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Staying up late past midnight, He Yu urged Xiao Yao to go to sleep quickly.
Of course, without He Yu's prompting, Xiao Yao was already feeling extremely drowsy. If it weren't for the tradition of staying up, Xiao Yao probably wouldn't have stayed awake this late at all. After taking a bath, Xiao Yao automatically rolled to the edge of the bed, and then He Yu also lifted the blanket and lay down beside her.
Gently wrapping his arms around Xiao Yao, she instinctively found a comfortable position in He Yu's embrace.
"Thank you," He Yu softly kissed Xiao Yao's hair.
Xiao Yao smiled slightly, closing her eyes without responding to He Yu's words, only leaning tighter into his arms.
During the New Year period, the Xuanping Prince's Mansion was actually quite peaceful, at least from Xiao Yao's perspective. As for which guests He Yu received to pay New Year visits, Xiao Yao truly had no idea; He Yu had helped her turn them away in the front yard. In between, He Yu also made trips to the Crown Prince and Third Prince's residences; as for the Eldest Prince and Fourth Prince, that was another matter.
After visiting Consort Chen in the palace once more, the New Year greetings were nearly complete.
After the fifth day of the New Year, He Yu sent someone to Nanping to bring Xiao Yao's parents over. For more than a month afterward, Xiao Yao eagerly awaited their arrival until she finally welcomed her Parents home.
By this time, it was early spring when the grass was growing and the orioles were singing, with spring flowers blooming.
Early in the morning.
Yun Zhu and Yun Yue were waiting at the entrance of Xuanping Prince's Mansion when a carriage slowly approached from afar and stopped at the gate. Two elderly people got off the carriage; they were none other than Xiao Guangzheng and Madam Xiao.
Perhaps because they had rested overnight at Xiao Mo Yi's residence, neither of them appeared particularly fatigued nor did they look as travel-worn as expected. Instead, they seemed quite spirited and were dressed very elegantly.
"Greetings, Xiao Laoye and Madam Xiao!" Yun Zhu and Yun Yue half-squatted to pay their respects to the elderly couple.
The two elders hurried over to help them up, saying repeatedly, "This is not necessary! You two young ladies are personal maids of the princess; how can we commoners receive such courtesy?"
Yun Zhu immediately stepped forward with a smile and said, "There’s no need for formalities, sir and madam. Since you have come here as guests of our prince, you are now considered the master and mistress of Xuanping Prince's Mansion. Let us treat you according to how we would treat our esteemed lord and lady."
The elderly couple from the Xiao family immediately waved their hands in surprise. Xiao Guangzheng said, "This absolutely cannot be! How can we common folk compare ourselves to your esteemed lord and lady? This is utterly unacceptable!"
Yun Yue and Yun Zhu exchanged smiles, and Yun Yue stepped forward naturally, saying, "It's not appropriate to stand outside for too long. Please come in, sir and madam. The princess must be waiting with her neck stretched out!"
After all, they were the maids from Xiao Residence, so the elders of the Xiao Family felt more at ease in front of Yun Yue. Mrs. Xiao couldn't contain her excitement to see her daughter and said, "Alright, let's go in quickly. We shouldn't keep Yao waiting; oh, the princess has been waiting for a while."
Yun Yue covered her mouth and laughed, while Yun Zhu smiled and turned around, gesturing for the elders to follow her. "Please walk this way, Mr. Xiao and Madam Xiao."
As she spoke, she turned to lead the way, maintaining a steady pace just half a step ahead of Xiao Guangzheng. Seeing Yun Zhu's confident demeanor, Madam Xiao remarked to Yun Yue, "This Miss Yun Zhu looks like a girl from the capital; she carries herself with such presence!"
"Indeed," Yun Yue replied to Madam Xiao. "Miss Yun Zhu was originally a senior maid by the prince's side, serving him for a long time before being reassigned to serve the princess. Now she is the chief maid beside the princess."
"And what about you and Yun Bi?" Madam Xiao asked with concern, naturally favoring her own family.
Yun Yue understood that Madam Xiao was worried about her and Yun Bi being bullied, so she smiled and reassured her, "Madam, you can rest easy. Both Yun Bi and I are dowry maids of the princess and are now her personal maids. There aren't many people in this residence who would dare give us a hard time."
"That's good to hear," Madam Xiao sighed in relief. However, Yun Yue added, "The prince is absolutely devoted to the princess; how could we possibly be mistreated?"
"Yes, that's true." Hearing this eased some of Madam Xiao's worries as they walked along.
After walking around the courtyard for a while, Madam Xiao remarked, "This royal residence is indeed quite large."
"Yes, madam. We are still in the front courtyard. After passing through this corridor and crossing that garden, we will reach the Central Courtyard; we're almost there," Yun Zhu explained with a smile.
"Ah, thank you," Madam Xiao replied with a smile. Yun Zhu shook her head modestly. "It's my duty."
Xiao Yao leaned against the pillow on the couch, having not moved her hands for quite some time as she occasionally glanced outside. With the spring weather warming up, Yun Bi opened two windows for ventilation.
Suddenly hearing voices at the door, Xiao Yao excitedly looked up and saw her parents walking toward the courtyard. She exclaimed, "Yun Bi, hurry and greet them at the door!"
"Yun Zhu and Yun Yue are already outside; there's no need to worry," Yun Bi replied with a smile.
The arrival of her father and mother in the capital made Yun Bi very happy because without them bringing her and Yun Yue back as maids when they were young, they wouldn't have their current lives.
In the meantime, several people entered the room, and they could still hear Yun Zhu advising, "Sir and Madam, please do not follow the formalities. The Prince and Princess do not like such rules. The Prince specifically instructed that this is their home, so there is no need for formalities." Madam Xiao responded one by one, while Xiao Guangzheng sighed, "The Prince is very considerate; he truly thinks of us."
As they spoke, Yun Zhu lifted the curtain and said, "Princess, Sir and Madam have arrived." After that, she stepped aside to invite the elderly couple in. Madam Xiao looked at her daughter, whom she hadn't seen for nearly a year, and tears immediately filled her eyes; she completely forgot about the formal greetings. Xiao Yao reached out her hands and exclaimed, "Mother!"
"Oh!" Madam Xiao took two steps forward and embraced her daughter tightly, knowing how much she had missed her over the past six months. Xiao Yao smiled sweetly; after hugging her mother, she went to embrace her father as well. Then she said, "Please forgive me for not being able to bow to you both due to my condition."
"Your health is what matters; bowing is not a big deal," Xiao Guangzheng immediately replied. Now that their daughter was a Princess, it was already a great grace for them to be exempted from formalities; how could they still expect the Princess to bow to them?
"Yes, your health is important. How many months has it been?" Mrs. Xiao was just like Mrs. Xiao; after only a few exchanges, she began to focus on what mattered.
"Almost seven months," Xiao Yao said as she lifted her blanket to show Mrs. Xiao her large belly.
Mrs. Xiao gasped upon seeing it, "Your belly... why is it so big?"
"The Imperial Physician said it's because I have a Twin Pregnancy, so my belly is much larger than usual," Xiao Yao explained to Mrs. Xiao and then asked in confusion, "Didn't anyone tell you before?"
"No," Mrs. Xiao shook her head. "The person who came to pick us up only mentioned that you were pregnant and that I should come to take care of your pregnancy but didn't mention it was twins."
"Yes, it's twins," Xiao Yao confirmed once again with a smile and added, "The Prince was very happy when he found out."
Xiao Father also smiled happily, "My daughter is amazing; she gets pregnant with a pair right away." Xiao Yao nodded with a grin, "Did I not say so? I survived great difficulties; surely there will be blessings afterward!"
"Exactly." Xiao Father stepped forward and gently touched Xiao Yao's hair with a warm smile. His eyes were filled with joy as he noticed that his daughter's complexion was better than before she left; it was clear that she had received careful care in the royal residence.
Women are always more attentive; Mrs. Xiao gently touched Xiao Yao's round belly and said with concern, "Carrying one child is already tough enough; carrying two must be even harder."
"Yes," facing her mother, Xiao Yao felt there was nothing to hide and nodded generously. "It’s definitely hard work. At five months along, my belly was already comparable to someone else's seven months along; now it's even bigger. It puts pressure on my back every time I move and makes walking difficult..."
"You must walk," Mrs. Xiao immediately said seriously upon hearing this. "You need to get up and walk more; otherwise, it will be difficult during delivery later on. You're having two babies; if you don't walk now, it could lead to complications during childbirth!"
Faced with her mother's stern warning, Xiao Yao didn't know what to say and could only nod in agreement.
Mrs. Xiao paused for a moment, took a blanket to cover Xiao Yao, and left the window open to prevent her from catching a cold. Then she spoke earnestly, "I know it's hard for you to be pregnant with two, but you must pay attention to everything. Fortunately, the prince has allowed your father and me to stay in the palace before your delivery. Starting tomorrow, I will come to accompany you and help you."
"…Okay." Looking at Mrs. Xiao's expectant and serious expression, Xiao Yao suddenly felt a bit of a headache; this motherly obsession… she hadn't even had a chance to object.
Seeing this, Mrs. Xiao was satisfied and patted Xiao Yao's hand. "Carrying two is definitely much harder than carrying one, and giving birth is also much more dangerous with two children. So we need to prepare thoroughly. By the way, have you arranged the delivery room?"
"Delivery… room?" Xiao Yao's eyes widened in surprise, indicating that she had no idea what was going on.
"You haven't arranged the delivery room yet?" Mrs. Xiao looked equally astonished.
"Isn't it… here… okay?" Xiao Yao asked, forcing herself to speak.
"How can that be!" Mrs. Xiao frowned disapprovingly, raising her voice slightly. "You can't give birth here; the bloody smell will stain this room with filth. Are you both going to continue living here?"
…
Alright, Xiao Yao admitted that neither she nor He Yu had any experience when it came to having a baby.
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