"Jingliu!" Qin Yuanfeng rushed into the room like the wind, wrapping Ruan Jingliu in his arms without any preamble.

The familiar shoulder, the familiar scent, miraculously made the stagnant air that had been clogging her heart for days suddenly disappear.

Ruan Jingliu hesitantly reached out to hug Qin Yuanfeng back, and upon receiving her response, Qin Yuanfeng lifted her horizontally, planting countless kisses on her face haphazardly, his eyes filled with deep longing: "I missed you so much!" He truly felt the saying that one day apart is like three autumns.

Ruan Jingliu leaned against him, let out a long breath, her complexion softened.

Just like this—at least at this moment, she was happy, wasn’t she?

"What’s wrong?" Qin Yuanfeng paused when he saw her sigh, placing her steadily on a chair, and then noticed the bundle she left by the table, his expression changed drastically as he asked, "Are you going out?"

Ruan Jingliu glanced at the bundle she had packed earlier, nodded expressionlessly, "That was the plan..." Seeing Qin Yuanfeng’s face full of disappointment and panic, she calmly continued, "But not anymore."

Qin Yuanfeng looked at Ruan Jingliu, and Ruan Jingliu looked at him, as if understanding something, he suddenly began to laugh, his laughter bright and clear like a child’s.

At night, Ruan Jingliu, exhausted, barely resisted kicking the culprit out of bed, just feeling like he was a ravenous creature always full of energy!

She struggled to get up, Qin Yuanfeng pulled her: "Need some water? I’ll get it for you!"

"No need." Ruan Jingliu put on some clothes and walked to the table, casually grabbing a paper packet from the medicine box on the table, and with her back to Qin Yuanfeng, poured a bit of powder into his teacup, shook it and handed it to him. Qin Yuanfeng was overjoyed, it was the first time Ruan Jingliu had done such a thing for him, and eagerly took it, drinking it down in one go, moved as he leaned in to embrace her, "Madam, you’re so good!"

Ruan Jingliu calmly sipped her tea, though resisting the urge to roll her eyes, "Go lie down quickly!"

A simple command, Qin Yuanfeng didn’t expect Ruan Jingliu to be so assertive, his blood immediately boiled, he looked at her ambiguously and grinned, nodding: "Alright, alright, I’m going to lie down!"

As he got to the bed, he didn’t forget to strip off the only inner clothes he had on and threw it aside, lying with his limbs spread, he squinted his eyes with an alluring gaze at Ruan Jingliu, completely at her mercy.

Ruan Jingliu clearly wasn’t moved by the alluring scene before her, she looked at him with folded arms, tapping her fingers on the cup edge, and by the fifth tap, Qin Yuanfeng already sensed something was wrong and looked at her alertly: "Madam, you?" His head then tilted to one side, falling into a deep sleep, with his last thought lingering... the sweet reunion after his short absence.

"Finally asleep." Ruan Jingliu rubbed her aching waist, put down the tea cup, turned her gaze away, before wrapping him in the quilt and comfortably lying beside him...

This way she could have a good sleep.

Fourth Master Xiao lay against Xiqiu’s belly, listening to the fetal movements inside, displaying a puzzled expression: "...how can he move in two places at once." He touched both sides of the belly, gesturing the size of the baby with his hands.

Xiqiu also found it a bit strange, Fourth Master Xiao measured the circumference again: "It seems a bit bigger than when she was pregnant with Zhi."

Considering the time, it’s only a bit over five months now, yet the belly is already larger than Tong Xiyan’s.

"Let’s have the Imperial Physician come to the residence tomorrow to take a look." Fourth Master Xiao said worriedly, "Also, let him prescribe some calming medicine for you; not sleeping well is not good for your health."

Xiqiu shook her head: "No need, the Imperial Physician wouldn’t be able to tell anything, and taking too much medicine isn’t good for the baby either." She laid back down but couldn’t sleep comfortably, arduously turning around, Fourth Master Xiao looking at her uncomfortable appearance, said with concern: "Want me to carry you to the couch for a bit?"

Xiqiu thought about it and nodded, lying down just felt like her internal organs were being squeezed, suffocatingly uncomfortable, so she had Fourth Master Xiao carry her to the soft couch, where he then draped a blanket over her, finally she felt a bit more comfortable and could breathe more easily.

The weather gradually warmed up, and Xiqiu could only go for walks in the evenings, during the day, even a little movement would make her sweat all over, she was lazily lying there, not even wanting to move a finger.

When Zhi returned at noon, often seeing Xiqiu leaning there, he would press himself against her belly talking to it: "Hurry up and get out, Mother is uncomfortable!" He would poke the belly with his finger, "Isn’t it too hot inside with the weather so hot?" Then he’d fetch a fan to create a breeze, "Let me fan you, do you feel more comfortable?"

Xiqiu watched him with a smile, patting her son’s head, "He can’t talk yet, can’t answer you." Zhi nodded, "I know." Then added, "Let him remember my good intentions first, so he doesn’t come out not knowing I’m his big brother!"

Xiqiu couldn’t suppress her amusement.

"Did Third Uncle write back to you, did he mention when he’d return?" After Xiqiu finished speaking, Zhi nodded, "He wrote back, saying he’d set out in mid-June, he should be on his way now." He furrowed his brows contemplating it for a while: "If we count the travel time, he should arrive by late July or early August, right?"

Xiqiu nodded, it had been over three years since last seeing Tong Quanzi, she wondered how he had changed, also Biwu, remembering when she left she was still clueless about relationships, had she matured now?

On the ninth day of July, Grand Dowager, First Madam, as well as Xing, Sheng, and Xiao Yanzheng brought the two children to the residence, Nanny Cen personally made longevity noodles, the family gathered at the table to eat, and after setting down the chopsticks, Grand Dowager laughed and said: "This pregnancy is much less worrying than the one when she was expecting Zhi." Then she looked at Xiqiu’s belly, "But it’s quite big, might be difficult in childbirth."

First Madam also displayed a worried expression, Xiao Yanzheng nodded and said: "Fourth Sister-in-law, you shouldn’t be cooped up inside, go out and walk more, with a belly this big, the birth will surely be challenging."

Once she finished speaking, Fourth Master Xiao’s expression turned, remembering the scene from the last birth with Zhi, his heart turned cold, feeling like facing a formidable enemy!