Today, the Qin family, the Minhu couple, the Mincan family, the Hongzhen family, the Xu family's old couple and the Dafang family, the Hu Wan couple, and several of Zhao Wu's close colleagues and their families were all here.

A few days ago, Hu Wan and Xu came to visit Xu Lanyin and brought her this year's dividend from the department store, 4,300 taels of silver. Hu Wan was very capable, having already opened four department stores in Daming Dynasty, all of which were doing very well. Given the inconvenience of transportation in ancient times, he didn't want to open more and instead focused entirely on managing the businesses of these few stores.

Xu Lanyin pursed her lips in laughter. She had only come up with the idea for the department store at the beginning, but she had been hands-off since then, yet she could still earn so much money in a single year. She only owned one layer of shares, while the Hu family, with seven layers, could pocket over thirty thousand taels of silver annually. They also had other businesses, and if they continued to grow them, they could become incredibly wealthy.

Xu Lanyin told them about Xu Ershi, the strengths and weaknesses of Xu Ershi and his family, and asked them to analyze the pros and cons to see if Xu Ershi was suitable to be Hu Yi's husband.

Hu Wan and Xu Shi both liked him very much. They were both happy to have Xu Lanyin as their in-laws, and they absolutely believed that Xu Lanyin had genuine intentions for Hu Yi. She knew her cousin inside and out, and Xu Ershi certainly didn't harbor those dark thoughts. Hu Wan also knew Xu Dashi and had a very good impression of him. Furthermore, Xu Ershi's qualifications were far superior to Fan Zhong's, but he wasn't diligent, unwilling to endure hardship, and had high expectations but low skills. This was the nature of a gigolo, not a flaw.

The Hu family had always assumed that the less attractive the man, the more he would fear the family and treat Hu Yi better. However, they hadn't anticipated Fan Zhong's inherent aggressiveness, feeling he'd taken advantage of someone and then committed such a heinous act. Hu Wan blamed himself deeply, saying he was so busy with business that his parents had decided his sister's marriage. If he had found a reliable young man for his sister, she wouldn't have suffered such a blow and humiliation.

The two of them specifically discussed and decided to observe Xu Ershi and his parents carefully today.

When Xu Ershi, Xu Qingming and Gu were at home, they also received instructions from Xu Dashi, asking them to be warm and polite, but not too humble.

Xu Dashi had never dreamed that the wealthy Mr. Hu could become his own in-law. He hoped the match would be successful, as it would boost his business. He also hoped his younger brother would be happy and truly treat the girl well.

Xu was outgoing and generous, and Old Lady Xu was good at handling affairs and talking. The two of them laughed and joked as soon as they met. Gu was shrewd and knew that too much talk would lead to mistakes, so she just smiled at the side.

In the outer courtyard, Hu Wan talked with Xu Ershi and Xu Qingming for a few words, and felt that it was just as Xu Lanyin said. Although the young man was not satisfactory, he was the best choice for his sister.

The one-day full moon banquet ended successfully, and both the Xu and Hu families were very happy with their blind dates.

The next day, Zhao Wu was about to go out on business again. Ostensibly on business, he was actually on personal business. They discovered a new clue: Nanny Yu's brother's family lived in a farm in Changzhou, not far from Wuxiang Mountain. Nanny Yu's family were all illegitimate children of the Pu family. Given their presence, the farm should be connected to the Pu family, yet superficially, it seemed to have no connection. Zhao Wu and Xu Lan had a hunch that something was amiss.

This was the benefit of Zhao Wu being under Min Hu. As long as Zhao Wu wanted to do something private, Min Hu would find him a public job.

It snowed heavily last night. Xu Lanyin felt extremely distressed when she saw Zhao Wu disappear at the door of the hanging flower garden covered in snow.

She sighed, opened the door, and drew aside the cotton curtains, a wave of hot air rushing in. The room was warm because of the heating on the kang and the charcoal basin.

Little Mingxi lay on the kang in a onesie, his diaper tucked between his tiny butt, his chubby legs kicking wildly in the air, his fists waving. Xu Lanyin had made the onesie, modeled after the baby clothes from her previous life, even fitting his little feet. She usually didn't like to wrap her child tightly in a blanket, believing it was bad for his growth and development.

She sat on the kang and teased the child with "ah, oh, uh." Little Mingxi grinned with his toothless mouth, his eyes curved like crescent moons, and he uttered a few "ahs."

This child is easy to take care of. As long as he eats well, drinks enough, sleeps well, and pees well, he rarely cries or makes a fuss.

Madam Ye led the maids in sewing. Not only did they need to make two new sets of clothes for the master and servants for the New Year, but they also needed to make some for Old Man Xu and his wife and Min Hu's unborn child. Li really liked the baby clothes that little Mingxi was wearing, so Xu Lanyin wanted to send a few more sets.

Three days later, the weather cleared up. Having fed little Mingxi, Xu Lan took Zhaoqi on a carriage, driven by Uncle Jia, to the Hu family's farm in the suburbs. She couldn't make it back by noon, so she asked a neighbor for a bowl of goat's milk to heat up for the child.

If it were anyone else, Xu Lanyin wouldn't have gone at this time. But Hu Yi was stubborn. She had promised her that she would visit her after the baby was born, so she had to keep her promise. Otherwise, Hu Yi would think that even Sister Xu didn't like her anymore.

Xu and Hu's carriages were waiting for her at the city gate. When they saw the Zhao family's carriage coming, they drove towards the farm together.

Hu Yi had indeed been looking forward to Xu Lanyin, and she was only happy to see her come to see her. Xu Lanyin and her whispered in the room for a long time until the afternoon, when she told Xu and Hu that they were going back to the city.

In another room, Xu told Mrs. Hu about Xu Ershi. Mrs. Hu also liked him very much, but she couldn't tell Hu Yi for the time being.

Just after breakfast on the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, someone from the Fujian Prefecture came to say that Li had started to have an attack at the hour of Yin that night.

Upon hearing this, Xu Lanyin hurriedly took the child to the Min Mansion. She had previously agreed with Li that she would be there to accompany her when she gave birth. Li's mother and mother-in-law were both deceased, and her other elders were no longer around. Since it was her first time giving birth, she was afraid and was willing to be accompanied by Xu Lanyin, who had been friends with her and had given birth before.

Li gave birth in a wing room behind the main courtyard. As soon as you entered the main courtyard, you could hear Li's roar.

Mother Qian was in the west wing of the main courtyard with the still-sleeping Zhao Mingxi. Xu Lanyin would come regularly to nurse the child. Xu Lanyin continued walking, passing the side building and entering the back yard. She saw several maids and servants standing outside the window, anxiously waiting.

Minhu, always known for his gentle and calm demeanor, emerged from the opposite wing, looking anxious, his hair a little disheveled, his clothes wrinkled. He told Xu Lanyin, "Qingtong has been in labor for over three hours and is in severe pain. The midwife said the baby is a bit large and the birth is difficult."

Xu Lanyin said, "Don't worry, Lord Min. Many people take more than ten hours to give birth. It's still early."

After she finished speaking, she hurried to the living room in the wing room.

Minhu was extremely anxious, but he was too embarrassed to stand outside his wife's window to comfort her or talk to her, even standing there for a moment longer was too embarrassing. When he saw Xu Lanyin leave, he looked at the small window, thinking of his wife inside who was in excruciating pain, and could only sigh a few times, then went back to the house to wait for news.