After what had just happened, Xie Jinyao used the excuse that she had a miscarriage to avoid attending the banquet.

In short, the world now knows that she is now the second young mistress of the Prime Minister's mansion, and half of the banquet's purpose has been achieved.

The other half of her goal was Cui Yihuan, so she ordered someone to invite Cui Yihuan to her courtyard.

"I'll go with you."

Helian Qing remembered Xie Tingzhou's instructions to help look after Cui Yihuan, so when the men and women were seated separately, he insisted on sitting on the women's side.

Cui Yihuan shook her head. "Nothing will happen. I can go by myself."

Today is Xie Jinyao's happy day; she wouldn't be foolish enough to harm her at her own banquet.

Given the groundwork laid earlier at the Marquis's residence, Cui Yihuan felt that Xie Jinyao was at most trying to win her over, and that her real purpose was to target Ye Zhen.

She also wanted to know how Xie Jinyao was going to deal with Ye Zhen. He Lianqing's visit had only made things worse.

But she knew Helian Qing meant well, so she whispered, "If you're worried, I'll have Granny Cai accompany me."

She also had Mianmian by her side, and Helian Qing finally agreed.

Xie Jinyao's excuse wasn't entirely unfounded; she was genuinely worried about injuring herself during the scuffle at the mansion gate, so she rested in bed after leaving Li Heng's place.

Seeing Cui Yihuan approach, he slowly stood up, supporting his back, looking quite pregnant.

Cui Yihuan's gaze fell on her abdomen, and she asked with concern, "Is the young mistress alright? It's all because Lanqiao is so ignorant. I'll talk to the Marquis later and ask him to give Vice General Luo a heads-up. That child is really a bit reckless."

"Miss Luo is a person of strong character, it's alright."

Xie Jinyao sat down next to Cui Yihuan, holding her hand, "Speaking of which, I really have to thank Madam Hou today, otherwise..."

She touched her belly. "Otherwise, I really wouldn't dare to think about it. Madam has truly helped me a lot. Mingyue doesn't know how to thank you."

"It was just a casual remark, no need for your thanks, young mistress."

Cui Yi smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "I only saw that the lady's appearance resembled my benefactor. I don't know if I will have the chance to see my benefactor again in this life. Being able to help the young lady who resembles my benefactor is a kind of consolation."

"Even so, I cannot forget the kindness of the Lady Hou. If the Lady Hou does not mind, shall we address each other as sisters from now on?"

Cui Yihuan was slightly taken aback, then smiled and said, "It's not hard for the young mistress to find out what kind of life I lived and what my background was, so how could I dare to look down on it?"

Xie Jinyao then said, "Then it's settled. You're older than me, so from now on I'll call you Sister Cui."

Since they are sisters, the younger sister didn't stand on ceremony with her older sister; the older sister could take these home and try them out.

She handed a box from the table to Cui Yihuan.

Cui Yihuan opened it and saw small, round pills that smelled of medicine. "What are these?"

Xie Jinyao said mysteriously, "The Fertility Pill is taken by the woman during intercourse to enhance the man's experience. Afterwards, place one pill in the navel to help with conception."

"I have indeed heard some things about your family, elder sister. Since they have no one to rely on, you need an heir even more to secure your position in the Marquis's household. If you trust me, you might as well give it a try."

She seemed to be very considerate of Cui Yihuan.

Cui Yihuan was indeed moved and grasped your hand in return, "To be honest, I do want a child, but I haven't been able to conceive. If this medicine can really help me, I will definitely repay you handsomely."

Seeing how moved she was, Xie Jinyao smiled to herself. She knew that no woman didn't value having children.

Cui Yihuan has been following Marquis Zhongyong for so long without any news. With Ye Zhen still in charge of the household, he must be even more anxious.

She pushed another box over, saying, "This is a beauty-preserving pill that can keep a woman's beauty forever. Sister is beautiful and much younger than the Marquis, so the Marquis will naturally like her."

But men are all lustful; once a woman's beauty fades, their hearts wander. If you don't mind me being nosy, sister, why don't you try it yourself?"

Cui Yihuan looked deeply moved, and the two whispered to each other for a long time inside the room.

Xie Jinyao then had many gifts delivered to Cui Yihuan, saying it was to thank her for her help earlier, before letting her leave.

Seeing that Cui Yihuan had returned unharmed, Helian Qing secretly breathed a sigh of relief. However, Xie Jinyao did not come out again, and he lost his chance to cause trouble, which was somewhat regrettable.

However, Cai Yueya was right. Many ladies praised his clothes, and Helian Qing thought that if his grandfather also thought his portrait was good, he would dress like that from now on.

Li Heng came over and said a few intimate words to him. He was more sensible than Xie Jinyao, so Helian Qing had no chance to find fault. After finishing his meal, he left with the others.

The banquet at the Prime Minister's residence came to a successful conclusion.

However, the next day, Xie Jinyao made another appointment with Cui Yihuan to go to the theater together in a couple of days.

When the servants relayed the message, Ye Zhen and Su Luoqing were both in Cui Yihuan's room. Su Luoqing carefully examined the two pills that Xie Jinyao had given her.

"Madam, the medicines are all fine, and they are all good medicines."

It is safe to take.

Whether or not to use it is up to Cui Yihuan herself, so Su Luoqing didn't say anything explicitly after that.

Upon hearing this, Cui Yihuan picked up a beauty pill and took one. "She must be using this pill to test me. If I truly believe her, then she will take the next step."

Although she had recovered somewhat in the past few days, she still looked a bit haggard. The medicine was given to her by Xie Jinyao, so she knew exactly how effective it was, and Xie Jinyao could tell whether she had taken it or not.

In fact, Cui Yihuan was aware of the situation. She felt that since Xie Jinyao was giving her the medicine for the first time, there wouldn't be any problems.

But Ye Zhen was still worried and insisted that Su Luoqing come to check before he would feel at ease.

Since the child cares about her, Cui Yihuan naturally wouldn't refuse her kindness.

In addition, Madam Wang overheard Su Luoqing's name from her son and suddenly realized that Su Luoqing would be a very good daughter-in-law.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!