Finally, the princess's maid came out and invited the old lady and others to enter. Otherwise, after standing for another half an hour, Qin Miao's sturdy body would also be a bit unbearable. After all, she was only more than half a month away from giving birth.

  These two days, due to the master's arrival, and also because she was pregnant again, she didn't sleep well at night. In the morning, Xie Wei took one look at her complexion and felt a little frightened.

  A crowd of people followed the old lady into the main courtyard, where Yi An was already sitting calmly in the main seat, still holding a golden-haired and blue-eyed foreign cat.

  "The old lady brought the Xie family's womenfolk to pay respects to Your Highness!" The old Madame Xie led the group in a humble and respectful bow.

  However, what Yian saw first was Qin Miao's somewhat pale face. The color seemed to be a bit uncomfortable. She didn't think much about it and just kept her gaze for a moment before saying to Old Lady Xie: "Everyone is fine."

  "Old lady, I'm really sorry. If I had known you were coming today, I should have gotten up earlier. It's all because of these maids by my side, they were afraid that I was tired from traveling yesterday and let me sleep a bit longer." Yi An said as she signaled with her eyes for the palace maid to come forward and support the old lady into the first seat on the left.

  The old lady thanked the palace maid and then smiled and chatted with the princess: "Your Highness has really exhausted me. After many days of traveling, it's only right to sleep a bit more. I don't know if Your Highness slept well last night, or if there was anything that wasn't quite comfortable?"

  "It's all good, especially last night's dinner. Rarely do the cooks in the Hou Mansion have a heart, and their craftsmanship is not inferior to that of the imperial kitchen. I even had some private thoughts, thinking of taking them away with me."

  The old lady saw the princess's eyebrows open and smile, and her face was rosy, thinking that what she said was not all polite words, so she felt much more at ease. "Really? That's good, that's good!"

  Next, after some small talk, it was time to introduce the ladies. The old lady introduced them one by one in order of seniority: Qin Miao, Xie Wei, Sun Shi from the second branch and Liu Shi from the third branch. As Qin's family was actually Qin Miao's maternal family and couldn't represent the Xie manor, they didn't attend.

  "This is indeed the wife of Lord Xie." Yi An pretended to be intimate and smiled at Qin Miao, then pointed to her belly and said: "Is this going to give birth soon?"

  Qin Miao stood up and made a simple courtesy. "As for the words of the palace, it's already been nearly a month. I reckon in about half a month, it should be time to give birth."

  "Madam is indeed very fortunate. However, I heard that this Marquis Xie is also over 20 years old and should have had children by now..." Yi An was young and could still pretend to be innocent.

  "I see that some of the nobles in the capital are now at an age where they have children who are several years old. For large families, having descendants is still very important."

  Everyone listened to her words, not knowing what she meant, and suddenly brought up the matter of children. It's strange for a young girl like Yian to say such things. A little girl who just came out and talked about other people's children, no matter how you listen to it, it feels a bit weird.

  Qin Miao didn't expect that the princess would say thank you to her own unborn child for coming late. At this moment, she was also stunned. However, in just a moment, she smiled and replied: "Before, the lord was busy with government affairs, and we were often separated. Fortunately, thanks to Your Majesty's smooth succession to the throne, we can finally spend some time together as a couple."

  Look, I'm not ungrateful for the continuation of the Xie family lineage. It's just that previously, Xie Tong was busy serving your father, the emperor, and didn't have time to take care of our own family matters. Fortunately, after your father ascended to the throne and everything settled down, my husband and I were able to live a comfortable life for a while. So, as for our Xie family, we are willing to dedicate ourselves to serving Your Majesty and the imperial court, putting the greater good above our own personal interests.

  The old lady heard Qin Miao's respectful words and secretly admired her granddaughter-in-law for having a clever mind. After all, everyone couldn't fathom the princess's thoughts, but flattering and showing loyalty was always safe. As a result, Qin Miao saw a look of approval from her grandmother.

  Yi'an Princess wasn't a fool either, listening to Qin Miaoru's words, she immediately stopped pursuing this topic. Others had already flattered her father by patting his leg, and as his daughter, she naturally took over for him.

  "Why did I only see the madam today, but not the other concubines?" Yi'an looked around and indeed didn't see anyone else besides the few who were just introduced.

  The old lady and Qin Miao's eyebrows tightened almost simultaneously. What's going on today, why is the princess always circling around Sunzi's room?

  "Oh, Master Hou has not taken any concubines yet. Currently, I am the only one serving him." Qin Miaoru said frankly. This kind of question couldn't be answered by an elder like her mother-in-law, so it was more suitable for her to answer as his wife.

  It's fortunate that it was just a shock, and the maids waiting on her were also relieved.

  They had inquired about the situation of the Xie family's back house before they came. However, Xie Yan was always low-key, and this Qin Miao didn't socialize much with other noble or official ladies either, so they got very little information. All they knew was that Qin Miao had been married to Marquis Xie for some years, her maiden family was from Hangzhou, but she was born into a merchant family. That's all there was to it.

  As for Qin Miao being pregnant, it was actually the young servant who found out on their way here. When she first heard the news, Yi An was so angry that her teeth itched. Seeing her with a big belly the day before made her even more annoyed.

  But today, people quietly told her that Xie Zhu and his wife had been married for many years, even without children, nor was there another woman. Either the Marquis of Xie was henpecked or the two were deeply in love. How unwilling Yi An was to admit that the reason was the latter.

  "Oh, I see. Well... congratulations to you, Madam. The Marquis is a devoted one." Yi An replied indifferently.

  Qin Miaoxiao smiled and said: "Nowadays, Your Majesty and the Empress are as close as gold. That's what can be called a model couple of this generation. Master Hou should learn from them and not disappoint Your Majesty's repeated teachings."

  This woman is so glib, everything she says sounds good.

  It's good to hear soothing words, but in her heart, she felt even more stifled. Originally, she had planned to take advantage of today's opportunity to crush Qin Miao's arrogance, but unexpectedly, it didn't work out, and instead, she had to pretend to be delighted.

  She was young and spoiled, so she didn't feel like continuing the conversation. She just casually chatted with the old lady for a few sentences before ordering everyone to withdraw.

  Just as everyone was about to leave, Yi An suddenly remembered something and asked Xie Wei to stay behind and chat with her for a bit.

  Xie Wei apparently didn't have this awareness and didn't expect to be directly named and left behind. She subconsciously looked towards the old lady and Qin Miao, but saw that both of them slightly nodded, also didn't say anything, and continued sitting back in her seat.

  "Miss Xie, I'm fifteen this year, how about you?" Yi An spoke first.

  Xie Wei looked up: "As for Your Highness's question, I am seventeen this year."

  "Oh, then I'll call you Wei Jie Jie from now on."

  Xie Wei heard this and immediately felt a sense of unease in her heart, hurriedly declining: "Your Highness is a dragon among men, how can you call me sister? I really don't dare to presume!"

  Yi An, however, took her hand and pulled her closer to sit beside him. "You know that in the palace, I'm the only one of my age, and there's no one around me who can have a conversation with me. Now that you're here at the Hou Mansion, as soon as I saw you, I felt very close to you, and I want to talk more with you. Look, my father and Lord Hou are like old friends, so why can't we be sisterly close? Or... perhaps you're like everyone else and don't want to get close to me?"

  She spoke in a pitifully cute tone, like an unwanted little kid, pouting her mouth and getting teary-eyed. It seemed that if Xie Wei didn't respond to her, she would burst into tears.

  Xie Wei finally pressed down a nervous heart and nodded slightly.

  "Great! From now on, you and I will often play together, talk together, okay?"

  Xie Wei nodded again.

  She stayed in the main courtyard for lunch under the princess's enthusiastic invitation before leaving. After returning to Beiyuan, she reported to Old Lady Xie as usual about her encounter with the princess that morning. She then went to look for Qin Miao again, but was told that Qin Miao had felt tired after lunch and had already taken a nap. Xie Wei finally returned to her own room.