On the day Yinzhen was on leave, the two went to Tantuo Temple together. When they arrived, Shumulu and Tong Xuean were already there.

Tong Cheng'er was naturally very happy to see her mother and brother, and quickly stepped forward to say, "Mother and brother, why did you come so early?"

Shumulu smiled slightly: "It's getting late, come over quickly and let your mother take a look."

Tong Cheng'er left Yinzhen's side and walked quickly toward Shumulu.

Shumulu held her hand and said, "You've lost weight. Your mother's face isn't as round as it used to be. This trip to Mongolia and then to Jiangnan has really been tough on Cheng'er."

Tong Cheng'er was both amused and exasperated upon hearing this. She hadn't suffered at all. Although there were some inconveniences during the journey, Yinzhen had taken care of everything for her, so she hadn't really suffered.

As for the chubby face, she felt that it wasn't that she had lost weight, but that she had grown out and her baby fat was gradually disappearing, so she didn't look as round as before!

"Mother, your daughter did not suffer."

Shumulu nodded with a smile: "Good, good, if you say I didn't suffer, then I didn't suffer."

Judging from the tone of Shumulu's voice, Tong Cheng'er felt that she probably didn't believe her.

There was once a popular saying online: "There's a kind of coldness called 'Mom thinks you're cold.'" Now, she says there's a kind of thinness called "Mom thinks you're thin."

I never experienced the "coldness my mother felt" in modern times, but I did experience the "thinness my mother felt" in the Qing Dynasty.

For Tong Cheng'er, it was a wonderful and interesting experience.

While Tong Cheng'er was chatting with Shumulu, Yinzhen was pulled into a conversation by Tong Xue'an.

Men have so much to talk about.

After a while, Granny Fu came over and said, "Madam, Madam Niohuru and Princess Yingyu have arrived."

Shumulu then stopped talking to her daughter: "Please come in quickly."

Granny Fu: "Yes, Madam."

Not long after Granny Fu left, she brought in a group of people. At the head of the group was Princess Yingyu, whom Tong Cheng'er had met before, and a woman who looked very dignified. That woman was probably Yingyu's mother.

After exchanging greetings, the two sides began to chat.

As for the content of the greetings, it was nothing more than Shumulu praising Yingyu for how good she was, and Niohuru Fujin praising Tong Xuean for his young talent.

After exchanging pleasantries, the two families found an excuse to let the two of them go out alone. Of course, even though they went out alone, they were accompanied by servants!

Seeing that Yingyu and her brother had left, Tong Cheng'er didn't want to stay any longer, since she couldn't get a word in edgewise when the elders were talking.

"Mother, I'll be leaving now."

Shumulu looked at her with affection: "You're one of those people who can't sit still. Go out!"

Tong Cheng'er smiled and left with Yinzhen.

Upon leaving the room, Yinzhen naturally took Tong Cheng'er's hand. Tong Cheng'er was already used to him holding her hand and didn't feel anything was amiss, but it surprised Fu Mama and the others who were guarding the door.

After the initial surprise, Granny Fu couldn't help but feel happy. It seemed that the Fourth Prince treated the Princess very well. She had heard before that the Fourth Prince was not interested in women and would not show any disdain to anyone at the dinner table when there were no other people present.

In retrospect, the rumors do seem to have some credibility.

"You said you're at the temple, do you want to pray to Buddha?" Although she doesn't believe in Buddhism, it wouldn't hurt to pray a little.

Yinzhen nodded: "Okay."

Yinzhen could never refuse what his concubine said.

Yinzhen accompanied Tong Cheng'er to worship Buddha. There weren't many people in the temple, which might be because they arrived early.

Tong Cheng'er didn't know much about Buddhist statues, so she just bowed to each one she saw. As she bowed, she ended up bowing to the statue of the Goddess of Fertility.

She didn't look closely, and went in to pray.

Yinzhen looked up at the Guanyin statue above, thinking that he would ask the imperial physician when he got back whether his young consort's current condition would affect her ability to conceive and give birth.

He originally wanted to wait until his wife was fully grown, but now it seems she can't wait.

Could it be that he's envious of the Third Prince's wife's pregnancy?

Tong Cheng'er stood up and saw him staring blankly: "What's wrong?"

Yinzhen shook his head: "Nothing much, I just didn't expect Cheng'er to want a child. It seems I'll have to work on it when I get back."

He spoke very softly, so that only Tong Cheng'er, who was close to him, could hear him.

Tong Cheng'er was confused: "What are you talking about! What do you mean by children? Do you want a child?"

Thinking this, Tong Cheng'er's gaze towards Yinzhen changed. Could it be that this man was planning to go back on his word?

Tong Cheng'er: "Didn't you say it would be a few years later?"

Yinzhen: It's just so frustrating.

After coughing twice, Yinzhen said, "I was just seeing you praying to the Goddess of Fertility, and I thought you were craving a child because your third sister-in-law is pregnant."

Tong Cheng'er was taken aback when she heard this, and then looked up.

She saw a statue of Guanyin holding a chubby baby. Was it really the Guanyin who grants children?!

This is a huge misunderstanding.

Tong Cheng'er looked at Yinzhen with some embarrassment.

"I didn't know this was a statue of Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy who grants children. If I had known, I wouldn't have come to worship."

They both agreed that there was no rush to have a child; they would wait until she was fully grown.

For Tong Cheng'er, it would be best to have a child at eighteen. However, if she actually had a child at eighteen, she would probably be nagged, since Yinzhen usually stayed overnight at her place and it was impossible for him to have a child with another woman.

For Yinzhen's sake, Tong Cheng'er told him about her plan to have a child at seventeen.

Although it was a bit early for her, given the current circumstances, this was the most she could do.

Yinzhen smiled upon hearing this.

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