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As the New Year approached, Wuyun and Liujin began to become sleek and shiny, their fine layer of fur gradually disappearing. Felids love to rest in warm places, and the entire Central Courtyard was covered with floor tiles, with silver charcoal burning, making the whole house warm as spring. Xiao Yao had people place Wuyun and Liujin in the outer room to keep them.
Yun Zhu and her companions, having spent time with the two Clouded Leopard cubs, gradually became unafraid of them. It felt just like being around big cats, but this was limited to those familiar faces in the Central Courtyard, along with the Beast Tamer; others could not approach at all.
These two little ones were quite clever. If Yun Zhu and her friends did not come to call them, they would never play outside Lin Mountain House or jump around carelessly. When Yun Zhu and her companions arrived, they would happily trot over, obediently following behind them all the way to the Central Courtyard.
Once inside the inner room, they would affectionately nuzzle and lick Xiao Yao, clearly recognizing her.
Occasionally seeing He Yu return, they would immediately lie on the ground, exposing their white bellies in a completely submissive manner. This made Xiao Yao unable to resist poking their foreheads, exasperatedly saying, "You are leopards! Leopards! How can you just lie down like a house cat? Aren't you ashamed?"
In response to Xiao Yao, there were only two disdainful sneezes and a lazy "Awoo," accompanied by He Yu's light laughter.
As the year-end approached, He Yu became increasingly busy. The emperor indicated that the New Year celebrations were becoming repetitive and lacked novelty. Since He Yu was skilled at organizing events, he was tasked with coming up with a unique banquet. Naturally, once assigned this task, He Yu became extremely busy and hardly stayed at home.
Fortunately, during this time, Xiao Mo Yi returned—not only did he come back himself, but he also brought along a Daughter-in-law. Seeing this, He Yu jokingly remarked, "Not bad! You went out and came back with a Daughter-in-law. You've truly learned well from me."
Xiao Mo Yi rubbed his nose and replied without hesitation, "Of course! After all, Prince is now my brother-in-law; it’s only natural for family members to bring each other home!"
He Yu did not mind Xiao Mo Yi's rudeness as laughter filled the room.
Xiao Yao noticed the shy girl hiding behind Xiao Mo Yi and secretly smiled; her heart felt warm.
After hearing that the Fourth Prince was getting married, these two planned to tie the knot as well.
This girl was the illegitimate daughter of Wang Chengbing from Shun Fuyin's family. She had been left behind in her hometown while Xiao Mo Yi happened to be presiding over the Provincial Examination. Through various encounters, he got to know this girl named Wang Yan'er—a name that clearly indicated she held little status at home.
Shun Fuyin This person. Xiao Mo Yi always thought of him as a fence-sitter, wavering between the Crown Prince and Fourth Prince, greedy yet cowardly. He was not a good person. The thought that he even left a daughter in such a poor and remote place immediately made him furious.
With a bold stroke, he directly informed Shun Fuyin that he, Xiao Mo Yi, wanted to marry his daughter!
Of course, as a mere Hanlin Academy Editor, Shun Fuyin would not take him seriously. However, who was Xiao Mo Yi? He was the brother-in-law of Xuanping Wang! This connection made Shun Fuyin feel apprehensive; after all, Xuanping Wang was not someone to be trifled with. He had to respond immediately, regardless of his feelings, to express his stance.
Moreover, Xiao Mo Yi was at least a Top Scholar. Although he was currently just a Hanlin Academy Editor, having the backing of a powerful figure like Xuanping Wang, who had good relations with the Crown Prince, was certainly advantageous.
Thinking this way, Shun Fuyin even promised to marry his legitimate second daughter to Xiao Mo Yi. However, Xiao Mo Yi was someone who always did things his own way and completely ignored Wang Chengbing's flattery. He directly took the girl to the capital. Wang Chengbing reluctantly accepted this daughter, and Xiao Mo Yi did not intend to leave her with Shun Fuyin, knowing what problems could arise. Instead, he took her back to his own residence.
He then said to He Yu, "After all, I come from a common background; my ancestors were all commoners. No one is nobler than anyone else. I think Yan'er is quite good; she is the one for me in this life!"
When Xiao Mo Yi said this, Wang Yan'er hid behind and shyly lowered her head, her face turning red with embarrassment. He Yu jokingly pointed at Wang Yan'er and said to Xiao Yao, "Look, the girl knows how to blush; you only know how to tease your husband."
"Isn't it learned from you?" Xiao Yao glared at He Yu. "This is called 'one who stays close to ink gets stained black!'"
The group laughed heartily, and the atmosphere in the room became harmonious.
Due to Xiao Mo Yi's insufficient rank, he naturally could not attend the New Year's banquet in the palace. Therefore, He Yu discussed with him that on the thirtieth day of the month, they would accompany Xiao Yao for a while until everyone gathered for the reunion dinner after the banquet.
Xiao Mo Yi readily agreed. Ever since his sister got married, he had developed a good impression of He Yu. He treated his sister well and did not appear as frivolous as others claimed; he had no airs around those close to him. More importantly, as someone raised under orthodox educational values, Xiao Mo Yi firmly supported the rightful heir to the throne—namely, the Crown Prince.
Naturally, their relationship grew closer.
In recent days, He Yu was busy, and so was Xiao Mo Yi. The people at the Hanlin Academy had all become thinner from their work.
Consort cannot come out either; the only one who can accompany Xiao Yao is Xiao Mo Yi's fiancée, Wang Yan'er. However, Xiao Yao does not dislike Wang Yan'er; in fact, she has a bit of fondness for her.
Wang Yan'er is shy and speaks little, always listening to her chatter. When it comes to doing things, she is particularly serious. When Xiao Yao taught her how to sew buttons, she discovered that Wang Yan'er is actually very skilled with her hands. More importantly, her hands are quite beautiful—long and slender. Although she may have some calluses from working, they still look very pretty.
Thinking about it, it makes sense; after all, she is the daughter of an official. These officials may lack other qualities, but their eye for women is certainly not poor, so their children naturally won't be too bad.
With this thought, Xiao Yao felt relieved.
Moreover, Wang Yan'er has never lived a good life. She helped her mother with work when she was young, and after her mother passed away, she did odd jobs in the village. She has basically done all kinds of chores, so she has some experience in taking care of pregnant women. This is good news for Xiao Yao and He Yu since they currently have no plans to hire a midwife. If they did hire one, it would inevitably raise suspicion and doubt.
He Yu's plan is to bring Xiao Yao's parents to the capital after the New Year to stay for a while. They could also hire a midwife to take care of Xiao Yao and allow her parents to spend more time with their daughter while also witnessing the birth of their twin grandchildren—what a wonderful arrangement!
Xiao Yao fully agrees with this plan.
On New Year's Eve, He Yu got up early and kissed Xiao Yao on the cheek. Xiao Yao groggily woke up and asked, "What time is it?"
"It's still early; you can keep sleeping," He Yu said softly. "I need to get up first to prepare; there's still a lot to do today. I'll come back in the evening to have New Year's dinner with you."
"Okay." Xiao Yao had just woken up and her voice was still a bit hoarse. "Be careful; it snowed yesterday, so the roads might be slippery today. Make sure you don't fall."
"Got it." Hearing someone remind him not to fall made He Yu's heart melt like water; that warmth from being cared for by family was something he cherished deeply. Xiao Yao was also fully awake by this back-and-forth exchange and decided to lean against the bed and watch him tidy up. When He Yu turned around and saw that she had sat up halfway, he walked over to sit by the bed and asked, "Aren't you going back to sleep?"
"I'm not sleeping now." Xiao Yao smiled at He Yu. "It's fine; I'll wait until you leave before I sleep since I have nothing else to do."
Upon hearing this, He Yu didn't insist any further; he simply nodded and touched her cheek before continuing his preparations.
Xiao Yao sat on the bed, occasionally offering a comment or two, like saying the belt looked bad. He Yu didn't get angry and allowed Xiao Yao to direct him; after all, his daughter-in-law was who she was, and he had a good temper, doing everything according to Xiao Yao's wishes.
After a morning of fussing around and having a bit of breakfast with Xiao Yao, who only drank a couple of sips of porridge, He Yu knew that he would definitely be too busy to eat lunch later. Since it was still early, he simply drank a bowl of porridge, ate a steamed bun, and had a fried dough stick before stopping.
Seeing He Yu like this, Xiao Yao realized that there would surely be no food for him at noon. She pondered whether to send some food into the palace for him but thought that by the time it got there, it would probably be cold and frozen. She felt a bit troubled.
After He Yu left, Xiao Yao discussed things with Yun Zhu and the others but couldn't come to any conclusion.
Just then, Wang Yan'er came in. Wu Yun and Liu Jin had become quite familiar with Wang Yan'er over these days. When they saw her enter the room, they lazily lifted their eyelids and then leaned back against the charcoal fire to sleep again.
Xiao Yao pointed at the two cubs and said, "So lazy! Can't even give a proper look? Get up and pay attention!"
The maids laughed heartily, while Wang Yan'er helplessly smiled and said, "Big cats are like this; they love to lean against warm places in winter. Why get angry with animals?"
"Well, it's just boring," Xiao Yao sighed. "I can't go out to play while pregnant, and thinking about how my husband probably won't even get a grain of rice in his mouth for lunch today makes me feel anxious. I feel like I'm not doing anything right."
"Why is that?" Wang Yan'er asked curiously. In her understanding, could someone like the prince really go hungry? (To be continued)
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