CHAPTER 317: CHAPTER 286: SHOULDN’T WE PAY A VISIT TO EXPRESS OUR THANKS? (3RD UPDATE)

Mrs. Jin made some pastries, and Granny Song, thinking about her daughter’s homecoming, brought them over for her to taste. She had just reached the threshold when she heard Xu Shu’s last words and almost dropped the plate of pastries to the ground.

She hurriedly opened the felt curtain and entered, placing the plate on the table, and looked at Song Fang, "Fangniang, are you really having twins?"

Song Fang was dozing off, but upon hearing her mother’s voice, she became more alert and lazily nodded, "That’s what the doctor said."

"Oh my heavens, such a great joy, and you two are acting as if it’s child’s play?"

"Who’s playing house?" Song Fang said, half laughing, half crying.

Since becoming pregnant, the servants have been treating her as if she were an ancestor, and over at the old lady’s side, they send nutritional supplements every three days or so.

To secure her place in her husband’s family, she has been diligently taking care of her pregnancy, so how does her mother see it as child’s play?

Granny Song’s face was filled with worry, "With your carefree nature and with twins, I’m truly not at ease."

"What can you do if you’re not at ease?" Song Fang suddenly laughed, "Follow me around and guard me day and night in our home?"

Granny Song scoffed lightly, "Do you still need me, your mother, to serve you? What’s the purpose of all those servants in your house?"

"Exactly, with so many servants in our house watching over me, what are you worried about?"

Xu Shu stepped in and said, "Mother-in-law, don’t worry. With my mother and the old lady overseeing everything, no one below would dare to be negligent."

Even though that’s what he said, a mother can’t help but worry. Before leaving, she advised her daughter on many things she should be aware of.

Wen Wan saw the couple off herself, and when she returned, her mother-in-law was still in the living room. She smiled and said, "Just the other day, you were thinking aloud about a grandson, and now, look, he’s almost here."

"Who’s to say it’s a grandson?" Granny Song sat on the kang, holding Jinbao, looking a bit absent-minded. "Carrying twins is taxing on the body. What if it’s two daughters? Then these ten months would have been a thankless effort."

Wen Wan sat down and gently advised, "Whether they have a son or a daughter, it’s not something sister-in-law can decide on her own!"

"If Fangniang gives me a pair of granddaughters, I wouldn’t mind, but can her in-laws have no expectations? The Xu Family is so prestigious, and Xu Shu is their only son. If his line isn’t prosperous, wouldn’t his mother be anxious? By then, they’ll constantly try to place people in Xu Shu’s room. How will Fangniang live well then?"

The more Granny Song thought about it, the more she regretted marrying Song Fang into the Xu Family.

"Mother, you’re worrying over nothing," Wen Wan said. "The child isn’t even born yet, and the Xu Family isn’t worried. Why are you stressing yourself out?"

"The Xu Family has plenty of women to continue the lineage, so of course, they’re not worried. But I only have one daughter, can I not think further ahead?"

"..."

Wen Wan couldn’t win an argument with her mother-in-law, so she simply listened quietly to her rambling.

——

Rumors about Song Wei taking a concubine at the neighboring Xie Family reached Princess Consort Duan from a palace maid, which amused her at the time. When she saw Song Wei, she teased him, "You sure have good fortune, going to the Rehe Palace and returning with three beauties."

Princess Consort Duan herself did not know, but Song Wei was well aware that, in theory, he should call Emperor Guangxi ’uncle,’ making Princess Duan his uncle’s concubine.

For Princess Consort Duan, it was just an ordinary joke, but to Song Wei’s ears, it wasn’t so easy to accept.

The mature and handsome features lacked the gentleness he showed to Wen Wan; at this moment, Song Wei appeared excessively stern. "I hope Her Highness can rest peacefully and not be disturbed by outside influences."

Princess Consort Duan sensed the dutifulness and meticulous attitude of a subject from his words and slightly restrained her laughter. She looked through the silk curtain at the man bowing outside, "If Mr. Song has matters to attend to, go ahead. This consort is feeling a bit tired."

——

After the New Year, Song Yuanbao and Wen Wan had to prepare to return to their respective schools.

Song Wei secretly instructed Wei Qian to send two people along with Mrs. Cao to Ningzhou to bring the eldest daughter of Song Erlang’s family to the Capital.

Granny Song couldn’t let go of Jinbao, and Old Song originally planned to return on his own, but Song Wei didn’t allow it, saying that just after the New Year, the roads were not suitable for travel, and it was best to let the servants go.

Knowing his father couldn’t sit still and wanted to go back and dig for a few days, Song Wei seized the opportunity of spring to buy more than twenty pots of flowers for the courtyard and also bought a domesticated parrot to keep him entertained.

Previously, afraid of Jinbao ruining them, Old Song’s flowers were kept at Aunt Xie’s next door. Now, with more than twenty pots arriving in their own courtyard, he finally had something to keep him busy and didn’t mention returning to his hometown again.

——

Lin Fu did not stay in the Capital for the New Year, and he took Lin Xiaorou back with him. Before leaving, he left a sum of silver coins for his daughter, telling her not to hide it away and to spend it if she needed anything; the Lin Family wouldn’t be short of it.

Lin Xiaoyue thought that after the New Year, she would have to go to the border area, and it wouldn’t be possible to move everything from home. Once there, she would inevitably have to spend money, so she accepted Lin Fu’s money, but didn’t tell Su Qing.

On the morning of the sixth, Jin Zhi began to get busy with the servants, moving everything they regularly used and could carry onto the wagon outside.

Lin Xiaoyue held Ah Nuan standing in the burned-down main courtyard.

Just after the accident occurred last year, people were invited for repairs. However, due to frequent snowfalls, the progress wasn’t fast. With the New Year, the work was halted, and only half of it has been completed by now.

Lin Xiaoyue did not plan to take all the servants with her; the steward would remain in the residence, and he would supervise the repair progress of the main courtyard going forward.

"Yue Niang." A soft call came from behind her.

Lin Xiaoyue turned around.

The man wore a black robe, his slim and sharp figure making his face appear somewhat aloof and solitary.

Only his eyes cast a slight warmth upon others.

"Mr. Qi." Lin Xiaoyue greeted with a faint smile.

"Are you ready?" Su Qing approached, his gaze naturally falling on the child in her arms.

"Everything that needs to be prepared, the servants have already prepared fully. There’s nothing for me to prepare," said Lin Xiaoyue. "I just wanted to come and see before leaving."

Su Qing’s gaze never landed on the burnt main house.

He hadn’t experienced that fire himself, but from others’ descriptions, he could imagine how dangerous it was at that time.

Not being there with her during the incident, he felt regret inside.

A step away, Lin Xiaoyue sensed the unspoken guilt from the man, paused, and asked him, "Did Mr. Qi instruct Lin Xiaorou specially to come and provoke me that day?"

"Provoke you with what?" Su Qing countered, with a shallow smile.

Lin Xiaoyue hesitated, then continued, "Just tell me, did you make her stay at our house?"

Su Qing didn’t respond directly, but reached out to touch her shoulder, seemingly noticing the thinness of her clothing, his eyebrows furrowing tightly, "You’re dressed too lightly."

"Su Qing!" Lin Xiaoyue glared at him in annoyance.

Every time she called him by both name and surname, there was always a hint of brattishness in her tone.

Su Qing laughed softly, with pleasure, "Everyone’s gone. What’s the point in asking now?"

"Did you let her come to provoke me, forcing me to write you a letter, right?"

Lin Xiaoyue was determined to get to the truth.

No wonder she always felt Lin Xiaorou acted strangely during that period, yet couldn’t pinpoint any specifics.

Su Qing’s deep eyes looked at her, "Your hands are your own, no one can compel you to write letters to me."

The implication was that writing letters had been entirely her choice, from the heart?

Thinking back to her reaction when Lin Xiaorou said she wanted to go to the border area to find Su Qing, Lin Xiaoyue’s ears reddened slightly, she stepped back, looked up, still glaring at him, "Did you set me up?"

"How could it be considered setting a trap for a properly wedded wife?"

Listening to his self-righteous tone, Lin Xiaorou felt both stifled with anger and an unspeakable shyness, she clenched her teeth, "Had I known earlier, I wouldn’t have written you a letter."

Seeing her furious with embarrassment, Su Qing’s eyes filled with more amusement, "Had you known earlier, you shouldn’t have agreed to the surrogate marriage."

Not giving Lin Xiaoyue a chance to speak, Su Qing added, "If you’re thinking of regretting it now, you should weigh your position carefully."

Lin Xiaoyue lowered her gaze, the little girl she held with both hands looked at her with bright, curious eyes, seemingly very interested in the quarrel between her parents.

The tangled emotions in her heart dissipated significantly upon seeing Yu Xuke’s daughter.

Looking at the man again, the previous agitation was no longer there.

She couldn’t deny, when she heard the servants report that Mr. Qi had returned that day, her heart raced intensely, especially at that moment outside the main gate when they locked eyes. She couldn’t clearly understand her feelings then; she just felt that regardless of whether during or after the incident, as long as he was present, her anxious heart could find comfort.

That subtle feeling was something her father could never provide.

Lost in thought, Lin Xiaoyue felt a warmth on her shoulder. Looking sideways, she saw Su Qing, at some point, had sent a maid back to fetch a cloak, putting it on her himself.

Suppressing the warmth in her heart, Lin Xiaoyue asked, "When the incident happened, the Song family sheltered me for a few days. Now that I’m leaving, shouldn’t I go to express my thanks?"