Wei Li kept a diary entry about Goguryeo, but he was preoccupied with the imperial examinations and his official duties, so he couldn't spare the time. As a result, he couldn't help but talk in his sleep.

Zhao Xiheng was always a deep sleeper, able to sleep soundly no matter how noisy it was, but now that she was a little more pregnant, she often felt heavy at night and her sleep was not as good as before. Wei Li's sleep talking at this time was a bit annoying.

Although Wei Li only talks in his sleep once every ten days or so, and at most he calls out Zhao Xiheng's name, when Zhao Xiheng gets annoyed, she naturally feels that he is wrong in everything he does, and slaps him on the head.

"Get up!" she snapped.

Wei Li woke up groggily, hugged her, and subconsciously kissed her forehead. "What's wrong?"

"Get out and go to sleep!" Zhao Xiheng irritably punched him. "Do you know you're talking in your sleep?"

"Then I won't say anything," Wei Li replied casually. He had no intention of sleeping in the study.

"No! Get out!" Seeing that he was about to close his eyes again, Zhao Xiheng quickly pushed him away. Tears streamed down her face as she cried and cursed at him, acting very unreasonable.

The two of them chattered for a while, but in the end, Wei Li lowered his head, packed his bedding, and left dejectedly.

She's been acting very strangely lately, and Wei Li can't quite figure her out. Sometimes when she gets angry, she cries and curses at the same time.

After Wei Li left, Zhao Xiheng looked at the cold and deserted room and felt sad again. She didn't know what was wrong with her, but she just felt a surge of sadness and started acting unreasonably.

To be honest, the people living in the west courtyard were really annoying. Wei Li didn't allow them to go out and move around, so they would just lie on the wall and stare all day long, like maggots watching what was going on inside the house. They hoped that the couple would have a bad time so that they could find a way to squeeze in someone.

Wei Li was kicked out to sleep in the study in the middle of the night, and they soon received the news. They began to speculate darkly whether the two had quarreled, since Wei Li looked unhappy when he came out.

These days, they went to report on their duties in turn as summoned by Wei Li, reporting on the situation in various places over the past year, both big and small. Then Wei Li would ask questions, and they would answer them. Wei Li was indifferent to everyone, showing no particular favoritism or satisfaction with any of them.

Tomorrow is the banquet. After the banquet, they will have to pack their bags and leave. It will be difficult to make any small moves or get any benefits then. They have already brought their daughter with them. They can't just take her back intact.

According to Wei Li, they are completely useless and never go after good plants. He doesn't even bother with them, but they think they are capable and jump around like crazy.

If he didn't need more people, he would have fired them long ago.

Fortunately, the imperial examination is proceeding in an orderly manner, and hopefully there are some capable people among them.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Wei Li returned home, his face still wet with dew. He was especially worried about Zhao Xiheng, whose emotions had been unstable lately.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Xiheng burst into tears the moment she saw him. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably as she clutched his clothes, sobbing, "Wei Li, I didn't mean to be unreasonable, nor did I want to cry. I just couldn't control myself."

Wei Li wiped her tears with his sleeve and patted her back. Not knowing how to comfort her, he pretended to be relaxed and said, "Look at you, it's such a small thing, why are you crying? I'm not angry with you, why are you crying? Stop crying, or I'll laugh at you."

There were no comforting words, but Zhao Xiheng felt reassured by them. Her tears stopped flowing, and she just sobbed intermittently. "Then I'll control myself a bit in the future and won't lose my temper with you anymore."

Wei Li pinched her cheek. "If you're not going to take your anger out on me, which random guy are you going to take it out on? I'm telling you, you can't, Zhao Xiheng."

Zhao Xiheng chuckled, looked up at him with tears glistening in her eyes.

Wei Li wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and kissed the top of her head. "Zhao Xiheng, let's not have any more after this one. It's too much suffering." Not only Zhao Xiheng was suffering, but he was suffering too. Even now, four and a half months into the pregnancy, he still vomits every morning.

Zhao Xiheng gave a soft, sweet "Mmm," but then thought, "What if it's a daughter? You really don't plan to have a son?"

Other families expect boys to inherit the family business; I wonder if Wei Li thinks the same way.

"No, look at General Song's daughter, isn't she quite capable too?" Wei Li kissed the corner of her eye.

"Yes, after all, you said that if you have a daughter in the future, you'll definitely drag her out of bed before dawn to practice martial arts. She'll definitely grow up to be very powerful, a heroine among women." Zhao Xiheng teased him. The little one wasn't even born yet, and Wei Li already adored her. If she were born, let alone treat her so strictly, he probably wouldn't even dare to say a harsh word to her.

Wei Li blushed, feeling that she always brought up the most sensitive topics, but since she wasn't at her wit's end, she still stubbornly insisted, "Yes, I said it, a heroine among women."

Zhao Xiheng touched his fingers, sniffed, and found Wei Li's palms to be burning hot. The heat seemed to travel from his palms all the way to her heart.

Wei Li's words are unpleasant, but he is mostly saying one thing and meaning another.

No matter how mean he was, his actions always made her feel safe. When Zhao Xiheng was with him, it was like a drifting duckweed had found its home. She could tell him anything that made her unhappy, and even if he couldn't offer any words of comfort, just holding her hand made her feel at peace.

After Aye died, she never imagined that there would be any other man in the world who could be so reliable and love her so much.

Whether she loved Wei Li or not, she herself didn't know, perhaps not that much. If she had to choose between Wei Li, her parents, and her child, she certainly wouldn't choose Wei Li first.

But she knew that she might like him, that she was happy when she was with him, and that she wanted to see him every day.

The banquet was held at night in the waterside pavilion, which was specially reserved by the Prince of Zhenbei when he built his temporary palace as a venue for banquets.

Zhao Xiheng disliked extravagance. If she decorated it in Wei Li's style, he would definitely use whatever was expensive, like a nouveau riche. So she took on all the decorations for the waterside pavilion herself. She didn't decorate it with gold, silver, or jade, but rather with white marble, preserving the original simple and sturdy style. It looked extremely solemn and didn't seem like a place where decadent music would be heard.

Zhao Xiheng felt that since a banquet was to be held, the mansion would be short of dancers, so they should invite some from the Imperial Music Bureau to perform.

Wei Li asked, "Do you like watching song and dance performances?"

Zhao Xiheng shook her head. She didn't like it and always felt drowsy watching it. But how could a proper banquet be without singing and dancing?

"Then let's not invite them. They're so spoiled. They haven't had enough of watching at home, so why do they have to come here to watch? There are pre-battle dances in the army. Have you ever seen them?" Wei Li asked with great interest.

Zhao Xiheng shook her head.

"Then I'll have Chen Ruojiang and the others prepare a pre-battle dance for you. It'll be very exciting, you'll like it."

Zhao Xiheng thought it was great, but something felt off. Wasn't this a farewell banquet for the governors? Why was Wei Li specifically asking her if she liked it? The proper thing was for everyone, host and guests, to be happy.

The performance of a pre-battle dance at the banquet was unexpected for the governors and their families. They had thought they could take advantage of the harmonious atmosphere of the banquet to chat, but the atmosphere was unexpectedly turned into a very solemn one. They didn't even dare to put down their chopsticks and sat up straight and solemnly.

Wei Li sat upright on the high platform and, unusually kindly, greeted them, "Why aren't you all drinking?"

The war drums thundered, shaking the heavens and the earth. How much wine could they possibly drink? Was this a farewell banquet or a trap?

Wei Li smiled, revealing his gleaming white teeth. It was good that they didn't dare to drink; they'd been making things difficult for him every day, and he wouldn't let them have it easy either.

The atmosphere was heavy. Zhao Xiheng secretly pinched Wei Li, "Are you doing this on purpose?" She deliberately made the atmosphere so heavy and troublesome.

Wei Li feigned pain, giving her ample face, and asked, "What are you saying, Madam?"

She had assumed that the pre-battle dance, being moved to a banquet, would be simplified, but it turned out to be incredibly menacing, making the guests restless. "Change it, stop this nonsense."

Fortunately, she had made preparations in advance and invited dancers from the Yamashita Kyoshibo to stand backstage.

After the beautiful dancers came on stage, the atmosphere suddenly eased and became quite harmonious.

Wei Li and Zhao Xiheng didn't like watching, so they focused on the food. The two had eaten before the banquet, but Zhao Xiheng was eating for two people and was hungry again. Wei Li tasted each dish and picked out some easy-to-eat ones for her.

The daughter of the Prefect of Ji'an had been secretly observing the situation at the head of the table. She couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief; Wei Li seemed to treat Sister Zhao quite well. Once she felt at ease, she began to devour the delicious food on the table.

After Zhao Xiheng became pregnant, she missed the food of Jinyang, so Wei Li spent a lot of money to hire many chefs from the south, who could cook all kinds of cuisines.

Wei Li lowered his head to peel shrimp, while Zhao Xiheng glanced around and asked, "Have you met the governor of Jiangdong Commandery?"

"I saw him. He has shifty eyes and looks like he's not good enough for anything," Wei Li said, still somewhat disappointed.

Of the forty memorials, thirty-two were sent back for rewriting. Of the remaining eight, seven were unremarkable. Only the summary of Jiangdong County was passable. I had thought he was a talented person, but he turned out to be quite ordinary.

Zhao Xiheng also felt regretful. The summary report was very well written. When she first saw the wife of the Jiangdong Prefect, she felt uneasy. She always felt that if his wife was like this, the Jiangdong Prefect probably wouldn't be much better.

"I asked him a few questions, and he didn't answer them very well. The memorial looked exactly like it was written by someone else." He blurted out.

In a moment of silence, the two looked at each other and simultaneously had a guess in their hearts.

What they were saying was naturally inaudible to those below; all they could see was the couple enjoying each other's company. Wei Li personally peeled shrimp for Zhao Xiheng, showing their affection and doting, as if no one could interfere.

Suddenly, Wei Li shouted, "Where is the Prefect of Jiangdong Commandery?"

A skinny middle-aged man hurriedly knelt out from the table, saying, "Your subject is here."