of the Lin residence.

The last time the two brothers came, Lin Ruhai hadn’t been there. This time when they came, they discovered that the man they couldn’t call brother-in-law was at their sister’s place, and they immediately became nervous.

“Greetings, Your Excellency.”

Lin Ruhai nodded, looking at these two upright, composed young men.

Because he himself was about to be promoted to father, during this period Lin Ruhai’s attitude toward the younger generation was somewhat warmer than before.

He asked which private school they attended, when they planned to take the examinations, and tested them a bit. This testing revealed that their fundamentals were quite solid. His interest piqued, the two were taken aside by him for guidance.

The two brothers had wanted to talk with their sister for a while, but now they couldn’t spare the time, racking their brains to answer the prefect’s questions.

They had been praised by their teacher and had been somewhat self-satisfied, but after being questioned like this, they quickly deflated.

They clearly perceived a stark reality—they still had far to go.

The two brothers weren’t ones who didn’t know what was good for them, and they earnestly absorbed what he was saying.

Song Shi naturally wouldn’t interfere. Being able to receive guidance from the prefect was their good fortune—others couldn’t even beg for such an opportunity. Talking with her daughter was just as well.

Now Yun Shuyao was nearly four months along. Song Shi looked at Yun Shuyao’s protruding belly and suddenly frowned: “Shuyao, you’re not yet four months along, right? This pregnancy… has the doctor said anything?” Why was it so much larger than when she had been pregnant back then?

Yun Shuyao gently shook her head: “Doctor Zhou hasn’t said anything.”

However, she herself had sensed that there were two streams of energy within her lower abdomen, which meant she was most likely carrying twins. Doctor Zhou had probably noticed something but couldn’t be completely certain yet. Perhaps from the pulse it wasn’t very obvious, but it should be soon.

Doctor Zhou had already asked her some related questions. Yun Shuyao guessed that Doctor Zhou wanted to be more certain before speaking up, to avoid any mishaps.

Yun Shuyao: “Mother, I remember Uncle and the others are twins, right?”

Although Song Shi hadn’t given birth to twins herself, her eldest brother and eldest sister were twins. It wouldn’t be strange if it had been passed down a generation to her.

When Yun Shuyao first sensed it, she had also been somewhat apprehensive. Giving birth in ancient times was like passing through the gates of hell; having two at once increased the danger even more. But worrying was useless. Yun Shuyao had made up her mind that there would be no second pregnancy.

In modern society with such advanced medical care, there were still those who passed away due to childbirth. Having escaped death to reach the present, Yun Shuyao considered herself someone who cherished her life.

Song Shi reached out her hand and touched her daughter’s belly: “Your eldest uncle is indeed a twin.” She looked at the size and was somewhat worried. Carrying twins was harder than carrying one. She asked her daughter: “Is there anywhere you feel uncomfortable now?”

Yun Shuyao: “No, aside from not being able to eat mutton, everything else is fine.”

She could eat any flavor. Previously, the Old Madam had asked her whether she preferred sour or spicy foods, wanting to guess from her tastes whether she was carrying a boy or girl, but as long as it was well-prepared, whether sour or spicy, she loved it all.

Song Shi let out a breath: “It’s good that there’s nothing wrong. Be more careful when sitting, lying down, and walking—don’t bump into anything.”

“Don’t worry.” Now when she went out to walk in the courtyard, there were people on all sides. It had to be said that with the Old Madam present, many of the preventive measures she had thought of had no chance to be used. The Old Madam was truly so thoughtful, and moreover, with her taking action, it was proper and justified.

For instance, food—the place most easily tampered with in dramas and novels—was personally supervised by Yu Shan at the kitchen, ensuring no one could interfere.

This was one point she was very grateful for. If she had to guard against everything herself, how vexing would those days be?

Yun Shuyao’s feelings were also somewhat complex thinking about it. If not for the Old Madam, she wouldn’t have entered the Lin family. She should have married an ordinary, common person, and most likely wouldn’t have encountered household intrigues and schemes. But if not for the Old Madam, in this feudal era where power could crush people to death, her father’s situation would have been dire.

Comparing the two, Yun Shuyao felt that encountering Old Madam Lin was also a fortunate thing. Even if she had married someone of equivalent status, there was no guarantee things would have gone smoothly—there were too many uncertain factors.

Song Shi decided that after returning home, she would ask her mother carefully about what it had been like when she was pregnant with her eldest brother and sister.

Because she was preoccupied with these matters, only after leaving the gates of the Lin residence did Song Shi remember that she had forgotten to mention the matter of those two maids to her daughter.

Forget it, next time then.

Yun Heng and Yun Yan had even more forgotten what they had wanted to say to their sister. When leaving the Lin residence, their steps felt light and floating. They clearly hadn’t done any physical labor, yet they felt as if they were about to collapse. After leaving the Lin residence and being hit by the wind, they discovered that the clothes on their backs were soaked with sweat.

The two brothers exchanged a look filled with lingering trepidation—they still had a long road ahead.

By the time they returned home, the two brothers were scratching their heads over an assignment—this was the homework left for the two of them.

It was a tiny bit difficult.

Really, just a tiny bit.

—

Doctor Zhou had noticed something, and Nanny Wang, being someone experienced and knowledgeable in medicinal principles, also had some suspicions. Without waiting for Doctor Zhou to speak, she proactively went to ask.

The pregnancy at Plum Fragrance Courtyard was a month further along, but looking at the protruding curve, Concubine Yun actually looked like the one with the later due date.

Doctor Zhou hesitated: “I suspect it’s twins, but the pulse isn’t clear yet. We need to wait a bit longer.”

“How long do we wait?” Nanny Wang was somewhat delighted but also somewhat uneasy. If she told the Old Madam now and the pulse reading turned out to be wrong, that would be empty joy.

Doctor Zhou stroked his beard: “Not long.” As the months progressed, the fetal heartbeats would also become stronger.

Nanny Wang made up her mind: “Then I’ll wait for your good news, Doctor Zhou.”

She decided to watch more carefully during this period.

Treating Concubine Yun as if she were carrying twins, being even more cautious.

Then every two days, Nanny Zhou would go ask. Doctor Zhou was getting afraid of being asked: “When I’m certain, I’ll say so.”

He was already seventy percent sure, but these two children were somewhat mischievous, staying too close together, preventing him from making a definitive conclusion.

Nanny Wang: “…Why don’t you take her pulse carefully again?”

Doctor Zhou: “…”

Finally, before Doctor Zhou went home for the New Year holiday, Doctor Zhou took Concubine Yun’s pulse and discovered that this time the pulse reading was clear. He breathed a sigh of relief—finally, he wouldn’t have to be repeatedly questioned by Nanny Wang anymore. He revealed a smile: “Congratulations, Concubine Yun.”

Joy instantly bloomed in Nanny Wang’s eyes: “Where does this joy come from?”

Doctor Zhou said calmly: “Concubine Yun is carrying twins.”

Everyone: “!!!”