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Due to Xiao Yao's pregnancy being a secret throughout the capital, He Yu did not consider inviting a midwife or anyone else to help, and He Yu's own Nursemaid was no longer present. Essentially, all matters were left to Zhang Taiyi, and the Xuanping Prince's Mansion itself had not been established for long.
He Yu grew up in the palace, following Consort Chen. Consort Chen never gave birth in her lifetime, so there was no way to learn from experience. The few maidservants serving closely in the Xuanping Prince's Mansion were all young girls; who among them had any experience?
Now that Mrs. Xiao had arrived, the aspects that the imperial physician could not attend to were finally on the agenda.
After He Yu returned, the two elders of the Xiao Family first paid their respects to Xuanping Wang, and then naturally, they were excused by He Yu. "We are all family; there's no need for such formalities!"
Xiao Guangzheng gratefully stood up and helped Mrs. Xiao to her feet. Subsequently, Mrs. Xiao brought up these matters very seriously, with the first being to prepare the delivery room. They needed to clear out a room in the courtyard; since it was in the north, they decided to build a heated bed. They would burn a fire in the room for two hours each day to drive away moisture and warm up the entire space.
Upon hearing this, He Yu thought for a moment and said, "Driving away moisture is certainly necessary, and we should prepare the delivery room as per Mother-in-law's instructions. However, let's just warm up the room... Yao Yao will be giving birth soon as summer approaches; we don't want her to end up with heat rash."
"You don't understand this, my lord," Mrs. Xiao replied with a smile. "For a woman, giving birth safely means that her confinement period is like being reborn. If done well and she doesn't catch a chill, many future ailments can be avoided. Yao Yao has always been cold-natured and cannot tolerate any chill during childbirth. If she takes good care of herself during confinement and nourishes her body well, perhaps this cold constitution will be resolved, and she won't have to curl up with stomach pains during her monthly cycle."
Indeed, women understand women best, especially when that woman is one’s own flesh and blood.
As expected, upon hearing Mrs. Xiao, He Yu's previously wavering thoughts became firm. He straightened his posture and said seriously, "In that case, I will trouble Mother-in-law to take good care of Yao Yao. Everyone in this mansion is at your service; if there's anything you need, just let Yun Zhu and the others know. As long as Yao Yao can safely deliver both children without any future complications, that will be my greatest wish."
This solemn entrustment pleased Mrs. Xiao, revealing her concern for her daughter. Although married daughters are often seen as water poured out (meaning they are no longer part of their birth family), no matter what, they are still one's own flesh and blood. Moreover, having lived together for over ten years makes it impossible not to have feelings.
Mrs. Xiao nodded with a smile. "Then we will trouble you during this time, my lord."
"There’s nothing to trouble about; Mother-in-law is too polite," He Yu waved his hand dismissively. "It was originally my intention along with Yao Yao to invite you both to stay for a while so you could enjoy some comfort. I didn’t expect you would have to worry about things upon your arrival; that is my fault."
"My lord is too humble," Xiao Guangzheng interjected. "As parents, as long as we can see our child living well, that is our greatest blessing. We came here to see how Yao Yao was doing; she has gained some weight compared to when she was in Nanping. Although she is pregnant and looks good overall, it’s clear that my lord cares for his daughter deeply, which reassures us."
On the surface, He Yu smiled and shook his head while internally he bitterly laughed; if only they knew how she had lived her life.
Since an agreement was reached with He Yu, the two elders felt much more at ease in the prince's mansion. This time, Mrs. Xiao brought two midwives with her and asked if they should hire a Nursemaid. He Yu smiled and said, "Once the children are born, I will inform the palace; at that time, I will select a Nursemaid from there for peace of mind."
"Good; we will follow your lead then." Hearing that they would select a Nursemaid from the palace made Mrs. Xiao feel relieved and she did not inquire further. After all, in their understanding as ordinary people, anyone coming from the palace would naturally be much better than those from common folk.
The delivery room was finally chosen in a nearby Warm Pavilion, not far from the main house of the Central Courtyard. Since there were not many people in the mansion, this Warm Pavilion had remained vacant for some time; it already had a ready-made heated bed without needing additional construction work. However, due to long-term disuse, it had accumulated quite a bit of dust and mildew.
Mrs. Xiao had someone clean up the room thoroughly before lighting the heated bed and placing several charcoal basins around to quickly drive away moisture and mildew from the room.
Yun Yue and Yun Bi have become increasingly nimble during this time, subtly exuding the aura and demeanor of young ladies. Mrs. Xiao walked alongside these two girls, laughing as she said, "Indeed, the environment in the capital nurtures people. Just look at you two; the commanding presence you had earlier was completely different from when you were at Xiao Residence."
"Madam, your praise makes us blush!" Yun Yue, being more spirited and bold, tugged at Mrs. Xiao's sleeve playfully, while Yun Bi followed behind with a smile.
Mrs. Xiao has always regarded these two girls as her own daughters. Although they are not as close as Xiao Yao, they are treated well nonetheless. As they were walking towards the house, Mrs. Xiao turned around and saw the Clouded Leopard and Liujin standing inside, immediately gasping in surprise, "Ah!! Is that a leopard?!"
At this moment, the Clouded Leopard and Liujin were about five or six months old and had begun to take on the size of adult leopards. Although the Clouded Leopard is smaller than an ordinary leopard, it is still significantly larger than a cat. Coupled with their fierce eyes and bared fangs at the sight of a stranger, it was enough to frighten Mrs. Xiao, who had only ever seen cats and dogs.
Hearing her mother's scream, Xiao Yao knew something was wrong and immediately called out, "Clouded Leopard, Liujin! Come here!"
The Clouded Leopard and Liujin, who had been baring their teeth at Mrs. Xiao, quickly turned around and scampered into the inner room. Mrs. Xiao was so frightened that her legs trembled. Seeing this, Yun Yue quickly reassured her, "Madam, there's no need to be afraid. These two Clouded Leopards were rescued by the prince during a hunt last year when they were just over a month old. They've been raised in the residence since then, so they are very friendly towards people—especially towards the prince and princess!"
"But still, they are beasts! They have animal instincts; what if they suddenly go wild and hurt someone?" Mrs. Xiao remained apprehensive as she was supported by Yun Yue into the house.
As soon as they stepped inside, they saw the two leopards rolling on their backs at Xiao Yao's feet, exposing their bellies for her to rub. When they noticed Mrs. Xiao entering and were about to get up and bare their teeth again, Xiao Yao scolded them with a kick, causing them to obediently lie back down.
Though still somewhat reluctant, Mrs. Xiao couldn't help but chuckle at this scene, her fear diminishing considerably. "What are their names?"
"The one under your feet with a tuft of dark fur on its head is called Clouded Leopard. This one is named Liujin," Yun Yue explained while pointing to the one beside her.
Mrs. Xiao nodded in understanding as Yun Yue picked up Liujin and handed it to her. "Madam can pet it; it won't bite."
Although it seemed she wasn't afraid anymore, Mrs. Xiao hesitated to actually touch it since she hadn't raised these creatures herself; if it did happen to bite her, that would be quite troublesome.
Seeing Mrs. Xiao's hesitation, Xiao Yao understood and said, "It's okay; after all, Mother isn't familiar with them yet; take your time."
"Yes." Hearing this from Xiao Yao made Yun Yue nod and place Liujin back down.
After playing enough with them, Xiao Yao instructed Yun Bi to take Clouded Leopard and Liujin outside. Once Mrs. Xiao saw the two leopards leave, she remarked, "Why do you keep such fierce beasts at home? A cat or dog would be fine, but these are leopards!"
"There's nothing to worry about," Xiao Yao replied nonchalantly with a smile. "Their mother was shot by Eldest Prince during a hunt; several cubs were left behind but only these two encountered me and the prince. Since we had a chance encounter with them, we decided to take them in; otherwise, if we had left them behind at that time, they wouldn't have survived—after all, they are lives."
After listening to her daughter's words, Mrs. Xiao fell silent for a moment before sighing deeply. "You’re not wrong; however, it's best for your children to stay away from these beasts for now since they are used to your scent. If new people suddenly appear, they might not adapt well."
"Nothing to worry about." Xiao Yao waved his hand to reassure his mother, "It's been cold lately, which is why I let them come over. Once it gets warm, they'll return to Lin Mountain House. Besides, the estate has a dedicated Beast Tamer, so there's no problem."
Hearing that there was a dedicated Beast Tamer, Mrs. Xiao felt relieved. Xiao Yao smiled and continued, "Moreover, I know how to help them adapt to living in the house with the two kids."
"You know?" Mrs. Xiao looked skeptical. This child had never raised anything before; how could he possibly know?
"Of course." Xiao Yao grinned proudly. As for how he knew, he simply made a mysterious wink, indicating that he knew but wouldn't tell her how.
This left Mrs. Xiao somewhat speechless.
However, after spending some time together, Mrs. Xiao had gone from being terrified at first to becoming accustomed to it. She treated the two cats as if they were just sleeping in the house, ignoring them completely as she walked into the inner room.
Cloudy Golden Flow also learned to ignore Mrs. Xiao and Xiao Father, following their own path while they slept peacefully without disturbing each other.
Under Mrs. Xiao's constant reminders, the Fourth Prince was also set to marry, and his fiancée was still Sun Ruoxue, the Legitimate Daughter of Sun Residence.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yao couldn't help but chuckle and teased, "I didn't expect it; this Fourth Prince is quite the romantic. Despite the huge face loss for Sun Residence, he remains steadfast in marrying Sun Ruoxue. That's really not easy."
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