"Your Highness!" Cui Niang said, her voice slightly choked with emotion, "How could this servant mind? Everyone says it's better to wear old clothes, especially since they belong to the young masters. Thank you, Consort Xie!"

After saying this, Cui Niang was about to bow down when Lan Qin grabbed her and pulled her back.

"Why are you crying? It's just some things I owe you. Come on, take me to your room! Oh, and Si Hua, take out the box I gave to Old Madam Li separately," Lan Qin said.

Cui Niang was even more moved. Lan Qin had even prepared something for the old lady separately. This was truly a way of showing respect to her.

A group of people carried things into Cui Niang's room.

When Lanqin arrived at Cui Niang's main room and sat down, A Ping served her tea. Then, she took Cui Niang's hand and said, "You're about to give birth. Is there anything you need? Just tell me."

Cui Niang said, "Everything that needs to be prepared has been prepared, and now the master has sent over these other things. We lack nothing."

Ah Ping seemed hesitant to speak, a fact that Lan Qin had already noticed.

"Do you have something to say?" Lanqin asked Aping.

"Don't talk nonsense!" Cui Niang said quickly.

"Cui Niang, let A Ping speak!" Lan Qin could tell from A Ping's expression that something must have happened.

“Master, she’s just an inexperienced young maid, so it’s inevitable that she’s a bit biased. You mustn’t listen to her,” said Cui Niang.

"Let's hear what you have to say first. I know what I'm doing!" Lanqin gestured to Aping.

"Yes, I'm just worried that after our mistress gives birth, I'll have to take care of her. Then there will be no one to cook and light the fire at home," A-Ping said after glancing at Cui Niang a few times.

"Where is your mother-in-law?" Lanqin asked Cui Niang with a hint of surprise.

Cui Niang seemed hesitant to speak, as she was also worried about this issue. Currently, she and A Ping were the ones handling the household chores. Mao Li was still just a boy, not a teenager, and couldn't do any housework; he could only run errands and watch the house.

Seeing that Cui Niang remained silent, A Ping said angrily, "The old lady is busy burning incense and praying to Guanyin Bodhisattva to bless the second master with passing the imperial examination every day. She has no time to care about the madam."

"Ah Ping!" Cui Niang shouted.

Lanqin understood the implication in Aping's words and grabbed Cui Niang's hand, saying, "What exactly happened? Didn't you tell me that you and Li Wei were doing very well?"

Upon hearing Lanqin's words, Cui Niang became anxious and quickly replied, "Yes, my husband and I are doing very well, but there are always some conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Master, you don't need to worry."

“Madam, the old lady has never come to visit, nor has she made any clothes for her unborn grandson, nor has she come to ask what to do after the baby is born. Not only does she not help, but she also expects people to wait on her and bring her three meals a day,” A-Ping said angrily.

Lanqin frowned. She assumed that Li Wei came from a farming family and that Li's mother-in-law wasn't the kind of difficult mother-in-law who would look down on Cui Niang. After all, Cui Niang was already considered an old maid when she married Li Wei.

“Don’t talk nonsense, Ping’er. It’s not that Second Master is causing your mother a lot of worry. He has suffered before, so it’s only natural for your mother to be a little more affectionate towards him,” said Cui Niang.

“But the child in Madam’s belly is the old lady’s grandson. Even if the old lady doesn’t like Madam, she shouldn’t ignore her grandson,” A-Ping continued.

Lanqin frowned even more. This Aunt Li seemed to be a difficult mother-in-law. Should she go and meet her?

"This is outrageous! Does Lord Li know that his mother is doing this?" Si Hua couldn't help but ask.

"Madam forbids anyone from saying anything, so how would Master know? He probably thinks the Old Madam and Madam get along very well!" Ah Ping pouted.

“He’s so busy every day, if I tell him about my troubles at home, he’ll be worried sick. It’s not a big deal, I can just have my mother come over and help out for a while,” said Cui Niang.

“But your wives are all pregnant, how can your maternal grandmother have time to come and take care of you?” A-Ping said immediately.

“Ah Ping is right. Nianxue and Xicha are both pregnant. Your mother has to take care of her daughters-in-law, so how can she take care of you? Besides, you have a perfectly good mother-in-law here, so why should your mother come over?” Lanqin interrupted Cui Niang.

“The concubine is right!” Ah Ping said with a smile when she heard Lan Qin say this.

“Alright, Cui Niang, you don’t need to say anymore. I’ll go see your mother-in-law. She has a serious relationship with Chen Qing. You are my stewardess, and I, as the concubine, will not allow you to suffer such injustice. Moreover, Li Wei must be told; we cannot tolerate him. Does he truly not know, or is he deliberately ignoring it?” Lan Qin said.

Cui Niang was speechless after Lan Qin's words.

"Alright, take out the things that I, the concubine, gave to the old lady. Cui Niang, you don't need to go. I'll go see your mother-in-law." Lanqin patted Cui Niang's hand and said.

“That won’t do. The concubine is the prince’s concubine; it should be Mother who comes to pay her respects,” Cui Niang said, somewhat uneasy. Actually, Cui Niang wasn’t weak; on the contrary, she was quite strong. Having lived in the palace for so many years and then escaped from Li Shi’s quarters, she was definitely not a weak person. However, when dealing with Old Madam Li, she chose the resilience and forbearance of a traditional woman. This was because Cui Niang felt that for a woman in her twenties, being formally married by Li Wei as his principal wife was already a blessing. She could tolerate Old Madam Li’s difficult nature. But Lan Qin didn’t think so. She felt that Li Wei’s influence with the Fourth Prince was due to Cui Niang being her head maid, a fact that the Li family couldn’t keep from them, otherwise they would really treat Cui Niang like a pushover.

Now, Lanqin, supported by Sihua's hand, followed Aping's lead to the backyard, where Old Madam Li and Li Chuang lived. Actually, the Old Madam should have come to see Lanqin herself, but Lanqin didn't want to go through the formalities. Out of respect for the elders, she went there on her own initiative.

Madam Li knew that the concubine from the Prince's mansion had come to visit her daughter-in-law, and she was already feeling restless in the room. She was wondering whether she should go and pay her respects to the concubine when Lanqin arrived.

"Madam, the concubine has come to see you!" Ah Ping shouted loudly.

Madam Li was actually a traditional old lady who didn't like Cui Niang very much, mainly because she thought Cui Niang was too old. Her son was a capable advisor to the prince, so it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to marry a housekeeper.

However, upon hearing Ah Ping's call, she immediately came out of the house to greet her.

"This old man greets Consort Li!" Madam Li was not an uneducated country bumpkin; she was the daughter of a scholar who had attended a private school for several years.