After reading Yuxi’s letter, Han Jianming got Han Hao to come over and asked, “Who has visited the residence recently?”

Han Hao shook his head and said, “The residence is in mourning, so no visitors have come here.” After a pause, he said, “Oh, five days ago, Master’s Da Jiumu came over.”

Han Jianming knocked on the table and asked, “Go check it out?” The State Residence didn’t hold any banquets recently because of Wu Shi’s death. For his Da Jiumu to come over at this time, it was definitely not just a mere visit.

It was an easy thing to find out. Qiu Shi’s movements were made known after Han Hao asked the gatekeeper and the maids serving in the Master Courtyard. Half an hour later, Han Hao returned and reported, “Master Shizi, the First Lady and Master’s Da Jiumu had been talking for a long time. As soon as Master’s Da Jiumu left, the First Lady went to seek the Old Lady. Also, the First Lady has been in an excellent mood these past few days.”

Han Jianming could probably guess what was going on.

In the evening, Han Jianming went to the Master Courtyard to have his evening meal with Qiu Shi. Since Yuxi had advised Han Jianye to spend more time with Qiu Shi, Han Jianye had spent most of his time at home with his mother. But recently, he had been quite busy and was often unable to go home. He was worried that Qiu Shi would feel lonely without him, so he told Han Jianming to go to the Master Courtyard to spend more time with her when he had time. After all this time, Han Jianye, an uncouth fellow, had also discovered that even if it would be better for their wives to accompany their mother-in-law, his mother still liked their company the most.

After Han Jianming accompanied Qiu Shi in finishing her dinner, he waved everyone out. He asked, “Mother, did the Chen family request Da Jiumu to come over to talk about Yuxi’s marriage?”

Qiu Shi was taken aback and asked, “How did you know that? Did your Grandmother tell you? No, she told me not to tell you!” It wasn’t that she couldn’t hide anything at all. It was just that when faced with someone she trusted, she didn’t think too much about it.

Han Jianming thought to himself, ‘It’s not that Grandmother has told me. I guessed it when I saw you were in a good mood these days.’

Qiu Shi said with a smile, “Yes! A few days ago, your Da Jiumu came over and said that Lady Chen wanted to tie the knot with us. At that time, Mother wanted to tell you. It’s just that your Grandmother said that Wu Shi’s hundred days hadn’t passed yet and no one from outside knew about Yuxi’s adoption. So this matter had to be put off for a while.”

Han Jianming wasn’t angry that the two were hiding things from him. He said with a smile, “Grandmother is right to be concerned. With Yuxi having to bear such a reputation, Grandmother has to think twice about everything.”

Nevertheless, Qiu Shi said with a smile, “It’s fine. When the marriage is settled after the New Year, others will only envy Yuxi and will not speak of three but say four about her.”

Hearing this, Han Jianming said, “Mother, Yuxi doesn’t seem very willing with this marriage proposal. We still have to decide on this marriage only after she returns. Mother also knows that she is very stubborn. If she disagrees, she will turn a good thing into a bad thing.”

Qiu Shi didn’t worry at all. “Your Grandmother has already said that she will personally persuade Yuxi. It’s already hard to find such a good marriage. I believe that Yuxi will come around.” She had great confidence in the Old Lady. Once the Old Lady took action, she could fix everything.

Han Jianming was really impressed with his mother. She could even tell his grandmother everything. Well, his mother had been like this all her life. So it was useless to bring out this matter with her. But this was also good. It was easy for her to live without worrying about anything. Han Jianming said, “If that’s the case, it would be best.” Chen Ran was also quite a character. Not only did he win the examination by himself, but he was also able to persuade Marquis Taining and his wife to come to their home to propose marriage. Just because of this ability, he agreed that Yuxi should marry Chen Ran.

When he returned to his courtyard, Han Jianming wrote back to Yuxi.

Yuxi was in a delicate mood when she finished reading Han Jianming’s letter. This was because Han Jianming had not only told her that the Chen family had invited someone to their home to propose marriage but also expressed his appreciation of Chen Ran. He praised Chen Ran for being a talented person with means and ability. In addition, he also listed all the benefits for Yuxi to marry Chen Ran.

After a long time, she finally folded the letter and placed it inside a box.

She stood in the yard and looked up at the white clouds floating in the sky. The Marquis Taining’s Chen family was even more powerful than the Jiang, and Chen Ran also this year’s jieyuan. Thus, for the Chen family to take a fancy at her and propose marriage to her, in the eyes of others, was something that she should burn incense for. But in reality, was it actually that good? Everyone else only saw the glory on the surface, but not the hidden problems behind it.

With a reputation like hers, the Lady of Taining definitely would not like it, and Yuxi didn’t even have to think about it to know that the Lady of Taining had to compromise because of Chen Ran. But why would Chen Ran want to marry her? Because of her past life, Yuxi did not believe that it was just like a pie falling from the sky, and even if it were, it would not be her turn. Therefore, Yuxi firmly believed that Chen Ran had an ulterior motive for wanting to marry her.

Yuxi muttered to herself, ‘After going round and round, it seems to have circled back to the original point.’ She thought she had escaped Jiang Hongjin and made a new start in her life. But then, Chen Ran inexplicably jumped in and said he wanted to marry her.

Was there any difference between Chen Ran and Jiang Hongjin? There didn’t seem to be any difference between the two. No, there was a difference, though. Jiang Hongjin was obsessed with Yuchen and wanted to use Yuxi to climb up the ladder to connect with Yuchen. Meanwhile, Chen Ran had no feelings for Yuchen and wanted to marry her for other reasons. But for what? What was it that he tried to seek from her?

After turning it over and over in her mind, she still couldn’t find any reason. Since she couldn’t think of an explanation, she wanted to stop thinking about it. Anyway, it was only a verbal agreement between the two families, not a formal one. As Dage once said, even though the marriage was unavoidable, it was still easy for someone to ruin it. Before the marriage was fixed, she should find a way to mess it up.

In the blink of an eye, it was in the middle of the tenth lunar month. Yuxi calculated the time and said, “Er Sao’s due date should be one of these days.”

Zisu nodded and said, “Yes, I heard from many mama in the residence that the Er Nainai’s child is going to be a son.” Those experienced old woman servants were more accurate in reading this.

Yuxi laughed. “Mother has been looking forward to having a grandson, so I hope this time she will get what she has been wanting.” Since everyone had said so, nine times out of ten, the matter would come true.

On the third day after Yuxi talked about this matter, news came from the State Residence that Er Nainai had given birth to a big fat boy.

Yuxi sent the prepared clothes, shoes and hats back to the residence.

Qiu Shi looked at the appearance of these clothes, shoes and hats and whispered, “This child is also too thoughtful.” It was already inconvenient for her to be in the hamlet, and she still thought of making clothes for the child before he was even born.

Mama Li said with a smile, “Fourth Miss has always been so considerate.” Otherwise, her Lady wouldn’t have treated her as if she were her daughter.

Qiu Shi frowned and said, “If I have to say, I want to bring Yuxi back right away, but Mother won’t agree.” Since the Old Lady had disagreed, Qiu Shi did not dare to disobey her. But when she thought it would get cold soon and that the countryside was not well heated, she couldn’t help but worry. Even though she was truly worried, there was no way for her to bring Yuxi back.

Mama Li said, “The Old Lady has her concerns, my Lady. It’s only two months away, and it will soon be over. Didn’t the Second Master say some time ago that Miss is doing quite well in the hamlet?” If Mama Li had to say, as far as the Fourth Miss’s nature was concerned, there was no way she wouldn’t be able to bear the hardships of living in the countryside.

Qiu Shi didn’t believe Han Jianye’s words and said, “That brat only knows how to report good news but not bad.” No matter how good Han Jianye and Han Jianming told her about Red Jujube Hamlet, Qiu Shi was still not at ease. The countryside was a good place, but how good could it be? Moreover, no matter how good it was outside, it was no better than being at home.

As they were talking, they heard the maid outside announcing Ye Shi’s arrival.

Ye Shi saw the clothes, shoes and hats in Qiu Shi’s hand and asked with a smile, “These clothes, shoes and hats should be made by Si Meimei, right?” Yuxi had also made clothes, shoes, and hats for Qiqi before, so Ye Shi was somewhat familiar with Yuxi’s stitching skills.

Qiu Shi nodded a little, gave all the things to Mama Li and asked Ye Shi, “Have all the invitations been sent out?” It was important to invite friends and family over for the child washing ceremony after the third day of his birth.

Ye Shi smiled and said, “They all have been sent out. Mother, isn’t the number of guests invited for the ceremony a bit too small?” Only a few in-laws were invited, which was a minimal number.

Qiu Shi said, “Your San Shen’s 100th day is not yet over, so it’s fine to only invite a few relatives. When the full moon comes, invite a few more guests.” Even after the hundredth day, they still could not wantonly invite so many guests. When the time came, they could only invite close relatives and friends.

After talking about the matter, Qiu Shi went to Xiuchun Courtyard to see her grandson again. If the child hadn’t just been born and couldn’t leave his mother, Qiu Shi would have wanted to take him to her yard to raise him.

Ye Shi was in a bad mood, but when she returned to her yard and watched her daughter crawling around in bed, a faint smile could not help but appear on her face.

Old Woman Hua’s heart sank a little as she asked, “Da Nainai, what exactly is Master Shizi’s solution? It’s not a good idea to keep dragging on like this.” Lu Shi’s son had already been born, but Master Shizi’s knees were still empty, which was an embarrassing thing if one had to say.

Hearing Old Woman Hua’s words, Ye Shi’s face looked ugly again. She called for a nursemaid to carry the child away and then warned Old Woman Hua, “Don’t say such things in front of Qiqi in the future.”

Old Woman Hua responded, “Miss is still so young. She can’t understand what I was saying.”

Ye Shi countered, “Even if she’s still young, you can’t say it in front of her, remember?” This kind of bad thing, she did not want her daughter to hear, even if she did not understand.

Old Woman Hua nodded and said, “I will pay attention to it in the future. Da Nainai, what exactly is Master Shizi’s solution? He can’t keep dragging it on, can he?” If Master Shizi kept on delaying taking on a second room, both the Old Lady and the Lady, as well as people outside, would only think that her Nainai had not fulfilled her duties as a wife.

Ye Shi was silent for a moment before saying, “Master Shizi has chosen a candidate, but because many things happening in residence recently, the matter has been delayed.”

It was true that Han Jianming had already chosen a candidate, but before he could say anything about it, Wu Shi looked like she was going to die of illness. If he, as a nephew, took a second room at that time, he would surely be drowned in the spray of saliva. Therefore, he had suppressed the matter. But how could he even hide it from Ye Shi?

Ye Shi could sense that he had already picked out his second room. However, no matter how much she inquired, she could not find out a thing. Her husband had hidden this person too deeply.

Old Woman Hua was frightened. “How come Nainai haven’t heard anything? Which family has he decided on?” Seeing Ye Shi shake her head, Old Woman Hua questioned anxiously, “How can Master Shizi decide on such a big matter alone without discussing it with Da Nainai!”

Ye Shi answered, “Master Shizi is guarding this matter against me!”

This was even worse than when Master Shizi had privately decided on his second room. Old Woman Hua hurriedly asked, “Da Nainai, what does that mean? How could Master Shizi guard this matter against you?”

Ye Shi said with a bitter smile, “If I’m not wrong, Master Shizi should have known about Qiu Yanfu’s incident last year.” It could be concealed for a time but not for a lifetime.

Granny Hua was a bit bewildered. “Da Nainai, Master Shizi didn’t even ask you before settling on someone. What if that person is a cunning one? Da Nainai, do you think you should go home and say something to your family?”

Ye Shi shook her head and said, “No, it’s not the right time yet.” She was only guessing. She had no evidence for her guess, and asking her maiden’s family to step in would further deteriorate the couple’s relationship.

Old Woman Hua asked anxiously, “Da Nainai, what shall we do now?”

Ye Shi said, “I’m sure he won’t mention it this year. He’ll have to wait after the Lantern Festival at any rate. Let’s get through this year first.” Her husband was so capable that he even knew about everything she did. Hence, Ye Shi did not know what to do right now because doing more would make her do more wrong.

There was a reason for Ye Shi to be so calm. For one thing, her maiden’s family was strong, and for another, she believed that Han Jianming was not the kind of person who would spoil his concubine and neglect his wife. Furthermore, even if that person entered the house with the Old Lady and the Lady around, she wouldn’t go beyond Ye Shi as the principal wife. If that person wasn’t contained with her current position and wanted to overtake her, she had to see if she had the ability to do so.