Inside the Chōro-in, lanterns shine brightly.

  An old doctor with a goatee was dragged into the house by Cheng Ying. Old Lady Xie and Xie Wei also rushed over, surrounding the old doctor along with Xie Yan.

  "Doctor, how is it? Is my sister-in-law...?" Xie Wei accidentally expressed the good wishes in her heart. It was actually exciting to see Old Lady Xie's tense expression as she stared at the old doctor. Come to think of it, the couple had been married for several months now, could it be that they really were having a child?

  Xie Yan stood silently beside him, saying nothing.

  The old doctor stroked his beard and listened carefully to the pulse on Qin Miao's wrist. After a long time, he narrowed his eyes and had an idea in mind.

  "It's nothing serious, Madame Hou is just over-exerted and the hot weather has made her irritable. Her heart pulse is weak and she has a low-grade fever. She'll be fine after resting for a few days."

  The originally still hopeful and yearning Old Lady Xie, upon hearing the old doctor's words, couldn't help but feel a little empty inside. Still not quite willing to give up, she asked another question: "Really isn't there any joy?"

  "Haha, Old Lady Mo isn't getting anxious, is she? Madame Hou's body is good, wanting a child is only a matter of time. But this time... forgive me for speaking bluntly, it's really not a joyful occasion." The old doctor tactfully stood up and retreated to the outer room to write a prescription. Xie Yan looked it over before letting Cheng Ying follow the doctor to fetch medicine.

  The old lady and Xie Wei were still sitting by Qin Miao's bedside, looking at each other in dismay. Both of them were eager for Qin Miao and Xie Tong to have a child soon. But what they didn't know was that the two had not yet consummated their marriage, so where would any children come from? The old lady sat for a while longer, then got up and left with Xie Wei when Qin Miao finally woke up, at Xie Tong's request. Xie Tong quietly sat on the edge of the bed, keeping watch over Qin Miao.

  Mrs. Li personally supervised the servant to decoct medicine for Madam, and after the medicine was ready, she carried a tray of food into the inner room to attend to Qin Miao, only to see Xie Yan gazing intently at Qin Miao who had not yet awakened. Her eyebrows slightly rose in joy, and she hastened her steps to the bedside.

  "Master Hou, it's time for the mistress to take her medicine."

  Xie Yan finally came back to her senses from her daze, her fingers pressed against her lips, signaling her to keep her voice down. She then took the medicine bowl from her and said softly, "Go down, I'll feed you."

  Mrs. Li let out a slight sigh in her heart, but still retreated with great joy.

  The young mistress really likes this young master, but the young master is indeed too cold. Even if the mistress tries her best to please him, he still has a cold face. Although it can't be said that there's anything wrong with him, every day he accompanies the mistress for meals and also stays in the Chao Lu courtyard, speaking little, recently able to say a few words, but overall feels that Lord Xie is lacking something in his feelings towards the mistress. But this cold person, today was flustered and hastily holding the mistress rushing into the Chao Lu courtyard, now planning to personally keep watch and attend to her at night. This kind of young master really makes Li Mama unable to understand. Perhaps just as the mistress said, it takes a long time to see someone's heart.

  The old lady did not stay for long and left the door of the inner room slightly ajar, which was also convenient for waiting on her at any moment.

  Xie Xuan tried to wake Qin Miao up to take the medicine, but gave up after a few attempts. He carefully placed the medicine bowl on the stool beside the bed, supported Qin Miao and leaned her against his chest, pinched her chin with his left hand, and fed her the medicine spoon by spoon with his right hand. This small bowl of medicine took nearly half an hour to finish. By the time he finished feeding her the medicine, Xie Xuan was drenched in sweat.

  Gently, he placed Qin Miaoyan back onto the pillow and used a handkerchief to wipe away the dense beads of sweat that had formed due to her feverish delirium. His formal attire was still on from earlier and was now sticky with sweat, so he immediately called over Li Mama to attend to him while he went to the bathing room to clean up.

  After changing into casual clothes, Xie Yun casually had some midnight snacks and saw that Qin Miao was still not awake, so he strolled to the study next door to sit for a while.

  The study of Chao Lü Yuan was not often used by him, he had his own listening rain pavilion in the front yard, so this place was mainly left to Hou Fu Ren Qin Miao. At a glance, the desk was quite messy, with a pile of papers scattered on it. Xie Yan walked closer to take a look, and one by one, the small characters written in cursive script slipped through his fingers. Some were excerpts from account books, occasionally circled with red ink. Some were Qin Miao's casual handwriting when she was bored, sometimes poetry, sometimes essays. And unintentionally, a small note jumped out from this messy pile, catching his attention.

  The wind and flowers will soon fade, but our wonderful time together is still lingering.

  Not tied with like-minded people, but tied with like-minded grass.

  Unlike the neat and elegant script of the past, the four-character handwriting now has a sense of movement, with subtle variations in line width and texture, resembling regular script but actually closer to cursive.

  Judging a person by their handwriting, from these four short Spring Prospect poems, Xie Yun saw a sorrowful and disappointed expression, hastily writing with her head bowed. She was surprised that she could read Xue Tao's poetry, even more surprised that she had such deep sorrow in her heart.

  After a long time, Xie Yun finally let go of the messy table and closed the door to the study room. He then headed towards the bedroom. Qin Miao had not yet woken up, with cold compresses being changed one after another on his forehead. He took over from Li Mama's hands, exchanging the freshly wrung out cloth to continue watching over him.

  It was already late at night, and the remaining heat of the day had dissipated slightly. The clear and cold moonlight flowed down like silk.

  Xie Xuan lay beside Qin Miao, his warm fingers brushing against her slightly flushed skin. His wife was truly beautiful, and he had seen that beauty from the moment they met unexpectedly at the Moonlit Pavilion. Afterwards, without any expectations, he married her, taking her as his wife, and now their days passed one by one like clear water, colorless and tasteless. But he felt it was good, no burden, no expectations, just a simple existence.

  Looking down at the woman in his hands, her eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and her cheeks had a flush of fever, with fine beads of sweat still seeping out, dampening her temples. Perhaps in her heart, she was not as carefree as he thought, without worries, without expectations. Otherwise, why would her writing be filled with such sorrow and melancholy, such furious brushstrokes?

  Yes, she was never a quiet or docile woman. Think of her vengeful look at the Moonlit Building, and then think of Qin Miao scolding the servants in the Flower Hall a few days ago, leaving those men speechless. Thinking of that arrogant Qin Miao, with a small body but a strong aura, Xie Lin couldn't help but feel amused.

  It has to be admitted that in just a few short months, all the big and small matters in the mansion have been managed by her with precision and order, although she often uses some small tricks and calculations. But at least from the beginning when everyone was pretending everything was fine, to now when all the problems are being eliminated one by one, everything is developing in a positive direction. The girl beside me is not a noble lady from a wealthy family, nor is she a talented woman from a prestigious family, but she has her own way of doing things and her own set of rules.

  Similarly, when it comes to love, she may also be unwilling to remain calm and at least has some expectations. Perhaps her own coldness made her angry with nowhere to vent, hence the sharp Spring Longing poem.

  Xie Yun's fingers still lingered on her delicate skin, reluctant to leave for a long time... But he didn't dare take another step forward, because he knew he couldn't.