Chapter 7 Yunzhu, why don't you have a child with my brother...

Xiao Mingzhang took a bath alone in the end.

After he finished bathing and returned to his room, Yunzhu had already ordered someone to set out a table for dinner, just waiting for him to come and eat together.

The small kitchen in their courtyard was not lit tonight. In the afternoon, Madam Ying invited them over for dinner and set out a feast, but because of Xiao Mingzhang's matter, the feast was canceled. Madam Ying then had a pile of delicacies delivered directly to their courtyard.

"Why don't you eat first?" Xiao Mingzhang, having cleaned himself up and exuding a faint scent of soap, sat down next to Yunzhu.

Amidst the aroma of food filling the room, Yunzhu caught a rare whiff of a delicate fragrance. She couldn't help but lean closer to Xiao Mingzhang, smelling the scent of soapberry mixed with a hint of the bamboo leaf fragrance she often encountered. Only then did she feel at ease and replied, "These dishes were specially ordered by Mother Consort to be delivered. If I don't wait for you to eat together, I'm afraid Mother Consort will be unhappy."

“There’s no one from the Imperial Concubine’s household in our courtyard, so what’s there to be afraid of?” Xiao Mingzhang raised an eyebrow.

Yunzhu, however, felt it was hard to say.

Are there really no people from the Ying family in their courtyard? Then why is it that whenever she does something, the Ying family always finds out so quickly?

"Don't believe me?" Seeing her suspicious expression, Xiao Mingzhang, who had already picked up his chopsticks, put them down again.

He's always like that, eating very formally and properly, and he always likes to finish talking before eating.

Yunzhu shook her head, neither saying she believed nor disbelieved, but simply said, "Alright, I'm starving from waiting for you, I want to eat this!"

Xiao Mingzhang put down his chopsticks, but she picked them up and, without thinking twice, took a piece of fish.

Xiao Mingzhang originally wanted to explain to Yunzhu, but seeing that she didn't seem very willing to talk about it, he thought about it again and decided not to explain.

They ate a meal peacefully, and that night they lay peacefully in the same bed.

Last night was Xiao Mingzhang's first night back, and they had both expended a lot of energy. When the lights were turned off, Yunzhu thought that Xiao Mingzhang wouldn't want to do anything inappropriate with her today. Besides, he had gone to the training ground and saved someone today; where would he get so much energy?

But she completely underestimated Xiao Mingzhang.

Lying on the bed for less than a quarter of an hour, Yunzhu felt a large hand gradually climbing up her waist.

Her waist stiffened, and the next instant, her body was pressed down by a huge object. The pungent scent of soapberry mixed with the fragrance of bamboo leaves stimulated her mind, and along with it came the burning heat that belonged only to Xiao Mingzhang...

Yunzhu had no choice but to pretend to refuse twice, but in the end, she gave in to his wish.

...

The saying "absence makes the heart grow fonder" now seems to mean this.

The next day, when Yunzhu got up again with a sore back and aching waist, she finally fully understood the profoundness of the Central Plains culture.

It wasn't her imagination; these past two days, Xiao Mingzhang's sessions had not only been taking longer, but each one was also more exhausting than before. In just two days, she felt like her whole body was about to fall apart.

"Xiao Mingzhang, I already wrote three calligraphy practice sheets yesterday." She leaned on Xiao Mingzhang's shoulder, trying to curry favor with him so that she wouldn't have to get up early to practice so many characters today.

"Hmm, I've read it. It's not bad. Write three more pages today, and I'll check them when I get back this afternoon."

"..." Yunzhu glared at Xiao Mingzhang with hatred. Even though he had just praised her handwriting, she couldn't help but bite him on the neck.

Today, Xiao Mingzhang is going to the government office in Yunzhou City. He has not returned for three months, and there are a lot of things waiting for him, the heir, to deal with, not only in the army but also in the government office.

Yunzhu watched him leave, and deliberately lingered a little longer during the meal. Finally realizing that she could no longer delay, she hurriedly began practicing calligraphy.

After meeting with her best friends for two days in a row, Yunzhu finally decided not to meet with Yu Jingsi and Cui Ranzhi this day. She wanted to take a good nap this afternoon to catch up on the sleep she had missed the past two nights.

But she didn't expect that even if she didn't want to go out, plenty of people would come to her asking her to go out.

It was someone she never expected—her sister-in-law, Princess Xiao Ming'an of Qingyuan County.

"Me?" Yunzhu was very surprised. "You want me to go out with you?" She didn't know why Xiao Ming'an wanted to ask her to accompany him.

Although they had lived under the same roof for two years, Yunzhu felt that she and her sister-in-law were not very familiar with each other.

Like Xiao Mingzhang, Xiao Ming'an, as a child of the Huan Prince's Mansion, was also born to Princess Ying.

However, Xiao Ming'an is quite different from Xiao Mingzhang. As the county princess of the royal family and the daughter of Ying, Xiao Ming'an spent a lot of time with her mother since childhood and received a lot of instruction from her mother.

Madam Ying disliked Yunzhu, so she also instructed Xiao Ming'an not to have much contact with her sister-in-law.

Yunzhu was not without temper. Ying was indeed a princess, and Xiao Ming'an was indeed a county princess, but she was also a dignified princess of the Western Regions. Xiao Ming'an listened to Ying and didn't pay much attention to her sister-in-law, so she didn't pay attention to her either, let alone try to please her.

Thus, the relationship between the two sisters-in-law remained neither too close nor too distant, a state of perfect harmony.

"Don't you want to go out and play?" Xiao Ming'an's delicate little face was filled with doubt when he heard Yunzhu's question.

"I want to go out and have fun," Yunzhu said honestly, "but I don't want to go today."

"Tsk." Xiao Ming'an curled his lips. "Don't blame me for not reminding you, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It's rare that Mother allowed me to go out and play today, but I was thinking of you. Next time you want to go out freely, it won't be so easy."

Does she really think that she can only obey her mother's orders in the Prince's mansion?

Yunzhu didn't get along well with her sister-in-law, so she didn't know that her sister-in-law would have such a naive idea.

"So what if it's not easy?" she said nonchalantly.

"You..." Xiao Ming'an couldn't sit still any longer after hearing Yun Zhu's answer.

She slammed her hand on the table and stood up, making a move to leave. After taking two steps, she saw that Yunzhu actually didn't stop her. She moved around and eventually found her back on the stool next to Yunzhu.

"Fine, I'll beg you, please come with me today. All my good sisters are busy today, and I want to go for a stroll outside the city, but my mother is worried about me going out alone."

"Then Mother, are you comfortable going out with me?" Yunzhu asked curiously.

"..."

Xiao Ming'an touched his nose and remained silent.

Yunzhu then understood. It was truly rare that her younger sister-in-law still needed her company. It was also rare that she could come to ask her to go out and play without her mother's knowledge.

Well, since she's free today, I might as well be a good person and go out with her for a stroll, and maybe see what she's up to.

Hmm, that's how they say it in their native language, right?

Let's see if she really wants her company, or if she wants to use her for something!

—

Since Yunzhu had agreed to Xiao Ming'an's request to go out, the two of them boarded a carriage to leave the city after lunch.

Ying was not at home in the afternoon. I heard that she had been invited by some lady to her home to witness her child's one-month celebration.

Yunzhu and Xiao Ming'an sat in the carriage, and Xiao Ming'an asked, "You and my brother have been married for two years, but you still don't have any children?"

"..." Yunzhu glanced at Xiao Ming'an and felt that she and her sister-in-law were really incompatible. She and Xiao Mingzhang didn't have children. Was it because they didn't want them? It was because she had never been able to get pregnant.

Speaking of which, it's strange, Yunzhu thought. She and Xiao Mingzhang had been married for two years and had definitely had a lot of sex, but she didn't understand why she hadn't been able to get pregnant.

At first, she wondered if Xiao Mingzhang didn't want the child she had, but over the past two years, she really didn't feel that Xiao Mingzhang disliked her, so there must be another reason.

Perhaps it's a health problem between her and Xiao Mingzhang?

Yunzhu has not yet verified the specific reasons behind this.

She was lost in her own thoughts, completely unaware of Xiao Ming'an's unease.

Seeing that Yunzhu remained silent, she continued, "It's not that I'm deliberately saying anything unpleasant, but as you know, there aren't many people in our family who truly like you. If you could have a child with my brother, then no matter what, my mother would definitely treat you much better!"

That's the truth.

But Yunzhu couldn't help but think that if a person could only win the favor of others by having children, that would be too lowly.

She was satisfied with Xiao Mingzhang and wanted to have a child with him; that was her own business, and it had nothing to do with whether or not she could please Ying Shi.

"Don't take this lightly!" Seeing that Yunzhu still didn't speak, Xiao Ming'an continued her long-winded explanation, "Look at me, am I not a living example? As long as there is a child, as long as the timing of the child's appearance is right, even if it is a girl, she can still play a significant role!"

Seeing her proud and smug appearance, and how she was so smug in front of her, Yunzhu knew that Xiao Ming'an was about to bring up the glory that his birth had brought to the Huanwang Mansion.

She gently touched her forehead.

The royal family of the Central Plains has always placed great importance on the bloodline between men and women. Even though they are all children of the royal family, there is a difference between men and women. The character "Ming" is actually a character that only male members of the royal family of Xiao Mingzhang's generation can use. The reason why Xiao Ming'an can also use this character is related to the timing of her birth.

Xiao Ming'an was born on the day the current emperor of the Central Plains ascended the throne. When Ying Shi gave birth to this daughter in the Prince's Palace, the emperor was holding his enthronement ceremony in Chenghua Hall.

In front of all the court officials, the old eunuch reported the good news to the emperor. The emperor was overjoyed and immediately named his granddaughter Xiao Ming'an in Chenghua Hall, meaning peace and prosperity for the country. He also personally drafted a title for her, Qingyuan, which means the beginning of all things and the start of power.

It can be said that Xiao Ming'an's birth witnessed the joy of the emperor's ascension to the throne; the appearance of the Princess of Qingyuan witnessed the glory of the Huan Prince's Mansion since it was granted the title of prince.

For a long time afterward, because of Xiao Ming'an's presence, the emperor always paid more attention to the two children of the Huan Prince's Mansion than to his other grandchildren; and he always bestowed more gifts upon the newly appointed Princess Consort Ying than upon his other daughters-in-law.

Even though Yunzhu and Xiao Ming'an weren't very familiar with each other, she had heard this story directly or indirectly at least three times in the past two years.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Ming'an, after many twists and turns, was able to repeat himself today.

Yunzhu gently rubbed her head, and only when the carriage finally reached its destination did she straighten up again and quickly stop Xiao Ming'an from speaking.

"Quick, quick, we're here, let's go!"

She was the first to jump off the carriage and see the place Xiao Ming'an had brought her to—Fangjue Temple.

A temple? The place Xiao Ming'an asked her to accompany him to today was a temple?

Yunzhu was somewhat puzzled. Could it be that the Ying family wouldn't allow her to come to a temple alone?

"Let's go!" Xiao Ming'an got off the carriage and finally stopped mentioning his old stories. He pulled Yunzhu and stepped onto the ninety-nine steps in front of the temple.

Yunzhu stumbled a few steps after being pulled along by her, and asked, "What did you come to the temple to pray for today? Or are you fulfilling a vow?"

"Oh, it's nothing, just taking a stroll," Xiao Ming'an replied absentmindedly, gazing ahead.

But Yunzhu was discerning and didn't believe her.

A note from the author:

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Late but here it is... I made a small change at the end of the last chapter, [let me see] let me see if anyone noticed! This chapter continues with red envelopes to thank everyone~ Even though it's only been a short time since my last post, I don't know why this book feels like a rebuilding process [hugs]. I feel so grateful for everyone's support [hugs].